Liz POV

I should've expected an audience.

Considering Lupo texted me to get a time for when I planned to start Flowers' autopsy, I had to know there would be interested parties.

I just didn't expect it to be Lauren.

"Are you sure you want to see this?" I asked her for the third time since her arrival.

I glanced over at her, awaiting her response, and I took in her appearance.

She looks beautiful, of course. In the months I've known her, I've never seen her look less than perfect, and I don't mean because she tries. She just can't help it. It would probably annoy the hell out of me if she weren't so nice.

Her hair is loose, and still damp from a recent shower, where I can only imagine she scrubbed her skin raw. Her wrists still bear the marks from her struggle against too-tight duct tape, and bruising along the side of her face and jawline is just starting to show.

But she appears more relaxed than I've seen her in weeks. Conflicted, maybe. Preoccupied. But still relaxed.

It's Bernard who seems on edge. He's standing next to her, watching her like a hawk.

"I need to see it," she answered, locking her eyes determinedly on mine, and then nodding towards the body on the table. "It's confirmation."

"That he's dead?" I asked, feeling like her mood was okay for teasing. "I don't think it's possible for him to be any more dead."

"If it were, I'd take care of it," Bernard mumbled.

"You'd have to stand in line, I believe," I remarked, and then Aaron came into the room, and he's gloved and gowned like he wants to assist me.

He's been working with me for a month, but only as an observer and gopher, not as an assistant.

I raised an eyebrow at him, and he assumed the classic Ross male stance, issuing a challenge without saying a word.

"No," I answered firmly, because maybe the chief can intimidate most people with that posture, and Aaron surely has it perfected as well as his father, but he's forgetting that I'm not one of those people.

"Oh, come on, Liz," he begged, instantly reverting to teenager tactics. "I just want to have a closer look."

"Not on this one," I answered with empathy. "But another one, okay? I just have to do this completely by the book, since IAB will be analyzing everything."

"IAB? Because they think Hayes shouldn't have shot him? Are you kidding me? That's just stupid," he responded, looking over at Lauren with indignant concern.

"She's Detective Bernard," I reminded him. "And it's an officer-involved shooting. They all get investigated, whether it's stupid or not."

"But I appreciate the support," Lauren said with a smirk.

Bernard turned to his wife and kissed her on the cheek, after whispering something in her ear, and then he started for the door, looking over at Aaron as he said, "Come on, A. Buy me a cup of coffee and explain to me why the hell you want to work in this place."

Aaron immediately pulled off the gloves and gown and followed Bernard out of the autopsy suite, leaving me and Lauren alone with Flowers.

"Something's on your mind," I stated, realizing that she wants to talk.

She shrugged, and her eyes glassed over a bit, but she didn't say anything, so I decided to let her start whenever she's ready. In the meantime, I picked up my camera and got to work, documenting the body's exterior condition, and making notes of every little scratch and blood stain.

And trust me, he has a lot of blood on him.

I hate knowing that it's not all his.

I was most of the way through collecting samples when Lauren finally spoke up.

"I know CSU did trajectory, but you're going to follow-up, right?"

Not exactly what I was expecting her to say.

"It's a head shot, Lauren. You were standing, he was standing…"

"And Mike was standing behind him," she finished solemnly, and that's when the lightbulb clicked on in my head.

"You feel responsible for his bullet wound?"

"I am responsible for it," she replied emphatically.

I put down my camera and glanced across the table to where she was standing only a few feet away, and I can see the emotion welling up in her at an alarming rate, so I figure if I give her just a few more seconds, she's going to let it all out in a hurry.

She didn't disappoint.

"Liz, I could've killed him! I wasn't even thinking about him when I pulled the trigger. I wasn't thinking about anything but killing Flowers, and because of my carelessness, Mike could be in one of these drawers, waiting for you to cut him up! As if Jennifer doesn't already hate me enough, but on top of everything else, I shot the man she loves, and…"

"Wait, hang on," I interrupted. "I'm all for purging your feelings, but don't start spouting bullshit at me."

"None of what I said is bullshit," she replied hotly, and I don't mind because I know her outrage isn't aimed at me. It's apparently not at the man on the table, either, although it should be. Instead, it's at herself.

"Why on earth would Jennifer hate you?"

