A/N: Italics mean song lyrics.

"Passion"

Chapter 6 – The Truth

(The team is now up in the office, discussing the results of that day's interviews.)

Stillman: So, we know that the roommate brought the newspaper article to Karen's father. Maybe with the purpose of making him angry.

Jeffries: After all, Karen's investigations and articles were against her area of interest.

Lilly: And from what we looked up on Mr. Hayes, he was definitely passionate about his hospital.

Vera: But Ian and Christopher could be covering for each other. Both saying the other didn't do it. Kind of strange, considering they were both interested in the same girl.

Scotty: Yeah, I'm not buying those two either, but if they acted together, why did Christopher pointed Ian as a suspect back in 1997?

Stillman: OK, guys, we have a lot of possibilities to analyze. Let's call it a day, go home, and tomorrow we come back, and take a fresh look at what we got.

(Everyone starts getting ready to leave. A few moments later, Lilly puts her coat on, grabs her suitcase, says goodbye, and starts to walk away. Scotty runs after her, still putting his coat on, and without saying goodbye to anyone.)

(Lilly is walking fast, Scotty is following her.)

Scotty: Lilly!

Lilly (keeps walking): I'm a hurry, Scotty.

Scotty (grabs Lilly's arm): No, you're not. Wait, please.

Lilly (crosses her arms over her chest): What do you want?

Scotty: Explain what you heard earlier.

Lilly: There's nothing to explain, Scotty.

Scotty: Yes, there is, because it's not what you're thinking.

Lilly (laughs): Scotty... last time I checked myself in the mirror, I didn't have "Stupid" written in my forehead. So, don't give me that crap.

Scotty: Look, Lil, I need to explain what's going on.

Lilly: Scotty, I'm your partner, not your mother, not your wife or your girlfriend, you don't need to explain anything to me. It's just that I expected better from you, Scotty. I thought differently of you, and of your feelings towards Elisa.

Scotty: Let's not bring Elisa into this, Lil. She's dead.

Lilly: Oh, yeah, right, she's dead. She doesn't matter anymore.

Scotty: Now, you don't come and give me that crap, Lilly, because Elisa is not the reason you're angry about this.

Lilly (starts to walk away): I warned you, she's a train wreck. You want to check it for yourself, fine, good luck. But don't expect me to show up at the wedding.

(Scotty doesn't go after Lilly. He stays at building entry hall, watching her go. He looks confused, sad and angry at the same time.)

(Next morning, Scotty and Christina are having breakfast together at a cafeteria. Christina is talking excitedly about something, Scotty seems absent.)

Christina: What's going on? You're not paying attention to me, again!

Scotty: I'm sorry, Chris. I'm just worried.

Christina: Work, again?

Scotty: No, not today. Did you talk to Lilly yesterday?

Christina: No, when I arrived, she was already sleeping. And today when I woke up she had already left. She must've fell off bed. Why?

Scotty: Well, yesterday, Lilly accidentally overheard our talk on the phone.

Christina: Oh. So she knows?

Scotty: Yeah, she knows. And she wasn't pleased. And I don't get why.

Christina (shrugs): She's just being Lilly.

Scotty: No, that's not it. I ask her what the problem between you two, she doesn't tell me. And I need to know.

Christina: It's not important, Scotty. And it's too complicated.

Scotty (begins to get angry): I need to know, Christina.

Christina: We can't go there, Scotty. Lilly doesn't want you to know, and I'm not sure if I want you to know.

Scotty (raises his voice a little): Maybe I shouldn't have gotten into this mess between you two. But now it's too late, and how can I make a fair judgement of this situation if no one tells me what the hell is going on?

(Scotty notices that a few people next to them are beginning to stare. He takes a deep breath and waits, but Christina doesn't say anything.)

Scotty: So?

Christina (shakes her head): If you get up and walk out that door, I'm going to miss you. And if you change your mind, I'm still here.

(Scotty looks shocked. He drops some money on the table for the bill and leaves. Christina stays there. She wipes a tear off her face.)

