"In the Beginning" by Imogen Freeman. 13/3/01
Disclaimer- I have nothing to do with Stingers
Thanks- to my "spooky" buddy Lisa. Thanks for all your
help/encouragement.
Note- this is my version of how Mac and Pete got
together. It is fiction. Maybe one day we'll find out
what really happened, who knows? The song is Macy
Gray's "I try". I know it wouldn't have been around
all those years ago, but I thought it was appropriate.
Also, to read this fic, you'll have to get out the
picture of Mac you have in your minds. Picture her as
this young, quiet, crying thing (anyone watch Water
Rats? Think of Mac as being like Donna). That's all. I
hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you thought. 
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The meeting room was full. The occupants chatted
amongst themselves, awaiting the arrival of their
boss.
He arrived, taking his place at the head of the table,
his presence commanding quiet. Then, he spoke.
"I'd like to introduce our new recruit. Her name
is..." he searched the documents in his hands. "...ah,
Ellen MacKenzie. Come in, Ellen," he commanded.
She appeared in the doorway, taking in her new
surroundings. So many faces staring at her.
Pete studied her carefully. Her arms were crossed,
indicating immediately to Pete her nervousness. She
fiddled with her hands, looking at the floor. When she
did look up, Pete noticed her eyes. They were clear
and blue; intruiging. The most beautiful eyes he had
ever seen. 
"Peter," he said. "Can I leave Ellen in your
capable hands?"
"No problems, boss," he replied. With that he
retreated back to his office, and the meeting was
over.
Pete smiled at Ellen as she nervously looked at
him. He reminded her of her high school boyfriend.
Jimmy O'Neal. She had only dated him to annoy her
parents, but ended up head over heels in love. He was
a bad-boy; a trouble maker. In Pete, she could see
that same 
recklessness and carefree attitude. Her thoughts were
interrupted by Peter approaching.
"Peter Church," he told her.
"Ellen MacKenzie." Her reply was soft.
They shook hands, sending ripples through each
other's bodies.
"Welcome to the team," he said, smiling.
She smiled a tiny smile, not realising until now
just how nervous she was. She tried to think of
something to say. Anything. Her mind was blank. She
was mesmerised by this man's presence.
Just then, Bernie re-appeared from his office. "New
case," he stated. "There's a restaurant that has drug
deals going down within it. I need a two people to go
in, posing as a couple. It's kind of a romantic
restaurant."
"How about I take MacKenzie? show her the ropes?"
Pete asked.
"Fine. Get ready, you'll go in tonight."
* * *
Pete looked around at the cheap decor, noticing the
tense look on MacKenzie's face.
"You allright?" he asked.
"I'm just not used to all this yet."
After a few moments silence, Pete tried again.
"So...MacKenzie, huh? Ever had any nicknames?"
"Ah...No, not really."
"I reckon you'd suit a 'Macca' or 'Mac'", he told
her.
Ellen smiled, realising the effort Peter was going
to, to make her feel comfortable.
"You don't think they sound too...what's the word?"
"...blokey?" Pete supplied.
She managed a small laugh. "Yes, that's exactly
what I was thinking!"
"Narr, although you'll have to get used to the
'boy's club'."
She smiled again, knowing that women were usually
not treated the same as men in the Police Force. She
thought for a while.
"Mac," she said. "I think I like that."
Pete smiled. "Mac it is then." 
* * *
"So, that initiation wasn't too bad, was it?" Pete
asked her once their part was over. They were standing
between their cars, which were parked side by side.
"No, that was easier than I expected."
"Good," Peter said, brushing her arm slightly as he
spoke. 
Mac moved a stray hair off her face, shyly smiling
back at Pete. His hand me hers, and before she knew
it, he was in for the kill. Their lips met, and his
hands went to the back of her head. She was paralysed
with fear, unsure of what to do. His touch was so
powerful, she didn't think her body would cope with
its ferocity.
She found herself going with the flow, kissing Pete
back equally as passionately. She could no longer feel
her lips, they were numb.
Pete was happy. Amongst the undercover team, he had
a reputation as the lady-killer. Now he was
certainally living up to his reputation. He had only
known Mac a few hours, but he found her irresistible,
and had never experienced anything like this before.
