After spending so much time recently in hospitals- even spending the whole night in one- Noelle was relieved to sleep in her own bed.

It wasn't long after arriving back at her apartment after visiting Frank the night before that she crashed. She wasn't sure how much time later passed when she felt Jamie crawl into the bed with her and she snuggled up against him before falling back to sleep, feeling his lips pressed against the side of her head.

It was morning now, she wasn't sure what time in the morning, but she could feel the sun spilling in from the window on her face. She let out a tired groan and tossed the comforter over her head, refusing to open her eyes when she felt someone jump on the bed. She had assumed it was Jamie until she heard panting followed by a low whine.

Her eyes popped open as she lowered her eyebrows in confusion before slowly lowering the comforter down from her face. She was even more confused when she was met with a pair of dark brown eyes that belonged to a black and tan german shepherd dog, who was now stretched out on the bed beside her with her tongue hanging out and ears standing up in attention.

"Hi," Noelle said to the dog as she reached up to pet the top of her head, causing her tail to wag happily. "Where did you come from? Huh?" She let out a chuckle when the dog began to lick her hand.

Hearing a noise at the doorway, she and the dog turned their heads to see Jamie enter the room holding a tray of food. He sat the tray down on top of her dresser, then turned his attention to the dog. "Hey! What did I say? I said to wait."

A chuckle escaped Noelle's lips as he continued to lecture the dog, then give her a quick scratch behind the ears- letting her know he wasn't really angry with her.

"So, what is all of this?" She sat up in bed and gestured toward the tray of food and, of course, the dog now laying in her bed.

"This is breakfast in bed and-"

"A dog," she finished for him. "Honestly, that's what I was asking about the most. The breakfast part was kinda self-explanatory, but it's not every day you wake up to a dog in your bed when you don't have one."

"Well, now you do." He sat down on the edge of the bed- the dog now lying between them. When she shot him a confused look, he motioned toward the dog. "She's yours."

"I have a dog?"

"You have a dog." He nodded his head. "I figured she could protect you when I'm not here and keep you company when I'm working the graveyard shift."

A smile appeared on her face. "Is this your way of trying to make up for taking my taser away?"

Jamie laughed at her joke and shook his head. "No, but I do still feel bad about that." He reached out to pet the dog as he softly added, "I just hate leaving you alone at night, plus I know you've secretly been wanting a dog for a while."

"I have," Noelle admitted with a short nod. She continued to smile as she pet the dog a couple of times. "She reminds me of that dog we found in the neighborhood when we were young."

He nodded his head in agreement. "That's why I picked her." A smile tugged at his lips when he saw how happy she looked petting on the dog, it was the exact reaction he was hoping for.

"So what do you think? Is she a keeper?"

"She is definitely a keeper." She lowered her head to look at the dog. "Yeah, you're a keeper, right?"

She let out a laugh when the dog lifted her head to look at her and wagged her tail- like she could understand what was being said.

"What's her name?" Noelle raised her head to look at her boyfriend.

"Daisy." Jamie smiled, knowing the name would seal the deal.

"Perfect name," she said, feeling her eyes water for a moment as she thought of his mother.

As Noelle began to pet on Daisy more, he added, "She's about four months old and knows a few commands."

"Apparently not stay though, right?" she joked as she looked over at him, remember how he lectured the dog on not staying in the other room with him so he could surprise her with the dog.

"Apparently not." He laughed, then reached out to pet the dog. "But we could train her, they said she's a quick learner."

"She is a quick learner. Aren't you?" Noelle looked down at Daisy, then looked back up at Jamie and teased, "She already knows not to listen to you."

Jamie shot her a playful glare, then grabbed her ankle and pulled her to lay down on the bed, before he jumped onto the bed and hovered over her. She let out a squeal of laughter in surprise.

The two turned their heads and laughed when Daisy jumped up and barked happily at their antics. She placed her head against Jamie's shoulder as if trying to push him away from Noelle, then used one of her front paws to pat his arm a few times before pushing her head against him again.

Jamie rolled off of Noelle, laying close to the edge on the other side. He shook his head and let out a scoff. "I feel like she's already picking favorites."

"Well you did say she's a quick learner," Noelle joked as Daisy laid down beside her and placed her head on her chest.

