Hank Voight didn't enjoy hearing news like this, he really didn't want to be walking through the threshold of Chicago Med in search of a teenage girl, one who wanted nothing to do with him. Erin was curled up in a ball in the waiting room fast asleep. It wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last time she had to wait in the waiting room for news of her mother's condition. Voight knew she would be unpleased about hearing news from him but tonight he didn't care. He found her rather quickly, it was late and the waiting room had been filtered out until it was emptied. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder, hoping to wake her gently from her slumber.
Erin jumped, he had startled her to attention which was his intention, but she wasn't too impressed. "Why the hell are you here? You stalking me or something?" She asked him in annoyance as she rubbed her tired eyes. Her mom would be fine, she always was. Hank Voight didn't need to get himself involved in her business again.
Hank sat down next to her, arms crossing over his chest as he waited for her to be ready to hear what he had to say. He knew she wasn't going to like what he had to say, even if it would be far worse if Bunny had died, a part of him wished that were the case so Erin would have no choice in the matter, so she wouldn't fight so hard. "Your mom's going away for a while, rehab." He said carefully, turning towards her to search for her reaction, gage her thoughts somehow.
Erin simply shook her head. This has happened before and nothing ever changes. She will come home and start drinking again, shooting up within an hour of stepping foot inside their home. She didn't think it mattered how many times they sent her away, she would never change so what was the point? She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head more prominently this time. "Okay, so what? Do I get sent off to some group home until she comes back? Nice. A piece of cake. She'll be home in thirty days, I can make it until then, always do." She pointed out, reaching for her coat. There were no social workers in her line of sight but if Hank was here then she assumed that meant they were just around the corner. She didn't have much at home, so she didn't feel the need to go back there to fetch anything. All she needed was her phone and her jacket anyway.
Hank listened to her words, a frown across his brow. No kid should have to be this familiar with how the system worked, he hated that this was her reality. He's known Bunny for a long time, and Erin for a lot of it too. This wasn't something he wanted for her, which was why he was here. "No, you're not going to a group home. You're coming home with me Erin. My wife has already set up the spare room for you. You'll have your own space." He explained, watching as her face changed from confusion to annoyance.
"Is that even legal? Me coming home with you? You're not serious." She shook her head, finding him completely unbelievable. He was always worming his way into her life but this was beyond anything she would have imagined. There was no way in hell that she would go home with this nutjob. He was a stalker, a weirdo cop who thought he could fix her, he was wrong, nobody could fix her.
"Erin," Hank said softly, eyes still focused on the young woman in front of him. "It's either come home with me or go into a group home for young offenders, that's the only place available tonight. The kind that strip searches and has a strict curfew, not the kind you were in before." He explained, hoping she knew what she was up against here. It wasn't the same as it was when she was 12, the older she got, the less the system cared about putting her into a loving environment, and more they cared about keeping her off the streets.
Erin let out a long sigh and nodded her head. "Just for tonight." She told him, making herself very clear about where she stood. "I'm going to find my dad, then you won't have to stalk me anymore." She said to him, hoping that he would just leave her alone some day, hopefully, sooner rather than later.
"Okay." Voight agreed, standing up and patting himself down to find his phone. He messaged Camille, letting her know they were on their way. Erin needed a stable environment and maybe he could be strict at times, but so far Justin was doing okay, he wanted to give Erin a chance to change her life, turn it around so she wouldn't turn out the same way her mother has. He believed that she could do better than that, she was bigger and better than her circumstances.