AN: I hope you'll enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination which is quite lively I have to say :D

"So, what are you doing for New Years?" Lindsay asked Stella as they wrapped up their latest case.

"I convinced Mac to come over to my place and spent the evening with me instead of being all alone in his apartment. We plan on making this a relaxed evening, watch some movies, stuff like that," Stella replied.

How little did Lindsay know that there hadn't been any convincing needed. Mac and she had been dating for about half a year now and she hadn't had to ask twice if he wanted to come over on New Year's Eve.

"Why don't you come over to my place? I already asked Danny, Don and Jess if they wanted to come over and I'm about to ask Hawkes and Adam. It'll be fun," Lindsay said.

Stella thought about it for a moment. "I'll ask Mac what he thinks. You know I can't just say yes without asking him."

Lindsay laughed. "I think he wouldn't be amused."

Stella laughed along. "No, he wouldn't. I'm gonna ask him and then get back to you on this, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Lindsay said. "See you later."

***

After Stella and Mac had had dinner that evening, they lay curled up on the couch together and watched TV. Mac ran his hand lightly up and down Stella's arm and placed a soft kiss on her hair.

"Today Lindsay asked me what I'm doing for New Years," Stella said.

"What did you tell her?" Mac asked, not stopping the movement of his hand.

"I told her you'd be coming over; I just spared the thing about a romantic evening out," she replied.

She could feel Mac nod. "Okay," he said.

"And she asked if we didn't wanna come over to her place. She's already asked the team."

"I knew there was more to come," Mac chuckled lightly. "What did you say?"

"That I had to ask you," Stella replied.

"I see," Mac replied. "Would you like to go?"

Stella shrugged. "I don't know. It probably would be nice spending the evening with them but then, I'd really like to spend the time with you. Just the two of us."

"Yeah," Mac agreed. "But you know, if you want to go, we can go. It won't be our last evening together."

Stella chuckled. "I know that. But it's our first New Year's Eve together…" she trailed off.

"True," Mac said. "But we would be spending the evening together if we went to Lindsay's."

"Do you want to go?" Stella asked.

Mac smiled. "I don't care where I'm spending New Year's Eve as long as you're there, too."

Stella sighed. "So I'm the one deciding this?"

"Let's make a deal," Mac said. "I know we won't get anywhere with this as long as you're the one who is supposed to make the decision," Mac teased, causing him a smack from Stella. "How about we go to Lindsay's and spent the evening with the team and we catch up on that evening together a day later?"

"Just the two of us?" Stella asked.

"Just the two of us," Mac confirmed. "A nice candle light dinner together, a movie afterward and then let's see where the evening takes us," he whispered and placed a soft kiss on Stella's neck, causing her to shiver lightly.

"Okay," Stella whispered.

***

Mac and Stella had agreed on meeting up and going to Lindsay's apartment together. After spending the night at Mac's place, Stella had gone home and changed into the outfit she wanted to wear for the evening. She had decided to wear a jeans and a black shirt with a v-neck that glittered slightly.

Stella was just applying her makeup when the doorbell rang. She casted a quick glance at the clock and raised her eyebrows.

"You're an hour early," she said as she opened the door.

"I'm happy to see you, too, Stella," Mac said and placed a quick kiss on her lips while stepping into the apartment.

Stella chuckled lightly and closed the door behind him. "Let me finish my hair and makeup and I'll be yours until we have to leave."

"Woah, wait a minute," Mac said and grabbed Stella's wrist when she turned around and pulled her into his arms. "You gonna be mine until we have to leave?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

Stella wrapped her arms around Mac's neck and gave him a sweet smile. "No, I'm yours completely," she said. "For as long as you want me."

Mac nodded. "That sounds a lot better to me," he said gave her a lovely kiss on the lips. "I won't be done wanting you any time soon." Mac wiggled his eyebrows seductively.

Stella laughed and pulled Mac closer. "Maybe it was a bad idea to tell Lindsay we were coming tonight," she replied and kissed him.

"We're gonna catch up on that as soon as we get back from Lindsay's," Mac said and kissed Stella's nose gently. "Now go get ready."

Stella turned on her heal and walked towards the bathroom. When she stood in front of the mirror, she found herself greeted by a familiar smile. "You're going to watch me?" She asked with raised eyebrows while she applied a little more makeup.

