Thank for all the lovely reviews, follows, and favorites. You guys are the reason I continue to write, so thank you so much for the feedback. Please keep that up :) If I get good feedback, I will continue to add to this story. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
"How exactly are you planning on telling him?" Erin asked as they got into the chrysler on their way to the precinct. It was 9:30. They were already half an hour late. They enjoyed their breakfast and each other's presence. They knew time was running out and they needed to spend time together. Voight would have to understand when they told him why.
"I don't know." Jay mumbled as he stared attentively outside the window.
Erin brought her hand to his and squeezed it. "I'm here for you. We'll do it together."
Jay nodded and squeezed her hand. "Thank you."
The rest of the car ride was silent. Neither of them knew what to say.
"You two are late." Trudy Platt said as they entered the precinct. At the sight of the distraught faces of the two detectives, Trudy Platt knew something was not right. "Everything okay?"
Erin slightly shook her head as they continued to walk up the stairs to the bullpen in silence.
"The lovebirds have arrived." Ruzek joked at the sight of the detectives. Everyone was already at their desks working on some paperwork before they received information on their next case.
Both Halstead and Lindsay glared at Adam Ruzek without saying a word. Ruzek and the rest of the team could see their expressions and knew that something was up.
"My office." They heard Hank Voight yell from his office.
Before they even walked through the office door, Voight began talking, "Just because I do not care about your relationship status, does not mean I allow both of you to be late. I do not appreciate…"
Erin Lindsay cut him off before he could finish his thought. "Hank, can we talk to you?"
Hank nodded and Halstead closed his door. "What's going on?"
Erin took the envelope out of her jacket pocket and handed it to her pseudo father that practically raised her.
Hank quickly looked at the name on the envelope and opened the letter to read it. He studied it for a while and then spoke, "Well it's a damn shame to lose you on this unit, Halstead. You're a great detective and serving for this country, that takes integrity."
Hank gave out his hand to Halstead. Jay shook it and gave him a faint smile, "Thank you, sarge."
"I guess I need a replacement for you, huh?" Voight said. "Temporarily of course. Your spot is always open for you, Jay."
"Thank you, Voight. I appreciate that. I'm going to miss it very much." Halstead replied.
"You'll be missed, Halstead." Voight smiled at him. Erin was pleased to see Voight this appreciative and sweet to Jay. She already knew that her sabbatical brought them a bit closer, but she was beginning to see it.
"Lindsay, can you go tell Burgess she will be temporarily joining Intelligence in Halstead's absence." Voight said.
Lindsay nodded and left the room. She was thrilled Voight was giving Burgess a chance. Lindsay and Burgess had gone surprisingly close those past few months and Erin respected her.
Erin knew that Voight only sent her to inform Kim because he wanted to talk to Halstead alone, but she knew they had to have a conversation about her eventually so she played along.
"Now that Erin's gone, tell me the truth. What do you feel about this?" Hank asked Halstead.
"Honestly, I'm scared. I don't want to go back there." Halstead wanted to elaborate and express his feelings about leaving Erin to his boss, so he kept it short. He wanted to express how scared he was to lose Erin, to leave her for that long. It had been a while since Nadia died, but not long enough. She needed him and now he was forced to leave. "It was the worst time of my life. I don't want the PTSD when I get back, I don't want to leave Erin. I just feel resentful towards that letter."
"I understand, Halstead. This is horrible timing and you do not want to go through that again. But, you are serving your country. Make the best out of it, and you'll be back fairly soon. At least it is only six months." Halstead nodded. Hank was right. He needed to stay strong and get through those six months, if not for himself at least for Erin.
"Can you do me a favor? Please take care of Erin when I'm gone. She's better now, but Nadia's death will always have a long-term affect on her. She's going to need you and the rest of the team when I'm gone." Jay said.
"You don't need to worry about that. I will always take care of Erin." Hank gave his hand out to Jay once again.
"Thank you, Voight." Jay shook his hand and nodded.
"Do you want me to tell the rest of the team, or do you want to?"
"I'll do it." Jay replied. He got up and entered the bullpen. Erin was already back with Burgess. Erin had informed Burgess that they were going to make the announcement and she should be there.
"I have an announcement to make," Jay said. Everyone turned their full attention to Halstead, who was by Voight's door. Voight had joined the group by this point. "So, as much as it pains me to leave I've been called to the army for a 6 month tour in Afghanistan. I'm leaving in 3 days. I'm really going to miss you guys. Thank you for always being there."
"What?" Mouse said surprised. He could up and started walking towards Halstead.
He couldn't believe that his best friend was being sent off to war again. He was the only one that kept Halstead sane the last time. He was the one that got through PTSD. Now Mouse wasn't going to be there for Halstead. "I'm so sorry, dude. I wish I could be there for you like last time."
"I know, Mouse. Thank you." Halstead said as Mouse hugged him.
