62. Counting Down The Days

Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter and for being patient with me! I totally want to update once a week but currently I'm working on a ranch in the middle of nowhere in Canada, so the access to WIFI is limited. However, I hope you like this one, it's quite long, so enjoy :)

62. Counting Down The Days

16 July 2017

Having a teething baby sucked. Really sucked. Only a couple of days after Jay had sensed that Emilia would start to teeth soon, it had become evident that she was indeed teething already. She was fussier and grumpier during the day, chewing on everything that she could put into her mouth, had swollen gums and much worse, she wasn't sleeping through the night anymore, was awake at least two times a night and opposite to when she'd been a newborn and settled back easily only to wake up again an hour later, she didn't settle too well during the night now, was quite restless, keeping her parents up for hours. They didn't want to bring night feeds back and so they walked with her through the apartment, spent some time with her out on the balcony to watch the stars and listen to the noises of the city by night, a rubber teething ring or washcloth they've chilled in the fridge before always accompanying them so Emmy could chew on it, the coolness helping her to cope with her aching gums.

″Hey princess,″ Jay said on Sunday morning two weeks before the wedding, when he leaned over the crib to pick her up. She was already holding her arms out for him, a conscious effort to be picked up that she showed him for the first time. ″You've already been waiting for daddy?″ he smiled down and scooped her into his arms.

″Hey you,″ he whispered, pressing a kiss on her cheek. ″How are you doing this morning?″ he asked her, tickling her belly softly which earned him the cutest giggle.

″You're in a good mood today, huh? Are your gums a bit better?″ he asked her and opened her mouth gently so he could look for the pearly whites he expected to break through soon. It's been a week now since it has become obvious that there was something going on in her mouth and he had no idea how long it was supposed to take until the first tooth would appear. They hoped she would at least be done with her two bottom teeth by the time they went on honeymoon, so they wouldn't have to leave Hank with Emmy who was 50% of the day/night not really her usual happy, easy-going self.

″Naah Emmy, still nothing there,″ he sighed, walking to the kitchen with her where Erin was preparing the pancake batter for breakfast, wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a white top, her hair a complete mess from their Sunday morning activities earlier. God, how much Jay loved seeing her like this. As the sexy housewife. Though he would never tell her because he really wanted to live a little longer and she shot him death glares whenever he was as sassy to call her housewife, so at some point she would might throw a knife.

″Hey sweetheart,″ Erin almost sang when they approached her and took Emilia from Jay's arm. ″Did you have a good sleep since you were up last at 4?″ she asked, Emmy grabbing for her hair and pulling on it, smiling brightly as she did.

″I guess that's a yes cheeky monkey,″ she laughed and tried to free her hair from Emmy's grasp and in particular, her strong pull.

″She's in quite a good mood today, so maybe it's getting better,″ Jay said and leaned down to first press another kiss on Emmy's head and then on Erin's lips. It wasn't like they hadn't kissed this morning already, they'd done way more than kissing in fact - making the best of the extra time they'd had this morning thanks to Emilia sleeping longer since she was up during the night - but he of course took the chance of brushing his lips against her soft ones whenever he could.

″Let's hope it stays like this, right Emmy? Teething sucks,″ she said, wondering whether they could expect this kind of drama for every damn tooth within the next one-and-a-half years.

″Poor little girl,″ Jay sighed and stroked over her cheek. If he could go through this instead of her, he would do it in a heartbeat. As if she'd understood the compassion from her father she reached out for him again.

″Such a daddy's girl,″ Erin laughed, passing her back to Jay.

″You wanna go for a jog with me and Crispin before breakfast, as long as its not too hot outside?″ he asked the baby. ″You wanna come, too?″ he then asked Erin.

″No, I don't think so, I'm already worn out from our early-morning exercise...you know?″ she laughed huskily, raising her eyebrow coquettishly.

″Uh-huh,″ he smirked, knowing very well that if they didn't have a baby, he would take her on the kitchen counter right now, wearing themselves out for a second time this morning. Luckily he was able to interrupt his own thoughts before his mind could go to these places. ″So just you and me and Crispin,″ he said to Emmy.

″She hasn't had breakfast yet, so let me nurse her first. Otherwise you will not enjoy that run,″ Erin chuckled.

″Okay, so breakfast for Emmy first,″ he said, imitating an airplane when he passed her back to Erin.

While Jay changed into his running gear, Erin settled in the rocking chair in Emilia's room to nurse her. Ever since she'd been at the hospital, when she was forced to not nurse Emmy for a couple of days due to the medication, she's started to slowly wean her and was only nursing her two times a day now, once in the morning and once in the evening. Around lunch time she was always getting her pulp, that she liked more and more and ate with way more enthusiasm now though it was still a mess, and when she needed something in between she got water or tea to drink or formula or more pulp in case she was hungry. Especially with the honeymoon coming up and Erin being seperated from Emmy for a week, it was important for her that she accepted all the other things different than the milk she was providing her. Plus, with her teeth soon breaking through, nursing would possibly even become painful at some point, so it was time she got used to other food.

From next week on she would reduce nursing to one time a day and a tad bit of melancholy overcame her when she imagined that after coming back from the honeymoon, she wouldn't have this intimate time with her daughter anymore, this special time of bonding they've shared from the moment she was born.

