Wow. Here we are. This will be the final chapter of this book. This book will always be so close to my heart, being it was the first one I ever wrote and I adore it to pieces. I've made so many friends from writing this, and I loved the whole experience. But, I've lost my vibe for this book since October, and it's been long enough. All good things must come to an end. As my friend, Annie, told me last night as I was contemplating whether to continue this or not.
I came to the decision to end it, and I hope you all will find peace with that. I dual post this book both on FanFiction.Net and on Wattpad. All of you guys really made this worth my wild. I have a new AU in the makings, and will be released around Mid- May. It's going to be awesome! Once again, thank you all from the bottom of my heart, for reading this book. I encourage you to read my other on going book, Linstead AU: The Game of Love.
Without further ado, the epilogue:
Four Years Later
No way were they ready for this. Both of them. It seemed it was just yesterday they had picked up Jaxton from the crime scene and brought him to the break room. It seemed like yesterday he was starting high school, and got his drivers license. Now, today was the day he would be graduating high school, and advancing to college. Jay and Erin were not ready for this. Not ready to be stuck with two four year olds, and not having Jaxton home. It'd be vacant.
"Today's the day," Jay rolled over to meet his wife, who was staring out the French doors. She didn't speak to inquire she heard his statement. She only nodded. Erin didn't want to think about the fact Jaxton would be leaving next month for college. "Baby, it's going to be okay. You know that, right?" Jay wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss against her shoulder. "We have Ember and Quinn to keep us busy." He joked. He was right. The twins were starting their last year of pre-K in the fall, and they were already full of energy, and adding on the sports each of them did.
Erin giggled slightly at her husband. He always made things better. She rolled over in their bed, turning to face him. She glanced over his shoulder at the bedside clock, and grinned as she pressed her clothed body into his. "We have time," She whispered hoarsely into his ear. Her hands felt his muscles tense as they wondered his body, heading south.
Jay caught her hands and kissed them lovingly, before speaking. "Babe, we still need to get the twins ready for school. Jax already left," He reminded her. Tonight was graduation, then tomorrow was the party. Which they still needed to start on. "We have paperwork to do, and the whole unit is meeting us at the graduation. So let's get the day going." He kissed her forehead before sliding out of bed.
He wandered down the hallway to Ember's room. His feet were soft against the rug as he took a seat on the edge of her bed, watching her chest rise and fall. She was their little miracle. Jay's eyes wandered to the picture frames sitting on the nightstand of her twin size bed, along with her sippy cup. One of his favorites were sitting there. It was from last year on the twins first day of pre-K. They had already grown so much more. It was insane. One of the other photos throughout the room was one of Erin's maternity photos. It was of him and Erin, and Jay was bent down, his lips pressed against her stomach. God he loved his family so much. His eyes shifted to the awakening of his little girl, and her brown eyes slowly opened. She sat up straight, her dirty blonde hair standing up statically. "Hi, baby." Jay kissed his daughter's head as she crawled into his lap.
"Hi daddy." She whispered as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. "Do I have to go to school?" She asked as he picked her up and started to pick out her school clothes.
Jay laughed at his daughter. She was so much like him. He despised school as a child, and she did too. Much to their surprise, though. Quinn absolutely loved school. On their first day, Quinn bursted into tears because he didn't want to leave, while Ember was standing by the door ready to go home. Polar opposite of what Erin and Jay expected from their children. "Yes, baby," He planted her back onto the floor and handed her a pair of black leggings and a cubs shirt. "But remember? Tonight we have Jax's graduation! Where he leaves school and moves to big people school!" Jay tried to hide the sadness in his voice as he tried to excite his daughter.
"With Kami? And Carson? And Logan?" She jumped excitedly as she changed into her clothes.
"Yes, baby! They'll all be there!" He replied, walking her down the hall to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair. Jay did his regular routine, putting Ember's hair up into a ponytail. She was not the average girl who wanted to take all the dance and cheer classes that existed or want all the jewelry. And Jay has Hank and Camille to thank for that. When they finally discovered Jaxton's ways, they had to spend a lot of time with him, discussing what was going through his mind and why he did what he had been doing. Hank and Camille always watched the twins when they would do something with Jaxton. They would take the kids out for ice cream, and usually take them to the park, or the Navy Pier to watch the duckies. The family even invested on a boat, and Hank and Camille even took them for a few boat rides. So, Ember loved all sports, especially the Cubs, and she loved to play baseball ever since Hank bought her a glove. She was tough, just like her mother. She didn't inherit the Halstead freckles, but according to Uncle Kevin, she did inherit the Lindsay dimples and Halstead Grin. "Then we have a party tomorrow!" Jay exclaimed excitedly as he watched her brush her own teeth. She did love her parties and food, though. She ate more than Quinn. She was loud and independent, and always thought she was right. She was almost an exact replica of her mother.
