"You still coming over tonight?" Erin said looking up from her desk
"Yeah, Im just gonna head over there now, if that's okay?"
Erin had a silly grin plastered on her face. "Yeah. I'll see you in a bit."
It wasn't a relationship-y thing back then when they exchanged house keys. It was the "In case of an emergency" key. Strictly for emergencies. And even when they got together, they didn't want to break any boundaries and stuck to knocking.
Things were going really well for the two of them. They're still keeping their relationship under wraps, though. It killed Erin to lie to Hank and Jay, well, he was terrified of what he would do to him when he finds out. But he didn't care. The last few months of being with Erin meant the world to him, and after the two of them talking about potentially retiring together just made it clear to him: that he loved Erin Lindsay.
He stopped at the store to get some groceries for the dinner he had planned tonight, along with some road-trip snacks. He was making stir fry and had bought some of their favorite beer. He got to Erin's apartment and pulled out his key when he realized this is the first time using his own key to her apartment. He smiled a little and opened the door. He began making dinner and turned the TV on just for some background noise. He let the stir fry simmer on the stove as he made his way into Erin's bedroom.
It looked just like it did this morning. They overslept and were rushing to get ready in time for work. The bed was messy and clothes were still splattered on the floor. He began to clean up a bit before grabbing a small suit case from Erin's closet. He opened it and placed it on the bed. He started to fill the suit case with clothes he saw she might need or want on this trip. Running clothes, jeans, shirts, sweaters- he even packed the t-shirt of his that Erin sleeps in. He went to the dresser to pack some of the other essentials, like her bra's and underwear when he thought he might be over-stepping his bounds and felt shy. He stopped packing to check on the food when the front door opened and he went to greet Erin at the door.
"Hey" he said while engulfing her into a bear-hug and giving her one long, passionate kiss.
"Mm hi" she said stepping out of his embrace. "Something smells good."
"Yeah, I thought I'd whip you up something nice." He smirked.
Erin let out a light chuckle. "Yeah. Thank you." She said kissing him again. "I'm just going to change real quick."
Erin made her way to her bedroom and straight to her dresser to pull out a pair of leggings and a baseball t-shirt. She saw in the mirror behind her was a half full suit case on her bed. She finished changing and sat down on the bed next to the suit case. She quizzically looked at it before leaving to ask Jay why he was packing a get away bag for her. She exited her bedroom and Jay had already set her table along with a few lit tea light candles.
"Ta-daaa." Jay said while pulling out a chair for her.
"Such a gentleman." Erin had never had a guy cook for her or let alone do anything like this. Even though it seemed like a small gesture to Jay, it meant a whole lot more to Erin. She kept her mouth shut about the suit case for the duration of dinner. They talked about nonsense topics. They talked about their day and about all the times Ruzek had been annoying that day. They loved him but, God, he needs a muzzle. They cleared their plates into the sink to do later and curled up on the couch together. Erin yawned and Jay looked at the clock which read 9:47.
"We should go to bed, we have a big weekend ahead of us." He said, stroking her hair gently.
"Yeah, about that. Whats with the half-packed bag?" She said, head against his chest. She didn't even bother to open her eyes.
He just laughed. "Well, tomorrow, I'm going to take you to my family's cabin in Wisconsin and It was a surprise. So I started packing but I stopped when I had to go into your…. private drawers."
This got her attention. She looked up at him and laughed a little. Placing her hands on his face she peppered tiny kisses on his lips. "You're so cute, Jay. That's sweet, but you see me in them all the time."
"That's different. Anyway, my bags are packed and the car so be ready to go bright and early. I want to spend as much time as I can with you up there."
"Sir yes sir." Erin said getting up off the couch. Grabbing a hold of his hand, she led him into her bedroom. "You are going to pick out what I bring by letting me model them for you."
Jays breath hitched a little in his throat. Then he gave her a smirk that eh knows kills her. "Yes ma'am.
It was 6:30 am and Jay was wide awake, ready to start the day. He looked over at Erin's sleeping body next to him in what he considered "their" bed. He wanted to leave by 8:00 am. It wasn't a far drive, but he wanted to beat any traffic. It was about a 3 1/2-4 hour drive. He figured he'd let Erin sleep for a while longer, just because she looked so cute. He traced nonsense patterns on her bare back and played with her hair when she began to stir out of sleep. It was about 7:00 am.
"Good morning, beautiful." He whispered before placing a kiss onto her head.
