Thank you for all the new reviews! You truly make me want to write more!

Thank you to my wonderful beta, dark rolling sea. :)

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CHAPTER 11 – Of Robson, Nausea and Dinner

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Mac was on his way back to the lab after visiting the house of Kathy's alleged boyfriend. He was Tony Robson, a 33-year-old broker. He claimed there had been no relationship; it had been a fling at the most. The feeling had obviously been one sided because Kathy had spoken to her mother about him as 'maybe being the one'. If there hadn't been a motive in clear sight just yet, there was another interesting fact to make up for it.

Tony lived in a very modern apartment that had an Asian tint to it. Not only was the furniture and other interior designed that way, there was also a little zen-like garden in the balcony. It wasn't the sand and the miniature shrubs that had caught Mac's attention, but the stone spheres that were placed on top of the sand. They varied in place and size, some were in clumps and a few were loose. It didn't take a feng shui expert to notice the empty spot with a hole that seemed perfect for the sphere Lindsay and Stella had found in the park earlier. Flack had asked the man about the absence of the stone but with no avail. They would have to wait for the results of the DNA tests, because the lack of the sphere alone wasn't enough to bring him in.

Now that he was just sitting in the car, the slight nauseating feeling he was experiencing felt even stronger as there were no distractions. He pulled up to the parking lot and quickly paced into his office, trying to shake off and forget the ominous feeling. The walk helped a bit but the wariness still lingered.

Upon reaching his office Mac sat down and leaning back in his chair, ran his hands through his hair, leaving them to rest on his face. He sincerely hoped this was that one final set back before getting well. With a heavy sigh, he got up and headed back out with the agenda of finding Stella and Lindsay.

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Stella was eyeing some papers when Mac came to stand beside her.

"What's new?" he queried, managing to read the letter combination 'DNA' before Stella noticed him and moved the papers subconsciously.

"Hey, you're back," Stella announced, noticing that he looked rather uncomfortable. "Got the DNA results back,"

"And?"

"There was, not surprisingly, a lot the vic's blood on the stone sphere, but also a tiny bit of the same blood that we found on the vic's clothes. She must've fought with the killer before she was hit because after the head trauma she suffered, she was either dead or unconscious. We didn't find a match for the other DNA though…" Stella sighed. "How about your visit?"

"There were spheres exactly like the one you found in the apartment of Robson. One of them was missing," he told her. "Let's get a sample of his blood." Mac finished and started to walk away. He dialled Flack and told him to get Robson to the station.

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In the end it took almost two days for Robson to give them the blood sample they needed. His lawyer kept on stalling them, but of course they couldn't keep it up forever. The DNA analysis confirmed their suspicions and Tony Robson had to come clean. He told them how the two had had a fight about the state of their relationship and it had gotten ugly and physical. She had stormed out, running away. Tony was a very tempered man and he had grabbed the stone and gone after her. The adrenalin and anger had taken over and he had hit Kathy in the head. Still shocked by his actions he had left the scene, throwing the rock away. He didn't even recall why it was the thing he had taken with him. All he could plea to was that anger had driven him to do what had happened. It was a sad case, as were all the others.

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It had been good day that Friday and an even better afternoon – the bad guy was about to be put behind bars. Everyone was relieved that the weekend was almost there and they would be able to get some rest and loosen up a little.

Mac was walking along the corridor. He knew the others had gone for a drink at a local bar but had declined Stella's invitation. She had objected, as usual, but had let it go abruptly. He was beginning to regret his decision, but the thought was erased once he saw a figure sitting in an empty lab. A figure he unmistakably knew as Lindsay. He let himself in and saw that she was working on a report.

"You don't have to do that tonight, you know," he said, letting her know he was there.

Lindsay lifted her gaze from the screen of the laptop, her concentration breaking. She smiled happily because this was a welcomed interruption. "Well, I have to do it sometime, don't I?"

Mac nodded with a smirk. "I thought you went with the others," he gestured at the door.

"Didn't really feel like going and I had some stuff to finish here," she offered.

