Jamie peeked into the bassinet that was tucked under the bay window and smiled at the sight. His little girl was sleeping peacefully, swaddled up in a bright pink floral blanket. She had a perfect button nose and a light set of hair. She was truly the most perfect baby he'd ever laid his eyes on, even though he knew he was biased.
He hadn't expected to leave the house today, mainly due to his daughter being five days old and his wife still recovering from the birth but he was very surprised when she was insistent on coming to family dinner. It amused them when they arrived to see the house accommodated for the newest addition to the family. There was a new crib in Jamie's old room, a mobile bassinet that could taken all over the ground floor of the house, and two rocking chairs, one for the sun room and the other one for Jamie's room.
The past year had been such a whirlwind for their family, with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It had first started off with Frank announcing his retirement, due to Henry's recent health scare. He had landed in the hospital after a severe case of pneumonia, in which they were close to losing him. Thankfully, after almost three weeks, Henry recovered and was able to walk out of the hospital on his own. The hospital stay had clearly weakened the patriarch, now leaving him walking around with a cane.
The retirement decision was surprisingly easy for Frank. He knew that Henry was getting older and he wanted to spend as much time with him as he could. Henry had dreams of visiting certain places and wanted to do things before he physically couldn't anymore.
In the midst of everything going on with Henry came the biggest surprise of Jamie and Eddie's life. She was pregnant. She had the suspicion about it one day while they were at the hospital with Henry but didn't think much of it. Finally, after a few days of repeated morning sickness, Jamie finally convinced her to take a pregnancy test which confirmed the news. After the shock wore off and they got past Henry's medical scare, there was excitement. They were going to be parents. It was something they had wanted for a long time despite it happening earlier than planned.
The family was excited to welcome a new addition, especially Henry. After his health scare, he was grateful to still be around to welcome his newest great-grandchild. He felt like his great granddaughter came at a time when he truly needed her and gave him another reason to keep going.
Jamie looked down in the bassinet to find the little one's blue eyes staring back at him. According to his wife and the family, she was his twin. But to him, she was very similar to his wife. He's already started to get himself mentally prepared for her teenage years, knowing that he was going to have to fight off the boys from his beautiful daughter.
"Hi baby," he said gently, running a finger over her small forehead. "Did you take a good nap? You were sleeping for awhile."
The little girl simply yawned in response to her father. He immediately scooped her up into his arms and held her close. No matter how hard they tried not to, Jamie and Eddie held her with any chance they got, even if she was sleeping. They couldn't resist her sweet smell and cuddles. They knew that these days would pass by quicker than expected so they wanted to soak in these moments with her as much as they could.
He carried her over to the sun room and sat down in the rocking chair. He laid her on his chest and laid a blanket over her. The little one seemed wide awake now and turned her head back and forth looking around the room.
Jamie peppered kisses to the top of her head. "You want to know something, honey? I feel like you came to us at a perfect time. Everything that was happening with your Pop-Pop… I felt like my world was crumbling. I wasn't ready to lose him yet. None of us were. I remember when he was in the ICU, I told him that Mama was pregnant with you. I wanted to give him a reason to hang on. I'm so thankful he did."
Jamie spent many days and nights sitting at his grandfather's bedside while he was in the hospital. Henry was in and out of consciousness for the first week so Jamie mainly sat and talked to him. He kept him in the loop about everything going on with the family, and encouraged him to keep fighting. The day that he and Eddie found out that she was pregnant, it had been a particularly hard day with Henry. Medically, he wasn't doing well and the doctor had told them that it was probably time look at other options if he didn't improve.
He and the rest of the family had kept vigil at his bedside. They all begged and almost pleaded with him to keep fighting. At one moment when Jamie found himself alone with Henry, he broke the news of Eddie's pregnancy.
"We just found out today," Jamie said gently, clutching his grandfather's hand. "She's been getting sick for the past few days so we had a feeling that she could be pregnant. Obviously, it was a big surprise… but the best one at that."
