A Fresh Start: Chapter Six
A Different Perspective
Betty's birthday was a week before Christmas, and Jamie and Eddie both took the day off, and they all spent the day together. Betty loved days like this. The day ended at her grandparents. They surprised her by having a small party for her with her friends. The day didn't end as good as it had begun. Jamie was called into work for a hostage situation, and from what he'd been told it was unknown when he'd be home. Eddie and Betty understood that was his job and that he helped people and they needed him. Lena, Armin, and Alex were not as understanding. They wanted Eddie and Betty to stay the night, but Eddie wanted to be home for Jamie.
It was close to twenty-four hours later by the time Jamie was able to make it home. It was a long, hard call. Once it was over, he couldn't wait to see his girls at home. They saved him in more ways than they would ever know or understand. Eddie had completed a shift and kept an ear open for what was going with the hostage situation. She worried about the officers she sent out on call, but now that her husband was one of them, it added to her anxiety. Betty had a great day at school. It was show and tell and she talked all about her trip to New York and she was excited to tell her dad all about how the kids in her class reacted to her stories.
On Jamie's hardest days instead of going to the beech he and Betty would spend time together reading to each other, coloring, going for a bike ride, or a walk in the neighborhood. It depended on the time of day and the weather what they did when Jamie needed time to recharge. Jamie made it home from work right before Betty's bedtime. The first thing he did after she put her pajamas on and brushed her teeth was to pick out the two books Jamie would read and the one that Betty was going to read to him. Betty loved when Jamie read to her. It was one of her favorite things that they did together. Eddie and Betty helped ground him in his reality and they helped him to understand his dad and brother better. They could handle the hard things better because of his mom and Linda, and now he had that support in Eddie. They would always be the best part of his life.
It was the best Christmas any of them had in a while. The day started with opening presents and then a big breakfast with Spencer and Dana while Betty enjoyed all of her new books and toys. Christmas marked a year that Jamie and Eddie met, and all of their lives changed for the better. Jamie made it through Christmas without having to work, and he'd hoped that New Years would be the same because that had officially been his and Eddie's first date and Spencer was having the party again only this year there was a kid's area for Betty and a few others who had kids, and the party would still be going strong at midnight just quieter than the previous year. Spencer had a little surprise planned for the newlyweds to celebrate their anniversary.
Jamie's day off didn't happen. He was getting ready to cook a big New Year's Eve breakfast when he was called into work. The holidays were stressful for many, and Jamie never really knew what he was walking into when he got called into work.
When Jamie got to the office, he found out that he was needed on a hostage negotiation and rescue in one of the warehouse districts, and his team was working on a plan as they were making their way to the scene. Each situation was always fluid so there was only so much planning that could be done until they were at the scene. Once things started, Jamie realized he wasn't going to get to see Betty or Eddie until the new year. Nothing was going to plan. At each point while they were trying to resolve the situation something happened to impact the situation negatively from viewpoint of the LAPD.
At the party Spencer, and many of their other friends were keeping Eddie company and not letting her disappear to watch the kids or to her room. Spencer hired a nanny for the night so none of the parents had to worry about the kids being unsupervised. Spencer and Dana were worried about Eddie. They could feel her anxiety wafting off of her. At this point they were used to Jamie running into danger. Ever since Jamie had left that morning Eddie had a bad feeling that she couldn't shake. Jamie had only been able to text her once, and that was to tell her to not wait up for him, he would be late if not he may not be home until the next day.
Jamie and his team had moved into the warehouse trying to talk the leader of the gang out without hurting himself, any of his guys or any of the police officers that were surrounding the building. They had kidnapped two families who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jamie's primary goal was to get the families to the team outside safely. Four hours later the gang leader finally gave in and decided to release the families. All members of both families were safe and unharmed, and they were being taken to the hospital just to be checked out to make sure everyone really was okay. Now Jamie's goal was to get the gang leader out without anyone being injured. Jamie checked his watch and even though it had been such a long day, it was working for him. He had been in the warehouse for over twenty-four hours at this point, he was tired. It was officially January 1st, 2015 and he was hoping that the hope of the new year would help to get Mr. Adams out safely.
