Hello! Thanks for the great response to the last chapter, I hope you enjoy this next one...!

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Chapter 25 – Popcorn

The secret was out. Everyone knew that Jay Halstead and Erin Lindsay were expecting a baby.

Erin was into her second trimester now, and was experiencing a welcome drop in her level of morning sickness. However, the removal of one pregnancy side effect came with the arrival of about a dozen others. Erin's baby bump was apparent to everyone now, although an oblivious person might just think she'd overdone it on the cheeseburgers. It had yet to develop the characteristic look of a pregnant belly.

She was also finding that she was being more clumsy than usual. Just the other day, Erin had managed to trip over her own feet as she crossed the apartment, and had clung to Jay as she desperately tried to prevent herself from falling flat on her face. Before that, she'd been reaching to take a stack of documents from Atwater, when the pile of papers suddenly slipped from her grip and flew to the ground, spreading out across the floor of the bullpen.

Jay had assured her that it was perfectly normal, being the expert that he was after reading his stack of pregnancy book.

"Apparently it's all due to some hormone that relaxes your joints and ligaments. It affects your whole body even though it's only needed in the pelvis," Jay informed her after she nearly dropped a giant glass vase on his foot in a store one day. They were only saved from having to buy the item by Jay's catlike reflexes as he stooped to catch it just before it smashed all over the floor. They quickly exited the store after the manager gave them a disapproving look. As they were walking through the door, they suddenly came face to face with Will and Natalie, pushing nine-month old Owen in his stroller.

"Hey!" they all cried in shocked greeting as they smiled at their impromptu meeting.

Erin bent down to pull a face at Owen and tickle him under his chin. He giggled and squirmed and she felt her heart swelling at the cuteness. She had been feeling very maternal over the last few weeks, wanting to mother everything she set her eyes on.

"Wow, he's gotten so big," she said to Natalie as she stood up. Natalie smiled sadly.

"I know! I want him to stay my little baby forever," she said, and Erin nodded understandingly. "But look at you," Natalie continued, motioning to Erin's baby bump. "You're looking great, how far along are you now?"

"Coming up seventeen weeks," Erin grinned, flattered by Natalie's compliment, although she had to disagree. Even though everyone had been telling her she was glowing and that pregnancy suited her, all Erin saw when she looked in the mirror was a tired looking woman who'd overindulged on burgers and fries.

"Hey, you couldn't do us a favour could you?" Will asked, struck by a sudden idea as he looked between Erin and Jay. "We've got this hospital benefit dinner next Friday and can't find anyone to watch Owen. You wouldn't mind having him for the night would you?"

"Of course we don't mind! We'd love to watch him!" Erin exclaimed excitedly without even consulting Jay, such was Owen's overwhelming cuteness. She crouched down to tickle the baby again.

"Yeah," Jay agreed. "I mean, we could use all the practice we can get."

"Oh thank you so much guys," Natalie gushed, and bent down next to Erin to play with Owen as well.

Will lowered his voice as he directed his next words to Jay.

"You know what the day after that is?" he asked.

Jay thought, trying to work out the date. He suddenly felt a wave of guilt rush over him as he remembered what day was coming up. He'd been so caught up with work and Erin's pregnancy that he had completely forgotten. But the memories were coming back in full force now and he kicked himself for not remembering sooner.

"Mom's anniversary," he said and Will nodded.

"I was thinking of going to the cemetery with Natalie, you and Erin could join?" Will suggested.

Jay considered it for a moment before agreeing. "Sure, we'll come with."

Will looked at Jay nervously before continuing a little more hesitantly. "And have you talked to Dad yet?"

"Umm…" Jay said, avoiding eye contact, and Will understood the answer to be no.

"Jay, you said you'd call him."

"I know what I said," Jay replied, somewhat frustrated. He had agreed months ago to call their father after he had showed up wanting to patch things up, but Jay so far hadn't been able to bring himself to dial the number. "I'm gonna do it," Jay told his brother, and Will accepted his assurances. They made the arrangements for the following week before each couple continued on their separate ways.

The week sped by in a blur of relatively easy cases for the Intelligence Unit, and in no time at all, it was Friday evening.

Erin and Jay packed up their desks and headed home while the rest of the unit made their way over to Molly's. The couple didn't mind missing out. They were wholeheartedly looking forward to babysitting Owen, although, Erin had to admit, she was a little nervous now that the time was here, and was very glad she had Jay for support.

At six-thirty, they had just finished an early dinner when there was a knock on the apartment door and Jay pulled it open to reveal Will, Natalie and Owen. Will was dressed in a smart tux while Natalie was wearing a deep blue floor length ball gown. She had a blanket over one shoulder so that none of Owen's drool got on her outfit as he sat in her arms. Will was laden down with bags of Owen's toys, clothes and food, as well as the fold up travel cot.

Jay reached to help them inside. It looked like Owen was set to stay all week, not just one night, judging by the amount of stuff they had with them.

"Thanks again for doing this," Natalie said to Erin as she wiped a strand of drool from Owen's chin.

"Honestly it's no trouble," Erin said as she pulled a face at Owen and took him from Natalie, bouncing him on her hip.

