This is just a short little one shot I started awhile ago and finally got around to finishing, purely because the world needs more Linstead (at least in my opinion). I know a lot of people aren't writing for them anymore but I still love to, I just don't always have the ideas, or the time to do it. However, I will eventually get there, so if you ever have a prompt or something you'd like to see, please send me a message, I love getting them! I hope you enjoy this short story, and this is just a warning that I have no medical knowledge other than what I Google, so don't take medical specifics in my stories too seriously. Thanks!
/
The early morning Chicago sun peeks through the blinds, softly lighting the room. Erin stirs and wakes to cold sheets beside her, instead of her husband's warm body. She sighs heavily and rolls onto her back, trying to sleep a bit more before the alarm goes off.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
She groans, pulling Jay's pillow over her face to block out the irritating sound. She normally wakes to his handsome face and soft caresses, not the blaring noise of the clock. Considering the fight they had last night, she's not surprised that he's not in bed with her.
She sighs when she remembers that they didn't even kiss good night, the only time that's happened in their still new marriage.
She reluctantly drags herself out of bed, pulling on her usual jeans, boots and t-shirt before heading out to the kitchen in search of coffee, and hopefully her husband.
The kitchen is as empty as his side of the bed, but a cup of coffee sits waiting for her beside a note. She picks both up, drinking from the cup as she scans her eyes across her husband's handwriting.
Gone into work early. See you later. Jay.
She sighs. He'd left her coffee, so he can't be too mad, but she can't remember the last time they'd gone into work separately, except for times where they'd worked extra shifts away from each other. And his note is very cold, so unlike him. He's the romantic one out of the two of them, and often leaves cute little notes, so unlike this one.
She quickly finishes her coffee and fixes her hair and makeup before grabbing her stuff and heading out the door. Hopefully by the time she reaches work Jay will have cooled off a bit.
She's wrong. He barely glances up at her as she passes his desk in the bullpen. She rolls her eyes in response. If this is how he wants to be, two can play at this passive aggressive game.
After an hour she knows that the rest of the unit has realised something's up between them. She ignores them though, since she knows Voight still likes to test their professionalism in situations like these, even though he officially considers Jay part of the family now.
"Halstead. Lindsay. Go question this new suspect." Voight orders.
The two of them nod and head down to the 300.
Their drive is filled with an awkward silence. They're not the type of couple who needs to talk constantly, but the tense air between them is almost too much for her to bare. Fortunately, their trip isn't long and before she knows it they're knocking on the suspect's door.
"Did you hear that?" She asks Jay, her ears pricking.
His eyes narrow as he focuses on what's behind the door.
The sound of a window opening catches her attention and she wheels around to see their suspect dropping to the ground and running off down the street.
"Freeze! CPD!" Erin yells out as she takes off, Jay falling into place beside her.
Their suspect raises his hands slightly, showing them the gun. Then, faster than even their cop reflexes can manage, he twirls the gun in his hand, shooting it before making a run for it.
Jay immediately takes off after the man, but only makes it halfway down the block before he realises Erin isn't behind him. He turns back for a split second, and his heart stops when he takes in the sight of her slumped on the pavement.
"Erin!"
Forgetting all about their suspect, he returns to his partner's side faster than he left it, skidding to the ground beside her.
"Erin, are you okay?" His words leave his mouth frantically, his eyes darting across her body. She's breathing heavily, and it only takes him a moment to see the blood spilling over her shirt, her hands clutching at her side.
"Oh my god, Erin." He gasps, replacing her hands with one of his, his other hand lifting to frame her face. "You're okay, you're going to be okay."
She tries to take a deep breath, but ends up shuddering and coughing heavily, her breathing turning ragged.
"I'm ok." She whispers. "It's not that bad."
Only his wife could say that as she's bleeding from a gunshot wound.
He radioes in for an ambulance, before returning his attention solely to her. His thumb wipes away beads of sweat that dot her forehead, whispering words of apology when she winces at the pressure he's placing on her wound to stem the blood flow.
"I'm sorry baby, just focus on me, okay? Just keep your eyes open." He pleads.
She nods weakly, reaching one hand out to wrap around his wrist.
He watches with a tight chest as her eyes start to slip closed.
"Baby, no. Keep your eyes open." He begs.
"Sor-" the words die on her lips as she loses consciousness.
"Erin!"
/
"Jay?"
Jay's head immediately jerks up from his hands at the sound of his name, called by his brother. He jumps up from the hard, plastic chair.
"Is she okay?" His words tumble from his lips faster than he can process them. "Tell me she's okay."
His brother smiles reassuringly, and Jay's heart tentatively lifts.
"She's going to be fine, Jay. She was really lucky, it was only just a graze. It bled a lot, but there's no internal damage, and she'll be good as new in a week or two."
All the tension leaves his body in one fell swoop, and his brother stretches out a strong arm to support him with his tight grip.
"She's okay, Jay. I promise." Will reassures him.
Jay nods, unable to respond around the lump in his throat. Swallowing desperately, he manages to ask, "Can I see her?"
Will nods. "Of course."
The doctor Halstead leads the detective down the hallway, stopping at the door to a room and gesturing Jay into it with an arm.
Jay's heart drops at the sight of his wife in the hospital bed, her eyes closed and her face slack. She seems so small and fragile, something no one would ever call Erin Lindsay-Halstead.
