51. Lucky Stars

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51. Lucky Stars

A soft wind breezed through Erin's dirty blonde waves when she stood on the balcony of their room at the Geneva Inn Hotel, her hands firming on the wooden handrail as she enjoyed the picture perfect lake view in front of her, the surface of Lake Geneva sparkling in the spring sun. She inhaled some deep breaths of air and felt how the strain of the last few weeks slowly disappeared only from being here, at this place that seemed so peaceful like no bad things ever happened here. Or anywhere else in the world. She closed her eyes, let the sun shine in her face and listened to the birds that chirped around her, obviously celebrating that winter was over and spring was here, maybe singing happy birthday for her, who knew.

The grin, that has been plastered on her face ever since they'd arrived at this beautiful place a couple of minutes ago, grew bigger by this thought. It was her birthday, a day she thought she could never really enjoy again but here she was and she was happy. Really happy. With all her heart. Because different than last year she allowed herself to be happy. Because she knew Nadia would want her to be happy, especially now with her own little family. Because Jay wanted her to be happy and did everything for it and all of his efforts made this day beyond special and enjoyable again.

Jay.

He'd once again surpassed hisself with this surprise getaway and her heart hammered against her chest in an unhealthy rhythm when she thought about how much she loved him for everything he did for her, for literally dividing oceans for her and for simply being who he was, a man she failed in describing because there were no appropriate words that did him justice.

″Hey,″ she heard the voice of the man she's been thinking about for the last five minutes right next to her ear, his soft breath on her earlobe sending chills down her neck and spine. ″You ready?″

″Yeah,″ she smirked when she turned around to him, her heart melting a little more when she saw the look he was giving her. This look full of undeniable love with a smile that reached his crystal blue eyes and let them sparkle unreally. This look he only gave her out of all people in this world. ″Is our little lady in a better mood now?″

″Yeah, the new diaper worked wonders,″ Jay chuckled and reached for her hand to pull her inside of their big family room so they could make themselves ready for a stroll around the lake where they then could have a picnic at a nice spot in the sun, somewhere close to the water.

Emmy was lying on their king-sized bed, already dressed in some of her thicker clothes as it was still not too warm, and after Jay had helped Erin to attach the baby carrier, which they hadn't really used before, and to settle Emilia in it, all snuggled up to Erin's chest, they were ready to go.

″How's that Emmy, huh?″ Erin asked and looked down to her daughter, stroked over her head that was covered in a dark blue beanie.

″Looks satisfied to me,″ Jay grinned and took a photo of this super cute sight, waiting for Erin to tease him that he was such a typical proud dad who snapped literally every moment of their daughter's life. But surprisingly she stayed silent. Almost.

″I bet this photo will turn out a lot nicer when you take it outside...with a nice background like the lake for example,″ she teased him.

″Guess what, I can take another one there,″ he winked, grabbed the diaper bag to throw it over his shoulder and then also reached for the blankets and the picnic basket before he interlaced the fingers of his free hand with Erin's, one of his favorite things to do as her hand and fingers fit perfectly in his hand, in between his fingers.

And when they strolled along the lake, searching the perfect spot for their picnic in this beautiful piece of nature, their hands still holding each other's tightly, Emilia dozing off in the baby carrier, Jay couldn't help but think that if one year ago, on Erin's 31st birthday, someone had told him that only 365 days later they would be parents to the most beautiful little girl, would celebrate her birthday as a family of three and that they would almost be married, he for sure had commited this someone to Dr. Charles's station in Chicago Med for further treatment.

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They found a nice spot under a big tree close to the lake and as the leafs were only about to show up in a couple of days they still had enough sun to not get cold. They sat down on the picnic blanket, drank cranberry and orange juice, ate Jay's prepared sandwiches and more chocolate brownies and afterwards fed each other with strawberries and grapes and pieces of melon that Jay also had prepared beforehand. When their stomachs were full and satisfied, Jay wrapped the second blanket they'd brought around Erin's shoulders and it was big enough to also cover Emilia, who was of course not in the baby carrier anymore but still all snuggled up to her mother. Jay leaned back against the tree trunk and Erin took the spot between his legs and used his trained body as her human pillow when she leaned back on him, her head resting somewhere under his chin. He wrapped his arms around her and Emmy from behind and Erin snuggled deeper into his embrace subconsciously, feeling like wrapped in a cocoon, feeling so damn safe in his strong arms, her favorite spot in the world.

