Okay, here comes the final chapter on this one. Thanks mj, already told you I love your reviews ;-) And mandi – as I said, your guess was in the right direction, just that this is Stella's part of the story (you'll know what I mean after you read the chapter and rechecked your last review). And YES – that would definitely be the best episode ever :-)

Chapter 4

"Claire loved this place …" he suddenly said, looking around, but avoiding looking at her.

Stella carefully put her left hand over his, softly pressing it to let him know everything was okay. When he looked over to her, he noticed a little tear rolling down her cheek.

"Hey there… what's wrong?" he asked concerned.

But in a whisper she'd arrive
And danced into my life
Like a music melody
Like a lovers' song

She slightly shook her head with a smile. "Nothing… You – you took me to Claire's favorite spot?" she asked in disbelief, unable to hide her emotion. He smiled back.

"I knew you would love it, too." "I do," she replied quietly.

"I really do. It's ... so beautiful here, I didn't know that there are such beautiful places around here." He got up, pulling her with him since he was still holding her hand.

"Come on, there's something else I need to show you," he mysteriously said.

Stella followed him, her eyes filled with tears. She was so moved by his unexpected open behavior and she wasn't sure if she could take any more surprises of this kind. He smiled reassuringly and guided her along the beach until they reached a little hut.

"Come on!" he said, noticing her hesitation. She gave him a questioning look. "Well, let's just say, someone owes me a favor…" he explained while he reached for the key.

They entered the little hut which had just one room with a little couch and an armchair, an old oven and a bed. The wall opposite had a little window, another one next to the door. Stella looked around the little place, it looked comfortable and clean. Then she turned back to Mac again. He gave her a soft smile, noticing her unspoken question.

"This hut was only built two years ago…" She nodded silently and closed her eyes.

Oh tonight you killed me with your smile
So beautiful and wild so beautiful
Oh tonight you killed me with your smile
So beautiful and wild so beautiful and wild

"I'm a lucky girl..." she smiled with tears in her eyes.

Mac shook his head. "I'm the lucky one here. Four years ago, I thought my life was over, everything I lived for was taken from me. But then somewhere up there," he looked upwards with a smile, "somebody sent me an angel."

"I'm an idiot. I feel so horrible..." Stella whispered, her voice muffled by a lump in her throat.

"No, you are not. I can understand what you must feel and I'm the one who should feel horrible for letting you go through this for so long. This is all my fault, I know you couldn't feel any different than you did, I didn't do anything to let you know..." he took a deep breath.

"First I didn't notice it and when I did, I couldn't believe you would seriously have any personal interest – besides being a close friend – in someone like me. Let me finish!" he interrupted her attempted objection about his last comment.

"And then... The other night it was so amazing, it just felt so right with us – and I didn't think for a second that there might still be unanswered questions, doubts, things we might need to clear up before moving on. It felt so good just to be close to you. I'm so sorry, Stella... . You have no reason to feel horrible, I know you are not jealous. I know you were concerned about my feelings for Claire and how I would be able to deal with them when trying to start something new and regarding my behavior all these years, I can't blame you. I shouldn't have left you alone with this, we should have talked about it. You just didn't know..."

Through the darkest night
Comes the brightest light
And the light that shines
Is deep inside
It's who you are

Stella lowered her gaze, she felt caught, he knew exactly what she had been thinking. The whole day he had spent figuring out why she acted so strange in the morning and came up with this wonderful scenario to show her she had no reason to worry.

"I feel so stupid..." she whispered barely hearable.

"Shsh..." he put a finger over her lips and pulled her closer to him. "You know that I will never forget Claire and that there will always be a place in my heart for her. But you have absolutely no reason to worry about feeling like a substitute or coming in second place, do you understand me?"

Then he moved his hand under her chin, making her look at him. With his other hand, he softly wiped away some tears before closing her lips with his until he felt her relax in his arms.

After a long, tender kiss, he carefully pulled away and looked into her eyes. The last 12 hours since they woke up together wouldn't have been necessary the way they happened.

"Do you still want me...?" he hesitantly asked.

"As long as you want me…" she timidly smiled at him, leaning in for another long and deep kiss while she softly pulled him down to the bed.

Oh tonight you killed me with your smile
So beautiful and wild so beautiful
Oh tonight you killed me with your smile
So beautiful and wild so beautiful …beautiful

The End