The hectic journey to the Brooklyn Bridge seemed torturously slow at times as the Saturday afternoon traffic slowed the two detectives down considerably. A crowd of onlookers had already begun to form as they finally made their way onto the bridge.
Deciding that trying to force their vehicle through the logjam of cars on the bridge would be pointless, John Kelly jumped out of the car and began running towards Billy Bridges, the man who was holding his petrified seven year old son hostage as he inched closer and closer to the edge of the giant metal structure.
Andy shuffled along as quickly as his considerable bulk would allow him as he struggled to get anywhere near the pace his young and athletic partner was maintaining. Even several yards away, he could hear John trying to reason with the panicked man.
"Billy, it's me, Detective Kelly," the detective said as he tried inching closer.
"Stay back or I swear I'll jump!"
He raised both hands in a gesture on surrender as he tried to calm the clearly agitated man.
"Ok, I'm gonna stay right here, but we need to talk about this, Billy."
Dressed in dirty, oil-stained clothes, Billy Bridges clung on to his son tighter as he screwed his eyes shut.
"He's my son; she had no right to keep him from me!"
"I hear you, Billy, but doing this isn't going to help your case. You need to let Timmy go so we can sort this out. I promise you that if you let him go that I'll do everything I can to make sure you get to see him whenever you want, how does that sound?"
Billy Bridges was a disillusioned young man, once happy with a loving son he was now no more than the shell of the man he used to be. His tendency to gamble away his weekly wages on poker games every Friday night had caused considerable strain on his marriage to his beloved wife, Lucy.
She had called time on their marriage six months ago and since then he had fallen into a pit of despair and loathing. He had lost everything, his family, his home, his job. One by one they had all deserted him in one way or another as his dirty blond hair seemed to sprout new grey hairs with each day that passed. He had lines on his face that no man in his mid-thirties should ever have as the endless days of drinking and gambling had taken their toll on his youthful features.
Being told by Lucy that he could no longer see his beloved son had been the final straw for him, something inside him had snapped. He decided that if he couldn't have contact with his son then neither could she.
John inched forward slowly as he saw uncertainty flicker across Billy's face, he hoped that the man was about to step away from the side railing and hand his frightened young boy over to him so that he could return the kid safely to his mother.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion as Billy lifted the slight frame of his son and threw him bodily over the side of the bridge, plunging him into the cold and unforgiving waters of the East River below.
He recalled later how Andy had bellowed at him to stay put but he paid no attention as he quickly divested himself of his coat and suit jacket before diving into the frigid water below.
It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but now that the ice cold water had made contact with his warm body it seemed like a fanciful thing to do, to jump into the East River on a cold January afternoon was akin to suicide.
He could see Timmy struggling to keep his head above water as the cold began to seep into his bones, he could tell that the boy was fading fast, swimming for all he was worth he made his way to the shivering figure and grabbed him under the arms, keeping his head above water.
"Timmy, I need you to look at me," he commanded as he shook the boy gently.
Gradually, a pair of dazed brown eyes focused on him.
"Good boy, I want you to grab onto my neck and whatever you do don't let go, you understand?"
He wasn't really sure just how much Timmy Bridges understood of his instructions but he let out a sigh of relief as the boy climbed onto his back and grasped his arms around his neck. He knew that it would not be long before he was just as dazed and uncooperative as the boy he was trying to save and so he took a deep breath and began the agonisingly slow swim back to solid ground.
His belief that he and Timmy would make it to the banks of the river began fading as the freezing temperature of the water began to seep into his own bones. He could feel the burning in his lungs and muscles and every stroke made it seem like his whole body was on fire. He could hear his heartbeat thumping in his ears as his vision began getting fuzzy and yet still he swam, forcing one arm and then the other through the powerful stream of the river.
Several times he had felt his head slip under the water as he choked on yet another mouthful of revolting river water, coughing heavily as he spat it out. Glancing up, he could see that they had almost made it when his vision dimmed before turning completely black.
"John, no!" Andy called as he watched his partner dive off the side of the bridge and into the cold water below.
