Sitting on the edge of the couch, watching a late night horror movie, rated R, one that she knows has rules against a fourteen year old watching in the house, but she stays up for it on a school night, knowing that it'll be the talk of the school tomorrow, getting grounded would be so worth it. She drills her upper teeth into her bottom lip, pushing it down until it draws blood. She's invested in the film, wrapping the covers around her shoulders even tighter as if it'll protect her from this fictional killer rampaging through the small town. She slides one hand from beneath the blanket, stretching it out to grab a handful of popcorn before stuffing the buttery concoction in her mouth, not once breaking concentration on the movie. She watches the main couple hide, peeping around the corner and noticing their friend, out in the open, completely unaware that the majority of their friends had just been killed, and now she realizes that the couple face a moral decision, -either warn him and expose themselves or stay hidden. They choose the former, yet that doesn't prevent their friend from being killed. Erin jumps, nearly knocking over her bowl of popcorn when the blade of the knife gracefully slides across his throat.

Erin is going to have nightmares. There's absolutely no way around that, but she was not about to be the only one at school tomorrow that did not watch the movie. She holds her breath now that the main couple are practically the only characters left in the movie, and the showdown begins with them accidentally being separated and unknowing that the other is still alive. Erin's leg bounces, she holds her breath as the main girl hides in the closet, the door cracked which allows her to see out, "Ugh, if she can see out clear as day then that means they can see in!" Erin holds her breath and leans forward, eyes nearly bulging out of her head and when a hand clasps around her shoulder, the popcorn is dispersed around her as the bowl flips over. She yelps, nearly jumps six inches into the air and when she turns around, she stumbles back and falls flat on her ass.

Her dad is the culprit, and he's peering down at her just after looking at what she's watching on the television. He shakes his head and doesn't even bother reprimanding her, "Turn the TV off, clean this popcorn up and then go upstairs and get ready for bed. I want the lights out in 15 minutes." When she opens her mouth to dispute, to beg for just a few extra minutes, the look on his face causes her mouth to clasp shut. She read the look on his face loud and clear.

Voight goes upstairs, the socks on his feet make his steps quiet which is probably why she didn't hear him approach. She missed the part where the girl is found in the closet and she hopes that wasn't too good of a scene, but she watches the rest through her peripheral vision. She throws the popcorn back into the bowl, races into the kitchen to toss the popcorn in the trash and throws the bowl in the sink to make it back just as the main female character is tussling with the killer. She's bruised in the face, her hair is ragged and scattered over top of her head and sweat stains start to appear beneath her arms yet none of that slows her down from fighting. Erin stands in front of the TV, amazed at the fight and for a split second wondering since the boyfriend isn't in the frame if it meant he was killed when her dad distracted her.

Erin picks the blanket up, folds it in the way her dad likes it and lays it over the arm of the couch just as the main girl rolls to the left to avoid the knife from planting into her chest. She's a fighter, Erin smiles, getting lost in the film until her dad's voice snaps her out of it, "Erin, why do I hear the television still on? Turn it off and go to bed! I'm not going to say it again." Her dad is so strict, and since her mom died two years ago, he's only become stricter especially towards the rules her mom had in place, like no one under 16 can watch a rated R movie in her house. It's a bit outdated in Erin's opinion, but she tries to somewhat respect it coming from her dad knowing his motive behind enforcing it.

"I just folded the blanket!" She shouts up the stairs, "I'm looking for the remote," she lies at the end to stall for time. Now she wants the movie to hurry. She cannot go to bed without seeing the ending. She sees the girl trip over her own two feet, only serving to frustrate Erin, and when she finds her balance, the killer tackles her to the ground and then the screen goes black.

"Huh?" Erin states aloud, absolutely confused and wondering if they lost power. Her question is answered when she notices the light in the upstairs hallway still on. She frowns and turns around to see Platt twirling the remote in her hand, "looking for the remote, huh?" Her dad's partner tsks at the obvious lie before setting it down where she found it, "didn't look hard enough. Erin, you should probably go get ready for bed like your dad asked, you have school tomorrow and you're going to regret waking up at six if you don't go to bed in the next hour."

Erin forgot she was here. Platt, her husband Mouch, or Al and sometimes even her dad's former partner Patrick O'Neal made it a point to regularly visit since her mom passed away, swapping out in teams and shifts as if she needed a babysitter. They practically blend into the background because Erin forgets they're here, yet she can't figure out how she forgot about Trudy considering it was she who made sure Erin was fed tonight with a decent home cooked meal. The movie forgotten, Erin simply nods and whispers "Yes ma'am."

"First walk me to the door then lock the door behind me, I'm heading out."

She walks around the couch and Platt's arm immediately goes around her shoulders, bringing her in closer, "It's leftover sloppy Joe in the fridge, I put your name on the container to make sure your dad doesn't eat it."

