AN: Thank you all so much for your reviews - really appreciate them :) updates will probs be slower than I hoped. I'm classed as a 'key worker' so i'm still working at the moment. I'm also slightly addicted to disney+ which just got released and may or may not have binged watched Zack and Cody and are now onto the suite life on deck lol. Though, I am writing as often as I can so hopefully updates won't be too slow - she says… she hopes.

The light shining through the gap in the curtains bought Erin out of her slumber, she spied the clock and saw that it was 8:47am. She felt Jay's presence behind her so slowly rolled over and saw that he was still sleeping peacefully. Wisconsin seemed to be the only place that Erin would wake before Jay, he still always woke at 5am but always went back to sleep. At home, he would usually sleep an hour or two more, but here, he would sleep soundly until he was ready to wake up. She propped herself up on her elbow and watched him sleep, it wasn't long before he began to stir, he opened his eyes and saw her staring, "Creep," He murmured, opening his arms for her to lie in.

She laughed and lay her head down on his chest and snuggled into him, "You're just so pretty to look at," she joked as she drew mindless patterns into his chest.

She felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled, "Aww, you think I'm pretty," He teased, kissing the top of her head, "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yep, did you?" She answered, looking up at him.

"Yeah, I always sleep well here," He replied, giving her a kiss.

"Mmmm. You. Want. To. Go. Shower?" She asked between kisses.

"Oh definitely," He grinned, pushing the covers off of them both, "We'll have to be quiet though. Downside to having company."

Erin rolled her eyes, "Oh I can be quiet, but the question is, can you?" She joked, getting out of bed and walking into the bathroom, throwing Jay's t-shirt over her head as she walked.

Jay groaned this woman is going to be the death of me he thought to himself following her into the bathroom and shutting the door behind them.

Forty-five minutes later, Halstead and Lindsay left their bedroom and went into the kitchen where Hank and Al were currently cooking breakfast. Erin sat down at the breakfast bar next to Antonio while Jay made them both a cup of coffee, "Morning everyone. Is no one else up yet?" She asked.

"Nope. Not heard anything from them," Antonio replied, sipping his coffee.

"They'll probably show up as soon as they smell this food," Al laughed.

Jay passed Erin her coffee and sat down next to her, "What you cooking?" he asked, peering over the counter.

"Sausage and bacon sandwiches," Hank replied.

Erin laughed, "Wow it's like I'm back in your house. Sausage and bacon sandwich Sunday's. Well, we usually had them for lunch because me and Justin did not grace the world with our presence until almost lunch time most Sundays," she laughed.

"Those were fun times. We learnt quickly not to wake you up on a day you didn't have to be up. Waking you up is one of the scariest tasks in the world," Hank joked.

Erin rolled her eyes, "I'm not that bad," she replied, to which Jay almost choked on his coffee, "What do you have to say?"

"You are that bad! That time I had to wake you up on a Saturday because we had an appointment with my car guy, you almost broke my nose!" Jay exclaimed, and Hank, Al and Antonio all laughed.

"No I didn't. Stop being a drama queen," she replied, rolling her eyes once again.

Jay raised his eyebrow and looked at her, "Babe, my nose was bleeding."

"Why was your nose bleeding?" Kim asked, as she entered the kitchen, "Morning guys."

"Erin punched him in the face for trying to wake her up on a Saturday morning," Antonio laughed as he informed her.

"I'd have done the same thing - especially when it's rare we get time off on a Saturday," she replied, "These last few months have been busy. I barely got up on our rare Saturdays off!"

"I still didn't deserve a bloody nose though. It wasn't even an appointment for me, it was hers!" Jay exclaimed.

"Whatever," Erin grumbled, "How long will food be, Hank?"

"It's just about ready now, so come and get it guys!" He replied, as he began plating up the food. Adam and a Kevin both joined not long after Kim and the team all enjoyed breakfast together out on the back porch.

After breakfast, Jay, Antonio, Adam and Kevin got the outside furniture out of storage and set it up on the lawn. Erin and Kim were already lying in the grass sunbathing and Hank and Al were sat on the porch playing blackjack. Jay set up a hammock between two of the trees too, which was something he always did when he and Erin were at the cabin. Usually they'd lie together throughout the day and chill - something they wouldn't be doing seeing as they were with their co-workers - but jay wasn't overly bothered he was just glad to be back here.

"So this place is nice," Kim said, looking around and watching the boys mess about.

"It really is. This place is really great. Definitely a great place to switch off and relax," Erin replied.

"Jay seems more chilled here. I know we have only been here a day but he just seems, I don't know, lighter? More care free and relaxed," Kim observed.

Erin nodded as she watched Jay currently diving into the lake and hearing his laugh, "Yeah, this place is very special to him. As a kid he loved spending time here, then after he came home from the war, he came here to get away from a lot of the issues he was going through. We have had so many nice holidays here, but we have also used it for healing. Like after Nadia died, you know I was a mess," she stated as Kim nodded, "Then around the time of her birthday, I was struggling. So Jay bought me up here and helped me take my mind off of my grief whilst also allowing me to grieve. It was nice being away from the busyness of the city and our jobs. I wasn't convinced that it'd help, but during that time, he opened up about the issues he went through during and after the war, and how this place helped him. We opened up a lot during those few days and it was really the next big step in our relationship," she explained. Thinking of all those times that this place had helped them through rough spots was tough, but knowing how well they came through them was definitely worth it.

