"Shhhh! He's coming! Get ready!" Eddie whispered in excitement.
Five year old Kyle quickly ran behind Jamie's couch. Eddie could hear Jamie jiggle the key into the doorknob of his apartment as she hid out of sight behind the wall of the kitchen.
Kyle could hardly contain his energy as he waited for the right moment to spring into action. He loved this time he got to spend with his temporary babysitters Eddie and Jamie. He thought they were a lot of fun.
"I'm back!" Jamie shouted as he entered the apartment with a pizza, the smell of which instantly made Eddie's stomach growl in anticipation. But she couldn't think about food right now. She was on a special undercover stake out.
"Hey! Where is everybody?" Jamie asked, confused.
"Twelve-David, suspect spotted at 10 o'clock," Kyle called into his toy radio. "He's carrying a hot pizza. I repeat, the pizza is hot."
Jamie stopped in his tracks and smiled as he realized what was going on. He saw Kyle's little brown-haired head peak out from behind the couch for a split second.
"Copy that, Sergeant Kyle," Jamie heard Eddie's voice. "I see him. Move in on my count. On three. One…two…three Go Go Go!" Eddie shouted.
As Jamie made his way into the kitchen, he was blindsided by Eddie and Kyle who came out of their hiding places with Nerf guns drawn.
"Drop the pizza. Now!" Kyle shouted at Jamie.
"Okay! Okay!" Jamie relented and slowly lowered the pizza box onto the counter.
"Hands in the air!" Eddie yelled.
"What did I do? I didn't do anything!" Jamie responded, playing along.
"Cuff him Officer Eddie!" Kyle ordered.
"Yes Sir!" Eddie replied as she holstered her Nerf gun. She grabbed Jamie's hands from above his head and moved them behind his back, placed the toy handcuffs around his wrists, and "locked" them in place. "I've always wanted to do this," she seductively whispered into his ear.
Jamie raised an eyebrow as a shiver went down his spine. "Careful what you wish for, Officer Eddie," he quietly teased back, for her ears only.
"You have the right to remain hungry," Kyle told Jamie. "Central, show us ninety-eight," he called into his radio. Then he grabbed the pizza box off the counter. "Come on, Officer Eddie. Let's eat!"
"Sounds good to me, Sarge!" Eddie said as she followed Kyle to the kitchen table.
Jamie huffed out a laugh in amusement. "Seriously? You taught him how to clock out for meal break?" He watched a huge smile form on Eddie's face.
"Why is that so surprising? That's the first thing I'm teaching if I ever get to be a T.O." Eddie opened up the pizza box and Kyle dug in immediately.
"Hey!" Jamie yelled as he stood in place still in handcuffs. "What about me?"
"You're going to jail!" Kyle firmly yelled back after taking a bite of his first slice.
"Right where he belongs, right Sarge?" Eddie high-fived Kyle and then smiled again at Jamie before she sunk her teeth into the gooey cheese. "Mmmmmm. This is soooooo goooooood…"
"Oh yeah," Kyle agreed as he allowed the cheese to make a long stretchy string that he quickly gobbled up.
"Aw, come on guys!" Jamie playfully scolded. "Don't I get any? I'm hungry too!"
Kyle started giggling. "We're just joking, Officer Jamie! You get to have some too!" Kyle jumped over to Jamie and undid the handcuffs. "We tricked you good, didn't we?" Kyle looked very proud of himself.
"You sure did, Bud," Jamie laughed as he roughed up Kyle's hair on the top of his head. "You make an excellent Sergeant." They sat down to eat with Eddie and soon the whole pizza was gone.
Halfway through the movie, Jamie was intensely staring at the adorable scene next to him on the couch. Kyle had easily cuddled into Eddie's lap and had fallen asleep. She was gently and absentmindedly brushing her fingers through Kyle's hair as she watched the movie. Jamie had never seen Eddie take to a child like this before. It warmed his heart and made him smile.
"I have to confess. I'm jealous," Jamie whispered to Eddie so as not to wake up Kyle.
Eddie turned her attention away from the movie to Jamie. "What do you mean?"
Jamie pointed to Kyle. "You got yourself a new partner AND he gets to cuddle and sleep in your lap while you play with his hair."
She smiled as she looked down at Kyle. "Oh! I didn't realize he fell asleep. Don't worry, you can have your turn if you want…" she challenged. She knew he was still confused on where to draw the boundary lines after dealing with the aftermath of their second kiss and the closeness they shared while slow dancing a week ago. She was hoping he would get the hint if she kept pushing those boundaries.