"Now Trudy," Erin chuckles, she's the only one who can get away with calling her by her first name, "you and I both know that my dad will bypass that and eat it anyway, but I appreciate the effort. If he does eat it, maybe you can make it up to me and take me to Shake Shack this weekend," Erin turns to her dad's partner, eyes wide, big and hopeful and since Platt can never refuse her, she isn't surprised when she gives in.

"If you promise me you'll go to bed right after I leave, then I'll even treat you to a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory."

Erin's eyes manage to grow even wider, "Oh you are speaking my language, okay bye," she practically rushes Trudy out of the door to lock it and gear up to do as promised.

"I'm going to ask your dad tomorrow so I'll know if you lie to me."

Erin shuts and locks the door behind her, making sure to deadbolt it afterwards to ensure there's no break-in. Then she goes to the window and waves just as Platt's headlights come on and she starts to back out of the driveway. Once her dad's partner is out of sight, she steps into her slippers then feels between each couch cushion in search of her phone. She feels her case and tugs, pulling it out to notice it's on silent and she has three unread text messages, all from Jay, checking in on her and also checking to see if she was watching the movie. His last text to her is practically him spoiling the ending, but if he didn't spoil it now then someone at school would have spoiled it tomorrow. She sends a quick reply, letting him know her phone was on silent as to why she's responding hours later and then wishing him a goodnight with every intent of answering the rest of his messages when she sees him in person at school tomorrow.

"I said 15 minutes, Erin, it's going on 20!"

"I know, I know, I had to lock up after Trudy left, I'm about to head up now," she groans out of frustration, then just as she turns to go to the stairs Jay responds, jokingly teasing her by calling her the nickname 5-O, U.S. slang for police considering that's all who surrounds her. He's been calling her that since they met in middle school, first starting out as a bullying tease then turning into one with sincerity in the background after he became her best friend. She reads beyond the nickname to see the reminder about homecoming this weekend. He's on the football team and she promised she'd go to support him, even went as far as to say she'd wear his jersey number and while a part of her was joking, he held her to her word. She sends a check mark emoji confirming that she will be there. It's one of her signature emojis so he takes that as a promise.

Erin tucks her phone into the back pocket of her pajama sweats and now officially makes her way towards the stairs before her dad has another chance to call her, knowing that each time he does, he'll grow more and more angry. She grabs the railing and slowly moves up the stairs, using the rail as guidance since she cannot see, however the intentional darkness soon becomes interrupted when she notices the flashing of red, white and blue lights. No sirens. And Erin knows what no sirens but lights on means. She moves back down the stairs, assuming the flurry of police vehicles are about to raid into a nearby house yet as she stands in front of the window, the same one she waved to Platt from, she sees those police cars surround her house.

They must be at the wrong address.

Police car after police car pulls into the driveway and onto their lawn. And when the doors spring open and officers take shelter behind the doors for protection, bearing and pointing their weapon forwards, towards her house, towards her, she nearly falls back.

"Dad," Erin shouts in concern at the sight of more police pulling up to their house; she steadies herself and lowers herself to take a seat at the window seat for support, "dad" her voice wavers when another cruiser parks near the first, "dad!" This time she nearly screams it when a rush of federal and state officers flood the surrounding property of their home. She falls back, causing her body to accidentally drop from the window seat. She lands on the cheery wood flooring with a loud thump and instead of focusing on the sharp sting the impact sent up her side, she's pushing up to her feet, steadily calling her dad's name, now near tears, "Dad!"

Her dad runs into the living room, spotting his daughter in the center of the room, obviously in distress, his eyes scan her from top to bottom, from head to toe in search of an injury, looking for what caused this burst of fear. The adrenaline inside of his body was pumping when a bright line beaming through the bay window shines directly in his face. He can hear the sound of a helicopter flying above and before he can ask his kid just what the fuck is going on, he hears a familiar voice through a megaphone, "Hank Voight, we have you surrounded! Please come out with your hands up! If you do not come out, we will be forced to breach!"

Erin looks to her dad, her eyes wide and panicked as she lowers herself back to the floor, hiding the sight of her from the opened window as she crawls over to him. She's trembling, feeling absolutely more fear than the movie she watched earlier could even produce. She tugs at his leg, wanting him to stoop lower like her so the police cannot see him either. Despite what she wants, he stays in their line of sight, knowing if he disappeared, they'll be forced to breach earlier than expected. He takes a seat on the couch and leans forward, running both hands through his hair before running them down his face. Soon enough he drops them and intertwines them over his knees, he stares down at his daughter, the fear so obvious in her gaze, forcing him to do what he can to soothe her despite the fear that's starting to flare up in his body, "It's going to be okay," he tries to reassure her.