"A party?" Her eyes brightened at the word. She loved parties! "Cake?" Another part of her character was her sneakiness. After every birthday or special occasion, there'd be left over cake. Jay and Erin quickly learned their twins worked as partners in crime. They started leaving the cake on the highest shelf in the kitchen because the first few times they had left over sweets, the twins would find a way to get to the cake when nobody was watching.
"Yes!" Jay laughed, kissing his daughter's cheek as they walked down the stairs. "There will always be cake. And tomorrow there will be lots!" He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Tomorrow she would eat her maximum cake that her parents would allow her, then she would ask everyone else in Intelligence for some, knowing nobody could say no to her. She was a Lindsay- Halstead after all.
"Jay," Erin warned as she heard the words leave her husband's mouth as Quinn walked up to his father and sister. The last thing Erin wanted was both of her kids to be on a sugar hive, and pass out into a deep sleep like last Christmas. She has to thank Uncle Adam for that one. She knew her husband was a softy when it came to the kids, and she usually had to be the adult to tell him enough is enough. That's one thing Erin adored about her husband. The amount of love he had for the twins since the day she told him she was pregnant was infinitive, and his love for Jaxton and her went the same way.
"Cake! Like a lot?" Quinn jumped up and down as he went ahead of his family and went to the fridge to get his apple juice and lunch box. Out of the two of them, Quinn was much more of the vocal one. If he wanted to say something, he'd say it with no hesitation. He was his mother's son.
Erin sighed, taking the lead on the conversation as Jay mouthed his apologies. "Buddy, it's no different from a regular day. You'll still have a limit. And why is your lunch box out? We don't leave for another hour? We still have to eat breakfast, silly." Erin joked as she put the lunchbox back into the fridge. "What do we want today?" It was Friday. Usually Fridays were the days they would go eat breakfast at their favorite donut shop down the street from school, but with the events of the weekend, they needed to keep it simple.
"Cinnamon rolls!" Quinn jumped up and down as he quickly opened the refrigerator and pulled out a roll of them. "These!" He handed them to Erin who nodded, and started on those. Jay got the four of them drinks, and sat them down in front of each of their respectful seats.
"Mommy?" Quinn asked curiously as he pulled on her badge that was secured on the waistband of her jeans.
"What's up, little man?" She picked him up as she slid the cinnamon rolls into the oven. "What's on your mind?" She glanced into the dining room, seeing her husband and Ember babble about baseball, and set Quinn down on the counter, something they rarely did.
"Are you sad? Jax is leavin?" He quizzed her.
Erin sighed, running her fingers through his hair. "Of course I am," How could she not be? Jaxton was their first child, and they had been through thick and thin throughout the course of his five years with him. After Jaxton went back to his normal self, the three of them had formed a special bond with their son. Now he told them almost everything. She wasn't ready to see him leave. "But think, now that he is going to be living in Honolulu, we can go see him for vacation!"
Last winter, the whole Halstead gang went on family vacation to Honolulu, and had stayed with Steve McGarrett, who was part of the search for Erin five years ago. They always remained in contact after that. Steve allowed for Jaxton to go on a ride along for the day, and there he met Catherine when they needed to pin point a location. He was intrigued by her job, and mentioned it to her and Steve, and both of them were over the moon to talk to him about joining naval intelligence. So, by the end of the trip, it was decided Jaxton would attend the Hawaii chapter of the Navy in Honolulu next July. And that was a month away. The school would pay for any state funded college, a major of his choice. And Jaxton chose Psychology as a major, and Criminal Justice as a minor.
"Palm trees?" Quinn asked, his memory foggy from five months ago.
Erin laughed, taking the food out of the oven and spreading frosting over them. "Yes, Quinn, Palm trees. And remember?" She got really excited and so did he. "The ocean! With the dolphins and seashells? Remember how daddy and mommy learned how to surf? That's where Jax will be!" In reply, Quinn voiced his joy and followed her into the dining room, taking a seat next to his sister as Jay divided the cinnamon rolls amongst the four of them.
"Hi baby." Jay kissed Erin on the lips and the twins looked at each other before looking away. Jay and Erin noticed they covered their eyes, and pulled apart as they all laughed at each other. "What? I love your mommy." Jay replied, sending the two four year olds into a fit of laughter.
