Chapter 31: Things are Brighter

Author: zeusfluff.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Blue Blood's characters. They belong to CBS. I do own all originals. Date Started: 9/28/23. Date Finished: 10/1/23. Enjoy!

Eddie smiled at herself in the mirror and looked at her reflection.

"Alright Janko, let's get ready to kick some ass."

Closing her locker door, she fixed her uniform one more time and walked out of the locker room. Her partner Amanda smiled at her just outside the door.

"Welcome back partner! Ready to get some perps off the streets?"

Eddie nodded and smiled, grabbing for the keys to the RMP.

"Hell yeah. You know I am."

The car ride during the morning portion of their tour was pretty quiet. They stopped for coffee and talked about Cora and how big she was getting. It wasn't until about four hours before end of tour they get a call.

"All units be advised that several suspects from a double homicide have entered a warehouse on E 197th street. Use caution on approach as suspects are considered armed and dangerous."

Reaching for her radio on her left shoulder, she responded.

"Central, 12 David responding."

Putting the car into gear and pulling out of their parking spot, Eddie signaled Amanda to turn the lights and sirens on. The adrenaline was coursing through Eddie's system as they sped towards the warehouse. After arriving at the warehouse, there were dozens of other police cruisers already parked outside. As Eddie exited the car, she felt the breath leave her lungs and an explosion of pain in her chest. She didn't know what was going on. She could barely hear Amanda. She could see her, but the pain wasn't going away.

"Eddie? You ok?"

Eddie loosened her tie and shook her head, managing to get a breath in to speak.

"My chest… hurts… Hard to breathe…"

Amanda gave Eddie a concerned look and motioned for the EMT's that were already on scene. Eddie couldn't think straight, and now her vision was becoming fuzzy. Everyone's voices were becoming faraway. Darkness soon enveloped her.

Jamie was just coming out of the break room when he saw EMT's, another doctor and two nurses wheel Eddie in through the emergency room doors.

"Oh my god! Eddie? What happened?"

His attention was turned to Doctor Harrison.

"Jamie, we'll take good care of Eddie. I promise."

Jamie took this moment to look over at Mara who was holding onto the next patient's chart.

"Go Doctor Reagan. Go be with Eddie."

Jamie nodded and stood just outside the emergency room doors. He hated seeing her so still like this. She was so pale.

He watched as the other doctors and nurses worked together to figure out just what was wrong with Eddie. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he dialed pop.

"Hey pop, just wanted to check in on Cora. How is she doing?"

Jamie heard a sort of exasperated sigh on the other end of the line.

"Jamie, you don't have to call every hour on the hour just to check in on this sweet little angel. She's doing fine. We were both having a nap. Unless this was about something else?"

Jamie took a deep breath.

"Actually pop, it is. Eddie was brought into the hospital. The other docs aren't sure what's going on yet. I'm watching them right now through the emergency room doors as they work on her."

Jamie listened to pop sigh on the other end of the line.

"Is she alright?"

Now it was Jamie's turn to sigh. Shaking his head, he spoke into the phone.

"They don't know yet."

Pop on the other end gave a small, dissatisfied grunt.

"Alright say no more. I'll round up the troops. Have you contacted your father?"

Jamie shook his head into the phone.

"I haven't talked to him yet."

Pop said his goodbye and hung up with Jamie. He left a message with Baker and then sunk down into a chair in the waiting room. He wasn't used to sitting in there waiting for someone who was a patient he wasn't taking care of. Doctor Harrison came out of the trauma room with a look of slight relief on his face. Jamie got to his feet hurriedly.

"Jamie. We've got her stabilized. She's breathing on her own. The EMT's said she was having chest pain and shortness of breath."

Jamie put his hand up for a minute and then got a word in.

"So, are you saying she had a heart attack?"

His heart jumped at the thought. She was so young. But not completely out of the woods. Her diet sometimes didn't help. Doctor Harrison shook his head.

"We're still running tests. She was suffering from mild tachycardia when she was admitted. Her shortness of breath is concerning. She was unconscious the whole time. She wasn't aware of what was going on."

Jamie felt his heart dip.

"So, are you going to perform an Echo cardiogram on her?"

Doctor Harrison nodded and stuffed his hands in his lab coat pocket.

"Yes."

Jamie swallowed and continued with his onslaught of questions.

"No ST elevations?"

Doctor Harrison shook his head no.

"No. But I'm about to perform the Echo cardiogram now. She's resting comfortably in a room just down the hall here if you want to accompany me."

Jamie followed Doctor Harrison. He didn't even have to think twice. Stepping into the room behind Doctor Harrison, he took in Eddie's form. She looked small in the bed. The sheets and blanket tucked around her. She had all sorts of wires attached to her and a blood pressure cuff on her left arm. Jamie ran a thumb over her left cheek and then kissed her forehead.

"Hi baby. What happened out there?"

Eddie remained still and unconscious. Her breaths even and calm. Doctor Harrison watched the machine that Eddie was hooked up to and took a sheet of paper from it. Carefully looking it over, he held it up to Jamie.

"What do you see here Doctor Reagan?"

Jamie took the paper Doctor Harrison held out to him carefully and reviewed it.

