Chapter 75: Love Languages
Eddie is sitting in her office at the 5-4 when she feels a bit of a chill so she reaches for her sweater on the back of her chair but finds it's not there. She looks around the office but then sighs "Ugh I left it in the viewing room." She remembers as she gets up and heads out of the office to get it. Opening the door, Eddie fully intends to only grab the sweater and leave but she stops short at the sound of her husband's voice in the interrogation room.
"I get it." Jamie states as he talks to the perp across from him "My wife is pregnant too. I mean don't get me wrong l love her but sometimes I just want my hot beautiful wife back right?"
"Yeah." The perp easily agrees.
"Instead, now we have these hormonal Dr. Jekel and Mrs. Hyde spouses right?" Jamie prompts.
"Yeah." The perp righteously agrees.
Eddie knows she should leave. She knows this isn't really her husband saying these words. She knows it's Lieutenant Reagan trying to break a perp but she just can't seem to turn and walk out the door…
"So I mean just the other day I caught this beautiful woman checking me out…" Jamie continues "…and I thought what would be the harm right?"
Eddie shifts uncomfortably on her feet.
"Right!" The perp eagerly agrees.
Jamie leans forward slightly like he's about to tell a really big secret as he scrunches his thumb and index finger together "I came this close." Jamie admits "But I'm a good husband so instead I go home to the wife and what does she do? She just starts nagging and nagging and..."
And that was all Eddie could take as she bolts for the door trying to keep tears from welling in her eyes.
Damn hormones! She seethes in her head. If she can just get back to her office and close the door without anyone seeing her, she can get herself back in check. She almost makes it but at the last second as she's wiping away tears she doesn't see Maria round the corner towards her and they almost collide.
"Whoa!" Maria laughs.
"Sorry." Eddie mutters in dejection as she tries to step around her "I know I'm as big as a house."
Maria's laughter immediately dies away and a look of concern appears on her face "Hey what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Eddie dismisses as she feels the tears wells up again just thinking about what she overheard.
Picking up that it is clearly not nothing, Maria gently guides Eddie the rest of the way into her office and shuts the door. "Alright spill and don't give me some excuse that it's just hormones."
"But it IS hormones!" Eddie throws out as she tries to wipe away her tears but they just keep falling "UGH!"
"Eddie." Maria presses "What happened?"
"I made the mistake of going into the viewing room to grab my sweater and I overheard Jamie trying to break the perp." Eddie explains "I know what he was saying isn't true but…"
Knowing the case they are working on, Maria already had a pretty good idea what Eddie would have overheard and she sighs "Eddie, what exactly did you overhear?"
Eddie sighs in defeat "That he wants his hot and beautiful wife back not this hormonal Dr. Jekel and Mrs. Hyde and…"
Eddie's water works begin again "…and that he looks at other women."
Maria momentarily cringes as she closes her eyes in sympathy "Eddie you know that isn't true. Jamie loves you. He's just…"
"Saying all that to break the perp." Eddie finishes "I know that but I can't help it. I AM as big as a house. I AM hormonal. Look all I need is just a minute to compose myself okay? I'll be fine." She unconvincingly promises.
"Eddie…" Maria begins
"That's an order!" Eddie demands.
"Okay…" Maria slowly relents as she begins to back out of the office.
"And not one word to Jamie about this!" Eddie orders "Understood?"
Maria looks at her Sergeant "Not one word to Jamie." She repeats "Understood." She accepts before exiting and shutting the door behind her. Sighing heavily, Maria's mind ponders something then she heads for the interrogation room just in time to see Jamie and Danny step out and close the door.
"Nice work in there Lieutenant!" Danny compliments as he sees his partner walk up. "He broke him in record time." He proudly brags of his brother to Maria.
Maria offers a small smile in return "Um Danny could I talk to you for a second please?"
"Sure, what's up?" Danny replies as he and Jamie give each other a silent head nod and Jamie starts to walk away but Maria reaches out, grabs his arm to stop him and pull him back.
"So I just left Eddie in her office." Maria states as she focusing on speaking to Danny "And she ordered me to say not one word to Jamie about why Danny."
A look of concern appears on Jamie's face and he opens his mouth to speak but Maria holds up a finger to stop him.
"So I of course accepted that order which is why I'm talking to YOU, Danny…" Maria emphasizes "…and not saying one word to Jamie understood?"
