10

Sorry this is late, but here it is. Work got in the way and then Chapter 9 felt like it needed some tweaks so that's been updated as well.

Jamie covered his mouth with one hand, containing the laugh that was building in his throat. James sat across from him in the small burger joint trying to grasp a massive cheeseburger in his hands. It was piled high with all of the usual toppings and Jamie was impressed that he didn't toss the vegetables aside before digging in. "Dude, that burger is bigger than your head."

James took the comment as a challenge. "I bet you I can eat it all."

"I believe you. I was warned that you can put it away when you want to." What Sydney had actually said was that James was in the middle of a growth spurt and was eating her out of house and home right now.

Finally securing it in his hands, James leaned in and took as big of a bite as he could manage, which left ketchup and mustard streaks down his chin when he pulled the burger away.

With a silent laugh, Jamie shook his head and picked up his own burger. "Good?" he asked before going in.

"Mmm. Good," James mumbled through a mouth full of food.

He reminded him of Danny right now. "I told you it would be. You can tell Eddie what you want to eat in any precinct in the city and she'll find the best food hands down. She's the one that said we needed to try this place for burgers." It was one of the first things he learned about his wife when they started riding together. Lunch was always a well-planned culinary adventure with her in the car.

"How does she do that?" he asked, placing the burger back on the plate in favor of the fries.

"Beats me. It's her superpower and I don't question it," Jamie responded and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Oh, before I forget. I got something for you." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

Intrigued, and a little excited, James forgot about his food. "What is it?"

"This," Jamie said, handing over a small plastic card.

James' eyes widened as he turned the Sergeant's Police Courtesy Card over in his hands. "What's it for?" he asked, seeing his father's name and number written on the back.

"Keep that on you at all times. If you ever need help or have any trouble - get lost or something - you give that to any cop and they'll reach out to me directly. My number's on the back," Jamie explained.

"What kind of trouble can I get into?" James wondered. He was only nine.

Jamie's brows arched up and he gave James a pointed look, considering how they got here. "None, I hope. I mean it's not like you take off on your own or anything right?"

"I said I wouldn't do that again!" James exhaled. Geez, how long before they forgot about that?

"Okay, well good. It's just in case you ever need me. Think of it as the Batphone directly to me."

"Cool," he shrugged and shoved it into his pocket so he could return to his burger. "And you'll come running?"

"Always. Hopefully you'll never use it, but you can call or text me yourself at that number."

"Okay," he said and took another bite.

Jamie watched him for a moment and smiled. "So you got to ask me a few questions last time, I thought it might be my turn now. So I can get to know you."

"Me? Like what?" he said quizzically.

"Well, I know you like school and playing basketball. You like comics and superheroes, one probably more than others based on the red backpack you had when you came into my precinct."

"Yeah," he said, remembering those were some of the things they talked about the first time they met.

"I loved superheros as a kid. Star Wars too. All of the live action movies are great," Jamie shared and returned to his meal.

"Mom doesn't let me see some of the movies. She said I have to be older because there's too much violence, so I read the comics and play some of the video games."

"Serious question then," Jamie asked with a stern look.

The tone had James' expression mirroring his father's. "What?"

"You have to pick one superpower to have forever. What is it?" he posed.

James frowned at the question and mumbled, "I don't know." He preferred to take another bite instead.

"Come on! You're telling me you've never thought about it? Every real fan has," Jamie argued.

James shrugged. "I guess."

"So? Which is it? Jamie pressed.

The boy's head bobbed from side to side as he swallowed his food and considered his answer. "Flying, I guess."

"Why flying?" Jamie asked.

"It would be fun. And because it takes forever to get to places in New York. It took forever to walk and take the subway to where you work. If I could fly, I could get there in a second."

Jamie's first thought might have been that his reasoning was very practical. Instead, he palmed his forehead as James so casually referenced his solo adventures through the city. Hence, the need to give him his courtesy card and now, the need to have a serious talk about this. "Oh my god, you took the subway by yourself. How did you know where to go?" he wondered out loud.

"I Googled it on my phone. And mom had a metrocard in the kitchen," James answered matter-of-factly.

