A/N: It has been WAY too long since the last time I updated! Sorry about that, but it couldn't be helped. I was trying to get through my last year of my masters degree which included an intense internship. I'm glad to report that I am finished with school, and that has allowed me to polish off this episode that I had started working on back in September! So, enough of my rambling, and on with the episode! I hope you guys enjoy it! Please R&R!

All recognizable characters in this fic are property of Showtime. I claim ownership only to the story written and any characters not recognized (OC).

Season 8, Episode 10: Blind Side

"It's going to be okay."

Dexter was doing his best to keep Hannah calm. His focus quickly darted back and forth between his pregnant wife and the highway in front of him. She was trying her best to take slow breaths in and out, but would frequently let out a painful moan when a contraction ripped through her body.

"My words of reassurance are for my own benefit as well as my wife's. A complete deviation from my ritual has knocked me off balance, sending me reeling as I try desperately to regain my bearings. A quick change of clothing was all time warranted. The kill room and Hollister's body left untouched. It's not what I wanted, but the alternative was risking Hannah having the baby right there in the blood soaked motel room."

Mrs. Morgan gave a grimace of pain. Not only was she severely uncomfortable given her current state, but she was also worried. Her baby girl was not due for another week, and she feared that possible complications could arise during her birth. Hannah gasped, her eyes widening when she felt a warm trickle escape her body.

"Dexter, I think my water just broke! "

Her shrill voice implored Morgan to push harder on the gas pedal. The minivan accelerated and Dexter navigated his way through traffic by constantly changing lanes. The only thing he needed to focus on was getting his wife to the hospital before she delivered.

Much to his displeasure upon arriving at Miami Central Hospital, Dexter was told to fill out a number of insurance forms while his wife was taken to the delivery room. Dexter was filling out the forms as fast as he could. He needed to get to Hannah. His mind was going a mile a minute, the adrenaline from the kill was still flowing through his veins as his hand scribbled information down with the pen. After what felt like an eternity to him, he had completed the necessary paperwork and was taken to his wife's delivery room.

"Dex..." Hannah muttered when she saw him, and then let out a painful cry.

Morgan hurried to his wife's side. His hand he brought to her face that was glistening with sweat and then leaned in to kiss her forehead."I'm here.."

Hannah's OBGYN was examining her to determine how the labor was progressing. "You're four centimeters dilated, Hannah. I know we talked about it and you said that your birthing plan did not include an epidural, but I just want you to know that the option is still there."

Mrs. Morgan shook her head adamantly. She had already made the decision that she wanted to give birth without any kind of drugs in her system. It was bad enough she had given herself aconite in the early weeks of her pregnancy in order to escape police custody. She wasn't about to drug her child for her own selfish reasons again. She would have daughter the way nature intended.

The next three hours were like torture, not just for Hannah whose contractions were steadily becoming more powerful and closer together, but for Dexter as well. He felt completely helpless at her side. He wanted to take action; do something, anything to make the pain stop. As her Lamaze partner, he did his best to replicate what he had learned in the classes they had attended. One of his hands was lovingly brushing her damp blonde hair in an attempt to comfort her, while the other she held in hers.

Hannah squeezed his hand with all her might. Her body tensed as an overwhelmingly painful contraction shot through her like a hot wire of electricity. She gritted her teeth and rode through it with the breathing technique that Dexter was modeling for her.

The doctor checked her progress before she spoke aloud over Hannah's loud moans of discomfort. "You're fully dilated. I want you to start pushing when you feel pressure."

Dexter watched as the doctor and nurses prepared the room for his wife's delivery. Hannah was instructed to sit up and move closer to the edge of the hospital bed. He stayed right by her side, their hands still clasped together. She began the process of pushing with her chin touching her chest.

"This is it. Mere moments away from seeing Hannah bring our child into the world. The irony; two hours ago I was witnessing a death by my own hand, and now, seeing a birth of a new life that I had a hand in creating."

Everyone was rallying around Hannah. She would take deep breaths before pushing as hard as she could. The doctor gave a ten count aloud, before she gasped for more air and continued pushing again. The cycle continued until Hannah let out a piercing scream. She felt a sharp, burning pain that she hadn't experienced before.

The obstetrician shouted over Mrs. Morgan's scream. "Hannah, stop pushing! The baby is crowning! Her head is visible! Just breath, and let your body do the rest of the work!"

Dexter's eyes were wide, his lips parted as he watched the doctor help guide his newborn daughter while the contractions slowly caused the rest of the baby's body to emerge from Hannah.

When the baby was completely out and in the doctor's arms, Hannah fell back into her pillow and tried to catch her breath as her baby took her first. The first strong cry of her and Dexter's daughter rang out in the delivery room.

"Here she is, a beautiful baby girl. Does the daddy want to cut the cord?" The doctor inquired prompting one of the nurses to hold out a pair of surgical scissors to Morgan.

Seemingly speechless, Dexter gave a nod before accepting them without the slightest bit of hesitation. Unlike when Harrison was born, he was wanting to be as much as an active participant as possible instead of simply watching from the bedside like he was completely clueless.

As soon as the newborn was free from her mother, she was taken to the other side of the room so that she could be evaluated and monitored. Much to the Morgans' relief, she was declared a healthy newborn despite the fact that she was born a week before her due date.

One of the nurses began filling out the baby's birth certificate. "What's this little one's name?"

Dexter and Hannah both exchanged smiles before he said the name that they chose for their baby girl aloud: "Lily Anne Morgan."

Baby Lily was swaddled in a blanket before being brought to her awaiting parents. Hannah's eyes were filled with tears of joy when she took her baby daughter into her arms for the first time. Lily Anne already favored her mother with her fine blonde hair. "Isn't she perfect?"

Dexter took his daughter's tiny hand and smiled wide when she held onto his finger. "She is...perfect..."

The Morgans shared a tender kiss, and then brought their foreheads together. Dexter heard himself whisper to his wife. "I love you."

Hannah gave a content sigh before returning the sentiment. She glanced down at her baby before looking back at him. "Do you want to hold your daughter?"

Dexter's eyebrows raised before he moved to take her into his arms. He was cautious, making sure that he supported her head and body just like he had done with Harrison when he was a newborn. His mouth parted slightly as he sucked in a breath of air, his eyes widening; the reality of the moment was sinking in.

"Here I am, a new father again. A new little being that I am responsible for. I can breathe a little easier now. Hannah and the baby are safe, freeing me to do what I have to do. A kill room and a dead body beckon me. The sooner I deal with it, the sooner I can be back to my wife and baby daughter."

Lily Anne began to cry prompting Morgan to give her back to Hannah who was ready to try and get her to nurse. When she had done so successfully, she and her husband exchanged a look. She too had not forgotten about what they had left behind in that motel room. "Hurry back to us."

Morgan gave a nod before giving his wife and newborn a quick kiss goodbye. He took note of the fact that dusk was beginning to approach. Nightfall was imminent and it would be time to move the body. It wouldn't take him more than an hour to dismember it. He had put his electric saw and trash bags in the stow and go compartment of Hannah's minivan.

It was when Dexter entered the vehicle that he realized he had left his cell phone in the cup holder. It was flashing with an alert from Miami Metro. He sat there for a moment, the cell phone in his hand.

"An alert from Miami Metro can only mean that there is a crime scene. I'm ignoring it. I need to stay focused and clean up the mess that Hannah and I left. Her going into labor will be the perfect excuse for me not responding."

When he was back on the road, Dex made a call to Jamie to inform her of the birth of the baby. She seemed quite surprised and perfectly willing to stay with Harrison overnight. It was when Morgan turned onto the motel's back road that he immediately told his nanny that he needed to go.

Slowly he brought the minivan to a stop as he peered at what looked like a road block. Judging by the police cruisers, Dexter could tell that they were local law enforcement who had sectioned off the highway. Had there been an accident? His lips parted as his breathing became rapid. One of the officers noticed the minivan stopped and proceeded to approach it.

"Road's closed off. The detour is a few miles back the way you came." The county officer told him the moment Dex rolled down his window.

"What's going on?" Dex asked back instinctively.

"Crime scene at the old motel half a mile up the road."

Hearing the word "crime scene" sent Dexter's mind reeling. The reality of the situation was hitting hard and fast. He swallowed hard, doing his best to appear unshaken by the news.

