22
In 'Fathers and Sons,' we learned that Mary's family had a hand in building the Brooklyn Bridge. Well, I'm switching up that bit of family history to make it more personal to Henry because we're due for some Henry/Jamie bonding.
Spring was in full swing in the city with temperatures creeping into the 70s - unusual, but not unheard of and nowhere near the record highs the city has seen once or twice in the past.
It was April and people were out taking advantage of the afternoon sunshine and the pleasant breeze along the pedestrian parkway of the Brooklyn Bridge, but it wasn't the weather that brought Jamie and Henry out for a stroll along the city's world-famous thoroughfare. It began as an invitation from Henry to spend quality time with his youngest grandson, after a guilt-laden complaint that he didn't get to see him very much these days aside from Sunday dinners, what with his busy training schedule. Heck, he considered himself lucky to get Jamie on the phone just to check in on him every week. It was during one of those short phone calls that Henry decided an afternoon together was in order.
The younger man's eyes remained focused solely on one of the main cables, following it as it ascended to the top of the first suspension tower. "If you brought me out here to psych me out, then I gotta tell you, grandpa, job well done," Jamie commented with a furrowed brow once his sight reached the tallest point of the tower.
Henry chuckled and shook his head, thankful that Jamie matched his slower pace despite the rush of pedestrians around them.
"I didn't bring you out here to psych you out, Jamie," he assured him.
Jamie smirked back knowing that wasn't his grandfather's intention, although the timing of their walk along the bridge was no coincidence. "Then why did you bring me out here? I'm scheduled to do my walk on Monday," he reminded the older Reagan, a fact his grandfather was fully aware of.
One of the tasks he had to complete in order to graduate from STS was a climb from the east end of the bridge, atop one of the four main cables, to the very top of the first suspension tower. Of course, he would be fully equipped with safety equipment, including harnesses and ropes tethering him to the bridge, but it was still a climb hundreds of feet above the East River. The cadres' warnings that the cables sway "a little" and that the bridge feels like it "floats" near the top went a long way to tying his stomach in knots.
He trained off the side of buildings, stared down the length of deep, dark elevator shafts and flew through the air while attached to a helicopter by a rope, but this felt different somehow. Maybe it wasn't the terrifying height of the bridge that was causing him added stress as much as the fact that he was almost finished with STS and would soon know his fate. But Jamie wasn't ready to face that just yet, choosing instead to obsess over this exercise.
"I know that, you told me about it last week," he confirmed as he continued along.
"So?" Jamie prodded with a questioning look.
"So," Henry began as he met Jamie's eyes, "I could tell then that you were nervous about it."
Jamie grunted, confirming that statement, but Henry said nothing, preferring instead to let Jamie decide when he was ready to talk. Just as Henry expected, it didn't take long for Jamie to begin sharing the anxiety he'd bottled up.
"Did you know the top of the towers reach 278 feet above the waterline?" Jamie blurted out one of the many facts he'd recently learned about the bridge.
"I do," Henry smiled as he looked up to appreciate its beauty.
Henry kept quiet which did nothing but make Jamie more anxious. "So we're here to focus on that? Well, that's…," Jamie paused with a thick swallow. "That's great," he sighed without the least bit of enthusiasm.
"No, Weisenheimer," Henry snorted. He didn't mean to laugh at the boy, but the tense look on Jamie's face was endearing, reminding him of the nervous 5-year old he once taught to ride a bike. Desperate to do everything his much-older siblings could do, Jamie begged Frank - and Henry when Frank was on duty - to teach him how to ride a bike without those babyish training wheels. The youngster was eager to remove them from his cherry-red huffy, but once they were off, always present on his round, little face was an expression of worry as he looked back to make sure his grandpa was still holding him steady by the seat of the bike. He made him swear that he wouldn't let go without giving him advance notice. Henry kept that promise, at least until he saw that Jamie could remain upright without his help. Then he let the boy fly on his own and Jamie had been too proud of his accomplishment to call him out for not giving him fair warning.
"We're here so that you understand that this bridge isn't anything for you to fear," Henry explained. Obviously, this wasn't like riding a bike with just a few feet to fall before hitting the ground, but Henry had all of the confidence in the world that Jamie would complete this next challenge regardless of his fears.
"That's easier said than done," Jamie huffed as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets.
Henry nodded before continuing, understanding the stress he felt. "Not when you remember that it's an integral part of this family's history."
Jamie came to a stop and looked between Henry and the first tower as the breeze ruffled his hair. "Your grandfather," he stated, knowing all about the history between the Reagans and this bridge.
"Yes," Henry confirmed as he came to a stop and leaned along the railing. He gazed out across water before focusing back on Jamie, who stood perfectly framed between the gothic-style arches of the suspension tower in the background. "Your great-great-grandfather was the first member of this family to immigrate from Ireland, long before the marvels of modern technology. He, and hundreds of others, finished building the greatest bridge in the world with just their bare hands, their hearts and a great love for their new home," he repeated the same words Jamie had memorized from the many times he heard the story.
"You won't be the first Reagan to climb to the top," he reminded Jamie.
Jamie let out a deep breath and copied his grandfather's stance against the railing while people moved left and right. "No, I guess you're right. It's still daunting though," he admitted.
