Before he went to see Eli, Pete made a phone call to a close friend of his who worked in juvenile. Over the years, Allison had sent him many troubled teens to coach in either basketball or baseball. It was time to call in a favor.
Pete found a dejected Eli sitting in the temporary cells in the station. He put his weapon in one of the lock boxes and let himself into the cell. He brought the boy a bottle of soda and a pack of peanut butter filled cheese crackers; there wasn't much of a selection in the station's vending machine. Meager offerings, but Eli didn't hesitate to dig into the snack. Pete had taken a seat on the bench next to the boy, waiting until he finished the crackers. He nodded when Pete asked him if he was given his rights.
"I called a friend to come help you. She's a sergeant in the juvenile division and knows that system better than I do. Since you've had your rights, I can't question you until your parents have been notified and a lawyer speaks to you. Technically, you don't have to tell me how I can get in touch with your parents. However, the faster we get this done, the sooner you can get out of here."
Eli, who was four when his father died, gives Pete his mother's phone number and address. Pete thanked him and promised to be back later. Somehow, he couldn't help but wonder if Eli's mother was up worrying about him. He hoped she was.
"You owe me big for this one Pete." Allison was waiting for him in the office. She was keeping busy reading the pile of reports Pete had left on the desk. He responded with his best charming smile; his green eyes sparkling. He had forgotten how soft her laughter was; their romance had been short, but they held on to the friendship.
"He's a scared kid Ally. I promised to help him get the best help available. That means you." Pete gave her Eli's phone number and trusted that she would take care of that end of things. Now, he had to do the hard part. He had all the witness statements, had written his report, had dealt with Ed and Fraser and seen to Eli. Calling Mac was next.
Central Receiving's policy was to cut off phone calls to patient rooms at 9 pm. There was only one way to reach Mac; he sent a squad car to the hospital with a message to call into the station. Pulling Mac away from his family didn't sit well with Pete, but he had no choice. Mac was the next step up the line of command.
While he waited for what he was sure would be an uncomfortable phone call, Pete's mind went back to his earlier shift and he smiled. He was sorry he had not been there to see the joy in Jimmy's eyes over the "snow". Pete had been there to see Jimmy repeatedly interrupting the minister's sermon with loud raspberry noises. He and Jim laughed, which only encouraged the lad to keep making that noise. Jean turned beet red and took Jimmy outside. Pete was also there the first time the dog threw up the Brussel Sprouts. Being a Godfather can be very rewarding.
"How about letting me in on the joke?" Pete, who had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, almost fell out of the chair at the sound of Mac's voice. Had Woods and Brady gotten the message wrong; Pete only wanted a call.
"Mac, you didn't have to come in. All I wanted to do was to fill you in on what happened tonight. Didn't they give you that message?" The tiny hairs on the back of his neck had started to stand up. This omen he caught onto instantly; Mac would only have come in if he was mad.
"Which thing did you mean to tell me about? Yelling at Ed in the hallway or bullying a resident into certifying you fit for duty?" Mac stood in the doorway, arms crossed against his chest. That blue eyed glare Mac gave him was enough to make Pete stand up. Mac was no less intimidating in jeans, a flannel shirt and cowboy boots than he was in uniform. Pete wanted to know who had told Mac about both of those things.
"In my defense, I tried to get Ed to come into the office before I spoke to him, but he was too busy trying to avoid me to do as I asked. I wouldn't have had to yell at him at all if he would do his job right." He was guilty of bullying the doctor, but felt totally justified in blaming the dressing down on Ed. "I can't do my job without the TO's report."
"That gives you the right to threaten to have him removed as a training officer, in public? That's a decision for the captain and me, not you." Mac had closed the office door; silently driving home the point about things being said in public versus those said in private. "You over-stepped your boundaries Malloy and you can be sure the captain will have something to say about it."
"Which training officers I choose to work with and those I don't is up to me. The Skipper gave me his full backing on any decision I make about the fitness of an officer to be one." Both men had their dander up already. This was not good.
"We'll see about that on Monday." Clearly, Mac was in no mood to give Pete the benefit of the doubt on this issue. "Right now, I want to know what you are doing here. Don't try and tell me that you are fine. I saw you wince when you got to your feet."
"I'm covering for you, isn't that obvious?" Pete, who hadn't slept in almost twenty-four hours, didn't make any attempt to hide the sarcasm.
"You know what I mean. Dr. Ankerson told me how you intimidated a resident out of putting you on light duty. That's the kind of thing I expect from Grant or Wells, not you." Pete intended to use the mentioning of Wells to his advantage. Perhaps he could redirect Mac's anger onto Wells.
"Wells is what I wanted to tell you about. He almost got some of us killed tonight." Pete paused a second, trying to read Mac's expression. "He brought in a kid, unhand-cuffed and let the kid grab his gun."
"Tell me about it." Mac, who was all set to continue yelling at Pete, stopped at that. His anger, for the moment, was replaced by concern for his men. Pete filled Mac in on everything that happened with Eli, including Ed's failure to keep his weapon secured. Pete handed Mac a file, thick with the reports.
