Saturday, August 30

1:33 pm Valle Luna, Az.

"Are you sure you're up for this, Mac?" Sergeant Ruiz stood next to her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.

Erin didn't bother to glance over at him. Instead, she kept her eyes forward, focusing on the dark hair of their main suspect. She couldn't see her face from where she stood behind a two way mirror, only the back of her head and the slouched shoulders of the once confident and strongly muscled back.

"I'll be fine." She responded, sounding cold and indifferent. Beyond exhausted, her nerves were strung out and fed up. The fact hadn't escaped her that the very department that had deemed her unfit for duty just a short time ago, was now insisting and counting on her to save their ass. That little thought had eaten at her the entire two hour drive back down from Utopia.

She crossed her arms over her chest as the resentment rose up to bite at her throat.

"I don't know if it's such a good idea." Henderson stated from behind. "Why does it have to be Mac.?" The idea of Mac in the room alone with Elizabeth Adams left her feeling uneasy. Even though she knew that they would be right next door looking in and listening, it still bothered her. She knew she no longer had a say as to what happened in the department. But she had insisted on coming in with Mac anyway, wanting to be there for her, to offer her moral support. Ruiz glanced her way, and she knew he was considering her statement. But she also knew that she couldn't fight him too much, her presence there was now a polite courtesy.

"We don't have much choice." Ruiz said, pushing his wire rim glasses back further on his nose.

"Tell me why." Erin countered in her cold voice, unafraid and uncaring for the first time in years. She felt almost completely disconnected from her body. Like she was a balloon floating high above her physical form.

"Up until a few hours ago," Ruiz explained. "Adams was cooperating with us. She came in willingly and she answered most of our questions. But when we asked about the night of the shooting she clammed up. And when we pressed her, she lawyered up and said she would talk, but only to Mac."

"Where's her attorney now?" Erin asked, finding it hard to believe that Adams had cooperated at all.

"She left about an hour ago, but she said she would return shortly." Detective Sinclair answered. Up until that moment the new detective had been relatively silent, an unobtrusive observer.

"Does Adams know I'm here?" Erin uncrossed her arms and moved towards the door.

"Yes. She's been waiting for you." Ruiz responded.

Just then, three of Erin's other colleagues entered the room. Jeff Hernandez gave her a warm, sincere smile of encouragement while Detective Stewart merely glanced her way and then coughed in his wheezy manner as he walked past her into the room. Erin moved her gaze beyond the unsettling sight of Stewart to Gary Jacobs who made his way quietly to whisper his greetings to his former partner, Patricia Henderson.

In no time, Erin found that she was ignoring their presence, just too damn tired to care. Rather, her focus returned to the dark head of Elizabeth Adams. Breathing in deeply, she grabbed the door knob and said aloud, "Ok then."

She pulled open the door to head inside, when, to her surprise, Henderson moved quickly over to her and pushed the door closed, hindering her advancement.

"Listen, if you get uncomfortable in there…" She started, looking at Erin intensely.

"I'll be fine." Erin said with focused determination.

Henderson looked into her eyes, not quite believing her. But she soon realized she had little choice in the matter. Like it or not, she had to let Mac do this. Holding fast to the focus and strong will she saw in Mac's eyes, she gave her friend a nod of encouragement and moved away from the door.

Erin tried to relax a little as she watched Henderson move from the door to let her question their number one suspect. If Henderson had faith in her, then it must be for good reason. Swallowing back some bitter tasting anxiety, she pulled the door open once again and walked into the room.

She approached Adams from behind, walking slowly and carefully, trying to get control of her quickly escalating heart rate. The dark haired woman didn't bother to turn around to see who was entering. Erin watched with curiosity as the woman quietly remained seated at the small table, staring straight ahead.

"Ms. Adams." Erin acknowledged in her best professional tone as she walked past her to round the table, not yet ready to meet her eyes. The memory of the hypnotizing and alluring blue eyes was one that was very fresh in her mind. So much so, that she was afraid to look into them, too frightened of getting lost in them like she had before.

Willing her nerves to calm, she did the first routine thing that came to mind. She reached down to pull out a chair across from the silent woman. But before she sat down she finally managed to look up and over at the dark woman's face. And in an instant, a powerful shock shot through her body as her mind began to flash like lightning behind her eyes.

