A/N - Welcome to Season 3! This chapter is a week / a day prior to the start of the first episode of the season.
Abbey closed her eyes, leaning her head back and enjoying the warm sun. She opened her eyes, surprised to see that in the seconds they had been closed Michael had flipped from his back to his belly and was curiously grasping at the edge of the picnic blanket.
"Hey you! How'd you do that?" She smiled at her son who ignored her in favor of slapping at the grass.
She picked him up, "Did you roll over all by yourself?" She shook her head and nuzzled his nose, "Let's not tell Daddy about that yet." She whispered with a grin.
To both of their surprise, Brian had quickly revealed himself to be the more overly cautious parent. He had spent weeks worrying about the various conflicting studies he had found regarding ideal sleeping position for infants.
"If he knows you can roll over he will never get any sleep!" She smiled fondly, lightly tickling the little boys stomach.
Michael stared back at her with wide blue eyes; his first curled against his mouth.
She glanced at her watch and sighed, "Alright, Daddy should be done soon, how about we go find him?"
She held her son against her hip with natural ease as she folded the blanket back into the running stroller before nestling him into his seat. They left their corner of grass and was rounding the fountain in the center of the park when she heard a familiar voice call her name, "Detective Baker?"
She swiveled her head to see Jamie Reagan and Tony Renzulli lunching on one of the benches.
"Officer Reagan, Sergeant." She smiled and redirected the stroller in their direction, "I see the foot post is just as grueling as I remember it." She teased.
Rezulli made a face while Jamie smirked, "Yeah, well Sarge is real big on the 'Art of Doing Nothing'."
"Hey, I've told you; passive observing is an under appreciated skill." He gestured with his sandwich.
"Whatever." Jamie rolled his eyes, as he stood up, thumb tucked in to his duty belt. "Is this the famous Baker Baby?" He smiled at the stroller.
Abbey blushed and came around the side, pulling back the protective stroller shade, "Well, I don't know about how famous, he is, but yes, this is Michael."
Jamie took off his hat and leaned over the stroller, grinning at Michael. "Hey there little guy."
Renzulli half stood and looked around Jamie's shoulder, "Will ya look at that?" He nodded in Abbey's direction, "Cute kid, Detective."
"Really is." Jamie concurred with a nod and an affable smile.
She smiled back, taken aback by the easy confidence Jamie embodied.
She was used to the slightly uncomfortable young man who would come by his father's office. It had always seemed he carried a bit of tension about him in a way that set him apart from his family. Every Reagan from Henry through Nicky were polite enough but carried themselves with an internalized assurance that unconsciously implied an expected deference.
She had never seen Jamie own a room the way his father or siblings could. He just never seemed to fit in his own skin as comfortably as the other Reagans. She had assumed that was just part of his personality. She now realized that she had never seen him in his role as uniformed officer on the street.
She wasn't sure if it was just the universal effect of seeing an infant, or the guidance of his TO over the past two years, but here, in the middle of Washington Square Jamie carried himself with the same self-assured nature as the rest of his family.
She smiled unconsciously at her observation.
"What?" The object of her reflection scrunched his brow and tilted his head.
She shook and redirected her smile to Tony, "I'm sorry, I was just realizing I didn't congratulate you on your promotion Sergeant."
Jamie spun around, "Promotion? What promotion?"
"Oh…" Abbey winced as Renzulli huffed a reluctant sigh and put down his sandwich. "I'm sorry…"
He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It's my fault for not telling him earlier."
"Tell me what Sarge? You take the Lieutenants exam without mentioning it?" Jamie's hands situated themselves on his hips.
Tony shook his head, "It ain't that kind of promotion. I'm just going from shift sergeant to squad supervisor."
"Well, that sounds like good news, congratulations." Jamie smiled, taking a sip from his soda, "Why wouldn't you mention something like that?"
"Because," Tony drawled out, "It means I won't be doing regular patrols no more. We're going to need to get you a new partner."
"Oh." Jamie halted a beat before nodding a little too fast and shrugging a little too hard, "Well that's no big deal. I mean, we knew that was probably going to happen sooner then later, right?"
"Yeah, look, Kid, I'm sorry." Renzulli gestured with open palms, "I shoulda told ya sooner."
