Hi, so here is another chapter and the final one of Season 1! A lot of Season 2 will be glossed over as I am choosing more of the Jay centric episodes and a lot of events will be covered in one chapter most specifically the Jay/Erin partnership. I am not entirely sure if I will have Erin leave Intelligence as to me that arc was a waste of three episodes and in this story she and Jay have already been together before. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and I will do my best to bring you the next one sooner rather than later. Anything to do with Camille and her cancer will be addressed when we get to the Season 3 arc which will be a bit longer.
Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine.
Please Read and Review.
And just be aware of some trigger warnings for this chapter and this story in general.
Born Under A Bad Sign
Chapter 9-Eulogy.
In the past Erin and Jay deal with Charlie Puglisi as he makes them do the unthinkable. Hank walks through fire for his kids. In the present it's much the same. Until someone ends up dead. Final Chapter of the Season 1 arc.
October 18th 2002
The second he was forced into the car Jay felt his head smack against something hard. It was Erin's shoulder. He still had his phone on him though the shock had made it so that he had hung up on Will. Without thinking he dropped it to the floor and pushed it under the car seat. Thank God he put the thing on silence and had, had the sense to shove it in front of him before the guy with the gun at the small of his back had noticed.
Someone pulled him back from Erin's lap and he got a fist to the face for his trouble.
"What the fuck?"
"Hello Erin"
"Charlie"
"Who the fuck is Charlie?"
Another fist and he swore feeling his nose crunch. Shit. Blood was coming out of it and his lip and he could feel the dizziness. They were driving but he didn't know where. Erin was looking terrified.
"Whose this Erin? Your new boyfriend"
Jay wasn't but he still didn't plan to go down without a fight.
"And what's it to you? Erin who the fuck is this guy?"
"This is Charlie…he…he helped me out when I was on the streets..."
Jay looked from Erin and then to Charlie. Erin was the same age as him seventeen, she'd been on the streets since she was fourteen. Charlie had to be about twenty eight. Christ he felt sick.
But then again that could have been him.
Actually it wouldn't have. Erin might have been on the streets. He had been on a bridge. One of them had faced a slow death and one of them a quick one.
"Charlie what the hell do you want? My debt to you is clean. So is Annie's, I should know I paid them both. So what the fuck—"
"Your debt is clean Princess but your mother's isn't."
Erin closed her eyes.
"Yeah, I didn't intend to grab your boy toy but you're working that debt off more me tonight one way or another. Bunny agreed"
"Hang on a minute her mother sold her out to you?"
Jesus and he had thought Pat was bad. Then again if a bottle of scotch had been involved…
Well…enough said.
"Jesus Christ" he muttered to Erin. "Some mother"
She didn't say anything.
Charlie turned. Someone else was driving but he turned and Jay saw the gun. He tried to remember the times he had wrestled a bottle of Pat but then again a bottle was a lot different to a gun and knowing his luck he'd get shot.
"Look man, neither one of us has money—"
Charlie laughed. There was nothing in his eyes other than pure amusement as if he thought Erin's terror and Jay's utter confusion was funny.
"I don't want money son. You see I've got a body in the trunk of my car and I was initially gonna have Erin do it but now that a big strong man like you are here you can dig the hole. And Erin and I…well…she knows I like her for other things"
Erin made a noise that came across as a whimper. Jay shot her a look. He was achingly aware of what Charlie meant. He was achingly aware that he had the gun and he was achingly aware that nobody knew where they were.
Because nobody did. And he wasn't naïve enough to think that after they did this Charlie was going to let them go out of the goodness of his heart. He closed his eyes and reached blindly for her hand. Charlie turned and laughed his eyes back on the road. Both the doors were locked and even if he could throw them both out, they'd be pulverised at the speed they were going at on the road they were going down.
He didn't think of Will. He didn't think of his brother. He thought of Hank and he thought of Camille and the food that was supposedly waiting for them at home and he thought he might cry. Erin gripped his hand back as tightly as she could.
There was to do.
It was the one time in Jay's life he doubted Hank Voight.
He never would again.
It was a good night.
Justin was at a friends house for a sleepover (if that was what you called it at sixteen) while Jay and Erin had gone out to see Annie and the sonogram of her baby and they were actually supposed to be on time to come home. He had put away a major drug baron, Al and Meredith were speaking again and Camille was making that stuffed chicken that he liked with the cream sauce.
