Thanks guys for all your lovely reviews on my last chapter. Now, since some of you prefer fluff, but some of you also prefer drama, there's some drama for those who found the last chapter too fluffy ;-)

Just a little warning, this one's kind of cruel...

Chapter 37

"Goodbye everyone! See you next week!" She was just about to leave the classroom at the police academy when her phone rang. A smile formed on her lips when her husband's name showed up on the screen, together with a picture of them on their honeymoon. "Hey, Baby! I'm headed home, do you want me to get anything on the way?"

"Are you still at the academy?"

She frowned when he didn't greet her or answer her question. "Uhm… yeah. Just finished class and I'm about to leave."

"Stay where you are! I'm gonna have Platt send someone to pick you up and take you to the district. Please promise me you won't leave the building by yourself!"

The panicked sound of his voice made her blood run cold. "Baby, what's wrong? Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm okay. Please just trust me and do as I tell you. Don't leave and wait for someone to pick you up."

"O… okay… I'll stay here. But would you please tell me what's going on? You're worrying me!" She placed a hand on her belly where her daughter seemed to notice her rising stress level.

"I'll explain later. I love you!"

"I love you, too!", she answered, the beeping indicating that he hadn't heard her anymore though. Staring at her phone, she wondered what his panicked call was about. Something had to have happened, something had to be seriously wrong if he ordered her to not leave the academy by herself, and she had no idea what that something could possibly be.

"Detective Halstead, are you alright? Do you need any help?" She startled when one of her students, a young woman in her third year at the police academy, showed up in front of her.

She blinked twice to get her mind back to the present and nodded. "Uhm, yeah, I'm fine, just got a call that I'm gonna be picked up. Thanks for asking though!" She told the student goodbye and sat down on a bench in the entrance hall of the academy.

Less than fifteen minutes later, she saw Sergeant Platt enter the building, looking around to find her. "Trudy! I'm here", she waved at the older woman and stood up from her seat.

"Hey, Erin! How are you?" The grey-haired policewoman looked around cautiously as she led her outside to her car.

"I'm fine… but could you please tell me what's going on here?", she asked the sergeant.

"Jay called me and pretty much begged me to send someone to pick you up, bring you to the district and keep you there until he's back. I don't know exactly what's going on, just that they left for a crime scene about 45 minutes ago. He was really freaking out, so I decided to come here myself." Trudy Platt opened the door at the passenger's side of her car and waited until she had taken a seat to close it again.

She still couldn't wrap her mind around what was happening. When she had left the district after lunch to teach her class at the academy, everything had been quiet and they had been making plans for the evening. She rested her hands on her belly that had become quite prominent over the last month. Being 33 weeks pregnant, she wasn't going to be working much longer, although she still felt great.

"How's the little munchkin?", the older woman asked, side-glancing at her belly while driving them back to the district.

"She's fine", she answered with a smile. "Unfortunately, she seems to really enjoy kicking my guts lately, but other than that, everything's great." She circled her abdomen soothingly to calm her baby down a little. "It's also good to know that we've reached a point where her chances of being alright in case of a premature birth are pretty good. Still, I hope she's going to stay in there for at least four more weeks."

"I'm sure everything will be just fine", the desk sergeant reassured her as she pulled into the parking lot. They entered the building and Trudy sent her straight up to the bullpen. "Jay insisted that you stay up there until he's back. Let me know if you need anything."

She got herself something to drink and sat down at her desk to go through some paperwork if she had to be here anyways. It began to drive her crazy that she had no clue what had happened. Jay hadn't answered her texts, and neither had Hank. After a while, she decided to go to the break room and try to take a nap.

"Erin! Baby!" She startled awake at the sound of her husband's voice and his arms wrapping around her, pulling her out of the light slumber about an hour later.

"S… sorry, I didn't want to scare you. I'm just… so glad that… that the two of you are… okay…" He pulled his wife against his chest, panting heavily as he closed his eyes and felt her warm breath against his neck, indicating that she was alive and healthy.

Shaking her head to fully wake up, she leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his shivering body. "Baby… we're fine, but you are worrying me! Could you please tell me what's going on?" She caressed the back of his neck to soothe him a little, unsure of what else to do.

He swallowed down a big lump in his throat. "I… I don't think it's a good idea. It's… really disturbing and I don't want to stress you out." He still held her tightly, determined to not let her out of his sight or the safety of the bullpen until they had solved the case.

