A/N: Apologies for the long chapter. Didn't want to split it into two chapters.
Eddie was on foot patrol with Officer Teresa Reyes, her temporary partner on the job while Jamie was on his honeymoon with Kara. Thankfully, Teresa and Eddie were gal pals from the academy and picked up right where they left off when she was assigned to work at the 1-2 a month prior.
Eddie hummed a pleasant tune and Teresa amusingly side-eyed her friend.
"Someone's in a good mood," she observed.
Eddie paused.
"What?" she merrily chirped. "Can't a girl just take in a beautiful day on the streets of New York City?"
"So, in other words…" Teresa began before she looked around to make sure no one really was in ear shot "you've been getting laid."
Eddie's face turned a shade of red.
"Is it that obvious?" she asked sheepishly.
Teresa laughed and Eddie shook her head.
"Hey," Teresa said raising her hands in mock surrender, "you won't get any judgement from me… It's just when you were standing in Roll Call, you were glowing so much, you could have lit up half the station."
"Okay, stop!" Eddie said, laughing. "I was not that bad."
Teresa chuckled and Eddie smiled as they continued with their patrol of their section of the 1-2.
"In speaking of glowing," Eddie said, wanting to get the subject off her, "I thought I saw you and Daniels chatting."
From the corner of her eye, Eddie saw Teresa grin sheepishly.
"Yeah, we're uh… Hanging out."
Eddie pursed her lips in thought. She loved Teresa, but she could be a little flighty in her personal life.
"Does he know it's just 'hanging out'?" she asked, using her fingers for air quotes.
"Yeah, think so."
"Do you think so or you do you know so?"
"Look, why the third degree, Eddie?" Teresa asked with a chuckle that barely hid a slight annoyance.
"Because," Eddie answered, "Daniels is a friend and I care about what happens to him and… You're more of a casual fling type of gal… Which is totally fine! But… I know he's looking to settle down."
Teresa eyed her partner and her eyes widened when she connected the dots.
"Oh, you and him used to date!"
"For not that long!" Eddie said defensively. "Besides, I realized he was looking for something more serious and I wasn't at the time, so we ended it. But we've remained friends and, like I said, I still care for him and want good things for him."
"And you don't think I'm 'good' for him?" Teresa asked, feeling it was now her turn to use air quotes.
"I never said that," Eddie protested. "What I am saying is that I know the only thing you're serious about – outside of the job – is that you're not looking for anything serious in terms of a relationship."
Teresa sighed. Her old friend had a point.
Just as Teresa was about to open her mouth to speak, her phone rang.
"Saved by the phone!" Eddie joked.
Teresa chuckled as she swiped the Answer icon.
"Reyes."
"Officer Reyes, this is Seargeant Renzulli."
Seargeant Renzulli made that call from the Eddie and Barry's now blood-stained apartment. Barry was now in a body-bag.
Unaware where he was, Reyes mouthed, "It's Renzulli," to Eddie.
"Sarge, what's up?" Teresa asked.
"Am I on speaker?" Renzulli asked nervously.
Reyes checked to make sure.
"No, sir," she answered.
Renzulli sighed.
"Keep it that way," he said. "I need to tell you something very serious and I need you to keep a straight face while I'm telling you this. Do you understand me, Reyes?"
"Yes sir," Teresa said.
Renzulli told Teresa where he was and what had happened.
Reyes' eyes went wide.
"I need you to take Janko to the precinct and meet me there," Renzulli ordered. "I'm going to tell her this myself. You and her are friends, right?"
"Yes, sir," a stoic Teresa replied.
"Okay, then," Renzulli said. "On your way there, you are Officer Reyes. When she's sobbing in your arms, you're Teresa."
Teresa's eyes narrowed.
"Understood. We'll be there in five minutes, sir."
Teresa hung up the phone and looked at Eddie.
"Sarge wants us back at the precinct pronto."
"For what?" Eddie asked.
"He wouldn't say," Teresa fibbed.
Teresa and Eddie walked into the precinct as people in the precinct looked at the two, then quickly went back to their work.
Eddie noticed how eerily quiet it seemed.
Word must've already spread, Teresa thought. She steeled herself for what was about to come.
"Janko! Reyes!"
Eddie and Teresa looked to see Renzulli outside his office and a man in a suit standing by him. Renzulli motioned for them to come in.
