Thanks again for all of your lovely reviews! I'm glad y'all like fluffy Linstead scenes cause there's gonna be many more throughout the story. For now, it's some more Christmas... and also a little bit of drama.

Oh, and before I forget it: Big thanks to hockeychick19 for a great idea I used in this chapter!

Chapter 11

It was late afternoon on Christmas Day when they arrived at Hank's together with Will. She knocked before opening the door with her key, almost being knocked over by Daniel who had obviously been waiting for them to arrive. "Aunt Erin, Aunt Erin!" She quickly pulled him into her arms and lifted him up. "Hey, big boy! Oh my God, you've grown so much!" Handing Jay the bag of presents, she stepped into the house to let her boyfriend and his brother in as well.

Hank and Olive came out of the living room. "Erin! It's so good to see you! Merry Christmas!" The younger woman hugged her as far as possible with her son in between them before greeting Jay and Will. "Hey, Jay! How are you? Hi, I'm Olive. Nice meeting you!" Will shook her hand smiling at her. "Will. The pleasure is all mine. Merry Christmas!" Next, he greeted the owner of the house. "Mr. Voight, thank you so much for inviting me." The older man gave him a handshake. "It's Hank. And you're very welcome. You're Jay's brother, so you're basically family. Plus, no one should be alone on Christmas Day."

After they had taken off their coats and shoes, they all went into the living room. The big Christmas tree immediately caught Erin's attention and she felt her eyes getting a little teary when she walked towards it, carefully touching one of the ornaments. "These were Camille's favorites", she whispered, feeling Hank's hand on her shoulder. "Yeah… and I remember how much you admired them the first year you were here with us." Swallowing hard, she turned around to hug her foster father. "I miss her. And Justin." She felt him returning her hug. "I miss them, too. But I'm happy you're here, Erin. And we have Jay, Olive and Daniel… and Will. Our patchwork family is growing again."

She wiped away her tears before she put the presents they had brought for the others under the tree. Sitting next to Jay on the couch, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder, she watched Daniel unwrap his presents with a glow in his big eyes that only kids had on Christmas. For a split second, the thought crossed her mind that in a few years, their own kids might sit under the Christmas tree with their eyes all aglow. Her heart jumped at the image forming in her head, and she couldn't help but give him a chaste kiss.

While Hank was finishing dinner in the kitchen and Daniel was in his own little world playing with all his new toys, they chatted about what had been going on in their lives lately. "So, Olive, how have you been? Did you start working already?" The woman with the curly hair nodded. "Yeah. I finished my exams in October and started working at a daycare center in November. I really love it so far, the kids are so much fun." Erin congratulated her, telling her how happy she was for her.

"Wow, that's really great! But isn't working with kids – and their parents – also pretty tough sometimes?", Will asked, seeming genuinely interested. "Probably not as tough as being a doctor", she smiled, adding "… or a cop." The younger Halstead shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's a different kind of tough."

They were interrupted by Hank calling into the living room. "Erin, would you mind helping me?" She quickly got up to join him, her eyes widening as she entered the kitchen and saw what he had made. "You… you made Camille's stuffed chicken? And her broccoli, rice and cheese?" Her foster father nodded. "Yeah… I know you always loved it." She bit her lower lip. "I did… thank you, Hank. I really appreciate it." After giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she started helping him set the table.

The food was as delicious as she remembered it from her teenage days, even though it hadn't been made by the woman who had been hesitant taking her in at first, but soon treated her like her own daughter. The others also enjoyed and praised the wonderful dinner. After having a spicy pumpkin pie Olive had made for dessert, it was time for Daniel to go to bed. Erin volunteered to help his mother, wanting to spend as much time with the little boy as possible.

Jay and Will were sitting on the couch while Hank was cleaning up the kitchen, insisting that his guests shouldn't help him. "Would you excuse me for a minute?", the older Halstead asked his brother before joining his boss and girlfriend's foster father in the kitchen. "Hank? May I talk to you for a moment?" The older man turned around to him. "Of course. How can I help you?" Jay bit his lip nervously, not sure how to start. "You know… before Erin had left for New York… I had planned to propose to her." He could see the surprise in his boss's eyes. "I know, it wouldn't have been the right time. But I also know that this right time will come. I haven't planned on anything specific, but I'm not going to wait forever either." He took a deep breath. "And when the day comes that I ask Erin to marry me, I would be very happy to know that we have your blessings."

