A/N: I always loved Linstead and also loved seeing Erin and Voight's relationship. This idea for this story popped into my mind and wouldn't leave until I started writing it. I usually wait to post my stories until they're finished, but I'm on the last couple of chapters and have been hit with a bit of writer's block, so I'm hoping that starting to publish it will inspire me to finish it.
Erin hesitated outside the doors to the 21st District, unsure of whether she was making the right choice. It had been a little over three years since she'd been forced to leave Chicago, both to keep Bunny out of prison and in order to be able to continue her career in law enforcement. Yet here she was, standing outside the doors of her old district, feeling like a stranger.
Erin held her breath as she felt her daughter shift in her arms, hoping that she would stay asleep. The flight had been scary for the little girl, and it had taken Erin awhile to get her to stop crying. She'd finally fallen asleep on the taxi ride here.
Looking down at her daughter, Erin knew that she had no option but to go in. She needed Voight's help, and she had nowhere else to go. She took a deep breath before pulling open the door and stepping back inside the building that had once felt like her second home. She looked around as she walked up the steps inside the entrance. Nothing had changed since she left; everything looked exactly the same. Patrol officers were milling about the lobby and coming and going, and behind the desk, in the same spot as she'd always been, was Sergeant Trudy Platt.
Erin hesitantly approached the desk, not sure how the desk sergeant would react to her return. "Trudy?" she asked hesitantly, causing the older woman to look up from her paperwork.
Platt's eyes widened in surprise as she took in first Erin and then the child that Erin held in her arms. "Erin Lindsay? Am I seeing things or is that really you?" she asked in amazement.
Erin smiled softly. "It's me," she assured the older woman.
Platt's face broke into a huge grin. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" she exclaimed. "Hank didn't tell me you were coming!"
Erin shifted nervously. "That's because he doesn't know," she admitted. "This wasn't a planned visit."
Platt nodded, but thankfully the usually nosey desk sergeant didn't ask any questions about what had brought Erin back to Chicago. "And who is this little one?"
"This is my daughter, Cami," Erin introduced her daughter, her eyes softening and her smile growing as she glanced down at her daughter. "She usually loves meeting new people, but I'm afraid the flight wore her out," she apologized.
Platt took in the girl that Erin held. From what she could see, she looked to be the spitting image of her mother, with the same brown hair and facial features. She guessed that the girl was about two, and she was surprised that Voight had never mentioned anything to her about Erin having a daughter. She knew how much he loved being a grandfather, and he was constantly bragging about Daniel and showing everyone the latest pictures of him.
"I'm guessing you're here to see Hank?" the desk sergeant asked, and Erin nodded. "I'll buzz you up," Platt stated, then paused. "Unless you'd rather he come down?"
Erin hesitated for a minute, trying to decide. "I'll go up," she said finally. She knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of the team found out that she was back in town. It would be easier to get the awkward reunions out of the way now. "Thanks, Trudy."
Erin slowly made her way up the stairs to her old bullpen. She knew that her former teammates would have a lot of questions, and she wasn't sure she was prepared to answer all of them. She'd pretty much ghosted all of them after she'd moved to New York. She'd stayed in touch with Burgess and Antonio for the first few months, but then she'd just stopped replying to their texts and answering their phone calls. She knew she'd hurt them, but things had happened, and she'd felt it best to put her old life behind her.
"Erin?" Antonio was the first to spot her, standing up from his desk., his face a mixture of surprise and confusion.
Erin forced a smile on her face as every eye in the room turned to her. She quickly scanned the desks, looking to see who all was there. She felt some relief when she didn't see Jay or Hailey anywhere. At least she'd be spared from one awkward reunion today. "Hey," she greeted them as she reached the top of the stairs.
Burgess had gotten up from her desk and had started to head towards her friend but stopped when she spotted the little girl in Erin's arms. She exchanged glances with Antonio who shrugged and shook his head, indicating that he didn't know any more about it than she did. "Hey, Erin," she said warmly, continuing over to the older woman and giving her a brief hug. "It's good to see you! Voight didn't tell us you were coming."
"He doesn't know," Erin replied as Antonio approached. She leaned into his hug, savoring it. Other than Jay and Voight, Antonio had been the person she'd missed the most. He'd been like a brother to her, and had always been there for her, no matter what. She'd missed that over the past few years.
"And who might this little lady be?" Ruzek asked, coming over to get his own hug.
"This is my daughter, Cami," Erin introduced them to her daughter, who had just woken up and was looking around at everyone with wide eyes. She didn't miss the glances exchanged between the team; she knew exactly what they were thinking, but she chose to ignore it. "Is Hank here? I need to talk to him."
"Yeah, he's in his office," Atwater informed her as he gave her a hug.
"Thanks," Erin replied, beginning to make her way to Hank's office.
"Do you want us to watch Cami for you?" Burgess offered.
Before Erin could respond, Cami squirmed to get down. Erin set her down and she immediately ran to Antonio, lifting her arms up and begging to be picked up. Erin laughed as Antonio happily obliged. "I guess she answered for me," she replied. She shrugged off the backpack she was carrying. "She has some snacks in here in case she starts to get hungry."
Erin watched for a moment as her former team members gathered around Cami, her daughter loving the attention, before turning and continuing to Hank's office. She reached up and knocked.
"Come in," Hank called gruffly.
Erin opened the door slowly and stepped inside. "Hi, Hank," she said softly.
