Hi everyone :) I tried to make this chapter and extra long one because I know I've been kind of MIA. Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy it :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Chapter 36,

"Mmmm," Jay walked into the kitchen, and while the smell of snickerdoodle cookies wafting in the air had brought him in, it suddenly wasn't the most enticing reason to be in the room.

He moved towards Brooke, who was stirring a large pot on the stove. She was dressed in a tight grey and black dress with a light blue apron on top. He wrapped his arms around her waist, settling in from behind, and layered kisses on her neck as he inhaled her scent. "It smells amazing in here," he said, between kisses.

Brooke leaned her body back into Jay's, closing her eyes and breathing in the moment. "Stop distracting me," she said, but there was no conviction in her words. "People are going to be here any minute!" Her voice was breathy, and suddenly the stew bubbling on the glass-top stove wasn't the only thing making her body feel warm.

He turned her slowly, moving her body away from the hot stove, but pinning her body between him and the granite counter. "We have at least ten minutes," he said, not even bothering to check the time.

He didn't care what time it was. Ever since he had moved in, he hadn't been able to keep his hands off of her.

Actually, that wasn't really new, and it had started well before he moved in, but it felt different now. They had begun setting up each room, Brooke insisting on making each one belong to both of them, but if he was telling the truth, he had enjoyed christening each room much more than he had enjoyed picking out furniture.

He leaned down to kiss her, taking easy possession of her lips as his hands melted down her body until it found her growing belly.

Brooke was enjoying his hands stroking slowly down her body too much to stop, even though she knew she should. But then after several moments the decision was made for her when they were interrupted by a knock on the front door.

"They'll go away," Jay whispered, barely lifting his lips off of Brooke's.

"Jay!" Brooke leaned back, giggling against him. "We invited them," she pressed her hand against his chest in a playful shove. "Come on," she said, "I want everything to be perfect." She slipped her hands in his, and pulled him towards the door.

Tonight was their official housewarming party. Brooke had been living in the apartment for just over eight months, and Jay had moved in over a month before. They had originally planned for the party to be two weeks prior, but the Intelligence unit had caught a complicated case at the beginning of the long weekend and the party had to be postponed.

"Everything will be perfect," Jay replied, laughing at his beautiful girl. "But baby," he added, a smirk on his lips, "You may want to take off your apron."

With Brooke running back into the kitchen, he moved alone towards the door, swinging it open wide to reveal Ruzek, Burgess, and Atwater standing in the hallway. "Hey guys," he said, ushering them into the foyer. "Welcome to our humble abode."

Jay laughed, trying to hide his discomfort. None of his work friends had been to his and Brooke's apartment, and he knew he was going to get comments. Something of the how are you living here on a detective's salary variety, even though everyone in the room already knew the answer to that question.

His salary didn't even cover the furniture.

"Jesus," Ruzek whispered, trying to keep his voice low enough that Brooke wouldn't overhear, wherever she was. "Humble abode, my ass," he said, taking in the large floor-to-ceiling windows. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped open, and Jay was transported back to the first time he had seen Brooke's apartment.

He had felt so small then, so insignficant. He had been completely sure that a girl like Brooke Davis, a girl who lived in an apartment like this, would never, could never, see anything in a guy like him.

He had been wrong that day, though. Thank God.

His thoughts were interuppted when Atwater handed him a bottle of wine in a shiny blue gift bag. "What to get the girl who has everything," he said, teasing.

"Not wine," Burgess said, rolling her eyes just as Brooke walked into the foyer to meet them. Burgess noted that she looked more and more radiant every day, as if she was meant to settle into the role as the pregnant mom-to-be.

"God," Brooke said, "I can't wait until I can drink wine again," she said, pouting slightly. "It's the one bad thing about being pregnant."

Jay raised his eyebrows at her, as if to say really? Hadn't she just been complaining about her swollen ankles this morning?

But he held his tongue, knowing better than to mention that in this public setting.

Smart man, Brooke thought.

Burgess ignored the men, moving towards Brooke and giving her a big hug. "You look amazing, and I brought you chocolate," she said, smiling.

"And that is why you're my favorite," Brooke responded, opening the Lindt truffles box right then and there, and then popping one into her mouth. "Oh my god, these are amazing."

"Are you gonna share?" Jay said, teasing her and pressing his lips against the side of her head.

"Not with you," she teased back, letting him know she knew exactly what he had been thinking before. "You can have the wine. The chocolate's mine."

