A Chance for a Better Life
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hawaii was beautiful and relaxing. Jamie and Eddie decided that they would spend one day doing an activity and the next relaxing for their entire trip. They wanted to go home relaxed. Eddie knew that Jamie would go back to being exhausted because he'd work too much, and she'd do the same.
One of their last days on the island they decided to rent a car so they could see more than just around the hotel. They spent a long time at the North Shore watching all surfers. Jamie was ready to get out there, but the thought scared Eddie. There had been several rip current warnings since they'd arrived, and she didn't want to bury her husband before they ever got a life together.
While Jamie and Eddie were enjoying their trip. Danny and Linda's house sold. Danny would be moving into his new apartment a week or two after Jamie and Eddie returned home. Until then Danny had decided to stay with Frank and Henry.
Jamie made sure when he booked their tickets that he they'd only miss one Sunday dinner while they were gone. Mark had sent him a text that they caught a case that they could use his expertise for, and he needed to prepare it might be a long one.
Eddie was happy to be home and sleep in her own bed. She'd taken a couple extra days off so she could adjust back to EST and get laundry done. Jamie didn't even make it home a full day before he'd been called in.
"Hey Mark." A very tanned Jamie said as he found his desk.
"Jamie! Welcome back, sorry to call you in on your last day of vacation."
Jamie laughed. After the text he'd gotten he was just happy he'd actually made it all the way home. "No big deal. What's the case?"
Mark sighed and looked around. The intel room was bustling, and they'd finally found a patrol officer replacement for him. The first two that they'd brought in hadn't worked out, but this third person seemed to be fitting in better. "Let's go into the conference room."
Jamie grabbed coffee on the way. "Okay so what's going on?"
Mark looked at Jamie's coffee. "Maybe you shoulda grabbed the pot."
Jamie laughed and groaned. It was gonna be a long day.
"Jamie the FBI asked us for help with a case."
"Okay."
"They need someone with experience on the streets and who can blend in and become invisible. There's a gang that's pulling homeless off the street to try and infiltrate places like police stations and community centers."
Jamie had a thought. "The bomb at the bus station three weeks ago!"
Mark shook his head yes. He knew Jamie would put the pieces together. "Yes, and there's chatter that they want to try for bigger things."
"And by having a known homeless person do it they aren't suspected as much and can get in with less eyes on them."
"Yes, are you up for it?" Mark watched Jamie closely. "The FBI wants you under by the end of the week."
Jamie took a deep breath. "I need to get my brother moved into his new apartment. Can I go under Sunday night?" Jamie was happy with Danny's progress but still worried about him, and with him moved into the building he and Eddie would be close to each other.
Mark thought for a second. "We have a meeting with the FBI tomorrow morning. Let's see what they say. How's Danny doing?"
"Better than before. He's actually moving into the same building that Eddie and I live in."
Mark knew how Jamie and Danny got a long and wondered if that was a good idea. "Is that a good idea? Did he talk to you guys about it first?"
Jamie laughed. "Yeah, it is. He'll be close by when in working a UC so it will give me a little piece of mind, and he did talk to us about it first. Right after dad asked him to move back in. Things are better between us than they were."
"Thank goodness for progress, but I guess things had to improve when you two were in the same squad."
"It did. Eddie helped too. They were convinced that I would be alone all of my life." Jamie laughed.
"Kid you do look tired. Why don't you take the case files and meet me at 26 Fed tomorrow."
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
On his way home Jamie called Danny to see when the movers would be at the house, and he'd been happy to hear that they'd arrive early Friday morning. Danny could be all moved in by Saturday afternoon. What made Jamie even happier was to hear that Danny was ready to move onto the next phase of his life.
The meeting at 26 Fed went really well. Jamie had a good reputation with the FBI and the NYPD. People were always wary of him at first because of Danny. Danny wasn't known to work well with other agencies, but Jamie had a way with people that Danny never would. Jamie liked the agents that were working the case too.
Mark wasn't sure what the FBI's reaction would be to Jamie's request, but they wanted Jamie for the job. They knew he knew the community better than anyone that they would put in for the assignment. Agent Bell said that no amount of training could ever replace Jamie's natural instinct on the streets.
Moving Danny into his new apartment was easy. He'd given Linda most of the furniture and had really only kept the guest bedroom set and the couch that they'd had in their basement for himself.
"Danny you gotta get more furniture in here." Frank said trying to figure out the best way to go about it.
"I know, but with the deposit, and the fact that I haven't gotten my half of the money yet it's gonna be hard."
