Alexis smiled as her a familiar pair of lips settled over hers; leaving her eyes closed, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Not having to rush off to work had its perks, she could admit to herself. She wondered what he was still doing at home. Maybe the criminals had taken the morning off, she mused with a smile. His tongue was warm and sweet as it slid between her lips and teeth and ran across the roof of her mouth. Sighing, she pulled him toward her, her fingers bunching in the fabric of his shirt.

Giving her his old Police Academy t-shirt was the best decision he had ever made, Mac thought to himself. It just about swallowed Alexis up giving her the excuse to wear it to bed and him the opportunity to encounter as little clothing as possible when fate smiled upon him and allowed him a few quiet moments with her. She sat up her knees, her eyes still stubbornly shut, and he drew back, breaking the kiss and making her moan in response. It was good to know he could still get to her this way.

His hair was still wet from his shoulder. She could make out just a faint scent of soap and cologne on his skin when her lips fell across his neck. Deciding she had to do more than smell him, she allowed her eyelids to flutter open and crawled behind him, her lips still pressed to his neck while her fingers molded into the muscles in his back. She chanced a glimpse at the door and smiled when she saw it was shut and locked. He really did think of everything.

It was all he could do to not let his head fall forward when her sweet little kisses turned to light tugging and her knuckles bit into his back. He reached for her and crashed their lips together, needing to taste her. She met his eager mouth with frenzied kisses of her own and crept toward him, his impatient hands helping her into his lap. Something told her he wasn't bluffing but, just to be sure, she ground her hips against his and he was panting.

"Naughty." Mac whispered into her ear and let his hand glide between them and close around one covered breast. The thin material allowed him to feel every sensation as he rubbed his thumb against her and felt her nipple stab into his hand. She jerked his shirt up but became irritated when he refused to abandon his current task long enough for her to relieve him of it. Instead, he slid his hand under her shirt and listened to her quick intake of breath as he applied a more direct approach.

So he thought he could make her a mess anytime he wanted? Alexis mulled over. Well, two could play that game. Something must have given her away because he restrained her hands before she could return the favor. He held her easily with one hand and lazily kissed her, chuckling when she struggled against his hold. "Malcolm." She whispered brokenly.

He could feel her trembling, but told himself he was going to sustain her pleasure as long as he possibly could. When he moved into his second part of this foolproof plan, he wanted her calm and satisfied. Not that he was worried about the latter because they had been made for each other in personality, moral responsibility, and their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. He stroked her skin purposefully, his hand leaving her flushed breast and heading for a new destination, one that was sure to have her arching off the bed in anticipation. He kept their mouths linked as he pushed the shirt away from her skin and slipped his palm inside her panties. They both groaned when his finger slid easily between her legs and caressed her in an antagonizing slow rhythm. With his free hand, he clutched her chin and made sure her gaze didn't waver from his. She grabbed his wrist and worked it to her own agenda, her broken gasps ringing in his ears as he reined his own passion as best he could.

"Please. Now. I've got to have you now." Alexis cried out breaking free of his loosening hold and reaching for the top button of his fly, tugging at it anxiously. He gulped as she efficiently shoved his pants down and ran her index finger across the lining of his boxers.

The only flaw in his plan, he realized, was that he wanted to give into her plea. What was he thinking, making her wait? To do so would mean he would have to. Stubbornly, he snatched up her hand before she reached his sex and threw it over her head propelling her onto her back. Their legs tangled and she lifted herself into him hastily. He moved his other hand to her stomach and held her there, groaning when she bit his bottom lip in response. If there was one thing Alexis wasn't, it was patient.

*****

Alexis's heartbeat thudded rapidly against Mac's chest as he held her tightly to him. His hair had dried while hers was moist with sweat. He tried to fight back his smile when he thought about other moist things and subtly moved his hand between their bodies to stroke her carefully. She glared at him, swatting away his hand and kissed his fingertips. He slid his hand through her hair and pulled her into a slow kiss and she came to him willingly, angling her legs on either side of him even though they were both too exhausted to do anything more than lie there.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Mac trailed kisses all along her throat.

"Is it still light out?" Alexis joked tangling her fingers in his hair.

"I think so." Mac chuckled tracing her spine with the outside of his hand. "Are you up for a little lunch?"

"Is it lunchtime already?" Alexis was surprised.

"I feel like lunch and, even if it's not time for it, I want it. What about you?"

"Well I know how you like to get what you want." Alexis whispered.

"Correction: I always get what I want." Mac argued.

"Oh excuse me, yes I forgot. Just so long as I'm what you want." She tried to laugh off what she had said, but noticed Mac's eyes change.

"Why would say that?"

"I was joking." Alexis insisted.

