Jamie and Eddie were about to meet their foster daughter, Emily for the first time. They knew very little about her except for the fact that she had been through hell and back. She was thirteen and suffered from a few mental health disorders. Eddie and Jamie had been briefed on those and on her symptoms yesterday. They sat in the social worker's office and waited, anxiously. Eddie was bouncing her knee Jamie was trying to calm her nerves, by telling silly jokes.
"What if we can't help her Jamie?" Eddie asked and Jamie took her hand.
"We will do our best, that's all we can do babe." Jamie replied as the door opened to reveal the social worker and Emily. They stood and smiled, letting Emily initiate contact, and she did. They all shook hands and they introduced themselves to her. Emily smiled.
"It's nice to meet you both." She said shyly.
"It's nice to meet you too." Eddie replied, her nervousness had subsided.
"Do any of you have any questions for each other before we move on to the paperwork?" The social worker asked.
"I have one, what do you both do for work, just out of curiosity." Emily asked.
"We both work for the NYPD. He's a Sergeant and I am a Senior Patrol Officer. We both work at the 29th precinct." Emily nodded.
"Is that all you want to know about them Emily?"
"Yeah, I was just a bit curious." She smiled. They signed the necessary paperwork before helping Emily gather her things and loading them up into the car.
"Emily, are you hungry or anything?" Jamie asked.
"I could eat." She replied and Eddie grinned.
"Okay. You ladies want to stop somewhere on the way home or just order in when we get there?" Jamie asked. They looked at each other and back to him and replied in unison.
"Whichever you prefer." They all soon busted out laughing.
"We'll order in after we get home and get settled in." Jamie replied and they all climbed into the car and made their way home. They helped Emily carry her stuff inside and mentioned that they hadn't done much decorating in her room because they wanted her to be able to decorate how she wanted. She nodded. Jamie unlocked the door and let them in, and they showed her to her room and gave her a mini tour of the apartment.
"So, what do you guys want tonight?" Eddie asked as she settled on the couch and turned on the tv. Emily plopped down next to her and smiled.
"Pizza?" She suggested and Jamie nodded in agreement before they decided what they wanted and then he ordered it online and sat with them on the couch as they watched some comedy show.
He and Eddie noticed Emily visibly flinch when the comedian made a particularly crude joke about sexual assault and Eddie was furious herself, being a survivor, so she quickly changed it and they had settled on reruns of Friends.
It became obvious at that moment to Emily that this would be the first and last foster home she was ever placed in. She knew they wanted her here and that they were going to fight with her, rather than against her. And for the first time in years, she felt safe and happy. Jamie answered the door when the pizza arrived, and Emily helped Eddie get plates and drinks out for them.
They ate in quiet as they sat at the table. They enjoyed a light conversation but were more focused on eating than chatting. There was a knock at the door, and they looked up. No one was expecting it and silently, Eddie hoped it was either a Reagan or the social worker dropping off something they had forgotten. Jamie motioned for them to stay there and went to check it out. He had gone into cop mode and let his hand rest on his weapon. Emily noticed this just as quickly as Eddie.
"Relax, it's my dad, Eddie." Jamie sighed and opened the door. Eddie relaxed and moved her hand that she hadn't realized was resting on her gun away from it.
"Emily are you okay to meet Frank now, or do you need a minute?" Eddie asked knowing Jamie had kept him in the living room for a reason.
"Now's okay." Emily replied, reverting into herself again. Eddie nodded and they walked out together, at least the Reagans knew they were doing this and would be mindful of that.
"Hey Frank, this is Emily." Eddie said letting Emily hide slightly behind her. She wasn't very good with meeting new people, even though meeting Jamie and Eddie had gone very well, today was still a very draining day and she was just ready for a shower and then bed at this point.
"Hi." She whispered from her position behind Eddie. She slowly emerged and stood between Eddie and Jamie as she studied him. He smiled and greeted her softly. He had forgotten that they were picking her up today but was glad that it seemed to be going well.
Soon, Emily became very comfortable with Frank and they were sitting on the couch and swapping stories about themselves.
"This is going really well." Eddie whispered to Jamie who nodded in agreement.
"He has that effect on people." He replied.
"I honestly thought the first person she'd buddy up with would be Nicky or Pop." Eddie said as they watched the two interact.
"Me too." Jamie responded before secretly taking a picture. He only sent it to Eddie, Emily and Frank. He figured they might like to have it. They made their way across from Frank and Emily and sat in the spare chairs.
"So, Emily you think you're ready for Sunday dinner, now?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, I think I'll be okay." She replied and Eddie smiled proudly and watched her push through her anxiety. Yes, she already considered Emily to be like a daughter. They were very similar in their histories and she knew she could help her, at least getting through her struggles with mental illness. Jamie watched Eddie and was glad that he saw her feeling exactly as he did about Emily. He reached over and squeezed her hand and she smiled. Of course he could read her that well.
"Should we put you in between them? Just in case?" Frank asked Emily.
"I think that may be for the best." Emily replied honestly.
"Okay, we can do that. Have one of them give you my number and you can send me a list of any allergies, and favorites and we'll make sure to get some of those for this week." She nodded.
