As soon as Jay read Erin's text about being at Med he jumped up, grabbed his coat and headed down the stairs, calling over his shoulder to Mouse that he could be reached by cell if anyone needed him. She'd said it was a minor injury but Erin didn't go to the hospital for minor anything. He tried texting and calling her on route but there was no answer. "Damn it Erin!" He cursed as he made the turn into visitors parking at the hospital.

He walked past her car on the way to the ED doors and peaked inside. Her cell sat face down on the passenger seat. Frustration washed over him. She'd spent the better part of the year responding to his texts before he'd even finished sending them and now she was texting him she was in the hospital and leaving him hanging. Did she even care about the promises they'd made? She'd told him how important he was to her after Terry's death but did she mean it? Her actions of late certainly didn't support that.

She was reclined against the bed, eyes closed when he spied her in one of the ED exam rooms. Maggie was behind the desk. She smiled at him and nodded for him to go on in. Erin's right arm was wrapped in ice packs. She was pale. Deep circles were under her eyes. He guessed she hadn't slept the past couple nights but refused to let his brain think about what she'd been doing instead.

He moved into the room and her eyes opened. Surprise covered her face when she saw him. His jaw tightened. What did she think he'd do after a text like that and not getting a response from her? Of course he'd rush down here. Her eyes and nose were red. Had she been crying? A sympathy pain dulled his frustration with her slightly.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she whispered back.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's nothing," She said lifting her wrist slightly.

"Nothing? Since when do you come to the hospital over nothing?" He challenged her.

"Since Frank is a tattle tale and I didn't want to hear Hank's lecture and end up here anyway over nothing," She grumbled.

He took some comfort in her being at the gym this morning. No way could she manage her boxing workout if she were coming down off a high or hung over. He shook those thoughts from his mind. He didn't want to go there, didn't want to remember how bad things had gotten after Nadia died. "What did the doctor say?"

"Will thinks it's a sprain but he's just waiting on the X-ray results. He said they're busy and I may need to wait a while," She sighed.

He watched her carefully while she spoke. Her eyes were clear but an air of defeat, exhaustion and sadness surrounded her. He never wanted to shake and hug somebody so badly in the same moment before.

"Did you eat?" The way she suddenly glanced away from him was all the answer he needed. He pressed his finger tips to his forehead. "Any idea when the last time you ate was?" He questioned more impatiently.

"What is this an interrogation?" She snapped at him.

Their eyes locked. Both bull headed and stubborn. Neither willing to concede to the others point.

"We both know the first thing to go when you're upset is your appetite," He tried to reason with her. "I would prefer my partner not passing out on me when things jump off." He couldn't keep the frustration from his voice.

"Yeah well it's looking like you won't have to worry about that for a few days now anyway," She shot back.

"Well with where your head is at right now maybe that's a good thing."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Jay opened his mouth to answer but April walked in to check on Erin. He used the opportunity to slip out of the room before they could say something they both regretted. Things had gone south fast. He paced down the hall.

He was pissed with her. Why did she hide behind her anger? Why did she insist on pushing him away? Hadn't he proven he was there for her, no matter what? Did her promises really mean nothing?

He pushed through the doors to the cafeteria forcefully. People looked up from their tables, heads turned to look at him. He didn't care. Why he was doing this for her he didn't know. But even when she pushed him away he couldn't stop caring. He couldn't stop being there for her. He couldn't be another person who walked away from her when things got tough. He'd promised her always. What kind of promise would that be if he bailed on her every time they were tested? He needed to prove her wrong. He needed to prove to her that she was worth loving. And maybe then she'd finally stop running.

/

He'd walked out.

As soon as April entered, he'd turned and bailed on her. It was what she wanted. It was why she'd picked a fight with him, but deep down she'd hoped he'd put up more of a fight, that maybe he really was different, that maybe she couldn't scare him off so easily. The pain in her chest far outweighed the pain in her wrist as April checked it over and adjusted her ice packs, promising it wouldn't be too much longer.

Erin nodded her thanks. It was all she could manage. With her left hand she rubbed back and forth across her chest bone trying to push Jay out of her mind. She stared at a spot on the ceiling imagining the details of the people she'd seen coming and going from the hospital while she sat in her car earlier, trying to calm her emotions.

Something fell on her lap. Startled, she whipped her head up. There stood Jay. Two drinks in his hands. On her lap sat a wax paper square.

"You came back." She couldn't keep the surprise from her voice and couldn't miss the hurt that crossed Jay's face at her surprise.

"Please eat." Was all he said before placing her drink on the table beside her, taking a seat in the chair next to the bed and pulling out his phone.

She stared dumbfounded and feeling foolish for a moment. Of course he came back. This was Jay after all. She swallowed several times to push back the lump that had formed and began meticulously unwrapping the sandwich. She wasn't hungry. She'd barely eaten since opening the box and taking a heart wrenching stroll down memory lane. Jay was right about her appetite being connected to her emotions. But something in her was driven to pick up the sandwich and take a bite if not for any other reason then to not cause Jay to be even more disappointed in her. She caught him stealing glances at her each time the sandwich came to her mouth. But he said nothing and didn't raise his head from his phone.

