A/N: This superquick posting of the end of 'Firsts' is a shoutout to the AMAZING people who have taken time to review this story. You are a little band of cheer, you are. Many of you said 'I can't wait' for the next installment, so who am I to make you. :) Seriously, thanks so much! I love that you all care about these characters too!

The first time Dick met her parents

Four days later, Dick finds himself at the door of the Mackenzie family. His arms are full, so it takes some maneuvering before he can ring the doorbell with his elbow.

Seconds later, Dick hears quick footsteps toward the door and he sees the flash of a shorter blond head peek through the curtain to the side.

"Mom! Someone's delivering flowers!" he hears the kid bellow before opening the front door.

"Hi," Dick greets the kid, "is Mac here?"

"She's sick. Who are you?"

"I'm Dick. I'm a friend of your sister's. Are you Ryan?" Dick thinks the boy looks small for a 10 year old. Although he sees the resemblance to Madison, he can't help but think of Beaver.

"Yeah," he says, standing up a bit taller and smiling. "How did you know my name?"

"Are you kidding me? Mac told me all about her brother."

Ryan smiles, obviously pleased with this news. "Why do people call her Mac? Her name is Cindy."

"Yeah, but Mac is a sweet nickname for Mackenzie, don't you think?"

"I guess so. It kind of sounds like a boy's name though."

"What sounds like a boy's name, dear?" a pretty blond woman said coming up behind Ryan.

"This is Dick. He's Cindy's friend. He calls Cindy Mac, but I said it sounds like a boy."

"Hello Dick," she says kindly.

"Hello Mrs. Mackenzie," Dick says as he blows blond hair out of his eyes. "How's Ma—Cindy feeling?"

"She's not feeling too well today. The doctor told her she had strep throat."

"Oh," Dick said feeling guilty. "Is there any chance I could see her?"

"I don't know, Dick. She's resting right now, but come on in and have something to drink. Here, let me help you with that."

Mrs. Mackenzie reached for the flower arrangement that was tucked inside the crock-pot Dick was returning.

He followed them hesitantly through a large living room into the kitchen, still toting the empty crock-pot and multiple grocery bags he brought with him.

"Your house is very nice, Mrs. Mackenzie," Dick felt pretty awkward. This is what you're supposed to say with grown-ups, right? "And whatever you're cooking smells great."

"Thank you, Dick. This arrangement is gorgeous and they smell great too. How did you ever decide on these lovely peonies?"

Mrs. Mackenzie placed the short, glass, rectangular vase on the island in the center of the kitchen. The container was full of white fluffy, delicate peonies and one in the center was dark purple. She poured him and Ryan glasses of lemonade.

"Um, I don't know. I guess I just thought Mac would think they were pretty. The lady at the store said he could dip them in any color wax, but I thought it would be cool if she just dipped one of them in purple. Then it would stand out, kind of like Mac, uh Cindy, you know? I thought it looked like the purple streaks in her hair."

Holy shit I am in Mac's kitchen babbling to her mom about flowers. Logan is going to revoke my man card for sure.

When Dick finally looked back at Mac's mom, the look on her face made Dick think she looked like she just learned a secret.

Dick took a long sip of lemonade and then nervously, said, "So, do you think I could say hi to Mac before I left?"

"You had strep throat last week right?" Mrs. Mackenzie asked him.

"Uh, yes ma'am. And Mac—Cindy came to check on me. I told her not to, but she can be kinda stubborn. But I'm really sorry she got sick from me."

"Oh, that wasn't an accusation, dear. Ryan and half of his class have had strep this month. Cindy probably passed it to you first. I just didn't want you to become ill. If you were sick last week, you've probably built up a pretty good immunity, so spending time with her shouldn't put you at risk for getting it again."

"Oh," he said sighing deeply. He did feel a little off the hook. "Hey, is this on the stove your famous vegetable soup? It was great. Mac made it for me last week and it got me feeling better. Are you making some for her?"

"Don't tell me you're one of those vegans too!" Mrs. Mackenzie exclaimed.

"Hell no," Dick looked from Ryan back to Mrs. Mackenzie, "I mean, heck , heck no!"

"Good, then go check on Cindy and plan on staying for dinner. Vegetable soup for her, roast and potatoes for the rest of us. I know Sam will want to meet you when he gets home. Ryan, will you show Dick to Cindy's room?"

