Chapter 5

The weekend passed by quickly.

Erin rotated between having stomach ache, feeling nauseous, eating a lot of food, watching TV, sipping coffee, sleeping, and just sitting on the couch. She really didn't feel like getting up to go to work on the gloomy Monday morning she was staring out at right now as she sipped a glass of orange juice. She normally drank coffee before she went to work.

Jay had gone with her to the supermarket yesterday, and what was supposed to be a calm outing to buy food turned into a weird event for Erin. Her mindset was already changing because she knew she was expecting, and she had first discovered her changed point of view in the supermarket. Erin remembered when she walked into the aisle with dry mixes and reached towards the coffee, and then realized that a lot of caffeine wasn't good for a baby. Erin smiled to herself as she recounted the conversation:

Jay had seen her retract her arm from the shelf with instant coffee mix, and he'd asked, "What are you doing? Don't you want to buy coffee?"

"No," Erin replied as she turned towards Jay. "A lot of caffeine isn't good for the baby."

"A little bit can't hurt," he had replied.

"If I drink a little, I'll start drinking a lot to replace the alcohol that I really need to stay off of," Erin said dryly.

"Alright then, but I still want some," Jay had said as he reached for one instant coffee container.

Erin's flashback was interrupted by Jay walking into the kitchen. As if by coincidence, Jay poured himself a cup of coffee from the machine. "Hey," he said, smiling, "How are you doing?"

"Alright, thanks," Erin replied. "I'm not feeling sick, so I'm taking that as progress."

"I'm glad," Jay said. "But let me do some of the driving, okay?'

"Okay," Erin conceded, "I'm so glad I'm your partner because I can rant to you when we're in the car about my stomach ache. If I had to do that to someone else, they would think that something was wrong."

"I'm so glad I get to be the recipient of your rants," Jay said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Erin shouted, slapping Jay on the hip.

"Sorry," Jay said, holding his arms up in the air like a criminal who was about to be arrested. "It's fine," Erin said. "Hormones."

"Oh, we gotta go," Jay said suddenly as he looked at his watch. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Erin replied, and sighed.

After they we were in the car, Jay asked, "How long do you think we should hold off with the big announcement?"

"I have no clue," Erin replied, looking at the Chicago skyline as they crossed a bridge on their way to the precinct. "I'm torn between telling them and giving them time to adjust and holding off for a while."

"Because of Voight?" Jay asked.

"That is the main reason I want to hold off," Erin smiled lightly, "I'm just worried that he will freak out and hurt you."

"He can't fire you, though," Jay said, trying to be comforting.

"But he might be able to get you demoted," Erin asked, wondering if that was true.

"I don't think so," Jay began, "With demotions, you have to have a specific, legit reason. I don't think getting your surrogate daughter pregnant fits in that category."

"Thanks," Erin said.

"What?" Jay said, worried that he had messed something up.

"Don't call me Voight's surrogate daughter, okay? He took me in and cared for me a lot, which is a lot more than the word surrogate traditionally means."

"I apologize," Jay said formally as they pulled into the precinct parking lot. "Okay, let's go solve some crimes."

"Yeah," Erin said slowly, feeling nervous about trying to hide her secret and wondering if she and or Jay would make it obvious. "Let's go solve some crimes."