Hi guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews! :) I love reading them and seeing what you think. Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or prompts for me!
This chapter is a long one, but I felt like I still needed to develop Erin and Jay's relationship a bit more. I have a few ideas of where I want to take the story, but I'm always open for new ideas! Hope you enjoy!
One Week Later
It was a quiet night in the Intelligence office, most of the team either finishing paperwork or gearing up to head home. Voight had left an hour earlier, off to do Lord knew what on a solo case he'd been working. Halstead, Ruzek, and Atwater each sat at their desks, huddled over stacks of paper that only seemed to be growing. Halstead covered a yawn and looked at the clock on his computer, 8:56 PM.
"Hey guys, I think I'm gonna call it a night." He announced, standing and collecting his things. Ruzek looked up from his desk and nodded, giving Halstead a salute. Atwater stuck out a fist and Halstead bumped it as he walked by.
"See you in the AM, brother." Atwater called as Halstead made for the stairs. Antonio was climbing up, his hands holding a tray of coffee with a stack of files tucked beneath his arm.
"Halstead, hey. You heading out for the night?" He asked, pausing and taking a sip from his cup.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna finish up my reports at home. You prepping for a long night?" Halstead questioned, tipping his head towards the tray of drinks.
Antonio sighed and shrugged his shoulder. "I ain't got anything better to do." He said, referring to the fact that his wife and kids were no longer in Chicago. He'd been taking it hard, as far as Halstead could tell. The detective hadn't taken the frown off of his face since he'd gone home to find his house empty, Laura and the kids having gone to stay with her sister. He'd been pulling all-nighters, doubling up on his workload to avoid returning to the emptiness that had become his home.
Halstead clapped Antonio on the shoulder and squeezed, "Hey man, I'm sorry. You know my place is always open for company. You wanna watch a game, drink a beer? I got you covered." He offered, giving Antonio a sympathetic smile.
"Thanks, bro. That means a lot." He nodded, starting up the stairs. "Oh, hey, have you talked to Lindsay, lately? How's she doing?"
Halstead smiled, "Yeah, I talked to her this morning. She's doing a lot better." He attempted casually.
"Good, good. Tell her to take as much time as she needs, but that we're here waiting for her when she gets back." Antonio said, backing his way up to the steps.
"Will do." Halstead responded, giving a wave and slinging his bag over his shoulder. He continued down the stairs, giving Platt a wink as he passed by her desk, a gesture which she ignored, as usual. Halstead chuckled as he made his way out into the brisk Chicago air. As he walked to his car, he couldn't help the grin on his face. He was about to go home to the best part of his day.
Jay knocked on the door, hearing the sounds of the TV in the background and the soft padding of footsteps. The door opened to reveal Erin Lindsay, dressed in yoga pants and an oversized Chicago PD sweatshirt, a takeout box of Chinese in her left hand.
"Chinese, again? Really?" Jay asked, setting his things down by the counter and removing his boots.
Erin shoveled in a mouthful of noodles and shrugged, walking back to the couch and settling down beneath of blanket.
"I got plenty, so dig in." She said between bites, giving him a smile. "I got your spring rolls too, so don't be pouty."
Jay beamed at her, pulling a beer out of the fridge, popping the cap and taking a long drag out of the bottle. He piled his plate full and walked over to the couch, settling himself on the opposite end of Erin.
"So Antonio was asking about you today," Jay shared, crunching into his spring roll, hungrily.
"And? What'd you tell him?" Erin asked, raising an eyebrow and twirling her fork around in her noodles.
"That you're doing well." He answered, his mouth full of food.
And she was doing well, considering. The swelling around her eyes and cheeks was beginning to go down and the bruises covering her body had begun to fade to a light shade of green. Her tears had stopped and the dull look in her eyes had started to diminish as the week had progressed. But the nightmares remained. Each night she struggled to fall asleep, dreading the impending nightmares that never failed to wake her with choked screams. She and Jay had agreed on him spending the first night at her apartment. What they hadn't planned on was Erin's desperate need for Jay to help her get through each night. She never spoke about what had happened in the warehouse when Jay attempted to bring it up. It was only after she'd awoken screaming, calmed down by Jay and encircled in his arms that she opened up about her ordeal.
Santiago Martinez had taken the opportunity to make Erin his own personal plaything over the five days of her captivity. She'd been kept in a back room for most of the time, hand-cuffed to the wall on a filthy mattress. Martinez had shown no mercy. After Erin had confirmed that she'd been raped, in between sobs that wracked her body and had her clinging to Jay like a desperate child, he'd had trouble holding back the rage that seemed to be consuming him from the inside. In not so many words, Jay had tipped Voight off to what Martinez had done. The drug lord had fled the scene on the day of the bust, but Jay could bet his life that whatever case Voight had been working on this past week had something to do with Martinez. Jay wasn't so sure that he'd ever see a headline announcing the capture of the criminal and that was something he could live with. Voight had a history of disappearing the crooks that he felt Chicago needed to be cleansed of. And this criminal had gone after one of Voight's own. There would be no happy ending for Santiago Martinez with Hank Voight on his tail.
Jay pulled himself from his thoughts and looked over at Erin. She was wearing a sweatshirt that she'd stolen from his duffel and he was working hard to keep a smile from spreading across his lips.
