Yep...a new chapter! Sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoy it.

Again...I do not own any of CSI, just the characters I made up and this story.

Chapter Four

"So what's going on Lex?" asked Mac as he took the seat next to his cousin. The two of them walked for a while when the left the crime lab and ended up in a near-by park.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Alexis as she tore apart her pretzel. Mac noticed her lack of eye contact with him, a trait she had since she was a kid.

Mac chuckled a bit at her 'innocent' response. "The last time we went out to lunch like this, you told me you were moving to Michigan."

"I need news to take my family out for a hot dog and pretzel?" said Alexis with a raised eyebrow.

"I've known you your whole life," said Mac. He was starting to get a bit tired of her playful banter, though he did have to admit, he did miss it immensely.

Alexis knew that if she didn't tell him now what she had been debating since she left Detroit, she would soon have to deal with his 'cop side' rather than someone she thought of as a big brother. She let out a deep sigh before she confessed her news. "There…might be some news. I didn't really want to tell you and get your hopes up…"

"Just spit it out, Lex. It's not like I'm going to arrest you," said Mac trying to give her some ease of mind.

Alexis took a minute before continuing her little confession. "I'm thinking about moving back to New York."

Mac looked her with a mixture of gladness and confusion. "What brought on this change? I thought things were going well for you in Detroit?"

"Things are…fine. It's just…I miss New York. I miss the noise, the culture, the sights, you," Alexis rattled off as she continued to pull at the knot bread. She heard him let out a deep breath before she heard him speak again.

"What happened?" he asked in a low voice.

She looked up at him and saw the look on his face that she was dreading to see…concern and pity.

"Is it that obvious?" she said darkly.

"Well I am a detective," he said lightly, getting a small laugh out of her.

It was another moment or two before she told him what was really bother her. "I'm being sued for malpractice and wrongful death, and it doesn't look all too well for me."

"What happened?" he asked.

"A six year-old boy was brought in with a gun shot wound to the head. He was playing around with his dad's gun that was accidently left unlocked. When he arrived to the ER I tried everything and got him stable enough for surgery. If the bullet was a few centimeters to the left or right, and the kid would have been brain dead on the spot. Anyway…when we were taking him up to surgery…all hell broke loose. The kid threw a blood clot, and was deprived of oxygen for too long," she said grimly. Mac watched her shake her head to try and rid herself of the memories.

"I'm sorry, Alexis," he said as he rubbed her back in comfort. She hung her head in defeat as she tried to choke back the bile that wanted to rise every time she thought of her patient.

"I should have known he would have thrown a clot. I should have made sure he had enough heparin or…"

"You couldn't have known Lex. You're not a god," said Mac as he tried to stop her from berating herself. "What did the board say?"

"The board said I followed through on everything. That there was no way of knowing the patient would have clot that fast, before he'd gotten into surgery," said Alexis as she pushed back part of her hair and sighed deeply.

"However…the family has been adamant about the whole thing, that it was my fault. Plus the hospital just dealt with a multi-million dollar lawsuit a year ago over one of their surgeons. The lawyers don't want to take any chances with this case. So the hospital pulled me out of the ER and placed me at the nurses' station doing paper work," she said trying to contain her anger.

"Are you going to loose your license?"

"I don't know. The lawyers are saying no. But…I don't know. I'm just…I don't even know anymore," said Alexis.

"How have you been handling this? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" asked Mac.

"I didn't want to worry you. As for me handling this…I've been better. I did the nurses' station thing for about a week, until I found my own work to keep me busy," said Alexis.

"Which is?"

"I've been working in autopsy and teaching med school students their gross anatomy. The hospital board said it was fine, as long as I didn't practice on live patients."

Mac looked at her with a look she couldn't read. "I'm sorry that this is happening to you, Lex, but you can't run away from your problems."

"I'm not running away from my problems, Mac," she said in a reassuring tone. "If anything I'm running back to the place where my problems started. Remember, I am the one that split town when her husband died."

"Lexie…" said Mac. However at that same moment his phone went off. He quickly flipped it opened and saw that the message was from Hawkes. "Damn it."

"Let me guess," Alexis chuckled lightly. "Problem with the lab?"

