Chapter 29

"Hello?" She held her breath, bracing herself to hear the worst from Adam.

"Erin?!"

30 minutes earlier

He was just a beat late, half a second really, but that was enough for Daly to grab the gun from the floor and pulled it away from Jay's reach. Jay's mouth dried, his life flashed before his eyes, knowing that his life was in the hand of this unstable man. The sniper that was hiding in the other building wouldn't have a good shot—not without Jay becoming collateral damage too. So it was all up to him.

Daly put his finger on the trigger and pointed it at Jay but Jay grabbed his wrist, trying to prevent Daly from actually pulling the trigger. The worst thing wasn't him getting hit, it was the innocent babies behind him getting caught in the crossfire. They were in a dead even battle, gripping each other, trying to gain control of the gun. Daly got the edge and he slammed Jay to the ground, his back hitting the hard ground with a loud thud. Jay groaned but barely had a second to recover and get past the pain when the head of the gun was pointed in his face again and he was literally staring up at the barrel of the gun. It was a miracle but Jay had moved quick enough and dodged the bullet that shot off the gun, hitting the ground just barely a couple of inches next to his head. Just a couple of inches to the right and Jay would've been dead with a bullet hole in his forehead.

And Daly was at it again, adjusting his aim back on Jay's head. Jay reached up to grab his arms, redirecting his aim to the ground next to him, all while trying to knock the gun out of Daly's hands. He grunted, hitting Daly's wrists as hard as he could but the bastard had a vice grip on the gun. Then just as Daly had it pointed at Jay again and was about to pull the trigger, two more shots went off. Jay shut his eyes tight, waiting for the pain and pressure to come but it never did. Instead a weight fell on top of him and he reopened his eyes to find Daly's body on top of him. Jay lifted his head and found Antonio standing a few feet away, his gun pointed.

Jay groaned, pushing Daly's weight off of him and the assailant groaned in pain, having been shot twice. Jay got on his knees and scanned Daly's body for the source of the bullet wounds.

"He alright?" Antonio asked, running over to join Jay on the ground.

"Yeah. Looks like he's going to live. Just get a medic here!" Jay barked, too busy pressing his hand on Daly's shoulder. "The one on his arm looks like it's through and through but the shoulder one looks bad. Looks like the bullet is lodged in." Antonio nodded, calling for medic on his radio.

Jay was too busy trying to keep Daly alive that he didn't even notice his team members and other tact teams rushing in to the nursery, clearing the room and making sure that the nurses that were held hostages were alright and got them to safety.

"Okay, we got this from here Detective," the paramedic said, pushing Jay slightly to the side so they can tend to Daly. Jay released his hand and stood up, trying to catch his breath. Antonio and Kevin were there by his side, patting his back and trying to calm him down but the adrenaline was pumping so hard in his body that he could barely hear what was going on around him or what his teammates were saying to him. Instead he just let himself get pushed out of the room, his mind spinning too much to really protest being treated like a rag doll.

The cold air that hit him as soon as he stepped out of the hospital to where the rest of Intelligence was gathered outside felt good. He didn't realize how much he was sweating until he started to feel the chill of his sweat drying off.

"You alright Halstead?" Voight asked, scanning his eyes up and down Jay's body. Jay just nodded, his mouth still not working properly.

"That was a close call kid." Al patted Jay's back in comforting manner and handed him a water bottle which Jay took gladly. He gulped down the whole bottle. Who knew that coming inches to death would make a person thirsty but he felt like he needed more water. Finally after taking the last gulp, he felt his heart started to normalize and the heavy thuds in his ears started to ease.

Then all hell broke loose.

Morelli walked over to them, a smug smile on his face and his hand held out like he was waiting for a congratulatory handshake. Instead he had received the full extent of Voight's rage as his Sergeant roared forward and grabbed Morelli by his lapel.

"Who the fuck authorized the sniper?!"