With wide eyes, Jamie held his son's gaze. "Seriously, you need to stay away from Google."

James picked at his fries, his expression solemn. "I got punished for that, so I didn't get any computer time for a while. Not even on my phone. Mom said it's only for emergencies and reaching her like it was meant to be."

Pushing his plate away, Jamie leaned forward against the edge of the table. "Yeah, your mom told me. But James, no joke, you know you can't do that again, right?"

"I know," he nodded, too ashamed to meet Jamie's eyes. He recited what his mom had already told him. "Bad things could happen when kids my age are out alone."

"Yeah, they can," Jamie said softly, not wanting to think about James in any sort of bad scenario.

James paused and looked up at his dad. "Do you see bad stuff at work?"

Well, this was going to be another one of those questions he would have to be careful about answering. He thought about his own childhood. Growing up, his father had been honest to a point about the real world outside the confines of their home in Bay Ridge and the things he saw on the job. He used them as teaching moments to keep them safe. Hence, how they were taught to hit the deck if they ever got into trouble. Although tempted to, Jamie wasn't ready to teach James that just yet - Sydney might have a thing or two to say about it. But he wanted to help him understand that he also needed to do his part in staying safe.

"I'm not gonna lie, I do. The worst part of my job is seeing kids get hurt and I don't ever want to see you get hurt. That's why we keep bringing up what you did - taking off alone, I mean. Your mom and me, we need to always know where you are and that you're safe. Sometimes you're not gonna get the answers you want or get to do what you want, but that doesn't mean you do it anyway. If you get a 'no', there's a really good reason why, even if it's not what you want to hear."

James could see it in his face - he had seen stuff and it wasn't good. He felt bad for worrying his mom that day. Now, he was feeling bad for making him worry too. Suddenly, he had the added desire to not disappoint him by doing something like that again. "I know. I won't."

"Promise?" Jamie asked, needing reassurance that he really was hearing him.

"Promise," he nodded. "I just really wanted to find you."

Jamie was overcome with the sentiment. He'd never be upset about that. "I know you did. And even though you shouldn't have taken off on your own, I'm really happy you found me. Honestly. But maybe next time you try and figure big stuff out with an adult's help?" he reasoned.

"Okay," James nodded once more and went back to his burger.

Jamie hoped he got through to him and did the same. They ate in companionable silence until James remembered something.

"Oh, it's your turn. What's your superpower?" he asked.

"Easy. Spidey Sense," Jamie answered quickly and sat back in his chair.

"Spidey Sense?" James repeated, wrinkling his nose.

"What's the look for?" Jamie frowned.

The boy shrugged and popped a few fries into his mouth. "Kind of boring. Why not super strength or something like that?"

Man, what was people's problem with Spider Man? Jamie asked himself. "What do you mean that's boring? Geez, you sound just like Eddie! Spiderman fights crime! He senses danger before it even happens! He shoots web and flies through the city but I could only pick one superpower! And he's from New York!"

One brow arched up as he questioned his father. "So you would use it to fight crime?"

"Of course!"

"But you're a cop. You already fight crime," James pointed out.

"And imagine if I knew trouble was coming before it even happened! There would be no crime in New York," Jamie explained.

James pursed his lips as he considered his reasons. "You would be a superhero."

"Exactly!" Jamie flapped his arms out.

"I'm still flying all over the city," he reiterated.

"People would pay for that," Jamie sighed. It would be his second choice. "I'd pay for that. Traffic is murder."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," James replied and ate some more, earning a chuckle from his father.

When he was finally full, Jamie pushed his plate away for good. "So, I had an idea."

"What's that," James asked, looking up as he sipped his soda.

"Well, I thought since we're going to be hanging out some more, it might be fair if we took turns picking what we do."

"Really?" James asked.

"Yeah. Unless you want me to figure that out."

"No, I do. I can think of some ideas," he said excitedly.

"So can I."

"Like what?"

"Well, and you can veto them if it's something you really don't want to try, but I remember the things I liked doing with my dad when I was a kid. I thought we could try some of those."

"Sure," James shrugged, curious about what they would be.

"You want to pick first? I'm interested to see what you think is fun."

James grinned. "Yeah. I got one."