And love

Chap 32 Rescue from self

A/N: The idea for Erin and Nicky to be OOT at a conference comes from skyross19 – many thanks!

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The family is gathered in Bay Ridge for a family conference regarding Danny. How to support and encourage him through his recovery from a fractured left elbow. His goal, of course, is to resume full, active duty as an NYPD 1st grade detective. That role obviously demands that he function at full physical ability. Can he achieve that? The odds are against him. But he has his strong will and his family at his back. Will that be enough? Time will tell.

The family has gathered to strategize and plan. They are determined to help him succeed; they know that failure will in all likelihood destroy him. In the words of the Apollo 13 mission – "failure is not an option".

They are sitting around the dining room table, a somber expression on all faces; Linda is on speaker phone at Jamie's apartment (along with Paula Hill).

Interestingly, his sister Erin has not been heard from all week. Nobody knows whether to expect her and Nicky, or not.

SUDDENLY

Erin and Nicky burst into the room, wearing bright tropical wear, raising their arms and shouting "WE ARE BACK!"

They come to an abrupt halt and look around, stunned.

It looks like someone has died.

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"What happened?" Erin whispers.

Nicky stands at her mother's side; disbelief on her face.

"Erin . . . Nicky," Frank voices. "Find a chair and take a seat, please." He's not sure where to start.

They are seated, all eyes are on them. Surprise, disgust and more are evident.

Frank lets out a big sigh.

"Dad, may I?" Jamie steps up to the plate. Frank nods.

Eddie smiles . . . affection, admiration and love shine brightly on her face. She reaches over and squeezes his hand.

Mal & Mary Rose are so proud of heir dad! Cassie has never seen anything like this. A lesson in what family means. Well, not all families, as we've seen.

Jamie looks at Erin and Nicky, and starts. "We've had quite a week. First, your nephew Joe Hill-

"What? Who?" Erin exclaims-

"I'll explain who later, please. Joe is NYPD; he was shot in the right shoulder. He's at Bellevue, and just had his endotracheal tube removed so he can talk."

"Ok, so-

"In Joe's first 24 hours at the hospital, our 2nd tragedy struck. Danny and family were driving home from the movies when a drunk driver collided with their car."

"NO!" Both mother and daughter exclaim. "What happened to them?"

"Danny suffered a shattered left elbow-

"Oh my god!" Erin gasps. She has an inkling what that means. Nicky covers her mouth with her hands.

The rest of the table look on with interest. Especially the girls, Jack and Sean. This is the 1st full explanation the boys have heard.

"Danny has had his 1st surgery and is recovering. He will need more procedures and lots and lots of physical therapy. Danny is the reason for this gathering; I will let dad explain that after I finish."

"Linda had a severe concussion and was in the hospital for 24 hours. She is now at our apartment, resting. She plans to return home after the weekend-

"So, we can go home too?" Sean hopes.

"YES," a voice is heard over Eddie's phone.

All break out into laughter.

Jamie explains, "That was Linda on speaker. To finish, the boys were belted in the back seat and suffered only whiplash. They are recovering as expected."

"Easy for you to say," Sean scowls.

"Sean, I'll talk with you about that," Eddie whispers to him. He nods.

Jamie looks to his dad; Frank acknowledges the passing of the mic.

"Thank you, son, for that precise and concise summary of where we are. I see that Harvard wasn't wasted."

Jamie chuckles and nods in return.

Cassie looks puzzled. Mal whispers, "Later." Mary Rose softly elbows her sister.

"Let's take a little break," Frank suggests. "When we return, I will start the talk about how we all can help Danny achieve the best possible recovery. He gets up and heads upstairs to refresh himself.

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After all are seated, they notice that Erin is sitting rigidly with her arms folded across her chest. She is frowning furiously. "Dad, I have a question . WHY IN HELL DID NOBODY CALL ME? MY BROTHER ALMLST DIED AND-

"Just a damn minute!" Eddie interrupts. "Thursday afternoon I called both of you. I got voice mail; I left a message. I got no call back. I/we tried!"

Nicky is hanging her head, "That's my fault. It was my idea to-

"No, Nicky, I agreed to-

"No mom! I need to step up and admit what I did. I convinced mom to go off the grid for our little vacation while she was at the district attorney's meeting. We didn't turn our phones back on until we were inside the terminal at JFK. I'm sorry."

"That's all right, Nicky. The family handled things," Frank noted.

"And, just for the record, you didn't inform us that you were leaving town," Pops added.

"Guilty as charged," Erin admitted.

"Now can we get on with it?" Frank asks.

Everyone nods and mutters "yes."

Linda speaks up, "Thank you dad for calling this meeting. My Danny will need all the support we all can give. When I saw him in the hospital, he was so depressed, he was even crying!"

"That's why we are here. I'm assuming he will have a rehab stay; maybe more than one. Thoughts?"

"This is Paula, may I speak?"

Jamie raises his hand; Frank nods.

"Erin, Paula is part of that nephew thing that I will explain later. She is an ICU nurse in Warwick, Rhode Island. Please go ahead, Paula."

