Rebecca unlocked the office at 8:00 the next morning and began her morning preparations. She put a pot of coffee on and pulled up the blinds. As she turned away from the window, she saw the shelf that had been knocked over the night before and the books strewn about. Confused, Rebecca walked to Bobby's office, wondering if he was in there. But what she saw from the doorway surprised her even more. Bobby was sleeping on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table. Lindsay lay against the other end with her feet in Bobby's lap. Rebecca knocked on the door gently.

Bobby sat bolt upright at the sound, shocked out of a deep sleep. His feet flew off the table and landed on something soft which let out a startled, "ow!"

Helen sat up and shot Bobby an accusing look as she reached down to rub her now bruised leg. Jarred by Bobby's sudden movement, Lindsay whimpered and opened her eyes. The smell of left over pizza had her trying to stand up, only to have to stop to grab her crutches before swinging herself to Bobby's bathroom. The door closed behind her and a gagging sound followed.

Rebecca raised her eyebrows. "Do I even want to know?"

Both Helen and Bobby shook their heads. Bobby looked at Helen then. "What are you doing here?"

Helen rolled her eyes. "You fell asleep before you could drive me home. I'll catch a cab when Lindsay comes out of the bathroom."

Bobby nodded and turned to the office manager. "Did you put coffee on?"

"Don't I always," Rebecca retorted.

"Bless you." Bobby stood and made it to the door before he turned back to Helen. "You want some?"

Helen nodded and stood also. She walked to Bobby's bathroom and knocked on the door. "You okay in there, Linds?"

"I will be," came the muffled reply. A few minutes later, Lindsay came back out looking green.

"You're sure it won't make you too late?" Bobby asked Helen who said no, then saw Lindsay and quickly shut up, taking a long drink of her coffee.

Lindsay looked from one to the other suspiciously but before she could say anything, Rebecca was sitting her down in a chair and propping her ankle on the small filing cabinet. Once she was situated, Lindsay gave Helen a stern look. "What were you talking about?"

Helen looked guilty so Bobby spoke up. "Well, uh, we were talking and you can't really drive with your ankle." Lindsay nodded so Bobby continued. "We thought that Helen could drive your car to her house, get ready, then by the time you get to your place, Chris will probably be gone."

Lindsay nodded her agreement and Helen began helping Lindsay out to her car.

After both women got ready, Helen dropped Lindsay off in front of her office. She'd been planning on helping her inside, but Lindsay insisted that she could manage and pointed out that Helen was already late for work. Lindsay waved goodbye and swung herself into the lobby. She watched and when Helen had turned a corner, Lindsay maneuvered herself outside again and hailed a cab. When the cabbie dropped her off in front of the courthouse, Lindsay took a deep breath and ventured inside. On the seventh floor, she was careful to look around for Helen before knocking on the door of her boyfriend's office.

"Come in," his voice testily replied and Lindsay shuddered. If Chris was in a bad mood already, then he'd obviously had a bad day in court. Still, she opened the door and entered. Chris looked up from his work and a look of surprise crossed his face. "What happened to you?"

Lindsay scowled. "I sprained my ankle when you pushed me last night."

Chris shook his head. "It can't be from that. You didn't fall that hard." A look of sympathy replaced the surprise on Chris's face as he walked around the desk and stood in front of Lindsay. "I understand. You're using the crutches to show me what could of happened."

Lindsay shook her head as Chris took the crutches from under her arms and laid them on his couch. "I'm not using them to prove a point Chris, I need them. But that's not why I came here."

Chris ran his hands down Lindsay's arms. "What is it?"

Lindsay took a deep breath. "I think we should break up."

"What?" Chris exclaimed, looking honestly shocked. "Why? Christ Lindsay, I have Kate breathing down my neck about losing the last few convictions, I don't need this too!"

"Chris, you threw me into a metal shelf! If Bobby hadn't come in..."

"I'm sorry baby," Chris wrapped his arms around her and rocked back and forth. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that I have so much pressure on me right now from upstairs and this case is really driving me nuts. All I wanted last night was to go home with you and relax. But you were working late and I got jealous. It's just because I love you so much. Please Linds, I won't let it happen again, I promise. I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you."

Lindsay closed her eyes and let herself forget the other times that Chris had said those exact same words, or words very close to them. Chris loved her, she reminded herself. And she was lucky that he did.