"Would you consider leaving it at that for the weekend?" he asked, nodding at the report.

"It depends. For what?" Lindsay said with a tiny grin.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go get something to eat instead of the bar,"

Lindsay didn't have to think twice, the report could easily wait and the other option was much more enjoyable. "I'm in," she said and started turning off the laptop. Mac was very pleased with the way his suggestion had turned out – the day just kept on getting better by the hour.

With a smile still plastered on Lindsay's face, she got up from her chair. Her coat was already there, slumped on another stool. Once she grabbed it, they headed for the door, turning off the light when they exited the room.

Once they were both ready to leave, they left the building and agreed to once again go to the usual place. It provided all they needed and it was on the way to their apartments. Mac's hand found its spot at the small of Lindsay's back as they set off to the car park. The distance wasn't long so the contact was brief, but it was better than nothing. They started talking about the case and the aftermath. Before they knew it they had reached their destination and slipped out of the car. Mac's hand quickly reclaimed its previous place and Lindsay was happily surprised when she felt the faint pressure on her back. Was this turning into a habit?

There were a few free tables when they stepped in. Picking one of them, they walked to it and sat down. Hastily a waiter came by and took their orders. She must've been in a hurry, at least by the looks of it.

"Got any plans for the weekend?" Lindsay asked Mac.

"No, have to swing by the office, might as well stay there for the day,"

"Ah, ah. You are not spending your weekend at work!" she protested. "I will drag you out of there myself if I have to,"

"Really?" Mac asked suspiciously.

"Yes,"

"That a promise?"

This was Lindsay's chance to keep the promise she made to herself while in Montana. "Would you consider having lunch with me?" she asked, a little worried he might say no.

"OK," he said after a few seconds passed by. "Sounds like a plan,"

"Great!" Lindsay exclaimed.

They shared a smile and the feeling of contentment remained. They were both satisfied by the decision and hoped this would be a turn for something even better than what they already had. There certainly was plenty of potential for it, and if they hadn't read each other completely wrong, willingness.

Their food arrived shortly and they ate in silence, enjoying each other's company. They had become very good at that recently. Lindsay started to wonder if Stella had tried poking information out of Mac as well. It was nice to know she had no objections, but also a little weird knowing she was keeping an eye out, probably at all times. She grinned at the image of Stella grilling Mac for information about his personal life and almost snorted. Lindsay knew they were good friends but doubted he'd be that open.

Mac saw her expression change. Did she just almost snort? He wondered what she was thinking about. Regardless of what it was, she looked very relaxed – and beautiful. This was definitely the place where he wanted to be at the moment.

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After the pair had eaten, they stayed there for a while talking, about this and that. It was rather late by the time they finally left. The underlying reluctance to part was making them walk slower than usual and it took them almost twice as long to get back to the car as it had to get to the diner. Lindsay was resting her head on her arm which was propped up by the door's little arm rest. It was quiet and the week had taken its toll. Soon she found her eyes threatening to close and unable to resist she fell asleep. Mac looked to his side and saw the sleeping form. He knew she had been under a heavy work load and because of the late hour wasn't that astounded. She looked incredibly peaceful and he felt bad that he had to wake her in just a little bit.

Pulling up to the side of the road, Mac turned off the engine. He placed his hand on Lindsay's shoulder and gently shook her awake. "We're here," he informed her.

She opened her eyes and looked around her a little groggily. "Sorry, must've dozed off…"

"Hey, no problem. You gonna be OK going up alone?" Mac inquired, genuine concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah," she said, stretching a little and opening the door. "Thanks for the dinner and the good company. I had a nice time," she said, smiling sleepily.

Mac smiled back at her. "Me too, good night,"

"Night, and I'll see you tomorrow," Lindsay said and slammed the door shut. She started wandering to the direction of the door. Mac watched her disappear to the other side of it and figured she would be alright. 'Tomorrow…' he mused and with that in mind left for home.

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That was it for this chapter… So what did you think?

I'm pretty sure you're going to like the next one a lot... -mysterious grin-