"Hello Mrs. Mackenzie." Adams responded in her sexy, deep voice as her eyes met the green ones of the young woman across from her.

Erin stood riveted, her hand clutching the back of the chair so hard her knuckles whitened with restricted blood flow. As the strikingly handsome face and deep voice permeated into her head, the night of the shooting ricocheted through her mind, replaying like a movie in fast forward motion.

She saw the evil dark haired woman trying to kill her. Flash. She saw Adams step in the room. Flash. And in an instant, she saw Adams try to wrestle the gun from the woman with the evil laugh. Flash. Stifling the shot, saving her life. Flash.

She blinked and swayed against the chair as deep red blood stained her savior's shirt in her mind. She opened her eyes wide and let reality seep into her pupils with the bright lights of the interrogation room. Adams had been shot. Shot saving her life.

"Something's wrong." Henderson said in a panic from behind the two way mirror as she watched the blood drain from Mac's face. She moved to the door as Erin swayed like she was about to faint.

"It…you were there." Erin said, blinking and quickly refocusing on reality. The rush of memories left her feeling overwhelmed and slightly dizzy. But surprisingly, she also felt incredibly free. She was no longer a prisoner in her own mind.

"What do you mean?" Adams asked, rising from her chair, alerted by the far off look on the young detective's face.

"Mac, are you ok?" Henderson asked, taking a few hurried steps into the room. Jeff Hernandez stood close behind her, eyeing Mac with a worried expression.

Erin snapped her head up to look at Henderson and held her gaze. "I…" She glanced back down at Adams and noted the haunted look in the once piercing blue eyes. "I remember now." She said as she met Henderson's concerned eyes once again. "I can remember everything."

Henderson exhaled deeply with relief. "Are you ok to continue then?"

Erin shook her head, reassuring her two friends and then pulled the chair out all the way to sit down. Henderson backed out of the room, her eyes boring a hole in the back of Adam's dark mane. Jeff followed close behind and shut the door behind them.

Adams returned to her seat slowly, all the while feeling the heat of Henderson's hatred on her back. She hadn't bothered to turn to look at the detective, her own attention focused solely on the young blonde who had looked very close to fainting.

"Now, where should we begin?" Erin asked, looking at the dark woman thoroughly for the first time. She was surprised to see how pale and drawn her statuesque face now appeared. The dark night club owner looked as tired as she did, and even a little weak.

Adams folded her hands on the table and tried to sit up straighter. She took in the young blondes face, noting her exhaustion and the deep dark smudges under her once bright eyes.

"What did you mean when you said you remembered now?" Adams asked, her brow furrowing in question.

Erin licked her dry lips, her skin burning suddenly in response to Adams' stare. Regardless of how tired and weak she now looked, the dark woman was still devastatingly beautiful.

"I…" She started, the words difficult to find. She had to look away from the incredible blue eyes in order to concentrate. "Up until just now, I had a hard time remembering the events of the night of the shooting."

The words came out slowly and they had a hard time penetrating her tired brain. The dark woman's eyes remained focused on the beautiful face before her, desperate to make sense of the words the blonde had just spoken.

"You mean, all this time…you just didn't remember?" She finally managed to ask. Her heart hammered in her chest as realization finally sunk in.

Erin shook her head slowly. "That's correct." She said softly. She watched as the blue eyes drifted down from her own to the table between them. Adams looked shocked and the little color in her face seemed to drain down into her neck.

"I see." Adams said softly as her insides felt suddenly sick. All this time she had thought that Erin had kept her secret out of respect for her, or maybe even because the young blonde had harbored feelings for her. But it wasn't like that at all. Erin Mackenzie had kept her secret alright, but only because she couldn't remember it.

Hurt beyond her wildest dreams, she clenched her jaw in silent frustration and pain. Never before had someone had the capacity to hurt her. Somehow, someway, this young detective had that power and she hated herself for it.

"I've been told that you wanted to speak to me." Erin continued, suddenly very curious as to what the dark woman wanted with her. Her insides fluttered with excited butterflies as several ludicrous and impossible scenarios played out in her mind. It was ridiculous to think that the beautiful and mysteriously aloof woman wanted anything to do with her. But, nevertheless, she allowed the pleasant thoughts to continue to flutter throughout her insides.

