52. Colorful Life

Here's your broken record again, thank y'all for the feedback and ongoing support! Hope you'll enjoy this one! :)

52. Colorful Life

They returned to Chicago on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, both of them feeling insanely better and so much more relaxed than before their little getaway and Erin still struggled in expressing her gratitude for these amazing four days because Jay had once again exactly known what she'd needed most. Some downtime with her family to take her mind off, escaping the daily grind and regain her energy. Just in time before she would return to the bullpen on Monday and face brutal crimes and broken people again on almost a daily basis.

Back in the familar streets of Chicago and much to Erin's surprise Jay didn't drive to their apartment building but right to Hank's house in the outskirts and she immediately sensed that her whole birthday surprise would find its end at her former home. A thought that made her heart jump in excitement.

″What are we doing here?″ she grinned at her fiancé.

″What do you think we're doing here?″ Jay winked, once more completely enjoying it to tease her because he knew and she didn't. A fact that was quite amusing because he knew it drove her nuts.

″Visiting Hank, apparently,″ she answered all dry.

″See, you figured that out all yourself,″ he sassed and got out of the car to unbuckle Emilia's car seat.

″I'm a smart kid, you know?″ Erin smirked back as she opened the other door across him to reach for the diaper bag which has been their constant, daily companion ever since the 1st of February.

″Of course I do,″ he laughed, took the car seat with the sleeping baby and walked around the car to slip his fingers in between Erin's before they crossed the street and made their way through Hank's front yard to the big wooden door.

″Finally,″ Hank welcomed them when he opened the door, a warm, almost unknown smile greeting them.

″Yeah sorry. The princess got somewhat grumpy during the car ride and we had to make a longer stop at a highway rest stop,″ Jay explained.

″Is this true or did he drive like an 80-year-old?″ Hank grinned to Erin while Jay grimaced dramatically. Some things would never change. Like Hank enjoying to tease him. Although he liked this kind of tease much more than the 'keep-it-in-your-pants-tease' or the 'I'll-drown-you-in-the-lake-in-case-you-touch-her-tease' back in the days. Though it might had not been teasing in first place but rather his boss being dead serious and really cutting his life on this earth short in case he dared to touch his pseudo-daughter.

″The latter,″ Erin laughed jokingly, flashing Jay the most innocent grin.

″Yeah, that's what I thought,″ Hank nodded and gave Jay a fatherly pat on the back. ″But now come on in, there are lots of people already waiting for you, kiddo.″

They followed Hank through the house and when they reached the patio Erin recognized that lots of people were in fact all their team members plus, and her heart filled with even more happiness although she hadn't thought that this was possible, Justin and his family. A BBQ with her whole family - minus the Halstead part - just like they had always had once a month during the spring, summer and fall when Camille had still been with them but they've never had ever since the woman she called mother had left them way too early. And now, for her birthday, this tradition of Sunday BBQ's at Voight's seemed to make a comeback. Her heart wanted to jump out of her chest in happiness once more because this meant more to her than anyone could possibly imagine.

″Look who I found in front of my door,″ Hank called and suddenly all the attention was on Erin and Jay and baby Emilia. And although her birthday had been on Wednesday, they all started to sing Happy Birthday right away, as if they had trained it, and Erin felt tears coming up. Not because they didn't quite strike the right notes here and there, but because the feeling of being loved by so many overwhelmed her as did the memories of the last time they'd had a BBQ on this exact same patio with Camille Voight running inside the house and back outside all the time just to make sure her guests had everything they needed. She'd without a doubt always been the best host in the neighborhood, maybe even the best in this city. While Hank had always been the master of the grill. Naturally.

″Happy belated birthday,″ they all yelled and before Erin could say something she had to take some deep breaths first so her voice wouldn't be all shaky.

″Thank you guys, you are the best,″ she said hoarsely nonetheless but was also smiling brightly, and was then hugged by everyone while only the best wishes were whispered into her ear for this new year of her life.

