Thursday, July 17th 9:23am

Henderson sat down on the bed and watched the rookie detective sleep. She looked so peaceful, almost angelic as the bright morning light haloed her in gold. Her eyelids fluttered and her mouth opened to release muffled words. She threw her arm up above her tousled hair and turned her head, settling back into the peaceful confines of sleep. She had been asleep for hours now and Henderson hated to wake her after all she had been through the night before.

Henderson had found the blonde the night before physically and emotionally distraught, sick from the ecstasy she had ingested and upset at her interaction with Adams. She had brought the blonde home and nursed her with tenderness and understanding. And whatever had happened between Mac and Adams, the blonde woman had kept it to herself, taking it with her as she drifted off to sleep.

Henderson had done all she could, comforting and consoling, stroking her hair from her forehead, offering her ear as a friend in case Mac had wanted to confide in her. And perhaps one day Mac would open up and talk about Adams. And until then, all she could do was to continue to be her friend.

Henderson sipped her coffee, wishing it would give her strength and courage for what she was about to do. She had received a disturbing phone call a half an hour before, awakening her from her stiff slumber on the couch. She leaned forward and placed the mug on her night stand and then with a deep sigh she placed her hand on Mac's shoulder and gently shook her.

"Mac?" Her voice was a gentle whisper.

Mac stirred slightly and moaned, tossing her head from side to side. A lump next to her under the covers stirred as well and Jack emerged, stretching as he walked.

"I wondered where you were." Henderson said looking at her sleepy dog. He wagged his tail at her even though he couldn't hear her. "I should've known." She shook her head, knowing she herself wanted to be curled up next to Mac too.

"Mac?" She tried again, this time with help from Jack who lay on her chest, assaulting the sleeping woman with kisses.

Mac groaned and opened her eyes. Jack stood proudly, excited at seeing her wake.

"Oh God." She sat up and grabbed her head. "I feel like a train hit me." Her voice was not yet awake and Henderson thought she looked and sounded incredibly sexy, obviously not looking near as bad as she most likely felt.

"Good morning." Henderson gave her a slight smile, hating what she was about to do.

Erin looked at her between her fingers. "Hi."

"Coffee?" Henderson offered her the mug she had brought for her.

"Ugh, no. I don't do coffee." She held her hand up, declining the potent smelling liquid.

Henderson persisted. "Mac, take a few sips, it'll help."

She wanted to get something in her before she said what she needed to say. Mac stared at her a moment and Henderson could swear that the woman could see right through her. Panicked, she looked away just as Erin finally conceded and took the steaming mug.

With unsure hands she held the mug up and took a few quick sips. "Ugh." She made a face and handed the mug back to Henderson. "Got any O.J.?"

"Yeah, I'll go get you some. But first, we need to talk." She set the mug back down on the night stand and looked at her friend.

"Uh oh. I'm beginning to hate it when you say that." She sat back against the head board and rubbed her eyes. "Shoot."

Henderson opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Mac was watching her now and she sat up off the headboard, suddenly very much awake.

"What, what is it?" Her eyes were searching, pleading.

"It's Mark." She said the words softly, afraid of continuining.

Erin sat poised, unmoving. "Mark? Mark who?" She shook her head, completely lost as to what Henderson was talking about.

"Your Mark." She saw the color drain from Mac's face. "He was attacked last night." She reached out and grabbed Mac's hand.

Erin swallowed with great difficulty. Her mouth was unusually dry. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. "Is he…?" Nothing was making sense, this wasn't real, it was a dream, she was still asleep.

"He's going to be ok." Henderson squeezed her hand, trying to ground the far off look in her eyes. "He's critical but stable."

Erin sucked in a big, shaky breath as if she just surfaced from a deep dive.

"What happened?" She drew her eyes over to meet the deep blue ones. She didn't know what was going on but she suddenly felt the need to know all the details, as if they would somehow make it all more sensible, more tangible.

"He was found in a hotel parking lot, shot and stabbed."

Erin cupped a quick hand over her mouth. "Oh God." Tears burned her eyes.

"There's something else you should know." Henderson licked her dry lips, hating what she was doing to Mac. "There was a picture of you pinned to his shirt."

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

4:47pm

Henderson stood in the hospital hallway watching Mac stand over Mark through the window. She crossed her arms over her chest and listened as Stewart stood next to her chomping his gum.

"Poor kid." He said as they watched her sit down next to his bed his hand firmly grasped in between her own.

"What do we know?" Henderson asked, already drawing her own conclusions in her head.

