Thanks to everyone who is still reading and reviewing this. Thanks to YaleAceBella12, Pharmergirl, decadenceofmysoul, Fairybratt02, and the guest Coco for all your reviews. we'll see about making some of those requests come true. I will say I do remember the NCIS episode but not the Criminal Minds episode, however Anna just got over being hurt and I'm not sure I want to get her hurt again so soon. We'll see.
Scenes from and references to 7x11 and 7x12.
Anna dropped the tarts and a card in the break room before her shift the day after learning about Captain Maldone's death and went about her day. She didn't need to hang around and see if anyone liked them, it was the thought that counted and she was glad to be of help, even if it only helped one person.
"Officer Reagan!" a male voice called to her as she headed to the locker room after her shift. She turned to see a vaguely familiar man. "Buck Kilkenny. Four years ago, Captain Maldone was Lieutenant Maldone the CO of the officers here. My first CO. Donnie was a great CO. A lot of rooks looked up to him. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks. After yesterday's news, that tart was just what I needed. A taste of home," he said.
"You're welcome." Her phone went off with a social media alert. She checked to see a post from her brother Jack. After skimming it, she looked back at Buck. "I think my brother is going to do something stupid. I have to go." Without waiting for his answer, she slipped into the locker room and pulled up the post again. It was basically asking about service and freedom. Hoping to catch him before he actually committed to something he wasn't ready for, she changed quickly and rushed to her car. She called Jack and put it on speaker. She sat the phone in its holder and headed home.
"Anna, hey," Jack said, picking up the phone.
"Hey? Thinking what you're thinking and then you greet me with an excited 'Hey'?" she asked.
"Am I not supposed to be excited to get a call from my sister who is over 1000 miles away?" he asked, confused.
"Of course, but based on your last social post, maybe I should detect a hint of fear in there too."
"You read my social media?" he asked in the past tense.
"Currently read. How else can I keep an eye on you from this far away?"
"You could come home."
"Jack," Anna scolded, "I thought we talked about that. I want to be there but my life is in Miami. You said you were ok with that." They had sent messages while he had been grounded from his phone via social media. She still hadn't mentioned she was a cop but he had been doing better about her being so far away.
"Pretty sure what I said was I understand why you had to stay in Miami and that I'd try to do better about not letting it bug me, but I never said I'd stop wanting you to come home. Now, what do you think you know?"
"Let's see what you said: "Service before self, done some research, freedom isn't free, right?"" She read from his last post. "That either means you're going to do something stupid or you're joining up." She wasn't exactly sure what other stupid thing would fit there but she didn't need to be. Give him just enough rope and he'd hang himself.
Sure enough, Jack did just that. "Joining the Marine Corps is not stupid," he protested.
"No, but it is dangerous and, check the calendar, Jack, it's January 2017. You're only 16 and I'm pretty sure you have to be 18 to join the Marines."
"17 with a high school diploma."
"Don't you need parental consent at 17 too? You're not technically an adult until you're 18."
"I'll just do what you did when you needed consent to work."
Anna rolled her eyes as she parked her car at her place. When she needed parental consent to get a work permit in high school, she had put the form with her ones from baseball and layered them so only the signature line was showing. "Yeah, like Mom's going to fall for that again and you really think Dad won't find out?"
"I'll be 18 when I graduate anyway. I was born in October." He had been almost six when he had started kindergarten, putting him as one of the oldest in his class much like Nicky had been.
"True."
"You think I shouldn't join?"
"I think you're 16 1/2 and it doesn't matter what I say. You have two years before you graduate high school. And for the record, I don't think it's stupid either, as long as you're doing it for the right reason."
"The right reason? What's that supposed to mean?"
"That you're not doing this because you think it's expected of you. You need to do this for you because you feel a calling to do it or it feels right. That's why Jamie and I both became cops. You get that feeling that you have to do this because you're meant to do it, not because three generations before you did it and now it's your turn. That you can't be scared off because it feels so right. I have no doubt you can do just about anything you put your mind to but you have to do it for you."
