Email: slashgirl@gmail.com

Notes: Contains major spoilers for the S1 ep "Tanglewood". Written for the Slash Advent Calendar 2005.

Another chance
by Stacy L.A. Stronach

"So, you're coming to my Christmas party on Saturday, right?"

Danny looks at Stella crossly. He doesn't really feel like doing the Christmas thing. "Stella, look, I don't—"

"I won't take no for an answer, Danny. I expect you to be at my Christmas party," she says, staring at him with her hands on her hips. Daring him to refuse her.

"Fine," he says, sighing. Trying to say no to her is like trying to stop a force of nature. It can't be done. At least, not without some damage being done and most likely of a permanent nature.

She smiles brilliantly. "Good. It'll be fun!"

As Stella turns and walks away from him down the hallway, Danny rolls his eyes and mutters "Sure it will. Like having a tooth pulled." Luckily, she doesn't hear him.

Three days later, Danny stands in front of his mirror, double checking his appearance and finishing his beer. He's taking a cab because tonight he plans to get plastered and it's never too early to start. Giving his hair one final check, Danny wonders if Mac will be at the party. Mac can sometimes get away with saying "no" to Stella, although Danny's sure it doesn't happen very often.

Thinking about Mac isn't a good idea…because thinking about Mac reminds Danny of what might've been. They'd only shared one kiss but the potential had been there. Now, after Tanglewood and then the Minhas shooting, Danny knows there's no chance for him with Mac. Hell, he figures his job is skating on thin enough ice as it is. Danny forces his thoughts away from Mac and goes down to wait for his cab.

Once he's in the cab, Danny finds himself thinking about Mac again, even though he doesn't really want to. He remembers that kiss, remembers every detail. He knows, this time, that his memory isn't turning traitor on him as it did after the Minhas shooting. He knows what happened. He knows why it ended before it began.

The case is a bad one. A little black girl, Shayley Johnson, has been found, raped and murdered, in an alley. It would only be three weeks later that Sonny Sassone would open his trap to Mac about Danny and the Tanglewood Boys.

Danny looks at Mac over the girl's body. "Jesus, I hate these cases," he says.

"I know, Danny. But we need to focus on the evidence right now. We've got to do this right," Mac says quietly.

"Yeah, I hear ya. Do it right and put the bastard that did this away forever," Danny replies heatedly. He opens his case and starts collecting the evidence.

Two weeks later, the suspect, Darryl Banks, sits in the interrogation room, waiting to be questioned. They know he's the one, they've got DNA and he's got no alibi.

Before they go into the room to question Banks, Mac stops and turns to Danny. "I know how much this has affected you, but try and keep it under control in there, okay? We need to nail this bastard," he says. He stares at Danny, his blue-grey eyes intense.

Danny knows this, knows why Mac is saying this and isn't ticked off. He knows he can let his temper, his emotions, can get the best of him, especially with slime like Banks. "I'll keep cool, Mac. Promise," he replies.

Twenty minutes later and Banks spills his guts, admits that he was the one that raped and murdered Shayley. Danny resists the impulse to beat the shit out the fucking pervert and thinks that he can see the same restraint in Mac's features, although he's sure that Mac would never admit that he wants to do that.

The uniforms take the man away. Danny and Mac are still sitting at the table. "We got him, Mac," Danny says, although his voice lacks its usual triumphant vibe normally present after they resolve a crime.

"Yeah, we did, Danny," Mac replies. "You did great work on this one."

Uncomfortable with the praise, Danny shrugs. "Yeah, well, I had to, for Shayley. Kids shouldn't have to go through shit like that." He looks away from Mac, hating these cases, the ones with kids. Abruptly standing up, Danny starts to walk out.

"You going to be okay?"

"I will, sure. Gonna hit the gym," he says leaving the room, feeling Mac's gaze on him until the door closes behind him.

Fifteen minutes later and Danny is in shorts and a muscle shirt, pounding the shit out of the punching bag. It's early evening so he's got the gym to himself. When he starts hitting the bag, Danny pictures Banks there and lets his anger flow, using it to power his thrusts. He lets his anger out through his punches, beating his imaginary opponent to a bloody pulp.

