I'm back! With an unusally quick update! I have to say this one may be cheating somewhat, as it appears more like an Adam/Kim piece that linstead. I'm almost certainly hoping to write a part two to this though, but I guess that all depends on your reaction to it?
This is an idea I've had for a while, and I'm stoked to finally get the chance to write it. In terms of a timeline, the only thing necessary to know is that it's after the finale (for burzek purposes), before 2x02, and Erin and Kelly aren't seeing each other.
Recognition goes to EmilyMay93 for this one. I hope you all enjoy!
"Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress".
"I'm not crazy, right? I mean, you see it too." Adam asked Kim as they sat in the back table at Molly's. It was getting late and there was a soft atmosphere; most of Chicago's finest were winding down for the day. Ruzek had his hands wrapped round a cool beer, but was more concerned with his two co-workers chatting comfortably at the bar.
"Oh, definitely." Burgess chimed in, sipping the foam from her glass. Kim was only able to witness Lindsay and Halstead's interaction on a few small occasions throughout the day, and whenever she met Erin after work everything was often very hush-hush. Lindsay didn't like talking about whatever went on with her and Halstead, and it seemed as though no amount of alcoholic beverages could pry it out of her.
"You know what I don't get?" Kim chimed in again, still eyeing the way Erin moved seriously close to her partner as she stifled a laugh. "We see people run out of time every day, you know? We watch officers get shot, and buildings burn, and people not have time to do the things they wanna do. So... Why are they holding back?"
"You've met Voight, right? Scary dude, gravelly voice, could kill you with his thumb?" Ruzek said with a laugh, taking a large gulp of his drink. Kim knew about Voight's no 'in-house romance' rule, in fact she'd gotten a rendition of it first hand. But she didn't see Lindsay as the type to follow rules to the book.
"So that's it? Their sergeant doesn't want them together, so they're not even gonna try? I mean, look! They're clearly so into one another." Adam found it humorous how into this Kim was getting.
With a sigh, he reached out a hand and held Kim's. "This sneaking around at work thing... It's hard right?" Kim nodded, fully aware of how exhausting it all was. "Well, for Lindsay and Halstead it'd be like ten times as risky. I mean, passing you at Platt's desk is hard enough, but those guys work opposite each other day in, day out. Voight's desk is leering over them every second. They both care about their jobs, they think they're being smart."
"Well, they're idiots." Kim said openly, getting a chuckle from her boyfriend.
"I'm not arguing with that."
There was a pause for a second, and Adam knew something was coming. "You know what we should do?" Kim said, optimism oosing from every octave in her voice.
"No." He answered immediately, shaking his head. "We're not setting them up. Nuh huh."
"Oh, come on!" She tugged on his arm with enthusiasm. "You said it yourself, they're into each other!"
"No, you said that, I just happen to agree. We shouldn't get involved." Kim was taken aback; normally, Adam was the first to suggest something like this.
"Okay, here's how we'll do it:" Kim calculated out loud. "I'll talk to Lindsay, you take Halstead. We tell them both we're setting them up on a blind date, and then, bam! They're at dinner with one another, realising that they're soulmates."
"No."
"Yes! Talk to him tomorrow, I'll see if I can-"
Adam made a random coughing noise, and as Kim looked at him with a deep look of confusion, his eyes flickered to over her shoulder. Seconds later, Erin was taking up a seat next to them with a beer bottle in hands.
"Hey. What are you guys talking about?"
Burgess released a spluttering noise in her throat as the beer caught in her trachea. Adam sighed internally; she was always awful at lying.
"Nothing." Ruzek finally responded airily, getting a questioning look from his co-worker. "Where's Halstead?"
Erin finished her sip of beer before speaking again. "Met up with some blonde at the bar." She looked over her shoulder, and the other two followed the action. Speaking to the woman, Kim noted how more distanced he was than with Lindsay, and even from across the bar she could tell his heart wasn't in it. She made a mental note to remember that later; if Erin needed convincing why on earth Kim thought setting the detective up with her partner on a blind date was a good idea, Burgess would need some evidence.
"Looks like he's doing pretty well." Erin noted, turning back round.
"What about you?" Burgess asked, a little too interested. "Any guys you like the look of?"
Lindsay eyed the officer warily, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she replied. "No?" Her voice went up at the end alluding to the sense that it was a question, rather than an answer.
"What about you, Kim?" Erin shot back. Burgess tensed up, but managed to glare at the playfulness in Lindsay's tone. Damn, she was a good detective. "Any guys you've got in mind?"
"Nope." She shot back shortly, trying not to give anything away.