"Are you kidding me? Look what happened to her, and it's all my fault! Flowers never would've come after her if it weren't for me. Everyone was so worried about my safety, and while I'm surrounded by people everywhere I go, she's home alone with that psycho, and he…he…God, Liz, he had his hands all over her, and she let him because…because…she was trying to keep him from hurting me, but instead he hurt her, and after everything she endured for me, I recklessly fired her weapon, putting one of her own bullets into her boyfriend, into the fa…well, maybe the…I mean…"

She broke off, and tears were streaming down her face, and seconds ago, I stripped my gloves and moved around the table, so as she finished her tirade, I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her close and letting her cry.

Once again, I feel like a mother, rubbing her back and soothing her as she worked through her emotions. We stood like that for several long minutes, and then I felt her take a deep breath and relax her hold on me.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly.

"Sorry? For what? We're friends. Unless…wait, am I supposed to hate you, too?"

She rolled her eyes, smirking even as she sniffled, and then shook her head and said, "If he'd come to your house, God forbid, then yes."

I sighed at her rationale because I know there's no way Jennifer blames her for what happened, but Lauren isn't going to just take my word for it. The least I can do is hopefully ease her mind about the shooting, so I motioned her closer to the table.

"Let's take a look at this gunshot wound," I said, gloving up again and then leaning down for closer inspection.

Danny told me what happened at Jennifer's apartment. He went over there last night after Lupo called him. I was going to go, but he suggested a different ME.

"Just for the on-scene work," he clarified. "Just to be on the safe side."

"Because I might try to cover something up?"

"I don't see there being anything to cover up. I'm just saying, I'll have to get IAB on it, and if they show up and everyone in that room is friends with the victims, it might look suspicious."

He was right, so I didn't fight him on it, although I did insist on performing the autopsy. IAB can say whatever they want, but I don't want to risk Jenkins missing something vital.

Especially after I talked with Jeremy, after he got home from the scene. I held my tongue at first, since Aaron was with him, but once the younger boy went to bed, Jeremy and I went into the kitchen.

"What were you thinking, going over there?"

"I was with Lupo when he got the text from Bernard. We didn't know what was happening, and…"

"I'm not asking how Lupo found out. I'm asking why you went with him," I repeated, only feeling marginally bad for harping on the issue. Ordinarily, I wouldn't feel bad at all because we just discussed his excessive involvement, and I thought we had a solution we could all live with, and then tonight, there he was at a crime scene.

"Because," he said determinedly. "Liz, it was Lauren and Jennifer."

His simple explanation, combined with his distressed expression, caused me to back off.

I can't blame him for wanting to make sure the women were okay. In fact, I find his actions gallant and brave.

"So tell me about it. How are they?"

He surprised me then, by stepping forward and wrapping his arms around me.

"I feel so bad for them," he said, his voice ragged and strained. "They had to have been so scared, and I could tell Jennifer was in a lot of pain, but Liz…they overpowered him."

That much, I knew, just from the call from Lupo, but I let him tell it in his own way.

"They didn't let their fear get the best of them. They were smart enough to get the upper hand, even when the odds were stacked against them. It's just…they're amazing."

He paused for a minute, still holding me tightly, and then he said, "I don't understand what goes through the mind of a man like Flowers."

"I'm not sure anyone does."

"And you know, they were just going to arrest him. Take him into custody. After everything he did. But then he got up and went after Jennifer again, and that's when Lauren shot him."

He took another deep breath and then he relaxed his hold.

"Are you okay? I would imagine it was a pretty gruesome scene."

"I keep seeing it in my mind," he admitted. "I probably will for a while, huh?"

"Yes. Which is one reason why your father doesn't want you going to crime scenes. It's not a game, Jeremy. Real lives are involved, real people."

"I know that. But I had to go. I mean, so what if I have a few nightmares? It's nothing compared to what Lauren's been going through, and now Jennifer will, too. And how can she ever go back to her apartment now?"

"She's strong. And people do what they have to do."

He nodded thoughtfully, and then said, "I know Dad's ticked at me, but do you think he'll be okay if I take the day off tomorrow? Mulder needs to go back to work, and I thought I'd keep Cecilia company. She still can't get around very well, and I don't think it's smart to leave her alone."

"I think your dad will be happy with that decision," I said, ruffling his hair as a wave of love went through me. Such a good boy.