She pulled away slightly, squinting her eyes. "Jay… I'm working here, I'm a member of this unit. I'm going to find out anyways. So, please, please tell me what it is that causes you to freak out like that." Reaching up to cup his cheek with her palm, she locked her eyes with his. He usually kept his composure even in the hardest cases, at least as long as they were at work, so the way he acted right now scared her.

He wanted to tell her no, he wanted to safe her from the cruelty of their current case, but he had to admit she had a point. She'd find out anyways, so she at least deserved to hear it from him. Taking a deep breath, he pulled her back into his arms. "We… we found a body… a woman… it… it was probably the most horrible thing I've ever seen…" He swallowed hard, trying to fight the nausea rising up in his stomach. "She… her body was cut open… she… she must have been… pregnant… and someone… took the… the baby… and left her to… bleed out…"

His words caused her to gasp in horror and clench her fists into his shirt. Besides the story being unbelievably cruel, she knew now why he had desperately wanted her to be in a safe place. "Oh my God, Baby… that is… that is…" She was at a loss of words to describe the horror of what he had just told her. Reaching behind her to grab one of his hands, she pressed it against her belly. "But Baby, we are safe! You don't need to worry about us! I'm fine and our little princess has been practicing some dance moves all day."

Feeling their baby kick indeed helped him calm down a little bit. "I know… but… we haven't found the baby or the person who did this… so we don't know anything about their motives. It… it could have been you…" He felt his heart clench painfully. "And we can't say for sure that it won't happen again. So, I'm not going to let you out of my sight – or Hank's or Platt's – until the case is solved."

She leaned in to place a soft kiss on his lips. "Okay… we're going to be safe with you guys. Don't worry, okay?" She let her thumb brush over his cheek before taking his hands into hers. "So, what can we do? Have you found out her identity yet? Did anyone report her as missing?"

He shook his head. "No, nothing… she didn't have anything with her and she doesn't match any of the missing person profiles. We informed all hospitals to look out for any newborns that are brought to ER, and if we don't have a lead until tomorrow morning, we're going to check with gynecologists and pediatricians around town."

She was just about to respond when her foster father entered the room. "Jay… take her home and get some rest. That's not up for debate, just in case you wanted to object. There's nothing we can do at the moment. I'll give you a call if we need you before eight in the morning." She swallowed hard when Hank gave her a look full of love and relief. "I'm so glad you're okay…" Squeezing her husband's hand again, she stood up and gave the older man a tight hug. "We're fine… and we're safe with all of you looking out for us."

He got up as well, waiting to take his pregnant wife home. On the one hand, he felt like he had to do something, anything, to find whoever committed the horrible murder. On the other hand, he wanted nothing more than to go home and hold her in his arms. The thought that there was probably a man out there somewhere who would never be able to hold his wife again and maybe never get to know his child completely broke his heart.

She was quiet on the way home, her right hand lying on his left arm the entire time. They had ordered some pizza to pick up on the way and eat while cuddling on the couch and maybe watching some movie as a distraction. What they both needed most tonight was being close to each other, and she needed to help him worry less about her and their daughter.

Entering the safety of their apartment helped him relax a little bit. Holding her hand and caressing her belly while she was curled up on the couch next to him, her head in his lap, he managed to not think about what could possibly have happened to her today for at least a few minutes at a time. The case had really worn him out though, so they called it an early night.

It was when she went to the bathroom for the first time that night when she suddenly heard him scream in terror. "Erin! No… no… Erin! No!" She felt her heart contract painfully as she rushed back to the bed to wake him from his nightmare. He was sitting on his side of the bed, his eyes wide open and sweat glistening on his forehead. "Baby… Baby, wake up! You're dreaming! I'm here, I'm okay! Everything's okay, Baby!"

Her soft, gentle voice slowly got through to him and managed to pull him out of his nightmare and back into reality. When he finally realized that she was sitting right in front of him, alive and unharmed, he broke down into her arms, sobbing into her shoulder as his fists clenched into her sleep shirt.

It broke her heart to see him so distraught, his body shaking violently. She held him tightly, stroking his back and whispering over and over again that she was okay, Gracie was okay, everything was okay. After a while, his sobs slowly subsided and she finally felt him relax in her arms.

He hadn't wanted to break down in front of her like that. She was pregnant and he didn't want to put any stress on her. But his nightmare had felt so real, and the thought of having lost her and their baby had nearly killed him. When he trusted his voice enough to say something, he choked out: "I'm sorry… I just… I'm so glad… you're okay…"

She pulled away just enough to cup his face with her hands. "Baby… you never have to be sorry for worrying about me or Gracie. And you definitely don't have to be sorry for having a nightmare." Wiping away a few tears with her thumb, she whispered: "I love you so much, Jay! And the thought of losing you would cause me to break down as well."

