Chapter 11
Rating: PG-13
The Crossing Jordan characters aren't mine! They're just using my head for their personal playground!
Kaidlyn and her mother, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine!
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Simultaneously (to Eddie's actions in the last two chapters) at Max's house. . .
Kaidlyn jumped up from the table, ready to bolt upstairs.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Max was concerned.
"I just looked at the time. I'm gonna be late! I. . ." She stopped as she saw Max shaking his head.
"Don't worry about today. When Eddie came by last night to check on you, he told me he was giving you the day off."
"Great." Kaid sounded less than enthusiastic as she flopped back down on the chair. "I'm here for less than a week and I've already screwed up."
"Kaid, baby, why do you think you've screwed up?" Jordan reached over and took her hand. "There's nothing wrong with taking a little time off to deal with stuff… What?" she added as Max raised an eyebrow at her. "Ok, so maybe I'm better at giving that particular advice than following it," she laughed.
"Ok, well, I guess I'm gonna go and watch TV," Kaid decided as she got up. She went in the den and flipped around on the TV, finally settling on some prime time drama in syndication. When Jordan walked by thirty minutes later, she was sound asleep on the couch.
A couple of hours later, Jordan and Max were sitting at the kitchen table talking and Kaid was still napping on the couch. The doorbell rang, and Max opened the door to find Eddie standing on the porch.
"Hey, Eddie," Max smiled. "Come on in."
"Morning, Max," Eddie nodded. "I, um, I just wanted to come by and see how Kaidlyn's doing this morning."
"I think she's sleeping in the den, but I'll show you where it is," Jordan said, coming out of the kitchen. She led him to the den where they found Kaid sitting up and stretching. "Hey, kiddo," she smiled. "Good nap?"
"Yeah," Kaid said as she rubbed her eyes. She couldn't believe how wiped she was.
"Ok. Hey, someone's here to see you," Jordan smiled as Eddie came around her back and nodded at Kaidlyn.
"Hey, Kaid," Eddie said as he came into the room and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Kaid.
"Hey, Eddie," Kaid said, pulling her feet up under her on the couch and pulling at the pillow next to her.
"Ok, well, I'm gonna leave you two alone," Jordan said as she turned to return to the kitchen. "Let us know if you need anything." She left and walked back to the kitchen, convincing Max to stay put and give them some time to talk. She wasn't sure what was up, but she sensed that things needed to be said between the two people in the den, unheard by others.
As Jordan walked down the hall, Eddie looked at Kaidlyn and smiled. "So, how are you doing this morning?"
"I'm ok," she smiled back. "I'm sorry about freaking out like that last night. I just. . ."
"You don't need to explain," Eddie shook his head. "It eventually happens to most of us at one time or another."
"Ok," Kaid shrugged. They sat there for a minute, Eddie trying to figure out how to say what he needed to and Kaid trying to figure out what was going on. Finally Eddie spoke.
"Kaid, there's another reason I came over here. I. . .I needed to talk with you about the internship." At the look on her face, he knew he needed to say things clearly and quickly. "Kiddo, I can't supervise you anymore. But you're still going to be at the department. Lois Carver is going to take over. You'll like her ~ and you'll learn a lot from her."
"It's because of last night, isn't it?" Kaid was looking at him, eyes wide but tearless ~ it seemed she'd cried all her tears out the night before.
Eddie slid a little closer to her on the couch and reached over to take one of her small hands in his own. "The fact that you're assigned to a female does result from last night ~ I don't know details and I don't need to know details, but it just feels like working with a woman would be better for you. But. . .even before last night I was planning to have you reassigned."
Kaid's stunned face and lack of ability to say anything told him he needed to say this. Sort of like ripping a bandage off, he felt that once the words were out, they'd both feel better.
"Remember the scene a couple of days ago? When I was so busy checking on you the guy almost got to his gun because I didn't cuff him when he was unconscious?" She nodded. "I wasn't able to do my job because I was too worried about you. About making sure nothing happened to you. Yes, you're always concerned about your partner's back, but not at the expense of everyone else on a scene. And yesterday morning in the training room only reemphasized that. I'm not discounting your skill in any way ~ you are amazing and probably would have taken me down anyway. But I was so worried about hurting you I wasn't as aggressive as I would normally be." He paused and tried to read her face.
Finally he said, "Kaid? Look at me." When her eyes met his, he said, "You are an incredibly gifted person and can do whatever you choose to do in law enforcement with the right training. And that's why I'm turning you over to Lois. I can't provide what you need, the detachment that's necessary for so many aspects. I care about you too much."
