"Detective Lindsey," Erin answered her phone when an unknown number flashed across her screen. She was getting ready to head home after a long day and hopes that it wasn't anything that would require her attention tonight.

"Erin?" She nearly dropped the phone when she heard Jay's voice on the other line. The last time he'd called her had been six months after she moved to New York. He'd left her one last voicemail to say goodbye and that, since she hadn't returned any of his calls, he wouldn't be bothering her anymore. "Erin, Voight's been shot. It's bad."

Erin felt her heart drop. This was it; the phone call that she'd dreaded for years. Voight was notorious for putting himself into dangerous situations, and she knew that one of these days it would catch up with him. "I'll be on the next flight," she told Jay before hanging up. She quickly rushed home and threw some clothes in a bag while purchasing a ticket for the next flight to Chicago.

All Erin could think about during the three-hour plane ride was how she'd left Chicago without saying goodbye to him after Kim and Adam's wedding nearly two years ago. She'd left him a note, and he'd told her that he understood when they'd talked a couple of months later, but she still knew it had hurt him. She should have known better. As a cop, she knew full well the dangers of both her and Hank's jobs, and how there was always a real possibility that one of them wouldn't come home at the end of their shift.

As soon as her plane landed and taxied to the gate, Erin was on her feet. She was the first one off the plane and pushed through the crowd to head to the exit so she could catch an Uber to the hospital.

"Erin!" She looked around when she heard someone shout her name and spotted Antonio Dawson waving for her. She hurried over to him. "Antonio, how bad is it?" she asked.

Antonio shook his head. "It's bad, Erin. He's in surgery right now. He nearly bled out on scene before the paramedics got there." Erin bit back the sob that threatened to escape as she and Antonio pushed through the crowd to get to the parking garage.

They drove to the hospital in silence, both of their minds preoccupied by thoughts of Hank. Erin couldn't imagine her life without him. He'd now been a part of her life for longer than he hadn't been, and he was the only family she had left. She'd not talked to Bunny since she left Chicago seven years ago.

The ten minute drive to Chicago Med felt like an eternity. When they finally arrived, Antonio led her to the surgical waiting room where the rest of the team was waiting.

A visibly pregnant Kim Burgess was the first one to great her. "Hi, Erin," she said as she pulled Erin in for a hug. "I'm glad you were able to get here so quickly."

Before anyone else had a chance to greet her, Jay's brother, Dr. Will Halstead, walked into the waiting room. Everyone jumped to their feet, anxious for news of the sergeant.

"He's out of surgery," Will told them. "He's stable for now, but he lost a lot of blood before he got here. The bullet damaged his spleen, so we had to remove it."

"When can we see him?" Jay asked anxiously.

Will looked at his brother apologetically. "He's in the ICU, so unfortunately only his next of kin is allowed to see him right now."

The Intelligence team was looking around at each other, trying to figure out who that was, when Erin stepped forward. "I'm his next of kin," she told Will. Will nodded and motioned for her to follow him. "I'll take you to his room," he told her. "The rest of you can wait in the ICU waiting room."

They stood in awkward silence as they waited for the elevator to come to take them to the ICU floor. When the doors opened and they stopped on, Will finally spoke. "You hurt him when you left, you know. Jay, that is."

Erin nodded. "I know. And I'm sorry. I was wrong for leaving without saying goodbye, but it was the best choice I had at the moment."

"He was going to propose, you know." Will told her, making her look up in shock. "He'd asked for Mom's ring so that he could propose. He had it in his pocket the night you left Chicago."

"I had no idea," Erin replied softly. "He never told me."

Will nodded. That didn't surprise him. "It was rough on him when you left. He started to spiral, but then Hailey stepped in and helped. They eloped last year," he told her. "I didn't know if you knew that or not."

Erin forced a smile. "I'm glad he has her. I'm glad she was able to pick up the pieces that I left him in. I'm happy for him," she lied.

The elevator doors opened on the ICU floor, and she and Will stepped off. "Voight's room is there," he told her, pointing to the first room on the right. Erin nodded. "Thanks, Will," she told him.

She walked into Hank's room and pulled a chair over to his bed. "Hey, Hank. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here. I came as soon as they called me," she told him. She fought back tears as the sight of the man who had taken her in when she needed a family. He had always seemed so invincible, so strong, but now, laying there in the hospital bed, he looked so weak and helpless.

"I love you, Hank. I want you to know that. You were always more like family to me than my own family ever was. If you hadn't taken me in when you did, I would be dead. You saved my life. You've been a father to me for twenty-five years now, and I can't imagine life without you."

Erin took Hank's hand in hers and leaned forward, resting her other arm on his bedrail, and resting her chin on it. "I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye last time; I shouldn't have done that to you. And I'm sorry I haven't been back until now. It's just so hard; every time I come back, I feel like more and more has changed, and any remaining ties to Chicago are quickly slipping away.

"I can't lose you, Hank. You're the only family I have left, and you're the last tie I have left to Chicago. You're my only tie to the life that I loved."

"Please don't leave me, Hank," she begged him tearfully. "I don't know how to go on without you. I'm so miserable in New York; I don't have anyone there. I know I've put on a good front and pretended that I'm happy there, but I'm not. So I need you to tell me what I should do."

Erin sat there in silence then, tears streaming down her face. At some point, she nodded off to sleep, but the staff that would stop by to check on Hank didn't miss the fact that, even in her sleep, tears fell from the corners of her eyes. At the direction of Dr. Will Halstead, they didn't disturb the woman as she slept by the bedside of the man who was her father.

Erin woke to the feeling of a hand on her cheek. She sat up suddenly, remembering where she was, and looked at Hank's bed. He was awake and looking at her. It had been his hand that she'd felt on his cheek, wiping away another tear that had fallen.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed.

Hank smiled. "You weren't worried about me, were you?" he joked weakly.

Erin grinned. "Who, me? Nah. I just figured I didn't have anything better to do than sit here," she retorted playfully, making the older man smile.

Will walked into the room then, preventing either of them from saying more. "Sergeant Voight, good to see that you're awake. You had us worried there for a little bit. He glanced at Erin. "Erin hasn't left your side since she got here."

"When can I be released?" Hank asked. He hated hospitals. They reminded him too much of when he lost Al, Justin, and his Camille.

"We're moving you to a regular room today; as long as everything continues going in the right direction and you don't develop any complications, you should be able to go home in a few days," Will replied.

Three days later, Hank was released. Erin had remained by his side nearly his entire hospital stay, despite him telling her that it was okay to go back to New York. The Intelligence team was there visiting nearly every day, as well, which led to more than a few awkward moments.

"Hank, they're requesting me back in New York. I have to go," Erin told him the day after he'd gotten home from the hospital. "I'm sorry."

Hank nodded in understanding. "You should at least stay until the team gets here; they'd want to see you again and say goodbye."

Erin shook her head. "I can't," she lied. "I'm sorry."

She gave him a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek before she left. "Please don't push yourself too hard, and be careful," she told him. "I'll call to check on you when I can."

When Jay arrived that afternoon, he attempted to hide his disappointment that Erin wasn't there, and that she'd left without saying goodbye once again. Two people saw through his attempts: Hank and Hailey. They both saw the truth: even nine years later, Erin Lindsay still had his heart.