Chapter 16: Tag

. . .

The next few days all started the same for Mac. The first rays of sunshine. The chirping of birds outside the window. He was used to waking up very early, regardless of whether he was working that day or not. He considered it to be a good thing, as he could go for a run before everyone else got up. But now his daily routine had a new aspect.

He opened his eyes and turned his head to his right. The other bed was still in the shadow as it was placed further from the window. He smirked, as he thought that was probably the reason why Jo wanted it for herself. He knew very well she was not at all a morning person. He could easily picture her covering her head with her pillow the very moment a ray of sunshine tickled her eyelids.

He rose up onto one elbow and took a look at her. He couldn't help himself. Every morning for the past few days he took some time to watch her while she slept. It was so strange to him that she seemed to sleep in every possible position. Today she was lying on her stomach, with her left arm under the pillow, while her right arm was hanging motionless from the bed.

At first he had thought it would be awkward to sleep with Jo in the same room. But now he thought that there was something oddly comforting about the awareness of another person being so close. He wasn't able to fall asleep as quickly as she was, so every night he heard how she tossed and turned after a while. Then there was this one, soft sigh when she finally found the right position. And then her breathing would slow down, becoming more even, until she was sound asleep. Sometimes he listened to her breathing for together quite a while before he finally drifted off to sleep himself.

Jo murmured something in her sleep and he glanced at her. She was now curled into a ball and hugging her pillow with both her arms. He smiled. With her sleeping like this he wondered why they needed such big beds. They could easily fit in one of them. Although he was more than sure that she would make it hard for him to sleep, tossing and turning endlessly. He could easily imagine her stealing the duvet from him, grasping at his arm, placing an arm across his chest, tangling her legs with his...

''What the hell...'' He whispered to himself with a frown. He shook his head, trying to get rid of those silly thoughts. Then he quickly got up, quietly pulled his sweatsuit from one of the drawers and went to the bathroom in order to change. When he was back, he automatically glanced at Jo again. She was still curled into a ball, but now on her other side. The change in her position had made half of the duvet slip to the floor, leaving her upper body uncovered. She was sleeping in a tank-top, which looked rather thin. He frowned and moved to the window to close it. Then he walked to the door and was just about to exit the bedroom when he glanced at her again. He sighed deeply and padded to her bed. He carefully took the edge of the duvet and slowly pulled it over her, until she was covered to her neck. Then he smiled softly, thinking she was warm and snug. And with that thought he left the bedroom.

. . .

When Mac returned to the apartment almost an hour later he was sure everyone was still asleep. He placed a bag with fresh rolls on the counter in the kitchen. Then he decided to take a shower and change. He was just entering the bedroom and removing his t-shirt at the same time, when he stopped in the doorway. Jo was already awake. Rick was sitting at the foot of her bed, while Lily was cuddled to her side and they were all talking and laughing. When he entered the room they all looked up at him.

''Mac!'' Lily exclaimed happily. ''Where have you been?'' She asked, a slight note of sadness easy to catch in her voice, as she probably had come to their bedroom and was disappointed that he wasn't there. Mac turned his gaze to Jo and caught her stealing a glance at his bare chest. Her eyes swept all over his upper half and he saw how she bit at her lower lip.

''Umm... running.'' He murmured. Jo looked at his face and their eyes met. He thought that she would be embarrassed that he had caught her checking him out, but he was mistaken. She didn't even blush. Instead she smiled at him, sending a clear message which made him suddenly feel shy. ''I'm... going to take a shower.'' He added even more quietly and disappeared into the bathroom.

When he returned to the bedroom after a while Jo and the kids were just getting out of the bed. Jo helped Lily to slid down from her bed and then she quickly made it. When she was done, she looked at Mac and smiled.

''Breakfast?'' She offered and he only nodded.

They all walked to the kitchen, with Lily jumping around them and humming some song only she knew.

''Can we wake Ellie up as well?'' Rick asked hopefully.

''We can try...'' Jo said hesitantly and she headed to Ellie's room, with Rick following her. Lily looked after them, then glanced at Mac, trying to decide if she should stay in the kitchen or follow them as well. But since Mac was busy searching for the CD player in one of the boxes, which seemed rather boring to her, she ran after Jo and Rick.

