So, I finally have a new update for you, I hope you didn't wait too long. The italic part of this chapter is a kind of dream sequence, you'll see what I mean.

Enjoy,

T73.

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Liz sat at the kitchen counter and looked up from her newspaper as she heard someone coming down the stairs. She smiled a little and raised her brows as she saw the bruised Keira. „How did you sleep?"

„Better if I'd had five beer," the teen grumbled and huffed.

Liz smiled faintly and nodded. „You'll get them when you're twenty-one."

Keira sat down at the other end of the counter and huffed again. „You're boring."

„I can handle that statement pretty well."

The girl looked long at her and took a deep breath. „Why are you helping me?"

Liza sipped her coffee and closed the newspaper. „As you may have noticed, I am a cop. I protect people in need,"

The teenager glanced at the woman and shook her head. „No. No, you're helping me for another reason."

Liz emptied her mug and got up to pour herself another coffee. „It's a long and complicated story that I'll tell you another time."

„It is about my father?"

The detective opened the door of the fridge and got a bottle of orange juice out of it. „In a way, yes."

Keira nodded slowly and watched Liz pouring her a glass of juice.

Liz shoved it over the counter before getting her coffee. „How old is your boyfriend?"

Keira rolled her eyes. „Why?"

„Because I wanna know."

The teenager hesitated and avoided Liz's eyes. „Nineteen."

Liz's eyebrows shot up. „Your boyfriend is nineteen and he beats you?"

Keira finally looked up and licked her lips, wincing a little.

Liz wanted to say something when someone else suddenly walked past her and grabbed her mug before she could take a sip. She pursed her lips and glanced at her husband with furrowed brows while he drank from her coffee.

Keira watched the scene and frowned deeply. „So, are you her gay rommie?"

Adam's brows shot up and he choked on the coffee.

Liz laughed amused and patted his shoulders as she took another cup out of the cupboard. „Yes, Adam's my gay housemate,"

Adam smirked before he pulled his wife at her waist against her and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck. „Then we should keep this to ourselves. My boyfriend won't be thrilled when he gets to know about you."

Liz grinned broadly before she kissed him on the lips.

Keira cleared her throat and the two looked at the girl. „So you're friends with benefits? That means that you are friends who have -"

„We know that that means," cut Liz the teenager off and raised a hand. „And no, Adam is my husband."

Keira made big eyes. „You are ... Really?"

Adam nodded slowly. „Yep."

„How did you -" the girl trailed off and rolled her eyes. „You probably met at work."

Adam cleared his throat and glanced down on his feet.

Liz chuckled now. „Actually no, we met at our favorite pub."

„Luckily," Adam added and his wife can't hide the broad smile.

Keira was about to ask something else but stopped, blinking a few times. „What's that?"

Liz frowned and glanced at the man. „A pub is a place you meet with friends and perhaps have some drinks."

The teenager grunted and pointed behind the woman. „No, this?"

The older brunette looked over her shoulder and watched how Puck stretched his fore-paws and back extensively, yawning as he tried to reach the patio door.

She rolled her eyes. „Our Belgian shepherd," she and Adam said in unison.

Adam opened the door and shuddered as the cold air rushed in. „Come on, old boy. I don't want to freeze to death."

Puck sauntered before slipping out of the house.

Keira eyes the two skeptically. „Now only two and a half children and the white fence are missing. Then you are the perfect American family.

Liz sat back in her chair and quirked a brow. „We're working on it."

Adam stumbled over his feet when she said this and frowned deeply.

Liz chuckled and looked at the teenager. „Our son Zane is still up in his room." She glanced at the clock on the wall and frowned. „By the way, he only gets ten more minutes."

Keira blinked a few times and rolled her glass between her hands. „When did you and Adam met?"

Liz sighed dramatically and furrowed her brows, squinting at the ceiling. „I meet Adam when I was twenty-two ... so almost twelve years."

„And how old is your son?"

„He turns seven in three months," Adam answered and looked at his wife.

Liz took a deep breath and smiled sadly. She knew that this potshot was meant to be painful when she saw his eyes. She pressed her lips together and turned her attention back to the teen. „Enough of that. Keira, you can stay here as long as you want."

„I don't want to bother you," the girl replied with a deep frown.

„Bullshit," Adam said suddenly and looked keenly at Keira. „Liz and I grew up in big families, one person more or less doesn't bother us at all."

Liz frowned deeply and glanced long at her husband. She opened her mouth to state something but stopped when she saw that Zane, who had just got up, stood at the stairs and stared at the teenage girl without moving.

She furled her brows and narrowed her eyes as the boy ran to his father and hid behind Adam's legs. „Since when are you so shy, kiddo?"

Zane tugged at his father's sweats and looked up at his father without saying a word.

Adam rolled his eyes and lifted the boy off the ground with a groan. He listened attentively as Zane whispered something in his ear and then he grunted with a grin.

„What are you whispering about," Liz asked skeptically.

Adam eyed her and then at his son. „Boys stuff."

She narrowed her eyes and smiled again. „Okay." She eyes the teenager and took a deep breath. „Keira, this little guy is our son Zane. Zane this is ... Keira, she's going to stay here for some time. Come and say hello."

