Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination.
A/N: This one is for you Jo.
Jay sat in complete silence as he watched cars drive around. He was kicking himself for not stopping for coffee but that seemed unimportant compared to what he was doing right now. Platt's text mentioned a slap on the wrist with a warning considering it was a first offence and Antonio's only said the alibi checked out, which meant that Owen Jacobson had been kicked. He didn't like that one bit because that meant that there was a chance that he would go after Kim and Avery again and that made his blood run cold. Avery was small, vulnerable, and defenseless; she needed someone to protect her from men like her father. He had seen the protective fire in Kim's eyes when Owen had tried to push past her but there was so much she could do against a man twice her size. Blood simmering under his skin, he couldn't understand where that protective urge was coming from. They had done tons of cases like these but never had it affected him like this one did. Antonio's words danced in his head, words he knew were sincere, his friend looking out for him, but this wasn't attachment, not in the way he saw it, or could it be? He forced the thought out of his head and concentrated on what he had to do.
Kim watched as Detective Jay Halstead closed the door behind him, finally leaving her alone with her daughter who was now fast asleep on her chest.
"You did really good tonight baby." She pressed a kiss to the top of her head, where Jay's fingers had been just moments ago. She was thankful that her daughter was intelligent enough to seek help because she honestly had no idea how this would have ended had she not made the 911 call to contact Jay. She saw these situations every day in her line of work but never in a million years would she think that it would happen to her when she first met Owen Jacobson. She had bumped into him on the street fresh off her first week in the S Michigan avenue's DCFS officer. His height had startled her, being a good head taller than she was and much wider. The rich colour of his brown eyes and broad smile had drawn her in, accepting his offer for a coffee far too easily. They had hit it off right away, Owen sharing that he had played football in college but that an injury to his knee had sidelined his athletic career, forcing him to go for his second passion, cars. His father had owned a garage when he was a teenager and he had always loved working there after school and on the weekends. They had started dating shortly after that, a whirlwind by anyone's standards. Moving in together came less than six months after dating, Kim thinking she had found the one to share her life for the rest of it. Avery had been a surprise for both of them but Owen had promised her that he was happy and that he would love them both. Things hadn't exactly gone ad planned and five months after finding out the happy news, his attitude had started to change, making him lose his job as head mechanic in a prestigious dealership. Kim had tried to give him all the love and encouragement that she could, trying to make him invested in the rest of the pregnancy to lift his spirits but it just hadn't worked and Owen was more down than usual, his moods all over the place. He had never been physical with her but his words had been his preferred way to try to break her so she made the decision, two months before giving birth to end it with him. It had been a tough decision, one she hated to make when she thought of the feelings she once held for him but it was the best decision she could make for the future. It had been tough at first, Nicole being her constant support, even throughout Avery's painful birth.
Kim blinked the thoughts away as her phone rang, an unknown caller on her ID. She answered in a whisper, not wanting to wake her daughter. The news wasn't good but she thanked the person on the other side of the line before hanging up and standing, wanting to get Avery settled and her body a stretch. Avery turned her head and snuggled closer in the crook of her neck as she walked them to her bedroom, not wanting her to sleep in her own bed, preferring to have her daughter close to her for the night. Kim made sure that she was snuggled into the covers, knowing how much she loved the warmth, making sure to leave one of the night lights she kept in her own room for times like these. She walked through the apartment, turning off lights as she went, only leaving the living room in a soft glow when she locked the front door, both locks in place. Leaning against it, Kim closed her eyes, allowing herself to take a deep breath, the heaviness of the situation hitting her all at once. Running her fingers through her hair, she slid down the door, a chocked cry escaping her lips. Owen had been close to getting inside her apartment and Jay Halstead had been the only thing that had stood between him and his goal. Now that she knew that Owen had been released with a slap on the wrist and a warning, Kim allowed herself to feel her emotions completely, breaking down crying, trying not to wake her daughter that was sleeping nearby. Air came in her lungs in ragged breaths and she ran her hands over her face to remove some tears before standing up and pressing her palms against the door's hard surface, inhaling and exhaling a few times to steady her breath before opening her eyes and pushing herself away from the door and turning off the last light.
When she walked into her room after washing her face with cool water, Kim slid under the covers and watched Avery sleep, the rainbow colour of the night light lighting her face. She looked peaceful, without a care in the world, the soft lines of her face undisturbed. A curl fell out of her braid and fell against her eyes and on instinct, her arm rose to brush it aside and back behind her little ear. The red numbers of her alarm clock could be seen on the other side of her daughter and she realized that she had been watching her sleep for more than hour, her eyes refusing to close in fear of something happening while she did, knowing that Owen was out with nor further charges against him.
