I'm SO glad you liked the last chapter - it was one of my favorites to write. I've been loving all the feedback and trying to incorporate it (with my own little spin) so I'm really excited for you to read the next couple. I'm still on a roll so please enjoy an early upload :)


"I'm really sorry, babe," Erin mumbled into her cell as it was pressed against her ear, "I know I've been late every night this week."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Jay assured her, pulling into the pick-up line at Piper's school, "Work happens sometimes."

"This has been happening all week," she muttered, "I haven't had dinner with you guys since Sunday. Piper's not even going to recognize me the next time she sees me. I'll bet she's grown too."

He chuckled softly at his girl's dramatics, but it had been a while. Erin was closing out a case, which seemed to mean endless meetings and paperwork and rework and more meetings. She'd been getting home well past Piper's bedtime and needed to be at the office before the little girl even woke up. Desk duty allowed Jay to be more flexible with his time, but he could tell that his little friend was really missing her big sister. The disruption of her usual routine of seeing Erin threw everything off kilter, and Jay found himself needing to provide a lot more comfort.

After meeting with the Chase family, Jay and Erin picked up on a slight shift in the little girl's demeanor. They'd brought her in to see Dr. Murphy, Piper's therapist, who assured them that the increased desire for attachment was normal, but it didn't stop them from worrying about her. It wasn't helped by the fact that Erin was busy and all Piper seemed to want was contact with the two people she trusted most. "She's doing alright, babe. Just missing you, but she knows you have to work."

"I miss you guys," Erin whispered sadly, "I'm going to try to get home before ten tonight. My morning is better so I should be able to drive her to school in the morning."

"That'll be good," he confirmed, "I'll leave some dinner for you on the stove. Are you hungry for anything in particular?"

"Just my boyfriend," she said, dragging a hand through her hair, smiling softly when Jay snorted, "Shoot. I gotta go. I love you."

"Love you," he replied before she ended the call. He let out a breath. His girl was working incredibly hard, and he was proud of her, but damn if he didn't miss her.

"Hey kiddo," Jay greeted when Piper climbed into the backseat, "How was school today?"

Piper shrugged and buckled herself in. "Nothing special," she said dejectedly. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and glanced out the window. Jay immediately wrinkled his brow. Even after a long day at school, his little friend usually had a smile for him.

"You okay?" he asked, glancing into the rearview as he pulled out of the school, heading back to the district, "You're a little quiet today, Pipes."

She shrugged again. "Just a long day," she mumbled, letting out a small yawn, "I'm tired, I guess."

Jay frowned. After seven months, he knew his little friend fairly well. He could tell when she was tired, nervous, excited…but the child in the backseat was bordering on sad, and it was tugging at his heart. He slowed to a stop at the intersection, but instead of turning right to go back to the district, he turned left. Clearly, the little girl needed his attention, and he wanted to get her to a place where she felt as safe as possible.

"Where are we going?" Piper asked at the realization that they were no longer headed to the district, "Don't you have to go back to work?"

"I'll call Voight later," Jay shrugged, "I thought it would be better for us to have a snack at home. There are some strawberries that I got from the grocery store the other day that I forgot to pack in your lunch. Those could be good, huh?"

Piper appeared to relax slightly at the prospect of going home, but she still looked sad. "I know I asked you before," Jay said after putting the car in park in their driveway, "But you seem a little off, kiddo. Are you sure everything's okay?" He turned in the driver's seat to meet her gaze. "You can tell me anything."

The little girl glanced down at her hands. "I miss Erin," she whispered, "That's all."

"Oh, kiddo. I miss her too." Jay stroked Piper's knee gently as she avoided his gaze. His poor little friend was missing her big sister. It had been almost four days since she'd actually seen her with how much Erin was working. Jay had only really seen Erin at night, when she shuffled in after Piper fell asleep, and promptly fell asleep beside him. He missed his partner as well. Usually when Erin worked late, she was still able to take Piper to school in the morning, but the loss of that routine had really thrown Piper's schedule off. "She'll be home soon."

"But I don't get to see her," Piper whimpered, tears forming on her lashes, "I-I haven't seen her since Sunday." A sob escaped her lips and Jay felt his heart crack in two.

