A/N: First part of this chapter is my take on Frank checking in on Jamie. It seems to me that on the show, he usually sends Danny to check on his brother or comments that Jamie will be fine. Just an observation...

Chapter 4

Jamie opened the door to his apartment to reveal his father on the other side. He didn't have to guess why he was here. He'd already received calls from every member of his family, his sergeant and his partner, just to name a few. And he'd ignored every single one of them.

"Hey, son," Frank greeted.

"Hey," Jamie answered wearily.

"Can I come in?" Frank asked despite the fact that it was plainly obvious his son wasn't in the mood for company, but that wasn't going to stop him.

Jamie stood back and motioned him in. Frank stepped into the apartment and followed Jamie to the living room where he grabbed a beer off the coffee table and sat down on the couch.

"Kind of early for that," Frank commented gently.

"I've been up for a long time," he mumbled around the bottle.

"I'm sure you have," Frank replied and took a seat next to his son. "I tried calling you several times," he informed him.

Jamie looked down at his lap. "I turned my phone off. Didn't feel like having the same conversation ten times," he stated.

Frank leaned forward and folded his hands. "I'm sorry about all of this, Jamie," he told him as he turned to study his son.

Jamie refused to look at his father and kept his mouth clamped shut for a few moments, choosing instead to focus on the bottle propped up on his lap. "I just keep wondering if there was something more I could've done," he finally said softly.

"You did all you could for that little boy, Jamie," Frank tried convincing him, but he knew his son would have trouble hearing him right now. "You can't punish yourself for what someone else did to him," he asserted.

Jamie continued to focus on his drink. "I wanted to kill that guy," he whispered. "He didn't even care," he stated.

Frank understood. As cops, they all had cases that got to them. They all had an Aidan Monroe whose senseless, preventable death ate at them. And although this hadn't been a case, but a chance encounter that ended tragically, it was still going to gnaw at him just the same. And in this situation, Jamie would add undue guilt for not being able to revive the boy.

"I heard," Frank sighed. Danny had told him about Jamie's altercation with the father in the squad room and informed him that the father was planning to lodge a complaint. "I don't blame you for that. I don't think anyone would," he remarked.

"I keep thinking back to the baby I pulled out of the burning building and how that felt. You told me there was no greater reward than saving someone's life. But the other end of the spectrum," Jamie pondered as he thought back to yesterday afternoon, "that just knocks you on your ass," he finished.

"Yeah, it does," Frank agreed sadly. "But you pick yourself up because before you know it, there will be someone else out there that needs your help. They won't all be success stories, son, but they each make you a little stronger," he encouraged.

Jamie finally met his father's eyes but didn't respond, so Frank continued. "I know this is bad enough and you didn't need these photos popping up, but inquiries are coming in, wanting to know who you are," he advised.

"Too much to ask you to keep my name out of it?" Jamie wondered despite the clear answer.

"I would if I could, Jamie, but chances are they'll figure it out before we even release any information," he surmised.

"I know," Jamie acknowledged. The Post, alone, had plastered his photo in the paper a few times already. "I don't want any attention from this. This isn't about anything I did...or didn't do. This is about Aidan and making sure his father pays for what he did," he declared.

"You're right. We'll do everything we can to make sure that happens," Frank assured him. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right," he said.

Jamie shrugged. "I'll get over it," he supposed.

"No, not completely, anyway. But you wouldn't be the good person you are if you did."

/

After his father had left, Jamie fell into a doze on the couch. His sleepless night and empty stomach had allowed for the single beer he drank to lull him into a light sleep, until a knock on his door jarred him awake.

"Come on, Reagan. Open up!" a muffled voice cried out.

Jamie closed his eyes. Eddie. He was wondering if she'd go away by ignoring her when the knocking started up again.

"Not going anywhere until you open up! I know you're in there!" Eddie shouted.

Jamie pushed himself off his couch and shuffled over to the door, opening it so he could glare at his partner, who stood dressed in full uniform and held a bag in one hand. "I banged in sick, Eddie. I remember someone telling me to leave them alone when they did the same thing," he snapped.