"We don't know Jack." Stewart smacked his gum and began searching his pockets for the pack of Spearmint. He offered her the pack, to which she shook her head. "Did you show Mac that picture?"

Henderson knew he was referring to the photo of Mac that had been found on Mark.

"Yes."

He unwrapped another stick of gum and shoved in his mouth, hungry for more flavor.

"She recognize it?" He chewed loudly and then coughed, swallowing some of the juice wrong.

"Yes." Henderson scratched her temple before continuing. "She said it was the one he kept in his office at his law firm."

"Shit." Stewart mumbled as the wheels in his brain squeaked from turning.

"What did the hotel say?" She asked calmly, her body too tired and numb to be edgy.

"Nada. We're combing through their security cameras as we speak."

"The staff, they didn't see anything?"

"No. And according to their books, he didn't have a room."

She rubbed her hand over her forehead in frustration. "What are the doctors saying? Is he going to wake up soon?"

Stewart shoved his hands in his pockets and jiggled his keys.

"He was shot once in the right shoulder and stabbed four times in the groin. He lost a lot of blood before he was found, but he should be ok."

"Christ." She walked away from the window, suddenly feeling weak and needing to find a chair. Stewart grabbed her elbow, trying to help steady her.

He led her to the waiting area in the lobby where he eased her down into a chair.

"You look like shit."

"Thanks." She smiled half heartedly at him.

"I'll go get some you coffee." He walked off in search of the vending machines, leaving her alone to her thoughts. Her mind reeled with fractions of varying thoughts and possibilities, but she was too tired to slow them down, to make any sense of them. She sighed and looked up as Stewart returned carrying a small steaming paper cup.

"Thanks Stewart." She offered, meeting his eyes as she took the cup. She had never known him to be caring type and yet she was too damn exhausted to ponder his behavior.

"Hey, even I'm not a total prick." He sat down across from her and resting his elbows on his knees, his jaws working overtime on the chewing gum.

Henderson eyed him and conceded that the obnoxious detective sitting across from her did indeed have a heart after all.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked as she sipped at the terrible coffee.

"Sure am."

"Where's Adams?" She looked at him over the brim of the paper cup.

"She's got an alibi."

"Of course she does." She scoffed.

"She's at her home in the hills. We can't hold her."

"Of course we can't." She shook her head finding the entire investigation completely unbelievable.

"Did we I.D. that body yet?"

He shook his head. "Still can't locate the skull, but we did find some more teeth."

She narrowed her eyes as she comprehended the words.

"Let me guess, they match Reece's dental files."

He laughed. "Do I detect a note of cynicism Detective Henderson?"

"Your God Damn right you do."

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

Erin ran her thumb across the top of Mark's hand. Despite his ashen color, his hand felt warm against her own, letting her know that he was still alive.

A machine next to the bed began beeping loudly, startling her out of her seat. Panic flooded her and she rounded the bed to yell out the door for help. The beeping was loud and continuous, and she knew that something must be terribly wrong.

A medical technician walked into room, running head on in to Erin.

"Oh, thank God, something's wrong." She backed up and let the woman go to Mark's side.

"It's ok, it's just the I.V." She pressed a button on the I.V. machine silencing it's alarm.

Erin let out a nervous laugh and covered her mouth with a trembling hand. She felt strangely foolish at her reaction and her body shuddered as the panic exited from her.

The woman in the purple scrubs unhooked the empty I.V. bag and replaced it with a full one.

"Erin?" She looked towards the bed at the sound of her name. Mark had opened his eyes and he was blinking, trying to focus. The woman in the scrubs left hastily, leaving them alone with one another.

Erin crossed the room quickly and snatched up his hand once again. "Hey." She said gratefully, combing his hair back from his forehead.

He licked at his dry lips. "What's going on?" He whispered, his eyes searching the room.

She wiped away a fallen tear from her cheek. "You're in the hospital."

"Hospital?" His eyes focused back on her face. He tried to move and groaned in pain.

She pressed her palm firmly against his abdomen. "No, don't move. You can't or you'll tear your stitches."

"Huh? What happened?" He asked again.

She swallowed back her tears and willed herself to be strong.

"Mark, you were attacked." She watched as his eyes continued to search hers for answers. "Last night someone found you in a hotel parking lot. You had been shot once, here." She placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "And stabbed, several times, here." She let her hand drift to his groin.

He licked his lips and looked down at himself. "Am I, ok?" He looked back to her, fear in his eyes.

