FLASHBACK
JAY'S P.O.V.
"Jay? Are you okay? You know I'll help in whatever way I can." Erin said. "Erin, I can't get into detail now but I need you to come to Chicago. I wouldn't ask but I am desperate and have no one else to turn to. I need to also ask that you don't tell Hank that I contacted you. I know I'm asking a lot and not giving you any details but it's a conversation we need to have in person. Please Erin." I said, hating the fact I was bringing her into this. "When do you need me there?" Erin asked. "Can you be here next Monday?" I replied. After telling me she would be here and will text me her flight info, Erin ended the call.
PRESENT DAY
JAY'S P.O.V.
Here I am, eight days later, at O'Hare waiting for Erin's plane to land. I had taken the day off and hoped Christine didn't stop by the District for any reason. I decided not to tell her I was taking the day off. There would be too many questions that I wasn't ready to answer. I stood at Gate H-18 in Terminal 3, the same gate Christine had been scheduled to fly out of on December 23rd, and looked for Erin as passengers disembarked from the plane. "Hi." Erin said as she approached me, giving me a hug. "Hi. Thanks for coming. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. You look good, Er. Really good. Life in the Big Apple must agree with you." I replied. We walked thru the terminal and headed out to my truck. "Where are you staying?" I asked as I pulled out of the short-term parking lot. "I booked a room at The Hotel 30. I heard great things about the hotel. Have you been there?" Erin replied with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her lips. "Funny girl. I'm guessing Voight told you a little about Christine." I said. "Yeah, he did. Sounds like you've had quite the year. Congrats, tho, on becoming a Dad." she replied.
I drove Erin to her hotel, The Drake, and filled her in on exactly what has been going on. I told her about my plan and the conversation I had with Christine's Dad. I left out the part about asking for his blessing to marry Christine. I didn't think that was something Erin needed to know. "Erin, you work for the Feds. I need this to become a Federal case. I also need to make sure none of this blows back on Christine. I can give you Paddy McGuire, Anthony DiStefano and Finn O'Doyle. I just need you to guarantee Christine won't be touched. I said after I finished telling her everything. "Jay, I'll do the best I can but I can't guarantee anything until I dive into the case. I'll head to the District tomorrow to let Hank know this is now a Federal case. Are you sure about this Jay? Really sure you want to go down this road? This may cause unrepairable damage to your relationship with Christine. What about your kids?" Erin asked. After telling her I was doing this for Christine and the twins I told her I would see her the next day.
Tuesday started off like any other normal day. Christine and I spent an hour in the NICU with Aiden and Quinn before I headed to the District. The morning was spent chasing down a dead-end lead with Ruzek before I returned to Med at lunchtime. I headed back to the District around 1:30pm and Sargent Platt stopped me as I scanned my palm and opened the gate to go upstairs. "Halstead. Need to give you a heads up." she said as she walked over to me. "What's up Sarge?" I asked as I held the gate open. "The Feds are in the building. Two agents from New York's FBI office are upstairs talking to Hank. One of the agents is Erin Lindsay." she said. I didn't have to pretend to be surprised because I was. Erin never mentioned having someone else join her. Shit, maybe this was a mistake I thought to myself as I climbed the stairs. I reached to top of the staircase and saw my Unit talking to Erin. "Hey." I said. "Platt told me you were here on my way up. Good to see you, Er. Welcome back to Chicago." "Jay." she replied smiling as she walked over to me. "It's really good to see you. I've missed you." she said smiling and flashing her dimples before drawing me in for a hug. She then introduced me to her partner, Agent Jeff Baker. "Okay, listen up." Voight said walking out of his office with Al behind him. "Lindsay and Baker are here to look into the Irish Mob and the Italian Mafia that are expanding from Boston to New York and here, to Chicago. They'll be working out of Intelligence and we are going to assist them any way we can. Rixton, Halstead and Al I need to see you in my office now." He finished as he turned around and walked into his office.