"Of course I'm doing this for me. I think … Wait, did you say you're a cop?"
Anna's internal alarm went off and she backpedaled hard. "I did not say that."
"You did say that."
"Not at all. Please tell me Mom's not there."
"She's at work but you did say it."
"You're absolutely forbidden from telling her. Sibling swear it, Jack."
"I swear. Who else knows?"
"Everyone but Mom, Aunt Erin, and Pops."
"Aunt Erin and Mom I get, they're overprotective but Pops? You really think he wouldn't understand or say that girls can't be cops?"
"It's not that. Pops was partnered with one of the first female cops and they're still friends but I think if I told him, he wouldn't get why I want—need to do this, especially in Miami instead of making something greater or better with my life."
"I get that. Wait, Sean knows? You told Sean before you told me? That's not fair."
"It was not my intention to tell either one of you, it just came out but I do trust both of you to keep it a secret."
"Yeah, of course but ... you understand why I have to do this, right?"
"Not really but as long as you know why you're doing it and you're sure you have to do this, then it doesn't matter what I understand."
"Oh. Looks like Dad's home, I should go."
"Alright, just consider telling him. I think he'll understand."
"I'll think about it. Thanks, Anna."
"Any time, kid, and if you're ever nervous about telling Mom and Dad something, I will always listen and help you figure out the best way to tell them."
"I know." They hung up and Anna went inside, sinking heavily into her couch.
Could this week get any worse, she pondered. Turns out she shouldn't have had that thought. Right after she had that thought, she got a phone call from her grandpa. Seriously considering sending him straight to voicemail, her finger hovered over the decline button but she thought better of it and answered. "Hey, Grampa," she said, trying to sound excited for his call.
"Hey, sweetheart. Are you busy?" he asked.
"No," but she didn't elaborate.
"Are you sure? I can call back later."
"No, no, it's ok. Been a tough week."
"Anything I can do to help out?"
Anna took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She wished she could go back to her childhood where her grandpa knew everything and he could solve everything with kind words and a warm hug. Even if this could be solved with a hug, he was over 1000 miles away. "No, I don't think so."
"Well, I was just calling to check in."
"Which you could have done with a text or email."
"It's so impersonal to do that."
"I suppose you're right, but this feels like more than a checkup."
"Never could get much past you."
"I'm doing fine, Grampa. What's it that Grandma Mary used to say? Every day's an adventure?"
"She did believe that," Frank agreed lightly. They made a bit more small talk before Anna brought it back around to the original reason he had called. She pushed a little and he finally told her why he had called. "What can you tell me about the entrance process for Miami PD?"
"Well, I'm not sure it's all that different from the NYPD. It starts with a test. The FBAT or the CJBAT."
"The what?"
"The Florida Basic Abilities Test or the Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test. It's a multiple-choice test with between 90 to 130 questions and you get between 90 minutes to two and a half hours to take it. Once you pass that, there are three more tests. First is medical: blood tests, measurements, physical exam, all that kind of stuff performed by a doctor. Second, there's a polygraph exam that is part of the psych exam, and finally, a session with a psychologist about the results of the psych exam. Once all those results come back, you have to pass a background check. Finally, it's an interview with someone from the academy. The tests, the written ones, if you fail you can retake within the same month but I think everything else requires a year."
"You talked to a psychologist?"
"It's mandatory for all recruits. It helps them figure out why you answered certain questions the way you did or why you have something on your record."
"Certain questions?"
"You know I grew up around guns. Shot my first handgun at 10-years-old and that target is still hanging in my parents' garage. I could disassemble, clean, reassemble, load, and accurately fire six different handguns in three calibers by the time I was 12. A year later, I could do the same with three different long guns. I have never, not even once, felt tempted to use one of those guns or any of that training to ever hurt anyone. Well, not until I was 18 and my uncle Jamie told me that Uncle Joe was killed by a dirty cop. It's the only time I've seriously considered hurting someone, but a yes or no answer won't explain that. Or why you have a shoplifting charge on your record when all you stole was diapers and formula because your boss withheld your paycheck. Things like that are more acceptable when you put it in context. Terrorists, abusers, enemy combatants all of them fall in a gray area of wanting to kill someone. But wanting to and actually doing it are two completely separate things," Anna explained. "Is everything alright, Grampa?"
