A/N: Thanks again to all who have read and left reviews. Your kindness is overwhelming and I am humbled by the reviews. This chapter is a little unusual, but, rest assured, the story is just getting started! Questions are being asked by many and answers are soon coming! Enjoy. AOE01
Chapter Eleven
Friday morning, Olivia walked through the empty, echoing halls of Lincoln Center. It was too quiet. The semester was finally over and most students had left for the winter break. She missed the busyness and laughter of the young people. The students that normally swarmed around energized her and made her feel young again. And then there was Dr. McKenna. Olivia loved working for her.
Making her way to the office, she thought about her job. She was getting on in years and most of her close friends were talking about retirement. Her best friend had just left for the warmth of Florida and wouldn't be returning until the summer.
As much as she yearned for warmer weather, she couldn't see herself anywhere else. New York City at Christmas was just magical, if cold. The department stores lining Fifth Avenue always had elaborate and beautiful window displays. Skaters at Rockefeller center went round and round with the huge lighted Christmas tree looking down on them. The vendors sold hot drinks and roasted chestnuts that warmed you from the inside out. If it snowed, Central Park turned into a pristine winter wonderland. It was one of her favorite times of the year. She just couldn't imagine Christmas with Palm trees.
Walking into the outer office, she wasn't surprised to see a light under the door to Dr. McKenna's office. Final grades were due in a few days and she knew Caitlin was rushing to meet the deadline. With a smile, Olivia realized how much happier Caitlin had been lately; she knew it was because of the young police officer. Olivia didn't really know Officer Reagan well; she had only seen him a few times, but liked what she saw. With his wide, infectious smile he seemed as happy as Caitlin.
Clearing her mind of the random thoughts, she put her things away, sat down at her desk, and logged into the computer to start her day. Pulling up the daily calendar, she frowned. The day was clear except for an afternoon staff meeting. Olivia noted Dr. Samuels was on the agenda, presenting several proposals. The two professors were rivals at the college and often argued about resources and rehearsal space. Dr. Samuels had never gotten over Caitlin being chosen as head of the department over him and everyone knew it since he mentioned it every chance he got. He especially coveted her large, private, corner office as well as a private assistant.
The sound of the office door opening dew Olivia's attention and she turned to see the young woman walk out of her office, "Good morning, Olivia," Caitlin greeted her. "Not much going on here today. I'll be working on grading most of the day, I'm afraid."
Olivia nodded her head in agreement as she reluctantly added, "There is a staff meeting this afternoon."
"Damn, I'd forgotten about that," Caitlin replied, sighing in frustration. "What's on the agenda?" Caitlin asked, thinking she might just skip the meeting so she could continue grading the many papers and projects that were currently stacked on her desk.
"Let's see…Budget and allocations of resources." Olivia scanned the e-mail and continued, "Dr. Samuels has three proposals on the agenda, looks like. Two are about the March auditions. The first is about the schedule and the second about room allocations. The third is to revisit the departmental hierarchical structure before the start of the new term."
Caitlin said, vehemently, "Damn that man. Now I'll have to spend the morning getting facts and figures together to rebut everything he says. At this rate I'll never get those papers graded and I'm sure that's his plan." Caitlin turned and quickly went back into her office, slamming the door behind her.
Olivia took a deep breath, today was not going to be a good day.
~Blue Bloods~
Jamie had a bad feeling as he chased the suspect through the narrow alley. Most suspects avoided the alleys since they were mostly dead ends which would end in their arrest. Suddenly, the agile suspect vaulted up and over the fence that would have blocked his getaway. Jamie knew he was in good shape as he, too, vaulted the fence trying to keep up with the man running, but the suspect was just too fast. Breathing hard, Jamie looked around for the perp but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Damn it!" Jamie said in anger, realizing he lost him. As Jamie returned to his partner empty handed, he saw the new Sergeant standing by their car, arms crossed, fuming. This wasn't going to be good.
"So, where's the perp, Reagan?" the sergeant demanded.
"Got away, sarge," Jamie replied maintaining his composure. Sometimes the name Reagan was a blessing but right now it was more of a curse.
"You think I'm going to give you a pass cause you're the commissioner's son? You should have caught him." The sergeant was newly promoted and wanted to make sure everyone knew he was in charge, especially since he thought the younger Reagans got special treatment by the brass. "Get back on patrol, and if I find out you were derelict in your duty…I don't care what your name plate says. I'll write you up myself."
