Kindred Spirits

by Sincerely Tiffany

You meet a stranger, you fall into bed and you part ways, never expecting to see each other again. Too bad it's never just that simple.

37. Celebration

Erin feels truly bad when she has to shut the door on Milo's face, shutting him inside her bedroom because apparently, he's not invited to her baby shower even though it's being hosted at her home.

"He'll be fine," Kim reassures, throwing her arm around Erin's shoulders, "he has food, water and a nice big bone that'll keep him occupied for hours. And if he wants to come out, he'll scratch at the door and we'll let him out and anyone that doesn't like it can go home."

That does manage to make her feel slightly better. But it doesn't stop her from opening the door to sneak one last look at her pup. He's laying down on his doggy bed, bone cushioned between his two paws as he strengthens his teeth by gnawing on it. He doesn't even seem bothered. If it wasn't for the perking of his ears, she wouldn't have thought he was even aware of her presence.

"See," Kim chuckled after taking a look for herself, "I told you he'd be fine."

"Yeah…you're right."

"Ah hearing you say that is music to my ears."

Erin closes the bedroom door, resting her forehead against it, not for the guilt that's slowly diminishing over locking Milo away but because of the suppressed exhaustion she already feels for the impending need to socialize that's coming soon. She's tired already at the thought of playing baby shower games, having to mix and mingle and see people she doesn't particularly care to see, like Abby, like her dad. And speaking of her dad, she smells him before she hears him.

"You look very beautiful," Erin's shoulders tense up upon hearing his familiar voice move towards her from behind; she doesn't turn around though, she doesn't want to see him, she doesn't even know who invited him, her mom did she reminds herself, "Can you look at me please, Erin?"

"I thought my baby shower was invite only." She quips despite knowing he came with her mom.

Hank scoffed, rolling his eyes and moving to grab his daughter's arm to nudge her to turn around himself, "I'm trying to apologize to you, kid. Are you going to let me or are you going to continue to act like a spoiled brat?"

"If that's your way of initiating an apology then it needs a lot of work."

Kim silently steps away, excusing herself from the showdown between father and daughter, leaving Erin behind fuming and Hank behind growing even more annoyed. He bites his lip. He clenches his fist. He takes a deep breath. He's trying to remain calm but Erin's smartass mouth isn't helping him do that at all, "You're determined to pick a fight with me today."

"I'm mad at you right now. I'm just not fake enough to pretend that I'm not."

"I deserved that."

"Dad-"

"I'm sorry Erin," he moves towards his daughter, hands coming forward to rest against her shoulders, "I should have reined in my anger, but can you blame me? Any father would have reacted the way that I did when faced with finding out his kid is pregnant by his employee."

"A good apology doesn't involve making excuses for what you're apologizing for," she whispers and he cracks a smile upon hearing that because leave it to his kid, his college graduate to spew some textbook mumbo jumbo with such a flat affect that it has him thinking she might not even accept his apology. And when she attempts to smile back, faltering just a tad, he pouts, obviously knowing that his apology hasn't been accepted yet, "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, dad." And he knows it. He has actually planned for that response.

"I had some time to think about it," he admits, dropping his hands and stepping back. His eyes avert elsewhere, refusing to meet hers because this is hard for him, awkward for him, he doesn't apologize, or at least he rarely ever apologizes, "I may have reacted without thinking."

"…you may have?" She questions.

"Okay, I did. I did react without thinking. And apparently all the gifts I sent the baby hadn't worked and me trying to reach out to you hasn't worked and now you got your mother threatening to give me the silent treatment if Jay isn't back at work and it's just not worth it. He can come back."

"And if he does, are you going to treat him poorly?"

Hank scoffs, "No, since when do I treat my detectives poorly?" He asks and by the quirk of her brow, he rolls his eyes and changes the conversation, "I wanted to talk to you first before I went over to talk to him. So, are we good now? Can we drop this petty squabble?"

"That depends," she crosses her arms over her chest, resting above her belly, "When does he start?"

He smirks, leaning forward to press his lips against her forehead, "I missed you kid," she notices he doesn't answer her question; he's done with the interrogation, instead, he simply rubs her belly, smiling wider when he feels the baby kick before walking away, hopefully in search of Jay. He's not though, instead, he goes to help her mother set up the table where pan after pan of food is placed down.

Did he change his mind? Is he not going to bring Jay back on? Erin has no intention of bringing this up to him because she doesn't want to get his hopes up high only for her father to change his mind or say some bullshit like he was speaking hypothetically. Erin moves further away from the door, further away from Milo who appears to be a big boy because he was doing just fine without her. And the only time she truly wanted to let Milo out of the room was when Abby arrives, no gift in hand. She's never met Milo before so for all intents and purposes she's a stranger to him and Milo doesn't warm up to strangers right away. It'd be interesting to see how Milo would react to Abby's presence especially because her dog truly has a good judge of character.

Erin waddles over to the arm chair and in just the few steps she's taken, she's already out of breath.

She's still pregnant, believe it or not. Not cool, baby, so not cool. Just a few more weeks to go.

Erin is technically a day over 37 weeks pregnant. Her baby is the size of romaine lettuce. And apparently that's the lettuce being used for the side salads. She probably won't have one of those this week. She won't be able to shake the weird thought of it if she did. She throws her head back, pressing it against the cushion as the buzz of the people around her complete the last-minute things needed to be done before the rest of her guests arrive. By rest of her guests, she only means people from work, anyone besides that is already here. Her baby shower is held at her own apartment; they figured it would be easier to have it here than at Kim's place where they'll end up having to lug all the baby gifts from there to here. She hopes they don't have any trouble with parking. Shit, she's going to worry about them finding trouble with parking.

"Kim, keep your phone volume up just in case someone calls because they can't find parking."

Burgess waves off her concern, obviously not bothered by the thought and if she isn't bothered by it then Erin is going to try and follow her lead. Stress isn't good for the baby she mentally tells herself. And neither is being hungry her inner voice speaks up when the aroma of Portillo's reaches her nostrils. Camille picked up Portillo's, placed her order for catering in and picked up pans and catering trays of beef hotdogs, street polish dogs, Italian beef sandwiches and Italian sausage and pepper sandwiches with sides of fries, salad and onion rings. Erin was craving it and according to Camille, what Erin wants for her baby shower Erin gets for her baby shower. However, Erin would be willing to argue that Erin wanted her dad to not attend and she didn't end up getting that.

