Chapter 12 About That Night

Mac took a deep breath. He had been so certain in the car. Now that he was standing in front of her door he felt his courage failing him. "Come on Mac," he said to himself. "You face the most grusome crime scenes in the city, surely you can tell a woman you love her." But she wasn't just anyone, she was Frankie. It was now or never. He knocked on her door. "Just a sec," he heard her call from within. He heard the deadbolt slide back and the door opened. There she was, hair tousled, wearing a faded ROTC sweatshirt, cut off shorts, and thick gray socks. "Mac!" she said in surprise. "Hi"
"Hey," he said. "uh, can I come in"
"Sure," she said stepping back and allowing him to enter. He stepped inside and looked around him. "You've finally moved in," he commented.
"Yeah," she said. "I've had some spare time. Can I take your jacket"
"Sure," he said. She helped him out of his jacket and he watched as she hung it in the closet.
"So how are you doing?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Okay I guess. Kind of restless, and I can't take a bath without hyperventilating but you know they say showers are better. Water conservation and all that." She was perched on the back of her couch and he couldn't help noticing that she wasn't looking him in the eye.
"Frankie we need to talk," Mac said.
"I thought we were talking," Frankie said. "We need to talk about that night at my house." Frankie's face grew very red all of a sudden.
"Okay," she said.
"I need to tell you what really happened." Frankie turned away and crossed her arms across her chest.
"I know what happened Mac," she said softly. "What"
"I know what I did Mac," she said. "One of the reasons I don't get drunk often is that I do stupid things when I'm drunk, and unlike most people I don't forget the next morning the stupid things I did the night before." Mac was quiet as he processed what she had just told him. All this time he'd been keeping the happenings of that night a secret from her and she had already known.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "That I jumped the boss? Oh gee why wouldn't I want you to know that I knew exactly what I did"
"It wouldn't have changed my opinion of you"
"After everything I went through with Deke," she said swallowing hard. "How would it make me look to have everyone know that I got drunk and tried to seduce the boss? I would have told you, but when you said that it was just a kiss, the lie seemed better than the truth." Mac took a deep breath.
"I need to tell you something, but I'm probably gonna fumble a little here so if you could not respond until I've finished that would be great"
"Okay," Frankie said taking a seat on the couch. Mac sat down in the chiar across from her.
"No doubt, Stella told you that when Claire died, I blamed myself. I swore to Claire that I'd never let anything happen to her. Of course she laughed at me when I said that. "She said that it was a funny thing to promise because if I never let anything happen to her then nothing would ever happen to her and that wouldn't be any fun. But it was a promise. And when she died I felt like I'd failed her. I just couldn't deal with it, so I just locked up until I was practically dead inside. I didn't feel alive again until you kissed me." He looked at her face. She was staring back at him, her face a mix of shock, and a touch of fear. She wasn't going to respond so he kept going.
"I never thought I could feel like that again and it scared the hell out of me. I was afraid that if I let myself have feelings for you that it would be too painful if I lost you, a fear that was reinforced by David Casados. So I let you believe that it was just a kiss. Things were fine, we were able to be friends and I was okay with that. Then I found you in that tank I was never so scared in my entire life as when I couldn't feel your heart beating. For the last week I've been walking around in a kind of daze. Then a very wise young CSI made me realize I was letting fear keep me from saying what I need to say." He took a deep breath.
"I love you Frankie." Frankie let out a small gasp and clasped her hand over her mouth. Mac stood up and turned away from her.
"I completley understand if you don't feel the same way, and I'm not asking you for anything. this isn't going to affect your job and"
"Mac," she said coming up beside him and placing her hand over his mouth. "Stop talking now." She removed her hand and pressed her lips against his. Mac wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. God, he wanted this so bad. He slid his tongue along her lips and she parted them willingly. His hands slipped under her sweatshirt to caress the warm flesh of her back. A need for air forced them apart.
"Oh my God, Mac," Frankie gasped. "When I was in that tank, and Casados kept telling me that you were in love with me...and Danny told me that it was true...but I never dared to hope...I love you too." Mac smiled.
"You're stuttering," he said.
"I know can you stop me?" she asked. Mac responded by pulling her tightly against him and kissing her again. His hands trailed down her sides and over her hips. God he couldn't get enough. He wanted to touch all of her. He wanted to feel her skin nder his hands. She was pulling his tie loose and working the buttons on his shirt. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and started to work on his belt. He caught her wrists and stared into her eyes.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked. He cock was already hard as a rock but he wasn't going to force her into anything she wasn't ready for.
"I'm sure," she said laying a kiss against his neck. He grabbed the bottom of her sweatshirt and pulled it over her head. She took his hand and led him to her bedroom. He gently guided her onto her back and came down on top of her, her breasts pressed against his bare chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down for another kiss. He made short work of her cutoffs and then shed his own pants. Her legs were smooth as though she'd just shaved them and he loved the way they felt wrapped around him. Frankie held onto him as their bodies became one. They moved together riding out each other's pleasure till they both came together. He kissed her deeply as they came down from thier peak. Mac rolled over on his back and pulled her against him. Frankie let out a small sigh of contentment as she lay against his shoulder. Laying in bed with his lover wrapped around him, Mac felt something that he hadn't felt in far too long. Pure happiness.

THE END I hope you liked it. For those who feel that it should not end here do not fear. I am already working on the sequel.