Things changed quickly. As Jamie was signaling his team to bring Adams and his gang down, they heard multiple explosions, and the building was coming down around them. Jamie was in the center of the warehouse with Mr. Adams. Jamie's team was at the perimeter making their way in, but the warehouse was close to one hundred-thousand square feet, and it would take lots of manpower and time to check the entire area. The building went from a large warehouse to a large pile of rubble with an unknown amount of lives buried in minutes.
The media had been on location for the hostage situation, but since the updates had been few, they had been losing interest, and were packing up to leave as the building came down. They all immediately set back up and started filming while calling into their stations, so they could get this breaking news on the air.
Frank had taken a few days off after the new year. The family had spent New Year's Eve at the house and Erin and Nikki had decided to stay a couple of extra days. Frank and Henry were enjoying a quiet game of chess after the house being so full and noisy for a couple of days. Erin and Nikki needed a few days away from their home before Nikki went back to school and Erin back to work. They were relaxing watching a movie when the breaking news interrupted their movie.
"There have been multiple explosions at a warehouse just outside of LA. There has been a large police presence here since New Year's Eve, that began as a hostage situation, two families were taken from their homes. We have confirmation that the lead hostage negotiator was able to get both families out safely before the building exploded. Chief Arborghast, do you have a minute for a few questions?"
"Yes Melanie."
By the time Arborghast made it on the screen Frank and Henry had made their way into the room, having heard the breaking news bulletin. Frank was worried he missed a call and needed to go into work.
"Any idea how many people may be in the warehouse, and wasn't it abandoned before yesterday's hostage situation?"
"It's still unknown how many people are in the building at this time, but we are contacting the families of the officers that are trapped inside. At this time, we think its about twenty officers. The number of gang members in the building is still unknown and yes, this building was abandoned prior to New Year's Eve."
While Arborghast continued the interview. Eddie was getting notified that Jamie was trapped inside the warehouse. Dana and Spencer were there for support. Betty understood that something was wrong but didn't know or understand that her dad might never be coming home.
While Eddie was talking and explaining things to Betty, Spencer volunteered to call and talk to Frank.
"Hello." Frank was afraid to answer the phone understanding the reality that his youngest sone was a hostage negotiator in LA. It didn't matter that Frank knew Jamie was supposed to have New Year's Eve off. That wasn't the life they chose. You worked when you were needed.
"Frank, it's Spencer."
Frank's head was spinning.
"Is Jamie okay, are Eddie and Betty, okay?"
"Eddie and Betty are as okay as they can be. Eddie's explaining things to Betty right now, and we don't know about Jamie. The last we heard he's one of the officers trapped in the warehouse, and they aren't sure where he is or what his status is." Spencer hated having to give him that news, but they had to know.
"Okay, I'm gonna come out. Think I can stay at your house?" Frank couldn't think of anywhere else he needed to be more.
"Yeah, let me know when you fly in, and someone will pick you up. Will it just, be you?" Spencer wasn't sure if Eddie was ready for this or not.
"I honestly don't know. I need to inform the family. I'll give you a call back when I know, and I should have our flight information then."
"Alright Frank, I'll let you know if there are any updates with Jamie as soon as we have them."
"Thanks Spencer." Frank said knowing that he would take care of Jamie's girls and his son if Jamie was found before he was able to get there. Frank gave Danny a call and asked him to come to the house, they needed to have a family meeting to explain the situation. He didn't want to have this conversation over the phone.
Once Danny arrived Frank had to give them the bad news that Jamie was one of the officers trapped in the warehouse that exploded, and right now he didn't have any idea if Jamie was alive or not. Just the thought that he'd lost another child broke his heart and made his head spin. Right after the meeting was done Danny had called Linda to let her know that he needed to go to LA with his dad and grandpa. Henry had put his foot down saying that he was going no matter what. He needed to be there to take care of his grandson and he would stay longer if needed. He wouldn't even venture to think that Jamie wasn't going to be okay. The only problem was that they hadn't been able to find a flight out yet.
