Chapter 2

Jay was using a rare vacation day to have daddy-daughter time with Athena. Hailey made him promise not to have junk TV on.

"Define junk," said Jay as Hailey slipped on her jacket.

"You know, reality shows, talk shows where people scream at each other and throw chairs. That sort of stuff."

"Got it." He gave a thumbs up and kissed her before she went out the door.

So, they watched educational kiddie shows and played games. Then he made them grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch

After a brief nap for Athena, they went to their favorite park. Here the youngest Halstead could run around and scream and go down the slide what seemed like 50 times and even pick wildflowers. She was about to eat one before Jay extricated it from her fist.

"Hold on. I know that's pretty, but you can't eat it."

Athena scrunched up her face. "Why not?"

"Because you might get a tummy ache. You know how you don't like being sick."

Her expression suggested she wasn't sure she believed him. Finally, she relented. "Okay. Can we get ice cream?"

Jay grinned. "That we can do." They headed to a small shop at the corner of the park to get a chocolate cone with sprinkles for Athena and a plain vanilla one for Jay.

It was mid-afternoon now and Jay's phone beeped. It was Hailey.

"How's it going?"she asked.

"Great. Having ice cream at the park. You?"

"So-so. Doing surveillance with Kim. Haven't spotted our perps yet."

"Sorry to hear that. Wish you were with us."

Hailey released a weary sigh. "Me, too. I could really go for some ice cream right now."

"Only a frozen dairy treat? What about time with your awesome family?"

"Oh, hands down you guys come first. But ice cream is a pretty close second. Especially since we missed lunch."

"Hang on," he said to Hailey. "Athena, sweetheart. Please don't do that," said Jay.

"I gotta go, Hails. Your daughter has chocolate all over her face and hands. I think I see some sprinkles in her hair, too."

"So, she's my daughter when's she messy?"

Jay chuckled. "Of course. My daughter is perfect. See you at home. Love you."

"Love you, too."

"Bring us ice cream, Jay!" yelled Kim.

Hailey switched to speaker so Kim could hear Jay's response. "You know the minute I did that your suspects would appear and the ice cream would go to waste. The next team to use that van would be pissed about the sticky globs all over the place."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Too practical for your own good, Halstead.

Jay pulled some wet wipes from his backpack and helped Athena clean up. Then he checked his watch. "Okay. Let's make one stop and then we'll head home. That way I can get dinner started. What do you think about spaghetti?"

Athena nodded enthusiastically. "I like 'sghetti!"

Their stop was at the District. Jay figured they could run up to Intelligence for maybe 15 minutes so he could sign some paperwork. That way his desk would be clear and neat when he returned to work. Unlike his partner-cum-wife's. That made him grin.

He slowly opened the door from the stairwell and peeked out. Platt was not at the desk to detain them and fuss over Athena. They hurried across the ancient linoleum and up the stairs to Intelligence. Jay input the code and laid his hand on the palm reader. The gate unlocked and up they went.

The place was empty, but Kevin's computer was on and his jacket was draped over the back of his chair. He was probably monitoring traffic cams for the surveillance teams. A couple days earlier, he'd bruised his shoulder and was in a sling for a week. Nobody liked to be in that situation, but those things happened when you ran around Chicago and vaulted over fences. They all liked to think they were invincible. However, gravity showed them who was really in charge.

Jay sat down and unlocked the main desk drawer, removing the paperwork. Athena was getting fidgety, so he pushed a legal pad and pen toward her. "Here. I'll be finished in a few minutes." She climbed into Hailey's chair and began scribbling and humming to herself.

Jay glanced up when Kevin came into the room. "Hey, man. How's the shoulder?"

Kevin pulled a face. "As long as I wear this thing it's not too bad. But I hate being stuck here. I should be out there helping the others."

"I hear you."

Kevin noticed Athena at her mom's desk and grinned. "Who's this, our newest detective?" said Kevin. "Do you remember me? I'm Kevin."

"Uh huh."

She climbed down from the chair and walked toward him with the legal pad. "I drew a picture," she said.

"You sure did. Do you like to come to work with your daddy?"

"Uh huh."

Athena glanced over Kevin's shoulder and pointed. "What's that?"

Kevin twisted in his chair to see what had caught her attention. He snickered. "That thing on the wall?"

"Yeah."

"That, Miss Athena, is a pencil sharpener." A holdover from the Olinsky days. Al said he preferred it to the electric version. Adam called it a relict. Yet after Al's untimely death, no one had the heart to remove it.

"Huh?"

"Hang on, I'll show you." He checked the top of his desk, then began opening drawers. "Hmm. I bet Burgess has one."

In fact, she had a whole box of #2 pencils in her bottom drawer. "Wonder why she has all these?" He withdrew one from the box.

"This is what you do."

Athena stood there eagerly watching him. "See how there's no point on this one? Well, you put it in here and turn the handle to sharpen it." Then he pulled it out and showed her the point. "You can write with it now."

Her mouth dropped open. "Wow!"

"Do you want to try it?"

"Yes!"

Numerous pencils later, Athena looked around the bullpen. "Is Grandpa Hank here?" Kevin's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Don't ask," said Jay.

Kevin put up his hands. "Hey, no judgment here, bro. I think it's kinda cute."

"No, he's probably out catching bad people," said Jay to his daughter.

Her eyes went wide. "Are bad people here?" she whispered.

"No . . . no bad people here. You're safe."

Kevin picked up a folder from his desk. "Your daddy won't let any bad people come up here, Athena."

To be on the safe side, Athena ran and stood beside Jay's desk. He reached out and hugged her to his side. "You don't have to worry, baby."

"Guess I better get back to it," said Kevin. "See you tomorrow. You come back to see us, Athena."

"Yeah. Tomorrow," said Jay. He was stuffing the paperwork back in the drawer when Voight came up the stairs.

"Grandpa Hank!" Athena dropped the pencils and ran to him. He bent and scooped her up in his arms. "Here's my girl. I am so happy to see you." He had a big smile on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Helping daddy."

"We all need help sometimes," said Voight, looking to Jay.

"Just finishing up that paperwork Trudy's been bugging me about," he explained.

"Jay, I'm sure it could have waited until morning. You took the day off to spend with your daughter. This job is important, no doubt. But not as important as your family."

Jay nodded. "Hailey and Athena are my world."

On the ride home, Jay checked the rearview mirror and saw that Athena's head had fallen to the side and her mouth was open. He smiled. He'd succeeded in running down all her energy.

As he waited at the light, he reflected on the unexpected connection between his daughter and his boss. In a few short weeks, the fearsome Sergeant Hank Voight morphed into cuddly Grandpa Hank. Both seemed to benefit from the relationship.

Jay drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and shook his head. Just when you think you've got life figured out, the universe throws you a curve ball. Maybe that's not a bad thing.

Kim dropped into her chair after the team returned from their surveillance mission. "What's with all these pencils? She pushed her chair back and looked at Kevin. "I really hope the universe isn't telling me I need to help Makayla with math homework tonight. I don't think I could add two and two right now."

"Well . . . there's an interesting story about those pencils," he drawled.

Hailey's head came up from her computer. "What?"

Kevin just laughed.