Chapter 20

"C'mon, sweetie-pie… please come out here and talk to me," Henry begged as he tried once again unsuccessfully to get a traumatized Kaylin to budge from under the end table and behind the couch where she had crawled after he and Eddie had tried gently to explain that her daddy was in an accident with a car… those two words, "car" and "accident" sending the little girl into an instant panicked tailspin state of insecurity as she spiraled back to that awful time when her "old" mommy had also been in one, and considering the kitty catastrophe of the morning, telling her he had been hurt crossing the street didn't seem like the way to go either. "Sweetheart, Pop Pop is too big and old to get down and come in there with you and I'd really like to give you a hug right now," he offered to no avail and he sat back on the chair with a heavy sigh and shake of his head. "And we all thought Danny was the stubborn one," he muttered.

"I… can't... believe this is happening," Eddie sniffed as she sat next to Erin on the couch; her sister-in-law immediately wrapping her arms around her for comfort after arriving at the front door via cab just moments before. "I mean it's just not fair!… We were talking about finding out if we were having a girl or boy and he was laughing about it, and then all of a sudden he wasn't there anymore!" she sobbed. "He told me it was cold out and said he would call back in a minute when he got inside, but I kept teasing him about it being a girl and of course I wouldn't let it go… he must have been distracted when he walked across the street. This is all my fault!" she cried and to little ears under the table and behind the couch it sounded a whole lot more like it had been this mysterious new girl baby's fault… the one that had caused her daddy to get hurt by a car.

"No, no… now... Dad said they suspect the car ran the red light while Jamie was in the crosswalk. He told me Rick was up ahead of him and heard it, but didn't see it happen and there were no other witnesses so far," Erin cajoled as she hugged her harder. "None of this is your fault, Eddie… it was just an accident. I'm sure Washington has even more traffic cams than here in New York. They'll track this guy down and make him pay for leaving the scene," she assured. "Have you heard anything else from the hospital?"

"Not since your Dad called earlier and said that when he checked Jamie was still back having more x-rays and a CT scan done and they were waiting for the surgeon to get there. No one had really talked to them yet," Eddie revealed sadly. "He told me that, um... well, that he was more stable once the EMT guys gave him oxygen, fluids and splinted his leg with some kind of special traction thingy. He said that Jamie was awake and talking at the scene… he said he loved us and that he was worried about me and getting home before the snow and everything, but that he had meds for the pain now so that he couldn't talk anymore."

"Well that's unusual," Erin tried to hearten lightly, not knowing that her father had fluffed a little on that information so as to not upset his frantic pregnant daughter-in-law any further over the phone until he had a more concrete diagnosis to offer… one that would devastate her and break his own heart when he was forced to reveal it. "Usually when a certain someone is hopped up on the good stuff we can't shut him up, remember? Dollars to doughnuts Dad just said that because he didn't want you to hear Jamie going on about everything… he hates seeing him like that, and that's exactly why Danny volunteered to drive down there with you tonight... he's the opposite and just loves to torment his doped up baby brother, okay? Now, do you have a few things packed in case you need to stay for a couple of days? Do you need me to help? Danny said he would be here any minute."

"No, I have a bag ready," Eddie answered sadly. "I called my mom too. She said the agency in Rochester basically kicked her out and told her to take all her vacation days once she gave them notice, so she's going to try to get a last-minute ticket to fly in before the storm or drive down to help you and Pop with Kaylin while I'm away. I really appreciate that you're staying here with him to help watch her tonight… she got so upset when she heard me on the phone and I'm sure we'll be gone at least over the weekend until Jamie has the surgery and we can figure out a way to get him home," she teared up. "I just wish my baby girl would come out here for Mommy," she tried with a patient inflection and failed again. "Kaylin Elizabeth, I'm gonna miss you while I go help Daddy get better. Please give me a snuggle before Uncle Danny gets here and I have to leave."

"Don't worry about anything here," Erin assured. "Pop will find a way to talk her out, he always does, and between him, me, Nicki, Linda and your mom, we'll have her all settled while you're gone. You're upset… for good reason," she added quickly as to not put any more guilt on Eddie. "And she just senses that and it's scaring her, but it's okay… we'll take care of it. You just concentrate on yourself and helping Jamie get well, alright?"