"My kill room. Someone stumbled upon it and called it in. The plastic sheets, the kill tools, Albert's body, it's all still there; an intact crime scene, MY crime scene. I've left my kills for Miami Metro to find before, but never like this; Soaked in blood, exposed to the eyes of officers who will want to bring a murderer to justice."

Dexter grabbed his phone and opened the alert from Miami Metro. His sucked in a breath of air when he read the motel address as the scene he was being called to. Despite the motel being outside of Miami, it was a homicide, which required MMPD to take the case.

"Sir?"

The local officer's voice brought Morgan back to where he was. The reality of the situation was that he was merely a half a mile from where his homicide team was investigating his kill and a cop was staring him right in the face. He needed to get out of there. His alibi for not being at the scene was the birth of his child so the hospital was where he needed to be.

"Have a good day, officer." He muttered before rolling up his window and proceeding to retreat back the way he came.

Porter's attention was immediately drawn to the entrance of his penthouse. The elevator doors opened revealing his girlfriend on the other side. The sight of Debra caused Nick to leave his leather sofa and stand to meet her. "Jesus, Deb, what the hell happened? I could barely understand you when you called. Are you okay?"

His questions hung in the air and remained unanswered. Deb was not okay. Her breathing was erratic while she tried hard to maintain her composure. She feared that if she attempted to speak and tell her boyfriend what she had witnessed, she would fall to pieces.

A look of confusion had set in on Nick's face while he watched her place his camera bag and her purse on his nearby desk. He moved toward her. "Deb, talk to me. What's gotten you so upset? I thought you were following Hollister."

"He's fucking dead." She managed to mutter, tugging on her face with both of her hands.

"What? How the hell did that happen? Did he get into a car accident or-"

"It's fucking Hannah...she poisons everyone."

"She poisoned Hollister?"

"No, she is poisoning Dexter. She fucking used him to relive her killing with Wayne Randall."

Porter narrowed his eyes and ran his hand through his styled hair. He was a bit lost while trying to understand the conclusion his girlfriend had drawn. "I'm struggling to connect the dots here, babe. What am I missing?"

Nick looked on as Morgan began to rummage through her purse. She let out a few of her favorite obscenities before finally dumping the bag's contents out on the desk. She grabbed hold of her bottle of Xanax and popped four pills into her mouth. Debra took a long sigh after she crunched the pills up with her teeth and swallowed. Taking a seat on the edge of the desk, she then began to account for the events that had transpired:

"I followed Albert to a motel and snapped pictures of him going into one of the rooms. Less than an hour later, I saw my brother and Hannah coming out of that same room. I fucking froze, couldn't believe what I was seeing. I didn't get a single God damn shot of them with my camera. It wasn't until after they left that I went into the room. I found Albert Hollister full of fucking knife holes."

"Shit.." Nick commented in an exhale, "And you think Hannah was responsible for it and not your brother? You said yourself that he's a killer."

Deb folded her arms and looked at the floor. She was hesitant about divulging to her boyfriend the extent of her father's involvement into the killer that Dexter was. It was bad enough that he already knew the lengths she had gone in order to protect him.

"My father taught Dexter a code to live by. He only targets other killers. Albert Hollister was a cheating asshole, but he didn't fit that code. He wasn't my brother's victim."

"But you said Hannah was a poisoner. Poisoning someone is a passive form of killing, pretty far removed from stabbing him to death. Are you sure that this was her handy work?"

Debra had gotten to her feet and began pacing back and forth as she spoke. She was spinning her murder theory like she had done so many times as a detective at Miami Metro:

"She did it when she was fifteen years old. It's how she killed with Wayne. She fucking admitted it on tape to Price before she poisoned him. Stabbing someone to death in a motel room, it's like a recreation of her first kill. The only difference is that she now has an accomplice who can help her get away with it. That's why the room was covered in fucking plastic."

Nicholas interjected with his observation. "You seem sure about this."

She ceased her stride and turned to look at him."I am...And that bitch thinks she's going to get away with it."

"So what are you going to do? Are you going to involve Miami Metro with this?"

"I called the crime scene in to the local police anonymously. With it being a homicide, it will fall under Miami Metro jurisdiction. "

"Why anonymous? Wouldn't that have been the perfect opportunity to tell them your theory about Hannah being behind Hollister's murder?" questioned Porter, pointing out what he thought was the logical direction that should have been taken when she had found the murder scene.

"To do that, I would have to sell out Dexter as her accomplice..." Debra let out a long sigh.

"Why did you call in the crime scene then?"

"Because it was the right thing to do...I couldn't ignore what happened, but I sure as shit wasn't going to subject myself to a barrage of questions that would come from finding the crime scene."

"You need to figure out what you want. You've told me that you want to take down your serial killer brother and yet you are holding back. It's like you still want to protect him."

Her lip quivered as she paused before continuing. " He's still my big brother. As much as I've said that I wanted to stop him from doing what he does, I just can't see myself being the one to turn him in. He's all I have left since I lost my dad."

Nick could sense her sadness. He placed a hand on her lower back and gently rubbed, hoping to sooth her. "You have me, you know."

Her face contorted in a look of despair, but she held it in. She inhaled a sharp breath and shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I know, I just miss the way it used to be, before Hannah fucking McKay."

A single tear emerged from her eye and cascaded down her face. The sight of her crying compelled Porter to offer his suggestion.

"There has to be someone you can go to with this."

Dexter quickly navigated his way through the hospital hallways. He came upon the private room where Hannah and the baby had settled into for the evening. Entering the doorway, he saw his wife holding their daughter while sitting upright in the bed. She was beaming with happiness, her mouth pulled taunt into a smile while a hand lovingly caressed her newborn's face.

It was when Morgan moved to approach that Hannah noticed his presence. She was surprised to see him return so quickly, but was riding a high of new motherhood bliss. "I cannot wait for Harrison to meet his new baby sister."

Dex let out a sigh. He sat down on the edge of the bed facing his love. His reaction caused Hannah's eyebrows to furrow. Something was amiss with him. "Dex, is everything okay? You weren't gone that long."

"No.." He breathed, "Someone found Albert."

"What?" Hannah immediately asked back with a look of disbelief. "How? Who even knew he was there? You said that the motel had been abandoned since we had been there last."

"It was, someone must have-"

His wife's blue eyes shifted their focus from him onto the nurse that had entered the room. Morgan took a cue from her gesture and immediately cut his sentence short. He turned to stare at the nurse who was walking toward them. His lips parted slightly as he contemplated asking her why she was there.

The nurse smiled politely before explaining the reason for her presence. "I'm sorry to interrupt the precious family time with your new little one, but I need to take her to the nursery for a few tests. I promise to bring her right back when I finish."

Hannah looked a little hesitant to hand her child over to the hospital staff. It took her a few seconds before she allowed the R.N. to take the baby. Dexter remained quiet until he and his wife were again alone in the room.

"I should have never left the body there. Harry would have insisted that I dismember it and stowed it somewhere until I was able to properly dispose of it." Dex pointed out in a voice that was full of frustration while his eyes were settled on the white tile floor.

"We didn't have that option. You saw how fast the labor was coming on."

His brown eyes snapped to her before he spoke back. "I should have never let you come. I let you put yourself in harm's way and because of that you went into early labor and interrupted my process."

"You know you needed me to lure him into the motel room. So the police found the body in a room covered in plastic. We stored the clothes we had been wearing in the mini-van. What could be in that room that says we were there?"

Dexter let out an exasperated sigh as he rose to his feet and paced back and forth before responding in anger.

"Anything, the smallest hair or fiber from one of us! A fingerprint from you since you weren't wearing gloves! If Masuka finds any of it, that will lead straight back to us! There's a body, a murder has taken place and they are going to be looking for a killer!"

"Okay, I'm sorry..." Hannah whispered in a soft voice that prompted Dexter to close his eyes for a moment and exhale.

"This is too close. Hollister was at our house last weekend. We have direct contact with the victim of a murder investigation, with that comes interviews, questions." muttered Morgan as he began hypothesizing about how things could potentially play out.

"He was one of a dozen parents who were at our son's birthday party. And it's going to be Miami Metro who will be asking the questions. They're not going to suspect us, you work for them." Hannah quickly replied sitting up straight in her hospital bed.

"Miami Metro will follow any lead. Any one of the half a dozen parents could report having seen Albert and I having words in your green house."

