Connie POV

I got to Mulder's apartment around six-thirty, with the intention of relieving Jeremy.

Mulder texted a little bit ago to tell me that he's swamped at work, and it might be eight or nine before he makes it home, and Jeremy's been there with Cecilia all day.

I texted him back, teasing him even while being extremely proud of him for his work ethic in his newfound career.

Afraid J might have game?

His response was quick, as it usually is, because Mulder can be working on three computers simultaneously and still manage to have the brain cells and a finger at the ready for texting.

Ha ha. Not even a little bit. But he was up late last night.

Up late.

Because he went to Jennifer's, with Lupo.

"You took him with you?" I asked my husband when he arrived home at nearly four in the morning.

"I couldn't take the time to argue with him. And really, he's sharp. He's an extra set of eyes, and he'll make for a good witness if there's ever a need for testimony about what went on before IAB arrived."

I couldn't fault his logic, and I wasn't really questioning his judgment anyway, I was just surprised.

"I appreciate you thinking of me and my potential need for a witness," I said with a smile, watching him as he stripped down and climbed into bed with me.

As worried as I'd been initially, when Lupo first told me what was happening, he'd since called to ease my mind, filling me in on the whole situation and then saying he was going to spend some time with IAB and then run by the hospital before coming home.

While waiting, I thought about the possible implications of what Lauren had done. I know my boss is a fair man, but sometimes he and I don't see eye to eye, and Lupo's mention of Jeremy being a possible witness had me indignant.

"But we shouldn't need a witness. If Jack McCoy even thinks about wanting to prosecute, I'm turning in my resignation."

"He was at the hospital," Lupo told me, sighing with exhaustion as he pulled me into his arms.

"Jack?"

"Uh huh. His executive assistant did get shot."

"I know, but…huh," I mused. "So you talked to him? Did he say anything about…"

"Connie, it's four a.m. Are we going to talk about your boss?" he asked, his voice just a whisper as his lips grazed the side of my neck.

We didn't.

But I did seek out Jack when I arrived at the office this morning.

"I'm not presenting the Flowers case to a grand jury," I stated firmly as I stood in the doorway of his office.

He looked up at me with wry amusement, giving me a crooked smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Is there a Flowers case?"

"You know what happened. Lupo said you were at the hospital."

"I was checking on Mike, who'll be out of the office today, by the way."

"I figured."

"You can handle whatever he was working on?"

"Of course," I responded.

"Good. Then let's not worry about a grand jury unless the police bring us compelling evidence to warrant prosecution."

"Even then," I pushed, wanting to make my stand clear.

"You're friends with the involved parties. I get it," he said amicably. "And considering I think Inspector Dunn must walk on water, since she manages to put up with Mike, I'm on board with you."

"Good," I said with a sharp nod. It always seems to surprise me, when he tosses out a sense of humanity, although I'm not sure why. I respect the hell out of him. I guess it's just that sometimes I feel like he lets the politics of the office override his decency.

Anyway, that was this morning, and I spent the day in Mike's office, strategizing for the upcoming Jocelyn Moser appeal.

At noon, the Gorens dropped by.

"We're in the market for a search warrant. Know where we might get one?" Alex said as she entered the office.

"Anything that might get us out of actually going to trial sounds like a great idea to me. Who are we looking at? Do we have cause?"

"If you squint and look at it sideways," Bobby answered. "Chris Hanson."

"The prosecutor?" I asked in surprise. "He's involved?"

"Our working theory is that Jocelyn somehow extorted him," Alex explained.

"Into committing murder for her? Seriously? What kind of leverage does she have on the guy?"

"Sleeping with underage prostitutes. Still," Bobby emphasized with amazement. "Apparently almost getting caught last fall wasn't enough to scare him straight, and Jocelyn must have known it, either with evidence or just a gut instinct."

"Yeah, we're still not sure how she's getting information out there, but somehow she threatened to out him if he didn't help her. Which for a guy like him would mean a whole lot more than just losing his family."

"Okay, so, what is it you want to search? His office? Because you have to know it's pretty tough to get a search warrant for a DA's office. And by tough, I mean damn near impossible."

