Michael sat guard outside Eddie's apartment door, once again taking the graveyard shift.
"HELP!"
Michael stood to attention and opened up Eddie's apartment door using a spare key she had given him.
"Eddie?" he called out.
"HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPP!"
"Eddie!"
He ran to the bedroom, bursting open the door, gun drawn.
In her bed, Eddie screamed in her sleep.
"HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPP!"
Holstering his gun, Michael gently grabbed a sleeping Eddie.
"Eddie!" he said. "Eddie, wake up, you're having a bad dream!"
Eddie's eyes opened wide as she saw Michael. She reached for him and wrapped her arms around him and cried.
"It's okay," he soothed, hugging her and rubbing circles on her back. "It's okay."
"I'm sorry," she said into his shoulder in between sobs. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he said, continuing to rub circles on her back. "It's okay."
She laid her head on his chest. She felt so vulnerable, so emotionally naked, but at the same time, she felt… Safe.
"Could you please stay here until I fall asleep?," she asked, eyes red and puffy.
"Of course," he said.
Michael held Eddie as she fell back asleep in his arms. Gently, he laid her back in her bed and covered her back up.
He gently closed the door, walked down the hallway, and closed the apartment door.
Michael exhaled as he sat down in his chair in the apartment hallway.
Somewhere, deep inside of him, feelings began to emerge. Feelings he thought were long gone.
Don't go there, man, he reprimanded himself. Whatever you two had is long gone.
And yet – he felt it...
Later that afternoon, in a similar cabin to the one they had a week-and-a-half ago, Jamie and Kara were enjoying their honeymoon.
They laid in the bed, a sheet covering their most intimate parts, a gentle ocean breeze blowing in through the screen door on their deck overlooking the ocean.
"You know what I'd like to do?" Jamie asked.
"Um… We did that three hours ago," Kara said with an amused raise of the eyebrow. "And we also did that late last night and yesterday morning when we first got here."
"Oh, you are sooooo funny," Jamie deadpanned.
"Aren't I, though?" she said with a sweet smile.
"Seriously, though," Jamie said as Kara cuddled into his chest, "I've been thinking about how we could maybe come out here a couple times a year, just us."
Kamie nuzzled Jamie's chest and kissed it.
"Really?"
"Really," Jamie said. "I love Danny and I miss Linda, but their marriage wasn't always the best because Danny didn't always take enough time to focus on him and Linda. Even Danny admits that and I don't want that to be us."
Kara nodded.
Jamie repositioned himself so he could look at his bride.
"Are you still thinking you'd like to be a stay-at-home mom?" he asked.
"Absolutely, yes," she said. "Especially after Barry's memorial service… You just realize what's most important and…"
She teared up as she placed a hand on her belly.
"I don't want to miss this," she said.
Jamie cupped his wife's cheek and wiped away her tears.
Kara smiled, embarrassed.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"Nothing to be sorry about," he said. "It's been a rough week."
Kara nodded.
"But a good one, too," she added. "Because I married the man I love… And yes, I think it'd be great to have a nice getaway spot like this where it's just us and, yes, I want to stay home with our child… As long as you are okay with that?"
"I'm with you one-thousand percent," Jamie said.
Their lips danced tenderly, but the dance turned passionate as their tongues caressed each other.
They pulled away from each other, rejuvenated, passion and desire in their eyes.
"You know that thing we did three hours ago?" she asked.
Jaime's eyes lit up as Kara licked his neck and leaned into his ear.
"Let's do it again!" she whispered.
Jamie smiled as Kara repositioned herself closer to him as their bodies and legs intertwined, hands roaming freely, stroking and caressing each other's bodies.
The sound of soft moans and tender kisses filled the cabin and newlywed love filled the air, floating out through the screen door into the Atlantic sky…
As Roll Call assembled for the late-afternoon shift, the 1-2 was busy as usual. In walked Officer Eddie Janko. As she walked in, a polite round of applause greeted her. She smiled an awkward, embarrassed smile.
"Yeah yeah yeah," she said, hands raised. "Okay, okay."
"Welcome back, Janko!" a familiar voice called out.
"Thanks, Sanchez!" Eddie said.
Renzulli extended his hand.
"Ready to ride a desk, Janko?"
"Do I have to, Sarge?" she joked said as she extended her own hand and shook his.
"If you want to come back to work, those are the parameters," he said with wink.
"Yes, sir," she said dutifully.
As more people gathered, Renzulli let out a cough.
"Officer Janko," he said, "I hear there's something you'd like to say."
By prior arrangement, Eddie had asked Renzulli if she could address her brothers and sisters in blue. When she got the go-ahead, she knew what she wanted to say.
"First of all," she said, "if I didn't get a chance to thank you at Barry's memorial, I wanted to thank you for coming and I understand if you couldn't make it. As the Sarge is fond of saying, 'This precinct won't patrol itself!'"
That quote elicited a chuckle.
"But I also wanted to thank you for accepting Barry as part of this family from Day 1. He always felt accepted with you guys. And I also wanted…"
Eddie swallowed a lump in her throat.
"I wanted to thank you all so much," she said with a crack in her voice, "for the kindness you have shown me in the last couple of weeks…"
She paused so she could regain composure.
"As police officers, we help those out there on their worst day, but we never imagine what it'd be like when that worst day happens to us. Well, that worst day happened to me and I want to thank all of you for your love and support."
Eddie swallowed another lump.
"BUT!" she said with a smile. "The last thing I want are fake smiles or sad faces. I want everyone to go about their business as usual. Don't walk on eggshells because of me. That's not fair to you and that's not fair to the precinct and the work we do in here and out there."
"We won't, stinky!" a man called out.
Eddie rolled her eyes.
"Thomas and I rode together a few times," Eddie explained, "and that's an inside joke that he apparently thinks is still funny."
Everyone laughed, even Renzulli.
Eddie paused.
"But, um, yeah… I love you guys… Thanks."
Applause and whoops erupted from Roll Call as she got with the rest of the formation.
"Alright, alright," Renzulli said. "Let's settle down and get down to business."
Janko stood at ease, waiting for her name to be called. It felt good to be back.
After Roll Call, as she approached her desk, she saw Michael. The two locked eyes and smiled.
"Hey!" Eddie said.
"Hey, yourself!" Michael said. "Welcome back."
"Thanks!" Eddie said.
A beat passed between them.
"Also, uh…" she said quietly. "Thanks for your help last night. I, uh, really appreciate it."
Michael waved his hand dismissively.
"Eh, no problem," he said. "It was a… Unique situation."
Eddie burst into laughter.
"That's one way of putting it," she said.
"Hey, Janko!" Renzulli said. "Desk time!"
"Yeah, Sarge!" Eddie said. "On it!"
Eddie glanced apologetically at Michael.
"Well, desk duty calls."
"Go get 'em," Michael said.
Eddie rolled her eyes and Michael laughed.
Michael turned to walk away.
"Hey!" Eddie called out.
Michael turned around.
Eddie smiled softly.
"Be safe out there."
Michael nodded and turned to leave.
