A/N: sorry so long on the up-date, thanks for all the encoragement. My muse decided to go for a walk and left me high and dry. Mind you, working a fourteen day work-shift didn't exactly help matters much. Anyway...

Chapter 19

Mac was nervous. He was standing in front of Randi's apartment door and he was nervous. He was a former Marine who had seen his fair share of combat, a veteran New York City cop who'd seen the worst humanity had to give, who had recently faced down a schizophrenic bomber and who had been involved in an explosion set off by that very same bomber. That same explosion had seriously injured Flack and if Mac hadn't literally gotten blood on his hands by plunging his hands into Flack's insides and tying off several bleeders, Flack would have bleed to death. He'd faced all that head-on with the same courage that had always gotten him by.

And now Mac was about to go head-on with the woman he loved and he was nervous.

Because she holds your heart in your hands, he admitted. And you guard that heart pretty closely, especially after Claire.

Taking a deep breath, Mac inserted the key into the lock and opened the door, not sure what to expect but prepared for anything.

Randi wasn't in the living room or the kitchen.

"Randi?" he called, shutting the door behind him. He spotted two twenty-dollar bills on the table beside the door where he knew Randi kept her keys.

Cautiously, he moved down the hall to where the bedroom and bathroom were, he knew. The bathroom door was shut and steam was rolling out from under the door crack. He could smell a familiar fruity scent he recognized from having smelled it in Randi's hair on several occasions. It sounded and looked like Randi was having a shower. In her bedroom, he spotted a pair of men's flannel pajamas laid out on the bed and her clothes from earlier that day either in the laundry hamper or hanging on the dress dummy.

One thing Mac knew about Randi was that, despite her whirlwind personality, she was actually a pretty tidy person.

A moment later, the bathroom door opened and Randi stepped out amid fruit-smelling steam. She had a towel wrapped around her and was using another towel to dry her hair.

"Oh! Hi! I thought I heard you calling me," Randi said cheerfully. "Make yourself at home and help yourself to the coffee. There's some cash on the table for the delivery boy if he shows up while I'm getting dressed." She either didn't seem to notice or care that she was standing in front of him in nothing but a large towel, water dripping down her back. She vanished in to the bedroom, leaving him standing there with his jaw hanging open.

Deciding it would be best to play along for now, Mac went back in to the living room and took off his shoes and hung up his coat. Fabio waddled over to him and plopped himself at his feet.

"Hey Fab, how you doing, bud?" he asked, reaching down and scratching the dog behind the ears like he knew he liked.

Concerned about Fabio's size, Mac and Randi had once discussed his health. It turned out Randi took Fabio for regular vet checks and had him on a pretty healthy dog diet and he got plenty of exercise. Fabio was simply a big dog that was a mixture of both Basset Hound and Bulldog. The end result was short legs, wide body, short tail, extra long ears, and a punched-in nose. To quote Randi, Fabio wasn't fat; he was simply built like a football player.

Satisfied with the attention, Fabio wandered over to a cushion at the base of the couch and flopped down for a snooze. Mac went to the kitchen and helped himself to a cup of coffee, still fresh and steaming hot. A moment later, someone knocked on the door and he went over to it. An Asian teenage boy stood outside, holding a large bag that smelled of food. Mac's stomach grumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten recently.

Opening the door, Mac paid the boy and accepted the bag. Curious, he looked inside. Chinese food.

"Ooh, dinner," Randi said, coming into the living room. Mac's eyebrows shot up. She was wearing the large men's flannel pajamas, was barefoot and her hair down, and she looked adorable. "Should be some stir-fried chicken rice in there, which I remember you telling me you liked. I also got some sweet and sour pork," she said, watching as he set the bag on the counter and started taking out items.

There were egg rolls, pineapple chicken balls, shrimp and beef fried rice, deep-fried shrimp, green onion cake, pineapple sweet and sour pork, and beef with vegetables, all items Mac either liked or knew Randi liked, having once gone to a Chinese restaurant with her once.

She handed him some plates and a fork for him, since she knew how to use chopsticks and he still had trouble with them. "Serve yourself," she said, handing him spoons so he could serve himself.

Before he did though, he faced her and gently trapped her against the counter, putting a hand on either side of her. "Randi, what are you doing this for?" he asked.

She went scarlet and looked down, suddenly not looking so sure of herself. "I guess I'm trying to apologize for what I said last time, when we had our disagreement. I've had time to think about a few things and I understand what you tried to do now. I'm sorry," she said. "I've got some major issues with control that I've got to try and work out."

