25. Precious Treasure
What shall I say? I was absolutely overwhelmed by the response on my last chapter! Thank you all so much, this means a loooooot to me! :)
Now I feel a little bad to post this chapter as I'm sure not everyone will like my decision with the gender and will be disappointed. I'm sorry for that already. But in the end it's my story and I have a plan for it, so I hope you stick with me although it's might not your preferred gender.
Caution: this chapter might end with playing Scrabble (a little) :D
25. Precious Treasure
The sweet smell of pancakes was in the air when Jay woke up on the following morning. At some point he had obviously fallen asleep and now he felt surprisingly well rested. He looked to Erin's side of the bed but of course it was all empty and he had to grin by the thought that she was standing in the kitchen right now, making pancakes, and was most likely cursing alound all the time, trying not to burn anything down. He turned around to the other side and checked his clock only to realize that it was already 11am. It seemed like he had really needed a long sleep without any nightmares or other sorrows that kept him awake.
Jay unwrapped himself from the blanket, picked up his sweatpants he had just plunked down next to the dresser the night before and made his way to the living room. But before joining Erin, he remained in the doorway for a moment and stared at his girl, who was standing in the kitchen with a messy ponytail, just wearing one of his big blackhawks shirts that was long enough to cover her butt and parts of her thighs, and some cozy socks. He had to suppress a giggle when he watched her turning the pancake and it fell into pieces as the pancake was still too doughy for such a jaunty turn.
″Fuck this shit,″ she cursed and tossed the semi-finished pancake, that was more batter than pancake, into the garbage can.
″Ssshh, Erin, the kiddo is listening,″ Jay chuckled as he couldn't stay calm any longer. Erin turned around and looked at him and a little grin rushed over her bugged face when she saw the smirk on his lips.
″Naah, it's not, it's sleeping,″ she winked.
″Lucky you,″ he laughed and left his spot in the doorway to join her in the kitchen.
″Good morning,″ he murmured into her mouth when he kissed her.
″It wasn't a good morning until you showed up,″ she laughed and placed her hands on his bare waist, caressed his skin with her fingers. ″How do you feel this morning?″
″Really good to be honest.″
″Yeah?″
″Mhm,″ he nodded and she could see in his eyes that really was as they were slightly sparkling again. ″So, do you need a hand with that?″ he then asked and eyed the batter and the two pancakes she has made yet.
″Maybe,″ she sighed and also turned her head to look at the two pancakes on the plate that didn't quite meet her requirements.
″Alright,″ he said, kissed her again and took Erin's spot in the kitchen while she sat on the counter which was the way they always cooked. He did the work because he was definitely more talented and she watched him and teased him from time to time. But today they had something different to talk about, something way more serious.
″Tell me about yesterday,″ he said while putting some batter into the pan.
″There's not much to tell,″ she shrugged and Jay turned his head to her immediately by the cold sound of her voice, saw the pain and disappointment reflecting from her face.
″What happened?″
″Hank and you were right. I shouldn't have gone there. He's still the same friggin' asshole he always has been," she said bitterly. "And it was the wrong thing to go there all alone. I should've taken you with me," she admitted whisperingly. As much as she loved her indepence and didn't feel comfortable with leaning on other people too much, yesterday she had realized how much she needed him and how much better she felt when he was with her.
"Yeah, maybe," Jay answered, being a little surprised by her honest statement that he didn't know what else to say about it. ″So he didn't say sorry?″
″He's not even sick Jay!″ Her voice was rising in furiosness and Jay's eyes widened by her words.
″What?″ he uttered.
″You heard right. No lung cancer, no other deadly disease. He's completely healthy and just hoaxed me.″
"What did he want then? Why did he want you to visit him?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "And I don't care. For me he died yesterday. Once for all. And no matter what he's going to do or going to try in the future to sneak back into my life, I will ignore it. He's always been a jerk and some things never change," she said, hoping that she would never hear anything from him again and that he would stay behind bars for the rest of his life. But she knew how her life loved to punch her in the gut whenever it was possible, so she already feared and even knew that she would have to deal with him again at some point.
