"Ready?" Jamie asked as he turned off the car and smiled over at Eddie. Her hair was down in soft waves, just how he liked it best, and the soft and cozy blue sweater she was wearing brought out the color of her eyes, making Jamie want to stare at her even more than usual.
"No, but I need to get over it," Eddie tried to convince herself. She took in a deep breath and blew it out.
"I love you, they'll love you. And it's not even going to be the whole family in there. Just Dad, Pop, Linda, and Danny."
"Where are the boys?"
"Some sort of social event at school."
"Oh."
Eddie froze and kept staring at the house. When he saw that she made no effort to get out of the car, he laughed. "We can't stay in the car, you know. We actually have to go inside in order to have dinner."
"Right."
Eddie tugged on the door handle but Jamie put his hand on her leg to stop her. "Hey, it's going to be fine, I promise." He sealed his promise with a quick press of his lips to hers.
"If you say so," she sighed and exited the car with a bottle of wine that she chose to bring.
Hand in hand, they walked up the drive and opened the back door to the kitchen. They barely even got inside before Linda immediately wrapped Eddie in a welcoming hug. "I'm so glad you came!"
Jamie was all smiles as Eddie looked to him in surprise when the hug went on longer than expected. She gently wriggled out of Linda's grasp. "Thank you for having me!" Eddie replied, extending out the bottle of Bordeaux. "I brought wine!"
"Oh, thanks! But you didn't have to bring anything," Linda said as she accepted the gift.
"Yes she did," Danny piped up, grabbing the bottle from Linda and going on a search for a cork screw. "Nice to see you, Eddie."
"You too, Danny," Eddie replied warmly.
Linda opened the oven to check the roast. "Needs just a few more minutes. Dad and Pop are in the living room, I'll holler when it's ready."
Jamie placed a hand on Eddie's back and guided her to the living room. Frank and Henry stood up to greet Eddie.
"Welcome, Eddie," Frank smiled.
"Thank you, Sir. It's a pleasure to be invited into your home."
"The pleasure is ours," Henry offered.
Eddie instantly spotted the baby grand piano tucked in the corner of the room. Suddenly she wasn't so nervous anymore. "Oh! You have a piano! It's beautiful! Who plays?" She separated herself from Jamie to walk over to the bench and sat down at the keys.
"That would be Pop," Frank answered. "He sings, too. He's pretty good even in his old age. "
"Hey now…" Henry bit back. "You play, Eddie?" He watched how she delicately placed her fingers over the keys, positioning them into a resemblance of a chord.
"It's been a while, but yeah. I love the piano!" she answered brightly.
"I didn't know that! How come I never knew this?" Jamie asked in wonder.
Eddie shrugged. "Rich girl from the suburbs, remember? Piano lessons were practically a MUST, along with horseback riding and tennis. But I enjoyed it. My landlord won't let me have a piano in my apartment, otherwise I would still play."
"Why don't you play something for us?" Frank asked.
Eddie removed her hands embarrassingly from the piano. "Oh, I don't know. I don't think I'd be any good. It's been too long."
Henry walked over to the piano and leaned against it. "Give it a try. It's just like riding a bicycle. You never forget."
Eddie looked over to Jamie with an expression that he knew all too well from being partnered with her all these years. She had that tentative look in her eye and was looking for some backup and support.
"I'd love to hear you play, Eddie," he beamed.
She found the strength she was looking for in his eyes shining back at her. "Well…okay!" she relented. She swung her legs back under the piano and stared at the keys, trying to think of something to play. She smiled when it came to her. "Sing along with me, Henry. I think you'll know this one!"
Eddie played the intro and Jamie was enamored with her song choice. Once the verse started, Eddie sang in her beautiful voice. Jamie was instantly transfixed at the sound of it:
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you…
Henry's eyes lit up; he knew the song well and he joined her in singing the next line-
And I think to myself- what a wonderful world.
The pair continued to sing the rest of the song in perfect harmony with Eddie beautifully playing the accompaniment, and Jamie was transported back to the time when he and Eddie were holding each other tight, dancing to this song, trying to gather the courage they needed to find out what they were missing out on. And now his heart was bursting at the reality that they were about to be on that journey, and he suddenly could not understand why he had waited so long. His world was wonderful indeed with her in it.
As Eddie and Henry finished up the song, Danny snuck in the room with two glasses of wine. "Well look at that! Gramps finally met his match!" He handed a glass of wine to Jamie, and walked over to Eddie to give her the other.