"You want me to fix you a plate?" Jay asks, his voice low and mouth near her ear to whisper.

"Yes please, I really don't want to get up."

"…good because I don't want you to get up," he reassures, patting her tummy before walking off to make her a plate. She never told him what she wanted so she assumes that he'll put a little of everything on it. She's been craving Portillo's for a while; she'll eat it all trust and believe that.

By the time her plate is handed to her, a few people from work arrived, gifts in hand and congratulations on the tips of their tongues. She forces an awkward smile mid-bite and then when they go off to make their plates she resumes pigging out. She's hungry. And anybody that wants to judge a pregnant woman for stuffing her face can see themselves out. She notices Abby noticing her, watching her, scrutinizing her out of jealousy because of the threat she knows Erin poses to her relationship. If only Abby knew…if Erin wanted him, she would have him. Abby watches how he practically hovers over her, taking her plate from her to dispose of it, grabbing her a water bottle, asking her time and time again how she's feeling or if she needs anything, she watches every moment of it with clear anger simmering in her eyes.

When Jay gets up to get her another water bottle when she drank through the first one in mere seconds, Abby uses her finally being alone to her advantage. Everyone is occupied. They're either eating, making their plates or talking and catching up with others in attendance. Abby takes a seat next to her, a forced smile clearly on her face in an effort to look unthreatening to those that may look in their direction, "It seems we got started off on the wrong foot."

"That's an understatement," Erin retorts, noticing in her peripheral vision as her mom and Kim take it upon themselves to set up the first baby shower game of the night, "and I'm not interested in calling a truce or letting bygones be bygones. That offer was off the table when you got Jay fired and even if I thought about changing my mind, that ended the second you slashed my tire."

Abby didn't expect that. By the way her eyes widened and a low gasp emitted from her parted lips, Erin knew she was caught off guard. Good. She deserves it. And the way she starts biting her lip and shaking her leg, Erin can tell she fears Jay will find out next. However, despite the easiness in reading Abby, she still must take Erin for a fool because her next words completely deny what she knows to be true, "I don't know what you're talking about. Your tire got slashed?"

"I was born at night Abby but I wasn't born last night."

Abby clears her throat and sits up straight, "Let's say hypothetically what you think happened actually happened, why haven't you told Jay about it? Or had me arrested for destruction of property or even vandalism?" She waits a beat before Erin's silence fills the answer in for her, "Oh, you don't have any evidence. Just plain ol' suspicion and you're afraid that if you accuse me of this, they may think you have it out for me, they may think your dislike of me is simply rooted in the fact that I'm technically dating Jay and you're technically the girl carrying around his oopsie baby. That you're jealous because you got the short end of the stick. You have no evidence whatsoever, just your word against mine and by accusing me of this, it just shows how much you really want to get me out of the picture so you can have Jay all to yourself, well Erin, I hate to break it to you girl, but I'm not going anywhere, ever," she smiles and when Camille reads off the instructions to the first game and asks who'd like to go first in baby-themed charades, it's Abby's hand that shoots in the air as she kindly says, "I'd love to go."

Erin is left speechless. Her mind blank and her gaze unfocused as she tries to process exactly what in the hell just happened. She doesn't pay attention when a water bottle is held out in front of her. She ignores the sound of Jay whispering her name. She blocks out the guesses made by everyone in the room as Abby tries to act out dressing a baby. She's doing a poor job of actually acting it out and it only becomes obvious that Abby has probably never ever been around a baby. Eventually her dad guesses and he passes his turn off to Kim because he's antisocial and apparently doesn't want people to see that he actually has a personality under his rock hard exterior. Kim draws a piece of paper out of the hat her mother extends to her and it takes less than five seconds for Jay to guess giving birth before it becomes his turn. She slowly comes back to the present as she focuses on him acting out burping the baby and even though she knows what it is, she doesn't guess. Instead, she chooses to sit in silence and ponder over that conversation with Abby.

Kim is apparently good at this game because she guesses the most and therefore gets to act out most of the scenes. One of her coworkers crack a joke after Kim's silent rendition of changing a dirty diaper that she deserves an Oscar for that performance and most of the room is in agreement.

"Erin," she looks up at the sound of her mother's voice, "you haven't gone." She states matter-of-factly though Erin is tempted to remind her mother that she technically hasn't gone either or her dad but she's a team player and this is her baby shower and she isn't going to let Abby of all fucking people ruin this day for her, "Can I act it out from this couch?"

"Yeah," Jay answers before giving her mother the chance. If it was up to him, she'd never leave her seat until her water broke. Then she'd for sure have to get up to go to the hospital and to probably also buy a new couch. Jay brings the hat over to her and she reaches in, feeling around for a few seconds before withdrawing her hand, -swaddling a baby. Easy.

And the day goes on with people getting up to grab seconds and thirds of all the Portillo's her mom brought as well as switching through a variety of baby shower games, some Erin enjoyed and some she could have gone without ever having to play, like guess her belly size. Who thought that game would be a good idea? And if her supervisor -who guessed the biggest size ever- wasn't actually her supervisor then she'd probably throw her ass off the balcony. The baby shower trivia game was pretty cool and surprisingly interesting considering her father won. And the blind folded diaper changing game served her with enough giggles to put her mind at ease and lay Abby to the back of it. It's her night to celebrate baby Halstead and eventually becoming a mom, she reminds herself. Stress is not good for her or the baby right now. However, when this kid safely comes earthside, if Abby is still in the picture after then, trying to intimidate her to stay away from Jay, making threats or even being so bold as to touch her stuff, destroy her property or do anything to jeopardize the livelihood, the safety and the wellbeing of her kid then Abigail will truly understand the concept and meaning behind a vicious mama bear.

"Hey," she looks up when she feels Jay rest his hand against her shoulder, "You okay?"

She clears her throat, "Yeah," she clears it again, "I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm positive. Thanks for checking in."

Her mother moved the day along, games were played and the guests enjoyed themselves to seconds of the food her mother purchased. To stretch her legs, Erin goes to the kitchen to help herself to more water, drinking cup after cup to quench her thirst and hopefully relieve some swelling in her legs, she knows she'll eventually regret this the moment her bladder is full. It's not as easy going to the bathroom as it was before she was pregnant. Erin tossed the empty water bottle into the recycle bin before nearly tumbling over when she runs into Kenny entering her kitchen.

"I'm so sorry," he chuckles, hands wrapping around her upper arms to steady her, "I didn't see you there. Are you okay? You look a little flushed."

