First meeting
Place between sláinte (S8e16) and unwrapped (s8e17). Mac and Christine are still secretly dating. None of their families or friends knows about the relationship yet.
Mac had a long day in the lab. He had a case together with Lindsay and Adam where a body was found in a dumpster behind a Japanese sushi restaurant in pieces so he and Adam had ben crawling around in the dumpster for hours to recover the entire body. Lindsay had been on the ground to get the pieces when Adam and Mac handled it to her. When he finally got back to the lab it was 6.30 and he was tired. They did not have any lead in the case until Sid have a preliminary autopsy rapport. So Mac decided to go home. He had seen Christine for a couple of days because he had been so busy in the lab. So he decided to surprise her by stopping by. It was about 7.00 when he was done with his shower and he left the lab.
Mac was in front of Christine's apartment and he knocked on her door. Christine came out and opened. Not as fast as she did when she knew he was coming. She looked very surprised when she so it was him.
"Mac? What are you doing here?" She asked surprised.
Macs smile diapered when he heard her surprise. "I just want to surprise you. Is it bad timing?"
"no. no not at all." Christine reassured and took his hand and pulled him in to a hug and kissed him.
"Christine sweetie are you coming?" and older lady says.
Mac looked surprised at her.
"you should have said you have visit." He whispered.
"it's okay. It's my grandma. I want you to meet her as my boyfriend." She said and kissed him.
"is that okay?" she asks.
He smiles. "okay." He says and kisses her again.
Then he takes off his coat and she takes his hand and they walk in to the living room. An older lady comes in with to plaids to set the table for dinner. She stops and looks at Mac.
"grandma, I want you to meet my boyfriend Mac. Mac this is my grandma Sofia Whitney." Christine introduce them.
The older lady puts the plaids down on the table.
"nice to meet you, ma'am." Mac Says.
"oh a military man." She says.
Christine smiles at Mac.
"yes ma'am I'm a Marine." Mac says.
Sofia looks impressed. "still active?" she asks.
"no. not as a marine. I'm a detective in the NYPD crime lab now." Mac tells.
"I put an extra plaid on the table." She says and disappears out in the kitchen. Christine looks at Mac and smiles. Mac put his arms around her and kisses her.
"what happened to that you didn't want me to meet your family yet?" he asks.
"I have a very close relationship to my grandma and I know she is not going to torture you with questions or trying to spook you away." She says.
Mac smiles. "I'm not that easy to spook away. You are not going to get rid of me that easy." Mac says and kisses her forehead. Christine smiles.
"good but my the rest of my family is never nice to my boyfriend. I'm just warning you. My 15-year-old nephew Nate is really tough with my boyfriend."
Mac smiles. "okay."
Sofia comes in with one more plaid and start to setting the table. Christine and Mac breaks apart.
"let me help you with that." Mac says and starts helping with setting the table.
"I go finish the dinner." Christine informs and disappear to the kitchen.
"it's been a long time since I have seen my granddaughter that happy." Sofia sais when they are setting the table without looking at Mac. Mac can't help but smile.
"I hope you know how much she has changed doing the past 4 months." Sofia sais and takes Mac's hand and looks at him.
"I'm not trying to changes her." Mac says.
Sofia smiles.
"I know. I meant that she has become so much happier doing the past 4 months. Since she starting being friend with you. I can see it on her even she didn't tell me about you. Take good care of her." She says.
"I will." Mac says.
Then Christine comes in with the salad.
"what are you guys talking about?" she asks.
"you, sweetie." Sofia says.
Christine comes over and places the salad on the table. Mac puts his arms around her.
"should I be worried about that?" she asks with a smile.
"of cause you should." Sofia says with a smile. Then she disappears out to the kitchen and get the rest of the dinner. Christine gives Mac a kiss.
"I go help her." She says and kiss him quickly and then disappears out to the kitchen.
Mac is standing alone in the Livingroom and thinking about what Sofia said to him. Christine isn't the only one how has been happier doing the past 4 months. He has actually to. He has been smiling more. he doesn't get that pissed or irritated on ignoring suspects. He hasn't even been irritated by Adam doing the past 4 months. He released that now. She has definitely changes him too without even trying. It had just happened over the time they had spent together.