"That is so sweet! You two are literal couple goals. If I meet anyone half as nice as Jay, then I've hit the jackpot. Do you think it's a good idea to change my online dating bio to say 'must have remote family cabin in the woods for romantic get aways' or do you think that's a bit too much?" Kim joked.

Erin laughed, "Yeah, probably a little too much."

"One can only hope," Kim sighed, "I'm beginning to think I'll be single forever."

"You won't be. You'll find someone. Now come on, now all the boys are away from us, tell me what really happened with your date the other night," Erin asked.

Kim smiled and began telling her the full story, grateful to have someone close enough to talk to about this kind of stuff. They had always been close, but since working in intelligence, they had become even closer. It was nice for Erin, too as she had never really been one to have close girl friends, she was usually around men which she didn't mind at all. Even in school she preferred the company of the few guys she was friends with over the girls as girls were usually bitchy and Erin really couldn't be bothered with it all. She did have more girl friends now - sometimes she, Gaby, Kim, Stella and Sylvie all got together for girls night. They all enjoyed each other's company, and got on very well. Being in male dominated fields, it was nice having female friends who understood. Kim was definitely her best friend out of all of them, she found herself confiding in her more than the others - not because she didn't trust them, she just sometimes felt uncomfortable being open about her feelings. Jay and Kim were the ones to know all of her problems and it was nice that she could open up to others - something she didn't have growing up.

During the afternoon, Jay was stood at the end of the dock, watching the others throw a ball around in the lake. Erin came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "You know, we have only been here one day and your freckles are already multiplying rapidly," She laughed as she trailed patterns through the new freckles that had appeared on his skin.

He turned around in her arms and placed his hands on her waist, "It'll be interesting to see how much they come out by the end of the week. It's going to be extremely sunny all week by the looks of it! It's funny, looking at how warm and nice it is today that last time we were here it was absolutely freezing, the lake was an ice rink and the garden was 3ft deep in snow," he laughed, "I miss this place in summer. We need to try and get out here more often."

"I agree," she replied, rising on to her tip toes to kiss him, "This place is my favourite place."

"Mine too," he agreed, kissing her again. Taking advantage of him being distracted, Erin's hands slowly moved up his chest and when he least expected it, she pushed him into the water.

Adam, Kevin, Antonio and Kim who were all currently in the water were all laughing at Jay who was currently coughing up water from the lake from the surprise attack.

Jay looked at Erin, who was laughing at him from the side, he quickly decided he wasn't going to let her get away with it. He pulled himself up onto the dock and ran after her "Don't you dare, Halstead!" She squealed as he threw her over his shoulder and jumped into the lake with her - causing her to also cough up the water when she rose above the surface.

"What shouldn't I dare do?" He smirked, wrapping his arms around her waist. Just as he leant into kiss her, he felt something hit his head, "Hey! What was that for?" He exclaimed, grabbing the rubber ball and throwing it back to Adam.

"Single and alone remember?" He replied rolling his eyes, "Now come on are you two playing or what?"

Jay and Erin swam over to the group and joined in the game of water volleyball. Jay joined Antonio and Kim on their team while Erin joined in with Kevin and Adam.

Hank and Al were sat on the porch observing the rest of the team, currently playing water volleyball. Something that they had no intention of joining in with. They'd both noticed how relaxed everyone seemed to be since coming here, after the rough few months up in intelligence, the team were starting to look tired.

"You know, this place is amazing. Halstead bringing us here is officially the best thing to happen for us for her past few months," Al said into the silence, bringing Hank out of his reverie.

Hank nodded, "Yes it is. It's funny seeing them all so care free. I know we have only been here a day but I can tell a difference in every single one of them."

"Me too. Especially Halstead. I was worried about him these past few weeks - especially after that military case we had last month," Al sighed. The military case had been hard, a guy who had come home from Afghanistan had a PTSD episode and went round killing anyone who he perceived as a 'threat', which included some children. The case had been extremely hard for everyone, but for Jay, it hit home in more ways than one. He started going back to his PTSD support group to get a handle on things - which had definitely seemed to help as most of the men in the group were also affected by the case as it had been all over the news. "I have a feeling this place is somewhere he used to come to get his mind back in check. From some of the things he has mentioned to me over the years, it seems that he spent a bit of time here after coming home - particularly after his mom's death. I am just shocked he actually opened up this place to all of us. He has never really expressed interest in us coming here or sharing it with us. I wonder what changed?"

"I have no idea, Al. But whatever it was, I'm glad he chose now to share it with us. I was worried he was going to go back to that dark place he was in a few years ago after that military case, but he didn't. He was proactive and wasn't ashamed of admitting that he was struggling. He talked to me about starting up his support group again and told me that I needn't worry - that he was getting a handle on it before it got out of control."

