Gosh the update took longer than expected... hope that's okay for you all!

Thank you for all of your kind reviews and the support for this story! With the new CSI NY season now airing I think this story will need some major support. Although I am not watching the show, but I miss seeing them together.

Well, I just hope you guys won't stop reading as I write this only for you! Never forget that, okay? So you want me to keep the story up, leave a review and support me. I really need that.

So, now I can let you get to read the next chapter. Sorry, I know it's long, but I just can't write both POV's in less than that. ;-)

Chapter 2: Details, Gossip Fodder and Preparations

~ S ~ B ~

Exactly at 8 am the next morning Mac, Sinclair, Lieutenant Steve de LaRossa and I were sitting at the table in the conference room. This morning it had started to rain and it hasn't stopped yet. Happily I noticed that it was only a drizzle. Still the grey and cloudy sky made the city seem dull. Lieutenant de LaRossa was wearing a navy blue sweater and black jeans. His short blond hair was slightly mussed, which gave him quite a sexy look. Stella! My brain scolded. Right, I was here to work and not to dream about a man I barely know.

"So…" Sinclair started and pulled me back to reality "Are you going to help Chicago PD and lieutenant de LaRossa to catch a killer?"

"Yes we do." Mac answered and I nodded in agreement. Lieutenant de LaRossa smiled happily and it seemed like Sinclair was hiding a satisfied smile, too.

"I'm glad you're going to help us. I think it's time to give you some details about the case." De LaRossa said.

"If you have that much time left it would be great." I said and he smiled at me.

"I do. I'm leaving at noon, so enough time left to tell you something more about the case. Well, so far all he left behind is a picture of a woman with golden curls and green eyes. It's always named "Aphrodite". But we have no DNA, no shoeprints, no fingerprints… nothing. All we have are the bullets that killed the vics. But they're not in the system. He used a Glock 17; 9mm and a silencer. So far he killed three couples."

"No DNA, no prints… what's that, the perfect murder?" I asked surprised. It's rare that a killer leaves nothing behind but the bullets.

"Yeah… no clue who it is… You'll live in a small house near Centennial Park in Park Ridge. That's where the victims lived. One of my detectives lives nearby just in case that you two need help with anything or get into trouble. We haven't thought about specific jobs you could do, because there wasn't a specific job… But I heard that Detective Taylor plays bass so… maybe we can get him a job at the local music school and he'll be working as a teacher, them. If you like, Detective."

"Yeah, that would be possible. I think we need something that makes our life there authentic to people around us." Mac said.

"Very good." De LaRossa said, obviously put at ease.

"Any ideas what the lovely wife will be doing?" I asked curiously.

"Well, 2 of 3 victims had no job, but were looking for one. Actually I would like it best if you would join the club of "looking-for-a-job-kind-of-wife" because then you can concentrate on getting to know your neighbors, which will be very important, because we think the killer may live there."

"Okay. That's a good idea, I think." I agreed.

"Um… I know it seems that we're in kinda hurry… but I would appreciate it if you two could come to Chicago on Friday." Steve de LaRossa said a bit uncertain.

"I think that's possible." I said.

"We always need to act as soon as possible right?" Mac agreed.

"Well, that's all for now. You'll get a copy of the case file when you're in Chicago. You'll have enough time to study it I think." De LaRossa said and then got up. "I'm sorry, but I gotta get some things done before I leave, so I gotta leave now."

Mac, Sinclair and I got up, too and followed de LaRossa out of the room and to the elevator. Then he said goodbye and was gone. Sinclair wanted to take the next elevator.

"I'm glad you're doing the right thing, Detectives." Sinclair said. "Get your team together and get things organized and when that is done I want you two gone and only call me on Friday before you get on the plane. You'll have a lot to take care of and I want you to do it properly."

"Thanks Chief." Mac said firmly.

"And Taylor… if that lasts longer than just a few weeks, which I assume it will, I want to see you back in this lab once a month."

"Alright."

"Now get started. Good luck in Chicago. I know you'll get this guy." Sinclair said and then turned around and stepped into the elevator that had just reappeared.

xXxXxXxXx

Half an hour later we were all in the conference room. Danny, Lindsay, Sheldon, Adam and Flack were sitting around the big table, even Sid was there. Mac and I were standing at the front of the table, the screens on the wall behind us. Before he started into his little "speech" we locked eyes for a moment, reassuring that we could start.

"Well, you all want to know what this is all about and you all have work to do, so I'm making this short." Mac started and then looked into the group of people gathered in front of us, before looking at me again. I nodded lightly.

"Stella and I are going to Chicago on Friday. We both agree to join an undercover project to help them to catch a serial killer. That means from now on for an indefinite time you're going to be on your own." He continued. Surprised eyes were looking at us, hiding thousands of questions.

"Both of you are going?" Don asked curiously.

"Yes. When we're in Chicago we're going to be… family Taylor."

I was a bit surprised that Mac told them that much about our new job, because actually he must have been well aware that this was gossip fodder from first hands. And I was right. Danny and Lindsay exchanged quick glances and tried to hide a smile.

"Okay… so? Instructions?" Sheldon said.

"Right, I decided to put Danny in charge for the time we're not around. I think with Lindsay at his side it's sure that everything will work just fine. I guess this is going to last longer than just a few weeks, so I'll be coming to New York once a month, as Sinclair wants me to check on you and keep him up to date." Mac explained.

After a few exchanged glances they all agree to Mac's decision and wished us luck before they went back to their work, only Don stayed behind.

