Jamie and Eddie: Best Friends Until the End

Chapter Eight: Going Home

**Chapter Rated R/M for Mature themes. Mentions of kidnapping, r*pe/abuse, drugs etc
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         The next morning Eddie's reunion with her Mom was emotional. They'd had a rocky relationship after her Dad had been arrested but after she went missing- all Lena wanted was her daughter back. They hugged for a long time, both of them in tears. Jamie had left the room for a while to go to the cafeteria and give them some space.
       He ate his egg and bacon sandwich with a glass of juice and he brought food back up to Eddie and her Mom. He only gave Eddie half a sandwich though, knowing she couldn't eat a lot though until they built her back up slowly from having so few calories over the years. She had maybe five hundred calories a day, and that was on a good day
"this is literally the best sandwich I've ever eaten" she said and Jamie and Lena both smiled
      Eddie knew in reality hospital food was garbage, but compared to what she had eaten over the last two and a half  years- this was the best gourmet meal ever. Lena stayed most the whole day since she had taken off work. She brought Eddie some clothes and soap so she could shower before going home.
          Finally it was around four in the afternoon and since they were getting her discharge papers ready, they let her take a shower. She hadn't taken a real shower in almost three years. Every shower she was forced to be with him. Jamie was there but he turned around while she took her gown off. She turned the water on and let it warm up. Jamie stayed in the room in case she fell or had a problem.
         Eddie felt uncomfortable being naked in a strange shower. She ran the bar of soap over her body and squeezed some shampoo and conditioner into her long blonde hair which was almost passed her waist. The warm water felt amazing on her sore muscles. She took almost half an hour in the shower. She wrapped a towel around her body and came out to get her clothes
"I'll turn back around" Jamie said
"how was it?" he asked her
"amazing" she said
"I... I haven't showered like that in a long time" she said
        She hadn't worn a real outfit in a long time either. She looked at the clothes her Mom had brought her. It was a pair of comfortable grey sweatpants, underwear, a bra and a navy blue
T-shirt. Once Jamie was facing the corner she dropped the towel and put her clothes on. It felt weird being fully dressed after being half naked all of these years.
"okay I'm dressed" she said
"maybe tomorrow you or Mom could help cut my hair? I hate it this long" she said
"well if you're up for it maybe Erin could. She's always been a hair expert. Plus I know she'd love to see you" Jamie said
"maybe" Edie said as she tied her hair back with a pony tail
       They finally got Eddie's paperwork and she could go home. They gave her some prescriptions for pain killers, possible STD's and sleep meds. After swinging by the pharmacy, they went back to her apartment where Jamie had agreed to stay until Eddie got readjusted to normal life. She stepped through the door and started to cry.
"you okay?" Jamie asked her
"I... I've just wanted to be home for so long" she said
"oh sweetheart" Lena said as she hugged her daughter
"your room is just like it was. I never moved anything" Lena said
"come on" Jamie held her hand and led her to her old room, she was over come with emotion
        Jamie had Lena set up balloons and a banner that said 'welcome home Eddie!  We love and missed you'
"Jamie" she said
"yea?" he said
"will it ever stop hurting?" she asked
"yea... it'll just take some time. But I'm not going anywhere, I promise" Jamie said
"hey if you're up for a little road trip I have some stuff for you back at our place" he said
"the only one home right now is Pop" he said
"okay" she said
"hey Lena we're gonna head out for a bit... just back to my place. I wanted to give Eddie some gifts" Jamie said
"only if you're up for it honey" Lena said
"I'll be okay, thanks Mom" she said
"I'll text you when we get there and when we're heading home"'Jamie said to Lena
They drove back to Jamie's house and Eddie remembered it like it was yesterday. She missed going to the Reagan's for Sunday dinner
"hey Pop!" Jamie said opening the door
"look who I brought home" he said
"oh my" Henry said coming to the front door
"Eddie!!!! Oh my sweet girl" he said
"Hi Henry" she said
"can I give you a hug?" he asked
"that's fine" Eddie said
"oh we've missed you so much!" he said
"Jamie's the one who rescued me" she said
"I just came by to give Eddie a few gifts I've had" Jamie said
"you look so beautiful sweetheart. It's so good to have you home" Henry said and Eddie tried to smile
Henry had always treated Eddie like a Granddaughter. Jamie took Eddie up to his room and she smiled, remembering how they used to hang out in there so much as kids
"so this is for you" Jamie said reaching in his night stand
"what is it?" she asked
"your diploma, from High School. The Principal gave it to me" Jamie said
"and I don't know if it'd be your style anymore but the little necklace and earrings was for graduation" Jamie said
"Jamie these are beautiful!" she said as she opened the box and started to cry
"can you put the necklace on?" she asked
"yea come here" he said
"it looks beautiful on you" he said
"thank you!" she said as she hugged him
"I love you, you know that right?" he said
"oh and look at what I am still using today" Jamie said as he got his wallet
"your Mom gave it to Hayley to give to me" Jamie said
"I'm glad you liked it" she said smiling
"and this was for your eighteenth birthday, and twenty first birthday" he said
"you still got me stuff... even though I wasn't here?" she asked
"of course I did, I knew one day you'd come home to me" Jamie said
      Eddie smiled and wiped a tear away as she opened the cards first.