After nursing was done and Emmy had a fresh diaper and was wearing an adorable jumpsuit, Jay could finally go for his run on the Lake Front Trail. He settled her in her stroller, half-lying so she was facing him, made sure that there were enough toys on the safety bar so she would be entertained and gave her a cooled teething ring, just to be on the safe side. He put an excitedly waiting Crispin on the leash, gave Erin, who was back in the kitchen, cutting fruits they could later eat with the pancakes, another kiss and then left. When Erin walked on the balcony and watched the three of them disappearing in the distance she was sure that this was how a perfect, domesticated Sunday morning looked like; a little bit of alone-time, Jay going for a jog with both, Emmy and Crispin, while she took a shower and finished to prepare breakfast so they could later eat together before enjoying their Sunday as a family...

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

They spent the afternoon in their new house as it was too hot and too humid to spend much time outside. Almost all the rooms were painted already, except of the wall behind the dining table but they had to wait until after the wedding as this was going to be something special, and the last room they still needed to paint was Jay's man cave. Yesterday they'd bought a giant corner sofa for the living room and the company would deliver it within the next two weeks and their old couch, the one couch, would get a spot in the man cave because there was no way they would get rid of this special piece of furniture.

They'd just finished to paint the Hawks logo on the wall, being very proud of the result as it's turned out perfectly, and were preparing the opposite wall so they could paint the Cubs logo on it, when Erin's cell rang. She frowned for a second when she saw Olive's name flashing across the screen.

″Olive?″ she asked.

″Hey Erin,″ she said. ″You and Jay are at the house, aren't you?″

″Yes we are. Why?″

″Uhm...Justin's not home. He and Hank are in Indianapolis to pick some things up that are still at my parents' place,″ she explained, inhaling deeply before dropping the bomb. ″Erin I...I think I'm in labor.″

Damn. She's totally forgotten that Olive was due any day now. This is not good. ″Okay, keep cool Olive, I'll be there in a minute,″ she said, swallowing down the upcoming feeling of nervousness and hung up, putting her phone back in the back pocket of her shorts before meeting Jay's questioning gaze.

″Olive might be in labor and Justin's in Indianapolis,″ she answered his unspoken questions. ″I'll go over and check on her.″

″You want me to come with you?″ he asked, sensing that this situation filled her with anxiety.

″Uhm, not yet. In case she's really in labor I think she wants as less people as possible see her in that state. At least that's how I felt. But I'll call if I need you,″ she smiled thankfully and ran out of the house to knock on Olive's front door a couple of seconds later.

When the young blonde woman opened the door Erin could immediately tell that she was definitely in labor, her pinched facial expression and the sweat covering her forehead telling her all she needed to know.

″Hey,″ she said gently, placing her hand on Olive's shoulder and guiding her inside.

″Thanks for coming,″ Olive said and sat down on the couch, leaning back in the cushions, her hand tracing circles onto her large belly. She was definitely more than ready to have this baby.

″Of course,″ Erin assured her, bending down on her knees in front of her. ″When did your contractions start?″

″This morning. Somewhen around 9 I think,″ she said.

″Around 9?″ Erin echoed, her eyes widening in disbelief. ″Jesus Olive, that's five hours! Why didn't you call earlier?″ she asked, trying to keep her voice gentle. Blaming her surely was the last thing she should do.

″I didn't think...I don't know...I thought it was false alarm and I tried to play it down...Danny was born almost two weeks after his due date and I'm only due tomorrow so I thought...but it's gotten so much stronger in the last hour and...″ she stammered, completely overwhelmed by the situation. ″And the baby can't come now. Justin's not here and I can't reach him or Hank. He has to stay inside until Justin's here,″ she whined desperately.

″Sssshh Olive,″ she soothed, stroking her knee. ″I don't think this baby wants to wait...″

″No no no,″ she panicked. ″He can't come now!″

″Olive, take a deep breath, okay? Inhale, exhale,″ Erin said, showing her the breathing rhythm and hoping that she would pick it up.

″Erin I can't do this without him,″ she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

″I know,″ Erin nodded. Hell, she didn't know what she would've done if Jay hadn't been there for Emilia's birth and if she had to do it without his support. She would've freaked out just as much as Olive did right now. But unfortunately freaking out didn't bring them anywhere. This baby was most likely going to be born today, no matter whether Justin was here or three hours away.

″Listen Olive, here's what we're going to do. I'll bring you to Med and I'll stay with you and I'll do everything to reach Justin and Hank, okay?″

″Okay,″ she nodded, grimacing as a contraction came up in this moment. Her hand automatically reached for Erin's and for a second Erin thought her fingers would might not survive this. If this was rudimentarily how she'd squeezed Jay's hand for hours back in February she wondered how he was still able to hold a pen and how his fingers survived this day without further damage.

Erin let her squeeze the shit out of her hand and waited until the contraction was over. ″How far apart are they?″

″Four to five minutes,″ she answered.

″Okay. What about your water?″

″Intact.″

″That's good,″ Erin breathed out. ″Where's Danny?″

″In his room, taking a nap.″

″Great. I'm going to check on him and then I'll call Jay to come over to take care of him while we go to Med, alright? You just stay here and I'll be back in a minute,″ Erin explained, gave her knee another pat and got up.

