Frank watched in amusement from his end of the dinner table as his youngest grandchild babbled away to her parents. Grace was almost a year old and livelier than ever. The little girl had been talking for a while now, saying a select few words so the family had been trying to get her to say more, especially Danny and Erin, who were pushing for their names.
"Someone is quite chatty today," Frank commented with a smile.
"Tell me about it," Eddie replied, affectionately running a hand over the baby's head as she sat in a high chair between her and Jamie. "We woke up at five this morning to her talking over the baby monitor. Who knows what she was saying but it was quite a lengthy conversation that she was having."
"Has she said any new words yet?" Erin asked.
Jamie shook his head, "It's still mama, dada, and hi. And no, I don't think she's even attempting to say Uncle Danny or Aunt Erin yet."
"I'm sure we'll get an Uncle Danny out of her first," Danny said, flashing a smile at his goddaughter. "Right sweetheart? Remember, Uncle D-A-N-N-Y."
"Or she'll say Aunt E-R-I-N first, right baby?" Erin added.
"I'm going to laugh if she doesn't say either of your names," Sean interjected.
Henry laughed, "Oh boy. This gives me flashbacks from when Jamie was little, all three of the kids fighting to get Jamie to say their name first. Remember Francis?"
Frank nodded, "I remember. They drove Mary and I crazy. I'm sure Jamie got tired of them too. Danny and Erin were the worst about it."
"It worked, didn't it?" Danny said. "The kid said my name first."
"Jamie said Da," Erin corrected.
"Which meant Danny," he responded.
"He was looking at Dad when he said it!" Erin exclaimed. "I don't remember what his first word was but it definitely wasn't Danny."
"It was Joe…" Frank said softly, glancing over at his youngest. "Jamie's first word was Joe."
It was times like this where Frank really missed his boy. Joe was Jamie's protector from the very beginning, always at his side and taking care of him. He hated that Joe wasn't here for all of this, knowing how much he would've loved Grace and been a great support for Jamie and Eddie along with Danny and Erin.
"Even though he's not here with us physically, he's here with us in spirit…" Henry said with a small smile. "He's watching out for all of us, especially for Grace."
"That's right," Frank nodded.
Jamie let out a shaky breath and kissed the side of the baby's head.
"Okay munchkin," Danny said after dinner as he sat on the ground across from his goddaughter, having volunteered to watch her to get out of dish duty. "Let's try this again… say Uncle Danny."
The little one looked up and gave him a long stare with her piercing blue eyes before going back to play with her toys.
"Let's make it a little easier," Danny continued, scooting closer to get the baby's attention again. "Just say Dan. We can add the uncle part to it later."
Grace ignored her uncle, eventually turning away and crawling to the other side of blanket.
Danny sighed, "Grace Margaret, you've got to work with me here, sweetheart."
She finally stopped, sensing her godfather's despair and gave him a wide, toothless smile.
"Da…" she said, reaching out for him.
"There you go!" Danny rejoiced excitedly, quickly reaching over and picking her up. "Getting close! I knew you could do it!"
"…Da," Grace finished, now reaching behind him.
Danny turned around and frowned as he saw his little brother standing behind them.
"Da-da," Grace said again, excitedly reaching up for her father.
"It took me almost a month to get a Dada out of her after she said Mama," Jamie said, lifting Grace out of Danny's arms. "Good luck with getting an Uncle Danny. She's going to make you work for it."
"We're almost there," Danny responded as he stood and ran a hand over the baby's wispy locks. "She just has to get used to hearing a little more. Right, honey?"
Grace smiled at her godfather then played with strings of Jamie's hoodie before wiggling to be put down again.
"She's a mini you, kid," Danny said fondly as they watched Grace crawl away. It was exciting to have a baby in the family again. Grace was absolute joy and he loved getting to see how she changed every time he saw her. "I know I don't tell you this enough but you really are a great dad. I always knew you would be. That little girl adores you."
Jamie gave a small smile, "Thanks Danny. She makes it pretty easy for me."
"Joe would be proud of you too," Danny added, glancing over at their late brother's picture on the mantle. "He would've loved seeing you be a dad."
"Yeah…" Jamie sighed. "…I really miss him, Dan. I know how lucky I am to have Grace but sometimes I look at her and think about how unfair it is that I got to become a dad and Joe never got the chance."
Danny clasped his shoulder, "I know. He would've been a great dad. But you know what? I'm sure he was the one who sent Grace to you. He'd always say that you were going to have a girl first whenever you had a kid. He said you would be the perfect girl dad... and he was right. I know I'm not Joe but I hope you know that I'll always do whatever I can for you, Eddie, and Grace.
"I know," Jamie said. "I know we struggled for a long time after Joe passed but there's no one else that I'd rather have in my corner than you, Danny. I'm glad that I have you as an older brother and that Grace has such a great godfather."
"I appreciate that," Danny replied, trying to keep his emotions in check. "It means a lot."
"It's true."
"Can you say that again but in front of Erin?" Danny said, trying to lighten the mood. "And emphasize on the part about me being a great godfather."
Jamie rolled his eyes and laughed, "Oh god. I'd rather not. I value my life."
"At least I tried," Danny replied with a shrug, then reached down and picked up Grace, who was at his feet. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's see if they let us get some more dessert."
Grace babbled away to her godfather as he carried her off to the kitchen. Jamie stood there for a few moments before walking over to Joe's picture on the mantle.
"I'm sure you had a big hand in how things turned out for me," he said softly. "I know you made it so Eddie and I would cross paths and then sent us Grace. I don't know what my life would be without those two. I hope I've made you proud. Thank you for everything."
Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us everyday. Unseen, unheard, but always near ; still loved, still missed, and very dear.
