Alright, guys! My favorite YouTuber (Ariel of The REL Show) says that traveling and getting out of your element a bit is one of the best ways to jump-start your inspiration, and if an Ohio farm girl riding shotgun while her mom drives 80 through the LA Freeways isn't "getting out of your element," then I don't know what is.

Jamie drove along the streets of New York in the patrol car, Eddie riding shotgun. That morning the pair had just received news that they would be going an entire month with only three days off, all of which were Sundays, and at the end of this time, would get an entire week off. Jamie had accepted this work sentence quietly, while Eddie on the other hand, had been complaining about it since the second she had gotten in the car.

"This is so not fair. Three days off in a month?" she whined. "Couldn't you call your dad or something? Pull some strings?"

When Eddie got fired up about something trivial like this, Jamie usually sat back and listened until she burned herself out, but she had been going strong for fifteen minutes, and it was starting to grate on his nerves. "Okay, no offense Eddie, but you're acting like an eight-year-old right now," he said. "I get that you really don't want to do this, and―hey!―neither do I, but it's what we have to do. So we might as well spend this time doing our job, instead of complaining about it."

Eddie knew he was right, and mentally reprimanded herself for acting so childish about it. "At least we get a whole week off at the end of this whole ordeal," she said, being as optimistic as possible.

Jamie's annoyance melted away into a smile. "That's the spirit," he said, glad he had gotten through to her.

"But seriously," Eddie continued, "we are going to need that whole week to just recover."

"Yeah, I definitely agree with that," Jamie replied.

"Any idea where you want to go?" she asked.

"Nope. You?"

"Actually, yeah. A girl I grew up with, Cara called me last night to say that that she's getting married, and the date falls on the second-to-last day we're off, so I'm going to be going to LA."

Jamie raised his eyebrows. "Wow. That sounds like fun."

"Yeah. Fun until Cara and her family find out I'm still single," she said with an eye roll.

"Oh. One of those families." Jamie felt Eddie's pain. The Reagans could be just like that, too, and he had been subjected to their prodding for what felt like an eternity.

Eddie took a deep breath. "Okay, Jamie, this is going to sound super weird, but would you even entertain the idea of going to Cara's wedding with me?"

Jamie gave her a slightly quizzical look. What is she trying to say here?

Eddie picked up on his apprehension and quickly corrected herself. "As friends, of course," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jamie nodded absently. "Of course..."

They sat in slightly awkward silence, and just as Eddie was about to ask for an answer, Jamie gave his response. "Sure, I'll go. I've never been to California before."

Eddie couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "You'll have a great time."

It had been a long, but not very eventful day, and after tour, Jamie headed over to Eddie's house to take care of plane tickets and all the other things that needed to be taken care of in advance. They got very lucky in finding a direct flight from JFK to LAX with two seats together. After taking a few moments to celebrate their airline success, they reserved a rental car and two hotel rooms, all of which Eddie paid for, and Jamie wrote her a check for half the balance.

"See you tomorrow," Eddie said with a smile as Jamie prepared to leave.

"You too."

The next Sunday, Jamie's first day off of the month…

"You're doing what?" Erin asked, mouth agape in shock.

Jamie was trying to hold his own against an entire dinner table of Reagans who had just heard about his vacation plans, which was no easy feat.

Dannie gave him a superior grin. "I always knew you were into that partner of yours."

"It's not like that―" Jamie tried to explain, wishing more and more with every passing second he would have just went to California and not told anyone about it.

"Sure, Uncle Jamie," Nicky interrupted with a patronizing smile.

Finally, Frank broke through the cacophony of voices. "You know how this is going to look to the department, don't you?" he asked with a pointed look at Jamie.

Jamie sighed. "Yes, and to be honest, I really don't care. We're just friends, like all partners. Why is it that I get thrown into this every time we do something together, just because she's female and I'm single?"

Frank pursed his lips. "But this is flying all the way across the country and spending a week together, not just going to a bar after tour."

Jamie stood his ground, but was beginning to get very annoyed with his family. "We have separate hotel rooms and everything. I don't even know why we have to be having this conversation right now."

Frank continued. "If something were to happen―"

"If something were to happen, we would go to the Sargent and get reassigned partners. End of story." Jamie stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth to reiterate that he was done talking about it.

Henry came to his rescue by quickly changing the subject, and the Reagans left Jamie alone for the rest of dinner.

The night before leaving for California…

Eddie called Jamie to ensure they were both aware of all the details surrounding their flight the next day.

"Alright," Eddie said, "our plane leaves from JFK at 10:15 am, meaning we should be there by around―"

Jamie interrupted her, already knowing the drill on airline travel. "8:15."

"Right. I printed off the boarding passes, so I'll have yours for you when we meet up at the airport." They had both planned to take a taxi from their respective houses to the airport, where they would go through baggage check and security together.

"Okay. Sounds like a plan," Jamie said, finalizing their plans for the next morning.

The pair said their goodbyes, and went to get some sleep.

If you read the first version of this chapter, I hope you thought it was an improvement. I got a review from a guest informing me about some of the "New Yorker" tendencies that I didn't incorporate well into my story, so I went back and (hopefully) fixed at least the big problems.

Please remember to review! Your reviews are what motivate me to write new chapters and get them posted. I think most of the bugs in this chapter are worked out, but if you catch anything else, or if there is something you really don't like, don't be afraid to speak up! I love creative criticism because it gives me an objective view of my writing that helps me make it better.