Happy Halloween

Hank pulled the buzzing phone from his pocket and looked at the incoming text. It was from Liam Halstead and it showed several Halloween related emojis, prayer hands and the words "pretty please Sarge." He knew exactly what the kid was asking. He looked over at Jay who was trading glances between the computer and the file in front of him. He remembered missing so much when Justin was growing up. Trick or treating, baseball games, soccer games, school plays and spelling bees, so much of everything.

"Halstead!" He barked.

"Yeah Sarge," Jay said his arms reaching upward in a stretch. "Get out of here. Take your kid trick or treating."

"Really? You're sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. But hey, tell him he owes me some candy. And I want a picture of him in his costume."

"Deal," Jay nodded as he shutdown his computer and put the file in his drawer. He knew Liam would be so excited to see him. He had already arranged for Ellie Samson to pick him up from school and take him home so he could get ready for the night. She was going to take him out if Jay hadn't gotten home by six. The hours in the city were fairly liberal, but they didn't want to be out too late.

He knew this was a gift from Voight. The entire team was invested in Liam, in one way or another and had watched him grow up. They knew the time was going by too fast and childhood joys would soon pass by the wayside and an excited trick or treating ten year old, would soon turn into a sulking, sullen teenager who looked at you as if you were only put on this earth to annoy him. These were the times to enjoy, to hold onto, to take part in.

Jay parked the truck just down the street from the apartment and walked through the door at 5:25. "Look who's here," Ellie said. She had taken early retirement from her state job at the age of fifty-five and found herself extremely bored. She had been divorced for ten years, both of her adult children had left the area, her attempt at writing a novel flopped as did her pottery endeavor. Other than volunteering at a local food pantry once or twice a week she had absolutely nothing going on. So when she struck up a conversation with her neighbor across the street and discovered he needed help filling a childcare gap, she jumped at it.

She was available nearly twenty-four seven, and the location couldn't be better. Liam was a sweet kid and needed the tenderness only a female could offer. She enjoyed being needed, making a difference in two lives and having a good relationship with a Chicago police detective was a great bonus. And he enjoyed the fact that she was more than fair in what she would take for her labor.

"Dad!" Liam yelled as he charged towards his father. "You're home. You don't even have to catch up to us." Which had been the plan if Jay had gotten home late.

"I sure don't." Jay said with a smile giving silent gratitude to his boss.

"Doesn't he look great," Ellie said.

"Absolutely, very authentic." Jay said taking in the faux turnout gear, complete with reflective tape.

"But I don't have any boots." Liam said looking down at this sneakers.

"You can't even tell. Plus you're going to do a lot of walking so sneakers are better."

"Can we go now? I had a snack already so I won't get hungry."

"Sure we can. Where's your bag?"

Liam scampered off as Ellie headed towards the door. "I'm so glad you made it home early. What a treat for both of you. Enjoy your time together."

"Thank you. I'll get you a check for the week on Friday."

"No hurry. You know that. Have fun Liam," she yelled as she departed.

"I'm ready!" Liam announced as he came out of his room with his canvas bag.

"Okay, but first I have to take a picture of you for Sergeant Voight—and you have to give him some candy, otherwise I have to go back to work." Jay stated as seriously as he could.

"No problem. Picture and candy." Liam agreed, nodding as he spoke.

Picture taken, and texted the two started walking the neighborhood. Most of the residents took part in the annual festival of sugar. They enjoyed seeing the kids or had kids of their own and left their spouses behind to take care of fellow trick or treater's, while they, too, sought out the sweet offerings. Up and down the streets, Jay hung back and watched his son smile, say the correct greeting and expressed his gratitude at each house. He wasn't sure how he had gotten so lucky. Liam was a good kid and Jay couldn't imagine his life without him. There were difficulties, struggles, but here he was, a single father, doing his best, lacking in so many areas, yet the smile and love of this child kept him going when he thought every last bit of goodness had been sucked out of the world.

"Whoa, kid. I think we're about done," Jay said over an hour later as he looked at his son's bulging bag.

"One more house? Please?"

"One more." Jay smiled. "But don't think you are going to eat all that candy." As Liam did his thing Jay sent a quick text. With no response, he thought perhaps stalling might help which gave him a second idea causing him to send another text.

