Thank you so so much for all the comments last chapter! It's super exciting when people are enjoying a story and gets me more inspired. Can't wait to hear what you think about this one

"Sergeant Voight couldn't find Erin?" Piper asked tearfully, immediately connecting the dots from Jay's phone call to his accidental statement earlier, "She's lost?"

"I-I don't know," Jay managed, hustling Piper and himself across the parking lot. He needed to see Erin, now. "We're going to stop by her apartment now, okay?"

She nodded. "I'm sure she's fine," Jay said as the car roared to life, the statement more for his own benefit than for Piper's, "But we need to be super careful, just in case. That means I'm going to need you to stay right behind me, and do everything I say, okay?"

Piper nodded again, eyes trained on Jay as he sped down the street toward Erin's apartment. He was just hoping and praying that Erin was in her apartment. "What if she's not there?" Piper asked, her voice wavering, "What's gonna happen?"

"We're going to find her," Jay said firmly, putting the car into park. "I'm not leaving you alone, kiddo. I promise. I just need you to stay super close to me, and listen to everything I say. Can you do that for me?"

Piper nodded and hurried after Jay as they hustled up to Erin's apartment building. He was glad they'd stopped by the other day so he knew how to get in. "Erin," he shouted, banging on her apartment door, "Erin!"

He frowned when he was met with silence and jiggled the door handle. Jay could have cursed when he realized it was unlocked but was trying to maintain some semblance of his composure for Piper's sake. "Stay right beside me," he whispered to Piper, "And if I tell you to get down, I need you to do it, okay?"

Piper nodded, her heart thumping in her chest as Jay drew his weapon and entered the apartment. It was dark, with all the windows drawn. "Chicago Police," Jay called, acutely aware of the child by his leg and the weapon in his hand.

"Jay?" Erin's voice came from the bathroom and she pulled open the door, "What are you doing here?" She sized up her former partner, from his drawn service weapon to his agitated stance.

Before he could say anything, Piper rushed forward and barreled into Erin's legs with a sob. Erin furrowed her brow in confusion as she held her sister closely. He just stared at her for a moment, resisting the urge to scream, Jesus Christ Erin, would it kill you to pick up the fucking phone?

"You weren't picking up," Jay said in an exhale instead of a string of expletives, lowering his weapon slowly and running a relieved hand over his face. "Voight called, I called, and then you weren't at your office and the door was unlocked and-"

"I was in the shower, and I guess I forgot to lock the door," she replied, gently scratching the top of Piper's head with her fingertips in an attempt to provide comfort. "I'm fine, really." Erin immediately felt guilty. She wasn't used to having people be worried about her whereabouts. Jay was just staring at her, his eyes doing all the talking.

I was worried about you.

We picked you up from an urgicare just yesterday.

You didn't answer your phone and it scared the crap out of me.

I missed you.

I'm glad you're alright.

Please, for my sake, just lock your door.

"I um, I gotta text Voight, he was worried too," Jay said and cleared his throat, "Did uh, you get what you needed at the office?"

Erin shook her head slightly. "I um, called in sick. Taking a few days off to take it slow." She stroked Piper's hair, "Want to make sure I'm back up to one hundred percent as quick as I can." She met Jay's worried gaze. "I'm sorry if I scared you, I-I wasn't thinking." Erin managed a meager smile, "Just wanted a shower and I guess I lost track of time."

Jay let out another breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Erin was fine. "You and those long showers," he quipped, finally holstering his weapon, "I was going to break down your door."

"Is everything okay?" she asked carefully, still caressing Piper's head. The little girl has ceased crying but was still clinging to her sister tightly, unwilling to separate herself.

"We um, we're going to take a little trip up to Wisconsin, to get away from everything for a few days," Jay said, doing his best to keep his voice casual. "Thought it would be good to take a break, you know?"

Erin nodded slowly, reading between Jay's words. Something had happened, and he needed to get Piper out of town. "How long will you be gone?" she asked, a nervous pit forming in her stomach. She was just getting to know Piper and couldn't bear the thought of spending several days without her.

Jay shrugged. He hadn't thought that far ahead, he just wanted to get Piper and Erin to safety. "You gotta come with us," Piper managed, pulling back from her hold on her sister's waist, "Please?"

