Chapter Thirteen
Sydney arrived at the hospital a little after five the next evening. Jamie was waiting for her downstairs considering Eddie was not allowed visitors until dinner anyway. Jamie usually came go feed her dinner unless Henry was there, then he did the feeding and told stories. "Hey, did you win?" Jamie asked giving Sydney a kiss.
"Slam dunk thanks to you," Sydney replied. "You sure you don't want to come back to the law? You'd be amazing?"
Jamie laughed, "I'd be miserable, I like what I do but I don't mind helping you when I can. Eddie's dinner should be there now, we can talk to her while I feed her."
When the couple arrived on Eddie's floor, she was sitting in her bed, a half-eaten plate in front of her. Most of the food was down her shirt and on her lap. She had a fork like item attached to her hand by a velcro band and her head turned towards the wall. Jamie could tell by her body language she was crying. Her occupational therapist, Lillian was at her side. "It's hard, but you'll get it."
Jamie knocked and pushed the door open, "What's going on in here?"
"Eddie was working on feeding herself but it seems she's still too stiff to be able to do it efficiently. That's okay, we'll work on it."
"She's crying" Jamie all but snapped and walked over to Eddie. "Did you hurt yourself? Did you burn yourself?"
She only shook her head, not making eye contact. "Leave us please, Sydney and I will take it from here."
When Lillian left, Jamie turned Eddie' cheek gently so he didn't disturb her brace, "What's all the tears huh? It's okay, you're a little messy but I've seen you look worse eating a burrito. What's wrong?"
"I just...I just had a shower now look..." She began to sob, a sound that Jamie never could stand to hear.
Jamie took a seat on the bed beside her smiling softly trying not to jostle the mattress too much. "Hey, it'll be fine, really. Yeah it's hard now, but you'll keep practicing and we'll be here to help you. Before you know it you'll be shoveling food in like you used to."
Eddie blinked letting another tear fall down her cheek, embarrassed she needed constant help just to eat.
"But the nurses… they can't…I want to eat on my own," Eddie sobbed in one long incoherent sentence as her emotions burst through. Jamie instinctively reached up to wipe the tears pouring down her face.
"Don't worry about that, okay? In time if you keep doing therapy, you will be able to eat on your own. If you get messy we can always clean you up."
Eddie swallowed hard hating depending on people to help her with things she should be able to do as a young woman. It was simple stuff like eating and showering that frustrated and upset Eddie so much. She tried so hard every day to get better and hit walls at every turn.
"Hey trust me okay? Actually Syd and I have good news." Jamie looked up at Sydney reaching up to her with his free hand inviting her closer to the bed. Sydney complied standing behind Jamie holding his hand while smiling at her friend.
"You guys are pregnant?" Eddie sniffled. "That is good news and I'm really hap…"
"Oh, no," Sydney cut her off. "No, we aren't pregnant, Eddie. Not yet. Not until I make at least one more promotion. Tell her Jamie."
Jamie smiled, "Sydney and I were talking last night after I had a talk with Jerry. You're going to be getting out of here in about two weeks and continue your therapy in a home setting, but you won't be ready or able to live by yourself. We talked it over and decided that we'd like you to come and live with us."
"Oh, Jamie…" Eddie gasped. "Sydney, I can't do that. I'd be a burden on you, I…"
"You would not be a burden," Sydney jumped in quickly. "You'd be that if you didn't take us up on our offer. Jamie wouldn't rest if he wasn't sure you were being cared for properly, this way he can help you turn at night, I can help you shower and dress…the nurses can be for when we are at work. You can take that back bedroom with the view of the park.. We'll get a hospital bed in there and widen the doors for your chair. I spoke to the building manager this morning before court."
"We won't take no for an answer, Eddie," Jamie assured her. "I want you to come live with us. If you get stronger, when you get stronger and we both feel you can be on your own, we'll talk about that then, but for now, this is the best thing." Jamie softly rubbed Eddie's shoulder.
"I want to pay something, room and board…" Jamie nodded, he knew Eddie had to salvage some pride. "We'll work something out, sure. For now, why don't you talk to Syd about the colors you want in there and pick things out on the computer while I try to get a list of improvements we need to do to the room so it can accommodate your things. Contractor comes in the morning."
Jamie departed to get his list while Sydney and Eddie laughed at his exuberance. "He was really worried about you having strangers at night. You're doing us a favor really, this way we don't' have to go over to your place and turn you at night or…"
Eddie sighed, "I'll go to my room early so you can have alone time and I won't be an albatross I promise."
"You're our dearest friend, you have saved Jamie's life more times than I can count. You are not a burden, an albatross, or any other word you want to put on it. In two weeks, you'll be our roommate. I can use some more estrogen in the house, when Danny comes by…" Sydney laughed. "Jamie tells me that you like purple…I bookmarked some purple comforter sets and I found some nice looking wheelchair pillows too."
While the girls shopped, Jamie found Eddie's therapist and spoke with him about modifying their apartment. The floor place was mostly open with hard wood flooring. That would make it easy for Eddie to get around in a power wheelchair. The biggest issue was the size of the door frames. The front door, hallway passage arch, Eddie's bedroom door, and bathroom door would all have to be widened. The bathroom would also need to be completely remodeled to allow for a specialized toilet, lower sinks with switches to operate the water with just a nudge from Eddie's elbow, and a roll in shower so that a manual chair could be used to get Eddie in and out.
