"You cannot tell Jean! It was an accidental powder spill." Pete was desperate. He couldn't have Jean finding out that he had anything to do with Jimmy's "pretty snow". If she connected Pete to this incident, she might start to connect him with a few other things: the oranges falling, jimmy's obsession with making raspberry sounds (usually in church) and the boy's new habit of sneaking his Brussel Sprouts to the dog during dinner. The dog's digestive system was not responding well to the vegetable. Worst of all, she might wonder if he had anything to do with Jimmy's learning a certain four letter word.
Jim knew about the last one, but had not told Jean where Jimmy learned what Jim referred to as "The S Word". A few weeks ago Jean was sick so Jim asked Pete to help take Jimmy to the church carnival. There was a large crowd, composed mostly of teenagers and young parents with kids in tow. The three of them had purchased lunch and were heading towards a picnic table when a group of boys knocked into them. Pete's meatball sub and chocolate milkshake ended up all over his shirt. The "s" word slipped out. Jimmy has the same ability found in most three year olds, to find the one word they shouldn't say and to keep repeating it.
Pete had no doubt that Jean would kill him.
"What's in it for me?" Jim was not going to make this easy on Pete. He had no idea how much Pete had riding on his silence, but he knew an opportunity when he saw it. Already, he was formulating a plan. He needed Pete's help with a little work around the yard.
"That depends on what you are thinking of getting me into." Pete was no dummy. The last time Jim had some leverage on him, Pete had ended up on Jim's roof, attempting to install a new television antenna. It had taken five hours, sixty-five feet of wire, most of Pete's patience and one trip to the emergency room before the antenna was up and working.
"Jean wants that little sycamore tree in the back yard taken down." Jim was very deliberately emphasizing his wife's name; the one person Pete wanted to be protected from. Already, Pete knew he would have to agree to whatever Jim needed him to do. Jean is finally, according to Jim, giving Pete the benefit of the doubt about Judy and he wanted to keep her leaning towards his side of things.
"That…that dead one? The thing is almost forty feet tall. You are out of your gourd!" As far as Pete was concerned, the two of them taking down that tree by themselves was an invitation to disaster.
"Jean really wants it taken down. You wouldn't want me to have to disappoint Jean now, would you?" This was one of those times when Pete wished that Jim was still terrified of him.
"Fine, I'll help you, but you swear right now that Jean will never know about the 'snow.'" Jim crossed his heart and swore himself to silence. Now all Pete had to worry about was Jimmy telling his mother.
Even with the staff taking Pete quickly, the trip to the emergency room had taken almost two hours. They finally pulled into the station parking lot with a little over forty-five minutes left to their shift. Jim was out of the car and opening up the passenger side door before Pete could move. Malloy wouldn't admit it, but he was beginning to regret refusing the doctor's offer of pain medication. Jim hovered by the door. He was willing to help if Pete needed a hand to get out of the car. Pete got out slowly, under his own power, but the grimace of pain wasn't missed by his partner. Jim was positive the doctor was wrong about Pete being fit for duty.
Once they were in the station Pete managed to mask the pained look, but anyone who knew him well enough could see the hint of it in his eyes. The only outward signs were the swollen left eye and the bandage on his right bicep. Jim headed towards the lock-up to check on their three arrestees while Pete made his way to the locker room. His uniform had blood stains on it and needed to be changed. A few of the AM watch guys were already there getting ready. A quick glance around the locker-room confirmed Pete's assumption that Wells wouldn't be there yet. Ed's reputation for being late was well known around the division. Still, Pete would find him before he went home tonight. There were questions about Pete's general appearance and his injuries, but "bar fight" was the only explanation needed.
After Jim checked on the prisoners, he made his way to the report desk. He wanted to get the reports written as soon as possible so Pete could go home and rest. Sergeant Murphy saw Jim through the window of the WC's office, summoning hm in with a wave of his hand. He needed to talk to Pete, but Jim would undoubtedly know where his partner was. Jim informed the sergeant that Pete was treated and released. He also told Murphy that Pete was cleared for duty but that he thought his partner should have been put on light duty status
"Pete was treated by a brand new resident and he took advantage of the doctor's inexperience. He bullied his way into being cleared for duty." Jim was more worried about Pete's injuries than he was of Pete being mad at him.
