New Cop In Town | Blue Bloods

Substitute Partner

I got to work the next morning and people waved. I even got one or two "Hey Hannah"s and "Morning Greene"s. I walked into the locker room and failed to see Eddie, my only female friend in the department. One officer, Marianna Cabello, had been pretty nice to me, but the only girl I actually knew was Eddie. It felt a little odd in the locker room without her. I got out of there as soon as possible.

Just as I walked out of the locker room, Jamie and I locked eyes, and he motioned for me to follow him. I jogged up to him. "What's going on?" I asked. Jamie looked a little concerned.

"Well, apparently Eddie isn't here. Which sucks for me, because usually there's nobody for me to ride with, so if I'm lucky, I'll ride with Renzulli, but more often than not, I'm on desk duty. I hate desk duty, so I'm bringing you in with me to request you to be my... Well, my substitute partner I guess." Jamie smiled, which relieved my tension.

"Wait, so... If Sarge approves the request... Does this mean I get to ride shotgun?" I joked, but there was a part of me that was being serious. I missed being up front. Back in Boston, I usually drove, so the backseat felt like a ride along.

Jamie laughed in response. "Yes, Hannah. If he says yes, you can ride shotgun."

"Yes!" I said loudly. Jamie grinned and we knocked on Sergeant Renzulli's door. The door opened.

"Reagan! Just the one I wanted to see. Oh, Greene! I wanted to see you too. Killing two birds with one stone I guess." Sarge joked. "I see you two are getting friendly?" We both nodded. "Well, that's good. Anyways, Hannah, I haven't found a partner for you yet. I've been working on it, but I just haven't had enough time." I nodded in response. I understood, it's hard to find partners for someone who just transferred.

"Oh, no, I completely understand. Don't stress about it." I smiled, attempting to seem professional. Sarge looked back down at his papers.

"Jamie, I see Janko hasn't turned up yet." Before Sarge could get another sentence out, Jamie jumped in.

"Oh yeah, that's what I came to talk to you about. Since Eddie's out today and Hannah doesn't have a partner and I'm sure we would both love to be out in the streets, why doesn't Greene ride with me instead?" Jamie shot Renzulli his million dollar smile, hoping to have made a compelling argument. Sarge smirked at Jamie's attempt.

"Alright, I don't see why not. Both of you, get to work. Your tour starts in five minutes." Sarge responded. Jamie and I smiled professionally with gratitude, and swiftly exited the office. Once we were out, we looked at each other and both in a hushed voice exclaimed "Yes!"

Jamie and I briskly walked out to the car. "Hey, so this means I get shotgun?" I asked giddily. Jamie nodded and laughed. I grinned. I ran to the passenger side and climbed in. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time it took to pull out of the garage.

"Why are you so happy that you got shotgun? Do you have a thing for sitting up front?" Jamie laughed. I stifled a giggle.

"It makes me feel, for lack of a better word, like a real cop. Since I got to New York, everything seems so new. I feel so infantile. This, for lack of a better word again, makes me feel like a 'big girl', like an adult. I don't think you quite understand. I was, not meaning to brag, the best cop in my precinct. I was next in line for detective, but they decided to transfer me to New York instead. Ever since, I feel like a rookie. I've been on this job since I was 19. That's 7, almost 8 years I've been a cop. But everything here is so different. I have no seniority. I miss Boston. But hey, at least I can sit up front like the big kids." I smiled to show Jamie it was okay to laugh. He smiled back.

All of a sudden, a call came over the radio. "Backup requested on the corner 5th and 1st. Reported shots fired." Jamie shot me a glance. I knew instantly that our short heart-to-heart conversation was over, and it was time to get to work.

"Well, that's us." Jamie said to me, picking up the radio. "12 David reporting to 5th and 1st, be there in 10 or less." He called in. We pulled the car around and went in the opposite direction, towards the location of the call.

When we got there, it was a nightmare. Two little kids, a boy and a girl, maybe 5 years old. Both laying on the sidewalk bleeding. There were a few others too, a mom slumped on a bench and a teenager laying in wood chips. It was a playground. There was gunfire at a playground.

We were the first to respond for backup, so the original officers were busy chasing the perp. Jamie and I quickly shot glances. We jumped out of the car. I ran to the two little kids, and Jamie ran to the mom and the teenage girl. I could hear Jamie from across the park yelling "Call a bus!" So I radioed in.

I knelt down on the sidewalk next to the two little kids. They were both barely awake. "Hey, hey, hey, look. Look, I'm a police officer. I'm here to help you. Please stay awake." I said calmly. The little girl was shot in the stomach and the boy in the right shoulder. I decided that the little girl needed faster attention since her injury was most life threatening.

I started putting pressure on the little girl's stomach. "Shh, shh. You're gonna be okay. Everything is going to be okay. You just have to stay awake for me. Can you tell me your name, sweetie?" I said in a hushed, calm voice. The little girl was verging on unresponsive. However, she did manage to tell me that was Erica. "Okay Erica, don't worry. Help is on the way. We're gonna get you to a doctor. You're gonna be all patched up." I smiled at her, even though she wasn't really paying attention. She wasn't crying, which scared me. I figured her body was in shock. It was then that I remembered there was a little boy next to me. I needed Jamie; I couldn't take care of them both. I knew he was taking care of the two older victims, but I couldn't leave the girl, she was too young and weak to stop the bleeding on her own. And I couldn't just let the little boy bleed out. "Jamie!" I screamed across the dead silent courtyard. "I need you over here!"

I got no response. I started to get really nervous. I had to make a choice. The boy needed attention so I could check him for more lethal injuries. Yet, the girl would bleed out within minutes of me stopping pressure. I decided on a whim to stay with Erica. I had committed to her and I was sure the boy could wait for a bus.

After what seemed like eternity, backup pulled up with three buses. A huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I yelled to the paramedics. "Hey! Hey! I've got two little kids with gunshot wounds! Get over here!" Instantly, two paramedics were right by me, attending to the young victims. "Erica, these are doctors. They're gonna help you. You're going to be okay. Hang in there, sweetie." I whispered to her as they were loading her onto the stretcher. I looked down at my blood-stained uniform. It was after I looked down at my badge that I remembered-Jamie!

I ran along side the EMT's, frantically searching for Jamie. I finally caught sight of him behind a slide with the teenage girl in his arms, hiding from further danger. I elbowed a medic in motion to follow me. One attended to the mother still on the bench, while the other followed me.

"Jamie, you okay?" I asked, out of breath from all the panic. He nodded to me and handed the petrified teenager to the paramedic. I helped him up. We both fully exhaled for the first time in twenty minutes. "That was... Something." I said shakily. He nodded in agreement. "I-I could have done more. That little boy probably bled out because of me." I was worried. I didn't want to get in trouble with Sergeant Renzulli or anyone other.

"Hey, you did all you could do. There's nothing more for us here. You look like you're about to pass out. Why don't we take our break?" Jamie told me. I nodded. I shook out my hands on the way back to the squad car. I needed to process everything. It was a good thing we were going on break.

It wasn't like that was the worst thing I've ever seen. I've seen infant burn victims, I've seen a 84-people massacre, and I've seen a third grade class shooting. It was just very unexpected and very pressured. I buckled up my seatbelt and Jamie pulled out onto the road, towards midtown for a good burger.