Amends

They walked in companionable silence wheeling their suitcases down the hall to their apartment. As they reached the door Jamie stopped, got his keys out of his pocket and unlocked it. Lizzie was about to walk in when he stopped her.

"Jamie!" She laughed as he picked her up and carried her over the threshold.

"It's tradition." He grinned putting her down.

"Says the guy that just eloped." She retorted grinning.

"Some traditions are worth keeping, some, not so much." He smiled as they rolled their suitcases to the bed. She lifted her suitcase onto the bed, unzipped it and began to unpack. Jamie watched her for a few seconds then did the same. Once they finished they put their suitcases away under the bed and Lizzie went over and flopped on the couch, Jamie joined her. As she rested her head on his shoulder she noticed him glance at his watch for the second time.

"Something wrong?" She asked glancing at it too.

"No. It's just everyone will be arriving at dad's for dinner."

"Do you want to go?"

"After what my dad did, no. But with them all together it might be a good time to tell them about the wedding, you know, get it over with." He pointed out.

"They're your family, whenever and however you want to tell them, I'll be there." She smiled.

"Thanks. They're your family now too."

"True, wow, the New York City police commissioner is my father-in-law."

"Mine's a mob boss." He smiled.

"Yeah, you definitely win most intimidating father-in-law." She grinned.

When they entered they found the kitchen empty, as they walked through they heard animated voices in the dinning room. Everyone, already seated and eating, fell quiet when they entered. They walked up to their places at the table but did not sit.

"Hey, you're late." Danny greeted them.

"We weren't sure if you were coming." Frank admitted sadly. Hearing his tone his family looked to him but he didn't speak.

"We saved some for you." Added Nicky.

"Thanks, but we're not staying." Explained Jamie looking everywhere but at his father. All those at the table realised something had happened between them, they all glanced back and forth between the two men hoping for an explanation.

"We just stopped by to tell you something." He paused and took Lizzie's hand, everyone just stared.

"Lizzie and I got married." He confessed to audible gasps from his family.

"What?!" Erin exclaimed surprised.

"You all know we went on holiday. Well, we went to the Bahamas to get married and then stayed two weeks for our honeymoon." He explained. No one spoke as they all tried to process what he had just told them.

"Was this your idea?" Danny angrily asked Lizzie.

"Was it because you couldn't have your family there?" Linda asked.

"Was there some urgency?" Asked Erin pointedly looking at Lizzie's stomach.

"Oh, no, I'm not..." Lizzie started but Jamie interrupted.

"We got married because we love each other and we want to spend our lives together." He answered angrily. He took a breath to try to calm himself before he continued.

"We did it the way we did because we wanted it that way. From the beginning that's how it's always been, just the two of us." He took in the shocked, upset and annoyed faces of his family, except for Nicky, who was shocked and annoyed, but at the comments of her uncle, aunt and mother.

"And if you all can't be more accommodating and accept that Lizzie is a permanent part of my life, that's how we'll spend every Sunday from now on." Jamie finished again looking at his family. Lizzie, as shocked as anyone by his ultimatum, turned her head to look at him. Sensing movement he turned to look at her, he could see sadness in her eyes. Seeing also guilt he turned to face her.

"This is not your fault." He assured her.

"Jamie..." She began to protest.

"I mean it, this is not your fault, nobody can choose the family they're born into and you've done everything humanly possible to distance yourself from yours. You have been nothing but friendly, open and honest with my family, even when it was difficult or uncomfortable. All they've done is focus on your past and who your family is. This is on them." He said finally making eye contact with his father. Everyone at the table sat in stunned silence, seconds passed with no one knowing what to say, a first for the Reagan's.

"Let's go." Jamie sighed and Lizzie simply nodded. The family watched, still silent as the pair turned and left.

A less than a week later, mid afternoon on a Friday, Lizzie was at work when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" She answered it, a concerned expression formed as she listened to the reply.

"Of course, I'm on my way." She said standing, grabbing her purse and walking out the door.

Twenty five minutes later she walked into the emergency department of St Victors. She walked up to the front desk, as she was about to speak she heard her name.

"Lizzie. He's in here." Linda called to her and motioned for her to follow. She led Lizzie to the third curtain and pulled it back. She saw Jamie sitting on the bed his right arm propped on a pillow, she rushed over to him.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked as she hugged him gently.

