5. Chapter 5
A/N: Thank you all for your awesome reviews! I am so sorry about the lack of updates, but trust me I am going to get better. This chapter is kind of on the long side, but I think you guys deserve it because I have made you wait. So, enjoy and please review :)
"Daddy! Erin! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up", Maggie yelled the next morning as she jumped up and down on the couch.
Both adults woke up just in time for Maggie to jump on top of them and explode into laughter. "Come on you have to get up", she said through laughs.
Jay looked down at Erin who was looking right back up at him with a smile on her face, "Daddy, you promised we would go to the park today", Maggie continued as she laid on top of Erin.
"Well, then go get dressed and we will get dressed", Jay said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Maggie smiled and jumped off of Erin and ran into her room to get dressed. Jay looked down at Erin again and watched her yawn. He quickly noticed that they were both laying on the couch, her head still against his chest.
"You know you could've woke me up", Erin stated taking Jay out of his thoughts.
"No, it's fine. I fell asleep right after you", he answered reassuringly as she began to sit up.
Erin laughed as she looked over at his shirt, "Oh my god", she said through laughs.
"What", Jay said looking down at his shirt to see little drool marks all over his chest. Looking back up at Erin whose face was bright red as she laughed.
"Oops", she said shrugging her shoulders.
"Hey, you owe me a new shirt", he said giving her a smile.
"Mommy Erin, can you braid my hair like you did yesterday", Maggie interrupted as she ran in all dressed and a rubber band in her hand.
Jay smiled as Erin took the rubber band from Maggie's hand and set her on her lap, "Are you coming to the park with us", she asked hopefully as Erin began to french braid her hair.
"I have to go home and change my clothes", Erin replied turning towards Jay to make sure it was okay. Jay nodded, telling her silently that it was okay for her to tag along. He was much happier when she was around.
"Yeah! I want to see your house, Erin", Maggie said just as Erin finished the braid.
Erin laughed as Maggie went to go grab her shoes out of the corner of the living room and sitting down on the carpet to tie them.
"Well, I will go get dressed then", Jay said standing up from the couch before entering his room.
Maggie quickly tied her shoes and then plopped down in Jay's spot next to Erin, scooting into her side. Erin quickly wrapped her arms around the small girl as she planted a kiss on the top of her head causing her to giggle. The more she spent time with her, the more Erin began to love her as she was her on.
"Mommy Erin, are you in love with my daddy", Maggie asked suddenly, taking Erin away from her thoughts.
"What? No, well, you're daddy is my best friend", Erin answered still kind of startled at the question.
"My daddy needs a beautiful princess like in all the stories he reads to me and I think you would be perfect", Maggie explained looking up at the woman she had practically deemed her mother.
Before Erin could say anything else, Jay, thankfully, came out of his room, dressed and ready to go. "You guy's ready", he said with a smile on his face.
"Yeah", Maggie said as she jumped from the couch, managing to pull Erin up with her.
Jay smiled at Erin who looked a little startled, "You okay", he asked gently putting a hand on her shoulder.
Erin gave him a reassuring smile, "Yeah", she answered as Maggie grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door.
xxx
"Higher! Higher", Maggie squealed as both Jay and Erin pushed her on the swing in the park.
Erin laughed at the little girl's amusement as she pushed on Maggie's feet while Jay pushed her back to make her go higher. Erin couldn't get over Maggie's bright smile as she had the time of her life.
"Daddy! Erin! Look! I can touch the clouds", Maggie exclaimed as she stuck her hands up in the air.
"Almost baby", Jay answered as he looked up at his daughter and then across at Erin who had a smile on her face. Jay watched as she looked over at him, that same smile on her face, her brown eyes lit up with joy. These were the moments when he fell more and more in love with her, the moments when she looked so happy that nothing could change it.
"Too High", Maggie suddenly squealed taking Jay out of his trance to stop his daughter from swinging.
"You sure were going high there, Mags", Erin stated as the little girl came towards her, lifting her arms up so Erin could pick her up.
"I felt like I was a bird. Way, way, way up in the clouds", she explained once again trying to reach the sky.
Jay watched as Erin held onto his daughter tightly as the two chatted away, until Maggie turned towards Jay and gasped, "Daddy! Look! It's Mimi and Papa", she practically yelled jumping from Erin's arms and running past Jay.
Jay turned around and saw his parents approaching them in the park, just to be stopped by Maggie running towards them as fast as she could.
"I am guessing those are your parents", Erin asked as she now stood next to him.
"Yeah. Come on, you should meet them", Jay answered as he placed his hand on the small of her back. At first it startled Erin, but when she looked towards him she saw a smile on his face and was immediately calmed.
"Hey Mom. Dad", Jay greeted friendly as they walked towards the older couple.
"Jay", the older woman said as she wrapped her son in a hug. Erin watched as Jay's mother peered around her son's shoulder and looked over at her. "Jay, I didn't know you have a girlfriend", she stated smiling over at Erin.
Before Jay could say anything, his mother made her way over to Erin and gave her a hug as well. He looked over at Erin who was smiling and he quickly mouthed to her 'I'm sorry" which she politely returned with a shake of the head.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Halstead. I'm Erin", she said as the woman released her from the hug.