########
"We are so proud of you, Jax." Camille cheered as she enveloped her grand baby into a hug. He was still in his blue cap and ground as people flooded the football field. It was around eight at night, and the sun was setting in the horizon, painting a purple, orange, and blue sky. It was the perfect night. Everyone who loved Jaxton was here. Yes, bystanders were on edge with all of them, minus Jay and Erin, coming straight from work, which meant they all had their badges on. It gave outsiders a vibe that something was wrong, but in reality they were just here to celebrate Jaxton graduating.
"Thanks, Grandma." Jaxton smiled as Hank enveloped him into a hug. "Hi, Grandpa." Hank had been very pleased with his choice to go to the Navy academy, learning the basis of life and serving his country. When Hank found out about Jaxton's drinking and pill problems, he was furious with him. He could have been arrested, and God knows what else went on. But, Jaxton started seeing Dr. Charles and from that point on, became clean and sober, falling back to the Jaxton everybody knew and loved.
"I'm so proud of you," He proudly gripped his grandson's shoulder, "You're going to become a great man, just like your father."
Jaxton smiled gratefully. Tears were selling behind his eyes. He had it made. He really did. During freshman year, Jay and Erin had both found out their son was drinking and popping pills regularly, all thanks to a social media post. Intelligence had busted a party he was at, and he was lucky Alvin saw him and dragged him out to the car, Carson and Kami following behind. When they were all brought to the district, BAC testing showed Jax almost hit the legal limit his body could consume. He was beyond drunk for his own good, and all sobered him up, giving him water. Carson and Kami were completely sober, everyone knowing hey were here just to have Jaxton's back. His parents found out, and he spent the whole month grounded, and was tested every few days for any trace of alcohol or medication. Within months, Jaxton got his act together, and continued seeing Dr. Charles, all the way until last year. "Thanks, Grandpa."
"Jax!" His tears immediately disappeared at He sound of his best friends' voices. He turned around and his smile widened as he saw Kami running towards him, and jumping into his arms. Through the past five years of knowing each other, they had been through hell and back. They really grew closer after news broke that Kami's parents went AWOL when their convoy got attacked last year. There was still no word on where her parents were, or if hey were still alive. Jaxton really stood by her side in that time, knowing the grief she was going through. She was stunning. Gorgeous. Her green dress complimented her ginger hair perfectly. The green dress hugged every curve of her body, and stopped right above her knees. Her hair was in light curls, and the night couldn't have been better. There was no humidity, and that meant there was no damage or frizz to her hair.
"Hey, Kam!" He smiled, pecking her cheek. "You look amazing!" She blushed at his comment, and squeezed her arms around his neck as the blue robe was hanging from her arm. He was her bestest friend. Everyone always thought they'd be the ones to be in a relationship straight out of high school, but not at all. They had never once kissed, besides that time Jaxton was flat out drunk, and that was to everyone's surprise. Jaxton deep down knew he was speaking to his wife, but he refused to give in.
"Thank you," She replied. "You don't look to bad yourself," She winked at him as she dropped her arms from around his neck and turned to see his grandparents. "Hank, Camille! How are you both?" Kami had loved his grandparents since day one. She had even been on a few ride along with Hank. Her interest heightened after she heard about one case, and ever since then she was all on board for the law enforcement field. She had even qualified for an FBI camp in Quantico, Virginia. The camp was highly competitive, only one candidate allowed to go per year. Her second attempt worked, and she spent ten days at the FBI YLP Camp. It was amazing, and she made so many friends from it.
"We're great, Kami. So happy to see you three finally graduate," Camille replied as she enveloped Kami into a hug. "And you, my dear, look stunning! I don't know how you and Jaxton still haven't shacked up." The time of her voice was sincere, meaning she was completely serious.
"Just friends, Camille." Kami sighed as she saw Jaxton blushing from the corner of her eye. She wouldn't ever give in or admit to her feelings. He was leaving for Hawaii within the month, and she would not leave him with a long distance relationship. He deserved so much better than long distance. She refused to hold him back.
"That's what Erin told me seven years ago, and now look where her and Jay are." She raised her eyebrow as she recalled the night she said the same phrase to her pseudo daughter about Jay years ago at he policemans' ball.
"Kami!" She turned around, a wide grin spread across her face as she recognized the high pitch sing- song voice.
"Ember!" She sang back, holding her arms wide, and the small body crashed into hers. Kami lifted her up and spun around as she hugged the little girl in her arms. "Hi, sweet girl!" Kami moved a lock of hair from Ember's brown eyes, kissing her cheek.