"Just hot," Erin admits, stepping back and out of his hold, "Oh and thanks for coming."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I hope you like the gift I bought your little one."

"I'm sure I'll love it." She smiles and then squeezes past him, leaving him behind in her kitchen and ignoring his piercing eyes as he watches her walk away.

Camille, with the assistance of Hank, were carrying gift after gift to the couch, expecting Erin to be seated on the comfy cushion to open her baby shower presents. They all needed to be within reach. With the pathway back to the couch blocked by family and friends, she leans against the nearest wall to patiently wait. Soon enough Jay joins her, bumping his shoulder against hers when he leans against the space right next to her, "That guy," he nods his head in the direction of her coworker as he leaves her kitchen, "he seems to like you."

"Yeah," Erin agrees because Rixton fails to keep his eyes off of her, "and he's a really nice guy, a great social worker too. I'm not blind. He makes it pretty obvious that he's interested."

"…and you're not?" It's the way he's looking at her, his eyes hoping that her answer is the one he wants to hear.

She meets his eyes when she reassures him, "I'm not."

"Good," is all he says before her mother is calling them over.

It doesn't go unnoticed by Erin that she sees Abby briefly speaking with Rixton. She hopes she doesn't bother him too much. She meant it when she told Jay he's a really nice guy; he doesn't deserve to be spun up in Abby's web of crazy. Jay helps guide Erin down to her seat, both of her hands grasping her firm belly as the abdominal pressure comes back. Wow, she envies the women who experience smooth pregnancies. The heartburn, most likely from the fattening meal she just ate, starts to come back as well and she doesn't know if Jay can see it on her face or if his timing is just really impeccable but he disappears for a moment, calling out for everyone to hold on while he ventures into the kitchen to bring her more water. He's been amazing in all of this. And if she had a chance to actually choose her baby's dad, she's happy she unintentionally chose him.

Abby takes advantage of the lull in the room, batting her eyes at Rixton as his gaze zones out and focuses on a gift bag she can only assume was brought here by him. She takes his shoulder, ignoring the obvious sign that he doesn't want to be bothered, at least not by her. But, he's respectful about it. He doesn't know her and he doesn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Why don't you just ask her out?"

Rixton tears his gaze away from the gift and averts them towards Abby, "I'm sorry, huh?"

"Erin," she answers plain and simply, "it's obvious you like her. I saw you flirting. Ask her out," she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she plays innocent.

"Oh, um," and now Rixton is even more uncomfortable; he didn't realize his crush on her was so obvious, "she's not interested. I spoke with Kim about it. And besides, she's having a kid. She has enough on her plate already. I'll just add to it. She has more important priorities."

"She has like three weeks until her actual due date," Abby reminds, shrugging her shoulders, "I'm just saying, don't give up. Go after your girl, otherwise you have no one to blame when you lose her." Abby leaves his side. She leaves him standing in confusion, ruminating on her words. They didn't make sense to Rixton, how can he lose someone that was never his? He doesn't file her advice away, if anything, his mind tosses it out as he focuses on being a good coworker and friend.

Erin leans back, adjusts herself to get as comfortable as she possibly can considering the large belly preventing her from sitting in the way that she wants. She's restless. She has some pent-up energy that she wants to come out but with the way her ankles look and feel, there's not much she can do to exert it. Jay comes back from the kitchen and instead of holding a water bottle, he's holding a glass of water, ice cubes swirling around inside of it, making the beverage look tempting.

"I couldn't find any more water bottles. So, I poured you a glass, remind me to pick you up some tomorrow," she nods because now it's no big deal for him to grab her things that she needs, "I also noticed that your pantry and cabinets are spotless and organized."

"The bedrooms are too," she adds after taking a sip of her water, "apparently I'm nesting. It's what mom called it. I googled it. Apparently, it's a thing. With me being on maternity leave now, I just have so much time and energy and when the baby gets here, she's going to take up a lot of that so I guess I figured I should get everything ready before she arrives. I cleaned the entire apartment, top to bottom, and I'll probably clean again before she gets here especially after having all of these people in my home. Besides one last deep cleaning and getting her room ready, that's all to do."

Jay opens his mouth to respond, to remind her of his offer to help with anything especially considering the doctor's orders in regards to staying off her feet, however he doesn't get the chance when her mom carries the first gift over for her to unwrap. It's a supply of bottles gifted to them from one of Erin's coworkers; he cannot remember her name for the life of him. The next gift is unwrapped next by Jay; it's a box of diapers and a container of formula. Honestly, a lot of this stuff they didn't realize they'd need until they were either gifted it or saw it in a store. When the next gift is picked up, Camille has a hard time carrying it so Jay jumps to his feet to meet her halfway to take it from her, "Thanks. Who is this from?" He sets it down in front of Erin.

No one in the room takes credit for it. With hope of finding the answer inside, Erin tears through the gift-wrapping paper to find a box with a folded stroller inside. It's a name brand stroller, one that had to be pretty expensive and when he takes a look around the box, he eventually finds a note attached to it, "Maybe this'll tell us who it's from…" he tears it off and rips the envelope open.

And by his silence, Erin sits up, knowing the shipper must have been someone in connection to him. He licks his lip and swallows before announcing, specifically to Erin, "It's from Will."

Her brows furrow, "And what does it say?"

"It says congratulations," he hands the note over for her to take a look at herself. His eyes avert back to the box and with careful precision, he tears the tap off until both flaps open. It's a modular stroller that grants them the option to face their baby towards them, probably for when she's small, and to face outwards, probably for when she's just a bit older to allow her to see the world around her. It's white and the fabric of it makes Jay think it had to cost a pretty penny.

"…and you didn't know about this?" Erin hands the note back over to him.

"No, I had no idea," he whispers, still sitting in amazement, "how did it even get here?"

Upon that question being raised, Abby slowly raises her hand. She's smiling softly at him, her eyes kind and innocent as she steps forward, "Your brother contacted me to let me know he was mailing something to you. He wanted me to wrap it and bring it here for the baby shower. It was a surprise."

Jay's eyes meet hers across the room. The surprise truly was a surprise. He didn't see this coming; he'd have never thought he'd see the day where something like this could possibly occur. His eyes softened at the thought but Abby interpreted the softening of his eyes being solely for her, directed to her because of her role in his brother's surprise. And she felt in her gut that this was the moment.

