38. Chapter 38

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Chapter 38,

Erin walked up the front steps of district 21, two small girls in tow. "Hey, Sergeant," she said with a wave to Platt.

Platt's eyes lit up, her usual stone face softening. "Maddie, Grace! You two haven't visited in way too long." She scrunched up her face, "Has your daddy been hiding you?"

They both giggled in response, loving the special attention Platt was giving them. Erin smiled warmly as she watched. Platt had always had a soft spot for kids, but she seemed to have an extra soft spot or these two.

Platt's eyes lifted to Erin's, "Halstead went to talk to a CI," she said. "Want to wait for him upstairs?"

Erin simply nodded, "Thanks, Sergeant." Then she turned to Maddie and Grace, who seemed to be in the middle of a very important conversation while sitting on the wooden bench near the front door. "Come on girls, let's go upstairs and wait for daddy."

Platt buzzed them through the gate, and they began to ascend the stairs, hand in hand. When they got to the top of the stairs, and the bullpen came into view, Maddie and Grace each dropped Erin's hands and took off running.

"Uncle Adam!" They shouted in unison. They loved their cool Uncle Adam. They loved everyone else too, but at the moment he was the only one in the room.

Ruzek lifted both girls in his arms and then immediately threw them upside down over his shoulder. "Wait," he said, his voice full of fake confusion. "Where did Maddie and Grace go?"

"I don't know!" Erin replied, her voice mimicking his confused tone. "They were just here, I swear!"

The girls laughed mercilessly and wriggled until they were no longer upside down, and were safely in his arms. "Right here, Uncle Adam!" Maddie cried.

"There you are," he said. "Man, that was sneaky," he raised his eyebrows, seemingly impressed. "I think you two could work undercover, what do you think?"

Grace smiled wide, and Maddie began nodding her head furiously.

We need to teach her to nod without her whole body, Erin thought, as she watched Adam tighten his hold before Maddie fell out of his arms.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Voight emerged from his office. "Well, they are my granddaughters," Voight said, standing in the doorway and smiling at the girls. "So I would expect no less."

"Grandpa Hank!" Grace and Maddie wriggled out of Adam's arms, and began running across the bullpen towards Hank. They may had loved their Uncle Adam, but he was no match for their grandpa.

Hank lifted them easily into his arms and placed a kiss on both of their foreheads. "Hi, girls," he said, happily.

"Hey, Hank." Erin said, moving slowly across the bullpen towards where he was standing.

"Hey, kid." He replied, "What are you all doing here?"

She raised her eyebrows at him and tilted her head, "I can't just come in to say hi to my dad?"

His face broke into a smile and an easy laugh rolled out of him throatily. "You can," he drew out the word, as if to add But you didn't. Then he just looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm actually here to drop the girls off with Jay," she said, by way of explanation. Then she added, "I didn't realize you had a case, I thought he would be wrapping up by now." She didn't want Jay to get into any trouble. He usually finished work between 5 and 6 pm when he didn't have a case, and she hadn't expected to find the bullpen empty. "I can take them back home." She had plans with Kim, but if they had a case, she would undoubtedly need to reschedule.

"Relax, kid." Hank could see her trying to cover for him, as if he may get in trouble for bringing his family to work. She didn't need to explain. "We don't have a case." Even if they did, Erin was always welcome here. "He went out to pay a CI from our last case, and I dismissed everyone else for the day already."

"Then what are you still doing here Grandpa?" Grace interrupted quietly, still in his arms.

"I never stop working," he said, then he smirked and added, "Just ask your mommy."

Erin smiled softly at his words. It had meant the world to her that Hank seemed to accept this new life she was living, that he even seemed to be encouraging it, if such a thing was possible. "It's true," she confirmed.

"Well that's good," Maddie said, bouncing in Hank's arms. She was still light enough to carry, but all her movements always brought an extra weight. "Because you were working when you met mommy, right?"

"You're right." He turned to Erin and let out a small laugh, "Your mommy was quite the troublemaker back then."

Grace and Maddie's eyes widened in shock, "No way!" Maddie said in complete disbelief.

"Yes, way." Hank confirmed, his eyebrows lifted to exaggerate his point.

"Why was she a trouble maker?" Grace asked, still clearly surprised. "Is it because she didn't finish her oatmeal?" That was one of the only things Maddie and Grace ever got in trouble for.

That got another laugh out of Hank. "Among other things," he was shaking his head, his voice full of mirth.

"Okay," Erin intervened. "Grandpa needs to get back to work. Let's go wait for daddy in the there," she said, pointing to the break room. The girls bounced out of Hank's arms and began walking towards the break room. Erin stayed behind, whispering a low and sarcastic, "Thanks for that," to Hank. But her eyes were still shining, and her dimples were still accentuating the smile she was attempting to hide.

