"You're - hi - I'm Eddie."

"Eddie," Sydney echoes, then she blows out a soft laugh. "I'm surprised he found someone. I didn't think he'd ever be able to take off that cop uniform long enough."

A second wave of realization washes over Eddie and she feels the smile teasing her lips at Sydney's assumption. "Oh, no-"

"No, it's okay! You two look happy. And that's great! Really. I - I'm married," she says, flashing her left hand to show off the extravagant rings that glitter there. "Happily. To a man who treats me so much better than Jamie ever did. So I'm glad it worked out. For everybody."

"Jamie Reagan treated you badly?" Eddie says, a line of disbelief creasing her forehead.

Sydney lets out a sputtering scoff. "Not at first. But from the day he started the police academy to the day we broke up, that was the worst year of my life. All he cared about was the damn NYPD."

"Oh. Well, yeah, the job's important."

"Important, sure. But it's not worth keeping secrets. Totally ignoring your fiancée. And the risks - doesn't it kill you, watching him go off to work every day and, you know, he might not come back? I hated it but he thought I was being absurd, worrying about him. He definitely chose the NYPD over our relationship."

Eddie knows she should clarify the misunderstanding but since the day she learned about Sydney's existence - over three years into her partnership with Jamie - they've only talked about her once, and Jamie shut the topic down pretty quickly. She's curious.

"Actually - I'm a cop too," Eddie says. "So it goes both ways."

Sydney laughs again and this time it's darker, almost spiteful. "Ah, there it is then. He really couldn't give up the job."

"We understand what it's like for each other," Eddie continues despite the painful sting in her chest at the truth of that comment. "We work well together. Because of that, I guess."

"Well. I didn't think it was possible for Jamie to be a decent person and a police officer at the same time." Sydney narrows her eyes at Eddie's left hand, which holds her clutch against her stomach. "If I were you I'd get out while you still can. The way he was looking at you - that won't last long, trust me. But who knows, maybe he's different for you. Surprises can happen, I guess."

With nothing to say, Eddie huffs a small laugh and fidgets with the top of her strapless dress.

"Hm. Anyway, nice to meet you. Good luck with Jamie and all the Reagans. Really. You'll need it." Sydney takes one more look in the mirror, smacks her lips, and glides past Eddie to get to the door.

Eddie stands dumbfounded for a long moment - she hasn't exactly put a lot of thought into what Jamie's ex-fiancée would be like, but still she didn't expect someone so… condescending and negative. Sydney is so opposite of Jamie, and not in the complementary way Eddie herself clashes with him. She can hardly fathom that the Jamie Reagan Sydney described is the same man she's sat next to in a patrol car for the last four and a half years. The Jamie she knows cares about the job, yes, maybe a little too much sometimes - but he also cares about people. Everyone. Those he knows and loves, and those he's just met. It's one of the things Eddie admires most about him.

Suddenly Eddie is overcome with a wave of intense appreciation for her partner. She forces herself to bury it with a deep, cleansing breath before she smooths out her dress and leaves the bathroom.

"Do you even know how to dance?" Anthony snaps at Danny as Eddie returns to their table.

"Yes, I know how to dance," Danny replies. "Come on, Baez."

Ignoring them, Eddie stands over Jamie where he leans back to finish his cup of coffee. "Let's go," she tells him.

"Eddie-"

"Come on!" She sets his half-full cup back on its saucer and tugs at his wrist. He groans and makes a face at her but gives in with a dramatic sigh as he stands up to follow her onto the floor.

"One song," he grumbles. "I don't like cold coffee."

Reaching an open spot among the other couples, Eddie folds into Jamie's body and rests a hand lightly across the top of his shoulder. His free hand finds her waist and they begin to sway in time with the song, comfortably close without crossing any lines.

"I ran into Sydney," she finally blurts.

"Sydney who?" he wonders, and then Eddie watches as the realization melts across his face. "Oh my god, what?"

"She's here."

Jamie frowns, tucking down so that a double chin appears as he tries to figure out whether she's joking.

"In the restroom," Eddie explains. "She recognized me from walking in with you."

"Wow," Jamie manages. "Um…"

"I don't see her now. But we had an… interesting little chat."

"About what?"

Eddie exhales her quiet amusement through her nose at the look on Jamie's face, a mixed display of intrigue and nervous concern. "Well. She told me more about your relationship than you ever have."

A quiet hum of discomfort escapes his throat through his grimace. "Look, Sydney and I were-"

"She said you ignored her and called her crazy and you were the worst fiancé ever."

Jamie opens his mouth to argue before he catches the bright twinkle in Eddie's eye and lets out a soft laugh. "Yeah, that's not totally a lie."

"She said you put the job before her. And I was all, Jamie Reagan? Being too consumed with his work to pay attention to the people in his life? No way."

He narrows his eyes at her teasing. "She didn't want me to be a cop in the first place," he says. "So she was going to find issues with it no matter what. But I was completely focused on the job my probation year at her expense. So you could say that breakup was a joint effort."

"Hmm," Eddie hums. "She said she didn't think it was possible for you to be a good person and a cop at the same time."

"She said that?" Jamie says incredulously.

"Yeah. I don't think she liked you a whole lot by the time you broke up."

"Wow."

"What about you?" Eddie asks. "When it ended, did you still love her?"

Jamie doesn't answer right away, pausing under the premise of steering them clear of an older couple with their eyes closed who've started to encroach on their space. "I - I thought I did at the time," he admits. "But I was young and I didn't really know… what love looks like. Or feels like. So now looking back, it seems insane that I ever thought I should marry her. I'm glad I didn't."