Morelli grunted, trying to get rid of Voight's hold on him but rage was stronger than fear. Adam and Antonio pulled Voight off. Morelli cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure.

"I did," he replied, tugging on his lapel. "It's standard protocol."

"Standard protocol my ass!" Voight barked back. "Your protocol almost got one of my guy killed. We didn't discuss a sniper being there!"

"The sniper was there as a contingency plan!" Morelli defended. "He was supposed to take Daly out as soon as he got the shot. And watch yourself Voight. I don't answer to you and I'm not someone you can push around like one of your lackey. I am the higher ranking person here and if I wanted the damn sniper, I didn't need to clear it with you!"

Voight sneered. "I don't know how they do things over in S.W.A.T and the whole brawn over brain mentality your team seems to have but here in Intelligence, we use our brain and we come up with a smart plan that our team, the whole team, is aware of. You putting that sniper there without giving anyone a heads up was stupid. You want to use one of your monkeys? That's fine! You should've let everyone know that. Especially the guys that are risking their life to go inside the building!"

"My sniper was highly trained and he was just there as a contingency plan."

"You mean the guy who gave away his position without having a shot?" Jay interrupted, unable to bit his tongue back anymore. "That sniper? If he's the best you got then frankly sir, I'm afraid to see the rest of your team."

The glare that Morelli sent Jay's way was strong but Jay's anger was mounting too. He almost had Daly to give himself up but instead that sniper's incompetence by giving away his position too early had almost got Jay killed.

"I'm not talking about this more with you," Morelli huffed, shaking his head and walking away. "Good to see you alive Detective!" He yelled out.

Jay rolled his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "I hate fed guys!" Jay grumbled, earning murmurs of agreements from his team.

"Jay!" He turned around and saw Will rushing over to him, engulfing him in a huge hug. Jay was almost knocked off his feet at the impact, letting out a loud grunt. "Man, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Yeah I'm fine!"

Will squeezed him even more, patting his back. "You are a fucking idiot you know that? What the hell were you thinking taking my place in there!?"

Jay raised his eyebrows. "I'm the idiot?" he asked disbelievingly. "You're the one who went to the maternity ward searching for trouble. Not to mention, I heard you running your mouth. You could've been shot because of your big mouth."

"I almost had him," Will grumbled. "Idiot."

"You're both idiots!" Natalie cut him fondly. "Really, both of you Halsteads are idiots. Brave but idiotic."

Will and Jay rolled their eyes and Will held Natalie tightly to his chest. "I'm glad you're okay," Natalie said, "Both of you."

Jay nodded and smiled. "You too."

"Thank you," Natalie told Jay. "Not just for coming to save us but for getting Will out safely. That was a close call."

"Of course," Jay waved her thank off. "We're family. Or soon to be family." That triggered something for Jay. "Oh that reminds me. Owen."

Will and Natalie's eyes widened. "Right! Oh my god! I can't believe I forgot that Owen was still in daycare! I totally blanked that my mom is out of town. He must be so scared!"

"It's okay," Jay interrupted. "I went to pick him up already and Erin is watching him."

Natalie let out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank you so much Jay. And Erin too."

Jay smiled. "She's happy to help. It's probably driving her crazy that she couldn't do more but she was happy to watch him." A police officer came over. "I think you guys have to go and give your statement," Jay pointed over at the officer. "Just take your time okay? I know it was a close call and both of you guys probably need time to settle down so me and Erin, we can take Owen for the night and you guys can pick him up in the morning."

Will nodded, hugging Jay again. "Thanks man. I really appreciate it. Really." Jay nodded, patting Will's shoulder. Natalie smiled and thanked Jay again before they both followed the officer to give their statement.

Jay walked back to the team and waited for Daly to be escorted out. Finally after about fifteen minutes, the man was already bandaged up and walked out, cuffed and escorted by several officers. Jay found himself walking over to the man, who almost killed him tonight. But instead of anger, he felt remorse and almost sympathy for the man.