"Anytime, kid," he replied. He loved giving his girl a hard time, especially lately. She was so damn happy, and no playful comment from him could ever dull that shine. He just loved to see how Erin's eyes seemed to sparkle whenever she was around her daughters and Jay. And even more, he loved how she and Jay seemed so happy to include him.

He returned to his desk, and watched them through the window. Erin was making herself at home, brewing herself a cup of coffee. She was even using his favorite mug, the blue one Justin had bought him years ago. He hoped the coffee she was making was decaf, and that she wasn't working herself too hard.

Maddie and Grace were sitting in the chairs at the table, playing with the princess card match game Erin had clearly brought them to keep them busy. Some parents distracted their kids with their phones or iPads, pushing them into a corner to sit down and shut up, but not Erin and Jay. When she sat down with her mug of steaming coffee, she joined in. He watched as she flipped over two non-matching cards, and then flipped them back over. Then Maddie went, and she cheered when she found a matching pair of Cinderella's.

Erin shook her head laughing, and seemed to be trying to encourage her to keep it down because they were in a workplace.

Hank didn't mind at all. The sound of laughter coming from that room was like music to his ears.

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"There are my girls," Jay said, standing in the doorway of the break room. He was wearing dark washed jeans with a light grey short sleeved v-neck t-shirt. He walked over, kissing each one of his daughters on the top of their heads. "How was school today?"

Grace and Maddie began to answer, to tell him all about the nature walk they went on with Miss Annie, as he settled into the empty seat at the table. While he listened, he leaned over and gave Erin a slow kiss, saving her kiss for last.

As he leaned in, she reached out and slowly touched his bare arm. Even as he pulled away, she left her hand on his warm skin, feeling his muscles bunch underneath her fingers. She couldn't keep her hands off of him.

Maddie stopped her story and scrunched up her nose. "Ew," she said, drawing out the word.

"Ew?" Jay pulled back and stared at her. This was new.

"Boys have cooties." Maddie explained.

"Yeah," Grace added. "Emmy told us about them in school today. Boys have cooties and girls are not supposed to kiss them."

Jay laughed, and held back from saying, Damn right they do. His girls better not be kissing any boys any time soon. "So mommy can't kiss me then?"

"No," they shook their heads vehemently.

"Okay, okay," Jay said, somewhat approving of this latest lesson from school. "But I think daddy's are allowed to kiss mommy's. Can that be an exception to the rule?"

Grace and Maddie seemed to think about this for a moment, and then nodded.

"Good," he said, still laughing. "Now say goodnight to Mommy and go run and say goodbye to Grandpa, and then we are going to get going."

Erin had come to drop off the girls because she was going to Molly's with Kim for a girl's night. Things had been tough for her in the past few weeks since Ruzek had broken up with Rachel. The sexual tension seemed to be mounting, and evidently it was like an elephant in the room at work. Jay didn't seem to notice it when Erin mentioned it, but Kim insisted it was definitely there.

Kim needed a night to blow off some steam, and Erin had been happy to oblige. She was hoping to be home before the girls went to sleep, but with the way Kim could talk, she couldn't be sure she would make it.

"Can Grandpa come out to dinner with us?" Maddie asked, as Grace hugged Erin goodnight.

Um, if you want it to be incredibly awkward. "If he wants to, baby." Jay had seen Voight socially a little more since he began dating Erin, but he still didn't feel entirely comfortable with their new relationship dynamic. Plus, she was always there as a buffer. He had never been out with Voight alone.

Maddie took her turn, hugging Erin as Erin pressed a kiss to the top of her blond hair. "I bet he would love to," Erin whispered quietly into her ear. She was all for Hank and Jay spending a little more time together outside of work. They were the two most important men in her life, after all.

The girls ran out of the break room, and knocked on Voight's door. In the mean time, Erin walked over to Jay and kissed him lightly, with the goal of giving him a little added encouragement before dinner.

Her light kiss turned into something more as she settled her hands on his chest and his hands found her waist. He pulled back and gave her his trademark grin, and whispered, "I see you're not worried about my cooties?"

"Actually," she pressed her lips against his ear, now feeling a little hot and bothered. "I love your cooties." She slowly kissed the spot right behind his earlobe. "In fact," she dragged her tongue along it, "I wouldn't mind if you rubbed your cooties all over me when I get home tonight."

Jesus. Christ. What was this girl doing to him?

Suddenly his jeans felt uncomfortably tight.

Well, this is a first, he thought as he pressed his erection against her... in the break room... in his work place... with Voight less than fifteen feet away.

