Title: So It Goes
Author: ZombieJazz
Fandom: Chicago PD
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Chicago PD and its characters belong to Dick Wolf. The character of Ethan has been created and developed for the sake of this AU series.
Summary: Hank Voight and his family try to cope with their struggles at home and work — and the dynamics those conflicting circumstances creat for their blended family in a time of transition. The series focuses on Voight, his sick and disabled son — and what's left of his family and their strained relationships, particularly that with Erin Lindsay and Jay Halstead as they work at establishing their own lives as a young couple.
This is a collection of one-shots/scenes using the characters as represented in the AU established in Interesting Dynamics. The chapters currently represent scenes happening in approximately S04 of the series or early 2017.
As I continue to update, they'll just provide one-shot snap shots into the characters' lives and likely some recasts of scenes from the show.
This is not a linear narrative with a beginning-middle-end. It's just scenes. It is generally set so it begins around the mid-point of Season 4 (or about January/February 2017) and may occasionally draw reference to (and have SPOILERS) from the series.
A notification is provided at the beginning of each chapter about where it happens in relation to the other chapters, if they are out of sequence. Chapters will be re-ordered semi-regularly (i.e. if you're reading this weeks or months after the chapter was originally posted, it's likely now in the right place, so just ignore the notification).
SPOILER ALERT: There are MAJOR spoilers in this collection from Interesting Dynamics, So This is Christmas, Scenes and Aftermath. This series also contains SPOILERS related to the finale of Season 3 of Chicago PD and will have occasionally spoilers from Season 4 of the show.
PLEASE NOTE: The chapter immediately before this (Jurassic Moment) was posted earlier tonight. Please don't miss it. As this is Part 2 of that chapter/scene. There will a Part 3 posted in coming days. See a note at the bottom for details on the how and why — or if you're reading this weeks or months later, how this might not be relevant anymore …
So … concession of the day … one of them … of many … they'd gotten Eth the turkey leg. That was stupidly overpriced. That looked disgusting. And that they knew even if he thought it was delicious, there was no way in hell he'd be able to eat it all. But he'd been happy about it. Just like he'd been happy about the fucking cob of corn.
That was the thing with Eth, though. Another thing that made him special. That made him tolerable and likeable as a kid. That set him apart from the other teenagers there maybe. He was pretty fucking easy to impress. It wasn't like he wanted for things. He was well taken care of. And he definitely got some generous treats and gifts above and beyond basic necessities. But Voight didn't give him a flashy life. As crushing the realities of life had been for Ethan, he'd also been kind of sheltered. So a fucking theme park, a fucking turkey leg as big as his head, a cob of corn when he hadn't had one for likely close to two years – that was pretty fucking exciting for him. It was stuff that made him light up.
Though, Jay doubted he'd be asking for another turkey leg for the rest of the trip now that he'd been indulged. And they wouldn't be investing in another one of the disgusting things. It was basically a ball of grease. That might do a bigger number on his system than the corn. Not that he'd eaten much of the turkey before he'd decided to eat off their plate. Though, he'd promptly declared his dad's ribs were better and then stuck with stripping pieces of their chicken leg away and focusing on that corn cob.
That is until he nodded off for that split second and dropped it. It'd been slightly amusing. But they'd refrained from busting his balls about it. They'd had a ball busting incident at the beginning of the day that had pretty much put a halt to the teasing for the moment.
After they'd gotten into the Jurassic Park section and managed to peel Eth away from wanting to do what amounted to a Calendar Girl photo shoot with the Jeep, they'd gone over to the Flying Dinosaur coaster to just check it out. They figured they should gauge it first since it was one of the newer rides at the park and was likely going to get slammed with endless lines after the park opened up its gates to everyone and not just hotel guests and early entry ticket holders. It was already a twenty-five minute wait when they arrived.
They stood watching it go around its track a few times. It swished down into the water and put up a bit of awake and swooped past the waterfall coming down the edge of one of the mountains. But other wise it looked pretty tame. There were some gasps and cries coming out of the riders but it seemed to mostly be on those close calls – which really didn't look that bad.
