64. I Do

Here it comes, the chapter you've been waiting for ;) Enjoy!

64. I Do

~ Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale ~

29 July 2017

Tying your tie was quite the challenge when your hands were a bit shaky, when your heart pounded in your chest nervously, excitedly and definitely anything but healthy, and butterflies that propbably had the sizes of helicopters flew around in your stomach. Jay was currently on the third attempt of tying his light silver tie properly but he could already tell that the result wouldn't meet his requirements again.

They still had more than one-and-a-half hours until the ceremony would start, so more than enough time to get the problem with the tie fixed, but his nervousness was reaching dangerous levels by now. Today was the day. The day he would marry the love of his life. The day he hadn't thought would ever come a couple years back because after coming back home from fighting a war and losing too many friends he hadn't believed that he would ever be allowed to be truly happy again, that he would find this one girl that changed his life for the better, that made him feel like living in some fairytale. The day he's anticipated from the moment she'd said yes to his proposal back in December. The day he's been waiting for forever. In about two hours Erin Lindsay would be Erin Halstead and he would be a married man, a husband. If someone had told him four years back, when he'd first met her, or even one year back, when they'd only learned about her unplanned pregnancy, that they would say I do four years respectively one year later he would never have believed a single word, would have said that it was a nice thought, a nice dream and nothing more. But here they were, at Lake Geneva, only a heartbeat away from giving each other a promise for a lifetime.

″Jay, let me do that,″ Mouse said into the silence of their hotel room, his duty as best man calling. He's been sitting on the bed calmly, has watched his best friend struggling with his tie but he's figured Jay wouldn't get this done in a hundred attempts today, so it was time for him to take over before he would strangle himself or whatever else he would probably do in his current state.

″Not the worst idea,″ Jay answered, opening the failed knot again so the tie hung loosely around his neck.

″Yeah, I bet,″ Mouse laughed and started to work on the tie. He didn't even need two minutes and the tie was around his neck, the knot as perfect as possible.

″Wow,″ Jay said impressed when he took a look in the mirror in front of them. ″How did you even do that?″ he asked. Tying your own tie was already quite the challenge but tying someone else's tie was a complete different challenge because you had to do it the other way around than you usually did. Women could do that because they were used to tying their men's ties from time to time, but men? For them it was already hard enough to get it done one way around.

″You know, I sensed you might need help today, so I practised it with Sarah,″ he smiled, giving him a pat on the shoulder, his hand resting there for a moment as they both looked at their imagines in the mirror.

″Damn man, look at these two super rad and super handsome men,″ Mouse laughed, shaking his head slightly. They made indeed quite the duo in their black dress pants, white button-downs, Jay wearing a silver tie, Mouse a light blue one, their usually unruly hair neatly done, some soft stubbles covering Jay's jaw. This was how Erin liked it best and he also didn't like it all shaved so he'd decided that a little bit of stubble was okay, even on a day like today.

″They look good, don't they?″ Jay joked.

″Hell yes they do,″ Mouse winked. ″I'm so happy for you Jay,″ he added, turning away from staring into the mirror and pulled his best friend into a hug.

″Thank you brother,″ Jay said, adding after ending the hug: ″And thank you for being here with me today. For last night. For last weekend. For everything. Everything,″ he made sure to repeat this last word because there were so many things he had to thank him for. Things they usually didn't talk about, like Mouse saving Jay's life back in Afghanistan or in general all things that had to do with the time overseas and the time after, coming home to a new life that didn't feel worth living. Things they didn't have to talk about because only Jay emphasizing this one word was enough for Mouse to understand what he meant and there was no need for any other words.

″You deserve that so much,″ Mouse answered. He had so many reasons to thank him for as well, so it's been a pleasure and a honor to be involved in everything regarding Jay's and Erin's special day.

″But before we both start to cry and ruin our make-up,″ he joked, the laughter returning, ″how about we get you ready and our asses out of here?″

″We probably should,″ Jay chuckled nervously.

