Erin lasted at the task force for about 2 more weeks after they slept together the first time. They had a huge bust gone wrong in Bolivia. With the stress of that, and Lang hitting on her to make up for it, Erin cracked. Jay and Erin had been in touch when she was away and he offered to pick her up from the office.
Jay knew that she was already pissed off when she called him for a ride after their briefing. Recognizing the tone in her voice, he broke every traffic law to get to the DEA so she wouldn't decide to direct her anger towards him. He could see her smiling at him as soon as he rounded the corner. Jay jumped out of the car when he put the car in park, expecting her to need help with her go bag. What he didn't expect was a small box full of the few things she decided to move to this desk: her grenade paperweight, a picture of her with the Voight's, and a picture of her and Jay. The picture that she had was his favorite. They were at Molly's one night and Kim snapped it, capturing Jay staring at Erin while she looked away.
She put her stuff on the ground and took two steps towards him, closing the distance, before wrapping her arms around his waist. "I missed you," she mubbled against his chest. She could feel the vibrations from his laugh go right through her body.
"I missed you too." He dropped a kiss against her head before whispering, "so much more than you can imagine." The two of them stood their for another moment, letting them soak in this moment, before he began to pull away. "Let's get this stuff in the car, and then you can tell me why you have this box." The look he gave her was a careful one, as if she would explode the moment he said the wrong thing. But she didn't. She casually shrugged her shoulders and got in the car.
As she waited for him to get in the car, Erin thought about the way that she wanted to word her explanation. She felt the shake of the car and the slam of the door before she turned to look at him. "I quit." She didn't turn to look at him as she said these words, but she knew that he was shocked. "I couldn't do it, and I admit that I was wrong." She waited for an I told you so, but it never came. And it wouldn't, not from Jay atleast. She felt him take her hand in his and start the car away from the building.
It took less than fifteen minutes to make their way back to Erin's apartment, in which neither of them spoke. When he pulled up in front of her apartment, Jay went around the car, opened her door and stood there. "Let's go inside." She looked at him with curious, hopeful eyes. "I told Voight I wouldn't be coming back into work." Erin nodded and unbuckled her seat but she didn't get up, only turned so she faced Jay and he stood between her legs. When she turned, he got a good look at the beautiful face he had missed and took it in. The way that her dimples still showed when she was being serious. And how her eyes were a grungy green but they were the kindest ones he had ever met. But he also saw the pain, and exhaustion on it. The bags heavy under those eyes, and the dirt that looked like it was permanently stained on her skin. What caught his attention the most was the cut, already scabbed over, tracing down from her ear to the middle of her jawline.
"I need this Jay. Us." He understood what she meant by it, but the look on her face, the pained look. Something didn't feel right with Jay and something definitely wasn't right with Erin and the way that she was acting. But Jay just nodded his head, took her hand and lead her up to her apartment. His hands took the keys from hers and unlocked the door, pushing her in before himself. He grabbed her jacket, shrugging it off of her body and hung it up. He motioned for her to sit on the couch before anything else could happen.
"Talk to me."
"I couldn't do it." Erin pulled her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. "The way they function, it's not how I thought it would be. That CI from my first case, I don't think she ever got paid. Lang, he was hitting on me today after the briefing. Told me that I was responsible for Bolivia and if I wanted to stay, well he could probably find a way for me to make it up somehow." Erin noticed how Jay's fists clenched at her words. "I don't belong there Jay, I belong here. At home with my family." She looked at him for what feels like the first time in weeks. His blue eyes hitting the deepest parts of her, giving her a warmth inside.
"You deserve that spot, Erin. It doesn't matter who's fault it was. That's sexual harassment!" His anger caused Jay to stand up, only to have Erin pulled him back down closer to her.
"No Jay. I deserve to be with you here. The Chicago Police Department is where I started this life fourteen years ago. It's where I found a family with Voight." She laced her fingers with Jay, resting her forehead against his. "And it's where I found One Day with you." His eyes crinkled when he let out a little chuckle.
"Ah. The infamous one day." He paused a moment and let his face get serious. "But Erin what if I don't want one day?" When he paused, thinking of his next words, he saw the hurt look in her eyes. "What if I want today, tomorrow, and everyday after that? Because I want everything with you, Erin. I want a one day every single day, the good ones and the bad ones." Jay could see her pulling away, distancing herself so she wouldn't get hurt. "I'm not proposing or asking you to move in. I'm just saying, I want this to be more than just us sleeping around. I want to be the person you go to after you've had a bad day, and not just as a way to work off the stress. I want us to be able to talk about everything." He pushed curl out of her face and behind her ear, catching his fingers under her chin and forcing her to look at him. He gave her a gentle smile, hoping that she'll give him something. "I want to know about your family, you and Teddy growing up. I want to know what Voight was like when you and Justin were kids. I want to know if Voight threatened your prom date. Erin, I don't want just you. I want to know all of you, even the bad stuff."
Erin moved so her legs rested on top of his, letting her head lean on his chest. Her fingers traced light patterns against his t-shirt. "You know I'm not good at this Jay."
"Just give me something to work with."
"Every Sunday morning Camille, Voight's wife, she would make us breakfast. By the time I came downstairs Hank would be reading the paper or playing with Justin. It was what I always pictured a normal family like." Jay dropped a kiss onto her head. "That's what I've pictured my family would be like." Jay ran his fingers through Erin's curls until he felt her breathing go even and deep. He moved to press another kiss against her temple.
"I'll give you that, one day."
