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Lindsay looked at the clock on the wall. In just two hours she and the rest of the team would meet Mac for dinner. Her former boss was visiting New York for the first time since he had left; the first time in months. She just hoped that they wouldn't run into anybody else from the department that still hadn't moved on from the fact that Mac was in a gay-relationship. Lindsay thought it was absolutely ridiculous that people couldn't accept Mac even though he was living with a man.

Lindsay looked down at the body on the autopsy table in front of her. She was waiting for Sid to come back from his break and tell her what he had found so far. She noticed the wedding ring by the victim's belongings and grinned. She remembered when she had found out about Mac's proposal plans. Stella had been able to keep Mac's plans of proposing to Horatio a secret for a long time, but eventually she hadn't been able to keep it to herself any longer and so the whole team and probably the whole lab had found out.

Fortunately for Mac nobody else in the department seemed to know about his plans. When Mac had found out that Stella had accidentally slipped up and told the team about his future proposal he had decided to tell Horatio's team about it as well. The only one in the big family that still had no idea what Mac was going to do was Horatio of course.

The women in the two teams had had the hardest time remaining quiet about it to the redhead; they just wanted to shout it out loud because they thought it was so fantastic that Mac wanted to marry Horatio. It took all the control they had not to call the Miami lieutenant and tell him.

Lindsay was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear most of the employees in the morgue come back from their break. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Joshua, one of the new employees, suddenly stood in front of her.

"Are you waiting for Sid?" He asked.

"Yes."

They both looked down at the victim; a young woman in her twenties. She had only gotten married a week ago with her girlfriend. Lindsay watched Joshua intently; he was one of many people who didn't like Mac Taylor anymore. His thoughts on homosexuals or bisexuals were extreme sometimes. Frankly, he scared Lindsay sometimes when he talked about wrong it was. But she knew it was the only thing he would ever do; talk.
He wasn't a violent guy and quite frankly so petite that even Lindsay could knock him down easily; he wasn't a threat to anyone. At first she had thought he'd be stupid enough to try and hurt Mac when he visited, but now she knew he wouldn't do that. Joshua knew that he didn't stand a chance against him; neither in a physical or verbal fight.

"Sad isn't it?" Joshua asked, "That someone so young had to die?"

Lindsay frowned. Just an hour ago he had been telling her how wrong it was that gay people could now get married. He had even said sometimes they deserved to die. He had even talked about how disgusting the victim was. The young woman in front of them was the victim of a hate crime.

"What?" Joshua asked when he saw Lindsay frown.

"Just an hour ago you said she was disgusting for being gay." Lindsay said.

"She is. But I think any life that is taken is bad. Even if it's the life of a… well, someone like her."

Lindsay rolled her eyes and looked around the morgue to see if Sid was back yet.

"You think what Mac Taylor is, is natural?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone then there is nothing wrong with it." Lindsay said.

"It's disgusting. There is nothing natural about it." Joshua snorted, "Besides, cops and CSI's shouldn't be faggots."

"Don't you dare call Mac that!" Lindsay growled, "It shouldn't matter who he loves as long as he does a good job. Mac was the best CSI in New York. He didn't become worse at his job because he was together with another man. He was and still is happy with his partner."

"He's a-"

"Don't you call him a faggot or I swear to god I will hurt you!" Lindsay warned, "He's not the one who is despicable, you are because you're narrow-minded and can't see that everyone deserves to be happy no matter if who they love."

Lindsay glared at Joshua and turned to leave. She would have to come back later and talk to Sid about the victim. Right now she needed to calm down before she hurt someone. Mac Taylor didn't deserve to be treated like a piece of trash. He was far from trash. He was one of the best men Lindsay had ever met. She wished that Horatio wasn't treated the same in Miami. The team had heard that there were suspicions at MDPD about Horatio, but nothing had been confirmed and everyone were too afraid of the redhead to start spreading rumors.

-I-

It was harder than Mac had thought it would be to leave his lover in Miami and visit New York. He definitely looked forward to seeing his friends again, but it felt weird to be spending the weekend without his lover. Going to sleep without Horatio next to him and waking up without him. But Mac didn't regret flying up to New York and even if he knew he would have a harder time falling asleep without the redhead's body pressed up against his and that he was going to miss Horatio like crazy, he was still looking forward to spending some time with his old team.

When he finally landed in New York he smiled as he saw the familiar buildings and quickly went to the baggage claim. It wasn't long before he ran into a former co-worker and his wife. Mac immidiately saw the disgust in the other man's eyes. Even if Mac didn't let his former co-workers' hate break him down, it still ruined his mood when they said things to him. And it did hurt to be hated.

"Taylor." The detective greeted.

"Terrence."

"Mac Taylor!" Terrence's wife exclaimed as she saw him.