She smiled as best she could. "Yes, you'll be fine. You were in surgery early this morning to repair the gunshot wound. And they sutured up your stab wounds."

He looked away from her then and stared off into the distance.

"Mark, do you remember anything? About last night?"

He lay in silence as his brow wrinkled in intense thought.

"I, I had a meeting." He replied hoarsely.

"Do you remember with who?"

He shook his head in frustration. "It was one of Bartch's clients. I was covering for him."

She stood, adrenaline surging through her. "Scott Bartch?"

He looked at her. "Yeah."

"But, Mark." She shook her head in disbelief. "You don't work with him, you never have before…" She couldn't grip what she was hearing. Scott Bartch was one of Adam's remaining enemies.

"I have Erin, occasionally."

She looked at him, remembering that she knew very little about the man she called her husband.

"Your meeting. Was it at your office?"

His eyes moved past hers once again as his mind worked. "Yes."

"But you didn't see who it was with?" She wanted to grab him and shake the information out of him.

"I remember walking past Patty's desk and she told me that she had shown Bartch's client in and that they were waiting in my office."

She squeezed his hand silently encouraging him to continue.

"And I thanked her and told her to go home, it was late." He turned his head and looked away from her. "And that's all I can remember."

She patted his hand and sat back down. "I feel so terrible." The words stumbled out of her and she lowered her head and tried to choke back the sobs.

"Why?" He had turned back to her, his blue eyes questioning.

"Because it's my fault you were attacked."

"Your fault?" He asked disbelieving.

"Yes, it's this case, our suspect obviously saw my picture in your office and they…" Sobs racked her body making it difficult for her to continue. "Tried to kill you."

She lowered her head and her body gave way to the sobs and tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"Hey, come on now." Mark squeezed her hand. "Nothing is you fault, Erin. You didn't make anyone do anything."

She sucked in some shaky breaths and wiped her eyes.

"Besides, I haven't exactly been the best husband I could've been for you." The statement surprised her and she looked up at him through tear blurred vision.

"It's not all your fault." She wiped away the last of her tears and held both his hands with her own. "I, I should've talked with you about things a long time ago."

He looked at her, listening carefully, wanting her to continue.

"I know about the other woman, Mark. The one in Austin." Until that moment she hadn't considered the fact that there could be more than one. The thought sickened her and the reality that she no longer knew the man lying before once again slapped her in the face.

Mark swallowed and tried to move. "I…" The pain winced through him causing his voice to falter and die in his throat.

"Shh." Erin stroked his arm. "Don't move. We shouldn't even be talking about this right now." Her own voice began to quiver as she looked into his eyes, searching for the man she had once known. "It's just that I can't be here for you, Mark. I don't know you any more."

A tear streaked down her face and she let it fall, let it drip off her cheek. Mark tried to speak but she shushed him by placing a finger on his lips. "Let me finish. I need to say this." She swallowed hard, and willed the tightness in her throat and chest to loosen long enough for her to finish. "I don't know you anymore, Mark. And you don't know me. You've moved on and now I need to do the same." As she said the words she tried to hold his gaze, but his eyes drifted from hers to stare at the wall. "Right now you need to heal, you need to recover, your body needs to mend itself and you're going to need a lot of love and support." She sucked in a big breath of air, filling her lungs, gaining strength. "I can no longer offer you those things. And I know I'm not the one you want to give them to you."

She rose from the chair and approached the telephone next to the bed.

"Tell me her number, Mark and I'll dial it for you."

He turned his head slowly to look at her. He looked unsure and questioning.

"She has a right to know." Erin continued. "She's the one who should be here with you."

"Are you….sure?" His voice was weak, his eyes searching hers.

"I've never been more sure. You need to heal, you need to be happy." She paused and offered him a weak smile. "What's her number?"

Henderson stood in the hallway outside the open hospital room door. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop on the conversation, but the voices carried out into the hall and she had been privy to last of their verbal exchange.

Mac walked out of the room and slowly shut the door behind her. She looked tired, her eyes were pained and bloodshot, her face pale and drawn.

Henderson crossed to her the urge to comfort the blonde too hard to resist.

"You're a good woman, Mac." She had heard what Mac had said to her cheating husband and she had been impressed with her nobility and her tact.

Erin looked down at the floor and began to walk. The walls of the hospital suddenly seemed to be closing in on her.

"Yeah, well he deserves to be happy." She wiped at her cheeks, erasing any last remnants of the warm moisture left by tears.

