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Fragile is the Heart - Part Two

Summary: With Nikki and Matt's relationship coming to an end, will Nikki allow her personal life to affect her work as the case starts to take a curious turn?


Jack had managed to get into work pretty early that day. He had been hoping to catch Nikki and there were a few things from the case that had been playing over and over in his mind as he had laid in bed last night. He had wanted to get in as early as possible to see if he could straighten them out and answer all the questions he had been asking himself.

Evan had been there even earlier than him and Jack couldn't help but quip about how eager he was. He had just said something about wanting to give a good impression. Jack's eyes had scanned the room for Nikki but she was nowhere to be seen which was very unlike her, especially when they were working on a case. She usually wanted to be there hours before them and he had often wondered whether or not she actually stayed overnight in the Lyell sometimes. But she wasn't here and that worried him.

She hadn't been in a good state when she left him last night and if the talk with Matt had gone how she thought it was going to go then she would've been in an even worse state. And that scared him. He knew how she could get when stuff like this happened, she just shuts herself off and pretends that everything is okay. And he had no doubt that that is exactly what she was preparing herself to do before she were to come into work.

Trying not to overthink it, he carefully retrieved an evidence bag from the cupboard of Lily Brown's clothing. They hadn't had chance to sample them yet, with everything that had happened and not enough hours in the day. He laid them all out on the lab table and called Evan over to assist him.

"What do you need me to do?" Evan asked, coming to stand next to Jack as he adjusted his glasses.

"If you could look at the skirt, try and find any trace of DNA, anything you might think is relevant," he spoke gently, watching as Evan peeled a pair of gloves on.

Evan nodded, happy to do what he was told and even happier to finally get on with something he knew he could do somewhat independently. The pair of them worked in silence, taking their time to examine every inch of the pieces of clothing. Jack almost felt his heart drop as he noticed a strand of hair just poking out of the jumper. Picking up a pair of tweezers he pulled the strand out. It was a long brown hair. This had to be the ticket. The girl had blonde hair and there's not a chance of cross contamination as no one else on the case had brown hair. And there was no chance it could belong to Woods, his hair was short. Although there was a possibility that it belonged to someone in her family. He would have to ask Nikki when she came in later, she had met the girls parents after all. Picking up a small dish, he placed the hair back down inside, keeping it safe before they were to test it.

They both continued investigating just in case they found something else but there was nothing so far. All they had to rely on now was this single piece of hair. Jack just had to pray that he would be able to lift some DNA from it and even then he couldn't be sure that the person it belonged to was on the DNA database in the first place. But it would be a step in the right direction.

It wasn't long before Sam arrived, surprised to see that both Evan and Jack were here but there was no Nikki. That was very strange but given the state Nikki had been in for most of the day yesterday then, if she really thought about it, she wasn't that shocked. Not wanting to make it into a big deal, she handed the coffee that was meant for Nikki to Jack lying as she told him that they had given her the wrong order the first time round.

Jack thanked Sam, taking the cup from her, knowing full well that it was meant for Nikki. He didn't mind that the two of them had created a bond between them that he wasn't particularly involved in. If he was being truthful, it was a blessing to know that Nikki had someone else she could turn to if he wasn't around. Plus he supposed it was nice for Nikki to have another woman around the place. She had been just as heartbroken as he was when Clarissa had told them that she was going to be leaving them. Clarissa had come in with him but had left with so many more friendships. Although he didn't miss the two of them winding him up at every given opportunity. Or maybe he did in a way, he just would never admit to that.

His eyes had wandered into the direction of the entrance in the hope of seeing a flash of blonde hair heading their way but there was nothing. He was half tempted to ask Sam, see if Nikki had contacted her. But surely she would've said something if Nikki had told her that she wasn't coming in? It wasn't really his place to worry about her this much but he couldn't help it. He knew how she could get when she was like this and with everything that has happened over the past couple of years he knew he needed to keep an extra eye out for her.

"What are the two of you working on?" Sam asked them joining them again and looking at the clothes that were laid out on the table.

"Just thought we'd sample the clothes see if we could find anything," Jack explained, taking a sip of the coffee. It was alright, although much too sweet for him.

"And have you?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

Jack nodded, picking up the small dish that contained the strand of hair and passing it to Sam, "You were here when the parents came yesterday," he started. "Did the mother have brown hair?"

Sam shrugged, "I didn't get to see them sorry. You'll have to ask Nikki when she comes in."

Both Sam and Jack shared a knowing look between them, something which didn't go unnoticed by Evan. He furrowed his brows as he watched the pair of them, something had happened but he wasn't quite sure what. No doubt it had something to do with the fact that Nikki was late to work but as far as he was concerned she seemed to be fine yesterday. Perhaps a little bit shaken by the case but they all were. Quickly realising that it wasn't really any of his business he turned his attention back to the task at hand.

"Has she spoken to you?" Jack piped up, edging away from Evan and lowering his voice. Nikki was quite a private person and he was sure she wouldn't appreciate her life being aired to a student.

"Not this morning no," Sam shook her head, folding her arms. "I tried to talk to her yesterday but she just told me that she was having trouble with Matt and having this case coming through wasn't helping either."

"You know as much as I do then," Jack huffed, leaning back on the counter. "This really isn't like her, she's not even messaged me. I know she was going to talk to Matt last night and I told her that if there was anything she needed then all she had to do was give me a call."

Sam dropped her arms, moving to place a hand on Jack's, "She knows you're there for her don't worry. I doubt she'll be much longer but if she isn't here in the next hour I'll give her a ring, okay?"

Jack accepted that, he would've messaged her himself. But if things had kicked off with Matt last night then the last thing she would want is him harassing her and overwhelming her. She would come when she was ready and he just had to trust that.

Sam left the two of them to continue the work they had started but it wasn't long before they were being interrupted again. Jack couldn't stop the flutter in his stomach as he heard the buzzer for the door sounding off. His head had instantly flicked up in the direction of the hallway and he could see her blonde curls appearing from around the corner. He remained seated, not wanting to make it obvious that he had been worrying about her.

He did feel somewhat disheartened by the fact she hadn't even looked over at him and he had quickly guessed the reason why. If her and Matt had broken up then no doubt she had been crying all night and probably most of the morning. He had so desperately wanted to close the distance between them and pull her into his arms but he stayed there in the hope she would come over to him first.

