Chapter 26

The sound of single malt scotch splashing a generous two fingers into five tumblers was the only thing that broke the silence in the Reagan family home den as Frank sought a familiar source of courage before addressing what he feared would become a volatile situation. With Danny still on the hunt for Jayne's former lover and Kaylin's biological father, and considering the fact that he was sure his oldest's presence would have likely ignited things anyway given his objections to what he was about to do, Frank had instead called Erin over to act as a buffer and an advocate for her younger brother in the hopes that her usual calm counsel would keep Jamie in line. On her grandfather's request, Nicki had tagged along and now had Kaylin upstairs in her mother's old room with the music turned up while they were playing games and coloring so the little girl would not hear the things being said or the volume they might be uttered with.

"Any more of these family meetings and you're going to have to order another case of that, Francis," Henry chided as his attempt at humor fell completely flat and the tension in the room could not have been cut with a razor blade. No one had been informed as to what this might be about, but everyone could sense that it wasn't happy news. Jamie sat on the couch avoiding his father's eye while sandwiched between his sister and Eddie who had talked him into joining them in the first place and was now perched on the edge of her seat with a cold vice grip on his hand as she watched Frank close the doors to the room before bringing the glasses over and handing them out.

"What's this about, Dad?" Erin started as she took a sip from the heavy tumbler and rested her other hand protectively on Jamie's shoulder while he put his down on the table untouched. His big sister had not appreciated Linda's perceived attack on him on top of the terrible events of the week before and she was ready to bring out her own claws should someone dare come after him again while he was hurting. "Did you and Danny get a hit on those DNA results today?"

"We got a hit on a DNA profile, but it wasn't the one we were looking for," Frank advised as he was trying to stretch this news into smaller, more digestible segments so he could get the most information out before the inevitable shock and anger set in. "The lab was backed up with a computer down last week," he explained, trying to add a little fluff so that it did not come across as directly connected at first. "Mike Becker called with some results on a sample that went through today," he added as he sat down and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "He pulled it because he recognized the name," he explained. "Son, there's no easy way to say this, but there was a match to Kaylin's paternity panel."

"What?" Eddie squeaked as she was the only one capable of making a noise at that point while Jamie's eyes flashed over and made their first firm contact with Frank's for more than a week.

"Francis, what's this about?!" Henry demanded as he glanced nervously between the two of them.

"Apparently just after Kaylin was born, Jayne applied for a support order and a DNA test was done. The man listed wasn't a match, and she claimed not to know who the father was after that. This is the first hit to her they've had since."

"But the adoption is finalized," Erin added quickly as she felt her brother tense at this wholly unexpected news. "The father's rights would have been involuntarily terminated for abandonment, right? This man can't revoke consent at this point. Does he have to be informed?"

"We don't have to worry about that," Frank admitted as he chewed his lip nervously while looking for an opening to move forward. "This man did not give a voluntary sample, but it appears he already knows, or thinks he knows about her."

"Dad, what the hell are you getting at?!" Jamie finally barked as he was sensing they were getting the runaround now. "What do you know that you're not telling me?! She's my daughter! And why would Mike call you about this and not me?" he asked since Michael Becker had been a close friend of his for years and a regular Thursday night basketball buddy.

Frank took a deep breath and prayed he was doing the right thing since it was too late to turn back now. "The DNA came from the eyeglass lens collected at the jogger's shooting scene, son. There were no hits in CODIS or any of the NYPD databases, but the hit came when Mike expanded to all state agencies, and that included a familial match to Kaylin's profile under CPS."

There was such utter silence from the four shocked faces staring back at him that Frank had plenty of time to wonder who would breathe first.

"So the man that's doing this is her real father?!" Eddie finally gasped and then instantly regretted her words; Jamie was Kaylin's father now and saying it that way was just wrong. "Her biological father I mean. That's why he's doing this? To what end? Who is he?"