She knew the right moment would eventually present itself. And now it did. It was time.

"Excuse me," Abby rose to her feet and cleared her throat to gain the attention of everyone in the living room, "Kimberly, would you mind lowering the music just a tad bit," she requests as she sets her glass of water down on Erin's coffee table. The music wasn't even loud; it was at such a low volume that Erin could barely hear the lyrics over the sound of conversation, "Thank you," she rubs her hands together and rolls her shoulders before turning to face Jay, "would you mind coming here for a second baby?" He hates when she calls him that and she knows it, but this was neither the time nor place to remind her of that especially when he was in such a good mood. His brother's surprise gift solidifying that because maybe this means something good, maybe a better relationship is on the horizon. What other reason would he send his kid a gift for if it wasn't to be interpreted as a peace offering? Even with the need to correct her nickname for him, he wouldn't allow it to burst his bubble or sour his mood.

Instead, he kindly does as she requests and rises from his seat to take a step closer.

Everyone is watching and he doesn't know what she plans to do until she withdraws a jewelry box from her pocket and lowers herself to one knee, forcing him to immediately take a step back.

"I love you," she starts and before she can say any more, he raises his hand.

"Abs," he tries to whisper but everyone's watching and it's hard to keep the conversation between them two when there is no other noise in the room, "please get up."

"…but I'm not done."

"You are, please," he wraps his hand around her upper arm and gently tugs for her to rise up, "why would you do this here of all places? Erin's apartment?" He's talking low; he's trying to spare her of the embarrassment of rejection but he should have known she'd make it difficult.

"I just thought since we're here celebrating your baby then we could celebrate other things too."

"We haven't even discussed that. I've given you no signs that I'm anywhere near close to being ready for marriage. Wha-what made you even think that I even want that?"

"…because I know you," she says with such confidence, "I know we're ready for this. And that's why I'm asking you, here, surrounded by friends and coworkers, allowing them to witness such a pivotal moment in our relationship. We've been together for a little over a year. I moved down here to be with you not because I had to but because I love you. We've had our ups and downs, we're still overcoming obstacles," her eyes flashed towards Erin and the glare was so obvious that even a blind man could see it, "but we're still standing strong. That's why I want to marry you, because no matter who or what tries to get in our way, we're still standing strong. So," she steps forward, holding the ring box up so he can see the glimmering rock, "what do you say?"

"I say," his mouth is parched and he dry swallows a nervous lump that formed in the center of his throat, "I say no, Abs. I'm sorry."

Her low, whispered voice breaks, "What?"

"Alright," Camille announces to avert the attention away from the growing scene in the living room and towards other matters, "I think now is the best time for the parents-to-be to open up more of the baby gifts. I was thinking you guys can open up what Hank and I got for my little angel."

Jay was grateful for the presence of Camille Voight as she turned the music back up, grabbed his wrist to lead him to the seat next to Erin before nodding for her husband to bring more gifts over for them to open. Abby remains standing in the middle of the living room, the jewelry box remains opened in her hand and she makes no moves to close it. He wants to say more but this really isn't the time or place, like why would she even think doing something like that here was okay? Of course, he was going to say no! He doesn't love her. He doesn't see her in his life for the rest of his life. He already has a lot going on now, expecting a baby and preparing for that baby leaves very little time for much else. And to top it all off, he's nowhere near ready for that type of commitment. She so suddenly and with the appearance of that ring lavishly, proposed, truly thinking in that delusional mind of hers that he was going to give her a resounding yes.

"It's a car seat," Erin interjects for two main reasons: to inform the guests on the item she'd received and to distract Jay from his inner thoughts, "and you bought two of them."

Camille is bouncing on her feet, hands intertwined together in front of her, "We bought one for mom and one for dad. That way yours can be in your car and Jay can have his in his car."

"Thanks Mrs. Voight," he says it so formerly and Camille doesn't even bother with trying to correct him because she knows with her husband around, it'll be a moot point. He won't call her by her first name in the presence of Hank. He barely wants to call Erin by her own first name in front of him, "this is really nice." He reaches for the all-white car seat, examining the straps as Erin thanks and hugs both of her parents. She turns to look down at the other car seat, the one that was closest to her chair -the base and handle is black and the whole seat is white- she grabs the handle and lifts it up, "This white is pretty," she's surprised they went the route of white and not the typical pink or black, but regardless of what color they chose, it's the fact that the seat is so small and a baby will actually end up fitting in it that has her heart swooning.

"Wait, we got you a few other things," Camille nods towards the other bag that Hank brought over. And Erin goes back to her seat, lifting the bag -with help from Jay because it's not as light as Erin assumed- and sat it onto her lap. Not caring about keeping the bag in place, Erin reaches in, the bag tearing as she tries to pull whatever's inside out of it, "it's alphabet blocks," she hands them over to Jay before reaching back into the bag, "they're so colorful," she tells him as he examines the package, "this is some musical piano toy that'll probably irritate the shit out of me," she doesn't bother looking at that one for long; she might even hide it from her kid because no parent deserves to be annoyed by such a loud noise, "colorful stacking rings," she hands that toy to Jay next but he's not paying attention; he's too busy reading the directions on the last toy she handed him.

Jay presses a key on the toy and when it starts to sing a nursery rhyme Erin comes to the conclusion that she's definitely going to hide that toy. She may even donate it. Or probably send it home with Jay, let him be annoyed by it.

He sits it down and smiles apologetically at her when the toy continued to sing. It was no stopping it, not unless they break it and she couldn't do such a thing in front of her parents. Erin reached into the bag to grab the last toy wrapped inside, "a kick and play mat," she glances at the image on the box before handing it over. That was the last item in the bag but it seems her parents went all out because there's one more box -that's not wrapped- that her father places beside her.

"Your father got lazy," her mother says by way of explanation as to why the gift isn't wrapped.

It doesn't bother Erin. It means one less piece of trash to throw away. The box is slightly big so she doesn't bother trying to lift it up to put it on her lap. Instead she slides it closer, "It's a," Erin pauses to turn the box around so she can read the name off the side, "jumperoo, oh so that's what these are called," that last part is whispered to herself because she always saw this type of toy but she never actually knew the name for it, "thanks mom, thanks dad."

