Hope everyone likes this double update! Happy reading!

4: Taking the next step

Five months later:

Jamie groaned as he pulled a t-shirt over his head and shrugged his shoulders, wincing at the pain he was feeling in his right shoulder. It had been a long tour and ended with a perp trying to take him out with a lead pipe. Luckily Eddie had managed to help him tackle the guy and get the cuffs on him before doing any real damage. He was going to have bruises on his shoulder and chest, but he was okay compared to what could have happened. All he wanted to do now was go home, take a hot shower and cuddle on the couch with Grace, who was coming over and fixing dinner tonight. They had officially been together for almost five months. He walked out of the locker room and saw Eddie waiting by the door.

"Hey, how's the shoulder?" she asked while looking down at her phone.

"It's fine, gonna be a little stiff, but no issues." he answered rolling his eyes.

"Well how about we grab a couple of cold ones, maybe some nachos?" she asked curiously.

"I can't, Grace is coming over." he replied.

"Come on Reagan, we haven't really hung out that much since you started dating firehouse barbie, what's your deal?" Eddie wondered with a glare.

"She's my girlfriend Eddie. I really like her and I want to spend time with her." Jamie saw the hurt look on Eddie's face.

He realized that he has been spending less time with Eddie. She's his best friend and now he felt guilty.

Jamie sighed before nodding. "How about you and I go hang at the bar tomorrow night. Just you and I?"

"I guess, if you don't think SHE would mind." Eddie replied.

Jamie rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to get annoyed with her about the things that she said about Grace. The two of them hadn't even met, and every time Jamie invited Eddie to join him and Grace, she would conveniently come up with an excuse to not show up.

"We can hang out with our friends Eddie, she has her own friends too." Jamie answered.

"If you say so. Reagan." Eddie laughed.

"Eddie, you are my best friend and my partner. You and I are going to the bar tomorrow and you can try to beat me at darts, ok?"

Eddie raised a eyebrow. "Try to beat you? I always win?"

"If you say so. Whatever helps you sleep at night. First round on me." Jamie smiled before walking away.

"Wait! I always beat you. Jamison get back here!" Eddie said chasing him. "First round better be on you!"

Jamie smiled when he walked into his apartment and saw Grace was already chopping up veggies for a salad and that something smelled amazing in the oven. She had her back to him. He liked the fact that she felt comfortable enough to be in his apartment by herself. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Breathing in the scent of her perfume, he felt the stress of the day melt away.

"Hey Gorgeous, something smells good." he said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Baby, I made seafood lasagna, garlic bread and salad." she answered as she wiggled around in his arms to give him a kiss on the lips.

"Yum, you taste even better than I'm sure the food's going to. How was your day?" Jamie asked.

"Not too bad, had some meetings, mostly paperwork. How about you?" Grace asked in return.

"Nothing too eventful, a perp tried to take a swing at me with a pipe, but I'm okay." he answered.

"Are you sure?" she wondered as he went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine.

"Yea, I'm gonna be bruised and stiff for a couple of days, but it could've been worse." he said as he poured them each a glass and handed one to her.

"Jamie, we both know he could've done a lot of damage...maybe you should go to the ER or something?" she wondered placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Grace, I'm really okay. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I would rather talk about the birthday someone has coming up this week." he said as he pulled her into his arms.

"Hmmn, nice subject change. It's Friday, I normally go out to dinner with my family on the day, but I asked my mom if we could do it the night before this year. I am going to have a me day on Friday, but I want to spend Friday night with a certain officer." she smiled.

"Are you sure? I mean won't your family have a problem with it?" he asked.

"My mom knows I'm seeing someone and she understands. She will make sure it's okay with my dad and brothers. I will also tell my sisters in law when I see them tomorrow night for ladies night. I want to spend my birthday with my wonderful boyfriend." she insisted.

"I was hoping you'd say that, I already made us reservations at The River Cafe for Friday night, and I have something special planned for afterwards." Jamie smirked.

"Huh, smooth Officer Reagan, very smooth. Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you go take a shower before we eat?" Grace suggested.

"Wanna join me?" he grinned as he ran his hands down to her hips.

"Ha, we both know that we'll be ordering pizza if I do that, now go" she giggled as she moved out of his arms.

