AN- Set in the magical what-if land of futures possible.
"I can't believe I'm doing this, Jamie."
"What're you talking about, Ed? You've been over for Sunday Dinner a bunch of times before." Jamie replied, taking the exit to head towards Bay Ridge.
"Yeah, but that was as your partner, not your knocked up fiancée!"
Jamie grinned, leaning into the console in the middle of the Mustang conspiratorialy while shifting into gear.
"Can I tell you a semi-secret?"
"No." Pause. "Yes."
"You won't be the first woman at that table to be pregnant and still soon-to-be married, Ed." Jamie squeezed Eddie's hand as they continued down the main drag, slowing to turn into the right subdivision.
"Erin?!" Eddie excalimed, befuddled and amused at the same time.
"I always forget you were not around for Jack. It turns out Nicky was born six months after they got married, a quickly arranged marriage, at that."
"But Erin seems so ...by the book!" Eddie was still bouncing between confused and relieved.
"Sure. NOW. You think Nicky is wild? She's got nothing on her mother." Jamie smiled as they pulled up to the curb. "I'd have thought that for the number of times you've been over here, you'd have picked that up from the stories we tell!"
Eddie paused, neither having gotten out of the car. "Well, yeah, but I never can tell what's the real story with you guys. Everyone has a different version."
"Well, first off, anything Danny says is usually wrong."
"Mmmhmmmm, Reagan. You're just saying that 'cause he has all the good dirt on you."
"Hey, just remember whose side you're on here, Janko!"
"I'm on my side, Lambchop." She flashed him her widest, cockiest grin. Usually the one that caused him to lose whatever argument they were having. It was really unfair. Eddie steps out of the car, her baby bump only barely noticeable in the loose top she was wearing. She looked at Jamie across the top of the car, sliding her aviators on as she kept her grin on her face. "And if I'm gonna survive being a member of this family, I'm gonna have to make some allies." Eddie laughed as Jamie blanched at the idea.
"Well, you already have Gramps wrapped around your finger, isn't that enough?"
"Oh, noooo... Nooo oh oh oh... Never enough!" Eddie laughed as the walked up the path and entered the house.
"Hey, Dad, Gramps! We're here!" Jamie hollered as the cool blast of the air conditioned air cooled them off from the hot muggy August air.
"In the kitchen." Frank Reagan replied.
"We?" Came the confused voice of Henry Reagan. "Who's we?"
"It's me, Henry!" Eddie replied, just as they entered the kitchen where the Reagan men were huddled around a pork roast. Henry was making the final preparations to put it in the oven, while Frank was 'supervising' while drinking what Jamie assumed was his first post-mass Sunday beer.
"Hey Eddie! What a suprise!" Henry exclaimed, giving her a soft hug, which Eddie gladly returned. The two had bonded over the past four years, each enjoying a partner in crime at the dinner table, and Eddie finding a great mentor in both being a cop, and dealing with her father's impending release.
Frank, however, eyed Jamie and Eddie, his mustache swallowing his mouth in obvious thought as her took in the other three. Jamie, seeing the look, knew that they had already been busted, although he also knew his father would never be the first one to speak up directly. Instead, Frank took the long route. "You two are here early?"
"Ummm... Yeah." Jamie looked at Eddie, then back to his paternal lineage. "We wanted to tell you something first, before everyone else."
"Aww, damn it." Henry said, both Eddie and Jamie looking at him completely confused as he pulls out his wallet and slides a twenty dollar bill to Frank who pocketed it with a big grin shared amongst the three.
Eddie's face flashed confusion, aghast, and finally her natural mode of excited aggravation as she half shouted. "Wait, how did you know?!"
Frank grinned at her, before replying, "I'm the police commissioner, I know everything."
Jamie, however, was not so easily buffaloed by that line. "You saw the transfer request Eddie put in, didn't you?"
Frank shrugs. "Well, I try to avoid keeping a watchful eye on my kids, or their partners," Frank waves at Eddie. "However, I can't seem to get my staff to do likewise. Abbey was very confused why Eddie would suddenly request a transfer to the 2-7 about three months ago. I, of course, was surprised. But I figured you'd explain it at dinner that Sunday."
Jamie laughed, his head lolled back as he saw the flaw in their plan now. "And when I never mentioned my new partner, you put two and two together."
Frank shrugged in a false humility.
Henry chirped up next, eying Eddie. "So, do you guys know if it's a boy or a girl?"
Frank swiveled his head, surprise a rare emotion for Jamie to see on his father's face. "What?"
Jamie and Eddie were equally awestruck by his question.
