felt i needed a little lightness before getting to the heavy stuff!
After a week in the hospital, Jamie was released into the care of his father with the aid of Linda and Toni. The investigation was still ongoing but with little to go on it began to stall to a stop and ended up on the back burner. Danny had other cases to cover and Jamie was left with unanswered questions running around his head and too much time on his hands.
"What are you doing, bro?" laughed Vinnie as he approached the commissioner's house and found Jamie trying to clean his car.
"Hey! What'cha doing here?" grimaced Jamie.
"I'm asking the questions! You only got out of hospital last week. Aren't you supposed to be taking it easy?" exclaimed Vinnie. Jamie shrugged his shoulders as he sat on the bonnet of his car.
"He's supposed to be resting, Officer Cruz" announced Toni as she came out of the side door.
"He is bored!" groaned Jamie as he looked towards his nurse.
"Don't care! Go read a book! Step away from that damn car and get your ass back to the sofa!" ordered Toni.
"Or what?" retorted Vinnie in amusement. Jamie just smiled.
"You know that i can make you beg for mercy and i don't have to inflict pain on you, right, Jammie?" stated Toni as she caught his eyes in hers. Jamie stopped smiling and shuffled uncomfortably.
"Are you threatening a police officer?" asked Vinnie sternly without humour.
"Not at all, Officer Cruz! Just stating the obvious to my patient!" she smiled, icily at him.
"I get the message! You wanna coffee, Vin?" grinned Jamie as he stared to stand. The grinned soon faded as pain gripped his body. Vinnie darted forward to assist his partner and Toni ran from the door.
"Now will you do as you're told?" pleaded Toni as she wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him up the steps into the kitchen. "Vinnie, can you move the chair for me?" she requested as the other officer followed.
"Alright! You win. I'm not ready to do much else yet," sighed Jamie as his frustration grew.
"What;s going on in here?" asked Linda as she came into the kitchen.
"Your brother-in-law decided he wanted to clean his car!" chided Toni as she went to the sink and got some water for Jamie in order for him to take his pain meds.
"What they got you on?" asked Vinnie, curiously.
"Nothing addictive. Jamie hates taking medication at the best of times!" sighed Linda as she watched the young man groan at the sight of the pills.
"Jamie, take them, please?" begged Toni as she held the glass and pills out to him. Jamie looked at her with a stubborn glint in his eye but took them from her eventually. "Thank you. Now, i'll make you guys some coffee then you can catch up."
True to her word, Toni made the coffee then left the men to their discussion while she and Linda went to the front room to update their nursing paperwork as well as investigate the documentation from the hospital leading up to Jamie's cardiac arrest.
"I never thought i would ever see myself as a detective" joked Linda as she piled through the files.
"I guess in a way, we've always been detectives. We're in the business of finding out why a person is ill a lot of the time, so it makes sense," sighed Toni as she looked at Linda. "I still can't make out why Dr Marshall felt he had to do this. Now he's dead and there's very little on that..."
"Well, Danny's just as frustrated. Listen, you worked with the guy when he was a junior, right? What was he like then?" asked Linda. Toni sat back as thought.
"He was green. Very wet behind the ears, always looking to the nurses to help him with a difficult call. He got caught taking pills at one point. He got treatment and therapy, with that, a second chance. Once he moved up he became the sleazy, god-like jerk you knew him as," recalled Toni. She went on to add, "Apparently he got pulled over a few years back. Said he was targeted by some dodgy cops, said they planted drugs in his car. Don't know how that all went away but up until this incident with Jamie, there's never been any call for concern."
"Did he ever say the name of the cops that stopped him?" asked Danny who had come in unnoticed, while Toni had been talking.
"Nope, no names. But he did say they were from the 3-5. Not that that's much help," sighed Toni.
"Well, every little helps. I'm gonna go check in with Jamie then check for any reports," said Danny as he quickly hugged Linda and headed for the kitchen. As he walked in, Vinnie walked out, Toni offered to walk him to his car in order to ask him about Jamie.
"Did you see anyone acting suspiciously around his room in the first few days?"
"Nah. He was surrounded by you guys, a police guard and his family. How could anyone get past that?" joked Vinnie. Then, "I know you're worried about him, i am too. But he's stronger than he looks. I know it's not probably a good idea or professional, but how'd you like to go for a beer with me. No strings, just to talk. Can't be easy having to watch Reagan 24/7!"
"Er, thanks but until i get the all clear from Dr Keller, my place will be here 24/7," replied Toni as she shrugged away Vinnie's hand. Vinnie smiled a smile that didn't quite give her any comfort. Toni nodded her farewell and turned back to the house leaving Vinnie to turn in the opposite direction and fume silently to himself.
