A/N: Hey all! Thanks for being here and thanks for the comments on the last chapter! I thought I should clarify, just in case there's any of you judging the timeline based off of the canon events I used so far, that I'm not following the canon timeline. I'm just borrowing the events as they become useful for the story. If you ever have questions about something, feel free to ask!
That being said, here's chapter 4! I hope you enjoy!
As they're wrapping up paperwork from the case, Jay's almost convinced that they dodged a bullet, that Voight didn't think anything of his and Erin's exchange at the hospital. But he's a fool to think they got that lucky.
"Halstead, Lindsay, my office. Now," the sergeant barks at them.
They get up from their desks without a word and follow him.
"Shut the door," he orders and they do. "You two wanna tell me anything?"
"Like what?" Erin asks with a casual shrug.
"Like what that scene at the hospital was all about at the hospital." He's answering Erin, but looking straight at Jay, who's trying his best to match his girlfriend's nonchalance.
"Just checking on my partner, Sarge. Don't know if you noticed, but she had a knife to her throat."
"I don't appreciate your sarcasm," Voight says, moving into Jay's space. "And I don't appreciate people sneaking around behind my back."
Jay says nothing, afraid of making it worse. Erin crosses her arms over her chest. Voight's made up his mind about them and she needs to figure out how to change it.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," the sergeant growls. "You're lucky I'm feeling nice today or I'd send both of you packing."
Jay swallows hard as the older man turns away from him. Nevermind the fact he and Erin were applying to other jobs… He worked his ass off to get into Intelligence. He knows he just dodged a bullet.
"But don't think you're getting off that easy," Voight continues, sitting down at his desk. "Starting tomorrow, Erin, you're with Al. Halstead, you'll work with Ruzek. Whatever's going on between the two of you? It's over. Effective immediately. I can't have my detectives getting their heads clouded because they can't keep it in their pants. Now back to work, both of you, and when you go home, make sure you go alone."
Jay opens his mouth to argue. It's not as easy as going home alone. She's his girl, has been for almost half a year. Not only that, he knows he can protect her better than anyone because only he knows that there's more than just her to protect. But Erin beats him to their defense.
"What exactly makes you think either one of our heads is clouded?" she demands. "Jay didn't do a damn thing back there out of the ordinary."
"Didn't need to," Voight growls. "I could feel him practically twitching beside me. You know, you should thank me for putting a cap on this now, before one of you gets hurt, or worse."
"And you weren't twitching?" she retorts. "I could see both of you, Hank, and you were just as ready to do something rash as he was - actually more so - if Mills hadn't gotten the guy when he did. Jay's my partner. We always watch each other's back. We can anticipate each other's moves. We're safer as a team. I'm working with him tomorrow. End of story."
"Are the chevrons on your uniform? No. If you don't like my decision, you're welcome to stay home tomorrow."
Erin stares him down, as if challenging him to retract his order.
He doesn't budge.
So she shrugs, her appearance suddenly carefree. "Okay I will," she states simply, laying her gun and badge on the desk in front of her.
"Me too," Jay seconds, emboldened by his girlfriend's actions.
"Don't be ridiculous. This is the best damn unit in all of Chicago. You can't just walk away."
"Why not? It's obvious you don't trust us to do our jobs anyway. You've been on our case since the day Jay started… nevermind he was dating Antonio's sister at the time."
"Come on, kid, you know I trust you. You're the best detective I've got."
"Not anymore."
Erin watches as Hank sets his jaw, trying to hide the flash of betrayal in his eyes. She smirks inwardly. He knows he just lost two of his best detectives.
"We'll finish our reports, clean our desks out and be out of here. Then you can hire two detectives who don't get along as well as we do and then you can wonder whether or not they'll work together in the field." She turns toward the door but stops short, turning back to the sergeant for one final blow. "Honestly, Hank, I thought you appreciated loyalty."
Everyone in the bullpen is too engrossed in their paperwork from the case to notice Jay and Erin emptying their desks. It's not until they're on their way out of the precinct that anyone says anything.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Trudy asks, her face aghast when she sees them coming down the stairs. "Erin, please tell me you're just helping Chuckles load his stuff out of here."
"Thanks, Sarge, I really feel the love," Jay deadpans.
"Actually, we're both leaving."
The desk sergeant's jaw drops. "No. No no no no no. Why?"
"You're leaving?" Burgess chips in, sounding almost as hurt and disbelieving as the older woman.
Erin nods, giving each of them a sympathetic smile as she adjusts her box onto her hip. "It's kind of a long story, but the short version is that we quit."
Trudy glances between the two of them, opening her mouth as if to say something but coming up short and closing it again.
"Where are you going now?" Burgess asks.
Erin shrugs. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."
"Did Hank do something stupid to you?" Trudy asks, finally finding words. "Because if he did, I swear, I'll march right up those stairs and -"
"It's fine, Trudy," Erin assures her. "If you want to come over this weekend, we can give you the longer version then. Kim, you're welcome to join as well. We'll also be inviting everyone upstairs at some point. We can't just leave without saying goodbye."
"Are we nuts?" Jay asks as soon as they get to his apartment after work. "That felt so good, but are we crazy? We don't have anywhere to go yet!"
She grins. "Sure about that?"
"Yes! I mean - Just quitting like that was so irresponsible. I'm freaking out over here. And you-" he paused, studying her closely. "- You look like you know something that I don't. . . care to share?"
"Your phone rang before. It was a number from La Crosse so I answered. They asked for a call back so they could discuss an offer."
Excitement flashes across his face as he hastily pulls his phone from his pocket. He's about to dial when he suddenly stops. "Wait, Er. Did they just call me? What about you? I can't go if they don't want you."
"Don't worry about me," Erin tells him. "I'm actually really happy they chose you over me."
He furrows an eyebrow at her, curious for her reasoning.
"The baby, Jay," she explains. "Maybe it's better if I'm not a cop until we have the baby. . . and maybe I find something in the meantime that I love just as much."
"You're sure?" he asks, though he already knows the answer. Once his girl makes up her mind, she's set.
She nods, then gestures toward his phone. "Go on. Call them back. I'll call for dinner."