"I know it's hard," he attempted, quickly opening his driver's side door to pull open Piper's and bring the child into his arms, "I know, I get it. I'm right there with you, kiddo. Erin's been working pretty hard these days, huh?"

Piper nodded sadly and held tightly to Jay. "Let's go inside to get out of the cold," he determined, hoisting Piper onto his hip and grabbing her backpack. "It's been a pretty long week," Jay mused, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he unlocked their side door, "I bet you're pretty sleepy too."

"I just want her to come back," Piper said woefully, "I like it when we're together. Like in Wisconsin."

"I do too," he said, dropping Piper's backpack in the entry way, "But we'll get her all weekend. And she'll be home tonight too. She always goes to check on you too."

Piper buried her face in Jay's neck and held tighter. He resisted the urge to sigh. The poor little girl was struggling and unfortunately the only person she wanted was preoccupied at work several miles away. "How about a snack?" he suggested, pulling open the fridge with Piper still in his arms. She was still wearing her coat and shoes, but he wasn't about to put her down, not when she was so clearly craving comfort. "Some strawberries, maybe some crackers with peanut butter?" He frowned slightly when Piper shook her head. "I don't want you to be hungry."

"I got an a hundred on my fraction test," Piper mumbled into his neck, "That's what I wanted to tell Erin."

"A perfect score?" Jay grinned, "Look at you, smarty pants. I'm so proud of you, kiddo. That's awesome."

She turned her head to rest on Jay's shoulder and smiled softly when he kissed her forehead. "I wanted to tell Erin about it. But she's not gonna be home til late." Her lower lip wobbled. "I really miss her."

"Oh, Pipes," Jay cooed, his heart cracking even further when he saw the tears finally trickle down her cheeks, "I know. Things are going to even out soon, and we'll be back on a normal schedule. I'm sorry everything's a bit funky right now."

Piper sniffed and continued to hold onto the detective. Jay moved around the kitchen preparing the after school snack, humming softly while keeping Piper on his hip. He knew that his little friend craved contact when she was feeling particularly vulnerable, and he was happy to oblige. He missed Erin too. His girl had a calming effect that always made him feel better, and being without her for days on end was wearing him down as well.

After preparing the healthy snack, Jay paused. He remembered that Erin had told him a story about the time she'd gotten a good score on a calculus test, and Camille had taken her and Justin for milkshakes after school. If Erin had been with them, he knew she would have wanted to do the same thing for Piper. "How about some ice cream?" Jay suggested, "As a special treat for the smartest kid in math class, hm?"

"I'm not the smartest kid in class," Piper mumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Well, I think you are. And I think that warrants some ice cream as a snack, what do you think?" Jay pulled open the freezer and located a pint of mint chocolate chip. "It's almost empty too. I bet you can eat right out of the carton."

That appeared to pique the little girl's interest. "We don't have to use a bowl?"

"Not today," he chuckled, handing her a spoon, "Sometimes Erin eats ice cream late at night without a bowl while you're sleeping."

"She eats ice cream without us?" Piper raised her eyebrows in surprise, and Jay chuckled again.

"Go for it, kiddo." He held out the carton, "Great job today."


The ice cream did the trick.

Jay was finally able to set Piper down to get started on her homework at the kitchen island while he fired off a few text messages. Hailey had been understanding and surprisingly, so had Voight. Jay explained that Piper was really missing Erin, and clearly needed him. It seemed to resonate with his usually harsh sergeant, who told him to take the rest of the day and call if he needed support. He couldn't help but be surprised at Voight's response, but since Erin had returned and Piper had been a part of his life, his boss had been incredibly understanding.

He also sent a quick update message to Erin, letting her know that they were both home and safe despite Piper's difficult day. He chose to not dive into the details to avoid making her feel more guilty than she already did, but wanted to make sure Erin was kept updated on her little sister. Had it been him at work, he would have wanted the update from his partner.

"Hey man," Jay answered the phone when his brother called, "What's going on?"

"What are the odds that Erin isn't working late tonight and you can join your brother for a night out that we will never forget?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Pretty slim, bro. She's worked late every night this week. Pipes is a bit out of sorts too, really missing Erin."

