Chapter 18

"Oh, Brother…" (Part I)

A two-shot chronicling Kaylin's last outdoor soccer game of the season has Jamie's NYPD "Blue Shieldz" PAL team come up against the FDNY "Red Dragons" of Station 54 in a battle of the heretofore undefeated sides, which will see Francis Xavier Reagan nearly throw down with his FDNY counterpart. Add in an evident clash of coaching styles between the brothers, a rather painful error in judgement for Uncle Danny, a trip to the pediatrician for several ouchies for Kaylin as well as a near brawl on the sidelines which requires the Police Commissioner's tactical finesse to thwart and we'll have just another typical weekend kid's sporting event.


"Jamie, do you have the sunscreen packed? What about the clementine orange slices and juice boxes for halftime? It's our turn for snacks today and we need to keep these kids energized and hydrated so they don't crash in the second half! They need their electrolytes if we're going to take down these smoke eaters!" Eddie reminded as she bustled around the kitchen before eight on Saturday morning, completely jazzed about the fact that Kaylin's undefeated Police Athletics League soccer team, the Blue Shieldz, was scheduled to play the last game of the fall season against their cross borough unbeaten rivals and pride of the FDNY, Station 54's U5 Red Dragons.

"Honey, you do realize this is supposed to be a 3 on 3 'friendly' game for three- and four-year-olds, not the final of the World Cup," Jamie reminded as he set his clipboard and NYPD ball cap down on the counter. "We're not even in the same league. Dad just set this up with the Fire Commissioner because his grandson is on that team and he kept harping on how good they are. We're not even supposed to keep track of the score. They're just little kids… it's all about having fun, getting some exercise outside and teaching teamwork."

"Oh, come on!" she chided. "Of course we keep track of the score! You know every parent on that sideline knows exactly how many goals went in! This is for the honor of the whole department! How often do both Commissioners show up for the same event? I bet the press will even be there! Danny scouted their team last week. He said as long as we double up on number 6 they won't get near our goal. You just need to put Colin and Kaylin up front in a 1-2 and keep Matthew in the goal and they'll never be able to stop our attack."

"Oh, brother," Jamie sighed as he regarded his uber competitive wife who often expressed her strong opinions on his more relaxed coaching decisions. "It's against the rules to have a designated goalkeeper at this age, plus you know we have six players coming and I rotate everyone around to give them all a chance to play up front. Maybe you should stay home today."

"Not happening," Eddie vowed. "I wouldn't miss this game for anything…" she trailed off as her phone began to ring. "Reagan," she answered as soon as she saw the caller ID was from the front desk at the 12th precinct. "Oh, hey, Kara… what's up?" she greeted her friend and sometimes partner after she heard the voice on the phone. Jamie glanced at his watch and noted they had plenty of time before leaving so set about making breakfast for himself and Kaylin who was still sleeping. "Oh, no!" Eddie hissed, catching his attention once more. "He what? But he can't do that, can he?... I would, except…" she looked at him with a big frown. "No, I understand… Of course… you know I always have your back, girlfriend. Give me thirty or so. Yeah… see you then," she frowned as she hung up. "Damn it!"

"Problem?"

"Brandon's sick at the sitter's and Matt's still in Boston until this afternoon," Eddie explained with a huge roll of the eyes. "Kara's coming on shift and that bastard Desk Sergeant Dexter is on duty, you know the one that hates women cops… especially ones with kids. He said he'll give her a three-day rip if she leaves without bringing in a replacement."

"And that's you," Jamie surmised with a carefully concealed sigh of relief. He loved his wife dearly, but knew she was wound too tightly about today's game and with it being against an FDNY team with the full brass present on either side to support their respective grandchildren... well, he could do with one less match to light the fuse. The only reason he agreed to it was the fact that his father promised adamantly to keep a tight leash on the NYPD half of the sideline, including a nearly full contingent of Reagans, so with Eddie gone from her self-assigned assistant coach position behind the bench he could almost see his way out of this likely interdepartmental disaster.

"Yeah, no one else is willing to give up their Saturday. I gotta go," Eddie said sadly. "Kara's bailed me out more times than I can count…"

"Oh, that's too bad, lambchop. We're really gonna miss you," he fluffed as he nudged her out of the kitchen before she could change her mind or come up with a different plan. "Why don't you go wake sweetness up and wish her good luck while I make pancakes?"

"Pancakes?" Eddie huffed. "That's too heavy for breakfast before a game; they'll weigh her down! She needs her speed today!"

