Unrest || Don

Stella flashed him a quick, soft smile before she hunted down Dr. Hunter, still working with a still stubborn Mac, who was, not so surprisingly, already pushing it by being on his feet again. "Damn it, Taylor!"Aubrey hissed through gritted teeth, "You're lucky I don't give you a damn sedative!" Mac smirked and caught Stella standing in the door behind the doctor. "Stella, how is he?"he asked, looking concerned as he carefully put weight down on his left foot, gritting his teeth momentarily before his full focus was back on Stella. "Did you get to talk with him?"

Stella nodded. "I did. He didn't remember the explosion or ever being called out to the scene. But he came around and finally remembered being up there with u. He's in pain, no doubt, every time he sneezes or laughs, it hurts him. He actually suggested that I come up to check on u. And I see that you're still being a pain in the doctor's ass." she said.

"Yeah, really!"Aubrey offered, shooting a glare at her uncooperative patient, making him smirk a bit. "Old habits die hard, doctor." "Especially with you, Taylor,"Aubrey growled, waving a hand at him. "Go on! You'll at least be off your feet if you're with Flack!"she said before she turned to Stella. "Keep him off his feet even if you have to tie him down, got it? That injury is more serious than that wonderful pain in the ass you and I love is letting on and he did break his right arm when he hit the railing, and the throw bruised him up pretty good, but it's obvious that isn't stopping him any time soon." Mac shot a look at her through narrowed eyes and Aubrey simply rolled her eyes. "Fine, Taylor! Go on! But if I have to work on you again, I won't be surprised! You can bet your damned ass on it, you magnificent asshole!"she grumbled with a teasing smirk. Mac grinned and chuckled. "Thanks, Aubrey. I mean it."

Stella laughed and shot an ever so loving glare at Mac. "U heard the doctor, Mac. Stay off your feet until you're fully recovered, u hear me? Now come on, let's go see Don. He was actually asking to see u, believe it or not." she said.

Mac smirked. "I'll stay off my feet as soon as I know my detective is ok with my own eyes, Aubrey. Promise." Aubrey shot a disbelieving glare at him but nodded anyways. "I'm holding you to that, Mac. And I have eyes on you with Stella now, so I will know. You best keep that in mind."

Stella smirked. "I'll make sure he listens to me, Aubrey. As stubborn as he is, I'll make him listen, even if I have to duct tape his feet." she said.

Mac shot a look at her through narrowed eyes. "Easy, I'm not that terrible."

Stella laughed. "Yeah right, Mac Taylor. Need I remind u of when u were spying on your neighbors that one time I came to drop off your orange chicken breakfast at your apartment after u were thrown off the balcony of that building?" she asked.

Mac frowned with a scoff. "Humor an old man and tell him where his good friend is so he can limp his sorry, badass over there,"he shot back.

Stella nodded. "Before we do that, I want to tell u something, so come outside with me so I can tell u." she said, as she took Mac by the hand and led him outside.

Mac smirked softly and nodded, following her as he let her take his hand. "What's n your mind, Stell?"

Stella didn't say anything, she just placed her hands on Mac's cheek, looked him square in the eyes, and kissed him. "Does that say anything, Mac?" she asked.

Mac was a little taken by surprise, but that didn't stop him from kissing her back. He smiled slightly as he looked back at her. "More than a million words,"he told her.

Stella smiled before she and Mac went back inside to see Don. "There's no hiding the fact that I love u, Mac. I think I always have, even when u were with Peyton." she said.

Mac smiled a little and looked over at her. "God only knows how long I've crushed on you and haven't even allowed myself to believe it," he pointed out.

Stella smiled as she and Mac went to see Don. "Hey Don, I brought a friend with me." Stella said. Don looked over and saw Mac, smiling as he tried to reposition himself in the bed. "Hey partner, I thought you'd never get your ass up here." he said.

Mac smirked a little. "Oh, I would've limped my sorry ass here one way or another,"he said as he sat down, knowing what the doctor's orders were. "How you doin'?"

Don winced a bit as he looked at Mac and Stella. "Well, I'm still in pain but it's slowly getting to the point where I can tolerate it. Just yesterday I wasn't even able to pull myself up in the bed, but look at me now, I couldn't do this before. How are u holding up, Mac?" he asked.

Mac nodded and then shrugged. "Alright. I broke my arm when I hit the railing in the stairwell and Dr. Hunter says I need to stay off my feet with what she did working on my leg, but you can see how well I listen,"he said with a bit of a smirk. "What do they tell the kids? 'In one ear and out the other'? I think that's about the equivalent of what I did when she talked with me."

Don smirked. "Why am I not surprised that u didn't listen to the doctor's orders? That's typical u. U know what I haven't had since I've been bedridden? A nice meal. I haven't even tried to touch the crap they serve in this hospital, I mean, look at it. It's like something they would serve in prison for crying out loud. I wouldn't serve this even to my worst enemy." he said.

Mac smirked. "Hell, I wouldn't know what to tell you,"he said, looking over at the Homicide Detective. He wanted to talk about something, but he didn't want to exactly bring it up with Stella around, if at all. Half of his feelings told him to leave it lay and not even worry about it, but the other half was just sending jitters down his spine and it made his skin crawl because he needed it off his chest. He finally sighed quietly and looked over at Stella. "You think you could give me a minute with him?"he asked quietly. He barely heard himself and it took everything in him not to flinch from his hesitation. That wasn't like him, but he knew from experience that the job he took on every day brought out the best and worst in people, including himself. He should know after so many years.

Stella looked over at Mac and nodded. "Yeah sure, I'll just go grab some coffee for us." she said. Don then looked over at Mac, showing a bit of concern. "Mac, something is definitely on your mind. U all right?" he asked.

Mac sighed quietly and shook his head. "Not really,"he said, finally making himself look up at Don. "You shouldn't have been up there with me. I should've stuck with my original orders for you and you wouldn't have been caught up in this. It's been killing me that this happened... I can't help but feel responsible, Don, and don't tell me I shouldn't. You're part of my team, and it's my job to make sure you follow your orders and you're as safe as I can keep you on the job." He looked back down at his hands, biting harshly at his lip. Damn it, the words hurt more when he said them. They hurt when he'd kept quiet, and they still hurt now. He didn't like them either way. And what was done was done, after all... But he still felt responsible. Always would. That was how he was. His team was his family, and he didn't like to get them caught up in things when he knew there was a way to prevent it.

Don knew Mac had no reason to feel responsible for what had happened. After all, Don volunteered to go up in the Federal Building to help out. "Mac, don't. I don't blame u for what happened. I understand I'm a team member and u mean well and u wanna keep a lookout for us. But remember, I decided to go up in the building voluntarily. I had no idea what else to do. The bomb squad hadn't shown and I probably called for backup numerous times and got the same answer of we'll be there in ten minutes, only to have them show up half an hour after. U weren't responsible for the first blast that happened when we were up there and u sure as hell aren't responsible for this blast that happened. U were alone up there and I pitched in to help. Luckily for us, Danny and Adam were there." he said.

Mac sighed and shook his head slightly before he looked back up at Don. He'd accept that, but he'd still feel responsible. No need to worry the rest of them with it when he knew he'd get the same response, generally. He nodded. "Fine,"he said, "I'll accept that." Hell, he would. But it was like he'd told himself before, the less worried they were about him, the better. Best to just shut up and move on.