″Er, I'm so sorry,″ he said and left the pancake unattended for a moment to give her some comfort by laying his hands on her bare knees.
″Don't be. It's my very own fault. I let this bastard get back into my life because I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. But not him and I should've known it better. I guess that's how you learn it, right?″ she asked and a sarcastic laughter escaped from her mouth. ″I let Bunny get back into my life and she almost destroyed everything I worked so hard for but the lecture wasn't big enough apparently because now I also let him get back into it. Seems like I always let the wrong people be a part of my life again. People with bad influence who never did anything for me other than hurting me,″ she added with a low voice and some tears welled in her eyes.
″You let me get back into your life,″ Jay whispered in response and looked deep into her insecure hazel eyes.
″No Jay, you let me get back into YOUR life when you had every reason to ignore and hate me forever.″
″You saved my life Erin. How about we agree that we both let each other get back into their lives because we needed each other? And because two people who truly love each other always find a way to be with each other again and can't be kept apart?″ he asked softly and Erin was sure to see exactly this deep and undeniable love in his piercing blue eyes.
″Okay, let's agree on that,″ she answered with a faint smile.
″Good,″ he said and gave her a soft kiss.
″Can we also agree that you just made a pancake that needs to be tossed into the garbage can, too?″ she chuckled innocently and Jay turned his head around immediately but of course it was too late as the pancake was all burnt already.
″Oh fuck,″ he said as he tried to save what couldn't be saved anymore.
″Sssshh, Jay, the kiddo is listening,″ she teased him.
″It isn't. It's sleeping,″ he repeated her words from some minutes ago, a smirk surrounding his lips while he slightly shook his head. He loved these little moments of joking and teasing and how they were always able to light each other's moods up with goofy statements.
″Lucky you,″ she laughed and watched him filling a new portion of batter into the pan.
They kept on teasing each other for a little while longer, had a long and delicious breakfast together and spent this whole rainy Sunday in sweatpants and wide, comfy shirts, on the couch in her apartment, watching movies or some other TV series and also talked about all the happenings from the day before at some point. Erin told Jay everything that had happened inside the prison and Jay told Erin every little detail about his nightmare, they even talked about decisions regarding life support as this was something that has preyed on Jay's mind since his nightmare last evening. It was exactly that kind of Sunday they both needed after the happenings of the previous day. They needed each other's closeness, they needed to show each other how much they meant to them. That they were each other's most precious treasure and that none of them wanted to be without the other ever again.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
″So, since Jay and Erin are going to find out the gender of the bullpen-baby today, how about a little bet? 10 bucks each, the winners take it all,″ Adam suggested on Thursday morning. It was a boring morning in the bullpen, Hank and Alvin were out and about talking with some CIs, and no one of the others had anything to do as all the paperwork was always done ever since Erin was working the desk.
″The bullpen-baby?″ Erin echoed and raised her eyebrows while glaring at the young officer.
″Yeah, the bullpen-baby. Like a mascott, you know?″ he grinned.
″You call this baby a mascott again and I'll slap this stapler into your face, you got me?″ she asked and held the stapler up, ready to throw it across the room anytime.
″You wouldn't.″
″I would. Wanna test it?″
″Uhm...no, thanks,″ he answered, obviously seeing the look in her face that she wasn't joking around. ″So back to the bet: everyone writes down what they think on a piece of paper and we'll reveal it tomorrow just before Erin and Jay tell us whether their future life will be pink or blue.″
″What makes you think we'll share this? Maybe we'll keep it for us,″ Erin said casually.
″Ah no, Linds, come on, you can't do this to us,″ Kevin chimed in.
″As soon as you know the gender it will automatically slip from your lips anyway somewhen,″ Antonio said, knowing what he was talking about.
″You got a point there,″ Erin admitted. ″What do you think?″ she then asked, looking to Jay who has only been the quiet listener yet.
″The bet sounds like fun,″ he shrugged and twinkled at her.
″Come on, Erin,″ Mouse said and gave her a little smile.
