A/N SEASON FINALE DAY! Season 7 finale will be on the tv tonight and this chapter is all in / following the season finale of season 4 - Exiles.
Side note - we're about to head into that long drought when no new episodes will be on tv. I've had a couple of conversations where folks have asked / implied they'd like to borrow head cannon / original characters from this story - if you're a writer and find yourself inspired please steal away from me; I just want new fic to read!
The blush rapidly rose up the back of Abbey's neck as the graphic contents of the DVD became clear.
"Turn it off." The Commissioner muttered with dark finality.
Garrett scrambled for the remote, hitting pause and freezing the Chief of Department's face before the screen went dark. He and Abbey made brief eye contact before they both turned their attention to the Commissioner who remained standing, both hands braced on the desk as his lips rolled and his eyes stormed in thought.
"Where'd you get this?" Garrett asked.
The Commissioner ignored him and looked to Abbey, "Baker." His voice was rough.
"Yes Sir?" Her jaw tightened and her stomach clenched.
He gestured to the phone on the desk, "Get Sergeant Gormley on the phone."
Taking a breath she stepped forward and picked up the handset, dialing the familiar number for the 5-4.
"NYPD - 54th Precinct. Officer Clemens." A voice answered.
"This is Detective Baker from the Commissioner's office." She recited the familiar phrase, "Is Sergeant Gormley available to speak to the PC?"
"I'll put you through Ma'am." The line clicked and beeped, "Gormley."
"Hold for the Commissioner." The words clipped out of her mouth and she handed over the handset to the PC who had not moved from where he stood, seething.
"Sergeant; restore Detective Reagan to full duty immediately and then tell him to get his ass to my office." He slammed the phone down without waiting for a response and picked up his cell phone, pressing a speed dial.
It did not take long for whomever he dialed to pick up. "What did your boss say when you cornered her about the complaint against your brother?"
He listened for a long beat, nodding once. "Do me a favor. Stay in the office a little while longer; either Danny or I will call you in a little bit." He pulled the phone away from his ear, but Erin was still speaking and he brought it back up, "No. Don't worry. Okay. Later."
He hung up and inhaled, eyes still averted.
Eventually he looked to Garrett, "You have, at best, 2 hours to come up with a statement explaining the resignation or firing of the Chief of Department."
"Frank…" Garrett stepped forward, "Are you certain about this? Do we even know if the source of this disc is credible?"
"It's credible." The Commissioner nodded. He turned his attention to Abbey, "Ask the Chief to report to this office now. When Detective Reagan gets here have him wait outside until I call him in."
30 minutes later Abbey watched from her desk as Danny led Chief Arbogast into the conference room. Danny pulled out a notepad as they settled into facing chairs, the Chief's eyes continuously averted.
Her intercom buzzed and she breathed deep, wholly uncertain what she'd find when she reentered the office.
She hovered by the door, eyes locked on the Commissioner who stood at the corner of his desk, absently spinning his wedding ring; his mouth tight and eyes roving around the room.
"Sir?"
"Chief Arbogast is going to be submitting his resignation to you when he's done with Detective Reagan."
"Yes, Sir." She nodded. He didn't say anything else or move from where he stood and she hesitated to leave. "Do you need anything?"
He shook his head.
She frowned, he appeared visibly distressed by the events of the evening. Refraining a sigh, she decided to signal her support in the simplest way she knew, "I'll be at my desk."
"Detective."
She stopped, and turned back from her hand on the handle.
He stared at her for a long moment, seemingly boring a hole with his gaze.
Without clear impetus, something clicked and he seemed to visibly drain, weariness defining his features. "You know you could come to me if you were in trouble, right?"
She tilted her head and stepped forward, "Sir?"
He worked his jaw, "If something happened, if you were in over your head, would you come to me?" His brow was heavy and Abbey could sense the weight he placed upon her answer.
She blinked, "Um, well…I mean, I guess it depends on what it was."
His shoulders dropped and he looked down, nodding.
"Sir?"
