December 29th

7:15 p.m.

"I really wish we could've seen Joe for Christmas," Jamie sighed, glancing over at the lone present left under their tree.

"I know, Jamie," Eddie said, putting an arm around her husband's shoulders as she joined him on the couch. "As much as we want to see him, it's best to give him some space. There's a lot of stuff that he's working through. I'm sure we'll see him again soon."

Suddenly, there was a small knock at the door. Eddie turned toward him with a confused look.

"Was somebody suppose to come over?" she asked.

Jamie shrugged his shoulders, "Not that I know of."

Eddie stood up and walked over to their front door, looking inside the peephole. She looked back at Jamie, "Speaking of Joe..."

Jamie stood up in surprise and walked over as Eddie opened the door.

"Hey guys," he said with a shy smile, holding up an elaborately decorated gift. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"You're not," Eddie reassured him with a pat on the back. "Come in."

"I was going to come for dinner on Friday but the weather got really bad in Warwick and I couldn't drive back."

"That's alright, Joe," Jamie responded, giving him a quick hug.

"It's great to see you," Eddie said. "Sit down. We still have some leftover dessert. Do you want some?"

Joe nodded, "That sounds great. Thank you."

Eddie quickly went off to the kitchen and got some dessert for Joe then joined him and Jamie on the couch.

"How was your Christmas?" Eddie asked, handing him the plate.

"It was good," Joe responded. "My mom and I just stayed with my grandparents at their lake house. They use to make the trip here to the city but now that they're older, it's a little harder for them to travel. How was your holiday?" he asked Jamie and Eddie. "I really am sorry I wasn't able to make it. I had planned on driving back after we opened presents that morning but the snow got too heavy and..."

Jamie held his hand up, "You don't have to apologize for anything, Joe. We completely understand. Things happen."

"I just feel guilty because I've stayed away for awhile," he admitted. "I know I haven't been too great about answering texts and calling back. I just needed time."

"Like Pop said," Eddie reminded him. "We respect whatever distance you want to keep. Being thrown into the Reagan fold, it's a lot to deal with. Jamie and I have been together for almost three years and there's still people who give me flack for it. It's not as bad as it was in the beginning but they still talk."

"I guess I just wasn't prepared for the type of reaction I got," Joe sighed. "These guys have known me for years and now they look at me in a completely different way."

"It'll get better," Jamie assured him. "I know it's hard but just ignore all their B.S."

"As much as you want to bust some noses, it's better just to walk away. Don't give them the time of day," Eddie added, glancing at Joe's black eye that was just starting to fade away. "Trust me, there's been plenty of times where Jamie or my partner, Rachel have had to pull me away and tell me to go calm down when someone wanted to start trouble with me."

"I've had my fair share of fights with people who were talking smack about me," Jamie pointed out. "Especially when I first started out. I had to prove that the badge wasn't handed to me and that I had earned my place. You've more than earned your place. All that matters is that you know how hard you've worked to get to where you are now. You don't need to explain anything to anyone."

"Thank you," Joe responded. "I really appreciate that. I just hope things die down soon."

"They will," Jamie reassured his nephew.

Joe glanced over at the picture of his father on the bookshelf. "How was my dad around the holidays?" he asked curiously.

"He loved Christmas," Jamie answered brightly. "He always bought the best gifts and sometimes would even give it to you before the day because he couldn't wait to see you open it. He did whatever he could to make the holiday special, even if it involved doing something ridiculous to make us laugh."

"I really wish I could've gotten to know him," Joe said sadly. Then, he handed the gift to Jamie and Eddie to change the subject. "I got this for you guys. It's not much but I hope you like it."

"Thank you, Joe," Eddie said, leaning in and hugging him. "You didn't have to get us anything."

"I wanted too. You guys have been so welcoming to me and I really appreciate it."

Jamie and Eddie sat and opened the gift together. "Nicky said that you guys are big on wine so I figured that this would be useful," Joe said.

"Ohhh. I've been wanting to get one of these!" Eddie said excitedly, seeing that the gift was a wine rack that she'd been eyeing for awhile. "I was hinting to someone," she gestured toward Jamie, "... about it for a gift but they didn't seem to catch on."

Jamie shrugged his shoulders innocently, "I truly didn't think about it."

"But thank you so much," she continued. "We definitely needed this."

Jamie stood and went over to the tree, grabbing Joe's present. "We got you something, too," he said, walking back and handing the small box to his nephew.

Jamie watched nervously as Joe opened the gift. He'd been thinking about giving it to him for awhile but after everything that had happened in the last few weeks, he wasn't sure how he'd react to it.

Joe took out the leather patent box out of the package and read the top, "JCR." He looked up at Jamie, "My dad's initials?"

Jamie nodded and encouraged him to continue to open it. Joe undid the latch and opened the box, "Oh wow."

"It was a gift for your dad on his 21st birthday. After he died, we were allowed to choose a few things of his to keep and I chose the watch with a few other things. I feel like this was the best thing to give you."

"I don't know what to say," Joe said, clearly struck with emotion. "Are you sure?"

"It's yours. Merry Christmas, Joe."

"Thank you," he answered, quickly wiping away a tear. He took the watch out of the box and admired it. "I'm going to take really good care of this." Joe looked away from them for a moment, composed himself then stood up after glancing at his watch. "I have to go now. I promised Nicky, Jack, and Sean that I'd meet them for dinner."

Jamie and Eddie stood up, walking Joe to the front door. "We're really glad you came by," Jamie said, with Eddie agreeing with a nod. "You know we're always available to you and you're welcome here anytime."

"Even if you're bored on a Saturday night and have nothing to do," Eddie added. "You can come hang out with us. Like Jamie said, you're always welcome here."

"Thank you guys," he said, hugging Jamie and Eddie. "I'll see you next Sunday for family dinner."

"Looking forward to it," Jamie said.

"Be safe out there," Eddie interjected. "See you Sunday."

Joe smiled and they watched as he walked down the hallway and out of sight. They walked back into the apartment and closed the door.

"What?" Jamie asked as Eddie gave him a soft look.

"I told you we'd see him soon," she replied, walking up and kissing his cheek. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and laid his head on hers. "Are you happy?"

"Very," he answered. "I know Joe is looking down right now, happy that we finally got to meet him."

"I bet he is, too."

They smiled at each other and walked to the couch to sit and relax for the rest of the night until it was time for bed.