Daly noticed Jay but he remained silent, wondering what Jay was going to say. Jay didn't know himself but all he knew was that he wanted to say something. "Hey man, I'm sorry that it all went down like this," Jay started. "I hope you work out your issues man. Good luck….with everything." Daly didn't reply, just hung his head and refused to make eye contact with Jay until he was pushed and put in the police car.

Adam came over and stood next to Jay and the two men watched as the car drove away to take Daly into custody and book him for his crime. "They found a lab report that the mom did. A paternity test. The kid wasn't his."

Jay didn't know how to feel about Adam's revelation. "So all this was for nothing."

"He thought it was his, you know?" Adam replied. "Sometimes we want something so badly that we lose ourselves."

Jay nodded. "I think he was already lost. This just pushed him over the edge," Jay said to himself. Perhaps there was a part—a huge part—of him that related to Daly. They were almost one and the same: military man who lost their ways when they came home. A sudden heaviness came over Jay's heart—a feeling he hadn't felt in so long. He didn't want to go back down that path, to relive those memories of him returning back home and lost and disillusioned. He didn't want to fall back into that dark hole. He wouldn't. Not this time because now he knew better than to fight his battle alone. Now he knew to ask for help, to lean on Erin.

Thinking of her and how she must be freaking out, he desperately wanted to talk to her. He needed to hear her voice—her raspy but soothing tone that would drown out all the other noises in his head. He reached into his front pocket to pull out his phone, frowning when he saw the front screen cracked. He pressed the button but it didn't work.

"Shit," he cursed. "Hey Adam, let me borrow your phone a second. Mine didn't make it and I want to call Erin." Adam happily handed over his phone and Jay called Erin, unable to wait any longer to hear her voice on the other line.

"Erin!" She deflated, hearing Jay's voice on the other side. All the fear, dread and worry that filled her body and made her tense just eased out at hearing the most beautiful sound she had ever heard in her life. Jay's voice.

"Jay!" The tears welled up in her eyes quick and she couldn't stop the choked sob that came out of her mouth. "Jay!" That was all she could say at the moment, words of how relieved she was that he was safe not coming to her properly. She leaned against the fridge and fell down to the ground, unable to hold herself up longer.

"Erin, you okay?"

She almost laughed. He was the one who faced danger tonight and he was asking her if she was okay. This man. Her man. She just loved him so much. "Yeah, I'm great. You okay?"

"In one piece," was his reply. There was nothing more Erin wanted at that moment than to have Jay in her arms again so she could squeeze the heck out of him and pour out all of her love for him. She wanted to pepper his face with kisses, a kiss for every pound of relief that coursed through her body that he was just fine.

"I was so worried," Erin whispered hoarsely, the whole waiting thing had been a nightmare. "I was so scared."

"I know babe. I know. But I'm alright. Everyone's alright. Will and Natalie are safe."

Erin nodded even though Jay couldn't see her. "That's good. When are you coming home?"

Jay sighed. "Not for a couple more hours. We need to wrap everything up here and help out with getting the hospital settle again. But I'll be home as soon as I can. I promise."

"Okay," Erin gave in. "Just be safe. I'll see you soon okay? I love you."

Even though she couldn't see him, she almost felt his smile at him replying "I love you too," before they hung up. Erin held the phone in her hand for a bit longer, just she could saw Jay on it. But Owen's little shouts at the game broke her daze and she quickly wiped away her tears, not wanting Owen to see her crying.

After gathering herself, she sat back down next to Owen who was totally engrossed in the game even though Erin was sure that he didn't understand fully what was going on. But it was enough to see his smiling face. Even the fact that the Packers were winning wasn't enough to sour her mood.

"Go birds!" Owen cheered again, pumping his fist even though the Seahawks were losing and had a turnover. Erin giggled, pulling the boy to her side.

"Go birds!" she agreed, planting a kiss on top of his soft hair.

