"Grandma, we're here for the party." Jackson shouted as the Latekka family walked into Jack and Laura's house. They had decided to throw Eddie a welcome home party.

"I see that." Laura greeted her grandchildren, son and daughter in law with a smile. "Grandpa is already outside. Why don't you guys go out and see him."

"YAY!" The three boys yelled running out the back door. They absolutely loved playing outside.

"Now what's wrong with this little angel?" Laura asked of Jocelyn who was crying in her father's arms.

"Naptime." Eddie answered. "I'm going to put her down." Laura kissed Jocelyn and Eddie went to put her in her crib.

"So do you need any help?" Janet asked.

"Of course I do. Follow me." The two women walked into the kitchen where Laura had lots of food laid out that needed to be transported outside.

A half an hour later the food was out, the kids were playing in the yard with cousins and the party was in full swing. Jack was manning the grill, turning out a ton of burgers. Laura couldn't sit still. She was flitting around making sure every one of her guests had everything that could need. Janet was standing on the deck looking out at everyone when Eddie came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You look deep in thought. Whatcha' thinking about?" He asked.

"This scene is very familiar. Does it remind you of anything?"

"Our wedding."

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

"You know, that remains one of the best days of my life."

"Mine too." Eddie turned his wife towards him and gently kissed her until the guys began to yell for him. "Your fans await." She told him with a grin when they pulled away.

"I am one popular guy."

"You were missed. Go visit."

Janet smiled softly as she watched Eddie walk over to a table with Nick, Owen, Phil and Ikey. Seeing how many people were here to welcome him home reinforced how loved and cherished he was in this town and she felt silly about her feelings of jealousy that had been present over the past couple of days. The boys had missed their father so much so of course, they wanted all of his attention and they deserved it. She decided that her feelings were just silly womanly hormones and wasn't going to give it another thought.

The "Welcome Home Eddie" party was a rousing success. Everyone was had a blast. The triplets were entertained with all of the cousins so they played nonstop and pretty much left their mother alone which meant that Janet was able to have a practically uninterrupted visit with Katie which both women thoroughly enjoyed.

Since awakening from his coma, Eddie had been concentrating on getting muscle back so he could return home so he really hasn't had a chance to sit down with his friends and really just talk. He was able to catch up on everything that has happened in their lives and he was finally able to thank his best friends for looking after and helping Janet and the kids while he was unable to take care of his family. He knew he would never be able to ever repay them for what considered a simple act of friendship but to him, it was much more.

"Hey babe, the guys are heading to Sully's to hang out and invited me. Do you care if I go?" Eddie asked, early in the evening once the party finally closed down.

"You can't drink alcohol with your medication." Janet reminded him.

"I know that but it doesn't mean that I can't hang out and drink soda."

"Go ahead. Have fun."

"Will you be all right with the kids?" Eddie asked innocently, but when Janet heard those words, anger surged through her. She took a breath before answering.

"I think I can manage."He saw her face change but decided not to question it at this time.

"I'm going to go say goodbye to the kids."

"I wouldn't."

"What? Why?"

"Do you really think that they will let you just leave without them?"

"It will be fine." Eddie kissed Janet quickly and before she could protest any more he left her side and went to the boys.

Just as Janet figured the boys did not let Eddie just go. They cried and begged him to stay. Janet rescued him from the clutches of their three boys with ice cream. The triplets loved ice cream and ice cream could distract them from most anything so as soon as she brought out three ice cream sandwiches, they reluctantly said goodbye to their dad and joined their mom for their ice cream treat.

"Thanks for everything mom." Eddie said after he kissed her. "It was great."

"Where are you off to?"

"The guys and I are headed to Sully's. "

"Aren't you going to help Janet get the boys home?"

"She said that she can handle it."

"She can, but don't you think you should?"

"The guys are going now and they are my ride. Since I can't drive, I can't very well go home with Janet and then have her turn around and take me to Sully's. That makes no sense."

"Well have fun sweetheart." Laura kissed her son and went over to help Janet.

At eleven thirty Janet was woken up by a knock on the front door. After she got the kids in bed, she set herself up in the living room with a book and ended up dozing off.

"What happened?" Janet asked when she opened the door and found Eddie leaning against Nick.

"His legs hurt." Nick explained as the two of them made their way into the house.

"He's drunk."

"I had one beer and I'm buzzed; not drunk."

"Come on pal. Let's get you to bed." Nick helped Eddie to bed with Janet following behind.

"Janet, babe can you get me my pills?" Eddie groaned.

"Yeah sure."

"I'll see myself out." Nick held out his hand to Eddie and the two men shook hands. "I'll see you at work on Monday."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Nick thanks for getting him home in one piece."

