Chapter 26

Eddie pushed the last box to be unpacked in front of the large bookcase of their new living room. They followed through with their plans to move, her mother jumping in to help them find a place after learning about what they went through, of course they had omitted some of the more harrowing details of the kidnapping; Antonija already had concerns about her daughter's choice of career and while she respected her decision, she didn't need to hear about Jamie's past encounter with the criminal element coming back to haunt them both. Antonija had reached out to her many real estate connections and scheduled them to view a handful of options in between both of their precincts just as soon as Jamie was physically up to the task, then fastracking the move-in process once they decided on a place with the speed and efficiency never seen before in the world of New York City real estate with, as Frank predicted, friends and family jumping in to help move them out of the little apartment Sanfino had tormented them in, all for the cost of a small tower of pizza pies and some choice craft beer.

Jamie had been released from the hospital after four days, once his vitals were stable and he was cleared by a psych consult with instructions to follow-up with his personal physician. In addition to needing his PCP's medical clearance, he would also require the department shrink to sign off on a full and clean bill of health before he was allowed anywhere near the 1-5. The hospital shrink had warned them that with the hallucinations he'd experienced and the residual nightmares that continued to plague his sleep, not to expect a quick return to work. That had been a hard pill to swallow with Jamie wanting to forget everything that happened and for their lives to return back to normal.

But despite his discharge from the hospital, Jamie was still feeling fatigued the week following his release, made worse by the nights of interrupted sleep. Like that night in the hospital when Eddie was first able to climb into bed with Jamie and provide him some desperately needed physical contact, he still sought that same reassurance once they'd returned home. They'd fall into a peaceful slumber each night physically connected somehow only to awaken abruptly when the same scenario revisited Jamie's dreams each night and they'd end up back in each other's arms cursing Noble for screwing with their lives. And just as Eddie gently prodded him to open up to her, Jamie was also mindful that he wasn't the only one left with emotional scars from their ordeal, making sure to prod back in equal measure.

Slowly the healing process began with the sessions with the department shrink, the prospect of a new place to call home and finally being able to reconnect intimately - much needed proof of their continued love and devotion. The nightmares decreased in frequency, the dark circles that had first appeared under his dull and sunken eyes back in the hospital gradually disappeared and the Jamie they all knew and loved was feeling more and more like himself every day. They wouldn't forget what happened but they weren't going to let it ruin them.

Eddie cut through tape and opened the flaps, pulling out the last of their books and photo albums. She lined each one up neatly by size, barely paying any attention to the subject matters and their contents until she reached the last one at the bottom - their wedding album. Eddie smiled to herself as she thought back to their wedding, the whole event still a vibrant memory in her mind. She pulled the album from the bottom of the box and sat back against the coffee table as she began to slowly leaf through each page. She felt silly but couldn't help tearing up at the image of them facing each other at the altar and reciting their vows. It was the happiest day of her life and the events of the last month made her a little more emotional. But the smile fell away suddenly when she came to what was one of her favorite photos of the night - the one of them on the roof of the Brooklyn building where their reception was held with the city skyline in the background. It was just the two of them, at least that was how it felt. Behind the the lens, there was a crowd of family and friends looking on, but the rest of the world fell away as they gazed into each other's eyes, still in utter disbelief that they were really husband and wife. But now, it was forever linked to that day they came home to discover Noble had been watching them and invading their lives on a daily basis. Eddie couldn't help feeling sad that such a treasured memory was now tarnished simply by the simple fact that Noble had left the album open to that photo.

Eddie was still staring at the album when the sound of the apartment door opening brought her back to the present. She looked over her shoulder to find Jamie stripping out of his jacket.

Jamie scanned the apartment, doing a double take when he spotted her head just over the edge of the couch and went to meet her. "Hey, babe."

"Hey, you," Eddie greeted, turning away to covertly wipe at her damp eyes before she sent a smile his way; the last thing he needed was to worry that something was wrong. Just like with Jamie, things were getting better for her as well, but every once in a while something would remind her of the torture Noble had put them both through. "Where have you been?" she asked as she glanced down at her watch. He'd left early in the morning after she got home from a midnight shift and they were now going into the late afternoon.

