continued...

That morning Natalie headed out to Nick's instead of going home. Nick heard the lift start and opened the door for her. He wasn't too surprised she came there instead of going home.

"Nick, I hope we can solve this soon. The paperwork alone is going to drive me insane from sheer boredom. I can't pick up a test result alone. I hate it!"

"I know. We will solve it. I'm making slight progress. While I explain, how about some dinner? I figure you probably didn't grab anything."

Natalie had spent three weeks on the most basic of paperwork and missed the challenging cases. Terri came in to see Natalie halfway through her shift.

"Natalie, since your work has been excellent the last three weeks I'm sending you back to your own office at the start of tomorrow's shift. You'll only be allowed out on certain cases. If that goes well, I'll add to your responsibilities."

"What about autopsies?" Natalie asked.

"I will allow you to do those on the cases I assign you to, as long as Chris is there to observe. If there are any problems, no matter how small, I'll have to make some modifications." Terri could see how thrilled Natalie was to be getting back to normal. "One more thing, can I have your badge?" She saw Natalie's worried look.

Natalie hesitantly handed over her badge. Terry pulled a new one out of her pocket that had her privileges nearly back to normal. There were still a few restrictions, but she could handle it. Natalie was happy to see one more part of her life was going well, but it also worried her a bit. Natalie pinned the new badge on with a small smile.

The next night Natalie returned to her office, pleased to see her two journals were still hidden in her drawer where she'd left them. She examined the files on her desk then handed each one to Chris to read. She couldn't wait for her first fieldwork in over a month. She knew it would be much harder to jot down her suspicions without having to explain it to Chris. Not to mention her and Nick's cure research would have to take a back seat for now as she didn't care to try and explain it.

About three hours later she got her wish. Terri called with the information. Chris and Natalie headed out. Natalie drove.

Natalie and Chris were examining the body when Nick and Schanke arrived. The detectives questioned potential witnesses. Nick kept an eye out for anything the least bit odd, never knowing where that one crucial clue will come from.

Natalie and Chris soon finished their examination of the body. Chris signed off on Natalie's notes and preliminary report. Nick and Schanke head over to them.

"Congratulations," Schanke said.

"Thanks."

"Welcome back. We missed you."

"Thanks."

"Hi, Chris," Nick and Schanke said.

"Hi, guys."

"What do you have for us?" Schanke asked.

"No identification or valuables found on the body. He's male, about forty. Time of death, about two hours ago from exposure. I'll be able to provide more specifics after I get him back to the lab." Natalie said.

"Homeless?" Nick asked.

"Most likely," Natalie said.

"Are you doing the autopsy?" Schanke asked, curious.

"Yes," Natalie happily said.

Both boys grinned at her, knowing how happy she was to be mostly back to her normal responsibilities.

"We'll stop by later for the results."

Back at the morgue, Natalie and Chris slipped into their scrubs then headed back to their office. She assisted Natalie during the autopsy, mostly observing and handing her tools.

When the preliminary results came back, Natalie and Chris headed for the precinct. Both had reports of their own to deliver.

Nick and Schanke saw Natalie and Chris approach and were a little surprised. Chris headed for some officers while Natalie headed for her friends.

"Why the personal delivery?" Schanke inquired.

"I needed to get out of the morgue." She handed Nick the folder. "Preliminary results are it was a homeless guy who died of exposure. We'll know for sure when the rest of the results come in."

A week later Natalie hit her one month clean mark. As a reward Terri allowed Natalie to go out on select homicides. She kept her off anything too brutal or that could become too political. She didn't want to push Natalie too quickly. Natalie was grateful she wouldn't have to deal with the worst humans could do to each other, but knew she'd have to face it sooner or later.

A month later, Natalie had passed all her random drug tests, along with her weekly ones. She was back on full duty. She still had Chris watching over her, but she now had a bit more breathing room. She only had to go to weekly meetings, unless she felt the need to go more often. She still had to get her sheet signed.

Her first time testifying in court was a bit difficult, but she refused to let anyone rattle her. She stood her ground and gave it her professional best.

She and Nick had made a little progress in figuring out who had done it to her. She was a little scared because things had been going well, and they were making progress.

