(16)
'Come over when you get home. I have a surprise!'
Jay had received the text earlier form Erin and it was all he could think about ever since he had gotten it. His mind was working overtime and being overactive in just what the surprise Erin had for him was. He was already thinking of perhaps a new outfit or a bubble bath in Erin's huge tub with those bath soap things that Erin loved so much and that Jay was quickly becoming a fan of. And it was just in time too. He could use a nice relaxing bath, preferably with Erin joining him too.
Work had been more stressful than usual lately and things with his partner were still…...not good. Jay felt like he had been walking on eggshells around Hailey still and it was tiring to watch every word that he said and think twice about every action he took so Hailey wouldn't misconstrue anything and that Jay wouldn't accidentally keep leading her on. He had attempted to bring up the idea of switching partners for the meantime but Hailey had shut him down everytime, stating that she just needed time and that she didn't want other members in her business. But it had been a couple of months already and things still hadn't gotten better.
Shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts about work, Jay headed to Erin's place. He just wanted to focus on the positive things in his life right now and what made him happy. Erin just happened to be on top of his list. Thinking of his girlfriend brought a smile on his face and he quickly rushed over to her door and got even more excited about what was waiting for him on the other side of the door, images of Erin in a revealing set of lingerie or even better, a wet and naked Erin waiting for him in the bathtub.
Woof!
What the…..wait, was that barking he heard?
Confused, he quickly used his copy of the keys and opened the door. Sure enough, as soon as he stepped a foot inside, he heard a pitter patter of tiny footsteps rushing over to him.
"Frankie!" Jay exclaimed as soon as he saw the familiar dog at his feet. She was excited, already jumping and clamoring for his attention. "Oh! Look at you. What are you doing here, girl?" Jay got down on his knee and opened his arm to welcome her.
Frankie barked a couple of times loudly before jumping into his waiting arms and then proceeded to slobber all over him with her version of kisses. Jay just laughed and enjoyed the display of affection, no matter how wet it was.
"Someone is happy to see you," he heard Erin's voice as she came over to them by the hallway, a big smile on her face at seeing the reunion between him and Frankie.
"How?" was all that came out of his mouth as he stood up while Frankie continued her attack, Jay trying to redirect her very enthusiastic kisses away from his face. There was only so much slobbering he could take, no matter how cute Frankie was.
Erin noticed that he needed help so she stepped closer and took Frankie off of his arm, the dog immediately turning her affection onto Erin. But Erin managed to calm Frankie enough and held her closely to her chest.
"Surprise?"
Jay chuckled, still confused as to how Frankie had come back to them. Erin went over to the couch and sat down, putting Frankie on her lap. Jay joined them, putting his arm around Erin's shoulder.
"The shelter called me earlier today," Erin began explaining as Jay absentmindedly drew patterns on the patch of skin on Erin's shoulder. "They said that the elder woman who adopted Frankie fell and injured herself. She's moving in with her daughter permanently and she can't take Frankie with her. So they asked me to take care of Frankie for a few days since I took care of her before until they can find a new home for her."
Jay nodded and he ran his other free hand over Frankie, the dog looking perfectly at home on Erin's lap.
"I've missed her," Jay said.
"Me too," Erin agreed, leaning into Jay. "When they told me what happened, I agreed to take her immediately. I almost….." Erin trailed off, not finishing her thoughts.
"You almost what?" Jay asked when Erin remained quiet.
"I almost told them right then and there that I wanted to adopt Frankie. That I don't want to just foster her for a few days. I want to keep her….forever."
Her confession didn't exactly take Jay by surprise. They both had a hard enough time saying goodbye to Frankie the first time around and he didn't even want to think about having to do it again in a couple of days. Frankie quickly worked her way into both of their hearts in a very short time and she brought him and Erin closer together at a time when Erin wanted to keep her distance away from him. Frankie was special to them.
"Why didn't you?" Jay questioned, wondering what was stopping Erin from keeping Frankie.
Erin shrugged, pulling away from Jay a little bit so she could face him as she talked. "I work a lot. My schedule is hectic and sometimes I don't even know when I'll be gone and for how long. As much as I love Frankie, she deserves the best home. I just don't know if I can give her a good home."
Again, another confession that Jay wasn't surprised by. Erin was always her own hardest critic, always thinking that she wasn't enough. What she didn't realize was that she was everything. To him and to Frankie. Frankie was attached to Erin and was protective of her. He still remembered those morning runs in the park with the three of them, Frankie always stayed close to Erin like she was protecting Erin from all the strangers that dared to come close to them.
"You're right about one thing. Frankie does deserve the best. That's why she should be here, with us forever."
"Us?" Erin asked, looking at him at his choice of word.
"Yeah," Jay nodded. "Us," he repeated, confirming that Erin did hear right.