Dick nodded to Mrs. Mackenzie and followed Ryan, but he was replaying what just happened. Did he just swear in front of Mac's mom? Get invited to dinner? And now is going to meet her dad any minute and have to share a meal with her whole family?

His worries were pushed aside when Ryan knocked on Mac's door. There was no answer. Ryan pushed the door open and said, "She's all yours."

Dick walked through the doorway and saw Mac wrapped up in so many blankets she looked like a brunette burrito. He had to laugh at the sight.

"Mackie?" he whispered, then a little louder he said, "Mackie, you awake?"

She still didn't stir. He knelt down beside her daybed and swept the hair out of her face. She was fast asleep. But Dick couldn't bring himself to leave her. He sat down on the floor beside her and leaned his back against the bed. Her room was surprisingly bright. White walls with lots of natural light. He was surprised to see so many art posters on her walls. In here, it felt like he didn't know much about the woman sleeping so close to him. As he finished surveying the room, Dick saw Ryan still standing in the doorway.

"Well, come on in, Ryan."

"No thanks, I'm not allowed in Cindy's room without her permission."

He laughed at this. Had he already forgotten how nosy little brothers could be?

"She's asleep, it'll be fine."

Ryan stepped into the room hesitantly.

"Hey, does she have an Xbox or Playstation or anything in here?" Dick asked him from the floor.

"Oh, no," Ryan said walking closer to Dick. "I'm definitely not allowed to mess with her Nintendo."

"Hey Ryan, I'll take the heat for this one. You get the Nintendo set up and we'll play. If Cindy yells at anybody, I'll make sure it's me."

"You sure?" he said, already untangling wires. "She can get pretty mad."

"She yells at me all the time, dude. You can't take it personally," he said with a smile.

Ryan handed him a controller and they played some old-school Super Mario Brothers 3.

"Get off Sis!" Dick heard Ryan yell about 20 minutes later. Ryan brushed Mac's hand off his head.

"Dick let's me play with his hair, Ryan," Mac murmured as Dick felt her fingers gently scratch his scalp and pull through his hair.

"Hey Sleepy." Not nearly enough, Dick thought, suppressing a groan. He didn't chance turning around fearing she would stop.

"Yeah, well Dick also picks out flowers, talks about recipes, and sucks at Nintendo, so pardon me if I don't really care what Dick let's you do."

Dick was simultaneously impressed and offended. Mac giggled sleepily. "Dick, since when did you turn into such a pansy?"

"Just since I arrived at your house, Mackie," he was barely following the conversation and not focusing on the game at all. All Dick could think about were the fingers running through his hair.

"Ryan, Dick may not be in his top form now, but he's a guy's-guy for sure. Though you do need a haircut," she said as she tugged lightly at the hair that fell long at the back of his neck.

Dick was listening now. "Oh, yeah? " said Ryan. "Just 'cause he cussed in front of Mom and eats meat? That's not enough to impress me."

"You what?"

Dick didn't think he'd prove any manliness if he yelped at how hard Mac was gripping his hair now.

He paused the game and turned toward Mac.

"It was an accident. I corrected quickly. Just 'H-E-L-L' and your Mom invited me to dinner right after, so I don't think she really cared."

"Mom invited you to dinner?" Mac asked with a groan.

"Oh," Dick said a little sadly, "you don't want me to stay? She didn't exactly give me a chance to answer anyway, so I could say I'm busy."

"No, it's not that, it's—"

"It's that our parents are embarrassing," Ryan finished for her.

"Exactly," confirmed Mac. "You're welcome to stay, Dick. Just don't judge me by my parents."

"Yeah, well, ditto, Mackie. I hope you haven't been judging me by mine this whole time. "

"I still don't know why you think I should be impressed by Dick, Cindy," Ryan said steering the conversation back to him.

"Ryan, Dick drives a motorcycle, he can have any girlfriend he wants, he can beat me at video games you aren't old enough to play yet, and he's the best surfer I've ever seen."

"Wow," Ryan said (which is exactly what Dick was thinking at this assessment), "you can beat Cindy at video games?"

"Only sometimes," Dick admitted with a laugh. He turned back towards Mac. "How ya' feelin' Mackie?"

"I'm freezing," Mack said burrowing further into her blankets, "but my throat is feeling better since I started taking medicine this morning."

