A/N: I know I've been terrible not updating! Real life is such a drag!
A/N: The bracelet is called Tiffany Knots. Did ya find it?
As it turned out, Mac didn't have long to ponder over what he was going to say to Stella. Wandering distractedly into his office, he found her sitting at his desk, hunched over and writing, with her long dark curls hiding her face. He was glad the gift was safely hidden in his coat. He took a minute to compose himself before clearing his throat.
Stella's head flew up. Her eyes sparkled and she flashed him a wide smile. It was a smile that only appeared when he did. But Mac didn't know that, and she hoped he would never be able to tell what effect his presence had on her expression. And that he would never know how her heart did a little flip whenever she saw that he was looking at her. She had decided a long time ago that Mac was one man she could never have, not in the way she wanted. Mac was reserved and level-headed and rational. He took the right steps, made the right choices. She knew he wouldn't want someone with her complicated background and impulsive nature. She had resigned herself to the fact that she was his partner, his best friend and the only one who could make him really truly smile. That was enough for her. It had to be.
Which didn't mean that as he stood in the doorway of his office staring at her, amused, that her heart didn't do that little flip entirely against her will.
"Whatcha doin' partner?" He tried to sound casual, but seeing her before he'd had a chance to make a plan had caught him off guard.
"Hey. I was leaving you a note about this case file. I thought maybe you had left before me for once," she said. "I don't know what I could have been thinking," she added sarcastically, smiling and balling up the paper she'd been scribbling on.
"Nah," Mac answered, giving her a half smile, "I just had to, uh...run an errand." The excuse sounded awkward to him, but Stella didn't seem to notice that part.
"Oooh, what kind of errand?" she asked teasingly. Knowing Mac, he probably had to get his pants
re-hemmed into a perfectly straight line or something normal people never thought of.
"The none of your business kind," he answered, perhaps a little too abruptly. He softened as he added, "Now, out of my seat, I've got work to do."
Stella was puzzled by Mac getting short with her. Not that they never argued and certainly not that he had never lashed out at her, especially in the aftermath of Claire's death when she had tried to console him. Things were different now though. They were a part of each others' lives, with a casual and comfortable friendship. But he was always professional and even toned at the office.
"Mac, what's wrong?" she asked quietly.
"Nothing, Stella. I'm just...I'm tired, that's all," he replied weakly, walking toward his desk.
"I know, it was a tough case," she began hesitantly, "but I know you tired. And this is more than that. What's going on, Mac?"
He reached the desk and stood next to it awkwardly, looking down at her and her eyes that were pleading with him to let her in on his secrets. His confused feelings were brimming just below the surface and he hoped she wasn't able to read anything on his face. But he knew his carefully placed mask was starting to slip. He just needed to hold out a little longer till she left so he could make a plan...
Stella stood up from the desk chair and was just inches away from him now, concern etched on her face. She reached out tentatively and touched his upper arm lightly. She knew he didn't like to be touched, but she couldn't resist when they were so close and she could clearly see the pain on his face. To her surprise, he didn't flinch away from her, instead closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He didn't have time for a plan. His pent up feelings weren't going to wait any longer. Opening his eyes, he stared deep into hers and whispered:
"Stella, there's something I have to tell you."