Jay's spidey senses started to tingle as he got closer to his place and heard sounds coming from the other side when it should've been dead silent. His hand automatically went to the weapon cocked on his hips, ready to confront whoever dared to break into an apartment of a detective. Then he heard his favorite sound as of late— soft laughters belonging to his favorite person as of late. Erin.
Instantly, Jay's face broke out into a smile and he was rushing to get inside, eagerly getting his keys inside the lock and pushing the door open to find Erin sitting on his couch, her legs on the coffee table and a bottle of beer in her hand.
"Hi," she smiled when she heard him come in, peeling her eyes away from whatever got her laughing on the television.
If it was possible, Jay's smile got even bigger at the picture of perfection sitting on his couch, drinking his beer, greeting him as he came home as if she perfectly belonged there. He made his way over to her, bent his head down and returned her greeting with a kiss.
"Hi." He breathed out, Erin's dimples showing as she smiled back at him.
"I wanted to see if the keys worked." Her eyes glanced over to the set of keys to his place that he had given her resting on the kitchen counter. "They work perfectly, by the way."
He chuckled, joining her on the couch. His arms came to rest on the back of the couch, opening up the space for Erin to scoot closer and tuck herself in perfectly. He laid a kiss on the side of her head, her scent relaxing him after a long day. Jay never had someone to come home to before and he was finding out how nice it was to have someone waiting for him at the end of the day.
"How was your day?" Jay asked. He didn't have to go to the movie set today so he was out of the loop about how filming went.
"Fine," Erin shrugged. "Nothing really interesting." The scenes they were filming were mostly taking place in the precinct set. That was one of the reasons why Jay's presence wasn't needed. They had no big action scenes to film. And if Jay was honest, he was kind of relieved about it. He still wasn't completely sure what was happening or if the strange occurrences around Erin were just coincidences or someone was actively gunning for her to get hurt. All he knew was that he wanted to be there by her side, watching her back. He didn't want to give whoever it was another opportunity to hurt Erin.
"I'll be there tomorrow, bright and early," Jay promised. He'd have to work some overnight shifts to get the day off tomorrow but he didn't mind a bit. He didn't want to leave Erin alone on set. He still wasn't sure if he should tell Erin his suspicions just yet because he had no evidence to go on other than his gut feeling. He didn't want to worry her or distract her, especially if something turned out to be nothing at all.
Erin watched him carefully, her eyes studying his face. "You look exhausted babe. Maybe you should use the time to actually get some sleep."
"I'm fine," Jay refused. "Besides, if I get tired then we could just take a nap in your trailer?" He suggested, wagging his eyebrows. Spending 'quality time' with Erin in her trailer was yet another thing that was quickly becoming his favorite.
"Yeah because we get a lot of rest there," Erin shot back, rolling her eyes. She brushed over the dark circles he had under his eyes, looking worried. "Seriously though. Babe, you really need to rest. You're stretching yourself too thin with the movie and your job."
He scrunched his nose and leaned in closer to bop his nose against hers. "You're too good to me."
"Please. What have I done for you? You're the one that saved me twice. Not to mention, you took me on that awesome date. Really, you're the one that's too good to me."
He smiled and pressed his lips against hers. "How about we just say, we're good for each other?"
"Deal," Erin agreed, shuffling herself closer in his arms. Jay tucked her head under his chin and they turned to watch the movie that had Erin laughing out loud earlier.
Half-way through the movie, Jay felt Erin's eyes on him rather than what was playing on screen. He dropped his head to look at her and saw her gazing up at him with a soft smile on her face, her eyes twinkling in the dim room. He gave her a questioning look, wanting to know what she was thinking.
"I'm just happy," Erin explained, her voice in a raspy whisper. She brought her arm around his waist, pulling him closer to her. "I just...when I took the role, I never thought that this would happen." She held his face in her hand. "That I'd meet someone like you. You know, I wasn't even sure that I wanted to do this movie in the first place. I was in a rough place, having just completed rehab. I wasn't sure where my career was going to go or if I even still wanted to be an actress. My mom was on my case and there was just so much pressure on me that when I did get the role, all I felt was relief. I didn't even give it that much thought to anything else."
Jay nodded and brushed her hair back. Erin had confided in him about her time in rehab. A secret that she hadn't told anyone else. He knew it was a big thing for her to let him in like that. Just like how she told him about her uncertainties about her passion for acting that was quickly wavering. But he also knew of the pressure that her mom put on her to continue. Of Bunny's desires for Erin to be a big movie star. It had to be hard on Erin and he felt his heart going out to her.
Her finger gently stroking his jaw brought his attention back on her and she continued. "All I can think now is how glad I am that I did take the role because I wouldn't have met you otherwise."