″Alright, I'm in,″ she finally said and all the boys started to cheer. But only until they saw Platt standing on the top of the stairs, looking at them as if they were all out of their minds.
″Did Ruzek finally get it how to use the new facial composite program or what are you celebrating here?″ she asked all dry and before Adam was able to complain, she already continued speaking. ″Talking about not getting things right. I have some forms downstairs that aren't filled out correct, Erin, so if you don't mind...″
″Yeah, sure,″ Erin sighed and got up from her chair, pulled her shirt, that was a little too tight by now, down and followed Platt down the stairs.
″So Jay, boy or girl, what do you think?″ Adam asked as soon as Erin was out of earshot.
″It's a boy,″ he answered instantly and sounded pretty convinced.
″We want to know what you think, not what you want,″ Kevin laughed.
″It's a boy, believe me,″ Jay repeated his words. ″The way this baby kicks it can only be the next Messi. Plus Halstead's always have boys. I have one brother, my dad is one of four brothers and those of his brothers who have kids only have sons, too. So there's no doubt that it's a boy,″ Jay said, wondering whether they would eat it or not. In actual fact he had no idea whether their baby was a boy or a girl and he didn't favor one over the other. He didn't know why but if he had to bet, he would bet on a girl. That was why he just had told his colleagues that he was sure their baby is a boy. Maybe they would jump on that and all bet for a boy while he was the only one who went for a girl which he found was a pretty smart idea. In case he was right, of course.
″These are really good arguments, so you're sure?″ Adam asked and Jay could already see the dollar signs in his eyes.
″And by sure we mean sure as in really really sure?″ Kevin also asked.
″Absolutely,″ Jay assured him and had to give his best to avoid laughing as his plan really seemed to work.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
″What did you bet?″ Jay asked Erin as they sat in Dr. Hanson's office in the evening, waiting for their appointment.
″Uhm...I didn't take part in the bet,″ she admitted with a low voice and looked down to their interlocked fingers.
″Why not?″ Jay frowned.
″Because I don't know whether it's a boy or a girl,″ she shrugged but she has said enough for him to recognize the insecurity in her voice. And he honestly didn't know where this was coming from now.
″Er, I don't know either. It's just for fun.″
″Maybe for you,″ she said and bit her lip before she continued to speak in a voice that was barely a whisper. ″But not for me.″
″It's just for fun for all of us,″ Jay answered. He really didn't understand her problem.
″No,″ she said and shook her head. ″I don't know whether it's a boy or a girl, okay? But I should because of my maternal instincts, right? So if I bet for a girl, then it's a boy, if I bet for a boy, it's a girl. No matter what I'm going to say, it will be wrong. And everyone will be like: how can she not know it? She's the mother, she should feel it. But the truth is, I don't feel a damn thing Jay because my body isn't equipped with maternal instincts or anything of this,″ she said and tried her best to keep her sarcastic voice under control but had anyway the feeling that everyone else was looking at them.
″Erin,″ he sighed. Of course now he got it. This was about her motherhood skills again that she still doubted. He's known that she was still scared about becoming a mother but he hasn't expected that it was still that bad. He's had the feeling that she was growing into it during the last few weeks, slowly as in babysteps, but growing into it nonetheless. But apparently he's been wrong.
″No one would ever condemn you for not knowing it. It's a fifty fifty chance that you're right but it's also a fifty fifty chance that you're wrong. Some women may be able to sense or feel it or whatsoever but I doubt all women on this planet can do this. So please do me a favor and stop talking yourself down, okay?″ he asked her with the softest of voices and squeezed her hand.
″Mhm,″ she nodded but as she now locked eyes with him, Jay knew she was anything but convinced and right now he didn't know what else to say to prove her different. She obviously didn't want to stop doubting herself when it came to motherhood, so he had no chance to convince her at the moment and he only hoped he would have one somewhen, the sooner the better. But just in this second, as he felt like she was going some big steps back again, she said something he hadn't expected after the way this conversation has turned out so far.
