Logan POV

I left 1PP and went straight to Pete's.

Lennie had turned me on to this place back in 1993.

It was a hole in the wall, with a microscopic hand-printed sign out front and low-burning bulbs inside.

It was a place to get lost.

He'd also said that it was perfect because it wasn't too far from the office, but it was far enough that there was little risk of running into fellow detectives.

It was closer to 1PP than it was to the 2-7, but not by much. I thought I'd still be safe.

Because right now, I didn't want to see anyone I knew.

I'd taken the reprimand from Eames because I deserved it. In fact, I deserved more than what she'd given.

I'd abused our friendship by shooting from the hip instead of respecting her authority.

The irony was that I did respect her.

I respected the hell out of her.

I'd just let the thrill of the hunt get the better of me.

I'd convinced myself that we were doing the right thing by running headlong into a firestorm, but we weren't.

I was wrong about that.

But I was still right about McIvor.

I was right and yet he was still free, so that burned me up even more.

And because we'd jumped the gun, now McIvor knew we were looking at him.

This morning could've easily been written off as miscommunication. But this afternoon…that had been a disaster.

"Jack and Coke," I told the waitress after I sat down at a table in the back corner.

I didn't want anyone to attempt to strike up a conversation with me.

I wasn't in the mood to be affable and I'd more than likely either end up in a fight or sleeping with someone I didn't know.

The former was almost preferable than the latter.

Both would work off my frustration, but at least if I got in a fight, I wouldn't be expected to make small talk when it was over.

And I could go home without feeling guilty.

"Can I bring you a menu?" the waitress asked when she brought my drink to the table.

"I think it's going to be a liquid dinner tonight, sweetheart," I told her. "Just keep these coming."

"That's probably not a good idea."

It took me a minute to register the fact that the words hadn't come from the waitress. I looked up from the table and saw Dr. Rodgers.

"Of all the gin joints…" I began ruefully.

"I can find another place to drown my sorrows if you'd rather be alone."

"You've got sorrows?"

"One or two. But really…I don't want to intrude. I just thought I'd say hi."

"You come here often?" I asked, and then I rolled my eyes at how ridiculous that sounded. "I didn't mean that as a line…I just…I didn't think too many people knew about this place."

"Lennie brought me here a couple of times," she admitted.

I'd forgotten that the two of them had dated briefly back in the old days.

"Then pull up a chair. We'll drink to Lennie," I said.

So she sat down across from me, exhaling a heavy sigh as she did so. She flagged the waitress down and ordered a double bourbon, straight up.

"So you had a bad day, too," I stated after she placed her order.

"You could say that."

"Hey, feel free to unload. It'll take my mind off my own troubles."

"Well, let's see. I missed the possibility of consensual sex on the McIvor kid. One of my techs contaminated a DNA sample pulled from a murder scene on a different case. And then this afternoon, I had to testify in court and…it did not go well."

"You're usually solid as a rock on the stand. What happened?"

"The defense attorney was slimier than usual. He presented all kinds of alternate theories to my stated cause of death and then asked me to confirm whether or not his suggestions were plausible. And of course, they were possible. Just like it's possible for an elephant to walk down Park Avenue, but it's pretty damn unlikely."

"Sounds like you must have made him sound bad then."

"No. I got so annoyed with him that I came across as hostile and then he suggested that my irritation was due to the fact that I realized I could be wrong and…oh, you know what? I think I need to let it go. I'm getting mad just talking about it."

The waitress brought Rodgers' drink to the table, so she picked it up and killed half of it.

"Your turn," she said. "First day back was worse than you expected?"

"It's possible that I was a little too excited to get back to work," I admitted. "I sort of threw the rule book out the window."

"And how did the new boss like that?"

"Not much," I said. "I have an eight o'clock meeting in her office. I'd probably better enjoy the fact that I have an ass tonight because after that meeting, there won't be much left."

Rodgers barked out a laugh and shook her head at me.

"Eames might be tough, but she's fair. She won't rake you over the coals too much. And if she wanted to wait until tomorrow, it's probably so that she could be sure to do the right thing. You have to keep in mind that this is new for her."

"Yeah, I know. The whole captain thing has got to be different."

"No, I mean not working with Goren. They've been together for ten years."

And of course, I knew that but I hadn't really looked at it that way.

And now they were together together and I'd undoubtedly been the cause of a rift between them.

Goren was probably going to be sleeping on the couch tonight because of me.

Why did I have to be so short-sighted with this investigation? He tried to talk me out of it and I'd practically accused him of being whipped.

Nice, Mike. Use peer pressure on your own partner.

"That's true," I said. "I'm sure it's hard for her to not be involved."

Which would explain why she'd wanted to keep such a close watch on us. Not because we couldn't do the job. But because she didn't know how not to do the job.

