Hey all!

I know most of you think I have completely forgotten and abandoned this story but I haven't… I recently lost my dear grandmother and well, writing hasn't been my number one concern. Work has been all too hectic as well. But, now I'm back and I intend to start updating again!

I received many requests asking me to bring back Hannah, so you got your wish! This chapter is somewhat of a setup for the next one… but I like it. Hopefully I'm not too rusty and that some of you will still be interested in reading onward.

This chapter isn't beta read like the previous ones so there may be some mistakes.

Now on with the show!

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CHAPTER 17 – Of Making New Acquaintances

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On Wednesday Lindsay strolled into Mac's office. She saw him pacing back and forth, engrossed in some papers he was reading. For a brief while she wondered how he even had time for anything else besides shifting through the mountain of paper – or Mt. Xerox, as it was sometimes referred to.

She knocked and poked her head inside. "Got a minute?"

"Yeah. What do you need?" Mac asked, looking straight at her with a glint of curiousness in his eyes.

"I was wondering if there was any chance I could get Friday afternoon off." she said rather confidently.

Mac looked at her with a questioning expression. "For what reason?"

"My sister and niece are coming to town and Hannah needs a place to stay while my sister is in some seminar. I kind of promised Hannah she could tag along the next time Anne came this way and uncle's couch isn't a very appealing option," she said with a cringe.

Seeing Lindsay's facial expression, Mac had to smirk. He could se that she was picturing it and trying not to do so at the same time.

"Well, Hawkes is out only until Friday so he'll be here then… And you've got a lot of piled up vacation days for this year, so I see no obstacles."

"Good, thanks," Lindsay said smiling, her gaze travelling along the wall.

"Have they visited you before?" Mac asked abruptly.

"My sister has but not Hannah."

"Got anything planned?"

"Not much, probably go see some sights and try to do stuff she wants to. You know, on her terms for the most part," Lindsay said thoughtfully. "Want to be our guide?"

Mac couldn't help but grin. "You sure you need one?"

"Hey, I'm still learning my way around here and if you don't mind coming with us… I'd like you to come," she explained.

"Are you sure Hannah wouldn't mind?"

Lindsay laughed lightly. "Are you kidding? She's the most social person I know!" Noting the slightly hesitant expression on Mac's face she decided to continue. "Plus, after she saw your name on my cell, you know, when you called me when I was in Bozeman, she's been asking me when she'll get to meet you."

A few seconds passed while Mac considered his alternatives. 'To work and spend the day alone or to go have fun with Lindsay and Hannah?' Not surprisingly, it didn't take long to decide.

"Alright then, count me in," Mac answered, feeling a rush of excitement.

"Great!" Lindsay retorted with a smile.

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"Aunt Linds!" Hannah exclaimed when she saw Lindsay. Hannah threw her backpack to her mother and ran to Lindsay. They were still at the airport where Lindsay had come to greet them.

"Hey sweetie," Lindsay greeted her niece and picked her up to hug her tightly.

"Hey sis, are you going to make me carry all these?" Anne pointed out with a grin.

"Nice to see you too," Lindsay laughed. She let Hannah down and hugged her sister. "Now, give me one of those suitcases and let's get out of here."

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The three arrived at Lindsay's place some time later. Hannah was running and looking around in excitement. Being in New York was a thrill for her and she was definitely enjoying every moment of it – even if most of what she had seen so far had been from inside a car. At he moment she was busy telling the two sisters how some of Lindsay's things had been arranged in her apartment back in Montana.

"—And this photo used to be on that table over there!"

"You're absolutely right," Lindsay concurred, smiling at the little girl's infectious enthusiasm. Then she turned her attention to Anne. "So, when's your cab going to be here?"

"About 20 minutes. Then I'll go meet a few other people who are coming and we'll travel to the hotel together. Tell you the truth, I'm not even sure where it is!" Anne laughed. "Hannah's certainly happy to be here," she continued, watching her daughter rummage through her backpack. "Take your stuff to… Where?" Anne asked, looking at Lindsay in search of an answer.

"My room, only have one," Lindsay replied. "And even that costs enough to almost get me bankrupt."

"That's what you get for leaving us!" Anne quipped smirking. "But this is a nice place you have here… Very cosy."

"Thanks, I try to make the most of it."

After talking for a few more minutes, it was time for Anne to say goodbye. Hannah was reluctant for her to leave but quickly recovered when Lindsay told her they could go get some ice cream later.

"Bye mommy!" she yelled, waving frantically on the doorstep. When Anne was out of her sight, she swiftly turned. "Ice cream time!" she squeeled as Lindsay closed the door.

"Give me a minute and we'll go," Lindsay assured her, trying to keep track of her nieces swiftly changing whereabouts. Five minutes later as they were about to leave, Lindsay glanced inside her purse to make sure her wallet was still in place.

"Oh, sugar feet…" Lindsay uttered when she glanced inside the bag. Hannah looked up at her in confusion. "I forgot to leave some papers for Stella." Hannah quirked up an eyebrow and was clearly waiting for further explanation. "She works with me."

Hannah perked up when the opportunity struck. "Let's go give 'em to her!"

Lindsay eyed her niece for a minute. "OK, but you have to promise not to leave my side and be very nice."