Henry puts the roast in the oven, before turning around to stare at the three of them. "I've been around pregnant women since the 40's." Henry points at Eddie's shirt. "THAT is a shirt a woman wears to hide her bump."
Frank sighs, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his freshly won loot, only to begrudgingly slide the ill gotten money back to his father.
"So... ?" Henry asks again.
Eddie and Jamie share a look, before Eddie looks back. "Well, that's part of why we're here so early."
"See, the thing is, Dad..." Jamie pauses, trying to find his words, when Eddie jumps in to help him.
"Jamie wants to name him Joseph, but we wanted to ask you first."
Frank tears up, a big fatherly teddy bear grin on his face as he blinks back said tears. "Of course, yes." He stands up and hugs his son tightly, the tears mutual between the two men. They separate, and Frank looks to Eddie. "Can I hug my newest daughter?"
Eddie nods, trying not to cry herself while blaming the hormones in her head for the tears, and is enveloped in the hug of the huge man, and Eddie smiles.
As they break apart, tears are wiped and Henry finally asks the last question. "So, is there a wedding coming soon, I hope?"
"Wedding? Who's getting married?" Erin's voice calls from the living room. "Jamie, did you finally trick that partner of yours into going out with you, because it's about damne... Eddie!" Erin's voice raises several octaves as she finally enters the kitchen to see said partner already there. She hugs the younger woman, and then pulls away as she eyes her up. "Wait, wedding?" She looks at Jamie. "You know, most people date first."
Eddie laughs. "I think we've been dating for four years already."
"Congrats, Uncle Jamie!" Nicky adds, taking in the scene in front of her.
Erin suddenly pauses, grabbing Eddie by the shoulder. "Wait, when did this begin? Officially?"
"May?" Eddie replies hesitantly.
"Damn it!" Erin replies, reaching into her purse to hand Frank twenty dollars.
Jamie shakes his head incredulously. "Who in this family isn't in on this pool?"
"I don't think the boys are, Uncle Jamie." Nicky replies, handing her grandfather a ten dollar bill.
Nicky joins the rest of the Reagans (and soon to be Reagan) at the island, sliding in next to Eddie. She smiles and asks "Does this mean I have to call you Aunt Ed now?" referring to a Sunday dinner joke about how the two youngest women had somewhat easily confused for male names. Laughing at her own joke, Nicky lightly elbows Eddie in the side, which causes both women to react. "Oh my god, Eddie! I'm so sorry!" Nicky exclaims, cupping her face in panic.
"It's fine, Nicky, it's fine!" Eddie replies, holding her stomach protectively more than in any pain.
Erin looks at the two women, then turns to Jamie, who by now is sipping at his own beer, who looks back at her with a look that screams something about glass houses. Erin tilts her eyes towards their father and grandfather, and Jamie nods.
"So, you guys just moving right along then?" Erin says with a sly grin at Jamie. "Eddie, Congratulations. Although I should warn you, Reagan child are a handful."
"Yeah, and us Janko's were a group of hyenas. Should make for some fun babysitting for Uncle Danny," Eddie says, getting a laugh from the table.
The group broke up as Nicky and Erin, with Eddie's help, began to prepare their dishes while talking. The men went to the living room, Frank distributing shallowly filled glasses of scotch, giving a unspoken toast to Jamie's joy.
"I'm happy for you, son." Frank said, clasping his youngest's shoulder. "I think we'd all have perhaps preferred if you had made it to the church first," Frank pauses, his mouth again swallowed by his mustache as he ponders something. "But your mother would remind us that what's important is family, and I'm just so happy for yours."
"Here, here" Henry adds.
"So," Frank looks at Jamie for a second before continuing. "When are you going to tell Danny?"
Jamie rolls his eyes. "You mean when am I going to have to listen to the 'I told you so, kid!' for a few weeks?"
Frank and Henry nod, look at each other, then back to Jamie, replying in unison. "Yeah." "Yeah, pretty much."
Jamie smirked, looking at his dad. "I figured I'd let the master detective deduce it all on his own." Which got a round of laughs from the other Reagan men.
"Hey, Pops! I got those fingerlings you wanted!" The voice of the Master Dectective rang through the house from the kitchen door. Sharing a look, the other three men finished their drinks and went to the kitchen.
Entering it, they found Erin and Linda talking off to the side, while Jack and Sean were off to turn on the ballgame they had been listening to on the way over on. Nicky was on her phone, grinning while replying to a text message. Jamie realized that Eddie was missing.
"Hey kid brother, what's going on? You look like you lost something?" Danny teased as Jamie pulled another beer from the fridge. "You didn't swallow something agian, right?"