It's obvious her parents overcompensated on gifts because of the way they've handled the entire baby paternity situation. It was a way for her mother to continue to extend her apology. She's already swarmed the baby's closet with so many short and long-sleeve onesies, pants, hats, socks and booties that Erin had to buy a white dresser to add into the baby's closet to store the socks and booties in the top drawer, the infant nightgowns and way more pairs of the stretchy zipper sleepers than the baby will probably ever need in the middle drawer and then in the third drawer, she has folded cotton blankets and receiving blankets. Her mom even bought her kid a crib mattress, something that was on Erin's list to get, but despite Erin wanting to shop more for her girl, she reminded herself to be grateful. The money she doesn't spend on her baby, she can save, and she needs to save especially after recently needing to buy a tire. Erin probably has purchased or was gifted way more things for the baby than she'll actually use but she's a first-time mom so she shouldn't be judged too harshly on it. And it's better to have too much than not enough.

"My turn," Kim rushes over, holding a gift bag in each hand, "here you go. I tried sticking to your baby registry but it's so hard shopping for a baby and not buying everything the store has to offer."

Erin only made the damn registry because Kim convinced her to yet her friend happily announced that she strayed from it. All she could do was roll her eyes, "I'm sure whatever you got, she'll enjoy," she settles the bag on the floor between her legs and pulls the gift tissue paper out of the bag to reveal a few useful things for the new mom-to-be, "A breast pump," she removes the small box from the bag and sets it on the table next to her before going back to the bag, "a nursing pillow for the baby, Kim, this is nice," Erin withdraws it from the bag so everyone is able to see it, it's gray and it's personalized with the words Little E going across the top in black, italicized manuscript, "now this is adorable," she turns it around so Jay can see for himself.

"Little E," he reads the nickname branded into the baby's nursing pillow.

"It was either that, Bug or the Chosen One," Erin informs him and that draws a raised brow.

"…or Gremlin," Kim adds as a joke. It's one that fell flat because Erin did not laugh, "I'm just kidding. I guess it's time I retire that joke."

"It should have been buried a long time ago," she hands him the pillow, his fingers tracing along the line of the stitching, reading the words over and over again, Little E, while Erin goes back into the first gift bag Kim handed her, "you got me a few nursing bras," she decides to keep those in the bag. No one here needs to see them, not even Jay, but leave it to Kim to think about something along those lines versus purchasing her kid a simple toy or article of clothing, "thanks Kim."

Burgess simply shook her head, energized by the glass of wine she'd been consuming and the three cups of coffee she had during the day, "Not yet, remember there's a second bag?"

"…you honestly didn't need to do all of this," Erin whispered. The only person who could hear her was Jay and Kim, "I get my parents because they're the grandparents but Kim, you honestly didn't need to do all of this." She had already gifted her with the support of a friend, she planned this entire baby shower and she already gave her one gift bag full of presents that'll make nursing the baby so much easier and now there's a second bag full of gifts. This was too much.

"First of all," her closest friend crossed her arms over her chest and glared with so much humor filling her expression that it fell flat, "I didn't do this for you. I did this for my niece. Secondly, just open the damn gift," she uses the tip of her foot to push the bag closer.

Erin chances a glance over to Jay, "Want to do the honors?"

He doesn't give a verbal response yet his silent one provides a clear answer. He simply shrugs his shoulders and leans over to push the tissue paper to the side to withdraw the first item he felt, "it's a baby brush," he whispers, running his fingers over the extremely smooth and soft bristles, "it's nice, Kim," he smiles before handing it over to Erin and reaching back inside, "baby soap," he pulls out a box consisting of twelve bars of soap for the sensitive skin of an infant.

Jay must have been going too slow because Kim took it upon herself to crouch down, grab the gift bag and turn it over to show the remaining contents inside, "So I basically made this the necessity gifts, I figured everyone else would get toys or something so I picked up things I figured you both would forget about," Erin and Jay look down as Burgess spreads each item out for them to look at and she was right, most of the items they would probably need at one point but didn't think to get in advance, "This is a nipple brush," immediately she shot a glare over towards the immature adults in the room, "it's to clean places in the nipple of the bottle that are hard to reach so get your minds out of the gutter please," she rolled her eyes and turned back to her friend, "I think I grabbed two or three of those, don't judge me, I was just throwing things in the cart, oh," she lifts another item that poured out of the bag, "this is," silently she counts the folded stack of material in her hands, "five baby wash clothes, it's advertised for sensitive skin so boom," she holds them out towards her friend to cop a feel of the fabric.

"…wow, that's soft," Erin hands them over to Jay and he nods in agreement.

"I know you already picked up a few bibs but I couldn't resist those two," she lifts up each bib in one hand to show to the parents-to-be, "now aren't these adorable?" There's a pink one that says daddy's dinner date that Jay couldn't help but to take from her, he spreads it out on his thigh and his eyes read the words over and over again. This one might be his favorite bib of them all. He doesn't even pay attention to the yellow bib that Kim is holding with the words good food equals good mood stitched into the front. He has his favorite one right here, nice and close, it's the one he'll probably take home and keep at his apartment for the off chance that their baby stays over.

It feels like the unwrapping of the gift portion of the evening had taken up the most time, not that Jay was complaining because it was either this or awkwardly face Abby after rejecting her marriage proposal. He still couldn't get over that, come to terms with it or accept it as reality. He couldn't believe she actually, truly thought that proposing now was the right step in their relationship or whatever it is they have going on. He doesn't even face her; he doesn't look up to meet her eyes even when he knows she's staring at him. Instead, he's focused on the pink bib still spread out on his thigh, rereading the words while Erin thanks the rest of her coworkers for their gifts. Rixton had gotten the baby some type of rubber ducky for bath time. Another of her coworkers had gifted their kid with a collection of board books, all of which will go on a bookshelf that Jay intends to install later this week. And fortunately for the both of them the rest of her coworkers simply presented them with gifts of diapers, wipes or a combination of both.

"Hey," he hears a whisper, so innocent and fragile and he looks up to see the owner of that voice approach, her chin is pressed against her chest, she's staring at the ground and she's sliding her feet forward, "I know you're not done opening gifts but I was wondering if once you're done, maybe we can talk? I'm embarrassed that I jumped the gun and I think maybe I read the signals wrong. You turned me down in front of all of these people, I think talking to me for a second is the least I deserve. Please," her eyes flutter upwards to catch his own. And what pains her the most is, he doesn't agree right away, it actually takes for him to glance over at Erin, her to shrug her shoulders before he nods and rises to his feet. So, would he not have agreed if she said no?