Vinnie looked at his partner and saw the anger in Jamie's face, though it was controlled. "Yes, sergeant," Vinnie replied quickly, hoping to diffuse the situation.
The sergeant looked at Jamie, ignoring Vinnie, and said, challenging, "You hear me, Reagan?"
"I hear you, sergeant." Jamie said, tightly, swallowing the retort that came to mind, something along the lines of bite me.
As they returned to patrol, Jamie tried to shake off the encounter with the Sergeant; but as so often happens, one bad event led to another and then to another.
They answered a call about a disturbance in the park and Jamie got hit in the shin by an elderly woman with her cane. They pulled over a woman talking on her cell phone while driving and as Jamie gave her the citation; she gave him a piece of her mind.
When it was finally time to take their meal break, they decided to hit their favorite deli. Jamie had his heart set on one of their soups, hoping it would warm him up. After waiting in the long line, however, he heard the customer in front of him get the last of the soup. He asked if there was more but only got a shake of the head in reply. He ordered a sandwich instead but didn't really eat much of it.
Back in the patrol car, Vinnie noticed Jamie's mood worsening. It was like patrolling with a dark thundercloud in the passenger seat. "You ok, partner?" Vinnie asked, sure of the answer.
"You know, sometimes I really hate walking around with a target on my back," Jamie complained, bitterly.
Vinnie nodded, he was sure it got old after a while. In fact, he had never seen any benefit to being the commissioner's son. He became silent, sensing that Jamie wasn't going to be talked out of the bad mood he was in.
Their last call of the day was a domestic disturbance. They arrived at the residence and immediately had to separate the belligerent couple. Jamie took the husband aside and tried to talk some sense to him while Vinnie took the wife aside and tried the same. Once Jamie had gotten a statement from the husband, he turned and looked at the wife noting the visible bruises on her arms and throat. Thinking Jamie was siding with her husband; the wife went on the offensive and shouted obscenities at Jamie, finally throwing a can of soda at him, soaking his uniform.
Vinnie was thankful as they pulled into the lot at the precinct that this tour was over. Jamie wasn't talking much and it wasn't until they were changing into civvies that Vinnie ventured to ask Jamie what his plans for the evening were. He hoped Jamie was going to get a few drinks somewhere to relax and go home and sleep off the bad mood.
"I'm meeting Caitlin at a local place to play pool and have dinner," Jamie replied.
"Not a good idea, man," Vinnie tried to talk Jamie out of it. As he put his clean shirt on he was glad he didn't need to make eye contact with his partner.
"Why the hell not?" Jamie asked, obstinately.
"Cause you're pissed." Vinnie said, bluntly as he tucked his shirt in. "And my guess is you're planning to take it out on whomever you come into contact with next who says the wrong thing," Vinnie said looking Jamie in the eye now. "If it's Caitlin, you'll regret your actions in the morning. I'd go home, find a bottle, and watch a game."
"I didn't ask for your opinion," Jamie replied sharply as he slammed his locker shut.
"Okay, but don't come bitchin' to me when you realize you screwed it up. I tried to warn you." Vinnie shouted at Jamie's retreating form. Shaking his head, Vinnie closed his locker and headed home.
~Blue Bloods~
Olivia heard Caitlin long before she came back into the office. It wasn't the sound of heels clicking on the tile floor that alerted her, but the loud streams of Italian coming down the hall getting closer. Pulling some files out of a drawer I her desk, Olivia busied herself with them, avoiding eye contact. When Caitlin was really mad or upset she spoke Italian. Hearing the words fast and furious and clearly full of anger, Olivia wished she had left early to do some Christmas shopping.
Caitlin's heels made a quick clicking on the tiled floor as she rounded the corner and she continued to speak the angry Italian as she passed Olivia and marched into her office. The meeting had not gone well, though she had defended herself from the internal attack. She wished she had the power to fire that man. Looking at her desk she saw the stacks of ungraded papers and sat in the chair behind her desk and glared at them.
Olivia tentatively poked her head in Caitlin's office and saw the glare that Caitlin had for the unfinished work. She spoke timidly, not wanting to have that ball of anger directed at her, "I'm going for the night, Dr. McKenna." Usually she called her Caitlin, but that seemed unwise right now.