The last one to congratulate and embrace her was her sister-in-law Olive. ″Happy belated birthday, Erin.″

″Thank you.″

″And congrats in personal to your little princess. She's a cutie pie,″ she said, motioning her head to Jay, who had Emilia resting against his shoulder while talking with Antonio and Adam.

″Thanks. She's just growing too fast,″ Erin sighed, gazing at her daughter who'd definitely left the newborn-stage behind her and would reach new milestones week by week now.

″Don't they all?″ Olive asked as her gaze now fell on Daniel who was playing in the sandbox with his father. ″I can't believe he'll be two next month. It feels like yesterday that I gave birth to him and now he's going to be a big brother soon,″ she said and her hand dropped to her super round stomach.

″Does he understand what's happening?″ Erin asked.

″Kind of. He understands that there's a baby inside and sometimes he wants to give the baby a kiss or stroke my stomach but I don't think that he really understands that the baby won't stay in my stomach forever but will be here soon,″ she said. ″I just hope it will be smooth sailing and that he won't feel neglected and get jealous though I know it's a normal process.″

″It's a big change for him but I'm sure he'll be an amazing big brother as soon as he's used to the new situation,″ Erin said and gave her an encouraging smile. ″When are you due?″

″July 17th,″ Olive answered.

″Really?″ Erin asked and her eyes fell on Olive's stomach. This was what she'd looked like around 35 weeks and doing the math quickly she figured out Olive was only around 27 weeks.

″Yeah I know,″ Olive laughed. ″People already asked me whether I'm having twins when I told them how far along I am. But Danny was already a big baby and I guess this one will even be bigger. Plus, with the second one you just show faster and you grow way bigger, you'll maybe experience it yourself one day,″ she winked.

″Uh-huh, maybe,″ Erin nodded, smiling back of necessity because this was something she didn't want to think or talk about yet. One was enough for now and maybe it was enough forever.

″But maybe it'll be different for you, because holy hell, I wish I'd looked like this not even three months after giving birth,″ she said, an undertone of admiration in her voice as she scanned Erin from head to toes. ″You already have your pre-baby weight back?″

″Not quite but I'm getting there,″ Erin answered and this time her smile was real. She was proud of what she'd achieved during the last few weeks. Not only did almost all of her pre-pregnancy-clothes almost fit again and was she only around 6 to 7 pounds away from her pre-pregnancy weight thanks to breastfeeding, which really did an outstanding job, and a healthy diet, that consisted of lots of homemade food with vegetables, because yes, she, Erin Lindsay, who had barely been able to boil eggs without that it almost ended in a larger catastrophe before her pregnancy has become quite a solid cook during the last few months. Not as good as Jay and still far away from a kitchen fairy but the things she cooked were healthy and eatable, sometimes more, sometimes less because it still happened that she overcooked the vegetables and had to accept the mushy consistency they turned into. In addition to her healthy diet, hitting the gym two times a week along with attending the zumba class two times a week as well have of course also greatly contributed to her getting back in shape in quite a short amout of time. Her muscles have strengthened steadily and the abs on her stomach have slowly been making a comeback. But she still had a bit of way to go.

″You know I have to buy a wedding dress within the next couple of weeks, so I have to give my best that my body then looks like how I want it to look like in July as well,″ she added and with mentioning the wedding they had another topic they could talk about for a little while. And when Olive got worried that she couldn't attend the wedding because of the possibility that her due date collided with the wedding date, Erin just smiled and said that she shouldn't worry because she was sure that things would work out just fine but she held back from giving any details away yet. They all would get to know about all the details soon enough.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After finishing her conversation with Olive she joined Justin, the other person she hadn't seen since Christmas, other than some short, occasional skype sessions every once in a while, in the sandbox.

″Well, big sister, how are things going?″ he asked, bumping his shoulder against hers, grinning mischievously at her.

