17

A million and one more thanks to skyross19 for amazing feedback and ideas for this story! Thanks for helping me make it better!

Erin carried the large, steaming pan of lasagna to the table. It was Lena Janko's recipe and meant to impress their guest of honor who she was told was a fan of all things covered in sauce and cheese. "What time are they getting here?" she asked as she carefully deposited it in the center of the table. They were all gathered in the dining room waiting eagerly for James's arrival.

Sean eyed the pan and his mouth began to water. He mentally claimed a corner piece, the one with the extra crispy cheese. It had been a couple hours since he last ate and he was ready for the main attraction. "Yeah, we're about to eat and I want to meet the kid already. And I want to eat."

After placing a basket of Aunt Linda's famous garlic bread in front of her place setting, Nicky crossed her arms in front of her. "Mom said he's seriously the spitting image of Uncle Jamie. I still can't believe I missed out on that big family meeting!"

Frank eyed his granddaughter. "You didn't miss anything except a bunch of shell shocked faces. And your uncle has talked about James at this table plenty of times since then."

"I know, but still - that was a big one to miss."

"I bet your mom was on the phone with you the second she left this house," Henry snickered as he poured the last of the red wine into his glass.

"Well, I had to tell her she had a new cousin," Erin defended herself.

"Sure you did," Henry replied with a shake of his head.

Frank went back to Erin's original question. "Jamie texted a while ago that they were on their way after picking him up, so they should be here any minute."

"Remember to be on your best behavior, at least for today," Henry warned them. He assumed it didn't need to be said considering the situation and that their guest was only nine and unaccustomed to this bunch, but you never knew with them. Actually, now that he thought about it, it did need to be said with these guys.

"No bickering about politics or attorneys fighting with cops," Nicky clarified for the two main culprits. Although all eyes landed on the eldest Reagan sibling, she was forgetting that she was also an equal participant when those issues came up at this table.

"Why are you all looking at me?" Danny griped, holding his hands up to further proclaim his innocence.

Henry chuckled. "Oh, he's looking forward to meeting you." Frank and Henry had shared a few stories of childhood hijinx by and amongst the four Reagan kids growing up. One or two may have involved Danny in particular.

"What does that mean?" Danny worried over how his reputation could have reached his new nine year old nephew so quickly.

Sean steered the conversation away from his dad when his great grandfather's words registered. "He! Did you meet him already?"

Frank gave them a grin, considering himself lucky and honored to have already met his youngest grandson. "Possibly."

Henry simply chuckled.

"You too?" Nicky asked Henry.

"How come we're the last ones to meet him?" Danny complained as he stood behind his usual seat at the table.

"To make this easier for him," Frank explained. "Now he knows half the people at this table."

"So what's he like?" Erin asked. If they still had a few minutes, she wanted the full scoop. Jamie and Eddie had spoken a lot about him already and had nothing but great things to say about James, but she was curious as to her dad and grandpa's take now that they had met him as well.

"Does he really look that much like Uncle Jamie in person?" Nicky asked.

"It's uncanny," Henry declared. He still couldn't get the image of the pair walking towards them on the pier. It was sweet to see them together that first time looking so comfortable with each other.

What struck Frank the most, was how similar they were in personality despite Jamie not having raised him thus far. "Not just physically, but he's exactly like Jamie was as a kid - smart, attentive, inquisitive, very even tempered and mature for his age. It's something."

"So what are you saying, Dad? That maybe it's more nature than nurture in his case?" Erin asked.

"Maybe, I don't know. I don't want to take anything away from Sydney and her parenting skills. It just struck me how much it was like talking to your brother at that age."

"I agree, Francis. The rest of you will see it too when you meet him," Henry said.

"You know, Sydney was pretty prim and proper from what I remember and she comes from a country club background," Danny pointed out. He liked Sydney just fine back then, but she came from a whole different world than the one they were raised in. With Jamie's time at Harvard and his plans to marry Sydney, Danny assumed that would become his world too considering he was also on the path to a career that would take him to very different socioeconomic circles. Back when he was still on track to marry Sydney, he wondered if and how that could change him.

"What are you saying?" Sean asked.

"I'm saying, I always thought she and Jamie would have little trust fund babies if they had stayed together. Turns out they did, he just didn't know it. With a Park Avenue address and a fancy school, I guess it could have made James a wild child or a brat."

"He's not that," Frank assured them, but eyed Danny to dispel any misconceptions he might have about the boy.

"Don't judge! He's only nine," Erin chastized, defending her new nephew. She also felt the need to defend Sydney. As a fellow single mother, she sympathized with anyone raising a child on their own, although in her case, it was by choice. "And Sydney wasn't a snob back then and I can't imagine she is now. All the good things we know about James are thanks to her as well."