"Rebecca." Mac smiled, "How are you?"

"We have a flight to catch Rebecca." Terrence said.

Mac knew that Terrence didn't want his wife to be talking to him. Mac suspected that it was Terrence who had sent him a text message telling him how disgusting he was, how he should be burnt on the stake like in the old days and that he threatened to castrate Mac if he ever showed up in New York again. Mac knew the detective well enough to know how Terrence always talked about things, but never did anything. He wasn't as tough or brutal as he pretended to be.

"Oh hush, Terrence." Rebecca chided.

She had of course heard that Mac was dating a man. Although, unlike her husband she didn't care about it.

"How are you Mac?" She asked.

"Good. How about you?"

"Fine, fine. We're flying to France today. Finally, after many years, we're taking a vacation." Rebecca smiled.

"Yeah, and on the same time avoiding meeting any fags in town." Terrence muttered.

Unfortunately for Terrence he didn't say it quiet enough for Mac and Rebecca to miss it. They both looked at him; Mac with a glare and Rebecca with a look of pure shock.

"Terrence!" She exclaimed, "Don't you dare say something like that!"

"It's true. He likes to take it up his-"

"Terrence!" Rebecca growled, "Need I to remind you about your experimenting days in college and how you also liked to take it up your ass… more than once if I recall correctly."

Terrence blushed crimson and Mac had to bite his lower lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"It's okay, Rebecca. Terrence is allowed to have his opinions." Mac said, "Although, I am amazed at how quickly you can go from saying I was a friend and a good CSI to now hate me."

Terrence had the decency to look ashamed and when his wife glared at him, he slowly walked away. Rebecca sighed and looked at Mac. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's an idiot sometimes." She said, "I love him but he falls too easily for peer pressure."

"You mean he hates me because his friends at work do." Mac said.

"To a degree yes." Rebecca said, "He's been pretending to be a homophobic for so long that it's hard to break free from it."

Mac nodded. He knew that Terrence hadn't always been able to stand up for himself and disagree with his friends at work. He was too afraid to feel left out.

"I just want you to know that you have my support." Rebecca smiled, "I hope your boyfriend is taking good care of you."

Mac grinned. He had always liked Rebecca; such a strong woman who never backed down from anything.

"Yes, he is." Mac grinned.

"Good. Now I have to go find my thick-headed husband." Rebecca smiled, "You have a nice visit, Mac."

"Thank you. And you have a nice vacation." Mac grinned.

He left the airport feeling a bit better. He found a taxi and told the driver where he wanted to go. It didn't take long to get to the restaurant where he was meeting the team and when he arrived he saw that Don and Danny were already there. He joined the two younger men by the table and startled them; they hadn't heard him approach. They grinned and shook Mac's hand.

"Mac, good to see you." Danny smiled, "How are you?"

"I'm good. It's good to see you too." Mac said, "You two are here early."

"Well, Stella kicked us out. We don't have any cases. Only Lindsay and Stella have a case and the rest of them are probably at home getting ready for dinner." Danny shrugged.

"Besides, you're early too." Don pointed out.

"Well, you were here before me." Mac said.

"Good point." Don smirked.

"So does everyone still hate me?" Mac asked.

Danny and Don sighed. Don was the one who heard most of the hateful things being said about Mac since he worked with most of the people whom had turned their backs on him.

"Well, it's calmed down some." Don said, "Only a few people still treat the gay-rumors are if it was yesterday's news; always discussing it every chance they get."

"Yeah, but you're still bigger news than Sergeant Dean having a mistress." Danny said.

"He has a mistress?" Mac asked shocked.

"Yeah, he's been happily married for thirty years and then suddenly a month ago he decided he should just try to see what it was like to cheat on his wife." Don said, "Now she wants a divorce and the idiot thinks he can keep her if he retires but still keeps his mistress."

Mac shook his head. Sergeant Dean was known to be one hell of a good cop, but a schmuck when it came to personal matters. He never knew when to shut up or that sometimes a white lie was better than the truth. Not many people would tell their wife that she looked like she had an elephant's ass on their wedding anniversary when there were friends around. He was a man with a big heart though.

"I can't say that I'm surprised that he thinks retirement will save his marriage." Mac said.

"Me either." Danny said, "So… how are your proposal plans going?"

Mac smiled widely and his eyes lit up. Danny and Don knew that Mac was nervous that his lover would say no, but also very excited to take the step and ask Horatio to marry him.

"Um, slow but good." Mac said, "I haven't chosen a ring yet. There are so many nice ones to choose from."

"Ask women to help you, they know that kind of stuff." Danny said.

"Women know that?" Stella asked as she and Lindsay joined the men by the table.

Right behind them were Sid and Adam. The women hugged Mac and then looked at Danny for an answer to what it was women knew.