He chuckled at her comment, then reached out to scratch the dog behind her ear. "I'm feeling a little offended here, Daisy. I thought we had become friends." Daisy lifted her head to lick his hand, then laid her head back down on Noelle's chest, causing him to laugh again. "Okay, you're forgiving."

Turning his attention to his girlfriend, he said, "I think you were right before, she is a keeper."

"Yes, she is. I love her." Noelle lowered her head to give the dog a kiss. "And I love..."

Turning to look at Jamie, she paused when she realized she almost slipped and said she loved him. It's not that she didn't want to say those words to him, she just worried it was too soon.

She gave him a smile and continued, "I love that you got me a dog. Thank you, Jamie."

"You're welcome." He returned the smile and leaned forward to press his lips against hers. He pulled back slightly and softly caressed her cheek. "Hey, just so you know, Daisy's not the only keeper around here."

"Good to know." She chuckled, then brought his face back to hers for another kiss.

He slipped a hand to the back of her head, intertwining his fingers in her silky hair as the two continued to kiss until they heard a whining noise and pulled back with a chuckle to look down at Daisy. Noelle loved on the dog while Jamie stood up from the bed to grab the tray of food from the dresser.

"You should probably hurry and eat so we can walk her before we have to leave." He sat the tray of eggs, bacon, and toast down in front of her on the bed.

"Wait, walk?" She shot her head up to look at him.

"Yeah, you have to walk dogs, Nol." He laughed.

"I know but...I hate walking," she whined.

"How are you this lazy?" he joked.

She gave him a shrug. "It's a talent."

He chuckled at her comment, then suggested, "How about you eat while I walk her?"

"I think that makes you the best boyfriend ever." She flashed him a smile.

She reached up to grab the front of his shirt, balling her hand around the soft fabric, then pulled him down toward her. With his face inches from hers, she added, "And, hey, after you get back, since we're in a hurry, I'll let you shower with me."

He smiled at her offer and laid a hand on the side of her neck, then ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "I think that'll make us even later," he said, his voice low causing a fluttering in her stomach.

"Maybe later then." She tilted her face up to press her lips against his. "Then I can thank you properly," she mumbled against his lips, feeling him smile at her comment.

"Definitely later then." He pecked his lips against hers one more time before he pulled back. "Until then, I'll just take this as payment..." He swiped a piece of bacon from the plate.

"Jamie!" She heard him laugh as he began to walk out of the bedroom, calling for Daisy to follow him. "You know crispy bacon is my favorite, jerk!"

Hearing the front door shut, she grabbed the other piece of bacon. She bit into it and leaned back against the pillows with a smile on her face- despite all the bad that was going on around them, Jamie could still found a way to make her happy. It had been that way for as long as she could remember.

If she was sad and crying, he would wipe away the tears and find a way to make her smile again. If she was scared, he would hold her hand and take that fear away. No matter the mood, he could make it better. It was one of the many things she loved about him- now if only she could tell him that, if only she could speak those three little words out loud.

•••

"Do you think the others are here yet?" Noelle asked when Jamie pulled the car into the parking lot near the building where the dedication for Joe was taking place.

The atrium at John Jay College was being dedicated in Joe's memory that day and the whole family was going to be there; even Frank.

The doctor wanted to keep him an extra day, but he demanded they release him the day before- nothing was going to make him miss the dedication for his son. He knew the doctors were just doing their jobs, but he felt better, especially after finding out who was behind the hit.

It was a blast from his past, a raid that went wrong and caused the death of the suspect, Whitey Brennan's, wife and infant grandson.

The day before Danny had cornered one of Whitey's sons, Rory, in the hospital and during a shoot out had killed him. It was discovered before that, that Rory had spoken to the driver, Diego, five times the day of the shooting, making him a pretty strong suspect in the shooting against the commissioner. It made the Reagan family and Noelle breathe easier knowing Frank was safe now, and now the day could be about remembering Joe.

"Probably," Jamie answered her previous question about his family. He swung the car into the first available parking space. "We're cutting it pretty close, so we're probably going to be the last ones here."

"Well that's your fault," she said jokingly as she pointed a finger over at him.

"How is it my fault?" He laughed as he looked over at her and turned the car off.

"You put on the uniform." She gestured toward his dark blue dress uniform, the kind most police officers wore during ceremonial functions and events. "You know what that does to me." She raised her eyebrows at him.

