"So you're saying we were sold out by one of our own?" Jamie stared at Danny, incredulously.

Danny and Baez stood at the foot of Eddie's hospital bed. She was sitting up, arm in a sling, a fresh change of clothes, release papers on her lap. Jamie sat in the chair beside her. They had been in the hospital for four days now and the two senior detectives had come by to relay the official report. It hadn't felt urgent to do so before that, mercifully allowing Jamie and Eddie time to heal.

"That's what I'm saying. Good news is, the chaos he caused didn't put a dent in apprehending anyone important. We made 16 arrests that night, both doctors included, and found 31 young women in that warehouse. Eight of them had been reported missing, the rest….probably undocumented and assumed dead by their families in other parts of the world."

"That's horrible…" Eddie breathed shakily.

"It is, but they're safe now." Baez comforted her. "More than half of them are pregnant, which is essentially a smoking gun once the babies are born. It shouldn't be hard to track down the people creating this market in the first place."

"What about the medical offices?" Jamie chimed in.

"They were raided. Only two guys there, but a hell of a lot of information condensed in the paperwork in that office Eddie found."

"Well, I'm glad it's over." Eddie swung her feet nervously.

"We all are." Baez added. "So you get to go home now?"

"Yeah." Eddie said shyly, glancing under her lashes at Jamie.

Danny didn't miss the subtle signal. He patted Jamie on the back knowingly.

"Behave yourselves, yeah? And….good work."

"Thanks." Jamie rose as the detectives left the room.

He turned back to Eddie.

"Ready for medical house-arrest round two?" He smiled.

"Yeah yeah. I'm not as bad off this time. I'll be good."

"Well, you know I'll be there if you need help, you know, showering."

"Jamie!" She smacked him over the chest with a surprisingly effective backhand.

They left the hospital, laughing. A soft, fairy-like snow was falling on and around them and the moment felt almost celestial. The warmth and joy of

being together help them forget all that had gotten them to that point. It was almost like old times, though they both knew it never truly could be.

Eddie tossed her duffel bag onto Jamie's bed, inhaling the now-familiar scent of his room. She flopped down beside it and unclasped the sling on her arm.

Jamie walked in timidly.

"You decent?"

"Damn, Reagan, how fast do you think I can get naked?" Eddie teased in fake admonition.

"Probably not fast enough." He grunted to himself as he crossed his arms and shifted his weight.

"What's that?" She pried.

"Nothing. Um, let me know when you're hungry. I just gotta grab a few things in here. Sorry."

Eddie sat up and reached for his arm as he turned to the dresser.

"Jamie."

The leading tone in her voice was unmistakable.

"Yeah?" Jamie's voice dropped an octave.

"Stay with me in here. Don't sleep in the other room."

Jamie considered this with clear and apparent misgivings.

"Eddie, I dunno if I can do that. I just think after all that…everything we went through, everything said in the van, you know….my willpower might be lacking."

"I don't know why that's a problem." Eddie stated plainly.

Jamie's reaction was exactly as she expected. He looked like he was on a teeter totter between elation and apprehension. She toyed with his fingers.

"We're partners, Eddie."

"Not for the next two weeks at least, we aren't"

Jamie rolled his eyes a little. She was making this hard on him. All teasing and flirting aside, he wasn't sure where the impassable line was anymore.

He sat down on the side of the bed next to Eddie and waited until her eyes rose to his.

"Eddie, we've been through hell together, and somehow I think this would be harder to come back from. You know?"

She nodded, breathing out slowly.

"I don't necessarily think I want to come back…"

Jamie silently, visibly agreed.

Lifting his hand to her face he traced his fingers over the side of her cheek, brushing his thumb across her ear and gently grasping her at the back of her neck.

Eddie closed her eyes as Jamie pulled her face to his, briefly resting his forehead against hers before capturing her lips. She tugged at his jacket. He tugged at hers.

The partners held one another with all the desperation and desire that had been almost boiling over for over three years now. Hands and hair and limbs wove into one another as they became a tangle of unspoken feelings.