The problem was solved when Spencer called to let them know that Eddie's dad had sent their private jet to pick them up. They would be ready to leave in the next few hours as soon as the jet was fueled up. Frank was very thankful; his prayers were answered. He would be able to at least be moving in the right direction to be closer to his son.
By the time they arrived in LA, Jamie has been trapped or missing for a day and a half. Ten of the estimated twenty officers had been found, they were all the officers that were on the perimeter, and fortunately none of them had been injured badly or killed. Unfortunately, none of them knew exactly where Jamie or the remaining officers were. The warehouse was like a maze and had been modified and the plans at the city were not current.
Spencer and Dana took Betty to her grandparents so she could spend time with them and Alex and Haley. Eddie didn't want Betty to be at the house if they got the news that Jamie didn't make it. Without Betty there, she could head out to the scene if needed. Arborghast had called and told her that she was off work for a few days at least. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to work until Jamie had been found.
Once Frank, Henry, and Danny arrived they were able to check in and find out if there'd been any progress finding Jamie, and make sure Eddie's not left alone. None of the updates that they were getting were what they were hoping for. Chief Arborghast was calling as often as they had anything new. His goal was to give them hope, because as of yet no one had died in the explosion.
Finally, two days after the explosions and three days since he hostage situation began Adam, the man who began it all had been found dead under debris, and Jamie was found about ten feet from him. Jamie had been buried under debris, but luck or guardian angels were on his side because although covered in debris, none of the heavy items had crushed him. They landed in such a way to create a small opening where he fell. Eddie and the family were notified that he'd been found while he was being rushed to the hospital.
Jamie was rushed into the ER and was immediately assessed. The doctors started running multiple tests. Overall, they figured out that Jamie was very lucky. Despite being trapped in the building his injuries are not as bad as they expected them to be. They determined that he has some minimal internal bleeding and a bad concussion, which is part of the reason that he has yet to regain consciousness. The internal bleeding sent Jamie right into surgery before any of the family got to see him adding to their stress. Being told he was going to be okay, was different than seeing that he was okay for themselves.
Danny was pacing in the hospital like a caged animal, Frank couldn't take his eyes off the doors where the doctors would come with news and Henry, Dana, and Spencer were all comforting Eddie. Eddie understood the risks that came with Jamie's job, but the thought of losing him so early in their marriage broke her heart.
Finally, after two hours in surgery, they were told that they will be able to see Jamie in once he's set up in his room. He's currently in the ICU, but they expect to move him to a normal room once he's regained consciousness and is able to pass some cognitive tests.
A few hours later the family are led into Jamie's room to see him asleep in the bed surrounded by wires and machines that scare them all. They don't understand why he needs all of this if he's okay. They're worried that something happened during surgery or that they found something more wrong with him.
The doctors explain to Eddie that the purpose of the machines are to help monitor him, so they don't miss anything if something were to quickly change.
A day later Jamie wakes up as if he was just sleeping. He's sore and has a headache, but he doesn't understand why he's in the hospital. He woke up in the middle of the night when no visitors were allowed. A doctor came in and updated him on his condition and called Eddie to let her know that he'd awaken. The next morning, he expected to see Eddie, but not his dad, brother or grandpa.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Jamie asks when he sees his dad, grandpa and brother enter the room ahead of Eddie.
"We heard you got yourself into some trouble." Henry said trying to keep the mood light.
"I was going to call you guys as soon as I was allowed." Jamie knew his injuries were not ideal, but they could've been worse.
"Babe, everyone was just worried. You left for this call on New Years Eve, and it's January 4th. It's been a long week for all of us. You were missing for two days, and then unconscious for another. We didn't know if we would ever see you again." Eddie said through tears.
"Hey, none of that. I always told you that I will do everything in my power to come home to you and Betty and look I'm okay. Just a couple of cuts and bruises. I'll be home in a couple of days, and back to work in a week or two." Jamie said with a smile.
"Jamie, power down a little, we didn't know if we'd ever get to see you again. Eddie's fears are valid. Slow down, listen to the doctors and focus on getting better." Frank said trying to bring his son back to reality.