"You look like a princess! And Jax looks like your prince!" Kami rolled her eyes playfully at Ember's remark, but she smiled anyways. Could people just let it go? They were only friends.
"You look like a princess! Look at your blue dress! You like you came straight out of a Disney movie!" She volleyed back, resting her feet onto the ground. "Where's your brother?"
"Right here, Kam- Kam!" That's what Quinn called Kami since he could first speak. "Hi!"
"Hi buddy!" Kami greeted. "Where's your mommy and daddy?" What she did notice about the twins was their resemblance to their parents. Quinn definitely had the same eyes as his father, and Ember definitely had the facial features of her mother. They were almost exact replicas.
"Hi, Kami," Jay greeted as he appeared next to her. "You look great." Jay had liked Kami since the first day she came over to his and Erin's house. He quickly took her in as a daughter, and she was their sitter when they'd want to go out for the evening. The twins were used to Kami and Carson's house; so if Jay ad Erin wanted a whole night to themselves, Kami always offered for the twins to stay with her for the evening, and she would drop them off on the way to the gym in the morning.
"Thank you, Jay," Kami replied. Jaxton was caught up talking to his basketball and soccer teammates, so she looked Jay in the eye. "You guys did a great job with him," Kami sighed as she pushed the negative thoughts to the back of her mind. Today was a good day! They were done with high school, and now she would be on her way to Loyola University to major in Social Sciences, with the goal to be a police officer, eventually a Violent Crimes Agent for the CPD and FBI joint task force. With the help of Jay, Erin, and the rest of Intelligence, she quickly was granted an opportunity to shadow a case with her dream unit.
"What's wrong?" Jay asked. He knew his kids well. Even if Carson and Kami weren't his biologically, the two families spent enough time throughout the past five years, Jay could read them well.
"I don't want him to go," She shook her head as she dabbed under her eyes to educate what her state of makeup was. She couldn't cry. "Carson is going with him to Honolulu, Jay. I don't want them to end up like my mom and dad," Jay pulled her into his chest as Erin came up, and realized Kami was on the verge of a breakdown. She rubbed her back to signal she was there and Kami appreciated that.
"Kam," Erin quipped, lifting her face. "You know they'll be okay, right? We'll go visit them a lot. And besides, we can have some girl time. Me, you, and your mom."
Kami lifted her head and slowly nodded and smiled. "You're right. I'll be busy anyways. You know, working on my career."
"That's right," Jay nodded as he picked up Quinn. "You're going to work hard, and be a damn good cop. I can guarantee you that. And lucky for you, you're surrounded by them, and know that any of us will put in a good word for you." Jay turned around, seeing Ember in Jax's arms. He was so good with them. Loved them to pieces. "Hi, monkey." He joked towards his little girl. She giggled and Erin took her from Jax's arms, allowing Jay to pass Quinn to Carson so he could give his son a hug. "I'm so damn proud of you. Despite what has happened these past five years, you've definitely showed me how strong you are."
"I love you, dad," Jaxton felt the tears burn his cheeks as they fell, and soon he was saying the same to Erin. "You guys really are the best parents I could ask for. Thank you for never giving up on me." When he looked up, he saw the tears and love of his parents.
"Jax, we'll always be here, always. You're an amazing son, and you're already an amazing man. You're doing a selfless act and putting your life on the line for the safety of us. That's the best thing you could ever do, and don't let anyone tell you different."
Jaxton nodded as he looked at his parents. Tonight they weren't Detectives Halstead and Lindsay. Tonight they were Erin and Jay Halstead. The parents to Jaxton, Quinn, and Ember. They were the loving and selfless people he had met at the precinct break room five years ago. They were his parents. "And maybe one day, I'll be back and be like Steve and have my own task force. I can recruit Kami."
Jay and Erin exchanged looks at the phrase, maybe one day. They both knew what that phrase meant. It was the phrase that had first sparked their forbidden romance. And it was the undercover mission that had brought them together. They had been through two shootings of one another, an adoption process, a childbirth, and a miscarriage together, and here they are. Their eldest son was moving on to the next chapter of his life. And now, they had two younger ones to raise, and shape them the same way Jaxton was. With one another, that would be easy. Jay and Erin Halstead could and would achieve anything their minds were set to.
And as the family of five gathered for a picture, with Jax in the middle of his two parents, and a twin on each one of his parents' hips, they knew their love for one another was invincible. And they would always be there for each other. No matter what life three at them.
The End.