He watched her as she took a deep breath and flattened her hair down with the palms of her hands before walking over to the pair of them. He could see the red rings around her eyes and the overwhelming feeling of wanting to engulf her into his chest and protect her from the horrors of the world, was surfacing. But he had to be professional, they were there to do the job and he assumed that Nikki would be grateful for the distraction.

"Have you found anything?" Nikki questioned putting two and two together as she spotted the clothes. Her throat was sore but she tried to mask it as much as she could, she could do without Jack's interrogations today.

"Just this," Jack picked up the dish once again and passed it to Nikki who was examining it carefully. "I wanted to ask you, did the mother have brown hair?"

Nikki shook her head, handing the dish back to Jack, "No she was blonde as well."

Jack digested that information, "So it's likely that this may belong to the killer?"

Nikki shrugged her shoulders, "Possibly. Have you contacted DI Fall about this yet?"

"No," he began. "I wanted to run it past you first. If the hair was likely to have belonged to the mother then it could be easily eliminated. But given that it may not then it's worth investigating, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," she spoke, walking away from him and heading back to her own desk. She sat down at her seat, switching her computer on. She could feel Jack's eyes boring into her, he had a tendency of doing that and it more often than not drove her mad. He would always look at her with such intensity it felt as though he was staring into her soul.

She just shook her head doing her best to ignore him. If she just focused on the case then she'd be able to get through the day and wash away any thoughts of Matt. Her mind had been running over every little detail last night, anything that she may have done wrong that would've caused him to look the other way. She hadn't come up with anything else other than they had just simply drifted apart, she couldn't help herself worrying though.

She could hear Jack speaking on the phone to the detective, his voice sounding more irritated by the second. She just rolled her eyes at him, he had never been the most sociable person and before long he was storming over to her and flopping down on his own seat.

"They still think it's Woods," he breathed, folding his arms as he peered over at Nikki.

Nikki flicked her eyes up at him, "But we haven't found any evidence to even suggest that he was involved," she sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I wonder why they're so determined to blame him?"

"Who knows," Jack raised his eyebrows briefly. "From what I can gather he's been associated with a few kidnappings in the past but he always seems to worm his way out of it. What do you say we go speak to the parents?"

"Why? What will that do?"

"Well for one it would help to eliminate them on the off chance that the strand of hair belongs to one of them," he started. "And two, if this piece of hair belongs to the killer then there is a chance they may know them. You know as well as I do that in these cases they tend to be closer to home."

"It's worth a shot I suppose," Nikki stood up again, knowing that Jack wasn't about to hang about on this one. If he had an idea popping into his head then he was going to investigate it as soon as possible. She pulled the coat back on that she had only taken off moments ago.

She waited for Jack as he spoke to Evan, explaining to him that it was probably best if he stayed at the Lyell for now, he knew how emotional parents could be in these cases and he wasn't sure that Evan was quite ready for that yet.

He turned back to Nikki and the pair of them headed out to Jack's car. Not much was said on the drive to the house although Jack didn't miss how Nikki had subtly wiped at her eyes every now and then. He was desperate to ask her about how it had gone with Matt yesterday but he didn't want to start up a conversation to have it be interrupted the moment they arrived at the house.

They parked up on the street opposite the house. It had been rather ordinary looking. Nothing over the top, just normal. A normal family who had now had this chaos and destruction forced upon them. A family whose lives will be changed by this heartbreaking time. All Jack and Nikki could do now was hopefully bring them a sense of peace. Something to ease their mind in the smallest of ways.

Clicking the door open, Nikki got out of the car first, making sure to have her ID badge ready just in case. Jack was beside her within seconds, his fingers folded into his palms. She had been tempted to rest her hand on top of his for the briefest of seconds but quickly decided against it. She had learnt many of Jack's little mannerisms over the years as he wasn't always one to outwardly portray his emotions most of the time. Clenching his fist was the most common sign that he was agitated.

She shook the thoughts away not wanting to waste any more time. The pair crossed the road and made for the front door. Jack put his fist out, wrapping his knuckles against the hardwood. They didn't have to wait long for someone to answer the door as Mr Brown appeared, his face quite shocked to see the two people standing in front of him.

"Dr Alexander what are you doing here? What's happened?" He asked, the nerves in his voice evident.

"Mr Brown this is my colleague Jack Hodgson, we just wanted to ask you a few questions if that's okay?" She explained, a small smile on her face hoping that she wasn't coming across as rude for intruding them.

"Uh," the man looked behind him for a moment before he turned back to the two of them. "Sure, come in." He stepped back from the door allowing Jack and Nikki to make their way into the home. Mr Brown shut the door after them and then quickly guided them into the living room.

"Lydia, Dr Alexander and," he turned to Jack not quite remembering his name.

"Jack Hodgson," Jack filled in for him.

"Right, Jack Hodgson, want to ask a few questions," Mr Brown finished. His wife just nodding her head slowly, looking at the two incomers, her eyes vacant.

"Sorry we don't normally do this," Nikki started, sitting down on the sofa on the other side of the room. Jack moving to join her as well. "I don't even think we should be here but there are a few things we would like to clear up with the two of you." Nikki rubbed her palms together, suddenly feeling quite nervous, she had no doubt that the two of them would get into serious trouble for going behind the police departments back but if they weren't prepared to follow a lead then they had to take things into their own hands.

"We found a brown hair on your daughters clothes," Jack piped up, noticing Nikki's drop in confidence. "We think this might lead us somewhere, possibly to the killer. The police are trying to pin it on someone else but we're not convinced. We hoped you might be able to help us out. Is there anyone you can think of that has been acting strange lately, something that hasn't felt quite right?"

Jack and Nikki watched as husband and wife shared a look between them. It was hard to gauge their reactions, it had been a mixture of offence that they had the audacity to ask such a question and fear that it may have been someone they knew.

Lydia had just shook her head, "Everyone around us has been so supportive. They would have to be another level of sick and twisted to be able to sit and drink tea with me as I grieve for my daughter," she paused. The tears falling easily down her cheeks. "Who do the police think it is?"

"They believe that it is a man who has been connected with a few kidnappings in the past," Nikki spoke.

"And you don't think he has anything to do with this?" Mr Brown's tone was sharp, taking the pair aback. Maybe they had been wrong to come and do this. They were out of their depth, this wasn't their job. This wasn't what they were trained to do. "Why? I'd say it's pretty likely."