"Eddie where's Betty?" Jamie worried. He heard his dad, but wondered why his daughter wasn't on the bed sitting on his lap giving him a big hug.
"With my parents, but she knows that you're gonna be okay. Hopefully you can see her tomorrow when you get moved to a regular room."
Jamie sighed. He wanted to see his daughter, they are close, and he knows how hard something like this is on a kid. He wants to be able to see and talk to her to really reassure her that he's okay.
"Listen, I'm sorry that these last few days haven't been easy on any of you, and I'm sorry that all of you traveled so far, but I really am okay and just want to go home." Jamie said hoping that they understood that he did understand the situation.
It's not long before a nurse comes in and lets them know that visiting hours are over, and that they could come back later in the day. Jamie needs sleep and some tests done to make sure that he doesn't need any other surgeries or procedures done. They want to make sure that he doesn't overdo it. They are familiar with how officers, especially those in specialized units push themselves.
"Eddie, he'll be okay." Danny said knowing how stubborn Jamie is.
"I know, he'd just been shot when I first met him. I know that he doesn't let anything stop him. I just worry, being a critical case detective is dangerous enough, he goes into some bad situations, but because he's on the hostage negotiation and rescue team when other detectives would pull out, he stays or goes in deeper. I know that he's trained for all of these situations, but its still hard sitting in dispatch when I send him into those situations because I never know if he'll come back out." Eddie cried.
"Eddie dear, have you told him this?" Henry asked concerned for his newest granddaughter. They all had their own take on the job, but being in dispatch and being the one sending EMS when called, takes her knowledge to another level and sitting there, there isn't anything she can do about the danger that he's in.
"Yes, he knows, we've talked about it several times. The hardest part is we just want each other to be happy and he's made a really big difference in some people's lives, and as much as I worry about him, I don't want to change him. I can't imagine him doing anything else."
"After Jamie had been a cop for about a year, he told me some of the struggles that he'd had when he was working as a lawyer. Jamie's always been my quietest child and never one to complain so it can be hard to tell what he's feeling or thinking. It wasn't that he wasn't good as a lawyer, from what I understand he was great, but he struggled with some of morality that came about because of it. I never thought that Jamie was capable of lying, until I saw him go undercover and he transformed in front of me." Frank said lost in memories.
"He's a really good lawyer. My dad had something come up and he convinced Jamie to work on it for him in his spare time. Jamie thought that it might help his relationship with my dad and brother so he would work a regular day, spend time with us and then work after Betty went to bed. My dad was very impressed."
"I didn't know Jamie could even practice in the state of California, or that he'd even want to." Danny said surprised.
"Arborghast asked him to take the Barr." Eddie said unsure if she should say anymore.
This seemed curious to Frank. Why would he want Jamie to take the Barr? "Why?"
"With all the scrutiny around police it's critical that the arrests can be prosecuted without many issues and resources are limited all around, so Jamie's gonna be reducing his hours on the street a few days a week to teach a course around what happens after the arrest and the types of things that need to be thought thrugh before, during and after to improve the chances of a conviction or eliminate the need for a trial and give the DA's office a better chance to make a deal. Every cop in the department has to take the class and the class is going to be taught at the academy." Eddie stated very proud of the difference her husband was going to make in their city.
Danny, Henry, and Frank were shocked. None of them knew anything about this. Frank always knew that Jamie was capable of big things but wondered why he didn't put himself out there.
"How long is the class?" Frank asks curious if he can get the curriculum from Arborghast.
"It's a twenty-four-hour retraining course broken out into four hour training sessions. He was supposed to start next week, but that may change now, and the class is only taught on Tuesday and Wednesday."
"Only Jamie." Danny said and shook his head. He was happy that they didn't have anything like that back at home. More so if his youngest brother was running it.
"We won't say anything to him, but that is great. Is he happy about it or is he just doing it because he was ordered?" Henry wondered knowing Jamie wouldn't fight orders.
