Chapter 3 Busted

A/N: You guys rock! Thanks so much for all the reviews :-) Due to medical school kicking my butt, I've decided to make this the last chapter. However, be on the lookout for a possible follow up story this summer! Enjoy! :-)

Disclaimer: Nope, I didn't get it for my birthday, so I still own nothing.

"It's about time those two got together," Jess muttered under her breath from where she stood behind Sinclair. This only caused Flack and Danny to snicker and Mac and Stella to shoot her venomous looks.

"What the hell is going on here?" Chief Sinclair demanded as he crossed his arms and glared at the team. Immediately, all eight CSIs began talking at once trying to explain the situation.

"One at a time," Sinclair replied as he raised his hands signaling everyone to calm down. He looked over at Adam who seemed uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Are you ok Ross?" Sinclair asked.

"Sir, with all due respect sir, is it really necessary for all of us to explain what happened here?" Adam asked.

"Where in the world could you possibly have to rush off to right this instant?" Sinclair demanded.

"Um….the bathroom sir. I really need to pee," Adam responded. Sinclair sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Go," he stated while continuing to massage his face.

"Thank you sir," Adam immediately spit out as he rushed off to the nearest bathroom. Jess turned to Sinclair.

"Can I collect my boyfriend please? I've been waiting at the bar for almost three hours for him," she stated while offering Sinclair a pleading gaze.

"Fine," he confirmed. Jess grabbed Flack's arm and dragged him from the elevator.

"Thank you," Flack muttered under his breath as Jess began leading him outside.

"Yeah, well now you owe me details," she said while looking over her shoulder at Mac and Stella as the two of them left the building. Just then, Danny cleared his throat.

"Sir, we should really be getting home to Lucy…" he trailed off. Not waiting for a reply, he grabbed his giggling wife's hand and pulled her out of the elevator after Flack and Jess. The chief looked at the four remaining CSIs as if he were daring them to come up with an excuse to leave.

"Sir, I had to do the chicken dance in my underwear," Sid explained while Hawkes bit his lip to keep from smiling at Sinclair's expression of horror.

"How did you end up-" the chief began before stopping mid-sentence.

"You know what, forget it, I don't want to know. Get out of here," he finally said as Sid took his leave followed closely by Hawkes.

"Where do you think you're going Sheldon?" Sinclair asked. Hawkes turned to him with an innocent face.

"I had to witness Sid dancing in his underwear…don't you think that's enough punishment for one night?"

"…Go," Sinclair stated as he shuddered at the thought.

Hawkes quickly rushed out the door, leaving a very disgruntled chief with two very nervous CSIs. Stella nervously started played with her fingers as Mac avoided eye contact with Sinclair.

"Well, it sure seems to be getting late, so I think I'll-"

"Oh no you don't Taylor," Sinclair began.

"I want the two of you in my office…NOW," he growled before turning on his heel and storming to the stairs. Mac and Stella glanced nervously at each other before following Sinclair up the stairs to his office.

***

"Look, it's not what it looks like," Mac tried to defend himself and his partner as the two of them stood in front of Chief Sinclair's desk five minutes later.

"Oh, it's not what it looks like?! I get a call from Detective Angell saying she was supposed to meet you guys at the bar but none of you showed up and none of you were answering your cell phones. So when the two of us anxiously head over here to make sure you guys are all still alive, I open the elevator to see the two of you playing tonsil tennis!" Sinclair shouted.

"Hey!" Stella exclaims a little offended.

"First Danny and Lindsay, then Don and Jess, now the two of you? You guys are supposed to be leaders. You're supposed to set a good example! This lab is now starting to bare an uncanny resemblance to The Love Boat," Chief Sinclair finished while trying to put on his best angry face.

"Look the elevator stopped working and we were just looking for a way to pass the time-" Mac began only to be interrupted once again by Sinclair.

"By swapping spit with your partner?" Sinclair snapped, "I could take away your badges for this."

"If anything sir, it's you who's to blame," Stella boldly accused. Both men looked at Stella who had been mostly quiet throughout the whole ordeal. Sinclair narrowed his eyes at her.

"How in the world can you twist this one around and have it be my fault Bonasera?"

"Well, the elevator stopped working. Meaning someone forgot to have it inspected. Now who's job would it be to get the elevator inspected," Stella asked while pretending to be deep in thought.

"Sounds like it would be the chief's job to get the elevator inspected, don't you agree Mac?" Stella asked while turning to face him with a mischievous gleam in her eye. Mac immediately caught on to where she was going and played along.

