A/N: Do you like Austin? Do you want to know more about where she came from? Go read "May I" by Piper Maru Duchovny. You won't regret it.

"Her name is Katie Eacker, she's a kindergarten teacher in Queens," Flack said, reading out of his notepad and motioning to the girl that was laying half in and half out of a phone booth. "Twenty-seven years old."

"She was beat pretty bad," Danny commented, adjusting the settings on the camera to take a closeup of her face. "Who called it in?"

"Anonymous call came in an hour ago," Austin answered.

"Did anyone find her missing shoe?" Lindsay asked, scrutinizing the tear in the sock. "Looks like she ran for a bit without it."

"I've got some rookies on it. We're canvassing right now to see if anyone saw or heard anything."

"Maybe we should let our fingers do the walking," Lindsay suggested vaguely, knowing that only Adam would have understood the direct reference but Austin would at least get the gist.

"Check the phone booth to see if she called anyone?"

"That and maybe there's some fresh prints."

"Maybe she dialed M for murder," Danny suggested. Lindsay and Austin just started at him for a minute before exchanging a fast look.

"What? Flack woulda said that you two woulda thought it was so cute. I say it and I get the look, double time."

"That's because Flack is more likely to reference Colin Farrel in a phonebooth, rather than a classic."

"So you expect more from me, but you're still gonna insult us both about it?"

"Basically yes."

"I don't have a problem with this," Flack noted with a shrug. "I'm gonna go check on the canvass."

He walked away from them and Austin shook her head, crouching down to inspect the victim's fingernails.

"Looks like she fought back."

"Danny, are you done takin' overalls so I can bag her hands?"

"Yeah, go for it."

Lindsay pulled two bags out from her kit and secured them around the victims hands, noting that rigor hadn't started to set in yet, despite the warm temperatures which usually sped up the process. That could place time of death at a lot less than three to four hours. She glanced around them, noting the buildings on either side, but knowing that this area wasn't very populated, and in the wee hours of the morning with this had probably happened, it wasn't surprising that no one had come forward with information.

"Whatcha got?" Hawkes asked as he joined them, sliding on his gloves and crouching down to make his examination.

"Bruising around the neck indicates she was choked from behind," Danny started. "Haven't moved her much to check but from what I can see it looks like bare hands."

"Petechial hemorrhaging in the eyes. Scratches on the neck. Definitely presents as a strangulation. We'll make sure to fume the body before autopsy."

They continued to collect the little evidence they could and in a little while the body was being loaded into the coroners van.

"Always catch a body at the end of your graveyard shift, huh?" Danny chuckled as he and Lindsay secured all the evidence in the back of the SUV.

"Never fails."

"You gotta get home?"

"No, Adam doesn't come on until noon."

He nodded and they got into the car where he changed the radio station. She'd picked on the way out, so it was only fair that he got to pick for the ride back. This many years of going to scenes and they'd only figured out that compromise a week ago.

"I'll buy you breakfast before we go back to the lab."

"No thanks."

"You gotta eat, Montana."

"I'll eat when I'm dead."

"Do you know anything about zombies? They eat brains, not breakfast."

"You sound like your son," she snickered hearing Junior say the same thing.

"I've got strong genes."

"That's for sure. Yesterday Isa told me that even if I was right she wasn't going to admit it because in some other universe I would be wrong."

"That's my girl."

Lindsay chuckled and rested her feet on the dashboard, closing her eyes for a moment as her long shift caught up with her. Going from days to nights to graves was enough to set the internal clock into a tailspin and when there were kids to take care of at home, there was no hope of getting anything resembling enough sleep.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked after a moment.

"Sure, what's up?"

"I went to see Adam's dad."

"What?"

"Last week. The day after the trial. I kind of yelled at him a bit."

He sighed and glanced over at her for a moment before she recounted the entire visit to him in great detail.

"Montana… you told Adam yet?"

"No, and I don't want him finding out either."

"You can't keep secrets from him, especially not like that. I know what happens when you two aren't honest with each other."

"Austin told you?"

"That and I'm not an idiot."

"Well I can't tell him right now. It's too fresh and he needs to find his footing before I can say anything."