"No problem Janet." Eddie watched as his best friend and wife share a hug that ended with Janet receiving a kiss on the cheek which he did not like at all.

"How often has Nick seen himself out of our house?" Eddie mumbled once Nick had left their bedroom.

"What?"

"Never mind." Janet shrugged and went into their bathroom to grab the pills. When she returned Eddie was struggling to take his pants off.

"Let me help." Eddie didn't argue. She handed him his pills and then pulled his jeans off.

"Thanks." He grunted, lying back on the bed, wincing as he underused leg muscles cramped. Janet reached out and began to massage his leg like the physical therapist taught her."That feels so good. Thank you."

"You are very welcome. Did you have fun tonight?"

"Yeah. It was just like old times being back at Sully's with the boys. "

"Hopefully not too much like old times."

"No. We didn't pick up any women."

"You better not have."

"Why would I when I know I have a wonderful woman waiting for me at home?"

"Good answer." Janet adjusted her position and began to massage the other leg.

"Look I know you are pissed off at me because I drank."

"I'm not pissed off at you. You are an adult who can make your own decisions. I just worry about you."

"Dr. Weber told me that I could occasionally have one drink. He just warned me that it could affect me more than it would have before without the medicine."

"It looks like it did."

"Oh yeah."

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better. Thank you so much."

"You are very welcome."

"Why were you irritated with me when I left mom's house?" Janet sighed. "Talk to me."

"You asked me if I could handle getting the kids home on my own."

"Yeah."

"You seem to have forgotten that I have been handling the kids on my own for quite some time. It sounded so condescending that it pissed me off."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think."

"I shouldn't take it so personal. I guess I am overly hormonal."

"Are you PMSing?" He asked with a glare and she glared at him. "I will take that as a yes."

"Maybe."

"Well if it makes you feel better, I think I am a little overly hormonal but it's because I am buzzed not PMSing."

"What are you hormonal about?"

"You and Nick seem really close."

"What are you talking about?"

"When he left, he kissed you."

"My cheek Eddie."

"I didn't like it." Janet reached out for his hand.

"Yes Nick and I did get close; he was the one who took me to the hospital when I was in labor and sat with me until Hannah, your mom and my mom arrived. I work closely with him every day and as a result he became a very good friend but that's all he is and ever will be. He is happily married to Hannah and I am happily married to the big goof lying here."

"Big goof huh?"

"The biggest." She told him with a grin.

"Come to bed." He requested.

"In a minute. I need to lock up."

Janet's one minute turned into around ten minutes by the time she locked the house up, went upstairs and checked on the kids, retucking them in (she can never go to bed without checking on them), washed her face, brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas and by the time she joined Eddie in bed, he was sound asleep, snoring softly. She rolled next to him and laid her head on his chest which woke him up and he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her head.

"G'night." He mumbled.

"Good night."

The next morning Janet began her day with the wonderful sound of their daughter cooing in her crib. For only the second time since her birth, Jocelyn had slept through the night. Eddie barely budged so Janet let him sleep and got up with Jocelyn.

"Morning baby girl." Jocelyn grinned at her mother and Janet's heart soared. "You slept all night for me. What's the occasion?" Janet lifted her out of her crib. "You must be starving." Jocelyn answered her by pulling her hair. "Okay little one, let's change you and get your belly full."

Janet had a very enjoyable morning. She and Jocelyn spent a couple of hours together playing until the boys woke up. After she made and they ate their breakfast they all settled in the living room playing together and watching television. By the time Eddie woke up around ten Janet had decided that they all should spend the day in their pajamas. It was raining; the perfect day for a pajama day but she failed to tell Eddie her plans.

"I think since the weather is so crappy, we should go to the movies today. What do you guys think?" Eddie asked them, out of the blue without discussing his idea with his wife.

"Yeah." The three boys cheered.

"Can we get popcorn daddy?" Jacob asked.

"Of course we can."

"I want to see the alien movie." Josh yelled.

"Me too, I want to see the alien movie." Jackson agreed.

"That sounds great."

"When can we go?" Josh asked. Now that they knew the plan, they wouldn't stop talking about it until they were seated in the movie theater.

"Let's go check." The boys ran over to the computer leaving their parents.

"I guess I will be getting a shower." Janet told Eddie.

"What's wrong?" He knew by her tone she was irritated.

"I…nothing." She answered shaking her head.

"You have never been a very good liar."

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

"So you are irritated with me?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact I am."

"What did I do?"

"It's what you didn't do is the problem."

"Excuse me?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it right now."

"But we will talk?"

"Later. Jocey needs changed." She turned and walked back to their bedroom without another word.

