Chapter 3
Jay groaned, hearing the buzz of his phone a few feet away. He was already so comfortable and warm and the last thing he wanted to do was move any part of his body right now.
Correction: the last thing he wanted to do was wake Erin up.
Because right now she was nestled perfectly in his arms, her back to his chest and all he could smell was the sweet scent of her hair. She was soft and she smelled nice and he didn't want her to move. Plus there was the whole Erin being kinda scary when being woken up suddenly. Okay, a lot scary. So he did the smart thing and turned his body to pick up his phone on her nightstand and quickly silenced it. The bright screen caused him to squint, Jay grimacing at the sensory assault to his vision.
Yeah sure man, I'll track Lonnie Rodiger's credit card but man, I'm going to be in so much shit if Voight finds out that I'm doing this for you.-Jin
Jay clucked his tongue silently, both appreciative that Jin was willing to go off the books to do his biddings and frustrated that he'd even have to do this in the first place because someone as sick as Lonnie Rodiger shouldn't be a free man. He knew Lonnie was back to his old ways. The guy was sick and he needed to be in prison. Jay would prefer it if the key to his prison cell would be tossed in the Atlantic Ocean.
His thoughts on killing Lonnie in a thousand different ways was disturbed when Erin began to stir slowly. Jay shook his head fondly, knowing that she was already getting cold because he moved away to check his phone for not even a minute. But he didn't want her to wake up yet considering he had pretty much exhausted her last night—okay, they exhausted each other—and she needed all the rest she could get. He didn't want to spend a whole day in the 300 with a cranky Erin. So he turned back to wrap his arm around her stomach again and pulled her closer to him, landing a kiss on the back of her head. She let out a small content moan and shuffled her body a little before nestling further against him and settled back into a deep sleep. He smirked at her action and shook his head, thinking back to how far they'd have come in the past three weeks since they'd started this thing between them. Erin had been hesitant about them sleeping over at each other's places in the beginning but one night she took him by surprise when she stopped him from getting dressed in the middle of the night and asked him to stay. She tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, stating that she didn't want him driving when he was tired and claimed that she was trying to save his life. So he just let her be, knowing her need to make it a big deal. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to refuse her invitation to remain in her bed. Soon enough, one night of sleeping over turned into two then three and he swore, he had spent more nights in her bed these past couple of weeks than in his own and now she was the one seeking him out in the middle of the night. And all Jay could think about now was how he could get used to this—how he'd already gotten used to this.
"Who kept texting you in the middle of the night?" Erin glanced over at him from where she stood, pouring herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. He looked up from his own cup at her, giving her a confused look, not wanting to let her know what he and Jin had been texting about. It was something he didn't want to drag her into. But the scoff that came out of her made it obvious that she wasn't buying his act. "You know, if it's another girl you can tell me," she said, walking over to him and taking the seat next to him at her dining table. "It's not like we're exclusive or anything so you can have other booty calls."
He rolled his eyes at her, annoyance building at her constantly reminding him that what they had wasn't exclusive or serious. That they were just fucking. He didn't need to be reminded of that every five minutes. "Booty call?" he spat, his face grimacing. "What are you? A rapper from 2009? Who even call it booty calls nowadays?" She shot him a glare, indicating with a look that she wanted an answer to her question. "And no, it wasn't a 'booty call' like you put it," he replied, putting an air quote around the term. "it was just something else."
"What is it?" He remained quiet, breaking eye contact and he could tell by her eyes that not only was she becoming more curious but she was getting concerned. She reached over to where his hand was resting on the table and squeezed it. "Jay, it's me. You can tell me." He looked down at their joined hands, trying not to read too much into the gesture. To her, it was probably nothing. Just a simple gesture to show her support and her concern but to him, it was something more. Despite not wanting to, he couldn't help himself but think that they could be something more—something real—if she would just give them a real chance. Sure, there was the whole Voight basically banning them from dating thing but it was a bridge that they could cross together knowing that they were worth it. But he knew Erin didn't see things like that and he didn't want to push her too far, especially when it came to her relationship with Voight.
"Really Erin," he gave her a grin, hoping that she'd drop the subject. "It was nothing." He didn't want to bring Erin into something this messy. Besides he was doing this behind everyone's back, off the books and if things went south, he didn't want Erin anywhere near this. She studied him for a couple more minutes, clearly not believing him but she didn't say anything, just moved her hand away and nodded. Tension took over the room but he knew it was for the best. It was safer for her this way.
