Title: Father Forgive (*working title)
Author: Elaine Marshall emarshall@critterhaven.com
Rating: NC-17 - Due to language, sex, and some violence.
Summary: Picks up where H:LoTs left off, but also is a sequel of sorts to Shadows of the Past, an original H:LoTs crossover story archived at Schism and Becci's Fanfic Pages. New detective joins the force and gets a true dose of what the murder police do with her first case as primary, as well as facing a few demons of her own.
WARNING: Contains sex, language and violence. Also spoilers if you *gasp* missed the series finale.
Classification: Short story based on H:LoTs characters and an original Pretender character.
Disclaimers: Homicide:Life on the Street and it's characters contained therein are totally and completely owned by Baltimore Pictures and NBC. I have openly and lustfully used their characters without permission, but no copyright infringement is intended. Don't sue..if I had money I'd be doing this for a living. As for the places set forth in Baltimore they are real places. I've played around with the settings a bit for my own purposes. The events that take place on the grounds of St. Francis' Academy and Asylum are purely fiction and should not be given any basis for fact.

"Lewis my man!" Munch said slapping him on the back as Lewis made his way to his desk. "So how does it feel to be back in the trenches?"

"I'll let you know when I get some work done," Lewis replied upon seeing the stack of folders on his desk.

"Well good. Glad to see someone around here is ready to get to work," Gee said walking toward Lewis' desk. "Good to see you up Lewis."

"Thanks Gee," he answered. "I never knew I'd miss this job so much."

"Ah yes. The scratching of marker on the board, the smell of burning coffee in the break room, the incessant ringing of that damn phone," Munch replied taking a seat at his desk. "Makes me wanna be here."

"Yeah, all those things," Lewis muttered as he picked up the first file and started to flip through it.

"Lewis I need to see you in my office."

"Can't it wait Gee?" Lewis asked exasperated as he motioned to the stack of files.

"Looks like the hospital stay has made you cocky, or should I say more so. Now," Gee said not giving Lewis a chance to argue as he turned and headed toward the office.

"Hey Lewis, good to have you back. What was that all about?" Falsone asked coming out of the coffee room.

"Aw Gee's just got something up his ass and wants me to pull it out for 'im," Lewis said as he pushed the chair back and stood. "Lucky me."

"Yeah, lucky you," Falsone replied as he watched Lewis head to Gee's office.

He turned to Munch. "He know yet?"

Munch shook his head. "Nope. He's fixin' to find out though."

"Damn lucky dog," Falsone replied with a grin.

---------

"Have a seat Lewis," Gee replied motioning to the chair in front of his desk as he took a seat behind it.

"Why do I feel like a kid sent to the principle's office?" Lewis asked as he sat down.

"Lewis, how long have you been with this department?" Gee asked folding his hands.

"Seven years Gee," Lewis replied. "Seven years of blood, sweat, and tears."

"And in that time how many partners have you had?"

"Crosetti, Mikey, Sheppard. Gee why you bringin' all this up?

"I'm just curious to the fact that out of the entire department you seem to have the world's worst luck with partners, wouldn't you say?" Gee asked with his hands folded in front of him.

"Now Gee, Munch can say the same thing," Lewis replied. "Hell that can be said of half the force. Face it, Homicide detectives make lousy partners AND spouses."

"Well seeing as how the spousal role doesn't figure into this I am determined to find you a partner who you will stick with, capesh? She should be here any minute," he said looking at a paper on his desk.

"She?" Lewis exclaimed. "Nothing personal, but damn Gee, a woman? Since when do I get to be the tester for the hormonal compatibility factor around this joint? Why can't I go solo? Pembleton did it, so why not let me have a crack at it?"

"Lewis, I have watched you grow into a fine homicide detective. But the fact is you have a problem with partners, and in this unit we work as a team. So no arguments, you are getting a partner."

"Well that I'm okay with, but damn Gee, a girl?"

