Author's note: Still don't own them. Have now seen the whole of seasons 1-3 so this is deffo based after end of season 3 :) Please bear that in mind when season 4 starts :)

5. Sunday Dinner

Jameson Reagan, youngest adult son of the Reagan clan, walked slowly towards his father's house in trepidation. Nearly two months had passed since his run in with Eleanor in the alley and he'd been working for her uncle ever since. Every day had been spent in the bar where she worked, keeping a close eye on her as per her uncle's instruction. Each night had been spent in the spare room of her apartment, desperately trying to stop the fantasies that invaded his dreams. When he'd first taken on the new 'job' he had been worried that he'd not be able to make church or dinner each Sunday but Eion had solved that problem for him. Sunday was the day Eli did the company accounts, so Jamie got the day off. This Sunday though, he had company to Sunday dinner.

Glancing sideways at the woman walking beside him, Jamie hid a smile at the terrified look on Eli's face. He knew this was a huge step for her, facing the full Reagan clan for the infamous Sunday Dinner that he told her about each week. It was, she said, the highlight of her Sunday to hear him talking about what had been discussed at dinner each week. She always listened with a huge smile on her face, often excitedly interrupting the retelling with her own comments. The smile had disappeared last week, however, when he had gleefully informed her that she would be accompanying him the following weekend. The reason she was coming with him today was that Eion, who was always present when the accounts were being done, was away on a business trip this weekend and so no accounts were being done. Therefore, to keep up the 'protection agreement' he'd made with Eion, she had to come along to the Reagan house with him.

He climbed the steps briskly, stopping at the door and looking down to see Eli still stood at the bottom of the steps. He could see from the way she was gripping the handrail, her knuckles going white with the pressure of her grip, that she was scared of entering this environment. He descended the steps slowly, keeping eye contact with Eli as he did so.

"Eli?" he asked softly, reaching out and laying his hand on hers.

"I can't do this Jay, I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice filled with anguished tears.

"You have nothing to be scared of Eli, I promise," he assured her, gently easing her fingers from their iron grip of the cold metal.

"They're all better than me," she whimpered, her whole body shaking with her fear.

"No, Eli, they're not, they're just from a different upbringing," he disagreed, hiding his wince as she shifted her vice like grip from the rail to his hand.

"Jamie, I'm a bad person, I've done bad things..." she reminded him, her voice panicked.

"They know all about your past Eli, and trust me, they're no angels themselves," he laughed, glad to see the smile tug at her lips as his word sank in.

"Ok, if you think I can do this, let's do it," she agreed, taking a deep breath and moving forward onto the first step. Nodding his agreement, Jamie led her to the door, keeping her hand in his to offer her some unspoken moral support.

)()()()()()()()()(

"So there he is, tacklin' a man in a chicken suit with his Sargent laughin' his ass off behind him," Danny finished the tale he was tell, everyone at the table laughing hard at poor Jamie's embarrassment. Eli wiped the tears of laugher from her eyes, glancing at Jamie and dissolving into further giggles at the look on his face. Her uninhibited giggles set the rest of the adults off again and it took several minutes for the room to calm down again.

"You should write these down Danny, they'd make a great book!" Eli laughed, seeing the devious twinkle in Danny's eyes.

"No-one would ever believe it had all happened to one person," Danny countered, winking good naturedly at his younger brother.

"You're probably right," she agreed, taking a sip of her water.

"So are you looking after Uncle Jamie or is he looking after you?" Sean piped up, ever the one to talk before thinking.

"He's definitely looking after me," she grinned at the young man, happy to see his smile in return.

"I don't know, I think maybe it's a little bit of both," Jamie disagreed, winking at Sean whose grin got bigger in response.

"So, Eli, is there anything we need to know for the coming week?" Frank asked, weighing in to the more serious tone of the conversation. Head tilted to one side, the head of the family looked at the young woman curiously.

"I'm not sure," she told him truthfully. "I know Eoin is away on business this weekend but I don't know what he's up to. I do know he's in Los Angeles and that trouble always follows a trip down south."

"I take it you've both checked in with your handlers?" he asked the pair, looking for one to the other and nodding slightly once he'd seen their acknowledgements. "You need to be careful, I know that there has been some movement with the other families recently and I don't want anything to happen to you...either of you," he stressed.

"Don't worry Mr. Reagan, if anything goes down, I'll know it before it happens and I'll make sure Jamie is safely out of the way," Eli promised earnestly.

"And you'll get yourself to safety as well, young lady!" Frank stated, his tone brooking no argument. He kept eye contact with her until she nodded her agreement to his demand, then glanced at his youngest son and hid a smile at the determined look on the young man's face. He knew that his son would not let anything happen to the young woman whose life had inadvertently become his responsibility. As Linda got to her feet and started to clear away the dirty plates, Danny launched into yet another tale from the job that would embarrass his little brother.

)()()()()()()()()(

"Thank you Jay, it's been wonderful today," Eli murmured when they arrived back at her apartment. They'd stayed late into the evening, playing cards and drinking wine while talking over Jamie's assignment and the measures in place to protect them both. With each hour that passed, Eli had found herself liking the Reagan family more and more. Their closeness made her realise how much she had missed in her own upbringing, and how much she still missed by living with her uncle. She had opened up about her past, and about the events that had led her to New York. She had been entirely honest about the revenge she had exacted on the men who killed her mother, and had been more than a little surprised by the understanding that had come from the family all in law enforcement.

"Glad you didn't bolt at the start then?" Jamie teased, supporting her as they moved through the apartment. She leaned against him, her arm wrapped around his waist and her head against his shoulder.

"Yes, I am," she replied, poking her tongue out at him. He laughed as he steered them towards her bedroom, stopping by her open door.

"Sleep well Eli," he said, giving her a hug as he did most nights before they went to their rooms.

"You too Jay," she murmured in response, laying her hand on his cheek as he started to move away. Without thinking about the consequences, she raised herself onto her tiptoes and gently pressed her lips to his. Jamie froze, desperately wanting to return the kiss and knowing he couldn't. She smiled sleepily at him as she dropped back down and turned away, closing her bedroom door behind her and leaving Jamie's head spinning. Unhappily concluding that her kiss had been nothing more than a drunken peck with no more motive than friendship behind it, he entered his own room and got ready for bed. As he drifted off to sleep, his traitorous body and heart took the kiss and amplified his nightly fantasies, completely unaware of the similar situation in the other room...