A/N: I am so sorry for the length of time it has taken me to write more to this story. To those who are still sticking with me, your support means a lot. Per my pen name, I'm sure you can gather that I have been on the frontlines battling Covid-19. It has taken all my strength, mentally, physically, and emotionally. I haven't felt like writing or doing anything I usually do in order to get my mind off of this. After realizing how far I had fallen, I knew it was time to take some time for myself and get myself back in order. I got a new puppy, his name is Loki, and he has helped bring me back to where I feel good enough to want to do things again. I also fell at work, and suffered a career ending injury. It has been a lot to deal with mentally. I'm now recovering from surgery, so I should hopefully be able to finish up my current stories before life gets hectic again.
#2: I am jumping ahead in time to where Eddie has already gone back to work. I felt that I could not correctly portray her emotional response to going back to work and leaving Joey, so instead of some really bad OOC moments, I've decided to just skip it all together.
It has been two weeks since Eddie had gone back to work, and already she could tell that midnights were no longer going to work for her. She barely had time to spend with Joey, and most days she barely saw Jamie at all. Eddie had already talked to Capt. Espinoza about switching shifts, and was lucky enough that there was a slot for both her and Rachel Whitten to transfer to days. She would be on opposite shifts as Jamie, but they would see each other every night, and she would have more time to spend with both Jamie and Joey.
Eddie had gotten the approval for her request on Saturday night when she went in for her shift, and she immediately called Jamie to tell him the good news. She would start her new schedule on Monday. She worked her last night shift with ease, and went home to sleep before Sunday dinner. Where she couldn't wait to share her awesome news.
Jamie was still dealing with some issues after the call involving SIDS. He had weekly visits with Father Mark and was making great improvements in his mental state. Some things would never go away, like how he was hyper-vigilant with Joey, especially when he was sleeping, or the way he would hold him just a little bit tighter, look a little longer, and savor those sweet moments just that much more. He was in awe of how fast Joey was growing. He still had some trouble sleeping.
The first week after the call, Eddie would wake up to find Jamie not in bed, but sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery, making sure Joey was still breathing. After a week of no sleep, Eddie called Danny to see if he could help. Danny said he would think of something, and in the meantime, slip Jamie some Benadryl in a glass of whiskey to make him sleep.
The very next Sunday, Danny had a gift bag sitting at Jamies dinner spot. He opened it to find a video baby monitor so he could see into the crib without having to be in the room, and the Owlet monitor that will alert you if it detects any potential problem with your baby's heart rate, breathing, or oxygen saturation. A few silent tears slid down Jamie's cheeks, and Eddie mouthed a silent "thank you" to Danny who gave a barely. imperceptible nod in return.
Ever since that Sunday, Jamie was able to start sleeping again, even though he would still wake frequently due to nightmares. Things were slowly getting back to normal, and hopefully a full nights sleep was not far off.
Jamie and Eddie found a wonderful daycare for Joey, and although they only used it for a few short weeks, Jamie was glad that with Eddie's new schedule, they would no longer need to use them as frequently. He loved the days when he was home with Joey because he seemed to do new things every day.
After their morning briefing, Eddie and Rachel headed out to their patrol car to get started with their shift. Rachel slid in to the drivers seat. And headed off towards their sector to patrol.
"How is Jamie doing? Sleeping any better?"
With her head resting against the seat, Eddie looked over at Rachel, a soft smile on her face. "Yeah, its helped a lot with that Owlet monitor thingy. I still can't believe Danny even knew that sort of thing existed." Going silent for a moment, she thought. "Actually, he probably had Sean look it up or something. Either way, I'm just glad he's sleeping."
"I was starting to get a little worried about him. How is Joey?"
Pulling up a picture on her phone, Eddie showed Rachel a picture of a smiling Joey sitting in Henry's arms, looking up into the wise face of his great-grandfather. "He is getting so big! I can't believe he is almost six months old already!" Swiping through a couple more photos, Eddie found one of Joey and Jamie. Joey was sitting up by himself, a teething ring in one chubby fist, as his other arm was outstretched grabbing at Jamie's nose. Smiles plastered on both of their faces, and Jamie's eyes squinted closed.
"Oh my god. That is the cutest picture ever." Rachel looked at the picture for a second longer, "Jamie is such a good dad."
"Yea, Joey and I are pretty lucky." Eddie sighed, thankful for having found the love. of her life, and to share a child with him. "Hey, Halloween is next weekend and we are off. We are taking Joey trick-or-treating in Frank's neighborhood, and by that, we will be helping Frank and Henry hand out candy. Come with us! Erin got him the cutest little lion costume. Frank always has Halloween decorations up, and the whole family gets together. You will have a blast."
"Well, if you're gonna twist my arm, I guess I can come." Rachel laughed as Eddie playfully scoffed.
Jamie gave a quick knock on the door before opening it and letting Eddie and Rachel go inside as he followed behind with Joey. "Hey, Pop, Dad! We're here!"
