"Jay! You're going to make us late if you keep doing that", Erin squealed as her boyfriend created a trail of kisses, starting at her ear and going down her neck, as she tried to get ready for work.
"Seriously, babe. We can't be late again or Voight is going to kill us", she demanded as she abruptly spun around to face Jay, this time getting him to stop his teasing.
"Oh, come on. Just five more minutes", Jay stated as he placed a chaste kiss on Erin's lips and then pulled back to see a bright smile on her face.
Five more minutes with her boyfriend did sound absolutely amazing to Erin, when compared to the hellish day at work they were about to experience. The whole unit had been working together non-stop on their most recent high profile case and there was no room for error. So, with the commander keeping a close eye on all of the Intelligence and this case, five more minutes could hurt.
"How about seven seconds in heaven", she teased watching as Jay's eyes lit up with childish joy.
"You know, I'm more of a five minutes in heaven type of guy, but I guess this will have to do", he teased in return.
Erin laughed as Jay playfully closed his eyes and waited as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, knowing he was enjoying his few seconds of just the two of them in the bathroom.
"And that's all you're gonna get for now", Erin said as she dropped down to her normal height and finished getting ready for work.
"Woah! Woah! Woah", Jay protested as he watched his girlfriend put on makeup in the mirror. "That was totally six seconds", he teased.
Erin spun around as her boyfriend protested, although not being able to hide the smile on his face. "I demand a full refund", Jay continued.
Erin sighed, trying to hide her laughter, but failing miserably, as she leaned up, once again, and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.
"You're lucky I love you, Halstead", Erin said after pulling back from the kiss and taking in the giant grin on Jay's face. "Now, get ready for work or we are seriously going to be late", she demanded walking out of the bedroom.
"I love you too, Erin Lindsay", Jay said as he heard Erin laugh as she went to go get her coffee.
A year ago when Erin had surprisingly kissed him on her new couch and told him she was thankful for him never giving up on her, Jay figured that was the closest he was ever going to get to Erin saying she loved him. Six months ago, when she had let it slip one night after a tough case as they were lying on the couch, Jay didn't think life could get any better than this. Erin Lindsay loved him. The girl he had fallen in love with since the moment he saw her loved him back.
"Jay, let's go", Erin said as she ran back into the bathroom. "Voight just called. Mouse found something that he says should help crack this case", she explained taking Jay away from his previous thoughts.
Jay nodded as he grabbed his badge from the counter and clipped it to his jeans. "So, today is my day to drive, right", he teased, following Erin out of the bedroom.
Erin laughed as she quickly grabbed the keys to the three hundred off the counter, "Nice try, Halstead", she said.
"One of these days you're going to have to let me drive", Jay complained as he was led out of the apartment and Erin locked the door.
"And today is not one of those days", she smirked, swiftly passing by him to run down the stairs in a hurry.
Jay just laughed as he ran after her down the stairs. Yep, Erin Lindsay was definitely the woman he was madly in love with.
xxx
"So, at each of the murder scenes patrol officers took note of tire marks located on the street closest to wear the bodies were dumped", Mouse began to explain to the whole Intelligence team gathered in the bullpen.
"The tire marks from each of the crime scenes were all identical", Atwater added into the conversation.
"Along with the tire marks on our most recent victim, Tamara Boone", Ruzek pointed to the photo of the woman on the whiteboard. "It appears the suspect ran over her with this vehicle before stabbing her and, of course, taking her foot", he explained.
Erin grimaced as they went over the details of the newest murder. The suspect they were after had already killed five women and after he killed them, he took a body part. The first victim was missing an ear and the second was missing her hand. The next two were both missing a foot and now the suspect was clearly creating a pattern from his odd fetish.
"Okay, so the tire marks", Voight interrupted. "Forensics couldn't trace anything from them and there were no witnesses who saw a vehicle prior to when the body was dumped, so what are you telling me we have here, Mouse", he pressed.
"Video evidence", Mouse said, his face suddenly lighting up with his new found discovery.
"There was a camera near the alley and I got the license plate", he explained, pulling it up on his computer to show the rest of the team. Immediately everyone gravitated toward the computer to see the somewhat clear image Mouse had managed to obtain from the crappy video camera. There it was though, the license plate of the vehicle that was killing all of these women.
