Eddie sat in the pew of the First Baptist Church of the City of New York. On her right was Lena, on her left was Jamie and Kara. Kara placed a comforting hand on her left knee as Pastor Jeremy delivered the sermon to a church filled to the brim with brothers and sisters from the 1-2. Michael had talked to Renzulli and he'd be damned if he'd let happen to Eddie what happen to him when he lost a relative.
Pastor Jeremy, the Senior Pastor of FBC City of New York and the man that officiated Barry and Eddie's marriage, gave the eulogy. It was truly moving to all. He spoke of a man who served his country in the Army as well as a man who worked as a financial consultant not just for the wealthy, but also for the average person who wanted to get ahead or start a college fund for their child or grandchild. He also spoke about a man who swore up and down he met the love of his life.
As he said that, he looked to Eddie.
"And Eddie," Pastor Jeremy said, "he allllways bragged about you. His eyes lit up. 'Eddie this!' and 'Eddie that!' We hadn't met you yet, but we said, 'Alright, Barry, that's great, but is she real?'"
Uproarious laughter burst from the entire sanctuary, Eddie included.
At the reception in the church's Fellowship Hall, Eddie and Lena held court, thanking everyone for coming. Eventually, they came upon Detective Danny Reagan and Sean.
"Hi, Officer Janko," Sean greeted.
Eddie smiled sweetly, pulling in her honorary little brother in for a hug.
"Mom," she said, "this is Detective Daniel Reagan, Jamie's brother, and this is Sean."
"Oh, so you're the little brother I've heard about!" Lena remarked.
"Guess so," Sean remarked with a playful sigh.
After a beat, Danny spoke up.
"I know you've heard this a bajillion times today," he said, "but – as someone who's been there – I want you to know how sorry I am."
Eddie smiled.
"Thank you," she said, touched. Truly, Danny understood the depths of what she felt and what she was going through with the murder of his wife, Linda. He and Sean both did.
As he and Sean were walking away, Sean turned around.
"Officer Janko?"
Eddie looked towards him.
Sean walked towards her again and gave her a big, warm hug.
"I'm sorry," he said as he pulled away.
Eddie smiled.
"Thank you, Sean. And thank you for coming, it means a lot to me."
Sean nodded and walked away.
Eddie turned to greet other guests as Danny chatted with Jamie and Kara.
"So," Jamie said reluctantly, "at the risk of opening old wounds, how do you think she's doing? Really?"
Danny sighed, glancing sympathetically at the new widow.
"She's putting on a brave face," he said, "but when everyone goes home, it's going to hit her hard. At least when Linda died, I had Sean and Jack."
Jamie and Kara nodded.
Danny pointed a finger at them and glanced knowingly.
"But this is her grieving process, not yours," he emphasized. "You can't work the process for her, she has to do that herself. You left your own honeymoon for her, that's an amazing thing you did, seriously. But that is the exception, not the rule. You have to live your own lives and let her live her life."
He looked at Eddie, then back at his brother and sister-in-law.
"You want to help her?" he said.
Both nodded.
"Go back to your honeymoon asap. In fact, first thing tomorrow, ask Renzulli if you can extend time your time off for some getaway time. I'm sure he could make an exception given all that's happened."
Kara gave him an incredulous look.
"Our best friend's husband was murdered!" she quietly hissed.
"Yes, and as tragic as that is, it should not take away from the fact that you two got married a week-and-a-half ago and you two were on a romantic getaway to celebrate that. Eddie needs to know that there's still goodness in this world. People can still be happy and celebrate happy things even while other people are going through horrible things."
Kara looked and Jamie and Jamie looked at Kara.
Danny shrugged.
"Eh, what do I know?" he said. "I just went through it is all."
He walked away to congregate with other cops from the 1-2 he knew from days gone by…
Four hours later, Kara emerged from the shower in her robe and sat Jamie at his laptop as they lounged in their apartment unwinding from a long day.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Trying to re-book the cabin," he said.
Kara raised an eyebrow.
"Danny's right," Jamie said. "We left our honeymoon the day after our wedding night and I don't regret doing that at all, but we can't do something like that again. Our marriage needs to be our priority. We need to nourish it. Especially as two cops who see Hell on Earth, we need to nourish our marriage."
Kara smiled. She walked over and gently kissed Jamie on the cheek.
"I never doubt your commitment to me, to us, Jamie," she assured him. "We had to leave for Eddie, it was non-negotiable."
"I know, it's just…" Jamie said.
"It's just what?" Kara pressed.
"I was looking forward to spending time with my wife and it was taken from me. To revel in the newness, to show you off to strangers, to parade you around to complete strangers and say, 'Hey! This is Kara, my wife! We just got married!'"
Kara beamed.
"And the… newlywedhoneymoonsexpart, too," he said quickly.
Kara threw a pillow at him, laughing.
"Jerk!"
*Bing*
Jamie looked at the laptop.
"YES!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. "We got one and we can check in tomorrow and stay for four days and three nights! Are you good for that?"
"Absolutely!" Kara said.
Jamie clicked a few buttons on his laptop and closed it, feeling successful.
He pulled in Kara for a kiss.
"I love you," he said as they pulled away.
Kara looked at Jamie.
Then looked at him.
"What?" Jamie asked.
Kara pulled him in for a passionate kiss, her tongue exploring his mouth like it was a cave.
"Follow me," she said as they pulled a part. "I think I want to get a head start on some of our… honeymoon activities."
Jamie lifted Kara up off the floor.
"Jamie!" she shrieked happily. "You're gonna get it!"
Jamie smiled.
"I'm gonna give it, too!"
Across town, Eddie sat alone in her and Barry's apartment.
She had sent Lena home to New Jersey.
"Promise me, Edit, promise me you'll call if you need anything," Lena said an hour earlier.
"I promise, Mom," Eddie said sincerely.
They hugged.
"I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you, too, Mom."
Now an hour later, Eddie sat, staring at photos of her and Barry.
She smiled.
She chuckled.
She laughed.
She cried.
"I love you," she whispered to the picture of Barry. She kissed the tip of her middle and pointer finger, and placed it on the picture.
She laid it down and left it on the kitchen table.