"What the hell?!" Will shouted. And that was when they heard the clatter of bare feet stumbling down the stairs and heading for them. Will shoved Mackenzie behind him, and Lonny shoved Will behind him, as they all prepared to do battle with an intruder. But they were met with the startled face of Will's sister, Anna.

"Billy?! What the fuck are you doing here?" a very sleepy and disheveled Anna asked.

"I came to see Mark and Pam. What are you doing in Mary's house?" Will replied.

"It's my house too! We grew up here. I can stay here if I want to," Anna huffed out.

"It isn't your house Anna. Mary and Thomas bought the house from all of us when Mom died. They own it now," Will reminded his sister. Anna, seemingly, had never grown up. She was always the sibling that needed money or help or guidance from her older siblings. She always managed to find a way to blame everyone but herself for the mess her life had become, as she floated from one job to the next, or one relationship to the next.

"Well, nobody is living here right now, what the hell difference does it make Billy?"

"Mac and I had planned on staying here while we visit Mark and Pam. I guess we'll just all have to stay out of each other's way." And with that, Mackenzie eased her way out from behind Will and watched as Anna cast a glare her way.

"Hello Anna," Mackenzie greeted.

"What is she doing here?" Anna demanded. "And who the hell is that?" she asked, pointing toward Lonny.

"This is Lonny Church, my bodyguard. And Mackenzie is here because I want her to be here. You don't have to try to get along with her, but you will be civil Anna," Will warned, and Anna knew better than to upset the brother with money, the one who had saved her ass more times than she could count, not that she ever showed any gratitude for it.

"Fine," Anna ground out through clenched teeth. "How are you Mackenzie?" she asked, syrupy sweetness dripping through her voice.

"I'm well, and you Anna?" Mackenzie replied politely.

"Peachy. So what, you two worked your shit out?" Anna asked.

"Always brutal and to the point sis," Will said, throwing a glare toward his sister. "It's none of your business, Anna."

"Hey, sleep together, don't sleep together…it doesn't matter to me. But just so you know, there are only three bedrooms that still have mattresses in them, and I'm in one. Either you and Mackenzie are sharing or you and the bodyguard are. Makes no difference to me," Anna said flippantly and left the room.

"I feel the love," Lonny deadpanned.

"And you thought I wasn't warm and fuzzy? Wait till you meet the rest of the family," Will grumbled. "Come on, I'll show you the bedrooms," he told Lonny and Mac.

Will passed by the closed door that he assumed Anna was behind and showed Lonny to a guest bedroom. Then, suddenly, he and Mackenzie were alone in what used to be his parent's bedroom. It had served as a sort of a large playroom and tv room for Mary and Thomas' two children. Thankfully, there was still a queen sized bed in the corner of the room. Who cared that it had a giant Justin Bieber blanket on it at this point? He was too tired to give a shit.

"Are we really meant to sleep under that?" Mackenzie asked, chuckling.

"There must be an old quilt around here somewhere," he said, rummaging through the ancient cedar chest at the end of the bed. Mary and Thomas had once called this room their own, but Mary had admitted, once the kids were older and having friends over all the time, it was easier to just let them have this space. It was one of the largest rooms in the house. She and Thomas had moved to a smaller room down the hall.

"Thank God," Mackenzie mumbled, as Will tossed a floral print quilt toward her. She pulled off the offending Bieber blanket and remade the bed with the quilt. But then, suddenly, there they were…staring at each other across the bed.

"Uh…I'm just going to go get changed," Mac said nervously as she headed toward the bathroom.

"Get a grip McAvoy. You've seen her naked in every way imaginable. You're working on getting back together again. Surely, you can manage to sleep with her and not ravage her in the middle of the night," Will said softly, trying to give himself a pep talk. Pep talks went out the window, though, when Mackenzie returned wearing an old Jets t-shirt of his…and nothing else. Ok, he thought, it's not like she's wearing a bra and a garter belt here. Take a deep breath, man!

"There were towels under the sink. I left one on the counter for you," she whispered, standing there awkwardly.