Zane mumbled something and buried his face in the crook of Adam's neck.

Liz narrowed her eyes once more before getting up and carrying her mug to the sink. „I'll meet with Chaz in an hour. Do you think you're gonna survive without me?"

Adam rolled his eyes and wanted to reply that he survived without her for several years, so a few hours would be a snap. He nodded and wanted to put his son back down on the floor but the boy clung to his father.

This time it was Liz who rolled her eyes and she walked towards the stairs. „I'm going to take a shower and change clothes. You know where to find me if you need anything."

He nodded and glanced at Zane. „We'll be good, don't worry."

Half an hour later, Adam entered the bathroom and closed the door with a deep frown. Liz was about to button-up her white blouse and paused when she saw the reflexion of her husband in the mirror. „Is the kitchen on fire?"

Adam scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. „No, everything's fine down there. Keira and Zane get along very nicely. I just want to talk to you about letting Keira stay here."

Liz pressed her lips together and frowned a little. „I know I've should talk to you about it first."

„I'm okay with it. I rather let her stay her here before Curtis beat her to death."

She eyes her and nodded slowly. „Okay."

Adam inhaled deeply. „Did you offered it because you wanna try to build a relationship with your sister?"

The young woman frowned deeply and furrowed her brows. „Adam, she's not my sister. She's just a young frightened girl who turned to us for help."

He nodded slowly and eyes her. „And what do we do if we have to arrest Tim in the worst case scenario."

Liz pressed her lips together, turned to him and furrowed her brows, leaning against the sink. „We'll see when it comes to that, Adam."

Adam stepped closer to her and sighed loudly. „You're gonna have to explain to her at some point who you really are, Liz."

She closed her eyes briefly and nodded once. „Yeah, I know, but not today, and not tomorrow. Give me some time to figure out how to tell Keira that her father is my biological begetter."

He eyed her long and clenched his jaw for a second. „Just don't take too much time, Liz. If she finds out that you knew about it all the time who your ... 'father' is and that you knew she's your ... 'sister' ... She won't forgive you not telling the truth."

She nodded once again and sighed. „I'll tell her, but not today."

He ran his hands down her arms. He was able to see that his wife was in a conflict right now. „I surely won't tell Keira about it. That you're her sister."

She opened her mouth to disagree once more and kissed him quickly. „I'm late already. I'll see you later at the precinct."

„Yeah," he sighed heavily after she left the bathroom. „see you in the precinct."

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Adam sat on the couch with his laptop and again flew over his collected data, which more than clearly proved that he and his wife had stumbled into an opaque conspiracy.

He looked at his watch and frowned as it really surprised him that Zane was still playing with Keira in the garden.

Yes, Liz had taken Puck under the pretext that the dog needed an extensive walk. His inner voice, on the other hand, told him that hadn't been the reason why she took puck with her.

Zane came running into the house at once and threw himself on the couch next to him, turning on the TV.

Keira followed the boy and frowned as Adam closed his laptop and got up after driving his hand through Zane's hair. „I don't need a watcher, you know."

Adam looked at the girl and then at Zane. „You maybe not, but this boy."

She cracked a smile and licked her lips.

Adam took two cola out of the fridge and threw a can at her. „If you are thirsty then help yourself." He paused when he saw her eyes and frowned. "By that, I mean water, juices, and soda pops."

Keira shrugged and placed the can on the counter. „Why is Liz freaking out about Curtis? You're a lot older than she is."

He looked at her in surprise and scratched his chin. „Liz freaks out because of Curtis because you're fifteen and he's nineteen, which is already against the law, and because he beats you. And when we first met, she was of legal age."

„I love Curtis."

Adam looked long at the girl and sat down beside her, nodding. „Yeah, maybe you love him but that does not give him the right to treat you the way he does and make you do whatever he wants, you deserve someone who appreciates you and accepts you the way you are and not someone who tries to change you. Liz and I see every day ... We see men and women bending over for someone else and that doesn't end well for some of them in the end. „

„You mean on the streets."

„Yeah, on the streets, but Liz and I aren't patrolling officers, we're homicide detectives."

Keira's eyes grew big. „Oh."

Adam smiled sadly and nodded. „We dressed up to impress you and your friends, knowing that you would rather listen to someone in uniform than people in suits."

„That was a smart move," she laughed and drank her soda.

„Thanks," he laughed and looked at his son, who ignored them.

„I wish my parents would have looked at me like that sometimes," Keira said suddenly, studying the can in her hands.

Adam frowned as he turned his attention back to the teenager. „What do you mean?"

She shrugged and chewed the inside of her cheek. „You and Liz look at Zane full of love, sometimes I was nothing but air for my parents because they were simply engaged in their competition. Mom was a pediatrician who made a living while Dad was a mediocre private investigator, sometimes they didn't even notice me."

Adam raised his head as he understood. „Your parents saw you, Keira, they just didn't know how to show it."

„I knew they were going to divorce but never asked me how I was feeling about."

„Well -" Adam started looking for words because he still didn't know how to explain to a child why parents didn't want to be with the other anymore and that their decisions would affect their affected.

Keira looked long at him and pointed at her face. „You sometimes have the same expression as my mother."

Adam swallowed hard and frowned. "What do you mean?"

