Erin's Big Secret

Chapter 3; A Fun Day for Two

Aurora always enjoyed the weekends. There was no school, and her mother didn't work. Not every weekend was filled with exciting trips, but they always made the best of their weekends.

This was one of the weekends where Erin tried to make things special for her daughter. It was whatever her daughter wanted to do. If she wanted to stay inside all day and watch Disney movies all day, they would, she wanted to roam around Chicago, they would, anything and everything was okay with Erin. She wanted her daughter to be happy, and for them to have a great day together.

Today, Aurora wanted to go ice-skating. Yes, her five year old daughter wanted to go ice-skating. Yes, Erin would be taking a big risk at going somewhere public like that with her daughter, risk her secret getting out, but today, she let that stress go. She wasn't going to keep her daughter locked up inside just to avoid running into someone she knew.

Maybe it was time to stop hiding it. There were so many good people in her life now, people that'd do anything to help her when in need, wouldn't they help her protect her daughter from harm? Maybe she was silly to think her job would cause any danger towards her daughter. Either way, it was a fear she had since joining the unit. Voight had understood, so, he did everything in his power to keep Aurora a secret and kept her safe. He often had to remind his son Justin to not mention Aurora around people.

Of the three, Justin was the one Erin feared would let slip about Aurora, but actually, since his return, and since meeting Aurora, he actually hasn't told a soul about the little girl he considered a niece. Plus, he didn't want to take any chances of not getting to see the little cutie.

Erin brushed her daughter's long brown hair, that came down to the middle of the little girl's back. Aurora, yes, looked like her mother, but she had her father's eyes and his hair color. With thoughts of wanting to tell everyone her secret, she found herself thinking she needed to finally tell Aurora's father about his daughter. Was he in Chicago? Yes.

It did seem like it was time to tell Aurora who her father was. He wasn't a bad guy, it was just a fling, and she felt kind of ashamed that she never had gotten the courage to tell the father she was pregnant. Today was play day though, and Erin didn't want to think about the daily stress of when to tell everyone about her daughter. She really just wanted to forget everything for a day.

Once she was done brushing her daughter's hair, she then helped Aurora get into her clothes. It was cute how she wanted to wear a beanie just like her mother. Erin waited until Aurora was completely dressed, had her boots and jacket on, before making her daughter's day by putting a matching beanie on her little one's head.

"Do I look just like you mommy?" Aurora asked as Erin made sure her daughter's ears were covered good.

A smile came to Erin's face, it warmed her heart that her little girl liked when she could match her mother. "Yes sweetie, you do." After answering, she placed kiss on Aurora's nose.

Once Erin was ready, she grabbed her daughter's bag, it was filled with everything they needed, including snacks, and whatever extra things Aurora wanted to put in there, then they headed out of the apartment and on their way to the ice rink.

Aurora enjoyed car rides with her mother. They played music, sung along to the songs they knew, it was even times she could catch her mommy up on everything going on in her life at school. Something Erin found to be completely adorable.

Once they arrived, Aurora was extremely excited. She'd had never been ice-skating before, which, made her a little nervous, but she couldn't wait to get out there on the ice. Erin, was worried, like any mother would be. Erin, herself, hadn't been skating since she was young, so, she wasn't even sure how she'd do, and it made her even more nervous.

As she put Aurora's skate shoes on, Erin could see the excitement on her daughter's face. It brought a smile to her own face. Moments like this, moments of making her daughter happy, getting to spend quality time with her little one, just getting to be in the presence of her daughter, was what Erin lived for. There was no greater moment than any moment with Aurora.

"Mommy, are you gonna hold my hand the whole time?" Aurora asked as her mother finished tying her shoes.

"Yes sweetie, I will hold your hand as long as you need me too." With a warm smile, Erin helped her daughter stand up, then they made their way to the ice.

"Mommy, what if I fall?" The little girl asked, her mother hearing the fear in her tone.

"I will catch you," Erin assured her, smiling down at Aurora. "You promise?" She asked her mommy, looking up, waiting to hear what her mom's answer was. When Erin saw the look on Aurora's face, the look of wanting assurance, Erin smiled softly at her daughter.

"I promise," She started; "And if I don't catch you, I'll fall too," She assured her daughter, grinning as she continued to look down at her little girl.

Aurora softly chuckled, then walked out on the ice with her mother. That was all the assurance she needed. She knew that her mommy wouldn't let anything happen to her, and she did fall and get hurt, her mommy would make it all better.

They spent hours skating, laughing, just had the best time ever. Even stopped at one point to eat lunch, before they got back out there. It was becoming the best day either of them have had in a while.

When Erin could see the cold getting to Aurora, it was time to call it quits and head home. With as rosey as Aurora's cheeks were, she started to wonder if they should've called it quits sooner.

Once they had their skates off, and their shoes back on, Erin took Aurora to get hot chocolate before they headed home. During the ride home, Erin could tell her daughter was sleepy, and before she knew it, Aurora was out.

A nap wouldn't be bad for the little one. It would give Erin time to clean up the apartment, cook a meal, and pick out some movies for Aurora to pick from later on.

Once they were home, Erin carried her daughter up the stairs to their apartment. After getting her daughter's shoes and coat off, she tucked her daughter into her bed, then got to work on cleaning and starting dinner.

After Aurora's nap, they ate dinner, watched as many of the cartoon movies Aurora wanted before it was time for the little one to go to bed.

Aurora got into her pajamas, then hopped into bed, waiting for her mom to tuck her in. When Erin saw she was ready, that's just what she did.

As her mother tucked her in, Aurora smiled up at her mother. "Can we have more days like today mommy?" She asked, still looking up at her mommy, even as her mother took a seat on the bed.

"We can have many, many, many more days like today, sweetie." Erin promised her daughter, which made Aurora happy.

"I had a lot of fun today," She said between a yawn, which made Erin lightly chuckle. "I did too sweetheart. Now, it's time for you to go to sleep. We'll have some more fun tomorrow."

"I love you mommy." A yawn escaping Aurora's lips after her words. Erin leaned down, placing a kiss on her daughter's nose. "I love you too. Goodnight my little angel." She gave Aurora one more kiss, this time on the lips.

"Goodnight." Were the last words that came out of her daughter's mouth before she drifted into dreamland. Even with the nap, her daughter was still wore out from their fun day, and honestly, so was Erin.

Erin got ready for bed, then crawled into her own bed, falling into a deep sleep, shortly after her head hit the pillow. It had been a great day for them both. They definitely needed to have more days like today. She was going to see to it that they got more time together like this more often. She loved her job, but Aurora was more important. She knew Voight would give her time off for a vacation so she could spend a lot more time with her daughter.

Maybe that's what she needed to do soon, take some time off and just spend time with her daughter. She also felt like it was also getting time to start telling people she has a daughter. That was a thought for later though. Right now, peacefully thinking about how much she loved her daughter, and their time together. That mattered the most to Erin.