Hank looked at the young detective who had stolen his foster daughter's heart and who was now anxiously waiting for his response. Putting down the pan he had just been cleaning up, he went over to Jay to put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't think I would ever say that, but I couldn't imagine a better man for her. And Jay, I'm sorry I stood in the way of your relationship for so long. I should have accepted from the beginning that the two of you belong together."

Surprised at the sergeant's apology, he put a hand on the older cop's shoulder as well. "Thank you, Hank. That really means a lot to me. And I know it means a lot to Erin, too. I promise I will always have her back and treat her the way she deserves to be treated." He went back to the living room where his brother was waiting for him curiously. "Just a quick talk between father and boyfriend", he explained, blinking at him with one eye.

"Did you…?" Will left the rest of his question unspoken, but his brother only smiled. "Maybe… don't worry, you will be the first to know." The younger Halstead grinned knowingly before deciding to change the topic in case the women came downstairs again. "So… Olive and Hank's son were together before he got killed?" Jay nodded. "Yeah… they were even married. Daniel had only just turned one, the poor kid doesn't even remember his dad. After Justin's death, Olive decided to move back to her hometown to be closer to her parents and have some help with Daniel." Will nodded with a sympathetic look in his eyes. "That must have been so hard for all of them. But she did a very good job in raising Daniel by herself, he's a great kid." The older brother agreed. "Yes, he is. Erin loves him to pieces."

"That's true! Too bad I don't get to see him more often", Erin sighed as she got back to the living room with Olive, having heard the last words. She sat back down on the couch where she snuggled up to her boyfriend right away. Hank came out of the kitchen with some more red wine, and they all went on talking and enjoying their time together.

"Mommy? Mommy?", they heard a tiny voice coming from the first floor after a while. Olive got up to see what was wrong when Daniel showed up on the stairs. "Mommy, my head hurts!" He sounded whiny and looked a little pale as well. His mother quickly went halfway up the stairs to pick him up and carry him back down to the living room, the other adult's worried eyes on her. "Awww, my poor little boy! Do you need some magic juice?" Daniel nodded, tears shining in his eyes. Olive went over to the couch and gently put him down on Erin's lap. "I'll be right back. I just have to get the pain killer from upstairs."

Erin wrapped her arms around the little body immediately, holding him close as he buried his head on her chest. Slowly caressing his back, she asked: "Do you feel sick?" Daniel nodded slightly, adding: "And my eyes feel funny." She frowned. "Your eyes feel funny? Can you explain how they feel 'funny'?" The little boy shook his head. Looking at the others with questioning eyes, she noticed Hank who handed her a small bucket. "Here… in case he needs to throw up." She nodded, turning to Jay to silently ask him to take the bucket so she wouldn't have to let go of Daniel, which he did immediately.

A minute later, Olive came back with a bottle of kids' pain killer and gave her son a spoonful of it. "It'll get better soon, honey." She reached out for him to take him back into her arms, but he already had his eyes closed again and was curled up in Erin's lap. "It's okay, I can hold him." She felt Jay's arm around her shoulders and leaned into him. "Olive, has he ever mentioned before that his eyes feel 'funny'?" The young woman shook her head. "Not exactly. A few days ago, he said something about not seeing all clearly, but that quickly went away. I made an appointment with an ophthalmologist after New Year's to have his vision checked."

"Has he had a headache before? Headaches aren't too common at his age", Will asked. "Yes, a couple of times in the last few weeks. He's never complained about a headache at night before though. Only during the day and two days ago when he got up in the morning. That time, he also had to throw up. I thought he might have a migraine. I had that a lot as a kid." The younger Halstead nodded. "That's possible, yeah. How long will you be in Chicago for? If you want to, we could do a few checks at Med, just to make sure. I could get you guys in there without having to wait for months for an appointment."

"Really? That would be great! Our pediatrician said not to worry, but he suggested to schedule us for an MRI if he continues to complain about headaches." The young doctor nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. With the exception that we'll do it now, without scheduling you for an appointment. Let me check it out with my colleagues from the radiology department tomorrow and then I'll give you a call, okay?" Olive agreed. "Okay." Hesitantly, she asked. "Do you think it's something bad?" Will gave her the most reassuring smile he was capable of. "Everything will be okay. We just want to make sure."