Eth had decided he wanted to do it. Because it didn't look like a real rollercoaster to him. It wasn't like the Incredible Hulk they'd walked by or Goliath they'd seen at Six Flags. And, maybe Jay was a little too psyched to actually get to go on a coaster, because he'd been sort of preparing himself for the inevitability that he wouldn't get on any. Or that he'd have to ride them alone if he wanted to. Which would just be lame. And Erin had seemed pretty keen too. They should've clued in that maybe it wasn't the right introductory rollercoaster for Eth when they got to the entrance and the attendant there had still wanted to measure him. Should've clued in more when this kid that still hadn't hit puberty yet and had a dad who was maybe about 5'10" just barely passed the muster to be allowed to get on the coaster. But they'd decided to play blind to that.
Eth didn't seem deterred either. But he was probably expecting them to say something. To tell him he shouldn't go on rollercoasters or that a rollercoaster definitely shouldn't be his first experience at the theme parks. But they hadn't. Instead they'd gone through the queue area that was all done up like the Aviary in the Jurassic Park 3 and Jurassic World. It actually was pretty fucking cool and made the 25 minutes go by super fast. Though, they were pretty much getting a guided tour from Ethan and a crash course on the accuracies and inaccuracies of the various animatronic petersoaurs that were squawking at them in there. Not to mention, a paleontological commentary about ptreanondons versus dimorphodons versus anurognathuses, which were so fucking in detail and specific that the woman with two kids in front of them actually turned around and started asking him questions like he was the real fucking Dr. Grant.
And maybe all that had distracted them from really looking too far back out the queue enclosure and seeing just how fast the Flying Dinosaur trains were swooping by. They didn't exactly look quite as graceful and slow moving close up as they did from the distance they'd been standing before getting in the line.
But they'd all stuck it out fine until they got into the final caroled area snaking up-and-down to the loading platform. It was then that the real realization hit that it was a flying coaster. That it wasn't just legs dangling – it was an all out Superman. With them strapping you in and then the ride tilting up – taking your feet off the ground and leaving you looking straight down at what was below. And with the way the supports and harness was in the seats, you weren't going to be able to look up – you'd be looking at the ground and water swooping past below you the entire ride. And each time they hit that button to levitate the riders, they let out grasps. There were hollers and cheers as the train started moving forward – clicking up the first incline. And then they were out of sight but there was that unmistakable pop of the coaster going over the edge and the scream of the riders as it did.
And all of that was a little much Eth. He started to get fidgetedy. He started to express that he wasn't so sure about the ride. But him and Erin had made the mistake of playing big sister and big brother in that moment – not adults with parenting responsibility. So they'd egged him on a bit and teased him. Asked if he was going to make them take the Chicken Exit. And that had just made the kid fidget more – but agree that he'd do the ride. Because he didn't want to walk away in front of everyone. Not when they were making such a big deal about it. And maybe more than a little making it feel like it'd just be him walking off and left waiting at the sidelines while they did the ride. Which was likely kind of truthful. Him and Erin were feeling pretty vamped up about giving it a try. It looked pretty fucking awesome – to them – the closer they got.
They'd gotten Eth strapped into the harness and he'd freaked out a bit because his shoulders didn't reach the top of it. He thought he was going to be sliding all over. They told him to calm down and the attendant did come over and adjust the pads to come down and better hold him in place. She even told him to scoot forward a bit so he wouldn't move much at all. But Eth had still been shaking his head and saying he didn't want to ride. They kept telling him he'd be fine. But he'd let out a, "I don't want to go" as soon as the ride tipped them forward. Erin had told him it was too late then and his solution to that was trying to rip off his prescription sports goggles so he wouldn't have to see what was going to by. With the way the harness was, you really couldn't reach your face but Erin was trying to reach his hand and get him to stop trying to grab at his glasses.