At that, Erin hurried in to the kitchen, making a beeline straight for Joey who was sleeping in his car seat. "Let me have him before Danny gets here and steals him."
Frank and Henry followed behind, but noticed the guest that had attended. "Officer Whitten. Good to see you."
Rachel nodded, "Thank you Commissioner. Thank you for letting me come, and please, call me Rachel."
"Rachel, we are so blessed to have you join us. You can call me Frank since we are off the clock."
Extending a hand towards Rachel, the patriarch of the family gave a simple statement. "Call me Henry."
Erin, who had stopped in her tracks of snatching her nephew from his car seat, looked up at the unfamiliar face, cheeks slightly reddening from embarrassment. Her expression one of a kid being caught red handed stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. "So sorry. Hi, I'm Erin. I'm Jamie's sister."
"ADA Reagan. Nice to finally meet you. Rachel Whitten, I'm Eddie's patrol partner." She gave a friendly smile as Erin resumed her task of stealing Joey from his car seat.
Once Joey was snuggled in her arms, Erin looked at Eddie and Rachel. "Shall we get this little man all dressed and ready? I've got his costume in the living room."
The three girls headed off to get Joey dressed, leaving Jamie to help get the food set out so everyone could snack as they pleased. As the three men worked in the kitchen, various "awe's" could be heard from the other room. A smile grew on Jamie's face hearing his wife fuss over their baby.
Loudly arriving and interrupting his thoughts, Danny finally got to the house, bringing his partner Maria Baez with him. "Baez I swear to god I am never letting you drive again. That was terrifying."
"Oh shut up Danny!" Walking into the house, she spotted Jamie, Frank, and Henry who all greeted her.
"Eddie, Erin, and Rachel are in the living room with Joey. You should go sneak in some baby time before my brother tries to hog him for the rest of the night." Jamie gave her a quick hug as she passed through.
Danny sought out the large bowl of candy that was in the kitchen and began rummaging through it, pulling out pieces here and there.
"Danny, what are you doing?" Frank's brow furrowed in confusion.
Without bothering to turn around, Danny continued his search and replied nonchalantly "What do you think I'm doing? I'm pulling out all the good candy!"
"Daniel Fitzgerald Reagan. Put that candy back in there." Henry's tone of voice was stern, yet light hearted.
As the night passed, Joey had fallen asleep long ago, and slept through the fighting over who was going to hold him. Candy had been given out, parents commented on how cute Joey was in his costume, and laughs were shared recounting stories from previous years of Halloween when Jamie, Danny, Erin, and Joe were kids.
Eddie nuzzled her head into the crook of Jamie's neck, breathing in his scent. "I love you, Jamie."
One arm wrapping around her side, pulling her close, the other tilted Eddie's face to meet his, giving her a chaste kiss. "I love you too. Ready to head home?"
"Yeah, I'm tired." As if to prove her point, Eddie let out a huge yawn, causing Jamie to let out a small chuckle.
"I will go track down Joey. If you want to grab our coats and the car seat, I will meet you in the kitchen."
Eddie nodded and the couple went their separate ways to gather their things. Completing what felt like a hostage negotiation, Jamie finally obtained Joey from his sisters clutches, laying him down on the couch to change him out of his costume and into pajamas, along with a clean diaper. He found Eddie waiting in the kitchen, already looking half asleep.
Everyone came and said their goodbyes as Jamie buckled Joey into his car seat. They watched as the couple, as well as Rachel headed out to their cars to head home.
The drive back to their apartment was quiet, Jamie was sure Eddie had fallen asleep, so he let her be until they arrived home. Jamie got out, got Joey, and walked hand in hand with Eddie up to their floor, and inside their apartment. Eddie took Joey out of his car seat and took him into his room to put him in his crib, bringing the baby monitor out with her so that she could go to bed.
Entering the bedroom she and Jamie shared, she heard the shower start up. She waited until she heard Jamie get in before stripping down and climbing in with him.
"And here I thought you were going to be asleep by the time I got out of the shower." Jamie turned around and kissed Eddie passionately.
Breaking the kiss, Eddie pulled back just far enough to see look him in the eye. "I was, but then I heard the shower start up, and I just couldn't let a sexy man such as yourself shower alone."
"Oh really? Does your husband know about this? I cant imagine he would be too happy about it." Jamie leaned back in for a kiss, hands roaming familiar planes. Things heated up fast. It was the first time in a long time that they had connected this way. It was a slow and sweet reunion. Afterwards, Jamie and Eddie washed each other, rinsed off, and then headed to bed for round two.
Both panting from the intensity, Jamie pulled Eddie into his side. He was already half asleep, post sex exhaustion sweeping over him. "I love you Eddie."
"I love you too."
They both succumbed to sleep quickly, thankful they had the day off tomorrow and could spend a lazy day together as a family. The world finally seemed right as they held each other close, taking comfort in each other. For the first time in over a month, Jamie was able to sleep soundly without any nightmares, or waking up constantly to check on Joey.