AN: Oh, I can't believe it: Over 100 followers - I am really thrilled! Thank you so much for reading, re-reading, reading on, catching up on reading - it really means the world to me! Sorry this chapter took me so long, but I got my vaccination and side effects hit me pretty hard. So I was out of order for a few days. I hope my brain wasn't still too foggy to get this one right.

So as you know, we're back in Chicago, time to meet the whole gang again, enjoy!

Chapter Title "Lucky Denver Mint" by Jimmy Eat World

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Chicago PD, Fire or Med characters, only my OCs!

"Oh my God! You look wild… Is that even you under all that hair?"

"Well, hello to you too my beloved brother!"

"Looking good Halstead!"

"Thanks Sylvie! Wow, seriously great job you all did here, it looks perfect!"

"Doesn't it? I can't wait to see our girl's face!"

"So glad this all worked out, thank you! Did you get the stuff from our apartment?"

"Yeah, but it was a little weird to go through your girlfriend's things!"

"That's why I sent Stella with you, you creep Will!"

"Guys, we don't have much time. They're gonna be here any minute."

"Yeah, I think I can already hear her yelling!"

"Oh man, sure this was such a good idea?"

"I think she's really gonna hate you for this!"

"Shut up Ruz!"

"Dude, she's livid!"

"I can hear that myself!"

"Yeah shut up Casey!"

"I'm gonna go grab her before she punches one of my guys!"

"Yeah, good luck with that!"

After the first panic wave had worn off, Rianne had picked up a real weird vibe from the security guys leading her down strange corridors. She didn't really believe this was standard procedure when one was being accused of smuggling drugs into Chicago. And how on earth could that even be true? Their luggage had to have been checked in Miami already, no? So how come they only got singled out now?
None of her questions were being answered, her phone had been taken away after her first and only allowed call to Jay. The insecurity as to what was going on exactly was starting to wear her down on top of the red-eye hangover catching up to her.
Were these people even real security? They certainly looked the part, name tags and all, but were they really?
And if they weren't, this could either just be a real bad joke or something bigger was going on. Who could be interested in getting her separated from Jay and for what cause exactly?
Thoughts running wild and deciding she had enough of this, when her umpteenth demands to be told where they were taking her wasn't answered, Rianne stopped and refused to go one step further.
They had reached some sort of exit and just as she was about to start her protest tirade, rage as usual acting as her defense mechanism against insecurity as well as heavy heart-pounding, the doors to said exit opened and Jay appeared like phoenix from the ashes. Wicked smile in place.

What the heck was he smiling about? This was enraging and he was smiling?
Jay nodded conspiratorially towards the four men and took her by the hand. Not really getting the chance to let her mind assemble the possible meaning behind this she just gaped at him open-mouthed, eyes full of questions.

"Come on! It's all solved!"

"But… what's going on Jay?"

Not answering her he steered her through the exit and before she could register her exact surroundings she was pushed through the doors of an old school-bus. At first she was faced with a driver that looked a lot like Adam under some weird hat. Rianne didn't understand. When she went up the stairs, Jay almost shoving her along because she was so confused, loud cheering, cat-calling, whooping and hooting erupted around her, as several people jumped up behind seats and shouted:

"Merry Christmas, happy New Year and Happy Birthday all over again!"

Golden and silver glitter rained down on her, party horns sounded. Blinking several times she saw that the people were actually all her friends, dressed in thick jackets, assembled Santa's hats, New Years accessories and birthday crowns. Kelly, Stella, Sylvie, Kim, Matt and Kevin, Will, Natalie with Owen, even Cruz and Chloe and she had guessed right that it really was Adam behind the wheel, honking enthusiastically when she turned around to him again.
The bus was fully equipped with combined Christmas and birthday decorations, bright ornaments and lights hanging from the ceiling and in the windows, balloons and confetti cannons waiting to be popped, special speaker-system erupting into Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday" tune.

Absolutely not knowing what to say or how to react, Rianne stumbled a step backwards and bumped into Jay's hard body behind her, hearing him mumble:

"Thought you wouldn't mind us not stopping by the apartment to 'unpack' first."

