Erin stayed away from Jay for the rest of the week and by the time Sunday rolled around, she felt even worse than before. The guilt was overwhelming.

Jay was her partner. She was supposed to be there for him, to have his back, and what did she do the second it got tough? She ran away. She should have listened to Voight. Jay needed her and she needed to be there for him.

So, despite the fact that it was almost 8 o'clock at night and she had to be at work in less than 12 hours, Erin pulled her boots on and drove over to the VA.

She parked the car in the closest spot she could find ad glanced quickly at her surroundings. The car that was leaving the lot looked familiar, but other than that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Not that Erin was worried about something or someone causing a problem, but she was trained to be on her guard by Voight, and that was a tough habit to break

Erin waved quickly to the night nurse by the front door and headed for Jay's room.

"Knock, knock," she said, poking her head into his room, "You awake?"

Jay looked up form the book on his lap and a smile spread across his face, "Hey, Er! I, uh, missed you."

He folded the page in his book and set it on his night table. Erin stepped into the room and sat on the edge of Jay's bed.

"Yeah," she said, looking sheepish, "Sorry. I…uh…. there's no excuse. But I'm here now."

"Yeah," Jay said, nodding a little, "You're here now."

They lapsed into a silence that was confortable. That was something Erin always loved about spending time with Jay; she never had to worry about filling silences.

Now, she picked at a stray thread on the blanket covering Jay's lap, "You seem…cheerier."

Jay shrugged, "Yeah. I had a conversation with…. someone. Stuff was put into perspective. I'm on the mend and my shit attitude wasn't helping anyone."

"Well, it's good to see you smiling again," Erin grinned, "I'm gonna need my backup again soon."

"I'll be back as soon as possible," Jay said, lifting the corner of his mouth in a smile.

"Working with Ruzek just isn't the same," Erin chuckled, but couldn't' help feeling like there was a slight undercurrent of forced banter to their exchange.

Jay joked, "I know, he isn't as handsome as me."

"Yeah," Erin rolled her eyes teasingly, "That's it. Intelligence's overall attractiveness level's gone down since you've been gone.

"You still have Al to look at," Jay grinned, the expression morphing into a wince as he held his side when a jolt of pain hit.

"Are you oaky?" Erin asked quickly, jumping up, ready to grab Jay anything he needed.

"Mmm," Jay grunted, "The ribs are mostly healed, but sometimes they hurt a little. Nothing to worry about."

"Good," Erin said, settling back into the chair that was next to the bed. She paused, wanting to ask Jay something, but taking a few minutes to turn the words over in her mouth.

Jay snorted, "Spit it out, Lindsay. You look like you're trying to hold a bee in your mouth."

He laughed and Erin smiled crookedly. This was the Jay she had…nope; don't think like that, she mentally reminded herself.

"Sorry," she said, brushing her bangs off of her forehead, "I was just wondering…if you had thought about…. uh…. therapy? I read that it can help with…"

She trailed off, seeing how Jay's face tightened and his eyes lost their teasing glint.

"No," Jay said, stiffly, "I'm fine and I'll be back at work without help from anyone."

"Sorry I asked, "Erin frowned defensively. She looked down as her phone buzzed.

Voight.

"I have to go," she said, standing quickly, before Jay could snap at her again.

Jay watched as Erin bolted form the room, feeling slightly bad that he was the cause of her running away. But then his side twinged in pain and he couldn't think about Erin any more.


Two weeks later, Jay was discharged. Ruzek and Antonio were the only ones available to drive pick him up and drive him back to his apartment.

"I'm glad you're back, man," Adam grinned, "Lindsay won't let me drive."

Jay laughed as Antonio grumbled, "That's 'cause you're a shit driver."

Adam flipped him off, "Shut up, Antonio. Anyway, how do you deal with never being able to drive?"

"Doesn't bother me anymore," Jay shrugged, "She's pretty damn good at stunt driving. I'm a better shot when we're moving too."

"Dream team," Antonio teased, lifting Jay's bag onto his shoulder. The trio traipsed up the stairs in Jay's building.

"You gotta find a place with a damn working elevator," Ruzek grunted as Jay unlocked his door.