Chris kissed the top of her head. "Now I have to get back to work, and you do to. No more talk about breaking up, okay?" Lindsay nodded and Chris continued. "And you don't really need those crutches. We wouldn't want people to think I hurt you, would we?" Lindsay shook her head and Chris walked back around to his desk and sat down. Lindsay took the signal and limped out of the room, trying not to think of the pain shooting through her ankle.

Lindsay arrived back at the office from her visit with Chris fifty-five minutes later. From the courthouse to the office usually took her fifteen minutes to walk the twenty blocks. She had been planning on hailing a cab since putting any weight on her ankle at all shot a blinding flash of white pain through her entire leg. But every cab in Boston seemed to either be full or off duty and by the time she'd seen one, she'd been two blocks from the office. So she hobbled into the elevator and tried to wipe the tears from behind her sunglasses. It wasn't sunny out but by the fifth block she hadn't been able to stop the tears from overflowing down her cheeks. Once the elevator doors closed, Lindsay leaned against the railing, allowing it to take her weight and keep it off her ankle.

The doors opened on the fifth floor far too soon and Lindsay limped out of the elevator. She leaned against the wall and gave semi-serious consideration to crawling the few yards to the office. Only pride kept her on her feet but by the time she opened the office door tears were again falling down her face and all Lindsay wanted was to sit down. She pushed the door opened and Rebecca glanced up. When she saw Lindsay, she let out a shocked gasp and hurried to her side. Ellenor and Jimmy looked up from their desks and stood also, asking questions. The commotion drew both Bobby and Eugene out of their offices. Everyone was asking questions at once and trying to talk over each other, but Bobby's voice was soft, dangerous, and cut through the others like a switchblade.

"Where are your crutches?"

"Chris took them," Lindsay whispered. She recognized the anger and felt herself shrink back against the door jam. "I couldn't find a cab."

"So you walked?!" Bobby was almost yelling now. "It's twenty blocks from the courthouse!" He stopped only when he saw the tears falling down her cheeks. Bobby bit back an oath and in three steps had crossed the office and lifted Lindsay into his arms again. The others parted as he carried her into his office and sat her on the couch. "Stay," he ordered tersely as he strode to the refrigerator and grabbed some ice cubes, wrapped them in a towel, and walked back to Lindsay. He carefully laid the ice on her ankle and held it there, gently soothing the pain.

Lindsay sat on the couch, humiliated and in pain. She hadn't wanted the others in the office to know what was going on in her personal life. It was bad enough that Bobby and Helen knew, the last thing she needed was everyone else pressuring her to break up with Chris. The others had filed into Bobby's office behind them and stood, obviously wanting answers. Lindsay realized that they wouldn't leave until they were satisfied and decided to preempt any questions by just giving them answers.

"I tripped last night and fell into the bookshelf. When I fell, I sprained my ankle. Luckily, Bobby was here and took me to the hospital. I fell asleep here last night. This morning, I went to tell Chris why I wasn't home last night, so he wouldn't worry. He made me realize that I don't really need the crutches and that I was using them for sympathy. And he didn't want people thinking he'd hurt me. So I left them in his office and came back here."

Ellenor, Jimmy and Rebecca exchanged doubtful looks. They'd seen the bruises on Lindsay's face that she'd tried to hide. It was Eugene though who spoke first, his voice soft and understanding.

"Why did Kelton think that people would assume he'd hurt you? That's not a normal assumption. Unless he did." Lindsay looked at the ground and Eugene continued. "Is that what happened, Lindsay? Did Kelton hit you?"

Lindsay shook her head vehemently. "No! It happened like I told you."

"If he's hurting you-" Ellenor began.

"HE'S NOT HURTING ME!" Lindsay screamed, close to tears again. Realizing the volume of her voice, Lindsay blushed and spoke softer, more insistently. "He's not hurting me."

The others nodded and Bobby rubbed a gentle thumb over the back of her hand. "Okay, Linds. Okay. Rebecca," he asked, still looking at Lindsay. "Can you please go to the drug store and get Lindsay another set of crutches? Take the money out of my jacket pocket on the back of the chair."

Rebecca nodded, took the money, and left. The others dispersed with her leaving Bobby and Lindsay alone in the office.

"You were scared of me," Bobby whispered, horrified. Lindsay shook her head in denial, but Bobby continued. "When I yelled, you shrank, your eyes got big. Then when I came towards you, you flinched like you thought I was going to hit you."