″This is the greatest,″ Erin murmured, her gaze focussing on the lake in front of them and the sun that went lower by the minute and would disappear within the next three hours. ″Thank you Jay,″ she said and Jay could hear from her voice that she'd said it from the bottom of her heart, with deep, deep gratitude.

″Everything for you,″ he whispered in all honesty and placed a gentle kiss on top of her hair. Erin moved a little in his embrace as an attempt to nestle even closer to him but she was already as close that not even a piece of paper would find a spot between them. She inclined her head to the side so her ear rested right above his heart and could hear and feel it beating in his chest. This was it. Her safe place. Listening to his heart and letting him hold her close was all she needed to finally completely relax, to feel safe and protected, to feel like nothing bad would ever happen to her again.

She closed her eyes, a soft smile still surrounding her lips and they fell into a comfortable silence until Jay noticed that Erin's breathing has turned into that kind of deep and steady breathing people only had when they were asleep. He tried to catch a glimpse of her face only to see that she, and Emilia as well, were completely tuckered out. He suppressed a chuckle that would might wake her up and let her doze for the time being as she really needed it.

They'd gone through hell these last two weeks, especially Erin, with Bunny showing up and breaking her with being her cruel self and then with Emilia having to stay at the hospital for two nights with high fever. Bunny alone had already brought her to the edge but these two things combined had been too much for her and when the pediatrician had started to find one of Emilia's tiny veins with a needle that seemed to be way too big, he'd been sure that Erin would faint or collaps any second. When he'd seen the rare color that was left on her face falling from it, when he'd recognized her shaking and tears streaming down her face he'd told her to wait outside, that he would be with Emilia and not leave her side although tears were also burning in the corners of his eyes, but she'd resisted, wanted to be with her baby. Only when the doctor still hadn't found a vein after the first two tries, Emilia crying in pain and as loud and intense as never before, she'd told him that she couldn't do this and went outside to wait somewhere where she wouldn't hear her baby crying but she'd ended up in the restroom, vomiting the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl.

Erin had looked like a ghost during these two days at the hospital, pure strain and pain reflecting from her face. She hadn't slept, just like him, but also had barely eaten anything. She had only allowed herself to leave her daughter's bedside when he had begged her to go to the cafeteria with him to have a quick meal, telling her that he was beyond scared she would end up in a hospital bed within the next few hours as well in case she would continue to turn down every snack with the words that she wasn't hungry.

Only when they'd returned home with their healthy but still groggy baby, Erin's zombie-like look had slowly disappeared, being replaced by the Erin he loved most, her appetite making a comeback as well.

Nonetheless this had been when he'd decided that they needed some downtime just for themselves, some happy family time someplace else and not in Chicago, her birthday giving him a fit occasion for a surprise getaway. And given the fact that he'd organized this whole surprise, there was more to come, only a couple of days ago, he found he'd done quite the job.

Erin stirred a little in her sleep, bringing his attention back to her, and he tightened the grasp around her body to give her even more security. It took another thirty minutes before she moved again, nestling her head against his chin.

″Hey sleepyhead,″ he chuckled when he looked down and saw her eyelids moving, blinking against the sun.

″How long was I out?″ she murmured, her voice thick of sleep, a yawn escaping from her lips.

″Around 45 minutes, give or take,″ Jay grinned, kissing her hair yet again.

″Really? Felt like five minutes,″ she chuckled.

″Then just close your eyes and keep on sleeping.″

″Naaaah, I rather enjoy this view,″ she said and moved her head so she was able to see the lake and her surroundings again. This was really a perfect place and she loved it, though she didn't know why. The gras was not really green yet, the trees had no leafs and the flowers would only start to blossom in two weeks but there was something special about this place anyway and she imagined it was for sure almost as magical as at Jay's cabin here in summer.

″I want to marry here,″ she said out of the blue, catching Jay off-guard with this unexpected statement.