"Yeah," Jay agreed, holding his side. He tossed his keys onto the counter in the kitchen, "Thanks for the lift guys. I appreciate it. Wanna beer?"

Antonio shook his head as he looked at his watch, "Wish I could, man. I've got a Skype date with the kids."

"Have fun," Jay and Adam chorused simultaneously. Antonio chuckled as he headed out.

Adam flopped onto Jay's couch, "I, on the other hand, am free and will accept beer."

"Freeloader," Jay said with affection for his best friend. He grabbed two bottles from his fridge and settled on the couch.

"When are you coming back?" Adam asked lazily as they watched the game.

Jay yawned, "Monday."

"This Monday?" Adam's eyes widened and he sat up in shock.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Jay asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Adam shook his head quickly, "Nothin', nothin' at all. Just remembered though…gotta put out my trash."

He abandoned the half empty beer bottle on Jay's coffee table and bolted for the door.

Jay watched the door shut with a furrowed brow. "Weirdo," he muttered, turning his attention back to the game and his beer.


"Welcome back, Detective," Platt greeted Jay as he walked into the precinct on Monday.

He smiled, "Thanks, Sergeant. It's good to be back."

She nodded and then turned away to snap at a pair of uniformed officers. Jay shook his head to himself. Some things never changed.

He opened the gate and headed up the stairs to Intelligence. Jay was straining to hear what was happening up in their bullpen, but all he could hear was muffled whispers.

As soon as he hit the last few steps, Jay was bombarded with shouts of "WELCOME HOME!"

He startled and stepped back a little. Erin rushed forward and grabbed his forearm.

"Hey," she smiled, "Welcome home."

He offered up a slightly startled smile and scanned his gaze over all of his friends. Even Burgess and Roman were hanging around.

"Thanks, guys," he mumbled, embarrassed at the show they had put on. His desk was decorated with streamers and there were a small bunch of balloons tied to his chair. A banner was draped over the filing cabinet behind his desk.

Kim handed him a coffee and a muffin from his favorite bakery, "We're glad you're back, Jay."

He accepted the breakfast gratefully, "Thanks, Kim. I'm…uh… you guys didn't have to do this."

"We wanted to, man," Adam shrugged.

Jay looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Is this why you bolted out of my place so fast on Friday night?"

"Yeah," Adam shrugged sheepishly, "Had to make sure the girls knew to get everything ready in time."

"Well, thanks," Jay said again, noticing that, while Erin had let go of his forearm, she hadn't moved away from his side. It was nice having her there.

He locked eyes with Voight, who was standing half in his office and half in the common area leaning against the doorframe. His boss smirked slightly, but tilted his head at Jay in recognition that he was glad to have the younger man back too.

Jay nodded back, thinking about the conversation that had taken place between him and Voight back while Jay was still staying at the rehab place. He consciously took a slight step away from Erin's side.

Erin didn't notice; she was deep in conversation with Antonio about which was better, chocolate or almond croissants.

Al looked over at Voight, wondering just what the older man had said to Jay. No one in the unit was blind to the chemistry between the partners, except maybe Ruzek. Voight caught Al's eye and subtly shook his head, indicating he wasn't going to talk about it.

Finally, Voight spoke up, "Okay, okay. We're all glad to see Halstead back in Chicago, but we were working a case." He looked at his team as they continued to eat and drink, "Get back to work!"

The younger members of Intelligence, Jay, Erin, Adam, Kim and Roman, scrambled back to their desks, pastries in hand. Kim and Roman jogged down the steps, hoping to avoid Platt's wrath for being missing for a time.

"Erin," Voight barked a little, "Take Halstead and check out the sister."

Erin smirked at Jay and grabbed her coat, "Ready to go?"

He finished off his coffee, "Can't wait."

And he really couldn't.

Being driven to a possible lead's home by Erin Lindsay was just the perfect bit of normal that Jay had been craving ever since he had left for Fort Lee.


A/N:It's a Thanksgiving miracle!

Yeah, I suck at updating. I am SO sorry about this, but hey! At least I updated eventually? I really do intend on finishing this story, I swear. Probably 3-4 more chapters to go?

If there's anyone out there still reading, drop me a review and let me know what you think :)