Chapter 7

3 years later...

Eddie finally bite the bullet, nearly 4 years after graduating from Yale. She went through the police academy and was now on her first day as an NYPD police officer. She'd already dropped off Josie with the babysitter, and arrived at the 12th precinct 45 minutes before her shift, to make sure she left herself plenty of time to get ready. After dressing in her uniform, she went went to the front desk to find out her partner assignment.

'Edit Janko- Jameson Regan.'

Eddie read the paper 5 times before she could fully comprehend it. She was really partnered with Jamie Regan, her ex and the father of her child. This would be just great. If she was lucky, he wouldn't remember her and she wouldn't have to get into the whole "You have a daughter you don't know about" mess.

Eddie walked out the front doors of the precinct, to see none other than Jamie Regan standing out by the RMP. Acting like she had no idea who he was, she asked: "You Regan?" After getting his attention and a "yeah," she continued.

"Eddie Janko. Serge says we're riding together." She introduced herself, still hoping he didn't recognize.

'Oh my god. Eddie Janko.' Jamie thought, as he heard her name and saw her face. 'She clearly doesn't remember me. Just act like you don't know her.'

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"No, um, I was expecting-" 'Not you. My ex girlfriend from high school' is what he wanted to say.

"Fat, sweaty, Hungarian guy? Sorry to burst your bubble." She said, smiling. She had to act like everything was fine.

"No offense." He said, even though he really wasn't thinking that.

"Oh, no, trust me, it's really hard to offend me. My real name is Edit, after my grandmother, but Eddie's just easier all around." She explained.

'I already know that,' he thought.

"Kay, Uh, who was your last partner?" He asked.

"Actually I just graduated from the academy last week."

'Haha, very funny. Why aren't you laughing?'

He looked at her to see if she was serious, and realized she was. "Oh, seriously?"

"You're my first Reagan. Be gentle."

"I just meant all my other partners have had as much time on the job as me."

"Should I come back in a few years?"

"I'll let you know after our tour."

At that, Eddie smiled. She hoped she'd meet his standards, and she hoped she didn't completely embarrass herself.

"All units: 10:13 from the officers. Shots fired. Corner of Bristow and 9th. Units responding." The radio sounded.

"That's us. So much for starting slow. Hey!" He said.

"Do you mind if I drive?" She asked, already jogging over to the driver's side.

"What? I don't think-" It was too late. She was already starting the engine. He quickly got in as she sped off. "Hey! Whoa!" He exclaimed. Eddie was a bit of a crazy driver.

They arrived on the scene of an officer who had shot by a perp. Jamie stopped to talk to an officer who had been on the scene. They discovered a 10-30 (robbery) had turned into a 10-13 when the officer's partner chased after the perp and got shot. They ran toward the sound of gunshots, and discovered an officer down. Jamie ran in the direction the suspect had supposedly gone, but found no one. An ambulance arrived, and transported Collins to the hospital.

Eddie and Jamie followed to the hospital in the RMP. They waited in the waiting, and when Frank arrived, he told them that she was dead.

"Sir, this is my partner." Jamie said, introducing Frank to his new partner.

"Officer Janko, sir." Eddie said.

"You going back to the scene?" Frank asked.

"As soon as we talk to the detectives." Jamie responded.

Frank nodded and blew out a breath. "We need to get this son of a bitch."

They gave Frank one last look and then walked away. They gave their statements to the detectives and then went back to the scene. They stayed around their for awhile, trying to find any extra information on what had happened. They headed back to the precinct, only to be assigned to protective detail for the suspect.

"I can't believe we're protecting this piece of garbage." Eddie said, as she and Jamie sat in the RMP in front of the suspects apartment.

"Yeah, well someone had to get the assignment. At least we pulled nightshift. You know, should be pretty quiet." Jamie said, trying to find an upside to a horrible situation.

"It doesn't bother you sitting on this guys house?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I wish Reid was rotting in a cell. At least we can keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't skip town." He answered. Of course he didn't want to sit on a cop killer's house, but at least they could keep an eye on him.

"Do you think it was cops who called in those threats?"

"Could be. Collins has a lot of friends on the job."

"They deserve a shot at him. An eye for an eye."

"Leaves the whole world blind?"

"Last time I checked, Gandhi wasn't a cop." At that, Jamie gave a throaty chuckle. Jamie nodded his head, agreeing with her not-so-funny joke. "You're not the only one who went to school, Regan." She teased, with a smile.

"Here we go." Jamie said as Reid walked up to the RMP. "What do you want?" He asked rather harshly.

"Oh, good evening officers. I just want to tell you guys how safe I feel knowing you're out here." Reid said, condescendingly.

"What your mouth." Jamie warned.

"Yeah whatever, Chief. Thing is I really need some cigarettes." He said, blowing off Jamie's warning.

"Well, that sounds like a personal problem." Eddie said.