"Is that the same blonde he met up with the other night?" Ruzek asked openly, and Kim appreciated him taking the heat off of their relationship. He was squinting past Lindsay and trying to take in the features of the woman pressing herself a little too close to Jay.
Erin's neck tensed as she turned around to get a better look. Her gaze was held for a little too long, and as she turned her head back round, she took a substantial pull of beer. Slamming the empty bottle onto a mat in front of her, Erin stood up from the company.
"You know, it's late. I'm gonna head home. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Vanisihing quickly, Lindsay barely had chance to hear a goodbye from the two before she was out the door.
With a smug smile, Kim turned to her boyfriend and bit her lip. "Oh, it's definitely on. 9pm, tomorrow. You work your magic, I'll work mine."
"Hey, Lindsay." Kim had been sitting in her car for the last twenty minutes, waiting for Erin to show up for work. As soon as she caught sight of the detective, Burgess leaped from the driver's side and dashed in to meet her.
"Burgess." Erin acknowledged with a slight head nod as the two climbed the stairs two at a time into the precinct.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" Kim asked, nodding her head to the side. Lindsay knitted her brow for a second before nodding and following the officer to the side of the entrance where they were granted slight privacy.
"What's up?"
Burgess felt sweat gather in her palms. There was something slightly intimidating about Erin Lindsay. She wanted this to work. "Okay... So, I have this friend who I think you'd really hit it off with-"
Erin stopped her with a sad smile. "Not really looking to be set up, Burgess. But thanks for the thought."
"He's cute." Kim tried as Erin tried to walk away. "I mean really cute." She was aware of how desperate she sounded. If she wasn't so intent on getting Lindsay to agree, Kim might contemplate why she was so desperate to set up two higher ranking co-workers.
"He's got a great job, and I already told him about you. He said you sound wonderful, and would love to meet up sometime." Kim raced to finish. And when she did, she saw Erin pause for thought. She watched a light flicker in her eyes, and felt something drop inside of her. Why was it so stumbling for Erin that someone thought she sounded wonderful?
"Trust me, Erin. You deserve a guy like this."
Kim waited nervously. Lindsay licked her lower lip and rolled her eyes with a half smile. "I can't believe I'm even saying this, but... Sure. Why not." Burgess was almost certain Erin was thinking back to Jay and his 'friend' at the bar. She felt giddy at the prospect of later that night.
"Great! Okay, so you're free tonight, then?" Kim asked. Lindsay looked taken aback slightly.
"Tonight?"
"Yeah, 9 O'clock. He'll meet you outside of Marcello's."
Lindsay looked flustered at the pace of events, and Kim decided it would be best to get out of there before she could back out of the plans made.
"Kim," Erin called as she passed her with haste. "Does this friend of yours have a name?"
Before a sad excuse could escape her lips, Platt yelled Burgess's name with a sense of annoying urgency. But that was Kim's saving grace.
"That girl you met last night... She was... Really something." Adam said, looking slightly pained as he tried to keep all of Kim's pointers from this morning in check.
Eyeing him warily, Jay replied solidly. "Yeah, I guess." He brought his coffee to his lips and took a sip, all the while a knitted brow focused hard on Ruzek. "Are you okay, man?"
"Peachy."
"Right." Jay said, still confused by the unusual demeanor. But he brushed it off nonetheless.
"Hey, speaking of... Meeting girls... At night..." Whatever Adam was trying to say certainly didn't want to come out easily. "I have this friend. She's really cool, and I think you guys would hit it off." Whoever this 'friend' was, Jay silently wondered why she'd never been mentioned to him before. "If you want, she said she'd love to meet up. Maybe tonight at Marcello's?"
"Sorry, man." Halstead replied instantly, no doubt in his mind. "I've got plans tonight. Maybe some other time though."
Again, that pained look glossed Ruzek's face. Jay made a mental note to ask him later on if he needs someone to take him to the doctors for something.
"Okay, but let me just tell you why I think you should cancel your plans and-"
He stopped suddenly when Lindsay entered the room, and looked as though he might combust. Standing up quickly, he flashed a smile at Erin before vanishing, without another word left from his previous sentence.
"Well that was weird." Erin noted as she watched him dash away. She walked over to her partner and grabbed a mug from the cupboard behind him.
"Understatement of the day." Jay noted as he lifted the pot to pour Erin a cup of coffee.
"Hey," He started casually as the coffee poured. "I might be out of beers for later. You mind picking some up?"
He could practically hear her gulp. Dropping her gaze, Erin took a step back and wrapped both hands around her mug. "Uhm, about tonight... I think I have a date."
