A/N: Hey! Basically, I'm currently watching Season 2, Episode 14 "Erin's Mom" (Because I showed my brother the robbery scene with Linstead and he got hooked :D) and it really bugged me that Jay and Bunny have never had a confrontation of sorts. I'm hoping we get one next season considering Derek Haas answered a twitter Q&A about Linstead and said that Halstead wasn't giving up on Erin or them in Season 3.
So, I hope you like this little Erin-Bunny-Jay One Shot. Please read my end Author's Note, It's a lot more important than this one :)
Enjoy!
"Yes or No!" Erin screamed looking at her mother "Did you know what they were up to!?"
Bunny steeled herself, face set firm as she looked her daughter in the eye "No" she deadpanned.
"I don't know if I can trust a word she says anymore" she whispered. She leaned her hands against the bench in the break room. She bent over taking in a deep breath, she couldn't keep doing this.
"it's always going to be like this with her isn't it?" her voice broke as she asked the question she already knew the answer to "She's never going to change. No matter how many times I'd like to think she will, it's always the same deal with her"
She felt his hand rest on hers as she let a tear fall and before long, she was wrapped in his arms fighting the urge to break down and cry while he held her tightly, gently kissing her hair.
"I'm sorry Erin" Jay whispered as she tucked her head under his chin.
The unit had gone to chase down a lead on Jared Miko's whereabouts. Hank had ordered Erin to stay at the office, and Halstead was told to stay back with her 'just in case'. It was one of the few moments of alone time they had together at work. Jay led Erin to the coffee table, urging her to sit down as he sat across from her never letting go of her hand.
Erin took a deep breath, trying desperately to reign in her emotions. She wasn't normally like this, she was always in control, she didn't let her emotions get the better of her. But something about Jay Halstead had the walls she kept up crumbling down. She trusted him, he was one of the few people she could honestly say she trusted for everything.
She just wished she could say the same about her mother.
Jay was stumped. How could Bunny not care about Erin, how could anyone not love her as much as he did? He could finally see why Voight protected Erin so fiercely. Why he was so defensive where Bunny was concerned, the respect he had for this man grew tenfold.
"Maybe the best thing to do is just get some distance from her" jay suggested rubbing his fingers over the the knuckles of Erin's hand. Erin scoffed loudly "I can never escape her Jay, no matter how much space I try to put between us, she just keeps coming back"
They were broken apart by Hank Voight knocking on the door frame to the break room.
"Hey kid" he spoke, his gruff voice echoing in the small room "How you doing?" he took a step towards her as she stood up and wrapped her arms around him.
"Better" she whispered into his chest. Jay looked at Voight, nodding slightly before walking back to his desk.
"Halstead behave himself?" Voight grumbled, letting go of Erin as she softly laughed.
"Don't worry, he was a perfect gentleman" she smiled "Did you guys find him?"
Voight nodded "He's in interrogation. I just wanted to check up on you first"
Erin smiled at her father figure. "You're always looking out for me Hank, thank you. But I'll be fine, go see what this guy knows" she said as Hank nodded and walked out of the door. Erin let out a deep breath before sitting back down at the table. Now she just had to figure out what to do about Bunny.
...
Jay stood in the observation room, looking through the one way mirror as Voight and Antonio interrogated Jared Miko. Erin had fallen asleep in Voight's office shortly after their discussion, the stress and exhaustion from dealing with Bunny and the case catching up with her.
He was interrupted from his watching when Nadia knocked on the door.
"Detective Halstead" Jay frowned at Nadia's formal tone "Detective Lindsay's Mother is here. She wants to see Erin" Jay's face hardened as he saw the woman standing behind his friend.
Jay took a deep breath and walked out of the room "Miss Lindsay" Jay smiled tightly "Nadia said you needed something?"
Bunny smiled at Jay, she figured from previous conversations with Erin he didn't know much about her past with her daughter - which would work in her favour.
"Jay" she greeted cheerfully "It's so nice to see you. I'm looking for my daughter"
"Erin's a little busy right now. Why don't you come back later?" he tried
Bunny laughed softly "You're never too busy for family Jay, I would hope you'd know that"
"Not really. My father and I don't really get along, and my brother Will is off galavanting around Los Angeles as a plastic surgeon"
Bunny sighed, irritation bubbling to the surface "Well it's been nice talking to you, but if you'll excuse me I'm going to go find my daughter" she spoke turning around and walking away from the interrogation room.
Jay followed behind her as she walked into the break room, thankful Erin had decided to go into Voight's office instead of staying in there. He ignored the questioning looks from Adam and Kevin as he shut the door, pulling the blinds down.
Bunny turned to face Jay, a questioning look on her face.
"Erin's not really in the mood to see you" he cut right to the chase.
"Well" bunny started "I think I'll wait until ERIN comes in here and tells me that herself"
Jay chuckled at the woman's persistence - like a leech that wouldn't stop sucking your blood.
