SLOANE'S P.O.V.
I knew better. It is taboo as a wedding planner. You don't hook up with wedding guests. You don't hook up with any of the groomsmen. You definitely don't hook up with the groom. That is a way to end your career. I've worked so hard to get to where I am in my career. This wouldn't play out like that Jennifer Lopez movie where she played the wedding planner who fell in love with the groom, and they basically lived happily ever after. That movie was so far from reality. The wedding planner in the movie never sweat, once. She wore heels the entire time. She never broke a nail or had a drink poured on her by a guest who she had to cut off at the bar. A real wedding planner sweats...gets dirty...has to change clothes and shoes multiple times throughout the day from set-up to ceremony to reception...and in my case, the case of a real wedding planner, she is also in love with the Best Man.
The Best Man is someone I have known for 8 years. Eight years ago he joined the Intelligence Unit and started working for my uncle. I'm pretty sure all of Chicago PD knew I was off-limits when it came to dating and hook-ups. I was only 18 and a freshman in college when he started working for Uncle Hank. I'd be willing to guess that in the Itelligence Unit Orientation Manual there is a section on staying away from Sloane Connelly. Of course, we have seen each other off and on over the years but he has never looked at the way he is looking at me now.
"Sloane?" I heard someone call as I looked away from those green eyes. I looked at Emily, one of my assistant coordinators, who was also my best friend. "Will and Natalie are five minutes out. I thought you would want to do one final walk-through of the space. I know how much this one means to you." she said. And she was right. I have known Natalie Manning my entire life. We grew up together. Yes, Nat was 5 years older than me, but she had been my sister my entire life. We were both only children. In was her shoulder I cried on when my parents were killed by a drunk driver. I transferred home from a college on the East Coast to The University of Chicago when Nat's husband Jeff was killed in combat. Her son Owen is my godson. And now after years of on-again off-again with Will Halstead it was the night of their engagement party. They got engaged in Seattle a few months ago but decided to move back to Chicago after Nat found out she was pregnant. Neither one of them had a large family and they wanted to raise their kids near the little family they do have. Based on tonight is proof that blood isn't always thicker than water and family is who you choose not necessarily who you are related to. Tonight, is their engagement party and they have also hired my company to plan their wedding next fall.
JAY'S P.O.V.
"Yo, Chuckles! Are you listening? Did you hear what I just said?" Trudy Platt's voice interrupted my thoughts as did the light slap to the back of my head. She hadn't called me Chuckles in years. "Sorry, Sarge. My mind was somewhere else? And what's with the nickname? You haven't called me that since..." I said turning to look at her. "Since the last time you did something so stupid, I was sure Voight was going to kick you out of Intelligence." she replied. "Jay, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has noticed the way you've been looking at Sloan tonight. And, let me tell you, if Voight notices you won't have to worry about being kicked out of the unit, you'll have to worry about surviving a car ride to the back of the silos." she finished softly before walking away to join her husband and some of the other firefighters from 51.
Shit. I didn't think anyone had noticed. When I walked onto the rooftop patio where the party was, I noticed her before anything or anyone else. Sloane was a kid, barely out of high school when I first met her. But now, 8 years later, I'm blown away by the gorgeous woman she has turned into.
The barely 5'1 blue-eyed redhead wore a dress that was somehow classy but didn't leave much to the imagination. It was floor length black silk with a high slit up each leg and had an extremely low back. It was pretty much backless down to her waist. And as I watched her walk across the patio, directing waitstaff and members of the band, I wondered how the slits didn't show whether she was wearing anything under her dress. And what was she thinking, leaving her hair like that? It was pushed over one shoulder so everyone could see her entire back. At that moment I realized that she was most likely not wearing much under the dress. Why didn't Voight tell her to go change?
I told myself I was keeping an eye on Sloane as I chatted with members of my Unit as well as the crew from Firehouse 51 and Chicago Med to make sure no one bothered her. But in reality, I couldn't keep my eyes off her because she was stunning. As I ended my speech, toasting my brother and Natalie, I watched her take a sip from her champagne glass as she laughed at something Dr. Marcel whispered in her ear. She placed a hand on his arm and smiled. I couldn't see anything else as my brother and Nat came up to me.
A few minutes later as Will and Nat left the highboy table I was standing at, my eyes continued to roam the room. I didn't see Sloane. I didn't see Dr. Marcel either. Jesus, she is my boss's niece. It shouldn't matter who she dates. All I knew is that it couldn't be me. I needed to snap out of it. This is my boss's daughter that I'm now uncomfortable fantasizing about. I was lost in my thoughts, annoyed with myself that I was experiencing feelings of jealousy.
"Hi Jay." a voice said softly from behind me, thankfully interrupting those thoughts. I turned around and looked down into the sapphire blue eyes of Sloane Connelly, the niece of my boss, Hank Voight.
SLOANE'S P.O.V.
I knew he had been watching me throughout the night. I knew because I had been casually watching him throughout the party. I knew when he first walked in. I felt him before I saw him. I am pretty sure the jealousy I felt when the nurses from Med flirted with him was clear as day across my face. Finally, I saw him standing alone and before I could talk myself out of it, I walked towards the table on the back side of the patio he was standing at.
"Hi Jay." I said coming up from behind him. He turned, leaning up against the highboy table. He grinned, leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, lingering a moment longer than he probably should have as his right hand touched my hip. He pulled back and took a sip of his beer as he looked me up and down. He had yet to say a word and I could feel my heart racing.
"Hi Sloane. Great party." he said, smiling so deeply his green eyes twinkled and his dimples made an appearance. "How did you ever get this space for the two of them? I didn't realize The Gwen rented out the rooftop for events." he asked as we looked out over the Chicago skyline.
