The habitual early riser, Jimmy was out of bed and proofreading his thesis by seven. He and Angie had gone into the city the night before, enjoying a nice dinner and an off-Broadway show. It had been celebratory, although he hadn't told her why. He was saving his announcement for brunch, when the whole family would be together.
The house was quiet; the only sounds the humming of the refrigerator and the purr of the computer. Jimmy sat at his desk, red pen in hand, scanning a stack of papers. He had learned, long ago, that this method, although antiquated, worked best for him. It was more personal than editing on the computer, allowing him to actually touch the fruits of his labor.
The smell of coffee pulled him from his work, luring him to the kitchen. There he found Elizabeth, his oldest, eating a piece of toast as she watched the coffee brew.
"Morning, Daddy," she said with a sleepy smile.
Grabbing a mug from the cupboard, Jimmy kissed her on the cheek. "Morning, sweetie. How was your night, last night? Did you and Cathy have fun?"
Offering Jimmy her other piece of toast, she nodded. "Yeah, it was okay. How's your paper coming?"
"I'm getting there. You want to come help your old man?" Jimmy poured some coffee, waiting for her answer.
Elizabeth set her plate in the sink and opened the refrigerator, taking out the milk. She poured herself a glass before answering. "I don't know, Dad. That seems an awful lot like homework…"
"Well, suit yourself," Jimmy waved as he left the kitchen. "Thanks for the coffee," he tossed over his shoulder.
An hour later, Angie found Jimmy and Elizabeth sitting on the couch in the den, the coffee table littered with paper, elbowing each other and laughing.
At the sound of the doorbell, Jimmy handed the spatula to Angie and jogged through the house to the front door. Huffing slightly, he pulled the door open to find Alex and a tall, muscular man standing on his front porch. With a grin, he ushered them into the foyer before closing the door.
"Alex, so glad you could make it," Jimmy said, smiling. Turning to the man, Jimmy extended his hand. "And you must be Alex's husband. Pleasure to finally meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine, Captain. I've heard so much about you." After shaking Jimmy's hand, the man looked around. "Nice place."
Laughing, Jimmy shrugged. "Thanks. And, Sergeant, it's the weekend and you are in my house. I'm going to have to insist that we drop all this rank garbage. Call me Jimmy."
Jimmy watched the man visibly relax, smiling. "Fair enough. I'm Matt. But everyone calls me Dix."
"Come on, let's go meet the rest of the gang." Turning on his heel, Jimmy headed back through the house, Alex and Matt following behind him. As they walked, Jimmy pointed out the more useful of the rooms.
Stepping through the sliding glass door, Jimmy was met with an outstretched arm, ending in a spatula. "I thought you had gone into hiding in there," Angie said, with a wink.
Taking the spatula, Jimmy turned and waved Alex and Matt on into the yard. "Alex, Matt, this is my lovely wife, Angie. Honey, this is Detective Alex Eames and Sergeant Matt Dixon."
Jimmy stepped back to the grill as hand shaking and pleasantries were exchanged. With a flourish, he flipped all the burgers before turning back around. Setting the spatula down, he wrapped an arm around Angie's waist. "We got back just in time. She almost burned the burgers."
Angie reached down and slapped Jimmy's hand, pulling out of his grasp and turning towards him. Jimmy's wink was met with a mock scowl and a slap on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm not the one on cooking duty today, mister. Now, maybe you should quit being a bad host and finish up your introductions."
"Right. Duty calls." Jimmy led Alex and Matt over to the picnic table. "This lovely young lady, with the permanently attached headphones, is Elizabeth, my oldest. Lizzie, this is Alex and Matt. Alex is one of my detectives."
As Jimmy looked on, Elizabeth removed her headphones and shook hands with Alex and Matt. Jimmy was surprised when she did not put them back on. He looked over at Angie and smiled. She smiled back and nodded.
"And those two hellions over there are Heidi and Melissa. Heidi's eight, Melissa's five." Jimmy left the table and headed out into the yard.
Sneaking up behind the smallest girl, he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up on his shoulder. The other, not to be left out, wrapped her arms and legs around Jimmy's leg and held on. Shuffling back to the table, Jimmy set Melissa down and disentangled Heidi from his leg.
