Reagan Household
"Aunt Libby?" Nicky Reagan Boyle asked quietly going over to her aunt's side, "Is it true you were with Uncle Joe?" Libby, who had been sitting curled up on the couch next to Will, looked over and nodded her head, "Yes, I was, no one else was with him, so I just reacted."
"Weren't you scared?" Jack, her nephew, asked from where he was sitting on the floor in front of them a half done puzzle in front of him and his brother.
"I was." She answered softly, "but my big brother needed me. So I did what I had to do. Like I know Sean would do for you and you would for Sean."
Jack nodded his head, "what if you would have gotten shot Aunt Libby?"
"I was." Libby returned, lifting up the side of the scrub top she had put on before leaving the ER and showing the bandage that was on her side, "I got grazed by the bullets."
"Cool." Jack muttered, reaching his hand out to touch the bandage but was stopped by Will's hand, "We have to let it heal, I am sure that Aunt Libby will show you the scars once she is healed."
The youngest Reagan sibling winked at her nephew in promise causing him to grin and sit back against the couch watching the old western movie Libby put on when they got home to help distract them from their grief.
"Excuse me, Detective Reagan." Hogan said coming into the room, he hated that he had to be the one that dragged her away from her niece and nephews to be questioned about why she didn't listen.
'Bello and the commissioner want to talk to you." Libby looked at her friend then at the kids before sighing, "I guess we can get this over with and then we can go home?" Will nodded his head, as soon as they got to the house, he was going to give her pain medication and make her sleep.
"Nicky help her up." Will whispered over the top of Libby's head, he would have done it but he was holding a lot of Libby's body weight and didn't want to jozzle her more than she had to be.
Libby took hold her hand and let the oldest Reagan grandchild pull her to her feet.
Once on her feet Nicky wrapped the blanket around her aunt's shoulders. She knew that her mom had good relationships with her siblings, but while Erin was closer to Danny, Libby was closest to Joe and Jamie. And his death seemed to rock her more than anything that happened with Michael, as much as Nicky wanted to mourn for her Uncle Joe, she needed to be strong for her Aunt Libby. Like Libby had been since the truth about her husband's true relationship with the Sanfino family and all the abuse that she had suffered.
It was a Reagan thing.
"Excuse me Commissioner?" Libby asked once she was in the doorway of the dining room, 'You wanted to see me." Frank's heart rattled in his chest painfully again, Libby exactly how she did when she was a little girl and didn't feel good and she would appear in the doorway of her parents bedroom. "Come in." Detective Bello motioned for her to come in. Henry met her at the door and put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it tightly.
Sonny Molsvky was seated in Joe's normal seat and Libby felt her blood boil up and she turned her gaze from her sock covered feet to her dad. "What the hell is he doing here?"
"He has a right to be here, he was your commanding officer." Bello said after taking a deep breath, he had seen the Reagan temper on one too many occasions and he hoped Libby took after Mary's side of the family.
Like she did with her more gentle and caring manner. "He isn't my commanding officer. Why should I have listened to him?"
He was wrong, she did have the temper.
"He wasn't doing anything! He was just sitting there with his thumb up his ass while my brother was lying on the street bleeding to death. Not even God himself could have stopped me." Libby was trembling and it caused the blanket to slip off her shoulders.
"Lib." Frank started but closed his mouth, he couldn't really reprimand her for wanting to say the same thing.
"What about Sergeant Gonalez?' Bello prodded to see if it would be an easier subject. The glare sharpened on her face and she stared at him like he had grown another head. "What would you have expected me to do?" Libby's raised voice brought Will, Linda, Erin and Danny into the room.
"I wasn't going to sit there and watch him die. When I could have helped him. Maybe you are okay with that Molsvky, but I am not." Her voice broke and Will came to her side to help support her weight.
"You don't know what you are talking about." Sonny started, his own anger clear on his face.
