Bombshell
For two months the ex-partners have been able to keep their relationship a secret from everyone – except for Renzulli and Walsh – and they can't believe it. People were curious about why they stopped riding together, of course they would be, but the story they were fed was completely plausible. Eddie and Jamie had had many fights before – publically and privately – so it really wasn't hard for them to pretend they'd had another (yet much larger) fight and were mad at each other while at work.
At night they went to new bars instead of the traditional cop ones and Eddie always stayed Saturday night at Jamie's so he could make it to church on time with his family.
Their relationship bubble had no gossip and no frills and that was exactly how they wanted it, but bubbles, in the end, always pop and a two month old bubble is well past its expiration date.
Jamie and Eddie are walking out of the precinct at the same time but they aren't alone and only one of them is done for the day. Eddie and her new partner David Bell are both in uniform and heading for their patrol car for a two hour ride before their shifts end. Jamie doesn't look at them as he walks to his own car but he texts Eddie as he slides behind the wheel.
Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she looks at it before opening the driver's side door. Don't forget to get egg rolls when you pick up dinner tonight. Keep Bell safe, love you. She laughs and shakes her head slightly before getting in and starting patrol.
Jamie finishes setting the table knowing Eddie should be there in about 20 minutes with their Chinese food. He can't light the candles yet so he goes to the couch to watch the end of a classic football play-off game.
He doesn't hear his phone vibrating right away but he saves it before it takes a dive off of the table. He sees Linda's name flashing up at him and is immediately on alert, thinking something happened to Danny or maybe his grandfather. He keeps his voice calm when he answers.
"Hey, Linda, what's up?"
"Jamie, I don't want you to freak out, but Eddie was admitted a few minutes ago with a gunshot wound. She's…"
Jamie doesn't hear the rest of what she says. The family knows Eddie isn't his partner anymore – the fake fight was the excuse they gave to everyone – but they all knew he would still want to know if she was injured on the job. He puts on his boots without lacing them, grabs his coat and keys and runs out the door.
"I'll be there as fast as I can," he says and then he hangs up the phone.
Linda sighs into the disconnected phone. She should have known better than to tell him about the gunshot wound. Eddie was going to be just fine but now Jamie won't know that until he gets to the hospital and she hadn't wanted him to drive while anxious. She goes to sit behind the nurses' desk and waits for him to arrive.
Jamie runs through the hospital, ignoring all the people that tell him to stop. When he makes it to the correct floor he searches vehemently for Linda. Spotting her behind the desk he rushes forward once again.
She speaks before he can. "Jamie, she's fine. The bullet went straight through her right shoulder. It caused a little muscle damage but that's it, she's perfectly fine."
The words ease Jamie but only slightly, he needs to see her to be sure. "Where is she?"
"She's sleeping right now so don't wake her, but she's down the hall, second door on the left."
"Thanks Linda," he says, but he's already walking down the hallway. He reaches Eddie's room and quietly lets himself in. Her hair is no longer in a bun and it hangs over left shoulder, away from her injury. There's no blood on her and she looks peaceful sleeping there and that, finally allows Jamie to let out the breath he's been holding in.
He walks over to the bed and sits down in the chair there. He starts to reach for her hand before remembering that no one knows they're seeing each other – that they aren't fighting but in love and happy. Screw it, he thinks and then he takes her hand in his.
He stays in that position for about an hour before he decides to get up to get coffee and talk to Linda again. He knows Eddie will be okay and that's the only reason he's able to leave her for a few minutes.
He gets his coffee first and then searches for his sister-in-law.
Spotting her coming out of another patient's room he reaches her in a few quick strides.
"Linda, I'm sorry about basically running away from you earlier, I was just really worried. Thanks for calling me by the way."
She smiles at him. "It's alright, Jamie. I knew you'd want to know if something happened to her, even if you two are fighting. From what I overheard it sounded like a robbery attempt that went wrong. I think she put herself in front of her new partner when he was shot at, but I'm not positive on that."
It's one of his worst fears come to life – Eddie being hurt on the job – but he knows he would have thrown himself in front of his partner too, so he can't blame her or Bell for it.
"Are you sure she's okay though? Couldn't she have hidden injuries or something?" He just wants to be sure.
"I'll check her file again; her test results are probably in." Jamie follows Linda back to the nurses' desk where she takes a file from an in-patient pile. He watches her read and notices when her face goes from studious to surprise. He wants to ask what's wrong but he waits for her to finish reading.
Linda looks up at him, the shock on her face still evident. "She's alright, but…" She stops talking.
