"Something's on your mind."

Stella pulled herself out of her thoughts and forced her eyes back to her therapist. The woman was staring at her with a questioning gaze, a wrinkled hand propping up her chin. The detective shook her head.

"A case we solved this week."

"Was it a difficult one?"

"They're all difficult, Carrie," Stella murmured. "But this one…A man beat his wife to death with a metal pipe and then dragged her outside and tried to make it look like a mugging."

"Who did you work the case with?"

"Mac and Don."

The woman nodded. "And how did they handle it?"

Stella shrugged. "Mac handled it like he always does. He works the case, he solves it, and he moves on to the next one."

"That man carries around a lot of weight."

"Someone has to."

Carrie nodded. "And what about Don?"

She frowned. "This one…it seemed to hurt him more than the others."

"How so?"

"He was angry. Don is always zealous about getting the perp, but this time…there was genuine anger behind everything he did…and it felt like he was only barely keeping it controlled."

"Why do think that is?"

"I don't know. I tried to talk to him about it, but he told me he was fine."

"I take it you didn't believe him."

Stella shook her head. "I pushed the subject. All he would tell me was that he couldn't stand men who hurt their wives. I think it had to do with his father. I've heard rumors from other cops before, that his dad wasn't a kind husband."

Carrie stared at her thoughtfully. "And you? I imagine this case hit you harder than most, because of your history."

"Because of Frankie, you mean."

"Yes." She paused. "What about the men that you work with? Do you ever fear any of them? Do you ever wonder if they could go over the edge the way Frankie did?"

The detective nodded slowly. "Sometimes. I work with a bunch of cops, and they can be hard. They see things that most people don't even see in their worst nightmares. So yeah…I wonder."

"What about Mac?"

"He would never hurt me." She thought about it for a moment. "I've seen him angry, though. I've seen him snap – I might be the only person in the lab who has. It's…frightening."

"And Don?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don could never hurt a woman."

Carrie's eyebrows shot up. "You can be that sure?"

"It's just not in him, Carrie. He wouldn't be able to live with himself. He's….he's a good man."

"And your friend."

Stella smiled. "And my friend."