"I've written down his routine," Natalie said, pulling a piece of paper from one of the many bags they'd come in with. "We usually give him a bath around seven, then one last feed before he goes to bed at eight. He's generally pretty good at sleeping through the night, but if he does wake then he might need changing, or he might just want to know that you're there."

"Nat, stop worrying. He'll be fine," Will reassured the nervous mother as she pulled out multiple bottles of milk and jars of baby food from another bag.

"This should be enough to get you through to tomorrow lunch time," she said as she lined them all up on the counter.

Will glanced at his watch before saying, "We should probably get going if we don't want to be late."

"Alright alright," Natalie blustered, turning to where Erin was holding Owen. She stroked the baby's chubby cheek saying, "You be good for Uncle Jay and Aunt Erin," before placing a swift kiss in his dark hair and backing away.

"See you tomorrow champ," Will said, also placing a kiss on Owen's head.

They made their exit, Natalie somewhat reluctantly, and Erin and Jay were left alone with Owen.

"Man, who knew a baby came with so much stuff?" Jay said as he glanced around, looking at Owen's many bags.

"So those baby books didn't teach you everything, huh?" Erin mocked as she bounced Owen up and down.

Jay was looking overwhelmed. "They told me all about the pregnancy, but not what to actually expect when the baby gets here," he said, realising it for the first time.

"Jay relax, we've got plenty of time to figure it out," Erin reassured him. Strangely, his uncertainty seemed to calm her. "And in the meantime, we've got Natalie's list," she said, holding up the sheet of paper Natalie had left. "Now I think it's time this little man had a bath," she said, tickling Owen under the chin and speaking in that goofy voice that adults adopt when they talk to babies or dogs.

They dug through the many bags of Owen's provisions to find everything they would need for his bath. Erin undressed the baby as Jay set about filling the tub, making sure the water wasn't too hot or too cold and pouring in baby soap. When it was ready, Erin placed Owen in his bath seat and they began washing him. They soon discovered that Owen loved the water and his favourite thing to do was splash his pudgy hands in it. In no time at all, they were both dripping wet as Owen giggled up at them.

After the bath, they laid Owen on his changing mat, and Erin gently began to massage in baby lotion to his soft skin. They changed him into a fresh onesie and settled on the couch to give him a final bottle and read a story. Erin sat with Owen in her arms, holding the bottle up to his mouth as Jay squeezed in next to her with 'The Three Little Pigs' open in his lap. Erin had to refrain from bursting out with laughter at Jay's impression of the wolf, giggling internally instead so as not to disturb the drowsy baby. Owen made short work of his bottle and they moved into the guest bedroom, where they'd set up his travel cot. Erin laid him on his back and saw that his little eyes were already closing. They whispered quiet words of goodnight to him before creeping out of the room.

Erin placed the baby monitor on the coffee table as she and Jay settled down on the couch for the evening.

"See, that wasn't so difficult," Erin smiled as Jay stretched an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him.

"We've still got tonight and tomorrow morning to get through yet," Jay reminded her as he placed a hand over her growing baby bump. Over the last week, the bump had become a lot more rounded so that it definitely looked like Erin was pregnant now. While Jay thought Erin had never looked more beautiful, Erin thought she looked like a beached whale.

"Apparently, the baby is around the size of a turnip now," Jay informed Erin as they sat with the TV volume turned down low.

"Well this turnip sure is giving me a lot of backache," Erin grimaced as she tried to get comfortable.

"Here," Jay said as he repositioned himself so Erin's back was towards him. He gently applied pressure to the sore spot, massaging her softly to ease the ache that had settled there. A low moan escaped Erin's lips as he relieved some of the discomfort she had been feeling.

"We should do this more often," Erin grinned as Jay finished his massage. He smiled at her as he laid down on the couch, pulling her to him so she was laying in his arms. He resumed his gentle stroking of her belly, loving the way her soft skin felt beneath his hand, knowing his baby was only inches away.

They heard a light snuffling coming from the baby monitor on the coffee table, but a second later, the noise had gone and they relaxed, knowing Owen must still be asleep. They remained on the couch for a little while longer, watching some show about house redecoration. As Jay was just about to suggest that they head for bed, Erin suddenly stiffened in his arms and sat up quickly. She gazed at him, an astonished look in her wide eyes.

"What?" asked Jay, panicking that something was wrong.

She smiled at him, a hand resting on her bump.

"I think I just felt the baby move."

Jay sat up too, excitement flooding through him as the biggest smile broke over his face. "Really? You mean it's kicking?" he asked as he placed a hand next to Erin's. Whatever she had felt wasn't happening anymore as Jay couldn't feel anything other than her soft skin under his fingertips.

"No, not kicking," Erin said, trying to think how best to describe the feeling. "It was more like a flutter. Like popcorn popping."

Jay stared at her in wonder. "You're amazing, you know that?" he said, leaning forward to capture her lips in a soft kiss.

"I think the baby agrees," Erin smiled as she felt the fluttering in her belly again.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the small preview of Linstead as parents! As always, please review/favourite/follow :)

The next chapter is called 'Pumpkin Pie'