Jamie and Eddie looked at each other. "Why don't you come with us. We just turned two apartments into one. We have a storage unit downstairs full of stuff that we've been trying to sell but haven't had time yet."
"I can't pay much right now."
Jamie looked at Eddie and already knew the answer. "Why don't you look first. It's about half mine and half Eddies. You might not like any of it."
"Okay."
By the time that the three of them came back upstairs Danny had a full apartment. Jamie and Eddie had very similar tastes and everything seemed to work together seamlessly. The only thing that didn't work was his old couch, but after further discussion it was determined that belonged in the trash.
"I'll pay you guys for everything after the house sells. Linda's not gonna believe this is my place. It's too well put together." Danny laughed.
"Take your time, Danny." Jamie said trying to ease some of the stress.
"Thank you. I appreciate everything everyone has done for me, but mostly you guys. Thank you." Danny said as he looked at everyone in his new apartment and he started and ended with looking at Jamie and Eddie.
"Danny, we all need help sometimes." Frank knew that was true of everyone and had his own times of need.
"There's nothing wrong with needing help. Now on your weekends off when you don't have the boys, I'm teaching you how to cook." Henry smiled. Dating at Danny's age wasn't going to be easy.
"And this place better be clean each time I come over. There's no excuse for anything to look like your room did growing up or the house the last time I was in it. The house has to be clean and a good environment for the boys. Linda can use it against you if it isn't." Erin smiled.
Danny blushed. Being part of a big family was a wonderful thing. When times get tough, they took care of each other, and he was very thankful to have that right now. "Thank you."
"Danny we all know that you'd help us." Jamie said thinking of everything Danny did for him including spending his first day stateside by his hospital bed.
Frank and Henry were the only ones to stick around the apartment. Jamie and Eddie headed upstairs to their own apartment. Jamie needed to get ready to start his new UC assignment.
Eddie wanted Jamie to go right to bed. He hadn't stopped since they got home. He was working and to Eddie it felt like he was working two jobs. His regular job, and then the case because he was spending so much time at 26 Fed.
Not only was this Jamie's first UC assignment in a bit, but it was also his first UC assigment since they'd gotten married. Being married gave her some solace knowing if something happened, she'd be the one notified. Jamie had his next of kin paperwork filled out before Eddie had her name changed.
Jamie had one final meeting Sunday morning at 26 Fed before he went under later that night. The family was happy that he'd be at dinner if nothing else, since they didn't have any idea when he'd be back, and they made it really clear that Eddie was to be a dinner even though he couldn't.
Frank just wished that Jamie could work an UC assignment in the summer instead of in the winter. He hated the thought of Jamie out on the streets freezing. Unless Jamie was able to work magic, he would miss Thanksgiving and probably his birthday. This was a big birthday too; Jamie was turning thirty. He should be celebrating with his new wife and family.
Jamie was a few minutes late for dinner. Eddie had gotten there earlier so she could help Erin and Nicky with dinner.
"Eddie, how do you feel about Jamie's new assignment?" Erin never dated any cops because she couldn't handle the thought that they might not come home one day.
"Jamie's good, and the best person for the job." Eddie smiled. This was gonna be hard. Jamie had done UC's since they'd known each other, and had been in one while they were dating, but that was a special situation. This time she won't be able to talk to him.
Nicky could see her fear but didn't say anything because saying something would reveal her own fear for her uncle and her mom's fear for her brother.
"He is good, but…". Erin started.
"But nothing, this is where Jamie belongs. I'm not stupid. I know this won't be easy and I'm scared that he won't come home, but I also know that stopping him from doing his life's work because of my own fears is the worst thing that I can do for both of us."
Frank had walked into the kitchen while the ladies were talking. Eddie had already impressed him. Family members of police deserved medals for their own struggles.
Erin didn't know what to say and thought that her dad would say something when he walked in, but he didn't.
An uncomfortable silence washed over the room. Eddie continued cutting potatoes, while Nicky continued making the salad.
"Eddie, is Jamie gonna be here soon?" Frank asked to break the silence.
"Yeah, he had meeting at 26 Fed this morning. He said he might be a little late but promised that he would be here." Eddie explained.
Frank didn't know that Jamie was working that morning. He had hoped he'd slept in and was relaxing. "Oh."
Dinner was almost ready, and everyone was congregating in the dining room. Frank and Henry had already taken their seats. Nicky was bringing various items to the table, and Eddie and Erin were finishing off the last-minute items in the kitchen.
Danny was watching out the front window for his brother to arrive. He wasn't happy when his dad told him that Jamie was working that morning.
"Daniel, come and sit down please." Henry yelled from the table.
"Pop, Jamie's not here yet."