"There's a drug store right on the corner, I know you got my back." Reid said, with a smile.

"Tell me we're not giving this guy an armed escort to buy a pack of smokes." Eddie said, not wanting to oblige by Reid's request.

"That's the assignment. Look on the bright side, maybe he'll trip and break his neck." Jamie said, as he started the engine.

They followed Reid around the corner, waited outside while he bought cigarettes, and then followed him back to his apartment.

"So, care to tell me a little about yourself? I mean we're gonna be here for awhile, and now that we're partners, I feel we should at least a little bit about each other." Eddie said.

"First day on the job, and you already want to know my life story?" Jamie asked, being slightly defensive.

"Not necessarily your life story, but a little bit would be nice."

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Fine, starting off with an easy one. Do you have any family?"

"Well, there's my dad, you already met him. My grandpa, a former PC. My older brother Danny, a detective out of the 54. My older sister Erin, an ADA. Erin has a daughter, and Danny and his wife Linda have two boys. Other than them, no one else. What about you?"

"Well, I have both my parents still. And my 9 year old daughter."

"No father in her life?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"No, he bailed when she was young." Eddie lied. She still didn't have the heart to tell him that he was the father of her daughter.

"I guess I technically do have a daughter. I just don't know anything about her."

"How do you know about her, and know nothing about her?" Eddie asked, starting to get worried. How the hell did he know about Josie?

"Well, it's kinda complicated. I actually have another brother, Joe, who died in the line of duty. His girlfriend gave me a box of his stuff. In it, was his iPod. In his voice memos was one titled 'Don't hate me.' In it, he said that I have a daughter named Josie. He was sworn to secrecy by her mother to keep her a secret. Her mother wanted to ensure her safety or something. He didn't think I'd ever hear that voice memo, but he was wrong. I tried finding her for awhile, but up lead hit a dead end. I've never told anyone that, by the way."

"Then why did you tell me?" Eddie asked.

"I'm just gonna go out and say it. I know who you are. I remember you. We dated back in high school. Senior year. Do you remember?" Jamie asked, confessing what he'd known since he laid his eyes on her.

Eddie took a deep breath and then answered his question.

"Yeah, I remember you. I didn't want to say anything because I was hoping you didn't remember me."

"You said your daughter is 9 years, right? That's about the time we broke up. Then you disappeared after that. Her father didn't really bail, did he?"

"No, he didn't."

"Am I her father? Is your daughter's name Josie?"

"Yeah, her name's Josie. You're her father."

Jamie took a few moments to process what he'd just heard, before speaking again.

"Why did you keep her away from me? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I didn't want to ruin your life with this. I wanted to deal with it on my own. I feel like I did a pretty good job. She's a healthy and happy kid, and we've done just fine on our own."

"What makes you think should would've ruined my life?"

"Oh come on, Jamie. Your family is Irish Catholic. No sex before marriage, no babies out of wedlock. That's breaking two of the most scared rules. Do you really think your parents would've been accepting of it? They probably would've kicked you out. I couldn't let one mistake ruin your relationship with your family. I couldn't let it ruin your life."

"But what if they'd been supportive? What if they'd been ok with it? We'll never know now."

"I know you probably want me to say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I don't regret not telling you. She's my daughter and I had every right not to tell you. It was my choice."

"Don't I, as her father, have a right to meet her? Or at least know that she exists?"

"I don't know." She said with a shrug. She really didn't know what he wanted her to say.

"Is it too much to ask if I can meet her?" He asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"Jamie, she's only 9 years old. I really don't know if it would be a good idea. I've never told her anything about you. All she knows is that she has a father."

"But, she's my daughter. I've already missed 9 years of my life, are you really gonna sit there and tell me I have to miss the rest of her life?"

Eddie didn't say anything. They sat in silence for nearly an hour, until Salazar and his friends showed up. Jamie stepped out of the car, to try and stop Salazar from doing something he would regret. Salazar finally decided to walk away, and Jamie and Eddie got back into the car.

"Are you ever gonna answer my question?" Jamie asked.

Eddie sighed. "I guess you can see her. I mean it would just be mean if I kept you from her forever."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. We have another nightshift tomorrow, so you can com over and see her during the day." If happened to be the weekend so Josie wouldn't be in school.

They continued watching over Reid's apartment, until their replacements arrived. They drove back to the precinct, dressed back into street clothes, and met again out front.

"Just call me. Josie usually wakes up around 8 am on the weekends. Maybe we could meet for breakfast or something." Eddie said.

"Ok, will do." Jamie said, as he got into his car.

They drove off, in hopes the meeting would go well.

A/N: Most of the dialogue in this chapter came from episode 4x01, Eddie's first episode.

Also, to the guest who asked why this story is so rushed, it's rushed because I didn't want to focus too much on the time they spent apart in their lives. I wanted to focus more on what happens now that they've met again and Jamie now knows he's a father.