Season 3 left us all wondering where does Hank go from here? From all appearances, he killed the person responsible for the death of his son. No amount of pleading from Erin seemed to get through to Voight who had nothing but vengeance on his mind. But the fallout from his decision will affect everyone in the unit, especially Erin (and Jay by default). Since September is a long way off, I decided to pick up where PD left off. I've read several fan fictions that focus on Linstead and I've enjoyed them a lot. I intend to focus on Jay and Erin but will have a different take than on their relationship and where they go from here. In other words, no wedding or babies… at least not yet… hence "baby steps".
Erin Lindsay gripped the steering wheel tightly, letting the tears flow freely down her cheeks. She was wrestling with her decision to leave Voight standing in the rain, pointing a gun at the man responsible for the death of his son. The man was digging a grave and Hank showed no signs that he was going to grant a pardon as he pleaded for his life. Maybe she should turn around. Or call Jay. Or… the thought escaped her as a single gunshot rang out.
That single shot reverberated inside the car causing Lindsay to swerve, narrowly missing the concrete jersey wall. Erin slammed on the brakes and threw the car into park. She howled, her body racked with sobs that felt like they were coming from the depths of her soul. Pounding on the steering wheel, Erin screamed "why?!" over and over, as if someone could offer her a reasonable explanation for Justin's death. Hadn't Hank been through enough? Didn't Justin deserve happiness after turning his life around? And Daniel, didn't he deserve to have both his parents?
As the ramifications of what Hank just did dawned on her, she reached for her phone. But it wasn't in its usual spot. It must have flown out of the cubby when she swerved and slammed on the breaks. She frantically undid her seatbelt and started feeling around the floorboards for her cell. Her fingers brushed against it but only pushed it further under the passenger seat.
"FUCK!" she swore loudly as she got out in the driving rain to run around the car to retrieve the phone. Tears threatened to overtake her again as she tried to unlock her phone so she could call her partner. As soon as she started to enter her code, it rang in her hand and she jumped, only to drop the phone. Halstead's name was still flashing as simultaneously grabbed it while pushing the phone to answer it before he hung up.
"Jay?" Before he could respond, she started sobbing uncontrollably again.
"Erin?" Jay paused and when she didn't answer he screamed into the phone. "ERIN?! Erin, where are you? Are you okay?
Catching her breath, Erin managed to tell Jay where she was and told him to come alone. "But what do I tell the others?" he asked. "They are going to want to know what's going on."
She hadn't thought about what to tell the others. Her only thought was that she needed Jay, desperate to have his arms around her, to make her feel like she wasn't alone and everything was going to be okay. For the first time since she met Hank Voight, she felt like she lost him. This wonderful man, the one responsible for saving her, was the one stable person she has counted on since she was a teenager and now it felt like someone had severed the cord between them. She started crying harder.
"Don't worry, Erin. I'll handle them. Just tell me where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can" he reassured her. He hung up the phone and signaled to Antonio. He grabbed his arm and pulled him aside whispering fast and low so he could get going.
"I don't know what happened, but Erin's a mess and I've got to go to her." Jay explained. Antonio started to turn to tell the rest of the unit, when Halstead growled at him. "Don't!" Dawson's eyes widened and as Jay explained he needed to go alone and the rest of them needed to sit tight until he understood the situation.
Even though he's not used to being told what to do by Jay, he realized the implication of what may have gone down. "Okay, okay." He handed the keys to his truck and said he would figure something out and send everyone home. "Jay… whatever happened, we don't go back to the District until we're all singing the same tune if you get my drift."
Jay nodded and ran towards the truck silently willing Erin to hold on until he reached her. As he jumped in the driver's seat, he heard Ruzek and Atwater yelling "Hey!" He flipped on the lights and roared down the street. He knew that Dawson would handle the team, his only focus was getting to his girl. To hell with professionalism, this was personal and he'd be damned that she wasn't going to get his full support as a partner and a boyfriend.