"Is this 'girl' interrupting something Lieutenant?" a voice said from the office door.

"Lewis, meet your new partner, Detective Collins. Detective, I believe you know Meldrick Lewis?" Gee said with a grin.

Lewis turned and about fell over himself getting up from the chair. "Shannon? What the hell?" He faced Gee. "Since when does the FBI partner up with us?"

"Since I left the FBI and joined the Baltimore Police Department," Shannon replied in answer. "Do you have a problem with that Det. Lewis?"

"Damn," he said sitting down and scratching his head. "Just how long was I out of it?"

"Long enough for Tim and Mike to quit the force," Gee said quietly. He looked at Shannon. "Collins here decided to put in as a replacement. Gafferty didn't want another FBI liaison after Mike left, but felt that Shannon's connection with them would work to our benefit if she came to work for us. So she did. She'll be your new partner."

"But Gee...," Lewis started to protest.

"No buts about it Lewis. Now get yours out there and show Shannon the ropes. She got a taste of it before. The next time that phone rings I want you two on the case."

"Sure thing Gee," Lewis said as he followed Shannon out of Gee's office. Once he had closed the door he grabbed her arm and turned her toward him. "Okay, mind telling me just what the hell is going on here?"

"What do you mean Lewis?" Shannon asked pulling away from him as she made her way over to Tim's old desk. She didn't like the idea that she was being given both his and Mike's old position, but Gafferty had made her an offer which she couldn't turn down. And he was right. Her influence with the FBI would come in handy without having to have a full liaison position.

"You know very well what I mean," he said as he watched her place her briefcase on the desk. "Why didn't you tell me all of this? Leaving me out of the loop again?"

"Lewis," Shannon started looking around her. "Now is not the place or the time to discuss what I have and haven't told you about my life."

"Six weeks ago you would have told me anything," Lewis said in a tone forcing her to meet his gaze.

"The brass thought it best that we keep it to ourselves," Shannon replied in a hushed voice. "If it had been up to me then yes I would have told you. I couldn't very well go bucking head to head with them from the beginning now could I? Besides you didn't need that added to everything else."

"I'm a big boy who can handle himself," Lewis replied as he headed toward his desk. "You don't need to watch my back."

"I thought that's what partner's did?" Shannon shot back as she pulled the chair out and sat down.

"Well to begin with we need closer desks if we are going to be partner's," Lewis said as he pulled his out from the wall with his good hand with one jerk.

"Lewis! What the HELL are you doing?" Sheppard asked as she strolled into the room and quickly made a leap to keep her things from falling off her desk.

"Just call it rearranging my life," Lewis said as he pushed his desk into the center of the floor. He grabbed the one in front of Shannon's and shoved it where his used to be.

"What is all the commotion about?" Munch said as he and Falsone came back into the squad room. "You'd think it was World War Three from the sounds of banging heard in here."

"Lewis, stop it," Falsone said as he grabbed the end of Lewis' desk. "Do you want to end up back in the hospital?"

"A one arm man doesn't do well as a mover," Munch said as he grabbed the other end and angled it against Shannon's desk. "If you wanted a change in here why not just hang a picture or put some flowers on your desk?"

"I don't need this," Lewis said as he headed into the coffee room muttering. "I don't bloody hell need this."

"Okay," Sheppard said turning to Shannon. "I take it he didn't take the news well?"

"I'm finding out he doesn't take any change in his routine well," Shannon said as she leaned back in her chair. "So as a former partner do you have any words of wisdom to impart so this doesn't happen again?"

"Nope," Sheppard said with a smile. "But one thing is certain. No matter who you are, if you are a female Lewis is going to have a problem partnering with you."

"Well since I can't change that fact Lewis is just going to have to conform," Shannon said with an exasperated smile.

"Conformity? Mr. My Way or No Way conform?" Munch said with a tone of shock to his voice. "Oh this is going to be good."