"Thanks," he mumbled, and practically ran toward the bathroom. He tried to waste time doing any number of things, hoping she might be asleep by the time he got out, but to no avail. He could see her fluffing up pillows and trying to rearrange the blankets when he came out. He crawled into bed next to her and settled down to sleep, but he could feel how tense she was.

"Are you asleep?" he asked.

"No, are you?"

"How in the hell could I be asleep if I just asked you if you were asleep Mac?" he asked rhetorically. She burst out laughing.

"What?" he wondered, but secretly enjoying the peals of laughter coming from her.

"This is just so us Will. Arguing about who is or isn't asleep. We were dead on our feet a few minutes ago. Why can't we sleep now?" she asked.

"Because we haven't been in a bed together in four years and I'm a little hyperaware of the fact that you're lying next to me," he admitted.

"Me too," she said softly. "So, what now?"

"Bedtime stories? Counting sheep?" he suggested.

"I've got a better idea," she said, and he could feel his groin tighten at the mere thought of what her 'better idea' might be.

"Mac," he whined in a warning.

"Not that, although I'm certainly not averse to it. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've had sex Will? I'm a woman on the edge, but don't worry, I won't take advantage of you."

Damn, he thought to himself, being taken advantage of by Mackenzie McHale sounded like a hell of a lot of fun. "What are you suggesting then?" he asked.

"World capitals," she responded cheerfully.

"You can't be serious," he replied. It was a stupid little game they had played on road trips and while sitting in boring conference rooms and meetings and even, sometimes, when one of them couldn't sleep. They would test each other's knowledge of oddball world capitals.

"I can be serious and I am. Madagascar," she said evenly, waiting for his reply.

"Fine. The capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo. What is the capital of Brunei?" he asked, turning on his side and watching her think. God, they were such geeks…and he loved it. Loved everything about her and the way her mind worked. He almost laughed at the way she pursued her lips in the moonlight coming in through the windows.

"The capital of Brunei is Bandar Seri Begawan," she replied happily, clearly glad to not let him stump her.

"Good Lord, do you know every capital in the world Mac?" he asked facetiously. But her little ploy was working. His eyelids were growing heavy and he could tell hers were too.

"I do not know every single one…just most of them. What is the capital of Mali, Billy?" she asked sleepily.

"Bamako. Are we doing all the B's tonight or something, because I refuse to allow you to answer the Iraq or Lebanon ones then. Baghdad and Beirut are far too easy. Even sorority girls must know those," he said, but soon he was drifting off to sleep.

"Good night Will," she whispered, pushing his hair back from his forehead and placing the softest of kisses there.

"Night Kenz…love you," he whispered half asleep.

He woke Mac up with his thrashing about a little while later and she could tell he was very agitated. She tried rubbing his chest and that didn't seem to make any difference. She tried to pull him into her arms and when she put her arms around him it made him fight harder to get away. After a few minutes he'd settled down and Mac went back to sleep.

About an hour later Will sat up in bed and yelled, "please, no."

Mac was immediately awake and saw Will breathing heavily and pulled him to her. "I've got you," she said, running her fingers through the hair on his neck. He was holding onto her as tight as he could, his head buried in her shoulder. She could feel the tears through her shirt. "Just breathe, Billy, it was a nightmare, no one is going to hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you. I've got you and I love you."

"Love you, Kenz," he mumbled into her shoulder and pulled away so he could rest his head against hers. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

"It's because I'm here, in this house, in Lincoln."

"I'm sure it's because you're worried and over-tired, too," Mac said. He nodded. "Do you feel like lying back down?"

"Okay," he said and started to move away from her.

She scooted down in bed and said, "come here," holding out her arms.

He was hesitant but he moved so that she was holding him and he was resting against her chest, his arm wrapped around her waist. "I'm not too heavy?"

"Not at all, you feel good." She was rubbing his back, tracing random patterns through his t-shirt. She saw him finally fall back to sleep. Fortunately, that was the only other time he woke until morning. They hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, but they'd gotten enough for now.