″What?″ Jay stuttered.

″I want to marry here,″ she repeated her words, still not changing her current position but grinning by only imagining Jay's current facial expressions.

″Right now?″ Jay chuckled nervously, not being sure whether she was joking or not.

″Well, that would be nice,″ Erin laughed. ″But I guess there are lots of people who will all kill us if we return to Chicago as a married couple. Kim's already driving me nuts about looking for a wedding dress and talks about her own dress all the time and how she's so excited. Mouse is already planning something although I don't know what. And Hank...well, he would drown us in the lake if he wasn't allowed to walk me down the aisle. But you know, I'd love to marry you right here, right now, in jeans and this flannel.″

″You don't want to see me in a nice suit?″ Jay smirked. ″Because I have to be a little selfish here as I want to see my hot woman in a gorgeous wedding dress on our wedding day and not in a flannel.″

″Yeah, I guess I want to see my handsome man in a wedding suit as well,″ she grinned and wondered whether she was drooling because only imagining Jay in a suit let her heart beat faster and her mind go places.

″Awesome, glad we agreed on that,″ Jay laughed before he remembered how this conversation has started at all. ″Let's marry here then,″ he murmured into her ear with the softest of voices. ″In July. Surrounded by our family and friends.″

Erin got out of his embrace, carefully to not wake her sleeping baby up, and sat up right in front of him. ″Really?″

″If this is what you want,″ Jay smiled.

″Jay, our wedding should be what we both want, not what I want.″

″Er, I never thought about the possibility of marrying anywhere else than Chicago, other than the cabin maybe which is too far away, but this,″ he said and let his gaze wander around, seeing with his mind's eye how he would say 'I do' here in some short months, ″is perfect and more beautiful than any location in Chicago. Let's find out about the possible venues around here tomorrow,″ he said and leaned in to place a soft but long kiss on her lips, his excitement and anticipation taking command of him.

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In the evening Erin found herself on the bench on their balcony, soaking in this fresh air of pure nature while answering various birthday messages, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders again as she waited for Jay, who was in charge to bring Emmy to bed, to watch the rest of the sun go down and the stars appear on the firmament.

″She's finally asleep,″ he said when he joined her, carrying a small bottle of champaign and two glasses in his hands.

″Uhm, what exactly are you planning, Mr. Halstead?″ she asked, raising her eyebrows as she looked at the bottle.

″I know you're breastfeeding and not allowed to drink alcohol, but to celebrate this special day I thought we could make an exception and you could drink three or four sips,″ he said and sat down right next to her, pressing a kiss on her temple.

″I think three sips won't harm,″ she smirked and watched him opening the bottle. ″But really not more than that,″ she said when he filled the sparkling liquid into the glass.

″Here's to you,″ Jay said when he clinked his glass with Erin's and leaned in. ″Happy Birthday,″ he whispered against her lips and kissed her shortly before they sipped on their drinks.

The cool liquid ran down Erin's throat, the first time that she tasted any kind of alcohol since last June when she hadn't known she was already pregnant, and while she'd really missed her beloved coffee during her pregnancy she couldn't say that she'd missed alcohol as much. Maybe things would be different if this was a beer and not champaign, as she's always been one for the beer or the hard stuff, but maybe any kind of alcohol just wasn't her thing anymore, though she could imagine herself drinking a beer while watching some game with Jay a couple months from now.

″I'll go in and bring the rest of the strawberries, that should go well with the champaign,″ he said and got up.

″Uh-huh, that's what the fancy people do,″ Erin sassed and watched him disappear in the room. It only took him a couple of seconds to return, carrying not only the bowl with strawberries in his hand but also a present wrapped in fancy paper, which almost had the same size as her first present this morning.

″Soooo, I guess you didn't get your birthday present yet,″ Jay smirked when he sat down next to her again.

″Uhm, being here with you and Emmy is my birthday present, isn't it?″ Erin frowned.

″Not quite,″ he chuckled and handed her the present.