Taking in everyone's excited faces she felt really bad about her next move, but in her first shock and rattled state from before her first reaction was to bolt right back out of the bus, even though Jay almost tackled her to hold her back. Rianne desperately needed air! She suddenly felt like crying and needing to take her mental overload out on someone.

"Told you she'd be mad!"

"Oh shut up Adam!" Kim slapped him on the back of his silly bus-driver's hat he had insisted on wearing today.

"You're just afraid you might not get to drive this bus around," Kevin teased his friend.

"No, I just told Jay before that it was a risky plan, because that woman hates surprises!"

With the bus doors open they were all holding their breaths and watching the scene outside between Jay and Rianne unfold. Everyone was pressing their noses into the windowpanes. Some shreds of conversation were lost, but the one's they got made them more curious as to how this planned surprise party would go on. Or if it would end right here at the beginning.

"Right now I wanna hurt you really bad!" Rianne snarled at Jay, "It this your idea of funny?"

"What are uncle Jay and Rianne fighting about?" Owen was watching too, sitting on Will's lap, looking adorably clueless in his reindeer sweater.

"D'you even realize what a shock this was? Being taken by airport security? I thought something bad was about to happen again and you weren't there!"

"I'm sorry, I just thought it was a hilarious idea. Also I couldn't pass up on the chance to prank you as you kept insisting that I could never do that. And when I was talking to the other's they told me you've been mouthing off that actually no one could ever prank you, so… guess you were wrong: You totally believed it for a moment!"

"Oh…" A shared wincing sound on Jay's behalf went through the vehicle as Rianne pushed against his brother's chest hard after he'd teased her a little too much about her credulity, making him stumble backwards. He had obviously not been prepared for the vehemence of her reaction.

"Mommy always says it's not okay to punch people…" Owen stated.

"Yeah, that's right. But it's a little more complicated with your uncle and Rianne…" Will tried to explain, wishing someone would give him a bowl of popcorn to munch on while he was watching this.

"I'm sorry, if I went too far and scared you, I really am! But don't you at least like the idea of hanging out with everyone today? Thought it could prevent the 'coming home blues' from taking over too soon…"

"Of course I like it..."

"You kept dropping hints you'd wanna have a party in a bus someday like in the one episode of that series we were watching? So we tried to make it happen, because we wanted you to have the best start into your new year!"

"Why is she crying now? Doesn't she like her birthday surprise?" Owen was really rather invested in the outcome of the mission as it seemed, watching curiously as Jay now carefully closed in on Rianne to comfort her.

"Don't worry, she likes it. Sometimes people like something so much they cry!" Natalie leant over Will's shoulder, trying to get a better view.

"I only cry when I'm sad…" Owen seemed thoroughly confused by what he had learned about adults today. And it wasn't even noon.

"Yes, darling, grown-ups are weird sometimes," Nat ran her hands through Owen's soft hair, smiling up at Will.

"I stand to correct: Women are weird sometimes!"

Will just couldn't help but point that out. He got himself punched by Natalie for that comment, only so subtle that Owen wouldn't notice. Will wouldn't have minded if his wife also gave him a kiss like Rianne was just now pressing to Jay's lips out of the blue. He quickly covered Owen's eyes with his hands, just to be safe. He didn't need to answer questions from an almost four year old about this right now. That kiss was anything than tame, leaving his brother a little befuddled afterwards.
A second later she stomped back on the bus, making everybody scramble away from the windows and get back to their places, suspense evident between them all.

"Hi guys! I'm actually really happy to see you all… I'm, just completely overwhelmed!" Rianne took a deep breath, bluer than blue eyes still sparkling with some leftover tears, she tried to wipe away.

There was a little awkward silence as no one knew quite how to react now. Jay got back on the bus too.
Will saw his brother pinching his left ear in Rianne's back and cringing. Sure sign he was nervous and felt a little bad about things getting this emotional right from the start. Oh yeah, Jay had his hands full with this one. Will was rather enjoying this little drama.

"So can this train finally get going beautiful?" Adam hollered at the front, trying to get things back on track and break the quiet.

"Yes, Sir!" Rianne bowed down to hug him in his seat after saluting him, remembering her good manners.

