22. Make A Wish

Thank you all again for your feedback on the last chapter and I hope y'all enjoy this one! :)

22. Make A Wish

Erin tiptoed through the second floor of the cabin on Saturday morning, carrying a cake with three candles and two enlightened sparklers on top in her hands and after passing the threshold of the bedroom she started to sing 'Happy Birthday'.

Jay's eyes fluttered open by the sound of her raspy voice. He blinked some times and had to grin like a Chesire Cat when he saw her standing in front of the bed in her pajamas, her hair being quite messy, carrying his birthday cake in her hands and singing just for him.

″Happy Birthday babe,″ she smiled after finishing to sing, placed the cake on the bedside table and leaned down to kiss him. Intense. Longing. Teasingly.

″Thank you,″ he murmured and kissed her back but then pulled back before they would get to a point of no return.

″Is this for me?″ he then asked, sat up and eyed the delicious looking chocolate cake that had the number 32 written on top.

″Nope, for the birds and mosquitoes, but maybe they'll share it with you,″ she smirked.

″Damn, and for a minute I felt special,″ he laughed. ″When did you buy it?″

″I didn't buy it, Halstead,″ she answered and punched him onto his shoulder. ″I got up four hours ago just to bake you a birthday cake,″ she grinned and for a moment, Jay was speechless. Erin, the woman who hated anything that had to do with baking or cooking or other housewifely stuff, has made a birthday cake just for him.

″Now I honestly feel special,″ he said with a grin on his face.

″You better,″ she smirked.

″Thank you for this,″ he whispered before his lips melted with hers again. And for a second time this morning he was so damn close to simply forget this damn rule. But this time it was Erin who pulled of.

″This is so not fair,″ he moaned.

″I know. I also wanted to give you a different kind of birthday present but a homemade cake instead isn't too bad, is it?″ she teased him.

″Regarding the circumstances that it's already been three weeks and it will be another three cake is not exactly what I want right now but I'll take it,″ he winked.

″So generous,″ she laughed. ″It's made with love though.″

″This makes up for it,″ he chuckled.

″It does. It's actually not only made with so much love and dedication but also with so much patience that I'm still surprised you didn't hear me cursing aloud,″ she laughed.

″Let me guess: it didn't work as planned?″ he asked and grinned at her all innocent. Of course he was right but there was no need for him to know that her first try had landed in the garbage can immediately. And even with the second try she had been on the brink of throwing the cake batter against the wall and had only abstained from it because she had come to the conclusion that cleaning up that mess would be even worse than baking this cake.

″Now that babe, you'll never get the pleasure to know,″ she winked. She took the plate with the cake again and brought it up in front of his face.

″Make a wish,″ she whispered and he closed his eyes and blew out the three candles.

″Done,″ he smirked afterwards and kissed her before she handed him a knife for cutting the cake so they were able to eat it some minutes later.

″This is one damn delicious cake,″ Jay said after taking the first two bites.

″I sense a surprised undertone in your voice...″ she grinned and slightly shook her head.

″Maybe I underestimated your skills in the kitchen,″ he winked.

″Maybe you did,″ she noticed, being a little proud of her 2.000-calorie-cake.

″But then again I remember how you almost burned down your apartment by making popcorn,″ Jay chuckled.

″Oh come on, this was a lifetime ago!″

″Never gets old though,″ he answered and smirked at her with the most innocent expression on his face. ″Or what did you do again when your microwave almost exploded?″

″You know Jay Halstead, I originally planned on giving you your birthday present in some minutes but maybe I should simply keep it until you deserve to get it,″ she answered all dry and raised her eyebrow while glaring at him.

″You wouldn't do that.″

″I would,″ she grinned.

″I thought this cake is my present, so there's more?″ he asked and the gaze on his face was slightly curious.

″Of course there is,″ she said. There was actually an even bigger surprise to come for him today but he didn't need to know about this already. ″I needed a backup plan in case things with this cake went wrong, you know?″ she joked and rolled over to the other side of the bed, opened the drawer of the bedside table and grabbed the small package.

