Sorry for the long wait! My sister had her grad party and we had to clean the house and I been busy with that and I haven't found the time to update this story. I have a couple of chapters already written and I'm kind of stuck on where I want this story to go. If you guys have any ideas, feel free to share them with me.
While Jay and Antonio were in Voight's office, Will and Maddie stood by Jay's desk.
"Will, I'm serious, I'm not leaving until I have my answer," Maddie said.
"Well, then it looks like you aren't going to Wisconsin with us," Will answered.
"Why are you going to Wisconsin?" Erin asked.
"Because siblings stick together and help each other through things," Maddie snapped.
"Ok, Maddie, calm down!" Will tried to get through to his stubborn sister.
"No, they had no right to accuse Jay of murdering that jerk! The only reason they accused him was that he knew Ben! I knew Ben, but I wasn't a suspect, was I?" Maddie was pissed.
"They had a picture of Halstead following him," Sumner said.
"And? Will could drive to work behind someone going to the hospital, while at the hospital, they die. Will's not the killer, is he?"
"Good point, kid," Al said. Maddie huffed and sat down on Jay's chair.
"Do any of you know what it's like to lose your best friend?" Maddie asked quietly.
"What?" Erin asked.
"Nothing," Maddie snapped again.
Jay then walked out of Voight's office, looked at everyone in the room, and said to Will, "Who'd she snap at?"
"Your partner," Erin said as she went to the break room. Jay followed.
"Why didn't you tell me you have siblings?" Erin asked, knowing Jay followed her.
"Why didn't you help your partner yesterday?" Jay shot back.
"You told me that I didn't want to know," both Erin's and Jay's tempers were getting high. "You gonna answer my question?"
"My life is easier when people from work don't know about my past or family."
"How come Antonio seems to know them?" Erin asked. She was not happy with Jay's answer. "He's in your 'work-life.'"
"He met them yesterday when he helped me get the case file." Jay was pissed. "And Alvin met them and my Army buddy yesterday when he came to check on me as a partner should! I would have done what Al and Antonio did if you were suspended." Jay realized that he just shouted that he was in the army for the whole unit to hear. He muttered, "Shit," under his breath.
Erin just stood looking at him in shock.
Outside in the bullpen, Intelligence heard the partners arguing and when Jay admitted that he was in the Army, Antonio and Will looked at each other worriedly. They both knew Jay didn't mean to admit what he just had. Maddie and Will knew that Jay was nearing uncontrollably angry and they needed to do something about it.
Will walked over to the break room and asked, "Jay, do you realize what you just admitted?"
"Yes, Will, I'm well aware that I just screamed to the whole fucking world that I was in the Army." Jay's voice had an edge that Erin had never heard before.
"Jay, can we go?" Maddie walked in and wrapped her arms around Jay.
"Yep, come on, let's go," Jay said, leaving Erin in her own thoughts. The Halsteads left the bullpen without saying a word.
"Did any of you know that he was a vet?" Erin asked, mainly to Voight.
"I did, he told me this morning," Antonio said. "He also pointed out that this team was not acting like a team yesterday."
"How? Did he yell at you too?" Erin asked.
"No, he told me that a team is a family that you choose. A team helps its members through the thick and thin. I'm also pretty sure that he was a prisoner of war." Antonio said.
Al, also a vet, asked, "That's extreme. What makes you say that?"
"The way he said something, he said that members of his team were kidnapped, he said that 'they' were told rescuing the team members were suicide missions but 'they' did it anyway," Antonio said with a deadly serious tone. "He also said that he doesn't know if he wants to come back or not. And he has good reason to not want to."
"Why?" Sumner asked.
"We treated him like shit yesterday," now Antonio was getting mad. "As soon as we heard that Lonnie Rodiger was killed, we all thought he did it. And Maddie was right because Jay knew Ben. We treated him like he wasn't part of this team."
"Ok, that's harsh," Erin defended.
"Is it?" Alvin was on Antonio's side. "If it was Antonio accused of murder, what would we do? We would make sure he was cleared. With anyone in this unit, we make sure they were cleared, especially Halstead. So why didn't we do it yesterday? I don't blame Maddie for snapping you, Lindsay, she has watched her brother through so much and has become extremely protective of him."
Erin didn't know how to respond.
"Ok, before this becomes a shouting match let's get back to paperwork," Voight ordered. He knew that this was far from over, but he didn't need the rest of the precinct to hear them shout.
When the Halsteads got to their Grandfather's cabin, Jay finally relaxed. They unloaded their stuff and relaxed. They stayed like that for the rest of the day.
