Chapter 2

Give me a whisper
And give me a sigh
Give me a kiss before you
tell me goodbye
Don't you take it so hard now
And please don't take it so bad
I'll still be thinkin' of you
And the times we had...baby

(Don't cry – Guns'n'Roses)

Flack hanging between life and death had shattered everyone and Mac, the first. He spent all day next to his fellow colleague, his mind drifting from the young detective to Claire, his dead wife. But, unexpectedly, at one point his mind tricked him and thought about Stella.

He had been avoiding her since the moment he recognised in himself a non-ending growing love to his partner and friend. A love like he had only felt once. And it was scaring and strange. After seeing her lying nearly dead in her apartment, he knew he wasn't ready, and would never be, to loose someone again. So, he put all his feelings in a little box and hid them deep inside his mind.

Flack was the one to blame. Knowing he was fighting for his life, had made Mac relax in front of Stella and let his feelings emerge again. He could read the same in her eyes and, not knowing how, they ended making love in his apartment.

Now, all was lost.

A week later Flack was doing fine. In a month it was expected he would be recovered fully. Things were slowly going back to normal.

"Didn't I tell you once you'd look better without the tie?" Stella exclaimed laughing to Mac. "Come here, I'll dress you up!"

She took off his tie, unbuttoned his shirt a little and arranged his jacket. Her touch was overwhelming and awoken all senses in Mac. But he couldn't afford a mistake again so he fastly disappeared down the hall leaving Stella stupidly hanging a tie.

She had promised him things wouldn't change and she was keeping her word. But he wasn't helping.

"Hey Stel… Feeling 'k?"

"hmmm?"

"Stella is anything wrong?" Hawkes asked her again.

She closed her eyes. "No, everything's fine. I zoned out for a sec" She answered to him smiling.

"Ok. When you have a sec I'd like you to take a look to some fibres" and he left.

Stella looked at her hand again. She was still holding his tie. It was only a piece of clothes meaning a lot more than it was supposed.

She headed to the locker room, left the tie on his locker and closed the door behind her.