Jay yawned and stretched out in bed. His hand hit Erin's side of the bed and his brain briefly registered that it was empty. He frowned, straining to hear if Erin was hiving a bout of morning sickness.
Her nausea had lasted well into her seventh month of pregnancy – something she cursed Jay out for daily.
He didn't hear anything, but he did suddenly smell brewing coffee. It was decaf since he had switched in a show of support. But decaf coffee was better than no coffee – barely.
Jay rolled out of bed and shimmied into a pair of boxers – Erin's sex drive was also sky high. He didn't bother with a shirt since their place had the heat blasting.
Ruffling a hand through his hair, Jay padded into the kitchen to pour himself a mug of coffee before actually looking for Erin. He added extra sugar to try and make up for the lack of caffeine in the brew.
Mug in hand, he strolled lazily into the living room. "Thought I'd find out in here," he said, leaning against the wall and sipping at the hot drink.
Erin was sitting in their armchair; a big squishy thing that she said helped her back. Her legs were tucked under her butt and her free hand was stroking gently at her stomach. She looked up form her book at the sound of Jay's voice.
"Couldn't sleep," she shrugged, "Baby Halstead is training for the World Cup."
But she was smiling, her eyes twinkling happily. Jay grinned at her, loving how gorgeous she looked with their baby growing inside of her. Erin's cheeks were a little fuller too and Jay loved running his thumbs over her cheekbones when he kissed her.
Jay caught sight of the small pile of baby clothes that they still hadn't put away after Erin's baby shower the weekend before.
Rolling his eyes, he abandoned his coffee mug to the side table and grabbed at a tiny jersey.
"How many times you think I have to tell Ruzek and Burgess this baby's gonna be a Hawks fan before they stop buying this stuff?" he asked rhetorically, holding the Detroit Red Wings jersey in the air for Erin to see.
She laughed lightly, rolling her own eyes at his antics. But after a few seconds, she went silent and her smile faded.
"Hey," Jay said, dropping the jersey, "You okay?"
Erin hesitated, "This is gonna be good, right? You, me, and a baby."
She bit at her lip, still hating to show weakness after years of marriage and partnership.
Jay grinned, his eyes lighting up as he thought about Erin with their child – a little girl with her eyes or a little boy with his – and nodded.
"Are you kidding? It's gonna be great!"
Erin smiled tentatively at Jay's enthusiasm. She could always count on him to cheer her up. She closed her book and held out one hand.
"Help me up," she commanded, even as Jay was reaching out for her and pulling her to her feet, "Baby Halstead and I are hungry and we want waffles."
Looping his arm around her shoulder, Jay laughed, "Waffles, huh? I think I can make that happen."
"Oh no," Erin laughed, shaking her head, "I don't want your waffles. We want the waffles from Starlight Diner. Their waffles are actually edible."
Erin continued to crack up at the offended look on Jay's face. She tugged him into their bedroom so they could both get dressed.
Jay let himself be dragged, and stopped behind Erin when she moved to their closet.
"You're gonna be great, Er," he muttered, pressing soft kisses to her shoulder and neck. He knew as soon as he heard her question that the double meaning was if she would be good at motherhood.
Erin leaned into his chest, eyes fluttering shut at the contact of his lips.
"I love you, Jay."
"Love you too," her grinned against her skin, one hand coming up to rest on her stomach, "Even if you and Baby Halstead insult my cooking."
A/N: This one's based on a gif set that I just reblogged on Tumblr (thewintersoldierdisaster). It's going to be a long hiatus without Linstead so start sending in those prompts!