Ten minutes later, after he's used his initial anger and has slowed down his punches, Danny sees Mac come into the gym, too. He pauses for a moment, watching the other man. Mac's now wearing a tight black T-shirt and black sweats. They nod to each other as Mac settles himself on one of the weight machines.

Danny resumes his own workout but finds it more difficult now to concentrate. His gaze, and his mind, keep wandering to Mac. Danny knows there's not really any chance for him with Mac Taylor; the other man is straight and still mourning his dead wife. In fact, he wears his widow-hood like a coat, so he doesn't have to deal with the all the messy emotions of life. Danny snorts at his own thoughts. Yeah, he wants Mac and wants him bad. But, he's also the boss and what is it they say? Don't fish off the company pier?

Twenty minutes later and Danny stops. He's feeling tired, plus it's just too hard to ignore Mac any longer. Giving the punching bag another one-two combo, Danny then turns away and heads for the locker room.

Danny is reaching for a towel when Mac speaks.

"Work it all out?"

"Jesus, Mac. You gotta get squeaky shoes or somethin'!"

Mac chuckles. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to scare you," he says and Danny notices that Mac is starting to strip. He removes the tight black T-shirt to reveal the wonderful physique beneath.

He forgets the question Mac asked him because right now, he's focussing on the half naked man in front of him. Mac's in great shape; his chest and abs are well defined right now because of his work out…and the sweats are hanging low on his hips. Danny swallows, his eyes following the trail of hair from below Mac's belly button to the top of the pants.

When Mac walks closer, stopping right in front of Danny, he raises his eyes to meet Mac's clear gaze. "You okay, Danny?" he asks again. He reaches out and puts his hand on Danny's bare shoulder.

Danny feels the touch like it's a jolt of electricity and it makes him jump accordingly. Without really thinking about what's he's doing or what consequences it could have, Danny leans forward and captures Mac's mouth in a kiss.

He feels Mac freeze while his lips press against his. Figuring he's got to take the chance while he has one, Danny puts everything into that kiss. He snakes his tongue out, sliding it along the firm line of Mac's lips, relishing the slight taste of the other man he gets. He knows he's crazy, he knows Mac could kill him barehanded, hell, he could probably kill him with one hand tied behind his back while blindfolded.

Mac lets out a sound midway between a gasp and quiet moan and opens his mouth to Danny's searching tongue. Mac slides his hands around Danny's waist, pulling him closer. Danny takes advantage, his tongue seeking out Mac's mouth, tasting him, and flicking his tongue against Mac's.

Danny does moan as his body comes into full contact with Mac's. He is aware of so many sensations, all at once. The taste of Mac, the feel of Mac's hands as one wanders up under his shirt, while the other slides beneath Danny's shorts and boxers, caressing the skin there. He can feel the heat of Mac's chest against his own, through his shirt, can feel the heat of that skin under his fingers as he cups the back of Mac's neck with one hand, while the other hand moves up so he can wrap his fingers in the silk of Mac's short hair. Fuck, this is better than Danny has ever fantasised about, so much hotter. He can feel his dick getting hard and pressing against Mac's hip. Danny sighs when Mac's tongue starts exploring his mouth and he lets him take over the kiss.

Suddenly, Mac pulls away; both of them are panting, slightly. He pushes Danny away and then, at the hurt look on Danny's face, explains. "I heard voices."

The next second, Danny hears the door to the locker room open. He hears, then sees, two other cops come in. The men nod to them and go to their lockers, a couple rows away from where he and Mac stand. Danny looks at Mac with gratitude. "Sorry, Mac, I shouldn'ta—"

Mac looks at him gently, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze. "It's okay, Danny. But we should talk about this…just, not here," he says.

"Yeah, 'kay." Danny peers up at Mac. "You could, uh, come over to my place. I mean, if now's a good time and all."

Mac gives a small smile, a genuine smile. "That sounds good. We should probably shower first, huh?"

