Hello again! Thanks for joining me on the third installment of this series. If you haven't already read Golden Joinery and Golden Repair, I recommend you start there. Very excited to tackle some of the requests I've gotten throughout the first two stories (and if you read the end of Golden Repair, you know where this story is headed) but of course, if there's anything you're hoping to see, feel free to let me know and as always, I'll do my best.
"You just gotta put one foot in front of the other," Detective Jay Halstead instructed, "I've got the bike, and I'm not letting go until you say it's okay."
It was a sunny and warm late June Saturday, and he was teaching his little girl how to ride a bike.
Well, she wasn't biologically his. But he loved her like she was. Piper was the ten year old younger sister of his former partner and ex-girlfriend turned fiancé Erin Lindsay. After Erin returned to Chicago following Piper's discovery by the Intelligence Unit, she and Jay had quickly fallen back into a relationship, one which now included raising a fifth grader together.
"I don't know about this," Piper said worriedly, the helmet on head obstructing her eyes slightly, "W-what if I fall down?"
"I'm keeping the bike steady," he promised, adjusting the helmet on her head, "And I'll be right beside you to catch you, okay?"
Piper turned her head to find her big sister's gaze. She was sitting on the stoop next to her father-figure, Sergeant Hank Voight, drinking a cup of coffee. Jay and Erin had determined that Hank's sidewalks were wider than theirs, and would be a perfect place for Piper to learn to ride the bike they'd given her for her tenth birthday.
"You got it, Noodle," Erin called, giving a thumbs up to the little girl, "I'm watching."
"Halstead's more excited about this than she is," Hank said in amusement and Erin snorted.
"Yeah, he is. The bike was his idea too." She let out a breath, "He's so good with her though. Can pretty much convince her to try anything if he does it first. I'm pretty sure he's going to sign up for kid soccer in the fall just so she'll try it."
Hank chuckled. "What, he's going to coach?"
"I honestly think he might play," Erin said dryly, "He's pretty convinced she could be good, but she gets so nervous around new people. We were going to try some day camp stuff this summer but she had an absolute meltdown. I ended up taking the day off on Monday since we couldn't even get her shoes on."
Ordinarily, Piper was a sweet and somewhat shy little girl. There were few people that she trusted given how tumultuous her upbringing had been, bouncing between fourteen different foster homes before finally landing with Jay in protective custody. She learned from a young age not to trust anyone, and was incredibly skittish.
She had learned to trust Jay, and Erin, and a few other consistent figures in her life (Hank, Jay's brother Will, his partner Hailey), but when it came to new people and new places, Piper was extremely skeptical. They'd enrolled her in school back in the fall and it took time for the little girl to adjust, but the prospect of a summer day camp at a new place, with new adults and new kids her own age was enough to spur a panic attack. While Jay was needed at a crime scene, Erin spent several hours on the couch with their little girl, holding her close in an attempt to bring some semblance of peace.
He nodded sadly. "Poor kid," he mused, "Things are okay at work?"
"So much better than they were," she said, watching as Jay carefully walked beside Piper as she pedaled. Things were way better. After five months of seemingly non-stop work in her new desk job in Chicago's FBI office, Erin discovered she could hire a deputy. Diane, her second in command, was a huge asset to her team and Erin had far more flexibility in her schedule to meet Piper's needs. Jay had taken the lead with a lot of the child-rearing after coming off medical leave over the fall and again after medical leave in the spring, but things had been picking up for Intelligence, and now they were really splitting things evenly. With Piper out of school, things were a bit more complicated, but they were making it work.
"Go Noodle!" Erin clapped her hands as Jay flashed a grin. Piper was growing more confident on the bike, and her partner was beaming with pride. "Diane's great, and the jerk offs who were working for me before finally got in line. Things are good now, just focusing on Piper. She's been sleeping through the night about half the time, which is a big improvement from where we were."
"Nightmares still pretty bad?" Hank asked knowingly, "Halstead mentioned takin' her to see someone."
"You can call him Jay, you know," Erin rolled her eyes, "We're engaged, Hank." She shoved him gently, "We've had her in therapy for a while now, but after the whole Dylan thing I think we kinda got set back a bit. She sleeps so much better up at the cabin so we were thinking of heading up there for a few days."