"I'm ok, it's just my arm." He reassured her as he hugged back.

"What happened?" She asked as she stared at the bullet hole in his forearm.

"We were chasing a suspect, we managed to corner him in an alley, he decided to try and shoot his way out." He explained.

"Is Eddie ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, she's fine, she had to stay on scene to give her statement. Come here." He told her as he patted the spot beside him on the bed and she joined him.

"Not even one month into our marriage and you're already giving me a scare." She teased.

"Sorry." He smiled, wrapped his arm around her and placed a kiss on the side of her head.

"You're just lucky you're cute." She grinned.

"How are you doing for pain?" Asked Linda as she put Jamie's chart back on the end of the bed.

"I'm ok." He replied.

"So where is everybody? I assumed you're family would be here." Lizzie asked.

"My family is here." He smiled, taking her hand and gently squeezing it. She smiled.

"You're his emergency contact, it used to be Frank, he would have called everyone." Linda commented coolly.

"Worrying them unnecessarily." Jamie added shooting her a look.

"Alright, here we go." Said a doctor as he pulled back the curtain. He walked over to a light box on the wall, turned it on and placed an x-ray on it.

"So, the bullet entered your arm here, hit your ulna, fracturing it, ricocheted and came to rest here, just below the skin." The doctor paused and turned to Jamie and Lizzie, who nodded their understanding.

"I'm going to remove the bullet under a local anaesthetic and close up the entry wound. We'll put your arm in a splint until the stitches come out, then you'll get a full cast to wear for five weeks until the bone heals, ok?" He explained as he took a seat in front of Jamie and another nurse wheeled in a tray of medical instruments.

"Ok." Jamie agreed.

"So, who's this?" The doctor asked as he readied the anaesthetic injection.

"This is my wife, Lizzie." He grinned enjoying his first time introducing her that way. He turned to Lizzie and she watched as he looked past her and his grin was replaced by a wide eyed look of shock. She turned around to see what had caused the sudden change and saw a blonde police officer standing at the curtain. She was clearly heartbroken.

"Eddie!" He called out as the pair watched her quickly turn on her heal and leave. Jamie sighed and slumped his shoulders.

"I'm sorry." Lizzie offered squeezing the hand she was still holding.

"It was bound to happen eventually." Jamie sighed. He winced as the doctor inserted the needle into his arm.

"It was?" She asked.

"I decided a long time ago I was never going to give up our partnership for a relationship, one of us was going to find someone first, fifty percent chance it was going to be me. I just hoped she'd be over me when it happened." He explained.

"You're an amazing guy, they're very hard to get over." She smiled, and received a small smile from Jamie.

"Ok, ready to begin?" The doctor asked as he picked up a scalpel from the tray. Jamie just nodded.

An hour later Jamie was discharged from the hospital with a total of six stitches, a thick white splint and a sling. He was given after care instructions and told to come back in seven days to have the stitches taken out and a full cast fitted. Lizzie took him home and set him up on the couch and then made them both some dinner. As the the ad break started Jamie stood up and grabbed the empty plates from the coffee table with his one good hand.

"What are you doing? Sit." She ordered taking the plates from him.

"You know it's only my arm, I still have the other arm and two good legs you know." He said as he sat back down and Lizzie made her way to the kitchen.

"Most people enjoy being taken care of." She smiled as she rinsed the plates and stacked them in the dishwasher. As she walked back to the couch there was a knock at the door. She changed course and answered it. As she opened it she saw Frank standing in the hall.

"Hi." She greeted him politely.

"Hi." He replied.

"Jamie." She called and stood aside so he could see who it was. Jamie frowned and made his way to the door, Frank did not enter.

"Hi." Jamie spoke coolly.

"I heard there was an incident today, I wanted to see how you're doing." Frank explained staring at his sons injured arm.

"It's not that bad, bullet fractured my ulna, they took it out and stitched me up."

"The hospital didn't call." Frank replied surprised.

"Lizzie's my emergency contact, she came."

"Oh." Frank's only reply.

"If it had of been worse she would of called, its just my arm, I'm fine." Jamie confirmed.