"Morning." She said sitting up a bit and pulling the covers up with her. "When are we leaving?"
"I wanna be on the road at 8:00 to avoid traffic." He told her, stroking her arm. "You all packed?"
"Mhm. We should probably shower before we go." She said raising an eyebrow to him.
"That we should."
—
About 4 hours later they were in Mason, Wisconsin. They got there at around noon so it was right about time for lunch. Erin had fallen asleep at around 10:30 and been passed out for the rest of the ride. Jay pulled into his favorite diner in the area for them to grab lunch before they head over to the cabin. He woke Erin softly, not to startle her.
"Hey, Erin. You hungry?" He said, shaking her shoulder gently.
"Are we there?" She asked. She sounded so groggy and confused which made Jay laugh a little.
"Almost. I figured we'd stop to eat before. Maybe pick up some groceries, too."
"Okay. Yeah, I could eat." Another reason why he loved Erin— never turned down a meal.
About a half hour later they were done with lunch and headed over to the cabin. Erin stared out of the window, taking the city in. It was a cute little town with foot traffic and parks, cute diners and the cutest little houses. There was the river Jay had said the cabin was on they fed out of the lake. Jay looked over to see Erin looking out of the window. He grabbed her hand and placed a soft kiss on it, disrupting her thoughts, she looked over at him.
"I'm really glad we're doing this." He said, placing his view on the road again.
"Me too." Erin smiled, reverting her gaze back out the passenger side window.
They pulled into the area where the cabin was located. It was beautiful. Trees along the road for miles. It was all raw and quiet. Not like the city where she's spent her whole life. Maybe this would be a good change for her, one day.
The rounded the corner and there it was— a large wood cabin. Or to Erin, a wood mansion. This place was huge. There was a wrap around deck and bench swings. There was also a tire swing in the front yard and she could see one in the back right by the river. Erin had never seen anything like this. and she definitely did not picture it looking like this. It smelled like pine wood and just the outdoors. She was taking it all in when she felt Jays hand on hers.
He smiled. He knew she would love this place. And he can't wait for them to one day live here. Together. "Come on, theres more."
"More?" She thought to herself. This place is amazing. Jay is amazing.
He opened the front door and just like the outside, the inside is decorated beautifully in wood pieces. The ceiling was tall and there was a giant fire place with a large leather couch and coffee table along it. There was a set of stairs to their left and she could see the second floor by looking up. There was a wall of sliding doors and windows ahead of them over looking the back yard and the river. They moved into the kitchen where there was dark granite countertops and dark red-wood cabinets. There was a breakfast bar that could seat roughly 6 and a small dining table off to the side with view of the backyard. Erin was speechless. Places like these didn't exist to her and now it did. Jay led her up the secondary staircase from the kitchen to the second floor. The only room that he needed her to see was theirs. The master bedroom.
"Wanna see our room?" He said placing his hand on the doorknob. It was a large entry way. Double doors. Beautiful dark wood.
Erin was giddy and she was trying to conceal it. "Yeah. Open it." She said, almost bouncing in place.
Jay slowly pushed the doors open to a beautiful open bedroom. It was roughly the same size of his apartment. Tall ceiling like the first floor. The bed was a king size with white sheets. the room was lined with beautiful glazed wood. There was a fireplace almost the same size of the one in the living room. Off to the side, there was a balcony that over looked everything for miles. The river. The lake Trees for miles. What made Erin weak to her knees was the master bath. Huge bathroom. With a separate bath tub and shower. The shower was big enough for them to fool around in and so was the bathtub. There was two sinks. His and hers, she thought. This was the greatest surprise.
"So." Jay said, pulling Erin in close. "What do you think?" He was nervous. he had never brought a girl here ever and Erin was a bit skeptical at first, but after seeing her reactions so far he'd say she loved it.
"It's beautiful, Jay. I love it." They stood there in each others embrace. Kissing passionately for who knows how long.
"Good enough to retire too?" He asked her, looking down into her eyes.
"Yeah." She said, looking back to his eyes. She's never felt like this before. She's nervous. She loves him. That's it. She wants to be with him and retire here. With him.
"Well then I promise you, one day, you and I will come back here. Raise our kids and grow old together. Sound like a plan?" He bit his lip waiting for a response.
"Promise?" She had that look in her eye. Glimmer of certainty. She wants this. She wants him.
"Promise. I love you, Erin Lindsay."
She kisses him. Hard and passionately. "I love you, Jay Halstead."