On the way upstairs she gave Jay a quick update, telling him about her plan and before she entered Danny's room, she dialed Hank's number. Just like Olive she was led to voicemail instantly. Where the hell are you? she cursed inwardly and walked into the room. As expected, Daniel was sleeping peacefully, being completely unaware that he would be a big brother soon.

She stayed with him for a moment, getting her own nervousness under control, before a knock on the front door downstairs signalised her that Jay was already here. She quickly opened the door and grabbed Olive's car key to take her to the hospital, so Jay could later take their Audi to bring Emilia, Daniel and Crispin to the apartment because who knew how long this was going to take. While Olive settled in the passenger's seat, she put Daniel's car seat out of the car and placed it on the porch.

″I'll stay with her until Justin arrives,″ she told Jay.

″You reached him?″

″Not yet,″ she sighed. ″Damn he can't miss this. I don't even understand why they had to drive there today when her due date is tomorrow...″

″I never had done that.″

″I know. When did you start to go crazy and didn't want to leave my side anymore? Week 36?″ she chuckled slightly.

″Yeah, something like that,″ he winked. ″Now go, I don't think Olive appreciates our smalltalk.″

″Alright,″ she nodded. ″I'm sorry I have to leave you with two little kids.″

″Babe, Olive needs you and I'll get it handled,″ Jay assured her.

″I know you will,″ she smiled, pecked his lips shortly and made her way to the driver's side, wondering whether their lives would ever slow down and they could just simply relax for a couple of weeks without anything dramatic happening.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Shortly after they arrived at Med, while Olive was examined in a room, Erin waiting outside and pacing up and down the hall anxiously, Hank finally called back, telling her something about a giant thunderstorm in Indianapolis that literally killed the telephone lines. Erin quickly told him about Olive being in labor and hurry the fuck up in case Justin didn't want to miss the birth of his second son. At this point she wasn't even sure whether hurrying up would be enough as she knew most times everything went faster with the second child, so she hoped devoutly that the doctor wouldn't tell her Olive was already at 7+ centimeters.

Being back in a delivery room was somehow weird, especially since she now was in a role she hasn't thought she'd ever be in: she was the one supporting another woman in labor, rubbing her back, speaking soothing, encouraging words. Words that were the biggest lie in history because she actually knew that nothing could take the pain of labor away, Olive knew too, and there was no worse pain than feeling a contraction at its peak. She even somehow shuddered by the thought which pain Olive was feeling in every moment but she concentrated on telling her about the moment when she would soon get the greatest reward, when it would soon be over and a bundle of life would rest on her chest instead of inside her belly. And these thoughts also sent chills down her spine, but only because it was the most magical moment someone could ever experience, seeing and touching the child you created with the man you love for the very first time, and maybe, just maybe, a tiny part inside of her wanted to experience this again at some point.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Three hours and what felt like ten broken fingers later, when the midwife already talked about Olive starting to push with the next contraction, Justin came finally running into the room, his breathing as heavy as if he's just run the Chicago Marathon.

″Thank you, Erin,″ he said, giving her a nervous smile and hugged her shortly, placing a kiss on her head before he took the spot Erin's occupied for the last three hours, the spot where only he needed to be right now. Not Erin or anyone else.

″Good luck,″ she smiled back and left the room so Justin and Olive could have some privacy for this big event.

Together with Hank she went to the cafeteria to get a very needed cup of coffee, settling at one of the tables.

″Maybe I should get my fingers x-rayed,″ Erin chuckled when she brought the cup to her lips, unsure whether her aching fingers would be strong enough to hold it.

″That bad?″ he grinned.

″Yeah, you know, women in labor develop a unbelievable strength. This strength helps them to get through this but it can also damage your limbs apparently,″ she laughed. ″Hell, how did Jay do this?! I squeezed the crap out of his hands for almost 15 hours straight,″ she chuckled and shook her head.

″He's a tough guy,″ he smirked. ″And it's different with men. They can take any pain when they see what their women have to go through.″

″You mean that's just what they deserve in that moment?″ she laughed, the usual hint of rasp in her throat.

″Basically they're just glad they don't have to do it themselves, so they take smushed fingers in a heartbeat,″ he winked.

″Charming,″ she grinned and they fell into a moment of silence.

″Where's Danny?″ Hank asked somewhen, sipping on his coffee.

″With Jay. He took him and Emmy and Crispin to the park and then to our apartment.″

″So Jay's now taking care of a five-and-a-half months old, a two-year-old and a dog?″ Hank asked and raised his eyebrows. ″You sure he's still alive?″ he smirked.

″Pretty sure,″ she chuckled, grabbing her phone that laid on the table in front of her to show him a picture Jay's sent her from the park earlier. It was a selfie of him and Danny, both of them wearing sunglasses and holding a cone with icecream, the melting ice all over Danny's face and hands.

″Yeah I see, he's got it covered,″ Hank grinned. His best sniper was really and absolutely made to be a dad. No doubts given.

″Uh-huh,″ Erin smirked proudly. She was sure she could leave Jay with a whole horde of kids and dogs and he would still magically and magnificently find a way to get it all handled.

″Shall I pick him up and take him home with me overnight later?″

″Well, Emmy is not the greatest sleeper these days. You'll figure that out soon by the way,″ she winked. ″So maybe it's not the worst idea if he stays at your place tonight. But let's see how late it'll get until we're out of here. Maybe he'll already be asleep and then we should just simply let him sleep,″ she explained. She'd read in various baby books that it was the worst to wake up a sleeping toddler, only to put them back in bed a couple minutes later. This never worked. And that's why it was parents' biggest nightmare when their kids fell asleep in the car on the way home.