″Everything's perfect,″ she smiled. ″What about you?″

″Same,″ he said.

″And what about you young man?″ she asked Daniel and stroked over his brown hair but he seemed to be busy with playing with his little monster trucks. ″Huh, Danny? No happy birthday for your auntie Erin?″

He looked up to her for a brief moment and smiled a little, his blue eyes reminding Erin of one person who was dearly missed today. Every day in fact. ″No,″ he said and gave his attention to his trucks and the sand again.

″You have a real nice kid,″ Erin laughed.

″I know,″ Justin chuckled. ″They're just lovely in that age.″

″Honest at least,″ Erin grinned.

″Uh-huh,″ he nodded in response before he turned his gaze from Daniel to Erin. ″Emilia is absolutely adorable by the way. I have to say you did a good job,″ he grinned boyishly.

″Why thank you. But team effort, you know?″ she joked.

″Looks completely like you though be-″

″Besides of her eyes, yeah I know. I hope she has at least Jay's character because I'm not sure whether it'll be that much fun if she has mine,″ Erin laughed, imagining that if her daughter had also inherrited her stubborn, sassy, character they would most probably clash on a daily basis when she got older. It was something she actually didn't want to imagine and luckily there were still about 12 years in between before things would get tough regarding any heated, teenage discussions and arguments.

″Well, that would definitely be fun,″ Justin teased her. ″No seriously Erin, you look happy and that's the greatest thing to see.″

″I am,″ she nodded pensively. ″This life with Jay and Emilia is everything. It finally makes me feel complete. I guess you know what I mean, right?″

″I do,″ Justin also nodded. ″Olive and Danny changed my life and helped me immensely to get my shit together. Without them...who knows where I'd be by now...and now we're having another little one, it's unreal.″

″Who had thought five years ago that we would sit here today, in Hank's garden to finally have a Sunday BBQ again and each of us having a child? That we are a family again like we were during the time when I was 17 and you were 10, when we had a colorful life and everything was close to perfection before things turned black-and-white?″

″I didn't,″ Justin answered shortly before they fell into a moment of silence, both of them dedicating themselves to their own thoughts and watching Daniel letting his trucks drive down from a small sandhill. ″We're having another boy.″

″You do?″ Erin asked, a bright smile appearing back on her face.

″Yeah,″ Justin also smiled. ″We learned it during our last appointment because finally the little guy wasn't as shy anymore and showed us his...jewels,″ he chuckled. ″We're going to name him Henry. But don't tell anyone, this is supposed to be a secret, especially from Dad.″

″Scout's honor,″ Erin grinned.

″And my base granted my redeployment to Chicago, so we'll move back in June just in time before the birth.″

″Are you kidding me?″ she asked in response and her smile grew even bigger than before.

″Nope,″ Justin grinned just as bright. ″We actually not only used this Easters weekend to visit dad but also for house hunting.″

″I can't believe it,″ Erin said and shook her head before she leaned against Justin's shoulder to rest her head right there. ″This day just keeps getting better.″

Their little brother-sister moment was short-lived when Erin heard Emilia's familiar I'm-hungry-or-had-a-diaper-accident-crying resounding from the patio and she lifted her head from Justin's shoulder to see that her baby looked really unsatisfied, not because Adam was currently holding her but more likely because she was hungry since it's been a while since Erin had nursed her last at the highway rest stop.

″I guess my little lady needs to eat,″ Erin sighed and got up to join the rest of the gang on the patio and look what made her baby girl crying. Maybe it was Adam's presence after all. This would be too hilarious.

″Hey Emmy, you're hungry, right?″ she soothed and took her from Adam's into her own arms. ″Yeah, you are I know, but we'll fix that,″ she whispered against her head before saying to Jay, who was standing right next to Adam: ″I'll go upstairs with her.″

″Erin, you can also nurse her here, that's no problem,″ Adam said generously, a dorky grin covering his face.