Erin raised her eyebrows in surprise and then looked to Jay. He flashed a smile, "Would be good to get out of town for a bit," he said, "A change of scenery. Plus, you can really take it easy up there."

"Are you sure?" She asked, "I mean we're just-"

"Please?" Piper asked pleadingly, "I-I don't want you to be alone."

Jay cast a knowing smile. How could Erin say no to that?

"Are you sure about this? Me coming with you guys, I mean?" Erin asked as Jay loaded her suitcase into the back of his Jeep, "I don't want to intrude or make it awkward or-"

"Er," Jay cut her off as he closed the trunk, "Honestly, we weren't going to leave you in Chicago. It was all three of us or none of us, and we need to get you and Piper outta dodge." He lowered his voice, hoping that Piper wouldn't overhear from her spot in the backseat, "I'll um, explain it when she's asleep tonight, okay?"

Erin nodded. "Hank um, texted me. He filled me in a bit and also told me it was either Wisconsin or I get handcuffed to a uniform." She gave a small smile, "You sure you're sure?"

"More sure than I've been about anything for a long time," Jay replied and flashed a trademark Halstead grin. "We were partners for years, Erin, before anything happened between us. We can do it again, for Piper's sake."

She nodded gratefully. "For Piper."

Jay smiled to himself as he drove along the country roads. His co-pilot was fast asleep in the passenger seat, and had been for most of the drive. The concussion had really taken a lot out of her, and Jay was glad she was actually getting the rest she needed, rather than trying to power through like normal.

Piper was also asleep in the backseat. She'd spent some of the drive glancing out the window, but the miles of farmland whizzing by lulled her to sleep as well. Jay hadn't wanted to turn on the radio to wake them, and was just caught in his thoughts as the familiar midwestern scenery surrounded him.

Growing up, his mom always made the drive with him and Will in the backseat. They'd load up the station wagon on an early summer morning and embark on the six hour journey from Chicago to Northern Wisconsin. As they got older, he and his brother would fight over passenger seat privileges, so they were always relegated to the back, even in their later years.

Wisconsin was a place where he truly felt safe. It was far enough away from everything that it didn't feel like real life, and he could forget about everything back home – his dad, school, neighborhood bullies, all of it. As he grew older, Wisconsin served as an escape when he could no longer distinguish his apartment walls from the barracks in Afghanistan. The air was always cooler than it was in Chicago, and the breeze on his skin helped bring him back down from a nightmare faster. It was also silent. His mind wasn't overwhelmed with the police scanner or gun shots or kids setting off fireworks in the street. It was secluded and peaceful, and was almost always exactly what he needed.

His memory was interrupted by several vibrations of Erin's cell phone as they came into an area that somehow had cell reception. She startled and fumbled with her phone. "'s Hank. Wants to make sure I'm still alive," she reported, quickly typing a message back and letting out a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry I freaked you guys out earlier."

"I'm just glad you were safe," Jay replied, checking on Piper's sleeping form in the rearview mirror, "We were all kind of freaking out."

Erin gave an apologetic smile. "Ugh, my phone is about to die," she grumbled, clicking the screen off and dropping the device in her lap, "Didn't think to pack a portable charger."

"There's one in the bag by Piper's feet," Jay gestured to the back of the car without taking his eyes off the road, "I might've even packed two."

"Always prepared," Erin mused, stretching back to pull the canvas bag up to the front seat, "What do you have in here, rocks?"

Jay chuckled, "I just grabbed everything off the coffee table, I think." He grinned as Erin rifled around and pulled out a charger, one of his sweatshirts and a book he'd been reading. She loved his sweatshirts.

"What are you reading?" Erin asked, "I need a new book."

"You are not supposed to be reading with a concussion," he said, without skipping a beat. He glanced over to the items now in Erin's lap, "You find a charger?"

"Mm," she nodded, keeping the sweatshirt spread across her lap, "Thanks." Erin flipped over the book, "Trust-based relational intervention?"