Jay watched Lonnie came out of the toy store, carrying a bag and it took everything in him to not get out of his car and confront Lonnie. He knew Lonnie was up to something, something sinister like he had already scoped out his next victim and was ready to strike again, judging by the toy he just bought. But Jay wouldn't give him the chance to do any damage this time, not if he had anything to say about this. He'd kill Lonnie before the sick bastard could lay a finger on another innocent boy.
"Yeah?" he answered his ringing phone, Voight demanding his location on the other end. "I was just about to come in." He pulled the phone away from his ear to quiet down Voight's barks. "Yeah, okay." He hung up and watched as Lonnie drove away in his car before Jay made his way to the location Voight instructed him to be at.
"Jay!" He turned around at Erin calling his name, crossing his arms and waited for her to catch up. They were about to go back to Chinatown and tail Voight's old partner, Jimmy to see if he and his team were dirty, robbing and killing gambling places. Jay wondered to himself just how Voight seemed to be know every questionable cops on the job like if it was such a coincidence that he seemed to have his hands in everything. There were days Jay wondered what the hell he was doing in Intelligence—mostly when Voight had gone off the script yet again with a case—and he couldn't be sure if the dividing line between the good guys and the bad were all the clear under Voight.
"What's up?" He watched as Erin walked over to him, hands in her coat as usual.
"Voight wants me to ride with him so you're going to be on your own today," she informed him, her face blank. He frowned, watching her. She had been acting strange all day since their conversation at breakfast like she was keeping her distance. And now this sudden change of her riding with Voight instead of him? He knew something was on her mind. She tossed him a tight smile and was about to walk away but he stopped her, grabbing her arms. "What?"
"Are you okay?" She let out an empty laugh and nodded, looking more like she wasn't taking his question or concern seriously. He didn't believe her answer for a second but he knew Erin. She wasn't going to reveal anything if she didn't want to. "So are we still on for tonight? Your place?" Jay bent his head down, giving her a grin hoping that it would cheer her up from whatever funk she was in.
"I can't tonight," she answered, pulling her head away so there was more distance between the two. Jay's grin dropped at her action, disappointed at her answer. He had gotten used to spending the night at her place, ordering take-out and watching whatever game that was playing that night before they indulged in each other for the night. They had gotten themselves into a nice little routine and things were going well. Maybe too well. Guess he shouldn't have been that surprised that Erin was pulling away.
"Got it," he told her flatly. "Got a date?" She just replied with one of her patented 'you got to be kidding me' look and he put up his hands, conceding. "Got it," he repeated, shrugging. "Have fun." He just shook his head to himself, about to walk away but was stopped by Erin's grip on his arm.
"It's not like…" she started but paused, stopping herself. Jay just raised his brow at her, wondering what she wanted to say. "It's not a date," she clarified, a weight that he didn't even know was there lifting off of Jay's chest at those words. "It's just, you remember Nadia right?" He frowned, trying to think. "She's the chick that kicked Ruzek in the balls a while ago?" A light bulb went off in his head at the funny encounter, a small laugh coming out of him recalling the image of Ruzek icing his balls. "She called me and asked me for help to get her into rehab. I'm um…I'm letting her stay at my place for the night until I can get a bed for her at a center tomorrow so since she's going to be there, you can't come over tonight. And I'm going help her get ready to go in."
He nodded as he listened to her plans for the night, knowing that he was falling even more for this amazingly compassionate woman. She was amazing."You're amazing you know that?" he told her earnestly, fighting the urge to reach out and brush the fallen strand of hair that found residence on her forehead away.
His sincere compliment brought the dimples out on her face. "Most days," She winked as she left, leaving him stare at her retreating back in awe.
The day had quickly gone from tailing Jimmy and his crew to a sting operation, trying to nail the unknown crew that was listening in on the police radio and hitting up stash houses. But Jay lived for days like this, where adrenaline pumped through his veins like blood and bullets flew through the air faster than speed of light. It was what he signed up for when he came to Intelligence. He was still riding the adrenaline high when he retreated to the locker room, wanting to change into a new shirt that wasn't soaked with his sweat and that screamed he was just involved in a firefight. He was the sole presence in the locker room, just like he preferred, and he took off his shirt and dabbed his chest with a towel he kept to get rid of any last remnants of sweat and tossed the dirty towel back in his locker. He reached for a new shirt that hung in his locker and was about put it on when he was suddenly attacked.