″I somehow think it's maybe a girl though. But now Dr. Hanson will tell us it's a boy, which is what you think, right?″ she asked and a weak smile made a comeback on her face.
″I don't actually,″ he grinned.
″What?″ she frowned. ″Mouse told me you told the whole bullpen how it can only be a boy.″
″That's what I told them yeah, but that's not what I think,″ he smirked.
″Then why did you tell them you think it can only be a boy when you actually think it's a girl?″
″Look, they now all bet for a boy because of me. While I'm the only one who bet for a girl. So who gets all the money in case it's a girl?″ he asked and a winning grin was on his lips.
″That's actually pretty smart,″ Erin laughed.
″Surprised?″ he asked and raised his eyebrows playfully.
″By the possible stupidity of our colleagues, yes,″ she chuckled. ″I mean, did they think about the fact that they would all only get their 10 dollars back if they all bet for the same?″
″Nope.″
″Nope,″ Erin echoed and laughed. ″For the sake of this INTELLIGENCE unit I really hope that they're smarter than that though.″
″Guess we have to wait and see. But in case I win, I'll invite you for dinner at the Purple Pig,″ he winked.
″So noble,″ she smirked before his lips merged with hers for a quick kiss.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Some thirty minutes later they were finally in the examination room and Jay got a little curious as he realized that the big moment was just minutes away. He still didn't care whether it was a boy or a girl but he simply wanted to know now, wanted to be able to plan and imagine their future life, wanted to know whether they had to paint the nursery pink or blue, whether their future was about Bob the Builder and soccer or Disney princesses and dancing.
″How do you feel, Erin?″ Dr. Hanson asked Erin, who sat on the edge of the examination table, as she entered the room.
″I'm tired all the time but otherwise I feel good,″ she answered.
″Are you tired because you can't sleep at night or because you work too much?″
″I do definitely not work too much, but I can't sleep at night because that's when the baby is hella active.″
″That's completely normal and unfortunately there's not much you can do about it. I can show you some things you can do with pillows later but first things first,″ Dr. Hanson said and sat down on her stool next to the ultrasound machine. Erin laid back down on the examination table and revealed her round stomach.
″Uhm...we decided that we would like to know the gender today,″ Erin said while Dr. Hanson squirted the gel on her stomach and then put the wand on it as well.
″You changed your mind?″ her doctor smiled.
″We did,″ Jay confirmed, a smile of anticipation surrounding his lips.
″Okay, then let's check whether it's still the same as the last two times,″ she said and with her words their baby appeared on the screen, once again a whole lot bigger than last time. As always, Dr. Hanson measured the baby and checked its heartbeat, explaining them what she was doing and then telling them that everything was perfectly fine.
″Is it possible that it's sucking its thumb?″ Jay asked.
″Good catch,″ Dr. Hanson said and nodded.
″That's so cute,″ Jay laughed and Erin had to grin as well.
″So, any predictions about the gender on your side?″ Dr. Hanson asked and glanced from Erin to Jay and back to Erin.
″Uhm...considering the strong kicks all the time it must be a boy, but... maybe it's a girl, I don't know,″ Erin answered.
″It's a girl,″ Jay said and compared to Erin's voice, his voice was all convinced.
″Did you show the print of the sonogram to your brother?″ Dr. Hanson asked.
″Damn, I could've done that,″ Jay laughed. ″But no, I didn't, why?″
″Because your answer came so precise and is pretty much right,″ she smiled.
″It's a girl?″ Erin assured herself and an unknown feeling went through her body as she imagined their future with a little girl for a second. It wasn't the usual feeling of fear but much more the tiniest bit of anticipation.
″Yes, you're having a girl. You can see it here,″ she said and pointed to the screen but none of them could see what she meant.
″I knew it,″ Jay grinned like a Chesire Cat. He felt his heart literally jumping up and down in his chest and he brought Erin's hand, which he had held all the time, up to his face to kiss it just before he leaned down to Erin and kissed her cheek only to whisper in her ear: ″And you knew it, too.″
Once again this brightest of smiles was on Jay's face and Erin could see the excitement in his face from all the things he imagined about their future in his head right now. And just as almost always his joy was contagious this time, too and she smiled back at him just as bright. And the fact, that she deep, deep, deep down inside has had the right feeling took a little load off her mind and in addition, imagining Jay with a daughter let her smile grow even wider. A daughter he would protect just as much as he always protected her.
