Erin woke up to the sound of her alarm. She laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been a difficult night to say the least. She spent most of the night questioning whether she had been too hard on Kelly, and whether she could've handled the situation differently. She probably got 4 hours of sleep all together. Erin dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and put some make up on, trying to cover the dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep. She put on her jeans, leather jacket, and combat boots, and left her apartment.
When she arrived at the station, she went up to the break room to pour herself some coffee, and noticed Jay standing near the coffee pot.
"Morning," Jay said, flashing his signature grin.
"Yeah, morning," Erin responded, trying to avoid making eye contact with Jay. She failed miserably. She reached for a mug on one of the shelves.
"You look like you've been to hell and back. What's up Lindsay?" Halstead said concerned.
"Nothing. I couldn't sleep that's all." Erin snapped back.
"If you say so," Halstead said sarcastically. Erin gave him a look and started walking toward her desk, and Jay followed her. "Hey, wait, I'm sorry. Whatever it is, it's none of my business. Are we still on for drinks tonight?"
Erin had totally forgot about the plans she had made the night before. "Listen, I'm not really up to going out tonight. How about you come by my place after shift? We can have pizza and beer, and watch a movie?" She gave him a small smile.
"Yeah sounds good." Halstead said. He was trying to figure out what was up with her. They made there way into the intelligence office area.
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"Halstead and Lindsay! Let's go! We've got work to do!" Sergeant Voight shouted from across the room. Erin and Jay took their seats at their desk.
At around 8 pm, Voight let everyone go home. The intelligence team had a new case, a large drug ring selling deadly heroin to college kids. They spent the day trying to get leads on the members of the drug ring when Voight decided to send them home. Everyone was exhausted, especially Erin.
Erin and Jay walked to their cars together in silence. Erin's mind was still focused on Kelly, while Jay was focused on what was bothering Erin. Jay just knew something wasn't right with her.
Before they reached their cars, Jay broke the silence. "So, I'll pick up the pizza on the way over. I hope you have cold beer at your house." Jay said half jokingly.
Erin gave him a smile. "Yeah I do, Halstead! And the pizza is supposed to be on me, don't worry about."
"Don't worry about it. I can tell you've been having a rough day. I'll bring the pizza and hopefully then you can tell me what's on your mind." Jay said kindly.
"Yeah maybe," Erin said, "thanks Jay. See you soon."
Jay walked into Erin's apartment building with a box of pizza and climbed the stairs. When he reached her floor and knocked on the door, and waited for a response. Erin opened the door, smiling at him, and flashing her signature dimples.
"Hey partner," Jay said. He walked into the apartment and put the pizza on the coffee table in the living room and sat down. Erin went to the fridge and grabbed a six-pack of beer and grabbed plates from the cabinet.
"So what movie are we watching?" Jay asked while Erin joined him on the couch.
"Actually I was hoping we could talk first." Erin responded.
"Oh, are you about to dump all of your girl problems on me again?" Jay said jokingly. Erin stared at him. "I'm kidding, Erin, go ahead. Talk." His blue eyes burned with curiosity.
"So yesterday, I went to Kelly's. He skipped work and was a drunken mess. I kind of blew up on him and said that I think we need a break, but now I'm not sure how I feel. Part of me feels guilty for leaving him but the other part of me wants to be there and help him out." Erin spilled to Jay.
"Erin, you have to do what's best for you. Give yourself some time to think. It's only been a day." Jay said to her, while reaching for a beer.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Erin told him.
"You bet I am," Halstead said with a laugh. "So what movie are we watching?"
"How about a comedy? 21 Jump Street?" Lindsay asked.
"Sounds good to me." Halstead answered excitedly.
Erin put the disc in the DVD player. She returned to her seat next to Jay and started eating pizza. 15 minutes into the movie, Jay and Erin were both laughing hysterically at the movie. And around the halfway point, Erin started to doze off. Jay noticed her head resting in his lap, and shortly after he dozed off too.
Jay woke up at 7 the next morning, and decided to brew some coffee for the two of them. Erin stayed asleep on the couch. Today was one of their rare day offs, and Jay wasn't sure what his plans were. He wanted to spend the day with Erin, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He didn't want to overwhelm her.
As he poured himself a cup of coffee, he heard a knock at the door. Erin jumped at the sound of it, and looked around disoriented when she found herself asleep on the couch.
"I got it," Jay said. Jay opened the door, and there stood Kelly Severide.
"Uh, hi…" Jay said awkwardly.