31. Chapter 31

A/N: I'M BAAACCCKKK! It's been way too long (s/o to school for keeping me from fan fiction) and I've missed writing. But, now with summer just starting, I'm back to writing and plan on finishing this story in the next couple of months. So, here is what you, as readers, can help me to do so this story can be finished. First, read this chapter and drop a review at the end! Second, when you are writing your review let me know what you would like to see in the final chapters of Halstead's Secret to help me write more. Finally, stay tuned for more of this story as well as another one shot and more chapters of Finding Mia to be published soon.

Happy Reading :)

P.S. Follow me on twitter (queenoflinstead) to keep up with my crazy fangirl life and all things Sophia Bush & Chicago P.D :)

"No need to knock on my door Halstead", Voight said as Jay's knuckles barely knocked on the door to his office.

"You are already my son-in-law, so why don't we just have an open door policy", he continued as Jay laughed entering the office.

"Erin wanted me to give this to you", Jay said setting a wooden frame on his desk.

Hank picked up the frame and couldn't help but smile at the picture Erin had encased inside. There was baby Penelope being held by Maggie in Erin's hospital room right after she had been born. Penelope had already grown so much in the past month, beginning to even develop a little personality.

"When is Erin going to bring Penelope to the district", Hank asked as he set up the picture next to a portrait of his own family that sat on his desk.

Before Jay could even answer he heard everyone in the bullpen call out Erin's name as she entered carrying Penny in the baby carrier. "Looks like right now", Jay laughed as he walked out of Voight's office.

Jay entered the bullpen to see Penny already out of her carrier and in Nadia's arms with Kim standing next to her, while Erin was sitting at his desk.

"Hey, babe", Jay said as he bent down and pressed a kiss against her cheek.

"Hey", Erin smiled as Jay came around and sat down at the edge of his desk.

"You didn't say you were coming by today", he said.

"Yeah, well when all you do is change diapers and pack boxes all day, a change of scenery is nice", Erin explained.

"The big move is this weekend right", Antonio asked.

Simultaneously Erin and Jay nodded as they both thought of all the work they would doing moving into a new house and balancing two kids this weekend. Over the past month, Erin and Jay had found the perfect house, with Maggie's approval. Maggie had gotten what she called her 'dream house'. There was a giant backyard, where she insisted that Jay would build a treehouse for her and Penny to play in, and she got a way bigger room than the one in their apartment.

As for Erin and Jay, the house they had chosen was everything Jay knew he always wanted and everything Erin thought she would never have.

"And everyone is going to help them", Voight instructed.

Before Erin could begin to protest, Jay cut her off, "That would be really nice of you guys", he answered.

"But, you know, you just have to be careful with everything and it's all been organized", Erin began to speak.

"Don't trust us, Lindsay", Olinsky asked.

Erin spun her chair around so she was facing Alvin, "It's Halstead, Al. And I trust you I just don't trust your partner", she explained turning back towards Adam.

"Hey! I think I can handle helping you move", Adam protested.

"You're kind of a clutz", Kim piped up from her spot with Penny over by Nadia's desk.

"Yeah, there's a reason I don't ask you to pick up coffee anymore, Ruzek", Atwater added.

Before Ruzek could defend himself any further, Penny began to fuss in Nadia's arms. The one month old hated to be ignored.

"Here Nadia, I'll take her", Jay said as he stood up and walked towards Nadia.

Carefully, Nadia passed over Penny into Jay's arms. "Hey peanut", Jay greeted his daughter as she now laid in his arms. Jay laughed as a smile spread across Penny's face as he rocked her back and forth.

"Let's trade places, babe. I will do all your paperwork and you can change Penny's dirty diapers", Erin tried to bribe her husband.

Jay laughed as he continued to rock his daughter in his arms. "That may not work Erin. You have something she needs", he stated as Erin rolled her eyes.

"TMI", Ruzek suddenly announced making everyone laugh.

"When are you coming back", Antonio asked looking towards Erin.

"I have another two months of maternity leave", Erin smiled. She wanted to come back to work more than anything, but at the same time she didn't want to leave Penny at a daycare. Other than arresting criminals, Erin's favorite thing to do all day was spend time with her daughter. Of course there was the occasional disaster diapers and crying fits that lasted for no longer than an hour, but besides all that, Penny was the perfect baby. Maybe Erin thought that because she was her's, but how could she not think that adorable little combination of her and Jay wasn't perfect?!

