83. Love You Forever

Thanks for the feedback on my last chapter, I hope you'll like this one as well ;)

83. Love You Forever

~ It's amazing how much such a little person changes in just one year, how much she changes you, how she can turn the whole world around and give your life a whole new meaning ~

The first month of the new year passed by as quickly as all the months of the old year had passed by, winter at its peak with snow covering the city for the better part of January and some insane cold wave with temperatures way below zero turning the city in one gigantic freezer, the criminals returning from their Christmas break in full force and committing crimes the required Intelligence on scene no matter that they all already got severe frostbite only from looking at the temperature indicator. Next to work and catching all the bad guys, it was Erin's and Jay's main task to plan Emilia's first birthday that they wanted to celebrate with all the important people in Emmy's life on the weekend after the Thursday their little girl, who was a confident walker by now, turned one. So whenever they had a spare minute they talked about cakes, decorations, presents and any other stuff they needed to make this day special and it was only a couple of days before the big day that they had it all planned out.

″Can you believe this is the last evening we can refer to her as an almost one-year-old?″ Jay asked on the evening of 31 January as they watched their daughter play in her room from the doorframe, giving her a couple more minutes before reading her a story and tucking her in one last time before she would officially be a year old.

″No,″ Erin answered with a sigh. ″Can you believe it's been exactly 365 days since we walked up and down the staircase of the hospital to get my water to break? That it's been 365 days since I almost broke your fingers every time I had a contraction?″

″No,″ he laughed, bringing his hand up in front of his face as if he wanted to check his fingers for any damage. ″Still feels like yesterday.″

″Yeah, sure,″ Erin chuckled and gave him a soft nudge.

″Broken fingers would be a walk in the park compared to what you had to go through to bring this nugget into the world,″ he said, turning his gaze from Emmy to her and when her eyes met his she found an amount of adoration in his eyes that almost overwhelmed her.

″Yeah, I guess one could say this was a piece of work,″ Erin chuckled. ″God, she was so small and fragile.″

″She was,″ Jay agreed. ″And look at her now,″ he said, a whole lot of pride in his voice as their eyes fell on Emmy again, who looked at them in this moment as if she knew her parents were talking about her.

″Yes Emmy, we're talking about you,″ Erin said and they joined her on the floor, her hand stroking over her daughter's soft hair. Even after having Emmy in their life for almost 365 days she still couldn't believe that this adorable, perfect, beautiful little girl with the light blue eyes and brown-blonde hair was what they'd created in that one night on the couch, that they'd been able to create such a miracle. Their unplanned surprise. Their child of love.

″But even almost one-year-olds get tired, right princess?″ Jay grinned when Emmy yawned, her husband talking interrupting Erin's thoughts that had the potential to make her all emotional.

He picked her up and Erin grabbed one of her favorite books from the shelf before they left the room to settle in their bedroom, where they had enough space to cuddle while reading bedtime stories. With Emmy comfortably resting in Jay's arm, Erin started to read the book. Love You Forever, a story that somehow fitted perfectly with their baby only hours away from turning one.

Halfway through the book, Jay settled an already very sleepy Emmy on Erin's chest and stomach so he could read the rest of the story while Emmy would completely fall to sleep while Erin stroked her back and head. And by the time they reached the last page, Emilia was out like a light but it didn't hold them back from reading the last few lines together before they both leaned down to kiss their daughter's head.

″I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be...″

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Erin woke up early on the 1st of February 2018, long before her or Jay's alarms would go off and when she adjusted her eyes to the darkness of the bedroom on this winter morning, she quickly figured that she wasn't the only one being awake as early. Jay was leaning against his pillows, his face illuminated by the screen of his phone, her man probably fighting against this oh-my-god-our-baby-is-one-insomnia as well.

″What are you doing?″ she murmured against her pillow and he instantly turned his head to her by the sound of her raspy, sleepy voice.

″Did I wake you?″ he asked back. ″I'm sorry,″ he sighed and changed his position so he could kiss her hair.

″You didn't,″ she smiled tiredly. ″I couldn't really sleep anymore.″

″Yeah, me too,″ he admitted. ″So I grabbed my phone, played some game and scrolled through Facebook.″

″You never use your Facebook,″ Erin laughed. In this regard, they were both exactly the same: they rarely ever used their Facebook-accounts, neither to scroll through their timelines and see what all the people they were befriended with on the social media platform were doing, nor to post anything.

