Title: Kill Zone

Summary: Mac wakes up in the back of a cab, unable to move, his mind racing as to who the cabbie killers next victim might be. Him? His one thought was if he would actually survive to tell Stella that he loves her. Based on the premise of eppy 4.20 Taxi

Disclaimer: I don't own Mac Taylor but I wish I did (course then I'd get nothing done! Grin) You know the rest write?

A/N: Well the muse hasn't placed Mac in real peril, especially eppy based so came up with this after watching a rerun. A sort of twist on the cabbie killer. So instead of Reed being kidnapped, it was Mac who got there first and he was taken and it's his life that hangs in the balance. Can Stella get there in time? Words in italics and "quotes" from the eppy

"Who's your source Reed? Who told you about the markings on the neck?"

Mac's head swims with dizzying pain; his eyes struggling to get open and his stomach tight and churning. His mind keeps flashing him his discussions with Reed as he tries to force himself back to reality. But as soon as he does, he quickly realizes that something is very wrong and his reality isn't the one he was hoping for.

Mac's eye snap open; panic coursing through his veins as he tries in vain to pull his bound wrists free, his fingers quickly feeling the tape tightly wrapped around them, keeping them secured behind his back; and a few strands of thick tape wrapped around his chest, keeping his arms painfully trapped to his body. His jacket and coat missing; only his dress shirt offering some protection but not much; nerves and anxiety forcing his body to gently tremble. Tape over his mouth keeps his cries for help to a muffled whisper; his eyes frantically searching the dark space that he is now encased in.

HELP ME! Mac shouts as he tries to kick at the side of the vehicle trunk he's trapped in, his mind reminding him in haste that his feet are also bound and that he's in very serious trouble. His nose quickly picks up the smell of gasoline and fumes that are starting to seep into the back of the small space he's in, surmising that he's now being held by the man who has been able to keep the city chained to its knees for the past few weeks. That's how he kills them, carbon monoxide poisoning, Mac laments as the toxic fumes continue to weaken his entire frame, his legs quickly stopping their useless kicking; his lungs gasping for air.

"How does he contact you? What does he look like? What's his name?...you can and you WILL!"

He remembers back to when he first confronted Reed about the information on his blog about the cabbie killer. At that time he never imagined that he would be the person fighting for his life; bound and gagged in the back of the murderous cab while he prayed for his team to find him before it was too late; his eyes flashing images of his own demise left for his beloved partner to find and process.

"You pushed...he stormed off..." Stella's voice rings out in his mind to which he had looked up at her with a soft smile.

Unlike his brief interludes with Quinn that left him feeling anxious and stressed, Stella was able to calm him with only a few words.

"If you had told me that sooner," he had tossed at her, her smile once again penetrating his soul and threatening tobring out his human side once again. Her tone was soft and kind, it calmed his heart and forced his brain to refocus and think clearly on what his next move would be. He remembers watching her explain something further to him; his mind delighting in the small facial expressions she would offer when she thought he wasn't looking.

He remembered thinking to himself that if Reed was able to help them find the real cabbie killer he would thank Reed but also show Stella personally just what she means to him; he was in love with her. Now as he hears the silent screams from victims past, he wonders if he'll ever be fortunate enough to tell her that he loves her in person.

"Be there in ten minutes," he had told Reed over the phone.

He had finished his heated debate with Quinn and stormed off to find Reed; the promise to discuss what the next move was needed in order to keep the political pitbulls at bay. He had arrived at Reed's only to knock on the door and get nothing in return. He had pulled his phone, heard some shuffling, turned and...

"You NYPD?" The unrecognizable man questioned gruffly.

"Detective Mac Taylor," was all he got out before the man raised something; too fast for Mac to react.

His world went black; struck on the head with a lead pipe before his body crumpled to the ground; his next realization was waking up, captive. Where was Reed? Had the cabbie killer already gotten him? Was he just delayed? Was there still hope that Reed was alive? Would he be that fortunate?

Mac tries to focus his mind on Stella, telling himself that he had told her where he was going but would she suspect where he is when he was late? Stella help me, his mind calls.

Then much to his horror he feels the car come to a stop, his body now lightly buckling against the heavy tape bonds as his ears pick up the voice of a woman. He's picked up another passenger! NO! Mac's head shakes furiously, his heart racing that he's only a few feet away from the next potential victim and unable to warn them. IN HERE! His feet pound at the back, trying to warn the woman.

