Thanks for the reviews. I'm very sorry that this chapter has taken me as long as it has to complete. I hope that I will be able to get another chapter out in the next couple of weeks (I'm going through serious Blue Bloods withdrawl)...and I also hope to get the chance to read more of the other Jamie related fics that have been uploaded. I've read bits and pieces and there are some really talented writers! :)

The door of the apartment swung open. "I appreciate your concern, Uncle Jamie, but I could've made it back to your apartment on my own."

"Sorry, Nicky," Jamie stepped inside. "Your mother made her wishes perfectly clear. I have no doubt she'd kill me if I didn't listen."

Nicky rolled her eyes. "You guys are way over protective."

"Hazard of the jobs we have, I guess," he looked around the space. Tall ceilings, exposed brick, a nice kitchen with large stainless steel appliances. The space could've been featured in a decor magazines, but there was a corner of the open living space that had large puzzle pieces locked together as a play mat. Toys were scattered around the space and some toys had been haphazardly thrown into baskets and shoved back into the open shelving.

Nicky walked into the play space and started to tidy up. "Honestly, I would've been fine. I could've gotten myself from this apartment to your place in one piece. I wish my family would trust me."

"It's not you we don't trust, Nicky," he lowered himself down onto the sofa and was surprised to find it was quite possibly the most comfortable sofa he'd ever sat on.

"I've heard it all before," she sighed. She hated that her mother forbid her from riding the subway after 10pm. If she were allowed to ride the subway, she could sleep in her own bed that night. Instead, she was going to spend the night on Jamie's pull out. It was a compromise she and her mother had brokered. She wanted to earn as much as she could before going to Europe with her Dad, so it was fine by her...but when she found out that Jamie had to pick her up and take her back to his place, she wanted to scream. She was 15. She had proven herself to be a capable and responsible person.

"When is she supposed to get home?" Jamie yawned.

"She was delayed."

"Delayed?" Jamie's eyes shot wide open. "By how long?"

Nicky shrugged her shoulds. "Don't know. Depends on how fast the cops do their jobs, I guess." She tossed a glance over her shoulder, smirking in his direction. "But if you're tired, I'd completely understand if you wanted to get home. I can find my own way there."

"Nice try," he picked up the television remote and turned on the flatscreen, scrolling through the listenings. "What happened?"

"She was a witness to a traffic accident. A taxi and a car. Not really sure about the details, but she called and said she had to give the police a statement." She walked over to the coffee table that Jamie had propped his feet up on. "Making yourself at home, huh?"

"It's comfortable," he shrugged.

"Want some pie?" Nicky asked as she picked up her water glass that was sitting on a coaster.

"What kind?" he questioned.

She laughed. "Does it matter?"

"Not if you bring me a coffee to go with it."

"HELP!" a little voice shouted.

Jamie woke up with a start, his eyes quickly finding the little boy running towards the sofa.

"What's wrong, little man?" Jamie asked softly as he climbed into Nicky's lap, then wrapped his arms around her neck.

He looked at the stranger and started to chew on his bottom lip. "Who are you?" He clung to Nicky like she was a life raft.

"He's my Uncle Jamie," Nicky answered. "He's OK."

"You promise?" his little voice wavered.

Nicky nodded animatedly at him. "I pinky promise." She held up her pinky to him.

The little boy giggled.

"Why aren't you sleeping, Noah?" Nicky asked him.

His little eyes started to tear up and his voice constricted. "M...mon..sters." He pointed to the hallway that he'd come from. "In my room. Under my bed."

Jamie stood up. "I'll get to the bottom of it, little man," he ruffled the little boys hair before walking off.

"Careful!" Noah shouted after him. "Monsters are big ole meanies!"

Jamie chuckled softly. He could hear Nicky and the little boy following behind him.

"That's my room," Noah whispered loudly.

Jamie turned and looked at the little boy seriously. "This one?"

Noah nodded sternly. "Yep! That's the one!"

