Chapter 2.

Plans

The next morning, I woke up around four. I wasn't really feeling the seven hours of sleep thing, but I had no choice. I had to go meet my brother at Kelly's Cajun Grill for dinner. Dressing in a fresh uniform I brush my teeth and headed out the door. We met up at the restaurant, of course my brother was the first one there. Once I walked through the door, we were seated right away; like always as we ate, we also talked. Adam asked me about shift the night before, and I told him about the Bill and Tammy call. This wasn't new to him either. He had been on the scene of that call more than once and he was glad he wouldn't have to go back.

When I asked Adam about his shift he was glad to say he was done with the case. Voight told them starting Friday they had the whole next week off – unless a new case showed up, which it probably would – and he was going to spend it with his girlfriend Wendy. He also informed me that he was going to ask her to marry him. I kept my mouth shut, but I wanted to tell him that wasn't such a good idea. This would be his second fiancée and I wasn't very happy with this girl to begin with. We just didn't get along but Adam didn't care which ticked me off a bit. Sadly though, if he was happy I guess I was happy.

After our meal, Adam asked if I wanted to go back to the station with him for a little bit because everyone missed me. I told him that would be fine considering I didn't have to be to work for a couple of hours and I had nothing better to do. He had walked over so we both took my 2013 Black F-150.

When we got there Al, Hank, and Antonio were standing in the middle of the Bull Pen and they all look excited to see me. This right here was my family. I didn't have any friends outside the Chicago PD, Med, and the fire department. We were all a family, in one way or another, and we all treated each other as such. Once Adam became a part of the Chicago PD family, so did I.

"Hey Stringbean," Voight greeted, giving me a hug. "How've you been?"

"Hi Hank," I smiled, returning the hug. "I've been good. Busy at work."

Next in line to greet and hug me was Al.

"Hey sweetheart," he muttered in my ear. "Glad to see you're doing okay."

I barely got out of Al's arms when Antonio pulled me into a tight embrace. Wrapping my arms around his neck I laughed; he was like another brother to me and it was nice to have another one.

"What's up Sugar," he laughed. "Why didn't you come say hi to me yesterday?"

"Sorry Antonio," I told him letting go of him. "I had to go home and take a nap before my shift or I would have come back up and talked for a bit."

"You know I'm just messing with you."

"Yea. I know."

"I see you're ready for work," Voight commented.

Completely forgetting I had my uniform on, I looked down and saw he was right. I glanced back up at him and smiled.

"Yea," I agreed. "I figured I wasn't going to go home when we were done eating dinner and I was right."

"So, Mo," Al jumped in, getting my attention, "are you going to Molly's Saturday night?"

"Oh. I didn't know you guys were going to Molly's on Saturday."

Glancing over at my brother I gave him a 'are you kidding me look'. He smiled sheepishly at me and rubbed the back of his neck. I've need that look a lot. He used it when he knew he forgot to tell me something.

"Yea," Adam said, as he put his hands in his pockets. "That's my fault. We're going to Molly's to celebrate the case being closed. I was going to tell you over dinner, but I forgot."

"Uhhuh," I muttered. "That's what you always say after the fact."

He was going to open his mouth to argue, but Voight interrupted him. Good thing too or we would have argued the whole time I was there.

"So, you coming or what, Kid?" he asked in his gruff voice.

"Of course, I am Hank," I told him. "I love celebrating your closed cases with you guys."

We stood and talked for about another hour. They asked me about my work, more about how I was doing, etc. As always Voight told me he had a spot open on the team if I ever wanted it. Looking over at my brother I could tell that he wasn't happy about the offer. I laughed, and I turned Voight down once again; telling him I was happy with the job I had, but I thanked him anyway. Everyone watched as my brother relax and we all laughed at him.

Not long after Al looked down at his watch.

"When did you say you had to work?" he asked.

"Ten," I answered.

"Well it looks like you need to get going," Voight stated.

It was my turn to look down at my watch; he was right. It was nine twenty and it took me twenty-five minutes to get there from here. I let out a sigh, and I was suddenly tired. Yes, I loved my job, but there were just times where I wanted to have time to myself, and not just on weekends. I did have to admit though, I was making pretty good money.

"I guess no rest for the wicked," I muttered, with a small laugh.

"Ain't that the truth Stringbean," Voight smiled. "I'm going to have to talk to your boss. It doesn't seem like you're getting enough time off."

"I take it Adam told you about my shifts for the past few months."

"Yep."

"I'll stick it out. I've got vacation time coming up here soon. I'll use it if work doesn't slow down."

"Then you can come hang out here," Adam jumped in. "If you want too."

