A/N: You guys really loved hearing about James which makes me real excited to write him more. Despite not being alive, he's still a key character and you'll hear a lot from him (past tense ofc). Let me know if you think I'm doing him justice? Also let me know who you'd have play him and Eden if they were real characters, I'm curious!

Jay's alcohol-induced slumber was rudely interrupted at around 10 a.m the next morning. He wracked his brain in a poor attempt to remember getting home last night but he failed miserably. Despite barely being able to lift his head under the weight of his hangover, the sound of giggles and squeals from the living room filled him with happiness immediately. He scrambled out of the bed in a bid to get up without waking Erin, who was slung over the edge of the bed herself, hair in her face. God only knew how she was going to feel when she woke. He stumbled as he stood up, feeling slightly still drunk and carried his half-naked body into the living room to be met with the glowing faces of Eden and Penny.

He watched in awe as Eden leaned over her daughter, Penny's dirty blonde curls spread over his floor. Her smile spread across her face as she watched her mum raise her arms and throw them back down to tickle her.

"Mama, mama," escaped her mouth alongside howls of laughter as she writhed all over to try and escape Eden's hands, to no avail. He continued to watch as he went to throw himself on the sofa.

"I see she's still not speaking much?" He asked. Although Penny was approaching 2, and should have had a vocabulary of around 20 words, she wasn't making much progress in speech development, which worried both Jay and Eden.

"She's getting there, doctors have ruled out selective mutism for now with her being so young, they just wanna wait and see really. How are you feeling anyway, you were a mess last night!" She grinned widely as she watch Penny scramble to his feet.

"Don't even talk to me about it," he rolled his eyes as he picked her up under her arms and threw her over his shoulder gently. "I remember everything up to the countdown, unfortunately, but very little after."

"Unfortunately?"

"Erin's jealous ex made an appearance, just before the countdown. Nothing big but just seeing his face kinda pisses me off, y'know?" He barely finished before receiving a sharp sting to his arm. He turned to look at Penny on his shoulder, to see her trying to look angry but looking adorable instead.

"Naughty!" She said loudly, after he realised he'd cursed in front of her.

"Yes, yes I am baby, I'm sorry though," he whined, gaining a sloppy peck on the cheek from her. After getting back in her good books, he turned back to her mom. "And the karaoke . Oh God the karaoke. Do you remember when James got us up that one Chri-" He stopped mid-sentence as he watched her flinch at his name. She'd been with him for nearly a week and they had completely avoided speaking about James. "Eden, I'm sorry."

"No. No, it's fine." She lied through gritted teeth. She missed her husband so much, and had little chance to talk about him so whenever the topic arose, it was like ripping off a band. "How could I forget?" Her gritted teeth grew into a reluctant smile as memories of her soulmate flooded back.

She was stood in a crowded Irish bar, waiting for what seemed like forever for her first taste of genuine Guinness. The girls had gone to find a table, leaving her alone to fetch the round so they could get in the swing of things for the night. They had landed in Dublin little under 3 hours ago and hadn't even unpacked before checking out the town and now she really wished she'd had time to freshen up after the flight. She was scanning the room, just to see if she could find a handsome, broody guy who would fit the 'typical Irish' stereotype that people seemed to have. So far she wasn't having any luck, so in an attempt to grab the attention of a bartender, she stood on her tiptoes and stretched her arms across the bar - she still had flakes of snow resting in her waves from the walk through Dublin. Her 5'2 petite frame did her no favours as she seemed to be invisible to the bar staff causing her to let out a deep sigh, until she saw a heavy hand placed down beside her arm.

"Excuse me," a thick Irish accent bellowed across the bar. A few heads turned, one small ginger man walking in response. "I think this lovely lady has been waiting an awful while for a drink here."

She looked up at the man who had come to her rescue, although if she looked up too long she might have gotten a stiff neck, he was that tall. His sharp jawline was buried beneath dark but full stubble - not long enough to be classed as a beard, and his hair swept slightly to the left. Stood behind him was another handsome man, just not as tall. He had lighter hair and seemed more than bemused at his friends attempt to introduce himself.

"4 pints of Guinness, please," she asked the bartender politely, despite being real pissed that she needed the help of a guy to order.

"Ooh, that's impressive that is," the Irish man added again. "Let me guess, you're a proper Irish gal?" A cheeky grin spread across his face before she even answered.

"Sorry to disappoint you," she started, her first response to him, "I'm from Stateside." She grinned and shrugged, slightly sarcastically.

"Bro, I told you. She has Chicago written all over her!" His friend shouted, punching the Irishman in the arm.

"How did you know?" She asked, surprised that the other guy could have known.

"Complete guess. But as a Chicago native myself, I was pretty confident."

"Hey man Jay, I'm trying here," his friend frowned back at him.

"Okay I'm going, but we're up in like five minutes," Jay replied, nodding to the stage.

"Oh no, you aren't, are you?" She groaned inwardly. Karaoke was her biggest hate. Open mic night, perfect; amateurs bursting her eardrums, not so much.