"Sort of. Look Lexie…"Mac started. He saw her quickly raise a hand in protest to what he was about to say.

"Don't even start, Mac. It's fine. Go. The team needs you," said Alexis with a smile.

"Ill try to call you later," said Mac as he kissed her forehead. "You're here until Friday?"

"Yup, but if that changes…you'll be the first to know," she said as she hugged him good-bye.

Flack sat in his sedan just outside the crime lab as he thumbed through the file he had taken to his meeting. He knew he was suppose to meet up with Mac about now, but he didn't know how to bring up the fact that one of his family members may be involved in this murder investigation just like she was back then. After a few minutes of deliberating, he decided that he would question Alexis privately first to get her side of the story. After that…he would decide if Mac should know or not.

As he set himself on his plans, he was bit surprised to see Mac just outside the doors of the elevator talking with Sid.

"Hey! What have you got Flack?" said Mac as he motioned for him to walk with him to his office.

"A little interesting bit of history with our sorority and this 'Mock Rock' thing," said Flack as he walked into the office.

"I'm all ears," said Mac giving him his undivided attention. Flack handed over the case file on the three murders that occurred a decade ago.

"About ten years ago, this gig had a multi-murder case. Three girls were brutally killed and mutilated like our vic while this even went on. All three were from the same sorority as well. First victim was strangled, had her throat sliced, disemboweled, and strung up in a public crowd," said Flack in his down to business tone.

Mac thumbed through the case file and looked at the crime scene photos in the file along with the autopsy reports. "So you're thinking we're looking at a possible copycat?"

"I don't know for sure," said Flack as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But my gut is saying yes."

"Usually the first instinct is right," said Mac as he continued to look through the file. As he reached the reports on the second murder he remembered seeing these photos once before. "I remember this case. Another CSI, Jack Turner, worked this case. I helped him out with processing the second murder.

"Where's he now?" asked Flack, thinking he could get some more background information.

"Died a couple of years after this case to pancreatic cancer," Mac commented as he finished up with the file for now. "You talked to the detective that worked this case?"

Flack nodded before answering, "Just got back from meeting with him. I got a few names to check up on that came up with the cold case. I'm about to head back over the precinct and track them down."

"Kay. Let me know if you need any help," said Mac. As Flack turned to leave his phone began to go off in his pocket. "Flack."

Mac watched his colleague and knew that whatever it was he'd need to leave soon with his team.

"Yeah, I'll be there in about ten," said Flack before closing his phone.

"What's up?" said Mac, having a feeling that his phone was about to go off in a minute or two.

"Someone found another body near NYU campus," said Flack.

"I'll grab Hawkes," said Mac as he grabbed his coat. "Text me the address."

Mac pulled up to the scene on 8th Avenue with Hawkes to find the scene already closed off. Once the two had their gear and were past the yellow tape, they found Flack next to a large bloody cardboard box.

"What have we got?" asked Hawkes.

"Female victim. ID was found next to her. Melyssa Richardson, age nineteen, student at NYU. The owner of the store found her like this when he came to open up," said Flack. Mac bent down next to Hawkes and began to examine the body and scene.

"Looks like she was at some sort of party," said Hawkes as he pushed away some of her dark blond hair to look into her eyes for any signs of subconjunctival hemorrhages.

"Yeah, but when was she taken?" said Mac more to himself then to his colleagues. "Do we know if she was part of the same sorority as the other victim?"

"I'm looking into that," said Flack as he pulled out his phone again to check his messages.

"Mac…"Hawkes called while he continued examine the body.

"Tell me you've got some news, Sheldon."

"Well…I would give you a time of death if I could," said Hawkes as he began to lift the girl's shirt up.

"Having problems getting a liver temp," asked Mac, finding it a bit odd that the formal medical examiner couldn't get a temp.

"You could say that. Her liver is missing. Along…with several other organs," said Sheldon as he showed Mac the whole in the victims abdomen. Mac bent down again and saw that the girl was basically hollowed out from the abdomen.

"Well, we're definitely dealing with someone who wants our attention. He's got it now. I want this case top priority at the lab. I want Lindsay and Adam to go over everything with this case and TKO murders from before. We're going to get this guy. One way or another."

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