The watch commander pushed the issue; asking if Pete was hurt that bad or could he work. Reed was about to ask why when Pete came down the hall wearing a clean uniform. Murphy waved Pete into the office at the same time he dismissed Jim, who hesitated but left. The sergeant was quiet at first; he was too busy giving Pete the once over.
"Are you well enough to work the AM shift?" The bluntness of the question caught Pete by surprise. He had expected to find Murphy concerned about his injuries, for his own sake; not to see if he could work.
"It's nice to know that you care, Murph." Pete tossed the medical release form on the desk. "I'm doing my arrests and reports, and then I am going home to sleep.
"But, can you work? Now?" Pete could hear the desperation in the sergeant's voice, but whatever the matter with him was, it was his problem. There was no way Pete was going to work another shift. He had been able to convince the doctor to not put him on restricted duty, but it was on the condition that Pete went straight home and called in sick if he was still in pain.
"I'd really rather not do another eight hours on patrol. As it is, Jim and I will be here for at least two hours finishing the paperwork on the bar fight bust." To emphasize the point, Pete was slowly making his way towards the door.
"Mac called out. His wife and kids were in a car accident." Pete stopped mid-step, this had gotten his attention. Murphy explained that Mac's wife was driving home when someone hit the car. Pete wished he would skip the details and give him the important information; were Mary, Billy and Elizabeth hurt? Billy and Mary had a concussions and Elizabeth had broken her arm. The hospital was keeping all three of them over-night for observation. Mac was staying at the hospital to keep an eye on his family. None of the other watch commanders could come in to cover for MacDonald; one was on vacation, another had a broken leg and the other two were each doing twelve hour shifts beginning at 8am and 8pm.
"Please Pete. I can't work a triple shift. There's no one else. No one on the AM watch is cleared to do the job. I've done most of the paperwork already. If you want, I will do roll call for you. That way you can help Reed with the reports." Murphy held up the briefing file used during roll call.
"Murph, I'm in no condition to work. My head is throbbing and my gut is black and blue." He understood the other officer's position, but he didn't think he would last for another eight hours.
"There's no one else." Murphy spoke so softly that Pete had barely heard him repeat that plaintive remark. It was the last thing that Pete wanted to do, but he owed Mac much more than working a shift for him. Against his better judgement, Pete finally agreed to work for Mac. He left to join Jim at the report desk to tell him that he was working the next shift. Jim would not be happy.
Jim argued that Pete wasn't in any condition to work and that he had promised the doctor he would go home as soon as his shift was over. Pete didn't dispute Reed's arguments. He agreed with Jim. In fact, Pete would have accepted an invitation to rest at Jim's house if it was offered, but he was stuck. Once he knew why, Jim agreed that Pete's working Mac's shift was the only solution, but he was still worried. He saw what Murphy didn't; the stiff way Pete was moving, the flashes of pain in his friend's eyes.
"Relax Jim. It's not going to kill me to work Mac's shift, but if it does….remember that I hate bag pipes." It was typical Pete; falling back on humor to diffuse a tense situation.
Murphy was true to his word. The paperwork was all done and roll call went on without Pete having to leave the report desk. He was working on the injury report when he caught sight of Ed Wells trying to hide behind Sanchez as they both went to roll call. Pete elbowed Jim, calling Ed's attempt to avoid attracting his attention.
"Wells, do you have a minute to talk to me?" Ed acted as if he hadn't heard Pete calling to him. There was no reason to stop Ed now. He would have to pass the report desk on his way out. Pete would "speak" to him then. Jim was positive that avoiding Pete would not help Ed get out of answering to Pete. Walters had turned in his report with an apology for being late. Pete had all the reports now, except for Ed's.
Roll call ended and the officers filed out of the room. Jim stood up when Pete did. Together they would make sure that Wells didn't slip past them. Ed made an attempt by turning left towards the front desk instead of walking down the hall towards the parking lot. Jim, who was always faster than Pete, had no trouble blocking Ed's escape and leading him over to Pete. Certainly Pete's anger wouldn't have been so strong if Ed had manned up to the problem.
"Let's you and I go into the office and have a little chat." Pete had a lot to say to Ed, but would prefer to confront him in private. Ed refused to go into the office. Perhaps he thought that Pete would hold back if they spoke in the hallway. "You don't want to have this conversation out in the open." The tone of Pete's voice was clear, but it was an omen for a fool.
