Born Blue

Settling the Dispute

The next day...
Sunday June 27th 2021

The family all sat down to eat, Jamie and Eddie were only communicating if it was about Alaina. They haven't really spoke since she left his office yesterday, after she called Jamie a jackass. The tension between them was heavy. Neither one of them talked or got involved in any conversation for the first 5 minutes of eating. The family kinda picked up on it but Joe was the only one who decided to try and help/see what was going on.

"So I went out with Nicole last night... she said you guys gave her this following week off?" Joe questioned.

"You guys going away?" Danny asked curious, Jamie glances at Eddie who didn't look up and kept playing with her food.

"Nope that was all courtesy of Eddie." Jamie said looking at Danny and then back to eating. Eddie shut her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Really?" She said frustrated with Jamie he was starting something.

"Really." Jamie said back at her confidently.

"Isn't Nicole working out for you?" Erin asked looking at Eddie.

"Oh no she's great, just figured we don't need to be paying her when Eddies gonna be at home for the week anyway." Jamie said confusing everyone.

"Okay what's going on?" Frank asked.

"Yeah enough beating around the bush." Pop added.

"Eddie?" Jamie said smiling like a smartass wanting her to say.

"You know. How bout you tell them SARGE beings you're the one who caused it." Eddie said sitting back in her chair looking at him with an eye.

"Caused what?" Danny asked.

"Mr.hardass over here me suspended!" Eddie blurted out at him.

"..Jamie?" Pop questioned not believing it, exchanged eyes with Frank who was just as surprised.

"You got yourself suspended and you know it!"  Jamie said back.

"Woah..!?" Danny said.

"I made a judgment call!" Eddie defended.

"You disobeyed a direct order!" Jamie argued.

"What happened?!" Nikki asked.

"You would've done the same thing if that little girl was holding onto you, scared for her life!" Eddie shouted.

"Alright." Frank said wanting to stop them because they were getting louder.

"No I wouldn't have! Her mom was gonna be with her!" Jamie argued back ignoring his dad.

"You don't know that! What if that was Alaina!? You're telling me you wouldn't want the officer to have her back and make sure she was safe until the mom was cleared to!?" Eddie shouted back at him.

"That's not a fair question or scenario Eddie, I would never lay a finger on you or our daughter to be put in that situation!" He said yelling back.

"Enough!" Franks loud voice rumbled, Alaina had woke up from her nap in the other room hearing it and started crying. Everyone was silent and looked around the table. It was awkward...like really awkward.

Eddie got up to tend to the baby, leaving Jamie sitting and staring down at his plate, thinking about what just happened.

"Jamie...What happened?" Frank asked calmly over the silence of the table only to hear the baby fussing in the other room with Eddie.

Jamie sighed before he started talking, everyone anxiously waiting to here. 

"We responded to a domestic disturbance yesterday. They're arguing loud we could here from outside. We get in and the husbands beating on his wife, has a hold of her. Me and Janko get in it a little with both of them, apprehend them and there's a little girl, probably 5 years old,standing right off the room just watching. Couple more officers come in and take him out in cuffs, the moms fine she just had some bruises and cuts but they had an ambulance for her. So me and Eddie approach the girl. She's scared for her life you can tell. She's got a bruise on her cheek, her hairs messy, she's got these scratches on her hands. She didn't want to go with the Emts, she wanted to stay with Eddie. I told Eddie she'd be with her mom and it would be fine but she insisted on going. I ordered her to stay back but she disobeyed my order in front of everyone around by leaving in the ambulance with her. I had no choice... Just cause she's my wife doesn't mean she gets to do whatever she wants right?" Jamie said and everyone just listened and thought about it.

"Okay so you did what you thought was right." Frank started by saying.

"You don't think I'm right?" Jamie questioned and Frank sighed trying not to pick sides.

"I think dad means you did what you thought was right, and she did what she thought was right." Erin added.

"I'm not picking sides here but how many times did you get suspended for following your gut instead of protocol?" Frank asked Jamie.

"...I don't know, only a couple." Jamie said.

"And Eddie?" Frank asked.

"...she hasn't..." Jamie admitted thinking about what he just said and how maybe he was a little too tough on her.

"Doesn't matter, she disobeyed an order. I'm with you Jamie. She may be your wife but on the job that can't be a thing." Erin said.

"Yeah well then why do I feel so bad." Jamie asked.

"Because she is your wife and you work with her. The issue will never stay at work. It comes home with you too." Pop said.

"Well what do you think?" Jamie asked him.

"I think you could've cut her a little slack maybe just took her out of the car a couple days. Rather writing her up...But I get your side too." Pop said.

"I get both sides." Joe said.

"Well I think she should be treated like any other officer, not get special treatment because she's your wife." Nikki said.

"I don't know kid, I make a living off following my gut. That little girl was begging me to stay with her, I would've done the same. Hell I have. Usually turns out home life was worse then we thought. I'd cut her some slack" Danny said.

"Didn't you get suspended for doing something similar?" Frank asked. Jamie thought back and then remembered he had and it was a few years back basically the same thing.

"Yeah I did..." he said.  His dad raised his eyebrows at him about what he had said. That made Jamie think back to that day and the feeling the situation brought him.

Jamie got up from the table and went to see Eddie, nursing in the office. He could tell she was upset and tired. Neither one of them got much sleep last night between having Lainey and feeling uneasy about arguing with each other.

"Hey." Jamie said standing in the doorway.

"Hi." Eddie replied nicely after hearing the sincerity in Jamie's voice.

"I shouldn't have called you out like that back there." Jamie admitted as he sat down next to her.

"Oh no, I think I deserved it after calling you a jackass yesterday." Eddie said.

"I deserved that, it was a jackass move." He told her.

"No it wasn't professional. I would've never said that to another sergeant." She said shaking her head.

"I know that...but the Jamie you know as your husband would have supported your decision to go with that little girl. I should have just talked to you afterward. I shouldn't have just walked into Espinozas office telling him you needed to be punished for it." He said.

"It's okay I know you did it out of anger. I know I made you feel emasculated and it was wrong of me to disobey your order as a sargent." Eddie told him.

"You're right but, we said we'd always separate work from home and that still doesn't give me a reason to react as much as I did. I could've dialed it down and I'm sorry." Jamie apologized.

"I think you made the right call. I'm sorry too." Eddie replied. Jamie appreciated that and grabbed her face gently to bring her in for a kiss.

He sat and waited for Laina to be done nursing so they could walk back to the table together. So everyone would know they were all good.
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Geez that was intense, do you think it was handled correctly? And do you think from here on out they can prevent that from happening again in the future?
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