"Can we talk?" Frank asked. Jamie did not reply, he simply stood aside and indicated with his head for Frank to enter. Lizzie grabbed her purse and headed towards the door.

"You don't have to go." Jamie said as she reached the door.

"It's ok, you guys need to talk, I'm going to go get us some dessert." She smiled at him reassuringly, kissed him and left. Jamie walked over to the couch and gestured with his good arm for his father to sit. There was an uncomfortable silence between them.

"You wanted to talk." Jamie shifted in his seat.

"Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked to Lizzie behind your back. I only did it because I'm worried about you. I'm worried about what might happen if Lizzie's past comes to light. Can you imagine the damage that could do. Think of your career. You're a cop, being linked to someone from that family would ruin your reputation, no one would trust you. I only did it to protect you." Frank explained.

"You couldn't just apologise could you? It's not much of an apology if all you do is try to justify and excuse what you did." He sighed.

"Jamie, I..." Frank started.

"You tried to convince the woman I love to leave me, do you have any idea how much that hurts?" Jamie said, pain evident in his voice.

"I didn't know you planned to marry her." Frank tried to defend himself.

"And that makes it ok?" Jamie asked incredulous.

"No, of course not, I know I crossed the line." Frank quickly replied.

"But you still don't think I should be with her, do you?" Jamie asked unwilling to let him off the hook.

"I...I don't know." Frank's honest answer hung in the air for a few moments until Jamie stood up and headed to the door. Frank stood as he watched Jamie open it and stand to one side.

"Jamie, please, I really am sorry." He pleaded as he slowly made his way to the door.

"I know Dad." Jamie sighed.

"I suppose I shouldn't expect you and Lizzie at dinner on Sunday." Frank said sadly as he walked through the door.

"I think we all need more time." Jamie said by way of answer. Frank went to walk away but stopped and turned back to his son.

"If you love her, that's all that really matters." Frank offered with a small smile, and got the smallest of smiles in return.

Lizzie looked around as she entered the apartment with their desserts.

"He's gone." Jamie confirmed from his spot on the couch.

"How did it go?" She asked as she took a seat next to him. She unwrapped an ice cream and handed to him.

"Thanks. He apologised."

"That's good. Isn't it?" She added seeing his expression.

"He spent most of the time justifying and excusing what he did." Jamie sighed.

"Oh." She sat back and licked her ice cream.

"He asked about dinner on Sunday." Jamie told her in between licks.

"What did you tell him?"

"That we all need more time." She didn't comment just nodded her acceptance of his decision. He stared at her wondering what she was thinking.

"Do you know what that means?" She asked excitedly, putting their ice cream sticks on the coffee table.

"What?" He asked as he watched her tuck her legs underneath herself.

"We have the whole weekend to ourselves." She smiled and cuddled into him, he grinned.

"There's just one thing I have to do. Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure, what is it?" She glanced up at him.

"Can you drive me to Eddie's tomorrow?"

The next day he stood outside Eddie's door working up the nerve to knock. He braced himself and wrapped his knuckles on the door, a few seconds later it opened. Eddie stood in sweats, her hair down around her face and wore a sad expression.

"Hey, can I come in?" He asked and she wordlessly opened the door further and stood aside. He walked in and over to the lounge area but did not sit.

"I was hoping we could talk." He said and she just stared nodding slightly.

"Eddie, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept Lizzie a secret from you." He apologised but still Eddie said nothing.

"I know how you feel about me and I thought if you knew that I moved on, you wouldn't be able to work with me and…" He heard himself offering an excuse, he thought of his father's words the previous night and stopped himself.

"It's no excuse, I didn't want to hurt you but keeping this secret has made things worse and hurt you even more. I'm sorry." He finished and waited for her to speak.

"How long?" Was all she said.

"How long what?" He asked unsure.

"How long have you been married?"

"Oh, about four weeks." She just nodded.

"Eddie, I..." he began.

"It's ok, I understand why you did it, I just don't know if I can..." She said fighting back tears.

"You don't have to figure anything out today. I'm going to be riding a desk for the next six weeks and you'll have a temporary partner, you can take the time to think about it." He explained.

"Ok." She replied walking to the door and opening it. He followed and walked through.

"Eddie, I'm really sorry."

