"Olivia Halstead, you better get your butt off of those stairs." Erin playfully scolded her daughter, causing Olivia to laugh. For some reason she found it hysterical whenever Erin would yell at her for doing something naughty. She had recently become infatuated with the stairs at Voight's house, and would try to crawl up them whenever she had the chance.

Erin scoped her off of the steps, and then threw her up in the air and caught her. Olivia full on belly laughed. The noise was the most joyful thing Erin had ever heard in her life. "I didn't want it to come to this Liv, but I'm going to have to invest in a baby gate now. Are you happy?" She asked while carrying her back to the living room.

Olivia continued to giggle, her entire tiny body convulsing with laughs.

"Oh you think that's funny missy? You think being naughty is funny?" She sat Olivia back down on her feet, and the baby took off toddling back towards the steps. Erin followed behind her, and when they were just about to the staircase, the front door opened. Hank was home.

Olivia squealed loudly in excitement upon seeing her grandpa. "Hey, Kid." Hank lifted her from the ground to great her.

"We've got a runner on our hands. She won't stay away from the stairs." Erin informed him.

"Am I gonna have to throw you in the cage, miss Olivia?"

"The cage might be what she needs if she can't learn to listen." Erin played along with his teasing.

The second Hank sat Olivia down she began a swift crawl back towards the steps. .

"No." Erin called out sternly.

Wide eyed, Olivia froze and gawked at Erin. Then she looked towards Voight, back to her mom, and then one final time to her grandpa, before smiling mischievously, and scurrying off crawling towards the steps as fast as she could.

With a sigh, Erin lifted her form the floor, and carried her back towards the living room. "Baby cage for you." Erin said as she lowered her into the playpen full of toys.

Olivia's eyebrows instantly scrunched in, her bottom lip jolted out, giving her best puppy dog eyes. She reached her little arms out towards Erin. "Mama" She whispered sadly. "Mama, yuv you." She pouted with tears streaming down her round, rosy cheeks.

Erin groaned. She had been trying to teach her "I love you" for a few weeks now, and this was the clearest she had ever said it. Now she couldn't leave her in the playpen without feeling terrible. "No more stairs Olivia. You hear me?" She asked as she lifted the baby up. "And mommy loves you too."

Olivia berried her face into the nook of Erin neck and sniffled as she began to stop crying. Erin could feel her yawn and knew she was tired. "Are you getting sleepy, sweet girl?" She rubbed the back of her light brown peach fuzz hair.

"I'm taking her up to bed, Hank."

"Goodnight Olivia." He kissed the baby's head, and Erin took her upstairs for the night.

They had set up a portable crib in Erin's old high school bedroom for Olivia to sleep in during her nights with Erin. She and Jay passed the diaper bag back and forth, although she did have diapers and wipes that stayed at Hanks to use. She went to place Olivia in the crib when she realized the ducky blanket was missing.

"Shit." Erin mumbled double-checking the diaper bag for it. There wasn't any other baby blanket in there either. She knew there was no way Olivia was going to go to bed without it, plus she needed to have a blanket to stay warm.

With a sigh she carried the exhausted child back downstairs. "Hank?"

"Yeah?"

"Jay forgot the ducky blanket. It's not in the diaper bag. Can I leave her with you, and run over to the apartment to get it?"

"Yeah sure. I'll rock her. She's tired, so she might just fall asleep."

"Thank you so much." She handed Olivia off to Voight and traveled to the door.

She didn't bother to call or text Jay before heading over. If he wasn't home she still had a key anyway. As she paced down the familiar hall, she had a strange gut feeling that she should have called first. She chalked it up to nerves, considering it was the first time she had been back to the apartment in two weeks.

She slid the key into the lock, twisted the door handle, and right as she began to breach the entryway she heard a woman's laugh.

She stood dead still when her eyes landed on a recognizable face. Sitting on the couch beside Jay was the girl from the mall; Jay's ex girlfriend. Holly was it? She couldn't remember her name but that wasn't important.

What was this woman doing in her apartment, on her couch, with her man? Pure rage flooded over her, pulsing through her veins.

