As soon as Erin was out of view Jay turned around and sat in the closest chair and put his head in his hands, he felt like he was on the verge of having a panic attack. If Erin was not okay then he had no chance of being okay. He wanted more than anything to be going home with her but he knew they still had work to do, and he still had to talk Teddy into going back to Chicago. He had to be strong for her so that she could be strong for him. Partners. In everything. Erin, on the other side of the gate looked back and saw Jay with a lost look sit down on a chair and put his head in his hands, with tears in her eyes she said a silent prayer to give them both strength and she forced herself to walk to her awaiting flight back home.
From her seat on the plane she pulled out her phone. "Some people care too much. I think it is called love. Pooh on you Halstead." When Jay pulled out his phone he couldn't help but smile.
"If there ever comes a day when we cant be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever." He sent back quickly before standing up and heading back to find his best friend's little brother.
Teddy was asleep in the break room when he walked back into the office, he went in there and sat down on the couch next to hiM, closing the door behind him. He missed the closeness of Erin, knowing she was still on a plane and he was at a heightened alert while dragging...panic and exhaustion...a fun mix to have. Until he was with Erin again he knew it would only get worse. He had to get his job done and get home to her. Teddy slowly opened his eyes and seeing who it was moved closer and put his head against his leg. "My sister loves you. I can see why." He sarcastically flirted with his sisters partner.
"Okay Teddy...and I totally see how similar you and your sister are...you both have the same messed up sense of humor." Jay said with a smirk. He had enjoyed the last couple days getting to know the more personal side of Erin, and Teddy. Their time in New York had not been all work thankfully.
"You love her for it." He said sitting up straight and looking directly at Jay.
"I do." Jay agreed. "She needs you to go back to Chicago Teddy." He told him with a sad smile.
"There is nothing there for me Jay." Teddy said sadly, leaning into him for comfort this time, he was so lost...with no one...a feeling all too familiar. Jay put his arm around Teddy's shoulder.
"You have family there." Jay told him.
"Who? Erin? She has a good life there...I don't want to ruin that for her."
"She isn't the only one who cares about you." Jay said looking down at Teddy, seeing the tears in his eyes Jay pulled Teddy into his side. "You need to go back to Chicago."
"I don't know if I can." Teddy whispered.
"You need to be strong for Erin...she needs you to go home."
"Will you be there?"
"Anytime you need."
"Why is this so personal for you...Erin said something about your brother getting killed...was he in this too?"
"No...well...he was murdered by a pedophile..." Jay said trying to force back the tears that always came when he thought about Ben.
"Guess we are all pretty fucked up around here..." Teddy said pulling back from Jay. "Erin really wants me to go back?" He asked unsure of himself.
"She already bought you a ticket." Jay said tucking it and a cell phone into Teddy's jacket pocket. "Erin will pick you up from the airport, the phone has Erin and Voight's numbers."
"And yours?"
"And mine." Jay said smiling and dropping his arm.
"Why do you seem like you want to lay down and start crying right now?" Teddy asked Jay with tears in his own eyes.
"Because right now I do." Jay answered honestly. He didn't know why it was so easy to talk to Teddy...he had just met him...
"So why don't you?"
"I don't know if I would be able to stop."
"Erin is on the plane now...you usually talk to her about this stuff." He mused.
"She has seen me at my worst." Jay admitted.
"And you have seen me at mine." Teddy told him, "I don't know how to get back in the real world...and if I go back to Chicago that is what I have to do."
"We can help you."
"I wont be able to forget what happened."
"No...but you can move on and make a difference to kids who are in similar situations to what you guys went through." Jay suggested.
"I never graduated."
"So you can go to school and volunteer with kids in the system. Maybe spending time with them can help you move to the future. Show the kids that their is light at the end of the tunnel or something."
"No one in their right mind would let me anywhere near a kid right now...not after the things I have done."
"Teddy you were a victim in this...we will help get you into counseling if you want to do that or if you don't we will always be here for you to talk to us."
"I will think about it Jay...this is...I am scared."
"We are going to end this Teddy. Voight won't rest until we do...I can promise you that."
"He always did have a weird attachment to Erin...gave his wife a daughter she couldn't have...whatever happened to her? The last time a I saw Erin the two of them had been shopping for new clothes or shoes or something...
"She died."
"When?"
"Few years ago. Cut him some slack...he is a different guy now than he was...a lot of that is because of Erin."