He didn't have even a second to get his bearings before all of his senses were filled with Erin. Apparently she was feeling the adrenaline from the day too but her method of dealing with the rush was to apparently jump him in the locker room. She jumped on him, Jay quickly holding her so she didn't fall to the ground, and she pushed him until his back slammed into the locker, the sound reverberating against the empty room. The thought of someone hearing the sound didn't even cross their mind, both of them too consumed with each other to care. Jay brought one hand up to steady her head so he can deepened the kiss while the other remained on her ass, lifting her up as she straddled him. She broke the kiss but her lips quickly found home on his neck, her fingers splaying against his bare chest while her other hand held on to his neck for dear life.
"Need you now," she breathed out between kisses, her hand reaching down to cup him through his pants. He flipped them around so now she was the one against the locker and he sucked the patch of skin on her neck then her collarbone. She pushed him away slightly and quickly took her shirt off, leaving her in her black bra. Jay's eyes glazed over, his mouth quickly finding its way to the slopes of her breasts, Erin moaning at the sensation. He was getting so hard, his jeans tightening even more as she pressed up against him. He needed her just as much. They both knew it needed to be quick, not only because of where they were at but also because they both needed the release and they needed it to be hard and fast. So Jay dropped Erin down to her feet for a quick second, giving him just enough space to pull his pants and boxer down to his knees, Erin following suit and tugging her own jeans and underwear down. Then he lifted her back up and entered her in a swift motion just as her legs wrapped around him again.
Her back slammed against the locker again and he began to move, his hips snapping up, each motion sending waves of pleasure through him. Erin gripped his shoulder tighter, her fingers digging into his flesh as he slammed in her again and again. She was a sight to be seen as she snapped her head back against the locker, lips parted like they were ready to release his favorite sound. He quickly crushed their lips together to swallow her moans—lest they don't give themselves and their current activity away. He felt the familiar feeling of fire pooling in his abdomen and knew his climax was near, each snap of his hips becoming more and more out of rhythm. He didn't want to come just yet, not before Erin did so he reached down and rubbed her clit to bring her to the edge faster and Erin dropped her head down, biting his shoulder at the new addition. And soon enough she was writhing in his arms as her body began to quiver and she came, burying her head in his neck to drown out the sound. She wound her arms around his neck tighter, leaving breathless gasps in the crevice of his neck before biting on the shell of his ear. That was all he needed to chase his own climax and he fastened his pace, his cock slamming into her before his hips stilled and waves of pleasure coursed through his body as he came, resting his head on her shoulder while his chest heaved with satisfying exhaustion. She stayed in his arms, legs still wrapped around him and Jay still inside her, and Erin brought his head up to meet him in a kiss, messy and tired but happy all the same.
Jay put a new shirt on, glancing over to see Erin tugging her jeans back on, still in her bra. She felt his gaze on her and looked up, giving him a smirk. She just looked so sexy right then, half naked and hair messed up, evidence of their quickie written all over her. He couldn't help himself but stepped closer to her and wound an arm around her waist and tugged her to his chest, dropping a kiss on her lips. "That was great," he told her, Erin nodding to agree with him before meeting him for another kiss.
They stilled, both looking at each other with fear, when they heard the sounds of incoming footsteps. Erin pushed herself away from Jay so she could find her shirt and put it back on as fast as she could while Jay zipped himself up. Erin ran her fingers through her hairs a couple of time, trying to look as decent as she could before the intruder could reach them.
"Hey!" They heard Adam's loud voice before they saw him, both of them trying to look normal as possible, Erin pretending to look in her locker while Jay was sitting on the bench. Both of their hearts were racing as they waited to see if Adam would notice anything off. They were lucky that Adam was pretty much clueless and he was too busy rambling, griping about having to spend the day in patrol instead of being in Intelligence. Jay shot Erin a look, a small roll of the eyes at Adam behind his back and she smirked, meeting his gaze. "Anyways, that's enough of me complaining. I'll see you guys at Molly's?" Adam finally finished his one man rant that neither of them were really paying attention to and was now waiting for their answer with an expectant look on his face.
"Um," they both started, looking at each other. Truthfully, the last thing Jay wanted to do was spend the night at Molly's. Even though Nadia was staying over at Erin's place, Jay was hoping that he could somehow entice Erin to come over later after she was done with Nadia and spend the night over at his place so they could have a repeat performance of what just happened. Adam saw the rejection before it made its way out of their mouth and he preempted the upcoming 'no' with a shake of his head.