Jamie plopped down onto one end of the couch with a tired sigh. "Busy day," he said with a glimmer in his eye which Eddie knew meant he had something to report. "I saw Dr. Diamond again and then I had my last session with Amazing Grace."

Eddie's face perked up at one word in particular. "Last? Really?" she asked, praying she'd heard correctly.

"Yeah," Jamie smiled. "They both signed off on my return to full duty," he announced with immense relief.

"That's great, babe!" Eddie beamed at the news and placed their album on the floor before taking a spot on the couch next to him, greeting him properly with a kiss on the lips. Jamie had been going stir crazy at home even with everything that needed to get done to move and then settle in. And seeing her go off to work while he was riding the sidelines only made him more antsy. But the department took great steps to confirm their officers' mental well-being after traumatic work-related incidents before arming them and sending them back out to deal with the public, regardless of an officer's ties to 1PP, or maybe more so because of it. And this incident in particular involved the forced consumption of dangerous narcotics. Jamie had recovered physically within a week of his discharge from the hospital, but the lingering nightmares and stress had the shrink penciling him in for several extra sessions before she was willing to give him the green light to return to work.

"Yeah. I still have to do a few tours at the precinct, but it'll be good to have everything finally go back to normal," Jamie said as his hand went up to brush the few strands that had fallen free from her ponytail behind her ear. Jamie couldn't deny that he still looked for any extra reason to touch her, subconsciously he still sought the reassurance that she was really here with him.

"Normal would be nice," Eddie said as she snuggled up against him.

Jamie agreed wholeheartedly and went on to share more news that would hopefully help with that. "I had lunch with my dad in between the doctor's appointments."

"Yeah?"

"Yup. He told me Noble took a deal -"

Eddie shot up, her body rigid and her expression confused and bordering on angry. "A deal!? Seriously?! After what he did?!" she fumed.

Jamie smiled at her reaction as it was similar to the one he had when his father began to explain the situation to him in the same manner. "Relax, Janko. The only thing that made it a deal for him is that he agreed to go for the maximum on the two kidnapping one charges and the unlawful imprisonment charge for Leah. He's getting fifty-four years under the alias he got with witness protection and he will be getting transferred to a prison very far away from New York."

"As opposed to?" Eddie asked as she raised one brow and wondered about the alternative and why he was even offered a choice to begin with.

"As opposed to going to trial in New York under his real identity where he would most definitely be convicted of all charges and locked up in a New York state prison with his Uncle Sanfino or one of his many other cohorts," Jamie advised. "He may talk a big game, but Noble is still deathly afraid of what his Uncle Philly will do to him for helping to send him upstate. He'd rather spend the rest of his life in a jail on the other side of the country than risk being shanked in a New York prison."

Understanding crossed her face and she relaxed a little, but she still didn't completely like the idea of the creep's life being spared for the third time, not after what he did. Ultimately, Eddie wasn't one to wish death on anyone, but she was still dealing with the emotional aftermath and just the mention of his name made her blood boil. "That really is a deal for him."

"He's going away for a really long time and we don't need to worry about testifying and drawing anymore attention from that family."

Eddie nodded and the remaining tension flowed out of her. She agreed that all of that was a good thing and worth cutting a 'deal' with Sanfino. Neither of them needed to relive their experiences in front of a jury and become the focus of another crazy mobster because they recognized Jamie.

Jamie felt Eddie relax against the cushions. He hated to be the source of more worry, but figured he should come clean now instead of delaying the inevitable. "I saw him," he confessed quietly.

"Who?" Eddie asked in confusion, but his face said she wasn't going to like what he had to say and she narrowed her eyes as she guessed the answer to her own question. "Noble? Why, Jamie?!"

Jamie grimaced at the underlying anger in her tone. In this case, he figured it would be better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Eddie and the rest of the Reagan clan would never have let him go through with seeing Noble again if they'd caught wind of his intentions. His father had only learned about it because someone in corrections had reported his request for a visit back to 1PP as instructed. The Commissioner himself had ordered that all visitors for Eric Weller be strictly prohibited and any requests for visits be directed to his office. "I had to in order to put this behind me," Jamie defended. And that was the truth, he needed closure and part of him needed to make sure Noble knew he hadn't broken him.

