CHRISTINE'S P.O.V.
"Jay, I've never cheated on you. Can you honestly say the same?" I asked him, already having an idea what the answer will be. Already knowing my heart will be broken by his answer. Before he could respond Nat walked into the room. "I have good news." she said with a smile on her face. "Aiden and Quinn can go home in two days! Their last set of test results came back better than I hoped. As of 9:00am Friday morning they will no longer be residents of Chicago Med!" "Really Nat!? Two weeks early? You're sure they're okay?" I asked excitedly not fully believing what I was hearing. When she confirmed it again I said "Thank you Nat. Thank you for taking such great care of our babies."
Ignoring Jay, I pulled out my iPhone and texted my Dad letting him know the good news. I then sent a large group text to Hank, Laura, Connor, Kim, Ruzek, Gabby, Matt, Will, Nat, Sylvie, Stella, Kelly, Cruz, April, Ethan, Trudy, Mouch, Kevin, Al and Rixton saying "The twins are breaking out of Med on Friday morning! Welcome home party on Saturday at 5:00pm. I expect Aiden and Quinn's Godparents, pseudo Aunts and Uncles and Grandpa Hank to be there!" I then turned to Jay and asked him to follow me back to the house so we could talk before he went to work.
As I got into my car, with the ever-present O'Malley in the passenger seat, I used the Range Rover's hands free option to call Laura. I told her I would be working from home for the remainder of the week. My next phone call was to Mary, the twins Nanny who Jay and I hired two weeks before. I may have neglected telling Jay that Mary had been a recommendation from my Uncle Paddy. I figured if Paddy trusted her to watch my children then I would as well. I told Mary the twins were coming home earlier than anticipated and asked her to start work on Saturday. My third call was to Donna, the woman who ran the cleaning service I used. Normally they come every other Friday but I asked her to come on Thursday this week. I wanted to make sure everything was spotless and clean before the twins came home.
"You know Boss, with the twins coming home on Friday, you might want to consider hiring a bodyguard for them. Just someone to watch over them and the Nanny when you and I aren't there." O'Malley said from the passenger seat as I turned onto my street. "I'm glad you brought that up because I was going to talk to you about that a little later. There's only two people I trust to keep the twins safe when Jay and I aren't around. That's you and Luis. I'd like you to take alternating shifts for the time being. Think about it and let me know." I said as I hit the button in my car that opens the gate. Jay pulled in behind me and parked next to me in the garage. He followed me into the house and we sat in the living room. "So, I have a couple of things I need to talk to you about. I'm heading to Ireland the day after Aiden and Quinn's christening. I'm looking at buying two hotels there and I want to take them with me. I've filled out the expedited passport applications for them. I just need you to sign them as well. We'll be gone for two weeks and I'll have Mary, O'Malley and Luis traveling with me." I said. Surprisingly he signed the paperwork without an issue.
Before I could continue, O'Malley walked into the living room and informed us there were four unmarked cop cars at the gate. I looked at Jay and he told me he had no idea what was going on. We walked out the front door to see Erin getting out of one of the cars. "Agent Lindsay. Is there something I can do for you?" I asked as I walked over to where she was standing. I glanced at Jay and saw the tick in his cheek. Hmmm...he wasn't happy and obviously wasn't part of Erin's plan. "This is a warrant to search the house and the property." Erin said smugly as she shoved a piece of paper into my hands. "On what grounds?" I asked. "Extortion, collusion, racketeering and the murder of Detective Hailey Upton." she replied. "What the fuck, Erin?" Jay asked in disbelief. "We never discussed a warrant for Christine's house. I asked you to leave her out of it when I asked you to come to Chicago." he said. "You need to pick a side Jay. You can either help me or be arrested for obstruction." she said to him.
"What the fuck, Jay? You just admitted that you brought her to Chicago. I really can't believe you." I said as I quickly texted Hank and Rixton. The message said "Erin's here with a warrant tearing apart my house with a team. Get here now and put a stop to this before my C.I. cover is blown to O'Malley and the others."
"What the fuck?" O'Malley exclaimed. "The Detective was in on this? This is not good." I turned to him, worried that my cover was about to be blown and gave him instructions, "Not a word. They're here for me, not for you. Text Paddy and let him know what's going on. Take the guys and head to Finn's. Stay there till you hear from me." "Boss, I shouldn't leave you. That bitch has crazy eyes." O'Malley said. "Just do what I tell you and leave now before they hold you here." I replied. I held my breath as he retreated down the driveway and hopped into the waiting car with Luis, Liam and Shamus.
