Okay I don't know how many of y'all actually got to read Chapter 31 last week but figured I owed you an update. Apparently there was something up with the site but should be fixed now. Let me know what you think!


It had been four days.

Four days since Piper was dragged from his arms.

Four days since he'd last felt her arms around his neck.

Four days since he'd smelled her hair and held her tightly.

Jay was eerily reminded of the days he counted after Erin left. Each of those days were plagued by nightmares and flashbacks and triggers, and he barely made it out alive.

This time, Jay spent every night at a veteran's support meeting. He made it a point to meet with his therapist, twice, and he threw himself into the case. He knew the judge was dirty, there was no question in his mind. He just needed to prove it.

He still wasn't sleeping. He slept some, obviously, because he was alive, but it was fitful and anything but restful. Jay was staying with Will, unable to stay in the apartment without Piper. His brother was worried, and rightfully so, but on the surface, Jay was alright. He was eating, he was working, and he was doing everything he could to get Piper back to safety.

Erin was another story.

Immediately after she returned to her apartment for a change of clothes, intent on heading to the district to help Jay with the case (she couldn't sit around and do nothing), she got a call from one of her bosses, and she was needed in Washington for three days.

In a sick way, it was good timing. She wasn't going to be missing out on any time with Piper, she'd still be able to make her scheduled visit, and it was a distraction. She wasn't thrilled about leaving Jay, but the request for her attendance was more of an order. It damn near broke his heart when she dropped by the district in tears on the way to an airport, but Jay had been the one to convince her to go. He knew how important it was for Erin to have a stable job to convince the judge that she was fit to take care of Piper.

"Jay?"

"Sorry, what?" Jay looked up from the beer he'd been nursing on Will's couch. They were supposed to be watching the White Sox game, but without Piper, Jay couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I just asked if you wanted to talk about it," his brother said carefully, "I mean, you've been here four days, and we haven't talked."

"I'm sorry," he said in an exhale. He leaned against the back of the couch. "I um, I just really miss her."

"Piper? Or Erin?" Will asked knowingly.

"Both of them," he replied, "And I'm worried about them both, but I'm really worried about Piper and Bunny. I don't trust her for a second."

"Yeah, I mean the shit you said Erin went through growing up," Will mused with a shake of his head, "Terrible."

"Her mom was the reason Erin left Chicago in the first place. I mean, the final straw," Jay muttered, rubbing his thumb over the label on the beer. "She got into trouble, and was going to get picked up by the feds. Erin um, made a deal, so if she took a job with them, they wouldn't prosecute her mother and Bunny could try to get her life on track."

"Jesus," Will shook his head again, "That's gotta be rough since it sounds like Bunny's life isn't on track."

Jay nodded slowly. "She was high when she met Piper for the first time. Piper even knew, and when she came back to my place after the visit, she was traumatized." He swallowed the growing lump in his throat, "I just…I hate that I can't just go get her and bring her back. The worst part in all of this is that Piper doesn't want to be with Bunny."

"What does Erin say?" Will asked, "Anything she can do?"

Jay shook his head again. "She doesn't say much, honestly. She's blaming herself I think, which is hard, because it's not her fault at all. She's given her mom so many chances to turn the corner and she never did, and now she's with Piper and…" Jay trailed off. "She's um, in Washington now, I think. Got called for a meeting, so at least she's distracted."

"Are you guys still trying to make it work?" Will asked, "I know you said last time-"

"Getting Piper to safety is our top priority," Jay cut him off, "And Piper always has been the top priority. Erin and I, we've been talking and stuff, and it was good, Will. Like it was really good, better than before. But now, I don't know what's going to happen."

Will placed a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder. "I love Erin, man. She's good for you, she's always been good for you. But you're my brother, and I'm just looking out for you. I didn't mean to overstep."

"It's fine," Jay waved his hand flippantly, "We'll figure it out, I hope. Guess this is just good practice for me since hopefully Erin will get custody of Piper and bring her to New York."

"You really think Erin's gonna move Piper across the country if she gets custody?" Will furrowed his brow.

"I mean, Bunny's here," Jay exhaled, "I don't know, it might be safer for Piper to not be in Chicago. But I don't know, it all depends on what happens in the hearing next week. If Bunny fucks it up, then Erin should be getting custody, but if not, all bets are off. Either way, this doesn't end well for Piper. If she stays with Bunny, she loses contact with her biological sister. If Erin gets custody, Piper has to move from the only place she's ever known."

"And away from you," Will added, "You're a big part of Piper's story, bro. I'm sure she's missing you as much as you're missing her."

"That's what's killing me," Jay replied honestly, "They um, they had to practically pry her out of my arms. She was sobbing, just begging me to keep her and there wasn't anything I could do." He rubbed his cheek, "I felt like I broke every promise I ever made to her."