Jay smiled, his hand coming to hold her face just like she was doing to his. "Me too. I thought me being a consultant for the role was a punishment. I didn't want to do it. I dreaded it pretty much because I thought I was going to be surrounded by stuck up and snobby actors. Then I met you and got to know you and you are so not who I'd thought you'd be. I knew it from the first time I met you in your trailer. You were down to earth, nice and kind. You're amazing."
Erin's mouth parted and she looked like she had something to say but at the last second, she held her tongue. Jay gave her a curious look, wondering what she was about to say. She shook her head slightly before bringing her head up to kiss him instead. He cupped her face, deepening the kiss, her arms wrapping themselves tighter around him.
They broke apart, resting their head against each other, staring into each other's eyes. "I'm really happy that you came into my life, Jay."
Jay's heart raced at her words, his whole being screaming to tell her that he was in love with her. He knew he loved her, he knew it. He felt it. He felt it when he was with her. He felt it when he was away from her. He felt it when he was looking into her eyes or just the image of her would come into his mind. But he bit his tongue, holding his confession inside, thinking it was too soon to tell her. He didn't want to ruin things and scare her off by rushing things. She was too important to him and he couldn't risk it. So he just kissed her again, harder this time. That was the only way he could hold his confession of love in.
Erin leaned back against the small leather couch in her trailer, glad that she finally had some time to rest. Bunny was busy chatting away on the phone with her best fake voice that she used whenever she was talking to people in the industry. But Erin tuned all that out, letting Bunny do what she did best. If Erin had a choice, she didn't want to deal with any industry politics. She liked acting well enough, though she wouldn't necessarily call it her passion. It was fun enough and she felt as though she was good at it. She had been doing it for so long that it had just become another fact of her life. She was an actress, that was it. There were no second thoughts or doubts given to it. Even after she got out of rehab and her longtime show had ended, it was just always unspoken that she'd try for another role. A blockbuster movie, Bunny demanded. And when her role for Chicago P.D came, all she felt was relief. Relief that Bunny was off her back now that she had gotten what she wanted for Erin for so long.
Seeing Jay and how much he truly loved being a detective gave Erin pause about her own career and her own state of life. She saw just how passionate Jay was about what he did for a living. It was like he was meant to be a detective. He breathed it and he lived it. Quite frankly, Erin was jealous. Jealous of how sure Jay was about his career. How happy he was to be doing what he did for a living when Erin was filled with uncertainties and doubts about her. She wanted to be just as sure and most importantly, just as happy about her career.
"Erin, baby." Bunny called her name after hanging up the phone call. Erin looked over to her mom who seemed very excited about some things. "Baby, I've got some great news."
"What?"
"The movie is getting so much buzz even before the release. With Landon starring in the movie and your relationship with Kelly being in the tabloids, there's been so much media attention on it."
"That's nice," Erin replied, giving Bunny a small smile.
Bunny sighed, seeing that Erin wasn't as excited as her. "Why aren't you more excited about this? You know what a big deal this is right? If this movie succeeds, this could take your career into another level." Erin nodded, trying to muster up as much excitement as she could. Bunny rolled her eyes, clearly seeing through Erin. "That was Mike on the phone, you know the head of the studio? He's hearing good things about the movie and about you so much that he lined up more auditions for you."
"Auditions for what?"
"What do you think?" Bunny shot back, her hands on her hips. "Movies! Summer blockbuster movies! With big name actors and directors. You land a couple of those auditions and I'm telling you baby, we're hitting the big time!"
Erin didn't know how to feel about Bunny's news. While her mom looked excited and happy, Erin was more conflicted. But she still managed to smile at her mom, knowing that was what Bunny was expecting from her.
"Jeez, Erin. Try to look less excited," Bunny huffed. "Whatever. You can stay here and mope about something that a normal person would be happy about. I'm gonna go share the good news with people that would actually be excited. Where's Annie and Caitlin?"
"Caitlin's shooting her scene so they're on set."
"Why does someone with such a small role need a make-up artist on set with her? Her scene barely lasts five minutes."
"Mom, because Annie is her friend. Just like Caitlin is mine. We're all friends and that goes beyond the movie set. We help one another out."
"Yeah, like you helped Caitlin get the part and you've been employing Annie for years now. Tell me Erin, how have your friends helped you out?" Bunny sneered.
Erin sighed, hating how her mom could be so selfish sometimes. For Bunny, if a person wasn't useful to her, they might've as well be dead. "Mom, we've been friends for years. Believe it or not, sometimes I can be friends with people without them giving me something in return. You know Annie has always been there for me. Caitlin has too."
