Lookit! An update in quick succession! I am absolutely floored that this is chapter 30. Floored. My longest fic before was 14 chapters, and my last baby was 9 'Nothing Ventured' - I recognise some of you from there, so thank you again :D. But this one, wow. My new and favourite baby. I cannot possibly thank you all enough. Seriously. Thank you.
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If there was one thing that you should probably, but never quite can, get used to in Stella's job, it was weeks from hell. Sometimes it might not be a week, it might just be a few days. Of course, sometimes it could a month or more. This time, it narrowed itself to seven days, thankfully.
But still, it was a week where Stella didn't sleep, had to remind herself to eat and barely saw Mac expect passing in the hall or a late-night-early-morning pep-talk where "if anyone can do this, you can."
That week was over. She'd solved the case where the suspect refused to talk without throwing the table on its end; where the Feds took an interest and nearly ruined the whole investigation; and where the victim, just six years of age, was too paralysed in fear to be able to give anything tangible to get the rat-bastard and throw away the key. But, as Mac had said, if anyone could solve that kind of case, Stella could. Even if it meant at least 36 hours without sleep or food.
She knew one day it was going to kill her. Immersing herself so deeply into a case, into a search for justice for an irreparably damaged child, couldn't be healthy.
Stella wearily managed to put one foot in front of the other as she made her way to the door. She twisted the key into the lock and called for Mac, getting no reply. It was nice to be able to come home to someone, a person who knew exactly what you'd been through and how much it mattered to you. It had only been two months of 'cohabitation', but each day was still bringing a new, nice, surprise.
If one had an earlier morning than the other, a full coffee pot awaited them, maybe with the morning paper on the table if they had time. Sometimes Mac would leave the paper open to an article he thought Stella might be interested in, and more-times-than-not, he was right. A number of times they'd left a note to each other on the bathroom mirror while one of them was in the shower: "Danny called, meet him at 1110 Bway at 9 x", "DVD and take out tonight?", "Lunch Massimo's - 1.30 x "
Right now, all Stella wanted was a bed. Nice crisp sheets, alarm clock switched off for the duration of her day off the next day and hopefully a warm body to cuddle up to. The latter seemed a bit of wishful thinking for the moment, with the preferred 'warm body' not home.
She dumped her bags near the door and put her jacket on the hook, peeled the shoes from her feet and padded to the fridge. There wasn't much to enjoy, with grocery shopping going to the backburner for the week, but she grabbed a bottle of water and broke off a piece of cheese. It probably wasn't the best idea - cheese before bed - but it was something to liven her mouth up which was all she wanted.
She lugged her tiresome body to the bathroom, grimaced at her pale and bagged reflection and finally set sight on that lovely bed.
Only, something was obstructing the lovely bed. She took a step closer, the object properly coming into view behind sliced eyes. It was a dress. A beautiful dress. Chocolate brown in colour, empire waist in shape and with a note safety-pinned to the front.
'You deserve to be wined and dined after a week like that. Meet me at Massimo's 8pm. Love, Mac x'
She couldn't help the groan that escaped. As unbelievably romantic as the whole thing was, it was going to seriously impeach on her time in the lovely bed before her. She checked her watch: 7pm, plenty of time to have a longer-than-usual shower and wash the stench of death and rat-bastards from her hair and skin. And, after all, she had the perfect shoes and bag to go with that dress.
Xx
The cab pulled to a stop outside the blacked out frontage of Massimo's infamous gem. Stella paid the ogle-some driver and looked in confusion at the seemingly empty restaurant. It was tonight, right? She checked the note again, having put it into her bag for safe-keeping. 'Massimo's 8pm', and there she was, outside Massimo's at 8pm…alone?
She checked the street, seeing no Mac and not really anyone at all. It was all too weird. The door gave no budge to a firm pull, and it didn't look like any lights were on inside when she pushed her face and cupped hand to the window.
Her hand was circled around her cell phone when a light seemed to 'swing' into view down the alley next door. She knew the backdoor to the building was around the corner so went to investigate. Sure enough, the backdoor was open, a bright warm light emitting from within.
She checked around her, just because she was a cop and should be sure, and went for the door.
"Hello? Mac? Massimo?" she called, stepping foot into the lit kitchen. Lit deserted kitchen. It really was getting too weird. "Mac? What's going on?" She walked to the port-holed double doors that led to the main room.
As she swung them open, the restaurant erupted into life. The lights came on in their usual dull-yet-romantic night shade, the stereo-system blurted out Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight', forever immortalised as being the song they danced to when they bailed on the 'mandatory' attendance ball. It was all falling into place, letting Stella relax and enjoy the wining and dining she was about to receive.
"I knew that dress would look perfect on you," Mac announced from behind the bar. He'd stationed himself there when he'd seen her press her face to the window. He saw her, but she didn't see him. He had ran through from the back door to that spot, able to control the lights and music from switches under the counter.
Stella turned to his voice, her eyes finally setting sight onto the flowers that lined the bar. Easily half-a-dozen bouquets of roses and tulips, repeated respectively, stood across the curved counter, their aromas finding their way to her senses. Tea-light candles were in between each vase.
"Well, you have good taste," she said, remembering that Mac had actually said something. "Are these all for me?"
"Later," Mac smiled and gestured to a table set up in the middle of the floor. She took a seat as he brought over two Sapphire Martini's, her favourite cocktail.
He set them down as he tipped her chin up and kissed her. "Hi."
"Hi."
"You okay?"
"I'm good," she smiled, watching as he took his seat. The bags under her eyes didn't go unnoticed, no matter how much she tried to conceal them. "So what's all this in aid of?"
He dug into the inside pocket of his blazer jacket, "I have something to ask you…"