″Okay,″ Hank nodded, a proud smile rushing over his face as he was eyeing her from the side. Such a mommy. Who had ever thought that?

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

They didn't have to worry about it getting too late. Henry Christopher Voight was born all healthy only a mere 35 minutes after Justin had arrived, making him a father of two and Hank a grandfather of three. After giving them a little time as just the three of them, because especially Erin knew how important and needed this was after such an intense time, she and Hank got to know the newest member of the family an hour later. She took a couple of photos of the wrinkled baby with the dark hair and when she was allowed to hold him she was sure he was heavier than Emmy had been at a month old. She got the actual confirmation when Olive told her about his weight and length. Little Henry was quite the chunk, having a fighting weight of more than 9 pounds.

They only stayed for around 15 minutes before they gave them their well-deserved alone time, so they could get to know their newest son a little more before he would meet his big brother on the following day, and were at the apartment shortly before 8, just in time for bedtime stories.

When Erin stepped into the apartment, Hank following close behind, her heart melted like ice in the sun. Jay sat on the couch, Danny sitting on one of his thighs, leaning against him, Emmy sitting on his other thigh, also leaning against him, and he read them a story from a book, Crispin listening attentively as well as he laid down on the floor by Jay's feet.

″What did I tell you?″ Erin smiled at Hank, who's eyes have also fallen on his son-in-law.

″Impressive,″ he answered and it sounded like he really meant it and was in fact truly impressed about how well Jay seemed to handle the situation with two little kids.

″Look who's there,″ Jay said to Daniel, bringing the boy's attention from the storybook to his grandfather.

″Papaw!″ Daniel screamed excitedly and Jay helped him to get on the floor safely so he could run to him.

″Hey munchkin,″ Hank smiled when he picked him up into his arms. ″You're a big brother now.″

″Me?″ he asked.

″Yes, you,″ he answered, prickling him softly with his finger. ″His name's Henry and he's a lot smaller than you are.″

″Henny?″

″Yeah, something like that,″ Hank laughed before he changed his attention to Erin and Jay who were sitting on the couch, witnessing the interaction between grandfather and grandson silently. ″Would it be okay if I take him to my place?″

″Sure,″ Erin nodded.

″I bathed him and he's already wearing his pajamas, so you just have to tuck him in,″ Jay explained. ″And I packed some clothes and the stuffy he was snuggling with during his nap into a bag. It's by the door.″

Erin looked from Jay to Hank and if his facial expression had been impressed before, she had no idea how to describe the look on his face now. Perplex was quite an understatement and for a moment he seemed to have lost his tongue. Which was something that never happened as Hank had always something to say.

Then, finally, he nodded his head appreciatively. ″Listen Erin, I told you this before but I'm going to tell you again right now: this man's a keeper.″

″I know that,″ she smirked sheepishly, placing the softest of kisses on Jay's cheek because she sensed he was probably not even breathing at this point, after getting such a huge compliment from no one less than Hank Voight, the man who'd once threatened to cut his life short in case he dared to touch her.

″Good,″ he smirked. ″And just so you know Jay, she's a keeper as well.″

″She is,″ Jay nodded slowly, still trying to process Hank's words. It wasn't the first compliment he paid him. He'd paid him quite some on Erin's birthday but still, Hank Voight telling him something like this in all honesty was always a reason for him to nearly fall over. ″Guess why I put a ring on her finger,″ he grinned at his soon-to-be father-in-law before turning his head to Erin, gazed at her with those perfect blue heart-eyes that had the ability to look right into her soul.

″Huh,″ Hank only grunted, a smile still covering his features. ″I think I should go now and bring this munchkin home,″ he added, ready to give these two lovebirds some privacy.

Jay handed Emmy to Erin and went downstairs with Hank to give him the car seat. They exchanged a few more words, nothing as spectecular this time, before he went back upstairs to find Erin and Emilia cuddling on the couch, the stuffed music box playing in the background.

″She out?″ Jay whispered, dropping himself onto the couch.

″Pretty much,″ Erin yawned.

″You too?″ he chuckled.

″Probably,″ she grinned.

″So Henry, huh?″

″Yeah, Henry Christopher. After both of his grandfathers. He's a chunky monkey,″ she chuckled and handed him her phone so he could take a look at the pictures she'd taken at the hospital.

″He is,″ Jay agreed when he scrolled through her camera roll.

″I can't believe Emmy was that small not long ago,″ Erin sighed when she saw the photo of her holding the newborn. ″I mean, look at her now, she's so big. She'll soon start to crawl, to talk, to walk. Of course it's great to see that but sometimes I wish she would slow down just a bit. Or that we could turn back time to when she was a tiny newborn that looked even tinier in your strong arms,″ she smiled, her voice revealing hints of melancholy, and she pressed a kiss on her daughter's light brown strands of hair.

″Me too,″ Jay whispered, wrapping his arm around her to pull her closer. ″But it's still amazing to witness how she's changing and exploring the world.″

″Yeah. And somehow I want her to stay little but somehow I also can't wait for her to babble and interact with us more. You know, hear her saying her first word. Mommy,″ she laughed slightly.

