Chapter 75: Peacemaker

Jamie and Eddie stand on the sidewalk off to the side watching as Rosa hugs her daughter goodbye "Okay you be good. I'll check in with you tonight."

"Don't worry I'll be fine." Mia promises.

"I know you will be." Rosa accepts as she looks up at Jamie and Eddie and smiles before clearing her throat "Okay I'm off."

"Drive safe." Eddie states "If you have any problems with anything just give us a call."

Rosa nods and walks to the driver's side of her car "Here goes nothing." She mutters as she slips into the driver's seat.

Jamie, Eddie and Mia all watch her start the car and drive away. "Alright." Jamie instructs. "Let's go grab Reagan and your bags and head back to the apartment."

….

Pulling into the driveway of the house, Rosa reaches up and hits the remote now affixed to her sunvisor and the middle garage door opens "This is definitely going to take some getting used to."

She pulls to a stop and gets out when suddenly she hears a steady beeping noise "Oh right." She remembers as she hurries over to and up the stairs to unlock the door and enter the house. She turns to the alarm keypad, enters the code Jamie gave her and the alarm deactivates.

She lets out a breath of air in relief then turns to take in the large silent house surrounding her.

She sees a few piles of boxes stacked in the living room that Sean had picked up and brought over for her "Guess I better get started." She states as she heads back out to her car to start unloading.

….

Eddie cautiously opens the door to Mia's room in the apartment, then walks in and reshuts it to see the young girl laying on her stomach on the bed near the edge watching as Reagan cautiously explores the new room around him.

"Um… aren't you going to unpack?" Eddie queries when she sees all of Mia's bags they had brought over just laying on the floor still full.

"No." Mia replies.

"No?" Eddie questions.

"No." Mia confirms "I'll just live out of the bags."

"What?" Eddie presses in confusion.

Mia sighs and sits up "Aunt Eddie in a week I'll just have to repack them again when we all move to the house anyway." She explains "I'm just saving time and energy doing it this way."

Eddie scratches her forehead "Mia you need to unpack."

"Why?"

"Because in the morning, you aren't going to be able to find anything and then you'll freak out and panic."

"No I won't."

"Yes." Eddie insists "You will."

"No." Mia stubbornly counters "I won't."

"Mia." Eddie warns.

"I won't!" Mia insists.

From the kitchen Jamie suddenly hears Eddie loudly growl "MILAGRO RUIZ!" so he races for Mia's room and swings the door open.

"Everything okay?" He questions in concern.

Already freaked out due to his new surroundings, Reagan bolts out of the room.

"Aunt Eddie!" Mia exclaims in frustration as she hurries off the bed "Reagan, it's okay!" She tries to soothingly call as she runs after him "Come on buddy, where did you go? REAGAN!"

Jamie turns his attention to his wife "Eddie?" He prompts in concern as he sees her taking deep calming breathes.

"She won't unpack." Eddie grumbles.

"Why?"

"Says why bother. We are just moving in a week again anyway."

"Well she's got a point." Jamie admits.

"Jamie she's not going to be able to find anything then she'll freak out and panic and then I'll freak out and panic."

"You mean like you're doing right now?" Jamie points out.

Mia suddenly reappears into the room and makes a beeline for her bags. She starts quickly opening bag after bag and rummaging through them looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" Jamie questions.

"Cat treats." Mia tosses out "Reagan is hiding. I need to coax him out. Come on! Where are they!" She whines in a panic as she haphazardly tosses things out of the bags.

Eddie turns to look at her husband with wide eyes while pointing at Mia "SEE!"

As much as he tries, Jamie just can't stop himself from laughing.

"Why are you laughing?!" Eddie demands.

"Because I've just realized what I've gotten myself into."

"HAH!" Mia exclaims in triumph as she whips out and displays a container of cat treats before hurrying back out of the room calling "REAGAN!" as she repeatedly shakes the container.

"What does that mean?" Eddie demands to her husband.

"You're pregnant, she's a preteen girl and I'm stuck in the middle as the voice of reason so take a deep breath." Jamie prompts his wife "I'll help Mia find and calm Reagan down and then she will unpack because as you can see…" He continues as he gestures to Mia's belongings now scattered everywhere "You were right so SHE will clean this up. Not you okay?"

Eddie blows out a breath of air "I was right." She states in satisfaction.

"That is what I said. Yes." Jamie muses as he places his hands on his wife's shoulders, turns her around and guides her out the door.

….

"So…" Jamie prompts into the phone laying on the counter in the kitchen the next morning "How was your first night?" he questions as he gets Mia's lunch together.

"Eerie and quiet." Rosa laughs out through the speaker of the phone "Being here by myself I really realized how huge this house really is."

"Well enjoy it while you can." Jamie lobs back with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Uh oh." Rosa states picking up on his tone "What happened?"

"Mom is that you?" Mia questions as she comes through the archway.

"Yeah it's me." Rosa replies "Good morning. Now I thought I told you to be good!"