Natalie had been pulled in to do a random drug test. Because of the previous suspension, she had to wait for the results before she could continue work. Even though she'd been clean for a little over two months now.

Terri was handed the test results and her expression told Natalie all she needed to know.

"Natalie, I believed in you. I gave you an extra chance because I thought you could do it. But apparently you prefer the drugs over your career. You're fired as of right now. Turn in your ID badge on your way out. I'll watch as you clean out your desk. What happened?"

"I don't know." Natalie knew she couldn't tell her the truth.

Terri and Natalie walked to her office where Natalie cleaned out her desk. She didn't have much to pack up, just her mug, stereo, notebook on Nick's research and one on her recent suspicions.

"Are those yours?"

"Yes. Just ideas and reminders I've jotted down over the years."

Terri picked up the books and flipped through them. She noticed the notes Natalie had made on Nick's cure.

"What's this?"

"I'm trying to help a friend with his food allergies. It's connected to a rare blood disease he has." Natalie hoped her boss bought the explanation.

"Okay." Terri thought it was a little weird but since it had nothing to do with Natalie's cases, she couldn't keep the book.

She handed Natalie that notebook and flipped through the other one.

"I can't let you have this one as it pertains to your casework."

"It's just notes I made for my own benefit. It has nothing to do with the actual cases."

"Sorry, Natalie. Anything relating to cases has to be kept by us, you know that. Or at least you would, if you were your old self."

Natalie worked hard to keep her temper under control. She'd like to kill those responsible for this. She was a little frustrated that everyone was believing the evidence, yet she knew that she probably would too.

"You were one of the best in Ontario, definitely the best here." Terri thought a moment and then continued, "If you get your act together and can show that you've been clean for a year, come back and see me."

Grace entered and was shocked to see Natalie cleaning out her desk.

"Why?" Grace asked. She couldn't believe Natalie had changed so much over the last several months.

Natalie hated the hurt and disappointment in Grace's voice and in her facial expression as well.

"I don't know. Maybe it's job burnout."

"Do you mind if I stop by later so we can talk?" Grace asked.

"No. I'd like to talk."

Grace knew that unless things changed, Natalie would one day find herself here, but for a *very* different reason. This saddened, angered and frustrated her because the Natalie she had known would never take drugs. She wished she knew what happened to change her into the person she was now. When Natalie had all her things in her box, at least all the things Terri allowed her to leave with, she headed for the door.

"I need your badge and ID card. Your computer access will be terminated by the time you get home."

Terri escorted Natalie to the front doors of the Coroner's Office and watched as Natalie went through them.

Natalie put her box into the trunk of her car and headed for the precinct as she had to talk to Nick.

Natalie entered the precinct and was about to go through the gate as usual when the desk officer blocked her way.

"Dr. Lambert, I'm sorry but I've been instructed not to let you in unescorted."

"That's okay. Can you tell Nick I need to speak to him?" Natalie knew it wouldn't do any good to protest, and that it was Parker's fault, that Parker was just following orders.

Nick saw Natalie at the front desk and headed for her, wondering why Parker wasn't letting her in. Nick headed for her.

Nick approached Natalie. The front desk was between them.

"Nick, can we talk, outside."

"Sure," Nick said, knowing something was wrong.

He and Natalie walked outside of the precinct and off to the side a bit where they'd have some privacy.

"Nat, what's wrong?"

"I've been fired! That's what!"

"I'm sorry, Nat."

"Nick, when we catch them, will my name and reputation ever be cleared?" Natalie asked worried.

"Yes. Once everyone sees that it wasn't your doing you WILL be cleared. Even if I have to whammy every last one of them to admit they framed you."

Nick took her into his arms, seeing as how she needed the embrace to reassure her that everything would turn out okay, eventually.

"The only positive thing today has been that Terri told me to come see her after I've been clean a year. If worse comes to worse, I might still have a shot at a career."

"Did you not hear a word I said?"

"I heard it. It's just a little hard to believe, at least right now."

"I know. Believe me, I know."

She looked at him curiously, wondering if he truly did understand.

"Remember what I told you about my time as an archeology professor?"

Natalie nodded as she realized he did know exactly how she felt.

Nick saw a little relief on her face as she realized that she wasn't the only one who had been through this, that he DID understand what she was going through.

