A/N: Halfway through little Joy's first year of life! Hope you enjoy the moment between Danny and Eddie. I just felt like we needed a little brotherly love and advice. Also, to all of my readers, please know- postpartum depression is real and it is serious. Please do not suffer in silence. Also, I do not advise using whiskey to soothe a baby's teething pain. I just had to add it in because this is EXACTLY something Danny would do.
Enjoy!
The week before Thanksgiving, Joey decided he was going to start teething. Jamie and Eddie were both exhausted, getting little sleep as they tried to soothe their baby's aching gums. Finding little relief, and at their wits end, feeling like horrible parents, they turned to Danny for help.
"Danny. Hey, I know it's late, but Joey is teething and we have tried everything and I don't know what to do. Can you call me back and give me some tips please?" Sighing, Jamie ended the call and continued to pace back and forth lightly bouncing Joey in an attempt to calm him down.
Eddie had crashed from pure exhaustion about thirty minutes ago, softly snoring on the couch. Jamie was thankful for this as Eddie was in tears over her inability to ease Joey's pain.
After what felt like hours, but was really only twenty minutes, Jamie's phone pinged with an incoming text message from Danny.
Sorry I missed your call. Be over in 5. Tough case, up late. Have any whiskey?
Jamie sent a quick message back, letting him know that he had a few bottles of whiskey, and thanking him for his help.
The knocking on the door woke Eddie up from her brief nap. Jamie walked over and opened the door relief evident in his features.
Reaching out, Danny scooped up Joey into his arms. As if Joey knew that his Uncle Danny would help relieve his pain, he immediately settled his cries down to small whimpers. The tears that had stopped for Eddie when she fell asleep came back full force as she stammered out a thank you to her brother-in-law.
"Danny... thank you. How- how did you do that? He has been inconsolable all n-night."
"I haven't even done anything for him yet. But seriously, no worries, I told you guys I was here if you needed anything."
Jamie brought over two glasses of whiskey and set them down on their coffee table. Danny made his way over to the couch, sat down and laid Joey down in his lap.
"Oh let me see those gums. Let Uncle Danny see whats wrong huh?" The hard-ass persona of the detective first grade was gone. Fingers trailing up Joey's chest, tickling his neck, eliciting a small giggle out of the baby. "Oh yea, I see it. Those toofers hurt, huh?" Danny took a swig from the glass of whiskey. Turning to Jamie and Eddie who were still standing by the door, in complete shock at the person who was sitting in front of them, he motioned for them to come over to take a look. "What? I know you get all gushy when you talk to him. What makes me any different?"
Silently coming over to see what Danny wanted to show them, Joey was tickled again and let out another giggle.
"See that white spot on his gums right there? That's a tooth." Danny looked up at Jamie and Eddie, making sure they saw where the tooth was coming in.
Studying the new milestone of their baby, neither noticed when Danny dipped his finger in his whiskey and then swiped it along his gums. Joey sucked on Danny's finger before it was pulled from his mouth, re-dipped in whiskey and then placed back in his mouth. This time both of the new parents saw what was happening, but were too slow to stop it.
"Danny, what the hell?" Eddie went in to full mama bear mode, rushing forward to grab Joey from his lap. "Did you just put whiskey on his gums?"
"Tell her kid, that's how mom and dad handled it with us, and I did it for Jack and Sean."
Dumbfounded from lack of sleep and witnessing what had just happened, it took Jamie a second of silence before his brain caught up. "Uh, Danny, I know that you did this for Jack and Sean, but of all the parenting books and stuff we have read, it says to not put whiskey on your baby's gums."
"Oh, well, it seems I am very out of practice. Also, it's working, so you're welcome." Danny Lifted Joey up so his head was resting on Danny's shoulder. Danny gave a satisfied smile which quickly disappeared as Joey started screaming again.
Handing the crying baby to Eddie, Danny held his hands up in defeat, when suddenly an idea popped into his head. "Two things I also remember from the boys teething... Do you have one of those baby wash rags? Wet that and put it in the freezer for about a half hour. The other thing I remember Linda doing was breast feeding. Or Tylenol. Did you try Tylenol? Other than that, I'm out of ideas."
At this, Jamie went to grab one of the wash rags to wet down and put it in the freezer. Turning around, he saw Eddie was crying. "Ed, whats wrong?"
"Why don't I know how to take care of my own kid? Why didn't I think to give him Tylenol? Jamie. Joey deserves so much better than me." Clutching Joey to her chest as she cried, Eddie slightly bounced back and forth in an attempt to calm the fussy baby as Jamie drew up a dose of Tylenol.
Danny turned around and brought Eddie into a strong embrace, being mindful of Joey who was in her arms. "Shhhhh. Hey, it's okay. Nobody knows this stuff, trust me. I didn't know this stuff either when Jack was born. I can't tell you how many times I called Dad because neither Linda or I knew what we were doing. It's okay. This is why you have family."
"You guys must think I am an idiot though. What mom doesn't think of a pain reliever for her baby who is in pain!"
Jamie walked over, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder, speaking softly to Eddie as he gently placed the syringe in Joeys mouth to give him the Tylenol. "Ed, I didn't think of it either! Trust me, nobody thinks you're an idiot."
"But you guys have a Norman Rockwell family! You guys are all super parents and super cops and Erin is a super lawyer. And I'm over here and I can't even take care of my own kid without any help!"
