NYPD Blue Fanfiction
Ida's Fanfic
THE REUNION
This fanfic is my take on how things would work out if the Father of Connie’s daughter would one day reenter her life. Jennifer’s Father’s name has never been revealed on the show, Therefore, Jimmy Shea is a figment of my overactive imagination. Hope you all enjoy my little story.
Ida
SCENE I: A warm and sunny late spring day in Lower Manhattan. It’s early afternoon in the 15th Precinct Squad room. PAA John, Andy, & Clark are all at their desks doing paperwork. Lt. Rodriguez is in his office, & Connie & Rita, & Greg & Baldwin are all out working cases.
A man enters the squad & approaches PAA John. Jimmy Shea is 6’4”, late 30’s, athletically built, & very handsome.
SHEA: Excuse me; do you have a Connie McDowell working here?
PAA JOHN: Yes, we do; but she’s out on a case right now. Can one of the other detectives help you?
SHEA: No thanks, that’s okay. My name is Jimmy Shea, I’m an old friend of Connie’s & I just wanted to drop by and pay her a visit. Would it be okay if I waited for her? I’m only in town for the day & I don’t know when or if I’ll ever get back. I’d really like to see her while I’m here.
PAA JOHN: Ah, yeah, sure, why don’t you take a seat there on the bench and I’ll let Detective McDowell know you’re here when she gets back.
SHEA: Great, thank you very much.
Shea sits down & PAA John goes back to work, but not before throwing a quick glance in Andy’s direction.
Andy had heard the exchange between Shea & Irvin. He knew that name, he knew who this man was and he suddenly had a sick feeling deep in his gut. He couldn’t keep his eyes off this stranger, a stranger that could easily tear his world apart. Andy tries to go back to concentrating on his work but his mind is elsewhere. Why did this guy have to show up here now, when things were finally going so great for he & Connie? He’s finally brought back to earth by his partner.
CLARK: Hey Andy, How ‘bout we grab some lunch when we finish up here?
ANDY: Yeah, sure, I guess we could do that. Right now I need more coffee.
Andy stands & goes to the coffee room. Rita & Connie return with their witness. Connie doesn’t notice Shea as she enters the room.
RITA: Hey John, is the pokey room open?
PAA JOHN: Yes detective, it is. (Turning to Connie) Detective McDowell, you have a visitor.
Connie turns and is stopped dead in her tracks when she sees Jimmy Shea now standing in front of her with an uneasy smile on his face. Just then Andy reenters the room & watches as Connie regains her composure.
CONNIE: (To Rita), Go ahead & take him into the pokey room. I’ll be with you in a minute.
RITA: (Curiously eyeing this handsome stranger), Sure, take your time.
Rita leaves with the witness & Connie turns her attention back to Shea.
SHEA: (Has a nervous smile on his face), Hi Connie, Long time no see.
CONNIE: (Noticeably shaken by his presence), Yeah, hi Jimmy, Come on in, we can talk in here. Connie leads Shea into the coffee room. They pass Andy as he’s on his way back to his desk. Connie gives Andy a shy smile as she passes him. Before she enters the coffee room, she turns & looks back in Andy’s direction. She then takes a deep breath and closes the door behind her.
CONNIE: What are you doing here Jimmy?
SHEA: I’m sorry Connie; I didn’t mean to just show up like this after all this time. But I thought if I called, you wouldn’t agree to see me. I’m in town on business, & I thought it was time I faced you.
CONNIE: It’s not a good time Jimmy, I’m working, I’m busy.
SHEA: Well then let me buy you lunch. You are allowed to eat lunch aren’t you? Please Connie, I’d really like to talk to you. To explain to you why I just disappeared the way I did.
CONNIE: Yeah, okay. I have to go interview this witness now. But there’s a diner down around the corner. I’ll meet you there in about an hour.
SHEA: Great! I’ll see you in an hour. Connie, it really is good to see you again.
They leave the coffee room and Connie leads him out of the squad. Andy’s eyes are trained on them the entire time. Connie throws a quick glance in Andy’s direction and smiles sheepishly at him before joining Rita in the pokey room.
