Maas POV

I hardly slept Thursday night, worrying about what I'd succinctly dubbed The Ross Situation.

I barely knew the man and yet I felt like I knew him inside and out.

He was the former head of Major Case.

He'd gone undercover with the FBI – and someone else – in an effort to do something important with his life, to make a difference.

And instead, he'd ended up dead.

For a year.

And now he was back with a full head of steam and a packed agenda which included bumping one of my new best friends from her post.

And what would happen if I managed to block his move?

Very possibly, I'd get bumped from my post.

It was a crappy situation to be in and yet I somehow felt more protective of Alex than I did of myself.

Friday when I got into the office, Denise was giving me the eye.

And I know the look.

She wanted to tell me something that she didn't want Moran to hear.

So when, after giving me the look, she got up and went for coffee, I stuck my head in Moran's office and told him good morning, and then announced that I was going to get a cup of Joe.

"Is Denise out there?" he asked. "Because I could use some myself."

"I'll bring you a cup," I promised, and then I made my way to the tiny kitchen that served as the executive-level break room.

"Good morning, Captain," she said brightly.

"He's in his office, waiting for me to bring his coffee," I told her quietly. "What's up?"

"I just wanted you to know that I checked over Ross' paperwork, and it seems that he's missing a couple of reinstatement prerequisites."

"Really," I stated disbelievingly. "Such as…"

"Psych eval and range qualification," she replied with a sly grin. "I'll see what I can do about scheduling the necessary appointments, but it'll be next week. Probably late next week."

See what I mean about Alex?

She inspires loyalty.

"Didn't he have that taken care of, courtesy of an outside agency?" I questioned.

"So he says, but if it's not in the system, then there's not much I can do about it. You know computers," she said with a shrug. "And I doubt he'll be willing to put me in touch with this outside agency."

"Okay, well…I'm sure he'll be disappointed to hear that, but rules are rules, right?"

She stirred her coffee and said, "Exactly. And it's my understanding that if qualifications aren't fully met, then technically, job offers can't be made, either."

Which meant that Monday's meeting would be virtually pointless.

And it bought us all a little more time.

"Denise, if it wasn't against the rules, I'd whisk you away for a romantic weekend…"

"Aren't you working on getting those rules changed, Captain?" she asked coyly.

"Yes, I am."

"Well then…there's always hope, right?" she teased.

And she was definitely only teasing.

She's currently living with a man who sends her flowers and has her humming all day, so she certainly wasn't looking at an old seasoned detective like me.

Which is fine.

Because I was looking forward to my date with Traci the lawyer. Traci whose last name I'm not exactly sure of, but I definitely remember her infectious smile and her easy-going attitude.

I went back to my office and got to work.

I didn't mention the issues with Ross to Alex because I wanted to wait and see how Moran responded.

And later, I was glad I did.

"The meeting's still on," Moran told me Friday afternoon.

"What's the point?"

"The point is to lay it all out there," he said in annoyance, although it seemed to me like the irritation was directed somewhere other than at me.

"You're moving her, aren't you? You're letting Ross have his job back."

"It's not up to me, Stanley," he said, shaking his head. Then he sat back in his chair and looked at me. "It's because of him that she's there, so I suppose it's only fair…"

"No," I interrupted. "I mean, yes, it's because he died. But after that, she earned it and you know it."

"I moved Callas out to make room for her," he reminded me. "Because that's what Ross wanted."

"You can tell yourself that all you want to, but you moved Callas out because she was a piss-poor leader. And not only that, but you promised Goren and Eames that you'd bring them back after their undercover stint, so you were making good on your promise."

"I could've brought them back as partners," he fired back, and then he looked at me challengingly, waiting to see what I had to say about that.

Did he honestly think I'd throw them under the bus?

And did he really want me to?

Was he trying to make this whole thing easier on himself, maybe by finding out the truth about her and Goren so that then he'd have a legitimate reason to move her out of that department?

"You could've. But you didn't. In fact, you gave her the study guide for the captain's exam. You encouraged her to do well, and that's exactly what she did. And this media thing that Zaring dreamed up…she's doing precisely what we asked her to do and now we're going to punish her for being great at it by moving her out of the department she loves? I'm sorry, Chief, but that's just wrong, and you know it."

And then he surprised me.

He slammed his fist down on his desk and stared at me hard.

