Hello, my dear readers! I know this is a bit late, (lately I've been pulled in every direction every day, so haven't had much time) but I hope you'll think it was worth the wait... I'm just about to wrap it up, so if you have any particular wishes or suggestions, now is the time to speak out loud. (I already have an idea for the story forming in my head). I hope you like it and that you will leave a review.

Thursday, August 31th, 06:00 pm, North End Avenue

The bucket of water had cooled him down nicely in the heat, but now Jamie was actually shivering, probably because he didn't have the proper amount of blood to send the heat around in his body. His clothes were clammy and cold, and he could feel his joints starting to stiffen up because he couldn't move and the fact that Johnny had changed the blood bags a couple of times. Everything was a blur and he felt lightheaded, another side effect of blood loss, he thought distantly. The door opened and Jamie tilted his head to the side. His heart sunk another few inches as he groaned by the sight of Johnny. Right now he just wanted to go home to a warm bed and… Eddie… A knot formed in his stomach and Jamie did his best to keep his teeth from chattering by clenching his jaws.

"Officer Reagan… I'm surprised that you are still awake. Not many people will be awake, let alone alive after two bags," Johnny laughed and hopped on to Jamie's bed, next to his knees. "You know, when the Chief's boss heard about you, he rushed down here to meet you in person… I haven't even met the man, but he's a legend! Anyway… I'm sorry you have to go this way…" he said and leaned closer, speaking more quietly. "If I was in charge, I would have kept you alive and then called your daddy. I'm sure he would pay a good deal of money to get you back… in one piece," Johnny snickered and padded Jamie on the thigh. Outside, in the distance, they heard a door opening and the sound of shuffling feet, Johnny didn't think twice about it. He probably thought it was the new load. He moved to the other side of the bed and removed the bag of blood, packing it down in a cooling box next to the bed. He whistled… the national anthem, Jamie noticed.

"Why… are you… doing… this..?" Jamie whispered. He barely had the strength to talk anymore. Johnny turned around to look at him with a fake sad smile.

"For the money, of course… why else?" he snickered again. The door flew open and his face changed to one of panic.

"POLICE!" Danny shouted and took up stance inside the door. More people spilled in behind him. "Drop your weapon!" he continued and Jamie realized that Johnny had pulled out the knife and rested it on his neck, below the ear. He noticed that one of them was a bit shorter than the others and had blonde, messy hair. Johnny shouted back a response trying to outshout the group of police officers coming through the door and the distant thunder.

"I goes, he goes!" Johnny shouted back for the umpteenth time. His laugh had changed to one of crazy, like his eyes, thinking he was safe behind Jamie and the knife. Outside, a flicker of light made Johnny's face more distorted for less than a second. A roll of thunder tore through the silence outside. Jamie closed his eyes, the exhaustion and blood loss pulling him slowly down into the cold, silent and lonely darkness. A lightning flickered again for a good few seconds, immediately followed by the loud thunder. Everything flickered inside. Johnny shouted and lifted the knife in a quick move. A collection of shots was fired when the lights went out, Johnny staggered backwards and collided with the next bed. The knife clanked to the floor in the silent dark and a second later, feet shuffled closer. The silence was deafening, the echoes of the gunshots and the thunder rolled away in the distance and the darkness was kind of soothing.

"Jamie, open your eyes, please, come on," Eddie mumbled and clapped him softly on his cheek while Danny loosened the restraints. A flashlight was handed to Danny and he shone it at Johnny and then Jamie.

"Stay awake, kid," Danny grumbled and rubbed Jamie's chest to heat him up. He didn't like the pale skin and the blue lips. Eddie removed the needle from the pit of his elbow.

"I knew… you would… come," Jamie whispered and smiled vaguely when he looked at Eddie.

"Hey, what about me?" Danny laughed, more strained than anything, playing hurt. Jamie shifted his gaze to his brother.

"You too, Danny… you too," Jamie smiled and closed his eyes for a second. Baez materialized from behind Danny.

"Bus will be here in less than a minute," she announced carefully.

"Eddie, you stay here and make sure he doesn't fall asleep. We'll clear the rest of the building and get the Chief into custody," Danny stated and leaned over Jamie. "Stay awake, kid, I'll be right back," he continued softly and handed Eddie the flashlight before they left the dark room. Another lightning flickered outside the windows and even though it wasn't late, it was darker than the city.

"Reagan, you have to keep your eyes open, you hear me?" Eddie pleaded and squeezed his hand.

"I can… do that," Jamie mumbled just as another lightning flashed and thunder clasped loudly. Rain started pouring down, splashing on the windows.

