The speed of his feet hitting against the pavement increased as visions from that night, two months ago flooded through his mind. He ignores the beautiful sights of the trees around him, as he focuses forward. Sweat darkened his light-toned grey hoodie as he quickened his pace. He used the fast beat coursing through his earphones as a guide and a motivator to keep up with his fast jog. Since the accident, Jay took up jogging every morning as a way to release his anger, frustration, guilt and confusion. He was usually out for about two hours, before he headed back to his condo and started to get ready for work.
As the clouds moved to block the low sun, Jay bit upon his lip and increased his speed. His hands were clenched into fists, and the pools of sweat on his forehead started to cascade down his face. He mentally cleared his mind and allowed for the beat of whatever song decided to play on his cell to push his body forward. Drizzles of rain sprinkled down onto the ground, and usually when it started raining, he would end his jog, but today, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Halstead lifted his hood and placed it securely upon his head as he kept running forward ignoring the speed of the rain as it increased.
Some of the rain hit against his eyes and mixed in with the forming tears. He struggled to blink them away as he kept up with his ongoing pace, but once one drip of rain went away, another would appear. Jay stared forward, and mentally noted how the jogging trail has cleared. Halstead approached a park bench, and leaned forward, pressing his hands down upon the seat. He released a loud groan, as his body ached from the overexertion. As his hands rested against the wooden bench, his eyes fell upon the wedding band wrapped securely around his ring finger. His eyes glazed over as the memory of his wedding proposal played through his head, "You can do this Halstead," He told himself as he stood firm. His posture upright, as the sunlight beamed through the opened curtains. Jay licked his lips and cleared his throat, "Erin!" He closed his eyes as a knot formed in his throat. He couldn't afford to get tongue-tied now, of all days, he couldn't be speechless now.
Jay could hear her fumbling around in the bedroom. Halstead had set himself an alarm to ensure himself that he woke up before her. When she fell asleep the night before, his plan was in action. Operation: Perfect Proposal was a go. And now, the next morning, as she showered, he prepared the remaining part of the morning. While Jay gave her plenty of time to get ready, he was growing impatient and nervous. The more time he had to think about it, the more he became antsy and filled with overactive nerves, "Erin!"
"I'm coming," he could hear the lightness and the laughter in her voice, "Just give me," the door opened to their bedroom, "a sec." She stood completely still underneath the threshold. Jay tugged the collar around his neck as he observed her reaction.
Her mouth continuously opened and closed as her eyes trailed the pathway of red roses. The bright red petals reached the feet of her boyfriend, as he stood in front of their dining room table draped with a white table cloth and freshly cooked breakfast on top. Erin's hand covered her mouth, "Jay," her voice was almost too low to hear, but Halstead managed to pick up on her words, "What…what is this?"
Jay lifted the single white rose from the table, before lowering himself to the ground and positioning his knees into the traditional proposal stance. When the realization hit her, Halstead could tell. He watched her face conform from shock, to nervousness, to excitement, before finally resting on happiness. She walked along the path of rose petals, and took a stand in front of her boyfriend, "Jay…"
"There are countless ways to achieve happiness, and blessings in this lifetime," He held out the rose to her, "but for me, the only way is with you. I want to grow old with you Erin. I want to continue making memories with you. And I want you to promise me, that in the next ten years, we'll be married and telling our children about how I proposed to you. I knew you were the one for me the moment I met you. And with Voight's acceptance, I want you to be my wife. I want you to be the next Mrs. Halstead. I want you to make me the happiest and the luckiest man in the world…in the universe. I've never loved someone as much as you and I can't fathom a world without you as my wife." He inhaled sharply, and took a hold of her hand, "So, Erin, what do you say? Will you make me the happiest and most grateful man alive?"
Lindsay cracked a gentle smile as soft tears streamed down her cheeks. She could barely say anything, but she needed to give him an answer…an answer that he deserved, "Of course." Jay pressed a kiss upon the back of her right hand as he stood. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as he snuggled his face into the crook of hers, "Where's my ring?" He could hear her whisper the question softly into his ear.
Jay pulled away, and took a hold of her left hand, "You're wearing it." Halstead had managed to place the ring upon her finger while she was asleep.
The song that played through his earphones was interrupted, and his ringtone began to blare deafeningly. He ripped one of the buds out of his ear, and kept the other inside to be able to hear the voice of whoever decided to call, "What is it?"
"Jay, it's me."
"Will," Halstead stood up straight, "What is it? Is everything okay? What's wrong? How's Erin?"
Dr. Halstead smirked from the other end, "Whoa, brother. I am actually calling with great, fantastic and wonderful news. Erin has woken up."
Without further thought, Jay took off in the direction he had just come from. He didn't care about work right now; he had just received the news that he's been waiting two months to hear. Dr. Halstead could hear the heavy panting of breath through the phone, "You're out for a jog?"