She let out a slight chuckle, not believing how far Dexter was taking his scenarios regarding Miami Metro knowing that they were involved. "Come on, Dex. No one heard what was said and it's not like anyone noticed that you got in his face-"

"You don't know that!" He hollered back with intensity that was fueled with anger and frustration.

Hannah fell quiet. Her blue eyes glazed over as they darted away from her husband's glare. There was a moment of silence between them before the sound of Dexter's cell phone ringing pierced the room. Without hesitation, Morgan removed the phone from his pants pocket and viewed the screen.

"It's Batista." He muttered aloud before answering the call, "Morgan."

"Dexter, didn't you get the department alert? We've got a crime scene just outside of Miami, it's a pretty brutal stabbing."

"Ah, sorry about that, Angel. Hannah just had our baby. I left early from work because she wasn't feeling well. The baby was coming so fast I didn't have time to call you guys."

"Socio, that's fantastic, congratulations! Look, I feel like a jerk now for asking, but do you think you can duck out of the hospital for a few hours just to work this crime scene? I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important. This place is a blood bath, there's no way Masuka can start bagging and tagging the scene until you tell us what the blood reveals."

Morgan let out a long sigh before his lips parted and he spoke, "I would, but the doctor has the baby under observation for the night since she was premature, something about possible fluid build-up in her lungs. I don't think I could live with myself if I left the hospital and something happened while I wasn't there. I'm sorry-"

"Say no more, don't worry about it. I'll make sure Masuka takes plenty of pictures of the body at the scene and then we'll move it to the morgue for further examination. I'll have patrol keep the scene under surveillance over night and we'll regroup first thing in the morning. You'll tell us what the blood says then, okay?"

"Thank you so much. I'll be there bright and early."

"Bueno, just focus on being a good husband and father tonight. Bye."

Dexter ended the call and slipped his cell phone back into his pants pocket.

"I've bought myself some time. The crime scene sans Hollister will be waiting for me to tell its gory tale; the one that I know well being that I wrote it with the strokes of my blade. I need to ensure that I destroy any possible evidence that could lead back to me or my wife."

Debra's car pulled into an empty space of the marina parking lot. With a twist of her wrist, she killed the engine and let her head fall back and hit the head rest. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. The four Xanax pills she had taken before making the drive out there had been to calm her nerves so that she could do what she needed to do. Unfortunately for her, it had made her a bit too relaxed and now she was fighting the urge to drift off to sleep.

"Fuck.." She muttered, forcing her eyes open.

Deb adjusted her posture and reached for her handbag that was sitting in the passenger seat. After searching through the contents of her bag, she removed the single thing that was going to bring her out of her haze and get her through the difficult task she was being faced with. A small white mound settled on the side of her hand and quickly disappeared up her nasal passage as she breathed in deep.

Debra let out a staggered exhale in the form of a sigh. The cocaine was like a shock to her system giving her the energy and courage to proceed on. Deb grabbed hold the manila envelope to take with her. Leaving her car, she followed the path to the dock. Her stride ceased when she reached the particular boat she was looking for that had "Ocean Master" written in gold letters on the stern. Without hesitation, she came aboard and knocked on the sliding doors of the illuminated cabin. Deb quickly brought her free hand up to her nose to wipe it, making sure there was no sign of her indulgence. Tom Matthews figure appearing on the other side of the glass caused her to nervously brush her hair behind her ear.

"Debra? Jesus, it's been a while. How the hell are you? What brings you over here this late?"

Before Deb could reply, Tom had pulled her into a hug. She let her chin rest on his shoulder and then spoke: "I need to talk to you about something."

It was when the hug ended that Tom caught sight of her face. She looked anything but happy to see him. Her brown eyes glazed over like they were made of glass. In light of the exciting news he had just received from Dexter, he wondered what she needed to talk to him about that would be causing her such distress.

"I was about to congratulate you on the birth of your niece, but you've got a look on your face like your new puppy was blacktopped by a cement truck."

The mention of Hannah and her brother's child being born caught Debra off guard. She steadied herself in the door frame. "H-Hannah had the baby today?"

Matthews moved from the doorway to allow Morgan to enter the interior of the boat. "That's what Dexter said. He called me just a little while ago with the news. I was going to head over to the hospital sometime tomorrow."

The confirmation from Matthews sent Debra's mind racing. Hannah going into labor must have been what made them leave the scene without covering their tracks. She was going to need to establish a timeline of when her brother had checked Hannah into the hospital. Dexter was surely going to try and use the birth of his new child as an alibi for where they were at the time of the murder.

"Debra? Tell me what the hell is going on."

His voice had pierced her train of thought. Deb's lips quivered as she tried to figure out the best way to begin to tell him the secret she had been keeping about who her brother really was. "It's Dexter..."

Matthews shrugged, not sure what Debra was trying to get at. He waited a few seconds hoping that she would finish her thought.

"I've been covering for him so long, but now that Hannah's involved and innocent fucking people are dying, I don't think I can continue to do nothing." She whispered, on the verge of tears as she took a seat on the nearby sofa.

"Why would you need to cover for Dexter? What people are dying? God damn it, Debra, you need to level with me! I have no idea what you're talking about and I can't even try and help you until-"

"Dexter and Hannah are fucking serial killers! He's the Bay Harbor Butcher! I walked in on him killing Travis Marshall! I made Maria look like a lunatic and planted the evidence in that marina to make you think Doakes was the killer! I did it because he's my brother and I love him, but I'm responsible for everything that he's done, including helping Hannah McKay continue to kill!"

Matthews eyes were wide. His mouth hung open in utter shock at what Deb Morgan had just told him in what sounded like one big run on sentence that was muffled with Debra's sobbing.

"Do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now? It's bad enough you left the force, but now you want to ruin the Morgan family reputation as well? Well I won't have it! Your old man would be rolling over in his grave to hear you talk like this. Why would you come to me with such a crazy accusation against your own brother and his wife? What possible shred of evidence do you even have to back up a claim like this?"

Him asking for some proof was enough for Debra to regain her composure. She held out the envelope she had brought with her. Tom quickly snatched it from her grasp and opened it. A handful of printed pictures of Albert entering the motel room with a time stamp slide out into his hand.

"Am I suppose to know who the hell this is?" Matthews asked impatiently.

"That's Albert Hollister, the cheating husband I was being paid to follow. I saw him enter that motel room and then I saw both Dexter and Hannah leaving that same room not even an hour after. This guy is the victim in your murder case that was called in earlier tonight."

"Where's the picture showing the Morgans at the scene? The only thing you proved to me is that you were there around the time of the murder. If I were going by the book, I would haul your ass into the station and hold you for questioning."

"It's fucking Hannah that needs to be brought in! She stabbed Hollister to death in that motel room just like she killed with Wayne Randall when she was fifteen years old! Dexter is helping her get away with it! They need to be stopped!" Debra hollered getting to her feet and practically screaming in Tom Matthew's face.

Matthews reached out and grabbed hold of her arms, allowing the pictures to flutter to the floor. His grip on her tightened as he spoke sternly, "Will you get a hold of yourself? You don't have any evidence to prove what you're saying happened! Did it even happen, Debra, or did you hallucinate it on some coke laced acid trip? Look at you! You're a mess, your pupils are dilated, you're sweating!"

His inquisition caused Deb to pull away from him. Once she had broken free, she bolted for the door. Debra could hear him hollering for her to come back. She could hear him making pursuit of her as she reached the wooden dock, but as she hastened her stride, she was left with only the sound of her feet pounding on the parking lot pavement and her heart beating out of her chest.

She needed to get out of there. Matthews was of no good to her unless she had solid proof that it was her brother and his wife that had emerged from that motel room after committing murder. Without a smoking gun, Tom would only see her as the troubled pill popping coke head she had become. Her credibility had been tarnished and there was no coming back from it without that evidence.

Dexter had patiently waited until it was well into the night before venturing out to the motel. He parked at the curb where the police roadblock had been earlier in the evening. He then retrieved his small satchel and disposable gloves from the back of the van. Morgan knew that Batista's appointed officers were guarding the crime scene a mile down the road. It would not be as easy as walking through the front door of the motel room.

He snuck through the shadows, moving at a quick pace. Approaching the outskirts of the property, he settled behind a bush and surveyed the scene.

"County cops. Batista knew better than to task Miami Metro officers with babysitting a crime scene for a night. One patrolling the front of the motel, the other asleep in the cruiser. I can slip around the back and climb into the room through the bathroom window."