″Let's do it then,″ Mouse nodded and helped him to get into his black suit coat. The only thing they still had to do then was attaching the boutonière, a white rose.

″I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to say that but you look gorgeous,″ Mouse smiled at him.

″I take it as a compliment,″ Jay grinned. ″Though I'm not sure whether I'll still look that gorgeous once we're at the venue because I'll probably melt.″

″Oh come on, we drive there with that fancy car of yours,″ Mouse laughed. ″So no worries, I'll make sure that we turn that thing into some place even polar bears would enjoy.″

″Well, that sounds charming.″

″Uh-huh,″ Mouse nodded. ″You ready to go then?″

Jay inhaled a deep breath, took another proving look into the mirror and exhaled again. ″Yes, I am.″

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Erin's brown-blonde hair fell down over her shoulders in the most beautiful, soft waves, only a few strands pinned back with some pearls in some sort of loose braids on both sides of her head to complete her bridal hairstyle perfectly, adding shine and texture without overwhelming the look. Her make-up was subtle, of course a little more than usual, but still all her and all natural and though there wasn't exactly much eyeshadow on her lids, it let her eyes shine greener than usual, the slight sparkle in them coming from her excitement and emotionality without a doubt.

The make-up artist and hair stylist was still here, in case they needed her again, but she was done and there was only one thing left to do for Erin: slipping into her wedding dress that lay on the bed, waiting for her to finally wear it.

″You ready?″ Kim asked her. Her maid of honor looked absolutely stunning in her dark purple dress, her hair pinned back into some loose bun, her make-up also done by the make-up artist.

″I guess so,″ she smiled back and got up to take off her robe and let Kim help her getting into the dress she would only wear once in a lifetime. Today.

″Erin?″ she heard Olivia's voice calling from outside the bedroom before she stripped her robe completely.

″Come on in,″ Erin called back and fixed the knot around her waist again.

″You look...wow,″ Olivia smiled when she stepped into the room, her eyes falling on Erin instantly. ″And you're not even wearing that dress yet.″

″Eriiiin,″ Noah smiled and ran to her.

″Hey buddy,″ she said and got down on her knees.

″You look nice,″ the little boy giggled, his eyes roaming her hair and her face in awe.

″Why thank you,″ Erin smiled, her cheeks blushing from getting a compliment from a 3-year-old. ″You're looking just as nice.″ Noah looked absolutely adorable in his dark blue suit pants, his white shirt and the matching bow-tie around his neck, his brown hair neatly done with the tiniest bit of hair gel.

″I do,″ he nodded and giggled, making the three women in the room laugh with his statement.

″You know why I messaged your mom to come up here with you?″ she asked him, her voice turning into a whisper.

″No,″ he whispered as well, his eyes widening as he thought she was going to tell him a secret.

″I wanted to ask you whether you can do something super special for me today. Something only you and Danny are allowed to do out of all people here,″ she said and she could totally see the excitement in his face. ″You want to be my flower boy today when I walk down the aisle? Throwing all the petals in the air?″ This idea had occured in the morning, when they all, minus Jay and the guys because they strictly followed that tradition of not seeing each other, had been at breakfast together and she'd watched the oldest two boys running around and playing with each other. Emilia was naturally too young to be their flower girl but what would be better than these two cute little boys doing the job and melting their guests hearts with throwing the petals of white roses and being their goofy little selfs?

″Yes yes yes,″ Noah beamed. ″I want I want I want.″

″You're the best. Thank you so much, Noah,″ Erin smiled and pressed a kiss against his cheek.

″Mommy did you hear it?″ he asked excitely when he turned around to face his mother.

″I did,″ Liv smiled at her son. ″You'll do the best job little gentleman.″

They talked through some more details, how the first few minutes of the ceremony were supposed to happen and when Noah's and Danny's big performance would be and Liv assured them she would give all the instructions to Justin and Olive so they could try to tell their 2-year-old what he had to do. And even if it was going to be a chaos, it would still be endlessly cute.

