"Hey Montana, you good?" Danny asked, tossing a file onto the counter and crossing his arms over his chest. "You don't seem your normal self today."

"Bad morning. I'm okay," she replied, still looking through the microscope. "Trace you found on the vic is sawdust, particularly dogwood."

"That was fast."

"I could tell by the smell, GCMS confirmed. The duct tape isn't a match to anything in the house so it was either brought in with him or he took it out when he was done."

"That doesn't give me much. How about that grease stain from the carpet?"

"Haven't gotten there yet, but it doesn't look fresh to me. Might not be anything to do with the murder, but I'll run it as soon as I finish this."

"Hey Lindsay how'd the…" Adam trailed off, coming into the room. "I mean, how's it going?"

"I'm busy, you want to help?"

"Sure."

He grabbed a few bags of evidence from the box and headed over to his microscope while Danny looked at him with a furrowed brow, then sighed.

"Anyway, I gotta get back out there, Flack's canvassing the neighborhood. I'd ask you to come help but… I guess I've swamped you."

"That's okay, I'm good here. Go."

He stayed for just a second longer than necessary, feeling guilty for leaving her in the lab while he got to go out into the field, but deciding that if she was upset about it he could deal with it later.

"So um… I was going to ask how the big kindergarten drop-off went this morning," Adam asked after a few minutes, glancing around the room. "But I wasn't sure who knew about that particular aspect of your life."

"Just you. And Mac, but I think he has too much going on to remember things like that."

"You haven't told anyone that you have a kid at home?"

"No. It's not some huge secret but… anyway, no one knows."

"Oh. So how was the drop-off this morning?"

"Well," Lindsay sighed, making a few notes in the file. "Levi was excited all morning and then we got to the school and she suddenly freaked out and wouldn't stop crying and hanging on me and begging me not to leave her."

"Uh-oh."

"It was awful. I seriously considered taking her home but I had to come to work, so she had to suck it up."

"Think she'll be okay?"

"I have no idea. I've never left her anywhere before except with my family. She's been here two days and I abandoned her. She's going to hate me so much."

"She's not going to hate you. Kids are resilient."

"I just keep thinking that if we can get through this day and get to the weekend, everything will be okay."

"Where's she going after school?"

"Daycare. That will be better, she spent a few hours there yesterday and she loved it so hopefully she'll be okay."

He nodded and glanced over at her, shaking his head.

"You want to go get her right now, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"She's probably having fun by now. Got distracted by something and when you pick her up tonight she'll tell you all about it and she'll be really excited to go back."

"You're such an optimist. And thank you, that's what I'm hoping for."

He gave her a smile, wanting to ask more but knowing it wasn't his place.

"So, what do we got here?"

"Various and sundry," Lindsay drawled with a sigh. "The victim was found under the bridge, so there's lots of garbage we have to go through, even though it probably has nothing to do with the murder. Body was wrapped in carpet that looks only slightly worn so were guessing someone threw it out during a home renovation or something. There's a grease stain on it, but other than that, it's pretty clean. That box over there is the vic's clothes, and I've already gone through that but it remains without much context until the morgue makes an ID."

"Awesome."

"There was a bunch of stuff in the vic's pocket, nothing really important except for a flash drive, but that was blank."

"Maybe at some point it wasn't. Mind if I fiddle with it and see what I can find?"

"Go for it."

He found the flash drive and took it over to the computer, starting the process to recover lost files while Lindsay sifted through the remaining bags of evidence until her eyes were burning and she was certain that she had permanent microscope lines around her eyes.

"And we've got a flash drive that has never been used, despite my best efforts to prove the opposite," Adam announced, rubbing his neck. "It might as well be right out of the package."

"Worth a shot I guess."

"A little hard work never hurt anyone. Except John Henry of course."

"John Henry… was that the one that was born with a hammer in his hand?"

"An American Thor."

"And his heart exploded right?"

"You got it."

"I was more of a Johnny Appleseed fan myself."

"Yeah, he was much more green than the rest of our American heroes."

Lindsay chuckled and resealed a bag, moving the finished box away so she could start on the next one.

"Why don't you take five minutes and go call the daycare? It'll make you feel better."

"No, I don't want to be that mom."

"What, one that cares about her kid?"

"No, one that hovers. I need to trust them that if she's still upset they'll call me."

"This is really hard for you."

"Yes it is. But I only have three hours of work left and then I don't have to worry about it again until tomorrow morning."

"Optimist."

"I do my best. So can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"How did you end up here?"

He gave a soft chuckle and shook his head.

"That's a long story, but the short part is after I finished college, I came here for grad school and I just kind of stayed."

"Why'd you decide on this job?"

He was quiet thinking over the question in his head before he answered.

"My dad said my video-gaming would never amount to anything, and I wanted to prove him wrong. I started out just wanting to be a tech guy for a big company and over the years it evolved into this. He hasn't said anything about my future in years. It's been quiet."

"Dad's pretty hard on you?"

"Yeah."

"You resent that?"

"Sometimes, if I stop and think about it. I usually don't think about it. I guess that him being rough on me forced me to make more of myself, so I can't complain about it too much."

"Maybe."

They continued on in silence for quite awhile, until everything had been tested, all the reports had been printed and everything had been catalogued and put away.

"What time is it?"

"Five-fifteen."

"Yeah, I'm outta here."

He laughed and gave her a wave as she left the lab, grinning from ear to ear. She'd been waiting to clock out since the moment she clocked in and very quickly she pushed thoughts of returning to work in the morning out of her mind.