"You think I don't know that? She's the best damn captain we've got and Zaring wants to waste her talent by sticking her in front of a camera on a daily basis…it's fucking bullshit is what it is. But they've tied my hands, Stanley. This is it. The mayor's spoken, and Zaring's lapping it up."

"So there's honestly nothing we can do?"

"I'm not ready to say that yet. But you know who'll be in the hot seat if you save her spot, right?"

"Me? Fine."

"Not happy being my deputy chief?" he asked smartly.

"Very happy. But I'm willing to take on the fight, if it means getting the scuffle out of her backyard."

He stared at me for a moment and then nodded thoughtfully.

"The mayor likes numbers," he stated with a sigh. "Bring me numbers as to why it makes sense to keep her where she is, and we might have a chance."

"Numbers," I repeated blankly. "I'm supposed to compare her one month of service to his five years?"

"I don't care how you do it. Just do it," he said firmly. And then he gave me a smile and added, "Besides, Denise bought you another week. What more do you want?"

I nodded at him and headed for the door and then I turned around and said, "I want you to sign those new regs."

"What's the big deal about that? You know, I thought maybe it was because there was some truth to this Eames-Logan thing, but she promised me off the record that there's nothing there."

"Her and Logan?" I asked in surprise.

"Didn't you watch her on TV today?"

"No. I…missed it, I guess. Someone asked about that?"

"Yeah. She thinks maybe Alonzo is feeding one of the reporters information."

"Great, so while I'm trying to build her up, Alonzo's still trying to throw mud in her face. That's helpful."

"Eames said she'd handle it."

"Uh huh. Which means she will," I pointed out. "Because she's got follow-through."

"Tough to put that on paper, though isn't it?" he said ruefully. "Especially when the mayor's got visions of re-election and he's banking on the sudden popularity of the NYPD to get him there."

Alex couldn't catch a break.

And she'd definitely made an enemy out of Alonzo.

As if she needed another issue added into the mix.

Although it was kind of funny that everyone thought she and Logan were together.

It provided a nice smokescreen for the truth.

"Oh, and Stanley," Maas called out as I was leaving.

"Yes, sir?"

"Bring me your version of the regulations. I'll read over the specific wording and let you know what I think. But promise me you're not asking because Eames is sleeping with Logan and you want to help them come out of the closet."

"Chief, I give you my word. She's not sleeping with Logan."

So I spent the afternoon poring over the considerable personnel file of Alex Eames.

And then I read every case file that had come through Major Case since she took over.

And then I went back and pulled random case files from when Ross was captain.

By five-thirty, I was half-blind and more than ready to leave the office.

I was also slightly enamored with Alex.

And I came to a decision about my recourse if the mayor insisted on following through with his idiotic plan.

"Bad time?"

I looked up and saw the subject of my afternoon-long research standing in the doorway.

"As long as you're not here on business, it's the perfect time, because I'm done for the day," I said as I shut down my computer.

"I thought you might want these," she said as she crossed the room and placed a set of keys on my desk.

"I almost forgot," I admitted. "It's a good thing you remembered, since I already checked out of my hotel."

"It would've hit you when you got in your car and didn't know where to go," she said with a smirk. "So…date tonight?"

"Yes," I said with a smile. "And I'm telling you, after the day I've had, I'm ready to blow off a little steam."

"And will Traci be ready to…blow off steam as well?" she asked leadingly.

I barked out a laugh at her comment and said, "You've been dealing with those reporters for too long if you're going to start asking me about my sex life."

"Who said anything about sex?" she asked innocently.

"Uh huh. I know how your mind works. And it's probably not the reporters...it's those hooligans you hang out with," I joked.

"Hooligans?" she said on a laugh. "Who says that anymore?"

"Ignore me. My brain's fried after today. I can't get out of this place fast enough."

"I'm with you on that. You wouldn't believe what's going on with that Schuler case. It's like a dime-store novel."

"Uh uh. No business," I reminded her. And then I added, "Unless it's important and I need to know…"

"It's all under control, Captain."

I chatted with her for a few more minutes, each of us steadfastly ignoring the subject of Ross, and then I walked with her down to the parking garage.

"Going to Pete's?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she said, looking at her watch. "And I'm late. Have fun on your date."

"That's the plan," I replied.

And a couple of hours later, my plan was going perfectly.

I went to Alex's apartment – or rather my apartment – and unpacked my suitcase, and then took a shower and cleaned up before picking up Traci.

