Disclaimers: The idea of writing this fic has been in my head for quite some time now. I couldn't stop imagining the episode with Brendan of The Ghost Squad with John and Anna. I thought it would be a good idea. Only some elements will change from the original story because it is still a Anna/Bates love story. I am intending to slightly modify the ending too bc it was so cruel and we didn't even know what happened to him. Most of the dialogue will be from the episode. I don't own The Ghost Squad or Downton Abbey. I don't own the characters either. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Chapter 1

Anna was trying out her new uniform. Strangely enough, she felt good in her black trousers with the big belt containing a truncheon, handcuffs and her radio which she had fixed on her police jacket. Even the bulletproof jacket made her feel more sure of herself and safe. She finished tying her boots, tied her hair into a bun and took her hat under her arm before exiting the bathroom.

She walked through the long corridor and entered a room where her colleague, Jimmy Kent, and her superior, Superintendent O'Brien, were sitting at a table. When Jimmy saw her, he started whistling at her and as an answer, she gave him the finger. She knew it was all banter, she could count on Jimmy, but sometimes he was a bit too much of a drag.

Anna was a Detective and was working as an undercover agent for the Ghost Squad, an unofficial top-secret Internal Affairs unit that sends its agents to investigate and root out corruption within the police. She had been recruited a year ago, after proving her honesty and loyalty to the police and her skills as a detective.

She sat at the table and put her hat on the fourth chair.

"So, your new case…" Started Superintend O'Brien while Anna poured herself some tea. "Police Sergeant John Bates. The drunk with a disastrous arrest rate."

She handed her a file with a photograph attached. It showed a dark-haired man, in his early forties, staring right at her with his dark hazel eyes. She could see he had a small cut on his right cheek and that he appeared to be a broad man. She thought he was good-looking, at least he was the kind of man she fancied and not one of those young boys with a ripped body but not a single brain cell working.

"Usually this kind of guy's beneath our radar. But we've had a complaint from inside. And there are allegations of him roughing people up, and abusing his position. But so far, nothing has been proven, and the locals aren't complaining, so something's a bit odd."

Anna looked briefly at the file and ended up looking at his picture again.

"You get to know him, pretend to find his endless cock gags amusing, and you find out the truth."

"Ok," said Anna, determined to achieve her mission.

"It's an easy one, this. No complications. Right Jimmy?" asked O'Brien turning to him. He sat upright in his chair before giving the facts.

"Wife vanished 6 years ago. Just up and left him apparently. And his kid won't talk to him."

"Not a really nice guy, then?" she said. Though there was something in those eyes, the tale she was being told was completely unattractive. Another one, she thought. One of those guys who neglect their family, drink too much and abuse their position at work.

"We don't want them in the force anymore. They make the public hate us. This is important work, Anna." her superior said, looking right into her eyes. Anna didn't want to cross this woman. She didn't like her much, there wasn't a lot that was loveable in this woman. But she was her boss and Anna intended to do her job well.


Anna was already a month into her mission. It had taken her some time to integrate properly into the little group of police officers. She had to refer to DI Carson, an old copper, who seemed to be a decent man. He was a curmudgeon, but he was good at his job and he was a born leader. Her colleagues were two young officers, Thomas and William, who didn't seem to get along that much, their age being about the only thing they had in common. William was blonde and Thomas had dark hair, the first was warm and made her feel comfortable right from the start, being kind to her and everyone, while the other was more sarcastic and bitter. There was something she didn't like in him but she didn't know what. With them was a more experienced officer, DC Joseph Moseley who appeared to be discreet and kind. He seemed to be loyal to DS John Bates who was the last one in their team and who was their superior.

She hadn't had her chance at working with him and trying to know him. She had first been assigned to the most tedious tasks as she was the new recruit and he wasn't much of a very chatty guy. He spent time with Joseph, mostly, was good with William but avoided Thomas when he could. He preferred to go on missions alone and kept himself to himself.
But this morning, she was the one to go fetch him at the station. As usual, he had been drinking too much the evening prior and had ended up spending the night in a cell. Gwen, a policewoman who was mostly in charge of the administration and at the counter, opened the cell's door.

"Oi!" Said Gwen to wake him up. Anna peered through the bars and saw him there, lying on his stomach, with a bit of drool running down his chin. A smile formed on her lips and in some weird way, she couldn't help herself thinking he was adorable, sleeping there, with a lock of hair dangling in front of his brow.

Startled, he woke up, still in a daze after the night he had had.

"Yup, yeah, yeah," he said.

"Get up now," Gwen told him. He groaned a little, trying to sit down.

Anna couldn't resist teasing him.

"Good night?"

"How should I know?" He answered. "Hey, there, Gwen" he waved at her. "Did you miss me?"

"Like a nasty rash", the fiery red-haired counter-attacked. Anna was fond of Gwen, she was about her age and was friendly with her. She had helped her a lot when she first arrived, giving her good advice. Ann admired her spirits. She was never shy and always spoke her mind even to the big guys of the station. She was a force to be reckoned with.

"Parade's in fifteen minutes," Anna informed John.

"So shift that saggy ass, will you, John?" Gwen added.

"Oh, come here, give us a kiss," he answered, stretching his arms out, obviously still under the residual influence of alcohol.

"What? With that breath?" and with that, Gwen left, laughing to herself.

Anna was still leaning on the wall next to the bars. Even though he was trying to show off in front of Gwen, she knew that John must be feeling pretty horrible if he had just spent the night in a cell because he had drunk too much. She couldn't help feeling some concern mixed up with her duty to find out more about him. Being nice would surely help her, so where was the harm in that?

"Are you alright?" She asked, frowning a little.

He let a groan escape his lips as if he was trying to sober up. He then grabbed his jacket which had been a substitute for a blanket and stood up.

"Well," he said, walking towards her, "I have a hangover that would kill a small horse, but apart from that, I'm tickety-boo."

She suppressed a small laugh and followed him out of the hall. She still was wary of him, she didn't know yet if the rumours about him were true, but she had to admit that there was definitely something about him. The problem was she couldn't yet tell if it was good or bad.