″You wish,″ Jay laughed as well, nestling his chin in her hair and kissing her head. ″But I don't think we have a real competition here because her first word will be Crispin anyway,″ he joked.

″Yeah, there's a likelyhood that this is going to happen,″ Erin chuckled, leaning even deeper into him so they could enjoy a little more valuable family time after a day that has turned out so different than they'd expected in the morning.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

21 July 2017

After another week, one with lots of gang related crimes and night shifts for Jay, Antonio, Kevin, Adam, Mouse and Will literally kidnapped him for a boys weekend on Friday morning, 8 days before the wedding, when they showed up at their apartment by 6.30am. They'd at least warned them about their early arrival the evening before, so they were prepared for these goofs showing up in shorts and sunglasses in front of their apartment at a time they usually only crawled out of bed. While they waited for Jay to get his duffle bag and say goodbye to his still sleeping daughter, they didn't hold back from teasing Erin that maybe after this last legendary weekend as a bachelor, Jay would change his mind and not come back. As she wasn't a morning person at all, they were lucky she didn't bite their heads off right there in the doorway but managed to sass back instead and after Jay'd pressed a long kiss on her lips for goodbye and she was alone in the apartment again, the silence that surrounded her was very welcomed. The silence only lasted until she'd poured down her cup of coffee anyway as she had to wake up Emmy, make her ready for the day and go for a quick stroll with her and Crispin all before the girls would pick her up later, so all in all just the usual weekday morning stress.

Jay meanwhile had still no idea where the boys would take him. He was fine with anything as long as they wouldn't drag him on a plane with the destination Las Vegas. He didn't need the stereotype bachelor party in Vegas, getting drunk, losing a lot of money and visiting some strip clubs and he hoped that his friends and brother knew that this wasn't what he wanted to do on the last weekend before getting married. His worries, however, were unfounded as they didn't drive to one of the city's airports but took the highway up north and after one-and-a-half hours of driving, in between eating semi-good waffles from a drive-in restaurant and drinking way too much beer for that time of the day, the guys revealed that they were heading to the wilderness of Wisconsin, 3 more hours up north to be precise, for a weekend full of whitewater rafting, campfires, ziplining, kayaking and fishing. Jay wondered how he could ever have thought that these guys would do anything else than giving him the best possible weekend, one that suited him perfectly.

In Chicago, Erin got picked up as well, when two hours after the boys had left Kim, Natalie and Sylvie stood in front of the apartment. Just like Jay she had no idea where they would go but she couldn't help but hope that it was something relaxing and not a weekend full of partying and embarrassing things she had to do out in public. Because that was definitely not her thing. She wasn't even the partying type anymore. She'd left this phase of her life behind her, was only going out in the evenings occasionally but never for dancing through the night but rather for having a drink with friends.

Before they left, she brought Emmy and Crispin downstairs to Carol, where Hank would pick them up later. This weekend was kind of the test run for their honeymoon though Erin was sure Hank would never tell her in case these three days turned out to be a complete disaster as he didn't want to ruin their honeymoon. At the same time, it was also a test run for her, regarding how she handled to be seperated from her daughter for more than a day for the first time. In case she didn't get through this weekend very well it was easy to predict that seven days would nearly be impossible. Though seven days all alone with Jay were maybe a different story as it was easy to say that she really looked forward to a couple of days of undisturbed togetherness.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The girls have picked the wellness and spa hotel the Unit had been last year for the team building event for Erin's last weekend as a unmarried woman. And after stopping by at an outlet center to go shopping, talking Erin into buying the cutest summer dress, they arrived in New Buffalo in the early afternoon, slipping from their shirts and shorts directly into a bath robe so they could enjoy a massage each and then spent the rest of the day outside by the pool, drinking cocktails and chitchatting about everything and anything.

In the evening, they enjoyed the best of dinners before they ended their day with a walk along the beach towards the direction of the lighthouse. The one lighthouse Erin and Jay had played scrabble a year ago. Erin could literally feel Jay's hands on her body when they approached the pier with the red-and-white tower and she felt heat crawling up inside of her by the memories of this evening when he'd pressed her against the cool walls of the lighthouse to make love. She hoped most urgently that the girls didn't recognize the blush on her cheeks.

″This is such a beautiful place,″ Kim exclaimed, taking her shoes off so she could sit down on the edge of the pier to dip her feet into the water of Lake Michigan.

″Uh-huh,″ Erin chuckled slightly, those memories still taking the better of her because yeah, making love with Jay was always a pleasant memory. She took her shoes off as well and sat down next to her maid of honor, Natalie and Sylvie joining them, too.

″Thanks for this girls,″ she smiled, her gaze focussed on the sun that went lower by the minute and colored the sky in all shades of yellow and orange. ″And thanks for not forcing me to do any embarrassing things,″ she laughed. ″And thanks for no stripper or anything similar.″

″Hey, this weekend is not over yet. It only just started,″ Natalie smirked, bumping her shoulder against Erin's.

″Don't cheer too soon, Erin,″ Sylvie giggled as well.

″Should I be worried?″ Erin asked. She was almost certain there was more to come after all the secrets over the past few weeks.

″Not yet,″ Kim winked. ″But no worries, everything is harmless.″ This weekend was indeed just for relaxing and talking, for the sauna and the pool, the beach and the lake, the exfoliations and the massages, the strolls and the food. But next weekend was a different story as Kim and Mouse had decided they should let them go through the embarrassing stuff together.

