I'm back! After what feels like an eternity… sorry for that. And as always, I hope you like it.

The shrink turned out to be a fifty-seven-year-old Mexican born and raised in Boston. He had studied in Harvard, it had turned out, and surely he was good in what he was doing – but Jamie knew in an instant that he couldn't help him. After ten minutes of small talk and nodding to assurances that he wasn't in any way guilty, that he had done everything he could, that his being with Vinny in his last moments had been as important for his partner as it had been painful to him (funny thing how that fat man wanted to know what was important for Vinny, probably without ever having seen him), Jamie left the narrow office. The tension and anger that had almost receded when he had talked to the Salduccis was back now, and it didn't quite help that he was incredibly tired.
Or that leaning against his car, Danny waited for him, smiling broadly.
"Morning, Jamie."
"Danny." Jamie did his best not to sound too weary already. Maybe he brother wouldn't be a pain in the ass this time. Maybe.
"I heard you're still waiting for your new partner so I asked Gormley for a day in the streets. He seemed to be quite happy to let me go. Can you believe that?"
Jamie shrugged. "Do you really want an answer to that?"
Danny's smile became wider. "Just remember I'll sit right beside you the whole day. Are you ready?"

No. No, he wasn't, and this was not only because of Vinny. Driving with your family was never a good idea. It had been bad with grandpa already, how was he supposed to survive Danny as his partner for a whole day?
"Sure, get in."

After ten minutes of silence Danny sighed and gave up. "Are you alright?"
Jamie grinned, enjoying the moment of victory, small as it was. "Yeah. You?"
His brother frowned. "I don't believe you."
Jamie kept his eyes on the street. So far, driving with Danny felt not as uncomfortable as he had feared. Then again, it had been only ten minutes.
"Why don't you believe me?"
"You didn't ask why I'm here."
"To get off Gormley's nerves" Jamie tried to laugh, "what did you do now?"
Snorting Danny shook his head.
Jamie took a deep breath. He knew Danny had nothing to with his rage either. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and he knew Jamie – knew him well enough to break him whenever he wanted to.
And to raise him up again.
"I'm sorry, Danny." For a moment he let his exhaustion show. "What are you doing here?"
Danny remained quiet, but the anger had gone out of his eyes. After another minute he murmured, "I'm worried about you, kid."
"Ain't you always? What am I doing wrong now, Danny? What is it you'd do differently?"
"That's the problem" Danny grumbled, "nothing."
Jamie stared at him. "Nothing?"
Danny shook his head gravely. "You behave exactly as I would do. Which might be… well…"
Jamie kept staring at his brother, his mind for once blank of Vinny. "Say it, Danny."
Well, I'm not you. I don't talk about things and I'm okay. You bottle up like this and you're gonna… you know… watch out!"
Jamie swung the car around, avoiding the crash by a hair's breadth.
The pickup coming towards him full-speed didn't make it.

Lights. Crushed glass, engines screaming louder than he would have expected.
Black, all of a sudden, but he hadn't lost consciousness, wo why couldn't he see?
More stomach-churning noise.
He had to find his brother. Jamie tried to lift his head and cried as flashes of light and fire shot through his brain. "Danny…"
"Jamie?" Danny's voice was… somewhere, and hoarse.
"What happened?" Jamie's tongue wouldn't work properly, and it tasted iron.

"Jamie, stay with me. It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

"It's okay, Reagan."

"No" Jamie cried, coughing through the blood that was filling his mouth. Danny mustn't say that, he mustn't, not those words –

"It's okay."

"Danny please! Danny!"

Then the noises died down, and even the voice in Jamie's brain went quiet.