Title: Of Course

Description: The team embarks on an undercover mission which goes horrible wrong. Erin is left shattered and Jay helps to pick up the pieces

Rating: PG13

Author's Note: I really like how this one came out. There's a little bit for everyone: some action in the beginning, whump, and heavy Linstead fluff. Please review(:

The plan was pretty straightforward, but that didn't mean Detective Jay Halstead agreed with it. The team would send his partner, and girlfriend, Detective Erin Lindsay into a crappy shit-hole bar and she would act as bait for a man suspected of drugging, raping, and eventually murdering seven women. It's not the first time the Intelligence unit has used her as bait, but normally he is by her side for backup. This time, however, his girlfriend would be going under alone, armed with only a wire, not even a cell phone. Jay and the rest of the squad would be parked in a surveillance van a few blocks over. Their job was to watch the live footage from the security cameras inside the bar and listen to the audio from the wire hidden in Erin's dress. The plan was for them to watch for anyone putting anything in her drink, anyone hanging out around her a little too long, or anything else the could potentially put her in danger.

But nothing ever goes as planned.

Jay watched as his girlfriend maneuvered her way out of the van and into the bar. Well, he couldn't help but watch, actually. She was wearing six inch heels which made her legs look amazing, a skin tight short black cocktail dress, and had her hair curled in loose waves. He shook his head when he realized she probably knew exactly what she was doing to him. He knew that Erin was well aware of how much he loved when she did her hair like that, add on the heels and dress, this woman was going to kill him. But Jay was pulled out of his blissful daydream when she crossed the threshold into the bar and his only view of her was from the small screens in the van that the entire team was huddled around.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for the first hour of the mission. Jay and Voight both groaned as they watched Erin be chatted up by random men. Everyone was beginning to realize that sending a beautiful woman dressed the way she was into a infamous bar may present them with more predators than the one they were looking for. One man even went as far as to grab her thigh, another holding her waist. Jay hated watching his girlfriend being groped by any man that wasn't him, let alone some creepy fifty-something with a beard longer than her hair. Erin was able to quickly brush them off though, knowing they were looking for a real killer.

It wasn't until they were an hour and a half in that things started to go south. No one overly suspicious had approached her, but Erin started to act a bit off. She had become much less active, just simply vying to relax on the barstool and let the creeps approach her. While Halstead was still worried, he just figured her feet must have been hurting after hours of standing in those heels. Then they noticed her starting to toy with her wire a little bit, accidentally disconnecting it. Jay was worried she was attempting to tell them something. "I think one of us should go in there, just act normal, ask her if she's doing alright" he said.

Voight shook his head, "It would blow her cover"

"But I wouldn't go storming in there. I would just walk in and get a drink like any other loser in that bar." Jay argued.

"Yeah but you don't look like one of those losers, you look like a cop. You'd stick out like a sore thumb." Ruzek chimed in.

So, they watched on as Erin sat calmly on her stool. It was becoming clearer to Jay as the minutes passed that something was not right. She had started to sway on the stool, talking to the people around her less and less. Then a woman approached her, seeming to ask if she was okay. Jay was ready to go in right then and there, but the team stopped him since they were looking for a man. The woman convinced Erin to get off of the stool and follow her into a hallway, presumably into a bathroom. The only issue was the bathroom was off camera. Everyone in the van exchanged looks, pondering what to do. Voight was faced with a hard decision. His daughter was out of their surveillance and possibly drugged, but if they infiltrated her cover would be blown and their killer would be in the wind.

"Okay Halstead, go in. Just you. Make sure everything is okay. If it is get out" Voight commanded.

With a nod of the head Jay removed his vest, badge, and gun and hopped out of the van. He strolled casually down the street towards to bar where his girlfriend was potentially being harmed. The first thing he did when he walked in the door was a quick look around for Erin. The lighting was dark and the music was loud. There were obviously drunk men standing around and a few women looking like they were there to make a quick buck, but no Erin. Panicking, Jay rounded the corner of the hallway leading to the bathroom. He saw the door to the women's room and barged in without thinking, expecting to find Erin, but she was not there. Dumbfounded, he stepped back out into the hallway. He had no idea where she was. For all he knew she could be with the killer, who knows what he's doing to her. He felt himself starting to lose control of his emotions. He knew that he had to focus on finding her. He finally noticed a door at the very back of the hallway labeled "staff only". Without a second thought, he stormed through it and could not believe was he saw. There was Erin laying on the floor, obviously drugged, with her dress hiked up almost to her hips. There was one man, with a beard wearing a flannel, kneeled next to Erin holding her shoulders to the ground. Two more men were standing up in the room: one simply observing along the opposite wall, the other preparing a syringe of who knows what.

