In the Moonlight

Author's Note: As always, thank you to everyone for the alerts, favorites and comments on this story. Reviews make my day and I treasure them, so a special thanks goes out to those who shared your thoughts on this work. I love the chance to write you back and answer your questions about the story, too, so I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this scene. Nicky1992, I wasn't able to thank you privately, so many thanks to you here. :) Now, without further ado, please enjoy...


Scene #2 - Uncertain about Bianca's intentions and unnerved by the violent outbursts of Tesla and Noble, Jamie turns to his brothers for guidance. Both of them.

Danny should have known this night was too good to last.

For one thing, the sheets on the bed were perfect, and the sheets were never perfect. He held his sheets to superhuman standards ("Just one of the things I love about you," Linda would mutter sarcastically), and tonight they were worth the price of admission - crisp and cool tonight but not too cold, because Linda had been in bed for a while and had warmed them up just enough. The soft mattress felt divine under his tired muscles, and the spaghetti he'd enjoyed for dinner still filled him pleasantly. His lovely wife must have plugged in a new air freshener, too, because the bedroom smelled like rainwater and a fresh, cool breeze, and her skin - he rolled over and pressed his face into the back of her neck to be sure - yes, her skin smelled like peaches. It was a quiet night, a calm night, and he was at home in the perfect bed with the perfect woman, and his family was safe around him. Life just didn't get any better than this.

Then his cell phone rang.

Danny groaned, rolling away from Linda and fumbling blindly for a moment before his fingers closed around the device on his end table. He squeezed his eyes shut against its blaring, cheerfully lit blue screen and lifted the phone to his ear. "Reagan," he grumbled. An annoyed this better be damn good lingered on his tongue, but he decided to keep it there until he heard who was on the other end of the line. Hard-won experience had taught him not to let his mouth get ahead of his brain if he could help it.

"Danny? It's me."

"This better be damn good," he replied, speaking the moment the voice registered. There was no bite to the words, though, because he was far too comfortable to truly be annoyed. Instead, he arched his back against the mattress, settling himself a bit deeper into the comfort of blankets and pillow. This was a good call, really. Shit this late was usually his captain chasing him out of bed on a case. Jamie at this hour, he would take any day of the week.

Speaking of the hour... he squinted over at the alarm clock on the end table. "You checked the time lately, kid?"

"Huh? Oh... oh man, sorry. I just got off work. I didn't realize it was so late."

Danny stretched a languid arm over his head. "How do you not realize it's this late?"

"I just got off work," Jamie repeated. "I've not been staring at a clock."

"There's a clock on your phone," he pointed out helpfully.

Jamie huffed. "I said sorry."

"I thought your undercover gig was regular, working-stiff hours. Doesn't Kramer know you turn into a pumpkin after midnight?"

"Very funny. I had a long day."

Danny's attention sharpened. "Any trouble?"

"No... no, just stupidity."

He smirked, relaxing his guard, and stifled a yawn with this back of his hand. "And I would absolutely love to hear about your long, stupid day, except I'll ask again. Have you checked the time lately?"

"Do you need to go? I'll let you go. Sorry."

Danny allowed his eyes to slip closed, debating that for a moment. It would be a damn fine thing to go back to the cradle of his pillow and the soft skin of his wife. But this was Jamie. And Jamie never called just to shoot the breeze. "Nah, you've already got me, kid. What's going on?"

"I don't want to keep you up."

"Jamie," he said tiredly. "I'm up already. I've been very pleasant so far but I will definitely get pissed if you hang up without telling me why you called."

"Fine."

And, silence. Danny put his free hand over his eyes and tried to will patience from somewhere. "Why are you just getting done with work?"

He could almost hear his younger brother's grimace. "I may have done something sort of stupid."

Yeah, this was going to be a conversation. Yawning again, Danny sat up in bed, letting the sheets pool around his waist as he swung his legs over the side of the mattress. He turned away from the phone, twisting back when he felt Linda's light hand settle against the small of his back. "What's going on?" she asked sleepily.

Danny turned to bend over her, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "Nothing. Just a call from Jamie. I'll take it in the living room. You sleep."

"You're staying?" she mumbled, already drifting off.

"Yep. You can't get rid of me that easy," he teased, and grinned when he saw her faint smile in the darkness. He dropped one more kiss on her cheekbone as she curved back into sleep, then stood, stretching. "You still there, kid?"

"I owe you a beer," Jamie said morosely.

"For what? Waking up Linda? She's just glad I'm not getting pulled into a case." He shuffled into the kitchen, ghosting a hand along the wall of the hallway as he went. "So what's the story? Heat get turned up on you in the boiler room?" He chuckled a little at his own joke.