"Does Hank know you're here with this bogus warrant? Were you that curious to see the house where Jay's been living? Where he's been making love to me every night? You didn't need a warrant for that Erin. I would have been happy to show you." I said, knowing I was antagonizing her. "She stays out here." Erin said to an agent as she walked thru my front door. "The master bedroom is on the second floor, down the end of the hall. I'm sure you'll want to check out that room for yourself." I called out after her.
"Christine, stop. You're not helping the situation at all. But before this goes any further I do need to tell you something. I never had sex with Erin. Yes, I stayed in her hotel room last night and she wanted to but other than her kissing me once that was all that happened. We did not have sex." Jay told me softly. "Jay, you need to walk away from me right now before I say or do something that I might end up regretting." I said turning and walking away from him. How had this day gone from shitty to wonderful back to a complete shit show in just a matter of hours, I wondered as I waited to hear back from Hank and Rixton. "Christine..." I heard as footsteps approached. "Get the fuck away from me Jay. You may not have cheated on me and betrayed me in the physical sense, but by brining Erin back to Chicago you betrayed me in a completely different way. You made promises to me and to Hank that you went back on. All this is happening because of you. You brought her back here and now she's determined to put me in jail. It's either the Cartel or Erin that's going to be the end of me. I'll never forgive you for any of this." I said vehemently.
Twenty minutes later the entire Intelligence Unit pulled into my driveway. "Where is she?" Hank asked as he walked up to me. "Inside somewhere. This is bullshit Hank. You never told me this would be a possibility when I became a C.I. Look at these fucking charges that she said I'm guilty of and that's how she got the warrant. Murder!? I thought I was cleared of Hailey's death! Everyone agreed it was self defense. This shit can't happen again, especially not with the twins coming home. Fix this and get her out of my house now!" I said indignantly as I handed him the warrant and walked away from the group.
FLASHBACK
HANK'S P.O.V.
After I received the good news about Aiden and Quinn's homecoming, I sat at my desk trying to decide what to give the twins for their welcome home gift. Money has always been my go-to gift but Christine was a millionaire so I didn't think that was probably the best idea. I then thought about something they could use in the future. Something that Camille and I used on our wedding day. I decided to give Aiden the silver cufflinks I wore that day and Quinn the pearl and diamond earrings Camille had worn when she became my wife. It would be their first family heirlooms.
I looked up in surprise as Rixton burst in my office without knocking. "Sarge, we have a problem. Check your most recent text from Christine." He said. Jesus Christ, I thought to myself as I got up from my desk and walked out into the bullpen. "Where's Halstead?" I asked. "He said he'd be in a little later. What's up, Sarge?" Atwater asked. "Erin and a team of Feds showed up at Christine's with a warrant. Let's roll before this escalates and further and her cover as a C.I. is blown or before she and Erin go at it and Christine gets herself arrested." I said as they followed me downstairs. As I started the drive towards Christine's Gold Coast neighborhood I couldn't help but think about how disappointed I am in Jay. He is destroying the best thing to come into his life. When Erin showed up at the District yesterday I had a feeling that it wasn't a coincidence. Even though Halstead denied it, I had Al pull his phone records. I had proof that he called Erin and exchanged text messages with her.
REAL TIME
HANK'S P.O.V.
"Erin, what the hell have you done?" I asked in disbelief as I looked around the disaster that now was Christine's bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed and just looked at me. I turned quickly and walked back up the hall stopping outside of the twins' bedrooms. Please God don't let them be destroyed as well. Christine had spent the past six weeks designing the nurseries. I opened the door to Aiden's room and breathed a sigh of relief. The room hadn't been touched. The large bedroom, with a navy blue carpet, was painted light gray with a royal blue trim. Fire trucks, police cars and ambulances were painted on the walls. The mahogany crib would one day be turned into a full-size bed but for now was placed under red, white and blue wooden letters hanging on the wall spelling Aiden's name. The mattress in the crib was covered with a sheet that had police cars all over it. The blanket, folded neatly over the end of the crib, had the CFD logo on it. The mobile hanging over the crib had fire trucks, police cars and ambulances that lit up. The mahogany changing table and rocking chair were in one piece as well. The matching bookcase held a variety of children's books, toys and pictures. Christine had arranged a display on the top shelf of pictures of her and Jay, the two of them with the kids and the people she considered family – the Intelligence Unit, the team from Chicago Med and from Firehouse 51. I checked the attached bathroom and was thankful to see it too was undisturbed.
