A/N: Brenda is now at work in the DA's office but there's some unfinished business from her tenure in Major Crimes.

DDA Baldwin knocked on her supervisor's door. "Margie, do you have a minute?"

"Sure. Come on in," Margie Donovan invited her in.

"I've got a problem with this Toomey murder case," Claire Baldwin began."

"Hollywood Division caught the guy. What problem?" Margie Donovan asked.

"That's true. They did. I'm having a problem with the stalking aspect of the case and I'm afraid if we don't prove that Toomey was stalking Lara that we could lose the whole case."

"What's the problem?"

"Well, Lara has left California. Her housekeeper says she's in New York. I've called her cell repeatedly but she doesn't return any of my calls. We need her testimony."

"In that case, you need to refer your case to Chief Johnson."

Claire wrinkled her nose. "I'd rather not do that. She's so disagreeable and she loves to pull rank."

"I don't understand why you have a problem with her. She seems to be off to an excellent start with her investigators," Donovan replied, although she knew full well about DDA Baldwin's clashes with Brenda at the LAPD. "This situation is exactly why we have a Bureau of Investigations and Chief Johnson is doing a wonderful job. It's her unit's responsibility to find missing witnesses. Take the case to her."

"But, Margie..."

"I'm sorry, Claire, but you simply must take the case to Chief Johnson. Today."

"All right." Claire was resigned. "I've got to get to court so I'll take it up to her after lunch," she said as she rose.

"Good."

At the same time, Brenda was in her office talking with David Gabriel about a meeting she wanted him to attend with Commander Taylor and Detective Ross on a gang shoot-out case when her cell phone rang. It was Wilson Henegar's office so she dismissed Sgt. Gabriel and answered her phone. She had approached him about representing her if she decided to file suit over the Johnson Rule and she was anxious to hear if he would take her case.

"Brenda Leigh Johnson speakin."

"Ms. Johnson this is Mrs. Donley, Mr. Henegar's secretary. Mr. Henegar asked me to call you to set up an appointment for you to come in and meet with him. It's a follow-up to your previous meeting."

As she listened to Mrs. Donley, Brenda brought up her calendar on her computer. "All right. I've just started a new job so my schedule isn't as flexible as it once was. But I am anxious to hear Mr. Henegar's conclusions." And they set a date and time. "Oh, one more thing. May I bring my husband?"

Just as she asked, Andrea Hobbs knocked on her open door.

"Yes, Mr. Henegar said that if you asked, that would be fine."

"Thank you," and Brenda ended the call and invited Andrea to come in and have a seat. Brenda had always liked Andrea. When she was at Major Crimes she had been impressed, not only by her talent as a skilled prosecutor, but that she was one DDA who cared as much for the victims as winning in court.

"I just stopped by to see if you wanted to grab some lunch with me."

"Oh, Andrea, I can't. I've got to finish this case file before I meet with DDA Robinson this afternoon."

"Look, Brenda. Here's a tip for you: No one expects you to skip lunch every day. Besides, losing weight should not be high on your agenda. And cobwebs in your hair from doing nothing but reviewing case files will do nothing to enhance your image."

Brenda laughed at that comment so Andrea knew she was winning. "We won't take long. So, come on, Johnson. Get your nose out of that file." And with that Brenda realized she had lost so she grabbed her purse and followed Andrea to the elevator.

Over lunch Andrea told her that she thought Captain Raydor was off to a good start obtaining the plea deals that Chief Taylor valued so highly but that she was having a difficult time overcoming Major Crimes' dislike for her.

"I'm not surprised about that. She's got two strikes against her. Everyone hates Internal Affairs. And nobody in Major Crimes except Captain Raydor would like the new 'Let's Make A Deal' policy. And I don't blame them. I don't like it, either. It lets murderers serve lesser sentences than they deserve. Of course Taylor would like it. He always has been lazy when it comes to good police work." Brenda was getting angry just thinking about it.

"Look on the bright side," Andrea reasoned, "This program is going to lessen your work load."

"Humph. Not my work load. There are no cases from Major Crimes needin my department to beef up."

"There may not be any cases from your time with Major Crimes but there is a whole new set of people in control now and they don't have your talent."

"Well, I can't do anythin about it and it's time to get back to work," Brenda said wearily so they both went back to their respective offices.

As Brenda entered her office suite she saw DDA Baldwin waiting for her.

"Good afternoon, DDA Baldwin, is there somethin I can do for you?"

"Yes. I was conferencing with my supervisor this morning on a case and she suggested that your bureau might need to be involved."

"Come on in and we can discuss it," Brenda invited knowing full well that it would take more than a suggestion from Margie Donovan to get DDA Baldwin to seek her help.

