AN: Here it is! At long last, I have finally finished this fic. Despite several hiccups along the way, I have truly enjoyed writing it, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading it. This last chapter did take a hot minute, but I think I finally have it to somewhere that I am proud of it, and proud of how it wraps it up. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review :)

Night turned into day in at a slow, steady pace, almost like watching paint dry. While watching, you almost can't even tell the difference. You can only see it if you look away for a while, and then come back. Coming back into consciousness happened the same way, only, Jamie didn't have the option to seemingly speed up the process by looking away. He had to take the slow, steady pace back to the land of the living, while everyone else got to see his progress only once it was finished. But, much like the coming dawn, Jamie's ascent into consciousness took much longer than he would've liked. It was a grueling battle, but a pointless one. No matter how hard he fought, there wasn't anything he could do to speed up the process. He could only wait as his body recovered and allowed him to wake.

He could hear bits of conversation, members of his family saying something to each other every now and then. Generally, they were talking to him, telling him to be strong, to get better, to just wake up damnit-. That one was usually Danny, although Jamie thought he caught it from Eddie once too. He wanted to tell them that he was trying, he was trying so damn hard, but he wasn't in charge of his own body. Waiting was all he could do.

No matter what, there was always a weight on his hand. Sometimes it would move, but it was always replaced. Someone was always holding his hand. Jamie tried so hard to squeeze the hand back, to let them know that he was fighting to get back to them, but he couldn't. He couldn't stop Eddie and Erin from crying, or Danny from lashing out at every nurse who told him that there was nothing they could do to make Jamie wake up. He couldn't do anything.

Being so helpless in that hospital bed was only marginally better than being so helpless in Nowak's cellar. He was in a lot less pain, thanks to what was probably morphine, and he knew that his family was with him, but he didn't know when, or even if, he would ever see them again. On the upside, Jamie got to hear all about what happened to Nowak. The man was treated for his GSW and sent to a high security psychiatric hospital, where he would get the care he needed, better care than the last hospital he was admitted to. Nowak had already been deemed unfit to stand trial, a sentiment that, had he been able to, Jamie would've wholeheartedly agreed with. As much as Jamie wanted to hate the man for what he did to him, he couldn't. He knew it wasn't totally Nowak's fault, and Jamie couldn't truly hate him. It was hard, knowing that everyone in the city had seen so much of what had been done to him, that his family had been put through such hell and that there was even more footage that Nowak had that cops had now seen. Jamie wasn't known for being vulnerable, so even unconscious in a coma, knowing that so many people had seen him at his lowest was difficult to stomach.

Time didn't pass in a way that Jamie was able to measure, so he didn't know how long it had been when he finally, freaking finally, began to come around. The light was shining just a little bit brighter, and for the first time, Jamie was actually able to feel his fingers twitching when he tried to move them. Clearly, his family noticed too, since there was an uproar every time he was able to move. It couldn't have been too much longer - or maybe it was, he didn't have any way of knowing - that Jamie finally managed to open his eyes. The world was brighter than he remembered, but the sight of Eddie, sitting next to him, fast asleep, was so beautiful that Jamie forced himself to keep his eyes open. She was asleep on his arm, her chair pulled as close to Jamie's hospital bed as it could be. With all the strength he could muster, Jamie moved his arm, jostling it under her enough that Eddie woke. She woke slowly, then all at once. Her beautiful blue eyes fluttered open, half-lidded, slowly searching around her. When Jamie managed to move his arm once more, her attention immediately snapped to him.

"Jamie!" She shot up in her seat, her eyes wide. "You're awake, should I call a nurse? Danny just stepped out for coffee and-" she broke off, just staring at him.

"Hey," he managed to mutter, his voice scratchy. Jamie even smiled at her, thankful for the effects of the heavy pain meds he had to be on.

"Hey, yourself," Eddie replied, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm just so glad you're okay." Slowly, likely as not to hurt him, Eddie fell onto his chest, wrapping herself around him as much as she could in their present condition. Jamie wrapped his mostly uninjured arm around her, pulling her close. He could smell her sweet strawberry shampoo. It was the most beautiful scent in the world. Jamie closed his eyes, holding her close, breathing in her presence. He loved her.

After at least a full minute, Eddie finally pulled away. "Don't you ever do something like that ever again," she scolded, but her smile and tears betrayed any effect it might have had.

"Trust me, I don't plan on it," he replied, holding back a chuckle. Even with the pain meds, that would probably still hurt quite a bit.

"I'm gone for five minutes and that's when you finally wake up?"

Jamie and Eddie turned to look at the door, where Danny was standing, holding two cups of coffee and doing his damn best to look angry. He walked further into the room and set down the cups on the table.