(Later, at the Police Headquarters, the team are back to discussing the case.)

Lilly: Maybe we should go talk to Ian and Christopher again. They seemed to be the ones with the most useful information.

Stillman: If we do that so quickly, they'll notice we're confused. It won't be good if they were the ones who did it.

(Jeffries gets off the phone.)

Jeffries: Mr. Hayes is clean. He and Karen's mother were at a charity dinner for cancer victims the whole night.

Scotty (shakes his head): He was our strongest theory.

Vera: Check this. I got Karen's e-mail records.

Lilly: The threat messages?

Vera (nods and starts reading): "You say you want to save the world, but the truth is, you're not. Those new drugs, the new hospital, those are things that are going to save the world. You better realize it, before it's too late."

Scotty: Someone involved in the new hospital, or on the researches. That could be a lot of people.

Vera: Wait. Here's the interesting part. I was going through Karen's e-mails, and it seems like she had a very close friend going to college in Alabama. Karen and this friend shared their every thoughts through e-mail. Now, look at what she wrote her friend on the morning of her murder.

(Vera hands the paper to Lilly.)

Lilly (reading from the paper): It's over now. Yesterday, I got the pictures. They´re torturing the animals in that lab. I told her it's over. I'm writing the article tomorrow, it'll be printed the next day. And I'll add a copy of all these threat messages, of all the conversations that I taped. It's finally over and I don't have to put up with her everyday anymore. My luggage is package already."

Scotty: Her luggage was packed.

Jeffries: She was running away?

Lilly (smiles): She was moving out.

(The team shares a knowing look.)

(Later, Lilly and Scotty walk into a lab.)

Lilly: Lucy Van Holt?

Lucy (turns around, surprised): Who are you? Get out of here!

(Lilly and Scotty show their badges.)

Lucy: You're contaminating the experiment! Please, I'm finishing here in only half an hour.

Scotty: Sorry, Lucy. This can't wait anymore.

Lilly: It has been waiting for eight years.

Lucy: What are you talking about?

Lilly: Karen Hayes. She was investigating your work, wasn't she?

Lucy: Karen was investigating the whole Medical Research Department.

Scotty: At first, we found very strange that two girls with different interests could be roommates. But you had something in common: you were both passionate. Willing to do anything to save what you believed.

Lucy: Yes, we were. I still am.

Lilly: We got Karen's e-mails records. She was moving out. She had found out about all the irregular things in the lab, and she had proof.

Scotty: Now, Karen had already published a very nasty article about her Dad's hospital. Delayed the city's approval of the project in two months. You couldn't let her do that to you. You tried to scare her, but no one scared Karen. Her passion gave her strength.

Lucy (angrily, and with tears in her eyes): My passion gave me strength too.

Flashback to 1997

(Christopher leaves Karen and Lucy's dorm room. Lucy comes out of her hiding place and gets in.)

Lucy: I saw Chris leaving. Aren't you going out?

Karen: No. I'm not in the mood to go out with that jerk.

Lucy: What happened?

Karen: He wants me to quit the paper. The only place where I can speak the truth freely, and also spread that truth.

Lucy: You're really printing that article about the lab?

Karen: Yes, Lucy. I'm sorry. I understand that researches are important, but not at cost of the lives of innocent animals.

Lucy: What do you want us to do? Use humans?

Karen: Animals can be used in the researches, and be treated kindly. But they can never be in pain, or be murdered. They don't have to die for us. We're not better than animals. Far from that, actually.

Lucy: You don't get that these experiments could benefit thousands of people?

Karen: Look, Lucy, I'm not getting in that argument again. The article will be printed, and tomorrow I'll be out of here. You won't have to live with me, you won't have to be my friend you don't want to.

(Karen grabs her school bag.)

Lucy: We are you going?

Karen: I need to do some things at the paper. Don't expect me back today.

(Karen leaves. She starts to walk in the direction of one of the faculty buildings. After a few minutes, she notices someone is following her. She turns around.)