Erin bit her lips, her mind trying to understand what Jay was trying to implicate. Her mouth parted like she wanted to say something but then closed it, pressing her lips together, her brows furrowing in thought. Jay understood then that he needed to make his case.
"I'm just saying," Jay began, "Frankie loves us and we love her. I can't think of a better home for her than here, with us."
"But….Jay," Erin stammered, tripping over her words. "We both work a lot and I have to travel a lot."
"I don't," Jay countered. He shifted his body so he was turned towards Erin and took her hand. "Erin, I don't know about you but I don't think I can say goodbye to her again and watch her leave with another family. Not when we can give her a home and a family right here."
"Yeah, I don't think I can either," Erin agreed.
"So when you're out of town, I can take care of her. I mean, we live like five feet apart. She'll have two homes and two parents that love her and that can take care of her."
Erin thought over his offer and Jay knew he was quickly winning her over. Not that it took much, only Erin's insecurities about her ability to take care of someone was stopping her. But Jay needed her to understand that she wouldn't be alone in taking care of Frankie. He was here and they would be in it together.
"Erin, I know how much you love her. I love her, too. I think she was always meant to be here with the both of us. We can't let her go again," Jay stated.
Erin nodded and laced their fingers together, squeezing his hand. "Yeah, we can't let her go again. She came back to us for a reason right?"
"Right."
Erin's contemplative expression quickly morphed into a smile. "Okay, let's adopt Frankie."
"Yeah?" Jay asked, wanting to make sure that Erin was certain.
"Yeah," Erin confirmed, her smile getting bigger as she became more sure of her decision. "She belongs with us."
Jay quickly matched her smile with an excited grin of his own and he captured her lips in a kiss. He cupped her face and ran his thumb over her jaw. Then he looked at Frankie who was looking at both of them like she could understand what they were saying. "Did you hear that girl? Jay asked, rubbing her fur.
Frankie barked like she was answering his question. Erin chuckled.
"You get to stay here with us, girl," Jay explained excitedly. "You're staying here forever. We'll be a family."
"A family of three," Erin said.
"At least for now," Jay added, immediately catching Erin's eyes as his two words opened up a whole lot of unspoken meanings and revealed his wishes for their future. He held the eye contact, silently gauging Erin's reaction at what he was implying. That he wished, saw and wanted a future with Erin. A future that had children in it.
Jay released the breath that he didn't even know he was holding when Erin's surprised expression softened into a tender one. "Our girl," Erin whispered as she softly stroked Frankie's fur.
Jay's words of 'hopefully the first of many' remained unspoken when Erin leaned forward to press her soft lips against his. He quickly deepened the kiss, his hand going around Erin's waist to pull her closer. Frankie being the smartest dog that Jay knew leapt off of Erin's lap and sauntered over to her bed that Erin had laid out by the fireplace. Jay took advantage of Frankie's quick thinking and tugged Erin closer. Erin climbed onto his lap, their lips remained locked, as Jay leaned back against the couch. Jay's fingers were touching every patch of naked skin on Erin's back as her shirt rode up. He groaned when Erin pressed down on Jay and he tossed his head back, giving Erin access to press kisses on his neck. He squeezed her hips as her lips kept working their magic on his skin and Jay was getting harder. He needed her now so he wound his arms around Erin and quickly flipped them around so now Erin was lying on the couch with Jay hovering over her. He kissed her forehead, lips, neck— spending extra time tasting the sweet skin on her collarbone— before his lips found home again on her lips. Their lips stayed locked as best they could as he quickly stripped Erin of her shirt and pants before getting rid of his own clothes. Under the soft lights of Erin's living room, she was absolutely gorgeous to him, her skin contrasting perfectly against the dark leather of the couch.
Jay smiled as their bare bodies pressed up against each other, Jay loving the feeling of Erin's body underneath his. "I love you," he whispered into her forehead as he positioned himself against her entrance, Erin opening her legs further to invite him in.
"I love you too," Erin replied, looking up at him with nothing but love and trust in those hazel eyes that he loved so much.
"Frankie, close your eyes, girl," Jay teased, both of them glancing over to Frankie by the fireplace who wasn't paying them any attention, too busy playing with the chew toy that Erin had bought him. Seeing that Frankie was busy in a world of her own, Jay leaned down to kiss Erin as he entered her slowly, swallowing Erin's moans.
Then for the remainder of the night, Jay and Erin were lost in their own world, where all that existed were passion, love and insatiable appetite for each other as they brought each other over the brink of pleasure over and over again.
(17)
"This guy is squeaky clean. There's no dirt on him in any of these files. Nothing, nada, zilch," Adam complained, slamming down the file onto the desk in frustration.
"You're surprised that the fact that a foreign ambassador is also secretly the head of a drug ring isn't written on a file?" Kevin quipped, teasing Adam who flipped him off in return.
