A/N: I enjoyed this. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 9

"Mac?"

"Yeah?"

"Mac, turn around, please."

"Wha-" he began.

Slap!

Mac blinked as he felt the sting of the impact from Randi's gloves. He raised a hand to his face and stared in confusion and shock at Randi. She had just slapped him with her soft leather gloves and now she had her hands on her hips, coat pushed back, tapping one heeled foot against the lab linoleum floor, and was glaring at him. She wore a lady's wool Victorian vintage frock coat in dark blue, a lady's 49er velvet and burgundy paisley-print vest, white 1880's wing tip men's shirt, black shoestring tie, and tan saddle pants. Granny boots were on her feet, a black 1800's gambler's hat on her head, and soft leather gloves, the same gloves that had just struck Mac's face, were in her hands. Her workbag sat near her feet. Aside from her bag, she looked like she'd just stepped out of Lonesome Dove or Deadwood or any other western movie or show. All she was missing was a gun belt and a pair of six-shooters.

"I knew you were smart but I didn't know you had a PhD in behaving like a jackass," she said.

"What did I do this time?" he asked.

"It's late, Mac, very late, in case you haven't looked at the clock lately," she said. "I've been told by a very reliable source that you've been busting your ass off on this murder case for damn near forty-eight hours straight." She didn't tell him that the source had been one Lindsey Monroe who had just finished griping to her about Mac's behavior in the breakroom, where she'd stopped to grab a cup of coffee before heading home for the night. Glad for a sympathetic ear on Randi's part, Lindsey had vented and Randi had offered to step in provided Lindsey looked after Fabio while she did it, an offer Lindsey had gladly taken her up on. That had resulted in Randi slapping Mac with her gloves the moment he'd turned around to face her. It hadn't been a hard slap, just enough to get his attention.

"Yes, so?" Mac snapped.

"So, I hate to break it to ya, sweetie, but you are not gonna catch this guy on fumes. What's going to happen is you're going to start making mistakes and those mistakes are going to cost you," she shot back.

Mac opened his mouth but before he could speak, Randi gently placed one finger on his mouth, silencing him. She reached behind him and hooked a lab stool with her foot and pulled it towards him. Then she shoved him down and gently began massaging his shoulders.

"Mac, you have excellent people and they are working just as hard as you to catch Mr. Twinkle-toes before he strikes again, but you are not going to catch him tonight. You and the others need rest, you especially," she said gently. "Put the case aside and come back tomorrow morning with a clear head." She tugged his head so he now rested against her stomach and gently rubbed his head. "You know I'm right."

He sighed tiredly. He hated to admit it, but Randi was right. He was dead tired and pushing everyone, including himself just a bit too hard. Rest, and then they could attack the case in the morning with fresh eyes. He just hoped he could make it home in one piece since he was so tired he was starting to see double. The couch in his office was looking mighty tempting.

"C'mon, sweetie, we're going home," she said. He nodded, deciding he would take a cab home rather than risk trying to drive as tired as he was.

Randi dragged him out of the lab, snagged Fabio's leash from Lindsey and said to her, Danny, Sheldon, and Stella, who had wisely vacated the lab when Randi had entered, "Go home, guys. I'm taking this lunk-head home for the night."

"Watch the insults!" Mac protested.

Randi just looked at him and said, "Bite me." She let him stop by his office long enough to get his coat and tie, and then she swiped his keys.

"I thought you didn't drive," Mac said as she herded him towards his car.

"I don't own a car, Mac, but that doesn't mean I don't keep my driver's license up-to-date and that also doesn't mean I don't keep my insurance up-to-date. I do drive once in a while. I just prefer not to when I'm in the city," she shot back as she buckled him into the passenger seat of the car before buckling Fabio in the backseat.

Mac sighed tiredly; he really didn't feel like arguing with Randi right now. As Randi made her way through the city, he found himself dozing off in the passenger seat. He only woke up when Randi finally parked.

"Randi, why are we at your place?" he asked, staring at the familiar building that was Randi's home.

"Because I don't trust you to try and attack that case before six a.m. So, if you're at my place, I can at least guarantee that you'll get some rest," she replied. She looked at him and smiled. "Trust me, I'm not gonna jump your bones tonight so you're perfectly safe with me." She got out of the car as he unbuckled himself and got himself out and watched as she got Fabio out. "Besides, consider yourself honored. I let very few guys ever stay at my place. You're the major exception."

He chuckled as she led him up the stairs to the building. It took less than a few minutes to get to Randi's apartment, which was on the fourth floor of a very nice building complete with elevator.

Randi's apartment turned out to be just like Randi, eccentric. Outside her apartment was a small red stone Feng Shui lion guarding the door. Inside, colorful fabrics and prints decorated the windows and walls, furniture and knick-knacks from various time periods were all over the place. Mac even spotted what looked like a set of swords neatly arranged on the wall, the blades gleaming in the light. She had a basic entertainment system, complete with a recordable DVD player but it didn't look like she spent too much time in front of the TV.