"Alrighty! So please take your seats and get comfortable! We're gonna have a paaaaarday!" Adam shouted, switching the pre-selected playlist on and kicking the bus into gear. The obvious movement combined with Rianne slowly breaking out into a real smile this time, the whooping started again.

"You guys get me a Santa stripper too?" Rianne had noticed that in the back of the bus there actually was a real dance-floor, where the former seats had been pulled out. It also included a dance-pole.

Trying to ease into the party-spirit and the reunion with her friends she'd said hello to everyone personally, chatting for a few minutes here and there while the bus took them to a location yet to be revealed. Currently she had stopped moving around and settled in a seat next to Kim, who she was so glad to see actually well and out of the hospital. Parts of 51's crew were surrounding them in the adjoining benches.

"Oh no young lady, this is where it stops!" Jay chuckled from where he was lounging casually in the gangway.

"Why?"

"I try not to feel offended that you reside in police and firefighter circles and you'd still want a stripper dressed as Santa…" Kelly protested behind her.

"Yeah, but a Santa stripper would better fit the motto of this party obviously… " Kim endorsed Rianne's point.

"Exactly! That and because I can have a police stripper every day…" Rianne added with a meaningful glance in Jay's direction, earning her jovial claps all around.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that…" he warned, pointing his finger at her. But she could see that he was hiding a broad knowing smile.

He also had to know that by teasing him she was subtly showing him she had overcome her earlier foul mood.

At the Warren Park sledding hill and outdoor ice rink, in the heart of Roger's Park, there was another surprise waiting for Rianne in the big parking lot.

Hermann, Cindy and their younger kids, as well as Trudy and Mouch were standing in front of a just recently restored 'Molly's Foodtruck'.
When they disembarked from the bus a delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee and pancakes in the making greeted them. Rianne couldn't believe how well orchestrated to turn out to be the perfect Chicago winter Saturday this was.
With the additional guests and especially Mouch and Hermann welcoming her in their fatherly manner Rianne felt her heart warm up completely. Just like that she was surrounded by family, who had gone through all this effort to welcome her and Jay back in their midsts, eager to hear their stories and show them that they had been missed in the meantime. It was odd how sometimes with chosen rather than blood-related family one could instantly feel so much more at home than the other way around. Even though Rianne had a little trouble adjusting to the sudden change in scenery, company, temperature and weather: This felt like falling into the waiting arms of a tight knit community she wouldn't want to exchange for anything.

Still extremely grateful to Trudy for kicking Jay in the ass before Christmas Rianne embarrassed the sergeant by pulling her into a bear hug on arrival, leaving everyone in raptures over Trudy's consternated face afterwards.
Platt of course quickly composed herself by turning to Jay as her victim in return, teasing him about the unusual amount of facial hair he was still sporting.
He kept defending himself good-humoredly though:

"I was just following your advice when you said I should take a beat, get a tan or something!"

"Yeah, but I didn't say you should return looking like the mountain man! This 'thing' has to go before Monday morning! Consider it an order!"

"You got it Sarge!"

Looking at him wink at Platt, laughter lines brightening up his features, her true anchor point in a crowd of breakfast chomping, chattering people, Rianne caught herself smiling too.
She hadn't thought it to be possible to love him any more than she already did love him after these weeks in Argentina. But it was.
She was completely in awe of the minuscule planning and all the details Jay had thought about. This whole idea of re-celebrating Christmas with the Chicago bunch?
To go sleigh riding, drinking mulled wine and eating pancakes and waffles? Decorate her perfect party bus? The thought that she could adjust better and feel at home back here faster by reminding her of Chicago's winter highlights instead of mourning the Southern sun? Priceless!

No one had ever done something like this for her. Rianne could barely wrap her head around the magnitude of this. This was better than any other gift anyone could have given her.
Not only had he and Stella organized this whole thing, Jay had even had Will pick up her truck from longterm parking a few days ago, because they'd have other transportation, also obviously knowing where she kept the spare keys for that car. Not even she herself knew where she kept her spare keys most of the time. Extra clothes to keep them warm had been stored in the bus for her and him to change into to be prepared for the slightly different temperatures that were awaiting them outside. Rianne wondered how on earth he could have pulled this off without her noticing. Then again she tended to forget that Jay had to be a professional liar sometimes. And he knew so many people in so many different departments, had contacts everywhere, most of them owing him a favor whatsoever. So with a little help from all of their friends this actually hadn't been too hard. It sure explained his overall tense vibe since they'd arrived back in the US though.

