While Will was gone Mac texted Pam to see if she and Will could use their guest room. She knew Pam would be up, she always had been early to rise and with kids, she was sure she was awake and probably already fixing breakfast.
Pam quickly offered their guest room and told them to come over whenever they wanted. They even had a pull out for Lonny.
Mac thanked her and explained that they'd be over after they'd had showers.
Will returned with their coffees and sat back on the bed with Mac, who was reading on her phone.
"Anything happening?" he asked.
She looked up and said, "no, I was texting with Pam. We are welcome to use their guest room and they even have a place for Lonny."
"Lonny will be thrilled to be away from Jarod asking about his gun."
Mac smiled and took the coffee he held out to her. "Thanks," she said sipping the hot liquid. "Did you want to shower first? We can move out to Mark and Pam's this morning."
He sat down next to her and pulled her against his chest. "Do you mind if we sit here for a few minutes?"
"Not at all. You okay?"
He nodded and kissed the side of her head.
While Will was in the shower Mac went to talk to Lonny and explained that they were relocating as soon as they'd all showered and gotten ready. Will, in turn, explained to Mary that they were going to Mark and Pam's so that they could have their house back to themselves.
When they arrived at Mark and Pam's house the kids were playing video games in the living room and Mark was on the computer. Pam was cleaning up in the kitchen. Will stayed in the living room and Mac joined Pam in the kitchen.
Pam poured Mac some coffee and they sat in the breakfast nook. "Are you okay?" Mac asked her.
"It's been a morning, you know?"
Mac smiled and took her hand. "I do know. Anything you want to talk about?"
"Not with the kids here. Let me see if I can get Mark to take them along with Will and Lonny out on the boat," she said and left the kitchen. When she came back a few minutes later she explained that Mark was going to take them out along with Lonny and Will, giving them some time to talk. It was a few minutes later that everyone but Pam and Mac had left, giving them the house to themselves. "Let's go somewhere more comfortable," Pam said, leading Mac out to the living room.
They sat on the couch and Mac took Pam's hand and said, "tell me."
"It's just been a bad morning."
Mac moved closer to Pam and pulled her into her arms and she felt Pam start to cry. Mac held her and let her cry. This, most likely, was the first time she'd done this. Pam would have been strong for everybody else but she needed to let the emotion out and Mac was glad that she was there and could help. After a few minutes Pam pulled away from Mac and grabbed some tissues from the table for both of them. Both women wiped their eyes and Pam said, "I needed that, thank you, Mac."
"I think I needed it almost as much as you did. Did anything happen this morning?"
Pam got up and brought a basket full of mail into the room and sat it on the coffee table. "These are last week's insurance letters, the latest of which thinks that we need a second opinion. Do I need to be told to get a second opinion? They are trying to figure out a way to pay the least that they can, and that's not right. Medical care in this country is fucked up, Mac."
"Please keep in mind that we want to help any way we can and if that's responding to stupid insurance letters, I know a great lawyer who is itching to take on anything he can to help. I can imagine the letters he would write."
Pam laughed. "Does he still have his license?"
"Yes, he keeps it active, just in case, you know?" Mac said.
"He does like to take care of people," Pam said.
"Too much sometimes. But he means well."
"Tell me about the two of you. How long have you been back together?"
Mac wasn't sure how to explain that it was Mark's illness that brought them back together. "You know I went to the Middle East after Will and I split, don't you?"
"No, I didn't. Why?"
"I couldn't see Will everyday and see how much I hurt him. So I spent twenty-six months embedded in Iraq, Afghanistan and sometimes Pakistan. I'd probably have stayed longer but I got hurt and had to be airlifted to Germany."
"Are you all right?" Pam asked.
Mac smiled and said, "I am, no remnants other than a scar. I got a call after Will had the vertigo incident at Northwestern, offering me an executive producer job in New York. Will had no idea, this was all done behind his back, I later found out. He was not thrilled to see me but we were able to at least work together and eventually we were even friends again. It's taken a long time, but the time it's taken for us to even be friends again was good, as it gave us time to really get to know one another again. Maybe even better than before, or maybe it was a different level, but we love one another and we both know that we want the other, forever this time."
"You met Mark first, though, right?"