″I was bored, okay?″ he defended himself with a lazy grin. ″Look which memory was brought up instantly.″

He handed her his phone and her eyes fell on the memory from one year ago today. A super sweet photo of newborn Emilia with her Eeyore, that was almost as big as she was, captioned with the words: Your first breath took ours away. Emilia Camille, 1 February 2017, 1.21am. 6lbs 12 oz and 20 inches of perfection.

″This must be the only thing you posted in 2017,″ Erin chuckled, not being able to turn her eyes away from her tiny baby dressed in those adorable newborn clothes that seemed to be too big. She remembered how he'd posted it in the evening while she'd nursed her newborn daughter and he'd filled his stomach with pizza and pasta, when they'd been back home from the hospital not even 24 hours after Emmy had made them a family of three.

″Nope, there was one more,″ he grinned and took his phone back to show her his post from their wedding day, a photo the photographer had taken as they stood in front of the lake and the registrar, holding each other's hands while exchanging their vows, a simple caption accompanying his post: Mr & Mrs Halstead.

″Oh yeah, right. That makes two posts more than I had in 2017,″ she laughed slightly, not knowing when was the last time she'd actually updated her profile. As she barely used it there was no need to keep it up to date and she had other things to do than caring about social media, and keeping everyone updated about her personal life was the last thing she had any interest in doing. The people who deserved to know about her private life were in fact those, who were in some way a part of her private life.

″Beat you on that, huh?″ he joked and wrapped her arm around her while the thumb of his other hand swiped over the phone, opening his camera roll with all the photos of Emilia he'd taken within the last year.

″Look at this,″ Erin smiled when she saw the very first picture he'd taken, which was all blurry because his hands had been a shaky mess, a squishy Emilia covered with a towel lying on her mother's chest only a couple of minutes after her birth, Erin herself looking endlessly tired but at the same time happier than ever before as she peered down on her daughter. It was a picture that could make her emotional and melancholic every damn time she was seeing it because it was just so pure and captured all her feelings and emotions.

″She was so small,″ Jay sighed, scrolling through the following pictures of the first few weeks and months. ″You know, I can't decide whether I want her to stay little or whether I want to see her growing into the amazing person I know she'll become.″

″Stay little,″ Erin answered without hesitating.

″Why is it such a big deal for us that she's turning one?″ he asked the question he didn't really have an answer for. It was beyond amazing to see Emilia grow up and to see how she learned new things almost every day, to see how much she'd changed in just one year. But maybe this exact change was what they had trouble with.

″Because this year just flew by in a heartbeat,″ she answered. ″Because she'll be two in a second. A first-grader in a minute. Eighteen in an hour and married in a day. Oh, and in a week, we'll be grandparents,″ she added with a light laugh.

″Over my dead body,″ Jay laughed heartily by his wife's statement and by the way these words had left her lips so dry and casual yet just with the right amount of sarcasm and joke in her voice.

″Good to know we're on the same page about that,″ Erin chuckled and coincidentally, a photo of Luke giving Emmy a kiss on the cheek came up in Jay's camera roll. ″Talking about that...you think we gotta be worried?″ she winked, raising an eyebrow at him.

″Naah,″ he denied. ″Not yet at least. And in case they don't continue to grow up like siblings but like friends, which would give us a reason to be worried, then I will make sure that he keeps 10 feet away from her when the time comes. And any part of him that crosses that line will be removed.″

This time it was Erin who bursted out in laughters by her husband's threat, by the way he'd said the part of removing whatever crossed that line ever so casual like it was the most normal thing, and for a minute, she pictured a teenage Luke getting threatened by Jay during an eye-to-eye conversation if he ever dared to came close to their daughter. Erin's laughters were as contagious that it didn't take Jay long to laugh with her, only now realizing what he'd just said, and it took a while until they calmed down and fell into a comfortable silence, the both of them being breathless for a different reason than why they were usually breathless in their bedroom.

″Our baby is one,″ Erin somewhen whispered into the silence and a smile formed on her lips by these words. Yes, she was sad, but she was also happy. Yes she was scared, but she was also excited. Yes, she wanted her baby to stay her baby but in that moment she realized that Emmy would always be their baby, just at some point in the near future not looking like one anymore.