″Sorry to desillusion you, but you're not going to see my boobs, Ruzek,″ Erin answered all dry, threw him a super sweet look and then disappeared inside of the house.

″What...nooo...I didn't mean...″ Adam spluttered, Jay and Antonio already cracking up.

″Sorry bro,″ Antonio snorted when he was able to breathe again. ″But the queen of sass struck again.″

″Some things never change,″ Jay also laughed and gave him a pat on the back, inwardly celebrating his ever-sassy fiancée for beating Adam once again. He couldn't wait to witness their little fights on a regular basis again from tomorrow on.

″Jay, come on over,″ Hank called from the grill where he took care of the steaks and burgers.

″What did you do now again?″ Antonio joked, almost as if it was still standard that Voight barked at him or gave him a telling off although it wasn't, and gave his friend an encouraging pat on the back.

″Coming,″ Jay called back and joined his boss – father-in-law – at the grill. ″What's up?″ he asked as soon as he was next to him, watching him turn the meat.

″Just wanted to check, how was Lake Geneva?″ he asked casually.

″Perfect,″ Jay answered shortly, eyeing his boss – father-in-law – from the side to figure out where this conversation was about to head. ″We had a great time and being out of here did Erin good.″

″Yeah, I figured that. She's beaming,″ Hank noticed. ″Which makes me wonder: did you tell her about our secret?″

So that's where this is going, Jay thought. Now it made sense that his boss – father-in-law – wanted to talk to him in private. ″Of course I didn't,″ he answered honestly. It had been the hardest to keep this from her these last few days but he'd promised it and he wouldn't stab Hank in the back. In addition, this was really Hank's announcement to make, not his, so he'd kept his mouth shut although he'd just wanted to blurt it out in front of her.

″Huh,″ Hank only grunted in response and Jay wondered whether he really hadn't expected him to keep their secret. ″Thank you Jay,″ he then added and looked directly into his eyes, this statement catching Jay off guard somehow because he was sure he'd never heard him thanking him like this and instead of being happy about his boss's gratitude he felt nervousness crawling up inside of him. It wasn't Hank Voight to thank him in such a way for something like this.

″Uhm, sure...no worries,″ he spluttered.

″I didn't mean for keeping the secret,″ he said, a typical Hank-Voight-smile spreading over his lips for a second as he sensed his detective's – son-in-law's – nervousness. This would forever be a reason to smile for him. Forever.

″You didn't?″ Jay asked back, more because of he didn't know what else to say.

″I wanted to thank you for everything you do for Erin. After everything that went down with Bunny she could've spiraled down or ran away again but she didn't and when there's one thing I know for sure then it's that she didn't because of you. You changed her Jay. Emilia does her part as well of course but you were there before Emilia and the person she is now, she's mainly thanks to you. So thank you for keeping her happy, Jay and for doing everything for her happiness, for her to be her best self. This really means a lot to me and knowing that she has you makes me feel less anxious about whatever life might still throw at her because you're her back-up in the most important way and I know you will always catch her before she falls.″

Jay wasn't sure whether he was about to fall over or to jump in the air. If he didn't know it better he'd say Hank's words had basically been a love declaration for his new son-in-law. And other than his blessing to marry her, this had been the most important words he'd ever told him. Maybe they were in fact even worth more than his blessing. Because Hank was not only accepting him, with acceptance maybe being the main reason for allowing him to marry her back in December. But he liked him and had more than just come around the thought that he had to deal with him being a full family member because Jay was here to stay. Much more, for the first time Jay had the feeling that Hank really appreciated and valued him with all his heart.

″Always...″ he rambled as words failed him. ″She means everything to me and her happiness is mine.″

″I know,″ Hank nodded pensively. He knew this kind of love too well. It was that kind of love he and Camille had shared. Always being the reason for each other's happiness and sadness and joy and tears. It was that kind of love that broke you in case you would ever lose it and he prayed that neither Erin nor Jay ever had to go through this. Through being left behind.