Slightly surprised by her Mother's insinuation, Mia looks at the phone a moment before replying "I WAS!"

"Jamie?" Rosa questions wanting the truth.

Mia turns to look at her Uncle "I was!" she insists.

"You were what?" Eddie inquires as she comes into the kitchen.

"GOOD!" Mia insists.

Eddie jostles her head back and forth pondering that "Kind of." She finally states.

"Explain." Rosa demands with an edge in her voice.

"She wouldn't unpack." Eddie states causing Mia to throw her hands up in the air.

"And this is when I realized I agreed to be the peace maker between a pregnant woman and a preteen girl." Jamie explains to Rosa causing both Mia and Eddie to turn to look at him "And Rosa just so you know, they are now are both staring daggers at me."

"Oh boy." Rosa laughs out "Well if anyone can handle it you can."

Jamie shrugs "I'm trying."

"Meow!" Reagan interrupts hungry "Meow! Meow!"

"Yes, yes, it's coming." Mia promises as she reaches for a can of cat food.

"Hi Reagan!" Rosa calls through the phone "Miss you buddy!"

"Meoooow!"

Eddie reaches down to pet the cat "Oh you are so cute!"

Jamie looks at how the cat distracted both Mia and Eddie "Will have to remember that." he quietly notes to himself.

"Well I gotta go." Rosa announces "Want to get a bit more done before I head over to Heathers. Have a good day everyone!"

"Bye!" Everyone calls back.

….

Danny is seated at his desk when Maria walks into the bullpen and up to her desk unhappily muttering to herself under her breath. He looks up.

"Uh oh. What happened?" he inquires.

Maria glances into Jamie and Eddie's office to see they aren't there "What happened is I lost my daycare provider because of those two!" She hisses annoyed as she points to their office. "Rosa was sooo good with Elena!" She whines.

"Oh." Danny mutters "Sorry."

"And can I say anything to them?" Maria continues to rant on "Noooooo, because they are my bosses!"

"Oh." Danny repeats with a cringe suddenly feeling a bit awkward "But um… I thought Rosa found you another provider?"

"She did but she's no Rosa." Maria replies "I trust Rosa implicitly. I know when I drop Elena off with her I don't need to worry. This new person – I have no clue!"

"Why?" Danny states in slight alarm.

"Because I don't know if she will do everything in her power to stop a kidnapper like Rosa would!" Maria throws out frustrated.

"Oh." Danny repeats again.

"I know it's not really their fault." Maria then mumbles as she gestures towards Jamie and Eddie's office "Or Rosa's. Rosa did what she had to do for her and Mia. It just sucks that its at my expense."

"Morning!" Eddie brightly quips as she enters the bullpen.

"Hi." Maria mutters.

"Uh oh, what's wrong?" Eddie questions.

"Nothing." Maria mutters.

"Detective." Eddie warns.

Maria looks at Danny "God, she's doing it now too!"

"Doing what?" Eddie prompts.

"Doing that whole warning tone thing that your husband does." Maria explains.

"Oh the don't make me make this an order tone." Danny tacks on "Yeah, she's got that down cold."

"Well?" Eddie prompts "So don't make me make it an order then, just tell me!"

Maria stands there brooding but doesn't say anything.

"Okay if we don't all hash this out now, its just going to stew and escalate later so she's upset…" Danny begins as he gestures as Maria "…because you…" he adds as he gestures at Eddie "Took Rosa away from her."

"DANNY!" Maria hisses out unimpressed as she turns to glare at her partner.

"Pretty sure the look she's giving me is the one she really wants to give to you." he tells his sister in law.

Eddie heavily sighs "I know and I'm sorry but Maria please don't hold back. If you'd like we can go in the office and I can shut the door and we can forget our ranks and you can yell at me all you want. It's okay. I know your upset and frustrated. I'd be too I just… I mean… it was the best solution for all of us."

"Yes all of YOU. Not me and Elena – or Sammy and his parents or Ben and his parents!"

"Rosa was drowning." Eddie points out "She wasn't going to be able to keep that up much longer so chances were good you'd lose her anyway."

"I know." Maria mutters out "It still hurts though."

Eddie looks at Maria "You wanna move in with us too? Rosa can still watch Elena then."

Both Danny and Maria slowly turn their heads to look at Eddie in shock.

"I'm kidding." Eddie promises "Just trying to add a little levity to the situation."

"What situation?" Jamie asks as he enters the bullpen.

"Detective Baez here hates us now." Eddie informs her husband.

Maria throws her hands up in the air and rolls her eyes.

"Oh. Okay." Jamie simply accepts.

"Wait, that's your reaction?" Danny curiously inquires.

Jamie shrugs "I'd hate us too if roles were reversed and you stole Rosa from us."

"I offered to let her and Elena move in with us." Eddie tells Jamie.

"Sure two MORE women in the house." Jamie notes in defeat "Why not. I think Reagan and I will just go live in the treehouse."

