Alex POV

I stepped off the elevator and was surprised to be met immediately by Captain Maas.

"What's going on?" I asked him as he grabbed onto my elbow and led me down the hall.

"I wanted to tell you before you go in there. You need to have your feet under you," he said firmly.

"Captain…"

"Stanley," he corrected quickly. "Right now it's Stanley, because I'm telling you this as your friend, Alex. You're about to be blown away."

I raised an eyebrow at him as my mind scrambled through possibilities, but I was drawing a blank as to what would cause this kind of urgency.

"Ross. He's not dead," he stated.

"He's…not…what?"

"Danny Ross is alive and well and sitting in Moran's office. And he seems to want his old job back. And I faked a bout of nausea in order to get out of there and warn you because I don't like the way Ross is acting, and I don't like the way Moran's acting, either."

"He's not dead."

"Alex…"

"Yeah, yeah, okay. I'm with you. So…he's not dead. And he wants back in Major Case?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

"Well, how about this? Over my dead body, okay?"

He flashed me a smile and then finally let go of my arm and stood up straight.

"That's what I wanted to hear. He might have been your boss once, but…"

"I got it."

And I did have it.

But I didn't know what the hell I was going to do with it.

Ross was alive?

After Bobby and I spent nearly a year undercover trying to avenge his death?

Not to mention the fact that Maas and Logan had both been shot during our efforts to take Hassan down.

And Beemer had been killed…Banta…Stahl…

How much would've gone differently if only we'd known?

"So, you're ready?" he asked me.

"Did Moran tell you to call me?"

"No, but they're not going to sit around in there and discuss this without you present. I'll just tell him that you came up here to update us on the O'Hara case."

"Okay," I said with a nod. I could do that. After all, Bobby and Logan were interrogating a witness at the moment, and even though I wasn't sure what they were going to get out of him, I had a feeling that I could b.s. my way through a quick briefing if Moran called my bluff.

But surely he wouldn't be all that interested in hearing about it right now anyway.

Not nearly as interested as I was to find out the deal with Ross.

"Hey, Chief," Maas said as he opened Moran's door. "Look who I ran in to."

"Come on in," Moran said enthusiastically.

And Maas was right.

Moran looked like he was ready to wet himself over the sudden appearance of Danny Ross.

I stepped into the office as Ross got up from the chair. He smiled at me and held out his hand for me to shake.

"Detective," he greeted. "It's been a long time."

"It's Captain," Maas corrected for me.

I shook Ross' hand and he nodded at me.

"Captain Eames. Why am I not surprised?"

"You might not be, but I am. You were…dead," I said bluntly. "And I'm not saying that because I read about it in the paper. I saw you."

"You saw what they wanted you to see," he said carefully.

"I'm not new, Ross. And I'm not naive," I said guardedly, purposely not calling him captain.

Because he wasn't one anymore, was he? I mean, he's been gone for a year.

He's a civilian.

"I can't explain it," he said. "It's part of my agreement."

"So you were working with…who? ATF? The CIA? Because the FBI sure as hell didn't know what was going on. Or did they?"

It was almost comical how Moran and Maas seemed to have melted into the woodwork while Ross and I stood in the center of the room.

I could tell by the look on his face that he'd expected me to be more…excited or something.

And okay, so it's great that he's alive.

Really, it is.

But for some reason, mostly I was just feeling anger and resentment at having been played.

"It wasn't the FBI," he said after a minute.

"So you were playing one agency against another? Or really, three agencies against each other, since the NYPD was in the dark, too. Unless you knew about this," I finished, looking hard at Moran.

And I swear, if the next word out of his mouth is yes, I'm going to vault over his desk and strangle the life out of him.

"I just found out about an hour ago," he answered.

Ross looked at Moran, seemingly surprised by how quickly he answered my question, and then he turned back to me with a look of understanding.

"You're the new captain of Major Case," he stated.

Now it was my turn to look at Moran in surprise.

"You didn't tell him?"

"We hadn't gotten around to that yet. But Danny, surely you expected that. It was at your request that I offered her the promotion."

"I never thought you'd take it," Ross said to me. He looked at me with an inscrutable expression and said, "You left Goren behind."

"I didn't leave him behind," I said defensively. "He's partnered with Logan, and it's working out great. So tell me what happened with you."

"I can't."

"Bullshit."

"Eames," Moran said at the same time Maas said, "Alex."

"What? Goren and I spent a year of our lives undercover trying to get Hassan and make him pay for what he did to you...we almost got ourselves killed on several occasions, and I'm just supposed to accept that it was all for nothing?" I said, and by this point, I was shouting. I turned to Maas and added, "You helped us. You were shot twice. So was Logan. And it's okay with you that we don't even get an explanation?"

"Detective…" Ross said calmly.

"It's Captain!" I yelled. "And I need more from you than I can't. Actually, you know what? Save it. We'll call a meeting. One with everyone who put their lives on the line for you after you faked your own death, and then you can tell all of us exactly why it was so vital to keep the truth from people who cared about getting justice for you while you were probably on a damn beach somewhere sunning yourself."

"I see you've taken over Goren's temper," Ross said, and he had the nerve to smile, like there was something funny in all of this.

I stared at him, wondering how much trouble I could possibly get into if I pulled out my gun and killed a man who was supposedly already dead.

"I just don't like being played," I said through gritted teeth.