SCENE II: About 45 minutes later, Connie & Rita have finished their interview & have released the witness.
RITA: Who was the hunk?
CONNIE: Just an old friend, he’s in town on business & I’m meeting him for lunch. I’ll be back in about an hour & we can go talk to those other witnesses.
RITA: Okay, sure. Take your time. Have fun.
CONNIE: Uh yeah, okay. Thanks, I gotta go tell Andy where I’m going.
They leave the pokey room & Rita returns to her desk.
Connie nervously approaches Andy, unsure about how he’s going to react
to her news.
CONNIE: Hey, you got a minute? (She motions towards the locker
room).
ANDY: Yeah, sure. (He
stands and they walk into the locker room & close the door).
CONNIE: (Nervously), That guy that was here earlier. He, ah,
he was Jennifer’s Father. He wants to talk to me; I’m meeting him for lunch.
ANDY: Yeah, I know who he was. Are you sure about wanting to
meet with him? Do you really want to do that to yourself? You don’t owe that
guy anything Connie, you don’t have to go.
CONNIE: Yeah Andy, I do have to go. I need to talk to him. I
need to try to put all that behind me. Maybe talking to Jimmy will allow me to
finally make peace with that part of my life.
ANDY: Do you want me to come along?
CONNIE: (Reaching up to touch Andy’s cheek), No, I need to
do this alone, I’ll be okay.
ANDY: (Taking her hand from his cheek & holding it in
his), I’ll be here when you get back.
CONNIE: (Smiling at Andy), I know you will. Thanks.
They leave the locker room and Connie heads out to meet Shea.
Andy watches until she’s out of sight. Lt. Rodriguez comes out of his office
and notices Andy watching Connie leave.
TONY: Everything okay Andy?
ANDY: Yeah Lou, everything’s just peachy.
TONY: Good. There’s a DOA over on 3rd & 10th.
You & Clark are up. Go check it out.
ANDY: Sure Lou. Come on John, let’s go. (Andy’s mind is
clearly on Connie as he & Clark leave the squad).
SCENE III: At the diner. Connie arrives to meet Shea, who is
already there & sitting in a booth. Shea stands as he sees her approach.
SHEA: Connie, thank you for coming.
CONNIE: (as she’s sitting down), I don’t think I had a
choice Jimmy, I had to come.
A waitress approaches and they order their lunch.
SHEA: Connie, it really is good to see you again. Look, I know my showing up out of the blue like this after all these years has to be a shock for you. But I had to see you; I had to talk to you. I felt it was time I stop hiding and face you. Face up to my running away all those years ago. I wanted to apologize for running out & leaving you like I did. Connie, I swear, if I had known that you were pregnant, I never would have left that way. I didn’t find out until our daughter was almost 5 years old.
CONNIE: I know you didn’t know Jimmy. There was no way you
could have known. I didn’t find out I was pregnant until you were long gone.
There wasn’t anything you could have done anyway. My parents would have never
let me keep the baby, whether you were there or not. I don’t even want to
think about what my dad would have done to you if he had gotten his hands on
you.
SHEA: Connie, I didn’t want to leave the way I did. Your dad
found out about us, about how much older I was. He told me you were only 15, and
that if I didn’t leave you alone, he’d arrest me for statutory rape. I was
scared Connie, I had worked so hard to get to get my scholarship. I would have
been thrown off the football team & kicked out of school if he had followed
through with his threats. I felt I
had no choice but to leave. So I went back to school a month early, & I
never looked back. I did call your house a few months later. But your dad
answered the phone so I just hung up and never tried again.
CONNIE: Wow jimmy, I should have known that my dad had
something to do with your disappearance. He could be very intimidating. I
wasn’t totally innocent in all this either. I was the one that lied about how
old I was. I knew you wouldn’t have given me the time of day if you had known
the truth. You were a stranger in town & I knew you didn’t know anything
about who I was or who my father was. We
both really messed up big time.