Hank looked up at the sound of her voice, surprised, before quickly getting up and making his way around his desk to hug her. When he pulled back, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "Erin? What's going on?" he asked gently, closing his door and leading her over to one of the chairs in front of his desk.
Erin wiped at her eyes; she hadn't meant to cry, but when Hank had hugged her, she couldn't help it. "I'm sorry for showing up unannounced," she told him, "but I didn't have a chance to tell you we were coming."
"We?" Hank asked.
Erin nodded. "Cami's out there with the team." She smiled, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. "She's enjoying all of the attention."
"What's going on Erin?" Hank asked again, concerned.
Erin hesitated, knowing exactly how Hank would respond when she told him why she was back in Chicago. "Someone tried to kill us last night," she started. "They threw a Molotov cocktail through my window and caught my apartment on fire."
"What?" Hank exploded.
"We're okay, Hank," Erin assured him. "I was still awake when it happened, so I was able to get myself and Cami out before the fire spread."
"Do you know who did it? What is the FBI doing about it?" Hank questioned.
Erin shook her head. "We assume it's someone from a case I worked on, but they're still working on narrowing down a list of suspects." She sighed. "They told me it was best if I got myself and Cami out of New York for a while, at least until they're able to catch whoever did it. It wasn't the first incident that happened," Erin admitted.
"What do you mean it wasn't the first incident? Why are you just now telling me?" Erin could tell by Hank's voice that he was angry, but she knew the anger stemmed from fear.
"Two weeks ago, someone threw a rock through my window with a note wrapped around it that said 'Whore cops don't deserve to live.' I moved into a hotel with Cami temporarily, but a few days later I woke up to see that my tires had been slashed. Liv let me crash with her and Noah for a few nights, but then my unit thought they'd caught the guy. He confessed to slashing my tires. I'd sent his brother to prison for life, and evidently, he was angry about that. He never confessed to throwing the rock through my window, but his handwriting matched the writing on the note, so we assumed it was him and I moved back home. Everything was quiet until last night," Erin explained.
Hank frowned, not happy to find out that Olivia Benson had known and hadn't told him, but before he could say anything, Erin spoke again. "Don't be mad at Liv. I told her not to tell her. She made me promise her that I'd tell you myself, but then they caught the guy, so I figured there was no point in worrying you."
"You should have told me, Erin," Hank reprimanded her.
"There's nothing you could have done, Hank. It wouldn't have mattered," Erin insisted. "It just would have made you worry."
Hank sighed, knowing she was right. "So what now?"
Erin shrugged. "Now I stay here until my unit tells me that they've got the guy and that it's safe to go back."
Hank nodded. "You and Cami can stay with me," he informed her.
"Hank!" Erin protested. "That's not fair to you. I don't know how long I'll have to stay."
Hank held up his hands, silencing her. "I don't care. You're staying with me, no matter how long it takes. Besides, it will give me a chance to get to know Cami a bit better." Hank had been there for Cami's birth and had made a couple of trips to New York since, so he knew Cami, but he'd not had the opportunity to spend much time getting to know the girl he'd claimed as a granddaughter.
"Thanks, Hank," Erin told him gratefully. She was distracted from saying anything else by the sound of Cami's giggles coming from the bullpen, making her smile. Last night had been traumatic, so she was relieved by the fact that it hadn't seemed to have any lasting impact on her daughter.
As Erin walked out of Hank's office, her breath caught in her throat at the sight that greeted her. Jay was holding her daughter, gently tossing her up in the air and catching her, making her giggle uncontrollably.
"Mommy!" Cami cried as she caught sight of her mom.
"Hi, baby girl," Erin replied, forcing a smile as she made her way over to where her ex-boyfriend stood, holding her daughter in his arms. She reached out her arms and Cami happily went to her. "Did you have fun?"
Cami nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!" Before she could say more, she caught sight of Hank over Erin's shoulder and her eyes lit up. "Gwampa Hank!" she exclaimed, squiring to get down and running over to him.
The older man swooped her up into a bear hug. "Hi, princess," he greeted her enthusiastically.
"Hey, Erin," Jay said softly, drawing her attention away from Hank and her daughter.
Erin could see the unspoken question in Jay's eyes but chose to ignore it. "Hi, Jay," she replied before quickly turning back to Hank and Cami. "Hey, Cami, it's time to go, peanut," she called.
"No," Cami pouted. "Gwampa Hank!"
Erin smiled, shaking her head. "You'll see Grandpa Hank later," she promised her daughter. "We're going to be staying with Grandpa Hank for a while. But right now you need to say goodbye to him."
"No!" Cami insisted, starting to cry as she clung to Hank. "No go, mommy!"
"Camille Nadia Lindsay," Erin admonished gently. "I promise you'll get to see Grandpa Hank again tonight. But right now you need to tell him goodbye, okay?"
Cami nodded sadly before giving Hank a kiss on his cheek. "Bye, gwampa," she told him.
Erin took her daughter from Hank's arms. "Sorry; she's just worn out from the trip," she apologized.
"She's as stubborn as you, Lindsay," Atwater joked, making everyone laugh.
"Thanks, Kev," Erin replied dryly, fighting back a smile. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed everyone until she'd seen them today. She was thankful that none of them seemed to hold a grudge against her for the way she'd ghosted them.
"Bye!" Cami waved over Erin's shoulder as Erin made her way to the stairs. She'd obviously made fast friends with everyone today, which was no surprise, considering it seemed her daughter had never met a stranger.