Thank you to all of you for being so patient during my extremely long hiatus - I had a very hectic summer and did not have time to write...but the great news is that I am back in a routine and am now writing again! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and as always, please leave a review (I love reading all of them in my inbox!). Thanks!
Chapter 21
***Two weeks later***
Erin's phone alarm went off on her nightstand at 7:00am and she groaned before opening her eyes and reaching to turn the alarm off. Jay shifted on his side of the bed and leaned over to face Erin. "Morning," he said quietly.
"Morning," Erin replied, lying back down and putting one of her hands on her stomach. She was about two-and-a-half months along now, and her intermittent nausea had kept her in the bathroom half the night. She knew that Jay hadn't slept well either because she'd woken him up when she had to sprint into the bathroom just after midnight.
"How are you feeling?" Jay asked softly, grasping Erin's free hand with his.
"Like crap," Erin said bluntly, "Men are so lucky that they don't have to go through pregnancy and everything associated with that. And childbirth. They just donate half of their DNA and they're done."
"I understand where you're coming from," Jay replied cautiously, not knowing what to say in order to not set off Erin's hormones before they'd even gotten out of bed.
"Not really, but I appreciate what you're trying to say," Erin said with a sigh, "I just hate feeling like this."
"Just a few more weeks, right?"
"Hopefully," Erin said. As she sat up and got slowly out of bed, she continued, "I'm going to wake Peter and get him dressed. Can you start making breakfast?"
"Sure," Jay said, getting out of bed on the other side and walking over to his wife, who was standing still and looking at her clothes in the closet. "What?" Jay asked, concerned.
"I'm going to have to see if I can find my old maternity clothes…I won't be able to fit into my favorite outfits in a few months."
Jay couldn't think of anything to say in reply, so he walked up behind Erin and gave her a big hug, kissing her on the neck and putting his hands on her stomach.
"Jay, I'm scared," Erin said quietly.
"Of what?"
"After what happened when I went into labor last time I just don't want something to go wrong…what if something goes wrong?"
"Erin," Jay said, turning Erin around so she was facing him, "I'm sure everything is going to be fine. If something does end up happening then we will get through it together, okay? I'm scared too, but we can only hope for the best…and that it's another boy."
"Shut up, it's going to be a girl," Erin said, pushing Jay away a little so she could figure out what she was going to wear, "I don't want two little Jays running around and driving me crazy when you're not here."
"And you think I want a little Erin running around driving me crazy when you're not here?"
"Whatever you want to think," Erin said, "But I want a girl."
***A few hours later, at a warehouse on the west side***
After everyone had parked their cars and assembled in a circle outside the warehouse where they would be doing a bust for a potential drug and money stash, Voight gave directions to everyone in the unit, including Burgess and Roman, who were on the way over in their patrol car.
"Okay, our intel says that the drugs are hidden somewhere on the second floor and the money is probably on the top floor. There might be a couple of people inside – apprehend them if you find them and bring 'em out. Burgess and Roman," he paused, turning slightly to speak into his radio, "I want you stationed around back in case anyone tries to make a run for it. Atwater and I will head to the second floor to find the drugs. Ruzek and Olinsky, clear the first floor and then come up to the second to look for the drugs. The rest of you, head to the top floor and find the cash."
Jay, Erin, and Antonio all exchanged smirks at each other as they slowly walked towards the front door. Atwater smashed the door in and everyone filed inside, with Ruzek and Olinsky heading farther into the ground floor while everyone else headed for the stairs. Voight and Atwater exited the stairs on the second floor, shooting a couple of gang bangers who were most likely guarding the path to the drugs. Halfway to the third floor, Erin suddenly began to feel light headed and leaned against the wall to catch her breath. Jay immediately stopped and after Antonio realized that he was the only one still moving on, he stopped too.
"Erin, you okay?" Antonio asked just before Jay could.
"Yeah, just feeling light-headed is all," Erin said, "I just needed to catch my breath. Let's go."
"You sure?" Jay asked Erin. As Erin nodded in reply, Antonio yelled, "Get down!" as shots began to come down from the top of the staircase. Jay dove on top of Erin to protect her as Antonio covered both of them, and as soon as the shots stopped the three exchanged quick glances and stormed up the stairs, ready to shoot. After shooting a few more gangbangers on the third floor and checking multiple rooms, they handcuffed two men in the room at the end of the hallway who were guarding a huge pile of cash. Once they could take a deep breath, Jay radioed, "Suspects in custody and cash located," Erin leaned back against the wall and suddenly had to sit down.
Jay went over to her but Erin waved him away and said, "I'm fine," just as Voight and Ruzek raced into the room. He saw Erin on the floor and said, "You okay?"
"I'm fine, just got a little light-headed," Erin said as she got herself up and put her gun in her holster. After extra officers had been called to the scene to take all the apprehended suspects to central processing, the whole unit packed up and headed back to the station. When Jay realized that Erin really wasn't feeling good, he sped back to the station and dropped her at the back rollup before going around to park. When he walked inside and went to find Erin, he found her in the bathroom, having just thrown up.
***Ten minutes later***
After Jay had helped Erin clean herself up in the bathroom, they were walking back into the bullpen when Voight walked out of his office and said, "Lindsay, my office. Now."
Erin and Jay exchanged nervous looks before Erin walked into Voight's office and shut the door, Jay sitting down at his desk to do some paperwork.
"What's up?" Erin asked Voight, who was seated behind his desk with his arms across his chest. Erin knew that meant one of two things: he was about to ask her something, or he was about to give her an order she wasn't going to like. Turns out it was the latter.
"I don't want you on busts from here on out, for the sake of you and your baby," Voight said.
"Hank-" Erin tried to speak, but Voight cut her off.
"I know you love your job and all this, but I need to keep you safe for the rest of the pregnancy. You said you were feeling light-headed earlier, and I don't want something happening to you or the baby because you pushed yourself on a bust."
"So you're just overriding the fact that I can make my own choices."
"Right now I'm speaking as your Sargent, and I'm saying no more busts. End of discussion."
"Great, thanks Sargent," Erin said in an angry tone, flinging Voight's door open and heading straight for the locker room. Jay, going on gut feeling, followed down to the locker room and found her sitting on a bench with her back against the wall. He sat down in front of her on the bench and said, "Erin? What'd he say?"
"Ugh," Erin grunted, opening her eyes and sitting up so she was no longer leaning against the wall, "He banned me from going on any more busts because I felt light-headed today and I'm pissed because now I basically can't do my job to full capacity for at least a year from now."
"I know it may not seem like it right now, but it's probably a good thing. He's doing it because he cares about you and the baby."
"And not about my sanity? You're supporting him?" Erin said, clearly on edge.
"Because he cares about you like you're his daughter," Jay said, "I'm sorry if you're angry that I'm supporting his decision."
"I'm not angry at you or him, I'm just angry that I'm going to have to stop working soon, you know? It just sucks."
"I understand," Jay said, grabbing her hands and squeezing them. "Is there anything I can do to help you? You look like you need to go home and rest."
"I'm really craving ice cream right now," Erin said bluntly, "And if you're a nice husband and take me out now to get some, then I'll let you off the hook for trying to boss me around and telling me that I need to rest."
"Sounds good," Jay replied, but what he was really thinking was, Oh God, her hormones are definitely off the charts.