″Our baby is one,″ Jay echoed and pressed a kiss against her head, remembering their bedtime story from last night. ″And she'll always be our baby.″ For the millionth time this beautiful connection they had showed off and Erin was sure whether intentionally or not, this man could read her mind or hear her thoughts or was in any strange other way able to know exactly what was going on inside of her.

″She will,″ she grinned at him and by now, not only she seemed to be fine with Emmy being one, but him as well. ″How about we try to catch some more sleep before our birthday girl wakes up?″

″Yeah, I'd like that.″

Erin nestled closer into his embrace as his hold tightened, her head resting on his chest, the beating of his heart under her ear lulling her to slumber rather quick and her warm body close to his combined with her steady breathing bringing him back to dreamland as well.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

″I heard it's someone's birthday today,″ Jay smiled brightly when he approached the crib together with Erin later that morning, the both of them already dressed for the day, Emmy as almost always greeting them by standing on her feet and she got all excited when she saw her parents which resulted in her falling back on the mattress.

″Is it your birthday today, bug?″ Erin asked when she scooped her one-year-old up into her arms.

″Nooo,″ Emmy answered. For a couple of days, this has been her new favorite word and while she couldn't say yes yet and couldn't figure out the difference between the two anyway, she basically answered every question with no, even when she actually meant yes.

″I think it is,″ Jay laughed. ″You are one year old today.″

″Noo,″ Emilia said once again with a bright smile on her face.

″She's probably in denial just as much as we are,″ Erin chuckled and then kissed Emmy's forehead. ″Happy Birthday sweetheart. Thank you for lighting up our lives every single day.″

She pressed her against her chest for a moment, closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of her hair that smelled of peach and raspberry and then handed her over to Jay.

″Happy Birthday princess Emilia,″ Jay whispered and kissed her head. ″Daddy loves you to the moon and back.″

After sharing more birthday cuddles and enjoying more sweet moments in Emilia's nursery, they went downstairs where Rylie had already set the table, some muffins she'd baked for Emmy yesterday waiting on each plate, one muffin with a candle sitting on the tray of their birthday girl's highchair.

″Finally,″ Rylie smiled when the three of them made an appearance quite late for a weekday, which was a result of not only Erin staying at home today as usual on a Thursday, but also Jay. ″I was already afraid that I have to leave for work without seeing you sweet girl before,″ she said as she joined them and took the toddler from Jay's arm. ″Happy Birthday little sunshine,″ she almost sang and kissed Emilia's head.

″Say thank you Rylie,″ Erin smiled at her daughter.

″Nooo,″ Emilia answered.

″Why do I have the feeling that this word will cause a lot of trouble?″ Jay laughed, shaking his head slightly.

″Because it will,″ Rylie winked, knowing exactly what she was talking about. ″But no matter that you don't want to say thank you I have something for you, young lady.″

She put Emilia down on the floor, grabbed the present that already lay on the table as well and then bent on her knees to give it to her.

″Wow Em, look at that,″ Erin whispered and sat down next to Emmy to help her with the quite big present. They unwrapped it together, Crispin joining them as soon as he heard the rustling of the fancy paper because who knew, maybe someone was opening a package of treats for him, and Jay was busy with taking pictures of Emmy sitting in Erin's lap on the floor, Crispin standing next to them, his nose right by their hands, his ears alert and his tail wagging as he hoped to find something that was for him, something eatable preferably.

″Crisp, I don't think this is for you buddy,″ Erin laughed and pushed his wet nose away gently.

″Nope, definitely not for you, Crispin,″ Jay commented when the fancy paper was unwrapped and towel with a hood in form of a bear and a new set of bathing toys were revealed.

″Oh, that's so cute,″ Erin smiled at the young blonde girl. ″Thank you, Ry, this is very sweet of you.″

″I thought since she loves bathing so much, this is something she can always use,″ Rylie smiled back.

″She will love this towel and those toys, right Emilia?″ Erin said, running her hand through her daughter's hair.

″Noo,″ Emmy babbled, this answer making everyone laugh, but of course their baby girl grabbed for the colorful bathing toys all excited anyway.

″This hurt my feelings, Emmy,″ Rylie laughed. ″But I know you don't mean it like this.″

They settled around the table while Rylie went to wake Luke up and it only took a couple of seconds and their foster-son came running into the room, hiding his hands behind his back and it was obvious that he was excited about Emilia's birthday, almost as much as if it was his own.