Eddie took no offense to his tone and, actually, didn't even acknowledge it. "And I remember you ignoring that request by being your persistent, annoying self," she shot back. She smirked at him and gave him a once over. "Well, you certainly could pass for not feeling well," she commented. "You gonna let me in?" she asked.

"Do I have a choice?" he grumbled.

"No. So step aside," Eddie ordered and stared at him with widened eyes when he didn't budge. "I brought food and I have less than an hour for lunch, so come on, Reagan!" she pleaded.

Jamie sighed and opened the door the rest of the way. Eddie walked right in, making her way to his kitchen counter while Jamie headed back to the couch. Eddie unpacked the bag and brought a couple of containers with her to the living room.

Eddie thrust one into his hands with a set of plastic silverware. "Here you go, lambchop. Got you your favorite mac and cheese, so eat up," she prompted.

Jamie opened up the container and poked at the noodles. "Thanks, but not hungry," he replied. He placed the container on the coffee table and slouched against the cushions.

Eddie swallowed a bite from her own dish. "Come on, partner. Made a special trip for that," she informed him.

Jamie shook his head and ran a hand across his tired eyes.

Eddie gave him a look of sympathy and put her food down so she could turn and address him. "I'm sorry about what happened," she started.

Jamie's head rolled along the cushion to acknowledge her. "You saw the news? The pictures?" he asked.

"Yeah. It was hard to miss," she said with a grimace. "I know there's nothing anyone can say to make this any better so I won't even try. Just wanted to check in on you and all I could think of was to bring some food cause, you know, that's my thing," she said. "Plus, I was hungry, so..." she admitted.

Jamie gave her a small, genuine smile. "I appreciate that. Really," he thanked her.

"Are you gonna be back at work tomorrow?" Eddie asked.

"Can't hide forever, right?" he responded.

"No, you can't. Especially when I get stuck writing summonses all day when you bail on me. You know how I feel about that," she complained with a smirk.

Jamie scrunched up his nose. "Yeah. I know how much you hate that," he echoed. He looked at the container on the coffee table and went to pick it up again. "I haven't eaten since yesterday. Guess I can't let this go to waste," he said.

Eddie smiled. "No, you can't," she said and grabbed her food so she could continue eating. "Come on, put on some of that mindless daytime TV you like so much," she ordered.

"...and have sufficient evidence indicating that he was responsible for the string of violent muggings that took place in the subway over that six week period." Garrett looked over his glasses at the media seated before him. "Any questions on this case?" he asked.

The gathered journalists all began shouting at once.

"Commissioner!"

"Commissioner!"

Frank looked at the reporters, bracing himself for what was coming. "Yes, Bill," he called out.

"Commissioner, has there been an arrest in the death of Aidan Monroe and what were the circumstances that led to his death?" the reporter asked.

Frank pursed his lips at the change of topic. "The Department is not ready to release the full details of the case as the investigation is on going. The boy's father is being questioned as the eight month old child was in his care at the time of his passing," he informed them and scanned the room for the next question.

"Commissioner!"

"Commissioner!"

"Barbara," Frank said.

"Commissioner, reports are surfacing that the identity of the Good Samaritan photographed performing CPR on little Aidan Monroe is in fact your son, Officer Jameson Reagan. Can you confirm those reports?" Barbara asked.

That didn't take long.

Frank studied the papers on the table before he spoke. "Officer Reagan was the individual who pulled Aidan Monroe out of the vehicle and attempted to revive him on the scene," he confirmed. "Officer Reagan requests that the attention remain on Aidan and the prevention of such an incident in the future. Now, if there are no other questions on the business that brought us here in the first place, I believe we can bring this to a close," he promptly finished.

Frank got up, despite the media clammering for more, with Garrett following close behind.

"Can't say I'm surprised they ID'ed him so quickly. The guys at The Post certainly know him well enough," Garrett commented.

"Yeah," Frank responded grimly. He hoped Jamie was ready to have his face and name on the front page again. A story of this magnitude wasn't going to go away quickly.