With Each Passing Day

By Dimgwrthien

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY or affiliates.

Claire dusted her hands on her pants as she finished putting up the miniature Christmas tree on the coffee table. She never smiled when she finished decorating, Mac noticed, but only sat down and surveyed her work as though it needed to be done.

Sure enough, Claire sighed as she tossed herself onto the couch beside Mac. She took the mug of coffee out of his hand and drank some before handing it back.

Mac looked at the lipstick stain on the mug. "Thanks."

Claire looked at him as though only noticing he was there. "Sorry, Mac. Wasn't paying attention." She looked down and straightened her blouse, buttoning the top button that she had left undone. "That's a record. Finished two days before Christmas. Last day of work before the holidays. You aren't going to have to work tomorrow, are you?"

It sounded almost like an accusation. "I shouldn't," Mac answered. "Always a chance of being called in after Christmas, but I should be free."

"Good." Claire pulled a few loose strands of her hair back. "My sister's coming."

"Good."

"You should bring someone for once."

Mac tried to distract himself by undoing his tie and fixing it, even though it had already been straight to begin with. He ignored Claire's stare. "Who?" he sighed.

"I dunno." Claire grabbed her shoes from beside the couch and put them on. As she tied each, she leaned her foot forward and back, as though to test the heel. It was something Mac always noticed her doing in the morning, though he still hadn't asked why. "I know you have more friends than me, darling."

Mac shrugged. "I never bring anyone to Christmas. That's just what I do."

"Alright, alright. No need to get offensive." Claire looked at him sideways. "You're just acting depressed since we went back to Chicago. Anything bothering you?"

Mac clenched his jaw. "No."

She didn't answer for a long time. She looked at her watch. "Alright, Mac. You tell yourself whatever you want. Time to go." She leaned over and kissed his forehead.

"Aren't I driving you?"

Claire frowned. "See? You are acting funny. I just kissed you and -"

"Let's just go," Mac sighed.

Claire watched him from the corner of her eye as they walked into the hallway to the elevator. "I had told you that you'd regret not talking to him now. Mac, just know that you tried to do something, alright? He still loves you, and I think Frank's glad you were there for him." Her voice lowered as she slipped an arm around Mac. "You've known this was going to happen for a long time, Mac. I know that doesn't make it any easier, but you…"

Mac said nothing as her sudden cut-off.

"When I talked to him after you, he said he was glad you finally started talking to him again. It's been a long time for both of you. You haven't spoken since our wedding, have you?"

"Once." Mac pressed the button for the first floor and listened to the steady clank of the elevator. "He called me when they found the cancer, you know." Claire didn't say anything. "Wasn't a long call, but we spoke for a few minutes."

"It means a lot to him," Claire whispered. She stood close to Mac, her arm wound tightly around his. She opened her mouth to say something, but the elevator doors opened and a woman entered. Claire remained silent.

Neither spoke until Mac opened the door to the car to let Claire in. She smiled at him. "I know."

"Hmm?" Mac walked around the front of the car and opened his own door. He watched Claire almost bounce with excitement through the windshield.

"Stella."

"Hmm?" Mac climbed into the car, keeping his face blank as he put the key in the ignition.

"You couldn't think of anyone to bring to Christmas. You can bring Stella. I know you're friends with her. It's nice to do."

"You're fine with that?" Mac asked, not looking at her.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Claire smiled. "I know I was a bit - well, I was mean at first about it, I know. But I met her, and I like her. Why not bring her? Unless you know she's already spending Christmas with her family or something."

"She isn't." Mac remembered looking through the files of his coworkers when he first started working in the lab. The district attorney had told him to, telling him to make sure it was a workable team for him. Mac had practically memorized some of the files, and remembered seeing Stella's emergency contact and person to notify belonged to a man with another last name who Mac couldn't trace back as family. When he looked more, he saw the orphaned status in her records, as well as a record from Saint Basil's Orphanage.

Claire nodded and didn't ask anything about how he knew. "You gonna invite her, then?"

"If she's not busy, I suppose."

"Good boy." Claire grinned and pecked him on the cheek as she fastened her seatbelt. "And Charlotte'll be here tomorrow with the kids."

