Chapter 63- Epilogue

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you..."

The lyrics from Jay's most favorite song manage to reach his ears even though the bedroom door is closed. He wakes up without difficulty, a habit that he still has after all these years from the army, and smiles as soon as he sees that Emma's side is empty, as he knows very well what's going on. He continues to smile as he listens to the song, while he is checking the time on his phone, and lets the memories associated with it fill him. Emma singing it to him while she comforted him, their first dance as a married couple, a few turns in their kitchen, and now even better. 

He chuckles when he sees the time. Always at the same time every night, he thinks and grabs a shirt that is folded in his nightstand. He rubs his eyes, pushing away the traces of fatigue that exist, and frowns as soon as he realizes that one of his favorite items is missing from its place on Emma's nightstand. He shakes his head when understands why Emma took the device, and without wasting time he gets out of the bedroom trying to be quiet. 

He walks barefoot down the hallway without getting cold since their house is always warm, especially at night, and finally reaches his destination. He slowly opens the door giving a few seconds to himself to get used to the low light and then leans on the door's frame, while gazing at the image in front of him. Emma is sitting in the corner of the room on the new pink armchair they bought a few months ago, holding in her hands the sweetest creature they've ever seen. She doesn't understand Jay's presence, overly devoted to their daughter who's latched on to her breasts, eating her late-night snack, and so she continues to hum the lyrics of the song that sounds from her phone. 

His heart beats loudly and he looks at the whole room trying once again after almost 3 weeks and 9 months to believe that all this is real and not some dream. Above the wooden crib, which he set up with Will's help, are some of the photos he and Emma chose. Specifically, inside wooden frames is Emma's first ultrasound, even though they still have a copy in the fridge from when they went to their first doctor appointment, a photo that Jay took the moment he realized Emma was showing, their first picture as a family, which Will took in the hospital when the couple was looking to their baby, as well as a photo with their daughter, Amelia, alone. Another part of the decoration that they both loved is the three teddy bears on the drawers. One dressed as a firefighter, a gift from Christopher and the firehouse 51, one dressed as a police officer, a gift from the Intelligence team, and one dressed as a doctor, a gift from Will for his niece and goddaughter. Jay's gaze wanders into the room and after a while, he chuckles as soon as he sees their new addition, which is nothing more than the drawing that Makayla gave them when she visited them with Kim to see the baby. It is only when the laughter comes out of his mouth that Emma acknowledges his presence and after taking her gaze away from Amelia, she looks at her husband, and then at the drawing, which shows these two as well as the baby, in front of a house with a large garden.

"Hey" she whispers to him and her gaze makes Jay understand that he can get closer without interrupting the bonding that Emma and their daughter are having. He knew very well that Emma had no problem breastfeeding in front of him, after all, there were a lot of times when she did it in their bed while Jay was lying next to her or even behind her supporting her, but at the same time, he knew that this moment was particularly important to mothers and he did not want to make her feel like he was standing over her head. 

"How are my girls?" he whispers to her, and after getting another reassuring look from Emma, he kneels in front of the two people he considers his entire world. 

"We're fine, but kind of hungry," she replies, and they both look at their daughter who continues to eat undisturbed, without paying attention to their conversation, or even Jay's hand that gently strokes her head. Jay smiles and then turns to look at Emma more seriously. 

"You took the baby monitor from the nightstand," he tells her, and Emma looks at him smiling guiltily. She knows he doesn't blame her, although she can't help but remember the conversation they had before Amelia was even born. They'd always be together in all this, no matter what. 

"I didn't want to wake you up," she admits, and Jay rests his other hand on her cheek, smiling as he watches her lean to his touch. 

"Emms, we've talked about this, it doesn't bother me to wake up," he tells her sweetly, and he means it. He may not have been able to help with the food, not at least Amelia started eating from a bottle, but from the very first moment, he was willing to do anything, even sitting awake to support Emma. 

"I know, it's just that now that you're back at work, I don't want you to get any more tired," she explains, and Jay frowns as he remembers that he now has to leave her every day to go to the district. 

"I don't like going to work alone, not when I don't have my partner or leave my daughter," he complains, and Emma smiles sympathetically, knowing how hard it was for him to leave Amelia and her every day. 

Hank had shown an understanding throughout Emma's pregnancy by keeping her at Intelligence and not sending her to headquarters to answer 911 calls. However, their deal was to only work from the desk from almost the start of the pregnancy as even he was terrified after what happened with Kim almost a year and a half ago. And although Emma loved her job and career, she was also shaken by the unexpected event and without bringing any objection she spent most of the months sitting in her chair, watching the rest of the team leave, every time they had a case. Voight's understanding and perhaps generosity continued even further when on his first visit to the hospital he announced to the couple that in addition to the maternity leave he was giving Emma, he was also giving Jay two and a half weeks off to fully live their daughter's first moments. But because time flies too fast, the time Jay had to return came, and even though he still loves being at work, it was the first time in his life that he didn't mind staying at home. 

Before Emma can answer him, trying to make him feel better about leaving for work, Amelia makes a sound as she moves, telling them in her own way that she's had enough. They both giggle as they watch her stare at them now and Jay continues to caress her head stretching and leaving a kiss on Emma's forehead. His love for his wife grew every day and more, and so did his love for Amelia. 

"She's so beautiful," Emma says the same thing she says from the moment she saw the baby, and Jay nods. 

"Yeah, she's the most beautiful baby on the planet," he tells and Emma laughs knowing how much he adores her. 

"I still can't believe how much she looks like you," he admits some minutes later, helping her fix her shirt while she's still holding the baby. Indeed Amelia was exactly like Emma, with the same hair color, her little nose, and her smile which even though she was only a few weeks old was sweet like her mom's. 

"But luckily she has your eyes," she says as she gets up and smiles as she remembers that the color of the baby's eyes was a constant thought of her throughout her pregnancy. 

"You know her eyes can still change. Together we read in that book how babies' eyes can change after 6 months," recalls Jay, who still sits in his seat, watching Emma as she holds their daughter, gently patting her back to burp. 

"No, they're going to stay hazel, like yours. I know it," she says confidently, and Jay chuckles.

"So, are you going to sit there, or are you going to come dance with us, dad?" Emma asks after a few minutes of silence, when she's sure Amelia will sleep again, and Jay's heart is about to burst. He nods, and after he gets up, he wraps his arms around Emma, resting her back on his chest, his head over her shoulder, and his hands over hers, so they can hold Amelia together. 

"I never miss the chance to dance with my wife and daughter," he whispers in her ear, and like all these years, Emma shudders. 

She raises her head and after joining their lips, they turn around and look at Amelia again. Within minutes she falls asleep as if she never got up enjoying the warmth of her mom and dad, feeling their love filling the room. Emma gently places her on her crib and after covering her with a blanket she turns to Jay ready to go back to their bed. But she raises her eyebrows as soon as she realizes that he has other plans in mind and without any objection she takes his hand, continuing to dance with him. 

"Thank you," he whispers, and Emma tilts her head. 

"For everything. For all those years that have passed and for all that will come. And for our little family," he explains, looking at their daughter and then his wife, who smiles sweetly at him, equally grateful for everything. 

"I love you so much," she tells him, resting her head on his chest, and Jay nods. 

"I love you too, Emms, with all my heart," he tells her, and they continue to dance quietly, with their daughter sleeping next to them and their favorite song playing softly. 

Two strangers, who became partners, friends, couple, husband and wife, and even manage to become parents. 

Two people who were the happiness and sunshine of the other, and now they had a new sunshine to light them both at the same time. 

And that was just the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.