The next time Erin Lindsay woke up, two things were immediately apparent: she felt safe and she really had to pee.
Slowly opening her eyes, Erin saw that the sun had gone down but the bedside lamp was on. Sitting in a chair near the night stand reading a book was the source of her safe feeling, Hank Voight. The last time she remembered waking up with Hank watching over her, she was 17 and had emergency surgery to remove her appendix. She had been so scared of being in the hospital but didn't want to appear weak by saying so out loud. Still, Hank just seemed to know and barely left her side the whole time she was in the hospital. She never got particularly good at hiding her true feelings from him.
"Hey, kid. I'm glad to see you awake." Sometime while she was lost in her memory, Hank had noticed she was awake and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Here, it's time for you to take these," he said as he handed her two of the pain killers and a glass of water. Erin gingerly sat up and took the offered medicine.
Once she finished the glass of water, Erin spoke. "It's good to see you too, Hank, but how did you know I was here?"
"When you showed up like you did, Jay panicked. He called Will first because you needed the medical attention, then he called me."'
"Too many people know I'm here now, it's not safe for you."
Hank leveled her with a stare. "Erin, you well know that I can take care of myself, but I can't help you until I know what's going on."
Erin let out a big sigh. As much as she wanted to keep everyone else safe, she knew that if anyone would be able to help her out of the situation she was now in, it would be Hank Voight.
"Okay, I'll fill you in. But first I really, really need to pee."
Hank chuckled at the embarrassed look on her face. "Come on, let's get you up." With that, Hank carefully helped her stand up out of bed. Erin discovered that someone had dressed her in a way too big pair of sweatpants that must belong to Jay and a large t-shirt. Someone, Jay if she had to guess, had even taken the time to put socks on her feet which she appreciated since they were always cold. Using Hank for support, she managed a slow shuffle to the bathroom. When they got to the door, Hank made a move like he planned to help her but Erin stopped him.
"I've got it from here," she said with a small smile. "I'll yell if I need anything."
"Okay, but if you're not out in 5 minutes I'm coming for you."
With a pat on his arm, Erin shut the door. Moving slowly and carefully, she was able to use the toilet and stand back up without too much pain. She was now standing at the sink washing her hands. A quick glance at the mirror confirmed she looked as crappy as she felt. The circles under her eyes were darker than the last time she'd seen her reflection, her skin had a grayish tint going, and god she hated the pink hair. She made a mental plan to dye it as soon as possible. Realizing Hank would soon be coming to check on her if she didn't hurry up, Erin left the bathroom and started a slow shuffle to the living room.
Once she turned the corner, she froze. Hank was on the couch waiting for her, but what gave her pause was seeing Jay for the first time in 6 months. The moment before she passed out, with his gun trained on her didn't really count. The two men were engaged in a hushed conversation and did not immediately notice her presence. It shouldn't have caught her off guard that he was there, this was his apartment after all. As she moved closer, Jay noticed her approach and the conversation between him and Voight stopped immediately. Hank stood to help her sit, then took the blanket from its place on the back of the couch and tucked her in before sitting beside her.
The three of them sat there in silence for a few long minutes. Erin could feel their eyes on her even though her eyes were on her own hands which were nervously fidgeting in her lap. She knew they were waiting for her to speak, but she had no idea where to start. At the sound of Jay's voice, her eyes shot up to meet his.
"Fine, I'll address the elephant in the room… what happened?"
AN: Alright, it's all set up now. The next chapter we will find out where Erin's been, what's happened the last 6 months, and how she turned up in Chicago. The chapter after that we will finally get to a lot of interaction between Jay and Erin.