"It's all in there Mac" Pete signed and leaned back, completely unaware that he was massaging his left temple. Mac had been watching Pete; he saw the stiff movements, the flashes of pain in his friend's eyes.
"I'll cover the rest of this shift. Bishop will be here before Mary and the kids are ready to come home." A part of Pete urged him to refuse Mac's offer, but he was too tired and in too much pain to resist. He slipped into his leather jacket and grabbed the file with the training reports in them. Mac approached the desk as Pete headed towards the door. As they passed each other, Mac took Pete by the arm.
"Stop at the hospital on your way home." He didn't give Pete a chance to argue with him. "That's an order. You need to get checked out properly this time." A trip to the ER wasn't in Pete's plan, but he really had no choice. Mac wouldn't let him work until he was properly treated. If Mac heard the grumbling Pete made, he didn't mention it.
During the drive over, Pete considered Mac's objection to him having the authority to remove Ed as a training officer. The captain had given him complete authority in matters relating to training. Essentially side-stepping Mac's imput. Would Mac push for limiting Pete's power? It was true that his recommendations were always followed; still, he didn't want to give up his new authority even if it limited Mac's.
Pete finally fully understood his Grandfather's favorite quote. Benjamin Franklin, who didn't like being called an "Englishmen" because he didn't have the rights accorded to other subjects of the Crown, said "It's like calling an ox a bull; he's thankful for the honor but would much rather have restored what's rightfully his." Pete wasn't born at the right time of year, but in his heart, he was a Taurus.
Pete was greeted at the door of the ER by the sixtyish Dr. Ankerson, head of the Emergency room. A nurse ushered him into an examine room, saying that they had been waiting for him. The doctor ordered an IV line put in, explaining that he wanted to shock Pete's immune system with an intravenous dose of antibiotic. The doctor was checking the bite when the nurse returned and injected something into the iv. Pete assumed it was an antibiotic, but he woke up five hours later with a prescription for some pain medication and a form putting him on light duty. He didn't bother asking them what that medication was.
Pete pulled out of the hospital parking lot with the intention of going back to his apartment. Fifteen minutes later he realized that he had been driving on autopilot and was not in the right neighborhood. He was, in fact, on the Reed's street. His self-conscience knew what he needed when his mind didn't. Pete needed some "Jimmy" time.
As he was walking up the driveway, the door opened and Jimmy came barreling out. He leapt into Pete's arms and gave him a big hug; one that Pete returned wholeheartedly. He was honored when asked to be Jimmy's Godfather, but he had no idea how much that would change him or how much he would grow to love the boy. Jean, dressed for shopping, had followed her son out the door. Pete offered to stay and watch Jimmy for her. She agreed on two conditions: do not wake up Jim and do not give Jimmy any treats other than the carrot sticks she left in the refrigerator. Pete smiled and agreed to her conditions and Jean left with a reminding word. "Remember, no sugar."
At Jimmy's request, Pete sent forty-five minutes on the floor of Jimmy's room playing car crash. He would build a house, or wall and Jimmy would ram it down with one of his toy cars. When the boy tired of that, they left a mess on the floor and were heading out back to play catch. Once they were in the kitchen, Jimmy asked for a drink of milk. Pete was pouring him one when Jimmy changed his choice to chocolate milk.
"That sounds good. I think I'll have one too." Pete's response was met with a smile from Jimmy. Right now, Pete wasn't too worried about Jean's rules. The first cabinet he opened had the Ovaltine Jean used for chocolate milk. Pete, who knew the difference between chocolate milk and Ovaltine, searched until he found the bottle of Bosco Jean used on ice cream. He poured a generous amount in both glasses before putting it back where he found it. Pete found them each a straw and as Jimmy started to drink, Pete got an idea. Instead of sucking up the chocolate milk, Pete blew into the straw. It didn't talk long to teach the boy how to make his drink bubble. Then Jimmy asked for something else: cookies.
Cookies were a problem. Jean wouldn't notice that she has less Bosco, but she would know if there were cookies missing from the bag of Oreos. Jimmy was insistent and Pete had no desire to deny him a cookie or two.. (He wouldn't be the one trying to get Jimmy asleep later.) Luck was on his side; the Oreos had been opened already. While Jimmy watched carefully, Pete pulled out the tray holding the cookies. He took four cookies from the back end, pushed the tray back and clamped it closed.
"Neat trick, Partner. You do realize that Jean will blame me for that when she finds those cookies gone."
Neither Pete nor Jimmy had heard Jim coming into the kitchen. A shrug of shoulders was the only response Jim got from his friend. Jimmy chose this moment to yell "Daddy, look" before blowing into his straw. The chocolate milk bubbles ran over the rim of the glass and onto the floor. The dog, who was watching closely for any dropped table scraps, started to lap up the spilled drink.
Pete didn't even try to not look guilty; he was too busy laughing.
