Sorry it took a while to get this new chapter up. Better late than never! Thank you dark rolling sea for helping me out!

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CHAPTER 10 – Notes, A Sphere and Gazing

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Mac awoke feeling rather good. Then again, considering his state the day before any improvement was welcome. He sat up and started regaining his thoughts. He noticed the glass of water on the table; it was full. Had he slept the entire night without waking up? 'Apparently so,' he thought. 'The pizza box is gone,' he realized. 'Lindsay...' The haze of sleep was drifting away and things got clearer by the second. She had been there yesterday and he could still sense her presence. She had been sweet beyond limits and Mac felt very fortunate for having her do all the things she did for him.

Standing up and taking the glass with him he headed for his kitchen. He coughed a little and knew that his voice would be hoarse all day. Otherwise he was in fact feeling quite good. The fever had subsided and the annoying chills and sweating were gone. He put the glass in the sink and he could have sworn there should be more. Mac turned around and noticed a piece of paper on the table. He didn't recall seeing it there before. Picking it up, he recognized Lindsay's handwriting and read it.

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Mac,

Cleaned up a little, hope you don't mind me sticking around for a while after you fell asleep. Thought you could use the help.

Hope you're feeling better!

Lindsay

P.S. The soup should be good with 2 minutes in the microwave, shouldn't get too hot with that.

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Suddenly a smile crept across his lips when it hit him – he hadn't been dreaming and she had given him a little kiss on the forehead. She had stuck around after he had dozed off. 'Well, that explains a lot,' he mused. He reread the note, the smile never leaving his face. Now he couldn't wait to see her and glancing at the clock decided to start his morning routine. He was amazed that he had slept for such a long time and knew exactly who was to thank for it.

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The lab was quiet when Lindsay arrived at work. Accompanied by only her thoughts, she paced the hallway, passing a pair of officers on the way. She wasn't expecting to find anyone but when she glanced at Mac's office, she saw him. Lindsay wondered whether he was fit enough to be back.

She knocked lightly on his door and caused him to look up from the papers scattered in front of him.

"Morning," she greeted. "Here already?"

"Morning, and I could say the same thing about you,"

"You got a point there," she admitted. "So how are you feeling?"

"Better," was Mac's short reply.

"The fever's gone?" Lindsay persisted.

"Yeah, I have a sore throat but other than that…"

Lindsay smiled happily at him and Mac could've sworn something inside of him was melting. He wondered if Lindsay knew how much power she already had over him.

"I hear they wrapped up the accident case last night,"

Mac nodded in acknowledgment and shuffled some of his papers. "Yeah," he said as more papers switched places on the table. "I should have a... file… somewhere," Mac said, focusing on finding it.

"Piled up paper work?" Lindsay asked.

"All it takes is one day. Less than a day, actually," Mac claimed and Lindsay could not help but sense the frustration.

The distinct ring of a cell phone sounded in the room. There was a short exchange between Mac and Flack before they hung up.

"We've got a new case," he informed.

"Where? And what?" Lindsay queried.

"In Central Park, a young woman," Mac added while grabbing his coat.

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Stella joined Mac and Lindsay once they arrived at the crime scene. Lying there on the ground was a body of a female, around 20-25 years of age. They processed the scene and while they were very thorough and focused on their work, Stella noticed something different between Mac and Lindsay. The things she saw were very subtle and small but they were there; the occasional brush of arms and the brief glances in each other's direction. Most of all she noted the ease that surrounded the two when they worked closely together. She wasn't quite sure how to describe it, but it was definitely there and different from what colleagues or even friends usually had. She had wondered why Mac had loosened up a bit during the past year and now she was sure she knew why.

"I think we're ready to leave now," Stella declared.

Lindsay was also just looking around at that point. "I second that."

"I think you're right," Mac concurred. "OK, let's wrap this up,"

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Along with a tiny purse the victim had had with her, they had found her driver's licence which revealed her name to be Kathy Rogers. She was only 24 years old.

"So, Sid, what's your verdict?" Lindsay asked.

"Cause of death: a heavy blow to the back of her head. Well, actually it was the second one that killed her," he said, showing them his findings. "Her skull was fractured severely by the first one and the second made it even worse. I couldn't define what caused it. Not yet, anyway," he pondered. "What I can tell you is that it was something round and blunt,"

"Anything else?" Mac asked hopefully. Sid continued to fill them in and showed them the bruising that was present and so on.