He put up his hand and motioned for Nicky to stop. Noah clung to her neck a little tighter. Jamie hugged the wall and slowly pushed the bedroom door open, peering inside, just like he would if he were looking for a suspect who was hiding.

Nicky couldn't help but smile.

A minute later, Jamie walked back into the hallway. "All clear. No monsters here."

He wiggled in Nicky's arms and she set him down on the floor. He placed his hands on his hips. "Are you sure?" the little boy challenged.

Jamie glanced and Nicky and saw that she was amused as he was.

"Positive."

"Did you look under the bed?"

"I did." Jamie took a step towards the bed and kneeled down on the floor. "See, I'll show you." He lifted up the comforter that was hiding the underside of the bed, exposing the metal frame. "See? Nothing but a few action heros."

"Hey!" Noah said in surprise, his little hand grasping at a toy. "I've been looking for this!" The toy was just out of reach but he struggled for it anyway. Jamie easily scooped the toy up and handed it off to the child.

Noah smiled and muttered a quiet thank you as he stood up from the floor and started playing with it, all thoughts of monsters under his bed gone.

A gasp from behind Nicky caught their attention and they all turned around.

Jamie froze and he saw she had turned pale. She reached out and grabbed Noah's shoulder pulling him and Nicky behind her. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"I, uh," he had no words...his mind was a complete blank.

Nicky could see the shock and anger written across Breanne's face in the reflection of the mirror. She looked at her Uncle and saw that he was struggling to speak.

"He's here to pick me up," she offered quietly. "My mom told you that my Uncle would pick me up tonight."

Breanne refused to look away from the strange man, but she responded to Nicky. "Your mom told me that your Uncle Jamie would pick you up."

"Right," Nicky nodded.

Jamie cleared his throat as the cobb webs cleared his mind. He held out his hand, "My name is Jamie Reagan. It's nice to meet you. Officially."

"Jamie?" She was having trouble comprehending..."I thought your name was Johnny?"

"Why would you think that?" Nicky asked.

"It's a misunderstanding," Jamie answered quickly, shooting Nicky a look that told her not to press for further details.

"A misunderstanding?" she repeated. A tug on her hand forced her attention to the small boy hidden behind her.

"Mommy, I have to go potty," he said softly.

"Come on, buddy. I'll take you," Nicky took his free hand and led him out of the bedroom, towards the bathroom.

"What the hell is going on?" she hissed quietly when the kids were down the hall, far enough away. "Who are you? Jamie, the cop? Or Johnny, the guy who hangs out with criminals when he's off duty?" She rubbed her temples. "Does your family know about your double life?"

"Yes," he answered quickly, then thought of Nicky down the hall. "No." His head was swimming. "Sort of." He sighed. "It's not exactly a double life."

"What the hell would you call it then, huh?" she demanded.

"I can explain," he said quickly. As he said those words, he didn't know if he could...he wasn't supposed to expose his assignment to anyone...very few people within the department knew. He had gotten clearance to tell Renzuli because he didn't want to keep his partner in the dark again, not after how he'd reacted the first time. But now he was offering to explain to a woman who was mostly a stranger? It could put the whole operation at risk...

She scoffed. "Yeah, I bet you can."

"It's not what you think."

"How the hell would you know what I'm thinking? I don't even know what I'm thinking." She sat down on the edge of Noah's bed.

Jamie sighed and rubbed his temples. Not only had Carmine wrecked any chance he'd had with her, but now his undercover assignment could be in jeopardy. "Will you please give me the chance to explain?" His head was screaming at him to shut up, to stop offering to explain. But his heart was screaming louder to tell her the truth. To make it right.

She looked up and saw his eyes pleading with her. "I-" Nicky and Noah walked back into the room.

"You two play nice while we were gone?" Nicky teased.

"We're both still standing," she answered.

"Actually, you're sitting," Jamie joked in an attempted to ease her mind.

She cracked a small smile. "I guess I am." Noah yawned loudly, but fought against his heavy eyelids. "Come on, honey. Bed time."

"No," he protested weakly, shaking his little head. "I went to bed last night."

"You did. Just like a big boy!"

"I am a big boy!"