Mac winced. "Please tell me James is coming, at least."

"You lucky little man." Claire smirked. "It's your lucky year."

"Finally," Mac sighed. "I was starting to think he died or they were divorced or something."

(With Each Passing Day)

Mac shut his car door and surveyed the parking lot. There were never many cars this early in the morning, and Christmas seemed to have cut it down even more. He put his keys in his pocket as he headed for the door.

"Mac!"

He turned and saw Stella walking behind him, her high heels pounding against the cold cement. Mac waited for her, then smiled when she neared.

Claire wanted me to ask you - I wanted to ask you - Are you busy this - Mac ran as many phrases as he could through his mind, trying to pick the right one. He couldn't remember having this much trouble asking a question since he proposed to Claire, a comparison he didn't want to make.

"Hey, Stella."

"Hey. Merry Christmas." Stella pulled at her hair and tied it back into a loose bun. Her cheeks and nose were already turning red from the cold. Mac imagined what he looked like if her tanned skin was already flushing. "Hanukah, Kwanzaa, whatever," she added. "I gave up on keeping track of people and their religions a long time ago."

"Christmas." Mac smiled. "Catholic, so just Christmas works."

"Greek Orthodox," Stella said as though in greeting, then stuck out her hand. Mac shook it. "Nice to meet you, Christmas Catholic."

Mac grinned. "You have any plans for Christmas?"

Stella shook her head. "Just hanging out with the cats, that kinda thing." At Mac's raised eyebrows, she grinned. "I don't have cats. Don't worry. I'm not doing anything. What're you doing?"

"Claire's sister's coming in with her kids."

His mood must have shown in his face because Stella laughed. "Don't like kids, do you?"

"I like kids." Mac tried to keep all defensiveness out of his tone. "I just don't like her sister."

"Don't have siblings, either, I assume."

Mac smiled. "Not quite."

"I always wished I had a sister." Stella looked off behind the building and smiled. "I bet I never would have seen her, but I still wish." She looked back at Mac, raising an eyebrow. "So, why're we talking about Christmas?"

"Care to come spend Christmas with us?"

"I get it." Stella grinned as she tucked a falling curl behind her ear. "You hate your wife's sister, so you're bringing me to annoy her."

"No!" Mac felt his cheeks redden and hoped that Stella would blame it on the cold. "But… if you're not doing anything… it's always nice to have a guest along, right?"

"I get it." Her grin came back. "Alright. When should I be there?"

(With Each Passing Day)

Mac sat on the couch that faced the front door and waited. Charlotte and James were just minutes from coming, and he had gotten used to how impeccably on time they always were, and it always made him sick.

Claire leaned onto the couch from behind and kissed the top of Mac's head. She let her chin sit there for a minute as she spoke, and Mac felt the gentle vibrations of her voice through his head. "Thanks for putting up with them."

"I applaud you for living with Charlotte for eighteen years," Mac muttered.

"Eighteen years doesn't seem that long, sometimes. I mean, I've put up with you for…" Claire pretended to count on her fingers. "Has it been eleven years already?"

Mac looked up at her. "Amazingly enough, yes."

Claire smiled and kissed him again. Mac stared her in the eye as Claire stared him right back. It went on for a minute or two, until Mac grinned and kissed her chin. Claire giggled, then leaned in, but looked up when they heard the buzzer at the door. Mac closed his eyes as Claire walked to the door.

"Hello?"

"Claire!" came the excited voice. Mac groaned from the couch. Claire threw him a look.

"I'll buzz you in." Claire hit the button, waiting before letting it go. She turned to Mac. "Be - nice," she whispered.

"I'll practice in the two minutes I have." Mac looked at his watch. "Who knows, though. They could be late by ten seconds for once."

Claire stared at him, her arms crossed. "Please, Mac, just be nice. You've always done it before. And this time you have James, and I know you like him."

"I prefer Greg. How old is he now?"

"He'd be…" Claire closed her eyes. "I think he's eleven. Anna's about eight."

Mac nodded. "Kids are innocent, you see. Your sister… isn't."

Claire shot him a dirty look as she heard a knock on the door behind her. Mac stood up as he whispered, "She isn't cute, either."

