A/N: I apologise again for the slow update - school work is getting stressful as of late (I've been deciding on coursework pieces and trying to get everything together) and I've been at a loss for inspiration Identity wise. I will try to update sooner next time but I can't make any guarantees. On a lighter note, thank you once again to Your Worst Nightmare -x- and XTimeGirlX for their constant support, seriously I love you guys. Your reviews make me smile and laugh, which I really should do more often. Muchos love to you both. Not an amazing chapter, but I hope you like it all the same. Reviews feed my soul, creativity and ego, but mainly my soul.

For the first time in days they worked on a case. Martha welcomed the distraction, but in her current state she reckoned she would scare the victims' families rather than comfort them, so she left most of the questioning to Anthony and Jose. While they were out of the office she worked on the paper trails with Tessa. Trying to keep her mind on track proved difficult; hangovers were not the best of companions, she realised a little too late, when it came to concentrated work. She winced and rubbed her temples frequently; alerting Tessa that something was off. Not that the tech whizz hadn't noticed something was off earlier. If Martha's appearance was anything to go by she'd had a rough night to say the least, but she thought she'd let it rest. Martha's reaction the last time she had tried to probe for answers hadn't exactly been pleasant and, while she was curious to know what was going on, she was cautious not to arouse the same response later in the day. Now she felt she needed to know. Her boss was clearly on a downward spiral. If Martha didn't get help, or help herself there were going to be consequences. How severe Tessa could only guess,

"Martha?" she asked as the DSI rubbed her temples once again, "Martha, what's wrong?"

"It's just a headache Tessa," Martha dismissed the matter, "nothing a drop of water and a good night's sleep won't cure." This time the tech whizz was having none of it,

"But you aren't getting any sleep, are you?" her boss looked over to her and raised her eyebrows rather pathetically, "Don't give me that look Martha; I'm not the only one who has noticed."

"Tessa..." She sighed,

"Wearing a long sleeved top like that isn't going to help either." Tessa remarked,

"I'm fine." Martha all but growled, causing the tech whizz to reel back for the second time in as many days. There was a beep from the monitors and the DSI breathed a sigh of relief. Saved by the case.

John found himself sitting on a bench in the middle of a busy street. He wasn't sure why he was there exactly. Maybe he hoped to find solace in other people's chaos, or maybe, just maybe, he hoped that Martha would happen to walk by on her lunch break or run by chasing after a suspect. No matter how many times she refused him, he wanted to be there for her. He wanted to be her shoulder to cry on, her rock to lean on. He knew as well as any other, however, that such a thing would not be achieved by sitting around and waiting for it to happen. Yet still he sat. Hoping, praying, that she would see sense. He knew better than to start asking questions again after last night's incident, but that didn't mean he was going to stop trying. So he sat and stared. Watching as crowds passed by; waiting.