Of course, work was on my mind and I couldn't keep from sharing tidbits with her, even though I left out details.

"So a former employee is trying to smear the name of a current employee by giving false information to the press?" she asked. "That's slander. Without a doubt. You need to do something about that."

"The chief told her she could file suit if she confirms that it's who we think it is, but honestly, there's so much chaos going on right now that this petty bitterness is just a distraction."

"I'll draft the papers for you. No charge."

"I appreciate that, but like I said, we don't have proof right now."

"Serve her with the papers anyway," she said with a shrug. "If she's guilty, it'll scare her off. And if she's not…"

"She could counter-sue, right?"

"Well, she could, but…didn't you say that this woman already told your chief the same false allegation?"

"Yeah," I agreed.

"So then technically, he's a witness to the slander. She won't counter-sue. No lawyer would take that on."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me. You want this woman off her back, right?"

"Well, yeah. Like I said, she's dealing with too many real problems to have to worry about answering questions about her sex life."

"Then let me help."

"Why would you want to do that? You don't even know her."

"No, but she's obviously someone you care a great deal about."

"Yes, I do. And the mayor is putting the squeeze on her. It's not right."

We talked some more about it, and then I moved the conversation to her because I'm not so rusty at dating to think that a woman just wants to hear about the man all night.

And really, I enjoyed learning more about her.

So it seemed only natural for me to invite her back to my place.

"I'm going to be honest," I said as I unlocked the door to my new apartment. "I just moved in here today, and I'm subletting from a woman, so if the place looks girlie…"

She laughed and then put her hand on my arm, causing me to turn back and look at her, and that's when she kissed me.

It took me a long time to get the door unlocked.

And it took us even longer to actually make it to the bedroom.

I only spared a moment wondering if Alex and Bobby had ever spent the night in this bed.

Because honestly, by this point, I just couldn't care less.

It was almost eleven when we finally decided that additional sustenance was needed, so I pulled on my boxers and headed for the kitchen, but just as I turned the corner, I heard a knock on the door.

And I didn't check the peephole.

I don't know why, but I'll blame it on my lust-hazed mind.

But I do know that I nearly had a coronary when I opened the door and saw Ross standing on the other side.

"Captain," he said as a smug look settled onto his face. "I wasn't expecting…"

"It's not what you think," I interrupted.

"That's pretty cliché, don't you think?" he questioned and then he looked pointedly down at my choice of attire and then looked past me into the living room. "No wonder you ran out of Moran's office to call her yesterday. You have a personal stake in this."

"No, I don't. I mean, yes I do, but only because she's a friend."

"I can see that."

"Not that kind of friend," I said in annoyance. "I'm saying that Alex isn't here."

"So you just hang out in her apartment in your underwear?"

"And you just drop by her place unannounced at this time of night?"

"Why, are you jealous?" he asked smartly. And then he said, "I was actually coming to talk to her."

"I'm sure she has a phone."

"I'm guessing she doesn't have it on her right about now, does she?"

"She's not here," I said again.

"So where is she?"

"That's none of your business. But I needed a place to stay, and she said her place would be empty, so she offered to let me use it."

"She's not here," he repeated.

"That's what I said."

"Interesting."

"Not really, no. But it's a fact."

"Huh. You know, I think there have been a lot of changes to Major Case. The captain was hugging a detective in her office today, and now the deputy chief is in her apartment in his skivvies…what would Channel 7 think?"

"I'm sure you'll be on the phone to her as soon as you leave, won't you? You want that job back any way you can get it, even if it means dragging the name of a good cop through the mud."

He didn't respond, but instead just nodded at me knowingly, and then he turned around and left.

"Shit," I muttered.

"Who was that?" Traci asked as she came out of the bedroom.

"The dead captain I was telling you about," I explained.

"What was he doing here?"

"I don't know, but now things just went from bad to worse. Give me a minute, honey. I need to make a call."

So I called Alex and told her what happened.

She took it better than I would have, considering we'd just unwittingly provided Ross with damning information.

False information, but ammunition nonetheless.

I hung up with her and looked at Traci apologetically.

"I'm sorry to ruin our night, but I've got to…"

"Do damage control?"

"Oh yeah," I agreed, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I spent my whole day trying to figure out how to save her job, and in the course of about five minutes, I may have just ruined it."

TBC...