The two knew they were on a time limit earlier, which is why he avoided the bathroom while she was in it so he wouldn't be tempted to join her. He was then tempted a second time when she left the bathroom with only a white towel wrapped around her body minutes later.

She had come to a stop in front of him in the hallway, her dark hair wet causing beads of water to slide down her shoulders and back. He watched one drop of water trickle down her chest toward her breast before the towel soaked it up. He swallowed hard and had to force himself not to reach out to her and remove the towel to run his fingers in the trails that the water droplets made.

Not knowing what she was doing to him- or maybe she did, he honestly didn't know- she gave him a shy smile, then raised up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He moved his head to give her a peck on the cheek before fleeing into the bathroom to shower.

By the time he made it out, she had dried her hair and had it pinned back, and was now in front of the mirror, in that tempting short towel, applying her make-up. Her mouth slightly dropped open, the tube of eyeshadow quickly forgotten, when he walked into the room with a dark towel around his waist and absentmindedly drying his hair with another towel- she briefly wondered if he was trying to get back at her.

She bit her bottom lip and pulled her gaze away, continuing to add the shadow to her eyelids. After she finished putting on all the eye make-up and brushed on some blush on her cheeks, she allowed herself to check him out through the mirror again, seeing him button the dark pants he had on. When she saw him slip on the button-down shirt, she couldn't stop herself from standing up from the small bench in front of the mirror and cross the floor over to him.

He looked down at her with a surprised look on his face when she jerked the shirt off of him and pulled his face toward hers before capturing his lips. He grinned in the middle of the kiss, then reached out to finally unwrap that towel around her body, hearing it fall to the floor near their feet.

He removed the clip from her hair, his fingers intertwining in her long locks as the two fell onto the bed. The time quickly slipping from their minds as they got lost in each other. Now here they were running a few minutes late meeting his family as they made their way across the parking lot hand in hand with identically smiles on their faces.

Remembering what she said earlier, he glanced over at her. "You know, I actually think this is your fault."

"How is being late my fault?" Noelle laughed. "We already discussed it's your fault for putting on the uniform."

"No, you discussed that," Jamie said back. "But really, you started it when you walked out of the bathroom with that short towel. It was hard to resist that."

"But you did," she pointed out. "You rushed right to the bathroom to take a shower."

"To take a cold shower," he admitted, causing her to laugh when he shot her a grin.

While they joked around, he couldn't help but feel grateful for it since it briefly took his mind off of everything. Between the dedication and his father being shot, it brought back a lot of memories of losing Joe- memories he wasn't prepared to revisit today.

"Hm. I guess the towel did its job then," she joked as she heard her phone beep with a new text message. She breathed out an apology as she reached into her bag to grab the noisy device, she thought she had turned it off earlier.

"Is it work?" Jamie questioned as she read the message.

"No, Spencer," Noelle answered while she quickly typed out a reply and sent a text back.

"You didn't tell him about today?" he asked, then silently cursed himself for sounding jealous. It wasn't that big of a deal that she got a text from him on the day of his brother's dedication. He knew when the time came to go inside she would turn her phone off and be present in the moment.

"Yeah, he knows. He's just bored I guess." She shrugged. He was thankful that she didn't pick up on his jealous tone earlier. "He did say they're releasing him in a couple of days, so that's good." She read the next text he sent her.

"What is he gonna do when he gets out? Go back to Florida?" He nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"No. He says he's gonna hang out here for a bit and help look for Jimmie," she said, texting him back.

"We're looking for Jimmie," he pointed out, trying not to take offense. Normally he didn't mind the extra help and he knew when it came to Jimmie they needed all the help they could get, but his jealousy was getting to him.

"I know, honey." Turning her phone off, she raised her head to look at him. "But it never hurts to have another set of eyes. Besides, Spence has information on Jimmie from last time- like a profile that might help."

Jamie nodded his head, deep down he knew she was right. At the end of the day, all that mattered was protecting her and capturing Jimmie.

"Where's he staying?"

"Actually, now that you mention it..." Noelle began to say as the two came to a stop near the front of the building.

She had the idea to invite Spencer to stay with her- she felt to blame for him getting stabbed anyway, if it hadn't been for her he wouldn't even have come to the city. Besides, he was a friend and she hated the thought of him staying in a hotel alone while he was recovering, but she felt like this was something she should run pass her boyfriend first.