Jay was exhausted. He was the type of tired where it seemed to seep into his bones, like coming down hard from an adrenaline high and it took everything out of him. After spending the next couple of hours cleaning things up and wrapping up loose ends at Chicago Med, he was finally done for the night. Now all he needed was a hot shower and a good sleep with Erin wrapped up around him. That was all he had in his mind as he unlocked the door and walked in to their home.

He hung his keys on the hook and made his way further in to where the light was coming from. The television screen was playing some sports highlight show and the city lights from outside the window added to the dim glow of the room. But what caught his attention was the two figures sleeping on the couch, Owen tucked into Erin's side as they both softly snored, deep in their sleep. Jay smiled, his heart lightening up immediately at the sight. Erin's arms around Owen's small body as if she was protecting him in her sleep, Owen relaxed and at peace in her arms, trusting her. It was just what Jay needed after the night he had. Coming home to the people he loved the most.

He sat himself on the edge of the couch, just watching them sleep, the fond smile still glued to his face. His mind drifted off to the thoughts he had been having a lot lately—the future where he and Erin had children of their own. He could just picture the future where Erin was his wife and their little boy or girl would be waiting for him to get home. All the tiredness would be wiped away just like it was right now. He wanted it, he wanted all of it.

He chuckled to himself as Owen began to stir a bit. Jay walked over to him and crouched down, picking up his sleeping body to take him to the guest room. He lifted Owen up slowly, careful to not wake either of the sleeping beauties up, and hoisted Owen over his shoulder and made his way over to the guestroom. But Owen was apparently a light sleeper as he began to move around. Jay shushed him, patting his back softly.

"Go back to sleep buddy."

Owen whined sleepily a bit, squirming in Jay's arms. "It's okay. It's just me, Uncle Jay."

"Where's Mommy?" Owen's sleepy voice asked.

"She and Will will be here in the morning to pick you up. So you can sleep in our big boy bed tonight." He entered the guestroom and gently laid Owen on the bed and tucked him in.

"Erin?" Owen mumbled, still half asleep.

"She's in the living room. Go back to sleep."

Owen mumbled a few more incoherent things, causing Jay to laugh. "She's fun," was the only coherent thing Jay caught.

"Yeah? You had fun with Aunty Erin? What did you guys do anyway?"

Owen squirmed on the bed and muttered, "Rogers bad."

Jay quirked his eyebrow before understanding dawned on him. "Rogers bad? Yeah it sounds like Erin got to you huh?"

"Go birds," was the last sleepy mumble from Owen before he fell back asleep. Jay chuckled to himself before leaning down to plant a kiss on his face.

"Night," he whispered before turning off the lights and softly closing the door.

He made his way back to the living room and kneeled down next to the sofa, taking the chance to just watch Erin in her peaceful sleep. She was the one person he wanted to come home to for the rest of his life, the one person he wanted waiting for him every day. Going through nights like this just made things clearer—even more so than before. He sighed, grunting slightly as he stood up and sat on the edge of the couch, ignoring his sore muscles. He reached over and ran his fingers gently over Erin's cheeks, smiling to himself at the soft touch he felt. And just like that, all the heaviness in his heart, all the doubts that were swarming in his head about what he could've done better tonight, all the what-ifs and what-abouts just vanished, all at the sight of her.

She finally stirred and fluttered her eyes open, immediately widening at the sight of him. Then before he knew it, he was engulfed by her everything. Her arms were wrapped tight around his neck while her mouth was peppering kisses all over his face and just about everywhere she could reach and he just let himself relish in the moment. "You're okay!" she kept muttering in between kisses and he just chuckled, just trying to hold her in his embrace. "You are okay right?" she finally managed to pull away to scan him and made sure that he was fine.