"Oh, and she was wearing this bulky necklace," Sid said, giving Stella a bag containing the item. "It reminds me of an old girlfriend I–" he started but didn't finish the story after seeing the looks he received from both Mac and Stella. "Never mind," he said with a hint of disappointment.

"Don't worry," Lindsay said grinning, "I'm sure someone else will come by soon,"

Mac resisted the urge to snort and with that they left the morgue.

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"So we need to find the object that was used to kill her. It wasn't lying around anywhere near the body… But maybe it's still there," Lindsay stated.

"Maybe the killer threw it somewhere in the vicinity of the scene," Stella offered.

"It's a wide search area, you go and try to find it," Mac said, nodding in the direction of both Lindsay and Stella. "Her mother should be arriving shortly so I'll stay here,"

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On the way to the Central Park Stella decided it was time to ask a few strategic questions from Lindsay. She was slightly more probable to tell her something than Mac. Well, Mac was in a league of his own. If only she managed to ask the right questions… OK, so there weren't any specific questions but she was going to try - if for no other purpose than to support her theory that those two were good for each other.

"So, you and Mac have been spending a lot of time together."

"I always thought that was what friends do…" Lindsay said with a smile.

"Not what I meant by that…"

"In that case, I have no idea what you're saying," Lindsay defended herself; pretty sure she wasn't fooling Stella. Hence she turned her attention to her watch and studied the time a little too intently.

"I'm just saying…" Stella said laughing, "You sure there could never be anything more to it than just friendship?"

Lindsay was rather stunned by her remark, but also a little worried: were other people noticing the change in their behaviour? She wasn't quite sure how to describe their relationship though. They were coming closer together but there was still a long way to go if they ever even started down that road. 'Or are we on it already?' she asked herself. 'I'd sure like to think so…' she finished

"I'm sure you have drawn your own conclusions already," Lindsay added light-heartedly as if nothing had gone through her mind just seconds ago.

'Oh, do I…' Stella thought. A silence fell between them but Stella broke it after a while, "Frankly, I think it'd be great!" It was all she said before the quietude returned and strangely enough it wasn't as awkward as one might have assumed.

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Upon reaching the scene Stella and Lindsay started going through the nearby area in attempt to find the object that had been used to kill Kathy Rogers. Not to the surprise of either of them, they had to widen their search further away from the spot where the body had been found. Even though bits and pieces of their conversation earlier kept popping in to Lindsay's head every now and then, she ignored them. This was not the time and place to contemplate her feelings and where she stood when it came to them.

After some time, Lindsay gave a shout to Stella. "I got something!"

Lindsay pulled herself back up from the squatting position she had been in. She examined the round rock in her hands. It weighed maybe 3 pounds and was shaped like a ball.

"It has blood on it and it seems to coincide with the size of the object we are looking for. I'd say this is it," Lindsay pondered while carefully turning the ball around.

"Definitely, but what is that? Looks like decoration." Stella said with her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Well, maybe from a bridge or a fence. You know, the brick or stone ones that have some sort of decoration at the corner posts."

"I don't know any bridges in Central Park that would have these kind of... things. This looks very new or it's very well restored or preserved. Maybe from in front of some house or apartment building?"

"Could be," Lindsay replied.

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After Lindsay and Stella had arrived back at the lab, Mac came by to see what they had found. He was pleased with the progress. In turn he told what Kathy's mother had told about her daughter. They had found out the name of her boyfriend, or that is what her mother had assumed him to be, and he was just about to leave with Flack to meet with him.

Mac was just about to leave his office after returning from his visit, but was briefly interrupted when Lindsay appeared at his door.

"Everything OK?" she asked and saw Mac wipe some sweat off of his forehead.

He raised his eyes to meet hers and once again saw the same concern as the night before. "Yeah, everything's fine."

She accepted the answer, although not without doubt. "Uh huh," she said, her face anything but serene. "Just wanted to make sure…"

Mac had to smile at that. He had noticed that her visits to his office had become more frequent recently. Not that he was complaining, quite the opposite in fact.

"I know you have to get going, so I'll see you later?" Lindsay anticipated and Mac nodded.

He led her out of his office and after exchanging hasty goodbyes they parted. Lindsay turned and began to walk away. She felt Mac's eyes on her and a smile crept across her lips – there was no denying that she liked it.

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And… let's leave it that until the next chapter. :)

As always, comments are appreciated.