Summer-surprice for you. This is a real kitten-level-fluffy one. Once again I apologize for the late update. Let me know how I did? You are awesome!
Wednesday, August 30th, 12:00 pm, Erin's office
Jamie knocked on the open door and walked in.
"Hey, sis," he said gently with a soft smile on his face. Erin looked up from her work, reading glasses placed on the tip of her nose. A mixed look of happiness, relief, anxiety and concern flashed over her face and she got up to walk around the desk and hug her brother tight.
"I'm so worried about you, Jamie, please, don't run off like that again," she mumbled into his shoulder. "Mom would have freaked out if she knew," she continued and pulled back with a smile.
"I know… I won't," he promised and his smile faded a little bit.
"Is this about Eddie?" Erin asked when they moved to sit in her visitor's chairs. Jamie's eyes flicked to hers.
"Don't tell me, you've talked with Danny… I need a pair of logical eyes," Jamie sighed and slumped in his seat.
"Not Danny…" Erin said and let her eyes wander over her beaten-up, tired brother. Jamie eyed her suspiciously. She saw the realization in his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, Eddie came by this morning, sat in that same chair," she said and nodded to the chair Jamie was in.
"What did she want?" Jamie asked, curious to why his partner had talked with his sister.
"I think you should talk with her about that," Erin stated and tilted her head. "Why did you come over?" she asked, turning back on topic.
"I…" Jamie started and fell silent. Why had he come over? He stared at a spot behind the desk. "It just seemed like the place to go," he admitted and ran a hand through his hair.
"You need to set it straight, this thing between you and Eddie. She's worried about you because you've changed, dramatically, since last week," Erin said kindly. Jamie nodded, thinking back to the night before and got up from the chair.
"You're right," he said and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Thank you, I usually am," Erin conceded with a knowing smile.
"I'll see you later," Jamie replied with a half-hearted smile and left.
Wednesday, August 30th, 08:00 pm, Erin's office
Erin looked up from the papers in front of her, when she heard a knock on her open door.
"Officer Janko," Erin said, surprised by the visit and got up from her chair. "I'll take a wild guess and say you're not here because of the case?" Erin inquired and walked closer to her. Eddie hesitated for a second and then turned around to close the door behind her.
"You guessed right… and, please call me Eddie. It's Jamie… he's… I don't know… different," she finally said and took the seat appointed to her by Erin.
"Eddie," Erin tried. "What did he do?" she asked, worry in her voice. "I thought the two of you were thick as thieves," she stated and sat down in the chair next to her.
"Well, we are… were, maybe, I think…" Eddie sighed, frustrated. "We can talk about everything, literally, but last night he didn't want to talk to me at all… could you imagine what he saw inside the building? When he came back out, he was white as a ghost and beaten up," Eddie talked vivid and with a clear concern in her eyes.
"The building on North End Avenue?" Erin asked and Eddie nodded, puzzled. "Danny updated dad on what happened and he told me this morning," she explained.
"So you know he came to my place in the middle of the night, completely drunk?" Eddie asked carefully. She knew Danny would take Jamie to their dad's and he must have told Erin. She only nodded. "I'm worried about what this will do to him," she admitted and leaned back in the comfortable chair with a sigh.
"You want my advice?" Erin asked after a few seconds of silence.
"You knew, that's why I came here, right?" Eddie asked with half a smile and admired her skills in looking through people. She would have been a great detective, Eddie distantly thought. They talked for almost half an hour more, before Eddie decided to head back to the 54th.
Wednesday, August 30th, 05:00 pm, 54th precinct
After working through the day the team was slowing down. Danny, Baez, Jamie and Eddie had worked their sources, CI's and the system, working out a complex web of strings on the whiteboard. Evert once in a while, they had a break through, but mostly they worked in silence on their computers, much to Jamie's disappointment. He really needed to talk to Eddie, but since she had brushed him off, he had kept his distance. Danny had dragged Jamie along half of the day and he was just about exhausted, possibly because Danny knew about the tense situation between Jamie and Eddie. Six eyes came to rest on him at once and Jamie realized a phone was bussing in his pocket. He pulled out the burner and looked at it for a second, before he flipped it open to answer.
"Hello," he said dryly as Danny walked closer and pointed to his ear and then to the phone. Jamie nodded and put the phone on speaker.
"Good, I wasn't sure if I would get you. Listen, unfortunately I have some problems in Belmont I have to take care of so you to help out here," the Chief said and clearly waiting for a reply. Jamie looked to Danny who nodded encouragingly and then to Eddie, whose eyes had suddenly changed to a dark grey.
