#james x erin headcanons

Headcanons for the Derry Girls Halloween Episode:

. The gang end up going to the Fatboy Slim concert while the adults are at a costume party hosted by Janette Joyce, who’s attempting to repair her friendship with Mary and the girls (baby Anna is in the care of a babysitter).

. Everyone is positively buzzing for the concert - well, mostly. This is the first time James and Erin after the Donegal kiss, and like most teens would be, they’re feeling confused as hell and kind of down in the dumps that they most likely can’t be together. Erin being Erin is determined to just shove her feelings down inside and enjoy the concert.

. We all know the gang are dressed as angels for the concert but I think the adults’ costumes would be really fun. Gerry gets roped into being part of a group ABBA costume with Mary, Sarah and Ciaran and Granda Joe tries to incorporate Seamus into his but is stopped by Mary’s insistence that he can’t bring a cat with murderous tendencies to a Halloween party.

. Mary finally gets to hoke inside the Joyce’s house and cannot believe her eyes at the eight bedrooms with en-suites. The sheer size of the kitchen makes her catch her breath.

. It’s hinted that Granda Joe has a heart attack in this episode and while it’s obviously a very serious thing, I think the setup could be really funny. For example, Ciaran and Sarah have been going steady for about a year now, so what if he decides to take the leap at this party and propose? And at the exact moment he does and he and Sarah and everyone else is celebrating, Granda Joe clutches his chest and collapses. Luckily Janette’s husband Richard is able to give him something from his medical bag while the ambulance is called and Gerry is sent out to find the girls.

. Back at the concert things are not going great for Erin. She’s trying to enjoy herself but just can’t get that kiss out of her head. The rest of the girls are having the time of their lives (and I’ll think we’ll see Claire meet a love interest!) and suddenly she sees James across the room chatting with a girl. They go off to dance and something just snaps in Erin and she storms out on the verge of tears. As we’ve seen from the photos James follows her and they have an argument - Erin says she knows she said they couldn’t be together but not because she doesn’t feel the same way, because of what Michelle said and the repercussions it could have and maybe if they weren’t in Derry it would be different and James clearly feels the same but because of their situation they’re sort of in an impossible situation.

And Erin is about to say something else when they get interrupted by Gerry in full ABBA attire racing down the hallway towards them, and he fills them in on what’s happened to Joe and they have to gather the rest of the gang and get to the hospital.

. When they arrive everyone’s a mess. Poor Ciaran is sitting in the waiting room with Sarah patting his shoulder while he’s having hysterics about accidentally killing his future father-in-law and Mary’s pacing up and down the room with a death grip on her rosary. Orla (who I’m 100% certain is autistic) is quickly overwhelmed by the confusing scene and has to be comforted by the girls. They spend two full hours waiting in agonising silence, all the while Erin’s thoughts being bombarded with horrible possibilities and outcomes and she can’t face losing her grandad so she just gets up and walks away as fast as she can. She doesn’t even know where’s she going until she hears James calling out behind her, having followed her to make sure she’s okay and she wants to tell him to go away, that she can’t deal with their shit on top of all of this but instead she just… crumbles. She cries harder than she ever has before and James just immediately pulls her into a hug and comforts her while she lets its all out. And when she’s finally done she just looks up at him and says she can’t wait. She doesn’t want to after what’s just happening, life’s too fucking short, and grabs his face and they kiss in the empty hallway.

. Meanwhile, the doctor finally comes out and informs everyone that it turns out Ciaran did not in fact accidentally kill Joe, but that Joe has a genetic disease that causes clogged arteries combined with the fact that he ate too many cheese cubes at the party. He also tells them Joe will be waking up in a few minutes and they’re welcome to sit in his room until then. Ciaran nearly sobs with relief before realising with a degree of horror that now Joe’s not dead, he may very well kill him for proposing to Sarah

. Mary goes off to find Gerry, who’s getting tea for everyone and missed the news that Joe’s stable. After navigating the maze of corridors and rooms she goes through a door and to her surprise finds her husband, standing still as a statue, peering round the corner and into a hallway. She approaches him to tell him the news but is quickly shushed by a shocked Gerry, who responds to her bewildered look by just pointing down the hall to the figures of their daughter and the wee English fella wrapped in each other’s arms and kissing passionately.