Karen: Lucy?

Lucy: You're not doing this to me! Not again!

Karen: Oh God, you scared me. We're not going to have this conversation again.

(Karen starts walking again, Lucy follows her.)

Lucy: You don't get it. I mean it.

(Lucy grabs Karen by the arm and pulls out a gun)

Karen: What is this? Have you lost your mind? Let me go!

Lucy: You don't get it, Karen. The lives of thousands of people around the world are more important that your stupid convictions.

Karen (crying): No, Lucy! We're all equal. One being is not superior to another, even if this other being is an animal.

(Lucy holds the gun near Karen's face.)

Lucy: It's worthless. You'll never get it.

Karen (still crying a little): Maybe I'm blind. As blind as you are. But I trust that in the end, justice is made. You know that too. Now let me go.

Lucy: No. It's over now.

(Lucy fires the gun, into Karen's mouth. She watches Karen's dead body fall to the ground and runs away.)

Back to 2005

("Fly Like an Eagle, by Seal, starts playing.)

Yeah, think I
better get up
Doo...doo...du du ... Yeah ...
Doo...doo...du du ... Love, love, love ...
Doo...doo...du du ... Don't it baby? ...
Time keeps on slippin'
Into the future...
Said
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future...oohhh

(Lilly and Scotty are arresting Lucy. They take her out of the lab, handcuffed.)

Said I wanna fly like an eagle... to the sea
Fly like an eagle let my spirit carry me, I wanna...
fly...
Fly right into the future...

(Lilly and Scotty arrive with Lucy at the Police Headquarters, where Ian and Christopher are waiting, along with Jeffries, Vera and Stillman.)

I wanna feed the babies... said, who can't get enough to eat
Wanna shoe the children... no shoes on their feet
I wanna house the people... livin' in the street
Oh yeah there's a solution

(Ian and Christopher leave the Police Headquarters together. They shake hands before heading their own ways.)

Let me fly like and eagle... to the sea
Fly like an eagle let that spirit carry me, I wanna
Fly right into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future...

(Vivian and George Hayes are putting flowers at their daughter's grave. George mouths "I'm sorry" as he puts the flowers down.)

Time flies don't it baby?
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future... ...Ohhh.
Time flies don't it baby?
Keep on flying...
keep on flying, ohhh ...

(The night is falling as Lilly is leaving the Police Headquarters. Scotty is waiting for her outside. He says something to Lilly, very seriously.)

Oh yeah, yeah
Think I better get up...
Don't it baby?
Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey...
I wanna fly like an eagle... to the sea
Fly like an eagle let my spirits carry me, I wanna
fly...
Fly right into the future

(Lilly sighs and looks behind Scotty's back. She "sees" Karen smiling at her. Lilly looks back at Scotty, Karen is gone. Lilly nods to Scotty and they start walking away together. While Lilly talks, Scotty listens attentively.)

Fly like an eagle let that spirit carry me, I wanna...
fly...
Fly... like an eagle... we'll fly...
Fly right into the future
Lemme fly like an eagle ... ... to the sea
In a sky full of people ... only some want to fly, isn't that...
crazy? ... Ohh hho ...oohh
fly...
Fly... like an eagle... I'm gonna fly...

The End

A/N: So, it's done. I hope you all enjoyed it, and thanks for all the nice reviews. You were all great guys!

Special thanks:

Snow Ivy – I'm glad I could keep the mystery. You were on the right track when you thought about Scotty dumping Chris, but I changed my mind. I think this end will please almost everyone.

Katie – L/S was definitely not possible, but you can interpret this ending the way that pleases you more... thanks for reading.

Bella-Dawna – Ouch. I'd vomit too if I wrote a wedding proposal from Scotty to Chris. My hands will never type those words! About your wish list, I left it all open, so, it's up to your imagination! I hope you enjoyed the ending.

AndreaB – You didn't review this last chapter (bad friend! joking) but I know you read it. Thanks!