Erin's legs ached. Her head was pounding from the impact of the deck and the chill wind of the winter air made her eyes water. Her fingers stung with the burn from the flare. She couldn't think. Everything in her head felt jumbled up and confusing.

Charlie was at the steering wheel, his gaze focused on the water in front of them instead of on his hostage. He hadn't bothered to tie her up again in his hurry to get them as far away from the harbor as possible.

Her frozen limbs were free but her body was exhausted. Erin could barely lift a hand up to stem the bleeding from her head. Erin tried to take a deep breath to calm the racing of her heart and refocus her mind, but as she did, the cold air of the lake filled her lungs with ice and caused her to shudder. She cast a glance down at her attire, the short blue scrap of material Alison called a dress had long stopped doing anything to keep her warm. Goosebumps covered her exposed skin from her bare feet up to her eyelashes; it felt like icicles were stabbing her eyes every time she blinked.

If Charlie didn't kill her, she would probably die from hypothermia.

The sky was still red but it had started to blend into the night sky and soon it would vanish. The flare had been her only chance to call for help. Erin looked behind her to study the harbor. She could see the faint blur of the cars and buildings of downtown Chicago but the harbor itself looked silent. Low lights and still water.

Except…

Erin narrowed her eyes and focused on the dim shine of two brighter lights appearing on the harbor. She hadn't seen those before. Were those new? Was it a flashlight? No, there were two of them and they weren't moving. They looked more like headlights?

From the corner of her eye, she saw movement. A quick blur. Someone was running across the pier.

Erin tried to muster up the strength to open her mouth and call out for help, but the cold air stabbed at her throat, like she had swallowed a handful of razors. She had also split her lip when she had hit the deck and it hurt to open her mouth wider than a few inches.

Focusing away from the glaring lights of the city, she tried to keep her eyes on the pier. They hadn't moved much further out across the lake yet. The harbor they were in had hundreds of boats—most currently unoccupied during the off-season—and it was hard to navigate the boat around the basin in the dark. Charlie was keeping the lights on the boat low but hopefully whoever was on the harbor would be able to make out their boat from the remnants of the flare.

Erin's head whipped around when she heard a shout in the distance. Someone was calling from the harbor.

It sounded like a name. Her name.

Erin wiped at her face to remove the tears so she could try to see who was calling her name. The engine of the boat was puttering along and Charlie didn't seem to have heard it—yet.

Someone was coming to help her. Someone knew she was there.

Jay raced along the wooden pier as fast as he could. He could see Charlie's boat on the other end of the basin, too far to reach by foot. He had never been a boat bigger than an Express Fisherman but he had spent enough time in Wisconsin harbors fishing with his dad and grandfather to know that most big powerboats would have smaller boats attached to them. Burnham Harbor was new to him but he didn't have enough time to investigate each boat to find something suitable to get across the basin. He had to get to their boat as quickly as he could. He noticed a row boat first but it would be too slow to get across, not counting the fact his hand was still bandaged.

Jay ran down one of docks to try his luck with one of the bigger boats. He spotted something he recognized as a skiff tied to one of the slips and made quick work to untie the rope. It was difficult trying to only use one hand, but he used his injured hand to act as a support while his fingers loosened the knot. The skiff was a motorboat and Jay would have to start the engine by pulling on the cord. His fingers wrapped around the cord and he pulled once, quickly, praying that it would work. The engine sputtered before dying. Cursing out loud, Jay pulled it again.

Once.

Twice.

On the third pull, the engine burst into life and, at the quiet marina, it sounded like gunshots careening through the air. Jay tried not to flinch and looked out towards the basin, trying to find Charlie's boat again. Now he was on a small boat nestled between bigger boats and no longer on the pier, it was harder for him to see where he needed to go. Making the task harder was the fact that there were no lights on the boat nor did he have anything except the moonlight or the dimmed lamps around the harbor to help him navigate the waters. He would have to do this through instinct as much as he could until he could get his bearings.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and Voight's name appeared across the screen. Voight began talking the second Jay answered.

"The others are on their way. Where are you?"

"I found a boat but I can't see anything from here."

