A/N: Hi guys! I've been working on this little side project for a while, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

I'd like to thank justkillingtimewhileiwait for brainstorming this with me and having the most fun while we did it!

Also feedback is appreciated and gets you more chapters faster!

It was a day like any day other, except it was the day his life took a turn for the worse.

"Halstead, did Lindsay check in with you?" Jay shook his head immediately, but checked his phone anyway. No texts, no calls. Weird. He thought she at least checked in with the boss, if she was planning on being late.

"Weird. She should've been here by now." The gruff words penetrated his mind just a little bit after. Erin really should've been there by now, it was past 9 am, and she never made it a habit of being late. Worried, he glanced at her empty desk. Even when late, Erin usually let somebody know she was going to be late. She never just disappeared like this.

"I'll ask the guys," he murmured, wanting to do something, anything, to take his mind off of all the possible scenarios. His mind never truly recovered from last year, when Erin was kidnapped when going to interview the woman who was first thought to be a victim, but turned out to be a mastermind behind it.

Kevin and Adam both shook their hands, and Al approached him, his hand finding a place on Jay's shoulder. It was meant to reassure, but Jay wasn't sure it worked. The only thing that could reassure him now, was Erin coming to work, flashing him that wonderful smile of hers that made her dimples pop out.

He tried her phone, more than once, but there was no answer. On fourth try, he ended the call in the middle of ringing, throwing the phone on the desk as it if was the culprit of his frustration. But it wasn't, of course not.

Two hours later, they were all anxious. He could see his worry reflected on the face of their sergeant, and it spread over the bullpen like a highly contagious disease. He gulped at the thought of something happening to Erin. It was the one thing he couldn't bear.

Despite the fact that dread started to spread in his bones, he convinced himself that Erin could handle herself. He'd seen her hassle guys twice her size, and she would really have to be taken by surprise for someone to get her.

Sadly, it didn't quite ease his mind as it should have.

At 11 am they packed up the boxes, and let Major Crimes take over their current case. Voight told Jay to check on Lindsay's (or well their) apartment, while Adam and Kevin went to speak to a tech about pinging her phone.

"She must've left home, because it was locked, and the place looked fine," Jay updated Voight on the phone. Entering their apartment was a cold shower, because he half expected her to be there, maybe in bed, because she had overslept. But the apartment was empty, just as he'd left it this morning.

He left before her, because he wanted to stop at the gym before work. The memory of her looking up at him from bed, offering a sleepy kiss was still fresh in his mind. She had tried to convince him to stay home, said she'd make it worth his while, but he shook his head and laughed it off. She was back asleep by the time he reached the front door.

If he'd only stayed home, made love to his beautiful girlfriend, they would've left for work together, and she would be by his side right now, probably making a stupid joke, or giving him a hard time about driving. If only he wouldn't have gone for the morning run, they would be deep into a case now—a case that didn't involve one of their own's disappearance.

"I talked to Antonio. He hasn't seen or heard from her. She hasn't been by the DA's office, of the Firehouse." They decided to check the places she frequented, before starting to get alarmed. But if there was a time to be alarmed, Jay thought, it was right about now.

"I have some more people to call," Hank continued, his voice so frustrated and creating so much tension you could cut it with a plastic knife. "After that, we start searching."

Jay nodded, forgetting that the inaudible agreement wasn't visible to Voight. He murmured an ok. He had his own calls to make.

They officially began their investigation at 3pm the same day. Jay couldn't remember ever being this helpless. When Erin was taken earlier that year, he had a clear idea of where she was, and the only thing he had to be afraid of, was not getting there in time.

He did, though. And he shot that son of a bitch without a second's hesitation.

And even then, he felt helpless, punching the dashboard of the car in desperate need to get to her. To have her back. Not knowing where she is, whether she's ok, or hurt, or worse, was the worst damn feeling in the history of feelings.

"I've got a footage from the store across the apartment. I went through it, but all it shows is Erin leaving, and getting into her car. Nothing else," Adam updated the unit. "She looked fine on the footage. Happy even," he silently added. Jay swallowed the tears that were starting to form. She was happy.

"Well, maybe she stopped somewhere on the way to work?" Voight nothing but shouted back. Adam visibly tensed at the rough words, but relaxed a second later, knowing the man was just worried.

"Wednesday. She stopped to get a muffin and coffee," Jay suddenly jumped in. It was their routine. Every Wednesday, they shared a muffin. It didn't matter if they were fighting, or not. If it was raining or not. If they had a case or not.

"It was her turn. Overflow. She would've stopped at Overflow." It was a little out of her way, but it was a place that supported local charities, and Erin had been shopping there ever since Nadia showed her how good their pastries are.

"Let's go."

"Yeah, I remember her. She comes here every two weeks." Jay knew that. Because every other week it was his turn to get the muffin. "She got a big blueberry one, and two coffees."

