Eddie was determined that she would not let Erin apologize. If she did, Eddie knew she wouldn't be able to accept it. She just needed to declare a truce between them before the wedding in a couple of days, which is why she accepted the invitation to come down to Erin's office again. Eddie had been proven right, and Erin was wrong. That was the only thing she wanted made known. If she were being completely honest, she knew she deserved the apology, but probably no more than any of the other people Erin had likely accused of lying in their statements or under oath. Somehow Eddie felt like if she accepted the apology, it was like she was accepting that Erin's behavior was some one time thing that never happened before. But she knew it wasn't. She was not going to buy into the family's delusion that this wasn't a pattern of behavior. She was not going to give in so easily. Eddie Janko, soon to be Reagan, was tougher than that. She made the conscious decision to move on from the incident but not with some sisterly hug and a clean slate. Eddie had instead decided that she was going to firmly establish that she was above this.
If they were going to have any type of relationship, it needed to be based on mutual respect and an equal footing. There was a lot to admire about her sister-in-law. In many ways she liked and admired her. But, Eddie prided herself in treating others with respect until they no longer deserved it. She was not going to repeatedly allow Erin or anyone else to rip her apart without cause and then walk back on it later. If she was going to have a good relationship with her sister-in-law, then she expected to be treated as a professional.
Eddie was pretty sure that in Erin's mind she was acting no different than her father. She treated Eddie the same way she would treat anyone. That may be true, but in some ways that was part of the problem. While Frank maintained his professional distance from family and friends by being distant or coldly objective at times, Erin swung the pendulum in the other direction. She expected to be able to grill everyone like a defendant under cross examination, regardless of their role in the case. Then she expected to have them just accept her for it. If you only encountered her at work, that was a lot easier to deal with. Everyone works with someone who is sometimes out of line, but that's part of life. However, Erin and her family were acting like she should take the abuse at work, then pass the salt and share a dessert on Sunday. Eddie would demand respect from Erin, just as she would from anyone. She had stood up to other people who stepped over the line with her and she wouldn't back down just because it was Jamie's sister.
She also refused to ignore what she knew about the character of her friends and family when making decisions. It was not preferential treatment to acknowledge that everything she had ever seen from Jamie's family was above board - there was evidence. As a cop she had learned to gather evidence, but still take things where that led her. Whatever their faults and however they delivered information, she knew they were passionate about doing what was right. She would never give Danny or Erin's account of an incident less weight than a stranger's. They had earned that trust. She could be open minded and not ignore something that came up without difficulty, but the people she knew and respected had at least earned the presumption of honesty and integrity. That is what made her so upset. Challenge her police work, challenge her effort, but how dare Erin challenge her integrity. Eddie knew deep down this had something to do with her father and his circumstances. She felt like Erin had assumed that since Eddie came from a family of crooks, she must be equally dishonest. The truth was Erin treated a lot of people like this and got away with it.
Sure she told a lie when Erin tried to make amends, but it was more of a white lie...and parts of it were true. She did so partly because she truly respected Erin and everything she had accomplished. She had vented to her fiancè. And in some way she might have wanted him to do something...not exactly to fight her battle for her, but she wanted to see how he would handle it when she needed his support in an issue with another Reagan. Jamie hadn't exactly passed with flying colors. First, he tried to frame the issue with Erin as some sort of misunderstanding or overreaction on her part. He acted shocked when he heard about it, when Eddie knew damn right well it wasn't the first time Erin acted this way. OK, maybe it was the first time she'd treated Eddie like this, but Eddie had a front row seat for a few others. And then there were all the stories Jamie had told her over the years. Next, Jamie had tried to help. But he did it in a way that contributed to his family's narrative that Erin was just misunderstood, tough as nails and wielding blind justice like a female warrior. Of course, that hadn't worked out particularly well for Jamie either. Instead of playing into the role of Lady Justice, she had blasted Jamie too. Erin had heard nothing but radio silence from Jamie since confronting him outside the courthouse and that spoke volumes.
In the end, Eddie's loving fiancè had made amends with her. He really listened to how she was feeling and accepted the truth that was right in front of him, with no more excuses, no more free passes. And thanks to Erin, there was no need to just take Eddie's word for it. Erin gave Jamie the complete performance. Afterwards, Jamie resolved to put Eddie and their marriage first, above all else. Erin was his sister and he loved her. She had been his friend, his confident and at times his surrogate mother. However, he assured Eddie that Erin was not his top priority.
Eddie was pretty sure she partly figured out why Erin was treating her this way. Misery loves company. As long as Jamie was also single, surviving a failed relationship and putting work over personal happiness, Erin was not alone. Eddie also knew loneliness so she could understand where that was coming from. Eddie knew that Erin had struggled with her daughter growing up and leaving her behind. Jamie was now doing the same thing. Erin was no longer the most important woman in anyone's life. But, Eddie also knew that wasn't true. She and Jamie had run into Erin with Jack a couple of times lately when they grabbed dinner or drinks in the vicinity of the courthouse.
Erin hadn't denied the relationship, and even sought out Jamie's support for when she and Jack were finally ready to go public with their reboot. Jamie had sagely advised her to just be absolutely sure before they said anything to Nikki. The others in the family would be unaffected regardless of how things turned out. Either they accepted Jack when he came back or their opinion of him was reaffirmed. But Erin and Nikki risked being devastated if things didn't work out. Eddie knew that with Erin's propensity to fly off the handle or act rashly, Nikki's support could likely go in Jack's favor regardless of the circumstances.
Eddie was also pretty sure that Erin was jealous. Not about the wedding exactly. But about having Jamie all to herself. Erin was pissed off because she was no longer the number one person in Jamie's life. If he wasn't meeting Erin for drinks or dinner to get advice, when would she see him?
Eddie had been abundantly clear after she and Jamie spent all night making things right between them, that their relationship was a sacred topic that was now off limits. If they were going to be married, then certain things were between just them. It's not to say that Jamie wouldn't seek his brother's advice from time to time, but their problems were not going to be aired over the Sunday dinner table.
In reality she probably owed Erin a debt of thanks. Because of everything that had happened, she and Jamie had gotten a chance to have a long hard conversation about how their family would handle things in the future. She was going to walk down the aisle fully confident that she and Jamie were on the same page. There was no ambiguity about it and it gave Eddie a huge burst of confidence. While she sometimes feared getting swallowed up by the Reagans, she and Jamie had decided to forge their own path. She would follow the example of her sister-in-law, Linda. Most of the time, she was completely happy going along for the ride. But when need be, Eddie would stand up and hold her ground. She had no doubt that Jamie would be right beside her.
As a result, Eddie was holding her head high as she left Erin's office. She knew it wasn't the last time that things would be tense between them, but Eddie Janko had drawn a line in the sand and Erin Reagan knew it.