Little Linstead Holiday one-shot. I honestly cannot get enough of these two, and with Christmas coming up this I really wanted to write this. But I also wanted to include some Thanksgiving because not a lot of people wrote about it this year which sort of surprised me. Anyway, enjoy. (All characters belong to NBC)
Justin Voight was really starting to piss Jay Halstead off. He knew that Justin didn't really like him and Erin being together but it wasn't any of his business. But he sure was making it seem like it was. He had invited Erin to go spend Thanksgiving up with him in Wisconsin at his cabin, which used to belong to his family, but when Justin heard about that he had immediately pulled the "what about family" card. Voight had been okay with Erin going, claiming that he should have to take call at the precinct every once in awhile.
Justin was having none of that though, he kept bitching about how it was Henry's first Thanksgiving and how Justin wanted him to spend it with Erin and Voight. Erin immediately sympathized with Justin and promised Jay that they could go to the cabin another time. Jay tried to be understanding, but this was the Justin Voight. He didn't know what to think or believe. He wanted to give Justin the benefit of the doubt and believe that he was changing for the better, but why had he not suggested it before? Why wait until Erin told him she had plans with Jay?
Erin invited him over for dinner, saying that she wanted to spend Thanksgiving with him, even if it wasn't in Wisconsin. He wanted to go, more than anything. But he also wanted her to have a good Thanksgiving and he didn't think that him being there would be such a good idea since he knew Justin wasn't his biggest fan.
He had figured this out when he and Erin were at work and Justin dropped by with Daniel to visit Hank. Justin had actually gotten there before them and when they walked into Intelligence Jay was greeted with a death glare. Erin hadn't noticed because she was too busy trying to get over to her nephew but Jay certainly had. Instead of going with Erin, he had just walked into the break room trying to get away from all of the negativity Justin brought.
So he told Erin that if they were going to be in town, he should probably spend time with Will. That was also a lie since Will had to work that night, but Erin didn't need to know that. She was kind of disappointed and Jay knew it so he offered to come over for dessert. That seemed to make things a little bit better and it meant that he would not have to spend that much time with Justin.
He had assumed that the person he was going to have the most issue with was Voight, but surprisingly Hank had accepted their relationship with ease. Erin and Jay were over quite often for dinner and he and Hank seemed to really connect now that he wasn't trying to forbid their relationship. Which was another thing he thought Justin may have an issue with. The fact that Hank and Jay seemed to get along and Erin seemed genuinely happy. It was supposed to be Justin's moment to shine. He was the one who just started a family and was getting his life in order. He didn't need Erin to take that away from him.
XXXXX
When Thanksgiving day finally came, Erin and Olive spent the majority of the day getting dinner ready while the boys watched the football game. Al and his daughter would be coming over soon as well as Antonio.
"So why isn't Jay coming over for dinner?" Olive asked as she began putting the marshmallows on top of the sweet potatoes.
Erin began placing the already cooked foods onto the thing that kept them warm, "I wish I could tell you. He said he was going to hang out with Will but when I asked Will about it, he looked confused and told me he was working at the hospital tonight. I think I might have hurt his feelings when I canceled our trip to Wisconsin."
Olive looked confused, "you were supposed to go on a trip? Justin told me that you had been planning this for a while."
Erin let out a laugh, "of course he did. No when I told him that I was going to Wisconsin with Jay he had a fit and told me he wanted to spend Thanksgiving as a family." That little shit she thought to herself, he would pull something like this.
Hank walked into the kitchen and looked around, "you think we have enough food?" he said teasingly.
"Well considering how your son basically made it so my boyfriend would be uncomfortable coming here, yeah I think we have enough." Erin answered, slightly annoyed.
"I thought Jay had plans with Will?"
"Nope, he didn't want to make dinner awkward, so he took one for the team and is staying home." She stated matter of factly, everything finally starting to make sense. Why Jay seemed kind of bummed when she left that morning. Damn him for being such a good guy. He didn't want her to have to spend the whole night between him and Justin.
Hank just nodded at that before heading to the door, "I'll be back."
Justin looked up from the t.v. screen, "where you heading pops?"
"To pick up Erin's boyfriend." He stated, but not before adding, "wipe that look off your face. He's with Erin now, you have to play nice."
Erin smiled inside the kitchen glad that Justin couldn't see it, this night was just getting better.
XXXXX
When Jay got a phone call from Hank Voight, he immediately assumed something was wrong. Instead it was his boss telling him to put on some clothes and to come with him. He put on jeans and a nice button down before heading down to where Voight was waiting. He offered him a smile and got into the car.