"Can you see Erin?"

"I saw the boat somewhere across the south side of the basin but there are no lights here."

"Which dock are you at?"

Jay glanced behind him and made out a letter on top of a nearby bollard. "It's J."

"Okay, that's good. I'll let them know. I've got the helicopter and Olinsky is working on getting a police boat out too. Do you have a gun?"

"Yeah." Jay confirmed.

"Try and get on the boat, but be careful. Only shoot if you have to." Voight warned. He was right. The boat Charlie was on was sizeable but it was still too small to be shooting a gun around, particularly around gas and anything that could blow up.

Jay hung up the phone so Voight could co-ordinate the emergency services. Focusing on the task at hand, Jay navigated his way towards Charlie's boat.

If someone was coming for her, Erin owed to it to them to fight. She couldn't give up now. Not when someone else was fighting for her too.

Erin looked over at Charlie, he seemed like he was panicking. He must know someone was coming too. The flare Erin had let off had done its job to draw attention to them and now he had no plan.

He was floundering, but Erin wouldn't.

She was freezing in her small dress and her limbs felt like dead weights dragging her down, but Erin mustered up the strength to try and prop herself up into a sitting position. Fortunately her younger years of competitive swimming had helped give her good upper body strength. But it hurt. Everything hurt and the mere act of lifting herself up felt like she had been swimming for hours.

She would have to do it slowly. Her body was in no condition to try and attack Charlie if she tried now. Baby steps. Get up, get a weapon, attack. Or run. Or something. She would have to figure that out, but she had someone coming for her and so she needed to buy them some time to get to her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something glint in the corner across the deck from her. The penknife that she had lost in the scuffle when Charlie grabbed her had fallen on the wayside and it looked as if he had forgotten all about it in the fray.

Painfully, she extended an arm to reach for it but it was slightly out of her grasp. Shuffling forward, each movement hurting more than the last, Erin half-crawled towards the other side of the deck to find the penknife, one eye watching Charlie to make sure he was distracted. Erin felt something cold and she wrapped a hand safely around it, snatching it away and tucking it under her arm to conceal it from Charlie.

She heard the grind of an engine a small distance away and both she and Charlie turned to look. A boat was coming. Erin tried to look above the edge to see if she could make out who it was, but she couldn't make anything out except a dark blur.

Erin could feel footsteps coming towards her and she turned in time to see Charlie approaching, his hands ready to grab her. With a rush of energy, Erin squeezed her eyes shut and jabbed the penknife in his direction. The first swipe missed but the second connected with something fleshy and she pushed the knife in as hard as she could. Charlie roared in pain and he stumbled backwards. Erin snapped open her eyes to see the penknife sticking out of Charlie's calf; warm blood beginning to seep down her hand.

Erin sighed in relief, trying to get away from Charlie and stand up, but she saw his shadow loom over her once more. His hand reached her and wrapped around her arm in a quick movement. She was too exhausted to fight back so Charlie took advantage and threw her against the deck again. Erin coughed as she tried to catch her breath from the impact of Charlie's push. Her breaths were becoming shallower, the cold air invading her senses and struggling to take in enough oxygen. But she could hear the boat getting closer so she knew it wouldn't be long.

Jay reached towards Charlie's boat, his fingers mere inches from the edge. He pushed his body as far as he could off of the skiff without tumbling into the water. His fingers brushed against the cool metal of the ladder and, with a final lurch, he caught hold of it. Jay only had one good hand, so he gripped as hard as he could with his good arm to leverage the rest of his body onto the boat. He had barely made it onto the deck before he heard Erin cry out a short distance away.

Jay clambered to his feet, losing his balance slightly as the boat bobbed in the water, and followed the sound. He took his gun out of his holster, checked his ammo and cocked the gun, holding it out in front of him like he had done countless times before. Textbook. Like how they'd taught him in the Academy.

This is like any other situation, he told himself. Don't lose your head.

He repeated it like a mantra, using the words to try to calm down and remind himself that he couldn't afford to forget his training and make mistakes. He had already made so many.

Jay walked slowly around the edge of the boat as he made his way to the main section of the deck.

