He had asked her if she wanted to go out for a drink after they closed the case, as they used to do before. She had asked him if Christine didn't expect him home. His face had fallen and he had told her they had had a big fallout and had decided to take it easy for a while. He had quickly smiled again and told her he could use the distraction. So they had gone out for drinks. Mac had quite a few, maybe even a few too many. After a while they decided to go home, and Mac had offered to share a cab and make sure she got home safe. She had had a few drinks as well, and while she wasn't drunk, her mind was a bit cloudy and she accepted Mac's offer without hesitation. They had been quiet on the way back, neither of them feeling the need to talk. As they arrived at Jo's building, Mac said he'd walk her up to her apartment. When they came there, Jo placed her key in the lock. She turned to say her goodbyes to Mac. As she looked at him she noticed something in his eyes she had never seen before. Lust. Suddenly he stepped closer to her, pulling her closer to him. He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her hard. She pulled back a little surprised, but when she saw nothing but determination in his eyes, she kissed him back passionately.

He pushed her backwards through the door, grabbing her thighs and waist. Pushing the door closed behind him, he made a trail of kisses down her neck. He looked at her questioningly, and she led him to her bedroom, their body's never parting. She silently thanked God that Ellie was out today, before pulling Mac towards the bed. They stood still in front of it, and as she felt Mac tug at her pants she kicked of her heels, her hands travelling to unbutton his shirt. He quickly shrugged it off as she stepped out of her jeans. They took off the rest of their clothes and were standing in front of each other in their underwear. Jo felt a little insecure but didn't get a change to voice her concerns as Mac pushed her onto the bed. He sat down on top of her, unclasping her bra while placing kisses all over her body. He made her feel wanted, and her body responded under his touch. Their love-making had been full of heat and passion. They had collapsed on top of each other and she had fallen asleep with Mac's arm around her waist.

/

When she woke up he was gone, not even a trace left to indicate their night together had really happened. She had felt disappointed, but at that moment she had understood. He had slept with a co-worker, as her supervising officer, and he officially was still with Christine. She had thought he would talk to her about it later. But he hadn't. At work he had avoided her as much as possible, even calling her detective once instead of Jo when she had tried to loosen him up and get him to talk to her. She hadn't tried again. A week later he was back with Christine, and they seemed happier than ever. Jo was heartbroken. She felt stupid and naive for thinking that their shared night had actually meant something. That he actually felt the same way about her as she felt about him. But she had been nothing more than an easy distraction from his personal problems. The night she saw as one of the best of her life to him not more than a way to give into his lust and frustration. She had told herself to forget what happened. To forget him. But that was easier said than done. Especially now.

/

Jo was slowly walking towards Mac's office. A week had passed since she had taken the test, and she knew she would have to tell Mac sooner or later. She was not looking forward to this conversation at all. Danny was in Mac's office as well, and they seemed to be discussing certain things about their current case. She took a deep breath and knocked on Mac's door, even though it was open. He looked up, frowning as he saw her.

'Jo, come in. Anything new on the case?' She shook her head.

'This is about something else.' She looked at Danny.

'Danny, do you mind giving us a minute?' She asked him.

'Sure.' He answered, before getting up and leaving the office. Jo closed the door behind him and sat down in the chair in front of Mac. He looked at her questioningly.

'What's on your mind?' He asked. His voice showed no emotion, nor did his face.

'I'm not quite sure how to say this...' She started.

'But you're gonna say it anyway.' He interrupted her. She nodded.

'I am.' She leaned forward in her chair.

'Mac... I'm pregnant.' Mac looked up, a mixture of shock and surprise on his face.

'Are you sure?' He asked her. Before she could answer, he added:

'Are you sure it's mine?' Although Jo thought it was a fair question, it felt like another stab in her heart. Who did he think she was?

'I am. I'm very sure, Mac.' Her voice was barely above a whisper and she looked at her hands in her lap, not wanting to look at his face.

'I'm not sure what you want me to do.' He said, sounding genuinely confused.

'I just... I don't know.' Jo said, trying not to let her emotions surface.

'I mean, it's just not fair to Christine.' She didn't think her heart couldn't break any more, but it did. For a moment Jo couldn't say anything. Mac regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth, even though he meant them. He looked at Jo's face, and instead of seeing the anger he thought he would see, her face was covered in hurt and sadness. She quickly recovered and stood up, not looking directly at him.

'I just wanted you to know.' She said. Mac nodded.

'I'll make sure everything gets through to PR.' She nodded okay.

'Can we keep my... involving in this between us for now, though?' Even though her face said something completely different, she smiled slightly.

'Of course.' She said, before turning around and leaving the office.