Halstead leads her out of the apartment, Erin pausing the process of opening gifts to chat with a few of her coworkers while looking over in his direction every few seconds until he disappears out the front door. It shuts behind Abby and he notices that the jewelry box is back in her hand, "When did you even get that?"

"…a few weeks ago."

"Why? Did I honestly make you believe this was a good idea?"

She thinks about that night when she saw them together. She remembers every detail, every sound, every word they said, the way he touched her, kissed her, the way he moved against her, the way he breathed, clenched her body, held her in his arms, she remembers everything even when she tries desperately to knock the memory out of her head. Abby clenches her fist and beats it against the side of her head so hard that it forces tears to her eyes yet she doesn't stop because the memory is still there. She does it again and again and she would have done it once more if he didn't catch her by the wrist, "Stop that," he encourages, pulling her fist away from her face, "Why are you doing that? Abby, what's going on with you? First telling Voight then-"

"I didn't do that on purpose, I told you it was more complicated than that. And I'm sorry for maybe rushing things and I also accept your apology for embarrassing me in front of those people."

"…then," he continues where he left off, ignoring her interruption, "then you suddenly propose and now you're knocking yourself upside the head? Are you okay? How's your sessions going?"

"I don't want to talk about my sessions. I just want to go home."

The two of them came together but he had no intentions of leaving with her if she decides to go now. He wanted her to have the option though so silently he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his keys, extending them to her, "Aren't you coming with me?"

"I'm not finished here yet."

"…bu-but I'm ready to go home."

"I know," he nods affirmatively, "which is why I gave you my car keys. I'll catch a taxi home."

He drops the keys in her opened palm and she stares down at them, "Are you serious," there's a blank look on her face, eyes misting as she struggles to blink the tears away, "bu-but-"

"Abby, the longer I'm out here talking to you, the longer it's going to take me to finish up here. I'll be back at the apartment later," he squeezes her shoulder in such a platonic move that it makes her hand clench around the keys so tightly, the ridges of the keys scratch against her flesh, "don't wait up for me. I'm going to have to help clean up and put the gifts away."

A fake smile, one filled with so much anger and fury spreads across her face, tricking him into thinking she was perfectly fine, making him comfortable enough to go back into the apartment and leave her in the hallway, feeling both humiliated and embarrassed after pouring her heart out to him only for him to stomp all over it. And it's all because of Erin, she's managed to weasel her way into the middle of their relationship and changing him along the way. This isn't the Jay she met over two years ago, this wasn't the one she started a relationship with, the one she loves, but it looks like him and she knows he has to be inside of there somewhere and she was determined to get him back, Erin in the picture or not, she was going to get her man back.

Abby reopened her hand when the ridges of the keys started to dig in deeper and her eyes avert to her palm to ensure herself there was no harm down to her flesh. It was fine. It was barely a mark, a scratch or any blemish to note the strength behind the grip she had on the keys. All that remained was a red palm, one that quickly faded back into her natural complexion and every part of her wanted to squeeze the keys again, maybe until they drew blood, until she notes two keys she isn't as familiar with, "Hmm," she looks from the keys to the door of Erin's apartment before suddenly remembering after the bonfire Erin gave him a set and just as easily as she's able to make herself cry in front of him, she wipes the look of heartbreak off her face and smiles. Turning on her heel, and spinning the key ring around her finger while humming the beat of the last song she heard playing in the apartment, she decides she will make one little pitstop on her way home to the home improvement and hardware store to have a copy of the keys made, -and fortunately for her, Jay will be none the wiser.

"I hope everything is okay," Erin whispers to him as he retakes his seat beside her. He doesn't say much, he just simply nods for her to continue opening the gifts. An infant tub, a rattle, two diaper bags -one for him and one for her,- more diapers and wipes and a few different colors of fitted sheets for the crib were among the next batch of gifts they've received, "…those were dropped off at my house by Dawson, Ruzek, Mouse and Al," Camille's words catches Jay off guard, he sits up upon hearing that because he hasn't spoken to them since the day he was fired and to think they've taken time out of the day to not only get a gift for his kid but to wrap it and drop it off at Voight's house meant a lot. And Erin could tell it did just based on the way he was smiling, "I know they're looking forward to having you back."

"Mom," Erin isn't even paying attention to the gifts after processing her mother's words, "are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"…ask your father," Camille smirked.

"Don't make a big deal out of this," he grumbles, tucking his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, "Halstead," he turns to face his detective, not caring one bit that everyone in the room can hear him, "I'm going to give you one more chance, just one, that's it, if you blow it then oh well that's your mistake," Jay is hanging onto every word he's saying, "No slip ups because one more mess up from you means you're out for good and no one's going to change my mind, not even your precious kid. I don't give many second chances," the look on Voight's face makes it seem like it's physically difficult and next to impossible for him to either admit he was wrong, apologize, or go back on a decision he previously made, "if you ask me I was pretty nice the first time I fired you," Camille suddenly slaps her husband in the stomach with the back of her hand, "I said that to say if I have to fire you again, I won't be so nice so don't give me a reason. No more lies, this is your only warning, no lying to me at all. I won't make the same mistake twice. You start bright and early Monday morning; I expect you there on time. I'm your sergeant, you're my detective, we're not family, we'll never be family no matter how many times you knock my kid up."

"Dad," Erin groaned, throwing her hands over her face, "can't you just tell him he has his job back and leave it at that. Do you really need to go into lecture mode at my damn baby shower?"

"It's just the one time sir, it's only once, that's all it'll be," he's quick to say, overly eager and practically beaming because he got it back, he got his job back and he didn't care about no damn lecture, no matter how threatening or long it was, he didn't care because he's back!

"…you better keep it like that," He withdraws his hands from his pockets and crosses them over his chest, "you say you didn't know she was my daughter at the time, well, now you do, so keep it in your pants and we won't have any problems."

Jay nods, face unreadable, "Yes sir."

"Good," a hint of a grin spreads on Voight's face, "Welcome back to the team detective."

A set of keys drop near the door, alerting everyone in the room to Abby's reappearance. Jay had thought she left, but for some unforeseen circumstance, she's back.

"You got your job back?" She struggles to force a smile. It wavers.

"Yeah, I start back Monday," Jay couldn't contain himself; this was a great night.

"That's great," Abby says, reaching down to lift up the keys, "sorry to interrupt, I just had to use the restroom and then I'll be out of here."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" Camille, as smart as she is, cannot read a room. Abby shakes her head and then excuses herself to the restroom, only coming back to leave a few minutes later. The second the apartment door shuts behind her, she stares back down at the keys in her hand, her chest rising and falling with every deep breath struggling to escape her body.