″This is it,″ she said as she turned around again and showed him the package. ″Doesn't it look nice?″

″Guess it looks even better unwrapped,″ he grinned, eyeing the package that was wrapped in fancy paper.

″Yeah, you could be right about that,″ she laughed. ″Happy 32nd again,″ she whispered and placed a kiss on his lips before she handed him his present and then watched him unwrapping it.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the content of the little box.

″This is exactly the one I've always wanted,″ he said and uncased the sporty but elegant watch from the box.

″I know,″ Erin smirked, loving to see that her present had exactly the effect she had wanted it to have.

″How did you know that?″ he asked as he couldn't remember that he has ever mentioned something to her.

″When we were shopping some weeks ago you looked at the watches and I recognized how you looked especially at this one. You may have thought that I didn't pay attention because everything was a little tense between us on that day, but I did. Because you know, the details matter,″ she smiled, repeating the words he had told her some months ago.

″Thank you,″ he answered with a grateful sparkle in his eyes and then crashed her lips with yet another soft but passionate kiss.

XxXxXxXxXxX

They spent the majority of his birthday out and about in the woods, strolled along Lake Lindsay where they later had a picnic and fully enjoyed their downtime and just having time for each other. They laid down on the blanket right next to each other, held each others hands, closed their eyes, let sun shine in their faces and just listened to the birds and the crickets around them. Especially after everything they've been through these last few weeks these little, perfect moments were all they needed right now. Being close to each other, having each other and showing each other how much they meant to them.

In the late afternoon, they returned to the cabin and for Erin it was about time to tell him that there was another present waiting for him without revealing too much of this surprise yet. She took a shower and then ordered him to also get a shower and she could see the curiosity in his face when he joined her in the bedroom after his shower, a towel loosely wrapped around his waist, while she was dressing herself.

″You tell me now where we're going?″ he asked while looking for underwear in his closet.

″No,″ she laughed and slipped into some black jeans.

″Pleeeeease,″ he pleaded, giving her a puppy-eyed glance that usually always worked while he tried not to look at her too much as she looked way too good for him to take it at the moment. The soft curls of her dirty blonde hair falling onto her shoulders, her hazel-green eyes sparkling at him. And that she was standing there in just her bra and jeans didn't help either.

″Be patient and wait and see,″ she grinned, walked to him and kissed him while she placed her hands on his sides, her thumb softly stroking over the pink scar on his stomach.

″Erin,″ he moaned quietly.

″I'm sorry, I didn't wanna hurt you,″ she apologized immediately.

″This damn scar is not what hurts when you touch me,″ he sighed and Erin looked down the towel and knew what he meant.

″This wasn't my intention, sorry,″ she said and walked some steps back.

″It's not your fault. It's just...damn can't we just simply forget about this order? It's not like that a little...scrabble...will kill me.″

″Uh-uh,″ she answered and shook her head. ″We're not taking any risks.″

″Three more weeks. Three. You might as well just kill me, it'll be less painful,″ he sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

″Well, there's the bathroom, I'm sure you know other options to get rid of your...'problem' so you won't have to die,″ she answered all dry and put on a ruffled, tight white shirt that was quite long to cover her belly perfectly. ″But hey,″ she then added with a soft voice and gave him a compassionate glance, ″not being allowed to play scrabble with you is hard for me, too, believe me. And now get dressed, we don't have time forever.″

″Where do we go again?″ he asked casually while slipping into his polo shirt.

″Yeah Jay, nice try,″ she laughed.

″C'mon Er, it's my birthday.″

″Really? Why didn't you mention that earlier?″ she teased him.

″Now I did, so?″ he smirked innocently.

″Give it up babe,″ she winked and things even got worse when they sat down in the car some minutes later and she blindfolded him with a scarf. Jay got more curious than he already was and during the duration of their drive he asked her several times where they were heading to but she didn't reveal her secret and had instead too much fun teasing him all the time and letting him be in the dark.

XxXxXxXxXxX

″Alright, give me your hand,″ she said after they had reached their destination and she had opened the passenger's door to help him getting out of the car. She then guided him towards the place where the surprise was waiting for him, made sure that he wouldn't run into the next tree and told him where he had to watch his steps while she tried her best not to laugh about him because he looked so cute being all disoriented.

