Don't worry, the little admission of love convo will continue soon :)


Jay sat on the couch in the breakroom, thumbing through case files. He'd let Erin take his desk to work from her laptop but figured she couldn't be getting that much accomplished given how tired she was. Both of his girls remained exhausted even after the night sleep at Hank's house. He'd slept fairly well, thanks to whatever low dose of pain medicine his doctor had prescribed, but had woken up a few times throughout the night with a tug in his heart. He missed sleeping beside Erin and Piper. It helped that Erin's childhood bed still smelled like her and that she stayed with him until he fell asleep, but even having his girls in the next room wasn't close enough. He didn't know how he was going to manage when they weren't just a bedroom away, but several states.

Piper had taken him up on his offer to join him on the couch and almost immediately fell asleep with the book in her lap. He absentmindedly ran his hand up and down her back as she slept, needing the constant reassurance that his little friend was beside him and not holed up at her mother's house, fearing for her life.

Hank had given him the cliff notes on the status of the case – they had Irving and Marsh in custody, along with the judge's husband. Everyone's lips were fairly tight, but the judge, Lorraine Blackburn, let it slip that her husband had a standing poker game once a week. Voight had somehow secured an undercover role, and would be attending the poker game in an attempt to apprehend Donny and ultimately bring the entire organization down with him.

His pain was surprisingly manageable, so much so that he had to repeatedly remind himself that he'd been shot two days prior and nearly died after a partial lung collapse. He was honestly just relieved to be back with Piper, and with Erin, that any slight discomfort he had was shoved to the back of his mind.

After Erin's tearful admission of love, Jay was having a hard time keeping it together. He was positively over the moon that Erin still loved him, and that he still loved her, but it was so complicated. They'd both agreed to prioritize Piper, and while they loved each other, it was important that Piper feel safe. Jay wanted to believe that he and Erin would be together forever, that Piper could grow up knowing a safe and loving relationship, but he remembered just how quickly things had gone south between them before. It wouldn't be fair to any of them to start something, especially if that something was a long-distance relationship.

As he combed through the files, looking for any additional information in the documents he already poured over for hours before, Jay thought about his job. He loved being a detective, he loved the unit, he loved protecting the city. For all the hardships and difficult cases and heartbreak, his job saved him. It had broken him, but it also put him back together more times than he wanted to admit. It brought him to friends that became family, and to the love of his life. It wasn't something that he wanted to abandon.

But he could abandon it. He'd do anything if it meant staying with Erin, and with Piper. He could get a job in private security out in New York, or figure out another career entirely. He hadn't even graduated college, and maybe he could get a degree and figure something else out. Either way, Jay realized something. The job wasn't his life. Erin and Piper, they were it.

He glanced toward the breakroom door to see Erin shuffling in, making a beeline for the coffee pot. Her stance exuded exhaustion as she fumbled with the filter and hastily pressed the button to start the machine. "Three cup kinda day, huh?" He quipped, flashing a small smile.

"Try four," Erin mumbled dryly, turning from the machine. "I swear, the coffee here is just as bad as when I left."

"I think it's worse," he replied, "That or my tolerance for caffeine is way up because whatever the department supplies barely cuts it. There's a new coffee shop up the street that I've been going to if you want. Their stuff will really get your heart beating."

Erin managed a small smile. "Maybe later. I'll tough it out with the coffee flavored water for now." She glanced to her little sister who was leaning against Jay, her features lax with sleep. "She hasn't really slept," Erin mused as she leaned against the counter, waiting for enough coffee to drip into the pot for her to pour, "Had a really bad nightmare last night."

"Poor thing," Jay murmured, gently stroking Piper's back with one had as the little girl snoozed against his good side. "The whole Bunny experience has really thrown her for a loop. She used to sleep pretty consistently throughout the night, but that's two nightmares in three nights."

Erin gave a grim nod. "I um, I'm still pretty worried about her. She really hasn't eaten much either, and I know it feels like a while since she was at Bunny's but it was literally three days ago." She swallowed, "She's so tiny. Like she could be in first grade, not going into fifth."

"I know," he mused, frowning slightly when he ran his fingers across Piper's back and felt her ribs, "She uh, she's supposed to have that appointment with Dr. Murphy tomorrow."