″You're crazy,″ she smiled as she took it from his hands. She wasn't used to get overflowed with so many incredible presents on her birthday because there'd been times when no one even remembered that it was her birthday, when there'd been no cake, no candles, no flowers, no presents, not even some nice words or any other kind of acknowledgement that this was a day that was supposed to be celebrated. When Teddy had been too young to understand and Bunny had been too high to even remember whether it was Sunday or Wednesday, whether it was March or April, when being with some random, addicted, abusive guy who was able to give her the drugs she craved for had been all she cared for. And so her first real birthday celebration had been in the Voight-househald a couple of months after she'd moved in with them, when they all celebrated her 16th birthday with cake and presents and lots of laughters. When Camille had made the best birthday cake she'd ever seen. Just for her.

″Maybe it's just another hint,″ Jay teased her and she was thankful that he interrupted her dark and saddening thoughts with the usual hint of sass in his voice.

″Don't you dare,″ Erin chuckled and teared the paper apart, wondering whether her fiancé was really a devil and would keep her searching for her present for the remainder of the evening.

She opened the lit of the box that was revealed after unwrapping and the first thing she saw was...a piece of paper and some cotton wool. She unfolded the paper quickly, preparing herself for another hint that told her where she needed to keep on searching but she was surprised when she read the simple caption I love you.

Her favorite three words in the world and hearing him saying them or now reading them written by him was pure heart-balm and she knew it would forever be. These three little words, one of them in particular, were able to make her heart skip a beat easily every single time. Love.

It was such a small word but the meaning behind it was bigger than anything else, especially for her. As a child and a teen she'd never thought that she deserved to be loved, that she was worth getting any love. Only when she'd moved in with Hank and Camille she'd learned what love was, had learned to accept the love other people were giving her, had learned to let other people love her, though reluctantly in the beginning. She'd learned that she was worth to be loved. They had laid the path with showing her what love was in general, but still, she hadn't known, hadn't understood what love really was, what loving someone and getting the same love back really was and what real love did with people until Jay had stepped into her life. When he'd shown her how it was to be loved by a man unconditionally, when he'd shown her that love was greater than everything she ever had expected from a word that only consisted of four letters.

Erin still stared at the little note in her hand and only realized that silent tears were running down her cheeks when one of them fell on the paper and blurred parts of the writing.

″Hey, what's going on?″ Jay asked all soft but couldn't hide his concern. He brushed his thumb over her cheek to wipe her tears away.

″I just love you, that's all,″ she whispered and sniffed, despite all of her emotions offering him a faint and shy smile. ″So so so so much,″ she added and pressed her moist lips against his. It started soft and slow, Jay parting his lips and returning the kiss but their kiss quickly melted into something deeper, driven by pure passion. And love.

When Erin broke the kiss to catch some air her tears were dried and when Jay looked into her face and her glassy eyes, a roguish smile covering her lips, he was sure he's never seen her eyes looking this vulnerable and soft at the same time before.

″I love you, too,″ he murmured and brushed his lips against hers briefly before he let out a soft chuckle. ″I think you should check that box again because you might've missed your actual present.″

″Ouh,″ Erin stammered, her cheeks blushing a little. Jay loved it when this happened as it made her more adorable than she already was. ″I would totally have gone with that little note, you know?″ she grinned at him, displaying her dimples, which he loved even more than her cheeks blushing.

″Good to know,″ Jay winked jokingly while Erin looked for her actual present that was hidden under the cotton wool.

″Oh my God, Jay,″ she gasped, ″they are beautiful...and exactly the ones I wanted,″ she said when she saw all the golden, matching earrings for her various earlobe piercings and stroked over them in awe. She'd seen them while browsing through the web three or four weeks back when Emilia had been sleeping and she'd been bored, and she'd loved them instantly.

″I know,″ he grinned in response. ″You can leave internet pages like this one open on the iPad more often, makes things easier for me.″

″I did that on purpose,″ she joked.

″Smart,″ he chuckled.

″No seriously,″ she said and took her eyes away from her present to look at the man who'd really made this day her best birthday in ages, maybe her best ever. ″Thank you Jay. For this perfect present and for taking me here and for everything in general. Thank you,″ she said and leaned in to kiss him softly but longingly at the same time. Jay placed his hand on her neck and brushed his thumb along her earlobe which was enough to send chills down Erin's spine in the most positive way. She could feel heat crawling up inside of her body and the more intense their kisses got, the more her heartbeat quickened. Her hands found one of their favorite spots behind his neck, craddling his head when she straddled him and peppered kisses along his jaw.