Dick rubbed her shoulder or maybe it was her back, he couldn't be sure, through all the blankets. "I'm sorry I got you sick Mackie. I brought you some Gatorade and some throat lozenges."

"That was sweet of you, Dick, but it wasn't your fault."

He pouted at her.

"I recall telling you my immune system was pristine," she argued.

"Yeah, right before I begged you to stay."

"Dick! Drop it. We can't do anything about it now!"

"She does yell at you a lot," Ryan commented with a smile.

"Who told you you could come in here, half-pint?"

Ryan made a face at Dick.

There was a knock at the opened door.

"Hey Pumpkin," Mac's dad said from the door. "Mom said you were coming home from school, but I'm sorry you're sick."

"Hey Daddy," she said trying to sit up. "This is my friend Dick."

Dick was standing up and dusting off his hands on his pants as Mac introduced him.

"Dick Casablancas. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Casablancas, huh?" Mr. Mackenzie said as he firmly shook the younger man's hand.

Shit, thought Dick.

Shit, thought Mac.

"Yes, sir," Dick said, trying to look him in the eye.

Mr. Mackenzie looked at Mac still holding onto Dick's grip, "Any relation to—"

"Yes, Dad. Dick and Cassidy were brothers."

Mr. Mackenzie nodded. "Terrible thing that happened to your brother, Dick," he said as he clasped his other hand on Dick's arm. "Sam Mackenzie. Call me Sam."

To your brother? Not because of him? Well, that was a good start, both Mac and Dick were thinking. Dick didn't know how to respond to this, luckily he didn't have to.

"Honey, you feel like you can come to the table for dinner?" Sam asked Mac. "Mom says everything is ready. Dick, Natalie says you're joining us."

"Okay Dad," Mac said starting to shed her blankets and stand up. Ryan hopped up off the floor and joined his dad at the door while Dick moved toward Mac to help her out of her layers.

Mac took a step forward and stumbled a little. In the same second, Dick had both hands around her waist.

"Are you being klutzy or are you feeling light-headed?" he asked close to her ear.

Mac pushed away from him slightly feeling awkward in front of her dad and brother, "You know I'm a klutz, Dick," she said at a louder volume not wanting the men in her family to question her closeness with Dick.

"Okay then," he loosened his grip on her and just kept one hand lightly at her back.

Mac walked toward the door and stopped abruptly. She dove for her garbage can and proceeded to vomit the remaining contents of her stomach into it. All three men groaned. Ryan ran out of the room. Sam made his way toward his daughter, but saw that Dick was already kneeling beside her rubbing her back and keeping her hair away from the trash can.

Ryan returned with Mrs. Mackenzie and a towel which he handed to his sister.

"On second thought," she told the crowd weakly, "I think I'll skip dinner for now."

"Here Cindy, let me help you back to bed," Mrs. Mackenzie said as she moved towards her daughter.

"And Dick you can join the guys at the table," Mr. Mackenzie said with a hand on Dick's shoulder.

Dick and Mac locked eyes for a second before he was ushered out. Fear was evident in both of their faces.

Mac sat on her bed and said, "I'm fine, Mom, really. Can you tell Ryan to come back her for just a second."

"Just rest, Cindy. We'll go easy on Dick, honey, don't worry," her Mom said with a smile.

Mac flung herself fully down on the bed. "Ryan, please Mom? And be nice."

In a minute Ryan came back into her room, "Mom said you needed me."

"I do, little man, I do," she said weakly. "You've gotta' help him, Ryan. You know how weird they can be."

"Help him how?"

"Just be yourself. Be funny like always. Take the attention off him if he looks nervous. Or tell some of your stories if things are too quiet. Okay, Ryan? You got my back on this?"

"Is Dick your boyfriend, Cindy?" he asked inquisitively.

"No Ryan, he's not my boyfriend."

"Then why do you care so much?" he asked in a sing-song voice, already heading out the door. "I'm taking your TV and your Nintendo when you go back to college, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I knew that was coming."

...

"I can't believe you stayed," Mac told Dick. He had finished up dinner and dessert with her family and then came back to check on her before he left.

"I can't believe you made yourself puke to get out of it Pumpkin," he told her as he flopped down on the bed beside her.

"You don't get to call me that," She laughed lightly. "That's a Dad thing. Hey, thanks for coming by today, Dick."

"Dinner with your family was nice, Mac. Your Mom and Dad were really decent to me and they didn't have to be after all that with Beav—"

"That had nothing to do with you, Dick."

