A/N: A little case, and then some more developments about Linstead's future. Let me know what you think :)
The next morning, Erin went into work only to find out that the team had been called out to a crime scene in Garfield Park. When they got back, everyone looked particularly forlorn. Although they didn't do cheery work, most of the time the team were like normal colleagues with lots of jokes and banter to keep up morale. But sometimes there was a case which affected everyone more than normal and they usually involved kids. This time it was two kids who got caught in the crossfire of a drive by shooting. Antonio caught Erin up when the team got back to the bullpen, two kids were playing outside their house before school when a car drove by and released five shots. All bullets were supposedly intended for the boy selling drugs on the corner but only one hit him and it only got his thigh. But the remaining four bullets hit the kids and they were both dead before their mum had come out the front door to see what was happening. Erin felt all the air leave her lungs when Antonio said it was kids, with her now being a mum she had the overwhelming urge to rip off the heads of whoever pulled the trigger. Half the team were out canvassing the neighbourhood to see if anyone saw anything, or knew which gang rivaled the one who was selling drugs on the corner. Erin and Antonio went to speak to the mum to see if she noticed anything out of the ordinary that morning, but they couldn't get much information from her because every time they asked her a question she burst into tears. The other half of the team were searching through street cameras and shop cameras to see if they could make out the number plate of the car or follow its journey back to where the people resided. It was a long slog, staring at a screen for hours but eventually Ruzek found a street camera that caught the number plate of the car from the corner of the road. The car turned out to be stolen, but Mouse managed to use street cameras to follow its journey away from the scene. The car ended up at a G Park Lords stash house, so everyone started reaching out to their CI's to see what they knew.
XXX
By the next morning one of Al's Ci's had come through with information. Overnight when the gang's young runners were hanging out in the park, two of the boys were bragging about taking down a rival corner boy. He gave up the names of the shooter and the driver but told Al that he wouldn't come in to make a statement because it would be too risky. Isaiah Johnson and James Little were the two suspects and were known to hang around an old diner only a few roads away from the crime scene. It was Atwater and Ruzek who were sent to pick up the two boys, but it proved harder than they originally thought when both boys ran away when they saw the officers approaching. Eventually they managed to get both boys under control and then handcuffed so they could bring them into the precinct. Once they were in separate interrogation rooms it was clear which boy was the leader and which boy was the follower. Isaiah was tough and he talked back to Voight with sass and sarcasm, whereas James crumbled as soon as he was alone, even though he was only being interrogated by Erin who wasn't nearly as intimidating as Voight. After seeing the pictures of the two kids, James broke down in tears, he hadn't realised anyone other than the rival dealer had been hit. He quickly made a statement, turned on his friend and took up the plea deal that Erin offered. But Isaiah showed no remorse, even when he saw the photos of the kids, even when Voight had told him that his friend had turned on him. Both boys were taken away to holding until they could be transferred later in the day.
XXX
When Erin got home later that day, she found Jay on the sofa watching tv. He looked so calm and relaxed that Erin didn't want to disturb him, but at that moment in time she wanted nothing more than to be held in his arms. Erin quietly moved further into the apartment and sat down next to him. "Hey babe, how was your day?" He said, only to be given a look which said she didn't want to talk about it. "Ok… so not great, how about you take a long bath while I make some dinner, then we cuddle and watch the game," he said. She just nodded and then made her way into their bedroom. When Erin returned to the kitchen, Jay was just finishing making dinner. "Oooh it smells amazing in here. What are you making?" she said, closing her eyes and breathing in the succulent aroma. "Your favourite - I had a bad day and want food to fix it – meal. Spaghetti bolognese. Plus I bought tons of cheese so we can fully indulge," Jay responded with a wide grin, knowing he had already made her day better.
XXX
Later on when they were in bed and Erin was engulfed in Jays arms, she whispered his name to see if he was still awake. He was, so she said, "Thanks for tonight. I've had a terrible couple of days and I hate when cases involve kids but relaxing with you tonight has made me feel so much better. I love you," she punctuated her sentence with a yawn and slowly drifted off to sleep in his arms. And although Erin was sleeping soundly, Jay was restless with her in his arms. He had so many thoughts racing through his mind that he couldn't settle down enough to fall asleep. The feeling he had with Erin resting against his chest was one that he never wanted to give up. He wanted to wake up every morning to look at her face and he wanted to go to bed every night with her in his arms. That was the moment that Jay decided he was going to propose, so they could be together every day for the rest of their lives.
XXX
The next time Jay saw Will was a few days later at the hospital when Jay was in for his physical therapy appointment. Jay was sweaty from the hard work and he was tired from the emotional energy PT took from him, but he wanted to talk to his brother while Erin wasn't around. "Will, wait up man," Jay called out, doing his best to walk to his brother as quickly as possible. "Jay! How are you? How was physical therapy?" Will asked, happy to see his brother smiling. "I'm fine, it was fine. Everything is fine. That's not what I found you to talk about. I was wondering if you had mum's ring…" Jay said, Will's eyes going wide at the implication of his brother's question. Jay continued, "I want to propose to Erin. Soon. And I want to do it with mum's ring…if you're ok with it. I just think mum would have really liked her and would have wanted Erin to have her ring. And if you're ok with it, I want to give it to her." Will stopped Jays movements by putting his hand on his brother's shoulder and then wrapped him in a bear hug. "Yes, of course you can have the ring. I'll bring it round tonight after shift, maybe I'll even stay for dinner... I'm so happy for you!" Will said, beaming at the thought of Jay finally getting his happy ending.
XXX
When Will knocked on the door, he heard the slow and steady tapping of Jay's cane against the floor until the door opened in front of him. Will said, "Hi, I've got the…" but was quickly interrupted by Jay loudly saying, " Hi Will, so glad you could come over for dinner," then Jay gave his brother a look that questioned his intelligence and then whispered, "what is wrong with you, Erin is making dinner right now. Were you actually about to announce that you'd brought the ring?" Will gave his brother an apologetic shrug before slipping the ring box into Jay's hand, so he could then step into the apartment to greet his future sister-in-law. As they were getting ready to eat dinner, Will saw the synergy between the couple as they both worked to finish the cooking and lay the table. They worked so well together, seamlessly switching between tasks, both confident that the other would do what needed to get done in order for them to sit down to dinner on time. During the meal, Will enjoyed joining in on their banter as they talked about their respective days and plans for the upcoming weekend. He left their apartment later that evening, content in the knowledge that Jay would soon be married and that his future home would be so different from their childhood home, it would be safe and happy.