Sorry I haven't been able to update last week... work has been absolutely crazy lately and I didn't have enough time for writing. I also can't promise that I will be able to update weekly in the near future, but I'll try my best to make it at least every two weeks. For now, here's some birthday fluff for you :-)

Chapter 33

Soft sun rays tickled her cheek when she woke up the next morning, securely curled up in her husband's arms, just like she had wished. A content sigh left her lips when she nestled her face closer against his chest where his heart beat steadily. Without opening her eyes, her hand searched for his to entwine their fingers.

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday, my love,

Happy Birthday to you.

He sang with an almost whispering voice as soon as he noticed she was awake. Singing wasn't one of his strength, but it was enough for a birthday song for the love of his life. He softly squeezed her hand, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head once he was finished.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears when he started to sing, and in the end, she sobbed quietly. Lifting her head, she locked her glossy hazel eyes with his blue ones, the fact that he had just sang to her touching her deeply. "Wow… thank you… I can't remember the last time someone actually sang to me."

He brought up his hands to cup her face and pull her closer to his to give her a long, loving kiss. "Then it was about time… Happy Birthday, Baby! May the next year of your life be filled with happiness, joy, excitement and most importantly love." Pulling her in for another kiss again before she could answer, he gently parted her lips with his tongue to dance with hers.

She sucked in some air when he didn't hesitate to kiss her passionately, but she wasn't going to complain. Letting her hands wander to the back of his neck, she greeted his tongue with hers and shifted her body slightly so she came to lie on top of him, straddling him so there wasn't too much pressure on her belly. She hadn't particularly planned this when she had voiced her wish to wake up in his arms, but with her pregnancy hormones dancing samba whenever any kind of passion grew between them, she couldn't deny that she liked the way the morning began.

His heart started racing in his chest when she returned his kiss with pure passion, leaving no room for doubt that they weren't going leave the bed before they had made love. Still kissing her deeply, he let his fingers wander to the hem of her – or rather his – sleep shirt to carefully pull it up. When the upper part of her body was naked, he softly cupped her breasts, applying only minimal pressure as he began to lightly massage her nipples with his palms.

Moaning blissfully, she broke their kiss in desperate need of air. "This feels really good", she rasped, rising up a little and running her hands down over his chest until she reached his sleeping shorts and slowly pulled them down as far as she could. Smiling innocently, she let the back of her fingertips graze along his shaft, tilting her head to the side when she reached the sensitive tip and felt him buck up his hips.

Her touch was so soft yet so intense that he couldn't hold back a loud moan. He slowly sat up and reached for her hips to pull her up a little in order to be able to rid her of her slip, relieved that she helped him with that. Once they were both naked, he opened his arms for her, giving her a look of pure adoration. "You're so beautiful, birthday girl!"

Her heart skipped a beat and she carefully guided herself onto him, taking him in slowly and having to close her eyes briefly at the amazing feeling of him inside of her. When he filled her completely, she sank against his chest, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in the crook of his neck where she gently nibbed at the soft skin. "I love you so much, Jay… I love becoming one with you… and I love that we created our little angel that way." She tilted her hips forward so her belly softly pressed against his. "And she loves this, too."

He had wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, burying his face in her soft hair. The lower part of his body was already on fire and her words caused his heart to jump in his chest. "Really? How do you know?"

She lifted her head, only to lean her forehead against his and look deep into his eyes when she started to move on him. "She's dancing… I think she can feel that I feel really, really good right now." Circling her hips slightly, she laid her lips on his to kiss him sensually.

Moaning as her movements sent shivers down his spine and right into his crotch, he held her tighter and let his lips play with hers. "I hope I can make you feel even better." Letting his hands wander down her back, he held her hips and supported her moving up and down, her baby bump rubbing softly against his stomach as she did so. Even though he couldn't feel his little princess' kicks yet, it filled him with an incredible warmth and happiness. Holding her behind with one hand, he sneaked the other one to her front to find her most sensitive spot.

Groaning contently, she lost her rhythm for a moment when his thumb touched her clit. Leaning against him again, she whispered: "You're doing a… pretty good job… at making me… feel even better…" She gasped as he began to massage the tiny nub between two fingers. "I love… when you do this…" Her breath hitched when her grip on him tightened and her body began to shake. "Come with my, Baby."

She wouldn't have had to tell him, he would have followed her over the edge the moment she exploded around him anyways, but her words sent him flying even higher. Wrapping both of his arms around her again, he slowly let himself sink back and took her with him, rolling over to the side without letting go of her. "Happy Birthday, Baby", he mumbled into her ear once their breaths and heartbeats had calmed down a bit.

