Chapter 3,

"How's she doing?" Voight walked into Erin's hospital room with the rest of the team. Dawson, who had the day off from his job in the district attorney's office, had offered to bring lunch to the hospital for everyone. His wife, Sylvie, was on a 24-hour shift at the firehouse, so he was happy not to spend the day alone. It had been years since Dawson had been in their unit, but he had remained a member of their family just the same.

"No change," Halstead stood from his chair and moved towards the door to greet his team. "The doctor says it could be any time now, though. We just have to wait." His patience was wearing thin, and he was glad to see the rest of the team. "How'd Soph do this morning?"

The night before, Sophie had thrown a tantrum at Voight's. Usually she loved having sleepover's at her grandpa's house, staying in her mommy's old room. But last night, she was just getting over being sick and she missed her parents. "Better," he replied, not taking his eyes off Erin. "I made chocolate chip pancakes, so that helped."

"I'm sure," Jay laughed and gave Voight a smile. Even with Erin's unchanged condition and his patience wearing thin, his precious girl never failed to make him smile.

There was no food allowed in the ICU rooms, and over the next hour, they all took turns eating in the cafeteria and having one-on-one time with a sleeping Erin. Finally, after all the food was finished, they gathered together in her room.

"You all don't have to wait here," Halstead was leaning against the wall in the back of his wife's room, eyeing the rest of the team. There were a limited number of chairs, and Adam and Kim were seated on the window ledge. Olinsky was also standing leaning against the wall, speaking to Voight who was sitting in a chair by Erin's bed. "I promise I will call you when she wakes up." He knew they weren't going to leave, but he wanted to give them the option. It could be a long day, he knew. He had been sitting in this room staring at Erin, willing her to wake up, for hours now. It wasn't easy.

"We're not going anywhere, man." Atwater said, speaking for the whole team. The rest of the team merely nodded their heads in agreement.

"But maybe a cup of coffee wouldn't hurt, though." Dawson spoke up, sensing it was getting a little crowded. "Halstead, Voight. Can we get you anything?" Dawson, Atwater, and Ruzek decided to run across the street to the Starbucks on the corner. Hospital coffee was almost as bad as the coffee at the district, and they knew Jay needed something to get him through the day. He looked exhausted. They wrote down everyone's orders, knowing Kim was going to want something fancy, and started across the street.

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Erin's regained consciousness slowly and immediately noticed that her head was killing her. She timidly blinked her eyes open, but the sunlight coming through the windows blinded her and she closed them again. She began to hear voices in the room. Most of the voices sounded faint and distant, but there was one voice she could hear clearly, like it was coming from right next to her. Hank, she thought immediately. I hope he isn't still mad at me.

She forced herself to open her eyes, the brightness of the room causing her headache to worsen significantly. "Hank," she choked out his name, her voice hoarse. She looked around, and noticed she was in a hospital. Standing behind Hank, she noticed Alvin Olinsky leaning against the wall.

"Erin!" Jay had been talking to Kim by the window, but even with her quiet whisper, he heard Erin's voice loud and clear above all the ambient noise in the room. He rushed to her side, and grabbed her hand. He leaned into her, kissed her softly on the forehead. "Thank God." A tear fell from his eyes, he couldn't contain his emotions.

Jay was so caught up in his feelings of relief and happiness that he didn't notice Erin stiffen against him.

"Hank?" Erin said, louder this time. Hank looked over at her, and immediately sensed the fear in her eyes. Jay was gripping her hand tightly with his cheek pressed against her forehead, but Erin's eyes were locked on Hanks.

"Jay," Hank stood up and leaned over the bed, touching Jay's shoulder, "Jay. Let's give her some room."

Something wasn't right. As he pulled away from Erin, he noticed she wouldn't look at him. She wasn't smiling and she looked scared. She would only look at Hank.

"Hank." Erin whispered his name a third time, her head was pounding and she felt a room full of eyes on her. "Who..." her voice low and raspy came out with a stutter. "Who are all these people?"

At her words, Jay felt his world crash around him. He looked around the room, wishing to see doctors and nurses - anyone Erin may not have recognized. Other than Voight, it was just Olinsky, Kim, and him. He released Erin's hand, and began to pace the length of the bed. He opened his mouth to speak, but Hank gave him a look that cut him off.