Hank grunted slightly. "Oh, she's doing it," he said, pointing to Jay and Piper. His detective was jogging alongside as Piper pedaled the bike, determination all over her face. "So when are you gonna let Jay teach you how to ride a bike, hm?"
Erin turned to her father-figure in shock. "What are you talking about?"
"You shot me down almost twenty years ago when I offered to teach you," Hank reminded her, "And by the way you're sittin' up here with me, I can assume that you never actually took Justin up on his offer to teach you either."
She huffed. "Bikes and I don't exactly have a great track record." Erin grimaced at the memory of getting hit with a bike while they were in New York. She'd passed out in Jay's arms, causing Hank to fly across the country out of an abundance of caution and overprotection. "Plus Piper's bike is Piper-sized."
"She's certainly tiny," he remarked, "But then again, you were pretty small yourself."
"Thanks to the Bunny diet of stale coffee and potato chips," Erin scoffed, "Camille was beside herself when she found out I'd never had a packed lunch for school." She leaned her head onto her father's shoulder and smiled fondly when he kissed the top of her head. "I think about her every day."
"She'd be so proud of you," Hank mused, "I know I am."
Erin resisted the urge to sigh as she shuffled across the hallway to Piper's bedroom. She and Jay had first learned that Piper was having trouble sleeping back in December. They'd toyed with the idea of getting a baby monitor to preempt the nightmares before they escalated, and after Piper's concussion finally broke down and placed a device in her room. Erin honestly wished they'd done it sooner.
They realized that their little bug had been having bad nightmares on an almost nightly basis, which weren't helped by the incredibly traumatic experience of seeing Jay getting attacked while on an undercover operation. Piper had lived through several unimaginable circumstances in her ten short years, and the worst of those experiences came out when she was sleeping. Erin and Jay were doing their best to dig into the root causes for her tortured sleep, but it was incredibly slow moving, and they were all exhausted.
"Shh, Noodle," Erin whispered, stroking Piper's hair back gently as the little girl struggled against her sheets, "Just a bad dream, sweetheart."
Piper startled and opened her eyes. "E-Erin?" she stammered, "You're still here?"
She gave a nod. "I'm here." Erin ran her hand over Piper's cheek, "You're safe, everything's okay. You can go back to sleep."
"I-I don't want to," Piper whimpered, shuffling backwards in her bed, "I-I can't."
Erin again resisted the urge to sigh. While Piper woke up from nightmares at least every other night, there were a few nights a week where she couldn't be convinced to try to fall back asleep. Sometimes she or Jay would be able to catch the nightmare earlier to avoid a meltdown, but more often than not they needed to spend the next few minutes or sometimes even hours calming the little girl down.
"I'm sorry, Noodle," Erin whispered, her heart cracking slightly when she saw the tears trickling down her sister's cheeks, "I know you're tired, huh?"
"I dreamed he came and got you," she choked out, "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"C'mere." Erin held her arms out and allowed Piper to settle into her embrace. "I'm not going anywhere." She kissed the top of her sister's head, feeling just how fast the little girl's heart was racing. Piper was typically very reluctant to verbalize the contents of her nightmares and Erin was always grateful when she let her in. As close as they'd grown in almost eleven months, the little girl was usually quicker to divulge details to Jay rather than her, and it stung.
The 'he' Piper was referring to Erin knew to be Dylan Pugliese. While Charlie had been one of the main offenders in Erin's formative years, his older brother was equally as manipulative and dangerous, and had been a friend and dealer of Bunny's for decades. He was the source of many of Erin's nightmares as well, having been one of the many men who Bunny brought into their home when she was young, who traumatized her beyond what any child should ever endure.
He was also the mastermind behind the organization that Jay infiltrated as a part of an Intelligence under cover assignment, and had been the person who captured and tortured her partner. He was also the person who snatched Piper from school in an attempt to force the little girl to watch him torture the detective, before taking her away from Jay and Erin.
Erin wasn't surprised that Dylan was the source of Piper's nightmares, and it broke her heart. She spent years waking up in a cold sweat, remembering his sinister smile, his dark eyes and his rough hands. She hated that Piper had to experience the same thing.
"'m sorry for waking you up again," Piper croaked, "I-I don't mean to."
"I know you don't mean to, but I would so much rather be with you than have you be suffering alone." Erin stroked the back of Piper's head as she trembled against her. "That was a bad one, hm?"