The three of us followed Voight into his office and immediately I was blamed for bringing the Feds to Chicago. "What the fuck did you do Halstead? Do you know the jeopardy you put Christine in? What happened to our plan of keeping this operation in house? What happened to being all in? What happened to the promises you made to the woman you love, to the mother of your children?" Hank asked angrily. "I don't know what you're talking about. I promised to protect Christine and our children. Every decision I make every single day has their safety and best interests at heart. Can you honestly say the same?" I replied, my voice becoming more exasperated with every word I said. "Wait. Let's just take a minute here before anyone says or does something they'll regret." Al said taking a step forward and placing himself between Voight and I. "Take all the minutes you need. I have work to do." I said walking out of the office.
"Hey Halstead! We're all going to Molly's tonight to celebrate Lindsay's return to Chicago. You in?" Atwater asked. "Yeah. I'll swing by for a bit after I see the twins." I replied as I sat at my desk. "You know I'd love to meet your children. They're beautiful. Your son looks just like you." Erin said as she sat on the corner of my desk and picked up the framed photo we had taken when we returned from Boston last week. It was our first family photo. "I don't think that's such a good idea Erin. Other than family Christine doesn't want too many people around the twins...especially strangers. I'm Quinn's Godmother and I try to limit my visits to twice a week until she and Aiden are settled at home." Burgess said, surprising all of us. Surprising us because she made it clear by her tone and the unsaid, underlying words who she was loyal to, and it wasn't to Erin or me. Her loyalty was to Christine. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. There's something about Christine that makes all of us want to protect her, even though she clearly can take care of herself. "Huh. Maybe another time then." Erin said to me as she put the picture back and gave my hand a squeeze. My eyes widened as I saw Kim take a step forward. Thankfully, Adam noticed and pulled Burgess into the break room, closing the door behind them.
After work I headed to Chicago Med. This visit was always my favorite visit of the day. Christine and I would feed the twins and before we put them back in their incubators for the night we would sit in the two rocking chairs, each of us holding one of the twins, while I read to them. It was an hour I looked forward to every night. Christine was already there when I arrived. "Hey babe. How was your day?" I asked walking over to give her a kiss. She turned and had me stopping in my tracks as her eyes went cold and turned glacial blue, the color they turned when she was angry. Uh-oh, I thought wondering who called her, Kim or Voight. "I've already fed them and changed them. I'm leaving now. I think you should stay somewhere else tonight. I don't want you stepping one foot into the house. I'm sure you won't have a problem finding a warm bed. From what I hear Erin was overly attentive to you today. Not only did I have to hear it from Kim but then Hank came to see me at the hotel. He told me you called Erin and she's here to investigate me. What the fuck, Jay? How could you do this to me...to us...to our family?" She asked, her disappointment and anger evident in her tone as she gave me the evil eye. She then turned and walked out of the room without giving me the chance to deny or explain anything.
After reading to Aiden and Quinn I left the hospital an hour later and headed to Molly's. I was surprised and not happy at all to see Christine at the bar having a drink with Kelly Severide. I knew she was mad so I let her be and instead headed over to the two tables occupied by my Unit and Erin. "So this can't be awkward at all for you, huh Halstead?" Ruzek asked as I sat down on the empty stood in between Erin and Kim. "Seriously, Adam? Just leave him alone." Kim said. "Christine is gorgeous, Jay. I can see why you're attracted to her. I hate to admit it but I'm a little jealous." Erin said. "Looks like Severide is giving her a lot of attention, as usual, tonight." Atwater said. "I'd rather not talk about Kelly. We all know how I feel about Christine's friendship with him and it is still a touchy subject between the two of us." I said. "Why don't you introduce me to her?" Erin asked as she stood up. Oh shit, this is not going to be good I thought to myself as I followed her to the bar. I decided to stand back as Erin took the lead, just like old times.
KIM'S P.O.V.
"Could she be anymore obvious and he be any more of an idiot?" I asked Adam, Atwater, Rixton, Antonio and Al as we watched Jay follow Erin towards the bar where Christine sat talking to Kelly. "Halstead did this to himself when he called Lindsay and asked her to come back to Chicago." Al replied. "What? Jay would never reach out to Erin. He has no reason to. He..." I stopped as I heard rasied voices coming from across the room. I stood up ready to make sure my friend was okay when Adam pulled me back down onto my stool. "Kim, you can't protect her from this one. You need to let it play out and just be there when she needs you. " Adam said softly as he kissed me. I knew he was trying to distract me and at times I would let him get away with it but not tonight.