"We don't know that for sure," Hailey corrected, her head buried in the file.
"I'm pretty sure we do," Kevin countered. "The security cams caught him entering the site, we have him on a wire talking about his deals. Hell, aside from catching him sitting on the pile of coke that he's peddling out to the streets, I don't know how else we could be more sure."
Hailey didn't reply and instead rolled her eyes.
"Still, I mean this guy is the Colombian diplomat. He works for the government and with the government. We can't just go accusing him of being the ringleader for a cocaine operation all willy-nilly," Kim pointed out. "Don't diplomats have diplomatic immunity anyway?"
"Not in Chicago, not on my turf, he doesn't," Voight chimed in, all of them looking at their Sergeant's chilling reply.
"All I'm saying is that we should get more information on this guy before we come down on him and I don't know, inadvertently cause an international relations crisis or something," Adam said.
"Big words you're using there, Ruzek. Glad my 'word of the day' present is doing you good," Jay ribbed, earning a punch on the shoulder by Adam. Voight looked less than amused by the interaction so Jay just cleared his throat and turned his attention back onto the case.
"We have five dead girls, one of them a student, because of this guy's dope. I don't care about causing a fucking international crisis. We're stopping him one way or another," Voight interjected, all of them nodding in response. "What else do we know about this guy?"
"Aside from the fact that he's a diplomat and that his visits in Chicago always happen to coincide with the drug ring making moves here? Not much else," Kevin answered. "It's not like our database is exactly equipped to dig up information on international players."
"Yeah, it would be nice, say, to have...oh I don't know….a connection to Interpol. Or at least a connection to someone with connections to Interpol," Adam said suggestively, nudging Jay's shoulder.
"What?" Jay asked, frowning. "Me?'
Adam rolled his eyes. "Who else here is dating a FBI agent that has those connections besides you?"
"Erin?" Jay asked again. "You want me to ask Erin to help?"
Kevin, Adam and Kim exchanged a look with each other before nodding at Jay. "Yeah, why not? She has those connections with Interpol right? She can get us more information on this guy so we can actually build a solid case against him instead of just circumstantial evidence," Kim spoke. "You don't think Erin would mind, do you?"
Jay stood up straighter from where he was leaning against his desk and rubbed his forehead with his finger. "No, I don't think so." He knew Erin wouldn't mind helping them out, especially if he was the one asking. But she was away on a business trip to D.C with her boss and he knew that it was an important trip so he wasn't too keen on bothering her.
"Can you ask her?" Kim asked again.
Jay licked his lips. "Yeah, I can but she's not in Chicago right now. She's in D.C until the end of the week. I can text her and ask." He took out his phone and texted Erin, apologizing in advance for bothering her. Not even a minute later, Erin replied, stating that she didn't mind helping out a bit and that she would get in touch with her contact at Interpol.
"Erin said that her contact at Interpol should get us the information we need pretty soon," Jay announced to the group, shooting a thank you text to Erin. He tried to hold back the smile when she sent him a heart emoji in response, not wanting his co-workers to see how sappy she had him.
"Awesome!" Adam exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in glee.
"How long is the information gonna take?" Hailey asked, grabbing everyone's attention. "I'm sure they're busy over at Interpol and we need the info now."
"We can wait," Kevin pointed out. "It's not like we can go barging in and knocking the door of the ambassador down right away anyway."
"She said an hour. A couple of hours at most," Jay explained.
"And in that hour, we could've gone and talked to my C.I and get actual information," Hailey argued, a stern look on her face. "It's better than just standing around here and waiting for information that may or may not come."
"It'll come," Jay countered, narrowing his eyes at Hailey.
Hailey rolled her eyes as she caught the confused looks that other people were throwing at her. "I just don't like standing around, waiting for the almighty Interpol to bail us out. We never needed their help before and we don't need them now."
"To be fair, we've never dealt with an ambassador or someone with an international connection like this before," Kim pointed out. "We may be out of our depth here and the more intel we have on him the better."
"And we can get it," Hailey bit back, standing up and crossing her arms. "I have a C.I that has ties to the drug ring. Or are we suddenly just too good for regular C.I's now?"
Jay held back the words he wanted to say as to why Hailey was acting so difficult about this. An hour or so wasn't too long of a wait and it wasn't as though they had plans to go arrest the guy anytime soon anyways so why Hailey felt the need to rush and argue with the rest of the team was baffling.
"Hailey, let's just wait," Vanessa advised, shooting Hailey a look. She tossed one back, the two of them having a conversation with their eyes.
Voight huffed, shaking his head, clearly annoyed by how his team couldn't get on the same page "We wait. I have a meeting with the Ivory Tower anyway. Let me know as soon as you get the info!" Voight ordered before he left the bullpen.