/

Jo had finished the rest of the day as if it were any other. She thought she would feel the need to cry her heart out as soon as she came home, but as she walked into her apartment and slowly sank down on the couch, she just felt exhausted. She sat there for several moments, trying to gather enough energy to take of her coat, change into something comfortable and make dinner for her and Ellie. She had noticed her daughter was home as soon as she came in, as her jacket was on the coat rack, looking as if it had been thrown over there hastily. She let out a deep sigh and got up from the couch, hanging up her coat next to Ellie's. She had to talk to her daughter. She had decided for herself that she would tell her daughter about her pregnancy as soon as she had told Mac, and that she would tell Tyler soon after that. She didn't want to keep their kids in the dark about this, as it was going to affect them too. Still, she was worried about their reaction. She decided now was just a good time as ever. The sooner Ellie knew, the sooner she would have to stop worrying if Ellie would find out by herself.

She knocked on the door of Ellie's bedroom.

'Come in.' her daughter's soft voice called out. Jo opened the door and saw her daughter sitting on her bed, reading a book.

'Hey mom.' She said, looking up from her book.

'Hey honey. What are you doing?' Ellie huffed.

'Homework.' She said, holding up the book while rolling her eyes. Jo smiled. She didn't like algebra either.

'Oh, looks like fun.' she smiled.

'Yeah, great fun.' Ellie replied with sarcasm. Jo laughed and sat down on the bed next to her daughter.

'Ellie, do you have a minute, I have to talk to you about something.' she asked.

'Sure, everything that can get me away from this.' she said, putting down the book with much exaggeration. She looked up and saw the serious look on her mother's face.

'What did I do now?' she asked. Jo smiled sadly.

'I think I did something this time, Ellie.' she answered. Ellie looked confused and was worried about her mother.

'What is it mom?'

'Ellie, I'm…' she hesitated for a moment. She looked up into Ellie questioning face. Taking a deep breath, she tried again.

'Honey, I'm pregnant.' Ellie's face changed from questioning to shocked.

'What? Since when?' Ellie sounded confused, but not angry.

'I'm about ten weeks along.' Jo answered.

'How long have you known?'

'Only for a week.' Ellie nodded, feeling relieved her mother hadn't been keeping this a secret from her for a long time.

'Is Mac the father?' Ellie already knew the answer. It explained so much. How Mac and her mother had gone from friends to almost strangers, why she had found her mother crying on the couch the other day. When her mother's face fell and she slowly nodded, Ellie's heart broke for her.

'Does he know?'

'I told him this morning.'

'What did he say?' Looking at her mother, Ellie knew that was the wrong question. Jo answered nonetheless.

'He said he didn't really know what to do, honey. Which is understandable.' Ellie looked confused.

'Is that everything he said? Didn't you two discuss how you were going to handle this, what his part was going to be in this?' Jo shook her head.

'I don't think he wants to have a part in this, Ellie.' Jo's voice sounded tired. She looked tired, and she definitely felt tired.

'He said it wasn't fair to Christine.' Her voice was barely above a whisper and she was looking down at her hands in her lap. Ellie suddenly became angry. She had always believed Mac Taylor was a respectable man, a man of honor. She realized now she had been wrong. She huddled closer to her mother and wrapped her arms around her.

'I just want to know if you're going to have any troubles with this. I mean, I promise I will try and keep everything as much as possible the way it is now, but things are going to change and I don't want them to have a negative effect on you.' Jo said.

'I'm not mad that you're having a baby, if that's what you think.'

'You're not?' Jo asked carefully.

'No, mom, of course not! I'm excited to have a little brother or sister.' She smiled and she saw relieve spreading over Jo's face.

'But are you okay, momma?' Jo took a deep breath and nodded.

'I'm okay. I feel stupid, but…'

'You're not stupid, mom. You're in love. But that doesn't make any of this your fault.'

'I'm just not sure how I'm going to do this on my own.' Jo realized she was complaining about her life to her daughter, but she felt Ellie understood.

'You raised me on your own, when Tyler was still very young as well. Besides, you've got me, and I'm sure we could get Tyler to come over and help as well.' Ellie softly bumped her shoulder against Jo's.

'You're not on your own mom.' Jo smiled, feeling tears burning in her eyes, but not for the reason she thought they would be. She wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her close.

'I love you, Ellie Danville.'

'I love you too, momma Danville.' Ellie laughed. As Jo released her, Ellie rested her head against Jo's shoulder and felt herself relax in her mother's arms. She was imagining what it would be like to have a little brother or sister she could cuddle with and take care of. She lifted her head from Jo's shoulder and looked at her.

'Do you know whether it's going to be a boy or a girl yet?' she asked. Jo laughed.

'No Ellie, you can't tell this early. Besides, I haven't even had an ultrasound yet. I have one scheduled in two days.' she responded.

'Really? Can I come with you?' Ellie looked at her with a hopeful look in her eyes.

'Are you sure you want too?' Jo asked. Ellie nodded.

'Well, then, sure honey, why not?' Ellie smiled brightly before leaning back against her mother again.