A great deal of discussion this morning on breakfast television and in the courtroom about how much longer the state prosecutor Gerrie Nel will keep the athelete in cross-examination.

In my experience, barristers often like to keep witnesses stewing/thinking/analysing their evidence overnight or over the weekend, so I don't expect Pistorius will have a worry-free weekend. Suspect Mr Nel's questions will continue next week.

That said, every case is different so we will see!

Being under cross-examination means Pistorius cannot talk to his lawyers - or anyone for that matter - about his evidence. It can be an extremely lonely time for any witness.

Mr Nel and Pistorius' counsel Barry Roux have disappeared into Judge Masipa's chambers ahead of her resturn to the bench.

Pistorius is also not in court, likely in a room just off the main court.

June Steenkamp is back in court, again wearing a black and white photograph of her daughter on the lapel of her white jacket.

Pistorius' sister Aimee has arrived in the section reserved for his family, hugging everyone like she's at a family reunion.

Pistorius returns to his place in the witness box now, and we can see he's very pale and drawn. He has dark circles around his eyes too.

His legal team and the prosecutor are back in the court, and we should be ready to start in a few minutes.

Plenty of debate around this morning about what we are in store for today:

#Pistorius What's left in Nel's armoury of barrister ploys to get OP to admit "the truth"? He's tried confrontation, taunting and shock... — martinbrunt (@skymartinbrunt) April 11, 2014

#Pistorius ...maybe it will be a metaphorical arm around OP and "come on Mr Pistorius. It's ok. You can tell us what really happened." — martinbrunt (@skymartinbrunt) April 11, 2014

Earlier in the week, Pistorius' counsel sought an earlier-than-usual adjournment one day telling the court the athlete hadn't slept the night before. Doesn't look much like he's slept all week.

He sits staring staright ahead, jaw muscles twitching. Look of concentration, perhaps not dissimilar to when he prepares for a race.

Just as a reminder, it's protocol in South African courts for witnesses to address the judge rather than the questioner in court.

That's why Pistorius is answering questions using the term "my lady", as he gives evidence.

Judge Thokozile returns to the bench.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel tells the court June Steenkamp wishes him to confirm to the court Pistorius' version that he did in fact request a meeting with her family, but they are "not ready" to talk to him.

Mr Nel now asks about his Christian faith, and his desire for a Christian partner. But Ms Steenkamp was not Christian.

"She was not my lady," he says.

"She prayed for me."

Mr Nel says Pistorius "cut my cross-examination in half" - saying that statement illustrates his point: It's all about you.

Mr Nel moves on to Pistorius' supposed fear of crime.

He asks why he hasn't ever reported any of the apparent crimes he has been the victim of.

"I didn't think anything could be done about it," he says.

#OscarPistorius Not reporting crime to police in South Africa is not nec unusual as many people do not trust them — Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) April 11, 2014

But despite his fears, Pistorius now admits he thought his Silver Woods Estate was safe enough to leave his car out the front of his home, rather than in the garage.

Also he didn't get a broken window fixed downstairs immediately - it had been broken "for a while", a reasonably large hole.

He says it was in the process of being fixed.

The court has previously heard there had been workmen around his house and ladders had been left in the yard. Pistorius claims he feared the intruder had used the ladder to climb into the bathroom on Valentine's Day last year.

Nel: "You were not concerned about ladders left in the yard at night?"

OP: "I did mind," but that night didn't put them in garage. Says he doesn't know why he didn't.

Mr Nel now turns to the alarm system which Pistorius claims wasn't working properly at the time he shot and killed Ms Steenkamp.

He says it has internal and external sensors monitoring the property. It works by remote, one button to arm and one button to disarm.

Says if he is staying inside you can just arm the outside sensors.

"I activated the inside and the outside of the house (that night)," he says.

#OscarPistorius has already offered 2 unprompted jabs at behaviour of SA police this morning. An "interesting" strategy, as Nel might say. — andrew harding (@BBCAndrewH) April 11, 2014

Pistorius says he was concerned the painting contractors had "moved alarm beacons" outside.