"Whatever," Bunny huffed, brushing Erin off. "Sometimes I think you're too soft-hearted for this industry. That's why it's a good thing that you have me." Bunny gave Erin a mocking smile before leaving the trailer.
Erin could only shake her head as she watched her mother leave. She loved her mom but hated how she could be sometimes. Bunny had a one-track mind and it involved fame and money. Sometimes, Erin wondered if her mom saw her as a daughter or just a product to push and sell to the highest bidder. If Erin stopped acting one day, would Bunny disregard her just like everyone else that was no longer of use to Bunny?
Erin sighed, her head filled with heavy thoughts. Lately, she had been thinking a lot about her own life and the path that she was on. Maybe she had been thinking of taking a break from acting and really sit down and decide what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Really sit down and look at herself in the mirror and ask herself the hard questions she should've asked years ago. Did she love acting as much as Bunny wanted her to? Did she love her job?
She heard a couple of knocks on the door before the door opened and Jay entered. Instantly, her mood lifted when she saw him walking over to her.
"You okay?" he asked her right away, noticing the troubled look on her face. She tried to give him a believable smile but he wasn't buying it. "Tell me."
Erin shrugged before telling him about the auditions that Bunny had lined up for her after the movie was over. "I don't know," she finished, waiting for Jay's reaction.
He listened intently and took her hand. "This sounds like a great opportunity." She nodded then Jay added, "In theory." She looked at him, confused. "What might be a great opportunity for a person might be the same for another. Bunny is excited about the auditions and the potential movies but what about you? You're the one that has to stand in front of the casting directors and say the lines. You're the one that has to put in the work and the hours in front of the cameras. What do you want, Erin?"
Once again, Jay asked her the question no one really asked her before. What did she want? Not what was the best for her career? Or what Bunny could get out of it.
"Honestly, I've been thinking about it a lot lately." Jay was giving her his full attention. "Thinking about how my whole life I've been doing what my mom wanted for me. It was just the two of us and me booking jobs, putting food on the table and a roof over our head."
"Erin, you were a child. That shouldn't have been your responsibility. It's a lot to put on the shoulders of a child."
Erin nodded, agreeing with Jay. She realized how toxic and convoluted her relationship with her mother was. Ever since she booked her first commercial, Bunny had turned from a mother to a manager. The fact that Erin was even doubting if Bunny would still love her if she quit acting just told her that their relationship wasn't healthy.
"I never took the time to figure out what I want to do in life. It was always decided for me." She looked down at her and Jay's joined hands. His touch and his silent support gave her more confidence in the decision she had made recently. "I think I know what I want to do after this movie finished filming."
"What is it?" Jay asked.
Erin took her free hand and rested it on Jay's cheeks. "I want to take a break from acting. I know that I just got back into it after rehab but I want to take the time for myself and really figure out if I want to continue doing it."
Jay nodded, giving her a smile of support. "That's good."
But Erin wasn't finished. "And I want to do it in Chicago."
Jay's eyes widened at Erin telling him that she was staying in Chicago after the movie wrapped. "Really?" he whispered, looking at her in disbelief. His lips were pulling into a big grin but Erin saw some hesitation in his eyes, like he really couldn't believe it quiet yet. Erin held his face firmer, letting him know that she was serious. "You'll stay in Chicago? For how long?"
"I haven't given myself a deadline yet," Erin replied. "I just know that this is where I want to be. With you."
Jay exhaled, still looking at her in awe. "I can't...I mean, don't get me wrong Erin. I love that you're staying. I admit I've been thinking about what's gonna happen when the movie wraps and the thought of you going back to L.A kills me. I've been thinking of ways to bring up the possibility of us being in a long distance relationship for the longest time and now you're telling me you're staying. I can't believe it."
"What can't you believe?" Erin questioned, smirking playfully at him.
"That I'm worth staying for." Erin's face softened at his raw honesty.
"Jay, of course you're worth it." The faint scoff that came out of Jay's mouth disagreed with that statement. Erin brushed her thumb over his lips and waited until Jay was looking into her eyes. "Jay, I love you." She saw the astonishment took hold in his blue eyes at her declaration and his mouth parted in wonder. Her heart melted at the look on his face. "Jay, I'm completely in love with you."
He blinked a couple of times like he was making sure that it was really happening. Erin chuckled softly at his reaction. "I…. " he seemed at a loss for words.
