Hi all! Thank you SO MUCH for your feedback about the past chapter and the story in general! I think I finally decided that I am going to do a few more chapters in this story, and then either do a multi-part epilogue or a sequel. The following chapter stops off a little suddenly just because the chapter was too long and I had to split it up into two, but I'll have the second part posted soon.
Also, CAN I PLEASE JUST RANT FOR TWO MINUTES ABOUT THE LAST EPISODE!?
I HATE when writers do things that are SO SO SO out of character just for the purposes of drama. I thought that back with the whole Hank being Erin's dad thing (because honestly, if Hank ever thought he could have been Erin's dad, he would have done something about it) but even more so now. Jay would NEVER just leave.
And even more than that, it didn't even flow in the actual episode. He was joking around with Abby, telling her it was actually good to see her, bla bla bla, and then all of a sudden he comes home and tells Erin he needs to go sort his stuff out!? And also - it doesn't make sense that Abby would even bring this on. Like Mouse leaving to go back - THAT'S when this story line would have make a little more sense. And even so, he wouldn't have left.
Ugh whatever, they just better not drop this story like they did the Hank/Erin/Bunny storyline. And Linstead BETTER be endgame.
Okay, sorry, end of rant! I hope you enjoy this chapter, but remember it's really just a 'Part 1'. :)
Chapter 50,
"Baby, stop fidgeting," Jay rested his hand on Erin's bouncing knee as they sat waiting in the auditorium. "Everything is going to be fine." They had been saving the seats for about an hour, and the rest of the graduation guests were beginning to fill the auditorium.
"I can't help it," she replied, trying to allow the warmth of his hand on her bare skin relax her. "I just want everything to go well."
"Everything is going to go well," he answered right away, his voice more sure than he was actually feeling.
Maddie and Grace had insisted that both sets of their grandparents had to come to their preschool graduation. They had even come to the district to personally hand Voight an invitation. And sure, it had been almost 9 months since he had begun dating Erin, and he was certainly getting more comfortable with Voight outside of work, but it still felt a little strange sometimes. Especially considering thirty minutes before he accepted the preschool invitation from Maddie and Grace, he had slapped an offender so hard his eyes rolled back into his head.
So, yeah, sometimes it was a little hard to reconcile both sides of Hank Voight.
But he knew that Voight had a soft spot for his girls, and he knew the Corson's were good people. They would say hello, sit through the graduation calmly and quietly, lunch would be quick, and then the afternoon would be over.
"Okay," Erin sighed, and turned to hold Jay's gaze. "You're right. I'm sorry."
"Hey," he said, his voice soft. "Don't apologize. I love that you care so much."
She gave him a soft smile, and then rested her hand on top of his. "Of course I do." But then, a new thought popped into her head.
"Wait," she said, sitting up straight all of a sudden, the motion causing Jay's hand to fall from her knee. "You don't think the Corson's are going to be mad at me for us not taking the house, do you?"
Jay and Erin had discussed it, and they decided it would be best to thank the Corson's for their unbelievable generosity, but decline the offer with a vague explanation.
Jay didn't want them to think that he couldn't handle living with reminders of Allie around, especially when Jay and Maddie were the only real link the Corson's still had to their daughter. Erin completely understood that. But it also just occurred to her that they may assume Erin didn't want to live there.
"No, of course not," Jay said, quick to comfort her. I don't think.
But she read right through his words, knowing him better than she'd ever known any one. She had spent months learning his facial expressions. She knew he didn't necessarily believe what he was saying, just like she also knew that he was nervous for Voight and the Corson's to meet. She had chosen to let the other one go, but this one he was about to get called out for. "Okay, but they might be, right?"
He shifted under her piercing gaze, reveling in the fact that she could always, always read his mind. "Well, we could tell them the truth about why I don't want to live there, and then they definitely won't be mad at you," he offered, his head tilting to the side.
She shook her head, "No, we're not going to do that." She loved him for offering, he had offered before, but she wasn't going to make him do that.
She would rather the Corson's be mad at her than upset with Jay. They had lost their children, and Jay had essentially lost both of his parents the day his mother passed away, and she never wanted to create a rift between them.
"It's fine," she said, straightening her dress, trying to convince herself her words were true. "Everything is going to be fine."
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The Corson's got there first.
