Winter turned to spring and spring to summer. It had been almost a year since Jamie and Eddie met, and their relationship was strong. They had very little arguments, and when they did, they quickly resolved them with compromise and understanding. They never raised their voices towards each other through any disagreement, they remained respectful and their love for each other only grew.
So, when Gracie was spending Friday night with her grandparents and Jamie and Eddie planned to enjoy some time alone, the events that would unfold were uncharacteristic and unnerving for them both.
Jamie had a horrible day at work on Friday and was grateful that his daughter would be with his parents. He was ready to get home to his girl. He needed her company more than ever that night.
He walked in his house, expecting to be met with the aroma of the dinner Eddie had been raving about all week, but instead, he found the house dark and empty and felt a mixture of emotions in that moment.
He was frustrated over the situation at work, sad that he couldn't go straight for a comforting hug from his girlfriend, and worried that something may be wrong. She was supposed to be there two hours ago, and it wasn't like her to be this late without letting him know.
He realized in his rush to get home, he hadn't even called her. Flipping the light switch as he walked through his front door, he grabbed his phone from his pocket to call Eddie, but he was greeted by her voicemail immediately. Her phone must be dead, he thought.
He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and dropped his head. He was deflated and thought only she could make it better right now, except he had no idea where she was or how to get in touch with her.
He dragged himself into his kitchen, pitifully opening his refrigerator. He would bury his feelings in a stout IPA until she got there.
Eddie was supposed to be at Jamie's a couple of hours ago. She planned the perfect meal for them to enjoy together, and alone, but instead, she was stuck in her office, immersed in her newest case file.
She was a damn good prosecutor, but she did tend to take some cases too personally. When that happened, she would bury herself in the work, and everything else came second. That was happening now. She didn't realize how late it was until Erin stopped by her office on her way out.
"Hey," Erin interrupted her as she stuck her head inside Eddie's door.
"Hey," Eddie replied, looking up and then immediately back down.
Erin sighed and shook her head. She loved how passionate Eddie was about her work, but she also knew that sometimes you just needed a break.
"Eddie, it's almost 8 o'clock," she said softly. "It's Friday night…and I'm sure my brother is waiting very impatiently for you," she laughed softly, trying to persuade Eddie to give in for the night.
That got Eddie's attention, and she dropped her pen, looking up at Erin.
"Great, I had no idea it was that late," she said, as she realized she was supposed to have been at Jamie's two hours ago, and she hoped he wasn't upset.
"Get out of here. We'll start again on Monday. That is an order," Erin told her firmly but with a smile.
At Erin's instruction, Eddie left quickly, almost running to the subway in a hurry to get to Jamie. As she waited for the train, she dug around in her bag for her phone to call Jamie and apologize for being late and let him know she was on her way, but when she pulled it out, her battery was dead. Of course, she sighed and slumped her shoulders, disappointed in herself.
Jamie is on his couch, working on round two of his IPA, sulking in self-pity when he hears the twisting of the doorknob.
"I'm so sorry I'm late," Eddie announces immediately as she enters, spotting Jamie in his living room.
He doesn't look happy, and she wonders what is wrong. Surely he isn't mad about her working late, she thinks to herself. Before she can offer any further explanation, he is standing.
"Where the hell were you?"
He isn't shouting but his tone is sullen, and he is walking towards her. He just wants to hug her and forget about everything, and he wishes he hadn't come off the way he did just then, but it's too late. Eddie is paralyzed with fear. She is instantly taken back to the time in her life, almost two years ago, the time she thought she had put behind her since meeting Jamie.
Apparently she hasn't, and right now, Jamie is scaring the hell out of her. Except it isn't Jamie. He continues towards her, wondering what the look on her face is about. She can't speak, she can't move. She sees Jake Singer's face right now, and he is the one coming towards her, with a beer in his hand, and rage in his eyes, ready to beat her again.
Jamie takes another step in her direction and she jumps back. Fear has completely taken over. She doesn't even understand what is happening. She knows it is Jamie, why is she seeing Jake's face? Her eyes are filled with terror and now Jamie is wondering if something happened at work, or on her way here. He isn't sure what this is about. He reaches out for her, he just wants to pull her into him for a hug and she recoils.
"What's wrong," he asks her gently, his brows crinkle in confusion at her reaction to him.
She is backing away from him now, she still sees the face of that monster, and no amount of blinking or deep breaths is helping.
"Eddie, what's wrong," Jamie asks her again.
Everything is fuzzy and his voice is echoing. She is losing her mind, she thinks, but she finally manages a few words.
"I can't be here," is all she says before she turns and runs out.