But it's too late.

The cab speeds off; his ears forced to listen to her helpless cries for help; his mind trying to block out her pleas for her very life and his stomach about to throw up as twisted laughter fills the entire vehicle and he knows that hopelessness has just consumed him.

The cabbie killer had claimed another innocent victim.

Stella! HELP ME! His mind yells again.

XXXXXXXX

Stella looks up from her files, still standing in Mac's office and feeling a frown starting to cross her face. She looks at her watch and sighs.

"Stella, I have to see Reed. He's only got an hour to..." he had told her before he stormed out of the silent office space and was gone.

"I just hope you go easy on him Mac," she mumbles she pictures the worried look on her partners handsome face when he told her that he was off to find Reed Garrett and try to get him to help with the take down of the cabbie killer. But as she looks at her watch she realizes that was an hour ago, and Mac should have been back by now.

Her mind drifts back to their brief discussion, his soft words about telling him sooner still dancing in her brain. He had looked defeated in that moment; not by the case, but by some kind of failed fatherly realization; and he had endeared himself to her even more, if that was even possible. She loved him; more than anything. Wanting so desperately to tell him how she really feels. But he had been so consumed by the cabbie killer the past few weeks, people coming at him from every angle, all wanting a piece of the lead investigator that had vowed to free the city from carnal bondage at any cost.

So she held back.

Now as she looks at the file in her hands, she tells herself that Mac will get what they need, they will stop this madman, the city will be free once more and in a few hours she would invite him to a private dinner and finally confess to him how much love she has for him in her heart.

But as the minutes tick slowly past, an odd feeling still churning in her stomach, that is until Reed Garret appears in the doorway and she assumes that Mac is back in the building and Reed is just here to wait for him.

"Hey Stella," Reed mumbles with a slight nod.

"How are you holding up?"

"Fine you know," he huffs. "I um...you know I swear I didn't know about Jimmy. I mean...damn I didn't know he was an undercover cop."

"I know and you are not to blame Reed."

"Try telling Mac that."

"He'll come around. That's why he went to talk to you. You and Mac okay after all that?" Stella inquires with some hesitation.

"Yeah I guess," Reed shrugs. "I mean when we parted he was kinda angry about my source and stuff. I was pissed but then I thought about it and...well that's why I'm here. I guess I also need to make amends."

"I'm glad Reed," Stella offers with a soft smile. "Did Mac come back with you?"

"From...where?" Reed wonders.

"Well from your place. Weren't you there just now talking to him?"

"He called and said he wanted to meet and I went there and waited for about twenty minutes but he's never usually late. But he never came. Is he here?"

"No...he's not," Stella states slowly as she reaches for her phone and dials his number. "Mac pick up," she nervously urges before the line just goes dead and the feeling in her stomach starts to sky rocket.

"Stella what's going on?"

"Did you blog in between talking to Mac and his call to meet you?"

"I um..."

"DID YOU?" Stella shouts and then quickly calms. "Sorry."

"Whatever it's okay," Reed offers meekly. "I did," he answers in truth.

"Did you say anything specific about Mac? Where he worked? His name? What he looked like?"

"I mentioned something...yeah it was...I said I was going to have a showdown with the hot headed NYPD case lead. Sorry Stella, I was angry just after we parted."

"Do you know how many fatal mistakes are made because of the wrong words spoken in the heat of the moment?" She growls in frustration.

"I didn't know," Reed pleads.

"Damn it Reed first Jimmy and now Mac? How could you? To Mac? You sold him out!" Stella huffs as she storms out of Mac's office, heading for Adam and dialing Flack on the way.

"You mean...Mac," Reed's voice trails off as his slumps down on Mac's nearby leather couch, his head in his hands his lips cursing himself. "It's my fault," Reed mumbles as he pulls his phone, trying also in vain to call Mac. "Come on Mac pick up."

"Oh god Mac...please tell me your phone is just turned off and you are okay," she quietly pleads as she tries to keep welling tears at bay, her mind now flashing images of Mac caught by the very man he was pursuing so relentlessly; a few harmless words now sealing his fate. "Please Mac, pick up."