"You've been asleep for a week and when I'm gone you finally decide to get up. It's not like you could've done that while I was here, I'm only the guy who saved your life, it's whatever," he muttered as he sat down in the seat next to Eddie. Danny sighed and shook his head, looking much more serious. "You scared us, kid. How ya feelin'?"

"How do you think?" Jamie muttered back in reply, glancing down at his various injuries before making eye contact with his brother.

"You're right," Danny admitted, holding up his hands in surrender. "Stupid question, I know."

"Besides, pain meds, are pretty great," Jamie continued with a smile.

Danny gave a soft laugh and nodded, but Eddie was biting her lip and looking between the two of them.

"You should probably call everyone," she said to Danny. "Let them all know that he's awake." He shrugged, but gave an affirmative grunt.

"I suppose you're right," he said, slapping the arms of the chair before standing up. Danny took another sip of his coffee before he made a move for the door. "You sure you're good, kid?" he asked Jamie.

"All things considered, I feel pretty good," Jamie admitted. He hadn't been kidding when he said that pain meds were a good thing. They were doing wonders for him.

"I'll be right back," Danny assured him, somewhat needlessly. "I promise." He closed the door gently behind him, and pulled out his phone as he walked away.

Jamie's attention was brought back to Eddie, who was staring at him with a curious look on her face.

"He hasn't left your side for more than a few hours in total since you were brought here," she said, but the look on her face didn't go away. "He, uh... He really cares about you, a lot." Jamie had a feeling that Danny's newfound appreciation for brotherly love wasn't exactly what Eddie truly wanted to talk about.

"I know he does," Jamie replied. "I get the feeling you didn't leave too often, either."

"Well of course not," she immediately responded. "You're my partner, I stick with you. I wasn't there for you throughout all of this, so I have to be here now." Tears gathered in her beautiful eyes, her voice thick with emotion.

"Hey, none of what happened was your fault," Jamie insisted. How could she even think that?

"I should've been able to do something, I should've been able to stop him from taking you-"

"Eddie," he interrupted. "You did all you could. You did even more than you know you did." Eddie just stared at him. "At my worst moments, when the pain was so bad and I wanted to beg for death, I thought of you. I thought of your smile, of the way you make me laugh, how much you love being a cop. I thought of you, and I forced myself to hold on, because I needed to see you again. I couldn't die without telling you how much you mean to me." He paused for a moment, gathering his courage to say the words he'd needed to say for a long time. "I love you, Eddie. I couldn't die without telling you that."

"Oh, Jamie," Eddie let out with a sob, but her smile showed the nature of her tears. "I've been so scared every single day, because I thought I wouldn't get to tell you the truth. I thought you would be gone and I would never be able to tell you that I love you too. I love you so much, Jamie." She leaned forward, and Jamie pushed himself up as much as he could, knowing that the moment he'd dreamt of for so long was finally about to occur.

Eddie snaked a hand behind his head, gently holding him up, and kissed him. Jamie kissed her back, one hand managing to make its way up to her soft hair. He still felt so weak, but in her arms he was strong. Nothing mattered but the way her lips felt against his. Nothing mattered but breathing in each other and basking in the truth that both of them had been denying for so long. Nothing mattered but them.

"So that's the real reason why you wanted me to leave."

Eddie finally pulled away from him, an embarrassed smile on her face. Their hands were still intertwined. Jamie couldn't help but match her grin. He woke up from a coma and kissed the love of his life. It was a pretty good day.

Danny laughed again. "I'm not gonna rat you out to anyone," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. He once again took the seat next to Eddie, grinning just as widely as Jamie. "Today is a day for good things. Dad is on his way down, so is Erin. They'll be here as soon as they can."

"How much of that did you see?" Eddie asked, looking nervously between Jamie and Danny.

"Enough," Danny replied with a shrug. "I'm not surprised, and neither will anyone else that you let know about you. But that's neither here nor there," he said with a wave of his hand. "What I care about, right now, is you." He pointed at Jamie. "And that you're okay. Nothing else matters to me." He stared at Jamie more intently than he could ever remember. Their relationship had gone up and down over the years, but Jamie had never doubted how much his big brother cared about him. Still, it was very rare for him to actually see just how much Danny did care. In that moment, love was all he saw in his brother's eyes.

"I'm gonna be fine," Jamie assured him. He wasn't naive enough to believe that he would be fine immediately. He knew that he had a long recovery ahead of him, both mentally and physically, but he also knew that with his family by his side, he was going to be just fine.

