a/n: yes, I know it says it's an easter one shot, I posted this on easter on my wattpad account but I decided to put it on here.
as a little girl erin had always loved rabbits. and despite the nickname she has given her mother throughout the years she is still in awe everytime she sees a rabbit through the window of a pet store out in chicago. jay, of course makes fun of her everytime she spots one, but when her face lights up everything around them stops for a moment.
she's always told jay she had a bunny named luna growing up. it was her best friend. she would take it everywhere she went when she wasn't in school. but since her mother was always using spare money buying different types of drugs. one day she came from school and her friend was gone. her mother always told her that luna ran away because she forgot to close the cage, but being 8 erin always knew what really happened. her mother sold her bunny for a "high" price just so she could buy more drugs. erin never told bunny that she really knew what she had done.
it was then getting closer to that time of the year, easter. which was still erin's favorite holiday considering she got to see various decorations but it also made her feel so lost inside. jay never understood at the beginning of their partner ship why she sort of shut down during this holiday until they started dating 2 years ago. he always made sure to shower her with various types of chocolate and cute little bunnies. which erin was thankful for, but it wasn't enough to filled that void in her heart. she lost the most precious thing that was ever important to her. so with that jay decided to make sure that this easter wouldn't be one to forget. the weekend before he and erin went on their daily walk in downtown chicago, it was still quite chilly out but it never bothered them. strolling down the sidewalk looking at all of the same shops until they get to the pet store they always stop by in. upon entering the tiny store erin immediately heads straight for the bunnies.
"hi little one" she coos through the glass frame that was keeping her from being able to pet it "aren't you just the cutest thing ever"
jay stared at her in awe of how she interacts with it. it was a lop bunny. it was white and kind of a caramel brown color. slowly walking up towards her he wrapped his arms around her. "you know we can't get one right" she says as he kisses her on the head.
"yeah i know..." with sadness in her voice she nods and starts making her way out the door. making sure she was out of the building and staring at something else. jay quickly pulls out his phone to call the one person who knows how to keep a secret.
after two rings he finally picks up.
"hank?"
"what are you doing calling me on the weekend halstead?"
"i need you to do me a favor"
"what kind of favor are you asking for"
"i need you to come to the tiny pet shop downtown and get this bunny"
"why a bunny? are you out of your mind?"
"it's for erin. i'm going to surprise her with it on easter. i know how much she still misses her bunny from when she was little"
"ah. i remember she wouldn't stop pestering camille and i for one ever since we took her in. yeah i can get it for you."
"thanks so much. and do you think you can keep it at your house until then?"
"keep a rabbit in my house for a week, hmm that's pretty risky. but i'll do it. just make sure erin doesn't come to the house."
"thanks. and don't worry i'll do whatever you need me to do"
"i'll take your word for it"
"bye hank"
"bye. i'll stop by in an hour or so to get it"
"k. it'll already be paid for. and i'll make sure to put your name down so they know you can pick it up."
"k. sounds good."
after ending the call jay quickly makes his way over to the person working at the time. pays for the bunny &i supplies and tells them that a hank voight will be picking it up. then he exists out of the shop to find erin sitting at a table a few shops down.
"what took you so long?" she asks
"i was just looking at the fish & cats" he points out trying to not make anything too obvious. "i think we should get a fish soon"
"yeah i guess" she says in a monotone voice
"angel, i know how much you want a bunny. it's just too much work to take care of. and with our busy schedules. it's just not gonna work out" he takes her hand.
"i guess you're right. can we go home now?" she questions
"yeah let's go" he gets up from where he was sitting. take her hand and they walk back to the apartment together. once they get back erin goes to the bedroom saying that she is "tired" and just wants to take a nap while her stayed out in the living room area and watched tv. 20 minutes into his show he gets a text from hank saying he got the bunny wording it as "the thing" and pointed out that it was pretty cute.
easter sunday rolls by pretty fast and that's when erin starts to die down a little. she wakes up to the spot on the bed next to her cold and immediately smells something really good coming from the kitchen. she slowly gets out of bed and makes her way out of the room to see a vase full of daisies sitting on the bar, some chocolates, and another stuffed bunny like she always gets each year.
"oh hey you're up" jay says with a smile while setting her food on a plate before handing it to her.
"yes. and thank you. you didn't have to get me all of this" she sits down at the table and not to far behind jay sits right next to her with his plate.
"i did, you know i can't not get you things."
"don't forget we have to go over to hanks for lunch"
"can we just not" she whines like a little child
"we are going" jay says in a firm voice.
"fine" she sighs and starts making her way back to the room to get dressed before they had to head over there in a few.
what she doesn't know is before they eat he is going to surprise her with her last gift. the cute white and brown bunny they saw last week. hank kept him updated on how it was doing and how after today he can't wait for the little thing to finally be out of his house. he was already dressed so all he was waiting on was for erin. 25 minutes later she emerges for the bedroom with a white thin strapped dress with different colors of flowers printed on it and some white lace wedges to go along with it.
"you look very beautiful my dear" he points out awhile going over there to give her a kiss.
"thanks. let's just go. because the sooner it's done. the sooner i can come home and just sit and wait for this day to be over"
once they finally get to the house erin goes up to her old bedroom while jay goes to talk with hank about how he is going to do this.
"hey boss"
"hey. when did you get here?"
"a minute ago. do you need help?"
"no i'm good. the bunny is in my bedroom. where's erin?" he asks
"she went straight to her room"
"i'm going to start getting ready. your backyard is securely fenced right?"
"yeah"
jay makes his way over to a place he's never stepped foot in. as he steps into the master bedroom he is surrounded by lots to pictures of justin and erin as kids and some of him and camille. gently making his way to where spots the cute furry animals eating its food. jay picks up the bunny with care and makes his way to take it outside. once he knows it's safe to leave it for a while. he heads up to erin room where he find her laying on the bed just staring at the dresser.
"what are you doing?" he made sure she knew he was there without scaring her.
"i'm just laying." she said with no emotion at all. jay lays down with her wrapping his arms around her nuzzling his head in her beck. she is welcomed by his presence and scoots closer to him.
"come let's go outside. it's actually pretty nice out today" he mumbles.
even though erin really didn't want to get up. she makes her way out towards the back with jay in tow. as soon as she steps out on the patio something catches her eye. it's a bunny out in the middle of the not so big yard. but it's not just any bunny, it was the exact same bunny she saw in the store last week. she cautiously starts making her way toward it making sure she doesn't scare it. "hi little one. how'd you get here?" she wonders. after letting it sniff her a bit. it lets her pick it up and she cuddles with it. burying her nose into its soft little head not acknowledging both hank and jay's presence. she then turns around to see them both with a smile on their face.
"surprise" jay says in a calm voice but loud enough to where she can hear
"you did this?"
making his way to her, her eyes start to cloud up.
"of course i did" he kissed her like he never has before
"but you said we couldn't handle this" she started to piece everything he said to her last week
"yes but we can always figure it out. and how could i resist not getting you this precious thing" he smiled
"you mean the world to me."
by this time tears were starting to stream down her face. jay wiped them away.
"thank you. you have no idea how much this means to me" she sets down the bunny next to them then hugs jay.
"anything for you" he whispers
"now what are you going to name her?" he questions as he bend down to pick her up.
"i'm thinking penelope" she starts to pet its soft fur
"then penelope it is"