Once Mac found the player he plugged it in and pushed the 'play' button without even checking what CD was inside. He heard the quiet sounds of bells and a flute. It sounded familiar, but yet he couldn't put his finger on it.

''Noooo...!'' He heard Ellie's loud moan from her room and he chuckled. It was followed by Lily's chant 'morning, morning' and he couldn't help but laugh. Then the song caught his attention. Sting's smooth voice started to sing and he smiled. He knew this one.

Though I've tried before to tell her
Of the feelings I have for her in my heart
Every time that I come near her
I just lose my nerve
As I've done from the start

Then the melody became more cheerful and he was able to hear a nice beat of drums in the background. As well as laughing and squealing coming from the living room. He moved to the doorway and watched as Jo ran through the room, navigating among the boxes, followed by Ellie, who was clearly trying to catch her mom. Lily was standing near the other door and laughing aloud. Rick was standing right next to her, with a big smile on his face.

''Why me?!'' Jo cried out with laughter, suddenly changing direction. ''It was Rick's idea!''

That made Ellie come to a halt and she turned her gaze to Rick, narrowing her eyes at him. He gasped, suddenly aware that now it was he who should be running away. Jo stopped and started to laugh even more. She swayed her body along to the music that was coming from the kitchen, not even aware that she was doing so. Without taking his eyes off of her Mac listened to the lyrics.

Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on

''Gotcha!'' Ellie cried out as she finally grabbed Rick and began to tickle him. He started to laugh uncontrollably and only then did she let go and run away from him. Rick took a look around and as soon as he spotted Jo in the far corner of the room it became clear to her that her break was over. She started to run away again, this time coming closer to Mac. She hid behind him, putting one of her arms around his waist to keep her balance. But Rick followed her, so she had to move in circles around Mac in order not to get caught.

''Umm... what are you doing?'' Mac asked her with quiet laughter, being slightly overwhelmed by her closeness and her sudden touch.

''Playing tickling tag!'' Jo answered back. ''And I'm terribly ticklish!'' She added and let go of him. She ran back towards the middle of the living room and Rick followed her. Mac shook his head, still smiling unconsciously. He leaned against the door frame, his eyes never leaving Jo. She had just gotten out of bed and she was playing tag with the kids in the barely furnished living room of their new apartment. She was still in her pajamas, without any make-up, with messy hair. She looked positively happy, with her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling. And with that he thought she had never looked more beautiful to him.

What he didn't know was that he was being watched from across the room by a pair of dark brown eyes. Ellie easily noticed how Mac was looking at Jo. She couldn't recall anyone ever looking at her mom like this. What was more, that was exactly the way she wished the captain of her soccer team would look at her one day.

Mac's smile grew bigger as he saw how Jo, who was now 'it', caught Lily and picked her up high in the air, much to her delight. Then she lowered her down slightly and rubbed her nose against Lily's who started to laugh at this.

The song suddenly became calmer and Mac's subconscious registered the change, along with the lyrics.

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
But my silent fears have gripped me
Long before I reach the phone
Long before my tongue has tripped me
Must I always be alone?

He frowned and moved inside the kitchen. He busied himself with setting the coffee-maker. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that Jo had entered the kitchen. He became aware of her presence only when she placed her hand on his back and leaned closer.

''Whatcha doin'?'' She asked in a funny accent which made Mac smirk. When he didn't answer she leaned even more on the counter and looked at his face. ''Hey... everything ok?'' She asked with a frown.

''Sure.'' He answered and smiled in response, but it didn't fool her. She studied him closer for a moment, then she straightened herself.

''I'm making breakfast.'' She announced.

''You?'' Mac asked and made a face at her.

''Yes, me.'' She answered and put her hands on her hips. ''I can make breakfast, you know?''

''What are you making?'' Mac asked with a smile.

''Scrambled eggs.''

''Whoa... Fancy...'' He teased and she smacked his arm playfully in response. Then she took the mug from his hand. She took a sip of his coffee and then handed it back to him.

