Mac knocked on Stella's door at 7pm. He was a little nervous, but he wasn't sure why. He had been out with Stella plenty of times, but this time seemed different. He had asked her to wear a red dress and he was wearing a red shirt with his black suit. He had so many butterflies in his stomach right now, he wasn't sure he could eat. He heard Stella unlocking the door. Why did he feel so nervous?

Stella opened the door. She was a little nervous herself and she didn't know why either. Mac didn't say anything for a moment. "Well?" she said. "How do you like it?"

Mac looked at her dress. "Beautiful," he said.

"I like your red shirt."

Mac finally got a breath in. "Thanks."

"I'll get my shawl," Stella said. She went back inside and got her black shawl to go with the dress she was wearing and her purse. "Okay, I'm ready."

They went down and got a cab. "So, what kind of restaurant is this?" Stella asked.

"Italian," Mac said. "They have Italian music and a dance floor."

"Full of romance?"

Mac looked at her. "Something like that."

Stella leaned on his shoulder. "I'm so glad I'm here with you."

"Me too," Mac said, as he smelled her perfume. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"Do you think we'll stay together forever?"

Mac wondered why she always asked him that. "I hope we will," he said.

"Mac, why can't you ever say anything for sure?"

"Stella, I don't want to…"

"I know, you don't want to rush anything."

"That's not what I was going to say. I was going to say that I don't want to say that when it's this early in our relationship."

"We've known each other a long time, Mac."

"I know, but we haven't dated until now."

"So? I don't know how much better we could know each other."

Mac cleared his throat. "Well, we could know each other a lot…more than we do now, you know."

"Are you making a pass at me?"

"No. I'm just stating facts."

Soon, they arrived at the restaurant and went inside. Mac had reservations, so they did not have to wait long for the table. There were candles on the table and music was playing. "Wow, this is great," Stella said.

"I knew you would like it," Mac said.

The waiter came to their table and gave them each a menu and brought a bottle of wine, which was in a bucket of ice. He poured some for both of them. Mac looked at the menu. He wasn't sure what he wanted to eat. He didn't feel like he had so many butterflies now. He supposed he would eat pasta since just about everything came with pasta of some sort.

Stella smiled as she was looking at the menu. She loved the music. It made her feel like she was in Venice, Italy. She and Mac decided what they wanted and ordered. Then they sat waiting. Stella looked at Mac and how the candle light made his eyes look. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She was sure of that. She didn't know why Mac was not sure.

Mac took a bite of the Italian bread which had butter and garlic on it. "That's delicious," he said. "Crunchy."

"Mac, I talked to the boss today," Stella said. "We can go on our vacation next week."

"Great. I'm going to reserve us a cabin over there."

"It sounds exciting. That's something I've never done."

"We'll get a taste of farm life and a little fun."

"Are you going to make me milk a cow?"

"I hope so." Mac smiled. "I would like to see that."

"You would."

Mac leaned on the table. "Are you afraid you can't do it?" he asked.

"Are you afraid I can? Maybe you can't."

Mac laughed. "Maybe we'll have a competition."

"I hope so. What do I get if I win?"

Mac took another bite of the bread. "I don't know," he said. "What do you want?"

Stella smiled. "Are you going to give me anything I want?" she asked.

Mac sipped his water. "Are you going to ask for something impossible?"

"I hope not. Are you ready for anything?"

"Probably."

"What do you mean 'probably'?"

Mac smiled his shy smile. "I don't like to just say anything positively, because you never know what will happen."

"I like mystery. I don't want our relationship to be so predictable."

"I don't think it will be predictable. You didn't know I was going to take you out tonight and you didn't know I was going to ask you to go to a Dude Ranch."

"I like surprises."

"Me too when they're good ones. I'm glad you came back from Greece."

"I had to. Lindsey told me what happened and I had to come to you."

"I was surprised then."

Stella smiled. "Like I said before, I sure did miss those beautiful eyes." She watched Mac take another bite of bread. "Are you just eating that because it's good or are you nervous?"

Mac wiped his mouth. "Both," he said. He swallowed and looked at Stella. "I don't know why I am so nervous tonight. I thought I was getting used to this."

"I was a little nervous too. I think we're just getting closer and it's a little scary."

"Maybe that's it."

"What will we do when we're over there at a Dude Ranch alone?"