"No!" Adam shook his head, waving his hand. "You guys can't say no again. Come on," he practically whined. "When was the last time both of you actually came out to Molly's with us? Last month?" Jay and Erin shared another look, knowing that they had been slacking off on hanging out the team ever since their whole arrangement started. It wasn't as though they didn't want to go out to Molly's with their team members, it was just that they have found new and better way to spend the night—with each other. "What? Are you two too cool for us now? Or.." A knowing look made its way into Adam's eyes, like he had just discovered a secret. "You guys got a hot date huh?"
Jay's breath stilled at Adam's question, his eyes widening slightly. "What?" Jay scoffed. "A hot date? With her?" he made a 'pssh' sound like the idea of him and Erin was just that ridiculous. Erin shot him a glare, crossing her arms like she was insulted by his reaction. He'd make it up to her later, Jay thought to himself, because right now the important thing was to get Ruzek off their trail.
"What? Of course not!" Adam quickly replied, like he agreed with him that the notion of Jay and Erin was ridiculous. "I know you don't want to get your balls ripped out by Voight, Halstead," Adam teased. "I meant with other people. You guys got new boyfriend and girlfriend right?"
"No," they both answered at the same time.
"Oh come on. What other reason do you guys have for blowing us off for the last month?" Adam rubbed his hands together. "If you guys are really telling the truth then come out tonight. Otherwise I'm telling everyone that both of you are dating someone and you know how nosy everyone is and you know we won't stop until we find out who you are dating."
Jay rolled his eyes at Adam's threat. "Fine, I'll come out tonight," Jay gave in. It wasn't as though he was scared of Adam's threat but Jay didn't need anyone being nosy and sniffing around his business, trying to see if he really did have a new girlfriend.
Adam pumped his fist. "Alright, that's one down. Now your turn Erin," he turned to her. "Tell me you're coming too."
"I really can't," Erin replied, patting Adam's shoulders as she made to leave the locker room. "Maybe another night."
"Fine," Adam said, giving in. "Guess me and O will just have to find out who this new guy you're seeing is."
Erin turned back at that, pointing her finger and staring Adam down. "I swear to god Ruzek. If you try to get in my business, your wedding night won't be very pleasant." Adam's eyes bulged at her threat, gulping. Jay tried not to chuckle at his reaction but he couldn't blame Adam, knowing just how scary Erin could really be.
It was almost ridiculous, Jay thought, how he missed Erin. Here he was at Molly's—surrounded by friends and booze—and yet he couldn't stop wishing that she was here too, sitting across from him and flashing him her dimples. He was really feeling like a lovesick fool, knowing that she wasn't even his girlfriend yet he was missing her because it was the first night he had spent away from her in weeks. He needed to snap himself out of it, lest she found out how he was feeling and ran for the hills to get away from him.
"You okay man?" Antonio asked as he placed a shot glass in front of Jay. Jay nodded, giving his friend a small smile. "Nothing whiskey can't solve right?" Antonio held up the glass and Jay agreed, clinking their glasses together before knocking the shot of alcohol back, grimacing slightly at the taste.
"Here comes the big man," Olinsky announced as Adam arrived. "I heard that Secret Service is looking for new agents and I recommended you, seeing as you have the sunglasses already required for the job." Jay laughed at Olinsky ribbing Adam, mostly because Adam needed the humbling.
"Alright man," Adam responded, taking the teasing good naturedly. "Whatever you think is best man."
Jay gave an impressed look at the change in Adam, apparently spending the day out in patrol had brought Adam back down to earth. Olinsky seemed to think as much as he and Adam exchanged words with each other, Jay tuning them out to return his thoughts back to his partner. Right now, she was back in her own place, doing something amazing for someone that needed her help, and here he was, being selfish and wanting her by his side. He needed another drink and before he could offer to get the next rounds, the person that he'd been wanting to see all night appeared, squeezing her tiny body around Adam to take her seat across from him. He was surprised to her, wondering what happened to her plans of helping Nadia. She looked frustrated and tired, like her night had taken a sour turn.
"You okay?" he asked her, catching her eyes from across the table. He didn't know how much everyone else at the table knew about what she was doing tonight so he didn't want to ask her any specific questions, not until they were alone.