SHEA: Connie, I’m so sorry. When I found out about the baby
I hired a lawyer. I had this crazy notion that I could find her and get her
back. I thought I was going to bring her to you & that by doing it I could
erase all the pain that giving her up must have caused you. Thank God I told my
mother what I was planning on doing. She was pretty blunt in telling me how
stupid that would have been.
CONNIE: (Clearly shocked by what Shea has just revealed to
her), I didn’t even realize that you knew Jennifer even existed. I don’t
know what to say to you.
SHEA: Connie, I really cared about you. I carried a torch for
you for a long time. I guess that was kind of stupid, but you were special to
me. I didn’t go back to Saratoga Springs until after I left the service. I
finished college & I wasn’t good enough to play pro ball. So I enlisted in
the Air Force after graduation. I’ve only been back there a few times to visit
my mother.
CONNIE: Jimmy, how did you find out about Jennifer?
SHEA: When I went back, I asked around about you. I found out
you had a baby & when she was born. It wasn’t too hard to figure out that
I had to be the father. I wanted to find her, to raise her. But I told my mother
everything and she made me realize that disrupting her life would have been the
worse thing I could have done to her. So instead of using the lawyer to try to
get her back. I had him contact the adoption agency and I signed away my
parental rights. That wasn’t an easy thing to do, but I figured it was the
least I owed her.
The agency has all my information. If Jennifer wants to find
me, it won’t be hard for her to do it and she can do it on her own terms, when
& if she wants too.
CONNIE: Jimmy, I
didn’t know any of this. I’m glad you didn’t try to get her back. She’s
fine where she is. I’ve made inquiries about her. She’s okay; she’s a
typical teenager. In fact she’s a lot like I was at her age.
SHEA: Good, I’m glad she’s okay. I only want the best for
her, even if I can’t give it to her. You
seem to know a lot about her, have you been in contact with her?
CONNIE: Yeah, well. I’m ashamed to say this. But about a
year and half ago I got this real strong, almost over powering urge to see her.
So I tracked her down and followed her one morning when she was on her way to
school. I caught her & a friend smoking pot, so I busted them. I ended up
making a mess of everything. I may
have blown any chance I might have had to someday be a part of her life. I’ve
hated myself for doing that ever since.
SHEA: Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure she’ll
come around in time. I hope so, for both your sakes.
CONNIE: Yeah, me too. I hope she doesn’t hate me. I really
blew it Jimmy. But I just wanted to see her, to be close to her for a little
while. I’ve thought about her every day since she was born. She’s always on my mind.
SHEA: I think I know what you mean, ever since I found out she
existed I can’t get her off my mind. I think about her all the time too. I
mean she is my first-born, and as it turns out my only daughter.
CONNIE: so,
you’re married now huh?
SHEA: Yeah, for 8 years now.
I moved to LA for about year after I left Saratoga Springs, but I’m an
east Coast boy so I found a job in State College and moved back there. I really
loved it there while I was
at Penn State. I met Laura at
an alumni function and we were married about a year later. We have 3 boys, 7,5,
&3. How bout you? I don’t see a ring, are you married, .. attached?
CONNIE: (Smiling):
Nope, I’ve never been married. But I’m living with someone now. Andy’s a
widower; he has a 7 year old son that is the light of my life. We’re raising
my niece too. My sister died in childbirth so Andy & I are hoping to adopt
the baby.
SHEA: Wow, I’m sorry to hear about your sister. That’s too
bad. So, what does Andy do for a living?
CONNIE: (Laughing), He’s a cop, a detective. We met on the
job.
SHEA: Figures, … Wait, there was an Andy back at your
station house. Was that “your” Andy?
CONNIE: (Smiling): Yep, that was my Andy.
SHEA: (Laughs), That explains the “hairy” eyeball he kept
giving me while I was waiting for you. Are you happy?
CONNIE: Yeah
Jimmy I am, we are. We’ve been together for about a year. We’ve had our
rough spots. But I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Andy’s a great guy,
he’s a wonderful father & he’s good to me & to Michelle.