"Nah, don't worry about it. It's nothing." Jamie shrugged again, "I mean it's a long time coming." He paused then grinned widely, "You know this means we're going to have to do something at Cooper's before the rest of the squad knows you're now the boss."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Big boss in the house..." Tony shook his head. "I even get an office and everything now." He tilted his chin to Abbey, "Not as nice as your boss', but still."
She held up a hand and smiled, "My boss may have a nice office but my desk is in a hallway that I share with a half dozen others."
Tony smirked and Jamie turned back to her, "Yeah, how about that? You going back soon?"
She smiled, "You have some insider information on the subject?"
"Not really." Jamie smirked, "I can just confirm that most of the summer the PC has been grumpier than usual when the subject of the office comes up." He shrugged, "I'd be willing to gamble you've been missed."
"Well, that's not great." She grimaced.
"Better than the opposite." Tony volleyed back around a bite of his sandwich.
She swallowed a chuckle, "I guess so." She nodded, "But yes; I start again next week. I was just in this morning taking care of a couple things." She gestured to Tony, "That's how I heard about the promotion."
"Must be hard to go back." Jamie commented as he again looked into the stroller, waving and making a face at Michael.
She shrugged, already used to the insinuations behind the comment, "I've loved the last three months off, but I also love my job and I've missed it. It's hard feeling so disconnected when you've been in the middle of everything for so long."
"I can understand that." Jamie nodded. "When I was doing the work for OCCB last year I knew I was contributing important work but I always felt like I was missing out by not being on the street."
Tony smiled, "See, my work here is done; you've learned well. The street's where it's at."
"I don't know." Abbey shrugged with a grin, "I spent a few years on the street; still think I prefer heels to boots."
"Don't tell anyone, but so does Sarge." Jamie smirked and winked at her in such a way that she audibly gasped.
He pulled back and blinked in confusion, "It was just a joke…"
She shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, it was just…" she relaxed her shoulders and smiled warmly at him, "Just then, your mannerisms…you really reminded me of your brother."
He frowned, "Danny?"
"No," She shook her head, "Joe."
Renzulli nodded, "Doesn't he though? I tell yeah, sometimes, there is no denying the relation."
Jamie frowned slightly and looked between the two, "Really?"
"Very much so." Abbey confirmed.
"You even walk like him." Tony nodded. "That kind of stroll you do when we're rounding the same block for the 10th time? All Joe."
Jamie's lips twitched into what Abbey saw as a more familiar self-conscious smile even as his shoulders pushed back and his chest puffed slightly, "Okay."
Tony grinned and slapped Jamie's shoulder, "That's alright."
Jamie exhaled and looked back to Abbey, "I don't want to hold you up. Just saw you passing by and wanted to say hi to the baby."
She nodded, "Oh no worries. Brian is in a consultation meeting at NYU so we were just killing time anyway. I'm glad to have run into you. Both." She nodded to Renzulli.
He just nodded back, finishing the last of his sandwich.
"I suppose you've got a patrol to return to." She smiled.
Tony shook his head as he swallowed, "That's one difference; Joe was always willing to let me take my time and eat like a civilized human. This one…" He gestured to Jamie as he wiped at his mouth, "This one's like a rabbit, always ready to jump out of his chair. Never lets me eat in peace."
Jamie rolled his eyes, "That's cause if I did we'd spend half our tour eating."
He smirked at Abbey and reached up to toggle his lapel mic, "12-Seargant to Central; show us off 10-63."
"See?" Tony slurped the last of his drink, "That's just rude."
"With the added bonus of being funny." Jamie shrugged, making a clean toss of his trash into the bin.
He leaned over the stroller again, "It was good to meet you Michael." He stood up and tipped his cap, "And good to see you Detective; glad to hear you're going back soon."
"Good to see you too." She smiled, "Have a safe rest of tour."
"Yes Ma'am." Jamie nodded.
"From your lips to God's ears." Tony agreed.
She began her way back to the Eastern edge of the park but paused to look back at the two patrolmen heading in the direction of the arch.
Tony was right; Jamie did walk like his brother. A confident, casual stride that belied how alert he was.
She smiled.