"What is it?" He's still worried even though she said Eddie was fine.
Linda looks around to make sure they're alone. "I could get fired for telling you this, so don't say anything to anyone okay, not even her?"
"You know I won't."
"She's pregnant."
Jamie hears the words she said but he can't comprehend them. He just stares at her with his signature confused yet skeptical expression.
"About 8 weeks along. Do you know if she's seeing anyone? Someone should call him if she is." Linda doesn't notice that Jamie has checked out of the conversation. That there are fireworks and bombs going off in his head and stomach.
"I need to get out of here," he says quietly and then he turns toward the elevator.
Linda looks after him, startled at his sudden disappearance. She has no idea why he leaves but she'll find out by the end of the night.
When Eddie wakes up she knows exactly where she is. She remembers the evening's events perfectly: the robbery call, being outnumbered, stepping in front of Bell (who'd had his back to one of the perps), the pain in her shoulder as the bullet went through, backup coming, and riding in the ambulance.
She doesn't remember much from being in the hospital, but that's because they had given her pain meds right away and they worked fast.
She looks around the room wondering how long she's been there and if Jamie has heard the news yet. She spots her cell phone on the side table and texts him that she's alright but she'd love his company. She doesn't get a response and she assumes it's because he's driving to the hospital.
She starts looking through Facebook to pass the time when Jamie's sister-in-law comes in the room.
"Oh, good, you're awake. I'm Linda Reagan; we've met a few times before but I don't know if you remember. I'm your nurse for the night."
"Of course, I remember. It's nice to see you again, even if I had to get shot to do so." She smiles at the older woman.
"It's good that you're alright. The bullet didn't cause any permanent damage but you will have to wear a sling for a little while and your arm mobility won't be great for a little bit either but I actually have some news for you that's not about your bullet wound."
Eddie is immediately both curious and suspicious. Does Linda somehow know about her and Jamie? Did something happen to Bell after she was taken away?
"What is it?" She asks.
Linda had asked the doctor if she could be the one to tell Eddie the news and now that she was about to she was nervous. Eddie wasn't a teenager; she could handle being a single mother if she had to be, but what if she wasn't happy with the news?
Linda takes a deep breath and plunges ahead. "Well, we did a blood test when you came in, which is normal procedure, and it showed you have hCG in your blood. hCG indicates pregnancy."
Eddie is speechless for maybe the fourth time in her entire life. The room is silent for minutes before she whispers, "pregnant? Like there's a baby inside me right now?"
"Yes."
Eddie's thoughts float into the past. Before her birthday she hadn't slept with anybody for about two months and there was no way she was four months pregnant now, which left Jamie as the only option as the father. But they'd been careful hadn't they?
She continues thinking over the last two months and she can only come up with two possible scenarios. Either something when wrong with one of the condoms they'd used or they hadn't used one the first time. She can't remember for sure, that night had been 100% passion and spontaneity, she hadn't been thinking about protection at all and he probably hadn't been either.
She sighs, puts a hand to her temple.
"What am I supposed to do?" She doesn't mean to ask the question out loud but Linda answers her anyway.
"I think the first thing you need to do is talk to the baby's father, decide if you want to keep it or not. Having a baby is a big responsibility and you shouldn't make…"
"I'm keeping it." Eddie says almost dejectedly.
Linda can't miss the tone of her voice. "Are you sure?"
Eddie is sure. Of course she thought she'd be a little older and married before she had kids but this was happening now and Jamie was it for her.
"Yes. I've only been with this person for a couple months but he'll be the best dad and, I mean, how many people actually plan pregnancies these days. I won't lie and say I'm not freaking out because I am but I can do this, we can do this." He voice grew in conviction after each word and she knew that she could be a mother, especially with Jamie by her side.
Linda smiled at her. "You can do it. It's gonna be really really hard but it's worth it in the end, I can promise you that. I'll be back in a little while to check on you, alright?"
"Ok and thank you, for telling me." Linda just nods as she leaves the room. Eddie grabs for her phone again and dials.
She gets his voicemail so she leaves a message. Reagan, you need to get to this hospital right now. I'm totally fine but I need to tell you something really important and it can't be said over the phone. Sorry about the egg rolls, I love you.
*Ok, so this is not how I want the show to go, this just popped into my head and I thought I'd add it to the story I already had. I do, however, really like the idea of Jamie having a child without being married – like, the boy scout did something wrong, how will everyone else react? There is a second part to chapter that explores those feelings – I'll post it later this week. Hope you like them!