CHAPTER 10

Thanks a lot, a lot for the reviews. You motivate me to complete this story.

Disclaimer : I do not own Chicago PD. A few lines in this chapter were borrowed from a deleted Chicago PD scene.

Erin walked the length of the cell back and forth to calm her nerves. She tried to think of what her next move should be for every possible reality. If Jay agreed to do what Reed wanted him to do, should she let him do it?, won't he be putting the lives of many more just to save her?. But she knew she had to trust Jay. He was not a sentimental fool, he was a trained soldier, a ranger, a cop, a detective who had faced many more adversities. He was able to get his life together when he came back to normal life after war, even after suffering from PTSD. She just had trust his decision. But that would be possible only if he was alive. Whose blood is it on the floor?

Erin was avoiding the pool of blood so far, but now she stood up in front of it. If this blood belongs to Jay, then he went down fighting so Erin made up her mind. What ever she had to face next, she was going to honor Jay and his relentless dedication to always save his people. She was not going to go down without a fight and probably take them down with her too.

As if some higher force answered her wish, she heard the sounds of footsteps and she ran to the cell door. She felt the cloud in her head disappear when she saw Jay walking towards her, healthily. He gave her a faint smile as the cell door closed behind him and Erin wasted no time hugging him in a tight embrace. He returned it in kind. As they ended their embrace Jay still held her by her elbows looking in to her red rimmed tear filled eyes. What on earth made her cry? he wondered.

"I thought I lost you" Erin said trying her best to halt her sobs. "Whose blood is that?"

"Aaah! I totally forgot about that" Jay said regret washing over him. She had been crying and it was his fault. He should have known she would panic when she woke up alone to a pool of blood, not that he could have performed any janitorial acts, but still he could have done something, he thought.

"Come on, sit down" He said as he guided her to sit down next to him. The cold stone wall supported their backs and she held her head on his shoulder.

" That belonged to Reed" Jay said and Erin reacted just as he expected. She shot her head up in disbelief." I'm thinking, you are responsible for that"

"yep, he just had to run his mouth," Jay replied nonchalant never mentioning what Reed actually implied upon seeing Erin's sleeping figure. It sent chills down his spine even thinking about it.

"what happened afterwards, where were you, did they hurt you? Erin bombarded him with questions, her eyes searching him for any injuries.

"I didn't just take him out out of rage, he was one too many in our bid to win this game. So now that he isn't around, one less problem to bother about"

"Did you kill him?" Erin dead panned.

No...geez Erin," Jay said "how cold hearted do you think I am?" he asked but Erin did not reply instantly. She knew the gravity of the situation they were in. So Jay started to justify himself. " I'm sure all he has is one serious concussion" "...that might kill him." he added .

Erin hummed. "Okay, about what happened afterwards?"

"I agreed to get them what they wanted, I was planning how to's ... with... them" Jay stuttered clearly knowing Erin will not be in favor of his decision.

"You what, tell me you didn't actually mean it" Erin sat facing him, she had to see him clearly to make sure he was still sane considering the nonsense he was telling her now. "You should have just left me to die Jay..."

" listen to me patiently now" Jay said as he took her hands. " tonight I'm going to the lab and get the remaining piece of the bomb. They had the transport already arranged, Reed had not changed the security settings of the lab which my team arranged before we left to Syria and I know the timings and weak points security. In fact if there is one person who can do it, it would absolutely be only me"

Erin gazed at him incredulously. Jay should be out of his mind if he is teaming up with the very people who are going to destroy Chicago just to prove a point. But Jay had pleaded to listen patiently, so she waited for him to finish.

Jay took a deep breath , a sigh and he started in hush tone again. "Once all the pieces are here, they will need at least two days to figure out things and connect all three parts. Its buying more time for the military and for our team if they are looking for us. Then, if that too doesn't work, they will still need my password, my retina scan and my palm scan to activate the bomb. "

" And you wont give them that, will you" Erin asked. She feared even to think what would happen afterwards. And without a doubt she knew it will end their lives in a very brutal way. But she dare not give away her fears because it would only put more pressure on Jay.

