Huge thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing. It would not exist without her. You are awesome! :)

"There's fishing, hiking trails, and the town nearby has this café that does, hands down, the best Sunday roast ever," Jay listed enthusiastically, getting more and more excited as he recalled what Wisconsin was like in the summer. Voight simply raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair and watching him without a single, minuscule facial expression.

He was standing in front of his boss' desk, having handed over the last of his paperwork before he and Erin headed off for a long weekend away. Somewhere between stating his desk was finally cleared of work and Voight half-heartedly telling him to enjoy Wisconsin, he had come explain exactly what he loved about his grandfather's cabin and somehow came to the realisation that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if Voight came along too.

He blamed it on being overworked. Definitely not on wanting to impress him, because how lame would that be? A grown man, ex-army Ranger at that too, trying to win over his girlfriend's father figure. Jay was definitely not that kind of guy. Except, he knew he really was.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'll pass," Voight turned down dryly, not that it deterred Jay.

"The weather is perfect this time of the year too. The cabin is right at the edge of the water so it helps ease off the heat with some breeze. Not too hot, not too cold-" he carried on, only to be interrupted by Erin as she entered the office with a small scoff.

"-but perfect for mosquitos, which are the size of eagles by the way, to attack," she pointed out, stopping next to him with a smirk.

"They're not that big," Jay retorted, crossing his arms and glaring at her over-exaggeration.

Erin turned her eyes to Voight, using her hands to visually express how large these mosquitoes were. "They are. Eagles. Huge," she emphasised, before carrying on with a small cringe, "Not to forget the wild animals they warn you about." Jay shot her an incredulous look, half mixed with shock, worried Voight might just stop them from going away if he thought Erin might get mauled by a wild bear. "Don't look at me like that. I saw the signs last time!"

"You're really selling it, Erin, thanks." Jay rolled his eyes sulkily, only keeping himself from pouting with the knowledge that Voight wouldn't let him live it down and he was two decades too old for it.

Erin's phone ringing was the only reason Jay didn't carry on, wanting to point out that Wisconsin was a breath of fresh air in comparison to Chicago. "Why is your brother calling me?" she asked him, holding her phone out in his direction. Frowning, he patted his jeans' pockets to realise he must have left his on his desk and Will had said he'd check in before they left in case they needed anything.

"Because I don't have my phone on me. Give me a sec," he muttered, taking it from her and answering as he left for the break room.

Erin shook her head with an affectionate smile and turned to Voight when he spoke to her. "So what exactly do you do out there? 'Cause the last I remember, you freak out when a bug comes anywhere near you," he stated amusedly, causing her smile to falter.

"That was one time, like 15 years ago! Let it go, jeez," she grumbled, glad Jay hadn't been around to hear that.

Sure, she had confessed almost the second she had stepped out of the car the first time they had gone up to northern Wisconsin that she wasn't a fan of bugs and creepy crawlies, but she liked to think that she had her real feelings about them under control these days. Not like when she was barely 16, running away from the summer flies during the traditional Fourth of July barbeque in the Voights backyard.

Clearing her throat, she shrugged and answered Voight's initial question. "I dunno, I just relax. Read, sleep, eat; repeat. It's kinda nice."

Voight pulled an almost disgusted face, making her laugh quietly. "It sounds boring."

Rolling her eyes, Erin shrugged again. "Yeah, well, sometimes boring is kinda nice," she admitted.

She hadn't said it out loud many times before, but there was something about just getting out of the city and it being just her and Jay that let her forget about all the crappiness her life had brought and the awful things they saw on the job. Sometimes, it was even enough to make her believe Wisconsin might be where she would end up after retirement.

Sometimes. Not that she would ever tell Jay that anytime before they were 60, though.

"Sure it is," Voight chuckled. "You're too good to him, kid."

"Eh, he feeds me. It keeps me happy," she joked, turning when Jay re-entered the office and handed her phone back to her, knowing he had overheard her last comment when he smirked at her. "Ready to go?"

"Just waiting on you," he replied before turning to Voight. "Last chance."