"Just fine, Sweetheart." She could just picture his smile as he said that. He was placating her and she wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that. Probably that he was having issues with something surrounding an applicant or procedure at the academy but he couldn't talk about it.
"I'm sure you'll handle it properly, whatever it is."
"I'm sure," Frank agreed. "Is there anything you need?"
"No, I'm doing ok."
"Well, I'll let you go. Take care of yourself and I'll talk to you later."
"Ok, love you, Grampa."
"Love you too."
After tossing the phone to the other end of the couch, she leaned back and let out a long, slow breath. She really hoped there wasn't another call for at least the rest of the day. Though she did partially wonder why he was asking about the application process for the Miami PD, she knew she'd never get an answer.
"Hey, Reagan!" a voice snapped her out of her thoughts as she headed to her car after her shift a few days later.
"Huh? What?" she asked, looking around for the owner of that voice.
"Over here," the voice called again. Anna turned and saw Zeek and a couple guys waving. She walked over. "Hey. We're headed downtown to a sports bar. Drinks, pool, darts. Come with us. I'll even buy your first round," Zeek said.
"That's good of you, but I'm only 20 so I can't drink. On top of that, do you really want to play pool or darts against a girl whose nickname is Lucky?" Anna asked.
"It'll be fun. Come on."
Well, at the very least it'd be fun for her. "Alright. Where we going?" He gave her the address and directions; she met them there.
They spent the first bit of time drinking and talking then one of the other officers called out to her. "Hey, Reagan, you're from New York, aren't you?" he asked from the other end of the table.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"You into sports?"
"I come from a metro area with 10 or 11 pro sports teams. Kinda hard not to be a sports fan."
"They got a game on?"
"Well, the Giants lost last week to the Packers in their playoff game, the Jets didn't make it to playoffs, no one cares about the Knicks unless you're in the Garden, the Islanders—"
"They're playing the Panthers later tonight," Zeek said. Part of her wasn't sure how he knew that, but then remembered that in hockey the Panthers were the Florida Panthers.
"Good to know. I don't follow them so I don't know, the Brooklyn Nets are terrible, but ..." Anna checked her watch, "the Rangers game should be on in like ten minutes."
"Hey, Faith, can we find the Rangers' game? We got a New York fan in the house," Zeek called. The bartender grabbed the remote and flipped through the guide until she found the right channel.
Anna watched the screen for a bit but they were still in warm ups so she turned her attention back to the guys. While Zeek had introduced her to the seven other guys, barely any of their names had stuck. "So, Anna, how does a city with a land area smaller than all 50 states and D.C. end up with more sports teams than some states?" Anna wasn't sure what the officer's name was that was talking to her but she was sure it started with an A.
"Uh, not to sound like a know-it-all but it's actually bigger than D.C. NYC has 300 square miles, D.C. only has 60. Though you are right about the states. The smallest state is Rhode Island with just over 1,000. What I actually said was the metro area. That's just shy of 3,500 sq. miles because it includes parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. It's the most populated area in the states. If you include only NYC itself, just the five boroughs, we have half as many sports teams."
"Ok, explain that to me."
"Ok. The teams that play in New York City itself, just the five boroughs, include teams in four of the top five sports: The Mets and Yankees, The Knicks, The Rangers, The New York City FC, and the team that doesn't use New York in its name, the Brooklyn Nets."
"Wait, aren't you forgetting two teams?" Zeek asked her.
"Nope. The City itself only contains six teams. The rest play outside of Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Yet, they all play within the New York Metro Area."
"I get it. Like the Miami Dolphins, they don't play within the City of Miami."
"Exactly."
"What about the other five teams?"