"It's not funny." Mac assured her.

"Well, it is something we should be thinking about." Alexis reminded him, pushing on his shoulders so that she could sit up. He didn't try to stop her and she tried not to let that hurt her.

"I thought we'd established long ago that you're the only one I want…forever and always."

"We did, but I'm not holding you to what you said." Alexis nodded.

"I'll thank you not to let me off the hook." Mac grumbled, reaching for pants and sliding them on. He seemed a million miles away.

"I don't want to fight with you." She admitted.

"Then why say something like that?" Mac challenged angrily.

"Because I don't think you're getting it." She murmured.

"Getting what?" Mac prodded.

"That I could die." Alexis supplied looking down at her hands.

"Trust me, I get it." Mac cut her off swiftly, cutting an imaginary line in the air with his hand. "And I think I've figured out why you keep bringing it up."

"Because you refuse to acknowledge it's a possibility? Or how about you're so stubborn, you won't even discuss—?" Alexis practically growled at him when he put his hand over her mouth.

"After all this time, you're still waiting for the other shoe to drop." Mac decided with a grim nod.

"I am not." Alexis pulled on the old t-shirt, obviously feeling too vulnerable without it.

"Yes, yes you are. You keep expecting me to make funeral arrangements for you and go on with my life. What you don't seem to understand is that you're vital to my health." He bent down in front of her. "If I didn't have you, I couldn't get over it and move on. No one could ever compare to you and I could never love anyone the way I love you."

"Mac, please…" Alexis begged, tears immediately springing to her eyes.

"No. I've tiptoed around this long enough. It stops now." Mac closed his hand around both of hers and leaned up to kiss her.

"I hate that you can do this to me." Alexis whispered as he tangled their tongues together and enveloped her in his arms.

"You love it. Don't lie." Mac teased, breaking the kiss a moment later. When she stared at him disbelievingly, he kissed the inside of her palms and intertwined their hands. "I love you." He told her simply.

"I love you too." Alexis nodded emphatically. Closing this thumb and index finger around her left hand, he eased the engagement ring off her finger, ignoring her struggle. "What are you doing? That's mine! Give it back!" She whined, looking as if she might pounce on him.

"I will." Mac promised. "But not until I do this right."

"Do what right? Mac, give me my ring back." Alexis demanded worriedly.

"I gave you this ring under the assumption that you wanted to marry me." Mac told her.

"I do. I do want to marry you."

"Is that why you keep reminding me how sick you are? Because you can't wait to be my wife? I don't think so. You're setting yourself up for the inevitable, whatever that is. You're not getting worse. You've been doing your treatments and your hair is growing back. Why can't you see it? Why can't you trust that something good and right is happening here, that I love you more than I ever thought I could love another person?" Mac was almost yelling when he finished.

"I…I don't know." Alexis whimpered.

"You told me not so long ago that you can't see us getting married."

"I was worried that…I was preparing you for…"

"You can't even convince yourself what you're saying makes any sense." Mac accused, swiping a hand through his hair. "It's bullshit…and what's worse is you know it's bullshit."

"I'm scared." Alexis admitted bowing her head.

"I know." Mac nodded. "But what of?"

"I don't know."

"Yes you do. Honey, I know your family left something to be desired, but that doesn't mean—"

"This isn't about them."

"This is always about them." He interrupted. "You're scared to let me love you."

"That's ridiculous." Alexis met his eyes defiantly.

"Is it?"

"Yes. Completely and utterly ridiculous. I'm not scared of you loving me."

"But are you afraid of the power it holds?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not ever going to give up on you. I don't care what the doctors say. God Himself could come down to Earth and tell me that he's taking you with him and I still wouldn't—"

"I'm not going to let you watch me die. That's something no one should have to go through." Alexis cut him off.

"You're not going to die! Goddammit Alexis!"

Alexis dropped her gaze to her hands again, not sure what she could say to make this better. Everything had been so nice before. Her and her stupid mouth. She could have avoided all of this. Now Mac was pacing the room and refused to look at her.

"Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to have to convince the person you love that, yes, maybe they are strong enough to fight the obstacle life threw their way?" Mac challenged. "Do you? God, I want to share a life with you, my life. I want to merge our families and I want Kristina to call me Dad." He caught her eyes then.

"I want that too." Alexis whispered.

"Then stop fighting it. Shit happens, we both know that. That doesn't mean we have to stop living every minute we have. Life is unpredictable and we have no guarantees how much time we have on this earth. I'm done with this." Mac declared.

"Done with what? Me?" Alexis inquired quietly.

Previews:

The desert expanded out in a panoramic vista of red dirt and cacti. He supposed some would find it breathtaking and beautiful. These people, Ric mused, did not date Maxie Jones.