"You know not only is he going to want to kick my ass when he finds out I helped you, but he's going to be even more upset when he finds out Kelly Severide is there with you." the voice on the other end of the phone scolded me, without so much as a greeting, when I answered the phone, pausing before continuing... "It's been three weeks, Christine! Don't you think it's time to come back to Chicago? He's been going out of his mind since you disappeared and it's starting to take a toll on him. You mentioned before that you didn't want to see him go down that rabbit hole, well guess what kid, he is on his way down the hole. He is convinced either the Cartel or your Uncle took you. I know I told you I would cover for you but I thought it would be just a couple of days. I didn't know you were going to hide out for this long. Jesus, you now own that hotel for Christ sakes. Get your ass in gear. I'm giving you one more week to enjoy your vacation and then I'll come down to South Carolina to drag you back here myself." "Are you done, Hank? Jay said he couldn't be with me anymore because of my family's connections so he shouldn't be concerned who I'm with or where I am. And yes, I know I now own the Beacon. I have a very competent Assistant General Manager who is covering for me while I recover from my injuries and furnish the house my Dad bought me. Not only that but I'm looking at hotels down here. I'm thinking about expanding. I'm going to be closing the Beacon in mid-February to make some minor changes, and then we'll be opening on March 1st under a new name. Would be great to have a hotel here that I could do the same with and open on Memorial Day weekend, just in time for tourist season. Look, Hank, if it will make things easier tell Jay that I contacted you to see how the case was progressing. Tell him that I'm safe and healing. He doesn't need to know anything more than that. I'll call you next week from a new number and then I'll be back in Chicago by February 5th. That will give me a full month down here. Hank, seriously, thank you for everything. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it." I said sweetly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. And don't even try using that smile on me when I pick you up at O'Hare on the 5th. I'm booking your flight today and I'll text you the flight info. I expect your ass to be on that plane. You can tell me all about your plans over dinner that night. Be careful kid. I still have one or two people keeping an eye on you, as I know your Uncle does as well, but the Cartel has a long reach." Hank replied, saying good-bye and ending the call before I could say another word.
"Well, that didn't sound like it was too bad. You somehow manage to persuade everyone to do what you want or need them to do. Don't get me wrong, you're one of the nicest and most generous people I have ever met in my life but man you have this magic in you that makes all of us want to do things your way." Kelly said. I smiled at him as we sat around the firepit on the patio at my beach house, overlooking the inground pool and beyond it the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. "Kelly, I appreciate you coming down for a few days. I would have been fine by myself tho. You didn't need to take time off from work. You had already done so much for me on New Year's Day. You went above and beyond that day, staying with me as I lost my shit and had a breakdown. I'm going to get another glass of wine. Do you want another beer? Oh, and we should probably think about dinner since it's getting so late." I said. Kelly said he would get it as he got up from the Adirondack chair and walked up the steps to the deck and heading into the kitchen. I couldn't believe I had been in Myrtle Beach for three weeks. It was exactly what I needed, peace and solitude, after what had happened with the Cartel and Jay. It had given me the opportunity to furnish and decorate my beautiful beach house. I had gotten to work on the Master Bedroom as soon as I arrived in Myrtle Beach. The master has gorgeous mahogany hardwood floors with mahogany trim outlining the rafters of the cathedral arched ceiling and around the doorframe of the french doors that opened up onto a private deck. There was a fabric and crystal chandelier hanging from the highest point of the arch. I had the walls painted a light blue and selected a king size platform bed to be set up across from the fireplace. There was a small sitting area in between the bed and the fireplace and a large flatscreen tv had been installed above the fireplace mantle. The room was decorated in soft hues of ivory and blues. The room had truly become a sanctuary. The master bath was just as wonderful as my bedroom, with mahogany flooring and white walls. The white marble glass stand up shower had a built in marble bench and seven showerheads. The oval shaped white bathtub could easily fit two and above it hung a crystal chandelier. The dual sinks were set on a marble counter top attached to a mahogany vanity with drawers and cabinets of all different sizes and shapes. Off the bathroom was the walk-in closet which was bigger than my closet in Chicago. It took me a week to get the master suite just the way I wanted and then I went to work on the rest of the house. It was perfect and I knew my Mother would have loved it just as much as I did. When things fully calmed back down I was planning on bringing my Dad down in late April. I couldn't wait for him to see the house in person.