"The vehicle leaving the tire marks belongs to a Trevor Flynn", Mouse said as he stuck a mug shot of a middle age white male up on the whiteboard.
"Trevor Flynn", Jay repeated out loud as he typed in the name to his computer. "Has been previously charged with possession of an illegal substance, rape, and has a grocery list of other priors",
"Did he do time for the rape", Erin asked from her desk.
"He did four years. Originally, he was supposed to do ten, but got out on good behavior", Antonio answered her question, as he also had Flynn's information pulled up on his computer.
"What bullshit", Erin muttered quietly from her desk. She knew prisons were beginning to be overcrowded, but at least a RAPIST should do the ten years he was sentenced to. But, somehow the scum bags always got out on 'good behavior' and usually ended up screwing up again.
"Great, a rapist who decided that wasn't good enough for him, so he started killing and taking limbs as a new pass time", Olinsky added.
"Do we know where Trevor Flynn is right now, Mouse", Voight asked, stopping all of the conversation between his detectives.
"I put a ping on his phone and looked into places where he usually hangs out. There is a small abandoned warehouse on the south side of town. It looks like he sets up shop there, as many of his calls triangulate of the cell towers in that central area", Mouse explained.
"Alright, everyone, we know what that means. Suit up and we roll in ten", Voight announced as he went back into his office, while his detectives shot up quickly from their desk and went down to the garage.
xxx
"I can't wait to get this over with", Erin said as she put the car in park in a parking lot across from the warehouse where Trevor Flynn was said to be hiding out during most of the day
Jay turned his head in her direction and watched as she blankly stared at the building. He knew that cases like this made Erin's skin crawl and often made her so angry she couldn't sleep at night, even if they had got the guy. It was understandable though. These cases bothered him too. They bothered everyone.
"When we do get this over with, I am sure Voight will give us at least two days off. You know, for all of our hard work these past two weeks", Jay said.
Erin scoffed at his comment. Voight wasn't one to usually give time off to any of this detectives, but she could honestly see him allowing them to at least take one day to themselves after this case was closed.
"And what exactly do you have planned during those two days there, Halstead", Erin asked to simply humour him with the idea of them not having to work.
"How about, forty-eight uninterrupted hours. Just you and me", he began to tease watching as Erin's lips curled into a smile at each word coming from his mouth.
"Naked. In bed", Jay continued pronunciating each word and watching as Erin's smile grew and a rosy blush filled her cheeks.
"Of course", Erin said feeling the blush that quickly spread over what seemed to be her whole face. "And endless take out comes with these forty-eight uninterrupted hours too, right", she asked.
"Yes, of course my little foodie", Jay teased her. Before Erin could even come up with a comeback to his comment, static filled the car from the small radio in the cupholder of the three hundred.
"Atwater and I have eyes on Flynn's vehicle. He is pulling into the parking lot of the warehouse now", Ruzek's voice suddenly filled the small vehicle.
"Any other cars parked in the parking lot", Voight asked soon after. "Two or three more vehicles parked in the lot", Ruzek announced.
"Perfect. Our foot fetish murder has friends", Erin sarcastically laughed.
"Flynn has entered the building carrying a cooler, which I believe we can all assume contains the foot of Tamara Boone", Ruzek's voice suddenly filled the car again.
"Halstead and I are geared up and ready to go", Erin said into the radio.
"Alright, let's do this people. Halstead and Olinsky each grab a long gun", Voight announced over the radio.
Erin and Jay quickly got out of the car and popped the back trunk, where Jay loaded his long gun and strapped it over his chest.
"You have my back in there", Erin asked, already knowing the answer. She didn't know why she still asked the question every time they went in for a bust. It was just tradition after their four years of partnership. A tradition Erin wanted to keep because it assured her that she would be walking out of that bust with her boyfriend.
"Always", Jay answered quickly as he squeezed her hand gently before the rest of the team met up with them by their car.
"Okay, we all know the procedure", Voight began his small lecture. "Let's go in and catch this guy", he said as he began to walk towards the building.
Everything after Voight's mini speech in the parking lot went by in a blur to Erin. They had done so many similar busts in the past that to her this was second nature, which is why she didn't take any special notice in the building they entered.