"You are," Breanne nodded, reaching out and pulling him into her arms. "You're growing up so fast." She laid him down gently and covered him up with his bedding.

He yawned again. "I want a story, Mommy."

Breanne sighed. "Not tonight sweetie."

"Nicky could read him one while we talk," Jamie suggested. Breanne glanced at Jamie, more than a little irritated.

"Yeah!" Noah nodded with enthusiasm.

Breanne pinched the bridge of her nose. She had zero energy to argument about this. She sighed and glanced at Nicky. "Could you read him a story?"

Nicky nodded and grabbed a book from the bookcase.

"I'll check on you later," she whispered to Noah, leaning over and kissing his forehead. "Dreams of Gold. I love you, baby."

"I'm not a baby!" he protested.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, you'll always be my baby," she countered.

Nicky sat down and leaned her back against Noah's headboard and stretched her legs on the mattress.

"I love you, Mommy."

She smiled and her heart melted. She'd never get tired of hearing it. She just hoped he never got tired of saying it.

"Love you more," she kissed once more, this time, on the tip of his nose before standing up and heading towards the bedroom door.

Jamie ruffled the little guys hair. "Good night, Little Man."

"G'night, Jamie. Thank you for looking for the monsters."

"Anytime, kid," he smiled. As he left the room, he shut the door gently behind him.

"You have some nerve," she quietly seethed in the darkness of the hallway.

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm sorry," he offered.

"I said no to a story and then you contradict me by offering up your niece to read to my son!" She looked at her watch. "It's almost 1am!" She turned on her heel and walked towards her kitchen.

"I'd wave a white flag if I could, but I don't have one," he trailed behind her. "Look, I really am sorry. I normally wouldn't over step those boundaries. I just wanted the chance to explain."

"And you feel like you have to explain this now? In the wee hours of the morning?"

"Would you have agreed to meet with me tomorrow so I could explain?"

She rolled her neck from side to side, trying to alleviate the tension. "Honestly? I don't know."

He took a seat on a stool at the breakfast bar. "I'm not sure where to begin."

"Wait! I need pie," she announced, opening the fridge and discovering the pie was gone.

"I think Nicky and I finished it," he said quietly. "Sorry."

She nodded her head. "Good thing I have a big sweet tooth." She opened the freezer and pulled something out. "You want some?" She opened the cutlery drawer and pulled out a knife to cut it with. "It's Frozen Mocha Cheesecake."

Though he knew he shouldn't, it looked good. "Sure," he nodded.

They spent the next few minutes in silence as she struggled to cut through the frozen cookie crust. When she finally sat down on a bar stool a few feet away from him, she took a big bite of the pie. She savored the taste for a moment before setting the fork down on her pie plate. "OK. Full disclosure. Tell me the truth about your double life. How are you Jamie Reagan, the cop and Johnny who-ever, a guy who hangs out with asshole criminals?"

"I'm working undercover," he whispered.

She shook her head. "Erin said you were a rookie. How can a rookie be undercover? Don't you have to work your way up the rank before you get those cases handed to you?"

Jamie sighed. It was true. It was unusually for a cop with as little experience as he had to be undercover. He probably wouldn't believe it either.

"I have earned it," he insisted. "My first plain clothes tour, I was assigned to stake out a bar. They were serving underage kids, but even worse, they looked the other way when dealers made sales. One guy bought some ecstacy that was bad and nearly ODed. I called for a bus," he shook his head, "sorry, an ambulance and he survived. Turns out that guy was part of a crime family. And because he and his family thought that I single handedly saved his life, they trusted me. Pulled me in. Because of that, the NYPD was able to gather enough intel to make a lot of arrests and actually make the charges stick. That assignment ended a few ago."

"And you're already involved in another undercover assignment?" she questioned.

"I'm good at what I do. It sounds cocky, but it's true."

She just stared at him for a few moments. "Shit," she muttered, standing up. "I need more pie."

Reviews make me happy! Hope everyone had a wonderful holidays weekends! Canada Day and July 4th are favorites of mine! :)