Disclaimer: I do not own or make any money from Blue Bloods or the use of their characters. I am still feeling like I am struggling with this story. Please send along any prompts or ideas you might have for the characters and I will fit it into the basic structure I have for this piece.
Chapter Nine
Jamie rushed into the bathroom, "Eddie what are you doing?" He reached up and turned off the spray. She was only in her little night gown, her skin was bright red and she was shaking. "I'm going to get you out okay?"
Jamie stooped and picked Eddie up. He could see her skin had been scorched by the hot water. Quickly he laid Eddie on the bed. She was shaking so badly, he knew he had to get her help.
"Eddie, I'm going to call for a bus," Jamie told her gently. "You hurt yourself." He didn't want to do this to her, if they made a report and they investigated her career was over. Still she was burned.
"I had to," Eddie replied in the smallest of voices. "I had to make it stop."
Jamie sighed and dialed Danny's house.
"Hey, Kid," Danny said. "What's wrong? It's five in the morning."
"Danny, I need Linda," Jamie said his voice tight with tears. "Eddie, she…I think she had a dream but I didn't hear her. She went into the shower and she burned herself pretty bad."
"Call a bus," Danny said. "She needs help."
"I can't call a bus, if I do and they find out it can ruin her. Please, Danny let Linda check on her." Jamie was desperate. Eddie was shaking and her skin was already red and radiating heat.
"All right, she's going to be there, okay Kid?" Danny soothed. "You have to calm down right now. I know you're freaked she'd do something like this, but she needs you. When she feels better, in a day or so after the burns heal…we are going to take a drive to see her old man and…"
"Jamie…" Eddie called from the bed. "I'm okay I don't need a bus."
"I have to go now, Danny. I'll see you Friday for our workout…thanks for your help big brother," Jamie said the hung up.
"Linda is going to come over and check you over," Jamie told her going to the drawer where he kept his clean linens. He soaked one in cool water then wrapped it around Eddie's body. "We have to cool the burns, sweetheart." He held her gently as she was encased in the sopping wet sheet. "Tell me what happened?"
Eddie looked at him, still terribly shaken up. "I had a dream and I tried to wake you…but…I felt so dirty, I just wanted to get them off of me!"
"Who is them, baby?" Jamie asked rocking slowly, keeping his voice so gentle it wouldn't scare a fly.
"I don't know, I swear I don't know." Eddie looked at him with eyes as wide as saucers. "Jamie, I am so scared…Please…Please, promise you won't…I need you…I don't think I can function anymore."
Jamie held her a little tighter trying not to hurt her burned skin. "I promise I will help you, Eddie. I promise I will do anything it takes."
Linda arrived twenty minutes later. "How is she doing?" she asked. She had cream and aloe with her. "She's lying down. I put a sheet on her with cool water but some of the spots are blistering already. Some of the burns are just like a sunburn but a few look bad around her back and her shoulders."
Linda nodded and went into the bedroom. "How you doing, Eddie?" she asked. "Danny said you had an accident. Let's take a look." Slowly Linda unwrapped the sheet and examined Eddie's skin. "I don't see anything too terrible but you're going to be sore for a few days."
Eddie sighed, "I'm sorry to be such trouble, thanks for coming."
"It's no trouble, that's what family does. You were there for Jamie when Danny got shot, you helped get the man that shot him. I'm in debt to you, Eddie," Linda offered. "Most of this will heal in a week or so, there shouldn't be any blistering more than a sunburn. The ones on your shoulders are a little worse and your back that might blister. Do you feel sick at all?"
"A headache and a little nauseated," Eddie replied. "I'm dizzy too."
"That's the heat…Jamie, I want you to make sure she drinks plenty of water. Keep her body temperature down and apply the aloe and cream to her skin every four hours. Ibuprofen should help with the pain and swelling. If she runs a fever or vomits more than a couple of times, call me then get her to a hospital." Linda was firm on this.
"I'll watch her through the day, yeah but I work tonight," Jamie sighed. "She's going to have to bang in sick until tomorrow at least, right?"
Linda nodded, "She won't be able to dress for a couple days her skin is so tender. You can get a bad burn like that from a tanning bed."
Jamie smiled at her, "Thanks Linda. Tell Danny I'll see him Friday and tell him…" Jamie looked at Eddie. His strong wonderful partner was turning into a scared little girl piece by piece. He was losing her slowly as she was eaten alive by her demons. "Tell him to set up the trip, he'll know what I mean."
When Linda was gone, Jamie laid down on the bed with Eddie. His hand throbbed but right now she was his focus. "Do you need pain pills or …anything I can get you?"
Eddie shook her head then, "Maybe the trash can my stomach is all crazy."
Jamie left a lined can near her bedside, "There, drink some of this." He gave her a bottle of water. "You need to get all of that down you, okay? The burns will dehydrate you."
"I'm sorry, Jamie," Eddie murmured softly. "I'm so sorry I did this. I don't know what I was thinking."
"Please God, someone help me," Jamie replied softly. "That is what you were thinking. You need help, sweetie. Something happened and Thomas Casey showing up made it all come to the surface, but for some reason, probably fear, you just can't seem to unlock that memory."
Eddie looked at him with terror in her eyes, "I can't. Jamie, I don't know what's inside there…I don't know if I can deal with…"
"Eddie, you have to," Jamie said softly. "You really have to get this up and out so you can move on. It's affecting your entire life. You are freezing up on me, you aren't letting me make love to you, not really, and that I can live with. You are freezing on the job, honey. I could lose you because of this. If you don't care enough for yourself to get it fixed, please, Eddie, think of what it will be like for me to stand at your funeral and take your folded flag. I don't know if I can survive that. I barely made it through the last time."
Jamie's voice caught and he turned his back to Eddie. He didn't want her to see him cry. He didn't want to pressure her into doing something she wasn't ready to do. "I'm sorry, Jamie. Please…" Eddie sat up and put her hand on his back. It was shaking. "Don't cry. I'll be more alert and careful, I promise."
"I need you to get help, Eddie," Jamie said turning now that she knows he is crying. "Please, if you won't for you…for me. For us. Please."
Eddie sighed and swallowed hard. "Okay," she said softly. "Okay, I will get some help. I don't know if I can even really remember. I don't know if I want to remember. I love you so much, Jamie. I will call around and find a doctor that can help. Will you come with me?" Eddie asked in a small voice. "When I find a person to see, will you be there?"
Jamie nodded slowly, "Of course I will be there. I will be in the waiting room, in the office, in the car, wherever you need me to be. I will hold your hand or sit in the corner…We are in this together, I meant that, Eddie."
Eddie reached up and caressed Jamie's cheek. "I know you mean it, Jamie." She kissed him softly on the lips but nausea turned her stomach. She turned and threw up into the can Jamie put by the bed.
That went on through the day and into the night. Eddie was in pain and the heat was wreaking havoc with her head and her stomach. Jamie tried to make her feel better with cool compresses, water and lukewarm cups of tea. She fell asleep about 8:30 that night. As she slept, Jamie called Danny, "Set it up for the end of the week," Jamie told him. "She says she's ready to get help, but I can't take any more chances with her safety. Today was the final straw. We'll ride up together and get to the bottom of this, once and for all…"