Thank you for reviewing the last chapter! I've got a quick question for you all. For the second set of A-Z, do you think that I should just add it on to this story, or make it its own story? Let me know!
S: Sick
*When Erin gets sick, Jay doesn't even think about the fact that she's contagious or that he's going to be dangerously close to being vomited on. He just needs to know she's okay.
It was always guaranteed that when the guys came over to watch the Blackhawks game, there would be a lot of beer, a lot of food, and a lot of yelling. Usually, the location rotated and tonight, it was Erin and Jay's turn to host the party.
Jay didn't think much about the fact that it was taking Erin a little bit longer than usual to get ready. He just started dumping bags of chips into bowls and setting them on the coffee table for easy access during the game. He turned the TV onto the right channel and glanced at the clock; there was still about ten minutes before anyone would arrive.
"Snacks are out." He stated as he walked into the bedroom. He was surprised to see Erin on the bed. She was dressed in only a V-neck and a pair of underwear and was fast asleep on top of the blankets. She looked as if she had fallen asleep while she was trying to get ready.
He shook his head at her with a small smile. She hadn't slept well the night before and they had had a rough day at work today. He and Erin had to chase their guy down and it ended in a shoot off. He wasn't surprised that she was exhausted.
"Erin." Jay sat down next to her and gently shook her shoulder. "Baby, wake up."
"Huh?" Erin jolted awake. She looked confused for a second.
"You fell asleep getting dressed." He said in amusement.
"I was just resting my eyes." She informed him.
"Oh really? I heard you snoring."
She punched his arm. "I don't snore!"
"Sure…"
"I don't!" Erin pulled on her jeans. She stretched her arms over her head with a grimace. "I'm so tired."
Jay watched her from where he sat. "At least you can make fun of Ruzek all night. That'll cheer you up."
Erin laughed. "Yeah, you're definitely right about that." She glanced over to the mirror to make sure that her hair and makeup looked okay. "Did you get the chips and all that out?"
"Yep, everything is set."
"Good." She came over and straddled his lap. She leaned down to kiss him, but right as their lips almost touched, they heard a knock on the door. Erin groaned.
"Come on." Jay kissed her quickly and led the way to the door. Erin took a seat in the recliner as he opened the door. Ruzek, Antonio, Atwater, and Mouse all entered their apartment, talking loudly and carrying their alcohol of choice. They all greeted her and loaded their beers into the refrigerator.
The game began and the boys quickly took their seats. Atwater and Antonio went to the couch while Ruzek and Mouse sat on the loveseat. Jay came over to the recliner and patted Erin's thigh gently. She understood the hint immediately and stood, letting him sit down, and then sat on his lap. He handed her a beer and she took it gratefully.
Erin liked hockey, mainly because the men in her life enjoyed it so much. But she found it pretty hard to focus on it today. She was much happier with how warm Jay was and how comfortable it was to cuddle close to him. She let her eyes slide closed when she felt his hand come up and start to trace patterns on her hip.
"YES!" the men collectively shouted, jumping to their feet. Jay cheered too, making Erin jump out of her almost-sleep and nearly spill her beer. Her boyfriend must have noticed because he took it from her hand and set it on the coffee table.
"You okay?" he questioned.
"Mmhmm." Now that her hands were free, she had even more room to turn and cuddle. She buried her face in the space between Jay's neck and shoulder. He didn't say anything, but turned and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.
Erin drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the game. The rest of the guys were so wrapped up in the score that they didn't really notice, but Jay did. It wasn't normal for Erin to fall asleep during a Blackhawks game, especially in a room full of people. He figured it was all the stress of the day catching up with her. He caught Antonio's gaze from across the room.
"Is she okay?" the older man mouthed to him. Jay nodded his head in response, indicating to him that she was just tired. He was grateful to his friend for not making it a big deal because he knew that would just make Erin upset.
"Lindsay, you better wake up! It's almost over!" Ruzek shouted as the game neared its end. The Blackhawks had the edge over their rivals and the guys couldn't be happier.