Danny and Jamie exchange a worried look before Danny looks back at Maria "Understood. Go on."
"It seems Eddie left her sweater in the viewing room while you were just in there getting a confession…" Maria explains "…and when she went in to get it, she overheard a part of the conversation."
"Oh god…" Jamie breathes out in alarm "Which part?"
"Which part?" Danny repeats.
Maria cringes wishing she didn't have to repeat this "The part where Jamie misses his hot, beautiful wife and instead now as a hormonal Dr. Jekel and Mrs. Hyde and that he looks at other women."
"No, no, no!" Jamie breathes out in despair "Words of affirmation." he mutters to himself "And I just did the exact opposite!"
"What?" Danny questions of his brother in confusion.
"It's her love language." Jamie absently explains as his mind focuses on trying to find a way to fix this.
"What?" Danny repeats again with a laugh.
Annoyed his brother finds something he himself knows is anything BUT funny, Jamie throws his brother a glare.
"What?" Danny repeats a little more seriously but in confusion at seeing his brother's look.
Knowing his brother will just keep asking questions, Jamie quickly explains "She made us take this stupid magazine test except it wasn't stupid, it was insightful. Her love language is words of affirmation and mine is acts of service okay and what she just heard in there is the exact opposite of words of affirmation…" he rambles "…now shut up and let me think because I need to fix this – fast!"
"Okay, that actually makes sense." Maria slowly notes as her detective brain ponders Jamie's words.
"I have to talk to her." Jamie decides as he turns to walk away but Maria again reaches out to stop him.
"Now Danny..." Maria continues on to her partner "If Jamie were to find out what I just told you and barge into his office to try to convince his wife none of it is true…."
"None of it is true!" Jamie insists.
Maria briefly glances at Jamie before focusing on Danny again "Two things would happen." She continues "One, my Sergeant would know I disobeyed her order." Maria states as she again glances at Jamie to see him sigh and reluctantly nod his head in understanding "And two…" She adds as she looks back at Danny "Eddie knows what she heard wasn't the truth. The logical side of her brain knows it was just an interrogation tactic but if Jamie goes in there trying to convince her of that she would know he knows what she saw and no matter how much he tries to convince her otherwise the seed of doubt has been planted."
Jamie looks between Danny and Maria "So what do I do? I can't do nothing!"
Maria smiles "Oh no, we're gonna do something alright."
….
Eddie sits at her desk with her eyes closed taking repeated deep calming breathes It's not true. Jamie love me. She just tries to repeatedly tell herself in her head.
Suddenly she hears someone enter the office. She pops her eyes open to see Jamie walk inside.
He stops short at the sight of wife taking deep breaths "Hey you okay?" he questions.
Eddie plasters a smile on her face "Yup. All good. Just practicing my breathing."
Jamie nod and heads for his desk.
"How'd the interrogation go?" Eddie suddenly inquires.
Jamie sighs "He confessed."
Eddie studies her husband a moment noting his lack of enthusiasm "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Yeah, of course." Jamie replies "Was just a hard one to get through you know." He adds before plastering a smile on his face and picking up his cup "You want anything from the breakroom? I'm gonna grab a tea."
"Sure, I'll take one too." Eddie accepts.
Nodding, Jamie heads out of the office.
Eddie turns her attention back to her desk to try to get some work done but notices Jamie didn't take her reusable mug with him.
Sighing Eddie reaches over, grabs the cup, gets up and walks out of her office to head to the breakroom herself.
Unbeknownst to Eddie, Maria who is seated at her desk immediately sends a text to Jamie.
E on way
With his phone already in his hand waiting, Jamie sees the text appear. He immediately pockets his phone and starts a conversation with Danny standing next to him.
About to round the corner into the breakroom Eddie stops short at the sound of her husband's voice.
"I just can't wrap my head around guys like that." Jamie states.
"I know." Danny agrees "But you did what you needed to do in there to get him to confess."
Jamie scoffs "Sure but I hated ever minute of it. Every time he kept agreeing with me I just wanted to reach across the table and deck him. What kind of a guy does that to his wife?"
Danny sighs "More then you'd think but you have to remember that wasn't husband Jamie and father to be in there, it was Police Lieutenant Jameson Reagan."
"I know that Danny." Jamie sighs "But I can't help it. Eddie and the baby are the best things that ever happened to me and having to say those things even if they weren't true almost made me sick to my stomach."