"Aw man," Will sighed, "I get it. Kid comes first. Unless…unless you want to bring her along? I was going to invite Choi but he doesn't know yet and I bet munchkin would really like it." He grinned when he heard his brother contemplating over the phone, "C'mon Jay."

"I gotta text Erin," Jay said in an exhale, glancing to where Piper was seated in the kitchen, "But it could be a really good distraction for her. We've done baseball but I don't think she's ever seen live hockey."

"Sold!" his brother exclaimed, "I'll see you at seven. I'll text you ticket details."

"Wait, Will, I didn't say-" Jay frowned when he was met with the dial tone. He still needed to check with Piper and see what Erin thought.

"Is everything okay?" Piper asked, looking up from her worksheet, "Is it Erin?"

"Erin's totally fine," he promised, "That was just Will. He wanted to see if you and I wanted to see a Blackhawks game tonight."

Piper nodded. "He's gonna come over for dinner?"

"Actually, he was thinking we could go see the game live. Kind of like when we went to the baseball game, except it's inside and it's hockey." Jay grinned when Piper's jaw dropped, "It's a little cold in the arena, but it's super fun."

"Really?" Piper looked at him excitedly, the anxiety of missing her sister fading into the back of her head, "We could go see the players in real life?" She wrinkled her brow. "But what about Erin?"

Jay almost melted. His little friend loved her big sister so much, and it was incredibly clear to him just how badly she was missing her. "Well, Erin has to work late tonight," he said slowly, "But I think as long as your homework is done, Erin should be okay with us going. And we can take her next time, how about that?"


Erin glanced down at her phone for the first time in several hours, the back-to-back late evening meetings finally taking a rest. She needed to send out a few more emails and wrap up a document, but she had hopes of getting out of the office before nine, in time to see Piper before bedtime.

She scrolled through the text messages from Jay. Piper was having a rough day. Poor kid. Guilt crept up in her throat as she read Jay's cliff notes from the afternoon. It always broke her heart when Piper cried, but it hurt more knowing that she wasn't there to help. Erin paused at the next message. Will had two extra tickets to the Blackhawks, and Jay was taking Piper. Now that was a surprise. It was a school night, and she and Jay had established a routine of getting Piper to bed on the earlier side given how tired she usually was. She frowned at the picture he'd texted. Her little sister's eyes were wide with excitement as Will pointed out different players on the ice. She looked absolutely adorable in her awe, but instead of joy, Erin was pissed.

Piper didn't sleep enough as it was, and hockey games went late. Her partner's last text message indicated that it was only the first third, and they were already approaching Piper's bedtime.

Erin dropped the cell on her desk and let out a huff. She'd pushed things around to try and get home to actually see her sister and boyfriend awake, but now they'd be hours and she could either sit at her desk or sit alone in her house.


Watching Piper take in her first live hockey game was almost as mesmerizing as watching her see live baseball for the first time. Jay couldn't stop smiling as his brother pointed out players on the ice, Piper's eyes growing wider with each person she recognized.

It was cold in the arena, and similar to their first baseball game together, Jay held Piper on his hip so she could see above the crowd. The joyous little girl in his arms was a far cry from the sad and anxious child he'd picked up from school earlier that day, and he was incredibly grateful that she'd been able to turn the corner.

"Erin!" Piper exclaimed, rushing into her sister's arms after they arrived home. Erin had been sitting stoically at the kitchen table, picking at the leftover meatloaf Jay had made from two nights ago. She honestly had just wanted ice cream to take the edge off of how annoyed she was, but there wasn't anything in the freezer, which only served to aggravate her further.

"Hi Noodle," she said, gently stroking the top of her sister's head. "Where have you guys been?" The little girl held tightly to her waist, and Erin found herself swallowing the lump in her throat. Her little sister was quite possibly the sweetest child to ever exist and she could always melt her into a puddle.

"Jay and Will brought me to a Blackhawks game," Piper informed her, unzipping her coat to show off a new sweatshirt with the team logo, "I got cold, so Will got me this."

"That sounds like fun," Erin mused, leaning down to kiss Piper's forehead. Her sister's sweet scent was helping to calm her down. Piper was happy and safe. That was the most important thing.