Abby regrips her hand around the keys, squeezing them and not letting loose this time until the keys make an indent in her flesh. She doesn't bother taking the elevator, it'll come to slow, Abby chooses to take the stairs and when she gets to the car, plugging the address of the nearest home improvement store into the GPS, she speeds off with the image of Jay and Erin from that night permanently imprinted in her mind. Jay watches the front door, half expecting Abby to come back and when she doesn't, his shoulders relax. She's left to go home.

"I have one last gift to open," Erin suddenly announced to change the conversation and mood by refocusing it back onto something a little less tense and a lot more lighthearted.

After the last present is unwrapped, Erin sits back, hands resting on her belly which looks to be around the size of a beach ball and she shuts her eyes. She's exhausted because her trouble with sleeping has only gotten worse. Her back hurts but that just seems like a permanent symptom for her. She's a little nauseous but her mother's suggestion of ginger helps a lot, especially with the hot tea she's now nursing made for her by her mother before she and her dad left. Her feet and ankles are swollen to the point where she's happy it's hot outside because it gives her an excuse to wear slide-on sandals to relieve her bloated feet from the confines of tennis shoes. And she's so fucking tired right now, and a little hungry, and her living room looks a mess with all the food still out and the gift paper ripped to shreds all over her floor. She should have agreed to let Kim and her parents stay to help but after letting Milo out of her room and agreeing to let Jay walk him around the block, she just wanted to wait for her dog to get back and then go to bed. She was tired, so she agreed for them to come over tomorrow to help her clean up.

Erin managed to pack up majority of the leftovers, only leaving enough food out for her and Jay to have thirds or fourths, she doesn't know what number this plate falls under and she definitely isn't trying to keep count. By the time Milo and Jay are walking back into the apartment, her dog unleashed seconds later, Jay thanks her for his plate and retakes the seat he's been holding all day.

Erin sits next to him with her own plate, "So, Abby actually proposed to you tonight, at my baby shower of all places. That actually happened, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, things are better between you two? You've worked all of your problems out."

"…far from it."

"Then why would she propose? Why would she do it in front of all of us if she wasn't sure you'd say yes? I got second hand embarrassment from that. She must have a humiliation kink."

"I really don't want to talk about this."

"Sorry," she says quickly, "you're right. It's um, it's none of my business," an awkward silence falls between them before she interrupts it, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

As if expecting that question, Jay gives her an answer right away. He repositions his plate on his lap and turns in his seat to face her better, "We haven't picked a name yet."

"I've been meaning to bring that up. Have any names stood out to you?"

Jay wipes the corners of his mouth with his napkin before posing, "What about Kay?"

"…as a female variation of Jay?" She chuckles when he nods, "She already gets your last name, you want her to practically have your first name too. That's not fair."

"Alright," he sets that name to the side, not fully wanting to get rid of it yet, "let's hear what you've come up with, let's see if it's any better."

"I honestly haven't thought of any names."

"…really?"

"Yeah, I was hoping the right name would stand out when I came across it."

Before taking another bite of his Chicago-style hotdog, he replies, "We're making this harder than it needs to be. It probably shouldn't be this difficult."

"I mean, this is her name we're talking about. It's something she'll carry around with her for the rest of her life. It deserves some precautions," Erin reminds before suddenly adding after swallowing her last bite, "and what do you mean difficult? We've barely discussed it," she truly releases a wholesome laugh at that, "How are we making things more difficult when this is the first time we're speaking on it? We've just started exploring it."

Halstead simply laughs and pulls out his cell, googling names in the hopes that something will stand out to them. It'll be nice if her name is chosen before he leaves for the night.

"Let's start easy first and pick a middle name."

"Oooo you can always have fun with the middle name," Erin sits up and leans forward to set her now empty plate on the coffee table, "Let's hear what you found on the net."

"I clicked on the unusual baby girl names category since we're going for fun," Jay says as he begins swiping through the list of names, "or should I choose a different category to start?"

"What categories are there?"

He scrolls to the top of the page and selects the drop-down arrow, "Animal, biblical names, celebrity names, city names, color, fictional characters, nature, occupational, politician and royal."

"…yeah a lot of those categories are a no," she chuckles. And a part of her does wonder if expectant parents actually purposefully seek out a name from one of those odd categories.

"So, which category shall we start with?"

"City," Erin throws out based on the process of elimination, "I am absolutely not intentionally naming my kid after a politician, a royal or a celebrity."

"There is Chicago."

"No, absolutely not."

"Sydney?"

"Nah."

"Florence?"

"Nope."

"Hmm, Dallas?"

"I don't think so."

"What about Atlanta? Or Helena? Or Cairo? Maybe London? Or Phoenix? Or Lincoln?"

"…like the president? I said no politicians."

"Well according to this list they meant it as in Lincoln, Nebraska."

"No."

"…maybe we should pick another category?"

"Yeah," Erin eagerly nods, "we definitely should, you pick the next one."

"How about animal?"

Erin leans her head back on the couch and rubs both of her hands around her stomach, "Why am I not surprised that you chose that category? I thought it went without saying that the animal category wasn't in the running. But, since you named it, let's hear it."

"Jay is also the name of a bird might I add," he argues because he's intent on having his kid's name be as connected to his as possible, "there's jaybirds and blue jays."

"What did you find? And if there is a Bunny on the list you can immediately rule that one out."

"There's Dove, Sparrow, Raven, Fawn, Birdie, Robin, oh there's Kitty."

"…maybe I should look?" She leans forward to grab his phone but he quickly pulls it back, holding it above his head, high enough to where she is unable to grab it, "we're going to be here all night."

"Patience grasshopper," he smirks, lowering his phone once she stops reaching for it.

"At this point we should just pick a common name for her middle name. Something like Olivia, Emily, Lucy or Amelia, or maybe even Sophia or Jesse, I don't know but I see why common names exist, it just makes the whole baby naming process much easier."

"How about we save the common names for the first name, that way she can find her name on a keychain or a magnet," he laughs, "people with common names definitely take that for granted."

"So that leaves us back at square one, right where we started, no closer to finding a middle name."

"What if we each write down a few names, throw it into a hat and whichever one we pull out we'll make her middle name?" Jay offers the idea before adding another, "or maybe we just say fuck it and make her middle name the month or the day of the week or even the damn day she's born?"