"Oh no." Eddie rejects "You can go live in the treehouse if you want but Reagan stays."

Jamie looks between Danny and Maria "Pretty sure she loves that cat more then me now, which is ironic because she's always been a dog person."

Maria walks to Danny's side and leans over to whisper to him "Who are these two because this is NOT the Jamie and Eddie I know."

"Well they are in the honeymoon phase right now." Danny explains.

"Honeymoon phase?" Maria challenges "They've been married for years."

"No, not the marriage honeymoon phase." Danny corrects "The HOUSE honeymoon phase." he explains "See right now they are all happy, happy 'YAY! We're moving into a new house! How exciting!' phase but it will wear off as soon as things start breaking down – they'll come back to reality then."

"Things were already breaking down." Jamie reminds them "That's why we just spent a small fortune on repairs."

"Especially that roof." Eddie tacks on "Those things are expensive to replace!"

"But now its done and we should be good for the next 20-25 years." Jamie points out.

Smiling, Eddie happily nods her head in agreement so Jamie smiles back at her.

Maria leans over to Danny "Complete Honeymoon phase." She agrees.

"Annoying isn't it?" Danny tacks on.

"Very." Maria agrees "And you want to know the most annoying part?"

"What?" Danny queries

Maria turns to face her partner but points at Jamie and Eddie "They now have a live in Nanny!"

Eddie turns to look at Maria "What? No we don't!" She immediately rejects but realization finally hits Jamie

"Oh yeah no we actually do." he counters in awe.

"And an instant big sister they can use anytime at the drop of a hat for free babysitting." Danny adds on.

Jamie turns to look at his brother.

"Danny I'm on the phone watch your little brother for me please!" Danny reminds his brother of things his mother used to say "Danny, I'm in the kitchen making supper watch your little brother for me please. Danny…"

"Alright I get it!" Jamie interrupts "But I would like to remind you that most of the time you sluffed me off to Erin or Joe."

"Benefits of being the oldest and having underlings." Danny defends.

Just then Jamie's cell phone starts to ring. He pulls it out "Oh it's the real estate agent." he tells his wife before answering "Hello?"

He listens a moment "Oh." he then breathes out. He opens his mouth to say something else then pauses and changes his mind on what he wants to say "We'll get back to you." he adds instead before hanging up before looking at his wife in wonder.

"What?" Eddie prompts.

"We just got an offer for full asking price on the house." he states in awe.

Eddie looks at her husband confused thinking about how his side of the conversation went "Um Jamie we're moving into the house. Why did you tell her 'we'll get back to you' instead of just telling her we changed our minds and are no longer selling?"

"Because what if Rosa's job doesn't work out?" Jamie slowly states as his mind tries to work out all possible angles.

Eddie again looks at her husband but this time unimpressed "It will." She promises "And even if it doesn't, I don't care. We're living in that house so either you call the agent back and tell her to remove the listing or I will!"

"But if Rosa's job doesn't work out…" Jamie again tries.

Rolling her eyes, Eddie swipes Jamie's phone out of his hands and hits redial "Hi this is Eddie Reagan. You were just speaking to my husband? Yes. Just wanted to let you know we will not be accepting the offer, in fact, your services will no longer be required. We've decided to keep the house."

There is a moment as Eddie listens "No you heard me correctly. We are no longer selling so you can remove the sign and take down the online ad."

Eddie listens another moment, then moves the phone away from her mouth to talk to Jamie "Are there cancellation fees in the contract?"

Jamie gestures for Eddie to give him back his phone and she does "Hi it's Jamie." He greets into the device as he turns to head to the office.

Eddie looks back to Maria and Danny to see them looking at her with raised eyebrows "What?" She defends with a shrug "I just let my lawyer handle details like that."

Danny and Maria shake their heads as Lieutenant Gee walks up past the three of them into Jamie and Eddie's office with a file folder in hand.

Danny watches as Gee hands the file to Jamie, Jamie takes it, opens it up, reads then quickly says something into the phone before hanging up and looking up at Gee in surprise.

Gee shrugs, says a few words to Jamie and Jamie sighs and runs a hand over this face before nodding in understanding.

Satisfied, Gee turns and departs the office with Jamie following behind but while Gee heads back to his own office, Jamie heads for his team.

"What was that about?" Danny queries.

Jamie heavily sighs as he holds the file folder out "New case."

Curious, Danny opens the file to read. A moment later he lets out a solemn "Oh."

"Yeah." Jamie agrees.

Getting impatient, Eddie snatches the folder out of Danny's hand. She reads and her eyes go a bit wide "Oh god."

"Yeah." Jamie repeats as he gently takes the folder away from his wife and hands it to Maria.

Now extremely curious herself, Maria takes the folder and reads "Oh man." She breathes out when her eyes land on a pretty beat up looking pregnant woman.

"Let me know when you find this guy." Jamie instructs to Danny and Maria "Because when you do, he's mine."