SHEA: Good, I’m glad you’re happy, that you’ve found
someone to share your life with. I hope Andy realizes what a lucky guy he is.
CONNIE: I think I’m the lucky one Jimmy. Andy has made me
very happy, and I’m truly blessed to have him in my life. (Suddenly realizing what time it is), wow, I should really be
getting back to work.
SHEA: Okay, let
me walk you back to the station house.
CONNIE: No, that’s okay. You don’t have to.
SHEA: Please, I want too. I may never see you again, and I
just want to stretch out these last few minutes.
CONNIE: Okay,
sure. (A beat), Jimmy, I’m really glad you came here today. I think we both
needed this. I’m glad we got this chance to talk.
SHEA: Yeah, me too. It’s been great seeing you again. Come
on, I’ll get you back to work; back to Andy.
He pays the bill and they leave the diner. Both are feeling
much better than they had when they arrived.
SCENE IV: A short time later. In front of the 15th,
Andy and Jr. are just getting back from their crime scene.
CLARK: Andy, you okay? You haven’t been your usual charming
self all afternoon. What gives?
ANDY: I’m fine, I just have a lot on my mind right now.
CLARK: Wouldn’t have anything to do with that oversized guy
that came to see Connie earlier would it? Who was he anyway?
ANDY: He’s ah, an old friend. He was, ah, her first, ah, you
know, boyfriend…. I guess.
CLARK: (Grinning), Okay, I see, that explains everything.
Andy, you can’t possibly be jealous of that guy. Do you really think Connie
would just toss everything you two have built together away for some joker from
her past? Come on Andy, you know her better than that. She ain’t going
anywhere and you know it.
ANDY: No, I know John. But that guy really hurt her. I’m not
jealous, not really. I’m just concerned, he hurt her bad. Now he just pops
back into her life like nothing happened. I shouldn’t have let her go meet him
by herself. I should have gone with her.
CLARK: (Sarcastically), Oh yeah, that would have been a good
idea. Don’t worry about Connie;
she can take care of herself. She’ll come out of this okay. And you don’t
really think that I believe that you’re not jealous do you?
ANDY: Yeah, well, you know John; it’s just that things have
been going so good for us lately. I’ve finally started to feel like I could
allow myself to be happy again. I haven’t felt this way in a long time John.
It’s scary; I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I keep thinking that
I’ll wake up and find out these last few months have all been a dream.
CLARK: Andy, don’t go looking for trouble where there
isn’t any. Connie loves you, you two have a great thing going. Relax &
enjoy it, be happy. You deserve it and so does Connie.
ANDY: Yeah, you’re right. I’m letting my imagination run
away with me again. Come on, let’s get inside.
Andy & John get out of the car and head into the station
house. As he climbs the steps, Andy turns and catches a glimpse of Connie &
Jimmy walking towards the precinct. He notices that both are smiling and seem to
be enjoying each other’s company. He lingers for a second then turns and goes
inside.
Connie and Jimmy have now reached the precinct, they stop
& both linger for a few seconds without speaking. Connie finally breaks the
silence.
CONNIE: Well, here we are. Jimmy, it’s been so good seeing
you again. I was really dreading this meeting. But I’m so glad that we could
finally talk this out. Maybe now we can both have a little peace of mind where
Jennifer is concerned.
SHEA: Yeah, I hope so. I was dreading this meeting too. I’ve
wanted to do this for years now, but I kept putting it off. I’m glad I finally
got up enough courage to finally come see you. You’ll always have a special
place in my heart Connie. I’m glad you’re doing well, I’m glad that you
& Andy are happy.
CONNIE: Thank you Jimmy. Good-bye, take care of yourself.
SHEA: Connie, if there’s ever anything I can do for you. If
you ever need anything, you know where to find me. (A beat). Good-bye. Be happy.
They share a quick embrace & Shea kisses her softly on the
cheek before he turns and leaves. Connie watches him for a few seconds before
she turns and goes inside. She’s feeling like a great weight has been lifted
from her shoulders. She can’t wait to see Andy, to tell him that things had
gone well. There were no more unresolved feelings between her & Jimmy Shea.