"I would like that, but I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"You could never be a bother here Sugar," Antonio muttered, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "We all like you too much."

I looked up at Voight and he nodded his head in agreement.

"You're always welcome here Stringbean," he informed me. "You should know this by now."

"Thanks Hank," I smiled.

"Now problem. Now get out of here before your late."

"Yes Sir."

Everyone gave me a hug goodbye; last to do so was my brother. He held me tight and I returned it.

"Stay safe Roe," he told me.

"I will," I said, pulling back. "Text me when you get home?"

"Of course."

From the corner of my eye I saw someone coming up the stairs. I turned to look at him, and my heart skipped a few beats before starting up again. There was a very good-looking man walking toward us, with his eyes down toward us. He had to be around five feet ten inches tall, with a lean muscular build. His hair was a dark brown; short on the sides and long on the top. From what I could see of his face he had an angular jawline with stubble lightly growing. When he lifted up his eyes and looked at all of us I could see nothing but ice blue orbs, and my heart skipped a beat again. This man was absolutely gorgeous.

When he saw us standing there talking, he stopped in his tracks. He slowly looked me up and down and I could feel a light blush spread across my cheeks. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Roe," Adams said turning my face towards him. "You okay?"

"Yea," I nodded, "Just not looking forward to going back to work."

"You'll be fine. Do you want me to walk you to your truck?"

"No, I'm alright, but thanks."

"Molly's Saturday," Antonio said.

"Of course. See you guys there."

I smiled at the man standing beside Voight. My brother gave me one last hug. When we let go he pushed me in the direction of the stairs. As I walked I couldn't stop staring at the man in front of the group. He still hadn't moved or taken his eyes off of me. I put a small smirk on my face as I got closer to him. He fallowed my every move, even turning around as I walked by. As I walked passed I looked him up and down, before turning back to look where I was going down the stairs.

When I was around the corner I stopped, and it seemed once I was out of sight, the man shook himself out of his trance.

"Who was that?" he asked.

'I'd like to know the same thing,' I thought.

"That was Monroe Grace," my brother answered. "She's my sister."

I let out a sigh and shook my head. Only my brother would say my middle name instead of my last when telling someone who I was. He was such a pain in these situations.

"I didn't know you had a sister," the man stated.

"He has two," Antonio chimed in. "Mo's the baby."

"Well now you do," my brother muttered ignoring him. "So, don't even think about it."

His voice was threatening, and I rolled my eyes at how protective he was being. I was sure I could take care of myself; I've done it before.

"I wasn't going to do anything," the man said. "I was just wondering who she was. Is that so wrong?"

"I don't care," my brother growled. "Don't mess with her Jay. I mean it."

"Ruzek, Halstead," Voight jumped in. "Cool it."

So, the guy's name was Jay. Interesting name, but in a way it kind of fit him. He was gorgeous either way. Satisfied with the information I got I turned around and walked down the rest of the stair. As I walked out the door I ran into Erin. We talked for a few seconds, but she hurried me off when she realized I had to go to work. We said our goodbyes and I walked to my car which was down the street.

Much like the day before it felt like someone was fallowing me. I put my hand in my purse again, this time actually taking my Beretta and making it sure it was loaded. I pulled the hammer back and put my finger on the trigger, ready for anything that could happen. I didn't put my gun away until I made it to my truck. As soon as I was inside I locked my doors, turning on my vehicle and got the hell out of there.

~J&M~

I had finally calmed down once I got to the Dispatch Center. I didn't see anyone fallow me as I drove to work so that help calm my nerves. Sitting down in my seat, I let out a sigh before putting my headset on. An hour had past and I got a call I never liked getting. I pressed the button to answer; forgetting everything but this caller right now.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?" I asked.

"I uh…" a male's voice sighed. "I just killed my wife."

My blood ran cold. This call was one of the worst calls I could get. I rather have a call from Tammy than this from someone telling me they killed their wife. I couldn't let it get to me; I needed to be professional.

"Okay," I said without hesitation. "What's your name sir?"

"Jack," the man mutter.

"Your last name?"

"Sabler."

I entered it into the computer continuing to ask him questions; his telephone number, address, etc. Then came the questions that I dreaded.

"Alright," I mutter. "You just said you killed your wife?"

"Yes," he agreed.

"Okay, are you still armed with the gun or a knife?"

Knowing I wasn't going to be able to keep him calm and talk to the units that needed to be sent, I pressed a button on my station to call for someone to help me. They were there in just seconds looking over my notes. Her name was Dawn and she's one of my favorite co-workers; she'd been working here for ten years and she was a shift supervisor. Once she figured what was going on she sat down at the computer beside me and started working with the units.