She nears Adam's area, Flack already on his way to her side; his mind just as frantic as hers that their friend could be the next casualty.

"Please Mac, where are you?" Stella whispers just as she reaches Adam's desk.

"Stella what did you need?"

"Mac and I need you to find him now!"

XXXXXXXX

Mac's mind had passed through several stages of terror when the cab was finally brought to a halt in what he surmised was an empty warehouse the body of the dead woman dumped in beside him and then the lid slammed shut once more before he was once again whisked away to what he now fears will really be his final resting place.

The weight of the dead woman's body presses down, her face thankfully obscured by the angle of her body on his, his eyes slightly watery and his arms still trying to pull against his tight bonds in vain. Panic races through this veins as his brain tells him that he'll be not only forced to watch this sadistic bastard carve up another victim or worse be alive to experience it himself.

The cab comes to a stop and Mac's panic starts to build. For the past hour or so he was forced into the small space, bound and gagged, a helpless NYPD officer in the back of a cab as it rode around the city like it was the most normal thing in the world.

His ears picking up footsteps, Mac's struggling intensifies, his face damp and flushed and his heart about to give way. The trunk opens and he squints up into the face of his elusive murderer.

"Enjoy the ride?" The man sneers down as his hands near Mac.

Mac's body instinctively tries to pull out of his grasp, but unable to do so thanks to his bonds and the tight space.

"Just hang tough officer," his captor growls as he gathers up the dead body of his latest victim. "I'll get to you soon enough."

With his feet tightly bound with tape, Mac knows that unless he's either set free or found in time, his situation is hopeless.

Stella! His mind calls again in panic. HELP ME!

He tries to shift his body, straining to lift his head upward to at least see where he is; some kind of industrial warehouse, a residual odor that his brain can't quite compute just yet. His eyes gaze in horror as the man merely dumps the body of the dead woman onto the table and then watch as he returns glaring at Mac with a haunted stare before his thick hands start to paw at Mac's furiously writhing frame.

A hard blow to his midsection and Mac's lungs once again gasp for air, his nose unable to keep him from starting to choke when he's not afforded the amount of air he needs.

"Damn you weigh a lot more than her," the killer grumbles as his lets Mac's bound feet drop to the floor and he continues to drag Mac's still struggling frame closer toward the table. "Birds eye view for the show," his captor laughs as he allows Mac's sweat laden frame to merely fall to the floor in a panicked heap before he heads back to the table, allowing Mac to watch as he starts to carve.

HELP ME! Mac yells uselessly into the tape that is keeping him silent. STELLA! He feels his stomach starting to tighten once more as he watches the killer start to carve into the soft flesh, his wrists trying to summon any once of strength he has left to try to get them free; anything to keep himself from becoming the next victim.

Mac's eyes instantly start to survey the area before and around him, trying to focus his mind on anything other than hearing that dead woman's screams as she knew her life was slowly being sucked away; her cries for help falling on already dead ears. Mac finally guesses as to his location but knows that if he can't even get a message out to his team, they'll be finding two marked corpses instead of one.

"Enjoying the show?" The killer's words taunt Mac, forcing Mac's gaze back to his and his expression automatically wincing with disgust as he can do little more than try to pray the image to fade. Of course it won't. He continues to mumble uselessly into the gag, begging, pleading with his captor to at least take the tape from his mouth so he'll be able to try to reason; anything to spare his life for a few more precious moments.

"Sorry I don't want to hear what you have to say. Your soul is already marked and your salvation is near," he spouts some ill fated religious jargon. "I really want the blogger and you were in my way. So you'll meet your maker first and then him next. So you see...no need to hear you beg for your life. I can see it in your eyes; you're afraid."

I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU! Mac yells once more, small beads of sweat slowly sliding down his dirt encased cheek, his lungs heaving and his throat raw from bile and lack of saliva. His damp, weary frame slumps down onto the cold cement, the right side of his face on the cool ground but his core continuing to heat.

He hears the madman humming to himself as he continues his dastardly deed; carving what he feels is the victims scriptural penance into her neck; Mac's eyes closing for but a second as his mind calls to his beloved partner once more.

Stella, help me!

