Sorry. I know I said I would have the chapter up last night, but I didn't get around to it. I hope you like this one and I will update as soon as I can.
Chapter # 7
Blue bloods
After Danny, Jamie, and Sam left, Linda turned towards the boys. Both looked extremely sad.
"Did Sam really think Dad was going to hurt Sean?" Jack asked.
"Yes." Linda replied, placing a hand on each boy's shoulders.
"Would her Dad had hurt her for spilling milk?" Sean asked.
Linda closed her eyes and tried to stop tears from forming. "Yes, Sweetie. He would have."
She removed her hand from Sean's shoulder and gently cupped his face. "How did you know Sam was trying to protect you?" She asked her youngest son.
"Remember last year, when Billy Hanson was always picking on me?" The seven-year-old said. "He pushed me down and was standing over me, then Jack stepped between us."
"Yes I remember that." Linda said, giving Jack's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"I thought it was like that." Sean said. "She was protecting me because she's bigger then me."
"And now your Dad and Uncle Jamie will protect her." Linda assured the boys. "Now, let's clean this mess up so you two can get started on your homework."
Blue blood
The ride towards the precinct was silent; everyone was lost in their own thoughts.
Sam was staring out the window, thinking about the two men in the car with her. They seemed so nice, but they were cops. cops were evil. Her Father had beat her because he was a cop.
But at the back of the twelve-year-old girl's head, another reason was nagging at her. Maybe her Father wasn't abusive because he was a cop. Maybe he abused her because she deserved it, maybe she was the bad one and not him.
Sam felt tears start to form in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away with her uncuffed hand. She would not cry in front of cops, not ever again.
"I need to pee." She said. It was a lie, but she had to get out of the car for a few minutes.
"We'll be at the precinct in about fifteen minutes." Danny said.
"I can't wait that long." Sam lied. "If you don't stop now, I'll pee on your brother."
"Just pull over, Danny." Jamie said.
"It won't be the first time a kid peed on him." Danny chuckled. "Jack used to have excellent aim when he was a baby."
"Come on, man." Sam said. "I gotta go."
"Fine." Danny said, pulling into a gas station. "But behave yourself, we are the only thing between you and a very pissed off Mason."
Danny stopped the car and Jamie climbed out of the car, Sam climbed out right behind him.
"I know this station." Danny said, handing his brother the key to the cuffs. "I will be outside the bathroom window, making sure she doesn't try to go AWOL again. You stay by the door."
"Got'cha." Jamie said, uncuffing the girl. He gently took her by the upper arm and lead her into the small store and over to the bathroom door.
Sam went inside and locked the door, then she leaned her back against the wall and slid down to the floor. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
Many thoughts were running through her mind, and none of them were good. Danny didn't hit Sean for spilling the milk, but she got beat unconscious for spilling beer. Did that mean that Danny was a better Father then her own? Or that Sean was a better kid then she was?
A few tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"I really need a cigarette." She mumbled, as she angrily wiped the tears away.
Sam knew that smoking was bad for her, but they helped calm her down. That and art, but she could do neither now.
The young girl loved art, loved to draw and paint. She was very good at it, but she had to keep it a secret. Her Grandparents told her it was a useless waste of time, and her Father had used her talents in cons. She swore to herself that she would never tell another adult about her talent.
"Come on Sam, hurry it up." Jamie's voice filtered through the closed door.
With a sigh, Sam stood up and walked over to the sink. She splashed her face with cold water, then used a paper towel to dry off. Then she opened the door and walked past Jamie, to the front of the store.
"You want a soda or something?" Jamie asked.
"No." Sam lied, she was getting real hungry now.
They walked outside and Jamie gave a loud whistle. A moment later, Danny walked over.
They were almost to the car, when Danny saw a car slow down, and saw the muzzle of a gun
"Gun!" He shouted, drawing his own weapon.
Jamie, who had left his gun in his locker at the precinct, grabbed Sam and shielded her with his own body. Then he quickly took the young girl into the store, but not before the shooting started. And not before he felt a hot burning pain in his upper thigh and felt blood running down his leg.
By the time they made it inside, Jamie was staggering badly. He slumped to the floor, dizzy and nauseas. Blood started pooling around him on the tiled floor.
"Damnit!" Sam said. "The bullet an artery."
Outside, they could hear the gunfight continued. Sam looked around the store, but there was no one there. She figured they all went into hiding when the gunfight started.
"Get in the back and stay hid." Jamie said, his voice weak.
"Not a change, now shut up." Sam replied.