Morgan decided when the time was right to move again. His brown eyes remained focused on the cop that was standing guard. Dexter kept himself close to the wall the moment he reached the side of the building as a way to evade the moonlight. Around the back, he counted the narrow windows until he came to room number four. He presented a small crowbar from his bag and used it to shimmy the window. Once open, it was bit of a tight squeeze to fit himself through, but he managed. A small flashlight provided him with adequate illumination that would not raise suspicion from the outside. Dexter used it to guide himself from the bathroom into his kill room.

"My plastic play land bathed in red is almost exactly as I left it. The only thing missing is my kill; A white taped outline says that Albert was there. My only regret was that I didn't have the pleasure of finishing my ritual; severing his flesh and bone piece by piece until he fit nicely into three hefty bags for his trip on the gulf stream. Sorry, Al."

Brian appeared seated on the plastic covered bed. He was eyeing his little brother's handy work with a smile on his face. He let out a chuckle before speaking aloud:

Brian: "So this is what you and the wife do for foreplay?"

Morgan didn't seem at all phased by his imaginary older brother's joke and instead crouched down by the body outline.

"No, Hollister was mine. I should never have let Hannah come with me. Her fingerprints are definitely here somewhere. She wasn't wearing gloves. Why the fuck didn't I make her wear gloves?"

Moser rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh, which caused Dexter to stand up again.

Brian: "Yeah, because Albert wouldn't have noticed her greeting him at the door wearing white latex over her hands. Come on , Dexter, would you let it go already? You're here to make sure that nothing can ever be traced back to you or Hannah so let's take care of this."

Big brother Brian got to his feet and allowed his eyes to take a quick scan of the room. A moment later he presented a lighter from his pocket.

Brian: "Why not set the place ablaze? If it burns to the ground there can be no evidence for them to collect."

"Not a good idea. Two police officers are right outside, you know that they will notice right away once a fire gets started. They'll be able to make a call out for the fire department in a matter of minutes."

Dexter's eyes settled on the sprinkler head sticking out of the ceiling. His lips parted slightly as he realized that he might have just found a viable option. With the lighter in his hand, he stepped onto the bed. A steady flame appeared with the flick of his thumb and he introduced it to the metal sprinkler head. A few seconds later, water began to spray down into the room.

Brian: "Very clever, baby brother. Those old sprinkler systems put in during the 70s have been known to malfunction."

"All the sprinklers are connected to one line. By tomorrow morning, this place will be flooded and any possible evidence will be destroyed. Let's get out of here."

In the light of the early morning Florida sun, Dexter returned to the motel that was already swarming with Miami Metro personnel. Morgan walked with confidence; his camera around his neck while he carried his blood spatter analysis kit. A slight smirk formed on his face as he could hear the interim Captain, Tom Matthews, hollering from the doorway of room 4:

"What the hell happened? This room is completely drenched!"

Vince Masuka immediately threw out one of his usual inappropriate jokes: "Looks like a water pipe busted at the Bates Motel. Someone better tell, Norman. Huhuhuhuhuh."

When Masuka saw the look that Matthews was giving him as a result of his remark, he quickly stifled.

Lieutenant Batista was quick to answer his superior as he needed to smooth things over with an explanation: "The sprinkler system malfunctioned and flooded the place. Thank God the body was already moved to the morgue and Masuka got plenty of pictures when we arrived on the scene yesterday. We need to get this place drained and dried out."

"The crime scene should have been dismantled and analyzed last night. This is unacceptable, Batista. Because of your decision to put off the investigation, we can forget about salvaging any blood or finger print evidence from this scene."

Tom turned in Dex's direction the moment he noticed him approaching. Like the flick of a switch, Morgan contorted his face to a look of astonishment. He needed to sell his handy work and convince his co-workers that like them, he was viewing the flooded motel room for the first time. Dexter looked over at Batista and spoke:

"Wow, Angel, I'm so sorry. If I would have known there was a possibility of something like this happening, I would have found a way to get here last night."

Matthews narrowed his eyes at Dex. This was the first he was hearing that the reason the investigation had stalled on the case the night before was because of Dexter. He couldn't help but think back to what Debra had told him last night in her drug haze. "This crime scene was put on hold per your request?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I told you that Hannah had our baby last night. She wasn't due for another week and there were some complications. I didn't want to leave the hospital when there was a possibility of something happening to the baby."

Masuka who was standing by surveying the extent of the water damage on the room spoke up with the mention of the new baby: "Dude, does the baby have a name?"

"Yeah, it's Lily Anne Morgan."

"Beautiful name, socio."

"Lily Anne was Hannah's mother's name." Dexter added as he placed his kit down in what seemed like the least wet place he could find in the room.

Although Tom was happy for Dexter, he was insistent that Miami Metro stay on task. "Glad to hear that she's doing well. I'll try and come by and see her, possibly after you guys bring her home. But now we need to focus on going over this flooded mess with a fine tooth comb. See if there's anything we can salvage that will help us break this case."

Batista followed the Captain's wishes and began to go over the details of the case that they already had: "Just to bring you up to speed, Dex. We have an I.D. on the vic. The wallet in his back pocket says his name was Albert Michael Hollister of Miami, Florida. We contacted his wife and she will be in the station to make a statement tomorrow."

Masuka added in details he had obtained from his examination of the body: "Someone did a serious knife job on this guy. There were multiple stab wounds including a clean slice across his throat. We recovered a set of knives from the bathroom last night. Not one print on the set, but we were able to match the stab wounds with one of the blades. My guess the killer had a serious beef with this guy."

Sergeant Angie Miller's eyes scanned the red cloudy water that had seeped deep into the shagged carpeting of the room. She made a face of disapproval as she lifted her heeled shoes that were getting wet. "So it's possible that Hollister knew his killer? We should question his wife if he had any enemies. Did we get a alibi for where she was last night?"

"Nada, I didn't think it was right to ask too many questions when we just informed her about her husband's brutal death in a seedy motel. We plan on getting all that information when she comes in for questioning. She mentioned that she and her young son were going to stay with family for support. I can't blame here, it's got to be hard to lose your spouse." Angel explained.

Matthews folded his arms. His eyes kept being drawn to wet plastic that was adorning the walls and furniture in the room. It wasn't the normal scene of a crime. Someone had taken the time to prep this room. He decided to share his thoughts with his homicide team: "I think we're dealing with an experienced killer. Look at the way this room was prepared with plastic."

Batista looked around at all the plastic before commenting, "Very meticulous."

"Masuka, what kind of knife set was found? You're certain that no blood or prints were on them?" Tom asked.

"They were completely clean. Nice stainless steel knife kit in a black roll up pouch. It reminded me of the set that we found during the Bay Harbor Butcher case."

"The one with Doakes' prints on them, I remember." Matthews replied, his eyes shifted over to Dexter. There were a few seconds of silence before he spoke again, "What do you think Dexter?"

Morgan's eyebrows raised slightly and his mouth parted. He was caught a bit off guard by the fact that Matthews focus had switched over to him once the Bay Harbor Butcher was mentioned. He quickly came up with a response: "I agree, this kill was obviously premeditated. I doubt the killer was experienced as he left the body and the murder weapon at the scene. Why go through all the trouble of putting up plastic if he planned on leaving everything?"

"Unless he was interrupted." Tom replied, still staring at him with a discerning eye.

"Why am I getting the feeling that Matthews knows more than anyone else in the room? Of all the days he picks to be the second coming of Special Agent Lundy, why did it have to be today?"

Angie spoke up before Dex was able to, and also threw her own question into the mix."It's definitely possible. Dex, what do you think about the knives? What does that say about our killer?"

"The knife set could have come from anywhere. You'd be surprised what's being sold online these days. Other than the fact that Masuka was able to identify one of the them as the murder weapon, I don't think it's going to bring us any closer to finding out the killer's identity."

Matthews glanced at his watch before announcing his departure: "I've got to get back to the station. The press is going to want a statement about the case. You all better make damn sure that every bit of evidence is collected and cataloged. We've got to catch this killer. Dexter, I'll try and touch base with you before the end of the day. We need to talk."

Dex simply gave a nod as he studied the serious look on Captain Matthews face. Whatever he wanted to talk to him about in private had to be serious. He wondered if it had anything to do with this crime scene that would explain why Matthews had set off an alarm in Dexter's lizard brain.

