Maas POV

Initially, I'd only planned on staying at Pete's for an hour or so.

Just to unwind and get up to speed.

And it's not that I had a date or anything, because I didn't, but I wanted to let the four of them have their own time, time without me.

I'd called Traci earlier, but she said that she was working late, so I was just going to head home alone.

But after the incident with Theresa, my blood was boiling.

Not only just from her, but from what she represented, and this whole situation with Ross and Holt.

"Hang on. We need another round," Mike protested when I started to get up.

"No, I should…"

"Come on, Stanley," Alex encouraged. "You got a date?"

"No."

"Then stay."

So I stayed.

And we didn't just have one more round.

We had several more until the demons we were all presently fighting suddenly didn't seem so invincible anymore.

And the seriousness had completely left the table.

After regaling them with an exaggerated recount of the exact expression that had been on Ross' face when he found out everyone was threatening to quit if he came back, I excused myself and went to the bathroom.

When I headed back, I saw that Alex and Liz were alone at the table. I glanced around and found Bobby and Mike standing at the bar, ordering another round, but they looked deep in conversation, so I continued walking to the table.

"Up against the front door," Liz was saying as I approached.

"I would've like to have seen that," I said as I sat down.

"What?" Liz asked sharply.

"What?" I replied innocently, still not fully grasping the conversation.

That was when I noticed that Liz was blushing and Alex was struggling not to laugh.

"Oh, did I…" I began, stumbling over my words and wondering if I'd interrupted a private conversation.

"Go ahead, Liz. Fill him in," Alex goaded.

"Maybe she'd better not," I said cautiously. "I thought you were talking about what you wanted to do to Theresa. You know, throw her up against the front door."

"Oh, no," Alex corrected. "She was telling me about what Mike did to her. Yesterday morning after Ross' visit. While he was still standing outside."

"So you…against the door?" I asked, simultaneously trying to and trying not to picture the scene.

"Thank you, Alex," Liz said, shaking her head as her face got even redder. "Where's my drink?"

"I'm sure it'll be here in a minute," Alex answered, clearly enjoying putting Liz in the hot seat. I'm not sure why she was so embarrassed to talk about it in front of me. It's not like I haven't heard worse.

"Hey, you know, it's not fair to put parameters on girl talk," I said easily. "I was invited when you wanted the scoop on Coleman, so…"

"Yeah, and you turned out to be wrong about her," Liz reminded me. "She wanted to ruin Mike's career."

"To get Major Case," I said with a grin. "If I'd given it to her, she would've left him alone, right?"

"Ha ha," Liz said with a snort, now over her embarrassment. "Admit it. You missed the psycho signs."

"Yeah, maybe. I tend to have trouble seeing past a pretty face."

"Speaking of pretty faces…how's Traci?" Alex asked me.

"She's good."

"We're not asking you about your sex life, Stanley," Liz said, causing me to nearly choke on the remains of my drink. "We're asking about her personality."

"She's got one," I said facetiously once I got myself under control.

"Well, she works fast," Alex remarked, causing me to start choking again.

I'd certainly never mentioned that I slept with Traci on the night I met her, but considering I'd been busted in my underwear only a few nights later, it was safe to assume they know I'm sleeping with her now.

And even though I'd just gotten on Liz for getting embarrassed about discussing her sex life, I'm still not prepared to talk about mine.

Alex and Liz shared a look of amusement and then Alex added, "I meant she's fast at work. Alonzo was knocking on my door first thing this morning."

"Oh. Yeah, Traci told me that you've already dropped the suit."

"So you've talked to her today?"

"I know how to use a telephone," I quipped.

"She's not upset about that, is she?"

"No, she knew it was just for effect," I said as Mike and Bobby returned. I took a large sip of my new drink and then said, "So, Mike…Liz was telling us that she might need a new front door."

Alex burst out laughing and Liz's cheeks colored again, but Mike just looked at me and grinned.