"You're damn right you will be," Danny replied, lightly smacking the edge of the bed and looking up with just his eyes, as if to avoid an emotional response. Jamie didn't think he'd seen Danny get emotional since Joe's funeral. It was strange, seeing his brother trying to avoid getting too emotional over him. It wasn't that Danny had never shown that he cared, just that he always stoic about it, only letting his true emotions shine through in the worst moments. Jamie supposed him getting kidnapped and tortured probably counted as a worst moment.

A moment later, a doctor came in and checked on all of Jamie's vital signs and monitors. He was a gruff man, keeping conversation to a minimum, only informing them that everything was looking good and he had no expectations that Jamie wouldn't make a full recovery.

He left shortly after, reminding them that all they needed to do to get a nurse was push the call button. As his quiet footsteps receded, the quick clicks of high heels coming down the hall replaced them.

"Oh, Jamie," Erin breathed out as she rushed into the room. She tossed her purse on the small table, knocking over the empty cup of coffee. "I left as soon as I got the call. How are you feeling? I'm so glad you're okay," she said, sitting on the edge of Danny's seat.

"Right now, I'm fine," Jamie answered honestly, although he didn't make any move to sit up. Part of him wanted to reach out, at least hold his sister's hand, but he was exhausted. And besides, he was still holding Eddie's hand. "Morphine is a hell of a drug."

Erin gave him a look, but smiled and nodded nonetheless. "Whatever it takes to help you." She glanced pointedly at his and Eddie's joined hands. It was more than her hand on top of his. Their fingers were intertwined, a clear display of something more than friendship. "When did this happen?" she asked with a smile.

Danny groaned. "We are not talking about their love life right now," he said. Jamie couldn't help but smile, especially when Eddie laughed. She had such a beautiful laugh. All Jamie wanted to do was listen to it.

With a roll of her eyes, Erin turned to the others. "Eddie, how's the leg?" she asked, glancing down at her cast. It was asked as more of an afterthought than anything else, but Jamie still appreciated it. Erin and Eddie didn't really know each other, but they were the two most important women in his life, and he needed them to love each other like he loved them. Jamie had a feeling that he and Eddie were going to be in it together for the long haul, now that they'd both admitted what they'd felt for so long.

"It feels fine," Eddie responded with a smile. "Doctor said the cast can come off in about five weeks."

"You might have it off before I'm even out of here," Jamie said with a grin. Really, he was only half kidding.

"Please don't joke about that," Erin replied with a cringe, scowling at Danny as he began to chuckle. "It might actually be true."

"Nah," Jamie said with a shake of his head as he settled further into the pillows. It was getting harder to keep his eyes open, but he didn't want to look away from his family. If he closed his eyes, he might wake up back in Nowak's basement and find it was all a dream. Even just thinking about that possibility made him shiver under all of the blankets. He was glad no one noticed. "They can't keep me here longer than a week, week and a half, tops," he claimed. Jamie wasn't stupid enough to think that signing out AMA too early was a good idea, but he also didn't want to stay in the hospital longer than he absolutely had to. He figured after a week, maybe a week and a half if he was unlucky, he would be well enough to go.

"We'll see about that," came a deep voice from the door. His dad stepped forward with a smile, his hands in his pockets. Glancing out the door, Jamie saw his father's detail waiting just outside.

"Commissioner," Eddie greeted, immediately straightening up as much as she could. Jamie wouldn't let her take her hand away from his. He held on even tighter, and she didn't try to let go.

"At ease," the commissioner said with a wave of his hand and a smile. He took a few slow steps further into the room, until he was at the foot of the hospital bed, resting his hands together on what served as the footboard. "I'm not here as the commissioner, only as a father, desperate to see his son." He looked straight at Jamie as he spoke. Jamie quickly blinked away the tears that sprung to his eyes. He hadn't been sure if was ever going to see his father again.

"We should give him a minute," Danny muttered around a sigh, clearly not wanting to actually leave. He stood from his seat, but leaned over Jamie slightly and rested an hand on his arm, a few inches above where Jamie and Eddie's hands were still intertwined. "I'll be back soon, kiddo. I promise," he said. At Jamie's nod, Danny gave his arm a slight squeeze, then grabbed Eddie's crutches from leaning up against the wall. He held them out to her. "You too, kid."

"I'll be right back, Jamie," Eddie said. She lifted up Jamie's hand to her lips, and gave him a light kiss before smiling that gorgeous smile and accepting her crutches from Danny. As she walked away, it felt like a part of Jamie was walking away too.

"Don't go anywhere," Erin told him with a smile as she too stood up.

"Now who's making jokes," Jamie chuckled. Erin just continued to smile as she followed Danny and Eddie out of the room, leaving only Jamie and his father there.

