A/N: Thank you guys so much for following this story with me. This was a very tough and emotional story for me to write but I am proud of how it came out. Here's the last chapter.


"Hey Jay?" Erin's voice was barely audible from where she was snuggled up in bed. They had been lying down for almost an hour but Jay knew that Erin wasn't asleep by her breathing pattern. He was staying awake in case she needed him.

"Yea baby?" Jay said in a concerned voice as he propped himself up on his elbows to be able to hear Erin better.

"I, I want you to sleep up here with me tonight." Jay strained his ears to make sure that he had heard Erin properly. His heart skipped a beat, afraid that she had said something else. He craved Erin and to be able to fully hold her in his arms again sounded like pure bliss.

"You want me to sleep in the bed with you?" Jay's voice was full of cautious optimism and awe at Erin's big step. He wondered if Erin picked up on the quiver of excitement in his voice.

"Yes." Erin clutched the blanket tighter to her chest. She had missed Jay being with her in bed and how secure she had always felt with him next to her. She wanted to have that comfort again and she was determined to try. Jay got to his feet and made his way over to his side of the bed.

"You sure?" Jay asked one more time as he paused with his hand reaching for the covers. He felt giddy inside, like a child being released in the candy store. Erin nodded as she inched back to make sure Jay had enough room. Jay slid in between the sheets, sighing with happiness. He flopped onto his back and folded his arms behind his back.

"Don't move, okay?" Erin asked meekly as she moved towards Jay slowly. Jay didn't dare to breathe as he waited for what Erin was going to do. She took a deep breath as she scooted a centimeter closer at a time until she was only a millimeter away from Jay. She swallowed hard and laid her hand on his chest before letting her head rest gently against his chest. Jay let out a sigh full of pure contentment.

"I'm so proud of you babe." Jay grinned in the darkness as he looked down proudly at Erin. She was so strong and resilient.

"Thanks." Erin felt a smile spreading over her own face. She heard Brett and Gabby's words echoing in her head that it would take time but it would return. "Can we just stay like this for a while?" She said as she moved her hand so it was on top of Jay's heart.

"Of course. We can stay like this as long as you like." Jay felt like he was on top of cloud nine as he laid there with Erin's head on his chest. It had been so long since they'd been able to cuddle like this. He hadn't even dared to let himself think about this happening again because he knew Erin needed time. He felt himself holding his breath again as Erin wiggled up closer before her face was next to Jay's. Jay very slowly turned his head. "Hi." He whispered as he gazed at Erin's beautiful face.

"Hi." Erin said back, biting her lower lip. She hesitated another moment before she kissed him. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it might fly out of her chest. She leaned forward and kissed Jay. Jay kept his hands laced behind his head as he returned the kiss. "I, I don't want to go further." She pulled back after a second.

"We will take this as slowly as you need. There is no rush. There is no pressure. I love you. You are the love of my life and I have all the patience in the world. I love you." Jay said and he meant it from the bottom of his heart. He never wanted Erin to feel pressured to do something she wasn't ready to do.

"I love you so much. I don't know what I did to deserve you but I just love you. Thank you." Erin had normally had such bad luck when it came to men. She didn't know where Jay had come from but she planned on never letting him go. It was almost half an hour before Jay felt Erin finally release the tension in her shoulders and she was able to relax. Jay felt himself drifting off to sleep, his heart feeling full with Erin cuddled up next to him. Everything felt right in the universe with Erin tucked in by his side.


"Are you ready?" Jay asked Erin quietly as he held his hand out to help her out of the car. Today was Erin's first day back to work and she had been extremely quiet all morning. He had listened to her toss and turn through the night but she had insisted she wanted to come. She nodded as she noticed her hands were shaking. She reached out and took Jay's hand, shoving her other hand deep in her jean's pocket. She kept a tight grip on his hand as they walked in.