Adams looked back up at her and removed her hands from the table.

"I did, yes." She said, her voice lowered back to its guarded tone. "But now it seems that I have nothing else to say."

"Oh?" Erin asked, a little surprised and very disappointed.

Adams looked away from her then, the hurt too much.

"Let's talk about the night of the shooting." Erin said, as the cop in her tried to refocus, burying her fluttering excitement under the weight of reality.

"Let's not." Adams stated with conviction in her tone.

Erin stared into the striking face, wondering what it was that bothered Adams so.

"We have a lot to discuss Ms. Adams. For instance, my fellow detectives already know that you were present at Detective Henderson's the night of the shooting." She continued to eye her as she pressed onward. "Your blood was on the carpet."

Adams didn't respond. She merely stared past the young detective, thinking that she needed to speak to her lawyer again and soon.

"And now I know why." Erin declared with swelling pride and relief. "You weren't there to kill me or to kill Henderson."

Adams returned her gaze back on the young detective.

"You were there to stop the real killer."

Adams stared into the green eyes as her heart began to pound once again.

"If…" Adams started, her voice held low and deep. "If you remember as much as you say you do, then you'll end this conversation right now."

Erin's head snapped back slightly as if she had been physically struck. Her eyes were held steady in the penetrating gaze of Elizabeth Adams as another image replayed in her mind. She remembered the words spoken by a strained Adams as she fought to hold onto the blood which had been seeping steadily from her injured shoulder.

"Your request." Erin whispered aloud as she remembered the plea to keep quiet. The mysterious dark woman with the familiar eyes and evil laugh had been Adam's own sister. Of course. It all made so much sense to her now.

The dark woman moved quickly and reached across the table to hold Erin's hand. The door to the room behind the two way mirror flung open as Henderson and Sinclair came rushing into the room. Erin held up her free hand to halt their pursuit.

"It's ok, guys. We're fine." She said, glancing at them only briefly before returning her gaze upon the blue eyes.

"She shouldn't be touching you." Sinclair said as adrenaline burned in her light brown eyes.

Erin shook her head reluctantly and removed her hand out from underneath the stronger woman's. The heat from her touch was almost too much to bear anyhow. Besides, how would she explain to her fellow detectives the reason for melting under a suspect's touch?

"We're fine, guys." Erin said again and watched as the two female detectives finally returned to the observation room behind the mirror.

"Mrs. Mackenzie." Adams started, as she looked at Erin with blue flames burning in her eyes.

"Please, don't call me that." Erin said, cringing at the name. "Call me Erin, or Mac even."

"Erin." Adams said, wanting to grab her hand once again, liking how it had felt beneath her own. But instead, she drew her own hand back and rested it there on the old table.

"You remember that I was at Detective Henderson's that night to stop the real killer?"

Erin shook her head in agreement. "Yes." She said. "You saved my life."

"Yes." Adams said softly. "I think then, that you know what it is that I need to discuss with you."

Erin fidgeted a little in her chair. "I'm not sure I…"

"Please." Adams said, once again reaching across the table to envelope her hand. "I know you will."

Erin stared into the fiery blue eyes and allowed the heat from her touch to penetrate into her blood. She knew what Adams wanted. She wanted her silence. She wanted her to promise.

She started to shake her head in protest but Adams squeezed her hand before she could. She looked into the drawn and pale face of the woman who had saved her life. The woman who had fought her own sister and taken a bullet for an undercover cop. The very cop who had invaded her life secretly in order to gain information to peg a serial murder case on her. As she realized all these things, her heart opened up to the troubled woman and her gaze lingered over her beautiful face and rested once again on her exhausted, yet burning blue eyes. There was something there between them. Not just a secret, but something more.

"If I…" Erin started, but then thought better of it. "I have questions." She said as she removed her hand from Adams before causing another excited reaction in her fellow detectives.

Adams shook her head and smiled a tired smile. "I know." She said, in her own way reassuring that they would be answered.

The door opened again and Ruiz motioned for Erin to walk over to where he stood. Erin pushed back from the table and walked over to stand before her superior officer.

"What the hell's going on in here, Mac?" He asked in an excited tone under his breath, not wanting Adams to overhear.

