"Why the hell were you talking with Nina Howard, Billy?"

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose; that wasn't a conversation he wanted to have after the day he had just had. He stared at the cigarette in his hand and sighed deeply. How the hell had she found out?

"They saw you leave the bar, Billy, five minutes before she did." Mac told him, knowing by his silence that he was wondering about it. When Jim had called and told her, she couldn't believe it. "Are you there? Will?"

"I'm here." He replied.

"So?" She questioned him.

"Mac." He said, his voice pleading with her to let it go.

"What does she have on you?"

"She knows I wasn't sick on 9/11." Will explained.

"How the hell did she find out?" Mac asked him.

"Anonymous source." He replied.

"Anonymous source my ass, Billy." She said. "You're hiding something, I can tell. Remember the conversation we had two days ago?" She told him. "Don't keep things from me."

"The stalker called her." Will finally said. He heard Mac gasp so he quickly continued talking. "Or at least that's what Lonny and I think."

"Why do you think that?" Mac softly asked, afraid of his possible answer.

"She also knows about him and the accident." He told her.

"So she knows about us too." She guessed. His silence confirmed her suspicions. "When is this going to be published?" Mac warily asked him.

"She isn't running it. When I explained everything, off-the-record of course, she told me she wouldn't be the one to give him the publicity he's been looking for."

"She has a heart, after all." Mac muttered. "And what about us?"

"What about us?" He repeated.

"Don't play dumb, Billy."

"I convinced Nina to wait until we're ready." Will simply said. He hoped that Mac would be satisfied with his answer but, deep down, he knew she wouldn't. Her next question confirmed his thoughts.

"How?" When he didn't answer, she asked him again. "How did you convince her?"

"I told her she'd be the first to know." He waited a few seconds but Mac remained quiet. He looked down at his phone and saw that she had hung up.

At her apartment, Mac saw the incoming call on her cell, the fifth in the last three minutes. She ignored the call and closed her eyes, trying to sleep. A few minutes later, her Blackberry beeped, informing her that she had a new message. She opened it and sighed deeply.

Mac, pick up the damn phone. W.

She ignored it too. He called again before sending another message.

Ok, I get the message, you're mad at me. Just tell me that you're ok. We'll talk tomorrow. W.

Knowing that, if she didn't answer, he would come all the way to her apartment, she wrote a quick reply.

I'm fine.

It wasn't until the next morning that she saw his last message.

I'm sorry, I just did what I thought it'd be better. Don't stay mad for too long, please. Love you. W.

The first thing Mac noticed when she stepped into her office was the vase filled with beautiful and expensive pink lilies on her desk. She didn't want to think how much they had cost Will, they were truly beautiful, but they also were something Will always did. She looked for a note but didn't find one: typical Will. Mac appreciated the gesture but a bunch of flowers wouldn't solve their problem: Will had gone behind her back to speak with Nina and, between the two of them, had agreed to a master-plan to cover-up their relationship (if you could call what Will and Mac had at that moment a relationship). If he had told her his intentions she would had told him that the whole thing was a bad idea, Nina was trouble and everybody knew it.

Mac could feel the pain in her neck getting worse and it was only 9 a.m. The trouble she had had the night before falling asleep would surely take its price during the day. For a second, she considered calling Charlie and taking the day off but her workaholic mind didn't let her. Instead, she moved the vase to a corner of her desk and sat down to work.

She didn't see Will until the pitch meeting, at which he arrived five minutes late. The tension between them was obvious and something that distracted the staff. It took a few tries but, at the end, they managed to have a successful meeting. Mac was the first one to leave the room, walking quickly to her office to avoid Will. When she opened her door, she groaned at the sight of her best friend sitting in front of her desk.

"Nice flowers." Sloan said in greeting, grinning.

"I know." Mac tiredly replied, walking around her friend to sit on her chair.

Sloan turned to look at her. "What did Will do?" She asked, glancing at the flowers.

"Why do you assume that Will did something?" Mac asked back.

"These are apology flowers." Sloan simply stated.

"I don't want to talk about it, Sloan." Mac told her friend. "Not now."