Erin sat up slightly and opened her eyes. The whole room felt like it was spinning. She immediately laid her head back down on Jay's shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Jay asked.
"I'm dizzy." She whispered. "I'm fine. I'm gonna go to bed."
"Okay." Jay helped her stand, then stood up himself.
"See you guys tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Erin announced.
"See ya." Ruzek waved, though he wasn't really paying attention. Atwater and Mouse had similar responses.
Antonio came over to her and gave her a hug. "You sure you're okay? You're not acting like yourself."
"I'm good, just tired. Work's been rough the past few days. You know that."
"Yeah. I hope you get some rest."
"Thanks, Tonio." She smiled and went down the hall to her room.
Jay's mind was only half there for the rest of the game. He was worried about Erin and the way she had been acting today. He hoped that she really was just tired and there wasn't anything else going on.
A half an hour later, the guys were finally packing up and going home. Jay couldn't wait to crawl into bed beside his girl and get some sleep. Ruzek slapped him on the shoulder on the way out.
"Tell Lindsay to at least stay awake for the first five minutes next time."
"Goodnight, Adam." Jay closed the door and locked it. He quickly cleaned up the living room and shut off the TV. He flipped off the lights and went back to the bedroom.
Erin was asleep on top of the blankets again, still fully dressed in her jeans and V-neck. Jay went over to her and unbuttoned her jeans. He pulled them down her legs, surprised when she didn't wake up. She was a pretty light sleeper.
He took off her V-neck next and unclasped her bra for her, replacing them with a more comfortable t-shirt. He threw her dirty clothes into the hamper and took off his own jeans and t-shirt.
Jay pulled back the blanket carefully and lifted Erin slightly so that he could cover her up with it. He went back around to his side of the bed and got under the blankets, pulling her close to his body. Erin almost immediately melted into him and he was just glad to have her in his arms. He kissed her nose and drifted off to sleep.
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Jay was woken up abruptly with an elbow in his stomach as Erin launched her body over his and ran towards the bathroom. It took him a few seconds to register what was going on, until her heard the sound of vomiting. Then, it all made sense.
Erin was sick.
He hauled himself out of bed and went over to the bathroom doorway. She was kneeling on the cold, tile floor and tightly gripping the toilet. Her head was practically in the bowl as she emptied the contents of her stomach.
Jay moved forward and gathered her hair off of her neck to avoid getting her puke in it. He grabbed one of her hair ties off of the countertop and tied her hair into a bun (well, the best way he could do a bun). He watched her throw up everything she had eaten, and then dry heave for a few minutes.
When she had finally finished, she collapsed with a whimper into his chest. Jay held her close to him. "You're okay, baby. It's okay." He lifted her up carefully onto the bathroom sink and wetted a washcloth. He wiped the sweat off her face for her, then handed her her toothpaste and toothbrush. She started to brush her teeth, until that made her start gagging and she was leaning over the sink dry heaving again. Jay rubbed her back soothingly.
"It's alright, Erin." He kissed her temple. He saw the tears gathering in her eyes. "Try and brush your teeth again. You're not going to want the taste of vomit in your mouth."
Erin brushed her teeth slower this time and made it through without gagging. The two of them walked back into their bedroom, Erin shivering slightly.
"When did I change?" she asked curiously.
"I changed you." He told her. He handed her a pair of sweatpants and socks so that she could warm up a little bit. She put them on and then climbed into bed, burrowing under the blankets. She curled into a little ball. "What's hurting you?"
"Everything. My whole body hurts and I'm so nauseous." She reached her hand up to wipe away the tear that slipped down her cheek. "I hate this."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Can you hold me?"
"Of course, baby."
His heart ached when he saw how much pain she was in just from the simple act of moving across the bed. He met her halfway and pulled her into his arms. He gently stroked her back with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist.
"I love you."
"Love you too." She mumbled, her voice muffled because her head was buried in his chest. He could feel her breathing even out and he was happy for that at least.
Jay gently released Erin from his arms and reached for his phone. He saw that it was a little after four in the morning. He started to type a message.
To: Voight
Hey, Erin's not going to be able to come in today. She's throwing up. If you need me, then I'll be there, but if not, I'd like to stay with her.
