"Bye bye baby," Eddie said as she pressed another kiss to her five month old daughter's cheek before finally handing her off to her sister-in-law. "You be a good girl for your Aunt Erin."
"She'll be just fine," Erin assured her little brother and sister-in-law as she took Grace. "Don't worry. Dad, Pop, and Danny are coming over here to hang out with us later. You two have a great time. As much as you love this little munchkin, you need a break too. We'll see you guys in the morning."
"Thanks again Erin," Jamie said as he hugged his sister and pressed another kiss to the baby's head.
Eddie gave another quick cuddle to Grace before finally taking Jamie's hand and following him out the apartment door. It was their the first time leaving her overnight. They'd been looking forward to this for weeks but were also hesitant. They trusted Erin immensely with their little girl but still had the nerves that every new parent does when leaving their little one in the care of someone else.
Jamie couldn't help but smile at the look on Eddie's face as they walked down the hallway. "She's going to be fine, babe," he reassured, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing the the side of her head.
"I know. I know," she sighed.
"It looks like all that tummy time the kid and Eddie have her doing is working," Danny commented as he sat Grace up on the dinner table in front of him and was surprised to see how well she was able to hold her head up. "Good job sweetheart!"
"It's crazy how much she looks like Jamie," Frank commented fondly as he glanced over at his youngest grandchild. "The eyes are all Eddie but the rest is Jamie for sure."
"That's how Nicky was," Erin added as she leaned over and pressed a kiss to her niece's head. "She was Jack's mini me for the first six months then slowly morphed into our side of the family."
"That's true," Frank recalled.
"How long are Jamie and Eddie going to be gone?" Henry asked curiously from his place on the couch.
"They're staying the night at a hotel," Erin responded. "They should be back in the morning. At first, they were just going to go out to dinner and come back but I told them to just stay out and truly enjoy themselves. They deserve it."
"I think me and Linda's first night away from Jack was when he was six months old," Danny remembered. "Mom offered to take him so many times before but we were too nervous to leave him."
"Yeah, Eddie was nervous before she left. Jamie was too but I think he was trying to hide it for Eddie's sake," Erin said. "I told her that as much as she loves that adorable little baby, she needs a break too."
Danny nodded, "That's true. As much as I love my boys, I needed a break from them from time to time. But I sure would miss them though."
"Me too," Erin added, giving a sad smile remembering her only child who was living across the country. "I miss Nicky like crazy." She then scooped up Grace out of Danny's arms and peppered kisses on her plump cheeks. "But I'm glad that I have this little one to love on though."
"I will admit... it's weird not having her here," Jamie said a little while later as they enjoyed their dinner.
She nodded, "I was just thinking that. When we were in the car, I kept looking at the backseat thinking she was there. But I'm really glad we're doing this. If you wouldn't have convinced me, I probably wouldn't have wanted to leave Grace overnight until she was five."
He laughed, "I'm with you there. I was hesitant on leaving her too. But it's important to take some time to ourselves. I remember that my mom would always tell Jack and Erin then Danny and Linda, "If mom and dad are happy and taken care of, then the baby will be too."
"That's true," she responded then let out a sigh. "I still miss her though."
"Me too," he responded as he squeezed her hand. "But I'm glad to have you to myself tonight. We have a lot of catching up to do, Mrs. Reagan."
"We sure do," she replied with a wink.
"There you go, sweetie. All ready to go to bed now," Erin said as she zipped up Grace's onesie. She picked her up, carried her over to the glider, sat down and started to rock back and forth with her on her chest.
Grace let out a yawn and tiredly smiled up at her aunt.
"You remind me so much of your Daddy," Erin cooed softly, smiling as Grace held her finger. "I hope you know how much of a blessing you are, Grace Margaret... especially to me. Ever since your cousin moved away, I've felt a little lonely. But now that I have you, I don't feel that anymore. You've brought a lot of happiness to me in the past five months. And I'll always be here for you no matter what. You can always count on me for anything."
Suddenly, she looked down and saw Grace fast asleep against her chest. Erin couldn't help but laugh.
"I guess I was boring you, huh?" she said gently. Then, she kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight sweetheart."
The next morning, Jamie and Eddie quickly made their way down the hallway to get to their apartment. As much as they enjoyed their night together, they were more than ready to get back to their little girl. Erin had texted them a few updates about Grace throughout the night but mainly tried to keep communication to a minimum so they could enjoy their night out.
"We're here!" Jamie announced when they walked into the apartment.
Erin stood up from the couch with Grace in her arms. "Who's that, honey?" she said to Grace as she pointed to Jamie and Eddie. "Is that Mama and Daddy?"
Grace kicked her legs excitedly when she recognized her parents and reached out for them.
Eddie immediately took her and peppered kisses on her cheeks, "Hi sweetheart. I missed you so much!"
"How was she?" Jamie asked as he gave Erin a hug.
"She was perfect," Erin replied. "Had no problems with her whatsoever. I think it helped that Dad, Danny, and Pop came over. They wore her out."
"Thank you so much for taking care of her, Erin," Eddie said, passing off the baby to Jamie then hugging her sister-in-law.
"It was my pleasure," she responded. "I always love any time I get with her. How was your night?"
"It was great," Eddie replied. "I missed Grace but it was great to get out of the house. We really needed it."
"I'm glad you had a great time. You two deserve it. And anytime you need a sitter, I'm here. I don't mind at all." She then leaned over and pressed a kiss to Grace's head. "I should get out of here."
"You don't want to stay for a bit?" Jamie asked.
She shook her head, "I would but I have to go get a few things for family dinner tomorrow."
Jamie and Eddie both nodded. "Tell your Aunt Erin thank you for taking care of you, Grace," Eddie said, taking the baby from Jamie.
Grace let out a small gurgle of appreciation as she smiled at Erin.
Erin kissed Grace's cheek, "It was my pleasure, honey. I'll do it anytime."
"Thanks again, Erin," Eddie said again.
Jamie walked Erin to the door while Eddie went and sat down with Grace.
"I sure did miss you, sweetheart," Eddie whispered as she cuddled Grace on her arms. Grace burrowed into Eddie's chest and closed her eyes.
"I told you that everything would be fine," Jamie said, walking back over and joining Eddie and Grace.
"I know," she replied. "But I should be telling you the same thing. I saw those texts that you sneakily sending Erin during dinner last night."
"I couldn't help it," he responded with a sheepish grin. "It made me nervous leaving her. But she survived and we did too."
Eddie nodded then gave a small smile as she looked down at Grace. "Let's go to bed, yeah? We don't have to be anywhere today. I've been craving a lazy day for awhile."
"That sounds like a great idea," Jamie replied.
He helped Eddie up off the couch, pressed a kiss to the side of her and Grace's heads and put a hand on her back as they walked off to their bedroom.