She let out a small exhale. "I'm glad. I don't want her to suffer." Erin paused. "I um, I spoke with my lawyer."

Jay immediately widened his eyes and instinctively stiffened. He was trying to remain casual but the realization that a case update meant Piper would be leaving him soon, either to Erin or god forbid Bunny again put him on edge. "She say anything helpful?"

"Nobody's been able to find Bunny," Erin said, raking a hand through her hair, "Three days since Jenna found Piper, and based on what she said, they think Bunny's been gone five days. My lawyer thinks that if Bunny doesn't even attempt to show in court next week I have a pretty good chance at custody."

"That's great." Jay had to force the words out of his mouth. Piper going into Erin's custody was the best case scenario. She would be safe and loved, and with her family. But it didn't stop him from thinking about what else it meant – that his girls would be moving across the country, away from him.

"Is it really terrible of me that I hope to God Bunny doesn't show up again?" she asked, her voice thick, "I just can't-"

"It's not terrible at all," he promised, "I was thinking the same thing and-" Jay paused when a low whimper escaped Piper's sleeping lips. He immediately furrowed his brow as he felt her beginning to tremble beside him, still appearing to be asleep.

"This is what happened last night," Erin whispered, "I heard a noise and then-" Piper let out a pained shriek that was muffled by the couch cushion.

"Hey, hey, Pipes, it's okay," Jay soothed, immediately adjusting himself on the couch so he could more easily provide comfort, "Wake up, kiddo, you're just dreaming."

Piper screamed again, as if she was being stabbed or worse. He quickly touched her shoulder and she flinched, startling awake with a gasp.

"Erin? Erin?" Piper looked desperately around the breakroom as she tried to recognize her surroundings. Her breath was short and pained, her cheeks flushed.

"I'm here, I'm right here," Erin assured her, abandoning the coffee machine and hurrying forward to the couch, "You're safe, sweetheart."

Piper exhaled shakily, tears filling her eyes. "You're okay," she promised, squatting in front of the couch where her partner and little sister were sitting. Piper was positively shaking while Jay looked slightly bewildered at how rapidly the child's dream – nightmare – had escalated.

Erin's heart ached as Piper tumbled into her arms, desperately clutching her sister's neck. She frowned at just how violently her little sister was trembling after a mid-nap nightmare. Piper hadn't even been asleep that long, and previously appeared to be peaceful. "Shh," Erin cooed, lightly stroking Piper's back, "You're safe. Jay and I are here."

"I-I-I keep dreaming she's going to come back and take me away," Piper whimpered, "That's what she was going to do."

Jay exchanged a look with Erin. "She said she was going to take you somewhere?" Erin asked, swallowing the fear that had risen in her throat, "Bunny?"

Piper nodded slowly. "That's how come she went to do errands. She said we were going away, and she had to pick stuff up." Tears trickled down her cheeks, "T-that's how come I didn't eat, b-because before with Donny, sometimes I would eat and then I would wake up somewhere I didn't know feeling all fuzzy. I-I didn't want that to happen again."

Erin set her jaw. Her worst suspicions of her mother had been confirmed. Bunny had been scheming to take Piper away from Chicago. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Piper wept, "I didn't want you to be mad at me for not eating but after I woke up the first time feeling fuzzy I knew."

Jay sucked in a breath. "You woke up not feeling good when you were with Bunny?" He was going to arrest the woman. He knew she was bad news and trying to get the little girl into her custody by any means possible, but Piper's anecdote indicated that her biological mother drugged her. Jay was beside himself and Erin didn't appear to be faring much better. His partner's eyes were wide as she held Piper closely against her chest, still kneeling on the linoleum floor.

Piper managed a small nod, glancing fearfully from Jay to Erin. "I'm sorry," she repeated, "When I was there I didn't want to feel fuzzy or wake up somewhere else so I didn't eat and I know I'm supposed to." Her voice cracked again, "I don't want you to be mad at me."

"We're not mad," Erin said quickly, "Not at all, sweetheart." She swallowed again, unable to comprehend the fact that Bunny was trying to sedate her little sister to take her away. She was so glad Piper was smart enough to avoid anything Bunny prepared but also heartbroken that she had to even think like that. "I'm so sorry, Piper. You're safe now, I promise."