Jamie pulled away, holding Eddie at arm's length, his eyes drinking in her intoxicating sensuality. Her face was flushed, her lips swollen, and the lamplight painted the tops of her breasts as her chest undulated rapidly. He laid her carefully back on the bed and poised himself over her. His hands rested on either sides of her shoulders as he bent his head to plant a kiss on her crooked collarbone.

Eddie's hand grasped his hip and moved fluidly up his side beneath his shirt. Her fingers danced across his bare skin, drawing invisible pictures on his chest. Jamie shuddered in pleasure at the delicate touch. He aided her endeavors, tugging the shirt the rest of the way off his head. Turning back to his partner beneath him, Jamie breathed into Eddie's neck, nipping at her earlobe and left a scorching trail of kisses down her chest. A small moan resounded from her lips as he tugged the collar of her shirt with a crooked finger.

She raised her arms slowly, still a little sore from the dislocation. Jamie responded by peeling her t-shirt over her head and tossing it behind him in one sweeping motion. He folded his body over her, his mouth roaming over every swell and valley, fingers playing with the strap of her aquamarine lace bra. The turquoise color did enchanting things to her eyes and hair. Jamie still thought she'd look better without it. He raised his eyes to hers one last time…

"Jamie, it's okay." Eddie barely breathed.

As if the words had released an army that had been sentient within him, Jamie descended on Eddie with the constrained passion of a thousand men but the gentleness of just one; just him, the man who had loved her from both near and from afar for years; always from a seemingly chasmic distance. She may have sat beside him every day, a mere foot away, but there was a wall there that he hadn't allowed his mind and body to cross. Until now.

Jamie let his hands drink in the curve of her hips, the ridge of her ribs and shoulders, the soft plains of her belly. He slid a hand beneath her back and fiddled with her bra clasp until it gave way. As if unveiling something sacred, Jamie lifted the silky fabric away from her chest, breathing quickly as he did. Her gaze bid him speak.

"Eddie, you are so beautiful, you have to know that….it's a goddamn shame I normally only get to see you in a uniform…" He trailed off as his hand cradled the side of her breast and his thumb brushed over her nipple. She gasped in obvious delight.

"Then I guess you had better memorize it, Reagan." Her voice was sultry and hoarse.

Jamie laughed in soft agreement and lowered his mouth to taste her normally forbidden skin.

Eddie, being impatient as she characteristically was, made short work of Jamie's belt and zipper. Jamie had to pause to regain himself as her hand provoked him to a raging response. He backed up off the bed for a moment, pulling his jeans off and leaving them in a rushed heap on the floor. Taking advantage of his leverage, he freed Eddie from her's as well. Given the color coordination of her lingerie, Jamie had to wonder if Eddie had intuited the chances of this happening. He didn't hate that idea. He slid his thumbs beneath the sides of her underwear as he kissed the crux of her hipbone.

Eddie trembled as he pulled away her last covering, suddenly feeling bashful.

Jamie pressed his chest to her, warming her, feeling her every inch. Her head reeled backwards as he entered slowly. A yearning ache that had simply become a part of her had just been assuaged and while she normally would have felt empty with its sudden absence, right now Jamie was overwhelming her senses and she felt fulfilled in every way. Their rocking and breathing fell into a euphoric rhythm. Mere minutes later it was done. It almost seemed too fast for how long it had taken everything to converge on this moment. Truth be told, it had taken years, almost since the day they had met. They lay, spent and happy, arms intertwined.

"You gonna tell Renzulli or should I?" Eddie sounded almost sad for a second.

"I don't want to….yet."

"Jamie Reagan! Are you actually suggesting we break a rule, boy scout?" She sat up enough to look at him face to face.

"Just for a week. We have two weeks off, then I vote we ride together for at least one more week. I can't have that ride before our UC assignment be our last one, ya know? I need more closure than that."

"You act like we died." Eddie laughed. Jamie didn't.

"It's just gonna be hard to get used to it." He admitted ruefully.

"Yeah but there are benefits to the flipside."

Jamie looked down at the woman in his arms. It was a sharp contrast to her normally tough exterior. Her softness, feminine grace, alluring scent…it was the most irresistible combination he'd ever encountered. He brushed a few stray hairs from her forehead. Maybe it would be hard to give up their partnership. It would be harder to give up this.

"Yeah, there sure are, Janko, there sure are."