Just in time... another not-so-long chapter, and this is a really cotton candy fluffy one. But I promise there's going to be a little more drama in the next one - for all of you who like drama ;-) Thanks so much once again for all your lovely reviews!

Chapter 36

It had been a quiet day at work, so he had taken the chance to leave early in order to take care of some of the baby furniture. They had painted the nursery in white and some light pink and grey the other day and added a cute elephant wallpaper border to it. He hadn't expected for Erin to want anything pink, but to his great surprise, she had been all for a girly style.

He was about to call her name as soon as he opened the door, thinking she was probably already home from her teaching job at the academy, but paused when he heard a soft voice coming from their living room area. It took him a second to realize that the voice belonged to his wife who was apparently singing. And she wasn't singing anything, she was singing a lullaby.

Sleep, Gracie, sleep,

Your father tends the sheep,

Your mother shakes the dreamland tree,

Down falls a little dream for thee.

Sleep, Gracie, sleep.

His heart almost burst his chest and he could feel tears well up in his eyes. He took off his shoes and went over to the couch where he slowly knelt down next to her. She was lying on her back, her one hand soothingly circling her baby bump while she held her cell phone with the other. "Hey, Baby, I'm home", he whispered, leaning over to kiss her softly.

Smiling into his kiss, she blushed a little when she realized he had probably overheard her singing. "Hey… uhm… I'm just practicing…" She bit her lower lip and showed him the website she had opened on her phone which had a list of lullabies on it. When she had realized that she hardly knew any nursery songs, she had decided she needed to learn some of them to be able to sing to her daughter.

Lifting his hand up to her cheek to caress it softly, he gave her a warm, teary smile: "That was beautiful, Baby. Gracie is going to love it when you sing to her." He placed his other hand next to hers on her belly. "In fact, I'm sure she already loves it. Didn't Doctor Griffith say at our last appointment that she can hear by now?"

The thought of her daughter already being able to hear her turned her eyes glossy as well. "Yeah, I… I think she said so." Entwining her fingers with his, she asked: "You… you think she can hear that I'm singing to her?"

He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her baby bump. "Yes… I'm sure she can. And I'm sure it makes her happy."

Reaching out to caress the back of his head and hold his face against her belly, she swallowed. "I think it actually calmed her down. She was really active earlier, but now I think she fell asleep." She turned onto her side so she came to lie with her back against the back of the couch, gesturing for him to take the now empty space next to her. "Gracie would like to cuddle with her daddy."

"And mommy wouldn't mind cuddling either, huh?" He grinned before kissing the tip of her nose.

Blinking at him innocently, she shook her head. "No, luckily mommy wouldn't mind. Plus, I'd never deny her some daddy-cuddles."

His heart warmed and he carefully lay down next to her, wrapping his arms around her to hold her close. At 26 weeks, she still had an amazing figure, but he loved how her belly pressed against his when she was flush against him. "I'd never deny either of you some daddy-cuddles."

Snuggling up against him, she closed her eyes to take in the peaceful moment. "You know… I don't only want her to not have the kind of childhood I had. I wouldn't wish that for any child in the world. But I want her to have the kind of childhood I never had." She rested her hand above his heart. "I want her to have someone who will sing lullabies and read bedtime stories to her. I want her to have someone who will make her a tea or a hot-water bottle when she's sick… or just hold her and stroke her hair until she feels better. I want her to have someone who will make her feel special on her birthday instead of forgetting about it. I want her to have someone to give her a piggyback ride when she's too tired to walk by herself. I want her to have someone who will blow away the pain when she falls and scrapes her knee. I want her to have someone who will dry her tears and make her smile again."

Her eyes and cheeks were wet with tears when she looked up to find the pair of crystal blue eyes that held so much love. "I want her to always know that she can tell us everything and trust us and rely on us no matter what." A quiet sob left her lips. "I just want her to be a happy girl who knows how it feels to be loved unconditionally."

Tears had started to stream down his cheeks during her little speech and he had pulled her even closer into him, determined to never let go of her again as long as he lived. Placing the softest of kisses on her lips, he whispered: "She will have all that, Baby, and you know why? She will have all that because you are her mommy. We are her parents, and we already love her unconditionally. We will give her everything you just mentioned and so much more. And she will have so many other people in her life that will love her to pieces and spoil her rotten. Hank, Will, Olive, Kim, all of our other friends and even Platt." He chuckled slightly at the thought of the woman who had already offered to jump in as substitute grandma. "Our daughter will grow up feeling loved and happy." He kissed her gently again, his lips lingering against hers for a few moments.

Smiling softly against his lips, she whispered: "I love you so much, Baby." When she felt her daughter move inside of her, she took his hand and pressed it to the place where she was training her tiny arms or legs. "And Gracie loves you, too."

His heart skipped a beat when he felt his daughter's soft kick against his palm. "And I love my girls more than I ever knew it was possible to love someone." He touched her forehead with his. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Erin. And I am so incredibly proud of you! I mean, you are growing a whole new life inside of your body. A little you and me…."

Her eyes filled with tears again and her heart almost burst her chest. "A little you and me… that sounds so beautiful… so perfect." She brought her hand up to his face to hold him close when she kissed him again, slowly and deeply this time, letting her lips play with his and just enjoying to be close to him.

He didn't know how much time they had spent snuggling and kissing on the couch, but he loved every second of it. "I hope Gracie is going to be just as much of a snuggle bug as her mommy", he whispered into her hair after a while.