"He's happy, he's had good partners here, but he's found that they are more interested in the arrest than what happens next. He actually pitched the idea to the deputy chiefs, and they approved it, so he gave the presentation to the chief and city council." Eddie said proudly. Jamie was such a brilliant, wonderful man who really did care for others in a way that she had never seen before. He made her want to be better.
"Wow. That's your son Francis." Henry had never been prouder of one of his grandchildren. Not that Joe, Danny and Erin didn't do great things, but Jamie's quiet way that he did things under the radar just kept surprising everyone.
Frank and Danny decided to go for a walk. They needed some time to digest everything that they learned.
When Frank and Danny returned, Spencer and Dana took the group out to lunch. Spencer wished that they would've taken a nap now that they knew that Jamie was okay, but he understood that they were still worrying. After lunch it was a few more hours before the next set of visiting hours. Frank, Henry, and Eddie were finally able to lay down and sleep.
Two days later Jamie was released from the hospital with appointments set up for follow-ups, but Jamie was already planning on calling the chief to see if he could start the classes as planned. Jamie didn't know that the horrid call was going to have a bigger impact on his life.
Once home Jamie has seven people fussing over him and although he understands their concerns, he thinks that they are making too big of a deal of his minor injuries. His headaches are already beginning to subside, and although he's still sore he's feeling much better. He has to keep reminding everyone that they wouldn't have let him out of the hospital, if he wasn't healing.
Frank's able to get an appointment with Arborghast to discuss the class his son created, will be teaching, and has created the curriculum for. He has no idea where Jamie finds the time to do everything.
"Hey Dino." Frank says as he enters the office.
"Frank, how's Jamie?"
"Ready to go back to work so he doesn't have seven people fussing over him." Frank laughed.
"Jamie seems like the type to take care of those around him and not one to be taken care of."
"Yes. He avoids attention like the plague good or bad." Frank wasn't sure if he was just that way or if something happened to him to make him that way.
"Not all of it. Has he told you about the training program he put together?" Arborghast said happy to have such strong officers on his force.
"I've heard about it, but not from my son, from his wife. It sounds impressive."
"Frank, it is. Your son's been here just over a year and a half, and he's gone through some impressive training, and that got him in the academy and once he was there, he saw some areas that needed improvement, but he already had that on his mind based on his time in the field."
"Jamie's always been good at looking at something and finding a way to improve it, if it's needed. His rookie year was hard because he felt that he couldn't say anything about some areas where he could see the NYPD needed to improve." Frank lamented.
"He had his concerns when he was working with OCCB too, but he seemed to really keep quiet. He opened up to me more at the end. I know that was all new to him, and he was finding him own way through."
"Would it be possible for me to obtain a copy of the training program that Jamie developed?" Frank knew that there was a good chance that he was going to say no, but he had to ask.
"How about this, let Jamie get through the first round of training, and then he can come to New York and work with your training team to adapt it for your larger department. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes, but will he be willing to do it?" Frank wondered. That was a big step for anyone.
"Yes, he's going to be spending some time in San Francisco, San Diego, and Denver with the program. They have already requested their time with him. He's working with each of their training departments for a week to set up the curriculum, and they can have him out for another week if needed. His only caveat was that this wasn't his only focus." Dino had to laugh a little at that, because Jamie knew it would be easy to move him into the training department and have his focus be based on the legal side of law enforcement, and that wasn't what he wanted.
Frank was again impressed by his son. He always thought that Jamie would be the next Reagan to follow him as PC. Now he knew he was going far; he just wasn't sure where that was.
"Thanks, Dino. I'll have the training department contact yours to get everything arraigned."
With that Frank headed back to see his son. He was sure that his dad and oldest would be hovering over Jamie to the point that he would go mad.
When Frank got back to the house Eddie and Henry were in the kitchen, Spencer and Dana were upstairs and Jamie and Betty were sitting on the couch reading to each other. Betty hadn't left Jamie's side much since he'd gotten home and that reminded Frank of a few times when he almost didn't make it home. They had never told any of the kids too much about the times that he'd had close calls, but somehow once Jamie was there and could walk, he wouldn't be far from Frank after one of those close calls. Joe would cuddle if Frank was sitting down, but Jamie was just always there with him. He'd even wake up to find him sleeping in the floor in their room. It was as if he knew something was wrong even though no one would tell him anything. No one understood how he could've or would've known that something bad happened.
