Thank you all for your sweet reviews! This chapter is for lily_moonlight because she was so sweet and encouraging in her review! It made me want to finish this. I was considering leaving it.

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Mac hadn't gone far before his anger dissipated. Pausing for a moment he turned again and headed back to where he had left Stella. His heart sank when he saw that she was already gone. He did not realize that she was not far; though he could not see her she could see him. She had stopped several meters away and sat, with her back to a tree. A bush partially obstructed her view of Mac but kept her hidden from his searching gaze. Mac stood for some time, obviously deep in thought, eventually walking away again but this time much of the tension was gone from his posture.

Stella was still trying to process his reaction. She certainly had not meant to hurt him. Far from it. She always knew when Mac had come here, The lines around his mouth and eyes became more pronounced but more than that his eyes held a hint of the sadness that had only recently disappeared. Each time it killed a small part of her to see him in mourning again. Something inside her hoped that Claire was watching Mac. For Claire's sake she wanted him to start linking happy times to this place. She hopped that whatever had just happened her friendship with Mac was not irreversibly damaged.

Some time after Mac left, Stella pushed herself off the ground and began walking back to the lab for she knew that's where Mac had gone. Even though the day had not gone the way she had planned she hoped to at least make good on her promise to help him with his paperwork. And of course, she wanted to make sure he was ok. Knowing if they were ok however, would take some time.

Arriving at the 35th floor she paused for a moment, watching the dark headed man at the desk. His face showed traces of the internal battle of earlier though it was clear he was focused on the work at hand. She knocked somewhat timidly, walking in when he looked up. "Mac, I –" She paused, unsure of what to say.

"Stella, you don't need to be here. It's your day off." His voice was gentle but his words hurt nonetheless. Was he intentionally dismissing her?

Still unsure of what to say, Stella walked to his desk, holding back tears. She picked up a stack of paperwork. Not meeting his eyes she spoke quietly "I said I'd help you with your paperwork. I'll be in my office."

The monotony of paperwork was a relief. Several hours after she had begun, the last of not only his but her paperwork was complete. She filed the sheaves appropriately, stacking the forms that Mac would need to check before they were complete. Standing, she realized that she was sore and she knew it was not just because she had been bent over a desk for some time. She picked up the stack meant for Mac and found herself standing outside his door moments later. He was still there, but not at his desk. His back was to her as he watched the skyline of the city she knew he loved. He did not turn around when she walked in.

"These just need to be initialed by you." She said softly, setting the files on the desk. He did not respond verbally, just nodded. The silence caused her heart to feel as if it could not beat. "Mac?" She said quietly, almost desperately, causing him to finally turn. Though his face was unreadable, his eyes still held the look of earlier. Had going to the site really affected him that much?

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to hurt you."

Still nothing.

"I'm headed out. I'll see you tomorrow."

She was at the door when the sound of her name caused her to turn. Never had she heard his voice so soft. There was something in it that she could not identify, even after fifteen years of working with him. "It's ok. I know you do things only because you care. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should not have reacted the way that I did. Going there was unexpected and I just reacted. I'm sorry that I hurt you. You mean too much to me. Hurting you is the last thing I ever want to do."

"Mac…" Quickly she crossed the room to stand in front of him, placing her hand on his cheek when she reached him. "Mac, it's ok. I forgive you." She kissed the cheek not possessed by her hand. "Are we good?"

A small, sad smile. "We're good. I've got a few things to work out. So if something like this happens again, please know it's not personal."

"Never." Another kiss. "Have a good night."

"'Night Stell."

Mac watched her as she left. Truth was the things he had to work out were mostly worked out. He just had to figure out what to do with his conclusions: He loved Stella Bonasara. Since leaving Ground Zero much of his time had been spent working out his feelings. It had been more than eight years since he had lost his wife. Of that eight years he had only truly gotten as much over her loss as anyone could in the last five years. And sometime in those five years he had begun to love again. He had known for a while that he loved her, but until today had refused to completely admit it. The events of the afternoon had worked as a catalyst, forcing him to think through things too painful to evaluate. He knew however that Claire would not mind. She and Stella had been close friends, sharing many things. In fact, it was not until Claire had died that Stella and Mac had become close despite the fact that they had been partners for several years. The nature and events of their lives, as well as Time had only served to bring them closer. Today, standing at the site where his wife had never been found caused him to realize that he had to tell Stella how he felt. He had been right when describing the nature of their job, it was so unpredictable when it came to their lives. If something permanent were to happen to either one of them he would regret forever not telling her how he felt, not matter which side of the grave he'd be on. He just had to figure out how.

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