″Okay, you can stop now,″ she whispered into his ear from behind.

″Where are we?″ he asked again.

″Be patient,″ she chuckled and untied the scarf from his eyes.

In the moment he opened his eyes, a bunch of people screamed ″Happy Birthday″ and he needed a moment until his vision was clear enough but then he couldn't believe what he was seeing, or better who he was seeing. Will, Michael, Susan, Nick and his wife and their son, Izzie and her boyfriend, all of them standing there in the garden of Michael's and Susan's cabin, smiling and grinning at him. All being there just for him.

″No way,″ he said all smiles and slightly shook his head as he needed a moment to find his words again. ″What are you all doing here?″ he asked and walked towards his family members, a wave of happiness, thankfulness and excitement going through his body. This was something he never has expected.

″We heard it's someone's birthday today,″ Susan said and hugged her nephew who was still more than just perplex.

″But how?″ he asked as he was now hugged by his uncle.

″Don't ask me,″ he laughed and held his hands up in defence. ″For the string-pullers you have to look to your left and to my right. And I think this ginger there also had something to do with it,″ he said and pointed from Erin to Susan to Will.

Jay looked at Erin for literally one second but it was enough for her to see how endlessly grateful and moved he was. She only gave him a fond smile and a little twinkle and then softly pushed him towards his cousins while she hugged his aunt and uncle and exchanged a few words with them, giving Jay all the time to say hello to his cousins he hasn't seen for years.

″You're looking good Jay,″ Izzie said while she hugged him.

″You too,″ he grinned at the strawberry blonde woman he has always had a special bond with, and then got introduced to her Australian boyfriend Paul.

″Good to see you again,″ Nick said who was the next to hug and congratulate him.

″Damn good,″ Jay nodded and gave his cousin a pat on the back.

″This is Lydia and this little man here is Mylo,″ Nick introduced his wife and his son.

″Hi Lydia, nice to meet you,″ he said and hugged the blonde woman. ″And nice to meet you Mylo,″ he smiled and stroked the little boy's fist but he only got a skeptical glance from him. ″How old is he?″

″Eight months. How far along is she?″ she asked and glanced to Erin who still chatted with Michael and Susan.

″Uhm...somewhere in between 21 and 22 weeks if I remember correct,″ he grinned.

″The wait is just as fun,″ Lydia laughed. ″Boy or girl?″

″We don't know yet,″ Jay winked.

″Hey little bro, keep the baby-talk for later and let me hug you already,″ Will interrupted them.

″Sorry,″ Jay winked.

″Happy Birthday favorite brother. May the new year of your life be filled with endless joy...and as less sleepless nights as possible,″ he laughed while embracing him and gave him a pat on the back.

″Thanks man,″ he laughed and glanced around for a second. ″How did you guys organize all this?″

″Don't ask me, these two were the partners in crime,″ he said and pointed to Susan and Erin, who now said hello to their cousins. ″Erin only asked me some weeks ago whether I can take the weekend off.″

″I can't believe this,″ he said quietly and slightly shook his head with the softest of smiles surrounding his lips, just feeling endlessly blessed.

Some moments later, Erin joined him and he immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

″I don't know how to thank you for this,″ he murmured into her ear and then placed a soft kiss on her temple.

″So Jay,″ Susan said and everybody got quiet to listen to her little speech. ″The reason we're all here today is because we want to celebrate your 32nd birthday with you. But that's not the only reason because we also want to celebrate your 2nd birthday with you. Some weeks ago I wanted to call you and tell you that Nick and his family and Izzie and Paul will come to New York and I wanted to ask you whether we could maybe organize a little reunion there just as we had discussed it some months ago. But instead of you, your wonderful girlfriend answered your phone and told me that you're having a MRI at the moment because you've had a horrible accident. Thank God you were already in the phase of recovery back then. So Erin told me everything about what had happened and I told her about my original plan of bringing this family closer together again and she had the idea of organizing a surprise birthday party for you. Here in Wisconsin, at the place you love so much with the people who mean a lot to you. Your family. And here we are, celebrating your life because we all love you and we're all happy and thankful that you're here with us today. I know things haven't been the best for a while and I'm still sorry for all the things we've done and that's why I'm even happier that this family is kinda reunited again. You and Will, too of course, were always like sons for us, like brothers for Izzie and Nick and Myles and you still are, regardless the things that had happened in between,″ she said and had to take a deep breath, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

