Chapter 16

"Garrett! You can't go in there!" the normally reserved Baker shouted from down the hall as she caught sight of DCPI Moore heading for Frank's office door early one Friday evening. "He's got an important visitor!" She hurried back to stop him but Garrett waved her off.

"I'm just dropping off the speech for Monday's awards ceremony," he said. "I'm not staying." He gave a small knock and walked in without waiting for a response. He knew there were no other meetings scheduled for the remainder of the day and that Frank would be leaving for home soon. Garrett was not expecting the sight before him though, as he found the Police Commissioner of New York City sitting on the couch by his coffee table, having tea and cookies with a very excited young lady.

"Frank?"

"Yes, Garrett? Is there something wrong? I am the PC. If I want to have tea in my office after hours with my beautiful granddaughter, I can."

Garrett's right eyebrow shot up. "Don't tell me you're using the tea set the royal family sent over from England?"

"All right, I won't tell you that," Frank smiled as the little girl offered him another cup. "Jamie and Eddie are running late with errands for the big dinner tomorrow so I picked Kaylin up downstairs at daycare, and we're waiting for my detail to install her car seat before we can head home."

"So the adoption papers are final then I take it?" Garrett inquired, knowing that the whole family had been gearing up in anticipation of a grand celebration for the past several weeks.

"Almost, they have a family court date first thing tomorrow morning, and then it's official... we will have a Ms. Kaylin Elizabeth Reagan, won't we darling?" he asked, clearly smitten with the thought as she offered him a big grin and a hug. Kaylin loved spending time with her Grandpa, and she had proven to be a delight to the whole family in recent months. It had been so many years since Nicki was this age, and they were all taking turns soaking up her little girl charms, even Uncle Danny who had spent several weekends over at the house carefully constructing his promised deck so she had a place to play outside when the grass was wet.

"Elizabeth?" Garrett asked. "Is that a coincidence or..."

"No, she didn't have a middle name listed on her birth certificate so Jamie and Eddie decided it was a fitting way to honor my mother. She would have been so pleased," he said with a hint of melancholy and a crackle in his normally strong voice, "to have this little one growing up in her house."

Garrett smiled back as he dropped his folder on the desk and turned to take his leave, "It's a good thing, Grandpa. A very good thing. I'm happy for you, Frank. Give everyone my regards and you have a good weekend." He left the room, not for the first time completely envious of the bond the Reagan family had. That little girl had certainly hit the jackpot this time after a rough start, he thought.

###

"Daddy, Daddy! LOOK!" Kaylin shouted excitedly as she hurried up the steps onto the deck in typical little kid fashion, just one at a time as fast as her little legs could take her. "Uncle Tony brought me BUBBLES!" she gushed as she showed Jamie a huge pink bottle and super-sized wand. "I can make the biggest ones, now!" she cried as Jamie scooped her up and dutifully took careful note of her cherished prize. He was completely healed now after his latest abrupt encounter with the bottom of a flight of stairs.

"You sure can, sweetness!" he laughed. "I know someone else who's gonna love those, too. Did you say thank you?" he asked as he shot a grin at Renzulli who was following after her with a bottle of champagne in his hand.

"Yup!" she confirmed as she wiggled back down. "I wanna go show Mommy!" she said as she scampered off. Jamie sighed and gave silent thanks for a fenced in back yard to contain the energetic toddler. He and Eddie had gotten a crash course from Linda on baby-proofing their home when they moved in. Kaylin was a force of nature to be reckoned with, in constant motion and always chattering away. He couldn't imagine her confined in their small apartment. His father had been quick to point out that what goes around, comes around… referencing Jamie's own overactive childhood. It pleased Frank to no end to watch his son try to keep up with his new daughter now.

"Yeah, well I brought some bubbly for the adults too, Harvard," Renzulli laughed as he watched her go. "Figured you deserved some after all you went through with that little girl."

"One of the best things to ever happen to me, Sarge," Jamie admitted as he accepted the bottle. "I should be thanking you. I mean first you hooked me up with Eddie as a partner, and then you brought Kaylin into our lives. You don't know how important they both are to me."

"I'm touched, Reagan," Renzulli replied. "It was my pleasure, although I never thought you would actually get on with it. Maybe I have a future as a matchmaker though, eh? You just take good care of them both or you're going to have to answer to Uncle Tony," he laughed as he slapped his old boot on the back.

Henry was in the kitchen with an apron on, stirring the secret sauce for his famous pasta dish and watching through the window as a few close friends and family gathered in the backyard while the table was set and the food prepared inside. It was a beautiful warm day for such a celebration and he was smiling as Frank walked up behind him.

"Don't touch the sauce, Francis. It's not ready yet," he scolded as Frank dipped a piece of bread in for a taste anyway.

"It's perfect, Pop," his son smiled. "I wouldn't change a thing."

"Neither would I," Henry said, as he turned back to the window and saw Kaylin skip by holding Eddie's hand. "It's good to be home, isn't it? Your mother would be so happy. This is exactly how she would want this house to be now. It is perfect."