"You had to move on. I don't have that choice."

"Nat, we can go anywhere, be anything we want to be. Anyone we want to be."

"You'd do that for me? You'd give up the life you enjoy so much just for me?"

"Nat, you should know by now that I'd do anything for you."

"I do. Sometimes I just need to hear it. Sometimes I need to know that nothing's changed," she looked into his eyes as she spoke, seeing that he meant every word he said. "You know that I'd do anything for you."

"I know. You've shown that many times, even when it's put your career and medical license in jeopardy."

"Terri watched as she made me pack my things. She flipped through my notebooks and found the one on my research for you." She saw Nick panic. "I told her that I was helping a friend with his food allergies. That it's connected to a rare blood disease he has. With that explanation, she let me have that notebook." She saw Nick relax. "But she kept the one that has all my suspicions in it. Is there any way you can borrow it long enough to copy it all, and not let anyone know?"

"No problem." He saw her look. "I'll try to do it without any whammying, okay?"

"Thanks."

Schanke arrived, saw them and approached.

"You're late," Nick said.

"I know. Do you think Cohen will notice?" Schanke asked, then sighed. "Probably so."

Schanke looked at his two friends and could tell that something wasn't right, which concerned him. "Natalie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she sarcastically said. "Don't mind me. I've had a bad night."

"The shift just started," Schanke said.

"Not for me," Natalie said.

Schanke realized that something was going on. "Why do I feel like I came in in the middle of something?" He then realized it was the day Natalie took her drug test.

Natalie could see that he was beginning to figure it out. She was curious to see if he'd put all the pieces together.

"Are the Swenson results back yet?" Schanke asked.

"You'll have to ask Dr. Baker."

It dawned on Schanke that Natalie might have flunked, which meant she was fired.

"Your hunch is right," Natalie said, saving him the trouble of stumbling through the question.

"Natalie..." Schanke said, disappointed.

"I know. I don't know what to tell you." She was hurt by the disappointment in his voice.

Nick's phone rang, and he answered it. After listening for a moment he hung up. "Schank, we have to go. There's been a homicide down by the docks."

"Okay. Natalie, call me or Myra if you need or want to talk."

"I will." She saw how much he wanted that promise from her.

The three of them walked to their cars. Natalie got into hers and Nick and Schanke got into Nick's.

Right after Nick's shift, he snuck into the Coroner's Office and when Natalie's old office was empty, he snuck in and quickly, but quietly searched the office. When he found her notebook where she'd listed all her suspicions, he slipped it into his jacket and slipped out of the building as quietly as he'd entered.

Once outside he realized he couldn't risk going to the precinct to copy it, nor back into the Coroner's Office. That left either the library or a twenty-four hour copy place. He checked his watch and saw that it was too early in the morning for the library to be open.

He parked outside of the copy place and entered. He picked up a copy key from the front desk and picked the copier most out of the way and set about copying the journal two pages at a time as he opened the book and pressed it down flat against the glass.

When he finished, he paid for his copies and left.

When he arrived back at the Coroner's Office, he snuck back in and replaced the book where he'd found it, then snuck back out.

He arrived home just as the sun was starting to rise.

"You cut that a little close, didn't you?" Natalie said from her seat on the couch.

"I didn't think I'd have to work the last few minutes, but something came up and I had to. I didn't want to risk waiting until tonight."

"I'm glad you didn't."

Nick took a seat next to her on the couch.

"Would you like to tell me what happened this morning?"

"Those bastards totally destroyed my career and reputation. And if I find them first..."

He hoped she was just blowing off steam. "I promise you that once we catch them, it will come out that you were framed. Even if I have to whammy every last one of them."

"Thanks. But will it ever be the same? Will there be that tiny lingering doubt in some minds?"

"I don't think so. We will see to it that you're cleared just as thoroughly as you were set up."

"I wish we knew who was doing this. It has to be someone with a lot of money and power. What they're doing is not a simple plan," Natalie said.

"I know. It's among the best I've seen," Nick said as he caressed her arm. "It does help narrow down the suspect list a bit. There aren't that many people who have both the money and the power to pull it off."

"There are probably more than we think. And maybe someone's pulling the strings from the shadows."