Without even thinking about it he had walked over to her work desk and is looking at a picture of himself, Christine and her brother Stan from when they were younger. He thinks about how happy they looked back then. Suddenly he feels hands sliding up on his chest from behind. That is Christine how is standing behind him. She learns her head against his back.
"what are you doing?" she asked.
He placed the picture back on the desk and turned around to face her. He put his arms around her.
"I was just thinking about something." He said with a little smile. Sofia comes in with the wine.
"do you drink wine, Mac?" she asks.
"yes, I do." Mac says. They walk over to the table where Sofia is pours wine up. They sit down and start dinner.
Doing dinner, they small talk a little bit mostly about Macs job. After dinner they all help each other cleaning up. After they place them self in the living room. Mac and Christine is sitting in the couch together. Mac put his arm around her when she snuggles in to him.
"so Mac when did you resign from the corps?" Sofia asks.
"after my second tour to Kuwait. Mac says.
"wasn't that the time that Stan resign too, Christine?" Sofia asks.
Christine noodles.
"Stan and I was in the same unit in Kuwait. He was my first lieutenant." Mac explains.
"okay. I thought you only knew Stan from the NYPD." Sofia says.
"no we actually meet when we both jointed the marine corps. We did our service together and then we jointed the NYPD together too." He explains.
"okay. So you where Stan's unit captain?" she asks.
Mac nods.
"but you don't call him lieutenant Whitney or something like that." She asks.
"no because of Christine."
Christine look wondering at him.
"what has that to do with me?" she asks in a slightly defensive tone.
"you want to remember him as your brother and not as a police officer or marine. If I called him lieutenant Whitney or officer Whitney all the time it would constantly remind you of him in a way you don't want to remember him. So to respect you wish of how you want to remember your brother I only refer to him as Stan when Christine is around."
Sofia nods understanding. Christine is surprised. She doesn't know what to say. Later Mac leaves the living room to make coffee.
"Christine, he is a great guy. Hold on to him. He is the best that is happened to you in your life." Sofia says and takes Christine's hand. Christine looks down and nods.
Later when Sofia has left the apartment and Mac and Christine is getting ready to go to sleep. Mac comes out from the bathroom. Christine is sitting on the bed with her back to Mac. Mac lays down on the bed and moves over behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.
"are you going to bed with me?" he asks.
She is in her own thoughts right now. He sits up and kisses softly her neck. She gets out her thoughts and look back at him and smiles.
"did you say something?" she asks.
She lays down and snuggle close to him.
"you have been very quiet to night. Everything is okay." He asks.
She snuggles in to him under his cover and places her head on his chest.
"how do you remember Stan if you didn't took notice of me?" she asks.
"as my friend, my partner, my first lieutenant and as a great honorable marine." He give her a light kiss on her head.
"how would you refer to him, if it wasn't because of me?"
"why do you ask?" he asks wondering.
"I want to know how you would remember my brother if you weren't my boyfriend."
Mac starting to sound a little defensive
"I don't remember him any differently because of you. Why do you think that?"
Christine sit up and look at him.
"you said that you are not using his professional title when I'm around."
Mac looks wondering on her.
"that doesn't mean that I don't remember him as the greatest marine I ever meet. That just mean that I respect that you as his closest family want to remember him as your brother and not as a marine." He explains.
"is it considered disrespectful not to use his title?" she asks.
Mac sit up and take her hand.
"no. no. not at all. I'm sure that Stan want you to remember ham as your brother. That brother you grow up with and had a lot of fun with. I remember him as my friend and my partner and the guy how introduced me to a very special woman." Mac says with a smile. That last comment makes a little smile on Christine's lips. She looks at him and smiles. She leans over and gives him a kiss.
"you know you don't have to take care of me. I can handle my brother's death." She says.
"I know. But just because I don't have to take care of you you don't mean that I don't want to take care of you." He says with a soft smile.
She smiles and kiss him. Then they lay down again and she snuggle in to him.
"do you want to take care of me?" she asks after he has turned off the light.
"yes of course. good night Christine." He says and gives her a light kiss on her forehead.