"Oh, yeah." Heat rose in Jay's cheeks, "I actually got that for you." He managed a small smile as he kept his eyes on the road, "When Piper first came to stay with me, I started doing a bunch of research, and this book was recommended by a bunch of different psychologists and doctors and stuff. It's about connecting with kids from really tough situations. I read it and it's good. The methodology is pretty solid, and I've been trying out the techniques. Seems to get her to calm down faster and trust me a bit more too."

Erin glossed her fingertips over the book cover. Jay Halstead was one of a kind.

"I-I don't know how you do it," she murmured, "It's been like a month and you're already the best dad I know." Erin turned to him, "I mean it, Jay. You stepped into this role like it was the easiest thing in the world and she feels safe and loved and she listens to you and trusts you so much and…and I just don't think I'm ever going to get there."

"Erin," Jay shook his head, "She's your sister. You're going to be great, and it just takes time. Really. She loves you." He glanced in the rearview mirror again to confirm Piper was still fast asleep. "She's going to grow up with her family because of you. In all the research I've done, I know that there's nothing that can replace that. She's been through some unimaginable trauma, but so have you, and there's nobody better to be able to help her through it."

"I don't know how to be a parent." Erin swallowed thickly as she flipped the book's pages anxiously, "I never really had one. I-I mean, Hank and Camille took me in when I was fifteen, but I was basically a full grown adult and-"

"You were still a kid, Er," Jay said softly, "You felt like an adult, and you went through what nobody your age should have, but you were still a kid. And while you might not have had real parents growing up, you are one of the most empathic people I know." He turned to meet her gaze before focusing back on the road. "You remind me a lot of my mom, you know. I mean, she wasn't a gun-carrying ass-kicking badass, but she was strong, and caring, just like you." He smiled wistfully, "And she was a great mom."

Erin's worried gaze softened. "You're just trying to make me feel better because you're better at this than me."

He chuckled, "I swear, I'm not. I mean it."

"Will you teach me?"

Jay's heart clenched. "Of course," he said after a beat, "But you've already got it down. Just gotta practice."

"I do not have it down," Erin scoffed, "I'm still getting to know her. You somehow have her all figured out with two extra weeks."

"Probably because she's a lot like you," Jay informed her, "But like, way more cute." He flashed a goofy grin and Erin punched him in the shoulder. "Hey, don't hit the driver."

"You are such a doofus when you get to drive, you know that?"

"Is that why you barely let me behind the wheel?" Jay shot back, "Couldn't take the heat?"

"Oh I could take it," she retorted, "You know I could take it."

"I know," Jay teased, glancing into the rearview mirror when he caught his little friend moving out of the corner of his eye. Piper was stirring slightly and lazily opened her eyes. "Hey kiddo. Did you have a nice nap?"

"Uh-huh," Piper rubbed her eyes, "We're still driving?"

"Got about thirty more minutes," Jay informed her, "The good news is that it will still be light when we get up there, and we can grab some food at the general store outside of town before we head to the cabin. It's a little out there, so we'll have to get enough for a few days. Wanna start thinking about what you'd want to eat?"

Jay's cabin certainly was in the middle of nowhere. It was at least a fifteen minute drive from the closest town – if you could call it a town. There was a general store that had pretty much everything, a post office and church, all along the side of the road. Jay had been greeted by the boisterous owner of the general store, who'd rambled on about how happy his mom would be that he finally brought his family up. Jay smiled politely, his heart aching with sadness and joy at the same time. He was so glad he could bring Erin and Piper up to his favorite place, but even though they felt like family, he wasn't.

"We've got four bedrooms in the place," Jay said after he pulled up in front of the cabin and put his car in park, "Three upstairs, one downstairs. It gets a little chilly at night, but we can light a fire in the firepit and maybe even roast marshmallows."

Piper widened her eyes. "I've never done that before."

"Me either," Erin agreed, "I don't think I've ever been camping."

"What?" Jay turned to Erin in surprise, "You've never been camping?"

"I'm not exactly an outdoorsy type girl, Jay," she replied, unbuckling her seatbelt, "I like shooting guns and drinking beer but I'm not about to spend the night with bugs and worms."

He chuckled, "Fair point. Well the good news is that we have hot running water, but I can't make any promises about bugs."

"Is camping just sleeping outside?" Piper asked, accepting the small bag of groceries Jay had extended to her to help carry into the house. "I had to do that a few times when I lived at the Marsh's, but it wasn't fun."