"I know it is, Jamie. It's normal to be nervous, so don't give yourself grief over that. Hell, I'd be more concerned if you weren't. The trick to overcoming fear is to acknowledge it and do the thing you fear anyway," Henry offered, hoping to comfort the boy.
"I'm not going to chicken out," he said, more to himself than to his grandfather.
"I know that, son. In fact, I know you'll do just fine up there," Henry smiled. There wasn't a challenge his youngest grandson had ever shied away from, but it helped to know that others had confidence in him as well.
"But when you take your first step onto that cable, think of why your great-great-grandfather did what he did and think of why you're doing this. He and others weren't here trying to save lives, but they sure as hell risked theirs to build a modern marvel that would join these two burroughs. You? You're putting the lives of others above all else, but you'll be implementing the world-class training you've received and will continue to receive everyday that you're on the job. In both cases, it's for the greater good, for your city and to help others.
Henry held Jamie's gaze, watching as those words sank in. "When the time comes for you to do that - whether it's up there or somewhere else in the city - you won't be focused on heights or whatever danger you're called to. You'll be implementing your training and saving a life. You'll be doing your job just like my grandfather did."
Jamie's eyes remained locked with his grandfather's as his nerves began to ease. He was right. Making the climb would be a big deal, but he'd been psyching himself out, obsessing over the height of the climb when in reality, he was trained and ready to do this. It was a straight climb up and then back down without the added responsibility of trying to save a troubled life.
Jamie's head turned to admire the bridge again when a question came to mind. "You ever pull a job high above the city?"
Henry thought back to the early days of his career and to one case in particular. "350 Fifth Avenue."
Jamie's brows arched into his forehead, curious to know more, especially when it involved that location. "The Empire State Building," he said.
Henry nodded, turning around to look across the river as the memories rushed back to him. "1962, I was on patrol in Midtown out of the 1-9. A call came in of a man threatening to jump from the eighty-fifth floor. My partner and I were the first to respond, we go up to the eighty-fifth to some stuffy law firm and we find him sitting on the ledge, right in front of the open window of his little, cramped office. Mentally he was just broken - a combination of personal and professional issues is what his co-workers said as they walked us back to him. Everyone seemed to know the poor guy's business."
"Were you able to talk him down?" Jamie prodded when Henry seemed lost in the memory.
Henry pulled himself back to the present and glanced at Jamie. "He didn't give us a chance to talk."
Now it was Jamie's turn to flash back to the rooftop of the Bitterman Housing complex and his first failed attempt to help a jumper. He knew what it felt like to watch someone jump to their death, lots of cops did, but he didn't realize his grandfather did as well. "So he…," Jamie started, assuming how the rest of the story went.
Henry went through the emotions he felt that day. "We approached slowly and he yelled at us to stop, but we didn't. I don't know if it was lack of training or my gut telling me to 'go' that kept me moving. It was probably my fault things went sideways so fast, but when I saw him push off, I lunged for him and, thankfully, my partner lunged for me."
"You caught him?" Jamie asked hoping it wasn't as bad as he'd thought.
"I got an arm across his shoulder and had him pinned against the side of the building. He wasn't a very big guy but he was still heavy, especially when he started to panic. Gravity was pulling on him and in turn me, so my partner had me by my duty belt. I swear I came this close to mooning the city," Henry finished with a smirk to lighten the mood. As serious as the situation had been, he was thankful luck was on his side that day. It was one less tragic story from his days on the job. Lord knew he had plenty of those.
"So you caught him, you saved his life, grandpa," Jamie surmised.
"When I look back on that day, I know it was pure luck that we stopped him from falling. What you'll be doing?" Henry stopped to make sure Jamie paid close attention. "That takes skill, talent and a pair most of us don't have."
Jamie wasn't so certain about that last part, but it seemed that fear and excitement would always be part of the job.
"You weren't scared?" Jamie asked. The cops in his family hardly ever showed any kinks in their armor when it came to the job.
"Are you kidding me?" Henry barked out with a laugh. "I tossed my cookies after it was all over!" he admitted openly.
Jamie smiled widely at the admission...been there, done that, he thought to himself.
They turned back toward the water, gazing at the vessels floating along the strong river current while Henry thought back to his many victories and failures with the NYPD and Jamie felt excitement overtake the anxiety about the upcoming week.
And with a pat on the back, Henry went back to the reason they came out here in the first place. "When you're climbing on Monday, think of your great-great-grandfather up there with you. If he could do it, so can you."
When the day came, Jamie not only had his great-great-grandfather with him in spirit when he made the climb, but he also had one proud grandpa waiting for him at the bottom when he successfully completed the exercise.
I have all sorts of warm feels from this chapter! I love Frank and Jamie scenes, but even better than those, in my opinion, are the ones where Jamie goes to Henry at the end of a day or when Eddie has been on patrol and they share a glass of wine or scotch as Jamie picks his brain about cases.
Don't know if you all caught the mention in this chapter about the end of Jamie's training, but we are indeed nearing the end of this story. Just a few more chapters to go, or maybe maybe three if I can get an epilogue worked out in my head. :)