Just as Erin began to think this, her perfect little baby began to stir in Jay's arms and Erin went into full mom mode.

"Here I got her", she said standing and reaching over to take Penny from Jay's arms.

"Are you sure? I can do this for as long as you need me too", Jay said not wanting his daughter to leave just yet.

"She needs to be fed and I don't think Ruzek wants to see that", Erin teased as Penny was back in her arms.

"Ain't that right, Penelope", she continued watching as Penny giggled lightly.

"Jay, your wife is already turning your daughter against me", Adam protested walking over to his friend.

"Don't worry Adam, Maggie's still your little buddy", Jay laughed as he watched Erin buckle Penny back into the carrier.

"Alright, so I will see all you guys on Saturday", Erin explained as she grabbed the carrier off the desk.

"We will all be there", Voight assured Erin with a smile as he bent down to get one last look at his new granddaughter before Erin took her home.

"Bye P", Voight said as he ran a gentle hand over Penny's head and noticed how her eyes followed his every movement, as she was still adjusting to the world around her.

Standing back up, Hank squeezed Erin's cheeks, the one display of affection he knew she hated, and went back into his office as he heard his phone ringing.

"Don't forget, I am picking up Maggie's halloween costume tonight, which means the whole family is prepared to Trick or Treat on Sunday, except for you", Erin reminded Jay as she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Wait, you already have something", Jay asked her surprised because his wife had said nothing about having a Halloween costume. Erin Lindsay was the last person he expected to dress up for Halloween.

"Of course I have something", Erin laughed at the look of shock on Jay's face. "This little nugget and I are going to have the best costume in the whole neighborhood", she explained with a wide smile on her face.

With that Erin said her goodbye's to the rest of the team and Jay watched as she carried Penny down the stairs in the bulky carseat. He realized that the reason he could never imagine Erin Lindsay dressing up for Halloween was because she was stubborn and never stuck to other people's "lame traditions". Now, though, she had two kids and she wanted them to experience the "lame traditions" she never got to experience.

xxx

"SHE MAY BE MAGGIE HALSTEAD BY DAY, BUT BY NIGHT SHE TRANSFORMS INTO…SUPERGIRL", Erin's raspy voice broadcasted before Jay could even take two steps into the doorway of their apartment.

Immediately, Maggie jumped right in front of him, striking a 'powerful' pose as she modeled her brand new red, blue, and gold Supergirl jumpsuit. All decked out with a cape, red knee high boots, and a gold headband crown wrapped around her head, Maggie stood in front of her father with the biggest smile that her face could possibly pull off.

"Do you like it Daddy", Maggie asked looking up at her father. "Do I like it", Jay asked watching as a nervous expression came across Maggie's face. "I LOVE IT", he finished his statement, picking Maggie up into his arms and listening to her giggle as they both plopped down on the couch next to Erin.

As soon as Maggie's laughter subsided, all three of the Halstead's heard their newest addition begin to cry for attention in the next room, where Erin thought she had put her down to bed for at least a couple hours.

"How was your day, Mags", Jay asked, wrapping an arm around Maggie's shoulder as she was tucked into his side.

"I got to go to gym today and we played dodgeball and I was the last girl standing", Maggie explained with a big smile on her face.

"That's my girl", Jay laughed as he ruffled her hair. Ever since Maggie had started school in August, she had been thriving. She had a great Kindergarten teacher, who, according to Erin, absolutely adored Maggie because she was a great student. Maggie had made friends, learned how to spell, form sentences, and she was beginning to learn how to read even better than before.

"And there are my other two girls", he stated as Erin came back into the living room with a now alert Penny Halstead in her arms.

Erin smiled lightly as she sat back down on the couch, cradling Penny in her arms in attempt to put her back to sleep.

"Mommy, can you still put me to bed tonight even though Penny is awake", Maggie asked in her softest voice, knowing that if she was too loud her baby sister may fuss.

Before Erin could say anything, Jay piped into the conversation and reached to take Penny from her arms. "Of course, Mommy can. It is her night to put you to bed and while she does I can spend some time with this little peanut", he explained.