---------------------

New North Roland Park

Baltimore, MD

Shannon looked up in the drizzle to see Lewis making his way toward her. She had paged him after she picked up the phone and answered the call, and for awhile had wondered if he was actually going to show or not. Obviously he had taken his time about it.

"Hey partner," she said as he came up to her. "Glad you could make it."

"I got detained," Lewis muttered under his breath. "So what have we got?"

"Infant skeleton found in the woods about a quarter of a mile behind the old Baltimore Academy," the officer in charge said coming up to them.

"The Academy?" Lewis asked. "I thought that place had burned down years ago?"

"It had," the officer replied. "They are still building some of the condominiums in that area and the excavation crew found it."

"So our first case out as partners and we get an old one?" he said exasperated. "Great. Nothing like an old trail in the rain to create a mood for a crime scene."

"Officer take us to the site please," Shannon said with a warning glance at Lewis.

"Sure thing. The team from the morgue got here about fifteen minutes ago. Griscom is there now," he added over his shoulder as he started leading them in the direction of the scene.

"Oooo...Griscom. Dr. Death awaits you Shan," Lewis said sarcastically.

"Lewis, just what the hell is your problem?" she hissed angrily as they followed the officer. "If you don't want to be here just say so. I'm sure Gee would be glad to partner me up with someone who gives a damn."

"It's nothin' Shan. Just stuff I got to work out on my own," he said as he pulled his collar closer around his neck.

"Well let me know when you've worked it out," she said quietly. "That way I'll know when it's safe to say anything around you again." She took off at a jog toward the officer who was already a small way ahead of them.

Lewis watched her go as he continued to trudge through the uneven terrain. He wasn't sure where his hostilities were coming from, other than the fact that since Gee had made Shannon his partner any and all contact they wished to have on a non professional level would now be null and void. He had been there before with Sheppard before his problem with her dependability as a partner had arisen. Then given the fact that Ballard and Falsone had had to call it quits after Gee had suspected their personal involvement gave him further cause to be upset. He had wanted to continue seeing Shannon, but it looked like Gee had put a stop to that by partnering them up.

He just had to hope that Shannon would give him time to work this out.

Coming up on the scene before him he was amazed to see all the machinery at the place. He had heard that construction in the area had begun again, but he didn't know to what extent until he saw all the dozers and equipment. He had to grin. In the middle of it all Shannon was barking out orders to the men around her, telling them to back away and point their headlights toward the area before her.

"Hey George!" Lewis said as he walked up and patted the M.E. on the back. "Fine evening for a stroll through the woods, wouldn't you say?"

"Det. Meldrick Lewis. I see that a few broken bones can't keep you down. Enjoying your time back so far? And with a new partner to boot," he added with a wink as he nodded toward Shannon.

"Yeah, just a chipper day," Lewis said as he walked over to where the skeletal remains lay. "Damn that's a tiny little thing."

Griscom nodded. "I'd say from the preliminary standpoint this child was only a few days old when it was buried. What do you make of it Shannon?"

She looked up from where she had been crouched over the body. "I would agree. Definitely no more than a week or so."

"Just burns me that someone want to bury a baby like that out here," Lewis said looking around them. The area was full of vegetation and trees. Even given the fact that the body had been buried a few years ago it still meant that whoever had done it had gone to alot of trouble to hide it.

"Well nothing appears to be broken. No cranial damage or collapsed chest cavity, so we can rule those out in the foul play division," Griscom said kneeling next to Shannon. "I'll have to get it back to the lab to determine anything further."

"Lewis hand me your flashlight," Shannon asked holding out her hand. He did as she asked and watched as she shone the light to the right side of the corpse. She motioned to one of the photography members to take a few shots before she moved anything, then with her gloved hand she gingerly and carefully started moving dirt away from the side of the body. Her eyes widened as she saw what had been covered up.

"What is it Shan?" Lewis asked upon seeing her reaction.