"He's on his way. He sent me a text about ten minutes ago." Eddie said in hopes to get Danny to the table.
"Okay. He promised that he'd be here when I saw him yesterday." Danny explained as he sat down.
"How's the new apartment?" Frank wondered. Danny had lived in a house a long time, moving back to an apartment would be an adjustment.
"Great. I understand why Jamie chose that building so many years ago. It's a great location and the super is really nice and helpful."
Frank smiled. Hopefully Danny was going to keep moving forward.
"That's great Danny. Have you heard from Linda at all this week?" Erin would go weeks without hearing from Jack. She hoped that Danny had a better break-up than she did.
"Yeah, I did. She's happy that I'm in that apartment. We got an offer on the house too."
Jamie walked in only ten minutes late and heard the end of the conversation. "Is it a good offer?"
"Hey kid. Yeah, its full asking price. I was surprised, and the realtor thinks that we could have multiple offers if we wait a couple days."
"Alright. Let's say grace and then we can continue the conversation." Henry was hungry and now that everyone had arrived, they could move on and start eating.
Jamie and Eddie said grace together and then the conversation continued.
"How are the boys handling everything?" Erin missed her nephews. With both Danny and Linda working she would babysit.
"They're sad that we sold the house, but we explained why and how it's better for all of us."
"They'll find that life is better with the choices that you and Linda have made." Eddie was sure that was true. It may not be easy, but it was the right choice.
"Kid, are you ready to be UC now that you have a beautiful wife at home?" Danny would always worry.
"It's gonna be different, but better when I come home to Eddie instead of an empty apartment." Jamie put his arm around Eddie's shoulders and pulled her in close.
"Yes, it will be, and you're gonna be careful too." Eddie squeezed Jamie's other hand.
Jamie looked around the table. "Yes, I am. I always am."
"When do you start your assignment." Frank hated that Jamie was intelligence. It was the one area where he didn't always have control or knowledge of what's going on.
Jamie looked at his watch. "I have to meet with Mark at the station at seven." That was all the information he could tell anyone.
"Tonight?" Erin worried. It was gonna be really cold that night.
"Yes, but don't worry. I'll be fine."
Frank and Henry watched Jamie and Eddie closely through dinner. It was obvious that they loved and cared for each other. His hope was that they'd get a long happy marriage like he and Mary had.
Jamie volunteered to do the dishes because he knew it would be a while before he'd do them again. Erin, Eddie, and Nicky had disappeared to the living room.
"Kid, ya know we're gonna make you do the dishes for like a month when you get back." Danny laughed.
"I know, but this is the last normal thing that I'm gonna get to do for a while. Ya, know I do miss you guys when I'm working undercover."
"We know, we really do. I don' know that there's any kind of undercover assignment that we want you involved in."
Jamie laughed. "I know, but right now. This is where I belong. This is the work I'm meant to do."
"I know. Can you tell me where you'll be?" Danny wanted to bring his brother food.
Jamie shook his head. Danny knew about confidentiality, and that he couldn't say anything. "No Danny, and please don't try and find me and bring me food. I'll be okay."
"How did you know that I would do that again?"
Jamie put the last dish in the dish rack and finished drying his hands. "Because I know that you are still doing it. I have friends out on the street and every time I talk to them, they tell me about you. Everyone knows you're a cop that's why they don't talk to you more."
Danny always thought that he was careful. "Did you tell them?"
Jamie rolled his eyes. "No, they actually warned me when they saw you coming. They didn't want me to be too afraid of you but didn't want me to get too close either in case I did something illegal."
"I take my shield off. I don't want to scare anyone. I remember when dad told us that you first saw his shield, he said that you were so scared of the shield. I want to help people, not scare them."
"Why don't you help out at the soup kitchen?"
"I don't know. I miss mom more there, and that was always your kinda thing. I know you still volunteer there sometimes."
"Danny, I just work in the back office, and I would never stop anyone from volunteering. It's not my thing either, mom volunteered there and so does Eddie."
"Eddie does too. I didn't realize that she did."
"Danny they always need more volunteers. Take the boys when they're home too. It would be good for all of you."
Danny thought for a few minutes, again Jamie was right. That's why he was his annoying little brother. "Thanks Jamie. Don't be gone too long okay."
Jamie just smiled. "I'll be back as soon as we take down these monsters. Be safe out there while I'm gone too, and would you mind checking on Ed while I'm gone? Being a social worker isn't easy."
"Don't worry about Eddie. We'll hang out while you're gone, and ya know Dad's gonna check on her too."
Jamie laughed. "Grandpa already promised to watch over Eddie while I'm gone too."