"I'm sorry," Lindsay whispered, embarrassed.

Bobby shook his head firmly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. He does."

"He loves me," Lindsay insisted.

Bobby bit back a sigh. He hated seeing what was happening to her, but he also knew that he couldn't stop it, this was something Lindsay was going to have to do for herself.

Lindsay spent most of the day on Bobby's couch where she could both work and keep her ankle elevated. Jimmy took her court appearance for the drug case and Helen picked her up from work, reluctantly dropping Lindsay at the apartment she shared with Chris.

The next three weeks were good ones for Lindsay, or at least there were more good times than bad. Bobby kept a close eye on her and was thankful to not notice any new bruises, at least not where he could see them. Her ankle healed and she was careful to be home on time every night. She hadn't told Chris about the baby yet though. He was still under a lot of stress at work and she wanted him to be happy about it. Or, if that failed, at least not mad. Lindsay figured that indifference was better than anger. Indifference didn't get her hurt.

Lindsay was waiting at the back of the courtroom one day for Chris to finish so they could go to lunch. He was about to arraign a gruesome case. Kristian had been abused by her husband, Jake, for years. She'd tried to go to the police, but they hadn't been able to help much. After a particularly bad beating, she'd taken matters into her own hands, killed Jake and was now up on first degree murder charges. Kristian was being represented by a public defender when Judge Kittleson noticed Lindsay in the back of the room.

"Ms. Dole. Could you step forward please?" Confused, Lindsay obeyed. "Ms. Dole, meet your new client. We'll release her on $500 bond. Let's talk in two days, Thursday, at say 10:30 to discuss progress."

The judge was about to bang her gavel when Lindsay overcame her shock. "I can't, your Honor!"

"And why not?"

"Sidebar, ex parte?"

Judge Kittleson nodded and Lindsay hurried up to the bench. "I have a personal relationship with the ADA, your Honor."

Kittleson didn't look impressed. "Yes, and Bobby Donnell tried cases against Helen Gamble while engaging in a personal relationship with her and you've tried cases against Helen Gamble who I know you are friends with. Added to the fact that you've also tried cases against Mr. Kelton before, I see no reason you shouldn't be able to try this one."

Lindsay sighed and stepped back. She knew when she'd lost an argument. Chris shot her an evil look, but Lindsay just shrugged. There was nothing she could do, it was her case. But she was getting help. She mumbled an excuse to Chris about having to work on the case and not being able to meet him for lunch as she rushed out of the courthouse, into a cab, and to the office. She burst into Bobby's office without knocking.

"We need a meeting," she said without preamble.

Bobby, having been immersed in his case, looked up in surprise. "What? Why?"

"I'll tell everyone then."

"O...kay. Is everyone here?"

"I don't know, I think I saw Ellenor and Jimmy. I didn't check Eugene's office."

"He should be here, he's not due in court until three."

Lindsay nodded. "Can we have it now then?"

Bobby nodded slowly. "Are you okay? You're pale..."

"Fine," Lindsay snapped as she stormed out of Bobby's office, into the conference room to wait. Ten minutes later, everyone had arrived and Lindsay had just finished relating what had happened at the courthouse.

"But you're dating Kelton," Jimmy objected. "That should get you out of it."

"I know! I told Kittleson, but she pointed out that I've tried cases against him before and that Bobby and Helen tried cases against each other."

"I'm second chairing," Bobby said, his tone silencing any argument.

"The trial starts next week, barring any complications. The PD already did all the research, so we should be good there."

The others nodded, feeling bad for Lindsay getting this case dumped on her and wondering how she was going to handle this emotionally. They all thought it would likely hit a little too close to home by the time the verdict was read.

"Lindsay, I need to see you in my office," Bobby said as everyone started to file out. She followed him and sat on the couch when he took a seat in the chair. "Linds, you shouldn't be on this one, and you know it. Especially against Kelton. You're too close to it."

Lindsay shook her head and began to unconsciously rub at the headache brewing behind her eyes. "I'm okay, Bobby. I've been good, I haven't made him mad."

Noticing the movement, Bobby stood up and walked into his bathroom while he spoke over his shoulder. "Don't you think he'll be mad that you're going against him?"