After Liv and Noah had left, it was time for Erin to finally get into her wedding dress before they would run short of time. When she slipped into the white dream carefully it felt even more magical than it had when she'd tried it for the first time because today was the day Jay would finally see her wearing it and from the way her heart was pounding in her chest she wondered whether she would even survive this day or simply pass out somewhen as her heart couldn't take all the excitement and nervousness.

Kim closed the lace on her back and helped her to put a simple, silver necklace around her neck, compatible to her earrings. She slipped into her white heels – she'd seriously discussed to just wear some flats as no one would barely see them anyway but the girls had talked her out of it - and last but not least Kim handed her the bridal bouquet, a dream of white roses, perfectly fitting to everything else.

″Oh my God Erin, you look incredible,″ Kim whispered, scanning her from head to toes, her eyes sparkling suspiciously. Everyone was a tad bit over-emotional today.

Erin took a few steps so she could see her own image in the giant mirror and when her eyes fell on herself, she needed a moment to realize that it was her imagine that was reflecting as she could barely believe it. The dress combined with her hair and the make-up was beyond her wildest dreams. When she was a little child, around six years old, and had disappeared in fantasy worlds about princesses and fairytales to escape the violent and triste life she lived in, she'd always dreamed to marry a prince one day and wear the most beautiful princess dress. Nowadays she was far away from wanting to be a princess but she couldn't help but admit that her very own fairytale has come true anyway.

″I bet Jay will faint,″ Kim said, sensing that her best friend wasn't able to say anything.

″Well,″ Erin said, her voice hoarse and so she cleared her throat, a smile tugging in the corners of her mouth. ″If he waits with fainting until after we exchanged our vows I'm okay with it. Because I don't wanna do that all again.″

″Fair point,″ Kim laughed.

″Thank you for everything Kim,″ Erin said, looking at their images in the mirror. ″You did so much for me these last few months and I couldn't have done that without you.″

″You're one of the greatest persons I've ever known,″ Kim smiled before they both hugged. ″And I would be your maid of honor again anytime but I'm glad to know that there won't be another time you need one,″ she whispered into her ear.

″Maybe you need one. One day,″ Erin winked.

″Maybe I do,″ Kim nodded. ″And when the day comes I know who I'm going to ask.″

″Wise decision,″ she smirked mischievously. ″Because you know, that would be payback time for some certain games last night.″

″Hey, they were harmless. Mostly,″ Kim giggled. ″You should've seen all the other games we discussed.″ There had been two more games last night but neither of them had been especially embarrassing. They'd tried to keep mostly everything within a circle where Erin and Jay still felt comfortable. Of course there had been some exceptions, some must-haves that a party like this couldn't go without.

Shortly before Hank arrived a couple minutes later, Erin moved her sparkling engagement ring from her finger on the left hand to her finger on the right hand. It was the most important piece of jewelry she's ever owned and without a doubt she's never worn another piece of jewelry with more pride than the ring Jay Halstead has given her seven months ago. By the end of the day, or more honest, in not even an hour, there would be another piece of jewelry she would wear with even more pride and never take off again. This little emblem of love, her wedding band. The same that Jay would wear as well. A simple silver ring, hers with three small diamonds and an engraving on the inside, Jay's with only the engraving.

″Erin?″ she heard Hank's raspy voice from outside the door and her heart sunk to her knees because the man who's become her father all those years ago would be the first man to see her in her dress. Plus, he was here to walk her down the aisle, which meant that the moment was already here.

″Can I let him in?″ Kim asked.

Erin inhaled a deep breath of air. ″Yeah.″

Kim opened the door and Hank stepped into the room, looking fancier than ever. Black suit, white shirt, dark blue tie with a plain pattern. Naturally, his eyes fell on the woman he considered his daughter instantly and he let out a sharp breath when he saw her silhouette, tears suddenly welling in his eyes out of nowhere, a faint but ever so proud smile spreading over his face.

