The meeting went well on Friday morning. The team from the 2-9 would join the other 2 teams from the 63rd and 72nd precincts at their assigned location at 4:45 am on Tuesday morning. They would meet by the surveillance units and then get in place once the call was given. The members of the 2-9 would be part of the group staking out the Bush Terminal Piers Park. It was located on the water and was a popular spot with runners and those looking to enjoy the beautiful views it provided. Because there were no playgrounds, it was also popular with singles and adults looking to enjoy the outdoors without a ton of children around. It tended to be quiet and more remote than other city parks. Eddie would be acting as a decoy with Tuna and Abe providing support. Abe was positioned out of sight while Tuna was going to be wearing a public works uniform and hopefully blend in with the surroundings. They would be waiting for the call from either Eddie or Jamie to respond if needed. While Tuna was given a uniform coverall, Eddie was provided with a reimbursement form to get herself some flashy new running clothes designed to attract attention. She was clearly excited about going on a shopping trip that was on the city.
Jamie went into the precinct for a few hours after the meeting broke up. Eddie and the other officers happily took the extra time off to prepare and headed home. By the time Jamie returned to their apartment, Eddie had already gone to meet up with her girlfriends. He heated up some leftovers and opened a beer before settling on the couch to watch the game on TV. He was surprised at how much he missed his wife's presence. Since the day they became partners, she had been his best friend. He couldn't remember the last time they both had the night off without spending it together.
Before long, Jamie's phone was receiving a steady stream of pictures from her night out. Eddie and the girls posing with wine glasses, up to their elbows in pottery clay and laughing the night away. By 9:30, Jamie received another message telling him that she was on her way home, along with another picture of just her blowing kisses to him. Before Eddie, Jamie thought he was jinxed in the romance department. Since they got together, he felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
Saturday was a day spent calming Eddie's nerves about family dinner being up to par. Despite being an inexperienced cook, Eddie was a natural. She had a knack for choosing recipes that were delicious and perfect for the occasion. Her choice for family dinner was chicken stuffed with spinach and artichokes. He knew his family would love it. She also planned to serve grilled asparagus. Along with Linda's salad and mashed potatoes from Erin, Jamie had no doubt it would be a great meal.
He was aware that the only place that he'd seen Eddie struggle with confidence was in the presence of his family. He had never realized how intimidating they could be as a group until Linda had pulled him aside. She had been around their table since his grandfather was the commissioner. If anyone was used to them it would be her. She reminded him that becoming a Reagan was like joining a party that was loud, a little out of control at times and already in full swing when you arrived. He needed to be patient and supportive until she got her bearings. After that, he'd need to remember that she was not one of them by blood, and would sometimes need to be reminded of her place at their table - Something Danny needed to do a few times a year for his own wife.
Jamie knew that Eddie had a father in jail, a brother that had died and a mother who was a category 5 tornado. She had been a solo act for as long as she could remember. In the little over a year she had been joining the Reagans around their table, she felt like she had struggled to find her place. In reality she had been a breath of fresh air in all their lives. He hoped that everyone would enjoy the meal she was putting her heart and soul into. He also was very grateful that it was only their turn once a month.
As they navigated the supermarket aisles looking for the ingredients they would need, Jamie called his grandfather to let them know they would be on their way shortly. Jamie and his father planned to play some chess while Henry acted as Eddie's sous chef. The two were developing quite a strong bond and if anyone could boost her confidence, it was his grandfather. Despite being married to her, Jamie was pretty sure he was only her second favorite Reagan. Meanwhile, Jamie was looking forward to getting some off the record tips for the multi jurisdictional operation from his father.
It was a relief to hear his wife and grandfather laughing and singing show tunes together from the kitchen just a few hours later. Jamie had been lost in thought but his father had broken through with his comment, "They are quite a pair aren't they."
"Sometimes I'm pretty sure Pop is her favorite Reagan." Jamie joked.
"She really is a blessing. It always surprised me that only Nikki shared his love of singing. I used to think it was a disappointment to him that he didn't pass on that part of himself to any of us, until I realized he was happy just to have the audience. I think he's already planning their number for the parish variety show in the fall." Frank Reagan smiled.
Jamie decided to ask his father a few questions about his experiences with multi precinct operations. Not knowing which people to trust was nerve wracking, especially when three of his officers were involved on the ground level. By the time Frank had provided some sage advice to trust his own gut and listen to his people first, he felt ready to bring his team out there on Tuesday.
Sunday dinner went off exactly as Jamie had hoped. The family raved about the meal with Sean and Nikki negotiating most of the leftovers by playing their grandchild card with Frank and Henry. Jamie was thrilled to see Eddie becoming more confident and truly enjoying herself. Jamie was the one who suggested they leave shortly after 7 o'clock. They had a day shift to get through on Monday and Jamie wanted to head in a little early to make sure everything was set for his absence on both Tuesday and Thursday.
He also wanted to have a moment to pull Rachel aside and offer some moral support. It wasn't going to be easy for her to be bounced around to different partners during the four shifts that Eddie was committed to the op. There were still some people giving her a hard time since the video from her body cam had resulted in some major changes to the physical fitness policies and pressure on a few officers to get in better shape. The irony that Jamie could see was that most of the officers least willing to give her a chance were clearly healthy and fit. It seemed to him that some people just wanted to continue a long standing tradition of not making it too easy on the new guy. Eddie and others had been transfers who were experienced officers. They came in and things went pretty smoothly. Whitten was still a rookie and hazing was part of the culture he wanted to get rid of.
By the time Jamie headed to bed at 9 o'clock he felt ready for the week ahead. Eddie was soaking in the tub and happily chatting away to him from the bathroom. He fell asleep with a satisfied smile on his face, but very little idea about what she had been talking about.