Very carefully she picked the object up and held it to the light. It was a small vial that had been tied on a string. "I'm not sure what it is, but it's old. Look at the glass and the cork used. This piece could easily date to the late 1800's or early 1900's anyway."

"Forensics AND archeology expert? I'm impressed," Griscom said smiling at her over his glasses.

"Just say I dabble in a few extracurricular activities," Shannon said putting the vial and the part of the string that remained in a collection bag. "I'm anxious to see what the lab says was in this."

"You may need to pass it on," Griscom said as he motioned for the coroners to start removing the body.

"What I was thinking," Shannon said with a grin. "Nothing against your labs George, but I think something this old should go straight to the FBI lab in Washington. You agree?"

Griscom nodded. "Their dating analysis is much more sophisticated than ours. And with such a small sample I would send it if it were me."

"We'll do that then while you have the body. Page me when you get the results of the autopsy?"

"Sure you don't want to help out on this one?" Griscom said with a grin.

"As much as I feel at home in your basement I'm afraid the new bosses wouldn't take too kindly to me forsaking my detective duties to play forensic scientist on this one. I promise to visit though," Shannon added with a wink.

"Well good. I would hope so," Griscom said as he walked away from them. "Anytime you want to just stop on in. You too Det. Lewis."

"Gee, thanks for including me," Lewis said as he walked around to the other side of the hole that the body had occupied. He crouched down next to it.

"Lewis, you could be a bit nicer," Shannon said as she came to his side.

"What'd I do?" he asked innocently.

"You know very well. Scowling at George like he was the enemy or something. We are all in this together you know for one goal. Find the killer, solve the crime."

"That's two things Shannon, but I know what you mean," he said as he poked at the dirt around the site with his gloved finger. "What do you make of this?" he said holding up a finger.

She crouched next to him and squinted. "Looks like ashes. But the bones didn't look burned. Maybe the fire was set pre-burial?"

"Maybe," Lewis said blowing at his finger. The particles blew from his finger into the wind. He pulled out a bag and put a sample of fresh particles into it. "Something else for your lab," he said handing it to her and standing. He started to walk away when he noticed Shannon wasn't following. "You comin'?" he asked turning back to face her.

She was still crouched next to the gravesite, her head bent.

"Shannon? You comin?" Lewis asked again.

She shook and turned her head toward him, knodding slowly as she stood.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, taking the few steps between them in two strides.

Picking up the lab report she shook her head as she read the results. "Inconclusive with more to follow," she muttered to herself as she continued to rub Mo'Kitty. She would have preferred to run the tests herself but Gee had asked her to allow the lab to do their job. While at the Bureau she had the luxury of the labs of wherever she was at her disposal, however she was finding out that this job while it did give her leniency in some things restrained her in others. She was familiar with the lab at the Baltimore office from the last case she had been on in the city. She was anxious to see if Griscom was still in the lab. She smiled as she thought about the older man and the advances he had attempted to make in her direction. "Men," she said looking down at Mo'Kitty. As if in protest he rolled over on his back and cupped her hand with his paws.

They both jumped at the sudden knock on the door.

"Who could that be?" Shannon said as she got up off the couch and headed for the door. Mo'Kitty was there waiting for her as she looked through the keyhole, seeming impatient to see who their first official guest was for himself.

Shannon drew back with a frown as she unbolted the lock, removed the chain, and turned the knob opening the door. "Lewis! What a surprise," she added, trying not to sound as shocked as she felt. She wasn't sure after the day they had had and the way he had left things she would be seeing him again other than in a professional office setting. "Come on in," she said, stepping aside to let him pass.

"Not interuptin' anything am I Shan?" he asked as he removed his hat and made his way past her, looking around while he did. He took in the entire loft it seemed in one glance. "Nice place ya got here. Much nicer than my hole in the wall."

"Now Lewis," Shannon said with a grin as she took his coat. "I haven't been there but from what the guy's say you have quite a bachelor pad now."