"It was a gun," the man told me, as this was happening. "And no. it's on the sink. I'm not a threat to anybody… I'm not sure what happened."

"Alright," I said to him. "Is she still breathing or conscious and able to talk?"

"No. She's, she's–"

I knew what that meant, and I didn't like it, but I knew this guy did feel bad or else he was acting like this bad and trying to work with me. Not every call was like this.

"Okay," I muttered calmly. "Where is she at in the house, and where are you?"

"She's laying on the floor where…" the man hesitated, not being able to finish his sentence, "and I'm in the kitchen."

"I know you don't want to say it Jack but where is she?"

"She's… she's on the ground by the back door."

"Outside?"

"No, inside."

"Alright."

Typing as fast as I could, I wrote down everything he was telling me. My blood was still cold and I didn't know if there was going to be away to warm it back up.

"In fact," Jack mumbled, "I'm stepping outside now and I'll sit on the front stoop. The gun's in the kitchen on the counter."

"Okay Sir," I said, letting him know I was still there. "I'm going to need you to put your hands up when they get there. They're going to need to see your hands so they know you're not armed."

"I will. Like I said, I'm not going to put up a problem."

"I'm going to need you to tell me what exactly happened."

"She – she took all the money out of our bank account on my birthday on Saturday… And you guys were out here a couple of times because I reported it. And she was – I don't know. She was gone… When I came home she was here, and she just wouldn't talk to me. She… just kept saying 'talk to my lawyer.' I don't know – it just happened… I never wanted to do anything."

He was having a hard time telling me what he did, and I could understand why. I could tell he was starting to cry and he was breathing heavy. I knew he killed his wife, but I still felt bad for him. It sounded like he really did love her, and didn't want her to leave. Sadly, she was going to do it anyway, without telling him why.

"Try to breathe for me okay Jack," I gently told him.

"I know," the caller sighed. "I'm alright. I mean… I'm not alright. God forgive me. Oh god."

"I'm just going to stay on the phone with you until the police get there okay?"

"Yeah, I can hear sirens."

"Right."

"Oh, my God."

My heart was breaking for this man. He really felt bad for what he did; he really did love his wife. She just didn't love him and she was going to take everything his man had as she left him.

"How long ago did this happen?" I asked.

Anything I could get out of him needed to go in the report anyway.

"What?" Jack asked.

"How long ago did you shoot her?" I repeated.

"Just a few minutes before I called you."

"Alright."

"Oh my god."

"Okay. Where did you shoot her?"

I knew asking him all these questions wasn't the best thing to do, but as a dispatcher you need to get as much as you can so you could tell the units what to expect.

"I don't know," he sniffled. "I don't know. It's multiple times. I really don't know."

"You don't know how many times?" I asked.

"No."

"Okay. And you guys are the only ones at the house, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. What kind of gun was it?"

Looking at Dawn and she nodded. I knew she was telling me I was doing a good job on this call.

".40-caliber sig," Jack answered.

"Okay," I continued. "Do you still hear the sirens coming?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. There's no animals there that could attack the officers?"

"No."

I nodded my head even though he couldn't see me. This was just crazy. I was surprised I was staying so calm. Yes, I had many calls like this before, but they never got any easier and not many people were as cooperative as this man.

"Here's your first car," Jack notified me. "Here's your second car."

"I'm going to have you hang up with me, okay Jack," I told him. "I want you to show them you have nothing in your hands."

"Okay."

"Alright. Bye"

"Bye."

Once we hung up and leaned back in my seat and sighed. The whole call only took about ten minutes, but it felt like it took an hour. I looked over at Dawn, as she got out of her seat. She put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

"Good job kid," she said proudly.

"Thank you Dawn," I nodded. "My question is why was she there at eleven at night?"

"Maybe she thought he was out or a sleep."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Hopefully the rest of the night is quiet."

"Your telling me."

Dawn got her wish; it was slow for the rest of the night. As work dragged on I found myself thinking of that Jay guy who worked with Adam. I couldn't help but wonder why I hadn't seen him around before; maybe he was new and just started there. Whatever it was, I kind of hoped I got to see him again, and that was weird, because I never hoped I seen a certain man again. Oddly enough this man was different, and I wanted to know why.

~J&M~

Once I got home I looked in my brother's room and he was out cold. I smiled and walked to my room, glad he was getting his much-needed sleep. I stripped my close off, put a big baggy shirt on, all as I was making my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I was done with that I curled up under my covers, grabbed my body pillow and zonked out within minutes with a pair of icy blue eyes flashing through my head.