"Uncle Adam, please convince Dad to let me stay in New York for the summer," Avery Halstead pleaded, hanging onto Adam Ruzek's bicep.
Adam grinned and lifted his arm so Avery could dangle in the air a little bit, "Sorry, Aves. Your dad already paid, plus camp is awesome. I went to summer camp as a kid."
Avery kicked her legs in the air, "It is not fun. New York is fun. What could I possibly do in North Carolina?"
Adam had to chew the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the disgust in Avery's tone. She was a New Yorker through-and-through.
He dropped his arm, Avery's feet hitting the wood floor.
"Make friends, swim in a lake, make me one of those cool plastic lanyard things for my keys, write us letters that describe what a miserable time you're having, drink bug juice," Adam rattled off a few of the camp related activities he could remember from his childhood.
Avery scowled at her father's best friend, "Bug juice?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ruzek grinned, "It's a staple at all summer camps."
Avery dramatically flopped to the couch, "It'll probably kill me. If it comes from bugs it can't possibly be good for you."
"Budge up," Ruzek sat on the couch next to the eleven-year-old, "You'll have a good time. I promise. Besides, bug juice has been filling the cups of summer campers for decades, they all lived."
Avery sighed, "What if I hate it? What if the kids there are horrible?"
Ruzek looked at the doorway to the kitchen where Jay was making hamburgers. Seeing that his friend was occupied, Adam lowered his voice and whispered conspiratorially, "I'll create a task force with Amaro, Rollins, and Fin and we'll break you out. Okay?"
Avery giggled, "Okay."
Ruzek poked Avery's side, "Keep your mind open, kid. You never know what kind of summer you'll have."
"Hey, you two done conspiring together?" Jay called, "Avery's last supper is on the table."
Avery sprung up from the couch and bolted for the kitchen, but Ruzek could see the flash of fear behind her eyes.
Damn, he really hoped the kid had a good time this summer.
"I'm gonna have the best time this summer," Brooke Lindsay grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Her mom, Erin, watched with a smile on her face as Brooke started dropping jean shorts and t-shirts onto her bed.
"I'm glad you're excited about camp, baby," Erin said, folding the colorful shirts and packing them in the suitcase Atwater had gotten Brooke two birthdays ago.
Brooke stopped bouncing around her room for a minute and looked at her mom, "You'll be okay while I'm gone, right?"
"Oh, baby," Erin laughed, "I'll be just fine. I'm so glad you wanted to go. Especially after your plans with Kayla fell through."
At the mention of her former best friend's name Brooke's eyes narrowed, "I still can't believe she dropped me for Andrea Stone."
"Hey, well you'll make more friends this summer, " Erin smiled, "And who knows? Maybe you'll meet girls from Chicago."
Brooke nodded, "Maybe. Can we get food from Zorba's for my last night? And can Gramps come?"
"If you finish packing tonight, sure," Erin said, regretting the fact that she had waited until the last minute to help Brooke pack for camp.
"Okay!" Brooke nodded, "Wait, can I call Gramps right now to make sure he's not busy?"
Erin seriously doubted Hank would say no to Brooke even if he were in the middle of a case, but she knew that he was home.
"Sure can," Erin said, calling after her daughter as she ran from the room, "Make sure to tell him that you're only going to dinner if the packing is finished!"
Erin could hear Brooke chatting animatedly with Hank while she finished folding the clothes on the bed.
"Gramps said yes," Brooke hollered, bounding back into her bedroom a few minutes later, "And he said he'd come by in five minute to help pack so we can be done faster."
"Good thing, too," Erin laughed, teasing her daughter, "The way you pack we would've been here all night."
"You're mean, mom," Brooke said, dropping her hairbrush into the open suitcase.
"I'm just honest," Erin said, "Why don't you throw in a deck of cards? You can teach the girls to play poker, if they don't already know."
Brooke lifted the deck of cards from her dresser, "No one is better than me, though. Uncle Antonio is the master at poker."
Erin watched as Brooke shuffled the deck of cards, her girl was growing up so fast.
"Daaaadddd!" Avery shouted, sticking her head out the car window, "I forgot Pokey on my bed!"
Jay lifted his eyebrows, and then lifted the duffel bag he was holding, "Aves, I've got your bag, run back in and grab him."
