Rick drags over a white board and he and Kate start to set up the murder board. They are still not convinced it is a murder, but until Lanie tells them otherwise, they will treat it as a suspicious death. What is really disheartening is the only thing on the board is the picture of the dead woman and a blank timeline, not even a guessed time of death. Lanie has not gotten back to them from the morgue yet with that info, or anything else that might be of help. Until they receive some sort of identification or a cause of death, they are in a holding pattern.

Rick looks at Kate and sees tired eyes, tired shoulders; a simply tired Kate. It makes matters worse they didn't get much sleep last night. He thinks back wistfully, remembering the passion he and Kate generate every time they even get close to each other. After all these years, Kate steals his breath away each and every time she smiles at him. He wonders how he was so lucky to have been at the launch party the same night Emerald was dancing for the first time in Mr. Haverson's club. He recalls the divine goddess that enthralled him and his writer friends that night, still reliving her dance to Bolero. He thinks that is his favorite song of all time. If he even hears it on the radio, he is turned on by the recollection of her and her beauty and abandonment on the stage. She played it softly last night as they made love in the solitude of their bedroom, reconfirming their love and devotion to one another.

He loves her without question, more than life itself.

As he looks at her in her overworked, fatigued state, his protective vigilant instinct roars to life. He will lay down his life for her and the bad vibes he is getting from this case is not helping to contain the caveman in him. What is bothering him, he does not know, just something is not right with their world.

Kate sees the worry on his face and softly lays a warm hand on his forearm. Her touch brings him back and helps ground him to the present. He is concerned with this nagging feeling he has at the back of his neck, but at the same time is aroused with the memory of last night and her dancing in California.

"Hey babe, what's wrong?" Kate asks.

"Oh, just this apprehension about the case and thinking about last night."

"Yeah, it was a good night. I am having a difficult time sitting normally here; you left a lasting impression on me. Little tender down there, if you know what I mean," Kate giggles, waggling her eyebrows at him.

"Not helping, Kate. I was also thinking about the first time I ever saw you back in L.A. That is the way to meet someone, with you completely naked before me, dancing just for me. I will remember that until three days after I die, maybe longer than three days."

"Liked that, did you? Maybe I will have to dance for you again sometime. Kind of had the urge last night when Bolero was playing. Remember how I watched you the last time? You had me so turned on, I could hardly dance. Man, I was wet for you then and you didn't even know it."

"Yes, I remember how you were so aloof, so high and mighty, acting like you were out of my league. I could hardly breathe."

"Well, I am out of your league," she laughs back at him. She is so in love with him, she can hardly breathe. She knows they are a match made in heaven, a fulfilled destiny that would not be denied, even through the 3000 miles that separated them at times. How she ever found him was not pure luck, but preordination, a future that would forever bind them together. They were truly made for each other. After the many years they have been together, the magic of that first night still burns bright in them.

The mood is snapped when Kate's phone rings. "Come Writer-Man, Lanie has something for us. I need to get up and move anyway."

. . .

They make their way to the elevator and stand close but not touching as the doors close. As soon as they shut, Kate takes Rick's hand in hers and pulls him close, needing the warmth and comfort he can provide. Rick gladly complies and pulls her to him with an arm around her shoulders and a hand on her waist. Kate snuggles into his chest and breathes him in, expensive shower gel, designer cologne and the best part, the essence of Rick. His scent grounds her when she is troubled, stays her oscillation after stress disturbs her equilibrium, frees her when she is constrained with a detective's trials. She needs him like water on a hot dry day.

Rick holds her until the chime dings announcing their arrival on basement level and the morgue. Kate takes the lead and heads out to the morgue with Rick just a half step behind her. Pushing open the heavy swinging door, Kate asks, "What do you have for us, Lanie?"

"Well, I'm doing fine, thanks for asking so nicely."

Rick chuckles and Kate turns to glare at him. This case hasn't even started yet and she is cranky. It simply amuses Rick more, causing him to lose his filter for a minute.

"Lanie, what Kate meant to say was, "My, don't you look great after your very early morning call-out. I'm not sure how you look so chic all the time," Rick says to Lanie over the top of Kate's glare. This just earns him another frown, to which he just smiles; maybe not the best thing to do when Kate is being Detective Beckett.

"OK, you two, I have some information you need. This was definitely a murder. Cause of death was manual strangulation, probably during sex."

"What?" Kate exclaims, "How do you know that?"

"After an initial examination, I started to run a rape kit and found no need for it. She definitely showed signs of intercourse immediately before or during the time of her death. In addition, she has been subjected to repeated sexual contact over the last few days and most likely against her will. She shows signs of repeated vaginal and anal intrusion with little or no initial preparation. It appears she was nearly gang-raped during the last week. No tox screens back yet, but from the looks of her neck and hip, it would appear she was drugged on numerous occasions. She has an old injection site on her neck and more recent ones on her hip. "

"Do you have any idea whom she might be?" Kate asks softly. She is definitely uneasy with the news she just received. This young woman was someone's daughter and she has a need to find her justice, justice she never received for her own mom.

Rick looks on with horror and anger that someone could do this to a beautiful young woman. She is definitely attractive, looking also like she should belong in graduate school instead of on Lanie's table. Rick is incensed, thinking how easy it would be for this woman to be Alexis. It was a natural leap for him, his writer's imagination fueling his anger and dread. He knew there was something about this case that gave him a bad feeling. Now he knows, he thinks. There is a monster on the loose.

"We have to find out who did this before it happens to another woman," Rick says. He does not need to say it more than once to get agreement from both Lanie and Kate.

"This poor woman was brutalized before she was killed and we need to stop it. We need to stop it now and make whoever's responsible pay for this heinous crime." Rick was noticeably angry or rightfully angry and not the nicest person when he felt this way.

Kate placed an understanding hand on his arm and whispered to him, "We'll get him. Maybe not today, but We - Will - Get - Him." She emphasized the last four words.

Lanie spoke up and said, "Rick, we all understand where you're coming from. We love Alexis as much as we possibly can. She was an absolute delight when she interned with me. I will do everything in my power to assist you and Kate in your quest to bring this monster to justice. I just need to get back to work and see if I can find you guys some more evidence. Now get out of here and let me work."

Rick and Kate left the morgue and made their way back to Homicide. It was about 8:30 now and the rest of the day crew was in and at their desks. Roy, the boys and Karpowski all came over to ask if they had anything.

Rick remained silent as Kate started to fill in the murder board with the new evidence they just received from Lanie. As she wrote 'raped, abused over a week, strangled', the boys and Karpowski all fell silent too.

Esposito nodded to Ryan, looking Rick's way. Ryan moved silently over to Rick and asked if he was OK.

Rick said, "Not yet, but I will be when we put this animal away. This guy is going down."

. . .