The homicide team waited until Tom had left to begin talking amongst themselves again. Both Dexter and Masuka were doing their best to look for the smallest piece of evidence that had been missed. Morgan was drawn to the plastic covered dresser that his wife had been bracing herself on when she had gone into labor. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he brought his face closer to the plastic that was drenched in water. There, floating in one of the puddles of water, he spotted a blonde strained of hair; It had to be Hannah's. Without even thinking, he reached out and captured it between his gloved thumb and pointer finger. The moment he lifted it, he heard Masuka's voice ring out:

"You've got something? Fiber, hair? Give!"

Vince scurried over to where Dexter was with an evidence bag in hand. Morgan let out a sigh and allowed Masuka to bag the evidence.

"Dude, awesome, looks like we just landed ourselves some DNA that is definitely not the victims. Look at that follicle still attached. I could fucking french you right now."

"No thanks, but why don't you let me take this in to the station for you and get it analyzed for a DNA match. There's obviously no more blood here that I can work with."

"Sounds good to me, I'm up to my hairy ball sack in paperwork." Masuka allowed Dexter to take possession of the hair sample, "Let me know ASAP if we get any hits in the database."

With the evidence in hand, Dex made his way back over to his blood spatter kit.

"Will do, but do me a favor and cover for me the rest of the morning. I wanted to stop by the house and pick up Harrison so he can meet his new baby sister."

"Fine, but you owe me. I've got a keynote speech that I'm making next month for Forensics Quarterly. I will need to take off from work."

"Great, I have no problem covering for you."

Batista had witnessed the exchange between Morgan and Masuka and he made sure to express the importance of them yielding some results from the hair sample that had been found. Dex assured Angel that he would notify him if it turned up a lead.

When Dexter returned to his vehicle, he was met with his imaginary brother, Brian, who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Dex started the engine and immediately sped off. He was going to have to move quickly as Jamie was expecting him to relieve her after spending the entire night babysitting.

Brian: "That was too close, little brother. If that Asian lab geek would have ran that strand of hair, then they would have known immediately that it was your wife's. She's in the criminal database after all."

"That's not going to happen. I'm going to make sure of that."

Brian: "How? You can't simply get rid of the hair and not leave anything in its place. Miami Metro is expecting results."

"So I'll give them results. All Masuka knows was that I collected a blonde strained of hair, he had no idea whose it is. Michelle Hollister's hair is the same color as Hannah's. I can get a strand from her and use it instead."

Brian: "Oh, I love it. That makes the wife the prime suspect. And we both know that she'd have motive to see her husband dead. The contents of Hollister's flash drive told us that."

"I just need to divert Miami Metro's attention elsewhere to keep my family safe. Batista mentioned that Albert's wife will be at the station tomorrow giving a statement. That gives me more than enough time to sneak back into that house to collect her hair."

Debra had forced herself to replay her meeting with Matthews over and over again in her head. It was torturing her. Her late father's best friend was refusing to accept the truth.. The solace of a hot shower was doing little to help her forget that. There was no cleansing herself of the mistakes she had made in the past. She had hoped coming clean to Matthews would release her from the emotional bondage she was experiencing because of Dexter. Alas, it was her own demons that Matthews saw, and because of them, she no longer held the credibility as she once had.

The Xanax, the coke, the drinking; She was done with it all. What had provided Deb with her escape from reality had attributed to her losing herself. If she had any shot at stopping her brother and Hannah McKay, she needed to be the police detective she once was. And she needed to do it now, not just for herself, but for Harrison as well.

Nick approached the shower stall. Leaning up against the glass frame, he made his presence known: "You okay in there?"

A few seconds passed without a response causing him to call her name out. That was enough for her to come back to reality and answer back: "What?"

Porter could tell by the sound of her voice that she wasn't faring well. She had adamantly refused to discuss with him the details of her meeting with Tom Matthews. Deb didn't have to tell him anything. The look on her face when she had returned to his penthouse said it all.

"You've been in the shower for a while. I've got a line deployed for you. It'll take the edge off."

His words compelled Deb to shut off the shower. She could feel her body respond to the promise of a line of cocaine. She had to tell herself that it was an urge that she was not going to give into. She wasn't exactly sure how she was going to watch her boyfriend use, while she tried to abstain.

With a towel wrapped around her glistening body, she ventured to the master bedroom. Debra's eyes immediately focused on the white powder that Porter had mentioned. Instinctively she inhaled sharply through her nose, remembering the amazing rush she would feel every time she snorted.

"Ladies first?" Nicholas inquired.

Deb paused for a moment, her mouth gaped open as her automatic response would have been to take him up on his offer, but instead she slowly shook her head. "I can't anymore, Nick."

Porter could sense the sincerity in her voice. Without saying a word, he grabbed his tray of drugs and set it aside. He then held out his arms for her triggering Deb to start crying. She moved forward and allowed him to take her into his arms.

"Shh, It's okay. I'm here if you want to talk about it." He whispered, hugging her tight.

"Look at me, Nick. I'm a fucking drug addict and no one believes a word I say. I need evidence if I'm going to stop Dexter and Hannah, and I'm not going to get the evidence I need if I'm getting high all the time." Deb cried, her words were a bit muffled as she had her face buried into her boyfriend's shirt.

"You don't have to use, Deb. I'm sorry I introduced you to coke. I thought we were just having fun, I didn't know it effected your life so negatively."

Debra lifted her head to look at him. Tears were still cascading down her face as she tried her hardest to hold back her emotions as she spoke: "It's not your fault. I welcomed any drug that could take me out of this fucking hell I've been living in ever since I started doing terrible things to protect my brother."

Nicholas brought his face to hers, their foreheads touching as he whispered his response: "Baby, you don't have to protect him anymore. We're going to stop him and McKay. This nightmare will end for you, I promise."

"Nick, you're the one good thing in my life. I'd be so lost without you, I have no one else." She admitted in a strangled whisper before bringing her lips to his.

Their kiss was gentle, and when it ended he offered reassurance, "You have me and I'm not going anywhere. Our surveillance of your brother is back on, okay?"

Debra smiled and nodded her head. She then pulled him into another loving embrace. For only knowing Nicholas Porter for half a year, he had quickly became the man in her life that cared about her and what she was going through. All she had ever wanted growing up was Harry Morgan's love and attention. It was Dexter who received all of her father's focus. The adopted son with his dark urges trumped the daughter who wanted nothing more than to be just like her good ol' dad. If only Dad knew the monster he had a hand in creating. If only Harry knew that his adopted son would turn his back on his little sister for a life outside of the code with Hannah McKay.

Just as he had done before, Dexter cautiously made his way into the Hollister home through the side door. To his surprise, Harry was already in the kitchen waiting for him. His imaginary father was leaning with his back against the granite counter top, his arms folded. He did not look pleased.

Harry: "What are you doing here, Dexter? This is the second time you illegally entered the house of the man you killed. What if someone saw you? What if someone was home?"

"Batista mentioned at the crime scene that Michelle had taken her son to stay with family. I was careful sneaking in, no one saw me. Give me some credit, Dad."

Dexter moved quickly through the downstairs and found the staircase leading to the second floor. Harry was following him the whole way to the Hollister's master bedroom. Dex approached the dresser where a hair brush was sitting. As Dexter removed an follicle-intact blonde strained of hair, Harry picked up a framed picture of the family.

Harry: "You're really going through with this? Framing an innocent woman for one of your kills?"

"Do you have a better idea? The number one rule of your code was don't get caught. I need someone's hair to replace Hannah's. I need to keep her safe."

Harry: "The number one rule was about you not getting caught, Dexter, not Hannah. Have you stopped to think about why she insisted on being there in the kill room?"

Dex placed the strained of hair into the evidence bag and sealed it:

"She wanted to be there to support me, to share in witnessing my ritual, which is more than you ever did. The one time you saw my work it made you physically sick with disgust."

Harry: "Maybe it's time you realized that your wife isn't as innocent as she claims to be. She says she doesn't enjoy killing, yet she willingly put herself in the same position she was when she was fifteen: witnessing her lover murdering in a motel room. This was a kill that you would have never done if not for her."

"I never said Hannah was innocent, neither of us are. I'm the one that decided to kill Albert. ME! You're just upset because I have evolved and so has the code! It says I kill whomever I feel is a danger to the life that Hannah and I have created!"

Dexter's aggressive outburst caused the conversation with Harry to cease. He needed to get back to the lab and run the hair sample. It was only a matter of time before Masuka and the rest of the Miami Metro Homicide team would be wanting the results.

