The rest of the week had gone pretty well considering how bad it had started. Mac was beginning to feel better and the uneasy thoughts about her relationship with Will were slowly dissipating. Will, wanting to do something nice for his girlfriend (because, in his mind, she was his girlfriend, even if the world sounded ridiculous for a fifty-years-old man), had arranged with Lonny and Mike to take Mac out for a nice dinner Saturday night. The delightful expression on her face when he had told her had been worth and the careful planning and troubles they had had to find a nice secure restaurant.

Dinner had been nice. Under Lonny's professional surveillance (with Mike waiting outside, in the car) they had eaten their expensive meal and had shared a wonderful bottle of wine. From his seat at the bar, Lonny had smirked when he had seen Mackenzie eat most of Will's chocolate dessert while the anchor pretended not to see it.

They got to Mackenzie's building a few minutes before eleven. Michael accompanied them upstairs and Mac thanked him. Once inside the apartment, they took off their coats and hung them up. Before Will could move, Mac grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him closer to kiss him. She took him by surprise so it took him a few seconds to respond but, once he did, his mouth hungrily claimed her lips while his hands found her waist. When the need for air overwhelmed them, their lips slowly parted with a smile.

"Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?" Will asked with a silly grin on his face.

"For being such a nice guy." Mac replied, stealing another kiss afterwards. "Thanks for the surprise."

"It was my pleasure." He told her, closing the gap between them and leaning down to leave a path of little kisses down her neck. Mac tugged his shirt out of his pants and slid her hands under it, running them up and down his back. Will backed her up against the living-room table and scooped her up, her knees parting immediately to accommodate him. While Mac worked on unbuttoning his shirt, Will reached under her dress to caress her thighs, his fingers slowly moving upwards until they reached the hem of her panties. Mac pushed his shirt off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor, before cupping the back of his head and pulling him towards her to capture his mouth in a deep and powerful kiss.

"Maybe we should move this to the bedroom." She murmured against his lips.

"Why? I like this table." He replied.

"I like it too but my neck is going to hurt even more tomorrow morning if we stay here." Mac told him.

"Fuck. I forgot about that." Will said before taking a step back. "Sorry. Are you sure we-" Before he could end the sentence, Mac grabbed him by his belt and pulled him close once again.

"We'll have to be a bit careful. No acrobatics, I'm afraid." She told him, climbing down from the table. She put her hands on his chest and stepped on her toes to sexily whisper on his ear. "Slow and gentle tonight."

Mac turned around and let Will unzip her dress. She let it fall to the floor before winking at him while she walked past him towards her bedroom. It took Will less than a second to follow her.

The ringing of the phone woke him up. Still half asleep, he reached to the bedside table behind him to grab it before it woke Mac up, not remembering that he wasn't at his apartment. Without looking at the screen, he answered it.

"Yeah?" He muttered, closing his eyes. He was about to fall asleep again when a voice he knew too well said his name.

"Will?"

"Oh shit." He said, out loud and fully awake. He quickly sat up and looked down at the phone on his hand: it wasn't his. The name on the screen confirmed that he hadn't heard that voice wrong, it really was who he thought. "Elizabeth, mmmh, hi." He said, struggling with his words.

"Why are you answering my daughter's phone?"

"Well..."

"No, I don't want to know. Yet." She said, interrupting him. "Is Mackie alright? Julian told us she was in a car accident last week."

"She's fine." Will simply replied.

"Who is it?" Mac asked him, rolling to her other side and resting her head on his thigh.

Will covered the phone with his hand before answering. "Your mother."

"Is she awake? Put her on the phone!" They both heard.

"She sounds pissed." Mac murmured.

"Your brother told them about the accident." Will told her.

"Fuck." Mac said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Mackenzie Morgan McHale! Take the bloody phone and talk to your mother!"

"Give it to me." She told him. Will gladly handed her the phone and stood up. He found his boxers and put them on while Mac turned to lay on her back.

Will leant down to give her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll get breakfast ready while you talk to your mother."

"Coward."