Danny laughed. "Eddie's gonna eat well while you're gone."
An hour later Jamie left and headed back to work to start his latest assignment.
"Hey Mark. Are we good to go?"
"Yeah, you ready? You know who you're looking for?" Mark looked Jamie over. It had been a long day that started early, and they only took a few hour break for dinner.
"Yes, and I just got lectured from my family. I memorized the six main people that I'm looking for and I won't be too obvious in the beginning."
Mark wasn't ready for this assignment to begin, but they didn't have any choice. He wanted more intel on the subjects before they sent Jamie in, but after three weeks of trying they hadn't gained what they needed.
"What other possibilities are you considering, going in besides the fact that it's been in the tens and twenties at night?"
Jamie knew that Mark was quizzing him making sure he was in the right headspace and ready to be under for an undetermined amount of time.
"I'm prepared for the weather. Other things that I'm prepared for is that it's a gang, if something happen positive or negative it will change the structure and emotions will run high. They'll either celebrate and possibly get drunk or do drugs and if it's negative, they'll most likely chose violence, and anyone close by is a possible target. There are a lot of unknowns with this op because we don't know their end goal or who they're partnering with."
"Good. Good Jamie. I think you're good to go. The van is gonna drop you about an hour away from where we want you to stay tonight. With what you know about the area is that too close or too far?"
Jamie knew the area better than most cops. It was one of the areas he and his mom would frequent when they were homeless. "No that's good. I'm ready."
Two hours later Jamie was trying to find where he was going to sleep for the night. He hadn't been undercover in the specific area because he was afraid that it would bring back too many memories. The warehouse that they'd slept in had been bought and renovated a couple years earlier. Their little closet was gone. He'd never told anyone about the closet including the Reagans. That was their place where they were safe until they were hungry. Jamie knew when they talked about a drop site that his first night would be rough in more ways than one.
Eddie wanted to be alone. She needed time to come to terms with the fact that Jamie wouldn't be home for a while, and although she'd put a strong face on for her in-laws, she was terrified that the bad guys would win.
Danny could see Eddie's fear and understood because he had the same fear, but Eddie didn't seem ready to talk yet. When she was ready, he'd be there, or he'd make sure that his dad or grandpa were.
The next week goes by slowly for everyone. Erin has a big case that she's working on, and things are moving slowly, but they are still moving forward. Nicky has a big assignment at school, and she needs help, so she makes plans to meet with Eddie one night. Danny is trying his best to work his scheduled hours, but he's finding it harder than he thought it would be. Frank's worries about all of his kids, but the only one not going through something big right now is Erin. He's worried about Danny going through his divorce and being away from the boys. He missed his grandsons too. At least they would be at dinner the next weekend.
Danny's cases hadn't been anything crazy, but he did pick up a domestic case with a repeat offender. He was surprised to see Eddie at the scene when he arrived.
"Ed, what are you doing here?"
Eddie sighed. "Annette and Jordan are one of my cases. This is the fifth time I've been called out here because Carl decided to take out his aggression on one or both of them."
"Oh. Who was the last detective on the case?" Danny was hoping to get history.
"Detective Kaufman, but honestly he didn't do much."
Danny stared at his sister-in-law carefully. He didn't think that Eddie would have an anti-NYPD sentiment, but he could've been wrong. "Why do you say that?"
Eddie sighed. "So, Carl has a long record reaching back to when he was a kid in addition to his recent arrests, but instead of listening to anything that I have to say he just told me that I'm not a cop and that I don't understand anything."
Damn, Danny thought to himself. He hated how dense some people could be and knew that some saw him that way, but he would never completely ignore someone that was trying to help him, unless it was a fed. "This has been you're case for a while, right?"
"Since the first call out. I was in my second year of training when I met Annette and Jordan. Jordan was only two years old."
Danny knew Eddie knew more about this family than any cop ever could. "When was your last home visit?"
"Two weeks ago. Carl was still in anger management and therapy at that point. As long as he's attending both and I get positive updates from both things seem to be fine."
"Has Carl spent any time in prison?"
Eddie shook her head no. "No, he has enough money to keep himself out of prison. He has spent a couple nights in holding. He doesn't want us involved at all and has tried to get his case closed multiple times, but every time he gets close, he does something like this, and we have a reason to be involved."
"Why doesn't Annette just leave him?"
"Money, love, fear, she grew up without a father because her own father was abusive. She would rather Jordan have a bad father than no father at all."
"Damn okay. What happens when he kills one of them, because he came close today."
