Hey all! Had a bit of a writer's block there for a couple of days but it seems to be gone now! (Yay!)

Thank you dark rolling sea for the beta!

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CHAPTER 8 – Of Hunger, Pie and Happiness

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Mac and Lindsay were walking closely beside each other, partly because of the crowded sidewalk and partly because it was something they both needed. It was amazing what a couple of days apart could do to you. It was satisfying to know the other person next to you actually wanted to be there and the feeling was most certainly mutual. Lindsay squirmed as she tried to stretch without raising or spreading her arms in the tight flow of people.

"Tired?"

"Not really, just a little stiff after all the sitting," Lindsay answered with a sigh.

"How was the flight otherwise?" Mac inquired as they rounded a corner and the atmosphere calmed down significantly with fever people rampaging around.

"Not bad, except for the food… It had a weird taste to it," Lindsay said, making a sour face. "I thought of taking a little snack with me but decided against it… Damn."

"Want to grab something to eat?" Mac asked hopefully.

"Do I! I'd eat practically anything right now…" Lindsay exclaimed and quickened her pace.

"The car is over there," Mac said as he pointed it out. They walked to it and Lindsay climbed in while Mac tossed her bag to the back seat.

The night was beautiful. The rain had subsided a couple of days ago and the sky was fairly clear – at least the part that was visible between the buildings.

"Where do you want to go?" Mac asked, stopping at a traffic light, turning his attention to Lindsay.

She thought about his question for a moment with a faint frown covering her facial features. "The usual place?" she soon offered.

"OK," he said and the light changed.

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They arrived at the familiar place where they had eaten lunch earlier in the week. Opening the door and letting Lindsay go in first, Mac followed her inside. Lindsay was swiftly making her way to what was quickly becoming their regular table. The atmosphere was very light, with only a few people seated around the place, all having light conversation. The waiter came by just as they had sat down and he left a few seconds later after taking the quickly voiced orders. Lindsay started to tap her fingers on the table in anticipation.

"Gosh, I'm so hungry… I guess I was so preoccupied at the airport that I didn't really even notice," she acknowledged. "So by any chance did you plan on picking me up?" Lindsay asked from out of the blue.

"Maybe," Mac answered casually, fully aware of Lindsay's eyes burning on him. He knew she was considering and evaluating his every gesture and word. "Okay, I might have thought about it since you said when you'd be back,"

Lindsay smiled a little at his words. "That's quite a risk you took. What if my flight had been delayed or even cancelled?"

"If it were cancelled, you probably would've called. I know you would've called. On the other hand, if the flight had been delayed, well, I'd have had time to wait,"

"Uh huh," she muttered in response. "Did you have a day off today?"

"Yeah," Mac said running a hand through his hair in obvious frustration. He had been bored and she knew it.

"Workaholic," Lindsay stated with a grin.

"So I didn't have a lot to do… Work is what I do, very well in fact," he defended himself.

Lindsay laughed at his response. "I know that! But I'm just saying that you need to have a little fun, relax and not think about a case. Not even an unresolved one," she said her playful tone changing into a little more serious one.

"I can have fun, I just don't need to very often,"

"I know you can, but you really need to more often," she argued.

Mac raised his brow and smirked. "Well, we'll see about that," He had a feeling he would be having a lot more fun in the future.

After a couple of more minutes their food arrived and the waiter balanced the trays to their table. Lindsay flashed a huge smile once she grabbed her fork and started devouring her late dinner. "This is so good…" she said, verbalizing her current thoughts. Mac was only taking his first bite and was staggered by the speed the woman in front of him was eating: one fourth of her portion was already gone.

"Did they not give you food back in Montana or…?" he asked, unable to hold back a chuckle.

Lindsay looked up from her food and smiled with slight embarrassment. She didn't say anything and continued to eat, only a little slower now that her stomach wasn't completely empty anymore.

"You know, I loved going back to Montana but I missed this," Lindsay said musingly, waving her fork between them.

Mac seemed pleased and smiled. "Glad to know I'm not the only one,"

They looked into each other's eyes for a brief couple of seconds and it was enough to give them both even more hope of the future. They fell into their respective thoughts, both contemplating the situation they were in. Things were progressing, albeit slowly, but the bond between them was growing stronger by the day. Little by little a kind of quota had appeared: there was a certain amount of time they wanted to spend together each day and it was increasing rapidly. The very fact that they were sitting in the diner at the late hour was proof of it.

Lindsay was finishing off her plate and after swallowing the last bite. She was about to stand up, but hesitated before asking Mac, "Do you mind if I get some dessert?"

"No, not at all,"

"Want something?" she continued.

Mac thought about her offer for a while. "Coffee would be good,"

"At this hour?" Lindsay asked with a grin.

"Yeah,"

"OK then, one coffee coming up!" was all she said before she was on her way.

Mac watched her go and smiled. After a long time he could honestly say that he was feeling happy, genuinely happy. He had taken his time, before slowly starting to move on with his life. If it hadn't been for Lindsay he would probably still be keeping his heart in a closed box. After Claire died he was sure he would be betraying her if he even entertained the thought of another woman. That is until Lindsay came into his life and he convinced himself that wasn't the case. Claire would want him to be happy and now he perceived it. This was his second chance and he didn't want to sabotage it in any way.

"Here you go," Lindsay said as she placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of Mac and sat on the other side of the table.

"Thanks," replied Mac and took a sip while Lindsay dug into a piece of pie she had picked for herself.

"Didn't you get anything to drink?" he asked, noting that there was no cup or glass for her.

"I don't need anything," she answered. "It would just weaken the flavour of the pie, which is delicious by the way… Sure you don't want any?"

"I'm good but thanks," he said with a tiny smile, although it was a very hard offer to turn down.

"Oh, come on!" Lindsay persisted, "One bite," she added, taking a little piece on her fork and offering it to Mac. "For what I know, I'm not carrying any infectious disease," Mac had to laugh at the remark and the fork was getting closer all the time. "It's really good," she tried once more, this time prevailing.

The fork was extended to the point where it was only an inch away from his lips and finally he took the bite. "So?" Lindsay asked hopefully.

"Yes, it's very good," Mac affirmed. Lindsay's face lit up in a huge smile after the exchange.

"I told you," she said with a hint of smugness in her voice as she went back to eating the pie by herself.

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They left the diner a few minutes later. The air was more crisp than it had been before and it caused Lindsay to shudder, if only slightly.

"Cold?" Mac asked her.

"Not really, just the transition from inside to outside,"

"Or maybe you do have some disease lurking around," Mac implied as he unlocked the car.

Lindsay snorted ever so softly and climbed in, "Oh, I hope not…"

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Mac dropped Lindsay off at her apartment and she convinced him that she'd be fine walking the short distance on her own. She thanked him and with that they said their goodbyes.

When Lindsay closed her front door she quickly discarded her bag and hurried to the shower. It was pretty late and she knew she had to catch some sleep soon or she'd be a walking zombie the next day.

Lying there under the covers in her bed she thought of the evening. Or maybe she should say night; it was around midnight after all. It had turned out so much better than she could've ever hoped for. The thought that Mac might be waiting for her had never even crossed her mind and she was sure she had blushed a little right after she had spotted him. It was a nice gesture and it warmed her heart immensely. She found herself smiling in the half wake/half asleep state that she was in. She went over the happenings of the evening in her head, but before she could finish she was fast asleep. But who knows, maybe her subconscious would allow for the events to continue replaying whilst she was in her dream filled state.

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OK, that's it for chapter 8. Please tell me what you think :)