So yeah. Life was good.
His phone rang and Hank who had been sat watching the football and bemoaning instant replay with a beer answered it absent minded and not thinking of checking caller ID.
"Hank. It's Will…Will Halstead, Jay's brother, you gave me your number before I left said I should call if I needed anything"
He flipped the TV off.
"Yeah Will I remember"
He knew Camille had stopped what she was doing in the kitchen and had come to watch.
"Listen I got a bad feeling about Jay"
"Oh?"
"I was on the phone with him just now. He was meeting Erin's mom and some friend of hers Annie I think…and suddenly there was a struggle, sounded like he was being pulled into a car. Lots of shouting, and Erin was begging someone called Charlie I think? Anyway we got disconnected and now I can't get him back on the phone and…and I'm worried Hank he sounded…scared. Like really scared. I haven't heard him sound like that even when our Dad was at his worst."
Hank paused thinking hard. Something like worry was curdling in his belly. He knew who the Charlie was that Will was talking about. Charlie-Fucking-Puglisi. Shit. He was back. Eight months it had taken him to get Erin out from his debt, and then there had been Annie who had been beaten and pregnant by him and who his wife had a soft spot for, for that and that reason alone. He had never assumed Bunny had been stupid enough to get into it with Charlie considering what he was and he had never considered Charlie mad enough to take Bunny off on whatever offer she had but then again Bunny had the brains off…well…a bunny and Charlie needed shooting. Fast.
"I'll look into it Will"
"Hank…he sounded really fucking scared and…and I know I've not been there for him but he's all I have and—"
"Will" he said cutting across him. "I'll get him back and when I do I'll get him to call you okay?"
"Please" was all Will said and then he was gone.
"What happened?"
"Charlie Puglisi by the sound of it."
"Bunny Fletcher?"
"Yep must have sold her own girl out on a platter and he took Jay with him"
"To do what?"
"I don't know but I sure as shit don't want to leave them to find out"
"Bunny Fletcher" Camille said shaking her head and then she made a hand gesture as if she was squeezing her hand around Bunny's neck. Hank thoroughly agreed with her. But he tended to use bullets rather than hands. To much risk of a DNA match later on down the road.
Hypothetically speaking of course.
"I need to call Al and go after them. If Charlie's got them there's no say what he'll do. And Jay's such a livewire he might just react"
Camille nodded.
He moved to the door but she reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Get my kids back Hank" she said. "I don't care if you have to shoot up Inglewood to do it but you get my kids back"
God he loved her. Seriously what the fuck would he do without her?
Charlie had apparently decided he wasn't going to do anything until the body was buried. Which was good because it gave Jay time to plan even though he had a feeling he was digging his own grave as well as the…the body.
Oh Christ he was going to be sick. He the last dead body he had seen was Ben's and it was making him want to vomit and cry and gouge his eyes out until he didn't have to see it anymore. His Mom had died and he had been outside the room and they'd moved him away before the hospital staff had come out. Even Pat at his worst had never looked dead. Ben. Ben had been the worst. And Ben had been the one who had kept him up at night.
And now he had seen another one.
The third he was sure was going to be Erin. But then again he was going to be shot soon so weather it was Erin or him it didn't matter. That one wouldn't last long in his brain.
So here he was stripped down to his waist digging a fucking grave. It was cold out but he was boiling and he had took his t-shirt off uncaring weather Charlie who had Erin on his knees a gun to her head, tears streaming down her face. He was shivering with every puff of air but his body was overheated.
How the fuck he had been the person who had done this he didn't know.
"Stop" Charlie ordered. Jay who was covered in dirt and sweat was shivering but Charlie grabbed him by the arm and yanked none to gently out of the hole and threw him to the ground. Erin her face wet with tears watched him as Charlie kicked the body in. It wasn't snowing but it was cold and frosty and Jay was half naked shivering and covered in rapidly cooling sweat and he was sure that he was going to die.
He looked up at Erin and knew that he was either going to die and Charlie would rape her while he lay dead on the ground or that Charlie was going to rape her and he would have to watch. Her face was wet, her eyes dazed. She clearly knew what was coming next and suddenly Jay was fucking furious.
No.