″I have a present for you as well, Emmy,″ was the first thing he exclaimed excitedly, placing the present on the tray of the highchair she was sitting in. ″I will help you to open it, okay?″

Rylie, Erin and Jay silently watched as Luke grabbed the present again and unwrapped it only to place the monstertruck on her tray once it wasn't covered by the fancy paper anymore.

″Here you go,″ Luke smiled proudly. ″Happy Birthday.″

″Thank you, Luke,″ Jay answered for his daughter, his voice slightly touched by the sweet bond Luke and Emilia obviously had. ″But isn't this your favorite?″ he asked, pointing at the monstertruck that Emmy was already reaching for.

″It is,″ Luke confirmed. ″But Emmy likes it as well. So it's hers now. She can have it,″ he said lightly, this adorable statement and gesture bringing tears to Rylie's and Erin's eyes.

″You are the sweetest kid, Lukey,″ Jay smiled, running his hand through Luke's hair.

″I know,″ Luke answered casually, making them all laugh heartily.

Before starting their breakfast, they all together sang happy birthday and then Erin and Jay enlightened the candle on the muffin only to help their daughter to blow it out afterwards, telling her to make a wish but the only response they got was a very confused glance as Emmy stared at her parents with those blue orbs as if they were out of their minds.

Just like any other day, this morning took a stressful turn as well when they realized that both Rylie and Luke were running a little late for work and preschool due to the birthday celebrations and so while Jay drove Rylie to Med to make sure she got there in time, Erin made Luke ready for preschool and drove him there, Emmy still wearing her pajamas because there hadn't been the time to change her as well. Their beautiful chaos didn't take a break only because it was a special day for them today and it didn't bother Erin at all. This life, sometimes chaotic in a beautiful way and sometimes in a not-so-beautiful way, has been their life for the past year and neither Erin nor Jay wanted to change it for anything because it was wonderful like this, even on the days it wasn't.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Erin and Jay spent the morning at home, helping Emilia to unwrap more of her presents and play with her for a little while before they finally changed her clothes into jeans, an adorable new hoodie, winter boots, scarf, jacket and beanie so they could leave the house and pay their colleagues a visit during their lunch break because regardless that they would all come to Emmy's birthday party on Saturday, they of course wanted to see Emmy on her actual birthday as well.

Erin was holding Crispin's leash and Jay was holding Emilia's hands from above as they walked up the stairs to the 21st district because no matter that she was a confident walker now, she couldn't take the steps all by herself yet. Coming through the huge double doors, he let go of her hands so she could walk towards Platt's front desk or wherever else she wanted to go.

″Well hello young lady,″ Platt welcomed them, her eyes falling on the toddler. ″Who allowed you to grow up like this?″

″We certainly didn't,″ Erin laughed.

″Look at her,″ Platt sighed, not being able to take her eyes away from the little girl. ″I remember how you walked in here with her a year ago, when she was only a couple of hours old.″ Erin only had look their desk sergeant in the eyes to see that she was getting all emotional about this memory. ″She looks so much like you, Erin.″

″Yeah, I guess by now I have to accept that you were all right when you said that from the very beginning,″ Erin winked.

″She's you with blue eyes. And her smile is Jay's but with your dimples,″ she assessed.

″Pretty much, yaah,″ Erin grinned. ″And it's not only her looks, it's her personality as well.″

″This will be fun then, huh?″ Platt raised an eyebrow at the young detective and her eyes weren't strict but rather warm and kind, with a rare smile forming in the corners of her mouth. She's known her for so many years, had been there all those years back when patrol had brought her in for the first time, had witnessed Hank bailing her out several times, had then seen her change once she lived with the Voights though the feisty and hotheaded teenager still broke through sometimes, had helped her with her homework and had then helped Hank to pull some strings to get her into the academy. And seeing her standing there now, being one of the best cops she's worked with throughout her career and being a loving mother, looking happier than ever, still made her all emotional. One could easily say Trudy Platt had seen her at her worst. Several times. But she's also seen her at her best. Countless times.

″There's still hope that at least a little bit of Jay's personality is hidden somewhere,″ Erin laughed.