Kim, Adam and Kevin ignored the tense atmosphere and shuffled back to their desk and Rojas approached and tried to talk to Hailey but the latter just held her hand up, stopping her before stalking off to the break room. Jay sat back down at his desk, glancing back to the break room when he heard Hailey loudly slam the coffee carafe. He closed his eyes, debating with himself if he should even go over and find out what was wrong with his partner. In the end, he gave in. As tense as things were between them, at the end of the day they were still partners. Hailey had been there for him before and he should do the same for her.
"You okay?" he hedged carefully when he noticed how rigid she looked when she heard his voice, clenching the counter.
"All I'm saying is that we have my C.I and we can find out intel on this Chavez guy. We don't need some fancy Interpol. Voight hates other people butting into our cases but he's fine with this?"
"You're talking about the C.I that you got last year? The one that used to deal for the Santos boys?" Jay asked, trying to remember the C.I that Hailey tried to turn last year. All Jay knew about the guy was that he was a notorious snitch and a weasel— not much of a surprise there given that he was a C.I— but this one was not trustworthy. He had somehow wormed his way into different drug operations, no sense of loyalty to anyone. That type of C.I was the most dangerous to work with because you just never know who the guy was truly working for, whether his information was legit or if he was just setting up a trap for them.
"Yeah, I've been working him to get information on Chavez. He said he can help for a price."
"How much?"
"He's in the hole for $20k for a gambling debt. We bail him out, he tells us what we want."
Jay scoffed. "You know Voight's not paying $20k up front for info, especially when we don't know if the intel is even going to pan out."
"Yeah, it's Voight's way or the highway," Hailey mumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Besides, why pay when we're getting the info for free?" Jay asked, wondering why Hailey was so against getting Interpol's help. He had a theory of his own. At the risk of sounding self-absorbed, if he had to guess why his partner was so bothered by getting Interpol's help, it might have something to do with Erin's part in the whole thing.
Hailey looked like she was about to reply but quickly shut her mouth, rubbing her face with her hand. "Never mind," was all she said before leaving the break room in a hurry.
"Where are you going, Hailey?" Jay asked, getting a bad feeling about the whole thing.
"I'm not going to sit around. I'm gonna go talk to my C.I," Hailey said, determined.
"So he's just going to give you the info for free? You can't sign out $20k from the 1505 fund without Voight signing off on it," Jay said, following her. "Hailey, you can't just show up to wherever this C.I is and go into there blind."
But his words were falling on deaf ears as Hailey sped up, catching everyone's attention in the bullpen.
"Upton!" Jay called, trying to stop his partner from doing something foolish but she wasn't listening. He groaned in frustration, rubbing his face. He knew that he couldn't let Hailey go see this sketchy C.I by herself, no matter how much of a bad idea Jay thought it was. So he followed her down the stairs, turning around in surprise when he heard footsteps behind him. Kim gave him a knowing look.
"You need back-up," Kim just said, understanding the situation without him having to say a thing. It was obvious that Hailey had a one-track mind right now to prove her point and if they were going to go into a potentially dangerous situation, it was better to have at least two rational people involved.
Jay tried to convince Hailey to turn around on their way there, trying to reason with her that it wasn't a good idea to show up out of the blue at this C.I's house. But Hailey rebuffed his pleading, driving until they arrived at a run-down looking house.
"Hailey," Jay tried one last time but Hailey just slammed the car door.
"Look, Halstead. We're partners so you can come and back me up or you can stay here. Either way, I'm going and I'm getting the intel we need to stop this son of a bitch, Chavez. Your choice."
Jay glanced over at Kim, who was waiting to see what he would do. He knew that there was no way he could let a member of his team go in alone so he got out of the car, Kim following.
"Be careful," he warned them both as they approached the house, his hand already on his gun that was on his hip.
They walked closer to the house, Jay's eyes and ears alert for anything that was off. He didn't know this C.I and didn't know how much he could trust him. Hell, they could be walking into an ambush for all he knew.
"I've been trying to turn him for a year," Hailey said as they got on the front porch. "Roman!" she yelled out, knocking on the door. "It's Upton. I know you have info about Chavez."
There was no answer coming from the other side, no verbal indication that this Roman was even home. Hailey knocked again, yelling at him to open the door.
"Wait," Jay stopped Hailey as she was about to knock again, his ears perking up at the muffled noise he heard from the other side. As soon as he heard the faint but familiar clicking sound of a gun, his instincts kicked in, his body taking over.
"Down!" he managed to shout before pushing both Hailey and Kim down to the ground, getting the wind knocked out of him from the impact. He tried to get up and take action but was having a hard time. Everything sounded muffled and far away and at first, he thought it was just from the loud bang in close proximity. He heard muffled shuffling of feet and indistinct footsteps and noises that he couldn't identify. It wasn't until pain started creeping in that Jay realized what had happened.