"Yeah, complete with the dirty dishes, the clothes on the floor, and the half eaten bag of chips on the table."

"Well, Mo'Kitty makes sure I don't leave anything like that around or I'd be just as bad," Shannon replied motioning for him to take a seat in the chair. He nodded and did so. "Mr. Feline Garbage Disposal would be as big as a house if I left anything lying around like that."

Lewis smiled as Mo'Kitty jumped up in his lap. "Yeah, he is kinda a round fella ain't he?" he said, giving the cat a rub on the head. "Doesn't look like he's missed many meals."

"At least not since I've had him," Shannon replied resuming her position on the couch. "So Lewis, what brings you out here at night? This isn't a social call I take it?" He didn't seem his usual joking self, but was somewhat reserved, and Shannon didn't attribute it all to the events of the day.

"You always did know how to read people Shan," Lewis said brushing his lap as Mo'Kitty jumped down and headed back to Shannon. "Bad news at the site. Thought I'd come tell you in person so you wouldn't head off out there tonight. Startin' to rain a bit and that could make matters worse."

"What do you mean Lewis?" she said leaning forward. "Worse how? I thought the team had the site cleaned and contained?"

"They did, until they discovered the others," he answered.

"Others!?!" Shannon questioned, coming halfway off the couch in her excitement. "Okay Lewis, enough dillydally. What others did they find?"

"Eleven more bodies, all infants, all male from the looks of the remains."

"Eleven infants? But why didn't they find these earlier? What aren't you telling me Lewis?" she asked frowning.

"When the team dug the first time, they dug in one place, where the first marker was for the new building. After that construction was halted. When our guys got there, got the pictures, and questioned who they needed to question, the workers went to another area a few feet away and started digging again. Boom, another body. After that the entire area was quartered off. Strange thing is Shan, the bodies are all arranged in a circle of sorts. It was hard to tell until you got back from the site up on the hill and looked down on it. The first body, the one we found, is at the 12 o'clock position. The others all radiate from there," he explained, taking a photograph from his pocket. "The enlarged photos are back at the office, but I brought this one so you could see what I mean."

Shannon reached for the photo, shaking her head as she did so. "So eleven more bodies, twelve in all, all infant males. Anymore vials found?" she asked without looking up from the photo.

"That's the other thing Shannon. No vials or anything found on any of the other bodies. What fibers could be found are being studied back at the lab. Griscom has six teams working on it, making it his top priority. Each team is studying two adjacent sites. Gee has asked them for a report first thing in the morning. I think Griscom is having them haul ass overtime tonight to get it done. The mayor is having a stroke too. Elections coming up and he wants this one solved before the media makes an occult circus of it."

Shannon nodded. It did have a cultish tint to it, and that was all that the moral and civic groups would need in an election year to cause trouble, pointing fingers in any direction they could. "I could go give Griscom a hand you know," she said with a wink at Lewis.

"No way girl," he said in reply. "That's the other reason I stopped by. Gee has firm orders you are NOT to go to the lab. Not right now anyway. It's not your job Shan." He raised his hands as she started to protest. "I know how much you love that part of it, but it's not your job. Not anymore."

"My job or not, if this case calls for my expertise there I'm going to give it," she said as she slipped her shoes on and started to rise.

"Shan, no," Lewis said, catching her arm. "I can't let you go, not this time."

Shannon turned to look at him, trying to sense if there were hidden meaning in his words or exactly what he meant by 'this time'. She couldn't read from his expression, but her instinct told her there was more to it than just referring her going to the site.

"Lewis, you should know by now that when the job calls for it I'll do whatever it takes to find out what's going on, and to solve the case at hand. And if you are referring to anything else, just drop it. I'm not ready for that. Not again," she added as she removed her arm from his grip.

Lewis took a step back when he saw the expression on Shannon's face. He hadn't been prepared for that reaction. He knew about Bayliss and Shannon and how things had been left between them, but he didn't think those feelings would transfer to him too. The more he thought about it he wasn't sure what he thought her reaction was going to be.

