Somewhere Down the Road…
Jamie and Anna have been married for five years and they have four young children…
Mary Elizabeth, 4; Joseph Connor (Joey), 3; Margaret Eileen (Maggie), 22 months; and Jamison Jr. (JJ) 4 months.
Anna is pregnant with baby number five. The fact that the children are so close in age is something of a joke for Danny.
Jamie is now a detective. He has recently been reassigned to Major Case and now works very closely with his brother. They are not officially partners, but the brass cannot deny that the Reagan brothers get the job done. They are currently working undercover gathering Intel for a sting operation. They've worked all (Saturday) night and Jamie gets home just in time to get changed for church.
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Scene: Jamie and Anna's House
Jamie breezed into the bedroom. Anna had the four kids in there and was trying to get them all ready for Mass. She looked up briefly to see him come in and her face flooded with relief.
"Oh, thank God…I was beginning to think you weren't gonna make it."
"I told you I'd try…"
He stripped off his t-shirt and grabbed clean shorts and socks from the dresser drawer. Then he headed into the bathroom to clean up. He took a quick shower, shaved and brushed his teeth. He started to get dressed and he smiled when he saw that Anna had hung a freshly pressed pair of khakis on the inside door knob. He'd just slipped them on when he heard a fuss out in the bedroom. He hurriedly zipped his pants and went out to help Anna.
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She was struggling to button up Joey's shirt. He had done it all by himself and the buttons were all askew.
"Stand still, Joey. I can't fix this if you keep pulling away!"
"I don't want you to fix it! I like it this way!" Joey turned away stubbornly.
"Hey! Is that how we talk to Mommy?"
Jamie grabbed Joey under the arms and hauled him to another part of the bed. He started to re-button his shirt.
"I don't want to hear you open up a smart mouth to Mommy. You understand me, Joey?"
Joey nodded…but then something caught his eyes.
"Daddy? What's that?"
His little finger traced the scar that ran the entire length of Jamie's shoulder.
The question hung in the air. Mary Elizabeth and Maggie both looked up, their curiosity aroused. Jamie and Anna shared a quick look between themselves…they had both known this question would come up someday…but they would have preferred later rather than sooner.
Jamie looked at his kids. They were all staring at him intently. He took a deep breath.
"It's a scar…it's from an old 'owie.'"
There…he'd said it. He waited for another question, but there wasn't one. He finished up with Joey's shirt and slipped on his little jacket, which was a duplicate of his own. He picked up his son and set him down on the floor.
"Okay…you're done. Go play…and don't get dirty!" Jamie called after him as he ran out of the room.
He looked over to his wife. She was putting pig tails into Mary Elizabeth's hair. Baby JJ only had on his onesie and he was kicking his little feet and flapping his little arms for all he was worth.
"You okay, Honey?" Anna asked.
"Yeah…" Jamie answered. "Gimme this squirmy little guy…"
He reached for JJ. The little boy squealed with laughter when Jamie tickled him. The sound made Jamie smile and he made a few silly faces as he stuffed little feet into little socks and wiggled JJ into his tiny khakis, a little oxford and sweater vest.
Anna had just finished with the girls' hair. Mary Elizabeth ran out of the room and Maggie slid down to the floor. Anna came over to her husband and slipped her arms around his neck. She kissed him softly.
"Good morning…" She smiled and Jamie felt himself go a little weak in the knees. Even after all this time her smile still melted his heart. He loved her so much…
"Morning…"
He kissed her tenderly. Then he heard a high pitched squeal, shattering the moment. He looked down at JJ lying in the center of the bed. He was smiling and kicking and flapping his hands.
"We should have named him after Danny instead of me…"
"Shhh…I'm still hoping it'll rub off on him…"
Jamie smiled.
"I hate to break it to you, but I can practically see the horns and the pointy tail."
"Shhh…"
She kissed him again. Then she scooped JJ up of the bed and started to herd Maggie out of the room.
"You've got about five minutes, Reagan…" she called back over her shoulder.
Jamie crossed the room to the closet and grabbed an oxford shirt. He turned around and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He stopped and studied his reflection. He reached up and traced his fingers along the jagged scar on his shoulder. He thought about the slightly smaller one on his back where the bullet had torn through him almost seven years ago.
He shook his head to banish the painful memory. He slipped his shirt on and quickly buttoned it up. He grabbed his jacket and headed down the stairs to get his family out the door and into the car.
"Okay…Everybody in the car! We're gonna be late!"