"Not anymore," Jay answered.
"I've been swamped with patients this morning. I haven't had a chance to see her. While her doctor is off, he's also on call today, but she has a nurse tending to her. I have to go Jay. I was just paged. I'll see you when you get here." Will hung up the phone.
Halstead tore the remaining ear phone out of his ear, and stuffed it into his pocket with his cell phone. Even though he was physically exhausted and tired, it didn't slow him down. He was going even faster than when he first started out. It was like he was in a marathon race, and Erin was his finish line. He desperately needed to see her.
After hopping into Erin's dry car, Jay clicked upon the seat belt, started her car, and merged into traffic within seconds. Since his vehicle was still in the auto shop, he had been using his wife's car. If it wasn't raining, he would have gotten there in half the time, but because it was, he needed to drive extra careful. He had already gotten into one car accident; he didn't need to get into another. Jay doesn't think to call anyone. His mind was focused on Lindsay, and he wanted to see his wife before everyone started hogging her. It may have been selfish, but Halstead didn't care. He slept by her side for years, and now the two months that just passed made it harder on him to fall asleep. He missed her tremendously.
As the car whipped from lane to lane in its attempt to dodge traffic, Jay's mind played through a continuous chain of memories. A montage of their four year marriage drifted through his mind beginning with their honeymoon in Italy. He smiled as he remembered how excited Erin was to walk the streets of Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan and Naples. They had to have gained over fifty pounds eating all of the delicious Italian food, but they managed to exercise a nice amount off when dancing with the locals in the beautiful streets. The current memory faded, and the start of a new memory began. The day that Erin and Jay moved in together was one of comedic relief. After purchasing a brand new condo, about ten minutes away from their work, they recruited everyone to help them move in. Jay's laughter brought him out of the flashback as he remembered Erin and Kim carrying in one box together, before disappearing. When he and Ruzek went searching for their wives, they found them upstairs, fast asleep on the carpeted floor. The final memory that entered his mind was of their first Thanksgiving as husband and wife. Jay's family wanted them over for dinner, but so did Erin's family, and in order to solve the dilemma, the two decided to host Thanksgiving at their house, and invite both sides of their family.
The bright red hospital sign lit up as Halstead illegally parked the vehicle in front of it. He recognized one of the nurses, and tossed her his keys. April didn't put up an argument; she happily obliged to park his car because she knew why he was here. She knew who he was here to see. Jay's eyes are wide open as he races into the hospital. He scans the lobby, and sighs in relief when he notices his brother waiting for him; "I haven't seen her yet," Will met his brother half way, "I put a call in for her doctor. He's off today, but he's coming in. A nurse has been with her," It may have been things Will has already told his brother, but that's all he knew at the moment. He wanted to fill the silence as the two walked to Erin's room.
Will's hand taps against the closed visiting room door, "Hey," he nods towards the nurse, and waves her to come out, "My brother's here."
"I'll be back in a little later to check on you," the nurse assured, patting the young detective's shoulder.
The nurse backed away from the patient she's been taking care of for two months. She stopped at the door, and gave Lindsay a kind smile before exiting the room. Will pushes the door open, and waved for his brother to step through. As a result of the nerves bubbling in his lower stomach, Jay began to take deep breaths before stepping inside.
When the nurse was called out of the room, she didn't expect any visitors. It was only a few moments ago she woke up and found herself lying in a hospital bed. The older nurse who cared after her was the only company she was up for at the moment. When a voice cleared, Lindsay felt compelled to roll over in the bed, and as she did her eyes focused in on the two men standing near the doorway. Her bandaged hands pushed down upon the bed as she pushes herself to sit up, "Let me help you." Jay rushed across the room and assisted his wife in sitting up comfortably. He fluffed the pillow behind her back, and draped the thin blanket across her legs, "How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good," She gave him a dimpled grin, "but I do have a question."
"Anything," Jay took a seat at the edge of her bed, and rested his hand upon her ankle.
"Alright, I want you to give it to me straight." The smile from Erin's face faltered, as her expression turned serious, "What happened to me? How did I end up here? Was anyone else hurt?"
Will leaned against the far wall as he watched the interaction between his brother and sister-in-law. In response to Erin's questions, Jay released a low chuckle, "Erin, let's talk about that later." He laid his hand over hers, "Let's focus on-"
"But doctor," she pleaded, removing her hand from beneath his, "I…I need to know."
Dr. Halstead watched as the smile on his brother's face dropped. He stood up, and lost all contact with his wife. He pressed his hand against his forehead, dejectedly, "Erin, this isn't funny." The door swings open, and in rushes Voight, Burgess, Ruzek and Olinsky. Will had called as soon as he had gotten off of the phone with Jay. A smile rested on each of their faces, except for Hank, who felt angered at the fact that Jay wasn't the one to call him and inform him of Erin waking up, but the moment he spotted a healthy Erin, he couldn't stay mad any longer.
