It was spring break, so Jay and Erin had each used some vacation days to cover off being home with the kids. Things had been pretty quiet in Intelligence, but they still didn't want to leave the team short two detectives for too long. So they each stayed home for half of the week. But they were both off on Wednesday—Erin had errands to run so Jay needed to stay home with the kids. They had made the mistake of hauling all three children to the grocery store before; it was not an experience either of them wanted to repeat. Ever.
Jay was sure to plan some fun activities to keep the kids entertained—they each got to choose one activity. Madeline wanted to see the zebras, so Monday morning was spent at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Zachary had asked to visit the Museum of Science and Industry, so they headed there after lunch. Tuesday started with a trip to the Adler Planetarium—Jay's personal favourite—and ended with a rousing game of laser tag at Ben's request.
Unfortunately it was pouring rain when Jay's alarm went off early Wednesday morning, forcing him to postpone their visit to Navy Pier. He knew the kids would be disappointed in the change of plans, so he decided to make something special for breakfast. As he silenced his alarm, Jay smiled at the sight of Erin sprawled out beside him. She was completely exhausted when she got home the night before, so Jay decided to let her sleep for a while longer. He leaned over and placed the softest kiss on her temple before he got out of bed, threw on some sweatpants, and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
Jay had just started mixing the batter when he heard them—to a stranger it would probably sounds like a herd of elephants was trampling down the stairs. He looked up with a smile when he saw all three of his children burst into the kitchen, still dressed in their pajamas.
"Daddy!" Maddie exclaimed as she ran toward him, flinging herself into his waiting arms.
"Good morning Miss Maddie," Jay gave her a raspberry kiss on her cheek, eliciting a wild giggle from his little girl. After he set her down at the table, Jay kissed each of the boys' foreheads before turning back to the counter.
"What's for breakfast?" Ben asked.
Jay shook his head in amusement; their firstborn was just like Erin, always hungry. "I don't know, what are you making for me?" He chuckled at Ben's look of horror. "I'm kidding, Ben. I'm making chocolate chip pancakes!"
"My favourite!" Seven-year-old Zach cheered, his mouth stretched into that famous Halstead grin.
"Mine too buddy," Jay winked, grinning right back at him. "Who wants to help stir?" Before he had even asked, he knew the answer. Sure enough, no sooner had the words left his mouth, Maddie had dragged her chair over to the counter by her father.
While Jay and Maddie made the pancakes, the boys ate from a bowl of fruit salad that he had put out. Jay would let the kids have special treats here and there, but he tried to sneak in some healthier options whenever possible. Just as he finished serving a stack of pancakes to each of the children, Jay noticed his wife in his peripheral vision.
"Good morning everyone." Erin said as he headed over towards the pot of freshly brewed coffee as Jay made his way over to the skillet. He turned the heat down before approaching Erin, wrapping an arm around her waist so he could pull her close to kiss her.
"Ewww." The kids snickered and giggled behind them. Both Jay and Erin had smiles plastered on their faces as they turned to look at their children.
"What's wrong?" Erin questioned, her tone innocent as she approached the table to kiss each of her kids.
Ben's nose scrunched up in disgust. The eight-year-old pulled away from his mother as he answered seriously: "Dad kissed you, but girls have cooties."
"What are cooties?" Maddie was four, which meant she was at that age where she was curious about absolutely everything.
"Girl germs." Ben explained as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What about boys? Do boys have germs?"
"Yes." Jay quickly interrupted their conversation. "That's why you have to stay away from them."
"But what about you, Daddy? And Zach and Ben?"
"We're okay, it's other boys you need to worry about." Jay replied quickly.
"Oh, okay. I will Daddy! I don't want to catch the cooties!" Jay grinned as Maddie nodded in understanding. Erin just shook her head as she sat down in between Ben and Zach at the table, laughing softly at her husband's attempts to baby their little girl.
"So guys, it looks like we're going to have to stick around the house today," Jay began as they all started eating their pancakes. "It's too rainy outside for a trip down to the pier. Maybe Mommy can take you another day, or we might be able to go on the weekend."
"Aw, man!" Ben complained, his mouth full of food. Zach and Maddie were quiet, but they too looked disappointed at their father's announcement.
"But I think we can find something fun to do around here, okay?" Jay offered, hoping he could still keep his children in good spirits, despite the unfortunate weather.
By the time Erin had showered and headed out to run her errands, Jay and the kids had cleaned up from breakfast, so they decided to play some board games. Maddie got bored eventually, so Jay decided it was time for another activity. He considered their options for a minute before instructing the Ben and Zach to go grab all of the pillows and blankets they could find and bring them down to the living room. While the boys were on their mission, Jay and Maddie pulled all of the cushions off of the sectional.