But Jamie didn't bite. He just rolled his eyes and smiled. "You're good with him," he noted. "He's very comfortable with you."
"He's a great kid," Eddie admired. "I just wish he wasn't stuck in the middle of this mess. He's got two sets of parents that love him so much. On the one hand I think it would be so wrong to tear him away from the only home and parents he's ever known, but on the other hand I can sympathize with the biological parents that want him back now that their situation is stable. He's their kid too. I'm glad I'm not the judge on this case. Erin's got her hands full."
"She'll get it sorted out. She's the best," Jamie said.
Eddie went back to watching the movie, but Jamie still couldn't keep his eyes off of Eddie. After a moment of silence while watching Eddie with Kyle in her lap, Jamie couldn't help but notice how content he was to be sitting on the couch like this, the three of them together, like they were having their own family movie night, spending precious time with each other. For a brief second he allowed himself to think that Kyle was their child, and watching Eddie cuddle with Kyle made him feel an overwhelming sense of love that he never thought possible.
"Eddie?" Jamie softly said her name.
"Yeah?"
"You ever thought about having kids?" His expression was serious and caught her off guard.
"Um…well, I used to think I wasn't going to, but as I'm getting older and the clock is ticking, I've been thinking about it more…I would with the right person."
Jamie wordlessly nodded, wondering if she thought he could be the right person. And then it suddenly hit him that there was a time clock. He had always thought he had all the time in the world, especially when it came to figuring out his relationship with Eddie.
"How about you?" she countered nervously, wondering if he was bringing this up for a specific reason.
"Yeah. I've always known I've wanted kids someday."
"Someday…" Eddie quietly repeated.
"Yeah. Someday."
They stared into each other's eyes, trying to read each other's thoughts, daydreaming about what it would be like to have a child together. A knock on the door brought them back to the present.
Jamie looked at the door and then back at Eddie. "I'll get it, don't move."
"Hey," Erin said as Jamie let her in. She smiled seeing Eddie with Kyle on the couch. "I came to pick up Kyle and take him back home."
"For good?" Eddie quietly asked.
Erin nodded. "For good. They finally came to a compromise. He'll continue to be raised by his adoptive parents, but when he turns eighteen he'll be given the information on his biological parents and it will be his choice whether he wants to make contact or not."
"Well that's a big compromise considering how the threats were flying there in the beginning," Jamie said. "But I'm glad it worked out. It sounds like the decision is in Kyle's best interest."
"I think so, too," Erin agreed.
Eddie gently woke up Kyle. "Hey buddy, time to go home!"
Erin gave a knowing look to Jamie as Kyle stirred in Eddie's arms.
"Come on, let's go get your coat on," Eddie guided Kyle over to the closet as he stifled a yawn.
"Looks like the three of you had a cozy evening!" Erin whispered to Jamie. "Family life looks good on you, little brother!" she teased.
"Knock it off!" Jamie brushed off her comments with a smile.
"Kyle, you remember Miss Erin, right?" Eddie asked. "She's Officer Jamie's sister. She's going to take you home. We had a lot of fun with you! You be good, okay?" Kyle nodded, still half asleep. Eddie gave him a quick hug.
"He'll probably fall back asleep on the way home," Eddie mentioned to Erin as she handed her the bag of toys he had brought with him. "I think we wore him out!"
Jamie knelt down next to Kyle. "Bye, Bud. I'm glad you got to stay with us for a while!"
"Officer Jamie, can you and Officer Eddie babysit me again sometime?" Kyle asked.
Jamie looked to Eddie with a smile. "I'll have to ask your mom, but I think that can be arranged!"
"Come on, Kyle," Erin said as she grabbed his hand. "Time to go!"
"See ya later!" Jamie said as they walked out the door.
"I should go too," Eddie said to Jamie, somewhat awkwardly now that it was just the two of them.
She started to grab her coat off the hook but Jamie grabbed her hand and tugged her back towards the couch.
"Stay. We could finish watching the movie."
"It's 'Toy Story', Jamie," Eddie laughed. "It's a kid's movie!"
"Says the woman who watches 'The Little Mermaid' in her spare time," Jamie retorted. "C'mon. Stay."
Eddie's eyes twinkled as she smiled. "Okay."
They settled back on the couch and Jamie pressed 'play.' Eddie was surprised when Jamie moved closer and wrapped his arm around her. She nestled into him and dropped her head on his shoulder as she pondered what the future held.