XXXXXXXX

"Okay I think I got it," Adam nervously stammers as Flack and Stella anxiously hover around his workstation, his fingers frantically trying to find their missing leader. By now all of them had surmised that Mac had been kidnapped; he'd never just ignore the calls, especially since the person he was going to meet was here waiting for him.

"Thanks," Flack snatches the paper from Adam's hands, Stella in tow as they race for his cruiser, Flack calling for backup along the way; time was of the essence. "We'll make it Stella," he tries to assure her as they finally reach his car and are away from the curb in seconds.

"We better Don. I mean Mac could be in the kill zone right now and...and that could be it," her voice dies out softly as she casts her frantic gaze out the window, anything to keep her mind from watching the minutes tick slowly past; her partner's life now hanging in the balance. Will I ever get the chance, she ponders as a small lump forms in her throat; Flack turns just as she makes a hard swallow.

"We'll get there in time Stella."

"I keep seeing those bodies, the carvings in the skin...the looks...damn it Don, how the hell did he get Mac?"

"He must have taken him by surprise Stell, you know Mac would never go willingly."

"In that cab...knowing what that man's capable of...probably incapacitated in some way," her voice trails off as her eyes finally mist. "Hurry Don, please just hurry."

"We're almost there Stella."

Hold on Mac, we're coming!

XXXXXXXX

Mac's body starts to thrash about once more as he watches the cabbie killer put down the freshly stained knife and look at him with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," the killer sneers as he slowly walks upward Mac, kneeling down before him and just staring; studying the captive NYPD Detective with some interest.

Mac feels the killers eyes continuing to examine him, his heart rate soaring and his mind yelling at the man before him to think twice before he does what he fears will happen.

"I can't stay here too long. See with the others, no one really expected them to come back. Well except for her," he tosses his head back toward the dead body on the table. "She said she has kids. Think they'll pay for their mother's sins?"

WHAT SINS YOU BASTARD! Mac's lips yell in vain once more, his eyes narrowed and his fists tightly clenched behind his back.

"Just like you are going to pay for your sins Detective. Do you have many?"

Remove the tape and I'll confess all, Mac's mind growls.

"Well I guess we're about to find out," the killer mocks as he pushes himself back up, looking down at Mac's struggling frame with an evil glare. Without saying another word he grabs Mac by the forearm and drags him toward the table, Mac's bound legs thrashing about, trying to latch onto anything to slow his feared death.

"I have to cleanse you of your sins Detective," the madman mumbles, Mac's body still trying to struggle out of his grasp. Just before they reach the table, Mac manages to yank himself free, coming to rest and then rolling away a few feet. The killer looks at him and just shakes his head.

"Maybe if you pray really hard right now Detective, you'll be provided with divine intervention," the killer sneers as he picks up the knife, a few droplets smattering to the floor, a silent ominous tone reverberating through the silent warehouse. He nears Mac and Mac tries once again to pull himself back, yelling into the gag and praying for a miracle.

His prayer was answered.

Well for the most part. The killer leans down and rests the blade on his neck, Mac's eyes closing momentarily as he tells Stella he loves her; thinking in vain he'd never have the chance to tell her in person. He feels the blade being pressed against his neck. And then the thick silence in the air is broken by a familiar and welcomed voice.

"NYPD!" Flack's voice yells loudly as a heavily armed group of officers storm into the room. Mac offers a silent thank you as he assumes that all is well. But just before the killer is allowed to escape, he yells in terror as the knife cuts into the soft folds of his neck, black circles instantly forming and his heart starting to fail. Stella

"I got him!" Flack shouts as the cabbie killer bolts in the opposite direction.

"I got Mac!" Stella shouts as she races for her partner's back, gently turning him to face her and gasping in horror. "Oh god Mac no..." she laments as both hands go for the gushing wound on his neck. "Just relax. I NEED HELP OVER HERE!" She shouts, two officers hurrying toward her.

"Hold on Mac," she whimpers as her eyes remained locked with his watery blue ones. "You just hold on okay...don't you dare die on me."

Stella watches as one of the officers gently peels the tape from his lips and the moving to his bound ankles, the other officer already having called for an ambulance.

"Ste..." Mac's lips open as he tries to mention name at least once.

"Just hush now Mac," she gently instructs. "Where is my damn ambulance!" She shouts in misery.

"It's on its way!" One of them calls back.

