And now, the B-plot. Speedle more or less falls through the doors of the morgue, greets Alexx, and asks, "Mind if I observe?" "When do I ever?" she replies pleasantly. Oh, who doesn't love Speedle? He sidles up, and she asks, "So, Mr. Observer, what do you see?" Speedle replies, "Partial thickness burns on the lips, tongue and oral mucosa." Thanks to the generosity of the TMICam, we see these burns too, in excruciating detail. Speedle then pulls back a flap of skin and notes, "Stomach lining appears to be red and inflamed." Alexx asks, "What about the lungs?" Speedle replies, "Swelling of the main stem bronchii, release of edema fluid." "Meaning?" Alexx asks with a faint smile. "Meaning he was fried from the inside, and the heat from the burns blocked off his airway," Speedle replies.

Alexx gives Speedle a grin and says, "Not bad. Not bad at all. You know, Speed, any time you want to cross over to our side of the street..." Speedle shrugs off the obvious compliment and asks, "Do you have any idea what might have caused it?" Alexx replies, "Nah. We're running tox. But if you want first dibs on the stomach lining..." She holds the jar aloft, and Speedle says, "Well, yeah." He takes the jar and wanders off again, leaving Alexx grinning over Stango. Nice scene -- not only is it refreshing to see Alexx interacting with someone who's not going to be drawing all her conclusions for her (cough, cough, Horatio, cough), but it's fun to see Speedle working on mastering something he may not know yet.