She pressed her stomach against him, holding his gaze steady and letting him know she felt him hard against her body.

Suddenly he didn't care where he was.

"Skip Molly's," he all but pleaded with her. "I'll send the girls to dinner with Voight," now he was practically begging, his mind scrambling to put together a plan that would let him take her right here. "I need you." Right now.

Her lips spread into a slow smile, "Sorry, baby. I can't ditch Kim."

He knew she wasn't actually sorry. In fact, she sounded anything but. But then he pressed his lips against her, biting her lower lip suggestively, and letting his tongue dance around her mouth. Then he lightly brushed his fingers over her breasts, teasing her with his touch. Then he shifted, wrapping his arms around her, making sure she could feel his biceps against her skin.

He waited until she was panting against him, and then he pulled back. "Okay," he said. "Have fun."

She sighed, her eyes dark with arousal. "You're mean," she said, completely breathless.

Well, he thought as he sent her a slow and sexy smirk. That'll teach you.

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Dinner with Kim didn't serve to distract Erin at all. She was still crazy horny. Like picturing Jay hovering over her naked, rocking inside her, while she clawed at his shoulders, with her legs wrapped around his waist, crazy.

And the worst past was, she knew it was all her fault.

She had started it. And damn it if he knew how to finish it.

She tried to take her mind off of Jay.

And his chest. And his arms.

At one point, she even decided to confide in Kim about Jay's conversation with the Corson's, looking for an outside's opinion. It had been two weeks since Jay had asked her to think about it, and she had yet to give him an answer.

But then the conversation shifted to Adam. And listening to Kim drone on and on about the sexual tension and longing stares between her and Adam, about the way they needed to touch each other but couldn't, just served to make it worse.

Because she needed to touch Jay. And she actually could.

If this drink date with her friend would ever end, that is.

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Jay was actually faring much better. Nothing like dinner with your two daughters and your girlfriend's father to stifle that kind of mood.

He was actually having a surprisingly good time. The girls were having a great time, and Voight was so wonderful with them that, in the end, he didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

The restaurant they had chosen was kid friendly and it had a jungle gym and a ball pit for the kids to play in. Jay had insisted that they finish their dinner first, but when they were finished, he let them run off and play.

The two adults shifted into an easy conversation about work and the case that they had wrapped up this morning. But then, they hit an awkward silence and Voight decided to take the opportunity to change the topic. "So, Halstead," Voight began, his voice gruff and his tone serious.

So much for not feeling uncomfortable, he thought, shifting in his seat.

"How's the adoption process going?"

Jay hadn't been expecting that question. He and Voight hadn't been alone in an out of work setting since Jay and Erin had moved in together, and he was expecting to get grilled about that. Especially with his gruff, serious tone.

He hadn't expected the genuine curiosity and the honest concern that was clear in his question. "It's going well, I think."

"Good," he said, his voice still low, but a little softer. "You let me know if you need me to make a call on your behalf." He leaned back against the chair, taking a sip of his soda. He wished it was a beer.

Jay was floored by his offered, and said, "Thank you, sir."

"You know," Voight said, as he tilted his head slightly to the side and placed his drink back down on the table.

Here it comes, Jay thought.

"When Camille and I fostered Erin," he said, "We had always planned to adopt her."

"Really?" He asked. Voight was just full of surprises tonight.

"Yeah," he said, sadly. "We never told her, though."

"Why not?" Jay wondered aloud. He was not sure that he should be asking, but he seemed unable to stop himself.

"Because Bunny wouldn't sign the papers," he said, sadly. "And we didn't want to dangle hope in front of her to just take it away."

He nodded, understanding completely.

"And I hope you're not doing that to her, now."

Jay shifted his head, now not understanding at all.

"Dangling hope, I mean."

Jay narrowed his eyes, still confused.

"You have Maddie, you're adopting Grace," he said, shifting his gaze towards the play area and finding the girls climbing the jungle gym. He nodded towards them, and said, "They call her mommy."

"She is their mommy," Jay cut off, not sure where the conversation was going, but wanting to make sure Voight damn well understood Erin's role in their family.

"Camille was Erin's mom, too. That's not what I'm trying to suggest," Jay noticed that his voice was full of compassion, as if he was trying to tell Jay he wasn't discounting their relationship, at all.

Voight wasn't trying to. He was simply shedding some light on the situation. He was giving an opinion, one he had learned years ago, from his own experiences. "These things just aren't official until the ink is dry," he said, flatly. "That's all I'm trying to say."

Hank wasn't sure he was expressing himself well, or finding the right words.

He just wanted it to be better for Erin, this time around.

Because as much as blood didn't make a family, the law didn't always see it like that.

xoxo

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