Jamie's back was killing him. Spending the night on the couch had not been his intention. He just wanted to give her a little time to cool off. He fell asleep watching some movie he was only pretending to be interested in and now she was really hurt. Last night he had apologized for getting involved and possibly making the situation worse. There was nothing more he could think of to do other than waiting her out.

But, if he had to be honest, that's not really why he was sorry. His interaction with Erin and been a very tough but informative one. She was completely out of line. He was shocked by her response to him and now he knew. Eddie wasn't being self conscious or letting the pressure of wedding plans get to her. Her description had been dead accurate. Too bad he hadn't been particularly supportive.

His sister had been a first class bitch to him when he'd asked about it. So he could only imagine how she came across to Eddie when they met. Erin never had any problem blurring family and work lines with her family. Why was she pushing back at Eddie so hard? And to question her witness statement as falsified was way over the top, even for her. Tough Erin he respected the hell out of. Nasty Bitch Erin was a whole different matter.

His real mistake and the one he actually felt most guilty about was his reaction when Eddie first told him about her meeting with Erin. He'd tried to be diplomatic. He tried to make sure that Eddie hadn't over reacted. But when had she ever done that where work was concerned? She was always spot on - a fact he found tough to swallow sometimes when she gave him advice at work lately. So how did he react when she told him about Erin not believing her? He rationalized it, tried to make her question herself and in the end he was pretty sure he wounded her. She dropped the issue but he was pretty sure it was just because she just crossed his name off the list of people she could turn to with "Reagan" problems.

And yet, when had she ever failed to support him with either of their families? She wouldn't hesitate to stand up to her mother, his father or Danny any time he needed backup. She embodied their "Army of Two" motto. Jamie himself was another matter. He was fine standing up to Danny or his father. He even walked right into Lena Janko's house to tell her how wrong she was about him and her daughter. But this was Erin.

If he was really being honest, he pitied his sister. She was smart, beautiful and her own worst enemy. She had capitalized on her strength and intelligence professionally. But in her personal life, she was a train wreck. Jamie knew damn right well that Jack was only 50% responsible for their breakup. He might also be the only person in the family that knew Jack had wanted to work things out when they first separated, but Erin was so angry and reactive she refused...until she wanted to and then it was too late. Erin could tell you all the reasons everyone she ever dated didn't measure up. She set the bar just high enough that nobody could get over it - ensuring she was never vulnerable again.

He wasn't sure what her problem was with Eddie. They had only had a few interactions where he wasn't present. The first was professional and all accounts were it went great. Eddie held her own and both Erin and Anthony, her investigator, had sent the 2-9 high praise for her. Then there were a few wedding tasks Erin had stepped up for. Dress shopping didn't sound like it had gone badly. Eddie had come back wanting to be joined at the hip with him at work after hearing Erin's description of her marriage breakup. But, he'd never shared that with Erin and was pretty sure Eddie hadn't either. Erin talked about bruised egos but he was pretty sure hers was the injured one. It was a mystery he had no problem letting stay unsolved for the time being. He had more important things to worry about.

He had become quite used to the restorative sleep he got with Eddie curled up against him. Even when their schedules deviated, they made it a point to either go to sleep or wake up together. It surprised him how in such a short time, he'd become completely dependent on having her small arms draped over him while he slept, hair fanning out around her. Last night was miserable and he knew it was the first and last time he would let that happen. He knew he should have gone into bed last night with her. Even if she gave him the cold shoulder, she would have known he was with her. Instead he rationalized that she needed to cool off, and avoided her. If he thought he felt guilty last night, he felt even worse today. Time to rip off the bandaid.

"You still upset?"

He let her vent, she had every right and everything she said was true. His problem was that he didn't have the slightest idea how to fix it. The wedding was quickly coming up and he was not sure the money they spent on a photographer wasn't going to be used to memorialize a lot of strained faces and fake smiles.

Eddie continued to let out everything she was feeling about her interactions with Erin as she handed him a green smoothie. She had recently embraced his desire to eat healthier and get more exercise. He knew it wasn't her thing, but once again she supported him. He couldn't decide whether it made him love her more or feel more guilty as she handed him his breakfast even though she was upset with him. Probably both...Jamie was determined to put all of his focus on making Eddie feel supported. To hell with Erin.

She plopped down on the chair across from him in the living room. He could see she felt more than just angry about it all. She felt alone. For the first time in the past two days, Jamie knew what he needed to do. He stood up, walked over to her and pulled her to her feet gently. Taking her glass from her hand he placed it on the coffee table and pulled her tightly into a hug.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep out here. You know that right?" He whispered into her hair.

"It's OK, I wasn't great company anyway."

"Listen, let's head over to the farmers market in the park. We can have lunch and just relax."

"Sounds great. I'll go grab a shower and get ready."

He couldn't be sure but he thought she pulled away a little too quickly. As she walked back to the bedroom, Jamie was hoping that the hunch in her shoulders was in his imagination. He washed their glasses and the blender. Then decided to get himself ready for a day filled with anything that he could come up with to convince his fiancé that he was a committed part of their Army of Two.

Jamie heard the water turn on in the bathroom. He figured he might as well grab the laundry and throw it into their small stackable unit in the hallway. They still went to the laundromat for most things but it was helpful to have the ability to tackle smelly workout gear rather than store it. As he passed in front of the bathroom door it was ajar. Jamie reached for the hamper just outside the door and looked in. Planning on making an innuendo to amuse his naked or nearly naked fiancé, he stopped short. Eddie was standing in front of the sink in her underwear, softly crying.

Jamie cursed his sister and himself silently and stepped into the bathroom. She immediately turned her back to him so he couldn't see she was crying. Jamie gently turned her by the shoulders to face him. He held her face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears.

Time to come clean.

"I am so sorry I didn't support you when you first told me what Erin said. I only wanted to tell myself you were overreacting because I didn't want it to be true. But after I talked to Erin I knew how horribly wrong I was."

He waited while her eyes lifted before continuing.

"You will never again need to worry about having my support. You are my family now. My dad and my siblings, all the rest of the Reagans come second. I will never ever let anyone come before you again."

She smiled weakly at him. "I love you Jamie and I love your family too. I just want them to love me." The tone of her final word was sad.

"Dad, Grandpa, Linda, Danny and the kids - they all love you. They tried to get me to admit how I felt about you for years. As far as Erin goes, It's probably not the easiest thing to learn about us but it looks like you figured out one Reagan secret already. We let Erin get away with too much. Sure Danny has a temper and I am way too stubborn but nobody is ever afraid to remind us of that. Everyone just expects her to be overbearing and chalks it up to her job or being a "strong" woman. When Mom passed we needed her to be the one who guided us through. After that, her marriage breaking up, Joe passing - there was always a reason to let her control things. Now she just is the way she is. But Erin is going to learn that my family will not tolerate that from her. She WILL treat my wife, my children and me with respect or she can get lost."

Eddie looked shocked.

"Don't worry. After the wedding I'm going to sit her down and put it nicely but bluntly." Before Eddie could object he continued "Not to defend you or fight your battles, but for me. She pulled the same righteous crap with me and I let her. If she can't treat me and my family right, then she will hear about it. I'm not her little brother anymore. I'm a grown man. She will need to accept that."

Eddie gently laid her head against his chest.

After a few moments he gestured towards the shower and grinned wickedly at her. That water looks warm and my back is killing me. Is there room for two in there?"