A/N: Don't rag on the movie, please. It'll hurt my feelings.
And I apologize for it not being as long a chapter as its predecessors, but I've hit a roadblock. Can't seem to get from here to the ending chapter, which is mostly already written...
"Well?"
"I talked to him."
"What? 'Talked' to him? Are you kidding?"
"That's all I could do. She's not pressing charges."
"Mac, that's insane."
"I know. But she refused. Believe me, I tried. She wouldn't even give me a last name. He answered to 'Damon,' but that's all I know. Still."
"So, it's taken care of?"
"Hopefully… I think so… Yeah."
"You sure?"
"Yes. She'll be fine, Flack. If you could relay the message to Danny, Aiden, and Chad, that would be great. I'm going to head out now."
"Absolutely."
She heard a knock on the door and then looked at her wrist. 6:40. Shuffling her bare feet across the wood floor, she looked through the peephole and saw him standing there in the orangey glow of dusk with his hands in his pockets.
"Who's there?"
He tilted his head to the side. "Funny."
He then heard the lock click and chain slide from the latch, and watched the handle turn to reveal her battered face, still visibly upset with him over their earlier discussion. She walked back without a word and resumed her position on the couch while he turned and re-locked the door behind him. Mac removed his coat and hung it on the wall hook.
"All the girls gonna shake it in The Bounce tonight / Gonna do it like we do when the bounce is right / If it's cool, we can rock until the mornin' light / Can you feel the vibe/ Tell me can you feel the love?"
He stepped towards the television, saw tons of young kids singing and dancing in formation on the beach, and gave Stella a blank look. "Are you honestly watching this?"
"Third time. Pay-per-view. You're gonna have quite a bill on your hands."
"Uh, apparently." He watched for a few more seconds. "What the hell is this?"
"'From Justin To Kelly.' You know, it's not as bad as everyone says. It's actually kinda cute. Those two definitely got somethin' goin' on. And I identify with that Guarini kid," she confessed.
"Why? Because you both have the nickname 'Curly'?"
"Exactly."
He raised an eyebrow in typical Mac fashion. "Uh…huh," he said slowly and then looked back at the woman on his couch.
"What did you expect me to do all day? Sit here and twiddle my thumbs until you came in from saving my world?"
"Don't be like that, Stella. You could've left… but you didn't." In the back of his mind, all he could think was: All hell's gonna break loose now.
"How am I supposed to be, Mac? 'Cause you obviously know more than I do about how I should handle my life. Go ahead and tell me."
And so it begins…"I was only looking out for you."
"I'm a big girl, Mac. I know how to take care of myself," she snapped.
"Maybe you should look in the mirror before you make such a bold statement," he replied.
"You did not just say that." She sat up from the couch, grabbed her heels from the floor and put them on in a hurry.
"Stella, wait. I didn't mean it." Damn it. Why did I say that?
"No." She stood up and grabbed her purse off of the table when she felt his hand reach out for her arm. "Aah, shit!" she exclaimed, her knees buckled slightly, and she lost hold of her purse strap as she tried to pull away. He let go immediately, and their eyes both locked in surprise. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
He took a deep breath and bit the inside of his lip. The look on her face told him all he needed to know. Why he didn't check before, he wasn't sure. "Take off the jacket, Stel."
She simply shook her head.
"You do it, or I will."
No movements were made, so Mac stepped behind her, took hold of the back of her collar, and pulled the jacket down. The fabric gathered just below her elbows. She closed her eyes and wished to God that she was anywhere else but in Mac's line of vision right now.
"Damn it, Stella," he said softly.
She felt a tear start down her face and make its way down her neck before it was absorbed in the material of her blouse. "Are you done?" Her voice quivered tremendously, eyes still closed.
Mac wordlessly grabbed her collar once again and helped her back into the jacket.