"There is no evidence to suggest that he had anything to do with your daughters murder Mr Brown," Jack's voice was calm, wanting to simmer the tension that was quickly growing in the room. "Trust me I have tried my hardest to find something, anything, that would pin this man to the case but there is nothing. And I'm scared that the more time we waste trying to come up with some evidence to convict him then there's going to be less chance that we'll be able to find the person that is responsible for this. We just want to find out what happened to your daughter so please if there is anyone you can think of, don't hesitate to phone myself or Nikki."

Jack stood up, not wanting to impose on the couple any longer. It was an extremely emotional time for them as it was without them making it even worse. The ball was in their court now and all Nikki and Jack had to do was hope they would be able to come up with a name. Nikki glanced up at Jack, picking up on the hint that it was time for them to leave.

Mr Brown showed them to the door in silence, he wasn't happy with them at all. But he jumped as he turned the handle, finding a woman with long brown hair stood on the doorstep. Nikki had gripped Jack's arm straight away but she had no need to. He was thinking the same as her.

"Rebecca, sorry I was just showing these two out," he stepped aside, letting Jack and Nikki pass.

Jack held his hand out to the woman, "Jack Hodgson I'm a forensic scientist working on the case and this is Dr Alexander the pathologist," he explained.

"Rebecca Martin," she took Jack's hand and shook it firmly. "I do hope you find the person who did this and when you do, I hope they rot in jail."

"We're doing everything we can," Jack smiled, dropping his hand from hers. Both himself and Nikki hastily made their goodbyes and were soon sitting back down in the car.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Nikki questioned, looking over at Jack, their eyes connecting.

"I most certainly am," Jack clicked his belt buckle into place and started the car up, their next stop was the police station. If this wasn't enough to convince the police to follow up on this lead then Jack would be damned.


Back at the Lyell, Evan had been wandering around trying to find something to do. There was only so many times he could trawl over a piece of evidence after all. He had found himself staring at the various books that had been placed on the bookshelf. Ranging from philosophical ideas about good and evil to the fundamentals of forensic science. He let his finger run along the spines of the books, wondering how long it had been since someone had last picked one up. Judging by the thick layer of dust that now sat on the tip of his index finger he had guessed that it had been quite a while.

He felt his stomach drop as he heard his name being called thinking that he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing. But he found himself relieved as Sam rounded the corner making her way over to him.

"Do you want to come into my office for a second?" She spoke softly. "It's nothing serious, I just want to know how you're coping with everything and if you're settling in okay."

She lead the way into her office, walking around her desk and sitting down in her chair. She gestured with her hand that Evan too, made himself comfortable. She could see the nervous look on his face and she knew that she had spooked him.

Wanting to prove to him that she genuinely just wanted to check in on him she continued, "So, how are you feeling? This type of case can be tough on anyone let alone a student who hasn't even qualified yet."

Evan looked around the room, he hadn't been in here yet. If he wasn't having to answer Sam's question he would've taken the time to appreciate the painting on the wall. His eyes returned to the older woman sat opposite from him, trying to think of the words to describe where he was in his head currently.

"I'm not sure really," he pondered for a moment. "It's definitely harder than I expected it to be. Not necessarily the work side of things but definitely having to deal with the emotional side can be quite stressful. But apart from that I think I'm quite enjoying it."

Sam nodded, taking in every word he was saying. It was important for her to know what was going on in his head as well as everyone else's heads. Of course everyone had their own lives and their own struggles that they didn't have to disclose with her. But she had wanted to make it clear to everyone from the moment she arrived that their mental well-being mattered the most. If they were struggling to cope then all they had to do was let her know. She wanted a strong team behind her, a team that could do their job to the best of their ability. And so far, her approach seemed to be working. And slowly but surely they were becoming a solid unit.

"How are you finding it working with Jack? I know he can be quite blunt sometimes but he always has the best intentions at heart," Sam pursued.

"I quite like him actually," Evan chuckled. "He gets straight to the point. But he has been very supportive. Nikki too. I enjoy working with them and seeing how their minds work. How they form conclusions and ideas just from one simple piece of evidence. It's fascinating to watch. I can only hope to have an ounce of that intelligence by the time my year is up here."

"And I'm sure you will, you have a smart head on your shoulders and I can already tell that once you've built up your experience that you are going to be one of the best forensic scientists I know," her lips twitched fondly. "But don't tell Jack I said that."

Evan laughed at that, "I am very grateful that you have allowed me this opportunity to work beside the three of you, this year is definitely going to be very memorable and I will cherish it deeply."

"Well, you're very welcome and to be truthful you're helping us as much as we're helping you," Sam admitted. "Just you being here is going to provide so many benefits for the Lyell so thank you. Are there any questions you want to ask me whilst we've got time before the other two show up again?"

"Do you think we'll actually find the person who did this?" Evan had seen Jack's determination shoot up after he had found that piece of hair. But he was struggling to understand how that single piece of evidence alone would lead them straight to the killer.

"When Jack has his wits about something it usually ends up being right," Sam breathed, avoiding the temptation to roll her eyes. "Jack and Nikki are amazing at their jobs and they will not relent until they solve it."


Nikki and Jack soon arrived at the police station ready to relay to the detectives their thoughts and theories in the hope that they could convince them to follow another lead. And hence stop clinging on to Mark Woods being the killer, wasting resources and time.

Jack was the first to leave, leading the way as Nikki followed closely behind. Jack felt as though there was a sense of deja vu happening, another round of them telling the police how to do their job. He chuckled to himself, he couldn't help it that they cared more about their status and own personal gain rather than actually finding justice for those who have had their lives ruined. Of course there were the odd few that cared for their work and wanted to make a difference in the world, but they never seemed to last that long unfortunately.

"What are you laughing at?" Nikki asked, noticing the smile on Jack's face as they stood by the front desk waiting for someone to buzz them in.

Jack shook his head, "Nothing, don't worry."

Nikki rolled her eyes, her own lips twitching. It was the first time she had smiled and of course Jack had been the one to cheer her up. She only just realised that she hadn't thought about Matt for a good hour, perhaps this was going to be easier than she had anticipated. Or she was just kidding herself.

Distracting her was DI Fall calling their names out and leading them towards an office.

"I have already told you Jack, Woods did this, if we keep digging we'll eventually find something," she breathed. "He hasn't got the best history and let's just say his movements in the lead up to the kidnapping and consequently the murder have been somewhat out of the ordinary. We just need the evidence to confirm it."

