"Alright, smile!" Erin Lindsay said for what seemed like the fortieth time. The adults groaned but quickly put back on a smile. "Thank you." She knew that everyone was tired of pictures, but she couldn't help it.
"It's no problem, kid. Can we just give it a break until after we eat?" She looked at her pseudo father, Hank Voight, and dropped her smile. He saw the flash of disappointment and couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. "How about you take candid photos? It will be better than everyone posing in the same position again and again." He could tell it was the right thing to say when her smile was back on her face. "Who's hungry?" Hank asked everyone.
"It's about time." Jay Halstead said from his corner. Jay had joined the Intelligence Unit a little over a year ago. After his undercover stunt and saving Antonio Dawson's sister, he was granted access to the unit. He was fully aware that taking the bullet was the only reason he was even considered, but he didn't care. He belonged here. He looked to his left and noticed a camera lens in his face. "What are you doing?" He scrunched his face for one last picture and gently guided the lens away from her face.
"Just capturing the moment." It was the answer she always gave. He rolled his eyes playfully. He smiled when he heard her laugh. "You should see some of the ones I have. People rarely pay attention to their surrounding. I mean, I have plenty of you." He saw the glint in her eyes.
"What do you mean?" He asked dumbfounded.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and find out." She threw over her shoulder. He shook his head before chaing after her.
"Wait, Lindsay! Get back here!" He called after her.
"Halstead," Hank said low in warning. Jay shook his head at her antics, but stopped after Hank's warning. "You know how I feel about in house relationships." Jay rolled his eyes. Whatever he and Erin had going on was their business. Not that there was anything to be worried about.
"We are just partners." Jay insisted. He didn't fully believe that statement, but Erin wouldn't let him in. "I thought you said that the food was done." Jay needed to chance the topic. He grabbed the plate that Hank stuck out for him. "Thank you." Jay said before heading to the side dish table.
"You should eat something other than starches." Erin's voice rang through. He looked at his plate filled with potato and macaroni salads and at his hand with the pasta salad spoon.
"Yeah, well, I don't tell you how to eat, now do I? Although, I probably should." He raised an eyebrow in her direction. She blushed slightly before chuckling.
"I told you that in confidence!" She laughed out. She had told him during one stake out about her need for one scoop of ice cream a day.
"I can't sleep if I don't have it." He mocked part of the conversation. He faked pain when she slapped his chest.
"Just for that, you don't get to drive for the next year!" She stuck her tongue out. He knew that it was never an option on driving, but he let her have it. She was rarely this carefree, so he was going to enjoy it.
"I'll get the keys from you eventually." He winked before stealing a piece of pineapple from the fruit salad. "Get a plate and join me." He said and walked over to the gazebo. It was his favorite place at the picnics. He could watch everything from here.
"Why do you insist on eating here?" She asked as she moved to sit down.
"Why do you insist on taking pictures of everything?" He countered. "Just capturing the moment from here." He used her lines against her. "Seriously, Er, we need to work on your eating habits. Weren't you ever told to balance your meals?" He laughed and pointed to her plate.
"It is balanced. I have every color on here." She spun her plate around. "I have a full rainbow." She chuckled before biting into a piece of watermelon.
"That's not what I meant." He said before stealing a piece of fruit off of her plate. "Why don't you come over one night and I'll cook you a well balanced meal." He watched as she shook her head sympathetically.
"Jay, you know we can't." She offered. It was the same fight they had been having for the last month.
"I know, it was just a joke." He sighed. "What are you doing with your mandatory leave days?" He changed the subject quickly. He didn't want to spoil her mood this early in the evening.
"I don't know yet. I have some things to clean around the apartment." She shrugged. She always hated this time of the year when they were forced to take days off. It just gave her unnecessary time to think about everything that had gone wrong in her life.
"Why don't we go ice skating?" Jay offered when he noticed she was getting lost in her thoughts.
"Jay, it's June!" She laughed. She didn't know how, but he always knew what to say and when to say it. "If you are going to miss me, why don't you just say that?"
"Oh, I'm not the one I'm worried about. You are the one who is going to be lost without me." He winked. "But seriously, I could use some help. I'm building something."