"How long have they been like that?" Frank asked. Jamie had been sleeping when he left.
"About two hours. He woke up and she was lying in bed watching him, so he picked her up and brought her downstairs." Eddie said, she was worried when she saw him carrying her, although she was small for her age it was still something that he shouldn't have been doing.
"Is he doing, okay?" Frank asked worried the stress of everything was going to hit him at some point.
"Francis, he's doing great, the reason he's in there is because he was attempting to help us cook and we kicked him out and told him to relax. He tried to push back saying that I was a guest and I told him that guests can take care of the injured. He really is your most stubborn child, but don't tell Danny he'll be upset that he lost that crown." Henry joked.
"He's going to be coming to New York with his training program too. Eddie, you didn't tell us about all the cities that have agreed to implement his program."
"Jamie wasn't sure if they were going to go forward or not. The pilot program training took place the week before Thanksgiving, and that was the only work Jamie did that week, checking in with the twenty officers. So far things have been going great. If they have questions, there's an email that he's managing independently now. I'm surprised that he hasn't checked it yet."
Danny had been upstairs talking to Linda and the boys letting them know that they would be home day after tomorrow, and that Jamie was doing good. He'd had an angel on his shoulder those few days when he was either missing or unconscious.
"He has, every time she goes to pick out a new book or two, he grabs the laptop and checks something. I didn't know what he was doing, but he does some typing and then is ready when Betty's back with him."
Eddie just rolled her eyes she didn't think that she was going to be able to stop him, or that it was worth the fight. He was capable of checking email, and he wouldn't further injure himself.
Ten minutes later dinner was ready Spencer and Dana joined them downstairs. Dana and Spencer hated seeing Jamie hurt, but really did understand that was part of his job and the risk that came with it. If Jamie could accept the risk, so could they.
Dinner was fun, and the food was great. Jamie had worn himself out and excused himself upstairs before dessert, while the remainder stayed downstairs and worried. Betty was the next to excuse herself so she could go climb in bed with Jamie because she'd been too far away from him for too long.
Jamie was showing great improvement, but it was still hard for Frank, Henry, and Danny to leave. They knew that they couldn't stay forever, and LA was now Jamie's home. Asking him to move back to New York wasn't fair to anyone either.
Despite everyone's objections Monday morning Jamie was able to start back to work because he hadn't had any more headaches, and he was teaching a retraining course, desk duty had a different look for Jamie this time.
The course was going great. He had a group of fifty officers in for three eight-hour sessions in one week. Since he was on desk duty for a while, he was teaching all week, and would make it through two groups per week instead of one. He was also working on training the current legal instructors on the training team so they could have multiple people teaching at a time.
Jamie's plan was to get the bulk of the training of the instructors done before he was approved for full duty. Once he was back at full duty Arborghast told him that he had four other police departments that wanted to implement his program and requested his presence. Jamie was ready, but not looking forward to it.
The new year had come in with a bang and was staying that way. It only took another week and Jamie was back to full duty, but his role had changed as he was currently part of the training department, and would be spending one week a month with the San Francisco PD, San Diego PD, Denver PD, and New York PD. He was hoping that Betty and Eddie would be able to go to Denver and New York, but that wasn't able to happen. Eddie couldn't get the time off, but Betty was able to go to New York because it just happened that she was off school. She was excited to get some time with her large extended family.
The person who was the least excited that Jamie was coming home to New York in a professional capacity was Danny. He'd heard his dad bragging about all the things that his youngest was doing and he'd overheard that he'd planned for Jamie to come to New York so they could improve arrests and convictions. This program would go a long way in improving the relationship between the district attorney's offices and the NYPD. If his dad and Jamie pulled it off they could really change things in the city for the better. Danny figured that Jamie probably got the idea for the program from sitting around their dinner table listening to him and Erin fight. Linda laughed at that and then agreed with him.
