This fic takes place in August 2015, approximately three months after May 2015 when the series was cancelled.

### ~ ~ ###

Each year, the department enforces a mandated ritual day in uniform, including plainclothes detectives. Reece takes advantage of the day to also announce her annual, week-long ride-along with one of her detectives.

vvvv

Although Joanna Reece had served for a little more than a year as Lieutenant over the 11th's Homicide Unit, it was her first Uniform Day with them, having missed the previous year's ritual by less than a month, when she'd taken over from Lt. Marcia Roarke. She was thankful that she still fit into her uniform. All those hours of sweat equity racked up in a popular fitness facility had paid off. But the thought of spending the day in the constricting uniform prompted her to announce that her week-long ride-along would begin the next day.

"Who's the lucky stiff?" Det. Rick Morse playfully asked her, eliciting titters from the other precinct members standing around.

"You volunteering, Detective?" Reece asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Uh - no, no. I had my day last year with Lt. Roarke," he replied, his smile washed away. The prospect of spending his work day with another hard-as-nails professional female superior was enough to push him into early retirement. 'These female cops,' the 25-year veteran grudgingly thought to himself. 'Give 'em a higher title and a corner office - '

"Looks like I'm the lucky stiff, then," Reece threw back at him, eliciting titters once again from the others. "Doesn't matter that we're all trussed up today as if we could march in a cadet revue, we still do our jobs," she reminded them. "That's all for now, everyone," she said, releasing them back to their regular duties. Instead of retreating to her office, she walked over to join Jo and Mike at their desks.

"I'll be riding along with you two starting tomorrow," she told them in a lowered voice. "Oh, and, uh, I understand that Dr. Morgan still occasionally accompanies one or both of you to crime scenes." They both nodded, temporarily tongue-tied. "This should be interesting." She gave them a toothy grin and returned to her office.

The two detective partners stared at each other then slowly sat down in their chairs. Jo turned to stare at her desk phone, thinking that she should call Henry to warn him. Maybe advise him to take the day off. The entire week off. His strange behavior and some of the things he said might be taken the wrong way by the Lieutenant. And what if he did anything dumb or dangerous that she normally would cover up or omit from her reports, altogether? How would she be able to do that with Lieu witnessing his antics in real time?

A worried Mike plopped down into the chair next to her desk. "Better tell the Doc," he whispered. "Let him know no monkey business for the next few days if he knows what's good for him."

Jo closed her eyes and opened them again, side-eyeing him. "Monkey business?"

"You know what I mean," he countered. "No takin' evidence without a warrant. No jumpin' in front of cars or bullets. No accusing mayors or state senators of murder without any proof!"

Jo closed her eyes again, nodding at his every statement. "Got it," she replied. He rose from the chair and took a step back toward his own desk. "He was right each time, though." Mike stopped, holding his breath. "He nailed each perp because he knew things that we did not," she reminded him. She stood up and turned to face Mike's back. He slowly turned around to face her and released his breath before he replied.

"Yeah, but he always knows things that we don't," he replied, frustrated. "Look. I like the Doc as much as you do. Well - maybe not as much as you do," he smirked. "But still, he's an okay guy and I'm worried that Lieu won't understand his wacky investigation approach and ground him or report him."

"Um-hmm. And maybe get us in trouble, too?" she asked, choosing to let that "not as much as you do" part go. Mike shrugged slightly but said nothing. She nodded and told him that she was on her way to the morgue to have a talk with their enigmatic ME.

Mike cursed himself as he watched Jo walk out of the bullpen, thinking it might have been better if he had warned Henry instead.

vvvv

Jo entered the morgue to find Henry at the other end, weighing what looked like a ... brain ... or what was left of a victim's brain after a flesh-eating bacteria had destroyed most of it. She swallowed and snatched her eyes away from the sight of it. As she slowly drew closer to him, he calmly made some quick notes onto a clipboarded form and then handed the organ off to Lucas, who whisked it away to deposit it into a specimen jar. No matter how many dead bodies she'd seen, it was still unnerving to view their innerds. Henry and Lucas seemed to handle the victims' organs as if they were simply different cuts of meat in a butcher shop. Well, she told herself, it took a special kind of person with a certain kind of mindset to do what they did. And no matter how much she admired the both of them and appreciated all that they did to help point the NYPD toward the right perp, she was thankful to be one who did not possess that certain kind of mindset.

Henry put the cap back onto his inkpen and pushed it down into the top pocket of his white lab coat. He turned and greeted her with a broad smile. "Good morning, Detective. Might I add that you do justice to the uniform."

She'd almost forgotten that she was suited up for the day. "Thank you," she replied, touching the brim of her cap but unable to enthusiastically accept the compliment, having mixed feelings about this Uniform Day thing. Okay, she got it that it was to remind everyone on the force that their primary reason for being on the job was to protect and serve the public. That no position was more important than the other and that everyone's efforts should work toward the greater good. "Came to give you a heads up about tomorrow."