"I'm not! Just saying," he repeated. "It proves what Dad might be saying about nature versus nurture - that he's just like Jamie even though he didn't get to raise him so far. The other thing is what I would have thought before you confirmed it - that he's a good kid."

"Yeah, you're just saying," Erin snorted.

Danny was saved by the sound of the front door opening and his sister-in-law announcing their arrival. "We're here!"

The four younger family members in the diing room all looked at each other before eagerly awaiting their first look at the boy.

With a reassuring hand on James' shoulder, Jamie appeared from the living room as Eddie followed behind. They came to a stop at the opening to the dining room where, not surprisingly, they found the whole gang waiting for them. He gave James' shoulder a reassuring squeeze before introducing him. "Hey, everyone. Guys, this is James."

James glanced up at his dad before looking around at all of the new faces. He pressed his lips together at all of the eyeballs staring back at him. He was both excited and nervous to meet them. Eddie promised he had nothing to be nervous about. She explained that she had felt the same way her first time here, but that also included announcing their surprise engagement to the family.

"Alright, I'll be right back," Jamie said and stepped out of the car. They were already running a few minutes late to dinner, but he needed to fill up the Chevelle, otherwise they would be really late.

James had been fairly quiet since they picked him up, but Eddie recognized the nervous energy radiating from him. She glanced over her shoulder; his hands were tucked under his thighs almost as if to keep himself from fidgeting. He sent her a silent smile in return before peering aimlessly out the window, past where his father stood beside the pump running his credit card.

Eddie turned in her seat to address him. "You look really nice, James," she commented.

He was all dressed up in khakis, a light blue button down and topsiders. His hair was perfectly brushed and still damp from a recent shower - probably to ensure he was clean and presentable to the family. Sydney remembered well what Sunday dinners were like, and although casual attire was okay, this would be his first time there and she wanted him to look his best.

"You ready for dinner?" she asked.

"I guess," he shrugged.

"It's gonna be great."

James nodded wordlessly.

Eddie wanted to reach out and hug him, but decided to forgo throwing herself over the front seat in a dress in favor of sharing her own experience. "You know, it's okay to be nervous. I was."

James turned his head towards her. "What do you mean?

"My first time there," she explained.

"Why were you nervous?" he asked.

"Are you kidding me? You do realize your dad and I had only been work partners up until two days before I went over there for the first time. Oh! And within two minutes of getting there, with all eyes on me wondering what the heck's Jamie's partner doing here holding his hand, he announced we were engaged." God, she still remembered exactly how she felt that day. Her stomach was a mass of knots up until Frank welcomed her into the family. Even so, she still felt those same nerves for the first few dinners after that first meal.

"Dad didn't tell me that part," he said, when suddenly his head tilted quizzically. "Wait a minute. How do you go from working together to being engaged in two days?" He knew they worked together but he didn't know that part of the story.

Eddie's eyes widened. Well, damn, she really opened up a can of worms here, didn't she? With James staring back expectantly, she quickly put together a response that didn't include their history of smooches over the years or the near death experiences that got them to finally pull their heads out of their asses. "Well, your dad was basically my best friend from the beginning and that sort of led to having feelings for each other, but we didn't want to lose the best partnership we'd ever had. So we chose to keep working together rather than getting romantically involved."

"So how did that change then?"

Can of worms…she needed to be quick on her feet with this one. "After five years, we realized what we might be gaining by getting together outweighed what we would be losing if we only worked together, although your dad did try his darndest to keep us in the car together after we were engaged."

"So wouldn't you date first?"

Eddie snorted as she recalled her mother asking about that. "I told you, he was my best friend, we rode together for five years. We basically dated without the romantic stuff already. Why waste more time?"

"Yuck on the romantic stuff, but I get it, I guess," he nodded with a wrinkling of his nose. "So, you really were nervous?"

"Petrified as I was walking in!" Eddie laughed. "I mean, I'd met them all, but only professionally. Remember that your grandpa was my boss. Your Uncle Danny was the grumpy detective I'd met a handful of times and your Aunt Erin, well, she is a badass in the courtroom, just like your mom, I'm sure. They were bigger than life in my eyes, but you know what made it better?"

"What?"

Eddie's face softened. "When your dad reached out for my hand and held on to me tight. We were still a team and they were family…my family now, just like they are yours."

On the way over, his dad added that they knew everything they could about him already and were so excited to meet him. It also helped to see his grandpas here.

Henry was first to approach. Personally, he might be the most excited about this newest member of their family. Nothing brought him more joy than seeing his family grow. As he got older, he found that his grandkids and great grandkids gave him greater purpose during his twilight years. "Good to see you again, James. Welcome."

"Thank you."

Erin went next. She beamed at the little boy, happy to finally be meeting him. "I'm your Aunt Erin, James. I'm so happy you're here."