Jack shook his head, resisting the temptation to tut at her, "You have got this wrong and you know it," he made himself as comfortable as possible on one of the plastic chairs. Nikki choosing instead to stand behind him, finding herself taking an interest in the walls. "Nikki and I have been to see the parents."

"You've done what?" DI Fall folded her arms, her tone now fierce.

Nikki's head had flicked up at the sound of her name, suddenly she didn't want to be in the room anymore. She was happy to support Jack and she knew that he was definitely on to something but she really wasn't in the mood for all the repercussions that came along with sticking your nose in where it's not wanted.

Jack held his hands up in defence, "Before you say anything we may have found something," he knew this would intrigue her. She couldn't afford to waste this opportunity, even if she thought it wouldn't lead anywhere. It would be unprofessional of her to ignore a possible lead.

DI Fall sighed, "I'm listening." She sat down in the chair opposite from Jack, reluctantly listening to what the Irishman had to say for himself. He was really starting to grate on her and she was beginning to wonder how Dr Alexander put up with him on a daily basis. But then she supposed he was quite easy on the eye and no doubt they were probably sleeping together.

Jack cleared his throat, preparing himself for what may be a long rant, "As you already know we found a long brown hair on the clothes of Lily Brown," he started. "We have seen so many of these cases and you know as well as I do that they occur a lot closer to home than people want to believe. So we went to ask the parents if anyone around them had been acting odd or out of character over the past week or so, which is something you should be doing," he added in the little dig.

"Jack," Nikki warned, placing a hand on his shoulder briefly. DI Fall watched this little interaction, hiding the grin that was threatening to spread across her face, definitely sleeping together.

"Now we didn't have any suspicions of the parents, they're both grieving and I highly doubt that they would have the time to notice any change in their friends behaviour," he continued despite the look that DI Fall was giving him. "But as we were leaving we bumped into a Rebecca Martin who just so happened to have long brown hair."

"And?" DI Fall flicked her head, almost throwing her hands into the air. "If she's a family friend then it's not unlikely to find a strand of hair on the clothes that may belong to her. Have you even sent that strand off for DNA?"

"Yes," Jack nodded, holding back the anger that was starting to bubble to the surface. "We should get the results back this afternoon. But I need your permission to collect DNA from the parents and hopefully this Rebecca. I really think this is going to be something that's worth taking a look at."

"And you know that for definite do you?" Fall retorted, she wasn't trying to wind Jack up on purpose but she could feel an argument brewing.

Jack's fist clenched, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Nikki. She knew that she was going to have to take over sooner or later otherwise things were going to get out of hand. Jack had always struggled to keep his head cool, especially when someone wasn't listening to what was clearly in front of them. Fall was annoying her but Nikki had the sense to keep herself composed in these situations and not fly off the handle. Something that she had had to learn over the years. She remained silent for the moment, appreciating that Jack was trying his best to keep calm.

"Look, if I thought that we would be able to get something from this Woods then I would back you the whole way but I have tried my hardest but there is nothing," Jack was digging his fingernails into his palm. "We may have something with this Rebecca Martin, I know it. If it turns out to be nothing then I will take the flack for it but I need you to trust me on this. Please."

Fall looked up at Nikki, waiting to hear her thoughts on this situation and Nikki knew it was time to support her friend.

"Jack's right," Nikki spoke up, clearing her throat. "There was something about her. It was odd. I can't quite put my finger on it but she's definitely a person of interest and it would be idiotic to ignore it."

"Fine," Fall said sharply. "I will give you one day to prove to me that she did this. After that, I'm pinning it on Mark Woods, okay? Do what you need to do but do it quickly. If this turns out to be a dead end I'm not wasting anymore time on it. Have you got it?" She stood up, happy to leave the room without an answer.

"I don't even need a day, you know I'm right," Jack's voice was laced with confidence that could be taken as arrogance depending on where you're sitting. Fall just scoffed at his attitude and left the room. Nikki caught his eye, fighting the urge to hit him on the arm for being such an idiot. He should know better than winding the detectives up. But at least now they could investigate freely and hopefully close this horrific case.

Nikki and Jack didn't hesitate to get out of the building and make their way back to the parents house. Both hoping that Rebecca was still there. If she had been the cause of this whole mess then she couldn't know that they were suspecting her.

They were pulling up in the same spot that they were in not half an hour ago and they walked up to the front door again. This time a silver case in each hand. There was a sense of relief between the pair as the brown haired woman answered the door, they were in luck.

"You're…" she began only to be interrupted by Jack.

"Jack Hodgson and Nikki Alexander again, I'm very sorry," he smiled. Trying to keep up appearances and come across as nice as he could possibly stomach. "But we need to take DNA samples from Mr and Mrs Brown. Just a process of elimination."

"Well I could ask but they were quite upset after you left them just now," her voice was soft, unexpectedly. "I'll see what I can do." She disappeared behind the door, leaving Nikki and Jack stood on the doorstep, staring at each other in disbelief.

It wasn't long before she was coming back to them, "They said it would be fine as long as you're quick," she paused. "Although I thought you already had a suspect? How is this going to help?" Neither could quite place how she was talking to them, but it left them feeling disturbed. If this was her own doing then she was much too confident for their liking.

"Like I said, process of elimination. It's all pretty standard," Jack pushed past Rebecca, Nikki following behind. They both made quick work of getting DNA and fingerprints, Nikki from Mrs Brown and Jack from Mr Brown. Rebecca had watched the pair of them going about their business. Keeping an eye on every movement they made.

She coughed, grabbing Jack's attention whose eyes had flickered in her direction. "Do you need to take my DNA? I am their closest friend and I practically live here. It might be useful if, like you say, you need to eliminate family and friends."

Nikki squinted her eyes, trying to suss out the woman stood in front of them. She was making her feel on edge, something wasn't right. If herself and Jack were on the right wavelength then why on Earth was she offering to give her DNA? Unless she's that confident that she left no trace behind. Well, no one is that good, Nikki thought to herself.

"If you think it will help our enquiries I don't see why not," Jack almost grinned at the fact she had volunteered herself. It for one made things a lot easier and two made her look even more suspicious. She was clearly sure of herself and Jack couldn't wait to scrub that smug smile off her face when she found out that they possibly had a strand of her hair that would put her right at the front of this investigation.