"That was beautiful, Eddie," Frank genuinely complimented her.
"See? Like riding a bike!" Henry repeated.
Eddie downplayed the attention. "Well, I think it helped that it's one of my favorite songs," she looked to Jamie and he didn't miss her meaning.
Jamie cleared his throat and came out of his trance. "Mine too," he quietly agreed, locking eyes with her as if they were the only people in the room.
Danny noticed this and smirked. "Oh really? Since when, Harvard?"
Linda popped her head in the room. "Dinner's ready! Was that you playing, Eddie? You two sounded wonderful together!"
"Saved by the bell," Danny whispered to Jamie.
"Be nice." Jamie whispered back, reminding his big brother about their talk at the bar earlier.
When they reached the dining room, Eddie was grateful that Jamie pulled out a chair for her to sit, otherwise she wouldn't have known which seat was hers. Her seat, she thought. Was this the beginning of many family dinners together? Years of family dinners together? In which later down the road a high chair for a baby would need to be added? Suddenly Eddie became both nervous and excited all over again at the significance of sitting next to Jamie at the Reagan family dinner table.
Linda swung her arms over the table and placed the beautifully plated roast in the center which was surrounded by other dishes filled with salad, various vegetables, and dinner rolls. It was a homemade feast that was definitely a luxury for Eddie, and she couldn't wait to dig in. "This looks delicious, Linda. I haven't had a home-cooked meal in…well, it's been a long time."
Linda sat down in her seat. "Well, that was the idea, to treat you. Danny and I just wanted to thank you for what you did for us after the fire. Right Danny?" Linda urged Danny to also say his thanks.
Danny forced a smile because of his pride, but was able to truthfully reply, "It was very nice what you did, Eddie, thank you."
Jamie was impressed that Danny admitted that. He knew it wasn't easy for him to accept open generosity.
"Who would like to say grace?" Frank asked.
"I will," Jamie piped up. Frank smiled at him and everyone around the table bowed their heads. Eddie copied them and followed suit out of respect. "Bless us O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord, Amen."
Jamie grabbed Eddie's hand under the table and gave a quick squeeze before releasing. Everyone started passing the food around. Just as Eddie was spooning out some mashed potatoes onto her plate, she heard the kitchen door open.
"Anyone home?" Erin called out.
As if she didn't know, Jamie thought.
Erin walked into the dining room, hiding something behind her back. "Oh, hey! Oh….gosh! The dinner thing! With Eddie! That's tonight?"
It became clear to both Jamie and Eddie that Erin was completely pretending to not be in the know.
"Yes, that's tonight, Erin," Jamie answered, annoyed.
"Hi Erin!" Eddie waved at her to make the point that yes, this was THE dinner.
"Oh, well…good! Because I brought dessert!" Erin placed the chocolate cake down on the table along with a plate and proceeded to take her regular seat and dish out some food.
"And who invited you?" Jamie asked.
"A little birdie," she replied in amusement.
Jamie looked around the table but no one gave out any outward sign that it was them who told Erin.
"Hey Dad!" Jack yelled from the kitchen as the door burst open.
Jamie put down his fork and looked to Danny. "Really?"
"In here, Jack!" Danny answered his son.
Jack and Sean walked into the dining room all out of breath and sweaty. "You'll never believe this, but we got a flat tire on the way there. We had to run all the way back here because we realized the spare is in the…oh…hey." Jack stopped talking as he looked around the table. "Sorry…didn't know you were having company."
"Is that right?" Jamie looked over to his nephews, knowing that the story just told was made up. Eddie quietly chuckled to herself.
"That looks good, Mom. Is that your famous roast beef?" Sean was suddenly hungry.
Linda nodded. "Why don't you boys grab some plates from the kitchen and sit down and eat. By the time you get that car fixed, you'll have missed the dance. You might as well stay here."
Everyone finished dishing out their food and Eddie began to wonder what the topic of conversation would drift to. "So, Eddie-" Frank started, but was interrupted by his granddaughter arriving.
"Hey Grandpa?" Nicky made her way from the kitchen to dining room. "Do you still have that record player I can borrow? My friends have some old albums we want to listen to…oh. Sorry." Nicky stopped talking when she saw the rest of the family eating. "Am I interrupting something?"
"As if you didn't know," Jamie leered at his niece. "Might as well grab a plate, Nicky! Everyone else did."