"She's not your killer." Erin stated in a louder tone, looking back to where the dark woman sat.

"Then who the hell is?" He asked as Henderson and Sinclair both watched from the doorway.

Erin sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not totally sure." She said, only half fibbing. She didn't know the name of their killer or even where they might find her. She had to ask Adams these questions, but she knew she couldn't do it here. And if Adams didn't answer them satisfactorily, then she would simply claim that she suddenly remembered the killer's identity and tell her superior. But until then, the department wasn't going to get the information from her. She owed at least that much to Adams for saving her life.

"What? What the hell do you mean you don't remember?" He asked, his temper flaring up. "I thought you said you remembered now."

"I remember Adams saving my life, sir. Jumping in front of the shooter and taking a bullet for me."

"But you don't know who the shooter is?" He asked, his face reddening.

Erin shrugged as she thought. "I remember Blade trying to shoot me sir." She said, knowing that that much was true. Blade had tried to shoot her.

Ruiz threw his hands up in the air and let them fall to slap his thighs.

Her own temper building on fringed and overtired nerves, Erin moved past him to the room where the other detectives stood. Ruiz followed her, closing the door behind him. He started to speak again but Erin wouldn't allow it.

"No," She declared quickly, her voice raised for all to hear. She wasn't about to listen to anything else from anyone. "I'm going to talk now." Ruiz snapped his head up to look at her in surprise.

"Let me get all this straight." Erin said, her voice loud and strained with anger. "First, I go undercover to try and save the department face by getting evidence on the "supposed killer." Then, I live through an attack on my life, leaving Henderson injured and another person dead. Then, I was forced to go on medical leave because I couldn't remember all of the events of the night in question. So, I go off to try to re-cooperate, to try to force my mind to remember, because otherwise, I'm out of a job. In doing so, I've had little to no sleep because the fractured memories of that night keep playing havoc with my mind, driving me closer and closer to insanity. And then, low and behold, out of the blue, you send Jeff and Audrey up to get me because, guess what, the department decides it needs me again. Being the loyal cop that I am, I come along to help out without question, all for the good of the department. And to my surprise, when I get here my memory returns and I'm more than thrilled, I'm ecstatic. Silly me, I actually thought my superior and the department would be just as thrilled as I was to have my memory return. But oh no, as soon as it is clear that my memory doesn't peg your girl, out you come, ready to scream at me because my memory doesn't fit with the case the way you want it to? Well fuck that Ruiz. It's not my fault you wasted time and money chasing the wrong person. Adams is innocent. And not only that but she saved my life." She breathed deeply as she finally finished, her eyes wide with anger, her fists clenched at her sides.

Henderson moved quickly to stand before her, a look of anguish on her face. "She's exhausted." She said, trying to diffuse the explosive situation. She gave Erin a silencing look, wanting her to shut up. Her hands found Erin's shoulders where they squeezed, trying to get her to calm down before she jeopardized herself any further.

Ruiz stood perfectly still, staring at his young detective, not quite believing what he had just heard.

"Where the fuck did that come from?" Stewart let out before he chuckled. "Damn Mac, I think going under as a dyke on this case caused you to grow some big hairy balls."

"That's enough!" Ruiz shouted. "From all of you. Now, I know we're all frustrated…"

"You know, Stewart," Henderson seethed. "I'm sick to death of your sexist and prejudiced remarks."

"ENOUGH!" Ruiz shouted deeply, glaring at all his detectives.

Erin ignored them all and walked over to the two way mirror to look out at Adams. Sinclair had gone into the room to talk to her, to question her some more, while the other detectives remained in the room to bicker at one another.

"How long has she been here?" Erin asked, referring to Adams as she moved past her yelling sergeant.

She opened the door and walked back into the interrogation room giving no one enough time to answer.

"Ms. Adams," Erin said, rounding the table to meet her eyes once again. "How long have you been here?"

Sinclair walked over to meet her, a questioning look in her eyes. Erin ignored her gaze and continued to focus on Adams.

"They brought me in yesterday." She answered calmly.

"You've been here that long?" Furry was quickly turning to hot anger as she looked into the tired and weary face of their innocent main suspect.