Voight's raspy voice made them known as Erin heard the clicks of guns loading from her team and from the fugitives they were about to arrest. Then suddenly, as if a switch had been turned on, the whole Intelligence Unit was met with heavy fire.
Erin felt Jay push her down behind some sort of barrier, while Voight shot back. Antonio and Atwater were near them behind the barrier and when Antonio stood up quickly and returned fire, the other three detectives followed suit.
There were five other men in the building, each of them holding massive guns in their hands. Erin shot back, watching as Hank moved in on their sole target, Trevor Flynn. She watched as he made his way towards the other side of the gunfight and in that moment Erin was sure it was over, that they had caught their guy.
And then, all of a sudden she was being pushed to the ground. Landing hard on the cement, the first thing Erin felt was her head begin to ache. The cushion from her bulletproof vest had made sure she had not risked sustaining any other injuries. The firing of the guns had stopped as Erin tried to sit up, but felt the world rush around her.
Antonio was no longer on her right side, but standing to her left, on his knees leaning over something or someone.
"Erin", a voice called out. Erin looked in the general direction she heard the voice and saw Kevin by her side, slowly helping her sit up.
"Where's Jay", Erin asked. What she thought she was going to ask him was whether or not they had caught Flynn, but she asked about her boyfriend first.
Erin watched as Kevin's eyes drifted back over to where Antonio was still leaning over something. That was when she saw it.
The brand new boots she had bought Jay for Christmas last year after teasing him about having the same pair since he was in the academy. The boots she had bought him were lying on the concrete.
"Jay", Erin said a little louder as she stood up. She heard Kevin say something in the background about her being checked out by an EMT, but all Erin could focus on was Jay's shoes lying on the ground.
Slowly, Erin walked over towards Antonio and that's when the slight blur on her world was taken away.
"OH MY GOD", Erin screamed as she knelt down next to her boyfriend, essentially pushing away Antonio.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED", she continued to scream, while each other words got stuck in her throat and she felt her eyes begin to water with tears.
"Erin, I'm fine", Jay said hoarsely as Erin watched the color drain from his face.
"You are NOT fine", Erin lectured him as she looked over at Antonio, who was still applying pressure to the two bullet wounds located in his shoulder.
"Keep him talking, Erin. He's losing a lot of blood", was all Antonio mentioned to say as he focused on his only task of keeping Halstead alive while the ambulance Voight radioed for arrived.
Erin turned her focus back on Jay and watched as he began to close his eyes, "No! Jay! Come on! Stay awake for me, okay", Erin said, running her hand over his head and saw his eyes begin to open.
At this point, she was crying. "You just have to stay awake for five more minutes, okay", she said in between tears.
Jay laughed, but then quickly coughed up blood, as he thought about the discussion they had this morning. "Five more minutes until the ambulance is here", Erin begged him.
"I love you", Jay whispered.
"NO! NO! NO!", Erin shook her head. "Come on, we have a deal here just hang on five more minutes", she said.
"You can tell me you love me tonight or tomorrow during our forty-eight uninterrupted hours, okay. But, not right now", Erin lectured him.
"I pushed you out of the way because I love you", Jay said.
"You got shot for me", Erin whispered as she heard the siren of the ambulance grow closer. "I told you, I'm kind of the perfect gentleman", Jay answered making her laugh as more tears streamed down her face.
Jay coughed more as Erin looked up at Antonio who still held pressure on the bullet wounds, but she saw how fast the blood was spreading across his hands. Glancing back down at Jay, Erin saw that his eyes were now completely closed.
"JAY! JAY! WAKE UP", Erin screamed as she tried to shake him awake but got no response.
"Come on, Jay! Just wake up for me, okay", she begged as she began to cry even more.
Suddenly, someone pulled her off the ground as Jay's unconscious body was surrounded by paramedics. She watched as Antonio told them that he had just gone unconscious. She continued to watch as they loaded him on the gurney.
"Erin, come on we need to get you checked out", she suddenly heard Voight say to her.
"No, I'm fine", Erin said raising her voice as she broke free from Voight's hold on her. "I have to go with him", she continued watching as the gurney became mobile and the paramedics took Jay away.
"Antonio is going with him. We need to get you checked out, Erin", Voight begged her again.
"What if he dies", Erin whispered, turning around and coming face to face with Hank. Hank saw her heartbreak as she looked at him with tears streaming down her face.
