Jay held tightly to Erin's hand as they made their way across the icy road of District 21.
Jay can remember the days when they walked across as only partners, friends. The tension was always between them, and the heartbreak of knowing they were only partners. The shudder of their bodies when their shoulders would brush against one another's. But now, here they were. Parents, Engaged, and Expecting Parents. Two people completely in love.
It had snowed the previous night, the snow eventually turning to ice. Jay and Erin were on edge due to the failing of Jaxton's school cancelling. It was scheduled to ice around noon, and the new parents were eager with hope school would get released early for the safety of their son and his fellow classmates and educators.
Erin's gritted her teeth back as she felt a turn in her stomach. The feeling was painful, intense. It could and almost did bring her to tears. It felt as if someone was taking her stomach and turning it, twisting it, in every way, shape, and form.
Jay got them across the street and stopped her. He hated seeing his girl like this. And because of him, she was in this pain. But, they both wouldn't take it back for anything. There was a child growing inside of her. A child he and his best friend created. This little baby, Baby Halstead, was created out of pure love between his or her parents. "Are you okay?" He looked around before dropping his hand to her growing belly. Jay couldn't wait for the secret to get out so he could put his hand on her stomach whenever he wanted. It soothed the both of them.
"Yeah, just, the baby didn't agree with breakfast, again," She brushed it off as she took a deep breathe and led the way to the front door. Erin immediately relaxed as the heat hit her face. Platt was on the phone as they walked by, waving to Jay and Erin. "Don't forget, ten week ultra sound is at two."
Jay nodded. He didn't forget. He knew it was today. "What will we tell Hank?" How could he forget?
"We'll cross that bridge when it comes." Erin replied, walking up the stairs. The team was already at their desks, following leads in the case that they were already given. Everyone waved as Erin and Jay parted ways, both taking a seat at their desks.
"Erin," Her head cocked up to the sound of the gruff voice calling her name. She stood up and Hank closed the door behind her. "How are you doing, kid?"
"I'm doing great," she smiled. Her wedding day was in a week, she had the most amazing son and fiancé, and in six and a half months Baby Halstead would be here.
"Good," he picked up the piece of card-stock that was sitting on his desk and read over the words again in his head.
A healthy relationship is one that starts with
Two people who sacrifice everything for one another.
Your presence has been requested by:
Erin Lindsay and Jay Halstead
January, 27th, 2018
Adler Planetarium 6:00 reception to follow at eight
Today is the beginning of forever
"I'm so proud of you, kid," Hank put the invitation back on his desk before embracing Erin in his arms. He kissed the top of her head. "I didn't even know this existed until I found it in the office at home."
"Thanks, dad." She replied, wrapping her arms around his. "And Jay and I sent them out before Thanksgiving. Camille must've been hiding it from you." She never would have thought fifteen years ago she would be here. Be a detective, have a loving family, an incredible fiancé, or a son and a baby on the way. Not in a million years. "Thank you for taking me in. For everything,"
Hank looked down at the girl who he thought of as a daughter since the day he took her in at fifteen. "We wouldn't have it any other way," He kissed her forehead. "Are you excited for your bachelorette party tomorrow?"
Erin slowly took a deep breathe. She was pregnant. She couldn't drink. "Yeah. The girls and I are just planning to stay in at home, though. Jax is staying with Carson tomorrow."
"Good. Are Jay and the boys going to Molly's?" Erin nodded. "Well, they'll have fun. I had a bachelor's party once, too, and I wouldn't want Camille's dad there, so me and Camille will be staying in." Hank did not want to hear or see what was going on at the bachelor's party.
"Hey, we got a lead!" Antonio made his presence known by knocking on the doorframe.
Hank nodded and looked back to Erin. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes," She looked over at him, an idea coming to mind. "I just wanted to let you know, Jay and I have a doctor's appointment at two," This earned an eyebrow raise from Hank. "Since we are leaving the country next week, we need to get a few shots so we don't catch anything. It should only take an hour. I'm hoping they aren't backed because of the flu vaccinations."
Hank nodded, believing her. His daughter was getting married next week. She was so grown up. "Sounds good to me, kid." He stood up and patted her back, guiding her out of his office. "Let's get this lead going, see what we got."
Erin followed his orders, taking a seat at the edge of her desk listening to his words as he pointed to the evidence board. "How reliable is this guy, Kev?"
The tip was from Kevin's CI, and this was his first one. "He's reliable. I promise. If he says that's where the heroin is, it's there. There has to be a lot, or else he wouldn't have came forward. These guys mean business. The chances are they are going to ship it to St. Louis, or Detroit. One of those two. There has been a lot of drug rings linking to the three cities." Kevin explained, completely confident in his CI. If he said there was drugs, there was.
"Let's suit up, then." Hank gruffly replied. The team nodded and parted ways, grabbing the necessary gear for the bust that was about to go down.
