"I'm Maggie Halstead"
Those three words ran around Erin's head at least a thousand times. This was Jay's apartment. This little girl was a Halstead. In some way, that Erin was too afraid to wrap her mind around, Maggie was related to Jay.
"Who are you", Maggie repeated, this time shifting her balance back and forth on each foot. She was growing incredibly antsy and in desperate need of this stranger to answer her question.
"Um...I'm Erin", she introduced herself. Before she could say anything else, Erin watched an absolutely ecstatic expression come across the little girl's face.
"Daddy", Maggie exclaimed as she turned around and ran back into the apartment.
There it was. The magic word Erin had been too scared to admit to herself. This little girl was Jay's daughter. A daughter, well basically a whole life, he had kept incredibly private and away from her.
Just when she thought she had picked up on every habit of her partner's, there was something gigantically new and surprising around the corner.
Once again, Erin heard several pairs of footsteps in the apartment, until Maggie came back to the door with Jay Halstead right on her tail.
"Erin", Jay said in a low whisper. He was completely shocked that she was here. She had never been to his home before and of course the one time she does, Maggie is up after her bedtime and answers the door.
"Uh, Maggie. Why don't you go ask Uncle Will to read you a bedtime story and I will be right there, okay", Jay suggested looking down towards Maggie who just could not seem to wipe that grin off her face.
"Okay", Maggie happily obliged as she disappeared down the hallway of the apartment and then it was just Jay and Erin.
"You have a daughter", was all Erin said. Jay just nodded. He couldn't tell if Erin was surprised or pissed, or, even worse, both.
"You have a daughter", she repeated this time turning her back to him. There was a moment of silence, until Erin turned back around and faced her partner.
"How come you didn't tell me", Erin asked. Jay opened his mouth to answer, but Erin raised her hand in disapproval.
"We've been partners for nearly a year. I've told you things about my life that I've never told anyone before. Hell, Jay! I even trust you with my life", Erin said, beginning to raise her voice.
"And to find out you can't even trust me enough to tell me about your daughter", she said as her voice began to waiver. Erin hoped that Jay couldn't sense the sadness that she had heard in her own voice. Yes, she was pissed at Jay. But, at the same time, she was heartbroken. Heartbroken that it took her to show up to his apartment in order to unveil his secret.
When Jay said nothing in return to her words, Erin shook her head and let out a quiet laugh. "I'll see you on Monday, Jay", she said waving her hand in his direction before turning around.
Just as Erin turned her back, she felt Jay's hand grab her own and turn her around. Erin looked at him shocked and noticed that he was surprised with his own actions as well.
"I'm sorry", Jay said, taking a glance from their grasped hands to her hazel eyes. "I do trust you and I'm sure as hell glad you trust me. Just come in and let me explain", he pleaded with her.
Erin couldn't help the smile that came to her face when those words rolled off her partner's tongue. She didn't have to say anything, just a nod of her head, and Jay dropped her hand, then turned to walk back into his apartment.
Erin followed closely behind Jay into his apartment and immediately picked up on the fact that Maggie was still awake and Will was most likely known as the 'fun uncle'.
"Hey Erin", Will greeted her as she stood near the edge of the couch where he sat with Maggie on his lap, who was engrossed in a TV show.
"Will, I asked you to put her to bed" Jay reprimanded his older brother. Will Halstead strived to be the most fun relative Maggie knew, which meant that he often dismayed from the orders his brother would give him.
"Woah, I'm pretty sure Maggie told me she could stay up until midnight tonight", Will teased.
Maggie immediately gasped and hopped up from her spot on the couch, "No I didn't! I told Uncle Will to read me a story and then I would go to bed", the little girl explained as she ran over to her father.
As soon as Maggie jumped off of him, Will stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of the couch. "Well, my job is done here", he said to Erin as she laughed.
"Glad my brother finally brought you around, Erin", Will added before walking out of the apartment.
At the sound of the door closing, both Jay and Maggie turned around and noticed Will was gone and Erin stood in his place. Erin noticed when Maggie made eye contact with her, that contagious smile spread across her face.
"Can I please stay awake, Daddy", Maggie pleaded hanging on her father's arm. "I want spend time with your pretty partner that you always", she began to speak before Jay swiftly covered her mouth with his hand.
"Oh, no missy. It's definitely time for bed", Jay said as she lifted her up in his strong arms and carried her to her room.
"I'll be right back", Jay said as he walked down the hallway, to where Erin could only imagine Maggie's bedroom was.
"Gooodd Nightt Erin", Maggie exclaimed before she disappeared down the hallway.
As soon as the two Halsteads were out of her sight, Erin began to walk around the apartment. She finally understood why they hung out at her place a lot. Maggie's toys were scattered all over the living room, along with her artwork hanging on the fridge. Erin couldn't help but smile as she saw the pictures of Maggie and Jay on the side table and other pictures of Maggie posing on her own, most likely after milestone events, like the first day of school.
"Sorry about the mess", Jay said, interrupting her thoughts as he re-entered the living room. "I left Will in charge of Maggie today and needless to say, he doesn't enforce the rules", he explained.
Erin laughed, "I noticed", she said looking down at the floor as her foot made contact with a soccer ball.
"You want a beer", Jay asked as he made his way over to the kitchen. "Trying to get me drunk, so I forget Maggie existed", Erin teased.
Erin heard him laugh as he reached into the fridge to grab his drink. With just that one comment, the light banter they always had together was back. It was almost as if the whole 'fight' that had just occurred in the hallway had never actually happened.
"I take it Adam picked up the tab tonight", Jay presumed as he returned to the living room and gestured for them to sit on the couch.
"Yeah. He's most likely on his fourth or fifth beer right now as he tries out cheesy pick up lines on Burgess", Erin commented.
"Kim Burgess? The uniform cop who has had like eight different partners in the last four months", Jay asked.
"You didn't know", Erin stated shocked. "They've been hooking up for probably a month now. It is so obvious", she explained.
"I have lots of other things to focus on other than who Ruzek is banging", Jay laughed causing Erin to laugh as well.
Her laughter began to subside as she realized what in fact was the 'other thing' Jay's mind was always preoccupied with. It was Maggie. When they weren't deep in a case and staying up late into the hours of the night, Jay was thinking about Maggie.
"I guess I should explain to you like I promised", Jay said after a few moments of silence.
Erin simply nodded her head and sunk back deep into the comfort of her partner's couch as he opened his mouth to begin the story of Maggie.
A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and continued support on the first chapter! If you enjoyed this chapter and wanna let me know what you thought, please review/favorite! The next chapter will be the story of Maggie :)
