BLUE BLOODS: RETURN TO DUTY
CHAPTER 8
REAGAN FAMILY HOUSE
BAY RIDGE, BROOKLYN
Sunday, April 9, 2016: 1:55 p.m.
Sean and Jack had been given a pass on attending Sunday morning services as they sat with their mother in the intensive care unit of St. Victor's hospital, awaiting the results of Danny's latest battery of tests. Finally, they were told to come back later that afternoon as additional scans were required due to an equipment malfunction.
Linda and the boys headed over to Frank and Henry's for Sunday dinner, though none had much of an appetite.
Erin had arrived earlier along with Nicky to help Henry prepare dinner.
Frank sat by himself in his study, awaiting Jamie and Joe's arrival.
When Nicky went to set the table, she was curious as to why another chair had been set on her side of the table.
"Mom, is Uncle Jamie bringing someone to dinner?" She asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, he is." Erin replied.
Nicky grinned one of her 1,000 watt smiles. "Any chance it's a particular blonde we may know?" She inquired.
"Yes, by chance it is a particular blond we know." Erin answered, knowing they were not referencing the same blond.
"Cool." Nicky grinned.
Henry turned around and shook his head at Erin.
"Hey, I didn't lie." She whispered.
"Yeah, but she thinks it's Eddie." Henry whispered back.
"Good, let her. Makes the surprise that much better." Erin grinned.
A few minutes later Linda, Jack, and Sean arrived and Nicky couldn't wait to tell her cousins the news.
"Uncle Jamie is bringing a date with him." She stated.
"Yeah?" Jack asked.
"Mom said it was a blonde we all knew."
"Ewwwww." Sean said as he hugged himself and made air smooches.
Jack and Nicky laughed.
"Okay you guys, go wash up, Uncle Jamie should be here soon, and be on your best behavior." Linda warned.
"Okay Mom." They both responded.
Ten minutes later, the back door opened and Jamie entered alone.
"Hey." He announced himself.
"Hey yourself." Erin replied, looking around to see where Joe was.
Jamie held up his hand to stop her from asking any further questions.
Nicky, Jack, and Sean entered the kitchen and gave their favorite Uncle a hug.
"So, where's your special guest?" Nicky asked.
"Yeah, we heard a certain blonde is coming for dinner." Sean teased.
"That's true, there is a certain blond coming, but you may be more surprised than you think." Jamie grinned.
About that time the front door bell rang.
"Better go answer it and see who it is." Jamie directed.
Nicky, Jack and Sean went to the front door. As soon as they opened it the rest of the family could hear the scream of delight.
"UNCLE JOE!" they yelled in unison.
Joe knelt down and hugged his niece and nephews.
"Wow, let me look at all three of you, how much you have all grown." Joe stated.
"You aren't dead!" Sean observed.
"No Sean, far from it." He replied.
"But why Uncle Joe?" Jack asked.
"Because, I had to go deep undercover and nobody could know I was alive or it would have put everyone I love in danger, so I had to pretend for a while."
"Did grandpa know?" Nicky asked.
"No sweetheart, nobody knew, nobody could know." He answered.
"But you're back now, right, you aren't leaving us again?" Sean asked.
"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried." Joe replied as they all latched onto him again.
"Uncle Joe is back to being a detective with the NYPD, so he's staying put." Frank informed everyone.
"Did you come back to find out who shot our dad?" Jack asked as everyone walked into the kitchen.
"Yes, when I saw on the news he had been shot, I hopped on a plane and flew back here as quickly as I could." Joe announced.
"You flew the plane?" Jamie asked.
"I've become a pilot and quite an accomplished chef in the last seven years." Joe smiled.
"Great, you get to make dinner next week." Henry announced.
"With pleasure Pops." Joe replied.
"So do you know who hurt our dad?" Sean asked.
"Yes, and we'll talk about that during dinner, so let's everyone go have a seat so that we don't spoil Pop's dinner." Joe replied, herding his niece and nephews into the dining room.
"I'm going to sit by Pops as I know Mom and Uncle Jamie both want to be close to you." Nicky offered.
"Thank you Nicky, that's sweet." Erin replied.
"That's okay, I'm sure we will all get our special time with Uncle Joe later." She sweetly smiled.
"You bet you will. Are you still as ticklish as you used to be?" He inquired.
"Uncle Joe!" She replied to everyone's laughter.
"Everyone, please join hands." Frank stated.
"Dear Lord, we thank you for so much today, as our dear son, grandson, brother, and uncle has returned to our bosom. We also thank you for watching over our dear Erin and Nicky and saving them from harm's way. We ask you to please heal and return to us our eldest son and brother, father, grandson, and uncle, and that you continue to bless this family with your bounty in the name of your Son, Amen." Frank concluded.
"Amen." Everyone echoed.
Frank turned to Linda. "Any news on Danny's tests?"
"His lung is healing, as are his shoulder and intestine. They had to run another EEG, something was wrong with the machine and they couldn't get a clear picture. We'll hear more this afternoon." She replied.
"Well that's good news." Henry opined.
"Very good news" Erin responded.
"So Uncle Joe, who hurt our Dad?" Jack asked.
Frank looked at Linda, who nodded. "Go ahead Joe, they're old enough to know." She said.
Joe took a deep breath. "This is going to take some time to explain it all, so please be patient with me. It's part of the reason that I had to go away, but when you hear the entire story, I think you'll understand the danger this family has been in, and why I came back to put a stop to it once and for all." He stated before beginning.
"Do you guys remember about three or four years ago when Uncle Jamie came to Sunday dinner with his face all beaten up?" Joe began.
"Great lead in Joe." Jamie mumbled.
"Sure, and something about him swallowing things like Dad's dime collection." Jack replied.
"And Aunt Erin's confirmation locket." Sean added.
"And Grandma Mary's pearl earrings." Nicky stated, which had everyone laughing.
"Okay, enough." Jamie yelled out.
Joe put his arm around his younger brother. "Yeah, like a dog that kept pooping in the house, Danny, Erin, and I could never train our baby brother not to eat certain things though Mom and Dad knew we certainly tried." Joe replied, drawing everyone's laughter again except for his little brother who pulled away from him and fixed him with a death glare.
With that, Joe began to explain the Blue Templar, the Sanfino Crime family, and how it seemed to suck in and attack Joe, Jamie, Erin, and Danny.
Finally, he finished and his family just stared back in shock, though Jamie, Erin, and Frank had already heard the story.
"You mean someone was trying to kill Mom?" Nicky asked.
"Yes. We think that person tried to abduct you first so as to draw your Mom out, but when that didn't work they took a shot at her as she walked to work. Danny must have sensed something and put himself in front of your Mom to protect her." Joe replied.
"So Dad's a hero." Jack asked.
"You better believe he is." Erin, Joe, and Jamie said in unison.
"So this Uncle Phil has tried to kill you, Aunt Erin, Uncle Jamie, and our Dad?" Sean asked.
"He tried to kill me, Aunt Erin, and Uncle Jamie. Your Dad happened to have been in his way of hurting Erin." Joe clarified.
"What are you going to do about it?" Sean asked.
Joe smiled. Sean was more like Danny than he remembered. He could see the quick hot temper developing even more as Sean grew older.
"Trust me Sean, nobody hurts one of us without the other three going after them. We have a plan and by the end of this coming week, all those responsible will either be in jail" he paused, looking at Jamie and Erin before meeting his father's eyes. "Or in the morgue." Joe finished.
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