Even though he and Grace had been together for a few months, they were taking it slow as far as the physical aspect of their relationship. While they kissed and spent the night at each other's apartments, they had not had sex yet. Grace had told him that her last serious relationship ended because the guy had cheated on her in their bed and then claimed that it had been Grace's fault that he had done it. Jamie wanted to deck the guy based on principal, but he hated that it made Grace feel like she had done something wrong. Jamie was willing to wait as long as she wanted, as far as she was concerned, he had fallen completely in love with her.

Jamie emerged from the bedroom, showered and dressed in basketball shorts and a t-shirt just as she was sitting the food on the counter. The two sat down and ate before watching a movie and cuddling on the couch.

When the movie was over, Jamie looked down and found Grace sound asleep on his chest. She looked so peaceful that he didn't want to wake her. He kissed her on the forehead before he pulled a blanket over the two of them and falling asleep himself.


Grace walked into the crowded restaurant where she was meeting her sisters in law, Kara and Rachel, and her best friend Kate for dinner.

"Grace! We're over here!" Kate exclaimed from across the room.

"Hey guys, sorry it took so long, my last meeting ran late." Grace said as she sat down.

"No worries, I just got here myself." Rachel replied as she sipped her drink.

"How are things at the firehouse?" Grace asked as she eyed her sister in law.

"Fine, they transferred Ryland to our house, but okay." she said.

"I heard about that, I'm sure my dad was okay with him transferring, it was either transfer him there or to Dylan's house. He still wants to kick Ryland's ass for cheating on me." Grace groaned.

"We all still want to kick his ass for that Grace." Kara said.

Soon the waitress came and they placed their orders. She smiled when her phone went off and saw that Jamie was texting her that he had just gotten off tour and was going to be hanging out with Eddie. Oddly Grace didn't feel jealous, she knew that Eddie was Jamie's partner at work on a friend outside of work, but other than that she didn't know all that much about her. Jamie had wanted them to meet, but the other woman didn't seem to be open to it.

"That's a smile I haven't seen in awhile, what's got you so happy Grace?" Kara asked.

"I know that look, our Gracie is in love." Rachel teased with knowing smirk.

"Okay, cut it out. Yes I have been seeing someone." Grace replied.

"Who is it and why are we just now hearing about this guy?" Kate asked curiously.

Kate and Grace had grown up together and had been best friends since they were five years old. Grace was even the Godmother to Kate's daughter, Julia who was six. Kate had gotten pregnant and lost her fiance a few months later in a car accident, but Grace and her family had been there every step of the way.

"If I tell you, not a word of this can be repeated to your husbands. They will not be happy once they hear who I am dating." Grace said as she looked between her sisters in law.

"Oh come on, you dating a cop or something?" Kara teased.

At that comment Kate and Rachel began to laugh along with Kara, then they noticed Grace wasn't laughing.

"Are you serious? You're seeing a cop?" Rachel asked surprised.

"Yes, his name is Jamie Reagan, he's the PC's son. We met at a wedding a few months back, we've been seeing each other for the last few months." Grace replied.

"The PC's son. Wow!" Kara exclaimed.

"Yeah, but he is a great guy. But you know how my brothers are, not to mention my dad, so please don't say anything to Jeff or Andy." Grace pleaded.

"Girl, we just want to see you happy, they won't hear it from us. But we do get to meet him first, right?" Rachel asked.

"Of course, I need you guys on my side for when I have to deal with my brothers." Grace laughed as she ordered another round of drinks.


"I'm just sayin, you barely know the girl, and now she has a key to your place." Eddie said as she drank her beer.

"We've been seeing each other for five months Eddie, what's your point?" Jamie asked as he threw a dart and narrowly missed the bullseye.

"My point is aren't you moving too fast with firefly?" Eddie wondered.

"I don't think so, I have a key to her place too." Jamie shot back.

"She didn't even know you were a cop or a Reagan?" she asked critically.

"Well I didn't exactly tell her. I understand her reasons and she accepts my job and me." He argued, tired of where this was going.

"You do realize that her family will never accept you, right?" Eddie asked.

Jamie turned to her feeling a little angry.

"What is your problem with her Eddie?" Jamie asked.

"You deserve the best Jamie and I don't know if Fire Queen is."

Jamie was like a ticking bomb that finally went off.

"I'm so sick and tired of you calling her names Eddie! She has done nothing to you! She makes me happy and I love her so why don't you back off of her and stay the fuck out of my love life!"

"Jamie! I just...I" Eddie stuttered surprised by his outburst.