Moving, he pulled out a fresh cotton swab and carefully took Rebecca's DNA. His heart racing as her dark brown eyes glared back at him, almost as if she were staring right into his soul. He had no doubt that the woman in front of him had committed this murder, or at least had something to do it. And if that was the case then she really was a sick and twisted woman, to continue visiting her friends as if she had no idea what happened to their daughter. Jack knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions but he was so sure about this woman as he glared back at her.

Nikki packed up her stuff as she waited for Jack to finish, she was starting to feel unsafe in the room, not just for herself but on behalf of the parents. If they were right then she certainly didn't want to be the one to break it to them that their supposed friend had kidnapped and murdered their daughter. She almost shivered at the thought. It doesn't matter how long you have known someone because there will always be something that they will hold back. Something that they will hold close to their chest. You will never truly know someone inside and out. Nikki had grown to learn that over the years, especially in this job. People can and will surprise you.

"All finished," Jack spoke, breaking the silence in the room. "Thank you all for your co-operation. This may help us a lot." He glanced over at Nikki, giving her a small nod before they were being shown out of the house yet again. Although this time there was less tension in the room, things had certainly calmed down since the last time they were here.

They were soon back in the car and making their way back to the Lyell centre after what had felt like an extremely long morning.

"How sure are you that she did it?" Nikki asked, looking over to Jack. She could almost see the cogs turning in his head. He had been thinking the same thing as her, it was strange that she would offer for her DNA to be taken.

"I don't think I've ever been more sure of something in my life," Jack replied, changing gear as they rounded the corner into the Lyell Centre car park. "She is way too confident for my liking. She knows she's going to get away with this, especially because they told her about Woods. Of course she's going to volunteer her DNA, throw us off the scent."

"I think it will be worth looking into her history, find out where she works, what she's about," Nikki suggested, getting out of the car and closing the door behind her. "You never know, it might give us some insight."

They both made their way inside, "Well you make a start on that and I will send this DNA off to be examined," he held the glass door open for her, letting her in first. "Meet you in the observation room in about ten minutes?"

Nikki nodded her head as she made her way to the meeting room. She placed her case down, pulling her laptop out and connecting it up to the monitor. She had no idea of where to start. It had been so long since she had to do the leg work in one of these cases. She had grown used to just performing the post mortem and leaving it at that for the past couple of months. It was strange how these cases would come along that would require just that little bit more care and consideration. But given the police side of the case being so incompetent then she was quite happy to put in the extra effort. Especially if it meant yielding results.

She started with a simple google search, making her way through various articles and noting down everything she had found and printing off a few things here and there. She was compiling all of her evidence into a neatly arranged folder, slowly building up what seemed to be a very suspicious case. Confirming her and Jack's feelings toward the woman.

Jack made her jump as he walked in, "What have you found?" He asked, resting his hand down on the table and leaning over her shoulder to look at her screen and the various pieces of paper Nikki had now scattered across the table.

"Well this is all I have found so far," she opened up the folder. She turned her head, not quite realising just how close Jack's face was to hers. She felt her breath hitch and she quickly flicked her eyes back to the screen, trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach. "Just from a quick google search, she was involved in a number of cases at the Hamilton Ashe Hospital. It seems that she was a nurse at the time where there were some strange child deaths over the years. Nothing came of it but she was fired for gross misconduct a few months back."

Jack nodded his head slowly, digesting the information. It wasn't looking good so far, "Have you looked at her hospital records?"

"I was just getting on to that," Nikki breathed, pulling up the relevant files on her laptop and searching for Rebecca's name. She was shocked as a long list appeared on her screen. Her eyes quickly scanned over the words, taking in all the things that were standing out to her. "According to this, she had attended a few therapy sessions as a result of childhood trauma." Nikki noted down the name of the therapist on the off chance that she may be able to get into contact with them. "By all accounts the therapy was successful and she was discharged a few years before she got a job at the hospital."

"So what happened after she got a job at the hospital?" Jack pondered. "I'm assuming she's got something to do with those deaths at the hospital, I mean that would have to be a massive coincidence, right?"

"It would explain why she's so forensically aware," Nikki pointed out. "If this isn't her first murder then she would know how to cover one up and get away with it."

"But why target your friends daughter? That's," he stopped. The lump in his throat forming. "Sick." He straightened, his arms folded as he leaned back on the table and looked down at Nikki.

"Well it's like you say, close to home," she pointed out. "They're not going to think twice about her, she's their closest friend. Plus, it's easy access. If she got a tase for killing children whilst she was at the hospital then she wasn't going to last long after she got dismissed, was she? And why go looking elsewhere when there's one right in front of you?" That way of thinking turned Nikki's stomach sick. She hated cases like this, how anyone could kill another person forever baffled her but anyone who could kill a child disgusted her.

"I guess it's just a matter of waiting for the DNA results to come back," Jack let out a sigh. "If DI Fall doesn't believe us now that we've found all of this then…" he trailed off, feeling himself beginning to get quite emotional.

They were interrupted by two figures walking in their direction, it was Evan and Sam.

"I thought I heard the two of you coming in," Sam called out, making her way into the room, her eyes scanning over the table, wondering just what the pair of them had been up to. "What have the two of you been doing? Anything interesting?"

Jack stood up properly and moved so that Nikki could speak, "Well, Jack and I went to go speak to the parents. See if they knew anyone who had been acting strange for the past week," she started, resting her elbows on the table. "They couldn't think of anyone but as we were leaving we bumped into a Rebecca Martin who just so happened to have long, brown hair."

"Just like what Jack found," Evan interrupted, moving to sit down on one of the chairs.

"Exactly," Nikki nodded. "We took our thoughts to DI Fall who at first didn't think much of it but thanks to Jack's persistence, she let us get DNA samples from the parents and consequently Rebecca Martin. We're waiting for those results to get back to us but in the meantime we've been doing some digging on this woman and well, she's starting to look more and more suspicious by the second."

"She worked as a nurse in Hamilton Ashe at the same time they had a high number of child-related deaths but nothing came of it. They ruled it out as just being one of those things, strange coincidences," Jack continued on her behalf. "She was dismissed a few months ago for misconduct."

"You were certainly on the right tracks with this one, weren't you?" Sam raised an eyebrow, walking around the table to take a closer look at the papers spread across the table. "Have you phoned Fall? Told her what you've found?"

"Not yet, no," Nikki shook her head.

"You carry on doing what you're doing and I'll give her a ring," Sam glanced over at Jack. "I can only imagine how you were earlier so it's probably best coming from me." And with that she left.