She was scared, but she had learned to control her fear. Sam left Jamie for a moment, but returned with an armload of supplies. She quickly wadded up two shirts and pressed them against the wound, both front and back of his thigh.
The pressure brought a moan of pain from the young officer.
"Sorry." Sam said, as she began wrapping duct tape tightly around the shirts. The action caused even more moans from Jamie.
"This is really going to hurt." Sam said, apologetically. She wrapped a belt around his thigh, above the gunshot wound, and fastened it as tight as she could. Jamie screamed out in pain, then passed out.
"Hey!" Sam shouted, gently shaking him. "Wake up!" but the man did not respond.
"Come on, Jamie." Sam whispered, as tears began forming in her eyes. "Please don't leave me."
Jamie stirred, and reached out to take her hand. "I will never leave you." He whispered, his voice growing weaker. Then he lost conscious again.
Outside, the gunfire stopped. Then Sam heard running footsteps and approaching sirens. She quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed the nearest weapon she could find, which was a metal display case. She stepped between the unconscious man and the door.
Sam sighed in relief when Danny ran through the door.
"You okay?" Danny asked her in concern when he saw the blood on her.
"It's not mine." She said, stepping aside.
"Jamie!" Danny shouted, rushing to his brother's side.
"The bullet went straight through." Sam said, fighting hard not to cry. "It hit an artery, he lost a lot of blood."
"Nice job with the bandage and tourniquet." Danny said, as he slipped his arms under his little brother and picked him up. "Let's go."
Danny carried Jamie outside, and was met by three police cars.
"Regan!" One of the officer shouted, as he rushed over. "What happened?"
"Drive us to the hospital." Danny said. Then he looked at the other officers. "Secure the scene and I want an ID on that guy now!" The other officers nodded, then went to work.
The officer opened the back of his police car and Danny gently placed his brother inside.
"Up front." He ordered Sam, then he slid in beside his brother.
The ride to the hospital only took about five minutes, but it seemed a lot longer to the occupants in the car.
Jamie went in and out of conciseness. Danny spent the ride speaking softly and gently to his baby brother, assuring him that he was going to be okay.
Sam watched them from the front seat, as tears slipped down her cheeks. She was responsible for this, Jamie was hurt because of her.
They arrived at the hospital and was met by a doctor, several nurses, and a gurney. Danny and the doctor gently removed Jamie from the car and placed him on the gurney, then the hospital staff quickly rolled Jamie into the hospital. Danny, Sam, and the officer followed them.
Once inside, Danny was surprised to see his dad and Erin standing in the hallway. They were staring at the retreating gurney in shock. Erin was leaned against Frank and he had an arm around her.
They saw Danny and rushed over.
Danny turned to the officer. "Take her into a secure waiting room, cuff her to a chair, and stay with her."
"Cuff her?" the officer asked in confusion.
"The bastard that shot my brother was aiming for her, and she's a flight risk." Danny said.
"Got it." The officer said, gently taking the girl's arm and leading her away.
"Danny." Frank said. "What happened? Are you hit?"
"No, I'm fine." Danny replied. "It's Jamie's blood."
"What happened?" Erin wanted to know.
"We found Sam." Danny replied. "We made a pit stop at a gas station, and a car rolled up and started shooting. Jamie grabbed Sam and took her inside, I returned fire. One perp stepped out of the car, I shot him. The driver got away."
"How bad was Jamie hit?" Frank asked.
"He took a bullet in the upper thigh." Danny said. "The bullet went straight through, but it hit an artery. Jamie lost a lot of blood." He ran a hand over his face and said. "I never should brought him along, he's a patrol officer not a detective."
"It's not you fault, son." Frank said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Jamie knew Mason was out, he knew Sam was in danger, he went with you because that's his job. And because he's a good man, he wanted to help Sam."
"Dad's right." Erin said, as a couple tears ran down her cheeks. "You know that Jamie would have been pissed if you would have went after Sam without him."
"She saved his life." Danny said. "I was outside tossing bullets, she was inside alone with Jamie. She bandaged his wound with shirts and duct tape, then she used a belt to make a tourniquet."
"She's a smart kid." Frank said, grateful to the young girl.
"Hey Reagan." Jackie said, as she walked over to them. "Erin, Sir." She greeted the other two.
"I thought I already told you that the two of you needed supervision." Jackie told her partner.
"Ha ha, very funny Jacks." Danny said.
"How's Jamie?" Jackie asked, all traces of humor gone.
"He's in with the Doc now." Danny replied. "Was the shooter ID'd?"
