Chapter 10: A year of firsts
Author: zeusfluff.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Blue Bloods characters. They belong to CBS. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. But I do own all originals. Date Started: 6/26/23. Date Finished: 6/27/23. Enjoy!
"Ok baby girl all done. I know you don't like the taste of that yucky old medicine. But that's keeping your heart beating. Let's go lay on the couch. Come on."
Jamie picked Ellie up from the cradle in the bedroom and walked out into the living room. Eddie was in the kitchen checking something in the oven. She smiled over at Jamie.
"Did you give her, her anti-rejection drops?"
Jamie nodded and detoured over to Eddie so she could kiss Ellie's forehead.
"Good morning baby. How are you this morning?"
Ellie gurgled and stuck one of her fists in her mouth. Jamie took her fist away from her mouth and cleaned it up, fixing the blanket around her. Nuzzling her cheek Jamie spoke.
"I know you don't understand. Have to keep those germs away baby girl. Let's go get comfy on the couch."
Jamie settled himself on the couch and adjusted Ellie against his chest so she was comfortable. Ellie gurgled against his chest and got blinky as she listened to his heart beating. Eddie was sitting at the kitchen table sifting through the mail. She glanced over and smiled at the sight before her. Ellie and Jamie spent a lot of time lying on the couch. Having daddy-daughter time. Eddie took the chance to soak in the moment and add her thought.
"I could sit and watch the two of you like that all day. You are such a natural with her."
Smiling behind closed eyes, Jamie sighed.
"You were right Eddie. I'm spoiled for life with you. You being my wife, and this beautiful baby girl lying on my chest soaking up having some time with her daddy."
Eddie half snorted from the kitchen table.
"I still can't believe I'm getting mail addressed to me as Mrs. Reagan, and we've been married a couple of months."
This solicited a chuckle from Jamie, making his chest vibrate, causing Ellie to stir against him. He froze when her tiny face scrunched up and she let out a displeased cry. Jamie's face's fell as he rubbed Ellie's tiny back.
"I'm sorry baby girl. Did daddy startle you? I'm sorry. Daddy didn't mean it."
Ellie settled against Jamie's chest and closed her eyes. Opening his, Jamie looked towards the table.
"Babe, we're going to have to figure out who can watch Ellie. With all her medications, her immune system is compromised. I know having a nurse look after her while we're working isn't cheap, but they know proper protocols regarding keeping things germ free."
Eddie made her way over to the couch and knelt down next to Jamie and Ellie.
"Right. It's not like we can drop her off at pop's. A simple cold could kill her."
Eddie shuddered at the thought.
"I guess I was just so happy that she was ours and to get her home that I almost forgot about all the stuff she could be exposed to. Health-wise."
Jamie nodded and shifted, carefully getting up from the couch and placing Ellie into the bassinet next to the couch. She didn't budge.
"I don't want her to live in a bubble though her whole life never being able to go outside. There are other kids who have heart transplants that live normal lives outside the confines of their homes. We just have to be a little more vigilant and cautious about who we interact with and how much time we spend with them. We know big crowds are a big no-no for the next six months. Other kids, right now at least she can't be around."
Eddie sighed, this was giving her a slight headache.
"This is going to be a challenge, but worth it. I've got my handsome husband by my side to help me get through this. We should video call the family. I know they are itching to see Ellie."
Jamie nodded and pulled out his phone, dialing Frank. Frank answered and Jamie panned out so he could get the three of them in the frame.
"Jamie? How are you and Eddie doing with Ellie?"
Eddie was sitting on the couch now feeding Ellie. She was cooing as she ate.
"She's doing great. Eating like a champ. She doesn't like when I give her, her medicine for her heart. It must not taste very good. She makes faces when I give it to her twice a day."
Frank smiled and motioned for someone to come closer to him. Jamie saw that it was the rest of the family. He'd forgotten it was Sunday.
"Everyone is here. We just miss you guys."
Putting a hand over his face and then taking it away, Jamie shook his head.
"Dad, I am so sorry. I forgot it was Sunday. With everything going on with Ellie, it's been so chaotic. Why is everyone together so early?"
Henry piped up from behind Frank.
"Well, since the three of you can't come to us, we thought we'd bring you Sunday dinner. I know we can't stay because Ellie can't be around germs, so we'll just leave the food at the door."
Eddie and Jamie saw Erin come into the frame and smile.
"She's getting so big! I wish I could hold her. I miss holding them when their that age. You better enjoy it. They only stay that little for a short period of time."