While the guys and kids were antsy to get a few downhill rides in, the women of the group were left alone a little while later, catching up on the newest Chicago gossip.

It was like Christmas again for Stella. Just what she and Rianne had been talking about before the actual holidays. A replica of a perfect 'FriendsMas' scenario. Okay, minus the gift giving and the Molly's party, but at least with all the sleigh riding, ice-skating, comfort food and hot drinks they could get.
The talk, the laughter, even better the catching up on holiday stories fresh from South America.
And to see with her own eyes how much good that time away had done. For Jay and Rianne both individually and as a couple. Their skin looked way too healthy and good for January in Chicago, inner and outer glow all around. They were both oozing casual intimacy, thoughtlessly touching and holding on to each other while doing totally unrelated things such as topping up their syrup on pancakes or while passing the other to join another group of people. It were almost unrecognizable gestures of bonded togetherness.

"Okay, enough about me and Jay! How's everyone else doing?" Rianne insisted on stopping her vacation report after some time. Stella hoped that she'd get some more stories in private. She sensed that there was a lot on her friend's mind.

Sylvie then shared that Rianne wasn't the only one becoming an older sister at an advanced age. She had been in personal contact with her birthmother lately, who had shown up at the firehouse unexpectedly, unmistakably pregnant again.

"Somehow makes me feel less weird about all this, thanks Brett!"

"Yeah, we can definitely freak out about that fact together. Matt has been a great support throughout this…"

"Of course he has…" Stella winked at Rianne, while Sylvie at least pretended to be oblivious of the double-meaning behind her friend's words.

"So Kim, what about you and Adam?"

"Oh, don't get me started…. he's getting on my last nerve!"

"Why?"

Burgess, beginning baby bump safely hidden beneath thick jumpers and snow jacket, let them in on Adam's fussing and constant worry about her and the child's well-being since she had been released from the hospital, making her feel like an incubator, who's function had to be tested and approved all of the time.
Unbelievably happy that her and Severide were unusually great at the beginning of this year and she had no complaints to share, Stella sighed dreamily listening to her friends stories. Just - the - way - she - loved - it!

Having made sure that his nephew got some sledding-rounds in Jay thought it was time to get his girl to participate in the fun too. The women had hogged her long enough for his taste.
He hadn't expected to feel this 'back home' dynamic to hit him so drastically. The dynamic where everything was threatening to get back to normal way too fast and Rianne wasn't constantly close to him. Once again he dreaded Monday.
But when he and they guys from 51 joined everyone who had stayed at the foot of the hill until now, Rianne didn't seem to feel the same. Denying his demand that it was her turn to come up with him, she snatched the sled out of his hands:

"Why don't you take a break! I'm gonna ride with this bunch here first," she motioned to Stella and Sylvie, pulling her beanie further down over her ears.

Winter suited her just as well.

"Yeah, you've had her for almost two weeks straight. Now it's our turn!" Stella pulled Rianne into her arms in a proprietary manner.

"Also, I'll have to seriously think about going on a ride with a kamikaze like you. I saw what you did there with Kelly and Matt!"

Jay chuckled at her commenting their 'three sleds in a row' experiment from earlier. He had almost forgotten how afraid she was of going downhill too fast. This should be interesting, as he would make damn sure she'd get on a sled with him at least once.

"Okay… I love you!" he called after her when the girls wandered off, almost without realizing it.

Only when Rianne stopped in her tracks and walked back from the stairs she was just about to climb up to the hill he registered her astonished face. Then her arms were around him and her lips on his unexpectedly. Right, it had been the first time he had said those words out loud in front of all of their friends and he hadn't even thought about it.
Walking backwards towards Kidd and Brett again Rianne took a look around at their friends still gathered around the food-truck and loudly announced:

"Love that guy too!" while pointing at Jay, earning some hoots and claps.