. For a good minute neither of them know what to say, until Gerry remarks that maybe they should give them a few minutes before breaking the news about Joe. They attempt to make a sneaky exit and tiptoe away but Gerry accidentally stubs his foot on a bin and manages to knock the entire thing over with a very loud clang in perfect Derry Girls comedic timing, which alerts Erin and James to their presence. Erin is just about up to here with people walking in on her and James shifting and just shouts,

“For God’s sake, is there no such thing as privacy?!”

To which Mary retorts that they’re in a public hospital. Meanwhile Gerry’s brain has gone completely blank, still shocked by the image of his daughter snogging the face off James fecking Maguire, so he just does the first thing that comes to mind, grabs James’s hand and starts shaking it vigorously. And James and Erin can only stare at him in absolute confusion until Mary yanks his hand away and asks what the hell he’s doing, to which he responds he just panicked She rolls her eyes at her eejit husband and says they’ll discuss whatever the feck’s happening between James and Erin later, and marches the trio back to Granda Joe’s room.

. Granda Joe is now awake but absolutely flying on the morphine. He’s convinced he’s in heaven due to the fact that five angels appear to have congregated around his bed, and keeps asking if God would allow him to bring Seamus the cat with him to eternity. That is, until Gerry enters the room and he remarks that this must be some strange version of hell. Michelle nearly chokes trying to keep her laughter in. Ciaran keeps hovering nervously by the edge of the room until Joe nods towards him and says to Sarah that her fella’s a disaster at proposing but if he makes her happy he supposes he can learn to tolerate him.

. That’s all I’ve got! Feel free to add to this and comment your feedback:)

Jerin headcanon because I’m on cloud nine right now:

. After the kiss in Donegal they try to keep their feelings at bay but end up giving in and sneaking around behind everyone’s backs to a montage of “I Think We’re Alone Now”.

. Gerry is the first (apart from Michelle) to figure it out and he’s happy as a fecking clam☺️ Erin and James remind him a lot of himself and Mary when they were young.

. When everyone does eventually find out it turns out Aunt Sarah, Mary and Gerry have been placing bets on when the relationship would finally be revealed. Mary wins 30 quid and is absolutely chuffed Granda Joe is so shocked he has to step into the hallway for a minute to compose himself, before coming back in, clapping James on the shoulder and warning him if he ever hurts his granddaughter, he’s a dead man. James is relieved and terrified at the same time.

Derry Girls future/family headcanon Part 2

. 3:55am - Mary, Gerry, James and Erin arrive at Altnagelvin Hospital. It’s started to snow heavily again, so Erin, Mary and James are dropped off near the front and Gerry is instructed to go park the car while they check in. Inside, they’re greeted by Deirdre Mallon coming off a night shift. Deirdre is by no means a sentimental or overly emotional woman, but ever since her sister basically abandoned her only child in Derry she and her husband Martin have become parental figures to James. They announced Erin was pregnant by James giving them a card reading, “You’re Going To Be Grandparents!” with a tiny sonogram photo from the first scan tucked inside. Deirdre was so astonished she teared up the tiniest bit, but that’s a secret she’s taking to her grave.

. She does congratulate her nephew and Erin and says she’ll visit later when the baby’s born, before turning to James and telling him sternly, “Look after her and for God’s sake don’t bloody faint like Martin did with our Michelle.”