"Oh yeah definitely," he agreed.

"The budget-" Sinclair began nervously but Mac cut him off.

"You mean there wasn't enough money in the budget to get the elevator inspected and ensure the safety of your employees? The same employees who risk their lives every single day for the good people of New York. That sounds unacceptable to me, don't you agree Detective Bonasera?"

"Oh, most definitely Detective Taylor," Stella concluded with a smug smile.

"Now wait just a minute you two-"

"I'm sure the mayor would want to hear about this," Stella continued while raising an eyebrow and directing her gaze to Sinclair.

"That's quite enough-" Sinclair began only to be interrupted once again.

"Well, here's how I see it," Mac began, "You can either fire both Detective Bonasera and myself and we can mention this little incident to the mayor. Or we can forget this situation ever happened and you can have the elevator repaired and inspected tomorrow," Mac offered. Sinclair looked enraged.

"How dare you-"

"I could go either way," Mac concluded nonchalantly as he challenged Sinclair's angry stare. Stella focused her eyes intently on the chief as well. Sinclair seemed to weigh his options carefully before letting out a frustrated sigh.

"I don't know what is going on between the two of you, and frankly I don't want to know. But if I catch the two of you in a compromising position like that again, I promise to take both of your badges. Understood?" Sinclair asked.

"Understood," Mac and Stella replied at the same time.

"Good. Carry on then," Sinclair stated as he reached for the phone book on his desk and started looking for a good repairman in the yellow pages.

Mac and Stella quickly turned and left the confines of his office and didn't stop until they were safely out of earshot of their boss. Once they were sure Sinclair couldn't hear them, both erupted into a fit of laughter.

"Oh man, how in the world did we get away with that?" Stella wondered while clutching her stomach as she wiped a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye.

"Well, I'd say it was thanks to your quick thinking," Mac replied while trying to catch his breath. Stella shook her head.

"No way, that was all you Mac. The way you just ran with it. I will never forget Sinclair's expression when you gave him an ultimatum. Priceless."

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you. We do make a pretty good team, don't we?" Mac asked softly while brushing a curl from Stella's flushed face. Stella blushed and looked up into his eyes.

"The best," she agreed with a kind smile.

"After everything that has happened tonight, I could really use that drink," Mac stated.

"Mac, we've been stuck in an elevator for almost three hours. It's almost three in the morning! We should really go home and get some sleep. Besides, I'm sure I'm a sight for sore eyes," Stella said referring to her disheveled appearance.

"Stella Marie Bonasera, you could never be anything less than beautiful. Not even if you tried," Mac softly admitted as he looked deep into her green eyes. He figured now was as good a time as any to clue her in on how he really felt.

"I know this is sudden and not the most picturesque setting in the world," Mac started referring to the empty hallway of the lab, "but if I don't say anything now, I know I'll regret it. I love you Stella. I love everything about you. You're smart, you're beautiful, and you willingly put up with my reclusive behavior. I don't know what I would do without you," he concluded as Stella's eyes instantly filled with happy tears. He gently cupped her face and brushed the few that managed to spill onto her cheeks away with his thumb.

"You don't know how wonderful that is to hear," Stella admitted as her mouth gave way to a huge smile. Mac wrapped his arms around her slender body as Stella nestled her face into the crook of his neck.

"I feel the same way Mac. This just feels right," Stella confessed while offering a gentle squeeze. She gently pulled back and looked deep into his cerulean eyes.

"I never thought I would be lucky enough to fall in love with my best friend," Stella admitted while more tears began pooling in her eyes. Mac gently kissed her tears away before pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss.

"Alright, you owe me twenty bucks, cough it up," they heard someone mumble from around the corner. Surprised, Mac and Stella pulled apart quickly and made their way to the end of the hallway. Ever so slowly, Mac poked his head around the corner, but found that no one was there. Shrugging he turned back to Stella who also had a puzzled look on her face.

"No, you're not going crazy, I heard it too," she replied answering his unasked question. Suddenly, the door to the utility closet next to them burst open and out tumbled seven dazed crime scene investigators.

"Good going Adam. You gave away our position," Danny grunted form underneath the pile of people lying in a heap on the ground.

"I told you I had to sneeze! I couldn't help it!" Adam snapped back from under Hawkes' foot.

"Awww, you two really love each other?!" Lindsay squeaked trying to change the subject as she looked up excitedly. Stella put her hands on her hips and gazed down at the team at her feet.