"Good… but don't ever do something like this again, Reagan!" Eddie scolded him and ran her fingers through his hair. "I don't know if I could deal with losing a partner," she admitted.

"I don't want to… be… your partner… anymore," Jamie whispered and caught her eyes. She didn't have the time to reply, when a flashlight found them from the door and paramedics came in. Eddie moved to give them room, but she didn't take her eyes of Jamie's.

"Mild hypothermia and blood loss," one of the paramedics noted. Eddie saw the glance they shared before picking up the pace.

"Let's load him up and get out of here," the other one replied and soon after they were going down in the elevator.

Thursday, August 31th, 07:00 pm, St. Vincent's

Eddie was slumped in a chair in the cafeteria, looking around, her feet stretched out in front of her. Her eyes connected with a man across the room and he quickly looked down at his sandwich. She had left the Reagan's in the waiting room and used the poor coffee as an excuse to get out. Now there was a cup of hot mud in front of her, untouched.

"That bad?" Nicky asked when she sat down on the other side of the table and Eddie looked up at her with a sarcastic nod. She laughed when Nicky lifted the cup to her nose and smelled. The face she made was sure to make anyone smile.

"I'm sorry, I needed to get away from…" Eddie apologized and sat up straighter. She sighed when she realized how it sounded. "It's not you guys, I mean, you're all amazing… it's…" she sighed once again and ran a hand through her hair.

"That sounds like a break-up," Nicky commented dryly and both of them laughed.

"I know… I can't deal with the waiting," Eddie continued, pleased to have someone to talk with even though it was her partner's niece.

"The not-knowing?" Nicky asked and Eddie nodded. "Don't worry… he'll be fine," Nicky continued with a smile. "It's Uncle Jamie," she explained when Eddie looked at her with hopeful eyes and received a smile.

"Anything new?" Eddie asked and Nicky nodded.

"That's why I was looking for you," Nicky replied and continued. "His temperature is back up along with his blood levels. The doctor said he was exhausted and a bit confused, but he is positive that he will make a full recovery," Nicky reported and got to her feet again.

"That's a relief," Eddie breathed out with a smile.

"Yeah, come on… I'm sure Uncle Jamie would appreciate a visit," Nicky continued and Eddie needed no more to prompt her to her feet. A few minutes later they knocked on the door to Jamie's room and walked in. Jamie was sitting in the bed, propped up against pillows, covered head to toe, and turned his head to look at them and his smile grew wide.

"Hey, what do you know, that's my two favorite girls," he burst out and yawned.

"I guess, that would be our cue," Erin announced and got to her feet with Danny by her side. Danny grinned and padded Jamie before heading to the door.

"Oh, Danny, remæind to ask Linda about that thing, you know," Jamie called after him and Danny's face changed to glare at Jamie.

"All right, you got me… I call a truce," Danny said and sighed. He followed Erin and Nicky out. "I can't believe you told him about that, sis..." Danny complained, his voice lessened. Erin and Nicky laughed in the distance. Eddie closed the door with a smile and walked to the bedside.

"What was that about?" She asked conspiratorially and sat on the bed.

"Danny's busting my chops about you and Erin gave me some leverage," Jamie giggled. Eddie looked at the door.

"Nothing is sacred, is it?" she laughed at him and took his hand in hers. It was still a little bit cold, she noticed. Jamie shook his head.

"Not in this family," he mumbled and closed his fingers around hers.

"I'm glad you're all right," Eddie said quietly and smiled at her partner. Jamie nodded his agreement. "I don't know what I would do, if I had to get a new partner… it's not like the best one's are hanging on the trees," she mentioned. Jamie looked at her, curiosity in his eyes.

"How did you find out?" he asked her suspiciously when he connected the dots. It hadn't been more than twelve hours and he hadn't had the chance to talk with Eddie all day for obvious reasons. She laughed at his epiphany.

"Oh, please, did you really think I wouldn't? Renzulli called med in and asked me about it this morning, but he realized that I knew nothing about it. Then the snowball rolled and I had a talk with Erin, then Danny and then Frank. I'm pretty sure they knew, by the way. And Nicky introduced me to Pops, when they arrived and…" she stopped talking when she saw the look on Jamie's face.

"I get captured for a day and you're already BFF's with all of my family?" Jamie asked and Eddie nodded, struggling to keep back the laughter. His face was hilarious.

"So, I got back to the precinct and Renzulli sorted it all out. He even gave me my own rookie, starting on Monday," she continued and let it all sink in.

