On Sunday Jamie and Eddie spent the day packing up their apartment into boxes for transport uptown. It took only a couple of trips as they didn't need to move any of the furniture. Grinning Jamie carried the boxes up to their door, opening up the apartment door. He walked the boxes up not wanting Eddie to carry anything heavy.
After the last box finally sat in the hallway Jamie met Eddie in front of their living room window. "Welcome home babe," he nuzzled her smiling. The view was different then in Brooklyn, a quiet side street.
Eddie looked over at him smiling, "Welcome home Jamie. We should take a walk around to see what's nearby. Unpacking everything will be easy. On your next day off we should hit the mall to start shopping for the baby's room."
"We will babe. I just want to get my clothes unpacked then we can look around." He kissed her just as eager to explore their new neighborhood.
True to his word Jamie took Eddie down once he finished for a walk. They found several new restaurants Eddie was eager to try, a church and small playground in just the two blocks north. The six and q trains both ran nearby though the six was closer.
Only five blocks away was Central Park, the reservoir and several sports fields with a path that cut across. "Imagine taking the kids here for walks. It'll be so nice," Eddie imagined, smiling.
"Yeah it's nice here. They have a path we can use to push the stroller," Jamie agreed. He settled on a bench facing the reservoir watching the birds flying over. "So I know it's crazy but do you want me to come with you when you see the college? Classes should be starting soon."
He immediately felt her shoulders tense, "No it's okay. I'll go take a look around and talk to an admissions counselor about transferring my credits over. "
Jamie turned around to face her while he moved both hands to hold her shoulders. "Are you sure Eddie? Will you be able to start classes in time? It takes awhile for the transfer and then you have to register for classes."
"I'm sure. I will take care of it Jamie. I just want to get settled first that's all. I still have two more years anyway so taking off one semester won't hurt me. Besides I'd be delivering the babies while classes are in session so," Eddie talked faster.
The truth finally hit Jamie who felt bad he was pushing her. "You don't want to start a new college while you're pregnant," he whispered. "Eddie I didn't think of that. Will your scholarship allow a semester off though?"
"No but that doesn't change how I feel. What if I go labor during the semester and I can't finish class. It would be a waste." Eddie cupped her hands in hands slowly meeting his eyes with her round ones.
"Talk to the counselor about that but honestly if you don't register and loose your scholarship it'll be harder to get another. If you do go into labor then I'll help you finish the assignments," he promised softly. "And no one will bother you or I'll go in and talk to them."
Forcing a smile Eddie sighed, "I'll talk to the counselor and see if I can maybe do online classes so I can keep my scholarship. The school here is cheaper anyway. Thank you though Jamie. " She laid her head on his shoulder not wanting to talk about it anymore. Truth was she didn't know whether she wanted to keep studying art history.
In the next few days they managed to unpack the few boxes and settled into their new home. Just before the weekend Jamie invited his grandpa over for a small house warming ceremony. He picked up bottles of wine for he and his grandpa, sparkling water for Eddie to go with the heros.
At exactly one Henry tapped on the apartment door after being cleared by the doorman. Eddie shuffled from the living room to open the door for him smiling. "Hi, thanks for coming. How was the commute up here?"
Henry grunted as he walked past her, "A lot farther away that's for sure. Wow, look at this place. "
"It's a great place," Jamie smiled. "Eddie knows how to make a house a home." He came in from the living room and put an arm around Eddie's shoulder with a smile to greet his grandfather.
Eddie gave a small, shy shrug and said, "Would you like to see the rest of the apartment? "
"Yes, I would," he replied. "Give me the 25 cent tour." Jamie chuckled at Eddie's confused expression and patted his grandpa's shoulder, offering to take him so Eddie could sit a little. They took their time through each room, impressing the old man.
"And this will be the twins room eventually," Jamie told him.
He stepped in, looking over his shoulder at Jamie with knowing blue eyes. "I knew it. I didn't want to upset her by saying but I knew it wasn't just one baby in there. Congratulations Jamie. How exciting."
"She's a little spooked about it," he replied
They stepped into the room. Henry turning to nod. "Well, I'm not at all surprised. Young as she is having one baby can be scary but two. Once they're here it's totally different. Keep reassuring her, that's what she needs."
Jamie nodded, "I agree. And I am Pop, she has all the keys to make her a great mom."
It warmed the older man's heart to see Jamie happy. They joined Eddie in the living room for sandwiches and drinks. "To you two and the start of your lives together. May you be together a long time and bring me lots of grand babies," Henry smiled.
Eddie laughed, "Right now is say two is good."
"You'll see once they're here. I remember when Francis was born, then each of my gg's but especially Jamie.," Henry grinned, slyly at his grandson.
He regaled Eddie with tales from years ago before turning to talk about other things. "So, did you think about names?" The question forced Eddie and Jamie to exchange a look. They both had but didn't discuss it with each other yet.
"Not really," Jamie replied. "We haven't really talked about it."
Eddie folded her hands over the dress, "I've been thinking but only about one possible name and I haven't talked to Jamie about them. We should make a list of both so we have some ideas before they're born."
"Oh yes, we had a list for a few months and Francis was still a day old before he had a name. "Henry settled back in his chair gladly explaining how his son got his name. They spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and talking loosely about some names, including variations of their lost loved ones.
Henry left at five thirty to start cooking dinner for himself and Frank while Jamie and Eddie ate a quiet meal at home while pouring over cribs before they went to the store. Eddie liked white cribs, universal as they didn't know the gender yet. That made Eddie think of something else.
"Jamie? Do you want to find out what the babies gender is," she lifted her up at a slight angle to watch him quietly.
He lowered his eyes so they met her rounded ones that sparkled at him and made Jamie's heart skip. "I never thought of it Eddie. Do you want to know? All I want is for them to be healthy. It doesn't matter otherwise. I actually think it'll be nice to be surprised but what about buying clothes?"
"We can buy a few of each and if we don't use it, bring it back. The store takes returns long as they aren't used," Eddie offered quietly, liking the idea of being surprised too. "Let's not find out what they are until I have them. What do you think about this rocking chair? It matches the cribs."
Keeping the magazine balanced on his lap between them Jamie followed her gaze to a simple white rocking chair with teddy bear engraved on the back. "That's really cute actually and it mat the walls too. I saw dressers on the other page too that would look nice with this."
Together they combined the magazine until finding everything they might need for the twins room. It warmed his heart seeing her so happy. He held her to his chest sighing, "Do you have to go in tonight? I hate when you work overnight."
"I know Eddie but yeah I do. I have Renzulli and remember what I taught you in case you go out tomorrow morning before I get home," Jamie grinned, teasingly putting his hands up.
Laughing Eddie lightly punched his stomach then snuggled into him while she could. The life of a cop's wife, sending him out into the world without knowing if he'd come home. She didn't want to let him go. "Hey, I'll be okay," Jamie assured once it was time for him to get ready. "I have Sarg watching my back."
He leaned over, whispering in her ear, "I'll always come home to you babe."