Chapter 26: Zealousness

Why'd you have to wait?

To find me, to find me

Mac knocks on her apartment door and patiently waits for her to open it. "Stella, you look beautiful," he smiles and leans in to kiss her on the cheek.

She blushes, "Thanks. Just let me find some shoes."

He steps inside, closing the door behind him, and follows her into her bedroom. "So how was your day?"

"Busy. We spent all day out processing the scene while Hawkes and Lindsay stayed in the lab so they could start analyzing the evidence. It's only been three days, and I'm already way behind on paperwork; you know, I always thought you were lying when you said you had paperwork to do."

He laughs, "The job is harder than it looks."

"So how is New Jersey?"

"Okay, not too different from our lab… or your lab, I should say. We're not quite as busy."

"Do you like it?"

He hesitates, "Well, I like New York better. But if this is how it has to be so that we can stay together, I can live with the change of scenery."

"I… thanks for doing this for us, Mac."

"It's not a problem, Stel."

She suddenly hugs him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "It's just not the same without you there," she whispers.

"You'll get used to it. And maybe it's best that we're not together all the time."

"What if something happens to you? I won't know until it's too late. Or what if something happens to me? If I'm going to die, I want to be able to say goodbye to you first."

"Nothing is going to happen to either of us. We both have good teams that will look out for us. Let's not worry about that right now."

"Okay," she kisses the corner of his mouth before pulling away. "I guess I'm ready."

Mac catches her hand as they walk toward the door, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I've worked all day the past three days, and I'm not tired."

"All day? Stella, you shouldn't be doing that."

"I meant I've worked the full shift; the guys practically kicked me out after my eight hours were done. But I could've kept going for a few more hours."

"Just don't overdo it, Stella."

"Like you should be talking," she smirks at him as he closes the door behind them.

You Found Me

As they walk, Mac wraps his arm around her waist, and she leans against him. She tries to stifle a yawn, but he sees her. "I should take you home, Stella. You're tired."

"No, I'm fine. I… I don't want to leave you yet. I miss seeing you all the time."

"Me too, Stel," he says, and the two of them stop walking, a small pond before them in the park.

"You know… you could stay with me tonight. If it isn't too far for you to drive in the morning."

"Or you could come to my place if you wanted," he offers, glancing at her. "But… I don't know how you're going to get to work in the morning.

"I have the evening shift tomorrow," she leans her head against his shoulder. "So… I guess we're going to your place."

Mac pulls her into a hug, "We don't have to do this, Stella."

"I want to stay with you, Mac."

"We don't have to do anything we're not ready to. I don't want to pressure you into things."

She presses her finger to his lips in order to get him to stop talking. "Let's just wait and see where this takes us. We can always stop things if they don't feel right."

As he stares into her emerald eyes, he finds that he desperately wants to feel her lips against his. His hands slowly slide from her back to her hips; her hands rest on his shoulders. Timidly they both lean forward until their lips meet. They stay together for just a second before pulling away, resting their foreheads against each other.

They both remain still, their eyes closed, until Mac shifts slightly so that they're kissing again. This kiss is the opposite of the last, long and full of passion. Her hands become tangled in his hair as his explore her body. Finally they separate, the need for oxygen too great. She rests her head on his shoulder, and his cheek rests on her head.

"My place?" he whispers, making sure she is comfortable with the idea. He feels her nod against his shoulder. They stay together for a few more moments before he leads her through the park back to his truck.

The drive to his apartment seems to take hours. Their hands remain connected through the elevator ride up to his apartment. He closes the door to his apartment and turns around to ask her if she'd like something to drink, only to find that she has disappeared. "Stella?" he calls out, wondering where she had gone to.

Mac finds her seated on the couch and cautiously joins her, "Is something wrong?"

"No, I was just thinking." His eyes meet hers, and he tries to tell her that he is willing to listen if she wants to share her thoughts. "I would've thought this would be a lot harder since I haven't been with anyone since Frankie. Unless you include Stoneberg, but… he didn't get too far."

"Isn't it a good thing that it isn't hard for you?"

She nods, "I just… wasn't expecting it. I thought it'd take us months to get to this point."

"It's been three months, Stella."

"But this is only our second date, Mac. I wouldn't even consider kissing you if you were any other man."

"Then we'll wait until you feel that it's been long enough for us to move forward in our relationship."

"But that's the thing, Mac. It just feels so natural with you."

"All this talk is really killing the mood, Stella," he lightly teases her.

She shakes her head at him, a small smirk on her face. "I just don't know what to do," she says before standing and making her way over to his window.

A few minutes later he joins her, two glasses of wine in his hands. He offers her one, which she accepts, and wraps his free arm around her waist. "Maybe for tonight we should both turn our brains off and listen to our hearts."

Slowly she takes a sip of the wine and sets it on the table beside her, "I think you're right, Mac."

He places his glass on the table next to hers and pulls her into his arms, "I'm always right, Stella."

She playfully punches him in the arm, "In your dreams."

Mac presses his lips to hers and spins her around so her back is against the wall. "I love you, Stella," he whispers between kisses.

She pulls back, resting her forehead against his, "I love you too, Mac." Once she has taken a few moments to breathe, she kisses him again, her fingers attempting to undo the buttons of his shirt. His shirt is soon open, and she takes the opportunity to feel the muscles of his chest. Suddenly she feels herself being lifted up, and she wraps her arms tightly around his neck to keep from falling.

He gently sets her down on his bed, and despite her protests, he breaks the bond between their lips. "Are you sure?" he asks. "This is going to change things between us forever."

Stella leans up to kiss him again, "Yes."

A/N: Now that we've gone through the alphabet, the story is finished. Sadly. I hope you liked it. I'm sorry they couldn't work together; I seriously could not think of a way for them to get past Sinclair so I had to split the team up. Hopefully that part never comes true on the show. Or Stella being kidnapped by some rapist. Anyway... I only have one other story written as of right now, and it's only a chapter long. It's called She Is, and it's just cute little story, no violence involved. It takes place after Right Next Door. I'll probably post it sometime next week. And then I'm like five chapters into another story. I don't know how long it's going to end up but I have to finish reading Dracula first. So... please review and give me your final thoughts on the story. I'd like to thank all of you that read this story and especially those that took the time to review it.