She lifted her head and gave him a beaming, blissful smile. "Now that was a way to wish me a happy birthday…" She leaned forward to give him a long and soft kiss, the feeling of him still inside of her causing her heart to skip a beat.

"Is she still dancing?", he asked once they had broken their kiss.

Smiling, she shook her head and sneaked her hand in between their entangled bodies to touch her belly. "No… she fell asleep. She always does after we make love. The rocking movements seem to soothe her." Snuggling her face against his chest, she added: "I'm sure she can feel how loved I feel… and that it makes her feel loved as well. And it makes me so happy that she will always know how it feels to be loved, and be surrounded by love." She swallowed down a lump in his throat. "I didn't know that feeling at all until I moved in with Hank and Camille."

Her words made his heart ache and he pulled her head closer against his chest with one hand while bringing the other one to her belly next to hers. "You will never have to miss out on the feeling of being loved again. And neither will our little princess. We will always love each other, Erin, and we will always love her and maybe her little brother or sister one day, and be loved by them." He kissed the crown of her head and let his lips linger there for a bit.

She entwined her fingers with his that lay on her baby bump, closing her eyes to just listen to his heartbeat. "I know… you're the one person I trust blindly that you will never let go of me. And that's an incredibly precious gift that I love you so much for." Lifting her head, she met his lips in an affectionate, loving kiss that made her heart melt.

He let his lips play with hers gently for a few minutes, not to lead to anything more since they were both perfectly satisfied at the moment, but to just be close to her and show her how much he loved her. Suddenly something came to his mind, and he whispered against her lips: "Would you allow me to let go of you for a moment to get your birthday presents?"

Her heart skipped a beat when she looked into his loving crystal blue eyes. "You didn't have to get me anything, Jay. I have the two greatest presents in the world in my arms and in my belly."

Chuckling, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Well, I'm happy to hear that, but you getting presents for your birthday isn't up for debate." Kissing her gently again before pulling away and turning around, he reached for the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out two envelopes and a tiny gift bag. He first gave her the envelope that contained a birthday card.

She carefully pulled out the card and began to read, tears welling up in her eyes immediately at his written words.

Erin… Baby…

Thank you for allowing me to honor you today and to make this day special for you.

You are my angel, my everything, the love of my life and my queen to our little princess.

I love you endlessly and I wish you the happiest of birthdays and the most amazing and happy year of your life to come.

Forever yours, Jay

Pressing the card to her heart, she locked her glossy hazel eyes with his. "This is the most beautiful card anyone has ever written to me", she choked out. "Thank you, Baby."

Cupping her cheek with his palm to wipe away a few of her tears, he bent down to kiss her lips gently before handing her the little gift bag that contained a pair of simple but beautiful pearl earrings.

She couldn't deny feeling excited as she carefully opened up the bag and pulled out a small jewelry box, holding her breath when she opened it. "Oh my God… Jay, these are so beautiful!" With shaking hands, she took the studs from the box and put them in her ears, tears rolling down her cheeks again when she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "Thank you, Baby… I really love them."

Smiling, he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear to get a better look at the delicate pearls. "Just like I imagined… they perfectly match your natural beauty." For a few seconds, he didn't move at all, just taking in his stunningly beautiful wife. Then, after another sweet kiss, he gave her the second envelope.

She carefully opened the paper and pulled out two tickets that said "Chicago" and had a date ten days from today on them. "Oh… what's that?", she asked in surprise.

Grinning, he explained: "I've never really taken you out on dates other than a restaurant or the movies. So I thought, why not do something a little more special while we still have the chance?" He rubbed her belly gently. "It's a musical that is set in Chicago, and the story is about… well, a couple of murderesses. I thought it might be fun, and I've also heard it's a really great piece."

Biting her lower lip, she had to swallow hard. "You're so sweet, you know that? I've never been to a musical… but this sounds really fun. What a great idea, Baby! I love you…" She put the tickets to the side and wrapped her arms around him again, leaning in for a long kiss that she only pulled away from when her stomach started growling.

Chuckling slightly, he rubbed her abdomen. "Sounds like my birthday girl is ready for some food. Do you want me to prepare some breakfast and bring it up here, or do you want to eat downstairs?"

She thought about it for a moment before getting up and covering her still naked body with a bathrobe. "I don't want to wait alone up here while you make breakfast, so I'll come down to the kitchen with you." She watched him put his boxers and a shirt on and then took his hand to walk down the stairs with him.

While he stood at the stove preparing fried eggs and bacon, he remembered something. "Baby, I think there's something waiting for you on the front porch, you might want to take a look."

Furrowing her eyebrows, she asked: "Another present?"