"It was a rough case for everyone," Al sighed, "He and Erin seem very happy. It's strange seeing them so carefree seeing how they're so professional in work - and even out of work in the rare times we all spend time having drinks together. Still can't believe they're engaged. I remember her from before she moved in with you and Cam, she's come a long way since then. You should be proud."

Hank smiled, "I am very proud of everything she's become. She definitely deserves the happiness. I still can't believe Halstead had the balls to come to me and well, he says he wasn't asking permission, he was just 'informing' me that he was going to ask her to marry him. But we all know he really wanted my permission. As much as I really wasn't okay with it in the beginning, I really did regret how I handled those two the first time. I always wonder if I hadn't hinted at them to put a stop to their relationship before Nadia died, then Erin may not have gone off the rails."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Hank. It was a very long time ago and everyone got over it," Al reminded him, "But I was also shocked that Halstead had the balls to come up to you and talk to you about proposing to Erin. I bet that was a fun conversation. He came round to your house didn't he?"

"Yep," Hank laughed.

"Brave kid," Al joked.

"He said he didn't want to do it at work because it was personal. He was rambling on and on at me about how much he loves her and how he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. He said he wasn't asking my permission of course - something about Erin once saying if someone had to get dads permission then he wasn't worth it or something. I think he was worried he would scare her off and that she'd turn him down. I admit I may have let him squirm a bit once he asked my thoughts on the subject - just glared at him and didn't say anything for a good 3 minutes," Hank explained, reliving the memory of a very nervous Halstead sat in his kitchen rambling on.

Al laughed, "Wow. That's mean."

"I got to have some fun sometimes! Besides, it is far too easy to scare him. I just told him that Erin loves him. She's never been as serious with a bloke than she has with him - he's the first boyfriend ever to be invited to Sunday dinner and that definitely meant something. I knew she'd say yes, so I just told him to ask her because she would say yes without a doubt," Hank said, watching the others joking about in the lake.

"Of course she'd say yes. She's completely in love with him! I don't think I've ever seen her so happy before that Monday morning when they walked in and announced it. I'm so happy for her and everything she's achieved," Al said as they watched Erin hit Jay in the head with the ball, "I wonder if Halstead will be fine with me just coming to live here. It's so relaxing and peaceful."

Hank laughed, "I doubt it. But you could always ask. I'd be surprised if he ever let any of us up here again - I think it'll be an interesting week. Now how about a few more games of blackjack?" He asked and Al nodded, taking a sip of his drink. Hank began shuffling the deck of cards they were playing with before and began the game.

Later on in the afternoon, Jay left the lake and went and got changed as it was his night for making dinner. He was making his Nana Murphy's special chilli - which would definitely be a hit with everyone. He was definitely glad to be here, in Wisconsin with the team. As much as he used to be against the idea of sharing this place with anyone but himself and Erin, this seemed right. Even before Erin he had never bought anyone up here before, so this was a strange but good feeling for him. He knew the team needed some time away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and he really didn't fancy camping in the wilderness with the team. He preferred the luxuries of the cabin and to be honest, he just really wanted to get up here again. It was definitely his most favourite place in the world. As he was cooking the chilli he was watching everyone out the window, they were all currently round the firepit drinking beers and talking. Once he had finished the dinner, everyone plated their own up and went back outside.

"Wow Jay, this is amazing!" Kevin complimented, taking another bite of the chilli. The rest of the team were also quick to compliment him on some of the best chilli they'd ever tasted.

"Thanks, it was my Nana Murphy's recipe. She taught me to make it when I was 14. I'm the only one apart from her and my mom who knows the recipe. She used to make it every Wednesday when we were here and she chose me to pass the recipe onto. Will couldn't really care less back then he was a little wild," Jay explained, "She passed away the year after, so when I was 15. I was glad she taught me the recipe because next time I was up here, grandad was really lonely and sad, so I made it for him and he was so happy - it was one of the things he had missed the most. Her chilli. It's one of my favourite meals. Just glad you all like it - Nana Murphy would approve of all of your impeccable tastes," he smirked, making it into more of a joke than a serious conversation as he didn't feel like talking in depth about his family - Erin was the only one to know the full story as it was hard for him to talk about.

The group finished off the night with a few very competitive games of uno before all going to bed.

Jay was lying in bed waiting for Erin to join him, "Are you looking forward to the hike tomorrow?" He asked her as she was switching off the bathroom light.

She joined him in bed and curled into his side, her head resting on his chest, "Yeah, I am. I love watching you when we go along the trail. Your inner little boy comes out and you get so excited talking about your memories," She yawned, "Ugh, why is it after a day of barely doing anything I feel exhausted?"

"It's probably a combination of the stresses of the last few months and the fact we didn't go to bed till late last night. Hopefully after this week, we will manage to catch up on some of our sleep. What do you say about going to the diner tomorrow night? Mrs Jones always loves to see us and I promised next time we were in town that we'd go and see her?" Jay asked, placing a kiss on her head.

"Mmm, sounds good. Night babe, love you," She mumbled into his chest as she drifted off to sleep.

"Love you too," Jay whispered and pressed another kiss into her hair before he succumbed to sleep too.