Mac cleared his throat. "Well, I don't know," he said.

"When are we leaving?"

"We'll leave Saturday. I'll get us a flight over there and we'll stay until the next Sunday."

"Sounds wonderful."

"I'm sure it will be. There will be no noise."

"Can you sleep with no noise?"

"I think I can."

"When I was in Greece, it was quiet where I was, and it took me several days to get used to the quiet before I could sleep."

"I guess when you're used to all the noise here, it's hard to adjust."

"It's hard for people who are used to the quiet to get used to all this noise too." Stella smiled. "I remember when Lindsey first came here, she couldn't believe the noise."

Mac smiled. "I don't mind getting used to the quiet," he said.

"Neither do I as long as I'm with you."

Soon, their meals arrived. "Oh, that smells so good," Stella said.

"Certainly does," Mac agreed.

They ate in silence for a while. Stella sipped her wine. "I just love this music," she said. "It makes such a great atmosphere."

Mac nodded as he was eating. "When we're done eating, we're going to dance."

"I can't wait."

Mac smiled. "You might not say that when you see me dance."

"I think you can dance better than you want to admit."

"I try."

"We will find out tonight."

When they were done eating, they went over to the dance floor. There were a few others dancing as well. Mac and Stella began dancing a slow dance. "Hmmm, you're not a bad dancer, Taylor," Stella said. "You've been holding out on me."

Mac smiled. "A man needs some kind of secret, I guess," he said.

Stella laughed. "I think you have a wild side."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"You could be right."

Stella put both her arms around his neck. "I want to see that wild side," she said.

"How do you know? I might not be as wild as you think."

"I think I can bring out the wild in you."

Mac studied Stella's face in silence while they danced. He thought he was falling in love with her. He could definitely get used to seeing her face every day for the rest of his life. He wanted her to know it before this night was over. Stella looked into his eyes. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

Mac smiled. "How do you know I'm thinking anything?" he asked.

"Oh, Mac, when you're thinking, you're eyes are twinkling."

Mac shook his head. "Am I that predictable?"

"Yes."

Mac pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead. "I'm thinking I'm in love," he said.

Stella didn't want to move. "Go on," she prompted.

"I have not felt this content in years. I think I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Stella. You were right about everything when you said we knew each other better than most people. We've been through a lot together and I think I always did love you and I just buried those feelings and wouldn't do anything about it. I don't want to do that anymore. I want us to just go on with this and be happy together. I'm sick and tired of being alone."

"There's no need to be alone when you have someone who loves you," Stella said. "I don't think I could ever love anyone else, Mac. I was hoping that you would want me too."

"I didn't want you to go to Greece. When you were walking into the airport to leave, I wanted to run after you and stop you, but I couldn't make my feet move."

"If you had asked me to stay, I would have dropped my bags right there."

"Really?" Mac asked.

"Yes, really. I didn't want to go, but I didn't want to stay here the way things were either."

"Well, we're together now, so you're not going to run off to Greece again are you?"

"No. If I did, would you come after me again?"

"I would now."

"Now? Why is now different?"

"Because I love you and I've admitted it now. I can't let you go again."

Stella looked at him and smiled. "You're terrible."

Mac laughed. "I have to tease you a little." He leaned over to her ear. "I might show you how terrible I can be."

Stella hit his shoulder. "You animal."

"Hey, let's not get violent here on the dance floor."

"I think you drank too much wine."

"I didn't drink even a whole glass. I don't have to be drunk to tease you."

"Well, you seem to be pretty cheerful tonight."

"I've been thinking."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. I've decided that I don't have to be alone. That's why I wasn't happy in the first place. I want to be happy and I don't want to be alone anymore."

"When did you decide this?"

"I think I knew it all along, I just didn't want to admit it."

Stella kissed him. "How was that?" she asked.

"Good," Mac replied. He kissed her again. "This is going to be a great vacation."

"I can't wait."

They danced a few more dances and then went out to get a cab. "So, where are we going now?" Stella asked.

"We are going to a movie."

"Sounds like fun."

"Oh, I think it will be."

When they arrived at the movie theatre, there was a long line waiting to get in to the movie. "This must be a popular movie," Stella said.

"I guess," Mac replied. He suddenly felt a sneeze coming on. He thought it must be because they were standing outside. He grabbed his handkerchief from his pocket and sneezed three times.

