Disclaimer - Show and characters belong to ABC/Boccho. No profit is being made. In fact, no money at all.

Set after the events of the seventh season finale.

*

Diane was exhausted. She had decided to try and look matter-of-fact about last week's successful raid and concentrate on her current case. Everyone in the squad had put it on the line for Jill and her kids and, as she sat quietly at her desk, Diane recalled trying to look each of them in the eye with an unspoken "Thank you". It hadn't worked very well. They were all pretty wrapped up in their own thoughts about Andy's son and didn't seem to be dwelling on Jill's absence. She felt tired all over. She knew she had done her best to save Jill. She should be happy that it was all behind her.

Denby's words kept haunting her. "How much do you care about your partner, Diane?" She HAD cared. She had endured that prick and all his clever crap. She risked her whole career for Jill, and Jill had kept so much from her...looked her straight in the eye and lied. Sure Jill was trying to keep things covered for her son's sake, but why did she put her own kids in danger again with Don and his cartel connections anyway? Had she ever really known Jill, her own partner? Why didn't she see it coming? She never saw it coming. She didn't see Bobby's death coming either. She thought she was pretty good at reading people, but now she questioned everything, even her own intuition.

"Detective Russell?" She sat staring at her pen for a few moments before it registered that someone was calling her name. " Diane?" She shook her head slightly and looked up to see Fancy leaning over her desk. She tried that "Thank you" look again but only managed to look pained. Fancy paused and drew in a long breath, "Would you come with me to the break room for a minute?" He looked a little troubled. "I've got something I need to explain to you."

Diane swallowed and tucked her hair behind her ear as she rose to follow Fancy to the coffee room. She hadn't been completely honest with the chief from the beginning and wondered now what the cost might be. But even if it meant departmental discipline she didn't care. She was tired. He had every right to never trust her again. Diane followed along, not even noticing the concerned looks that Danny and Andy were exchanging as she passed them at their desks. She braced herself to accept whatever the chief had to say and stepped into the room as he closed the door quietly behind her.

"What the hell?" Diane managed to choke out as she backed into the corner of the room. There sitting at the table with Detective Jones was Harry Denby, carefully emptying his third packet of sugar into his coffee. He didn't say a word, but looked up briefly at her with a face as tired as her own before going back to studying his beverage. "Chief, he's..." she started to shout as she pointed Denby's direction but Fancy put up his hand to stop her.

"It's time to fill in a few blanks, Detective Russell," he said as he sat down next to Jones.

She folded her arms tightly and waited.

"First things first," Fancy began, "Jill and her kids are safe and well away from all of this. Thanks to you, this doesn't concern her anymore. But for a time the job wasn't sure where Jill stood. We didn't know how deeply she was involved and who she would give up in the process of helping her Ex."

Diane felt her whole body coiling up in rage just being in the same room with Denby, but stood steadfast trying to take in everything the chief was saying.

Fancy saw her face tightening but decided to continue. "I was asked to cooperate with Narcotics and Internal Affairs while they played out Don and his connections. I knew you could stand on your own with this, but Jill wasn't going to come to me with anything. You know she'd never ask me for help."

Diane acknowledged that with a slight adjustment in her posture. She knew full well that Jill's mistake had put a lot of people in a tight spot, including the chief. He really didn't have any choice but to cooperate with IA. It still stung though, and the chief knew it.

Denby cleared his throat and continued to stir his untouched coffee as Fancy resigned himself to the fact that Diane was not going to join them at the table. He saw how uncomfortable she was and he wanted to get this over with.

Diane took a step forward and directed her eyes at Jones. "What's your part in all of this? You IA too?"

Jones shifted in his chair and shook his head a little. "I wasn't in until you asked me to tail Denby. Up 'til then I didn't know anything about it. I waited outside across the street like you asked and when I saw who you were meeting I knew something bad was going down. I followed Denby for a while and when he saw me, he decided to fill me in."

Diane let out a startled laugh, "He decided to fill YOU in, huh? That's not the story you gave me."

"I though it was best," Denby finally jumped in, "because Jones was new to your squad. He could give me an unique viewpoint on what was taking place between you and Detective Kirkendall, and also help to take down Don when the time came."