She opened her mouth to explain to him her thoughts on the matter, but before she could say another word, they heard someone call out their names, causing them to turn their heads and seeing his family- minus Danny- waving them over.

All previous talk was forgotten as the couple walked over to his family and a chorus of hellos rang out and hugs were going around.

"Where's Danny?" Jamie questioned, noticing his brother was missing from the group.

"He's checking on the nurse who was wounded," Linda answered, referring to the nurse who was at the wrong place at the wrong time during the shootout with Rory. "He's meeting us here."

"Should we head in?" Erin motioned toward the entrance of the building, earning a nod from everyone as they all began to slowly walk with the rest of the crowd.

Noelle hung back for a moment, a soft smile on her lips as she watched Jamie walking with his nephews and niece- all three excitedly talking to their uncle. From the faraway look on her boyfriend's face mixed with the pain in his eyes, she had a feeling they were asking him for stories about their other uncle Joe.

Feeling someone lay a hand on her back, she turned her head, her smile widen when she saw it was Frank. She turned to give him a hug and ask how he was feeling. She was a little concern not seeing him with the sling on his arm, but he reassured her he was okay.

The two began to walk side by side silently until they were nearing the front steps, then while staring straight ahead, Frank asked, "How are you doing?"

Noelle came to a stop, her eyes on him as his steps faltered and he turned to face her. She could tell by his expression that he knew the whole story now- he knew about Jimmie.

"Who told you?" she questioned, assuming one of the family members told him.

"I thought it was weird how Pop was hovering around you the other day at the hospital, so I asked, and he told me," Frank explained.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Frank," she softly said, worried she had hurt his feelings for not opening up to him before. "I wanted to, so many times, but it was only recently I felt brave enough to even talk about it, and then you were shot-"

He held up a hand to stop her excuse. "You don't have to explain. You forget I know you, Noelle, and I knew whatever happened to you, you would talk when you felt ready."

"So, you're not mad?" she questioned with a hopeful look on her face.

"Not at you." He patted her arm, causing her to smile. "Now, I don't want you to worry about this, I'm confident we'll find him. Especially since I issued an APB, now all of my men are on the lookout for him."

"Frank, you didn't- you didn't have to do that." She shook her head. "You didn't have to do me any favors." She knew he wasn't the type to show favoritism with his family or loved ones, and she would feel bad if she was the cause of him doing that now.

"You know I would never use my position of power for favors, but as family, we do protect our own, and you are family, Noelle," he pointed out. "But, as luck would have it, as soon as he left Florida he was in violation of his parole."

"But we can't prove he is here, it can be argued that it's just a copycat after me or just some random person who has nothing to do with Jimmie," she said with a helpless shrug.

"They could argue that..." Frank began to say with a nod. "If we didn't have him on camera buying a ticket weeks ago using his deceased brother's ID and then boarding the bus hours later bound for New York."

"We got him?" Noelle questioned as tears filled her eyes.

"We got him," he repeated with a nod- granted they haven't found him yet, but as soon as they did, he would be shipped back to Florida and out of her life.

"Thank you," she breathed out, before rushing toward him and wrapping her arms around him- the force knocking him back slightly and causing him to let out a grunt as she accidentally hit his tender wound.

Realizing what she had done, she quickly stepped back and laid her hands over her mouth with a gasp. She shook her head, then lowered them as she quickly apologized for hurting him. He shook the apology away, telling her it was okay as they heard his cell phone ringing.

She thanked him again, then began to back away from him to give him privacy to answer the call. She turned, a huge smile on her face as she looked for Jamie to give him the great news and saw him talking to Henry. She went to take a step toward him until she saw something that truly brightened her day; her parents.

"Dad? Mom?" Noelle asked with a surprised look on her face as they got closer to her. She knew they had been invited to the dedication, but with her mother's health they usually turned most invites down- yet here they were; her father in his dress uniform and her mother in a dark color dress looking as beautiful as ever.

She gave them both a hug and spoke to them briefly, then stood by her father as her mother walked over toward the Reagan family- all of them excited to see her; for some this was the first time they had seen Evie in a while. Henry was quick to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, while the kids gathered around her and gave her a group hug. She laughed out loud as she held them close and dropped several kisses on the top of their heads.