"Girls, I'd like you to meet Alex and Matt. Alex works with me." Jimmy sat down next to Elizabeth and watched as Alex turned to both the girls and smiled.
Heidi stuck out her hand to Alex. "Hi. My name is Heidi. How are you?"
Smiling, Alex took the offered hand and shook it. "I'm fine. How are you?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking." With a wave, she ran over to Angie, asking if she could help.
Melissa climbed into Alex's lap and looked up at her. "Hi. Are you a police man like my daddy? Cause you don't look like daddy. You look like mommy. He looks like daddy," Melissa said, pointing over Alex's shoulder at Matt.
Laughing, Jimmy stood and retrieved Melissa from Alex's lap, spinning her around. "Honey, not all police officers are men, like me. Women, like you and your sisters, can be police officers too. You can be anything you want to be when you grow up." He set her down and she promptly climbed into Matt's lap.
Jimmy chuckled at the startled look on Matt's face. "She's harmless, I promise."
"Jimmy! Your burgers are burning," Angie called from the grill, a smirk on her face.
Shaking his head, he walked back over to the grill and grabbed Angie around the waist. Lifting, he moved her out of the way and went back to tending the grill. "Five more minutes, then food. Lizzie, could you and your sisters get the stuff out of the kitchen?"
"While I've got you all here, I have an announcement to make," Jimmy said, silencing the chatter at the table. Once everyone was looking at him, he continued, "tomorrow evening, I will be meeting with my advisor to submit my thesis. I finished my student contact hours last week."
Applause greeted Jimmy's announcement. Angie leaned over and kissed him. Matt and Alex both shook his hand; the girls all took turns hugging him. Sighing, Jimmy rested his head in his hands a moment, still not believing it himself.
"Come on, girls. Help me clear the table." Angie stood, grabbing her and Jimmy's plates. "Alex, Matt, would either of you like a beer?"
"Yes, please," Alex replied. Matt also nodded an affirmative.
"So, Jimmy, I keep hearing about this thesis. What, exactly, is it for?" Alex asked, resting her elbows on the table.
Jimmy grinned, shaking his head. "You mean I never told you? It's for my Masters in Educational Psychology."
Raising an eyebrow, Matt leaned forward. "Educational Psychology? Seems an odd choice for a cop."
Looking towards the house, Jimmy laughed. "That's what everyone says. Even the Chief of D's was confused, at first. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess. I'm a supervisor, a squad commander. It's my job to train detectives, to give the department the best investigators possible. It's just like being a teacher. Except that we are talking about educated adults. Have to cater to the intellect a bit more." Rubbing his neck a moment, he continued. "Besides, if I ever get sick of the hours, I can go be a school counselor."
"You will never tire of your job, Jimmy," Angie said, appearing at his side with three bottles of Newcastle." You love it. It's what you were meant to do." She sat down and, taking Jimmy's hand in hers, smiled at Alex and Matt.
"Angie, you have a wonderful home, a great family. Thank you for inviting us over," Alex said, leaning into Matt.
"Yes, ma'am, thank you. Beats a Sunday at home, scheduling training." Matt chuckled, nodding at Jimmy.
"It was my pleasure. I've heard so much about Alex and the exceptional job she's doing, that I had to meet her. Jimmy's got a good crew working for him, so I figured Alex must be something special." Jimmy smiled as Angie squeezed his hand.
Kissing the top of Alex's head, Matt nodded. "Oh, she is, ma'am. She is."
October 16, 1998
Jimmy and Tom sat in the van, looking on as Alex approached the dark blue Lincoln. They had been out for three hours, having already netted seventeen arrests. All in all, Jimmy thought, not a bad start to the night.
This was the first operation that he had let Alex and Tom plan, to celebrate Alex's recently received Detective, Second Grade rating. So far, it was going off without a hitch. Alex had been nervous, both because it was the first op she had helped run and because Matt and his crew had been assigned to assist in a Gang Unit raid. Jimmy knew that they were rarely on ops at the same time and could understand Alex's jitters.