He nodded. "Your Mom's a good cook and they were all funny and told interesting stories. It was nice being in a normal home again. I really had forgotten what it was like."

Mac sat up and leaned her head on his shoulder. Dick continued, "And Ryan is hilarious. You should be nicer to him, Mac. He was terrified to come in here earlier today."

"Little brothers can be a pain in the ass, Dick," she said then froze realizing who she was talking to. "Not that I need to tell you that, though," she mumbled.

"You only get the one..." he mumbled back and Mac nodded in agreement.

"I'll be nicer. I promise. I'm already making a good start—I told him I'd give him my TV and Nintendo if he helped you out tonight."

"You did? Ha! Well, he earned it!"

"What did you say?" Mac asked suspiciously.

"Nothing! I just forget that most of my best stories start as 'One time, in Tijuana' or 'One time, when I was wasted' or 'One time, your daughter paid this transvestite to teach me a lesson.'"

"Dick!" Mac screamed.

"I'm kidding, Mackie! But he did help me stall a few times when I had to think about 'why I chose business as a major' or 'where do I see myself in the next 10 years.'"

"Oh, Dick, I'm sorry and embarrassed. I wish I'd been there to help."

"Nah, Ryan did great. And they didn't kick me out of their house. Which is more than I can say for your real parents."

"Shh! Don't let anyone hear you say that!" she whispered loudly while covering his mouth. "And I'm sure you earned getting tossed out, Dick."

"Oh, I know I did," he said with a wicked smile. " Okay, Cindy I'm going to get out of here and let you sleep. Call me if you need help getting back to campus or anything."

"Okay Dick, goodnight. Thanks again."

"Night babe," he said as he ruffled her hair. He cringed inwardly at the slip, but took comfort in the fact she didn't correct him.

Dick made his way back out to his Jeep and found Ryan sitting inside it.

"Hey Dude. What's up?" Dick greeted him.

"Do you really ride a motorcycle, Dick?" Ryan asked in disbelief.

"Sometimes, Ryan, but I have other vehicles too. Like this one."

"Cindy was wrong about the other thing though, wasn't she?"

"About what, amigo?"

"You can't have any girlfriend you want. 'Cause you want her and she's not your girlfriend."

Dick was quiet for a good thirty seconds; he was shocked.

"I think it goes without saying that I could and would kick your ass if you repeated this, little guy, but your sister is too good to be my girlfriend."

"Maybe," he agreed, "but she likes you, I can tell. Why won't she be your girlfriend?"

"Well, for one I'm too chicken-shit to ask her," Dick said, deciding on a whim to bear his soul to a 10 year old, "but the main reason is that I was mean to her a long time ago and I don't think she trusts me to be nice all the time now."

Now it was Ryan's turn to be quiet for a long time.

"Does 'chicken-shit' mean scared?"

"Yeah, Ryan," he said with a sigh as he ran a hand though his hair. Please don't tell your parents or your sister I said that word to you, okay? I meant scared."

"So why were you mean to her?" Dick took notice of protective he was of Mac.

Dick took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Because I was a jerk to her when we were growing up, Ryan. I thought I was better than her because I had money and wore cool clothes and hung out with other kids who thought they ruled our school. And she didn't. I was stupid back then."

"Oh, so you're an 09er," he stated simply.

"Yeah," Dick said hanging his head. "You know about that stuff in the fifth grade?"

"This is Neptune, Dick. You've got no idea."

"Well, I'll give you some advice I wish someone had given me back then. None of that stuff matters. Not how popular you are or how rich or how cool. I mean, we both know it does matter if you don't get invited to parties or don't have friends to sit with at lunch or whatever. But you should find friends that are nice no matter what and be nice to them no matter what. The outside stuff doesn't mean anything if your popular friends are all posers. And if you ever find a girl as great as Mac don't be mean to her before you get a chance to know her."

Ryan thought about this before he got up the courage to ask, "I thought you were going to say you were mean to her after Cindy's old boyfriend died. He was your brother right? The one who died?"

Dick's face was pained. "How did you know about him?"

"I listen. Cindy was sad for a long time after he died. And I heard Dad ask you about it tonight."

Dick didn't know how to respond. Ryan continued. "I didn't mean to make you sad. I just wanted to tell you I thought Cindy acted really happy with you today. Even when she was puking her guts up. And I was glad she was happy."

