Like I said before I love writing these oneshot type stories. But if you want to follow me on tumblr im at iamvictoriousatlife. You can also send me oneshot prompts to write. I'm up for it all. But as for the stories I don't think I'll be writing more chapters, maybe it'll become a two-shot. But I have a short attention span. Any way, follow me on tumblr and send me suggestions for stories, and don't forget to review.
Sometimes you have to just go for it. She picked up the phone and dialed the number the social worker had given her. "Hello?" A voice answered.
"Hi, is this Jay Halstead?" She asked wearily.
"Yeah, this is him. Can I help you?" He asked.
"Well, I… Um… I guess," she dragged on.
"Look kid, I'm in the middle of something," Jay sighed.
"Um, my mom was hurt while working. She's going to be in the hospital for a while," she teared up, but tried to keep her voice steady.
"I'm sorry about that, but I don't know how I can help," Jay was getting anxious.
"My mother is Erin Lindsay," she heard him take a sharp intake of air. "The social worker said that your name is on the birth certificate," she rushed out.
"How old are you? If you don't mind me asking."
"I'm 14. Listen I need someone who's related to me to let me stay with them until my mom recovers or I have to live in a group home," she sighed.
XXX
Jay laid in Erin's bed putting the feeling of his arms around her into his head. "Do you have to go?" She cried. "I don't want you to leave me."
"It's not a goodbye Er, it's a see you later. I'll be back in 6th months," he wiped a tear from her face. "When I get back, we'll start our lives, you and me. We'll put the matching ring on that finger. That engagement ring is looking lonely," she laughed.
"6 months is a long time," Erin sighed.
"I'll write every day, and I'll call every free chance I get," he leaned down and kissed her until he was running out of air.
"Give me one last hurrah Jay, make me forget you're leaving," she lifted her head and kissed the outside of his jaw and continued until she met his lips. "Just one last time," she pleaded.
XXX
Jay stood in shock. His partner walked up to him and patted him on the back, "you okay man?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm gonna take the rest of the day though. I have some personal business I have to attend to," Jay watched him nod and walk away. Jay picked up his phone again. "What hospital are you at?" Jay questioned. He rushed out of the precinct and into his car. He raced to the hospital and towards the room his daughter told him into the phone.
"Jay Halstead?" A lady looking to be in her mid-fourties .
"Yeah, that's me. Hi," he held out his hand for her to shake.
"I'm Gloria Rochester, I'm the social worker assigned to Alexandra Halstead's case," she leaned in to shake his hand.
"Okay, what do I need to sign to take temporary custody of my daughter?" Jay asked.
"First I need to see some form of identification," Jay handed her his ID. "Very good, now I need you to fill out these four forms, and she'll be in your custody. However, you will have another social worker pop in on you at your apartment randomly within the first week," she handed the forms over to Jay and left him to fill them out. He wrote down all the information he could. He finished and handed the paperwork back to Mrs. Rochester. He continued into the room of Erin Lindsay, the girl he hadn't seen in 14 years.
"So you're the man my mom refuses to talk about," the voice caught him off guard. He felt tears come to his eyes when he looked over at Erin. She laid flat with a small pillow lifting her head up. A tube down her throat, and wires attached everywhere.
"Yeah, I guess so. When I was away I talked to your mom everyday, she never mentioned she was pregnant," He turned to eye his daughter. "Alexandra? She named you after my mother," he smiled. Erin had remembered that he wanted to name his first girl after his mother.
"Please don't call me that. It's Alex or Lex, my mom's the only one who calls me Alexandra," she frowned. Her eyes were red and puffy, the clear signs that she had been crying. He wanted to move closer to her and comfort her. But he had just met her.
"What happened?" He asked. Him and Erin were both police officers, but she was a detective in another district. He kept in touch, said hi when their jobs had crossed. But ever since he got back from war he hadn't been the same. Erin saw that, and gave him the space he needed. He never reached out to her on a personal level, he's been in a dark place for the last 13 years.
"Her partner said that they busted a major meth lab, and as they were leaving she was the last one out and it exploded. Apparently she went flying, Doctor's say she had a large tear in her lung which they repaired in surgery, she has 6 or 7 broken ribs, she has minor brain swelling, and broke her left leg and arm. They're keeping her in a medically induced coma for a couple weeks to allow for her brain and lung to heal. They don't know if there's any brain damage or not,"
"You're a smart kid, you know that?" Jay asked.
"I'm my mother's daughter, what can I say," Alex laughed.
"Okay, well the social worker said you're free to come home with me. Why don't we go get some of your stuff, and we'll go out to dinner? I'll bring you back before school tomorrow morning," he watched as she nodded her head and stood to kiss her mother's forehead. She walked over to her father.
"I know this is a lot to take on. And I'm sure if grandpa Hank were still alive I'd go stay with him, but he's not. The social worker said they had to be related. So thank you for doing this," she continued to walk out of the room with her father behind her.
"I know we've just met, but I want you to tell me when you're missing your mom okay?" He watched her nod and get into the passenger seat. He got into the car and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. "Where's your apartment?" He asked her. She typed in the address into the GPS and he followed the directions. He pulled up to the same building he left 14 years ago. "So your mom never moved huh?" She shrugged her shoulders and stepped out of the car. She walked up to the door and took out her keys. The occasional sniffle coming out of her. He followed her up to the apartment. The neighbor's door opened as she inserted the key.