″And you think Chuckles's personality would be that much better?″ Platt raised her eyebrow at him and when she saw the wry look he was gazing back at her with, a smile broke through. He was cute. A great cop. An even greater person. And perfect for Erin. She truly liked him. But sometimes it was just simply so much fun to mess with him because she knew he could take it.

″Thanks Sarge, aren't you lovely again today?″ Jay answered with a cocky wink. ″Come on Em, say hi to your auntie Trudy,″ He threw her a sweet and innocent smirk before he picked Emmy up and sat her down on the front desk.

″You are truly blessed with your parents, little girl,″ Platt said seriously, quietly, but still loud enough for Erin and Jay to hear it. ″And one year ago you were so small. Yes, so so small,″ she smiled at their girl and tickled her stomach. ″Let's open that jacket, it's warm in here, right?″

″That's better, isn't it?″ she asked and scooped her into her arms. ″So, you wanna be my little helper and give me a hand with filling out some forms?″ She handed Emmy her pen and of course Emmy took it instantly. ″I take this as a yes,″ Platt smiled and took Emilia back to her desk where she settled with her on her chair.

″Well, that's that, huh?″ Erin chuckled slightly to Jay.

″She even has Platt wrapped around her finger,″ he whispered. ″Which shouldn't surprise me because you have Platt wrapped around your finger as well.″

″I don't...″ she started but then reconsidered her words by the glance he was giving her. ″Well okay, maybe,″ she smirked. ″It was hard work.″

″Yeah, I bet,″ Jay laughed. ″Let's go upstairs,″ he said and intertwined his hand with hers.

″Uhm Sarge, can you bring her upstairs in a couple of minutes, so all her uncles can see her as well?″ Erin asked.

″Uh-huh, I'll bring her once we're finished with writing this report,″ Platt answered seriously.

″Great,″ Erin laughed and when they were almost by the stairs, she turned around again and asked: ″Do you come to Emmy's party on Saturday?″

″The winterONEderland party with cupcakes?″ she asked back rhetorically. ″I wouldn't want to miss that.″

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lots of kisses on the cheek and forehead from all her uncles, that all adored Emilia, and then falling asleep in her grandpa's arms because it was nap time was followed by a trip to the cemetery as it wasn't only Emmy's birthday today but also the birthday of Jay's mom. They parked the car not directly by the cemetery but some blocks away so they could stroll there, Emilia tucked in in her stroller and still napping, Crispin as always having fun in the snow. By the time they reached Diane Halstead's grave after their extensive walk, Emmy was awake again, exploring this unknown territory on her own feet because sitting in her stroller or carrying her had almost ended in screaming the cemetery down. And while Jay placed some winter flowers in front of the stone, enlightened a candle and remembered his mother, it was Erin's task to make sure Emmy wasn't going too far.

″I wish you could see this right now,″ Jay smiled sadly, his eyes following Erin how she ran after Emilia to bring her back. ″And who knows, maybe you do, right?″ he asked and looked towards the blue sky, blinking against the winter sun. ″But it still hurts that you can't be here to share all these precious moments with us.″ He heard Emilia's giggling coming closer and turning his head, he saw her walking into his direction with Crispin by her side and Erin behind her.

″This kid is such a sunshine,″ Jay smiled, adding with a heavy heart: ″I wish you could meet her mom, if only for a minute.″

″Dada,″ Emmy exclaimed as she came closer, just as if she was able to sense his sadness and wanted to cheer him up.

″Hey princess.″ He opened his arms so she could walk right into them and then kissed her head once she was with him. ″Can you say hi to your grandma? She's your birthday twin and she would love to celebrate with you today,″ he whispered into her ear. ″Say hi grandma.″

Emilia looked at him as if she soaked every word in and instead of saying her new favorite word, she said: ″Hi.″

″There you go,″ Erin smiled and bent down on her knees next to them. ″Good job, Emmy. I'm sure your grandma is smiling in heaven right now.″ She kissed her daughter's head shortly and then looked at Jay, saw his blue orbs sparkling suspiciously.

