Ross POV

"I thought you were leaving early to meet your girlfriend before work," I said in exasperation, watching as Liz checked Jeremy for bodily harm. He's bloody and bruised, but he seems pleased with himself and completely unremorseful.

"Dad, no one's looking for the guy," he said, and then he grimaced when Liz poked at his side.

"Bruised ribs," she stated quietly as I said, "The feds are looking for him. That's their job. It sure as hell isn't the job of a nineteen year old kid."

"I'm almost twenty, and I'm not a kid," he clarified determinedly.

"Do you realize how dangerous that was? The guy could've killed you, Jeremy."

"He's too much of a coward to go after men," he fired back boldly. "He tries to catch women when they least suspect it…that kind of guy is one of the worst kind out there. I mean, seriously, Dad, come on!"

"If you know so much about him, I guess you know he carries a gun, right? And I have no doubt that he'd shoot anyone who tries to stand in his way."

I meant in the way of freedom when I said it, but once I gave voice to the words, Jeremy's interpretation is what popped into my head, too.

"Between him and Hayes. He's not going to stop until one of two things happen. He'll get caught. Or he'll catch her."

Liz paused in her ministrations and she caught my eye, the worry evident, and it's worry for Hayes rather than the minor scrapes and bruises on Jeremy. He's just now over the black eyes from getting punched in the nose on that unauthorized undercover sting, and now he's got road rash on his face and arms, and apparently damaged ribs from going after an escaped felon…I have to admit to feeling some pride buried somewhere underneath my concern.

"I know," I said at last.

"Then what are we going to do about it?"

"We aren't doing anything. I am going to assign someone to investigate the…" I began, and then I trailed off briefly as I decided what to call it before finishing with, "attempted vehicular manslaughter of the Chief of D's son."

"You are?" he asked in surprise.

"You turned it into an NYPD issue, Jeremy. The feds will keep looking for him, of course, but that doesn't mean we can't look for him in regards to a separate offense."

Jeremy grinned fully, and as I looked at him, I realized something else.

"Your mother is going to kick your ass."

"No, she won't," he replied, still smiling as he looked at Liz and asked playfully, "Will you?"

"I will if you pull another stunt like this," she warned sternly, but her gentle dabbing at his abraded skin with antiseptic takes the heat from her statement. Liz has had a soft spot for Jeremy from the beginning, and as much as I love it, I still need to get our point across.

"I feel like we said this the last time," I reminded him. "No more police work until you're an official member of the police department. Are you hearing me?"

"Not without talking to anyone first," Liz amended, which took me by surprise.

"Liz…"

"It's in his blood, Danny."

"Yes, but…"

"I'm not saying he does stake-outs or undercover work," she interrupted. "But telling him no police work is only going to make him hide the fact that he's doing police work. It's the same as underage drinking. Wouldn't you rather know, so that we can keep him safe?"

Her practicality always amazes me. I glanced at Jeremy, who's holding his breath as his gaze is shifting back and forth between me and Liz, and I'm struck by the juxtaposition of boy and man, although if I look more closely, I'm thinking the scales are tipping largely in favor of man, except for the fact that I'm still in charge of his fate in this instance.

"Keep us in the loop," I said firmly. "I'm going to put the Gorens on the case, so you're at their disposal for whatever they need."

"Yes, sir," he said immediately.

"And you don't do anything without running it past them or me."

"Yes, sir," he said again.

"You're all done," Liz said as she stepped back from him, and then she shook her head and said, "Your mother is going to kick your ass, showing up at your brother's graduation looking like this."

"That's okay. Maybe she'll get all of her hostility out on me."

Instead of on Liz, I thought. That's what he's thinking. How did I get so lucky to have such great kids? And thank God for Liz, for helping me become part of their lives again.

Liz ran her hand over his head and then went to her purse, where she pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen.

"Here, take these. It won't make the rib pain go away, but it'll be more bearable."

"Go home to clean up and change your clothes, and then straight back to 1PP," I added as she handed over the pills. "I'll be over to brief the Gorens on their new assignment, and then don't forget, we're leaving at noon."

Once Jeremy was gone, I sighed heavily and looked over at Liz.

"I'm sorry," she said, catching me off guard.

"For what?"

"I shouldn't have interfered with your parenting. At least, not in front of him. You said no police work, and I…"

"Did the right thing," I finished for her. "I wasn't seeing it clearly, and you pointed out that it'll be damn near impossible for him to stop."

"He's just like his dad," she said with a smile. "So you aren't irritated with me?"

"Not at all. It's not my parenting, Liz. It's ours."

"Who are you, and what did you do with Danny Ross?" she teased, not even bothering to look around the room before grabbing my tie and pulling me to her for a kiss.