"I hope so, too." The thought of cuddling with their daughter as a baby or a toddler warmed her from the inside like a cozy fire in the fireplace at the cabin. "I wasn't a snuggle bug at all until way into our relationship." She let out a small sigh, curling even deeper into his body. "I never even knew what I was missing."

Her words caused him to swallow hard and stroke the back of her head softly. "It really breaks my heart to know you grew up without everything you mentioned earlier… all those things should be so normal for a child. I mean, I did have major problems with my dad, but I still had my mom who gave me all that. I just can't imagine growing up without ever knowing what it means to feel safe and loved."

She pressed a kiss to the place above his heart. "Even after Hank and Camille took me in, it took a long time for me to realize that they loved me, that I could trust them and…" She paused for a moment, her voice quieter as she continued: "… and that being touched by another person didn't necessarily have to hurt, but could actually feel good and comforting."

Knowing that she hadn't known any kind of loving touch until she was almost grown-up made him sad and angry at the same time, and he had to fight back some tears. Unable to find the right words to answer her, he just held her close and pressed his lips against her hair.

"But now I feel so loved and safe that it makes up for everything I didn't have as a kid." Lifting her face to lock her eyes with his again, she whispered: "I mean it. I wouldn't trade in my childhood for a completely different one if it meant I wouldn't have this, with you. I just wish sometimes that I could go back in time and tell my younger self that she would be happy one day."

He brought his face so close to hers that he could feel her eyelashes brush against his skin, truly touched by her words. "I wish I had known you back then and could have protected you. And loved you." He kissed her affectionately. "But at least I get to love and protect you now."

"That's so much more than I could ever have wished for." She closed her eyes and rested her head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent and relaxing in his embrace. After a while, she asked: "Would you mind if I went baby shopping with Kim tomorrow? I know we wanted to pick out most things together, but she's so excited to shop baby clothes… I can't really tell her 'no'."

Chuckling, he fondled the back of her neck. "Baby… we already picked out all of the furniture and some clothes and toys together. I think it won't kill me if the two of you go shopping without me. Just remind her that her godchild will grow and not need a hundred different same-size items." He winked, knowing that their friend would probably be hard to stop once she laid her eyes on tiny pink baby clothes.

She nodded. "I promise we will be good girls and try not to buy clothes for a whole nursery."

The next day, she sat in a small coffee shop with her best friend, sipping on a hot chocolate and enjoying a delicious triple choc muffin. They had bought quite a few things for the baby, but also some clothes for themselves.

"I'm really impressed at how fit you are at this stage of your pregnancy. We were on our feet for like four hours and I didn't hear you complain once", the dark-haired cop noted.

She scrunched her eyebrows. "What do you mean? I mean, what should I complain about?"

Kim shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm not an expert on pregnancies, but I remember vividly when Nicole was pregnant. I think from being halfway through the pregnancy, she would constantly complain about her feet hurting, her back hurting, everything hurting. I can't remember her walking around for more than an hour at a time."

Erin leaned back and stroked over her belly affectionately. "I actually think I've never felt healthier in my life. I mean, I got three and a half months left, the backache and stuff will probably come as she gets bigger and bigger, but to this point, I really can't complain."

"Lucky you", the younger cop grinned. "And Nicole would never have gone clothes shopping for herself back then. She kept whining about feeling fat and bloated and all that. And she really wasn't! She gained less than the average woman during pregnancy." Kim scrunched her eyes. "I'm sorry if I hit a sore spot there… I mean, I don't know if you feel fat…" Immediately facepalming herself, she groaned: "Sorry, that came off the wrong way, of course you're not fat! You actually look amazing! But… I don't know how you feel with your body changing and all that." She looked at her friend with bright red cheeks.

Grabbing her friend's hand, Erin chuckled. "Kim, relax! It's all good!" She gave her a happy smile. "No, I don't feel fat. Yeah, my body's changing, but that's no surprise with a baby growing in there. And honestly… with the way Jay looks at me, it's impossible to feel anything but beautiful."

Kim sighed, clutching her hand to her heart. "That's so cute! I mean, what woman wouldn't want a man who makes her feel beautiful no matter what?"

"I'm pretty sure Adam thinks you're beautiful no matter what. All you have to do is believe him." She took another sip of her hot chocolate.

"Yeah, maybe…" The dark-haired woman shrugged her shoulders. "So… Jay still finds you attractive? I mean… do you guys still… have sex?"

Erin shook her head laughing. "You always find a reason to talk or ask me about sex, huh?" Her mind travelled back to the night before, and to the way their cuddling on the couch had ended.

"Ooookay, the way your cheeks are blushing already answers my question." Kim grinned widely. "So… is it different? Can… can you feel the baby when you…" She stopped, squinting her eyes. "I mean… I can't really imagine that…"

Smiling, she thought about how Gracie seemed to like when they made love. "Yeah, I can feel her, at least in the beginning. She usually falls asleep though." She chuckled at her friend's confused expression. "Maybe it's a little different… and I think we've reached a point where I have to be on top. Baby girl is getting too big." Winking, she stroked over her baby bump again.

Kim watched her older friend, taking in how happy and content she looked. Reaching over the table, she took her free hand into hers. "I'm so happy for you, Erin. You seem so happy and you deserve it so much."

"Thank you." She squeezed the younger cop's hand. "Yeah, I'm happy. I never thought I would ever have what I have now, with Jay and our baby. But I couldn't be happier with my life."