A/N - Season 5! This takes place in the final scenes of the Season 5 premier, "Partners"


Garrett hustled up the steps, his pace stuttering as he passed Jim's empty desk.

He looked at his watch, "It's barely past 6."

"I know." Abbey didn't look up from her computer, finishing a memo with one hand and dropping the related folder in her outbox with the other.

Garrett rocked on his feet in front of her desk. She clenched her jaw and looked up, "What?"

Garrett tilted his head, "Where's he been going?"

"I don't know." She replied as neutrally as possible.

The DCPI narrowed his eyes, "Yes you do. You know everything."

"I don't." She insisted with a shake of her head.

"The Commissioner has been regularly leaving early for two months and you have no idea why?" Garrett made a face, "I don't believe you."

She sighed and put down her pen. At first, Brian had been right, knowing something that Garrett didn't was immensely entertaining. As the summer wore on it just became a bother, especially as she didn't actually know where the PC was going. She suspected he was continuing to meet up with Kelly Peterson but she could be wrong, he could be going to baseball games with the boys, visiting colleges with Nicky and Erin or just squeezing in some fishing on the pier before continuing to work from home.

She made it a practice to not share what she knew of the PC's private business but the added uncertainty meant she was definitely going to keep her mouth shut and Garrett's pestering served only to add to her growing list of annoyances.

She didn't bother to mask her exasperation as she looked him in the eye, "First of all, he's not leaving early; it is after 6 and he has been here since 8. Second, I'm not his overseer. You're his pal; how come you don't know?"

Garrett frowned and for a beat she felt bad for tossing that in his face but she resented the expectations he put on her.

He seemed to hear the message, "I'm sorry, Abbey."

"No…" She sighed, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be short tempered with you."

He shrugged it off with honest amnesty as his attention diverted to focus on her. "If the boss is gone what's all this?" He made a sweeping motion across the stacks of paper and still open folders occupying her typically tidy desk.

Her eyes followed the path of his hands and her shoulders stooped as she realized just how much work there still was.

She took a moment to reign in her frustration before looking back up, "Without a Chief of Department the work needs to end up somewhere." She grimaced, "It's like 2005 all over again."

Garrett shook his head, "I wasn't here for that."

She winced, "When Commissioner Connors was being investigated a lot of the stuff usually the purview of the PC ended up on the Chief's desk."

"And in 2005 that really meant ending up on your desk." He finished the implication.

She shrugged, "It's my job."

"Not really." Garrett bounced back, "What about the Chief's staff?"

"They're doing their best." Abbey was quick to excuse the team of admins left hanging in the wake of Arbogast's departure, "But they're young and mostly civilians and need some guidance."

She shrugged, "The staff of the various Chiefs have taken most of the load but it's not always clear what should end up where; Chief of Patrol or Chief of Community Affairs or Transportation versus Transit etc etc."

"So it falls on you to be the decider?" Garrett's eyebrow rose.

She gave a wane grin, "It would be too easy for everything to fall cleanly into particular bureaus."

Garrett frowned, "And I'm sure you haven't complained."

She rolled her eyes, not dignifying that with a response.

"I wouldn't count on assuming Frank is aware of all the extra work you're doing." Garrett gestured, "Might be worth giving him a heads up."

"To what end?" She frowned.

"To get him to instate a new Chief sooner than later." He explained.

She sighed, "It's not on me to get the PC to do anything."

Garrett just stared back at her, unconvinced.

She resisted the sudden compulsion to rub at her temples, "Garrett, I've told you, that's not my role. I'm not a DC and not brass. My job is to just get things done."

He rolled his eyes, "Come on, Baker. You know he doesn't put much on rank with people he trusts and I have it on solid authority that he trusts you a whole heck of a lot more than the vast majority of brass in this building."

"You don't get it." She shook her head.