Eddie gave a smile and spoke up over a fussy Ellie.
"Jamie and I have been enjoying every moment. We wake up every two hours during the night to feed her. Taking turns. Ok sweet girl go to daddy."
Jamie took Ellie from Eddie's arms and handed her the phone. She panned out so that the rest of the family could see the three of them. Jamie set Ellie against her shoulder to burp her, making sure the burp rag was still on it. This made Eddie laugh. Danny was the next to come onto Frank's phone screen.
"What's so funny Eddie?"
Eddie shook her head and glanced at Jamie and Ellie.
"Oh nothing. It's just Jamie the first time he went to burp Ellie, he forgot to put a burp rag up on his shoulder. He started burping her and she spit up all over his shoulder and the side of his neck. It was the first time the two of us were exposed to sour milk from a baby."
Jamie shook his head and gestured his head towards both of his shoulders.
"Well, now I come armed to the teeth. Burp rags on either shoulder."
This made the rest of the family on the other end of the line laugh. They spoke back and forth for a while longer before hanging up. Ellie was still asleep, and Eddie made her way over to the oven.
"Oh! My lasagna! I almost forgot about it!"
Eddie opened up the over and groaned.
"No…"
Jamie quickly got some oven mitts and took the lasagna pan out of the oven and put it in the sink, turning the water on and opening the window.
"Babe. I'm sorry."
Sighing, Eddie sank down into a kitchen chair and her head lulled into hands.
"How am I supposed to get the hang of all this?"
Feeling gentle hands on her own, she took them away from her face and picked her head up. Jamie was looking straight into her eyes, confidence and understanding in them.
"Hey. Why are you beating yourself up over burnt lasagna. It's the same as crying over spilt milk. You're learning. I'm learning. We're both learning how to juggle all this here. Being new parents is a big job and responsibility. Also no easy task at times. Look, you're tired, why don't you take a nap. I'll stay with Ellie, and I'll wake you again when dad and the rest of the family gets here with dinner."
Eddie nodded and pulled Jamie into a kiss before she made her way into the bedroom. It turned deep. They stayed like that for a few minutes before they pulled apart.
"This is nice, but I'm tired, you're tired and not in front of her."
Jamie dipped his head and went in for a small kiss. When he broke for air, he ran a hand over her cheek.
"Get some sleep babe. I've got her. Maybe we can do something special this weekend."
As she got to the door of their bedroom, Eddie raised her eyebrows.
"I'm liking the sound of that babe. I may have to pull out all the stops for you."
That got Jamie's attention.
"What did you have in mind?"
Eddie put her index finger to her lips.
"Shh. Can't tell you. It's a surprise."
Jamie tried to follow Eddie into the bedroom but she held a hand up and shook her head. He began to protest.
"I really want to know what kind of surprise you have for me. I know of a way to get the answer I want out of you."
Eddie bit her lip and held her breath for a minute and let it out.
"Jamie, I promise it'll be well worth the wait. Don't give me those puppy dog eyes babe. It's not going to work. Go be with Ellie. Go."
Jamie made a face at Eddie. It amounted to a pout as she closed the bedroom door. He'd figure out a way to get her surprise out of her. It was a busy few hours while Eddie slept. Jamie took the time to clean up around the house a bit, fold some of his laundry. He put a load of dishes in the dishwasher and ran them. Fed Ellie three times and changed her diaper at least 5. At the moment he was walking around the apartment talking to her.
"Ellie, baby girl, how many diapers are we going to go through? You only eat 4 ounces of formula every couple of hours."
Jamie held her up slightly and sniffed, continuing his conversation.
"Whew. You are stinky. Again. How about daddy gives you a bath?"
Ellie gurgled up at Jamie. He'd already gotten her tiny tub in the kitchen sink. Filling her tub with the right amount of water and making sure it was a good temperature, Jamie carefully and quickly took her onesie and diaper off. Before placing Ellie into her tub, Jamie's eyes wandered down to the thin pink scar that ran down her tiny chest. It would eventually turn white as it became older. She gurgled a bit as Jamie ran the washcloth over her arms.
"There we go, daddy's going to get you all nice and clean."
Jamie hadn't noticed Eddie leaning against the door frame to the open bedroom door, watching the whole scene unfold in front of her. It took a few minutes to get Ellie all cleaned up. He was carefully toweled Ellie off and was putting a fresh diaper on her when Eddie wrapped her arms around his waist and began kissing the back of his neck.
