Chapter Text
The bullpen was a madhouse of people talking, laughing, and excitedly running around. During the breaks, Don, Mackenzie, Sloan, Will, Elliot, and Taylor joined the crowd that was milling about, still drinking the champagne Reese had sent down from the party upstairs. Leona, Reese, Charlie and Rebecca were on the phones off and on, and occasionally Jenny and Maggie and Martin went scurrying away to get information or materials for them. Kendra and Tess and Tamara couldn’t stop talking about Mackenzie’s ring, and about oh my God, the fact that Mac and Will were getting MARRIED! Jim FaceTimed with Hallie again and told her the great news, about how well things were going there, and how Will had proposed to Mackenzie… no one seemed to care that come the morning there was going to be a flurry of unwanted activity as documents were filed in court. They were relishing the moment, savoring the good feelings and riding high on positive emotions. No one seemed worried about what tomorrow would bring.
Sometime after 12:30 AM when the broadcasts had wrapped up and people were done toasting Will and Mackenzie and their engagement and starting to gather their things, Sloan slipped up the hall to her office. She didn’t know what the rest of the night would bring, but she needed a little quiet, and she was also pretty sure that someone was waiting for her out of the sight of prying eyes.
When she got to her office, she could see his silhouette from the hall lights. He was sitting on the couch, looking in her direction. A small smile was on his lips, but the smile went all the way up to his eyes.
“Hey,” she said quietly. “I thought I might find you in here.”
“Hey yourself,” he said, and smiled bigger. “I needed some quiet. Come sit with me.”
Sloan walked past him and dropped onto the vacant side of the couch. She rubbed her temples. “I don’t know if it’s the champagne, or tiredness, or stress, or what, but I am beat, and I have a headache coming on.”
Don reached over and took her hand. “There are pressure points in your hand, that, if it’s OK, I can try pressing on to relieve some of the headache.”
Sloan sighed as Don took her hand, happy that he was touching her. Then she sighed again from the kneading and pressure he was putting on her right hand. Between his thumb and forefinger he gripped the part of her hand between her thumb and first finger. He squeezed pretty hard, and it was almost uncomfortable, but after a few minutes of continuous compression the slight throbbing in her temples eased some. He reached over to the table next to the couch and handed her a bottle of water. “Here, drink this and give me your other hand.”
Sloan did as she was told and reached her left arm across her body and Don did the same pressure point massage to her other hand. She could feel the tension in her body release and the pounding in her head diminished more. She gently pulled her hand back towards her, and said, “Thanks. You always seem to know what I need.”
Don took her right hand back in his again, but instead of applying pressure to it, he brought it up to his lips and kissed it. “I do have some mad skills.” he said and grinned sheepishly. Sloan laughed.
“So…” she said. “Did I catch you off-guard again? In the control room?”
“Yeah. You definitely did.” he replied. “But in a really good way. When you walked in with the book, and I saw what it was, I actually felt like I was going to vomit. Right there, on the control room floor. Just puke. You’d figured it out, you know, that it was me, and I’d somehow made you mad instead of happy. I mean, you looked mad…”
Sloan interrupted him. “I wasn’t. I was just… determined. I kind-of formulated my plan as I was walking, and then I had to keep moving, or I’d chicken out. I just needed to make sure I went through with it.”
Don smiled in the dim light of the office. “Yeah?” he said.
Sloan smiled back. “Yeah. I felt like it needed to happen tonight.”
Don asked, “So now what happens? I mean, where do we go from here?”
Sloan stood up and stretched. “How about you take me to get a bite to eat, and we talk about it some more? There’s a cute diner up the block that has great waffles.”
Don stretched, lifted himself off the couch, and said, “That sounds like a good plan. I’m pretty hungry. Let me grab my coat, and we’ll head out.”
“OK, meet me at the elevators,” she said. Don squeezed her shoulder and headed down the hall for his office.
Sloan grabbed her purse and coat and walked toward the elevators. She said good night to Neal and Gary, who were standing around by Neal’s desk debating what to do next.
“See you tomorrow, guys.” Sloan said and she patted Neal on the arm. “Thanks for the help with the auction people, Sampat.” she said and smiled.
“Yeah… seems like Mac and Will aren’t the only happy couple tonight, huh, Sloan?” Neal replied. Sloan smiled a small smile and they watched Don approach them from down the hall. “Ready to go?” Don asked her as he reached out to take her hand.
“Absolutely! See you tomorrow, guys!” Sloan said and she stepped into the elevator which had just opened its doors.
Don just grinned at Neal and Gary and followed Sloan into the elevator.