He shook his head, and gestured at the darkened television, "This whole thing happened because Dino was too ashamed to come to me." He frowned, "Last year ago Garrett nearly resigned because he wasn't comfortable asking for help." He looked up, "I guess I just hadn't realized I was so unapproachable."
She took two quick steps to stand behind the visitor chairs, "You're not...I mean; you're very approachable, sir."
"Apparently not." He sighed, pacing to the other corner of the desk.
"I'm certain Chief Arbogast and DCPI Moore were just hung up on their pride." She shook her head, "It is absolutely not a reflection on how you run this office."
The Commissioner looked out the window, "Dino said something the other day that I didn't think much of until now."
She stood silent, waiting.
He turned back to face her, "He was surprised that I wasn't enthusiastic about a sting on the prostitution ring because of my faith."
She resisted the instinct to roll her eyes but something must have shown on her face.
"What?"
She shrugged, "There are plenty of men of faith who deviate from the path not infrequently. If he tried laying this at the feet of your Catholicism it was a cop out."
He frowned, "Why?"
Abbey exhaled and bit her lip, considering her words, "If he was intimidated it wasn't by your faith." She met his eyes, "It was your integrity."
His eyebrows rose.
"You've said it yourself;" She tried to explain, "You hold yourself and the department to a higher standard than some understand. Some may resent it as righteousness but even those of us who understand and admire you for it can be somewhat intimidated because it can highlight how we are less successful at maintaining our own principles."
"You?" He pursed his lips, "You don't think you successfully hold yourself to a high standard?"
"I try too…but I'm not always successful. " She admitted.
He stepped back to the desk, bracing his hands on his chair, "How so?"
She shrugged, "Little things. Gossip is the one I feel most guilt about. Not a lot, and I keep close holds on everything that happens in this office but..." She sighed, willing herself not to blush, "People will tell me things thinking it gives them an in with me or that I might return the favor. I don't discourage it." She frowned, "I tell myself that keeping my ear to the ground is a way I can serve this office; but really it's just a guilty pleasure."
She looked down to escape the impassive expression on his face. "And I think you know that I'm more inclined to support bending the rules or leaning a little more old school than you are. But I'm not the PC; neither the press nor the mayor is analyzing my every move and I'm not held up as a role model for the department. "
"Some role model if I'm intimidating." He scoffed.
"You weren't intimidated by your role models?" She grasped her hands in front of her, "People you looked up to but whom you doubted you could ever be as good as?"
He dropped into his chair, fingers threading together in front of his chin.
He frowned, "I'd hope that you'd come to me. Regardless of whatever the kind of trouble is. I'd hope that you'd come to me before you acted on your own." He looked up, making eye contact and she was struck by his earnestness, nearly pleading for her promise to come to him.
She nodded, "I would."
He rubbed at his chin, "I consider us family. I mean; work family…but it's a kind of family. And family means being there for one another, regardless of what trouble you've gotten into. No judgment."
She clenched her jaw to keep her chin from trembling and nodded sharply. "Copy that."
He huffed and deflated with an exhale.
Sensing he was done, she turned to leave but hesitated by the door, turning back to face him. He looked up, waiting.
She glanced in the direction of the conference room, "If it's any conciliation I'm sure he didn't realize."
"Didn't realize what? That he was digging himself into a hole when he accepted a prostitute in exchange for professional services or when he covered up the illegal actions of a bureau chief or when he unjustifiably implicated my son in furtherance of that cover up?"
She looked down a beat, "No, sir, I just meant…" She sighed, "He didn't realize how you view the team here…he didn't realize you would take it as a personal betrayal."
"Well, he knows now." He rolled his lips tight and clenched his hands.
"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry." She paused, "I'll be at my desk."
"Thank you, Abigail."
The words were quietly uttered and she swallowed her smile, looking back before she closed the door behind her, "You're welcome, Commissioner Reagan."
"Happy Mother's Day." Brian leaned over the table to kiss the corner of lips after the waiter placed down their dessert plates.
She smirked, "You know you're nearly a week late, right?"