Piper nodded sadly. "Is Jay back yet?"
"He should be home soon," Erin promised. Jay and his partner Hailey Upton drew the short straw and were needed on a late-night stakeout shift. They were typically able to avoid them given that Jay was helping to raise the little girl, but their family had planned a trip to Wisconsin for the fourth of July, and Jay wanted to get his required shift out of the way. It hadn't been easy to explain to the little girl, who was still particularly clingy after he'd been a part of that undercover assignment that went south a few months prior.
He wasn't actually due back until the early morning, but both he and Erin had hoped that Piper would make it through the night before he arrived home. They settled for telling her that he'd be home late, which still was hard for the little girl to hear, but far better than telling her that he wouldn't be back until the morning. "So you weren't sleepin'?" Piper murmured against Erin's shoulder, "'cause you don't sleep without Jay."
She managed a soft chuckle. "Yeah," she replied, "I guess I don't really sleep without him." Erin kissed the top of Piper's head. "What if I stayed in here for a bit? Would that be okay with you?"
Piper gave a quick nod. "My favorite is getting to snuggle with you," she whispered tiredly, melting her big sister's heart. Erin immediately felt guilty for her brief feeling of frustration earlier that evening when she heard her sister's soft whimpers over the baby monitor. The little girl had been through so much, and truly just craved all the comfort she had been denied for so many years.
"You're my favorite snuggle bug," Erin murmured into her hair, "But don't tell Jay."
"He would be so sad if you told him that," Piper informed her, "One time, I said that I liked your after school snack better than his and I thought he was gonna cry."
Erin smiled. Jay was meticulous about vegetables and protein and overall health and wellness, where she was way more lax. Of course, she swore up and down she'd never stoop to Bunny level of either nothing or stale chips, but figured that taking Piper out for ice cream instead of carrots and hummus every so often wouldn't hurt. She'd also discussed it with her partner over text before since she knew just how passionate he was about healthy after school snacks.
Their relationship had really never been stronger.
Raising the child they both loved so much was a privilege they never wanted to take for granted. It took a whole other level of communication and trust, and it was hard, but it was so, so worth it. Watching Jay be a dad constantly brought tears to Erin's eyes because he loved it so much. And he was a really great dad. The kind of dad she wished that she had growing up.
While they didn't work together any more, with Jay still in Intelligence and Erin with the FBI, they still worked together. There was something so simple, but so right, about communicating regarding their kid's after school snack, or what groceries to buy, or if they were running out of paper towels. It was domestic and different from their previous relationships, but it was perfect.
"He's a big stickler for those carrots, huh?" Erin said, stroking Piper's hair back before kissing her forehead again, "Or anything green, really."
Piper nodded. "He said we gotta eat carrots because it's good for our eyes. And he didn't eat enough, that's how come he wears glasses to read now."
"I see." Erin tapped Piper's nose gently. "Well, as much as I'd rather have ice cream every day, I know it's important to get our veggies in. And it just means he loves us so much, right?"
She nodded again. "I love you guys a lot," Piper whispered, tilting her head to meet her big sister's gaze, "I'm really glad I get you."
Erin's chest ached again. Her little sister was impossibly sweet, but her frequent reminders of how much she loved Jay and Erin were heart-melting. "I'm glad I get you too," Erin choked out, emotion rising in her throat. After ten months, she couldn't imagine life without her sister, and couldn't comprehend how she spent nine years not knowing about her existence. Piper brought out a whole other side of her that she was still getting to know, but it was a side she was proud of - Erin Lindsay was a mother.
"C-can you stay til Jay comes home?" Piper asked sleepily, "So we can both sleep?"
Erin nodded. "I can't resist a good snuggle with my favorite kid," she said, carefully settling the little girl against her pillow, "I'll be right here, okay?"
Piper immediately settled against her sister with a content exhale and Erin smiled. She loved her with her whole heart, like she was her own child. "I love you," Erin murmured against the top of Piper's head, "Sleep well, baby girl."
Jay crept into the house as quietly as he could. When he'd last checked the time, it was approaching four in the morning, and he was desperately hoping that both of his girls were sleeping. Hailey had ribbed him about his perpetual check ins on the baby monitor app on his phone until she realized just why her partner was so concerned – his little girl was caught in a nightmare.