He wasn't expecting to get a reply for a while, so he was surprised when his phone vibrated less than a minute later.
From: Voight
Stay with her. I'll stop by later to check on her and bring some dinner. Take care of her.
To: Voight
Always.
Jay turned off his and Erin's alarms, glad to know that they wouldn't have to worry about work today. He fell asleep minutes later.
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When Jay woke up later on, it was 7:30am. Erin was still in his arms, which meant that she hadn't gotten up and thrown up anymore. He was grateful to at least know that, even if he could feel how hot her skin was now from where her forehead was touching his chest.
He carefully got out of bed and went to the kitchen. He started looking around for something that would be easy on her stomach and settled on toast and water because they didn't have much else. The only medicine they really had was Ibuprofen, so he grabbed a bottle of that too and set it on the counter. He planned on letting Erin sleep as long as she could, so he laid out everything he needed and then returned to the bedroom.
When he got back, he saw that Erin was awake. She was curled into a ball again and her hands were pressed against her stomach. She made a tiny little whimpering noise that made him move even quicker.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I thought you left for work." She replied.
"No, we've got the day off today. I told Voight you're sick." He put his hand over hers on her stomach. "Do you think you could eat something?"
At the mention of food, she was on her feet and running to the bathroom. She threw up water and dry heaved for about five minutes as Jay rubbed her back and tried to comfort her. Then, her eyes widened.
"Uh, Jay? Can you get out?"
"What?"
"Please go."
"I'm not leaving you."
"I think I have diarrhea."
Jay kissed her forehead. "I'll be in the kitchen." He shut the bathroom door behind him. It was definitely going to be a long day.
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As the day progressed, Erin only seemed to get worse. He had managed to get her to eat a piece of toast, but she had thrown it right back up. Every time she would drink, she would puke. The diarrhea was still happening, she had a cough and a sore throat, and her whole body was sore and achy. He had taken her temperature and saw that it was up to 102.5.
They were currently laying on the couch together watching the movie Grease. Jay was facing towards the TV, while Erin had turned her body so she was facing him. She had draped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. As soon as she finally fell asleep, there was a knock on the door.
"No." Erin whined. Jay knew she was really sick because the Erin Lindsay he knew would never whine. "If you don't answer they'll go away."
"I have to, babe."
"Please. I'm finally comfortable."
Jay slid out from behind Erin and went over to the front door. He wasn't surprised to see Voight standing on the other side with grocery bags in his hands.
"Jay." He greeted. He came into the apartment. "Hey kid. How ya feeling?"
"Not good." Erin turned her attention from her father figure back to her boyfriend. Jay knew what she wanted. They never engaged in PDA around Voight, but she was sick and he would give her whatever she wanted. He sat back down next to her and felt her lean against him. He held her close to him and kissed her cheek, then nose, and then her forehead.
"I'm going to make lasagna. Is that okay?" Voight wondered.
"Sounds great." Jay answered. He and Erin didn't ever really have time to cook, so it wasn't very often that they had a home cooked meal. He knew that Erin probably wouldn't eat it, but she could have the leftovers when she was feeling better.
Jay turned his attention back to Erin, who looked like she was trying to watch the movie. He saw the look that was becoming all too familiar settle across her face that meant she was about to throw up. She stood up and he could see she was struggling with it. She wobbled as she walked, needing to hold onto the couch for support.
"We'll be right back." Jay told Voight as he passed the kitchen. The older man nodded his head in understanding.
For what felt like the millionth time that day, Jay helped his girlfriend as she vomited. When she finished, she let out a sob.
"I hate this." She cried.
Jay ran his hand up and down her back as he hugged her. "Shhh, I know. It's okay, baby. It'll be over soon. It's alright."
He helped her up so she could brush her teeth and they went back to the living room, Erin using Jay's arm to support herself. Voight was watching them from the kitchen.
"Erin, do you wanna go to the hospital?" he questioned.
"No." she said, shaking her head.
"You can barely walk. Jay, what's her temperature?"
"When I took it earlier, it was 102.5."