"Jay!" he heard the panicked voices above him but he couldn't register who was shouting. It had to be Hailey or Kim, that was all he knew. He couldn't lift his head up to check. Hell, he couldn't even lift his arm but he knew that he was bleeding from his chest. Then pale and fear stricken faces of Hailey and Kim came into view, both of them hovering above him, shouting something at him that he couldn't hear. Something was pulling him under, his eyes wanting to be close no matter how hard he tried.
"Stay…..Jay…." broken words continued above him but they were all muffled and incoherent.
"Er…." Jay tried to get out, the feeling of choking stopping him from speaking. He felt something pressing on his chest, his mind too tired to comprehend that it was Kim trying to stop him from bleeding out.
"Jay," he saw Hailey's mouth call his name.
"Erin," was the last thing he gasped out before darkness pulled him under.
xxxxxxx
Erin never felt fear like this before. Even when she had stared down the barrel of a gun, she had never been as scared as she was this moment. Getting the panicked call from Kim a couple of hours ago and hearing the distress in her friend's voice as she informed Erin that Jay had gotten shot and was being rushed into surgery had sent Erin into a tailspin. All she knew was that she needed to get back to Chicago right away.
She packed in a rush and had gotten the first flight out of D.C straight back to Chicago. She didn't even have time to explain to her boss before getting on the flight and she rushed straight over to the Chicago Med as soon as she landed. If she was fired then she was fired. Her job wasn't as important as being here for Jay.
She ran inside the hospital, earning looks from other people around her but she didn't notice any of them. She had a tunnel vision to get to Jay as soon as possible. She turned the corner and saw the Intelligence team gathered in a group along with Will and Natalie.
"Erin," Kim called out as soon as she noticed her and she pulled Erin into a hug. While Erin was grateful for her friend's comfort, what she really needed right now was to find out what happened.
"Jay?" she gasped out, unable to breathe as she waited for the answer.
"He's still in surgery," Kim began to explain, still holding onto Erin. "They said it looked as good as it could be but…" Kim shook her head.
"What happened though?" Erin asked, needing to know just how Jay had gotten shot…..again.
"We were at this C.I's house and I don't know….all of a sudden Jay just pulled me and Hailey down to the ground. We didn't even realize that Jay had gotten hit until we got the C.I."
Erin clenched her eyes shut, hearing Kim tell her what happened. "Where was he shot?"
"In his chest," Kim replied, Erin's eyes widening. "But the medics said it managed to avoid all the major arteries. Erin, he'll be okay."
Erin was feeling dizzy, like her body had been running on fumes and now all the adrenaline was gone. All she was left with was uncertainty and a waiting game until Jay came out of his surgery. Kim gave her another hug then the rest of the members aside from Hailey and Rojas came up to Erin, pulling her into hugs of their own.
"Halstead's strong, he'll pull through," Kevin said, squeezing Erin. All she could do was nod in return, unable to muster up enough energy to respond with words. She knew that Jay was strong and that he was resilient but then he also had a hole in his chest. Despite Kim reassuring her that things looked good, Erin knew she wouldn't be able to take a proper breath until she could see Jay with her own two eyes and he was giving her the grin that she loved so much.
"Erin," she heard WIll call her name and they shared a hug, two of the most important people to Jay seeking comfort in each other. "He'll be alright."
"Yeah," Erin muttered out.
"I know my brother and I know how stubborn he is. He'll pull through."
"He will," Erin agreed, trying to return some reassurance back to Will. "We have a lot of plans left. He'll be okay."
The waiting game was torture for Erin. With every footstep, Erin found herself looking up, thinking it was the doctor with the news about Jay and his prognosis. Seconds turned into minutes into hours. Kim remained by her side, Will on the other side with Voight across from her, all of them giving her silent support. Kevin and Adam tried to fill in the silence, asking people if they needed coffee or something to eat. Hailey and Vanessa sat a couple of chairs away, the latina holding onto Hailey's hand in support. Hailey looked devastated, like she was consumed with guilt. Erin's thoughts wandered off to what exactly happened that landed Jay in the hospital but she left it aside for now. All that was important was that Jay was alright.
Finally, the doctor came out, all of them standing up to hear the news.
"Is he okay?" they all clamored around the surgeon.
"Detective Halstead pulled through surgery," the surgeon started, Erin's chest filling with relief at the news. "The bullet was through and through and managed to avoid all the major arteries and vital organs. We cleaned out the wound, repaired the injuries and patched him up. He got very lucky that there were no complications during the surgery. He could even get out of here in a few days and with some bed rest, he should be able to make a full recovery."
That was all the good news she could've hoped for and Erin thanked all the higher power in the world for keeping Jay safe.