Avery sighed, unbuckled and jumped out of the car. She sprinted past Jay, and made a mad dash for her bedroom. Sitting on her bed, right where she had left him, was her stuffed lemur, Pokey. The toy had seen better days. His once-soft fur was mated and missing in places, and he flopped over unless Avery leaned him against something, but he had been Avery's favorite toy since her dad's Sargent, Avery's Aunt Olivia, had given him to her when she was little.
Pokey had been everywhere with Avery, and summer camp was going to be no different.
Jay was leaning against the car door when Avery came bounding out of the house. With her dimpled smile and bright hazel eyes, Jay couldn't help but be reminded of her mother.
"You ready, baby?" he asked, his voice soft.
"Yeah," Avery said, still unsure about going away to camp, "Uncle Adam's meeting us at JFK, right?"
"He's going to try," Jay said, closing the door behind Avery and climbing into the drivers' seat, "He is on duty."
Avery frowned, "I really wanted to say bye. Plus we have to do our handshake."
Jay looked at Avery in the rearview mirror, "I know. Like I said, he's going to try."
Avery nodded, "I really hope he makes it."
There was traffic getting to JFK (of course, Jay thought, it could never be easy), but they still made it with plenty of time until Avery's flight.
"You're going to be watched by one of the flight attendants, remember?" Jay said, double-checking that he had the ticket in his jacket pocket.
"I remember," Avery sighed, pulling her feet up onto the plastic seat and wrapping her arms around her knees.
Jay wrapped an arm around Avery's shoulders, "You'll be great, Ave. I know it. You can write me and everyone else as many letters as you want. And I'll be right here to pick you up in a month."
Avery was about to reply, but then she caught sight of Adam sprinting through the airport and her eyes lit up.
"Uncle Adam!" she shrieked, making a beeline for him.
She crashed right into his legs and Adam grunted, out of breath from his sprint.
"Hey munchkin. Glad I didn't miss you," he panted, "I forgot what time your flight left."
Jay grinned, "Adam Ruzek, always running late."
Ruzek flipped him off over Avery's head, "Shut up, Halstead. Benson's got me all over the city chasing down leads. She's got no idea I'm here right now."
"You're an idiot," Jay laughed, "If she finds out you skipped work, you're gonna be in deep shit."
Ruzek shrugged, "It's worth it. I needed to see the munchkin off to camp."
"Attention, flight 350 to Raleigh, North Carolina is now boarding at Gate 7," The pleasant female voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Okay," Jay stood up from the chair, "That's you, bug."
Avery's lower lip quivered, but she quickly forced herself to stop, "I'm ready."
She threw her arms around Jay's waist and squeezed tightly, "I'm gonna miss you, Daddy."
Jay sighed; she hadn't called him Daddy in years. Avery really was frightened.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Ave. But the month will go by before you know it," he squeezed her back and kissed the top of her head.
"I know," Avery mumbled, giving Jay's waist a final squeeze before stepping back.
She turned to Adam, "Let's go."
Jay hung back, a smile on his face as he watched Avery and Adam work through the complicated handshake they had developed years ago. There was a series of high-fives, fist bumps, hip shaking, and jumping. As always, it ended with Avery bumping Adam's hip with hers.
"Have fun, munchkin," Adam grinned, giving her a bear hug.
The flight attendant that was going to be watching Avery on the flight came over, "Avery Halstead?"
Avery nodded, "That's me."
The young redhead smiled, "Nice to meet you. I'm Hallie. I'll be hanging out with you on the flight. Are you ready?"
"I think so," Avery nodded, watching as Jay handed the duffel bag off to Hallie the flight attendant.
"Have a great time," Jay said, waving to Avery as she walked away.
Jay and Adam waited until the plane actually took off to leave the airport.
"She'll be great, man," Adam clapped a hand on Jay's shoulder, "Plus it's an all-girls place, so you don't even have to worry about her bringing home a boy."
Jay groaned, "Come on man, she's eleven! I can't even think about that yet."
"I'll buy you a beer and you can take your mind off of it," Ruzek laughed, following Jay out to the parking garage.
"Dude! It's 10:30," Jay shook his head, "Let's just get back to work."
"You ready, stinker?" Kim Burgess asked Brooke. Erin's best friend was a pretty, petite brunette. Brooke hated the nickname she'd been given, but after eleven years, she figured there was no escaping it.
"Yeah, Aunt Kim," Brooke fiddled with the string bracelet on her wrist, "Camp Kanata has the coolest stuff to do."
Kim took a sip of her iced coffee, "I was not a summer camp kind of kid, but I think you'll love it."