"So then you'll tell him and he'll have to start this process all over again."

"Danny…"

"You say my name all exasperated, but you know I'm right."

"I shouldn't have said anything to you."

"Hey now, I'm your friend and I am on your side and I'm listening to you. That's a lot to ask for from a man."

She rolled her eyes and he cleared his throat, shifting his eyes to her once more.

"I'm not gonna tell him, Linds, but don't get so used to keeping it a secret that you never say anything."

"I know. I won't."

"I'm gonna ask you about it later."

"Okay. Thanks Danny."

The sun had only been up for an hour when they made their way to the morgue and Lindsay was more than ready to go home and sleep for a few hours, but duty was calling loud and clear.

"You get through this, I'll get you some coffee."

"Why didn't you offer that before?"

"I offered breakfast, that includes coffee."

"I'm cranky."

"No kiddin'."

She shoved him half-heartedly as they got off the elevator and walked into the morgue. Sid was standing over their victim, making notes on his clipboard.

"Hey Sid, whaddya got?"

"Nothing spectacular. Cause of death is strangulation from behind with someone's hands, just as you suspected at the scene. I fumed the body and got partial prints, but it looks like they were mostly wiped off. I've got them here for you."

He handed the prints to Lindsay and she looked over them for a second before a yawn made her eyes water.

"I would estimate time of death at three this morning. I sent blood up to tox and I'll call you when the results come in."

"Hey thanks Sid," Danny said as they turned and left the cold basement room. "Montana, you should go home. Get a couple hours of sleep before you gotta be on kid duty."

"Are you sure?"

"You've been on for ten hours already and you're gonna be useless soon. Go. Get out of here."

"You're really sure?" she asked, handing over the fingerprints as they reached their office.

"Yes. Leave. Go now!"

"I am not tired enough to not catch that you're mocking White Noise nor am I forgetting how you and Adam riffed it the entire way through, calling it Brown Noise and making fart sounds."

"It lends itself to bein' mocked."

"Okay. I'll see you later. Keep me posted."

"I will."

They went their separate ways and she took a minute to call home and tell Adam she was on her way. He was only half listening, presumably partway through feeding the kids breakfast.

She rolled her eyes and ended the call, yawning once more as she went down to the parking garage, glad for once that she'd driven today because she would most certainly fall asleep on public transportation, and that could only end in disaster.

Morning rush hour killed whatever patience she had left and by the time she stumbled in the door it was definitely time for bed.

"Hey babe, Ben's preschool called, they need you to fax them that allergy and prescription sheet."

"No hello?"

"Mornin' hon. Ben's preschool called."

"Why do I even bother?" she sighed, leaning up to kiss him. "I'm going to bed for a few hours. Wake me before you leave."

"Okay."

"Where's Avery?"

"I think she's playing with the dog or somethin'."

"You're so attentive," she chuckled, walking over to hug the boys.

"Do we get to play with you today mama?" Ben asked hopefully.

"Yes, after I get some sleep."

"Did you have a lot of work?"

"Yeah, quite a bit."

"Hey mama how much longer until school starts?"

"Two weeks buddy. We'll go clothes shopping in a few days."

"Okay. Have a good sleep. I will keep daddy and the kids quiet for you."

"Thanks Colton," she chuckled. He just nodded as she left the room and went upstairs to sleep. She had to stop and pick up clothes and towels off the bathroom floor before finally making it all the way into her bedroom where she found yet another thing to clean up.

Avery was sitting in the bed, the blankets pulled up to her chest, eating a bag of Cheetos.

"Hi mama!" she said, waving happily before shoving another treat into her mouth.

"Hi baby. What do you have there?"

"Cheese!"

"Oh, that's great. Make sure to wipe your hands on daddy's pillow, alright?"

"Okay mama. Sleep?"

"Yeah, I'm going to grab a few winks," she said, kicking her shoes off and changing into sweats before crawling into bed.

"Avery shhh," the baby assured, nodding her head. "Cheese."

"Alright sweetheart."

"Night-night."

Lindsay rolled over and closed her eyes, not minding the crunching that was going on behind her because she was so incredibly tired. She was just on the cusp of sleep when the boys thundered through the downstairs hallway laughing and shouting.