"Gail, Danny," Jay said, standing up immediately when he saw them at the end of the aisle of seats. "Thank you so much for coming." He moved towards them, reaching his hand out to shake Danny's and then wrapping Gail into a warm hug.
"Are you kidding?" Danny replied, "Our granddaughters are graduating from preschool today! There is nowhere we could rather be."
Jay allowed a grateful smile to fall on his lips. Granddaughters, they had said. As in, pleural.
No, they wouldn't be upset about the house. Because they were truly two of the best people he knew.
"Erin," Gail said, moving past Jay and moving towards his fiance. "Get over here and let me get a look at that gorgeous ring!"
Erin blushed as she moved towards Gail, but she lifted her hand so the beautiful diamond was in plain sight.
"Jay," Gail said, her voice full of genuine joy as she held Erin's hand in her own. "You did a beautiful job, you picked a stunning ring." Then she lifted her gaze from the ring to Erin. "Not to mention the great job you did picking the girl to put it on."
Erin smiled at Gail's words, and she could feel her eyes glisten with unshed tears. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice full of emotion.
God, the Corson's were so wonderful. She hoped they weren't about to break their hearts.
Before they had a chance to mention anything about the house, though, Erin noticed Hank standing at the end of the aisle. "Hank," she smiled. He was wearing a button down shirt with a tie. She hadn't seem him wear a tie since her graduation from graduate school.
"Hey, kid," he smiled at her, then turned to Jay. "Halstead."
Jay turned away from his conversation with Danny, noticing his boss for the first time. "Sir," he greeted him, then turned towards Gail and Danny. "Gail, Danny, this is Sergeant Hank Voight." He wasn't exactly sure how to introduce him. But this felt safe.
Jay was shocked when Gail moved towards him and enveloped him in a hug. He shouldn't have been, of course, because Gail always enveloped people in hugs, but he was even more surprised when Voight hugged her back, with a smile, a SMILE, on his face. "It's so nice to finally meet Erin's dad," Gail said.
Danny moved forward, reaching out his hand to shake Voight's. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sergeant Voight."
"Oh, call me Hank," he said, shaking Danny's hand back. "And the pleasure is really all mine. Maddie and Grace never shut up about the two of you, I had been excited to meet you myself." He gave them another smile, as the three of them moved towards the three empty seats.
Erin raised an eyebrow at Jay, who raised both of his eyebrows in response. Not only was that was more words that he had ever heard come out of his boss's mouth in a row, but he had seemed so genuine. And nice. And normal.
Sure enough, when Jay finally made his way to his seat, he heard Gail laughing at something Voight had just said. She turned to him, a huge smile on her face. "Jay Halstead," Gail admonished him, "I can't believe you waited this long to introduce us your boss! He's so lovely."
Lovely? Were they talking about the same boss?
Erin cut in before he had a chance to respond. Which was good, because he suddenly found himself without words.
"Oh Gail, don't feel bad," she said, smiling wide. She could tell Jay was completely taken aback by Hank's demeanor, but she wasn't. She knew her father could turn on the charm. "Jay worked for Hank for two years, and he never thought to introduce us. We only met when he called me for help on Grace's case."
She had only been kidding, of course.
She would have never expected Hank to introduce her to one of his detectives, and he hadn't even really wanted them to date in the first place. He wasn't a fan of having his personal business mixed up in his work.
So she expected Hank to give a quippy answer, or just ignore the comment altogether. But he didn't.
"I knew if Jay and Erin ever met, that would be it for them," he said, his eyes on Gail and Danny, but knowing Erin and Jay must be staring at him, too.
"I knew the first time I really saw Jay handle himself in a tough case, and then again when I saw him with Maddie." He continued, knowing he had never told this to either of them. "But the thing is... my wife did a lot of waiting around for me," He paused for a moment as he thought of his late wife, and then added, "And she ate a lot of dinners alone." He shook his head sadly before continuing.
"And I know that every morning when I kissed her goodbye, she worried I may not make it home." He shrugged his shoulders, and shook his head slightly. "I just didn't want that for my little girl."
Jay was completely speechless, and when Erin's hand reached for his own and squeezed it in a gesture of comfort, his heart shattered into a million pieces.
Because he didn't want that for her, either.
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The graduation was, of course, adorable. The class sang two adorable songs, and then they each got to walk across the stage.
