December 30th passed in a whirlwind. Adam could barely keep up with me as I quickly moved, on my crutches, from one area of the hotel to another overseeing the set-up of tomorrow evening's New Year's Eve Gala. When Adam asked why this event was such a big deal, I explained to him "We are anticipating 250 guests, mostly VIP's from the city along with other invited guests. Half of the proceeds from each ticket purchased will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This will be the third time we have hosted the event, the first Gala took place three years ago, which was only a month after the hotel opened. Each year, the Executive Committee votes on a charity that will receive the proceeds. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a charity that is very near and dear to my heart so I am excited that the number of tickets purchased will result in a nice donation...a donation upwards of $30,000.00." I paused, turning to look at him with concern and worry written all over my face, "Adam, I can't risk anything going wrong tomorrow night. I need you guys to make sure none of the crap from the past week spills over to this event. It's way too important, not only to me and my career, but to the community and the hotel staff as well." Before he could answer, I moved away to discuss the menu one last time with the Executive Chef when I heard a voice with a slight accent from behind me say "Excuse me for interrupting, but are you Ms. Brennan, the General Manager?" I turned and looked up meeting the disapproving eyes of someone I had never seen before. "Yes. I am. How may I help you today?" I asked smiling, while warning bells were going off in my head. "I have a message for Halstead from El Gato and Ramon. You are to deliver the message." he said with a sick smile on his face. "Adam!" I screamed. "Bitch, you tell Halstead he isn't going to get away with being the reason Mariana is dead and as payback he's not going to be able to save you either." he said pulling out a knife aiming for my face. Before he could make contact, Adam tackled him as Dawson and Upton rushed into the Ballroom, followed by Stephen, the Director of Security. As Upton and Stephen took him down to the detention cell adjacent to the Security Office, I turned to Adam and Antonio and hissed "My office. Now!" I then turned to my Chef with a sweet, calm smile on my face and said "Chef Daniel, my apologies. I will meet you in your office in thirty minutes to continue our conversation and sign off on the description for the menu cards." As Adam and Antonio escorted me to my office I could feel my temper begin to boil over. "How the hell did he get in here?" I asked angrily. "What is the point of having extra security if the Cartel can still get to me? What is the point of having Chicago PD with me 24/7 if you can't fucking protect me? I can't have this shit follow me to work. There are members of the Board who are looking to get rid of me because of my age and because I am female. The Chairman of the Board freaked out when my name was somehow leaked to the press after the airport incident. I've worked too hard to let whatever the fuck the Cartel is doing mess up my career and my future. Because let me tell you, I'm going to have a future because there's no way they are going to kill me, or anyone else I care about. I'm expecting the two of you and the rest of Intelligence to come up with a really good plan for tomorrow night because what just happened can't happen again."

I turned to walk out of my office and saw Jay, Hank and Al standing in the doorway. I was too furious to talk to any of them at that point, and I saw the hurt in Jay's eyes as I maneuvered my way out of his grasp. "I need to go meet with my Chef and then make sure the rest of my staff isn't too freaked out by what just happened. Hank, I'm assuming you heard what I said to Dawson and Ruzek. I expect that you will come up with a better plan to ensure that this doesn't happen again." I continued down the hall when I decided I had enough of the crutches for good. Risking the angry lecture Connor was sure to give me, if he had to stitch me up again, I left my crutches at my Assistant's desk and walked out of the Executive Offices and headed in the direction of the kitchen. As I continued about my day, I didn't see anyone shadowing me which was both a relief and a little worrisome. What I didn't realize, after I left my office, Jay had tried to come after me. "Halstead, hold up. Let her cool off. This mistake was on us. How did the perp get in here?" Voight demanded to know. "I don't know Sarge. I mean I was by her side the entire time. I gave her a little space and was at another table while she was going over stuff for tomorrow night with the Chef. I didn't notice the guy in the room until he was already talking to her." Ruzek replied. Shit, he thought to himself as Dawson said he and Upton never saw the perp enter the hotel either. Ruzek's thoughts raced on...Halstead looks like he wants to kill me. And if he tells Burgess what almost happened I'll definitely be on the couch for a couple of weeks. "Sarge, do you want me to go find Christine? Stick with her for the rest of the day?" Ruzek asked Voight. "No. Ruzek, I want you and Al to take this guy back to the District. Throw him in an interrogation room and see if you can get anything out of him. I doubt we will be able to. The Cartel never rats on their own. I still want you to pull his information and see what you can use on him." Voight replied. Turning to Jay, he said "Halstead, take a walk with me." As Jay and Voight made their way out of my office, Jay saw my crutches and grabbed them shaking his head. "You better be careful with those. Your girl might just be angry enough to hit all of us with those." Voight said laughing. "Look Jay, I saw the look on your face when she avoided you. You should know by now what it's like to date an independent woman. Yes, there are times she will lean on you, but she is scared and pissed off right now. It's a situation she hasn't been in before and apparently after the well-deserved lashing she gave Ruzek, Dawson and me I'm willing to bet she wanted to calm down before she talked to you. I'm also willing to bet she is thinking your relationship is too new, and I mean less than 24 hours new, for her to be taking things out on you. She's a tough girl and from what I've read on her she is used to taking care of herself and everyone around her. She has similar qualities to Erin in that way, but she is completely different from Erin at the same time. She's going to be good for you if we can just put this mess with the Cartel to bed. I'm going to head back to the District to see how Al and Ruzek are making out with our friend. I'm going to send Adam and Kim back here. I'm calling in Atwater early and will see if there's anyone else besides Roman that Platt can spare for an overnight protection detail. I'm also going to have Platt contact Christine to book a bunch of rooms for the rest of us at the hotel tonight and tomorrow night. I'm not going to let her lose her job because of a mistake we could have prevented. Now go find her and stick with her for the rest of the day. " Jay looked at his Sargent, grimly smiled and thanked him.