They fell into an awkward silence and so Jay only nodded once again, mainly because words still failed him, before turning around to head back to the boys and let all these words sink in.

″Hey Jay,″ Hank called and Jay spun around again, looking at Hank with furrowed brows for the second time within the last five minutes.

″Yeah?″ he asked expectantly.

″You're not only a good guy but also a great dad,″ he smirked. Well, maybe now it was definitely time for Jay to fall over. These kind of compliments within the short of five minutes were definitely too much.

″Uuuhm...thank you,″ he stammered, almost feeling like an idiot because within these last five minutes he's been stammering more in front of him than within the past year.

″Just thought I'd tell you,″ Hank said casually and Jay wondered whether he still waited for him to actually fall over. ″I know women get to hear all the time what great mothers they are because they're doing the main job but people always seem to forget that there are two people involved and that the fathers are also doing quite the job. So they deserve to hear this from time to time as well,″ he explained his reasonings for this unexpected compliment. ″My granddaughter is very lucky to have you as a father, Jay.″

Jay couldn't believe that this was really happening and if his hand wouldn't firm around the ceiling, he might would really have fallen over by now, regardless of all these nice words for sure very much to Hank's pleasure. Hank paying compliments was a rare thing and it only happened when something really impressed him. But Hank paying him compliments was even rarer and always had to do with work. 'Good job, Jay' was quite the standard and was as much as he would get. He couldn't deny that his heart swelled with pride in his chest by this unexpected compliment. And Hank was right, it really did his heart good to hear these words coming from someone he'd never expected to tell him something like this. He was a great father. These words would resound in his ears for the next decade.

″Thank you,″ Jay finally managed to say. ″This uhm...this really means a lot,″ he smiled faintly.

″Uh-huh,″ Hank smirked once more before he handed the still perplex Jay the barbeque tongs. ″Can you take over the grill for a bit?″ he asked as if it was the most normal thing in the world. ″Danny wanted to show me his sand buildings.″

″Sure,″ Jay nodded, trying to hide his surprise and not to stammer once again. Hank Voight, the master of the grill, who, how Erin had told him, had never let anyone even come close to the grill before, has just made him the man in charge for the steaks and burgers. What the hell was happening today?!

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They used this celebration of Erin's birthday on Easter Sunday for the first BBQ of the season, the first Voight-BBQ in years, and each of their team members had prepared a side dish they could eat with the steaks or the burgers while sharing stories about Lake Geneva, about kids and siblings and family and friends, while laughing about Adam's and Kevin's stupid jokes. It was needless to say that everyone enjoyed their time with their chosen family and that moments like this one were exactly the reason why the team of the Intelligence Unit was so strong and unbreakable.

Later in the evening, when it was already almost dark outside, the garden enlighted by some lanterns, and when Emilia and Daniel were already upstairs to sleep, Hank and Antonio brought a giant cake with enlightened sprinklers to the patio and placed it on the table. Once again Erin had to swallow hardly because she hadn't expected this at all. Yet she had no idea how soon she wouldn't be able to keep herself together anymore.

″So,″ Hank said after the oh's and ah's had hushed and after Erin had had the chance to see the words that were written on the icing of the cake. Happy Birthday and Welcome Back!

″We're here today for various reasons, kiddo,″ he started his speech and looked directly to Erin, whose eyes were sparkling with grateful, unshed tears. ″Your birthday is one of them and the other one is that you'll be back in the bullpen tomorrow. Not for visiting us or supplying us with pizza and outtake or cheering us up, but for finally working the cases with us again.″

″Yay!″

″Finally,″ the others cheered and Erin's cheeks blushed a little because it seemed like they'd all missed her more than she'd imagined, although she'd been a regular guest at the 21st, visiting her favorite team at least once a week to bring them lunch and also seeing them when she'd picked up Jay so they could use the evenings he had off on time to take a stroll or go out for dinner.