He turned jerking his undershirt back on and jerking his chin at the other one. Erin followed his gaze and (he hoped) his reasoning. He would take the one with the gun, she would have to take Charlie. She wiped her face slowly and nodded.
"Well then—hey you little shit—"
They both moved at the same time. Erin launched herself at Charlie and he launched himself at Charlie's friend. The strength of it hit the friend as Jay's whole body had floored him. He went for the gun as his knee hit his throat and then like Pat with a bottle he brought his hand down once, twice and finally…finally the gun fell out of his hand. He pushed his knee up the other man's throat and punched, once, twice, three times and then the man was out. Jay might have broken two knuckles in the process but what was that in the long run?
He turned at Erin's scream to her being pulled back by Charlie Puglisi by her hair and he moved forwards only to hear a shout by the one person who he had wanted to see all of tonight.
"JAY GET THE FUCK DOWN"
Yeah like Jay needed to be told twice. He threw himself face down into the mound of Earth that covered the body and Charlie Puglisi went back as Hank's shot caught him in the arm. Erin screamed and Jay shut his eyes and just waited for the blow but it never came. Erin was still screaming and he was retching now throwing up face down in the mud and someone was tugging at his arms and he was screaming and fighting but he was being pulled into someone's chest and someone was holding him.
"Hush kiddo, hush it's me. Al"
Al. Al was good. Al was safe and so Jay opened his eyes his face a mess of snot and tears and mud and blood and sweat.
Al was looking at him with that soft smile.
"Hey kid. Can you walk?"
Jay nodded and he got to his feet though his knees almost gave out. Al gripped his arms and took him to the car opening the door and putting him down on the seat taking off his coat and wrapping it around him as if he was a small child that was traumatised after seeing some great and terrible event.
"There you go son" Al said gently.
"Is he—" he jerked his head at the man on the ground he had hit.
"Nah. Just out cold. But we've got him now. You did really good Jay"
"Erin—"
"She's fine…Hank's with her and Charlie"
"He…he was gonna…"
"I know Jay. You saved her life. You left your phone on, Will called Hank and we tracked you both down. It's alright, it's over"
Jay nodded feeling sick.
"Al I might throw up."
"So long as you do it outside my car kid were good. Do it inside and I'm billing you for it. But in all seriousness Jay were gonna take you to the hospital get you checked out for concussion and your hand okay?"
Jay nodded. To be honest Al could have said they were taking them to hell and he would have gone.
And then Hank was there. He bent down next to Al who muttered something about making sure that Camille knew what was going on. Erin was at his shoulder her face streaked with tears.
"You good son?"
Jay nodded. And without warning the word slipped out, the moniker that he had been thinking for a long time didn't apply to Pat Halstead and did apply to the man in front of him.
"Dad"
"Da—Jay I can call him if you want"
But Jay was too far gone to do anything but look at Erin. It was like they had come full circle from the night when they had both been arrested and Hank had screamed that he wanted to see his children. She understood. Erin always understood because Erin was the only person who would ever understand this one.
"Hank" Erin said softly from where she had been sitting on the floor her blouse ripped but otherwise unharmed.
"He means you"
Jay was just too far gone to say it. Hank looked from the two of them for a second and then he was being pulled into Hank's arms and Erin was there and he was holding them both as if they were precious glass and not two street rats he had found from nowhere.
It was the first real hug he'd ever had from a father.
It wouldn't be the last.
25th November 2014
Jay was at his office door.
Hank waved him in and Jay shut the door behind him gripping the back of the chair.
"I need to tell you something"
Oh God. Coming from Jay that was usually very, very bad.
"What?"
"You know that Charlie Puglisi's back in town?"
"Yes"
And yes, Hank did know that, that piece of filth was back in Chicago. The piece of filth that had kidnapped both of his children, nearly rapped one, nearly had the other beaten to death and had made them both bury a body (that they thought Hank didn't know about) was back and it had sent both Jay and Erin spiralling. He was sure that they weren't back into bed with each other but it was a close call. Jay had the look of a man one step away from falling back into the bottle and Erin always seemed close to tears.
Charlie had traumatised the both of them. Camille and he had spent that entire Christmas trying to get them both better and eventually they had succeeded. They'd had a busy Christmas that year because Will Halstead had arrived looking terrified for his younger brother and Camille had been a soft touch and had let him sleep on their couch for two months.