"Yeah Erin. I'm perfect now." She scanned him again for good measure but all he needed was her lips so he pulled her close to him and connected their lips. That was all he needed. She sighed into the kiss, especially when he sank his hands into her hair and pulled her closer. She pressed her forehead against his and they regained their breath together.

"I was so worried," was her whisper against his skin. He understood her fear, knowing he would've been the same if he was in her shoes.

"I know. But I'm okay. I promise." She just nodded, looking into his eyes.

"Will? Natalie? Everyone's okay?"

"Everyone's just fine."

"What about the gunman? Did he make it out alive?"

"He got shot a couple of times but he'll live." Jay shrugged, his mind clouding again at the mention of Daly. He was just so close—so so close—to get Daly to give in but he had failed and the man had gotten hurt. The last he heard from the medics was that while his injuries weren't life threatening, the bullet lodged into his arm looked pretty bad. And Jay just hated the thought of a Veteran who had already fallen so deep to get another punch in the mouth—the knockout punch.

"Hey where'd you go?" Erin's worried voice broke him out of his thoughts and he met her inquiring eyes. He gave her a small smile and shook his head, waving her concern off.

"So I heard that you've taught Owen some interesting things tonight."

She grinned. "Hey it was about time he learns that the Packers and Rodgers suck. After all, he's a Chicagoan. And Will wasn't even going to watch football with him. Can you believe your brother?"

Jay laughed, kissing her cheek. "Well, I'm glad that you're in Owen's life now. Got to teach him the important thing."

"Damn right," she agreed, smiling when he laid a kiss on the side of her head. "So Owen is spending the night here?"

"Yeah, I put him in the guest room. Will and Natalie are probably going to be busy all night with getting Med back in order with all the patients and maybe even need time to de-stress. Told them we'd be happy to keep him for the night and they could pick him up in the morning."

Erin agreed, leaning into Jay's arm. "He's really an adorable kid. Will and Natalie are lucky."

"Yeah. He's the best." Until our kid was what he wanted to add but he kept it to himself.

"Are you hungry? I have some mac and cheese left over." Jay shook his head.

"I just want to get to bed." He just wanted to sleep the night away, cuddled up with Erin. She nodded, understanding his wish and stood up from the couch and held out her hand. He grabbed onto her and wrapped his arms around her back and they both stumbled clumsily to their bedroom, attached to each other.

Jay didn't bother changing, just getting rid of his shirt and pants until he was in his boxers and laid down. She immediately cuddled into him, just like he needed, and he laid a kiss on her hair. That was all he needed to de-stress and unwind from the day. Just her. So he voiced it, wanting her to know just how vital her presence was to him and his sanity. Just how her usual-Erin smell and her arms around him brought him a type of serenity that didn't exist anywhere else in his world.

She didn't need to reply with words. Just a smile into his chest and her fingers telling another bedtime story for his heart to hear were just the reply he needed.

It was the sudden and rapid knocks that reverberated through the rooms that woke him up, high alert and had him reaching for his gun. His sudden movement in bed woke Erin up from her peaceful sleep too, ready to back him up even in her half asleep state. But he motioned for her to stay in bed and stay in the room. But of course, Erin was Erin and he should've known that there was no way she was staying behind so they both walked to the door to see who was waking them up at four in the morning. He looked in the peephole and released an annoyed sigh.

"It's Will and Natalie," he told Erin and opened the door, finding his brother and his fiancé on the other side, bouncing on their feet. "What are you guys doing here?"

They just entered the apartment, practically pushing Jay out of the way. "We couldn't wait to see Owen any second so as soon as we were done, we came straight here," Natalie said. "Where's my boy?"

Erin pointed to the guestroom. "He's sleeping. Come on, I'll take you there." She led Natalie to the guestroom, leaving Jay and Will in the living room.

"What's with the gun?" Will gestured with his head to the gun Jay was holding in his hand. "Expecting any intruders?"

Jay rolled his eyes, making sure the safety was on and putting his gun on the counter. "Just a couple of idiots who thought it was a good idea to knock on a cop's door like the world was ending at four in the morning."