"Then explain it to me." Garrett leaned on her desk, "Because right now I see you drowning in work an hour after you're technically free to clock out. That's a problem with a clear solution but the excuse you're giving me for not bringing it up to the man you've worked with for 9 years is because you're not upper echelon brass?" He straightened, "You're right, I'm definitely not understanding you."

"For." She locked eyes with him, jaw tense. "I haven't worked with the Commissioner, I've worked for him."

"Oh come on." Garrett scoffed.

"I am 100% serious."

She took a breath and leaned back in her chair, "I understand what you're saying, I really do, and to a certain extent you're right; I can get away with saying a lot more to the PC than probably any detective not named Reagan but there's nuance to the what, when and where."

She bit her lip, thinking for a beat. "Maybe you don't understand because you were never a cop but the department has rank and protocol for a reason. The PC needs to know without a shadow of a doubt that when he orders something that I will carry it out regardless of any personal feelings." She pointed at him, "Someone in your position can afford to blur the line between boss and friend because if things get messy between you there isn't likely an order he needs to give the DCPI that has time sensitive life or death consequences."

She gestured to the stack of folders, "Most times it's routine here but sometimes those commands do come down through me and the fact that they are infrequent is all the more reason to adhere to the practices of rank to ensure things don't get too lax and there won't be a hesitation."

She looked up with earnestness, "We can be close but there are lines that aren't crossed; I'm not you - I don't call him Frank, I don't know where he's going when he leaves for the day and I don't offer my opinion unless it's asked for…which includes the management of this department."

Garrett blinked and frowned. "I'd find that very difficult."

"Which is why you're you and I'm me." She sighed looking back to her computer, skimming the subject lines remaining in her inbox.

Garrett was quiet for a long moment until he nodded, "Alright, then, I'm on it."

She looked back up, eyebrows arched, "On what?"

"Operation New Chief." He explained, "Besides, you're not going to be the only one put in a bind by this; there's certain usefulness in being able to dispatch comments to the press from the Chief instead of the Commissioner and I'm certain I'll miss having access to that distinction."

She bit her lip, eyes scanning his face before she exhaled, releasing all of her earlier frustration and allowing a small smile to tip the corner of her lips. "Okay. That sounds like a plan."

He shrugged, "I've said it before, I don't know how you do what you do."

"It helps being reminded I don't have the toughest job in the building." She glanced with meaning to the closed doors of the PC's office.

"I guess he's shouldering some extra work because of this too?"

She nodded, pushing back from her desk and beginning to organize the paper into piles to be addressed tomorrow, "He is; but his workload never ends anyway, I doubt he even notices what extra reports he's going through that should be on the chief's desk." She frowned and glanced around the office space, ensuring no one else was near, "Honestly I think the hardest part for him is not having the right person to talk to."

"He can talk to me." Garrett defended, shoulders squaring.

Abbey tried to keep her smile from appearing too patronizing, "He can." She nodded, "But there's something to be said for having a cop to talk things out."

"You mean endorse his existing opinions." He grumbled.

"That's not fair." Abbey frowned, moving a stack of folders on top of another set of folders, "You know how he feels about keeping grounded with the rank and file."

"Sometimes to a detriment." Garrett pursed his lips, "He's got a lot more in common with a politician than he does a precinct boss."

Abbey couldn't contain a short guffaw, "Don't let him hear you say that."

"I've tried telling him." He replied before relinquishing, "Not that he ever actually hears it."

She smirked, clicking closed a few windows on her computer.

Garrett shuffled, tilting his head at the real estate briefings she was sticking in to her bag. "Looking at houses?"

She smiled, "Yeah, we're hoping to buy sometime this fall."

"That's exciting." He reached for the one sheets, "Where you looking?"

She frowned, "All over right now. Brian wants to look in Jersey but I like the idea of staying in the city."

He glanced through the papers, "How about a little further North? Lots of great neighborhoods around White Plains. Decent schools too."

"No thank you." She shook her head and he looked back with an arched eyebrow.

"About White Plains, of course we want good schools." She frowned, "I have gotten way too spoiled with my commute and have no desire to go much further out of the way."