"She's not actually unconscious." Will reassures him, seeming to know exactly where Jay's mind has gone. "The pain meds we gave her were quite strong, and the adrenaline crash caused her to become very tired very quickly. I knew we had to be careful about which drugs to give her, and we were, but I didn't want her to be in too much pain."
Jay nods wordlessly, before finding his voice again. "Yeah, that's good. Thanks, Will."
"Anything for you two, you know that." Will claps a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back to check on her in awhile. She shouldn't have to stay too long, but we'll see how she feels a bit later."
Jay nods, but doesn't even notice his brother leave the room. He makes his way to his wife's side, dropping into the seat beside her bed and grasping her hand between his gently.
Her eyes flutter a few times before focusing on him and a soft smile spreads across her face.
"Hey." She murmurs.
He gives her a small smile in return. "Hey sweetheart. How do you feel?"
She lets out a noncommittal sound. "I'm okay."
He smiles again as he shakes his head. Always the stubborn one, his wife.
The smile slips from his face as he drops his eyes back to her hands, fiddling with her fingers.
"Hey, what's wrong?" She asks softly.
"I'm so sorry, Erin." He whispers, his eyes avoiding hers.
"What? This isn't your fault, Jay." She tugs on his hands, wordlessly asking him to look at her. "We were both doing our jobs. You know this is a risk that we face."
"Not that." He whispers, his voice coloured with shame. "I'm sorry about last night."
She sighs as she realises where his head is at.
"I'm sorry too, babe." She murmurs, lifting one hand to cup his jaw in her palm. "It was just a silly fight, though. We're okay."
"Yeah, luckily." He mutters.
"What do you mean?" She asks softly.
He sighs, still avoiding her gaze.
"We had a stupid fight, and that could've been the last thing that happened to us. I could've lost you today."
"Jay, look at me." She pleads, lifting his head with a gentle finger. Her heart drops when she takes in his sombre expression, his beautiful eyes filled with tears.
"It was an accident. There was nothing we could have done to prevent it. We both know we have to leave the personal stuff at home."
"Still, you could have died and you would've thought I was mad at you." He whispers.
His broken tone kicks her in to action, and she tries to lift herself to a sitting position so that she can comfort him. Unfortunately, the stitches in her side prevent that.
"Ah!" She gasps, falling back to the bed.
"Erin! Be careful, babe." He admonishes her, his chest tightening at the painful look on her face.
She reaches one arm out to him. "Come here then."
"I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't, I promise." She wriggles her fingers at him and he concedes, gently tucking himself around her, face falling to the crook of her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry." He gasps, trying to keep the tears at bay.
"Shh." She soothes him. "It's ok."
"I love you so much, Erin."
"I know." She murmurs comfortingly. "And if anything ever happened, I would still know that. It was just a fight. Married people fight. You know I love you no matter what, right?"
She feels him nod and strokes her hand through his hair in response.
"Good." She whispers.
He takes her home a few hours later and fusses over her endlessly. She normally wouldn't stand for it, but she knows he needs to take care of her right now, particularly to assuage the last bit of guilt she knows he feels, so she takes it without complaint. He calls in sick to work the next couple of days so he can stay with her, as much as she insists he doesn't need to.
He cooks dinner (although that's hardly anything new) and helps her shower so her bandage stays dry, although his jaw stays tense no matter how many times she runs her thumb across it. When she wakes the next morning there are bags under his eyes and she's sure he spent the whole night watching her.
"Morning, baby." She whispers, reaching out a hand to brush her fingers against his cheek.
"Morning, beautiful." He gives her that signature, charming Jay smile, although it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"A day in bed with my husband doesn't sound too bad, you know, minus the whole getting shot thing." She jokes, trying to lighten the mood. She quickly realises it won't work, and Jay's eyes cloud even further.
"Sorry." She whispers.
He doesn't say anything, just reaches out to play with a strand of her hair absentmindedly. She knows he's just avoiding.
"I'm sorry I scared you." She says softly.
He shakes his head. "No, none of this is your fault."
"It's not yours either." She points out.
He lets out a heavy sigh, his eyes falling away from hers.
"I was scared." He admits. "I don't think I've ever been that scared before." Few things spring to mind, all involving times she's had a weapon held on her, but this was worse. "It scares me that I could lose you, and I don't know how to move past that."
Erin's the one who sighs this time. She takes his hand in hers, gripping it and stroking her thumb across it comfortingly.
"I don't have the answer for that." She answers honestly. "Because I know what that feels like. I worry about you all the time, even when there's nothing to actually worry about. I also know that I can't keep you safe from everything, no matter how hard I try. I know that's what scares you."
Jay nods minutely. Erin slips a finger under his chin and tilts his head so that his eyes meet hers once more.
"All I can promise you is that I will always do my best to come back to you." She says softly but firmly. "Nothing could take me away from you if it was in any part my choice."
His eyes soften and he leans forward to press his lips against hers; soft and insistent, love flowing from him.
"I love you so much, baby." He murmurs, his lips barely an inch from hers.
She sighs softly, melting into him. "I love you, too."
Erin tucks herself even closer to him, inhaling his familiar and comforting scent while focusing on the sound of his heartbeat and allowing her breathing to match his. His arms tighten around her as much as he can without brushing against her injury.
"Just relax, baby. I've got you." He murmurs.
"Only if you do, too." She mumbles back, half asleep again.
"I will." He promises.
He lies awake listening to the sound of her breathing once more, but soon allows himself to sleep into unconsciousness, comforted by the feel of her in his arms.