Hey again! I just can't seem to stop writing Linstead scenes in this dang locker room hahaha. I had this idea almost as soon as I published the last chapter, even though I marked it as complete. It took awhile to write because work has been crazy, but I finally got around to it and really enjoyed writing it. I hope you guys like it too! Please review and let me know your thoughts. I'm going to mark this as complete again, but you never know! ;)
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That locker room sure has seen a few things from each member of Intelligence. It isn't just a place to decompress, or get changed to go home. For Jay Halstead, it's the place where Erin Lindsay agrees to marry him.
It's been a long week for the Intelligence Unit. They've been chasing a serial killer who's killing teenage girls, the kind of case that leaves a bitter taste in their mouths and causes tensions to run high. They've had a week full of long nights and early mornings, searching for clues and chasing down leads.
Jay walks over to Erin's desk and places a hot cup of coffee next to her hand. She looks up from her computer in surprise, and shoots him a small but genuine smile, thanking him with her eyes. He nods and smiles a you're welcome back at her before heading to his own desk.
Only minutes later, Mouse runs into the room. "Got him!" He gasps, holding up his iPad with a flashing light that must indicate where Connors is.
Voight strides out of his office at the noise, quickly confirming with Mouse before barking "Gear up!" to the team.
Jay and Erin both push themselves from their desk chairs and hurry down to roll up. Once down there, they help each other secure their vests and grab their guns, heading straight for the 300.
Twenty minutes later the entire squad is assembled outside a large, abandoned warehouse.
"Alright, we need to get this guy." Voight emphasises. "His days of hurting young girls are over. We know that he does not care about who he takes down, so everyone, be careful in there. Got it?"
Everyone nods. They all want this bastard taken down just as much as he does.
"Then let's get this son of a bitch."
Lindsay, Halstead, Olinsky and Ruzek take the back entrance, while Voight, Dawson and Atwater cover the front.
Jay knocks the door down on their end, and they all rush in, timed perfectly with the guys at the other end.
"Chicago PD!"
The warehouse is large and open, with only stacks of boxes providing a few hiding places. The team manoeuvres around carefully, searching for Connors. Suddenly, a shot rings out and echoes throughout the warehouse, sending everyone diving for cover where they can find it.
Erin ends up opposite Jay, a small, uncovered path separating them as they bend behind a short stack of boxes each. They both take turns aiming for Connors.
Erin watches as Jay takes a shot, bending around the side of the pile. A sound behind them pulls his attention, and he whirls around with his gun still outstretched. Erin peers around the corner to cover what Jay has moved from. As she does, Connors materialises with his gun, ready to take out Jay in that moment.
"Jay!" Erin screams in warning. Her partner looks around at the last second, but she's already thrown herself at him, knocking him off balance so that they both fall in a heap on the hard concrete, narrowly dodging the bullet that flies past their heads.
"You okay?" Jay yells from his position a few feet over.
"Yeah. You?" She calls back.
All of a sudden, Connor is standing above her, and she doesn't have a moment to move before he's hauling her off the ground. Erin Lindsay may be a fighter, but she's also tiny and against a man who's at least twice her height and weight.
Jay's eyes widen as he watches their perp spin his partner around so he's using her as a shield for his body, then points his gun into her side. Within a split second he's on his feet, aiming his gun at the man. Silence falls over the warehouse as the unit realises what's happened, and bullets stop flying.
"You don't want to do this." Voight cautions the man as he moves closer to him and Erin, his hand outstretched. He's using his deathly quiet voice; the one that his unit knows is the most dangerous of all.
"I think I do." Connors sneers back at him, watching the faces of every detective in front of them, each with their guns raised and aimed at him. "We all know I'm going down for this anyway, might as well take a cop with me. Especially since this one is so pretty. I clearly picked the prize from this team."
Jay sees red as the murderer talks about his girlfriend, taunts him with her life. Jay's a cop who will do anything for the city he serves, but all of that pales in comparison to the woman he loves.