Henderson walked next to her, wanting desperately to touch her, to take away her pain, but her hands remained by her sides, the fear of rejection and exposure winning out.

"So do you, Mac. So do you." She said softly to her friend as they walked out of the hospital and into the warm comforting arms of the desert heat.

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

7:10pm

"Mac, you've got to listen to me. Please!"

Erin shook her head and continued to shove her belongings in her large duffel bag.

"I said no. I'm not doing it." Her voice remained calm, but her tone was firm.

Henderson stood at the foot of the bed, completely helpless as she watched the woman pack.

"Think about what you're saying. You're completely disregarding your own safety." She crossed her arms over her chest in frustration.

"I'm not going into hiding, Henderson and that's final." She shoved the last shirt in the bag without bothering to fold it and tried to zip the bag shut. "Shit!" Not being able to zip it closed, she unzipped it all the way and began throwing her clothes out of the bag and onto to bed.

Henderson walked over to the bed and began grabbing the clothes and folding them for her obviously strained friend. She had to talk some sense into her, but she had to do it carefully. She didn't want to upset her.

"You know you aren't safe right now." She started softly, handing Erin one piece of folded clothing at a time. "They know who you are now and they could come after you."

"Then let them." Erin grabbed a shirt angrily and placed it in the bag. "Let Adams or whoever come after me. I dare them." She said the last sentence with her greens eyes blazing and focused on Henderson's.

"You think it's Adams." It was a quiet statement rather than a question. What happened between you two?

Erin hurriedly finished packing the bag and zipped it closed. She thought of Adams and their intimate encounter, so soft, so personal. She shook her head as the thoughts continued. She remembered how she had stormed out, how she had run away from the dark woman and her penetrating eyes.

"Yes, no." She shook her head again as she picked up her bag. "I don't know." It was possible that Adams had been angered at her sudden departure and angrier still at finding out her true identity. But then she remembered the tenderness, the gentle knowing feel of her touch. The loneliness and vulnerability in her stare. It didn't add up. Nothing did anymore.

She headed out of the bedroom and down the hall.

"If you won't let the department put you in a safe house then at least stay with me." Henderson pleaded, the fear she felt for the woman riding high on her voice. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone. And certainly not at your house."

Erin stood still by the front door, the large duffel bag at her side. She looked at the ground, Henderson's words making sense in her jumbled head. The thought of being alone scared her more than the thought of someone coming after her.

She looked back up at Henderson and shook her head. "Ok. But just for a few days."

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

8:25pm

"That's some storm." Erin noted looking out into the backyard. The wind was gusting angrily and continuously leading the powerful monsoon storm, clearing the way for the dust and rain that was to no doubt follow closely behind.

Jack shot in through the doggie door and shook as if the wind had assaulted him with its crudeness. The flexible rubber doors flapped at the wind behind him, giving him a slap in his hind quarters, causing him to jump nearly clear out of white fur.

Henderson laughed and walked over to close the doggie door by sliding a piece of heavy glass down against it.

Jack stood staring at the door, his fur raised on his back, almost daring it to try to slap him again.

Henderson rubbed her hand over his back and he jumped at the contact.

"Is he always that jumpy?" Erin asked while watching the water in the pool ripple at the fingers of the wind.

"Sometimes. He's terrified of storms." She stood next to Erin and looked outside. "And they say this one's only going to get worse." She rested her hands on her hips, her brow creased with intensity. "I better go get in the patio furniture."

"I'll help." Erin started to move to follow after her.

"No, it's ok." Henderson was talking over her shoulder as she headed to the back door. "Do me favor instead. Look in the pantry and get out all the lighters and flashlights you can find. The candles are throughout the house. Make sure there's at least one in every room."

Erin shook her head in compliance and busied herself retrieving lighters and flashlights. She found three flashlights and four lighters in the kitchen pantry. The she walked throughout the house with Jack close on her heels and made sure there was at least one candle in every room.

Although it didn't happen often, there had been several times when a monsoon storm caused a power loss in the city.

When she returned to the kitchen Henderson had slipped back in from the back yard.

"It's pretty fierce out there." She ran her hands through her auburn hair. The dust had joined the wind, piercing her skin and eyes.

"I bet." Erin watched as a piece of a mesquite tree blew over the fence from a neighboring yard.

It was eight thirty and dusk was quickly darkening, the light flashes of the approaching lightning hot on it's heels.

"We should probably double check the locks on all the doors and windows." Henderson said, while running her hands over her arms, still feeling the pricks from the blowing dust.