"Not from me", he answered, shooting her a quick grin before concentrating one the food in front of him again.

Getting a little curious, she went to the front door and opened it to look around on the porch. Her eyes widened when she noticed a paper box on the table and she walked over to open it. Inside was a deliciously smelling apple pie and a small card.

Happy Birthday, Erin!

For the perfect taste, put it in the oven at 300° for five minutes right before serving it.

Best wishes, Annie

Smiling broadly, she carried the box inside and put it on the kitchen counter. "That's so sweet of her! How did you know she was going to bring a pie though? And why does she even know it's my birthday? We didn't talk about it when we were at her place."

He stopped putting the fried eggs on plates for a moment and turned to give her a smile. "That'll be mine and Annie's secret. But I'm glad you like her little surprise." He put the plates on the table that he had already set, a lit candle sitting in front of her. "Happy Birthday again, Baby! Make a wish when you blow it out."

Biting her lower lip, she reached for his hand and squeezed it. "I already have everything I could wish for." After looking deep into his eyes for a few moments, she smiled and bent down a little to carefully blow out the candle, wishing for the only thing that came to her mind: their baby's health.

After breakfast, he suggested she answered the birthday messages she had gotten already while he cleaned up and went outside to get some fire wood for the evening. When he came back, he found his wife sitting on the couch, talking on her phone.

"Yeah, I had a really great day so far. Jay's doing a perfect job at making me feel special. I mean, he always does… well, thanks again for calling, Kim. Have a good day!" She put down her phone and reached her arms out for him to join her.

He took her hands, but instead of sitting down with her, he pulled her up from the couch. "Would you mind coming outside with me for a moment? I… uhm… got another surprise for you." He tilted his head to the side and blinked at her innocently.

"Another one? Baby, you've given me more than enough already!" She locked her eyes with his, not able to be mad at him for getting so many gifts for her because she could never get mad seeing that boyish grin on his face.

"Well, this one is actually a present for both of us. But I'm sure you'll love it." He took her hand and led her out the back door, turning to the left side where a brand-new hot tub was steaming and bubbling in the still cool April air.

Her eyes lit up and she couldn't help but squeal. "Oh my God, you got a hot tub? You're seriously the best husband on this planet!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped up to straddle him, unable to hide her excitement.

Laughing, he gripped her behind quickly to not risk her falling down. "Well, I'm glad you like it. You want to try it out right away?" He carried her closer to the tub where he gently put her back down on her feet.

Looking at the steaming water longingly, she sighed: "I'd love to, but I didn't bring a swim suit."

He looked at her incredulously before laughing again. "Baby… this is our private backyard. It's not like we're skinny dipping in a public pool." He quickly got rid of his boxers and shirt before pulling open the belt of her bathrobe and gently pushing the soft fabric off her shoulders. "Ready?"

She nodded, giggling as he scooped her up into his arms and stepped up the stairs to the hot tub. Holding onto him, she sighed contently when her skin first made contact with the warm, bubbling water. Once he had sat down with her in his lap, she snuggled up against his chest and closed her eyes. "Thank you so much, Baby! This is perfect!"

Kissing the crown of her head, he mumbled: "I'm glad you like it. And I hope our little angel likes it, too." He placed his palm on her baby bump to massage it gently. "By the way, have you thought of a name for her yet?"

She placed her hand on top of his, not answering his question right away. After a while, she took a deep breath and said: "I have thought about it, yeah… actually way before I got pregnant… even way before I met you." She hid her face in the crook of his neck. "But maybe you have an idea yourself?"

He wrinkled his forehead at her words. She had thought of a name for a baby girl way before she had met him? That really surprised him. Part of him had expected her to want to name their baby Nadia, but she had known him before Nadia. There was another woman though who had had a great impact on her life and who had meant a lot to her. Gently letting his fingers run through her hair, he asked: "Camille?"

She slowly shook her head. "No… even way before I knew her." Looking up at him where she was met with a look of pure confusion, she whispered: "Gracie…"

He didn't say anything for a moment, looking deep into her eyes and trying to think of a connection she might have to that name. But he couldn't come up with anything, so he eventually asked gently: "Why?"

She bit her lip and broke their eye contact, looking down at the bubbling water. "It's okay if you don't like it, we can think of something else…"

He immediately cupped her chin and made her look at him again, giving her a loving smile. "That's not what I said, Baby. I think Gracie sounds really beautiful. But if you came up with that name long before you even met Hank and Camille, there has to be a story to it…"

Holding her breath, she closed her eyes for a moment, her mind wandering back to the day when she had first thought of that name. Then she nodded slightly and cuddled up even closer to him. "I… I think I was six years old at the time. I had just come home from school and walked in on Bunny and the guy she fucked at that time fighting about who had taken a bill of money from the jar in the kitchen. The moment Bunny saw me, she started screaming at me, asking if I had stolen the money. I swore I had nothing to do with it, but she didn't believe me. She just walked over to me and kicked me hard, right into my stomach."