Jay found himself laughing into her eyes over the increasing distance, glad this had turned out the way it had. From her reaction this morning he hadn't been so sure for a minute.
Turning around to be confronted with the amused faces of Will, Adam and Kevin behind him, cheeks still a little hot, despite the cold air, Jay ran his hands over his face:

"Guys, I'm so screwed," he exhaled long and deep.

"We know!" the three other men answered in unison, toasting him with their mugs of mulled wine, keeping everybody warm on the insides.

"You already asked her to marry you?"

"What? No, what makes you think that?" Kevin's question made Jay's head jerk up in shock, feeling copped out all of a sudden.

"No reason!"

"The question is: Why do you look so guilty, if the thought hasn't crossed your mind at least once…?" Adam chimed in.

"You also look as if you needed to ease your mind about something…" Jay knew Will was blindly clutching at straws, but today he was actually right.

"Come on Halstead, spill! We almost never get personal gossip from you!"

"Personal gossip from Jay? Can I get in on this too, or is this is 'guys only' thing?" Kim approached as she wasn't allowed to engage in all the sledding fun and ice skating everyone else was currently occupied with.

Kevin pulled her in with an arm around her shoulder.

Jay sighed: "Okay… but you can't tell anyone about this!"

"We swear!" All four held their two fingers up in a very serious manner. They were all just loving this. Jay gave them inquisitive looks:

"Kev, Kim, I trust you. Will, Adam I will seriously kill you if this gets back to anyone outside this circle!"

"Why don't you trust us with this?" The indignation on their parts was almost adorable, but they knew why Jay had reservations about their ability to keep their mouths shut from time to time, so they were easily quieted with Jay's vague answer:

"Various reasons…"

Giving in to the urge to get a dilemma off his chest, Jay gave them an abbreviated version of the events concerning Rianne's issues with her dad and pregnant step-mum, the money thing, basically the things he knew she didn't keep a secret.

"See, I told you. Rich people aren't always happier!" Will slapped his back, eating all this up, but keeping other comments to himself. He knew Jay would stop spilling the moment he thought he wasn't taking him seriously.

And Jay was far from finished. The main thing keeping him occupied since two days ago was an encounter with Rianne's dad just before they had said goodbye to her family. He had 'summoned' him into the private quarters of their beach house, getting him alone.
With a grand gesture Alvaro had retrieved an antique silver case containing a vintage golden ring with a blue green sapphire in its core. He had explained that it had been his mother's engagement ring and that he wanted Jay to have it to give to Rianne one day.
Jay had been utterly stupefied. There he was faced with this father who told him not long after getting introduced to him, that he thought he was a good enough man to marry his only daughter. That he would be a son-in-law he could be proud of. Whereas his own father hadn't even been able to say that to him once in his whole life.

"I want you to have it, because: You look at her the right way! The way she deserves to be looked at!"

Had he noticed that Jay looked at Rianne like she wasn't just the most wonderful creature in the world to him, but like she was indeed magic? It had surprised Jay that her father had been paying attention after all. He always seemed so preoccupied with himself and generally distracted, unbothered.
But then again this gesture had left Jay with a thousand other questions too.

"So, now I don't know what to do. Do I tell her about it? Do I keep it from her?" Jay knew that ring would hold a lot of emotional value for Rianne.

"Certainly your father-in-law to be has put the pressure on!"

"Sure feels that way!"

Although Alvaro had left him standing there looking like a mute moron, not knowing how to react, what to say, patting him on the shoulder patronizingly with a cryptic:

"No pressure hijo, you'll know when the time is right!"

Needless to say that Jay had been too frozen and blindsided to refuse that gift. Yet he wasn't sure what Alvaro's true intentions were, or how he himself felt about not getting to choose the moment when it was time for him to purchase an engagement ring.

"I don't wanna do it for the wrong reasons, you know?"

Will shook his head vehemently: "Jay, you and Rianne: Different story! I'd like to think you're a little older und wise now."

"Wiser than when?" Kev wanted to know.

"When he wanted to propose to Erin!" Kim explained, although Jay wondered how Burgess would know that.

"Wait, I never knew you wanted to propose to Lindsay!" Adam exclaimed.

Jay inwardly groaned, he knew this had been a mistake: "Never mind, long time ago, moving on…"

"Yeah, but…"

"Ruz, weren't you supposed to be the designated driver today and stay off the liquor?"