"Maybe, Will should take her home.' Henry thought of offering up her old room but he knew that with her grief it was better for her to be in her own bedroom. "Maybe I don't." She shrugged, "But I know that if Dick and I weren't on patrol nearby and did hear the call for the officer down. My brother would have died in that street alone because you Sonny are nothing but a damn coward."
"Elizabeth, that is enough.' Frank said as he stood up from the table.
"Will take her home, make sure she eats something and gets some rest. Bring her back at 10." Henry said, causing Will to nod his head, he didn't even want to bring her in the first place but she insisted.
"I am sure he didn't forget." Mouse, Jay Halstead's best friend, commented as he leaned against the front door of the townhouse. Jay shrugged his shoulders as headlights from a car shined brightly in his eyes. He raised his hand to shield them and was met instead by Libby's voice calling his name. Turning around he grinned, "Hey Libs." Then he noticed the bandage that was wrapped around her bicep and the white plastic bracelet.
"What happened?"
"Joe was killed." Will answered, 'She was at the scene.'
"Jesus.' Mouth muttered, his eyes on the girl who was nestled in Jay's arms, her eyes puffy and swollen.
"She tried to save him but." "It didn't work." She added reaching her hand up and rubbed her eyes to stop the tears. "Let's go inside, I promised your grandfather, you would sleep and get some food in you.'' Will commented, stepping around them and opening the front door.
Libby excused herself from sitting in the living room with the boys to take a shower, thinking cleaning the blood off of her would help her feel better. And it did for a few minutes before the grief of losing Joe hit her and she sank to the ground under the spray of water. "This is all my fault." She said to herself, "if I got there sooner this wouldn't have happened. Joe would still be alive. I could have done better at this."
There was a knock on the door followed by Jay's voice, "Libby, are you okay?" She couldn't bring herself to answer him, the guilt was starting to eat her alive, she wasn't able to form the words. She didn't want him to know the guilt that she felt. The door opened and Jay stepped into the bathroom.
"Libby?" "I am okay." She managed through the tears causing him to open the glass door that led to the shower.
"This is my fault." She said hugging her knees chest tighter. Jay stepped into the shower and turned the water.
"No baby, it's not your fault." He started reaching for the towel that hung nearby. "Will said that you tried to save Joe's life and that you were the one that ran through the bullets." "What was I thinking?" She returned, wrapping the towel around her and taking his hand to stand up.
"You were thinking that you could save your brother. I have done the same thing to try and save one of my brothers."
He had walked her into her bedroom and dropped down on her bed, eyes on her as she moved around the room getting ready for bed. She had only been living with Will for a few months, and she had already made her room her own.
Little trinkets lay across the vanity and dresser along with framed pictures of her family. And a splash of lavender paint covered the wall behind the tv stand and dresser.
She was making a home even though her life was falling apart around her.
There was a loud pounding on the front door that woke all 4 of them up from a deep sleep. "The hell?" Libby complained, rubbing her face against the material of Jay's t-shirt. "Stay here." Will ordered standing up from the armchair he had fallen asleep in. Mouse peaked his head out of the pile of blankets he was under.
"You okay Lib?" She shrugged her shoulders and rubbed the remaining sleep out of her eyes. Her ex-husband's voice rang through the entryway.
"Please not today." She complained before standing up and taking her service weapon out of its holster.
"Libby, what are you doing?!" Jay shouted as he stood up from his seat. "I am going to handle this. I can't deal with his bullshit on top of Joe's death. I can't and I won't."
Jay and Mouse exchanged a look and stood up to follow Libby into the entryway.
"Libby! Put the gun down." Michael said, holding his hands up. Libby raised the gun and pointed it at him, her hands trembling. "Leave now." She pulled the hammer down, "Or I will call the cops." "Or shoot you." Mouse added with a laugh, this was a different side of Libby and he was actually enjoying it. Michael's eyes narrowed at the group before he started back down the stairs, "This isn't over Elizabeth. Not by a long shot."