Erin's fingers fumbled with the white hospital band strapped tightly around her wrist. She looked at all of the smiling faces, but the look on her face presented confusion, "Detective Olinsky," her brows furrowed as she made eye contact with Alvin, "Detective Voight," her eyes averted towards Hank, "What's going on? And…" she squints at Jay, Adam and Kim, "who are they?"
Seconds after voicing her confusion, the door opened once more. In stepped Bunny, her mother, whom she hasn't spoken to in five years. Bunny looked nervous. She didn't know how her daughter would react to seeing her, but she was willing to take the chance. Bunny was Erin's biological mother, and just because Erin stopped caring about her mother, didn't mean she stopped loving her daughter.
"Mom!" A wide grin broke out upon Lindsay's face, and from the excitement of her declaration, an equal smile broke out across Bunny's face. Bunny pushes through Kim and Adam in her attempt to rush up to her daughter's bed. She felt Erin's arms wrap around her, and hold her tight, "Mom, what happened? Why am I here? What's going on?"
Dr. Brooks, Erin's doctor entered the room, holding his clipboard and smiling thankfully. The brief grin on his face dropped at the sight of the frowns surrounding him. "We need answers," Voight growled, turning to face her doctor, "She can't remember us. She doesn't know her relationship to us. You put her in a coma for her to heal! Well doctor I hate to break it to you, she didn't! You need to fix this…and I mean right now!"
The doctor handed Will his clipboard, as he retrieved a small flashlight from his lab coat. He approached Lindsay, and allowed for her mother to take a hold of her daughter's hand, "You were in an accident Erin," the doctor shined the flashlight into her eye.
"I was…" Lindsay squeezed her mother's hand, "I…I don't remember."
The doctor flashed the light into her other eye, "What's your first and last name?"
"Erin Lindsay."
Jay frowns as he realizes her legally married last name didn't cross her mind. Erin was usually proud to introduce herself as Erin Halstead. She didn't even hyphen her name because she adored the sound of his last name following her first name.
"Who do you recognize in this room?" Dr. Brooks turned the flashlight off, and tucked it back into his pocket.
Erin looked to her mom and smiled, "My mom of course," Bunny couldn't help but sigh in immediate relief, "And the two detectives," her head nodded in the direction of Voight and Olinsky.
"How do you know the two detectives?"
"They busted me a couple of times I made runs for Charlie." The shrug of Erin's shoulders and the avoidance of her eyes reminded Hank of when she was younger…much younger.
Dr. Brooks crossed his arms, "What is the last thing you remember?"
"Detective Voight and Detective Olinsky released me after giving me another warning. It was the same day that you," she points to her mother, "gave me my first and last cigarette to lessen the blow of telling me that my dad was rejected at his parole hearing."
As a result of Erin's last memory, Bunny gave her daughter a toothy grin. She brought her daughter's hand up and pecked the palm of it. Erin remembered nothing, and now Bunny had another chance with her daughter. The doctor taps a distracted Bunny's shoulder, "How long ago was that?"
"She was 14 and I believe it was March." Bunny sighed to herself as the smile on her face stretched further across, "Ah, good times."
Voight shoved his fists into his leather jacket, "That was two months before I gave you my card."
"What card?" Erin looked around uncomprehendingly.
His head shook, "Forget about it."
Lindsay pulled her hand out of her mother's tight and protective hold. She clasped her hands together and leaned back against the pillow, "I appreciate you all coming to see me, but right now I need to be with my mom...this is a family matter."
"We ARE your family!" Jay couldn't contain himself, "I'm your HUSBAND!" He tried to stand back and allow the doctor to review Erin, and hopefully fix whatever happened, but at the mention of her saying her mother was family, and implying that they weren't, broke his heart. She ended all contact with her mother. She terminated all contact with anyone close to her mother or that life she had before Voight took her under his wing.
Erin looked to her mother in a panic, "What?" Her eyes soon fell upon her left hand, and wrapped tightly around her ring finger was a beautiful wedding band, "What? No, what is going on? This can't be happening!"
Jay approached his wife as she struggled to comprehend exactly what everyone was telling her. Here she thought she was a fourteen year old girl, but she soon found out she was a grown woman married to an attractive man.
"Two months ago, a dump truck hit us on our anniversary," he wanted to take her hand in his, but he knew it would be too much for her. She barely comprehended as is. "You went…you went through the windshield." Recounting the events of that night was always hard for him. While he didn't see her go through, he could picture it, and it broke him physically and emotionally. The pain she must have felt as they waited for help prevented him from sleeping at night.