Eeeeep I've been on a roll so just gonna keep 'em coming! Please let me know what you think of this one

"He can't see me, right?" Piper asked softly, gripping Jay's hand tightly as he led her down the hallway toward the room where Lawrence Irving was standing for a line up. "Or Erin?"

"He won't be able to see either of you," Jay confirmed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, "I'll be right next to you the whole time."

"But what about Erin?" Piper stopped in her tracks, "Who's with Erin?"

Jay's heart clenched at just how protective Piper was of her big sister. After their late night trek to Erin's apartment, they spent the night cuddled on the couch. Piper and Erin had fallen asleep quickly, and as soon as they were out, so was Jay. He knew that he was going to have to break the habit of sleeping with both his girls soon so that both he and Piper didn't get accustomed to it. He hated thinking back to the first few months after Erin left, when he'd barely slept more than an hour each night.

"Sergeant Voight is with Erin," he told her, sinking to meet her gaze, "She's safe with him." He swallowed, "We're going to go into the room in a few minutes. There's going to be another man in there, who is a lawyer for one of the men standing in the line up, and a woman, who is a lawyer for the state. Sergeant Voight is going to ask each of them to step forward, and we just need you to tell us if you recognize any of them, okay?"

Piper nodded slowly. "But w-what if I don't remember?"

"That is perfectly fine," Jay assured her, "If you don't recognize anyone, or if you do, either way, we just need you to be honest. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded again. "I'm so proud of you," he said, rubbing her hand with his thumb, "I know this is scary, but you're being so brave."

"Erin's doin' it too?"

Jay smiled, "She is. And I'm proud of her as well."

"And you're gonna be with me? The whole time?"

"That's right," Jay confirmed, turning his head when he saw Atwater exiting the room with Erin. Her arms were crossed over her chest, like she was protecting herself, but she looked relatively okay.

"Erin!" Piper rushed forward when she caught sight of her sister and wrapped her tiny arms around her waist. A smile of relief spread across Erin's lips as she held her sister closely.

"I'm okay, Noodle," she said, overwhelmed by how much affection her little sister was showing, "Really. It's totally safe, I promise."

Piper seemed to relax at her sister's words. "That's what Jay said."

"And Jay is right." Erin cast a glance to her partner, and he knew instantly. She'd identified the man who hurt her. They'd got him.

"Halstead?" Hank poked his head out of the room, "You guys ready?"

Jay nodded, "We'll see Erin tonight for dinner, sound good?"

"I'm going to pick up some Thai food for us," Erin said, doing her best to sound excited despite the fact that she was going to spend the whole rest of the day without Piper and Jay. At least she had something to look forward to. After their little getaway, she'd grown accustomed to spending so much time with them.

"Ready, Pipes?" Jay extended his hand, which Piper gratefully took, "We'll see you tonight, Er."

"Hi Piper," Hank greeted as lightly as possible, "This is Mr. Johansen and Ms. Wang. They're the lawyers."

Piper was quiet as she regarded the people in front of her. "It's going to be just like we talked about," Jay said quickly, "Sergeant Voight is going to flip a switch, and there are going to be five guys standing behind the glass, but they can't see you. We just need to see if you recognize any of them."

She nodded bravely and exhaled. "Okay."

Jay gave a nod to his boss, who flipped the switch. Five middle aged white men with greying short beards stood in a line. Immediately, Piper turned into Jay's leg, her entire body trembling. "Do you recognize any of these men?" Hank asked carefully.

"She's gotta look to know," Johansen interjected.

Jay resisted the urge to drop kick the lawyer. "Can you look for us, kiddo?"

"The man underneath the four," Piper choked out, "I-I lived with him, and his wife, right before I went to Donny. He said he was traveling for work, that's how come I had to leave."

"Do you remember how long you lived with this man?" Johansen asked quickly.

"This isn't an interview," Ms. Wang attempted to interject, but Piper cut her off.

"Two days," she said quickly, "I-I remember because I didn't get breakfast or dinner and I didn't feel good. Donny, he gave me a sandwich, and so I didn't think he would be that bad b-but he was worse."