Nikki couldn't help but chuckle at the look on Jack's face. He wasn't used to having someone around that just told him how it was and brought him up on his behaviour, that had usually been his role. He didn't mind so much, it reminded him of Clarissa in a sense.

Jack edged closer to the table again, his finger picking at the corner of a sheet of paper. He had been desperate to ask Nikki just what happened between her and Matt last night. She did seem to have cheered up since she had arrived in the morning but he could see that she wasn't totally alright. There was still something wrong.

Evan's eyes flicked between the two of them, picking up on a sense of unresolved tension between the pair. He quickly realised that he should probably leave the two of them to it. He stood up, grabbing their attention.

"I was going to make a drink, do either of you want anything?" He asked, a polite smile on his face.

"I'll have a coffee, thanks," Nikki replied. Jack just shook his head, not particularly in the mood for anything.

Evan nodded before making his way out of the room.

Jack continued flicking the corner of the white paper, his nail scraping across the back of it making a noise that sent a shiver down Nikki's spine.

"Can you stop that?" Nikki snapped, placing her hand on top of Jack's, stilling his movements. She quickly removed her hand as she felt as though her heart had skipped a beat.

"Depends, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Matt last night?" Jack questioned, pulling the chair out so he could sit next to her and be on her level.

Nikki took a deep breath, sensing that the question had been coming. At least he had waited until now and let her calm down somewhat. And she supposed she did owe him an explanation since she had involved him, she knew Jack wouldn't leave her alone until he got some kind of an answer from her.

The tears in her eyes began forming again, she had done well to push him to the back of her mind for the most of the morning but now it was all coming back again. She looked over at Jack, the tears slipping down her cheeks as she felt him place a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. She didn't want to crumble but she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms. She couldn't believe that that thought had even entered her mind but she couldn't help it. She had always felt safe in his arms, secure. Like nothing could get to her. Nothing could hurt her. He was her safety net, he was home.

She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, "I wasn't wrong," she managed to get out. "There was someone else. Has been for weeks, possibly months. I don't know."

"Shit Nikki I'm so sorry," Jack moved closer so he could wrap an arm around her shoulders and hold her as tightly as their current position would allow him. "What happened? Did he just admit to it?" He dared to ask, he didn't want to upset her more but he knew that things would only get better once they were off your chest.

Nikki found herself resting her head on his shoulder, "I knew that he was going to end things from the moment I got the phone call," her voice was strained as she powered through the tears. "So I asked him. He just said that he was sorry and that he didn't mean for it to happen. We've been so distant lately Jack, I'm surprised we even lasted this long."

"Still doesn't make it right though, does it?"

She shook her head, "But you can't help who you fall in love with, can you?" She moved her head, her eyes connecting with Jack as the words fell from her mouth. "He told me he loved her and I don't want to be the one to hold him back. He may end up being happier with this woman and I don't want to stop him. He deserves to be happy."

Jack couldn't stop himself from reaching out to wipe away the tears that were continuously slipping down her cheeks, his lips twitching, "You are one of the bravest women I know. Only you could switch off your feelings for the sake of others." There were three words hanging off the tip of his tongue. He was desperate to say it, to tell her how he was really feeling but he couldn't. Not right now, not in this state and not with everything between her and Matt being so fresh.

He had come to admire her so much over the past eight years. She had reminded him of his mother, or at least what he could remember of his mother anyway. She was kind, selfless and had a heart of gold. He wished he could tell her or even show her just how much she meant to him. Matt was an idiot to let her slip through his fingers, even worse to find refuge in someone else's bed. If Matt ever had the cheek to turn up here again, then Jack would do everything in his power to make sure that he wouldn't get to speak to Nikki. He hadn't formed that much of an opinion on Matt over the past year him and Nikki had been together, but this put everything into place for him.

"You deserve to be happy as well Nikki, you do know that right?" He leaned in closer to her, to catch her eye again as she dipped her head. "You can put you and your feelings first sometimes. Be selfish."

"But I am being selfish," she retorted. "And I am thinking of myself. I didn't love him Jack, or at least, I don't anymore. I haven't for a long time. We were both just dragging it out for the sake of not wanting to say that it was over. That we failed. And if I'm being honest, I haven't exactly been faithful to him either."

Jack screwed his eyebrows together, suddenly confused, "What do you mean?"

"Cheating doesn't always have to be physical does it?" Nikki couldn't tear her eyes away from him, her heart was beating out of her chest in ways she couldn't explain.

"I…I…What are you getting at Nikki?" Jack stumbled over his words. She always had a way of making things even more confusing than they initially were. And now his mind was racing, thinking where and how Nikki was able to fit in having an affair whilst being tied up with everything that had been going on at work over the past couple of months. Besides, he never had Nikki down as being the cheating type, she had always been fiercely loyal in everything she did.

"Emotional cheating can be just as bad, can't it?" Nikki had no idea of where all of this was coming from. The words were tumbling out of her mouth and her brain was having a hard time to catch up.

She supposed that deep down she knew where it was coming from, Jack had always been the one constant in her life. The one who never seemed to let her down or leave her. He stayed after Leo was cruelly taken from her, he stayed when Thomas had met the same fate, he stayed when Clarissa decided to take a different turn in her life. And now he was here, being her rock as Matt left her like everyone else had.

She knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be having this conversation with him but things seemed to be naturally heading that way. Things were always that way with Jack, natural. Easy. Like how things were meant to be.

"Nikki, are you saying there's someone else?" Jack's eyes were darting across her face, not quite knowing where to look.

She shook her head, almost chuckling, "Not necessarily but…" Her voice was cut off by Evan coming into the room, a mug of coffee in his hands. Jack's arm had quickly dropped from around her shoulders and he'd put a fair distance between them now. She could feel herself shiver from the loss of contact, the atmosphere that had built up in the room between them fizzling out.

"Sorry I didn't mean…" Evan started, placing the mug down on the table.

"It's okay," Nikki interrupted, wiping away the remainder of the tears with her hand. "We were just talking."

Evan's eyes travelled between Jack and Nikki trying to figure out what had transpired between the two. It wasn't really any of his business but he had certainly walked in on something. He had his suspicions about the two of them when he first met them the day before but he was sure Nikki had mentioned someone else. He shrugged his thoughts away, it had nothing to do with him.