″Don't you dare to cry,″ Erin whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat down and trying to keep her tears at bay. The last thing they needed was doing her make-up again but hell was it difficult to keep them back.

″Can't promise,″ Hank managed to say, his voice as emotional as seldom before and he crossed the room to close the gap between them.

″Kiddo you look...you're the most beautiful bride I've ever seen. And I think even Camille would agree on that,″ he said and pressed a kiss against her forehead. ″Wherever she is right now, I know she's looking down on you and smiling so, so big,″ he added and with those words, Erin wrapped her arms around him and buried her face on his shoulder as much as she could without ruining her make-up and hair.

This was one of days Camille Voight had wanted to experience so badly, they both knew that. Erin's wedding day. Just like Justin's wedding day. And the birthdays of her grandkids. But cancer had robbed them all of celebrating these days with the most warmhearted woman Erin has ever known, of them crying together in happiness, of Camille running around, being the proud mother, being all excited about this big day, about Erin marrying the love of her life, that kind of man Camille had always prayed Erin would find one day, that would make her toss all her issues overboard.

″I wish she was here today,″ Erin whispered, still giving her best to hold back the tears.

″She is, Erin,″ Hank said. ″Just in a different way. You carry her in your heart, I carry her in my heart, Justin carries her in his heart. She's here through her grandkids, she's here as the sun that's shining from the sky, as the wind that's breezing through the air. She wouldn't miss this day for anything.″

″She wouldn't,″ Erin agreed, smiling faintly at him.

″You ready to go then?″ he asked, offering her his arm. ″Or did you change your mind? I'm sure I can help you to find a way out of here,″ he smirked smugly, enducing a real laughter from her.

″Yeah, you wish,″ she chuckled.

″I don't actually,″ Hank grinned. ″You belong with that nervous wreck that's waiting for you down there by the lake.″

″So I shouldn't let the poor guy wait any longer, eh?″

″If you don't want him to have a heart attack, no,″ he answered casually.

″Then,″ she breathed out and reached for his arm. ″Walk me down the aisle, dad.″

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Every ten seconds, Jay's eyes wandered to the cabin by the woods, checking whether he could catch a glimpse on Erin so he wouldn't miss one single second of her appearance. Hank had gone inside ten minutes ago, so they should walk out any second by now but so far there was no one to be seen. Their guests, all dressed in the most beautiful and colorful dresses and fancy suits, were all already sitting on their chairs left and right from the aisle, that was decorated with white roses, and excited chatters filled the air. Justin and Olive and Lydia and Nick as well as Natalie tried to keep their energetic sons in check so their adorable suits wouldn't be covered with grass stains before the ceremony even started. Noah was the most well-behaved boy, sitting in his mother's lap, probably the phone he played with doing its job, and baby Henry was sleeping in his stroller, hopefully through the duration of the ceremony.

And then there was Emilia, their little princess, sitting in the first row in Susan's lap, currently being occupied with one of her favorite toys, being completely oblivious to the importance of this day for her parents. She was dressed in the most adorable aquamarine dress, a special design made by the woman who'd also made Erin's dress how he'd learned, and was wearing the fitting shoes, her strands of light brown hair shining in the late afternoon sun.

″Man, keep cool,″ Mouse said when Jay checked the time on his watch for the hundreth time. 5.01pm.

″Trying,″ he answered shortly, watching the second hand turning.

″She's always late, we learned that yesterday,″ he laughed, remembering how during the shoe-game, Erin had admitted that she was the one usually running late while Jay was always on time.

″Uh-huh,″ Jay only nodded in response.

″She's coming buddy,″ he said, giving him a pat on the back.

″I know,″ he answered, still focusing on his watch like he waited for the time faster run faster.

″No, I meant she is coming,″ Mouse repeated his words, only this time he got the message.

He lifted his head slowly, knowing how very special this moment was going to be, and even though she was still far away and he couldn't see much more than a woman in a white dress accompanied by a man, time stood still in that moment. There she was. In a wedding dress. The woman of his dreams. His savior. His addiction. His lover. His fiancée. His very very soon-to-be wife.