He would always be a very important part of her life because of Jennifer. But he
was part of her past. She couldn’t wait to see the man that was now the most
important thing in her life. She enters the squad and approaches Rita.
CONNIE: Sorry about running out on you like that. But that
meeting was really important.
RITA: no problem, I wouldn’t have minded having lunch with
that guy myself. Is he available?
CONNIE: Nope, sorry. He’s happily married & he lives in
Pennsylvania.
RITA: Too bad, does he have a brother?
CONNIE: Nope, sorry. Is Andy around?
RITA: Yeah, he’s in the coffee room.
CONNIE: Great give me a minute and then we can get back to
work.
RITA: Sure, take your time.
Connie turns and heads into the coffee room to find Andy. She
enters and finds him staring off into space.
CONNIE: Hey.
ANDY: Hey, you’re back. You okay? How’d it go?
CONNIE: I’m fine Andy, it went well. Much better than I’d
expected. We had a good candid conversation. We made our peace with each other.
ANDY: Good, I’m glad. I’m happy for you.
CONNIE: Thanks; I’ll tell you all about it at home later.
Rita & I have to go talk to some more witnesses.
ANDY: Yeah, okay. We’ll talk later, I guess.
They leave the coffee room and go back to work.
SCENE V:
A few hours have passed and the day is coming to a close. Rita
& Connie have wrapped up their case and are putting the finishing touches on
their paperwork. Andy & John have just returned to the squad after having
made an arrest in their case as well.
ANDY: I tell you john, I wish all the perps were as stupid as
this guy was. You rob and kill a guy then try to use his credit card 2 blocks
from where he lives. Some people are too stupid even to be criminals.
JOHN: Yeah, I wish every case were that easy. Nothing like a
good ground ball to end the day.
ANDY: you got that right. Let’s finish the 5’s & get
outta here.
CONNIE: (Smiling at Andy) I’ll be ready to go soon. (A
beat), I was thinking, it’s really nice out today. I thought it would be great
to take the kids to the park later.
ANDY: (Still brooding over Shea’s visit): Yeah, okay,
whatever you want. Theo will like that.
CONNIE: You’re coming along aren’t you? We could have a
picnic. It’ll be fun.
ANDY: (Not really thrilled with the idea), Well, I was
planning on watching the Yankees game tonight. But yeah, okay. We’ll do the
picnic thing if you want to. (Rolls his eyes).
CONNIE: (Smiling), Okay, great. It’s a date.
Our detectives finish their paperwork & all head home for
the night.
SCENE VI: Later that evening. Andy & Connie have returned
from their picnic in the park and are getting ready for bed after having put
Theo and Michelle down for the night. Connie had filled him in on all the
details of her lunch with Jimmy Shea. She was feeling tired but very happy. Andy
had been rather quiet and withdrawn all evening.
CONNIE: That was fun wasn’t it? Theo really enjoyed himself.
He looked so cute holding Michelle on the swing. He’s really turning out to be
a great big brother.
ANDY: Yeah, he really wore himself out. I think he was asleep
before his head hit the pillow.
CONNIE: (Laughing): Michelle was pretty worn out too. I think
she’s out for the night.
ANDY: Yeah, good.
CONNIE: (Suddenly turning very serious): Andy, are you okay?
You’ve been really quiet all evening. Is something bothering you?
ANDY: No, I’m fine, It’s been a long day.
CONNIE: You’re not still worried about my visit with Jimmy
are you? I told you, it went fine. I’m okay, it wasn’t at all unpleasant.
Just a little awkward at first.
ANDY: Yeah I saw you two walking back to the squad. It looked
like you were having a good time with him.
CONNIE: Oh Andy come on, you’re not jealous are you? You
have no reason to be.
ANDY: Oh I don’t huh? Connie, that man is the father is of
your child. You two have quite a history going there.
CONNIE: (slightly annoyed, but also amused.) Andy, jimmy &
I were 2 stupid kids that played with fire & got burnt. We barely knew each
other. We were together for a month a long time ago. I only went out with him
because he was older & I knew it would piss off my parents.