Jay also couldn't stop glaring at her and for these short seconds they both seemed to forget that they weren't alone. For the first time he saw some real happiness in Erin's eyes, not mixed with insecurity and doubts like usually. It was admittedly just a brief moment but he knew that now knowing the gender was another little step for her and slowly but steady things started to fall into place and he couldn't be happier about it. Their little troublemaker was a girl. A girl that he hoped would look a lot like Erin. She was perfectly healthy and all of this made Jay feel endlessly blessed. Life was good. And beautiful. At least in this moment.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
″You're okay with a girl, right?″ Erin asked when they strolled through the park after their appointment, heading to their favorite hotdog booth.
″Of course, why shouldn't I?″ Jay frowned.
″Dunno. May you're disappointed because it's not a boy,″ she shrugged.
″Erin stop,″ he said and stopped walking and she did as well. ″How can you even think that? At no point I preferred one over the other, just like you. And I tell you something: I couldn't be any happier right now.″
″Yeah?″
″Yeah. I mean, our life is going to consist of Disney princesses and Frozen on rerun, isn't it awesome?″ Jay laughed and his eyes sparkled in excitement by his words.
″You watched Frozen?″ Erin frowned.
″Naah, not yet, but I guess it will change soon. Did you?″
″Nope. And I don't think I wanna watch it,″ she laughed.
″I read somewhere that little girls adore it, so I'm afraid you have to at some point,″ he grinned.
″Naah, no Frozen and no princesses for her. But I'm okay with The Lion King or The Jungle Book.″
″How generous,″ Jay chuckled.
″And no pink clothes and no pink nursery.″
″Are you serious?″
″Oh yes,″ she nodded.
″Why?″
″Because it's so cliché,″ she said and only got another are-you-serious-eyebrow-raise from him in response.
″What?″ she asked. ″Society makes you believe girls have to live a life in pink and boys in blue. But girls can also wear blue and gray and green. The gender is not defined by a color. This city doesn't need any more princesses who live in their pink bubble, but strong, determined girls who fight for theirselves, who are heroes for others,″ she said all serious and her voice was even rising a little like she talked herself into a rage.
″You're right, Er. This world needs more strong women. Like you. More badass women. Like you. More female heroes. Like you. But no pink? Come on, she doesn't need all her clothes in pink but I think some won't do any harm but would rather look adorable,″ he winked.
″Uh-uh. You won't do the shopping, that I know,″ she answered casually but also gave him an innocent smirk, tried as always to have the last word of this conversation.
″Mommy doesn't mean it like this,″ Jay grinned and placed his hand on her round stomach.
″I mean it exactly like this.″
″She will change her mind,″ he chuckled, stroking her belly softly.
″I won't″ she grinned.
″Shut up,″ he muttered and wrapped his arm around her neck, placing a kiss on her temple before they continued walking. This conversation was done for now but the last word hasn't been spoken about it yet.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
″Are you guys all ready for the big moment?″ Adam asked his team members on Friday morning, standing in front of the board they usually pinned their suspects and victims on. But today the word boy was written on one side and girl on the other. Adam took his job as boss of the bet, how his team members called him, very serious and had even locked up all the little pieces of papers with their predictions in the safe last night so no one was able to make a last-minute change.
″Sure, can't wait to get my money,″ Kevin laughed and joined Adam on the board to help him with the count and make dashs on the pursuant side of the board.
″Yeah, get it started already,″ Antonio also said and it seemed like all of them, even Platt, who stood on top of the stairs with Kim and Roman, were slightly curious by now.
″Come on Ruzek, we don't have time forever,″ Hank, who has surprisingly also taken part in the bet, said gruffly.
