God knows we tried everything that we could do
You can keep your pride and blame me if you need to
Even though this freedom feels a lot like treason,
I know staying's worse than leaving

With Charlie already done, Mac only had Will left to tell. Well, other than the staff and more specifically, Jim. She supposed having at least Charlie over with should have greatly reduced her stress. But somehow, with only Will to concentrate on, her anxiety had increased tenfold over the weekend, as had her sadness. Up to that point, Mac's struggle and determination to break away from Will, assert her independence, get her life in order – or, whatever the hell it was she was doing - she had done quietly on her own. This final break, though, would be completely different.

In her mind, she'd crafted several different approaches to this conversation. The problem was, and this was somewhat unusual for her, she really had no idea how Will was going to react and that made it all decidedly more difficult. Anger, relief, sadness, indifference? Well, she didn't really expect indifference. If there was one thing she was still reasonably sure of where Will was concerned, it was that whatever he was feeling at any given time, he really felt it. There was never a middle of the road. He may not be absolutely sure of his own conclusions or the right or wrong path, but as far as emotions, Will was never a little angry or a little happy or a little sad. He was livid, euphoric or heartbroken. And for better or worse, he was never a little in love. As Mac well knew, he didn't love easily or often but when he did, he loved totally and completely. When he had loved her, it was all-encompassing and overwhelming from day one. The flipside of that, of course, was he hurt in the same all-encompassing, overwhelming way. Maybe that was why he could never come back from it …

Mac shook her head brusquely to stop her thoughts. There was no reason to rehash this for the billionth time. She'd gone through this obsessively for years, and had forced herself to stop, or tried. It didn't serve any purpose and there was nothing new to understand, anymore. They were colleagues, and occasionally friends, and in that regard, she was certain he liked and respected her, and she knew she respected him. Beyond that, well, there wasn't a beyond that besides heartache and they'd both had enough of that. Though her mind may choose to punish her forever, she needn't provide it daily ammunition.

Monday morning came too soon and as Mac walked into the office, she was so tense her shoulders were beginning to ache and her stomach was in knots. As usual, she was the first to arrive but she knew that among the next to get there would be Will. She had finally decided she would tell him before the rundown. That way, she'd hopefully have a little bit of time to regain her composure. She had a feeling she'd need it.

Mac sat her briefcase down, turned on her computer and was taking a drink of her coffee when her door opened and in walked Will. Mac choked, nearly spilling coffee down the front of her blouse and feeling as if she'd just gotten caught red-handed.

Will smiled, "You okay there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Mac answered, flustered and trying to smile back. For some reason, she was having a hard time looking him in the eye. It suddenly occurred to her that maybe Charlie had already told him, though she'd asked him not to. She glanced up at him quickly, searching for a sign that he knew anything. "Um, did you need something?" she asked nervously.

Will furrowed his brow but then recovered quickly, "No, I was walking back into my office, saw you come in and walked over to say good morning."

"Oh, okay then," Mackenzie replied, but continued searching his face for some clue as to whether he knew anything.

"What, Mac? Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, fine. Just distracted, I guess. You're here early this morning."

He shrugged, "Yeah, I couldn't sleep. I finally decided to just go ahead and come in and maybe get an early start."

She did the usual immediate reminder to herself not to ask if something was wrong, if there was a reason he couldn't sleep. She'd nearly perfected the art of automatically extinguishing her curiosity and concern, or voicing it aloud anyway. She smiled and nodded, she hoped sympathetically, and said, "Well, maybe insomnia can at least be productive then, right?" She hesitated a moment and then decided to just plow through this and get it over with.

"Listen, Will, it's just as well you're here early because I need to speak with you and maybe it's better to do this now before most of the staff arrives."

Will looked startled, then chuckled saying, "That sounds ominous, Mac. Should I be sitting down for this?"

"Yes, yes, I think you probably should, actually."

At that, Will frowned and sat down in the chair across from her desk. "Okay. What's going on? Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened, Will. Well, I mean, nothing significant. I mean, it's significant but not like a breaking news kind of significant." She was rambling and she knew it.

