I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to post the next chapter. I've had some writer's block and with teaching virtually, I've been trying to take a break from screen time when I'm home. I will do my best to post Chapter 5 a little sooner. In the meantime, if you're on Facebook, come check out the Blue Bloods Fan Fiction page that my friend Sherri and I started. I hope this will become a fun place where we can talk BB fan fiction and share our favorite stories.
Chapter 4
A week later Eddie had been taken off the meds keeping her in the coma. Dr. Madison told them it would take her a day or two for her to wake up. Kara changed her schedule so she would have the next two days off and she could be there when Eddie woke up. That day, Jamie worked a half day because Sarah had a doctor's appointment, so he brought Mikey to the hospital with him to spend some time with his Mom. The nurses had brought a little table in for Mikey to use so he could color while still sitting in his wheelchair. Jamie sat on the chair in the corner while Mikey sat closest to his Mom. Sarah was sleeping in her car seat.
"Jamie, how do you know my Mommy ?" Mikey asked, still coloring.
"Your Mom and I worked together as police officers." Jamie told him.
"Were you her parter?" He asked, wrinkling up his nose. Jamie smiled remembering seeing the same nose wrinkle from Eddie.
"I think you mean partner."
"Oh, yeah." Mikey said. "Mommy told me her partner was her best friend.
"We were best friends for a long time, before she moved to Philadelphia." Jamie told him.
"That's where I used to live, but Daddy didn't want us anymore after Mommy got the baby in her belly." Mikey said sadly. "Mommy didn't know I heard them talking.
"I'm really sorry to hear that, Bud." Jamie expressed. He was in shock hearing what Mikey just said. How could anyone not want Eddie, this sweet little boy, and a new baby? It hurt his heart thinking about what Eddie must have gone through. "You're here in New York now with your Mom, and Aunt Kara, Uncle Dylan, and the boys are really happy you're here."
"Can you and baby Sarah be my friend too ? I like you."
"I like you too. " Jamie smiled walking over to see Mikey's coloring. "If Mommy says it's OK, we can definitely be friends."
"Jamie?"
"Yeah, Bud?"
"When's my Mommy going to wake up?"
"Hopefully soon, the doctor took her off the medicine keeping her asleep."
"That's good." Mikey said, sadly. "I miss her hugs."
"I know I'm not your Mom, but I'm here if you ever need a hug." Mikey immediately put his arms out and leaned over to Jamie to give him a hug. Jamie hugged him tight sensing he needed it. "Eddie is doing a really great job with him, I always knew she would be a great mother." Jamie thought to himself while still hugging this adorable blond haired boy. Just then Sarah woke up and started to fuss.
"Is she OK?" Mikey asked, pulling out of the hug.
"Yeah, she's just hungry. I need to feed her and then we'll head home. Do you want your snack?"
"Yes, please."Jamie smiled at how polite he is and gave him a small bag of goldfish and water. While getting Sarah's bottle ready he listened to Mikey talk to his Mom.
"It's Ok, Mommy, you'll feel better soon." Jamie turned around to see Mikey talking to Eddie, who was making faces and trying to move. Jamie walked over to the bed to see her moving around, breathing hard, and looking to be in obvious distress. Jamie pressed the button to alert the nurses.
"Eddie, Eddie ." Jamie called to her calmly. "Relax, take a deep breath, it's OK." Her breathing started to slow just slightly by the time the nurse came in.
"Mommy's waking up !" Mikey shouted excitedly.
"She looks like she's in pain and struggling to breathe." Jamie relayed to the nurse.
"She could be, she does have some cracked ribs combined with the surgical incision. I'm going to add a little pain medicine in her IV and that should help, unfortunately it might make her sleep again for a little while." The nurse informed Jamie.
"That's OK, we're going to be leaving after I finish feeding my daughter and our friend Kara will be here in a little while." Jamie told her.
Jamie sent a quick text to Kara to let her know what was going on.
J - Hey, she's starting to wake up already. When are you going to be here?
K - Not sure, I drove today and now I'm just sitting in traffic.
J - You should be the one that tells her, she's not going to want to hear this from me.
K - If she wakes up before I get there, you're going to have to tell her.
J - Well you are going to end up picking up the pieces because I'm not going to be of any help there.
K - I'll do my best, and you're going to have to do the same. She really needs a friend right now and you are that friend.
J- You do realize that she and I haven't been friends in 5 years.
K - It will be OK. She'll appreciate you being there.
J- Just get here as soon as you can.
Jamie put the phone away and took a deep breath, he was not prepared to talk to Eddie at all let alone to tell her about the baby.
After talking to Kara Jamie was buckling Sarah into her carrier when Mikey started tapping his arm very quickly.
"Look Jamie, Mommy's eyes are open." Jamie looked up and saw Eddie's eyes open, looking around. She seemed less stressed than she did 15 minutes ago. Jamie wheeled Mikey closer to the bed. He leaned over to touch her on the arm.
"Hi, Mommy." Mikey smiled. Eddie's eyes blinked several times trying to adjust to everything around her. Jamie pushed the button to bring the nurse again.