"Hey, life gets the upper hand sometimes." He shrugged.
Her smirk faded and she looked back at him, "Yes it does." She glanced around the candle-lit bistro, "But I think we're doing a good job of holding our own."
He nodded and looked down, stabbing at his cheesecake with his fork, "Look, I know it wasn't an easy couple of months."
She shook her head, "We don't need to talk about it here and now."
"I know." He nodded, looking back to her, "But I want to tell you something."
She frowned, her pragmatism not being strong enough to keep her stomach from clenching.
"Look," He sighed, "I know I was pretty distant and short tempered for a while."
"I was distant too." She leaned forward.
He waived away her attempt to shoulder the blame, "This is about what I did."
She swallowed.
He sighed, "I took on a new account."
"Wait." She furrowed her brow, "What?"
He smiled, "This year I handled all of the NYU account. You know I've been chipping away at it for it the past few years and I finally got it. The whole thing."
She blinked, "Congratulations Honey…" She smiled, but it felt forced, as she tried to reconcile the pieces of the conversation.
He shook his head, "What I'm saying is that I was testy because I wanted to do well, give 110% and prove myself so I could keep the account." He grinned, "And I just got word this week that they like what I did and want me to stay on."
"Oh…Okay, that's good." She nodded.
"Honey." He grinned, "You don't follow what this means for us, do you?"
"No…not really." A self –conscious smile flit across her face.
He leaned back, "It means a lot more financial stability."
She straightened, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean," He leaned forward, "We can finally buy a house. A good one, in a nice neighborhood with plenty of space and even a yard. The commission from this year alone puts us well over the top; we won't even need to use all of what we've so far saved for a really good down payment; the rest can all be rolled into what we've been putting aside for Michael's education."
Her jaw slacked, "Really?"
"Really." He nodded, "And yes, it means more work for me February through April every year but it also means that if you can't take the time or we don't want to call your mother, we can afford to hire a Nanny or childcare without it being a burden."
He smiled and leaned in, "It also means we could handle the expense of giving our boy a little brother or sister."
"Jesus…" She exhaled, "Brian…."
He leaned back, grinning.
She shook her head, heart brimming, "You seem awfully proud of yourself."
He shimmied his head, "I am." He shrugged, "Hey you know I'm as quick to buck convention as anyone, I mean, my wife is the working cop and I'm the stay at home parent, but…." He leaned in, his voice going low, "I can't deny it's a bit of a turn on to be able to provide for my family."
She reached out and touched his face, "It's a bit of a turn on for me too you know."
He straightened and poured the remaining wine out of the bottle on the table, "Then let's hurry and finish this dessert so we can get home!"
She grinned and dug into her apple crisp with gusto until she noticed something out of the corner of her eye that had her fork stilling in her hand.
"Abs?" Brian questioned.
She shook her head and looked away holding up the drink menu to hide her face as the maître de guided Commissioner Reagan and Kelly Peterson toward the dinning room.
Brian looked around trying to see what had caught her attention.
"Psst! Stop that!" She slapped at his knee.
He looked back to her, "Are you hiding from Reagan?" He whispered.
She nodded, groaning internally as he and the recently former Inspector General were seated at the table directly behind Brian. Luckily, the PC was enough of a cop that he sat facing the door, keeping his back was to them.
Brian's face scrunched in amused confusion, "Why?"
She sighed and gestured for him to lean close so she could whisper, "The woman he's with? That was the inspector general up until this week. She just resigned out of nowhere."
"So? Two folks who used to work together are out to dinner." Brian dismissed.
She shook her head, "They infuriated each other…but now, she no longer has an oversight position and he has no reason to see her professionally...and... they are out to dinner, 8pm on a Friday night…here?" She pointedly looked around the romantic ambiance.
A wicked grin crossed Brian's face. "Niiiice."
Abbey slapped his knee again.
The grin remained firmly affixed, "What do you think they're up to?" He asked her.
"So you going to tell me what this is about, Frank?" Kelly's distinctive voice carried over Brian's shoulder with the same question.