"How is she doing today?" Noelle asked her father as they watched Evie have a lively conversation with Erin and Linda.

"It's a good day." Byron smiled as he watched his wife. "She really wanted to be here today."

"Good," Noelle said with a small nod, feeling conflicted. On one hand, she was excited seeing her mother having a good day and getting out of the house, but on the other hand...

A worried look appeared on her face as she looked over at her dad and spoke her thoughts out loud, "Is this gonna be too hard for her?"

"I hope not, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She said it was important to be here today for Joe." He shot her a look and playfully said, "And, I dunno if you knew this or not, but you Kelley women are stubborn as all hell."

"No," Noelle said sarcastically, dragging out the word, causing them both to laugh.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward him, then kissed the side of her head. "Don't worry, bitty bug, there's enough out there to stress us, so let's enjoy a good day while we have one."

"Sounds like a great idea." She smiled over at her father.

He was right, there was enough to worry about. Most days she woke up wound so tight she was worried she would snap, there was so much on her mind- so much that worried her and terrified her, but here they all were together for Joe; a fact that sadden them all, but being together as a unit and a family, made them all feel stronger than ever.

•••

Minutes later, the two families, along with the rest of the crowd, made their way inside. Noelle was walking behind her parents with Jamie beside her, his hand wrapped around hers for comfort and support. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the rest of the Reagan family walking along behind them- well most of the Reagan's, Danny was still missing.

"Where's Danny?" Noelle whispered over to her boyfriend, getting a shrug in reply.

"Maybe he hit some traffic leaving the hospital," Jamie guessed, his tone matching hers.

She nodded her head, thinking that could be the reason. "I hope he makes it here in time."

"I'm sure he will." He gave her hand a light squeeze before the two sat down in the front row- her parents on the other side of her, while his family began to sit down beside him.

After everyone was seated, they saw a man step up to the podium to make a small speech before introducing Frank. The man was in the middle of speaking when Jamie's phone began to buzz in his pocket.

Noelle turned her head to look at him as he pulled the phone out. He looked at the caller ID, seeing it was Danny calling him, then flashed the phone at her. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion, wondering why Danny was calling and why he still wasn't there yet.

"Kid, hey, listen to me," Danny said over the phone.

"What?" Jamie whispered, aware that his girlfriend was watching him, the concern look still present on her face.

"I think the shooter's there," Danny said as he walked as fast as he could from the hospital and to his parked car.

"Where? Here?" Jamie stood up from his chair, his eyes scanning the crowd.

As Danny began to describe Kevin Brennan- the other brother- he felt Noelle grab his hand, causing him to look down at her. He knew from the look on her face that she had several questions for him, unfortunately, he didn't have time to answer them, he had to find the shooter.

He lightly rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand before dropping it and mouthing for her to stay put. She regrettably gave him a short nod, then watched him walk down the aisle, his eyes looking for a six-foot man with brown hair and a limp.

Noelle turned back toward the front of the room as Frank began his speech. Feeling eyes on her, she turned her head and saw her father looking at her with raised eyebrows, wondering what was going on. She gave him a shrug, she was just as confused as he was.

Byron gave her nod, letting her know he would find out, then gave his wife a peck on the cheek before he stood from his seat and made his way down the aisle and over to Jamie.

"Hey, Jamie, everything okay?" Byron asked as he came to a stop beside the youngest Reagan.

Jamie shook his head. "The shooter is here."

"Where?" Byron quickly slipped back into cop mode as his eyes began scanning the crowd.

"I don't know," Jamie answered. "But his name is Kevin Brennan-"

"Brennan?" Byron questioned. "As in Whitey's son?"

When Jamie nodded his head to answer, the older man quietly swore to himself. He remembered the raid years ago to arrest Whitey and how he lost his wife and grandson; that day had always haunted him.

"What does he look like now?" he questioned, he hadn't seen Kevin since he was a young boy.

Jamie repeated the description Danny gave him, then the older man nodded toward one side, telling Jamie he would take that side, while he takes the other side of the room. The two split up, moving slowly enough not to worry the crowd, but fast enough so they could hopefully find Kevin before the unthinkable happens.

Spying a man fitting the description on the stairs, Jamie began to walk toward him, his footsteps quickening when he saw the man reach into his coat, then turn to walk back up the stairs. Jamie took the stairs as fast as he could, coming up behind the man as he stepped off of them.

