Maggie's hands shook as she went through the file, her own file. Complete with her own testimony, Alex's, and even detailed interrogations of Alice and Laurent.

When she saw pictures of Finley's burnt body snapped at the cabin crime scene, she closed the file abruptly. She already saw plenty of Finley in her nightmares without having to be reminded that the woman sacrificed herself to save her.

Why did Ian have this. Why did he copy, or even steal it? Did the NCPD even have that file? It wasn't at all their jurisdiction…

Maggie couldn't make sense of it. Until she glanced at the cover again, and saw a single word scribbled in pencil.

Sawyer.

It was abundantly clear that Ian knew more than he'd let on. But the breadcrumb trail was starting to annoy her. If he really wanted her help, why didn't he just tell her about the case?

Maggie took a deep breath, and thought about her next move. She had the files, now all she needed was to connect them. Get to know the victims, see if she could find anything that brought them together.

Ian's wife, Joan, had been kind to her every time she'd met her. Whenever she came over to check on Ian after a tough case, or to talk business, Joan had been there with a hot meal, a beer, and a hug. Maggie was cautious in calling her 'like a mother', but she knew that it wasn't a far-fetched sentiment. The woman cared about her.

Even without the investigation, Maggie knew that she had to go see if Joan needed anything. If there was anything she could do. And whatever other information she could pick up was a plus.

But before that, she knew she had to go back to Alex. Her mind was already racing with apologies and excuses for her phone. So she tucked the files back into the bag, and put them in her safe, before she hopped back onto her bike, and drove to her fiancées apartment.

Why had Ian been so interested in what had happened to them in Montana? Why had he taken his time to review the case files, scribble notes next to them, and put them with a cold serial murder case?

Unless their adventure in Montana had something to do with the murders, of course.

Had it been the alien hunting them, also responsible for the killings?

Maggie grunted at the thought of Alex. She'd figured out the entire deal through her talks with Alice, so the agent had to know more about the alien.

Could she really ask Alex for help, with all that had happened? Could she take the risk of letting Alex in on the craziness and pushing her into the killer's radar?

She weighed her options. And settled on the best solution – asking questions without consequences.

She hated to lie and manipulate. But she could talk safely with Alex once that killer was behind bars, and she didn't have the risk of lying in a dumpster on a Friday evening. Then, she could explain all that was necessary.

If Alex didn't want her anymore after that – well… At least she'd been safe.

That was all Maggie really wanted anyway.

She parked her bike on the street, and headed up to the apartment, unlocking the door.

"Alex?" She yelled out as she entered the living room, but froze when she saw Alex and Kara sitting on the couch. Alex's eyes were red and brimmed with tears, and Kara was hugging her sister, trying to comfort her.

"Babe…?" Maggie put her helmet down and ran towards the couch, crouching in front of it so she was at eye-level with her. "What's going on? What happened?!"

Alex opened her mouth a few times without sound. Kara seemed conflicted between staying and leaving, but apparently decided on the latter. "I'll…"

She didn't finish the sentence, as she grabbed the remaining take-out, and ran out the door. Maggie watched her go with a frown, as she turned back to Alex and grabbed her hand. "Al?"

"Where were you?" Alex whispered. Maggie looked at her with a sad smile. "Hey… I left you a note, didn't you see it?"

"You said paperwork." Alex sniffed. "… You could have come home. I called you."

"Al, my phone is broken. I went to my place because I didn't want to-…" Maggie started, but Alex shook her head quickly and interrupted her. "No, don't give me that. Don't tell me you did it for me. That's what you told Kara, but it's bullshit."

Maggie tilted her head in confusion. "Alex, I'm not lying."

"Then why won't you talk to me? About anything?" Alex yelled out, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why won't you tell me what's going on, instead of trying to tell me that it's all alright! You always come back here after work, even if it's the middle of the night!"

Maggie jumped back to her feet to take a seat next to Alex on the couch. "Look, I want to tell you what's going on, Alex. Believe me. I need you right now, so much. I can't do this alone…"

Alex wiped at her tears as she waited for Maggie to elaborate. But the detective sighed and looked away. "…But I can't talk about it with you."

Alex grunted in frustration, and finally lashed out. "I tell you everything! When there's a case at work I can't handle, I tell you about it! I thought we could rely on each other, I thought you wanted to marry me!"

"I do, Alex!" Maggie shot back, feeling completely helpless at the situation unfolding. She didn't want to fight with Alex at all; she came to talk. To apologize. But it seemed like the agent's patience had reached its limit. And Maggie knew that she deserved every word flung at her face.

"… Then why the fuck don't you trust me?!"

Losing Alex now, or losing Alex later.

Either way, Maggie knew that she'd lost.

So instead of screaming back, she got up, and walked back to the door. Turning around one last time. "I'm doing it because I love you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Alex shot back from her spot on the couch, cursing herself for being unable to run after her.

Maggie smiled sadly, already feeling the tears sting in her eyes again. "I'm sorry, Alex."

After that, she moved to slip out of the apartment, already bracing herself for the tears that were undoubtedly going to fall the second she'd close the door behind her.

But she didn't count on Alex, hopping upright from the couch, and stumbling towards the door. "No! You don't get to run away from this!"

Maggie froze for one second, before seeing the state of rage and carelessness that Alex was in. She could fall and seriously hurt herself. So she turned back to wrap her arms around her.

Alex shoved her hands away, now leaning on the kitchen aisle and looking her in the eyes. "I want the truth, Maggie!"