Jamie seemed to either be at 1PP with the chief of training and the relevant instructors or out somewhere with Betty, showing her his version of New York. Which meant spending a lot of time in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan. She loved all the time she got to spend with him. It was really hard on her when he spent the week in San Francisco. Fortunately, he was able to come home a couple times during the week when he was in San Diego, but it was the same thing when he was in Denver.
It was finally Friday and Jamie's last day at 1PP. Before his move, he'd very rarely been at his dad's office and now he had spent an entire week on the 14th floor in an office down the hall from his dad's. Jamie was packing up when Baker informed him that his dad wanted to see him.
"Hey dad, Baker said that you needed to see me." Even though Jamie was no longer a member of the NYPD and hadn't been for two years at this point he was still nervous walking into his dad's office.
"Yeah, you've been really busy this week. I've tried to meet you for lunch a couple times, but each time I've called they've said that you've been out at the DA's office with one of the training officers."
"Yeah, the DA's office is involved in this because as laws change and are implemented it needs to be clearly communicated to the officers so they can act on it timely and appropriately."
Frank stared at his son for another second. He didn't know when he would stop being surprised by his son. These were things that he had to think about, and his chief's needed to think about, and here his son, who, if he was still on the NYPD would still be considered a rookie detective was thinking this through more than the people who were paid to do so. He'd only been a cop for five years, and he was making changes beyond his scope that would help other officers, the ADAs, and the public.
"That's great. It seems like when you haven't been working you and Betty have been all over town." Frank said, feeling bad like he was guilting his son that he never got to see.
"Yeah, last Thanksgiving was the first time she'd ever really been to New York and spent time away from Manhattan. I wanted to show her my New York. Where I grew up. The things that I miss, and area that made me who I am today." Jamie said proudly with a big smile.
"I get that. I think her life is very different now than it was two years ago. I know one thing for sure and that is that you're a great dad."
Jamie blushed. In his mind he had big shoes to fill. He had a great role model to strive to emulate. "Thanks dad."
"You almost done for the day?" Frank wanted a nice dinner out with his son.
"I'm done. I was packing up when Baker called and requested my presence."
"I talked to pop, Erin and Nicky have taken Betty for a girl's night, and once you give approval they will keep her overnight and bring her home in the morning, but pop and I would like to take you out of a celebration dinner. Every report that I've gotten about the work you've done this week has been incredible."
"Oh okay. Yeah, I'll send Erin a text and let her know that Betty can stay with them tonight."
Jamie sent the text, and before he knew it his dad's security detail brought in his bag from the office he'd been working out of, and they were headed to dinner. Henry had already gotten a table, ordered the whisky and was waiting for them.
"Jamie, everything I've heard about this program sounds amazing. Any other PD's going to implement it?" Henry asked proudly.
"I got a call from chief Arborghast yesterday and I'm headed to Chicago, and Detroit and then after that if others that want to implement one of the other trainers will go. When I get back, I'm officially back on the hostage negotiation and rescue team. I'll step in if needed, but I can step back." Jamie sighed. He knew that the program was needed, but training wasn't where he wanted to be at all. If he couldn't be a detective or part of hostage negotiation and rescue, he would rather be on patrol or SWAT.
"Training isn't where you want to be?" Frank worried. He liked not having to worry about his son because he'd been focused on training since his last incident.
"No, I'm doing this because of my background, and it turns out that I'm okay at it, but I enjoyed SWAT a lot more than this."
"Do you want to be in hostage negotiation?" Henry worried that was where his grandson wanted to be, it could be very dangerous.
"Yeah, my last two calls outs haven't been bad, and I've saved lives. I don't know if I'll go back to the critical case division or not, but in the end I'll go where they tell me." Jamie laughed.
"Do you see yourself staying with LAPD or would you ever consider coming home again?" Henry asked wishing his family was all together.
"Honestly, I don't know. Eddie and Betty have both lived in California their entire lives and if we did move it would need to be our decision, not just mine.
"That's a good way to think Jamie, and I know that your family appreciates it." Frank wished that the answer would have been yes, because he would've found positions for both of them and had them moved back to New York before Christmas.