"Nah, but I was kind of hoping it wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure. Can you just imagine Ross' face, if the door had given way?"

"I think I might be more worried about my ass in that situation," Liz said wryly.

"Okay, I missed something," Bobby said as he sat down.

I leaned back and let Alex and Liz fill Bobby in on the front-door activities as Logan interjected the random commentary.

"I wonder if he actually stood there and listened," I mused.

"I don't think it matters. He probably didn't know what the hell was going on anyway. He seems like he'd be the rigid, missionary type to me," Logan joked.

We all laughed again and I watched as Bobby whispered something to Alex and then kissed her rather than letting her respond. It was amazing to me to see how close and affectionate they are off the clock considering how well they hide it on the clock.

And I was happy to see that everyone was having a good time, despite the issues of our daily lives. It made me really glad that mine had joined the stack of resignation letters because becoming friends with these guys had shown me that there's so much more to life than just work. They obviously know that, too.

"Oh, Liz," Alex said suddenly. "I almost forgot."

She reached in her bag and pulled out a brown paper sack and handed it to Liz.

"What is it?" she asked rhetorically as she opened it up. "Chocolate?"

"Well, I've been working Mike a lot of hours, but I don't want to be the cause of you not getting any."

For some reason, that cracked everybody up, too, although I'm not exactly sure why.

But I do know that I was missing Traci, and I really wished that she could be here with me.

I know that I haven't known her for that long, but I feel a connection with her, something I haven't felt with anyone in a very long time.

And it really pisses me off that I can't introduce her to my friends, socially speaking, until Moran uncaps his pen.

And speaking of Moran…

"I hate to say it, but I'm really going to have to call it a night," I announced.

"I thought you said no date," Mike remarked.

"No, but I've got a stop to make before I go home, and it's getting late. I'll be sure to scope out the vicinity on my way out and make sure you don't have stalkers."

I said my goodbyes and left the bar, and after several trips up and down the street, I deemed the area devoid of reporters, so I sent Alex a text and then I walked to the subway station.

Twenty minutes later, I was knocking on Moran's door.

It might not be my smartest move, visiting my boss at eleven-thirty on a Monday night while more than slightly intoxicated, but things needed to be said and I wasn't going to sleep until I said them.

Besides, I felt like we'd turned a corner in our relationship now that he was part of the rebellion.

"Stanley," he said in surprise when he opened the door. "It's late."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry to bother you. I hope I knocked quietly enough so as not to wake your wife."

"You did," he said after glancing backwards, presumably to confirm that no one was stirring. "She can sleep through just about anything."

He stepped outside and stood on the stoop with me, closing the door quietly behind him.

"So, what's on your mind?"

"I want you to sign those regs," I stated firmly. "First thing in the morning."

"Why?" he asked as he turned towards me. And then he sniffed and said, "Have you been drinking?"

"After a day like today? Are you going to tell me that you haven't been?" I retorted.

He stared at me for a long minute and then said, "I'll be right back."

He went inside and while he was gone, I took a few deep, cleansing breaths and wondered what in the hell I was doing here.

A month ago, I had a wife and a mistress…barely any friends…and a boss with whom I only held professional discussions.

I would've never made demands of him, and I certainly wouldn't have come to his home.

But now…so many things were different.

I no longer had a wife or a mistress.

But I might have Traci.

And I've got some really good friends.

And I feel like more of a peer with Moran than an underling, so…maybe it was past time for some straight talk.

After another minute, the door opened again, and Moran came out carrying a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

He didn't talk until he'd poured us each a few fingers and then we both sat down on the steps.

"It's Eames, isn't it?" he said after taking a sip.

"You know, I have more departments beneath me than Major Case."

"I know."

"And even if I didn't, she's not the only woman there."

"I know."

"All I'm saying is that the regulations need to be fixed. And you waiting until this Ross thing goes away, or until Zaring's in a good mood…it's not helping."

"You still didn't answer my question."

"Did you think I would?"

"No," he said with a smirk. "So…tell me the latest with the mafia situation."