Taking slow, deliberate steps, he walked towards the seat closest to Jamie, and sat down with an exaggerated groan.

"You have no idea how amazing it is to see you awake, son," he said. He was relaxed in the seat, but Jamie could tell that he was itching to move closer. If his dad decided to move closer, Jamie wouldn't mind.

"It's good to be awake," Jamie replied, despite knowing that he couldn't be awake much longer. He was getting more and more exhausted by the minute. "I could hear everything going on, what everyone said," he mentioned.

His dad nodded. "Then I assume Danny told you everything, about Nowak?"

"Hopefully he'll get real help this time," Jamie said. Despite everything that Nowak did to him, he meant it. He knew it wasn't completely the man's fault. Besides, his mother had always said if any of her children would become a priest, it would've been Jamie. That had never been something that Jamie had sought after, but his Catholic faith had helped him a lot during trying parts of his life - being kidnapped and tortured was a prime example of one such time.

After a long moment, the commissioner continued, saying in a low, thick voice, "I'm so sorry this happened to you." Jamie knew that was his dad's way of saying that he felt like it was all his fault too. The man was hunched over in his seat, his hands hanging between his knees, and head hanging low. "None of this should've happened." He shook his head and sighed.

"It's not your fault," Jamie quickly replied. He tried to shake his head, but found he was too exhausted. He settled for just staring at his dad, and hoping the man saw the truth in his eyes. "None of it was your fault."

"I'm your father, therefore I'm responsible for you," he responded, saying it like one would state any cold, hard, fact.

"Dad, I'm not exactly a kid anymore-."

"But you'll always be my kid," he interrupted. "Doesn't matter how old you get."

"You can't look out for me twenty-four-seven," Jamie said. It wasn't anyone's fault but Nowak's, and even then it wasn't entirely his fault either. "Sometimes thing's just happen, and there's nothing anyone can do about it." He lightly shook his head, that being all he could manage. This was a conversation he and his father needed to have, and it needed to happen before he fell asleep, which was going to happen soon, whether he liked it or not.

His dad sighed. "That doesn't mean I have to like it," he said. "The time that you were gone, while we knew what was happening to you but couldn't do anything about it." He shook his head. "I wouldn't wish that feeling of helplessness on my worst enemy."

"You don't have a worst enemy," Jamie replied with a smile. Even the people who hated his father still respected him - except for maybe Nowak, but that was different.

"If only that were true," he muttered.

"It doesn't matter." With all of the energy he had left, Jamie lifted up his hand and reached out towards his father, who quickly took a light hold of it in his own larger hand. "I'm gonna be fine, and it's over. That's what's important."

"That's more important than anything," his dad quickly responded, placing his other hand atop Jamie's as well. He gave it a light squeeze to emphasize his words. "Nothing is more important than that." He took a deep breath before continuing, as if he were psyching himself up to say something. "I know I don't say it a lot, as a father. We don't say it a lot as a family, really. Not as often as we should, at least, but that doesn't make it any less true. I love you, Jamie, more than anything. You, and your brother, and your sister. You mean the world to me. Losing Joe, so soon after losing your mother." He stopped with a light sigh. "I can't do that again. I cannot go through that, again. It would kill me. So yes. Getting you back is the most important thing. I would have done anything, truly anything, to have gotten you back sooner. But you are back now, and you're going to be okay, and that is all that matters." He nodded, his eyes shining with emotion, and gave Jamie's hand another light squeeze.

"I love you too, Dad," Jamie said. "It's because of you guys that I know I'm gonna be okay. Because I know you're gonna be with me. You and Danny and Erin and Eddie. You're all gonna be with me no matter what." Of that, Jamie had no doubt. The Reagans held together and always stood strong, through thick and through thin, always. There was never a time when they didn't stand together, and that was never going to change.

"You're damn right," his dad answered with a smile, then gave him a more typical stern, fatherly look. "You should get some rest."

Jamie wanted to protest, but he knew his father was right. He also knew that his fears of waking up back in Nowak's basement were completely unfounded. This was real, he was here, he was alive, and he was never going to see Nowak again. His family was going to be there when he woke up, just like they promised. The Reagans always kept their promises.

"Fine," he muttered, settling further into the blankets.

"I will be here when you wake up," his dad said.

"I know you will." His whole family was going to be there. There was nothing that Jamie was more certain of.

As Jamie closed his eyes and drifted back off into nothingness, a steady pressure remained on his hand. It was his dad's hand, holding his the same way he had done when Jamie was a little kid, sick in the hospital with pneumonia. It was just as comforting as an adult. His dad was there, right with him, and he wasn't going to leave. He was going to be okay, and his family was always going to make sure of that.