„Mom looked at my dad just as much as you look at Liz, but at the same time her eyes were as sad as yours."

Adam looked at the teenager in astonishment and huffed. „Liz and me ... we have a long, complicated story."

Keira took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

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Chaz walked past the sports court in Mattapan with his best friend an2d Puck where she had met Keira and frowned while he sipped his coffee. Can you tell me again why we're in Mattapan at this unholy time?"

Liz furled eyebrows and looked up to him. „It's 8.30 in the morning. What's unholy about this time?"

He shrugged and frowned. „Every time of day is unholy in Mattapan."

Liz grinned broadly but then she got serious again. „Thank you for coming with me."

„Every time," Chaz said, breathing in the cold air deeply. „And besides, I can't leave you alone when I have a strange feeling that you're about to do something really stupid."

„The last time you accompanied me because you had the same feeling, you were almost beaten to death," she replied and took a swig of her coffee.

Chaz briefly gritted his teeth and glanced around because he felt like he was being watched. „Can you remember the night?"

Liz exhaled loudly and shoved her hands into her coat pockets. „No, I can barely remember anything. I feel like the night is behind a veil that I just can't lift." She paused and furrowed her brows. „Every time I try to remember, I get these unbearable headaches as if my brain is trying to prevent me from recalling the events of the night. What about you? Do you remember anything?"

Chaz scoffed and shook his head. „I can't remember anything either, the evening is like wiped out. Maybe it's better that way, Liz."

„How can that be better? You were almost killed and they wanted to frame me for murder. I want to know who is behind all of this and why they're after us."

„I can understand you, but sometimes it's better to let things go before you make the situation worse."

„Shall I have this written on your headstone?"

Chaz looked at her with big eyes and wanted to counter something when he saw the person they were looking for and thrust his chin at the young man. „Is that your guy?"

Liz saw a young man walking around a chain-link fence and nodded as she handed her friend Puck's leash before following the guy. „Yeah, that's the guy I'm looking for."

The very day she met Keira, she had a rather uneasy feeling when he eyed the girl like a lurking predator while Keira was talking to Adam and her, but she couldn't say why. „You don't have to do this, Chaz."

„So you can get yourself killed," he countered, shaking his head. „No way."

Liz rolled her eyes and followed the young man into an alley.

He suddenly slowed down his steps and shoved his hand into his jeans pocket before turning around and suddenly holding a switchblade knife in his hand.

Liz took a big step toward him, snapping him by the collar and throwing him against the nearby wall.

Puck started barking wildly and tugged at his leash.

„Don't even think about it, Curtis," she hissed into the man's ear and he groaned when she twisted his hand so much that he dropped the weapon to the ground.

„Who are you," he groaned among deafening barks of the dog.

„I'm your worst nightmare if you just get near Keira again," Liz growled and twisted his hand even more. „Or if you ever look at her ever again. Do you understand me?"

Curtis gasped for air and furled his brows. „Yes," he groaned as the Belgian Shepherd growled with bared teeth. „Yeah, I understood you."

She let Curtis go again and picked up the switchblade knife and shoved it into the coat pocket. „Very nice. I take that. And if you don't stay away from the girl, I won't be so nice anymore."

„I'll find and kill you and your fucking pooch," Curtis roared while holding his sore right arm.

Liz took the lash from Chaz again and smiled at Curtis wryly. „I can't wait."

Chaz followed the woman and looked at her skeptically. „Do you think it's a good idea to make even more enemies?"

Liz looked up to him and frowned. „What do I have to lose?"

He raised his shoulders and turned the corners of his mouth down. „Oh, I don't know. Maybe your life?"

She grinned broadly when her phone suddenly started ringing. She fished it out of her pocket and groaned as she looked on display.

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Maura stood in her daughter's kitchen and smiled broadly as she watched her wife sitting with Zane on the living room floor and playing with Legos.

They agreed to watch their grandson for the day while Liz and Adam were working, the more surprised she was when she found a teenager sitting on the couch with a shiner and a split lip.

Adam had explained to Jane and her that the girl was Keira Rubino who had been beaten by her adult boyfriend and that Liz didn't want Tim to see his daughter in such condition.

She glanced at the front door when she heard a being turned in the lock and immediately became serious as Liz and Adam entered their house.

She knew the second she saw her daughter's face that something went terribly wrong.

Liz glanced at the teenager who was still sitting on the couch and reading a magazine.

Maura saw Liz inhaling deeply and furrowing her brows as if she willed herself not to burst into tears. She went into the living room and stood next to Jane. „Zane, honey. What do you say about we both go to a toy store and see if we can find a potential birthday present for you?"

Jane's eyes shot up and she frowned deeply, but then she glanced at Liz and stood up while the boy squealed enthusiastically and ran up the stairs. „What's the matter?"

Adam sighed heavily and thrust his chin to the kitchen while Liz ignored her mother.

Jane hesitated for a second before joining him in the kitchen.

Liz took a deep breath and sat down on an armchair that stood close to the couch, staring at the teenager.

Keira frowned and raised her eyes a little. „Didn't your parents teach you that it's rude to stare at other people."

Liz licked her lips and sighed loudly as she placed her elbows on her knees. „Keira, I need to talk to you about something."