"Good job, kiddo," Jay praised, stroking the top of her head, "We done here?"

The lawyers nodded, but Piper remained rooted in place when Jay turned to leave. He could feel her shaking beside him. "I got you, Pipes," he promised, reaching down to boost her into his arms. She gratefully melted into his embrace and held tightly, heart thumping wildly in her chest as he carried her back to the bullpen.

"Halstead," Hank gestured for the detective to join him in his office with the state's attorney.

Jay nodded and turned to find Piper, who was seated beside his desk in her own chair, reading quietly. After several assurances that she was safe, the little girl relaxed and allowed Jay to set her down, with the caveat that he'd be right next to her. "Pipes, uh, I gotta step into Hank's office for a few minutes. Hailey, can you?"

"I got eyes on her, don't worry," she replied quickly, offering a small smile. "Hey Piper, do you want to see what we can find in the breakroom? I think Sergeant Platt might have picked up some hot chocolate."

Piper looked to Jay, who gave a grateful nod to his partner. "That sounds great. I might have one too, after we're done?"

She nodded and followed Hailey, but not before glancing over her shoulder to make sure Jay didn't leave. The little girl was quiet as she observed Jay's partner preparing the hot chocolate. "You doin' okay?" Hailey asked finally, turning to meet Piper's gaze while the water heated.

Piper shrugged and looked deeply into the detective's eyes. "Are you?"

"Me?" Hailey pointed to her chest, "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged again. "You um, seem different. When you talk to me." Piper shifted on her feet, "Different than when you talk to other people."

Hailey paused, unsure of what to say next. Jay's bragging about how intuitive the kid was rang true. "You're right," she said in an exhale, sinking down to meet Piper's eyeline. "And I'm sorry about that. The truth is, it's a little different because you're a kid, but also because um, you remind me a bit of myself, when I was your age."

Piper nodded slowly. "I could tell," she whispered, "I make you sad."

"I'm sorry," Hailey repeated, "I um, I should be better at this, but uh, yeah. It's not your fault, it's mine, I just-"

"You saw people getting hurt, and you got hurt growing up too," Piper supplied, "Like Jay, and like my sister."

Hailey sucked in a breath and managed a nod. "Yeah."

"Jay says it gets better," the little girl murmured, "I hope it gets better for you too."

She managed a small smile and turned her head, suddenly realizing Jay was standing in the doorway. "We uh, gotta roll out real quick. Might have a lead, and Voight wants us on it." Jay gave a smile to Piper, "We should be back in an hour kiddo, I'm sorry to be leaving you, but Sergeant Platt is going to come check up on you, okay?"

Piper nodded in understanding. "You're gonna come back?"

"As soon as I can," he promised, pressing a kiss atop her head, "No need to worry."

"How much of that did you hear?" Hailey asked finally when Jay pulled up to the location. Hank had informed him that there was a likely connection to Irving that had just popped up on the scanner, and that dispatch wanted Intelligence to respond to it. Given his connection to the case, the state's attorney wasn't thrilled, but the rest of the unit was occupied with other leads.

"How much of what?" he replied, double checking his vest.

"What Piper and I were talking about."

He paused and turned his gaze. "Most of it," he said honestly, "I'm sorry, I should have told you I was there, but sometimes with her she'll say things that give us good insight into what her life used to be like and I didn't want to-"

"It's fine," she brushed it off, "She's uh, a smart kid."

"Yeah," Jay sucked his teeth, "Been through a lot for her age. She, uh, can identify it in all of us."

"Damn," Hailey exhaled, "Gotta be a lot for Erin."

He nodded in agreement. "I'm not worried about them."

"Your face says otherwise, Jay," she retorted before glancing into the wing mirror to see a man stumbling out of the house, blood everywhere, "Is that our suspect?"

"Shit," Jay scrambled out of his seat, "Chicago PD, don't move!"

It was one of the worst calls Jay had ever responded to.

The suspect passed out from the loss of blood, and was transported to the hospital. But what was worse was what they found inside.