″Alright, here we go. First one comes from Kevin and he says...,″ Adam said and unfolded the paper, ″a boy.″
Erin and Jay exchanged a quick glance with a little smirk and a slight head-shaking, still not being able to believe that this plan has obviously really worked.
″My humble self bet on a boy, too,″ Adam said while unfolding his own paper and Kevin marked a second dash on the left side.
Adam kept on unfolding the papers of Roman and Kim, who had also heard about the conversation in the bullpen on the previous day, and Antonio and Mouse and all of them bet for a boy.
But then he slightly frowned when he unfolded the one of Platt and it wasn't because of her handwriting.
″What the hell is a borl, Sarge?″
″It's short for boy-girl of course, which means I will be right no matter what,″ she explained casually.
″You wish,″ Adam laughed but Platt shot him a death glare by this kinda sassy statement. ″You have to decide for one. Now, otherwise you're out,″ he then shrugged.
″Well, seeing this,″ she said and pointed to the board, ″makes me think you guys might know something I don't and as I want to have at least my 10 bucks back, I say a boy, too.″
″Alright, another one on this side,″ Kevin said, painting the 7th dash to the left side.
″So, now let's see what our boss bet,″ Adam grinned. ″Uuuhhh, and we have our first one who bet for a girl,″ he added after unfolding it and murmur went through the bullpen. And once again Jay and Erin exchanged a quick glance, grinning and raising their eyebrows this time. How could they have expected that Hank would not bet the right gender?
And after revealing Al's paper some seconds later, it became clear that he was in no way inferior to Hank as his scrawly handwriting also showed four letters, not only three. Now only Jay's paper was left but the sole victory was of course not possible anymore as Hank and Alvin had foiled his plans.
″So now let's see what daddy bet,″ Adam grinned, thinking he knew it already, but he furrowed a brow when he read the word that was written on the paper. ″Uhm Jay, you wrote boy wrong.″
″Did I?″ he chuckled.
″Why the heck did you bet for a girl when you told us that it can only be a boy?″
″Adam, I knew you all went for boy because of what I said. Which is true by the way, there have only boys been born in the Halstead family for generations now. But with all of us betting for a boy, everyone would only get their 10 bucks back. So for getting the money I had to take a risk, sorry bro,″ he laughed.
″Damn, that's not so dumb,″ Antonio also laughed.
″It is dumb because he just told us that in the Halstead family the xy-chromosome obviously is really, really strong and always wins over the xx-chromosome,″ Adam winked, still thinking that he was on winning ways.
″It was losing 10 bucks against winning 50 or even more. Was worth a try, wouldn't you agree?″ Jay grinned.
″Naaah, but thanks to you we all get a little more money. Now Erin has the honor to confirm it already. Come on.″
″Alright,″ she smirked and got up from her chair. She took the marker from Kevin and also took his spot next to the board. ″I'm sorry to break it to you guys,″ she said and circled the three names and dashs on the right sight, ″but Jay broke a family tradition right there.″
″No friggin' way,″ Adam uttered while at the same time a ″what?!″ escaped from Kevin's lips.
″You sure about that?″ Antonio asked and shook his head.
″Absolutely. Baby Halstead's a girl,″ she smiled and then directly looked to Hank, who gave her an almost imperceptible nod, the littlest of smirks surrounding his lips.
″Seems like Jay's the rebel of the family,″ Antonio laughed. ″Congrats guys!″
″Yeah buddy, congrats for messing up big,″ Adam joked and gave Jay a pat on the back.
″Was a pleasure,″ Jay grinned back, starting to collect the money from all of them and then split it up between Hank, Al and himself.
″You know, without Jay I had bet for a girl,″ Mouse said as he handed Jay the money kinda unwillingly.
″Yeah, same here,″ Adam complained.
″You wish,″ Jay chuckled.
″Okay, maybe not. But anyway, I think for setting us on the wrong track you owe us all a drink. Mollys tonight, Jay pays with our lost money, who's in?″ Adam asked, giving Jay not the slightest chance to disagree, and raised his hand just as Mouse, Kevin, Antonio and Kim did.