"We were stuck in an elevator for almost three hours, why the heck are you guys crammed into a closet?" Stella asked exasperated.

"We missed the closeness," Flack replied sarcastically while sitting up and brushing off his clothes.

"And I clearly wanted to see what all the fuss was about," Jess deadpanned as she tried to disentangle herself from the rest of the group.

"How the heck did you sneak past the chief's office?" Mac wondered still in shock.

"Well, we weren't going to let Sinclair fire the two of you," Sid began like it was obvious. "So we took the back stairs up, just in case you needed some help defending yourselves and your…um…actions," Sid finished while smirking causing both Mac and Stella to blush.

"Well that was very thoughtful…but I'm not buying it," Stella replied while she crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the team.

"What are you guys really doing here? And what's this I hear about twenty bucks?"

The rest of the team exchanged worried glances as they began standing. Nobody said anything. Finally, under Mac and Stella's intense stares, Adam cracked.

"It was all Danny's idea!" Adam exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger at Danny whose jaw dropped.

"Way to hang me out to dry Ross!"

"What? I like my job, I don't want to get fired," Adam explained.

"What was all Danny's idea?" Stella asked now starting to become frustrated.

"It was a bet," Danny started while shoving his hands into his pockets and staring at his feet.

"It was really more of a friendly wager," Lindsay explained trying to help out her husband upon seeing Mac and Stella's stunned faces.

"What was the bet?" Stella asked. Silence loomed around them once again.

"You really don't want to know," Jess started.

"Oh I think I really do," Mac shot back.

"Um…" Hawkes began scratching the back of his head and turned to the rest of the team for assistance. No one looked like they wanted to say anything.

"Spit it out you guys," Mac stated starting to get agitated at all the secrecy.

"Well, when we left the elevator, Lindsay and Jess thought you guys were completely in love and were going to confess your feelings to each other tonight," Danny began.

"And we were completely right," Lindsay pointed out starting to become giddy once more while Jess nodded her head. When the team grew silent again, Mac turned a questioning glance to them.

"Do I even want to know what the wager against that was?" Mac asked while slightly grimacing. Danny sighed.

"After that little encounter in the elevator, the rest of us thought you guys would want to finish what you started," Danny muttered while looking at his feet.

"Meaning?" Stella continued now moving her hands back to her hips.

"Meaning…we thought you'd save the talking for later and would be going at it in your office like a couple of hormonal teenagers," Flack smirked while gesturing toward Mac's office. Mac's jaw dropped as Stella covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"But really, it was just a silly little bet that didn't mean anything, and we're really sorry we were spying and-" Adam began rambling before Mac held up his hands signaling him to stop talking. After taking a few second to collect his thoughts, Mac began speaking.

"We're going out for a drink," he started referring to himself and Stella. The rest of the team was silent as they waited for him to continue.

"This encounter never happened and you will put everything back in the utility closet where it belongs," he finished referring to the cleaning supplies now strewn around the floor while eyeing each of them carefully. All seven CSIs nodded their heads enthusiastically yes.

"Yes boss!" Adam quickly agreed.

"Good. See you all bright and early tomorrow," Mac stated as he started to turn and walk away but stopped when he heard Flack.

"What?! You mean after everything that's happened tonight, we still need to be here at the normal time?!" Flack asked while groaning.

"That's only five hours from now!" Danny complained. Stella walked up to Danny.

"Well then, you guys had better hurry up and get this mess cleaned up so you can catch a couple hours of shut eye," she replied while gently patting Danny's cheek. Mac gently placed a hand on the small of her back and began leading her down the hallway away from the now grumbling group of CSIs.

"You think we were too hard on them?" Stella asked while turning to Mac. He instantly shook his head no.

"They'll get over it. Besides, I'm sure they're going to spending the next five hours talking about us, whether we make them clean up their mess or not," Mac replied. Stella chuckled as she slipped her hand into Mac's. They stopped walking once they got outside the elevator. Skeptically, Mac pushed the button while Stella offered a quick sideways glance. When the elevator arrived and the doors opened wide, neither made a move to get in it. Mac turned to Stella.

"Stairs?" he suggested.

"Oh yeah, the stairs are starting to look really good right about now," she concluded.

With her hand clasped firmly in Mac's, the happy couple headed towards the stairs for their well deserved drink.

END

A/N: I have no idea what Stella's middle name is, so I made it up. Thanks so much for reading! Please review and let me know what you think. Cheers! :-)