The apartment needed to be rearranged so that things that Eddie needed could be in easy reach if and when she was actually able to have the arm dexterity to retrieve things on her own. From the talks Jamie had with Jerry, it was likely that Eddie would need to be handed everything she required for the rest of her life. Her hands and fingers were totally paralyzed, most of her lower arms as well, you can't maneuver much without those parts working. Jamie didn't mind, he would do anything he had to if it meant having his best friend.
The next day the contractor was called to the Upper West Side apartment to go over the necessary adjustments that had to be made. The cost of the remodel, especially the bathroom was bordering on a month's rent in their high rise apartment, but Sydney just smiled as she signed the check. Having Eddie there, in her home, allowed for Jamie to be there too. Eddie would keep her word and go to bed nice and early so that she didn't intrude, it wasn't Eddie, Sydney was worried about, it was Jamie. She found his devotion to his friend and partner admirable, but it did make her wonder. One afternoon, a week before Eddie was to arrive, Sydney dropped the question on Jamie, "Did you and Eddie ever have to kiss or cuddle or anything on the job?"
Jamie turned to Sydney surprised she would ask a question like that. "Why would you ask that Syd, what would make you ask that?"
"I'm just curious, I mean you were partners for a long time and oddly close..."
Jamie shook his head hesitating before answering the question, going back to the one day Eddie called out after she shot and killed a perp who drew on her. Jamie dropped by her apartment that night to check on her, staying the night cuddling with her.
"Hey, I've been trying to get you for hours, what happened today?" Eddie took the pizza out of Jamie's hands bringing it to the counter shrugging. Jamie could tell something was wrong wondering if it had to do with her fatally shooting a man who drew on her or if she was truly feeling ill. Eddie's hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail wearing loose fitness clothes. From the looks of her and the dark circles underneath Jamie could tell she hadn't slept since it happened.
"Yeah I uh called in sick, wasn't feeling well..." Jamie didn't buy it. "All right, fine I can't cry okay!"
Jamie moved closer towards her taking in the woman who'd been his partner for over a year, who he spent time with after work getting a beer until late. "No one's asking you to Eddie."
Eddie opened the pizza box looking up at him, picking up a bottle to pour herself more wine. "Everyone is, they said it'll make me feel better, but even my favorite movie Remember the Titans didn't make me cry. I just keep thinking if I had given him some other option I wouldn't have to shoot him. I took his life Jamie, he was scum but he was a human and I took his life." Holding the glass, Eddie made her way towards her couch sitting down at the far end with Jamie following sitting next to her, his blue eyes softly watching her. "Hey you had no choice Eddie, he drew on you. I've been there too so I know what you're going through the unanswered questions, the guilt but it's all normal okay? Have you slept?" "No, not for a while. I can't Jamie."
Jamie scooted closer raising his arm inviting her to lay on him, wrapping the arm around her taking her hand in his. Eddie rested her head on his shoulder letting small choking sobs out quietly.
"Would you stay tonight?" Thinking it over she sat up realizing how it sounded, looking at him with wide eyes. "Not like that but I just, I need you." "Of course Eddie, I'm not going anywhere." Jamie wrapped his arm back around her, stroking her hand letting her cry on his shoulder, holding her through the night.
"I needed to be there for her, just like I need to be there now," Jamie sighed. "I held her in my arms, I let her cry it out. When she fell asleep I kept her close with her head on my lap. I was being her partner and her friend, there was nothing going on then, there's nothing going on now and I think it's insulting for you to ask me that Syd."
Sydney sighed, "I'm sorry, Jamie. The way you two relate to each other, how you interpret her body language…You never did that with Vinny."
"No, no I didn't but Vinny was too cocky and hot headed to let anyone get that close. Eddie is my best friend next to you, she filled a place that I was finally ready to have filled when I met her. She had no one, I think that's part of it too. I feel a sense of responsibility, but that is all I feel. I might hold her and kiss her cheek more now, but part of that is because of what I can't do. I can't hold her hand and show support you know?"
Sydney sighed and slid her arms around his waist, "Promise me, Jamie. Promise me having Eddie here won't ruin us. I know it's right, I know she needs us and I love her just as much as you do…Can you just please promise?"
Jamie dipped his head and captured his wife's soft lips in his own. "I promise…I love you, Syd. Now we have a ton of work to do before Eddie gets home…Let's go get some of the bedding you two picked out and we'll go to the Melting Pot for dinner, okay?"
Sydney hugged Jamie back, "Okay…I'm sorry I…"
"It's all right, I understand…Let's not talk anymore about it all right?"
Sydney agreed and arm in arm she and Jamie headed to his car and headed out to shop.
A/N: I dropped this chapter a little early because I am trying to fix it so I'm not dropping multiple chapters in one day except on Pillow Talk days. I hope you liked this one, some of you expected Sydney to balk but she might show more patience than we give her credit for, yet she is getting a little suspicious.
Next update – June 3rd – Eddie comes home!