'Dear Eddie, I can't believe you're eighteen. You're officially an adult!! I can't wait to celebrate with you when you get home. I sure hope you're home soon. I miss you so much. I love you always, and happy Birthday. Jamie'
      For her eighteenth birthday he had gotten her a beautiful red sequin dress, one hundred dollars cash, and a metal bracelet with her name on it.
"Jamie this is all so beautiful" she said 
"the dress was if I took you out to dinner, which I still can if you want" he said
       Eddie smiled and she opened the next bag of gifts. This card said
'Happy 21st birthday!' On the front
'Dear Eddie, you're twenty one now!! I miss you more then words can describe. I am looking for you every day. It's been torture without you. When you get home I will throw you the biggest birthday ever. I love and miss you so much. I promise one day I'll bring you home. Happy Birthday, love Jamie'
        Inside the bag was another necklace and earring set- this time they were small but Jamie had spent most of his paycheck on a real set of diamonds
"Jamie oh my god!" she said
"I wanted you to have something nice" he said
"Jamie all of these other gifts are just as nice! You didn't have to spend this much money on me" she said
"Of course I did. I love you Eddie" he said
"Jamie!" she said as she started crying again 
After Eddie opened all her gifts, they stayed in Jamie's room for a while and he let her go through his photo album he kept from his time at the academy.
"whose this?" she asked seeing Dana in his graduation photo
"no one important" Jamie said
"girlfriend?" Eddie asked
"briefly yea" Jamie said
"what happened?" she asked
"the stress of having you gone was too much I guess. I missed you, which was the main reason I started dating her in the first place. She just was in for the sex and my families money anyway... so we broke up right after graduation" Jamie said
"I'm sorry" Eddie said
"don't be. She just wasn't the right one" Jamie said
"you up for something to eat?" Jamie asked her
"yea sure" she said
"I'll be back in a minute, you can keep looking at stuff" Jamie said
He went downstairs and started making them some dinner when Erin came home
"hey what are you doing here?" she asked
"uh I brought Eddie by, to bring her some of the gifts over the years" Jamie said
"oh my god! Eddie's here!? Can I please say hello?" Erin asked
"let me see if she's up for it" Jamie said as he ran upstairs
"Eddie" Jamie said
"yea?" she said
"Erin's here... you up for a little visit?" he asked her
"yea I guess so" Eddie said
"come on" Jamie said as he took her hand
       Eddie felt nervous to see Erin but she and Erin had become almost sisters during her years of friendship with Jamie
"EDDIE!!!!" Erin said as she went to hug her
"Hi" Eddie said
"oh we missed you so much" she said
"I've missed everyone so much!" Eddie cried
"you know Erin if you're up for it maybe you could give Eddie a hair cut?" Jamie asked
"oh of course! I'd love too" Erin said
"maybe after we eat dinner?" Eddie said
"definitely! I'll jump in the shower and then we can do a make over" Erin said
        Jamie had made her favorite Italian sandwich. She still wasn't allowed to have a million calories, so he made it smaller but she still loved every bite
"this still tastes like how you made it all those years ago" she said smiling
"the... the food I ate was disgusting" she said
"hey now you can eat whenever and whatever you want" Jamie said smiling