"Mac you are going to be okay, you hear me? You just need to hang on," Stella tells him.

Mac's lips emit a tortured gasp as one of officers tries to shift his weight to get at his bound wrists, having cut the tape that held his arms to his chest for the past hour.

"It's okay Mac, they just need to cut you free. Just try to relax okay and slow your breathing so your lungs aren't heaving. Can you do that for me?"

Mac's head can only produce a small nod as his brain commands his entire frame to try to relax and allow Stella to look after him. Stella, I love you. He wants to tell her. What if I can't tell her later?

"Ste..." he tries again.

"Tell me later okay Mac? I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. Just rest," she whispers as her eyes water further. "Just rest," she instructs again; a few minutes before the paramedics finally arrive. Knowing they can help save Mac's life, Stella willingly relinquishes her post at her side, allowing the medics to start to work at getting him ready for transport, Dr. Adams already notified that Mac was incoming with a potentially life threatening wound.

Stella hurries after them toward the waiting air ambulance, Mac gently strapped down to the transfer stretcher, his throat wrapped, oxygen tube attached and IV's in place. Stella's fingers intertwine with his as they lift off into the air; her other hand holding the phone as she gets an update from Flack and tells Reed, Mac's status.

Mac's eyes continue to watch Stella's face; having to follow the instructions from the medics not to talk at all until after he had come out of surgery. He is finally rewarded with her locking eyes with him once more, her lips offering a reassuring but also worried smile as her fingers tighten around his once more.

"Just rest," she leans in and kisses him on the cheek. "I have something I want to tell you later. So you have to pull through okay?" She asks softly, swallowing back a small sniffle.

Mac blinks his eyes and tries to nod in agreement, Stella's free hand now resting on his face before moving to his forehead and tenderly cleaning away some sweaty dirt. "Just close your eyes and rest Mac."

Knowing that he really is safe, Mac closes his eyes for the rest of the ride to the hospital; opening them as he feels himself being wheeled into the ER and then opening them again just as Dr. Adams tells him to rest and administers the operative sedation.

Stella anxiously paces outside the ER; having called the team and Sinclair; Sinclair then updating the political bureaucrats about the cabbie killer now on the run. Flack was still pursuing and was now working with Danny and Lindsay on the last few clues as to where the cabbie killer might have ended up; the car providing the best clues so far.

"Stella?" Reed's soft voice breaks her thoughts, forcing her to look up at the young man standing before her with a sheepish tone. "Is he..." Reed asks as he nears.

"I think he's going to be just fine," she replies with some uncertainty as she opens her arms and he gives her a firm hug in return.

"Thank you," he whispers into her ear.

"Mac's just too stubborn to die," she smirks as they pull apart. "Come and sit with me," she entreats as they head toward a bench. Stella tells Reed about what they found and he agrees not to blog about it until the case was finally over and the cabbie killer was where he belonged; either six feet under or behind bars.

"Reed I'm sorry for yelling earlier."

"You care about him, it's obvious and it's cool," Reed smirks. "I'm sorry I kinda caused this."

After what seems like a small eternity, Dr. Adams finally emerges with a smile on his face.

"Stella," he greets her with a small hug. "Its a good thing that Mac has other parts on him just as hard as his head," he smirks. "He pulled through and is resting now. Knowing him he'll want to launch into some kind of verbal tirade about whatever led to my working on him, but please don't engage him. His jugular was only nicked thankfully but we did have to stitch him up and he should avoid talking until the morning as he did sustain serious trauma to that whole area."

"I'll make sure he just rests," Stella assures him. She thanks their older friend and doctor once more before she turns to Reed with a soft smile.

"I'll come back in the morning," Reed tells her. "Just tell him I'm sorry okay?"

"Nothing to be sorry for Reed. Mac didn't blame you for anything. So go and get some rest as he is and then tomorrow you can just reconnect okay?"

"Okay thanks," Reed agrees just before he offers her one last hug and then heads toward the doors and disappears outside. Stella turns toward the ER holding area, takes a deep breath and then pushes forward, so desperately wanting to assure her partner that he wasn't going to spend the night alone. She enters the small private space, her fists opening and closing as she nears his bed but her mind settling as she sees him peacefully asleep; or so she thinks.