''I wanna coffee like this.'' She asked sweetly. ''Only with sugar.''

. . .

They had planned on spending the whole day unpacking their stuff, but it wasn't even noon when Jo had gotten called to a crime scene. When she had left Mac continued to unpack, but it wasn't that easy, as he had to look after two kids at the same time. Finally only one box, with the label 'girly stuff'', was left. He decided it was better not to look there, so he just moved it to the bedroom and left it for Jo to unpack when she got back. Then he checked his watch. It was already 5 pm, so he had the perfect excuse to call her and ask when she would be back for dinner.

Unfortunately she was still busy with the case and she told him that she would be back quite late and that they should eat without her. She couldn't even talk to him any longer, as something came in and she had to run. When he hung up with a sigh he decided to order something as he didn't really feel like cooking. Of course the kids had nothing against this, neither did Ellie, who took a quick bite before leaving for her soccer practice.

After dinner they sat in the living room. Rick started to read one of Ellie's books, so Mac decided to follow suit, much to Lily's disappointment. She couldn't find anything interesting to do, getting bored with every activity after not more than 5 minutes. When she asked about Jo for what seemed like the tenth time Mac decided to call her again and ask what time she would come as he didn't know if he should put Lily to bed or allow her to wait up for Jo. This time, much to his delight, she said she was just leaving the lab and heading for the subway station. He offered to pick her up, but she told him it would be too much trouble as he had to take both kids with him.

When after 45 minutes she still wasn't home, uneasiness started to creep over him. He called her again, but his call went straight to voicemail, probably because she was at the subway station where the reception was rather poor. After a couple of minutes he called her again, but still couldn't reach her. 30 minutes and five more calls later he was seriously worried.

He let out a relieved breath when he heard the scrape of the key in the lock and he rushed to the front door.

''Jo! Finally! I was starting to worry...'' He told her with a smile. He heard Lily behind him.

''Jo!'' She squealed.

Much to his surprise Mac saw how Jo backed off slightly and hid herself in the shadow of the corridor.

''Mac, take Lily to her room, please.'' She asked quietly.

''What? Why?'' He asked confused.

''Mac, please!'' Jo insisted and from the tone of her voice he could tell that he had no choice but to do it. He told Lily to play quietly with Rick and promised her he would come back to her in a moment. Then he moved back to the hall. Jo was standing with her back to him and taking off her leather jacket. He helped her and hung it up for her.

''Jo, what happened?'' He asked with concern.

''Just don't freak out...'' Jo started. He gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. The first thing he noticed was a bloody stain on her shirt. Then he looked up at her face and froze. Her eyebrow ridge was cut and bleeding heavily, despite Jo's attempts to stop it with a tissue.

''Oh my God... Jo...'' Mac uttered.

''Mac, relax. It's just a small cut, no big deal.''

''Small cut? You're bleeding.'' Mac told her. ''Come.'' He took her by the arm and led her to the bathroom. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub while he went through the cabinets in order to find a first aid kit. ''How did it happen?'' He asked.

''Umm... so... I was waiting for the subway when some punk jerked the handbag away from an elderly lady and started to run away with it...''

''You've got to be kidding me.'' Mac murmured as he came closer to her and began to clean her cut. ''Did he hit you?''

''Well, I chased him. When I caught him we struggled a little. At some point he hit my head against the wall and I collided with some metal thing that made that cut...''

''You had to be out of your mind to do something like that.'' Mac told her seriously.

''Yeah, right. Like you wouldn't do the same.'' Jo snorted.

''It's different.''

''How's it different?'' Jo asked with slight anger in her voice and moved away from him. ''Because I'm a woman?''

''That's not the point...'' Mac groaned, feeling like he had entered a minefield.

''Oh, isn't it?'' Jo asked again and rose to her feet.

''Jo, sit down, I haven't finished.'' Mac told her calmly.

''I can do it on my own.'' She said and moved to the mirror. She tried to clean the cut, but her hands were shaking slightly. ''Ouch! Damn it!'' She hissed in pain.

