Chapter 13

Vinny yawned as he sat in the passenger seat of the radio car next to his partner. They were half way through a day tour that had been exceptionally quiet so far. That and the dreary weather outside were probably the reasons why he was fighting the strong urge for a nap. Bored, Vinny turned and studied his partner's profile. "So, you hear from Eddie since she went on the job?" he asked to pass the time. He hadn't seen the new officer since just before her graduation and assumed that she was busy getting used to her new job.

Jamie sighed inwardly. He knew his partner well and knew where this was going already; he wasn't any subtler than his family. "Yeah," Jamie answered casually from the driver's seat as he weaved the car through traffic which was already slow because of an early afternoon thunderstorm.

"Yeah?" Vinny repeated, one side of his mouth curling up into a half smile, proving his partner right. "How have her first few weeks been?" he inquired.

Jamie hit the siren a few times to get the car in front of them moving along. "Good," he answered with a quick glance at Vinny before continuing. "She's at the five-four and got some fifteen-year vet as her TO," he advised.

Vinny turned to his partner with a full smirk. "So I take it you two are still hanging out even though she doesn't need your tutoring anymore?" he presumed.

Jamie shrugged noncommittally.

Vinny arched a brow, suspicious of the non-response. "What was that?"

"What?" Jamie replied turning his head quickly toward Vinny before refocusing on the traffic around them.

"The shrug," Vinny said and narrowed his eyes at his partner. "You two are still hanging out, aren't you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Here and there for a bite or a drink," Jamie answered vaguely.

"And?" Vinny prompted.

"And what, man?" Jamie asked. There was nothing more to tell.

"I swear, its like pulling teeth with you, Reagan," Vinny complained with an annoyed shake of his head. "What's going on with you two? Are you seeing each other?" he questioned his partner.

Jamie scrunched up his face. "What? No! Where would you get an idea like that from? We're just friends," Jamie claimed.

"Friends, huh?" Vinny said with a hint of doubt.

"Yes," Jamie confirmed as he pulled the car along the curb. He put the car in park and radioed in their position, thinking the conversation was over...until Vinny started up again a minute later.

"I'm having trouble believing that," he muttered under his breath.

Jamie rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "Well, believe it. She made it clear that we're just friends," he disclosed.

Vinny's head jutted back at that ridiculous statement. He was sure those two had something going on. "What? I don't believe it," he proclaimed.

"It's true. She said as much," Jamie replied as a matter-of-factly, doing a pretty good job to keep the disappointment out of his voice. But it had been a while since she'd made that clear and, like all things, the disappointment had eased with time.

Vinny released his seatbelt and turned in his seat. "When? Maybe you misunderstood," he reasoned, determined to get his partner to see what he saw when it came to Eddie Janko.

Jamie wished he had. "Back when she went through everything with Springer," he replied.

"Really?" Vinny asked, still not willing to take his word for it.

"Yup," Jamie sighed, not wanting to rehash this whole thing. He'd accepted the rejection.

"Maybe that was just the stress of that situation," Vinny offered, trying to give his partner some hope.

"And even if it was, what am I supposed do, huh? Go up to her and say, 'hey, since that whole situation with Springer is done and over with, wanna go out?'" Jamie said with a hard shake of his head. "I can't do that, and anyway, she was clear about how she saw us."

"Man," Vinny sighed, dumbstruck by the fact that he could have been so wrong. "I totally misread her," he admitted as he stared out the window.

Jamie chuckled at his partner. "Come on, Vin. It's not like you're any good in the matchmaking department anyway."

Vinny frowned and his mouth dropped open at his partner's accusation. "Seriously? You're still holding Julia against me?" he asked.

"You were way off on that one," Jamie snickered as he thought about the high-maintenance financial consultant.

"I hadn't even met her!" Vinny defended himself.

Jamie grinned at his lame comeback. "That makes it even worse," he pointed out as he looked out through the rain-splattered windshield.

Vinny smacked his lips and threw a dismissive wave at his partner. "Too bad. Eddie seems cool," he lamented.

"She is and it's fine. She's a good friend. That'll have to be enough," he replied. And it was, he guessed. Despite wanting more, he liked hanging out with Eddie and he wasn't willing to throw that away because his feelings weren't reciprocated.

Danny and Jackie were reporting to a homicide on a dreary fall morning near the precinct. They were making their way out of the squad car when Danny did a double, spotting a familiar face on the other side of the police tape. He stopped suddenly before deciding to take the opportunity to say a quick hello.

"Go on without me, Jack. I'll be there in a minute," he said over his shoulder as he head headed in the opposite direction.

"All right, see ya there," Jackie responded while walking to the alley between the two apartment buildings.

"Officer Janko?" Danny called out and came to a stop right in front of the yellow police tape.

"Yes," the petite blonde officer answered as she turned around in search of the gruff voice. Her TO had left her standing guard while he went off to parts unknown. Surprise flashed across Eddie's face when she recognized Jamie's brother. "Oh! Hey, Detective Reagan. It's good to see you," she greeted.

"You too," Danny responded with a small smile.

"I'm surprised this is the first time I've run into you. I haven't seen you around the precinct," Eddie commented.

"Yeah, well, big busy precinct and all. Feels like I'm out on the street most of the time. How's everything going?" Danny asked as he waved at her uniform before stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Eddie gave him a combination of a shrug and a nod. "Good. Getting used to it all. You know how it is," she replied as she adjusted her hat.

"That I do," he confirmed. "I'll have to let Jamie know I ran into you. You see him much lately?" he fished, still wondering about what, if anything, the pair had going on between them. His brother sometimes kept things locked up tighter than a bank vault. It was easier to go around him when he got like that. Danny was a detective and decided this warranted some investigating, even if it was just to fulfill his own curiosity.

"Here and there," she said, her eyebrows creasing slightly at the detective's question, but she continued on quickly. "Funny, he seemed a little nervous when he heard I got assigned to your precinct," she shared, grinning as she thought back to the look on Jamie's face when he'd learned of her assignment.

Danny's brow furrowed. "Nervous?"

Eddie smirked. "You probably have countless embarrassing childhood stories to share about him," she explained.

Danny laughed. "Oh, you got that right! We're gonna have to catch a bite one of these days, Officer Janko...the things I could tell you about that kid," he teased.

"Oh yeah?" she asked excitedly.

Danny leaned in toward her. "Next time you see him ask him about my coin collection," he said in a mock whisper.

Eddie gave him a funny look. "Coin collection?" she echoed.

"Just say those two words," Danny instructed and began walking backwards. "There's a whole story there I'm sure he'd love to tell you. See ya," he finished as he turned around completely and walked off toward his crime scene.

"Later, detective," Eddie said as she pursed her lips, wondering what that was about.