"What's going on?" Eddie said to Teresa, thinking Teresa must be as equally confused as her.
She looked to see Teresa had a stoic look in her eyes.
"Teresa? What's going on?" she asked, starting to realize something was up.
Teresa put a comforting arm on Eddie's back.
"Let's go inside, okay?" she said tenderly.
Eddie was still confused.
Everyone inside the Seargeant's Office, Renzulli nodded towards the door.
"Close the door, Reyes, and get the blinds."
Teresa nodded.
Door closed and blinds shut for utmost privacy, the man in the suit stepped forward.
"Officer Janko, I'm Detective Wilder," the man finally said, "and I have some bad news."
"Oh?" Eddie said, her eyebrows raised.
"A man dressed as a delivery driver broke into your apartment…" Walker began.
Emotions flew across Eddie's face.
Barry!
"He attacked your husband…" Walker continued.
"Oh my God!" Eddie said, voice cracking.
"Your husband fought back valiantly, but given his paralysis, this intruder overpowered him and… Your husband was killed."
"Are…" Eddie began, her voice trembling. "Are… Are… Are you sure it was him? Sometimes he leaves and grabs a donut from the bodega and are you sure you guys don't have the wrong apartment?"
Eddie was in denial, a typical cope from any family member getting devastating news.
"Officer Janko, I was there," Renzulli said softly. "It was him."
Eddie burst into tears, first a soft squeal.
"Noooooooooooo!"
"Eddie, I am so sorry," Renzulli said. He rarely used his officer's first names.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The sobs were uncontrollable as Eddie buried her face in her hands.
Teresa, now choked up, held out her arms.
"Sweetheart, I am so sorry," she said, trying to fight back the tears.
Angry as she wanted to be that Teresa lied to her about the phone call, Eddie knew it was procedure and she surrendered to the grief completely, letting Teresa wrap her arms around her like a blanket.
"Oh God!" she sobbed into Teresa's chest. "Oh God, Barry! Barrrryyy!"
In a cabin two hours away from the chaos and the grief, Jamie walked with his new bride down a beach trail.
"Wait, Kara, stop."
"What?" Kara asked, concerned.
Jamie pulled her in for a kiss, then parted.
"Okay," he said. "I'm good, now."
Kara rolled her eyes.
As they kept on walking, Kara looked at her husband.
"Jamie, I need to ask you something and I need you to be completely honest with me, okay?"
Jamie grew nervous.
"I swear on a stack of Bibles you're the most beautiful woman in the entire world!"
Kara burst out laughing.
"That's a such a crock of lies, but thank you, you are so sweet!"
Jamie smiled.
"Seriously, though," Kara continued, "let's sit down, I need to talk to you about something."
Jamie furrowed his brows.
"Would you think less of me," Kara asked as they sat on a bench, "if I wanted to stay home beyond the six weeks of maternity leave? Maybe… Be a stay at home mom?"
Jamie smiled.
"I would never think less of you!"
Kara stared off into the Atlantic Ocean, hearing Jamie's words, but still insecure.
"I just… I know you fell in love with a cop…"
"Hey," Jamie said, grabbing Kara's hand.
Kara turned her attention from the ocean of blue to her newlywed husband.
"I fell in love with you," Jamie declared. "You could've been anything – lawyer, doctor, secretary, teacher, janitor. Anything! I fell in love with you."
Kara smiled tenderly.
"If you want to be a stay-at-home mom," Jamie continued, "I'm with you one-hundred percent. Or if you want to eventually come back onto the force, I'm with you as well."
Kara twiddled her thumbs in thought.
"I still want to think on it," she said, "but I think I'm leaning towards taking a leave of absence from the job… At least to see how It feels."
While she was saying this, Kara absent mindedly placed a hand on her belly.
"You're absolutely okay with this?" she asked. "I know an officer's salary isn't much to begin with, but to support a family of three?"
Jamie nodded.
"But a Seargeant's salary could," he said.
Kara's eyes went wide.
"You know my dad's been wanting me to do it for a while," Jamie explained, "and I'm not exactly proud of this, but because it was his idea, I've pushed back on it."
Kara rolled her eyes.
"Jamie…"
"I know, I know," Jamie conceded, slightly embarrassed by his own bullheadedness. "But I want to take the test on my own steam. I've been talking to Renzulli and he thinks I'd ace it."
"And you're going to do this?" Kara asked.
