Lindsay stood outside the courtroom with her coworkers as the second hour came to an end. Stella had taken Lindsay back to the restroom so she could fix her make up and tried to hide her tears, before Stella had been called onto another case with Danny. It hadn't worked very well, as Lindsay still had tears falling down her face, but Lindsay appreciated the effort. Danny had given Lindsay a comforting hug before he headed out with Stella.

The doors of the courtroom opened and the room slowly began filling up. The team sat near the back of the courtroom. Lindsay sat on the edge of the bench, knowing she would be the first one to be called up. Lindsay lifted her head as Pratt was brought back into the room.

"Your honor, I call Detective Monroe to stand." the prosecutor said.

Lindsay walked back up to the stand. She was sworn in and sat back down in the chair. Her heart was already racing in her chest.

"Miss Monroe, what happened after the defendant rapped you?"

Lindsay inhaled deeply. Her throat was constricting as it hand that night. She could feel Pratt choking her, trying to keep her from speaking. "He grabbed my throat…and started to choke me. I knew he was going to kill me, so I held my breath and pretended to pass out."

"What then."

"He uncuffed my hands and carried me to my bathroom. I could hear the water running from the shower and I knew he would try to wash away the evidence. I waited until I felt the time was right…and I elbowed him in the head. He dropped me on the ground and backed up into the sink. I lunged at him and he grabbed my arms. I grabbed his face and slammed his head into the mirror. Then I punched him and slammed his head into the sink and let him fall." Lindsay explained. She wiped the few tears from her face.

"What did you do then?"

"I ran from the bathroom and closed the door. I placed a chair in front of it, so he couldn't get out, and I grabbed my phone."

"Then you called the police, correct?" he asked.

"Yes."

The prosecutor turned from Lindsay and grabbed a stack of papers from his desk. "I have here, the phone record of Miss Monroe's emergency call. Her call was made at two forty seven a.m. Officers arrived on scene at two fifty, after responding to a shooting in the complex beside Miss Monroe's. Detectives Flack and Taylor were the responding officers." He turned back to Lindsay. "They were the officers who responded to you, weren't they?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yes."

"No more question." the prosecutor said and he sat down behind his table.

The defense attorney didn't rise. "Defense has no questions for the witness."

"Miss Monroe, you may be seated." the judge said.

Lindsay exhaled and rose from the stand and made her way back to the bench. "The state calls Detective Taylor to the stand."

Mac stood and was sworn in. The prosecutor rose form his table.

"Detective Taylor, you've handled several cases in which the defendant was a suspect and convicted. Is that correct?" he asked.

"Yes it is." Mac said.

"Can you elaborate on those cases for the court."

"Abjection irrelevant."

"The defendant has been convicted multiple times for the same crime, the court has the right to know!" the prosecutor replied.

"Overruled. Answer the question Detective Taylor."

"DJ Pratt was a suspect in a murder rape case close to a year ago. However, we were unable to convict him due to degraded evidence. Another case, he was a suspect in a rapping of a young woman who knew one of my Detectives assigned to the case." Mac explained.

"Are there any other cases where the defendant was a suspect?"

"Yes. There was the murder of Detective Aiden Burns. DJ Pratt was convicted for her murder." Mac explained.

"So it is safe to say that your lab is familiar with Pratt as a suspect?"

"Yes it is."

"Can you explain to the court, your response to Detective Monroe's call?"

"Detective Flack and I responded to a 9-1-1 call at the complex next to Detective Monroe's. The victim had been shot in the back of the head." Mac replied.

"Can you identify the shooter?" the prosecutor asked.

"Yes we can. We matched the bullet in the victims' skull, to one of the bullets fired from Detective Monroe's gun. I pulled prints from the gun that matched DJ Pratt's and also found GSR on his hands." Mac explained.

The prosecutor nodded. "So it is safe to say that the defendant fired the shot that killed your victim in the second complex?"

"Yes it is."

"No more questions at this time." the prosecutor said.

The defense attorney stood from his seat. "Detective Taylor, is it possible that Detective Monroe could have fired the shot? It was, after all, her weapon."

"Not from the evidence gathered, no." Mac answered.

"Can you explain?"

"Detective Monroe had no trace of GSR on her hands, and DJ Pratt's prints were the most recent prints recovered from the gun." Mac explained.

"You don't think that they fought over the weapon and the gun went off in Pratt's hands while Monroe pulled the trigger?"

"Abjection irrelevant to the case!"

"Withdrawn." the defense attorney replied. He walked toward Mac. "Detective Taylor, can you relay to us, the events that took place after you arrived at Detective Monroe's apartment?"

"Detective Monroe was transported to General Hospital where she received treatment for her injuries." Mac answered.

"And you remained at the scene to process, correct?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Can you tell the court what happened while you were processing?" the defense attorney asked.

"Abjection."

The judge motioned for them to approached his podium. Lindsay watched them discuss for a few minutes. She suddenly felt more nervous than before. The prosecutor seemed to have won the argument and proceeded back to his table.

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Lindsay sat in her office at work. She'd gone straight there after the courtroom had been released. She felt that work would take her mind off the upcoming attack on her character, but it didn't. Everything Lindsay did only made her second guess herself more with the defense attorney in her mind. Had she taken every case she'd been handed personally? Surely, there had been young Sara's case, only because she was from Montana, though. But had there been others? Lindsay couldn't remember anymore.

A tap on the glass door behind her brought Lindsay's thoughts back to the present. Lindsay turned her head to find Danny entering. He walked around her desk and sat down in his chair across from her. He looked unhappy and irritated.

"You working tomorrow?" Lindsay asked.

Danny nodded. "I'll stop by the courthouse once I'm done."

Lindsay dropped her eyes, trying to return to her work. She propped her chin on her hands. "Danny…I…I don't want you there."

"What?" Danny asked.

Lindsay looked up, "You don't need to waste your time worrying about my case, Danny. Just go home."

"How can you ask me to do that? You're my partner and you shouldn't be alone." Danny explained.

"I juts…I don't… I don't want you…I don't want you to be focused one me too!" Lindsay yelled. She stood from her chair and left the office in a hurry.

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yay!! almost to the good part. it's not bad is it? i'm trying here.

i own nothing!!