"Sam told me to tell you that DI Fall and DS Hart are on their way," he spoke. "They'll probably be here in the next five minutes."

"Okay thank you Evan," Jack sniffed, hinting at the boy for him to leave. He watched as he left the room before turning back to Nikki. "Are you going to tell me what the hell that was then?"

Nikki shook her head, the moment gone, "It's nothing Jack, don't worry."

"It obviously is something, why else would you bring it up?" Jack bit the inside of his cheek, he didn't want to lose his temper with her because that would only make things worse but he just wanted to know what she was getting at. He hoped that they were more on the same wavelength than he thought. What if his feelings for her were mutual? What if she felt the same as him?

"Jack please," she breathed. "It's nothing."

Jack opened his mouth to speak but they were interrupted again as DI Fall stormed through into the observation room. DS Hart hot on her tail.

"Right let's get this over with, what have you found?" Her face like steel, she was not impressed that Jack and Nikki had found more about the possible killer in such a short space of time. Her arms were crossed as she stood opposite from where Nikki and Jack had been sat. Her eyebrows were sharp and even Nikki could feel her blood boiling at the woman's stare.

Both Jack and Nikki relayed the information to the detectives just as they had done for Evan and Sam. The detectives had shared a look between them, both of them knowing that they had messed up and been too stubborn. As Nikki and Jack led them through their findings it was becoming more and more obvious that Rebecca Martin might just be the person they were looking for.

"We better go get the address, don't you think?" DI Fall turned to Hart, looking deflated. "Have the DNA results come back in?" She asked Jack.

Jack shook his head, "Not yet, but I wouldn't imagine they'd be much longer."

"Once they come in, if they match, I want you to come down to the station right away and hand them to me personally," she spoke firmly. "I'll be able to keep her talking, see if she'll admit to anything but I'm going to need the hard evidence, okay? The evidence comes to me straight away," She reaffirmed, emphasising each word. "Jack, I'm going to need you to come with me, I want you to do a sweep of the house."

Jack fought the temptation to roll his eyes, instead choosing to nod his head. His fist was clenching again as he controlled his anger. This woman had ignored all of his ideas that he had thrown in her direction and now she had the cheek to boss him around like she had found everything out herself. He raised his eyebrows at Nikki before he stood up himself and followed the two detectives out of the room. He called out to Evan as he passed through the office, telling him that he was joining them.

Just as they had the previous day, Jack and Evan followed behind the police, this time making their way to Rebecca Martin's house. As they pulled up outside her house, the first thing Jack noticed was her car and the gravel on her drive. That was all the confirmation that he needed. This woman had definitely done it.

Himself and Evan left the car and waited just outside as the police spoke to Rebecca. She had briefly made eye contact with Jack, sending a shiver down his spine. She knew that it was all over for her and it was a result of Jack. Jack just shook his head, he couldn't believe her. She killed her supposed best friends daughter yet he was the one in the wrong. Some people were really unbelievable, something he could never get used to.

He watched as they put her in the back of the police car and drove off. Jack walked over to her car, carefully taking his phone out of his pocket to take photos of her front wheels. Evan joined him, squatting down as he looked at the gravel on the floor. Jack handed him a pot to gather a few of the stones so they could double check back at the lab if they were a match but Jack was certain they were.

Standing back up, they made their way inside the house. Unlike Woods' house, this was neat, tidy. As though everything had it's place. They walked through the hallway and into the kitchen, nothing jumping out to them as of yet. Jack's eyes expertly wandered around the room. Looking out the window, his stomach dropped as he spotted the shed in the back garden.

Opening the back door, Jack led the way down the stone path, eventually reaching a wooden shed. It was stained a dark brown but looked fairly new. It hadn't been weathered by the storms. He pulled the handle down, pushing the door open, revealing an open space. There was a mattress in the corner of the room, made up. There was also a set of draws. Moving into the room he opened them up to reveal various articles of clothing inside. Jack felt sick. He turned back to face Evan who had already started taking pictures of the scene. This was most definitely where she had brought Lily.

He breathed in, he couldn't smell bleach. She hadn't cleaned the room, that he was sure of. He looked down at the floor, quickly spotting the red stain. This was the murder scene.

"Evan," he spoke, breaking the silence.

Evan glanced up at Jack before following his line of sight. He took a picture of it as Jack squatted down, swabbing the area to pick up the blood in order to test it against Lily's. Although Jack knew that he wouldn't have to. Jack and Evan continued the sweep of the area, finding a few fingerprints and even a blonde hair on the bed. Knowing that he had found everything that he needed to, Jack packed his stuff up and headed back to the Lyell to get everything tested as quickly as possible.

They were met back at the Lyell by Nikki. Jack didn't hesitate to get things running, he pulled out the tube containing the stones and passed them to Evan for him to compare whilst he set about getting the blood tested. Luckily Nikki had already sampled the girls blood before so it wasn't going to take him long to get a match. He also ran a DNA test on the strand of hair he found on the bed.

Just as he started, he heard an email come through on his laptop. He gave Nikki one look and she was already rounding his desk to read the email, knowing what it was going to tell him. She printed off the details and passed the sheets to Jack.

He felt relief wash over him as he took in the information. The DNA of Rebecca Martin matched the strand of hair they had found on the girls clothes. Now all they needed to do was wait for the results to come back on the tests Jack had started running, which hopefully wouldn't take too long as Jack had taken the shortcut with these ones for the sake of saving time.

He was sat down on the stool in front of the computer, his hands tapping against the metal as he waited for the results to come in. Nikki had debated on making him a cup of tea to pass the time but she had a feeling that the moment she made it the results would come through and he would be shooting out of the room again.

"I'm not an expert but," Evan spoke, walking over to Jack and Nikki from the other side of the room. "I'm certain that they're the same," he handed the stone samples to Jack who just nodded before passing them over to Nikki.

"Another brick in our wall of evidence, we need everything we're going to get," Jack breathed. "But it's looking pretty unlucky for her. She's going to have a lot of explaining to do if she thinks she can get out of this one."

"Fat chance of that," Nikki exclaimed, placing the samples down on the table. Jack had quickly caught Nikki's eye at the sound of her voice before he dropped them again. He didn't miss how her breath had hitched and how awkward she had become. She was going to tell him something earlier but now that the moment had gone, he'd probably never find out.

