"Brenna!" Jamie called. He stood two feet away from her bed, hands poised, ready to rip the blankets away from the sleeping teen's body if she didn't wake up in the next three seconds.
It was Jamie's first day on the job and he didn't want to be late. JoJo had school. She'd only been allowed to skip because of the ceremony. If she continued to sleep, she was going to be late, which was going to make him late.
She didn't budge. Jamie mentally counted to three, barely noticing his niece's fingers tightening around the covers. Only this wasn't the first time he'd had to wake her like this. He held his position, glancing at the foot of the bed. As silently as possible, he moved from her side to her feet.
JoJo screamed as the cold air hit her bare legs and arms like an ice bath. She thrashed about, trying to get back under the covers, falling off the bed in the process. The action made her learn the covers had been thrown over her head.
Running feet echoed through the hall, stopping at the open curtain to see JoJo glaring up at Jamie from the floor. He was in his uniform, ready to go. And the kid was still in bed. The only reason he stayed was to get her off to school.
"Three G's. Now," he said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder. He may have dealt with this in the past, but he couldn't believe she was still doing it. "If I'm late on my first day because you don't get along Syd, you can forget staying over at Meghan's next week."
"Bu-"
"No buts. Syd's been trying to wake you for the last half hour, and I know you heard her the first three times. Even I gave you ten minutes before doing this. Now get up. Get dressed. And get going. Your detail will be here in ten minutes."
"Grandpa never did this," JoJo mumbled as she climbed to her feet.
"Maybe not with you. He certainly did with us. And we didn't have a driver like you do. We had shoes and a sidewalk if we missed the bus," Jamie replied with his in my day voice coming through. "Pops won't be home until late so you're going to Grandpa's office after school."
"Thought I was spending the weekend here?"
"You are. But if last month proved anything, you still need supervising. I'm beginning to wonder if Meghan's more your conscience than you are hers."
JoJo rolled her eyes and faked a laugh. She opened her closet. It was the only part of her room that still had a door. Her school uniform had been hung there the night before.
That was one of the only good things about going to this school in her opinion. She didn't have to wonder what she was going to wear.
"I thought you'd have eight-hour tours."
"How are you a cop's kid and still not understand our tours can be extended at any time?"
"Well... to answer the first part... when a mommy and a daddy get together-"
Jamie left the room as quickly as he could. Yes, he knew all about what his niece was referring to... that didn't mean he liked knowing she understood the subject matter. And it was the result JoJo was after so she could change into her school clothes.
~*B*B~*B*B~
"Come on, Abigail," JoJo whined to the detective who was her grandfather's assistant and her current guardian.
"That's Detective to you, JoJo... And there is absolutely no way in hell I am going to convince the commissioner to let you leave this floor. Besides, that's not his decision to make."
Not his decision? "What are you talking about? He's my grandfather. I live in his house," the teen reminded.
"Did your uncle sign any documents that changed custody?"
"Wait. Are you telling me Uncle Jamie is the one behind all this? The reason I can have my phone for emergency use only?"
"Well, would you look at that. You really are a detective's daughter," Baker said with more than a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Mayor's here to see you, Sir. And your granddaughter is begging me to let her go downstairs." The intercom light was on, telling JoJo the commissioner heard everything.
JoJo had to give Baker the win. The woman played dirty when it came to the teen's antics.
"Are you giving Baker a hard time, Brenna?" Frank's voice came through the speaker. He didn't have a booming voice, but he didn't need the intercom to be heard. His voice carried through the door as well.
Quickly, JoJo apologized to Baker before she walked away, returning to the homework she'd abandoned in her attempt to visit her mom. The visit wouldn't have been a problem. What was the issue, however, was that she didn't ask. She simply got up, walked out of the conference room, and headed for the elevator, unaware of the eyes that had been assigned to her.
The conference room had a large glass window, so nothing was private. All she could do was sulk or finish her homework. And there was no need to guess which one she chose.
"Uncle Jamie is definitely gonna hear about this one... if he hasn't already."
The night sky came through the building windows, showing the backlit forms of the surrounding high rises.
She couldn't help but feel like Rapunzel, trapped on the highest floor of the tower, still able to see a world with which she could not interact.
"Can't believe I didn't know he was the deciding factor all this time."
The door to her conference room opened, allowing Baker to come in. It had been a long day and Jamie was still on tour. But Sydney had come by to pick the kid up and bring her home.
~*B*B*~*B*B*~
How's the case going? JoJo's phone lit up with a message from Meghan.
Uncle Jamie started today. Can't say much about Uncle Danny's case though. Still active. And Grandpa had me removed from his office the second it was mentioned by his DCPI.
Any progress on what you promised Jamie?
The thing with Aunt Syd? I haven't had a chance. Something tells me I won't get one tonight either when Uncle Jamie gets home. Aunt Syd said he was late to work this morning.
Blaming you?
Well, I did ignore all her attempts to wake me up for school. And one of Uncle Jamie's. He had to meet Uncle Tony at a diner during the man's meal break.
So, how much trouble are you in?