Jay shook his head to say no. Ultimately it was all in his hands. "I will use the kill password to kill the bomb, it will destroy all the circuitry without asking for a confirmation, after that what ever happens 'Chicago' will be safe."

Erin noticed how Jay omitted the topic of what would happen to 'them'. She leaned on to him again and felt a strange settled feeling. At least her near future was clear now. There was no more uncertainty. They were together and they had a plan. They were very well aware that the plan could go wrong but even then their ultimate goal will be achieved.

"I wouldn't help them bring all the pieces together unless it is the only way we could buy time, because I really want the military to have this specimen of a pulse bomb. When we infiltrated the Syrian base we found our scientists but we never got hold of the Syrian scientists who worked with them, what if they build another pulse bomb like this. Studying this specimen will be invaluable to learn how to detect and defuse such a bomb."

"I understand why you are doing this, I do,l... but, Jay this is crazy dangerous" Erin said as she cuddled more in to his warmth. How on earth are you going to bypass the security measures? I saw the lab a few days ago. Its super protected." Erin protested. This time she was unable to hide her dismay.

"I know, but I have a plan, I've learnt a few things when I was stationed at Brazil for six months that will come in handy. We shall see."

"Still your plan doesn't make me feel better" She complained playfully. But she couldn't disregard the risk Jay was taking. All because he couldn't watch her suffocate.

"If I get out of the lab alive tonight... " Jay paused wondering if it was the right moment to bring up the topic of living together. But he was really in need of a distraction. Erin was so close, her signature smell overpowered his smell of sweat, grime and blood. He knew he smelled bad, but Erin was having none of it hanging on to him like a life line.

"I know I'm asking this for the second time and I want you to be fully honest. Would you mind considering moving in with me " Jay asked. He wanted to stop himself from asking that. It wasn't fair for her to ask her opinion on such a matter when she was emotionally compromised. But Jay would be in a suicidal mission in a few hours and he couldn't deal with the fact how she hasn't responded to him about moving in with him. He had to know before he left. He had to know what he meant for her.

Erin closed her eyes in disappointment with herself. She knew she loved him with every fiber of her being and she wanted him to move in with her. Hell.. she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him...if she will have one !. She had to tell him, it was now or never.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought that up now" Jay said regretting his decision upon her silence. "I should have known you were silent because..."

But Jay's sentence were cut short by Erin.

"Jay, I Love You"

There.. she said it.

"Huh..." was Jay's immediate response.

"What were you thinking hot guy, that I would let you of the hook so easily" Erin played around. But that was not enough to convince Jay.

"Erin, you don't have to say that or decide to move in with me because of the pressure of the situation we are in" He said to the darkness of the room, not really looking at her.

"Jay, the least you can do when a girl says she loves you is 'look at her",Erin complained. "The only reason I took sometime was because I wanted to be sure about which option was better. I already have a mortgage, so I want you to move in with me. We can double up and pay it back in like 5 years, so you don't have to go for a fresh mortgage"

"You never cease to surprise me Erin" Jay said turning to her. Now fully aware of her motive, he really knew in fact that she loved him. He pulled her on to his lap and she sat comfortably, her arms around his neck, her gray eyes meeting his greens in the amber of the dimly lit room.

"But then you'll have to wake up in the middle of the night when I have bad dreams" He said his own hands cradling around her protectively.

"well, I sleep with six pillows so you might feel walled, I'm the cuddly type"

" I already know that, and I'm gonna tell you now, and I'm gonna tell you this in two years maybe in ten years, 'girl, do your thing!" Jay teased.

"You are amazing" Erin exclaimed.

" I know that!" , he took her face between his palms and gave her a soft kiss on her lips and placed another one on her forehead. They fell in to a comfortable silence feeling a little light hearted.

"So you agreed to risk your life just so you could save me, buy me two more days?". She questioned. So many scenarios ran in her head all at once, What if Jay get caught, they already think he is involved with the bad guys, what if he injures himself, what if..did he even consider what would happen to him?

"why would you take such a great risk Jay, this plan sounds ...deadly, I mean.. why take so much risk" She turned her fears and bewilderment in to words.

"For you, I would Erin" He said simply. "For you I would".