"Stand back!" Charlie threatened as Jay came into view. He had an arm gripped tightly across Erin's chest and Jay tried not to focus on the bloody penknife that Charlie was holding against her throat. Jay quickly glanced towards Erin; there was blood over her face, hands and dress but he couldn't assess how badly in need she was of medical attention. His first goal was to try and get Charlie away from her.

"It's over, man." Jay told him. "The police are coming. There's nowhere to go. Give it up."

"Put down your gun." Charlie demanded. "Kick it over to me."

"I can't do that." Jay told him. "Let her go."

Charlie didn't move and Jay took a small step closer. As he did, Charlie maneuvered Erin so that her body was blocking him from Jay's aim. There was no way Jay could get a clean shot without Erin being in harm's way and he couldn't risk her safety.

"I said to let her go." Jay repeated firmly. "You have nowhere else to run. Just let her go."

"Put it down or I'll slice her throat."

"You won't hurt her." Jay tried to keep his voice even but he couldn't help the waver of doubt. He had no idea what Charlie could do if cornered like this.

"You want to bet on that?" Charlie asked. He pressed the blade further against Erin's neck and she let out a yelp.

"Stop, stop!" Jay held his arms up. "Stop! Okay, I'm putting it down."

Charlie gestured to the floor. "Drop it."

"Don't hurt her. Just stop hurting her. I'm putting it down." Jay said as he slowly bent down towards the deck.

Erin was crying. She was so desperate to get away from Charlie and knowing that someone—that Jay—had come to find her, injected her with hope. She could get out of this. But she had Charlie's fingers gripping her torso so tightly, she could barely breathe. Every time she swallowed, she could feel the cold metal of the penknife brushing against her neck.

Erin watched as Jay slowly surrendered his weapon. What was he doing? Why couldn't he just shoot Charlie? Why did he have to be so worried for her?

Just shoot him. She thought. The words trying to come out but getting caught in her throat through her tears. Shoot him. Shoot me. Just shoot.

Erin looked down and saw Charlie's hand tantalizingly close to her mouth. She could get out of this. She could give Jay a chance. Just as Jay started moving back to a standing position, she bent her head down, her neck grazed against the blade of the knife, and she bit as hard as she could into the fleshy part of Charlie's hand.

He howled in pain and she kicked him in his injured leg to make sure it hurt. He released his grip and pushed her away while Erin dove for the floor of the deck. Jay snatched back his gun and aimed it again at Charlie, who was scrambling to hide behind the safety of the helm. He shot towards Charlie's retreating figure but missed and the bullet hit the edge of the deck instead.

He waited a few moments to see if Charlie would remerge but then his eyes saw Erin's cowering figure and he went towards her instead.

"Erin, are you okay?" Jay asked, one eye still on the area where Charlie had hidden, while moving towards Erin. "Erin, talk to me."

"I'm fine," she coughed. "Get him."

"Where are you hurt?" He asked. He needed to know she was okay first. Now he was close up, he could see her split lip and head wound. He inspected her neck—a scratch, nothing more—and then cast a glance over her body. Her fingers brushed against his as she tried to push him towards Charlie, and Jay felt how cold they were. "You're freezing."

"It's okay, I'm fine. Get him." She pleaded. "I'll be okay. It's nothing."

Jay unzipped his jacket and peeled it off as quickly as he could. He put the gun on the floor between them and gingerly moved the sleeve past his bandaged wrist. Erin was still protesting but he handed the jacket to her, draping it over a shoulder. The jacket was warm from his body and Erin's cold body couldn't resist the heat, so she gratefully accepted it. Above them they heard a whirring and saw lights getting bigger. They looked up and saw a police helicopter coming towards them.

"Your dad called for backup. The Coast Guard is coming too. When they get here, you go with them as fast as you can." Jay assured as he picked the gun up.

Erin nodded. "Just get him."

Jay looked up at the helicopter as the lights reached the area near the boat and waved. He didn't have a flashlight on him but he needed to get their attention somehow and alert them to Erin so she could get to safety.