Danny nods his agreement, grabbing for the towel again. Both of them make quick work of their showers. Danny makes sure he finishes before Mac and turns his back when the older man comes out to get dressed. Before Mac finishes dressing, his cell phone rings. He looks at the number and mutters, "Damn it."

Doing his best not to listen to Mac's end of the conversation, Danny ends up back in the gym, waiting for Mac. When Mac comes out of the locker room, he's not in a good mood.

"I'll have to take a rain check on tonight, Danny. That was Stella, the case she caught looks like it's bigger and probably more political than she initially thought," he says.

Danny tries to not look disappointed but he can't help it. "Yeah, I understand, Mac. Do you need any help?"

"Not right now. Look, you go on home and get some sleep, okay? I'll call if we need you."

"Okay, Mac. See ya later," Danny says quietly and starts to leave. He stops when Mac grabs his arm.

"Hey, I meant what I said about the rain check," Mac says seriously.

Danny is jarred out of his recollection when the cab comes to an almost screeching halt. As he pays the cabbie, Danny thinks about the rain check that Mac never took him up on and likely never will. It was only a week after that kiss in the locker room that Sonny Sassone happened…and Mac had started distancing himself from Danny. Then the Minhas shooting had compounded the Tanglewood Boys issue…and Danny has found himself very much alone. He quickly heads up to Stella's apartment, forcing thoughts of Mac out of his mind.

"Danny!" Stella calls out when she sees opens the door. He's enveloped in a warm hug, the scent of her spicy perfume flowing over him as he returns the hug, warmed by her welcome.

"Hey, Stella," he says and he takes off his coat, handing it to her.

"Glad you came," she replies, before taking his coat and heading down to put it in her bedroom.

Danny laughs, "Like you gave me a choice," he says. Danny scans the room to see who is here already. Most of their shift is here and some of the cops from the other shifts, most of whom he knows. Spotting Aiden, Danny strides over to her. "Hey, Aiden, how're you?" he asks.

"Hey yourself, Messer. I'm fine, how's things with you?" she replies, smiling at him.

Danny gives her a fierce hug. "I'm doin' good," he pauses for a moment. "Miss having your sorry ass around the lab."

Aiden laughs, "Of course you do. I ain't there to make you look good anymore."

Rolling his eyes, Danny laughs, too. "So, how's the new job goin'?"

"It's goin'. Workin' with the women at the Rape Crisis Centre is more rewarding than solving the crime. Less frustrating, most of the time. Still times when I wish I could go kick some bastard's ass," she shrugs, trailing off.

Danny nods. "Yeah, I hear ya," he says.

"Hey, I met the new girl. My replacement, Lindsay, seems okay, a bit naïve. Stella says she's doin' good."

"Oh, Montana? Yeah, she's okay. She ain't you, though. Hawkes is doin' pretty damn good. I like workin' with him."

"Messer!" Flack says from behind him. "Here, have a beer, man."

Danny grabs the offered bottle, taking a long swig of the amber liquid. "Thanks, Flack, just what I needed. Where's the food, I'm hungry."

Tilting his head, Flack says, "Out in the kitchen. There's some good stuff."

"Then I'm off. Catch you guys later," Danny says, heading to the kitchen to get some food. He realises that he's pretty much forgiven Aiden for leaving him. Well, not him specifically, but for leaving the lab. Danny had wanted her to fight to save her job, to contest Mac's firing of her (yet another thing to be angry at him for, not that Danny needs much help in that area). She'd refused and while Danny had understood in one way, in another he figured he probably never would.

But her new job agrees with her and she seems way happier. Idly, Danny wonders if he should consider a career change but he knows that there's no work he'd rather be doing than forensics. He thinks that maybe he could move somewhere else and do his job. Like maybe Miami? He snorts at the thought. Like he'd wanna work for that pompous twat, Horatio Caine. Never mind that Danny's too much of a New Yorker to ever want to leave the city permanently.

Looking over the selection of food, Danny grabs some cheese, meat, and crackers to start with. He grins when he notices the cannolis, knows he'll have to have at least a couple of them. Danny is reaching for one of the treats when Mac walks into the kitchen. It's all he can do to keep his actions smooth, to pick up the cannoli and bring it to his mouth for a bite. The last thing he wants is for to Mac to see, for Mac to know that he's affecting him in any way at all. That would be weakness, something Danny can't afford.