"So Brooklyn it is?"

She shrugged, "We'll see."


"Lookin' at houses?" A few weeks later Abbey found herself reliving the conversation with Sergeant Gormley from the 5-4 squad.

He had readjusted his tie for the 4th time before he noticed the most recent leaflets she had stacked on the corner of her desk as he shifted from side to side.

She smiled at him, "Yes. It'll be our first house." She offered the extra information taking pity on him and the nerves on display across his face.

Abbey liked Sid ever since she had walked in on him going above and beyond trying to help when Danny had been framed. She knew that having Danny as a subordinate couldn't be easy but Gormley somehow navigated the challenge while making it clear that he was a dedicated boss and loyal cop behind his gruff Bronx exterior.

She knew he didn't know why the Commissioner had called him back after his visit the other day but it was evident that he assumed it couldn't be for any good reason. She suspected he had nothing to worry about but kept her assurances to herself, instead trying to offer warm conversation in place of the wary disinterest she usually regarded those forced to wait by her desk.

"It's a big step." He nodded. "Sheila and I are still in the first house we bought."

"Oh?" Abbey tilted her head with legitimate interest, "Anything you'd do differently?"

"Might 've been a little more aware of where it was, geographically speaking." He gestured. "We're a couple miles east of the Cross Island Parkway which was great when I was still at the 105 and really wasn't bad when I moved over to the 4-1. Now ain't that bad as long as I time it right but each time a transfer comes down the pipe, I worry."

"I can understand that." She frowned at the stack of properties.

"Not to mention that paying city tax is a little less painful when you know it's contributin' to yer own salary." He pointed out with a grin.

She gestured at him with her pen, "That is a point that could come in useful."

"Baker." The Commissioner's voice came through the buzzer and the grin slid off of Gormley's face. She tried to transmit some empathetic encouragement as she stepped around him but he maintained the expression of a condemned man. He readjusted his tie again and buttoned his jacket as she held open the door, gesturing for him to enter the office.

She just caught the Commissioner's deep voice instructing the Sergeant to sit down as she closed the door behind her.

Exhaling she grabbed her phone and the real estate listings off the desk and went to the rear stairwell, so she could pace as she talked.

" 'Ello" Brian's voice came through on the 2nd ring.

"Hey Honey." She smiled at the clear sound of Michael's plastic piano in the background, "How's our Mozart?"

"I'm sorry to tell you I don't think our son is a musical prodigy. He's flipped it upside down using it as some kind of battlefield between his elephant and giraffe."

She chuckled as she paced down a flight, "Who knows, maybe it's a new kind of music."

"Sure. One day we'll all be listening to the atonal Safari Symphony." The background noise dimmed, "So what's up?"

She balanced the phone between her chin and shoulder as she shuffled the papers she had brought with her, "I just wanted to touch base while I was thinking of it." She hustled down a couple more steps and turned so she could lay out the 5 sheets on an eye level stair. "This weekend maybe we can go the Cobble Hill place and Windsor Terrace?"

"This mean you're over the Fort Lee house?"

She frowned, "I do love the house itself and if it were in Brooklyn or Queens I'd say that's it but I just can't get over the NJ thing."

"You're going to break my brother in law's heart if he hears you talking trash about his state."

She rolled her eyes, Terrance had been pushing for them to move to Bergen County since the day they moved in together. "He can sleep easy, I don't have anything against the place, but even with reciprocity the taxes just don't make sense and you know I'm not keen on being stuck in the Jersey commute."

"Someday you're going to have to tell me why you hate tunnels so much."

Her shoulders tensed recalling the day in early 2009 when they had received a credible threat and the conference room had been taken over by engineers explaining how easily a terrorist could decimate a traffic tunnel.

"Best that you just let me be irrational on that one."

"Okay, okay." He relented with a chuckle. "I'll call the realtor once I hang up and see if there is anything like the Fort Lee house available in one of the boroughs."