″And then, when I saw Erin walking into this garden earlier I realized that we even have a third reason to celebrate today, so once again, happy birthday Jay. You only deserve the best,″ she said and walked towards him, hugged him again and placed a short kiss on his cheek.

″Your mom would be so happy for you, I know it,″ she whispered so only he was able to hear it.

Jay gave her a soft smile and nodded but at the same time his heart ached that their family wasn't complete anymore, that his mother wasn't here to celebrate this day with them and to be a part of all the exciting days to come, that she would never be a grandmother, that their child would never meet one of the greatest women he's ever known. He pushed this thought away and swallowed his emotions down as he had the feeling that it was now on him to say something.

″Uhm...well, I'm still a little overwhelmed and speechless to be honest and I can't tell in words how much this means to me. That you're all here today. That this family is all back together again. I've missed this. A lot. So...uhm...thank you all for coming and for organizing. This is the best surprise ever, well besides finding out I'm going to be a father″ he said with the brightest grin on his face and as Erin looked up to him, she saw how his eyes got a little glassy. She knew how much his family meant to him, that's why she immediately has had this idea to surprise him as she has known that this would be the most perfect birthday present for him. That it would forever be a birthday to remember.

″C'mon Jay, before you start to cry here, let's get this bonfire started,″ Nick joked and pointed to the fireplace.

″Nick!″ Izzie called and boxed her ellbow into her brother's side.

″Oh well, some things never change,″ Will laughed.

″Nope, they don't,″ Nick laughed, too, along with everyone else. Just Erin didn't know what they were talking about but she was sure she would find out soon.

XxXxXxXxXxX

While the men took care of the bonfire and the grill, the women went into the house and prepared some side dishes in the kitchen and also marinaded the meat.

″So Erin, tell me about this,″ Susan smiled and pointed to her slightly swollen stomach. ″This was a nice surprise when I saw you.″

″Well, we got quite surprised by it, too,″ Erin answered.

″Oh, then it wasn't planned I guess?″ she laughed.

″Not exactly. Lots of coincidences came together when this happened,″ she sighed and placed her hand on her stomach for a second.

″How far along are you?″ Susan asked, gently rocking her grandson who seemed to get a little grumpy.

″21 weeks.″

″I honestly ask myself why I looked like a balloon at 21 weeks with this little monkey,″ Lydia sighed with a laughter and glanced at her baby.

″Because little Mylo was literally the biggest baby ever, right?″ Susan laughed and tickled the baby's stomach.

″So 21 weeks means you and Jay already know the gender?″ she then asked Erin.

″We don't,″ she said and shook her head. ″Our doctor knows but we didn't want to know yet but eventually we're going to find out at my next appointment.″

″From the way you're carrying I already have a suspicion,″ Susan winked.

″From the way I'm carrying?″ Erin echoed and furrowed a brow.

″Yeah. I went through this three times and over the years I became pretty good in seeing it and then guessing it right. But no worries, I won't tell you what I think.″

″I honestly still don't want to know anyway. I don't care about the gender, all that matters for both of us is that the baby is healthy. But after his accident something changed for Jay, and now it's important for him and so it's for me, too,″ she smiled and just after she had finished her sentence Mylo started to cry loudly which made Erin remember that her life would look like this soon, that this was her future, but she pushed this thought away immediately.

″Well, I guess someone needs to sleep,″ Lydia sighed, taking him from Susan into her arms.

″Let me give you a hand with putting him to bed,″ Susan said and the two women walked upstairs, leaving Izzie and Erin alone.