"Yeah, but it's not a lead. Name's Brad Benton, a local thug with no known ties. He's a muscle man for anyone who pays him. The car was found a couple blocks away, wiped clean. It was stolen a few minutes before the shooting."
"So we have nothing." Danny hissed out, smashing his fist into the wall.
"Calm down, Danny." Frank said. He really wanted to punch something too, but he knew they had to stay calm and stay focused.
"We may have something." Jackie said. "There was some blood in the driver's seat, you may have wounded the driver. Lab's testing it now."
"Mason's DNA is on file." Frank said. "If he was the driver, then we'll know."
"Could've been another low level thug." Danny said. "But I know Mason ordered this."
"We'll find him." Jackie assured him.
"There's the doctor." Erin said.
"Tom." Frank greeted his old friend. "How's Jamie?"
"He will make a full recovery, I'm not expecting any complications." The doctor said.
"Thank God." Frank said, as they sighed in relief.
"He will be sore for a few days." The Doctor said. "He lost a lot of blood and will be weak for a little while. But he's a very lucky young man." He looked at Danny. "You saved his life with that bandage job, it slowed the bleeding down a lot. Another three minutes of free bleeding and there would have been nothing I could have done."
"I didn't do it." Danny told the older man.
"Well whoever did do it, saved his life."
"When can we see him?" Frank asked.
"In a few minutes, I'll let you know."
"Thank you Tom."
The doctor nodded, then walked away.
"Hey, wait a minute." Danny said, looking at his Dad and sister. "Why were you two here?"
"A little mishap at Nikki's school." Erin replied. "She's fine, just a badly sprained ankle.
"What happened?" Danny asked.
"She was standing on the steps in front of the school." Erin said. "Two boys were tossing around a football and it got away from them. It hit Nikki in the head and she took a tumble down the steps."
"You sure she's okay?" Danny asked.
"Positive." Erin said. "She's being released in a few minutes. But I need you guys help. The doctor told her not to put any weight on her ankle, if she does it will make the injury a whole lot worse. And Nikki is stubborn."
"A stubborn teenager." Danny said in mock surprise. "Shocking."
"Just wait." Erin said. "Jack isn't very far from his teenage years."
"Don't remind me." Danny groaned.
Blue bloods
Sam sat in a chair in a waiting room for what seemed like several hours. But she knew it was only a couple hours. She felt like curling up in a ball and sobbing, but she knew she had to stay focused.
She was feeling really guilty about Jamie getting hurt, and she was also scared. She saw how Danny was with Jamie, he loved his little brother dearly. And he had to be pissed at her, she got Jamie shot.
She didn't think that Danny would hurt her, he wasn't like her Father. But she figured that he was giving up on her, that he was going to pawn her off on another cop. She knew that there was no way he was going to help her now.
The door opened and a tall man walked in, wearing a dark suit.
"Sir." The officer in the room said, standing at attention.
"As you were." The man said. He was carrying a bag of something that smelled wonderful to the young girl. "Officer Marks, will you please excuse us? Sam and I have some things to discuss."
"Of course, Sir." The officer said. "I will be right outside."
"Will you uncuff her first please?"
"Yes Sir." The officer quickly uncuffed the young girl, then left.
"I'm Frank Reagan." The man said, sitting in the chair beside the young girl.
"Any kin to Danny and Jamie?" Sam asked, not liking this. The man was huge, and looked strong. If he was related to them, then he may be there to hurt her.
"I'm their Father." Frank said, noticing the fear that flashed through the girl's eyes.
"You a cop?" She asked, racking her brain for an escape plan.
"Police Commissioner."
"How's Jamie?"
"He's going to be fine, because of you. Thank you for saving my son." Frank said.
Sam gave him a confused look. Why wasn't he mad?
"You kept your head and stopped the bleeding, you saved his life."
"I was responsible for him getting shot." Sam said.
"No you weren't." Frank said. "You are not to blame for this."
Frank opened the bag he was holding and took out a sandwich wrapped in paper. "McAllister's down the street makes the best corned beef hash sandwiches in New York." He handed her the sandwich.
Sam wanted to say no, but she was so hungry. She took the sandwich and said. "Thanks."
"I got some curly fries and a bottle of water too." Frank said, pulling the other items from the bag.
Sam took the items, then started to eat.
"The dead guy wasn't Mason." Sam said, between bites of food. "Who was he?"
"Local thug." Frank said.
"So Mason is still out there free?"
"Yes, but we will find him." Frank placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Until then, we will keep you safe."
Sam looked into his eyes and saw compassion.