Eddie just wanted all of her people safe. "I hope that doesn't happen to anyone in my care, but I've lost more kids in the last year than I ever thought that I would. The system is broken but beyond that, this guy's rich and he can buy his way out of anything." Eddie took a breath. She really wished that Jamie would be home when she got there but knew he wouldn't be for at least a couple more weeks. "I'm sorry Danny. We are working on getting her and Jordan into a place of their own. It takes time."
"It's okay Eddie. I'm headed to the hospital to talk to both of them while Baez finishes up here. Do you want to ride with me?"
"No, I'll meet you there. I'll be there a lot longer than you will be."
Danny hadn't paid attention to anything going on around him. The NYPD rumor mill was gonna be going strong later. They didn't realize that Eddie was married to Jamie, but they did know that Danny's divorce wasn't finalized yet.
"Dinner tonight?" Danny didn't want Eddie alone all night after a day like this.
"I'll call you when I'm headed home. I might just pick up something on the way home." Eddie appreciated the offer.
With that they both went their separate ways, and Eddie didn't get home until close to nine that night. Annette decided that enough was enough she was going to testify against Carl, so they were going to be moving and Eddie had a lot to do to help them.
The next morning Danny was happy to see the update, and he'd gotten an update on the BOLO he'd put out on Carl. He had something to go on. He hoped to have him in custody in a day or two.
The end of Jamie's week was hard. He'd ended up sleeping in one of the same places he and his mom used to, and the memories had come flooding back. He knew anyone would think he was nuts, but one reason he kept taking these assignments is because they brought him closer to his mom. Another reason people would think he's nuts is because the best memories he has of his childhood before he was adopted are of when they were homeless. They would go to the library to get warm in the winter and he could handle being cold, but hated never knowing what Mason would do next.
It took him another two weeks before he got the smallest lead meaning he'd missed his birthday and Thanksgiving. He knew most likely he'd miss both, but with the deluge of memories he'd been dealing with it hit him hard.
Eddie and Danny had found a wonky rhythm. They'd meet for dinner a couple times a week. One day a week Eddie would cook and the second day they met either Danny would cook with Eddie's instruction, or they would order in. Danny realized that he liked to cook and wished that he would have shown interest earlier.
"Who taught you to cook, Eddie?" Danny wondered as Eddie was showing him how to make lemon pepper chicken.
Eddie laughed and couldn't wait to hear Danny's response. "My mom taught me how to make the lasagna that we made for family dinner last week, but other than that Jamie taught me to cook."
Danny's eyes got really big. "Really! I know he's been cooking since he was a kid, but I never realized that he taught anyone."
Eddie laughed. "Danny, he's taught a cooking class at the soup kitchen. I know he taught Spencer when they were in college too."
"Wow! Okay. Well, I've loved everything that you've cooked so he taught you well." Danny smiled.
"Has Jamie ever told you about when I came home from being overseas?"
"No. Jamie, and I talk about our pasts, but I don't think he's ever told me about that part of his life."
Danny took a deep breath. "Jamie endured a lot of loss early on in his life and he didn't take my deployment well, so he organized a pen pal program with his class and my unit. I have no idea when he had the time, but I think that he wrote me a letter almost every day. He was scared that he was going to lose me."
"He's told me a lot about his mom before he was adopted. I think losing her so young really affected him. I know he still worries a lot about everyone. I'm afraid of what would happen to him if something happened to any of you."
"Or you." Danny said knowing something happening to Eddie would be the hardest on his brother.
"Or me. What happened after you arrived home from your deployment?"
"Nothing went as planned, the day I came home was literally the day Jamie was diagnosed with Leukemia. It was a gut punch, and it changed my focus when I got home."
"Oh. I can imagine that was a very stressful welcome home."
Danny sighed. "It was. The thought of losing Jamie scared me to death. It still does, but he was so sick when I got home."
"It's so hard to see someone you love that sick."
"Anyway, we had a couple really rough months until he was finally well enough to come home. Once he was home it was much longer before I started at the academy. I was worried about making it through the academy."
Eddie tilted her head. "Why?"
Danny sighed he wasn't proud of the choices he'd made as a teenager and hoped neither one of his boys made choices similar to his. "I almost failed high school. Academics are not my thing. I needed help studying, and Jamie wasn't well enough yet to socialize a lot. Jamie taught me how to study and helped me pass the academy."
"I had no idea, but I'm not surprised. Jamie loves helping people. That's why he loves his job."
Danny smiled. "I know, we know. Thanks Eddie."
"Thank you for sharing that story with me. Jamie doesn't tell me a lot about when he was sick because he knows it's a painful subject because of my brother."