However, once she started the briefing, she was the picture of professionalism; assigning officers, coordinating radio cars, selecting the staging area, managing every detail. And she had a knack for it. Jimmy reminded himself to make note of it in her personnel file after the completion of the sting.
As the Lincoln pulled away, Alex started towards the van. Jimmy rolled down the window and leaned out. "Something up?"
Alex shook her head. "Lost tourist. Maybe we should hire some hookers to work dispatch. Half my night has been spent giving directions."
Jimmy felt Tom tap him on the shoulder. He turned and was handed a water bottle. Turning back to Alex, he handed it to her and watched as she took a long drink before giving it back.
"You need a break?" Jimmy asked, setting the bottle on the dashboard.
"No. I'm fine. Better get back over there. Wouldn't want to ruin business, being seen talking to you two." Alex turned and, with a wave, strolled back over to her corner.
To the sound of Tom laughing, Jimmy lit a cigarette and scowled out at the street.
"Now, what do you think that's supposed to mean, Cap?" Tom asked, still chuckling.
Jimmy shrugged and exhaled a plume of smoke. "Maybe she's not into threesomes."
"Or, maybe, you are too old for her, Cap." Tom said, humor evident in his voice.
Before Jimmy could respond, the radio next to him squawked a 10-70, a borough emergency. Tom was on his radio in an instant, calling the squad in to respond. Jimmy started the van and pulled up to the corner.
"Come on, we've got to go, now." Jimmy yelled to Alex as Tom jumped out and opened the side of the van and climbed in. As Alex closed the passenger side door, Jimmy pulled the dash light out and plugged it in. From the back, Jimmy could hear Tom reporting in to dispatch.
"Hey Cap, dispatch is requesting that you call the watch commander. From a landline." Tom said from the back.
Slamming on the van into park, Jimmy scowled back at Tom. "What the fuck? Fine. Acknowledge for me. I'll be right back."
Jimmy jumped out of the van and jogged over to a payphone, halfway down the block. Cursing, he dialed the watch commander's direct line.
"Deakins," he growled into the phone.
Getting back into the van, Jimmy turned to look at Tom, avoiding Alex's eyes. "Tom, Randy's coming by to get you. You are to meet the squad and provide whatever assistance is required. You are my eyes and ears."
Tom looked from Jimmy to Alex in confusion. "Okay, Cap."
From her seat, Alex cocked her head. "What's going on, Cap?"
Jimmy couldn't look at her, or answer her question. He sat, smoking his cigarette, waiting for Randy to pick Tom up.
Once Tom was out of the van, Jimmy turned towards Alex, running a hand over his chin before he spoke. "Alex, there's been a shooting. Matt's team walked into an ambush. He was shot in the throat. They've taken him to North Central."
Jimmy watched the tears well up in Alex's eyes as she turned away from him. Sighing heavily, feeling his own eyes starting to water, he put the van in park and headed towards the hospital.
Jimmy paced the waiting room, eyes on the floor. Every time someone new entered, he stopped and looked up, hoping for some news. Alex sat in the corner of the room, her gaze vacant. Angie sat next to her, holding her hand.
They had been there for two hours, waiting for word from the surgeons.
Jimmy had called both Alex and Matt's families. They were making their way in from outside the city. Jimmy had also called Angie, who had arrived thirty minutes after he and Alex. The hallway outside the waiting room was filled with cops, members of both Matt's squad and the Vice unit. Only Tom and the ESU Lieutenant had ventured into the waiting room, so far, and neither had stayed long, wilting under Jimmy's gaze, an implied demand for privacy.
Having completed another circuit of the room, Jimmy looked up to see two men in scrubs standing in the doorway. He stopped and looked from them to Alex and Angie. With a nod, Angie stood and moved to Jimmy's side as the doctors entered the room and approached Alex.
Standing off to the side, Jimmy and Angie listened on as the doctors delivered their news.
"Ma'am," the taller of the two men started, "your husband was shot in the throat. The bullet perforated the jugular vein. We did everything we could. However, the damage was extensive. I'm sorry, but your husband died on the table."