"But as much as I love you and think that you're the best part of Chicago, I'm not staying here for you. I'm doing it for myself." She wanted to make it clear to Jay that there was no pressure put on him with her staying longer than they both expected. She was in love with him and she just wanted him to know that. "I've been doing what everyone else wants me to do my whole life and this is the first time I'll be doing what I want. I want to take time for myself, figure out what I like and what I don't like. Maybe I'll realize that acting is it, that's what I meant to do. Maybe I'll learn that it's directing or being behind the camera instead of being in front. Maybe it'll have nothing to do with the industry and I'll be the happiest selling cheese at the corner store, who knows? But I know that I have to do this for myself."
Jay held her face, holding her tenderly in his hands. "Erin, I'm in love with you too." Erin felt like she was floating at his words. It was a wonderful feeling to be loved by someone that she loved. "And whatever it is that you want to do, whatever it is that you want to do it at, you know that I'll support you completely. I'm behind you 100%. You want someone to talk to at 2 in the morning, I'm here. If you want to rant, I'm here. If you just need me to hold you…"
"You'll be here." Jay nodded. She released a sigh, pulling him into a hug and hiding her face in the crook of his neck. She felt safe in his arms. She felt supported and most importantly, she felt loved.
"I love you," Jay whispered in her hair. "And I'm so happy that you'll stay."
Erin pulled her head back so she could look at him and his handsome face. "Me too."
Erin never felt this happy in her life before. Then again, she had never been in love before. Falling in love with Jay was so easy but she was telling him the truth when she said that she wasn't staying in Chicago for him. Maybe he might have a bit to do with her decision but Erin knew it was something she had to do for herself. Plus, she knew how quickly things could turn bad if there was a lot of pressure put on a relationship. She fell in love with Jay ridiculously fast— especially for her— but she knew that they needed to take their time and go slow. After all, their relationship was too precious for her to mess up.
"How about a girl's night tonight?" Annie asked as she helped take off Erin's make-up. "We haven't hung out in a long time."
"Um," Erin hesitated, thinking whether she had plans with Jay or not. "Sure, what did you have in mind?" Erin replied after confirming with herself that she and Jay didn't make plans for the night.
"One of the crew told me about this bar downtown. Said there are a lot of hot guys that hang out there," Annie suggested. "Apparently it's a perfect place for single girls like us."
"Speak for yourself, Annie," Caitlin interjected, earning curious looks from both Annie and Erin.
"What? You're dating someone?" Annie asked. Caitlin nodded, giving them a smirk. "When did this happen? Who is he?"
"It's pretty new and it's someone you don't know." Erin and Annie exchanged a look with each other, wanting to know more about Caitlin's mysterious guy. "Stop! I'll introduce you guys when things are more serious between me and my boyfriend."
"Oh, so it is your boyfriend," Erin teased. "If you're calling him your boyfriend then things must be getting serious."
Caitlin rolled her eyes and went back to looking at her phone. Erin laughed, seeing the blush that was forming on her friend's face.
"Then how about us two?" Annie asked Erin. "Just us two single girls. More guys for us!" Erin shook her head. "Oh come on, Erin. I heard that this bar can even give us a private booth so you don't even have to deal with any paparazzis or fans."
"If we're going to be away in a private booth then how are you planning on meeting any guys?" Erin asked. Annie realized that Erin had a point. "Sorry, ANnie. How about a girl's night in instead?"
"Erin Lindsay!" Whatever Annie was about to say was interrupted by the loud roar of Bunny barging into the trailer, fuming. "You ungrateful bitch!"
"What's going on? You okay Bunny?" Annie asked as Bunny strode over to Erin, steam practically coming out of her ears.
"You!" Bunny pointed her finger at Erin accusingly. "Get who I just got off the phone with?" Erin braced herself, knowing that Bunny had found out about her plan. "Mike! Telling me that you called him earlier and turning down all the auditions! Apparently you told him that you were taking a break!"
"Yeah, I did."
"You ungrateful bitch!" Bunny shouted again. "Do you realize just how hard I had to work to get you those auditions in the first place? I had to convince Mike to even give you a chance and you just threw it all away for what? Why are you taking a break? You haven't discussed it with me!"
Erin couldn't deal with a person screaming in her face so she took a couple of steps back, putting some distance between her and Bunny. "Mom, I'm sorry that you found out like this."
"You're sorry that I found out like this?" Bunny raged. "You mean you blindsiding me?"
"It's my life!" Erin shouted back, standing up for herself. "I appreciate everything you've done for me but I've made this decision myself and I'm not changing my mind."
"The decision to throw your career away? After everything we did to get you to this place? After everything I did for you?"
"Maybe I've never wanted to get to this place!" Erin yelled, letting her feelings known. "Maybe this isn't what I want. Maybe I never wanted this."