The girl's frown deepened and she placed the magazine next to her. „Who died?"

Liz hesitated and frowned as well. It wasn't the first time she had been in such a situation and yet it never got any easier. She took a deep breath and swallowed heavily. „This morning, paramedics and police had been called to your father's house after your neighbor noticed engine noise coming from the garage. They got access to it and found your dad in his car while the engine was running." She swallowed hard and set her jaw briefly. „Keira, I'm sorry but the paramedics couldn't do anything for him anymore."

The girl stared at her but didn't react at all. „My father's dead?"

Liz nodded slowly. „I'm afraid yes."

„So what now? Where am I supposed to stay now?"

The young detective hadn't expected such a reaction. She didn't really know what she actually expected, but certainly not a fifteen-year-old girl who worried about her future right after she got to know that her father just died. She had already dealt with children for whom the world shattered after they learned that they had become either semi-orphan or complete orphans. She looked long at Keira and frowned. „Do you have relatives with whom you can stay?"

Keira shook her head and wiped a tear off her cheek. „No, my mother was an only child and was on bad terms with her family because she was in a relationship with my father and his family still lives in Europe." She paused and laughed as tears streamed down her face. „I'm so fucked. My mom is dead and my dad is a coward who gassed himself, thinking about no one but himself. Because of that now I have to live with a damn foster family that cares about nothing but social welfare benefits."

„No," Liz suddenly said and shook her head. „No, you still have Adam and me."

„No offense, but I don't want to bother even more."

„You're not bothering us. Not at all."

Keira nodded slowly and hiccuped all of a sudden when she became aware of what kind of news Liz just told her.

Liz sighed, sat next to the teenager and pulled the girl into her arms when Keira started crying. Yes, that was the reaction she'd expected instead of being calm. She closed her eyes for a fraction of a second and wondered why she actually worried so much about a girl she didn't know more than three days ago.

When she met Adam in front of Tim's house this morning, she had a bad feeling after seeing the ambulance driving away. She knew Tim was a devious son of a bitch, but she didn't have the impression that he would be suicidal. And even if she did, she would have suspected that he would put a bullet in his head instead of choosing such a protracted and painful death. Moreover, the time of the alleged suicide seemed rather strange to her. And on top of that, it was also strange that there was no suicide note to be found near Tim or in the house.

She rubbed Keira's back soothingly and frowned deeply. „Everything's gonna be okay," she whispered gently and the girl clung to her. „I promise."

„It's just a nightmare, right," the girl mumbled and sobbed. „I'll wake up any minute, right?"

Liz sighed again and broke the hug, tugging a strand of hair behind her ear. „Honey, I wish this would be just a nightmare."

Keira held her gaze and shook her head. „I told him so many times that I hate him and that I'd wish that he would be dead instead of my mother, but I didn't mean it."

Liz heaved a sigh and frowned deeply. „Sometimes, when people are mad, they say things they don't really mean."

„I loved my dad. I should've told him."

„He knew it, Keira. He knew that you loved him."

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„We should've talked about it," Adam growled when he emerged from the bathroom, gritting his teeth.

Liz followed him and ran her hand through her wet hair. „This isn't the first time my parents have helped us with a case. And the timing of Tim's alleged suicide is more than -"

„I'm not talking about that," Adam cut her off and straightened up. „I'm talking about Keira."

Liz pursed her lips and glanced almost provocatively at him. „What about her?"

„Don't you think you should've talked to me about taking her in before you made this decision?"

She furrowed her brows and frowned a little. „She's my -" She stopped and scowled at Adam as he raised his brows. „She's a fifteen-year-old teenager who just lost her father, Adam. What was I supposed to do? Watching how such a young girl into a rotten system?"

He pointed at his chest and had to suppress the urge to start yelling when his anger bubbled up. „First of all, you should've talked to me about taking in a teenage girl we barely know!"

„She's -"

„Keira's what? Your sister?"

„Don't be ridiculous," the young woman growled through gritted teeth. „And even though I'd call her my sister ... It would ... You know I'd do anything for my family."

„Do I," he asked and raised his brows high. „The only thing I do know is that the last time you did something for your family was running away and disappearing for five years and that you didn't even care how we were doing."

Liz gasped and straightened up as soon as his words hit her, words who hurt more than stabbing her heart with a sandwich knife and twisting it slowly. „Do you really think I made that decision that easily?" She paused and pointed at herself with furrowed brows. „That I woke up that night and decided to leave you and Zane behind? She now pointed with tears in her eyes at his side of the bed. „When I had to leave I was sitting there for almost three hours and had to fight with myself not to wake you because you were fast asleep. I knew if I'd leave the house, there would be no turning back. And because I was damn sure it would be the last time I'd see you and Zane. You have absolutely no idea how many times to book a flight ticket back to Boston and explain to you what had happened. You have to idea how many nights I was sitting on my couch with my phone in my had and how I had to force myself not to call you because I knew that it wouldn't undo anything. I did this to get you and our son out of the line of fire, Adam."