"Yeah. Because I mean you can't just trust what someone says about their ex. There's always bias there. But she made it sound… way over the top. I know how much you care about the people who matter to you. I see it every day. You should be with someone who understands that."

He meets her gaze with an embarrassed smile and he doesn't seem to notice as their first song fades into another one. "Syd and I were good for each other in law school - even after. We were what we both needed back then. But we were never… we didn't have… any sort of…"

"You weren't soulmates."

He scoffs, rolls his eyes but doesn't argue. "No. We definitely weren't soulmates."

"Which is why it didn't make you wanna jump off a bridge when you broke up."

He shakes his head, amused, and breaks eye contact to tilt his head towards her. She can tell he's done with this topic but it's more than she's heard from him any other time so she just lets the information roll around in her head as they dance through the chorus of the song. Frank dances with Erin nearby, both looking relaxed and pleasant - unlike Maria, who catches Eddie's eye more than once as she and Danny turn and offers meaningful eye rolls each time. Danny's tense, obviously talking, probably still complaining about Anthony. The thought makes Eddie snicker to herself.

The flash of shimmering purple in Eddie's peripheral vision catches her attention - there she is, eyes closed, head ducked against the neck of her partner who Eddie assumes is the man she's so happily married to.

"Jamie," she murmurs. "She's right behind you - Sydney."

She doesn't miss the way Jamie's hand at her waist urges her closer, the way his fingers lace with hers and keep gentle pressure on her hand as they turn and he catches a glimpse of her. His face remains stoic and he doesn't let his gaze linger long as he looks back to Eddie, his Adam's apple bobbing with a hard swallow. His eyes look heavy now, deep and intense as they focus on Eddie's face.

"So after so many years, do you know what love looks like now?" she murmurs.

He nods almost imperceptibly. "Yeah. I think I do."

"And then she told me I should get out while I still can," Eddie announces. "Like sort-of-almost marrying a Reagan was the worst thing she ever did."

Danny roars with laughter - several drinks in, it's like Eddie's encounter with Sydney is the funniest story he's ever heard. It's probably a good thing he never noticed her himself. "Seriously? You really did a number on her, kid."

"She did not say that," Jamie insists, flinching away from Danny's heavy slap to his knee in the back row of the car.

"She did! I swear. She kept saying how bad Jamie treated her, and it was the worst time of her life-"

"Okay, okay, we get it."

"No, Janko, tell us more," Maria says.

"No wonder the kid can't get a girl to save his life. What's Erin always call you? The spinster uncle…?"

"Cut it out, Danny," Jamie groans, but there's a smile in his voice as Eddie turns in her seat, grinning, to catch his eye.

"Oh look," Maria says as the driver slows the Suburban to a stop at Eddie's building. "Well that was quick. I'll see you on Monday, Reagan. And you-" she points at Jamie "-make sure he gets home safe, yeah?"

Danny calls out a final loud farewell as Eddie and Maria slide out of the car and shut the doors. Upstairs, Maria is quick to change, gather her things, and head home to crash in her own bed. When she's gone Eddie decides a shower is the best way to avoid sleeping surrounded by the smell of hairspray and perfume and Jamie because while they were careful to keep things respectable at a charity benefit with his family, they danced for more than long enough for his smell to linger. She catches a hint of it every time she turns around.

Or maybe that's just in her head. She's not sure.

When she's clean, hair loose, face free of makeup she pads to her bedroom and finds a too-big NYPD t-shirt to sleep in.

Checking her phone, she sees a text from Jamie: That was fun tonight. Wish we could've gone out for a drink after but I guess you can't leave Baez.

Baez is gone, Eddie informs him.

J: Oh I thought she was sleeping over.

E: What do you think we are, middle school girls?

J: She went upstairs with you, what was I supposed to think?

E: That she was getting the crap she left here and going home?

J: Whatever. All that matters is she's gone so how about that drink? I can meet you in 20min

E: Sorry, I already changed and I'm not getting dressed again.

J: Dammit. Next time then

E: There's going to be a next time? How many charity benefits do you guys go to?

He doesn't respond so she finishes getting ready for bed and settles under the covers. Still too wound up to sleep, she picks up with the next episode of Scandal. She's off tomorrow and it doesn't really matter how late she stays up-

Her phone vibrates loudly, startling her so suddenly during a suspenseful moment of the show that she jumps and and then curses.

It's Jamie.

Not that many. But that's not the kind of benefit I had in mind anyway.

Eddie's eyes widen, then narrow with the smirk that crosses her face as she recognizes the reference to that low precinct hallway conversation that's never completely left her mind. Her thumbs hover over her screen as she decides whether he'll think it's as funny as she does that the woman Jamie was going to marry is the newest addition to the list of people who just assume that they're doing it-

A knock at her front door makes her jump for the second time in two minutes - but somehow, it doesn't exactly surprise her.

Without thinking she makes her way from her room through her apartment, dark except for a single overhead light in the kitchen, and to her front door. She opens it to reveal Jamie, in his leather jacket over a plain teal tee and jeans now, hands shoved deep into his front pockets as his face breaks into a sort of sheepish smile.

Smirking, Eddie jiggles her phone in one hand. "Exactly what other kind of benefit were you thinking of?"

"Want me to spell it out?"

He steps inside and lets the door close behind him. Eddie backs up a couple steps and that clear gleam in his eyes, even stronger than it was earlier, already has her quickening pulse pounding in her ears.

"Mmm, I think I'm gonna need you to."

Her head tips back and he looms over her, their height difference even more dramatic to Eddie now that she's on flat feet after five hours in heels. His hands find her waist outside her shirt and bunch the loose fabric towards her back until his fingers clasp together and he pulls her against him.

The desperate, heated pressure of his kiss steals her breath, and it's all the clarification she needs.