"One last chance." Voight tries again. "Let her go, and we'll let you walk outta here unharmed."
Connors scoffs. "Yeah right. We all know none of you will do anything when she's standing right here with me. She's all the insurance I need. So, I think we'll be leaving now."
Jay's completely focused on Erin, trusting the rest of the team to watch Connors. Erin holds his eyes, and gives him the tiniest nod, almost unnoticeable. He waits as she shifts her left leg slightly, creating the slightest gap for him to use. He lines up the shot, and takes it, just as Erin elbows the large man in the arm, causing his gun to fly from his grasp.
The loud gunshot sound fills the large warehouse, and a second later; Connors is sprawled on the floor, clutching at his leg. His fall to the ground takes Erin with him, who rolls away as soon as she hits the concrete, getting as far away from the crazed murderer as she can.
The squad rushes in, Voight kicking the face of the man who tried to hurt his daughter, with Olinsky grabbing his arms and cuffing him.
Jay has no idea how he makes it to her first, but he does and he's picking her up off the ground, scanning her for injuries, making sure his bullet didn't clip her on its way to the target.
"Are you okay?" He asks frantically, his arms sweeping over her.
Erin gasps, still full of adrenaline, and leans into him slightly. They're still in the field, so she can't break their professional demeanour, but she doesn't want to care right now. All she wants is his arms around her.
"I'm fine." She nods, gripping his forearms with her hands. "I'm okay."
"Thank god." He whispers so that only she can hear him.
/
They head back to the district, and for once, she lets him drive. Of course, he's too worked up to even crack a joke about her place in the passenger seat. All he can do is grip her thigh with his free hand, reassuring himself that she's fine. Erin understands, and simply places her hand over his, rubbing circles with her thumb to soothe his tension.
Voight calls Erin into his office to check up on her as soon as they get back. Jay leaves her with her father figure, and heads into the locker room, needing a moment to calm down.
Thankfully, the room is silent and empty as he enters. He sits on the bench for a moment, dropping his head to his hands. He's only still for a moment before he's jolting up, and punching the locker in front of him as hard as he can. He aims a few good kicks at the blue metal as well, stopping when his ragged breathing fills his ears. He rubs at his face, heading over to the sink to try and calm down. The fact that she had been put in that very situation because she'd pushed him out of a bullet's way has not escaped his mind. In fact, it's all he can focus on.
He takes a few deep breaths before splashing some water on his face.
She's okay, he repeats to himself in his mind. She's okay.
Quiet footsteps behind him catch his attention immediately. He turns around to find Erin standing in the doorway. He takes three steps towards her as she does the same, and all of a sudden she's in his arms, just like he wanted her to be back at the scene.
He runs his hands over her hair and across her back, murmuring to her softly as she buries her face in his neck.
"You're okay. I've got you, you're okay."
She gasps a few times and nods against his chest, her hands still gripping at the back of his shirt.
She pulls away a few minutes later, her face red but dry. He smiles softly at her and takes her hand, tugging her down to sit on the bench, knowing the adrenaline would have well and truly worn off by now. She rests her head on his shoulder again and allows her eyes to fall closed.
They sit in silence for a few more minutes, before Jay wraps an arm around her back, tugging her closer to his body. He needs her closer, and yet it's still not close enough.
Her sharp gasp stops him in his tracks, and his eyes fly to her face, catching her wince. She sees the concern in his eyes, and rushes to reassure him.
"It's just a few bruises, I've had worse." She promises.
His hands settle on her hips, lingering at the hem of her shirt. She nods silently, giving him the permission he's seeking.
He gently lifts her shirt, inspecting each bruise that's already starting to form on her torso. Each mark reminds him just how close he came to losing her.
"Stop." She orders gently, running her hand through his hair. She knows exactly where his mind has gone. "I'm fine, I promise. You made sure of that."