"Hey Erin." Voight smiled as he walked out of his office. He watched as Jay walked Erin to her desk and pulled out her chair for her before going to sit at his own desk. He wanted to rush up and envelope Erin in a hug but he knew better. "You just let me know what you need." He'd always felt like a father to Erin and seeing her hurt like this heart ache.

"Thanks." Erin gave Voight a tiny smile before turning to look at the stacks of paperwork that had built up on her desk. It had been twenty-four weeks and three days since the incident and she knew she had to get back into a routine eventually, but the anxiety had been overwhelming and kept her out of work. She'd been working hard with Dr. Charles to control her anxiety and panic but it was hard when the rational part of her brain knew that it was just an invalid fear response, but the irrational part of her brain said that she should just curl up in a ball and never go anywhere again. She took a shaky breath as buried her head down in the paperwork.

"Hey, do you want to get some lunch?" Burgess asked as she approached Erin's desk. She knew that this had to be a tough day for Erin and thought she might want to get out for a little bit. Platt had told her to take an extended lunch break once Burgess had told her what she was doing.

"Yea!" Erin looked at the time and was startled to see that it was almost noon. She'd been working for almost three hours. She felt a genuine smile creeping over her face as she realized that she was starting to overcome her fears. She hadn't run from the building or had a panic attack. "Is that okay?" She asked Voight. Voight had just walked out to grab a cup of coffee and had paused when he saw Burgess.

"Of course! Take your time." Voight was thrilled that Erin had a smile on her face. He had spent most of the morning watching her and making sure she was handling the day okay. He had tried to get her to agree to do a half day shift, but she had been dead set on being here for the full day. Erin nodded her gratitude and grabbed her coat. She gave Jay a wave before following Burgess down the stairs.

"How are you doing?" Voight asked Jay the second that Erin had left. He knew that Jay was handling the bulk of everything with Erin and knew that had to be mentally taxing. He'd offered his assistance, as had everyone else in the unit, but with the delicate nature of what had happened to Erin, she'd been struggling to get comfortable around the guys again. Olinsky, Ruzek, Atwater, and Antonio all got to their feet and gathered closer to Jay. They all cared about him and wanted to make sure he was doing okay.

"I'm good. Just tired. She still doesn't sleep, like, at all, ever." Jay shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile. He knew that there were dark bags under his eyes but he didn't care. He had woken up with every nightmare Erin had had in the past six months and stayed up with her through every sleepless night. Whatever Erin needed, he was going to make sure she had.

"Why don't you go take a nap?" Olinsky pointed towards one of the interview rooms. It might not be the most comfortable place for someone to sleep, but there were at least a couch for him to sleep on. Voight nodded his agreement while Ruzek, Antonio, and Atwater chimed in that they thought it was a good idea. Someone had to help take care of Jay or he'd end up in bad shape. Jay wanted to argue but the thought of catching up on some sleep was incredibly beckoning.

"Let me know if you need me." Jay was grateful for a team that was so supportive and he headed off to catch a little sleep. He tucked his jacket behind his head and got comfortable on the couch. He was asleep before he even blinked.


"Hey, man, I'm really sorry to wake you up, but we caught a case." Antonio gently knocked on the door, startling Jay out his sound sleep.

"'sokay." Jay's voice came out slurred as he rubbed his eyes and sat up. "What time is it? What's going on?" He got to his feet and followed Antonio out into the bullpen.

"It's almost five and it's a bad case. Maybe you should take Erin home first? I bet Gabby would stay with her." Antonio paused. There was a victim waiting at Med for them and from what they'd been told, it was going to be a heart wrenching case.

"Um, sure." Jay turned to look at Erin, who had caught the end of the conversation. Erin shook her head. She had already heard the details of the case and something in her heart was tugging her to push for staying.

"I'm going." She said, with fierceness to her voice that Jay hadn't heard since before her attack. This was the Erin Lindsay that didn't take no for an answer. She spun around to look at Voight. "I'm going." She pushed her shoulders back and stood up taller.