Cupping her face with his hands like she did with him, he leaned in to kiss her softly. "I know that sounds weird, but… if you have to go to the bathroom again, or get up for some other reason… could you wake me up? I don't think I can stand waking up without you lying beside me right now."

She swallowed hard, her heart breaking once more at his vulnerability. Nodding, she leaned in for another kiss. "Of course. I won't leave your side without letting you know. I promise." She slowly pulled him back down on the mattress with her. "Let's go back to sleep. There'll be a lot of work to do tomorrow."

To his great relief, he made it through the rest of the night without another nightmare. When they entered the bullpen the next day, they were greeted by Hank. "We got some news. The victim's husband came back from a business trip in the middle of the night and reported her missing. Upton and Atwater went to talk to him. He said his wife had been 35 weeks pregnant, so the baby we're looking for is a little premature. And it's probably a boy."

She didn't even have time to think about the news when Trudy Platt walked up the stairs. "We have a lead. A woman just showed up at Med with a male newborn. She said the baby was four days old, born at 39 weeks and shuddering more than normal. Dr. Manning immediately saw the baby in the ER and thinks he's probably only 35 or 36 weeks, and judging by the umbilical cord, he can't be older than one or two days. He's also hypoglycemic, which is probably the reason for the shuddering and is more common in premature babies according to her."

Kim had jumped up from her chair midway through the desk sergeant's information. "Adam and I are going there." As soon as their boss nodded, the two of them rushed down the stairs. Jay took his wife's hand and squeezed it tightly. The woman who had been killed had only been two weeks further along than her.

Entwining her fingers with his, she pulled him with her to the breakroom after sending a pleading look to Hank, who nodded in understanding. "Baby… I know this is absolutely horrible. But it wasn't me. And you need to stop thinking it could have been me if we want to concentrate on this case and solve it. There's a man out there who has lost his wife, but he might at least get his son back."

Swallowing hard and taking a few deep, slow breaths, he nodded. "You're right. We need to do everything in our power to reunite father and son." He poured both of them a cup of coffee before heading back to his desk and scanning through the information they had on the victim so far.

About an hour later, they got a call from Kim. "They admitted the little boy to NICU, but he's stable. We haven't got any proof yet that he's the baby we are looking for, but he very likely is. The DNA test is going to take a few days, but they're checking his blood group right now and if we're lucky, it matches with the victim's and not with the woman's who claims to be his mother. We're bringing her back to the district for interrogation now. She won't tell us who or where the father of the baby is."

For the next fifteen minutes, they waited impatiently for Kim and Adam to come back with the woman who seemed to have something to do with their case. "Upton, Atwater, you're going to interrogate her", Hank ordered. Jay scrunched his eyebrows. "I want to go in there!" But the sergeant immediately shook his head. "No. You're way too emotional about this with your wife being pregnant. I need someone who can keep calm in there."

When she felt her husband wanted to object, she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it softly. "Baby… he's right… Hailey and Kevin are less emotional in this case. I know you would probably be able to still stay professional about it. But I don't want you to go in there, you've already struggled so much since yesterday."

Sighing, he put his hand on top of hers and held it against his shoulder. "I appreciate you worrying about me, but…" He bit his lower lip. As much as he wanted to be the one to get the woman to talk, he knew she was right. "… you're right…"

She gave him a slight smile. "You know I'm always right." They sat back down at their desks to work, watching Hailey and Kevin enter the interrogation room as soon as Kim and Adam had arrived with the woman. They went to watch and listen from the outside, but the woman refused to give any information and insisted on the little boy being her four days old baby who she had given birth to at home. The midwife who she said had assisted her didn't answer her phone.

After about half an hour, Hailey and Kevin took a break. Just as they left the interrogation room, Kim informed them: "Dr. Manning just called. The baby's blood group is AB, Karen Seliger's is 0. That pretty much proves she's not his mother." Taking in the new information, Erin looked at her foster father. "Let me go in there and talk to her."

Jay looked at his wife shellshocked. "Are you nuts? There's no way I'm going to let you go in there! She could hurt you or Gracie!" Turning his face towards his father-in-law, he insisted: "Hank, you can't let her go in there!"

"If it makes you feel better, someone can come in there with me for protection. But I think I might get her to talk." She looked back and forth between the sergeant and her husband with pleading eyes until Hank nodded. "Upton, you go in there with her, you're the calmest out of all of us. Stay behind the suspect."