Placing her hand on his thigh she asked: ″Are you okay?″

″Yeah, I'm fine,″ he answered and smiled faintly. ″I just miss her. Especially on days like today. She was supposed to grow old and grey and wrinkled and witness her granddaughter's first birthday. And many others. It's just not fair that she never got the chance to meet her. That Emmy never gets the chance to meet her.″

″I know,″ Erin nodded, feeling exactly the same about Camille. ″It's unfair in a way that I can't even find the right words for. This is not how it should be...but Emmy will grow up knowing how much your mom and Camille meant to us and so they will mean something to her although she never met them. It's on us to carry on their legacy and teach Emmy the values our mothers taught us and that they were supposed to teach their granddaughter. And like this, they will forever be a part of her life.″

″They will,″ Jay agreed and they fell into a moment of silence as they both remembered Diane Halstead, a woman Erin only knew from photos and the stories Jay shared occasionally. And when Emmy demanded their parents's attention again because she was getting bored easily, Jay got up and picked her up as well to swirl her through the air and lighten her mood, those joyful squeaks that made him smile brightly making him realize one thing: Emilia being born on his mother's birthday, six days after her actual due date, hadn't been a coincidence. He was sure that their daughter had waited for this exact reason: to make a day, that had been one of the hardest of the year ever since his mother had died, the best day of the year, the happiness drowning the sadness, his heart full instead of aching. It had meant to be that way, a little sunshine coming into his life on a day that was usually dark, so the sadness and grief and anger could be outweighed by bliss and happiness and thankfulness and joy, making the 1st of February a day the whole family had a reason to celebrate again.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

In general, the day of Emmy's first birthday wasn't as spectecular and after their visit to the cemetary, they went grocery shopping to buy everything they needed for the big party on Saturday. In the evening, they cooked stuffed peppers with rice together while Emmy occupied herself with her new toys and then had a nice dinner with Rylie and Luke, the other two temporary member of the Halstead-household. Afterwards, Rylie offered to take care of the dishes so they could give her a bath together, Emilia having a blast with her new toys and making a giant mess in their bathroom, with water and foam spread everywhere. The day ended with Jay reading her from his favorite childhood book, Winnie the Pooh, which has turned into Emmy's favorite book as well within the last year, and her first birthday ended with her falling asleep on her mother's chest while her father read about the bear that loved honey and the donkey that was always sad and the tiger that used his tail to jump.

The much bigger party took place on Saturday afternoon, when everyone had especially cleared their day to make sure they could celebrate the first birthday of Erin's and Jay's little one. Since Emilia's birthday was in winter, they couldn't make a big garden party with kiddie pool and barbeque and so Erin and Jay had organized their daughter's birthday party with a different theme: winterONEderland, their living and dining room decorated with snowflakes, snowmen and fitting balloons, cupcakes and muffins and cakes following that theme as well. Never in a million years they'd pictured them to be the kind of parents that threw a themed birthday party for their one-year-old but here they were.

Their living and dining room was filling with people, with all their team members coming to celebrate the birthday of the girl they loved like their own, with her grandfathers Hank and Robert of course attending the party as well as Kim, Trudy, Sylvie, Carol, Natalie, Will, Owen, Justin, Olive, Daniel and Henry. Emmy was showered with presents, most of them revealing toys, books or stuffed animals. From the Intelligence team, she got a police teddy bear, a little police car and a hoodie and a t-shirt from the Chicago Police Department, especially personalized with the words Little Halstead printed on the back.

Once more Erin was overwhelmed by realizing how many amazing people Emilia had in her life that all loved her and had made celebrating her first birthday their priority today and when she thought that their living room would soon burst, the doorbell rang again, making her wonder who else was paying them a visit when everyone was already here and about to sit down to dig into cupcakes, muffins and cakes. With Emmy on her hip, she swung the door open and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw who was standing in front of the door with yet another big present.

″What?! No way!″ Erin beamed. ″What are you guys doing here?″

″There is no way we would miss the first birthday party of our granddaughter,″ Susan smiled just as bright, her kind and warm brown eyes sparkling joyfully.

″Jay told you about the party, didn't he?″ Erin concluded instantly.

″He did,″ Michael confirmed. ″And we decided to surprise you two with our visit,″ he smiled.

″That's amazing. I don't even know what to say,″ Erin smirked and let Jay's aunt and uncle into the house. ″It's so great to see you again,″ she hugged them.

″We wanted to be here this morning already but our flight was delayed due to the snowfall here and in New York and then we had to wait forever to get our rental car. So we're just glad we made it here,″ Susan explained as she took shoes and jacket off.

