Ch 8
In the two weeks that had past since Jay had left for Afghanistan, things had slowly gone back to normal at home and at the District, despite Jay not being there.
Erin had made peace with Jay being on active duty. Just as Jay had done so with him being away with Erin.
Erin had been appointed a new partner, one she had been ever so excited for, Burgess. They were like
Charlie's Angels, as Ruzek had called them.
Erin had been having a great time with Kim. Both finding a new found confidence within themselves from working together. Erin even letting Burgess drive. Their last case had been the most intense, yet heart racing. A series of extensive car chases through the back streets of downtown Chicago. And shootouts in warehouses, of which she had been extremely careful.
Although a lot of the Unit wouldn't admit it, they missed Jay too. It wasn't the same without him.
Jay had been doing as well as he could have expected given the circumstances. He hadn't seen much action, which he was glad about. It was more security and protection details for women and children.
At sixteen weeks, Erin had begun to show, but still as petite as ever. She didn't look like a lot of other women who were that far along but that was to be expected, her doctor had assured her that it was perfectly normal for someone of her level of fitness and body type. The rest of her body was still and taut and toned as before despite her growing abdomen and boobs.
It had been a bittersweet moment for her when she had finally begun to show. It made her ecstatic to be able to see her and Halstead's baby, growing inside her. But made her upset, he was supposed to be here. She knew this was the first of many moments like that, the things he would miss out on.
A huge grin was brought to her face that night as she heard the sound of her MacBook ringing whilst making dinner. Placing the knife down on the bench she sprinted across her hardwood living room floor to the ringing.
"Accept video chat from Jay Halstead?" The screen read. Erin giggled with excitement as she immediately clicked accept.
Jays face appeared, he was smiling that boyish grin, ear to ear. He sighed as her face appeared on his too.
"Erin. You have no idea how good it is to see you. I've missed you. Two weeks without seeing your face is two weeks too long." He was tired looking, his hair not styled as it usually was. He was a lot more rugged than usual, but it suited him. It was shorter than it was when he left. But there he was, the man she loved more than anything, dressed in his camoflague military uniform. And if that was all she could see of him, then she would be more than appreciative of that. "How are you? How is everything!?"
"Everything's great. We're great." Erin's nose crinkled as she smiled. That was one of the little mannerisms he loved, the way her nose crinkled when she smiled. She rubbed her stomach as she talked with him.
"How's my other baby?" He asked, his husky voice filled with excitement.
Erin pushed her chair out from the desk and stood up so Jay could see her upper body, turning her body side to side so he could see her properly.
Jay was somewhat speechless. She had changed so much yet so little. She seemed more confident in her body than usual, although she was never self conscious, she felt proud to show herself off. Her boobs were noticeably bigger, she had never really had much to begin with.
"You look so amazing baby. I can't believe how much you've changed in two weeks. How are you feeling?" He continued as Erin sat back down at the desk. "I feel great. No morning sickness. My boobs are huge, you have no idea. I actually had to go shopping yesterday to buy new bras."
Jay winked at her. "Damn. I only wish I could be there to cop a feel." He laughed, teasing her. He wanted to make light of the fact that he couldn't be there.
"You're disgusting. You know that!?" She shook her head, it was good to have a simple silly moment with him. She knew he wasn't being serious. It was what she needed. It was what he needed. "Anyway. The doctor says that this little guy is really healthy, developing as they should be. The doctor says I should start to be able to feel them move within the next month or so."
Jay stared at Lindsay with admiration, she had a hint of sadness in her eyes but he was rapt that she was so overjoyed with this pregnancy.
For two hours they talked about Jays new life in Afghanistan, his protection and security detail with the women and children of the villages. The massacres he had responded to a few days back at a school. He had confided to Erin about how it brought back horrific memories from his last tour.
Erin recounted the details of all the cases that they had investigated over the last two weeks. She told him about having Burgess as her new partner and how much she enjoyed it, though it wasn't like it was with him.
Erin relayed all the details about Burgess and Ruzeks upcoming wedding. It reminded her about how much she hated the unnecessary stress over weddings. Unfortunately, she had been drawn the short straw. Made of honour. Erin didn't mind, considering it was going to be quite a small wedding. But it was uncessary stress on Burgess, Ruzek and everyone else involved none the less.
They weren't getting married for another eight months but it felt like there was so much left to do before the actual day.
The two talked for another half an hour before Halstead was called into a meeting by his Sargeant.
"Baby. I gotta go. Duty calls. I'll talk to you again as soon as I can. I love you both." He grinned, leaning in close to the web cam and kissing it.
"I love you too Jay. Stay safe." Erin finished, blowing a kiss towards the webcam.
"Bye baby."
It had been three weeks since Jay and Erin had talked properly, he had written to her, just as she had done for him. Swamped with a hard hitting case regarding a nasty relationship between a woman and her step children.
So had Jay, there had been mass hysteria concerning a terror group targeting the shelters housing innocent families caught in the cross fire. There had been talk of the group conspiring to blow up their main shelter base.
Jay and his men had frantically been evacuating the shelter for the last two days. The whole base of almost one thousand people had to be moved, to an undisclosed location a hundred miles away into the desert.
Emotions ran high through the whole base, women, men and children, sobbing, inconsolable as they were separated from their loved one back to safety. It was a difficult mission, time consuming nonetheless. The two buses could only transport just over a hundred people between them.
Jay watched as one of his men filled the next bus for transport, a man and his pregnant wife and their four children awaited their turn to board the bus.
"Only three spots left on the bus, max five if we want to make use of the already crammed space." His friend and comrade Jesse told the family.
It was hard for all of the soldiers to watch on as they were forced to divide families. After all, they all had people they loved and missed back home.
Jay imagined himself in that same position. Him deciding to leave Erin and their child behind to ensure their safety, wondering if he would ever get to see them again.
He would make that choice. No hesitation. No questions asked.
Jesse tapped the side of the bus as it departed, when Jay heard it. The ever fateful noise that he hadn't heard in years, came back to him within a fraction of a second.
The cloud of fiery smoke and sand came closer ever second, growing louder and louder each time. However Halstead seemed to quickly lose his hearing as it cascaded forward.
Before he had time to think, let alone move, the bellowing sound of the bombs exploding throughout the shelter came closer and closer.
The terrified screams of the people left behind with him inside one of the dormitories filled his ears as the mixture of sand and the orange light blinded Halstead.
It was then that he lost sight of everything happening around him as his ears rung out and a crushing weight pinned him to the floor. Before every thing around him went black.
A/N: I hope I haven't upset you all too much. Let me know what you think. I am close to finishing the next chapter so it should be up in the next few days.
Let me know what you want more of