Bunny exhaled, clenching her eyes shut. "You realize how many girls would kill to be in your place right now? A successful show that you walked away from, a movie that you're shooting with the hottest actor. Your pictures in magazines, dating someone like Severide. You're telling me that you don't want this?" Bunny scoffed, pointing over to Caitlin. "Look at Caitlin. She'd kill to be in your position. She'd be grateful yet you're willing to throw it all away?"
"I just need some time for myself mom," Erin tried to explain. "I need to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. If acting is what I want to do."
"Of course it is!" Bunny waved her hands around. "It always has been!"
"No! It's what you wanted for me! Not me!"
Bunny scoffed, rolling her eyes and dismissing Erin's feelings again. "Oh please. Stop it with the little poor girl routine. Enough okay?"
"You're right. It is enough," Erin stood taller. "Enough of you pushing me and guilt-tripping me into doing what you want me to do. Always telling me how we only have each other in the world. But you never once asked me if I was happy. Never once did you ask me what I want to do."
"Where is this coming from so suddenly?" Bunny asked, looking at Erin like she had never seen her before. And maybe she hadn't because this was the first time Erin was standing up for herself and what she wanted. "Who made you do this?"
"No one made me do this," Erin replied, rubbing her face. Bunny tossed her a look that she didn't believe her and Erin was just done. She was done hiding her feelings and her relationship with Jay. "Fine, you want to know? Okay. Do I finally have someone in my life that cares about my feelings? About what I want? Someone that the only thing they want from me is for me to be happy without expecting anything else? Then yeah, I do."
Erin felt Annie and Caitlin's eyes on her, surprised that Erin had been seeing someone without them knowing.
"Who is it?" Bunny asked, nearly growling. "Who is the damn guy?!" She scowled when she realized who it was. "It's him, isn't it? That low-life detective."
"His name is Jay," Erin corrected. "And he's the furthest thing from a low-life."
"Please," Bunny scoffed, mocking Erin. "He's a public servant that lucked his way into the movie set. He's a nobody."
"And that's all you care about right? Just what someone can do for you. But guess what Bunny? Jay isn't a nobody. He's everything to me."
Bunny looked disgusted at Erin's words. "So you're throwing everything away for him?"
"I'm not throwing everything away and I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for me!" Erin sighed, knowing that no matter how much she explained, Bunny wouldn't listen. "Bunny, I'm not doing this to make you angry and it doesn't mean I'm not grateful for everything you've done for me over the years. But enough is enough. Do you realize that until Jay, no one even asked me once about what I wanted? What made me happy? Not you, no one. And I realized that I stopped asking myself that too. But Jay made me see that my wishes and feelings about my life mattered too."
"He's just a detective, Erin. How could you choose him over someone like Severide?"
"Money and fame don't matter to me. I want someone that truly cares about me, someone that visits me when I'm sick without needing to have cameras there. Someone that goes to great lengths to make me happy. I just want someone waiting for me at the end of the day with his arms open. That's Jay."
"You're gonna regret this, Erin," Bunny warned. "I'm not going to let you do this."
"It's too late," Erin replied, shrugging. "Maybe I'll regret doing this. Maybe I won't but it'll be my choice to make. You can't stop me Bunny."
With that Erin was done. She grabbed her purse and headed out of the trailer.
"I'm not letting this happen!" Bunny vowed, shouting behind her. "This is not over Erin!"
Jay was in the middle of making himself a sandwich in his kitchen when his door burst open and Erin came storming in.
Erin?" Jay called, worried. Erin heard his voice and rushed into the kitchen. She hugged him, almost knocking him back with her force, and she just buried her face in his chest. Jay instantly held her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "hey, " Jay whispered, getting even more worried about the way she was acting. "Hey, what's wrong?" His concern only grew when she didn't give him an answer. "Hey babe, it's okay. I'm here, just tell me what's wrong."
She trembled slightly in his arms and he felt her tears begin to soak through his t-shirt. He held down his worry and focused on being there for her. He pressed comforting kisses into her hair, on her forehead while his hand stroked her gently. After a while, she gathered herself and began to pull out of his arms.
"Hey," Jay called her name, brushing away her tears and lifting her head up. He felt an ache in his chest when he saw the distress in her eyes, mixed with the tears. "You okay?"
Erin sucked in a deep breath and gave him a small nod. He continued to caress her soft skin as he waited for her to be ready to voice what happened. Erin released a shaky breath and finally met Jay's eyes.
"What happened?" Jay asked again.
"Bunny," Erin replied, her voice still shaky. Instantly, Jay knew what happened. Her mother had found out about them and judging from Erin's reaction, she didn't approve of Erin dating him.
He led Erin over to the couch and she told him everything that happened in the trailer. He could only listen on as Erin relived the painful confrontation with her mother.