"Mama!" Levi laughed, running across the room and throwing her arms around Lindsay's neck. "Oh how I love you!"

"I love you too. Did you have a good day?"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, let's go home and eat dinner, did you know that I hold my pencil wrong? Can we have sausage and sauerkraut for dinner because I like that. Recess was real fun mama. And my teacher told me I can't get out of my seat all the time. And I met a girl at daycare named Molly and we had so much fun playing house and pirates! And I stopped crying after you left and my teacher is so nice mama and can I get a puppy yet?"

"Honey, slow down," Lindsay said with a smile, taking Levi's face in her hands. "One moment at a time."

Levi took a deep breath and licked her lips, organizing her thoughts.

"I missed you so much mama."

"I missed you too."

"I like school and daycare. There's lots of friends to make. Are you proud of me?"

"I'm very proud of you. Go get your things and we can go home."

Levi took off across the room again and Lindsay signed her out, holding a brief conversation with the provider about how her daughter had done. For her first day with so many new things and situations, the report was better than expected, which made Lindsay forget a lot of the worry she'd had early this morning.

"Levi, I thought I told you to get your things."

"Oh. You did. I got distracted," Levi explained from the Play-doh table, dropping her head in shame.

"Distracted is okay, now it's time to fix the mistake."

"Yes mama."

"Go get your things, darling."

Levi nodded and whispered to herself, walking across the room to get her backpack and coat before coming back with a grin on her face.

"I did it. Now can we go home?"

"Yes, lets go."

Hand in hand they walked to the car, Levi chattering the entire way. Oftentimes her words tumbled out in half finished sentences as she thought of something else to say, like her brain was running way too fast for her mouth. She'd been like this since she could talk and it always took a few gentle reminders to live in the moment and corral her thoughts so she could be understood. Lindsay was used to it and she could muddle through most of it, but it was becoming increasingly evident that her excitability wasn't as easily understood by everyone else. She didn't want labels on her little girl, but ADHD always loomed overhead.

"What are we doing after dinner?"

"I thought we'd go to the park so you could run off some energy and get some fresh air. Is that a good idea?"

"Yep! I'd like to play on the slide. And could I please sleep with you tonight?"

"Sweetheart, it's time to be a big girl."

Levi let out a frustrated whine and started to cry, scrubbing at her eyes and tensing her legs up.

"But I don't like my bed! I want to sleep with you!"

"Levi, stop crying so I can talk to you."

"Okay," she sniffled, wiping her nose.

"I know that you have always slept in my bed with me, but that was because you didn't have a bedroom in our old place, and now that you do, it's time to sleep in your own space. It's just an adjustment, and I know it's hard, but I need you to try like a big girl."

"But I love you!"

"I love you too, Levi. I'm not telling you this because I don't love you honey. But both of us are going to sleep better if we have our own space."

"Not me! I will wake up in the night and you won't be there and I will be scared and sad!"

Lindsay sighed and parked the car, internally waffling on her decision. Levi was going through so many huge changes right now, maybe it was cruel to take away one of her main comforts at the same time.

"Okay sweetie. Let's go inside and I'll hear your case."

Levi nodded in agreement and they went inside, putting their jackets and shoes by the door before sitting down on the couch.

"Alright. Now tell me what you would like for me to do."

"I would like to sleep in your bed with you."

"And why is that?"

"Because I don't like to be scared by myself. I like your bed because it's cozy and you give me snuggles and I don't have to be by myself and alone."

"Okay, come over here in my lap for a minute."

Levi smiled and crawled into Lindsay's lap, sitting there contentedly for a few moments.

"First of all, I want you to remember that you are never alone. Sometimes we might be apart, but I am always there for you because we're a team."

"I know mama. But at night when it is dark, I don't want to be apart."

"I understand why you're upset. Why don't we make a compromise? You may sleep in my bed with me for a few more weeks until we both get used to living here and everything being different. Would that be okay?"

"Yes, and then I will be so big I will have to sleep in my own bed!"

"That's my little optimist. So, is this a decision we can both live with?"

"Yeah, I can do that. But one question?"

"Of course."

"After I sleep in my own bed, if I have scary dreams, I can come climb in with you right?"

"Of course."

"Okay, then I am ready to agree."

They shook hands and Levi smiled.

"I'm glad we had a talk."

"Me too. Now, what should I make for dinner? Still want sausage and-"

"Spaghetti! Can we have spaghetti please?"

"Sure. While I'm cooking that, I need you to do your chore, okay?"

"Put my clothes away, got it! I will focus!"

Levi jumped off the couch and ran into her bedroom while Lindsay sighed, feeling that she had dodged a bullet. Patience had always been her co-parent but when she was stressed out, that support seemed to be very far away. It was hard to worry alone and sometimes she had to sit down with her list of parenting goals and go over them again, picking her battles and her arsenal carefully so she could get the result she wanted. Balance was hard, wisdom was hard, and carrying the entire burden of parenting on her own shoulders was hard.

"I did it, mama! I put them all away! Hey, aren't you making dinner?"

"Yes, I'm getting up. I just can't seem to get started!"

Levi laughed and grabbed Lindsay's hands, pulling with all her might until Lindsay finally stood from the couch.

"Thank you so much, I would have been stuck there forever."

"Our couch is quicksand?"

"Oh yes, and it eats sluggish people."

Levi laughed and grabbed her coloring book from the shelf, taking it to the kitchen table so she could color while Lindsay cooked.

"Hey mama?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"I love you a lot and I am happy we're together again."

"Me too. There is no place I'd rather be."