"Not if my life depended on it, Halstead," Voight said definitively, shaking his head once.

"You never know, you might actually enjoy yourself," Jay prodded one last time.

"Jay, let's not push it. I don't think Hank knows what the outside of Chicago looks like. He needs to start small," Erin teased the both of them, though it was only her partner who looked amused by her comment.

"Get outta here before I take back your leave," Voight dismissed them. She could see the small smile playing at his mouth even as he tried to hide it. "Drive safe."

"See you next week!" she called over her shoulder as she followed Jay out of the office to grab their things and out of the building.

They had packed their bags and left it in his car that morning so they could head out straight from work. It was a long journey but it had been a quiet day, and between the two of them, they could be at the cabin in perfect time for some lazy stargazing with a couple of beers on the porch swing.

Jay got into the driver's seat silently, and it was only when they had turned onto the highway that Erin noticed the lack of usual energy in the car. Glancing over, she reached out and laid a hand on his arm to claim his attention before speaking. "Hey, what's wrong? You've been looking forward to this for weeks."

"Nothing, it's nothing," he replied, offering her a small smile which he knew she hadn't bought at all. Sighing, he rubbed his hands against the steering wheel before letting one drop to his leg, where hers soon met his. "I thought things with Voight were getting better, that's all."

"Well, he's no longer trying to break us up, so I'd say it is," she pointed out lightly. Jay nodded in agreement but didn't offer anything else. Sighing, Erin squeezed his hand and gnawed at her lip gently before deciding to confess. "Look, this might be my fault. I only said all that because I didn't want him to come along. Wisconsin is our time, Jay. I have plans for us and they can't happen with Hank there. At all."

There was a brief pause of silence where she could see him absorb her words, the muscles of his hand and leg shifting slightly under her hand. He chanced a quick look over at her, the tension he had been radiating before now morphing into frustration. "You'd think he'd be more acceptable than just not trying to break us up by now."

"That's what you picked up on?" Erin exclaimed, unable to help the annoyed tone that took over and snatching her hand back to whack him on the arm with the back of it. Inhaling deeply, she let out her breath slowly to calm herself down and get back on track. "It's Hank, Jay. He's not gonna say anything more than he's alright with us. That's all we get, so you need to accept that and stop worrying about it."

Except for muttering a small 'ow' when she hit him, Jay listened to her soft voice carefully yet still shook his head at the end. Accepting what the situation currently was seemed a hell lot like giving up, and there was no way he was going to simply give up and let Voight win. Besides, he was a traditionalist and he would bet his yearly salary that Voight was too, meaning at some point in their lives, Jay would need to know he wasn't going to get shot and/or maimed for wanting to take his relationship with Erin to the next level.

"No, I refuse to give in, Erin. I managed to win you over; I can get Voight to like me a bit more," he stated determinedly.

Erin pursed her lips. "Yeah, Hank and I are two very different people. You can't charm your way onto his good side," she pointed out, but she had a feeling he wasn't really listening to what she was saying when she saw him start to relax and nod, an easy smile curving at his lips.

"Challenge accepted," Jay simply remarked.

"That wasn't a-" she broke herself off with a simple wave of the hand, knowing any argument would now be a lost cause because when Jay Halstead got his mind on something, he would follow it through. "You know what, go ahead. You do you, babe. Just don't do anything to ruin that pretty face of yours," she told him instead, patting his cheek affectionately until he turned his head slightly to brush his lips to her palm.

"You think I'm pretty?" he asked rhetorically, taking her hand in his and resting it on his leg once again. Lacing their fingers together gently, he rubbed his thumb over hers as he recalled the second half of her statement back when she had been trying to placate him about Voight. "So, what were these plans of yours for the next few days?"

"Well, let's just say it involves barely leaving the cabin and minimal clothing," she replied, lowering her voice to add a hint more seduction to it than Jay thought was necessary when he was driving them as fast as he could down a busy highway.

Clearing his throat to get rid of the images the comment instantly brought to him, he grinned. "I knew you'd like Wisconsin."

Erin made a noncommittal sound of indifference before answering, "Maybe. I like you more, though."