AN - Hello! Here's the update! Not too much action in this, but a lot of Jamko. I hope you like it. Btw. I couldn't resist the ending on this chapter. Maybe a little OOC, but it's a bit out of my zone. Remember, leave a review - I'd love to hear your feedback on this one.
Thursday, 10.00 pm, Brooklyn Heights
Eddie jolted upright on the couch and for a brief moment, she was confused about her surroundings until the knock on the door sounded again. That was what had woke her up, and she looked at her watch, she couldn't even remember falling asleep, even though she had been intent on staying awake until she got word from Danny. Once again, the knock rushed her on and she leapt to her feet and padded silently to the door, peeping through the spy hole. She paused for a moment before taking a breath and unlocked the door.
"Sir," she greeted the top cop of New York, with a salute, as his frame loomed over her in the doorway.
"At ease, Eddie. We're not in the clock," Frank replied with his hands in his pockets. Eddie lowered her hand, but she remained in the upright posture, not going to slouch in the presence of the commissioner. He pursed his lips and nodded. "Can I come in?" he asked and Eddie nodded before taking a step back with the door.
"Of course, Sir," she said quietly and closed the door behind him. For good measure, she turned the deadbolt before following Frank into the open space.
"How's he doing?" the older man asked and his eyes looked around, before landing on Eddie. She hesitated for a moment.
"Sleeping… he's getting better, Sir," she replied and Frank nodded.
"Good to hear… and call me Frank," he told her and Eddie nodded courtly.
"Yes, Sir… Frank," she said, really unsure about calling Frank by his name. Off all the Reagan's, he might just be the most terrifying one of them all. Next to Linda, if you believed Danny.
"You should get that shiner iced," he merely replied, before walking to the fridge and grabbing a couple of beers and a bag of frozen peas, which he wrapped in a dishtowel and handed to Eddie along with one of the bottles. He took a seat at the table and gestured for Eddie to do the same.
"Thanks," she mumbled and sat down, gently pressing the cold towel to the corner of her eye after taking a sip of the beer.
"Danny called me with an update twenty minutes ago. They got him in custody, nice and easy," Frank said and glanced at the door to the bedroom. Any thread against his youngest son had now been taken care of. Jamie was sound asleep on the other side, with his trusted partner out here, standing guard for any potential threats.
"That's great," Eddie replied and for the first time she smiled. It was tense and exhausted, but it was a smile. They were quiet for a few moments, both sipping at the cold beers.
"He's going to need some help, getting through this," Frank said suddenly and looked at Eddie with piercing eyes. For some reason, she felt like a weight had been taken off her shoulders and she nodded, appreciatively. "I don't think, he'll go to Pops or Erin, this time," the commissioner continued and looked down for a brief second. "I trust you with this, because I know how close the two of you are…" he trailed off and glanced at the door again.
"Jamie's my partner, Sir… Frank. I've got his back, no matter when and where," Eddie replied, her voice strong and quiet. She wanted to add the 'trust me', but didn't. She could see it, in the older man's face, that he believed her. He nodded once and took another sip of his beer.
"How are you doing with all of this?" he asked and the question caught her off guard for a second before she replied.
"To be honest, it feels like everybody's judging me, because of what my father did," she blurted out, much to her surprise, trusting her partner's father with something she hadn't even told Jamie about. She would have, eventually, but with all this other stuff going on, her personal problems hadn't been her number one priority. Yet, she confided in Frank Reagan, as if she had known him for a long time, because she did. She felt like she knew all the Reagan's because of the way Jamie had talked about them. Especially on Mondays, she would get a large dose of Reagan gossip.
"So now, you have to work twice as much to earn their trust?" he asked and Eddie nodded distantly.
"Something like that, yeah," she replied. Frank wasn't big on being someone's hook, and especially not a hook in NYPD headquarters.
"If you need anyone to talk with, I know some great listeners, that give great advice," Frank said matter-of-factly and Eddie eyes him over her bottle.
"What, you're not one of them?" she asked, a slight smile twinkling in the corner of her lips. Frank returned the smile and shook his head. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out to take a read through the text.
"Not quite," he admitted, even though Jamie was known to ask him for his advice, which always depended on the topic. Career-wise he was qualified, but restricted, but when it came to emotions, Jamie's go-to-guy would be Erin. At that moment, the bedroom door opened and Jamie shuffled out gingerly, with an arm wrapped protectively around his middle.
"Dad… what are you doing here?" he asked, and if he wasn't before, now he was suddenly very much awake. His eyes fell on the beers in front of the two people, but he didn't want to ask about it, just yet.
"I was just leaving. How are you feeling?" Frank asked when Jamie took his just vacated seat by the table. He simply shrugged a reply. Eddie had leaned back in her chair, studying her partner meticulously.
"I'll get you some water. You need another painkiller?" the blonde asked when she jumped to her feet and headed for the glass she had placed on the kitchen table next to the sink.
"Anymore painkillers and I'll probably black out," he replied as a no, before she returned with a glass of cold water. He greedily gulped it half of it down and sighed when putting the glass down.
"Be glad Erin and Linda isn't here," Frank commented and put a hand on his youngest son's shoulder. "I'll come by in the morning. Get some rest, son," he said and Jamie nodded quietly. No words needed to be said. With that, Frank walked briskly to the door at let himself out.