Jamie sighed, but was cut off by Danny before he could speak.
"Hey, you weren't around when Nicky, Jack, and Sean were little. We were all feeling this same way. It's hard raising a kid, especially the first one. I remember all the nights I stayed up, worried that I had done irreversible damage to one of my kids because maybe I didn't hold their head up right, or maybe I put too many blankets in the crib, or not enough... Eddie, you are a fantastic mother. We all see that. Plus, Jamie also didn't think of the Tylenol either, so if that makes you a bad mom, then I guess that makes Jamie a bad dad."
"Jamie is a great dad though! Why would you even say that? Just because he forgot the Tylenol? That doesn't make him a bad— oh." This revelation set off a whole new round of tears from Eddie.
"Joey is happy, well, most of the time, and he is healthy, and he is growing just as he should. It takes time. By the time you guys have the second one, it will be like riding a bike. I promise. Now, I know you are exhausted. Go to bed. I will help Jamie get everything settled here before I head back to work." Danny placed a kiss on the top of Eddie's hair, and took a now settled Joey from her arms.
Eddie went over to Jamie who pulled her in for a hug and gave her a chaste kiss. "Go get some sleep babe. I will get Joey settled and then I will be in too."
Eddie weakly nodded and padded softly to their bed room. Jamie quickly cleaned up the glasses that he and Danny had drank out of, and the various snacks that Jamie and Eddy had gotten out to eat while they were up with Joey.
"Jamie, looks it's not my place to say this." Danny paused, making sure Jamie was paying attention, and was close enough that he could whisper this next bit of information to him. "But you may want to get Eddie in to see her doc. It seems like she has a little bit of postpartum depression. I went through it with Linda and it was rough. But they have treatments out there, and I think it could benefit. Bring it up to her in the morning, let her get some sleep. Call me if you need anything else." With that, Danny handed Joey to his father, gave Jamie a quick hug, and left to go back to work.
It was Thanksgiving day, and The trio arrived at Frank's house to help prepare the meal. Joey sported a "My first Thanksgiving" onsie, and one little tooth. All the family members were gathered around totally enamored with the baby's newest milestone.
As everyone got back to work, Danny pulled Jamie to the side, wanting to check in on Eddie to make sure everything between the couple was good. "How's she doing? Did you guys talk about what I had mentioned?"
Jamie gave a slight nod. "Yea, we did. I had to tell her you suggested it, and why because she thought I was trying to tell her she was a bad mom. We went and saw her doctor and she was prescribed some medication. She is doing better. Thanks Danny, I had no idea what to look for."
"Anytime kid, anytime. Just glad you got her to get checked out and on the way to feeling better. Now, Let's get back to cooking. I'm starving." Slapping Jamie on the back, Danny strode into the kitchen.
As food preparations continued, a knock on the door was heard before a new, but familiar voice called out to them. "Hey, it's me! Sorry I'm a little late." The face of Joe's son appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. "What can I do to help? Wait, how did I not know that I have another cousin? I thought I met them all, or at least heard about them all."
Erin turned around to face him, a smirk on her face and her voice carrying a teasing tone. "If you showed up more than once a year, you would have known about this little guy." Walking over to Joe with the sleeping baby snuggled in her arms, she handed him over into Joe's arms. "Joe, meet Joseph Conor Reagan. Or, Joey, as we have been calling him. Jamie and Eddie have made the cutest baby I have seen in a long time."
Joe looked down at the baby in his arms. Looking briefly up to Jamie and back down again, he spoke. "You named him after my dad?"
A lump suddenly formed in Jamie's throat, and he coughed trying to clear it out. "I did, or, well, we did. Joe was my best friend, and I wanted to honor him. I'm sorry we forgot to check with you. We asked everyone on Christmas Day and we had only just met you. I'm sorry if this is too weird for you."
Shaking his head, Joe looked into Jamie's eyes. "It's not weird. Honestly, I never knew about him. Mom never talked about who my father was or what he was like. I think it's awesome that you honored Joe, or my dad, in this way."
Henry came up behind Joe, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We would be happy to share all about Joe with you. He would have loved you. In the mean time, I will take that little bundle of joy from you, and you can help the rest of those slackers finish cooking dinner."
As quickly as Henry appeared, he was gone just as fast, taking Joey with him. Joe was stunned, but recovered quickly and stepped forward to help prepare dinner.
On the way home from dinner, Eddie began talking about how she loved hearing all the stories about Joe, especially the ones about when he and the rest of the Reagan kids were youngsters.
Jamie reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a small squeeze. "Eddie, I love you so much. I am incredibly thankful for you and for Joey."
Returning the squeeze of his hand, Eddie let her eyes linger on him for a moment. "I love you too. And I am so thankful for you and Joey, and I don't know if I will ever to be able to convey how grateful I am for all your support."
As if he knew the moment was getting too sappy, Joey began to cry. Causing a sigh and a small laugh to escape the mouths of his parents.
"Thanks for killing the moment back there bud, your mom and I appreciate your perfect timing." Glancing over to Eddie he smiled. "I think someone is hungry. He seems to take after you in that aspect... Oof!"
Jamie and Eddie laughed as Jamie feigned hurt from the whack to his chest that Eddie had given him. Both enjoying the moment, savoring it, the amount of love they shared was so intense, so huge, it was all consuming. And the cry punctuating their thoughts was the physical proof of their love for each other. And they savored that too, because before they knew it, Joey would be all grown up.