Blue blood
The next morning, Nikki was sitting on the sofa in Danny and Linda's house. Her Mom was at work so she was spending the day with Linda, since she was not supposed to go back to school for another couple day.
The thirteen-year-old was bored, and tired of being treated like an invalid. At first being waited on hand and foot was fun, but now it was annoying.
The front door opened and Danny walked in.
"Hey Uncle Danny." Nikki smiled, hoping he could help with her boredom.
"Hey, Nicks." Danny returned the smile. "Is Aunt Linda treating you right?"
"No." Nikki pouted. "I'm bored."
"Your niece wants to disregard the doctor's orders and walk on her ankle." Linda said, as she entered the room and walked over to her husband. They kissed then broke apart.
"You know what the doctor said, young lady." Danny said, sternly. "If you put pressure on that ankle before it heals, you could make it a lot worse."
"I know." Nikki sighed, knowing that her Uncle was not there to save her.
"What are you doing here?" Linda asked her husband.
"I live here." Danny said, giving his wife his best puppy eyes. "Am I not wanted here?"
"You are always wanted, lover." Linda said, as they hugged and kissed again.
"Oh, come on. Have a heart." Nikki moaned. "It's not like I can walk out of the room."
"You don't stay off of that ankle and your punishment will be watching us kiss for a whole hour." Danny told the young girl.
"That's cruel and unusual punishment, Uncle Danny." Nikki informed him.
"You staying for lunch?" Linda asked him.
"I just came to grab a shower and fresh clothes." Danny said. "Then I gotta go pick up Jackie. We're still trying to track down Mason."
"Go shower, and I will make some sandwiches for you and Jackie." Linda said.
"Thanks, Honey." Danny said. "That sounds great."
Danny headed upstairs to shower and Linda went into the kitchen. Nikki sighed, she was alone again. And bored.
A few minutes later, Nikki decided that she wanted to call a friend of hers. Problem was, her phone was several feet away on the tv stand. The young teenager stood up and started hobbling towards the phone. She knew she should use the crutches, but she was tired of them.
About halfway, she regretted her decision. She tried not to put too much pressure on her ankle, but she had to put some on it. Her ankle was starting to really throb. She made it to the tv stand and grabbed onto the stand for support.
"What the hell are you doing?" Her Uncle's voice boomed, as he rushed over to her.
"My ankle's really hurting." Nikki whined.
Danny gently scooped his young niece up in his arms and carried her back to the sofa, he carefully sat her on it.
"What's going on?" Linda asked, as she entered the room.
"Your Niece was across the room without her crutches." Danny said, glaring at the teen.
"Nikki." Linda said sternly, as she sat down beside her and gently placed the teen's foot in her lap. "That was very foolish."
"I'm sorry." Nikki said.
"Not as sorry as you're going to be Nikki." Danny said.
The young girl hung her head as she felt tears stinging her eyes.
"It didn't fracture." Linda said, "Even though it could have. I told you that any pressure on this ankle could cause fractures, which will take a lot longer to heal."
"I was just tired of the crutches." Nikki whispered.
The young girl felt foolish for walking on her ankle, well for hobbling on it.
"Here, Sweetie." Linda said, picking up a bottle from the end table and shaking out a pill.
"Thanks, Aunt Linda." Nikki said, taking the pill and the bottle of water that Danny handed her.
"It will help with the pain." Linda said. "Well the pain in your ankle, I'm not sure it will help with the pain your Uncle Danny is about to give you."
Nikki gulped and looked at the man, he was still looking mad.
Linda kissed the girl's forehead and stood up. "I'll finish those sandwiches." She said, leaving the room.
Danny sat beside his niece and said. "You knew you were not to walk on that ankle."
"Yes Sir."
"But you did it anyway."
"Yes Sir."
"Nicks, I know you are bored. I've had my fair share of injuries when I was your age, and I hated sitting around doing nothing. But you could have really messed that up that ankle, and I can't let that slide."
Nikki nodded, but didn't say anything.
Danny very gently lifted his niece and laid her across his lap, being careful not to jostle her ankle.
Danny landed a hard swat to Nikki's pajamas bottoms, causing the young girl to grunt. The next five swats landed quickly and a couple tears leaked from her eyes.
Danny once again lifted the girl and sat her on the sofa beside him, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The spanking was not very hard, just enough to leave a sting. He figured between that and the pain in her ankle, she had been punished enough.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Danny." Nikki said.
"It's okay, Honey." Danny assured her. "It's over, your forgiven."
A few moments later, Linda returned with a bag of sandwiches, chips, and bottles of water. Danny and Linda kissed goodbye, then Danny left.
TBC