I walked out of the room to see Jay opening the door to Quinn's room across the hall. The beautiful room that had been furnished for a princess had been untouched as well. The pale lavender walls with a light pink trim and deep purple carpet gave an airy feel to the room that had princess castles, unicorns and butterflies painted on the wall. The white wooden crib sat under white, pink and purple wooden letters spelling Quinn's name. The white wooden changing table, rocking chair and bookcase were all undisturbed as well.
"Thank God the kids rooms were not touched. Have you seen the master bedroom and her office?" I said to Jay. When he said no I motioned for him to follow me. "What the fuck Erin? You destroyed the bedroom and Christine's office? Why would you do this?" Jay asked Erin, almost in disbelief, as I stood to the side. "I didn't do anything you don't do whenever you toss a suspect's home. I did my job." she said. "Erin, Christine isn't a suspect. She's one of us. She may not be a cop but she's part of this family." I said as I heard something crashing to the ground from downstairs. "What the fuck was that? Erin, call off your team now. I'll meet you back at the District in a couple of hours and we can walk thru the operation I've been running with Christine as the C.I. Halstead, get her out of here." I instructed.
After they left, I took another look around Christine's bedroom and shook my head. The bed would need to be replaced entirely. Jesus, the way it looked she'll probably end up buying a new bedroom set. Shaking my head I walked downstairs and called to the rest of the team. "Al, I need you to do a sweep. Make sure the Feds didn't plant anything. Also make sure that Paddy didn't have O'Malley plant anything either. Dawson and Rixton, go talk to your buddies in Vice and the Gang Unit. Make sure there's no retaliation coming out of Canaryville for this. Burgess, Atwater and Ruzek I need you to start cleaning up a little in here. Text me a list and pictures of exactly what's been broken." I instructed as I walked outside. "Where you headed Sarge?" Ruzek asked. "To take a very pissed off woman furniture shopping and then to go deal with a very pissed off FBI agent." I replied.
CHRISTINE'S P.O.V.
Two days later I arrived at Chicago Med at 7:00am. I had been too excited to sleep and also hadn't gotten used to the new king size bed Hank had insisted on buying me. It was too big and too lonely without Jay. As mad as I was at Jay I would never deny him the opportunity to be here when the twins were released. I also told him he could stay in one of the guest rooms for the weekend. It would give him the chance to be with the twins. By 9:00am we had signed all the necessary paperwork and each of us holding a twin in a baby carrier headed out to my car. After attaching the carriers to the car seat bases and making sure they were securely strapped in I told Jay we would see him back at the house. As O'Malley climbed into the driver's seat and Luis into the passenger seat, I settled myself in the back seat between my two babies.
Hank came over a few hours after we had gotten home. I wasn't sure if he was there to play referee, if needed, or if he was there strictly for the kids. I know he wasn't happy with Jay on a professional or personal level. To be perfectly honest, according to Kim, most of the Unit wasn't too happy with Jay on a professional level. He put the case and me, their C.I., in all sorts of danger when he brought Erin back to Chicago. I instructed Jay and Hank that there would be no shop talk this weekend. It was all about the kids. Everything else could wait until Monday.
It was heaven on earth to have Aiden and Quinn at home. They slept for ten hours their first night home. After feeding them on Saturday morning Jay informed me he had to go to work for a few hours but would be back before everyone arrived for the party. After he left I got a taste of what life will be like as a single parent. Well a single parent with a Nanny. I had a feeling Mary was going to be a real lifesaver. On Saturday afternoon I dressed Quinn in a light pink, lavender and white dress with pink tights. I put Aiden in a pair of blue jeans with a white long sleeve shirt that had a fire truck on it. We headed downstairs where the Banquet and Kitchen teams from the hotel were handling everything for the party. "I can't thank you enough for doing this. It's been a chaotic couple of days and I think by hosting this party I bit off a little more than I can chew." I said to Jenna, the Banquet Captain, and Nick, the Sous Chef. "It's our pleasure. We're just glad the twins are finally home." Nick said.