Mr Nel says he has plenty to ask about now: he claims to have huge and all-consuming personal safety concerns, yet lived on a secure estate, had no burglar bars, an unfixed broken window downstairs and his cars parked outside the garage.

Nel says he's changed his evidence about the security alarm external beacons, but Pistorius says he made a mistake between the house painting in 2009/2010, and around the time of the incident.

"This is now the biggest indication that you are changing your evidence," Mr Nel said.

"You cannot explain the mistake in teh way that you're doing ... you could not have made that mistake."

Re change of evidence, Pistorius previously said he knew the house contractors had removed the external sensors. Today he says he didn't know.

The questions are continuing on this point, but Mr Nel is not letting go of the point.

"With the utmost respect Mr Pistorius, this is now the biggest indication of you tailoring evidence," says Nel.

Once again, Pistorius has tried to blame his barrister Barry Roux for not contesting some evidence on this point. Think that's the fourth time?!

But Mr Nel is having none of it.

"You are tailing your evidence as you are standing there, because you are confronted with a contradiction," he said.

Pistorius denies that.

Nel slips in a compliment to his oppo: "Mr Roux will not make those kinds of mistakes. You are tailoring your evidence..." #Pistorius — Jerome Starkey (@jeromestarkey) April 11, 2014

We return to the alarm and it's working order on the night in question.

Pistorius says it was activated but Mr Nel wants to know when he switched it off.

He initially said "I deactivated my alarm" but has since said he did not know if he did.

"It didn't go off, so I must have deactivated it" before he ran downstairs after the shooting.

Pistorius apologises, says he's tired, used the wrong word.

Mr Nel asks if he wants to adjourn, wants some time, because he doesn't want to hear another excuse that he's tired.

He appears to fight back tears as he says: "It's not that I want time. I'm tired. I don't need time. I'm tired, it's not going to change."

Judge Masipa steps in and says it is very important that he is not "at a disadvantage".

"If you are tired, and the reason you are making all these mistakes is that you're tired,then you must say so," he says.

Pistorius now says he did not make the mistake because he's tired. So why the mistake?

Mr Nel asks why Pistorius assumed there were intruders, given the alarm hadn't gone off.

Pistorius says he wasn't thinking about the alarm. "I just knew there was someone in the house."

He also says the alarm wouldn't have gone off if a window was opened.

So Pistorius says the combined issue of some of the external sensors "possibly" not being working and his bedroom/bathroom not being alarmed is why he wasn't bothered the alarm hadn't sounded when the intruder came into the bathroom.

Clear?!

Mr Nel jumps back to the "incident on the highway". This is when he claims he was shot at, one of the times he claims to have been a victim of crime.

He says a black Mercedes had come up beside him, slowed down, and he "saw the muzzle flash". He swerved.

Mr Nel asks if he was in an altercation with the car earlier. No, Pistorius replies.

Mr Nel is jumping around between different incidents, diffent versions and peppering his questions with accusing comments.

He is clearly trying to run the runner ragged... so to speak.

Mr Nel asks if this "muzzle flash" highway drive-by shooting was out of the blue.

"I have no idea why they would fire," he said.

Pistorius can't remember when it happened - 2009, 2010 he thinks.

He can remember where he pulled off highway, where he went (a nightclub car park) because he thought it would be safe in the aftermath of the near-shooting.

But he doesn't remember who he phoned to tell about this afterwards, Mr Nel asks incredulously?

"That's correct, my lady," he said.

"It just doesn't add up ... but you don't want anyone to check up on you," Mr Nel said.

Pistorius says he doesn't know who picked him up after the apparently brazen highway-shooting or how his car was brought back to his house.

Mr Nel making some inroads with Pistorius' credibility. Some of this sounds rather unlikely.

We now move onto the alleged 2012 incident where Pistorius claims he was assaulted by Quinton van der Burgh, who he claims was having an affair with his ex Samantha Taylor when he was at the Olympics.

Pistorius admits having a fight with van der Berg at the race track event, but insists he wasn't aggressive.