"There's no Tachycardia. No SVT's. Nothing. Normal sinus rhythm. So, what the hell happened?"

Doctor Harrison took the sheet of paper in one hand and clapped a hand on Jamie's shoulder.

"Eddie is going to be just fine. She had a panic attack."

Jamie sighed in relief and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Thanks Pete."

Doctor Harrison gave Jamie a warm smile.

"No problem, Jamie. Sometimes panic attacks happen, and we don't even realize what's going on. Your wife is one tough lady. She'll get through this."

Jamie nodded and shook hands with Doctor Harrison. Jamie took a seat next to the bed and ran a hand through her blond locks. He then placed a kiss to her forehead. He trusted the machine's she was connected to, but he wanted to make sure she was really ok. Taking his stethoscope from behind his neck, he put the earpieces in his ears and placed the bell up to her chest and listened. Satisfied, he let out a breath he'd been holding and smiled putting his stethoscope back behind his neck.

"I'm so glad you're ok babe. When I saw you being wheeled in on a stretcher through the emergency room doors, my heart just stopped."

Eddie took a deep breath in and cracked open her eyes. It took her a minute to focus, and then she found Jamie.

"Jamie? What happened?"

Jamie ran a thumb on the side of her neck and then kissed her forehead again.

"You're in the hospital babe."

Eddie furrowed her eyebrows.

"The last thing I remember was being at the warehouse. I was about to draw my gun when I felt this stabbing pain in my chest and then I was getting winded and then nothing. Did I have a heart attack?"

Jamie shook his head no.

"No. You didn't. The other docs checked you out. All the tests came back normal. You had a panic attack."

Eddie felt heat in her cheeks suddenly.

"A panic attack? Oh my god."

Jamie was trying his best to read Eddie, but she was keeping everything together by a thread.

"You said you responded to a call at a warehouse. What was the address?"

Eddie's eyes widened as she recalled where it was at.

"Oh my god Jamie. 7555 E 197th street. The warehouse we were being held in. This is embarrassing. I shouldn't let something like that get to me. It happened and it's done."

Jamie found that she was denying what happened and completely deflecting.

"Hey Eddie. Look at me. This is going to take time to process and get through. No one said it would be easy. I'm right there with you."

Eddie nodded and pulled Jamie into a hug. What she wanted most right now was Jamie and Cora. The rest of the family was there for her too of course, but right now she just wanted her family. That consisted of Cora and Jamie. Jamie gave another kiss to her forehead and got up.

"The rest of the family is all set up in the waiting room. There is someone who wants to spend a little time with you."

Eddie softened as Jamie left the room. A couple of minutes later he came back with Cora in tow. She was fussy, which meant she was hungry. Carefully pulling her arm out of one side of her hospital gown, she moved it just enough so that Cora could have access to her meal. Jamie gently placed Cora into Eddie's arms and she latched on. Eddie gave a soft laugh as Cora began to nurse.

"You have no problem eating baby girl. You are just like mommy. You like to eat."

Cora made happy gurgling noises as she enjoyed her meal. Jamie gave a soft laugh and ran a hand over Cora's dark hair. Eddie felt calm with Jamie there with her. Everything was falling into place. This moment was something she wished she had when Cora was born, rather than being trapped in that warehouse. Looking up into Jamie's eyes, Eddie held back her tears.

"Jamie, I wish I could stay in this moment forever."

Jamie's gaze softened and he nodded.

"We can. At least for a little while. We have to cherish these moments. They grow up so fast. I am looking forward to getting her a giant doll house. Having tea parties with her, taking her to ballet."

Eddie smiled at Jamie and then down at Cora, who was nodding off. Jamie reached out and stuck his hand into the blanket that was wrapped around her and tickled her tiny foot with his left index finger. Cora opened her eyes slightly and began suckling again. Jamie smirked and carefully took Cora in his arms.

"Ok. I think she's done."

Eddie nodded and watched Cora in contentment.

"I think I understand now. I'm completely in love with this beautiful baby girl. All 8 pounds and 6 ounces of her. I'm still trying to figure out who's nose she has. Yours or mine?"

Jamie walked around the room with Cora and smiled, tracing her tiny nose with his finger.

"I think she has your nose babe. She's got my smirk."

Eddie crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a look.

"Oh really? She's barely a month old and you can already see the Reagan smirk?"

Jamie only nodded and placed a kiss to Cora's tiny forehead. She had wiggled her way out of her blanket, her arms flailing. Her bottom lip was beginning to quiver, which meant she was going to cry.

"Hey baby girl. Let daddy get you all settled again."

Eddie gave Cora a sympathetic look and then one to Jamie who was expertly getting her back into a swaddle. Jamie made faces at Cora even though he knew she wouldn't reciprocate.

"Daddy is such an expert at getting you all settled sweet girl. But your daddy is a doctor. He makes people better. He helps bring little babies like you into the world. Be proud of the job your daddy does."

Jamie continued tracing Cora's nose with his index finger. Eddie was in love with both of them. She was just embarrassed about having a panic attack in front of her partner and other various officers from the precinct. Things were getting brighter though and this moment in time was proving it.

To Be Continued…

A/N: I promise in the next chapter I will include the rest of the family interacting with Eddie and making sure she's ok. What'd you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!