″Why didn't Jay pick you up from the airport?″

″Because we told him not to,″ Michael explained with a wink. ″We want to stay in Chicago until Monday morning and then take advantage that we're already here and drive up to our cabin for a couple of days, so we needed the rental car.″

″You stay until Monday and we can't even offer you our guest room...″ Erin sighed.

″Oh Erin, that doesn't matter, we found a great hotel and we don't have to stay here to do something together tomorrow,″ she winked with a smile. ″And now on to the important things: how's is our precious birthday girl doing today?″

″She's too spoiled,″ Erin laughed and handed her to Susan.

″Naaah, she deserves to be spoiled, right Emilia?″ she asked her granddaughter and tickled her stomach. ″And we even brought you something to spoil you a little more.″

″Do you want to open that?″ Michael asked, showing her the big present and of course Emmy reached for it instantly. ″That's a yes.″

″Definitely,″ Erin laughed. ″Come on, let's go in there,″ she added and motioned her head towards the kitchen, dining and living room where all the chatters were coming from.

″Look who the snow brought,″ Jay smirked when his aunt and uncle stepped into the kitchen where he was busy with making coffee for their guests.

″Well, it's rather who the snow almost not brought,″ Michael laughed and then hugged his nephew. ″It's good to see you again, Jay.″

″It's good to see you,″ Jay answered and then hugged his aunt who was still carrying Emmy. ″And you, too.″

″I can't believe you were able to keep this a secret,″ she grinned at her nephew.

″You make this sound like I'm awful at keeping secrets,″ Jay laughed.

″Oh, Jay can be a real master of secrets,″ Erin chimed in, remembering how he'd been able to keep their honeymoon destination a secret for months.

″Yeah, I see,″ Susan smiled.

Lots of hello's were shared and after Michael and Susan had helped Emilia to open her present, they finally all sat down for coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cake accompanied by lots of smalltalk and sharing stories. Since all the kids didn't really like to sit around, they created a giant mess in the living room, and when some little fights over the toys occured, Adam, Mouse, Kevin and Antonio decided to play babysitters and took Luke, Daniel, Owen and Emilia outside to play with them in the snow, Luke and Daniel having a blast with 'tackling' them while the two younger preferred to put snow into buckets or dig into the white powder with their little shovels.

Naturally, Emilia was the center of attention today, though the other kids got their fair shares as well, and so it wasn't surprising that when everyone left after dinner, Emilia fell asleep in her father's arms with her head hidden on his shoulder while they were waving their last guests goodbye, the little girl completely beat by the happenings of the day, all the turmoil and being surrounded with so many doting people.

Michael and Susan stayed for another glass of wine and for sharing more stories to talk about everything that has happened in the Halstead-Taylor family since they'd met the last time in August, which was quite a bit with Nick and Lydia expecting another baby and Paul and Izzie's engagement. When they later waved them goodbye, after agreeing on spending the next day together by going to downtown, it was almost midnight and after they stepped back inside their warm hallway and closed the door, Erin immediately wrapped her arms around her husband and buried her head in his chest.

″First birthday party down,″ she murmured and then lifted her head to smile at him. ″Successfully.″

″Yeah,″ he nodded as his hand traveled up to her cheek. ″Many more to follow.″

″Uh-huh. The next one in 363 days to be precise,″ she chuckled, her laughter coming from the bottom of her heart.

″I guess we need that time to find an equally perfect theme and plan an equally perfect party,″ Jay laughed and then leaned down to kiss her for the next minute. Or two and he figured that even if he kissed her for eternity, it wouldn't be long enough to show her how much he loved her.

"There's something I gotta tell you," he smirked when their lips parted, his eyes gazing down on her with that special sparkle in them.

"What's that?" she wondered.

"I'll love you forever," he smiled, repeating those words from one of their favorite children's book.

"I'll like you for always," she answered, smiling just as amorously as she finished this famous line that they both knew by heart because they've read it to Emilia countless times within the last year.

He leaned down to kiss her lips again and then whispered against them: "And for as long as I'm living, my dream woman you'll be..."

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! And sorry for the cheesy ending, haha. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Your reviews make my days and they motivate me to write as much as I can although my life is pretty stressful these days. I'll try to upload again as soon as I can but be prepared, the next couple of chapters might not be as cheesy...let's see ;)