A murmur went through the crowd when they saw her as well and they all got up from their chairs as the pianist and singer started to play and sing Thank You For Loving Me by Bon Jovi. Because yeah, they had a pianist/singer, a professional photographer and all. This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing so they've wanted this day to be perfect.

His eyes never left her as she slowly made her way towards them and when she stopped and looked up to the sky for a moment he knew exactly what she was looking for, or better, whom she was giving a silent hello. Camille and Nadia. Two of the people who could only look down from above today instead of celebrating their wedding with them. Two of the people who were dearly missed, especially on a day like today. The first thing he'd done earlier, when they'd arrived here, was looking up to the blue skies, making sure his mother and grandfather were here, smiling down at him from above, being absolutely delighted for him and being there for him today even though not in person.

The closer Erin came, the more Jay had the feeling to fall over as his heart couldn't take it, his knees weak, having the consistency of flummery. She looked beyond beautiful and stunning, there were actually no appropriate words in his vocabulary but all the wows and aaaws and oowws summed it up pretty damn good. Her hair, her smile, the dress, it was absolute perfection. This was so much more than he's ever dreamed of and their eyes only focussed on each other like there were no other people around them.

″Breathe buddy, just breathe,″ Mouse murmured to his friend, reminding him to not forget this essential thing that kept him standing.

Laughters erupted when Noah and Daniel came running to Erin, asking her whether they were finally allowed to do their secret job. Erin's laugh was even more angelic when she told them yes and the two boys proudly walked in front of them to throw the petals. For a moment, Jay turned his eyes away to watch the two boys in their suits being completely in their element, before he lifted his gaze again so he could soak this moment in and now as she was this close, he couldn't hold back some tears from falling and reached for his tissues, everbody aaah-ing and oooh-ing once again, big smiles plastered on their faces.

By the time they reached the end of the aisle, his tears were dried though still sparkling in his eyes, just like in Erin's and they stopped walking, Jay taking a few steps towards her. Hank removed his arm and gave her a kiss on the forehead before turning his attention to Jay.

″Just keep on being you, Jay,″ he said hoarsely. Jay's never heard his voice like this before, so emotional and vulnerable. Hank Voight giving his daughter to another man was obviously something that wasn't all easy for him.

″I will,″ he assured him.

Hank nodded and stepped back to take his place in the first row and Jay took Erin's hand so they could take the remaining few steps together.

″You look so so beautiful,″ he whispered.

″You too,″ she whispered back smirkingly. All the way down the aisle she hadn't been able to turn her eyes away from him as he'd been standing there in his suit, the lake behind him, the sun shining at him from the side, exactly like she'd imagined, only that seeing him like this had given her a lot more emotions than she'd expected and when he'd reached for his tissues she'd almost lost it as well. For the sake of her make-up she'd miraculously managed to keep the tears, that had threatened to fall down her cheeks, back.

Everyone took their seats, the voices hushed and then it was time for the marriage registrar to begin to speak.

″We are gathered here today, friends and family of the bridal couple, at this beautiful place to witness and celebrate Erin and Jay entering the bond of matrimony...″ He continued to talk, about all the things Erin and Jay had discussed with him beforehand, and about love and loyalty and marriage and respect and affection and trust but neither of them was a complete, attentive listener today. They were occupied with staring at each other, losing themselves in each other's eyes, smiling at each other brighter than ever before, just soaking the other in.

″So who gives Erin to be married today?″ he asked and this question brought them both back to reality.

″I do,″ Hank answered as they both turned their heads to him, giving him appreciative smiles and Hank smiling back at them. The woman he considered his daughter has found her match and so he could give her to Jay Halstead all happy and all proud.

″If there be anyone present who may show just and lawful cause why this couple may not be legally wed, let him speak now or forever hold his peace,″ the registrar said, continuing by looking at Jay after a moment of silence.