"Oh, brother," Jamie repeated with a heavy sigh while shaking his head. "She's three and twenty-five pounds soaking wet. I'll take my chances. Didn't you hear Dr. Know-it-all last time we took her into the pediatrician? He practically accused us of starving her with healthy food. Now go," he ordered as he pushed her towards the steps. "We'll keep you fully apprised of the situation. Stay safe with our little bean out there, Edit Katalin."

###

"Pop, I really don't think we needed to leave the house an hour before the game when Sunset Park is just five blocks down the road," Frank admonished as he stepped out of the black SUV on a beautiful, warm sunny early November weekend morning with his father in tow. "Jamie and the team aren't even here yet."

"You think I'm gonna let that overrated hose jockey, Stan Rourke, get a better seat on the sideline than me? How'd you ever get him to agree to come over to this side of Bay Ridge in the first place? I would have figured he wanted to be on neutral ground."

"We flipped a coin, Pop. Now promise me you'll keep it civil. The only way I got Jamie to do this was to swear to keep everyone in line, and that includes you, first and foremost right? Remember these are little children including your own very impressionable great-granddaughter. I don't want them learning words they have no business hearing from the supposed grown-ups here, so you're to sit in your chair and keep a lid on it. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it, Francis… so long as he keeps his big trap shut, too," Henry indicated as he nodded to FDNY's Commissioner Rourke and his contingent who had set up their encampment with an easy-up tent and chairs next to the field. "Told you we were late. Look, he's already sitting there right in the middle like the king himself."

"Oh, brother," Frank unknowingly echoed his youngest's most repeated expression already for the day. "Stan," he acknowledged as they walked by. "Nice day for a game."

"Frank," the top FDNY man replied as he looked over the top of his sunglasses. "Turf looks a little long. Guess you're trying to slow down our fast pass attack."

"Oh, brother," Henry muttered under his breath along with a few other choice words as his son pushed him along another thirty feet further down the line for a good measure of separation from the other contentious man. "But I can't see all the action from here!" he protested.

"Pop, these are small-sided fields, you can see practically every blade of grass from where you're sitting. Now unfold your chair and park it," Frank commanded before pacing around for the next twenty minutes wondering what on earth could have possessed him to even think this so-called 'friendly' game would be anything but… a point further emphasized as he watched his two sons pull up in the parking lot at the same time and walk towards the field in heavy conversation with Jamie loaded down by a ball and equipment bag while dragging a wheeled cooler behind as the rest of the parents and players started to assemble and Jack and Sean joined the Reagan contingent near their grandfather.

"Grandpa and Pop Pop!" Kaylin squealed with excitement as she skipped up in front of them. "You came to watch me play a game today!"

"We sure did, my sweetheart!" Henry smiled as he pulled her up on his lap. "Where's your Mommy?"

"Work," the little girl answered as she gave him a hug and kiss. "Branny got sick and his mommy had to take him home," she explained sadly.

"Oh, that's too bad," her great-grandfather offered, knowing that his granddaughter-in-law was far more vocal with her encouragement to win than his grandson before slyly leaning forward and whispering his own incentive in her ear. "Pop Pop will give you five whole dollars for your piggy bank for every goal you score today… our little secret," he cautioned.

"POP!" Frank admonished as he gave a nervous glance over at his son to make sure he didn't hear. "If Jamie ever caught you doing that when he's trying to teach these kids teamwork and passing…" he hissed.

"Oh, hush, Francis," Henry chided as he set Kaylin back down. "Same goes for any goal you help with," he offered as she scampered away to go join her friends. "There, problem solved," he huffed. "What? Always worked for the rest of them when they were playing baseball or whatever, and Erin nearly bled my bank account dry that season she was the top scorer on her basketball team. What you didn't know never hurt you, did it?" he revealed.

"My whole family is corrupt," Frank muttered to himself as he contemplated that fact while he watched Jamie enthusiastically greet the kids across the field with high-fives and start setting up for warmups.

"What's he doing with all of those damn little orange cones?" Henry asked as his son had been correct earlier with his observation that they never arrived to a game this early before. "He should have them in front of the net shooting like those little smoke eaters!" he added with contempt as the Dragons were lined up on the other side of the field peppering the goal with balls one after the other.

"He's working on their passing and dribbling skills," Frank explained while one little boy on the Shieldz decided to do his own thing anyway and kick the ball away from his partner as hard and often as he could.

"Eh, all I see when I watch this is back and forth… players losing the damn ball and giving it to the other side. The so-called 'Beautiful Game'... I still don't get it… what's so exciting? Only sport where a zero-zero draw can be considered a great achievement and grown men roll around on the ground and cry like babies. Now that kid has a hell of a foot," Henry nodded as he watched the little boy crank one off again as Jamie leaned down to talk to him and demonstrate a sweeping motion with his sneaker. "Put him up front and he'll knock the other team into the net."