"You want me to wait in the living room all by myself?" Mac asked back.

Stella chuckled and reached for her hair brush. "Fine, watch me," she replied. With a few skillful movements of her hands, she pulled up her hair, leaving her shoulders bare. After a last glance at her own image, she looked at Mac, who was smiling at her. He walked up behind her, placed his hands on her hips and dropped a feather light kiss on her shoulder.

"You look great," Mac whispered. "I love you."

"Thank you," Stella said and turned around in Mac's arms.

"I tell you that I love you and all you gotta say is thank you?" Mac teased.

Stella laughed. "Thank you was all I've got to say to the good looking thing. What I've got to say to the 'I love you' thing, is…" she trailed off and kissed Mac.

Mac's hands traveled slowly up and down Stella's back and came to rest on her hips again. He slipped his fingers under the fabric of her shirt and caressed her skin there lightly. "I love you, too," she breathed when they pulled back.

"How about we continue this in a more appropriate place?" Mac asked and pulled Stella with him towards the bedroom but she stopped him, causing him to raise his eyebrows.

"There is no way we gonna make it in time if we continue this in there," Stella said and pointed towards her bedroom. "Why don't we just sit down on the couch and talk a little until we have to leave?"

Mac rolled his eyes jokingly. "Why do women always want to talk?" he asked and received a playful smack from Stella followed by a soft kiss on his lips.

They made their way into the living room and curled up on the couch together, talking until they had to leave.

***

Lindsay had set up a buffet with warm and cold food and drinks. She had invited Angell, Don, Danny, Adam, Hawkes, Stella and Mac. The group of friends and colleagues spent a relaxed evening, talking and laughing a lot.

Sometime during the evening, it started to snow. Lindsay had been in the kitchen getting drink refills when gazed out the window, spotting white flocks falling down.

"Hey guys, it's snowing," she said excitedly.

Stella glanced towards the window. "Really?" she asked.

A few people got up and walked towards the window. Stella stayed on her spot on the sofa, a sincere smile on the lips as she watched the others watch the snow fall. Mac watched her with a soft smile of his own and sat down next to her, getting her attention. She looked at Mac, her smile turning a little brighter and her eyes lighting up.

When the others came back to join them, Stella and Mac turned their attention back to the group, participating in their conversations and laughing with them. After a while, Stella stood up and walked over to the window, watching as the snow fell down to the ground. She just stood there for quite a while without taking in any of her surroundings. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Mac approached her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked as he stepped beside Stella after some time.

A light smile grazed her lips. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Just a little thoughtful, you know."

"Wanna tell me what's messing with that beautiful head of yours?" Mac asked quietly, making sure only Stella could hear what he said.

"Just the usual thing 'round this time of year," Stella replied, a slight smile grazing her lips. "My childhood, the job, you…" She trailed off and glanced at her partner.

Mac nodded. "And why are you standing by the window all by yourself?"

"I'm not all by myself, you're with me," she replied and gave him a soft smile. "I love watching the snow fall down, you should know that by now."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out some time ago," Mac said with a smile.

"Everything is just so peaceful and quiet and it seems like there is no pain and no crime," Stella whispered. Mac reached for her hand and caressed her fingers softly. They stood in silence for a while, just watching the snow fall down to the ground where it kept lying peacefully.

"So uh, do I get to kiss you at midnight?" Mac asked casually after a while.

Stella turned towards him, surprise written all over her face. "You think we should tell them?" she asked.

Mac nodded. "Yeah, it's time," he replied. "We have been together without them knowing for long enough and I think a kiss on midnight will be just the right way to tell them."

"I'd kiss you right now if you didn't want to wait until midnight," Stella said, a happy smile grazing her lips. "It's gonna be fun seeing their faces though."

"Definitely," Mac agreed.

The two of them stood a little while longer at the window, watching the snow, until Stella excused herself to the bathroom. Mac went back to the couch and sat down next to Flack who was talking to Adam and Danny blithely.

"What's wrong with Stella?" Lindsay, who just reappeared from the kitchen, asked.

Mac shrugged. "She likes to watch the snow," he replied.

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, I like that, too."

