You Are On My Mind

The Start Of A Beautiful Friendship

A/n
I always felt Eddie and Linda would make such great friends. They have similar personalities, and they both love Reagan men.
This is just a fix of a possible way they become good friends
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Linda sighed as she brought the straw up to her lips. She sucked the last bit of water out, and frowned upon opening the top. Even the ice was gone, leaving her with no thirst quencher. She sighed again; she wasn't supposed to be the one in the bed. She was supposed to be the one giving out the pain medicines, changing the IV bags, checking the vitals, making the rounds. She was supposed to be on her shift, not lying in a bed, practically immobile, with a bullet in her back.
She looked to the ceiling; she was tired, but didn't want to sleep. She tried to remember the last time she was the patient.... it was twelve years ago, when Sean was born. Part of her wished she could be the 2003 version of herself— sweaty, tired, but extremely happy, holding her new son. She smiled as she remembered the memory. She had been nervous, Danny, too. After the complications with Jack, they were almost scared to have another little one. But the only problem with Sean was seemingly the very long labor. In fact, the doctors were discussing a C-section, but at the very last minute, the little rascal decided to come out.
A knock on the door interrupted the nurse's thoughts. She looked up to see Eddie Janko standing there, looking a tad uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, Linda smiled, happy for the company. "Hey, Eddie. What brings you here?"
"My car, mostly." Ugh. That was mean.
"I meant which one of the Reagans sent you? The boss, the hardass, or the logician?"
That made Eddie laugh. She knew exactly which ones the nurse was referencing. "Uh... all three? Mainly Danny, though. He wanted some one to keep you company, and I readily volunteered."
She stood a few feet from the bed, her head buried in her phone. "Besides, Danny says we have a certain..." she cleared her throat, "interest?"
"Really? What?"
Eddie crossed the short distance to the side of the bed. She flipped her phone around, showing Linda the interest.
A slow, surprised, happy smile spread across the blonde's face. Staring at her was a familiar photo of a bare-chested Donnie Wahlberg. She glanced up at the younger blonde, "take a seat, my friend."
Eddie grinned and grabbed a chair, and was half way down when she suddenly exclaimed. "Ooh! You want anything? Food, drinks, music, what?"
Linda smiled, "I am a little thirsty..." she looked at the clock. Eleven. "And hungry. Lunch isn't served till 11:45, though."
"Oh, I'll order in." Eddie dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. "What do you like? Chinese, pizza, subs?"
She shrugged, smiling, "Italian?"
"Ooh. Good choice. I'll order, get you a drink, then we can drool over Donnie."
Linda smiled, the first genuine smile in a while. "Thanks, Eddie. I really appreciate it."
"Hey, no problem at all. I don't mind one bit."
She smiled again, and watched Eddie scroll through her phone.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, uh...." she chewed her lip. She knew the closet Italian place well— she and Danny often went there for lunches when she had an afternoon shift. "I'm in the mood for.... cheese tortellini, with mushrooms, and no bacon."
"Ooh, that sounds good. I think I'll have that, too. Only with bacon."
**************
"What's your favorite New Kids' song?" Linda asked as she dug into her pasta, "The Right Stuff?"
"Honestly? I think The Right Stuff is overrated."
"Agreed. Step By Step?"
"The song? Also over rated. The album," Eddie chewed a bite of her pasta. "It's a pretty good album. Cover Girl?"
"My favorite."
"It's completely cheesy, '80s bubblegum pop, but that's what makes it so good!" Eddie smiled when Linda laughed in agreement. "Twisted?"
"Ooh. Another favorite. Actually, The Block is probably my favorite album."
"Least favorite album?"
The ladies both said, "Christmas album" in unison.
"Yeah, I really only listen to it at Christmas, and it's not all that good." Eddie took a sip of her soda.
"I agree. I'll listen to other Christmas songs throughout the year, because: why the hell not? And I've kind of exhausted my usual songs."
"Totally relatable."
"And when that happens, that's not one I listen to."
"I know.... so how long have you been a fan?"
"Since high school."
"I think I've been one since 2008?" She quickly did the math, "yeah, '08. About the time I graduated college."
After some comfortable silence, Linda asked, "Y'know What, Eddie?"
"What?"
"I think this is the start to a beautiful friendship."
If the young cop had to look into her pasta for a few moments, neither of the women mentioned it.