Chapter Ten - Step One, You say we Need to Talk (How to Save a Life - The Fray)

"What the hell Jay." Erin said as she finally got up from her desk and followed him into the break room.

Jay did not batter an eye towards her, he just stood at the counter and continued to pour sugar into his coffee.

"Hello earth to Jay Halstead." She said running a hand in front of his face as he continued to ignore her antics.

"Fine, you know what? You leave me no choice." Erin said as she took a step closer towards him, stepping behind, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Now is not the time nor the place Lindsay." He said as he pulled her hands away from him.

"So he does still speak." She said fanning astonishment as she took a step back.

"Yeah, I do. A lot, but you don't ever listen. Now if you'll excuse me we have a psychopath killer to try an find and put behind bars." He told her as he stepped around her, not making eye contact.

"Jay, wait." She said as she grabbed his free wrist "I need you to look at me." She said as she turned him around to face her, her hand going up to his chin and turning it towards her.

"Look at me." She said, finally catching his eye.

"I have been looking at you Erin, I have never stopped looking at you. It has been you that won't look at me."

"I know. I was... I was in a dark place, but I am better now, getting there anyways."

"I know."

"You know? How could you-? Voight." She said as a lightbulb went off.

Jay let out a sigh "I had to keep tabs on you somehow..."

"That lying son of a bitch." Erin gritted as Jay looked at her with a curious face, his eyebrow raised. "It's a long story..." She breathed out as she heard the door

next to the break room open.

"Erin! Let's go!" Voight said as he stuck his head into the room.

"Yeah! Be right there." She yelled to Voight who was walking down the stairs, before turning back around to her partner in front of her "Jay, could we talk sometime? If you're open to it anyways?"

"I don't know Erin..." He breathed out, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You know what, forget about it." She said, her voice cracking as she turned to walk away.

"No. Bab-Erin, wait." Jay said as he grabbed her wrist, turning her back around "Let's talk, say my place at seven?"

"I will have to clear it with the Warden, but it shouldn't be a problem. See you then?"

"See you then."

He leaned against the door frame, watching her as she walked down the stairs. He made his way back to his desk, but not before hearing footsteps make their way up the stairs. He just assumed that it was Olinsky or Antonio making their way back in, but he was taken by surprise when he felt someone throw their arms around his shoulders. Immediately, he knew who it was, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I've missed you." She surprised both him and herself, as she mumbled into his chest before pulling away and making her way back down the stairs.

"So, how long have you and Lindsay..." Ruzek said, turning in his chair to face Jay.

"We're not. Not now anyway." Jay mumbled as he sat down, returning his attention to the file in front of him.

"...not now... So there was a thing?"

"Don't you have something you should be doing Ruzek, like I don't know maybe your job?"

"Multitasking. It's all a part of the package." Ruzek grinned "Hey, Dawson! You totally owe me half of two weeks' pay." He beamed as the older detective made his way to his desk.

"You were betting on us?" Jay said annoyed.

"Well... More like wagering half of a two weeks' paycheck to whoever was right.."

"Right about what?"

Ruzek stood up and handed a yellow note pad over to Jay. "Look on the back."

Jay took the book and began thumbing through the paper, until he reached the cardboard back where he seen different things scribbled in Adams illegible handwriting in black ink.

Bet: Halstead and Lindsay

Wager: Half of Two weeks Salary

Adam: Date. Gets Caught. Breaks up.

Antonio: Date. Gets Caught. Stays together.

Kevin: Date. Gets Caught. Voight kills Jay.

Kim: Date. Gets Caught. Ignores Voight. Voight transfers Jay out.

Alvin: Date. Gets caught. Breaks up. Ignores Voight. Gets back together.

"I cannot believe..."

"Listen, for what it's worth, that is the shortened version of the bet and I will use my money to buy you all the beer you can drink at Molly's." Ruzek said as he walked over and patted Jay on the back.

"Sorry man, but that won't be happening." Jay laughed.

"What."

"You didn't win. Olinsky did."

"What do you mean Al won?" Ruzek asked, pulling the note pad from Jays hand. His eyes quickly read over what Olinsky had put, "No. No way. There is no way that you guys are together after the war that we just witness happen between the two of you."

Jay couldn't help but shake his head and let out a small laugh, he wasn't sure what had just happened either but he hoped that them talking to one another would get everything straightened out.

As the late afternoon grew into early evening, they finally had a promising lead on the location of the psychopathic killer, and needing to wrap up some loose ends and gets some more details, they decided to close in on the location early tomorrow morning.

"Guys, I am gonna go on and head out since we have to be here early tomorrow. Later." Jay said as he grabbed his things, walking down the stairs a few minutes before six.

Jay walked across the street and to his car, jumping in and taking off towards his apartment, the smile that had been there all afternoon never fading.

XXXXXXXX

'I hope this looks ok.' Erin thought to herself as she looked into the full length mirror on the back of the bedroom door. She had spent the last thirty minutes deciding on what to wear, before she ultimately decided on a red shirt, a dark pair of blue jeans and her favorite pair of shoes, her hair was down in loose curls, and her makeup minimal as she grabbed her phone and wallet, opening the door and descending the staircase.

"Hank?" Erin asked as she noticed he wasn't in his chair in the living room, and she heard no noise coming throughout the house.

"In the kitchen."

"Hey." She said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"Going somewhere?" He asked as he glanced up from the vegetables he was slicing at the counter.

"Actually yes, I was wondering if you could take me over to Halsteads."

She heard Voight let out a small sigh, as he placed the knife down on the kitchen counter, finally looking at her directly.

"Erin..."

"Hank. No. Don't start." Erin said, putting her hand in the air to stop him from taking this conversation in the direction she knew it was heading.

"Ok." he said as he sat across from her, waiting for her to continue.

"I may be living under your roof, but I am thirty years old, long gone is the sixteen year old you took off the street and because of that I will forever be in your debt, but I told you once and I will tell you again, you cannot tell me who I can and cannot hang out with on my personal time."

"I know."

"I mean, I am in therapy like you wanted and we actually made progress today, I told her-. You know?"

"Yes Erin, I know."

"How'd you?..."

"I was a detective you know, I've seen the way you look at each other, it's the same way me and Camille used to look at each other. I just want you to be happy Erin and I was wrong-"

"Repeat that."

"You heard me. When I found out you and Halstead were sneaking around behind my back, I put a stop to it, and I wish I didn't for multiple reasons that I might get around to telling you one day."

"Really Hank?"

"What?"

"What changed your mind?"

Voight let out a sigh, "I was in the abandoned factory that day."

"I mean I would hope so, someone had to arrest the guy since he jumped through a freaking window and ran, and then you had to fill out the paperwork on what happened to me and-."

"No Erin, I was there just before you died, I heard everything you told him.."

"Oh.."

"So do you love him or were you just saying that because you thought that you were dying?"

"Is this a trick question?"

Voight reached into his pocket, and pulled out a set of keys, "Here, your car's out front."

"Thank you." She said accepting the keys.

"And just so you know, you do have a curfew."

"But-"

"Because I need you to be well rested for work tomorrow, desk duty, eight a.m."

"Really?"

"Really." He confirmed as she pulled him into a hug. "Now, get going, be back by one."

Erin quickly made her way out of the house and to her car, she hoped in and couldn't help but smile as she drove over to Jay's apartment, jamming out to the Sam Smith hit blaring over the radio.