"You look mad," she whimpered, seeing just how dark Erin and Jay's eyes were. "I know I should have told you earlier but everything was hard to remember and-"

"We're not mad at you, Pipes," Jay managed, "We're upset that Bunny tried to take you away, and that she gave you something to make you not feel good, and that you went without anything to eat." He let out a breath, "You know that Erin and I would never do that, right?"

Piper nodded. "I know I'm safe, I-I just keep dreaming that I'm back there." Tears creeped out of the sides of her eyes before she could stop them. "I thought I was going to wake up and be far away and not know where you and Erin were."

Erin held tighter to the little girl in her embrace. When she saw her mother next, if she ever showed up again, Erin was going to let her fucking have it. The fact that she'd dosed Piper with something had her entire body feeling like it was on fire. Trying to take her away was one thing, but endangering her life with a substance was something else entirely. She was never going to forgive her.

"We are always going to be there for you," Erin whispered, "You're not going to be alone, we're going to make sure of that." She paused. They needed all the details from the little girl to make sure Bunny never got near her again. "Noodle, I know it might be hard, but it's really important that you tell me and Jay everything about what happened when you were with Bunny. We're not mad at all," she clarified quickly, "But we do want to be sure that the new judge and all the lawyers know what she tried to do so we can make sure it doesn't happen again."

Piper looked up to Jay, and then to her big sister. "I-I told you most of it," she started, "The stuff I remember. Mr. Donovan brought me to Bunny's, and she told him we were gonna go shopping to get some clothes for me, but after he left, Bunny said we were gonna have dinner. She made food in the microwave. I wasn't hungry but she said I had to eat everything, or she would be upset, and that I didn't want to see her upset. I didn't, so I ate but then I started feeling like I used to, when Donny would say we were going on a long drive." Piper shuddered at the memory. "I woke up on the bed and I didn't know where I was, and there were all these voices, people in Bunny's house. There was music and yelling and it was just like living with the Marsh's or Donny."

"Did you meet any of her friends?" Jay asked gently. Piper had previously told them that she'd stayed hidden, but he needed to confirm. If there was anyone else involved, he was going to make sure they spent the rest of their lives in a cell.

She shook her head. "I hid because I really wasn't feeling good. I woke up the next morning, and Bunny was passed out on the couch. I had some cereal because I knew it was safe, and then I tried to get to her phone, to call you, but it was in her hand and I couldn't get it." Piper let out a breath. "I-I hid for the rest of the time. Mostly in the closet. She kept trying to get me to come out, and was really mad when I didn't. I drank some water at the sink but there were people around, so I hid again. I always pretended I was sleeping because of what Erin said. E-every time I woke up I was scared I was somewhere else. It was probably two days before Bunny came to tell me she was running an errand, but that we were going to leave. She said if I tried anything, she was going to get one of her friends to find me, and then find you guys, and that no matter what, I wasn't going to get to see you again."

Erin silently stroked Piper's back, overwhelmed by just how horrible her mother was. She pressed a kiss on top of her head and held her even closer, doing her best to ground herself using the little person in her arms. Thank god Piper was safe and away from Bunny. "We're going to keep you safe," Erin choked out finally, meeting Jay's dark eyes, "And Jay and I are safe too, nobody is going to hurt us."

Piper sniffed and gave a small nod of understanding. "You're still doing okay?" she asked the detective, turning her head from Erin's neck.

Jay nodded and forced a smile. "Oh yeah, I'm doing really good actually. Even better with both you guys here with me."


"Hey," Hailey greeted with a soft knock on the breakroom door, "How's it going in here?"

"Solid," Jay replied, setting the case files beside him on the couch, "We're going a bit stir crazy though."

"You're going stir crazy," Erin corrected him from her seat at the table in the breakroom, "Piper and I are quite content, aren't we Noodle?" She grinned when Piper nodded in agreement. Erin had elected to bring her work back to be closer to Jay and Piper after making another call to her lawyer to inform her about Piper's admission that Bunny had given her something to make her feel, as she put it, fuzzy.

Will had immediately replied to Jay's text regarding Piper's latest labs, which confirmed that nothing had shown up in her bloodwork, likely because Piper had been smart enough to avoid anything Bunny gave to her in the days before she was retrieved by Jenna. Her lawyer said that it would be difficult to include in the case without evidence, but promised Erin it was just another way to keep Bunny away from Piper for good.