"What are we doing Dad?" Zach asked when he and Ben returned, their arms laden with the supplies their father had requested.
"We're going to build the best fort ever!" Jay explained, his voice filled with excitement. All three children responded with cheers—Erin would never let them make such a mess. They dragged chairs in from the dining room and spent the next few hours constructing the most elaborate pillow fort of all time. It spanned the entire living room and by the time they had finished, they were exhausted.
When Erin returned home later that afternoon, she was surprised by how quiet it was; the Halstead house was a lot of things, but quiet wasn't usually one of them. "Jay? Kids? Hello?" Erin called out as she moved further into the house. "Are you guys here?" Still no answer. As she walked into the living room, she bit back a laugh at the massive pillow fort in front of her. Of course Jay would think up something like this. She got down on her hands and knees and crawled inside.
Tears sprang into Erin's eyes at the sight of Jay and their kids all fast asleep inside the fort. Maddie was lying directly on top of Jay's chest, while Ben and Zach were snuggled up on either side of their father. Somehow in a fort filled with every pillow the family owned, the kids had ended up using Jay as their pillow—Erin didn't blame them, she had always considered Jay her favourite pillow too.
"Mommy?" Zach asked, stirring from his sleep as Erin moved further into the fort.
She curled up beside him and kissed the top of his head. "Hi baby, go back to sleep." The little boy had moved enough so that Erin could snuggle up to Jay, with Zach now stretched on top of her. She ran her hand up and down his back until he fell asleep again.
Jay opened his eyes not long after, smiling at the presence of his wife in his arms. The smile disappeared from his face when he noticed that she was crying. "Er? Babe what's wrong?" Erin's cries grew louder at his words. Instead of answering, she buried her face into his shirt. "Hey, talk to me." Jay lifted his arm and wrapped it around her, his hand stroking her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her.
Finally Erin responded: "I'm pregnant!"
The announcement had her sobbing again, her tears quickly soaking Jay's t-shirt. He kissed the top of her head as his hand moved from her shoulder, instead running his fingers through her hair. "Er, this is a good thing, why are you crying?"
"We were supposed to be done!" She wailed, pulling back to look at Jay's face. "How did this even happen?!"
Jay couldn't help but chuckle. "Well babe, when a man and a woman—"
"Don't you dare!" Erin scolded, smacking his shoulder; but she couldn't quite stop the smile from tugging at her lips at Jay's goofy response. "Seriously though, we've been so careful. When?"
"Well, there was that night in the Jeep last month. And a few times in the shower. And there was that morning when the kids were at Voight's." Jay wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he thought back on that day, causing Erin to smile wider. "Honestly, I doubt we can even pinpoint it—now that I think about it, we haven't been quite as careful as we thought." Jay paused for a moment before moving his hand moved to rest over Erin's still toned abdomen. "I have to say, babe, I'm really looking forward to seeing you pregnant again."
"Ugh, you know what I'm not looking forward to? Giving birth again!" Erin reached her free hand to run down Maddie's back. "This little lady practically destroyed me—oh and by the way, we aren't going back to Wisconsin until after this one is born. I'm not taking any chances of a repeat of Maddie! We are staying nice and close to a damn hospital."
"Okay, okay, whatever you say babe." Jay laughed as his lips found Erin's in a gentle kiss.
Erin pulled back abruptly. "You're getting a vasectomy."
All of the colour drained from Jay's face at her words. "W-what?"
"I'm serious Halstead, this will be our last baby. If I have to push another of your children out of me, the least you can do is get a damn vasectomy!"
"But… a vasectomy? It's going to hurt!"
Erin's brows shot up, an incredulous look coming across her face. "I repeat: I have had three of your children—the last one in the middle of nowhere without pain meds. And apparently I'll be birthing a fourth in a matter of months. These Halstead babies aren't exactly tiny, Jay. So let's not talk about hurt and pain here, okay?"
"But… they're going to touch me!"
"You don't seem to mind when I touch you." Erin shot back with a smirk. "That's part of the reason this is even happening again."
"But… they're going to cut into me. What if… I don't know, what if the doctor's hand shakes or slips or something?"
"Honestly Jay they're professionals! Either they do it, or I will."
"Whoa." Jay's eyes grew wide and he held up his hands almost defensively. "Let's not get crazy here, I'll do it. But seriously, look at them." Jay motioned down at their three sleeping children. "You have to admit that you're at least a little excited to have another one. We definitely make adorable babies."
"Babe, I'm not actually sad! Just a little surprised—okay a lot surprised. But I honestly can't wait for this little one to come along so our family will be complete." Erin whispered as she ran her hand along Jay's chest to reassure him.
"We'll be fine, it'll be fun." Jay brought his lips down to meet Erin's in a quick but loving kiss as they felt the kids beginning to wake around them.
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