"I don't know. Some of these people like to be in control. Like to know every little thing that happens, and like to see the results for themselves," Nick said. "Do you remember anyone seeming bothered by any of your cases before this happened? Or right afterwards?"

"No. I'd think they'd be too smart to try and stop me from looking into something, if they were planning all of this."

"Usually they are, but not always," Nick said.

Nick opened the notebook computer on the table before him and typed in an access code. Up came access to all of the Coroner's Office files.

"I don't even want to know how you did that," Natalie said.

"It was pretty simple, actually. No one should realize we have access."

"What if that person tries to sign in?"

"It won't matter because we're not using anyone's ID. We sneaked in the back door and should be invisible."

"Try pulling up a list of all the cases I've worked on from the beginning of the year onward."

Nick typed in a few commands and all of Natalie's files came up. As they went through them one by one she was able to discount about a quarter of them for being what they were.

"How about some food?" Nick asked.

"How can we trust take out?"

"Good point. And the same goes for a restaurant. That leaves only the grocery store."

"I am hungry. Let's go. Then we can work on this later."

At the grocery store, Natalie and Nick were careful to keep an eye on their cart as they shopped.

"Get enough for a few days, for both places."

"Okay."

Natalie picked stuff that she thought would be hard to tamper with. She knew she didn't really have to worry about drug testing anymore, but didn't want to be drugged if she could help it. She needed to be clear headed if she wanted to help Nick solve the puzzle.

At the checkout line, they both unloaded the full cart onto the conveyor belt. The bag boy bagged up the groceries as they passed over the scanner and slid down to him. Nick pulled out his bank card and paid for the groceries.

Back at the loft, Nick and Natalie piled all the bags into the lift then took it up and carried them over to the kitchen. They'd sort out what went back to her apartment as they unpacked.

"Thanks, Nick."

Before long they had unpacked and were starting dinner when the door buzzer rang. Nick walked over and pushed the button before quickly gathering up the paperwork he didn't want anyone to see and stashing it under the couch.

Schanke let himself in a few minutes later.

"Something smells good," he said.

"Care to join us?" Natalie asked.

Schanke noticed she seemed fine, but knew that couldn't be true. If it was, then why was she fired for drug abuse?

"Mind if I get a drink?"

"Not at all," Nick said. He'd shoved his wine bottles to the back and figured Schanke would be more interested in the other things.

Schanke opened the fridge and saw it was full of food.

"What happened? There's actually food in here."

"I told you I kept food in there. You always caught me when I needed to restock."

Schanke seemed a little skeptical, but didn't say anything. He grabbed himself a soda and joined them by the stove.

"You joining us?" Nick asked.

"Sure." Schanke said before he grew nervous. "Natalie, how did you get so messed up? I know how important your work was to you. How important your reputation was to you."

"I honestly don't know. It seems to be beyond my control. I thought I could control it, but apparently I can't. Believe me, I wish I knew why."

Schanke could hear the sincerity in her voice along with the frustration.

Nick and Natalie wish they could tell Schanke why, but they don't have any proof or much more than a thin theory. They also don't want to needlessly endanger his life.

The three of them sit down around Nick's table and eat, talking about whatever comes to mind. Schanke thinks Natalie seems clean and sober, but knows she wouldn't have been fired if she was. He wonders if she's that used to it, while all his training tells him that a drug addict usually looks like one. He does know that there are always exceptions, but eventually every addict looks like an addict.

Meanwhile the old well dressed executive was on the phone in his office when the younger well dressed man entered. The younger man waited until his boss hung up before he approached the desk.

"The Robinson merger is proceeding nicely. Profits are down ten percent in the western division, but they're up five percent in the eastern division. The small problem you mentioned earlier has been taken care of. You should be able to proceed without any further delays."

"Excellent. Find out why the profits are down in the western division and do what you can to boost them."

Natalie knew that she had to check in at the rehab center first thing in the morning if she didn't want her license under review. Terry had given her until noon to show up, or she'd call the medical review board.

The next morning she woke up when her alarm clock went off, showered, dressed and packed. She didn't bother taking her toiletries, outside of a hairbrush, knowing they'd be searched and possibly confiscated. She packed comfortable, casual clothes, and shoes.