"I love your optimism," Alex said with a smirk. "No, we just want to scare the bejesus out of him. If we show him a warrant to search his home, he's going to start scrambling to figure out how to keep his wife in the dark."

"If your theory is right, it's only a matter of time before his wife knows the whole, sordid story anyway," I said as I pulled out a form for requesting a search warrant. "You really think he killed that girl?"

"Not personally, no, but we think he made it happen."

"I'll see what I can do," I agreed. "It might take me an hour or so."

"No problem. We're on our way back to prison to take another run at Elka. Have her cell tossed, put the squeeze on a little…"

"Sounds like fun," I said, amused by Alex's light-hearted description of visiting Riker's.

"Maybe, but not as much fun as we want to offer you," she countered.

"Which is…"

"Feel like having a chat with Daniel Edelman?" Bobby asked. "We feel like he's the mule, even if he doesn't know it. Thought you might play a little hardball with him."

So I did, after applying for their warrant.

I went in search of Mr. Edelman.

And they were right, it was kind of fun, mostly because I got to be the bad guy, and considering my mood over what happened to my friends last night, it was kind of cathartic.

"Come to offer a plea bargain?" he asked arrogantly when I found him in the coffee shop around the corner from his office. "Because I typically like to meet with opposing counsel in a little more professional setting."

"You mean like Rikers? I think the coffee shop is fine," I said, taking a seat across from him.

"So you do have an offer."

"Yes. One for you to do the right thing."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your client is using you, and if you aren't careful, you're going to find yourself disbarred."

"What?" he asked, and his confusion seemed legitimate.

"I'm here out of professional courtesy, but if you blow me off and keep doing what you're doing, the next time I come to see you, I'll have a couple of detectives with me, ready to take you into custody."

"Connie, I…"

"Aiding and abetting, conspiracy, extortion," I continued firmly. "Is that what you want? To throw away your career and your freedom for a con artist like Jocelyn Moser?"

"I haven't done anything," he insisted.

"Okay. So you haven't let her use your cell phone. You haven't delivered any mail for her. You haven't passed along a message of any kind."

"No, I…oh, um…"

His face paled as his words trailed off, and I was proud of myself for getting him, because it was obvious that he would only need one more little nudge.

"I might believe you didn't know what you were doing when you did it, but now you know, so if you continue to help her, then I can't help you."

"I made a call," he said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I don't know if it's relevant, but it seemed odd to me."

"A call to whom? For what?"

"Another lawyer. She said she wanted me to get some advice on trial strategy."

"She didn't think you could handle it?"

"I'm not sure if I can talk about this. I mean, it's subject to privilege, right?"

"Not if you're a party to her crimes."

"Oh my God," he moaned.

"Daniel, listen to me," I said softly. "Telling me what you said to another lawyer isn't violating her privilege, so just tell me about your part of the conversation."

"I asked him if he was familiar with the original case, from last fall."

"That's it?"

"I said an appeal was pending."

I sat back in my chair as I thought about his words, but I couldn't see how either sentence equated to arranging a hit.

"Who was the lawyer?"

"Chris Hanson."

"A New Jersey prosecutor? And that didn't set off any bells?"

"It did, but I didn't see the harm in it."

"So you just asked him if he was familiar with the case. Nothing else?"

He just stared at me for a moment, and then he said, "And I asked him about his wife."

"You did what?"

"I asked how she's doing, that's all."

I finished my conversation with Daniel, and on my way out of the coffee shop - after telling him I expected to be called into chambers to discuss his withdrawal as Jocelyn's counsel - I called Alex.

"How'd the prison cell search go? Because on this end, it seems like your theory of blackmail is dead on."

I filled her in on my discussion with Edelman, and then I went back to the office, or rather Mike's office, and as soon as I sat down, my phone rang.

"Lupo," I answered, and I was grateful to hear Mike's chuckle.

"I can't get used to that," he admitted. "You'll always be Rubirosa to me."

"How are you?" I asked him, sitting back in his chair and unable to stop the smile.

"Jennifer got discharged, so we're back at my place."

"And your arm?"

"I'll live. And now I'll have something in common with all of our detective friends. A gunshot scar."

