"I already told you Mike, I can give you more when you give me more. I based my analysis on what you guys provided from R&I but without anything else, no prior history, no witnesses…well…it adds an error coefficient into my theories I am unwilling to allow."

"Error coefficient…", Mike scoffed dismissively, and sipped on his coffee, before letting his stern blue eyes drift back up to the Psychiatrist, "You're practicing for crossword puzzles again?"

Ignoring the insult altogether, Lenny shrugged and pulled on his turtleneck sweater as if to gasp for air in the tense atmosphere of the inner office.

"This whole case of yours…it's nothing but…but shadows. I don't even know how you've gotten this far other than by hearsay. You can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your body is even the guy, this Reverend Joe. You don't know exactly how he was killed, or by whom. Even if he's your man, this guy was a walking shadow while he was alive, staying under the radar for good reason while living out some fantasy of being a benevolent member of the clergy. You have nothing on these two people you had me profile, so all you're doing is chasing two guys and a raccoon with nothing to go on but he-said and she-said's. Excuse me if I can't put more detail into a killer's profile with that…that mess of a case you got going on. Nothing like lacking any sort of facts but expecting me to present them."

Mike sensed that the last sentence wasn't part of Lenny's characteristic whining when it came to pushing his buttons a bit more than usual. Rather, it seemed as though something had set off the Psychiatrist's senses, a strange occurrence for a man who could handle himself well in any given situation.

"Okay…okay, you're right."

Deciding to lower his defenses for the time being, Mike paused for a moment, hoping his subtle apology had reached the other man.

As an awkward silence encroached the four walls of the inner office, he exhaled softly, feeling the tense muscles in his shoulders pop after one too many stressful days, his weary body still trying to recover from the fire, his scarred mind so much farther behind in the process.

"You know, those severe mood swings you are experiencing are a side effect of the trauma you suffered during the fire. That was a very difficult situation to be in. Hard on the body and soul."

It took a while to let Lenny's candid words sink in, the stinging sensation they left in his mind noticed by the cued senses of the experienced Psychiatrist.

Lashing out at him again would do no good, if anything, it would prove his point. Vehemently denying it would be silly at best after all this time, especially when dealing with a man he had worked with in one form or another for the past twenty years.

But what was he supposed to do? Just agree? Submit to the intrusive conversation Lenny would want to have about a topic he hadn't been able to fully wrap his mind around yet?

"You see, I've been getting the same reaction from your partner. That…that staring out into space deal. Like your mind is a million miles away.", the other man continued and stepped closer until he was just a few feet away from Mike, creating a false sense of intimacy in a room that had windows in all but one wall.

"Stephen has been through a lot.", he defended instantly, unable to control the outburst after years of protecting his best friend with everything he had- and Lenny knew it too.

Raising his hands in quiet submission, the Psychiatrist nodded understandingly, a warm smile spreading on his lips.

"And so have you, Lieutenant. One might argue that the human psyche can only handle so much and once that…that glass is full, any additional trauma will make it spill over."

"Don't tell me what I can or cannot handle…", Mike growled, sensing the direction the conversation was headed and not liking it one bit.

"I wouldn't think of it…", Lenny countered evenly and crossed his arms over his chest, "I am merely an observer here, unable to help you unless you want me to. But here's what I've been observing. Severe mood swings, signs of insomnia, nervous fidgeting, eyes that go back and forth all the time, never losing that haunted expression. Unable to focus, snapping in an out of memories of past events. All those are tell-tale signs of psychological trauma. You can hate the thought as much as you want, but unless you're willing to face these issues and be honest with yourself, the nightmares won't go away. Neither will those episodes of…of your mind going into autopilot. You of all people know that you're in a position where this can be deadly. If the lack of sleep doesn't get you first, a bullet will take you out. Or your partner…all because you were frozen in some repressed memory and didn't react when you should have. And I'd hate to see either one of these scenarios come to life. Don't you?"