"There's just something so sexy about seeing you interact with her. I can give you a hint. But that's all I'm giving you. The rest can wait until Friday night."
Jamie took Ellie from the couch and set her in the bassinet. She was fast asleep. Spinning around to face Eddie, he took her hand and started trailing kisses down the left side of her neck. He got to her shoulder when they were halfway through their bedroom door.
"Can't we do a preview? We have some time before dad and everyone else gets here with dinner."
Eddie sighed and her wall began to crumble slightly.
"Ok fine. A preview only. Nothing below the waist."
A smirk came to Jamie's face as he lead her over to the bed.
"No need. I know what I'm doing."
Eddie sighed and then groaned as the doorbell rang, making Ellie out in the living room start crying. The couple getting up from the bed shook their heads and headed out towards the living room.
"I'll get her. You get the door."
Eddie picked Ellie from her bassinet who had wormed her way out of the blanket she'd been wrapped up in and was flailing her tiny arms and legs. She was angry.
"Oh sweet girl. It's ok. It's ok. Did the doorbell wake you up? It's ok. Let mommy just fix you're blanket."
Ellie's face was red as a beet as Eddie fixed the blanket around her. She wasn't as good at it like Jamie. She did her best and took Ellie back into her arms and rocked her. She stopped screaming and started to whimper. Jamie opened the door and found the family standing outside. He gave a small smile as they all entered wearing masks.
"Hey guys. Sorry about the mess. We're still trying to get everything all organized. Just set the food on the counter and the kitchen table."
Everyone piled into the apartment and started setting different containers of home cooked food down. Eddie looked up from Ellie who was still whimpering.
"Sorry guys. Ellie is just a little fussy. The doorbell startled her awake. We had just put her down before you got here."
Eddie could see Frank smile from behind his mask.
"No worries Eddie. I remember when each of my kids were that age. Jamie was the fussiest. But also the tiniest."
Jamie blushed slightly.
"Dad…"
Frank gave a chuckle.
"What? I can't tell you're wife stories about you when you were a baby?"
Jamie put his hands up and shook his head no.
"No! You'll tell her how tiny I was and its just embarrassing."
Danny piped up as he put the last dish down on the table.
"Now you two have food enough for a week. Don't be embarrassed kid. I'm sure Eddie will make you forget all about you're embarrassing childhood stories."
Jamie smirked at Danny.
"Ok, so my childhood stories aren't that embarrassing. You want embarrassing, ask Danny or Erin."
He directed his last sentence at Eddie. She hid a smile behind Ellie's blanket. Unburying her face from Ellie's blanket she gave a laugh.
"I'd love to hear what it was like when you guys were kids."
Danny shook his head as he turned with the rest of the family to leave.
"I swore my baby brother to secrecy Eddie. He won't budge."
Shaking his head, he saw his family out the door.
"Thanks for the food guys. Eddie and I appreciate it. We don't have much time to go shopping."
Erin turned and took her mask off.
"You know Jamie, Danny and I we can get you guys groceries.
You guys need to eat. Ellie needs her formula. We can get you guy anything you need. Just let us know. Ok?"
Jamie nodded and waved closing the door behind him. Blowing out a breath, he went to the sink to wash his hands.
"I love my family, I do, but they can be embarrassing sometimes."
Eddie had gotten Ellie back to sleep and in her bassinet. She pulled Jamie into a hug and then into a kiss. Pulling away, Jamie smiled.
"Where were we?"
"Come on sweetie. You've almost got. I know you can roll over. Daddy said you did it while I was working."
Eddie was a bit disappointed that Ellie had rolled over while she was at work. Jamie had been so excited that he sent her the video he'd taken on his phone. She had been so proud of herself. Jamie gave Eddie's arm a reassuring squeeze.
"Babe I'm sorry. I know we were hoping she would roll over with us watching her together. She did it as soon as I set her down on the blanket. I was glad I had my phone out when it happened."
Eddie had her phone out with it on record. Ellie flailed her tiny arms up and down and managed to turn ove onto her tummy. She let out a happy squeal. Reaching down, Eddie picked Ellie up from the blanket on the floor.
"Good job sweet girl! You did it. You look very proud of yourself. Were you this vocal with daddy?"
Ellie kicked her little feet against Eddie's side. Giggling, Eddie shook her head.
"I take that as a yes. You are so silly."