Mac gently lifted her chin up so she was looking up at him and he said, "Randi, I don't want to control you, I want to help you, if I can."

"I know that, now, and I understand. Candy said that we both have our weaknesses and our strengths. My weakness is my family. I've constantly struggled against them. Always been the black sheep of the family and felt like I could never stand up to them. Your strength is that you're not afraid of my family," Randi said. He smiled at that. "But your weakness is that you sometimes get a bit too involved in your cases, like the case with that killer who went after his former girlfriends. I had to slap you with my gloves to get you to take a break." He nodded, remembering. "Candy said my strength was that I wasn't afraid of you and had no problems with calling you on your behavior." He smiled at that. "What I'm trying to say is I'm going to try and learn to trust you a bit more. I want you in my life, Mac, a lot. I'm just too used to doing things on my own, dealing with my own problems, letting people lean on me. Sometimes I forget that it's okay for me to lean on someone once in a while."

"I know how you feel," he said, giving in to temptation and stroking the soft skin of her face. "I've spent too many years being a cop, being a leader, the one people come to with their problems and I've gotten so used to being able to fix those problems that I forget it's different when you're involved in a relationship. The guidelines are different. I admit, I should have spoken to you first before going to see your parents and in the future, I'll talk to you then talk to your parents or your sister. The only time I won't is if they come to me first but you will know what happens. I promise."

She smiled and, tentatively at first, her arms slipped around him. He wrapped his arms around her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before kissing her in a kiss that spoke volumes.

"I'm glad you came," she admitted. "Stupid as it sounds, I've missed you."

He chuckled. "I've missed you too. You drive me crazy but you keep things interesting. Now, as much as I am reluctant to let you go, we need to eat."

They served themselves and headed for the couch. Randi had the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the extended version and Mac confessed to having seen the movies but not the extended versions. Randi's response was to place the first of two discs from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring in the DVD player and hit the play button. After they'd eaten, they had desert, which turned out to be Ambrosia salad from Safeway, something Mac had never tried before and taken an instant liking to. After Randi had placed their dishes in the sink and tidied up the kitchen with Mac's help (he insisted), they had cuddled on the couch under a blanket, Fabio making himself popular by snuggling at their feet and serving as a living foot warmer.

Through the movie, they had talked. Both determined to make the relationship stronger, they covered topics that needed to be covered, like what they wanted from a relationship. They discussed their fears and their previous relationships. Mac even told Randi about Claire. Surprisingly enough, Randi didn't get jealous of his deceased wife. Instead, she understood that he had once loved her and part of him always would. Her belief was every love was different. Mac had loved Claire one way and she knew he loved her another way. Whoever said that there was only one true love in a person's lifetime was either not fortunate enough to having had a chance to love twice or seriously depressed or, worse, very pessimistic. Mac had laughed at that.

Randi had told him what Stewart was up to and what Paul had said earlier that afternoon when she'd gone to see him to discuss their options, which hadn't been very good. Paul had suggested that Randi get a list of character references that might help strengthen their case and turn things against Stewart. That was where Mac reminded her of something.

"Well, if you ever need character references, don't forget, you've got over a dozen cops who saw the last confrontation between you and Stewart. A lot of people heard him threaten you," he reminded her.

Her eyebrows shot up. "That's right, I remember. That's why I staged the whole the way I did, so there would be witnesses in case things got nasty. I forgot, judges love cops."

"They do indeed, especially when those cops are serving as positive character references."

She smiled. "Would you mind…."

"I'll let a few things slip with Flack and the others and let them take it from there," he said, grinning as he stroked her hair. Word would go around like wildfire. Sometimes the precinct grapevine did have its advantages.

She grinned back, enjoying his touch.

This is the way it's supposed to be, he thought, feeling warm and content. I've got a beautiful, warm, giving woman in my arms whom I'm rapidly falling in love with, I'm comfortable, I've got nothing nagging at me on my desk, yeah, life is good right now.

"Will you stay the night?" Randi asked halfway through Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. "I've got a men's shirt in my closet that would fit you if you need a clean shirt for tomorrow. And I've still got those sleep pants you wore last time you were here."

"I can do that," he said, smiling.

She smiled back. All was right in her world. Things would be okay, she knew. She owed both Candy and Angel a major thank-you for their kindness, friendship, and support. Right now, though, she was content to simply enjoy Mac's company and his arms.

Yeah, my world may not be perfect, but it's a long way from being a mess, she thought, smiling contentedly.