Title: A Bet

Author: Cookie

Rating: PG

Category: Romance

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't sue please

Spoilers: All Episodes up until Dancing with the Fishes

A/N: I was enjoying my little hiatus and watching great NY episodes, then Mac had to go and get all territorial (at least in my mind) at autopsy… now, can't let that go now… right? Well, a piece much shorter than my normal one… lemme know what you think, alright? I miss getting reviews!

It was chilly when they walked out of the dance company; the choreographer's DNA is tucked safely - sealed - in Stella's case.

"I'm gonna go back to the lab and get this started," Stella lifted her case as they walked towards the car.

"That can wait," Mac said as he held the car door open for her.

Stunned, Stella stood against the front seat and looked at her partner, and took in his more relaxed attire - without the tie.

"What?" he asked with one of his slight grin that had been missing for the past 3 years.

"Welcome back," she said softly, a small smile on her face.

He arched an eyebrow at her comment. Stella broke into a real smile and raised her hand to touch his cheek in a tender, soft sweep.

But he didn't let her hand slip away this time as he normally would. "What do you mean?" he asked as he held onto her wrist.

"You," she said, looking him right in the eye for emphasis, "are telling me to leave work. When was the last time you did that? Or have you ever done that before?"

"Well, it's been a long day," Mac looked away as he insisted. "We started early. This may be a good time to stop, and, you know, come back to the evidence with fresh eyes."

Chuckling, Stella shook her hand as she climbed into the car and settled in.

"What do you say if I get us back to the lab to drop the evidence off, then you and I go and get some dinner ourselves?"

Smiling, Stella shook her head at his change of attitude, "You're buying."

Mac joined in at the chuckling as he started the car. The ride back to the lab was made mostly in silence with Stella occasionally poked fun of passerby's or cursing at other drivers on Mac's behalf. When they finally got back to the lab, they slipped out of the vehicle and made their way to the building's entrance, Mac's hand found its usual spot at the small of her back.

"I'll be a minute," Stella said as they got off the elevator to their floor.

"I'll be in my office. Come find me when you're ready," he instructed before they parted ways – she to the lab and he back to his office.

The lab was deserted by the time Stella made her way in. All those working day shift had gone home, and those working night were probably out at a scene. At night, the NYPD CSI lab felt eerily empty and quiet.

Stella worked at record speed at logging the evidence in. She didn't want to take too long lest Mac changed his mind during the time. She was still getting used to the changes in her friend. He had become more relaxed, more like the Mac Taylor she had gotten to know at the very beginning of their relationship.

The changes had started in late May, when Mac was involved in the secret-service-mission-gone-wrong at his usual breakfast place. He never went to that diner anymore. Instead, on the days they were not called out of bed too early to a crime scene, they usually had breakfast together.

Stella often wondered what happened that night he had a date with the girl he rescued, but she didn't want to ask. She, after all, wasn't sure if she would welcome the fact that her friend had found someone to fill Claire's gap, and that that person was not her.

Mac's invitation to dinner had come as a surprise, and she briefly wondered what brought this on, but she certainly was glad to spend more alone time with her friend.

When the piece of gum was logged into evidence and put away with the rest of the case, she shrugged off her lab coat. Humming, she left the lab, and went directly into the restroom to check her make-up without thinking. When she was standing in front of the mirror fixing her lip colour, she suddenly realized how ridiculous it was and laughed out loud.

Mac had been by her side since the wee hours of dawn, and he had definitely seen her at worse shape than she was at the moment. He had already known how she looked like, touching up or not wouldn't have made a difference.

Still, she wanted to look nice for their night out - was it really a nice out? Or was it simply two friends have dinner together so they didn't have to be alone? She didn't know, and she didn't want to get her hopes up.

Finally, satisfied with how she looked, she marched toward Mac's office with a purpose. From the other end of the hallway, she could see Hawkes leaning against Mac's open office door and making small talk. Through the glass wall of his office (why did NYPD insist of getting glass walls for office, anyway? She had thought things would be different in the new office, but no, there was still no privacy with her office), Stella could see his nervous posture behind his desk. It wasn't an obvious sign of distress he had shown, and Stella was certain Hawkes didn't pick up on it. It had taken her years to figure out his mood based on his body language - and there were still many times when she had no clue what he was feeling or thinking.

As she neared his office, she caught his eyes, and for a moment, she wondered Mac looked even more nervous as she approached.

"Oh, come on, Mac, share a little," Hawkes, with his recent transfer over to CSI, had become closer to Mac and obviously felt he knew Mac well enough to badger for information.

