9

I'm having trouble writing for a nine year old boy, lol. I'm wondering if I'm getting his character right the deeper I get into this story, so feedback is welcome!

"Oh! Nice shot!" Jamie clapped as he watched from one side of the court.

"Told you I could make it!" James smiled,

"Hey, I wasn't doubting you." He collected the ball and dribbled it over to the bench. "This is fun, but I need a break, man. You're wearing me out." Jamie pulled on the collar of his shirt and wiped his sweaty face. They'd gone two plus hours so far and James' energy was endless, even after several of games of one-on-one and Horse.

"I'm glad we came here," James said and took a seat on the bench, grabbing the bottle of water his dad had brought for him.

Jamie took a long chug from his own. "Yeah. Me too."

They sat quietly for a minute, letting the breeze cool their overheated faces.

James peaked over at him. Feeling more confident, he figured now was a good time to get answers to questions he'd been wanting to ask. He wanted to know more than what he knew already, which wasn't much. "Can I ask you a question?"

Jamie raised a brow at him and asked, "Just one?"

James smiled, knowing it wasn't.

He returned the gin, ready for anything he wanted to know. "Shoot."

"My mom said you were married."

"I am," he nodded. "Eddie is looking forward to meeting you someday soon."

"Eddie?" James asked with a crinkle in his brow.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "She was named after her grandmother, Edit. She prefers to go by Eddie. It's just easier."

"Cool," James nodded.

Jamie smiled fondly and brought one leg up onto the bench as he turned towards him. "She's a cop too. We worked together at my old precinct, that's how we met. When I first heard her name, I was expecting a two hundred pound Hungarian guy."

"It's good she wasn't," the boy reasoned.

"Yeah," Jamie laughed. "Very good for me."

"Is she nice?" he wondered. It was strange that he had a stepmom now. He wasn't expecting that when he went looking for his dad.

"Very," Jamie assured him. "I think you and Eddie will get along great."

"Do you have a picture?" James wanted to put a face to the name, plus he thought he might be able to tell if that were true by seeing what she looked like.

"Of course." Jamie reached into the bag and pulled out his phone, eager to share the important parts of his life with James. He thumbed through his photos until he found his current favorite - a relaxed and smiling Eddie sitting along the river. He'd snapped it during a lunch date on a day off. "Here you go."

James' brows arched up into his forehead as he studied the photo. "She looks nice," he declared.

"She is. She'll be happy to hear that you said so."

"You don't work together anymore?"

"Not really," Jamie began, explaining further at the questioning look James shot him. "We're both at the Two Nine. She transferred over when I did, but because we're married and I'm a sergeant and she's still an officer, I can't be her boss. So she works on another shift."

"Do you wish you could still work together?" he asked, sensing

"We were great partners on the job," Jamie said, reflecting on his best years on the job so far, with Eddie by his side. "But we couldn't be partnered forever. I got promoted and we went from partners to getting engaged and married, so things change. I wouldn't give up what we have for anything."

James studied his dad. The way he talked about his wife was different than how his mom had been with Chris. He wasn't sure what that meant exactly but it was just different. He nodded and moved on to his next question as he handed the phone back. "And I have two grandpas?"

Jamie looked down at the image of his wife before turning back to James. "Yeah, there's my dad, Frank, your grandpa, and my grandpa, Henry, which makes him your great-grandfather. We all call him Pop."

"What do they do?"

"Uh, Pop is retired from the NYPD. He likes to feed us a lot," he smirked. "But he's also always around when you need to talk," he smirked. Then there was his dad. "And your grandpa, well, he's my boss."

"Like at your precinct?" James perked up.

Jamie laughed. "No, he's higher up."

"How high?" the boy questioned.

Jamie's head leaned to one side as he clarified. "Like the top cop, the boss of all bosses for the NYPD - he's the Police Commissioner."

"Wow," James' eyes widened but quickly figured there was a downside to that. "That's kind of cool for him but maybe not for you. So he tells you what to do?"

"Yeah, kind of the story of my life, bud," Jamie sighed with a smirk.

"So that's three cops in your family counting you," James pointed out.

Jamie smiled. Clearly Sydney did not get into the work they all did when she briefed James on his family. "There's more than three."

"Really?" he said, turning to fully face Jamie.

"Yeah, it's the family business. Your uncles, Joe and Danny, both NYPD detectives."

"Then how come you're not a detective too?"

That was a lot to get into with a nine-year-old, so he simplified it. "There's lots of other things to do in the department than just making detective. My path was different than theirs."

