Summary: In which Mac gets a surprise, women talk dirty and Adam learns the art of body language.
Adam hurried down the hallway his lab coat flapping behind him he made a sharp right turn and almost crashed into a gurney carrying a dead body but managed to swerve around it and move back into the main forensics hall just before Mac's office.
"Mac!"
The man in question halted as he was about to lock his office door and glanced over his shoulder, puzzled at Adam's breathlessness.
"Can I help you Adam?"
"Yeah...I just need to catch my...nearly ran into..." spluttered Adam, he jogged over to Mac and thrust a folder at him "Please sign off on this so I can go home, beat traffic and watch the rest of the search for the pussycat do...uh wrestling"
"What a coincidence" muttered Mac "That was what I was trying to do now" he looked through the folder, scanning it with expert eyes and then smiled "Okay. Do you have a pen?"
Adam groaned "Ah...shit" he grabbed hold of Mac's shoulders "Wait right here" then he ran off, came back and looked at Mac apologetically "Sorry for the inappropriate touching just now..." then he ran back off again in search of a pen
Mac watched the lab tech go with a smirk, he tucked the folder under his arm and locked his office, when he turned his back he spotted Stella going in the direction of the staff break room. She saw him, her eyes lit up and then she walked over.
"Hey" she said with a smile "How are you?"
"I'm great" he said pointedly "Are we still on for tonight?"
A frown crossed her face "I'm sorry. I can't...I have this...work dinner that I have to make. For Gavin's boss..." she trailed off into uncomfortable silence
"Thats alright" said Mac finally just as Adam reappeared, waving a pen in the air "Got it!" he yelled
Mac gave Stella a brief nod "See you later"
She sighed and watched him go over to meet Adam then went back on her way.
"Will you please quit that noise!" growled Don, he clutched his head, wincing as his partner merely turned the music up on her car stereo system
"You say something Flack?" snickered Jennifer
He gave her a filthy look and shrank into his black suit jacket "You're cruel y'know"
"Well you really shouldn't have drunk so much last night" she said with a patronising smile
Don gave her another dark look "Did I know we were gonna be called in so goddamn early? Christ, its bad enough with my fiance chewing me out for getting home late and now I get wisecracks from you"
She shot a quick look at him "Fiance? Have you been keeping secrets Flack?"
He winced, partially because of the loud traffic they were stuck in and partially because he was certain George hadn't yet agreed to tell anyone about their engagement.
"Keep it under your hat will ya?" he muttered, rubbing his red eyes
She smirked "Wow. I didn't picture you for marriage material"
He gave her a hurt look "Ouch"
"You know what I mean...but...so tell me, who is the unlucky victim?" she teased
"We're not exactly public yet. Only close friends and family know about us and they don't even know we're engaged" he admitted
She prodded him with her elbow "Come on. We're partners in the war against crime..." she chuckled at her own phrasing "Just give it up Flack"
"Georgina Wheil from Homicide" he said, more to stop her from talking rather than because he wanted to
"Wow. You and her? She's way out of your league" said Jennifer
"Alright, I'm gonna take the subway if you're gonna be a bitch" he retorted
She patted his arm comfortingly "Alright, I quit, I quit. You wanna get some coffee then rejoin this traffic later?"
He nodded with relief, she smiled "Attaboy" then turned into the next lane, leading away from the main traffic jam.
Popping her gum, Ronnie shimmied to the music playing in the small boutique and then started singing along, much to her sister's amusement.
"She's a bad mama jama, just as fine as she is"
Izzy tried to ignore her younger sister as she adjusted various items of jewellery in her store but Ronnie would not be ignored and started doing 'the monkey' dance in front of Izzy till she finally gave up.
"Okay you can stop acting up. I'm ready to go to lunch" said Izzy
Ronnie grinned "Ros is gonna meet us at the restaurant"
Izzy grabbed her bag from behind the till counter and left the store manager to take over while she went to lunch. She and her sibling decided to take the scenic route through Greenwich Village and enjoy the sunshine.
"So, hows things?" asked Ronnie, lighting up a cigarette
Izzy took the cigarette from her sister's mouth, threw it on the ground, stubbed it out under her heel and said "Fine thanks" without missing a beat
Ronnie pouted "You are..."
Izzy put her arm around her sister and squeezed her "Ah, ah, ah! Karma remember? Whatever you say to me comes back to you"
Ronnie pouted once more but seemed to have run out of steam and changed subject " Okay, so big D's birthday is happening in two weeks. Are we gonna do the whole surprise party thing?"
Izzy shrugged "Well he's only turning 33...its not really a landmark birthday. I think he'd probably rather spend it with George and Aiden"
"Maybe I can round up lots of family for a big dinner. George's parents are loaded right? We can use their back yard set up a huge table. It could be pretty sweet"
"Did you hear what I just said?"
"Yeah but I chose to ignore it"
Izzy chuckled wryly then gestured towards an Italian restaurant on the corner "Thats the place right?"
Ronnie nodded and the two women headed on inside, where they spied their sister at a table by the window. She seemed to be having an in-depth discussion with the waiter but as her siblings came close they saw that 'discussion' was rather one sided.
"Okay and I don't want any dressing with that and I need that wine to be real vintage. Believe me I can tell the difference" said Ros then without missing a beat dismissed the waiter with wave of her hand and stood up to blow air kisses at her sisters
"Wow. She's so gonna get her food spat in" muttered Ronnie to Izzy
Izzy sat down with an amused smirk "Hey big sis. How are you?"
"Dead tired" retorted Ros "I mean, I've lost my third PA this month. What is their problem?!"