"Yeah," Will grimaced. "Sorry about that. Natalie was just eager to see Owen. And I was too. I just want to hug my little boy you know?" Jay nodded, understanding.

"Will!" Owen shouted happily, despite still being sleepy at seeing Will and he squirmed in Natalie's arms until she handed him off to Will who happily caught the boy.

"Hey little man, you have a fun night?" Owen nodded, quickly falling back asleep on Will's shoulders. Jay chuckled seeing how Owen could be hyper as hell a minute then falling asleep just as fast another. Kids.

"Thank you so much Erin for watching Owen tonight," Natalie said, hugging Erin.

"Of course. I had fun too. He's a great kid." Erin smiled at the proud parent look that came across both Natalie and Will's faces. "And I'm so happy that you guys are okay. Really."

"Yeah it was a close call," Will sighed. "But Jay here was the hero as usual. Saved my ass." Erin turned her head over to Jay and gave him a beaming smile, although the confusion was on her face, Jay haven't had a chance to fully tell Erin what happened just yet.

"Everyone is alive and kicking to see another day. That's all that matter right?"

"I think we got to get this little guy in bed so we should get going." They exchanged final hugs and Erin laid a kiss on Owen's face. "Thanks again Erin." Will said and he and Natalie left, carrying Owen.

Jay was having a hard time falling back asleep after being woken up so he just laid still in bed, not wanting to wake Erin up again. He turned to his side slowly until he was facing her. She was on her stomach, hand tucked under her pillow and the moonlight that came in from the window was hitting her just right—making her glow against the darkness of the bedroom. So Jay just took the chance to watch her in her dreamland.

"I can feel your eyes on me," she mumbled, squinting an eye open to look at him. He laughed, bringing his hand to rest on her hip and tugged her close to him. "Can't sleep?"

He shook his head. "I always have a hard time falling back asleep." She just nodded, her hand tracing pattern on his bare back, trying to lull him back asleep. "That feels good," he muttered, closing his eyes.

"Yeah?" She scooted closer to him and laid a few soft kisses on his chest. "How about this?"

"Mmmm," he moaned, "That feels better." She laughed softly, laying a few more kisses on his chest.

"What's on your mind?" she asked between kisses, knowing the perfect way to get him to open up. "Tell me," she gently held his shoulder until he was looking at her in the eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to refuse her.

He sighed, burying his face in her hair. "Just thinking about what went down earlier."

She nodded, knowingly. "Will said you saved him? What happened?"

"You know Will. He wasn't supposed to be in the maternity ward but he went searching for Natalie and instead of him finding Natalie and saving her, he became the hostage. Of course, he was running his mouth as usual even with a gun pointed at him so I went in and distracted Daly so he wouldn't shoot Will."

"Jay," her tone was unreadable and Jay didn't know whether she was angry with him or not for putting himself in danger. She didn't elaborate or said anything else, just pressing her palms on his chest, allowing him to continue.

"And I almost had him. I almost had him giving up but Daly, he saw the red dot from the sniper from across the building and he panicked. And we just started grappling for the gun. He got the edge on me and I came…." he paused, "I came so close to getting hit with the bullet. But I got lucky and Antonio stopped him. Shot him twice."

"Better him than you."

He released a small chuckle, although there was nothing funny about the situation. "The thing is I still feel like I failed him. Like I should've stopped him before he got shot. And I almost had him too. He was about to drop the gun and surrender himself but some power tripping SWAT guy thought he knew better and put a sniper on the case. But I almost had him, Erin."

"Jay, it's not your fault," Erin said, holding onto his arm. "This guy, he made his choice when he decided to hold the hospital hostage. He was the one who decided to hold up babies. He made that choice."

"Yeah I know. I get that," he sighed. "But I just…there was this part of him that I could relate to."

"What do you mean?"