"So then what do you do exactly?" he asked, remembering his title when they first met.

"I oversee a squad of officers. I'm still in uniform and go out on patrol with them."

"That makes you their boss then. Your dad's not the only boss."

"Yeah, it does. But he's the main boss. Ultimately, we all answer to him."

James nodded and absorbed all he heard so far, but he still wanted to know so much more. He had so many questions. "What about my cousins? Any of them my age?" he asked hopefully. It would be fun to have kids to play with.

"Nah, sorry. They're all grown." Jamie went back to his phone and pulled up the most recent family photo they'd taken when Jack was home for a weekend last month. "I'll show you everyone."

Jamie scooched over and lowered the phone, pointing to various members of the family. "Those are the grandpas. I'm the youngest of four. This is your Aunt Erin. She's a lawyer for the DA's office and helps put away the bad guys we arrest. And this is her daughter, Nicky, she works here in the city. This is your Uncle Danny, and these are his boys. Jack is in college and Sean is getting ready to graduate high school."

James nodded, but there was someone missing. "Where's your other brother? Joe."

Jamie couldn't help the sadness that flashed through him at such an innocent question. He looked James in the eyes, masking the sadness, but was determined to be honest. With kids, one question led to another, something he needed to be ready for anyway. "Your Uncle Joe passed away before you were born. It was before I became a police officer."

"Your brother died?" James asked. His brows arched up with a mixture of surprise and sadness.

"Yeah," Jamie nodded.

"How?" he asked, as kids do.

This was where Jamie would tread lightly, but still be open. "It was on the job. He had some trouble on a call with some bad guys and got hurt."

James looked down, noting how carefully he spoke, like it was still hard to talk about. When he looked back up, he said, "I'm sorry he died. That had to be sad for everyone."

Jamie reached over and affectionately ran his hand down the back of James' head. The sentiment brought a lump to his throat. "Thanks, bud. And yeah, it was sad." He didn't think about having to share that with him yet and needed a second to process it.

James was doing the same and it made him worry. "Can that happen to you?"

Surprised by the question, Jamie made eye contact and took a second before responding. "I do my best everyday to stay safe," he said carefully.

It sounded a lot like a typical answer from an adult, but it felt honest. "I hope you do," he whispered and looked down at his lap.

Jamie pursed his lips at the emotion he felt. He didn't want James worrying about him. It was too close to the issues he had with Sydney. He schooled his features and elbowed James playfully in the side. "You don't need to worry about me. Except for maybe when I'm kicking your butt again in a game of Horse."

Insulted, James argued right back. "You beat me by one letter! And you're bigger!"

"Key word is beat," Jamie taunted lightly.

James grabbed the ball and shot straight off the bench. "Rematch!"

Jamie laughed at his enthusiasm. "Okay, hot shot! One more round, then we'll head back to your mom."

"Let's go!"

The concerns Sydney felt earlier melted away as she watched Jamie and their son walking towards her. James skipped sideways next to Jamie as he carried on an animated conversation with his father. Her fingertips pressed against her lips as she took in the sight. Physical resemblances aside and after only a few hours together, she could see these two were father and son.

Jamie laughed at something James said and looked up the block spotting Sydney under the awning to her building. "Hey! There she is."

"Hey, you guys!" Sydney exclaimed, shaking away the emotions that had washed over her. Her expression changed to an exaggerated grimace at their appearance.

"Hi, mom!" the boy shouted and ran the rest of the distance to meet her.

"Well it looks like you had a good time. You both are a mess."

Jamie adjusted his bag and pointed a thumb at James. "He doesn't like losing."

"Look who's talking!" James shouted back.

Sydney placed an arm around James' shoulders and raised a brow at Jamie. "Yeah, your dad was always competitive. Must have been growing up with three siblings."

"You think?" Jamie deadpanned. He had very few victories under his belt against his brothers and sister and they were all hard fought and won. "I had fun. Maybe we can try something different next time?"

"Yeah," James agreed.

"Great," Jamie directed at his son before addressing Sydney. "I'll call you and we can figure something out for next week if that works for you?"

"That sounds good, Jamie. Thanks," she replied.

"No problem. Alright, James," Jamie said and fist bumped his son. "I'll see you soon, bud."

"Okay, bye!"

"Bye, Syd," he waved and turned to walk back to his car with a smile permanently etched across his face. Today was a great day, better than he expected and he couldn't wait to see his son again.