He gasped in shock, even though he knew she had been abused by her mother as a kid, his hold around her tightening and his hand automatically pressing against her belly where their little girl was growing now.

"I fell onto the floor and tried to cover my head, expecting her to kick me again. But surprisingly enough, the guy held her back, telling her to leave me alone. That made her even more furious, but the fight they started about it gave me the chance to run away. I ran and ran and ran, even though my stomach hurt like hell. When I noticed it had started to rain, I slipped through the next best door I could see. It wasn't until my breath had calmed down a bit that I noticed I had ended up in a church."

He listened to her story closely, holding her and caressing her baby bump with one hand while cradling her head against his chest with the other. Even though he knew he couldn't possibly have saved her from the torture of her childhood, it still killed him every time he thought about it.

"At first, I thought I was alone, but then I suddenly heard some music. There was a small choir practicing on the gallery. I didn't know any of the songs they sang, but the music was so soothing. I just curled up on one of the benches and listened." She pressed her cheek against his heart. "And then they sang 'Amazing Grace'. I had never heard that song before, but it was so beautiful it made me cry. And in that moment, I decided that should I ever have a daughter, I wanted her to have a better life than me. I wanted her to grow up protected by God's grace." After a few moments of silence, she whispered: "That's how I came up with Gracie."

He didn't know how long he had held his breath, and he didn't know at what point of her story tears had started to well up in his eyes. Swallowing hard, he pressed his lips to the crown of her head and whispered: "Gracie is absolutely perfect."

She slowly lifted her head to look up at him, her heart stopping for a moment when she saw his tears. "Really?"

Cupping her face with his one hand, he nodded. "I couldn't think of a more perfect name for our little angel." He kissed her softly before looking down at her stomach, caressing it gently with his other hand. "Hey Gracie… do you know how much we love you?"

A soft sob left her lips when he addressed their daughter with the name they had just chosen for her and her heart skipped a beat when she felt Gracie's subtle kicks inside of her. "I think she knows… and she likes the name, too." Holding his hand safely against her belly, she closed her eyes again and relaxed against him.

For a little while, he just held her in his arms, thinking of their little girl that was growing underneath his hand, inside of his beloved wife's body. Kissing her cheek gently, he eventually asked: "How would you like Gracie Nadia?"

She lifted her head to give him a look full of surprise, her heartbeat fastening in her chest. "Are… are you serious? I mean… I thought maybe you would like to chose a second name since I already chose the first one."

He gently rubbed his nose against hers. "First of all, you didn't choose it all by yourself. I approved and I absolutely love it. And second, Nadia was my friend, too. I really want to name our daughter after a strong, wonderful woman. And since I probably can't convince you to call her Gracie Erin", he winked at that, "I think Gracie Nadia would be perfect."

Tears glistened in her eyes as she leaned forward to kiss him affectionately. "I love you, Baby! And I love the idea of our baby girl carrying Nadia's name." She let her fingers run over her belly. "You can be really proud to be named after her, Gracie. She was an incredible woman. I really wish you could have met her… but I promise I will tell you about her."

Kissing her temple once again, he crossed his arms in front of her and started to rock slightly from side to side. "Our baby girl has a name… a really beautiful one. And I can't wait for little Gracie Nadia Halstead to capture the hearts of everyone around us." Placing another kiss on her shoulder, he asked: "Care for a little massage?"

Sighing contently and melting even deeper into his embrace, she nodded: "Sounds perfect…" She had to admit that he did an amazing job in making her actually enjoy her birthday. Even talking about Nadia a few minutes before hadn't pulled her down. Instead, it made her happy to think about her friend and how thrilled she would have been to know that they were naming their daughter after her.

Carefully pushing her hair to the side, he began to gently massage her neck and shoulders, loving how she relaxed against him. He extended his massage to her arms, her stomach and eventually her legs. When he reached the inside of her thighs, he felt her shiver slightly, making him chuckle. "Baby… you're going to need a little more self-control when we get closer to the birth date."

She turned her head to him, furrowing her eye-brows. "Uhm… and why exactly?"

Blushing a little, he bit his lower lip before explaining. "Well, it's too early for that now, but… I read that… in the weeks before birth… massaging this area regularly… makes the tissue softer and can… reduce the risk of injuries at birth." He carefully placed his fingers on her perineum and began to gently massage the sensitive skin.