"Oh please honey call me Marie", Jay's mother said giving Erin a warm smile.
"And you can call me Frank", Jay's father spoke up as he set his granddaughter down and watched as she ran over to the woman who was supposedly his son's girlfriend.
"It's nice to meet you both", Erin said in return as Maggie trotted over to her and lifted her arms to pick her up again.
"Erin, can we get frozen lemonade", Maggie begged giving Erin her best puppy dog eyes.
Erin laughed as Maggie continued to repeat 'please' and pout her lip, "Sure, sweetie", she said in reply setting Maggie back down as she grabbed her hand leading her to one of the vendors in the park. Before she got too far away she looked over at Jay and gave him a friendly smile which he kindly returned.
"She's very pretty, Jay", Marie cooed watching her son smile.
"And it looks like she is really good with Maggie", Frank added to the conversation.
Jay's smile just grew bigger as his parents comments grew more distant in his mind and he focused on Erin with Maggie. "Yeah, she really is amazing", Jay whispered to himself.
xxx
The five spend the rest of the day together and after an afternoon at the park, Jay's parents came back to his place and his mother quickly insisted on make dinner.
"Did Jay ever tell you the story about his first fight", Marie asked turning to Erin as the pair washed the dishes from tonight's dinner.
Erin laughed as she shook her head, indicating for Jay's mother to continue, "I had dropped him off at his middle school and then half an hour later I get a call saying that he got in a fight. Long story short I pick him up and he's beat up to a pulp", his mother continued to explain just as Jay was coming from behind.
"Woah, Woah, Woah. You forgot to add that this girl had almost thirty pounds on me", Jay explained trying to defend his seventh grade self.
"It was a girl", Erin asked shocked.
"Well, first it was a kid my age and then his older sister came along", Jay trailed off as he leaned against the counter next to Erin.
Erin just continued to laugh, "What", Jay asked giving his partner a look.
"I just can't believe you of all people got beat up by a girl", she answered as she took a sip of her drink.
"Jay was a scrawny little thing. That girl gave him two black eyes and almost broke his nose", Frank Halstead spoke up from the table where he and Maggie sat.
Erin was really laughing now as she watched Jay's cheeks grow red. "Ah, come on Jay you were a cute little kid", Marie encouraged her son.
Jay smiled at his mother and then turned towards Erin who had a huge smile on her face as she finished her laughing. That was the other trait Jay fell for in his partner, her laughter.
"Well, I should really be going. I need to check up on my apartment and get ready for work on Monday", Erin said as she pushed herself of the counter.
"I will walk you out", Jay replied as he stood next to her as well.
"Erin, I don't want you to leave", Maggie pleaded as she ran towards Erin and wrapped her small arms around her legs.
"Don't worry, Mags. I will see you soon", Erin said as she leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
"It was nice meeting both of you and thank you for dinner, it was delicious", she continued looking at Jay's parents who politely smiled back.
"I am glad we got to meet you, it is very rare my son brings a girl around", Marie stated as she watched her son roll his eyes.
"Okay, Mom", Jay said as he began to lead Erin out of his apartment.
"It was nice meeting you", Erin called out just as she followed Jay out the door.
"Bye Erin", she heard Maggie call out just as they got out to the hall.
"Their really sweet, Jay", Erin said as she turned to face her partner who was leaning up against his door.
"They share a little too much, but yeah I think they are keepers", Jay said as he looked over at Erin.
"Thanks for playing along with that whole girlfriend thing", he continued watching Erin smile.
"Like I said I owe you one after the reunion. Thanks for letting me tag along today. I really had a lot of fun", Erin said getting a smug smile out of her partner.
"Well, Maggie loves when you are around and I like it too", he stated taking a step of the wall closer to his partner.
Erin watched as he stood almost as close to her as they were the night of the reunion. She saw his eyes shift down to her lips and then back up to make contact with her eyes. She knew that they had grown closer these last couple days and she also knew that he was going to kiss her.
"Do you now", she said taking herself out of her thoughts watching as a smug smile came over his face.
Jay looked at her one more time, as if to make sure it was okay that what he was about to do wouldn't freak her out. Maybe it would freak her out in the end, but he had to take his chances. He gave her a small smile before putting his hands on either side of her face and waited for her to back away.
But, Erin didn't she remained where she was as Jay met his lips with hers. The kiss was longing, pent up with desire and hope, and they both enjoyed every minute of it. Jay's hands made their way to her waist pulling her even closer to him than they were standing and Erin sloppily wrapped her arms around his neck.
Erin began to think about nothing but, the fact that she wished his parents and Maggie weren't behind his apartment door right now. All of a sudden he felt Jay's hands bunch at her loose fitting t-shirt and it was almost as if her common sense kicked in.
"Jay. Jay, we can't", she said removing her lips from his. Jay looked at her and the smile he once had on his face was removed. She immediately regretted having those words she said months ago come from her lips.
"You're right, I'm sorry", he said running a hand through his hair.
Erin took a step back and gave her partner a broken smile, "I'll see you on Monday", she almost asked.
"Yeah, see you on Monday", Jay said returning the same broken smile.
Jay watched as she turned her back and walked down the stairs without saying another word. "What did I just do", Jay groaned to himself as he leaned back against his door.