"You think the old Danny would've been upset with you?" I asked, trying to sound casual even though she'd just knocked my socks off with that kiss.

"Regularly, and usually for no good reason," she joked. "But this time, you would've been justified."

"We're a team," I said, shaking my head. "Both boys are going to be with us all summer, and possibly longer, so I'm glad we can get this straight now. I value your opinion, and I never mind when you disagree with me about something, and if it's something I want to discuss further, then we can do it behind closed doors. But in this case, you were right."

I was rewarded for my rational, down-to-earth statement with another rousing kiss, after which I reluctantly left the morgue and headed for 1PP.

I found the eleventh floor to be a hub of activity, although it still seems not quite so full these days, without the addition of the four marshals.

"How's Jeremy?" Hayes asked when she saw me. I think she's going by Bernard now, but it's probably going to take a while for me to get used to it. I still think of Alex as Eames sometimes in my head.

I glanced over at her, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and the paleness of her skin. She's a beautiful woman, without a doubt, and today is no exception, but the signs of mental and physical exhaustion are still there.

"None the worse for wear," I said easily, not wanting her to feel any guilt about his minor injuries.

"Even after you got your hands on him?" Bernard spoke up.

I looked around and noticed that even though everyone had been working when I came in, now they're all focused on me, so I didn't answer, but instead began getting the rundown.

"Bobby, Alex," I began. "How's your case coming along?"

The apparent suicide turned murder of a woman in Hell's Kitchen. I'd only pulled it into Major Case because of issues I'm having with that local precinct. I want the captain replaced, but I don't have a candidate just yet, so in the meantime, anything suspect is going to come through us. The only thing suspect this time was that the girl was dressed like a socialite, so in spite of no ID, I poached it.

Turned out to be a good call on my part.

"The girl sure had her enemies," Alex began as she reached for her notes. Girl being Lindsay Canter of Westchester, step-daughter of a big wig CEO on Wall Street. Once that ID came out on Tuesday, I've been getting regular calls from the mayor. "She either screwed or screwed over everyone she met."

"Nice. So rather than no suspects, you have too many?"

"We're whittling them down," Bobby said.

I nodded and turned back to Hayes, where she's sitting at her desk, across from Eames.

"What about you two? How close are we to telling Officer Myers that we have his daughter's killer?"

"An hour or two, at the most," Eames answered, waving a paper at me. "We just got confirmation of a busted alibi, so we're about to go pick him up."

"It's him, Chief," Hayes added. "We'll get him to confess."

"Good," I remarked, and then I turned back to the Gorens. "Before they go, bring Eames and Hayes up to speed on the Canter murder. I have a new case I want you two to handle."

"Um…okay," Bobby managed, and his lack of enthusiasm made me want to smile. I know he hates stopping something midstream, but I want them on Flowers.

"Sure, Chief," Alex said purposefully, catching her husband's eye. She's been reining him in for so many years now that I don't even think she knows she does it, but that's okay. I don't mind his reluctance, and I don't mind her covering. I guess I'm really not the old Danny anymore.

"Jeremy was nearly run down in the street this morning, in front of Detective Bernard's home. Unis took the initial report, but I want you two running the investigation."

"Chief, are you sure?" Bernard questioned, looking at me with gratitude.

"Won't be the first time I've stepped on federal toes, so yes, I'm sure," I deflected before turning back to Bobby. "Bernard will give you the pictures Jeremy took. There's already an APB out on the vehicle, and I'm sure he's ditched it, but I have no doubt you'll track him faster than any fed."

"We're on it," Bobby agreed immediately.

And they were. Before I shifted my attention to the Logans, the Gorens were already moving towards Eames and Hayes, with the Canter file in their hands, ready to pass it off.

"We're thinking Kevin Shaw was set up," Mike said to me after I raised my eyebrow at him, silently asking for an update.

"It was his car at the scene, but he wasn't in it," Carolyn said.

"Or at least, we don't believe that he was. But we still don't have a motive, or another suspect, so at the moment, we're spinning our wheels."

I could hear the frustration in his voice. I know he feels like the longer it takes him to find the real killer, the more pressure he's going to feel to concede that it might be Shaw. But Logan has better instincts than just about anyone, and I don't believe he's going to be biased in favor of Shaw simply because he's Irish, so I'm going to let him ride this out.

"Take a step back and go in from another angle," I encouraged. "You were looking at the victim, but try thinking of Shaw as another victim. Look at who might want him pinched. Maybe the girl was just collateral damage."

Before I finished my sentence, they started conducting one of those Goren-like telepathic conversations, and I could see the fresh light of new ideas, so I moved away from them and let them get to it.