"Look Bunny, I'm going to try and say this as nicely as possible, even though you don't deserve the sugar coating. Erin's upset, and she needs some time away from you. Please, just leave her be for a while" he spoke softly, trying to coax her into leaving before she made a scene
"I'm not leaving until I see Erin. I'm her mother, I have a right to see her" She bit back
"You're no mother" Jay scoffed crossing his arms across his chest
"Excuse me!?" She shrieked "How dare you! You don't know me, what makes you think you can judge who I am!?"
"How about the fact that I was in here earlier consoling your daughter because she didn't know whether or not she could trust her own mother's promise!?" He yelled finally snapping.
"All you do is bring her down Bunny. You were never there for her, but she was always there for you. And what did it get her huh? She got stuck with a strung out mother who brought home abusive boyfriends and treated her like she was the dirt under her shoe!" Jay took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he lost control of the situation.
"I've apologised, I made my peace with my past. Erin needs to get over it, it's not like it's that big a deal" Bunny scoffed in response.
There goes control.
"Are you fucking serious right now!?" He yelled, making Bunny jump "You left her and her brother alone for days on end while you went out and fucked around. She needed you, Teddy needed you. And you weren't there! You didn't care. It is a big deal Bunny, and if you can't see that then that's your problem" he lowered his voice, almost growling his next words "But let me be clear. Erin may have needed you then, but she sure as hell doesn't need you now. You need to leave before I drag you out of here"
"She's my daughter! Not Voight's. just because you're in love with her and want to get in his good graces doesn't mean I have to sit here and listen to you" Bunny yelled back, flustered by jay's reaction
"You're right, I do love her. And yes, I would like for Voight to accept that, even though he probably never will. But that's not what this is about. All you've ever done is treat her poorly, you never showed her the love she deserved, you never cared for her. And honestly, I feel sorry for you Bunny. You'll never know what it's like to be a part of her life. To be loved by her. To be let in to her world, and to see the beautiful, strong woman that she's become. And that's on you" He spoke calmly, sadly now.
"No!" Bunny cried "you just don't want me around because of Voight, he's doing this not Erin" she tried desperately to focus on Voight. This was his fault, not hers.
"No it's not"
Both Jay and Erin looked towards the door, where Erin now stood. They had both been so focused on their argument that they hadn't even realised they had an audience. The entire Intelligence Unit.
"Jay's right Mum. Your actions are what brought us here. And yeah, there's some fault on my part because I could've been more supportive when you were out of rehab. But every time you relapsed I was the one who suffered. You were so cruel to me" she spoke sadly
"Erin, I -" Bunny whispered
"I can't do it anymore. After this case is finished, so are we. If you can't see the error in your ways then I'm sorry but you can't be in my life. You obviously don't care about me or anyone other than yourself, so why should I care about what you want?" she finished, her eyes cold as she stepped aside, allowing her mother to walk out.
Anger fuelled within Bunny once more. "This isn't over" she bit out before storming away.
The whole room was silent for a few minutes. Erin had her eyes locked on Jay, while Jay looked anywhere but Erin. He was worried he'd overstepped, they had a suspicion that Voight knew about them, but he wasn't exactly supposed to be going and declaring his love for her in front of the entire unit - even if he hadn't noticed they were there.
"SO!" Antonio yelled breaking the awkward tension "Molly's? I'll shout first round"
"Yes" Ruzek, burgess, Alvin, Nadia and Atwater all exclaimed at once, everyone hurrying out of the office, leaving Voight, Erin and Jay all standing in the hallway and break room.
"Hank. Could you give us a minute please?" Erin asked her pseudo-father, not once taking her eyes off Jay.
hank simply nodded before retreating into his office to give the two partners some alone time.
Erin stood looking at Jay, willing him to look at her. After a few moments of silence she heard him let out a loud breath before he spoke "Im sorry, I didn't mean to overstep. I know Bunny's your mum and maybe it wasn't my place to interfere but I just -"
he was cut off by Erin walking the short distance and wrapping her arms around his torso. He relaxed after a moment, placing his arms around her shoulders and encasing her into him, kissing the top of her head. They stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying the peace that surrounded them.
"So" Erin whispered into his chest "You love me, huh?" she teased as Jay's eyes widened. He was hoping she had come in after his confession, or at least forgotten about it.
"I-" Jay was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say? Yeah, I love you. But your father figure, A.K.A our boss will have my balls if I admit it.
Erin leaned up and kissed his cheek, stilling his racing mind and removing the pressure on him to answer.
"Thank you Jay. You did what no one else has really done for me in my entire life. You stood up for me"
Jay smirked as he gently squeezed his arms around her in a form of a hug.
"That's why you have backup"
A/N: OK! So, I was working on this first a couple weeks ago when I watched the episode, but I had some personal things going on and I'm just getting back into writing again, and deciding to rewrite everything from when Bunny enters the district. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
This story will basically be a collection of One-Shots of things that I/We would've like to see happen in the show. They will not all be Linstead, I'm working on a Burzek chapter as well as a Ruzek-Olinksy chapter as well. If there are any 'missing scenes' you'd like me to write please leave them in your review or PM me!
- Maddie :)
