Chapter 5

Last time

She turned around to head to Stella's office. When she got there, she decided not to knock and barge in, but when she stepped in, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Now on with the story...

Audrey's mouth hung open at what she was looking at. In front of her was Stella and her father kissing. She didn't know what to think of it at first. She knew that she always wanted her dad to be happy, and her mother had been gone for awhile now. Plus she loved Stella like a mother. Thinking of that, she decided she liked the idea of her dad and Stella being together. She smiled and was about to step out to give them privacy when her cell phone went off.

Stella and Mac flew apart, knowing that they had been caught. They looked at Audrey, who stared at them and then turned and ran down the hall. Mac went to follow her with Stella not far behind him. They saw that she ran into the break room and followed.

When they got to the room, Mac stopped Stella, "Let me go in first and talk, then you can come in. I don't want her to feel like we are pressuring her."

"Yeah, okay. I hope she doesn't hate me," Stella said concerned.

He put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting way, "It will be okay. Just give her some time to come around. She loves you to death."

When he stepped into the room, he closed the door behind him and looked at Audrey, who had her back to him. He noticed that her shoulders were shaking. This was going to harder then he thought. He didn't want to hurt her; he loved her - she was his life. On the other hand, he loved Stella. But his daughter came first so he hoped he could fix this.

He walked up to Audrey. "Audrey, it's-" She jumped and turned around, showing him she wasn't crying but was laughing.

"Are you okay? I thought you were crying," he asked concerned.

"You scared me, Dad. I'm so sorry; I should of knocked, but… well, in my defense I didn't except you to be in there kissing her," she started to laugh again. "You should have seen your faces when my phone went off. I was embarrassed and didn't want to laugh so I ran. Sorry, I wasn't mad."

Mac sat down and was relieved as he thought this might actually work out, "I thought you were upset."

Audrey sat next to him and put her arm around him, "At first I didn't know what to think, but I want you to be happy, and I know mom would too, and I love Stella; she has always been there for me and you, so I'm happy for you."

She looked him in the eye and asked, "Dad, do you love her? Are you happy with her?"

Mac looked into his daughter's eyes; he couldn't believe how mature she was and how much she was like her mother. "Yes, Audrey, I love Stella so much, and she makes me happy. And I'm glad you are okay with of this, and I love you too" he hugged her. "Maybe I should tell Stella to come in; she thinks you hate her."

"I don't hate her," she said as she got up and walked to the door, "and cool because I want to know how this happened."

Audrey opened the door that Stella was leaning against. She went falling back into the room but caught herself before she fell. "I'm okay. Stupid to lean against a door, huh?" They all laughed.

As Audrey closed the door, she turned to face Stella. "Stella, I don't hate you. I love you very much, and I'm glad that you and my dad finally got together," she said as she drew Stella into a hug. "But next time lock the door in a make out session."

Stella laughed and Mac smiled at Stella, who smiled back at him, both knowing that everything was going to be okay and both remembering last night, the night they declared their love for each other in this very room with the door locked.