"Ask me that after I had a drink," she stated, picking up a glass of whiskey from the table. They all followed suit and picked up their own, holding the glasses up for a toast.
"First rule of a gunfight—bring a gun," Antonio began, Erin chuckling at him. "Second rule—bring friends with guns. Here's to having friends in Chicago." They all toasted to that, Jay keeping his eyes on Erin as she easily drank the liquor, licking her lips at the taste. She caught his eyes, noticing the look of concern in them, and she gave him a small smile, trying to let him know that she was okay.
"I'll get the next round," Adam announced, heading to the bar.
Soon enough, they all had gotten a round of each and all of them were pleasantly buzzed, the stress from the day relieving more and more with each shot. Erin was laughing heartily at some story Adam was regaling them with, a tale from his Academy days as he put it as if he hadn't just gotten out of the Academy a few months ago. But Jay liked seeing the laugh on her, Erin loosening herself, so he just restricted himself to just a couple of eye rolls at Adam's outlandish—and probably fake, Jay thought—story.
"That didn't really happen," Antonio asserted, looking around the table. "Oh come on, you guys don't buy the story right?"
"Hey!" Adam protested indignantly. "It did too happen." Antonio continued looking around the table for back up, his eyes landing on Jay. But Jay just shrugged, earning a look of mock betrayal from Antonio.
"Sorry man," Jay offered. "I can totally see Ruzek doing something that stupid." Really, the only reason he backed Adam up was because he didn't want Adam to stop, seeing how much Erin was enjoying his story and Jay wanted her to continue laughing and enjoy herself.
"O?" Antonio turned to Olinksy now, holding his palms out.
"I would but you're talking to the guy that saw him shout at a suicidal guy that he was going to shoot him during a training so," Olinsky shrugged, "I've learned to believe anything's possible when it comes to this guy."
Antonio dropped his hand, blowing a raspberry with his mouth. Adam tossed him a smug grin. "In my defense, the goal was to get the gun out of his hand. They didn't say how you had to do it." Erin snickered, shaking her head.
"Alright, I guess now it's my turn to get the next round," she stood up, patting Antonio's shoulders before making her way to the bar to get more drinks for everyone. Jay's eyes followed her back as she leaned on the bar, waiting for the bartender to take her orders.
"Okay," Adam continued. "O, now it's your turn. You completed the Academy in what 1940's? How was it back then? Did they even have electricity back then? Or patrol cars? Or did you guys just chase bad guys on your horse buggy?"
Jay felt the conversation around him drowned out as his eyes got caught on the scene at the bar. His eyes narrowed as he saw Kelly Severide approached Erin and started making conversation with her, leaning in closer than necessary even in a crowded bar. He tried not to feel jealous, especially when Erin seemed to be receptive of the attention and was actually flirting back, her hand reaching over to lightly smack Severide's chest, because what right did he have to feel jealous? Erin wasn't his girlfriend. They weren't even together so she could flirt with any guy she wanted, even annoying, womanizing firefighters like Kelly Severide. Jay's grip on his beer tightened, willing everything in his body to not just get out and go over to them and claim Erin as his, but he just clenched his jaw, knowing that he wouldn't—that he couldn't.
He felt Antonio's eyes on him, the older man studying him and the fist that he had around his drink before darting his eyes back over to Erin and Severide at the bar. Jay chided himself, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from Erin so Antonio wouldn't catch on even more. Antonio was a great detective and he didn't need a lot of clues to find out what Jay was thinking. So Jay just took a sip of his beer, trying to quell the burning feeling in his chest down and drown out the voice in his head that was shouting at him that Erin wasn't his and that she didn't want him like that.
"Here you go!" Erin's cheerful voice returned, placing the drinks on the table. She looked across the table as she handed him his drink, her eyes slightly narrowing after seeing his face. So Jay just tried to school his expression so she wouldn't see the clear jealousy and hurt that he was feeling. He didn't know how successful his attempt was, considering how she slightly faltered for a second before acting like nothing was wrong. Jay just took another shot, letting the burn of the alcohol go down his chest. Better that burn than the burn of jealously.
"Alright, I'm going to call it a night," Jay told the group shortly after. He didn't feel like staying any longer and pretending that he was fine. He wanted to just crash and go to sleep. Jay's eyebrows rose when he saw Erin standing up too and grabbing her coat.