Taking Jay's hands in hers, she leaned in to kiss him gently. "Don't worry, Baby, we'll be safe." She nodded at Hailey and went to the door of the interrogation room with her. As soon as they entered, she immediately noticed the woman's eyes going wide at her being visibly pregnant.

She sat down in one of the chairs, moving a little away from the table so the suspect couldn't easily push it against her and placing her hands on her belly. "Karen Seliger? I'm Detective Erin Halstead. You've met my colleague already. So… you said you gave birth to the boy you brought to the ER at Med earlier today four days ago at 39 weeks, right?"

"That's correct." Her voice was trembling slightly, but she regained her composure quickly. "And if you don't let me get back to the hospital to hold my sick baby's hand, I'm going to sue this unit! I knew before that the police could be cruel, but I didn't think they'd be cruel enough to arrest a woman who's worried about her newborn's life."

Erin nodded. "I agree, that would be cruel. Except the baby at Med is not yours. We've tested his blood group, and it proves you can't be his mother."

The woman in front of her flinched. "T… Tests can be wrong."

"True. But the doctor's also say the little boy can't be more than one or two days old and was born prematurely. Actually, he's lucky that he's alive. Unfortunately, his mother isn't anymore." She looked directly into the woman's eyes. "I tend to think that it wasn't you who took the baby from her. But did you even question where he comes from, how he was taken? No?" She slammed a picture of the dead woman with her abdomen cut open onto the table, not looking at it herself.

Karen Seliger gasped in horror at the sight, covering her mouth with her hand. "This woman was 35 weeks pregnant. She, her husband and their son were going to be a family in a few weeks. But yesterday, she was brutally murdered. Her baby was stolen from her womb and she was left to bleed out. Her husband just lost his wife, and he doesn't know whether his son is still alive or not." She took a deep breath. "That, Mrs. Seliger, that is cruel. Unbelievably cruel. Too cruel to put into words."

Swallowing hard, she looked at the woman who had started crying by now. "And you know what? This could have been me." She waited for a few seconds before she continued. "This woman died, a man lost his wife and a little innocent boy lost his mother and was close to losing his own life because you wanted to have a baby."

The woman was sobbing by now, unable to say anything. Erin stayed quiet for a while, confident that Karen Seliger would talk as soon as she had calmed down. "I… I had a stillbirth two weeks ago… at 37 weeks… it… it was the first time I made it that far… the last… three times… I miscarried before 20 weeks…"

She automatically covered her belly with her hands, the possibility of loosing a baby so late during pregnancy leaving her unable to breath for a moment until she felt her daughter kick against her hand, almost as if she knew she had to let her mommy know she was fine. "I'm sorry…", she told the woman quietly, quite sure that she hadn't known about all this before.

"I… I didn't know… Dave… he… he told me four days ago that… that he had met a young girl who… who didn't want to keep her baby… who would just… give it to us when it was born… because it would be… easier than an official adoption. I had no idea that… I can't believe he…" The woman shook her head, a completely shocked expression on her face.

"Mrs. Seliger… where is your husband now?"

"I… I don't know…" The woman avoided her gaze.

"Well… he must have planned this in advance. As soon as we find him, and we are going to find him, he's going to be arrested. And with the exceptional cruelty of this murder, he is going to be locked up for a very long time. If you try to cover for him, you might look at a few years in jail as well."

The woman seemed to crumble in front of her, no energy left inside of her at all. She buried her face in her hands and whispered: "That doesn't matter anymore. I've lost everything…"

She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating on her daughter's movements to soothe her. Somehow, she felt sorry for Karen Seliger. She had indeed lost almost everything. She had lost four babies, and her husband was a murderer facing a lifelong sentence in jail. It didn't surprise her that she didn't care if she lost her freedom as well.

She stood up from the chair, her legs shaking slightly as she headed towards the door. "If you have any idea where he could be at the moment, let Detective Upton know." Even though the woman probably hadn't done much wrong, she couldn't stand to be in the same room with her any longer.

He didn't even wait for the door of the interrogation room to fully close before he pulled his wife into a tight embrace. More than once had he wanted to go inside and stop the interrogation, knowing how hard it had to have been on her, but Hank had stopped him. But now that they had all the information they needed, no one was going to keep him from taking care of his pregnant wife and unborn daughter anymore.

Burying her face in his chest, she wrapped her arms around him and held onto him tightly. The interrogation had cost her more energy than she had realized at first. Listening to his heartbeat that always managed to soothe her, she whispered: "Just take us home."