He was used to being hit on by women, being the chasee
instead of the chaser. Mac's innocence and youth was
appealing to him.
They were interrupted by a wolf-whistle. Looking
up, they saw two restaurant employees waving, making
obscene gestures in their direction.
Mac's eyes went immidiately to the floor. What a
first day she had had. 
* * * 
Mac stirred as the sunlight penetrated the room.
What have I done, she thought to herself. The foreign
arm was draped across her, totally relaxed. Her mind
went into overdrive, thinking of all the possibile
ways to get herself out of this sticky situation.
Just then Pete stirred as well. He opened his eyes
sleepily, taking in the sight before him.
"Morning," he told her.
"Yeah, morning," she whispered.
Pete kissed her on the cheek. He wasn't usually
this forward with work colleagues. He could sense her
nervousness. She still wasn't at ease with him. She
seemed vulnerable. Pete hoped that he hadn't pushed
her into anything she didn't want to do. He remembered
last night, smiling. She came with him very willingly.
"We'll be late for work," Pete commented.
Mac nodded in agreement.
* * *
They drove back to the restaurant to get Mac's car
in silence. Mac wished that she didn't feel so awkward
around Pete, but it was who she was; the quiet one.
Pete broke the silence. "Do you regret last night?"
Mac thought for a moment. She didn't quite know how
to respond. "No," she started slowly. Pete gave her a
look that encouraged her to keep talking.
"I'm not usually like this...you know, new job and
all...I don't want to get into anything I can't
handle..."
"You don't think you could handle me?" 
Mac's cheeks had turned a nice shade of pink. It
hadn't come out right. She never did have a way with
words.
Pete took her hand. "Look, Mac, I just want you to
know that...well, I don't regret last night. Even if
you do. And, I don't want to pressure you or anything,
but...I think it could be great, Mac."
She opened up the car door, fumbling for her own
car keys.
* * *
The meeting had already begun when Mac arrived at
the factory. She slipped in, on the opposite side of
the room to Pete.
"MacKenzie...I was just saying that after Joe and
Paul set up in the safehouse, I want you and Church to
go and visit them. You'll pose as their friends,"
Bernie told her.
Mac nodded, hoping that she was not revealing her
uncertainty and nervousness to the rest of the team.
* * * 
As they stopped outside the safehouse, Pete vowed
that tonight he would try to sort things out with
MacKenzie. No matter what happened, they still had to
work together, and that required communication. 
He followed her up the steps leading to the front
door. It was slightly ajar. The first rule of being in
a safehouse was, keep the doors locked at all times. 
Pete led Mac through the door cautiously, unsure of
what would be on the other side. As they approached
the living room, Pete swore under his breath. At that
same moment, Mac saw what Pete had seen. 
She was paralysed with fear; couldn't move a
muscle.
Pete, however, had already sprung into action. He
moved to the body of Joe, his now ex-colleague,
searching frantically for a pulse. He had no luck,
running across the bloody carpet to Paul. He had a
weak pulse. 
Mac was still frozen in the doorway.
"For God's sake, call an ambulance," Pete screamed
at her.
Mac burst into tears, picking up her mobile phone
in her shaky hands. The ambulance was on the way. Mac
hurried to the bathroom where she threw up in the
toilet, tears still streaming down her face.
* * *
Mac sat, slumped against the wall, in what was now
a crime scene. The ambulance had arrived, but it had
been too late for Paul.
Mac had been crying for a full half-hour now; she
was slowly running out of tears.
Pete finished his conversation with Bernie, and
walked over to Mac. Their relationship was still in a
state of confusion, he hoped they would be able to
sort it out.
He looked down to her. "What happened to you, Mac?"
She looked up to him and proceeded to cry again.
She had never seen a dead body before. And all that
blood. Where had it all come from?
"Maybe you'd better rethink your career options,"
he told her.
She gave him a puzzled look.
"If you can't handle this...well...look, you're
going to have to toughen up if you want to survive in
Undercover." He was lecturing her like she was a
two-year-old.
Mac was outraged. She stood up, storming out the
door to her car. Pete heard the squeal as she sped
off.
* * * 
As night began to fall, Mac still sat in her car.