"No Eddie, you have been calling her names for the last few months, and it has gone from being annoying to disrespectful. If you can't just call her by her name and accept that she is important to me, then I'll ask to ride with someone else." Jamie said cutting her off.

Eddie shamefully nodded. "I'm sorry. I'll lay off."

"Honestly Eddie, just tell me why you hate her so much. You haven't even met her." he said.

"I don't know, she seems like one of those rich sorority girls who gets what she wants all the time without having to work for it, and she sounds like a total badge bunny to me." she said.

"You haven't even seen her, every time we have invited you out with us, you have an excuse for not coming. All I've ever said has been good things about her. So maybe you should try telling the truth. Why do you not like her?" he pressed.

"I just... I don't know." she replied not meeting his eyes.

"Fine, but it takes a really insecure person to pass judgment over someone they've never even met" Jamie said walking away while Eddie stared at his retreating back.


"Hey kid, what's up?" Detective Danny Reagan asked as he met his younger brother at the front door of his apartment.

Jamie had called Danny after leaving a the bar and said that he wanted to talk to him about something, the detective had just closed a case and was going to be heading home for the night, but said he could come by the younger Reagan's apartment. Danny had recently lost his wife Linda, a nurse, in a helicopter crash and he and his two boys were still adjusting to life without their wife and mother.

"Hey Danny, thanks for coming by." Jamie said handing him a beer.

"It's no problem, what's going on?" Danny asked again.

"I need your advice about something. Women problem." Jamie replied.

"Not for nothin kid, but I'm not the one you normally go to for that kind of thing. You normally talk to Dad, Gramps, or Erin." Danny said.

"I would, but you know how Erin is, she would want to know everything about the woman I'm seeing and won't really help the issue. Dad and Gramps will just want to know why I haven't brought her to Sunday dinner." Jamie answered.

"Okay, well what's the issue?" Danny wondered.

"I've been seeing this woman, Grace, for the last few months. She's great, we have a lot in common, she's smart, gorgeous, and an amazing person." Jamie started.

"Not seeing a problem here kid." Danny replied.

"So for the last few months, Eddie has been calling her names and claiming that we don't hang out as much, we hung out tonight and it didn't take long for her to start bad mouthing Grace and saying that we are moving too fast. That Grace is some badge bunny who's not good enough for me. Which is completely untrue and she hasn't even met her." Jamie finished.

"Ah, so she is jealous because you are spending time with another woman. Do you think you are moving too fast?" Danny questioned.

"No, I mean we haven't even slept together yet, she has a key to my place, I have one for hers, but the only sleeping we've done together is actual sleeping. I really like her Danny. I don't get why Eddie is so jealous anyways. We both agreed that we wanted to just be friends and partners on the job, not date." Jamie finished.

"Well kid, if you really like this Grace, which you must because you are not the kind of guy who just gives out keys to your place, Eddie is either going to have to accept it or maybe you shouldn't be partnered with her. She's a good cop, but you've told her that you do not feel that way about her." Danny said.

"Yeah, I have and she knows how I feel about Grace." Jamie said.

"Well kid, talk to her and see if you can figure things out when it comes to your partner. Why haven't you invited Grace to Sunday dinner?" Danny wondered.

"I want to, but we've been taking things slow. I don't want her to be scared off by everyone." Jamie shrugged.

"And the fact that she comes from a family of firefighters doesn't help matters." Jamie thought but didn't say.

"I remember feeling the same way when I first started dating Linda. Bring her to Sunday dinner, see how she deals with the family. If she's the person you think she is, then she will do just fine." Danny said.

"I'll see what she thinks when I take her out for her birthday on Friday." Jamie said as Danny poured out the rest of his beer in the sink.

"Where are you taking her?" Danny wondered.

"The River Cafe for dinner and then I got tickets to Phantom of the Opera." Jamie replied.

"Nice. Hope she's worth it kid, I look forward to meeting her. I'm gonna head home. See ya later." Danny said before walking out the door.


The rest of the week passed quickly for Jamie, since his blow up at Eddie, he had been avoiding her at work. He was tired of the way she talked about Grace. He was allowed to find someone that made him happy and Grace did that. Because of this, he wanted her birthday to be special. So he talked to her assistant, Sara and found out that she loved pink roses, and had a dozen sent to her office on Thursday. She had texted him and told him that she loved the flowers and that she would be thanking him during their date on Friday. He also bought her a bracelet from Tiffany's that he planned to give to her during dinner.