Dinner that night was prepared by Linda and Toni whilst the men all sat and watched the pre-match build up to the Jets game. As it was an important match, it was decided that dinner would be in the front room and not the dining room. With plenty of finger foods available the guys could watch the match and eat when they felt like it leaving the ladies time to chill out.
"Hey! Watch where you're going with that!" exclaimed Jamie as Danny, accidently tripped over his foot and spilling the bowl of carrot sticks.
"It was an accident!" grinned Danny as he picked a carrot stick from the bowl and threw it at his young brother.
"Just like this?" grinned Jamie as he picked up several bits of carrot that had landed in his lap and threw them back.
"Boys! How old are you?" asked Frank, sternly without looking behind him.
"Bout 10!" quipped Linda from the dining room. Danny and Jamie exchanged hurt pouts and wicked grins.
"Can we get more carrots in here please?" asked Jamie, wickedly as he started to throw the fallen ones at his brother.
"Jamie! I'm warning you!" growled Frank without amusement. Before he could turn around he felt several carrots hit the back of his head. "Which one of you did that?"
Neither brother responded. Frank went back to the game. Jamie and Danny continued to throw carrot sticks at each other until there were none left and they were forced to move onto the grapes. By now, Henry was getting a little irate.
"Pack it in! I'm trying to watch the game!" he shouted as he turned on the boys in mid-throw.
"Sorry. Sorry gramps" grinned Danny, sheepishly still pinging grapes at Jamie.
"Yeah, sorry grandpa," giggled Jamie.
All while this was going on, Linda and Toni had moved from the dining table to the doorway of the room to observe the childhood play. "I think someone is getting a little stir crazy, don't you?" whispered Linda.
"Oh yeah! You take your man and i'll deal with Jammie!" whispered Toni, conspiratorially. Together they sneaked out of the dining room, through the kitchen (for supplies) and back into the front room behind the sofa...
"Arghhhhhh!" screamed Jamie and Danny as they jumped up from the sofa pulling at their shirts.
Frank and Henry jumped too with fright as they tried to figure out what happened. Soon though, they were laughing as they watched both Jamie and Danny wriggle in discomfort while melting ice cream ran down their backs. Linda and Toni stood behind the sofa with wicked, gleeful grins on their faces, holding the ice cream buckets.
"You boys had enough of playtime now?" asked Toni, innocently. Danny took one look at her then at his wife before realizing what had happened. Linda only had seconds to make an exit when she noticed her husband scoop a handful of ice cream from the floor and move to attack. Toni, on the other hand was already heading for the kitchen only to have her way blocked by Jamie who had taken the alternative route. Frank and Henry looked at one another, raised their glasses and sat back down to watch the game.
"That was unfair! I'm injured!" grinned Jamie as he moved towards Toni.
"Yeah! You're injuries are really hindering your sense of humour right now! Now, step away and i won't throw the last of the chocolate chip at you!" threatened Toni.
"I'm an injured member of service. You won't dare?" he glared humorously as he moved closer.
"I already have and will do so again!" smirked Toni as she waved the ice cream bucket at him. Still it didn't stop Jamie from advancing and soon Toni was almost trapped in the corner by the oven. Above them, they could hear Danny and Linda squealing and laughing as husband caught wife. Jamie lifted his eyes to the ceiling and it was the lapse in attention that allowed Toni to push passed and run to the garden.
Jamie quickly pivoted round and made to grab Toni but missed, almost slipping on the floor. He followed her to the garden and managed to tackle her to the ground. "Not so fast!" he gasped as he fell on top of her. Toni giggled and wriggled underneath his hold as Jamie repositioned himself as if catching a perp.
"Damn ! I forgot my cuffs!" he exclaimed, as he held her wrists. Toni stopped wriggling for a second it was enough for Jamie to notice her for the first time, not as his friend but as a woman. Next thing he knows he's kissing her like she's life support and she's the only one keeping him alive.
"Jam..Jamm..Jamie. Stop!" exclaimed Toni as she pushed him away.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked, breathlessly.
"I'm your nurse right now. We can't.." she protested as she tried to stand but Jamie held her face and looked straight into her eyes and into her heart. "We shouldn't.." her words cut off by Jamie's mouth on her's and his body pressing her back onto the ground.
"No more rules. Please." He begged as his kisses moved down and across her neck. "I just want you," he whispered as his eyes found her's once more. Toni looked up into Jamie's face and saw the young teenager she'd secretly fallen for years previously.
"We'd better get back inside," she spoke in soft tones as she gently pushed Jamie in order to move. As he stood he held out his hand and helped her up off the ground and swooped his arms around her waist into another embrace.
Unbeknown to them they had an audience, Danny and Linda from the window in Danny's old bedroom; Frank and Henry at the kitchen window; and Vinnie Cruz from behind the trees at the end of the garden. Four out of the five were happy with this scene, one was not. He'd play it cool, he'd get his way...Officer Perfect was going to get his comeuppance...And soon.