"Well, as a woman you do have -,"ADA Jake Cohen began taking extra delight in his best friends reaction to his use of Danielle Melnick's words.

"Shut up Cohen,"Malinowski retorted as the pair walked towards the criminal courts building that stood across the concourse from the District Attorney's offices. "I didn't tell you that story to have you mock me. If I hear that phrase one more time, I swear I'm having a sex change operation."

"Well that's an intriguing idea," Cohen said snidely enough to elicit a careful chuckle form his boss. "I wonder what Jack would have to say about that?"

"Damn you knock it off ...you're killing me... literally," she said as she shifted her briefcase to gently rub her the left side of her rib cage.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I forgot you're still recovering from you bout of sea sickness," Cohen said seriously, while he held the door open for her. "As for the good Ms. Melnick, if you can just get through jury selection, Clint will be back in time to do the real dirty work on that case. You know, unless you can find something Clint or Jackowicz missed in the evidence, your hands are tied."

Malinowski nodded as she stepped through the metal detector; Cohen right behind her.

"Tell me something good about the Bennett case," she said as they continued down the hallway."Does it still look like you'll be able to close by Wednesday?"

"Before this morning's break the defense rested. I'd say I should be closing sometime tomorrow."

Malinowski nodded. As through as Renard's assistant had been, Malinowski knew she and Cohen had a professional rhythm. She had already asked and gotten the okay from the DA to have Cohen assist her on the Crawford case once the verdict came in on the Bennett case.

"Thank God for small miracles. With any luck you'll get a verdict the same day and be free to give me a hand with this disaster."

"You sound like you're planning for the worst. Isn't Clint due back in a couple of days?"

Malinowski nodded as she stopped in front of the double doors marked: Part 12 Criminal Trials.

"You know my motto: Plan for the worst, hope for the best. With any luck, Clint's mother will make a speedy recovery, for his sake as well as mine. But with a stroke…I'm not gonna count on anything until I see Clint walk through my door to get the files back."

"Hey, I'm taking the train back to Will's," Cohen began as he opened the courtroom door and waited for her to pass. "Do you need a ride to the station tonight?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," she said quietly as she leaned against the door. "The best part of this day is yet to come. I have to meet Sam at the house. Seems the bank sent him my cashier's check for my share of the house. I'll tell you Jake, the way this day so going, I'll get run over by a bus before I have a chance to deposit the check."

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As she watched the cab pull away from the curb, Malinowski said a quick prayer asking that not only would her encounter be brief with her ex husband, but uninterrupted as well. After a day of watching Melnick blatantly try to stack the jury with jurors whose profiles made them seem more inclined to be sympathic towards the nauseatingly helpless looking defendant, Danielle Melnick was the last person Malinowski wanted to see.

Just before she was about to ring the bell, Prescott opened the front door. His suit vest was unbuttoned and his shirtsleeves rolled up. Judging from the smell of assorted spices, she had caught him in the middle of making dinner.

"Danielle tells me you're prosecuting the Crawford case," he remarked as they walked through the box filled living room.

"Sure did, which is why I'd like to make this fast. Really don't want to discuss the case with defense counsel after working hours or defense counsel signifcant other. Where's my money?"

Prescott did little to try to hide his surprise at her callousness as he reached into one of the kitchen drawers. As he looked through the drawer, Malinowski couldn't help but notice the array of kitchen boxes beside the walnut dining table, that were marked 'Dani's Kitchen'.

"There you go darlin'. Sorry about the mix up," he said handing her a plain white envelope.

"Thank you, Samuel," she said primly, as she removed the check and held it towards him. "Before I go I want you to take a look at this."

Prescott moved closer, a look of uncertainty on his face.

"I'm lookin' Mal and all I see is the same thing I saw on the settlement agreement."

"Direct your attention to the name of the payee," she said in an ice like voice. "Please state the payee's name, for the record, counselor."

Prescott gave her a sideways glance as he realized where she was going with her request.