"Me too guys," she told the group as she put on her jacket. "Come on, Halstead. Walk me out." Before Jay even knew what was going on, Erin was already pulling him out of the bar by his arms. The last thing he noticed before he was practically dragged out of the bar by Erin was Antonio's inquisitive looks sent his and Erin's way.
"Let me just call an uber. We've had way too many drinks tonight," he took out his phone and ordered a ride. Erin shrugged, putting her hands in her coat to keep warm as they waited by the curb for the car to arrive. It was a funny scene, both of them standing side by side but not touching at all, a complete contrast to other couples around them that were arms in arms or some that were even making out on the street. But when the car they ordered arrived and they were both inside, it was the complete opposite. Erin was waiting for him, scooting over to him and she brought his arms around her, sighing contently as she rested her head on his shoulder. He grinned at Erin showing a rare side to her where she was the one that was clingy and he laid a kiss on the top of her head.
He was about to drift off, feeling far too comfortable with Erin in his arms as the car made its way through the streets of Chicago to Erin's place but her voice brought him back to consciousness. "Huh?" he whispered into her hair, having missed what she had asked him.
"I said, are you okay?" He frowned at her question.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Erin didn't reply right away, like she was choosing her words. He nudged her by pulling her closer, wondering what she had on her mind.
"I don't know," she shrugged, "you were just acting kinda weird after I got everyone a drink." Jay sighed, the image of Erin flirting with Severide returning to his head. But he kept that thought to himself, not wanting to cross the boundaries that Erin had clearly drawn between them. He wasn't supposed to be feeling this way, they were just casual sex buddies, friends with benefits, so he just needed to swallow that bitter feeling of seeing her with another guy tonight.
"I'm fine." He lied, not wanting to bother her with his feelings. She already had enough on her plates, considering she was supposed to be with Nadia tonight instead of coming out to Molly's. He didn't want to add on more.
"Oh."
He was confounded by her quiet reply, like she was expecting him to say something else. "I just...I don't know. I thought you were jealous or something that I was talking with Severide." Her voice was quiet as she spoke, like she was embarrassed by thinking that he was jealous. "I guess not." Jay licked his lips, debating if he should be honest and tell her the truth. "Silly me." Erin sounded like she thought she was stupid for thinking that he was jealous and he didn't like the sound of that. After all, she did hit the nail on the head—he was jealous.
"No, you're not. I was," he admitted. "I was jealous when I saw you with Severide."
"Oh."
Jay didn't know how to decipher her short reply, didn't know whether she was mad or happy that he admitted that he didn't like seeing her flirting with another guy. He was half expecting a speech from her, if he was honest, about how they weren't in a relationship and that she was free to talk to any guy she wanted to.
"You shouldn't be jealous." Jay closed his eyes, knowing the speech was coming and bracing himself for it, knowing that it would hurt to hear Erin dismiss this thing between them like it was nothing, just a way for her to pass the time and relieve the stress of the job.
"Yeah I know," he mumbled. "I know I'm not your boyfriend and we're not really together." He thought if perhaps if he did the preemptive strike and said what she was about to say, it would hurt less. He was already expecting Erin to pull away from him and return to her side of the car, putting distance between them. Instead she tilted her head up and caught his lips in a kiss, taking him by surprise. He looked down at her, questioning with his eyes what the kiss was for.
"No," she started to explain. "I meant you don't have to be jealous of Severide. It's Kelly," she said with a roll of her eyes. "He'll hit on anyone with breasts that move. It was just harmless flirting." Jay begged to differ, recalling the way Severide was looking at Erin earlier but he kept quiet, not wanting to argue with her. "Besides you're the one that's taking me home tonight."
He regarded her with surprise at her invitation. He was planning on just dropping her off, thinking Nadia was inside at her place. "What about Nadia?"
"I don't know," Erin replied. "She ran off, told me she wasn't ready to get help." The sadness was palpable in her voice and Jay reached over to tilt her head up to kiss her, tucking her hair behind her ear as he gazed down at her. He didn't her to say anything to know that she was feeling down, the sadness in her eyes was clear now that it was just the two of them and she didn't need to put on an act in front of the rest of the team. She was probably feeling like she failed Nadia and Jay knew just how deep Erin's empathy ran and how hard she could be on herself.
"She'll come back when she's ready." She nodded, giving him a small smile as he bent his head down to peck her nose. "Come on," he offered her his hand as they arrived at her place and they exited the car and headed to her place.