"Her father," Jamie muttered as he broke free from the holds on him and got up to pace behind the couch as his mind behind whirling in fast forward. "He's here and trying to kill me? To get to her?! And he's screwed up twice! OH GOD!" he cried as the panic began to set into his chest as he looked through the glass doors towards the stairway, almost certain in his mind that he would see this man sneaking up the steps at that very minute trying to take his sweetness away. "Twice… that means he's not gonna stop then is he?" he stressed as he ran his fingers down his hair. "Why now?!" he demanded as he turned around to face his father once more. "HOW?! Do we know how he found her?"

"That Adams woman," Henry grumbled as he caught on. "Those damn articles in the papers."

"And the interview I did," Jamie ignored him and sighed with deep regret. "I did it… I brought this on her… on all of them because I'm the commish's kid… always gotta be a good Reagan… the press is demanding an interview, son..." he trailed off in a mocking deep voice as he resumed his pacing.

"Jamie, you did not bring this on yourself or anyone else!" Eddie insisted as she got up to give him a hug. "Please, please don't think that, baby," she begged as she wrapped her hands around his waist. "What does this mean for us?" she demanded as she turned back towards Frank. "How is he not in any of those other databases if he's capable of this? He's killed two people in cold blood and left Martin Rodgers paralyzed!"

"We don't know that right now… we have no way of knowing exactly who he is yet," Frank admitted. "It means though that to be safe until we find out we're going to have to move the three of you somewhere else… a place that can't be tracked under the Reagan name. It would be too easy for him to find you or Kaylin here. Danny is on the case. He's taken Renzulli with him upstate to try to track down who Jayne was with at the time the baby would have been conceived. They've been interviewing people this afternoon already. If we can figure that out…"

"Renzulli?!" Jamie snapped over on that name as Eddie felt him stiffen and swing around to stare down at his father once more. "You told him? And Danny took him upstate? They've been up there all afternoon? Just when did you find out about all of this?!"

"Your brother got the call just before lunch today," his father answered honestly as he sat back and took a sip of his scotch. Here it comes, he grimaced with regret. Until right before he left his office today, Frank had resolved to keep this information away from his son to avoid just such a confrontation, but at the last minute he just couldn't bring himself to do it once more… to keep something like this from him even if it would have been easier and probably for his own good.

"Before lunch," his youngest spat. "More than seven hours ago… and his first call was to you, and then Renzulli when it's my daughter that's in danger?! No one thought to give poor Jamie a ring and clue me in? Maybe put me on the case too? If this had been Danny, you would have slapped him on the back and sent him along with a big atta boy..."

"Jamie, please," Erin begged as she sensed where this was going while Eddie could do nothing but try to hold him back. "Dad was just trying to…"

"PROTECT ME!" came the angry reply. "You weren't going to tell me any of this if you could help it were you?!" he demanded of his father as Frank watched silently while the hazel eyes pointed at him flashed over once again with a heavy Irish anger. "YOU HAD NO RIGHT! Just like the last time! You're afraid I'll go wander out in the street and get hit by a car, or maybe a bullet this time!"

"Jamie!" Eddie gasped once more as she continued to grip him around the waist, suddenly sure that he meant to do just that… to walk out of this house immediately and let the chips, or bullets as it were, fall as they may.

"Jamison, sit down son. We can talk about this…" Henry tried softly to interject some calm into his youngest grandson as he was fearing the same thing as all the others now, but Jamie was beyond that and only had eyes for Frank; no one else's words were breaking through at this point.

"Toothpicks," he spat. "I won't ever be anything more to you than that will I?" he continued to seethe as the tears began to well up but he angrily refused to let them fall. "Six years on the job and all I've done… not enough to prove anything to you is it? Nothing ever will be… I'm still just the baby that needs to be looked after. Maybe it's not worth it to me so much anymore… your approval, you know?! Maybe I should just walk out of here right now and take my family and go do something else. You can have the good Reagan name back, DAD! It's not like it ever does me one bit of good, does it?!"

"You walk out of here, and it will be in handcuffs under protective custody," Frank replied flatly with a huge lump in his throat. The words Jamie had used had left a stinging mark, and they were not wholly untrue. Career-wise, certainly having the last name of the Police Commissioner had done him no favors, and if he felt the family had no respect for his abilities now... well then this looked like the last straw. There was the matter of this shooter right now though, and as torn as his relationship with his son had just become, Frank couldn't knowingly let harm come to him, Eddie or Kaylin no matter the cost. Once this situation was over he could work on… well maybe it was already too late for that given the look of the boy before him.