Holly spotted her first, and her eyes widened in shock. When Jay noticed Holly's expression, he looked over his shoulder to see Erin fixed in the doorway, with a look he couldn't quite identify.

Before Erin even opened her mouth to speak, Jay could tell that it was going to get ugly.

"What the fuck?" It came out a mixture between a laugh, and cry, and a yell.

Jay jumped from the couch and hurried over to her. He began to speak nervously. "Erin what are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming-" He was cut off.

"It's pretty fucking obvious you didn't know I was coming." She pushed past him down the hall to the nursery, and Jay followed on her heels.

She looked in the crib, and then under it, before frantically starting to search for the blanket.

"Erin, what are you doing?"

"The blanket; the ducky blanket. You didn't pack it, and our daughter needs it to sleep." She tore open dresser drawers hunting.

"Shit, sorry it's in the bed room."

She once again pushed past him in the doorway, and headed father down the hall to the bedroom. She found the blanket at the foot of the bed, but when she turned Jay was blocking her exit, settled in the entryway.

"I'm sorry. I forgot." He spoke timidly.

"You're sorry? You're sorry about this?" She held up the blanket with one hand letting it dangle in the air beside her body. "There is a woman in my living room right now, and you're sorry about the fucking blanket?" She spoke through gritted teeth, as her free hand pointed in the direction of Holly.

"Erin, it's not like that. It's not what you think."

"You gave me some bullshit spiel about needing time and space, instead of being a man and telling me the truth. Oh my god." She let her hand holding the blanket fall to her side harshly. "How long as this been going on? Since we saw her at the mall before Christmas? You let me fall in love with you, Jay!"

"Erin, wait. Stop! Nothing is going on! I haven't seen her since that day at the mall, until tonight after work. I ran into her at the grocery store. It's one of her last nights in town before she goes back to Dallas. I invited her over to watch the game and have a beer. Just as friends, Erin. She knows about you and Liv. It's just old friends catching up."

She gave him no response. She stood stone. Her jaw tightened. The look in her eyes a cross between agony and indignation.

Jay lowered his voice to a soothing whisper, determined to convince her that it wasn't what she thought. "Erin, we were drinking beer, and watching the game. It was nothing romantic. I swear."

"Do you remember how you proposed to me Jay, because I do? Now try and tell me beer, and watching the game is nothing romantic."

Erin's head rested on Jay's bare chest as they watched the halftime report of the Bulls game. She was wearing the t-shirt that Jay had long since discarded. She could feel his fingers fiddling with one of her dark blond curls, while his other hand had slipped under the oversized t-shit tracing patters on the smooth skin of her lower back.

She could envision spending every Thursday night this way for the rest of her life. In his arms, on the couch, The Bulls up by 10, and empty beer bottles and uneaten pizza crust on the coffee table, she felt at home.

Jay leaned in and kissed the top of her head. "I love you. You know that right?"

"Of course I know that, Jay. I love you too."

"I'm gonna marry you, ya know? I want you to be my wife." The room was silent and Jay hoped that he hadn't really just said that out loud. This was not how it was supposed to happen. He had planned to ask her two days from now, on Saturday night. He had a romantic evening planned that he had been thinking about for weeks.

When he felt Erin's head slowly tip up to see his face, he knew he had said it out loud. He had blown it.

"What?" She whispered up at him.

"Never mind." He shook his head back and forth. Until Erin began to sit up, and he noticed her eyebrows pull in, painting an expression of hurt and confusion on her face. "No, not never mind! I meant it. I do want to marry you. This just isn't how I wanted to ask. I wanted it to be perfect. I had it all planned out, and-" He would have gone on forever if Erin wouldn't have stopped him.

"Jay, chill out. If you're not asking it's fine. I just won't tell you my answer now."

Now Jay was intrigued. "Your answer? Hypothetically, if I was asking right now, what would you say?"

Erin chuckled. "Oh no! I'm not making it that easy for you, but for the record, lying here with you tonight, it's just about the most romantic things I can think off."

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm." She watched confusedly as Jay stood from the couch and walked over to the coat rack by the door. He dug through his jacket pocket, before heading back for the couch.