When Stella stepped back into the living room, she walked over to the sofa. Giving Flack a gentle nudge, she said, "Make some room for me, guys," and plopped down between Mac and the younger detective.

"Hey guys," Lindsay called out, getting the attention of the group. "What do you think; we watch the fireworks on the rooftop? One has a pretty good view up there."

"Sounds like a good idea," Flack said and the others agreed.

It was about half an hour to midnight when the group headed up to the rooftop to watch the fireworks. Lindsay was carrying two bottles of Champaign and each of them carried their own glass flutes. The snowfall had stopped but everything was covered in a soft white. Wrapped in their warm jackets, the group stepped onto the rooftop and prepared everything to start into the New Year.

When they started the countdown of the last few seconds of the year, the group had positioned themselves in a circle so everyone could face everyone and wish them a happy new year.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year," they said in union and clinked their glasses together.

When everybody had taken a sip from their Champaign, Stella and Mac put their glasses down and Mac pulled Stella into his arms.

"Happy New Year, Baby," he whispered before bringing his lips to hers and kissing her passionately.

Stella wrapped her arms around Mac's neck and deepened the kiss. Their friends just starred at them, mouths open and a look of disbelieve on their faces. When Stella and Mac pulled apart, Stella rested her forehead against Mac's and ran one hand gently through his hair. "I love you," she whispered and placed another soft kiss on his lips. When they noticed the others staring at them, they turned to face them.

"We're together," Stella said casually and leaned into Mac.

"Yeah, we kinda figured that by the show you two just gave us," Flack commented.

"Let's watch the fireworks," Stella then said, causing the others to laugh and shake their heads.

"We're not done talking about the two of you," Danny said. "But she's right, let's watch the fireworks," he then addressed the rest of the group.

They all turned their glances towards the city. Mac stood behind Stella and had his arms wrapped around her body, his head resting on her shoulder. Stella rested her back against Mac and leaned into his embrace.

"I love you, too, Stella," Mac whispered into her ear and placed a soft kiss onto her hair.

When the fireworks had lessened a bit, the group decided to go back inside the apartment because it was cold and it had started to snow again. They were about to pack their stuff together and leave when a snowball hit Danny on the head.

He threw an angry glance at Flack, who had thrown the ball, bent down and threw a snowball himself. Missing Flack, who managed it to avoid the flying snowball, he hit Stella who was just kissing Mac. She pulled away from Mac and turned around.

"Hey," she said and looked back and forth between Danny and Flack.

"Wasn't me," Flack said and held up his hands in self defense.

"Yeah, but it was your fault. Sorry Stella, by the way," Danny said, giving her an apologetic smile, which didn't work because just seconds later, a snowball hit his chest.

Before either one of the group knew what was happening, they were occupied into a snowball fight on the rooftop of Lindsay's apartment building, laughing and giggling. Stella and Lindsay ended up lying on the ground, laughing hard and protecting their faces with their hands from Danny who tried to wipe off some snow in their faces. Angell was using Flack as a shield against Adam who tried to hit her with another snowball. Mac and Hawkes were busy trying to get Danny off the girls and Sheldon just put some snow into the collar of Danny's shirt, causing him to jump and scream and causing Stella and Lindsay to laugh even more.

"Time out," Angell shouted, peeking around Flack. When everybody looked at her, she said, "I have to pee," and shrugged.

Mac helped Stella and Lindsay to get back to their and wrapped his arms around a shuttering Stella. "Let's get in, I'm freezing," she said and snuggled closer to Mac.

The others agreed, grabbed their stuff and walked back into the apartment.

***

Back in the apartment, Stella followed Lindsay in the kitchen to help her clean up a little and get some tea because she was still cold. A few moments later, Angell stepped into the kitchen as well to help them.

"So you and Mac, huh?" she asked, causing Stella to blush lightly, and leaned against the counter. "How long has that been going on?"

"Uh half a year," Stella replied and busied herself by getting some cups out.

"And you didn't tell us?" Lindsay asked in disbelieve.

Stella sighed and set the cups down. "Look, it's not that we don't trust you or anything, it's just that we wanted to see how this thing between us goes. We wanted to lower the pressure on us a little," she explained.