As they took their seats, Brenda said, "Summarize your case. I'll read the details later."

"It's a murder case which started out with the perp stalking Lara," DDA Baldwin began.

Brenda recognized the name. Lara was a talented but badly spoiled young actress who wanted to be known only by her first name.

Claire continued, "Two years ago an obsessed fan named Jeff Toomey began stalking Lara at her Hollywood Hills home. He first approached the home and told the housekeeper that he was Lara's husband. She told him that Lara was not there and refused to let him in and so he left. But he returned a couple of hours later and left a strange note at the gate." She handed the note to Brenda. It was a rambling, hand-written note in crayon in which he quoted his own version of scripture stating that women who have sex with men who are not their husbands are harlots and must be killed. The word harlots was in large capital letters in red crayon. The note concluded with declarations of adoration and was signed "Jeffrey Toomey".

"He came back a month later and tried to scale the wall but was confronted by a security guard and he left again. But he was back an hour later and this time he did scale the wall. When the security guard again confronted him, they struggled. Toomey got the guard's gun and shot him. He died the next day without regaining consciousness."

"Since we're involved, I take it Toomey was caught," Brenda observed.

"Yes. He had triggered the alarm system so Hollywood Division arrested him before he even left the property. He pled Not Guilty and was ordered to get a mental health exam at his prelim. That exam concluded that he was capable of knowing right from wrong. We go to trial next month."

"It sounds like you've got an airtight case. What's the problem?"

"The problem is with the stalking part of the case. Lara has left the state. Her housekeeper says she's in New York and I can't get her to return my calls. I need her testimony. Without it, I'm afraid we could lose our case."

"So we need to find Lara and convince her to return to Los Angeles," Brenda concluded.

"Yes. I need her to testify that Toomey did not have permission to be on the property and that she was afraid of this man as well as about any past contact she may have had with him. Otherwise the defense can claim he had permission and that he acted in self-defense."

"All right. Leave the case file and I'll read it tonight."

"Thank you, Chief Johnson," DDA Baldwin said as she placed the file on Brenda's desk and then left her office.

When Fritz got home that evening he smiled when he saw his wife up to her lovely ear lobes in files. She was finally happy again because she had plenty of work to keep her busy. No more boredom and frustration. And the best part was that she was home every night, even if she did bring paperwork home with her. He loved just being able to look over at her pouring her heart and soul into her case files. So he set the Greek food down on the kitchen counter and took a seat next to her on the living room sofa. And giving her a kiss he asked, "Well, are you starting to figure things out?"

"Uh huh. At least I hope so. There's still an awful lot to learn." She looked up at his handsome face and gave him another kiss. "But I think it's time for a break. What did you bring for dinner?"

"I stopped at the Parthenon."

"Oooh, yummy. Did you remember the baklava?"

"I did. But the bad news is that they didn't get their delivery of grape leaves so no dolmades."

"Well, did you at least bring souvlaki."

"Actually, I didn't. They had a special on chicken avgolemono tonight so I brought that instead."

Oooh, you never get what I want," she pouted.

Fritz just rolled his eyes but said nothing as they busied themselves getting dinner on the table. While eating, Brenda remembered her conversation with Mrs. Donley. "Mr. Henegar's office called me this mornin. We set up an appointment for next Wednesday at 9:15. Any chance you can come with me?"

"Probably. I can't think of anything on my calendar that would prevent it. So, does this mean that he's going to take your case?"

"His secretary didn't say. But if he was gonna say no, he could do that over the phone or send me a letter."

"Have you thought any more about what you want to get from a lawsuit?"

"I want the same things I've always wanted. I want to clear my name in court and I want my name off the Johnson Rule."

"I know you said you weren't interested in money but I wish you could get enough to punish Pope and Goldman."

"I just want enough to pay Mr. Henegar," Brenda said and then she remembered something else. "Speakin of Pope, you know that I have to attend a monthly meetin with him. A lawsuit would make things even more interestin."

"More interesting than what?" Fritz asked.

"Well, the day I handed in my resignation I really told him off. We didn't exactly part as friends."

Fritz grinned and said, "Yeah, you told me about that. I'm just glad you finally figured him out."

"It took long enough but I finally did. Hopefully these meetins won't require us to work together again. Steve Corning is so great to work with. I'm really enjoyin not havin to worry about Pope playin one side against the other."

"And I no longer have to worry about him coming on to you," Fritz thought although he knew better than to say it out loud.

The next morning, Brenda went to DA Corning's office before going to her own. She told him about DDA Baldwin's case and concluded by saying, "I think I want to take care of this myself. My staff is pretty loaded up right now and this case has a tickin clock on it. I can get the NYPD to contact her and try to talk her into returnin to LA."