Kaid just looked at him for a minute. Then, "Are you saying you like me?"
Eddie nodded, somewhat shyly. "Yeah. From the minute I saw you, I wished you were gonna be anybody's intern but mine." He couldn't read her face at all. "But it's ok if you don't feel the same way. I mean, I am 12 years older than you. And there's all the stuff with Max. And. . ." He might as well get it over with. "But if you want to, I'd like to take you to dinner tonight."
Kaid studied his face, trying to absorb everything he was saying. She had to admit, she'd felt something for him too. And that morning when she pinned him. . . The question of what Max would think crossed her mind briefly, but she decided she could deflect that. Maybe nothing would come of it, but she knew that if she didn't at least go to dinner, she'd never find out. Still, there was everything that had happened to her. . . "If you knew the whole story behind last night, I doubt you'd feel the same way. . ."
She put it out as a test, and Eddie knew that. He had no idea what horrors this girl had been through, but for some reason he wasn't afraid of finding out. "Whatever it is, I'm not afraid of it. And I won't push you. You can tell me about it when you're ready. . .if you ever do." His voice was gentle and his eyes radiated sincerity.
"Ok," Kaid said quietly. "I'd love to go to dinner." She looked up at him and smiled.
"Great!" Eddie leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I'll pick you up about 6:30?" As Kaid nodded, he got up to leave.
Kaid walked him to the door and as he was about to leave, she spontaneously threw her arms loosely around his shoulders. As he turned to face her, surprised, she said "Thanks for. . .everything, Eddie."
He looked her in the eyes and gently brushed her lips with his. "My pleasure. So I'll see you tonight, ok?"
"Yeah." Kaid shut the door and stood there for a minute. This was not happening, was it? She bounced down the hall to the kitchen where Max and Jordan were talking about some case Jordan had been working on. She flew to the refrigerator and grabbed a can of diet Coke. Max and Jordan eyed her, wondering what brought this level of bounciness on.
Finally Max spoke. "Everything ok?"
"Yeah," Kaid said as she popped the can open and leaned on the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Things are fine. Oh, do you know a Lois Carver?"
Jordan spoke up, "I do. She's good. We work together pretty regularly. Why?"
"She's my new supervisor," Kaid said. Then, "Hey, I'm gonna hop in the shower. Ok?" And bounced to the stairs.
Jordan and Max sat stunned, looking at each other for a minute after Kaid left. Max finally got out, "What the hell?"
Jordan shook her head. "I have no idea, but I'm going to go and find out." She got up and was on her way up the stairs before Max could stop her.
Kaid was getting her stuff together to head to the bathroom, but as she turned around to go, she found Jordan blocking the door to her room. "What?"
"You want to tell me what's going on?" Geez, she didn't mean to sound like some parent of a kid busted for something.
"Um. . .like I said, I've got a new supervisor. Eddie said after last night he felt like a female would be better for me." Kaid really did not want to have this discussion yet.
"Uh huh." Jordan came in and led Kaid back over to the bed where they both sat down. "And you're a little too happy about it. Was Eddie that bad to work with?"
"What? No! I loved working with Eddie," Kaid scrunched up her face in confusion.
"So why the bounciness? Did he ask you out or something?"
"Um. . ." Kaid wasn't sure what to say. She knew Jordan would find out sooner or later, she'd just hoped it would be later.
"Oh my God," Jordan's mouth hung open. "He did, didn't he?"
Kaid nodded mutely.
"And you're happy about it?"
"Yeah, I am. Jordan, I know you've had your differences with him, but he's a great guy, at least from what I've seen." Off Jordan's skeptical look, she added, "Besides, right now it's one date for dinner. Nobody's saying it's going any further than that. And if I don't go, I'll always wonder. Sometimes it's worth taking a chance. Now, can I get a shower?"
Jordan nodded and let her stand up. "You're going to tell Dad, right?"
"I'll have to. Eddie's picking me up here." Kaid smiled. "But don't worry, I think I can handle Uncle Max." And she was off to take a shower.
Jordan sat on the bed, shaking her head. She couldn't deny that Kaidlyn did seem a lot happier than she had the whole time she'd been in Boston. Maybe Eddie wasn't so bad. Of course, she'd keep an eye on things and promised herself that Eddie would rue the day he asked Kaid out if he even remotely hurt her.
And man, her cousin had more nerve than she'd ever dreamed. Not only going out with him. But having him pick her up at the house? And Kaid had another point. . .if she didn't take the chance, she'd never know. Jordan thought for a minute and reached for the phone, dialing a familiar number.
. . .to be continued. . .