″So no stripper?″ Erin made sure.

″You can thank whomsoever that your man looks like Adonis himself. Because we figured no stripper in this world can give you something that you don't see and touch on a daily basis.″ Sylvie tried to say it all casual but as soon as these words were out, she cracked up laughing and so did the other three.

Truest statement in history. ″Remind me that I'll never complain about Jay working out again,″ Erin snorted. Not that she'd ever really complained when he went to the gym on a day he could go home from work early or when he went there for an hour on Saturdays and Sundays. It was mostly just mock offense. She would never complain about the results of his work-outs as they were pure eye candy. And now these results have even saved her from an encounter with a stripper. Praise those muscles, the abs, the v-line, his perfect, fucking hot body.

″Can't he get his brother into working out at least a bit?″ Natalie complained laughingly.

″Or motivate Adam to do a bit more?″ Kim chuckled.

″Seems more like you guys need a stripper at some point,″ Erin smirked mischievously. ″Good to know.″

″It's not that I don't like Will's body...it's just...you know...I wouldn't mind if he worked out,″ Natalie grinned.

″No worries Nat, we got it that you want a stripper on the next possible occasion,″ Sylvie teased. ″When's your birthday?″

″Oh shut up,″ Natalie laughed.

″Okay,″ Sylvie grinned and they all fell into a comfortable silence, the chuckles slowly fading away.

″You nervous about next week?″ Kim asked.

″I guess I am,″ Erin shrugged. She was acutally counting down the days in anticipation though there were some things that made her nervous. ″But only about everything going smooth, that everything will be like we imagine because I have these nightmares that there'll be a thunderstorm or a hurricane or an earthquake or that the world goes down, whatever.″

″You will have the most perfect day, no worries,″ Kim smiled encouragingly. ″With blue skies and sun.″

″Let's hope so,″ Erin smiled forcedly. This was really her biggest fear. That they couldn't have the ceremony outside, in front of the lake, the evening sun shining at them from the side. Of course there would be a big tent at the venue, where they later could celebrate and dance, but the actual plan was that they would exchange their vows outside and not inside of the tent. She's been checking the weather forecast for the 29th for the last week and so far it looked like they would get the weather they were dreaming of though she knew very well how fast things could change.

″You have your vows finished?″ Sylvie asked.

Her vows. That was another thing that caused her quite a headache. There were so many things in her head she wanted to tell him but she struggled with writing them down and seriously considered to improvise next week and just tell him whatever her heart wanted to tell him in that moment. So far she had at least three sentences that she liked, so that was better than nothing.

″Still working on it,″ she admitted. ″I still need to get them down pat.″

″Seriously, I can't wait to hear them,″ Natalie smirked.

Well, thanks for the pressure, Erin thought but she could understand her friend because she couldn't wait for Jay's vows either as she was sure they would melt her heart, would get right into her soul and would bring her waterproof make-up at its limit. And maybe this was why she struggled because she wanted her words to get right to his heart and into his soul as well and whenever she scrawled something down she asked herself whether they would.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The darkness started to surround the cabin and the woods in Wisconsin, the chirp of the birds hushed, the clitter of the crickets took over and the bugs started to attack the six men around the bonfire.

″I'll go and get the bug bite spray,″ Jay said after killing the 10th or so bug that had sat down on his leg to subsist on his blood.

″I can go, too,″ Mouse suggested.

″Naah, it's okay,″ Jay assured him and went inside, getting the spray giving him the opportunity to finally give his fiancée a call without the guys making fun of him how they couldn't even spend one weekend without hearing each other's voices. The voice network wasn't the best up here in the middle of nowhere but thankfully it was enough for a call and Erin picked up after the third ring.

″Hey babe.″ There was the usual hint of rasp in her voice and he knew there were those dimples on her face right now and suddenly he was wondering whether calling her was such a brilliant idea. He maybe needed to jump into the chilly river next to the cabin afterwards.

″Hey dream woman,″ he chuckled slightly, looking for the bug bite spray in the depths of the box with nourishments and other stuff. ″How's it going?″

″Pretty great. What about you?″

″Same,″ he grinned.

″Where did the guys take you?″

″Vegas,″ Jay managed to say deadpan.

″Really?″ Erin asked and he could hear that she didn't believe him the tiniest bit. ″That's funny 'cause we're in Vegas, too. We should meet,″ she laughed.

″You are?″ he frowned, unsure whether she was joking or not. So far the guys haven't told him where the girls were and somehow the thought of Erin being in Vegas didn't settle well with him, mostly because he knew that Erin hadn't wanted to go to Vegas either, just like him.

″No,″ she laughed. ″But you aren't either,″ she noticed.

″Touché,″ he laughed as well. ″We're in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin. We went ziplining and fishing today and just finished grilling our quarry over the campfire. I think tomorrow we'll go whitewater rafting and Antonio said something about the possibility of climbing under a waterfall or something.″

″Wow, that sounds like some real adventure,″ Erin chuckled ever so raspy, it wasn't even funny.

″What about you?″

″The wellness and spa hotel we were for the team building event last year, you remember?″ she asked rhetorically. ″We're doing all the spa this weekend, it's incredible. Getting massages, relaxing in the sun, using the whirlpool and the sauna,″ she said, especially emphasizing the last word to tease him. And of course she succeeded and his mind went to places it shouldn't go to with her a 7 or so hour drive away.