As I sat there lost in my thoughts about the house, my family and my career Kelly walked back out and said "I have a surprise for you. Company." I turned around to see Gabby and Matt walking down the steps behind Kelly. "What are you doing here?" I asked, delighted to see them. There were very few people in Chicago who knew where I was and I knew that I could trust these three standing in front of me. "Kelly wants to go golfing tomorrow so he called Casey and asked if we could take a couple of days off. I guess he is afraid you're going to spend more money furnishing and decorating this place. Or he's afraid if he leaves you alone you'll officially become a recluse." Gabby said. "Nice beach shack by the way." Matt said giving me a hug and pulling back, looking in my eyes said. "You look good. You looked rested and healthy." "I am. This time away is what I needed. But how did you get in past security? Security is still out there, right?" I asked panicking slightly. They automatically put me at ease, letting me know Kelly had given their names to the guard at the gate. A gate I was going to rip down as soon as this Cartel shit was over with for good. "We were going to order out for dinner, but if you want we can go out instead. Not sure how tired you are from the drive. But before we decide on that let me give you a tour and show you to your guest suite." I said leading them back into the house. We decided to order out for dinner and as Casey and Kelly headed to Pier14 to pick up our order Gabby and I sat down by the firepit enjoying a glass of Cakebread Cabernet. "How are you doing? And what's Kelly doing here? What about Jay?" Gabby asked with concern. "We were all so worried when you just disappeared. Jay's been a wreck. I'm not sure what happened but he's gotten pretty torn up in Molly's a couple of times and I heard he went to Boston two days after you disappeared but your Dad and Uncle both refused to see him. That drove him crazy from what Kim told me." "Let's not talk about it tonight. We'll go to lunch tomorrow at the Landshark while the guys are golfing and I'll fill you in. I just want to enjoy tonight." I replied. And that's exactly what we did. We enjoyed the night. We ate out by the firepit and then continued to drink late into the night. I laughed more that night than I had in the past month. I said goodnight around 2:00am and headed up to my room. As I had done each night since my room had been finished, I opened up the doors and even in the cold I sat out on the private deck. Looking up at the moon I thought about that last conversation with Jay...
FLASHBACK:
"Christine, it's not that I don't believe what you're telling me to be true but I honestly don't think at this point I can get into a relationship with you. It's not just because of your Uncle but also because of the danger I've placed you in. You were right that night when you said that relationships that begin because of a traumatic experience don't tend to last. And you don't deserve to be in that type of relationship. You deserve to be in a relationship with someone who isn't going to put your life in danger. With someone who doesn't have the baggage I do." Jay said to me. He paused about to continue, but I cut him off before he could. "So, it's the old it's not you it's me line. Really Jay? I would have thought better of you. You didn't have a problem on New Year's Eve with our relationship. From what I hear you didn't have a problem until you found out who my Uncle is. Even with everything I have said and have proven it's just not enough for you. So much for loving me. Apparently, you throw the word love around way too easily Detective Halstead. First with Mariana and then with me. I think it would be best if you call Dawson or Atwater and ask them to come take your place until Roman arrives. I'm going to call Hank and ask him to remove you from my security detail until this is over with. That way me and my family won't inconvenience you anymore." "Christine..." he started. "I'm going to ask you to wait outside Jay. I would have normally gotten up and walked into my bedroom but that's obviously not an option at this point. Just go." I said to him and for the first time letting him see tears stream down my face.
Twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door, followed by Antonio's voice asking if he could come in. I thanked him for coming and apologized for the last minute change in his schedule. I had gotten off the couch and used the wheelchair to make my way into the kitchen and was making myself a plate of food from the Italian take-out Jay had left at my apartment. "Smells good in here." Antonio said walking into the kitchen. "Need any help?" he asked. "Nope. I got it under control. Help yourself tho. We're eating in the living room tonight." I said. As we ate, I put on the Bruins – Blackhawks game. We sat in silence for a while, eating and watching the game when all the sudden he said "Do you want to talk about it?" causing me to burst out laughing which turned into tears. I was so tired of crying. I've cried more in the past ten days than I had in probably the past ten years. I thanked him but declined his offer letting him know that I was expecting Hank to stop by around 9:00pm. Hank arrived and told Antonio he could take off. He told him he would stay until Roman arrived. "If I knew you were going to stay for a bit I would have saved you some food." I said. "I already ate, but thanks. What's on your mind kid?" he asked. I'm not sure how I did it but I convinced him if Uncle Paddy gave him whatever information he had on the Cartel then Hank needed to help me disappear for a few days. I needed to rest and get away from everything and everyone. "Including Halstead?" Hank asked. I replied, "Especially Jay. I don't want to talk about it Hank. We all knew it wasn't a good idea from the start but apparently my family shit is too much for him to handle. Can't really blame him. So, if I get Paddy here in the next hour, can you help me get out of here tonight? I'd like Paddy to drop me off in Myrtle Beach on his way to Boston and I want to go tonight." After going back and forth for an hour I convinced Hank to help me. I promised I would let him know where I was going and would check in with him every few days, from a burner phone because I was leaving my phone in Chicago. I had already called Uncle Paddy after asking Jay to leave my apartment so he knew what was going on. After getting Hank to agree and he reached out to Al to have him come to my apartment, I texted Paddy.
Forty-five minutes later my Uncle along with my "cousins" Finn O'Doyle and his two sons, Shamus and Liam, along with three of Paddy's security team, who were basically his lieutenants, sat in my living room with Hank and Al. This is the most involved I had been in Paddy's business since I was sixteen and I didn't enjoy it and didn't enjoy having them in my apartment. I was in my bedroom with the door shut packing for my trip. I had also grabbed my "go" bag out of its hiding spot in my closet and removed the cash, three untraceable cellphones (with chargers) and a gun (which was registered). I don't like guns so up until I shot Ramon I hadn't held a gun since I was sixteen years old. I ignored Connor's warning about my leg because the wheelchair was preventing me from doing what I needed to do. At midnight, when Roman arrived at his post outside my apartment, Hank sent him home. A couple of hours later Hank and Al had gotten the information they needed and I was leaving on Paddy's plane that night. Hank drove me to the airport with Al following behind us. "I understand why you need to leave, but you know Halstead isn't done with you, right? He isn't going to be able to walk away from you. You have a connection that is stronger than any traumatic experience. I've seen it in the way the two of you look at each other. How he tries to protect you without realizing it. You're good for him. Just give him a little time. But if you need to go you should know you're not completely by yourself. There's someone from Chicago PD watching over you and God help me I gave the okay for Shamus and Liam to watch over you as well. It will be a miracle if you don't end up killing the two of them." Hank said to me. "Thanks for everything Hank." I said smiling at him as I grabbed my bag and walked up the steps of the private jet my Uncle Paddy had chartered.
At 6:00am I looked out the window of the jet watching the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean as we landed in Myrtle Beach. Shamus and Liam grabbed my bags and put them in the SUV that was waiting for us on the tarmac. I turned to my Uncle Paddy and said "Thank you. I know it isn't easy for you to trust or work with the police, but I appreciate you giving whatever information was necessary to Hank and Al. I needed to get out of Chicago and figure out what I'm going to do next. I love you, Uncle Paddy. I hope you know that." "Little one, before I let you go there's something you need to know. The Board of Directors is going to vote today on removing you from your position at the hotel. I wasn't going to let a bunch of idiots destroy your future, especially for something that wasn't your fault, so I bought the Beacon Chicago and signed the deed and title over to you. Congratulations, Christine, you now own a hotel. There will be lawyers getting in touch with you over the next few days to work out the particulars but if you have any questions you know how to reach me. This is the phone they will call you on. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble for you in Chicago and I'm sorry Halstead ended up not being okay with your family ties. Let me know if you need anything else. I'll check in on you in a few days but remember any sign of trouble or worry you tell Shamus and Liam. They're not the brightest bulb on the tree but they'll take care of you." he said, kissing me on the forehead and then walking back up the steps of the plane, leaving me stunned holding a new phone in my hand.
