A/N: I had planned on updating sooner, but boy how time flies when you have massive stacks of papers to grade! ;-) And I still haven't gotten to my individual thank-yous yet. Bad Zelda! Bad! You all deserve so much thanks, too, for leaving me such fabulous reviews. I said it before, and I'll say it again--you guys spoil me! I think, though, that this "first" and the next one will make up for any pain and suffering my lapses may have caused :-P

Enjoy!

He drove her home like he did every other day.

They had worked the same shift that day, and as had become his custom, Mac drove Stella home after they finished up at the lab. It was a gesture he could make without casting undue suspicion on their relationship, even though most of their colleagues knew that they were together. He could keep her safe for an hour longer, and spend more time with the woman he loved when time was in such short supply.

When they arrived at her apartment, Stella invited him up like she always did and asked him to stay for dinner. It didn't matter that it was 11:30 at night or that they would probably be eating leftover Chinese food from the last time he drove her home. It was still the third meal of their day, and they both had to eat. Why not eat together? She could help him relax if only for an hour or two, make his life a little brighter when he certainly brightened hers.

They piled their plates high, Stella shuffling into the living room and plopping onto the couch with her cold almond chicken, while Mac elected to heat up his chow mein in the microwave. A few minutes later he settled down beside her, smiling happily and kissing her cheek gently as she munched on her food.

"So what's on tonight?" he asked, picking up the TV remote. They might fight over it later, but with plates of food in their laps he knew he could control the television for at least a few minutes.

She watched as he slowly flipped through the channels, dropping her fork onto her plate and laying a hand on his arm when she spotted a show she liked. "Ooo, that one! Go back!"

He grinned and hit the opposite button on the remote until he found the one she was looking for. "This?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly. "This is my favorite movie…"

"Sleepless in Seattle, huh?" He mulled that one over for a moment. "A chick flick?"

"An old chick flick," she confirmed. "It's beautiful…meeting at the top of the Empire State Building…at night…love at first site… It's so romantic…"

Mac chuckled. "We've never been to the Empire State Building," he reminded her.

She shook her head. "We don't need to. Cold takeout on my couch is all the romance I need, as long as you're here with me," she grinned.

He grinned again and leaned down, brushing his lips softly over hers. "You're right," he told her in a low voice, "this is the best part of my day."

She smiled girlishly and kissed him again. "See? I knew you'd agree."

The pair went back to their meal, polishing off the leftovers and placing the plates out of the way on the floor so they could cuddle up together and enjoy the movie. Two hours later, Stella got her romantic Empire State Building moment and Sleepless in Seattle ended happily, as every romantic comedy seemed to do. Mac sighed internally and unwound his arm from her shoulders, picking up the plates and carrying them into the kitchen. She followed and sighed too, knowing that this was the part of the evening where he helped her clean up before he went back to his place.

They puttered around the kitchen for a few minutes, rinsing off the plates and discarding the empty take-out containers as slowly as possible, trying to postpone the inevitable. Then, as always, he slid his arms around her waist from behind and rested his cheek against hers, kissing the warm skin of her neck and working his way down her shoulder. She smiled the smile only his touch could bring to her lips and turned in his arms.

"I guess I better go," he whispered in her ear, using the same phrase he used every night they ate dinner together.

"Yeah," she replied as usual, playing with his hair. She reached up and kissed him slowly, smiling at the feel of his mouth on hers, the way he held her, the taste of chicken chow mein on his tongue.

He pulled her closer, his hand gliding over her back and up to her face where he brushed a curl from her forehead as he drew reluctantly away. His gaze met hers and he couldn't resist kissing her again, unwilling and perhaps unable to let her go yet.

When their lips finally did part, Stella discovered a look in Mac's eyes that she hadn't seen before. He never wanted to leave her at the end of the evening, but tonight his eyes proclaimed that not only did he not want to leave, he was ready to stay.

She smiled at him, half playfully, half seriously, raising her eyebrows as she silently asked him the question she was turning over in her mind.

He answered her question gently, in the thin-lipped half-smile that was his trademark, and knew that this night would be different from all the others.

Stella's smile widened as she slipped her arms from his shoulders and took his hand, leading Mac not to the door to say good-bye, but out of the kitchen and down the hall, toward the bedroom.