"What're you staring at? Weirdo." She grumbled, though Jay could see the corners of her mouth threatening lift. Erin stretched out her body along the couch, shoving her feet beneath Jay's legs and settling a pillow under her head.
"Oh my god, your feet are ice! Put some socks on!" Jay cried, inching away from her small feet.
"You're such a baby, Halstead," She laughed, "Grab me a blanket then." She motioned towards the basket by his side.
Jay threw a blanket her way, sinking himself down into the couch and propping his feet up on the table. Erin flipped through the channels on the television, deciding on a hockey game with the knowledge that it was Jay's favorite team playing.
"What a sweetheart." He smiled, patting her leg and taking another sip of his beer.
Erin's phone began vibrating on the table, the name on the screen flashing Kelly Severide with a picture of the two of them at Molly's. Erin looked down at the device, reached over and silenced it. Jay raised his eyebrows, shooting Erin a look across the couch. He couldn't ignore the small bit of pleasure that he felt from her snubbing her firefighter boyfriend.
"Trouble in paradise?" He asked, aiming at keeping his tone uninterested.
Erin groaned, rubbing a hand across her forehead and closing her eyes. "I just don't feel like dealing with everything. He wants me to give him answers that I'm not ready to give yet." She admitted, her voice raspy. "Plus he wasn't too happy seeing you here the other day." Erin rolled her eyes.
"Me? All I was doing was dropping off some papers about the case!" Jay defended, incredulously.
The two partners shared a look, both knowing that he'd been over for more than just to drop off paperwork.
Four Days Earlier
It had been two days since Jay had first stayed the night and Erin had already begun to agonize about spending the night alone. She'd called him while he was at work and asked him to come hang out when he got off shift, though they both knew that he'd probably end up sleeping over yet again. It was an unspoken understanding between partners. Neither Jay nor Erin had anticipated Kelly Severide showing up unannounced, though, creating a situation that was uncomfortable for each party. Jay had been the one to answer the door, his grin quickly fading as he saw Severide standing in the hallway.
"Is Erin here?" Severide asked, a hint of irritation lining his voice.
Jay let the door swing open a little wider, "Yeah, come on in. She's in the kitchen." He motioned, stepping aside as Severide brushed past him with an intentional roughness.
"Okay…" Jay had muttered under his breath. He shut the door and followed Severide deeper into the apartment.
Erin was standing over a pint of ice cream, piling her bowl full of the rich chocolaty goodness. In the past, she'd admitted to her partner that chocolate ice cream was her comfort food of choice, along with Chinese. On his way over, Jay had picked up three cartons, not wanting to put a limit on the amount of "comfort" that Erin needed tonight.
She'd looked up in surprise, not expecting to see Severide tonight. She wiped her hands on a dish towel and gave Severide a sheepish smile. "Hey, Kelly."
Severide moved around the counter and embraced Erin, engulfing her in an intimate hug and leaving Jay to stand there awkwardly.
"I'll give you two a minute." Jay said, taking his beer and excusing himself out onto the balcony. Severide ignored him but Erin shot him an apprehensive look.
Once Jay was out of the room, Severide took a step back, resting his hands on either side of Erin's face and brushing a kiss on her forehead.
"God, I was so worried about you. How are you? You good?" He asked, stroking the side of her face and peering into her eyes. It all felt too intimate for Erin, too soon. She pulled away from Severide, subtly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm fine, Kelly, really. You don't need to worry." She forced a smile his way. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you, lately. I just needed a little time."
Severide's brows knitted together, "Erin, you don't have to be brave around me. You can talk to me, you know that? I'm here to help."
Erin could see that his intentions were good, that his heart was in the right place. But he was being too forceful, he wanted too much from her too soon. She looked out the windows at Jay, leaning against the rails and staring out at the city skyline.
"I know." She murmured, glancing up at him. "I'll let you know when I need to talk, kay?" She smiled and stretched up to kiss him on the cheek.
He nodded, "You want me to stay over tonight? We could rent a movie and just relax." Severide offered, rubbing a thumb over Erin's knuckles.
"Jay and I actually have to go over some paperwork tonight, about the case." She frowned, rubbing her hands up and down Severide's arms. "Plus, you have a long shift ahead of you! You need your rest."
Severide couldn't understand why she was being so distant, and the fact that she seemed to have easily replaced him with Halstead caused him to clench his jaw.
"Yeah, sure. I'll call you later, okay?" He assured Erin, planting a kiss on her lips and turning back the way he came.
"Ok." She grimaced, as she heard the sound of the door slam shut. Shaking her head, Erin grabbed her bowl of ice cream that had melted down halfway into a cold soup. She spooned in a mouthful as she made her way to the balcony. She knocked on the door and held up her bowl, motioning for Jay to come inside.
"Hurry up, the movie's almost on." She ordered as Jay slipped into the warmth of the apartment.
"Severide?" He asked, looking around and seeing no sign of the firefighter.
"He had to go. Early shift in the morning." She answered vaguely, switching the tv on and snuggling into a blanket.
Jay nodded his head, choosing to drop the topic based on the tone in Erin's voice. He sat down on the couch and within minutes, Erin had scooted closer into his side. Though he didn't know exactly what was happening between Erin and Severide, he was glad to have another night alone with his partner.