He had a family.

A wife, and a boy, twelve years old. The suspect, who was now unconscious and identified as another member of the drug dealing organization, had been reported to the CPD several times in the past two years for assault. The scene in the house confirmed what Jay knew when they first had eyes on the suspect – he'd been attacked.

But he was attacked by his son. And when Jay caught sight of the wife, he knew why, and it filled him with rage. As soon as Hank arrived, he excused him and Hailey to return to the district. He knew that Jay didn't need to deal with it.

The family had been a former foster family. They started out because of their stable home and desire to have another child, but it all went south five years ago when Frank Hill lost his job. He made a series of poor choices, and got reported to the CPD, resulting in the retraction of their foster care license, and the removal of the four year old foster child from their home.

Piper.

Jay was positively reeling at the thought of Piper being in that house, and the fact that there was yet another connection to Piper within the drug dealing organization. He hoped and prayed that she hadn't ever seen anything like the sight he witnessed, and that the Hills had been good to her.

"Hey, kiddo," Jay breathed when he caught sight of his little friend seated in the breakroom. He was so glad to see her.

Piper flashed a smile that faded slightly when she saw just how haggard and exhausted he looked. "You okay?"

He nodded and took a seat heavily beside her. "I am just really glad to see you."

She reached a tentative hand out and placed it on Jay's knee. "Did you get him?"

Jay nodded and managed a swallow. She didn't need to know that the offender was someone she used to live with. "We did yeah. He was hurt so he's in the hospital, but we got this guy too. One step closer to getting the people in charge, and the Marsh's, and Donny."

Piper looked slightly relieved, but still looked concernedly at Jay. "Are we gonna go home?"

Jay felt his heart stop.

Home.

It had taken five weeks, but Piper thought of his place as home. The weight of it nearly brought him to his knees as he managed another nod. "We are. Let's head home."

Truthfully, Jay's new apartment hadn't felt like home until Piper joined him.

Yeah, he'd decorated it in the most adult way he could manage, and opted for art instead of posters of motorcycles and cream colored walls instead of mustard, but it never felt like home.

When he moved into Erin's place – their place – that was the closest he got to home, but even then, it was always hers. It was the reason he couldn't stay there after she left, because everything, every cabinet, every drawer, no matter the color paint or décor, would remind him of her.

He always thought home would be a house in the suburbs. It would be nicer than the one he grew up in, because he'd been diligently saving pennies since he was in the military, and it would be in a good school district, and have a big enough yard for the kids to have a tire swing, maybe even a full swing set.

Jay thought about that home a lot, more than he ever wanted to admit. He thought about it when he first laid eyes on Erin. She suddenly became the woman who replaced the faceless outline in his dreams. She cooked, or tried to, and he was always there to help. They had a kitchen with enough counter space to set a kid or two on to help with the preparation, and of course, a first aid kit for the inevitable kitchen mishap.

His thoughts increased as his relationship with Erin deepened. He saw road trips up to Wisconsin, and teaching his kids how to play baseball in their backyard. He saw two dogs, one that loved Erin more and one that he claimed loved him more, but both of them knew deep down that she was their favorite. He saw Erin, his wife, rocking a newborn in the rocking chair he'd seen in a catalogue that accidentally got dropped in his mailbox. He saw tiny leather jackets for their mini-Erin, and cute sundresses for their girly-girl. He saw stray Legos all over the playroom that he'd indulge in as well, and that Erin would step on and curse, drawing the attention of all their kids.

And suddenly, that home was erased. Home became a figment of his imagination, a place that didn't exist and that he couldn't see.

But Piper brought it back. In one evening, Jay was home. There were little feet that pattered across the hardwood floor, and tiny fingerprints on the refrigerator handle because he always kept healthy snacks in the bottom drawer so Piper would know she wouldn't go hungry. There was someone to greet him at the end of the day, and wake up to in the morning, and giggle at his jokes.

And Piper brought back Erin.