Erin wasn't really unhappy that their conversation about her pregnancy had such a sudden end. She wasn't used to talk about it so much and although she was at a point where she has accepted it and even occasionally enjoyed it she wasn't exactly eager to talk about it.

″It's only the fourth time she sees him, so she's clearly all crazy about him,″ Izzie laughed. ″And she's all crazy about babies in general, I'm sorry for that.″

″No worries, I think it's cute though,″ Erin grinned.

″It is. She loves to be a grandmother, so it's hard for her that her only grandchild lives half across the country. Well and then there's me who lives half across the world.″

″So you're just here for a visit?″ Erin asked and scanned Izzie for a moment. She seemed to be younger than her, maybe around 27. While her brother Nick had dark hair and dark eyes, she seemed to come more after her father with her fair hair and green eyes, quite similar to Jay's piercing blue ones.

″Yes we are. I met Paul four years ago but he's never been to the US with me until yet because this type of trip is quite hard to afford as students. So we've been to New York and now we're here and then we'll probably drive to Chicago and then down to Texas to stay a couple of days with Nick and Lydia at their farm before we'll make a little road trip from there to San Francisco. And from there we'll fly home to Sydney to finally start earning some real money,″ she laughed.

″Sounds pretty much amazing. What did you study?″

″Criminal law,″ Izzie winked.

″Really?″

″Yep. I say this confidently that it's a lot of work.″

″Yeah, I believe so,″ Erin laughed. ″May I ask which side are you on?″

″Prosecution.″

″Good choice.″

″I hope so,″ Izzie laughed. ″You're a detective, too, right? Just like Jay?″

″I am. Jay and I both work in the Intelligence Unit,″ Erin nodded.

″So that means you guys are doing the tough and dangerous stuff?″

″Most days, yeah. But no matter how tough it is sometimes, I wouldn't change it for anything,″ she answered.

″Best thing is to have a job you love,″ Izzie nodded.

″It is,″ Erin agreed. She didn't know why but she like the younger woman and it seemed like the same applied for Izzie. There was an immediate sympathy between them and Erin figured she could ask her one thing she was quite curious about.

″Can I ask you something?″

″Sure,″ Izzie smiled.

″I'm just curious...what did you all mean when you said that some things never change?″

″You mean in the garden earlier?″

″Mhm,″ Erin nodded.

″Long story but well, I think we have time,″ she laughed and eyed all the vegetables they still had to cut into smaller pieces.

″So...I'm the youngest in this family what means I was born into a family full of boys, so this was quite hard sometimes. Myles and Nick were wild kids and Will was, too. But Jay, he's always been different. So calm and sensitive and thoughtful and just simply the sweetest kid. My mom once told me that every time we met and I was still a baby or a toddler, Jay took care of me. And when we got older and spent our vacations here with our grandfather he always protected me from the other three. He read me stories when I was too young to read myself, he teached me to calculate when I was five and even when we got older he Chose to play with me than with his cousins and his brother. Of course we all played cops and robbers and Uno and Jenga and whatever else together, too, but sometimes Jay and I didn't want to run through the woods all day and preferred to spend the day at our treehouse and the little creek. Then we took Carly with us and talked all day, played games or drew the landscape or caught frogs in the creek. Sometimes we went fishing with our grandfather or we took our bikes and visited Bill and spent the day at his farm, helping wherever help was needed and were allowed to ride a little in return. I think Jay and I have quite similar personalities and that's why we always had a special bond although we didn't see each other that often. He defended me in front of the others and vice versa. Until I was born it must've been quite hard for him sometimes being the only calm kid against the three wild, impulsive kids,″ she said with a chuckle before she continued.

″And well, don't get me wrong, I love my brothers more than anything but Jay has always been that kind of brother every girl wishes to have. Protecting, caring, defending, loving and most of all, always listening. I don't think he changed so much, did he?″ she grinned at Erin.

″Naah, not at all,″ she smiled fondly because Jay was still the exact same guy.

″Everything else would've surprised me.″

″Mhm,″ Erin nodded as another thing came to her mind. ″Who is Carly?″

″Carly was our grandfather's golden retriever, the cutest dog ever. We all loved her. Spending our summers here in Wisconsin was the best part of our childhood,″ Izzie smiled.