"You don't mind?" Nicky played along. "I am kind of hungry."
"Not at all!" Linda joined in. "Plenty of food for everyone!"
Now that the whole family was at the table, Jamie gave Eddie a look that silently communicated his apologies. He had promised her this was going to be a no-pressure evening with just a few of the family members. Eddie quickly shook her head to brush off his concern and let him know she was okay with it. It actually made her feel good knowing that everyone wanted to be here for her special dinner. It was a good sign that the family was accepting of her.
The question remained, though, who was the "little birdie" that spilled the beans about the dinner being this evening? Jamie needed to find out.
"So you planned it that way, huh Linda? That there'd be enough food for everyone?" Jamie poked around for information.
"What? No! My plan was to make enough for leftovers so none of us would have to cook for the next few days. I didn't know everyone was coming over. Honest!"
There was silence around the table as Jamie eyeballed each and every family member looking for clues. But everyone just went about their business of eating as utensils clinked against plates, water was being sipped, meat was being cut, and rolls were being buttered.
Just when Eddie thought the silence was becoming deafening, Henry spoke up.
"So I hear the two of you finally decided to get new partners!"
"Pop!" Frank warned.
Jamie threw down his napkin. "What do you mean finally?" Jamie continued. "And what would you know of it? We aren't ready to announce it to the public yet."
"So it's true?" Erin asked excitedly.
"Geez…this family. No privacy," Jamie muttered. He was getting angrier by the minute, concerned for Eddie thinking she must be totally uncomfortable having to endure being outed in front of everyone. He snuck a look at Eddie and was surprised to see her calm and even wearing a smile on her face. Maybe he was making too much of this. He always was the more serious one, and she was always the one to bring him back down to earth.
"Yes, it's true," Jamie sighed. "We have one more assignment together and then we're getting new partners. But this really isn't how we wanted to announce it. So who's the rat? Only other people who knew were Dad and Danny…"
"Oh, come on now," Henry interjected. "The whole family has known for quite some time that you carry a torch for this special young lady." He nudged Eddie in the arm and winked. "My grandson is not very good at hiding his feelings for you."
Eddie smiled brightly. "That's funny. He hid it from me pretty well for years!"
That remark got the whole family laughing.
"What?" Jamie blurted. "So not true, Janko!"
"Whatever you say, Boy Scout!"
"Gramps is right," Danny said. "The whole family already knew. And now that I have gathered everyone here, it's time to pay up. You all lost the bet."
A collective groan was heard around the table.
"Wait, you're the one who told everyone to be here?" Jamie asked Danny. "And what bet? What are you talking about? What the hell is going on?" His anger returned. "Eddie, I'm so sorry my family is being-"
The look of confusion on Jamie's face was classic as he saw Eddie pull a couple of bucks from her pocket and hand the wad over to Danny. The rest of the family was doing the same begrudgingly.
"What are you doing?" Jamie asked Eddie.
"I lost the bet," she shrugged.
"WHAT BET?" Jamie couldn't believe what was happening.
Danny explained. "How long it was going to take you to break and decide you need a new partner!"
"In your defense, I thought it was going to be way much later," Eddie joked. "I thought I was going to have to keep dating losers for the next four years in order to finally get your attention!"
Jamie sat back and folded his arms across his chest. His anger started to melt away and he became completely amused as a smile broke out on his face. "You are such a jerk!" he snickered at Eddie.
Eddie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Aw," Nicky crooned. "You guys are so cute."
"Can you all finally lay off now?" Jamie whined, still smiling.
"Oh no. We're just getting started," Danny said. "Next bet is when the two of you's will get hitched. And then after that, how long until the first baby comes. Or maybe the baby comes before you get hitched…"
"Danny!" Linda yelped.
"How about the next bet is that I end up kicking your ass," Jamie mouthed off.
Frank felt the need to step in. "How about you realize that all of this teasing is because we love you, Jamie."
"Yes, I know. One big happy family," Jamie replied. "You sure you know what you're signing up for?" he asked Eddie.
"I'm not going anywhere. It's been a long time since I've felt surrounded by this kind of family love. I'm not about to take it for granted."
Frank agreed. "When we have everyone we love, we have everything. And for that, we should be grateful."
Author's Note: So that's how I would have ended Season 7, in which season 8 could then begin with them doing the undercover op that Frank assigned them.