All occupants of the room looked at Jay when he opened the door, including Erin. He could easily see she was terrified, unable to move or form a coherent sentence, she just simply started whimpering and trying to squirm out of the man's grasp towards him. The men, on the other hand, just stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Jay didn't know what to do. While he wanted to start throwing punches at the men who were in the midst of assaulting and drugging his girlfriend, he was greatly outnumbered and outsized by them. He knew he had to be smart about this. It wasn't until the man originally leaned on the back wall approached him that he realized what he was going to have to do.

"Ey, you want a turn with her you're gonna have to pay. We already have enough guys in here." the man said in a deep, rumbly voice.

Jay quickly realized that these were the killers they were looking for. Except they were wrong about one thing, these men weren't drugging women just to rape them on their own, they were running a business in this bar. Sketchy men like they presumed him to be would come back to the "staff only" room and offer a bid to rape the victim. After this went on long enough, the three men must kill to women to keep her silent, therefore keeping their business alive. Jay wasn't about to let this happen to his girlfriend.

Standing up a little straighter and looking the man in the eyes, Jay firmly said "How much you want for her? I want her now and I want her on my own. None of you in here."

"You give me a grand, you can have her for an hour. By yourself" the man said.

"Deal."

Surprisingly enough, the men did not ask Jay to pay up beforehand. They simply told him they would collect the money after the fact and a stern warning as to what would happen if he did not pay. Then they left.

"You okay?" Jay said quietly as he crouched down to the floor where she was lying. Erin shuddered and turned her head to look at him. He could see silent tears gathered in her eyes. The drugs had kicked in, she had no control, and she was terrified. "Erin you're okay. I gotcha nothing's gonna happen. We're gonna get out of here."

She didn't reply.

Jay gathered her so she was sitting up against him. "Erin can you hear me? Baby just say something"

"Th' drugged me" she slurred. "Didn't want to take it."

"I know Erin. You're safe now we're gonna getcha home." Jay said. She nodded and leaned her head back against his chest. Even the action of holding her own head up was too much for her. It was clear that she had no way to move the rest of her body. Jay figured that after about twenty minutes or so the team would come bursting in to get them out. He just had to keep her conscious enough for them to come in and get her to a hospital.

"Jay I don't want anything to happen" she slurred.

"What do you mean? I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He reassured her, looking down at her in his arms.

She nodded again, letting her eyes droop closed.

"Erin I need you to stay awake for me. I don't want you to go to sleep." He said. She sighed, obviously straining herself to keep her eyes open. Just then, he started to hear shouts from in the bar, making out Voight's voice instantly. It was obvious these guys weren't going down without a fight by the amount of noise they could hear from inside the back room. Jay opted to stay with Erin, if she couldn't defend herself there was no way in hell he was going to leave her. Finally, Olinsky came bursting through the door. "I'll call a bus" he said after taking one look at Erin.

The rest was all a blur. Voight had come in and reassured Erin that everything was going to be alright and urged her to keep her eyes open. The paramedics came shortly after and surprisingly enough Voight allowed Jay to ride in the ambulance. The doctors looked over Erin and concluded that she had been given a heavy dose of Rohypnol, but could find no needle marks. Thankfully this indicated that the man had not had the chance to give her whatever was in the syringe. After about five hours spent in the hospital, Erin had convinced the doctors to release her into Jay's care. The effects of the drugs had not yet completely worn off. Will said she probably would regain full mobility in five or six hours but wouldn't feel herself until the next day.

When they finally got home Jay helped Erin change into sweats. She was trying to walk on her own but quickly failed, instead opting to clutch onto Jay's arm for support while she fell to the ground. Jay scooped her up in his arms and went to carry her to her bed where she could go to sleep but she protested, whimpering and shaking her head. "Can we go to the couch?" she finally asked after a very confused look from her boyfriend.

"Of course."

Jay walked them to the couch and carefully arranged them so she could comfortably fall asleep against him. He even draped a blanket over her legs to hopefully relieve the drug induced tremors rippling through her body. He turned on the Blackhawks game and they watched in silence for about a half hour, but it was very clear that Erin wanted and needed sleep.

"Baby can I take you to the bedroom please? I want you to get some sleep." He almost begged. She shook her head, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Why not? You'll be a lot more comfortable." He almost whispered to her. She didn't say anything. Was she scared of something in the bedroom? Was she scared of him? Then it dawned on him, maybe she was scared of sharing a bed with him. He knew she had a long history of abusive boyfriends and the drug's taking away any of her ability to defend herself probably made her extra paranoid.

"Erin I can sleep on the couch if you want. I just want you to be comfortable." He said.

Her breathing quickened and she vigorously shook her head at the proposal. "No, no please don't leave. I'm sorry just please don't leave me here."

Jay quickly shushed her are took her limp body into his arms, "I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry I got you. I just wanted you to get a good sleep, that's all."

She quitted and they just sat like that. Jay leaning against the corner of the couch with his legs diagonally laid across it, and Erin's torso tightly wrapped in his arms with her head on his chest. Finally she spoke, "I want to go lay down on the bed but I'm afraid."