They started going up the rise and the whole time Eth just kept repeating he was scared and he didn't want to do it and he was going to fall out. And then he'd screamed the whole time. Jay only halfways noticed, because he was fucking grinning from ear-to-ear the whole time and laughing. He could catch bits of that coming out of Erin too. Though, the ride and Ethan was drowning out a lot of it.
Jay thought it'd been amazing. But it was fucking fast and there were some real moments of skin-peeling G-Force going on in that thing. Some pretty close calls as you swooped by the mountain. Twists and turns and corkscrews and loop-de-loops all ending with a wake-bearing swoop into the water of the lagoon before it pulled out of its turn and back into the loading area.
Erin was all grins too when they returned and the harnesses came off. She was a bit of an adrenaline junkie in her own right. But then she'd turned to Eth and asked, "Did you love it?" And it was pretty clear he was in near tears. Doing his fucking embarrassed best to hide them. And the reality that they'd just been complete bullshit "parents" in that moment and potentially set themselves up for a shitty day – if not a shitty whole trip – with their very first ride sunk in.
And the obnoxious sibling switch turned off and Erin had gone right into mothering mode. Her arm got placed around his shoulder even though he'd initially tried to push it away. She hadn't let him. And she supported him as he did his even more weak-kneed gait over to where the attendant was holding his crutches. There'd been repeated assurances that he was OK. That he'd been really brave. That they were sorry they'd made him go on. That they should've known better. That they didn't have to do any other rollercoasters.
But after it they had a good twenty minutes where Ethan didn't want to do anything else but lean against a fence and stare at these fucking pterdoactyls that little kids were soaring up and down in circles like they were pretty much the Flying Dumbos that you see in all the ads over at Disney. But they were likely more in line with the introductory ride they should've considered for Eth. There was likely a reason the tamer version of the flying dinosaurs were right outside the Flying Dinosaur line-up area.
"You want to go on?" Erin had finally asked him, as he kept staring and swatting at his eyes – his goggles up on his forehead that somehow made them look even stupider than when they were on outside of a sports environment. But they'd hoped it'd be easier to keep from losing than his regular pair of glasses. Though, since they'd likely effectively ended their thrill ride opportunity for the trip, they probably didn't really need the goggles on him anymore.
"It's a kiddie ride," Ethan said defensively.
Erin shrugged. "I'm seeing lots of adults on it."
"Their parents," he argued back.
"I'll go on with you," Erin offered.
"You aren't my parent," he snarked.
She shrugged. "So? I'm an adult. We can both go on and look silly on the little kid ride."
Ethan just shook his head glumly but kept looking at the Soarin' Dinos going round and round.
"You know, Eth," Jay had tried, looking at the ride too and really hoping that Erin wasn't serious about going on it. Because they were going to look fucking ridiculous. And they were already getting their balls busted enough about spending their vacation down here. Except for Ruzek. He was participating in the ball busting one minute and then had pulled him aside and asked him about seeing if there was some retro Transformer tshirt over in the gift shop outside of that ride another minute. Which also sucked, because if Jay was going to buy a tshirt, there was a likelihood it would've been a retro Transformer tshirt. But he definitely wasn't going to go all matchy-matchy with Adam. He'd have to go Back to the Future or Jaws or something. Or Star Wars. Though, he imagined must of what they'd have that was Star Wars over at Disney would be way too Mickey Mouse for him to be interested in. "I don't think the rest of the rides in this area are rollercoasters. And I really think we should try to check some of them out before the crowds get too big over here."
"I don't want to do any more rides," Ethan had put bluntly.
Jay and Erin exchanged a look at that point. He knew they were both kicking themselves. They'd gotten too much into their own moment. Or maybe they'd just thought Eth was a little tougher and more daring than he actually was. But at least he wasn't complaining about being rattled and jarred around – so hopefully they hadn't made a stupid choice in that regard too. That he'd be dealing with pain or bruising later in the day. But Jay had actually been on enough rollercoasters, that he thought that one – though fast and intense – it was a pretty smooth ride. It didn't lurch you and your neck as much as some did – surprisingly.