"Thanks Babe." She smiled for a beat before a breeze came through disturbing her papers and she had to hustle to gather them back together.

"Everything okay over there?"

"Yeah, yes…just making a mess." She readjusted the phone, "But I should probably get back. I just wanted to talk to you while it was on my mind."

"I get it. Maybe Daniella will have more options for us when I call. We can talk about it when you get home."

"Great. Love you."

"Love you too."

She smiled as she hung up the phone. She had anticipated some more resistance to her dismissal of the house they had looked at on Saturday but she was grateful that they seemed to be approaching a consensus of what they were looking for.

Another gust of wind came through as she climbed back up the steps prompting her to look up before she opened the door back to the 14th floor. The draft was coming from the open maintenance door to the roof.

Frowning she folded away the real estate papers and climbed the extra few stairs. A brick was purposefully wedged between the door and the frame. Someone from facilities would have a key so it had to be someone who shouldn't be out there. For a beat she considered removing the brick to teach the miscreant a lesson but the off chance that they wouldn't have a phone with them stilled her hand. Instead, she stepped out herself, looking for whomever needed to be reeled back in.

Turning the corner she immediately reevaluated her course of action.

The Commissioner's forearms were braced on the roof perimeter wall, a cigar balanced between his fingers as he looked in the direction of city hall.

She started to return to the stairwell but her stealth was undermined when she accidentally kicked an empty sealant can. The PC turned, eyebrow arching.

"Detective." He greeted.

She tried not to show the pain of her now throbbing toe as she gave a dim smile in return, "Sir."

He turned fully, "Were you looking for me?"

"No." She shook her head and gestured behind her, "I just saw the door was open…" She clenched her teeth as she tried to put her weight back on her foot.

He nodded then tilted his head, "Are you okay?"

She grimaced, "Just…stubbed my toe."

He looked down, "Those probably aren't the most protective shoes."

"They are not." She agreed.

He shook his head and gestured to the HVAC unit, "Take a seat for a minute. Can't have you falling down the stairs."

She grimaced but heeded his advice and limped to the metal ledge, giving it a quick wipe before leaning against it and toeing off her shoe.

The PC leaned back against the edge wall and took a long drag of his cigar.

She watched him, "What are you even doing up here, Sir?"

With a smirk he gestured to the cigar.

She rolled her eyes and he gave in with a drop of his shoulders and a glance back over the skyline, "Needed to clear my head." He looked back with a wry grin, " It's still too early for a drink and every time I try to smoke in a park someone calls me on it."

"It is a city ordinance."

He shook his head, "One that smacks of mollycoddling."

"Broken windows Sir." She prodded with a straight face, "First it's cigars and next thing you know all kinds of degeneracy could break out."

He accepted the mocking with a short huff, "Funny Baker, very funny."

She smiled and rubbed her toe, squinting from the reflection of the setting sun in the windows of the surrounding buildings. The humor dropped from the Commissioner's face as he took a heavy breath, pursing his lips.

"What happened with Sgt Gormley?" She broke the silence.

He bounced his eyebrows, returning the cigar to his lips, "I think I gave him whiplash when I thanked him."

She tilted her head, "What?"

"Why does everyone think they are in trouble when they're called to the office?" He asked the question almost to himself as he flicked the embers into the wind.

She shrugged, "I don't think it's everyone, Sir. But Sergeant Gormley knew he crossed the line last week."

"He had good reason too."

He looked down, frowning and Abbey kept her mouth closed.

After a beat he looked back up, meeting her eyes, "Do you think I was wrong to not defend Lt McCarthy in the mayor's press conference?"

"Sir…" She shook her head in an attempt at dismissal but his steadfast gaze had her swallowing and she bit her lip, "I suspected you wanted to."

"I did." He agreed with a shallow nod, "But doesn't that just make it worse? Giving more consideration to the mayor's damn politics instead of backing my men..."