She parked and entered the rehab center, bag in hand, taking a deep breath as she did so.

She approached the front desk. The receptionist saw her and asked, "Name, please."

"Natalie Lambert."

"Dr. Lambert, I need you to fill these out. We'll also need to search your bag, have you submit to a blood test, and a body search." She saw slight panic on Natalie's face. "No, we're not that intensive." She saw Natalie's relief that they wouldn't be searching where her gynecologist looks.

Barbara handed Natalie the clipboard full of forms and a pen. Natalie walked over to a nearby table and chair, sat down and started on the first form. About ten minutes later she finished the last one and handed it back to Barbara. Barbara handed Natalie a sample cup. "Leave your bag here."

Natalie set her bag down on the floor in front of the window and was shown to the bathroom by Elsa. Elsa watched as Natalie filled the cup, then let her finish in private, as she took the sample to the lab.

Natalie was escorted to the check in area by Maria. Natalie arrived just in time to see her bag being emptied and carefully searched. Every item of clothing was unfolded, shaken and then refolded. The shoes and slippers were shaken and examined by hand inserted inside each shoe, and they were examined for any hiding places or lumps.

"Dr. Lambert, we'll conduct our search of you. Please take off your shoes and empty your pockets."

Natalie did as instructed, putting her keys and ID onto the table next to her bag. She stood still, following their instructions as they did a pretty thorough frisking, checking for any contraband. She had to open her mouth and move her tongue.

Elsa returned with the drug test results.

"Dr. Lambert, your test was positive for Phenobarbital. This is the last positive test allowed while you're here. If you have another one, you won't like where we search."

"I understand. I'm here to get clean, and hopefully stay clean," Natalie said. She hoped she was telling the truth.

"You will be tested first thing every morning. Here's your schedule and your room number. Your first meeting is in an hour. What would you like to be called while you're here?"

"Natalie is fine."

"Here's a toothbrush, toothpaste, bar of soap, and a bottle of shampoo," the lady said as she handed a small bag to Natalie.

"Thanks," Natalie said as she took the clear plastic bag.

Natalie was escorted to her room.

Natalie entered, set her bags on the bed and started to unpack. She put the toiletries into the bathroom and her clothes into the dresser hung the rest in the closet.

Nick was at home reading the paper. He was reading the financial section when an idea hit. He put it down and woke up his laptop computer. He reread the files for the cases Natalie found oddities in. When he knew there was a connection between some of the cases, but hadn't yet figured it out. He had a slight hunch.

He checked into their financial records, a little deeper than the last check done by him and Schanke. He found that the dead men all owned stock in the company they worked for. He knew that wasn't unusual as a lot of employees had stock in their company, through purchase, reward or a gift of some sort. He dug deeper and didn't find out much more. He made a mental note to check it out in person again that night. His body was telling him it was time to sleep.

He took his empty wine glass over to the sink, rinsed it out and set it on the drainer upside down to dry. He then headed up to bed.

Back at the Rehab Center, Natalie wandered around until she found the meeting room. She knew she'd see others in the medical, law enforcement, fire fighting, legal, and other demanding, stressful fields as it was who the center was set up to treat.

she thought to herself as she took a deep breath and entered the room.

"Hello. Natalie?"

"Yes."

"Welcome. I'm KC. We're not like the groups you probably went to on the outside. We're tougher. The only way you're going to overcome your problem is to deal with the real reason behind it."

"I know."

"But often that's not easy to do. That's where we come in. We'll push you until you break down, but at the same time support you. Nothing said in therapy leaves the room, unless you give us permission, with the exception of the counselors discussing a summary of it at our weekly meetings. The meetings are how we make sure you get the best possible care," KC said.

"I understand," Natalie said.

"Today only I'll give you the chance to participate or observe. Tomorrow, you have to participate."

Natalie nodded as she took her seat. She looked around at the eleven other people in the room, outside of KC and herself. They were all here for either drug or alcohol problems.

"I want everyone to introduce themselves, say why they're here, what their drug of choice was, and how they got started." KC said. "Who wants to go first?"