But still – even if he hadn't been physically rattled and jarred, he'd clearly been jarred enough that they might've put their trip in some jeopardy. Because what was the point of doing Universal with they weren't going to do any of the rides?
Jay let out a quiet sigh and slumped down on the fence a bit more.
"OK," Erin acknowledged, though. "Then how about we go take a look at the Discovery Center as see what's in there?"
Eth eyed her suspiciously. "Is it a ride?"
She shook her head and shrugged. "I don't think so. I think it's like a museum. Just like the movie."
Eth hadn't given an answer, though. He was in stand-off mode. Or more likely complete uncertainty. He was working at trying to build up his courage. So Jay dug out the map and attraction guide out of his pocket and flipped to the Jurassic Park section.
"Unearth the mysteries of the planet's prehistoric past in this hands-on interactive activity center," Jay read, because they really needed to get the day back on track. They literally couldn't afford for it to go off the rails. "The Discovery Center combines entertainment with education in a variety of informative exhibits and displays. Marvel at the towering fossilized remains of a massive T-rex and other dinosaurs."
"They're fake," Ethan put flatly.
"It's all fake," Erin said firmly. "It's an amusement park, Ethan. You need to suspend your disbelief and just enjoy it for what it is."
Her and Jay shared another brief look, as Ethan slumped more against the fence.
"Experience how dinosaurs see and hear the world," Jay continued. "Practice your dinosaur calls."
Eth gave him a little glance at that. "Do they have a raptor larynx for us to try? Like in the movie?" he asked.
Jay shrugged. "Doesn't say. We'd have to go find out."
Eth just slumped again but asked quietly, "What else do they have there?"
Jay traded another look with Erin and again looked back to the guide. "Hunt for dinosaur bones—"
"That will just be a sandbox," Ethan said. "Like at the Children's Museum at home."
Jay shrugged. "Maybe," he conceded, though Eth was likely right. Though, he also knew that Ethan had gone with Olive and Henry to the Children's Museum so he could do just that and that he'd been bugging his dad about getting the sandbox ready "for Henry" when they all knew that was just a convenient excuse for Ethan to sit there pretending to be a paleontologist too.
"Test your dino knowledge in our regularly scheduled trivia contest, You Bet Jurassic—"
"Lame," Ethan hissed out in teen-aged sing-song, clearly not appreciating the attempt at wit.
"It's kind of funny," Jay said.
"No it's not," Ethan state but asked, "Is there prizes?" and cast him a hopeful look.
"Don't know," Jay allowed.
"I'd definitely win," Eth put flatly, and he was also probably right on that too. Though, Jay was sure there were a lot of other kids and Jurassic Park nuts in the area that could potentially give him a run for his money. But maybe beating out a few of them – even if they were four year olds or forty-year-old men with hygiene issues – would be a bit of a confidence booster for the kid.
"Then test your own DNA and join Mr. DNA—"
"That's like the movie," Ethan said, staring straight ahead. "Is it a ride like the movie?"
"Maybe," Jay allowed, and continued, "one an educational tour about our work with dinosaurs and genetic engineering currently occurring at Jurassic Park."
"So maybe it's a scary ride too," Ethan said flatly. "Since it all went to hell in the movie."
"Ethan," Erin sighed and gestured up the path. "It's just that building. It's not a rollercoaster. It'd just be … a tour in a moving cart. Just like in the movie. Before everything goes to hell."
Eth eyed her. And Jay just kept reading – because it might be there only chance of convincing him to move. It's the way they should've done things in the first place. Start small and simple. Let him be wowed by the animatronics and the dinosaurs and then work their way up to some rides – progressively.
"On the tour, you'll visit our nurseries and have a chance to examine dinosaur eggs."
Ethan gave him another look at that. "That's kind of sweet," he said.
Jay gave a little nod. "Some lucky guests may even witness a dinosaur hatching."
Eth's eyes finally got that big look to them again. "Really?"
Jay shrugged. "That's what it says." And he went back to the brochure. "As the tour ends, guests are invited to join us on the Discovery Trail for a short hike—"
"We're at a theme park," Ethan said bluntly. "There's no where to hike."