She was grateful to have both her sister and Jay close by. It was a little distracting – she kept catching Jay's eye over Piper's head, and the mischievous twinkle in his baby blues didn't make focusing on the report she was working on any easier.

They hadn't gotten a chance to discuss further after her abrupt and emotional confession of love, and if she was being honest, Erin was putting it off. Talking about how much she loved Jay in a serious conversation meant discussing their future, their future with Piper, their future in Chicago or New York or god knows where and Erin wasn't ready. She liked living in the simple unknown, the moments with just her and Jay and her little sister. She liked their right now, and didn't want to have to think about all the other parts of their story they'd yet to discuss.

Jay huffed slightly, but Erin wasn't wrong. She was working and Piper was focused on her book. It was him who was bored and itching to do something other than rest on the couch. "Figures," Hailey rolled her eyes at her partner when he made a face, "I brought coffee, so that should cheer you up."

"You're a lifesaver," Erin said gratefully as she accepted the cup from the detective, "I was telling Jay that the coffee here is just as bad as it was a year ago."

Hailey nodded in agreement and passed Jay a cup. "It's decaf Halstead, so don't get your hopes up too high."

"What?" Jay furrowed his brow and looked at the cup incredulously, "Decaf?"

"Your brother said no caffeine," Erin reminded him, "It was on the list of things to avoid after you get shot and nearly collapse a lung."

"Ugh," Jay leaned back against the couch, "At least it tastes like coffee. I'll have to pretend. Thanks, Hailey."

She and Erin both rolled their eyes. "I didn't forget about you, kiddo," Hailey said to Piper, who had looked up from her book, "They just added some stuff to the fall menu at the coffee shop down the street, and I thought you might like to try a frozen hot chocolate."

Piper eyes widened when Hailey produced the cup, and Erin and Jay grinned. The little girl had missed out on so much growing up, and her reactions to new things, especially treats, was adorable. "Frozen?" She asked, looking up at the detective incredulously, "I only ever tried the hot kind."

"Oh, I think this one is even better," Hailey set the drink on the table, "It's like drinking ice cream."

"Thank you," Piper said gratefully, looking to Jay and then to Erin for permission to drink the beverage, "It looks really good."

"You better try some of that before Erin tries to steal it from you," Jay quipped, eyes twinkling yet again. "That looks way better than coffee. Especially decaf."

"It's really good," Piper informed him after a sip. Hailey smiled when Jay gave her a grateful nod. They'd talked previously about how small Piper was, and how hard Jay was trying to get more calories into her diet so she could grow. After Piper was placed back in Jay's care, his partner had remembered and thought ahead. She really was a good partner.

"How's everything going?" Jay asked, trying to remain casual. He knew his partner, and he knew there was something she hadn't told them yet.

Hailey swallowed. "It's going. Voight's about to head in but uh, we were hoping we could get Piper to take a look at a photo array."

Jay exchanged a glance with Erin, who gave a small nod. She didn't love the idea of Piper having to take a look at a series of photos of scary looking men, one of whom was someone who previously harmed her, but she also wanted them put behind bars. He pushed himself off the couch slowly to take a seat beside his girls at the table. "Pipes, do you think you could take a look at a few pictures for us to see if you recognize anyone? Kind of like we did with the truck back when you first came to stay with me."

Piper nodded slowly, abandoning the frozen dessert. "I gotta see if I know any of them?"

Jay, Erin and Hailey all nodded. "They can't hurt you," Hailey said, producing the iPad, "You're safe here with Erin and Jay, but it would help us a lot if you could tell us if you remember ever seeing any of these people."

The little girl took a shaky breath and nodded again. "C-can Erin and Jay stay with me?"

"Of course," Hailey replied quickly, "I'm just going to swipe through some of these pictures, and if there's anyone you think you might know, just let us know, okay?"

"Okay." Piper's eyes were trained on the iPad as the detective slowly flipped through images of similar looking men. "Wait."

Hailey paused scrolling on the image of Tyler Marsh. "T-that's Mr. Marsh," Piper rushed out, panic filling her eyes, "He's who I was with before Jay found me. He was the one who put me in that house."

"He can't hurt you," Erin assured her, gently squeezing her little sister's hand, "I promise."