"He was in the military just like I was but it's more than that. He came home and found that there was nothing waiting for him. I know what that's like." He shut his eyes, just kept his face buried in her hair. It made it easier for him to talk, to open up. "Erin, when you're deployed and fighting for your life overseas, it's hard. Not just to stay alive but to want to stay alive. Some days when bullets are flying past you or you're crawling through mud and god knows what else, you just come to a point when you think it's just easier to give up, not have to fight for every breath, to get past every day in that desert hell. But then you remember what's waiting for you back home, what you have to lose. Everyone has something or someone." His voice became strained, thinking about his mother. "For me, it was my mom. She was the picture I kept in my head when I was fighting to make my way out, just kept picturing her face knowing that every bullet that I shot, every day that passed was one day closer to seeing her again."

It was something that was hard to talk about for him, even with all the support group sessions. Even with all the years that passed. But her soothing hands on his skin was the key that unlocked all the darkness he held inside, hidden away from the world so no one, especially her, ever saw it. But they made promises to each other—to help carry each other's load. And tonight, his back was straining from the weight and she was willing to offload some of it.

"Then I came home and found out that my mom was sick, Will was off to wherever he was and my dad was too busy caring about himself. And just as quickly as I had her back, I lost her. The only person that kept me alive, one that made me want to fight to live, she was gone. And that broke me." He sighed, recalling the dark time in his past. "So I drowned myself in alcohol and nameless women every night, not wanting to feel anything. To stop living. When Daly was telling me about his story, how his wife and his son were his motivation while he was there and coming home and finding out that his wife was having an affair and that the son wasn't his and losing everything he thought he had? I got that. I understood that. I don't know. I got where he was coming from I guess."

"Jay, so you sympathized with him. That's because that's the type of man you are. Understanding, compassionate. It doesn't make you a bad person."

"Erin, he held up newborn babies, put them in danger and I empathized with him? What kind of monster am I?"

Erin pulled away enough so she could hold his face, not allowing him to hide anymore. She cupped his face with enough force so he was staring at her, full focus on her, no hair or walls to hide behind. "You are a good man Jay Halstead. The best man I know. You didn't hold anyone hostage. You didn't hurt anyone, even when you were lost and suffering. You didn't put anyone in danger. So you empathized with Daly. That just showed how big of a heart you have. That you were willing to look past the heinous thing he was doing and see how lost he was. And not just seeing it but understanding it and wanting to help him. Not a lot of people would do that. Not a lot of people would risk their life like you did tonight. They would've happily let the sniper take the shot and call it a day, not caring if Daly was brought in alive or not. That doesn't make you a monster. If anything, that makes you a hero. My hero."

"I don't feel like a hero," Jay whispered. "I feel like I failed."

She ran her thumb on his jaw, smoothing the skin. "You said you almost had him surrender right? You got through to him Jay. That sniper being there wasn't on you. You didn't fail anyone. Daly's alive, he'll live to see another day. Hopefully to put his life back together just like you did. I don't know about you but that's called a success in my book."

Jay nodded, letting Erin's comforting words wash over him, trying to drown the noises in his head. She always knew just what to say, just how to make him feel better and he was eternally grateful for this woman that was lying next to him, happy to have her in his life, carrying his load that was too heavy for him.

"Thank you," he told her sincerely, running his fingers on her face. She tried to wave it off like it wasn't a big deal but he wouldn't let her. "No, Erin. I mean it. Thank you." He kissed her. "I can't even being to explain what it means to have you here with me. You, everything about you, just makes everything about me better."

She smiled, capturing his lips again. "Well get used to it because I plan to be here for a long time."

"Even if I keep waking you up at 4 in the morning?"

She chuckled. "Even then." For the rest of their lives remained unspoken between them but somehow they knew, understanding the unspoken words without needing to be said. Jay just tugged her closer to his chest, letting her rest her face on his chest and letting her soothe him like she had been doing all night.

"You know what's in three days right?"