Mac smiled and said, "I did and he introduced Will and I."
"Were there ever any sparks between you and Mark?"
Mac was dreading this question. "No. He did ask me out once, but his timing was horrible. He asked the day after my first date with Will. I explained that I was going out with Will and Mark didn't speak to me for a week."
"Wounded pride," Pam added.
"Something like that. Anyway, Mark met you about a month later and the rest is history."
"How long have you and Will been back together?"
"Less than a week."
"Mac!" Pam exclaimed.
"We've been getting closer for a while but with Mark's diagnosis we figured out we were wasting time."
"I'm glad you're back together," Pam said taking Mac's hand. "Don't get me wrong, I love Mary and Anna, but I'm glad you're back."
"Me, too. I know Mark won't let us know what any of you need, but promise me you'll let me know. Anything we can do, we want to help."
"Thank you," Pam said hugging Mac.
Mark and Will were up at the front of the boat. Lonny and the kids were at the back, looking for fish.
"Thanks for coming out with me," Mark said. "Pam needed some time."
Will decided that Pam had been taking care of everyone else and needed some time with Mac to talk. "There are things she needs to talk about that she can't talk about with you, you're too close," Will said.
"I'm glad Mac is here for her to talk to, she doesn't have any real close friends that she'd talk to about this."
"Mac is a good listener and she's not afraid to tell you you're being an idiot, but the accent makes it better some how," Will said smiling.
"You love her?" Mark asked.
"I never stopped. We just weren't together for a while. You never get a woman like Mackenzie out of your system, little brother, trust me."
"Do you know…never mind," Mark said.
"Do I know that you asked Mackenzie out? Was that what you were going to ask me?"
Mark smiled and nodded.
"I found that out a few days ago. I was not happy that I didn't know years ago."
"You didn't yell at Mac, did you?" Mark asked.
"I did," Will admitted.
Mark was about to defend Mac when Will's phone went off; he had a new text. It was from Mac. She suggested that Mark and Pam take the night for themselves, and they'd watch the kids, and even went as far as to suggest they spend the night in a hotel. Will was smiling.
"You only smile like that for Mac," Mark said. Will was replying to her text and said that he thought that was a great idea and that he'd talk to Mark.
"It is from Mac and she has a great idea."
"What's that?"
"You need to take the rest of today and spend it with Pam. Reconnect with your wife. Mac and I will watch the kids. Go spend some quality time together. She's going to be holding everyone together and she needs some time alone with you before that starts. Get a hotel room, make love to your wife, make sure she knows that you know how much she's going to be taking on and that you want to spend some time with her now, while you can. You've got built in babysitters. Our plane doesn't leave until tomorrow afternoon."
"Will…."
Will could see he was hesitant about the arrangement. "You don't want to spend the night in a nice hotel making love to your wife?"
"Will…."
"Do you not trust Mac and I to be able to take care of Jack and Emily?"
"I do."
"Let's go back to the house and you and Pam go have fun," Will said smiling at his little brother. "You do remember how to have fun, don't you, little brother?"
Mark got this look in his eye and smiled at Will. "I certainly do, big brother."
"Before we go back, did Pam talk to you about higher level coaches coming to talk to Jackson's team?"
"She did. You really think he's got what it takes?"
"I do. If the coaches come and don't see what I do, then nothing was wasted, and the kids got to talk to some nice guys."
"Okay, you can arrange the coaches to come talk to the team," Mark conceded, begrudgingly, but happily.
"You're going to need to talk to his current coach and fill him in."
"Okay, I can do that. Thanks, Will."
"You're welcome. Let's go back to the house and see what our women are doing."
Mark started the boat and drove them back to the dock and together they all walked into the house. Mac and Pam were sitting out on the deck in the sun, drinking coffee.
Mark came up behind Pam and kissed her cheek and said, "may I talk to you a minute?"
Pam followed Mark inside while Will, Mac and Lonny kept the kids outside. Will was standing behind Mac, massaging her shoulders while the kids were playing in the yard. A few minutes later Pam was in the doorway and asked Will and Mac to come inside.
"You guys really want to do this?" Pam asked.
"Yes," Will answered. We can hang out with the kids and we can take them to school in the morning. Our plane leaves at 4pm, that's the only thing we have to do."
