I do not own any Blue Bloods characters or scenes from the show. The character of Madelyn is my own.

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"Well, you look like hell."

Madelyn rolled her eyes at Bea, her best friend since 7th grade. They were getting breakfast at the diner on Madelyn's street before work that Monday morning, and Bea being Bea had to point out the obvious.

"Just for that, you owe me extra bacon," Madelyn responded, pointing her fork at Bea.

"I'll cover your bacon addiction if you tell me what's up." Bea pushed her dark bangs away from her eyes, making sure her best friend knew she was serious.

Madelyn quickly debated. She wasn't the most emotionally forthcoming person out there, but she knew Bea well enough to know she wouldn't let it go…and there was bacon in it for her.

"Just…you know that kid I told you about?"

"Mhm, yeah. You had to put him in the system right? That's rough."

"You should've seen the kid, B. He was totally heartbroken, even though his mother neglects him," she paused, playing with the remaining potatoes on her plate, "I miss my mom. And Joe. I'm so lucky to have my family and seeing this kid reminds of that, but I don't know. It also reminds me of who I lost. As if I don't notice it enough already."

The tough fashion magazine editor who was revered and feared in her office wouldn't have been recognizable in that moment to her work colleagues and subordinates. Her face was one of sympathy, empathy, and pain. Bea was as close to a Reagan as a non-Reagan could get, and she still felt the bruise of losing Joe and Mary; she couldn't imagine how her best friend felt.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waitress said, ready to clear the table.

"Could we get another plate of bacon? And two chocolate donuts? And maybe a pancake…"

"Bea!" Madelyn chuckled slightly, knowing her friend was trying to comfort her with food.

"What? Come on. I can't fix the rest of the world for you but I can give you a damn good breakfast."

"Bacon and donuts it is, then," Madelyn said to the waitress. "Thanks so much."

Once the waitress was gone, Bea turned back to Madelyn. "Maddie I can't fix this and I can't bring them back. I do know that you have an incredible life and they'd want you to live it…not spend the night crying with Jamie," she said, wirly.

"I knew it was too convenient that you wanted to have breakfast this morning. You're normally too busy to even eat half a croissant." Oh Jamie, ever the protector.

"Yeah well, Jamie texted me to check on you and I wanted bacon, so win-win."

"I'll be ok Bea. It was just a rough few days."

"Maybe, but tonight we're going out, getting drinks, and hanging out with hot male models that are coming into the office today." The decision was made, and Bea was already halfway through typing a text message, her manicured nails tapping against her phone screen.

"B…come on."

Bea rolled her eyes. "That was weak. If you really didn't want to go, you'd actually put up a fight."

"….okay fine, that's true. Just don't tell Jamie about this part when you give him the recap, would ya? I don't need Big Brother Patrol on my case."

Bea threw her head back, laughing. "Oh my gosh! I forgot about Big Brother Patrol. What were we, thirteen when you started calling them that?"

"They deserved it and you know it," Madelyn responded, laughing.

FLASHBACK

"Come on, Joe, it's just going to the movies with Ricky. It's not a date!"

"Kid, you're a 13 year old girl going to the movies alone with a boy who clearly likes ya; it's a date."

Madelyn huffed. Ok maybe it was a date…and maybe she wanted it to be, but she didn't want her older brothers giving her a hard time. They often treated her as if she was encased in glass, and while she loved them for it, it was time for them to let her grow up.

Pushing her brown side-swept bangs off her face, Madelyn narrowed her eyes at 18 year old Joe.

"Mom and Dad said it was ok for me to go so I'm going, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Ha! Can't stop me, Joey!

Joe smirked, an eyebrow raised. She's so cute all riled up.

"Alright fine, but don't say I didn't warn you," he responded, a smile on his face. Madelyn probably thought he meant warning her about the date, but Joe was thinking of the plan he, Danny, and Jamie made for later tonight. They would never let anything happen to their baby sister, and if that meant following her on a date…well then, it's all in the job description, right?

Later that night, Madelyn and Ricky were standing in the line inside the theater waiting to buy snacks for the movie. Ricky smiled at her, and she felt her heart rate increase. The boy she'd had a crush on for what seemed like years, and was only two months, had finally asked her on a date; the night was perfect.

"So I'm thinking we get a bucket of popcorn, a thing of M&Ms, and pour the M&Ms into the popcorn," Ricky stated with a lopsided smile.

Madelyn's eyes lit up in excitement. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Ricky laughed, taking her hand in his. Madelyn looked up at him with a shy smile, his brown eyes reflecting that same shyness back at her.

"I'm really glad we're doing this, ya know."

"Me too, Ricky." She squeezed his hand as they moved to the front of the line.

Meanwhile, twenty-four year old Danny, eighteen year old Joe, and fifteen year old Jamie stood on the opposite side of the theater lobby in wait, clad in baseball caps, sunglasses, and clothes they hoped their sister wouldn't recognize.