He looked at her instantly, waiting for her to crack up with a grin. Then he questioned his own expectations and wondered why he found the prospect of her cancelling their plans for a date truly astounding. Erin was amazing. She deserved a date every night. Every hour.
"You think?" Was all he managed. She didn't sound all that sure.
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, but yeah... I think I do." She finally managed to look at him and he tried to smile. "So, raincheck on tonight?"
Rubbing his jaw, Jay tried his hardest to appear nonchalant. "Yeah, yeah. That's, uhm... Yeah." Say 'yeah' another five times to make sure, idiot. He thought.
She appeared to force another smile before walking out and to her desk. And instead of following her like always, this time Halstead went straight to Ruzek.
"About tonight, can you ask if nine's okay?"
"Nine should be perfect."
The days seemed to get longer, Erin thought. The days dragged on and so did her exhaustion. Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to grab a few beers from her local store and meet Halstead at his apartment, sharing a couch as they shared the game.
She forced thoughts of her partner from her mind. She had a date in an hour. A date with a man who thought she was wonderful. God, Erin couldn't remember the last time she'd been called that.
She thought of this mystery date; who he was and what he looked like. Maybe their night was going to be some kind of epic story, where they fall in love with nothing but recommendation by a mutual friend. Before she could dip into the fruitless cliche, a knocking rattled the door.
Walking towards the sound, a brief thought crossed the detective's mind; maybe it was Halstead. That idea was swept from her mind quicker than when it came. He wasn't coming for her.
She swung open the door to reveal a tired looking Burgess beaming at her.
The beam seemed to dissolve as Kim looked Erin up and down, obviously mentally confused by her outfit. Or lack thereof.
"You're not dressed?"
Erin, in fact, was dressed. Just in the same clothes she went to work in. As soon as she entered her apartment, Erin hit the couch. She didn't even give changing a second thought.
"I've got..." Lindsay looked down at her wrist. "An hour."
"Do you know what you're going to wear?" Erin shook her head and Kim looked as though she might faint.
"Oh my god, come on." Wasting no time, Kim let herself into her co-worker's apartment and grabbed her hand, dragging her to her bedroom before another word could be uttered.
Kim's tight grip on Erin dropped as they entered her room, and Lindsay dropped aimlessly onto her bed. The minute Burges started lurking through her closet, she tried to think up some snarky comment, but truthfully, she wasn't all too eager to be hunting through outfits herself.
Within only a few minutes, Kim managed to select three evening dresses and placed them on the bed next to Erin. Looking down at them, Lindsay felt drained.
"Really?"
"Really what?"
Erin wanted to wear pyjama bottoms if she was honest, but jeans seemed like the more socially acceptable option. "Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress." The last time Erin had ever slipped into one was on the night of her reunion, and swore she wouldn't do it again until attending the wedding or funeral of an extremely close friend. She hated dresses. You can't chase perps in dresses.
"Because! It's Marcello's! Because these are really cute dresses. Because your legs look amazing, and you'll want to show them off tonight. Trust me."
She tried to argue back but couldn't. Instead, she ran her hands along the smooth material of the shortest black dress and thought of some cute guy calling her wonderful and telling her she had great legs.
Erin wordlessly lifted her body from the bed and headed to the en-suite, the dress hanger firmly in her grasp. She felt oddly hopeful about the night. She hoped he (whoever he was) did too.
It was cold and Jay almost regretted not bringing his leather jacket. But then he thought back to the text he got from Ruzek at 8:27pm that stated 'dress nice. no leather.' and thought that his plain white button up shirt and black blazer was sufficient enough. He smoothed down the skinny black tie draped down the front of his shirt and ran a hand through his styled hair.
He stood outside of Marcello's and felt slightly out of place. Tucking his hands into his pants pocket, Jay looked into the restaurant window at the dimly lit atmosphere and sophisticated customers dining with elegance. He looked around briefly to check if his date had arrived, but then realised he'd be clueless to know if she had or not.
Whipping out his phone, he quickly texted the idiot that was Adam Ruzek.
'Got any way of me knowing who this girl is?'
'Is there no mystery left in romance anymore?'
'There won't be a romance if I can't find her!'
He thumbed the sides of his phone as he waited for a reply. It was 9:07 and he was very cold.
'Brunette in the black dress. You're welcome.'
With a scrunched face, Jay lifted his head from the description and looked up. As he did, his brunette turned the corner and rounded onto the same street he stood on. There she was; his brunette in the black dress. Erin Lindsay.