He let out a huge sigh of relief as he saw John's head break through the surface as the younger man swam furiously towards the young boy who was flailing helplessly in the river's current.
Of all the stupid, idiotic things to do! He thought as he instructed the uniformed officers who had assembled to arrest Billy Bridges and read him his rights. He would deal with the man after, once he knew John and the kid were ok.
Shuffling as fast as he could, he made his way past all of the gridlocked cars until he finally found himself by the river bank, never once taking his eyes off the scene in the water below. By the time he had made it his breath was heaving in the cold winter air, he ran a stressed and shaky hand over his balding head as he watched a couple of uniformed officers reach out to drag his partner and the boy back towards dry land.
With a couple of strained heaves they had managed to drag the sopping wet figures out of the water and quickly covered both of them with blankets. He could hear the sound of an ambulance coming nearer, its siren wailing loudly but he paid it no attention as he stalked over to the shivering man struggling to sit up on the frozen ground.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" he shouted at John as the younger man looked up at him, his drenched red hair plastered to his forehead.
"The kid, is he ok?"
Andy could see how badly John was shaking and silently wished that the ambulance would hurry up and get there.
"He's gonna be fine, John. Which is more than I can say for you, you know Laura is gonna have your hide for this."
He smirked as a pained expression crossed John's face before it was replaced with a wince as he coughed violently.
He bent down towards him and pulled the blanket tighter around his quivering body, feeling just how icy cold the man was.
"Bus will be here in a minute, John. Just hang on, ok?"
The younger man raised his head as he waved Andy's concern away.
"I'll be fine, just make sure the kid gets checked out."
"No, you're going too," he insisted as he folded his arms over his chest, partly in defiance and partly to try to warm himself a little in the freezing air.
Fifteen minutes later he was making the long trek back to the car, dreading the visit he was about to make. He felt as if John had got the better end of the deal, climbing into the back of the ambulance and on his way to Lennox Hill Hospital. He didn't have to deal with Hurricane Laura who was likely to be more than a little displeased with her boyfriend's heroics. The one thing that made the thought of visiting her a little more bearable was the fact that she would inevitably save most of her anger for John when she finally got hold of him.
He had to admit that he felt decidedly better after the long, hot shower at the hospital now that he was lying back on a hospital bed in the ER in a dry gown. The doctors and nurses had plied him with vast amounts of hot tea and coffee and had tried everything in their power to convince him to stay overnight so that they could observe him before discharging him.
He had point-blank refused, all he wanted was a change of clothes and a hot meal at home with Lori even though he knew that she would tear a strip off of him for his foolish actions this afternoon.
He lifted the cup of scalding black coffee to his lips as another shudder ran through his body. Every muscle in his being felt as if it were on fire as he tried to raise the cup, it seemed as if it weighed a tonne as his arm shook and dotted the hospital sheets with its dark liquid as he gave up and placed it back on the tray.
He could hear her feminine voice from down the hallway and also the gravelly tones of his partner; he winced as he listened to the venom in his girlfriend's voice and attempted to sink down into the bed as she got closer, closing his eyes when he heard her footsteps as she stomped up to his bed.
"Don't pretend to be asleep," she snarled in his ear.
He opened one eye slightly and gave her a sheepish smile.
"Hi, honey," he said as he tried to mollify her.
"Don't honey me, you idiot. What the hell did you think you were playing at, jumping in the river like that?"
He braced himself for the tirade that he knew was to come, a tongue-lashing that he fully deserved. After a minute or two of silence he opened his eyes and was surprised to find Lori sitting down on the chair by his bed with a small smile on her face.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" she said softly as the panic and anger dissipated as she realised that the man she had fallen so deeply in love with appeared to be no worse for wear after his dip in the freezing waters of the East River.
"I love you," he whispered as he gave her his best attempt at looking remorseful.
"You're a complete pain in the ass," she huffed good-naturedly.
"But I'm your pain in the ass, right?"
She felt any anger she'd had left dissipate as he looked at her with his soulful blue eyes and in that moment she knew that she loved him, faults and all.
Leaning over, she placed a tender kiss on his lips as she framed his face with her hands.
"Yes, you are."