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When Eddie exited the en suite after her shower that Sunday night, fresh-faced and bundled up in one of Jamie’s Harvard sweatshirts she’d stolen at the start of their relationship, her damp hair piled into a messy bun atop her head, it was to find her husband sitting on their sofa, staring straight ahead. There was a rerun of some baseball game or another playing on the television, but Eddie could tell he wasn’t paying it any mind. He was too lost in his own head by that point.
“Hi,” she greeted softly, causing his eyes to snap to her face. He reached hastily for the remote, muting the television and then turning it off entirely.
“Hi,” he returned just as quietly, holding his arm out in invitation. She padded across the room on bare feet to curl up next to him, sighing happily when his arm immediately fell to rest around her shoulders. “How’re you doing?”
She shrugged. “Eye still hurts a little. I’m sure it’ll be better in the morning, though.”
“You should ice it,” Jamie suggested quickly, shifting as if to stand.
“With what, frozen peas or a raw steak?” Eddie questioned, offering her husband a teasing smile. “Or maybe I should try the teabags Erin mentioned. Your family’s got a lot of remedies for black eyes, you know.”
“We’ve had a lot of black eyes to treat over the years. You have met Danny, right?” Jamie said, smiling when Eddie laughed. “He was even more of a hothead when he was younger.”
“He sure has mellowed out in the time I’ve known him,” Eddie mused, shifting so her head rested more comfortably on his chest.
Jamie smiled bittersweetly. “He didn’t really have much choice in the matter.”
“No,” Eddie agreed, with a sad smile of her own, “I guess he didn’t.”
They coexisted in a comfortable silence for several moments, right up until…
“I’m sorry,” Jamie finally muttered, drawing Eddie’s attention away from the blank television screen.
She blinked once, confused. “For what?”
“Simms should never have been released. If he hadn’t gotten out, he wouldn’t have hit you that night.”
“I agree that he shouldn’t have been released,” Eddie nodded slowly. “I don’t know why you’re the one sorry for the fact that he was, though. You didn’t…”
“I could’ve done more. I could have talked to the ADA, at least. He shouldn’t have been able to just walk out of there.”
“You weren't the one who let Simms out of prison,” Eddie argued gently. “And the ADA did argue for him to be held for trial. The judge chose to release him anyway. The fact that he was free to do this, it wasn't your fault."
“If I’d handled it differently, if I’d dealt with it the way some people in my position wouldn’t have even hesitated to deal with it…”
Eddie cut in sharply. “Then you wouldn’t be the cop I’ve respected since day one, and you sure as hell wouldn’t be the man I married.” She shifted in his arms, reaching up to cup his face between her palms. “You do things the right way. You don’t go beating people up. You hate cops who do.”
“I should’ve done more,” he reiterated.
“Jamie.” She smiled gently. “Honey, you did your job. There was nothing else for you to do.”
He exhaled heavily. “I hate that he hurt you.”
“I know.”
“I wish I could’ve protected you from him.”
“You did your best,” she said again.
He inhaled shakily, then nodded. “I love you.”
“I know,” she smiled sleepily. “I love you, too.”