This story is starting to come to an end. I'm not exactly sure how many chapters will be left but it won't be many.
Tuesday Jay called in sick to work. It wasn't a complete lie he really was sick. Maybe he had brought the sickness upon himself by drinking way too much the night before, but nonetheless he felt terrible.
Erin was more then grateful when she learned Jay wasn't going to be at work today. She knew that they couldn't go on like this forever. They were still partners, but right now they both just needed some space.
Jay finally rolled out of bed at 4 pm. He devoured a slice of cold leftover peperoni pizza and fell back onto his brown leather couch to watch some television. He stared at the TV not really taking it in. He was too busy thinking. Thinking about what an idiot he was being. Drinking too much and calling in to work was not who he was. He had to let it go, let her go. He'd been rejected by girls before, and had always moved on. He wouldn't let this time be any different. Erin was his partner, a great partner at that, and he had to accept that that's all they would ever be. He would go to work tomorrow and be fine. He would talk to Erin. He'd tell her he was sorry for acting like an ass and that she was right and they needed to go back to the way things were before.
When he finally felt like he could breathe again, like his mind was clear, and his ego and heart back intact his phone rang. He looked down at the screen and saw Voight's name. Curious to find out why his boss would be calling him when he knew he was sick he answered.
"Hello Voight what's up?"
"Something happened. Lindsay's hurt I'm in the waiting room at the hospital now."
Jay almost dropped the phone. His heart jumped up into his throat and his stomach sank. He opened his mouth to tell Voight he was coming but no words would come out. He was frozen. "Halstead are you there?"
Voight's question brought him back "Yeah I'm on my way." He hung up and ran to his room to throw on some clothes. Jay grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and sprinted down the three flights of stairs and out to his car. He would break every traffic law on the way to the hospital. He knew that if he got pulled over any cop would understand his situation. Traffic laws don't apply when your partner's in the hospital.
The whole drive all he could think was that it was his fault. If he hadn't acted so childish and just went to work today this never would have happened. He would have been there to protect her. He was her partner and it was his duty to have her back. He had failed her, and if she wasn't ok he would never forgive himself.
Anger was Jay's go to emotion when he was terrified. He pulled into the hospital parking lot and there was a family slowly making their way across the cross walk. He laid on the horn telling them to get out of his way. Then he couldn't find a parking spot. He smacked the steering wheel "Son of a bitch!" He couldn't believe this was happening right now. He finally found a spot in the back of the parking lot. He sprinted to entrance of the hospital. When he got to Voight he was completely out of breath.
"What…..Happened?" he asked trying to suck in air.
"We were on a bust. After we caught the bastards I radioed her in, and she didn't answer. When we found her she was unconscious and in a pool of her own blood. The son of a bitch must have hit her over the head with something because she had a huge knot on the forehead. When she fell back she cracked her head open that's where the blood came from. "
"She's going to be ok right?"
"Yeah she's tough." Voight wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Jay or himself.
Jay sat with his head in his hands. He couldn't believe where he was right now. How did everything get so messed up? What if she wasn't going to be okay? The last time they saw each other he had said terrible things he didn't mean. His 'Nothing special' comment kept replaying in his head. He could hear himself saying it and could picture the cold expression he had on his face when he said it. He was trying to hurt her, and he regretted it now. He'd do anything to take it back.
An hour later the doctor entered the waiting room. "Family of Erin Lindasay."
Jay and Voight both hopped up and hurried over to him. "Ms. Lindsay has a mild traumatic brain injury. She suffers a grade three concussion; we know this because she went unconscious. We had to put seven staples in the back of her head. Until we can do an MRI of the brain we won't know if there is any swelling or permanent damage, but as of right now it looks like she will make a full recovery."
Jay let out a sigh of relief and put his hand on Voight's shoulder.
"She needs to rest but you can see her for a bit. The nurse will be here in a minute to take you to her"
Voight gave Jay a look then looked down at Jay's hand resting on his shoulder. Jay pulled his had back quickly. "Oh sorry Sargent." Just then the nurse came out to lead the way.
Voight went in first. Jay waited back by the door. He couldn't go inside. He didn't know what to say and felt too guilty.
"How you feeling?" Voight asked walking over to her bed.
Her head was wrapped covering the wounds and she had an IV of fluids in her hand. She looked exhausted but other than that Jay was surprised at how healthy she appeared.
"I've been better that's for sure, but do you think the staples will set off the metal detector when I walk into the precinct?" she joked with a smile.
Jay couldn't help but smile from the door. She was as quick and witty as ever and he now knew she was going to be ok.
Voight smiled and shook is head. "You wont be back to work until you have fully recovered. I'm not taking any chances."
Erin rolled her eyes. "It's a bump on the head Voight. I'm fine." She replied irritated.
He turned around to Jay "Well stop standing around and get your ass in here Halstead! What are you doin?"
Jay walked over to the other side of Erin's bed. "I'm going to call the station and give them an update. I'll be back in a few." And with that Voight left the room.
"Hey" Jay said awkwardly with a half smile.
"Hey" Erin echoed staring up at him.
"The one day I don't come in you decide to go and get your self beat up. Nice going Lindsay." He joked.
"Maybe if I would have had some back up." She quipped back.
His expression got serious. "Yeah I'm really sorry about that. I've been acting like an idiot. I should have been there today. This is my fault."
Erin felt bad. She wasn't really kidding when she implied it wouldn't had happened if she had back up, but at the same time she didn't want Jay to blame himself. "It's part of the job Jay. It's not your fault." She gave him a small smile.
Just then the nurse walked in. Jay and Erin both looked over to her. "She needs her rest. You can come back and see her tomorrow."
Jay finally reached out and touched Erin. Placing his hand gently on her arm "I'll see you later."
"Jay it's really not you fault, so don't beat yourself up over it."
Jay smiled and nodded. Then he left for the night.