AN:

I hope you guys like this chapter because it nearly killed me. Seriously. I could not figure out a way from the freaking thing to end. But finally I beat it in to submission. BTW if it sucks it's not my fault this time.

~Kelly~

[b]Chapter Seven]/b]

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes and yawned as she crossed the room. Whoever was at the door was going to die. She had only had a few hours sleep after her shift and the last thing she wanted was company. She tightened her robe before opening the door. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. The last people she expected to be in the hallway were Patrick and Robin. The couple had only ever been to her place twice mostly because of the paint fumes. She had to wonder what was going on. "Not to be rude but what are you doing here?"

"You sent me a text for us to meet you."

"No I didn't..." Elizabeth trailed off before groaning. She knew exactly who had set this all up. She had no idea what her brother was thinking but she was about to find out. "Steven!"

"Yeah?" the older man said sticking his head out of the kitchen.

"Did you borrow my phone to I don't know send some texts and invite people over?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"Why? And before you answer remember I've had like four hours sleep."

"Poor Lizzie."

Elizabeth shook her head and shot her brother a glare. "I hate you and I'm going back to bed."

"I ordered pizza."

"That's not fair," she grumbled knowing Steven had won this time. "I'll be out in twenty minutes."

"Lizzie? You're brave man." Patrick said after Elizabeth had disappeared into her bedroom.

"I suppose." he said with a shrug before hugging Robin. "It's nice to see you again Robin."

"You too. How's Memphis?" she said pulling back. She had fond memories of Steven from when his grandfather was still alive.

"Interesting. Elizabeth told me you had a kid."

"Emma." Patrick said butting into the conversation. He couldn't help the feelings of jealousy welling up. He hated that this guy was so chummy with his wife. "How do you know Elizabeth?"

"Not you too." he said slightly annoyed. Steven had not missed the look of relief from Matt last night. Although that hadn't been totally bad. He now knew Matt had genuine feelings for his sister. "Lizzie is my sister and yes I've met Matt. They're kinda cute together."

"Aren't they? Too bad they're stubborn as mules."

"Mule is about right," he said in agreement. Even as a child, Elizabeth had been stubborn and it had only gotten worse as she got older.

"I can hear you." Elizabeth shouted from behind the closed door. She was still annoyed that Steven had decided to take over her life. But she should have expected it. This stunt only proved that he was up to something. It didn't her long to get dressed opting for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Just as she finished Elizabeth heard a knock on the door. 'That better be my pizza.'

Of course it wasn't. Instead of the pizza guy, it was Matt. She truly truly hated Steven for whatever he was about to pull. She could only hope it did blow up in all their faces. "You're not on vacation are you?"

"Of course I am. It was part of the deal I made."

"What does this deal have do with us?"

"Everything. Last week Elizabeth called upset about a lot of things but mostly this lawsuit. I hate when Elizabeth is hurting so I called in some favors and looked it to things."

"Daniel?" Elizabeth asked thinking of Steven's supervisor at the justice department.

"Yeah. After the last couple of cases I figured he owed me."

"I don't understand I thought you were a doctor." Matt said thinking back to the little Elizabeth had told him about her family.

"I am. I run a trauma center in Memphis but I also do forensic work for the justice department."

"Okay so what did you find?" Patrick asked bluntly. He didn't know what to think about someone poking into something that affected his career.

"Nothing at first. To be honest I was starting to wonder why that was and then this popped up.," he said passing around a copy of his findings.

"Psilocybin. That's a hallucinogen." Robin said finally breaking the silence.

"And a pretty powerful one in that amount. Who ever gave Ms. Hughes that wanted her vulnerable. There is also some unusual clotting on her scan. My theory is she hit her head and then later was attacked."

"But this doesn't explain why she died."

"Actually the drugs clear most of it up. Hallucinogens affect the brain chemistry add that to the anesthesia and you can't predict the outcome."

"You can prove this?" Matt asked cautiously. He didn't want to hope if Steven couldn't prove it.

"Wouldn't be here otherwise."

"I don't understand why you would all this for people you don't know."

"When Lizzie was kid she was – wild, rebellious it drove our parents crazy. There was this one time our mom grounded her, which she deserved, but I didn't care. All I cared about was the fact my baby sister was unhappy. So I took out on this back road and I let her drive my car."

"Which was a really big deal for a six year old." Elizabeth interjected shocking her friends a little.

"You're doing this to make Elizabeth happy?"

"Mostly." Steven admitted honestly. "But the case is interesting."

"I don't care why you're helping I'm just happy that Elizabeth called you. You'll have to come by and see Emma while you're in town."

"Of course." he promised giving Robin another hug just to annoy Patrick.

Seconds after the couple left the pizza finally arrived. Halfway though her second slice Elizabeth fell asleep. Several minutes later Steven headed for the door.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Matt immediately wanted to know. He did not know if Elizabeth would like him being here.

"Errands and stuff. If you leave just make sure you lock up."

"You're kidding me?"

Steven smirked at the question. They really were cute together. "Nope."