"Hey Pete, I know the report was due before now, but, I promise to get it to you by….Tuesday. We're square? Right? Good!" Ed spoke even faster than usual but Pete wasn't buying any of it. He positioned himself between Wells and the exit. Pete could be very intimidating on a good day, but tonight, angry and in pain, even Jim wouldn't push him. The black eye made him appear slightly deranged as he tore into Ed.
"No. We are not square. You and I will never be square. I'm tired of chasing after you to get you to do your job. You haven't had a report in on time since I took over from Bentley. You still owe me last month's evaluation. Maybe he put up with this crap, but I have had it. I want that report before the end of this shift." Finally, Pete paused for a breath. Only Wells would be stupid enough to argue with Pete.
"Look, I'll get it in. I've…" Excuses were not going to work tonight. Pete wasn't cutting Ed any more slack. He had no intention of going into Tuesday's meeting with the captain unprepared.
"You've got no excuse that will work. Nothing short of being dead can justify being four days late this month. Nor does it excuse your constantly shoddy work. The reports you do submit are devoid of any relevant information regarding Fraser's progress. The only reason I know anything about Fraser's capabilities is because I rode with him on Wednesday while you were off. The guy has almost three months of your training under his belt and he couldn't tell me his location. Not to mention the fact that his radio procedure is terrible. What have you taught him besides the best places to eat in your district?"
The hallway had been empty when Pete invited Ed into the office, but now a crowd of officers from both shifts was gathering, drawn by Pete's tirade. Jim gave them a lot of credit for staying far enough away from Pete to avoid calling that anger down on themselves. That also meant that Pete didn't see the officers behind him. Jim assumed that Pete wouldn't have been so direct if he knew they were there.
"IF you don't want to do that job right or if you are unable to do it properly, then quit being a TO and stop being a pain in the ass." Pete paused a few seconds to let that sink in before he went for Ed's jugular.
"Otherwise, I'll have to do it for you." There it was, all laid out for Ed; Pete could and would see to Ed's removal as a training officer unless things changed. An uneasy silence filled the hallway. Few had ever seen Pete in full "dressing down" mode. Snapping at them was one thing; threatening to have Ed demoted went way beyond that.
"Don't threaten me. You don't have the power to do that" Wells countered Pete's threat, but there was no force behind it.
Pete had already turned away from Ed and was making his way into the watch commander's office. He turned as Ed spoke flashing him an evil looking grin.
"Try me."
Pete's dressing-down of Ed had made an impression on the officers who had the good fortune to witness it. No one said a word or moved until after Pete slammed the office door closed. Once Pete was out of earshot they started moving away from the scene. They didn't dare speak above a whisper as they made their way to their assigned cars. It made perfect sense; no one wanted to poke the bear.
Woods, who, along with Sanchez had heard everything, wasn't sure what to do. Ed had put up a good show of not being bothered by what Pete had said, but now that the crowd was gone he leaned back against the wall. He was shaking as he turned to Woods.
"Do you think he can do that?" His eyes were pleading for reassurances that Pete didn't have the power to have him removed as a training officer. Even if Ed kept his rank he would lose the bonus pay for being a TO. It was money he needed, badly.
"You know Pete. He wouldn't say something like that unless he was sure that he had the power to do it." Woods had wanted to ease Ed's mind; tell him that it was an empty threat. There was really only one thing he could say to Ed that made sense. "If I were you, I'd get that report done as soon as you can."
Jim was probably the only person in the building who would dare approach Pete. He paused for a quick look before he knocked lightly on the door. Pete was working on what appeared to be his injury report. He wasn't, as far as Jim could see, showing any signs of anger. Jim entered the office at Pete's invitation and closed the door. He still wasn't sure what to expect from his partner when Pete burst out laughing. Had Pete lost it?
"God that was fun!" Pete leaned back in his chair and grinned at his partner. Reed didn't know what to think; Pete was acting strangely. A few minutes ago, he thought Pete would set a new high on a blood pressure machine and now he was laughing.
"Do you know how long I have been waiting to really lay into Wells; to stun him into silence?" Jim had to admit, Pete did seem in a great, if weird, mood. "You should have seen his eyes. They were bugging out. That was worth all the trouble he's been giving me."
"I know this", Jim was starting to grin too. "No one is going to be talking about your toe anymore."