PRESENT DAY:
"Holy shit! Are you kidding me? Jesus, Christine what's with your life? You get taken hostage by a Cartel leader, who shoots you and then you shoot in return. Then days later you are kidnapped, fight off your attacker and escape, get dumped by your boyfriend, lose your job, get a better job...hello hotel owner...and come hide out in Myrtle Beach for three weeks. I sense a Lifetime movie in the making." Gabby said teasing me as we enjoyed lunch and drinks at the Landshark Bar and Grill. "What's going on with you and Kelly? I know he has a thing for you. He has since you first walked into Molly's six months ago." Gabby continued on. "We're just friends. Nothing more. He's actually been really good to me. I got drunk one night last week, by myself, sitting on the patio and I didn't know who else to call. Plus, I never had the chance to thank him for what he did on New Year's Day. So, there I am, two bottles of wine in, and I pick up the phone and call Kelly. It went to voicemail and I left a message. Twenty minutes later he called me back. We were on the phone for an hour before I told him where I was. He swore he wouldn't tell anyone. He kept calling and texting just to see how I was doing. Before I knew it he told me he was coming down to keep me company and I was giving him my address. Seriously Gabby, that's all there is to it. Plus let's face it, Stella would kick my ass if I ever went there." The next three days flew by as Gabby and I spent most mornings exploring Myrtle Beach, while Matt and Kelly golfed. We would meet up in the afternoons down by the pier and pick a different spot to have lunch before heading back to my house where we spent most nights, eating and drinking, around the fire pit. The last night they were in town I decided to treat my friends to a wonderful meal at The Captain's House. I knew they were all heading back to Chicago the next morning and I wanted to thank them for coming all this way and for caring so much about me. I don't know what it was but something struck me at dinner and I knew it was time to head home. It was time to get back to work and back to living my life. "Hey, Kelly? Do you have room in your car for a passenger tomorrow? I think it's time for me to head home."
Knowing we had a fourteen hour drive back to Chicago the next day the four of us decided to break it up into two days. We would leave at 7:00am and make the nine hour drive to Nashville. I found an AirBnB in Nashville and booked it for one night. We had a great time hanging out in the honkey-tonks on Lower Broadway listening to bands and drinking a little too much beer. I felt just as free in Nashville, with Kelly, Matt and Gabby as I did in Myrtle Beach. I felt like me again...the me I had been before December 23rd. The next day we left at 10:00am and made really good time to Chicago, even stopping for lunch along the way. Kelly pulled up to my apartment building at 6:00pm and I thanked him again. After telling him I would stop by the station the next day I headed inside. I grabbed my mail on the way up to my apartment from the lobby concierge, who informed me the cleaning crew had come in and taken down my Christmas decorations and disposed of the Christmas tree while I was gone. I walked into my apartment and found a note from Kim, Sylvie and Stella which read...
Christine-
Gabby called us, and after making us promise, she let us know where you were and that you were okay. She texted earlier today letting us know you were on your way home. After 3 ½ weeks away we didn't think there was much to eat at your place so we stocked the fridge with some of your favorites. By the way, girl's night is this Friday night at your place and plan on spending Super Bowl Sunday down at Molly's watching your Patriot's get their asses handed to them by the Eagles. We've missed you!