"Who does that kid think he is, holding her hand like that?" Danny huffed. No one touches my baby sister. It's not rocket science.

"Danny, it's just an innocent date. Why are we even here?" Jamie said, voicing his concern and practicality.

Danny and Joe looked at each other and rolled their eyes simultaneously. Sometimes, Jamie was too…good.

"Kid, there ain't no way I survived Fallujah just to come back here and see this dingbat make moves on Mads. No thirteen year old boy is innocent and we're here to make sure it stays kosher."

Jamie's stomach sunk at Danny's casual mention of his time in the Marines, something that had caused him substantial anxiety over the years. Did Danny mention being overseas to make me feel guilty? Because it worked. I missed him and he knows it, the brat.

"Besides, we're just casually hanging out and seeing a movie, and if we so happen to watch out for the baby, then that's perfectly okay, right Jamie?" Joe asked, trying to keep the peace. We can't fight in public, then that will be the least of our problems.

"Alright fine, just don't be weird. Who do you two think you are? The Blues Brothers? Take off those sunglasses, geez."

"Oh come on, Jamie. Live a little!" Danny replied, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Wait, wait! They're going in. We gotta move." Joe led the pack, soon to be known as Big Brother Patrol because of what was about to go down.

The movie ended, and Ricky and Madelyn stood in front of the theater waiting for their respective rides. Their hands hadn't separated all night, even though Madelyn worried her sweaty palms would drive the boy away.

"Hey Maddie?"

"Yeah?"

Ricky paused, trying not to seem as nervous as he actually was. "Can I kiss you?"

Oh. My. Gosh. Ricky wants to kiss me! Yes. But wait…does my breath smell? I don't even remember what Erin said about how to kiss, now. Oh crap.

Madelyn nodded shakily, trying to ignore her inner monologue. Smiling in response, Ricky leaned his face to hers, gently pecking her on the lips as both of their eyes closed.

Two things happened at once: Madelyn felt tingly and happy, grinning up at Ricky…and then an arm was around her separating her from her crush.

"And that's all for tonight folks. Madelyn, go with Jamie to the car. Ricky? Nice meeting ya, kid. Next time, don't kiss my sister."

As angry as Madelyn was in the moment, Ricky was equally as embarrassed. "Uh…sorry…Maddie, I'll see you at school, okay?" And he was gone. Madelyn later wondered if he'd ever actually been there in the first place.

With fury her brothers had never seen before, she spun towards them, tears in her eyes. DID THEY ACTUALLY JUST DO THAT? They ruined it. My first date, this perfect night. He's gone and probably thinks I'm a freak and wants nothing to do with me.

"Are you kidding me? It was a kiss, not a marriage proposal! What the hell is wrong with the three of you?"

"She looks like Mom when she's this mad. Doesn't she look like Mom?" Danny whispered towards his younger brothers. Joe nodded, while Jamie face-palmed himself.

"Don't joke, Danny! I really like this guy and you just made me look like such an idiot! I didn't do anything wrong. Mom and Dad said it was okay and all we did was go to the movies! Now he probably hates me…" A tear rolled down Madelyn's cheek; she quickly wiped it away angrily, not wanting to seem weak in front of her brothers.

Jamie moved forward to hug her. "No! You don't get to try and be nice, Jamie! You were in on it! Ugh, when I tell Mom what you did, you'll all be doing chores til the end of time."

"Maddie, we just wanted to protect you. You're only thirteen!" Joe tried to reason with her.

In the sassiest way possible, Madelyn crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. "Well listen here, Big Brother Patrol. I can take care of myself. You owe me a month's worth of chocolate donuts from down the street, or else."

All three Reagan boys smiled internally. Yes, Madelyn was angry. Yes, she was slightly intimidating when she got this angry, but most of all, they thought it was an adorable sight and readily agreed to her donut request…simultaneously praying that their baby sister didn't end up ratting them out to their parents. Sunday dinner dishes for weeks on end was a gruesome thought.

END FLASHBACK

"That donut request was genius. I got donuts for weeks because your brothers kept bribing me to get you to talk to them," Bea said, chuckling.

Madelyn rolled her eyes, her lips lifting into a smile. "Yeah, well, they deserved more the silent treatment. They're lucky I didn't tell my mom. She would've smacked them upside the head."

"And I would've helped." Bea looked down at her watch. "Crap, sorry Mads, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight though! I'll text you the address."

Bea threw money down on the table, packed up her stuff, and just before running out of the diner she turned to Madelyn. "And hey, remember to look hot tonight! Male models, yum!"

Madelyn chuckled, "On it, boss."

Life was always interesting with Bea, and Madelyn couldn't have been anymore thankful for her best friend.