Eddie closes her eyes and tries to once again keep the tears from falling but this time they are happy tears.
"But at the end of the day, we got a bad guy off the street." Danny counters "That's what matters and now you can go hug and kiss your wife, tell her you love her and that baby and know by doing what you did the world is a little bit safer out there for them."
"Well I'm going to start by getting her a tea." Jamie begins "Oh crap I forgot her mug."
Quickly wiping away her tears, Eddie composes herself before stepping around the corner into the breakroom "You forgot something." Eddie states as she holds her mug out to her husband.
Jamie smiles apologetically at his wife "Sorry Babe." He states as he reaches to take it from her.
"I'm not." She states as she looks lovingly at her husband a moment before shrugging "I needed to get up and stretch my legs anyway."
"Well I got some paperwork to complete." Danny deflects as he moves to leave and head back to his desk.
"Well?" Maria questions the second she sees him.
Danny nods "I think it worked."
"Whew." Maria breathes out in relief.
"So really?" Danny then presses in wonder with an amused laugh "Love languages?"
"I take it you and Linda never…" Maria prompts.
"Took a love language test?" Danny counters with a laugh "Um. Yeah. No."
"Why not?" Maria counters back slightly annoyed that Danny seems to be making fun of the idea "It clearly seems to be working for them."
Danny looks at his partner unconvinced.
"You know another couple as happy as them?" Maria points out.
"No." Danny begrudgingly admits.
Maria throws him a 'See!' look as the partners find themselves staring at one another in awkward silence. Then from the corner of his eyes Danny spots Eddie walk back into her office.
"Excuse me." Danny mutters to Maria before getting up and heading back to the breakroom and up to his brother to see him typing on his phone "What are you doing?"
"Ordering flowers." Jamie absently replies.
"That's a part of words of affirmation?" Danny questions in surprise.
"No that's actually gifts but I'm still doing it."
"Why?"
"Because I love my wife." Jamie spits back in agitation.
"Jamie." Danny sighs "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I know that." Jamie counters annoyed.
"Then why are you acting like you did?" Danny points out.
Jamie lets out a heavy breath and drops his hand holding his phone to his side "I just told you, because I love my wife… and she heard what I said." he tacks on in frustration.
Danny scratches his head then looks at his brother "You said your acts of service right?"
Jamie nods so Danny lifts his hand and lightly whacks his brother in the back of his head.
"HEY!" Jamie protests.
"There." Danny announces "There's your act of service to knock that crap you're thinking out of your head."
Jamie glares at his brother.
"And just to clarify that was older brother Danny trying to knock some sense into his younger brother not a Detective assaulting his senior officer."
"Noted." Jamie grumbles as he rubs the back of his head.
"Oh please." Danny sneers "I barely touched you, I just did it to make a point."
"I know." Jamie repeats.
"Do you?" Danny presses.
"Yes." Jamie reiterates.
"Good." Danny acknowledges but Jamie's lifts his hand holding his phone and continues to type.
"Still ordering the flowers though." Jamie mutters.
Danny sighs but then thinks about it "Not a bad idea." He admits.
Silence.
"So what are these other love language options anyway?" Danny suddenly but nonchalantly inquires.
Jamie slowly lifts his head to look at his brother in weird wonder…
"Never mind." Danny then mutters at seeing his brother's reaction to his question.
"No, no, its okay." Jamie quickly insists before a smile creeps up on his face "You're my brother I get your initial resistance. I resisted too – big time." He laughs "But then I realized I needed to make the effort."
"Right." Danny nods in agreement.
Silence.
"So they were ah… words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts, um… quality time and… and…damn it what was that fifth one… oh right!" Jamie then laughs "Physical touch." He adds before looking at his brother "Why do you ask?" he curiously wonders "Is this about you and B…"
"Just go back to ordering your flowers and never mind." Danny interrupts before quickly turning to walk away before Jamie can say anything else but instead Jamie call out
"I'm sure you can find the quiz online." He states in amusement as he focuses his eyes back on his phone "Just search it!" He adds so he doesn't notice Eddie walking back into the breakroom as Danny exits.
"Quiz?" Eddie questions at the same time Jamie mutters "Damn."
Jamie glances up in surprise at seeing his wife standing before him.
"Why are you swearing at your phone?" Eddie queries.
"Hey what's your second favorite flower?" Jamie inquires "Lilies are out of stock."
Eddie scrunches her face up "Why are you trying to order flowers?"