He swore that at some level, he could practically feel Piper struggling. Somehow, his chest ached in a way that it never did, unless his little girl was having a difficult night. Luckily, intense focus wasn't required on the night-long stakeout, and he found himself periodically checking his phone to see if Piper needed him. Jay was about to call Erin to wake her as he saw Piper start to fight a nightmare when his girl thankfully hustled into the bedroom to comfort his little sister.
He was so proud of both of his girls.
In ten months, they'd come so far. The Piper he first met would have not wanted to trust Erin in the slightest, and wouldn't have so readily accepted her comfort. It took weeks for her just to trust him, and for a while, he was the only person she wanted. Jay knew that it was hard for Erin to see the child struggling and only want him, especially because all her instincts were telling her to hold her sister close. It took structure and consistency for Piper to trust Erin as much as she trusted Jay, especially because Erin had the tougher job of showing the little girl that there were other people she could trust beyond him.
Jay considered himself incredibly lucky to be Piper's safe person considering her previous bad experiences with men. He loved that she trusted him, but he loved even more watching her learn to trust Erin.
And he loved watching Erin grow into Piper's mother-figure.
Erin had always been protective, passionate and empathic. Ever since he first met her, Jay knew that she was special. She stood up for anyone who needed it, and fought for those who couldn't fight for themselves. His girl was so empathic that he found himself reminding her to save some empathy for herself time and time again, but her fierce love for others only made him love her more.
And her love for Piper blew him away.
He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but hearing his girl successfully comfort his little one filled him with pride. And if he was being honest with himself, he was a bit jealous that they were together while he was out in the night. There was nothing he loved more than lying beside his peacefully sleeping girls, and a large part of him hoped that he'd find them both tucked in Piper's bed when he arrived home.
Jay padded up the steps as quietly as he could and peered into Piper's bedroom. Erin was asleep on her side in the middle of Piper's bed, the little girl tucked in against her. He grinned before turning for his bedroom. "Babe," Erin mumbled, lifting her head, "Come back."
He smiled softly. "Just going to change," he whispered back, "I'll be right in."
After quickly shedding his stakeout clothes and pulling on a pair of sweats, Jay crawled onto Piper's bed behind Erin. "You get 'em?" Erin asked, exhaling softly against the top of Piper's head.
He shook his head and cuddled closer to his girl, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Kev and Kim are on it next, so we can sleep in." Jay kissed her hair gently, inhaling deeply as his girl's breath evened out. "Bad nightmare, hm?"
Erin nodded. "Kills me every time," she whispered, shuffling back slightly so her body was flush against his. She brought Piper with her, and the little girl let out a content breath in her sleep. "Our sweet little bug."
Jay stroked Piper's cheek gently, smiling when his fingers made contact with her soft skin. "I do love that she's ours."
"Jay?"
He startled awake when he felt a tiny hand on his arm, and quickly glanced around to get his bearings. He let out a breath when he realized he was still in Piper's room, but the bed beside him was empty. "Hey kiddo," he said, running a hand over his face, "Guess I crashed in here last night when I got back."
Piper gave a small smile. "Erin's making breakfast," she said, keeping her voice low, "But she already burned the quiche."
Jay snorted and propped himself up on his elbows. His little girl looked absolutely adorable, still in her pajamas and hair mussed from sleep. He could already see how similar she was going to look to her big sister. "I told her I wasn't gonna wake you up," she said softly, "But I came upstairs to get her a new shirt 'cause she lit the edges on fire and I just heard her swearin' again."
"Good call waking me," he said, quickly jumping out of the bed, "You want to grab the shirt while I keep the house from burning down?"
He hurried down the steps after hearing yet another curse word leave his girl's lips. She really wasn't that bad in the kitchen, though he did love to tease her about the few unfortunate mishaps she had. Except those hadn't been life threatening. Piper's comment about burned edges had his heart in his throat. "Hey babe," he greeted, attempting to be casual, "What's going on in here?"
"Ugh, she woke you up, didn't she?" Erin frowned and put her hands on the kitchen counter, "It wasn't that bad."
He raised his eyebrows and rounded the kitchen island to lift his fiancé's arms. Sure enough, the edges of his long sleeve t shirt were slightly singed from what appeared to be a mishap browning some sausages, and were also soaked from her frantic attempt to put out the flame. He was honestly surprised he'd slept through the whole ordeal. "Babe."