Jay took a minute to absorb her words. He didn't know what to say, it was so out of character for his girlfriend to open up that he was caught off guard. Then again, being drugged and completely defenseless can do things to a person. And what was she scared of? The only answer that Jay could come up with was himself, which shattered his heart. "Erin baby you know I would never hurt you, right? I'll never do anything you don't want or like. Baby please tell me you know that" he almost whimpered.

She opened her mouth to speak but he interrupted her.

"Erin if you want me to call Burgess or someone I don't mind, I just want you to feel safe." Jay said defeatedly. He was trying his best not to let his emotions get the best of him.

It took Erin a moment to realize what he was talking about. She in no way meant that she was afraid of him. "No, no Jay I need you to stay please stay," she attempted to shift herself in his arms to make better eye contact with him, he helped her to do so. She didn't know exactly how to explain what she was feeling, as she'd never discussed it with anyone before. But, she figured she owed him an explanation. The poor guy had done everything for her since she was released from the hospital. He helped her change, use the restroom, put her hair up for her, he deserved a medal. And now here he was looking like someone had just stolen his puppy, thinking she was afraid of him.

She took a deep breath and began talking, "I've be-been on this drug before.." He looked her dead in the eyes, waiting for her next words. "I don't mean I've taken it. No one really takes this because they want to, people give it to you. You know what I mean?" She looked up at him for confirmation. He nodded, beginning to feel sick when anticipating where she was headed with this. She swallowed, trying to keep herself from crying. Jay noticed and squeezed her tighter in his arms, whispering "It's okay" into her hair.

Erin continued, this time her voice beginning to shake "And-and you know… when people give this stuff to you.. I mean.. You can imagine.. Nothing good happens. There was some guy.. And he- he convinced me to get in his car" She couldn't say it. She wanted to just come out and tell him what had happened the night a man slipped Rohypnol in her drink and then offered her a ride home. She wanted to tell him about how she'd slipped unconscious in his car then woken up in her bed with him on top of her, but she couldn't do it. She just hoped that he could put it together by listening to her vague ramble and seeing the tears now streaming down her face.

She heard him half whispered half grown her name. Yep, he definitely put to together. His grip on her torso became tighter, this time for his own reassurance. The room was quiet, only the game softly playing in the background. Jay assumed she was done talking and began attempting to come to terms with what she had just told him. He was both furious and heartbroken about what she had just told him. His girlfriend just opened up to him about being raped and he was kicking himself for having absolutely no idea what to say. "I'm so sorry." was all that seemed appropriate.

She continued to softly cry in his arms. "What can I do to help Erin?" He asked above her, finally gaining the strength to form a real sentence. "I don't know" she said. Her cries began to increase to the point where he could both hear and feel her sobs.

He tried desperately to help her calm down, knowing panicking could cause a spike in her heart rate which would be dangerous with the drugs.

"You're safe here. Nothing's gonna happen. The high is going to wear off and you'll be back to normal. Everything is okay" he soothed.

"I want to go lay down in my bed but I'm afraid that all I'll be able to think about is him and what he did and I don't want to do that. It took so long for me to be able to sleep in there again and I don't want to go back to the way it was". She was talking so fast that Jay almost had trouble understanding. She was also shaking uncontrollably as a result of the drugs and sobs.

Jay rubbed her back, trying to sooth her. He himself knew what it was like to struggle with nightmares and flashbacks, making it all the more heartbreaking for him to listen to her fears. "We can do whatever you want. We can sleep right here on this couch, we can try to sleep in the bed, or heck we can drive to my apartment and sleep in my bed. I don't care it's up to you baby."

She nodded.

"And if you wake up and wanna go somewhere else that doesn't matter either. We can do whatever you want. Nothing is gonna happen anywhere we go baby. Nothing is ever gonna happen to you. I don't want you to ever be scared or alone again and if you are you call me and I promise I'll be here before anything can happen." Jay pleaded. He didn't expect to give her such a lecture but he felt like she needed to know how he felt. Heck, he had never even thought about these feelings until her confession.

"Can we try to sleep in my bed? I don't feel like driving." She asked.

"Of course." For the second time that night, he scooped her up and carried her to her bed. This time she did not protest at all. He carefully laid her down and then proceeded to lay down next to her, covering them both in the blankets. Her fears of flashbacks and nightmares vanished as she felt him wrap his arms protectively around her. Not surprisingly, she felt herself beginning to drift to sleep almost instantly. "Thank you, for everything." She told him.

"Of course, I'll always be here." He honestly said. As much as he wanted to tell her he loved her, that he was never going to leave her, and he was never going to let anything happen to her, he knew that was the last thing she needed right now. Now, all she needed was a good night's sleep and for those damn drugs to wear off. And he was more than content with waiting to tell her, just as long as he knew she was safe in his arms.