"So you going to tell me why you lied and said you had plans?" Voight asked casually.
Jay sighed, "I don't know. I guess I didn't want to make dinner awkward by being there considering Justin isn't my biggest fan."
"So that gives you the right to bail on Erin?"
Jay let out a soft chuckle, "Yeah that was pretty douchey. I mean I was really excited to go to Wisconsin, it just seemed like Justin was doing this on purpose because he knew Erin would stay here if it meant family. It was kind of petty. I'm just not used to spending Thanksgiving with people that care. After my mom died, Thanksgiving became more of a pain than a time to be Thankful, my dad made it a way for him to show off his wealth. Then, in the Rangers I was never home for Thanksgiving. The past few years I've worked so other people could celebrate."
Voight glanced over at Halstead, "did you tell Erin any of this?"
He shrugged, "Nah, you know her she would just feel guilty and I don't want that. Holidays are meant to be a happy time."
"And you don't think that you not being her would have made her happy?" Hank asked as he pulled the car into the driveway.
Once again, Jay just shrugged. "I guess in my head I thought I was doing the right thing, you know?"
Hank nodded, "I do know kid, but there is a girl in there who wants nothing more than to spend Thanksgiving with you."
Jay smiled as he got out of the car, "Yeah you're right boss, thanks for getting me and talking some sense into me."
Erin stood waiting at the door, looking at her boyfriend grin at her pseudo father. She loved that smile. Hank got to her first, giving her a small smile and nod before heading inside of the house. That left just her and Jay outside.
"Hey," she said softly, "I'm glad you came."
He looked down sheepishly, "I'm really sorry I tried to bail, I thought I was doing the right thing."
She grabbed his face with both hands, forcing it up so he was looking at her. "Look at me, what you did was try to make it so I had a good night. Do you know how many other people would have forced me to follow through on other plans or made the night even more tense because they were upset with me? Cause its a lot." She bit her lip before continuing, "you are so good to me, I don't even know how I got so lucky."
He offered her a tiny smirk before leaning down to capture her lips, "are you sure you're the lucky because right now I think I'm the lucky one."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house, announcing to everyone that now the party could begin. The dinner went quite smoothly, with everyone getting along. Jay and Erin sat next to each other, his hand rarely leaving her thigh as he drew small circles around it. Justin surprisingly behaved himself, and by time dessert came Jay was extremely glad Voight had picked him up.
Everyone left at around 9:30, each having helped clean up. Erin drove the two of them back to her apartment and wasted no time in getting inside. Jay opted to not have another beer and instead went into her room to get changed. When he walked out ten minutes later he found her completely passes out on the couch. He gracefully carried her into her room and managed to get her into one of the t-shirts he had left for her before placing her under the covers.
He barely had time to get in on his side before she was curled up around him. In all of the Thanksgivings he had before in his life, this one might have just been the best one.
XXXXX
Things had been going really well for Jay since that Thanksgiving. Erin had invited him to move into her apartment since they were there most nights anyway. That seemed to increase their sex life quite a bit, neither having to worry about Will walking in or if they needed to stop by Jay's apartment for clothes. Life was good.
That was until Christmas time. Then Justin came back with his douchey ways. Erin and Jay had agreed to stay in town over Christmas, rather than trying to make the drive up to Wisconsin. They were thinking of doing something with Hank again. Then Justin and Olive decided that they would be done in the city again. That didn't bother Jay, he liked Olive and enjoyed seeing Erin interact with Daniel.
Of course Justin had to ruin it. He planted the idea in Voight's head that those with kids shouldn't have to be on call for the precinct. Since he was since a family man now, he would be devastated if he had to potentially work and miss his kid's Christmas. And Voight agreed. So he assigned Jay and Adam Ruzek to be on call, since another district had graciously offered to take call on Thanksgiving.
Which Jay didn't really think into that much. He hadn't assumed that they would be that busy. Boy was he wrong. Someone called in a lead to a potential drug deal that was going down later that day, with a dealer that detectives all across the city had been looking for, at six a.m. So he and Ruzek got some uniformed officers and took the guy down. Since it was a holiday, the two had to run everything by the Platt rather than Voight. Voight had told them he didn't want to be getting any calls from them, they should be able to handle it on there own.