Yet, her bottom lip still trembles.

"It's going to be okay," he repeats, and starts to question whether it was for her benefit or his.

"It's not, you're lying," she calls him out, noticing the slight quirk on his face anytime he lies to her, "what's going on? Why are the police here? Dad, what's happening?"

"This is what's going to happen, kid. I'm going to go outside with my hands up, they're going to read me my rights and place me under arrest," he says it so casually, prepping her for what's to come, "I don't know why I'm being arrested, but I'll never know as long as I stay right here. What I want you to do is to call Trudy, Al and Patrick, let them know what happened and get Platt to call my lawyer."

"Dad-"

"It's going to be okay, Erin." He repeats himself a third time.

"You can't leave me. I don't want you to go."

"I'm going to be back."

"Stop saying that because you don't know that! You might think that but you don't know if that's true or not!"

He knows she's right. She knows she's right too.

"You won't be alone. You have my word on that. Platt assured me that she'll watch over you if by some stroke of bad luck something happened to me. You'll be in good hands."

"She made that promise for the off chance that you died, and you're not going to die so...wait-"

Dots are starting to be connected. Erin frowns in confusion. Is he planning to go out suicide by cop style? No, her dad wouldn't do that. Erin stands, no longer caring that the police outside can see her, she moves closer to her dad, throwing herself into his arms and crying into his shoulder.

"...maybe I can go out there and talk to them?"

"No," he immediately disagrees; he doesn't want her involved in this at all.

"It's obviously a mistake! They got the wrong person! You're one of them. Whatever it is they think you did, you didn't do! They can't do this!"

"They can, it's why they're here, it's why they're closing in now." He rests his hand against her cheek, wiping a stray tear away with the pad of his thumb, "I'm going to go out there and surrender because the last thing I want is for them to come in here. We'll figure this out at the precinct but for right now the best thing for both of us is for me to do as they say." He kisses the side of her head, back to back, twice. Then he squeezes her shoulder before rising to his feet.

"It must be something I can do, dad, please I can't lose you too."

"You're not going to lose me so get that thought out of your head. You'll never lose me. I don't want to have to remind you of that again."

"...but they'll arrest you."

"...but I'll still be here. We're going to figure this out. I don't want you to worry."

"I always worry about you. That's never going to stop."

"Erin-"

She interrupts him, "Dad, maybe we can figure something else out, um, maybe I can go out there and tell them you're not here or maybe I can distract them and you slip out the back."

"I appreciate you wanting to protect me, kid, but that's not your job. I'm the parent. It's my job to protect you which is why I'm going to walk out that door and surrender because if they are forced to burst in here, it significantly raises the possibility of things escalating and I don't want you in the middle of that. Bullets aren't attached to names and if they come in here guns ablazing, I don't want that anywhere near you. I want you as far away from this as possible. Is that understood?"

"...but dad-"

"Is that understood?" His voice is firm with an added layer of base. She knows he's serious and none of this is up for debate.

"Yes," she crosses her fingers behind her back, knowing deep down in the pit of her stomach, she plans to break that promise at some point, "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"And I won't, as long as I walk out that door with my hands up."

She frowns. Tears silently fall from her eyes. Then she nods, as if granting permission, as if he was waiting for her permission.

Hank goes to the front door, unlocking each latch, before looking over his shoulder and meeting his daughter's eyes, smiling at her because it's been just them two, a team, since her mom passed away. She tries to the best of her ability to smile back, it's hard, but it isn't impossible.

"I love you kid. So much."

"I love you too dad," she manages to get out before he opens the door.

Lights assault his eyes. His hands go into the air and he steps out of the house, "I'm unarmed," he makes officers aware. And Erin rushes to the door, watching the scene go down and holding herself back from interfering, "Dad," she shouts, and his head whips over his shoulder to look at her, he didn't want her to see this. A nightmare comes true, cuffs that her dad has placed on the wrists of many now being placed on his own, "Erin, go back in the house!"

"Dad-" Erin cries out.

"Hank Voight, you are under arrest for the murder of Camille Voight-"

The rights being read to him are muffled as her body goes rigid with the accusation. Voight is still looking at her, waiting for her to process the news. She's going to need more than a minute and because it's time that he doesn't have, just as he's being escorted away, he shouts, "Kid, I didn't do it! I'm not responsible for this! I'll clear my name, watch!"

Erin hears him, but she doesn't see him, as the shock of the information sends her eyes rolling into the back of her head and her body lolling off to the side, crashing into the ground and falling into a deeper level of unconsciousness when her head hits the pavement.

"Move, let me see her, Erin, I just want to check on her, please, Erin, please, that's my daughter, let me at least make sure she's alright, please-" are the final panicked words she hears from her dad before every sense of hers fades away and she drifts into a stream of unconsciousness mixed with concussion.