"I'm sorry," Jay said, holding her.
"It's not your fault," Erin returned, settling against him. "It's not like I expected much else from her. Actually, this was pretty much how I expected her to react."
"Still, she's your mother. I know it couldn't have been easy."
"I didn't expect it to be easy," Erin replied. "I just thought that maybe she'd be mad at first but then she'd actually listen to me and my reasons. That maybe she'd stop caring about what I can do for her for once and just support me in what I do want to do." She shook her head. "But of course, it didn't happen. All she cared about was me throwing away what she worked so hard for."
Jay cursed Bunny in his head. What Bunny worked so hard for? Erin was the one that had been put through the ringer by the industry, she was the one that had been pushed so much that she ended up in rehab and yet Bunny was only concerned about what was the next movie role Erin could get.
"It's gonna be okay," Jay soothed her. "Can I do anything?"
Erin shook her head, wrapping her arm around him tighter. "I just need you to hold me. That's all I need."
Jay smiled, holding her closer. "I'll hold you as long as you need. I'm here, Erin. I'm not going anywhere."
"You look like you belong up there," Jay smirked, leaning on the formica countertop. Erin returned a smirk of her own, looking perfectly at home behind Platt's desk.
"I'll have you know that I'm a badass detective of the Chicago Police Department," Erin stated. "Or at least I play one on screen."
Jay laughed, leaning in further to steal a kiss.
"Okay, none of that please. Not at my desk." Platt's voice broke the kiss and they both pulled apart to give the Desk sergeant matching sheepish grins.
"Sorry, Trudy," Erin apologized, reaching over to wipe away some of the wetness on Jay's lips.
"None of that too," Platt ordered. Erin and Jay shared a smile, knowing that Platt was all bark and no bite. "Halstead, glad to see that you're finally back from whatever you were doing."
"Work, Serge," Jay returned. "I was working."
"Uh-huh, sure." Platt said dismissively. "Your girlfriend has been waiting for you to come back from 'work' so I decided to put her to work myself."
"She made you do her work?" Jay asked, looking at Erin.
"I just answered a few calls, nothing really important," Erin replied. "Trudy and I got a chance to talk and got to know each other better, didn't we Trudy?"
Platt nodded, giving Erin a fond smile. One that Jay had never seen on the woman before. It was obvious that Erin had somehow thawed the cold demeanor of Platt and quickly won her over. Not that Jay was surprised. He may be biased but he knew Erin was just too incredible to not like.
"Yeah, your girlfriend has been here so much lately that we've become gal pals like Sex in the City."
"Gal pal?" Jay mouthed to Erin at Platt's choice of words. Erin held in a laugh and gave Jay a shrug.
"I've learned a lot about you Halstead," Platt said mysteriously, putting Jay on edge with the way she was looking at him. Like she had seen him naked and knew his deepest and darkest secret. It didn't help that Erin was barely able to contain her laughter at Jay's uneasiness. He shot Erin a dirty look, prompting her with his eyes to spill whatever she told Platt about him.
"I promise it's all good things," Erin added, trying to placate him. Jay just grunted, not quite believing her. Maybe Erin hanging out with Platt too much wasn't a good idea. Sure, the Sergeant treated Jay better by association now and was nicer to him but it wasn't worth it if it meant she knew things about Jay that he didn't want anyone knowing.
"Yeah, like how your...ahem," Platt cleared her throat, her eyes drifting down Jay's body.
"Okay that's enough," Jay interjected quickly as he pulled Erin from behind the desk and led her upstairs. He ignored Platt's laughter behind him, unable to even look back at the woman.
He felt Erin's shoulders shake with laughter as he directed her to the break room. She was completely amused. She sat down at the desk while he got her a cup of coffee, giving her a dirty look as she was still laughing.
"I promise I didn't tell Platt anything about you," Erin said, holding her hand up. "She just likes to tease you."
He narrowed his eyes, studying Erin.
"I promise!" Erin added, still laughing. "Okay, maybe we came up with the whole thing to annoy you. It worked."
"Very well, I might add." Jay tried to look annoyed but knew it was a losing battle, especially when Erin looked so happy at his expense. So he caved, rolling his eyes adoringly at her. Erin had been stressed and strained ever since her fight with Bunny. She had been avoiding her mom, choosing to stay at his place or at the station to wait for him whenever she had time. Jay was more than happy to spend more time with her but he couldn't ignore that she was having a difficult time. So seeing her completely relaxed and laughing for once was a beautiful sight for him. He'd happily be embarrassed by Platt a million times over if it got Erin to laugh like she did.
"Sorry," Erin apologized. "I've been spending so much time here."