Jamie fought hard not to wither under her piercing look...sometimes her stare-downs were as bad as his father's, that and he hated to prospect of finding himself on the couch tonight. "Don't give me that look, Eddie! Now you're reminding me of my father when he interrogated me on where I was going after lunch." The old man had grilled him, knowing full well of what his plans were. It had taken some doing to plead his case, but his father had eventually agreed to let him go, just not without a few concessions. "I'm fine. I even got escorted there and back by the Commissioner himself, if that makes you feel any better."

Eddie was upset that he'd gone through with this without telling her about it first. Had she known, she would have locked him in their apartment until Sanfino was shipped out; he knew full well there was no way she would be on board with that idea. "Jamie...," Eddie sighed, trying to understand what there was left to say to that monster.

"I needed to look him in the face one last time...," Jamie said as he began to explain their final meeting.

Jamie sat nervously in one of the small prisoner meeting rooms at Rikers, his right leg bouncing up and down uncontrollably as he reconsidered this whole idea or, at the very least, have allowed his father come in with him like he wanted. Danny had told him about his impromptu visit with Noble in the emergency room and it seemed that the Commissioner had made quite the impression, as he so often did, regardless of whether it was intended or not, but in this case, Jamie had no doubt that his father made an extra effort to let Noble know he'd messed with the wrong family.

He wasn't sure what he expected from Noble, he wasn't holding his breath for any apologies, but he also hadn't come here to give him a chance to speak. There were a few things he needed to get off his chest once and for all and to make it clear: they would not be seeing each other ever again.

Jamie stilled when the door to the room opened and a rather disheveled-looking Noble Sanfino was led in by a corrections officer. Surprise flashed across his face when his eyes landed on his visitor as the guard had refused to give him any information on who he was meeting. But Noble was a seasoned pro at hiding his weaknesses and his mask quickly slid into place.

Noble glared at his former captive with disgust. "What the hell do you want?"

Jamie remained in his seat, observing quietly as the officer forced Noble into the seat across from him and secured his cuffs to the table.

Noble broke the silence when Jamie made no move to speak after the guard left them alone. "You here to gloat? Rub it in my face a little, huh?" he guessed. Why else would he be here? Noble asked himself.

"Is that what you'd do?" Jamie asked calmly.

Noble's jaw clenched several times but he couldn't keep himself from squirming uncomfortably in his puke-green prison jumpsuit as he looked away from Jamie's endless stare.

"Heard you're moving out in the next few days, going back west. Must be a relief after being in solitary confinement for the last three weeks," Jamie commented.

Noble smiled tightly and shook his head at the other man's casual tone. "Yeah, well, you people haven't given me much a choice on anything here."

Jamie didn't react to the asinine statement and wondered how Noble could still think he was owed anything after all that he had done...he really hadn't changed. "I think you were given one hell of an opportunity to start fresh in Colorado. After screwing up your stint in WitSec, I almost expected you to take your chances with a New York jury. Can't say I have much faith in your decision-making skills."

"That would have been a death sentence and you know it!" Noble spat back.

"As opposed to traipsing back to New York on your own?" Jamie questioned.

"I had a plan -"

"Yeah, you did, to torture me and my wife and for what, Noble?" Jamie interrupted.

"You lied to -" Noble began to cry again, but Jamie had heard that line one too many times.

"Listen to me real closely," Jamie warned in a low and menacing voice, "becuase I'm only going to say this once." He gave Noble a second to meet his glare. "You were never innocent in any of that. You weren't collateral damage in an operation to bring your uncle down, he just did a good job of keeping your hands clean for you and you kept your mouth shut on every crime he committed. You got to live the good life because of it at everyone else's expense. No one screwed you over, you screwed yourself."

Noble's lips were pressed into a thin, tight line. "Almost took you down," he argued lamely.

"Almost is the key word. But somehow I still managed to beat your ass even while I was drugged out of my mind. I think it was because you can't shut your trap for longer than two seconds, so thanks for that," Jamie smiled smugly as he got up from his seat. He turned to leave the room, but remembered one other thing he wanted to make clear. Jamie spun around and placed both hands on the table, leaning in slowly to get closer to the other man so that his whispered words were heard only by his intended audience.