"Are you okay?"

"It's just this pollen. Anytime I stay outside too long, I sneeze." He sneezed again. "The wind is even still now. I guess the pollen is just hanging here in the air."

Stella smiled. "Why don't you just take some allergy medicine?" she asked.

"I don't like taking things that make me sleepy."

"So take it at night."

"It wouldn't matter. That stuff affects me all the time when I take it."

"So, you would rather sneeze? I think that if you took it for a while, you would get used to it."

"I don't know. I hate taking medicine."

Mac was glad to see he wasn't the only one affected by pollen. Some other people were sneezing too. He sneezed again. He thought that this allergy was what made him sleepy part of the time. His sinuses felt like they were taking over his whole head. He didn't know how he had made it through that case without having a sneezing attack.

They were soon inside and found their seats in the theatre. "At least there is no pollen in here," Mac said.

"It's cozy," Stella replied as she leaned on his shoulder. She didn't know if she had ever felt so happy in her life. She couldn't remember any time that she did.

Mac didn't know why it took him so long to decide to let Stella into his life or not. As he watched the movie, he was thinking more about what he wanted to do next than what was going on with the movie. Stella thought Mac was engrossed in the movie because he was looking at the screen. However, he was lost in his thoughts. He thought of how peaceful it would be on that Dude Ranch: no phone calls to interrupt anything, no traffic noise and no cases. Not that he didn't love New York, but he hardly ever left it, and right now, he wanted to get away.

After the movie, they got a cab back to Stella's apartment. "You coming in?" she asked as she opened the door.

"For a few minutes," Mac answered.

They went in and Stella closed the door. "What do you mean, for a few minutes?" she asked.

Mac looked at her a moment. "Let's save that for our honeymoon," he said.

Stella put her hands on her hips. "Our honeymoon? When did we decide to get married?"

"You've been talking about it. Now I want to talk about it."

Stella couldn't believe what she just heard. "So, are you asking?"

Mac put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor. "Not yet," he said. "Don't you want to be surprised?"

Stella folded her arms. "I don't know," she said. "Will I even get a hint?"

"No." Mac smiled his mischievous smile. "I'm going to surprise you when you least expect it."

"Oh, Mac." Stella walked over to him and put her arms around his neck. "So, this means we're actually going to get married?"

Mac smiled. "I suppose it does," he said. "I realized tonight that I don't ever want to be away from you and I don't want anybody else."

"I've known that for a long time."

"About me or you?"

"Both." Stella smiled. "There's no way to get you to realize something. You have to see it on your own."

Mac considered that. "I suppose everybody has to decide things on their own."

They sat down on the couch and shared a long kiss. "You analyze everything," Stella said, as she ran her fingers through his hair. "What can you analyze about this?" She kissed him again.

Mac pretended to think with a mischievous smile on his face. "Hmmm, tastes like a little bit of wine and…"

Stella pushed him. "You are so mean sometimes."

Mac laughed. But then he grabbed her in a tight embrace. "I would never be mean to you," he said.

Stella looked into his eyes which were full of passion. "I know that, Taylor," she said. "Are you ready for another make-out session?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Stella laughed as Mac pushed her over on the couch…

Meanwhile, Don Flack was still recovering in the hospital. He had given his statement about what happened in the squad room, but he had just received a report from Danny that Robert Dill had escaped from custody, and then he helped Tony Belue get out too. "How did that happen?" Don asked.

"Now, don't get upset," Danny said. "You don't need to be getting too upset."

"How can I not get upset? Have you told Mac this?"

"Not yet. I just want you to be cautious about who comes into your room."

"He would be more likely to come after Mac. He already threatened him, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I'm going to call Mac next."

Danny ended the call and found Mac's number next…

Mac and Stella were cuddling on the couch when Mac's phone started ringing. "You're not going to answer that, are you?" Stella asked.

"I don't think they would call me if it wasn't important," Mac said.

"Mac, I don't want you to leave."

"Who said I was leaving?"

"If you answer that and it's something about a case, you'll go storming out of here like no one else can handle it but you."

The phone stopped ringing. "Well, I hope that wasn't the chief," Mac said.

"Why would he be calling you? I thought you told him you were going on vacation."

"I did, but you never know what else I might have to do for that case."

"What else could you have to do? The crooks are in jail."