His face lifts to meet hers, and she's shocked by just how much torment is obvious in his eyes.
"I almost lost you." He chokes out.
Her arms fly around him, bruises be damned, and now she's the one comforting him. They're surrounded by death every day, but there are some days where it hits way too close to home.
"You didn't lose me, babe." She murmurs. "You saved me."
"All I could think was that I couldn't let him kill you. And then when I took the shot, I realised it'd be even worse if my bullet hit you."
"I know it wouldn't." She reassures him. "I know I can always trust you."
"It wouldn't have even happened if I'd been watching him properly." Jay mutters.
She sighs gently, running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. She knew he'd find a way to blame himself.
"You don't know that." She says soothingly. "He could have got me some other way. We just don't know."
"If you hadn't needed to save me, it would've been different."
"Yeah, it could have gone a million different ways, Jay, but we can't think about that. I'm fine. I had your back and you had mine. That's what we do. It's what partners are for." She says gently, but firmly.
He pulls himself back up so that they're facing each other again. He gives her a soft smile, and brings a hand up to cup her cheek, silently thanking her. She nods in return, smiling back at him.
"You're the most important person in my life, Erin." He tells her, the most serious he's ever been.
She grips his hands between hers. "So are you, Jay."
He leans forward to press his lips against hers.
"I don't know what I'd do without you." He murmurs.
"I can't promise that won't happen." She whispers back.
He nods. "I know. But I will do everything in my power to make sure it never happens."
She nods as well. "Me too."
His heart swells as he stares at her, his girl, so beautiful and fierce. She's all he's ever wanted, all he'll ever want.
"Marry me."
The words fall from his lips before he realises he's saying them, but he knows that he meant to say them.
Her eyes widen slightly. "What?"
"Marry me." He says again, this time more confidently.
She still doesn't say anything, and his heart clenches when he sees the vulnerability in her expression.
"Jay we've had a hard day, and I wouldn't want you to say something you'll regret later." She says softly, avoiding his gaze.
His heart jumps at her words. Doesn't she understand he could never regret her?
"No, no." He rushes. "I would never regret this Erin, I promise. And this isn't some spur of the moment thing. Hang on." He leaps up from the bench and darts towards his locker, quickly throwing it open and searching for something. If it weren't such a serious situation, it would actually be quite amusing.
Erin watches as he comes back over to her, and her eyes widen again as he drops to one knee in front of the bench.
He reveals a small blue box in his hands, and pulls it open to reveal a platinum band with small diamonds adorning it. It's perfect, not too flashy, and very her. Her heart jumps when she realises he's had a ring for some time, and kept it here at work. Was it so she wouldn't find it at home? Or had he been waiting for the right moment?
She lifts her focus from the ring to him, and is struck by the intensity of his gaze. Never, in all the years she has known and loved him, has she ever seen him look at her like this. There's love and hope and sincerity written across his face, which seems to hold a promise for her.
"Erin, you are the most amazing, frustrating, beautiful, kind hearted person I have ever met. Every inch that you made me work for to get to know you better was worth it, because I can't imagine my life without you. And I've been holding onto this ring for weeks, waiting for the right moment. Today was just another reminder of how quickly things can happen, and I don't want to waste another second of it. I can't wait any longer, because I love you Erin, more than anything in this world."
Struck by the sincerity in his voice, and the beauty of his words, she leans in to kiss him, letting her lips linger before pulling away.
"That was the corniest, but sweetest thing I have ever heard." She smiles. "And I loved it."
"So, is that a yes?" Jay asks, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
She grins at him. "Say it again." She prompts softly.
He smiles, and takes one of her hands in his. "Erin Lindsay, will you marry me?"
"Hell yes, Jay Halstead."
This time he leans in to kiss her, struck by emotion in a way he's never been before. He's kneeling on the floor of a not so clean locker room, but he doesn't care because Erin Lindsay is going to be his wife, and nothing else matters.