He had showered and changed into dress pants, a black button down shirt with a red tie, and had sprayed on cologne when there was a knock on his door. He glanced at his watch, he wasn't due to pick up Grace for another hour. He walked over to the door and saw Eddie standing there with a sheepish look on her face.

"Hey Reagan, you look nice." she said softly.

"Hey Eddie, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I just wanted to come and apologize, I was wrong to say all of the things I said about Grace. I..I was jealous when you said that you met someone at the wedding that I was supposed to go to with you and I know that we agreed to see other people because we didn't want to stop being partners, but I still kept wondering if there was still a chance for us to be more than that." she said finally.

"Eddie, I love Grace, she is someone I like spending time with and I think you two would get along if you gave her a chance. You're my best friend, but I don't think we will ever be anything else. I'm sorry if that hurts you, or if you don't want to ride with me at work anymore, I understand, but I just don't feel that way about you." Jamie said trying to be as honest as he could without hurting her feelings.

"I understand, I don't want to change partners, and I want you to be happy. If being with Grace makes you happy, I will give her a chance. Now where are you off to dressed like that?" she wondered.

"It's Grace's birthday today, I'm taking her to dinner and then to a show." he explained.

"Nice, have a good time Reagan, tell her I said happy birthday." Eddie said turning toward the door.

"Thanks Eddie, I will." Jamie said giving her a small smile.


When Jamie picked Grace up an hour later, she was wearing a little red, lace dress that took his breath away. She had her long dark hair down and her makeup showed off her big brown eyes. She looked beautiful and he was proud that she was his.

"Wow. You look amazing baby. Happy birthday." he said as he kissed her softly.

"Thank you baby, you look handsome." she smiled and ran her hands down his tie.

"You ready to go?" he asked as he watched her grab her bag.

"Yes, now you can tell me what this big surprise is that you have planned for us after dinner?" she returned with a question of her own.

"I will tell you on the way to the restaurant." Jamie promised as he watched her lock the door and grabbed her hand.

When they got to his car, he opened the door for Grace and told her to open the glove compartment. When she did she found the envelope with the tickets in it for the show.

"My favorite musical, how did you know?" she wondered with a smile.

"I'm just that good." he smiled.

"Yeah right." she smirked.

"Okay, I talked to Sara and she told me that it was your favorite. Along with pink roses being your favorite flowers." he explained as he kissed her hand.

"I figured as much. She's a good friend." Grace smiled.

When the two of them arrived at the restaurant, they had a lovely dinner and he gave her the bracelet.

"Jamie! It's beautiful, but the flowers, dinner, and the show. It's too much." she said as she wiped a tear away.

"Grace, I want your birthday to be special. I love you and I want to do all of these things for you. You deserve it." he said as he grabbed her hand.

"I love you too Jamie, it's wonderful, thank you." she said as she gave him a kiss.

Grace couldn't keep a smile off of her face for the rest of dinner and the show. When Jamie walked her to the door she asked if he wanted to come in. Once they made it inside, she kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Jamie, I thought of one more thing that I want for my birthday." she grinned.

"Name it and it's yours Beautiful." he said kissing her neck.

"You." she said softly.

"Grace, are you sure, I don't want to push you if you aren't ready." he started.

She cut him off with another kiss.

"I've never been surer. I love you and I want to be with you." she said when they came up for air.

He kissed her gently and it soon began to get more heated. He was kissing her neck when her phone rang. She looked at the caller id and saw that it was her brother.

"Someone better be hurt, bleeding or dying Andy" she said as a greeting.

"Hello to you little sis, I just wanted to see if you wanted to do dinner next week with Dylan, Jeff and I?" he asked in return.

"Can I get back to you on that?" she asked in return.

"Sure, I can tell I am interrupting something." he said.

"Yes, you are, I will call you later, bye." she said ending the call and turning off her phone.

"Everything okay?" Jamie asked as he pulled her into his arms.

"Yep, my brothers want to have dinner next week." she said.

"Speaking of families, do you want to come to dinner with my family on Sunday?" he asked.

"You want me to meet your family?" she asked surprised.

"Only if you want to." he said.

"Can we talk about this later? There's one thing I want more than that right now Officer Reagan." she said before taking his hand and leading him into her bedroom.

Grace knew exactly what she wanted, and what she wanted was Jamie Reagan.