"Kev, gimme a break, alright? It's just one glass of mulled wine!"

"Yeah, right… that's how it always starts with you…" Kim rolled her eyes and while his three co-workers enrolled in an argument about how much mulled wine was probably too much to be able to drive Jay sought his brother out to come to some kind of conclusion:

"What do you think?" He'd never thought he'd ask Will's advise on this, but it felt weirdly relieving to share this.

"Regardless of the heirloom ring: Would you want to marry her?"

"It's barely been four months... Me, I'm all in, but I don't think she's ready yet…" Jay muttered.

Will grabbed his shoulder encouragingly: "Then there's your answer. Trust your instincts. You don't have to make a rushed decision on how to handle this now just because someone presses a ring in your hand!"

"Rianne it's a kiddy sledding hill! Kids do this by themselves. You just have to hold on!"

"Okay, okay… but promise me you'll put the brakes on whenever it's going too fast for me, okay?"

"How did you get downhill here with Stella and Sylvie before?"

"By braking the whole time?"

"No, we're not doing that! I got you, just trust me okay?"

And without waiting for her okay he had already started the ride.

Trusting Jay on getting them down safely meant closing her eyes a lot and screaming her head off while they rushed through the snow, him laughing boisterously at the bundle of nerves in front of him, one arm clutched around her waist, the other one holding on to the sled's tether. Her demands that he put the brakes on for "Christ's sake" were graciously ignored and out-whooped. Of course Jay also couldn't pass up on the chance of driving them into the biggest pile of snow there was once their speedy decent had ended, tipping them over the last minute. The whole scenario escalated in a huge snowball war with everyone else that had come down the hill with them.

Body still buzzing with adrenaline and shaken by giggles because of the childish exuberance all around her, Rianne tried to push Jay over to make him go down in the next best heap of snow only to find that he of course succeeded in bringing her down with him, pushing an icy ball right in her face. Breathlessly surrendering she got him to warm up her frozen hands in his after taking off their completely soaked through gloves.

"So, what's next on the agenda? You know you'll have to stop spoiling me at some point right?"

He was also setting the bar kind of high concerning what she needed to come up with for his birthday then.

"Well, we'll get in a few rounds on the ice rink, get back on the bus and crank the heating up, let Adam drive this thing around through downtown Chicago a few times to make him happy, then wrap things up with the gang… I'll get you home and we'll take a hot bath together to get warmed up again…."

"Thought you wanted to practice yourself in celibacy once we get back home!"

"I can keep my hands to myself."

"No, you can't!" Rianne laughed at his pretend innocence.

"Alright, I can't, but neither can you!"

"True." Why would she ever want to?

"Besides, it would be kind of rude to not let our downstairs neighbor know that we're back!"

"Never seen my brother so in touch with anyone before…" Will mused and stared in the direction where said brother and Rianne were very obviously flirting their asses off after that messy snowball fight. Owen had waddled over to them again in his thick snow-boots now, letting fresh snow rain down on their heads. Natalie leaned into him looking after her offspring with that lost-in-reverie-proud-Mommy-smile he loved to see on her.

"… and I mean that in the literal and metaphorical sense." Looking at his brother's overall happy features and self-confident posture got him unusually emotional.

"Will Halstead, is that actual moisture in your eyes or is it from the cold?" she tugged at the few tufts of his hair looking out from under his thick winter beanie.

"I just mean that woman deserves a fucking medal for putting that look on Jay's face again!"

After everything his brother had gone through in the past, especially that last year, he had often had his doubts if he would ever see him like this again, even if this were of course just snap-shots of life.

"So, shall we put money on it wether or not there's going to be a proposal soon?" Almost unnoticeably Atwater and Ruzek had joined them, following Will's line of sight.

"Well, third times the charm, right?" he smiled.

"Wait, why the third time?" Kevin's head spun around to Will.

"Oh right guys, I tend to forget that you really know nothing about my brother…"

AN: So, there are some ideas I still have and we're not through the whole Season 7 content yet. Mainly I write this story to have an outlet for my own fantasy. But if you guys want to drop me a comment, a line, a review on wether you like it or not or with suggestions of yours I'd be so happy to get them!