"I will. Thank you." He smiled and she leaned over to give him a hug. Although he was shocked at the gesture, he hugged her back.
"You're welcome. Feel free to call me Frank or grandpa. I don't mind as long as you're comfortable." She nodded. Frank got up and hugged both Eddie and Jamie before he left.
"Bye dad."
"Bye Frank."
"Bye. I will see you all on Sunday." He waved and let himself out.
"You okay?" Eddie asked.
"Yeah. Actually I am." Emily smiled. They walked back to the kitchen and finished eating before they went back to the living room and sat on the couch with Emily between Eddie and Jamie.
"Can you guys tell me about everyone? Maybe it'll be easier that way."
"Of course. Should we start with Frank?" Emily nodded.
"Okay. Well Frank is the Police Commissioner and he's stoic but very gentle and loving like a teddy bear. He's always on your side even if he's playing the devil's advocate, because family comes first. He also really likes the old Western movies and books if he can find them. Oh and he was a Marine but he, Danny and Pop don't talk about their service and it's a touchy subject." Eddie replied.
"Pop is next, but he'll probably allow you to call him Henry, so you're more comfortable. He's my dad's dad and the former Police Commissioner. He will tell and re-tell you stories of his days on the force. All you have to do is ask. Similar to my dad he's always on your side even if he doesn't agree with you. He loves to do the crossword puzzle in the paper and read. He's also an amazing cook." Emily nodded.
"Then there's Danny. He's Jamie's brother. He can be a bit crass sometimes, but he doesn't mean it. He's a big softie at heart. He is married to Linda, Jack and Sean are their kids, and he is a Detective in the Major Crimes Division at the 54th precinct. He has a temper too, so just know if he blows up it's normal and not directed at you." Eddie said.
"Linda is a nurse and really good at listening. She will keep what you say between the two of you unless it has to do with you hurting yourself, you hurting someone else which I know won't be a problem, or someone else hurting you. They all kind of work that way and we do too. She's also a great cook." Jamie added.
"Jack is eighteen and most of the time he's pretty focused on his phone. Oh by the way, if we're at the table there's no phones, period. He just got back from college for the summer last weekend. Sean is sixteen and will probably try to follow Jack around. They both like video games and football and you can probably find them rough-housing in the backyard after church while dinner is being cooked." Eddie continued.
"Erin is my older sister, but she's younger than Danny. Nicky is her daughter. She is a prosecutor for the District Attorney's office in Manhattan. She's the Bureau Chief and she's really good at what she does."
"Nicky is twenty-four. She just graduated college and is super sweet. You two will probably get on really well. She loves to shop; she gets that from Erin. She also likes to play cards; she's really good at gin and poker, and she likes to sing."
"Any questions?" Jamie asked.
"Nope. That's just a lot of people."
"It is. But you'll get used to them pretty quick. They are very quick to love. We will make sure that they allow you to initiate contact, and if you're not ready this week, it's okay." Eddie said as she squeezed her hand.
"Thank you, both. For everything." She replied as she hugged them both. They hugged her back but released as soon as she did.
"Did you want to get a shower or anything? Your bathroom has everything you need including your body wash and everything that you told me you wanted." She nodded.
"Alright. Take your time. Holler if you need us, okay?"
"Okay. I will." She replied as she got up and went into her room and shut the door before she went into her bathroom to take a shower. Eddie and Jamie went into their room and changed into pajamas before laying down and turning on their tv. Half an hour later Emily knocked on their open door and walked in. Eddie muted the tv and they sat up.
"What's up kiddo?" Jamie asked and motioned for her to sit on the bed and she did.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm grateful for everything. It's important to me for you to know. It's not really ever been easy for me and now it finally feels like I am going to catch a break." Emily said softly, unable to make eye contact.
"You are. We are meant to be your parents, that means making sure you are safe and that you feel that way so that you can be yourself and enjoy what's left of your childhood." Eddie replied and held out her hand and let her take it.
"We take that very seriously and we want you to feel safe here. We will protect you with our lives." Jamie added.
"I know. I really do feel safe and lucky here." Emily smiled and hugged them before she went back to her room for the night. Around four in the morning, though she started tossing and turning and her whimpers soon turned to screams. Eddie was at her side in seconds. She pulled her into her arms and woke her up.
"Hey, hey, hey. Emily, it's Eddie. Breathe sweetheart." Jamie walked in and set a water bottle on her bedside table before leaving the two alone. He didn't want to shake her up even more.
"I'm okay. The dreams are the worst part. Can you tell Jamie that his presence doesn't bother me? He seems a little skittish sometimes, but knowing he's got my back too helps. It reminds me there are men like him out there and that I don't have to worry about anyone sneaking in here and doing things to me like before." Eddie nodded and handed her the water bottle. Little did Emily know Jamie was only just outside her door, and he heard everything.
"Thanks, I'll be okay. I think I'll just turn on the tv and watch it until I fall back to sleep."
"Okay. Just come find us if you need to." She nodded as Eddie shut her door and joined Jamie down the hallway in their room.