XXXXX
Having Erin and Justin back in his house was a Christmas miracle. Voight never thought he would see the day that Justin got his life back together. He was so glad that he had a grandson and was able to spend time with his kids. The only thing that could have made this day any better was if Jay had been there. He would never admit it, but Hank was fond of the kid. He saw the way Jay treated Erin and it made his heart soar to think that she had found someone who treated her like he did.
He did however have to make Justin happy too. And that meant assigning Jay to work today. He didn't want too, Hell they didn't even have to assign anyone to work since he had taken call with Al the past ten years. He didn't want to face Christmas or Thanksgiving without Camille so he volunteered, which meant that his unit shouldn't have to take it for the next six or seven years.
Justin had been adamant about having Jay take call. Voight knew deep down that it was a pride issue. He wanted to look better than Jay. He was the one with a kid after all and he should be praised for that. He was trying his best in the army and he didn't need to feel like he was being judged by Jay every time he brought it up. Hank had to give him credit, Justin seemed like he was doing good.
Voight couldn't help but notice Erin occasionally glancing at her phone. He knew that she missed him, but he also appreciated how she was tuned into the family. She wasn't staring at the thing like anyone else would do, but she would simply look at it when she got something, respond and then get right back into the conversation.
It was around 11 o'clock when Hank's phone rang. He sighed, assuming it was Jay or Ruzek asking him a stupid question,but rather it was the precinct's number. He tensed knowing that this could only mean a few things since Platt knew better than to bother him on Christmas. He quietly excused himself, hoping that Erin hadn't seen him tense. Which by the way she was acting, made him think she hadn't.
He stepped into his office and shut the door. "Hello?"
"Hank it's Platt. I'm sorry to bug you on Christmas but you know the rules." The rules being that in their precinct, if an officer got injured, the officer in charge of them had know.
Hank mentally cursed, he hated this part of the job. "What happened?"
"Your guys were following a lead about another drug deal, but it went south. There was a getaway car that neither saw so when the deal went south and your guys started to pursue the car came out of nowhere. One pushed the other out of the way and rolled over the top of the car and landed pretty hard. He's at Med right now getting checked up. Some uniforms got the guys who did it."
"Which one?"
He heard Platt sigh, "Halstead." Shit, he thought, how am I supposed to tell Erin.
"Well thanks Trudy, do we know his status?"
"He's fine, a little banged up and has to stay overnight at the hospital, but he should be back to work within a couple of days. He also had his brother call me so that I could tell you not to tell Erin. He doesn't want her to be worried." Of course he doesn't and then when she finds out she will probably kill him.
"Alright Trudy, keep me posted." He said as he hung up, rubbing his forehead trying to figure out what to do. He knew he should tell Erin, but he also knew that Halstead had a point. She should be able to enjoy Christmas without worrying about him. So he decided not to tell her, unless she directly asked. He slowly stood up from his chair and came face to face with his pseudo daughter and she didn't look happy.
"Who was that Hank."
Well there goes not telling her. "Platt."
Her stomach dropped, she knew something was wrong, "What happened?"
"Halstead and Ruzek were chasing a perp and didn't see the getaway car. Halstead pushed Ruzek out of the way and rolled over the top of the car. He apparently landed pretty hard." He could see Erin getting panicky, "hey he's fine, just a little bruised up."
Erin took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, "I think I'm going to go and see him," she said shakily.
Hank shook his head, "Kid I know you love him, but he wants you to stay here."
"Well he's an idiot if he thinks I'm not going to him."
"Alright, grab your coat, I'll drive."
Justin, who seemed to have a knack for knowing when something wasn't going his way, walked into the room and saw Erin and Hank grabbing their coats. "Hey where are you guys going?"
"I'm going to drive your sister to the hospital and then I'll be right back," Hank answered, knowing that Justin had been listening in on the whole conversation.
"Aw man, do you really have to go. I mean, the guy said he didn't want you there. Is that really someone you want to go spend time with. Someone who didn't even call to let you know he was in the hospital."
Hank was about to answer when Erin cut him off angrily, "Are you kidding me right now Justin. My boyfriend is in the hospital and you don't think I should go see him? That's real mature, considering the only reason he doesn't want me to know is because he wants me to spend time with my family and not worry about him. What would you do? Oh right you would let the whole world you're at the hospital and milk it for all it worth, because your ego needs the boost." And with that she slammed the door and walked out to the car.
"Are you really going to let her talk to me like that?"
"I always taught you kids to tell the truth," Hank shrugged before following Erin out to the car.