Erin and Jay followed out with the rest of the team, putting on all the necessary gear. "Jay," Erin pleaded as she motioned to her vest and stomach. He nodded and held the vest, securing it around her growing body.
He looked at his fiancé and the slightest hint of a baby bump was present. Not enough for anyone to notice waking by, but if they studied her features, it would be a no doubter. "Fit okay?" Erin nodded. "Stay behind me. I don't want you to get hurt." He commanded as they got onto the route, following Hank's black SUV ahead.
"I know, Jay," She sighed at his remark, but quickly giggled. "You're already getting your fatherly instincts." She couldn't stop smiling through her teeth. Jay had definitely been reading those books on newborns and parenting. He had become much more protective of his girl and their baby, along with Jaxton.
"I've had them since we adopted Jaxton." He winked at her, referencing back to their conversation last week. His eyes drifted from the road over to Erin, and his lips rolled up into a smile as he saw her hand resting on her stomach.
She is going to be a great mother.
Erin felt his gaze on her and she looked up and smiled softly. "Are you excited for the appointment today?"
His hand rested on her knee. "Of course I am. How could I not be," He replied. "And I bet you aren't looking forward to February first."
"Why?" Erin asked, questioning Jay.
"Desk duty." Erin sighed and rolled her eyes as she was reminded of her order by Dr. Robbins. "Don't remind me."
"It won't be bad, Er." He attempted to reassure her as the sky filled with snow clouds threatening to fall. "Have you heard anything from Jaxton's school?"
"Julie texted me. The boys get out at one, so she is picking him and Carson up. We can pick him up after work." Erin replied, taking a deep breathe as they came to a stop behind Hank's car. "Ready?"
Jay was relieved to hear his son's school was getting released early with the ice storm rapidly approaching the Windy City. "Let's do this."
Erin andJay exited their car and walked over to their team. "What's the game plan?"
"Ruzek and Burgess go in through the front and cover the second floor. Dawson, Atwater, get to the other two buildings and set up for snipers. Al, stand guard by the side door, I'll get the front. Halstead, Lindsay, go in and cover the first floor." Hank ordered and the team spread out. Ruzek and Burgess went ahead and filed up the stairs, Erin and Jay covering the first floor.
"Jay, go check the left half. There's a stack of machine that could be a good hiding place." Erin whispered, pointing to the line of old vending machines. Jay looked at Erin, temptation in his eyes. She was pregnant. Erin detected the temptation and looked down at her stomach. "I'll be fine, go!"
They were at work. He obliged and turned down the aisle, disappearing from Erin's sight. Erin shook her head, continuing her job. Both hand were on her glock, but she felt the need to rest one protectively on her stomach.
The cold air sent a shiver through her body as she continued to secure the building, looking for any signs of life. Anything. She knew in the back of her mind she and Jay shouldn't have split up. It was safer to be together. The booming sound of metal rang through her ears and she quickly looked around, seeing a suspect dash through the machines.
"CPD!" Erin yelled, taking off after him through the building, her footsteps filling the air. Now she knew why she was ordered to be on desk duty at twelve weeks. She couldn't run anymore after the man had disappeared in between a few soda machines. She dropped her hands to her knees and leaned over and caught her breathe.
A machine tipped over and Lindsay jumped out of the way, ready to take down the offender. Out of the corner of her eye, a figure moved past her and she turned around, but he was gone.
She felt the color drain from her face and she slowly turned, knowing there was an armed person standing behind her. She crossed her arms as the base of a crowbar made contact with her, hitting her to the ground as she brought one hand to her stomach and the other to shield her upper body.
Jay heard the machine crashing and dashed to the source of the crash, looking for any sign of his fiancé. "Get the hell out of here!" Jay yelled as he open fired, running towards her.
The suspect fled, and soon was hit with another bullet by a team member he was assuming. But at this point, he didn't care. He didn't care about the offender who harmed his fiancé and unborn child. Jay couldn't hear the yelling as he dropped to his knees beside her as she winced at his touch.
"Erin?" His hand ran up to her face as he helped her sit up. "Are you okay?" She leaned against him, catching her breathe.
"Yeah, I'll be good. He hit me with a crowbar. I shielded the stomach though. He hit my chest." She said as she wheezed, dropping her hand to the stomach.
"What the hell happened?" Erin snaked her hand from her stomach as she heard Hank's booming voice throughout the vacant warehouse. "Did you split up? I thought after that last incident you wouldn't do it again."
"Hank, it was my idea." She clenched her stomach as she erupted into a fit of coughs.
"Halstead, what happened to her?" Hank asked, supporting Erin's other arm as she struggled to stand up with Jay supporting her other arm.