"That's Colin Kittner," Frank sighed. "Dad's a detective out of the 3-5. Jamie's been working with him all fall trying to get him to play with the other kids and kick it the right way, but he probably has a great-grandfather that puts a bounty on every shot he takes," he sniffed with obvious contempt. "He usually just takes the ball himself and fires at will."

"Well that's good, we need a heavyweight," Henry advised. "Look at that Rourke kid over there… one too many twinkies every day. I could spot the family resemblance from a mile away. They better not play dirty! My little sweetheart won't stand a chance against those big overgrown clodhoppers!"

"Oh, Pop," Frank moaned as he stepped away for another break and advised Erin to go keep an eye and a tight muzzle on her patriarch as she and Nicki walked up to join them. His sense of peace was short-lived though as Danny was likewise banished from the opposite sideline by his younger brother and he was ranting as he walked over to join his father.

"Sometimes I wonder where Harvard's brains are at," Danny griped as he stepped up. "He's got one kid on the whole team that can absolutely crush the ball and he's trying to take his power away. 'Just say no to the toe,'" he mocked. "'Kick with the laces'... he does realize who we're up against today, right? I'd be telling him to kick as hard as he can to knock over those fire hydrants and the genius is telling me it's the wrong technique because he can't control the ball. Not if you want to win at this age," he grumbled.

"Enough! Family meeting!" Frank spat as he gathered the entire Reagan clan together in a huddle on the sideline around Henry's chair. "Now, I promised Jamie we would keep this positive for the kids no matter if they win or lose today," he warned in a low growl. "And by God, that's what we're going to do! You will all set a good example for the people on this sideline, and if I hear one negative comment come out of any of your mouths, I will have someone from my detail physically pick you up and sit you down on the curb over there in a public timeout, and that goes for you too, old man," he threatened his father. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir," came a chorus of answers from down-turned faces as everyone could judge that was not an idle threat from the tone it was offered in, and indeed a remorseless Police Commissioner continued to stalk back and forth behind the whole of the NYPD sideline keeping all of his blue-blooded charges civil when the ref arrived and play started as at this age the coaches shook hands and joined their team of three players per side on the field to offer direction.

The first few minutes were decidedly in the Dragons' favor as the neutral high school-aged ref allowed physical play to go on early while Jamie's lighter-weight skills-set team got bumped off the ball more often than not, although the visitors failed to capitalize on any of their numerous chances to put the ball into the net. A set of substitutions midway through the short twenty-minute half changed the balance as the Dragons sent off their top line while Jamie waived on an impatient Kaylin and her favored playmates Colin Kittner and Matthew Miller.

"Alright, guys," he advised before they restarted. "I want to see good passing and teamwork," he pointed out. "If we play together we can get around their last defender and get some shots, okay?"

"Right!" his little charges answered as they assumed their positions with Matthew sweeping defense across the back while Kaylin played midfield and Colin inched towards the front waiting for his chance at glory.

Indeed, it did not take long as an aggressive Matthew stole the ball from a flat-footed Tommy Rourke of the Dragons right off the start and offered a quick pass to Kaylin who took a touch and sent the ball to an open Colin whose shot went just wide and over the goal as he tried to listen to his coach and kick the ball correctly.

"That was awesome!" Jamie praised the little boy as he offered a high-five. "Next time try not to lean back as much and I bet it will go in," he encouraged.

"Next time just let him kick the ball the way he wants to, and I bet it goes through the net," Danny muttered under his breath as he cringed and sensed his father's hairy eyeball look from down the line. "Ahem, good try there BLUE!" he yelled out loud to cover himself as Jack joined him in clapping to complete the charade.

"Thanks, son," he offered.

"Anytime, Dad."

The cheers were warranted just five minutes later as this time Matthew was able to win another ball in the back and his accurate long pass to an open Colin bypassed Kaylin and the rest of the Dragons and resulted in an easy tap in and score for the home side.

"YEAH!" roared the entire blue half of the field as their efforts were appreciated. "Good goal, blue! Nice job, guys!" came the Jamie-approved cheers from the sidelines. He had worked hard on the parent's reactions in games almost as much as the players and he huffed in relief to see that his own family had been kept tightly contained as promised by a diligent father's presence. The last thing they needed was any kind of overreaction to the score get the red side's dander up.

With just about a minute to go, a nice strike by Aaron Cooper of the FDNY team almost found the target before Matthew put the ball back into play and an errant oopsie had the Shieldz back under threat once more as nearly all the players on the field converged in one tight mass of kicking shoes on their end before Kaylin managed to worm her way out of the pile with the ball as she streaked down the sideline alone with just one Dragon standing back by their goal in her way.