″But there's a third reason for us to celebrate today,″ Hank said and made a dramatic pause to make sure that everyone was listening to him when he was dropping the bomb. ″Last week I got the green light from the Ivory Tower that you both can stay in Intelligence after your wedding and that there'll be no interference with whom I partner you guys up. My unit, my rules and Halstead and Lindsay will stay a thing in the bullpen for the days that you both work.″

While everyone around her laughed and cheered Erin's mouth dropped open by his words in astonishment and while she asked herself whether she'd heard right, tears were already welling in her eyes again and this time she didn't try to hold them back. Because it were tears of emotion and her team members, who had seen her at her best and at her worst, could very well see how entirely happy she was about these news.

″Are...you...serious?″ Erin asked hoarsely, feeling how Jay stroked over her thigh supportingly.

″Absolutely,″ Hank smirked.

″You have no idea how much this means to me,″ Erin said and got up to literally fall into Hank's embrace and hug him tightly. She was allowed to stay in Intelligence, to work with her husband, her father and all the other people she cherished and called family. And most importantly, the only person she wanted to be her back-up for the rest of her life, in any life-situation, would stay her back-up and she herself, the only person she really trusted with being Jay's back-up, would become his back-up again. It was nothing against their other team members though, she trusted them all with her life. But there was something special about Jay having her back and she having his, something that only the two of them had, something that was maybe built on their history, something that had maybe formed out of them saving each others lives multiple times already, something that had actually established on their very first day of working together already.

″I do know, kiddo,″ Hank whispered against her head. ″And believe me, I couldn't be happier.″

″Thank you,″ Erin said when she lifted her head and looked at him again and she saw the exact same happiness and the exact same emotions in his eyes that surely were in hers. She knew there must've been something that Hank had had on one of the big guns of the Ivory Tower, most likely on more than just one, but she didn't care how he'd gotten them to agree on her and Jay staying in the same unit and even staying partners and was just genuinely thankful for whatever was documented in one of the files that were hidden in a certain storage facility.

″So here's to Intelligence,″ Antonio said and raised his glass. ″And Erin.″

″And Erin,″ they all chorused and raised their glasses as well.

When the liquid ran down Erin's throat, Hank's arm still wrapped around her shoulder, her smile still brighter than the biggest star, she was sure that water has never tasted better than right now.

″You knew, right?″ Erin asked Jay when she sat down next to him again. She'd figured this out the moment she'd looked at him during the toast. There'd been something in his eyes, in his face, a smile, a sparkle that had revealed him that this wasn't news to him.

″Yeah,″ he nodded, giving her a fond smile and reached for her hand. ″Hank told me last Tuesday. But this was his moment.″

″It was,″ Erin agreed and beamed at him, that kind of smile displaying from her face that could for sure cure the world from all the bad things, before she leaned in to kiss him by brushing her lips softly against his, completely ignoring the fact that probably everyone was watching.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

They all sat on the patio and ate cake and told stories until it got too chilly and until they all got reminded that tomorrow was Monday, what meant they had to be at the district by 7.45am. And although the thought of getting up at 6.30 for the first time in months, having breakfast, making Emilia ready for the day and leaving the apartment by 7.30 without forgetting anything important at home kinda freaked Erin out, she crawled into bed all happy that night, that kind of happy that made you smile for no reason. Not only because she was happy about returning to the bullpen regardless all the stress it would cause and bring but because Hank's news today and celebrating her birthday with all the people she loved and most of all the incredible man, who snored quietly next to her, had brought the color back into her life.

It had been black-and-white for a while after Bunny had shown up because she'd drained all the color from it. But Jay had made it his business to take the paint brush and fill her life with color again and with their weekend getaway and the surprise party he of course also had been involved with, it was easy to say that he'd succeeded in an extraordinary manner and that she was indeed back living in her colorful bubble called life...

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! :) Let's see how long their lives will stay that colorful :P