The computer started beeping and Nikki had never seen Jack move so fast. He was at the printer within an instant, watching as the paper left the machine with all the information that they needed to convict the woman. He carefully checked over the evidence, double checking that every thing was in order and as he had expected. His suspicions confirmed, he was grabbing his coat and heading back out of the Lyell, Evan towing behind him.

As they came to the car park, Jack shot out of the car, not bothering to wait for someone to buzz them in. Although he was sure that they recognised him at this point and he couldn't exactly waste anymore time. An officer led them into the observation room as they knocked the door on the other side to let DI Fall know they had arrived.

Fall rounded the corner, her face somewhat more hopeful than the last time Jack and Evan had found themselves here. He passed all the relevant papers to Fall, along with photos they had managed to print out of the scene.

"There was a shed in her garden," Jack started. "In it we found hair that matched Lily Brown, along with her dried blood on the floor. The long brown hair found on her clothes was also a match for Rebecca Martin. Along with that, the gravel in her drive matched the stones found at the scene and the tyre tracks are a match as well. That woman in there killed that girl."

DI Fall nodded, "Thank you. I mean it," and she had, Jack knew that. Sometimes you could get your head lost in an idea and he was stubborn enough to know that sometimes no one can change your mind.

He felt himself relax as he sat down in the chair behind him, his gaze moving to the double-sided mirror as he watched the woman being interrogated. He couldn't help the smile on his face as he noticed her own smirk drop. She had been caught out, finally.

"Would you care to explain how Lily Brown's blood ended up on the floor in your shed, at the back of your garden?" Fall asked, leaning forward on her elbows. "Perhaps how a strand of her hair was in the bed also in the shed?"

Rebecca had bowed her head, not bothering to look in the direction of her lawyer, knowing that it was pointless trying to come up with a lie to try and cover herself up. They had found everything and she had so wished that she had been more careful. She had been so careless, so idiotic.

"Rebecca?" Hart pushed. He was obviously playing good cop given the softness in the tone of his voice.

"Fine," she spoke eventually, lifting her head up again. "I don't know why I did it. I was angry, I just lost my job and I didn't know what to do with those feelings."

"We also have reason to believe that you were involved in a number of deaths that happened at Hamilton Ashe when you were a nurse there," Fall got out as she pulled out the relevant files detailing the evidence Nikki had found against the woman.

"It's why I lost my job," Rebecca sighed. "They thought that some of my actions had caused the death of various children. It was always on my shift so they ended up putting two and two together."

"Why didn't they investigate it properly?" Hart interrupted.

Rebecca shrugged her shoulders, "I had taken a long break after I had qualified as a nurse, I was in and out of therapy but you probably already know that. I had just gone back into nursing when I lost control of everything again. I didn't know what had came over me the first time. I suppose they asked me one too many questions and I snapped. I let go," she was staring blankly, almost as if she was having an out of body experience.

"I killed them," she continued. Fall and Hart remained silent, wanting to let her talk. "I killed them all. It was like something ticked inside of me that first time and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't fight the urge. They thought that I had made too many mistakes but I hadn't. I did it all on purpose. I wanted them to suffer like how I suffered. Because I suffered. When I lost my job, I tried to push those feelings down. Those urges. Those temptations. But I couldn't. I had got the taste for it and I couldn't let that go. So I took her and I killed her. I killed Lily Brown."

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. He glanced over at Evan checking that he was okay. He hadn't even considered that this was the first time he would've witnessed something like this. He was pale and he looked as though he was going to throw up. Jack couldn't blame him, he was feeling the same himself. They had seen enough though, there was no need to hang around now. They had got what they came for.

Standing up, he gestured for Evan to follow him as they headed back out of the police station and into Jack's car.

"You alright?" Jack queried.

"I can't believe she just admitted to it," Evan managed to get out. "Like it was nothing. Almost as if she forgot to turn the oven off. How can anyone be so heartless to kill children and feel nothing? You have got to be seriously damaged." The tears slipped down his cheek.

"By the sounds of it, she probably was," Jack sighed, reaching over the threshold to take hold of Evan's shoulder and squeezing it gently. "I will admit, she's probably the worst I've ever seen. But unfortunately there are people out there that are like that. But the question is, are you prepared to deal with people like that?"

Evan pondered over the question for a moment, not quite sure of how to answer it. But he spoke eventually, "As much as people like that frighten me. The feeling I got, knowing that I helped to find that little girl justice and her parents some peace. That feeling beats anything else. I made a difference in the world today, albeit I only played a small part in that. But, I got to see an evil woman be put away today. To serve time for her crimes. And that only encourages me more."

"Good," Jack smiled. "Back to the Lyell?"

Evan nodded as Jack started the engine. They were back at the Lyell in no time, now feeling as though a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Jack let Evan lead the way this time as they were met by both Nikki and Sam sat at the desks in the offices. Sam turned around in her seat to look at the two who had just walked in.

"How did it go?" She asked eagerly.

Jack raised his eyebrows at Evan, encouraging him to speak.

"Well," he began, suddenly feeling quite nervous. "She admitted to everything, including the murders she committed at the hospital. All it took was us giving them our evidence and she cracked. Although, she's a deeply troubled person, I can say that for sure."

Sam winked at Nikki before standing up, "And how are you feeling?" She walked over to Evan.

"A bit shaken," he chuckled. "But we did good today and we've found closure for the family. And that is what I came here to do."

"I think that's cause for celebration, don't you think?" Sam suggested, looking round to the other two in the room. "Think I might have a bottle of something in my draw."

Sam led the way as Evan followed behind her. Jack and Nikki lingered for a moment, both of them just staring at each other.

"I will get it out of you," Jack grinned.

"What?" Nikki's eyebrows furrowed as she stood up, making her way towards Sam's office.

"What you were going to say to me earlier, I will get it out of you Nikki Alexander," he said smugly, joining her side.

"Is that so?" Nikki threw back, stopping in her tracks as she tilted her head to look up at him.

Jack nodded, full of confidence, as he stepped closer to her, anticipating her. He leaned forward slowly, his hand coming to rest on the back of her neck. He let his lips linger on her cheek for a moment, feeling the change in the temperature before he quickly backed off and headed into Sam's office.

He left Nikki standing there in complete bewilderment, her face now a very bright shade of red. And the feeling of Jack's lips burned into her cheek. She just shook her head and tried to calm her breathing before she too made her way into Sam's office, joining the other three.


Next time: Blast From the Past - A familiar face returns in Sam's life as they find a woman's body on the train tracks. But is it all what it seems?