„What gave you the right," Adam suddenly asked a little louder and furled his brows. „What gave you the right to decide what's best for Zane and me? You know, because I'm not a child anymore, Liz. I risk my life every day. What would have been if something had happened to me in the time you were living in California? How should our families explained to Zane that I wouldn't come home anymore and that they don't know where his mother is?" He shook his head when she tried to answer his questions. „No, don't you dare saying that you did it to protect us. It's just a putoff, Liz. You took the first opportunity to run away because that's what you've always done when you've been unable to cope with a situation." Adam walked past his wife and ran his hands through his hair. He didn't know why his pent-up anger suddenly bubbled up to the surface now, but he was sure that the fact that Liz decided that Keira could live with them without asking him for his opinion was the reason. „Did you really think that neither Zane nor I would come out of all of this unscathed?"

Liz looked long at him with big eyes and asked in a husky voice, „What does that mean?"

He raised his shoulders and turned to her, knowing that she didn't ask what he mean with his own question but what he thought they'd stand right now. „I don't know what it means, Elizabeth. I can't tell what's gonna happen to us. I thought -" He trailed off and glanced long at her. „I love you, but it's a fact that I can't trust you anymore. Every time when a new problem gets in our way, I expect to wake up the next morning and that you are gone again. I can't live like this forever, Liz. I can't live a life in anxious."

Liz looked long at him with tears in her eyes and furrowed her brows before closing them briefly. „I love you from the bottom of my heart, Adam. I'm not going anywhere anymore."

Adam stood in front of her and lifted his hands as if he was about to run them down her arms, but then he hesitated and dropped them again. „I wish I could believe you, Elizabeth," he replied, but this time there was no anger in his voice but sadness.

She gasped loudly and a tear ran down her cheek as she closed her eyes once more.

Adam sighed loudly, went to their bed and folded the blanket back. „We should get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Liz swallowed hard and also went to the bed while she wiped off her tears. „Yes," she croaked. „Let's get some sleep.

He hesitated for a second before lay down and turned his back on her, turning off the bedside lamp."

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Leslie took a big sip from her water bottle and frowned as she realized that her best friend was still not done with the bench press. As soon as they became friends she immediately knew that she couldn't keep up with the brunette conditionally, but at the same time, she had learned that Liz only exerted herself when she was sad about something, or angry, or when she was angry about something that saddened her. Liz had told her that she and Adam had an argument about Keira last night, which the redhead could understand, but her friend hadn't gone into details.

She grabbed her towel and dabbed her sweaty forehead. „Okay, what's going on?"

„I told you," Liz grunted while she kept pressing the weight. „Adam and I had a fight if you can call it an argument."

„About Keira."

„Yep, among other things."

The redhead frowned deeply. „What does that suppose to mean?"

Liz lifted the weight on the bracket and sat up. „Adam told me didn't trust me anymore right after we had sex in the shower."

The redhead made a face and threw Liz's towel at her friend. „You're direct, that's refreshing and I love it because you obviously inherited from Maura, but I didn't need that picture in my head."

Liz smiled weakly and rubbed her neck with the towel, frowning. „I'll be happy to tell her that you like my candor."

Leslie smiled but then she got serious again and leaned against a

Backbone. „So Adam broke up with you?"

Liz frowned loudly and frowned. „You are supposed to know Adam and I can't just break up that easily."

The redhead rolled her eyes. „Liz!"

„Yes," the other woman admitted reluctantly, slumping her shoulders. „I mean, I think so. What would you think if Chaz would tell you that he doesn't know what'll happen with your relationship?"

Leslie shrugged and blinked a few times. „That he needs some time to think?"

Liz frowned deeply again and glanced at her in disbelief."Then your husband is a terrible slow thinker when he needs more than half a year to come to a realization."

„If you wouldn't be my best friend, I'd be really offended right now," the redhead replied and Liz smiled a little."You have to understand that Adam is in a conflict right now, Liz. He thought for years that you were dead and then you just reappeared out of nowhere and turned his whole life upside down again."

Liz stood up from the bench and furled her brows. „It's not exactly like I've planned any of this."

„Well, you kinda did."

„How so?"

„You planned your disappearance."

„Yes, but not that Waterston would be killed and Chaz almost beat to death. Or that I'd almost go to jail or a nut house."

Leslie inhaled deeply and followed her best friend. „I know that, Liz. And you can believe me when I say that each of us had been think of better ways to see you again." She paused and glanced long at the other woman. „What are you going to do now?"

Liz looked surprised at her and furled her brows. „I'm gonna go take a shower now, then I'm changing for work."

„Actually, I meant what you're gonna do about your relationship with Adam now."

The brunette paused and inhaled deeply. „I don't know, Leslie. I don't even know if we still have a relationship I have to fight about. I can understand him, though. This time I really overstepped the mark."

„Because you offered shelter to a fifteen-year-old girl whose father just killed himself?"

„Because I made that decision without talking about it to him first." Liz paused and set her jaw for a second. „If I'd be in his shoes, I'd probably get tired of all of this, too."

Leslie sighed loudly and nodded slowly. „Yeah, probably you're right."

„Can we take a shower now?" The brunette rolled her eyes as she saw Leslie's skeptical look. „You know what I meant."

„Sometimes I am not so sure," the redhead replied and Liz chuckled.

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„Suicide my ass," Jane grumbled as she sat down on the edge of Liz's desk and crossed her arms over her chest.