Caitlin sighed, deeply and looked to the door. Trying to be polite, she replied, "Okay, Olivia. Have a good weekend." Her demeanor darkened as she realized she would be spending all of it here, grading papers instead of getting ready for the holidays, as she had planned.
Tentatively, Olivia asked, "What are you doing tonight?"
Caitlin looked at the clock, "I'm meeting Jamie for a game of pool and then dinner. Of course, thanks to professor pain-in-the-ass I'm already late."
"You might want to skip that tonight." Olivia counseled.
"Why's that?" Caitlin asked, distracted.
"I know you," Olivia bravely said. "You should just go home and relax." Olivia said, though she knew her advice wouldn't be followed, in fact, Caitlin would probably come back to the office to work on grading papers after meeting her Jamie.
"Have a good night, Olivia," Caitlin said, clearly dismissing the older woman. Sensing there was nothing she could say to change Caitlin's mind, Olivia turned and left. She loved Dr. McKenna, but shook her head at the stubbornness of the other woman.
~Blue Bloods~
Rushing in, Caitlin knew she was late. She looked around the crowded bar for Jamie and finally found him taking practice shots at a table in the back. It looked like he was trying to annihilate the other ball as hard as he was hitting them.
"Hi, Jamie, I'm sorry I'm late," Caitlin said as she took off her coat.
"Don't be, I'm used to it by now," Jamie shot back with a hard voice, not even taking his eyes off the pool table.
Caitlin froze. "I'm sorry, had a meeting run late." Caitlin said, defensively, looking at Jamie.
Jamie looked down, taking a deep breath, trying to rein in his temper. He knew she wasn't often late and he wasn't sure why he had said it. Maybe Vinnie had been right, after all. Forcing a smile on his face, he went to get her a pool cue and handed it to her. He racked the balls and they began a game, watching each other closely.
As they played, they tried to have a normal conversation. They failed miserably. Jamie didn't want to burden Caitlin with his bad day and Caitlin didn't want to talk about the stress she was under either. Jamie was touchy and Caitlin was defensive. It seemed everything they said was misinterpreted.
Jamie offered, "Let me get you a drink."
"I'd like a Ginger Ale, please," Caitlin replied.
"Sure you don't want something stronger?" Jamie pushed. She had never explained why she didn't drink. Jamie had never asked, but wondered about the reason. She said she wasn't a drunk, but who knew what the truth was.
"Yes, I'm sure. I told you I don't drink." Caitlin said with an edge to her voice. She hated the inevitable conversation about not drinking.
"Whatever you want," Jamie replied with a bite as he made his way to the bar.
Caitlin stood there watching him as he went to the bar and ordered their drinks. As he waited for the bartender, she saw a pretty young woman watching him with obvious interest though Jamie barely glanced at her. It was clear something was bothering him, but she wasn't going to pry if he didn't want to talk about it. Jamie returned shortly with their drinks. Taking the glass he handed her, she watched him as he took a long drag of the bottle in his hand, almost draining it in one drink.
"Any particular reason you're trying to pick a fight?" she asked. From the tense set to his shoulders she suspected he was just waiting for someone to bump into him so he could do something about it.
"I'm not trying to pick a fight," Jamie retorted.
"Sure you are," Caitlin shot back. "You know, I have a lot of work to get done and I put it on hold to meet you and you're not interested in anything but picking a fight. I know you think my job's not as important as yours, but it means a lot to me."
"Maybe I should find better company this evening," Jamie retorted, not really meaning it.
"Suit yourself," Caitlin said, angrily as she glared at him.
"I think I will," Jamie replied just as angrily and turned away towards the bar, seeing the pretty woman watching him closely. He regretted his words as soon as he said them, but was unable to stop himself. Turning back, he realized Caitlin was gone. He saw a few bills sitting on the table near her abandoned drink. He watched through the window as she hailed a cab and left. Turning back towards the bar, Jamie debated getting another drink, or two. He spotted the woman who had been eyeing him amorously. She winked at him and gestured to the empty bar stool next to her, a clear invitation to join her. Shaking his head at her, he turned away before exhaling forcefully in anger and frustration. Not wanting to compound his problems by spending time with another woman, he suddenly grabbed his coat and left.