"Look out!" Erin warned and Jay whipped his head back in time to see Charlie heading towards them with the penknife in his hand. Jay managed to dodge in time to avoid the bulk of the impact but was caught by Charlie's shoulder and they both fell to the ground.

Jay shouted out towards Erin to tell her to hide while he wrestled with Charlie on the deck, blocking him from getting to Erin. Jay got a hold of Charlie's wrist and managed to winch the penknife out of his hand and tried to push it away from the two of them. Charlie had the upper hand but Jay still had his gun in his hand. Unfortunately, Charlie was too close to him for Jay to get a clear shot. Erin was somewhere behind him and he knew that erratically shooting in Charlie's general direction could be a fatal mistake. Jay decided to shield the gun away from Charlie lest he manage to get a hold of it instead.

Jay's hand was hurting from the fight but he kept his head in the moment and focused on disarming Charlie and keeping Erin safe until backup could arrive.

The flashes of light above their heads meant that the helicopter had found the boat. Jay heard muffled instructions from the bullhorn above them but he couldn't understand anything. Charlie was punching Jay repeatedly in the torso and Jay was struggling to focus.

Erin couldn't stand back and watch Charlie win. Not again. Not so he could come back and destroy her life and infect everybody she loved. She launched herself at Charlie, mustering all her strength to try and salvage the situation. The helicopter was here now. The Coast Guard was on its way. Jay had already helped her so she had to help him and help them until the real help arrived.

Erin attempted to climb on Charlie's back to try and pull him off of Jay but her fingers felt so numb that she couldn't get a good grasp. Finally, she decided to aim lower and kicked the back of the leg that she had stabbed. He screamed in pain and turned on Erin, who managed to get another two quick hits to his arm before he advanced towards her.

Charlie pushed her off of him, shoving her against the edge of the boat. Erin's bare feet slipped on the deck and she hit her knee against the boat. Erin squeezed her eyes shut to quell the pain and get back on her feet to grab Charlie again; anything to keep him away from Jay. She yanked at his arm as he stood up and pushed her backwards as hard as he could. Erin felt the back of her legs hit the edge of the boat and she instinctively reached out for something to hold, finding nothing but air.

Erin couldn't stop herself from falling as she as she headed backwards into the water below.

She heard her name being yelled but Erin felt like she was floating in the air as she closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact of the water. For a moment, it seemed like it would never come but suddenly she was submerged and her body felt like it was simultaneously on fire and frozen.

She felt like a weight was pressing on her chest; squeezing all the air out of her body until she had nothing left. She was so tired. She had no energy and she couldn't feel any of her limbs. It would be so easy to just stop fighting. But she had to fight. She had gotten this far already and there was no way she was going to give up now. Not when she was almost home. Not when there were people fighting for her. She was going to keep fighting too.

Erin broke through the surface of the water and desperately gasped for air. Her lungs filled with the icy wind and made her cough. She was freezing. If she didn't get out of the water soon, she'd catch hypothermia or frostbite or something.

She was only a few feet away from the boat but she could hear the sounds of a scuffle onboard. Jay wasn't going to be able to help her while he was busy fighting Charlie and the shore was too far away to swim to.

"She's in the water!" She heard a voice yell. It sounded like Jay but she could hardly hear anything over the sound of the helicopter above and the motor of the boat.

Two motors now.

A light shone somewhere behind her and she heard the engine of a different boat. She faced the direction of the light and saw the shadow coming towards her; the words 'CHICAGO POLICE' emblazoned across the hull and a familiar face onboard. A flashlight found her and she tried to wave at the figure.

"Erin, wait there! I'll get you out!" Ruzek yelled from the side of the boat. Erin tried to reply but the water was freezing and she could feel her muscles begin to seize. All her energies were going into keeping herself afloat.

Ruzek threw down a life float and Erin saw another boat's lights coming towards them. The Coast Guard had arrived and was heading towards Charlie's boat. Erin had the life float over her and Ruzek and another officer gently pulled her to their vessel. Erin grabbed onto Ruzek's hand and tried to pull herself up to help him. Fortunately he was stronger—and warmer and drier—than she was and he managed to get her out of the water himself.