Brooke looked around O'Hare Airport. Where was her mom, and everyone else? They had all promised to come to say good-bye.
Kim caught onto Brooke's anxiety, "Honey, they'll be here. I promise. They might've hit traffic."
Brooke nodded, "I'm not worried."
Sure enough, ten minutes later Kim's cell phone rang.
"Hello?" Kim answered, "Oh, hi Erin….Yeah….We're here….by the gate….Six….Okay, we'll see you guys in a minute."
Brooke looked expectantly at Kim as the young woman slipped her phone back into her pocket, "Well?"
"Well," Kim laughed, "They're outside. Kevin is going to wait with the car and your mom, Voight, and Antonio are going to come in."
Brooke grinned, "Awesome! Hey, Aunt Kim?"
Kim nodded, "Yeah, stink?"
"Can I have a sip of coffee before mom gets here?"
Kim shook her plastic cup, letting the ice clink together, "Oh, alright. Do it quick, I still have to work with your mom while you're gone."
"You got it, Aunt Kim!" Brooke eagerly grabbed the cold drink and took a hesitant sip, "Oh gross! That's horrible!"
Kim took back her coffee, laughing, "Stick to juice, monkey."
Avery frowned. God, coffee tasted awful, and now there was a gross taste in her mouth.
"Do you have gum, Aunt Kim?"
Kim wordlessly handed over a piece of Orbit. Avery took it gratefully.
"Hey! I'm so sorry we're late, baby!" Erin called, wrapping her arms around Brooke from behind. Voight and Antonio were right behind her.
Brooke buried her face into her mother's chest, "It's okay, mom. I'm just glad you got here before I left."
"I wouldn't miss saying goodbye for the world," Erin grinned, "And neither would these guys."
Brooke happily threw herself into Antonio's arms, receiving a huge hug from the man she considered an uncle.
"You'll be great, peanut," Antonio said, slipping the girl a digital camera, "Take pictures. We all want to see."
Brooke squealed, "A camera? Seriously? You're awesome!" She squeezed Antonio's waist in another hug.
Erin frowned at her friend, "A camera? Seriously?"
Antonio grinned and shrugged, "She's a good kid, Lindsay. Plus, don't tell me you don't want to see pictures from camp."
Brooked whirled around to face her mom, "Can I keep it, please?"
Erin sucked in a deep breath, she hadn't wanted to let Brooke get spoiled. On a cop's salary, that wasn't difficult, but when her friends and co-workers stepped in to give Brooke presents for her birthday and Christmas, her gifts had gotten more extravagant each year.
Finally, she nodded, "Okay, Brookie. You can keep it, but say thank you again."
Brooke squealed in delight, and hugged her mom and Antonio again, saying thank you over and over again.
Voight gently pulled the camera from Brooke's grip and slid it into her carry-on bag.
"Attention, flight 394 to Raleigh, North Carolina is now boarding at Gate 3."
Brooke looked up, eyes bright with excitement, "Alright! Time to go."
She hugged Voight, "Bye, Gramps. See you in a month."
Voight kissed the top of her head, "Show North Carolina what a real Chicago girl is like, kiddo."
Erin held back a smile when she heard Voight use her old nickname on her daughter. It didn't feel like that long ago when she was the one getting kisses to the top of the head.
"I will," Brooke promised, "They won't see me coming."
Erin squeezed her daughter tightly, "Be careful, baby. Have a great time, and I'll see you when you come home, okay?"
Brooke nodded, hugging Erin back before picking up her carry-on and marching off towards the gate.
Erin watched her baby walk through the gate, a strange feeling settling in her stomach.
"You okay?" Kim asked, touching Erin's elbow, "You look like you're going to vomit."
Erin shrugged, "It just feels like things are changing now," she shook her head, "I'm being silly. Ignore me."
Kim laughed lightly, "Let's get back to work. I'm sure everything is going to be fine."
"Yeah," Erin agreed, but the feeling of change never left the back of her mind.
A/N: I know, I have no business starting a new story, when I haven't updated the two I already have going. But bear with me. Everything will get updated, I promise. The plot line for this one just would not let go.
I've been working on this for probably a month now. The delay can definitely be attributed to my crazy busy end-of-the-semester schedule. But now the semester is over for me, so I'll have lots more time to write.
Big, huge thanks to BaeHalstead for beta-ing for me. =D
I really, really hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and the next one should be posted soon-ish. Drop me a review, if you're so inclined =D