"I am well aware you are no longer my wife Brooke, whether the six month waiting period has passed or not I-"

"Good, "she exclaimed with glee that dripped with sarcasm. "Then maybe the next time you're tempted to interfere in my life, you'll be able to grasp the idea that whatever I do is none of your business anymore."

"Well now, I don't recall having time to interfere in your life as of late," he said with equal sarcasm. "Bein' that I was busy last week sendin' my half brother to prison because your fiancée couldn't do his job right."

"If you think I give a damn how that bastard ended up in jail, you're not only naive; you're as big a hypocrite as your brother is."

The look on her ex husband's face reminded Malinowski of the occasional lost child one sees at the mall. Normally such a forlorn look would have shamed her into making an immediate apology, but the look she remembered on her fiancée's face as he tried to convince her he was a man unworthy of her love, served to strengthen her resolve not to back down.

"If you really believe that, you're not the woman I thought you were," he said quietly as he looked down at the mahogany flooring.

"That's my point. I am not the woman you thought I was and I don't need you speculating to the man I intend to marry that I would ever doubt him. If I pulled anything like that with Danielle you'd be beside yourself with anger and rightly so."

"It's not the same thing and you know it," he said defensively as he turned his attention to the pots on the stove.

"Because Jack skated close to the edge to keep a felon off the streets? Don't kid yourself, if it hasn't already happened, there will come a day when Danielle bends the rules to protect a client and if you think you'll pick up your marbles and refuse to play with her anymore, you not only don't know who you are, you don't remember who you were before you left for Tulsa."

"You have no idea how far he crossed the line this time," Prescott shot back, undaunted.

"Fine. Jack's the devil himself. He drinks too much, he is a walking disaster when it comes to relationships, and he's a workcoholic that will probably die from the stress before we're married a decade. But make no mistake, I will marry him and if you use any excuse to put doubt of that in his mind again, I will go to Danielle and tell her what you've done and let her draw her own conclusions as to why."

"What the hell kind of a threat is that supposed to be," he demanded as he swung around to face her. "I told Jack the truth and I don't care who knows it. Go ahead and tell Danielle whatever you like. Why would she care that I warned him what he was riskin' by playin' fast and loose with his ethics? She's known him for years. She knows how flawed your diamond in the rough really is, even if you refuse to see what's right in front of you."

"I'm sure Danielle would be thrilled to hear such a passionate out pouring," she said dryly. "Especially concerning your ex wife's fiancée. Think about how that might sound if I tell the story, Samuel. I'd bet she'd be as understanding as I am right now."

Prescott shook his head as he did a double take as it occurred to him what kind of a veiled threat his ex wife was really making.

"You'd never be able to manipulate Danielle into thinkin' I wasn't sincere in my feelin's for her," he said with more certainty than he felt. "You know I care for her, Brooke. I can't even believe you'd even be able to think of such cruel threat."

"I would have said the same thing of you up until this weekend. I know you thought you were protecting a vulnerable woman, maybe even subconsciously you wanted to protect your brother, but you had no right to use me to further either of those ends. Do anything like it again and I will give you a very unpleasant taste of your own medicine because, quite frankly I really don't need you to help screw up this relationship-" she said as she abruptly turned to leave, equally abruptly grabbing the kitchen island as she cried out in pain.

Prescott immediately placed his arms around her, inadvertently putting more pressure on the tender areas she herself had twisted by moving too quickly. When she pulled away out of what was obviously pain, the annoyed expression on his face changed to a look of concern.

"Darlin' what's wrong with you," he said as he made another attempt to support her, this time reaching for her well above her rib cage, as he guided her to a nearby dining room chair.

"I'm fine. I just slipped this weekend and...," she began, while she cautiously lowered herself onto the chair.

As she rested her body, the back of her blouse became caught on the woodworkof the chair. Prescott moved to release the material from the fame of the chair and Malinowski suddenly stopped speaking, startled by the sound of her ex husband's horrified gasp.