JAY'S P.O.V.
"Hey Kelly. How are you?" Erin said as she tapped Severide on the shoulder. "Erin Lindsay! I heard you were back in Chicago. It's been a while." he said as he stood, giving Erin a quick hug. Without missing a beat, Erin turned and introduced herself to Christine. It suddenly felt like all eyes in the bar were on us and the noise level was a lot more subdued than normal. "I've heard a lot about you. Hank speaks very highly of you." Erin said holding out her hand. Christine looked at Erin's hand and then at Erin for a moment. She ignored the extended hand and said "I could say the same about you. It obviously says something about a person's integrity and character when they have someone like Hank Voight so loyal and protective of them. I'm only going to say this once Erin. You broke Jay's heart when you left for New York without saying goodbye. I hope you haven't come here to try to win him back or make up for lost time or some other bullshit like that. I'm telling you right now, he's off limits to you on a personal level." I'll be honest I was completely shocked at Christine's bluntness. Manners tend to get the best of her and she is usually a little more tactful when it comes to getting her point across. I was shocked and extremely turned on. This side of my girl was really fucking hot.
"Really? Is that so? I find that interesting considering you told him to sleep somewhere else tonight." Erin replied. "Jesus Erin. What the fuck? Why would you repeat that?" I asked in disbelief. Christine looked even more pissed and probably more than a little hurt that I aired our dirty laundry to my ex-girlfriend. This was not good.
KELLY'S P.O.V.
Jesus! This is nuts and kind of hot I thought to myself as I watched Christine and Erin engage in a not so amicable conversation. Could Halstead be any more of a fucking idiot? Christine is the most amazing woman I have ever met. It's only a matter of time before he pushes her away for good. And when he breaks her heart, I'll be there to pick up the pieces. I'll be the one who will take care of her and love her the way she deserves to be loved.
JAY'S P.O.V.
Before I could say another word, I watched in disbelief as she stood up saying, "Kelly, I'm ready to go. Want to come back to MY house and have a drink there?" "Christine..." I said but before I could say more she looked at me with those beautiful eyes and I realized it was like looking into the eyes of a stranger. There was no emotion reflecting from them. "Don't say another word Jay. You brought this on yourself. I hope you and Erin have a good time tonight. By the way Erin, I understand you contacted my office today to set up a time to talk. Here's my lawyer's card, you can contact him and he will let you know when and if I'm available." she said as she headed to the door. Kelly looked at me with a smug look on his face. A smug look I wanted to wipe off his face. I wanted to beat the shit out of him.
KIM'S P.O.V.
"Distracting me isn't going to work this time Ruzek." I said as I headed to intercept Christine on her way to the door. "You okay? I didn't hear everything but I heard some of it." I said as I met Christine at the door. "No, Kim I'm really not. I feel like I've been stabbed in the heart and punched in the stomach at the same time." She said as tears threatened to overflow onto her cheeks. "Hey, none of that here. If she sees you shed a tear she'll know she's getting to you. You're stronger than that." Adam said to Christine, coming up behind me. "Why don't you have O'Malley drive you home and I'll come check on you in a bit?" I suggested. After being told she just wanted to be alone I watched her walk out the door with Kelly following behind her.
KELLY'S P.O.V.
I paid the tab and smiled as I saw the look of shock and anger pass over Halstead's face. I walked over towards the door where Christine was having what looked to be an intense conversation with Burgess and Ruzek. "Everything okay here?" I asked as I ran my hand down the back of her hair letting it rest on the small of her back. "Yeah, Kim and Adam were just saying goodnight." She replied as she smiled back at me...a smile I could tell was forced and didn't quite meet her eyes.
We walked outside and she stopped when we reached the bottom of the steps. As she grabbed my arm she said, "Actually Kelly, would you mind a raincheck on those drinks? I don't feel all that great. I really just want to go home and go to bed." "Of course. You good to make it home?" I asked as I walked her to her car, noticing her gorgeous porcelain skin was whiter than normal and she was shaking. "Yeah, I'm going to have O'Malley drive." she replied as her giant of a bodyguard got out of the Range Rover. "Thanks for everything Kelly." she said standing on her tiptoes and giving me a friendly kiss on the cheek before she got in the passenger seat.