"No. He was there, he knows that I didn't have a choice," Lindsay spoke firmly while willing it to be true. Bobby emerged from the bathroom and held an Advil and a glass of water out to Lindsay, who shook her head. "I can't. It's not good for the baby," she explained as she continued to massage her temples.

Bobby sat next to her and watched, worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Lindsay nodded, even though the movement hurt her head. "Yeah. Headaches are just a part of pregnancy."

Bobby gently turned her so her back was towards him and took over the gentle massage. "Does this hurt?"

Unwilling to move her head, Lindsay whispered, "No, it feels good. Thank you."

"I don't like you doing this case," Bobby spoke softly but firmly, afraid that speaking at a normal volume would make the headache worse.

"I know. But I'll be fine."

"Stress isn't good for the baby," Bobby argued as he moved his fingers down to her neck and shoulders to rub away the tension that lived there.

"I know," Lindsay repeated. It amused her though. Since he'd found out about her pregnancy, Bobby had hovered over her, subtle enough that the others wouldn't notice, or so he thought. He brought her things from lunch, a brownie or a piece of fruit, and made sure she drank lots of milk and no coffee. Chris, on the other hand, still hadn't noticed her pregnancy, except for a mean spirited comment the week before that she was gaining weight.

That afternoon, Lindsay and Bobby had their first meeting with their new client. Kristian sat across from them in the conference room and watched them with big, haunted brown eyes. Lindsay smiled gently. "Can you tell us what happened?" Kristian shot Bobby a nervous look, which he correctly interpreted. He'd seen the same look from Lindsay on occasion. It meant that he wasn't trusted, that he was the enemy because he was a man.

"It's okay, Kristian," he tried to soothe. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'll keep my hands right here, on the table." Bobby laid his hands, palms up, on the table.

Kristian watched, then nodded slowly and began to speak. Her voice was soft and broken and it tore at Lindsay's heart. "I met Jake in college. I loved him right away. He was so smart and so handsome. And I wasn't pretty or smart. But he loved me. I wasn't good enough, quick enough. At least that's what I thought in the beginning. He hit me the first time when I was 20, because he thought I was flirting with another boy. He cried afterwards, said he was sorry, but that I'd made him jealous, that he loved me so much. And I believed him.

"We got married when he graduated college, and I dropped out with only a year left. I'd wanted to be a social worker. I wanted to help abused women and children. I never dreamed I'd be one of them. We had the first baby nine months after the wedding and a year later we had another. Jake was trying to move up in his job, he worked for a big advertising firm. He got so angry when he didn't get a client, he'd take it out on me."

"Did you ever go to the police?" Lindsay interrupted softly.

Kristian nodded. "I tried once when he broke two of my ribs and I was in the ER, but he denied it, said I fell, that it was my fault. Then he came into the room and told me that he'd make sure if I tried to press charges, I'd lose the kids. We'd been married four years by this point and I was pregnant again. I couldn't lose my babies. I never thought he'd hit them.

"But three weeks ago, I left Connor, my oldest, with Jake while I took Justin and Emily to the doctors. I came home and Connor was crying. He had bruises that I saw on his back when I gave him a bath.

"I confronted Jake then, demanded that he leave and never contact us again. I could stand the beatings for me, but not for my children. His eyes got this wild look in them and he came at me. He started hitting me, harder this time than ever before, and he threw me down the stairs. He said he'd kill me before letting me leave. He'd threatened to kill me before, but I could tell he really meant it this time. So I grabbed Connor's baseball bat, it was laying by the door for the next day, and I started hitting him. I hit Jake until he didn't move anymore. I didn't know I'd killed him! I just thought I'd knocked him out!"

Tears were pouring down Kristian's cheeks now and Lindsay reached out, gently taking her hand. "It'll be okay, Kristian. Bobby and I will work our hardest to get you free. I promise."

Kristian nodded and fifteen minutes later, she left. Lindsay came back from showing her out with tears pooled in her eyes. At the door, Kristian had hugged her tightly, thanking her for her help. Bobby hadn't moved since Kristian started her story. All he could think was that if things kept going the way they were, Lindsay was going to be in her position in a few years. The thought had his stomach turning and bile rising in his throat. When Lindsay shut the door, Bobby looked up, surprised. He hadn't noticed that she was gone.

"What are you planning on arguing?"