Maura stood with a file in her hand in front of her wife, Liz, and Adam while they listened closely to her.

„You sure, Maura, "Adam wanted to know and frowned deeply.

Liz furled her brows and grunted when Maura opened her mouth to answer his question.

Adam closed his eyes for a moment before glaring at her.

Maura looked briefly at her wife, who also noticed the tense mood, and then nodded. „Yes, Rose found traces of chloroform in Tim's nostrils. That definitively rules out suicide."

„Unless Tim chloroformed himself, then dragged himself into the garage, sealed all the windows of the car, connected the exhaust and the driver's cab with a garden hose before sitting down and waiting to suffocate," Liz noted, holding Adam's gaze and quirking a brow.

Jane was about to reply when her daughter said that and she closed her mouth instantly.

Adam smiled tightly. „Thank you, Detective."

Liz crossed her arms over her chest and raised her brows almost arrogantly. „You're very welcome, Sergeant."

Jane was almost fascinated by the exchange of both and frowned deeply. „I can't imagine that it's a coincidence that Tim gets killed right after he got in touch with Liz."

„Thank God I've never been in his house before. Otherwise, they'd try to pin that on me, too," Liz stated and sat down at her desk.

Adam wanted to protest loudly.

„CSU didn't find your fingerprints on the car or on the garden hose," Jane got there first and he snapped his mouth shut again. „But I also have the feeling that this was another failed attempt to pin Tim's murder on you."

Liz took a deep breath and glanced long at Maura. „How exactly did Rose get the idea to check his nostrils for chemicals?"

Maura pursed her lips and pointed to the tip of her own nose. „Rose was performing the autopsy when I noticed small abrasions right under his nose. I asked her if she'd swab the nostrils, too."

Jane smiled broadly and dropped her chin to her chest.

Liz rolled her eyes with a grin.

„Of course you noticed something like this," Adam chuckled before he sighed.

Jane laughed briefly and Liz put her hand over her mouth to hide her bigger grin.

They all knew that Rose Blythe was a really good ME, but also that she was still young and inexperienced and grateful for any help that she could get so she wouldn't make any mistakes.

Adam liked her, though, and so did Liz.

Maura rolled her eyes and shook her head. „Rose is a very good ME."

„Of course you're saying that," Jane said all of a sudden.

„You were the one who earmarked her for the job," Adam added and raised his brows.

Liz almost smiled smugly. „Besides, you were the one who trained her."

Maura opened her mouth to disagree, but then she had to laugh because she knew she had no chance if the three ganged up against her.

At least the tense atmosphere had vanished for a moment.

Liz knew immediately that Maura got their number when she saw the blonde staring intensely at her and cleared her throat. „Um, I go and get a coffee. I'll be back in a few."

„I'll come with you," Maura stated and the young woman stopped before she nodded and started walking again.

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Liz was standing at the counter in Foley's, waiting for her order.

A week already had passed by since Tim's murder but they still couldn't figure out who was behind all of this. Not yet.

She turned a little so the man who was staring at her wouldn't make a move on her while she was waiting for the drinks.

She still had to get used to the fact that her former favorite pub was now called Foley's and that it was supposed to appeal the younger people of Boston and proximity.

She had asked her cousin Sam if he could babysit Zane and Keira because Adam met with some of his friends and she needed an evening off to regain power.

The situation between Adam and her hadn't improved. On the contrary, it was draining.

One evening, Adam suddenly stated that he would sleep in the second guest room which Liz vehemently refused and then she was the one who moved out of the main bedroom.

From that moment on the two had only told the most necessary things to each other.

Liz felt like she was just an unwanted housemate who refused to move out of the house.

That's why she needed this evening, to become herself again, even without her husband in her life.

Liz heard the front door of the pub opening and closing and the atmosphere in the pub changed instantly.

She didn't have to turn to the door to know who just entered Foley's. „Perfect," she murmured before she closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

„Can I buy you a beer?"

„No," she replied emphatically but smiled a little. „I've already placed my order.

Adam sat down on the bar stool next to her and thanked the bartender as he put two bottles of beer on the counter, grabbing one of them. He glanced at it and downed half of the content.

Liz turned her head to him and raised her brows in surprise. „Actually that was Leslie's."

He glanced to there table where Leslie and four other women were sitting and raised the bottle at her with a broad grin and the redhead rolled annoyed her eyes. „Well, now it's mine."

„Charming," she replied and quirked a brow. „I thought you'd spend the night with your own friends."

Adam nodded and ran his hand over the designer stubble. „I was. I'm on my way home and am here for a nightcap."

„And Leslie's beer just forced itself on you?"

Adam could see the sadness in her eyes. He let his eyes wander down on her and frowned a little because she was only wearing plain jeans and a blue hoodie. He knew that Liz and he were trying to avoid to talk to each other, but this moment it didn't seem right. „You okay?"

Liz looked long at him and took a deep breath before she nodded. „Yeah, I'm okay."

He also nodded and paused for a second. „Somehow it's weird that we suck so much when it comes to small talk."

Liz opened her mouth to reply something, but then she smiled and shrugged.

Adam sighed loudly and scratched his chin. „It's also strange that we see each other every day for hours and aren't even able to ask how the other is feeling."