They continued their foreplay on the balcony for a little while longer, until to the point they both got impatient and needed more than just kissing and touching and definitely less of their clothes in between them so they could feel each other's skin. When Jay got up, because there was no way they would do it right here on the balcony, he lifted Erin up with him, her legs wrapped around his waist and holding on him proprietorial. He carried her inside, straight to the bathroom, where they could continue their foreplay with undressing each other slowly and teasingly, their lips only parting when they had to, while the huge corner bath tub, which was their actual destination, filled with warm water. The blanket, that had still been wrapped around Erin's body and shoulders and had been supposed to keep them both warm while watching the stars appear, fell down to the tiled floor first, because honestly: who needed to watch the stars when you could hold your very own star in your arms and show them how much you loved them...

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″Hi, how can I help you?″ a young, blonde woman welcomed them with an ecstatic voice a couple of seconds after they'd stepped into the local wedding agency on the following day. Erin gazed around, her eyes falling on the various wedding photos on the walls, which braced her wish to marry here, although the young woman, who was a wedding planner apparently, was too walsy-palsy with them in her opinion. But she sensed this had to do with her job and was the attitude every wedding planner had.

″Uhm, we're going to marry and we'd like to have the ceremony and the reception here,″ Jay answered and squeezed Erin's hand.

″Alright,″ the young woman smiled. ″I think we sit down over there,″ she said and motioned her head towards one of the desks where they sat down a moment later. Jay placed Emilia's car seat down on the floor next to his chair, and the blonde, who introduced herself as Rachel, brought them two glasses of water and each of them a cappuccino. After a little bit of smalltalk, mostly about Emilia because a baby was always great to talk about, they fortunately got right to the point why they were here. All they wanted was to find a location somewhere around the lake, maybe talk about some details and then leave again so they could enjoy their getaway with nicer things than sitting in an agency while the sun was shining from the blue skies outside.

″So, tell me about your plans,″ Rachel said, once again offering them a bright smile. ″What do you want, what do you imagine? How many guests will you have approximately and when do you want to marry?″

″We want to keep it small and intimate, only with our closest friends and family, so we'll definitely not be more than 35 people, maybe even less. And five of them are kids three years or younger,″ Erin answered, exchanging glances with Jay who nodded approvingly. ″We'd like to have the ceremony somewhere close by the lake, a nice place in the middle of nowhere preferably, surrounded by water and trees and flowers...″ her voice trailed off because she had a pretty perfect picture in her head how she wanted to marry.

″We have a lot of nice places here and I'm sure we'll find the perfect one for you,″ Rachel smiled excitedly. ″I can show them to you in a bit, I just need to know when you guys want to marry.″

″July,″ Jay said.

″Perfect month for a wedding,″ Rachel exclaimed. ″This leaves us plenty of time to plan your wedding and there should still be some venues available for July 2018.″

″Uhm, no no no,″ Jay spluttered, looking to Erin to figure out whether he'd heard right, but her facial expression was just as confused as his own. ″We meant this July. As in three months.″

″Ouh,″ Rachel breathed out, her face changing from being all smiles to that I-don't-have-good-news-for-you face. ″I'm sorry but we're fully booked out for the summer. People book their weddings here more than one year in advance.″

″They do?″ Erin asked, inwardly admiring the people who could plan their lives over a year in advance because she was more one for the last-minute decisions. Which wasn't the best attitude in this case and she got a little sad that the dream of marrying here was coming to a sudden end now. Though maybe it's been a little naiive of them to just walk in here and expect to organize a wedding within less than four months, especially since this was such a beautiful place that was apparently very popular for weddings.

″Yeah,″ Rachel nodded.

″Should we wait a year?″ Jay asked Erin.

″No way,″ she answered and shook her head. ″I'm not going to wait another year to call you my husband,″ she grinned, her heart-eyes confirming her statement. God, Jay loved it that she was all in and commited and couldn't wait for him to be her husband. Because he also counted down the days until he could introduce her to others as his wife, as Erin Halstead. What a beautiful ring.