Abbey watched as the PC responded with a shrug, "It's dinner."
"Sure it is." Kelly crossed her arms.
He was quiet as the waiter returned with their drinks.
"Frank...?" She pushed him again once the young man had stepped away.
He looked into his scotch, "I felt bad I had to leave...that night when you gave me the disc?"
Her eyebrows rose but she said nothing.
Abbey watched as he shifted in his seat.
"If I didn't have to work I would have stayed." He explained.
Kelly smirked, "You're assuming I would have let you."
"Kelly." He ground out.
"Fine." She sighed, "But you know, it's also very likely that if I didn't already know you had to go back to work, I wouldn't have told you what I did."
Frank leaned forward, "But you did."
"I did." She affirmed. "So is that what this is? You want to say what you would have said that night?"
He sat back, inhaling deeply and looking down. He spoke without raising his head, "You confused me."
"I thought I was pretty clear." Kelly retorted, sipping on her gin.
"The other night? Debatable." Frank paused and Kelly smirked. "But I was talking about Friday afternoon."
Kelly put down her drink and straightened, "What was confusing about that?"
"Why you said any of it." He muttered it so low that even less than 6 feet behind him Abbey barely heard it.
Kelly sighed and looked down, finger tracing the table top, "You made me sad, Frank."
He didn't say anything and her shoulders stooped, "I don't really know what made me say it aloud but while we were talking it struck me that you must live a lonely life."
"Lonely?" Frank shook his head, "I'm never alone. I'm surrounded by people at work and constantly being bothered by my father at home. Half the nights one of my kids swings by with some problem or another..." He leaned back, gesturing," Hell, I don't even get to be alone during my commute; at minimum I've got one, most times, two, detectives with me everywhere I go."
He shook his head and sipped his drink, "Lonely…some days it would be nice to be more lonely."
"Who are you trying to convince?" Kelly watched him with steadfast attention. "It's even sadder knowing you're constantly surrounded by people but still isolated."
"What makes you so sure you have any idea what you're talking about?" He volleyed, taking a defensive sip of his drink.
She rolled her eyes and leaned forward, elbows on the table. "How many times have we gone out to dinner to discuss items that most people handle in an office?"
"I work long hours. And I don't like to skip dinner." He leaned further back.
She grinned knowingly, resting her chin in her palm, "I think you're lonely. I think arguing with me over dinner in a nice restaurant made you feel less so."
He was quiet for a long moment, crossing his arms, "We didn't always argue."
"Exactly my point." She picked up her glass.
He huffed. "Which was, what, exactly?"
"Don't play dumb." Her glass paused on the way to her lips, "I've spelled out enough for you."
He was quiet for a long time. She placed her glass back down and stared at him.
He sighed and considered the tablecloth, "Despite all you've said, you're leaving."
"You'd have me stay?" Kelly blinked, incredulous, "Continue being the Inspector General? Looking over your shoulder and questioning departmental decisions?"
"That's not…" He sighed and looked around to the neighboring tables.
Instinctively, Abbey shrunk back.
Kelly's eyes didn't leave Frank's face, "What are we doing here?"
"I thought it was obvious; drinking." He grumbled into his glass.
"Frank…" Kelly sighed.
"I don't know." He breathed out.
"Well that's a first." She relished.
His head gave a small shake, "No…it's really not."
She crossed her arms, "I've heard nothing from you since that night but as soon as my resignation is finalized you call. Why is that?"
"I've been busy." He chafed. "Didn't you hear? Just lost my Chief of Department."
She raised an eyebrow until he relented with a sigh.
"We've worked together for a while." He shrugged, "It seemed appropriate to acknowledge the moment. Buy you a farewell drink."
"Is that what this is?" She lifted her glass pointedly, "A farewell drink? See ya? Bon Voyage?"
He didn't say anything but Abbey could see his neck tense as he clenched his jaw.
Brian leaned forward whispering, "This is pretty entertaining! Who is this lady again?"
Abbey glared, "Will you just go get our check? Discretely?"
Brian play frowned and gestured to his plate where he still had some cheesecake left.