Mr Nel says if anyone else said he was the aggressor, "they would be lying"?

"Yes," the athlete said.

"I told him I had very little respect for him," he said.

He describes van der Burgh" was "manipulative, disgusting". Says van der Burgh sent him a legal letter.

"It was an intimidation letter ... he wanted my address," Pistorius claims.

In a long explanation involving a trip to Sun City, further intimidation by a man called Mark Batchelor, Pistorius says after the incident Samantha Taylor was furious and took van der Burgh's side.

He denies he shouted at her - she claims he did.

"I was very civil with her, I never shouted at her. I had had enough of the relationship."

Pistorius denies threatening to break the legs of South African soccer player Mark Batchelor.

"I wouldn't be that careless. He's faced many assault charges."

This whole episode has been played out in the media many times, with Batchelor, Taylor and others speaking about it.

The prosecution seeking to portray it as another example of Pistorius being aggressive, and blaming everyone else for his issues.

He says he has no idea who assaulted him. Says he had his weapon on him at the time he was assaulted but "did not use it."

He had to get stitches in his head.

We now jump back to the night of Reeva's fatal shooting.

Ominously, Mr Nel asks Pistorius if he can put the folder of crime scene photos in front of him.

And we're back to the fans...

Mr Nel asks why Pistorius wanted to cover the LED light on an amplifier in his room, which yesterday he said he did with Reeva's jeans after bringing in fans/closing curtains.

"It was distracting me," he said.

This is the sixth topic in under 90 minutes.

Asks when he noticed the light, and it bothered him. Says it was after he brought the fans in, and the room was "pitch black".

This is minute detail.

Suspect Mr Nel is going to say there's yet another problem with this version of Pistorius' - because in the photo, the jeans are not on the amplifier, covering the light, which he said he did. The jeans are on the floor.

Will Pistorius claim the police moved them? Like three other items?

Pistorius is being asked to show where the light is on the hi-fi system. He does, and says he wanted to drape the jeans over it to block out the small blue light.

We move on, slightly.

Mr Nel: You never heard the deceased get up?

Pistorius: I did not.

Mr Nel: but you still could hear a window sliding in bathroom?

Pistorius says the sound would have been a lot louder than Steenkamp moving.

Ahhh a question I have often wondered:

Mr Nel: Did you not say, "Reeva did you hear that?" She was awake.

Pistorius: No. There was no doubt in my mind about what I heard.

Mr Nel: "In the past you heard a noise and you discussed that with Samantha Taylor."

Pistorius says it happened once, there had been a noise was downstairs.

Mr Nel: You never waited for a response?

Pistorius: I didn't wait for a response, there was no response ... I told Reeva to get down and call the police.

He says he was already on the way to the passage with his firearm.

Back to the photographs showing Reeva's denim jeans lying on the floor.

Mr Nel: There's one big problem, Mr Pistorius. The denim is lying on the floor.

Pistorius: I don't see how that's a problem, everything got moved (by police) ... it doesn't fit with my version, but many other things were moved in the room.

We get even further down into the detail, Mr Nel now examining the sequence of things were moved.

Says denim is ON TOP of the duvet, so police must have put the bed linen on the floor, then put denim over it.

The picture shows wasteband partially on top of the duvet.

Mr Nel is reels out his list of items which Pistorius says the police moved or tampered with: lights, duvet, curtains, fans, jeans.

Pistorius says he doesn't know why they would have done it, but they must have.

Judge Masipa asks Mr Nel to mind his language, saying he should not call Pistorius a liar. "Not while he's still in the witness box," anyway!

We take the morning tea adjournment, in part because the defence wants zoom in on the photo about whether in fact the waistband of the jeans IS on top of the duvet. Mr Roux is not convinced.

Much debate about whether the jeans #OscarPistorius dropped upon hearing the sound are under or over the duvet. We've adjourned to find out. — Nastasya Tay (@NastasyaTay) April 11, 2014

Basically Nel can say a witness is lying but cannot call him a liar - yes there's a difference. — Pumza Fihlani (@Pumza_Fihlani) April 11, 2014

We are back underway, still looking at the photo of the jeans and the duvet.