Since Maddie and Grace didn't currently have the same last name, they walked with several people in between them, but when Grace walked across the stage, Maddie stood from her chair and cheered so loud from her seat that everyone laughed.
It had been a great graduation.
And for the most part, Jay had been able to push Voight's comment from his head.
For the most part.
But now that the graduation was over, and they were in the car driving to the restaurant, the thoughts returned full force.
Maddie and Grace were chattering excitedly in the back seat, both still in the cap and gowns they refused to take off, even though it had made it a struggle to get in their car seats.
He tried to focus on them, to ignore the words that were on repeat in his head.
I just didn't want that for my little girl.
I just didn't want that for my little girl.
"Jay," he heard Erin whisper his name beside him.
"Yeah," he whispered back, unsure of why they were whispering. He turned on his turn signal and shifted lanes, noticing that they were nearing their exit.
"About what Hank said," Erin had noticed the way Jay's body had stiffened at Hank's admission. She noticed that he seemed to relax slightly during the ceremony, especially as he watched his daughters walk across the stage to receive their 'diplomas', but then she noticed the way he seemed to tense again when they walked to the car.
He had even avoided her gaze as they strapped the girls into their carseat, side by side.
"The day you got shot," she began, hating that she could hear the emotion in her voice, knowing that wasn't going to help Jay calm down about this. "It was the worst day of my life." She hated thinking about that day, she had tried to push it from her mind the minute it was over.
Even with all the hell Erin had been through in her life, that day topped them all. "If you had died on that table," she croaked out, her voice still full of emotion. "I would have wanted to lay down and die right there next you."
She looked at him over the car, watched as he sucked in his breath at her words. "Er," he said, reaching over for her hand. "I'm so-"
"Don't apologize to me, Jay," she said, glad some strength had returned to her voice. "Before I met you, I never had anything in my life that I felt that way about," she said wistfully.
Her voice was soft when she continued, "And if you had died right there on that table," a tear streamed down her face when she said those words, because she had never let herself fully think about that outcome. "I would have thanked God for every minute I got to spend with you, because they've been the best of my life."
She paused, hoping this wasn't too morbid of a topic, but still feeling the need to get the rest of it out. "And then instead of dying right their next to you, I would've gone home to our girls." She turned to face him again, willing him to stop at the stop sign and look at her.
"You've given me everything," she continued. "And yeah, I worry about you every minute of every day." She reached over to touch his face, to will him to believe her words. "But I wouldn't trade it. You are the love of my life, and every minute of every day that I get to spend with you makes it all worth it."
He pulled the car over so he could kiss her. This beautiful, amazing woman that had given him everything.
He was stunned speechless by her words, by her heart. "I love you," he whispered.
"I know," she said, a soft smile finding her lips.
He used the pad of his thumbs to wipe away her tears, and then he bent to kiss her again. "I'm going to do my best to come home to you every night."
"I know that too," she smiled, a fresh wave of tears flowing from her eyes.
They held each other's gaze for a moment longer before Grace yelled from the backseat. "Daddy!" She said, turning her head to look out of the window. "This isn't the restaurant!"
He sighed, shifting back into reality. "You're right, bug." He said, pulling back onto the main road. "We'll be there soon."
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"You okay?" Erin checked in again, as they walked into the restaurant with their two little graduates. Jay had seemed to relax during the rest of the drive, but she just wanted to double check.
"Yeah," he said, shifting his gaze down to his daughters and then back up to his fiance's face. "I am," he said again, meaning it. "Thank you."
She just nodded in lieu of a response as they moved towards the door.
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When Hank got called into a case halfway through the meal, Grace and Maddie pleaded with him to stay.
"I'm sorry girls," he said sadly, as he stood from his seat and slid his jacket on. "But if you're daddy is here with you, who's going to catch all the bad guys?"
Both girls seemed to consider this. "Okay, Grandpa Hank," Maddie finally conceded. "But you're going to miss dessert."
"I know, I'm sorry," he said again, moving towards their side of the table so he could kiss them goodbye. "Maybe I can come over this week and we can have dessert together, what do you say?"
Grace smiled wide, and answered for the both of them. "Okay!" She loved when Grandpa Hank came over. He always let them have as much ice cream as they wanted, and he let them stay up extra late when mommy and daddy weren't there.
Hank leaned over and kissed the foreheads of both of the graduates, before turning to the Corson's. "It was a pleasure meeting you both, I'm sorry I have to run out."