Liz sipped her beer and licked her lips. „I'm just trying to give you the space you need."

„Yeah," he agreed, rolling his bottle between his hands. „I know. Maura talked to me, though. About us and our marriage."

She furled briefly her eyebrows and then shook her head. „She shouldn't have done that."

„That was more pleasant than the talk with Jane. That was more like a root canal."

Liz looked long at him and frowned. „Ma talked to you too?"

Adam nodded and thanked the bartender once again. „Yep, three days ago. She wanted to know what had happened to us. I told her the facts and she wanted to know if I've lost my mind and if I want you to run away again."

She groaned and dropped her chin to her chest. „I'm so sorry about that."

„Nah, don't be sorry," he replied and waved his hand, „I survived worse."

„Oh God," she groaned again and buried her face in her hands. „I can't tell you how sorry I am about all of this."

Adam grinned broadly and leaned in a little. „I'll tell you again, don't be sorry." He frowned and thrust his chin discreetly in the direction of a booth. „The three guys over there are staring the whole time at you, trying to figure out who's gonna be the first who gets brushed off."

Liz glanced at the booth and spotted a group of three young men who indeed were staring at her and she furled her brows. „They're still kids, twenty-two at most."

He turned the corners of his mouth downward and shrugged. „It just shows once again that there's no man you can't have."

Liz paused and her eyes feel briefly to his lips. „The man I want doesn't want me anymore."

„Liz -" he replied and set his jaw for a moment.

„Yes," she cut him off and inhaled deeply. „I know I shouldn't say that and give you the space you want, but I can't just turn off my feelings for you."

Adam hesitated before he placed his hand on hers. „Yeah, I know. I know what you're meaning."

Liz automatically intertwined her fingers with his and glanced at their hands as he ran his thumb over hers. „I have the feeling that there's a big but coming."

Adam looked seriously with a frown at her. „My common sense tells me that we will always hurt each other."

„That's not a but," she whispered in a husky voice and held his gaze.

He took a deep breath and leaned in again. Not to whisper something to her, but to kiss her. „But I don't care because I can't turn off my feelings for you either, Liz."

Liz looked him in the eye and smiled broadly and relieved.

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She followed Chaz with a deep frown. „You don't have to do this, I can handle it myself."

Chaz rolled his eyes and looked long and dourly at her. „I'll keep my eyes glued to you. When we're done, we go to Adam's together and tell him that you're back in town."

She slowed her steps and raised her eyebrows. „We're not gonna do that, Charles."

He stopped abruptly and frowned. He knew that it hardly ever happened that his friend called him by his full name unless she either wanted to ram something down his throat or convince him of something. „Liz -"

„Listen," she whispered sharply and stepped closer to her friend. „Adam and my parents can't know that I was in Boston. They can't even know that we've met."

„You can't ask that from me," Chaz whispered back and ran his hand over his short hair. „He's my best friend. And he's a wreck because he thinks you're dead. Let me tell him that your okay when you're on your way back to California."

Liz placed her hands on his shoulders and swallowed hard. „Please don't do it. I'm begging you. If you tell Adam that you saw me, you're putting him and yourself in danger. I could never forgive myself if something happens to one of you."

„What have you gotten yourself into," Chaz asked worriedly and frowned deeply.

Liz dropped her hands again and licked her lips. „Into something very bad. I'll tell you when it's over."

„Then let's get started so that you get back home quickly," he stated and started moving again.

Liz blinked a few times and furrowed her brows. „I didn't mean it that way, Chaz."

„I hope you don't think that I'll let you down while you're in Boston, do you?"

She sighed loudly and followed him. „Actually that's what I was hoping."

„Liz, I'm already a big boy who can take care of himself and his family. You don't have to worry about me." He laughed when he saw her worried expression and turned into a dark alley, pausing abruptly. „Oh, fuck!"

„What is it?" Liz wanted to know and sucked the air sharply into her lungs as she spotted a man lying lifelessly on the ground.

Chaz glanced with big eyes at her and frowned once again. „Is this the guy you were supposed to meet?"

She crouched down and checked if the older man still had a pulse. She looked into wide opened eyes and knew instantly that this man needed an ME and no paramedics. „Yes," she answered and looked up. „This is James Waterston. My former colleague."

„Is he -"

„Yeah, he's dead," she stated when he trailed off and took a look at her bloody hand, knowing immediately that she just made a huge mistake. She turned her head to the right when she heard the clattering of a can. „Chaz."

Chaz shoved his phone back into his pocket, saying before he ran off, „I got him!"

Liz got up to her feet again and joined the chase. She immediately regretted that she had neglected her daily runs the last week.

She panted heavily and ran around the next corner, furling her brows because she wondered where her friend and the other person had gone. „Chaz," she muttered and turned around when she heard steps behind her coming closer and the next thing she felt was a sharp pain that spread through her skull and then there was nothing but darkness.

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Liz came to herself slowly but surely and groaned because she still had this piercing headache. She furled her brows as she realized something warm and sticky was running down her left cheek.

Her eyes shot open when she tried to wipe the substance off and noticed that her hands were tied with duct tape. Her mouth was also taped shut with it.