"Did you see her leave?"

The barista nodded. "I saw her leave through the door. Can't say what happened after that."

They thanked them for their answers.

"Hey, serge. We found her car," Kevin said, and Jay felt sick. Because if they found her car, that meant something had happened to her. Kevin continued. The bad news wasn't over yet. "Patrolmen searched the surrounding alleys and found her gun. Along with a piece of fabric soaked in what appears to be chloroform."

They got around to processing the car and Jay felt a sharp pain somewhere in his chest when he saw a bag with a muffin, and two coffees on the passenger seat. It took all he had not to crumble right then and there. He felt a soft hand on his arm, and turned around to see Burgess. She didn't say anything, but the silent show of support was enough for his to pull himself together. His partner needed him. He couldn't crumble now.

Neither of them spoke a word on their way back to the precinct, all too consumed with all the horrible scenarios that could've went down. And when it came to Jay, the what if game was the one he could play forever. If it didn't kill him in the process.

Her head hurt.

That was all she could think about for a few seconds, after trying to blink her eyes open. She was lying on a hard surface, probably the floor, and she could feel something sharp against her leg. Her mouth was dry with thirst, and the temperature of the room was above average, making her hair stick to her face.

"You're not gonna get away with this," she muttered with the last strength she had left. Her throat ached as she spoke. Her head hit the concrete hard, and she winced in pain. The room was dark, so she couldn't tell how long she's been out for. Her guess was at least a couple of hours.

"We will see about that. But even if I get caught, it will be worth it. Watching you die alone will be worth it," he snickered in her direction, kicking her dismissively. That's when she realized where she recognized the voice from. That disgusting slimy voice that she hasn't heard in eight years, when she put this guy away. He got at least 25 years for the murder of that woman. They didn't have enough evidence to charge him with the rest. The guy was careful if anything.

"Or maybe I'll even have some fun with you, before I send you back to hell."

Her stomach turned at the thought. Her mind was still hazy, and the drugs he had given her weren't wearing off. She needed a plan. Soon.

That was the last conscious thought she had, before she drifted back into the darkness.

"We pulled the footage from all the surrounding buildings of Overflow. We found this. The angle is really bad though, so there isn't much to go from." He turned the computer screen against him, showing him the footage they recovered.

Her car had been found parked right in front of the café. The only reason they didn't find it right away, was because they had entered at a different entrance. The angle of the footage showed Erin coming out of the building with the purchased goods, and carefully placing them on the passenger seat. She was about to enter the driver's door, then her head snapped towards something they couldn't see. She closed the door of the car, and rushed to an alley.

"After that she doesn't come back to the car, so there must've been something going on in the alley."

"Can we pull the footage from the surrounding streets to see if we can get an angle on the other end of that alley?" They had of course searched all the surrounding streets and alley for anything, but patrol came up empty. Jay felt like he was grasping at straws, but he would try anything−everything to get a lead.

"Kevin is picking it up, but the guy in the tech is bitching, so it might take a while."

"I'll go. I'll give him something to bitch about," Jay muttered loud enough for everyone to stare at him. "What? Erin is missing! Who knows what happened to her, and the tech guy is bitching? This isn't some murder investigation, we're racing against the clock!"

"Halstead!" Jay winced at Voight's warning tone, and nodded. Ruzek placed a reassuring hand on his back, knowing how his friend must feel.

"We'll find her, man." At least that's what they all hoped for.

"Serge, I think I might have something. While Kevin is trying to get that footage, I've been going through a list of people who could possibly want to hurt Lindsay. There is a case that popped out. Lindsay worked it eight years ago. She and her partner, Jamie, put away this guy." He put the photo on the board. "Trent McKinley. Serial killer. He was released on a technicality last month. They could only get him on one case, and apparently, some evidence was mislabeled and they had to release him."

"What makes you think it's related?" Jay asked, before anyone else could.

"Well, his MO for one. He lures his victims into dark alleys by playing recordings of crying children, preying on the empathy of young women."

There is such a thing as having too much empathy.

"And then kidnaps them by drugging them. He tortures them, and rapes them, and finally… kills them." There was a dead silence in the bullpen, and Kevin looked horrified that those words had to come out of his mouth.

Jay was pretty sure that if he had anything to eat that day, the contents would've ended up in the waste bin right then and there, but luckily, he didn't have time to eat. Because Erin was out there, and she needed him. And in that moment, he was glad that his stomach was empty.

"Alright, it's a good lead. Olinsky, Ruzek, see if you guys can find this guy. Halstead, you and I are gonna go talk to the lead detective on this case to see if he can give us any insight."

Jay nodded almost mechanically, and headed towards Voight's car. It was clear that the sergeant hadn't resented him his outburst from earlier. He didn't seem mad, just worried. And when Voight was worried, that's when Jay knew things were not bad.

They were worse.