It was slow, but Jay started seeing her again. He saw himself, and Piper and Erin playing in the park. He saw watching kiddie soccer games, or maybe even coaching. He saw Erin sneaking orange slices while he paced up and down the sidelines, amused at just how invested someone could get over kids chasing a ball. He saw a life, and he saw a home, for the first time in over a year.

A knock at the door caused him to jump. He'd switched on the game for him and Piper, but he wasn't really watching, and Piper could tell. She was quietly observing him, and kept a hand on his knee, which was honestly the only thing keeping him from completely unraveling. She also knew not to push, and that Jay needed space. "That must be Erin," he managed, quickly rising from his spot, "Oh, and you already set the table. You're a champ, Pipes."

She flashed a shy smile and watched as Jay pulled open the door to reveal her sister. "Hey," Erin breathed, immediately sensing that her partner was off, "I come bearing Thai."

"Smells amazing," he mused, accepting the take out bag, "I'm going to plate this up."

Erin nodded. She'd try to get into his head later. "Hi, Noodle. I missed you today."

A smile spread across Piper's lips as she slowly approached her sister, "I missed you too," she replied. She took Erin's outstretched hand, but didn't follow her into the kitchen. When Erin turned, Piper looked up at her urgently.

"What's goin' on?" she asked softly, crouching down to meet Piper's eyeline, "Is everything okay?"

"They got someone else," Piper whispered, "Jay came back really sad."

Erin swallowed. Hank had sent a text message about a rough day for the case, but she was hoping that Jay had been spared. Unfortunately not. "I'll see if I can talk to him," Erin murmured, reaching up to stroke the end of Piper's pigtails. Jay always did such a cute job with her hair. "Don't worry, okay?"

Piper nodded and leaned into Erin's embrace. "I don't like seeing him sad," she said softly.

"When you love someone, it's hard to see them sad," Erin replied gently as she stroked Piper's hair, "I get that."

She nodded again. "I felt this way when you were sick. 'cause I love you too."

Erin's heart leapt and she held Piper tighter. "And I love you, Noodle."

"Jay," Erin touched his arm gently. He'd zoned out at the kitchen table, and Piper excused herself for a shower, "You okay?"

Jay came back to reality. "Yeah. No. I um, I don't know."

Her gaze softened. "You want to sit on the couch for a bit? Talk it out?"

He exhaled and nodded before pushing himself off the kitchen chair, intent on leaving a mess in the kitchen. Jay sank into the couch, and Erin perched next to him, waiting for him to start.

"It was a kid," Jay said slowly, "It was a kid today. Another kid was wrapped up in this shitstorm."

Erin nodded in understanding. "The cases with kids involved…they're always the hardest."

"Yeah," Jay dragged a hand over his face and leaned forward on the couch, "A little boy. Twelve years old, killed by his dad because he smashed his drug dealing ass over the head with a lamp for comin' at his mom."

She was quiet, but placed a hand on Jay's back gently. That's what had thrown him. "I try to separate it, you know. I try not to compare and relate to each case but this one…it was me. I used to be that kid, so angry, so jaded, so lost." He brought his hands up to his eyes, "And the worst part is that we were too late."

It wasn't lost on him that Erin was now stroking his back and rubbing his arms, doing anything she could to ground him and remind him that he was home, and that he was safe. "I'm so sorry," she whispered finally, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to his shoulder.

"Piper used to live with them," he choked out, "When she was four. They got her out before most of the assault charges got issued against the guy but I just keep thinking about the fact that she coulda been in that house." He swallowed, "It was awful, Er. They should have taken their biological son too, but couldn't make the case."

"Does she know?" Erin asked, willing her voice to remain steady. Jay needed her to be strong.

Jay shook his head. "I-I didn't think it would help. And I'm just really hoping she doesn't have any memories of them, or if she does, I hope they're good. I mean, that kid…" He shuddered. "His mom was my mom," Jay whispered painfully. "Scared. Alone. She uh, told Burgess that she didn't want her kid to grow up without a dad but the bastard got to him and just shot him and…"

"I know," Erin soothed, still running her hands across her partner, as if touching him physically would keep him mentally with her, "I know."