"You guys will find your rhythm. It just figures that you had to get such a high-profile case right from the start."

"Well, that comes with the territory at Major Case."

We were both quiet for a few minutes and I thought it was going to get awkward.

I mean, I've known Rodgers forever, but not really on a personal level. Although Lennie had spoken highly of her. It had turned out that the two of them were much better as friends than anything romantic, but he'd thought the world of her.

"So tell me where you've been for the past two years," she said after the waitress brought us another round.

So I did.

I told her about North Carolina and then how I'd come back to New York and run into Goren and Eames.

Of course, I left out the part about them using my spare bedroom on a regular basis.

And doing so…keeping their secret…almost made me feel a little bit better about myself.

I was trustworthy.

And I could do the right thing.

I'd just gotten overly excited today…

"Moran called you out of the blue?" she asked me.

"Well, I helped out Goren and Eames on a shady meet one night, and we ended up taking some gunfire, so they had to crash at my place that night because they weren't sure if they'd been made and…well, Moran came by to make sure they were okay. He asked me what I was up to and when I mentioned that I was still looking for work, I guess it stuck in the back of his mind. A few weeks ago, he called and asked me if I'd be interested. He said there were still a few wrinkles to iron out, but he wanted to make sure that the interest was there."

"Their whole operation was pretty dangerous, wasn't it?"

"Very," I agreed. "But they were dedicated."

"I guess so. They essentially gave up a year of their lives."

"I don't think that's how they see it."

"No, they probably don't," she said.

"How have you been doing with all of this?" I asked her quietly.

"You mean with Danny's death?"

"I know you two were close."

"We were. I mean, we weren't in a relationship any more, but it was still really hard. For a long time, it was hard. And I know in your line of work, that kind of thing is always a possibility, but…I don't know. I guess you always think it won't happen to someone you know. Someone you care about."

We continued to drink and talk until I was aware of the fact that I'd finally completely relaxed.

Rodgers was good company. Or rather Liz, as she'd insisted.

And it was no surprise that she had a sharp wit. I'd been laughing at her one-liners for years, but tonight, she really had me going.

By the time I paid the check, it was nearly midnight and my prediction of having a liquid dinner had come true.

I was slightly unsteady as I followed Liz out the front door and onto the sidewalk.

Out of habit more than anything, I found myself checking her out as she walked in front of me.

I mentally chastised myself for thinking of her that way, but it took me another few seconds to pull my eyes back up to where they belonged.

Fortunately, I did so just in time. I looked up right as she turned around.

"You didn't drive, did you?" she asked me. She only slurred her words a little bit.

I had to admit it. The woman could hold her liquor.

"No. Did you?"

"My place is just around the corner."

"I'll walk you," I offered.

It was cold outside, but I wasn't going to send her on her way, alone and intoxicated.

Besides, I could just as easily get a cab from in front of her building as I could from in front of Pete's.

And honestly, I'd enjoyed her company so much that I wasn't ready to go back home to my empty apartment.

So we walked around the corner and down the block until she stopped in front of an old red brick townhouse.

"This is me," she said.

"It's very close," I said. "Something tells me that Lennie isn't the one who introduced you to Pete's."

"I never said he was. Merely that he and I had gone there on occasion."

"True enough," I conceded and then I nodded in the direction of her house. "Nice place. I guess doctors make the big bucks, huh?"

"Hardly," she scoffed with a smile. "Hey, thanks for tonight. I…spend a lot of time alone, and sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk to. Someone who understands what I do. I mean, my job is not exactly something most people want to hear about and yet it's where I spend most of my time, so…well, you understand."

"I do," I agreed with a nod. "I'm kind of the opposite, although with the same end result. Too many women are simply interested because I'm a cop. It's tough to weed out the ones who're just interested in me. And you…well, you know way too many cops to have that be a factor."

"That's true," she agreed. "And don't worry about Eames. You guys will work everything out. You're all too good at what you do for it not to work."

"Yeah, I know. It's just that I hope I didn't ruin…"

I stopped myself before I said too much. Even halfway to drunk, I wasn't going to rat out their relationship.

"Ruin what?"

"Oh, just…you know. We're friends. I don't want her to think we can't still be friends just because she's the boss. I have to prove to her that I won't take advantage of that, and I didn't do a very good job of that today."

"You'll get it," she said encouragingly. "You're a good guy, Logan."

"Thanks. Not very many people would agree with you, I'm afraid. In fact, right now you're probably the only one who thinks that."

"Don't sell yourself short," she replied.

We were still standing on the sidewalk in front of her home. I'm not sure why I hadn't turned to hail a cab yet.

Of course, she hadn't turned to go inside yet, either.

Instead, she stared at me for another minute and then said, "You want to come in and get some coffee before you go home?"

Now sometimes, coffee is just coffee.

And sometimes it isn't.

TBC...