A gasp left her lips when he touched her there and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to keep control over her body. Then she brought her hand to his cheek, blinking at him truly touched. "You are so incredibly sweet. You keep surprising me with how much you know and how you always try to make sure I'm okay." She felt her breath hitch when his fingers kept moving between her legs. "I can't promise you though that… I will ever be able… to control myself… when you… touch me… like this…"

His heart skipped a beat at how easily she reacted to his touch. Nibbing at her earlobe, he whispered: "Okay… then forget everything I just said… don't try to control yourself… just let go and enjoy…" He held her body against his safely with one arm, kissing her neck while his fingers wandered a little more to the front to caress her opening, his thumb teasingly grazing over her nub every now and then.

Every time he briefly touched her clit sent jolts of pleasure through her body, adding to the heat his gently fingers created by massaging her mid-section. "Jay…", she gasped, unable to think of proper words to beg him to intensify his tantalizing movements. When he finally had mercy and began to circle her most sensitive spot with his thumb, she let her head drop back against his shoulder and moaned blissfully.

The way she gave in to his touch and let him know how much pleasure he made her feel caused the heat to pool in his lower abdomen as well. But he definitely wanted to finish this first. He gently sucked on her earlobe while alternating the pressure he applied to her clit, not stopping to massage the little nub even after she began to shake in his arms, her moans sounding like music in his ears.

"Baby…", she rasped after a while, still not having completely come down from her high. "Can we… go inside… and… make love…?" Still shivering, she slowly moved her behind against his member.

He felt a familiar tingling in his crotch and took a deep breath in order to able to concentrate on how to get both of them inside of the cabin safely before giving in to her wish. "Whatever you want, birthday girl!" He scooped her into his arms again to step out of the hot tub, his legs shaking almost as much as hers when he carefully put her on the ground to wrap her in a fluffy towel. Then he carried her inside and gently laid her down on the couch to make love to her for the second time today.

Later, they were sitting on a bench outside, cuddled together with fluffy blankets to keep them warm and holding sticks with bread and sausages into the fire, just like she had wished for. The whole day had been perfect so far, just the two of them, relaxing and loving each other. After their second round of love-making, she had fallen asleep in his arms, and when she had woken up again, they had eaten some of Annie's apple pie and gone for a nice lakeside walk.

His one arm rested around her, his fingers absentmindedly caressing her arm. He pulled a stick that had bread wrapped around it towards him and nibbled a piece of it off. "Mhm, this is delicious. You wanna try?" He took a piece with his fingers and held it in front of her lips for her to take it.

Her heart skipped a beat when he fed her like that, taking the piece of bread out of his fingers with her mouth. "Wow, this tastes amazing! I can't believe I've never tried that before!" She let him feed her another piece before longingly eyeing the sausages. "Do you think those are done, too?"

He kissed her temple before pulling a sausage stick towards him and biting off a piece of it. "Yeah… just a little hot, you might want to wait a minute before you eat it." He gave her the stick and took a new one to hold it into the fire. Smiling, he watched his wife blowing at her sausage to cool it until she seemed to decide it was finally safe to take a bite.

Moaning contently, she closed her eyes when chewing the piece of meat. "Oh my God, this is so good! We really gotta do this more often!" After having finished her first sausage together with a little more stick bread, she turned to him and brought her hand up to his face so she could lock her hazel eyes with his bright blue ones. "Thank you, Baby! Thank you so much for everything today! And thank you for convincing me to not ignore my birthday anymore."

Cupping her cheek with his free hand, he leaned over to kiss her softly. "There's nothing you have to thank me for. I'm really happy that you enjoyed the day. And I'm sure Nadia would be happy, too. Happy and proud of you." He took his hand away from her face, but only to wrap his second arm around her and pull her into a loving embrace.

Leaning against him, she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent that she loved so much. "I… I think it would be nice to invite our friends over for a small birthday dinner when we're back in Chicago", she whispered against his neck quietly.

His heart warmed at her suggestion and he pulled her even tighter against him. "If that's what you want, of course we will do that. Just a nice evening with friends and some good food… sounds great to me, and I'm sure they'd love to come."

Snuggling into his chest, she placed her hand above his heart. "And I want to have a chair for Nadia… so she can be with us somehow. I feel like… she should be there since she loved celebrating birthdays so much." She lifted her head to look into his eyes, smiling shyly while waiting for his reaction.

Her wish caused his eyes to become dangerously teary, and he leaned in for another gentle kiss before touching her forehead with his. "I think that is a perfect idea, Baby."