"I missed you." Mikey continued to talk to her as she tried to get her bearings. The nurse walked in followed by the on call doctor looking at her chart.
"How are you doing, Mrs. Cooper?" Dr. Avant asked. Eddie shook her head. "Eddie" she mouthed.
"Let's get you a little water before you try to talk." the nurse told her.
"She wants you to call her Eddie" Jamie relayed to the doctor. Eddie shook her head 'Yes', as the nurse brought her water to take some small sips of. She tried to sit up but winced in pain.
"Don't move around too much, you just had major surgery."
"Why?" Eddie whispered, still trying to keep her eyes open.
"You were in a bad car accident, Eddie. " Jamie interrupted. "Do you remember anything ?" Eddie looked at Jamie very confused. "The day you came back to New York your car was hit and it rolled over. " She looked at her wrist, then put her hand on her head.
"Do you have a headache?" the nurse asked. Eddie shook her head and said, 'yes' a little louder. The doctor told her what to give Eddie for the headache before walking out.
Eddie started to regain her bearings a little more and looked over at Mikey.
"I love you, Mommy."
"Hey, baby." Eddie smiled widely at him. "What happened . . . ?" She put her hand on her stomach. "Oh my God, the baby ! ! What happened ? ? Where's my baby ? ?" Eddie was now extremely upset and yelling. "Jamie, tell me ! Where's my baby ?" Jamie looked up at Eddie and she just knew. She started crying hysterically. Apparently their silent communication was still there despite five years apart.
"Eddie, you need to settle down." The nurse said. "You're going to pop your stitches.
"I don't want to settle down, I want my baby." Eddie yelled.
Jamie got up and whispered to the nurse, "Let me talk to her, will you take Mikey out for a few minutes." She nodded.
"Mikey, we're going to let your Mom and Jamie talk, I've got some cool markers at my desk you can draw with." Mikey turned and looked at his Mom and Jamie.
"It's Ok, Mikey, go with Nurse Amy."
Jamie slid his chair up next to her bed.
Eddie was now sobbing uncontrollably. "Eddie look at me." Jamie asked.
Eddie looked broken as she picked up her head to make eye contact with him. "I'm really sorry. This wasn't how Kara wanted you to find out. She wanted to tell you. Do you remember anything?"
Still sobbing and tears coming down her face, Eddie tried to take a deep breath. "What happened to Mikey ?" she asked.
"He had a compound fracture in his leg. He had to have surgery and they put a metal plate in his leg. He'll need some therapy when he's out of his cast but the doctor said since he's young, there's no reason he won't make a full recovery." Jamie told her. "He's been splitting his time with Kara's family and me for the last week."
Eddie nodded, wiping tears off her cheek. "I. . . I remember driving over the bridge and talking to Mikey about being a police officer and walking in the city. He also asked about living near Aunt Kara." Eddie continued to sob. "Then I woke up here." She started to cry again. Jamie grabbed some tissues from across the room and gave them to her.
"Wh. . . What happened?"
"A box truck ran a red light and you were going through the intersection. He hit you so hard, your SUV rolled twice but came to a stop on the wheels. You guys were really lucky. It was bad." Jamie remembered.
"When we rolled up we didn't know what to expect." Kara added walking into the room. "I was so scared when I realized it was you." She started to cry.
"Kara" Eddie called out crying. Kara ran over and wrapped her arms around her best friend. Eddie started crying hysterically again. "The baby, I lost the baby. . ." She cried into Kara's shoulder.
"I know, honey. I know. It's hard now, but I'll help you through it."
Just then Sarah let out a loud cry, not wanting to be outdone.
Kara chuckled, "I guess someone didn't want to be left out." Jamie smiled and pulled her out of her seat. After discovering Sarah had a wet diaper, he quickly changed it while Kara continued to comfort Eddie.
As Jamie was finishing up with Sarah, Nurse Amy brought Mikey back in.
"Hey Mommy, I made this for you." He said excitedly as he gave her the pictures. "Mommy, don't cry, it's OK." Eddie smiled at how sweet her son was being.
"Can I sit with Mommy, Aunt Kara?" Kara picked him up and placed him carefully on the bed next to his Mom. Eddie wrapped her arms around him tightly and looked over his leg. "I'm Ok, Mommy. I get the cast off next week and then I can walk again."
"That makes Mommy very happy" Eddie told him.
"Uh, I hate to interrupt, "Jamie started, "but we need to head out so we can avoid traffic on the bridge."
"And get dinner, right Jamie ?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah Bud, we need to do that too."
Mikey gave his Mom a big hug and kiss. "I love you, Mommy ! I'll come back to see you soon." Kara picked him up and placed him back in the chair.
"I'll pick you up from Jamie's on my way home tonight."
"Ok, see you later, Aunt Kara."
Jamie left the hospital somewhat regretting his decision to help out. He was growing very fond of Mikey and enjoying the time they spent together but couldn't get out of his head the thought that he and Eddie could have raised him together if she hadn't left.