"Shut up!" Claire hissed. She turned and opened the door. "Charlotte!"

Charlotte bared no resemblance to her sister. Her hair, short and almost spiky by nature, was a dark brown color, as were her eyes. She seemed to only wear a color that matched the season. Now she wore a green sweater with red pants. Next to Claire, Charlotte looked like a giant - she was close to Mac's height, and though she was as thin as Claire, her sweater seemed to add some bulk to her.

James looked more like Claire's relative than Charlotte. His hair was a dark blonde, and he had the same green-blue and brown flecked eyes that Claire had. James' eye color never seemed to change with what he wore, but with what his wife wore. Mac always enjoyed Jim, if only because the man had enough balance to him that he didn't seem at all like Charlotte.

Their kids looked as though they could be twins if there wasn't an age difference. Both had their father's light eyes and mother's dark hair, as well as their matching smiles. They never showed their teeth, but remained polite and civil, something Mac imagined came more from their father.

Charlotte hugged Claire for a long time, talking as they grabbed each other. "Claire! It's been ages! When was the last time we saw each other? You get my birthday present? I can't believe how old you are!"

Claire smiled awkwardly over Charlotte's shoulder. "Erm. Neither can I."

Mac counted in his head their age difference. It had to be about three years and certainly no more. He smiled at Claire, then looked at James.

"Hey, Mac." James stuck out his hand, and Mac took it. "Charlotte told me you're head of the crime lab. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Mac looked down to see Greg and Anna smiling up at him. He ruffled Greg's hair and picked up Anna. "Hey there!"

"Uncle Mac!" Anna cheered as she threw her arms around his neck. "I missed you! Why'd you move out here? It's too far!"

Mac kissed her cheek. He noticed Claire's warning look to him as she hugged James. "Your Aunt Claire and I were offered nice jobs here, so we moved," he answered, giving Claire a look that said, 'What?'

"Glad to see you, Mac!"

He looked up in time to see Charlotte grab him for a hug. Mac tried to dodge her, knowing that he'd never get away from her. Claire shot him another warning look, so Mac put Anna down and returned Charlotte's hug.

"I can't believe how long it's been!" Charlotte's hug tightened.

"Neither can I."

"Last Christmas. Already seems a lifetime away, doesn't it? Well, you know how much I like seeing my sister and her husband." She grabbed at Mac's cheek, but he turned his head to get away from her. He glanced sideways at Claire, who smirked. "And you've always been such a sweet cutie. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't find you first!"

Claire's smirk turned into a grin. "Alright, let me get some drinks for you guys." She bent to be closer to Greg and Anna's level. "You guys still like hot chocolate, right?"

(With Each Passing Day)

"It's days like this I wish I had been shot on the job," Mac sighed as he climbed into bed. "Claire, thank you so much for picking out this apartment."

Claire huddled under the sheets, keeping them as close to her chin as she could. She looked partly offended and partly amused. "Not my fault we actually get to keep our room for once."

Mac sighed as he joined Claire in pulling up the covers. "I swear, Charlotte snores more than James."

"And how would you know that?" Claire leaned against Mac. "Don't tell me you've fallen for my sister."

"Never. It's just hard to ignore when you're in the same building."

"Well, just ignore them tonight." Claire wrapped her arms around Mac and stroked his shoulder. "Merry Christmas, darling."

Mac groaned. "Please don't say that. Anna's going to barge in any minute now, expecting her present."

"You know you still love her." Claire giggled quietly. "You love hearing her call you Uncle Mac."

Mac smiled, but didn't respond. There was always a danger that came with talking about children to Claire. She never said it out loud to him, but there was always the underlying tone - why not us? Mac closed his eyes and tried to remind himself of all of their reasons. We live in a city. My job's too dangerous. What if something happened to one of us? Neither of us are ever home. Wouldn't you feel guilty about Reed?

Claire continued to stroke his shoulder. "C'mon. You know you love Christmas. And tomorrow you actually get a guest. That'll be an interesting change. You did say Stella could come, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good." She smiled and pressed a kiss against his lips, which he returned.

"Don't start anything," Mac joked. "Now there're kids around. Remember - that's the one downside."

"That it is, Mac. That it is."