He was sitting on the bench in the locker room, his face buried in his hands. Once again he had had to tell a man that his wife had been murdered. It has been as always. At first, the husband had refused to believe him. Then he had become very quiet and finally he had collapsed, sobbing and begging him to find the killer. He had done everything in his power to calm the man down, to assure him he would hunt the one who caused all the pain, down.

It was one of the tasks of his jobs he really hated. Telling someone that their beloved had been taken away from them, been ripped out of their everyday lives. A single tear made its way across his cheek. He heard the door slam and looked up, quickly wiping the treacherous liquid.

"Mac, what are you doing here?", a caring voice asked. A weak smile appeared on his lips. What would he feel like if someone told her, she was killed? His face froze immediately at the very thought. He couldn't imagine being without her. Although she didn't know about his feelings. But what, if she was taken away as suddenly as poor Mrs. Winters tonight?

"Are you alright?", the woman's voice was full of concern and care. She sat down on the bench beside him, taking one of his hands in her own.

"I was just thinking about the Winters' case, Stella.", he replied, enjoying the feeling of her warm skin on his.

"Life truly is cruel sometimes.", he added as an afterthought. He turned his head to face her.

She was looking at him with understanding eyes. Slowly, he reached out his free hand to caress her cheek.

"I have been thinking so much...", he whispered. "...about us. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you, not without you knowing how I feel about you.", his voice was barely audible now. Nevertheless, she had understood what he was trying to say.

"Mac, I know. I care about you, too.", she said and her smile seemed sad. When he started drawing circles on the soft skin of her cheek, she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

"I don't care about you the way you think, Stella.", he said and it sounded harsher than he had intended. Her eyes flew open and he could watch as tears started to flow down.

"I love you!", he added quickly and wiped them away in a very gentle way. Her mouth fell open as she realised what he had just said.

"Mac...", she whispered, but any other word was unnecessary. He leaned forward to catch her in a breathtaking kiss. She welcomed him eagerly, pulling him as close as possible. How long had she been waiting for such a confession? She had been dreaming, fantasizing about various situations - but now it had become real. Her hands found their way to his neck, while he was still caressing her cheek with his fingertips.

Finally they disengaged from each other. Her face was flushed and she was out of breath. He was smiling at her dreamily.

"I love you, too."