Erin was kinda surprised by Kim's reaction. She hasn't expected that she wanted to spend an evening with Adam. She hasn't really had time for her friend during the last few weeks and in this moment she felt like the worst friend in the world as she's obviously missed that there was something cooking. But maybe she could use this evening to catch up on all the things she has missed during these last few busy and crazy weeks.
″Alright, tonight 9pm Mollys,″ Adam confirmed. ″Thank you buddy,″ he grinned to Jay and gave him another pat on the back. It seemed like for the first time in a while they were all going to have a nice and easy evening at their favorite bar and after everything they went through with Jay's and Adam's accident some weeks ago it was about damn time for pouring some drinks together and chitchatting about everything but work.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
″Beer for everyone, paid by our generous detective Halstead,″ Adam said and joined the others on their table, giving all of them a bottle of beer, even Erin, and then sat down right next to her.
″Uhm Adam?″ she frowned and pushed the bottle back to him.
″Take it already Linds. It's...uhm...something super special just for you,″ he winked.
″What is it?″ she asked back and raised her eyebrows.
″Water,″ he smirked.
″Bite me Adam, couldn't it be at least a mix of juices?″ she laughed and punched her fist onto his shoulder.
″Your gratitude is always incredible,″ he also laughed.
″Well, thank you for bringing me tab water...in a beer bottle,″ she grinned and slightly shook her head. What a dork her colleague was.
″Your welcome, Erin. And now, to baby girl Halstead,″ he said and raised his bottle.
″To baby girl Halstead,″ all the others said in chorus and also raised their bottles.
″And to Jay who got cleared for full duty some hours ago and will be out on the streets with us again on Monday,″ Antonio said, looking to his younger friend.
″To Jay,″ they all said and clinked their bottles before taking some mouthfuls.
Erin thought about Antonio's words as she sipped on her water. The time of their together desk duty was over and she didn't know how to feel about Jay returning to his usual job. Was she afraid? Maybe a little. Bad things could happen so fast in their job, life was unpredictable and she could always lose him. But on the other hand, this had been the first time that Jay got seriously injured on the job, so she doubted it would happen again soon. That was at least what she was telling herself. In addition, she was of course also happy for him. That he was allowed to do the job again he loved so much. The job she also loved so much and right now missed more than anything. This was their life after all, the life they both loved. It was dangerous sometimes but it always has been, so this was actually nothing new. And Erin has never really thought about it before, has never had a problem with it. But with her pregnancy things have somehow changed. She needed him, losing him was her biggest fear, so especially since his accident she would always be a little worried when they were out on a bust. Without her. This would only change when she was with them again in some months and would then always have his back again.
″Hey, you alright?″ Jay whispered into her ear and laid his hand on her thigh.
″Uhm yeah,″ she nodded. ″Just don't like the thought of being on desk duty without you,″ she said and gave him a faint smile.
″You know,″ he said and came closer to her face again, brushing some strands behind her ear. ″You have to see the positive things of me being cleared for full duty,″ he murmured as quiet as possible but she could still hear the naughty undertone in his voice and of course knew exactly what he meant.
″Uh-huh,″ she chuckled. ″We really have to take advantage of this soon. Like really soon,″ she whispered and the slight passion in her eyes and the playful smirk on her lips were almost already too much for Jay as he felt his heartbeat quicken just by the thought what they were maybe finally going to do once they were in her apartment later. Hopefully not that much later but rather sooner.
But of course, as always when they were out together on a Friday night and didn't have a case that required working on Saturday, they were sitting there like forever, drinking, chitchatting, laughing and joking, taking full advantage of the fact that they all could sleep in on the following morning. Erin was sure to see some sparks between Kim and Adam but sitting on a table with all of their friends, she of course didn't have the chance to ask her about the newest developments she's obviously missed. So at one point she suggested Kim that they needed a girls night out again, not in Mollys but preferably somewhere in downtown, and they decided to put their plan into action on one of the following weekends.