"You ever think the problem might be uh...you" said Ronnie then winced at the indignant glare that got her
Izzy smiled "Alright girls we're here to have lunch and catch up like good sisters. No squabbling please"
Ros started to smile, one hand sweeping over her dark sleek bob "You know I have missed you two. Hows tricks?"
Ronnie glanced at Izzy who nodded, permitting her to go first with her news. "Well...Danny and I are gonna move in together"
"Are you pregnant?" said Ros eyeing her baby sister shrewdly
Izzy burst out laughing while Ronnie spluttered "What?! No! We actually want to live together"
"Hmm..." said Ros "Good luck with that. Truly"
"What do you mean by that?" scoffed Ronnie
Izzy quickly interjected "Congrats little V. You two are going to be very happy" she gave Ronnie an affectionate kiss on the top of her head
"Anyway..." Ros started "I've got a little news of my own. Colin's law firm is going to be representing senator Gould and I've heard he's doing a big shake up and looking for a new PR company...of course that is where I move in"
"Oooh...wasn't George's ex-husband Gould's son?" said Ronnie with a frown
Izzy nodded "Yeah. You think George will mind much?"
Ros scoffed "Oh please that was all in the past. She and Don are happy together now and they have little Aiden. I doubt she cares about a former father in law or for that matter an ex-husband. I know I certainly don't miss whatshisname Perry"
Ronnie and Izzy exchanged unsure glances but when the wine arrived the conversation changed on to the topic of their current relationships.
"Well I'm not saying the sex is bad..." said a rather tipsy drunk an hour into her vegetarian meal and second glass of wine "Its just...there's not enough of it!"
"Can't say I have that problem" said Ronnie smugly prompting Ros to give her a patronising smirk and add;
"When you are in a mature relationship its not about quantity its about quality"
Izzy seemed relieved by this unlike Ronnie who was now quite put out "I have both! Anyway..." she turned to Izzy "You and Sheldon just need some real alone time. Its all about putting in the effort"
Ros smirked "I have to say I agree with the little midget. Colin and I always schedule a bit of private time over the week"
"Oooh schedule?!" snorted Ronnie "You really know how to let your hair down"
Izzy blushed "Well. I'm sure its just a minor hitch. I just wish that we hadn't...well..." she trailed off uncertainly
Ros looked at her seriously "Is everything else okay with you two?"
Izzy was about to answer when she caught sight of the time on her wristwatch "Look, it doesn't matter. Don't worry about it. I've got to get back to the store"
Ronnie hugged her "Okay sweetheart. See you soon"
Izzy returned the hug and then bid Ros goodbye, kissing her forehead "Bye you two. Call me tonight okay?"
She got to her feet and eyed them both sternly "Promise me you two will play nice when I leave"
Her two sisters widened their blue eyes and smiled innocently;
"We promise"
"Good morning Adam" said Lindsay
He raised his head from his desk and glanced at her "Is it?"
She smiled understandingly "Rough night?"
He groaned "My next door neighbour decided he wanted to do some late night renovating at about three in the morning. Complete nightmare"
She gave him another sympathetic smile "You'll have to talk to him about that. Can't let it go on can you?"
"Yeah" he muttered "I suppose" he brightened as he thought of something "Sorry...you're here for your test results right?"
She nodded and he gestured at his computer "I'm running them against possible matches right now. Can you wait five minutes?"
"Yeah that's-" she faltered just as Danny came in, a serious expression on his face but he cheered up when he saw the two of them
"Hey kids"
Adam waved distractedly "Sup man. You need something?"
"Can I get a DNA test run?" he asked, handing Adam two plastic evidence baggies "Please?"
Adam gave him a mock salute "Yessir"
Danny rolled his eyes and looked at Lindsay "That guy huh?"
She tucked her hair behind her ears "Yeah"
"Hows your week been? We need to grab that coffee soon Montana" he said
Adam raised his hand "Am I invited?"
"Nah. Adults only" said Danny
Adam flipped him off and Danny grinned good naturedly then turned to Lindsay "What do you say?"
"Yeah. Definitely" she lowered her gaze "That would be really nice"
Adam hopped off his stool and headed to the other side of the room to print out Lindsay's test results. He stood there and watched as the two CSI's chatted about seemingly nothing. He wouldn't have been so interested if not for the way Lindsay was behaving. He furrowed his brow and watched more closely, she seemed to have tensed up and didn't appear to be quite looking Danny in the eye or being very responsive.
He raised an eyebrow then shook his head dismissively, deciding that whatever thought he'd just had was wrong and waited for the results to print.
Shrugging off his coat, Mac hung it up on a coat hook and stood in the hall of his apartment. He hadn't realised quite how cold and quiet it was.
He rubbed his tired eyes and went over to the kitchen, he found there a bottle of wine and two glasses, raising a puzzled eyebrow he was about to turn when he felt two hands over his eyes.
"Stella?"
"The one and only" she murmured and kissed the nape of his neck
"I thought you were with Gavin" he said flatly
She turned him to look at her, cupping his face in her hands "But I'm here now" she said with a half smile
He shook his head "Thats not enough Stella"
Her hands fell to her sides "This is the best I can do"
"No it isn't and you know it isn't" he replied, his voice taking on a harder tone in spite of himself
"What do you want me to do?" she asked, matching his tone "I can't...I can't leave him"
"You can't or you don't want to?"
"I don't know Mac. I just don't know"
"Well you're going to have to figure it out"
"Can't we just enjoy tonight? Please"
He sighed and shut his eyes, he felt her fingers against his cheek and he sank into her embrace.
"I do love you" she whispered
Mac smiled faintly "Yeah. I know"
A/N: I was under the impression that I'd posted this chapter but turns out I'd just saved it in Documents. Anyway here it is. Enjoy and review please. Thanks for the continued support from everyone old and new readers alike.