With a roll of her eyes she reached across the table, stabbed it with her own fork and placed the remaining bit in her mouth.
Her husband glared at her, "You're lucky you're sexy."
"Let's get out of here, please?" She whisper pleaded.
Brian gave an understanding nod and stood to seek out their waiter, leaving Abbey with an unobstructed view of the table behind his chair. She rubbed at her forehead, obscuring her face.
Looking through her fingers she realized she needn't have worried; Kelly's eyes were laser focused on the Commissioner.
He finally caved, "Look,…it's just…I enjoy talking with you." He admitted as if it were a deep, painful secret.
"You mean arguing." Kelly smirked.
"Whatever." Frank shook his head and looked away again.
She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, resting her chin on her interlocked hands, "You're one of those aren't you?"
"One of what?" His head snapped back.
"A Momma's boy who likes argumentative women." She cracked.
His head tilted, "I thought proper nomenclature was strong women?"
"You're not going to argue the Momma's boy?" Her eyebrows arched.
"I don't see anything wrong with respecting the woman who raised me." He dismissed with a shrug.
"Mhrm." Kelly grinned.
"Look…I'm just…." He tensed again, clasping and releasing his hands. He huffed shortly, "You're the one who started this you know."
"And trust me when I say I'm not enjoying myself." She straightened, "This is like pulling teeth. Frank, you called me. You made me spell it out the other night; now it's your turn to tell me why."
He froze, then shifted. He looked down and over, inhaling through his nose and exhaling with a long slow sigh. Eventually he looked back to Kelly, "I had fun that time you invited me in to watch the football game."
She blinked, "You mean when you fell asleep?"
He shrugged, "Okay..I enjoyed myself before I fell asleep." He looked down and his voice went quiet again, "I don't have many opportunities to have fun and relax like that."
Compassion shone from Kelly's dark eyes, "I'm sure there are any number of people who would be happy to watch a football game with you; family? Coworkers?"
"Sure." He nodded, "But as you've pointed out; it's something different, being a father, a son, or a boss."
Kelly's eyes flicked away, biting the inside of her lip.
"You called yourself my friend." Frank laid out, practically accusingly.
Her eyes flashed back, "I did."
"I don't have friends." He looked down.
"So you said." Her eyes scanned his face.
"I have folks with whom I've maintained friendships...but I'm their boss first. There's always…something else." He shrugged, "And maybe…I realize some of the value in what you said…and that friendship is not something to be dismissed when offered."
She released the pressure she had been placing on her lips and nodded, "Okay."
"That's it?" He straightened, "Okay?"
"What else did you expect?" She looked piercingly at him.
He gestured in her direction, "You sure had plenty to say the other day."
"And I said it then." she shot back. Kelly sighed and leaned forward, "Frank. Look, I'm not complaining. I'm happy to be here. But neither of us have improved in the small talk department."
"So then let's not have any small talk." He challenged.
Kelly leaned back, eyes flicking up and down, "That might get dangerous."
Abbey felt a blush begin to raise up her neck at the undertones in the older woman's voice.
"I'm a cop." Frank leaned forward, matching tone, "I'm trained to handle dangerous situations."
"That may be so." She smiled, also leaning forward, "But I have questions which I doubt you're going to like."
"Try me." His voice was low in a new way and Abbey shifted, desperately looking around for Brian to return.
Kelly looked down, spinning her glass, "So, you're really not in anyone's black book?"
"No." He affirmed.
"What has it been, Frank? 8 or 10 years?" She grinned to him, "You've what? Just kept to yourself?"
He forced a cough, straightening, "You're right, I'm not liking the direction this is going."
"I just don't want to be stepping into some place I shouldn't." Kelly shrugged.
His movements stilled and he tilted his head, "I thought you weren't throwing your hat in the ring."
"I'm not…" She looked down. When she looked back up there was no mistaking the intent in her gaze, "But maybe I am…curious."
Frank's chin raised and his shoulders pushed back even as he leaned in, "And what if I'm…curious…too?"
