38 year old Nicki Reagan sat her desk in the 5-4 precinct. She had a pen in her hand and was scratching down notes. The desk she sat in once belonged to her Uncle Danny. Her partner Joey Randico sat across from her at Maria Baez's old desk.
Nicki had fulfilled her dream of becoming a cop. As a rookie beat cop she walked her Uncle Jamie's old beat. She loved being a beat cop. Her favorite part of her tour was when her beat took her by the Manhattan courthouse. She liked to pretend just for a moment her mother was still in there ruling the courtroom.
After three years of being a beat cop she was promoted to detective. The lieutenant at the 5-4 was adamant about her being in his precinct. She felt honored when she was given Danny's old desk.
For months when she was between cases she was always writing. Her grandfather once told her that she could be more than one thing in life. Along with being a cop she was an aspiring writer and in her opinion she had the best material. She finished her first book in six months and was now working on the second one. Her stories were favorites among cops.
Scratching one last note down she puts down her pen.
"Tour's over." She tells Randico. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Anything fun planned for tonight?" Her partner asked her.
"I'm going to go do some visiting." Nicki tells him.
Leaving the precinct Nicki heads toward her Uncle Jamie who was there to pick her up. The two of them went together towards their family. After a short car ride they pull up to the cemetery. The two walk up a group of headstones near an oak tree.
Nicki and Jamie had this tradition where every Thursday they went to visit their family. The last twenty years had changed the Reagan family dramatically. It had started with Danny. He and Baez had been blindsided with an ambush. It was the two of them verses nine people. Nobody walked out of the ambush.
Danny was buried next to his wife. They had talked about having Baez near him but she placed next to her brother. Where she'd be the most at peace. Nicki ran her fingers across the engraving.
Daniel "Danny" Reagan
1973-2020
A brother in arms.
A brother in blood.
After they had lost Danny the family tried to hold on. They leaned on each other and began to heal. One year later everything changed for the worse. Erin was going home late one night when a truck driver who had fell asleep at the wheel blew threw the intersection striking Erin's car. She never made it the ambulance. A paramedic had told Nicki that her mother told them she wanted to be with Danny again. They had buried her next to her best friend. Nicki almost gave up after her mother passed away. Her stories helped her cope with everyday. Tears blurring her vision Nicki placed a white lily on the stone and put her fingers on the engraving.
Erin Reagan
1974-2021
A mother. A sister. A friend.
A month after they lost Erin, Frank's health was on the decline. After losing three of his kids he just couldn't seem to carry on. Nicki had watched in the space of only a month a man who had been the strongest man she ever knew break. His wisdom became few and far between. When they had lost Danny he had become more distant but Erin helped him from becoming lost. Then he lost Erin. His only daughter. A permanent sadness had taken the sparkle from his eyes. His days at work became shorter as did he temper. No one held his outbursts against him. They knew he hurt in ways no one could ever understand. He was often found in his office staring at a picture of all four of his kids together on the beach. During the months after Erin's death Frank had become closer to Jamie. He couldn't bare to lose his last child. Jamie knew that Erin's death was breaking down the strongest man he ever knew. On his last birthday he blew out his candles. When Sean asked him what he wished for. He said it didn't come true. When asked what he wished for instead of his normal joke he just said they were still gone. Six months after they lost Erin, Frank retired from PC. He knew he had to go the day he called Baker, Erin.
Three weeks after retirement Henry found his son sitting in his chair lifeless clutching a picture of his kids. On his last glass of scotch half finished on the side table. The ME ruled the cause of his death was natural causes. They had blamed the death on an underlying heart condition but Henry knew better. He knew his son had died of broken heart. Outliving three of his children was too much for him to take.
Jamie placed a bottle of scotch by the stone by the lettering.
Francis Xavier Reagan
1945-2022
In the eyes of his children the very best of fathers.
In the eyes of all else the very best of men.
After Frank's death the family was fractured but still held on. Around the dinner table on Sundays there was still joy. There was still gratefulness. There was still laughter. Jamie sat in his father's chair at the head of the table. Eddie sat in Linda's old place at the table. Their son Aaron Daniel sat next to her. Nicki sat in her mother's old chair. Next to her in her own old chair was her 14 year old daughter Erin Edit. Jack and his wife were on Erin Edit's other side. Next to his wife was his son Daniel Joseph and daughter Linda Erin who went by Linny. On the other side of the table was Sean and his wife. Next to them was their twin daughters Maria Mary and Frances Nicole.
Jamie and Nicki stood in front of the headstones in front of them. Tears had escaped both their eyes. They had really leaned on each other during the hard years. When Nicki first starting writing Jamie was the first to encourage her.
"Nicki?" Jamie asks. "What are your stories about?"
"There not all my stories. I'm retelling the stories of the Reagans. All the cop stories. All the lawyer stories. The ones that make you laugh until you can't breathe. The ones that were hardest times of our lives. All these stories remind us of the importance of family and that we lean on each other." She tells him. "In these stories they're all still here. These stories are where I can always go and they'll always be there. I thank god everyday that I have these stories. I want you to have the first copy of my book. You need them."
Jamie pulls his niece into his arms. "Does this book have a name?"
"I think I'll call it Blue Bloods."