"Sure, I'll be there," Jamie responded after a second. He didn't really want to, but he had to. He had to get the people out of there and make sure the people who earned money this way was put behind bars.
"Terrific," came the short reply and the call was disconnected. Jamie looked at the phone in disbelief.
"What's wrong, kid?" Danny asked when he saw the look on his brother's face. Eddie and Baez turned their eyes to him as well.
"Nothing… it's nothing," he replied and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "I should get going," he continued and got to his feet. He pocketed the phone and took of his badge, which had been handing around his neck in a chain. He handed it to Danny who looked puzzled, but didn't say anything.
"Be careful, Jamie," Baez said from her desk. She knew those words would have and actual effect on him opposite to Danny. Jamie looked at Baez and nodded a promise.
"I'll call with an update," he said and headed for the elevator. When he was out of sight Eddie sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep up with this… with him," she admitted. The number of times Jamie had almost given her a heart attack was… she had given up on keeping a score.
"I know… he'll come back, though," Danny said and let himself drop into the chair Jamie had vacated. They had minimized the back-up and surveyed the area from a greater distance this time, but Danny was still on edge with all of it. He called the people who needed to know and gave them all the update, including Garrett, who would fill in the PC, Erin and Anderson, from the ESU. Not much longer the three of them made their way down to the car and drove off to the designated spot they all had agreed on.
Wednesday, August 30th, 06:00 pm, North End Avenue
"Tomorrow night, you and Bugs will take care of the delivery. Sixteen items of mixed trait," Johnny said while walking out of the elevator. "There will be females on this side and males over there. It's your job to categorize them and keep the book up to date," he continued as they walked past the cages and through a door. "If you ever need some alone time with one of the items, the boss set up the next room. Only condition is, that they'll still be able to be produced," he said with a knowing look in his eyes. Johnny was the little guy that had opened the door for Jamie at the Emerald Pub. His eyes were scrutinizing and his voice was flimsy, he seemed smarter than he looked, Jamie thought.
"Categorize?" Jamie asked, trying to sound curious, ignoring the last comment.
"Blood types..." came Johnny's response when he closed the door behind them. Jamie heard the click of a lock. "What the hell do you think you are doing, huh?" he whispered with a strained voice. Inside the room was a collection of hospital beds, the ones on wheels. There were five beds placed in a right angle to one of the walls and five more mirroring them on the opposite wall. Jamie slowly turned to Johnny, hiding the worry in his eyes and body language.
"What are you talking about?" he countered and his eyes flinched to the knife in Johnny's hand. He was standing easily but the look on his face caught Jamie completely off guard.
"Waltzing in here, ready to work, it's a little too evident that you are not here for the money," Johnny spat out and before Jamie could blink, he was grabbed by the arm, spun around and pushed against the wall. He could feel the blade of the knife resting against his jaw and Johnny's forearm rested on his chest, so his movement was limited. He kept his arms down at his sides and looked straight into Johnny's eyes, forcing himself not to be intimidated.
"What? Are you afraid, that I'll take over your job, and the Chief will no longer need you, is that it?" Jamie hissed at the man only a few inches from him.
"I saw you field strip that gun, like it was your job. And you don't look like the type that needs a gun for protection," Johnny explained and stepped back, while he eyed Jamie up and down. He hid the knife again and corrected his shirt. "I'm on to you," he smiled conspiratorially and backed up a step more.
"What are you talking about? You think I'm a cop? Don't be ridiculous, Johnny, come on... listen to yourself," Jamie said relaxed. Inside he was panicking and he could hear the blood rush in his ears. Johnny eyed him over once again and then nodded. Jamie could see him thinking hard until someone tried to open the door behind them.
"Yo, Johnny? Bugs wants you on level two… now," a voice shouted from the other side of the door and knocked a few times. He stared at Jamie and they both sidestepped until Johnny could open the door. He leaned on the sill and smiled at the man outside.
"I'll be right down, give me a couple of minutes," he replied and the man looked over his shoulder and glared at Jamie. Then he nodded, carefully, turned slowly and walked away. Johnny turned to Jamie again and nodded thoughtfully. "I don't like you," he stated. Jamie didn't reply, none of them moved. "We're going to finish this later," he continued and bit his lip. Then he lifted a hand and poked Jamie on the chest. "Be careful… Skeet," he finished scornfully and exited the room. A few seconds later, Jamie let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He realized it was shaking, looked at the door for a second and then leaned against the wall. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes and concentrated on his breath. This development could be risky, he determined and pulled himself together once again. He decided to steer clear of Johnny for the remainder of the night and then get back to safety in his home. And make sure that no body followed him.
