Everything seemed surreal. Try as she may, she could not seem to shut out the intense fear that still gripped her. Hours after the fact. Eddie looked around. She was home and she was safe yet... the fear and anguish still would not go away.

She needed to shower. Eddie made her way to her bathroom, hoping that the act of washing herself would also wash away some of her edginess. With hands shaking, she turned the faucet of her shower and stepped under the warm, gushing water. Jamie, she thought.

Jamie opened the door of the men's locker room and checked his phone. Nothing.

"Hey, Reagan. You ok?"

"Damn, Jamie. You dodged a bullet today. Literally."

"Go home, Reagan. You deserve some down time after what happened today."

Concerned co-workers came over to Jamie and offered him some kind words. Jamie politely exchanged pleasantries with them but was yearning to see his partner. Where could she be? After completing all the necessary paperwork and being debriefed by several departments of the NYPD, he was exhausted. The shock was finally starting to wear off. In the flurry of activities which followed after the shooting, he did not get a chance to reconnect with Eddie. The hug they shared out in the open was emotional but necessary for his heart, hers and their sanity. He was marked for dead, yet he was alive.

Eddie. His partner had saved his life. She had heard a voice and it compelled her to run out of the coffee shop and take action. He saw something in her eyes afterwards, heard it in her voice when she had told him how she knew he was in danger. A page had turned. A chapter had ended. The bullet that was meant for Jamie, finished something else instead. The barrier he erected to keep his feelings for Eddie in check seemed to have been blown into pieces. What remained was raw and boiling over. He needed to see Eddie. He needed to touch her and talk to her. To hold her and take all her fears and doubts away. Jamie was certain now. He could finally put words to his feelings for her. He wanted to define what was previously undefined. He only hoped it was not too late.

After a long time in the shower, Eddie finally emerged feeling only a little bit better. It still haunted her though. The fear. The cold fear of losing him. She came so close to losing Jamie today. Sitting on her couch, she allowed her mind to wander back to when it happened. She had already given her statement to their superiors and the detectives. They had all offered her words of encouragement and assurance and some even congratulated Eddie on the precision of her kill-shot. A dangerous man had been taken down. She played a major role in that. But at what cost? At whose expense? True, Jamie was alive because of her, but she could not shake the feeling that a monumental change had occurred. Eddie knew it. And she was sure Jamie was aware of it too.

She knew she would eventually get over the fact that she fired the shot that killed a man. A hired gun. But the emotional floodgates that opened afterwards because Jamie had cheated death was too overwhelming. She had almost lost him. She came too close to losing her partner and her friend. The best person she's ever known. He was her ... My what, Eddie wondered.

She was jolted from her thoughts when the buzzer sounded. She knew without a doubt it was Jamie. Her mind played back what happened a few days after she was discharged from the hospital. Jamie had buzzed then, requesting her company. She had turned him down. Asked for a rain check. Barry was well on his way over to see her. She had already made plans. Plans which did not include Jamie, because she had to try move on if she wanted Jamie to remain her partner. No one could deny that the pair of them were good partners. They were in-sync with each other, always looked out for each other and by golly, if there was such a thing as a prefect partnership in the NYPD, theirs would come very close to being the definition of it. It was ironic that this near-perfect partnership would be the very thing that caused them to doubt their ability to handle another matter that concerned them - their hearts.

Now, Jamie was there again.

"Eddie? It's Jamie," the sound of his voice brought fresh tears to her eyes. She willed herself to stop crying as she released the electronic lock on the security door to allow him into the building. Of course he would check on her. He was Jamie, after all. Boy Scout, she thought.

Before long, Eddie heard a soft knock on her door. She did not know what the state of her relationship with Jamie was now. She only knew what was inside her heart and that the incident earlier had completely rearranged their careful dance of playful banter, lingering glances and a few stolen kisses.

As soon as Jamie's tired eyes meet hers, he concluded that she had been crying again. Tough-as-nails Eddie had been brought to tears all because of him. His heart ached for her and he reached out but she moved away.

"Eddie?" he asked, concerned and unsure.

"I'm scared, Jamie," was all she could say. She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and walked back to her couch. She needed to pull herself together. The door closed softly behind Jamie and he too made his way to her couch.

"Damn it, Reagan," Eddie muttered under her breath. Eddie looked up at her partner and wished that this was easier. She cared so much for him and worried about him and ... Did she dare admit to herself that her 'feelings' for him had developed into something more encapsulating? And what if she did admit it? What then? Weren't they already at a crossroads?

"I couldn't find you after I spoke to the CO. Someone said you left to go home," Jamie said as he sat down next to Eddie.

Eddie pulled her legs up onto her couch and turned her head to look at Jamie. "Yeah. I was told to leave and get some rest. I have to give more statements and answer more questions first thing tomorrow. How are you feeling, partner?" Eddie replied.

Jamie could only look at her. His Eddie. It was now or never. "I wish I could say I'm fine," he started softly. His eyes held hers. "Eddie, something happened today that I can't ..." Jamie stopped because he could not find the words to continue. He looked down at his hands and realized they felt empty. He reached out his hands and this time, Eddie reciprocated. Her hands met his halfway. They needed this. They needed to reconnect and make sense of everything that led them to this point.

Jamie knew he had to apologize. For dragging his feet and for denying his feelings for her. He had to make it up to her.

"I'm sorry, Eddie," he told her in a quiet and low voice. "You mean so much to me. Our friendship, our partnership. It all means so much and..." he hesitated. But looking at Eddie's smaller hands in his, he found the strength to continue. "I've spent so long pushing this thing we have away. I was trying to keep you safe, to keep our friendship and our partnership safe. I've known for a long time that you and I have something special and I was afraid of ruining that. But there was always something more, Eddie," he gently squeezed her hands in his and moved closer to her on the couch.

"Jamie, by all accounts, you should have died today," Eddie whispered. "I keep thinking about it and... Jamie. I don't think I would know what to do if ..." Eddie could not get any more words out. Eddie, who was never short of words, found herself to be at a loss for them.

Jamie reached one hand out to touch her cheek. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, Eddie. I don't want to go anywhere. You have my heart. You've had it for a long time," Jamie finally admitted.

Eddie released the breath she had not realised she was holding. "What are you saying?" she asked. She had to be sure. Her heart was beating fast and loud and her mind filled with a cocktail of anticipation, worry, doubt and strangely, warmth and comfort. It felt as if she was tethering between exhilaration and doom.

Jamie simply looked at her. Eddie recognised that look. She often longed for him to look at her the way he was looking at her now. His eyes gave away what was in his heart. Slowly, he leaned in and lowered his head. Eddie instinctively allowed her eyelids to close and she felt his forehead touch hers, ever so gently. Then, she heard him softly say the words she had been afraid to allow herself to believe she would ever hear him say to her.

"I love you, Eddie."

Eddie was filled with joy and relief. She exhaled and whispered her reply to Jamie, "Right back at ya, partner." Both Jamie and Eddie let out a little laugh – their hearts filled with love for each other. A chapter had indeed ended. And a new one had begun.