Chapter 4: Putting Together Pieces of the Puzzle

"Ready to go, Stel?" Mac asks as he finishes with a couple fingerprints from their case. Stella was processing the vic's clothes.

"Almost. Let me finish this up," she says.

"I'll help," he offers, and they are done in no time.

"Meet you in the locker room in five minutes," Stella says and heads to her office while Mac to his.

When Stella arrives at the locker room Mac is already there standing beside her locker waiting patiently for her. "Finally," he jokes when she enters. She punches him in the arm lightly. He pins her against the lockers, kissing her.

"Mac," she says pushing him back, "not here. Someone could walk in at any second, and we've already gotten in trouble once today. After dinner."

---CSI: NY---

"Need help?" Stella calls from the living room as Mac cooks in the kitchen.

"No. I have a whole bunch of movies under the TV. Why don't you pick out something for later?" Stella busies herself looking at movie titles. "Dinner's ready."

Stella is awestruck when she walks into the kitchen. "Wow, Mac, this is amazing. Candles and everything."

"Yes, I take it you like it." She nods. He pulls out a chair for her, then seats himself beside her.

They discuss the case they're working on and a few past cases. Mac notices something he hadn't seen since shortly after Frankie attacked Stella. "Stel, you still have a scar," he says, finishing his spaghetti.

"What?" she's clueless as to what he's talking about.

"Under your eye, where he hit you," Mac gets up taking his plate to the sink. "Done?" she nods, and he takes her plate too.

"It's always been there, Mac, and I'm not expecting it to go away," Stella says quietly when he sits back down.

"Can I see your hands?" She holds them out, knowing he's looking for a trace of the small cuts that she got from her razor blade five months ago trying to escape. "Only a few are still visible," she already knows this for she looks every night for them. "Why don't we watch that movie?" he asks, helping her up.

Two-thirds of the way through Pirates of the Caribbean Mac found a sleeping Stella leaning against him. When the movie is over he knows he can't leave her there. "Stel?" he says quietly, but she doesn't stir. He lifts her up and carries her to his bed. After laying her down Mac heads to the bathroom with a pair of pajama bottoms to sleep in. Stella is fast asleep when he comes out; he stares for a few minutes as she sleeps. Mac desperately wants to climb into the bed with her but won't so she isn't uncomfortable. He grabs his clock and sets it earlier so he has time to shower, drive Stella to her apartment, let her get ready for work, and drive them to work, maybe with breakfast somewhere in there, and lies on the couch.

Less than ten minutes later Stella is awake. She was still dreaming about Frankie, this one involved Mac as well. Stella turned over expecting to see Mac, but he wasn't there so she went to look for him. Mac, she found, was lying on the couch attempting to sleep. Stella kneels next to the couch and fingers the scars on his chest from years as a Marine, then as a detective softly. Mac opens his eyes, surprised to see her. "You've got a lot of scars yourself, Mac," she whispers.

"You have many scars too, Stel, that I can't see. What are you doing up?"

"Something else I haven't told you: I still have nightmares about him. In this dream, you came right before I grabbed the gun from him. I didn't notice you as I went to shoot Frankie, and you were standing in the path of the bullets," she wipes her cheeks free of tears as Mac reaches to pull her closer to him.

"It's okay. I wish I had gotten there before you had to shoot him, but I didn't. And I'm safe and alive, right here with you," he whispers in her ear, pulling her back to lay on him.

"I know."

When she's settled down Mac asks, "Why don't you go back and sleep on my bed? I'll get ready, then drive you to your place so you can get ready, and we'll go to work, maybe with breakfast on the way tomorrow morning."

"You're not staying on the couch. Come on," she tries to pull him to the bedroom with her but doesn't succeed: he has to walk there himself with her pushing him from behind making sure he comes.

They both get in the bed, and Mac falls asleep quickly on his side, facing Stella with an arm hanging across her stomach; Stella lay on her back staring at the ceiling. Spotting something moving she elbows Mac in the stomach. "Mac, wake up," she says panicking.

"What now, Stella?" he says sleepily, rubbing the spot where she hit him. "I'm trying to sleep, if you don't mind."

"There's a spider on the ceiling, Mac."

"Well, what do you want me to do?"

"Kill it."

"Why, it's not going to hurt you, Stella?" he says trying not to smirk as she gives him an angry look.

"Just kill the thing, Mac; I don't like them," he gets up laughing at his friend; he had never seen her like this.

"I learned something today," he climbs onto the bed with a Kleenex, squashes the spider, and flushes it down the toilet. "There, happy?"

"Yes. Hawkes didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"The case last year we were working involved spider venom. I had to hold the thing while he got the venom from it. You were working with Lindsay and the tiger."

"Oh, no, he didn't. I would have liked to see that," he chuckles, and she kicks his shin. "You know, when I was trying to kiss you earlier, you said after dinner. It's after dinner, and I'm still waiting, Stella."

She turns and gives him a soft, short kiss. "There, that good?"

"No. Get over here." Before she could pull too far away Mac pulls her back to him, giving her another kiss, one hand on her back, the other buried in her curls.

"Weren't you the one who wanted to get to sleep a few minutes ago?" Stella asks, pulling away to bring her knees to her chest like earlier when he found her in the bathroom.

"Yes. Is everything alright?" he puts a hand on her back cautiously.

"No, I can't take this right now. I thought because I had known you for so long it wouldn't be hard for me to… sleep with you, but you know I haven't been with anyone since Frankie-"

"I understand. I'll sleep on the couch, you stay here," he starts to get up. A hand on his arm stops him.

"You don't have to leave. I just can't do more than kiss you, Mac, for now. Lying here, sleeping isn't going to hurt anything," she reassures him.

"You sure? I don't mind-"

"No, stay her with me. I'm fine," he climbs back over to her, holding her close. "I love you," she whispers before burying her face in his shoulder.

"I love you too," he presses a kiss to the top of her head. Soon both are fast asleep in each others' arms.

A/N: Okay, this is the randomly named chapter. I have good news, or at least I think it is good news. I read an article on that said CBS is going to more into the Grissom/Sara relationship this season because it has to compete with all these other shows like Grey's Anatomy and a lot of other ones. And not just that show, but as a network. So maybe we will finally see what we want in NY: Mac and Stella getting together, maybe Danny and Lindsay. Only one more chapter so I might be nice and post it before starting my other story. Please review!