Noble head moved back as he nervously recalled that night three weeks ago when Jamie Reagan leaned over him, his cold, blue eyes left little doubt in his mind that he could very well kill him. Those same cold, blue eyes were focused on him again.

"You're probably never gonna see the light of day again as a free man, but let me assure you that if I ever see you near me or my family again, I will kill you." Jamie stood tall and looked at Noble for the last time. "That's a promise."

"Well...," Eddie said a she took his hand in hers. Jamie seemed at peace and if seeing Noble one last time got him some closure, she was all for it.

Jamie knew he was forgiven and broke the last of the news for the day. "I also found out something else," he announced.

Eddie wondered what else there was left. "What's that?"

"The Feds arrested the kid that hacked into the department for Noble," Jamie informed her.

"What do you mean a kid?"

Jamie shrugged. "Some twenty year old computer genius from the town Noble had been relocated to."

"Seriously? Twenty?"

"Yeah...what a waste," Jamie said. He had been happy to hear that Noble's source for their personnel files had been located. And while it was disturbing that a college junior had figured out how to break into a major law enforcement agency's server, he was relieved to know that it didn't involve anyone within the department.

"Maybe he can get a cell right next to Noble," Eddie joked as she settled back into Jamie's arms.

Jamie kissed the side of her head and looked to the open box she had been unpacking when he arrived. "Is that the last one?" he asked with a nod to the box.

"Sure is. Then we'll be officially moved in."

"I'm glad your mom helped us find this place," Jamie commented. And while the paranoid part of his brain sometimes obsessed over the normal, everyday items in their new apartment, he was more at ease now that they had moved.

"Me too. It's bigger than our old place."

"Yeah," Jamie said as a smile spread across his face. "Too bad it's only one bedroom."

"Why's that?" Eddie asked. They had no need for an extra bedroom.

"Guess we'll have to move again when we decide to have kids," he replied innocently. He wasn't in a rush to have kids, but the possibility of losing Eddie, losing everything really, had him looking forward to a long life with his wife, one that included multiple mini-versions of themselves, if they were lucky. And if that happened sooner rather than later, he would be totally fine with that.

Eddie's head snapped up to face him. "Kids? I thought we said no kid talk for one year?"

"We did. That's the plan. Just saying...," Jamie shrugged.

Eddie snorted as she laid her head on his shoulder. "How about we just keep practicing to make the baby without making the baby like we said?"

Jamie pulled her closer to him...everything was starting to feel right again and his lips formed a devilish smirk as the playful spark that was a regular part of their relationship ignited a deep passion within.

Eddie let out a squeak when suddenly, in the blink of an eye, she found herself flat on her back with Jamie's body pinning her to the sofa. Jamie nuzzled her neck, placing a trail of soft kisses up one side that were making it hard to think clearly. "Reagan, what...oh...the hell?" she stammered breathily when he hit a particularly sensitive spot behind her ear.

"You said it yourself, Janko, we gotta practice, practice, practice...," he rasped, determined to put an end to all of this talking.

"I didn't mean...oh...jeez...," Eddie gasped, losing her train of thought again as a warm hand found its way under her shirt. "We are so gonna end up with a kid sooner than-," Eddie predicted when Jamie's lips captured hers in kiss that stole her breath away. Deep in the back of her mind, all doubt was gone; she knew they would be okay. They could face anything together.

That's it! My longest story to date, but nothing compared to some of the epic pieces we've had the pleasure of reading on this site recently...you know who you are. I hope I dealt with Noble in a semi-satisfactory way. I agree with most reviewers that throwing him to his family of wolves would have been the preferable option, but in keeping with the spirit of the show, I went with the 'deal' that was offered to him. If Blue Bloods had much darker undertones, Noble never would have survived!

I got two stories in the works that I'm very excited about, neither quite as long as 'No Mercy,' but both which should be more warm and fuzzy than what I've been posting lately. The first one is short and a mostly feel-good piece which I will be posting as soon as the last chapter is done. The second will take a while; I have a few chapters done for the story that follows 'Waiting on You' and gives us a peek at life with baby Amelia. Then's there certain collaboration idea that's popped up which should be exciting. :)

Thanks again to BlueBlood82 and to everyone who has reviewed and followed/favorited this story!