"When was that?"
"At around 11am."
"It's almost 4pm. You should take it again."
Jay went and grabbed the thermometer. He sat next to Erin, who had laid back down on the couch. "Open your mouth." Erin did as he asked and he stuck the thermometer under her tongue. He watched the number climb as her eyes slid closed. It beeped, signaling that it was done. "104.1"
"I don't want to go to the hospital." Erin mumbled. "I just need to sleep for a little bit and I'll be okay." She reached her hand out and linked it with Jay's.
"Have you taken medicine?"
"She had Ibuprofen at around 1pm. I'll get her some more in an hour." Jay appreciated Hank's help, but he had some idea of what he was doing. He let the room fall into a comfortable silence and turned his focus back to Erin. He started to play with her hair while she watched the movie.
"Lasagna is ready." Hank announced. "Erin, I brought you some chicken noodle soup. I figured it would be a little easier to keep down."
Jay knew she had been throwing up everything she had eaten, but she had to have something. "Come on, baby. You need to at least try." He pulled her to her feet and kissed her forehead.
He started to walk over to the table when he heard a noise behind him. He turned and saw Erin on the floor. He felt like he was going to throw up.
"You okay?" he questioned, dropping down to his knees next to her.
Erin looked disoriented. "I'm okay." She was sitting down on her butt. "I just got a little dizzy."
"I want you to go to the hospital." Jay decided. "I know you hate hospitals and doctors and that they freak you out. I know you avoid it at all costs, but if you won't do it for yourself, then I need you to do it for me. Please, Erin."
Erin's eyes were glossy as she stared at him and he could see that she was not okay. "I'll try to eat. If I can eat, then I'm not going. If I throw up, I'll go."
"Okay." Jay agreed. He grabbed under Erin's arms and gently lifted her back up so she could stand. This time, he walked behind her. Hank looked just as worried as he felt. The sergeant pulled a chair out for her and Erin sat down, telling him thank you.
The three of them ate in relative silence. About five minutes later, Jay felt Erin's hand on his arm. He looked over at her and saw the tears rolling down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm gonna throw up and I don't know if I can walk to the bathroom."
Jay stood quickly and picked her up from her chair. He carried her down the hall to the bathroom and got there just in time. He was proud that the bun he had done that morning had held the entire day and she hadn't gotten vomit anywhere other than the toilet.
He sat behind her and rubbed her back. She reached up and flushed the toilet, then grabbed a piece of toilet paper to wipe her mouth and threw it in the toilet. She leaned back against his chest. Jay kissed her head and stroked her stomach gently.
"I really think you should go to the hospital. They could give you some medicine that will help you get over this virus."
"I don't like medicine." Erin stated.
Jay was reminded of her drug-filled past. "I know you don't, but I doubt they would prescribe you anything that would put you at risk of going back on your progress."
Erin rubbed her hands over her face. "I don't think I really have a choice at this point. I feel terrible."
"Then let's get ready to go. Do you wanna brush your teeth?" she nodded. Jay helped her stand and stood next to her while she brushed her teeth. Then, he walked with her into the bedroom. "Tell me what you want to wear."
"Yoga pants and your gray hoodie."
Jay grabbed the clothes that she wanted. She changed into them slowly, but she managed to do it on her own. He lifted her up and carried her back into the living room. Voight had completely cleaned up the kitchen and was putting leftovers in the fridge.
"We're going to go to Med." Jay informed him.
"Mind if I join?" he wondered.
"That's fine." Erin said.
"I'll drive."
"I can walk if you want me to." Erin stated, even though she cuddled closer in his arms.
"I've got you." Jay kissed her forehead. Voight opened the door for them and Jay carried her out into the hallway, then handed his boss his keys so that he could lock the door. Jay held Erin with ease; it shocked him sometimes how light his partner was because of how much damage she could do while on the job.
Voight opened the backdoor of his car and Jay climbed inside. He buckled Erin in, then himself. Erin leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. He could feel the heat radiating off of her body and he just hoped that this was a 24-hour stomach virus.