"Mackenzie, what are you …"

"I'm resigning," she blurted out.

There was silence.

All the color drained from Will's face but his expression was blank. Mac looked like she'd startled herself a little as well.

After what seemed like an eternity, Mackenzie said, "Um, I didn't mean to say it quite like that but yes, I'm resigning." She noticed her hands were shaking and immediately crossed her arms, she thought her voice might be as well. She cleared her throat lightly, trying to regain some control of this situation while Will continued to just stare at her blankly. "CNN made me an offer to head up a new nightly broadcast," she explained, and then added hastily, "Not against your timeslot, of course."

Will continued to stare at her and Mackenzie was getting increasingly uncomfortable. "Anyway, I thought it over and decided to accept." Still nothing from Will. "Charlie knows, of course, and"

"Charlie knows?" Will asked abruptly.

He'd been so quiet and non-responsive, she actually jumped when he asked. "Yes, Charlie knows. He and I discussed it last Friday."

"You told Charlie before you told me? Three days before you told me?" Will's voice was getting a little stronger now.

"Actually, Charlie found out before I had a chance to tell him. I'd intended to tell both of you today."

"But once you knew that he knew, you still didn't tell me for three more days? And he didn't tell me, either?"

"It was the end of the day Friday when he and I talked. I intended to tell you first thing the following Monday, which I have. I don't understand - "

Will cut her off, "You couldn't tell me before Monday? You don't have my phone number, don't know where I live? Is that it? You have to wait until Monday morning at the office?"

"Will, I really don't" Mackenzie began, at a loss as to why this was what he was focusing on, but he cut her off again.

Will stood up, his voice continuing to rise, "No, I'm curious, Mac. Is that how we're playing this? Should I look for a formal letter of resignation by the afternoon? Make sure we're following all the formal rules since clearly that's who we are now."

"Or," Mackenzie spat, having lost her patience with this, "you could just fire me this Friday and save us all the trouble. That option is certainly part of the formal rules, isn't it, Will?"

He stopped then, staring at her. She regretted that remark immediately. She had known he would react negatively and she had intended to avoid taking the bait.

"Is that what this is about? You want to renegotiate your contract?"

She honestly couldn't tell if Will meant that to be an insult or if he was actually serious. She tried recapturing her calm approach, "No, I don't want to negotiate anything. I've received several offers recently and this one enticed me more than the others."

Will started to say something several times, but stopped. Finally, looking away from Mac and out the window, he said, his voice calmer, "This is why you've been giving more responsibility to Jim, because you knew you were leaving."

He hadn't actually framed it as a question, but Mackenzie responded regardless, "Yes, that is partly why. That and he deserves more responsibility. He's more than earned it and I wanted to make sure he not only felt confident but that everyone involved in making the decision on my replacement would have a chance to see how exceptional he is."

He turned to look at her for several seconds before stating only, "Your replacement."

Again, Mackenzie wasn't sure how to respond. Finally, she said, "Yes, my replacement. I can't imagine that there is any question he is the right person for the job and if there is, then at least everyone has had the chance to see him at his best and he'll have a fair shot at getting the position."

Will continued to stare at her and Mac couldn't read him at all. She continued, hoping that she sounded more confident and calm than she felt. "But I haven't said anything to Jim yet. I'd like to speak with him this morning, after the rundown. So, please don't say anything to him, if you wouldn't mind? He's likely to be a little overwhelmed and I don't want him to feel any more blindsided than he inevitably will already."

At that, Will scoffed, running his hand through his hair and looking out the window again for a second. "Yes, we wouldn't want Jim to feel blindsided, would we?" And with that he turned to walk out of her office.

"Will," she started but he didn't slow down and the door closed behind him.

Author's Note: I am having trouble moving forward from this point because I find writing anything from Will's POV extremely difficult. I know how I want this to go and how I want him to react in the big picture but writing him is hard. If anyone wants to help me out, either by being a beta or maybe giving tips as I try to draft, please PM me. Thanks!