Panic spread through her and she tried to free her hands, in vain.

She didn't know exactly where she was, but she was aware that this wouldn't end well if she wouldn't get free.

She felt like throwing up and her head was spinning while she tried to figure out what was happening right now.

Liz heard a faint groan and turned her head to find the source.

She whimpered loudly as she had to watch how a young, bold man beat and kicked Chaz who was also lying on the ground. He was battered and she wondered for how long she was out.

Chaz glanced at her and tried to crawl to her when he saw her eyes open. „Liz," he mumbled with a broken jaw and an unnatural sound escaped from his throat when the stranger kicked him once more, hard.

Liz cried out loud when her friend stopped moving but the man didn't stop kicking him. She knew that he was about to kill Chaz, she knew that she would be the reason why Damian would grow up without a father, that she'd be the reason why Leslie was going to be a widow.

At least she wanted to tell Chaz that she was sorry for getting him into this situation. She hoped that he could forgive her when they'd meet again on the other side.

A second, older man crouched down in front of her and took a deep breath as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket. He paused and wiped the tear off Liz's cheek that ran down her cheek without her permission. „I wish we'd have met under different circumstances, Elizabeth."

The panic came back again when he said her name and because of the way he was looking at her.

She knew that she wouldn't get out of this alive, she realized it when he put the syringe into her thigh.

Liz took a deep breath when she felt the injection spreading through her system and glanced long at the stranger.

That was not how she'd imagined her passing.

She'd always thought that she would get the chance to tell those she loved most goodbye before her time had come. She since the day she was in a relationship with Adam she thought that they'd grow old together.

She closed briefly her eyes at that thought. She also thought about Zane and the other children she would never have.

She also wouldn't get the chance to tell her husband what happened before she got herself killed.

„Adam will understand," the man suddenly said and Liz's eyes shot open again. „And Zane will forgive you eventually." He freed her wrists from the duct tape with a buck knife and removed the strip over her mouth, holding the knife right in front of her eyes. „Remember that? You thought you lost this in Clairemont during an investigation." He paused and grinned broadly. „Well, actually, my buddy Cody stole it from you. We're pretty thorough and my boss wants to send a loud and clear message to your mommies."

Liz tried to move her limbs and to get out of this miserable situation herself, but neither legs nor arms obeyed.

„Don't even try," he laughed. „The stuff I injected into your leg is pretty good."

„I will seek you out," she growled through clenched teeth but she realized that she also slurred and several names of neuroleptics shot through her mind. „find you and kill you if you lay a finger on my family."

He eyes her intensely and heaved a sigh. „Nope, I don't think so," he replied and tapped the knife point against his bottom lip.

„You don't have to do this, she whispered emphatically, furrowing her brows.

He sighed again and tilted his head to the side. „Oh, sweetie, I wish you'd be right, really. But if I don't do my job and let you go, I'm the one who ends up in the morgue, and I really don't have that in mind." Liz hissed sharply ass he dragged the blade of the knife vertically over her right wrist. He glanced with a frown at her. „I'm sorry but in my game, it's eat or be eaten."

She closed her eyes when she felt her blood spilling out of the deep cut. „You can't get away with this."

„Oh, yes," he replied and repeated his previous action with her left wrist. „I will. You can't imagine what I've already gotten away."

„Tim," the bold man named Cody suddenly said and the other man turned his attention to him while Liz forced her eyes open. „stop talking so much, you're not on a date. Just slash the bitch's throat open."

„Shut the fuck up and mind your own fucking business," Tim suddenly barked and glanced at Liz with a smile. „You have to excuse him. He's a little ... impatient cuz he's new in the job."

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Liz woke up with a start and a blood-curdling cry. She needed a second to realize that she was no longer in this alley. She panted heavily while beads of sweat ran down her back and forehead while she tried to shake off the hand she suddenly felt on her back.

Panic grabbed her throat again and she nearly jumped out of the bed.

Adam was wide awake the second he heard the cry and turned on his bedside lamp, sitting up too. „It's me," he said soothingly while his wife tried to get some space between them. „Hey, it's me, Liz. Look at me!"

Liz recognized his voice, but her mind tried to tell her that this was just an illusion, that she was still lying in the alley and bleeding to death. That she clung to some kind or memory so she wouldn't feel lonely while dying. She shook her head and clenched her eyes shut.

„Elizabeth, look at me!" Adam demanded and frowned a little when she finally met his eyes with hers. „It was just a nightmare!" He didn't move when she traced his face with her finger as if to make sure that he was real. „You hear me? It was just a nightmare. You're safe now! Nothing's gonna happen to you."

„It wasn't just a nightmare, Adam," she whispered in a husky voice and with tears in her eyes as she stared at her scarred wrists in disbelief. „It was a memory. I remembered what happened in that alley. The alley Chaz and I were supposed to -" She trailed off and furrowed her brows. „It was Tim."

Adam looked questioningly at her. „What was Tim?" He skidded closer when she didn't answer him immediately. „Elizabeth, what was Tim? What did he do?"

She hesitated before she looked at him again, furrowing her brows even more. „He wanted to kill Chaz and me."

Adam's eyes widened when he started to understand what his wife just told him and felt like he was about to throw up.