"You're sounding awfully casual about this whole thing. I'm impressed."

"What happened to me is nothing compared to what Jennifer and Lauren went through," he responded, his voice lowered to a hushed tone that told me he didn't want his girlfriend to overhear.

"From what Lupo said, Jennifer got the worst of it. How's she doing?"

"On the surface, she's great. But it's a front. It's bound to come out sooner or later."

"Sooner would be better."

"I know. So everything's okay at the office? Anything you need me for?"

"The Gorens are working on making the Moser appeal irrelevant. I'm guessing they'll have something either today or tomorrow. Last I heard, they were heading over to talk to Chris Hanson, and I got Edelman to admit to making a call to him, at Jocelyn's behest."

"Sounds like you don't need me at all," he replied in amusement.

"Not today. But Mike, I'm here for you. You know that, right? For you and Jennifer, anything you need."

"I know. Thanks, Connie."

It warms my heart to see how far he's come. Not so long ago, Mike had a thing for me, and he resented Lupo, and he didn't consort with me or anyone, really, outside of work. Now he and I are such close friends, and he's in love, and he likes and respects Lupo…sometimes it just feels like all of the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.

Except for trying to get pregnant.

And I know, it hasn't been that long, but it feels like it, and maybe it's because it's such a huge decision, and I'm still so scared about it even though I want it to happen. Lupo blames himself, I know. He's worried about his teenage marijuana habit.

"B says his cousin used to smoke it all the time, and now he has four kids," he told me this morning before he went to work, his words accompanied by a hangdog expression, as though he expected me to berate him for things he did as a kid. And I guess he does expect that, since he's beating himself up about it.

"I don't want four," I said playfully, grabbing onto his jacket and pulling him to me. "But maybe two. And nothing you did when you were fifteen is going to keep that from happening, so stop being such a worry wart, okay?"

"A worry wart?" he repeated, smiling as he brought his lips close to mine. "Is that what I am?"

Then he kissed me with inspiring enthusiasm, something that made my insides flutter and my knees weak.

It was so good, in fact, that just thinking about it now, nearly twelve hours later, those same sensations are easily recreated in my mind, making me really wish I were with him right now.

A couple of hours with Cecilia, and then out to meet Lupo, I reminded myself. He's still working, and he said he'd text when he finishes, so that I can meet him at Steve-O's, and honestly, I can't wait to see him. Some days feel longer than others, and this one has felt like an eternity, and thinking about him, about his eyes and his cute smile, and his kisses…yeah, I miss him.

But that's not to say it won't be nice spending time with Cecilia, I don't mean it like that. After the day with Jeremy, she'll probably be ready for some female companionship, and most likely, I can help her do some of the things she can't do for herself, things she wouldn't do with Jeremy.

"Hey, you came!" Jeremy said enthusiastically when he opened the door. "Mulder said you might be by, but then I heard everyone was meeting at Steve-O's, so I wasn't sure."

He stepped back, inviting me inside, and I saw Cecilia sitting in the recliner in the living room.

"You made it out of the bedroom," I said with a smile. "That's progress."

"Mulder carried me out here, when he came home for lunch," she explained. "Although you know, my wrist doesn't feel that bad, so I can probably start using crutches."

"Don't rush it, or you'll make it worse," I said, my words coming nearly simultaneously with Jeremy's, who was saying something very similar. Cecilia laughed as I looked at the boy curiously, but he just shrugged.

"Liz preached to me about not letting her do too much," he said. "And hey, I'm not an idiot. I know how these things work."

"Uh huh. You probably have time to go home and shower and then make it to Steve-O's," I told him. "But your dad will be there, so no using that fake ID."

"Ha ha," he retorted with a grin. "But yeah, thanks."

He went over and kissed Cecilia on the cheek, and then he stopped next to me and gave me a quick peck, too, and then he was out the door.

"He's such a nice guy," Cecilia said once he was gone. "I can't believe he sat over here all day, just to keep me company."

"He didn't drive you crazy?" I asked, coming into the living room to sit down the couch.

"Only a little. It's actually really nice how Mulder's friends have automatically become my friends. I mean, I think it says a lot about what people think of him, don't you? Even you, you know? You're here, when you don't have to be."