"We're both adults." Kelly's smile was slow to cross her face.
"We are." He nodded.
Kelly leaned back, "And as a responsible adult I would want to avoid…potential conflict."
He leaned in more, "Your resignation is official; I checked before I called you."
Kelly indulged him with a smile but rolled her eyes and leaned back, "That's not what I meant." She crossed her arms, "I still want an answer to my question; I don't believe you've been alone for nearly a decade."
He sat back in his chair, taking in a deep breath, head again turning away, "There've…been women. Nothing serious. Nothing long term."
"Past tense?" She tilted her head, waiting.
He looked down before sighing in defeat, "Mostly."
Disappointment flashed across Kelly's face and she blinked, looking away and fidgeting with her napkin, "I see."
"Hey…" Frank reached across the table and stilled her hand, "She lives a plane ride away. Married to her work. We see each other once, may be twice a year if her job brings her to the city. New York is just another port for her. It's…" He sighed, "Mutually beneficial."
Kelly looked back, eyes scanning his face. He released her hand and sat back, "But... she and I do email more regularly."
"I understand." Kelly nodded slowly, her expression still calculating.
He shifted in his seat, "What about you?"
"Me?" Her eyebrows rose, genuinely caught off guard.
He leaned forward, "You forget that I saw that file delivered to my office last fall?"
She rolled her eye, "Oh come on," She brandished away the memory, "That was from years ago."
"And more recently?" His thumbs tapped on the table.
She grinned, "More recently I've had an annoyingly time consuming job where this guy I was supposed to be overseeing kept on scheduling meetings in the evenings."
"A job you've just resigned." He leaned forward.
There was a long, quiet moment as they looked at one another.
Kelly broke the moment first, "I have a bottle of Finnerty's 18 at the house."
Frank's head tilted. "You don't drink scotch."
"I don't." She smiled, "I picked it up this afternoon. After you called."
"Ah."
A blush colored her cheeks even as her expression exuded confidence, "Just in case."
"Right." He was suddenly very still.
She sat back and mock frowned, "Does scotch go bad?"
He mirrored her position, "I've never had a bottle last long enough to find out."
"Well I'd really rather not risk it." She bit her lip and glanced at their mostly finished drinks on the table, "How about instead of getting another round here, you help me not waste some good scotch?"
There was a long moment when Frank didn't react, then he tossed back the balance of the drink in front of him with one hand as he pulled out his wallet with the other. He dropped a few bills on the table.
"Sure."
Kelly laughed, light and genuine before she finished the rest of her drink.
Knowing what was next, Abbey gave up and scrambled out of her seat, moving intently for the coverage of the restrooms before the PC stood to pull back Kelly's chair and inevitably would notice her.
Keeping her head down Abbey didn't even see her husband before she ran right into his chest.
"Oh, I'm sor…" She started before looking up and realizing who it was, "Bri?! Where have you been?"
He shrugged and gestured to the restroom, "I'd think that much would be obvious, Detective."
He smirked as his eyes scanned her, "Abs, babe, you're beat red. What happened?"
She took a deep breath and shook her head. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see the PC's hand linger on the small of Kelly's back as they left the restaurant.
Brian followed her gaze, "Huh. All that drama you put me through for nothing. They left quickly."
She looked up to him, eyes wide, "Yeah. They decided they were in a rush."
He blinked back at her, a slow grin crossing his face until he began to laugh.
"It's not funny." She slapped at his chest, "I'm never going to be able to look him in the face ever again."
"Oh Abs…" He kept laughing, "Only you…"
She frowned, biting her lip, refusing to let his laughter be contagious until she couldn't stand it anymore and she broke, laughing and leaning into her husband in the small hallway.
"C'mon babe." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, "The tab is all paid up, let's head out of here and see if I can help take your mind off what you just heard."
She groaned and let him lead her out of the restaurant, "If he comes in whistling on Monday I'm quitting, full stop."
Brian shook his head, "Just focus on how much amusement you can get out of knowing something that Garrett doesn't."
"Well...There is that." She smiled.