"You did your best," his brother said carefully, "You did everything you could."

"Yeah," Jay leaned back against the couch, "I just keep finding out that me doing everything I can still comes up short."

"Jay-"

"I mean it, man. I know I did everything I could with Piper, and with Erin, and hell, even with Mom. But Piper still got taken away, Erin lives across the country and Mom spent most of her marriage dealing with Dad and all his bullshit." He paused, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't-"

"Don't apologize for bringing up Dad," Will said quickly, "I um, I know we talked about it a bit after you first told me, but it's something you went through. You should be able to talk about it. I want you to talk about it."

"Erin said the other day that she never forgave her mom for all the shit she put her through," Jay said softly, "And um, I realized that I never forgave dad either. And I don't want Piper to not forgive me or Erin for this whole crisis."

"That kid loves you, Jay," Will informed him, "She really does, I could tell. And I'm going to bet that she's smart enough to know that it wasn't your fault that all of this happened, and I know you and Erin are working to get her back." He paused. "And I don't blame you for not forgiving Dad. I've been thinking a lot about everything, but especially how I wasn't there for you when you first got back from Afghanistan." He swallowed, "And a part of me, a really big part of me, is glad that Dad's dead. Because if I knew before what I know now, I wouldn't forgive him either. But your relationship with Piper isn't like that. You've spent every waking moment of the past two months trying to keep her safe and healthy, and she knows that, I swear."

Jay was quiet for a moment. "I um, I'm glad I finally told you," he choked out, "I um, I was really ashamed, for a really long time."

Will nodded. "I wish I knew earlier," he said honestly, "But I know you needed to wait. Until I could actually be there for you. And if anything, I'm just glad I know now. It's pretty fucked up but it took Dad dying to really bring us closer together."

Jay snorted and managed a nod. "Yeah. Silver lining, I guess."


Erin's heels clicked as she entered Washington Dulles airport, each step bringing her one step closer to Jay, and one step closer to Piper.

The trip had been both a welcome and unwelcome distraction. Erin was exhausted. She'd spent the night before court lying in bed beside her little sister, gently stroking her soft cheeks, smelling her hair, doing everything she could to ground herself and let the little girl know that she'd do anything to keep her safe. She slept maybe an hour, and was close to vomiting the entire morning as she listened to her lawyer and the judge.

An hour after court adjourned and she was forcibly escorted from the premises, she got a call from one of her bosses about a meeting in Washington, DC. Ordinarily, she'd be pissed about such a last-minute request, but this time, she was grateful. All she wanted to do was throw herself into Jay's arms and cry her eyes out, but she knew that wasn't going to get Piper back. She needed to prove that she had a steady job and income, and was more than capable of raising her little sister.

The days were busy, full of suits and meetings and badly catered meals, but it was the nights that were the hardest. Erin slept with her phone in her hand, half hoping to receive a call from Piper, or even from Jay. She didn't really sleep, and instead tossed and turned against the dozen pillows she requested from housekeeping. She couldn't stop thinking about how it had been before. Erin missed Piper, Chicago and of course, Jay.

She stifled another yawn as she looked at the impending departures list, searching for her flight number. It had been three days of non-stop work, and she was beat. All she wanted was a hot shower using Jay's water pressure and to crawl in bed beside him. Her heart ached when she thought about her partner. He loved Piper as much as she did, almost like she was his daughter. He was fiercely protective and looked absolutely shattered after her little sister was ripped from his grasp.

At first, Erin had wanted to stay. She wanted to help the Intelligence Unit get any intel on the judge or make moves with the case, and she wanted to be there for Jay. He'd been the one to convince her to go, with the promise that he'd be okay. She exchanged a few civil text messages with Will, who informed her that Jay had been staying with him, and was doing alright, all things considered.

Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes, the upcoming departures swimming together. She missed Piper, and Jay, so badly. The little girl had barely been in her life for six weeks, but the idea of returning to Chicago only to have her taken away again tugged at Erin's heart. Bunny certainly had a way of ruining everything.

She missed watching Jay fill the father role that Piper never had. He was so good with her, and always knew how to get her little sister to smile. In six weeks, the timid child she met for the first time at Hank's had been replaced with the most gentle and loving little girl Erin could have possibly imagined. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she thought back to Wisconsin, and how worried Piper had been about her. Her sister just held her as she laid on the bathroom floor, air pressure from the storm wreaking havoc on her injured head. She thought back to Piper giggling at Jay's antics in the kitchen, and how determined she was to beat Will at soccer. She remembered how Piper clung to her after returning from a visit with Bunny, the little girl unwilling to separate herself from her big sister.

Her throat burned with an impending sob that Erin managed to swallow. She couldn't go back, not just yet.