Both Jay and Erin froze. "It's um, more than just sleeping outside," Jay managed and cleared his throat, "There's usually a tent, you roast marshmallows and hot dogs over the fire, that kind of stuff."

"Oh," Piper shrugged, "Then I haven't been camping either."

Jay placed a reassuring hand on Erin's shoulder. They were both thinking about Piper's comment about sleeping outside at nine years old. Clearly it wasn't one of her fondest memories, or done as a fun excursion. "Well this is a tiny bit fancier than real camping since we'll be sleeping in real beds and we have running water but we're going to do all the same fun camping stuff. We've got swimming in the lake just over there. Maybe some soccer in the yard? And there's a really beautiful hike up a hill just over there. We can even walk from here."

"Are there fish in the lake?" Piper asked softly, glancing over to the large body of water, "Big ones?"

"Yeah, but they steer clear of people," Jay said casually, fiddling with the front door and pushing it open, "The water's pretty cold though, even in the summer. Chicago's much warmer than up here. It'll start snowing in a few weeks."

"Wow," Erin mused after setting the groceries she carried on the counter, "It's beautiful up here, Jay."

"It's one of my favorite places," he said with a smile, "I'm glad you guys get to experience it too. Super quiet, away from everything."

"We're safe up here?" Piper asked, glancing from Erin to Jay, "Nobody's gonna find us?"

"We're super safe," Jay promised, "We were safe in Chicago too, but thought it would just be good to be a little more cautious, and have some time away from the city."

"It'll be fun," Erin smiled, stifling a yawn. She was still tired after several naps, thanks to the concussion, "Lots of stuff to do."

"Don't you need to take it easy?" Piper said knowingly, "The doctor said no physical activity for at least a week."

Jay chuckled, "You're right, kiddo. I guess that gets Erin out of the hike, huh?"

Erin rolled her eyes, "I'll do some sunbathing or something. Get a good tan going while you sweat it out on a mountain."

"We could do stargazing too," Jay suggested, "The stars are crazy beautiful out here."

Piper nodded in agreement. "Are we gonna make dinner too?"

"You bet," he grinned, "How about some spaghetti Bolognese hm?"

Erin felt like her heart could burst. After dinner, Jay noticed how she kept pressing her hands to her temples in an attempt to ward off the pounding in her head. She was trying to be subtle, but he saw right through it and relegated her to a large overstuffed couch that surrounded a fireplace while he cleaned up the kitchen. It was still relatively warm so the roaring fire wasn't needed, but Erin found herself thinking about how nice it would be to curl up in the winter in front of the fire, beside Jay.

Thankfully, Piper elected to join her, which helped dispel her increasing thoughts about life with Jay. Erin could tell her little sister was tired, the exhaustion of the journey and the stress of the last few days truly catching up with her. Piper slowly scooted closer to her big sister until she was beside her on the couch, and Erin took the opportunity to make contact. Piper didn't reject it, and her heart swelled.

"Can you tell me about what it was like? Growing up with Bunny?" Piper asked, her head resting on Erin's shoulder as the older sister gently threaded her fingers through her soft hair.

Erin swallowed. She really didn't want to scare Piper in the event Bunny won any type of custody, but she didn't want to lie. "I can," she said slowly, "And I'll be honest with you, but um, I don't want to scare you or anything."

"It's okay," Piper assured her. "I um, I never got to know the type of place I was walkin' into before. Even with Jay I didn't know if it was going to be okay, 'cause usually um, it wasn't good. But now I get to know what it would be like to live with you, and I want to know what it would like to be with Bunny if they made me."

Jay gave an encouraging nod to his former partner from across the couch. After finishing the after dinner clean up, he'd joined them on the couch. He instinctively placed a comforting hand on Erin's foot that was nearest him, just so she would know that he was there. Erin swallowed again and exhaled. "Well, when I was really little um, I think I told you that we lived with Bunny's mom. I called her Grandma Mo, but her name was Maura Lindsay. She was really kind and took care of me for a few years, probably from when I was a baby til I was three or four. Bunny was fifteen when she had me, and it wasn't until she was nineteen and we moved in with Teddy's dad that things weren't so good. Grandma Mo, um, she passed really suddenly too, and Bunny and Jeff Courtney used the money from her house to buy stuff-"

"Drugs?" Piper interrupted knowingly.