But looking back it had been one of the best Christmas's that he'd had. Erin, Jay, Will, Justin, Erin's friend Annie and her baby. Al, Meredith, Lexie, Jimmy. All of them. Will had charmed both his wife and Meredith and had, had them hanging on his every word about life in the Sudan. Jimmy had gotten drunk and spun little Lexie around until she was nearly sick and Al had given a very in depth discussion about how he had single handily took down thirty members of a triad gang who had put a one million dollar hit on him (which was not nearly as exciting as he had made it out to be) which had, had Jay and Justin gazing at him in awe.
Even the baby had been well behaved.
"Yeah I know he's back" he said finally pulling himself out of the memory of his wife's soft smile on Christmas morning.
"You know he's involved in this"
"I figured, security guard, truck etc. Makes sense."
"You remember my friend Mouse from the Rangers"
Hank resisted the urge to roll his eyes with difficulty. Yeah he remembered Mouse. Mouse who had been Jay's friend who had the had tried to fix and who had tried to fix Jay. Mouse who had eaten his weight in French fries once at his house and done things to his WiFi that made him get every sports game imaginable even though he didn't have the package for it.
"Yeah. Let me guess, you had him do something dogy that won't hold up in court but proves it was Charlie beyond a reasonable doubt?"
"Essentially yes"
Well…at least Jay was telling him this shit now.
"Hank…Erin and I can't be there when you bring him in."
"Why?"
"That night…she…him and I…"
"Jay I know he made you bury a body"
Jay blinked.
"You did?"
Thank God he had caught the rat and his bug early because Jay's look was so endearing.
"Yeah kid. I found you face down in a pile of freshly moved earth. You think I didn't go back and find out what it was?"
Jay sat down on the chair.
"You didn't say"
"No…the state the two of you were in I didn't think it fair"
Jay eyed him for a second.
It was hard for Hank to talk about that night, he had gone from slamming Bunny Fletcher into the nearest brick wall to finding his kids in a state of utter chaos. He had just gotten Jay his face and his hands coated in blood (and there was no way of telling whose it was) to duck down and then it was getting Charlie away from Erin and then Erin trying to convince him that he wasn't worth killing.
He had gone back to find Jay in a considerable amount of distress and then he had called him Dad. He could count the number of time that Jay had called him that on one hand and each time it meant something to him. Something that was precious beyond words because Jay was not Erin and with Jay it took a long time to get him to trust. And when he called Hank, Dad it was a symbol of how deep the trust went, that through prison and Lennie Rodiger and the drinking and those awful months when he had known that Jay had known about the cancer before he had, the trust was still there.
"He will sell us down the river before he gets into a prison cell" he said quietly.
"Trust me. He won't"
Jay eyed him for another long aching second and then he nodded.
"Alright then. I trust you. But I'm telling you the truth so you can lie for us. Like you said"
"I know" Hank said softly and then…
"Erin stop lurking behind the door"
Erin opened the door with a small smile.
"Let's get our man" Hank said looking at the two of them. "And I promise you that he will never come after either one of you again."
He didn't get Charlie dead (which was what he wanted) but conveniently everyone in Intelligence went deaf when he screamed about a body.
Even Atwater and he was brand new.
Hank thought this would be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Jay and Erin were already at the house when he got there.
How pizza and beer like the old days with his kids ended up with them staying in their old rooms half asleep by the time an old repeat of Leno was on he really didn't know but he watched them both in their too small beds in their too small rooms.
They didn't have to talk about why they had both offered to stay the night.
God knows he loved them all the same.
He got the phone call from Stillwell in the morning. Jay was already up though half asleep and he came out of the bathroom as Hank was getting dressed.
"You want help?" he asked sleepily.
"No" he said shortly. "Go back to sleep. This is the end of it"
Jay nodded and staggered back inside.
When he arrived he saw Jin's body and he knew. This was not the end.
This was just the beginning.
And there you go, that is the end of the Season 1 arc. Stay tuned for the begining of the Season 2 arc because this is going to be fast paced.
Next Chapter-The beginning of Season2. Jay wonders if Hank killed Jin, learns the truth, has a hit put out on him and nearly gets killed (all in the space of a fortnight) Nadia begins work in Intelligence and in the past Jay and Erin begin their complicated relationship in the aftermath of what happened with Charlie.