Ruzek peeled off Halstead's drenched jacket and wrapped her in a foil emergency blanket, tucking her tightly and trying to warm her up. Erin felt like her insides were all jumbled up. Ruzek was talking but she wasn't sure if he was talking to her or someone else. She heard Ruzek say something to the other officer and then their boat began to move… away from Charlie's.

"Wait, wait!" Erin cried looking back towards the boat they were leaving. Ruzek was holding her down so she couldn't move. "What about Halstead?" She asked.

"The Coast Guard are there now to help him. I have to get you back to the shore."

"We have to help!" Erin insisted.

"They're helping, they're helping," he assured. "You need to go to the hospital. I've got orders."

"Go help him!" She could feel hot tears beginning to fall. Why was nobody listening? The Coast Guards were there but they weren't the police. They weren't her dad's team. None of them could deal with Charlie like they could. Erin clenched her jaw and glared at Ruzek, intending to order him back to Charlie's boat, back to his colleague; but one look at Ruzek's worried face told her that he didn't like it either. Given the choice, he would be on that boat alongside Jay, not running her back to the shore. Erin let her protests fall silent. Her eyes fell upon Halstead's wet jacket and she pulled it into her lap as she wept silently in relief, in concern, in the overwhelming fear that she had made so many mistakes that could have devastating consequences.

Within minutes they were back at the shore, all lit up now with sirens of police cars and ambulances, and being bundled towards paramedics.

She saw her dad racing through the small crowd of emergency services personnel and she ran towards him, mumbling apologies into his chest as he hugged her tightly.

"I'm so sorry." They both said to each other and Erin wrapped her cold arms around her father's warm and comforting body.

"We're going to get you to the hospital now, ma'am." She heard a male paramedic say. "You need to get your body temperature up."

"What about—" She began but Voight shushed her and ushered her to the ambulance. Erin's feet were struggling to stay upright as she walked the short distance to the vehicle and let herself be helped inside.

"It'll be fine." Her dad promised as the paramedics started checking her over and the vehicle started its journey to Chicago Med. "You're safe now."

Erin was lowered onto the bed and could feel needles being inserted and her eyes checked. She could feel her eyes getting heavier as murmured voices began to drift away and then she felt warm everywhere as everything faded into black.

When Jay heard the sound of Erin's body hit the water, something in him snapped. He had managed to prop himself up on an elbow in time to see Erin fall over the edge and he immediately reached back for his gun. Erin had only distracted Charlie momentarily so Jay had no time to waste. There was now a set of lights in the water coming towards them and another one close behind. Where it had been so dark on the boat before, now everything was illuminated from the boats and the helicopter above. It helped Jay find the gun and understand his surroundings better. He checked the safety and aimed back at Charlie, looking to maim him so that they could take him back to the precinct. He didn't want to kill Charlie—although he would if he had to—but he figured Erin and Voight deserved the chance to get closure.

Jay aimed and his finger found the trigger. He lightly squeezed but the mere act of doing so sent throbbing pain to his fractured hand and wrist and he recoiled. He wasn't going to be able to shoot the gun again. The missed shot earlier and his fight with Charlie had further injured his hand and the cold weather was doing little to help. Jay decided to try and shoot with his other hand but Charlie had already turned back and was coming for him, taking advantage of Jay's hesitation to gain the upper hand.

Jay scrambled to his feet in time to dodge another blow by Charlie, but with his adversary so close, Jay wouldn't be able to aim for his legs. They scuffled back and forth for a few moments. Jay knew the boats were here to help him so he only had to stave Charlie off a little longer. But Charlie wasn't letting up. He was taller than Jay and clearly had been spending his time in prison working out and gaining strength and muscle. Jay had a gun but he was already at a disadvantage considering his injured wrist; the work of Charlie again.

One boat was speeding away back towards the safe end of the harbor and Jay knew Erin was being helped. The other boat had almost reached them. Jay's momentary distraction to watch the police boat disappear in the other direction meant that he lost focus for a moment. Charlie grabbed Jay's uninjured arm and tried to grab the gun out of his hand. With all the strength Jay had, he tore his grip out of Charlie's and pistol-whipped him with his weapon. Charlie stumbled backwards but not enough to fell him. With his injured hand, Jay formed a tight fist and ploughed his hand against Charlie's cheek with as much power he could put behind. Jay felt his entire arm burn with the impact but Charlie hit the deck and was knocked out. Jay had also fallen to the floor and was cradling his arm as the Coast Guard officers climbed on board to survey the scene.