Diane's jaw was set but she was listening.

"I needed someone on the inside to help with the raid without IA finding out the whole story. I figured Jones could take me out without blowing my cover and your friends here could take care of Don."

Diane stopped pacing and rubbed her temple. "What? I don't..."

Fancy finally said it loud and clear for her, "Diane, he's undercover. Always has been. Denby's been on the job the whole time."

*

Detective Diane Russell had a terrible headache. She stood facing the window even though the glare hurt her eyes. It put her back to him and that window was the closest thing to a way out. She didn't know what to say, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let him see her struggle. After they had carefully fleshed out a few more details on the narcotics case against Jill's ex, Jones and Fancy had excused themselves and left her alone with Denby. He was the one pacing now. He'd abandoned his coffee on the table and was walking slowly back and forth in front of the door.

She hoped he would just give up and leave. Why couldn't he just do the decent thing for once and leave her alone?

"Diane?" He began.

"Don't call me that." She said flatly to the window.

He drew in a deep breath and continued. "Well then, Detective Russell it is. I thought I might be allowed a certain familiarity after todays revelations, but I can understand your unwillingness to accept that."

Clever to end, thought Diane. She didn't have the energy to launch a retort so she continued to offer her back to him.

He cleared his throat again, resumed pacing and took the lead. "I really was a street cop once, Detective. Everything was crystal clear and the whole game was to catch the perp and stay clean on the job. Turns out, in the course of events after a few years of catching bad guys, the job decides I possess a certain... identifiable skill that could be of use to the department." He paused, ruffling his black hair a bit as he scratched his head. "You ever wonder what it is that made you a good undercover cop?"

Diane didn't answer. "Either you're a believable liar who enjoys the pretense on some level or you're just plain used to hiding what you're feeling and thinking at any given moment."

That caught her off guard and she let out a reflexive noise that told Denby she really was listening.

"I tried to make it as easy as I could for you, Detective, given the circumstance..."

Diane whirled around and shouted at him, cutting him off. "Easy for me! You tried everything you could to get me to drink, you jerk. You made me kiss you. You're telling me that was all part of your precious cover?"

"My cover," he shot back, "was almost blown when I took the chance to get you your ring back. If Don hadn't bought my story it could have killed the whole deal!"

Denby was momentarily embarrassed by his own anger and turned away with his hands on his hips.

Diane watched him until he turned back, then moved to the window again. The room was getting smaller by the minute.

"I figured if you hated me, it would be easier for you when this all came out into the light. If I had gained your trust through...other means, it would have been worse for you in the end."

Denby actually seemed sincere at this confession. NO, she thought to herself, don't listen. How could she know if he was telling the truth or not?

He circled the table and looked straight down at her, clearly waiting for some response, but she couldn't meet his gaze. Diane took a few steps back.

This was too much. She had to get out of there.

"I don't care how you justify what you've done, Denby." She tried her best to look and sound unmoved. " I don't have to like it, and I don't have to play the part of your confessor. If you've got a guilty conscience, find a priest." Diane turned to make her exit on that point but felt him grab her hand as she made for the door. She instinctively swung at him with her free hand as he pulled her back, but he was ready for that. Denby caught her other hand just as it was about to make contact on his face. He skillfully spun her about so her arms were crossed in front of her and he had a hold of them both from behind. "Stop it! Let go of me, you prick!" she hissed as she struggled to get free. But Denby held her fast and slowly bent down to speak directly into to ear.

He smelled faintly of Scotch and breath mints, or was that just her imagination? She froze for an instant and he took the time to whisper what he had been trying to say all along, "I'm sorry, Diane." Then, carefully, he let he go, one arm at a time and stepped back, putting both of his hands in his pockets.

Diane didn't look back as she left the room. She was a bit stunned as she sat back down at her desk. Fancy showed Denby out and then returned to Diane's desk to say something about Internal Affairs coming by after lunch. Andy made one of his usual cracks about IA but Diane didn't hear it. She didn't hear anything for a while. But she didn't feel tired anymore either.

End