"Quiet!" Avery hollered. "Mama sleep!"

Lindsay snickered as Avery reached over and patted her head a little too vigorously.

"Nice mama. Sleep mama. Pretty mama. Precious mama."

"Hey baby do you think you could take your snack downstairs and eat at the table?"

Avery jutted out her bottom lip and blinked a few times, then looked down at her hands.

"Want mama."

"If you put those Cheetos away and let me clean your hands, you can lay down with me for a little bit."

"Okay," she agreed, crawling over to deposit the Cheetos on Adam's side of the bed while Lindsay found a pack of wipes on her bedside table.

"Alright, all clean. Are you going to take a nap and be quiet?"

"Uh-huh. Shh mama."

They snuggled down together and Avery pressed her nose to Lindsay's.

"Love mama."

"I love you too baby."

"Hey Linds, you want to hear something interesting about next of kin?" Jo asked.

"Katie Eacker?"

"Yeah. Twin sister. Identical."

"That is interesting. Anything else so far?"

"Not really. As you know there weren't many hairs and fibers at the scene and really all we have to go on is the handprint of unknown origins. They did finally find the shoe though, it's waiting to be processed. All the rest of the clothes have been tagged and catalogued so they're done but all the trace has to be run still."

"So that's what we're doing tonight huh?"

"Absolutely."

"Good because I don't mind sitting for the next eight hours."

"Long day?"

"Very little sleep."

"Well let's see what we can get done before we have to resort to the coffee."

They split all the clothing up equally and began to work in silence, taking swabs and scrapings for almost an hour before they started sending everything through the GCMS.

"Sid did find some trace on the body. Pain relief rub on her shoulder and spilled scotch on her chest. There was also some trace in the handprint on her neck, but it was composed of so many things it's taken a while to break down."

"Do we know her whereabouts last night?"

"She went out with some friends for a birthday party, they hit a few bars. That was the plan at least, according to her sister Laura. Last I heard they were still trying to track down her friends."

"I hate working the night shift. I feel like I don't know anything that's going on and all the evidence is without context."

"Not to mention the sucky hours."

"Yeah, that too."

"Hawkes and Danny spent the day going to bars near the scene, but no one could really remember Katie. She's not exactly someone that stands out, and from what her sister said, her personality isn't one that would turn heads either."

"You know, she's got a plethora of trace on the soles of her shoes. Some of it is sticky but I've got some stuff that looks like motor oil, and this looks like a peanut shell stuck in the tread."

"Peanut shells on the floor of one of the bars maybe earlier in the night."

"I wonder when the scotch got spilled on her. Did anyone track down exactly what kind it was?"

"Adam spent a few hours on that earlier," Jo said, sliding her chair across the floor to grab the file that had all the test results in it. "Common brand, served at most bars around town. The muscle rub was generic as well, and she had the tube in her purse."

"We need to find her friends, she if she met anyone at any of the bars. I'm thinking that when that scotch was spilled on her, she wasn't very happy."

"Maybe someone a little too aggressive?"

"Scotch is kind of a douchy drink."

Jo snorted a laugh and nodded.

"Good men drink whatever's on tap?"

"Real men aren't picky."

"I agree with you there. Coffee?"

"Yes a million times over," Lindsay said, securing the evidence and collecting all the test results they'd printed out so far. "I want the biggest cup we have in there and I think I might dig out that old French press."

"Why don't you just eat the grounds?"

"Because that would be ridiculous and would probably make me heave."

"But you were thinking about it for a second."

"I won't lie. I was entertaining the idea."

They went into the break room and found that the coffee makes was still on and the little bits of coffee left had scorched to the inside of the pot.

"Oh great, now we've got to clean this up," Lindsay grumped, wrinkling her nose.

"I'll do it. You have this."

"Instant coffee?"

"I keep it hidden on the top shelf in the back. I've needed it instantly too many times."

"Jo, have I told you lately that I love you?"

"I don't like this shirt," Colton said, holding it up for Lindsay to see. "See how big this tag is? Tags always itch my neck."

"Okay. Was the size okay when you tried it on?"

"Yeah, it fit me good."

"Alright. I picked out some more for you to try."