"I have two suggestions regarding rehab . First – visits by family and friends are very important. The visits don't need to be long but they should be frequent. Daily at least. Second – food. Bringing favorite foods to Danny will lift his mood. And that can be a great way to do a visit. That's all, thanks for hearing me."

"Those are great ideas Paula, thanks." Frank declares. "Anyone else?"

"Linda, do you think Daniel would be receptive to a counselor?" Pops wonders.

"Well, maybe later. I am afraid that bringing that up too soon will risk resistance." Linda is heard over the speaker.

Many heads nod in agreement.

The girls, especially Cassie are taking all this in.

"Also, I think we might include peers of his at the 54, especially Maria, in the visitation." Jamie mentions. "Help him stay connected to the job."

Eddie pipes up, "I think we should be up front with him as to what we're doing. Not like it's a secret or anything that he has to figure out. He might well have some ideas or requests."

"Great ideas all," Frank motes.

Cassie covers her face with her hands, leaps to her feet and runs upstairs. Mal and Mary Rose quickly follow.

"What was that," Pops expresses.

"I think I know," Eddie gets up and goes after the girls.

"I would volunteer to take charge of the food," Pops declares. "Not that I will do it all, I'll delegate."

Frank makes a note. "What about visitation?"

"I will be in charge of that," Linda volunteers. "I need all of you to get me days and times that you can visit, please."

Frank makes more notes.

"Frances, what about asking Father Mark to stop by occasionally?" Pops suggests.

"Good idea, I'll touch base with him next Sunday." Frank makes another note.

"Is that all for now?" Frank sums up. "If so, I will ask Abby to type these notes up and send you all a copy. Thank you all for coming and volunteering. This is terribly important for Danny and his branch of the family"

"May I pray for my brother?" Jamie requests. Frank nods again.

Jamie does, and afterwards amens are heard all around.

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MEANWHILE UPSTAIRS

Eddie pads down the hall, stopping in front of Jamie's old room. She knocks softly. "May I come in, please?"

Mal opens the door a crack, sees it is her mommy and opens it wider to let her in. Eddie steps over to where the girls are seated in a circle on the floor. They scoot so she can join them, now a square of 4.

"Cassie, I know what you are thinking."

The 9 y/o looks at her, a skeptical look on her face. She gives her head a couple of shakes. The other two are doubtful also.

"Yes, I was where you are, sort of," Eddie presses on. "When I joined this family, I had no experience with a loving, supportive family circle like you saw downstairs. I didn't know who to trust, except Jamie of course. It took me some time, but now I feel so happy, so safe, so loved. It's wonderful! Would you like to be a part of our family?"

Cassie's eyes grow big, she clasps her hands over her face and begins to cry, again. "Can I . . . really?"

"Yes, you can. Jamie and I have talked about it. We have found no other family that is willing to take you in."

"Really, mommy?" Mary Rose is excited. Mal scoots over and embraces Cassie with both arms. All 3 girls are now shedding tears.

"There is some paperwork and stuff yet to do; Jamie and I will get started on that right away." Eddie adds her arms to the group hug.

"Now girls, it is time to get ready for bed. I need to go down and give Jamie the good news! I will come back up and tuck you in."

"And read a story?" Mary Rose asks.

"Yes, a story." Mommy agrees.

Eddie slips downstairs, the girls dash to the bathroom. They are getting used to sharing that space reasonably well. Just wait 'till they hit the teen years!

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Eddie catches Jamie still in the dining room. She gives him the news and tells him that Gwen has agreed to work with them on the adoption. He nods and turns back to Erin. Eddie slips back upstairs as he continues his explanation.

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"So, Paula and our brother Joe were in the NYPD academy together. They had a thing going and she got pregnant."

"Did mom or dad know?"

"No, neither did Joe."

"What the hell! Another Eddie! SHIT! That bitch!"

Jamie sits back, his arms folded across his chest. He looks at his sister, a look of unbelief on his face.

Silence. Minutes drag on.

"Well, there's more, isn't there?" She spits out.

Silence. Jamie is thinking. Eddie disconnected the call before she went upstairs, so Paula isn't hearing this.

"There is more, of course. But I am not walking down that road with you again, Erin." Jamie gets up and trots upstairs.

He finds Eddie reading a story. He enters and sits on the floor and listens along with the girls. His two girls (so far) snuggle close; he motions for Cassie to come also, she does. He almost dozes off. After the story he and Eddie give all 3 a kiss good-night and see them to bed.

Jamie pauses in the hall. "Wheat's up lambchop?" Eddie inquires.

In a low voice, "I started to explain Joe and Paula to Erin."

"Ah . . . and she reacted." Eddie raises an eyebrow.

"Just like with you, at first."

"And?"

"I am not walking that road again, Eddie."

"You told her that?"

"Yup!"

"And?"

"I walked away. I came upstairs."

"Oh."

"Yeah, Oh."

She pulled him down for a kiss or two. "The girls and I will be home after breakfast tomorrow. Can Paula stay with Linda for a while?"

"I think so. I will strongly suggest it."

"Good, I love you!" She purrs.

"And I love you! I've missed you beside me."

"Same here!"

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TBC