"Mac?" Pam asked.
"Go enjoy your time with Mark. We will take care of the kids," she replied.
Pam hugged Mac and then Will and took each of their hands in hers and said, "thank you, both for doing this for us."
Will kissed her cheek and said, "go tell the kids we're in charge and get out of here."
"I'll go start packing our bag," Mark said. Pam sat the kids down and explained that she and Mark were going to have a date night and that Mac and Will would be staying with them. The kids were very excited that their parents were gone for the day and night.
Pam joined Mark upstairs and finished packing their bag and they drove Mark's car, so Mac and Will would have the minivan, in case they needed it, or wanted to take the kids somewhere.
After dinner Will was playing video games with Jackson when he turned to Will and asked, "is my Dad going to die, Uncle Will?"
"I hope not, but you know he has cancer and that's a pretty serious thing Jack. But we're going to make sure he gets the best treatment available."
"I don't want him to die," Jack said, tears in his eyes.
Will pulled the boy close to himself and asked, "have you talked to your parents about how you're feeling?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't want to scare Em."
"Your Dad would want you to come talk to him. He knows it's scary. It's scary for him and he knows it's even more scary for you."
"Can I talk to you?"
Will smiled and said, "any time you want. I'll make sure you have my direct number before I leave and any time you want to talk you can call me. I'll give you Mac's number, too."
"Thank you," Jack said, leaning over to hug Will.
"You're welcome, buddy. Why don't you set us up another game and I'll be right back."
Will went looking for Mac. He walked past Emily's room and almost didn't see them curled up in the corner of Emily's bed. He came back and stood in the doorway, watching them. They had not yet seen him. Mac was reading to Emily and had her curled up in her arms, pushing her curls behind the girl's ear. Will stood there for the longest time. He and Mac had never discussed children but standing there, watching her with Emily, for the first time he saw her as a mother.
Mac looked up and saw him and smiled. "What are you doing?"
"Watching you, gorgeous. What are you reading?"
"Harry Potter," Mac said quietly as she just noticed Emily had fallen asleep on her.
"I'm sure she was thrilled," Will said chuckling. Mackenzie frowned.
"She was. She says it's so much better when I read it because I sound like Harry and Hermione," she admitted. Will laughed and carefully sat down on the bed next to them.
"You're good with her," he told Mackenzie.
"And you're good with Jackson. With all of them really…even the teenagers," Mac said ruefully.
"Teenagers are really just hormonal, grumpy little adults. I simply treat them with kid gloves, you know, the same way I treat Reese Lansing," he told her.
"Ah, I see. I will have to try to employ that method when we get back to New York," she told him. "Help me out from under her, would you?" she asked, nodding toward a sleeping Emily.
Will gently lifted Emily away from Mac, which allowed her to slip out from under the girl, without disturbing her sleep. The two adults quickly left the room before they woke her.
"Jack, finish up that last game and start getting ready for bed, ok buddy?" Will asked his nephew when he and Mackenzie made it downstairs, only to find the young man knee-deep in zombie killing.
"One more game?" Jackson pleaded.
"Nope, we're going out for breakfast tomorrow morning and I don't want to have to drag you from your bed to get waffles," Will told him.
"We're going out for breakfast?" Mackenzie whispered.
"Of course, there's no way in hell I'm letting you cook. We promised Mark and Pam that their children and their house would still be in one piece when they returned," he joked.
"Hey! I resent that remark. There was only that one small fire I set at your apartment, Billy, and it was five years ago. Do you have to keep bringing it up?" she asked, looking up at him from her position, standing against him, tucked into his side.
"Mackenzie, you left a potholder on a burner. Cooking really isn't rocket science, you just need to keep flammable items away from open flames."
"Fine, laugh it up mister, just remember I own you for an hour every night, and I can make you pay," she reminded him.
"I look forward to it," he said, with a leer.
"Me too," she whispered.
"Do you think they're going to let us help?" Will asked, so softly and quietly later that night, that she wouldn't have heard him if not for the fact that she had her head laying on his chest, as they curled up together in Mark and Pam's guest room. The bed was barely big enough for the two of them and Mac had no choice but to lie partially on top of Will, but neither of them were complaining. If they'd had a bed the size of Times Square, they still would have been huddled together, taking comfort in their closeness.