″Do you Jay Halstead, take Erin Lindsay to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and in woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live?″

″I do,″ Jay smiled at her, his heart-eyes once more sparkling with all the love, his thumb stroking over her fingers.

The registrar nodded and gazed to Erin.

″Do you Erin Lindsay, take Jay Halstead to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and in woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto him for as long as you both shall live?″

Erin inhaled a deep breath, fighting against her emotions once more. ″I do,″ she smiled.

Once again the registrar nodded. ″Then it's now time for your own chosen vows. Jay,″ he smiled at him.

Jay inhaled a deep breath and for a moment the only noise was the clicking of the camera that captioned all these unforgettable moments. He'd worked on his vows for so long, had perfected them over the last few weeks and now was the time he could finally tell her.

″Erin.″ He breathed her name out like it was the only word in his vocabulary. ″You're my best friend. The one I can always count on to pick me up when times are bad. To share my joy when times are good. And to tell me I'm an idiot on the rare occasions that it might be true.″ He made a short pause as there were lots of laughters for that statement, Erin chuckling slightly as well, tears looming in her beautiful hazel orbs.

″But much more you are the one person who brought joy and happiness back into my life when I started to wonder what these things even are and how they feel. Being with you, suddenly everything has made sense and I feel like I'm home after wandering around for too long. You are the piece of me that's always been missing and now I'm complete.″ He swallowed down his emotions that came with some single tears sliding down her cheek.

″Erin, I promise to remember that neither one of us is perfect. But I will strive to remind myself of the ways we are perfect for each other. I promise to cherish you. To laugh with you. To protect you. To love you. Not from this day forward, because I've always loved you. I promise I will continue to love you, in good times and in bad, in sadness and in joy, with everything that I have to give, completely and forever. And for the rest of my life I'll ask myself how I ever got to be so blessed.″ He looked at her for another moment, gave her this kind of enamored smile, before he turned around to Mouse to take the ring from him and slipped it over Erin's finger, the silver band with the small diamonds never going to leave her finger again from this moment on.

Erin needed another moment before she was able to tell him her vows and she inhaled a deep breath that would hopefully help to get her emotions under control.

″Jay,″ she said. ″You're my best friend,″ she smiled as they'd chosen the exact same first words for their vows, ″my partner, my back-up, my rock, my hero, my lover. And from the day we met, thanks to you, I've got to fly. The girl with the rough past...who was always so scared to even dream that she could ever be truly happy, let alone think that it might come true. But now I've got the fairytale wedding and I'm blessed to marry the love of my life,″ she said, her voice almost breaking in between, tears sparkling in his crystal blue eyes.

″Jay, you accepted me beyond all my issues and beyond my past, you never gave up on me but you have instead been here to stay from day one to have my back, to look out for me, to protect me, to make sure I'm alright, to make me feel complete. You understand me in a way no one else can and sometimes I have the feeling you know me better than I know myself. You catch me before I fall. You are the reason I get through my hardest days. You give me strength. You give me hope. You support me. You push me to be my very best. You love me even harder during the hard times. You are everything and more I could have ever dreamed of." She inhaled a deep breath, smiling up at him through the tears that were looming in her eyes.

″With my whole heart, I take you as my husband, acknowledging and accepting your faults and strengths, as you do mine, promising to continue to love you through sunshine and thunderstorms, through heat and cold, through hard times and really hard times and good times and really good times. Forever.″ Some tears were running down his beautiful face and before she would stand there and cry with him she turned around to Kim to take the ring and then slid the silver piece of jewelry over his finger with shaky hands.

″Got it,″ Erin chuckled when the ring was finally where it belonged, having found its place for eternity.

The registrar smiled at them once more as did their guests, most of them also having this suspicious sparkle in their eyes, their beautiful vows bringing tears to their eyes.

″By the authority vested in me by the State of Wisconsin I now pronounce you husband and wife,″ he said.