"Aren't I always?" Hannah offered innocently, fluttering her eyelashes in the process.

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Lindsay was holding onto Hannah's hand when they walked along the hallways of the lab. The few people she had crossed paths with so far had smiled at the energetic little girl. Hannah was engrossed in taking in the new environment. She seemed enthralled by all the machinery and workers, visible through the glass walls.

"Hi, Sid!" Lindsay yelled when she saw the pathologist coming from the other direction. "Off for the weekend?" she asked.

"Back on Sunday…" he sighed in melancholy. "And who might this young lady be?" he asked.

"I'm Hannah! She's my aunt," she quickly told him, reaching to shake his hand.

"Well, I'm Sid," he replied, smiling at her forward attitude and fearlessness.

"Do you work here too?"

"Why, yes I do." Sid asserted.

"Doing what?" Hannah queried.

"I'm a pathologist. Do you know what that means?" Sid asked, looking at Lindsay in search of a permission to tell her. She just grinned slightly.

"You get to cut people up! Cool!" Hannah exclaimed, causing Sid to first be taken aback and then just laugh out loud.

"I suppose you can look at it like that…" he mused. "In fact your attitude is much preferred to people getting creeped out."

The conversation went on for a while before Lindsay decided to cut in. "Hey, have you seen Stella around?"

"I saw her with Sheldon about 15 minutes ago. They came to see me… I think they decided to continue their labwork."

"OK, we'll check there. Have a good day off!"

"You two have a lovely weekend as well."

They started strolling deeper into the building, Lindsay scanning the labs for Stella and explaining different things to Hannah. After minutes of unsuccessful searching, their luck changed.

"Hey Stella!"

Stella looked up to see Lindsay with a young girl she assumed was her niece. She had after all told her about Hannah coming to visit.

"Hey!"

"Hello, I'm Hannah."

"Nice to meet you," Stella said smiling. "What brings you here?" she asked, glancing at Lindsay.

"That would be this…" Lindsay began, handing Stella the papers. "I was going to drop it of before I went to the airport but then I of course was in a hurry and forgot…" Lindsay clarified.

"Thank you, but these weren't that important."

"I know, but it would've bothered me and Hannah was really excited about coming here," she said, nudging Hannah lightly.

"Yeah! This place is so cool…"

"You think so too?" Stella asked grinning and Hannah nodded in response. "That's great."

"Anything else you'd like to see?" Lindsay asked Hannah. She was about to respond when Lindsay cut her off. "Besides the morgue."

Hannah pretended to sulk and crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's going to get you nowhere and I think it's time we head out."

"Aww, can we at least walk the other way around?" she asked, eyeing the hallway on her right side. Not that she knew where it might lead.

"That we can do," Lindsay asserted. "Bye Stella, see you on Monday!"

"Right back at ya," she answered.

"Bye Stella!" Hannah yelled when they left in different directions.

The pair started walking hand in hand and the earlier rhythm of questions and answers resumed.

"What's that place?" Hannah asked, pointing at a glass office.

"Do you remember how I told you that a friend of mine would show us around tomorrow?" Lindsay queried, getting a firm nod in response. "Well, that's his office."

"Can we go see him?" Hannah asked when she noticed that there was in fact someone inside. Lindsay kneeled down next to her and glanced Mac's way.

"We can say hello but he's very busy so we won't bother him for long, OK?"

"Scout's honor!"

"Since when are you a scout?" Lindsay laughed.

"I could be," Hannah said thoughtfully when they began walking again.

Reaching the door, Lindsay knocked on it lightly.

"Hmmpf?" she heard a muffled answer from Mac before he looked up.

"Weren't you suppose to be out for the day?" he asked, though he wasn't able to hide his inner feeling of joy of seeing her from reflecting on his voice.

"I dropped off some papers for Stella and an eager visitor wanted me to show her around…" she said, glancing to her right only to see Hannah pushing through the space between her side and the door frame.

A smile spread across Mac's lips when he saw the curious girl peek from the door. She quickly looked up at Lindsay before running to Mac's desk.

"I'm Hannah, and you're Mr Taylor, right?" Hannah proclaimed.

"Nice to meet you Hannah but I go by Mac."

"Well, mom and Aunt Linds told me to behave so…"

"I see," Mac replied, trying to hide his amusement.

"So are you busy?" Hannah asked, causing Lindsay to laugh behind her. She decided to ignore it.

"I am a little. Why do you ask?" Mac inquired in puzzlement.

"Because she said we shouldn't bother you for a long time because you're probably busy and… well, you are and now we're gonna leave and I don't want to…" Hannah complained, causing Lindsay to almost roll her eyes at the drama.

"And I'm sticking to what I said. I think it's time we go and leave Mac to do his job."

"Aaw… Fine." Hannah complied, albeit reluctantly. "Will I get my ice cream now?" she asked hopefully.

"That was the agreement, was it not?"

"Then let's go!"

"OK then, bye Mac!" Lindsay said with a smile.

"Bye Mr. Mac!"

"Bye," Mac said in return and with a quiet chuckle turned his attention back to work.

With Hannah practically running to get to the ice cream faster, it didn't take long before the duo was enjoying their rightful desserts.

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That's it for now! I'm eager to hear what you thought of this. :) I have a lot of stuff planned but I'm open for suggestions, so keep them coming!