"I'll be here when you get back." Jay nodded and smiled at his best friend. He loved the compassion Mouse had towards him.
Then it was Adam's turn. "C'mon man, you're leaving me? Who am I going to tease?"
Jay laughed at his best friend. "Very funny."
"I'll miss you dude, stay safe out there. Okay?" Jay nodded and Ruzek pulled him into a hug.
"We'll always be here for you, Halstead. Stay safe." Olinsky said as he too gave Halstead a hug.
"Thanks, Al." Jay replied.
"Halstead. You've come a long way. You make me proud, kid. Thank you for not disappointing me." Antonio smiled at his recruit.
"Tony, thank you for everything." Halstead said giving his hand out for Antonio to shake. Instead, Dawson pulled him into a hug.
"I'll miss you dude." Atwater approached Halstead after Antonio walked away.
"I'll miss you all." Halstead said as he hugged Kevin.
As everyone was hugging her boyfriend, Erin escaped to the break room and Hank and Al followed her.
She was pouring a cup of coffee for herself when she saw Olinsky and Voight approaching.
"How are you doing with this?" Olinsky asked. Hank had an anxious expression on his face.
Raised her shoulder and shrugged, "What can I do? It's his duty. I just have to respect that. I'm better now. I promise. That time of my life is over and I'm not going back there."
"I know, kid." Voight chipped in. "It's also okay to be upset at this news."
"You want to know the truth?" Olinsky and Hank looked at her attentively as she continued. "I'm terrified. We just got back together and I'm losing him again. And what if...what if something happens to him? I don't think, I'll be able to handle myself and come back again. Not after Nadia, too. I don't want to cry over this, but I'm scared." Tears filled her eyes, but she tried to brush it off.
"It's okay to be, Erin." Al replied as he came closer and pulled her into a hug.
"He'll be back, kid." Voight said. "Halstead's a fighter."
Erin nodded. "Yeah he is. But, his PTSD is going to destroy the both of us."
"We'll be there for you both." Hank replied as he joined the hug between Lindsay and Olinsky.
Erin nodded. "Thank you." Lindsay truly appreciated the two father figures in her life. They really meant a lot to her.
As Hank and Alvin pulled away from Erin, Halstead walked into the break room. He had seen his boss and Olinsky comfort his girlfriend. He was happy she had them in her life, especially if he was not going to be there for the next six months.
"Hey you okay, Er?" He asked as he approached her.
Voight and Olinsky slowly left the break room to give the couple some privacy.
"I just don't want you leave." Erin said as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I know, Er. Me either." He said as he pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll be back sooner than you know, I promise."
Erin kept her head pinned against his chest as she enjoyed his embrace. She didn't want to let him go, neither did Jay.
Ruzek entered the break room to tell the detectives that they had a case and he saw them in each other's arms.
Adam immediately went and gave them a bear hug. "Group hug."
Both Jay and Erin smiled at their colleague. Although he was a pain in the ass, they both loved him more than anything.
"I'd hate to break this up, but we have a case and Sarge wants you both in the bullpen." Adam pulled away and walked towards the bullpen.
"Thanks, Adam." Erin yelled after him.
"Last day of Intelligence." Jay said. "Last day of watching your back out there."
"Yeah." Erin said as she tapped his chest lightly with her fist. "Last day for a few months. But you'll be back."
"Please promise me you'll be extra careful out there when I'm gone." Jay said.
"I'll have Antonio as a partner, Jay. He'll have my back."
"I know, he will. But, it's not the same. Please be careful." Jay said staring into her eyes.
She stared into his gorgeous blue eyes and said. "I promise"
"Good." Jay said leaning in to give her a quick kiss.
"Alright. We will continue this after shift. We have to make our last two days memorable, you know what I mean." Erin smirked and winked at him as she headed out of the bullpen.
"Erin Lindsay. Don't tease me." Jay laughed and called after her. Halstead smiled. *This is going to be a long day* He thought to himself.
Once both Halstead and Lindsay had joined the rest of the team, Voight started addressing the case on hand.
"Alright, these two men," Voight began as he put two pictures on the whiteboard. "Alex Triften and Carlos Neun. We've got information from Antonio's CI that these two are conducting an sex trafficking ring in a warehouse in Downtown Chicago. We have possible 5 warehouses and we need to find them. We already have five victims who were found dead." He put pictures of the five young victims.
"Ah." Erin sighed. These cases always hit home for her. The whole team knew that.
"Yeah. Multiple stab wounds on all of them. We're assuming these girls were killed because they tried to get out. All of them had struggle wounds on their wrists." Voight continued.
"We need to catch these guys. We can't let anyone else end up like those poor girls." Erin said.
"I want these guys caught immediately." Voight yelled. "I've called different squad cars. They are all on their way to several of the locations. We're heading to one now. Suit up, let's go."
"Got it, Sarge." The team yelled almost simultaneously.
Please Review :)