The kitchen, living room, and dining room all opened up to each other and a hallway lead to Randi's bedroom and bathroom. It was a small, simple apartment but for Mac, it was cozy, which was the only word he could really find to describe the place. It was like the place was inviting him to come in, sit down, and put his feet up, maybe even doze for a bit. And that was exactly what he wanted to do.

After removing his outer coat and jacket and hanging them on a polished cherry wood coat tree, Randi gently shoved Mac towards her bedroom. Her bed turned out to be a king-size four-poster bed made of a dark solid wood and decorated with colorful blankets. A dress dummy stood off to one corner covered in various fabrics and hats. Even Randi's mirror had fabrics draped around it. Her closet was shut but he wouldn't be surprised if he found more eye-popping colors and fabrics. Fabio had a bed-basket in the corner of the room and, after being released from his harness, snuffled over to the basket, crawled in, curled up, and promptly went to sleep.

There was something about her bed, though, that made Mac want to simply sink down into the apparent softness of it and just sleep for a very long time. In fact, before he was even aware of it, Randi was removing his dress shirt and undershirt. She didn't go after his pants but she did reach into one drawer and pull out a pair of men's soft flannel pajama pants, which she tossed to him with a smile before vanishing to the bathroom. Chuckling, he changed into the pants, which were surprisingly comfortable, placed his cell on the table beside the bed, and crawled between the covers of the bed.

He'd been wrong; the bed was way more comfortable than it had originally looked. He was nearly in Dreamland when Randi finally came back. She snapped off the bedroom light and crawled in to bed beside him, placing her cell phone beside the bed for easy reach. She snuggled up to him and, to his surprise, found she was wearing cotton shorts and shirt.

She chuckled as she felt his hands exploring her and said, "Go to sleep, Mac. Time for hanky-panky at a later date."

He chuckled and relaxed. Within moments, he was asleep.

The next morning Mac apologized to his friends for his behavior, an apology they accepted. Lindsey only had one question.

"What was Randi's place like?" she asked, curious.

Mac smiled, remembering how it felt to wake up with Randi in his arms. She always looked good during the day, but in the light of the morning, with no make-up on and her hair tousled, she had looked downright desirable. He'd had a hell of a fight with himself not to make love to her right there and then. "Like Randi," was all he said.

"I hear you have Randi Wilcox doing an appraisal here," insurance investigator Steve Yu said later as he and Mac studied a possible fraud case.

"Yes, we do," Mac said. "You know her?"

"Eccentric style of dress, walking whirl-wind some days, but she knows her stuff," Steve said.

Mac chuckled. "Yup, that's Randi."

"Really wish we could get her on this case but I asked Jason Hodges about that and he said something about budget restrictions."

"She's done fraud cases before?"

"Several. She's got a real bad thing about people who try to pass off knock-off's as the good stuff. Her work's led to several arrests."

Mac smiled. "In that case, let's go talk to Randi."

"What about Hodges?"

"What about him?"

Steve grinned.

"Got a minute, Randi?" Mac asked Randi. They had found her in the storage room that had become her temporary office. She was working on her final appraisal report and her shoes were off with one foot absently rubbing Fabio's tummy.

"Always," she replied, looking up from her laptop. "Hi Steve. You kick anybody's butt lately?"

"Only in my dreams, girl, only in my dreams," Steve replied, grinning.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?" Randi asked.

"Can you recommend an appraiser who works relatively cheap?" Mac asked. "We've got a possible fraud case on our hands but Hodges is saying we can't ask you because of budget restrictions."

"He did, huh? Lemme have a look," she replied, doing a "give" gesture. He gave her the file, barely concealing a smile. She flipped through the papers and her eyebrows went up. "Vandersteen? As in Byron T. Vandersteen the Third?"

"You know him?" Mac asked.

"Mac, I've been trying to bring this guy down since he showed up," Randi replied, using her hand to emphasise.

"Now's your chance," Steve said.

"Your mom still make those little flower cookies?" she asked him.

Steve grinned. "I'll tell her to expect you tomorrow."

"Goody. Where's the stuff being held?"

"In one of the labs," Mac said.

Randi looked down at her dog and said, "Sorry, Fab, but it looks like it's Doggy Day Care and Nyanya again for you." Fabio just yawned.

"But what about Hodges?" Mac asked.

"What about him? For a case like this, I work cheap."

"How cheap?"

"Keep the coffee pot filled and lend me the name of a trace lab tech I can bully once in a while when I need a chemical analysis done."

"Done."

Randi studied the file gleefully. "Stewie's gonna be pissed off but I don't care!" she said in a sing-song voice. "Give me an hour to boot Fabio over to Nyanya and then I'll get to work on this."

"We'll be waiting," Mac said, smiling.

"Boss is going to be happy," Steve said, grinning as he left the room.

"Thanks, Randi. I really appreciate this," Mac said.

She smiled and held out her hand, which he took. She then tugged him towards her and pulled him down for a kiss. "Anything for you."

He smiled back and gently touched her face affectionately before leaving the room.

"Oh, Mac?"

"Yeah?"

"You were very comfortable to sleep next to."

He chuckled. "So were you," he replied.