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Scene: Church
The Reagan family took up an entire pew in church. Little Joey sat wedged between his parents and Mary Elizabeth always wanted to sit next to her Aunt Linda. Nikki always held her goddaughter, Maggie in her lap and the family usually passed JJ up and down the row like a hot potato trying to keep him quiet. Barely four months old and JJ had little patience for anything that required him to be quiet and still…including sleep.
Jamie was going through the Mass on autopilot. Joey's question about his scar had really unnerved him. He kept replaying in his mind all the times he'd gotten injured on the job…all the times he'd been the first to react and charged headfirst into a dangerous situation. Never once did he regret any of those actions, but suddenly it hit him that he had four young children now and another on the way. And he knew one day his kids would demand more of an explanation than just "an old owie" for the scars on his body.
Unconsciously he reached up to his right shoulder. Anna was just about to pass JJ to him when she saw the far off look on her husband's face. So instead she reached into the diaper bag and pulled out a bottle. It was a little early for him to eat, but that was the one thing JJ could be quiet and still for. And while JJ sucked contentedly Anna cast a worried glance at Jamie.
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After the service Jamie watched Mary Elizabeth and Joey playing in the grass outside the church. He was still lost in his thoughts and he unconsciously rubbed his shoulder again. He didn't even hear Danny come up behind him.
"Hey, Kid…I just got an update from Jackie…"
He clamped his hand down on Jamie's right shoulder.
"Ahhh…" Jamie jumped about two feet.
"Your shoulder bothering you?" Danny was suddenly concerned. "Sorry…I didn't realize…"
"That's not it."
"Then what?"
"Joey saw my scar while we were getting ready for church. He asked about it."
Danny immediately understood where his brother was coming from. He still hated talking about the dangers of the job with his boys…and they were 16 and 18. Jack was in his first year of college studying Criminal Justice and planning to enter the Academy after he graduated. Sean was a junior in high school and he talked about becoming a cop too. Worlds away from Jamie's preschoolers…
"What'd you tell him?"
"That it was an old owie."
"And he's satisfied with that?"
"Seems to be…"
"Well, you really dodged a bullet there Little Brother."
Jamie shot him a dirty look.
"No pun intended…Big Brother?"
"Okay… poor choice of words."
"You think?"
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Scene: The Reagan House
Jamie stood in the den nursing a single malt. He was still so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice his father's huge frame fill the doorway.
"It's a little early to be drinking alone, don't you think?"
Jamie turned toward the voice. He met his dad's eyes, and then looked down into his glass.
"Probably…" he replied.
Frank crossed the room to the liquor cabinet and poured himself three fingers. And he studied his youngest son intently.
"Your shoulder bothering you, Son?"
"Why does everybody keep asking me that?"
"Because you kept rubbing it in church."
"My shoulder's fine…"
"But something's bothering you."
"Joey asked about my scar this morning."
Frank nodded.
"And he seemed okay when I told him it was just an old "owie"…But now it's like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I mean, how do you tell your son 'this is a little reminder from the time your dad almost bought it'?"
"He's a little young for that Jamie."
"I know. But how do you keep it all a secret? I mean, you had a few close calls…right?"
"More than you know, Son. Your mother and I kept a lot just between us…and Pop, of course…that's just what we do to protect our children." He paused, carefully considering his next words. "Someday your kids will understand what it means to be in the family business…and someday we'll have to tell them about Joe…and Anna's cousin Dominic. But until that day comes, let's just be thankful for every safe tour we have."
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Scene: Jamie and Anna's House
Jamie sat at the edge of his bed taking off his watch, making sure his cell phone was set to 'vibrate', and setting the alarm for the next morning. Anna came out of the bathroom and climbed up on the bed. She knelt behind her husband and started to gently massage his shoulder. Jamie caught his breath when she touched him, but as he let it out he could feel the tension draining from his body.
"That feels good…I didn't even realize how sore it was till just now."
"I figured it was hurting…I've been worrying about you all day."
"I didn't mean for you to worry…"
"I'm your wife, Jamie. It's part of the job description."
He was quiet for a long time. Her massaging his shoulder really did help. Then he reached up and stilled her hands. He shifted himself so he could look at his wife.
"Joey asking about it really set me thinking. Now that the cat's out of the bag he's gonna ask more questions."
"Eventually, but let's not go borrowing trouble."
"You always make it seem so easy…"
Anna put her arms around him.
"It's definitely not easy, Jamie. But this is the life we chose, right? I mean, you still love being a cop, don't you?"
"Absolutely…the work Danny and I are doing…the kind of cases we're closing…"
"See, you're gettin' excited just talking about it! And I chose to marry a cop. And I love you…and I love our life together."
He smiled…then looked back over his shoulder at his wife.
"God only knows what I did to deserve you…but whatever it was, I'm so grateful. I love you so much."