"Offender hit her with a crowbar in the stomach. I'm taking her to Med," Jay looked over to Antonio and Kim who were helping the suspect get to the paramedics. "Let's go, babe."
Hank nodded, wrapping his arm around her back, helping Jay get Erin to the car who was cringing with every step she took. "Guys, I'm fine." She muttered as they lifted her into the passenger seat of the car.
"If you were, you wouldn't have needed both Jay and I to help you over," Hank replied. "Take the rest of the day and let me know what the doctor says, Halstead." Jay nodded and closed the driver's seat of the door. He looked over to Erin who was breathing heavily and her hand was nursing her stomach. He didn't want to say anything. He wanted to, but no words could come to his mind.
"The baby?" Erin whispered, her eyes connecting with Jay's. "The baby." She repeated. Her mind all of sudden forgot about the pain she was feeling and all she could focus on was her and Jay's unborn child she was carrying.
Jay reached over and tested his hand on the small bump of Erin's stomach. "It's going to be okay." He knew that wasn't much help, but he was scared himself. They arrived to Med and it was five till two- just in time to confront Dr. Robbins and Mrs. Legg.
Jay helped Erin walk into the hospital, and take a seat waiting for their doctor. Glances were thrown at the couple as bruising started to appear on her face, her badge still dangling around her neck. Jay laced their hands together and she laid her head on his shoulder, anxiously awaiting the doctor.
"It's going to be okay, Erin." He whispered into her hair, kissing her tangled hair. Minutes felt like hours as the couple awaited their doctor. They needed to know if their child was okay.
"Erin Lindsay?"
They looked up and saw a female waving them over. They eagerly got up and made their way over to her. "Erin Lindsay, Jay Halstead." Jay shook the doctor's hand.
"I'm Dr. Legg. Dr. Robbins has me up to speed on your case. He will be in the room in a short minute." She smiled as she led them into the examination room, closing the door behind.
"Before we get any further, Dr. Legg," Jay helped Erin get comfortable on the examination chair. "We were working a drug bust, and she got hit on the abdomen with a crowbar."
Dr. Legg nodded listening to Jay's concerns. "Okay, here is what I'm going to do," She took a seat on the chair, folding her palms. "You are still early in your pregnancy, so we are going to run an advanced ultrasound, abdominal X-ray, blood work, and just to be on the safe side. You'll be here for a few hours. We'll run those tests ASAP, and those will not hurt the baby. If everything looks good on your tests, then we will go ahead and do transvaginal scans to look closer. If possible, would you like sonogram pictures?"
"Definitely," Erin talked for the first time. "My stomach doesn't hurt, it's more of the chest. I shielded my arms to block the stomach from getting hit." Jay nodded in agreement.
"It's your maternal instincts, Erin," She smiled. "Let's go ahead and take you out for some tests. I'm going to get you into a more comfortable room. I'll have a nurse take your fiancé into the room, and we'll get you changed into a hospital gown."
Erin looked over to Jay who pressed a kiss against her forehead. "I'll be waiting for you. You're the strongest person I know. You'll be okay, I promise. I love you."
Erin nodded as she left the room with Dr. Legg, blowing her a kiss, reassuring her everything would be alright
######
"How is she?" Hank spoke over the phone from his office. The case was still being wrapped up, one of the suspects fleeing the scene, all the leads ending up dead.
"She's okay," Jay softly replied, looking at his fiancé who was sleeping in the hospital bed. "They ran a few tests and blood work, so she is sleeping while we wait for the results."
"Keep her healthy, Jay." Hank sighed. "We still are looking for the other suspect, so we will be awhile. Text me if you need anything."
"Will do, sarge," Jay agreed. "And, How is the guy who hit Erin?" Jay really didn't care, but he had to ask.
"He's going to be fine. The bullet he was hit with was one of his own. I'm assuming they thought he was one of us. Ballistics confirmed it was one of their guns, not ours."
The doctor came back into the room, holding a clipboard. "Sounds good, Voight. The doctor is here, I'll text you," Jay said his goodbyes as Erin came back to consciousness.
"Good to see you are both awake." Dr. Robbins smiled as Dr. Legg came back into the room. "We have the test results," Jay and Erin both glanced at each other, and Jay moved his chair so he could hold Erin's hand. "They all came back good. There is just going to be some breathing, but nothing appears wrong with the babies."
Both Erin and Jay's eyes shot up. "Babies? As in, plural?"
Both doctors chuckled, taking a seat. "Yes. When I did it at your seven week mark, the second fetus was underdeveloped most likely, or hiding behind the first fetus. But, when Dr. Legg did the advanced ultrasound, we found a second one."
Jay and Erin looked at each other and both of them felt a few tears trickle down their cheeks. "Twins?" She whispered.
"Twins." Dr. Legg repeated. "Now, do you want to do a sonogram? I'd like to use a fetal doppler to measure heartbeats and make sure both of them are okay. I can get pictures as well for you both."