His face still showed signs of a struggle; some of the skin scraped away and some dried blood in places the doctor's didn't have time to attend to. She reaches for a small cloth, dampens it in the nearby sink and turns around, only see his warm sapphire orbs watching her every move.

"Hi," she mentions softly as she nears his bed, tenderly cleaning away the last remnants of the cabbie killer's handiwork. "Ben gave you orders not to talk Mac," she quickly reminds him as she watches his lips open.

"St..." he tries only to have her lean in and press her mouth to his.

"I'm not going anywhere Mac. But you need to just rest okay? Let me take care of you for once."

"Bu..." he tries again in a soft hoarse whisper, slightly coughing.

Stella's warm finger gently rests against his flushed mouth, stopping his words in an instant. "Rest now Mac. Just close your eyes and rest. Reed was here, the team is on it and Flack is following a solid lead; so everything is going as you would expect. Now it's time to do for Stella Bonasera," she finishes, his brow furrowing. "And doing for Stella is Mac Taylor just resting as instructed."

His lips curl into a slight smirk but he finally offers her a nod and closes his eyes; delighting in the feel of her once again tending to his rough face and then settling in beside him, her fingers encasing his once again as they settle in for the night.

Having sustained only a few scrapes and bruises from when he fought with his captor; his body actually gets the needed rest, his throat still a bit parched but the fluids IV continuing to add much needed hydration to his recovering wound. A few hours later, his eyes opened and fixed on Stella's beautiful face, peacefully asleep beside him; her body looking uncomfortable in the sleeping chair.

Unable to keep his eyes open a bit longer, he once again succumbs to sleep, obeying Dr. Adams orders; knowing that if he is able to rest the night, he'll be able to talk to Stella in the morning; so much his mind and heart are both yearning to tell her. He forces his mind to dwell on a happy thought about them sharing a moment and is able to close his eyes for a few more solid hours, opening them next just as morning was dawning. He once again looks at Stella; her body has slightly shifted position, but she was there, at his side; her fingers still lightly clasping his.

"I love you," he utters in a soft, barely audible whisper. His face gently frowns when he doesn't get a reaction back, but knows that he told her right now to make sure that he could say it again when she was awake and able to acknowledge his heartfelt confession. He feels his heart rate speed up a bit, triggering the monitors and forcing Stella's eyes to open instantly.

"Mac?" She asks in a sleepy tone as she looks at him in haste.

"Sorry," he finally manages a full word; but still a soft whisper.

"You okay?"

"Yes," he nods. "Bad dream," he manages.

"I don't doubt it."

"Reed?"

"Reed is okay Mac. He was worried about you and he umwell he helped us find you sooner Mac. I mean if he hadn't come when he did," her voice trails off as she looks away, a few tears instantly forming. She feels his fingers squeeze hers and looks back with a small smile. "Sorry."

"No...my fault," he insists with a slight cough. "Should have..."

"Mac there is no way you could have foreseen this," she insists as she brushes away some damp strands from off his forehead. She leans in closer her lips resting on his cheek. "I was worried this time Mac," Stella confesses. "Thought I lost you for good," she continues as a lone tear escapes and escapes from her eye and lands on his face.

"Stella," Mac's tormented voice breaks, causing her watery emeralds to look up and lock with his loving sapphires. "I thought...so also."

"Never scare me like that again, or else," she playfully warns and his lips curl upward.

"When I was there...helpless," his voice cracks and her eyes water. "Watching him...gosh Stella all I thought was...I'll never be able to...to hold you...orkiss you or..."

"Or what Mac?" Stella asks as she leans in close once more, her lips hovering above his. "I heard what you said earlier," she confesses. And then just before he can ask, she presses her mouth against his and silences him with a firm kiss. "I love you too Mac, with all my heart," she tells him and he feels his heart skip a beat; several in fact.

"I love you Stella," he tells her in haste; one full breath that ends with a soft cough. "Sorry I didn't...tell you sooner."

"Me too," she replies as she rests on her elbow, looking down at him, her fingers tenderly stroking his cheek. "Sometimes we get so wrapped up with cases, and family and politics and everything else that we sometimes forget what..."

"Really matters?" Mac arches his brows. His hand reaches out and touches her soft cheek. His fingers move to her chin and slowly pull her mouth back to his, his lips tasting her once more. "Never again Stella."