She nodded painfully at the memory, "Yeah. Teddy was born when I was probably four years old, and I just remember he cried all the time."

Piper nodded knowingly. "Sometimes, when I'd go to a foster family with a baby who'd just been born into foster care, I always knew if they had bad parents as well. 'cause the babies who cry the most are usually real sick from all the bad stuff their moms had."

Erin drew a sharp intake of breath. After almost thirty years, it dawned on her that her little brother was going through withdrawal as a baby. That was Bunny's fault. "You're right," Erin managed, doing her best to not let the realization crush her.

Jay's hand on her foot was helping to ground her. "Uh, after that, I um, I know we moved around a few times. Jeff wasn't always around and he'd take Teddy with him sometimes. Bunny had guys that would um, kind of come and go, who would get really mad if I woke them up when I was leaving for school."

"They hit you?" Piper asked softly. She leaned closer to Erin when her older sister gave a small nod. Erin looked over to Jay, whose eyes had darkened at her admission.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I um, I tried to protect her a lot, I guess. I always tried to think it wasn't her fault. She kind of uh, took advantage of that fact, and um, that's when she had me go out and get her the drugs."

Piper listened intently. "I never had to do that," she said, "Buy the drugs. 'cause Donny and the Marsh's were the people that sold 'em."

Erin wiped her eyes quickly. "I, um, I'm glad you didn't have to do it. It was scary," she admitted, "I still get nervous in certain parts of the city where I used to go, just because it reminds me of that time. Bunny, she um, would sleep most of the day, while I was at school, and I'd always try to bring her back some food from the cafeteria or somethin', because she hardly cooked anything besides coffee and maybe instant noodles. She wasn't around much, kind of in and out of the apartment, sometimes for a while. I lived on my own for a bit, sometimes with Teddy, when I was a little older than you. Bunny did come back though, usually after she'd been fixed up. Those were better days, when she'd make us cereal in the morning, send me to school."

She took another deep breath. "It was like that for a few years, kind of in a cycle. She'd meet a new guy, we'd move around. When I was thirteen um, Bunny introduced me to this guy. Charlie. And he uh, kind of took care of us. Made sure we had lights on, and that I got fed and stuff. But he wasn't a great influence, and Bunny was never around to care. I got into some trouble when I was with him, and eventually, Hank, Sergeant Voight, he said I could come live with him. And he helped me get away from Bunny and Charlie, and the drugs and that whole life." Erin smiled softly, "I lived with him, his wife Camille and his son Justin until I was twenty two, and after I'd been working in the Chicago Police for a few years."

"And you stopped seein' Bunny?" Piper asked, "After you moved in with Sergeant Voight and his family?"

Erin nodded. "Hank um, he wanted me to completely cut her out of my life. It was hard, because she made me feel so guilty. She blamed me for a lot of her um, shortcomings, and it got really rough to keep turning my back on her. But from the time I was twenty one I stopped seeing Bunny. I don't know where she went or what she did."

She swallowed, "I guess I know now that she had you." Erin took a shaky breath, "I um, I've been thinking a lot about it and wish I had done it differently. Not cut her out, not avoided seeing her because um, then I would have known. About you."

Piper wrinkled her brow, "But then you woulda had to be with Bunny. And she still could have lied." She lifted her head to look up at her sister, "I-I don't think it's your fault, at all. I don't want you to think that either."

Jay gave a proud nod in agreement as he ran his fingers up and down Erin's foot. Piper was truly special in how she could read her sister. Tears filled Erin's eyes as she managed a nod in response to Piper's statement. "It still hurts," she whispered finally, "That I missed out on so much of your life. But I uh, I promise, I'm not missing out on any more, okay? No matter what."

Piper smiled and leaned in closer to her sister. "I trust you."

Okay I know I said the same thing last chapter but I wrote Chapter 21 and part of 22 and its honestly my favorite two chapters I've written for this story so I hope I'm not hyping it up too much but I literally can't wait to share it because it is raw and adorable and ugh I'm so excited. Let me know what you thought of this one please!