Chapter 14

Eddie had been released from the hospital 3 days after the shooting. Getting her home was a bit of a challenge. Her left arm was in a sling, and her right leg was wrapped in thick bandages. She was forced to use a crutch to walk, but that was difficult seeing as her other arm was immobile. The car ride was painful, and it seemed as if Jamie hit every pothole in the entire city of New York. When they finally got home, Eddie took a 3 hour nap, exhausted from the day.

When she woke up, she was greeted by the lovely smell of food. She got out of bed, grabbed her crutch, and then hobbled over to the kitchen. She found Jamie slaving over to stove.

"Whatcha makin'?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, you're awake." Jamie said, slightly startled. "I'm making salmon."

"Yummy. Where's Jos?"

"She's with my grandfather. He said he wanted to spend the day with her. He should have her back soon."

"Ok. This might sound absolutely crazy, but getting shot made me think about a lot of things. It made me think about my future and what I want out of it." She paused, trying to read Jamie's face. "Getting shot made me realize I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have more kids with you. I want us to get married. I want us to grow old together."

"Eddie, I want all of that for us too. I think I knew that I wanted all of that with you even back when we were kids in high school. Actually, I have something that's related to this. I'll be right back."

Jamie disappeared into their bedroom, and came back a few moments later, with her hand behind his back.

"You might want to sit down."

Eddie did as she was told and hobbled over to the dining room table and took a seat. Jamie then pulled his hand from behind his back, revealing a red velvet box. He then got down on one knee in front of Eddie.

"I know we've only been dating again for 5 months, and I know it's really early, but I've known this since the day I met you. I love you and our daughter more than life itself. I want to spend every moment I have left on this earth with you. I want us to have many more babies, and I want us to raise those babies and grow old together. I love you with all of my heart, so would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Eddie eyes had begun filling with tears the moment she saw the box, and now she was full on sobbing. She couldn't talk so she simply nodded her head and held out her hand. Jamie opened the box, and slid the ring onto her finger. Even through her tears, she could tell how beautiful the ring was. It was a simple band with one stone in the middle, and smaller stones on the band. It was silver. The diamonds were so beautiful.

"Look at the inside." Jamie said.

Eddie carefully took the ring off and saw the inscription. '12 David.' At that, Eddie cried even harder.

Jamie quickly got up and gave her a hug. He wanted her to stop crying. He kissed her cheek, and rubbed small circles on her back. Slowly but surely, she stopped crying.

"I love you so much, Jameson Reagan. I'm so happy that I'm marrying you." She said, once she knew her voice was back to normal.

"I love you too, soon-to-be Mrs. Edit Reagan."

At that, Eddie leaned in for one of the most passion filled kisses she'd ever given Jamie.

The pair got to stay in the engagement bliss for only a few moments more, until Jamie remembered the salmon on the stove. He quickly hopped up and went back to the stove, and was surprised to see that the salmon wasn't burnt yet. Jamie turned off the burner, and then plated the salmon along with the rice. He brought the two plates over to the table, an placed on in front of Eddie, and the other at his place.

They ate quickly, and then shared a little make out session on the couch, before they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Jamie got up from the couch, and opened the door.

"Hey Jos. Hey pop." Jamie said, as he hugged his daughter. "Where'd you go?"

"We went to the aquarium and then the park. We got pizza for dinner." Henry answered.

"Did you have fun?" Jamie asked Josie.

"Yeah."

Josie scampered into the apartment, giving Henry and Jamie a chance to talk.

"Francis told me what happened with Eddie. How is she feeling?"

"Do you really care? Dad made it clear that you two are still mad at her, so I really don't think you care how she's doing." Jamie said, rather coldly.

"Jamie, of course I'm mad. She kept your daughter away from you and away from her family. Anyone would be mad at that. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna care when she's shot. She is the mother of your child, after all."

"I'm not mad at her and you shouldn't be either. It's not your place to be mad." And with that, Jamie closed the door, not allowing Henry to say anything else.

"What did he say?" Eddie asked Jamie from her place on the couch.

"He wanted to know how you're doing. I asked him why he cared because both him and my dad are still mad at you. I basically told him to fuck off without telling him to fuck off." Jamie vented.

"Is our relationship gonna ruin your relationship with your family?"

"Eddie, no. God, no. My family will get over themselves. I love you, and I will standup for you, even if I'm defending you against my family." He reassured.

"Ok." She said with a sigh.

"Where did Jos go?"

"She went to take a shower. When do you want to tell her we're engaged?"

"Well, they say there's no time like the present. We should tell her when she gets out of the shower."

"Ok."

Jamie sat back down on the couch and they picked up right where they left off. Even though they didn't want to, they stopped when things started to get a little too steamy. They settled on cuddling and Jamie turned on some random movie on tv.

After about 20 minutes, Josie walked out of the bathroom with her hair in a towel and dressed in pajamas.

"Hey Jos, dad and I have something to tell you." Eddie said, as she patted the spot on the couch that was in between her and Jamie.

Josie happily sat down in between her parents. "Am I gonna be a big sister?" She asked.

"Not yet, baby, but maybe one day. Today while you were with Pop, I asked your mom to marry me. She said yes. We're getting married, just like you predicted." Jamie said, looking down at his daughter, with a smile on his face.

"Really?" She asked, her smile growing.

"Yeah, really. See." Eddie said, as she showed Josie the ring on her finger.

Josie stared at the ring and then looked up at Eddie. "Can I be the flower girl?"

"Actually, you're gonna be something better. I want you to be my maid of honor."

"But who's gonna be the flower girl?"

"I'm not sure yet, but we'll figure it out."

The conversation continued for a little while, until Josie started falling asleep. Jamie carefully pick her up and then tucked her in bed. He went back out to the living room to find Eddie still sitting on the couch.

"Jamie, are you sure your family will get over it? I mean what if they don't? I don't want to be the reason you're not invited to Sunday dinners anymore, or the reason they don't come to your wedding." Eddie was rambling slightly.

"Eddie, baby, it'll be ok. It's probably like a rule somewhere that you can't not invite a Reagan to a Sunday dinner." Jamie joked.

"Jamie, it's not funny. I'm being serious. And what if they are mad at me forever? What am supposed to do at the wedding? Or when we have more kids? Am I just supposed to not show up so your family can enjoy it?"

"Eddie, they're not gonna be mad forever. They'll get over it. And if they don't, then they don't have to go. They can see the wedding pictures later if they're gonna be like that. And if it's any consolation, Danny, Linda, the boys, Nicky, and Erin aren't mad at you. It's just my dad and Pop."

"I guess that does make me feel a little better. But I still feel bad. I know what I did was wrong, and I know I shouldn't have done it, but it's not like I can change the past. Why do they have to hold it against me? Do you still hold it against me?"

"No, I don't. I forgave you a long time ago. If I still held it against you, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me. And honestly, I don't know why they still hold it against you."

"I just wish I could somehow get them to like me."

"Maybe you could apologize to them. I know they probably don't deserve an apology, but that is one way you could get that to stop being mad. You can come with me and Jos to Sunday dinner and you could apologize. I'm not saying it'll fix everything, but it might help."

Eddie thought about that for a few moments before answering. "If you think it'll help, then I'll swallow my pride and do it."

"Ok. If you want to make them less mad, going to Mass wouldn't hurt either."

"Ok. I'll go."

"Ok. Now, let's go to bed. I'm tired."