″Yeah, Jay said that, too.″

″And then, with Myles's death, everything changed,″ she sighed. ″We all did things we're not proud of.″

″When we grieve we forget everything around us and therefore make wrong decisions, hurt other people because we don't care.″

″Yeah I know. But it wasn't fair. Jay has always been like a brother for me, I always called him my third brother. He has always been like a son for my parents. But when he made it home from war and Myles didn't everything changed and our relationships broke into pieces. Suddenly all my parents cared about was that their son had died, not that their nephew had survived. And the same applied for me. In the beginning I couldn't be happy about his safe return. I had lost my real brother, the one that was with me almost every day of my life until I turned 19. And then Nick got into drugs because Myles wasn't only his brother but also his best friend, and all the time I just asked myself why. Why Myles? Why us? Why did this have to happen to our family? I then quickly decided I needed distance from all this drama and ran away. It wasn't the right thing to leave them alone with everything but I couldn't take my parents's grief and Nick's addiction anymore. While my parents's feelings for Jay didn't change for years, I wanted to talk to him before I left for Australia because I needed to. It wasn't the same anymore but at least we exchanged some words before I left and I was able to tell him that Myles's death wasn't his fault. We didn't have contact in years then anyway but I guess in this case time did heal all wounds because today...damn this is the family I grew up in, the family I used to know.″

″I'm really happy that you and Jay and everyone else have their family back. I know it means a lot for Jay and I guess it just means as much for you and for all the others,″ Erin answered.

″It does. But hey, you are a part of this family, too and I really like that,″ Izzie grinned and Erin felt how her cheeks blushed a little. In this moment she realized that she was definitely part of a real family again and it made her heart pound and warm. It was something she never knew how much she actually wished and yearned for deep inside.

″Me too,″ Erin smiled back at the younger woman. ″So if you and Paul come to Chicago we could maybe hang out together and show you the city or something. In case Jay and I have time. But chances are good because we're both working the desk at the moment,″ she laughed.

″I'd love that! And in case you and Jay ever want to come to Sydney, we're there,″ Izzie winked.

″Good to know,″ Erin grinned. ″Then tell me more about Sydney.″

″Oh it's beautiful...″ Izzie answered and started to tell Erin everything about the place she called home before they were joined by Susan and Lydia again some minutes later.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Meanwhile, the men stood around the fireplace outside in the garden and got that bonfire going, each of them carrying a bottle of beer in their hands.

″This brings back so many memories,″ Jay said pensively.

″It does,″ Nick nodded. ″So to the memories,″ he said and raised his bottle.

″And to Jay,″ Paul said and also raised his bottle.

″And to all the people we miss dearly today,″ Jay added before they all clinked their bottles and took some long sips.

″When we came back here yesterday Will and I remembered the treehouse-story. God, we were some insane kids,″ Nick laughed after some moments of silence.

″Treehouse-story?″ Jay frowned.

″Don't tell me you forgot this?″

″Maybe he suppressed it, Nick,″ Will chimed in with a laughter.

″Seems like,″ Nick grinned. ″You don't remember how you and Izzie were trapped in your treehouse because Will and Myles and I had stolen the ladder?″

″And how you could've simply jumped down to the ground but Izzie was too small and you didn't want to leave her alone up there?″ Will added.

″Oh, now rings a bell, yeah,″ Jay said and slightly shook his head by these memories. ″Grandpa somewhen found us in the evening.″

″Yeah, he got worried because the two of you didn't show up for dinner and he immediately knew that we had something to do with it. We had to tell him because he threatened that we'll never be allowed to spend our vacation here again if we don't.″

″And later that night we got the biggest telling-off of our lives,″ Nick laughed.

″Hell yes,″ Will agreed.

″You never told me about that though,″ Jay grinned.

″You didn't need to know about this,″ Nick winked.

″But now I remember, you guys had to clean the whole cabin afterwards, right? And you had to weed the garden as well?″

″Yep,″ Nick nodded. ″Grandpa always had the most effective methods bring us back down to earth after running a little out of control,″ he laughed and looked up to the sky.