"Hawkes, go away," Mac ordered - rather good naturedly, "I am not saying another word about that."

"About what?" Stella couldn't resist making Mac squirm just a little more, and she grinned when Mac shot her a glare.

"Well, boss-man here had just made reservation at a fancy Italian place for two," Hawkes said as if he was revealing national secret. "I just want to find out who that mysterious companion is."

Stella was stunned, again, to say the least. Mac had made reservation at a fancy restaurant for their dinner. Did that mean this was more than a date? "Well, he's having dinner with me," she responded matter-of-fact-ly.

She could feel blood rushing to her face as she blushed under Hawkes' scrutiny. "With you?" he asked, incredulously, looking back and forth between Mac and her.

Thinking quickly, she muttered the first thing that came to mind, "He lost a bet to me earlier this week, and this is his side of the bargain."

Stella could tell Hawkes was still doubtful about her explanation, and she marched on while looking straight on at Hawkes, "He promised he wouldn't buy any new tie for a month - and he just recently bought yet another one. I chose today to have him pay up."

From the corner of her eyes, Stella could see Mac squirm some more at her attempt to divert attention, but he sat back and let her handle things.

Without waiting for Hawkes' response, she turend to face her partner directly, "Now, Taylor, are you ready to go?"

"I'll need to sign off on 2 more requests," he gestured his hand, "and I'll be done a lot faster if I am not disturbed."

Grinning once again, Hawkes turned to leave Mac's office, with a smile too smug for Stella's liking, "Well, in that case, enjoy the dinner, you too. And Mac, wear your new tie at some point. I'm sure Stella wouldn't mind."

Finally with Hawkes out of ear shot, Stella moved to close his door and leaned against it.

"I never knew I promised not to buy anymore ties," Mac teased as he quickly scan over the requests and signed his name where appropriate.

"Well, we can always call Hawkes back and tell him that we're having dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant," she challenged him, and he didn't call her bluff.

She waited while he gathered his things, watching him and admiring the lines that had become softer on his face. "A fancy Italian restaurant, huh?"

He looked up at her and slowly, nodded, "Yeah. I want this to be special."

"Special, how?"

"Special, as in we're finally going to do something decidedly different from what we normally did."

She smiled, but wouldn't let him off the hook that easily, "Why though?"

He looked at her for a long moment, and Stella, suddenly, was afraid she had pushed too far too soon. She was about to dismiss her question when he answered, "Because I believe we have something special going on between us already, and I think it's time for us to move forward, to address that something special with action."

"And people say you're emotionally aloof," she teased, hoping it would keep her tears at bay. She was touched by his sentiments. In her mind, she always thought it would take something drastic - like one of them dying or seriously injured - to bring Mac to do something. Again, she was proved wrong. Blinking excessively, she hoped the tears would not embarrass her in the middle of the NYPD lab. "Damn, I hate these glass walls."

He looked puzzled at her sudden shift in topic.

"I would like to kiss you right now, but I can't because of these damn walls," she explained while giving up and wiping away the tears threatening to fall.

Slowly, Mac moved toward her and brushed the one drop that escaped with his thumb. Leaning in closer, he whispered close to her ear, "Me too, but I think I rather like the idea of kissing you in front of the whole lab."

Pulling back, she looked at him curiously. "Well, the lab is empty, so I don't think what you like won't happen now," she said lightly, truly believing that he was only joke when she caught his serious expression. Gulping, she turned serious, "You wanna kiss me in front of everyone, why?"

"So that people, like Dr. Giles, would know to back off."

It took a moment before Stella fully comprehended what he was getting at.

"This morning?" she asked for confirmation, and her partner nodded.

"You two were openly flirting at autopsy."

Stella Bonasera chuckled and shook her head. Who knew that would be the button to push? "We were just talking about dances. Those are called polite small talk, Mac. And from what I remembered, you were rather abrupt with him too."

"We were at work," Mac stood his ground. "You shouldn't have had to make small talk. That's not professional."

"Is that the only reason you were upset?" she baited, and he growled.

"You know it isn't."

Smiling happily, Stella pressed her forehead against his chest, and murmured, "Yes, I know."

A loud knock at Mac's office door brought the two of them out of their little world. Sheldon Hawkes was standing on the other side with a big smile.

"You're gonna be late for your dinner," he said, his tone leaving not doubt that he had figured out what was going on. "Go and enjoy your bet."

"Mind your own business, Hawkes," Stella Bonasera ordered with a smile, her forehead still resting comfortably on Mac's shoulder. Now, she was home.