"Kevin Brennan?" Jamie grabbed the man's arm.

"No, sorry. I have to take this," the man said, pulling out a cell phone from inside his coat, causing Jamie to breathe a sigh of relief when he realized it wasn't a gun.

He released the man's arm, his relief short-lived once he realized it meant Kevin was still somewhere in the building planning to shoot his father again- not to mention all the innocent bystanders who could get hurt in the process or any of his other family members, as well as the woman he loves.

Laying his hands on the railing, he looked down at the crowd below him, looking for Kevin and caught Noelle's eyes from the first row when she turned her head to look for him in the crowd. Even from this distance, he could see the worried look on her face.

He gave her a short nod, hoping that would help ease her mind before he pushed back from the railing and began to walk through the small crowd standing around as he made his way back toward the stairs he just ran up.

He walked halfway down them, his eyes glancing around the room until he saw Danny arrive and stand where he was earlier. He saw the question on his face, wondering if he had located Kevin yet, but Jamie gave him a shrug back, letting him know he hadn't found him.

Danny looked down over the railing, his eyes landing on Byron, who nodded his head toward the stairs where Jamie was standing. Danny's eyes landed on a man dressed in all black with a white clerical collar and black hat covering his brown hair. When he turned his head slightly, Danny got a good look at his face and recognized him as Kevin Brennan.

He pointed over to the man, letting Jamie know he has been located and saw him nod his head in understanding. Jamie began to quickly jog down the stairs, then began to run up the other ones with Byron coming up behind him and Danny going down the stairs, the three planning to cut him off.

They saw him begin to pull a gun out, but Jamie and Byron each grabbed an arm while Danny grabbed the gun from his hand, then reached for his handcuffs to slap on his wrists.

Frank finished his speech and the crowd began to clap, while several more cops came down the stairs and Danny passed Kevin off to them. The other cops lead him out of the building without anyone noticing.

Danny shook Byron's hand and thanked him for his help, then gave his brother a quick pat on the shoulder, telling him good job. He looked down at the stage and saw Frank looking up at them wondering if everything was okay. Danny gave him a nod in answer, seeing a proud look appear on his face, while Jamie looked over at his girlfriend to give her a smile to let her know everything was fine now.

As the crowd continued to applaud, the three men stood on the steps clapping with them. The brothers stood side by side, while Byron stood on the step in front of them- all three were relieved they were able to stop Kevin before he could fire off a shot. The crowd below them never knew how close they came to witnessing a tragedy, but now the day could get back to celebrating Joe, like it was supposed to be all along.

•••

Close to an hour later, after pictures were taken and talking to several different people, Noelle and Jamie made their way outside as the crowd began to leave the building. The couple walked off to the side to talk privately, Jamie had a feeling he knew what the first words out of her mouth would be and he was right.

"So what happened in their earlier?"

"When Danny called, he told me the shooter was there."

"What?" Her eyes widen in surprise. "I thought Whitey's son was the killer and Danny shot him at the hospital?"

"He did," Jamie answered. "But his other son was in on it too."

"Wow," she breathed out with a short shake of the head. She couldn't believe all of that was going on and none of them even knew it. She turned her head to look at Jamie and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Are you okay?"

"Almost." He wrapped his arms around her as well.

She shot him a concerned look, worried something else was wrong. He lowered his face toward hers to press his lips against her for a soft kiss, then rested his forehead against hers.

"Now I'm okay," he whispered.

A chuckle escaped her lips as he began to kiss her again until they heard a pair of footsteps coming toward them, followed by someone clearing their throat. The two pulled back to see her father standing in front of them, his arm wrapped around her mother, who had a huge smile on her face as she watched the couple.

"We're sorry to interrupt, but I'm feeling a bit tired, so we're going to head home," Evie explained.

"I'm glad you came, Mom." Noelle stepped forward to hug her mother. "I'm sure the others appreciate it too."

"We do," Jamie said, referring to himself and his family. He looked over at Byron and gave him a nod. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Byron said back, knowing he was thanking him for his help earlier as well, but didn't want to mention that in front of Evie and risk worrying her unnecessarily.

"It was a beautiful dedication." Evie hugged Jamie, then gave his back a soft pat. "I have no doubt Joe is smiling down on us. He would be proud of you all."