"I never played you," he said, maybe now grasping how the situation was making me feel. "I couldn't tell anyone. If word got out, then he still might have come after me."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that now, do you?"

"No, because Hassan's dead."

"Exactly. Ask me how he got that way."

"You?"

"Me. Goren. Logan. Maas. And with Moran's support. Everyone here was crusading for you. And today you just stroll in here like it was no big deal…"

"I didn't mean it like that. And I didn't realize…"

"No. You didn't."

"Maybe I should give this a little time to settle," he said. "Chief, I'll call you on Monday."

I glanced over at Moran and found him sitting, almost looking like a cartoon character with his jaw dangling down near the floor.

"Um…sure, Ross. We can talk about options."

"Good to see you again, Stanley," Ross said, and then he turned to me and nodded stiffly. "Captain. I'm sorry to upset the apple cart. I think I'll make a pass by the morgue and see if I can find anyone happy to see me, someone who's willing to get things back to the way they used to be. The way they should be. You forget I had to waste a year of my life pretending to be someone else."

My heart sank at his mention of going to see Liz, so much so that I let the rest of his statement go.

He wanted to win her back?

What was this whole thing going to do to her?

And to Logan?

"That's not a good idea," I asserted.

"You might be a captain now, Eames, but you're not mine," he said smartly.

And then he left the office, closing the door behind him.

"Well, that was…not what I expected," Moran said.

But I only barely heard him as I pulled out my phone.

I had to get Liz out of the morgue.

And I didn't want to tell her why over the phone.

"What did you expect, Chief? You know what they went through. And he just waltzes back in here? He looked like he expected a damn parade," Maas was saying as I stood frozen with my phone in my hand.

For some reason, I couldn't think straight. I just kept coming back to the fact that Ross wasn't dead.

I'd looked at his body as it was zipped into a cadaver bag…and yet it was all an elaborate scheme.

My phone buzzed, startling me out of my paralysis.

A text from Bobby.

Are you almost done? We need to brief you.

He was offering me an out, because otherwise he'd never text me something so vague.

But at least that told me that he was done with his witness, which meant he and Logan could help me with Liz.

I typed out my reply.

Call Liz and have her meet you and Logan at Pete's. Urgent - do it now. I'll be there as soon as I can.

I put my phone away and found Moran and Maas both looking at me.

"I'm guessing he wants his old job back," I stated.

"I think that's the assumption he's making, yes," Moran admitted.

"Chief…" Maas began.

"Hold on, Stanley. I didn't say he was getting it. I'm just…I'm in shock about this myself. And Eames, I didn't think about this in terms of what his supposed death did to you and the others…I can understand why you're so upset. As the Chief of D's, he could've entrusted me with the information. Or at the very least, with the information that he was working with a second agency last year."

"He kept you in the dark, too," Maas prodded. "He wanted to be the hero and take down Hassan."

"Yeah, well instead, you guys did," Moran replied, looking at me with something akin to pride.

"That's right. Captain Eames has more than earned her position. And with this current case…"

"I know," he said, interrupting Maas' plea on my behalf. "And of course, nothing's going to be done right away. Your detectives need to catch the killer, Eames."

"So…what? Goren and Logan wrap up their case and then you decide whether or not I keep my job?"

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying…I need to think about how this is all going to play out. In the meantime, keep up the good work."

"Yes, sir," I forced myself to say.

I mean, I could understand that Ross' reappearance was going to throw things into a different light, but still…as leery as I'd been initially about taking this job, I want it now.

And I sure as hell wasn't going to step aside for Ross.

"And Eames," Moran added. "Don't think I don't know what you've done for this department. What you continue to do for it."

"Thank you."

I shared a brief look with Maas and then I left Moran's office.

I was shaking with…outrage and indignation.

"Kind of a kick in the teeth, isn't it? You're right, by the way."

I turned around and saw that Denise was watching me.

"I'm sorry?"

"I could hear you through the walls," she explained.

"Oh," I said with a nod. "Well, then I am sorry. I should've shown a little more restraint."

"No, like I said. You're right. After everything you guys went through…well, let's just say you've got my vote."

"Thanks."

"Yeah, well I'm not sure if that counts for anything," she admitted with a smile.

"It does," I said sincerely. "I really appreciate it."

I got onto the elevator and pulled my phone out again to send a text.

Did you get Liz?

She's meeting us there, Bobby replied.

Me: Do you know if she left already?

The pause was a little longer, and then came the reply.

Bobby: Logan just checked. She's almost to Pete's. So are we. You?

Me: Fifteen minutes.

I love that he didn't question my demand for our lunch hour to be spent in a darkened bar.

I also love the fact that Liz had apparently dropped everything to join us simply because I'd said so. Her morgue was flooded with bodies at the moment, and if I hadn't asked her to leave, she probably would've worked through lunch. And dinner.

I drove like a woman possessed over to Pete's, and hurried inside.

"Okay, Cap," Logan said as I slid into the booth next to Bobby and instantly sought out his hand. "You've got us. What's up?"

"Yeah, what'd Maas want?" Bobby asked me.

They all looked at me expectantly, and I suddenly became tongue-tied.

"Alex?" Bobby asked worriedly.

"It's…it's…"

"Do it like a Band-Aid," Liz said encouragingly.

"Okay. Okay," I repeated. And then I took a deep breath and said in a rush, "Um…Ross is alive. He wants his job back. And Liz, he wants you back, too."

TBC...