On 29 July 2017 at 5.28pm Jay became Erin's husband and Erin became Jay's wife, the two of them officially united for eternity, their forever starting in that very moment.

″Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you: Mr and Mrs Halstead,″ he said, finally adding. ″Jay, you may kiss your bride.″

″'Bout time,″ he smirked and he leaned down to melt his lips with hers in their first kiss as a married couple. And though they've felt each other's lips a hundred thousand times before, this one was more special, more intimate, more meaninful than all the kisses they'd shared before. The crowd was cheering for them, naturally watching the couple sharing this 'first' kiss, the both of them taking full advantage of this kiss, needing a little more time to break the kiss than they usually would when everyone was watching. They turned to their cheering and laughing family afterwards, smiling ever so bright and glowing in happiness and love, and Jay wrapped his arm around her shoulder so he could pull her closer and press another kiss on her temple. Erin was his wife now and he would maybe need a couple of days to really process this but he was sure that there's never been a more beautiful ring than his last name accompanied by her first name. Erin Halstead.

Finally.

Officially.

Forever.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The ceremony was followed by hugs and congratulations and a first photoshot of Erin and Jay as husband and wife, the beautiful scenery around them doing a perfect job. Of course they also took lots of photos with Emilia, some with Emilia and Crispin because he was their four-legged child, some with their unit, some with their families, some with their friends, some of just Jay and the guys and some of just Erin and the girls, Erin also getting one with just her male colleagues, as well as group pictures with all of their guests. Photos over photos over photos so in the end everyone had a photo with everyone.

Once the big photo session was done it was time to conquer the buffet with all kind of delicacies. Before everyone started to eat, Jay and Erin gave a little speech, thanking all their guests from the bottom of their hearts for coming and celebrating this special day with them, telling them how much this meant to them that they were here to share their joy.

More surprises were following when Kim and Mouse handed everyone a red heart-ballon after they were done eating and after they'd also cut the wedding cake for dessert, Erin's hand on top of his, naturally, as she was the one wearing the pants, and had then fed each other a fork full of cake. Kim and Mouse also gave them all cards where they should write down the wishes for the couple's future or any other nice words and shortly before Erin and Jay had another little photo session during the sunset, they all went outside to let the 40 red balloons fly up to the sky, their eyes following them until they disappeared.

Afterwards, the photographer took more incredible pictures and they already couldn't wait for the edited results though they knew it would take a while until they would get the final versions with what felt like a million photos having been taken today. When they returned to the tent it was almost time for the dance, the lights above them shining already. And it was about time for that one dance they'd practiced quite determined for as Jay really wanted to 'dance' with his daughter afterwards. They've tried to change her sleeping rhythm a bit during the last few days so she was able to be up longer today but even though she still seemed very happy, it was late for her already and the mood change could come any second.

″Guys,″ Kim said into the microphone, standing in the middle of the dance floor, all the attention on her. It was her's and Mouse's task to do some kind of moderation tonight. ″I think it's time for one special dance.″

″Yeaaah,″ some of their guests agreed.

″Alright,″ Mouse said after taking the mic from Kim. ″Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the first dance of Mr and Mrs Jay Halstead.″

They rose from their seats, everbody cheering yet again, and Jay gave Erin one of his trademark smirks accompanied with a little wink and then slipped his hand through her's to guide her to the dance floor.

″We better don't mess this up,″ she whispered when their hands found the spots where they needed to be for the wedding waltz, hers on his shoulder, his on her waist, their others intertwined.

″Oh come on, we practiced for a reason,″ he chuckled and couldn't hold back from pecking her lips gently while they waited for the music to start.

″Yo Halstead, we wanna see ya dance, not kiss,″ Kevin laughed loudly.

″Damn Kev, when we call Halstead now we always have to clarify whether we mean Erin or Jay,″ Adam noticed and Erin and Jay turned their heads to their dorky colleagues, wondering whether they've maybe already had one drink too much or just tried whether they also could work as comedians in case their police careers ever went south.