"Wait, what? You're a TO?" Jamie asked, now even more confused and Eddie nodded eagerly. He went silent for a few moments, he was clearly a bit dazed and tired as he yawned again. "That's great, congrats, Janko," he said and smiled at her when the door opened. Linda and Danny came in with Jack and Sean in tow. Eddie gave Jamie a quick smile and got to her feet.

"I'll come back later, Reagan," she told him and excused herself before she left the room. Danny followed her out, putting his work-face back on.

"We didn't get the Chief, he wasn't anywhere in the building," Danny sighed.

"You don't think…" Eddie began and looked at him and he shook his head, knowing what she would ask. "I don't think so, but as a precaution, dad is making some calls to get a few plain clothes up here," he continued.

"And the feds?" Eddie asked, knowing they had been looped in, when Jamie was ambushed. Baez and Frank joined them, his detail not far away.

"ASAC Mulholland is coordinating with their offices in Washington, Miami and Orlando and they have guys in Belmont, checking out the status up there," Baez explained.

"For now it is out of our hands, but if the Chief or his superior even sneezes in my city, we'll be the first to know," Frank assured them and looked at Danny, silently pleading his oldest son to not do anything foolish.

"Do we know who was in Jamie's apartment? Or what the superior looks like?" Eddie asked and Baez reached into her pocket.

"Neighbor, from across the street, saw this man in a grey sedan driving off at 9 am. It could be nothing," Baez said when Eddie glanced at the sketch. She squinted and tilted her head.

"It could be something… I'm not sure," she mumbled and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to remember. "He was different…" she continued.

"What is it?" Frank asked and looked at the sketch. Eddie ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She hummed and walked around for a few seconds until she froze.

"He looked at me… he kept an eye on me, but that wasn't him," she said and scrutinized the sketch again. "He looked older," she said and hesitated.

"Who?" Danny asked, no, demanded. Eddie looked up.

"In the cafeteria, twenty minutes ago," she only replied.

"Dad…" Danny started and looked at the door, his face saying it all.

"Go," Frank only prompted and turned to the head of his detail, Detective Nuciforo. Danny, Baez and Eddie moved quickly down the hallway and a minute later they entered the overflowing cafeteria. It seemed like all the personal was having dinner at the same time.

"Eddie, you see him?" Danny asked as they moved through the crowds. She shook her head while scouting the around.

"He's not here," she called to Danny when they reached the end of the cafeteria.

"We should go back upstairs, maybe we passed him already," Baez said when she joined them at the end.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there," Eddie replied. A couple of minutes later Danny and Baez walked down the hallway and relaxed at the sight before them. Nothing had changed, except for Frank's detail outside the door, which was a very good sign. They had taken up stance outside, looking very capable and alert. One of them opened the door for the duo and Frank and Jamie turned their heads to look at them.

"He could be anywhere," Danny grumbled and placed his hands on his hips.

"Show him the sketch, Baez," Frank said and took a seat in the chair in the corner. Baez found the piece of paper and unfolded it before handing it to Jamie.

"That's the guy," Jamie confirmed and nodded. "I've never seen him before, until he knocked me out this morning," he continued and handed the paper back to Baez. They all fell silent for a few seconds.

"Well, we can't search through the whole hospital," Baez recognized with a sigh and a shrug.

"I'll have Sid coordinate teams on every entrance of this floor," Frank said and got to his feet. "Linda and the boys went home," he continued when he passed Danny and moved out of the door to make the call. Baez grabbed her phone when it buzzed in her pocket and looked at the caller ID.

"Mulholland," she explained and exited the room to take the call. Danny heaved himself down in the chair Frank had vacated and blew out a deep breath between his teeth.

"Have you and Eddie talked yet?" Danny asked when resting his head on the knuckles of his left hand. Jamie shrugged and looked down, deflated.

"We haven't exactly had the time," he replied and smiled to himself. "She mentioned that Renzulli made her a TO," Jamie laughed and leaned his head back.

"That's great, kid… for both of you," Danny replied and looked out the window. It had been raining ever since they breached the building on North End Avenue but at least the thunder and lightning had stopped. "You did good on this case," Danny continued a bit more hesitantly. To praise his kid brother wasn't something he was renowned for. It was just as unusual to hear him apologize and both of them knew how much it took from Danny to actually say these kind of things.

"Thanks, Danny," Jamie replied, trying not making a big fuss out of it. Although he did start to laugh. "You think you can say that again at Sunday dinner?" he continued with a smile to his older brother.

"Don't push your luck, kid. This week you have been walking around, like a cat with ten lives," Danny laughed dryly.

"Nine…" Jamie corrected him with a laugh. But that sounded true enough. He had been way too lucky for his own good this week.

"What?" Danny asked from the chair.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. /K.