The detective swallowed thickly. "I… I don't want to fight."

"Answer the fucking question!" Alex yelled, slamming her hand down onto the marble and breathing heavily, before her expression changed from anger to confusion. "I… I'm tired, Mags. I don't get it. I don't… understand…"

A strange feeling enveloped Maggie, as she stared in Alex's worried and hurt eyes.

If she really was going to die… She didn't want to spend one more second knowing that she hurt Alex. Knowing that she was never going to be able to say goodbye properly.

She walked towards Alex, and put a hand on her cheek, looking her in the eyes and resting her forehead against hers. "I don't… I don't have enough yet. Give me until tonight, okay? I'll explain everything tonight."

If she could get to Ian's house and get started on building a case… If she could be confident that she had a handle on it, maybe she could let someone help. Not Alex, but at least Kara, or the DEO. They had resources the NCPD didn't. And if the Magh'rah was involved…

… Alex at least deserved to know the truth.

The agent nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll cook. Seven?"

Maggie closed her eyes for a second at the sheer love she felt radiating from Alex. How once again the agent gave her space that she didn't deserve.

"I'm so sorry, Alex. I never meant to hurt you. But…"

"I get it." Alex cut her off. "I'm just… worried that you're putting yourself under too much pressure so quickly."

If only she knew.

Tonight, they were going to talk about the Magh'rah, and what happened in Montana. It had to be done, like ripping off a band-aid. In order for everything to be alright between the two of them. And depending on the rest of the day, she'd tell Alex about her case.

Then, if she'd fail during the next week, at least she'd die knowing that there were no secrets between the two of them. That Alex could trust her with her life.

After checking on Alex, and making sure that she had everything she needed, she went back to work.

She drove to the precinct first. She had to ask her Lieutenant for a week off work. If she knew him like she thought she did, he'd be suspending her for a week without her even needing to open her mouth. Although the police got a lot of threats that they often didn't follow up on, this one was definitely to be taken seriously.

Sure enough, the second she stepped into his office, Lieutenant Cooper frowned. "Sawyer? What are you doing here?"

Maggie knew she had to play her cards right, and feigned innocence. "I'm… at work, sir?"

"I was against Holmes taking you to that crime scene, Sawyer." He grunted. "And I don't want you out in the field with that killer singling you out."

"Sir, I'm not working the case. Holmes made that abundantly clear. But I can still do my job…!"

"No." Cooper shook his head. "I'm taking you off duty until we catch this guy, and I'm putting officers at your apartment."

Shit. That was the opposite of what she needed. But she knew that she wasn't going to change Cooper's mind.

"Can you at least tell me if they've made any progress?"

"Ask Holmes, he's probably at his desk. But after that, you're going straight home."

"Understood." Maggie nodded, leaving the office quickly, and walking over to the Homicide department. But before she could spot anyone, an arm behind her yanked her own right side backwards and into an empty office. Maggie flinched as a spike of pain shot through her still healing shoulder.

The door shut behind her, and she looked up at her assailant, to see Holmes.

Looking absolutely pissed.

"Where are they?!" He hissed at her, still holding her arm in a vice grip.

Maggie tried to shove him away, but he was too strong. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I know it was you. All the case files from the evidence box are gone. You stole them, now where are they?!"

"Holmes, let go of me right now, or I swear…"

Before she could finish the threat, the door swung open, and Holmes let go of her quickly. In the doorway stood another detective. "Mike, we have a 911 call from Ian's house. We need to go."

Holmes nodded quickly, before turning to Maggie and raising his finger. "You're staying out of my investigation, Sawyer. And if I find out that you stole those files, you're never seeing daylight again."

"Is that a threat?" Maggie managed to choke out, at least sounding less terrified than she was.

Holmes smiled, and shook his head. "You don't know when to quit, Sawyer. I wouldn't be surprised if the schedule moved up."

Now, that was a threat. And Maggie realized it the second Holmes ran out the door.

Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute. It made sense to have an accomplice at the NCPD. It would explain why the case was never solved. Maybe Holmes had overheard Ian talking to Maggie, maybe…

Whatever Holmes was doing, Maggie needed to prevent him from doing it. She couldn't be certain until she had tangible evidence that he was connected to the case…

The other detective had said something about Ian's house. An emergency.

It took her all of seven minutes to run out of the building, hop onto her bike, and race towards the address.

But she'd been too late.

When she arrived at Ian's house in the suburbs, she was met with the sight of two police vehicles.

She jumped off her bike, and ran towards the windows of the living room.

Her stomach dropped.

Holmes was crouched down next to what was unmistakably Joan Hayes' dead body, lying in a pool of her own blood. He was checking her pulse, but it was safe to say the woman was dead.

Maggie felt bile rise up in her throat and covered her mouth. She couldn't go in now that Holmes was onto her. She couldn't help. She could only watch numbly, as Holmes and his partner called in the murder.

When she felt like she could move again, she ran back to her bike, and hopped on it, hurrying to get as far away from the house as possible.

The killer had murdered Ian's wife.

She was innocent, she didn't know anything about the case.

Maggie screamed, the sound muffled by her helmet, and she pulled over before she could crash her bike. She couldn't breathe, her throat closing up at the sight of Joan's body.

Morphing into Alex's lifeless body, held up by Kara, screaming at her to wake up. The blood…

She was hyperventilating. A full-blown panic attack, as tears clouded her vision. She yanked off her helmet and threw it down onto the ground, falling to her knees.

Alex…

She blacked out.