When Dex arrived home, Jamie was there to greet him with a congratulatory hug. She then called for Harrison to let him know about his father's arrival. The four year old came running from his bedroom and right into his father's arms.

"Hey buddy, are you ready to go see Mommy at the hospital and meet your new baby sister?" Dex asked as he hugged his child tightly.

"Yeah!" Harrison exclaimed with excitement, holding his arms up in the air.

Jamie commented on the child's anticipation, "He's been asking when you were coming home to get him since he woke up this morning."

"Thanks for watching him overnight, Jamie. I know it was unexpected."

"It was no problem, I'm so glad I was able to be here for you guys. Besides, it gave me some time to visit with my favorite little man who I rarely get to see anymore."

After saying goodbye to Jamie, Dexter buckled Harrison into his Ford Escape and took off for Miami Central Hospital. The four year old must have asked twenty times when they were going to be there in the fifteen minutes it took them.

"No running, Harrison, wait for me." Dex called out when the child let go of his hand and ran down the hospital hallway with glee.

His son listened, stopping to wait for his dad to catch up and tell him which room his mother and sister were staying in.

The moment that Hannah saw her husband and son enter the room, she smiled and called out: "Hey Harrison, come meet your little sister!"

Harrison seemed a little surprised to see Hannah lying in a hospital bed. Having never have visited anyone in a hospital before, it was quite a new experience. He was a bit cautious as he then heard his half sibling cry out for the first time. Dex had to usher him to the bedside.

"Did everything go okay at work?" Hannah inquired with a hint of an eyebrow raise.

"All taken care of, we've got nothing to worry about." He replied with a nod.

"I can't see the baby." The child announced prompting his father to lift him off his feet.

Hannah moved back the pink blanket from her daughter's face so that her brother could get a good look at her. She then made the introductions: "Harrison, this is your little sister, Lily Anne. Lily, this is your big brother, Harrison, he's going to protect and love you always."

"Hi, Lily." The four year old said reaching down to touch his sibling's soft blonde hair. "She's so little. I wanna hold her."

Dexter looked a little unsure about his son's request, but Hannah was fine with it. She scooted over in bed to allow enough room for the four year old to sit beside her. Morgan watched as his wife carefully placed the newborn in their son's lap.

"Here, do what Mommy does and support her head and her body." She instructed before feeling the child's hands over hers.

The Morgans were beaming with happiness at the sight of their children bonding for the first time. Lily Anne was wide awake and gazing at her big brother who seemed equally as mesmerized by her. Gently, Harrison leaned forward and gave his sister a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Harry's wrong. He wants to blame my decision to move away from his version of the code on Hannah wanting to be fully involved in my life. What he doesn't realize is that Hannah and I together are so much more than the number of lives we've taken. We're giving back to the world with our creation of this new beautifully innocent being."

Dexter and Hannah exchanged a smile. He then moved in, giving his wife a tender kiss that she gladly accepted. When their kiss ended she spoke: "I am so happy right now, Dex. We finally have it all."

It wasn't long into the visit before Hannah and Lily were discharged from the hospital and able to go home. Harrison was overjoyed by the fact that his new little sister would be riding in the back of his father's Ford Escape with him in her infant seat. Dexter and Hannah could hear him talking nonstop to the baby during the car ride.

"Matthews is going to be coming over to see the baby." Dex informed his wife, glancing over at her for a moment before bringing his focus back to the road ahead.

"That's okay, isn't it?"

"Something's going on with him. He was acting strange at the crime scene and now he says he wants to talk to me."

"Are you sure that you're not just being paranoid? Tom's suspicion of you and the Bay Harbor Butcher case ended with the demise of Laguerta." She commented in a low voice resting her head on the seat headrest.

"I don't know. I've got to feel him out."

It was well into the day before Matthews stopped by the Morgan home to see the newborn. Dexter allowed his wife to greet Tom and let him in, while he hung back and observed.

"Hi Tom, how are you?" She asked with a smile, giving him a quick hug as soon as he entered the home.

"As good as any man would be coming out of retirement. The real question is how are you, new Mama? Congratulations, where's the little one?"

Matthews casually scanned his surroundings as he allowed Mrs. Morgan to lead him into the home.

"She's with her daddy here in the living room." Hannah replied taking a seat next to her husband who was holding their daughter in his arms.

"Wow, look at this little one. She's gonna be a little heart breaker. Good luck keeping the boys off her, Dexter." Tom commented with a chuckle as he peered down at the newborn.

Morgan played along, letting out a forced chuckle. There was a moment of awkward silence before Hannah spoke up: "Are you staying for dinner, Tom? Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thank you. I can't stay long, I just wanted to stop by and meet the newest Morgan and have a chat with you and Dexter." Matthews explained taking a seat on the sofa adjacent to them. "Have you told your sister about the birth of her niece?"

Mention of Deb caused Dexter's eyebrows to raise slightly before shifting the baby in his arms, "No, Deb and I haven't really been in contact lately. There was a bit of a falling out after what happened at the wedding."

"I'm sorry to hear that. You should try and get in touch with her. I'm a bit concerned about her welfare. She could use some support from her family."

"Don't tell me you only came here to talk to me about Deb. She knows where I am. If she needs help she can reach out. I'd be there for her." Morgan replied, a little bit irritated by Matthews bringing up his estranged sister.

It looked like Tom was picking up on the fact that Dex wasn't thrilled with the topic at hand. He switched gears: "There was one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. You know that guy who was found dead in the motel room? His son goes to Our Lady of the Gulf school. Isn't that where you send Harrison?"

"Yes, that's Harrison's preschool." Hannah admitted quickly, acting like she had no idea what Tom was talking about. "It's possible we knew of him. Do you know the family name?"

"Hollister. The father's name was Albert Hollister."

"Oh, that's Jay's father. They both came to Harrison's birthday party. Albert is some kind of a writer or photographer. He was very interested in my flower business. He was suppose to do a write-up for us, but he never got back to me."

Morgan was in awe of his wife's ability to act completely innocent when questioned. Nothing in her demeanor or voice pointed to her knowing more than what she was telling Tom. Dex kept quiet and allowed his wife to do the talking.

"Well we found him stabbed to death in a motel room."

"Oh God, that's awful! Do you have any idea who could have killed him?"

"We found a single strand blonde hair at the scene, but it wasn't much to go on. Masuka said that we didn't get any hits when we ran it through our database. I'm going to wait to question his wife when she comes in to give a statement, see if she knows of any possible enemies her husband might have."

Dex nodded and then spoke up: "Sounds like a good way to move forward."

Matthews gave a sigh and shifted his position in the chair. "How did Albert Hollister seem to you two? From the information I gathered, he didn't sound like he was a faithful husband. Was there anything about him that would lead you to believe that someone might want him dead?"

"I really didn't know him at all. I saw him in passing when I would go to drop Harrison off at school." Hannah replied.

"Yet you invited him and his son to the birthday party and he was going to write an article about your business? That seems like a pretty friendly exchange for someone you didn't know at all." Tom answered back, his eyebrows furrowed.

Mrs. Morgan didn't miss a beat before she replied, "Harrison invited his whole class, including Jay Hollister. When his father RSVPed, he mentioned that he was writing an article for the Miami Herald that featured local small businesses. He offered to do a piece on my nursery. That's all."

Tom nodded his head showing that he was understanding what Hannah was telling him. He waited a moment before asking his final question: "So you guys were home last night when you went into labor?"

Dexter was the one to speak up first: "No, we had gone out to dinner, Jamie was watching Harrison. Hannah went into labor at the restaurant and we went straight to the hospital from there."

"Oh jeeze, nothing like going into labor to ruin a great evening out, huh?" Tom chuckled looking back and forth between Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. Dexter and Hannah did their best to play along and laughed with him.

"Where did you guys go out to eat? That new place at the pier?"

Dexter's mouth gaped, he let out a breath as he came up with a restaurant name that he could give in order to suffice Tom's round of questions: "No, Il Bistro Vino."

"Very nice, I haven't been there in a while." Tom replied before getting to his feet. "Well, thanks for letting me stop by and see the new addition. You will be at work tomorrow, correct?"

Dex gave a nod, "Yes, sir."

"Good, you two enjoy the rest of your evening. I'm heading back to the station to see if Masuka was able to glean any leads from what we took out of that motel room."