"C'mon you can't say that when I don't even know your name," he smiled. She couldn't help but smile at his smile, and he hadn't stopped smiling since he came over so she gathered she must have looked like a fool for a while now. There was something about this guy, she just couldn't put her finger on it. She looked at the floor and laughed at his attempts.

"Eden, my name is Eden," she said as she looked up and caught his gaze.

"Fairytale of New York, for the stage," another thick Irish voice boomed over she sound system.

"Well that's me," he laughed as he started walking away. "It was lovely to meet you Eden!" He raised his voice as he grew further from her and closer to the stage.

She struggled back to the table with the drinks, only to be met with inquisitive faces asking where she'd been. She shrugged it off to a queue at the bar, which wasn't entirely a lie but in all honesty, she just didn't want to miss the mystery men on stage. She watched as the American - Jay, grabbed a guitar and took a few seconds to tune it while the Irishman settled with a mic next to a female vocalist. He stood for a while, leaving Jay confused on stage while he scanned the audience, the corners of his lips curving as he spotted her.

"This one's for you," he said, not breaking eye contact yet leaving the rest of the bar bewildered as they began their song. She watched as he sang slowly at first, but when the third verse began he was full of such enthusiasm and fun, completely letting go on stage with his friend. They brought the bar alive, it seemed they were singing a song that was popular over here, and she could see why. The atmosphere was full of warmth and Christmas spirit compared to the crowded, claustrophobic-ness of earlier, the change was incredible. She was so wrapped up in festivities that had overcome the bar, she had failed to notice the eager Irishman wade through the crowd to her, until he was right in front of her.

"Lovely to meet you Eden," he smiled as he reached around her waist and pulled her in close. The rash movement from the man who despite being a stranger, she felt like she'd known forever shocked her into silence. The muscles in her cheeks struggled to form a smile at the sound of his voice again. "I'm James," he continued after pulling her in even closer that the tip of her nose was touching his, before pressing a soft, passionate kiss on her lips.

"Y'know, he never shut up about you after that. When we went back out on tour, that song was all he'd play. He swore it was what 'got him the girl'," Jay laughed, mimicking James' accent towards the end of the sentence. He shot little glances at Eden, in an attempt to read her face.

"He wouldn't be lying. If there's one thing I'll never forget, it's that night. It changed my life." He face was glowing, she was apprehensive about talking about James but it was written all over her how happy it made her. He really didn't want to bring down the atmosphere. He waited a moment before talking again, enjoying the way the positive energy that radiated from her.

"He's the reason I asked you here Eden, I need to ask you something." He held back from diving right into the topic. She just looked up at him, shifting her feet from beneath her as her mind pondered the possibilities.

"I uh, I'm being recruited by the FBI. Heavily too."

"Jay, that's amazing!" She said as she got up to sit on the sofa and face him. "How come?"

"That's the thing. They've had their eyes on me for a while apparently. And a while I mean since James' recovery mission. I mean, I'm not sure exactly why I haven't even spoken to anyone except my sargeant about it but I'm like 90% sure that's what it is."

Erin had been laid in bed for about 5 minutes before faint muttering between Jay and Eden had urged her to get out of bed. Being nosey was one of her less desirable traits, but she succumbed and crawled out of the bed slowly and made her way to the edge of the doorway - picking up at the sound of her name.

"Have you spoken to Erin about it?" Eden enquired, a puzzled look painting her face.

"Uh, not yet. I wanted to kind of clear my head first. How can I talk to her about getting a promotion out of the suicide of my best friend Edie? I don't want her to see me that way." His voice was quiet, careful not to wake Erin but filled with despair.

"That isn't what it would be Jay!" She caressed his arm in an attempt to make him feel at ease. "You saved him."

"Not quick enough. He's not here and it's my fault. I should never have left him." His face was covered with a blank expression, almost oblivious to the toddler that was using him as a jungle gym.

"Don't do this to yourself Jay, you did everything you could and then some for him. You need to stop doing this to yourself. He would be crazy proud of you. The FBI? Like that's' a big deal." She offered him a weak smile, taken aback by his job offer but hurting inside because of what he burdened himself with.

"I know, I just can't shake the reason they want me for. How can I justify moving up in the world when he can't even watch me do it?" His lip quivering as he spoke.

Lindsay slumped her body against the doorframe, letting all of this information about how he felt flow through her, trying to let it sink in. Despite being saddened by the fact he didn't want to tell her how he felt because he was scared it would change how she felt, she was torn by the fact he felt like that way in the first place. She took a deep breath before straightening her posture and opening the door.

"Because that's what he'd want Jay, I'm sure Eden would back me up but from what I've heard, the last thing James would have wanted was for you to put your life on hold because of him. She's right, it's a big deal." She kissed the side of his neck as she stood behind him, resting her arms on his shoulders.

He looked up at her, finding solace in the fact that neither of them agreed with the way he felt about it. He felt a massive weight leave his shoulders as he thought hard about what they were saying. Maybe they were right but the guilt still manifested itself in the back of his head.