When he woke up, still on Mac's chest and his arm around her waist, she was already awake. He lifted himself up and her hand was immediately on his face. "Are you all right?" she asked.

He nodded and leaned down to kiss her softly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I like holding you."

"We should get up and go see Mark and Pam and the kids."

"Do I have time for a quick shower?" Mac asked.

"Sure, go ahead. I'm going to see if Lonny is awake."

Mac was up and gathering her things for the shower as Will opened the door to go find Lonny. She'd hoped that he would have wanted to shower with her, and truth be told he probably did, but they weren't there, yet. They'd barely shared a couple of very brief kisses.

When Will returned to the bedroom, he brought two coffees with him, fixing hers the way she liked. It wasn't long until she walked out of the bathroom wearing jeans that did amazing things for her legs and a nice casual top. He handed her a coffee. "Thank you," she said, taking a sip and then placing it on the dresser. "Did you want a shower?"

"Yes, I'll be quick. Lonny is getting a shower, too. We'll pick up some breakfast en route, if that's okay with you? I didn't see any fresh food in the kitchen."

"That's fine. I'm going to finish getting ready," she said and started to move away from him but before she could he grabbed her hand and pulled her to stand in front of him. He took her other hand in his and stood there with her. "There's no place else I'd be, Billy," she said as if reading his mind.

He smiled at her and very slowly he leaned in and kissed her and this was not like the kisses from earlier, soft and hesitant. He was sure that she was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and he needed her to know that, too. His tongue was teasing and stroking hers, her hands were squeezing his as they stood there together simply kissing. "I love you," he said as their kiss ended.

"I love you, too."

"I'd better…I'm going to take a shower. I'll be right back," he said and grabbed one of his bags and walked into the bathroom. He came out dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a sweatshirt tied around his shoulders, not necessarily for him. He knew how cold she often was and if he could help, he'd gladly wear the sweatshirt.

"You didn't shave," she said when he got closer to her.

"Do you want me to?" he offered.

"God, no, I like the scruff," she said smiling at him, running her hand along his jaw. "Put your shoes on and lets go find some breakfast.

Will did as she asked and Lonny drove them through a drive-thru to pick up breakfast that they all ate en route to Mark and Pam's house. Mac and Will were sitting together in the backseat. His hand was resting on the seat between them and with her pinky, she grabbed his pinky; he turned his head and smiled at her, pulling her hand into his.

Will gave Lonny directions to Mark and Pam's house on the lake. When they pulled into the driveway they saw Mark playing catch with his son. "How old is Jackson now?" Mac asked.

"He just turned eleven."

They saw Mark walking toward them, and as he approached, Will opened the door and got out, holding his hand out for Mac and helped her out of the car.

"Will?" Mark said walking up to his big brother and hugging him. Will held him a little longer than normal and quietly asked, "do the kids know?"

Mark replied, "they do," and pulled back to see Mac standing there watching them. "Mac," Mark said and pulled her into a hug.

"It's so good to see you."

"Dad?" Jackson called.

"Come say hello, Jack," Mark called to his son. The boy ran over and saw that it was his uncle.

"Uncle Will," the boy said smiling and hugged him.

"Hey buddy," Will said hugging the boy tight. He turned the boy in front of him and said, "you probably don't remember but this is Mackenzie."

"English accent?" Jackson asked, looking up at Will.

"Good memory, got it in one," Will said pushing the boy toward Mac. The boy easily hugged Mac, who returned his hug.

"You're so grown up since I've seen you," Mac said, making Jackson smile.

"Go ask your mom to come out here, please. Tell her I need to show her something but not a word about Will and Mac."

"Got it," he said, running into the house.

Mark noticed Lonny and Will said, "Mark, this is Lonny Church, my bodyguard."

Jackson came out of the garage with Pam, holding her hand. "What did you need….Will? Oh my God, what are you doing here?" she asked, easily going into his arms.

"Check this one out," Mark said, standing next to Mac, his arm around her shoulders.

Mac was smiling at Pam. "Mac, God, it's been too long," she said and hugged her.

"Daddy?" a very young voiced called from within the garage.