″What about you though?″ Erin's voice interrupted these wonderful thoughts. ″Do you want to wait so we can marry here?″

″No. I mean it's beautiful here but I would marry you in an old cow barn if this was the only possibility to marry you this July, so we'll find another place,″ he smirked at her.

″A cow barn? Well, doesn't that sound charming?″ Erin chuckled, for a moment forgetting that they sat in front of the wedding planner who was sort of devastated that she couldn't give the couple the wedding they dreamed about.

″Yep,″ Jay grinned. ″I mean it would be something different,″ he winked before he turned his attention to Rachel again. ″I'm sorry but I guess we're just wasting our time here.″

″I'm sorry that I can't give you better news,″ she answered. All the excitement in her voice was gone and she seemed to be sadder than Erin and Jay.

″No big deal, really,″ Jay assured her. ″It was just a spontaneous idea yesterday, a little too spontaneous in this case,″ he added and got up from the chair and so did Erin.

They thanked Rachel for her efforts and said goodbye before they walked out of the agency to enjoy their day outside in nature that surrounded them.

″You sad?″ Jay asked Erin as soon as they were outside. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer so he could brush a kiss against her temple.

″A little. It wasn't meant to be I guess,″ she shrugged. ″It was a nice thought to marry here but I have to agree with you, in the end it doesn't matter where we marry.″

″Chicago is quite nice, too.″

″It definitely is,″ she smiled. ″So what's the plan for today? Eating ice cream in that cute little town you talked about at breakfast?″

″Erin, Jay,″ they heard Rachel's voice calling before Jay was able to give Erin an answer. They both looked at each other in confusion before they turned around to see her standing at the front entrance of the wedding agency, waving her hands excitedly.

″I might have something for you,″ she called.

Jay looked at Erin for a brief moment, not sure what they should do about it as they just had decided to marry in their hometown. ″Shall we give it a shot?″

″She seems pretty convinced that her idea is great,″ Erin chuckled, motioning her head to Rachel who was still waving for them to come back. ″Let's give her another chance,″ she added before they crossed the street again to join the younger woman.

″I think you'll love this,″ Rachel smiled overjoyed and guided them inside again so they could take the same spots they'd left a couple of minutes ago. ″I felt so bad for you guys, like I destroyed all of your plans, so I kept on thinking and thought about all the possible places and then I had this sudden flash of thought about this one place a couple miles from here. It's not really one of our venues, just some place we could use. But there's never been a wedding there before because it's quite small and people always wanted the well-known places and it's a little bit in the middle of nowhere but it's definitely possible to arrange a wedding there, even in just three months. In the evening you can see perfect sunsets there and there are trees and the lake is close by,″ she rambled and Erin got worried that she would suffocate any second if she kept on talking because it seemed like she forgot to breathe. ″But let me show you,″ she smiled, finally letting out a long breath before she turned the monitor of her computer to them...

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The following days until they had to leave this little paradise on Sunday morning, because they had to be somewhere else by the afternoon Erin had no clue about yet, went by in a flash, much to their displeasure. They tried to spend as much time outside as possible and explored different areas all around the lake, hiking some lake trails and having lunch at a nice lake restaurant with a big patio on Thursday. After a long and cold winter it was one of the best feelings to finally be able to be outside without thick winter jackets and the fear to freeze to death regardless how much you were wearing.

While walking along the lake and watching the boats sailing on the soft waves, Erin finally used the chance to tell Jay about her conversation with Ms Lewis and asked him what he thought about the idea that their neighbor would become their something like their nanny. Although Jay didn't know her too well and had only seen her in the staircase a couple of times, he absolutely liked the idea of having their nanny in the same building and as he was also quite touched by the older woman's tragic story he loved the idea even more because Emilia could maybe be able to bring some joy back into her life. So they agreed on approaching their neighbor as soon as they were back home.

