Hello guys

thank you for your reviews/favoring the story. It means a lot to me, really. Here comes my 4. chapter. I hope you'll like it … Jay telling Voight about his daughter and well, Hank is not amused! Have fun and don't forget to review :P Maybe you can tell me what you would like to read in this story. The next two chapters I have already in my mind.

Thank you to my beta Zoe for your help.

See you guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Careless, selfish and stupid

Jay didn't sleep well that night. Not because of Elora, no she slept soundly through the night. He was awake because all he could think about was what happened before they had to go to hospital. Jay's stomach twisted. He could still feel Erin's lips on his, still smell her perfume and taste her lipstick. God, he was dying to kiss her again. He wanted to lay next to her every night and every morning. She drove him crazy. But he knew it wasn't that easy. Of course Erin knew about Elora now, but in Jay's eyes it didn't really change anything. He was still a father. They were still partners. She was still Voight's daughter or something like that.

Also he couldn't stop thinking about what he was going to do in the morning. He wanted to stop by the district and tell Voight the truth, that he had a daughter and needed a couple of days off while she got better. He had to tell him. He had no choice. He should have done it a long time ago but hadn't been brave enough. He was scared of being kicked out of the unit or not even being allowed to join in the first place. But Jay knew how dumb he'd been. He should have known he couldn't hide his daughter and Erin was right they had to know about her.

It was nearly ten o'clock and Jay still hadn't shown up. Erin glanced between the clock and the stairs nervously. Why hadn't he shown up? Had he changed his mind? Or had Elora deteriorated in the night?

"Does anybody know if there is something wrong with Halstead?" Voight asked his team, standing in the door of his office to see if Jay had arrived yet. Everyone shook their heads, Erin glancing at the stairs once again. It wasn't like Halstead to not show up at work without a message. They were all a little bit worried about him and just as Erin had lifted her phone to ring him, he ran up the stairs. She sighed in relief but his facial expression made her nervous. He looked worried. Maybe something had really happened to Elora?

Halstead was more nervous than he had ever been in his life. He had spent thirty minutes sat in the car, envisioning different scenarios of Voight's reaction when he told him. His heartbeat sped up, palms growing sweaty.

"Halstead." Voight greeted, ready to reprimand him for being late but he noticed that something was wrong with his detective.

Jay exchanged a short look with Erin, before he turned to his boss. "I need a few days off."

The man frowned. "What?"

"I need a few days off please" Jay repeated himself, feeling the gazes of his coworkers turn to him.

Hank blinked, crossing his arms over his chest as he raised an eyebrow.

"You really think that you can come in late and have the nerve to ask me for a few days off?"

Jay sighed. "Please Voight. I...I really need them." He begged.

Everybody looked at him. He didn't know why but Jay found himself afraid to talk to his boss about Elora. He knew that he couldn't change anything and that he had to tell Hank about her but it still scared him.

"Why?" Hank asked the younger man, following him in surprise as he passed by him, letting himself into Hank's office. Jay wanted to tell Voight first before everyone else that he was a father. He knew that Hank's wrath would be worse if he found out from someone else.

The sergeant closed the door behind him, looking at Jay in anticipation. It had to be big if Jay was making such an effort to keep it to himself.

Jay sighed quietly. He could feel his nervousness growing, his palms getting sweatier by the second. The man licked his lips before he spoke. "I need a few days off because," He took a breath, "Because my four year old daughter is ill."

Voight blinked. He hadn't expected to hear that from his detective. Had Halstead really just said that he had a daughter? No he had to have heard him wrong. If Jay had a daughter he would know about her. He had made Jin had checked every aspect of Halstead's background when he joined the unit.

"Excuse me?"

Jay pressed his lips together, clearing his throat as he tried to avoid Voight's piercing stare.

"I need a couple of days off because my daughter has Scarlet Fever and I'm have no one else to look after her. I just need to time off until she's less contagious and the babysitter can look after her again." Halstead explained, the fact that Voight didn't move, didn't even blink made Jay all that more nervous.

Hank glanced at Halstead carefully. So his detective wanted to take a few days off because he had an ill daughter at home? A daughter, he had heard right. Voight nodded his head slowly.

"So just so I'm absolutely sure, you want to take a couple of days off..."

"Three, four max." Jay interrupted but Hank ignored him.

"...because you have a daughter who's ill?"

Jay nodded.

"Since when?" Voight asked and Jay knew that he wasn't asking how long she'd been ill. Hank wanted to know how long Jay had been hiding the fact that he had a daughter. He'd never heard Jay mention her, hell he didn't even know that Jay had a girlfriend.

"She's four years old but she's been in my custody since for the last two years. Her mom left her on my doorstep...I didn't know anything about her until I found her that day." Jay's heart pounded hard in his chest. He had told him. He'd told Voight that he had a daughter. It was out now in the open and even if he wanted to take it back he couldn't. It hadn't been as hard as he thought it was, even though he knew the consequences of hiding it were still to come.