Erin opened the door and dropped her key in the bowl by the door. She brought a hand up to her neck, massaging it. It was clear that she was exhausted and she needed sleep. Jay took the coat from her and hung it up and followed her further into her living room, Erin dropping herself down on the couch with a thud. He chuckled, going over to the kitchen to bring her a glass of water, knowing that she tend to get thirsty after drinking.
"Thanks." She took the glass from him and sent him a grateful look as he sat down next to her, bringing an arm around her shoulder. She drank the whole glass of water quickly and placed the glass on the coffee table. Then she turned to face him and leaned in for a kiss. Jay cupped her face as their lips moved in a perfect sync, his thumb rubbing her jaw. Then Erin pulled away suddenly and she turned her face to let out a huge yawn, killing the mood. Jay laughed at the sudden noise while Erin just looked apologetic.
"I guess I'm that good of a kisser," Jay teased.
"I'm sorry Jay," Erin said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know I invited you in but…"
"Hey," he cut her off, not needing an apology from her. He didn't need sex to be here with her. He just wanted to be with her. "You don't need to say sorry." He kissed her dimples that appeared when she smiled at his reassurance. "You should get some sleep. You're exhausted."
Erin hummed an agreement, taking Jay's offered hand to stand up and head to the bedroom. "Oh shoot," she paused. "Nadia slept in my bed and I haven't changed the sheets yet." She groaned, almost whining. "I'm too tired!"
He chuckled fondly at the childish display from Erin. "Alright, just wait here and I'll change the sheets for you." Erin peeked an eye open to look at him.
"Really?"
"Of course," he gave her a peck before standing up, heading to the bedroom to change her sheets for her. "New sheets are in your closet right?" Erin nodded. "Okay, I'll be back."
A couple of minutes later and one change of fresh sheets on the bed, Jay made his way back to the living room, ready to tell Erin that her bed was ready. He paused in his steps when he saw her already passed out on the couch, her head lolling back and she was already releasing soft snores. He chuckled to himself, knowing that Erin would deny until her face was blue that she did not snore, and he made his way over to her. He crouched down to get a closer look at her, tucking her hairs away and he shook her gently. "Erin," he called softly, "your bed is ready."
She moaned, wrinkling her nose, at being woken up and her eyes remained closed. "Come on," Jay tried again, knowing that she would be feeling the pain in her neck and back tomorrow if she remained sleeping on the couch instead of her comfy bed. Erin finally opened her eyes when he shook her gently, pouting at being woken up.
She mumbled under her breath, her sleepy words incoherent to his ears but Jay finding her murmured griping adorable all the same. She sighed and opened her arms. "Carry me?" she asked, pouting. Jay rolled his eyes, unable to resist her request, and he brought one hand under her knee and another around her back and lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. He placed her gently on the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Where are you going?" Erin asked sleepily after seeing him walk away to get to the other side of the bed. But she had mistaken the move as him leaving her for the night. "Don't leave," she told him, patting the empty space next to her on the bed. Jay chuckled, knowing that she was only being this clingy because she was half asleep. He joined her on the bed and Erin immediately sought of his body, curling up next to him and wrapping an arm around his waist. When she found her comfortable spot, her head on his chest and arm around him, she sighed contently.
"Good night," he whispered into her hair, laying a soft kiss on the soft strands. Erin murmured something along the same lines back, Jay smiling down at her.
She continued to mumble a few more incoherent words before finishing off with, "you're a great househusband." Jay grinned, hearing her words clearly. The last thing he thought before he followed her into a deep sleep was that even though he was just her househusband for now, he hoped that soon he would be her boyfriend also.
They were both deep asleep, arms and legs around each other, when both of their phones went off at the same time. Erin groaned, cursing whoever that had interrupted her peaceful sleep. Jay let out his own annoyed grunt, hands reaching out behind him to find his phone and silence it and hope whoever that had disturbed them wasn't calling to say that they had caught a case. Because the last thing he wanted to do was pull himself away from the comfortable spot and venture out into the cold Chicago night.
"I hope it's not work," Erin griped as she reached for her own phone and brought it closer to check. "What the?" Erin was suddenly sounding more alert and she sat up on the bed, leaving Jay to wonder what the hell the message was about. He looked at his own phone and followed suit, sitting up immediately and feeling 100% more awake.
"Voight got arrested?!" He looked over at Erin, wondering just what the hell Voight had done this time.