"Women know about rings." Danny explained.

"Have you chosen one for Horatio and yourself yet?" Lindsay asked.

"No. I haven't, there are so many that would be great." Mac sighed, "Besides, I need to figure out when and how to ask him. Frank says I should ask him at work in his office, but…"

"Yeah, it might not be a good idea to let everyone know that he's gay." Stella said.

"Yeah and Eric and Ryan thinks I should ask him first thing in the morning." Mac said.

"Ask him over dinner." A male voice said from behind Mac.

Mac turned his head around to see Sheldon and the younger man patted his shoulder before sitting down next to his former boss.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too." Mac said, "But what's best; dinner at a restaurant or at home? We know a few restaurants where I can ask him without the risk of running into someone from MDPD. Some gay-friendly places."

"Ask him at home." Don said, "We all know that he will jump you after you asked him."

"And possibly cry when you get down on one knee." Stella said.

Mac chuckled. The only thing he was absolutely certain about was that his redheaded lover would be very surprised and shocked.

"We'll see." Mac smiled, "Now tell me how it is with Stella running the lab."

"Oh Mac, she never lets us rest." Danny smirked.

Stella faked an offended gasp.

"Danny Messer! You have better take that back." She exclaimed.

"Or what?" Danny challenged.

"Or you'll spend the rest of the year on garbage duty." Stella smirked.

"Hmm… okay, I take it back." Danny said.

"Sissy." The men mumbled.

-I-

Mac had had a great time. It was long after midnight when he and Don were on their way back to Don's apartment; where Mac was staying during his visit. Don had said that there was no reason for Mac to get a hotel room when he had plenty of space for him at his apartment.

They were walking through Central Park and Mac kept an eye on the slightly drunk Don. The young detective had agreed to a drinking contest with Danny and won. Danny would probably have one hell of a hangover later.

As they were walking through the park Mac noticed someone following them. He glanced back and saw that it was woman in jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. Mac got an uneasy feeling in his gut and nudged Don with his elbow.

"Yeah?" Don asked him.

"I think we're being followed." Mac said and started taking different paths in the park to see how long the woman would continue walking after them.

She continued to follow the two men and finally Don got tired of it and stopped. He turned around to face her and the woman stopped walking too. She glanced nervously at Mac.

"Can we help you?" Don asked.

"I uh… I, are you Mac Taylor?" She asked, looking at Mac.

Don and Mac immidiately tensed. This could be some sort of set up from one of the homophobics at the department. Mac had after all received death threats.

"Yes." Mac said.

The woman smiled and approached him. Mac then recognized her. He had once saved her from a robbery.

"I'm Melissa Mathers." She smiled.

"I recognize you. I stopped your from being robbed about three years ago." Mac said.

Melissa had been a deeply depressed and troubled woman back then. He expected she still was as he noticed that she was nervously fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweatshirt as if to hide something on her arms and how she looked between Mac and Don, as if trying to figure out if they were dangerous.

"How are you Miss Mathers?" Mac asked.

"I'm good." She said, "I-I just wanted to say thank you. I didn't get the chance after you had saved me and then I saw you tonight."

"Why didn't you just approach us immidiately?" Don asked.

He had a gut feeling that there was something else with Melissa going on. If he remembered the case correctly she lived very far away from Central Park and was afraid of people. She hadn't been outside her apartment in five years and when she had finally decided to go out, somebody had tried to rob her three years ago. He felt it was highly unlikely that she had just happened to show up at the park at the same time as Mac.

"I uh, I usually don't talk to people." Melissa said, "I guess I'm still afraid to go out... most of the time anyway."

Mac nodded and extended his hand to her. Melissa almost jumped three feet back when she saw his hand. She hesitated before shaking it.

"So thank you Detective Taylor." She said timidly.

"You're welcome Miss Mathers." Mac said, not bothering to correct her and let her know he wasn't a detective any longer, "Take care of yourself now."

Melissa grinned and turned to walk back the way she had come. Mac and Don watched her leave for a while before going to Don's place.

"There is something strange about her." Don said.

"I felt it too."

Mac felt the same as Don; that it was strange how someone who lived so far away from Central Park and almost never left her apartment except to walk maybe just one or two blocks away to buy some food or clothes, suddenly showed up at the park at the exact same time as him. He wondered if it was a coincidence. If it wasn't for the gay rumors about him then maybe he wouldn't have thought twice about why Melissa Mathers suddenly appeared after three years. She had after all had three years to just come to the crime lab and say thank you. So why did she do it now?

What Don and Mac didn't see was that Melissa was still following them; only this time she hid in the shadows. Ever since the day Mac had saved her he had been the object of her dreams. The man she believed that she belonged to. With a bit of help from a powerful man she had been able to find Mac. Now she just had to make him understand that they belonged together.

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