"Don't be, I like it," Jay reassured her. "I don't think the guys mind too. They love having you here." His team was still starstruck by Erin even though she had been here more frequently as of late. They just couldn't fully wrap their head around the fact that a celebrity was hanging out casually in their bullpen. What was even more surprising was the fact that even Voight seemed a little bit in awe of Erin and he had been completely willing to let Erin stay there. Voight's usual stoic and cold personality was no match for Erin's charm, Jay realized.
Erin was looking at him, her eyes trailing up and down his body.
"What?" Jay asked her. Erin replied with a heated look, her eyes darkening as she licked her lips. Suddenly, Jay felt blood rush through his body, knowing just why Erin was looking at him like that. She lifted her eyebrow, daring him to take things further. Jay rose to the challenge, taking her hand and pulling her into the empty locker room. He quickly glanced around, making sure that it was empty before slamming her against his locker and crushing his lips against her.
Erin responded just as eagerly, her hands already working to get rid of his clothes. Thankfully, Erin had been wearing a dress, making it easier to get her to the state of undressed he needed her to be in. He hiked up her dress as she wrapped her legs around him, pressing herself closer to him.
"We need to be quiet," Jay murmured as she quickly worked him up with her hand. He groaned, feeling himself get harder. Erin smirked, knowing that Jay was having a hard time taking his own advice. "Erin," he grunted, needing to bury himself inside her.
"I can be quiet," Erin mumbled against his lips. "The question is can you?" Erin challenged.
It was a challenge Jay failed to meet as his groans took over the locker room, Jay no longer giving a damn about who could hear them as he and Erin pushed each other over the edge.
"See ya Mouse," Jay waved and he quickly headed over to Erin's trailer. He had arrived early today and had been whisked away by Mouse and a producer to get a scene ready. He hadn't seen Erin all morning and he was itching to see her and give her a good morning kiss. He knocked on her trailer door, waiting to hear her voice telling him to come in.
After not hearing her voice, he got worried and he opened the door and made his way inside. Usually at this time, Bunny hadn't arrived on the set yet and Annie was working on other actor's make-up so he knew Erin would be alone. But apparently not this morning because he was greeted with Bunny, Caitlin and Annie surrounding a distraught Erin who was crouched over, her face buried in her hand.
"Hey," Jay quickly rushed over to her, his heart leaping out of his chest at seeing Erin like that. His first thought was that Erin had gotten into another fight with Bunny but as he looked closer, Bunny was standing around Erin. "Erin?" he called again, wanting Erin to look at him and tell him what was wrong. "What happened?" he asked the other people in the room when it was evident that Erin wasn't able to speak just yet.
Annie gestured over to something on the table with her head. Jay frowned and picked up to look at what Annie pointed out. Immediately, his heart dropped when he saw the magazine with the headline 'Dark Secrets Exposed! T.V Darling Erin Lindsay's time in rehab.'
Someone had found out about Erin's secret about having been in rehab. One that she was adamant to keep away from the public.
"What? How did they find out?" Jay asked, looking for answers. He placed his hand on Erin's thigh, wanting to comfort her. "Hey babe," he called gently. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay."
"It's not gonna be okay!" Bunny shouted. "Do you even realize what this means Jay? We've worked so hard to keep her time in rehab to ourselves and now everyone knows!"
Jay ignored Bunny's hysterics and focused on Erin. "Erin, look at me please." Erin slowly brought her head up and gave Jay what he wanted. "It's gonna be okay. Alright? Being in rehab is nothing to be ashamed about. You got help when you needed it. You should be proud of yourself. You don't have to be embarrassed."
"Not embarrassed?" Bunny cut in from behind. "You think anyone would want to hire or work with someone that they think has a coke problem? Do you even know what you're saying?"
"Do you think you're helping right now Bunny?" Jay shot back, glaring at Bunny. "It doesn't matter what people say. We know that Erin got help and she's better now. She should be proud of herself."
Bunny scoffed. "How nice. Is that what you say in your after school special about drugs, detective?"
Jay just shook his head, turning back to Erin. He cupped her face and dried her tears with his thumb. He smiled at her, looking at her to reassure her. "It's gonna be fine. I promise."
Erin gave him a small smile in return, not completely okay yet. "I just don't know how they found out."
"Let's see, no one knows besides me, you, Annie and the doctors," Bunny started. "And we know the doctors wouldn't risk their license to get some payout from a gossip rag." Bunny turned to Annie.
"Don't look at me!" Annie immediately defended herself. "I swear I didn't say anything to anyone! I would never do this to Erin."
"And Erin didn't say anything and I sure as hell didn't say anything. So who else knew?" Bunny looked at Erin. "Did you tell anyone Erin?"