"Thank you so much," she said to the surgeon, shaking his hand for saving the love of her life. "Can we see him?"
"He's in post-op right now and he'll be taken to his room in a couple of hours," the surgeon replied.
"Great!" Adam cheered. "We can go see him then."
The surgeon held up his hand. "Wait. He can't have too many visitors at once. He did just undergo a surgery."
"Got it. We won't overcrowd him," Adam added sheepishly.
The surgeon smiled. "That'll be a good idea. A couple of visitors at a time should be manageable. Someone will let you know when he's transferred to a room. A nurse will come and get you then." With that the surgeon left, all of them exhaling in relief that Jay would be fine.
It was another waiting as they sat and waited for the nurse to come and get them to see Jay. Erin was clutching onto Kim's hand the entire time as the latter quietly informed her of what really happened before and during the shooting. Then finally, the nurse came out and immediately, they all stood up.
"Uh, as much as I'm sure Detective Halstead would be happy to know that he has so many loved ones, I can't let you guys in all at once," the nurse said as everyone crowded around her. They looked around at each other, wondering how to decide the order to go see Jay. "he just woke up from the anesthesia, he's groggy but that's to be expected. As I was saying, you can't all go see him at once so seeing as how he kept asking for an Erin,I suggest she'd be the first visitor," the nurse added cheekily.
That was all the permission Erin needed to follow the nurse down the hallway to see Jay. Erin was greeted by the steady beeping noises of the machines that Jay was hooked up to as she entered his room. Jay looked pale as he laid in the hospital bed and Erin had to keep reminding herself that he was alright, he was still here and he would make a full recovery. Jay had his eyes closed but as soon as he heard her footsteps, he opened his eyes.
"Hi," he whispered, smiling as best he could when he saw Erin; although, it came off more as a grimace than anything. Erin immediately went over to his bedside and took his hand, intertwining their fingers together like he was her lifeline. She pressed a long kiss on his forehead, just letting herself feel his warm skin underneath her lips. She needed reassurance and proof that he was there with her, that his heart was still beating.
When she did finally manage to pull herself away momentarily, she studied his face, her finger gently touching the skin under Jay's eyes. She sat down on the chair next to the bed, still unable to let his hand go, clutching it with her own.
"Hey," she returned, her voice sounding even raspier than usual. "How are you feeling?"
"Loopy," Jay replied, earning a chuckle from Erin. "Whatever they got me on, it feels good."
Erin shook her head fondly at how Jay was still able to crack a joke while laying in the hospital bed.
"So I'm still alive huh?" Jay mumbled.
"Yeah," Erin replied, nodding. "The doctor said you'll make a full recovery so you're still stuck with me."
"Mmm," Jay hummed, smiling. "Best thing I've heard all day."
Erin reached up and softly ran her fingers through his hair, Jay closing his eyes at the pleasurable sensation. "Do you need anything?" Erin asked, wanting to do something-anything— other than just sit there.
Jay shook his head. "Just stay."
That didn't even need to be said. There was no way Erin was leaving Jay's side anytime soon. So she just continued softly stroking Jay's hair and his face, hoping that what she was doing was bringing Jay a little comfort.
"Sorry that you had to leave D.C," Jay murmured after a while. Erin had the urge to thump Jay for even apologizing for getting shot. "I know the trip was important," Jay added, his voice raspy and hoarse.
"Stop," Erin chided him, shaking her head. "There's nothing to apologize for."
"Still…" Jay began but got interrupted as he began to cough. Erin quickly got him a cup of water and helped him drink it. Then she opted to remain on the edge of the bed instead of the chair so she can be closer to Jay.
"You're an idiot," Erin said, both exasperated and fond simultaneously, "I can't believe that after everything we've been through this past year, you still don't know that there's nothing-nothing— in this world that's more important to me than you." Her words got Jay giving her a dopey grin, all looped up from the medication. She rolled her eyes fondly and cupped his chin, locking her gaze on him. "I don't care about my job, Jay. Or my boss. I don't care about having to leave some stupid meeting. If you need me, I'm there, no matter what."
"Glad to know," Jay replied.
"That doesn't mean you can go and get shot up again," Erin warned him sternly, her eyes falling onto the bandage that was peeking out underneath his hospital gown. All of a sudden, her eyes started watering and even though she tried to hold it in, she couldn't help but let a sob escape her mouth.
"Erin," Jay whispered as he saw her begin to cry, trying to lift up his arm so he could comfort her. But Erin stopped him, not wanting him to make unnecessary movement for her benefit.
"Sorry," Erin apologized, trying to wipe away her tears. But they kept on coming down, like raindrops, cascading down her face. She just wasn't used to seeing Jay like this. She had never seen him laid up in the hospital bed, hooked up to machines before. Jay was always the strong one— invulnerable and indestructible. During their years as partners, they looked out for each other and protected each other and she was fortunate enough that Jay had never gotten hurt like this before. So seeing Jay like this was unfamiliar and it was just absolutely horrible.