Both Dexter and Hannah arose from their seats to show out their guest. It wasn't until Matthews was out of the house that she was able to touch base with Dexter.

"What the hell was that? Was he just questioning us like we were suspects for Albert's murder?"

"It sure felt like that's what was going on. I told you that he was acting strange toward me at the crime scene too." Dex muttered handing the baby over to Hannah when she started fussing.

She began to nervously rock the baby in her arms. "Is there any way that he could know something? Something that maybe you said at the crime scene that would have tweaked him?"

Morgan brought his hands to his face and sighed once he sat down, "No, and nothing was left at the crime scene that could lead back to us. It's almost like someone is putting ideas in his head. He's never questioned me before, why now?"

"Deb?" piped Hannah, "He mentioned he was concerned about her."

"I don't know. None of it makes sense, there's something we're missing." He muttered as he started rocking back and forth nervously in his seat.

"We can't afford to not know about this, Dex. Our lives depend on it, our children's lives depend on it." Hannah admitted, bringing her newborn close to her.

"I know that. I need to search his boat, maybe I'll find some answers and figure out what's really going on."

"Okay, but be careful." Hannah warned watching her husband quickly get to his feet. She didn't like him rushing off in the spare of the moment.

"I will."

Dexter knew that time was of the essence. He had to get onto that boat and search it before Matthews finished up at the station. Morgan didn't even know what it was that he was looking for. A piece to a puzzle that he only just now found out was missing. Without a complete picture of what was going on with the investigation, he would be left in the dark; leaving things up to chance. He couldn't have that.

Upon coming aboard Tom's boat, Dex took a few moments fiddling with the sliding glass door before it gave way. He utilized his small flash light so he could scan the room and look for anything out of the ordinary. His gloved hands leafed through a stack of bills on the coffee table, yielding nothing. Dex exhaled, moving over to the compact wet bar.

"What do you have on me, Matthews?"

Morgan's brown eyes shifted to a framed picture of Tom with Harry that was sitting among the bottles of alcohol. Was he being paranoid, reading too much into Tom doing his job as the acting Captain of homicide? No, something was amiss, he could feel it.

And then Dexter saw it. The folded manila envelope that was barely visible behind the bottle of scotch. It was out of place, needing to be stuck there for a reason. He needed to know what that reason was. Morgan carefully removed it from behind the line of glass bottles. He opened it and reached in to remove its contents. Nothing would have prepared him for what he found inside.

Morgan's eyes peered at the photos in his hands. How was this possible? Dex felt like his legs were going to give out beneath him. He staggered over to the nearest sofa and allowed himself to plop down.

"Six photos of Albert arriving at the motel. How would Matthews have these unless he was following us. All of his questions were merely a game, Matthews knows exactly what happened to Albert because he was there."

Dexter got to his feet and then stuffed the photos back into the envelope with haste. He quickly decided that he was going to take them. Yes, he was running the risk of Tom noticing that they had disappeared, but on the other hand, he was protecting him and his wife by doing away with more evidence. Dex was not stupid, he knew that somewhere Matthews surely had these pictures saved on a camera or a flash drive.

As he took a quick look around the boat cabin for another possible source of picture files, he continued to unravel and make sense out of the new shocking information he had just stumbled upon:

"If he has evidence that he was at the scene, then why hasn't he moved on it? What's stopping him from bringing Hannah and I into booking? Maybe he doesn't know the entire truth of who I am. Still, how long before he puts all the pieces together. He's already on the right track noticing the similarities between Hollister's death and the Bay Harbor Butcher's victims. Hannah and I could be living on borrowed time."

When Dexter entered his home through the front door, he immediately noticed that the living room was empty. He placed his set of keys down on the table near the door and called out:

"Hannah?"

A few seconds later, he let out a sigh of relief when his wife came through the hallway holding their newborn with a smile on her face.

"Hey, we're having dinner. I didn't know what time you were going to be home." She explained, gently patting Lily as she held her close.

The look on her husband's face quickly caused Hannah's smile to fade. "What is it?"

Before Dex could attempt to fill her in on what he found on Matthew's boat, Harrison came running in to give his daddy a hug. "Daddy, we're having spaghetti!"

"Wow, yeah I can see that. You've got some red sauce all over your face." Dexter commented with a smile as he carried his son back into the dining area that was toward the back of the house. He set him down in his seat. "Finish up your spaghetti while Mommy and I talk."

Hannah gently placed the baby in the nearby bassinet before she followed her husband into the kitchen so that they could talk without the little audience.

"Well, did you find something?"

Dexter's eyebrows went up slightly and he held out the envelope for her to see for herself. She took it from him and opened it. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside.

"Matthews had these on his boat?" She asked with a look of worry.

"Yeah, these pictures prove he was there. I think he was following us."

"If he knows then why didn't he arrest us?"

Dex took the photos back from his wife and proceeded to set them on fire in the kitchen sink.

"I don't know, maybe he's sitting on the evidence until he can build a stronger case. This might be all he has and he's trying to make sense of it. That would explain why he was questioning us."

"When are you putting him on your table?" She asked bluntly while watching the flames engulf the photographs.

Morgan's lips parted and he breathed in deep. "I don't know, there's still so many questions I don't have the answers to when it comes to Matthews."

Hannah looked taken aback by his response. She placed a hand on her hip before she replied back: "What else do you need to know, Dexter, other than the fact that he knows we killed Hollister? He's the one person we know that can put us in prison."

"We don't know that he would do that. He was my father's best friend. He's been looking after me and Deb ever since Harry died."

She scoffed and forced the water on in the sink to put out the flames. "Spare me the sentimentality, he's the acting captain of Miami Metro Homicide."

"You don't think I know that?" Dex hollered back, but then caught himself. He took a deep breath and then spoke on, "I'm just saying that I want to make absolutely sure that there is no other way around this. We don't even know the full extent of what he knows."

Hannah wasn't happy. She gave him a disapproving frown before she turned to leave the kitchen.

"Hey," he muttered, moving to catch her hand to stop her from leaving, "I love you and the kids, and I'm going to do whatever I have to in order to keep this family safe."

Their eyes locked and there was a moment of silence between them. Before Hannah could reply, it was Harrison who interrupted from the doorway of the kitchen: "Mommy, I'm all done. Can I get my bath now?"

Hannah pulled away from Dexter so that she could approach the four year old. In one fluid motion, she lifted him off his feet and onto her hip. Turning back around, she shot her husband a look prompting him to speak again:

"I've got this covered."

"Do you really?" She asked with an eyebrow raise. Before Dex could reply, Hannah had already left the kitchen with their son.

Morgan hated being at odds with his wife, but he couldn't help that some elements of Harry's code would forever be ingrained in him. The vetting process had always been very important to him, especially if the target was someone high profile; Tom Matthews definitely fit the bill in that sense, but he had also been important to the Morgan family. Hannah couldn't understand that. For her, taking life was a mode of survival in the presence of a threat; Other variables would never even make it into the equation. Dexter could not afford to think that way. There was too much riding on all of this. He just hoped that Hannah would come around and have faith that he would take care of them.

The elevator chimed and Dexter stepped out with a pleasant smile on his face. He shifted his work satchel on his shoulder as he balanced a cigar box in one of his hands, like he had done so often with a box of donuts.

"Family man; It's has become my favorite part to play. What's surprising is how easy I am able to slip into the role. Perhaps, it's because it's how I see myself now."

One of the officers approached him as he entered the homicide division office. "My man, Dex, what do you have here?"

"Cigars, help yourself." Morgan replied opening the box to reveal them. Each one had a pink ribbon tied tightly around it that read 'it's a girl!'.

"Nice, congratulations, buddy!" The officer replied before taking one of the smokes from the box.

A few other members of the team followed suit. Lieutenant Batista and Sergeant Miller picked up on Dexter's arrival and moved to greet him.

"Son Cubano, gracias." commented Angel as a took a cigar from the open box. He then moved in giving Dex a quick hug, "Enhorabuena por el bebé nuevo, Papi."

"All right, proud papa, let's see the pictures of your little one." Angie said with a smile prompting Dexter to reach into his pants' pocket for his phone.

Before Dexter was even able to bring up his daughter's first pictures on his phone, Tom Matthews made his presence known as he got off of the elevator behind him:

"Dexter, glad you're here. We've got Michelle Hollister coming in today to make a statement. I'm going to need you to get a DNA swab from her when she comes in so we can rule her out for the DNA we got off the hair we collected at the scene."