"Well, to answer your question, yeah, I was mean to her before and after my brother died. But I apologized for that and we're friends now. We're trying at least. I'm glad she seemed happy to you."

"I think you're doing a good job being her friend, Dick."

Dick sighed, he hoped so. "You know what, that actually means a lot. You've gotta' be coolest fifth grader in Neptune, Ryan," Dick said after a moment.

"I like to think so," he replied as he got out of the Jeep, "despite my 02er status."

"Cool or not, I'll kill you if you breathe a word of this to her."

"And you may be a guy's-guy and all, but I'll kill you if you're mean to her again, Dick."

Despite his size, Dick believed him.

"Deal," he said with a smile. "Now scram, half-pint."

Ryan ran toward the door, but turned back to yell, "Hey Dick! Why didn't you show her the flowers you brought? Girls love flowers."

"How would you know what girls like?" he asked with a laugh.

"Hey, flowers always work for me. Mom gets mad when I tear up her garden, but the ladies love it." the kid said with a wink. "I'll make sure she sees them."

"Be smooth about it," Dick cautioned.

"Always."

The first time Mac let herself think about it

"Hey, this is Dick. I'll let my sexy secretary take it from here."

The woman common to all voice mail recording devices was heard next, "At the tone, please leave a message."

"Dick, hey it's me. Sorry we didn't get to hang out tonight, I didn't mean to cancel last minute. After class I had work, then my group project meeting which was supposed to take about an hour ended up taking three. Bunch of idiots," she mumbled into her phone. "Okay, so it's a little after midnight and I just crawled into bed, but well, I missed you. I mean, I appreciated your photo text of everyone at Wallace's game, but you know, I didn't get to talk to you today. I can't think of the last time we went a whole day without talking….probably back when you were sick. Okay…well, I'm completely rambling at this point, sorry. I hope you had a good day doing whatever it is you got to do today. So, uh, don't bother calling me back. I know it's late. Uh….yeah, well, goodnight Dick. " She hung up.

Then panicked.

To Mac, this was the most girly, pathetic message she could have left. She was tired and she had missed hanging out or talking with Dick today, but did she have to sound like such a sap? Mac was already hacking into his voicemail to delete it when she started questioning her actions. Not the action of deleting the message, the adrenaline that began coursing through her exhausted body told her that was a necessity at this point, but the action of calling him in the first place.

Calling Dick tonight had been like a reflex. She hadn't even thought about it. Mac just collapsed into her dorm room bed and hit his speed dial number. Like her body knew this is what she would need before she could rest. What did that mean?

Do I like Dick? Like-like him? This was preposterous. Wasn't it? He's just a friend. Just a friend? She scoffed at herself. No one uses the 'just' if they really mean it's only friendship. You say, 'we're friends.' I wasn't desperate to talk to Veronica or Wallace tonight, and I didn't see them all day either. Argh! Dick and I are from two different worlds. Well, two different sides of Neptune, and that's essentially the same thing. He's not my type at all. Do I really even have a type, though? But holy shit, he's beautiful . And funny. Happy. Sweet. Thoughtful. Protective. Surprisingly insightful. Confident. Honest, really honest. Strong. Witty. Sexy, undeniably sexy.

Hell fire and damnation, I like Dick.

She thought about their last few months together. Dick and Logan standing up to Max at the party. Dick waking her up when she was sleeping at the beach. Waiting for her when she was walking into a client's dorm room while working. Their time at his grand-dad's beach. Talking to him about Cassidy outside her dormitory. Their true friendship. Lunches, dinners at the Suite, studying together. His constant attention to her happiness and safety. Their new routines: she liked when he drove her places, that he always ordered food she would like, and their assigned seats for movie night. He always pushed her to go out more, to be more social, to have more fun—and she always did, when she was with him. She admired the brave way he dealt with her parents alone and the more responsible attitude he had about his classes this year. What girl wouldn't fall for a guy as great as Dick?

Mac finally understood she had been purposefully blind to her attraction to him all semester. Blind because it could never work out between them. Blind because of the past. His past. Her past. His money. His social status. All the experience he had; all the experience she didn't have. The Cassidy thing. And the Veronica thing.