"About the Lieutenant choosing to ride along with Det. Hanson and you?"

"How did you - ?"

"Just got off the phone with her a few minutes ago," Henry replied. "Apparently, she wanted to ward off me suffering a heart attack at her being with us if I went out on a call with you."

"Oh. She's quick," Jo said, surprised that her boss had beat her to the punch, thinking that Reece had wanted to evoke shock and awe from him tomorrow with her unannounced presence. "So you understand that you have to color within the lines if we do," she stated more than asked.

Henry appeared to take exception to that. His mouth and eyes popped open as he looked left and right, then back at her. "Detective, you make it sound as though I were some type of problem child who's going to misbehave and embarrass you." He put up a hand and jutted his chin out when she started to respond. "I can assure you that I will be on my best behavior tomorrow," he promised, giving her a slight bow.

"And the rest of the week," she prompted him as she followed him into his office.

"And the rest of the - week?" he asked, whirling back around to face her.

vvvv

Abe's Antiques later on that evening ...

Abe could not contain his laughter. He'd tried more than once but every time he looked at his father's pinched face, the laughter would burst out of him again.

"Abraham, you do understand that spending an entire week with the all-knowing, all-seeing Lieutenant could spell disaster for me," Henry told him.

"Yeah, yeah. That's the problem," Abe sputtered between laughs. "I do understand."

"If you understand, then you shouldn't be laughing!" Henry exclaimed.

"Dad, Dad, it's just that ... " he paused to catch his breath and rein in his laughter. "You manage to get yourself into the dungeons of dung sometimes."

Henry shut his eyes and pressed his lips into a thin, annoyed line. "Jo suggested that I call out sick for the rest of the week."

"That would take care of everything," Abe said. He resumed eating the rest of his meatloaf dinner.

"It would," Henry quietly agreed, his head lowered. He then raised his eyes to meet Abe's, a gleam in them and raised his head, his lips perked up into a determined smile. "No. I shall not be the coward in the face of adversity."

"In the face of ... oh, for Heaven's - " Abe stopped eating and lowered his forehead into his palm.

"I shall participate in this, ah, ride-along with the good Lieutenant." Seemingly satisfied with his bold decision, he resumed eating his dinner, as well.

"And what if something happens?" Abe grumbled at him.

"Nothing will," he confidently replied. "I gave my word to Jo that she could expect my best behavior and I won't let her down."

"Take the burner phone with you," Abe grumbled again. Henry frowned at him and he added, "Just in case. Please." Henry shook his head and took a sip from his wine glass.

vvvv

The next morning, things were, thankfully, quiet. No calls came into the precinct of a dead body anywhere. Six minutes before noon, Jo and Mike heaved a joint sigh of relief and prepared for lunch. Mike stayed at his desk and pulled out a steak sandwich brought from home while Jo opted for a philly cheese steak burger from the food truck parked in the southwest corner of the building near the bike racks. She had just exchanged her money for the burger when her cell phone rang. Groaning at the LT REECE on the Caller ID, she quickly answered it.

"Martinez."

("Got an anonymous tip on the whereabouts of Jim Davidson's suspected murderer.")

"That's great!"

("Meet us out front. We'll be going back to the crime scene.")

"O-okay." They ended the call and Jo took a quick bite of her burger. She returned to the front of the building and walked over to her car. She chewed and swallowed but realized that the tasty burger was now garbage and she tossed it into the nearby garbage can. A quick swig of her diet root beer and it, too, was tossed. Maybe Abe could try again to fatten her up with one of his delicious dinner meals later on, she hoped. A few minutes later, Reece, Hanson, and Henry emerged from the building and they piled into her car.

While they drove back to the crime scene, Reece informed them that uni's were bringing their victim's widow and their prime suspect, Tyne Davidson, there. When Mike asked why she wasn't just brought in for more questioning, Reece looked at Henry seated next to her in the back seat and replied, "We need her to confess - and Henry has a plan."

Author's Notes: A short beginning, I know, but this is a busy week for me and I didn't want to wait to start publishing this. Hope you enjoy it. And what plan does Henry have? My typing fingers with a mind of their own will unveil that in the next chapter.

Notes:

Inspired by an episode of "Barney Miller" TV show entitled, "Uniform Day" (S05/E12). It aired over ABC TV network on 7 Feb 1980. Also, an episode of "Blue Bloods" TV show entitled, "Shoot the Messenger" (S05/E07), in which Det. Danny Reagan's boss, Lt. Carver, decides to ride along with him for an up close look at him and his daily routine. It aired on 7 Nov 2014, over CBS TV Network.