"So this wasn't exactly how I planned it, but the cat's out of the bag now, and honestly I don't know if I could wait two more days. I love you, Erin. You've let me love you for two years now, although I'm sure I've felt this way for much longer. Getting to spend the rest of my life continuing to love you would make me the happiest man in the world." He dropped to one knee. "Erin, will you marry me?"

Jay stood motionless, shocked. Erin remembered that night? What else did she remember that he wasn't aware of?

When Erin didn't receive a response, an exasperated sigh was let from her lips, and she advanced towards the exit.

"Erin, please. That's not what I meant. That night, with you, was-"

Erin didn't even bother to look back, or acknowledge him as she called out her final furious thought. "Don't fuck her in my bed, Jay."

"Erin, wait!" The front door slammed shut mid sentence. "Damn it." He mumbled to himself, unable to peel his gaze from the door. Should he go after her? Did she need time to cool off? He wasn't sure what to do next, but he was completely oblivious to the fact holly was still in the apartment. He didn't remember until he felt a hand give his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"You alright, Jay?" Holly asked in a quiet soothing voice.

"No. Not really." He slid his hand down over his mouth.

Her hand began to knead his tense shoulder. "I know some of the best family lawyers in Chicago, Jay. I can connect you with one. In my professional opinion, with Erin's condition, you have a great case to get full custody, Olivia."

"Full custody?" Jay whipped around to face her. Making Holly's hands fall rom their place massaging his shoulders. "What are you talking about? I'm not trying to take Olivia away from Erin. She's a great mom, and Olivia needs her. I would never take her daughter away from her."

"Whoa, I'm sorry." Her hands went up as though she was surrendering. "I was just trying to help. I can still help you find you a lawyer for the divorce. I'll make sure you come out okay."

"Erin and I aren't getting divorced, Holly. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression somehow, but we aren't splitting up."

"You're not? Then why am I here, Jay? Why would you invite me over if you're still with your wife?"

"Holly I… I think you have the wrong idea here. I'm sorry, but I think you should go."

"Seriously, Jay?"

"I'm sorry. I was under the impression that this was just two friends catching up, but I can tell I thought wrong. Besides that, you being here obviously upset my wife, so I need you to leave."

"She doesn't even live with you anymore! I don't understand."

"Holly, please." He walked to the door and opened it. "I need you to go." He was firm and sure.

Holly snatched her jacket off the back of the couch. "Good luck, Jay." She spat as she exited the apartment.

The second Holly left he realized why Erin was so upset. Having any woman, especially an ex, at the apartment was inappropriate. Had roles been reversed, and he would have found Erin alone with Kelly Severide, he knew all hell would have broke loose. He hadn't thought it through when he invited Holly over. In his mind it was just a couple old friends hanging out and watching the game. He seemed to be the only one that viewed it that way though. Holly obviously assumed it meant more based on her fuming exit, and Erin, he knew he had a lot of groveling to do when it came to her.

With a sigh he reached for his jacket, deciding he should go to Voight's and talk, or more so apologize, to her. He didn't want to drive a wedge any deeper into their relationship. Things were already difficult and strained enough without adding the colossal Holly misunderstanding.

Erin pulled into Voight's driveway and turned off the ignition. She had gotten home just in time, because she was losing the ability to hold back tears any longer. She grabbed the ducky blanket from the passenger seat and clutched it tightly. Sobs began to rake her body.

The blanket smelled like her sweet baby girl, and the Johnson and Johnson baby lotion she puts on her after a bath. She could also catch a trace of Jay's cologne. She breathed in the sent of the two people she loved most in the world. Even after tonight and the last few weeks, and regardless of the pain loving him caused, she couldn't stop loving Jay. She was in far to deep.

When five minutes had gone by, she knew she needed to compose herself and go inside. It was well past Olivia's be time, and knowing what a worry wart Hank was, she was expecting a call any second now asking for her whereabouts.

Hank rocked in the lazy boy with Olivia curled up in his arms. The child was not quite asleep, but her eyes were drowsy and cleft. A few minutes longer and she would have been out like a light.

He immediately noticed the red irritation, and puffiness of Erin's eyes when she entered the living room. "Are you alright?" He whispered in order to not disturb the baby.