"Sir, yes sir," Jamie replied in an equally dull timbre. That was it… he had nothing left to offer. The fire had gone out of his eyes and the fight had left him, it was time for flight. "If that's what you need to do, Commissioner, you better have those cuffs warmed up when I get back downstairs. We'll be leaving as soon as we're packed. Anywhere is better than here, and in spite of what you all think I can take care of my own," he offered numbly before breaking out of Eddie's continued grasp and leaving the den to climb the stairs towards his old bedroom. Her stunned eyes turned back towards the rest of the Reagan family.

"Eddie, please sit," Henry begged as he leaned forward in his chair. "Don't let him do this sweetheart. We'll help you figure something out!"

"DAD!" Erin gasped as she turned to face her father while her eyes welled up. "Please! You can't! He'll never forgive you! We have to keep them safe, but not like this!" she cried as she got up. "I'll go talk to him! You can all stay with me until this is over!" she insisted as she quickly followed his path out of the room and upstairs.

"Why?" Eddie asked quietly with dazed and welling round doe eyes as she looked at the two remaining men in the room. "You asked me to trust you, Frank Reagan, but I don't understand!" she sobbed. "Out on the job, everyone looks up to Jamie and has confidence in him to make the right decisions, but here over something like this he gets treated as a child!" she added accusingly with her own blue eyes becoming fierce now as she sought to defend him. "He's always stood up for me, even to my own mother and I know I'm new and not a real part of your family yet... maybe it's not my place, but I won't stand by quietly and watch this anymore! I'm terrified for him… for Kaylin… but you're hurting him now as much as that man with the gun wants to! He told me he feels like he's suffocating here!... We're leaving," she added defiantly after a brief pause to let that sink in. "I can't lose his trust; you can put me in handcuffs too!"

"That won't be necessary, Edit," Frank replied wearily as he rubbed his head and cursed himself inwardly. "Please sit down and let's talk." This had become an unmitigated disaster as he had feared, but it was his own fault and there was no need to add another casualty to the list. Right now he was just trying to limit the collateral damage done, and that still included keeping them safe to the furthest extent his son would now allow.

"I don't know what I can do for you, sir," Eddie admitted as she rather sheepishly sat back down on the couch once she realized her Serbian temper had flared at not only Jamie's father, but the Police Commissioner and her ultimate boss as well.

"In this house, it's not sir and you are already family," he advised with a heavy heart. "I know I have no right to ask you this, but I will anyway. What happened here tonight… this was not Jamie's fault. His mother and I, we were always overprotective of him… the baby of the family. It was hard," he admitted as he cleared his tight throat trying to explain. "Mary so wanted to keep him… Please Eddie, I'm afraid that I've lost him now too," he admitted in a choking voice and for once at an almost complete loss for words.

"What Francis is trying to say is that we're afraid Jamie may make a rash decision to leave now, not just this house but the NYPD… maybe even the city over this, especially since there is a threat against Kaylin and he would put her safety over his own needs," Henry stepped in to explain sadly. "We know he's had plenty of offers from Spencer's firm in California over the years. Eddie, what we're asking is that you hold him here until this is settled… to give Francis and his son the opportunity to work this out. If he still wants to leave after that, then he'll have our blessing even though it would break this old man's heart," he teared up himself. "We love the three of you, sweetheart."

"He wouldn't…" Eddie started as she became further upset at the sight of the two emotional men in front of her… two father figures in a family she had come to love and respect over the course of the last year. "I don't want to leave here either," she whispered. "We're making a home together for our family now!"

"I know," Henry smiled. "My Betty would be so happy about that… having the two of you and that little girl in her house." He paused before offering, "I know that it's a far cry from being cleaned up and Jamie is fussy about things like that, but if anyone would check that property is still either listed in Ella's name or in an holding LLC that my accountant established for me. I don't think from the looks of him that this piece of garbage would be able to find you that way. You can stay there if you want. Please help us keep Jamie here so I can walk over there someday soon when this is over and visit my sweetie-pie Kaylin and those half-dozen other great-grand babies you've promised me. I'm too old now to fly across the country all the time to see them."