She had been in the same position for two hours now.
At the park, the children had come and gone. It was
now deserted, just Mac's car in the parking area.
She had been thinking for a while now. She knew,
deep down, she had been naive to think that working in
undercover would be so simple. That made her feel
angry with herself, distracting her thoughts.
She turned the key. She knew where she had to go,
what she had to do. A familiar song came on the radio.
* * * 
....I believe that fate has brought us here
And we should be together, babe
But we're not.

I play it off but I'm dreaming of you
I'll keep my cool 
But I'm feidin
I try to say goodbye and I choke
Try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
* * * 
Pete opened the beer, sinking into his couch. He
felt bad about what he'd said to Mac, but he had just
lost two mates. Surely she could understand that he
was just angry.
Still, she seemed scared around him. Maybe it was
for the best. Pete had had his fair share of women,
and he could definitely tell when one wasn't
interested. Anyway, it was wrong of him to think that
he could mix business and pleasure.
* * * 
I may appear to be free
But I'm just a prisoner
Of your love
I may seem alright
And smile when you leave
But my smiles are just out front
Just out front

I play it off but I'm dreaming of you
I'll keep my cool
But I'm feidin
I try to say goodbye and I choke
Try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
* * *
Mac sat in her car, with the streetlights shining
down on her. She planned to be professional about
this, to prove Pete wrong. Of course she could make it
in undercover! Pete would soon see that.
After she fixed up her makeup, she knocked on the
door; not too quietly, but not too forcefully either.
She could hear movement on the other side.
Pete appeared, beer in hand. He looked genuinely
surprised. He hadn't expected to see her ever again. 
"Can I come in?" Mac asked.
Pete was confused. Why was she being so forward
with him? Where was the timid Mac he had known a few
hours ago? It seemed she had been transformed. Pete
showed her in to the living room, neither one taking a
seat.
"Look, Mac, I feel really bad about the things I
said today," he started.
Mac could feel the tears starting to well up behind
her eyes, like a dam wall about to explode. She
blocked them out, not wanting to give him the
satisfaction of having made her cry. Again. 
"No. Pete, I think you were right. There was some
truth in what you said."
When Pete didn't respond, Mac continued.
"I was being naive, thinking undercover would be a
cinch. I should have known better. Nothing in life is
that black and white. Today forced me to see the
reality. Death and all that...I suppose you get
immuned to it all after a while."
Mac stopped, looking at the floor. She couldn't
remember ever talking so much in her life. It felt
good to get it all off her chest.
"So, you're going to stick with undercover then?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Pete nodded. There was just one more thing he
wanted to know.
"Mac, what about us? We need to sort out some
things."
He sat down on the couch, Mac sitting opposite him
on the coffee table. She was stuck for words again.
How could she tell him how she felt? What if what he'd
told her earlier, about not regretting last night,
what if all that was lies? She didn't want to
embarrass herself now that she would be working with
Pete every day.
Pete decided that honesty would be the best policy
in this situation. Otherwise things could get
difficult. 
"Well, I've already told you that I think things
between us could be really great. And I meant it. I've
never met anyone like you before."
Mac smiled. That was just what she wanted to hear.
Pete obviously took this as encouragement, as he
picked up her hand and pulled her to him, on the
couch.
They kissed. 
"You really think this will be okay? Working
together?"
"Sure," Pete reassured her. "Why not?" he told her,
silencing her with a kiss.
* * *
Here is my confession
May I be your possession
Boy, I need your touch 
Your love, kissses and such
With all my might I try
But this I can't deny
Deny

I play it off but I'm dreaming of you
I'll keep my cool 
But I'm feidin
I try to say goodbye and I choke
Try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
* * *
Pete hurried into the meeting. As he sat down, he
caught Mac's eye, offering her a discreet smile. She
smiled back.
"Okay...we have two new members joining us today,"
Bernie began. He was flanked by a man and a woman. The
new recruits. They looked slightly nervous as they saw
their new colleagues for the first time.
"This is Angela Piper," he told the group. "And
this is Oscar Stone." 
Angela Piper's eyes caught Mac's as she looked
around the room. She smiled at her encouragingly,
hoping their initiation would be easier than hers was.