"I missed you a lot," Piper said softly, tilting her head to meet Erin's eyes, "You've been working really hard."

Erin swallowed. "I have," she murmured, stroking her cheek gently, "I know it's been tough, and I missed you too. The good news is, things should get less crazy by tomorrow, and you've got me all weekend."

Piper hugged tightly. "Good. We missed you too much."

"I'll be in to say good night," Erin promised, "And it is way passed your bedtime. You want to go get ready for bed?"

Piper nodded and released her hold on her sister to give Jay a hug good night. "Thank you for taking me," she whispered, "I had a lot of fun."

Jay grinned. "Me too, kiddo. It's late though, so go on up and get ready for bed okay? Thirty extra seconds brushing since you had ice cream."

Piper scampered up the steps, leaving Jay and Erin standing in the kitchen. "You're mad," he said finally, stating the obvious. Erin's rigid stance the second Piper had moved out of earshot screamed that she was pissed off.

"It's a school night." Erin rubbed her head, feeling a headache coming on, "It's nearly midnight and she's still up."

"Tomorrow's Friday," Jay said carefully, "And she's good at getting up in the morning. I'll have her to school by the bell."

Erin gritted her teeth together. She knew Jay had a point, but she was trying to prove hers as well. "She doesn't get enough sleep as it is," she said in aspiration, "She's going to be exhausted tomorrow."

"Er, she's exhausted every day." He paused. "I'm not sure why you're so upset about this. Piper had a good evening."

"I'm upset because you didn't ask me. You just did it." Erin folded her arms across her chest. "We're partners Jay. We're supposed to be doing this together, and I would really appreciate a heads up when my little sister is going to be out past eleven and up until midnight."

"I sent you like five text messages," Jay defended, "It's not my fault you didn't check for four hours."

"You could have called," Erin snapped, "I can't be on my phone all day, Jay."

Jay opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again. He could tell from the second they walked in that his girl was absolutely exhausted. He knew from the books on trauma and relationship building and everything in between that a fight in the kitchen when it was almost midnight wasn't the way to solve anything.

"I'm sorry I didn't clear it with you first," he said slowly, "And you're right. We are partners, and I won't do anything without checking with you first. But she was really struggling today, Er. I was just trying to help."

Erin let out a breath. Jay's calm voice instantly made her regret her tone. "I'm sorry," she sighed, "I know she had a good night. I'm just…so tired. I thought I was getting home in time to see her before bed but then she wasn't here and you weren't either and-"

And then everything clicked for Jay. Erin had tried to get home in time to see Piper before bed, and had likely rearranged her schedule to make it happen, but because he chose to not wait for her to reply to the text message, their wires got crossed. "I'm sorry too," he said, taking a step toward his girlfriend, "I really should have called." He stroked her arm gently, "Sounds like you were having a bit of a rough day as well."

She nodded and leaned into her partner heavily, the comfort of his smell and presence lifting the weight from her shoulders. "I really missed you guys," she mumbled, "And I was jealous too. That you guys were together. And I wanted ice cream, and there was none left."

Jay stroked her hair back. "We were missing you," he said honestly, "Piper kept talking about how much you would have liked it." He paused. "I uh, took Will up on his offer because Pipes had a really tough day." He ran his thumb across Erin's cheek. "She's been missing you, pretty bad. I miss you too, obviously, but I get to know you're next to me at night. Pipes I think is just struggling with the change in routine." Jay let out a soft breath. "She, uh, really wanted to tell you about the perfect score she got on a math test and was crushed when I told her you'd be home late. I gave her ice cream as a special treat to celebrate, since I know you mentioned that Camille did that for you once."

Erin's chest ached. Her poor little sister. And her partner was just so damn in tune with her to remember the story about Camille taking her for milkshakes after a good score on a calculus test. She had wanted to do the same for Piper, and Jay knew that and tried to fill that gap for her. He really was special. "Oh poor Noodle," she whispered sadly, "I wish I'd known, I'd try to-"

"She didn't want to say anything because she knows you've gotta work," he said gently, "And she knows you're good at your job, and she's really proud of you, babe. Tonight I just wanted to take her mind off missing you." He gave a small smile. "And it helped me too."