"Never Mac," she agrees. "We'll never let another moment pass without taking advantage of what we want to."

"I agree," he nods as he kisses her once more; his arm finally falling back to his side; the sedation drugs still keeping his limbs a bit lethargic. "Was too close...this time."

"I agree," her face displays a worried frown. "When Reed came backsaid he missed and thenand then I tried to call," her voice dies out as she brushes away a salty tear. "I died in that moment Mac, wondering if I too had missed the chance to tell you how much you mean to me."

"Want to um...go out?"

"As on a date?" She eagerly inquires with a warm smile.

"Yes," confirms.

"I would love that more than anything. When?"

"Right now?" Mac counters with a smirk, drawing a much needed giggle from her lips.

"I love your gown Mac, very becoming," she teases. "Course you'd look better in nothing," she flirts and his face instantly warms. But as soon as he tries to utter a word about him being naked before her, she quickly leans in and kisses him firmly on the lips. "Wouldn't I?"

"Yes," he agrees in haste, his heart slowing once again.

"So when is our first date Mac?"

"Tomorrow? Am kinda busy tonight."

"Tomorrow would be fine."

"Thank you for...helping with Reed."

"When?"

"Yesterday morning...first time when...I came back," he humbly admits. "I was short with him and...well should have asked you...before I went to see him."

"I know inside you care for him Mac, but you were also being pressed by every tom, dick and Harry...yes two of them were women," she pauses with a slight chuckle; his face softening instantly. "I think you are doing a great job with him."

"Learning."

"It's what Claire would have wanted Mac, for you just to try to do your best," Stella reminds him. "And to me your best will always be more than enough for me and Reed."

"Thanks to you," he warmly praises as she watches a nurse approach them, handing them a message and then leaving just as fast. "Stella?" Mac inquires.

"I had my phone turned off because we are in the ER," she relates. "It's from Flack. They got him Mac; the city is finally free. The cabbie killer has been taken down."

"Thank goodness," he whispers as his lips emit a heavy sigh and his eyes close briefly. He opens them to see her looking at him. "Feel like taking the day off?"

"Hmm wanting a little bit of nursing do you?"

"Actually yes," he agrees with a warm grin. "Only if you want to."

"I love you Mac, you don't even have to ask; it was a given," she answers in truth as she leans in once more.

"A sponge bath?" He smirks.

"That can be arranged," she agrees as she brushes his lips with hers once more. "This is a new beginning for us Mac; all of us."

"All?"

"Reed is part of your life and I know he wants more from you than just a few heated words over a mistake that he made."

"I didn't..." he tries, only to have her push her thumb to his flushed mouth once more.

"I wasn't scolding Mac, only reminding, a loving reminder," she smiles kindly.

"What was it I said before...I can't do this without you?"

"Bout time you realized that," Stella counters and Mac's face lights up.

"Better late than never right?"

"Right," she agrees as she leans in closer once more. "And after your sponge bath how about dinner?"

"I might not be..."

"In bed?"

"Okay," he agrees in haste, forcing a soft chuckle from her lips. "At least if I pass out, I'll be in your arms."

"And you'll be there still when you wake up again. I'm not going anywhere."

His gaze turns serious as his hand extends and tucks a curl behind her ear, before resting on her face, cupping her cheek and bringing her mouth back to his. His lips firmly push against her, his throat straining against the stitching ensuring the moment wasnt able to last as long as they would like. But as he pulls back slightly and starts to drown in the warm emerald pools before him, he knows inside his mind and heart that this moment was the first of many to come.

"Come here," Mac quietly entreats as he tries to shift in his bed, making room for her to lay beside him.

"Are you sure?"

"Only throat hurts, my arms want to hold you."

"Okay," she agrees in haste as she carefully arranges herself on the small bed, carefully held in his arms her face resting beside his. "I love you Mac," she whispers prompting him to twist his head to look at her with a loving gaze before he tilts his head, allowing her hand to cup his face and another connection to be made; his lips offering one last sentiment before she silences him with the first of many hungry kisses to come.

"I love you Stella. Forever."

THE END!

A/N: well hope you liked it and thanks so much for reading. Hope you'll leave a review before you go and thanks again!

PS: Yes am going to be working on an update for PB this week. eek fingers crossed the muse can do it! :D