"I guess we're done then," Liam sighed. "People liked my costume," he boasted, as he puffed his chest out.

"I bet they did." He said as his phone chirped. "One more stop. But we have to take the truck to get there."

"Okay. Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

Liam began to dig through his bag and unwrap various treats. "Hey, no eating candy until I check it," Jay warned.

"But, we know most of these people," the boy argued.

"Not well enough," he spoke of neighbors that they knew to varying degrees. "Besides it's getting late and you have school tomorrow."

"Where are we going?" Liam finally asked after they had been driving for a little while. "The district?" He asked as he recognized the area. The distance from apartment to work was less than five miles but often took more than twenty minutes or more due to traffic.

"Nope," Jay said as they drove past. "Close though."

Jay pulled to the corner when they reached their destination. "Awesome," Liam said as he jumped out of the truck and ran up the driveway to the firehouse.

"Well look who we have here," Kelly said. "It's firefighter Halstead."

"Hi Kelly, Matt," Liam greeted the firefighters of 51. It hadn't been long since they had been tailgating at Soldier Field, having a great time together before the city was sunken into a panicked abyss due to a flesh eating bacteria.

"Thanks for letting me know it was your shift night. I thought you'd get a kick out of his costume." Jay said.

"Definitely. In fact we need a picture," Chief Boden said coming down the driveway with his phone. You three get together," he said of his men and Liam. They all posed and then included Jay in the next one. "We'll get this one printed out for our bulletin board. I'll text them to you Jay."

"Thanks, that'd be great."

"Well a costume like that gets you extra candy," Matt said tossing a handful into his bag.

"Yeah, that's just what he needs. He can barely carry the bag now," Jay joked.

"Thanks for bringing him by," Kelly said shaking the detectives hand. "Bring him by on a Saturday shift and he can hang out.

"Can I Dad?" Liam asked, his eyes wide.

"Sure, we'll work it out." He said as his phone chimed. "Let's go. One more stop."

"Another surprise?"

"Yep. Thanks guys," Jay said as they headed back to the truck.

As they neared the truck they passed an older woman who was walking away from the firehouse. They didn't pay much attention to her until a man came running past and grabbed her purse. Jay looked at his son. "Stay here," he yelled as he gave pursuit.

His morning running routine came in handy most days. His feet pounded the pavement as they inched closer to the purse snatcher. They were heading towards a green space and Jay launched himself, tackling the offender. They rolled around but Jay ended up on top and realized, in their rush to leave the apartment he was still wearing, his gun, badge and cuffs. He cuffed the perpetrator and called it in on his cell phone, requesting a car to come for a pick up. As he sat on the guy, he grabbed the purse and set it aside and looked over to see his son jogging up the block.

"I told you to stay there."

"But I didn't know when you'd come back. Besides, we wanted to see if you got her purse back," Liam said nodding towards the victim. "I told you he'd get it back." He said to the woman.

"Check and see if anything is missing. But I don't think he had a chance to even open it," Jay said as a patrol car pulled up.

"Thank you so much. My wallet, keys, phone, everything are in there. How can I thank you?"

"No thanks needed."

"He was just doing his job," Liam added.

"Well, you have my gratitude and appreciation."

"How far away do you live?" Jay asked.

"Just down at the end of the block. This is usually a quiet neighborhood."

"We can walk you the rest of the way," Jay offered as the uniformed officers loaded up the thief and took off after exchanging their cuffs so Jay could get his back.

"That's not necessary," she said, but it was evident that it was exactly what she wanted.

"Do you want some candy?" Liam asked holding a piece of chocolate in his hand. "Women like chocolate. But my dad hasn't checked it yet so you should wait until you get home."

"Aren't you the sweetest little guy," she said smiling. "I guess I wouldn't mind you handsome fellas walking me home along with that chocolate." She said as she took the proffered candy.

After the woman, who they found out was Edna Gardner, was safely tucked away in her apartment, the Halstead's began walking back to the truck. "I thought I told you to stay where you were," Jay began looking down at his son.

"But I didn't want to stay there. And Mrs. Gardner was worried about you."

"She was?"

"Yes, and I was too."

"But it could have been dangerous. That guy could have had a gun."

"Which is why we were worried about you. But I told her, you were really good at your job, and that you were always working which is why you still had your gun and handcuffs."