Inquisitive by nature, a question quickly popped into his head. "I gotta ask you something."

Jamie bit his lips to contain a smirk. James always had a question. The kid was a master at asking them - a detective in the making if you asked him - but he couldn't guess what he'd been waiting to ask Erin.

Erin met Jamie's eyes, silently asking what this might be about. All she got was a shrug in return. "Shoot," she said.

"How'd you get outta becoming a cop?" he asked seriously. Everybody else was a cop and it wasn't because she was a girl - Eddie was a cop too. He was just wondering.

Erin grinned. "Oh, I'm the smart one."

"That's not true," came the quick retort from Danny as he made his way around the table.

James stifled a giggle at the snark from his uncle.

The detective reached out for James' hand. "Uncle Danny. Good to meet you, kid."

James returned the firm grip and smirked up at his uncle. "I heard about you."

"I trust it's all good," Danny said seriously.

James' threw a dubious look over his shoulder at his dad before turning back to his uncle. "Eh."

That sent the room into laughter.

"He's a Reagan." Danny declared as Sean moved in.

"I'm Sean. I'll give you the ins and outs on dealing with these guys."

"He's seventeen but has the maturity of a nine year old so you two will get along great," Danny joked.

"Hey," Sean huffed.

"I'm Nicky. It's really great to meet you, James."

"You too."

"We're only missing Jack. But you'll meet him soon enough when he comes home for the summer," Jamie said.

Now that they were done, Sean directed them back to the real reason they were all here. "Can we eat now?"

"Yes, let's eat," Frank agreed, wanting to get the spotlight off his grandson. He watched as Jamie pointed James to the chair between him and Eddie's usual spots. Once they were all settled, he turned to James. "Reagans say Grace first at this table, James."

"So do Davenports, at least when Grandma and Grandpa are around," James offered, much to everyone else's amusement.

"That's about right," Sean muttered under his breath, knowing it was this was the place he usually prayed before a meal.

"Well, that's better than nothing," Henry chortled.

"Well, I for one think we all have something to be thankful for, so how about we all say Grace together?"

When they were done, plates were passed around as Eddie cut into the hearty pan of lasagna. Erin did a great job - it looked even better than the last time she made it.

James happily accepted a piece, feeling decidedly better now that the introductions were done.

Danny split his attention between his food and the nephew sitting across from him. "So when did you meet these two old guys, James?"

"Watch it there," Henry tutted, while Frank shook his head in disapproval at his oldest.

"Last week," the boy responded before taking his first big bite.

"Last week?" Danny shot back. "How come I wasn't invited?" he directed to his little brother.

"We went fishing," Jamie answered. Nothing else needed to be said.

But James thought differently. "You don't like fishing," he said while poking at his food. It came out so naturally. The stories he heard made it easy to comment on the likes and dislikes of an uncle he only met ten minutes beforehand.

Danny's head tilted to the right, suspicious of the statement. "Is that right? And how exactly would you know that, James?"

"They said you have the attention span of a gnat," he shared freely, setting off giggles around the table.

"He's not wrong," Erin pointed out.

Danny pointed his fork around the table. "What else did they tell you?"

Jamie leaned over to James. In a mock whisper, he said, "What's said on the pier stays on the pier."

"What else was said on the pier?" he directed to James, then scowled at his brother. "And since when?" God only knew what exaggerations and lies they told this poor, innocent child.

"Since we had decades of family history to share with him," Frank offered with a smirk.

Danny chewed his food and nodded. So that's the way it's gonna be, huh? "Oh, so we want to get into family history, huh? Boy, kid, do we have stories to tell you about your dad."

"Great. More torture," Jamie sighed.

James ate happily and quietly. The food was great and he was all in for hearing more stories.

"He wasn't spared," Henry assured Danny. "No one was."

Erin's amusement shifted into concern. She leaned forward against the table and looked past Eddie to James, who was chomping away at his lasagna. "What exactly did they tell you about all of us?" she asked, knowing Jamie, Pop and her dad would be more than willing to share their most embarrassing childhood exploits. Then again, that sentiment applied to all of them, didn't it?

Pretending to get all fatherly, Jamie addressed his siblings. "Alright, now there's no need to interrogate him." Truthfully, he only wanted to avoid their wrath. Also, James was cut from the same cloth - he'd be more than thrilled to get more dirt on him and wouldn't be shy about jumping into the conversation once he was comfortable around this group, which was happening more quickly than Jamie expected. Although, that was a good thing for all of them.

James was relaxed, enjoying both his dinner and the back and forth across the table.

Seeing that made a little torture worthwhile for Jamie.

So there it is, James has now met everybody! A few more chapters of father and son growing their relationship until Sydney's old issues with his job has her interfering in ways neither ever expected.