Kim woke with a start, small beads of sweat falling down her neck and into her t-shirt, her heart racing in her chest. Her first instinct was to check on Avery only to find her peacefully undisturbed next to her. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, pushing the covers away and she swung her legs to the side of the bed, her throat dry from the fear Kim padded towards the kitchen for a glass of water to slow her thumping heart. The fear gripped her heart and she looked through every room of the darkened space to ease her mind only for her body to stiffen when she walked by the living room window. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked, a pick-up truck parked in front of her building. Her heart started pounding faster, her brain cooking up various versions of Owen barging into her place to finish what he had started earlier, refusing to see past the scenarios in order to evaluate the scene in front of her. Forcing her eyes to blink away the fog, the light post from the street below gave her a better view of the person behind the wheel and her body visibly relaxed as she realized who it was. Surprised that she could recognise him after she had been in his presence less than an hour total, her heart slowed more at the realisation that Jay Halstead was sitting in his truck in the middle of the night, keeping an eye on them both. Smiling to herself, her heart giving an involuntary flutter, surprising even herself, she closed the curtains and went in search of her original idea of a drink of water before going back to bed, her eyes closing right away with the knowledge that they were safe.
When it was clear that he was falling asleep in the middle of the night after hours of inactivity, Jay set several alarms on his phone so he could grab small windows of sleep to stay alert the rest of the night. Stifling a yawn as the sun started rising on the horizon, Jay ran both hands against his face, trying to shake the sleep away. A ding on his phone signaled a message from Antonio to grab some sleep after the last few days of chaos and the only reply he could stomach was to have a patrol car to sit on Kim Burgess's place until he could figure out his next step. His gut churned but told him he had to keep digging because Owen Jacobson wasn't innocent and that he would see this through, even if it was just to ease his mind and give the Burgess girls some closure and lower the stressors the whole situation brought them both. He promised himself he'd be gone as soon as the patrol car showed up.
Kim felt a warm presence against her chest. Somewhere during the night, Avery had snuggled her little body into hers. She seemed content in her spot and Kim hated to remove a source of heat for her daughter but her bladder forced her out of that same warmth. Exhaustion still coursed through her body but pushing it away and slipped into a robe and padded to the living room, letting her memory guide her. Moving the curtain aside, the grey pick-up truck that belonged to Jay Halstead sat in the same spot as she had found it in the dead of night. With a curl of her lip and an involuntary skip of her heart, she started the coffee machine and headed for a shower. She debated if sending Avery to school was the best move with the uncertainty of the moment and used her time under the water to think. Think about her life since taking one of the biggest decision of her life so far, putting her daughter and herself first; Think about the job that gave her more time with her daughter as a single mother, leading to more time with her close family. Think of the green eyes that had saved her and her daughter, the owner of the eyes still sitting two flights down making sure they were safe while this tornado of life swirled around them, trying to stay rooted into a reality where she deserved better than what she was getting, better than she was expecting for herself.
Not hearing a sound as she stepped out of the shower, Kim's decision was made for her. She still had a few days before she had to go back to work so for her own peace of mind, Avery would stay with her and they would have fun with games and movies. All about comfort, Kim slipped in a pair of warm leggings, low cut v-neck and wrapped herself in a loose open front sweater. Making sure that Avery was still sleeping, Kim quietly slipped out the door and went down the stairs and out in the Chicago air. Looking on both sides before crossing the street she approached the truck and knocked on the window, startling the driver.
"Kim?" He lowered his window.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." She stammered lightly. "I noticed you last night and you were still here when I woke up." Feeling her cheeks flush and missing his do the same she continued. "And I was wondering if you maybe wanted a coffee, shit, maybe I should just have brought you one. It's just that Avery is still sleeping and I don't want her to wake up and be alone." Her rant was interrupted by a smile and a chuckle.
"I'd love one thank you." Taking a step back and allowing him to get out of his truck she crossed the street in step with him and they walked back up to her apartment.
"How do you take your coffee?" She asked over her shoulder as she brought her hair up in a top bun.
"Black is fine thank you."
"Long night?"
"Something like that." He took a seat at Kim's table, running his hands against his thighs. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I'd be in front of your place last night, you didn't need that extra stress in the middle of the night not after finding out we had to release him." He was trying very hard to reign in his anger because she didn't need to have to deal with his issues.
"It's fine." She waved him off. "There was just this moment, it was just my mind playing tricks on me, it's fine."
"If it's anything that could help our investigation." He trailed off as she set a steaming cup in front of him.
"It's nothing, it was just a nightmare." She shook her head. "I should be thanking you, or maybe apologize for making you lose some sleep sitting in your truck just to babysit an over bubbly girl and her neurotic mother." The roll of her eyes didn't go unnoticed to Jay who was looking at her intently.
"Hey, you are not neurotic." His eyes were soft underlined with something fierce that she wouldn't interpret. "Domestic violence isn't something easily swept under the rug and combined with the accident, no one would fault you for being scared."
"I just want to be able to protect Avery and he was so close to." She chocked up hiding her face in her hands for a quick breath. "If you hadn't showed up when you did."
"But I did and you did good, so did Avery." He stopped the stretch of his hand towards hers as he heard shuffling beyond Kim.
"Mommy, what's for breakfast?" Avery was dragging her feet with her little fists rubbing at her eyes to push sleep away.
"What would you like to have baby?" Avery crawled into her lap, straddling her waist and placing her cheek on her mom's chest.
"Can we have pancakes?"
"Only if you don't forget your manners and say hello to our guest." Kim shared a knowing glace and a smile with Jay over her sleepy daughter's head waiting for her reaction that was seconds away.