"Suspend disbelief, Ethan," Erin put to him again.
He let out a little sigh and looked at Jay. "OK. What do we get to see on the trail?"
"Along the trail, guests are likely to see evidence of some of the herbivores living in Jurassic Park. At the end of the trail, you'll reach one of our veterinary facilities, which is currently conducting a study of triceratops—"
"So will they have triceratops there?" Eth asked with some eagerness creeping in.
"That'd be my guess," Jay allowed.
"I like triceratops," Ethan said. "And they're Dr. Grant's favorites. In the movie. So they likely have them here."
"Likely," Jay agreed and then continued, "Veterinary technicians will be on site to answer your questions and to talk about their current work and meet some of these gentle giants – maybe even a baby."
"Meh …," Eth provided to that.
Erin made a slightly amused noise and nudged his arm against the fence. "You don't want to meet a baby triceratops?"
"Henry is baby enough," Ethan said. "He's likely about the same size as a baby triceratops."
A smile tugged at Erin's lips. "I think that might be kind of mean."
Ethan shrugged. "Henry's built like a football player, Dad says so. And he whines and cries. A baby triceratops likely does too."
"But it's a baby triceratops," Erin stressed at him, arching her eyebrow.
"Meh," Ethan said again. "It'd be better if it was a baby raptor."
"Mmm," Jay allowed, "then you'll love this … After exiting the Discovery Trail, daring guests will encounter our four nine-foot-tall velociraptors and will have the opportunity to approach one for a photo."
"Wait!" Ethan near shrieked and looked at him with that look in his eyes again – the one when he'd had when they came through the Jurassic Park gate. "They have the raptors here?"
"That's what it says," Jay said flatly.
"All four?" Ethan pressed.
"That's what it says," he repeated.
"Charlie, Delta, Echo and BLUE," Ethan pressed at him even more firmly and on the opposite side of him Erin's grin grew even more and she gave her head a bit of a shake, raising her eyebrow.
"I'd assume that's the four they mean …," Jay said a little speculatively. He'd endured all the movies with Ethan enough to know there were definitely more than four raptors presented across the quadrilogy. But the only ones he'd heard the names of were the ones from Jurassic World. And he'd definitely heard the names of them over and over and over again from Ethan. He had fucking figures of Charlie and Blue and had made repeated reference to the fact that he fully intended to get all four for his collection – despite everyone around him questioning why the hell he needed FOUR raptors for his dinosaur collection. Beyond him buying right into the marketing power of the movie. But that reason – that need – was becoming abundantly clear if it hadn't been obvious already. They'd just found Ethan's Mickey Mouse moment.
"THEY HAVE BLUE!?" he pressed.
"I'm going to guess so," Jay allowed. "But I think we'd have to go find out."
And that was already a given too. The self-conscious sulk was over. The paradox that flying the Soarin' Dinos carousel was too little kiddie but getting a photo with a dinosaur puppet was A-OK seemed to go whooshing over Ethan's head.
And it really didn't fucking matter. Because their day was back on track. It was going to be salvageable. They could fucking do this.
Because, Ethan was already pushed up and directing himself toward the building and the trail and the trivia contest and the dinosaurs … and most specifically Blue.
"OK, let's do the Discovery Center," he said so nonchalantly, like nothing had happened.
And something had. And something hadn't. But it didn't really matter too much now.
AUTHOR NOTE: The chapter immediately before this was also posted tonight. Please read it as well.
This is Part 2. There will be a Part 3. Because apparently I really liked writing about dinosaurs and Jurassic Park?
Anyway, Part 3 looks more like this. A bit more about their day and then a switch into a Jay and Erin chat.
All three chapters might be emerged after they're all completed and have been up for a week or so. They all make up a single "scene" and will all be from Jay's POV.
Star Wars will be from Erin's POV. Hopefully it's just one chapter/scene and not as epic as this.
Your readership, reviews, comments and feedback are much appreciated.