He cleared his throat before he was able to answer. ″Sounds perfect.″

″It is,″ she confirmed. ″We actually just came back from a stroll to the lighthouse,″ she said huskily.

Maybe I should really go for that cold shower before I go back outside, Jay thought, swallowing hard by hearing her husky voice combined with the memories from that evening over a year ago, when they'd had sex in a more or less public place. Fucking good sex. As usual.

″Jay?″ she chuckled into the phone. ″You still there?″

″Barely,″ he murmured loud enough for her to hear.

″Ouh, you're at that place,″ she teased, her raspy chuckle not making the situation any easier for him.

″Shut up,″ he grunted.

″No worries babe, my mind was there as well earlier. I just thought you deserve to go there as well,″ she laughed.

″Thank you, aren't you just the loveliest woman under the sun?″ Jay joked. He still hasn't found the bug bite spray.

″I am. That's why you want to marry me,″ she said lightly, a flirtatious undertone in her voice.

″Might be one of the reasons,″ he grinned, in the same moment hearing someone stepping into the cabin behind him.

″Damn Jay how long can it take to find bug bite spray? They eat us up out there!″ Kevin complained loudly, giving him a pat on the back, only now realizing that he was on the phone.

″Well, I guess that's 10 bucks I owe your brother now,″ he laughed and grabbed the phone from a surprised and confused Jay who looked like being caught doing something he wasn't allowed to.

″Yo Linds,″ Kevin said. ″Stop distracting your man or they'll only find our skeletons tomorrow because the friggin' bugs are trying to kill us.″

″Sorry Kev, didn't know he was on a mission to save your lives,″ she laughed.

They exchanged a couple more words before Kevin graciously handed Jay the phone back so he could at least say goodbye.

″So the mosquitoes as big as birds are trying to eat our friends and you rather call me? Shame on you, Halstead,″ she chuckled.

″Yeah well, you know...priorities.″

″Uh-huh,″ she answered. ″But now go, the girls want to go to the bar for a cocktail anyway, so I should get ready.″

″Alright,″ he sighed. ″Love you.″

″Love you more,″ she said hung up, Jay putting the phone back into his pocket and going back to the fireplace with Kevin.

″Jeeez, you guys,″ Kevin laughed and slightly shook his head, giving him another pat. ″Your brother said you would sneak in and try to call her but I said: nooo, he doesn't do that. It's a boys weekend and he's a brother, he doesn't break the rules.″

″I'm sorry,″ Jay grinned.

″Yo, gimme those 10 bucks I owe your brother now and we're even,″ Kevin joked.

″Deal,″ Jay agreed but Kevin's 'even' didn't include him not telling the others about Jay calling Erin.

″Finally!″ Will cheered when they took their spots around the fire again.

″Y'all know, Halstead really missed his girl. Caught him on the phone.″

″I knew it,″ Will celebrated.

″Was it dirty?″ Antonio laughed.

″It wasn't,″ Jay said immediately before Kevin could tell them anything else. ″Just wanted to know where she is since you guys didn't tell me.″

″You know, O threw my phone from the top of a building when I used it while I wasn't allowed to,″ Adam smirked. ″Maybe yours should go for a dive in the river. Not as punishment. Only as exercise.″

″Someone's talking from experience here, huh?″ Jay teased him, passing the spray around.

″Sure as hell was the only time my phone went for a dive from a rooftop,″ Adam said casually.

″Rookie mistakes are the hardest, bro,″ Antonio laughed. ″But let's just agree Jay won't make that mistake again and let's focus on drinking more beer, 'cause that's why we're here.″

″That is actually true,″ Mouse said, opening another sixpack and giving everyone a new, cooled bottle.

″So, here's to Jay's last weekend as a free man,″ Will said when they all raised their bottles.

″Remember this weekend buddy, because it'll never be the same again,″ Antonio joked.

″Oh come on,″ Jay laughed. ″I'm only marrying. Not going to prison.″

″About the same thing,″ Antonio winked.

″I'm actually counting down the days until I can call her my wife, not the days I'm still a unmarried man,″ Jay smirked.

″Tell us something we don't know already,″ Mouse chuckled.

″Seriously, when there's one thing I know it's that you and Erin will make this work,″ Antonio said. ″But let us make this weekend a legendary one nonetheless.″ To that they all clinked their bottles and let the cool beverage run down their throats.

It was indeed going to be a weekend none of them would forget for a while, a weekend full of laughters, adventures and stupid man jokes and no matter how great it was and how much Jay enjoyed this time with his friends that were family and how much he appreciated their efforts to make his bachelor getaway weekend the best and most legendary one possible, he couldn't wait for the days to pass and the following weekend to hurry up already.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

28 July 2017

Jay, Erin, Emilia and with them Kim and Mouse as the maid of honor and best man arrived at Lake Geneva around lunch time one day before the big event, pure excitement glistering in the air around them. They checked into their hotel, the same one they'd been in April for Erin's birthday, and then drove right to the venue where the wedding would take place on the following day to meet Rachel and talk with her through some last details or things that maybe needed to be changed or rearranged last minute.