She looked like she was about ready to cry, and I'm guessing she's exhausted and the events of Sunday night are catching up to her, so I offered, "Hey, how about a bath? Hot water, lots of bubbles…maybe a glass of wine?"

A couple of tears did fall then, but she smiled and nodded, saying, "That would be really nice."

It took me a little while to get everything ready, and then to help her get down the hall to the bathroom and into the tub, but once she was settled, with her casted leg wrapped and propped on the edge and the rest of her ensconced in the hot, steamy water, she sighed contentedly.

"I'm sorry. I almost had a breakdown on you."

"You're allowed," I said easily, handing her a glass of white. "I'll just let you relax for a bit. Shout if you need anything."

"You can stay," she offered. "Pour yourself a glass and have a seat."

She looked sheepish as she gestured towards the toilet lid, and it struck me that she, like Mulder, seems about ten years or so younger than her actual age. There's just an innocence about both of them, a sweetness that too many people lose as they move into adulthood.

"I don't care for wine, but I'd love the company," I agreed.

So I sat on the fluffy yellow lid cover, a leftover bit of décor from when this was Lauren's bathroom, and I chatted with Mulder's girlfriend about a variety of topics. It was almost like girls' night, only without the shots of tequila. And less sex talk. But still, I've missed hanging out with my friends, and it was nice sharing some girl talk, and I really like Cecilia.

"So are you thinking about taking the job with the DA's office?" I ventured after coming back from the kitchen with the bottle of wine so that I could refill her glass.

"You know about that?"

"Mike asked for my opinion before he made you the offer," I confessed. "But don't worry, I haven't told anyone."

"Oh. It's just, well, I haven't discussed it with Mulder. I was going to. That's why I called him Sunday night, from the car."

"To tell him about the offer?"

"Yes, and that I decided to take it. I wasn't sure at first, because I don't want to put pressure on Mulder, you know? I don't want him to think I'm taking it so that I can move here to be near him. That almost sounds a little stalkery," she said with a small smile. "I mean, it would be a plus for me, living closer to him, but the job itself makes me want to be here."

"I'm sure you've weighed the decision carefully."

"I have. But now, I don't know. I'm not sure when I can work again, or if Mr. Cutter will still want me. I can't…"

"He wants you," I interrupted. "We talked about it yesterday."

"But what if it's a few weeks?"

"He expected you to work out a notice in Boston anyway. And let's face it, he's wanted Mulder working for us practically since the day they met, and Mike feels like having you would be just as good," I assured her, then I smiled and said, "Better, even, because he understands what you say."

Cecilia laughed, but then came to Mulder's defense, and I like that.

"He's not so hard to understand," she said softly. "He just gets caught up in the moment, you know?"

"I know."

She sighed and leaned her head back against the edge of the tub, keeping her eyes closed as she said, "I'm in love with him."

I smiled broadly, even though she still isn't looking at me, and then I said, "I know."

She cautiously opened one eye, and her face is flushed and in spite of the bruises mottling her skin, she just looks so sweet and pretty and happy, and I love that she and Mulder found each other, and that she obviously wants him as much as he wants her.

"And you're okay with that?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that," I promised.

About twenty minutes later, we got her out of the tub and into pajamas and situated in Mulder's bed.

"You don't have to stay. I'm sure Mulder will be home soon," she said as I checked my cell phone. I had a missed text from Lupo, but it was only a few minutes old.

I'm done. We can meet at Steve-O's…or not.

I'm not sure why, but I took his words as suggestion, and suddenly that arousal from before, from the memory of his kiss, was rolling back through me, and as much as I've missed our friends, tonight I just want him.

And then it hit me, the timing…my breasts have been tender today, I've been mildly crampy, not to mention my lustful imagination.

"Are you sure?" I asked Cecilia as I began typing a response.

And then I heard the front door open, and Mulder called out, and Cecilia's whole face lit up at the sound of him coming down the hall.

"Never mind. You're sure," I said with a grin, so then I hit send on the text message.

Meet me at home. We're going to make a baby.

TBC...

Next Up: Carolyn