I walked out back and was very happy with the way the yard looked. I ordered enough 8 x 30 tables and chairs to seat twenty-two family style. I had selected ivory lamour linen and fruitwood chivari chairs with ivory cushions. On the patio there was a fire pit surrounded by the wicker rocking chairs with red cushions. Around the inground pool I had tiki torches and the outdoor wicker seating vignettes set up. The outdoor bar was fully stocked and one of the bartenders from the hotel would be manning the it for the evening. I was doing a final walk through of the back yard and the kitchen when O'Malley went to let the first guest in just after 4:00pm. "Kelly, I'm so glad you're here." I said giving him a hug. "Come out back. The twins are out there with Mary. And that's where the beer is." I said leading him outside. "Where can I put these?" he asked holding up two gift bags. "How sweet! I'll put them inside." Mary said as she handed Quinn to me. Aiden was hanging out in his automatic swing cooing to himself. "God, she's beautiful." he said taking Quinn out of my arms. "Hey gorgeous! You're gonna be a heartbreaker just like your Mom when you grow up, aren't you? Yes, you are with those eyes. I bet you'll have her smile too." he said as he held Quinn and she stared up at him while she drooled. "I guess what they say is true, females of all ages love Kelly Severide." I said teasing him as I handed him a cold beer.
Before I knew it the backyard was filled with friends and family. As always I made sure there was plenty to drink and plenty to eat. The hotel staff did a wonderful job making sure everyone had what they wanted. I was talking to Hank and Al as I fed Aiden just after 8:00pm and that's when I realized the backyard had gone oddly quiet. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I heard Kim exclaim as she fed Quinn. I turned to see Jay and Erin walking out onto the back patio. I handed Aiden and his bottle to Hank before walking over to Jay and Erin. "In the kitchen now." I said leading the way back inside. "I don't know what the fuck the two of you are up to but unless you have another warrant Agent Lindsay you are not welcome in my home. I'm going to insist you leave now." I said. "Christine, just hear her out..." Jay started to say. I turned to him and said "What were you thinking Jay? What about your kids? Good to see you kept your word and were here for your children all weekend. Not sure what business you had going on considering your entire Unit is here and you're just arriving now with Erin. I'm so over this." I looked at him with tears of embarrassment and hurt in my eyes before I walked upstairs to my bedroom.
It took a few minutes but I pulled myself together and headed back outside. Everyone was speaking in hushed tones and looking at me with sympathy and pity. It was really uncomfortable so people began to leave. Shit, this just sucks I thought to myself. I was then left alone with Mary and the twins. "You can call it a night Mary. I'll get them to bed. Thank you for everything. I'll see you on Monday morning." I said. By 9:00pm the twins were asleep. I grabbed the baby monitor and headed back out to the fire pit with a bottle of wine. A short time later O'Malley, who lives in the guest suite above my garage, informed me Kelly was at the gate. I told him to let Kelly in and send him out back. "I'm okay Kelly. Promise." I told him before he even asked. "I appreciate you being so concerned but I really am okay." I assured him. "Well if you're really okay hopefully I won't have to apologize for doing this." he said as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
Don't get me wrong, it was a really good kiss but as Kelly held me in his arms words that Jay said almost nine months ago ran thru my mind. I deserve to be in a relationship with someone who wouldn't put my life in danger. Not only that but I was done with this crazy life. I want to be a Mom and a Hotelier...not a Mom, a Hotelier and a Mob Boss. I was going to betray my Uncle Paddy and Hank with the decision I made when Kelly was kissing me. I'm getting out of the business. It has brought too much drama into my life. I'm heading to Ireland in one week with my babies and am starting to consider staying longer than the two weeks I had originally planned. Kelly, probably sensing I wasn't 100% into it, broke the kiss, sat down and pulled me onto his lap. "So, do I need to apologize?" He asked. "Not at all." I replied and as I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew him in for another kiss I couldn't help but wonder if this was a mistake.
JAY'S P.O.V.
I decided to go back to the house after I knew everyone was gone. I need to explain to Christine that I had brought Erin by so she could apologize. I spent the day with Erin and we came to an agreement that we would be friends. I don't think she was overjoyed but she said she would back off Christine and focus on Paddy, DiStefano and Finn O'Doyle. I drove thru the gates and noticed Severide's car in the driveway. I walked out to the back patio and that's when I saw Christine on his lap kissing him. I'm done, I couldn't help but think bitterly as I stood there in shock watching them. She knows how I feel about him and there they are, apparently together, when my side of the bed wasn't even cold. Talk about being betrayed.
A/N: I want to thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter (Misconceptions & Deceptions). I personally love Kim and was happy that she was sticking up for Christine because she thought Christine needed someone in her corner. This chapter takes a little bit of a different turn and for once it doesn't end with Christine being the innocent one. Things are going to take quite a turn in the next chapter when she heads to Ireland. Hope you all enjoy!