Tea for Two

Notes: "The Mallorca Files" is a ten-episode series that was broadcast on my local PBS station. It is a fun detective series filmed entirely on the island of Mallorca. The chemistry between the two attractive detectives, Max Winter and Miranda Blake, is incredible!

I do not own "The Mallorca Files" in any way, shape, or form.

I just enjoy watching this wonderful show and then putting the characters into fanfic.

This story is pure fluff, a Max & Miranda follow-up after the end of episode 9, Mallorca's Most Wanted. Miranda gets a post-midnight visitor and two hearts are made whole.

Miranda was relieved. After her long evaluation at the hospital, her tests had all been negative, so no serious injuries from being knocked unconscious. The medical tests were rigorous, and the wait had been arduous. It bothered her more than a little that she truly missed her partner Max's comforting presence, but she had had no right to ask him to stay.

Now, well past midnight, despite trying to read the most boring book she had, Miranda could not sleep. She got out of bed resignedly, donned her robe, and put on a pot of tea. Suddenly, she heard a tap-tap-tap at her door. Given the hour, she thought perhaps to just ignore it. But the tapping only got louder. Cautiously she opened the door just enough to peer out, and was surprised to see Max.

"Hey, Miranda," he grinned.

"Max? What are you doing here? It's very late."

"Ja, I know. But I need to make sure you're okay. Can I come in?"

She swung the door open for Max to enter. He gave her an intense, concerned look.

"Miranda, I've been worried about you all night, afraid that you have a concussion or some internal injuries. What did they tell you at the hospital?"

Miranda looked askance before answering. She could not meet the depth of emotion in Max's eyes without revealing her own deep-seated feelings. "I'm fine, Max. Just a slight headache and some cuts and bruises. All the tests came back negative."

Max smiled and sighed, relieved. "What a relief that you're okay then. Miranda, I'm—" The tea kettle's whistle shrilly interrupted him in mid-sentence.

"You want tea, Max? ENGLISH tea?"

He chuckled, "Yes. English tea it is. You sit. Let me get it."

Max poured the tea for both of them then sat opposite Miranda at her table. For several minutes they sat silently drinking their tea, while surreptitiously glancing at each other.

After finishing his tea, Max spoke. "Miranda, I am really sorry I doubted you and that my doubt caused you to go it alone and get hurt. It all could have easily gone to hell."

"Occupational hazard, Max. There's always a risk. You know that."

"Ja, but it's part of my job to help minimize those risks for both of us. You're brilliant at connecting all the dots in these cases, and I should remember that. I can't lose you, Miranda. I couldn't take it."

Miranda's tea cup stopped halfway to her mouth. She could hardly believe that Max had just revealed how much she meant to him. "You'd get along just fine, I'm sure," she replied unsteadily.

With a tender grin, Max answered, "No. No, Miranda, I definitely would not. You are brilliant, funny, beautiful, compassionate, even if kind of bossy and annoying, and you have become so much a part of my life. I'm a better cop and a better person with you."

In one motion, Max removed the cup from her hand, crossed to her chair, pulled her to her feet, tilted her face toward his, and softly kissed her lips.

Completely caught off-guard, Miranda gasped, began to return his kiss, then abruptly backed away. "Max! No! We can't! You have Carmen! It's not fair to her!"

Max continued to stand, eyes locked with Miranda's. He gently eased her back into her chair, then reseated himself. "Carmen and I had a long talk tonight. While we are fond of each other, we agreed that what we've had has always been more casual than serious, and that we both knew it wasn't going to last. She…"

Miranda vigorously interrupted him. "But you proposed to her!"

Eyeing Miranda ruefully, Max explained, "Ja, but I knew she wouldn't say yes. I proposed to her out of frustration, thinking if I got a commitment from her, I could continue to bury my feelings for you. I can't, and it wasn't fair to Carmen or you."

"So you and Carmen are no longer a couple?"

"We are not. She thought it best that we make a clean break. Besides, she will be accepting an offer to manage an art gallery in Valencia, on the mainland. She got the offer two weeks ago and was trying to think of a way to tell me. It's something she has always wanted to do."

"So Carmen will be okay?" Miranda asked.

"Yes. Something else you need to know, Miranda, is that even if you do not reciprocate my feelings, I am now able to freely express mine for you. And you can be sure that I will try to do so! After all, you said I wear my heart on my sleeve," Max declared with a wink and a grin.

Miranda asked tearfully, "What makes you think I don't reciprocate those feelings?!"

She rose and launched herself into Max's arms, at last able to embark on a true, loving relationship with the man she had grown to adore.