"Thank you," Jamie muttered, his eyes watering at her words as he hugged her back.

She pulled back to look at him and laid her hands on either side of his face, making him miss having that motherly touch. "He would especially be proud of you, Jamie. You have really grown up to be a great boy, so smart and brave, just like I always knew you would be."

She brushed away a lone tear from his cheek- one he didn't even notice had fallen. With a soft tone, she added, "Your mother would be proud too."

He gave her a smile, then leaned forward to give her another hug to thank her again before pulling back. She gave him a nod, then laid a hand on his arm, giving it a small squeeze. "Now, you take care of my little girl, okay?"

"I promise." Jamie turned his head to the side to look at Noelle for a moment and saw her face light up as she spoke to her father.

This was the Noelle he had grew up with- the one who didn't have a care in the world, the one who didn't have terrifying nightmares or had to look over her shoulders all the time. The one with her eyes shining bright and a wide smile on her face.

This was the Noelle he fell in love with so many years ago and the one he was still madly in love with- the one he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"I know what that look means," Evie said, getting his attention. It wasn't hard to see the love he has for her daughter.

"What look?" Jamie asked, playing dumb.

"You know what look." She raised her eyebrows, letting him know she wasn't going to be fooled. "A little advice; tell her."

"You don't think it's too soon?" he questioned her, speaking out loud a fear that plagued him. He worried about coming on too strong too soon and scaring her off.

"For you two? Never," she answered. "The feelings have been there since you two were kids. I saw it back then just like I do now. So tell her, then tell her again and never stop telling her, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jamie flashed her a smile.

"Attaboy." Evie gave him a light tap on his cheek as her husband stepped forward to stand beside her.

"So, should we talk about the elephant in the room?" Byron asked, turning his attention to the couple and referring to the fact that the two were dating now.

"We can. His name is Stampy and he's a little shy about his weight," Noelle said sarcastically, causing her boyfriend and mother to laugh- her father, however- was not amused.

"You're not too old for me to ground, young lady," he playfully warned, then turned his attention to Jamie. "So, you're dating my daughter now."

"Yes, sir." Jamie glanced over at Noelle and shot her a smile.

"Good." Byron smiled and held out a hand for Jamie to shake hands. "I always liked you best."

"Thanks, sir." Jamie smiled back at the older man.

As he went to pull his hand away, Byron held onto it and pulled it back toward him as he warned, "But if you hurt her, I know how to get rid of you and not get caught. I still have friends in high places."

"Dad!" Noelle shot her father a look.

"Byron, leave the kids alone." Evie laughed over at her husband. "You know he'll take care of our little girl. He always has."

"Just a friendly warning." Byron released Jamie's hand.

"Yeah, it really looked friendly, Dad." Noelle chuckled, feeling Jamie wrap an arm around her waist.

"Trust me, you don't have to worry, I'm not planning on letting this one go." Jamie turned his head to smile at his girlfriend.

"That's what we love to hear, son." Byron reached out to pat Jamie's shoulder in acceptance.

As the small group laughed and joked around, none of them noticed a lone figuring across the street hidden in the shadows.

Jimmie watched as her parents basically welcomed Jamie with open arms and couldn't help but imagine it was him standing there by Noelle's side- his arm around her waist, her body pressed against his side as he dropped a kiss on top of her head.

In his mind, he imagined her mother would smile at him and talk about how happy she was they were together- she would want to know when they were getting married and give her grandbabies. He would smile at the older woman and promise her it would happen soon. Her father would be the one patting him on the shoulder and giving him playful warnings, maybe even calling him an endearing name; like buddy, sport or son. He would laugh along with the older man and jokingly call him dad.

He could let the scene in front of him cause him to be angry, and at first, he was, until he reminded himself that he had to remain calm. She was his, they were meant to be and he knew it, the voices had told him time and again. She was just confused right now, the other man in her life- this Jamie guy- had her confused and was manipulating her. He had no doubt she wanted to escape him but didn't know how.

He would come up with a how because he needed a way to save her and he would- he would be her hero. Once he saved her, the two would be together, he had a plan to ensure the two would never be apart again.

He had no doubt that one day soon she would be his again...this time forever.

•••

A/N; Thank you to everyone reading!

Happy reading!
xx