.Once Deirdre has headed home they go on to the check-in desk, where after giving their names the nurse informs them once they fill in the paperwork they’ll be taken up to a private room. Erin and James are very surprised at this as they didn’t ask for one (usually because there’s none/very few available) and turn around to see Mary standing behind them looking like the cat who’s got the cream. Turns out as soon as she knew Erin was in labour, she rang Janette Joyce, whose husband works at the hospital (and who she’s close friends with now) and called in a wee favour

. Once they’re settled in, a very jolly and plump midwife in her 50’s strolls in and introduces herself as Brenda. She examines Erin and to Erin’s disappointment, she’s only 3cm dilated. She sees Erin’s face fall, pats her on the shoulder and assures her they won’t send her home, it’ll just be a while before things get moving. Mary vouches for this; childbirth is exciting and everything but it’s also one of most uncomfortable, inconvenient and boring experiences of her life. Naturally, Erin’s not exactly thrilled by her ma’s sage advice.

.4:06am - Gerry arrives, having finally parked the car and trekked inside, dusted liberally in snow. Mary is sat in the chair next to Erin’s bed reading a book from home, James is pacing up and down the room constantly asking Erin if she’s okay, does she need anything, etc. Gerry immediately notices James is looking very panicky, and decides to do something about it.

Gerry: I’m gonna go and get some teas. James, you want to give me a hand?

James: *Is still pacing, hasn’t even heard Gerry*

Mary: *confused* What? I’ve a flask of tea in me bag.

Gerry: Right. I…I meant coffee, love. Coffee. We could all do with some caffeine.

Mary: You hate coffee, Gerry.

Gerry: *scoffs nervously* No I don’t.

Mary: Yes you do, the first time you tried it you gagged and said it tasted like you were drinking petrol.

Erin: Aye, and I can’t have that, Daddy. I can’t have anything but fecking ice right now.

Gerry: …Right. *Trying to think of an excuse* Well, even so, you didn’t bring cups, did you love? For the tea. No cups, Mary, how could you forget, eh? So we’ll just head down to the canteen for some, and James’ll help, won’t you, son?

Mary: *confused AF* You need help carrying four plastic cups?

Gerry: Yes I do. Getting on in years and all that. Off we go, James!

James: Sorry, what’s happening?

Gerry:Be back in a few! *Quickly grabs James by the shoulder and speedwalks them out of the room*

*Erin and Mary exchange bewildered looks*

Mary: What is wrong with him?

*James and Gerry in a lift*

James: *fidgeting nervously* I should probably go back… Erin’ll be needing me.

Gerry: Mary’s with her, they’ll be grand.

James: Yeah, I know, but I should still be in there… to help and stuff.

Gerry: The lift’s closed now, might as well head on to the canteen. We’ll only be a few minutes.

James: *clearly unsure* I suppose…

*awkward silence*

Gerry: You, uh, feeling alright about all this?

James: Yeah, yeah. Fine. Totally fine.

Gerry: Mhm. Only I couldn’t help but notice you were looking a bit… jumpy in there.

James: *starting to look uncomfortable* Jumpy? Me? No, no, I’m fine… All good.

Gerry: James.

James: *sighs* …We’re not really going to get cups, are we?

Gerry: No. I just figured I should get you out of there before you paced a hole in floor, maybe if you wanted to talk…

James: What? Talk about what? *talking faster and is now visibly frustrated and panicking* About how for the past nine months I have been doing all this preparation for being a dad, all the parenting books, all the doctors’ appointments and following all the advice? About how despite doing all that I am still absolutely shit scared that none of it’s going to matter and I’m going to be just like my own mother, who was such a bad parent that she abandoned me, came back to use me for her fucking sticker company, and then left again?! And now it’s all happening, it’s actually happening, and soon I’m going to be responsible for a tiny little person that I have to somehow not fuck up and I’m not ready, Gerry! I’m not!*Hyperventilates* I-I can’t breathe!

Gerry: Look, son, it’s alright, you’re just having a panic attack. It’s okay. Take a few deep breaths and try to calm down. *Pats James on the shoulder*

James: *Still hyperventilating while leaning against lift wall* I don’t think I can!

Gerry: James, these are all totally normal fears - well, apart from the stuff with your mother, I know that’s complicated. But every new parent feels like this, I promise.