Jamie shrugs in deflection "Can't a guy buy his wife some flowers?"
"Sure…" Eddie slowly replies as she studies her husband "I don't think they usually tell the wife first though - Jamie everything okay?"
"Of course it is!" Jamie immediately defends.
Eddie frowns "You want to try that again? Perhaps this time a little less um… forced reassurance?"
Jamie sighs "Fine because even though I didn't mean any of it I still feel like a heel for even having to utter those things so as stupid as it sounds, I feel like I need to make it up to you."
Eddie smiles at her husband "You just did because it's the thought that counts. What brought all this on anyway?"
"Love languages." Jamie mutters as he looks back at his phone "I know its not daisies – how about rose? You like roses. I could just do roses." He decides.
"Hang on." Eddie interrupts as she places her hand over Jamie's and his phone stopping his ordering "I don't need roses. Why are you talking love languages?"
But then it hits Eddie and her mouth drops open a bit "Wait…" she breathes out in realization "Quiz... love languages… were you talking to Danny about the love language quiz?"
"Um… maybe?" Jamie retorts.
"You were!" Eddie giddily decides "Is this about Danny and Maria?"
"Honestly I don't know…" Jamie admits "…could be but when I asked he kinda shut me down."
"How did you even get on the topic?" Eddie wonders.
"Ummmm." Jamie hesitates.
"Jamie…" Eddie warns "Spill."
Jamie toys with how he wants to answer - he could tell her the truth… or…
"Nope and that's an order!"
Eddie narrows her eyes at husband "You know you're mixing business with personal by doing that right?"
Jamie nods "I am fully aware of the hot water that might get me in with my wife but I'm pretty sure she loves me and these flowers I'm going to get her are going to be AMAZING!" He sweetly promises causing Eddie to purse her lips together and shake her head at him.
"Now if I just knew what her second favorite flower was…" Jamie wonders.
"You remember my wedding bouquet?" Eddie prompts.
Jamie tilts his head and scrunches his face up as he thinks "It was… yellow?" he finally replies.
Eddie reaches over and pats her husband's arm "Well you got it half right that's more then I thought you would get. It was yellow and white."
Jamie thinks back "Oh yeah."
Eddie shakes her head.
"Oh so those flowers." Jamie realizes.
Eddie nods "Lilies weren't in season yet." She explains.
"Oh." Jamie accepts "Who knew." he shrugs.
"Apparently not you." Eddie deadpans "Even though we did go over all this at the time of the wedding."
Jamie looks at his wife a bit surprised by that revelation "We did?"
Eddie nods slightly unimpressed "We did."
"Oh. Sorry." He apologizes "My bad. Okay so what kind of flowers were they?" Jamie presses as he holds his phone up, fingers in typing position so he's ready to search for them on the flower site.
Eddie shrugs "You're a Police Lieutenant. I'm sure you can figure it out."
"What?" Jamie questions.
"If I just tell you you'll just forget again." Eddie reasons "But if you have to work for it…" She adds "Maybe you'll remember it this time!" She adds before flashing a bright smile and turning to walk away.
Jamie watches her leave then looks back at his phone opens a different app and pulls up one of their wedding photos. He walks out into the bullpen and up to Maria – he holds the phone out in front of her "You know what kind of flowers those are?"
"NO!" Eddie calls from their office "Do not tell him!"
"I couldn't even if I wanted to…" Maria slowly replies as she looks back and forth confused between the couple "I don't know what they are."
"Oh." Jamie mutters with a frown at the same time Eddie says "Really?" in surprise as she once again comes out of the office.
As a long shot Jamie looks over at his brother.
Danny holds his hands up "Oh don't look at me. I have no idea."
Jamie thinks a moment then opens his text app.
"Who are you texting?" Eddie presses.
"Why?" Jamie counters "So you can try shutting me down again?"
"You two should just stick to words of affirmation and acts of service because this gifts one is clearly not your thing." Danny deduces.
Eddie looks over at Danny then looks at Jamie "What kind of weird universe did I just walk into?"
Danny looks at his sister in law slightly offended "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I never would have pegged Danny Reagan as the love languages type of guy." Eddie reasons out as she pulls out her phone and searches something.
"Oh what so he is…" Danny counters as he points at his brother "…but I'm not? We are brothers you know."
"Okay. You're right." Eddie relents as she turns her phone around and offers it to Danny "Here you go. Take the quiz."