"Right...maybe...I am a little jaded of the New York scene." Teddy smirked.
"Please for the love of God get on that plane tomorrow." Jay said standing up and walking out of the break room leaving Teddy alone again.
When Jay went back to check on him before he flew out he was already gone. He sent a quick text to Teddy, "The past can hurt. But the way I see it you can either run from it, or learn from it." Ten seconds later he received a response, "I didn't picture you for a Disney guy. See you soon." Relief washed over him and he knew Teddy wouldn't let him down even if he was scared. Jay said his goodbyes as he handed over all his paperwork to Amaro before catching a cab for his flight home. He couldn't wait to get back to his partner.
He switched on his phone a few hours later only to find multiple texts and voice-mails. One of their officers had been shot and killed, Voight was now on his way back with Amaro and Rollins and Adam knew the officer who had been gunned down. Instead of calling Erin he hopped in the first cab he saw and flashed his badge and got a quick ride back to the station where he ran upstairs and straight into her arms. "Platt..and Adam are really messed up over this Jay...and Teddy...he will never come back if he hears about this..."
"He will come back...just give him time." Jay told her with his secret smile. Erin relaxed at that and brought him quickly up to speed. The next couple days flew by, none of them went home, they worked around the clock, napping while they were waiting on results or phone calls to come in.
Once Erin found out that Teddy had been in the foster care system they quickly found Amy, who latched onto Erin. They had saved another kid...working to save Chris. Jay watched as Erin fought with Voight to let her bring Amy home with her. Of course he agreed...he didn't know how to say no to her. He went back to his apartment for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. It felt cold and empty until he found a stack of Disney movies next to the tv. He grabbed the top one on the stack and put it on for background noise. When Aladdin ended he picked up his phone and called her.
When she answered he could hear the end of Peter Pan in the background, "She just fell asleep." Erin told him. "I still haven't heard from Teddy...or my mom."
"He will come Erin...give him time." Jay told her again.
"How are you holding up with this?"
"As long as you are okay then I am okay." He told her.
"I am not okay with this Jay."
"Then I guess we are just fucked then."
"When this is over..."
"One day Erin."
"You owe me a movie." Erin told him, he could hear the smile return to her voice.
"Jungle Book seems fitting."
"I was not raised in a jungle."
"Really? Cuz I don't see Voight..."
"Goodnight Jay." Erin said laughing as she hung up on him. He went into his bedroom and laid down to sleep, before he could sleep though he sent Teddy another text, "Everyone has a shadow."
This time it took twenty minutes to receive a response. This time Teddy called him instead of texting. "She has our Mother looking for me." Teddy spit out.
"I think she has the whole world looking for you right now."
"I will call her tomorrow. I am scared Jay...really scared."
"Where are you right now?" Jay asked him.
"Just walking...I don't exactly have anywhere to go."
"Come over here." Jay told him, quickly giving him his address. Less than ten minutes later Jay heard the knocking at the door. "Hey Teddy." He said as he opened it. Teddy practically fell towards him, he was crying so hard he could barely breathe and he was shaking from the cold. Jay led him to the couch where he wrapped one of the many blankets Erin had left around his shoulders. He flipped the tv back on and restarted the movie.
A few minutes later he heard that laugh, the Lindsay laugh, "Really?" Teddy asked him nodding towards the movie.
"Makes everything happier." Jay said seriously.
"Does Erin know I am here?"
"Did you see me call her?"
"Will you let me do it my way tomorrow?"
"First thing Teddy. This has been killing her."
"And you."
"Don't pretend like you know everything." Jay said throwing a pillow at him. "How much younger than her are you?" He asked already knowing the answer.
"You've gotta love the baby brother." He said smiling.
"Go to sleep Teddy." Jay said getting up to go into his room.
"Thanks Jay." He said yawning and laying down to watch the movie.
The next morning Jay woke up Teddy with a cup of coffee and stack of pancakes, "See you in a few hours." Teddy nodded looking nervous. "Life will be good here Teddy. You've got family here." Jay told him before tossing him a key and running out the door.
Jay sat waiting impatiently at the station for Erin to come in, it seemed like he was the only one who even noticed her missing. Adam was too focused on finding the shooter, Kevin was down working in the computer lab and Antonio was either on the phone arguing with Laura or on the phone with a lawyer... Al was sitting back at his desk staring at the wall. They all knew she was with Amy. Jay was nervous about Teddy actually following through...he hoped it would happen sooner than later but he did not know.