ANDY: Connie, that guy left you alone & pregnant, he
should have known better than to go out with someone as young as you were. Then
he just waltzes back into your life today like he owned the world.
CONNIE: Andy, I told you, he didn’t know I was pregnant when
he left town. He came here today to apologize to me. Not to rekindle our
so-called romance. Not that there was anything to rekindle. Besides, he’s
happily married now. All he talked about was his wife and kids, his oldest son
is Theo’s age, and we were swapping stories.
ANDY: (suddenly feeling very foolish) Well now, wasn’t that
nice.
CONNIE: (Now totally amused by Andy’s jealously), Andy, I
don’t want you to be upset over this. Jimmy and I have a past, it’s over.
He’s Jennifer’s father and I can’t change that. But that’s it; I’ll
probably never see him again. You have no reason to be jealous Of Jimmy Shea.
He’s no threat to you, or to us & what we have.
ANDY: (Sits on the bed), I know he’s no threat to us. I
started out today worrying that seeing him again would open all those old wounds
for you and that you’d end up getting hurt all over again.
Then I saw you two laughing and
having fun my imagination just went wild on me again. I guess I just like
borrowing trouble. That I’m afraid to let myself be happy again. You mean so
much to me, and to Theo. I still have a hard time believing that someone like
you would want to be with someone like me. Things have been so good lately,
I’m afraid I’m going to wake up & find it’s all been a dream.
CONNIE: (Sits beside Andy on the bed): Andy, this isn’t a
dream. It’s real, & what I feel for you is very real. You & Theo mean
the world to me. You’ve made me happier than I ever thought I could be, I love
you Andy Sipowicz, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.
ANDY: (Turning to face her & reaching up to touch her
cheek), I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you. I just hope I can keep
on doing it.
CONNIE: (Laughing), Andy, you’re a very special man. I
don’t think you realize just how special you are. You’re a wonderful father,
and a very loving and giving partner. I feel very fortunate to have you in my
life.
ANDY: (Sarcastically): Oh yeah, I’m the catch of the
century. I can see why you’d rather be with me instead of that Shea guy.
CONNIE: (Giving him a soft gentle kiss on the cheek), Andy,
Jimmy Shea is my past. Because of Jennifer, he’s a very important part of my
past. But he’s the past, you & Theo & Michelle are my present, and I
hope my future. Andy; I want you to be my forever.
ANDY: I kind of like the sound of that.
CONNIE: Good, I do too.
Andy takes her in his arms and they share a long passionate
kiss that leaves them both breathless. After they part, they stare deeply and
lovingly into each other’s eyes.
ANDY: Connie, I love you, you know that don’t you?
CONNIE: Yeah, I know Andy, I know.
Andy pulls her close again and they fall back into the bed
kissing passionately.
SCENE VII: Later that night, Andy and Connie are lying in bed.
Their bodies are still entwined and Connie’s head is resting on Andy’s
chest. Andy is gently playing with Connie’s hair.
ANDY: Connie?
CONNIE: Hmm?
ANDY: I’m glad you got things squared away with Jennifer’s
father. I hope you really are feeling better about all that now.
CONNIE: Thank you Andy, I do feel a lot better. Jimmy and I
have made our peace. There is still a void in my life where Jennifer is
concerned. I will always wish I could have been a part of her life. But I’m
content knowing the Beck’s are doing right by her.
ANDY: I wish I could take away all of your hurt. I want you to be happy. I want to make you happy.
CONNIE: Oh Andy, you do make me happy. You and the kids are my
happiness. (Connie reaches up and kisses Andy softly on the cheek). I love you
Andy, I love you so much.
ANDY: I love you too.
They share a soft, gentle kiss. Andy sighs and Connie cuddles up closer to him. He kisses her softly on the forehead and closes his eyes. It had been a long day, and as Andy slowly drifts off to sleep. His last thought was that he; Andy Sipowicz had finally found true happiness and contentment. She was now sleeping beside him, wrapped safely in his arms. Right where she belonged.
THE END