Mac doesn't say anything as he stops next to Danny and picks up his own cannoli. The noise of the people out in the living room bleeds into the kitchen, but Danny isn't noticing it. Instead, he's focussing on eating his treat and is trying to not notice Mac eating his. He gives up when he realises that Mac is staring at him, staring at his mouth as he eats; so he does the same to Mac. Watching that mouth move, Danny wonders, not for the first time, if Mac ever thinks about that kiss, about the promised rain check that never materialised, about Danny as anything other than an employee who's screwed up.

Danny finishes his first, licking his fingers to get the last of the sweetness off them. Because he's watching Mac, he notices the flare of his nostrils, widening of the eyes at his actions. Not conscious of his decision to do so, Danny slowly sucks his index finger into his mouth, his gaze locked with Mac's. Then he slowly drags it out of his mouth and he's pleased to see Mac reacting, pupils dilating, mouth open as his breathing gets a little heavier.

Mac moves closer to him, leaning in. "Danny—"

"Hey, Mac, Messer," Lindsay says, bursting into the kitchen, totally unaware that she's interrupting anything. As she grabs some crackers, Mac and Danny move apart and stop looking at one another.

"Lindsay," Mac greets her quietly. "Good to see you."

"Montana," Danny greets her, ignoring her pissed off expression. He looks at Mac again. "Good talkin' to you. I should get back out there," he says and brushes past Mac, heading for the living room.

"I wish he wouldn't call me that," Lindsay complains.

Mac just looks at her blandly. "Deal with it, Lindsay, you're an adult and this isn't grade school," he says before turning and following Danny out of the room.

Lindsay shakes her head, wondering if all the men in New York were as odd as her boss and Danny.

"Danny," Mac says, catching Danny just before he steps back into the living room.

Danny turns around and warily regards Mac. "What?"

Mac takes a deep breath before speaking. "We need to talk."

"'Bout what?"

"Us."

"I don't think this is the place," Danny says.

"Come with me," Mac says, walking down the short hallway. Danny follows, wondering if he should but he does anyway because it's Mac and he wants to hear what Mac has to say. Danny doesn't plan on saying a whole hell of a lot.

They end up in what was probably intended to be a second bedroom, but Stella obviously uses as her home office. It is decorated in earthy browns and dark greens. There's a futon against one wall, while her computer sets on a desk on the wall across from it. There's a big bookcase on the wall next to the computer desk. Danny looks at some of the titles but sees nothing that interests him. He looks sharply at Mac when the other man closes the door.

"Privacy," Mac says and Danny hates how he can seemingly read his mind.

Neither of them speaks and Danny stares at Mac, which makes the other man shift uncomfortably. After a couple of tense, quiet minutes, Danny shrugs. "You wanted to talk to me, so talk," he demands. Danny gets more and more agitated when Mac doesn't say anything. Finally, he explodes. "Jesus, Mac, what the hell do you want from me?" Danny says loudly and throws his hands up in the air in frustration.

"What do I want? I want to know what the hell your problem is, Danny," Mac says, his voice quiet and controlled in contrast to Danny's.

"My problem? You want to know what my fuckin' problem is? Well, go look in the fuckin' mirror, man," he pauses at the surprised look on Mac's face. "Yeah, that's right," he says, walking over to stand inches from Mac, his face close to the other man's. He points his finger and pushes it into Mac's shoulder. "You are my problem."

"What…why?" Mac asks, confusion clouding his face.

"That night, after we got Banks for killin' Shayley. You were all hot and kissin' me in the locker room. And after, talkin' about rain checks and shit. Then after Sonny Sassone said what he said, you…you'd hardly even talk to me, look at me. Then when I shot Minhas, all you were fuckin' worried about was your lab and it's fuckin' precious reputation. It was like I didn't matter, just leave me hangin' in the wind!"