Will walked out of the room. Mac looked at the phone on her hand. She took another deep breath, slowly releasing it, before she put the phone against her ear and closed her eyes. "Hi Mum."

From the kitchen, Will could heard bits and pieces of Mac's conversation with her mother. When she appeared five minutes later, dressed with a pair of shorts and a tank-top, she could see the confusion on his face. She threw him a t-shirt and went back to the living room to grab her laptop. "Put this on." Mac told him, seeing that he still had the shirt on his hand. "Mum wants to see that I'm alright."

Will quickly put the shirt on and poured them some coffee while Mac set the laptop on the kitchen island and sat down on the stool. Will placed a mug in front of her but, before he could return to his other task, Mac trapped him between her legs, preventing him from going anywhere. She let her head drop on his chest, her arms going around his waist to pull him closer.

"You ok?" He softly asked while his hands carefully caressed her neck and shoulders.

"Yeah." She replied. "It's just that ... This wasn't how I expected my day to begin."

"She's worried about you." Will told her even if he was sure she already knew that. The sound of an incoming Skype call interrupted their tender moment. "Come on, answer it while I go get your painkillers." He encouraged her.

"It's not that bad." Mac replied, raising her head to look at him. "It's not your fault, I wake up with a stiff neck. The painkiller will help and I'll do my exercises after the call. Don't worry about it." She explained. "You were nothing but careful last night." She told him, her hand sliding under his shirt.

"Answer the call before your mother jumps on a plane to kill you." He said, laughing at the pout on her face. Mac extended her arm and accepted the call without letting him go. A few seconds later, her parents appeared on the screen.

She barely could hold the laughter threatening to burst out when she saw the astonished look on her father's face; her mother hadn't told him about Will being there. Yeah, thanks Mum. She thought. "Hi Mum. Hi Daddy." Mac innocently greeted them.

"Hello darling." Alexander told her daughter. "William."

"Morning, sir. Hello Elizabeth." Will said, disentangling Mac limbs from his body and stepping back a bit. "I'll go get your thing." He informed Mac before leaving the room.

"Why isn't he wearing pants?" He heard Alexander ask his daughter. Then, he heard Mac and her mother burst out laughing. He smiled and went to look for Mac's purse. He found it on the couch (Mac must have tossed it out after grabbing her Blackberry last night). He sat down on the couch and put it on his lap before looking inside for the pill bottle. How she could stuff so many things inside that tiny bag was still a wonder to him. He found the bottle and took it out. A folded white piece of paper caught his eye. For a moment, he pondered if he should open it or not. At the end, his curiosity won.

He nearly gasped when he read the note. He had to call Mike and wait until Mac was done talking with her parents to tell her. Remembering she was waiting for him, he left the note on the coffee table and walked to the kitchen to hand her the pill bottle. Mac was reassuring her parents that she was fine, that it had been a small accident and that, after a few sessions with her physical therapist, she would be as good as new. She thanked him with a hand squeeze before he returned to the bedroom to pick up his phone. He stopped on his way to the balcony to grab a cigarette and the note. Once outside, he called dialed Mike's number and waited.

He returned inside just in time to hear Mackenzie angrily words. "You're a bloody blabbermouth, Julian." He didn't hear Julian's reply but when Mac said "Yeah, well, you can go fuck yourself!", he quickened his pace.

"Is everything alright?" Will asked her, his hand on her shoulder. He looked down at the screen: her father was in front of the camera but he could see Elizabeth quietly speaking with Julian at the other side of the room. Mac just nodded at him. She raised her hand and put it on top of his one before resting her head on them and closing her eyes.

"You have to sort out whatever is going on with your brother, Mackie. It's been three years." When Mac didn't reply, Alexander turned his attention to the man standing behind his daughter. "Glad to see you two put your heads out of your arses, Will."

"Me too, sir." Will told the older man, smiling.

"Before the shouting match began, I was telling Mackie that her mother and I were thinking of coming for visit. We'll go to a baseball game while these two spend the afternoon shopping."

"Tell me when and I'll get the tickets."

