Hi guys!

I meant to upload this the day after Chapter 2 but I couldn't really work out in my head how I wanted this chapter to be, but I think this is it. Thank you for all your reviews and favourites/follows! Thanks to greyslostwho and who-vs-SW for reviewing - they made me smile! Thank you both and Nick Zoe 4ever for following and story and the latter for also the favourite! Thank you to Amy (tigpop) for your reviews and following. You've been so helpful these last few months and a really lovely twitter friend! Thank you so much :D You all gave me the inspiration to stop moping around and get this written! Anyway, enough rambling, here's the chapter :)

Sarah x

Chapter 3 - Safe & Sound

Everything's on fire, the war outside our door keeps raging on.

- 'Safe & Sound' - Taylor Swift

"This better be what I want to hear."

"It is."

"Continue then." Demanded the voice down the phone impatiently.

"They've found the body."

"How do you know?"

"It's all over the news."

"Good, thank you. Get looking for the next one."

"What do you want me to do with the kid?"

"Keep it for now."

"But-"

"Goodbye." The voice said being ending the call.

"The body is that of an adult female, fitting into the given age of 22. The body has been confirmed as that of Ashley Daniels..." Harry said into his recorder as he carried out the post-mortem. Due to Leo pulling some strings, the body had been quickly identified via DNA within a few hours of being brought back to the Lyell. And thanks to Leo being at a conference, Harry had been given the task of the post-mortem. Nikki had finished all of her reports and paperwork and so had volunteered to help Harry, much to his relief. He didn't particularly like company when he worked, but there were a couple of exceptions to that rule - Leo and Nikki. Mostly Nikki. Especially now.

"There are scratches to both the right and left wrist," Nikki said, taking each wrist into her hand individually. "which are consistent with the ropes the body was tied to as found at the scene. The markings suggest that Ashley had been tied up for a long period, over 24 hours, and had tried to escape. Due to the fresher cuts on each wrist, it would suggest she had tried to escape minutes before her death as they appear only a few hours old. There are serious burns to each hand and wrist which also fits the theory that the rope was set on fire and Ashley was abandoned."

"They set her hands on fire by setting the rope on fire." Harry stated, more to himself than anyone else. Moving closer to the body's abdomen, Harry spoke into his recorder. "There is a serious stab wound to the left of the abdomen." Taking the ruler the lab tech had passed him, he measured the wound. "The wound is in the shape of the letter S and measures a height of 5cm and measures 3cm across. The S throughout has a consistent width of 2.5cm."

"I can see pen marks, perhaps Sharpie, which has traced the letter out before they cut it out. There are numerous smaller stab wounds around the S which are all around 1.5cm in height and 0.5cm in width." Nikki added. "They look very deep and measure..." Nikki lifted another ruler. "...4mm each."

"The body is also covered in a mixture of bruises and cuts, ranging from within the last 24 hours and possibly 72 hours ago. How long was Ashley missing, Harry?" Nikki asked, deep in thought.

Glancing at the case notes, Harry raised his head to Nikki. "It says she went missing on Friday. I heard about her on the news on the Sunday night and she was found today, a Monday. So 3 days and a few hours, roughly. Just over 72 hours." Nikki could see Harry trying to process what he had just said. It wasn't like him to become emotional about a case this early, but he'd been off all day. He wasn't his usual Harry self. Nikki found that she didn't notice just how much she relied on Harry to keep her sane until she could see herself projected onto him. What would she do if he went under with this case? Would she be able to help the same way he had helped her all those times? It pained her to think that she really wasn't sure.

"The timescale of her injuries suggests torture. What order do you think she was treated the night she died? Was the fire last?"

"Hmm... judging by the burns, I think she was tied up then they started the fire." Nikki swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Then stabbed?" Nikki nodded. "She was left to bleed. Cause of death, loss of blood from the stab wound." Again, Nikki nodded. "Okay." With that, it was Harry's turn to nod and then he walked over to wash his hands.

"Nikki, Mr. and Mrs. Daniels are here." Zak said, knocking on the door swiftly.