″You're right bro. No more Linds, that's sad,″ Kevin said, still loud enough for basically everyone to hear. ″Watcha think about Halds?″

″Naah, not the same,″ Adam complained laughingly. ″Sounds...weird.″

″You two sound weird,″ Jay noticed casually, smirking at them, Erin hiding her head on his shoulder and laughing slightly and they both were more than glad when just in that moment Joe Cocker's and Jennifer Warnes's Up Where We Belong started to resound from the speakers.

And like this they started to dance for four minutes straight, like they've never done anything else before, the practice paying off as their feet were moving on their own, as they were able to really enjoy this, as they had just eyes for each other, their faces full of smiles instead of concentration, their moves unanimously and ever so light, the stage all theirs. And just before the words Love lifts us up where we belong resounded for a very last time, they stopped in the middle of the dance floor to melt their lips in one long, passionate kiss, Erin's hands cupping his cheeks, on a day like today not giving a single fuck that everyone was watching, and to the last chords he lifted her up, swirling her through the air gently and kissing her once more when he put her back down on the floor.

They looked at their guests and of course they all cheered and clapped again after witnessing such a moment full of undeniable love and affection.

″What was that?″ Adam uttered, his jaw still dropped.

″That was the demonstration of a perfect wedding dance,″ Kim murmured. ″I hope you watched attentively.″

″I already had my phone ready so I could forever tease them with that video. And now there's nothing to tease,″ he said, still stunned, and slightly shook his head. ″But whatever, will you dance with me my love so they have a reason to forever tease me?″ he chuckled, reaching for Kim's hand.

″Yeah, I guess I'm all here for you stepping on my feet,″ Kim smirked, taking his hand and they joined the couple on the dance floor as did many others and soon the dance floor was full of couples dancing to all kind of love songs.

Jay's first dance after dancing with Erin belonged to Emilia because they already had to practice that father-daughter-dance thing. While she was resting on his arm, Jay imitating some kind of real dance in the most adorable way, Erin's dancing partner was Noah, who could, compared to Emmy, really dance with her though he was a little wild and mostly up to nonsense.

Since it was time for all the kids to go to bed anyway, Olive, Carol and all the little ones headed back to the hotel with a shuttle afterwards as the party was naturally not over just yet. Erin danced with Hank, what a very rare sight that was, and Will and Michael and Robert and Mouse and Teddy and Justin and Alvin while Jay danced with Susan and Izzie and Liv and Kim and Natalie and yes, this one was for the history books, with Sergeant Trudy Platt. And finally, when they all had changed partners for a thousand times, everyone had their one back in their arms, Jay Erin, Mouse Sarah, Adam Kim, Will Natalie, Antonio Sylvie, the list could be continued endlessly and it also included Hank holding Liv in his arms.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They danced, most of the women having discarded their high heels long ago, the men having the sleeves of their shirts rolled up and their ties loosened, and celebrated and just sat together until the early morning hours. Shortly before midnight, when their wedding day was officially over, there was another surprise, one from Teddy this time, when they all had to go outside for the most beautiful fireworks, all those colors exploding on the dark sky, a huge red heart sparkling above them in the end. And somewhen long after midnight Erin threw her bridal bouquet and it was Natalie who caught it, Jay instantly joking at his brother that he now knew what he had to do.

It was around 3.30 when their guests left, leaving Erin and Jay back at the venue, all the adrenaline and the emotions helping them to not be a single bit tired but still full of energy. They waved their last guests goodbye as the shuttle drove off and then looked around this beautiful venue again, most of the area in front of the tent and to the cabin enlightened with lanterns.

Erin giggled when Jay quickly scooped her up into his arms as soon as they didn't see the lights of the car anymore, one arm under her back, the other under her knee pits, so he could carry her inside the cabin. Because the day and night of celebrating their love might just have ended but the night of celebrating their love just has started...

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed and it didn't disappoint. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! I hope you'll stay with me even though this is kind of a happy end now. There's lots more to come, I promise! ;)