"Jay Halstead, its about time you show back up," Erin's neighbor, Mrs. Trixie, yelled from outside her door.
"Trixie, how are you doing?" He asked as he went to give her a hug.
"Every time I saw Erin I said that little girl looked just like you. She wouldn't have any of it," Trixie smiled.
"Yeah, I broke her heart. He didn't want to have anything to do with me," he smiled back at the old lady. "Well, I'm going to get the kid inside. Have a nice night Trixie," he smiled and walked back to the open door at the end of the hall.
"You know her well," Alex mentioned as she walked back into her bedroom. The one he used to see Nadia walking out of all the time. "This place must bring back memories."
"Yeah, I used to basically live here before I left. Your mom's friend Nadia used to live in that room when I was here," he sighed at the memory of how broken Erin was after that.
"She doesn't mention her much, just like she never really talked about you," Alex frowned as she piled clothes into an over night bag.
"Your mother tends to hide behind the things she doesn't want to talk about or the things that hurt her the most. For example, me and Nadia," Alex swung a bag over her shoulder.
"All ready, let's go," she sighed as she took off towards the front door.
XXX
"Well, this is casa a la Halstead. Your room is around the corner on the left. Your bathroom is across from that. Kitchen is over there, and my room is next to the kitchen. Alex took a seat on the couch looking at the blank TV.
"Can I ask something?" She spoke.
"Yeah, anything," Jay eyed her curiously and sat next to her.
"What did you do that prevented my mom from telling you about me?" She asked.
"I went to war, it was supposed to be for 6 months, but I extended it for another 6, and by the time I got back your mother didn't want to speak to me. We were supposed to get married the second I got back. Wedding date was set in stone. But we were close to getting the guy we were hunting down and I signed up again. Pushing back all the plans and dates. She was really angry with that. But now that I know she was pregnant with you, I'm gathering that she didn't want to tell me through letter. She wanted to do it on person," Jay sighed. Erin's actions made sense; she had a daughter to look after. She didn't have time to deal with a guy with PTSD.
"That can't be all of it. My mom is way more forgiving than that," Alex reasoned.
"She is, but when I got back I was dealing with things. A couple years after your mom told me she didn't want to be with me anymore, a psychologist diagnosed me with post-traumatic stress disorder. I was a complete mess up until a couple years ago," Jay explained.
"Do you think my mom's going to survive?" She asked Jay in all seriousness.
"Your mom's a tough cookie. She'll pull through," he saw her relax a little.
"This is awkward. I've never had a father figure before and I don't know what to call you," she confessed.
"Well, you can call me Jay, or dad, or whatever you feel like. It's completely up to you. This whole relationship is up to you. We'll go at your pace, at your time," she smiled.
"I'm going to take a shower," she stood and walked over to her bedroom to get her shower things and to take a shower. "Jay?" Jay heard from the bathroom door. It was peaked open slightly her eye and nose peering out. "Something happened," she frowned.
"What?" Jay asked as he ran to the door. He could see the look that wiped across her face. It was embarrassment. He knew that look all too well. He saw that exact same look on Erin the day she got her first period while sitting on the edge of his pool. "You don't have to say anything, your mother had that exact same look," her embarrassment diminished slightly. "Obviously pads, any particular brand? Your mother liked Kotex," Jay mentioned. He watched as a tear rolled down her head and she shrugged her shoulders. "You take a shower I'll knock when I come back," she nodded her head and closed the door.
Jay rushed out the door with his keys and wallet. He ran down the stairs to the nearest pharmacy. He walked in and went straight to the feminine products isle. Getting looks from all the other men there. He grabbed what he needed and went to purchase the item. The lady ringing him up winked and gave him his change. He ran back to his apartment and knocked on the bathroom door. "It's outside the door when you're finished. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," he yelled through the door.
He walked to the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge and rested it on the counter. He was lost in his thoughts when he saw movement from the corner of his eye. He looked up to see her dressed in a large t-shirt and shorts. She sat down at a stool and looked at her hands. "I know you wish it was your mom here to do this with you, but remember I was there for your mom," he watched her nod.
"Where did she get it?" She eyed him curiously.
"Your mom got it the summer before we went into 8th grade. We were having a last summer party with all of our friends. Your mom and I were sitting on the edge of the pool and we stood and that spot was covered in red blood. So were the bottoms of her bathing suit. You name embarrassment you're mother has seen worse," Alex smiled. "You feeling okay? Any pain or nausea or anything?" She shook her head. "Okay well, you are more than welcome to wake me up if you feel pain or anything. Your mother had really bad cramps and threw up occasionally."
"Great, this is what I have to look forward to," she frowned.
"This always seemed to make her feel better," Jay handed her a pint of chocolate therapy ice cream. She smiled.
"Mom and I used to share one of these every month, I guess now I know why," he laughed. She took a bite, and handed the spoon over to him.
"You're going to share?" He asked.
"I can't finish this by myself," she nodded.
"Your mother used to slap my hand away any time I came close to touching the ice cream.
"Things change," she smiled up at him. Her father wasn't as bad as she thought he was going to be.