Before I could answer, Kevin walked up to him and whispered in his ear. He looked over at my Uncle and nodded. I watched as Uncle Hank made his way over to Will and Nat. He was saying goodbye. He headed in our direction and apologized for having to leave early. "We'll have to catch up tomorrow, over Sunday dinner. We just caught a case. Beautiful party. I'm proud of you." he told me before following Keven towards the exit.
I looked at Jay. "We'll also have to catch up another time Sloane. You look beautiful tonight. Get home safe." he told me, leaning in. His kiss missed my cheek as he made corner with the corner of my mouth. Without another word he turned and headed through the doorway Kevin and Uncle Hank had gone through moments before.
Four hours later the party was over, gifts were packed up, the band and caterer had left, and the rental company had come and picked up all of the tables, linens and the other items I had rented for the party. "You killed it tonight." Emily said joining me on the patio as she handed me a glass of champagne. It was our ritual. We treated ourselves to a glass of champagne after the end of a successful event. Sometimes it was more than a glass if we weren't driving ourselves home. It was always a great way to celebrate and decompress at the end of a long day.
"I couldn't have done it without you." I said, smiling at her as we clinked our glasses before taking a sip. "It's so peaceful up here but I'm heading out." she said. "Tom is down outside the main valet waiting for me. Do you want us to drop you off at home?" she asked. Em and Tom had been dating for 2 years and I knew it was only a matter of weeks before we started planning her wedding. She didn't have a clue and I was helping Tom plan an epic proposal I knew Emily would love.
"No. Thanks tho. You go ahead. I'm going to do one last walk-thru to make sure we didn't forget anything and then I'll get either walk or grab an Uber to take me home." I told her. I only lived 10 blocks from The Gwen. It was about a 20-minute walk. "Hank will kill you and me if you make that walk at 1:00am. Promise me you'll take an Uber." she said. Once I agreed she left and I did a final walk-thru with the venue manager.
I slipped out of my Louboutin heels and into a pair of ballerina flats. I had been trying to get an Uber for 15 minutes with no luck. I decided at that point to start the walk home. It was almost 1:30am and I was exhausted. I was ready to go home and crawl into bed. I didn't have to be anywhere before dinner at Uncle Hank's, so I was planning on spending most of the day sleeping after an 18-hour workday. I made my way over the DuSable Bridge and walked along the Riverwalk. The streets had been surprisingly deserted and I was so lost in my own thoughts, mostly about Jay, that I never heard the car pull up behind me.
JAY'S P.O.V.
"What an unbelievable tragedy." I said, looking at the crime scene in front of me. Someone posing as a rideshare driver had picked up three girls after a wedding who thought they were getting into their ordered vehicle but ended up being violently attacked. Two of the three were murdered. The third was on her way to Chicago Med...hanging on by a thread.
"Sarge, we just got reports of another murder. Same MO. Down in Old Town. It seems that two girls were leaving a bar, got into what they thought was their rideshare. Both girls were DOA." my partner, Hailey Upton informed us. "Jesus." Burgess whispered, horrified. And she was right. That is 4 dead in an hour which meant there was more than one assailant.
"Roman!" Voight shouted, looking up from his phone. Sean Roman recently moved back to Chicago and rejoined the CPD. Voight and Platt called in some favors and had him assigned once again to the 21st District. "What's up Sarge?" Roman asked. "I can't get a hold of Sloane. Her phone is going straight to voicemail. Chances are she left The Gwen in a rideshare to head home. But there is a chance she might still be there finishing up for the night. I need you to find her. Call me when you have her. Make sure she gets home safely." he barked before turning away to go speak with the Deputy Chief. I watched as Roman ran to his patrol car and took off in the direction of The Gwen. I pulled out my phone and dialed Sloane's number, hoping Voight was wrong. Shit, I thought as it went straight to voicemail. "Sloane. It's Jay. Call me as soon as you get this message."
I knew I had to focus but as the night went on, I became more and more worried about Sloane. I couldn't ask Voight. He had tasked me to oversee the crime scene in Old Town while he ran things from the District. I did as much as I could at the crime scene before heading back to the District around sunrise. I was going to check in with Voight, hopefully get some information about Sloane and then go home grab a quick nap and a shower before heading back into the station.
The station was a madhouse when I walked in. I was heading towards the stairs when Trudy saw me. She waived me over. "Jay, before you go up you should know that Sloane's up there. She was lucky but it's bad. She fought off her attacker and was able to escape but she's messed up physically and emotionally. She's refusing to be checked out at Med. Hank wants to call Will but was waiting for you to get here. He doesn't want to be the one to wake up Will this early the morning after the party. Sloane keeps telling him she wants to go home. It's not good." she said. I felt the pit in my stomach as I turned and ran up the five steps. I stopped at the gate, put in my access code and ran up to the floor that belonged to Intelligence.
"What the fuck? Why didn't you call me?" I hissed at Ruzek. "She specifically asked us not to. Not sure if Voight picked up on it or not but that's not what's important. The guy grabbed her off the street. She put up a hell of a fight, but she took a beating. Calm down before you go in there." he told me. The door to Voight's office opened. I have seen Hank cry twice in the eight years I've known him. Once was when his son, Justin, died 6 years ago. The second time was when his best friend, Detective Al Olinsky, was murdered 3 years ago. This is now the third time I've seen it. His eyes red, the stress and anger written across his face.
"Halstead." he called, motioning with his head for me to head into his office. I took a deep breath and walked in expecting to find Sloane in there, but the office was empty. "Sarge?" I asked, not sure what to say. "Have a seat, Jay. We need to talk about Sloane...about you and Sloane...and what needs to happen since she saw her attacker." he replied.