"Thanks, I'm coming now." Nikki said, glancing over at Harry with a sad smile. Ashley's parents had to come and formally identify the body, even though it was confirmed to be her via DNA. Although traditionally whoever mainly performed the post-mortem was the one to accompany and greet the parents, Nikki had volunteered to and let Harry write up the report. No, stuff that, she insisted she was the one to do so. Although Harry had started a fight to begin with, he eventually surrendered. He was having a war with himself inside saying this made him 'less of a man' etc that he couldn't even face Ashley's parents, that he couldn't even look them in the eye. He could see it on Nikki's face every time she had looked at him today that she was just as confused as to why this case was bothering him despite the fact it had arrived at the Lyell just a few hours ago. He knew that if both of them were confused, there was no hope of an answer. They relied on each other for answers, for guidance ... comfort. And he knew that whatever pain he was feeling, she would pick up on too. Coming out of his head, Harry nodded to Nikki. A gesture only they could understand without a word. It meant 'Good Luck'.

"Mr. and Mrs. Daniels. Hi, I'm Nikki." Nikki smiled and held out her hand for Ashley's parents to shake. "I'm sorry for your loss." She said genuinely.

Ashley's parents took it in turns to shake her hand. "Thank you." Mr. Daniels said, a polite smile that didn't quite reach his eyes appearing on his face. Understandably. "Can we see her please?" He said quietly.

"Of course. Follow me." Nikki opened the doors into the offices and they followed. The only thing she loved about this part of the job was the way people supported each other. Despite the grief, you could feel the way that the partners, or siblings, friends or whoever was coming to identify the body were clinging onto whoever they could. The overall togetherness. She hoped that one day she could find someone who would be the one to support her. To place a protective hand on her back as she walked, to do all the talking for her when they sensed she was close to tears. A soul mate. She fought to keep the niggling thought that 'she already had' at the back of her mind.

Arriving at the door of the room containing Ashley's body, Nikki spoke softly. "Are you sure you're ready?"

With a faint nod on the part of Mrs. Daniels, Nikki opened the door. "I'm sorry to have to ask this, but can you please not touch the body." Said Nikki with regret, stepping into the room closely followed by the parents.

The parents nodded and watched as Nikki pulled back the white cloth.

In that moment, Nikki could see their worlds fall apart. She too knew the feeling of sugar-coating a situation until you have proof it's real. When her mother died, she had kept telling herself it wasn't true. That they were just joking and it simply wasn't true. She could see the same feelings she had felt on the faces in front of her. They could see it all too clearly now. Their daughter was dead. Their daughter was gone. Forever.

"It's Ashley." Said Mr. Daniels quietly. With that, Nikki nodded and stepped back to let them take all the time they needed. Suddenly, his wife burst into tears and was sinking to her knees. Nikki rushed forward with a chair and Mr. Daniels pushed her onto it gently, telling her to breathe. "I think she's having a panic attack..." He said, never taking his eyes off his wife.

"My be..aut..iful girl...my baby..girl..." She choked through her tears, the emotion raw in the room it could have made even the heartless cry.

"Will I get her some water?" Nikki asked.

"Please." Mr. Daniels gave Nikki another sad smile.

"Harry!" Nikki headed out of the room. Harry looked up from his desk. "Can you stay in there with them please? I need to get Mrs. Daniels some water." Harry nodded and rushed into the room.

Half an hour later, they were all sitting in Leo's office with Mrs. Daniels relatively calmer. There came a point in grief where silence was treasured - a time for reflection and to let the news sink in. They had sat in that state for around 5 minutes when finally Mrs. Daniels spoke up, her voice a whisper choked with emotion.

"Whoever did this, please find them." She said, looking Harry straight in the eyes.

"We'll try, I promise." Harry said, he too lost in thought.

Kind of disappointed in this chapter, I just couldn't get it written how I wanted it to so this will have to do. Hope you guys enjoyed it and remember to leave a review below - it really makes me smile and gives me the motivation to write this. Thank you for all your support so far! :) Xo