His team began to laugh, and it went a long way to ease the tension in Jay's shoulders.

He was glad whenever Brooke was completely herself in front of his friends. He knew they had spent time together before, and he knew that they all liked her a lot, but more recently, he had wanted them to understand that she wasn't the Brooke Davis the tabloids had been portraying her as in the past few weeks.

The press had gone crazy with the story about him in the military, and Brooke had refused to acknoledge it. Her mother had almost gone so far as to insist she hold a press conference, to try to put a positive spin on Jay's past, but Brooke wouldn't hear of it. She said it was her private business, and she didn't care what anyone had to say.

And one Brooke Davis made up her mind, there was no changing it.

The problem was that in turn, the press had become irritated. Starved for information, they had painted her as unfriendly and standoffish, two things she had never been described as before. Two things that were far from the truth.

But truth or not, it was what was being said about her in the press recently, and even though he had told his friends to pay it no mind, even though he had explained everything to them at work, the whole thing had him feeling uneasy.

But as the group moved into the living room, and as Dawson, Brett, Voight, Olinsky, Will, and Natalie joined them, he realized he had nothing to worry about. They all loved her.

And really, how could you not?

"So Brooke," Natalie asked, popping a snickerdoodle into her mouth as she took a break from sipping her red wine. "Do you go back to New York often?"

"About once a month" Brooke said, reaching for a snickerdoodle herself, pouty that she couldn't join in in the wine. Thankfully, the awkwardness and tension from their first meeting had faded since Will had broken things off with Nina and was now dating Natalie. "I'm trying to move more of the compay here though," she added, "With a new baby, I don't want to be travelling as much."

Atwater's ears perked up at Brooke's words. "Does that mean the next magazine cover shoot will be here?"

Brooke turned to look at Atwater, a wave of confusion consuming her face. "I don't know, maybe?"

Jay wasn't confused at all. "Hoping Alex Dupree will pay Chicago another visit?" He teased.

"Damn straight," Kevin confirmed, no shame in his words. "That girl is fine."

Everyone laughed, including Hank Voight, who had been in the corner of the apartment, deep in conversation with Olinsky.

Erin moved towards the pair. She had been eager to get a chance to talk to Hank alone, but was unsure it was going to happen tonight. "Hey, kiddo," he said, "Your place looks fantastic."

He had seen it a few times before, but this time it had clearly been cleaned from top to bottom, and it truly sparkled. Not to mention the fact that night sky was really cooperating tonight, a full moon and even a few stars appearing through the city lights.

"Thanks, Hank," she said, giving him a soft smile.

Olinsky must have been able to sense that she needed a minute alone with Hank, because he nodded his head and slipped away to join the rest of the group's conversation.

"What's up, kid?" He asked, his eyebrows creasing with genuine concern.

"Nothing bad," she said, trying to hide the nerves behind her smile. "Do you think, uh, do you think Jay and I could talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?"

"Of course," he said, "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady.

Voight walked into her large kitchen and perched himself on a stool while she went to get Jay. He started to get nervous, but forced himself to stay calm.

Brooke walked in, and behind her followed a very anxious looking Jay.

That served to calm Voight down tremendously. "Come on, Jay," he said, his voice gruff but slightly teasing, "You already knocked her up and I didn't kick your ass, not sure what else you could've possibly done."

"Hank," Brooke shook her head, her voice a half laugh, half scold.

"Okay, okay," he said, as he watched them relax into the stools across from him. He allowed his voice to grow more serious when he asked, "Seriously, what's up?"

"Well," Brooke began, pausing and allowing a deep breath to fill her lungs. "I met with my lawyer this week." She had initially made the meeting with her lawyer to discuss the slightly tumultuous press situation, but when she got there, he had had a whole other agenda.

"About what?" Hank asked, not waiting for her to continue.

Jay didn't wait for Brooke to continue either, answering straight away. "With the baby's due date a little over a month away, he wants us to start getting everything in order."

Actually, Brooke thought, that had only been part of it. Her lawyer had actually started with mention of marriage to Jay. But then, she hadn't told Jay that. She hadn't wanted to bring that topic up for the first time as part of a legal discussion.

Not when all she could ever think about was how much she wanted to marry Jay.

Every minute of every day she thought about how much she wanted to marry Jay. How desperately she wanted him to propose.

"What does that mean?" Hank's words interuppted her thoughts, and she was forced to shove those thoughts away and refocus on the matter at hand.