"Okay, fine," she huffed, pulling her arms back in defeat, "I got carried away making breakfast for my fiancé."
"Are you hurt?" Jay asked, lifting her arms again to examine her wrists, "Any burns?"
"Just my pride," Erin said in defeat, "I burned the quiche and the sausages." She stuck her lower lip out. "And my one of my favorite shirts."
"My shirt," he countered, pushing the sleeves back to confirm her skin was unharmed, "But better the shirt than your skin, Er. You sure you're not hurt?"
Erin gave a nod. "Noodle's grabbing me something else to wear," she said with a sigh, "I was hoping to get through breakfast without waking you up since you got in so late but-"
"I'm glad she did." He leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I missed you guys last night."
"We missed you." She wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling his warm bare skin beneath her fingertips. "I don't really sleep without you these days."
He chuckled softly and nuzzled her cheek with his nose. "So what's for breakfast? Beside the burned quiche and sausages?"
"Pancakes," Erin decided, pulling a spatula from its place on the counter, "But you might have to take over. I'm benching myself for the rest of the weekend."
"I'm happy to cook for my girls," Jay promised. "Speaking of, where's my little one?" He turned to see Piper standing at the top of the steps, looking nervous. "There she is. You wanna help with the pancakes, Pipes?"
Piper looked from Jay to Erin. "A-are you mad?" she stammered, "'cause I woke up Jay?"
Erin pulled back from her partner and quickly shook her head. "Not at all," she insisted, offering a smile, "I'm glad you woke him up. Otherwise we might not get to see him til noon." She poked Jay in his bare abs, hoping to elicit a smile from her little sister.
She let out a breath of relief and hurried down the steps. "I didn't want you to get hurt again," she said simply, extending two shirts of Jay's to Erin, "And Jay's good at cleaning up after we make a mess in the kitchen."
"He is." Erin stroked some of Piper's mussed hair off her forehead before passing her fiancé the second shirt Piper had procured. "You want to help Jay with the pancakes?"
Piper gave a nod and giggled when Jay lifted her into his arms. "I missed you last night," he said, kissing the side of her head, "Dinner didn't result in burned sleeves though, I guess?"
She shook her head. "That's because we ordered a pepperoni pizza," Piper said sweetly, earning a chuckle from Jay.
"Pepperoni pizza, huh? No veggies? No salad?" Jay gave Erin a look. "Erin Lindsay, I swear-"
"Nobody needs to eat as much salad as you do," Erin retorted, waving her hand behind her as she headed to the bathroom to change into one of Jay's dry shirts, "I saw how much lettuce you bought at the grocery store. We deserved a Saturday night off."
Jay just shook his head while Piper giggled. "I need your help to keep your big sister in line, Pipes," he said seriously, setting her down on the kitchen counter, "I swear, Erin would eat nothing but beige colored foods if it wasn't for us."
"Doritos are orange," Piper told him as he donned his shirt, "And skittles come in many colors."
He rubbed his forehead in feigned aspiration. His girl was currently on a Doritos kick, and as long as he'd known her, had always had a soft spot for skittles. It was her go-to stakeout food. "More spinach, less skittles," he said seriously, passing Piper a bag of flour from the cupboard for the pancakes. "Even if skittles come in colors, that doesn't mean the green ones count."
"Hey gorgeous," Jay greeted when Erin dropped her laptop bag on the kitchen island, "How was your day?"
"Missed you," she replied, immediately sneaking her hands under Jay's t shirt and holding him close, resting her head on his back. He smiled and turned the burners off before turning in Erin's embrace.
"Long day?" He kissed the top of her head and smiled again when she nodded, still leaning against him heavily.
"I have to go to Washington," she whispered sadly, "Wednesday morning to Friday evening. Three full days." Erin let out a breath, "Bryer's wife is going into labor and he can't make it. So I'm up next."
"That's a huge opportunity for you," Jay said slowly, doing his best to focus on the positives. Erin's boss trusted her enough to take his place at a big meeting in Washington – that was huge. It also meant that she would be apart from him for a few days, which was less than ideal, but he could handle it. What he wasn't sure about was how Piper would handle the news that her sister would be out of town for a few days.
"I know." Erin titled her head up to meet his gaze. "But it's three days away from you. And Piper. I-I don't think-"
"We'll be okay," he promised, "It's three days." Jay kissed her nose lightly. "I'll miss you like crazy, but it's such a good opportunity for you." He moved his lips to her forehead. "I'm so proud of you. And Pipes will be too."