Kara arrived at Jamie's house about 3 hours later finding him watching the end of Aladdin. Mikey had fallen asleep on the couch while watching it and Sarah was already in bed upstairs. She noticed he looked pained, as if something was weighing heavily on his mind.
"What's wrong?" Kara asked, coming into the house.
"Just a lot on my mind, it's been an emotionally draining day. Between Sarah's appointment and the whole thing with Eddie I'm glad I'm off tomorrow, not sure I would be at my best.
"What's going on with the baby ?" Kara questioned
"The doctor thinks she may have an eye condition called ROP and she has to see a pediatric ophthalmologist to monitor her eyes. If it's not treated correctly she could go blind."
"Mikey was premature too and Eddie dealt with that concern too but he recovered just fine and doesn't have any lingering effects." Kara explained to Jamie. "I know you may not want to but Eddie might be able to help you understand what's going on."
"Kara, why are you pushing so hard for me to talk to Eddie ?" Jamie questioned.
"Because you two were such great friends and now that Eddie's back in New York, I don't want to be in the middle anymore." Kara admitted, "But the main reason is, you both have just gone through something traumatic, you can help each other through it."
"No offense, but I have my family and my daughter to help me through Sarah's death. Eddie has you, you're her best friend." Jamie reminded her.
"I am now, but you were best friends with her for almost 5 years, I know that connection is still there with her. I saw a glimpse of it today.
"That was the past, it's been 5 years, I know that I'm a different person than I was then and I 'm sure she is too." Jamie stated.
"I know she is, she had to change who she was just to get through every day." Kara started, "Jamie, she's not the same bubbly person you remember. He stripped her of all her happiness and strength. Between the guilt she felt getting pregnant and leaving you and how controlling he was, she lost all her spirit. She lived every moment for that boy. She was just starting to stand up to him and I started to see glimpses of the old Eddie, and then she got pregnant again and he basically pushed her over the edge."
"Jamie, she needs the people she had in her life to help guide her back to the person she was, she needs her confidence and purpose back. She's really shattered right now."
"I'm sorry, Kara, I had no idea." Jamie apologized.
"I know, you didn't want to know what was going on and she didn't want you to know what she was letting him do to her.
"What do you mean, what he was doing to her ? " Jamie questioned strongly.
"It's not what you think but it was just as bad." Kara admitted.
"You're dancing around this, either tell me or stop talking about it."
Kara thought it through for a few minutes before finally answering. "I beg you, Jamie, please don't tell her you know about this, she'll be absolutely mortified, five years later and she's still beating herself up over it."
"Don't worry, I won't."
"Ok, here goes. . . five years ago, the last time she talked to him before she left, he threatened her."
"What ?"
"He didn't want you raising his kid. Eddie kept trying to tell him the baby would have two great role models, but he flipped out and told her if she didn't come to Philly with him, he would contact Children's Services after the baby was born and tell the court that since she was a cop, she was an unfit mother. He told her that with all his money, she didn't stand a chance against him." Kara sobbed, "Jamie, she's been miserable for five years. When she found out you were getting married she was almost inconsolable and was depressed for months knowing that she had messed her life up so badly, but she was glad that you were happy and that you had moved on. She was the same way after she heard Sarah died, she just wanted to be there for you but knew she couldn't."
"Oh my God, Kara." Jamie said, angry. "That SOB. If he ever comes back into NY, I'm going to throw his ass in jail for treating her like that."
"You can NOT let her know I told you all that, she doesn't want you to know." Kara emphasized. "That's just the start of it, she had an absolutely miserable life in Philly."
"I had a feeling something happened, she was just not herself the last few days before she left."
"I tried and tried for days to get her to change her mind and to tell you, but she wouldn't listen. She just kept saying it was her fault, she was impatient and got herself into this situation and she had to fix it herself. I even heard her muttering to herself that she wished she wasn't pregnant. I started to wonder if she was going to end the pregnancy." Kara admitted.
"Wow, I had no idea it was that bad." Jamie said, sadly. "Now, I'm feeling guilty."
"Look, I know you have your own issues going on, but try to find it in that big Reagan heart of yours to just talk to her. She's at a very low point in her life and she needs all the support she can get." Kara pointed out. "After all, you have been taking care of her son." Jamie just nodded in agreement.
"It's getting late, can you help me get him out to my car ?"
"Why doesn't he just stay here tonight, I'm off tomorrow and you have an early tour." Jamie suggested.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it's fine. It will be easier on everyone in the morning." Jamie replied. "Just drop off some extra clothes on your way to work."
"You got it." Kara whispered as she kissed Mikey on the cheek. "He doesn't like to sleep alone right now, you're probably going to have to put him in bed with you. He's been sleeping in the same room as Tommy right now."
"Thanks for the heads up."
Shortly after Kara left Jamie carried Mikey upstairs to his bedroom and laid him in bed. After checking on Sarah and getting changed, Jamie crawled into bed. The mental exhaustion of Sarah's appt, Eddie, and his conversation with Kara had his mind racing. He rolled onto his side to check on the sleeping 4 year old next to him and couldn't help but smile when he noticed how much Mikey looked like Eddie when he slept. It comforted him just enough for him to fall asleep.