Jay turned around in the kitchen, catching Erin send him a heated look from her seat on the couch. He bit his lips, pretending to think over her question. "Hmmm? Dentist appointment? A night out at Molly's?"

She rolled her eyes, leaning back on the couch. "Hmm, don't start with me Halstead. If you can't remember what's in three days, I will hurt you."

He laughed, walking over to the couch and plopped down next to her. "Remind me again?"

She didn't wait a second before jumping on him and straddling him on the couch, arms going around his neck and head bending down to kiss him deeply. She moaned into the kiss as his hands roamed all over her body. "Thought it'd be better to demonstrate it for you instead." She raised her eyebrows at him. "Remember now?"

He leaned up to catch her lips again, sticking his tongue in her mouth. He snuck his hand underneath her sweater and explored the smooth skin he found there, gripping her back. "Yeah, it's coming back to me. Slowly. Need a bit more reminder though."

In three days, Erin would have her final check up with the doctor. She had already completed most of her physical therapy and was feeling better than ever, both mentally and physically but they were waiting for the final approval from Rhodes so not only she could return to work but he could finally have her fully again and make love to her like he had been dying to do for the past month. They had been counting down the days, practically bursting with anticipation and needs that had been building up for weeks. Jay had an inkling that their first time in over a month would just have them ripping off their clothes in mere minutes and he couldn't wait.

"Hmm," she moaned into his mouth, tongue swirling around his as her fingers played with the hair on the nape of his neck. "That's enough of a reminder." She pecked his lips a couple of more times and made to get off but he held her in his embrace, her still on his lap.

"Excited to get back to work?" he asked, twirling her hair around his fingers.

"Oh yeah," she quickly answered. "Maybe even more than anything else." She teased him, squealing with laughter when he dug his fingers in her side, tickling her. "Okay okay, I give up!"

"That's what I thought!" he smirked at her, catching her lips again.

"Don't get so cocky there Halstead. I'm going to have my gun back soon."

"Hmm, not before you have to recertified for your weapon," he grinned, teasing her. "And who knows? Maybe your time on SVU might've dulled your skill a bit. I mean do you guys even fire your weapons there?"

She smacked his chest. "I'm pretty sure I can still kick your ass when it comes to shooting Halstead. It's like riding a bike. You never forget. Muscle memory."

"Challenge accepted," Jay said. "We'll see who's still the best shot in this house is."

"Me!" they both said simultaneously, laughing at each other's response.

"You're such a dork!" she chuckled, smacking his chest fondly.

"But you love this dork."

She sighed. "Unfortunately I do," she bent down to kiss him again. "A lot. Too much for my own good really."

He smiled into the kiss. "That's a good thing this dork loves you that much too. What are we going to do?"

"Live happily ever after together?" she whispered. "Although I'll take keep making out for right now."

"Mmmm, exactly what I was thinking," he mumbled before they reconnected their lips again. She moved her mouth to his neck, pecking at the strip of skin she found there. He held her hip, fingers gripping at it in pleasure. They were in their own heaven, getting lost in each other when rapid knocks came through the door.

"Jay! Erin!" Will shouted from the other side. Jay groaned, feeling Erin laid her head in between his neck in frustration. "I know you're in there! Open up!"

"I'm going to kill Will!" Jay griped. "Why does he insist on keep knocking at our door in the middle of the night?"

Erin sighed. "Let's just see what he wants." Jay groaned, Erin getting off of him so he could stand up and open the door. He had a glare on his face as he swung the door open, ready to give Will a piece of his mind about interrupting him and Erin at an ungodly hour of the night.

"Finally!" Will shouted as he and Natalie barged their way inside.

"What the hell do you want Will?"

Erin walked over and stood next to him, seeing the gleeful and grinning faces of Will and Natalie. "What's going on?" Erin asked.

"Pack your bags guy!" Will said, bouncing on his feet. "We're eloping!"