"Okay Shannon, I'll leave you alone. About the case and everything else," he said as he picked up his hat to leave. He stopped halfway walking toward the door and turned to look at her. "You aren't going to the lab are you?" he asked. "I wouldn't bring it up again but Gee...well he's really not in the mood to handle insurrection now Shan...so please be careful."

Shannon shook her head. "I'll be the good little detective and keep out of the lab except in the proper role of 'What did you find out' questioning Lewis. But I'm determined to solve this case. For more than one reason but for reasons I don't want to talk about. 'K?"

"Okay Shan," he said walking out the door. "See you tomorrow at the office."

She watched him walk out and closed her eyes. She let her senses take over and could feel Lewis' disappointment at her dismissal of not only him but the situation at hand also, but she couldn't let that interfere. "Not this time," she thought to herself as she opened her eyes and proceeded to find her raincoat. She might have been ordered away from the lab, but the crime scene was a different matter.

Mo'Kitty meowed his disdain as she shooed him off her bag. She shoved an extra set of clothes into it and slung it over her shoulder. "Back in a bit Mo'. Keep guard, will ya?"

As if in answer he jumped off the couch and followed her to the door. She laughed as she picked up her keys and headed out the door. Locking it she closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. Something told her she shouldn't go to the site tonight, but at the same time something was telling her she should. She just hoped that the latter of the voices in her head was the right one.

***************

Lewis grumbled as he closed the car door. He had gone out of his way to see Shannon and warn her about the new findings at the site, and all he had gotten in return was a soaking wet outfit. That and an obvious realization that he and Shannon were to be nothing more than friends and partners now. At least he hoped the friends' part was still there. After the way she reacted he wasn't so sure.

He put the car in drive and sped off toward home, muttering the entire time. "Women, can't live with them, and this is one homeboy that can SURE as hell live without 'em."

***************

Shannon shivered as she stepped out of her car, pulling her coat tighter around her neck. The rain had ceased but in typical Baltimore fashion the temperature had already dropped dramatically and a dense fog was settling over the area.

The moon was shining as bright as a beacon now that the clouds had moved on, but she grabbed the flashlight she kept stashed in her trunk anyway and made her way to the top of the ridge overlooking the site. What she saw made her draw in a deep breath.

A series of flagged stakes had been driven into the ground at various points, and Shannon surmised they were marking where each of the bodies had been found. "Lewis was right," she said to herself as she made her way down the hill. "It does look like a circle."

She paused at the stake marking where the body had been found earlier that morning. The body had been removed and was already at the city morgue or lab, along with the other bodies that had been found later. Shannon moved from one spot to the next, being careful not to disturb the sites as she did. The rain had filled the 'graves' with rainwater, making it impossible for her to inspect the graves themselves. She instead concentrated on the area around them, noting the width of the sites and the characteristics of the ground around them, whether it was on an incline or flat ground or a combination of both. She knew from experience that it was the minute details that usually led to something.

She was about to move to the twelfth and final grave when a cold shudder crept through her body. She wasn't sure what made her look up, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end at the scene playing itself out before her.

She didn't move her from her crouched position, but watched increduously as the form of a woman seemed to materialize from nowhere and move across the ground effortlessly toward the grave at the 'top' of the circle, the one where the first infant was found. She was dressed in a black dress with a black veil of some sort, as if she were in mourning. Her hair was bound up in a bun at the base of her neck, and she seemed to be crying. The 'woman' appeared to be clutching something close to her chest, but in the mist Shannon couldn't make out any details. Slowly the woman bent down to the site, and placed the object on the ground near the head of the grave. Then without looking in Shannon's direction she turned and moved away toward the buildings in the distance.

Shannon could not move for a moment, then her senses kicked into gear. She willed her body to follow as she rose from her position and headed in the same direction as the figure.