The ride to the hospital didn't take too long. Jay picked up Erin again and he could tell she was feeling a little more embarrassed this time. He didn't care; he wasn't going to risk her falling again and hurting herself.
"Jay?" he turned his head at the familiar voice and made eye contact with his older brother, Dr. Will Halstead. "What's going on?"
"Erin's sick."
"I can examine her."
Will led them to an exam room. Jay set Erin on the exam table and took the seat right next to the bed. Voight sat in the chair closer to the door.
"What's going on, Erin? Must be pretty bad for you to come in. We all know how stubborn you can be."
"Yeah, Hank and Jay are just being overprotective." She told him. "I've just got a little virus."
"Let me take your temperature." Will used one of the automatic thermometers and ran it across her forehead. "Alright, so your temperature is at 104.3. That's definitely way higher than I would like it to be." He pulled out his stethoscope and listened to her heartrate. "Your pulse is rapid. Erin, can you tell me about your symptoms?"
"Yeah. Um…" her face furrowed as she tried to think. "I've been throwing up."
"Anything else?" Will prodded.
Jay could see how disoriented Erin looked, so he picked it up from there. "She's been really dizzy and she's had a headache all day. Her body has been sore, she's had diarrhea, and she just hasn't been acting like herself. She's been really tired all day, but not been able to sleep because of how often she's throwing up."
"How long have you been sick, Erin?"
"It started in the middle of the night last night." Jay answered for her. He smoothed Erin's hair behind her ears.
"Alright, Erin, your fever is really high and I want to get it down as soon as possible. I would like to admit you. I want to start an IV to get fluids and medication into your body as soon as possible, and I would like to run some tests to make sure that something more serious isn't going on. Okay?"
"M'kay." Erin hummed. Jay was surprised she didn't put up more of a fight. She turned to look at him. "You'll stay with me?"
"Of course." He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Alright. I'm going to get you the paperwork and we'll get you set up in a room." Will left.
Jay stroked Erin's hair while she closed her eyes. He hoped that his brother could figure out what was going on and get it taken care of. He hated seeing her so miserable. It was like torture to know that she was sick, but not know what to do to make her feel better.
A half an hour later, they had moved to a different room and Erin was changed into a hospital gown. She was settled into a bed and had an IV in her left arm that was supplying her with fluids and medication. Jay was sitting in a chair on her right side and Hank had taken the chair towards the side of the room. Jay was grateful that he had taken a backseat today and let him help his girlfriend.
"Jay." Erin groaned. He knew before she even moved what was happened. He grabbed the bedpan and held it in front of her. She threw up everything she had managed to keep down. Hank came over and took the bedpan from him and brought it into the bathroom. Erin's eyes teared up. "I hate this."
"I know you do, but Will's going to make you feel better, okay? He's already trying to get your fever down and give you the right medicines. You'll be out of here before you know it."
"I wanna go home." The tears spilled over.
"Don't cry, baby. You're only going to make yourself sick." Jay leaned down and hugged her. "Listen to me. They're just keeping you here so that they can make sure that something more serious isn't going on. Your fever is really high, Erin. The doctors have to get it lower before you can get home. As soon as it's lower, I bet they'll let you go. Just relax and focus on getting better and I'm sure we'll be home tomorrow."
"Can you lay with me?" she sniffled.
"I'll sit right here." Jay kissed her cheek. "I'm not going to leave you. I love you."
"Love you too." She turned her body so she was facing towards him. Jay reached over her so that he could stroke her back. He watched her eyes flutter as she fought sleep. It didn't take long for her body to give in and she fell asleep.
"You can calm her down quicker than anyone else." Voight commented from his seat. Jay wasn't really sure how to respond to that, but luckily he kept going. "Erin is one of the most stubborn people I've ever met, but it's like she actually can see reason when you're talking to her."
"I just try and explain things to her. Rationalize." Jay said. "At this point, I would say anything to get her to stay at the hospital. I just need her to get better."
"You're a good guy, Jay."
"She makes me better. I know that sounds stupid, but she brings out the best in me."
