By The Book

“I don’t know what to do.”

Mac stood in his windowed office, facing the view out over the city, his arms folded across his chest. He hadn’t left the office all shift, though Stella had tried at least five times to get him to go home. She also stood in his office, a case file in her hand, though it wasn’t for him.

“You need to talk to her about it. That’s what I think. You know Morgan is a special case, that she’s different. You need to think about what would happen after she’s punished – do you want her off the team for good? Do you want Don doing time?”

“Stella, I don’t need the pressure!” Mac shouted, whipping around to face her. The second he did it, he was sorry.

“This is why you need to get this over with,” Stella said quietly. “I can’t remember the last time you snapped like that.”

Mac took a deep breath. To tell the truth, he couldn’t remember that last time he had needlessly shouted either.

“Okay. I’ll go home.”

Stella let out the breath she was holding. “I’ll watch things around here. You go.”

Mac nodded, arranging a few things on his desk before slowly brushing past Stella and walking out the door.

~

“I don’t know what to do.”

I was cuddled up beside Don in the morning, and I had been awake and staring at the wall for a long time when I said it. I knew he was awake, but neither of us wanted to get up and move.

“What is there to do?”

“I could go talk to my dad. Try and calm him down. I’m the only one that ever seems to be able to do that, besides Stella.”

“That’s true. If anyone, it would be you,” Don mumbled. I sighed, loving the feel of his voice rumbling through his chest.

“But I don’t wanna get up. Can my dad come here?” I joked.

“I’m not so sure if he’d appreciate seeing this.”

“Me neither.”

We lay there for a little while longer, completely comfortable and never wanting to leave that moment.

“You need to talk to your dad,” Don rumbled again. “To save us both.”

I begrudgingly sat up. “Yeah, I s’pose.”

“I’ll drive you.”