Erin turned with Sinclair hot on her heels and headed back into the small observation room. She slammed the door behind them.

"I want her released." She demanded crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't care what you want." Ruiz challenged, the shock of his once soft spoken detective unloading on him now gone. "We aren't finished questioning her."

Erin knew that it was standard procedure to keep a suspect for hours of questioning. It was one of the ways in which they wore them down. But keeping an innocent woman overnight with little to no rest was ridiculous and Ruiz knew it. He just wasn't ready to let her go, to let go of the suspect he had spent countless hours pursuing.

"Well, you may not be finished, but I guarantee you she's finished with you. You have no grounds to keep her and you know it. She knows it too."

"It's not up to you or anyone to decide when we are finished with a suspect." He countered, his eyes boring into her with anger.

"I would agree with the exception of one tiny little thing." She moved back to the door and yanked it open. "She's no longer a suspect." With that, she walked hurriedly back into the interrogation room and faced Elizabeth Adams.

"Ms. Adams?" She asked, waiting for the intense blue eyes to once again focus on her. When they did, she continued. "I just came back in to let you know that I was finished questioning you." She looked up hastily as she heard the door open. Ruiz stood with his arms crossed, glaring at her.

"And, well…" Erin said, looking back down at Adams. "I wanted to offer you my most sincere thanks for saving my life." She extended her hand to the dark woman who stood slowly and then took the hand in her own.

They held each others eyes for a long moment while their hands meshed with warmth.

"You're welcome, detective." Adams finally said with a sincere smile.

"Perhaps we can meet up at a later time." Erin offered. "I would love to buy you dinner sometime as a gesture of my appreciation."

Adams nodded, still holding her gaze. "That sounds nice. I look forward to it."

Erin smiled back at her, and finally let her hand fall from the taller woman's. Her insides immediately screamed at the break in contact.

"Until later then." Erin said as moved to the door that led out of the interrogation room and into the main department. She could feel Ruiz's heated stare on her back, but she didn't turn to look. She was fed up and exhausted and she knew if she didn't get away she would pull her own hair out by the roots.

Back in the interrogation room, Adams turned as she heard the small man approach her from behind.

"Ms. Adams, if you wouldn't mind, we have some more questions."

She clenched her jaw and turned to face him. She could have easily bench pressed the slight and slender man and he was lucky her patience had held out this long.

"I do mind." She seethed.

"I can assure you, it won't take long…" He tried again as he made his way to the chair Erin had just recently sat in.

"I've been here long enough." She said as she shoved her own chair back into the table with force.

A little panicked, Ruiz immediately stood back up from his very brief sit to hold his palms in the air, a lame attempt to calm Elizabeth Adams.

"Now, Ms. Adams…" He said, as he watched her move towards the very door Erin Mackenzie had just walked out of.

"You can direct any future questions to my attorney." She said without looking back just before she slammed the door closed behind her.

"Damn it!" Ruiz yelled, slamming his fist down on the table. Detectives Sinclair and Henderson made their way hurriedly into the room.

"Do you want me to go apprehend her?" Sinclair asked.

"Who? Mac? Hell yes!"

"Adams sir." Sinclair specified a little more softly.

Ruiz began to pace the small room, his fury fueling his small frame. "No." He finally said, shaking his head. "We can't hold her."

"If I may," Henderson said, still feeling intimidated by Ruiz even though he was no longer her superior. "Mac's been under a tremendous amount of stress lately. She hasn't been sleeping, she's had countless nightmares…"

"I know." Ruiz said jerking his head up to look at her. "I know how bad off she's been. But it still is no excuse for her odd behavior here today with Adams."

"Actually, I think it's rather plausible." Henderson offered. "She just literally remembered that Adams saved her life. They share that now. That bond will always be there." As she spoke the words aloud, her tone softened almost to a whisper. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that Adams would turn out to be a "good guy" in all of this. But there it was, and it seemed that that was indeed the case after all.

"I don't care if she's saved the world!" Ruiz declared loudly, spitting a little as the words came out. "That woman knows something she's not telling us and Mac all but encouraged her to keep it from us!"

Henderson swallowed hard before she spoke. "I don't think Mac's encouraging her." She didn't know how in the world to explain Mac's strange behavior, but she knew she needed to downplay it to Ruiz or her friend could very well lose her job. "I think she's just overwhelmed right now with her memory returning, with finding out Adams saved her, with all of it."