The cab that had dropped her off was still outside, so she waved the driver down and jumped in. She knew that Jamie would never hurt her. She believed that in her heart. Just like her mother had told her when she finds the one, she will know. But something else took over her body and mind just then, and when all she could see was Jake's face, and all she could hear was Jake's voice as Jamie approached her, she had to get away.
Jamie was left standing on his front porch, wondering what the hell just happened. One thing he knew for sure though, he had to find out.
Eddie has about a ten-minute head start on him before he is able to gather himself together and go after her. He is hoping he can catch her at the ferry terminal before she gets on, or before it leaves at least. He can't even call her to try to convince her to wait for him, and he is kicking himself for whatever it was he did to make her leave that way.
He reaches the terminal as the boats are pulling away, and drops his head, disappointed in himself, although he still isn't sure what caused this. He sits in the waiting area, anxious and fidgeting as he waits for the next ferry. He just hopes when he gets to her apartment, she will let him in.
Eddie has had a chance to calm down since boarding the ferry, and she wonders what the hell just happened. She is trying to figure out what triggered that reaction. Was it the tone of Jamie's voice? Was it the way he approached her? Was it what he said, the look in his eyes, or that she came in late?
Nothing that he had said or done should have scared her that way. Maybe it was the combination of everything that took her back to that night. She thought it was behind her, but tonight it was very fresh.
Right now, all she wanted to do was call Jamie, see him, and let him wrap his arms around her. But she can't. She ran away from him and she can't explain why.
Eddie has made it back to Manhattan, and she just wants to get home, charge her phone and call Jamie. She is not sure he will answer, or what she will say to him if he does, she just hopes she didn't run away from the best thing that has ever happened to her.
She hates everything about this night and the one person that can make it all ok, she left in Staten Island. She sulks into her apartment and finds her charger, plugging her phone in. She sinks into her sofa waiting for it to gain enough battery to make the one phone call she needs to make tonight. She just prays Jamie will answer.
Jamie isn't far behind her. The entire trip to her place, he is replaying the scene in his mind, trying to figure out exactly when and where everything went wrong. He knew he wasn't in a good mood, but he didn't think he snapped at her, or maybe he did, but he certainly did yell, and he recovered quickly. So, what happened?
He still doesn't see things any clearer, and he hopes he can get her to talk to him about it. He is climbing the steps in front of her building, three at a time.
Eddie has only been home about half an hour when she hears a soft knock on her door and Jamie's sweet voice on the other side.
"Eddie," he says softly as he taps on her door.
He doesn't know if she will open it for him or not, but he doesn't plan to leave. He will sleep in her hallway if he has to.
"Eddie, if you're here, please let me in," he pleads, tapping again.
He is desperate to see her, to hold her. He doesn't even care what happened anymore, he just wants to make sure she is ok.
As soon as she hears him, she falls in love with him all over again. She knows she is lucky he is standing outside her door right now because he should be running for the hills after that.
She pushes herself off the couch and walks to the door, attempting to clear the tears that have been streaming down her face since she got home. She opens it slowly and catches his eyes. They are filled with sadness and concern, not anger.
He can tell she has been crying, and his heart breaks for her. He reaches for her carefully, hoping he doesn't get the same reaction as earlier. He just wants to comfort her. He will get to the bottom of what is wrong later. Right now, she needs him.
This time she welcomes his embrace, melting into his frame as he wraps his arms around her. She wraps her arms around his neck and surrenders to him completely.
They are still standing in her doorway, neither makes any motion to move. Jamie will never be the first to separate his hold on her, he can tell she needs him right now. Her face is buried in his chest, and he can feel her teardrops soaking his shirt. He is still confused at what caused this, but at least she is not running from him now.
He won't push her tonight, he will stand in this spot until she feels better. His hands are rubbing small circles on her back and hers squeeze his shoulders tighter. Eddie finally pushes herself away slightly, looking up into his eyes, and he cups her face in his hands.
They stand that way for a moment, and Jamie never breaks their gaze. He is waiting to see if she is going to say anything. She doesn't, not yet, but her eyes are begging for his forgiveness. He is still holding her face and he leans down to capture her lips with his. It is a gentle kiss that reassures her he isn't going anywhere.
"I love you," he tells her just after ending their kiss and he wipes tears from her face with the pads of his thumbs.
"Tell me what happened," he says quietly, still holding her tight.
Her heart is screaming at her to tell Jamie the truth. He will understand. Hell, he would probably go after Jake Singer the second he got out of prison. But how can she tell Jamie, the man she loves so wholly, that tonight, she saw Jake's face instead of his? That tonight, Jamie was the monster who was coming after her.