"If anything should happen to us," she said, her voice soft and slightly solemn. "We want you to raise our baby."

They had gone back and forth on this. Jay had first suggested Will and Natalie, and Brooke had first suggested Nathan and Haley. But neither pair had felt right.

Brooke hadn't been in love with the idea of Will and Natalie getting custody. They were still in the early stages of their relationship, with Will still navigating his relationship with Owen.

And as for Nathan and Haley, Jay hadn't wanted to uproot their child from the only home they had ever known and move them to another state. Especially while they were dealing with the premature death of their parents.

It had been a really morbid conversation.

But somewhere around three in the morning, they had both finally settled on Hank.

"Me?" He asked, his voice soft, but thick with emotion.

If Brooke wasn't mistaken, she thought she could see tears welling in Hank's eyes. "Yeah," Brooke said. "You."

She stood from her stool and moved around to where Hank was sitting on his stool. "You saved my life that day in New York," she whispered. "I don't know if I have evertruly thanked you for that day, and for all the other days I had because you cared enough to make sure I was okay." She shook her head, still dumbfounded and in awe at his actions that day. He had believed her when no one else had, and then he had found her a place to live, a place to thrive.

"And you stepped in front of a bullet to save Jay," she continued, referencing the day they had rescued Sam. "And I know you would jump in front of a bullet to save my child, and if for some reason Jay and I have to leave this world behind, there is no one I would rather my baby be with than you."

This time she was sure she saw a tear, but Hank brushed it away before it was able to fully form.

"I'd be honored," he choked out. "Thank you."

"Thank you, sir," Jay said, his voice thick with emotion as well. "For everything." He knew that he would never truly find a way to thank Hank for saving his life that day, for saving Brooke's life all those years ago, but he hoped that this was a step in that direction.

And he also knew Brooke's words were true.

If God forbid anything happened to him, there was no where else he would want his baby to be.

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"I think everyone had fun," Brooke said, fishing for Jay's opinion. "I think tonight went well. Don't you?"

"I think tonight went more than well, babe," Jay said, placing the last wine glass in the dishwasher before he began to put in the dish soap.

"You know," Brooke said, watching Jay's jeans tighten against his butt as he leaned to open the soap compartment on the door of the dishwasher. "I don't think there is anything quite as sexy as watching a man load the dishwasher."

He straightened at her words, sending her a wink as he pressed the button to turn it on. "Really?" He said, as he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Really," she said, her breathing growing slightly heavy as she watched him move towards her.

Once again he pinned her between him and the counter, picking up exactly where he had left out hours before.

He kissed her roughly, devouring her with his lips, his hands. He went to lift her on the counter but she stopped him, pushing his chest away with her hands. "I think," she panted, "I'm too pregnant for the kitchen."

His laugh was thick and throaty, "Fair enough."

She kissed him again then, deeply and passionately. "So take me to bed," she said, huskily.

He guided her through the long hallway to her bedroom, as he peppered open mouth kisses down her neck and shoulders. By the time they reached their bed, she was already wiggling out of her dress and kicking it onto the floor.

When she leaned back onto the pillows, he almost lost his breath. How was it possible that she get more and more beautiful every time he laid eyes on her? Sure, her breasts were fuller than they were when he first met her, not to mention her belly, the one that was growing and nurturing their baby was growing fuller, too. And, of course, her eyes were as bright and beautiful as ever, her smile melting him more and more with each dimple.

But he didn't think that was it.

He wasn't sure exactly what it was. But every time he saw her, every time she smiled at him, she quite literally took his breath away.

She laughed, shaking her head and signalling for him to stop staring and join her on the bed. He undressed quickly before sliding in himself.

"You are so beautiful," he said, laying kisses up from her stomach to her breasts to her clavicle as he moved higher on the bed.

"You have to say that," she breathed, even though she actually did believe him. She had never had a man look at her the way Jay looked at her.

And she had had a lot of men look at her.

"No," he breathed between kisses, "I don't." He wanted her to know how much he truly meant the words.

He kissed her for several minutes, taking ownership of her lips, not quite ready to release her and switch his position. Although his body was very ready.

Finally, he moved his lips away and turned her slighty on the side. Ever since she had passed into her eighth month of pregnancy, he had been entering her from behind.

"Mmmm," she sighed, as he laid kisses along the backs of her shoulders. And then with one quick move, he pushed himself into her, and the long groan that escaped her lips had him ready to finish right then.

He knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer, rocking against her, his arms wrapped around her body from behind.

"Oh my god," she sighed, loving how strong Jay's hands felt as they stroked her breasts, how warm his lips felt as he kissed her skin. "Jay," she panted.

She bit back another moan, and then that was it for Jay. When she buckled against him and her limbs began to quiver as the orgasm ripped through her, he finally allowed himself to let go, too.

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"Babe," Brooke whispered, "Are you awake?"

She hadn't been able to find a comfortable sleeping position lately, and even though Jay had completely tired her out, she was still very much awake.

"Yeah," he croaked, even thought he clearly wasn't.

"We should come up with baby names."

Oh yeah, Jay thought. Because that's what I want to do at 3:30 in the morning. "Okay," he said, not able to refuse her anyting.

"What about Claire for a girl?" Brooke asked, turned slowly to face him, pressing her naked, swollen belly against his rock hard abs.

"Claire?" He asked, opening his eyes and making a face. "I don't know." He might be able to refuse her that.

"Okay, okay," she said, going through the rest of the list she had prepared. "April?"

"April's a month," Jay replied, knowing he was being difficult, but his eyes still readjusting to the room and he didn't like either of those names.

"So?" Brooke laughed, not caring in the least. She was just happy to include him in the inner monologue she'd been having for the past hour.

"How about Josephine?" He asked, now just as invested in this conversation as she was.

"Josephine?" Brooke asked, crinkling her forehead in confusion.

"I was thinking we could call her Josie," he whispered.

She sat up at that, "You've thought about this before?"

"Of course I have," he said, reaching for her hand and intertwining his fingers in his own.

She smiled, loving that he had put thought into this. But she still was confused by the name choice. "Isn't that kind of old fashioned?" She asked.

"It was my mother's name," he whispered.

Her smile widened, but this time there was a little bit of sadness behind it. "I wish I could have met her," she said.

"Me too," he whispered, his face now mirroring her sadness.

"Well," she said, trying to lighten the mood. "I think it's beautiful," she leaned down and kissed him lightly. "Josie Halstead," she continued, "It has a nice ring to it."

"Halstead?" Now it was Jay's turn to sit up in the bed.

"Yeah," she said, surprised that he hadn't realized that was the plan from the beginning. "I want our baby's name to be Halstead."

And then, before he could stop himself, Jay said, "I want your name to be Halstead."

Brooke lost her breath as her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest, "Wh-what?"

"I want your last name to be Halstead. I want to marry you, and I want your last name to be Halstead."

And then, before she could respond, he stood up and moved to his dresser, opening the drawer and finding the diamond ring that had been there for over a month, since the day he moved in.

Just as Atwater had said when he walked in the door, he, too, wasn't sure what to get for the girl who had everything. He had been nervous, planning proposal after proposal, only to nix it at the last second, deciding it wasn't good enough.

But for some reason, this moment, here in the darkness of their bedroom, the full moon creating the only light, this moment felt right.

"Brooke," he said, moving back towards the bed, his blue eyes never leaving her hazel ones. "I have never considered myself a lucky man. But the day you walked into district 21, that changed. And I've felt lucky every moment since. The day you told me I was going to be a dad," he paused for a moment, trying to will his voice to stay strong. "I don't think I've ever had a happier moment in my life."

He smiled, a tear escaping his eyes. "In the big moments, I've known that I loved you. But it's in the small moments that I've known I wanted to spend my life with you. I want to spend every morning sitting across from you at the table, drinking my plain coffee while you drink your fancy cups, our legs intertwined underneath. I want to watch the Blackhawks while you sit next to me, pretending to be intersted but really playing on your phone. I want to come home from work each day and know that you and our baby will be here. Those small moments, those are the moments when I've felt the luckiest."

His leg sunk into the mattress, but he still managed to bend on one knee. "I love you, Brooke Davis." Another tear escaped his eyes, but this time he didn't bother to push it away. "Will you make me the luckiest man in the world? Will you marry me?"

For a moment she was speechless, unable to form a full thought. Unable to comprehend the fact that everything she has ever wanted in her life is being offered to her by this incredible man.

"Yes," Brooke whispered, finally, tears streaming down her face. "I love you," she moved towards him, capturing his lips with her own. "Yes!"

As he kissed her back, Jay had one overwhelming thought.

He had been wrong before. It turns out, this is exactly what he wanted to be doing at 3:30 in the morning.

xoxo

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