"She has been through a lot." Sinclair offered up, which was awarded by a "thank you" mouthed by Henderson.

"So what's going on?" Stewart asked as he and the other two remaining dics poured into the room. "Is this circus show over or what?"

"No thanks to Mac it is." Ruiz said.

"That's not true." Henderson said, her frustration with Ruiz growing. "If we had done our jobs better, then you might have what you need on Adams or whoever else. But as it stands, you've got nothing and that's not her fault."

"She's right." Jeff said softly as he and the other male dics filed out of the room and out into the hallway.

"I'm going to do you and this department a favor." Henderson said looking at Ruiz. "I'm going to go after Mac to try and calm her down. You can't afford to lose her." She didn't wait for him to respond. Rather, she walked quickly from the room all the while thinking that she would have to dive deeply back into this case if she ever wanted her own questions answered.

"Hey Henderson, wait up!"

She turned at the sound of her name and waited as Detective Sinclair trotted up to her.

"I thought you might could use some help." Sinclair said as she fell into step alongside Henderson.

Henderson laughed a little, amused by the statement. "After all that, I think a little help would be a lost cause. Between the things Mac said and the things I said…" She shook her head in disbelief as she fell silent.

"Ok, it sounds like you're going to need a lot of help then." Sinclair said with a grin.

Henderson glanced over at the handsome woman at her side, suddenly realizing that she found the eager detective very attractive. The taller woman with the dirty blonde hair carried herself with comfortable confidence and Henderson liked the way she handled herself with the other detectives.

Sinclair turned her head slightly and caught Henderson's eyes with her own light brown ones.

Henderson sucked in a rapid breath of air and looked away quickly, afraid of the warm glowing embers in Sinclair's eyes.

"Something wrong?" Sinclair asked.

Henderson shook her head quickly. "I'm worried about Mac." She said, hoping it would cover the real reason for her sudden reaction.

"I can see why." The other woman said, while placing her hands in her pockets as they walked. "She's had a terrible time."

Henderson shook her head in agreement, realizing that Sinclair didn't even really know Mac, yet she was empathetic to her situation. Something that she knew she would never find in Ruiz or some of the other detectives.

"I need to find her, I need to try to talk to her." Henderson said as they turned down the hallway that would lead to the homicide division, her old stomping ground.

"Do you plan on taking her back up to your place in Utopia?" Sinclair asked.

Henderson turned to look at her once again, surprised by the question, but even more surprised when she realized she had no answer.

"I'm not sure."

"If you need to, feel free to stay at my place."

Henderson stopped walking suddenly and her face reddened as she realized the offer was sincere and purely professional. Sinclair didn't seem to notice.

"I know you two might not have a place to stay, so I thought I should offer."

"Thank you." Henderson said, feeling the warmth from the brown eyes. She smiled at the taller blonde and started walking again, making her way to the ladies room.

"Where are we going?" Sinclair asked, noticing their destination.

"To get Mac." She said, pushing open the door.

………. ………… ………… ………….. …………. …………. ……….. ………

"Pull in here." Erin said from the middle of the seat in Sinclair's full size pick up truck.

The newest member to Valle Luna P.D. did as instructed and slowed her truck to a stop outside of Erin's former residence.

"You want me to go with you?" Henderson asked, a little worried.

"No need." Erin said, sliding across the seat as Henderson got down out of the truck. "Mark said he would leave the keys under the driver's seat." She jumped down from the truck and shaded her eyes to get a look at the large house where she once lived.

"Gee, how nice of him." Henderson remarked with sarcasm.

Erin didn't respond, but instead made her way up the driveway to her BMW sedan. She ran her hand along the car's white paint and pulled open the unlocked door.

"Can I help you?" A female voice called from the front door. With her heart hammering, Erin thought briefly about just jumping in her car and peeling out of the driveway. But she was too tired to be afraid, too tired to be a coward. This was just something else she would have to face.

She stood straighter and looked directly at the pregnant blonde woman who had made her way out of the house. As her eyes studied her, she realized just how far along the woman appeared to be. Her belly was low and rounded, at least six or seven months along. She swallowed back the stinging daggers attacking her throat. The deceit still hurt, regardless if she had feelings for Mark or not.