When Erin got out of the car, soaking in the fresh air that should help the giant butterflies in her stomach to settle down as they made her all antsy, she was sure that this place was now, at the end of July, even more beautiful than she's imagined though she'd already thought in April and May that this little piece of nature was too beautiful to be true. The grass and the leaves on the trees were deep green and swaying in the soft breeze, colorful flowers were blossoming everywhere, red and yellow apples and purple plums on the trees, the small lake sparkling in the summer sun. Two men were working on the white tent, another boy, probably a teen doing a summer job, mowed the grass where the chairs for their guests would be located tomorrow, where she would walk down the aisle and where Jay would wait for her directly in front of the lake.

At the edge of the woods, around 200 meters from where the tent was, was a small but charming wooden cabin with huge windows, a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a patio with a lake-view. Inside of this cabin, she would slip into her wedding dress tomorrow. Inside of this cabin she and Jay would have their wedding night. Not in the hotel where all their other guests, and their daughter, would spend the night but right here at the place they'd say I do, in this beyond charming cabin with the big canopy bed.

They took another look inside the small cabin, especially to show Mouse and Kim, and afterwards went inside the tent to check whether it all looked like they imagined and of course it did. They didn't have the help of a wedding agency for nothing. Chains of lights, similar to the ones in Molly's, were already hanging down form the roof so it would look like they were dancing under the stars tomorrow night. The wooden floor was already built up, tables and chairs placed around the dance floor. The only things that still needed to be done here were setting the tables and doing the decoration but that wouldn't be done before tomorrow morning as the flowers would only arrive then, so everything was on schedule.

″This is perfect,″ Erin whispered when they stood by the lake, gazing at this perfect scenery, Mouse and Kim and with them Emmy and Crisp having mysteriously disappeared with Rachel. Secrets everywhere.

″It is,″ Jay agreed, wrapping his arms around her from behind, brushing his lips over her cheek.

″It's like a fairytale,″ she smiled as she turned around to him and pressed her lips against his.

″I can't wait for everyone to come,″ Jay said, his eyes sparkling excitedly. Their guests would all arrive tomorrow morning, literally from all over the US. Olivia and Noah were flying into Chicago from New York today, just like Teddy was from San Francisco, and would then take the one-and-a-half hour drive up here with Hank tomorrow morning, accompanied by the rest of their Chicago people. Paul and Izzie have already been with Nick and Lydia down in Texas for the last couple of days, Michael and Susan being down there as well, and they would also take a flight from Austin to Chicago today but then already arrive here in the late evening.

″Me neither. I have the feeling we haven't seen lots of them in forever,″ she sighed.

They'd had so many plans, like going to New York to visit Olivia and Noah and Michael and Susan but everything had been so stressful with them getting adjusted to their new life with a baby, with planning the wedding, buying a house and all the drama that happened in between, that there simply hadn't been the time to make the trip to New York. Michael and Susan had once stopped by in May when they'd been on their way to the cabin and they'd spent the day outside in Chicago visiting some tourist spots, but other than that the only interaction they'd had with their family outside of Chicago were some occasional skype sessions.

A couple of days back Jay had talked to Michael on the phone, telling him about his father joining the party and that he hoped this wouldn't be a reason for them not to come as naturally Michael and Robert have never been the best of friends, especially with Robert simply leaving Michael's beloved sister alone to die. However, Michael's reaction had been one of the most surprising, when he'd said that Jay had given him and Susan a second chance and he was beyond thankful for that and so he could of course also give his father a second chance and that this didn't do any damage to their relationship. He would still be something like their son and as long as he was happy, they were, too and that they wouldn't want to miss his wedding for anything. Needless to say that Jay'd almost teared up. Sometimes he really was a tad bit too sentimental for his own liking. On the other hand, it was just a proof how much his family meant to him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

They all stayed at the venue until the afternoon, talking through some more details of the ceremony and the following reception, checking whether they needed to change something, Erin taking a look at the weather app on her cell literally every hour but so far it still predicted sun, blue skies, a soft breeze and around 82° and no signs of thunderstorms or any other natural disasters, and then even practised the sequence of the ceremony to find out who would stand where best.

Instead of going back to the hotel afterwards – they'd even practised it all for a second time though everything had been almost perfect the first time around - Mouse and Kim talked them into going to the best ice cream parlor in town to have a giant sundae there and Jay only had to exchange one glance with Erin to figure out that they were having the exact same thoughts. Something was very suspicious and these two definitely didn't want them to be at the hotel for whatever reason. They were two of Chicago's finest detectives, so after practising everything twice and Kim asking too many questions at the venue and now them making a short trip to the little town, it wasn't too hard to figure out that something was going on here.

Of course they didn't say anything and just played along with it, acting like they haven't caught up on that and made it Mouse and Kim pretty easy to play out time. Eventually they had to go back to the hotel to shower and get dressed for the evening anyway and at some point, long after they'd finished eating their sundaes, Kim finally agreed that it was time to go.

Erin and Emilia shared a room with Kim and Jay shared his with Mouse, Crispin finding a spot to sleep in the men's room as well. Needless to say that Mouse and Kim took their jobs very serious, much to their own pleasure in this case, and insisted on the bride and the groom not spending the night before the wedding in the same room, naturally much to Erin's and Jay's displeasure. So the next night they would spend together was indeed their wedding night, once she was his wife and he was her husband. What a wonderful thought...

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I hope I can give you the next chapter next week ;) There's one more before the wedding and it's one of my favorites ;)