"Come here, baby," Mark said, meeting the little girl and picking her up. He walked back to the group. "Who is that?" Mark asked pointing at Will.

"Uncle Will," the little girl said, launching herself at Will from her father's arms. Will easily caught the girl, kissing her cheek and hugging her.

"How's my girl?" Will asked her.

"Good," she said and laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey, Em," Pam said and Will put the girl on the ground. "I want you to meet someone. Well, you've met her before but you probably don't remember. This is Mackenzie."

"Hi, Emily," Mac said.

"Hi," she replied, staying close to her mother.

"She's precious, Pam."

Pam smiled and said, "we like her," tousling her daughter's hair.

Will saw that Jackson was wearing a baseball uniform. "Do you have a game today?" Will asked the boy.

"We do and I'm pitching," he explained. "We're undefeated in our league."

"That's awesome, buddy. Are you warming up with your Dad?"

"I'm trying to get a new pitch down and I'm having a hard time with it so we've been practicing."

"Will you show me?" Will asked.

"Dad?"

"Go on, I'll play catcher. Show Will the pitch," Mark said tossing the ball to Jackson and walked back to the yard area. Will walked Jackson out to the mound and was talking to him.

"Tell me about this pitch?" Will asked.

"It's supposed to be a breaking ball, but I can't get it to go right."

"Are you trying to throw a slider or a curve ball?" Will asked.

"Slider."

"Show me how you're holding the ball."

Emily, Pam and Mac had moved over to watch Will and Jackson. Will was showing Jackson the movement of the pitch and the mechanics of the pitch.

"Will does love his baseball," Pam said.

"He does," Mac agreed.

"I've got to get this one dressed, we're dropping her off at a birthday party and then going to Jackson's ballgame."

"Do you mind if we tag along to the ballgame?" Mac asked.

"Not at all, come on inside and I'll get you some coffee and we can get this one ready to go."

Will very patiently coached Jackson through the pitch and corrected his stance when necessary, and by the time Pam and Emily were ready, Jackson was consistently throwing the slider. Pam called them inside and Jackson turned to Will and said, "thanks, Uncle Will," and hugged him.

"You're welcome, buddy. Come on, we don't want to get in trouble with your Mom."

"Run grab your bag," Mark said to his son. "Thanks for showing him that. He loves baseball as much as you do, but since I never played, I'm not much help to him."

"You are out here playing catch, and being there for him, that's what he needs, the rest, you can learn easily enough."

"I can learn how it's supposed to be done, but actually pitching, that's all you," Mark said.

"I'm happy to show him anything I can. I also want to help you any way I can," Will said, carefully broaching the subject.

Mark turned to Will and simply looked at him and finally said, "thank you. I don't know what you can do…."

"Will you and Pam talk to Mac and I?"

"Of course. What's going on with you and Mac?"

Fortunately, Will didn't have to answer. The women and Jackson came out and Mark opened the minivan for them.

"We're going to drop off Emily at a birthday party and go to Jackson's game but after that…."

"Do you mind if we go to the game with you? We can follow you," Will said.

"I know you love baseball, but little league?"

"How often do I get to see my nephew pitch?" Will asked.

Mark and Pam both smiled at each other. "Okay, okay, you win. Follow us," Mark said.

Mac and Will got into the back of the car and Lonny followed Mark. Will picked up her hand and rested them on his leg. "What were you showing Jackson?" Mac asked.

"How to throw a slider. I was watching his mechanics, he's got a good pitching arm. He needs to be developed, though, so he doesn't get hurt."

"Did Mark play baseball?" Mac asked.

"No, he preferred football."

They chatted until they reached the ball field and Lonny parked next to Mark and got out with Will and Mac. Jackson was out of the van and running to the field to find his coach. Will put on a ball hat and his sunglasses and they all walked to the stands with Lonny trailing behind.

"Do you always have a bodyguard?" Pam asked.

"I do, it's something you get used to," Will said putting his arm around Pam.

Pam shook her head and said, "I'm not sure I'd get used to having someone around."