"Thanks, Erin," Eddie acknowledged even though she wanted nothing more than to hold her whole little family in her arms at the moment… Kaylin, Jamie and the little baby all at once even as the sound of a heavy stomp across the porch and knock at the door signaled that Danny had arrived and it was time to go.

"Hey, sis," he greeted with a hug and kiss for Erin after she had quickly gotten up and opened the door to let him in. "Everyone okay here?" he asked as he looked around the room with his arm around her. "Any more news from down there?"

"Nothing lately," Eddie revealed as she stood up to embrace him too, feeling just a little awkward about asking her brother-in-law for help given the situation between him and Linda, but deciding to push that away and just concentrate on the current crisis at hand, which included saying goodbye to a hidden little girl and driving down to Washington to be with her injured husband. Kaylin, on the other hand, had other ideas about her uncle and crawled out from behind the couch immediately after hearing his voice and ran over to latch onto his leg.

"Well, hey there, cuteness, I didn't see you down there," he laughed and released his sister so that he could lean down and pick her up. "What are you doing up so late? Huh?" he asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her sad cries of "Uncle Danny" tugged at his heart as despite a rough start between the two back in the beginning when Kaylin had first come to be with Jamie and the Reagans, Danny and the little girl had been growing closer over recent months. Still, it was unusual for her to greet him in this fashion so quickly, especially given the circumstances of the night. "It's okay, baby… your Daddy's gonna be fine," he tried to comfort her even as he felt the salty tears washing down his neck. "He gets into this kind of trouble all the time, doesn't he? Maybe Uncle D will have to take over the soccer team for a little bit again though," he joked. "That was fun last time, wasn't it?" he asked, trying to get her to laugh about that final game of the season that had seen the both of them end up on the couch with ice packs on very different boo-boos so she would loosen up her death grip on his throat a little.

"Now there's something I never thought we'd see again," Henry huffed as he stood up from his chair where he had been trying to coax the little girl out. "C'mere young lady," he ordered gently as he reached for Kaylin and she finally relented and allowed herself to be transferred into his soft arms. "It's late and your Pop Pop is getting tired. You, me and that big kitty cat of yours are going to go brush our teeth, say a nice prayer for Daddy to feel better soon and then take a long nap upstairs in your bed. After we wake up and have breakfast with Auntie Erin your Mommy will be with Daddy and we'll see if he'll be able to talk to you on the phone for a little bit, okay? Everything's gonna be fine, sweetheart," he promised. "That goes for you too, Edit," he added with a firm hug as she reached over to kiss her daughter's cheek goodbye. "You take care of yourself and my other little great-grandbaby too," he ordered. "Remember, we're Reagans... we go through this kind of stuff all the time. Jamie's a tough Irishman; he'll be fine. The car probably looks worse than he does. Let us know when you hear anything."

"I will, Pop," she returned quietly with a downturned look and a trembling chin as she took Kaylin into her own arms for more much-needed hugging.

"Call my phone anytime. I'll stay downstairs here," Erin offered. "That way you won't wake anyone else up," she added with a nod to her niece. "Tell Jamie we love him and that Nicki and I will help out any way you guys need us to until he's back on his feet, okay? Love you," she added with a hug as Eddie slipped into her coat and picked up her small overnight bag before heading back into the kitchen to grab her phone and charger.

"Look after her, Danny," Henry added quietly with a squeeze of his grandson's arm as they stood in the foyer before she came back. "I spoke to Francis myself earlier when she was upstairs packing. He didn't want to upset her, but he said Jamie's leg looked pretty bad at the scene," he revealed. "Rick thinks it's broken in at least three places plus he's got a pile of bad ribs. He's going to be laid up for a while. Eddie's really taking this hard and feels like it's somehow her fault. Don't let her go there."

"Jesus, Pop," Danny gasped softly, suddenly realizing that there might be more to this than his father had let on in their earlier conversation while promising with a soft "I won't" before raising his voice. "Hey, Eddie… do you mind if we take your fancy new mom-mobile?" he asked. "The Jeep's been overheating here and there and I'm guessing you'd rather not get stuck anywhere on the way down," he laughed lightly in a continued attempt to ease the obvious tension in the room, and then looked back puzzled when his attempt at humor was met with flat stares from both his sister-in-law and grandfather.

"Eddie…" Henry warned as he reached for Kaylin.