"Yeah, come on Mags. Say goodnight to Daddy and Penny", Erin sighed in relief as Jay took Penny from her arms and stood up from her spot at the couch.

"Goodnight Daddy", Maggie said as she got on her knees on the couch and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Goodnight Penny", she whispered this time to her little sister.

"Alright, you brushed your teeth and your clothes are out for school tomorrow", Erin lectured as Maggie ran into her room.

Erin heard Jay laugh at what he call her "mommy managing" in order to keep Maggie in line while they had to keep all eyes on Penny.

"Yep! I am wearing my Halloween shirt because SUNDAY IS HALLOWEEN!", Maggie exclaimed as she jumped up and down in her bed, still clad in her Supergirl costume.

"Let's get that costume off of you, so we don't ruin it for the costume parade tomorrow", Erin said as she began to peel off the outfit.

"Are you and Daddy and Penny going to come tomorrow to watch me in my parade", Maggie asked as she dug some pajamas out of her dresser.

"Yeah. Of course", Erin agreed. Now, that Penny was here, Erin was trying her very best to make sure she had time to change diapers and go to school activities with Maggie. That was the reason for the alternating nights between Erin and Jay to put Maggie to bed. This way each night one of them got to spend a little time with Maggie before bedtime. The other kept an eye on Penny, who was most likely awake, because of course they had a baby who was just as stubborn as the two of them, but about sleeping. All of these 'rules' had been Erin's idea and would last for however many months until Penny started sleeping and her schedule was easy to pinpoint to the minute. The last thing she wanted was to make Maggie feel like all of their attention was on Penny, because Erin knew exactly what that felt like.

"Mommy, I'm ready", Maggie announced bringing Erin back from her thoughts. Maggie already had the comforter tucked up to her chin with her stuffed animal under her arm.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Erin ran a gentle hand over Maggie's head. "You gonna miss this room", she asked.

"Nope, because my room in the other house is WAYY bigger", Maggie exaggerated and Erin could already tell she was thinking of the design to her brand new room.

"You dream all about that room, baby. I'll see you in the morning", Erin said leaning forward to give Maggie an eskimo kiss, causing both girls to burst out into giggles.

"Love you, Mommy", Maggie smiled as Erin kissed her forehead and she began to close her eyes to go to sleep.

"Love you too, Mags", Erin said shutting the door behind her as she walked back into the living room to find Jay talking to a nearly asleep Penny in his arms.

"And then Daddy and Uncle Adam busted into the house where the bad guy was hiding. They thought they could arrest him, until Uncle Adam got thrown off the porch by the bad guy. Of course, Daddy was the hero and saved Uncle Adam and arrested the bad guy and..", Jay told his story to his youngest daughter.

"And then Grandpa gave Daddy a gold star for being the best detective in the whole ride world", Erin mimicked him as she walked into the living room.

"Don't make fun of me", Jay laughed watching as Erin curled up on the couch next to him and laid her head down on his chest, in order to get a better look at Penny in asleep in his arms.

"Your daughter really likes when I talk to her. It seems to calm her down", he explained. "And she also gets that funny little smile on her face right before she falls asleep when I talk to her", Jay continued to speak.

"Oh, now she's only my daughter", Erin laughed. "Oh, yeah. All that stubbornness about sleeping comes from you, Erin Lindsay", Jay explained.

Erin smiled as she let out a tired yawn and began to close her eyes. "Maggie wants both of use to come to her costume parade tomorrow at school", she said in a sleepy voice.

"So, I hope you haven't used up all of your 'Voight' perks up yet", she joked. Even with her eyes closed, Erin could tell Jay was probably rolling his eyes at her.

Opening up her eyes, Erin looked up at Jay to see him looking down in admiration at the now completely asleep baby in his arms. "We're doing an okay job at this right", she asked.

Jay looked down at her confused as to what she was talking about. "You know, this whole parenting thing. Balancing a five year old and a one month old. We are doing an okay job", Erin asked again.

"I would say we are doing better than an okay job", Jay reassured her. Erin smiled at his answer and opened her eyes again to take a look at her daughter in her husband's arms. That glance was all she needed to reassure that however they had made it threw the last month, they should keeping doing it. After all, Maggie and Penny were evidence that Erin and Jay were doing an okay job at parenting.