"I do," she assured him. "I really do Will. Pam had a good cry with me earlier, and Mark is talking about letting you hire a coach for Jackson, and they trusted us with the kids tonight. I think they're really glad they have some support. Mary and Thomas are too far away and have too much going on right now with the move. And Anna is more of a burden than a help most of the time. I think they're happy for the help and I think they're comfortable with that fact that it's coming from us. We were all close once…I'd like to think we can get there again."
"Me too," he whispered, kissing her on the forehead and listening to her breathing even out. He soon followed her into sleep.
The next morning was a serious lesson in parenting for both of them. Emily was running around the house, as if unable to sit still, and Jackson was grumpily stumbling about, moaning about having to get dressed so early for breakfast. But once everyone was seated at Will's favorite hometown diner, there were the sounds of happy children, and weary adults all digging into pancakes and waffles and loads and loads of coffee for Will and Mac.
After a riotous ride back to the house (who knew a simply game of ISpy could lead to World War III as Jackson and Emily argued the validity of whether or not it was within the rules of the game to spy something on an iPhone?) everyone stumbled inside and waited for Mark and Pam to return. When they did, they were all smiles, and looked significantly more relaxed.
"So, did you two have fun?" Will teased.
"We did indeed," Mark said, grinning. Pam smacked him in the side and went off to find her children.
"Are you guys ok?" Mac asked.
"Yeah, we're great!" Mark said cheerily. "How are you two?" he asked meaningfully.
"We're getting there Mark. We're getting there," Will assured his brother, slinging his arm around Mackenzie.
"Get there faster. Nobody lives forever," Mark said sagely, and left them thinking about that remark.
The whole family (aside from Anna, who was probably off somewhere seeking her latest inappropriate boyfriend) gathered to wish Will and Mackenzie a safe trip back to New York. And as they watched his family disappear in the distance, Will grabbed Mac's hand and kissed it, then laid their joined hands in his lap.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder in the backseat of the car.
"I'm thinking about what Mark said. It's true Mac. We don't have forever. You've been amazing these past few days, with Mark and Pam and the kids…and with me. You've been everything I could have asked for. It's not going to end once we get back to the city, right?" he asked, and she couldn't hold back her shock.
"Will! We talked about this! I told you I wasn't just here for Mark. And I wasn't just here for the trip back to Nebraska. I was here for you…and I will continue to be. Don't be ridiculous," she snapped, and he could tell he had hurt her with his doubts, but she had to understand. Somewhere deep inside he was still that abused boy and that betrayed boyfriend. It would take some time to erase his doubts.
They were quiet for much of the trip back to New York. He could tell just how much his questions had shaken her. She gripped his hand tightly the entire plane ride, but she barely looked at him, barely spoke.
Lonny looked at the two of them questioningly when they landed at JFK, and wondered where in the hell it was written in his employment contract that he also had to be some sort of relationship counselor or romantic entanglement go-between? He waited patiently for someone to tell him where they were going.
Mackenzie simply threw her briefcase and purse in the back of the SUV and gave them both a death glare. "Well? What the hell are you two waiting for? Are we going home or what?" she asked.
"She always like this?" Lonny asked.
"Yeah," Will replied.
"You're one hell of a lucky man, you know?"
"I know," Will agreed, grinning.
"I'm sorry I asked. I'm sorry I doubted you…us," Will told the curled up lump in the corner of his bed.
"You better be," she snapped.
"Are we really going to sleep three feet apart Mac?"
"No," she replied, but didn't move. So he inched his way over toward her and enveloped her in his arms.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered over and over into her ear.
"Me too, me too, me too," she told him. "Can we start over now? No more apologies, no more regrets?" she asked him.
"I think I'd really like that," he agreed.
"Good. We'll start over tomorrow. I'm too tired to start over tonight."
"Okay," he chuckled against her hair.
"And I expect croissants and café au lait to help us start over," she said impishly.
"That I can do," he agreed.
"I also expect lots of sex and cuddling and hand-holding and staying in bed all weekend," she demanded.
"That I can definitely do. Go to sleep Mac. We have a lot of making up to do."