Erin subconsciously pulled the little boy who had fallen asleep in her lap closer to her. Olive, Hank and Daniel had already gone through so much losing their partner, son and father. She didn't even want to imagine Daniel being seriously ill. Once again, Jay seemed to know exactly what she was thinking about as she felt him place a soft kiss on her ear, whispering so only she could hear it: "He'll be okay, baby."

The next day, there wasn't much to do at the district. They didn't have an open case, so all there was was paperwork for them to do. When Erin got a text from Olive, she got up and knocked on the open door of Hank's office. "What's up, kid?" Her boss looked up from the papers on his desk. "Would you mind me taking the afternoon off? Olive just texted me that Will got an MRI and some other tests for Daniel today. I don't want her to have to go by herself." She swallowed." Just in case there's…" Her words trailed off, not wanting to voice the fear that she could also see in her foster father's eyes. He nodded at her request. "I would go myself, but I have a meeting later. So I appreciate you going. Keep me updated!"

"I will, thank you." She went to her desk to grab her things before informing Jay where she was going, thankfully leaning into him when he got up to hug her closely and kiss her forehead. "You want me to come with you?" His offer made her smile, but she shook her head no. "That's really nice of you, but we're probably worried about nothing anyways. I'll give you a call as soon as we know more, okay?" After giving him a quick kiss, she left the bullpen and headed to her car, hoping she was right and there was nothing to worry about.

While Daniel didn't stop talking about his Christmas presents, the two women were silent on the way to Med. Erin had picked them up and Will was waiting for them at the hospital. Once they had parked the car, they made their way inside. "Daniel, stop!" She quickly grabbed the little boy by the arm, preventing him from running against the revolving door. "Honey, did you not see the door?" The confusion on her nephew's face concerned her. "Uhm… I don't know… I think I didn't…" He looked around scrunching his eyes.

She didn't have any more time to think about it when she heard Will's voice from the counter. "Hey, there you are. How are you, buddy? Does your head still hurt?" Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm good." The doctor came closer to give her and Olive a quick hug. "We've scheduled a few examinations for Daniel. We'll start with an EEG and a vision test, our neuropediatrician is going to take a look at him and then we'll have the MRI." They nodded. "Thank you so much for organizing all this, Will. I really appreciate it!", Olive said before he brought them to the EEG room.

An hour and a half later, they were sitting in a waiting area when a door opened and a blonde woman came out to greet them. "Mrs. Voight? My name is Hanna Ross, I'm the neuropediatrician." She looked at the little boy and reached out for him. "And you must be Daniel?" He nodded, taking the hand she was offering him. "Hello, Hanna." The young doctor smiled at him before asking the three of them to join her in her room. After leading Daniel to a corner with some toys, she sat down with the two women to talk to them. "Doctor Halstead has already filled me in on what kind of symptoms Daniel has been showing lately. Would you mind telling me exactly when it all started and what you have been observing?"

Olive told her everything while the doctor watched Daniel play. "Okay, so symptoms like headache, nausea and vision problems aren't very specific. It could be a migraine, like you're suspecting, but there could be many different other reasons. First of all, his EEG didn't show any abnormalities, which is good. However, Doctor Sullivan, the ophthalmologist, told me he has vision problems on the outer half of his right and left visual field. Have you noticed him not seeing things on his side lately? It wouldn't surprise me if you haven't. Patients, especially children, can often compensate that for quite a while."

Erin could sense that Olive was scared, and so was she. "He almost ran into the revolving door when we entered the hospital today. And he complained about his eyes feeling funny last night." The young doctor nodded. "Yeah, that could be what it feels like for him. I'm going to do some neurological checks now and then we'll have the MRI Doctor Halstead scheduled for Daniel. We will give him a light sedative because he will have to lie still for about 20 to 30 minutes. And he'll need an i.v. so we can give him contrast agents."