He looked away without waiting for a response. When he looked back, he was looking at her but she could tell his focus was still directed inward. "Detective, what do you want to do next?"

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

"Later. After this job." He gestured, "You had to have thought about it, there's little doubt that you'll still be working years after I'm off among the retirees on the pier." He shrugged, "What are you going to do next?"

"Sir…" Her mouth was dry and she found herself struggling to articulate the words.

He wasn't wrong, of course she knew she had a lot more time left than him and her professional future was part of the conversation she had with Brian before Michael was born. Despite that acceptance there was a part of her that had done the math; she was only 6 years away from 20 years on the force which meant a full pension and benefits upon retirement. It didn't seem a stretch to imagine the Commissioner hanging on to his post for those 6 years. Whatever she did after that was ancillary.

She exhaled, "I don't know, Sir. If I had my choice I'd stay doing what I'm doing but that really depends on who is in the office."

He gave a single stilted nod. "If you could do any job for the department, what would it be?"

"I'm doing it." She had no difficulty answering that one.

He stared back at her, his eyes scanning for any hint of sarcasm or pretense. Finding none he slouched against the wall. "Lucky you."

She frowned, "Sir?"

He forced a smile, "Don't worry about it Detective." He took a deep breath, "Despite my better judgment I'm not going anywhere...yet."

She nodded, but kept a wary eye on him. "You said you were clearing your head?"

"Trying to." His face contorted in frustration, "I told Garrett I'd do the press conference." He shook his head, "Trying to decide what I want to say versus what should be said."

Abbey eyes drifted across the cityscape, understanding. The press had been hard on McCarthy and the mayor had sidelined the Commissioner from coming to the Lieutenant's defense, something that she was certain was eating at him now that the Officer was in a potentially terminal coma.

She thought back to the previous week when a visibly agitated Sergeant Gormley had asked to speak to the Commissioner.

She looked up, "What did Sergeant Gormley do that you wanted to thank him for?"

"He spoke up." He took a deep pull on his cigar, "He was pretty lit about the Mayor's press conference and didn't hold back."

"What would he have had you say?" She questioned.

His hand stilled and he looked her in the eye, lips tilting up slightly, "He wanted me to give the media some perspective."

Abbey shrugged, "Perspective is a good thing."

"It is." He agreed, grinding out his cigar on the brick and flicking the but into the corner before he straightened, "How's the toe, Detective?"

"I think I'll live, Sir." She grinned, managing not to wince as she settled her weight into her pumps.

"That's good to hear; we need to keep you around." He gave a short grin, gesturing for her to lead the way back to the stairwell.

"Still hunting?" He asked as she picked up the real estate papers she had left by the door.

"It's a process." She lamented.

"Not still considering Jersey, are you?" He tilted his head trying to catch the details on the top page.

"No, sir." She flipped it around, "There's a place in Windsor Terrace by the park I really like."

"Brooklyn?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like it." She nodded, "Or Queens. But I'd rather be closer."

"Well I don't need to tell you which gets my vote." He smiled.

She shook her head, "No sir, the whole department is quite clear on your preferred borough."

He chuckled, reaching for the door back to the 14th floor.

He hesitated a beat, blocking her path and she stopped, waiting.

"Baker…" He trailed off.

She placated his unspoken thought, "You were just clearing your head, I get it."

"Thanks." He stepped back following her through the door, "Any word from narcotics on this afternoon's raid?"

She shook her head, "Nothing yet, I can look into it."

"Please." He nodded, "I'm going to work on this press conference statement but interrupt as soon as you hear anything.

"Yes sir." She stopped at her desk, watching as he continued through the doors to his office.

She sighed as she sat in her chair.

Perspective. Gormley had a point. As she had told Garrett a few weeks ago, despite all the work and frustration in her job, it helped knowing that the weight on her shoulders paled in comparison to that the Commissioner shouldered every moment of every day.

She frowned and pulled out the building directory; maybe she could get a key to the door to the roof for the PC...