"It doesn't sound stupid; I completely understand." Voight smiled at him. "I'm going to call the rest of the unit and tell them to take the day off tomorrow. We don't have any big cases right now and I think you're needed here."
"Thanks, Hank." Jay watched as he walked out. He smiled to himself, realizing that maybe having Voight involved in the rest of his life wouldn't be so bad.
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"Erin…" Jay pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Erin, wake up." She groaned at the contact against her face. "Erin."
Her eyes opened and she scowled at him. "No."
"Good morning."
"Too early."
"As horrible as it must be to wake up to my brother's face, I need to check on you, Erin." Will said from the left side of her bed.
Erin pulled herself into a sitting position. "Okay."
Will ran the thermometer across her forehead. "102.1. Much better than yesterday. The medicine is definitely working. I ran some tests and you just have a virus, so we ruled out anything more serious, which is great news. How are you feeling?"
"Tired. My body still hurts and I'm a little nauseous."
"Yeah, I didn't expect you to just get better overnight, but I am glad that your fever went down. Have you been able to eat at all?"
"Every time I ate yesterday, I threw it back up."
"Okay, I want you to try and eat something. Your vitals look good and I'm going to keep you on fluids and the medicine to try and get that fever even lower. I hope you're feeling a little better at least."
"My head is a little less foggy, if that makes any sense."
"Good! I'll be back in to check on you."
"Thanks, Will."
"Anytime." He excused himself.
Erin groaned. "I don't want to eat."
"You need to. I'm going to go get you something."
"No, I don't want you to leave." She grabbed his hand.
Jay raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk. "You're awfully clingy when you're sick."
Erin's mouth fell open. "I am not!"
"Sure."
"Fine, leave. I don't care." She let go of his hand.
"I'm just kidding, baby." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I love how clingy you've been."
"I'm not clingy." Erin mumbled, though she gave in and wrapped her arms around Jay's neck. He leaned down and quickly kissed her lips. He had been trying to avoid kissing her on the mouth, but he couldn't help it anymore. "Where's Hank?"
"He left earlier this morning to get some sleep."
"He's back." Jay pulled back when he heard the older man's voice. Hank stood in the doorway with coffee and a box of donuts. "I brought breakfast."
"That's perfect, Erin is supposed to try and eat."
"Good, I got her favorite kind of donut."
The next half hour was spent eating donuts and drinking coffee (or water, in Erin's case). Erin was shocked when she didn't immediately jump up and vomit. She didn't say anything because she didn't want to jinx it.
Voight's phone rang. "Alright kid, I've got to get going. Call me if you need anything." He kissed Erin's forehead, then looked at Jay. "Keep me updated."
"I will. Thanks for the coffee." Hank nodded and exited the room just as Will came in.
"Were you able to keep breakfast down?"
"So far so good." Erin confirmed.
"Alright, then I'm going to discharge you. I want you taking Ibuprofen every six hours, and I want you to take your temperature before you take it. If it gets to 103, I want you to come back to the hospital. Got it?"
"Got it." Jay and Erin agreed.
"Let's get started on the paperwork then."
Erin dropped down on the couch and let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so happy to be home."
Jay smiled at her. "You were gone for less than 24 hours."
"It felt like forever."
He came over and pulled her boots off her feet. He set them carefully in their rightful spot near the door, then put his own boots next to them. He grabbed her a bottle of water and then set it and her medicine on the coffee table. Jay sat down on the couch and Erin immediately curled into his body.
He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, finding a movie that they both liked. He moved his body so that he could lay down and Erin waited for him to get comfortable, then adjusted herself so that she was laying in front of him. He pulled the throw blanket off the top of the couch and covered them both with it.
Jay kissed the top of her head. "I love you."
"Love you." She said. He could tell from her voice how tired she was.
He knew that Erin would get better within a couple of days. He knew that there would be plenty more times that she was sick, and times when the roles were reversed. But he also knew that they would always be there to take care of each other. Jay kissed her head one last time as they both fell asleep.
Up Next…T: Tears
Don't forget to let me know if you think the second set of A-Z with Erin and Jay having kids should be posted as its own story or just added onto Trust!