"I'm going to show you a few more, okay?" Hailey continued to swipe through the pictures and paused when both Piper and Erin drew in a breath.

"H-he's the man who hurt Erin," she whispered sadly, looking up to her big sister who was doing her best to maintain a semblance of calm for the child's sake, "I-I saw him here before. He's the one who got out."

"He's locked up for good now," Jay promised, placing a hand on Piper's quivering shoulder. The poor little girl looked downright petrified, and he was already second guessing having her take a look at the photo array. Piper's identification would help the case, but he hated having to traumatize her all over again.

Piper let out a breath as Hailey continued to swipe. "That's him," Piper gasped, pointing a shaking finger at the iPad, "T-that's Donny."

Hailey exchanged another glance with Jay. "You recognize this man?" she asked as gently as possible, "You've seen him before?"

She nodded, tears prickling at her eyes. "I was supposed to live with Mr. and Mrs. Irving but they said Donny wanted to take care of me, and that I would be better off with him because he knew my real family. I-I was with him for a long time, I think. He was kind of in charge, except for the man in Canada."

"We're going to get him," Hailey said, watching as Jay gently stroked Piper's cheek and Erin held the little girl's hand. "You were such a big help, kiddo. Thank you."


Jay sat awake on the breakroom couch, once again absentmindedly running his fingers through Piper's hair. Platt had stopped by with some dinner but didn't have an update on the team's status. All Jay knew was what Hailey had told him. They were trying to pick up Donny, and hopefully bring the organization to a grinding halt.

Erin was lightly resting on his other side, one hand delicately placed on his chest, just below his incision from surgery. She was just as exhausted as her little sister and fell asleep soon after dinner in the dark breakroom. The sun had set hours earlier, but Jay sat awake, partially wishing that he was out with his team, but more so just grateful that he was in between his girls that he loved so much.

When he heard footsteps coming up the steps, he straightened slightly. It was just after midnight, and he hadn't gotten a text back from any of his teammates in the last two hours. He held his breath when he caught sight of his sergeant's figure approach the breakroom door. If Hank was back, their effort was either successful or a massive failure.

"Hey kid," he said softly, "They both out?"

Jay nodded. "Thankfully. Been a long couple of days."

Hank returned the nod in agreement. "We got him."

A massive weight felt like it had been lifted. "You got him? Alive?"

"Shot in the foot so he's a Med, but will make a full recovery. He's going to know that he's in a box for the rest of his life, and that his team flipped on him. Both Blackburn and Marsh cracked. Irving's close, but all of 'em are looking at at least ten years. State's attorney wants twenty for Donny for the amount of product he was moving."

Jay let out a heavy breath, inadvertently rousing his partner. "Hey," she mumbled, pulling back from Jay's shoulder and retracting her hand in the presence of her father figure, "Everything alright?"

"We got him," Hank repeated, "Donald Anderson is in police custody down at Chicago Med, and is getting transferred to 26th and Cal the second he's discharged. Being held without bail after we found over a million dollars worth of dope in that house Piper pointed out to you two months back. Turns out it was in his name, and after we picked him up, we got the warrant to raid it."

"Holy shit," Erin gasped.

Hank nodded. "Looks like his boss is deep underground, likely out of the country. Cell records indicate calls to a Canadian number, so after this, we're passing all our files over to the Feds."

"Piper said they always did long drives up to Canada," Jay said slowly, "I bet that's our mystery man."

"Has he said anything? About her?" Erin asked, glancing over to her little sister, who still appeared to be asleep on Jay's shoulder.

Hank shook his head. "Court tomorrow, first thing. He's kept his lips pretty tight, but he knows he's done for."

Jay opened his mouth but stopped when he felt Piper stir against him. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Hi Pipes," Jay whispered, "You're with me and Erin, and Sergeant Voight's here too. You're safe."

Piper let out a small exhale and glanced over at the Sergeant. "Did you get him?" she asked softly, hopefulness evident in her tired voice, "Donny?"

"We did," Hank confirmed, "He's never coming near you again, you have my word. You're safe with Erin and Jay, kiddo."


Eeeek! I mean obviously there is a happyish ending because it is 2020 and we all need that buuuuut do you think they're going to end up together in Chicago or New York, or try to make long distance work? And where the heck is Bunny because you know she never stays out of trouble for long...