"Oh, LOOK! Kaylin's got it!" Nicki cheered as her little cousin pulled away from the Dragon's mini Rourke. "She's on a breakaway! GO KAYLIN, GO!"

"SHOOT! SHOOT!" came the cries from the NYPD half of the sideline as the last thirty seconds of the half wound down and the ref glanced at his watch.

Dribbling off the outside of her boot, the little girl deftly passed it around the last defender to gain a step and set herself up for a right footed strike which she cracked with all of her twenty-five pound might… right off the top crossbar… just hard enough to vibrate the pvc piping a little and unfortunately irritate some hidden bad-tempered occupants before the ball bounced straight back onto the playing field.

"Ahhhh," the disappointment echoed across the field while Kaylin gave a little stomp of frustration as she stood by the empty goal.

"It was a really good try, sweetie!" Jamie encouraged as he retreated and turned to follow the play, not expecting his little defenseman Matthew to step up quickly and send the ball right back towards the Dragon's net. This time the defender came across and won the ball before Kaylin could react, and a small bump sent her backwards against the post before she let out a shrill scream and threw herself to the ground, rolling over and over.

"Sir! That was a foul!" Jack yelled on reflex as the ref blew the whistle for half.

"Oh, for crying out loud, what a baby! He never even touched her!" came an angry male voice from the FDNY side.

"Penalty in the box!" was the retort from the near side as the blue took offense.

"Someone read the rules, there are no penalty kicks at this age! You meter maids will try anything to cheat!"

"Hey, Reagan," Rourke taunted his commissioner counterpart. "Looks like that investment in her drama lessons really paid off! A little early to be teaching her to dive, isn't it?"

In the meantime, Jamie shot a disappointed glare over to his father once more that said in no uncertain terms he was unhappy with the behavior on the sidelines before he turned to jog up quickly to see what was wrong with Kaylin as the Dragon's coach and the referee also approached since she was still down and screaming bloody murder. The entire NYPD and Reagan contingent was shocked to see Jamie kneel and suddenly take off his hat and slam it to the ground near his daughter several times while yelling at the other men and motioning for the rest of the stunned little players to get back.

"Christ, I've never seen the kid so worked up at one of these things before," Danny gasped at his brother's uncharacteristic unsportsmanlike-like bad behavior. "He's really pissed!"

"Dad," Erin cautioned as she grabbed her father's arm in worry as he joined them near the endline. "That's not it! She's still crying, and he's picking her up... something's wrong!"

"Erin, stay here with the kids and your grandfather," Frank ordered as he hurried across the field to the opposite sideline with Danny following on his heels to where his youngest had rushed his daughter away from the net.

"OW! OW EWW! GET 'M 'WAY!"

"Jamie, son… what is it? What's wrong with her? Is she hurt?!" Frank called over anxiously.

"It was those big brown hornets, Dad! She got stung… more than once I think! I killed three of them on her! They must have had a nest somewhere by the goal and they got her!" Jamie tried to explain while laying a still-screeching Kaylin back down on the ground behind the bench as his father and brother ran up. The warmer than normal weather that day had obviously left the insects active once more. "I didn't check over there today before the game… you were all here and it's so late in the season… I forgot! It's okay, baby! I got them off of you!"

"OW, DADDY! IT HURTS ME! OW! OW!"

"Jesus, kid… those things can be nasty buggers at this time of year and they sting over and over!" Danny cautioned as he knelt on the ground next to his brother and started checking over his tiny niece. "Any of the other kids? How many times?"

"DADDY! OW!"

"No, I don't think so… none of the others. Keep them away from over there, it's wasps!" Jamie yelled as he looked up at the Dragon's coach and waved him off as the other man acknowledged and quickly herded all the players from both teams away to the other side of the field. "Three I think… no four, five here's another one!" he gasped as he located another rapidly swelling red mark. "Six! Oh, God... Eddie's gonna have a fit when she hears. She always made sure we checked the goals and under the benches first before every game… I didn't think… it's been so cold this week though until today. Must have been on her arm then got rubbed off and stung her right through the shirt! Eight! There's two on her side! Is Linda here? Does she have her kit?"

"OW! DADDY! ITCHY! NO TOUCH ME! UNCLE DANNY! STOP!"

"No, ah… she didn't feel right this morning, so she stayed home…" Danny lied as he ran his hands down Kaylin's legs and quickly stripped off her little pink sparkly cleats, shin guards and socks looking for any more bites, knowing that his wife had purposefully made a point of avoiding another encounter with a pregnant Eddie after the strained dinner the week before since they weren't due for their follow up with Dr. Geisner until Monday, the following week. "Hold on little bug," he tried to soothe with one of his usual nicknames for his niece which of course backfired immediately and created more hysterics.