Mac looks pained at Danny's accusations, but he also looks angry. "I didn't leave you hanging in the wind! I did my best to find the evidence to clear you and I did, but YOU had to go and talk to IAB. I had your back, Danny, you just didn't want to believe it!" he says angrily, moving to stand in Danny's personal space.

"I wanted to believe it! But what the 'evidence' was tellin' me was that you didn't give a rat's ass what the fuck happened to me. Ya never once told me you had my back. It was always the fuckin' evidence. Tellin' me to go to the hospital, to go home and wait. All that was sayin' to me was Mac doesn't give a fuck about you, he just wants to make sure his precious fuckin' lab is okay. I figured you'd be glad to be rid of a Tanglewood Boy, don't need that stain on your fuckin' lab either!" Danny yells at him, gesturing wildly as he talks.

Mac appraises him coolly. "So, Sassone was telling the truth: you were a Tanglewood Boy?" he asks tightly.

Danny snorts derisively. "Fuck, yeah. You want proof, Mac, here ya go!" Danny angrily undoes the cuffs on his shirt, and then yanks the shirt over his head before throwing it on the floor. "There, in fuckin' black and white for ya, happy now?" he says, turning around and showing Mac his tattoo.

Mac doesn't speak, just stares at the stark tattoo, the large word, Tanglewood; the in and out dates…and one part of him recognises that he's pleased there's an out date. Another part is worried about what this means. He reaches a hand out, his finger tracing gently across the ink. "Why didn't you tell me right out, Danny?" he asks his voice soft now.

Danny keeps his back to Mac, he's calmer now, Mac's touch seeming to have soothed him somewhat. He takes a deep breath. "Ya never asked," he shrugs. "And I saw how you looked after Sonny said what he did in the interrogation room. I used to be a made guy; didn't think you'd want me…you'd want me working for ya after that," he admits.

Mac sighs. "Turn around, please."

Danny does so, averting his gaze from Mac's. He doesn't want to see the disgust in those blue-grey eyes.

Fingers under his chin, tilting it up, even as Mac says, "Look at me, Danny."

Danny can't help but obey and is surprised to see not disgust nor pity but compassion.

"Why do you keep the tattoo? You could get it removed," Mac asks.

"Reminds me, keeps me from goin' back. I got outta there by the skin of my teeth, Mac. I don't wanna go back," Danny says, quietly. "Don't need to be makin' no more mistakes in my life."

Mac doesn't speak, just stares at Danny for several moments. "Mistakes. I've made my share between us; I was so busy trying to protect you from IAB…I didn't realise how you were seeing things," Mac says, "And I do want you, Danny, I do…Forgive me?" he asks.

Danny stares at him for several long moments. Can he forgive Mac? Danny smiles and nods, "Yeah," he whispers. "I'm sorry, too, Mac."

Mac doesn't say anything. Instead, he gently takes Danny's face in his hands, leans forward, and kisses him. Danny reaches up, his hands grasping Mac's wrists while he opens his mouth to the gentle plundering of Mac's tongue. Mac slides his hands down Danny's body, his touch leaving goose bumps in its wake, before wrapping his arms around Danny, pulling him closer.

Danny moans even as he moves his hands down between their bodies and unbuttons Mac's shirt. He slides his hands over Mac's chest, up to grab a hold of his shoulders even as he feels the warm heat of Mac's hands across his back, holding him close. They keep kissing even as Mac walks him over to where the futon is. He breaks the kiss long enough to take Danny's glasses from his face and setting them down out of the way.

Danny grins at him and lets his body fall back onto the futon, pulling Mac with them. They end up stretched out, with Danny on his back, and Mac on top, settled between Danny's legs. Mac claims Danny's mouth for another searing, extended kiss.

Mac still has his shirt on and Danny slides his hands over Mac's back, and down, going under the waistband of his pants. Danny cups Mac's ass, pushing down, bringing their hard cocks into contact. Even through the layers of cloth of their pants, Danny feels the heat of it and he moans, pleased to hear Mac's matching noises. Danny almost whimpers when Mac drags his mouth away, trailing kisses and nips down the side of his neck, and he tilts his head back, his hands gripping Mac's ass even harder.