"I would be so grateful if you could look after my son and granddaughter, Eddie," Frank added roughly as he finally found his voice again. "If you need any help… please just ask me," he added. "I can keep a detail across the street for protection… for our peace of mind… You can call the shots with them, but please let me at least do that for now."

"Okay," she agreed with a deep breath after a few more moments of taking these shocking developments in. "I'll try," she offered before leaving to go upstairs after talking with them and sharing assurances for a few more minutes.

Meanwhile, Erin had cornered her little brother in his room and latched onto him while he let his emotions run out. His big sister had served as a surrogate mother over the past years and he was greatly in need of that comfort right now.

"It's okay, Jamie," she cajoled after a few minutes as she cried right along with him while they sat on the bed. "I'm so sorry this is all happening to you. Dad was just doing what he thought was right… he's scared for you like you're scared for Kaylin now… it just came out in all the wrong way."

"Did it?" he asked as he stared at the ground. "Or is it the way it will always be?"

"No, it doesn't have to," she assured. "This was a big moment and I know how much it is hurting your heart right now… his too, but this could change the way we all tend to look at things. I've been guilty of it, I know… we all have, but I promise to do my best to work on it now," she paused. "You can't get rid of us so easy… better the devil you know than the devil you don't, right?" she asked as she nudged him for a response and then continued when one was not forthcoming. "You'll always be my baby brother," she assured, "but you're a little girl's father now and about to be somebody's husband. I need to adjust my thinking and that's not so easy."

"I get that," he sniffled with an involuntary little smirk as he leaned gratefully up against her. "Nicki's in college, you could be a grandma soon."

"Jamison Reagan!" she exclaimed as she reached around to whack him with a pillow hard enough to poof some feathers out of it. "You take that back!" she demanded.

"Never," he laughed a little before growing serious. "I don't know what I'm gonna do, sis," he admitted sadly. "Nothing is the way it should be anymore… Why this is happening?"

"I don't know. This man… he's jealous? Angry? Crazy? Who knows why he's doing it, but you can't let this thing with Dad cloud your judgement… you have to focus on keeping yourself and your family safe, okay? I love you little brother, and I love my soon-to-be new sister-in-law and my gorgeous little baby niece too. You promise me that you're going to be smart and take care of everyone."

"Promise," he agreed, grateful that someone was finally acknowledging his role and abilities. They were still sitting there quietly next to each other on the bed when there was a soft knock at the door.

"Am I interrupting?" Eddie asked.

"Never, lambchop," came the sad, throaty reply. "We were just trying to figure out how I was going to unscrew this up."

"It's already settled. C'mon," she smiled sadly as she got her bag from the closet and started packing her clothes. "We're going home."

"To his apartment?" Erin fretted immediately. "No, Eddie… this man… he's been there after Jamie before. Please come with me," she urged them both as she was still hanging on her brother's arm. "My place is safer; there's a doorman and security. Please… you can all just stay inside there until this is over. Nicki is away at college so you can have her room. Danny will find this guy and then..."

"No," Eddie interrupted as she shook her head and started emptying drawers. "Thank you Erin, we really appreciate the offer, but you're a Reagan and easy-to-find one too, and we're going to our home… it might be a mess right now, but it's where we belong… the three… or four of us," she corrected with a tight grimace as she remembered her promise to Danny while Jamie's eyes rolled once more at that notion as he considered Erin's words about the devil you know. "Your father's agreed to keep a detail posted across the street in that vacant Cape Cod, but it's our choice to use them or not when we go out, okay? Please, Jamie," she begged him to accept this compromise since it moved them out from under the stress of Frank's direct eye. "It's the best for us. We'll be safe and can decide what to do from there ourselves. Danny will be around and that way you can work the case with him as you see fit, alright? They've promised… no more secrets."

"It's not safe… physically safe for Kaylin there, Ed," Jamie frowned as he shook his head. "We can't have our baby girl living in that."