"Erin, I'm okay," Jay reassured her, his hand resting on her thigh.
"Yeah, I know," Erin nodded, trying to show him a smile instead of a face full of tears. "It's just seeing you like this….." she trailed off.
Jay gave her an understanding look. While this was new for her, it was hardly the first time Jay had gotten shot or badly injured on the job. It just happened to occur when Erin wasn't his partner and she was in New York.
"I get it," Jay spoke. "If I was in your position…" They just continued to gaze at each other, trying to take a moment to themselves that everything would be alright.
Erin left the room a little while later. Despite wanting to stay by Jay's side, it was only fair that other members would get to see Jay too. Trying to occupy herself until she could get back to Jay, she took out her phone. She did need to call her boss and let him know what happened. She was heading outside to call and turned the corner when she came upon Vanessa and Hailey in a conversation. They had gone to see Jay briefly and had disappeared but it seemed as though they were here.
Erin couldn't help the annoyance that began to bubble up in her body at seeing them, especially when she could overhear what they were saying from where she was.
"...my fault," Erin heard Hailey say, tugging at her blonde hair. "We shouldn't have been at that house."
"You can't blame yourself," Vanessa replied. "You didn't know what was going to happen."
"Jay did," Hailey shot back. "He warned me not to go but I didn't listen. I was just caught up with my anger. I just wanted to prove that I was right. This is the third time I have to watch him get shot. I'm his partner. Do you know just how much of a failure I feel like?"
"Hailes, this is not your fault. I know how protective you are of him. And apparently, he's protective of you too." Hailey glanced up at what Vanessa was saying. "You said that he pushed you out of the way right?" Hailey nodded in reply. "And you think that he doesn't have feelings for you?"
Erin clenched her jaw at what Vanessa said, trying to hold her anger back. Kim had filled her in on what exactly happened while they were waiting for the nurse to come get them. She had told her of the argument that Jay and Hailey had, Hailey's refusal to accept Interpol's help, her insistence on going to see the C.I despite others telling her that it was a bad idea. Kim also told her that Jay had tried to convince Hailey the whole drive there to turn back but to no avail. How Jay being Jay was not going to let anyone go in alone without back-up and how he had pushed both Kim and Hailey down when he was the first one to hear the gun.
If Erin was being rational, she understood that she couldn't blame Hailey. No one wanted their partner to get hurt, that was obvious. So was the fact that Hailey cared about Jay and didn't want him to get shot. Shit happened, especially at their jobs. But it was hard to remain entirely rational when Jay was laying in the hospital bed and Vanessa was too busy trying to stoke the fire.
Erin had tried to stay out of Jay's partnership with Hailey, letting Jay decide how he wanted to deal with the unexpected shift in it. Jay had been upfront with Erin about everything from the start— from Hailey's unrequited feelings for him, to Vanessa confronting Jay at Kevin's party and how Jay was conflicted between not wanting to hurt Hailey further vs. thinking it would be a good idea to switch partners temporarily. Erin told him that she supported him with whatever Jay decided, whether it'd be switching partners or staying with Hailey. Erin trusted Jay and there was no second guessing on her behalf that she was the one Jay wanted to be with and there was no seeds of doubt in her mind that Jay was being truthful when he told her that he had no feelings for Hailey beyond partnership.
But still, it was irritating to hear Vanessa urge Hailey on, planting false hopes in her mind.
"I'm telling you, don't give up," Vanessa continued. "Fight for your man. You can't let someone else come in and take Jay."
Hailey just sighed and rubbed her face. "I just wish we could just go back in time," she confessed. "That things were like before between us. Before Erin came back to Chicago. Maybe if she stayed in New York, things would be different for us."
Having heard enough, Erin approached them, catching the two women off-guard. Erin had tried to stay out of the partnership, kept her opinions to herself when it came to Hailey having feelings for Jay because she didn't want to complicate things further and made things worse for them. But it was time that she and Hailey had a talk.
"Can I talk to you, Hailey," Erin asked, glancing over at Vanessa. "Alone," she added. Vanessa looked like she wanted to protest. "She'll be fine," Erin said to Vanessa. "Hailey's a big girl."
Vanessa didn't look entirely happy about leaving but gave in, walking away and leaving her and Hailey alone.
"She's just protective of me as a best friend. She's just being a good friend," Hailey said as she stood up to match Erin's height.
"Yeah but there are different ways to be a good friend," Erin replied. "Sometimes, it's better to hear the harsh truth from your best friend than false hopes because they don't want to hurt your feelings."
Hailey seemed to understand that the conversation between them was no longer avoidable and she straightened up and crossed her arms. "False hopes?"