Eddie handed Kaylin off to Nicki who promised to supervise the setup for the bubble mix while she made her way into the kitchen where Jamie and Erin were now putting the final touches on the salad. "Do you know where my mom is?" she asked. "It's almost time for dinner."

"Haven't seen her lately," Jamie answered, "but I'm guessing she's not downstairs."

Eva Janko had arrived the night before and had been situated in an upstairs guest room, which had not been completely finished yet. She had looked a bit put off by that, but on the whole had been much friendlier to Jamie during this visit, and had doted on Kaylin, which was a relief to him as she had not initially seemed happy with the news that they were planning on adopting the child. Jamie was still amused to watch though as Bear had made it his mission to stalk his mother-in-law on every possible occasion. It had culminated in one of his lightning attacks this morning when she was in the shower. The furtive feline had thereafter been banished to the basement for the remainder of her stay. God, he loved that cat. Even Eddie had warmed up to him, as the two had come to a truce when she secretly started supplying him with his favorite treats. Bear had also become very protective of Kaylin, sleeping on the corner of her bed whenever she was there to guard her, and Jamie prayed he would still be with them when the little girl was old enough to date. He knew that cat would scare the holy hell out of any boy that got close to her.

"I've gotta find her," Eddie said impatiently. "She needs to be here when we sit down to eat." Jamie just shrugged his shoulders at his wife, not seeing the urgency of the matter. She had been a little tightly strung the last few days, but he chalked it up to getting things ready for the party and the adoption being finalized plus her mother's impending visit. That alone had been enough to put him on edge as well.

"Try the front of the house then, I think maybe she was talking to Danny out there. He was getting the rest of Kaylin's presents out of the car for me," he replied. Jamie's beloved mustang had been damaged beyond repair in the parking garage blast, and he and Eddie had found a used crossover that was much better equipped to house a car seat, as he had flatly refused to entertain the notion of a minivan when Linda suggested it to him. With Eddie working unpredictable shifts, they had decided to use the daycare at 1PP when needed, meaning that the fourteenth floor now had a frequent small visitor much to the staff's delight. There had even been a pseudo surprise adoption shower in the conference room this past week for the toddler, although Jamie had thought it strange that Eddie had acted somewhat nervously during that as well. He had blamed that on all the politically correct top brass that had stopped by to congratulate his father. They still put Jamie off too, although he was getting better at dealing with it.

Soon it was time for dinner, as Grandma Betty's table was set with a few extra leaves added to accommodate the additional guests. Space in the dining room was tight but the Reagan's would not have wanted it any other way. It was the first time in a very long while that they had all gathered together in this particular place for a family meal, and there was much to celebrate. Kaylin was settled into a highchair between her two parents with Jamie taking his seat at the head of the table for the very first time, and Henry retaining that honor on the other end. Frank smiled as he looked around at his children and their families. There was still a sense of what could have been as he remembered those that were not with them, but there was so very much to appreciate. It didn't get much better than this, he thought, until suddenly it did.

Eddie quickly drew everyone's attention by standing and drumming a spoon on her water glass as they settled into their seats. "Please, before we get started with grace, I would just like to say a few words," she started. She had been dying for this moment to come all week, as she had been ready to burst with the news, but wanted it to be a surprise with everyone present. "I know it's only the end of October, so it's a few weeks early, but today I am beyond thankful for everything I have… my beautiful, precious little girl who dropped into our lives with a bang, literally, and is officially a Reagan today. I can't imagine a day without her now… my wonderful husband, our families and friends and this beautiful house to share with all of you. And this salad," she added as she tapped her plate and smirked, catching Jamie's eye while he was taking a sip from his glass. "I'm definitely thankful to have this salad right now." She laughed when Jamie choked on the water and sprayed his plate. Danny had to slap his brother on the back while he turned red and struggled for air, as everyone else looked around the table at one another completely confused. Kaylin was giggling and clapping at her daddy's antics while Eva was, quite frankly, appalled with her son-in-law's manners.

"You mean you're…?" he sputtered finally, pulling up his napkin to wipe his face.

"Yup," she smiled with her eyes shining. "I was at the doctor this week, and everything looks healthy so far. Somewhere around the middle of June, Kaylin's going to be a big sister. I've always wanted my kids to be close in age to each other."

-fin-

That's a wrap for this installment. I'm sad it's over because I've really enjoyed writing it! Thanks for all the reviews, favs and follows! Look for the next story in this series, "Resurrection" to post when I have it finished!... it's in the beginning stages so might be a while. That one will be a little darker and more crime-centric as Eddie and Jamie adjust to life with a toddler and look forward to their new addition while the Reagans do what they do best when they are targeted by an old foe!

I might throw in a few fun one or two shots based off of the stories in this series in the meantime. Some things just didn't fit in the flow. PM or leave suggestions in the comments if there are any missing scenes you would like to see. :-)