About three quarters of the way through her sandwich Will walked in. The brothers greeted one another. Then Will held up the X-ray to Erin.

"Good news is it's not broken. But you did sprain it so I ordered a brace, April will help you fasten it in a few minutes. Keep the brace on except to shower and when you're icing it. I can't sign you off for active duty the rest of the week. Come back in on Monday and we'll see how it is."

Erin stared Will down. He laughed. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not the one who threw a bad punch. Only thing that's going to make your wrist better is rest. Looks like you get bit of a break from chasing down bad guys. Jay's actually gonna have to do some work now," Will teased.

"Easy for you to say you've never been stuck on desk duty." Erin was not please with Will's news.

"Erin." Jay admonished.

Erin let out a huff and thanked Will. He chuckled at her, nodded at his brother and left to treat the next patient. April came in a few minutes later and helped Erin velcro the brace on her wrist, the metal splint held her wrist firm and restricted her finger movement. No way could she fire a gun with this thing on. The idea of a week of desk duty further soured Erin's mood. But she had nothing but her own stupidity to blame for this injury.

"Do you need help getting to the car? Do you want me to drive you back to the district? Mouse and I can grab your car later," Jay offered. His tone was flat. He sounded tired.

"No I can manage."

Jay let out a huff and rubbed his forehead.

"What?" She looked at him expectantly.

"Nothing, let's get going." He motioned for Erin to leave the room ahead of him. She collected her belongings and headed out past the waiting area, giving Maggie a wave goodbye as she passed the desk.

Jay stopped beside Erin's car and watched her climb in before heading to his own car. He followed her back to the district. They climbed the stairs to the bullpen in silence. Erin had barely cleared the landing at the top when Voight summoned her.

"Lindsay, my office." He called out.

Erin took a breath and headed in, closing the door behind her.

"Ever think that maybe calling your boss to let him know you're gonna be late might be a good idea?" He inquired.

"Hank, I..." She began her excuse.

"Save it. I spoke with Frank." He cut her off.

"So then what do you want if you already know what happened?"

He glared at her. "I would have preferred, no expected, a phone call from you instead."

Erin didn't answer. She had no valid reason for not calling him and she knew it. Better to let him have his rant and get on with her day.

Hank sighed. "You've nothing to say?" Erin shrugged "Are you using?"

"WHAT?" The question came out of left field for Erin.

"It's not a stupid question Erin. You're clearly struggling. Your eyes are blood shot, you haven't slept, you're not eating. Everyone is walking on egg shells around you. You think you're hiding what's going on but we all know you too well. Your birthday is days away, as is the anniversary of Nadia's death..."

"Murdered. She didn't die. Nadia was murdered." She spit at him.

"Are you slipping again?" Voight ignored her interruption and pinned her with a stare.

"No," she answered firmly staring right back at him.

"Go home," he dismissed her.

"What? I just told you I'm clean," she shrilled.

"I believe you. Go home," he said without emotion.

"Why?" she challenged.

"Because your exhausted. Because you're injured..."

"I can do desk duty," she interrupted again.

"Because you're emotional," he continued, "and irrational and you need to get your head straight. Because you're my daughter and I care about you and whether or not you or someone on this team takes a bullet because you're too distracted by your grief to do your job."

"Hank," Erin pleaded.

"Erin please. I'm not punishing you," he said, his tone softening. "This is a hard week for you, always has been, a hundred times harder this year. I'm trying to help you. Go home. Eat something, get some sleep, be back on time in the morning."

For the third time today Erin gave in to the demands of a man in her life. She turned, ripped open Hanks office door and stalked across the bullpen making eye contact with no one. Fuck this, she thought as she hurried out to her car.

She pealed out of the district parking lot and headed towards the closest bar. She'd reached her limit. She needed a drink. Badly. The light changed and Erin brought the car to an abrupt halt. Her phone buzzed. She looked down to see Jay's name on it. She ignored it then a pain of guilt made her second guess herself and she answered the phone.

"What do you want Jay?" She answered, exhausted.

"Same thing I always want, to make sure you're okay. Like we promised. Remember that Erin?" He answered, the hurt evident in his voice.

She wasn't being fair. He'd gone out of his way to be there for her, again, and she'd cut him off at the knees, again. He was right. They had made promises. And she was the one breaking them. He deserved so much better than this.

The light turned green and Erin pulled forward.

"Jay, I'm sorry. You've been so good to me. You don't deserve this," she apologized.

"Erin, I've told you a hundred times. I don't want apologies. What I want is for you to stop running every time things get tough. I'm here. I've proven to you over and over I'm here. You promised to come to me. But you're not. How would you feel if it was the other way around? Or would you even care?" She could here the exasperation in his voice. Tears welled up. She hadn't meant to hurt him like this.

Erin stopped at another red light.

How could he even think she wouldn't care? She was about to correct him when she heard a screeching sound. She looked up to see a transport truck headed straight towards her. "Oh shit!" She gasped.