"I will," Ashley said. "I'm Ashley. I'm addicted to amphetamines. I'm an ER doctor. My demanding schedule forces me to keep alert. I tried them once when I had hours to go, not enough sleep and didn't see any other choice. Since nothing bad happened it lead to another time when I had to keep alert doing my second double shift in three days. Before I knew it I was hooked."

"I'm Amy. I'm addicted to cocaine. I'm a firefighter. Someone gave me some at a party and I found it a great stress reliever. Before I knew it I was hooked.

"I'm Erin. I'm an ER nurse, and I'm addicted to Ecstasy. A friend gave it to me at a party. I knew the dangers but I still took it for the stress relief. I liked it and kept taking it, even after a friend died I still took it. I took it having seen the deadly, and life altering effects of it."

"I'm Ruth. I'm a paramedic who's addicted to painkillers. I was in a car accident and they were prescribed to ease the pain as I healed, but then I couldn't stop taking them."

"I'm Michelle. I'm addicted to tranquilizers, and am a vice cop. I started taking them to deal with the chaotic and stress filled world and job, and couldn't stop."

"I'm Ann. Being a nurse means that my schedule is too uneven to get into any sort of a normal or regular routine. I take sleeping pills so I can sleep."

"I'm Mary, a surgeon and am hooked on diet pills. I got tired of my fiancée tell me that I needed to lose a few pounds, not to mention all the media pressure to look good. That if you have the right look, you'll be very successful."

"I'm Lisa and I got hooked on Ecstasy. I'm a cardiac nurse. A five year old little girl died after avoidable injuries in a car accident. We all thought she'd make it but I grabbed the wrong drug. The two names were only a couple letters different and the doctor's writing was too hard to read. Afterwards I went out and someone gave me Ecstasy. It helped me forget about the tragedy."

"I'm Julie and a paramedic. Morphine's my drug of choice. I was injured in a fall a few years ago and it was the only thing that would ease the pain."

"I'm Tammy, a street cop and hooked on both amphetamines and barbiturates. I have to be alert on the streets and need to relax when I get home. I got them from a fellow cop, who since then was killed during a bust, while under the influence."

"I'm Samantha. I'm a homicide cop and painkiller addict. I'm not the one Tammy was talking about. I was shot in the line of duty and couldn't stop taking the painkillers once I'd healed."

"I guess it wouldn't do any good to deny my addiction, since I'm here," Natalie said as she saw everyone shake their head. "I'm Natalie, a forensic pathologist and am addicted to Phenobarbital. I'm not exactly sure how I got started. It helped me get through the night, as I work the graveyard shift."

"Very good, Natalie," KC said. "Tomorrow we'll discuss how everyone wound up here. What exactly led to it. But for the rest of our session here, you can talk about anything relating to your life, work, and/or addiction."

That night at the precinct, Nick and Schanke were out in the Caddy.

"How's Natalie doing?" Schanke asked.

"She should be fine."

"What do you mean by that? When was the last time you saw her?"

"Last night. She checked into rehab this morning."

"That's great! I'm so happy she's getting help. When do you get to see her?"

"In about a month."

"Wow. No visitors allowed?"

"No contact with the outside world, unless it's an emergency."

"I'm a little surprised she went in voluntarily. Or was it not so voluntary?"

"Not so voluntary. She had to go in today or her medical license would be up for review."

"Ah. That makes more sense."

Cohen approached their desks with a new homicide for them to investigate. They headed out for the crime scene.

Nick and Schanke arrived at the scene of the crime. They examined the body and looked for the new medical examiner. They both thought it seemed odd for Natalie not to be there, as they were so used to working with her.

The new coroner approached the two detectives.

"I'm Dr. Evan Brown. The new ME."

"I'm Detective Nick Knight and this is Detective Don Schanke. Homicide."

"Nice to meet you." All three men said as the detectives and ME shook hands.

"I hope we can work together," Dr. Brown said.

"I don't see a reason why we can't," Nick said

Having gotten the premilinaries out of the way, the three men got down to business.

"TOD was about three hours ago. The victim's female, mid 20's, no sign of sexual assault. There's evidence of blunt trauma to the head, but it's unlikely that's what killed her. The gsw to the chest is the cause of death. Death wasn't instantaneous, but probably took half an hour or so. I don't know if she was conscious, and won't know until I go inside."

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