The ride to Med was a quiet one, but Hank could tell Erin was freaking out. He barely had time to stop the car before she was out and running into the building. It was a miracle that she didn't slip on the ice. Hank found a parking spot and started to head inside. But before he could do that, he spotted Justin's car pulling into a spot, Olive and Justin stepping out.
Hank nodded at them, "what are you doing here?"
"Olive packed up the food from breakfast and the food for dinner, figured we could at least enjoy it as a family."
Hank let out a little chuckle, leave it to Erin to talk some sense into the guy. "Alright, let's get that little munchkin inside before he gets too cold," he said as they started heading into the hospital.
XXXXX
Erin walked quickly to the room that Jay was supposed to be in. She looked into the window at her boyfriend sitting up in the bed, talking with one of his nurses. A part of her was slightly jealous since he was laughing and the nurse seemed pretty, but she was more glad that her boyfriend was okay.
She quietly knocked on the door to his room to make her presence known, "hey."
He smiled brightly, "Hi baby," before he frowned. She wasn't supposed to be here, she was supposed to be at Hank's house with a tree and family.
His nurse left the room and Erin walked over to one of the chairs, pulling it to the side of the bed. She sat down and grabbed one of his hands, placing a gentle kiss on it, "How are you feeling?"
He shrugged, "I've felt better, why are here? I wanted you to stay at Voight's."
She let out a soft snort, "are you being serious right now? You're in the hospital and you thought I wouldn't want to be here. I would much rather be here with you knowing that you're alive than worrying about whether someone has your back."
"I hope we're not interrupting anything, but we brought food." Hank said after clearing his throat to make sure they knew he was there. So they spent the rest of Christmas eating food, watching some Christmas movie re-runs. Everyone had a genuinely good time, even Justin.
Erin was there to pick Jay up the next day when he was discharged. He got into the passenger side without any complaints. He was pretty sore, but excited to get out of the hospital. He didn't register the fact that there were two bags packed in the back. He was too tired to even realize that they were leaving the city. It wasn't until the car pulled outside the cabin that he realized where they were. He grinned at his girlfriend, as she came around to his side of the car to help him out.
"You're beautiful." He said as his captured her lips on his. He could feel her grinning into the kiss, and it drove him crazy. The two talked hand and hand into the extremely nice cabin in Wisconsin. The first time they came up, Erin realized just why he wanted to retire up here and she was completely on board with it.
They enjoyed a nice dinner from a little Italian restaurant a couple miles down the road. Getting it to go, the spent their night watching some Friends reruns on the t.v. and enjoyed each others company. Later that night as he came out of the shower he asked if Erin could throw him a pair of boxers saying he had forgotten to grab them before hand. She agreed, figuring he was still a little sore and walked over to the dresser, opening the drawer where he kept his underwear.
She let out a small gasp when she saw the little jewelry box nestled perfectly like it was waiting for her. She knew it could be one of two things, earrings or a ring. She picked up the box and turned around to ask Jay what this was, her hands shaking.
And there he was, on one knee grinning up at her. He grabbed one of her hands, tracing small circles on it trying to calm her down. He knew she might go all commitment phobe on him but he had to let her know how he felt, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
She looked at him before shakily saying his name. "Erin, you are by far the most stubborn woman I have ever dated. You drive me crazy on so many occasions, but you are the most kind hearted person I have ever met in my life. You put your family first. You try so hard to make it so everyone is happy, even when it means doing something you don't want to do. I have had this ring since the first time we came up here. I put it in the drawer and planned on doing this over Thanksgiving, but I'm so glad that I'm doing it now, cause there is no better way to end the year than with you. I want to end this year and begin the next with you by my side, and I want to do it every year. I can't even begin to imagine my life without you, Er. Will you make me the luckiest guy in the world and marry me?"
Erin didn't even try to contain the tears that were now flowing down her face, this was the guy who she loved. The guy who was pouring his heart out to her, knowing that she might not say yes.
She smiled down at him, "Of course I'll marry you!"
The grin he had on his face reminded her of a child on Christmas, and the way he picked her up and spun her around made her fall in love with him even more. She grinned as his slipped the ring onto her finger and as he pulled her into a knee weakening kiss. "You are too good to me," he said after he broke apart the kiss and pulled her into a hug.
Even though things hadn't gone the way they wanted them to, it was all forgotten that night as they spent time appreciating one another until the early morning. When the next day came, and they sat in the hot tub watching the sunrise and snowfall, they knew that this was what their future was going to look like as long as they had each other's back.