Just finished season 2 of Blue Bloods (I know, I know, I'm way behind...) and was inspired to write more fic! =D I'm in love with rookie Jamie, so this story falls into that section of his life. =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Bloods.

All of my life been running

Paying the price for living.

~ Pentatonix, "On My Way Home."

"You know, this is the third time in as many months that cops have been called to this address," Renzulli commented as they pulled up to a rundown apartment complex. "Guy likes to beat his family for grins."

"If that's the case, why haven't we arrested him already?" Jamie trailed behind his sergeant as the man led the way up a couple of stairs that looked like they could barely support the weight of anyone, let alone two full-grown men.

"Family refuses to admit what he's doing to them. I thought for sure if I could get the kid alone, he'd at least have the guts to tell it like it is, but the kid's got some deep-seated trust issues with cops." Renzulli banged on the door labeled 3B. "NYPD! Open up!"

As they waited for the door to open, Anthony shot a critical eye over his partner. "You're closer to the kid's age, maybe you could get him to open up. I'll keep the parents busy. You find him, okay?"

"Sure, Sarge."

Further conversation was prevented as the door opened. A small woman with dark, suspicion-filled eyes peered out at them. "Officers, how can I help you?"

"Come on, Corinne, you know the drill. Neighbors heard some commotion coming from your apartment. Mind if we take a look around?"

"I don't think that's -"

"Corinne!" The harsh voice from inside made the woman shrink back. "Don't keep the nice men waiting outside. Let them in."

Jamie quirked an eyebrow at his partner as the woman stepped back and opened the door.

Renzulli snorted. "Yeah, I know. He's a real arrogant son of a gun. This way."

They stepped into a darkened living room where a tall, heavyset man lounged on the couch, nursing a beer. He tilted it towards them in greeting. "Welcome, officers. It's Anthony, right?"

"That's Sergeant Renzulli to you. This is my partner Officer Reagan."

The man grinned. "You sure he's old enough to be riding with you?"

"Cut the crap, Hector. What's causing all the noise this time? TV up too loud again?"

The man shrugged. "What can I say? We like our daytime programs louder than our neighbors do."

"Right." Renzulli jerked his chin in the direction of a small hallway. "Reagan, go check out the backrooms. Make sure all the TVs are at an acceptable volume."

"Yes sir." Jamie edged around Corinne, who stared at them with a blank expression that was far worse than the suspicion she'd shown earlier. There were only two rooms and a bathroom down the hall and he didn't find anything until he came to the last bedroom.

The lights were on in this room, at least, and they shone over the lanky frame of a teenage boy stretched out on his stomach on the bed. Headphones were crammed on tight over his ears and his shaggy black hair obscured Jamie's view of his face.

"Hey," he cleared his throat and rapped on the door to get the boy's attention. "Everything alright in here?"

The boy ignored him, chin propped up on his crossed arms.

Jamie came into the room and tugged the headphones off, careful not to get the cord caught on anything. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

The boy huffed, rolling onto his side and giving the officer a good look at the bruises decorating the left side of his face. A sneer curled the kid's lip as his dark eyes took in Jamie's uniform. "You're new. Must be, since everyone else knows to leave me alone."

"I just want to ask you a few questions."

"Not interested." The kid reached for his headphones, but Jamie pulled them out of his grasp. "Dude, what is your glitch? I don't want to talk to you. Get lost."

"At least tell me your name."

His eyes narrowed. "You don't take a hint, do you? Get out."

"I'm the youngest in a family of stubborn Irish people, you really think I'm going to take no for an answer the first time around?"

The kid pushed himself off of the bed and stood, dwarfing Jamie by a good four inches. Jamie met his gaze, refusing to be intimidated. The teen smirked. "Fine, Irishman, I'm Parker."

"Well, Parker, your intimidation tactic might've worked better if you didn't look like you got the crap beat out of you. Wanna tell me how you got those bruises?"

Any traces of humor on Parker's face vanished as he clenched his jaw. "It's a rough neighborhood."

"You look like you can take care of yourself."

"Doesn't mean someone can't get in a lucky shot."

Jamie smiled grimly. "If I were you, I'd stop letting him get in lucky shots."

"What do you know?" hissed Parker.

"I know if I were you, I wouldn't let anyone take advantage of me. And I wouldn't be afraid to admit that sometimes, in order to get the upper hand, I might need help. I used to get knocked around by bullies all the time as a kid, but even though it sucked to let go of my pride - and it took me months to get my older brother involved - it didn't feel like giving up in the end...it felt like winning."

Parker stared at him, face unreadable.

"Reagan!" Renzulli called from the other room. "It's time to leave these good people alone."

Jamie held Parker's eyes for a moment more before he rifled in his pockets for a business card. He held it up."Here. If you get tired of being someone's punching bag, call me, any time, day or night. Even if it's just to talk."

Parker snorted. "Right, like you actually want to talk."

"I'm serious. And if you looked past the uniform, you'd see that."

Parker didn't say anything, but he did take the card.

"Jamie! Get your butt out here!"

He smirked. "Duty calls."

Jamie hoped he'd gotten through to the kid, but day after day, week after week, passed and still Parker didn't call him.

