Hi guys! Thank you for all the reviews! You're the best!

Just like the recent ones, this chapter has not been beta read either.

I know I left you with a cliffhanger last time but here is what happened afterwards, hope you like it :)

Oh, and I have gotten a few PMs hoping for a baby. I'm not sure about it because there are a few nice stories with Lindsay and Mac and babies. But if you guys really want it, I'll write it in. So, any thoughts on this? Any comment is welcome and appreciated!

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CHAPTER 19 – Of Recovery and Getting Rooms

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This was all wrong. It was all upside down and facing the wrong way. Everything had been perfect only a few hours ago but now… Lindsay wasn't coping all too well and she knew it. One moment she was sitting lumped in a plastic hospital chair, not able to move, and the next she was pacing the seemingly deserted hallway back and forth. Her insides were doing unwanted somersaults and her head was spinning. The reason was obvious.

She loved Mac.

And he loved her.

It was a fact that they both acknowledged. Now that love was put into the test, a stupid, useless, arbitrary test that made her blood boil. Mac's pain struck face made another appearance in her mind.

'God, his is all wrong…' Lindsay thought as she sat down once again.

She closed her eyes and ran her sweaty palms over her face, noticing the moisture around her eyes. She hadn't even realized that she had been crying.

"Lindsay."

She felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"Stella," she said and her eyes travelled to meet hers.

"Mac will be ok. He's tough," Stella said as she sat down to the chair next to Lindsay's.

"That's what I try to keep telling myself," Lindsay said with a faint, weak smile.

"The others are working on the case, though we still don't quite know why it all took place the way it did."

"And the man who…" Lindsay said trailing off.

"Sid's doing the autopsy."

She knew the shooter had died instantly when the officers had fired at him. Danny and Hawkes had stopped by the hospital right after Mac had been taken into surgery after which they had left. She had thought of going to the lab to help but had decided it might not have been the greatest idea. Her heart would be here in the hospital along with her mind.

The two women sat together for a while before Stella rose up.

"I have to get going, but I'll stop by later, ok?"

"Yeah, and thanks," Lindsay offered.

"Call me if anything comes up."

"I will," Lindsay promised.

After Stella was out of sight, Lindsay found her way to one of the vending machines. She felt her pockets for any loose coins and found a few. After inserting the coins she grabbed her beverage.

Half an hour later she discarded the empty plastic bottle into a trash can just as the doctor that had operated on Mac walked in. She studied his face for any clues as to what she should expect.

"Miss Monroe," he said calmly. "We managed to stabilize Mr Taylor. The bullet was successfully removed and we're hoping for a full recovery," he continued.

Lindsay felt tears of relief run down her cheeks. "Thank you," she cried. "Can I see him?"

"He is in recovery. You can go in for a while if you want to."

Lindsay nodded and headed in the direction the doctor was pointing at.

When she cracked open the door her eyes found Mac immediately. His face was pale and there were all sorts of tubes and wires but otherwise it looked like he was merely sleeping. She made her way to him and pulled up a chair next to his bed. Sitting down, she placed her hand over Mac's.

The doctor's had moved Mac to a private room a little while ago. Lindsay had spent hours by Mac's bed, only having left to call Stella and the rest of the team. They had decided to give Lindsay some privacy and not come by in person until the next day. They had sent plenty of regards though.

Mac stirred slightly and tried to open his eyes. It felt like someone was deliberately prohibiting it. After a few more attempts he found himself trying to focus his gaze. He registered the warm feeling he had come to know so well and he looked the smiling form of Lindsay next to him. He couldn't help but notice how worn she looked with the watery eyes but he could not have been happier to find her there.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," Mac answered gruffly as he tried to find his voice.

"How bad does it feel?" Lindsay asked.

"I'll live. I think…" Mac said, eyeing the bandages on his left shoulder.

"You'd better," Lindsay said and gently hugged him, careful not to hurt him. She placed a soft kiss on his forehead and ran her fingers through his short, ruffled hair. "I don't want any more death scares."

"So I'll be fine?" he asked slightly bemused.

"Yeah," Lindsay retorted. "Now get some rest."

Lindsay squeezed Mac's hand and he returned the gesture as firmly as he could. She watched as he drifted off back into sleep. Her heart felt lighter and she knew it would all be alright after all. It was amazing how much could happen in a mere 24 hours.

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Mac was propped up on his hospital bed, going through some papers he had requested. They were documents about the shoot out. It had taken some time but everything had cleared up eventually. There hadn't been much to it, like everyone had suspected. The shooter, a newbie to the drug scene, had gone to the warehouse to find a batch of drugs that had gone awry. Unbeknownst to him the CSIs had shown up and under the pressure he had freaked out, for the lack of a better word. Mac had conflicting feelings about the whole thing. On one hand a young man, who probably wasn't even near bad to the bone, had lost his life. On the other, he had shot him. He probably hadn't tried to kill him but it had been too damn close.

Mac was brought back from his thoughts when Lindsay cleared her throat. She was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Didn't we have some sort of a conversation about working here?"

"Today doesn't count. The doctor's gonna have one more look at my shoulder and then I'm outta here," Mac said in his defence.

Lindsay rolled her eyes and walked up to the window blinds. She opened them in order to let the sunlight in and stared at the world outside. Mac admired her silhouette for a while. He could practically see the wheels turning inside her head. He wondered what she was thinking about and set the papers on the table beside him, cringing as the uncomfortable movement stretched his wound painfully. Returning his gaze to Lindsay he let his mid wander as well. The woman meant everything to him these days and it was time to do something about it.

"I think we should move in together," he declared out of the blue.

Lindsay was stunned for a moment but quickly recovered. "I like the way you think," she said smiling.

Mac grinned. He had been fairly certain she would agree with him but there had been a chance she would have turned him down in a very awkward manner. It did make sense to move in together – they spent most of their free time together, slept over at each other's place more than frequently and it felt like it was time to take the next step.

Lindsay moved to sit on the bed and pressed her lips against those of Mac. Their lips curved into smiles.

"I love you, you know that right?" Mac said.

"I love you too, you know."

"I know."

Just as their lips collided once again, the gang walked in.

"Whoa! Get a room…" Danny exclaimed dramatically and a grin spread across his face.

"I think they have one. Remember a few weeks back when they came to work late?" Stella offered with a snicker.

Lindsay blushed as memories of that particular morning came rushing to her mind.

"Told ya," Stella said, turning to the guys standing behind her. Hawkes chuckled as the red deepened on Lindsay's face.

"Yes well, life can be good sometimes," Mac said seemingly unaffected by Stella's comment. "So what brings you by?"

"What? We can't just visit you without having an agenda?" Stella asked.

"Because we honestly just decided to stop by after our shift," Danny added.

"In that case… There's something Lindsay and I should tell you…"

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There you have it and it didn't take two months this time! It's a little shorter than usually but I like how it turned out. This also means that this story is nearly complete, probably one or two more chapters.

Once again, thank you my lovely readers! I wouldn't be writing this without you!