It was nearly 7am when Jay got home from his night shift at the safe house. He had been able to nap a bit, but he still felt very tired. When he walked into the apartment, there was no one in the living area. He knew that Clementine would be up by now, getting ready for school. Erin would either be getting ready for work or eating breakfast.
He stepped into the kitchen and found nobody at the table, but Kayla was in there brewing coffee and cooking some pancakes and eggs.
"Morning, Kayla," he said, and she turned around in surprise.
"Oh, hey. I didn't hear you come in. How are you?"
"Night shifts suck, but other than that I'm good. You?"
"Yes, good thank you," Kayla said, cheerfully. Her ability to be bright and full of energy so early in the morning was one of many things that made her a good nanny. "Erin said you'd be home around breakfast time, so I'm making enough for you to join us."
"You're the best, Kayla," he said with a smile.
"Remember that at the end of the year, when it's time to give me a christmas bonus," she said, and they both laughed. "Hey, do you know what happened to the gloves I use for washing dishes? I was going to wash these few just now, but I can't find them."
Oh god, don't look embarrassed, Jay told himself. He knew exactly where the rubber gloves where. They were in the bedroom, where Erin had used them to give him one of the best hand jobs of his life. "No idea," he lied. "I assume Erin used them for something. Maybe she ruined them and had to throw them out?"
"Maybe," Kayla shrugged. "I'll get some new ones when I go to the store later. Is there anything you need?"
"Not that I can think of, but thanks. I'm going to go find Erin."
"Okay. About five minutes for breakfast."
"Sounds good." He walked away, feeling pretty confident that he hadn't shown any embarrassment. Even if he had, he figured Kayla would have struggled to understand the reason for it.
When he got to the bedroom, the door was closed. He opened it and found Erin standing in front of the mirror, appraising herself in full dress uniform. He found the sight truly jaw-dropping. She always looked incredible in uniform. Today, somehow, she looked hotter than ever. "Sergeant Lindsay," he said, saluting her.
"Don't be an idiot," she chuckled, looking at him in the mirror with that wide, beautiful smile of hers on display. "Do I look okay?"
He entered the room and closed the door. "Okay? You look incredible. No one wears a uniform better than you."
"I'm not sure about that, but thank you." She stepped up to him and they kissed, long and full.
"Mmmm, I could go for a lot more of that right now," Jay said when the kiss was over.
"No time unfortunately. I've got to get to work. There's a parade today for the officers killed by Styles, and I'm on it. That's why I'm wearing the uniform."
"I bet there will a few people wanting to shake your hand for putting him down."
"Yes, I expect there will," she said without much emotion in her voice. "So, I'm not going to be able to hang around for breakfast. I'll grab something on the way in."
"That's a shame. Kayla's making pancakes. Oh, she wanted to know where the rubber gloves went from the kitchen."
"Oh no," Erin grinned, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "What did you say?"
"Ask Erin."
She playfully slapped him in the chest. "Now I'm going to have to lie. Unless you want me to tell her the truth?"
"Tell her what you want, so long as I get more of those hand jobs."
Erin turned him around and pointing him towards the door. "Come on, out. You're going to make me late."
"Okay, but this is a conversation we should pick up later," he said as he was bundled out of the door. With that, he decided to go and see Clementine. Her bedroom door was closed, so he knocked lightly on it. "Hey, Clem. Are you dressed?"
"Yes," she replied.
He opened the door and found her putting her hair into pig tails, wearing her school uniform. "Hey. Are you full of energy and ready for school?"
"No," she said grumpily.
Jay could well remember the miserable feeling that getting dressed for school had often given him. He couldn't expect her to feel differently, but he could try to cheer her up. "Can I get a hug at least?"
"Yes." Now done fixing her hair, Clem came towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "How was work?"
"Long, and boring. A lot like school. But I did it because it had to be done. And that's what you're going to do today, right?"
"I guess," she said without much enthusiasm. "Will you be able to read to me tonight?"
That gave Jay mixed emotions. He loved the fact that she was so eager to spend the time with him, but he also felt bad because for the time being he wouldn't be able to do it. "I'm afraid not, sweet pea. I'm on the night shifts for probably a few days. But when I'm back on days we'll get back to Lord of the Rings, I promise. And before we start again, you're going to have to give me a recap of where we left off, so make sure it's fresh in your mind." He figured that was a good little mental exercise to give her.