James:Do they? Do they really?!Just an hour ago, the carseat cut me while I was installing it. *Holds up bandaged finger* It cut me like I owed it money, Gerry. And now all I can think is, that thing can’t possibly be safe for a baby but it’s too late, the stupid thing’s already in there, mocking me, saying, “You bought a death trap for your baby that will slice it to ribbonsthe second you strap them in,and also you’re going to be a terrible fatherwho will fail your child in every possible way!” Oh, and I didn’t even think to install the bastard carseat before now, no, I forgot all about it and then had to do it when my wife told me she was in labour in the middle of the night! I can’t be the perfect father and husband Erin and the baby need!

Gerry: *scoffs in disbelief* What are you on about? Of course you’re not going to be perfect at it!

*James has finally calmed down a little and turns to stare at Gerry*

James: *sarcastically* Jesus Christ! Thanks a lot, that helps!

Gerry: What I mean is, you don’tneed to be. You’re doing something new, and quite frankly, absolutely terrifying.I mean, I’ve been at this dad thing for 28 years. I’ve one grown up daughter and the other nearing the teenage years, which, based on her sister’s are going to be a barrel of fecking laughs, and I still feel like I’ve no idea what I’m doing most of the time. But that’s okay. You make mistakes, learn from them, and keep on trying.And just pray they don’t turn out to be murderers or arseholes.

James: *shakes head* But Erin seems so calm and ready for all this compared to me. I mean, how is she not having an complete and utter breakdown like I am? It’s unnatural!

Gerry: Well, I suppose she’s just had a lot of time to get used to the idea. Mary was the same, really. Just went with the flow. *sighs heavily* There’s old this saying… “Women become mothers when they’re pregnant, and men become fathers when their child is born”. I didn’t really believe it at first, to be honest. Thought it was some old wives tale. I didn’t feel scared, just… excited. *pauses for a moment* And then Erin was born. There she was, this tiny wee thing all wrapped up in her blanket and looking up at me with those massive eyes… and it suddenly hit me that I was a da to this little girl. Someone she’d be depending on and looking to for, well, everything, her whole life. Someone to make her feel safe, comfort her when she was sad, teach her right from wrong and give her the right tools to grow up into her own person. *pauses and looks at James* And I had no idea how I was going to do that. It was scariest feeling I’d ever had. When we brought her home that first night, I lay awake for hours, trying to wrap my head around it. Trying to figure out how the hell I was going to be up to the task.

James: …You really felt that way?

Gerry: Really. And it’s okay for you to feel a bit overwhelmed. Just don’t forget you can do this.Trust me, you are not your mam. I’ve known you for a long time now, and I know you’re not the type of lad that just gives up on something when it’s hard. You’re loyal, you’re kind and responsible, and you’ve proved that to me time and time again. You showed up to take Erin to the school dance when that horrible lad stood her up, you got everyone to Donegal and back safely - well, minus what might have been a concussion from being hit by a parked van - you’ve always stood up for what’s right, had your friends’ backs… You’re one of the good ones, James. You just need to remember it, and tell Erin about all these worries and doubts you’re having, for God’s sake. No point in bottling it up. *shrugs* And to be honest, she’s a smart girl. She’s probably already picked up on it herself. Trust me, Erin’s not made of steel, even if she acts like it. She’s probably nervous and very scared too, she just puts on a brave front because she’s stubborn and it’s who she is. You’ll feel much better if the two of you communicate and work it out together, and just keep trying your best. That strategy turned out alright for Mary and me. *pauses and smiles at James* You and Erin’ll be great parents. I know it.

James: *long pause before smiling back and sighing in relief* Thanks, Gerry. I mean it. You know, you’re really quite wise.

Gerry: *smirks* Can you put that in writing for Joe?

James: *laughs loudly*

Gerry: Come here. *pulls James into a hug*

*At the same moment the lift doors ding open to reveal a small group of people, who stare in confusion/surprise at the them hugging. James and Gerry soon notice and quickly separate, looking embarrassed.*

Gerry: *awkwardly clears throat* Morning, all.

*The people file into the lift and the doors close*

That’s the end of Part 2, everybody! Please comment your feedbackHope you enjoyed it, and Part 3 will be up soon:)