So happy to be back with another J&E story. This is a sequel to "The Sun Sets to Rise Again" and takes place about 6 months after it ended. Thank you to BlueBlood82 for the prompt and for letting me bounce ideas off of you through out the writing process. Much appreciated! :)

Chapter 1

Eddie glanced up from the dishes she was washing to peek through the kitchen window, grimacing when she saw Jamie taking an elbow to the ribs from his very competitive older brother while on his way to the basket. Jamie, Danny and the kids had headed outside after dessert to play basketball and burn off some calories along with some extra pent-up energy. The afternoon had warmed up remarkably and they had all rid themselves of any second layers of clothing they had been wearing, playing a game of three on two in t-shirts and jeans. Danny, Jack and Sean thought they'd have the upper hand with an extra player, but Jamie and Nicky were holding their own and managing to pull off some pretty tricky shots that had some rather colorful language erupting out of Danny's mouth.

Linda glanced through the window at the muffled shouts coming from the backyard. "I swear, sometimes it's hard telling which ones are the adults and which ones are the kids," she said, shaking her head when she easily identified her husband's voice above all others.

Eddie chuckled as she continued to watch the game. "Yeah. Looks like they're having a good time, though," she commented. Sundays had become her favorite day of the week by far. Jamie had started bringing her along to the famous Reagan Sunday dinners a few months after they started dating and about a week after she met Henry and Frank. Her first introduction to the older Reagan men turned out to be more entertaining than she expected because it coincided with a Jets-Giants game where both she and Henry had done their fair share of trash talking on behalf of their respective teams. The Giants had lost in the end and Eddie was forced to bite her tongue and prove she wasn't a sore loser while Henry threw some playful jabs her way. Regardless of her team's loss, she had enjoyed every second of the evening and quickly saw where Jamie had inherited some of his best qualities.

Despite that first meeting going well, Eddie had still been a little nervous to meet the rest of the family. Frank and Henry had been a pleasure to deal with, but she still had Danny and Erin Reagan to worry about. She wanted to make a good impression on all of them, not just for her sake but for Jamie's as well. Family was important to him and his was unlike the broken family she came from. She also had to admit that she worried about Jamie's late wife, Sydney. From what little she knew, everyone had loved Sydney and mourned her death immensely. Eddie was afraid of being compared to Sydney and possibly not meeting up to a certain standard. And she had no doubt they were already wondering about her and her relationship with Jamie.

But Eddie should have known better than to worry based off the warm welcome Frank and Henry had given her that night they watched football together. They had set the tone during her first Sunday dinner, making sure that everyone - even Danny - was on their best behavior and made her feel at home. It wasn't long, however, before Danny and Erin's mischievous sides made an appearance. Apparently, teasing their brother was considered more fun than torturing his new girlfriend, something that Eddie was eternally grateful for and relished in completely, of course.

"Oh, I'm sure they are, especially while we're in here cleaning up," Erin complained lightly as she stacked several plastic containers filled with leftovers into her father's refrigerator.

Linda balled up the towel in her hands and threw it onto the counter. She decided they could have their own fun in the kitchen while the Nicky and the boys played outside and Henry and Frank sipped their scotch and read the paper in the living room. "Time for a coffee break, ladies," Linda announced.

"I'm all for that," Eddie concurred and turned off the faucet as she placed the last plate on the dish rack.

"Bring that leftover cake with you, Linda. No sense in putting away one slice," Erin smiled as she refilled their coffee mugs.

Linda snorted as she sized up the leftover dessert and shrugged. It was actually about two and a half slices, but who was she to argue with her sister-in-law's sound logic? "One slice and three forks coming up," Linda said. She pulled three freshly washed forks from the drawer and brought them over to the island with the cake plate.

Eddie snagged a third stool from the corner of the room, pulling it up to where Linda and Erin were already situating themselves. She always enjoyed a little girl-talk with these two women; they became fast friends after she started coming over on a regular basis. "I don't know how I'm going to possibly eat anymore today, but I can't say no to coffee and chocolate," she chided.

"I hear you," Linda said as she went in for a chunk of cake without any hesitation and closed her eyes to savor it.

"You and Jamie met around this time last year, didn't you?" Erin asked.

"Yeah, we did. Next month will be a year since we met," Eddie confirmed as she sipped her coffee.

"Time flies when your having fun," Linda grinned, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows at Eddie.

Eddie and Erin chuckled at Linda. "Well, just remember we didn't start dating until much later," Eddie clarified.

"The way I heard it, you two lovebirds really dragged your feet getting something going," Linda replied.

Eddie nodded as she thought of the reasons they'd hesitated to admit their feelings for each other. "Yeah, well we both had baggage coming in," she shared.

"Don't we all," Erin sighed.

A raucous laughter sounded outside, Jamie's laugh outlasting the rest.