"Are you okay, Detective?" one of them asked. The other was arresting Charlie's passed out body. Jay nodded but he was in so much pain, he was beginning to see spots. Jay let himself be led off the boat and into the Coast Guard's, a foil blanket wrapped around him.

Within a few minutes he was headed back towards the harbor and helped out of the boat by Atwater.

"You okay?" Atwater asked. Jay motioned towards his hand. "We're taking you straight to Med."

"Erin?" Halstead asked.

"Already on her way there. Hold on, bud." Atwater led his friend towards the waiting ambulance but were joined by Olinsky.

"Halstead, you okay?" Olinsky asked. He put a hand on Jay's chest which caused Jay to wince in pain from the punches Charlie had thrown.

"I'm fine." Jay's body felt like it was burning up in different places and it was getting worse. He was so tired and he couldn't focus on anything.

"Nice job on the boat." Olinsky said. Jay gave a curt nod as Atwater pulled him towards the ambulance. Olinsky followed. "You did a good job, Jay." He repeated.

Jay didn't mean to ignore his superior but he just needed to get somewhere warm and get someone to look at his hand. He needed to see Erin and make sure she was okay too. Atwater helped the paramedic get Jay into the ambulance. Olinsky stood on the outside end of the doors; his expression ashen and worry lines marring his face. He looked so much older than he was.

"I'm sorry, Halstead." He said. Jay didn't reply as the doors to the ambulance closed.

A hand shook Jay awake from his slumber. It took him a few seconds to notice someone was trying to get his attention and then his eyes snapped open and he tried to bolt up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Relax, man." Ruzek said. "You're okay. I was just trying to wake you up cos we need to go soon."

Jay could hear the sounds of various machinery and voices around him and realized he was at Chicago Med.

"I'm at the hospital?" Jay asked. He licked his chapped lips and looked around for some water.

"Yeah, you're here." Ruzek nodded as he brought the cup of water towards Jay and helped him drink. "You broke your arm so they've got you up on some pain meds. They checked out your head too because you were kind of out of it in the ambulance. You pretty much passed out when you got here so they let you sleep."

"Is Erin…?"

"Erin's fine. She's here too. Voight went with her in the ambulance. She was in the water for a bit so they're keeping her in for observation. She's stable and everything looks good but they just want to make sure." Ruzek assured.

"She's okay?" Jay looked at his friend's face and tried to read his expression before allowing himself to relax and lay back down.

"Last I heard was she was awake and talking. Charlie's in custody. Olinsky and Antonio are getting him processed now. Officers are bringing in Wade Hollis and finding out if there were any other accomplices."

Ruzek gave Jay an encouraging smile. It was over. Finally.

"I'm pretty tired." Jay sighed. He tried to sit up but his body felt tender and he winced. "How strong are these meds? I'm hurting everywhere."

"You were pretty banged up. I'm surprised it was only your arm that needed fixing. Antonio is pretty pissed that you won't be on our softball team for Sunday's picnic."

"Yeah, well." Jay shrugged. "I probably won't be there anyway. I told Voight I'd be in the unit until we got Charlie and we got him, so…"

"So what? You got him. Voight owes you. Just ask for your job back."

"I don't know. A lot of stuff happened. Maybe it's just better if we make it a clean break and I move somewhere else. Maybe Intelligence is the wrong place for me." Jay shrugged.

"Okay, I know that's the drugs talking because we wouldn't have gotten there if you hadn't been the one to figure it out. None of us were thinking about the boat. You had a hunch and you followed it. That's amazing detective work. Olinsky owes you an apology. Voight owes you more than that. Even I should be apologizing. I should have had your back more. These last couple of weeks have been hard on all of us, but especially you." Ruzek said seriously. "We owe you, Halstead, and you need to believe it."