What were we going to do next weekend?
You're not coming over.
Nice guess... Gotta go. I think Uncle Jamie's ho- She never finished or sent the message as the device was lifted out of her still typing thumbs. Her hands and body followed the phone until it was completely removed from her grasp.
"He's not home yet, Brenna. But I am taking this," Sydney said, holding JoJo's cell phone out on display. "I think we should talk."
The teen leaned back on her bed against the headrest. A sigh slipped from her chest. Jamie must have said something to Sydney earlier.
Sydney sat on the edge of the bed, turning her body to face JoJo.
"First, it's me every day since the engagement. Jamie and me this morning. Then it's Detective Baker and the rest of your grandfather's protection detail tonight." The disappointment clear on her face and in her voice. She knew JoJo was nothing like this. "Your uncle is tired of being the middleman. What's going on?"
~*B*B*~*B*B*~
Sydney and JoJo's talk had gone better than the dinner she and Jamie went to the following night, which also went better than the family's Sunday dinner. The only ones who hadn't left the table were Frank, Henry, Jamie, and JoJo.
The victim of Danny's case had been located before it was too late. But he had used rather unconventional methods that might have been ignored in her great-grandfather's day.
Danny left the table because something came up involving his case. Erin left to chase after Nicki who was insulted by something Henry said.
JoJo continued eating. It wasn't like she could go anywhere. She was there until the next weekend.
"I noticed you didn't use the distraction as your chance to leave," Frank said as everyone cleared the table. The three of them had been at the table for some time. Not everyone returned. But those who did, finished their food and cleared their own spots.
Erin took care of the leftovers. Nicky remained somewhere in the house. Erin hadn't disclosed that information upon her return. Sydney had gone to her parent's home in Greenwich earlier in the day, so she wasn't even there.
"Right," she scoffed. "Because I can leave here without 1PP or my own personal warden stopping me."
"You're not a prisoner in your own home, Bren. Stop acting like one," Jamie groaned when he came back for more dishes to wash.
JoJo dramatically rolled her head back for a moment, groaning the entire time. Then she took the dishes that were in her hands to the kitchen. The confusion on Henry's face was evident. As was the realization on Frank's.
"Slept through his alarm clock?" Frank quoted the report Jamie's captain had written, failing to hide the grin in his eyes. He knew there had to be a real reason his son was late for his first day on the job.
"Yeah," Jamie replied as if he'd been caught in a lie.
"You don't sleep through alarm clocks. Never have. So, when I got the report, I had to wonder who you were protecting. Now I know... I'll assume the problem has been dealt with?"
"Syd talked to her a couple nights ago. Only been two days but I like what I'm seeing. Cell phone is still for emergency use only, and she won't be going to her friend's house this weekend."
Both father and grandfather nodded in understanding. Jamie took the last of the dishes to be washed.
~*B*B*~*B*B*~
As Jamie walked through the door frame to the kitchen, hands loaded with dishes, JoJo sat at the island counter. Her head on the surface, buried in her arms.
A towel was tossed, covering her hair.
"Don't give me that look. I wash, you dry."
"How do you know what look I'm giving?" she frowned. Her head was still in her arms.
Jamie chuckled. There was no need to answer her question. She knew the answer he would give. JoJo removed the towel from her head and tossed it in the kitchen hamper. It was clean before landing on her head. But even with clean hair, she wasn't sure others would want to eat off dishes that had been dried with a hair towel.
She grabbed a towel from the drawer and dried each dish that was handed to her. Once dried it was put away in the proper cabinet. And Jamie told her how he met his training officer.
"You know, I was also your brother Joe's training officer when he was a new boot?"
"No kidding? No, I didn't know that. Heard a lot about you from my niece though.
"Yeah? You got JoJo?" Jamie nodded. "How she doin'?"
"I'd like to say better, but after this morning... Sorry I'm late on my first day."
"Hey, I got kids, too, Harvard. We love 'em, but they make us late for everything."
"Well, weekend is here. No school to wake up for. She'll be back at my dad's so this shouldn't happen again until next week."
"Hopefully not then either. Boss' kid getting a RIP because of the stubborn gene wouldn't look too good on you." Renzulli wiped his mouth before lifting his hat from the counter beside him. He paid for his meal, placed his hat on his head, and led the way to the door. "Haven't seen the kid since the funeral. What she been up to?"
"Mostly trouble in school. Occasional fight at home. Normal for most people... not for her. We all miss Joe, but he was all she had."
"Yeah. Terrible thing, he got shot. He was a good guy, your brother."
JoJo absent mindedly wiped the dish in her hand. What was it with everybody having to mention her father every time they met a Reagan? Didn't seem to matter which Reagan, either.
"Before I leave tonight, I need to set some things up on your phone..." JoJo nearly dropped the ceramic plate. The smallest glare she could possibly muster was on her face. "Again, with the look? I wouldn't need to turn on the parental controls if you would simply follow the rules I made for you."
Frank walked into the kitchen, silently watching the exchange between son and granddaughter. Their usual jokes and banter were lacking throughout the entire day.