Jess Morgan loved her job.

Left a young widow by the car crash that had robbed her of a husband and daughter to fuss over, she'd channelled all her urges into looking after her colleagues. It was something that had become much easier since the infamous storm; now she didn't have to guess their needs, she just knew. It gave her a great deal of satisfaction to provide practical assistance, a kind word or commiseration at just the right time.

This morning it was proving trickier than usual. The captain was Jess' main priority; after all, she was his PA. Ross' need for morning coffee was expected, if a little stronger than usual, but she doubted the printout she'd left on his desk would do anything about his need for answers. With a sense of dissatisfaction, she went to put on another pot of coffee. Jess had feeling it would come in handy this morning.

She was right. Logan made a beeline for the pot when he came in, bristling with needs that she wasn't prepared to fulfil, not in a million years. Falacci, suspiciously close on his heels, was also full of needs but Jess suspected Logan was already well on the way to meeting them. Not much she could do here. Her dissatisfaction increasing, Jess turned back towards her desk.

She was surprised to see Tiggs had snuck in without her realising. Usually he screamed 'needy' and she'd made attempts to bolster his self- esteem but his defences and paranoia were too high for her kindness to penetrate. Today, however, he seemed unusually confident. Jess had barely begun to wonder about that when her thoughts were interrupted by Petronelli's arrival. Now his needs were easy.

"Hey, Ric, how's that beautiful boy of yours?"

Jess let his words and the pleasure roll over her. This was what she lived for. Feeling a whole lot sunnier, she continued her way back to her desk. She'd barely reached it when a dark cloud cast its shadow on her mood. She turned to see Goren shuffling into the bullpen.

Whoa! Normally Goren's needs were a tangle of vague complex ideas that she could barely fathom, but when the occasional clear one arose, she found herself inordinately pleased to be able to present him with the relevant file or a fresh marker pen. Maybe it was the smile...

Today his needs were loud and clear, terribly so. He needed Eames, needed freedom from the noises in his head and he needed a drink. The last one was so strong that Jess found herself hankering for a glass of Glenlivet even though she never touched whiskey. Shaken by the force of his feelings, Jess escaped to the ladies room to pull herself together.

That was a mistake. Eames was bent over one of the sinks, splashing cold water on her face. Her usually straightforward needs were now a tangled mess that Jess couldn't unpick. But one overrode them all. Driven by her own need to make things right for people, Jess spoke up.

"You did the right thing."

Belatedly, Jess remembered there was a difference between what people needed to hear and what they wanted to hear. Several stall doors slammed at once as Eames let out a strangled cry and bolted out of the bathroom.

Logan watched silently as a tight-lipped Eames took a seat at her desk. You could cut the atmosphere between her and Goren with a knife. Obviously yesterday's showdown in the interview room had only been the opening bout. Logan flirted with the idea of opening a book then discovered he didn't have the heart for it. He turned his attention back to Falacci.

"Any answer?"

Falacci replaced the receiver and shook her head.

"Nope, not at home or his cell and his office said he's taken some leave. The school said the kids are off sick with a stomach bug. Logan, I'm –"

She was interrupted by Jeffries calling across the room.

"Logan, it's the M.E. for you – line two."

They waited the expected five seconds and then the phone rang. Logan answered it and, of course, it was Rodgers on the line.

Rodgers smiled at the matching queasy looks on Logan and Falacci's faces. Jefferson Davies, more commonly known as the Orange Man, didn't look any prettier or less orange on the inside.

"See how the lungs are liquified, it's spread a little to the surrounding organs. Looks like something's reacted with his skin, nasal passages, right down into his lungs."

Logan leaned over to look closer, his breathing shallow to protect against an odious smell. It was not as bad as he expected, there was just the usual ripe sickly scent of the beginnings of decomposition.

"Anything on the tox screen?"

Rodgers checked the contents of the folder in her hands.

"The usual money-man mix of cocaine and alcohol, and something the lab couldn't identify, which probably caused all this..." She flapped her hand in the direction of the body.

Falacci chimed in.

"You ever seen anything like this before?"

Rodgers leaned back against the counter and folded her arms.

"Well, the tissue damage is similar to someone who's come into contact or inhaled something corrosive. But I'd expect to see damage to the clothing and there is none. And I can't account for the colour."

Logan straightened and went back to stand by his partner.

"Did you try ... you know?"

Rodgers hugged herself a little tighter at the memory.

"Yes, I touched him. Nothing of use. He was pumped up about a deal, then suddenly there was a searing pain in his face, he struggled to catch his breath and that was it. I've got the lab doing more tests, but it doesn't look promising. Over to you."

She handed the folder to Logan.

"Thanks," he replied, sardonically. "I guess we'd better see if they've sent over the security tapes yet."

"You turn up anything in those records?"

Goren was too preoccupied to notice that Tiggs' didn't shrink away or avoid his eyes as usual. Tiggs reached across the desk and grabbed a stack of files, more neatly piled than they had been yesterday.

"It's all in the report I put on top, but the upshot is the ex-wife's behind it. Got a real axe to grind. And she seems to have got herself an unscrupulous lawyer who's happy to file one malicious suit after another."

"Got a name?"

"Yeah, it's Carver, Ronald Carver."

Goren's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Tiggs waited until Goren was safely out of earshot before he picked up the phone.

"It's me. I think I've found just the person you need."