Jamie ran a hand over Ellie's dark hair. She leaned towards him and cooed.
"What? You say you want daddy to hold you? Of course I'd love to hold you."
Eddie made a face as she handed Ellie over to Jamie, swatting him on the shoulder lightly.
"She really is a daddy's girl. You spoil her so much."
Now it was Jamie's turn to make a face.
"Nah. Look how many clothes she has? I think we either need a bigger apartment or we need to buy a house."
Eddie sighed, it was true. Ellie had more clothes than she did. So many people had given them clothes.
"Your right babe. We should probably get rid of some of her clothes. Some of them don't even fit her anymore. We should put her in that cute yellow sundress Erin got her last week."
This got Jamie to thinking about things farther down the road. He knew they needed a bigger place. Eddie was finally getting the hang of knowing exactly what Ellie wanted or needed.
"I think she's going to be hammy with you babe. She stuck her tongue out at me the other day."
Eddie shook her head and kissed Ellie's forehead.
"Are you being silly with daddy? Mommy loves that you are being so silly. Look at the smile. I can't wait to hear you start laughing."
Jamie made a face at Ellie and she smiled. Then a laugh escaped her mouth.
"Did you just laugh baby girl?"
Eddie grabbed her phone from the table and hit record on it to start taking a video.
"Come on sweet girl. Can you laugh for mommy? Jamie make that face again. Maybe she'll laugh."
Jamie widened his eyes and made a face at Ellie again. She erupted into a laugh.
"You think daddy's funny?"
Ellie giggled and put her head against Jamie's shoulder. He made another face, but Ellie wasn't having it. Her face scrunched up and she let out a cry. He rubbed her back and continued his conversation with her.
"Oh sweetheart, baby girl. I'm sorry. Did daddy scare you with the face he just made. I'm sorry."
Eddie turned her phone off and got closer to Jamie.
"I think she's getting tired babe. "
Jamie nodded and rubbed Ellie's back.
"Yeah. She did good today. I can't believe she's four months old. She's getting so big."
"Jamie!"
Jamie had been brushing his teeth in the bathroom and adjusting his tie on his uniform when he heard Eddie call from the living room.
'What babe? What is it? Are you two ok?"
Eddie smiled and pointed to Ellie.
"Look, I think she's gonna do it. She's going to start crawling."
Jamie got down on his knees on the other end of the blanket and coaxed her.
"Come on Ellie. Come to daddy baby girl. I see you rocking back and forth, you look ready to crawl."
Ellie looked between Jamie and Eddie. Then she looked at Eddie and giggled. She put one knee forward and then the other. It took her a few minutes, but she made it to Eddie. She gave a happy squeal and Eddie scooped her up into her arms. Jamie made a face as he got up and fixed his tie on his uniform.
"Uh oh. She's mobile. We're going to have to start baby-proofing the house."
It had now been an entire year since they'd adopted Ellie. Eddie had just sent a video to Jamie of Ellie saying her first word. He had texted her right away, which meant his tour was either very quiet or his was on meal. She read the message on her phone.
'She really said 'mama'. I'm a little jealous. I'm going to see if she'll say 'dada' for me when I get home.'
Eddie gave a small laugh as she read Jamie's text.
"Well sweet girl, daddy's just jealous because you said 'mama' first instead of 'dada'."
Ellie gave Eddie a look and held up a plastic block.
"Ba."
Picking up Ellie, she sat on the couch with her. There was something she needed to tell Jamie. She sat for awhile cuddling with Ellie and then gave her some lunch. About thirty minutes later, she put Ellie down for a nap in the nursery. Eddie hadn't realized it was now late afternoon and Ellie was still asleep. As she got up to check on Ellie she heard keys in the lock of the apartment door. In came Jamie and he closed the door.
"I'm home babe. Where's Ellie?"
Eddie gave a smile, but she felt it was kind of forced.
"In the nursery. Um, I uh have something to tell you…"
She had trailed off and made her way towards the nursery. Jamie reached for her hand and took it, stopping her from going into Ellie's room.
"Hey you seem nervous about something. What's wrong? Are you ok?"
Eddie knew she couldn't lie to him. She felt his index and middle fingers on her wrist.
"I can't lie to you. Jamie, I'm pregnant."
Jamie's face lit up.
"That's great news! We're going to need a bigger place. It'll get pretty cramped up."
To Be Continued…
A/N: I know this chapter is pretty long. Hopefully I had a lot of Jamko and baby Ellie in this chapter.