On Friday, the one day it was cloudy and foggy and raining slightly, they first went back to the wedding agency and then spent the better part of the day in their hotel, enjoying the benefits of the spa area, both of them getting a long massage to loosen the knots in their uptight backs and shoulders, and swimming some rounds in the indoor pool. The rest of the day until it was time for dinner was then spent with cuddling with Emilia, making nonsense with her or showing her the two stuffies and stuffed rattle they'd brought. She was all alert now, recognizing more and more things around her and already reached for the toys, especially the stuffed Eeyore, although it was way too big for her because she seriously adored this gift she'd gotten from Hank on the day of her birth.

And after enjoying another beautiful spring day with spending the majority outside, on Saturday evening, around the time when the sun slowly started to go down, they went to a very special place to meet Rachel there and used this perfect low sunlight to take some very special photos for some very special invitations...

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Emilia's quite cooing interrupted Erin's dreams during this last night at Lake Geneva. Just as always she heard her daughter within a heartbeat and untangled herself from the sheets quickly. She glanced to Jay's side of the bed, checking whether he was awake as well, but he seemed to sleep deeply, his mind probably far away on a foreign place in dreamland.

She walked over to the crib and picked Emilia, who was all bundled in her sleeping bag, up. She knew her crying and this wasn't how it sounded when she was hungry or had a diaper problem but it was rather the kind of crying that showed her parents she was unpleased about the situation. So Erin grabbed Emilia's cozy blanket that hung over the chair next to the crib and wrapped it around her and also reached for the blanket they'd used to keep themselves warm at their picnic. She tried to be as quiet as possible when she opened the door to the balcony and stepped outside into the fresh air that smelled of spring although it was long after midnight.

Emilia's whimpering stopped as soon as they were outside. During the last few days since they've been here, they'd figured out that their daughter seemed to settle better during the night when she was surrounded by lots of fresh air. In case general dissatisfaction was the only thing that made her unhappy.

″How's that Emmy?″ Erin whispered and wrapped the big blanket tightly around herself and Emilia as well so they both wouldn't get cold.

″It's so nice here, right?″ she asked and followed her daughter's glance and looked up to the starry sky which seemed to be especially clear and beautiful tonight.

″Look at all those stars,″ she said, rocking Emilia gently so she would maybe drift back to sleep within the next few minutes. ″If I listened to your daddy correctly this should be the Orion,″ she said and pointed to the famous constellation on the dark sky. ″And over there, that should be the Great Bear,″ she said, a smile rushing over her face as she remembered how Jay, her nerdy boyfriend, had told her about all the constellations during a stroll along the Lake Front to the Aquarium in a mild fall night a couple of days into their relationship. She'd been quite impressed by how much he knew about stars and planets and the space and she'd loved how he had wrapped his arms around her from behind, his stubble scratching the soft skin of her cheeks while he tried to show her what he saw and she tried to see what he was showing her, Jay always using the occasion to sneak a kiss onto her cheek or temple before their lips had finally melted in a passionate kiss under the stars.

″You remember how I told you we're the luckiest girls in the world, Emmy?″ Erin asked her daughter, looking down to her two-and-a-half month old again, the deepest of gratitude overcoming her. Gratitude not only for the bundle of life she was allowed to call her daughter but also for Jay, the man who'd shown her that life and this whole world were beautiful. Still did in fact. Like with this weekend getaway. Like giving his all day after day just to make her happy. After having struggled with her life for so long, for once her lucky stars have meant well for her and there was nothing she was more grateful for than for whichever lucky star had brought this incredible man into her life.

″That's because of our lucky stars that are up there, shining down on us. Especially because of the lucky stars that brought your daddy into my life to stay, ″ Erin said hoarsly, only thinking about how beyond lucky she was to have found her partner in crime giving her a whole bunch of emotions.

″What are you two doing here?″ she suddenly heard Jay's voice from behind. She turned around, saw him leaning in the doorway in the faint light of the full moon, a tired smile, that expressed so much love, covering his features.

She gave him a smile that seemed to be faint and bright at once, swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked away the tears that welled in her eyes. ″Just thanked my lucky stars that they brought you into my life...″ she whispered and lost herself in Jay's tight embrace a second later...

Hope you enjoyed this chapter full of fluff :) Please leave a review and let me know what you think, thanks!