Pillow Talk

Payback - A

Payback A

"Eddie," Jamie sighed as he let them into his apartment. "Eddie, come on, don't be mad."

"I'm not mad," Eddie countered. "I just want to spend the night at my own place."

"Yeah, because you're mad," Jamie replied. "All I meant was that we don't know much about either Christina or her boyfriend, he could be lying, but so could she."

"I know that," Eddie said sitting down on his couch. "I know she could be lying and he could be too. If Christina is lying, Trevor's reputation gets hurt or something like that but if Trevor is lying...something much more serious could happen!"

"I know." Jamie sat down at Eddie's side. "So first, let's stop this silliness about you staying at your place. We're a couple off the job and this argument is related to the job. This is a fight with Eddie my partner, not Eddie my girlfriend."

Eddie turned to face Jamie, "One in the same, Reagan. You might be able to turn it off and on but I can't. You totally discounted me out there today, Jamie, and you're still doing it!"

Jamie knew he probably wasn't going to get much farther in this argument, but the stubborn Irish pride of his made him keep going. "I am not discounting you, Eddie!" Jamie snapped. "I am trying to make you see there's more than one side to this thing. In cases like this, there are three sides to the story: his side, her side, and the truth."

"That's bull!" Eddie said firmly. "This time, there is one side - her side. You saw the messages on her computer, Jamie. We were sitting with her when she got them. She didn't send them to herself! Why are you standing up for that piece of scum?"

"Eddie," Jamie sighed, he was getting frustrated with her. They never had such a heated disagreement as a couple before. They hadn't even really disagreed to this extent as partners. It didn't feel good. "Why won't you just admit that that stuff with Jake kind of...?"

"Jamie," Eddie interrupted him before he could finish. "If you go there one more time, I'm not even going to try to sit and have a meal with you, I'm just going to go home! This has nothing to do with me! This has to do with us protecting a vulnerable citizen that was drugged and stripped naked in a park last night. That's our job!"

Jamie sighed and sat on the couch, "Yes, it is our job and right now, we are off that job. Please, let's go to our mutual corners and talk about something else," he pleaded.

Eddie didn't want her frustrations with her partner to carry over to their personal time, but it was hard to flip a switch, so instead of saying something she would regret later, she just clamped her mouth shut and sat back on the couch.

Jamie went to the fridge and grabbed two beers. He gave one to Eddie and gently pulled her legs onto his lap. "Did you hear that Danny caught that case with that reality chef that was murdered?"

"Yeah?" Eddie replied, forcing herself to engage in his new topic of conversation.

"Danny would have had no idea who that guy was if it wasn't for Baez," Jamie replied feeling a little more relaxed now that he'd shifted the conversation, but he could still feel that Eddie was tense. He began to remove her shoes knowing one thing that always helped her relax.

"Danny's not into reality shows?" Eddie asked before sipping on her beer.

"No, unless it was that one about the Drag Queens," Jamie laughed. "That show he loves. He claims it's Linda, but it's him." Jamie pulled off Eddie's socks and slowly he started to massage her feet, which had Eddie releasing a quiet moan. "Do your feet hurt?"

"No, but I like it when you rub them," Eddie smiled sadly as her mind shifted back to their case. She knew he was trying to keep their work and private lives separate but she couldn't pretend that what he said didn't bother her. "I don't know Jamie, it really hurt that you thought I was reacting on emotions and not on the fact that we had a legitimately frightened girl that needed our help."

"I didn't mean to hurt you, but you were way ahead of yourself, jumping to conclusions," Jamie replied. "But let's not talk about this, okay. Let's talk about anything but this."

Eddie shut her eyes and tried giving it another go. "Okay, best compliment you ever got on the job?" she asked as she picked another random topic. "Oh, right there...," she moaned as he hit a tender spot.

Jamie rubbed a little harder along the arch of her foot. "Uh, it was actually from Renzulli," he replied. "When we were riding together, we had this case, a real paranoid type woman. She kept calling saying people were moving her things around, breaking into her house. The Boss thought she was just another EDP, not dangerous but batty, but I just felt like maybe she was on the level and gave her the benefit of the doubt. I turned out to be right, she was being targeted by her own brother. When it all came out, Renzulli told me I had something special, that I reminded him of my brother, Joe."

Jamie said that last part so fast it was like he coughed, but Eddie was able to hear him. "Oh, that must have felt really special, Jamie."

He nodded. "It did. Joe and I were best friends. Until I met you, I didn't let anyone get that close, not even Vinny. I let you in and it felt so right to be close to someone like that again."

Eddie sighed, "I am sorry that we disagreed today, Jamie. I hate to argue with you, I always did."

"Let's not talk about it," Jamie said again. "He would have liked you," he continued. "Joe, he really would have liked you. If he met you, I'd have had to fight for you for sure."

Eddie pulled her legs back and sat with her knees against her chest. "I only have eyes for you, Reagan," she assured him. "Even when you are being stubborn."

"What's the best compliment you ever got?" Jamie asked. "On the job."

"Uh, I think it was the Rose Davis case," Eddie replied. "That was the first time that you backed up a hunch of mine, you saw I had an instinct and you let me run with it. That meant a lot to me."

Jamie knew that Eddie still hadn't let things go from before. No matter what he did tonight, she wasn't ready to let it go. Jamie was convinced now more than ever he was right about her reaction to Christina Henley's plight. "I trust you, Eddie," Jamie said gently trying a different tactic. "I love you and I need you to understand that when I don't agree with you, it doesn't mean that I do either of those things less, it just means I have a different opinion. That's all."

"A wrong opinion this time," Eddie insisted. "You know this is not working. It's not working to separate our work and personal lives, it just isn't. I can't be mad at you at work and all lovey dovey at home, I just can't."

"Eddie," Jamie tried to reach for her but she got up.

"Give me my socks, I'm going to stay at my place. I really need time alone to think."

Jamie felt his breath catch in his throat. "Eddie, please..."

"For tonight, Jamie," Eddie reassured him. "I need time alone to think for tonight. I'll see you tomorrow on tour." Eddie leaned over and kissed Jamie softly on the lips. "Please give me my socks."

Reluctantly, Jamie handed Eddie back her socks. "I think we can work this out, Eddie."

Eddie sighed. "We can, tomorrow, after I have had some time. Please, Jamie. I'm not used to having this...," she moved her hand back and forth between. "I'm not mad anymore, I'm just confused. Please don't make it harder than it is."

Jamie sighed but agreed. He stood up and took Eddie in his arms giving her a stirring kiss. "I love you. Tet me when you get him, just let me know you got home safe, okay?"

Eddie nodded and got her things together. They shared one last kiss before she walked out the door and headed for home. It killed him to see her leave upset, they hadn't spent a night alone since that first night in her apartment nearly three months ago.

Jamie turned around and looked around his apartment feeling so alone. He got into bed after he received Eddie's text, but it felt empty without her beside him. He tried to sleep but to no avail. He had to make this right with her, he loved her so much. Tomorrow was Sunday; maybe he could work the 'he said/she said' issue into the Sunday dinner conversation, and maybe, just maybe, someone would have advice that he could use to repair this mess.