Near the end of shift, Erin was still mad at her partner. Why should he expect them to help him when he pushed them away? He was hiding things from the team, from her. She didn't know what he had seen, if he had trusted them, then maybe they would have helped him. She decided to give him a piece of her mind.
She grew more pissed when he didn't answer his phone, "Hey, Jay, I know you think that Intelligence was in the wrong, but ask yourself, if you hadn't pushed me away, do you think I would have helped you?" Erin hung up.
She didn't care what Antonio or Al said, Jay pushed her away, so she stayed away.
Maddie was bored and Jay was sleeping, so she grabbed his phone and started to text Antonio.
Hey, it's Maddie, I just wanted to thank you for helping Jay yesterday. He's been through a lot and needed someone other than family on his side. She hit send.
Antonio smiled as he got Maddie's text from Jay's phone.
He texted back, No problem. I would have done it no matter what. How's your vacation?
She replied back, Relaxing and a bit boring. Jay's slept pretty much the whole time we've been here and Will is watching something on the TV. Erin called. I think they're still mad at each other, Jay didn't answer it.
They'll get over it. What did you mean by Jay's been through a lot?
When I was born, doctors were worried about future problems that me and my mom could get. Shortly after Jay deployed, Mom was told she had cancer. Jay came home to a dying mother, a checked-out brother, a disappointed father, and a baby sister. Will was in med school in New York and Dad wanted Jay to follow in his and Will's footsteps. Jay seemed different when he first came back. He wasn't the Jay I remembered.
Then, he left again after mom died. When he came home that time, he was badly injured. He couldn't walk for weeks and was stuck with my dad. He hated it. One day, Will came home from New York and saw how much Jay hated staying with our dad. Will put his life on pause for Jay and me.
With help from Mouse (Jay's Army buddy), Will got Jay back to who he used to be. They both took me to my first day of school. And they both made sure I wasn't bullied in school or anything like that. Jay became a police officer against what our dad wanted and he practically disowned Jay.
The night Jay found Ben's body, he changed yet again, he became more serious, threw himself into his work more. I went from seeing him all the time he was off shift to barely seeing him at all.
Antonio didn't know how to react to this. Thanks for telling me.
Maddie smiled at this and was about to type something when another text came in. Do you think he'll quit?
I don't know. What I do know from stories, is that he really looks up to and respects everyone there. And he is very glad that he gets to work with you guys.
Well, tell Jay when he gets up, he's a real asset to the team whether he believes it or not.
You got it! Though, you know how stubborn he is so it might take a while.
When Antonio read her text let out a chuckle. Erin looked over at Antonio and asked, "What are you chuckling at on the phone? I never pictured you as a juicy gossip texter." Erin knew she was out of line, but she didn't care.
"Maddie was texting me and both she and Jay have the same humor," Antonio replied honestly. It was after shift, so he could go home, but he knew Laura and the kids were at her parents' house.
"Why is Maddie texting you?" Adam asked.
"I think she was bored and Jay is sleeping so what's the first thing a teenager does? Texts one of her older brother's friends." Antonio said.
Voight then walked into the bullpen. "Now that it's after shift, let's talk." Everyone knew this talk was coming. "As Dawson and Olinsky so wisely told us earlier, we did not act like a team yesterday. And I know I'm partially to blame for that. How do we change that? Because I meant what I said after Jules's funeral, this unit is a family."
They talked for a little bit about how to make this unit better. Erin was still a little mad at Jay but understood where he was coming from.
When they all went home, Voight called Halstead.
"Halstead," Jay answered.
"Hey, Halstead," Voight greeted.
"You want to know if I'm coming back or not right?" Jay asked, getting straight to the point.
"One of the things, yeah," Voight admitted. "I just wanted to let you know that I was wrong for thinking that you were guilty."
"Wow, I just heard Hank Voight say that he was wrong, am I still asleep?" Jay laughed. Voight chuckled along with him.
"No, you're not, but beware, you tell anyone I said that I will deny it." Voight was glad for the light-hearted conversation. "So, have you made a decision yet?"
"I think I'm gonna stay, I love working in Intelligence. It's a great unit and I'm glad I'm in it." Jay replied.
"I meant what I said about you having potential, Halstead," Voight rarely gave compliments, so when he gives one, you listen and take it to heart.
"Thank you, sir," Jay said. "I'll be back next Monday."
"See you later, Halstead." Voight ended the call.
Jay was going to text Antonio saying he was coming back but instead he read through the conversation between Maddie and Antonio. He was glad she was looking out for him.
Since you guys waited for so long, you get two chapters today. And sorry any characters seem OOC. Especially Erin. I'm not Erin Lindsay's biggest fan and if my thoughts of her get reflected in this, I'm sorry, I'm trying to remain neutral.