"He can't die, Hank", she continued getting choked up as more tears streamed down her face. "I love him", Erin finished, now letting all of her tears stream down her face. Quickly, Hank walked over to her and embraced her in a hug as she continued to cry.
"I know, kid", Hank said as he kissed the top of her head. "I know"
xxx
Erin let the doctors run their test and bandage the small part of the back of her head that was scraped from when Jay pushed her down. She didn't have a concussion and now all she needed was for Dr. Manning to sign her release papers, so she could wait for Jay.
"You need to take it easy for the next couple of weeks. I know the concussion test came back negative, but if you have any symptoms you need to let me know", Natalie explained as she signed the proper forms.
Erin blankly nodded, hearing everything Natalie was saying, but not exactly absorbing it. The only thing she was thinking about was Jay, bleeding out somewhere in the hospital.
Natalie tried her best to make eye contact with Erin, but knew she was somewhere else other than this exam room. Turning her head, she saw Hank Voight standing outside the exam room speaking on his phone.
"I'm really sorry about Jay, Erin ", Natalie tried to comfort her. For the first time since she had been sitting in the examine room, Erin made eye contact with Natalie. "He will be okay", she whispered.
"He's strong. I just to have to believe that he will be okay", Erin finished her answer, giving Natalie the smallest of a smile.
Natalie nodded before handing Erin her discharge papers. "Well, you are cleared by me, but if you need anything I am here", she said giving her a smile.
Erin nodded as she got down from the exam chair and watched as Natalie let Voight into the exam room. She heard Natalie whisper to Hank about him keeping an eye on her, but still all Erin could think about was Jay.
"Alright, kid. Let's get you a coffee", Hank said as he wrapped his arm around her own.
"I have to go wait for Jay", Erin said as they exited the room and walked down the hallway of Chicago Med.
"You haven't heard anything", she asked as they continued to walk. "Dr. Rhodes took him into surgery", Voight simply said.
"What about Flynn", Erin asked changing the subject. "We arrested him and his crew. Burgess took care of booking them", Voight explained.
Erin nodded as the made their way to the hospital where the whole Intelligence Unit was waiting for them. The moment Erin saw them all sitting there, she thought she would start crying all over again. She had never had a family before that would show up like this.
"Come on", Hank said snapping her away from her thoughts. "Let's sit down and wait for him", he continued leading Erin to a seat and waited for any news on Jay.
xxx
At least two hours had passed since they had arrived to hospital and since Jay had been in surgery. Erin was dying for any word about how he was doing. All she needed to know was that he was still alive.
Then, suddenly there was hope.
"Erin", a voice announced. Erin's head shot up quickly from staring at her coffee cup and saw Will Halstead standing in the middle of the waiting room with a plastic bag in his hand.
Before Erin could say anything, Voight began to speak to Will's younger brother. "Any news", he asked.
"No", Will said simply shaking his head. "But, I was told to give you his personal items", he said handing Erin the plastic bag.
Erin took it from his hands and opened it, noticing that everyone from her unit was watching her. Upon opening that bag, Erin immediately inhaled the scent that was Jay's cologne. Somehow, that smell got over everything.
First, Erin took out his wallet. Jay really kept the bare minimum in there, always telling Erin that all he needed was his I.D, some cash, and maybe a credit card. As Erin looked over the few things he had, she felt a small lump in one of the pockets. Peaking in, Erin couldn't believe what she was looking at.
A small diamond ring staring right back at her. Erin was worried that if she looked away, it was going to disappear. She could practically feel everyone's eyes staring intently at her, but Erin couldn't look away to explain to them what she was seeing.
Jay had been carrying a ring around in his wallet, for god knows how long, so he could ask Erin to marry him. Jay Halstead wanted to marry her.
"He asked me three months ago", Voight suddenly said. Erin snapped her head up and realized that she was holding the ring in between her fingers.
"He asked me for my permission to marry you", Voight repeated watching as Erin looked at him, completely surprised.
"Detective Lindsay", a voice suddenly interrupted once again. This time when Erin looked up she saw Dr. Rhodes standing on the other side of the waiting room.
"It was a tough surgery. He had two bullet wounds, but the hard part was the collapsed lung, which is why he was coughing up blood", Rhodes began to explain.