"They might set a court date soon. I'll have to testify. I hope it's not until after our vacation though."

"Surely they'll need more time than that to prepare."

Just then, Mac's phone rang again. "I better get that," he said. He reached to the coffee table and got the phone. "It's Danny."

"Don't answer it," Stella said. "I like lying here with you."

Mac looked at her a moment. "What if it's important?" he asked.

"He can tell you in the morning or handle it himself."

Mac looked at the phone again as it stopped ringing. He hoped it wasn't something extremely important…

Danny was upset now. "Where is he?" he asked. "He's not answering."

"Maybe he has his phone turned off," Sheldon said.

"No, it rung. If he had it turned off, it wouldn't ring."

"You think we should go to his apartment and tell him?"

"How do we know he's there? He was going out with Stella tonight."

"Then maybe he's at her apartment. Do we know her number?"

"No. She doesn't work here anymore. There's no reason to know it." Danny snapped his fingers. "Lindsey knows it. She talks to Stella sometimes."

Danny called Lindsey and got Stella's number. Then he called Stella's cell phone first…

Stella and Mac were locked in a passionate kiss when her phone rang. They looked at each other. "Someone is definitely trying to reach you," Stella said. She got up and got her purse where her phone was. "Hello," she answered.

"Stella, I hate to disturb you guys," Danny said. "Is Mac still with you?"

"Yes," Stella answered. "What is going on?"

"I need to talk to Mac."

Stella gave the phone to Mac. "Hello," Mac said.

"Mac, Robert Hill escaped," Danny said. "And he even got Tony Belue out."

Mac sat up. "What! How did that happen?"

"I don't know, but they are out. Mac, you know they're going to come after you."

Mac thought about that a moment. "If they do, I'll be ready for them."

"You can't fight both of them alone."

"Danny, I'm not going to hide. If they come after me, they're going to meet a bullet."

"We have to get some kind of plan together."

"Stella and I are going on vacation next week. We're leaving Saturday, so they won't have time to come after me."

"What if they come after you on your vacation?"

"They won't know where we are."

"It won't be hard to find out."

"Not if we don't tell anybody."

"Maybe we can find them before then."

"I hope you can. I don't want some maniac out here." Mac thought of something then. "They may go after that guy we met at the shipping yard…what was his name? Strickland?"

"Yeah. I'll give that guy a heads-up so he can be on the lookout."

"Do that."

Mac ended the call and looked at Stella. "Robert Hill and Tony Belue escaped," he said.

Stella looked alarmed. "How?" she asked.

"I don't know." Mac shook his head. "I feel like going on the vacation now."

"Why don't we? We can get away from all this."

"I'm gonna see how soon we can get that cabin rented and how soon we can get a flight, and we're getting out of here."

"I will be with you, my dear."

Mac smiled. "You always have been," he said. He kissed Stella again. "I guess I better go so I can get some rest."

"You can always stay here on the couch."

Mac looked at her. "Are you scared?" he asked.

Stella didn't know how to answer that. She was nervous about the situation. "I guess I am nervous," she admitted. "I know those two are dangerous."

"They certainly are. A Green Beret and a Navy Seal. I don't know how there could be a more dangerous combination."

Mac didn't really think they would try to get Stella, but he couldn't be sure. He thought they would probably come after him directly if they did anything. "Stay here tonight," Stella said. She didn't want Mac to go out alone. She knew those guys could be waiting for him. "I'll get a blanket and an extra pillow for you."

Mac considered that and then he nodded. "Okay," he said. He stretched out on the couch. "You have a comfortable couch."

"I made sure of that because I like to lay on the couch."

Stella brought Mac a blanket and pillow. Then she kissed him. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too," Mac replied. "Good night."

"Night. If you need anything, just ask."

"Thanks."

Stella went on to her bedroom. Mac took his shoes and suit coat off and his tie and loosened his collar. Then he lay down on the couch. He stared at the ceiling thinking. He could hardly believe those two were out there again. He didn't know how they could have escaped like that, but he was sure they could be found again. However, it would not be easy. He knew they would know how to avoid detection. He would be ready for them if they came after him though. They would have a fight on their hands. Mac rubbed his elbow, which was thoroughly wrapped up now. It was still sore, but felt a little better. He hoped it could get completely well before he had to tangle with someone else.