"Erin," Hank said her voice calmly. He sat down in the chair next to her bed, and reached out for her hand. Her hand was warm, and he squeezed it gently in a comforting gesture. "Do you know where you are?"

Jay watched Erin's expressions as Hank spoke to her. He felt someone behind him, and turned to see Kim standing there. "I'll get the doctor," she whispered in his ear and then she quickly exited the room.

"I'm in a hospital," Erin responded slowly. She took in her surroundings, and she recognized the glass doors that were unique to the ICU. She remembered her visit to the ICU when she was 17. She and Camille had been in a car accident on the way home from a shopping day, and she spent three days recovering from her injuries before they allowed her to go home.

"Do you remember why you are here?" Hank probed, his voice still soft, his hand still holding hers.

"No," Erin spoke so quietly, if Hank wasn't staring at her he would have missed it. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the doctor.

"Hi Erin," the doctor walked in to the room and walked over to her bed. "I'm Dr. Stein. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Erin examined his deep maroon scrubs and his long white coat. Right above his left breast pocket, she read Dr. S. Stein, Chief of Neurosurgery, before she nodded in agreement. "Can you tell me your full name?"

"Erin Lindsay." Jay's heart stopped at her words. Erin Lindsay Halstead, he wanted to say. He looked over at his wife and willed her to look at him. If she looked at him, surely she would remember her married name. She hadn't even wanted to keep the name Lindsay. She said it linked her to a past she wasn't particularly proud of. He had encouraged her, telling her he loved every part of her: past, present, and future. He wasn't sure if that was what convinced her, he liked to think so. But it could have been Hank... who complained that he wouldn't be able to send out orders at work using last names. She had compromised, using Lindsay professionally and going my Erin Halstead outside of work.

"Can you tell me where you are?" The doctor continued, interrupting Jay's train of thought.

"In a hospital. In the ICU." She paused, trying to give more information to the doctor. "In Chicago." She looked at the doctor, and he seemed satisfied with that answer.

"Can you tell me the date?" He asked casually.

"It's April. April 2010." She couldn't remember the exact day. She remembered that it was early April, but it felt a little fuzzy. She also didn't know how long she had been asleep. It could have been an hour, but she remembered a time where a suspect of hers had been asleep almost a week. Either way, just answering April seemed like a safe bet.

Across the room, at Erin's words, Jay lost his breath. He lost his ability to stand, and if Olinsky hadn't reached out to steady him, he was sure he would have collapsed on the floor right then. April 2010. April 2010. He repeated the words over and over in his mind. He was a detective in the gang unit in 2010, he had just started. He had only been back from the Rangers a little over a year. Erin had either just passed the detectives exam, or she was still an officer. He racked his brain, but he couldn't remember.

They hadn't known each other then. She didn't know who he was. No wonder she won't look at me.

"What is the last thing you remember?" The doctor asked gently, not giving anything away. If Erin took one look at Jay's face, she would know that she wasn't giving the right information. But Erin was too scared to look over at the three people standing on the left side of the room. She saw them out of the corner of her eyes, but wouldn't allow herself to focus on them; there was the man who had kissed her forehead, who was standing next to Olinsky, and a thin, brunette staring at her with tears in the eyes. Instead, she kept her focus steadily on Dr. Stein, who was standing on the foot of the bed.

She thought back to the last thing she could remember. "I... uh... I passed the detective exam. And I joined Vice." She whispered the last part, feeling her cheeks redden with embarrassment. "Hank... I'm-"

"It's okay, kid." He patted her hand and smiled at her. She was relieved he wasn't mad at her. Maybe whatever landed her in the hospital would be a blessing in disguise. She knew Hank didn't want her in Vice. With all she had been through, all she had overcome, he didn't want her to be put in a position where she was tempted to fall back into old, bad habits. But the spot had opened up and it was a huge opportunity. And she was stronger than that, she truly was. She knew Camille had tried talking to him, but as far as she knew, Camille hadn't gotten through and Hank was still mad.

"Hank." At that thought, she shifted her focus away from the doctor, "Where's Camille?"

xo, hope you enjoyed this one!