"What was that about?" Jamie then asked Eddie who looked at the door for a moment. He had never known his dad to disappear from a room or a situation
"Probably work," Eddie shrugged. "Why are you awake?" she threw back at him and Jamie looked down at his side.
"I think, I twisted a stitch or something," he replied and Eddie's face sharpened.
"Why didn't you say anything? Let me take a look," she retorted when she grabbed to medical bag they had been offered at the hospital. Jamie carefully lifted up his t-shirt when Eddie sat on the chair next to him and opened the bag on the table. The bruise on his ribs had faded to a sickening purplish with yellow dots. She peeled back the once white square that sealed the wound and grimaced. It was speckled with red, not much, but enough to make Jamie shy away from her touch. "Sit still," she ordered in a whisper, focused on the wound as she grabbed a cotton ball and dabbed at the crimson liquid around the stitches. The little space between them didn't seem to affect his partner, but Jamie could feel it right into the pit of his stomach. He was aware of her every move, even though his eyes was screwed shut awaiting the stinging pain from every time she came too close to the wound.
"I'm trying," he hissed as he squirmed away again while grabbing a hold of her elbow so she dropped the cotton ball. He shakily let go of his breath when she looked up at him, her eyes almost expectantly. He loosened his grip and when she didn't pull away, he let his hand slide down her arm and interlaced their fingers carefully. Neither of them looked away and with the silence came the gravity that slowly pulled them together, as it had done before. Testing the waters, the kiss went from soft to hot in a matter of seconds, before Jamie winced which made them both realize what they were doing and put an end to it. He would have cursed those stitched, if he was able to make a coherent thought. Jamie realized that his other hand and snaked around Eddie's back and into her hair, but for the moment, he didn't move. Eddie had a hold of his upper arm and she blew out a breath before looking down at their interlaced fingers.
"Good thing your father wasn't here," Eddie said with a sigh and lifted her head again. Jamie shrugged wordlessly and untangled his fingers from her hair.
"Maybe… I should go back to bed," he whispered, his voice rough.
"Maybe that's a good idea," Eddie agreed, but they still didn't move, until Eddie let his hand go and reached for another piece of tape to reseal the squared bandage. She carefully replaced it and tugged his t-shirt back down before she swiftly packed the medical supplies down and walk it to the counter. Jamie was silent, doing his best to not look at her when she turned her back. He pushed away the thumping in his chest as he stood and paused for a while.
"Night, partner," he said in a low voice and Eddie turned around and nodded, both of them distancing themselves. He nodded once before shuffling back to the bedroom and closing the door.
"Good night, Jamie" she whispered to herself, and crossed her arms when leaning on the counter.
Friday, 4.00 am, Brooklyn Heights
Eddie woke from her slumber on the couch and paused with her head raised mid-air. Another sound caught her attention and she threw the blanket aside and padded to the bedroom door to peek inside. She walked into the dim room, leaving the door wide open for the lights, and perched on the edge of the bed, next to the thrashing Jamie.
"Jamie… hey, wake up," she spoke quietly and put a hand on his shoulder, which was enough to startle him awake. "Are you alright?" she asked, moving her hand firmly to his chest, when he started to sit up. "Stay down and catch your breath," she said when he grimaced and nodded at the same time.
"I'm fine," he breathed and closed his eyes for a moment. Eddie raised an eyebrow because she caught a glimpse of the beaded sweat on his forehead and she could feel the pounding of his heart under her hand and the heat radiating from him. She recalled Frank and their conversation from earlier.
"You want to talk about it?" she asked, careful not to push the boundaries between them. Jamie looked at her, his eyes quizzical at first but then they turned soft.
"I dreamt it… what happened," he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair. "Sometimes it's different, you know, other people, their faces, they change," he said and blew out another tensed up breath. Eddie nodded for him to go on but he closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.
"In the morning," he promised quietly before he found her eyes in the dark.
"Jamie, when your father was here, do you know what he told me?" she asked as her fingers started moving faintly in circles on his chest. Jamie shook his head no but smiled hesitantly.
"Beers and a conversation in one night," he smiled. "Are you trying to move up the ranks?" he said, forcing out a subtle chuckle and Eddie smiled at his feeble attempt to lighten the mood.
"No," she replied pointedly, but still smiling. If he hadn't been hurt, she would have considered swatting him on the arm. "He might have said something about me, making sure that you would have someone to talk with, because you wouldn't put anything like this on your granddad or sister," she continued. He huffed and looked to the ceiling.
"Something like this," he repeated and sighed.
"At first, I thought it would be superfluous because you always bounce back afterwards," she said and caught his eyes again.
"But?" he asked, feeling the word was coming from a mile away.
"But," she repeated. "Two minutes ago I changed my mind and to be honest, I think your dad is right in his concern about you," she told him and paused for a moment, looking away.
"And?" Jamie prompted her, knowing she had more on her chest.
"And I want to be there for you… I want to be the one you want to talk with about something like this," she confessed and sighed. Jamie didn't reply instantly, but took her hand from his chest in his and sat up, gingerly. He waited until she looked him in the eyes again.
"You would be the first, and only one, I would share this with, believe me. But not now," he said and lifted his other hand to brush away the hair from her face. "In the morning," he continued and moved. He padded on the bed and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Lie down," he whispered and Eddie waited a beat before moving. They settled back in the pillows, Jamie's arm around her shoulders and her head resting on his shoulder. It didn't take long before the both fell asleep.