Lindsay sat down, thinking hard, her hand moving in unconscious circles over her stomach. "I could go with temporary insanity. But if we want Kristian to get her children back, and I do, then that won't work. But, if we argue self defense...it's our best chance. She was protecting herself and her children. If we throw in a little jury nullification, we should be able to get her off."

Bobby nodded, "That's what I was thinking. Lindsay." He waited until she was looking at him, then continued. "I really think I should first chair this. It's too close to you."

Lindsay shook her head stubbornly. "I'm fine, Bobby. I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine."

Bobby didn't believe her and when he called Helen that afternoon to tell her, she didn't think so either. Lindsay threw herself completely into the case though. She would have forgotten lunch on several occasions if Bobby hadn't gone out and brought her a sandwich. She had to get Kristian acquitted, she had to.

As Bobby predicted, Chris wasn't at all happy that Lindsay was working so hard to free one of his cases. As a result, Lindsay spent every night after the Thursday court meeting sleeping on Bobby's couch. Chris had been so furious that the case looked bad for him that Lindsay had thought he was going to hit her right in the courtroom. She could see him losing touch with everything and didn't want to be around when that happened.

The trial began on Monday, less than a week after it'd been assigned to her. After calling the coroner who testified as to how Jake died, Chris called several people to testify as to how much Jake had loved Kristian and that he's never hurt her or the kids. Lindsay, however, was able to get every one of the character witnesses to admit that Jake had a temper and was often jealous for no reason. Lindsay called the doctor from the ER who'd treated Kristian and the police officers who'd been called to both the hospital and Kristian's home. Finally, she called Kristian to the stand. Kristian did great, telling her story exactly as she had every other time. And when Chris got up to cross examine her, she'd stuck to her facts, that she'd thought that he was going to kill her.

Lindsay and Bobby waited in one of the rooms for closing arguments, which were in 20 minutes. Lindsay paced nervously from one end of the room to the other. "I've got to nail this one, Bobby. I can't let her go to jail," she muttered as she bit at a cuticle.

"She did great, Linds," Bobby tried to soothe her. "And so did you. You picked apart the prosecutions witnesses, got them to admit that he was violent. And your closing will be perfect."

Lindsay nodded nervously and continued pacing. In an effort to help her calm down, Bobby went into the hall to find her some water. A knock on the door had Lindsay calling come in, expecting it to be someone from the firm.

"I suppose you're proud of yourself," Chris sneered and Lindsay's head snapped up, fear bright in her eyes. "You can't win this case, Lindsay. There's pressure from upstairs and I could lose my job if I lose one more case. That guy was just protecting what was his, his family. But his stupid bitch wife didn't appreciate him. He put food on the table and a roof over their heads."

"He hit her, Chris," Lindsay argued. She knew that arguing with Chris was a bad idea, but she couldn't help it. She was tired of watching what she said, tired of walking on eggshells in her own home. "Her husband hit her and his son. He was going to kill her!"

Chris shook his head. "What goes on between a man and his wife is nobody's business but theirs. And you don't really want to win this case, do you Lindsay? It would make me very, very unhappy if I lost a killer because of you. Do you realize that you haven't been home at night in nearly a week? Who do you think cooked dinner for me? Who do you think cleaned? Dammit, Lindsay you belong at home not working to free a killer!"

Lindsay had backed up slowly as Chris's voice rose to a shout and now she was pressed against the wall. "It's my job," she tried weakly to reason with him.

"And it's going to cost me mine, you opportunistic bitch!" Chris smacked his hand against the wall next to Lindsay's head causing her to jump. "Now listen to me. You're going to phone this one in. Because you don't want the jury to come back with an aquittal." His voice grew soft and dangerous. "It would be very very bad for you if they did."

Lindsay could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't want Kristian to go to jail, and she couldn't look herself in the face if she purposely blew a case. "No."

"What?" Chris looked furious.

"I said no, Chris," Lindsay's voice was growing stronger. "I'm not going to let her do time, not when she doesn't deserve it."

"Dammit, you will!" A red haze of fury formed in front of his eyes. Without thinking, he swung out and smacked Lindsay across the face. Before she had time to recover, he hit her again and again, until she was half conscious slumped on the floor. Lindsay felt every blow through the gray fog that kept trying to pull her under. The last thing she felt were Chris's hands tighten around her throat, cutting off air as she tried to claw him off. Then the blackness pulled her under.