"Technically it's four teams with New York in the title, the fifth we don't claim. That would be the New Jersey Devils. We don't claim them for obvious reasons. The other four are the New York Islanders who play just outside of Queens, literally on the other side of the road, the uh ... um ... Oh, the New York Red Bulls soccer team which not a lot of people pay attention to and finally the Jets and Giants." Anna cupped a hand around the side of her mouth and added in a stage whisper, "We don't mention they play at the same stadium in Jersey."
"What a scandal."
"Hey, Rin Tin Tin, leave her alone. Jersey's a big thing for New Yorkers," Zeek called out.
Anna froze and looked at the man she had been talking to in disbelief. "Rin Tin Tin? Like the dog?" Anna asked.
"Yeah, I come from a military family and my name's actually Austin. Ronnie only heard the second syllable when we were introduced so he said 'Tin like Rin Tin Tin? Do you come from a calvary family too?' The name kinda stuck."
"I get it."
"So, which of those teams are you a fan of?"
"Rangers, Mets, Giants. Don't particularly like basketball or soccer. What about you?"
"Been getting into the Dolphins but mostly I follow the Avalanche and the Rockies."
"Are you from Colorado?" While it wasn't completely necessary to be from the place you were a fan of, that was how it usually worked.
"Yep. Spent six years there while my aunt and uncle were serving."
"My dad was a Marine, mostly before I was born."
They made some small talk until about midway into the first period. Anna looked up to see the Rangers score. As they set up for the next puck drop, the camera panned the crowd. She didn't see anyone she knew until a few moments later when it focused in on a family a few rows up from the ice. That face she knew. She pulled out her phone as the camera slowly panned back and it wasn't just the one face she knew. She took a few pictures of the screen then picked the best one and texted it to her uncle, with the message 'Not cool.'
Danny was the one that texted back. 'We can go next time you're in town,' he replied.
'Wouldn't be the same,' she told him. Her entire family was at the Rangers game it seemed.
Then she got a text from Frank. 'My idea, last minute, I'm sorry, sweetheart.'
'It's ok,' she replied.
"Hey, Lucky, show us you're just as good at pool," one of the officers called.
"I'm really not," she answered.
She texted her grandfather back. 'Have fun and happy birthday.' Anna put her phone away and went to play pool with the guys. As predicted, she was really not good at pool. However, darts was a completely different story. Of course, pitching baseball in high school really helped.
At the end of the evening, she looked at Zeek. "Are you guys going to be ok going home?" she asked. She knew they had been drinking through most of the night and though they weren't close or anything, she was still a cop and didn't want anyone driving home drunk.
"Austin has been drinking straight soda for an hour and Ricky hasn't touched a drop. We'll be fine. See you in the morning, Reagan," Zeek answered.
"Later, Zeek."
So, if you're like me you do your best to figure out exactly when the episodes take place as it helps with the timeline of the story. Unfortunately, sometimes the dates printed in the episodes don't exactly line up. In episode 7x12, we see Danny agree to provide security for Goodnight Mason and one of the things Mason wants to do is see his son box. There's a poster for it and it says that the match takes place on Feb 10th or 11th. Which in and of itself wouldn't be too out of sorts. However in episode 7x13 we see a blurry but still sorta readable wedding invite for Joe's old girlfriend that says she's getting married on January 28th. 7x12 was both filmed and aired before 7x13 so the timeline, like all timelines for Blue Bloods is inconsistent at best. I've set 7x12 and Frank's birthday earlier than Angela's wedding which will take place in the next chapter.
Also based on the fact that Jack turns 10 in an early episode of the first season (or was it 11 in the second season, either way) that would only make him 16 and a sophomore in season 7 unless the episodes are set months before they air, in which he could have turned 5 before the cut off date for kindergarten (it's a thing in the US) and he'd be a junior. Even if he were a junior he'd have another year before going to college/joining the Marines. Then we learn in season 9 (spoilers) that Jack is off to college, so somewhere he skipped a grade.
Anyway... hope you enjoyed.