"That sounds great." Erin replied.
"Awesome," Dr. Legg got out the machine and got it prepared. "Now, I'll be taking over your pregnancy and be your primary care doctor, if that is okay. Dr. Robbins will still be present, but lurking in the back and I will go to him for a second opinion."
"That sounds good. Erin and I discussed that last week, and we have complete trust and faith in you." Jay smiled, Erin nodding along.
"Fantastic. I appreciate it," She moves towards Erin. "Now Erin, go ahead and put your feet in the stirrups. I'm going to put some gel on the probe and go through your pelvis bone to see the fetuses." Erin did as told and gripped her fiancé's hand. She grimaced and quietly gasped as the cold gel hit her body. The sound of a heartbeat filled the room and Erin's body relaxed to the invasion as her mind focused on the screen.
"That is Baby A," Dr. Legg explained. "The bpm is excellent, and everything looks good. Very strong heartbeat. It's doing fantastic." She moves it around as Erin gripped Jay's hand. "This is Baby B," The new parents smiled at the news of their third child. "This little one was hiding behind Baby A last time, and they were both still developing rapidly, so that explains why Baby B was not visible. Baby B is smaller than Baby A, but that is normal for twins. I'll monitor it closely, but right now, I have no concerns. Strong heartbeat, like I said earlier, Baby B is smaller than Baby A, but no worries. Still an acceptable size," She smiled.
"So, I'll have those pictures right out for you both." Dr. Legg remover the fetal Doppler and Erin dropped her feet from the stirrups back onto the bed. "Now, with twins there is a higher risk of miscarriage," Erin and Jay winced at the new information. "But, I have the utmost faith that it won't come to that. With your job, I want you on desk duty as of tomorrow. Once a month until week twenty four you will come to visit us, then after the twenty four week mark every two weeks, then after the thirty two week mark, once a week. Carrying twins will cause a much larger weight gain, high blood pressure, and potentially diabetes during your pregnancy only. Preterm labor is also a higher chance, and so is placenta problems. I plan to monitor everything closely, and since this is your first pregnancy, please do not hesitate to call me or Dr. Robbins for any questions you and Jay have."
"Okay," Erin slowly replied, registering all the information.
"I know this is a lot, but we are here for whatever you need." Dr. Robbins spoke up, rolling his chair over to Erin and Jay. "Dr. Legg has gone over everything I can think of.
Dr. Legg nodded. "I'd like for your next appointment to be February fourteenth. By then you will be fourteen weeks and we should be able to find the gender of them,"
Erin gripped onto Jay as Dr. Robbins walked them out as Dr. Legg was printing out the sonograms. "What do you think of her? Dr. Legg?"
"She's fantastic," Erin stated. "Jay and I feel confident in her. And twins," She laughed slightly looking at Jay. "Wow."
Dr. Robbins laughed as Dr. Legg returned. "I made two copies for you both." She handed the black and white pictures over. "We will see you back on the fifteenth. Don't forget Erin, desk duty starts now. I'll send a report over to the district and leave out the pregnancy part." She shook their hands. "You have any questions, call me or Dr. Robbins."
"Thank you, both," Jay waved goodbye as he and Erin walked to the car silently, both still taking in the fact they were expecting twins.
It had started icing lightly and Jay held Erin close as they walked across the parking lot and got into the car. Jay had got in and stared down at the sonogram pictures. He ran his fingers over the black and white picture and felt a tear trickle down his cheek and hit his knee. He looked over at Erin who was doing the same thing, neither of them wiping the tears of happiness away. Their eyes met and they both slowly leaned in as they took gentle sips of each other's lips, savoring the moment of pure love. Neither of them ever thought they'd be here, a well away from getting married, have a teenage son, and expecting twins. It was a dream come true.
"I love you," Jay pulled back and smiled, his hand caressing her cheek. "So much." He wiped away her tears as she pressed her lips against the warm skin inside of his wrist.
"I love you too, Jay," She smiled, covering his hand with hers. "And I am so lucky I have you as my best friend. I'll never forget the day you walked into IU. Never. And you being the father of my children," She felt more salty tears hit her lips, "Is a dream come true."
"I don't know what to say. I love you. And I can't wait for you to be my wife and for our two babies to be here."
Jay and Erin smiled the whole way home, to get their son, despite the ice outing down on Chicago. They would have three children this time next year.
Neither of them thought this would happen in their wildest dreams.
But, here they are.
A week away from getting married.
And twenty eight weeks from welcoming twins and there family becoming a family of three to five.
Life couldn't get better.
BOOM. New chapter, super long. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next week is the WEDDING chapter! Please let me know any ideas you'd like or special requests! And what do our all think of the twins? The conference has been so much fun! Many fun one shot ideas coming!
Emme.