Just throught I'd say, timeline wise, this story is set in season eight after Sara's departure but before the end of the season.

Chapter 1: Just Another Day

Nick Stokes slammed shut his SUV door and locked it before he headed toward the crime scene before him; kit in hand. It was a domestic disturbance case; unfortunately very routine these days. Greg Sanders was chatting to Captain Brass just inside the crime scene tape when Nick arrived.

"Hey." He greeted them both with a nod. "What's going on?"

"Neighbour phoned it in." Jim jerked his head at an elderly woman holding a small, white dog stand nearby with a police officer. "Lovely Mrs. Walker says she heard shouting and banging. House belongs to a Sam Riley; he lives here with his girlfriend Emily Anderson. He's a below minimum wage earner; drain on the state. On worker's pension for falling off a step ladder a year ago. He's apparently waiting on some big settlement cheque from his old company. The girlfriend works down the street at the local diner."

"She hurt?" Nick asked, glancing up at the house. It was definitely not glamorous. It was about the size of a small apartment; a house built for retirees mostly.

Brass nodded. "Bruises to the face; obvious defensive wounds on her body. She doesn't want to leave the house; medics are in there with her now." He heaved a huge sigh. "She's pregnant; looked about six months to me."

"Damn." Nick muttered under his breath. Abusive boyfriend and husbands were the worst types of criminals to Nick; they always hit him harder than other cases. "Her kid ok?"

"Medic's will find out." Brass told him.

"No sign of Sam." Greg spoke up. "I've been processing outside; seems to me he took off kinda quick. But there's a lot of blood in there." He jabbed a thumb towards the house.

"I'll go talk to Emily; see if she'll give me her clothes." Nick told them. If she had attacked Sam; his DNA would be all over her and Nick needed it before it was contaminated. But in his experience, pregnant, battered women were not easy to deal with.

Nick headed into the house and past the police officer close to the door. He ran into two medics leaving the premises as he came in. "How is she?" Nick asked them.

"In shock; I think." Tim Stevens, a weathered paramedic of thirteen years, said with a sigh. "She's brave, though. Doesn't seem to want to talk much. Medically she's fine except for cuts and scrapes but she didn't want to come with us."

"Think she'll let me process her for DNA?" Nick asked as he removed some latex gloves from his kit and snapped them on.

Tim shrugged. "Maybe; she didn't really wanna be touched. If she does; see if you can convince her to go to a hospital; her baby needs to be monitored but we can't force her to come with us."

"Thanks, Tim." Nick nodded at him and continued into the living room. There were three policeman around pointing at different items at the scene and making notes. Most of the blood was towards the left hand side of the room beside some broken furniture and scattered books and CD's. Emily, a thirty-something Caucasian female, was sitting on the other side of the room on the couch with her legs crossed and her arms over her belly. She looked vacant; in disbelief. She had a freshly bandaged cut on her head, a bruise on her jaw and red marks all down her arms. Nick knelt in front of her. "Ms. Anderson, my name is Nick Stokes; I'm with the crime lab."

She glanced over at him briefly. "You a cop?"

"No ma'am, not exactly." Nick replied.

"Then what are you, exactly?" She asked, her face remaining expressionless.

"Well, I'm a scientist." Nick told her, noting that by her accent she was definitely was not an American.

"Good for you." She said in a low voice.

"I need to take some scrapings under your fingernails." Nick continued gently.

"To look for Sam's DNA, right?" She answered; still not making eye contact with Nick.

"Yes." Nick confirmed, noting that perhaps she was under the influence of something; that would account for how checked-out she seemed. Or she could just be in total shock, Nick told himself.

She held her hands forward with her fingers spread. "Knock your socks off." She mumbled.

"I gotta take a few photos of your injuries, that ok?" She didn't protest so Nick took that as a yes and clicked his camera on. He snapped a few photos of her hands as well as her arms and her face. Then Nick retrieved a bindle and a scraper from his kit and took Emily's hand in his own. He scraped what he could from under her nails; noting they had drying blood on them as he added his findings to his kit. "Ma'am, are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital and get your baby checked out?"

"I already told that cop that I hit Sam." She answered vacantly as Captain Brass came into the scene. He glanced at them but didn't stop; he went over to one of the other officers standing nearby Emily and Nick.

Nick furrowed his brow. "Did you tell him why?"

For the first time, Emily looked him in the eyes and smiled a very weak smile. "Because he was a bad guy, Mr. Stokes. I just wish it hadn't taken me this long to figure it out." She ran a hand over her belly. "He's not dead. I didn't kill him...if it wasn't for this damn baby; I could have, though..."

Nick glanced up at Brass, who nodded that he'd also heard what she'd said. "Ma'am, I need to take your clothes." He said to her. Emily looked at him; obviously wanting to protest; but she said nothing. Instead she tried to get up off the couch – it proved difficult with her belly in the way. Instinctively, Nick reached for her elbow to help her up but she swatted him away.

"I can do it myself." She snapped at him as she managed, awkwardly, to get to her feet. "See?"

"Sergeant Louis?" Brass called to a female officer waiting by the door. "Can you escort Ms. Anderson back to her room to change?"

"Yes, sir." Sergeant Louis nodded.

"Come on." Nick reached for Emily's elbow again but this time she smacked him away; hard.

"Don't touch me! Nobody touches me!" She screamed in his face.

"I'm sorry." Nick told her, backing off. "I'm sorry." Suddenly she started to squint her eyes; as if someone had turned a spotlight on her. "You ok?" he asked her concernedly; but he didn't touch her.

"I...I..." She stammered before fainting straight forwards.

Nick caught her before she hit the ground. "Get the paramedics!" he yelled to Sergeant Louis. "NOW!"

xxx