He was glad when they had a break and him and Antonio had to go out...even if it would just be a quick check on Matilda. When they found her dead everything went to a blur...the foot chase on the roof. Watching him fall to his death, seeing Adam drop to his knees in tears when he did. Jay nodded to Hank and went to deal with Adam. "He killed Ross." Adam choked out when Jay crouched down to his level.
"He cant hurt anyone else now." Jay told him laying a heavy arm on his shoulder. "Lets get back to the station..."
"I need to tell Jenny." Adam told him as he wiped his eyes. "She asked me to keep her updated..."
"Call her now then before word gets out." Jay told him.
He watched as Adam called his friends wife, listened to the sobs on the other end of the line. A promise from Adam that he would be there as soon as he could. Jay didn't think anyone on the team realized how close Ross and Adam had been, he certainly didn't. They never really talked about home life...they had been a bit more the last few months but never anything serious.
"With all the time we spend together we sure don't know much about each other." Jay mused after Adam hung up the phone.
"Would be nice if that changed...try being the new guy."
"None of us have worked together that long..."
"I've never lost a friend before."
"It doesn't get easier." Jay mumbled. "You ready to head back?"
"I'll be down in a minute." Adam told him. He nodded and went downstairs to join Voight.
By the time they got back to the station everyone was mentally and physically exhausted. They felt they had reached a dead end and that just was. It okay with anyone in Intelligence. Antonio kept looking at Adam and back to the photo of Jules with tears in his eyes. Adam looked completely lost, a cross between devastated and pissed off. Al was back to staring at the wall...Jay wished for five minutes he could read his mind.
When he turned around he saw Erin coming up the steps with Teddy and he couldn't help but smile. He was sure he looked insane when everyone else was so glum but he couldn't help it. Erin was his light and now that Teddy was back he knew she was going to be okay...which meant he was going to be okay.
"How's it going Teddy?" Jay asked with a smirk as Erin left him at her desk.
"Oh you know." He answered with a small smile. Jay smiled and relaxed back at his desk. He watched Teddy look around, take in the life that his sister had made for herself. When his eyes settled on the board and he saw the picture... "Oh my God..." His arm pointed, uncontrolled in response to what he was seeing.
"What?" Jay asked jumping up and going towards Teddy.
"That's him...that's the guy who is in charge." Teddy said walking towards the paper. Jay ripped it down and forced it into Al's hand before wrapping Teddy in his arms.
"You got him Teddy. It is all going to be over now." Jay promised him. He felt Teddy grab ahold of his shirt and hold on for his life and felt his tears soak into his shirt. He heard everyone rushing around and running out but his focus was not on them.
Jay's focus was on Teddy. Making sure Teddy was going to be okay. Erin needed him to be okay. He led him to his desk and let Teddy sink onto that as he held him into his chest. Jay leaned his head down and rested it on his, "We got them Teddy...you can breathe now...it is all over. I told you coming home would be a good thing."
He felt Erin's hand on his back and he looked over to his partner. She smiled sadly at him and he tightened his hold on her brother. "It's a whole New World." Teddy said pulling back slightly and looking up at Jay.
"Fantastic point of view...no one can tell us no..." Jay smiled at him and released his hold, only keeping a hand on his shoulder.
"Or where to go or say we're only dreaming..." Teddy said, a smile reaching his eyes for the first time since they had found him.
"Aladdin?" Erin asked looking at them confused..."you watched that last night..." She cocked her head to Jay.
She watched as Jay and Teddy made eye contact and smiled. "Thank you Jay." She said pulling him into a hug.
"Hey Princess, what about me?" Teddy smirked.
"Where have you been staying since you got here?" She asked him.
"Around."
"Halstead?" She asked.
"He came over after I talked to you last night." Jay broke down and told her.
"Before that?"
"I was just walking around Erin...I don't exactly have a place here..."
"So where are you going to stay now?" She asked him.
"Mom said I can stay with her...or..." He looked up to Jay who nodded, "Or I may couch hop til I figure something out."
"What are you two? Best friends now or something?"
Jay and Teddy both started laughing. Erin was jealous at the bond the two of the had obviously developed but at the same time she was so incredibly happy. She shook her head with a smile and walked off to find Nadia and Amy leaving her two favorite guys behind her.