"Ok." Sloan said, letting it go. "Anyway, that wasn't why I came here, even if it's an added bonus. How are you? We didn't have a lot of time to talk yesterday."

"It still hurts but it's getting better. I start with the physical therapist tomorrow." Mac explained.

"Is he a cutie?" Sloan quickly asked. Mac rolled her eyes at her. "What?"

"He's twenty-six."

"That doesn't answer my question, Kenzie." She reminded her friend.

"Stop by tomorrow and I'll introduce you." Mac told her.

"Thanks."

A knock on the door interrupted them. Mac was pretty sure who was at the other side so she mentally prepared herself before saying "Come in."

Will warily opened the door and stepped inside. "Hey." He said. Then, he noticed that Mac wasn't alone. "Hi Sloan." He told the other woman.

"Do you need something?" Mac asked him, trying not to sound too pissed of.

"I thought we could go out and grab something to eat around one, before the rundown meeting." Will told her.

"No unscheduled trips for me, remember?" Mac said. "Besides, Sloan and I are ordering in."

"We are?" Sloan said, without thinking, but she quickly corrected her mistake. "Yes, of course. You're welcome to join us if you want." She told Will, ignoring the panicked look on Mac's face.

"Oh, no, but thank you Sloan." He replied, disappointed. Then, he looked at Mac. "Can we talk later?" He asked her.

"We'll see."

Mac hadn't done it intentionally but the day had been so busy that she hadn't found the time to speak with Will about anything that wasn't related to the show. She was still pissed at him but the feeling had been dissipating as the hours had gone by. She didn't want to leave without talking to him so, after leaving her things on her desk, she went to Will's office and waited for him to finish changing out of his suit.

When Will got out of the bathroom, he was surprised at the sight of Mac perched at the end of his desk, her arms crossed in front of her and with a tired expression clouding her face.

"Are you ok?" Will asked her, concerned.

"Long day." Mac replied, smiling slightly. "Thanks for the flowers. They're beautiful."

Will slowly approached her, stopping as closer as he could without touching her. He moved his hand to gently touch her knee but he thought it better and stopped himself before he did anything. Mac saw his hesitation so she stood up, grabbed his hands and pulled him closer before resting her forehead on his chest. Will stood still for a few seconds, not sure what he should do, but he finally decided it was safe for him to put his hands on her waist.

"I'm still mad at you." Mac murmured. "And I don't like it." Will, trying not to laugh, moved one of his hands to gently massage her neck. "I know why you did what you did, but you did it behind my back. You also made a decision about our relationship before consulting me first. And we can't go out so you can buy me an expensive dinner to beg for my forgiveness. Make-up sex is also off the table because my neck fucking hurts. I had a shitty day, you know? And it's all your fault." Mac ranted. Will couldn't hold his laughter any longer. Mac raised his head and glared at him. "It's not funny."

"I know." He told her before tenderly dropping a kiss on her forehead. "Come home with me?" He hopefully asked. "I'll cook you dinner, draw a hot bubble bath and give you a massage. We can stop by your apartment first."

"Mike's gonna kill me." Mac groaned.

"My building is secure, Lonny made sure of that." Will reminded her.

"Go home and start cooking my wonderful dinner. I'll swing by my flat to grab some things and meet you there."

When he had arrived at his building, he had told his doorman to let Mac up when she arrived so the sound of the elevator's door opening at his apartment didn't startle him. He heard the clicking of her heels approaching the kitchen and he raised his eyes just when she entered the room.

"One of your neighbors interrogated me on the way up." Mac said. "A lovely old lady who lives on the twelfth floor."

"Mrs. Carter?" Will asked.

"She didn't tell me her name but she told me she's glad you have a stunningly looking British girlfriend now that'll stop your bachelor habits and the parade of fake bimbos leaving your building in the middle of the night."

"She didn't say that." He told her.

"Well, maybe not the last part but still..." She said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Whatever you're cooking smells good."

"Chicken parmesan and mashed potatoes."

"Yummy." Mac replied in a childish voice.

"Go change into something more comfortable. It'll be ready by the time you're done."

When Mac returned a few minutes later, wearing a pair of Will's boxer shorts (waistband rolled a couple of times to prevent them from falling down) and a tank top, she found the dinner had been already set on the kitchen island. Will was by the fridge getting them something to drink.