Erin let out a breath. "They booked me on a flight out tomorrow night, and then I'll be back Friday evening after the last meeting." She ran a hand through her hair. "That's three nights though babe. She has enough trouble sleeping as it is and-"
"She'll be okay," he insisted, "Three nights, three days, and then you'll be home, and then it's just the three of us in Wisconsin. She sleeps better up there anyway."
"I feel like I keep putting her on hold for my career," Erin said guiltily. "I-I worked so much before Diane and even with her I just-"
Jay shook his head and stroked her cheek. "Erin, babe. Piper knows she's the most important part of our lives." He gave a small smile, "You tell her that all the time. And she loves you, and she's proud of you for all the great work that you've been doing."
"And you don't feel like I've been putting us on hold either?" she asked, her voice still small, "With the late nights and-"
He shook his head adamantly. "Not at all." Jay held up one of her hands, where his mother's engagement ring rested on her ring finger. "You've given me everything I could have hoped and dreamed for."
Erin leaned back into his chest in relief. "We gotta figure out how to tell Piper," she mumbled, "I don't want her to hate me."
"She's not going to hate you," Jay insisted, "She loves you so much."
"Where is she?" Erin pulled back from Jay's embrace again, "Upstairs?"
"We played soccer in the backyard for an hour, so she jumped in the shower while I made the pasta sauce," Jay informed her, "I bet she'll be down soon. Hopefully she'll sleep well tonight."
Erin managed a small smile. Jay was so good about spending time with Piper outside, especially on Chicago's nicer summer days. They were hoping that their little bug would be willing to try a recreational soccer league in the fall with other kids her own age, and Jay had been making sure to practice with her in their backyard.
"Hi Erin!" Piper scurried down the steps, her hair damp from the shower. Erin's heart leapt when she saw her little sister, clad in a tiny pajama short set with sheep on them. Shopping for the tiny child, who was heading to middle school in the fall, always tugged at her heart. Piper was growing up quickly and mentally was fairly mature, but her small size had Erin constantly thinking the little girl was younger than she really was. All she wanted to do was hold her close.
"Hi Noodle," Erin beamed. She exhaled when the little girl came in for a hug. She'd honestly been dreading the day when Piper determined that she was too old to greet her big sister after work, or too grown up for cute pajamas or being held by Jay. If she could, she'd keep Piper little forever. "Did you have a good day?"
Piper nodded. "Me and Jay played soccer after work," she informed Erin, "And while he and Hailey were out, Sergeant Platt let me sit at her desk to do the workbooks."
"No way," Erin grinned, "Platt let you sit at her desk? She doesn't let anyone do that. You must be pretty special." She booped Piper on the nose, and the little girl giggled.
"She still calls Jay Detective Chuckles," Piper said, "Even when he isn't laughing. And then she started callin' me Pickles, just because I took the pickles off my sandwich to save them for Jay."
"Oh wow," Erin smoothed Piper's hair back, "Looks like you've got all the food nicknames, huh? Noodle, Peanut, Pickles…"
"I like noodles and peanut butter," Piper told her, "Just not pickles." She made a face, and Erin chuckled.
"You've got good taste," she grinned, boosting Piper into her arms. "Gosh, I really missed you today. Are you growing on me?"
"I hope so," Piper replied, "I was the shortest kid in class last year. And Jay says that if I eat my vegetables, I'll grow faster." She leaned down to whisper into Erin's ear, "But I don't think he's telling the truth."
"That's it," Jay joked, pulling the little girl from Erin's hold to toss her over his shoulder as she giggled relentlessly, "You don't believe me that veggies are good for growing hm? Who's bigger, me or Will?"
"You," she giggled, "He's older but you're taller."
"And which one of us do you think ate his vegetables growing up, hm?" Jay lifted Piper above his head and she squealed.
"Jay!" Erin rolled her eyes as her partner brought the little girl back down to the ground, "If she keeps eating vegetables, you won't be able to lift her over your head like that."
Jay raised his eyebrows when Piper nodded in agreement, still giggling. "You wanna put money on that, babe?"
Hope you're ready for a whole lot of sweetness in the next few. Thanks for hanging out with me again and let me know what you think!