"It will be," she promised. "We'll be very careful with her and if I have to stay up for the next week straight to clean until my fingers fall off and shop online for stuff to make it homey for her, then that's what I'll do. Danny will help when he gets back. We'll concentrate on getting the living room and kitchen area clear and then just gate everything else off until we can manage it, okay? Another few hours and we can have that small spare bedroom upstairs cleaned out; we'll just share for now," she smiled, trying to encourage him.

"With my brother?" he asked incredulously. "You're serious?"

"Of course not, silly," she laughed and performed the involuntary perky Addison twitch while trying to lighten the mood. "I got the impression that Daniel Reagan would be happy with an air mattress thrown down in any corner we give him. "He's in charge of making his own spot when he gets back," she assured.

"He won't need to," Jamie frowned. "He can come stay here… there's lots of room now."

"It'll get straightened up twice as fast if he's with us since he can help you lift the heavy stuff," Eddie reminded, trying not to let on to the fact that she really wanted his brother there as an added layer of protection. "We'll worry about that later," she deflected when she saw that he remained starkly unimpressed with that line of thought. For now her only mission was to get him to agree to this so that things could cool down and be brought back to right as soon as possible. If Jamie ran like his father feared… well then the Reagan family might not ever truly be what it once was, and Eddie was determined to do her best to make sure that didn't happen. "Oh, and Pop will be stopping by a lot," she added, knowing that Jamie's rift was not with Henry and he had a special way with his youngest grandson so was the most likely person to be able to counsel him other than Eddie and Erin. "He said that wild horses won't keep him away from his little sweetie-pie, and not to even try it or we'll get evicted. I hope it was alright that I said okay," she smirked playfully as she zipped her suitcase shut.

"As if you could have said no," Jamie sighed with a small wry smile.

"Me too?" Erin begged softly as she hugged him harder. "How about a standing Tuesday mac-and-cheese night from Altson's? I'm buying!" she bribed with his favorite decadent baked takeout dish.

"Of course," he relented knowing that at this point he was likely to be smothered by the rest of the family anyway… all except one very important person downstairs that did not have an open-ended invitation any longer. "BYOC… please bring your own chair or be prepared to sit on the floor, if you can find it," he added as he gave into Eddie's grand plan and got up quietly to join her and gather his things as they prepared to leave.

Downstairs a pair of older men stayed silent as they reflected on what had just occurred, and the fact that another three seats at the Sunday dinner table would remain empty for at least the near term.

"Say it, Pop," Frank gruffed as he had remained stubbornly settled in the chair long after Eddie left them. "I know you've always wanted to. I was trying to honor Mary's wishes when this started. I tried to do the right thing today, but it was too late."

Henry straightened up a little as he stood and turned back around stiffly with his whiskey glass still in his hand; he had stayed beside him before finally getting up to make his way upstairs to hold his little great-granddaughter before she left. "You want me to say I told you so, Francis?" the older man looked at his own son with sympathy. "I won't do it. I wasn't in favor of what happened back then and you know damn well this started long before that night Mary died. She lived with the constant fear of losing Jamie from the moment she found out she was with child and it carried over to everything else his whole life; he's always had that shadow over him and we all had a hand in putting it there. Your mother made me keep the secret of Peter Christopher for all those years, to what end? I did it because I made a promise to the woman I loved just like you did, but what happened here today… that was your decision. If you don't see Jamie as being capable of handling himself the same way that Danny can… well maybe it's best then if he moves on. It's not fair to the boy anymore; it really never was."

"I made a big mistake today, Pop."

"Yes, you did," Henry advised sadly. "You were thinking with your heart as a father, but you forgot that Jamie is one now too. You don't have the right to make decisions like that for him anymore… none of us do, and you're gonna have to try to fix this when he's ready to listen. For now though, you can't do anything but make the harder choice of letting him go or you won't have a prayer of ever getting him back."

For more of the backstory on what happened when Jamie was born and why his mother was so overprotective, you can read the first three prologue chapters in the original "Snapshots" from the first series. Next up, we'll give Jamie a chance to cool off for a bit and find out how things are going with Danny and Renzulli upstate to see if they've had any luck finding Jared Quinlan who seems to have stumbled back to the hole in the ground he came from.