She could never say that to him because he is the sweetest, gentlest, most loving, and caring man she has ever known. She lets him guide her to her couch, and he sits down, pulling her into his side.
She has to think fast because she knows he wants an explanation. He deserves one, but she can't give him the truth. She shakes her head lightly as she leans into him, and he reaches for her face again, tilting her chin up so he can see her eyes. They are red and swollen, and he leans down to press a kiss to her forehead.
When she still doesn't speak, he decides he will let it be for now, and adjusts himself to lay back on her couch, and he is pulling her down with him, grabbing the soft blanket as he goes, and covers them both. His arms are wrapped around her back and her head is resting on his chest. They lay there in silence for a while and Jamie thinks Eddie is drifting off when she speaks softly. Her voice is so faint, he can barely hear her.
"I'm sorry," she says to him, just above a whisper, but she doesn't raise her head from his chest.
She is about to lie to him, and she can't look him in the eyes when she does that. He doesn't say anything, he will let her take the time she needs. She tells him that she is working a tough case, that she must be taking it too personally, and that she shouldn't have let it affect her that way. She begs for his forgiveness, which isn't necessary, but if that is what she needs, then that is what he will give her.
He still isn't sure he believes her though. How could a case make her react that way? Recoil from him like that? But she is here in his arms now, and she isn't going anywhere. Neither is he.
Whether he is getting the truth or not, he is content to leave it alone for now. He really can't come up with a better explanation anyway, and he doesn't want to accuse her of lying about it. He can accept her story for now and trusts that when she is ready, she will tell him the truth.
At the California State Prison, in Los Angeles County, Jake Singer stands in front of the gate, the last barrier between his life on the inside and his freedom, as he hears the most glorious sound of the metal gate scraping across the loose gravel.
Standing beside him, for the last few minutes before his freedom, the prison guard speaks.
"Well, Singer, this is it. You're about to be a free man. What are your plans now?"
Jake had been the model prisoner for the last two years. He knew his early release depended on that. He had befriended many of the guards and fooled them all into believing he had changed since being incarcerated. Jake looks over at the guard with an honest smile.
"I'm heading home."
The guard smiles back at him, but before he can speak, Jake continues.
"Going to get my life back."
As the guard nods towards him, the gate opens completely, and Jake steps across, watching it close behind him. He offers an eerie smile towards the guards on the other side before he walks off. He has one thing on his mind. Eddie Janko.
He thought about her every single day for the last two years. His feelings started as anger and hatred towards her for being the reason he was behind bars but quickly turned into a sheer obsession with her. He wanted her back, and he would get her back. No matter the cost. He loved her, and she belonged to him.
He would forgive her for pressing those charges, and he would forgive her for being the reason he spent the last two years incarcerated in that hell. He walked away from the California State Prison that day with a one-track mind.
Eddie's grandma Betty had just gotten home from the grocery store when she grabbed the mail on her way inside. She tossed her bag on the counter and realized Eddie's stack was growing, and she needed to send another package to her soon.
She normally wouldn't go through her granddaughter's mail, no more than glancing at the addressee section of the envelopes to know it was hers and gather it together for the package. This time though, she had an unsettling feeling she didn't understand, and she reached for the stack of mail that had been growing for the last few weeks.
She was flipping through the envelopes when one in particular caught her attention. It was addressed to Eddie, and it was from the California Department of Corrections, Board of Parole Hearings.
She held it in her hand for a moment, contemplating her next move. She knew she should put it in the package to her Eddie, but then she noticed it was postmarked almost three weeks ago. She needed to know what was inside, especially with the time that had passed. If it was another letter notifying Jake Singer was up for parole again, she hoped she could get that information to Eddie before it was too late.
Betty opened the letter, and as soon she read the first sentence, her heart sank, and her breath caught in her throat. Jake Singer hadn't been up for parole again. He was going to be released.
Her hand flew up to cover her mouth when she noticed the release date was three days ago. How could she tell her granddaughter this news? She knew Eddie had made great strides in New York, and with Jamie, and she feared that if she knew Jake was out, it would destroy all the progress she had made there.
She decided, for now, to keep it to herself. She thought there was no way he would be able to find Eddie anyway, even if he cared to look for her. She hadn't left a forwarding address when she moved and the only people that knew besides them was her old job in California.
Jake surely wouldn't go to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office looking for her, and he certainly wouldn't show his face at their house either. She figured her granddaughter was better off not knowing for now, so she stuffed the letter in her bag and would forget it ever happened.
A/N: Well, there you go. Jake is out of prison. Do you think Eddie's subconscious is trying to warn her? Will she take heed or sweep it under the rug? And what about Grandma Betty (my original character), did she do the right thing or should she have told Eddie right away?