"Oh, man. Okay, I'll do my best. Kayla said she's making pancakes today."
Nice subject change, Jay thought with amusement. "Yeah, she is. Erin's got to go to work, but I'll eat with you. In fact, I'll take you to school."
"You will?" Clementine said, brightening immediately. Again, Jay was touched by how much spending time with him meant to her. He knew that it wasn't a knock on Kayla at all, she just wanted to spend time with her dad. Thinking that made him long for the day that she called him dad, although he knew it was likely some way off, assuming it ever happened at all.
"Yeah, just this once. Tomorrow it'll be Kayla though, okay?"
"Okay," Clem said cheerfully, thankful for what she could get.
"Right then, we should go eat."
Jay led the way into the kitchen, where Kayla was plating up breakfast, and Erin was explaining that she didn't have time to stay and eat.
"Clem, I've got to leave for work," Erin said when they walked in. "But I'll see you tonight, hopefully in time to have dinner with you. Okay?"
"Okay," Clementine said. She gave Erin a hug without needing to be asked, and Erin gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
Then it was Jay's turn. He came forward and kissed Erin on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then, briefly. This assignment sucks."
"Yeah, I know. But the FBI work fast. It'll be over soon, hopefully. Try to enjoy spending time with Ruze. But don't get up to mischief," she added with humour.
"Yes, boss," he grinned, and they kissed again.
"Eww," Clementine said, now sitting at the table. She was still young enough to find kissing unpleasant. Jay didn't look forward at all to that changing. His daughter bringing her first boyfriend home was a day he dreaded.
"I've never seen you in uniform before. You look amazing," Kayla said to Erin as she put Clementine's breakfast plate on the table.
"Thank you. I don't like having to wear it, but when I do, I wear it with pride. That probably makes no sense, but it's how I feel. I'm proud to wear it today that's for sure."
"And we're proud of you, aren't we, Clem?" Jay asked.
"Yes," Clementine said through a mouthful of pancake.
Jay could see in Erin's eyes in that moment how much her family meant to her. It gave him more confidence with regard to his proposal. Surely she wouldn't say no to marriage when their situation was so good. Would she?
"Oh, I'm going to find out a date today for when Kim will be invited to the White House to receive her bravery award from the President," Erin said.
"Awesome," Jay said, although he wasn't sure Kim was going to feel the same way. She had made it pretty clear that she didn't want any fuss being made over what she had done that night at the Lakeside Mall. The problem was that no one seemed to have listened to her.
"Kim's going to meet the President? That's really cool. Can we go?" Clem asked.
"Unfortunately not, Clem. Hey, I've got to get to work. Hope you all have a good day," Erin said, and with that she hurried out of the kitchen.
About an hour later, Jay pulled his car into a spot close to the gates of Clementine's school. Tiredness was really setting in for him, but he didn't care. He was glad to have been able to bring her to school for once.
"There we go. Have a good day, and work hard," he said to her.
"Okay," she said, obviously not relishing the prospect.
"Hey, Clem. Are you good at keeping secrets?"
That peaked her interest. "Yes, very good. What's the secret?"
"I don't have one right now. I was just wondering if I ever had a big secret, could I trust you to be the only person who would know it?"
"I wouldn't tell anyone," she said sincerely, and Jay believed her.
"Okay then. It's good to know I can trust you."
"You always can."
"Good. Enjoy your day," Jay said.
"I will." Now that the school day was at hand, Clementine seemed a lot less bothered about it than she had been at home. Taking her school bag with her, she got out of the car and trotted off through the gates.
Jay sat there for a moment thinking about the future that he hoped for. He imagined Erin with a shiny silver wedding ring on her finger. And he imagined Clementine playing with a little brother or sister. The Halstead family. It made him so proud just to think about it. And he had plans in motion to make it all a reality. The next major step was the proposal. Before he could tackle that, he needed to buy a ring.
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A/N: Jay has everything planned out in his mind for how the Halstead family will take shape. He's getting ready to buy a ring, moving towards popping the question.
I've had readers ask me to do something from Erin's point of view on how she feels about everything. That wasn't in my story outline, but I can see why it might be a good thing to add. If you want to see that for the next update, let me know.