"Only thing I've lost was my humor for that joke, Dan." Jamie replied with a roll of his eyes, the humor in his voice disproving the words.
"You know, one day we'll get that pretty partner of yours over here again, and we can finally share that gem."
"What gem?" Said pretty partner said.
"Oh, just a great story from the Kid's youth I'll have to tell you someday, Janko. I didn't know you were stopping by?"
"Why not, Danny? You know there's always an open chair for our partners." Jamie stressed to the room, the grins he got from several members of the Reagan clan not already in on the joke.
Danny raised his hands in defeat, smirking at what he thought was his kid brothers defensiveness.
"Jack, Sean, Nicky, will you set the table?" Erin hollers to the living room.
"Hold on, Mom! The game is tied, with the bases loaded!" Erin rolled her eyes, support lacking as several of the Reagan men left at those words, flocking to see the Yankee/Red Sox game in progress.
After Danny left with Frank and Jamie, Erin turns to Eddie. "You sure you want to be stuck in this mad house?"
Nicky is discussing her upcoming classes as she begins her Junior year, including several criminology classes she had signed up for. Dinner was midway done, first passes at the dishes having been mostly eaten, Eddie on her third helping of pork. Finally while listening to Nicky speak about college and begining to zone out, Danny realizes something.
"Hey, Janko. The kid holding out on you?"
Eddie looks up at Danny mid-chew, confused. "Wha?"
"Well, I don't think I've ever seen you not have wine with dinner. Don't tell me Jamie cut you off." Danny looks at her with a mix of confusion and ...some other emotion Eddie can't put her finger on.
"Oh, no, I huh... Just didn't want any this time." Eddie takes a sip of her water, then smiles at him. "Thanks for keeping an eye out for me though."
Danny looks at her for a minute, before resuming his task of cutting his second slice of roast. The conversation returns to Nicky and Jack, who is preparing for freshman year at community college. Danny keeps eating his food, making eye contact with Jamie and Eddie, Jamie can see the gears turning in his head.
"So Janko, where's that car of yours at? Can't believe you'd let 'Grandma Ethel' drive you here."
Jamie rolls his eyes as Eddie clarifies for him, "It's Aunt Ethel, Danny. And it was on his way, anyways." Eddie shrugs.
Danny nods. "Yeah, that should make your night shift easier for you two to get to." Danny says as he pops a piece of potato in his mouth, chewing as Eddie replies.
"No, I'm off tonight. Just ... " Eddie pauses, turning to Jamie, who has dropped his head, shaking it in disbelief, before looking back at Danny, who has now cracked his famous "Got'cha!" grin at her.
"Three hours, twenty two minutes." Frank says from the end of the table.
"What's that, Frank?" Linda asks.
"How long it took Danny to figure it out." Frank replies, his mustache wide with his humorous tone.
Danny's grin falters as he looks down to his father. "How long did it take you?"
Frank clasps his hands over his plate, leaning in and smiling. "Five minutes, six seconds. Four months ago."
Danny looks at the table, doing the math in his head, before looking up at his father, who was now staring at his oldest son, blinking innocently with his palm outstretched.
"Damn it." Danny mutters as he reaches for his pocket, handing Frank a crisp fifty dollar bill, the rest of the table laughing. Looking at his wife, Danny crinkles an eyebrow at her. "Don't you owe him some money, too?"
"No, I had to recuse myself two months ago." Linda grins widely as the whole table looks at her.
"Two months ago?" Danny questions, eyes going wide, before looking down at his kid brother, Eddie in his arms, as he smiles widely. "I'm gonna be an uncle again?"
"WHAT?" "No way!" The boys elate from further down the table.
Jamie swells with pride as he looks to Eddie, who nods. "Well, now that everyone knows, I guess it's past time to share. The doctor says our son should be due around February 15th. Joseph Edward Reagan."
At the sound of the name, there is a collective gasp of joy and happiness, tears around, including the biggest ones from Danny, who nods proudly at his kid brother.
Linda hugs Danny's arm, and he pulls her in for a one armed hug, kissing her head.
"Edward?" Henry asks as the mummering dies down.
"For my grandmother. Can't call him Edit, but Edward will do." Janko replies.
Danny looks at his father, who is quietly smiling with misty eyes. "You ok, Dad?"
Frank Reagan, his mustache covering what seems to be his lower half of his face, the eyebrows scrunched as he nods quietly. "Yeah, Danny. It just feels like Joe is here with us today." He looks up, smiling a sincere if tearful smile. "In more than one way."
Danny nods, and smiles down to his kid brother. "Yeah, I feel him too, Dad. I feel him, too."