A/N: Less of a "chapter", more like an interlude. A sign of possible things to come?
Officer Michael Daniels was sitting in his chair, reading a book when the apartment door opened, startling him to attention.
"It's just me," Eddie said apologetically.
Michael relaxed.
"Are you okay? Do you need anything?"
"I couldn't sleep and just wanted to know if you needed anything while I'm up," Eddie asked.
"No, thanks," Michael said. "I'm okay."
Eddie looked down the hallway.
"No suspicious activity?" she asked.
"None whatsoever," Michael said.
"Sorry you're wasting your time," Eddie said.
"Not at all," Michael assured her. "If this man comes back, we'll get him."
Eddie paused. The reason why anyone was there in the first place came over her like a wave.
"Come inside and I'll make you some coffee," she said, trying to change the subject. "It's the least I can do."
Michael smiled, grabbing his thermos.
"Sure! Just for a few minutes, though."
Michael stood there in Eddie's kitchen in his uniform while Eddie stood in her nightgown and robe. It was an intimate setting to be sure and maybe too intimate a setting for two colleagues, nevermind two colleagues who dated briefly, but Eddie didn't care for such niceties right now. It was familiar and with chaos swirling around her, she needed some familiarity.
"So…" Eddie began. "You and Reyes, huh?"
Michael looked at Eddie and chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"You knew?" he asked, somewhat surprised.
"Well, I'd see you two chatting in the hallway, and it wasn't hard to figure out," she said.
Michael's cheeks turned a shade of red.
"Yeah," he confessed, "but she broke it off."
"Really?" she said, furrowing her brows and recalling her conversation with Teresa.
"She said she's more of a casual fling type of gal and didn't want to lead me on in any way."
"And how did you take that?" Eddie couldn't help but ask.
Michael shrugged.
"All in all, okay," he said. "We shared a hug and one last kiss and left it at that. For now, we're going to keep our distance from each other."
Eddie smiled a sad smile.
"I'm sorry, Michael. You deserve a relationship just like anyone else."
"Eh," he said with a shrug. "What are you going to do?"
Eddie paused her movements while the coffee brewed.
"I, uh…" she began, "also owe another apology… I am sorry. About us."
Michael was taken aback.
"I never gave us a fair chance," Eddie said. "I was an airhead and I was all about what was next and – aside from the job – I just wasn't present… I wasn't a good girlfriend to you…"
A look of regret passed over Eddie's face.
"And I'm sorry."
Michael was moved, but he knew Barry's passing was likely bringing up old feelings and he wasn't about to take advantage of that.
"Hey," he said. "That was a long time ago. We were fresh out of the academy. I was looking to settle down, but I didn't even know what that really meant back then. So, really, Eddie… No harm, no foul. You were a good girlfriend, far as I'm concerned."
Eddie smiled her first hopeful smile since hearing about Barry.
"Really?" she asked.
"Really," he said. "You were there for me when my grandma died and held my hand at her service. No one else from the precinct came except you. I never forgot that."
Eddie furrowed her brow.
"I was royally pissed no one came to support you," she said.
Michael shrugged.
"All that to say," Michael continued, "is that you have no reason to apologize. You and I are good."
Eddie smiled. Michael always had a good heart. If things had been different…
"Well," Michael said grabbing the thermos now full of coffee, "I need to get back out there. Thanks for the coffee. You sure you're okay?"
"I'm good," Eddie said with a sincere smile. "Think I'll take a sleep aid and go to bed."
"Good night," Michael said as he went back out into the apartment building's hallway.
"Night!" Eddie said.
Eddie couldn't explain it, but, as devastated as she felt, she felt… Less so.