Am I alright? She thought about how laughable that question was. "No. It's hard to be alright when there's another woman in your apartment with your husband, but I'm gonna pull it together, and put my daughter to bed." She didn't mean to sound short with Hank. She just wasn't in the mood for conversation. She wanted to go upstairs and disappear with Olivia for the night. She wanted to ignore and pretend like this evening had never happened.

"What?" His voice was laced with confusion and anger. He had come to trust and love Halstead like his own.

"You heard me." Erin assured him that he'd understood correctly. "Now can I see her?" Erin bent down and gently took her daughter from Hank's arms.

"You're sure?" He asked still not believing it.

"I know what I saw, Hank." She sighed exasperated.

"huh." Voight grunted out. He and Halstead had just talked a few weeks ago about getting his mirage back. He couldn't believe that he had already given up, and it was especially difficult to believe that he was already moving one.

Part of Hank wanted to jump to defend Erin and kick Jay's ass, but the more rational part of him said there was more to the story. He'd come to know Jay pretty well in the last five years, and knew cheating wasn't like him at all.

He didn't have to wait long to get the full story though, because as he was still intently thinking, three knocks sounded on his front door.

The second Hank opened the door Jay could tell that he'd spoken to Erin about what she'd seen tonight.

"Sir, it's not what you think!" He was quick to defend himself. "It was strictly friendly. Erin was right though, I should never of had another woman in our apartment without her there. It was inappropriate."

"Strictly friendly?" There was a hint of doubt in his voice in order to test Jay, although he was pretty positive he was telling the truth.

"I swear on everything, Voight. I'd never do that her. You have to believe that."

"It's not me that needs to believe anything."

"I know. Can I please come in and talk to her?"

"She's devastated, Halstead. I don't think now is the right time."

"I can't let her continue to believe the worst, Voight. I need to explain and apologize. I have to see her. Hank, please?" He pleaded.

"She isn't going to listen to you tonight. You know I'm right. If you want to come in and try, fine. But you and I both know you should wait until she's calmed down. It'll be like talking to a brick wall tonight."

Jay rubbed his temples, knowing Hank was right. Trying to get through to Erin when she was still fuming was never going to happen. It would only make things worse. "Fine. You're right. If I write a note will you make sure she see's it in the morning, and will you make sure she knows I stopped over to check on her?"

"Whatever you want." Hank nodded. "I'll grab you some paper." He brought back a small notepad and a pen and watched Jay scribble down a few words.

'I think about that night all the time, and what you said then night was true, because I can't think of anything more romantic than beer and the Bulls, but only when it's with you. I was wrong tonight, but I promise you that it was innocent. I'm sorry. –Jay'

There was a nerve-rackingly long pause after he'd asked her to marry him. Erin pursed her lips together and pretended to think it over as Jay waited on pins and needles. After a few seconds, she burst out laughing. "Yes! Duh. Yes I'll marry you, Jay."

Jay let out a sigh of relief and shook his head smiling as he slipped the ring onto her finger. "Were you trying to scare the hell out of me?" He mumbled right before their lips met in a kiss.

"You deserved it. I pretty much had to tell you it was okay to even ask." She whispered when they broke apart.

"Hey, I've been planning on asking for weeks now." He leaned in and kissed her again. This time she rested her hand on the side of his face, and he appreciated the way her new ring felt against his skin.

"If you've been planning on Saturday, why did you have the ring with you tonight?"

"I haven't let it out of my sight since I got it. I was afraid of losing it." He gently pulled her hand from his face, stopping to kiss her palm, before admiring the way the ring he'd picked looked on her hand. The diamond beauty fit perfectly.

"It's beautiful, Jay."

"You're beautiful." He let her hand drop, moving in to mate his lips to hers.

"And you're corny." She laughed.

"But you wouldn't want me any other way." He smiled against her lips as he hands slipped beneath her thighs, and he lifted his new fiancé in his arms.

For those of you patiently waiting for the more happy Linstead, you are so close! Hold on its coming soon, like really soon, I promise. This chapter really gets the ball rolling towards it, as difficult as that may be to believe right now.