He looked at Henry and sighed. To see him connected to a bunch of wires and monitors just brought him back to the grave reality of the situation. "I really need you to get better, Pop. I need you to be here when this baby is born. You can teach the baby so many things that Eddie and I can't. I need you to teach me how to be the best father I can be."
He was grateful that his grandfather was able to recover and still be here with them. Even though his little girl was only five days old, she was already heavily spoiled by her great grandfather. When he was around, he was the only one who had claim on the baby.
Jamie felt himself falling asleep as he rocked the little girl back and forth in the chair. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up and saw his wife leaning against the doorway of the kitchen with a gentle smile on her face.
"Hey," he said. "I thought you were still asleep."
"I woke up a few minutes ago. I got a little panicked that I hadn't heard her yet." She walked over and ran a hand over her small head. "She okay? Has she fussed at all?"
Jamie shook his head as he adjusted the baby in his arms, "She's good. No fussing at all, hon. Why were you in the kitchen? Did you try to help?"
Eddie nodded, "I tried. Pop and Erin kicked me out as soon as I walked in. They said that I was not allowed to help since I'm still recovering."
Jamie chuckled, "I'm not surprised." He moved the baby to one side and patted his free leg. "Sit down."
Eddie blushed. In private, they were very affectionate. But in front of the family, it was rare. "Your family is over there, Bub. We can't do that."
He peeked over into the kitchen to see the family busily working on dinner. "They're not going to care, Ed. It's still going to be awhile before they're finished. Sit down."
She finally relented and carefully sat down. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her daughter's soft cheek.
"It's crazy, huh?" she began, flashing an affectionate smile at her daughter. "With how much things have changed in this past year. Who would've thought that we'd end this year with a baby?"
"I didn't," Jamie admitted. "Even though it was unexpected, she really came at a perfect time. With everything going on with Pop, she gave the family the boost we needed."
"She really did," Eddie agreed readily.
"I just realized that this family is going through a new season of life now," Jamie said. "With the baby, everything that happened with Pop, and now with Dad retiring. There's going to be a lot of change for us."
She nodded, scratching her fingernails on the side of his head. "There is. It's going to be very different. Also, with us moving over here in a few months, that's going to be a big change too."
After the scare with Henry, Jamie and Eddie decided that they wanted to move closer to him and Frank. The two men were getting older and they knew that eventually, both of them would start needing help with taking care of themselves. Conveniently, there was a house that went for sale two doors down from them a few days after Henry returned home from the hospital. It had everything they were looking for in a home and was in their price range. They planned to move in toward the beginning of the new year, once Eddie was fully recovered from the birth and after some renovations were made. It was going to make their work commute longer, but it was well worth it so they could be closer to Henry and Frank.
"I feel like the move will be good for us," he replied. "We'll have the space we need and be closer to Dad and Pop. Plus, munchkin can grow up close to her grandpas. I know her being close by will really help them as they get older."
"It will for sure," Eddie agreed. "This season of life will be different but you know what?"
"Hm?" he responded, looking over at her.
She smiled, "I feel like as long as we keep our little family intact and keep together with the rest of the family… then we'll make it through just fine."
Jamie nodded and leaned his head against hers, "I love you."
She sighed happily, "I love you too."
All of a sudden, the little one in Jamie's arms let out a loud cry, signaling to her parents that it was time for her next meal.
"Okay. Okay," Eddie said with a chuckle. She stood up with some assistance from her husband then scooped her little girl up in her arms. "Let's get you fed, baby."
"Want me to come with?" Jamie asked his wife as she started to carry the baby up the stairs. "I know I can't feed her like you can but I can always keep you company."
Eddie laughed and waved him over, "Come on, Papa Reagan."
He quickly stood up and followed his girls up the stairs. Their lives were quickly changing, but they were ready to embrace it. Through all the highs and lows of the past year, they were grateful that they all managed to stay together as a family.