"NO MORE BUGGIES! GRANDPA! P'EASE!" the little girl was still wailing to anyone that would listen at this point since her daddy and uncle weren't making it go away fast enough. "HURTS ME!"

"I know, sweetheart… just hold on. Daddy's gonna help you. Now, Jamie, son… you need to stay calm," he cautioned in disbelief at how fast this morning had turned around as he looked down. "But they're already swelling up and she's so blotchy with her fair skin from running around… I can't tell for sure but I think maybe she's breaking out in hives," Frank advised in a hushed voice even though Kaylin's continued cries of pain and fear were tearing at his heart. The bites were stinging hard and quickly turning into angry red raised welts with white spots in the middle of them on the very sensitive skin of her belly and under her arm. "That's a lot of venom for a little girl. She could be having an allergic reaction. I think we should call a bus to be safe."

"No, um… our pediatrician's 24-7 emergency clinic is only three blocks over on Westside. I'm just gonna run her there quick. I think it'll be faster," Jamie decided as he picked the still-crying little girl up in her arms once more, the game and everything else forgotten. "Can you take care of things for me here? St. Vic's is at least twenty minutes away at this time of day. I've got a kid's EpiPen in our first aid kit if we need it. Grab that red bag over there!" he ordered in only a semi-controlled panic now.

"Alright, Erin can go with you and drive," Frank offered until both of his sons paused and stared back with disbelieving expressions, knowing their sister's dismal record in that department, particularly when stressed. "You're right, Nicki then," he corrected. "Nicki, get that bag and help your uncle! Hurry!" he called and motioned across the field. "Danny and I will make sure the rest of the kids are okay and take care of the wasps so they're safe. Don't worry about the anything here. I'll handle it! Call when you know anything!" he yelled at the already retreating figure of his son as he was running towards his car the parking lot with his niece racing along behind him.

"Look at them, Dad!" Danny seethed as he turned around to face the shocked sideline. "Not a single damn offer of help from that side! A little girl's hurt and New York's 'bravest' sit on their cans!" he spat. "All they did was make fun of Kaylin when she fell down and accuse us of cheating!"

"Now is not the time, Daniel," Frank hissed under his breath as he approached the line. "Folks," he addressed loudly. "We had a little girl stung several times by wasps over there. It doesn't seem like any of the other children were bitten, but we're going to have to take care of that nest and check for others obviously, so for now just please be patient and give us a few minutes to speak with the other coach so see what his thoughts are on continuing the game since ours needed to leave to take his daughter to the doctor and his assistant is pulling a tour this morning."

"Oh sure, you'd like that wouldn't you, Frank?" Rourke baited. "Quit while you're ahead so it goes down as a win for you. Ah… there he is. The real Frank Reagan just showed up. Not this time. You stop the game now and it's a forfeit and our win."

"Is he kidding?" Erin gasped while still purposefully keeping both hands on her grandfather's shoulders firmly to ground him in his chair. "He does realize how serious or scary that is for little kids and these are three- and four-year-old babies out there, right?"

"Nah, he's just showing his true colors," Henry bristled as he leaned forward anyway and tried to get up despite his granddaughter's restraint. "Yellow!"

"Department of Parks rules," Rourke continued to taunt. "Youth teams can't use a field unless they have a permit and there is a licensed coach on the field with them. Liability purposes," he smiled with a big jeering grin. "Pity, Reagan. I don't see another option for you."

"Stanley Rourke!" Frank growled as he felt his blood boil and temper rising at this poor example being set with such complete disregard for his own granddaughter's welfare in front of all these upset impressionable children and their parents. "I should…"

"Here," Danny interrupted as he flipped a card out of the back of his wallet. "Jamie's permit is on his clipboard and here's your damn card," he advised as even his father looked over in surprise. "Jack's coach asked me to get one to back him up a couple of seasons ago in case he was ever running late, so I had to watch a two-hour webinar and take a test," he shrugged. "Never used it… forgot I had the damn thing, but look… US Soccer "F" license. I'm still official," he sneered. "And unlike my little brother, I play to win. Game on."


Oops, so Uncle Danny is now seeing red as he looks at the opponents, literally. Not nice, but unfortunately that might come back to 'bite' him... sorry I couldn't resist, LOL. Next, Jamie calms himself down once Kaylin is tended to while Frank struggles to maintain order at the field and Danny pays a painful price for not taking some sage advice.