"I'm here to get my car." Erin replied loud enough for her to hear.

The woman stopped walking and stared like a deer caught in headlights. Erin stood her ground and watched as the woman sized her up, letting her curious gaze travel up and down her body.

"Oh." She replied, a little surprised. Her hand came up and lingered at her chest as if she were slightly perturbed.

"Honey, what's going…" Erin looked past the woman in maternity clothes to see Mark emerge from the house. He was walking slowly, obviously still healing from the knife wounds. When his eyes found her standing by her car, his face too took on quite a surprised and very uncomfortable look.

"Erin." He said more out of surprise than greeting.

"Hello Mark." She said, keeping her voice level and unemotional. "I just came to get my car."

"Of course." He said, giving his pregnant partner a comforting pat on the shoulder.

An unbearable silence ensued and Erin thought about asking Mark how he was feeling, but the pregnant woman was shooting poisonous darts at her with her glare.

"Well, I won't keep you. Looks like you're doing well." She offered with a little wave, before climbing into the car and searching for her keys. Digging down between her legs she finally managed to find them and when she looked back up, Mark and his mistress were gone.

"You ok?" Henderson asked as she approached the driver's side of the BMW.

"Fine." Erin said and then laughed a little hysterically. "I don't know about you but I'm getting out of here before his pregnant attack dog comes back out."

Henderson laughed and shook her head as she closed the door for her. Erin rolled down the window as she started the car.

"No kidding." Henderson said as she leaned on the car while looking at the house. "What a couple of rude assholes. They deserve each other."

"As long as he's happy." Erin said, looking back to the house she once so despised.

"I don't know about that, Mac." Henderson said, thinking how if she were Mark, she would be kicking herself for having taken such an incredible woman like Erin for granted.

She pushed herself away from the BMW and glanced down into the car. "You going to follow us to Sinclair's?" She asked.

"Yeah," Erin said as she put the car in reverse. "I hope she has something strong to drink because I could sure use one."

"She ok?" Sinclair asked as Henderson climbed back into the truck.

"She's been better." Henderson answered, wondering just how much Sinclair really knew about the situation.

"That was her husband?" She asked, as she drove her truck away from the house.

"Ex- husband." Henderson quickly added.

"They split up after he was attacked right?"

"Yes."

"I know I'm new to Valle Luna and this whole case, but doesn't it seem a little too soon after the fact to have a girlfriend who's that many months pregnant?"

Henderson laughed heartily at Sinclair's observation.

"You are very perceptive, Audrey."

"I'm no rocket scientist, but that one seemed a little too strange to ignore."

"Yeah, poor Mac. She really has been through it the past few weeks."

Sinclair exited out of the gated neighborhood to head toward her own new and virtually empty apartment.

"You care about her a great deal." Sinclair said.

"Yes." Henderson replied softly. "She means a lot to me."

"Are you two…" Sinclair asked, looking over at Henderson, afraid she had gone too far with the questions. "I'm sorry." She quickly added.

"Don't be." Henderson said. "No, we aren't together in that sense."

"I thought maybe you were." Sinclair said, thinking about how comfortable the two had looked up at the cabin.

"No, Mac is just a dear friend." She said and then fell silent.

"Well, she's lucky to have you." Sinclair said, offering her a sincere smile.

They rode in silence the rest of the way to Sinclair's apartment complex. Once there, they all three climbed the stairs together up to the second floor apartment.

Sinclair let them in and Henderson and Mac made their way into the one bedroom apartment.

"It's not much, but please, make yourselves at home." She said as she closed the door behind them.

It was a newly built apartment complex and Henderson could still smell the newly installed carpet and fresh paint. She stood next to Mac in the surprisingly spacious living room and noted the matching deep blue couches and oak side tables. She was more than grateful that Sinclair had offered to let them stay. There were still some things Mac needed to attend to with the case as well as with Ruiz and she herself was just too damn tired to drive back up to the cabin right away.

"It's nice." Erin said, making her way to one of the couches where she eased herself down to relax.

"I'm still unpacking." Sinclair said as she tossed her truck keys on the kitchen counter.