He thought Voight had taken it well but the he noticed Hank's facial expression hardening. "When were you going to tell me about her?"

Halstead's heart sank. He knew that it would be too good to be true that Hank had just accepted it and was just going to let him go home to her. Jay shrugged slowly. "I honestly don't know"

"You don't know" Voight repeated him, voice growing louder. He couldn't believe Halstead could sit there and tell him he had a daughter and expect him to just accept it.

"Have you ever thought about what would happen if you got hurt during an operation? Or worse? Don't you understand how careless, selfish and stupid you've been by not telling me? If I knew that you were a father Halstead..."

"Then you wouldn't let me join the unit. Not after what happened to Jules."Jay cut his boss off and even when he knew Hank was right, he had been to scared of being rejected from the unit if he had told Voight. And being part of Intelligence was something Jay had wanted for a long time, had spent his career working towards.

"You're damn right Halstead!" Voight yelled, "Or at least I wouldn't let you put yourself in all those dangerous situations during undercover operations because I knew there was a little girl depending on you to come home. You should have told me Halstead. I've told you not to go over my head." Voight said harshly.

"I didn't. Well not exactly." Jay yelled back.

"Sure you did son! You never thought what would happen to her if anything had happened to you. If you'd died, did you?" You- dead and none of us knowing that you had a daughter who needed taking care of."

"You wouldn't have to." Jay said, which just made Hank more angry.

"Of course we would have Jay. You are a part of this unit. A part of this family and so is she. Of course we would have taken care of her if something ever happened to you!" Voight shouted. He never thought Jay could be so egotistical. That he would hide something like this from both him and this unit.

Jay swallowed, staring at his boss' angry face. They just stared at each other waiting for the other to speak.

"I'm sorry." Halstead started, "You're right. I...I should have told you about Elora in the first place and I know that my reasons for not telling you are beyond stupid. But I've told you now and...I'll be completely honest with you from now on, I promise. But now, I really need a few days off to take care of her because like I said before, I'm the only family she's got."

Voight ran a hand through his hair. He watched Halstead carefully and nodded. "I get it. Take as many days as you need."

"Thank you." Jay was about to leave the office when Voight called him back, using his first name. Something he rarely did until today.

"But Jay, you should tell the others. You aren't alone in this and if you need help, we're here for you." Hank told his detective who nodded thankfully. "I will...but I don't think today's the right time. I don't want to drop it on them and then disappear for a few days." Jay explained, honestly up sure of how to tell his colleagues about Elora. He had told Voight because she was ill and he was left with no other choice and Erin had found by accident. But what about the others?

Jay and Hank exchanged one last look before they both left the office, Jay throwing Erin a small smile as he left. Voight watched the younger man leave before he clapped his hands to gain the teams attention.

"So listen up guys. Halstead's taking a few personal days, which means we're one man down."

"Personal days?" Ruzek asked, frowning. "What does that mean?"

"That he's got something to take care of that's none of your business." Erin hissed, glaring at her coworker.

"Thank you Lindsay, I never thought about that." Adam replied sarcastically but before Erin could retort, Voight reprimanded them.

There was a ring at the door. Jay stood in the kitchen making dinner, listening as Elora's feet pounded against the floor as she ran to answer it. "Don't open the door honey." He yelled, turning the stove down before hurrying after his daughter. He found her at the door, fingers already on the doorknob. "Elora." Jay hissed but it was too late. His daughter had already opened the door to reveal a shocked Antonio Dawson stood on their doorstep.

"Ummm.." Dawson started, never expecting a little girl to open the door to him. He glanced from the little blonde girl to his colleague who looked as shocked as he was.

Jay's heart sank. Of course it would be one of his colleagues on the other side of the door. Of course Elora would open the door, throwing him into a situation that he wasn't prepared for.

Antonio cleared his throat, trying to put his thoughts straight. "Hey Halstead. I...I was wondering if you needed to talk. You seemed pretty worried this morning and ummm..." Dawson's eyes flew back to the little girl in front of him who just happened to have the same eyes as Jay. He forgot what he had come here to talk to Halstead about. He was in complete shock.

Halstead sighed, frustrated. He knew this day would come but he hadn't expected it to come this quickly.

"Thank you." Jay said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Antonio, umm, would you like to come in."

Elora nodded. "Daddy's making us spaghetti." She squealed, clapping her hands.

Dawson shook his head. "Oh no, no...I...I don't want to disturb you. I..."

"Tony come in and have some dinner with us," Jay insisted, because he knew that Antonio wanted to know what he had just stumbled across. That he had a hundred questions just like Erin had the other night. After a short hesitation Antonio stepped into the apartment, letting the small girl pull him by the hand down the hallway. Knowing that he would leave the apartment with a different picture of the man he brought into intelligence.