"So… newlyweds, huh?" he asked with an amused smile.

"Yeah… I know this is now gossip number one. Please, just make sure to keep it a bit at bay, okay?" I said.

"Will do. Will you guys send me a post card from Chicago?" he smirked.

"Sure, why not." Mac shrugged.

"Okay, I'm sure you have a lot to take care of, Sinclair sent you home?"

"Yes he did. He looked like he wanted to say "and don't you dare disappointing me, Taylor." It seemed to be very important to him, that we were going."

"Who knows? Politics, right? Well, I gotta let you go now. You're keeping me up to date, will you?"

"We will, Don. I promise." I promise him as I hugged him goodbye. Mac gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before Don left the room, wishing us luck, too. Then Mac and I were alone again.

~ M ~ T ~

Stella and were standing in conference room just looking at each other. Yes, we had a lot of things to take care of before we could leave for Chicago, but now that I wanted to get started and remind her of the fact that we needed to do some ring shopping to be a believable married couple my heart was racing. I didn't really know why I was so nervous now. I looked down at my feet, before I finally found the courage to break the silence.

"So… wanna do some ring shopping?" I asked her, a bit too shy in my opinion. She looked at me a smile appearing on her face.

"Sounds good. You know a good place to do that? And I mean one that's not too expensive." She asked.

"Surprisingly I do. Thought you would know a place like that." I teased.

"Well, I don't think Tiffany's the right place for that… think we couldn't afford it."

"Right, you mean I couldn't afford it." I said and stressed the I. She looked at me with a surprised expression.

"You wanna buy them?" she asked me in disbelief.

"Yeah." I stated firmly.

"Gentleman all the way." She smiled.

"Guilty."

"Come on, let's go."

xXxXxXxXx

I could tell that Stella was quite surprised as I guided her into the small jeweler shop in midtown. Sure no one really expected me to know such a place, but I did. Actually I only knew them because of Claire. The owners had been her friends and they actually were the only ones that I had kept in contact with after she died. I knew that we would find something to our liking for our latest case. As I opened the door and let Stella walk into the small shop we were greeted by Mandy, the shop owner's daughter. She was now 8 years old and had long black hair and bright blue eyes. The little girl smiled after she recognized me.

"Uncle Mac!" she exclaimed and came to hug me. I knew the little girl from the day she was born and every once in a while I would just drop by when her parents invited me for dinner or something. Since the day she could talk she used to call me 'Uncle Mac' which I didn't mind. I replied her hug and smiled at her.

"Hi Mandy. Will you say hi to my friend, too?" I asked her and the girl turned to Stella who had been watching us with a soft smile.

"Hi. I'm Mandy."

"Nice to meet you, Mandy. I'm Stella." Stella said and then smiled.

"I'll go and get mommy." Mandy said and then she ran into the room behind the counter.

"Friends, huh?" Stella asked.

"Yep. The only ones left after Claire died. They were friends of both of us." I explained as Mandy's mother came out of the room. She smiled happily when she saw me and offered her hand which I shook.

"Hi Mac. Good to see you. Who's your nice company?" she asked and looked at Stella, offering her hand to Stella, too.

"Melissa, this is Stella Bonasera." I introduced Stella to Melissa.

"Nice to meet you." Stella said, shaking Melissa's hand.

"So… you're finally getting married again, Mac?" Melissa asked with a big smile.

"Uh… kind of."

"Kind of?"

"We're getting married for a case."

"Ah… fictitious marriage and you need a lovely wedding band. I'll get the showcase." Melissa said and went to her counter, which was made of glass and opened the big showcase to get a smaller one with different types of wedding bands in it.

"You have something special in mind, Stella?" I asked her and she turned to me with a surprised smile.

"Haven't thought about wedding bands, yet. Must be affordable, even if you said you're buying. I'm not one of those expensive women, you know." She said and then smiled.

"I know." I said and turned back to Melissa who had listened to our conversation.

"I'll make a deal with you. Since you need it for work and you're a good friend, you'll only have to pay half of the price." She said.

"Melissa… I can't…" I wanted to protest but she gave me a warning look and I stopped.

"Thank you." Stella said.

The next ten minutes we were looking at the different wedding bands. They had really nice ones. Like only gold for both and then simple gold and the ring for the bride had a little diamond or only silver ones, white gold ones and silver and gold together. With diamonds, without diamonds, some had engravings.

"How about that one, the golden one with the engraving?" Stella asked pointing at one of the rings.

Melissa got that one out of the showcase and handed it to Stella. It had the words "forever in love" engraved. The female version had a small diamond as the dot on the I. I had to admit they were truly beautiful. Somehow throughout the search for a wedding band I felt like I'm going to marry again. I remember that Claire and I had been looking for a wedding band, too before we decided to use the classic golden wedding band.

"I like them. If you want, we take them." I agreed and Stella nodded with a shy smile.

Melissa gave us a satisfied smile as she asked about our size and then went into the room behind the counter to get the rings. She came back with a small black velvet box in which she had rested the rings on a red velvet pillow. True to her words I just needed to pay half the price, although those rings weren't expensive. With a satisfied smile we both left the shop, leaving Melissa and her thoughts alone. I knew that smile she gave us before we left. She was hoping that some day soon I really was going to marry Stella.

Alright... thanks for reading! Please don't forget to leave a review for me, okay? Let me know what you think!

A/N: and for those who used to read "Don't You Dare"... I recently updated it so don't forget to read that one, too! :)