Jamie's choice to forgo his Harvard Law degree and join the department had generated plenty of whispered speculation. Seeing his father's tension had contributed to Abbey making some assumptions of her own; that the decision was one made from a place of emotion and grief and that his pride would prevent him from changing course when he realized he made a bad call.
Seeing him today she realized how off the mark those assumptions were. Seeing him on the street was like seeing him for the first time. The law had been the wrong fit; even if his intellect and potential pushed against it, Jamie was a natural cop.
It also turned out that Jamie was right with his own speculations.
She arrived extra early on her first morning back to 1PP with the same fluttering sense of nerves she had her first day back in the Chief's office.
The difference was that on that day 8 years ago, no one had spoken to her when she entered the building. Today, not only did everyone she see stop to speak, they all had a variation on the same sentiment; "Thank goodness you're back."
Jerry from SWAT had jogged to catch up with her in the parking garage, "Are you back? Thank god!"
Michelle from IA stopped her at the security entrance, "It is so good to have you back. Really. Really. So, so, so good you're back."
Even the Chief of Department let out a relieved breath when he passed her by the kitchenette, "You're back today? That's the best damn news I've had all summer."
It was hardly surprise then that by the time she got on the elevator Garrett glanced up and smiled, "You have no idea how much you've been missed."
"I'm starting to get that feeling." She sighed, "I'm a little nervous about the back story behind all the celebration."
Garrett shrugged before getting off one level before her, "Don't worry about that. Embrace the moment."
She rolled her eyes, nervous about what she would be walking into on the 14th floor.
Jim's desk was empty and she proceeded straight to her own. Everything appeared mostly the same. There were a few unfamiliar folders on her desk and the contents of the filing rack were in a slightly different order than she would have put them but for the most part, all seemed normal.
She logged in, briefly scanned the evening activity while she printed out the Commissioner's schedule and gathered the few briefing folders he'd need.
The elevator dinged and she moved to meet him as he entered the outer office, "Morning, sir."
His step faltered and his mustache twitched before he nodded, "Morning, Baker."
She handed over the paper and folders in her hands one at a time as they walked together to his office. "Your schedule for the day, and a briefing from the State Department regarding the potential Valverde operation, commendation recommendations for the returning IPL officers and a briefing from legal regarding potential new Stop-Question-& Frisk guidelines."
The Commissioner frowned, tossing his jacket on the chair, "This thing has gotten out of hand." He grouched, flipping through the last memo she handed him.
She refrained from commenting as she automatically picked up his jacket and shook it out as she hung it up.
She turned around to find him staring at her.
"Sir?" She tilted her head.
A small, genuine smile crossed his face, "Glad to have you back, Detective."
She blinked, taken aback by the unexpected validation, "It's good to be back, Sir."
He nodded and gestured to the schedule, "This apparently didn't get updated, the meeting with Councilman Vogel has been pushed to Wednesday."
She nodded, making the note in her pad, "Is there something else this afternoon?"
"Yep." He nodded, "Jack's first soccer game of the season. Family affair." He grinned with a diffident shrug.
She smiled, "That sounds good sir, when will you be leaving?"
He squinted, doing the math, "If I could get out by 3 that would be ideal, but if I have to miss the first half, then I'll miss the first half."
She nodded, "We'll see what we can do to get you out on time."
"Baker?" He called, halting her as she turned to exited. He pulled open his drawer and removed a small rectangle. He reached over the desk, holding it out to her.
"Sir?" She looked at him.
"Take it." He insisted.
Tucking her notepad under one arm she peeled back the wrapping paper revealing a framed picture of her and Michael.
She looked back at the Commissioner who had a self-satisfied smile on his face, "You're not the only one who can be sneaky with these kinds of things."
She looked over his shoulder to the now familiar pictures she had given him of Jamie and his father.
She bit her lip, "Thank you sir…very much for this."
"Of course you're welcome." He nodded.
"I'll check on the updated schedule." She smiled with a gesture to the door.
The Commissioner nodded and returned his attention to the memos on the desk. She spared a final grin as she exited the office and returned to her desk.
Setting her notepad down to her left and moving aside the folders to her right, she made just enough space to set down the frame.
Later, she would have to tease Brian for conspiring with her boss behind her back, but for now, she was very grateful he had.
With one last smile at the picture she turned to her computer and got back to work .