By around 2 at night Erin had the honorable task to bring some of her half-drunk colleagues home so that they would actually arrive there safe and sound and at his point Jay already saw their little possible scrabble-session literally flying away in the distance.
It was an hour later, at almost 3 o' clock, when Jay left the bathroom after a quick shower and he was surprised that Erin hasn't fallen asleep already in the short ten minutes he's been in the bathroom. She smiled at him when he walked into the room. Just in his boxers. Showing off his muscular, picture-perfect body that attracted her so much and that she craved for so much at the moment that she could feel her body heating up.
″Why aren't you sleeping yet?″ he asked her, bringing her somehow back to reality with his question.
″Because she's all awake at the moment,″ Erin yawned and rubbed her belly.
″Too bad,″ Jay grinned and lay down as well, but immediately rested his head on her stomach and tickled it in the softest way. ″You should let your mommy sleep,″ he chuckled as he felt a kick against his hand.
″She's a little devil and she will surely not let me sleep anytime soon,″ she laughed, trying to give him a broad hint. But Jay didn't do her the favor to understand what she wanted to tell him and so for some time they just enjoyed their togetherness and the only touches they exchanged was his hand on her stomach and her fingers caressing his neck.
Jay felt an unknown feeling of absolute gratitude going through his body as he felt his baby move under his hand and tried to hear anything of what was going on inside of Erin's belly. For him, this was a perfect moment, one of the most perfect one's in his life, a moment he never thought he would ever have. With the woman he never thought he'd ever call his. The woman who now gave him a child, a daughter, made him a father, which was something he had never even dared to dream about but deep inside always has wanted. Especially with Erin, the love of his life. And although their baby wasn't born yet, he knew for sure that Erin and their baby girl were the most precious treasures in his life. Forever and always.
In this moment all the love he felt for her wanted to burst out of him and no matter how late in the night it was, he wanted to love her, wanted to show her how much he loved her. Loving her for being the incredible person she was, for giving him his own little family and for all the things she sacrificed more or less voluntarily for exactly this family at the moment.
His fingers slowly went under her shirt and he tickled her bare skin for a little while which already sent chills down Erin's spine and then he pulled her shirt up and started to place soft kisses on her stomach, making her giggle as she felt his breath on her skin. He kept on doing this kind of torture for a little while longer before he finally helped her to take off her shirt completely and by doing so he also changed his position a bit, laid his leg on top of hers and started to kiss her neck and her breasts while his hand slowly travelled down deeper and soon reached the waistband of her panties, stripping them with one skillful move. He could hear her breathing quicken and getting heavier right next to his ear, just as his own, and some soft moans escaped from her lips as his fingers came close to the point of no-return.
As much as Erin enjoyed this little foreplay and all his soft touches, she hated them at the same time as she felt his hard cock, that was still covered in his boxers, pressing against her thigh and she wished nothing more than that he buried himself inside of her already. But he too much enjoyed to tease her right now, so Erin couldn't do anything but accepting it and therefore started her own kind of payback by doing the same. First her fingers only tickled his abs but then she slid into his boxers, touching the one part of his body that already ached so much because of his arousal. He moaned her name and although Erin's head was all fuzzy from her very own arousal, she realized how much she's missed this. To touch his most sensitive areas and to let him touch hers. To show him how much she loved and needed him by making love with him. To let their bodies melt into one body. The past 6 weeks have been a torture for both of them, but this night, this reunion of their bodies, this resumption of their very own version of scrabble, was on the best way to make up for it...
I hope this chapter was "fluffy" enough and made up for the previous one :D
Now about the gender and why I decided for a girl although almost everyone does. It's a simple reason: this whole story was/is created out of my fantasy and my fantasy also created a girl for them. In my head Jay with a daughter is the cutest thing ever. That doesn't mean Jay with a boy would be less cute though, so it's really just a personal thing. I always imagine Linstead with a baby girl (which makes writing everything around baby Halstead a lot easier for me than it would be with a baby boy at this point) and it may sound a little selfish but as a writer I totally want to write Jay with a daughter. Hope you can understand and accept my reasons. Thanks :)