Janet spent a few extra minutes in the shower, calming herself down. She did not want to fight with Eddie; especially in front of the boys. She understood why he suggested a movie; today was the perfect day to spend at the movies, if they had the money which they didn't and once a movie was suggested there was no way that she could say no because they were six years old and were so excited so she would have to bust into her Christmas money. Movies were not cheap and that fact hasn't changed in fifteen months but Eddie seemed to have forgotten that as well as speaking with her about any plans before discussing them with the kids. She was so frustrated with him because he didn't seem to understand how hard things were and still are for them financially for them.

As expected the movie venture cost them a small fortune. Thankfully, they went to a matinee and they weren't charged for Jocelyn but for all of them, it still cost them around forty dollars. The movie theater got another twenty dollars from with the purchase of popcorn, candy and drinks for the boys and Eddie and a drink for Janet and when the movie was over, they went out for a late lunch at the new pizza place which cost them another thirty dollars. It was not a cheap day at all.

During her shower Janet put all of her frustrations in the back of her mind so she and her family could enjoy the day together; she would worry about the money later and it was the best decision that she could have made because it was a fun day. The boys had an absolute blast. They loved the movie and behaved like champs. Jocelyn made it about forty five minutes sitting on her mother's lap until she fell asleep. There was only one small argument between the boys over who was going to sick next to daddy. Once Janet managed to talk Josh into sitting next to her and Jocelyn the argument ended and everyone was able to enjoy the movie.

Later that night, after they had been home Hannah had called and invited Janet to go with her to go to the high school's fall musical, which Sam had a major role in. As he has gotten older Sam had become quite the good actor and Janet has never missed one of his shows. Eddie knew she was still irritated with him and he still wasn't quite sure what he did so he wanted to stay on her good side so he encouraged her to go and leave him with the kids. He lived by the code "A happy wife equals a happy life."

"Okay, so the boys need to be in bed by eight thirty. They also need their baths so I usually start the bathing process between seven and seven thirty usually closer to seven if they want to play in the tub and if they do play, don't let them stay in the tub so long that the water gets cold because I don't want the boys to get sick."

"Got it."

"And if you have a chance, Jocey could use a bath too." Eddie nodded. "Now if you guys get hungry, there are leftover tacos in the fridge."

"Relax Janet. I've got. You just go and have a fun evening."

"Thanks I will." She quickly kissed his lips. "I will see you later." When she said goodbye to the boys, they simply waved and said goodbye; no tears or begging her to stay like they did when Eddie left the day before.

"What on earth is going on in here?" Janet had just gotten home, a few minutes after nine and found that the living room was a mess, the kitchen was a mess and the boys and Eddie were at the dining room table putting together a puzzle.

"Hey honey. What are you doing home so soon?"

"It's not soon Eddie. It's five after nine."

"What? No it's not." He glanced at his watch. "Wow. It really is. I'm sorry honey." He knew he really screwed up.

"Come on boys. Upstairs so we can get baths." Janet told them, not acknowledging Eddie's apology.

"I can do that." Eddie insisted.

"No thanks. I will do it. You can take care of the mess you guys made down here and get Jocey ready for bed." She instructed. "Let's go guys." The boys and Eddie knew by Janet's tone that they should do exactly as she told them, which they did.

Janet and the boys went upstairs. She started the bath water and while the tub was filling up she picked out their school clothes for the next day. To move things along quickly, she bathed each one of the boys separately. She chose to bathe Josh first since he looked exhausted. Within thirty minutes all three boys were clean and in their beds. Josh had fallen asleep soon after his bath and the other two were hanging on by a thread.

"Good night boys, I love you." She told them, after she kissed them.

"What about Harry Potter?" The boys had seen a Harry Potter movie over at Jack and Laura's house and they fell in love with the movie so Janet had been reading a chapter a night from the Harry Potter books and they loved it.

"Not tonight Jax. It's too late."

"You are so mean." He spat.

"Good night sweetheart." Janet stepped out of the room as Eddie and Jocelyn came out of her room.

"She's all ready for bed. Do you want to feed her?"

"Yes please." Eddie handed their daughter over to her mother. When Janet went into Jocelyn's room, he went into the boys' room. He had heard Jax's comment to his mother and he wasn't happy.

"Jax you should not have told your mother that she is mean."

"She is. She won't read us our story."

""It's my fault. I kept you guys up to late so there is no story. If you are going to be mad at anyone, you should be made at me."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Well you shouldn't be mad at your mommy so you need to go and tell her that you are sorry for calling her mean."

"Fine."

"She is in Jocey's room feeding her." With his head hanging, Jax walked across the hall into his sister's room.

"Jackson, you should be in bed." Janet told him.

"Daddy told me to come over and tell you that I am sorry."

"For what?"

"For telling you that you are mean."

"Well are you?"

"What?"

"Are you sorry?"