"Part of me is glad my dad is dead," he whispered, "I-I know he was proud of me and all of that but he hurt her. And I'll never forgive him for that. But that little boy today didn't stand a chance."

"You did everything you could," Erin said knowingly, addressing Jay's comment about his dad and the events of the day, despite not knowing much about the case at all. She knew Jay, and she knew that he gave every case his all, and then some.

"I wish I'd done what that little boy had the courage to do," Jay gritted out. He removed his hands from his bloodshot and damp eyes, "I wish I'd done more to protect her."

Erin wrapped her arms around her partner as best she could and held him close, unable to feel she was doing enough just by touching him. She needed to hold him, feel his heartbeat and know that he was alive beside her. "You were a kid," she whispered as Jay leaned back into her arms, "Just a kid, Jay."

Her gentle ministrations were enough to break the dam. Suddenly, he was crying. Painful, gut wrenching sobs rolled off his tongue before he could stop them as Erin held him closely on the couch, gentle coos from her lips in his ear. He wept for the little boy, for his mother, and for himself. He wept for Hailey, and for Piper. He wept for anyone who knew the type of pain and sadness he was feeling. He wept with gratitude that Piper was taken out of that house, but in agony at the fact that the first time she felt safe was with him, and that she'd once again have to leave.

But he also wept for Erin. Here she was, holding him in her arms while he swiftly and painfully dissolved in her lap, hungry for her comfort, her smell, her everything. He needed it so badly in the year she'd been gone, but it was him who pushed her away first.

"I got you," Erin murmured into his ear, and pressed a kiss to his temple, "I'm here."

"Thank you," Jay breathed after he settled down several minutes later, "I um, I don't know what happened." Erin's arms were still wrapped around him, her head on his shoulder.

She just shook her head and held him closer, "Just keep lettin' it out, Jay."

He sniffed, "I um, let it out all over you like five minutes ago."

A small smile played on her lips and she brought a hand up to stroke his cheek. "I'm sorry you had such a rough one today."

Jay managed a shrug. "It um, helped to have you here." He turned his head and kissed her forehead lightly, "You um, you get me."

"We used to spend a lot of time together," she mused, "All those hours in the 300."

"I know what my favorite hour was," he replied, raising his eyebrows suggestively when Erin cast a curious gaze, "That one time, we didn't want Voight to find out but you were wearing that-"

"Jay!" Erin practically squealed, resisting the urge to smack him playfully. He'd just come out of an emotional tornado, yet here he was, teasing her the best way he knew how.

"I'm kidding," he chuckled, "All those hours were my favorite. Some better than others, for obvious reasons."

"Mine too," she said in an exhale, gently running her thumb back and forth on his arm, "I um, I miss you. I mean, I missed you when I was in New York and everything but I still…"

"I miss you too," he interrupted, "Best partner I ever had."

Erin snorted. "Well, we make a good team. Piper's safe, and she's with us now. She's getting ready for bed after a busy day, and she's getting less shy every day. She even told me she loved me today."

"She's come so far," Jay said proudly, one arm now draped over Erin's shoulder, keeping her close. They were well beyond the limits on any type of friendship intimacy, but both were craving the familiarity of the other. "I'm so glad she's here."

"Can I come sit too?"

Piper's small voice brought Jay back once again. She was freshly showered, and wearing a new pair of pajamas he'd ordered online that were spaghetti and meatballs themed, appropriate for Noodle. "Of course." He held out an arm, and she clambered onto the couch beside him and relaxed when he dropped a kiss on her head. "Sorry I was a little distant today, kiddo. Sometimes these cases are tough."

"I know," she replied softly, "It makes you sad when you see things that remind you of hard times. That's how come Hailey always looks sad when she sees me."

Jay grimaced but managed a nod. She was right. "You're right," he murmured, "You're one smart kid, you know that?"

Piper blushed and settled closer, just as Erin snuggled in on his other side. Jay felt lighter and at peace. He was home.

Couldn't resist a bit of Jay comfort. Up next: ;) ;) ;)