"Wine?" He asked her without turning around.

"I shouldn't. I'm still taking painkillers." Mac replied while sitting down in one of the stools.

"Right." Will said. "Anything caffeinated is out of question, right?" He asked again. He turned to look at Mac and she nodded. "Well, that leaves us with sparkling water or juice."

"Water, please."

Will grabbed a bottle of sparkling water for Mac and a beer for himself and closed the fridge before joining Mac. Between bites and the occasional sip, they talked about Will's meeting with Nina. Will explained that he didn't want to bother her with it: his plan had been to get Nina off the story, he didn't know about the other thing. He apologized for making the deal without consulting her first but he hadn't had much time to think when Nina had dropped the bomb, he had needed to act quickly and he had done so. Mac understood him, she really did, but she couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed that Will wanted to keep their relationship in the dark. She didn't tell him, though, and was a bit subdued for the rest of the meal. Will noticed it but decided to wait until he confronted her about it.

Once they had finished eating, Mac cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher while Will went to his room to start filling the tub. By the time Mac joined him, the bathtub was ready and Will was looking through his cabinets for the scented candles he remembered he had. Why he had them was a mystery. The finally found them and placed them along the wider edges of the tub before he lit them up.

"Your bath awaits, m'lady." Will told Mac, who was leaning against the doorframe smiling at him.

"Join me?" She asked him.

Without another word, Will dimmed the lights and took out his clothes before he stepped into the tub. He offered his hand to help Mac do the same. Carefully, she sat down between his legs and leant back, resting her body against his chest. His arms encircled her body while her hands gently caressed the top of his thighs. Will rested his head on the folded towel he had previously put there and closed his eyes. He could feel Mac relax almost instantaneity, hot baths had always done wonders for her, but he noticed that she wasn't entirely comfortable: she kept shifting every few seconds and releasing deep sighs.

When, after more than ten minutes, she was still restless, he decided to gently approach the subject. "You ok?" He softly asked.

"Yeah." She simply replied, closing her eyes and pulling his arms more tightly against her body.

"Something's bothering you." Will told her. When she didn't reply, he raised his head from the towel and dropped a kiss on the side of her head. "Mac?"

"It's nothing."

Mac was glad that Will couldn't see her face. She knew she was being silly but the damn insecurities she still had about her relationship with Will wouldn't leave her mind. Why had Will been so eager to keep their relationship in the dark? Not that she wanted her private life displayed at the front page of a magazine but Will's celebrity status meant that, sooner or later, they would make an appearance. Besides, she was still waiting to hear the words I forgive you and those left in a voicemail message she had never received.

Her silence worried Will. "Mackenzie?" He said.

"Why did you ask Nina to wait?" She softly asked, slightly scared of the possible answer.

Will sighed deeply and began to trace, with his fingers, small circles on the top of her hand while he thought how to reply without upsetting her even more. "I'm not second-guessing my decision, if that's what you were thinking." He began. "I'm in, forever. You own me. I want you, I always have, but we've been back together for a week, I only thought we could use some more time before we had to deal with the gossip columnists, the magazines and our noisy staff."

Mac let out a small laughter. She sat upright and carefully turned around to be able to straddle his thighs. She rested her arms on his shoulders and leant forward to kiss him.

A few minutes later, they got out and dried themselves. Will went to the bedroom to grab clean underwear for him and a pair of panties from Mackenzie's bag. They didn't bothered to put on any more clothes.

"Go lie down while I get the oil and a towel." Will told her. Mac left the room without another word and Will opened the cabinet under the sink to grab a large towel. Then, he rummaged through one of the drawers until he found the chamomile massage oil. He took everything and walked out of the bathroom.

"Well, it seems we'll have to leave the massage for another day." He said to himself when he found that Mac had fallen asleep while waiting for him. Smiling, he went back and left the towel and the oil on the sink. He turned off the lights and lay down next to her. Carefully, he pulled her body close and moved her head to rest comfortably on his shoulder. Mac muttered something and repositioned herself to be almost on top of him but didn't wake up.

Will closed his eyes and, less than ten minutes later, he fell asleep too.