"It's fine, Pop," she answered tiredly as she handed the little girl back. "I had battery problems with it today," she explained to Danny. "The roadside tech was here and checked it… he said everything is okay. I guess as long as it starts we're good to go. There's more room in the back anyway in case maybe Jamie can come home that way," she added optimistically while Danny and his grandfather shared a sad look between them behind her back. "I'll leave Kaylin's car seat in the garage in case you guys go out," she said picking up the keys out of the basket and pausing for one last kiss for her little girl. "Mommy and Daddy love you baby. We'll both be home soon," she murmured. "I promise… let's get going," she sighed.

"Later, Pop… Erin, cuteness," Danny said his goodbyes before turning to follow Eddie out of the front door, closing it behind him with one final thought.

"How come you're the one that's limping?"

###

Just as Danny and Eddie were starting out on their long journey after her car thankfully sparked to life immediately once she showed him where the dummy button was of course, another in a house on that quiet street was anxiously pacing and contemplating a trip south himself after a call from his own son revealed that an oh-so-carefully designed plot to torture Jamie, and by extension his family, over the next few months had gone horrible wrong right from the start. Mason Malevsky was fuming as he considered the ramifications of Matthew's boneheaded mistake. After being ousted from the FBI's esteemed Behavioral Analysis Unit, it had taken him years to engineer this including searches to find the parts and restore that damn Chevelle after Sonny's last attempt to use it to off Jamie had left it totaled and on the auction block for parts. To Mason it had seemed perfectly fitting to use that car first as a distraction and then as bait to lure the brothers to their end before making Frank Reagan pay the ultimate price, but for him the ultimate devil was in the details and he had bided his time until everything was in place… and now his perfectly constructed plan was totally off the rails due to the incompetence of his own son and his fist slammed down in anger on the kitchen table, rattling the dishes left there.

"Goddamn kid has never done anything right his whole damn life! Couldn't even be born without killing his own mother!" he railed as he turned course and walked to the living room window of the little Cape Cod and stared down the street with interest, spotting the familiar green Jeep of one Detective Daniel Reagan parked out front of the house at 801 Driftwood Way and Eddie's new black, high tech and easily tampered with crossover backing out of the driveway before pulling ahead at a good pace and passing the house pointed in the direction of the Verrazano and by extension I-95 and the route to points south… like Washington DC.

Of course, he smiled and was sure to stand with an obvious silhouette in the window as the car drove through… by all reports, and by that he meant the police reports which were being covertly forwarded to him by friends with still-active connections, Jamison Reagan had been injured badly in the unwitnessed hit-and-run. Unwitnessed and likely to stay that way as all the traffic cams in that area had been taken down purposefully by a mysterious computer glitch which left the damaged Chevelle now safely tucked away under cover in an underground garage, soon to be picked up by an enclosed trailer and hauled back to the storage locker where it had resided here in New York for the last several years. That fact also meant the little blond irritant would be on her way to her husband's bedside, conveniently accompanied by the older Reagan brother who happened to be his other target. Perhaps this little course of action would have to be truncated he thought regretfully, as the plan had always been to have the commissioner lose both of his remaining sons at once, thereby exponentially magnifying the inflicted pain he had felt when news of Sonny's suicide had reached him. Mason Malevsky was anything but an eye for an eye man… identifying more with the mobster notion of you put one of ours in the hospital, we'll put one of yours in the morgue… or two more in the cemetery as it were.

It was time to clean up Matthew's damn mess before an investigation ensued that he could not control and anything pointed back to them to ruin his intent. Joseph Conor Reagan would soon have more company in that little family plot down the way Mason assured himself as he took a few minutes to pack his own small overnight bag, complete with a pair of glittering syringes safely placed in the side pocket in the event they were needed before he headed out to the garage to fire up his own car and turn it south on the same path towards that hospital where Jamison Reagan now lay… the current subject of a heated debate between two surgeons with very different ideas of how to approach his care and a father who had his finger on the button of a familiar speed dial number as he had reluctantly to admit that it was no longer his decision to make.

So it looks like we're headed towards a somewhat familiar confrontation at the hospital as Eddie and Danny, as well as Mason Malevsky, are on their way down towards the less than superbly staffed Capital Region Health Care Center. Who will get there first, and will it matter by that point? Next, a pair of anxious Reagans face a series of delays on their trip, including orders from a concerned father to pull over while he delivers news that forces Eddie into some difficult choices as Jamie's now official next of kin. Big chapter in the 'werks' next!