DA Corning agreed and Brenda went back to work. About a week later Linda buzzed her to let her know that Lt. Kowalski of the NYPD was on the phone.

"Yes, Lt. Kowalski. How are you today?"

"Fine, Chief Johnson, but I'm afraid I don't have good news for you."

"Oh? Didn't you find Lara?"

"We found her easily. The woman is one of those stars who complains loud and long about the paparazzi but makes sure she lets everyone know where she will be," he chuckled. "But she absolutely refuses to testify. She says she's terrified and I believe her. She turned white and started shaking when I told her you want her back in Los Angeles for court next month."

"I see. Well, thank you for tryin. We appreciate it."

"No problem, Chief Johnson. If I can do anything else for you just let me know."

"Thank you, Lt. Kowalski. I will. Goodbye."

Brenda next called DDA Baldwin and gave her Lt. Kowalski's information. "I want you to petition the court for an order directin' that Lara appear at the trial. And ask for a $15 million dollar bail just in case she decides to ignore the subpoena. That should catch her attention," Brenda said.

DDA Baldwin smiled and said, "I'll file this afternoon. Thank you, Chief Johnson."

"You're welcome. And please give me the subpoena so I can send it to Lt. Kowalski for service."

And she next punched another button on her phone. When Linda answered Brenda asked her to get Lara's agent on the phone. A few minutes later she was talking to Mort Heider, the star's agent.

"Mr. Heider, this is Brenda Leigh Johnson from the District Attorney's Office. Thank you for speakin with me."

"No problem. My clients are always happy to cooperate with the DA's Office."

"Well, that's good to hear because we need Lara to return to Los Angeles for the trial of the man who stalked her and killed her security guard."

There was a moment of silence at the other end and then Mr. Heider said, "Lara told me that she was contacted by the police but that she was too terrified to face Mr. Toomey in court."

"We don't want to have to arrest her publicly and drag her back here in cuffs. I'm sure that would create image problems for her. And we don't want to do that," Brenda threatened without mentioning the subpoena.

Heider caught her drift. "I see. Well, I know that she is returning to LA because she has to be on a movie set in ten days. But you're right. She would definitely not want to be arrested."

"Of course she wouldn't. Not bein able to appear at the start of the movie would create a hardship for her, not to mention a lot of negative publicity. I think if I can talk to her I can convince her to appear in court without disruptin either her schedule or the movie company's."

"I don't know about that but I will tell you that she's flying in Sunday night. But please don't mention that you got that information from me."

"Thank you, Mr. Heider. I promise to be as gentle as possible. And I also promise not to mention how I found out she's home."

"Thank you, Chief Johnson. I really appreciate that."

On Wednesday morning, Brenda and Fritz were shown into Wilson Henegar's office. He stood up from behind his desk and moved to greet Brenda and to introduce himself to Fritz.

After the initial pleasantries, he said, "Ms. Johnson, I have reviewed your case. And while I think you have a case, I'm not sure you're going to like everything I have to say."

"Let's deal with the bad news first then, shall we?" Brenda replied.

"All right," Mr. Henegar agreed, "I'll summarize. I don't think you have a winnable case against either Gavin Baker or Peter Goldman." When he saw Brenda's surprised expression he continued, "As an attorney representing legitimate litigants, Mr. Goldman is within his rights to sue you. And, while you might make a case that Gavin didn't represent you to the fullest of his ability, once you were dropped from the lawsuit he had no obligations to you."

"I'm disappointed to hear you say that I don't have a cause of action against Peter Goldman," Brenda said. "He caused so much trouble with his never endin supply of dirty tricks."

"It seems to me that the young law student he was blackmailing might have a cause of action against him should she wish to pursue it. And some of his plaintiffs may want to discuss his tactics with another attorney, as well. But I doubt any action you might file would be successful because all litigation carries with it emotional destructiveness. It's an unavoidable part of the civil justice procedure."

Brenda nodded. Even though she didn't like it she understood what he was saying.

"However, it's my opinion that you have an excellent case against the LAPD and the City. And if you wish to proceed I would be pleased to represent you."

"Can I get my name cleared in court?" Brenda was hopeful.

"I doubt your case would make it to court. I'm sure the LAPD and the city would want to settle." He saw Brenda's face fall so he continued, "But going to court wouldn't clear your name, Ms. Johnson."

"It wouldn't?" Brenda was surprised and deflated.

"The first action against you was dismissed for lack of evidence and you were dropped from the second lawsuit. So, in the eyes of the law, your name does not need clearing."

"What about removing my wife's name from the Johnson Rule," Fritz asked.

"Well, I'm sure we can get the Johnson Rule either dropped or renamed," Mr. Henegar stated emphatically.

