Hey guys! Thank you for the response to the last chapter. I really appreciate it. I hope you continue to read and review as it really inspires me. I hope you enjoy this chapter...please be honest and tell me what you think.

Chapter 9

Erin stumbled out of her bedroom, still dressed in yesterday's clothes; her hair in a tangled mess. Her head was throbbing and the bright sunlight was stinging her eyes. She had no idea how she got home; she was just relieved she was fully dressed; at least she knew she didn't hook up with anyone.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed a familiar figure standing in her kitchen; cooking what smelt like fresh coffee, bacon and eggs. "Jay!" She exclaimed; her hands automatically reached up as she tried to smooth down her bed head, failing miserably.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind but I crashed on your couch." Jay replied, turning on the faucet to fill a glass with water.

"You could have taken the guest bedroom." Erin replied, cautiously sliding onto the stool at her breakfast bar; she was struggling to even look down; her head hurt so much.

"I thought the couch was better; just in case you needed something in the middle of the night." Jay replied, sitting two pain killers and a glass of water in front of her.

"Thanks." She muttered; relieved that he hadn't set a glass of Bobbi's green goop in front of her. She tossed the tablets and water into her mouth. Suddenly, how she got home flashed through her mind; from him struggling to get her out of Molly's and into the car; to carrying her out of the car and up the three flights of stairs (as the elevator is broke) into her apartment and her bed.

Now she was definitely relieved she was fully dressed and he hadn't attempted to change her into her pyjamas. She hadn't exactly selected her best underwear yesterday and well, if Jay was ever going to see her in her underwear, she at least wanted them to match.

She also remembered how she broke down and told him about Teddy and why she was ashamed. She felt her cheeks beginning to burn; last night was so embarrassing; thankfully Bobbi wasn't there to witness it. Then she remembered about Bobbi...Jay hadn't made it home; he had stayed over in another female's home. Granted it was the couch but still, it was a lot to ask a girlfriend to understand.

"Um, does Bobbi know you're here?" She asked; watching Jay flip the eggs.

"Yep, she'll cover for us with Voight." Jay replied.

"Shit! What time is it?" Erin asked, jumping before quickly sitting back down again as the room spun slightly around her. "Ow." She groaned.

"We're not late yet...but we will be by the time you shower and change and I have to stop by my place for a change of clothes." Jay replied. "Don't worry...Bobbi will have it handled; she's great at bullshitting. The Morealli's called her late last night, they're going with Marty Wilkes so she's gonna tell Voight we were doing some scouting for possible locations for the handover."

"I guess that's plausible." Erin agreed.

"Bobbi is the best at covering for others...probably because she always gets herself in those type of situations herself." Jay replied as he began buttering the toast.

Erin looked on, wondering where all this food came from; she was lucky if she gave herself a Pop Tart or a doughnut for breakfast. "So Bobbi knows you stayed over?" Erin asked again, for clarification.

"Yes, she knows I slept on the couch." Jay replied, looking confused; had she bumped her head last night without him realising.

"Wow...she's a really understanding..." Erin paused, searching for the right word. "...'friend'." She couldn't bring herself to say 'girlfriend'.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jay agreed, casually.

"I guess that's why you could forgive her so easily." Erin said without thinking.

"Forgive her?" Jay questioned, serving the eggs and bacon onto a plate.

Erin closed her eyes; realising what she said. She opened her eyes. "Sorry, Bobbi let it slip about how your um...partnership ended." Again, she couldn't bring herself to say 'relationship'. "I guess you were pretty understanding too...I don't know if I could work with a ex who abandoned me without saying goodbye, for someone else."

Jay sat the two plates of eggs, bacon and toast down. He then sat down two cups of coffee. "Erin, she fell in love." Jay replied, walking around the breakfast bar to take the seat beside Erin. "Yes, I had my issues but she had the strength to walk away and come back."

"She must be pretty special." Erin stated. She couldn't believe Jay could easily forgive and forget like that. He must have never stopped loving her.

"Me and Bobbi, it's always been..." Jay began.

"...complicated. I know." Erin interrupted. "I just don't see why."

"I met Bobbi, probably when I was at my lowest." Jay replied. "I had just left the military; I knew I was heading to the Academy so I didn't even bother looking for a place so I just moved around my friend's couches. I didn't really know where I belonged anymore...I had seen things, things my old friends would never understand. I was hoping becoming a cop would give me that feeling...a feeling of belonging."

Erin nodded. She knew that feeling; it was what she needed and found from being part of Voight's family and from being a cop. Jay never really talked about his tour of duty and she never asked; it was kind of their unwritten rule. She didn't want to say anything; she wanted him to know she was there to listen, if needed.

"So when I finally get to my dorm at the Academy, I find this bubbly red head in my room...the ultimate party girl; the complete opposite of any of my friends. I couldn't believe what I was stuck with and was counting down the days until the clerical error was corrected." Jay continued. "But I guess, she was just what I needed; suddenly I was loving life and having fun again; the darkness of what I had experienced with the Rangers was suddenly balanced and when I had the odd dark day, she took whatever I threw at her and supported me."

Erin nodded. She remembered the time she had asked Jay how her dealt with what happened in Afghanistan; he told her he took it out on the people that didn't deserve it; the people closest to him; that person was Bobbi.

"Anyway, suffice to say, when the clerical error was cleared up, Bobbi and I refused to be separated...and by that stage, the guys were used to her being in the dorms; she was one of us. We lived together right until she took off for New York." Jay continued. "As soon as we graduated; we found a place together as we heard we had been placed in the same District, District 6 and the cherry on the cake was we were assigned each other as partners. I loved every day in uniform with her...until the day we found Ben Corson's body."

"She was your partner then too." Erin muttered; for some reason, she had always thought Jay was a Detective the time of Ben's murder. She could see Jay's eyes glaze over. She reached over and squeezed his hand.

"Yeah; that was pretty dark time." Jay sighed. "She knew my connection to the Corsons, she'd often come with me when I went to visit them. Because we knew the family, we were assigned as their family liaison officers; we weren't allowed to investigate the case. To be honest, she didn't just have to comfort and manage the Corsons, she had to comfort and manage me too. She took a lot on during that case...she wasn't the same after it, it took a little piece of her fun and mischievous personality with her...but she was still a tower of strength for me."

"Jay, I'm sorry that you had to go through that...that you both had to." Erin stated. She couldn't help but wonder what Jay was like before that case; Jay talked about how it changed Bobbi, but Erin was sure it changed him too...probably let a lot of the darkness that Bobbi has helped him overcome return.

"It's the past now." Jay sighed. "We got through it."

Erin nodded. "You and Bobbi really do have a complicated past." She said. "I can see now how you can't walk away but you must have been so hurt when she left."

"I understood why she went yes, but a little advance notice and a goodbye would have been nice." Jay stated. "I thought what we shared was worth that."

"At least." Erin added. Jay gave a small smile.

"C'mon...we need to finish eating and get a move on." Jay stated, trying to lift the mood. "As good as Bobbi is at lying, she can't cover us forever."

"Okay." Erin replied with a small smile. She watched as Jay continued eating.

"What? Have I something on my face?" Jay asked, taking a napkin and cleaning around his mouth.

"No...I..." Erin paused. "I just wanted to say thanks for sharing that with me. I know it mustn't have been easy."

"You shared a little bit of yourself with me last night." Jay replied. "I thought I should repay the gesture."

"Well I appreciated it." Erin replied.

"I know." Jay said. "I did too." They shared a small smile and continued eating.

To be continued...