''Jo, come back here right now.'' Mac told her firmly and she froze. She had never heard such a commanding tone from him before, not even in the lab. She turned around and she would have frowned at him, if only that didn't cause her so much pain. ''Sit down.'' Mac told her and she had no other choice than to listen. ''I just don't like when you put yourself in danger.'' Mac said and Jo was just about to protest, but he didn't let her. ''He could have been armed.''

''Mac, he wasn't armed.'' Jo told him and rolled her eyes.

''You didn't know that. He could have hurt you more.''

''He didn't get a chance. I kicked him in the nuts and he curled up on the ground like a pretzel.'' Jo said somehow proudly and Mac couldn't help but smirk in response. He slowly finished cleaning her cut and put an adhesive bandaid on it.

''Done.''

''Thanks.'' Jo told him, looking up at him with a light smile. She thought that he would step away now and let her stand up, but he didn't move from his spot. Instead he reached out and gently ran his finger across the bandaid, like he wanted to make sure it was secured in place. His hand lingered a little too long, his fingers brushing a strand of hair off her forehead.

His gaze dropped lower, to her shirt, taking in the sight of the bloody stain. He swallowed hard and then, all of sudden, he put his arms around her and pulled her closer. His one hand cradled her head, careful not to hurt her cut.

''Mac?'' Jo mumbled against his shirt, as he was the last person she would suspect of doing such a thing and it caught her off guard.

''Next time I'm picking you up from work no matter what. I don't want you to end up playing tag with some bad guys.'' He told her and she rolled he eyes at his exaggerated protectiveness. But she got the feeling that unless she agreed to it, he would never let go of her.

''OK...'' She murmured eventually. Only then did he pull away. She glanced at his face and saw that he seemed to be slightly embarrassed that he had gotten so carried away by his emotions, as he was avoiding her gaze.

''Come on, I'll make you some tea... and I'll tell Lily that everything is fine.'' He said and she nodded.

''I'm right behind you. I'll just change my shirt.'' Jo told him.

After she had changed, she went to the living room and sat down on the couch. She didn't even have a chance to get bored as in a second Lily emerged from the kitchen.

''Jo!'' She squealed and ran towards the couch. With a little help from Jo she climbed onto it and then took a good look at her. ''What's that?'' She asked, pointing at the bandaid.

''I ran into a wall.'' Jo told her with a little smile.

''You should be more careful.'' Lily told her seriously, repeating the words she had heard so many times when she hurt herself. She made herself more comfortable, still scrutinizing Jo.

''What?'' Jo asked, as she looked way too serious than usual.

''Mac told me to keep an eye on you.'' She said, somehow proud that she was given such an important task.

''Oh, he did, did he?'' Jo laughed and pulled her into her arms. ''I'm all right, pet. No worries.'' She assured her.

In no time Mac joined them. He put a mug with steaming tea in front of Jo. Then he frowned a little and left the room again.

''I have to show you what Ellie did to Mr. Whiskers!'' Lily suddenly remembered and she ran to her room. While she was gone Mac came back and gave Jo her blanket.

''Here.''

''Thank you.'' Jo smiled at him. He sat down next to her and helped her cover herself with the blanket. Then he handed her the mug.

''You don't have a headache, do you? Or nausea?'' He asked with evident worry in his voice.

''Mac, geeez, calm down. I don't have a concussion.'' Jo told him. ''It's just a cut.''

''But it's deep. I don't know... maybe you need stitches...'' He wondered aloud.

Much to Jo's relief she didn't have to answer, as Mac's attention was distracted by Lily, who came back to the room and joined them on the couch, squeezing herself in between them.

''Look!'' She said and showed Jo the gray bunny. It had a gold bow tied around his neck and a shiny earring that was piercing one of his ears.

''Whoa! He looks fancy.'' Jo laughed.

''What happened to him?'' Mac asked with a frown.

''He's going to a party.'' Lily explained.

''Remind me never to allow Ellie or Lily to help me dress up for a party.'' Mac murmured and Lily pouted upon hearing him. Jo watched in amazement how his features instantly became softer. ''I mean... the earring is a little too much for me...''