xoxo-
Sylvie, Stella and Kim
Seriously, I have the best girlfriends ever, other than the comment about the Patriots. I opened my fridge to find takeout from Mia Francesca's and a bottle of Cakebread Chardonnay chilling in the fridge. I took out the food and emptied the container of pasta with eggplant onto a plate and threw it in the microwave. I opened the bottle of wine and poured a glass as I turned my phone on. Oh shit I thought to myself. I had 107 text messages from Jay, 92 missed calls and 23 voicemails. I wasn't ready to look at the text or listen to the voicemail just yet. I instead texted the girls and thanked them saying Friday night at 7:30pm for girl's night at my place for Chinese Food and it better not be a set-up this time. I then texted my Dad telling him to pick a weekend in late April to plan a trip to Myrtle Beach. I told him the house was wonderful, but as always, it was good to be home. After promising to call him in a couple of days, I then called Laura, my Assistant General Manager scheduling a meeting for 11:00am tomorrow morning in my office. I told her to clear off her calendar because we had a lot to do. After eating dinner and grabbing a bottle of Stag's Leap Cabernet, I walked out of my apartment and rode the elevator two floors up and knocked on Connor's door. "Hi. Can I come in?" I asked. Connor didn't say a word, but just opened the door leaving me enough room to walk under his arm and into his apartment. After consuming the bottle of wine and begging, pleading and even crying a little Connor eventually cracked and said he forgave me for just leaving in the middle of the night. He then checked my wound and was pleased to see that it had healed nicely. Then he told me I was going to have to see Will over the next few days so I could get the all clear from him in regards to my wrist, ribs and my head. I promised him I would and extended an invite to Molly's on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl. Since he wasn't working he agreed. I smiled to myself thinking that he was going to be pleasantly surprised to see Laura there as well.
I got up at 6:00am the next morning and went to the gym in my building. After a few miles on the treadmill and then using the free weights to work on building my strength back up I returned to my apartment to shower and get ready for the day. Knowing full well I had a stop to make before I went to the hotel I did my best to make sure I looked really good. I straightened my hair and left it loose so it was smooth and shiny. I was somewhat conservative with my make-up, slightly accentuating my eyes and using a dark red lip color. I had decided on a steel gray pencil skirt with a white wide collared dress shirt and a pair of red Louboutin pumps with ankle straps. After fastening my Claddagh earrings and matching necklace, I added my black and silver everyday Kenneth Cole watch and a couple of platinum rings I was almost ready to go. I put on my white full length winter coat, grabbed my oversized Michael Kors black purse, putting my laptop in it and headed out the door. I stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way picking up a couple of dozen assorted donuts, a couple of dozen assorted bagels with multiple flavors of cream cheese and a couple of boxes of Joe. I'm not a coffee drinker but thought everyone down at the District would appreciate it. Leaving everything other than my purse, I got out of my car and walked up the front steps. I smiled as I walked in seeing Trudy at the desk. "Good morning Sargent Platt." I said, a little unsure of what her reaction would be. "Oh my God! I am so happy you are okay! You had us so worried, which I hear was unnecessary because you kicked ass. People are going to think twice before messing with you, and I don't mean because of your Uncle, I mean because you can obviously take care of yourself. And forget that Sargent crap. You call me Trudy from now on." she said. I asked her if she had anyone she could send out to my car. I had separated everything into two piles – one would remain downstairs and one would need to be brought up to Intelligence. She agreed and tossed my keys to someone she only referred to as "Rookie" before asking me if anyone upstairs knew I was here. "Hank wasn't expecting to see me before the 5th. He was going to pick me up at the airport that night but I decided I had too much to do and couldn't lick my wounds forever. Would you mind calling up to him to let him know I'm here?" I asked, starting to doubt my decision to come here, knowing I would see Jay. "Nonsense. I'll just bring you up. Follow me." she said as she scanned her palm and the gate opened leading us up the stairs to where the Intelligence Unit was housed. "Hank, you have a visitor." Trudy announced moving to the side so he could see me. Before Hank or anyone else could say a word, Kim quickly glanced at Jay before jumping out of her seat and ran over to me, spun me around, hugged me and whispered in my ear "Girl you look hot. Really hot. His mouthed dropped when he saw you. No lie." "I missed you too Kim. Friday night, right?" I replied. "Of course, yes to girl's night but um, I want to know when you're hosting girl's weekend down at your beach house. Gabby told me, Stella and Sylvie how beautiful it is." Kim said with a knowing look in her eye. She was trying to give me a signal about Jay but I wasn't ready to look at him just yet. I decided to continue my conversation with her for another minute before I had to turn and look at the rest of the room. "I was thinking Memorial Day weekend. But not just the girls this time. I'll give you the details on Friday." I said, then taking a deep breath I turned around and looked straight into those green eyes.