"I'm not going to beat around the bush here, Hailey and I think it's finally time we address the elephant in the room," Erin began. "Jay."
"Jay."
"We're not in high school, fighting over a boy here. I know that you have feelings for Jay and I know that he has made it clear to you several times about where he stood." Erin saw Hailey's face tense, her eyes turned frosty. "I tried to stay out of it because I know that your partnership is important to him and I don't want to get in the middle of that."
"Too late for that."
Erin scoffed. "My relationship with Jay has nothing to do with your work partnership with him, Hailey. You guys are partners on the job, that's it." Erin wasn't a territorial person and she hated being catty. She tried to avoid this confrontation with Hailey because she didn't want to be the bad guy or be one of those typical girls that felt the need to mark her territory. But if Hailey wasn't going to respect Jay's feelings and if Vanessa was going to continue to feed into the delusion that there was something more between them, then Erin had no problem stepping in. She'd gladly be the villain if it meant that situation like today could be avoided and no one would get hurt.
"My partnership with Jay has nothing to do with you too," Hailey shot back.
Erin pursed her lips, trying to remain in control of her emotion. She wanted to remain calm and rational but firm and anger and getting in Hailey's face wasn't going to help the situation. "Hailey, let's just lay all of our cards on the table here. You're in love with Jay."
Hailey wasn't going to deny it. "Yes. I love him."
"Then you should respect his decision when he told you that he doesn't have romantic feelings for you. Jay and I are together. I know you don't like me and that I'm back in Jay's life."
"I just don't trust you to not hurt Jay like you did the last time," Hailey argued. "How do I know that you won't just get up and leave Jay like you did before?"
Erin sighed. "You don't know and you don't need to know. I don't need you to trust me. Jay trusts me. I'm here. I'm staying. We're together and we're committed. All you need to do is just respect Jay's choice. And I know Vanessa thinks she's being a good friend and being supportive but we both know that Jay is the type of person that would've done what he did today for anyone else." Jay was a protector by nature and he was an Army Ranger. It was practically instilled in him to protect others— even if it meant taking a bullet himself. He did it because he cared about Hailey and Kim and he'd rather he get hurt instead of them.
Hailey remained quiet, unable to respond back to Erin.
Erin exhaled, wanting to just finish the conversation. "Look Hailey, you might hate me but I don't hate you. What happened today, it's not your fault and I know that Jay doesn't blame you. If your partnership with Jay is important to you then you need to focus on fixing that, not on something that's not going to happen. I respect your partnership with Jay and you need to respect our relationship because I'm protective of people I love and I'm not the type to just stand idly by."
With that Erin walked away, having said everything she needed to say. All she wanted to do right now was get back to Jay.
She headed back to Jay's room after talking to her boss and explaining the situation. She walked in the room and saw Jay and Voight wrapping up a conversation. Jay gave her a blinding smile when he saw her and Erin walked over to him, taking his offered hand.
"That's my cue to leave," Voight said. "He's been waiting for you," he said to Erin.
Erin sat down as Voight made his exit. "You guys look like you were having an important conversation."
"Yeah," Jay replied, licking his lips. "I...uh...I told him that it'd be best if me and Hailey switched partners when I get back."
"Really?" Erin asked, wondering what had prompted Jay to go ahead with his decision.
"I don't blame Hailey for what happened but let's face it, we've been trying to get back to normal. I've given her time but I think what we really need is some distance."
Erin nodded. "You know I support you with whatever you decide right?"
Jay smiled, beckoning her closer. She sat down on the edge of the bed and met Jay's waiting lips. "I know," Jay whispered as Erin leaned her forehead against his. "Thank you for trusting me."
"Easy task," Erin replied, pecking his nose.
After helping Jay get settled in bed a little later, Erin sat back down on the chair again, their hands still holding onto each other. It was like Erin didn't want to let go of him, even for a second.
"Do you need anything else?" Erin asked, wanting Jay to feel as comfortable as he could be.
"Yeah. I want to go home and lay in our bed with my girls," Jay answered. Erin chuckled, knowing just how much Jay hated hospitals.
"In a couple of days," Erin assured him. "Then we can go home and we can just lay in bed. You, me and Frankie. Then I can be your special nurse until you recover."
"Mmm,," Jay hummed, closing his eyes in happiness at the idea. "That sounds perfect. I can't wait."
Erin stood up and laid a kiss on Jay's forehead. "Get some sleep."
"Already so bossy," Jay teased before setting in position to sleep. "Yes, Nurse Erin."
Erin shook her head, tucking Jay in as he drifted back into much needed rest and Erin sat back down, the steady beeps of Jay's heartbeat on the machine accompanying her.
A/N: Frankie's back! Of course I had to bring her back! Everyone say 'hi' to Frankie.