"You really think someone's going to come after me?" Erin asked, disbelief thick on the words.

"I don't know, Mac. But it's better to be as safe as we possibly can. After all, we now know that Reece is likely dead and the attack on Mark happened after that fact."

Erin didn't respond. She looked off into the backyard and let herself become hypnotized by the storm. She could smell the dust and the looming rain and she allowed the familiar comfort of Mother Nature's wrath to soothe her own inner fears.

Henderson had walked off to check the locks on the house and Erin went into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Jack joined her, jumping up into her lap and licking her hand, his own silent request for petting.

"Looks like you've made a new friend." Henderson stood watching the two, amazed at how her stubborn and indifferent little dog seemed to take with Mac.

"Yes I have." Erin replied, scratching her new companion behind the ear.

"I think he's traded me in for a younger, better looking model." Henderson crossed the room and sat down on a chair, resting her now bare feet up on the ottoman.

Erin blushed at the remark even though she knew it was said innocently.

"I don't know about that." She replied as Jack rolled over baring his freckled and pink belly.

"I do." Henderson laughed. "Look at him he's melting in your hands. I've never seen him act like that with anyone other than me."

Erin's hand found his belly and he began kicking his hind leg in gratitude as she scratched.

"No, I don't mean that." She looked up at Henderson almost shyly, taking in her strong tanned legs and how revealed they were in the gray sweat shorts she wore. The deep blue Everlast shirt she wore was sleeveless, showing off her toned arms. Mac had no doubt that her firearm lurked somewhere securely underneath. The brunette was still obviously on guard and her anxiety was evident.

"I meant the younger, better looking part." She said the words softly and looked away, embarrassed by her feelings. Thoughts of Adams and their sexual encounter raided her brain and she blushed again as she thought of doing them with Henderson.

"Oh. Well I'm pretty sure about it." She placed her feet on the ground and sat forward in the chair. "How old are you Mac?" She was curious about the young detective. "That is, if you don't mind my asking."

"No, not at all." Erin looked back down at Jack who had stopped moving under her hand. His eyes were closed and he appeared to have drifted off into a relaxing sleep. "I'm twenty eight."

Henderson sat back against the chair once again. On some respects she had thought Mac older, maybe thirty. But in other respects she seemed younger than twenty eight. Maybe it was her confusion, her new found personal identity that made her seem younger.

"How old are you?" She had looked back up, pegging Henderson with her green eyes.

Henderson laughed. "I would say guess but I'm scared of your answer. Thirty three."

Mac nodded and looked back down at the slumbering white dog. She felt comfortable in Henderson's home and she felt like melting into the couch as the stress of past forty eight hours weighed down on her. She closed her eyes and breathed deep, feeling her limbs grow soothingly heavy.

Henderson stood from the chair and walked over to Mac. "How bout some wine? I've got a great burgundy."

Erin opened her eyes and focused on her friend. "Sure, that sounds nice."

"That way you can relax and even fall asleep if you need to."

"Where should I do that, exactly? Fall asleep?" She had a faint memory of waking up in Henderson's bed that very morning, but now it seemed like a dream.

"Anywhere you want." Henderson bent down and awoke Jack and then gave him a hand signal to which he jumped up at in an instant, running into the kitchen. "You can sleep out here or in my bedroom where you slept last night." Henderson's cheeks flushed a little at her own remark. "Or you can sleep in the guest bedroom, I've made the bed for you in case you prefer to have your own room."

In reality she wished that Erin would sleep in her bedroom with her, but not for her own selfish and intimate reasons. She would feel better knowing the blonde was sleeping safely right next to her, in case something bad did happen.

"Ok." Erin didn't know what she would do or where she would sleep. She was too tired to think about it and she figured she would sleep wherever she fell.

Henderson smiled at her warmly and walked off to feed Jack and then to open up a much needed bottle of wine. Her own body was just as exhausted as Mac appeared to be, but her mind wouldn't allow her to rest. With all the emotions and happenings of the past week, her brain felt heavy and overloaded, not able to process and make sense of what she was feeling. And when she got like this in the past, she knew that there was only one way to ease her mind enough for it to allow her to rest. She had to write.

She opened the bottle of wine and poured herself and Mac a glass. She then returned to the living with the glasses in tow, only to find Mac asleep on the couch.

Not wanting to wake her, she set down the glasses and covered her exhausted friend with a light blanket. Standing over her and unable to resist, she bent down and kissed her softly on the mouth.

"Sleep well." She whispered as she gathered the glasses and headed off into her office.

TBC

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