Jamie's sigh was long and, Danny thought, a little exaggerated. "The boiler room was fine. I suck at it, but it's fine."

"So you called because you suck at being a sleazebag." He stepped into the kitchen, debated the overhead light, then decided to forego it, grabbing the handle of the fridge with his free hand instead. "Give me a line, then."

"What?"

"C'mon, give me a line. We'll rehearse." Danny pulled opened the refrigerator, ratting the bottles of salad dressing in the door as he squinted into the sudden brightness. Was it too late or too early for a beer? "You got a stock that's gonna light my pants on fire?"

"Do you want to know why I called you or not?"

"Sure I do." He seized a jug of apple juice and kicked the door shut behind him. "But are you sure you don't want to rehearse, kid? Sucking at that mob sweet-talk isn't exactly good for your cover."

"I couldn't be as slick as these guys are if I practiced for a million years. Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths."

"And I look forward to busting the whole operation once the OCCB gets you out of there." Danny made his way into the living room, relaxing as his eyes adjusted to the dark.

"Well, that may be coming sooner than you think. I don't think I'm cut out for this."

Danny nodded sagely, dropping onto the sofa and tucking the phone against his shoulder in order to unscrew the jug of juice. "Well, next time I'll ask Dad to have you go undercover with the Occupy Wall Street protestors. I think those bohemians are more your speed anyway."

"You seem to really be enjoying yourself here."

"I always enjoy myself when I talk to you. Especially at twelve-thirty in the morning," he added pointedly.

This time, Jamie's sigh was long-suffering. "So Bianca and I went out after work tonight."

"Bianca? Who the hell is Bianca?" Danny took a long drink from the jug.

"Noble Sanfino's sister."

He spluttered a little. "His sister?"

"Yeah. I met her when I went to dinner with Noble last week."

"And now you two are going out? You sure that's a good idea?"

"You're the one who told me I'm supposed to act confident around these guys! How's it going to look if I just blow her off?"

"I told you you need to play tough with these guys, because that's what they're gonna expect," Danny corrected. "I never said anything about you making sure Jimmy Riordan has a solid love life. Especially with some mob chick."

"It would've been more suspicious if I said no."

Danny rolled his eyes, staring up at the darkened light fixture above him. "Keep telling yourself that. So what happened?"

"Well... we had a good time," he admitted. "She's nice."

"Jimmy had a good time, or Jamie had a good time?"

"Danny..."

"I'm just trying to get the full story here, kid." He took another swig. "She's hot, right?"

"I think that's a prerequisite to being a mob girl."

"Good point. So?"

"Y'know, we had a nice time."

He grinned. "I can hear you blushing."

"Whatever," Jamie muttered. "Anyway, we were in the parking lot, yknow - saying goodbye-"

"Uh-huh."

"And Johnny Tesla shows up."

"That's Noble's buddy, right? The boiler boss?"

"Yeah. Turns out he and Bianca dated way back when. I guess he's still got a thing for her, because he was pissed enough to key her car."

Danny groaned, but it ended up coming out as more of a laugh. "That's going to make life fun for you at the office tomorrow."

"I know."

"Damn, kid, you've been doing this since high school. Remember when the captain of the basketball team found you in the band closet with his girlfriend?"

"Ex-girlfriend. And shut up," Jamie said distractedly.

"So what're you worried about? Tesla firing you from your fake job?"

"No, I'm worried about Noble. Tesla's just a bully. I can handle him, but Noble... I mean, he's borderline bipolar. He gets crazy when he gets mad. Pissed isn't even going to describe it when he finds out about this."

"So who's to say he'll find out?"

"Tesla will tell him, for sure. And Noble already warned me off his sister once."

Danny sighed. "You sure know how to complicate life for yourself, kid."

"Tell me about it."

Danny took another long drink from the juice jug, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Just try to remember what you're there for, okay? Not to get into some pretty girl's pants, not to make friends. You do what you need to do for your assignment, and you do it the way I told you to. Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"I'm going to tell you again anyway. If they give you mean, you give them mean right back. They expect you to be acting like somebody who's moved in these circles. You've got to stand up for yourself, whether they're pressuring you to make a sale or whether Tesla's in your face about this girl. They'll see right through you if you let them push you around."

"I know all that," he protested. "I'm trying to be Jimmy. The whole reason this started is because I don't think Jimmy would brush off a girl like that, and-"

"Jamie, the girl doesn't matter. Are you there to find a date?"

"No."

"Are you there to make friends?"

"No."