Erin glanced over to Jay. Jay reeled back, shaking his head. "I didn't," he began, defending himself. "I didn't tell anyone! I would never do this to you, Erin."
She nodded and Jay clutched her hand, holding it tightly.
"You told Jay?" Bunny asked. "Erin, look at the facts here. You know I didn't say anything, Annie is your oldest friend and she would never say anything. I know you didn't say anything. That leaves only one other person." Accusatory eyes of Annie, Caitlin and Bunny turned on Jay but he was only looking at Erin, imploring her to believe him that he'd never do this to her.
"Erin, you got to believe me, I didn't do this!"
"Erin," three opposing voices chimed in.
"Stop!" Erin shouted. "I know Jay and I believe him. I know he didn't do this. He wouldn't do this to me."
Jay felt a rush of relief that Erin trusted him. That she had enough faith in him that he'd never betrayed her like this.
Bunny's phone rang and she looked at the caller I.D. "It's Rodrigo. He works for the magazine. He can tell us who sent in the info," Bunny explained before she answered the phone. "Rodrigo, you better have a name. You better tell me who would send filthy lies about my daughter."
Jay couldn't make out the words from the other side but he knew he was screwed when Bunny's eyes landed on him, giving him a hateful look. She hung up her phone and pointed her finger at him.
"You!" Bunny shouted. "You did this!"
Jay jumped up, ready to defend himself against her lies. "What the hell are you talking about Bunny? I would never do this. I'd never hurt Erin like this!"
"Mom," Erin chimed in, standing up next to Jay shielding him from the other eyes in the room. "I already told you Jay didn't do this. He wouldn't do this to me."
Bunny's phone rang again, indicating a message. Bunny opened to look at it before smirking at them. "Oh really? Jay wasn't the one that ran to the tabloids to spill your secrets?"
"I didn't." Jay looked at Erin.
"I know, I trust you. I love you."
"I love you too," Jay voiced, needing Erin to know.
"Then look at what Rodrigo just sent me," Bunny interrupted, shoving her phone in their faces. "Tell me why there's a check stub made out to Jay's name on it for $15,000?"
Jay's eyes zeroed in on the picture that Rodrigo sent Bunny, seeing his name written across the check. One that was supposedly made out to him for sending in a tip.
"I….it wasn't," Jay stammered, unable to believe that he was being accused of doing this to Erin. "Someone set me up!"
Bunny scoffed. "Yeah, convenient excuse. The picture proves otherwise, detective. Tell me, your detective salary can't be that much right? $15,000 is a lot to you. Why wouldn't you send it in and make a little profit off my daughter's humiliation?"
"Bunny," Jay growled. "I would never hurt Erin like this. I love her." He turned to Erin, searching for her eyes, begging her to believe him. "Erin, I love you. You know that. You know I would never do this to you right?"
"Jay," Erin whispered, her lips trembling and her eyes glistening with tears.
He took Erin's hands. "Tell me you believe me Erin. I didn't do this."
"The evidence is right here!"
"Shut up!" Jay shouted, turning back to Erin. "Erin."
But the lack of a reply from Erin said it all. She didn't believe him.
"I can't believe you think I would do this," Jay said, his hurt pouring out that Erin could actually think he could do this. That he was capable of hurting her like this.
"I think it's better that you leave Jay," Bunny stated. "Before I have security throw you out."
He kept his eyes on Erin, waiting for some sort of indication from her that she trusted him. But she was still looking at him with eyes that were full of hurt and distrust. She shook her hand free from his, his hands dropping to his side.
"Erin," he called her name.
"I think it's better that you go, Jay." Erin dropped her head, unable to look at him. Jay felt his heart tighten and his stomach dropped when he realized that Erin was dismissing him, clearly having her mind made up.
Jay couldn't even utter a word, filled with hurt and pain that the woman he loved didn't trust him. That she thought he'd stoop so low to betray her trust. He just clenched his jay and nodded before turning around and walking out of the trailer.
If Erin wouldn't believe him then he'd just have to prove his innocence. Someone set him up and he was going to make whoever it was pay.
AN: any guesses as to who set Jay up? Because we all know that Jay would never.
Also, is anyone else a fan of Asian drama? Even if you're not, everyone should watch 'The Romance of Tiger and Rose'. I've been obsessed with it for the last week and have finished my second rewatch because it is that good. It's hilarious and has a refreshing twist from typical historical dramas. And the two leads are just so damn cute and have so much chemistry. Ah, seriously if you love a cold guy being the absolute puppy in love for one girl only trope as much as I do, give it a try. And if you guys have seen it then come and gush over it with me because I can't get enough!