Henderson sat down next to Erin and eyed the stacks of boxes that sat in the adjoining dining room. A computer desk sat next to the boxes, an indication that the room wasn't going to be used for dining at all.

A chirping sounded from the area where the boxes sat and Henderson watched as Sinclair moved into the room behind one of the couches. The taller detective crouched down and raised back up with a large birdcage in her hands. Two parakeets hopped about inside, singing and chirping.

"How cute!" Erin said with new found energy as she jumped up and rounded the couch to look at the birds.

"No they're not. They're a pain in the ass." Sinclair said with a playful smile. "The live to harass me. Chirping until all hours of the night."

"What are their names?" Erin asked, not buying the negative remarks for a single second.

"The blue one is Gomez. And the green one is Morticia."

Henderson laughed at the names. "Cute." She said, walking over to stand next to Erin. Sinclair set the cage on the computer desk and picked up a canister of food which she popped open and then poured its contents into a cup in the cage.

"Yeah well, I named them that because the little blue is constantly trying to get the green ones attention. It's almost sad how hard he tries."

They all three stood and watched as the little birds hopped graciously down to their food bowl to dig in.

"So," Sinclair said as she returned her focus back onto her guests. "Did you guys bring your stuff?" She looked at their empty hands.

"Shit!" Henderson said. "We left it in my Blazer at the station."

She walked back and flung herself down on the couch, feeling like she was completely brain dead. Erin remained at the cage, watching the birds intently.

"We can go back and get it, it's not a big deal." Sinclair said.

"Maybe later." Henderson said, just wanting to sink down into the couch.

"If you don't mind then, I'm going to go change?" Sinclair asked politely.

"By all means." Erin encouraged from the bird cage. "Just pretend like we aren't even here." She grinned up at the attractive detective.

Sinclair smiled back and looked over at Henderson on the couch. "That will be hard to do." She said before walking from the room and heading into her bedroom.

"How are you feeling Mac?" Henderson asked, watching the woman leave the birds to come join her on the couch.

"Numb." She said as she sat down. "But not so numb that I didn't notice how hot Sinclair is." She elbowed Henderson playfully.

"Christ Mac, I really have created a monster." She slouched down into the couch and smiled back at her friend.

"Admit it, you think she's hot too."

"I'd have to be dead not to." She replied looking back towards the bedroom.

"I knew it." Erin said. "She likes you."

"What?" Henderson turned her head back to look at Mac.

"She does." Erin said with a smirk. "I may be tired and strung out, but I'm still alert enough to see the desire in her eyes when she looks at you."

Henderson shook her head. "She says she's a fan of my writing." She said, almost to herself.

"You see?" Erin elbowed her again. "Don't even try to deny it. That girl's got it bad for you."

Henderson outwardly let the comments pass but inwardly she felt herself warm at the possibility. She reached down and took Mac's hand in her own and she looked into her tired eyes.

"What about you, Mac?"

"What about me?" She asked, searching Henderson's deep blue eyes.

"What's going on with you and Elizabeth Adams?" She asked softly.

"Nothing." Erin lied and quickly removed her hand.

"I saw the lingering looks, the way she held your hand, I heard what wasn't said."

"And what was that?" She asked, her voice raised a little with agitated emotion.

"Like maybe there's something you aren't telling us." She replied, trying to hold her eyes, to keep Erin from looking away.

"Don't you start in on me." Erin said, sitting up, bringing her back up off the couch.

"I just don't want you to get in over your head with her." Henderson said, sitting up too, needing to explain.

Erin stood quickly. "Don't you remember Patricia…I already have." She moved toward the door and reached out for the door knob.

"Mac, wait." Henderson stood to look at her. "Where are you going?" She asked, her brow creasing with worry.

"For a drink." She said as she opened the door to walk out just as Sinclair walked in from her bedroom.

"What's going on?" The new detective asked Henderson, shoving her hands down into her navy blue cargo shorts.

"I wish I knew." Henderson said collapsing back down on the couch to rest her tired and frustrated head in her hands.

"Should we go after her?" She asked with concern as she walked over to the window that looked out over the parking lot.

"No." Henderson answered from her frustrated position on the couch. "She needs some time to herself." She lifted her head up to look at Sinclair. "I just hope it helps."

part 7

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