"I um, I need a flight to New York. Whatever's available."


"Halstead," Hank barked, motioning for the detective to join him in his office. Wordlessly, Jay stood up from his desk and ignored the looks from Hailey and the rest of the unit. "Any word from Erin?" Hank asked after his detective closed the door behind him.

Jay shook his head. "She's taking it real hard. I'm um, glad she's out of town for a few days. Gives her some breathing room."

His boss nodded in agreement. "And no word on the kid?"

Jay shook his head again. "She uh, has my number, and Erin's, if she needs us. I can't decide if it's a good or bad thing that she hasn't called." He swallowed, "Did uh, you need something from me, Sarge?"

"Irving's going before a judge today. Still lawyered up, nothing we can really do there but wait to see what happens."

Jay managed a small nod. The man who had assaulted Erin and orchestrated much of Piper's turbulent upbringing was hopefully going to get justice. That was some good news, but he knew not to be too optimistic. "We've also got a lead on the judge," Hank informed him, "Her husband had made some phone calls in the last two weeks to a guy uniforms in the 14th just picked up, who's also made contact with Tyler Marsh."

"Let's go get him," Jay said immediately, furrowing his brow when his boss shook his head, "Why not?"

"There are a lot of traps here, Jay," Hank said carefully, "The woman's a judge. We can't pick her up, or her husband, without substantial evidence."

Jay put his hands behind his head in aspiration. "Okay, so we go talk to the guy at the 14th. See if we can shake him."

Hank nodded, "You and I can roll out in five."


Jenna O'Donnell knocked on the front door to Bunny's house for a wellness check on Piper. It was customary in her line of work to make sure that after a transition that the child was still safe, and being properly cared for. It had been five days since Piper was moved, and while Bunny had been informed of the check ins, she hadn't answered her phone when Jenna had called. Four times.

And so Jenna drove to the address on file, where her colleague had confirmed that he'd left the little girl. She and Frank, and several of their colleagues, had discussed just how uncommon Piper's case was, and how odd it was for the judge to rule on something so arbitrarily, and against the advice of DCFS and the Chicago Police. "Ms. Fletcher," Jenna said after knocking on the door several times, "Ms. Fletcher, it's Jenna O'Donnell, from the Department of Children and Family Services. I'm here for a wellness check."

She frowned at the silence. The television was on, she could hear it through the door, and there were lights on throughout the house. Suddenly, the door cracked open. "Hi, Ms. Fletcher-" Jenna started, but paused when she realized it was Piper who had opened the door. "Piper. Hi, sweetheart. I'm here for a check-in. Is your mom around?"

The little girl shook her head slowly and stepped back. Jenna furrowed her brow. Piper was nine, still too young to be left alone, and part of Bunny's temporary custody agreement was that she would be mindful of the child. "How long have you been by yourself?"

Piper shrugged. "I-I don't know. Since I woke up this morning."

Jenna frowned. It was nearly four in the afternoon. She glanced into the living room and caught sight of the empty beer cans and bottles of liquor. "Did your mom have some people over?"

She turned her gaze back to the little girl, who appeared thin and shaky on her feet. Piper managed another shrug. "Have you had anything to eat today?" Jenna prodded gently, sinking down to meet Piper's eyeline. The child's complexion was almost grey.

Her heart cracked when Piper shook her head. "There isn't anything in the fridge," she whispered, "And I'm not allowed to leave."

"Well, why don't you and I go grab a bite to eat, huh?" Jenna extended her hand. There was no way that she was leaving Piper in the house.

Piper shook her head. "I-I can't go. Bunny, she-she'll be mad."

"She can be mad at me," Jenna replied quickly. She frowned again when Piper looked adamant, "Did she tell you to stay here?"

The little girl nodded. "Or else." Piper's lower lip quivered, "She said she knew people that-that would hurt Erin or Jay. If I tried to leave here."

"Oh, no, sweetheart," Jenna shook her head, "We're not going to let that happen. Come on, I'm going to get you out of here, and we're going to figure something out, okay? You aren't staying here anymore."

Piper breathed a small sigh of relief. "I-I wanted to call Jay or Erin but I couldn't get to the phone."

"That's okay," Jenna said, extending her hand again, "Come on, sweetheart, let's get you something to eat, okay? You're looking a bit shaky on your feet."

"I um, I'm dizzy," Piper whispered, gripping Jenna's arm as she faltered slightly.

"Piper!" Jenna caught the little girl in her arms and hoisted her up, "Sweetheart, can you hear me?"

"Mm," Piper replied weakly, "I want Jay. And Erin."

"We're gonna get you checked out first," Jenna informed her carefully, leading the little girl out of the house, not caring that she wasn't wearing any shoes. She didn't need to be there for a minute longer, "I'll make some calls."


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