"Can I try on pants instead? I'm bored of shirts."

"Yeah. I have some jeans and some slacks to try."

"Hey mama, whatever clothes I pick out, Ben will wear them someday right?"

"If they fit him, yeah," she answered, not wanting to think about Ben that grown up. Watching Colton turn into a little adult was fun and she loved having real conversations with him, but she wanted to keep Ben just as he was for now.

"Well then maybe we can get this shirt right here. I like it but it has that dinosaur on it, so Ben will love to have it someday."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why not? Besides, by the time Ben is my age, this shirt might not be here anymore."

"Okay then honey," she said, adding the shirt to the small pile of clothes they'd decided to buy. "Why don't you go in there and try on those pants, but I need to see you in all of them to make sure they fit."

"I'll be fast."

He took the pants and went into the fitting room while she leaned against the cart and wondered how in the world she had gotten such a well mannered and agreeable child, even when faced with a day of clothes shopping. She remembered taking Adam out just to find a new pair of pants to wear to court and he'd whined and complained the entire time, and they'd ended up arguing, forgetting the pants and she'd had to fix the hem on the old ones early the next morning. That had been just a few months after they were married and she'd never taken him clothes shopping again. Colton had been graced with a lot more patience and desire to please than his father had.

"How do these ones look, mama?"

"They look nice. They're a little long, but we can save them back for a few months because I'm sure you're going to grow. How do they feel?"

"Pretty good. I like 'em."

She nodded and he went back to change into another pair.

"Mama, somethin's wrong with these pants," he called after a minute. "Or maybe somethin's wrong with my legs!"

"Unlock the door so I can help you."

The latch clicked and she opened the door, finding him struggling with a pair of skinny jeans.

"Oh, I didn't know those were in the pile."

"Why are they so tight? I can't get them on or off! They're stuck!"

"Let me help you," she chuckled crouching down to get the denim off of him.

"Wow. Those pants feel like a scuba suit."

"I'll put them back."

"Good. I never wanna see pants like that ever again."

"Go ahead and try a different pair then."

She slipped back out of the room and put the rejected jeans carefully back on the rack while her phone rang.

"Hey Aust."

"Isa just told me she is not wearing a skirt to school no matter what."

"She did?"

"And then she threw the skirt down on the ground, said it made her knees look funny, locked herself in the fitting room and said she wouldn't come out until I got rid of all the girly crap. Her words not mine."

"That's fantastic. Did you get rid of the girly crap?"

"I did and she kept pouting, so I told her I was picking out hair bows and tights."

"The two of you are going to kill each other one day."

"I know. How goes shopping with the boy?"

"Perfect except he got stuck in a pair of jeans and he's grown three sizes since the last time I bought clothes for him. He's all tall and skinny and opinionated. Where did that come from?"

"Couldn't tell you. Maybe we can switch kids for a day. I think Isa would listen to you more than she listens to me, and I would love to know what it's like to have an agreeable child for a few hours."

"You're forgetting Sarah."

"She picks out her own clothes. I don't have to do anything except tell her it doesn't match, but that argument falls on deaf ears."

"What she lacks in volume she makes up for in statement."

"That she does. Anyway, mostly just wanted to check in. Tell you I love you. All that good stuff."

"I love you too, but I am not telling you what you're getting for your birthday."

"It was worth a shot. I'll talk to you later."

"Good luck with your clone."

"I'm hanging up now."

Lindsay chuckled as the call ended. They'd both been busy and their conversations had moved from being marathons to just being quick runs around the block. She was glad they could say a lot to each other in a short amount of time, otherwise she would be feeling very distant and curmudgeonly.

"All these pants were too short or too tight," Colton reported as he came out of the fitting room. "But all these ones fit me good. Is that enough clothes for today? Can we go home?"

"Yeah, I think that's enough for now. Maybe we should wait until you grow some more to find anything else for you. Unless you want to try shoes today."

"Not really. Could we go to the bookstore instead?"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I really miss you when you have to work at crazy times and we could go to the bookstore and have coffee and catch up on our lives!"

"Okay buddy," she laughed, crouching down to hug him. "I would love to get caught up on your life."

"Good. It's a date."