"Okay." Danny thunked the juice down onto the coffee table and lifted a finger into the air for effect, even though there was no one in the darkness to see him. "Every time you see this girl, I want you to remember those answers. If Tesla gets in your face, you get in his. If Noble gets pissed, you can apologize for not checking with him about this sister, but stand your ground. You can't fold up and you can't act scared, kid. You understand?"

"I guess."

"It's a means to an end, Jamie. You just need to stay close enough to tap into the information that the OCCB's looking for, and that's it. Don't make things any more complicated than they already are."

Jamie was silent, and Danny waited a few beats. "You still there?"

"Yeah." He sounded tired; defeated. "Tomorrow's going to suck."

"Well, if it's any comfort, you're not the only one who's going to have a crap day. Dad's got a new fixer, Sam Croft. Remember him?"

"Vaguely."

"We used to work together as rookies. Anyway, he and I get to drag some lifer mob boss around the city tomorrow to see if he can help us solve some murders that've been on the shelf for years. I fully expect to get shot at, at least twice. Should be loads of fun."

"Well, if this mob boss of yours knows the Sanfinos or the Cavazerres, tell him Noble says hi."

"That's the spirit." Shadowy movement in the doorway caught Danny's attention, and he looked up to see Linda lingering there, clad only in a nightslip and watching him with heavily lidded eyes. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to bed before my lovely wife thinks I abandoned her for the office again."

"Thanks, Danny. Take care of yourself out there."

"Hey, remember who you're talking to, kid."

"I remember," he fred back.

"Later," he said with a smile, ending the call with a click and meeting Linda's eyes. "Sorry about that, babe."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just little brother drama."

"My favorite kind." She stretched out a hand to him as he stood. "C'mon to bed."

"Yeah." He stooped to grab the juice.

"Leave it." Her hand remained outstretched, fingers wiggling. "Come to bed."

"Yeah?"

Her eyes sparkled in the darkness. "Yeah."

Danny stepped around the coffee table and moved to her with ease, catching her hand in both of his and dropping a kiss upon it. "Your wish is my command, m'lady."

Linda's smile was serene. "Damn straight."

A few miles away, Jamie snapped his phone closed and tossed it onto the passenger seat beside him, barely noticing when it took a bad bounce and disappeared between the far edge of the seat and the passenger door. The conversation with Danny really hadn't helped as much as he thought it might. Sometimes, talking to Danny helped soothe the jangly nerves in his stomach. Other times, he came out feeling even dumber than he had before he called.

Deciding he was somewhere in the middle this time, Jamie leaned his head back against the headrest and tried to sort out the threads of worry criss-crossing inside his stomach. He had worked hard, especially hard, to be tough with these guys. It hadn't come easily, because it certainly didn't come naturally, but he thought he was actually doing a pretty good job with the whole "confidence meets cynicism" vibe. If that was his biggest challenge, he would be doing just fine.

Trouble was, he had two challenges that were significantly nastier than that. One had shimmering red hair, eyes clear as glass and wore leather boots with a four-inch heel. The other was her slightly possessive, very much off-the-rails older brother with a half-crazed smile and mood swings to match. Add the jealous, oil-slick Tesla to the mix, and Jamie had himself a fine mess. Maybe even a terrifying one.

Jamie tightened his grip around the steering wheel of the Chevelle, feeling the comfort it brought. His father's car... Joe's. He had no doubt that they would know what to do. Danny, too. How had he, of all people, ended up here?

Wearily, he drew himself from behind the wheel and stepped out of the car, adjusting his jacket. Moonlight was all the light he had, but he didn't need anything else.

His footsteps were quiet. Night huddled close.

He had to do this. He had to find the confidence, the strength. He was a Reagan, after all.

Jamie stepped off the road into the grass, carefully picking his way along the path he knew so well.

He had come here almost every day, in the beginning.

Dropping to a crouch, Jamie placed a hand flat against the headstone, his eyes downcast. How many days had he been here? How many nights?

"Joe," he whispered. "Man, I could really use your help right now."

Crickets chirped in the grass at his feet, and dried rose petals, darker than blood, crunched beneath them. There was no voice on the breeze, but then again, what would Joe say if he could speak? I'd help you, kiddo, but it's not like undercover work turned out all that great for me either.

But it wasn't advice that he needed from his brother, alone with him there in the darkness, the last bit of life among so much stillness. It was the quiet, comforting presence of just being close to him, just a breath away in the dark. And although the stone beneath his hand was cold, Jamie closed his eyes and breathed, and as always when he came to his brother...

...he felt at peace.


Next up (on Monday, I hope):

Scene #3 - There's never a better time to reflect than when you're lying bloodied and half-conscious in a parking lot.