"What is this something?" She eyed him in suspicion. He was up to something but she had no idea what it was.
"It's a surprise. So are you going to help or not?" He asked while looking at his watch. "I mean, I have plenty of people that I could ask, so..." He was shocked that he kept a straight face for this long.
"I guess, but you are supplying the food." She said before getting up. "Let's go, they are starting the corn hole game and you are my partner."
"Of course," He said and followed her movements. "But you better not lose this for us." He pointed a finger at her.
"Oh, please, you are the one who makes us lose!" She shot back. "I'll meet you there, I forgot my camera." She said suddenly. It was always a good laugh when they played and she didn't want to lose any moments.
"Just forget about it!" He knew it was pointless to say, but it was worth a shot. He waited in the spot for her and looked around at the view. He zoned out as he thought about his summers in Wisconsin. He hadn't been there since his mother died nearly four years ago. He couldn't face it. The cabin had been left to him and it was currently just collecting dust. He knew he had to go back again. It wasn't until he heard the shudder of the camera that he was pulled from his thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?" Erin asked. During the last year, she had watched a longing in Jay's eyes.
"Just about life." She could mouth the words right along with him. It was the same thing he said every time she caught him. She wasn't sure how many photos she had of him with the look, but they were some of her favorites.
"Follow me?" She asked and held out her free hand.
"What about the game?" He asked. He knew that he would follow her anywhere, but the game was her favorite part of the day.
"That can wait. Just come with me. Please." She wiggled her hand impatiently. She pulled his hand when he placed it in her hand. She led him down a pathway in the garden.
"I've always wondered why Voight has this." Jay wondered.
"Camille loved landscapes. She thought that the backyard should be as inviting as the kitchen." Erin shrugged. She forgot that not everyone in the unit knew Camille and her little quirks. "Hank thought that keeping it going, it meant keeping her with him." She said simply.
Jay was speechless when they came across a small bench in the middle of the flowers. "This is beautiful." He didn't know how else to describe it.
"Yeah, it used to be my favorite place in the world." She shrugged. Sure, it was simple, but it was breathtaking. She was always in awe of nature. "What's on your mind?" She asked again.
"Tell me a secret." He tried. There was no way he was going to open up without her spilling something as well.
"Are you bargaining?" She laughed. He just smiled and nodded and gestured for her to continue. "Um, I never wear socks when I sleep."
"That's not fair. You want to know something personal, so I want to know something personal as well." He countered. He had spent a good bit of time trying to get her to open up.
"How about you tell me something and then I promise I'll tell you something just as personal?" She tried to offer. She wasn't going to offer just anything.
"If you don't, you owe me something. Like a date." He raised his eyebrow. He had her cornered.
"Fine, go ahead." She said simply.
"I was thinking about my hometown. I haven't been there in about four years and sometimes I feel guilty. Will has no problems going back, but I just can't. After my mom died, I spiraled. I was just getting over some of my issues after the war and then she died. It was so unexpected. She was only 50 and in the best shape of her life. She just went to sleep one night and never woke up. It was a brain aneurysm. Anyway, we have this cabin there. She left it to me because it was my favorite place. I feel slightly guilty every day that I'm letting it go to waste." He shrugged as if it was such a normal conversation. "Anyway enough about me. What about you? What's your secret?" He wanted to shift the subject from him.
"I'm so afraid of this all being a dream. That's why I take pictures. I am afraid that one day, I'll wake up and this will all be a dream. Or that it will all end tomorrow. I'm not ready for it. Pictures capture the moments. They capture the feelings. Bunny, she didn't take pictures of anything. She always said that pictures only captured temporary feelings, but she was wrong. A feeling isn't temporary. You always feel it, other things just follow it. I don't want to forget anything. The good, the bad, the ugly." Jay couldn't help but look at her in amazement.
"You're amazing." He simply said and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
"Jay?" She had said when he pulled away.
"Hmm," He was afraid to talk loudly. He didn't want to burst the bubble they were in at the moment.
"You can still take me on that date."
I know I should be writing more on my story, but I came across this thought and I just wanted to get it out. I love the fact that it's kind of open in case I ever want to revisit it. Thank you for reading!