Oh, nicely done. I loved this episode and your one-shot fits beautifully.

Of course she would be devestated as she really cares for them. Like how she is reflecting over just that and Mac comes in just then :o)
Awwwe so sad how she feels the goodbye :o(
I can picture him more as the coffee type, and that would fall away after Christine, sadly. Awwwe how sad they are drifting, have drifted apart.
He most likely knew how she feels and last paragrafh so sad.
This story is short, and a bit bittersweet, but really good :o)

You make a very interesting parallel here between the death of a lesser known colleague – saying good-bye in that most permanent sense to one who has passed on, one that you may not have known that well; and then the slow death of a close friendship – saying good-bye to a relationship, also in a seemingly permanent sense, with one that you care for so deeply.

Interestingly enough, my favorite line in this was completely unrelated to Jo’s sentiments towards Mac. Rather, it was the following:

“…she hadn't really wanted to invade in any way in their shared grief –– the grief of those she worked with indirectly, yet barely knew at all.”

I loved how you summed up in one concise sentence the distance that seemingly exists between the detectives and the majority of the Lab techs on the show.

And oh, so true…how very nice it would have been had Mac had something, anything, remotely responsive to say to her profession of adoration. Instead of just offering her a tissue… Pffff…

I’d have been tempted to let go myself right there…

"Jo told him that he didn't even need to say anything at all and react to her sentimentality in any way… but it would have been… nice."

It certainly would have! This was really beautifully written :)