''But the bow tie is nice. I heard that gold accessories are all the rage this season.'' Jo teased. ''Oh oh! I think you should borrow it from Mr. Whiskers for Sheldon and Camille's wedding. What do you think?'' She added, which made Lily look at him expectantly.

''I think you might have hit your head harder than I thought...'' He murmured and Jo laughed upon hearing him. ''So where's everybody else?'' Jo asked. ''It's Saturday, so Ellie has soccer practice, but she should be back already.''

''Yes, normally. But she told me she would be a little later as they're having a small celebration after the practice. Someone's birthday. I told her it's OK as she assured me that Ann's mom would give her a lift.'' Mac explained. ''I hope it's OK...''

''Yeah, yeah, she mentioned something to me a couple days ago. I forgot.'' Jo admitted.

''The only thing that makes me wonder... Why is it necessary to spend almost half an hour in front of the mirror, painting her lashes... before soccer practice?'' Mac asked and spread his arms hopelessly.

''She did that, huh?'' Jo smirked. Then she glanced at Mac. ''You know they have a mixed team, right?''

''So that means...'' Mac started and Jo nodded. ''Aaa...'' He murmured with understanding.

''Yeah... I only need to find out on who exactly.'' Jo told him. ''And Rick?''

''He's in Ellie's room, reading her physic's textbook.'' Mac said.

''Reading what?!'' Jo eyes widened.

''Ellie told him that they are doing astronomy right now and he got curious.'' Mac defended him.

''Right... You and the Discovery Channel don't have anything to do with it, right?'' She teased.

''I don't see anything wrong with it.'' Mac told her with a frown.

''Of course you don't.'' Jo laughed. ''You're a nerd yourself.'' She told him.

''Some women find it appealing, you know.'' He teased back.

''Well, yeah... during the last years of college. Before then, it's just weird.'' Jo said with a smile. Then she got serious. ''I just don't want him to end up as one of those science nerds that are bullied to no end.''

''I know...'' Mac nodded.

''Speaking of kids... Tyler called me today. He's finally done with his exams and suddenly he remembers he has a mother and a younger sister.'' Jo told Mac with a mock grudge. ''I told him he could visit us next weekend.''

''Sure, I think he should meet Lily and Rick.'' Mac agreed.

They watched 'My Little Pony' as it was Lily's favorite cartoon. Once it ended, they watched the news which Lily found rather boring, so she moved to the carpet and started to play with building blocks. As she did Mac placed his arm on the back of the couch, behind Jo. He noticed that she got silent and when he looked at her, he saw that her eyes were closing on their own accord.

''Jo... You're tired. Why don't you go to your bed and get some rest?'' He said softly. She looked at him and frowned a little, like she couldn't make out what he had just said for a moment.

''No, no.'' She finally shook her head. ''I'm not tired.'' She said and tried to stifle a yawn. ''And I like it in here.'' She added and made herself more comfortable, sliding further down on the couch.

She was feeling warm and cozy. The quiet murmur of the TV in the background was making it hard to resist the temptation of closing her eyes and despite her words she started to slowly drift off.

But before her mind shut off completely it decided to torment her with the images of the latest event. Suddenly she was back at the subway station, chasing the guy. When she had gotten him and they began to struggle, it briefly crossed her mind that it might not have been the best idea, as only then did she realize how strong he was. But the adrenaline was pumping wildly through her veins. She barely felt how he grabbed a handful of her hair, but she did feel how he smacked her head against the wall. She saw white stars of pain in front of her eyes and felt her head throb agonizingly. But the fear that she would lose consciousness was far worse. He could do anything to her then. She shuddered at the thought.

Then suddenly the movie that had been playing in her head slowed down and started to fade away. Instead she found herself being gently pulled down until she leaned against Mac's solid form. His arm kept her in place and she relaxed, sinking even further into his embrace. The last thing her mind registered was the feeling of being safe and protected from any possible harm.

. . .

A/N I'm terribly sorry it took me so long to update this story, but mid-June is the craziest time of year for me because of my job.

Many thanks to UrbanMuse who corrected this chapter and all the hints she provided.

I promise it won't be this "sugary-fluffy" for long – I'm planning to put some "action" there as well ;) Soon!