"Yes."

"Maybe you should say it." Jackson sighed.

"I'm sorry for calling you mean. You aren't mean."

"Thank you. Now give me a kiss and go back to bed." He did as he was asked.

"Night mommy."

"Good night Jackson."

When Jocelyn was fed and asleep Janet went to the kitchen so she could make the boys' lunches. Eddie was in the living room cleaning up from their evening activities. Janet had to pass through the living room to get to the kitchen which she did while ignoring him. He knew it was going to be a fun night.

"Need any help? I got everything cleaned up out there." Eddie asked softly."

"No thanks. I got it under control. I've been doing things on my own for over a year." She snapped.

"Look Janet, I know I screwed up tonight and I am sorry."

"There is a schedule that the boys need to follow."

"I said I was sorry."

"I know how much you missed the boys and I know how much they missed you but they need you to be their father and not a friend."

"What in the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I end up being the bad guy and you end up being the good guy. I have been the bad guy for so long, I am ready for someone else to take that job over. Tonight, you had fun with the boys and then I had to come home, be the bad guy and end it." Janet walked over and placed the completed lunches in the fridge. "And today with the movies, you were their big hero"

"What's the big deal about the movies? It was a fun days and the boys had fun."

"The big deal is we couldn't afford it."

"Obviously we did."

"Because I had to break into my stash of Christmas money."

"What?"

"It cost us almost one hundred dollars today and now, that's almost one hundred dollars less that the boys will have for Christmas." Tears filled her eyes. "They want the hand held Nintendo for Christmas. Do you have any idea how much those cost?" Eddie shook his head. "They are about one hundred dollars apiece and then the games are expensive too. Now, I am afraid that I won't be able to afford to get the boys what they want and if I can't afford to get one for each boy then I can't get it for any of them."

"You keep saying I. You aren't alone any more. I'm back. I am starting back at work tomorrow."

"Only for half days." She sniffed.

"But that's more money than you have had right? Together we can make up what we spent today."

"What if we can't? What if we can't give them the Christmas they deserve?" Janet sat at the kitchen table and put her head in hands. "Last Christmas, the only reason the boys had a good Christmas was because your parents, my mom and Tom chipped in. I am a failure. I couldn't provide for our children."

"That's not true sweetheart. You did the best you could do for them in the circumstances. There is no shame in accepting help."

"I wanted to say no to the movies today because all I could think about was the money it was going to cost and where I was going to get it. I was so mad because you didn't ask me before you told the boys and they were so excited that I couldn't say no and be the bad guy."

"You are not the bad guy Janet."

"I am. They like you more than me."

"What are you talking about? They love you."

"Maybe but they like you more."

"You are being ridiculous."

"When I left today, I just got a bye and when you left yesterday, they cried and begged you to stay."

"You can't take that personally."

"When Jax had his nightmare, he asked for you not me and then he wouldn't tell me about his dream but he told you."

"He dreamt that I was gone again and he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want to make you sad again." Janet began to cry. Eddie moved next to her. "Don't cry sweetheart."

"I am such a horrible person. I have been jealous of you?"

"Of me? Why?"

"Since your coma, every Saturday the kids and I would have breakfast in our bed and watch cartoons. Yesterday you and the kids had breakfast together and watched television without me and I was so jealous. I feel like,…the boys want you more than me and I hate it." Eddie pulled Janet into his arms. "What kind of woman is jealous of the relationship between her kids and husband?"

"I think it's natural."

"How?"

"You've been on your own for so long and now I am here putting a kink in your routine."

"You're their dad, not a kink." Janet sat up and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry Eddie."

"So am I. You are right. I have been acting more as a friend than a dad. It's just that I know how much they needed me when I was gone and I guess I am trying to make up for that."

"They did miss you."

"From now on, I am going to be their dad first and friend second."

"I think that's a good idea."

"I want to know the traditions and routines that you and the kids have now and I would like to be a part of them."

"I would like that too."

"And I am promising you right now babe that our boys, Jocelyn and you are going to have the Christmas you guys deserve. Each of the boys will open the Nintendo thingy that they want."

"I don't care about me. I just want the kids to be happy."

"You may not care about you but I care about you." Eddie pulled Janet towards him and kissed her softly.

"I'm sorry for the way I have been acting."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I over stepped a lot lately and for that, I am sorry."

"Tomorrow is a new day Eddie and we can start over."

"Come on babe. Let's go to bed so I can take care of you."

"I like the sound of that." Eddie pulled Janet to her feet and to his chest. "Even though I have been acting like a crazy woman and I was mad at you, I do love you."

"I know and even though you have been acting like a crazy woman who is ticked off at me, I love you too." The couple laughed and pressed their lips to each other, kissing slowly and tenderly.