As I watched the Range Rover disappear down the street I started thinking that maybe I should reach out to Erin. She's obviously still in love with Jay. Maybe Erin and I can work together in moving their relationship in the direction we want...Erin will end up with Jay and I'll finally be with Christine.
KIM'S P.O.V.
"Kim don't do it..." Adam said as I turned and grabbed Jay's arm, preventing him from following Erin back to the table. "Are you really this fucking stupid, Jay? Please tell me you're not. Because from where I'm standing it looks like you're a complete fucking moron. Do you not realize you are pushing her out of your arms and directly into Kelly's open arms? If you break Christine's heart, after everything she's done to protect you, after everything she's sacrificed I'll never forgive you." I hissed at him. "Adam, I'm ready to head home. Let's go." I said walking over to the table. I said goodnight to everyone, with the exception of Erin and Jay. As I headed to the door, I grinned as I heard Al say to Adam, "You better watch out Ruzek. Looks like some of Christine's chutzpah is rubbing off on Burgess. Something tells me you're going to get an earful tonight."
JAY'S P.O.V.
I woke up the next morning realizing right away that I wasn't in my bed. I then realized the person next to me isn't Christine. I was in bed with Erin. Shit! Fuck! I thought to myself as I looked at the clock and saw it was only 5:30am. As I quietly slipped out of bed and got dressed the memories from the night before came rushing back to me. After Christine left the bar with Kelly and Burgess tore into me I decided to skip the beer and go for the Jameson. And there had been lots and lots of Jameson. One by one the rest of the Unit left until it was Erin and I alone at the bar. We kept drinking until it was last call. Erin invited me back to her hotel for a nightcap which resulted in a few more glasses of Jameson in her suite. The rest of the night was blurry but I had flashes of memories of Erin...of Erin crawling onto my lap and kissing me as she straddled me...of Erin telling me she loved me and wanted me back...of Erin getting upset when I told her I was in love with Christine. I needed to get home and see Christine before we went to the hospital to visit the twins. I left Erin a note telling her I would see her at the District. God, what have I done I wondered to myself as I drove home. None of this looks good. I may have destroyed the future I envisioned having with Christine and our children. All because I had been jealous and gotten drunk. I turned onto our street and made a right driving thru the gates and up the driveway. I felt sick to my stomach. I hit the garage door opener and as I pulled into my spot in the three car garage I noticed Christine's Range Rover wasn't there. I raced into the house and everything looked as it did on Tuesday morning before we left for the hospital. I couldn't help but wonder if she slept at Severide's. I quickly showered, hopped back in my truck and headed back downtown towards Chicago Med.
I headed up to the NICU and as I approached the twins room I saw Christine through the window. She looked stunning dressed in a knee-length short sleeve silk dress the same color blue as her eyes. She had left her hair curly and as she turned towards the window, with Quinn in her arms, I noticed she looked sad and exhausted. "You're here early." I said as I walked into the room. "I couldn't sleep last night. I've been here since 5:00am. Where did you stay last night?" She replied as she placed Quinn back in the incubator. Because we made a promise to each other, after she had been abducted by DiStefano, Hailey and El Gato that we wouldn't lie to each other, I told her the truth. "I stayed at Erin's hotel." I replied, honestly. "Did you sleep with her?" she asked. "Did you sleep with Kelly?" I asked in return not realizing I didn't answer her question. "Jay, I've never cheated on you. Can you honestly say the same?" Christine replied with doubt in her eyes.
ERIN'S P.O.V.
I woke up with a massive hangover. I reached for Jay and found his side of the bed to be cold. He left a note on the pillow saying he would see me later at the District. Two years ago Jay never would have left my bed without waking me up for a game of scrabble before work. Guess the rumors I heard were true...Christine has quite the hold on Jay. That's something I'm going to have to work on. I'm still in love with Jay. I've never stopped loving him. I'm going to fight to win him back because I'd like to believe he hasn't stopped loving me either.