"Erin. This is too much, too soon." Voight kept his voice soothing. He took a step towards Erin. He was scared that Erin would regress. Erin had made so much progress in the past few months and the thought of it all being gone terrified him. He couldn't lose Erin. "I think you should just go home for the night. You did really well today."

"No." Erin almost growled. She mentally was shocked by her behavior. She didn't know why she felt so compelled to work this case but she just had to go. Voight sighed as he took in her expression and her body language. He had known Erin for a long time and he knew that when she got this determined, there was no stopping her.

"Okay." Voight conceded after a few minutes. He had huge doubts that she was anywhere near ready to work this case, but at least she would be under his close supervision. "You have to promise me one thing. If you feel panicked or overwhelmed, you walk away." Erin nodded. She already was half regretting her outburst but she couldn't explain the need she felt to work this case. Voight, Jay, Erin, and Antonio all headed towards their cars to head to the hospital.


"Hey Rachel, I'm Erin and this is Jay. Is it okay if we come in?" She and Jay stood in the doorway of their victim's room, waiting for her to answer. Rachel just nodded. She had tear streaks down her cheeks. Her right eye was swollen and a dark purple color. Her lip was busted and she had a cut on her hairline. Her wrists were bandaged and Erin felt a pang when she remembered that her own wrists had been bandaged like that. "We're detectives and we want to help find the person who did this to you." Rachel nodded again as she stared at her hands. "I know this is going to be hard, but I need you to tell me what happened."

"I, I was walking home. I had a calculus final and I was by myself. It was late." A lone tear ran out from her eye as she closed her eyes and started to relive the horrific night. "I, I just, he came out of nowhere. He grabbed me by my hair and held something over my mouth. I had to breathe and when I did, I got sleepy." She whimpered as Erin felt her heartbeat speed up. Erin could still remember the taste of the cloth and the drug that had knocked her out. "I woke up in a basement. He, he, he-" Rachel's voice drifted off as a sob ripped from her throat. "I, I was naked and he-" She let out a heart wrenching sob and pulled the blanket up over her eyes as if she could just hide from the memories. Erin felt every bit of warmth leave her body as she stepped closer to the bed. She knew exactly what word Rachel was having trouble saying. She knew exactly how hard it was to get that word past her own lips.

"It's okay, Rachel. You don't have to say it. It's okay." Erin wanted to touch Rachel's hands but she knew how she felt about being touched and didn't want to violate Rachel's fragile frame. One of the bandages on her wrist was turning a light pink and Erin made a mental note to tell the nurse on the way out. "Do you remember anything about him?" Rachel shook her head as she continued to cry. It was like the floodgates had been opened.

"I know, honey, I know." Erin said in a soothing voice as she sat down next to the bed. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." She still remembered the agony of lying in that bed while the most sensitive parts of her body burned. She still remembered how scary and uncertain she felt. She still remembered how she felt to have the most sacred parts of her trust torn away from her.

"How do you know?" Rachel dropped the blanket with a look of anger on her face. Tears still were streaming down her face as she looked at Erin with hate in her eyes, "How can you possibly know how this feels? You just sit there and tell me that it's all going to be okay, but what right do you have?" Erin felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room as Rachel's words hit her like Rachel had just punched her in the jaw.

"I was raped six months ago, Rachel." Erin felt like she was choking on acid every time the word rape came out of her mouth but she kept going as Rachel's jaw dropped and the anger fled from her face. "I know it's going to be okay because it is going to be okay. You're never going to be the same person that you were before you were attacked. Every security and trust you ever felt you had is gone right now but you will be okay. This is the worst part and the scariest. You will leave the hospital and start reclaiming your life. You are going to be stronger and braver and tougher than you ever thought. You will get your life back. You will be able to face anything. You're going to be okay." As she spoke the words, it felt like she wasn't just speaking those words to Rachel, but to herself. It felt like her heart was starting to learn how to beat again as she felt strength surge through her veins. She knew she was going to be okay.

Fin