"Yes!" Jamie said. "All that to say, Seargeant's salary, or even if I stay an Officer, we can it work. You…"
He put his hand on his wife's belly.
"And our baby are what's most important to me now. So, if you being a stay-at-home mom is what you want to do, then that's what will happen."
Happy tears fell from Kara's eyes.
"Hey," Jamie soothed, "come here."
He pulled his wife in for a hug.
She took Jamie's hand into both of hers and showered it with kisses.
Jamie closed his eyes, taking in the feeling of the warmth of Kara's mouth on his hand.
"I do look pretty hot in uniform, though," she muttered in between kisses.
"Mmmmm," Jamie moaned. "That you do."
Kara giggled.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kara noticed Jamie's manhood firm up.
"Uh-ohhhhh," Kara teased. Then the teasing turned into inspiration. "I think my husband needs to be taken care of, but.. uh… It would be unseemly to do it out here in the open."
Kara stood up and extended her hand. Jamie grinned as he gladly took his bride's hand and walked back to the cabin…
Blissfully spent, Jamie and Kara laid naked on the bed. They smiled, tenderly kissing each other, hands roaming each other's bodies.
"I love you, Jameson Reagan," Kara said.
"I love you, Kara Reagan," Jamie said.
*Ring Ring Ring Ring * *Ring Ring Ring Ring *
Kara's phone rang, breaking the spell.
"Argh!" Kara whined, getting out of bed.
She picked up the phone to look at who it was, the looked at Jamie.
"It's Renzulli," she said, confused before answering it.
"Hey, Sarge," Kara said, not sure how to answer. "Ummm… What's up?"
Renzulli stood in his office, feeling horrible about calling Jamie and Kara on their honeymoon on multiple fronts. On the most obvious level, there was a good chance he was interrupting Jamie and Kara while they were doing the thing newlyweds usually do on their honeymoon. But the worst was he about to tell them the husband of one of their best friends had just been murdered.
"Officer Walsh," he began, "I am really sorry to interrupt your and Regan's honeymoon."
"Oh, not all, Sarge," Kara said, giving Jamie an odd look as she could tell Renzulli had a somber tone in his voice.
"Am I on speaker?" he asked.
"No, sir," Kara replied.
"Please put me on speaker."
Kara pushed the Speaker icon.
"Okay, Sarge," Kara said, "You're on Speaker with me and Jamie."
Renzulli sighed a heavy sighed.
"Jamie," he began, "first and foremost, I am so sorry to interrupt your guys' honeymoon. I know you just got there last night."
Picking up on what Kara picked up, Jamie returned Kara's odd look.
"Uhhh, no problem, Sarge, not at all, what's up?" Jamie asked.
Renzulli exhaled the whirlwind, looking out the window to see Lena Janko holding a now-sleeping Eddie who had been given a sedative by a local nurse brought in from a hospital to help calm her down.
"We got a call earlier this morning about a break-in at an apartment by a man dressed up as a delivery man. There was a resident already home and the resident was murdered."
"Okay," Jamie said, not sure where this was going.
"The resident in question was Barry Cooper."
Jamie's and Kara's eyes went wide.
"Oh my God!" Kara said shakily. "Oh my God!"
"Barry tried his best to fight him off," Renzulli continued, "but given his paralysis, he didn't have much of a chance."
Jamie swallowed hard.
"Who found him?" he asked.
"A neighbor of theirs," Renzulli answered. "Janko had already left for her tour."
Jamie breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank God!"
He caught himself.
"I mean... uh…"
"I know what you mean, Reagan," Renzulli assured him.
Now came the hard part.
"I'm not ordering you back onto duty," he continued, "but I think it would mean a great deal if Officer Janko had some of her closest friends by her side right now. It is completely your call, but I wanted to let you know what has happened."
"Soon as we hang up, we're packing," Kara said, looking at Jamie.
Jamie nodded.
"Alright," Renzulli said. "Again, I am so, so sorry I had to make this call, but…"
"Thank you for calling, Sarge," Jamie said. "You did the right thing."
As soon as Kara hung up her phone, she and Jamie stared at each other.
"We can always have another honeymoon," Jamie said.
"Yeah," Kara said, eyes tearing up for her friend.
Jamie pulled her in for a hug. Truthfully, he needed it just as much as she did.
They pulled away from each other and hurriedly packed in silence.