We talked a little more, and then he went up to bed while I went back into the den, intent to wait for Danny to return home. It turned out to be quite a while, but such is the life we chose, the life I'm happy to be living, and instead of talking, we just went to bed.

But still, from the earlier conversations, I know the gist of what happened.

I know that Lauren was reaching for handcuffs when Flowers lunged at Mike and Jennifer.

She did what she had to do to protect her friends, and yet she's beating herself up about it, but I find it impossible to believe that someone as professional as Lauren would ever be careless with her weapon.

At the moment, Flowers is prone on the table. There's a nice, neat entrance wound on the back of his head, towards the upper right side.

"Give me the layout," I said to her, even though I know it.

"Mike and Jennifer were a few feet from the front door. She had her back to me, and he was facing me. They were hugging," she clarified.

"Okay, and Flowers was…"

"He was on the floor next to the table. Maybe ten feet from them," she stated, and then she looked up, her attention shifting from the bullet hole to me as she said, "He was out cold for several minutes. Jennifer hit him with a skillet. Hard."

"Uh huh, I can see that," I replied, pointing a gloved finger to the redness barely visible through his close-cut hair. He hadn't lived long enough post-whack for any kind of real bruising, but the point of impact was still easy to find.

"I wanted her to hit him again," she said softly. "And then we talked about just shooting him, as he was lying unconscious on the floor."

"Perfectly reasonable desire," I remarked. "In fact, I'm impressed with your willpower. But I hope you didn't mention that part to IAB."

"I did," she answered. "I was completely honest about everything."

I raised a purposeful eyebrow at her and asked, "Why?"

She hesitated for a moment, at first surprised by my question, and then she closed her eyes, shaking her head as she said, "Because I didn't do anything wrong."

I love helping a person reach the right conclusion all on their own, but while I was mentally patting myself on the back, she continued.

"But that's just in the part about shooting Flowers. I mean, my decision to pull the trigger. He was a threat to the lives of others. But I didn't consider the angle, or the fact that I was putting lives at risk, too. Mike and Jennifer's lives."

"So then why did you hit him so far to the right? I thought you were a good shot."

"I…I am," she said, looking back at the bullet hole.

"So you hit where you were aiming. Even after the traumatic events. Even when you only had a split second to react."

"Well…yes."

"You aimed to the right. Because that was the furthest side from where Mike and Jennifer were standing," I stated. "You were being careful of your friends."

"I think Mike would beg to differ, considering the doctor had to dig a bullet out of his arm last night."

I rolled my eyes at her stubbornness and then grabbed onto Flowers shoulders and carefully rolled him onto his back.

"Bullets don't always go straight, especially after hitting bone, and even more so after hitting the thickness of a skull."

She was quiet as I probed the wound, her eyes watching my every movement, and then I pointed to what remained of his right orbital rim.

"This is what triggered the ricochet effect," I told her.

She looked up at me with skepticism, so I explained, "Your shot wasn't careless. You aimed right, and the path was altered, causing it to shift left and go into Mike. There's no way you could've predicted that happening like it did. And your only other alternative was not to shoot, right? And then where would Mike be right now? Possibly a whole lot worse off than a minor bullet wound."

She continued to stare at me, and I waited as she digested my words, and then she exhaled heavily and nodded.

"Okay, so…okay," she said with relief.

"And you know there's no way Jennifer blames you for him getting shot. There's no way she blames you for any of it."

"But…"

"You think this is the first time some nut job has gone after a loved one? Hell, I was attacked right here in this morgue by some guy out to ruin Danny and Bobby."

She nodded, obviously having heard the story even though it was before her time at Major Case, but then she asked, "And you never felt any kind of bitterness or resentment towards either of them?"

She had me with that one. I did spend a little time - much too much time - blaming Danny.

"Maybe. But I came around to realize what I'm sure Jennifer already knows. That you can't control crazy people."

I changed the topic after that, knowing that she had the information she needed, and it would just take some time for her not to feel guilty about it, so we chatted amicably while I worked on Flowers, and after another ten minutes or so, I could hear Aaron and Bernard talking as they came back down the hall.

"Hey," I said quietly, just before the men entered the room. "I'm glad you're okay. And I'm glad he's dead."

And for the first time today, she smiled. An exhausted, relieved, victorious smile.

"Yeah, me, too."

TBC...

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