″To grandpa,″ Jay said, also looked up to the sky and raised his bottle.

″To grandpa,″ Will echoed. ″If he was here with us today he would facepalm and ask us whether we never paid attention when he explained us how to make a bonfire.″

″He would for sure,″ Nick grinned and they all took some sips of their beers.

″Let's make this a real bonfire then, one he would be proud of,″ Jay said afterwards and placed his bottle down in the grass to grab more wood.

Some time passed before they were joined by Erin who brought them the marinaded steaks so that they could finally put them on the grill.

″Looking good guys,″ she said and eyed the imposing bonfire at the end of the garden, quite close to the lake.

″I hope you meant us and not that bonfire,″ Nick winked.

″Of course, what do you think?″ Erin laughed.

″Good answer,″ Michael grinned.

″I know,″ she nodded and then turned her head around to Jay only to see how he was staring at her. God, he loved this girl and seeing her joking around with his family made him feel even more moved and blessed and in love with her, the woman he would have his own little family with soon. The woman who was the greatest gift he has ever received.

″Can we finally put the steaks on the grill though?″ Jay asked Erin, interrupting his own thoughts.

″No, I just brought them that you all can stare at them, maybe your glances can cook them, too,″ she sassed.

″This one goes to Erin,″ Will laughed.

″Stupid questions get stupid answers,″ she grinned and twinkled at Jay.

″Shut up,″ he murmured and gave her quite a passionate kiss given the fact all of the others watched them, before she handed the plate with the steaks to Michael and then walked into the house again to help finishing the salads.

Jay watched her as she disappeared in the house and then turned around to the rest of the gang again, grinning from ear to ear and slightly shaking his head at the same time.

″What's up bro?″ Will asked.

″Sometimes I just can't believe she's real and right now I still can't believe she did this for me,″ he said, grabbed his beer and took a gulp.

″You found yourself a diamond,″ Nick said and gave Jay a pat on the back.

″I did indeed,″ Jay nodded and clinked his bottle with the one of his cousin.

″When will you put a ring on it?″

″Someday,″ Jay only answered.

″What is someday supposed to mean?″ Nick dug deeper.

″Someday means someday,″ he smirked and with his answer it was clear that he didn't want to give them any further details. Simply because there weren't any further details. All he knew was that he would ask her someday. When the time was right, when the moment was right, when she was ready for this next step he knew she wasn't ready for yet.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Later, they all sat around the big table on the patio and ate the delicious steaks, all the various salads and the grilled vegetables. When the darkness started to close in aroud them and it got a little chilly, they sat down around the bonfire, made campfire twist bread for snacks and shared a lot more stories from their childhood but also from the last few years. Stories about their jobs, about Australia or about living on a farm. Shortly before midnight, Susan brought a giant birthday cake with 32 candles and for the second time that day Jay was allowed to make a wish before blowing out all of the candles with the first attempt, getting massive cheers and applause from the others.

The whole Halstead-Taylor family sat in the garden until the early morning hours, completely forgetting time while eating cake, drinking beer and sharing stories over stories, memories over memories. When they had to say goodbye it was hard for all them, not knowing when they would see each other again but what they knew for sure was that they definitely would see each other again. Hopefully not only in some years. And for the time in between they would surely stay in contact with one another.

Erin and Jay finally laid in their bed back at his cabin when the sun almost started to rise again outside, snuggled up to each other, recalling all the happenings of the day.

″I can't thank you enough for all of this, Er,″ he mumbled into her hair. ″This means the world to me and this was the best birthday in years, maybe the best ever,″ he added and kissed her head.

But Erin didn't answer anything and when he looked down into her face he had to grin because she was already peacefully asleep. He would tell her again, thank her again. For the rest of his life as she had a lot to do with this family being reunited again.

Make a wish, they had all said to him earlier but yet something he wished for when Erin had brought him his cake and had told him to make a wish almost 24 hours ago has already come true. And maybe he was lucky and all the other things he's wished for would come true, too...

Thanks for reading and sticking with me! Reviews are appreciated, as always :)