"We managed to repair his lung and extract both bullets from his shoulder. The scar tissue from his last bullet wound is also why he was bleeding so heavily", he continued to explain.
"And", Erin asked, not caring any more about Jay's medical information, but wanting to know whether he was dead or alive. Whether or not Erin was ever going to be able to marry him.
"He's asking for you", Dr. Rhodes finally said a smile coming to his face and watching as a smile came to the younger detectives face as well. "He's down the hall in Intensive Care, only as a precaution. You guys can go see him", he said before leaving the Intelligence team to themselves.
Immediately Erin sprung up, leaving Jay's bag of personal items, but holding onto the ring in her hand, and took off down the hallway. She quickly came across his hospital room and looked through the glass windows, relief washing over her body.
He was alive.
Quietly entering his room, Erin sat down in the chair next to her sleeping boyfriend's bed and gently took his hand in her own. "God, I love you, Jay", she whispered kissing the tops of his knuckles gently.
Laying her head down on the bed, Erin opened her other hand to reveal the ring she had taken from his wallet. It was absolutely beautiful. Erin honestly couldn't believe it was going to be hers. Never in a million years did she think a guy, like Jay, would come into her life and want to marry her. She never thought she was marriage material. Until Jay came along.
"It was my mom's", Jay's voice suddenly announced.
Erin's head shot up so fast, she nearly lost her balance, as she took in the sight of her drowsy best friend lying in the hospital staring at her with his beautiful blue green eyes.
"She told me to save it for the right girl at the right time", he continued. "I've found the right girl. I just needed to find the right time", Jay said a drowsy smile coming to his face.
"You've always sucked at timing", Erin laughed through tears that had fallen on her face.
"Hey, don't cry", Jay begged as he watched Erin swipe away tears. "You almost died on me today. You are not allowed to do that ever again, okay", she lectured him.
"Okay. I promise I will never do it again", Jay promised her. "Seriously, if I'm going to marry you, I can't be worrying about whether you are dead or alive all the time", Erin continued to lecture.
Jay laughed as she continued her rant as he reached over to take his mother's diamond ring from her hand. "Erin Lindsay, if you agree to marry me, making me the happiest man with two bullet holes in his shoulder", he began to say making Erin laugh.
"I can promise you that you will never have to worry about my health and that I will always take care of you. I will take care of you, our three perfect kids, and why not throw two dogs in the mix", Jay said now getting Erin to laugh really hard, with tears streaming down her face.
"I love you, Erin Lindsay. So, will you please marry me", he finished holding the ring up to her.
"God, I love you so much", Erin said as she leaned forward and captured his lips in a sweet kiss.
"So, that's a yes, right", Jay teased as Erin pulled back. "Of course that's a yes", Erin said as she watched his face light up with a smile as he slipped the ring on her finger.
"Now, come spoon in bed with me", Jay demanded. "I believe that's totally against hospital policy and you need to rest to get your strength back", Erin teased him.
"I think they will give me a pass after everything I've been through today", Jay said. "Plus, I think my hot fiancee laying with me will speed the recovery process.
Erin laughed at his usual antics as she watched him scoot over in the bed, making room for her. She climbed in and rested her head against his chest, letting her small frame be practically swallowed by his.
"Thank you for not dying", Erin whispered into the silence they had settled in.
Jay smiled down at her, making eye contact with her hazel eyes that stared back up at him. "You told me to hang on five more minutes and when you give me five more minutes, you better believe I will take them", he teased referring to their earlier conversation from this morning.
Erin laughed remembering what they had talked about in the bathroom this morning. She knew now that she would always let him have the five extra minutes.
A/N: First of all, shoutout to Ness (OthxCpdxSoph) for this awesome AWESOME prompt for a one shot. Without her, I probably wouldn't have written this story which I absolutely love! And I hope you guys love it as well. Secondly, be sure to go check out any of my other one shots and my two chapter stories if you are dying for some more Linstead fanfic. Third, if you are need for some daily dose of Chicago PD and Linstead go follow me on my twitter (queenoflinstead). Finally, please PLEASE PLEASE review on this one shot and let me know what you think. You guys reading my stories and telling me your reactions to them means the world to me and motivates me to keep writing! :)
P.S. - If you ever have an idea for a one shot or chapter story, feel free to private message it to me because I would be more than happy to write it for you!