"What?" Danny breathes out.
Eddie gestures at Danny with her phone "I pulled up the quiz. Here take it. It doesn't take long, not even 5 minutes. Right?" She adds as she looks at her husband.
Jamie nods in agreement as he hits send on his phone.
"Okay I'm not taking this quiz." Danny rejects as he pushes Eddie's phone and hand back towards her.
"Why?" Eddie presses.
Danny whips open his desk drawer and pulls out a stack of files "Because I have a lot of work to do." He deflects "No time."
"Hmmm. Nice save." Eddie agrees.
"I'll take it." Maria suddenly announces.
Danny lifts his head to look across the desks at his partner while Eddie copies and pastes the link for the quiz on her phone into her text app.
Maria's phone dings with a message.
"Just sent you the link." Eddie announces before a sly smile creeps up on her face as she continues typing away.
Danny's phone dings with a message.
"And you." Eddie humorously adds "Now be sure to take that quiz during your lunch break and not on the clock okay?" she quips before turning to walk away when Jamie's phone dings with a message.
"HAH!" Jamie suddenly announces as he reads his new message while moving to follow his wife "Your Mom says they were pansies!"
"Oh my god those were so not pansies!" Eddie rejects "Just get the roses."
"No, no I'll figure this out…" Jamie promises "Which florist did we use?"
Eddie shakes her head in disbelief "Don't you have arrest reports to sign off on?"
"Wait I signed the cheque for the florist." Jamie realizes as he sits down at his desk focused more on flowers then work…
Suddenly Eddie's cellphone timer rings "Already?" she breathes out as she glances at the clock "How is it time to pick Mia up already? Where did the day go?"
"Rock paper scissors?" Jamie offers as he extends his hand out.
Eddie sighs and also extends her hand out.
"One, two, three." They both count down before displaying their choices.
"Off you go." Eddie instructs a moment later when she comes up with the winning hand.
"But I have arrest reports to sign off on." Jamie sweetly reminds his wife "Besides, when she begins to ramble off how her day went you can keep up!"
Eddie rolls her eyes "Then why did we bother with rock paper scissors?" she wonders as she moves to stand and grab her purse.
Jamie shrugs.
…..
Eddie and Mia walk back into the bullpen "And then Sally got mad!" Mia states in a huff causing Eddie to heavily sigh.
Maria looks up from her desk "What's wrong?"
"Mia told Sally she was moving." Eddie explains as Mia makes a beeline for Jamie and Eddie's office "Sally didn't take it well."
"Oh." Maria accepts.
"Hi." Mia grumbles to her Uncle as she enters the office, drops her bag and plops herself down into a chair.
Jamie looks up "Bad day at school?" he questions.
Mia huffs out a breath of air "Sally's mad because I'm moving!"
"Oh." Jamie breathes out as he looks over at his wife entering the office.
"I changed my mind." Mia suddenly announces "I don't want to move anymore."
Jamie and Eddie exchange a look.
"Um Mia…" Eddie slowly begins "This is not something you can just change your mind on because Sally doesn't like it. A decision was made, wheels are in motion and we are all moving."
"Besides you really want to give up that treehouse?" Jamie tacks on knowing that might win her over.
Mia's face twists and contorts as her mind jostles with the pros and cons "No." she finally relents.
"Good." Eddie accepts.
"Can I go get a soda?" Mia prompts.
"Do you have money?" Jamie inquires.
"No." Mia replies.
"Here." Eddie states as she reaches for her purse and wallet, pulls out some money and hands it to Mia.
"Thank you." Mia accepts as she takes it and exits the office.
Eddie moves to sit back at her desk but notices her husband with his lips pursed together in thought "What?"
"She needs to learn money doesn't grow on trees." Jamie states
"Well technically some of it does." Eddie jokes.
"Eddie I'm serious."
"We aren't her parents Jamie." Eddie reminds her husband.
"I know." Jamie replies "But we all had allowances by her age…" he begins "That's how we learnt to manage money."
"I never had an 'allowance'." Eddie states with air quotes "And I learnt to manage money just fine."
Jamie looks at his wife and Eddie looks at her husband before Eddie sighs in defeat "Guess we have another thing to add to the list of items we need to sort out on how we want to raise our child."
"Yup." Jamie agrees as Mia comes back into the room popping her can of pop open "So how much longer are we here for?"
...