Jay sighed as he realized his son had noticed what he had forgotten and just how right he was. He always seemed to be on the job. It was the fate of most cops—they simply can't leave their knowledge, their heightened state of awareness behind at the end of the work day. "But, Liam, he could have been a threat, he could have started shooting and the last thing I needed to worry about is you and Mrs. Gardner in his sights. You should have gone back to the firehouse."

"Sorry. But I wanted to make sure you were okay. Because if you weren't, then maybe I could have helped you."

"The best way that you can help me is by listening to me." He said as he unlocked the truck and took Liam's candy bag so that he could climb up. He went around and got in and handed the bag back. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah. I guess so."

"You guess so?"

"I understand."

"Okay then. One last stop then we head home. And stay out of the candy," he said as Liam had started to rummage around.

"I'm getting hungry."

"We can go straight home."

"No. I want to go. Where are we going anyway?"

"Another surprise."

Several minutes later, Jay parked and he and Liam walked towards the door, the young firefighter adjusting his helmet. It took only a second before Liam saw who they had come to visit. "Uncle Will," he yelled and ran towards his uncle.

"Hey, look at you," he said embracing his nephew. "You look great and look at all that candy."

"Yeah, I cleaned up." Liam said as he smiled.

"You sure did. Hey Jay," he said greeting his brother.

"Is that my little Liam," a nurse named Sandy said.

"Hi," he said running over to her.

"What you got in there?" She asked.

"All kinds of stuff. Pick something out," he said offering up his candy. "My dad won't let me eat it all anyway."

While Liam and Sandy were going through his goodies Jay and Will stepped over by the wall and leaned against it. "Thanks for bringing him by. He looks great. Did you get off early?"

"Yeah, home before six. We've been begging for candy since then. Even though I told him not to eat any, he clearly has." Jay said as he looked over at Liam who was practically vibrating.

"Good luck getting him to bed tonight. Are we still on for Saturday? Museum of Science and Industry?"

"Yeah. He's all yours, if your still up for it."

"Of course I am. I love spending time with him. We have a very small family and I want to have a great relationship with both of you. I'll take him to the museum and then for lunch and if the weather is decent maybe to the lake. If not, we'll head back to my place. Just let me know when you want me to drop him back off or when you want to pick him up."

"I appreciate it."

"I know you need your time."

"There's just not enough of it. I'm at work and I think about what I'm missing out on at home. I'm with him and I think about what I could have done differently at work. When I'm on my own time, I think about both. Adulting sucks."

"It most certainly can. You do a great job and don't think otherwise."

"Ten years and I still find adventure in each day."

"I bet that you do." Will said with a smile. "Anything from Bridget?"

"No. I would have told you. It's like a nagging itch that I'm incapable of scratching. We were never going to get married, she wouldn't let me close enough for that, but we had something. Some kind of spark, something we might have been able to build on, but she just wouldn't let me in. Why did she leave? Why did she leave Liam behind? What secrets did she have and how many were there?"

"You'll probably never know. And worse, Liam will never know. But together you made a beautiful child, who you are lucky enough to raise."

"Here Uncle Will, Peanut M & M's, your favorite," Liam said handing off the small yellow package.

"Thank you. I'll eat them right after I take your picture."

"Okay," Liam agreed smiling for his picture.

After the first shot, Will handed his phone to Jay, "get the two of us." Jay complied and when Sandy came over she took a picture of all three of them.

"Are you still taking me to the museum?" Liam asked when they were done.

"You bet I am."

"Can we go on the sub too?" He asked, speaking of the German submarine that the museum held.

"Absolutely." Will had become a member of the Field Museum, the Science Museum, the Institute of Art, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium all so he could take his nephew there whenever they could find time to explore. And he felt it important to support the institutions that provided a learning a experience for anyone willing to visit.

"Okay, see you later," Liam said waving goodbye.

Will smiled as he waved and watched his brother and nephew head towards the door. Jay looked down at his son, saying something that made the boy laugh, then took the canvas, candy filled bag from him and lifted it over his head acting as if it was a struggle, which elicited even more laughter from Liam. There would be ups and downs, difficulties and struggles, but they would always land on their feet, Will could clearly see that from where he stood.