"Chief, we wrapped up our case yesterday. The report should be in your inbox," Lupo said to me.

"It was the wife," Bernard added, a smile on his face.

I'm glad he can still smile after what happened this morning. I'm sure it helps that his wife is sitting fifteen feet away, so he has eyes on her, but still…won't be long before she's back out on the streets, and God only knows where that monster Flowers is hiding.

"Yeah, that cost me twenty," Lupo complained good-naturedly.

"You bet against the wife?" I joked, shaking my head. "When politics are involved?"

Lupo shrugged and just smiled at me, and then Bernard said quietly, "Hey, thanks for making this a case, and putting the Gorens on it. I appreciate it. I'm sorry Jeremy got involved, though."

"According to Liz, he can't help himself, so don't feel bad about Jeremy," I replied. "And you're welcome. I'm glad we have a legitimate reason to go after him because I was about to do it anyway."

And then, as I noticed Bernard's worried gaze stray over to his wife, I added spontaneously, "And I'm pulling you from the call-out rotation for now."

He looked back at me quickly, his expression questioning.

"I don't want you getting pulled away, leaving her home alone in the middle of the night," I explained. "Just don't tell her. Let her think you're just that lucky."

"Yes, sir," he said with appreciation.

"Good, okay, so…jump in with the Logans until the next case comes along, okay?"

I spent a few more minutes in the squad room, talking with my other detectives, and then I went back up to my office, to get in a few hours of work before heading up to Albany.

I got a text from Jeremy at ten, letting me know that he was back at 1PP, and then I got one from Liz at eleven forty-five, reminding me to wrap it up.

You know she'll blame me if we're late, she reasoned. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she's going to be blamed for everything anyway. I just hope we can enjoy the ceremony in peace, and then get the hell back home. Aaron's riding back with us tonight, which says a lot about how anxious he is to get away from his mother.

I met Jeremy in the lobby at exactly twelve, and together we walked to the car.

"You're moving kind of slow," I commented. "Ribs sore?"

"A little. I took some more ibuprofen," he said. But he was still quiet, and I wondered about it as we drove over to the morgue.

Liz was waiting out front, already changed out of her scrubs and into a dress.

I rolled down the window and whistled at her as I eased over to the curb. Jeremy hopped out of the passenger seat, moving to hold the door open for Liz as she got in, and then he got in the back.

"You really look great, Liz," he told her, but again, his playfulness and enthusiasm is absent.

"Thanks," she said, catching my eye and giving me a questioning look. I shrugged, and then in true Liz fashion, she turned around in her seat and said, "Okay, what is it? Did your mom call again? Did you do something you weren't supposed to?"

"No," he promised quickly, and then he straightened in his seat, like he's making an effort to be mature, and then he said, "I got dumped."

"What? Natalie?" I asked in surprise. "When? Why?"

Liz chucked my leg as she said, "I'm sorry, honey. Do you want to talk about it?"

I watched him in the rear view mirror as he responded.

"I called her this morning, when I was on my way home to get cleaned up. I told her about what happened, and she kind of freaked out. I mean, worse than you, Dad."

He met my gaze in the mirror, and I can tell he's trying hard to be okay with what happened by injecting humor into it. I smirked at him, and he continued.

"Yeah, so anyway, she said she overlooked the black eyes because they were mostly healed, but that if I'm going to keep getting into that kind of trouble, then she needs to think about her image and her future, and…well, then I started thinking about what I haven't told her, like everything that happened in Baltimore, and how that might affect her future if she stayed with me, and while I was thinking, I wasn't talking, so then she said if I couldn't promise to stay out of trouble, then she needed to rethink our relationship, and the way she was talking to me…Dad, it reminded me of Mom."

I looked back at him in surprise, but he kept going, saying, "So I told her that I wasn't getting into trouble, it was called doing police work, and I plan to keep doing that until I'm old, and then she said it would be a good idea if I don't call her anymore."

"Doesn't sound to me like you got dumped at all," Liz said reasonably.

"Um…don't call me pretty much means that," he countered.

"I'm saying, you stood up for who you are and what you want to be, and if that didn't work for her, then that's her choice, and it's better that you found out now," she clarified.

I saw the dawning on his face, and I blindly reached over for Liz's hand, completely impressed with how she handled the situation. We're definitely both doing the parenting here. Hell, she's doing ten times better than me.

"Yeah, you know, you're right," he said after another minute, a small smile on his face.

"She's always right," I said playfully. "The faster you learn that, the better off you'll be."

"How long did it take you?" he teased back.

"Too long," Liz said, causing all of us to laugh. "Now hurry up and drive, Danny. Let's see Aaron graduate, and then bring him back home. It's time we had this family all under one roof."

TBC...

Next up: Carolyn