She wiped her eyes. Jay was such a good dad. He knew exactly what Piper needed, and stepped in to help when he knew she couldn't be there. Erin bit her lip. Her anger earlier that night had been misplaced. "I'm sorry I snapped at you," she whispered, "You were just looking out for her."

"And I'm sorry for not calling." He kissed her nose gently. "I'll tell you the next time I take Piper out for a night on the town."

"Mm," Erin mumbled against his chest, "Can't believe I missed a Blackhawks game." She sighed. "I feel like I'm missing out on everything. I-I want to be there for the good grades and to pick her up from school when I can and just to be there for her." Erin rubbed the back of her head again. After a day of looking at screens, her whole head ached.

"If it makes you feel any better, we missed you the whole time. Pipes kept pointing out your favorite players." He rubbed her back gently. "We get you all weekend though. Maybe we could take her ice skating or something. After seeing hockey in person, I think she'd be interested."

"I've never been," she mused, leaning heavily against his chest, "But if you're ready for a repeat performance of me tripping into the stream up in Wisconsin, I'll try it out."

Jay chuckled. "It's a hockey rink, babe. No running water for you to fall into. Just the hard ice."

"As long as you're there to catch me," she replied, "Then I'm down."


Erin startled awake when a shrill scream ripped her from sleep. They'd barely been in bed for an hour after getting to bed so late. She immediately felt Jay tense beside her, the sound of screaming at night instantly transporting him to another life. "It's Piper," she murmured, shuffling out of bed quickly, "I got her."

She hurried across the hall and into Piper's bedroom, the pained whimpers escaping from her sister's lips tugging at her heart as she closed the gap between them. Erin and Jay both knew that Piper struggled with nightmares, but unfortunately neither of them had the full picture as to how frequent and harsh they were. Piper tended to try to downplay any nightmare or trouble sleeping, and it was a big reason as to why the little girl was so tired.

"It's just Erin," Erin whispered, brushing her hand over Piper's shoulder, "I'm here, sweetheart, you're okay. You're safe."

The child startled in bed and scrambled backwards, gasping heavily. "Just me," Erin repeated, "You were having a bad dream, Noodle."

Piper choked out a sob and held tightly to her sister, burying her face in her shoulder. "I don't want to leave," she wept, "I-I remembered when I had to leave before and I don't want to go." She hiccupped painfully as Erin gently stroked her back, "I don't want to leave."

"You're here to stay," she whispered, rocking slightly to bring the child's racing heart down, "You're not going anywhere, I promise."

Piper sniffed and held tighter. "Where's Jay?"

Erin glanced to the bedroom door. Her partner was usually a few paces in front of or behind her whenever Piper had a nightmare, but this time, the doorway was empty. "He might have fallen back asleep," she murmured, "But he's okay, Noodle."

"I-I didn't mean to wake you up," Piper whimpered, "I don't want to make Jay scared, I-I usually try to be quiet but-"

"Shh, shh, shh," Erin cooed, bringing Piper closer to her chest. She swallowed the lump in her throat knowing that Piper was right. A scream was an easy trigger to bring him into a flashback and with how fitfully he'd been sleeping recently, Erin was fairly certain her partner was struggling and needed her across the hall.

She also felt like someone knocked the wind out of her. Piper had said she usually tried to be quiet. The usually of Piper's statement left a deep ache in her lungs, knowing that her little sister was consistently awake from nightmares but didn't want to wake them. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she whispered into her hair, "I'm so sorry you're struggling."

"I just want to sleep," Piper said pitifully, "I-I don't like waking up."

"I know, I know." Erin swallowed another lump in her throat. Her first realization of the severity of Piper's nightmares had been over six weeks ago and based on the heartbreak in her little sister's voice, they hadn't lessened in the slightest. That meant it had been over four months of continued bad dreams and troubled sleep, and the weight alone brought tears to Erin's eyes. "What if I slept in here tonight, hm? Would that help?"

Piper gave a small nod. "B-b-but Jay needs you." She sniffed, "He has bad dreams too."

Erin took a breath. Piper wasn't wrong – Jay did need her. But Jay would also be beating himself up if he knew that his little friend was suffering. "What if I go check on him quickly, and then come right back?" Erin offered, "I think he's probably sleeping."

