Once they arrived at Frank and Henry's Jamie helped Emily inside and Eddie followed.
"So are we going to just do it as soon as we get in there, or wait a bit?" Emily asked softly.
"Whenever you think it's right, you can announce both things at once or you could do one and wait for the other, but we're telling them both things tonight." Jamie replied. Emily nodded.
"Okay." Emily grinned as they walked in and found everyone in the kitchen. She slipped into the middle of the kitchen and just watched as they all moved around each other for a minute.
"Hey, Eddie can I tell them about what happened after we left the hospital this afternoon?" Emily asked loudly enough to get their attention and Eddie grinned and nodded.
"What did you do?" Danny asked suspiciously.
"We went to the social worker's office and signed adoption papers. The only thing standing in the way of me officially being a Reagan is a family court hearing." Emily replied flatly. The room exploded with glee.
"That's amazing, Sweetheart!" Henry smiled as he hugged her tight. The rest of them followed and by the time everyone had hugged she had a second wind and another grin on her face.
"That grin spells trouble what else do you have up your sleeve?" Frank asked.
"I guess you'll have to wait and found out. But not too long though, by the time we leave here tonight everyone will know. But I don't think I'm going to tell you yet." She remarked. Frank turned to Eddie and Jamie who shrugged.
"Do you two know what else she has to say?" He asked and they grinned in response.
"You're not going to hear it from us, she wants to be the one to tell you." Eddie replied.
As they started working on dinner Eddie sent Emily to lie down on the couch after she gave her her medications because she could that Emily was in pain and doing her best to hide it. Emily made no argument which was a testament to how much pain she was in.
Emily went to lie down while they cooked dinner and set the table. She fell asleep quickly, mostly due to the pain medication but she was also exhausted from not sleeping well in the hospital. It's going to take her body some time to catch up.
Frank and Erin were chopping vegetables; Nicky was making the mashed potatoes; the boys were helping Henry bread and fry the pork chops he'd bought for dinner; Danny, Jamie, and Eddie were setting the table.
Eddie went to the den to check on Emily and when she found her sleeping she kissed her forehead. Emily stirred and murmured something Eddie couldn't understand.
"Just rest I'll get you when it's time for dinner." Emily shifted her position and went back to sleep. Eddie went back into the kitchen to help.
As they all worked together on dinner they tried to pry the information from Eddie and Jamie but the two refused and consistently switched topics or ignored them outright. They couldn't help but wonder how Emily was going to tell the rest of the family but they were excited to see how they react to the news. It wasn't every year that you finished with two new family members that weren't remotely connected to the family at the beginning of said year.
"How's she holding up?" Erin asked.
"She's alright. She spent most nights in the hospital awake because of nightmares both from the past and the accident. Hopefully she'll sleep better when we get her home. We're going to find a good therapist too, we don't want to force her but she needs to see someone. She'll get better, we just have to help her get there." Eddie replied and Erin nodded.
"That's all you can do. Just take it slow, let her set the pace. She knows you two only want to help."
"Yeah, she's willing to put in the work too, I only hope she keeps that mindset when she's dealing with all of it and re-processing it."
"She will. You just have to have her back, catch her when she falls."
"We will. I'm going to take an extended leave to stay with her while she heals physically and probably until she's doing a little better sleep wise, make sure she's alright. I might ask Nicky or Pops to stay with her some after I go back. I don't know how comfortable we'll feel leaving her on her own."
"She's always welcome to hang out with me when I'm at the office, if she wants." Erin supplied.
"She might like that." Eddie smiled as they moved the food from the kitchen to the table.
YOU ARE READING
Emily
FanfictionThis story starts about a year after Jamie and Eddie were married. They decide to become licensed foster parents and get placed with Emily, a 13-year-old girl, who has lived through some of the worst things you could imagine. P.S. I know that some a...