"I'm due June 29th," she states robotically, "and that's if I actually have her on her due date and what you're suggesting is we either make her middle name June, 29th or Tuesday?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting but of course we'll keep our options open since it'll be the end of the month and she may come late so July has potential to be in the running and so does other days," he shrugs. And she can't tell if he's being serious or joking, "oh and if we choose the numbered day she's born on to be her middle name, we'll spell it out on the birth certificate."

He is serious Erin realizes. Why does this have to be so hard? There are billions of people on this planet and each person has a name. Was it hard for them to be named? Or is Erin making this harder than it needs to be like he said. She didn't like that second idea at all. And the first idea she's hesitant about because what's stopping him from throwing random variations of the name Jay into the bag? Her poor kid will end up with a middle name that rhymes with his first.

"People name their kids after months all the time," Jay tries to defend his idea, "April, May and June are pretty common months that are used as names, both first and middle. Why can't July be used? It sounds pretty cool and different. Or how about October? Or maybe November?"

"October?" She confusedly repeats.

"It's when she was conceived."

Well that just does something to her ovaries. Ugh. They're just friends, she reminds herself.

"…and what about November?"

This question has him looking down at the floor, bashfully, "It's when I saw you again, for the first time since that night," he clears his throat when the room gets a little too quiet.

And that reminder just does something to her heart.

October and November, those months play on rotation in her mind. It'll be sort of an inside joke between them. But did she want her kid to carry around an inside joke for her middle name for the rest of her life? It'll also have a significant meaning to them, to her parents, something more than just a month on a calendar. Once being opposed to a month being used as her kid's middle name; with Jay's explanation she starts to actually, realistically consider it.

"I'm not saying no," she starts and then quickly follows it up with "but I'm not saying yes either," when the smile on his face stretches so wide, she fears it'll get stuck. He's just so happy, and for that, she considers one of those months even more, especially if it'll have him smiling like that.

"I'll take what I can get."

"How about we table the topic of her middle name and try our luck for her first?"

He has no complaints on that. Instead, he has another idea.

"I have an idea," Jay announces. It doesn't spark the same joy in her than it does him. Considering his last two ideas, she doesn't want to get her hopes up high. Jay pats her leg enthusiastically because he thinks she may actually like this idea, "She'll have my last name and thank you for that," he starts, "I know we haven't thought much about her first name but maybe she can have something similar to yours. I can't think of anything close to Erin so how about an E name?"

"An E name," she clears her throat as she considers it, "I actually like that idea. I like it a lot."

"Good." He nods, proud of himself, "and we already settled on something pretty common. So, how about a name that starts with the letter E and has four letters? That'll get us pretty close to your name without actually just naming the kid Erin, unless you want her to be a junior."

Erin tosses a disgruntled look in his direction causing for him to throw his hands into the air in mock surrender. He was joking but it'd surely be interesting to have two Erin's running around.

"I'm not naming my kid Erin Jr. That is not even close to being an option. An E name is cool but looking for one that we'll both like that has four letters will be hard. We didn't leave ourselves much room. I honestly can't even think of a four lettered E name right now."

"…and that's why I'll pull out my handy-dandy cell phone," he waggles it in front of her face, "it has this thing called Wi-Fi that allows me to google," and before he can continue, she hits him.

"Just go on and google smartass."

And he does, he's silent for a moment as his fingers fly across the screen, "that was easier than I thought it would be. I got a whole list of four lettered E names and they even break it into three categories -boy, girl and unisex," he looks up at her, the impatience clearly evident on her face and he gets right to the point of his search, the part she's actually waiting for, "Evie, Eden, Erin of course," she rolls her eyes as he proceeds with the list, "Emmy, Elle, Elsa, Ella," he pauses to look up to see if one caught her eye, "Ella is pretty, that could be an option."

"I went to high school with someone named Ella. I'd rather not be reminded of her."

"Okay, so no Ella."

"You said Eden?"

"Yeah, but no, I had a fling with a girl at the academy named Eden. You don't want to be reminded of the girl you went to high school with and I'd like to not be reminded of my ex-fling."

Erin pushes herself up, adjusting her position and smiling in immediate relief when she feels Jay slide the ottoman in front of her and set her aching feet onto the cushion. She leaned her head back, shut her eyes and then whispered in one breath, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he smirks before grabbing his phone to pick up where he left off, "okay next up we have Esme, that's cool but no, um Evan, Eris, Emma and-"

Her eyes open at the sound of one of the names, "Wait."

"Are you okay?" Concern crosses his face at her abrupt interruption, "What's wrong?"

He blows out a breath of relief when she says "Nothing's wrong, it's just that last name you read."

"Emma?" He repeats.

"Yeah, that one."

The look that crosses his face at the realization that they may have just found their little girl's first name is one of pure bliss. The innocence in his expression, the unfiltered joy covering his gaze rivals the brightness of the sun and the illumination of the moon. He cannot find a reason to disagree. He can't think of a reason why that name wouldn't work. It fits his criteria; it's an E name with four letters, it's perfect. And when he clicks on the name, reading the meaning of it out loud to her, no further words are needed in that moment. He sits his phone on his lap and leans back to rest against the back cushion of the couch. His shoulder bumps against hers and his feet soon enough join hers on the ottoman. Both of them are relaxed, seated back and staring at the tv mounted on the wall in front of them. And Jay spends the silence thinking of all the personalized items he can get for his girl now that she actually has a first name. Like the gift Kim presented them with that has the engraved Little E stitched into the front. He knows it was meant to represent Erin but now it can mean both. Emma, it means universal or whole and it only seems fitting considering she's destined to be their whole world. They remain seated on her comfortable couch, no other words shared between them as her hands gravitate towards her enlarged belly, cupping both sides of it so he can only assume their girl is active and kicking right now. He reaches his own hand over, joining hers and she directs it to the area currently under assault by the fluttering kicks of their unborn, of their Emma Halstead, and when his eyes meets hers, the first thought that comes to mind is how if they never agreed to be just friends for the time being then he'd be leaning across her stomach to capture her lips right now, to show her everything he has left unsaid and unshared since he started falling for her, since he started accepting all of this and since he realized that he doesn't want Abby. He wants her, he wants Erin, and he knows for the survival of their current relationship, he cannot act on those feelings. Pretty soon it won't be just the two of them, pretty soon two will turn to three when little Emma makes her journey earthside.