"I forgive you. I just don't know how to get over you." She replied. As he watched her close the door he saw a single tear roll down her cheek.

As Jamie exited Eddie's building he saw Lizzie pull up to the kerb. He got in and tried to put on his seatbelt one handed. She saw him struggling and leaned over to help him. She could tell from the look on his face things had not gone well.

"I take it it didn't go well."

"Not really, she forgave me but she loves me so she's really hurting." He replied sadly.

"I'll take you home." She said.

"No."

"Jamie, it's ok, I don't mind a quiet weekend at home." She offered.

"I'm ok, really, actually, I feel better." He stated visibly cheering up a bit.

"Better?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's all out in the open now, my family knows, Eddie knows and I've apologised. Now I just have to give it time." He explained.

"Ok, so want do you want to do now?" She asked and noticed him check his watch.

"I want to show you something." He began to smile.

"What?" She asked.

"Just take that left up there." He told her pointing. She pulled out from the kerb and followed his instructions. After twenty minutes of him giving her directions they pulled into a quiet, leafy suburban street. She pulled the car over and parked. They stepped out, Jamie took her hand and they began walking down the street.

"What are we doing here?" She couldn't help but ask.

"I want to show you something." Was Jamie's cryptic reply. After a few minutes of walking Jamie stopped and turned to Lizzie.

"What do you think?"

"Of what?" She was confused.

"The house." He said looking up at the house they had come to a stop outside of. Lizzie turned to look and saw it was a small, very attractive Victorian house. She studied the exterior of house then turned back to Jamie.

"It's beautiful, why?"

"I was thinking we should buy it." He grinned.

"Unfortunately there's no for sale sign." She pointed out, smiling at his enthusiasm.

"It's not on the market yet." He explained.

"Yet?"

"It's owned by a cop at my precinct, he and his wife are having another baby so they need to upsize. They just bought a house last week, they're just about to list it but he said he'd hold off if I was interested." He explained excitedly.

"Really?" She asked getting excited herself.

"Wanna see inside?" He asked leading her up the front path.

"He said he'd be home until one o'clock on Saturday." He added seeing her look of uncertainty. He walked up the front steps and knocked. Moments later the door was answered by an handsome man a few years older than Jamie.

"Hey Jamie."

"Hey Luke." Jamie replied and the men shook hands.

"Come on in." Luke said as he stood aside.

"Luke this is my wife, Lizzie. Lizzie, this is Officer Luke Collins." Jamie introduced them.

"I didn't know you were married." Luke stated surprised.

"Four weeks ago today." Jamie smiled.

"And already your looking at houses, he doesn't waste any time, does he?" Luke smiled at Lizzie.

"Apparently not." She smiled back.

"So how about a tour?" Luke asked gesturing to a room to their left and the pair smiled. He took them from one room to the next and showed them all the features of the house. Fifteen minutes later they were back in the foyer where they started.

"It's a wonderful house Luke." Lizzie gushed.

"Thanks, we're sad we have to leave it, but with the wonderful unexpected surprise of baby number four on the way, the place just isn't big enough anymore." As he finished a phone rang in other room.

"Why don't I go and grab that and leave you two to talk." He smiled then disappeared down the hall.

"So, what do you think?" Jamie asked excitedly.

"It's amazing." Lizzie grinned.

"I know we haven't even started looking yet but when Luke described this place to me, it sounded..."

"Perfect?" Lizzie interjected.

"So, should we buy it?" He asked.

"What? Just like that? Just buy a house?" She was a bit stunned.

"Yeah, it's almost exactly what we want, it's in a great neighbourhood and, with what Luke wants to get for it, we can afford it."

"You're serious?"

"Ok, give me one good reason we shouldn't buy this house." He grinned at her.

"Well...uh...actually, I can't think of one." She laughed.

"So...?" He smiled.

"Are we ever going to do anything in this relationship in a normal timeframe?" She asked grinning.

"Now that I found the person I want to spend my life with, I don't want wait one more minute to start building that life together." He smiled.

"Ok." She beamed.

"What?"

"Ok, let's buy this house." She answered and he, with his good arm, pulled her close and kissed her. At that moment Luke re-entered the foyer and the pair broke apart grinning.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, though that does look like good news." He smiled at the pair.

"We'll take it."