After much debate about the photos, the jeans and the duvet, a victory for the prosecutor: Judge Masipa agrees with him the corner of the jeans are over the top of the duvet.

Mr Nel reiterates that this poses a problem for Pistorius' version.

Pistorius says that might be so - but maintains it's the cop's fault, saying the police moved things around so they probably did that too.

We now look at a photo with Pistorius' iPad lying on the side he says Reeva was lying on.

Mr Nel returns to a point he made yesterday:

"If you indicated the position of the fans correctly, they would have been in your way in getting to the balcony wouldn't they?"

Pistorius says he doesn't remember them being in the way, but they may have been. Says he could have kicked them out of the way.

Pistorius starts getting tearful again as Nel continues niggling about the position of the items in the room.

MR Nel: are you getting emotional? Why? Why now?

Pistorius: Because I lost the person I cared about, I don't know how people don't understand that.

We take an adjournment.

A more composed Pistorius returns, and we are back to the events in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013.

Pistorius: "My intention was to put myself in between Reeva and where the people were in the bathroom ... I was sure that she was there."

But Mr Nel accuses him of "inventing" the conversation, not mentioned during the bail application.

He says the other witnesses in the case - couples - told the court when THEY heard the noises coming from Pistorius' home, they asked each other, asking "what was that"?

Mr Nel says you were in grave danger, but you did not take the time to talk to her.

"I was not next to her ... I was overcome by fear, I was wondering if the person was coming down the passage, I had to keep my eyes on the passage .. I spoke to Reeva, I said to her get down, call the police," he rambles.

"I say Mr Pistorius, a reaosnable person would have looked where Reeva was, looked where she was facing. But you didn't, you just grabbed the gun," Mr Nel said.

Mr Nel suggests his "first thought" was just to arm himself, not for his girlfriend's safety.

"There were lots of thoughts that went through my mind."

Mr Nel starts listing some other options open to him: hid behind the bed, etc.

"I wanted to put myself between (the intruder) and Reeva..." he repeats.

Nel: When you armed yourself you rushed towards the area of the passage ... ready to shoot.

Pistorius: Not ready to shoot, my lady. I went to see what was going on in my house.

Nel: That's not true, why would you arm yourself and rush twoards the danger if you were not ready to shoo?

Pistorius: I didn't have time to think.

Nel: You got your gun and released the safety - you were ready to shoot

Pistorius: I was not ready to shoot ... I armed myself so I could defend myself.

Pistorius: I didn't want to take anybody's life. I screamed for the intruders to get out of my home.

Mr Nel really pushing him on his intention.

Nel: Walking down that passage armed, if you saw someone, you would have fired.

OP: There's a massive difference between getting ready to deal with confrontation ... and WANTING to shoot someone.

Mr Nel: You're vulnerable but you go towards the danger.

OP: If I'd stayed where I was, Reeva and I would have been in danger.

Mr Nel: But if you'd stayed in your room, Reeva would be alive.

He agrees.

OP said if he had stayed where he was because "somebody could have shot Reeva".

Unfortunately someone did. That's why we're here, and Mr Nel seizes on this.

Nel: But Reeva's the one person you didn't even talk to ... you didn't even make sure she heard you.

OP: I didn't make sure because I was sure at the time that she was there.

That full quote, from Pistorius, about his fears:

"You hear every day how someone is shot in their home. They could have come in my room and sprayed mace. Someone could have shot Reeva."

"That was my instinct… I'm not sure why (I acted like that)," he said.

Mr Nel attacks Pistorius' use of the word "instinct": it should have been to check.

"Everybody's instict is different," he replies.

#OscarPistorius Nel: Why did you not leave through your bedroom door? it would have been so easy — Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) April 11, 2014

Nel: That is the question you can’t answer – why did you not just leave through the bedroom door?

OP: I don't know why (except) I have limited mobility on my stumps.

Pistorius now quoting back other people's evidence, using statements made by them to support his version, then adds:

"I wish I did all these other things that you put to me," he said.