The two men are so involved with each other, they don't hear the door open nor do they see Stella poke her head in. She watches them for a few seconds, part of her noticing how good they look together. "You know that futon folds out. It might be a bit more…comfortable," she says, taking a perverse satisfaction in their reactions. They stop moving and she hears a muttered, "Oh, fuck," from Danny.

Mac groans, and starts to get up. Stella laughs. "Please, don't, not on my account."

"Stella, I can ex—"

"Don't worry, Mac. I'm just glad to see you two have finally gotten your shit sorted out. It's about time," she says, grinning and enjoying this way too much. "I'll just lock the door so you boys aren't interrupted again," she whispers. "Oh, and don't leave a mess…there're tissues on the end table," she adds and before either of them can respond, she's gone, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door latches, Danny starts laughing. He can't help it, this is so incredibly hilarious, it figures that Stella would catch them like this.

"Damn it," Mac says glaring at Danny, clearly embarrassed to have been found in a compromising position. He tries to get off of Danny but he's trapped in the cage of Danny's arms and legs.

"Stay, she don't mind and she ain't gonna tell no one," Danny whispers. When Mac still tries to get free, Danny leans up, his mouth sucking at the base of Mac's neck, on his pulse point. He nips it, and then laves it with his tongue before sucking on it again. Danny grins when he feels Mac's body relax.

He moans when he feels Mac reach down to stroke his cock through his pants. Mac quickly undoes Danny's pants before pushing them and his underwear down, freeing Danny's aching erection. "Yeah, Mac," he whispers when Mac strokes his cock.

Reaching down, Danny makes quick work of freeing Mac's cock from it's cloth prison, stroking it's length and loving the noises Mac is making. Mac pushes down with his hips, pushing their cocks together, and starts thrusting. It's clumsy until Danny wraps his hand around their cocks, guiding them together. He closes his eyes as Mac kisses him again. Danny's dreamt of this, of having Mac making love to him so much…but his dreams are no match for the heat and the passion of reality.

He opens his eyes a few minutes later, when he feels Mac's body tense, and feels his cock twitch in his hand. Mac lets out a strangled grunt, his eyes closed as he reaches his release, warm come spurting out of his dick, covering Danny's cock and hand. It's enough to push Danny over his own edge and he turns his head, muffling his shout into the cushion of the futon as he comes. He sighs when Mac collapses on top of him, his head in the crook of Danny's neck, his weight and heat feeling right and comfortable.

Neither of them moves for a few minutes as they come down from this high. Finally, Mac lifts his head and smiles at Danny, almost sheepishly. "We should, ah, clean up," he says.

"Yeah, probably. Stella'll kill us if we don't."

Mac reaches over their heads, grabbing tissues from the box on the end table, giving some to Danny before pushing back to kneel on the futon. They make quick work of it.

Mac stands up, buttoning his shirt and pants quickly. Danny is a little slower, sex always makes him feel languid and slow. He gets off the futon, squinting at Mac. "Hey, where'd you put my glasses? I'm blind as a fuckin' bat without them."

Grabbing the glasses off the desk, Mac hands them to Danny. He then picks up Danny's shirt off the floor, handing it to him and watching as Danny dresses. "You know that bats aren't really blind," he says, which makes Danny laugh.

"Whatever. What's say we take our leave and maybe go to my place?" Danny asks tentatively, watching Mac's face closely, still unsure of where they're going with this…whatever it is.

Mac nods. "That sounds…good."

Danny grins at him and leans in to steal a quick kiss. He briefly thinks that maybe this Christmas actually will be a merry one. "C'mon, then," he says, heading for the door. He looks back when he realises Mac isn't right behind. "What?"

"I…we've still got to…talk."

"I know. I know we ain't gonna have it easy, Mac. But then easy wouldn't be nearly as exciting, would it?" he says, holding his hand out to him. Danny is surprised when Mac takes it, even if it is only briefly. He stares into Mac's eyes for several long moments. "We're…okay, now, aren't we?"

Mac nods. "Yeah, we're okay," he replies.

Danny smiles before turning around and walking out of the room, with Mac right behind him.

**the end**