After Olive had signed all the necessary papers and Doctor Ross had examined Daniel and told them that she couldn't find any other abnormalities, they were brought to the radiology department. Erin was holding the younger woman's hand while Daniel was inside the MRI. "He'll be alright, Olive!" She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, not wanting her deceased foster brother's wife to see her own fear. Once the MRI was over, they were brought back to Doctor Ross's office to wait for the results.

When the young neuropediatrician finally entered the room together with Will and a third doctor they hadn't met before, Erin knew instantly that something was wrong. She felt Olive stiffen next to her, her face turning pale with fear at what the doctors were about to tell her. It was Will who decided to explain to her what they had discovered. "Olive… I'm sorry I can't tell you that we haven't found anything. But the good news is, we found something we can treat." The blonde female doctor handed him a printout of an MRI image which he placed on the table in front of them. "You see this little white spot? It's what we call a pituitary adenoma, a small tumor of the pituitary gland."

Erin gasped while Olive took a sharp breath. "A… a tumor? You mean… cancer?" She could hear the boy's mother's voice crack at that word, looking at Will in horror, but the young doctor quickly shook his head. "No, it's not cancer. Tumor doesn't always mean cancer, and this tumor is a benign one. It explains the symptoms Daniel has been suffering from lately, especially the visual problems because it compresses the optic nerve."

Erin felt her heart beat up to her chest, holding Olive's hand that was shaking badly. "What… what does that mean? What is going to happen now? Can… could he… I mean… is he… going to live?" The younger woman's last words were barely audible, sending ice cold chills down her spine. The blonde neuropediatrician gave them a reassuring smile. "Oh yes, he is going to live! We'll do a couple of blood tests to see if it's a hormone secreting adenoma or not. If so, he might need some medication because his hormones might be off balance. If not, we're just going to remove it."

"Remove it?" Olive almost jumped in her seat. "You mean you have to open his head?" The horror in her eyes was obvious and Erin put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her a little bit, not showing that she was shocked herself. The third doctor shook his head. "No, we won't have to do that. Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Steven Jones, I'm a neurosurgeon. We will do a trans-sphenoidal adenectomy, which means we will remove the tumor through the nose."

Erin looked at him in disbelieve. "Through the nose? That sounds… scary, to say the least." The older doctor gave them a smile. "I admit it must sound strange to people outside the medical field, but it's the common treatment for pituitary adenomas and a perfect way of removing the tumor without affecting the brain or the optic nerve in most cases. Complication rates are extremely low on this kind of surgery. He'll be out of the hospital within a few days."

She held Olive's hand while the neurosurgeon explained the surgery to them, trying to remain calm and support her nephew's mother. The three doctors seemed very optimistic, but the thought of Daniel having a tumor in his head, even if it was a small, benign one, still scared her to death. Listening to Doctor Jones, she figured that there would be a few more tests the next day and that they were going to schedule the surgery for the day after. Once he had left, the young neuropediatrician explained to Daniel that there was a tiny little monster living in his head, and that they were going to take it out so his headaches would go away and he would be able to see clearly again. Much to Erin's surprise, Daniel seemed quite cool with it and hardly scared at all.

When they finally left the room, their heads exploding with information, Will came with them and accompanied them to the room that Daniel and Olive had been assigned to. Putting his arm around the young mother's shoulders, he reassured her: "Olive, I know this must be beyond scary for you. But trust me, everything is going to be okay. Doctor Jones is an expert in pediatric neurosurgery, the best one you can get. And prognosis is great that Daniel will live without any consequences of all this." She swallowed hard. "Thank you, Will. Yes, I'm scared to death, but I'm also glad that thanks to you, we found out early and he will have the best doctors. Thank you so much!" He promised that he was going to check on them again later, having to leave for a surgery of one of his own patients.

Once they were alone, Erin could see that Olive was struggling hard to keep her composure. She pulled her into a big hug, whispering into her ear: "It's going to be okay, Olive. Daniel's such a strong little guy! The doctors here are great. And you've got all of us to support you!" She felt Daniel tug at their pants. "Mommy? Don't be scared! Doctor Hanna said I'm way stronger than the monster. I'm going to kill it!" Swallowing hard, she watched Olive, who had tears in her eyes by now, go down to face her son. "Yes, honey! You are going to kill that monster!"

So... I hope I didn't bore you too much with medical details... but I decided that if I include this side story, I have to do it right ;-)