Pistorius: That's my personality. Instead of cowering and running away, I want to put myself between Reeva and the danger.

Nel: Isn't that it - you wanted to go and confront these robbers. And you did, by firing.

Pistorius: Yes, my lady.

Pistorius says he was "shouting" and "screaming" at the intruders to get out of his house, at Reeva to get down...

Nel: But she never responded?

Pistorius: No, she never responded.

The athlete is displaying some frustration at the seemingly endless, repeated questioning. Voice raises slightly.

Pistorius says he was fearful about lots of things at that moment: "They could have stuck their hand around the wall and fired at me... They could have grabbed my throat and choked me."

Pistorius says he was quiet as approached bathroom, moving slowly through passage. Senses alert. But he couldn't hear Reeva?

Says after slowly peering into the bathroom entrance, he went in. Not sure if someone was by the basins.

"Again I had a really low position ... I peered around the corner to where the basins are and I couldn't see anyone."

We are canvassing the situation when Pistorius reached the bathroom.

Nel: Is it reasonable for an intruder to go into the toilet and close the door?

Pistorius: I'm not sure what an intruder would do.

Sorry for communication lapse. Pistorius is just about to leave the courtroom, after prosecutor Nel asked for an adjournment. There will be no afternoon session (usually one hour)

Suspect he had reached a point in his cross-examination which requires one final assault - and he wants time to prepare it.

#Pistorius comforted as always by sister Aimee as he leaves the witness box, looking shattered.

Focusing on the moments just before the shooting, Mr Nel put it to Pistorius that Ms Steenkamp it was so "improbable" that Ms Steenkamp would have remained quiet if she believed there was an intruder in the house.

Nel: "Why would she not say anything? The only reason is that (your version) is not true. In fact, she's standing ... behind the door facing the bathroom, facing you."

Pistorius told the court she must have been terrified, after a prior similar incident, after which she didn't speak for days.

Mr Nel says it's simply not true.

"She wasn't scared of any intruder, she was scared of you."

"It's not true, my lady," he replied in a small voice.

Nel: Did she scream at all while you shot her four times?

Pistorius: No, my lady.

Nel: Are you sure, Mr Pistorius, that Reeva didn't scream after you shot her? Are you sure?

Pistorius: [leans back in chair, long silence, before he continues] My lady ... I wish she had let me know she was there."

He was also asked if he has ever given any thought to what she was going through that night, as most of his comments are about him and his feeling.

"There are many times I am haunted by what she must have thought in the last moments she lived," he said.

Nel: After you fired the first shot, did you hear her scream?

Pistorius: I don't think I would have heard her ... my ears were ringing.

He is adamant she didn't scream, but Nel now attacks that statement because he couldn't possibly know.

Nel: How can you explain the fact that she wasn't screaming if you couldn't hear?

Pistorius was emotional, trying to find words to answer.

Pistorius' voice is quivering as he's asked to recount sequence of events, telling the court he thought he'd heard "wood moving", thought it was the "door opening".

Again, Nel pounces: You see, there it is. - you've never that before. Why now?

OP: I never said I heard door opening, only thought it. I perceived it as someone coming out to attack.

Nel: Why did you think it was somebody coming out to attack you?

Nel: You knew Reeva was behind the door and you shot her. That's the only thing that makes sense.

OP: That's not true, my lady.

With that, the court adjourns.

As Pistorius left the court, a woman handed him a bunch of flowers and hugged him, before he was bundled into a waiting vehicle.

So after an incredible week, we will be back in Pretoria on Monday.

It will be a lonely weekend for Pistorius, who cannot consult his lawyers as he remains under cross-examination.

Nel laughing and joking with police and reporters. Has been a good week for him. — Aislinn Laing (@Simmoa) April 11, 2014

In a brief comment as he passed reporters still waiting in court, Pistorius just said: "It's hard."

Exclusive: Channel 7 cameraman Rob Brown captures the moment Oscar Pistorius is hugged and handed a bunch of flowers by a well-wisher outside court as journalist Laurel Irving does her piece to camera.