Lindsay looked confused at her friend but Angell nodded. "I can understand her," Jess said, directing Lindsay. "You know, everyone is so into the idea of Stella and Mac as a couple that there probably would've been a lot of pressure on them to work out as a couple."

Lindsay's face softened a little. "I never thought about that," she said and went over to Stella. "But I'm really happy for you guys," she added and hugged Stella tightly.

"What's going on here?" they heard Mac asked behind them and disconnected from the hug.

"Nothing," Lindsay replied. "I was just telling Stella that I'm happy for the two of you."

Mac nodded. "Do you need some help in here?" he then asked. "I feel like being a suspect and being questioned."

Stella laughed and walked over to Mac. "Did you expect something different when we tell them?" she asked with raised eyebrows and sneaked her arms around his body.

"No," Mac gave back, "but I did expect that you would be there with me to answer the questions and not leave me alone with the guys."

Stella chuckled and placed a soft kiss on Mac's lips. "You're right, sorry."

"I'm gonna ask the guys if they want something to drink," Lindsay said and walked by the couple and into the living room. When she reappeared a few moments later, Stella and Mac still stood on the same spot, wrapped up in each other's arms and talked to Angell.

"You know, Mac, I never would've figured you as the type of guy who likes to hug his girlfriend in public," Lindsay said, causing the others to laugh. "What?" she asked confused.

"I said the same thing while you were in the living room," Angell replied.

"Oh," Lindsay said. "Well, then something about this statement has to be true, don't you think?"

"We're not really in public," Mac said, causing Stella to chuckle.

"He does it in public, too, he even kisses me," she said. "But I think that's all to blame on me. I just like having him close and showing off that he's mine," she added with a cocky smile.

"Definitely not all your fault," Mac said and kissed Stella softly. "But you sure did have your part in the progress."

"Well, it's good to see you guys happy. You both really deserve it," Lindsay said as she made tea and a coffee for Flack. "Mac, you want a coffee?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied.

"Is the party going on in here now?" Flack asked and stepped into the kitchen. "We start to wonder where everyone is and now I find you in here."

"We'll be out in a minute," Lindsay replied.

"How many people do you need to make coffee and tea?" Danny asked, coming up behind Don. "And we're still not done talking about you two," he added, addressing Stella and Mac.

"Why do you guys make such a big deal out of it?" Angell asked. "It's not like nobody saw it coming. They just didn't tell us. Be happy and stop behaving like children in middle school or something."

Flack looked surprised. "You're on their side?" he asked.

"Of course. I can't see why you make such a big deal out of it. They are together. That's it. It's nothing unusual. You didn't make a big deal out of it when we first started dating and I'm sure you wouldn't want Stella and Mac to make a big deal out of it."

"Woah, calm down there, Jess," Flack said. "I get your point. You're right. We're just making such a big deal out of it because we're so happy for the two of you, you know?"

Mac and Stella nodded. "We appreciate that you're happy for us but Jess is right. It's not that nobody saw it coming that we'd eventually end up together," Mac said.

"Yeah," Stella agreed. "You know, part of the reason why we didn't tell you right away was that we wanted to avoid that you guys make such a big deal out of it."

"Smooth sailing, hot shot," Danny said, clapping Don on the back.

Flack glared at Danny and gave a sheepish smile to the couple. "I guess we have to apologize then," he said.

Stella shook her head at the two best friends. "It's okay," she said, "just let it go for now."

Flack nodded. "You know, you should've waited with that speech until all of us were together 'cos now you have to repeat that when we're back in the living room."

"No need," Adam called from said room. "We heard what you said and we're sorry, Stella and Mac."

The group of friends that stood in the kitchen started laughing. A few minutes later, they all were back in the living room. Stella and Mac were seated on one sofa with Hawkes; Lindsay, Danny, Flack and Angell were seated on another sofa and Adam leaned comfortable in an armchair. They all talked cheerfully and laughed a lot. Mac had his arm dropped around Stella's shoulders and her hand rested on his thigh.

"That was a nice way to start the New Year," Stella whispered to Mac when Danny was telling a story, causing the others to laugh.

Mac looked at Stella and smiled. "Yeah, it was. And I have the feeling that it's going to be a good year," he said and placed a soft kiss on Stella's hair.