"Wonderful." Alexander replied. "Mackenzie." He said. When his daughter opened her eyes to look at him, he continued. "I'll call you tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok." Mac simply said, raising her head.

"Will, take care of my little girl."

"Always."

"I love you, darling."

"Me too, Daddy. Tell Mum I love her too."

"Of course."

Mac ended the call and sighed deeply, leaning back on Will's chest while he put his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "It's a long story. I'll tell you another time." Mac told him before he could ask. Then, she noticed the wrinkled piece of paper on his hand. "What's this?" She asked him.

"I found it in your purse when I went to grab your painkillers." He explained. He took a few seconds to calm himself; he wasn't sure telling Mac about the note was the best idea after the fight she had just had with her brother but he knew he couldn't keep it from her. "I already called Mike."

"What?" She exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and forcefully prying the note from his hand. She read it and gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth. "Oh God."

The note fell from her hand and landed on the floor, between them. Will looked down and read it once again:

You ruined my life. Now, I'll ruin yours.

Mac had agreed to meet Detective Johnson the following morning, at the precinct. Will had offered to go with her and she had surprisingly accepted. She was past pretending that the situation wasn't affecting her and was beginning to lean on Will when he offered his help and his unconditional support.

Will's presence at the police precinct had raised a few eyebrows among the police officers working there. Luckily for them, Detective Johnson had been waiting for them and quickly escorted the couple to an empty interview-room. He explained that they had investigated the restaurant and the waiter who had served them on Saturday. The poor kid, scared to death, had confessed to the detective that a guy had approached him saying that he was a big fan of Mac and Will but was too shy to go talk to them. Instead, the mysterious man had asked the waiter to give them a note. He hadn't read it, he just had dropped it inside Mac's purse. The description of the guy that the waiter had given them was pretty generic and, unfortunately for them, the security cameras at the restaurant hadn't been able to get a clear image of the stalker.

Mac was pretty upset when they left the precinct. Looking down at his watch, Will realized that they had missed the pitch meeting. Knowing it wouldn't matter (much) if they took another hour, he decided to treat Mac to a nice brunch. He didn't have to wait too long to hear her objections.

"I have work to do, Billy. I can't take another hour off work." Mac grumbled as she climbed into Lonny's car.

"Jim's got it." Will told her; he fully trusted Jim to carry on in their absence. "We'll be back in time for the two o'clock."

"I have PT at 12:30." She reminded him.

"Yeah, right." He replied, scratching his neck while trying to formulate another plan: he wanted Mac to relax a little bit before returning to the newsroom.

"Where to?" Lonny asked them from the driver's seat, grinning.

"How about a nice Venti Caramel Macchiato? We can go to the Starbucks down the corner from AWN." Will proposed.

"If Mike doesn't mind the unscheduled coffee trip..."

"Whatever pleases you, Ms. McHale." Michael teased her.

"Let's go, then." Will told Lonny.

Once the show was over, the only thing Mac wanted to do was go straight home to a nice glass of wine and a hot bubble bath. It took her a while to finish everything she had to do. Will had spent the first twenty minutes with her, just keeping her company, until she had told him to go home. He had reluctantly agreed but only after she had promised him to call when she got home.

A few hours later, she was peacefully sleeping on her bed when someone loudly knocking on her door woke her up. Half-asleep, she looked at the alarm-clock on her night-table and groaned. Who the hell was at her apartment at 2 a.m.? Pissed off, she got up from the bed and grabbed her satin robe to throw over her nightie on her way to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw John, the other bodyguard, anxiously waiting there.

"John?" Mac asked through the closed door.

"Bumblebee." John said. When Mike had begun protecting her, he had insisted on having a series of codewords to assure Mac's safety; bumblebee was the one that told her it was safe to open the door.

"What's wrong?" Mac asked him after he had stepped inside and closed the door.

"I need you to change and pack a bag. Michael is coming to take you to a safe place." He quickly explained, locking the door and gently escorting Mac, with an insistent hand on her back, further inside the apartment.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked, getting more scared every second that went by.

"The building has been compromised, Ms. McHale." He told her. "I think the stalker found a way to get in."