"We'll see," Jay said evenly. He wasn't sure what his future held but he had to focus on his present. "Am I staying here overnight?"

"You can't tell because we're in a windowless room, but it's actually just after 6am." Ruzek said with a grin. "You were out for a while."

"Oh." Jay reddened.

"The doc needs to do a final check and give you some instructions but he said you should be discharged soon. I'm taking you home and Burgess is getting groceries for your house." Ruzek gave Jay a concerned glance. "There is nothing in your fridge except mustard and beer. I'm pretty sure you're going to get scurvy." Jay chuckled even though doing so hurt his ribs. "Also, this is the second time you've been here in a week so I think we get the next one free."

"You've been here all night?" Jay asked. Ruzek shrugged.

"Yeah, but we got here at like 2:30 so it wasn't that long." Ruzek offered a small smile.

"Thank you." Jay replied sincerely. "Uh, do you think that I could see…?"

"Sorry, man, it's family only. Even Olinsky isn't allowed." Ruzek avoided making eye contact with Jay. "But I'll try and get an update from a nurse or something."

Jay nodded and suppressed a yawn. He hadn't slept in a few days but neither had the rest of the unit. He felt bad that they were all still working while he was laid up in a hospital bed.

"The doctor will be doing his rounds soon so I don't see why you can't sleep until he gets here," Ruzek said, sensing that his friend needed some time to recover. "I'll wake you up when he arrives."

Jay didn't have the strength to argue or fight against his pain medication so he let himself drift back off to sleep.

Jay struggled to put on a jacket that Burgess had brought over from his house. His clothes from the night before had been dirty so she had also packed a change of clothes for him to change into on his way back home when she dropped off his groceries.

Jay's hand was properly broken and it would take three weeks to recover, though the doctor warned it may be longer on account of his previous hand fracture. He had a cast on which restricted his movements and he wasn't meant to get it wet either so showering would be an adventure. Ruzek said he and the team would help him as much as they could while he recovered, but he drew the line at helping him shower. Other than that, he had some bruising around his ribs but he would make a full recovery within a couple of weeks.

He still hadn't been allowed to see Erin but he had heard she was doing well. Atwater had also come to see him and give an update on the case but it wasn't much more than Ruzek had filled him in on. It would mostly be paperwork from that point and Atwater made a show of being annoyed that he would have to do the majority of Jay's.

Jay hadn't heard anything more from Voight or Olinsky, which he wasn't sure if he was pleased about or not. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about his future at the precinct and in Intelligence but he didn't want to make that decision now. Not until he had a chance to have a real rest and try and get his head refocused.

Once he signed his discharge papers, he walked with Ruzek to the parking lot where Burgess was waiting for them in her car. Jay was grateful to have friends who would look after him so well. If he did decide to leave Chicago, he would be hard pressed to find better friends.

Jay relished the feel of the sun on his face. He felt that the last few days had been shrouded in darkness and it had been a while since he had been able to enjoy the sun.

He suddenly heard Ruzek's name being called by a gruff voice a short distance away. Jay opened his eyes and looked around the lot to find the source—his smile faded when he locked eyes with two familiar pairs about eight cars away from Ruzek's.

Erin and Voight were standing across the lot by Voight's car and had spotted them. Ruzek shot a glance at Jay before telling him to wait there and jogging towards Voight. Jay waited an agonizing few minutes while Ruzek and Voight conversed.

Erin wasn't looking at him anymore but Jay felt himself relieved to see that she was out. He had heard she was being kept in for observation due to her injuries, and she had stitches on her head and some bruising around her face, but she was walking and looked like she was going home.

Voight handed Ruzek something and then got in the car with Erin. Their car was already halfway out of the lot by the time Ruzek returned to Jay.

"Everything okay?" Jay asked.

"Yeah," Ruzek said. "Voight wanted me to give you this back." He showed Jay what was in his hand: the jacket Jay had given to Erin on the boat. "He said it's dry now and thanks."

"Erin said that?" He asked, wanting clarification.

"No, Voight did." Ruzek said apologetically. He offered Jay a reassuring pat on his uninjured arm and helped him into the car.