"Captain Paulson had the charges dropped against Enzo. The ME found evidence that rules him out."

"That's excellent news."

"It is. But reporters are still digging. Dr. Rodgers was followed tonight. Theresa stalked her, trying to get information on Enzo."

"She followed her after work?"

"That's right. Logan and I went out for drinks and Liz was meeting us. When we saw her, we went outside to find out what was going on, and after Liz declined to comment on the Enzo case, Theresa started in on Logan, asking him about his relationship with Eames."

"This is getting out of hand," he muttered. "Did Logan handle it okay?"

"He kept his cool. And he's dating Liz, so he was honest with Theresa."

"Logan and Dr. Rodgers?" he said, and then he started laughing. I was on the verge of being offended on Logan's behalf until he added, "Oh, I bet Danny Ross is loving that!"

"It didn't go over well," I agreed as I chuckled, now thinking about what I'd learned earlier about Liz and Mike going at it against their door. "But hopefully he got the message on that. Now if we can get him to get the hint about the job…"

"He doesn't care. He won't mind filling that department from scratch with green detectives if it means he's the captain. That should've clued Holt in. A better man would've backed off and maybe talked about alternatives rather than risking the good of the department."

I nodded my head in agreement and took another sip of the Irish whiskey and then went at him again.

"These reporters aren't going to go away. They want dirt on Eames, and if they've taken to following colleagues…it's a miracle that they haven't started tailing her."

"What are your thoughts?"

"I suggested that she talk to Theresa, one-on-one. I think she's going to do it, probably tomorrow."

"Not a bad idea."

"But do you realize how much time she's spent fielding questions about detectives' personal lives? It sure would be nice if the next time a question is asked she can simply say that it's not against regulations. If the press doesn't smell scandal, then they'll lose interest and maybe they'll start asking her real questions."

"I agree," he replied.

"So what's the hold-up?" I asked him with a grin. "Slip it into a stack of other documents sent to Zaring's office and it'll be a month before he gets around to reading it, and even then he might miss the fine print. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer."

"He's the commissioner," he admonished lightly.

"Yes, sir."

"Yeah, he is kind of a moron, isn't he?" he said on a chuckle. "Okay, so we're putting the mob connection to bed. Eames is going to handle Theresa. And the FBK?"

"Another killer taken down today, and they think this one was responsible for four of the girls."

"Those two are good, aren't they?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll be sure to update Holt on their progress. And if we can get through a few more press conferences without the mention of the Italians, then I think we'll be okay on Friday."

I left Moran after we finished our drinks.

He still hadn't committed to signing the regs, but I felt like he was definitely on the same page with me.

It was progress, and that was more than I had earlier tonight, so the trip had been worth it.

I hopped the subway back to my new apartment, scoured the street for lurkers, and then pulled the keys from my pocket and headed towards the steps.

Headlights coming up the street sent my heart racing and I felt the irrational urge to dive behind the bushes, but I didn't.

Instead, I turned around and watched as a car parked across the street.

If this is Ross again, I'm just going to beat him to a pulp.

But it wasn't Ross.

It was Traci.

And now my heart was racing for a different reason altogether.

She started across the street and then smiled when she realized I was standing outside, watching her.

"Hi," she said as she approached me. "I hope it's okay that I came by. I know it's late, but…"

She set down her briefcase and went into my arms.

"I missed you," she finished, her words barely audible now that I was holding her tightly against me.

"I've been thinking about you all night," I told her as I let her go and then reached down and picked up her briefcase. "I'm glad you came."

"Long day?" she asked me as we went up the steps.

"It wasn't all bad. What about you?"

"I don't know why some people think the law is so exciting. It's boring as hell."

"Really?"

"No," she said on a laugh. "I love it. But I don't love working this late."

We went inside and I locked up behind us, and then I pulled her into another hug.

"It's nice to have someone to come home to, though, isn't it?" she added quietly.

"It sure is."

TBC...