"I don't care whether or not they keep the rule. I just don't want my name attached to it," Brenda said with equal emphasis.

"No, of course you don't. I have to wonder if the purpose of the Johnson Rule was, as you suggested, just a tool to punish or humiliate you. It would certainly seem to be impractical and unenforceable. And that sets up your case very nicely. Of course I would need to file discovery motions to obtain the documentation for your case but, if you decide to proceed, I do believe you could win a nice settlement."

"What specifically do you recommend?" Fritz asked.

"I would recommend an initial filing against the LAPD, the Chief of Police, the commissioners, the City of Los Angeles and the mayor. That would give me discovery of virtually everything that went into their decision making process as well as their motives. From there I would write a more complete petition."

Brenda asked, "How long would that take?"

"I would file a preliminary action and discovery motions as soon as you give me the go-ahead. I believe that once they receive notice of the lawsuit they will be on the phone wanting to settle. I don't expect this to be a long, drawn out case."

"If I can't clear my name in court, my only concern is gettin my name off the Johnson Rule. But do you think we could win enough money to pay for your services?"

"Yes, Ms. Johnson. I'm going to ask for an extremely high award. That will certainly get their attention. Of course, the amount will be negotiated down but we'll settle for a very healthy amount."

"You spoke a moment ago about the emotional fallout. Is there any way that this could boomerang and hurt my wife in her new position?" Fritz sounded uneasy.

"Once the suit is filed, I would suggest that you, Ms. Johnson, advise DA Corning." Then addressing Fritz, "But I know him very well and I sincerely doubt there would be any negative backlash against your wife. And I'm anticipating that they'll be so eager to settle that there will be no problem with the LAPD or the city, either." Then turning back to Brenda, "However, given your unique relationship with Chief Pope, I can't say what his reaction might be."

"I'm not afraid of Will Pope," she dismissed his concern. "When do you need to know my decision?"

"It's your suit, Ms. Johnson. If you decide to file, we will allege defamation of character, slander, libel, and professional malpractice. The statute of limitations is one year from the date of the action or its discovery. By my calculations you can file any time before December 26th."

"There is the possibility of some emotional fallout I need to make both of you aware of," Mr. Henegar cautioned. "A lawsuit, even one which is settled out of court, is bound to create unpleasantness and stress in a marriage."

"Our marriage is strong," Fritz replied. "It has survived a lot of stress. We're not afraid of more."

"Fine. In that case, Mr. Howard, I need to ask you some questions." Fritz nodded so Mr. Henegar proceeded. "I need to know if you want to be added to the suit. If you feel that your marriage, career, or personal well-being has suffered, we can file on your behalf as well."

"I hadn't thought about joining my wife's lawsuit, frankly. As far as my job is concerned I don't think I've suffered in any significant way."

"You were also named in Peter Goldman's suit. And, as I understand it, you paid a considerable amount of money to fund your wife's defense. If you feel that you personally, or your marriage sustained any loss or damages you could possibly be reimbursed."

"I understand what you're saying. But I think there might be future repercussions if I were to join in my wife's lawsuit." Fritz continued, "And, as strange as it sounds, I think the problems that Goldman's suit caused actually served to bring us even closer. Oh, I'm not saying everything was blissful. Far from it. But..."

Brenda hated talking about her marriage with strangers so she quickly interjected, "We need to talk this over but I can assure you that it won't take that long. I should be able to get back to you within the next day or so," she added smiling.

That evening Brenda and Fritz discussed every possible aspect and potential outcome of a lawsuit. By the end of the evening, Brenda had decided to proceed and Fritz fully supported her decision. He also decided not to enter her lawsuit.

"I'll call Mr. Henegar tomorrow," she said as she slid under the covers and turned to Fritz. "But right now I have another pressin problem," she whispered as she kissed his neck and chin.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"There's a definite shortage of cuddlin goin on in this bed."

"Then I think we should definitely work on that problem right now," Fritz said as he turned out the light.

Mid-morning Brenda closed her office door and called Mr. Henegar on her cell phone. Since he was busy she left the message with Mrs. Donley that she and her husband had decided to proceed with the lawsuit, but in her name only. Mrs. Donley told her that they would call her when the formal paperwork was complete so she could come in and sign it.

"Fine. I'll wait for your call, then. Thank you so much."

The next day she received a call from Mrs. Donley advising her that the paperwork was ready for her signature so Brenda went to Mr. Henegar's office on her lunch hour and signed all the papers.

"I'll file these this afternoon and mail you a copy for your records. Our process server will serve the defendants tomorrow," Mrs. Donley explained.

Back in her office, Brenda picked up her phone and called Steve Corning's office to make an appointment to advise him of what she was doing. And then she sat back in her chair and thought, "Well, it's on now."