"I'm on it." Dex replied with a smile the moment he turned to face Tom.

"Good, now what do you have there? Are those Cuban 420s?" Matthews asked peering into the box.

"Yup, I believe so. You're welcome to take one." offered Dexter.

"Don't mind if I do, thanks."

The captain took one of the cigars and brought it to his nose to smell before walking away. When Dexter made his way over to his lab station, he saw Masuka sitting at his station looking through a microscope.

"Morning, Vince." Dex commented aloud as he sat his black satchel by his lab station.

"I was wondering if you were even going to show up after you left my uncircumcised dick swinging in the wind yesterday." Masuka replied looking up from what he was doing. He then stood up and walked over to where Dex was standing. "You said you were taking a few hours in the morning, not taking the entire day off so I could be pounded up the ass with paperwork from the motel case."

"I'm sorry, time got away from me. I'm here now. Would you like a cigar?" Morgan offered holding one out to his fellow forensic technician.

"When is the last time you saw an Asian smoking a cigar?"

Dex looked a bit confused by Masuka's comment. "So that's a no?"

Vince narrowed his eyes before snatching the cigar from Dexter's hand."Don't stereotype my people."

Masuka quickly made his way back to his lab station leaving Morgan to make sense of what he had just said.

"I didn't even know you had 'people'."

It was in the afternoon when Michelle Hollister arrived at Miami Metro. Dexter was immediately beckoned by Batista to perform a quick DNA swab before he began questioning her. When entering the room, Dex took note of her appearance. She looked just like she did in the pictures he had seen of her on the wall of their home; an attractive blonde much like his own wife. He pulled on his white latex gloves before opening up his kit.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Hollister. I'll be quick." He told her opening the swab plastic packaging.

"Is this normal that they are asking for my DNA? I'm not a suspect, am I?" She asked looking a little concerned and possibly wondering if she should have brought a lawyer.

"Don't worry, it's normal. All witnesses related to the case who are close to the victim submit a sample. Open."

Mrs. Hollister opened her mouth as directed allowing Morgan to drag the cotton along the inside of her cheek. "All done."

"I'm sorry, but do I know you? You look familiar to me and I just can't seem to place you." Michelle asked looking at Dexter with an inquisitive eye.

"I don't think so." He muttered back, not even bothering to look back in her direction as he exited the room.

"She seems nice, but having small talk with the woman who I am responsible for making a widow isn't the top of my list of things I want to do today. That coupled with the fact that I planted her DNA as evidence to keep my own wife safe. Is this what guilt feels like or should I chalk it up to me not being much of an extrovert?"

Dexter didn't get very far with the sample as Masuka was waiting in the wings to approach him. "Dude, you're the blood guy, I'm the lead forensics specialist, hand over the DNA."

"It's got your name all over it, Vince." Dex replied with a grin as he allowed him to do the honors of processing it. It was just as well since Morgan was much more concerned with what was going to be said during the interview.

Dex was on his way back from the lab to watch Batista cross examine Albert's wife when his eyes caught sight of his own wife coming towards him from the elevator. She was pushing a baby stroller that surely contained his newborn daughter. Morgan narrowed his eyes and began to make his way over to meet her.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?" He asked as he approached her with a voice full of concern.

"Yes, we're fine. I just thought it would be a nice surprise for us to come visit you at work. I brought you some lunch." Hannah explained with a loving smile as she fixed his collar with her hands. She then pulled him closer for a peck on the lips.

Hannah immediately noticed that his attention kept straying elsewhere. She glanced over at the small group of Miami Metro personnel who had congregated around a small television. "I'm sorry, I'm probably keeping you from something important."

"Sorry, it has to do with Albert's case. Under normal circumstances I would love to have lunch with you and the baby, but I've got to make up my hours from yesterday."

"No, it's fine, Dex, I get it. I need to pick up Harrison from school soon anyway, here." Hannah handed her husband his packed lunch.

"Love you." He whispered before leaning in for another quick kiss.

"Love you too. We'll see you at home." She commented back before slowly wheeling the stroller back around.

Dexter called the elevator for her and watched as she departed. It wasn't until she had left that he set the bag of lunch on one of the nearby desks, and then made his way over to the closed circuit TV.

"So you don't know if there is anyone who would want to harm your husband? No long standing enemies that you are aware of?"

Michelle paused for a moment but quickly shrugged her shoulders, "I honestly don't know the answer to that question. I put in many hours of overtime each week and I travel for business at least once a month. I was not very good at keeping tabs on what my husband was up to, if you catch my drift."

"Are you saying that you had reason to believe that he was unfaithful?"

"Yeah, I suspected it for a long time. Actually, I had just hired a private investigating firm to follow him and catch him in the act so that I could know once and for all."

"What's the name of that firm?"

"It's called Porter Investigations, and my contact was a woman named Debra Morgan. She had just signed on and assured me that she would be tracking him twenty-four / seven until she had the proof I wanted."

"Deb. She and I were hunting the same target. That would have lead her straight to Hannah and me at the motel. Is she the one responsible for the pictures? Knowing Debra, there would be no way she could handle what she witnessed without bringing someone in for support; Matthews. It all makes sense now. It's potentially Debra's word against mine with Tom caught right in the middle."

Dexter moved quickly back to the lab, closing the door behind him. He removed his cell from his pocket and immediately placed a call to his sister. Morgan stood there patiently, waiting through the number of rings. He wasn't at all surprised that she wasn't answering, he couldn't remember the last time he had picked up the phone and called her. When her voice mail finished playing, he spoke:

"Deb, it's me. We need to talk. Please call me immediately when you get this."

Dex ended the call and placed his cell phone on his desk. He let out a long sigh.

"I know Deb. If I could just see her and talk to her about Hollister, I can get her to smooth things over with Matthews. Given what she knows about me, I should have been keeping tabs on her all along, despite the rift between us. I would have at least been able to head off her going to Matthews. I've been too focused on my family with Hannah to even notice Debra's problems. Unfortunately, she just became mine."

Dex's attention immediately shifted to his lab door opening as Masuka popped his head in. "Dude, you won't believe it. Michelle Hollister's DNA sample was a match for the hair we found at the motel crime scene. She was there!"

Morgan had no trouble looking shocked by the news. He was, after all, still reeling about discovering that his sister had been tracking his latest victim. "Wow, that's kind of a surprise. She didn't seem like the type."

"The order came down from Matthews, we're holding her for further questioning. Batista says he's issuing a warrant to search the residence. I guess he's hoping to find more evidence that we can try and use to get a confession."

"Makes sense.." Dex muttered.

"Score one for the Miami Metro Homicide Forensics team!" Masuka exclaimed holding up a fist.

Dexter gave a weak smile and did the same. As soon as Masuka left, he attempted to call his sister again. This time it went right to voice mail without even ringing.

"At least something is going right for me today. If I wasn't stuck at the station making up my hours, I would be out there looking for Deb. There's no way I could persuade Masuka to cover for me again. I'm stuck here unless we get a call for another crime scene."

Dexter moved his thumbs across his phone screen as he then typed a text message to Debra: 'I NEED TO TALK TO YOU NOW!'

A half an hour after sending the text message, and he had received absolutely nothing from Deb. There was no mistaking that he was being deliberately ignored. She had to be extremely upset with him to ignore his plea. What if something had happened to Harrison and he was trying to tell her?

Dex needed to get out of his lab. It was starting to close in on him with the weight of his revelation sitting squarely on his shoulders. Maybe it would be best to talk to Matthews first. At least then he stood a chance of figuring out what his sister had told him.

As he began to walk across the length of the homicide department, he noticed that his co-workers were watching Tom Matthews on the overhead TV. He was making a statement to the press about the latest developments in the Hollister murder.

"I'm sorry but we are not releasing any more information. As stated, evidence has come to light that suggests that Michelle Hollister may be implicated in her husband's murder."

The media reports began shouting questions over Tom causing him to raise his voice over them:

"We are holding her for further questioning and are in the process of obtaining a search...warrant... for the residence..." Matthews began to breath heavy, bringing his right hand to his chest. He grimaced in pain before letting out a painful moan and falling to the ground.

"Someone call 911! I think he had a heart attack!" Someone shouted as the members of the press were clamoring to get closer to capture what had just taken place.

Dexter was completely taken aback by what had just happened on the live broadcast. He knew immediately what fate had befallen Captain Tom Matthews.

"Hannah."