Thursday, August 31th, 02:00 am, Flatiron District
Jamie managed to step into his apartment and flick on the lights before he realizes someone was there. For a second his heart was sprinting but when his eyes saw the familiar handbag and jacket he quickly relaxed. His badge and a key were lying next to them. Like a good luck charm, he ran his finger over his partner's belongings on the counter and walked to the fridge where he grabbed a couple of beers, knowing Eddie wouldn't pass on an offer like that. Then he proceeded to the living room and saw the blonde, messy hair on the armrest but nothing else. He sat on the table in front of the couch.
"Eddie..?" he called gently, she only stirred in response and he placed the beers on the table so he could move the blanket. "Hey, Janko…" he said a little bit louder and she opened he eyes.
"Reagan," she said sleepily with a furrow in her brow and looked around. Then she looked like she remembered where she was and she sat up with sleep in her eyes. "How did it go?" she asked and looked out the window, when Jamie handed her one of the bottles. "What time is it?" she asked and yawned. Jamie wondered for a brief second why she couldn't look at him. He shrugged and popped open the beer to have a sip.
"Two in the morning," he replied and massaged his temples. "I would ask how you got in, but I saw the key," he continued and let scratched the back of his neck.
"Oh, yeah, sorry… Danny gave it to me, so I could drop of your badge on my way home… I guess I fell asleep," she said and kept her eyes on the bottle in her hand. "I should get going," she mumbled and placed the unopened beer on the table and got to her feet. When she turned around, Jamie grabbed her hand and pulled her back while he got to his feet. They didn't move for what felt like a couple of minutes, Eddie starring into his chest, avoiding eye contact. Jamie kept her hand in his, their finger almost interlaced.
"Eddie…" he said quietly, she looked down and Jamie raised his hand so he could lift up her chin. Finally their eyes met and he smiled kindly. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you, I don't know what came over me," he started and Eddie's eyes flickered down for a second.
"No, it's all right, I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I know you wouldn't have done it, if it wasn't for what you saw inside that building," she explained and forced out a brave smile. This time it was Jamie's turn to look down.
"I felt so helpless in there… but now I'm just… hollow," he sighed with his eyes on their hands.
"Don't think like that, Jamie," Edie replied earnestly and lifted their joined hands. She flattened his hand over her chest where her heart would be and kept her hand on top of his. "You fell this?" she asked and then moved his hand to the same place on his chest. "You can't be hollow… I won't let you," she said quietly and Jamie lifted his eyes again. They were rimmed with red by tiredness and glassy. She closed her hand around his and squeezed it reassuringly. "You are Jamie Reagan… and we are going to bring them down," she said supportively.
"Eddie, I don't know if I can…" Jamie started but didn't know which words to choose. He sighed again, looked around before he closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and let it out hesitantly and trembling. "I don't know if I want to be alone," he breathed out and looked pleadingly at the blonde in front of him. She nodded understandingly, took a step forward and wrapped her arms firmly around his waist and leaned against his shoulder. She remembered the night where it had been the other was around. When she was dealing with her shooting, Jamie had done the exact same thing for her.
Thursday, August 31th, 05:30 am, Flatiron District
Jamie opened his eyes instantly and froze. For a second he saw the last flash of the dream that had haunted him before it disappeared and he was left with nothing but the feeling of a terrible dream. At once he saw, remembered and felt Eddie next to him, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm lying on his stomach, her hand on his chest. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and let himself relax and breathed out. Eddie stirred and moved her hand a bit before she lifted her head sleepily.
"You all right?" she whispered when she saw the expression in his face and the semi-wild eyes. Jamie only nodded and looked at her eyes more gently.
"Just a dream…" he explained and she nodded, knowingly.
"That's all it is," she said quietly and snuggled her head back onto his shoulder. Her fingers started moving around in circles and Jamie instantly relaxed.
"Thanks, Eddie... for everything," he whispered in her hair and she nodded, already sleeping again.
"You owe me big time, Reagan," she manage to mumble and he could feel her smile. "Go back to sleep," she said and yawned once again before her breathing changed. Jamie could do nothing but smile at her and close his eyes again.
I hope you like it - the ending is open for interpretation (;