Danny waved his hand dismissively, letting him know they completely understood. "Hopefully we'll see you again before we fly out?"
Hank nodded in agreement. "Absolutely."
Then Hank turned to Erin. "Kid," he said, "Walk me out."
It wasn't a question so much a statement, so Erin followed him out the door.
"What's up, Hank?" She said, the minute the heavy restaurant door closed with a thud behind them.
"I'm sorry if my comment crossed the line." He hadn't planned on saying it, it had just come out.
He didn't particularly regret it, knowing that it was a conversation Jay and Erin should have before their wedding day, but he definitely regretted his poor timing.
"It's fine, Hank," she said, meaning it. She was glad she and Jay had the conversation in the car, and she knew Jay was, too. "Really. Go ahead," she motioned to his car, "I know you have to get to work."
He leaned down and kissed her against her forehead, mimicking the action he had just done twice in the restaurant. "You know I love you, kid."
"Yes, I know," she said, rolling her eyes at him, and shoving him towards the car.
But then she thought about his words, about how every time Camille saw him, she thought it might be the last time, and so she added, "I love you, too."
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While Erin was outside with Voight, Jay took the opportunity to bring up the house situation to the Corson's. "Gail, Danny, I can't begin to thank you enough for the offer to give me and Erin your house," he began.
"But you don't want to take it," Danny cut him off before he could continue with his planned speech.
Jay looked down at his empty plate, wishing he had something on it to push around with his fork and avoid their gaze. "No, we don't," he whispered, feeling awful.
"Jay," Gail said, trying to get Jay to look at her. "We're not upset."
That got his attention. "You're not?"
"No," she said, emphasizing the words. "Of course not." She shook her head, "We just wanted to offer it you in case you wanted it."
"I, uh-" He couldn't find words all of a sudden, shocked and relieved at the same time. He had been dreading this conversation, and once again, Gail and Danny proved to be the best people he knew. "I don't even know what to say."
Danny waved his hand dismissively, "Nothing to say, Jay. We'll just put the house on the market as soon as possible, and then you'll use the money from the sale to buy something new."
Wait. What?
"What?" He said, not able to hide his confusion.
Gail and Danny both looked at him confused, which did nothing to ease his own confusion.
"You're giving me the money from the house?" He clarified when they didn't answer his original question.
"Of course," Gail said, raising her eyebrow in surprise. "We already have a house, and we don't need the money."
"But-"
"Jay," Gail interrupted. "You walked away from your parents money when you chose to do something important with your life. And well, we just started to think of you as our own." She paused, "And well, we don't..." but then she shook her head, not able to finish the thought.
"Thank you," he said, accepting the offer quickly, so that she didn't have to continue.
She didn't need to, anyway. Jay knew what she was going to say. They had two children that they had planned to leave their money to, that they saved and worried over, and both children were long gone.
Jay, Erin, Maddie, Grace - they were who the Corson's had left.
"Really," he repeated, "Thank you."
But then, suddenly he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, "I um-" he looked down at the number on his screen. "I have to take this."
"Go ahead," Danny said, "We want to give our granddaughter's their graduation gifts anyway," he said, smiling at Maddie and Grace as Jay walked away.
"Hey, Rachel," he said, as he pressed the phone against his ear. He moved towards a quiet corner of the restaurant so that he would be able to hear her clearly.
"Hi, Jay," he noticed that her voice was cheerful, and he took that as a good sign.
"Tell me you completed your last home visit and we can adopt Grace for real?" It had been over 8 months since the official process has started and he was dying for it to finally come to an end.
"I completed my last home visit and you can adopt Grace for real." She said, repeating his words back to him.
"Really?" His voice cracked with emotion, and he must have sounded like a teenager. But he didn't even care. "Really?" He repeated again, because it just seemed to good to be true.
"Really." She said, smiling into the phone. "You can come in on Monday and fill out the paperwork, for you and Erin both. You're not married yet, so the paperwork will be a little different than the usual paperwork and she needs to come too, but it's still a go."
"Monday," he repeated, not even responding to the rest of her statement.
Monday.
That was only 5 days away.
Grace was going to be his in 5 days.
His and Erin's and Maddie's.
She was going to be a Halstead. For real.
He couldn't believe it.
He couldn't wait to tell her.
He couldn't wait to tell Erin.
xoxo
To be continued...
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