As much as her closest friend hung out with Dick, she didn't really understand him or enjoy his company as much as Mac did. Veronica didn't get that most of his lewd glances and less than brilliant comments were uttered for the reaction he got. He liked the people around him to be animated. For a laid back guy, he loved when people were fired up or passionate about something, even if it was against him. Dick lapped up people yelling at him for being perverted or dumb, and thoroughly didn't care if they thought he was either. He knew he wasn't, not deep down, and Mac was certain of this as well. She kind of loved that about him. Dick didn't care what people thought about him, well except for maybe her and Logan.

What about what Wallace kept telling her—could Dick really have feelings for her? Sure he liked her. Mac knew he enjoyed her being around her. She could see his opinions on Trevor and Zach's advances as jealousy, or she could look at his thoughts on them for what they probably were—he was looking out for her. Mac knew Dick constantly sought her company out, but she could never be what the other women in his life were. Sexy, adventurous, bold. Dick liked beautiful and brazen girls, and she was neither. Girls like Madison and Gia and Lily. Yes, he flirted with her every chance he got and he had a penchant for touching her. She sighed at this thought, remembering all the sweet ways his hands had graced her body. Mac loved the cocky sexy looks he gave her. But that was what Dick did, right? He liked riling people up for a reaction, and nothing worked more consistently on Mac than boldly hitting on her.

He's never made a move, though, she realized. Not once has he pushed his luck just to see what would happen. And that, to Mac, seemed like a very Dick thing to do—to just go after what he wanted. Not when he held her in her bikini. Not when she slept in his bed after dumping Max. Not when she snuggled up to him in the hammock. Not at all the parties. Not at movie nights. Not on the walks home. Never. Dick was all talk. If he really liked me, she rationalized, he would have tried by now. He only sees me as a friend, she was sad to finally grasp.

Why hadn't he answered his phone tonight? Mac's troubled thoughts drifted back to the man and where he was right this instant. He always answered her calls. If she was honest with herself, Mac knew she had been avoiding thinking about her feelings for Dick and his for her for a long time. Why else would she leave the parties or the bar before all the others? She couldn't bear to see who Dick would take home. She knew he'd end up pairing off with someone at the end of each night of revelry, and whether it was a new fling or someone on a repeat rotation, Mac knew she probably couldn't stomach the image of them together. Thinking of Dick with anyone besides her was something her mind instinctively avoided. Except for tonight. He was probably with someone right now. Some fair-haired, tan and toned beauty was probably underneath him this very minute. In his bed. The bed they had cozied up together in when he was sick—

The stark ring of her phone shook her from her destructive thoughts.

She beamed when she saw Dick's goofy face flash on her phone.

"Hey," she said quietly as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Hey. Did I wake you up?" Dick asked her, mimicking her hushed tone.

"No, I was up. I just called you actually."

"Yeah Mackie-O, I know!" he said much more excited now, "You didn't leave a message, so I didn't think it was an emergency. It took me a little while to call back because Logan and I were rescuing people from a plane crash and then we got ambushed."

"Full Spectrum Warrior tonight, then? I do love your non-shoot-em-up-war games, Dick," Mac said smiling now. She couldn't believe how relieved she felt knowing he was playing video games with Logan and not panting over some blond.

"Hey, I meant to call you before we got so wrapped up in it anyway. I haven't talked to you all day. I missed you, Mackie. So what's up? How was your day?"

Mac was stunned. What she agonized over telling him, Dick could easily say without hesitation. "Um, my day was okay. Busy, but okay. I just wanted to say I was sorry I cancelled. My group meeting turned into a three hour waste of time."

"No problem, your text made it sound like you were trapped in a snooze fest. You missed a good game though. Hearst won and Wallace had a good night—I think he got 17 points."

"I liked the picture you sent, Dick. Logan picking his nose, Veronica pointing a gun, you touching V's butt…"

"Good. We got you a foam finger too, so you'll have to come up with something funny to do with yours for the picture at the next game. You sure you're okay, Mackie? You tired?"

"Uh-huh," she said, "Hey, Dick? I…I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing, babe. Sweet dreams."

"Hey Dick?" she said again, gathering a little courage from his words, "I missed you today, too."

"Of course you did," Mac loved when she could hear the smile in his voice. "'Night Mackie."

"'Night Dick."

There were lots of other firsts for Mac and Dick. Some little and some big. Big like the first time Dick threw a punch for her, or the first time Mac got really jealous, or the first time they kissed. None of those firsts happened until a few week later, the first time they went to Las Vegas...