3rd person pov
Air had evidentially been sucked out of that Bay Ridge living room, for no one in that house could find the air to breathe, let alone speak. Until, out of innocence came the cheerful voice of Erin's daughter Sami, young enough that she only caught on to the fact that her oldest brother had been the topic of conversation
"Petey! Petey home soon?"
Once again a heavy wave of grief crashed over all of the members and soon-to-be members of the Reagan clan. Erin hugged her daughter and spoke
"We'll talk about it later, ok?"
The men bringing the message to the family spoke again
"We are so sorry, Mrs. Reegan- Kaminsky."
With that, all the people in the family save for the little ones whipped their heads around to face the messengers
"REEGAN- KAMINSKY?!"
Speaking for the whole family, the Police Commissioner cleared his throat, once thick with tears
"Our Marine is Peter REAGAN- KAVINSKY. You have brought the wrong message to the wrong family. Have a good night, give our condolences to the family. And the next time, should there be one, quadruple check your information before giving families unnecessary grief. Goodnight."
Sheepishly, they scurried out of the house quicker than lightning. The family took a deep collective breath and wiped at stray tears, which turned to tears of laughter once Eric tried to swallow a quarter that had been on the floor. Danny grinned
"Jamie, your son really DOES take after his old man."
Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, the Sargent grinned back
"Yeah, yea, yeah..."
Not much of a rebuttal had come against Danny's accusation, but Jamie had been plenty busy making sure his son did not actually swallow anything other than the food on his plate. Next Sunday was going to be a special one for Jack, coming home from college with a guest. His girlfriend Mia. Soon enough, the next Sunday had arrived, Lara Jean being able to visit, doing her coursework online. This time around, Jack and Mia were the last to arrive, the green-eyed redhead clinging to her boyfriend and holding a container full of quesadillas. Jack spoke up, setting out a chair next to him for Mia
"Everyone, this is my girlfriend Mia."
Mia smiled a tad nervous around the famous family at first
"Hi, everyone. I'm Jack's girlfriend, and I'm also a nursing major at Hadleigh."
Everyone was quick to greet her, introducing themselves and making her feel right at home. Maria spoke first
"Ooh, these quesadillas are so good! Hit right on the spot."
Knowing she was receiving such praise from her future stepmother-in-law made Mia very happy, relieved at the way they took her under their wings immediately, as if she had always belonged there with them. She especially appreciated how they would playfully pick on each other and get loud and rowdy at times, since she grew up in a home just as loud and tight-knit, being the middle kid of 13 in all. Stillness and silence, even if not out of animosity, always made her feel weird and out of place. Danny smiled at her
"Thank you for making my son so happy."
She smiled back
"He makes me just as happy, no worries."
With that, the group gathered around the Commissioner's table enjoyed each others' company the rest of the evening. After Jack had dropped Mia off at her house and made plans to spend the following day with her, he returned to the Bay Ridge house, where the family was gathered around the TV, the news updating the viewers on the war against Russia.
Erin spoke in disbelief
"One particular battle has been in engagement for over two days... And we haven't heard from Peter in four days. And after that scare with the mistaken identity of that fallen Marine... I'm just so scared, all the time."
The family echoed the sentiment, but set their rapt attention to the tv in front of them as the newscaster spoke
"One brave American Marine has ravaged through this two-day engagement on the front lines and behind enemy territory, and single-handedly rescued his entire platoon, according to our liaison at the Corps. As we all know, that will result in this Marine receiving the Silver Star."
The family was overtaken with pride and a bit of shock at the photo of the Marine who had achieved such a feat. It was their Peter. Pop was the first to speak
"Not surprised."
The others were quick to agree. Nicky reached over and squeezed her boyfriend and firefighter Ricky's hand
"Not to steal any thunder, and my parents already know this... But Ricky and I are engaged. We're planning a long engagement, I want Peter here for my wedding."
Congratulations went around, some preparations already being tended to.
TIMESKIP - 6 months- Nicky's pov
The day of my wedding was finally here. I was so excited, but at the same time kind of upset. I had tried to work everything out so that Peter could be here, but at the last minute, he'd gotten word that he was not going to be able to come after all. I hadn't told anyone, as to not sadden them, but I had cried for a long time after getting the news. They knew he was not going to be able to make it. What they did not know is how much I cried after I found out. I just missed my brother... And, on a totally related note, I was so thankful for water-proof makeup. My Mom came to my side of the bridal suite, where I was getting ready with my bridal party. She was my Maid of Honor, and looked at me knowingly
"Everything will be ok. And, oh my goodness, we almost forgot your 'something blue' for your wedding! Here, put this blue satin in the bouquet."
I did as she requested, and smiled as some words on the fabric caught my eye
"This is part of Peter's regional lacrosse MVP medal!"
My Mom smiled
"It is. Now you can have him with you after all."
Smiling and teary-eyed, I hugged her
"Thank you."
She gave me a squeeze and a kiss on the top of my head
"You're welcome."
There was a knock on the door, and by now a lot of the bridal party had left the room. LJ was the only one who had not needed to reapply makeup, so she stayed with me and Mom. Suddenly, Mom had a dress emergency, and needed a safety pin. Dad entered the suite to help her, crying at the sight of his firstborn all done up in a bridal gown. After he had kissed my forehead and marveled at how I looked, Mom redirected him to help her, seeing as he had the pin and she could not reach the tear herself.
Just as he got the dress fixed, there was another knock on the door, causing me to call out playfully
"Ricky, you can't see me yet. Quit trying!"
I thought I was hallucinating, because the voice that replied was not Ricky's. At all. I could see the smirk on that familiar face as I heard the reply
"What if I'm not Ricky?"
No. It couldn't... It couldn't be. Could it? Crying all over again, I yanked the door open and fell into the arms of my younger brother, who was finally home. He was also swarmed by our parents and his girlfriend, who all promised me they had no clue about this surprise. After greeting LJ, Peter hugged me again
"I didn't know if I was gonna be able to make it for sure until this morning. Ricky was the only other one that knew, and helped me surprise you all. But, on the subject of Ricky, what do you say we go get you married before I remember there's the line of objecting to the wedding, Nicks?'
She playfully swatted me
"Don't you dare, Peter."
And a few hours later, Ricky and I were married. Laurie, who was my cousin-in-law, was now also my sister-in-law.