"How does it feel?" Danny asked as he sat down next to his little brother on the couch and handed him a beer. They were all sitting in the living room watching a football game. "You're about to be a dad and will already be outnumbered three to one."
Jamie chuckled, "I know. But I'm excited. I can't wait to get for her to get here."
"How is Eddie feeling?" Frank asked. "The first few months of the pregnancy was tough."
"It was but she's okay," Jamie replied. "I know she's ready to have this baby, that's for sure. The HG was tough to deal with in the beginning but it's let up now. The only thing is that she gets tired very easily. And with having a whirlwind like Scarlett, she exhausted by the end of the day. Thankfully, Hattie helps out a lot with her while I'm at work."
"That's good," Frank replied. "If Hattie ever can't, Pop and I don't mind keeping her."
"Bring her by," Pop insisted. "I love that little girl. She'd be a great partner in doing yard work. I'm sure I could wear her out with doing that."
"You can try but she's a tough one to crack," Jamie joked. "The park isn't even working anymore."
Everyone just let out a laugh as they continue to watch the game.
Over in the East Village, Eddie arrived for her baby shower with Scarlett in tow. Erin, Hattie and a few other of the family members had pitched in and rented out a room at one of NYC's best restaurants for the baby shower.
"Oh my goodness," Eddie said in awe as she walked in. She couldn't help but wipe a tear from her eye as she glanced around the spacious room that was adorned with a vast array of flowers and decorations and filled with some of the most important people in her life. "It's beautiful."
"Welcome dear," Hattie greeted happily as she walked toward them. She hugged Eddie then picked up Scarlett and placed her on her hip. "What do you think?"
"It's so beautiful, Hattie. I didn't expect all of this," Eddie said as she hugged Hattie again.
"Well... you didn't get to have a baby shower with Scarlett so we wanted to do this one big. And baby girl here helped out too."
"You helped, sweetheart?" Eddie asked her daughter as she planted a kiss on her cheek.
Scarlett nodded excitedly, "Me help Nanny and Erin! It fun!"
"Well thank you so much honey," she replied as she flashed a gentle smile toward her firstborn. Then, Eddie let out a small gasp as she felt another sharp pain in her back.
"Oww," she drawled out as she placed a hand on her belly.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Hattie asked in concern, putting an arm on her shoulder as she quickly put down Scarlett.
"I'm fine. I'm fine," she immediately reassured, giving a comforting smile to her three year old daughter who noticed her mother's distress. "I think I need to sit for a minute. I've probably been on my feet for too long."
Hattie pulled up a chair and helped her sit down. The older woman knew Eddie better than the back of her hand and knew that there was something wrong. She decided to hold back against saying anything for now because she wanted Eddie to enjoy her party but would be keeping a close eye on her throughout the day.
Jamie went and sat in the backyard for awhile after the game while Henry and Danny went off to grab some desserts for the group. It seemed surreal to him that he was going to be a father in just a few short weeks. He was elated but also quite terrified.
Fatherhood was something that he'd always wanted but now that it was close, it seemed like the scariest thing he was about to do. He didn't know what kind of father he would be because he knew it would be a learning process along with Eddie when their daughter arrived. All he knew was that he wanted to be the best person he could be for Scarlett and their new baby. He wanted them to know that they could confide in him. He wanted them to know that he would be there to comfort them and pick them up when things got tough. He wanted them to know that he would protect them until his very last breath.
"You're looking pretty pensive there," Jamie suddenly heard. He turned and found Frank standing behind him, leaning against the back door of the house.
"Yeah," he replied. "Just thinking about everything. By this time next month, she'll be here."
Frank smiled as he took a seat next to him, "She will. Tell me, how do you truly feel about it? I know you're excited but I'm sure that there has to be more emotions there."
Jamie gave a slow nod, "Truly? I'm terrified. Eddie's been at this for awhile and I feel like I'm trying to catch up."
"I don't think Eddie expects you to know everything from the get go. And to be honest with you, your mother and I raised four kids and we still didn't know everything by the time we got to you. You and Eddie are starting out in the same boat because this is your first time doing this together. I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about. I've seen how you are with Scarlett. You will make a wonderful father to her and this new baby, son. Scarlett's actually given you a bit of training with the amount of energy that she has and I think we can say that you've passed the test."
Jamie laughed, "Thanks Dad."
Eddie sat at a table with Erin and a few of her friends from the precinct. She looked around in amazement. If you would've told her a year ago that this is where her life would be now, she would've never believed it.
Life is full of so many surprises and this pregnancy was definitely one of them. She'd always wanted Scarlett to have a sibling but didn't expect it this soon. It was a little overwhelming when she came to the realization that she would soon be the mother of two children. But this time, she would be doing it with a man that she truly loved.
Jamie had been wonderful throughout the pregnancy. She had truly never wanted for anything. He was always there to hold her hair back when she got sick or to rub her feet whenever they hurt. He was involved with anything having to do with the baby, going to each of her appointments and even willingly went with her to buy furniture for their daughter's room even though she told him that he didn't have to. She knew that she was a lucky woman and couldn't be more grateful to go into this new chapter of life with Jamie.
"You okay over there?" Erin said to Eddie, breaking her out of her trance.
"Yeah. All good. I was just thinking," Eddie replied. "I really appreciate all of you doing this. You really didn't have to."
"We wanted to. Plus, this is the first girl in the family in over twenty years. We're outnumbered. I've been waiting to do this."
Eddie laughed, "Well, I appreciate this so much. And I appreciate how all of you have accepted me into the family. I was a little nervous about telling you guys... especially since Jamie and I hadn't been dating very long and weren't married."
"If you want me to be honest, I was a little worried with how fast you and Jamie were moving in your relationship. I was. I've always been protective of Jamie and even more so after our mom passed. But you know what calmed me about it? It was seeing how happy he is. He's happier than I've ever seen him and we have you and Scarlett to thank for that."
Eddie smiled gently, "He makes us happy too. He's already so good with Scarlett so I know he'll be great with this new baby."
Suddenly, another sharp pain hit Eddie's back accompanied by intense cramping. She couldn't help but double over and took a few deep breaths as she waited for it to subside. Hattie saw what was going on from the other side of the room and quickly made her way over.
"Eddie. Eddie," Erin knelt down at her side. She rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Breathe. Breathe."
Erin and Hattie stayed at her side until the pain finally started to let up.
"How long has this been going on?" Hattie asked her as she ran a hand over her head. "I'm sure you've been hurting longer than just right now, right?"
Eddie gave a nod, "Yeah. Since this morning. It wasn't too bad then. I'm starting to feel cramping now."
"You're probably in labor now, honey," Hattie responded.
Erin nodded in agreement, "Or getting very close. Let's get you to the hospital, okay?"
"But there's still people here," she replied as she looked around.
Hattie helped Eddie stand up, "They'll understand."
"I'll keep Scarlett with me and we'll keep everyone entertained," Erin said. "You and Hattie go to the hospital. I'll call Jamie and tell him that you're on your way. Everything will be okay."
Next, baby girl Reagan is on her way!