"Detective Halstead?" a tall willowy blonde called out as Jay walked through the lobby. "Yes?" he asked turning around. "My name is Laura Connelly. I'm the Assistant GM of the Beacon. Christine asked me to find you and give you a key to the suite the two of you will be staying in." she replied. After thanking Laura, Jay asked if she knew where I was. "If she's not up in the suite, she is probably up on the roof freezing her ass of." Laura said. "The roof?" Jay asked. "She likes to go up there sometimes to think if there is a problem she is trying to work out. Look, she's under a lot of stress and I could hear the yelling from my office. Just so you know, she typically isn't a yeller but I'm sure she is close to her breaking point. Please let me know if you need anything during your stay." Laura told him before turning and heading back into the Executive Offices. Jay, turning in the direction of the service elevators which would lead to the roof, noticed Atwater walking through the front doors of the hotel. "Kevin, with me." he said, quickening his pace. "What do you need? Where are we headed" Kevin asked. "To the roof. Christine's either up there or in one of the guest suites. I need to find her. We don't currently have eyes on her." Jay replied. As Jay and Kevin made their way to the roof, I leaned over the railing looking out over the city. I couldn't help but think everything was going to come crashing down around me over the next 24 hours. I had worked my entire career to get to where I was and just because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time I was about to lose everything. Christ, I thought to myself, after my display in my office and walking out I'm sure Jay was going to change his mind about me as well. I heard "Galway Girl" on my cell phone and I looked noticing the main number for the 21st District appear on the caller ID. I took a deep breath, put a smile on my face and answered the phone "Good Afternoon. This is Christine Brennan. How may I help you?" "Christine, this is Sargent Trudy Platt with the 21st. How are you today? Actually, don't answer that. I've heard what's been going on so I'm sure you're not having the best day. If you need help keeping those guys in line down there you let me know. I'll come over there and show them how things are done." she said, making me laugh. "What can I do for you Sargent?" I asked, wondering why someone else from the District was calling me now. "Hank Voight asked me to give you a call. Because of the severity of the situation with the Cartel, he is requesting rooms be set aside for his team for tonight and tomorrow night. I'm not sure the best way to go about making these reservations. The department will cover the cost of the rooms, but I'm not paying for them to be drinking and eating everything that's in the mini-bar. My husband and I stayed at your hotel the night of our wedding and it was beautiful. Beautiful but expensive. First class all the way. You have done a fantastic job there." she replied. "Sargent Platt, if you wouldn't mind e-mailing me the names of everyone who needs a room I would appreciate it. If you and your husband don't have plans for tomorrow evening I would be honored if you would be my guests at the New Year's Eve Gala and if you would allow me to treat you to a complimentary night's stay as a belated wedding gift." I said, smiling, thinking to myself I already liked the cantankerous cop and I hadn't met her in person yet. After convincing her I wouldn't get in trouble, she happily agreed, telling me she would email me the names for the reservations and she and her husband, who was a firefighter, looked forward to meeting me tomorrow.

"That was very nice of you." Jay said from behind me. I turned to see him standing by the door with Kevin. "How did you find me?" I asked warily, trying to gauge his mood. I didn't see the tick in his cheek so I was currently doing okay. "Laura told me you would either be in our suite or on the roof. I got nervous at first when she mentioned the roof, not realizing you turned it into a little sanctuary up here." he replied. "It's much nicer when the snow is gone and I can bring out the wicker furniture. Yeah it gets hot but sometimes it's nice to just have fifteen minutes to myself during the craziness of my day." I told them. "Well, I don't know about the two of you but I am freezing. What do you say we go back inside where there's heat and it's not snowing?" Kevin said since it started flurrying while I was on the phone. As we went back inside I asked where Adam was considering he was my normal daytime babysitter. After being told I had the pleasure of being stuck with the two of them, Jay handed me my crutches. I glared at him and hobbled my way into the service elevator. "I need to finish a few things in my office and then I think I'm going to head up to the room to take a nap." I told them. "Are you okay?" Jay asked. "Not really. I have a headache and I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm a little tired." I said blushing as I thought about our night together. That was the only good part of my day...the memories from our night together in my apartment. The two of them followed me into my office and I blocked them out as I checked my e-mail. I had received the list from Trudy Platt and I smiled at the note she wrote in the body of the e-mail:

Christine-

Thank you for the sweet gesture of inviting Randall and I to the Gala tomorrow evening. We are beyond thrilled and very appreciative of your generous gift. I know this is a stressful time for you and if I was you I would be trying to figure out a way to run away, but from what I've been told by everyone in Intelligence and by Officer Roman, that's not your style. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it, even if it's just a shoulder to lean on, someone to vent to or cry to. From what I hear, Detective Halstead has two shoulders he is willing to give you. Jay is a good man and a great Detective (if you ever tell him I said that I will deny it). He has had a rough year, as I'm sure someone has told you already, and he deserves to be happy. Now I'm not the sweet and sappy type, but Halstead is one of my favorites so be good to each other and lean on each other. He's worth all the shit that I'm sure comes with him. Look forward to meeting you in person.

Trudy Platt

I smiled and then I opened up the e-mail attachment to see the rooming list. They were sweet, mostly rooming up with each other to try to not take up too many rooms. I would have to make some changes to the rooming list because I'm sure Kim would rather sleep in the same room as Adam instead of Hailey. I forwarded the list to my Front Office Manager and made the changes so the rooming list read:

Adam Ruzek and Kim Burgess – 1 King Size Bed (10th Floor - Near Elevator)

Antonio Dawson and Kevin Atwater – 2 Queen Size Beds (9th Floor – Near Elevator)

Hailey Upton – 1 King Size Bed (9th Floor – Near South Stairwell)

Sean Roman & TBD – 2 Queen Size Beds (9th Floor – Near North Stairwell)

Al Olinsky – 1 King Size Bed (10th Floor – Near South Stairwell)

Hank Voight – 1 King Size Bed (10th Floor – Near North Stairwell)

Trudy Platt and Randall McHolland – Complimentary Executive Suite (9th Floor) with Full Breakfast / Send Champagne And Strawberry Amenity Upon Arrival With Note From GM

Because Jay and I would be staying on the 10th Floor, which was the top floor of the hotel, Hank wanted to ensure that members of his team were posted on each ends of the floor below us as well as on our floor. He seemed confident that they had all of their bases covered. Once I finished with the rooming list and wrote out a note to be included with Trudy and Mouch's (an odd nickname I thought to myself) welcome amenity I emailed the menu card layout to the printer. I then arranged for the menu cards to be delivered by 12:00pm the next afternoon. As I finished I noticed it was dark outside. I looked at the Waterford Crystal Lismore Clock on my desk and was surprised to see it was 6:00pm. "So much for taking a nap." I said to Jay and Kevin. "I'm done for the day. Let me see if I can get the Chef to whip up something for all of us and we'll eat in the Executive Conference Room. Is everyone here on property?" I asked. When I was told everyone other than Al and Hank were here I decided to call the kitchen and beg the Chef for food. Chef Daniel is one of the best I have ever worked with over the years. He and I have a very good working relationship and I don't find him as temperamental as most Executive Chef's tend to be. I asked him if it was possible to have a mini buffet created for 15 – 20 people (figuring I would include my management team currently on property in the dinner count as well). The menu would be of his choosing. He told me we would have a Caesar Salad, Butternut Squash Bisque, Herb Roasted Chicken Breast with Artichokes and Tomatoes, Roasted Beef Tenderloin with a Demi-Glace, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus and whatever dessert the Pastry Chef wanted to give us. He finished by saying we would eat it and we would like it. "Chef Daniel, did someone already call you about dinner? You listed off that menu quite quickly." I said. After telling me he and the Director of Banquets decided to put together a dinner for the police department they also set up one of the smaller function rooms we could use for dinner. I was shocked and as I thanked him he told me dinner would be ready in thirty minutes. Then he recommended I go to bed since tomorrow was going to be such a long day for all of us. I turned to Jay and Kevin, with an amused smile on my face, and told them to let everyone else know dinner would be ready at 6:30pm in the Boylston Room on the third floor. After a very enjoyable and somewhat relaxing meal, I went up to my room. I was escorted by Roman since Jay and the rest of the Unit were having a last minute meeting and walk-thru with the hotel's security team. Roman informed me he would be outside my door until 3:00am and then Kevin would be taking over for a while. He opened the door and walked through the suite making sure it was safe. I walked inside barely noticing the beautiful décor and the stunning view. I went straight into the bathroom to wash my face. I quickly got ready for bed and didn't event turn the TV on as I crawled into the plush pillow top king-size bed with 800 thread count sheets. I was so exhausted I'm pretty sure I was asleep before my head ever hit the pillow.