"You did what you could, kid," Renzulli sighed. "We can't help those who don't want it. try not to take it personally."

Three weeks passed and Jamie tried to forget about the shaggy-haired teen and his frightened mother. It came as a surprise one night while he was out walking that he got a call. "This is Reagan."

"Irishman. You said I could call anytime."

"Parker?"

"Yeah. Listen, can we meet up?"

"Sure, where'd you have in mind?"

"There's a basketball court near my apartment. I'll be there."

"Okay, give me fifteen minutes." Jamie hurried back to his apartment and jumped in his car. Excitement and nervousness warred within him as he thought of what could push Parker to call him, but mostly there was a sense of relief that he did.

The basketball court was only dimly lit by a streetlight whose bulb was going out. At first glance, it appeared empty, but as Jamie stepped into the court, one of the shadows detached itself from the wall and walked towards him. He could barely keep in his gasp as Parker's battered face came into view, ten times worse than the last time he'd seen it.

The teen smirked. "I know. It ain't a pretty sight, right?"

"I hope you called me to put an end to this."

"Yeah. I ain't gonna be his punching bag anymore." Parker scuffed his shoe against the concrete. "Can you get me out of here?"

"Sure, my car's back this way." He jerked his chin in the direction he'd come from, leading the way. "I'll take you down to the station and we can -"

A faint noise just ahead of him was the only warning he got before stars burst in Jamie's vision. He was on the ground before he knew what happened, hot blood pulsing down the side of his face. He tried to get his hands under him, fumbling for his weapon, but another sharp blow to the back forced him down again.

He thought he could hear Parker yelling something, but he couldn't make out what it was. All the air left his lungs the next instant as a hand tangled in his hoodie and jerked him upright.

Black dots swirled in his vision, but he could just make out the scowling face of Hector. "Shoulda minded your own business, kid. No one takes my family from me, you got that? Not the neighbors, not the police, and certainly not some runt of a rookie!"

Jamie gasped as he was slammed against the chain link fence surrounding the basketball court. Thick hands wrapped around his throat and cut off what little air he had left. He kicked out, but Hector had both weight and height on him and the man simply lifted him off the ground, leaving him to flail in the air.

He clawed at the hands choking him, but between the blows he'd already taken and the lack of air, his efforts were feeble at best. Strangled in a basketball court. Danny'll never let me live that down.

Suddenly his knees hit the ground. A tentative test proved he could suck in air again and he coughed and hacked, trying to get his bearings. His body refused to cooperate and all he saw was a blurred glimpse of Parker's face before he passed out.

He woke up in a hospital, nearly as disoriented as he'd been when he'd blacked out. An oxygen mask was strapped on his face and his head pounded like Snow White's dwarves had taken up residence there. He tried to bring his hand up to his head, but the small movement tugged at an IV taped to his hand.

Someone cleared their throat.

He glanced to the right and saw his brother standing there, hands on his hips. "Danny?"

The detective stuck out a stern finger. "Next time you wanna play hero, you call me first, okay?"

"I wasn't...I was...I -"

"You were helping a kid get away from his violent father without backup, that's what you were doing. Don't you ever use your head, Harvard?"

Jamie grimaced, trying to find a comfortable spot on the pillow for his aching head. "I didn't know his father would be there. Parker and I were just going to talk."

"And you couldn't think of a safer place to meet?"

"I didn't want to scare him away! It took him this long to ask for help. I wasn't going to risk losing him by having him meet me at a place he wouldn't be comfortable with."

"But you could've at least called Renzulli or someone to come be with you. You knew what kind of situation you were heading into, you gotta think smarter about these things or you're going to get yourself killed!" Danny's voice grew louder with each word, but behind the angry visage, Jamie could see the tears in his eyes.

He softened his reply accordingly. "I'm sorry, Danny. I was just trying to help."

"I know, kid." Danny raked his hands through his hair with a sigh. "Just...be careful, okay? For my sake?"

"I will."

"Okay. Now that I've said my piece, I've got a scumbag to lock up for assaulting an officer." Danny gave Jamie's hand a pat. "And you've got another visitor."

Jamie watched him leave and heard him murmuring to someone outside. A few moments later, Parker appeared, a sheepish look on his face.

Jamie smiled. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." The teen played with the edge of his t-shirt nervously. "I...uh...I just wanted to say sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble with my dad...or your brother, for that matter."

"That's just Danny's way of expressing worry. As for your dad, well...that's what I was there for, right? To get you away from him? Although, I'm guessing you did most of the rescuing."

A small smile tugged at Parker's lips. "I hit him with the bat he dropped after he started choking you."

"You saved my life, Parker."

"Only after endangering it in the first place."

"I'm a cop, my whole life is dangerous. Besides, you didn't know he was going to show up. You saved my hide, thank you."

Parker rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to hide his embarrassment behind that shaggy head of his. "I guess we're even then."

"I guess."

The teen started to edge towards the door. "Well, I should probably get going."

"Hey Parker?" Jamie called.

"Yeah?"

"You need anything, just give me a call."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, just let me pick the meet up place next time."

Parker laughed. "Deal."