The little girl sniffed again and managed another nod. "I'll be right back," Erin promised, kissing the top of Piper's head softly. She hastened back across the hall, hoping that Jay was indeed asleep.

She grimaced when she caught sight of an empty bed. "Babe?" she whispered, "Jay?"

"S-sorry," he stuttered, poking his head out from the bathroom, "She alright?"

Erin wrinkled her brow the moment she saw her partner's face. Even in the darkness, she could tell that he was also coming down from a nightmare, his damp eyes shining from the nightlight in the hallway. "Oh, babe." Erin quickly crossed the bedroom to put a hand on his cheek, "Are you okay?"

Jay opened his mouth to confirm that he was fine, that everything was okay, but he closed it. He needed to be honest with his partner. "I thought I was back there, for a moment," he said shamefully, "There were kids, Er, kids in the houses that screamed when-" He stopped, emotion rising in his throat.

"You're home now," Erin murmured, rubbing his arms gently, "And Piper's okay. She had another nightmare, but she's going to be fine."

He shook his head. "I-I couldn't help," he choked out, "I felt like I was paralyzed when I heard her. Instead of being able to help, I-I froze."

Erin's heart cracked for the second time that night. Her partner felt guilty for not being able to provide comfort to Piper when she needed it. "I got there," she assured him, "She's going to be okay, babe. And so are you. You're both safe in this house, with me."

Jay nodded, exhaling when Erin brought her palms to his cheeks. "Thank you," he whispered, "I um, I'm back, now." He let out another breath. "She fall back asleep?"

She shook her head sadly. "I uh, told her I'd be back after I checked on you." Erin stroked his chest gently. "She was worried about you too."

"I'll come," he decided, "If that's okay with you. I just…I feel like I need to see her."

"Of course." Erin grasped his hand tightly, "She'll be relieved to see you too."

Jay took another breath when Erin pushed open Piper's bedroom door, still holding his hand tightly. He hated the fact that his little friend's desperate pleas for help sent him into a tailspin. He was supposed to be someone she could trust and depend on, but instead he had to drag himself to the bathroom so the coolness of the tiles could remind him that he wasn't actually in the middle of the desert, but in their house in Chicago.

"I brought Jay with me," Erin murmured, taking a tentative seat on the bed and stroking Piper's hair gently. Her little sister was curled on her side, appearing incredibly small and forlorn on the bed.

"Hey, kiddo," Jay said thickly, "I heard you were having a bit of a rough night, huh?"

Piper sniffed. "They're mostly rough." Her voice cracked slightly, "I-I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," he whispered, crouching down to meet her tearful gaze, "Not at all, okay? Erin and I are here for you, for whatever you need. And I think Erin mentioned something about a sleepover?"

"I did," Erin nodded, continuing to stroke Piper's hair soothingly, "Would that help?"

She nodded and looked up at Jay. "C-can you stay too?"

"We're not going anywhere," Erin confirmed, reaching a hand out to Jay to bring him beside her on the bed, "And neither are you."


Erin tossed her dry cleaning into the backseat of the car and closed the door. It had been a long week to say the least, and she was looking forward to a quiet Friday night in with Jay and Piper. Despite all odds, Jay had gotten Piper to school on time, and Erin made her early morning meeting. Her little sister was still a bit fragile following the nightmare, but all things considered, her family was alright. She and Jay were back on the same page and they were all looking forward to the weekend together.

The case had finally closed, which meant no more emails, meetings and bureaucracy until Monday. Based on Jay's brief comments about Piper after school and the child's nightmares, she was well overdue for some quality time with her little sister. Not to mention her boyfriend, who was still working through grief and confusion after the loss of his friend less than a month prior. She sighed, trying not to let the guilt consume her. She needed to work, and Jay and Piper knew that, but it still left an ache in her chest to know she couldn't be there as much as she wanted to be.

"Erin?"

Erin felt her blood run cold and her body flush with sweat. She knew that voice. "Erin, baby, it's me." Bunny Fletcher waved in front of Erin's face, "It is so good to see you, honey."


I'm doing my best to keep the relationship real because it can't always be super cute even though I wish it could be! Let me know what you think - Bunny's back, dun dun dun...