Eddie's forehead creased as she looked toward the window. "What are they doing out there?" she wondered.

"I don't want to know," Linda muttered as she brought her cup to her lips.

Erin smiled fondly as she scraped some of the fudge icing onto her fork. "I haven't heard Jamie laugh like that in a long time," she said. "It's good to hear."

"Not since way before you came into the picture Eddie," Linda said softly. Her brother-in-law was a whole new person and they all knew it was because of his girlfriend.

Eddie smiled sadly at their comments. It wasn't hard to figure out what they were referring to. "He doesn't talk about Sydney and the accident much. I can't imagine what that must have been like for Jamie...for all of you, really," she said.

Erin looked down and absentmindedly poked at one end of the dessert. "It really broke him," she started to say.

Linda cradled her cup with both hands, staring down at the caramel colored liquid inside. This family had already suffered through so much loss when Sydney passed, she wasn't certain Jamie would ever get through losing of his wife on top of it all.

Erin placed her fork along the edge of the plate and leaned against the countertop. "It was tough with mom and then Joe both passing the way they did, but having Sydney also die so unexpectedly...he pretty much shut down."

"what do you mean?" Eddie asked, hoping that they wouldn't think she was being nosey. Eddie never pushed Jamie for information on Sydney and the accident. He would share bits here and there when the subject came up and even then, she could tell that it was still painful for him to discuss. It was only one of many family tragedies and she often wondered how he'd made it through all of it.

"We all grieve in our own way, but Jamie's the type to hold it all in until he's dealt with it on his own. That's how he handled mom and Joe's passing," Erin advised.

"Jamie's not one to burden anyone with his problems. It's not completely healthy but it's how he's built," Linda added. "I see some of that in Danny, but he's also quick to reach his limits and eventually just needs to vent."

"I've noticed," Eddie replied as to both observations. She always knew when something was bothering Jamie and much like herself, it always took a little prodding to get him to talk. Just a few weeks ago she had to push him until he finally came clean about his frustrations over not being promoted because he was the PC's son. She often forgot that the Reagan name could be more of a hindrance than an advantage for a patrol officer with aspirations of making detective. They ended up having a long talk about the different ways that he could be more proactive in advancing his career instead of waiting for someone to consider him worthy enough of wearing a gold shield.

"He did the same with Sydney, but it was worse for obvious reasons that none of us could blame him for. He tried focusing on work, always picking up extra tours but then he'd hide out in his and Sydney's loft when he was off duty. He came around eventually, little by little, starting with getting a new apartment; I think the loft became a constant reminder. Then he started spending more time with dad and grandpa. I guess he thought they could relate. But that was better than having him spend so much time alone since he wasn't ready or willing to socialize," Erin explained.

"Everyone gave him his space, but then a year went and everyone started to encourage him get out there, from his old training officer to Vinny when they first partnered up," Linda said.

"He just needed time," Eddie shrugged as she digested everything Linda and Erin were saying.

"Yeah, time and a spunky little blonde," Linda teased.

Eddie narrowed her eyes back at Linda, pretending to be insulted. "Who you calling little?"

The girls shared a laugh and went back to talking and picking at the cake in between sipping their coffee.

"He's happy, Eddie, for which we are all grateful. I don't think he could handle another major loss," Erin said. She already saw them as a long-term relationship and she hoped Eddie knew how much she meant to her brother.

Eddie didn't even have a chance to respond because the kitchen door flew open and Danny, Jamie and the kids marched back into the house, making a beeline for the refrigerator while arguing over the outcome of their game. Jack and Sean dutifully passed out bottles of water to their cousin, uncle and father behind them.

"Hey!" Danny shouted as he accepted a bottle from his son. "How come we're outside working up a sweat while you three sit in here eating cake?" he complained while eying the chocolatey dessert that sat between the three women. "Is that the last slice?"

"Yup," Erin replied as she scooped a large forkful of cake off the plate and into her mouth. She smiled at Danny while he glared back at her.

Linda narrowed her eyes at the group, grimacing at their appearance. Each of their faces was flushed and they were sweaty from head to toe. "You guys are a mess," she said with a grimace, not looking forward to the ride home with three sweaty boys.

Erin scrunched her nose as Danny and the boys passed by her to surround Linda on the other end of the island. "You stink too," she pointed out in case they hadn't noticed.

Jamie chugged almost half his bottle of water before he came up behind Eddie and pulled her into a big bear hug.

"Ugh, Reagan," Eddie griped as she squirmed in his embrace. "You're soaked! Now I'm gonna need a shower!"

"That's the plan, Janko," he whispered in her ear before laying a big, sweaty kiss on her cheek.

Eddie playfully pushed him off of her to mask the shiver his voice sent down her spine. "Gross, Reagan," she admonished with a smirk. He didn't have to do much to get her all worked up, another one of the many reasons she loved him.