At some point Voight came out of his office. His presence intimidating as he stood there, eyes dark and warning the two of them not to say a word to each other, at least not in his presence.
At some point the glares turned to arguing. Voight mastered the art of a successful glare and neither Erin nor Jay could handle it for long, especially when it was used with silence and the occasional smart remark. And Abby simply thought if she stayed quiet and moved out of the way, she wouldn't be noticed and brought into the argument.
And finally, at some point Camille arrives. Thank the heavens.
She hears the voices, the shouts, the swears and the threats as she climbs the stairs leading up to the Intelligence bullpen. She has a tight grip on the railing, palm turning pale as she moves up the stairs, reaching the top of the upper level and taking in the scene in front of her. She sees her husband standing at the far side of the bullpen, near his opened office door, her daughter was in the middle, hands cradling her large bump, one of his detectives was at the other side, silently taking the verbal lashing her husband was giving out and another woman off to the side, trying to make herself smaller, trying to blend in with the background but with the way her daughter was currently glaring at her, there's no way for her not to sense the obvious anger written on her daughter's face. Erin scoffed, absolutely peeved at Abby even attempting to try and look innocent.
All hell was breaking loose and Camille may have arrived just in time because her daughter was now interrupting Hank's roar of indignation, "Yelling at him, yelling at me, isn't going to change anything, dad! What's done is done and now you know, can we please move on?" Erin's face was as red as a tomato and while Camille needed to know what was going on, what was big enough to draw this response from her husband and daughter, she needed to calm her daughter down first.
"Erin," Camille approached her daughter so slowly, so cautiously, as if she were an injured animal that she didn't want to startle, "Erin, baby," she cupped her daughter's face, drawing her attention towards her, "breathe." Just like at her first prenatal appointment, her mother reminded her to take a deep breath, "There you go," she mimicked the breaths she wanted her daughter to copy, "just calm down for me, please," Camille being slightly taller than Erin leaned forward, pressing her forehead against her daughter's before releasing a sigh of relief, "That's it. Now," inching her head away she kept her hands in place against her daughter's face even though her attention was now over her daughter's head, "can someone please tell me what's going on?"
Abby stepped forward, hand slowly rising in the air to hint that she wants to speak, "I uh," she'd been quiet for so long that Erin and Jay had forgotten she was here, "I thought your husband knew that my boyfriend is the father of Erin's baby."
Upon hearing that, Camille drops her hands from her daughter's face, "Wait," she pulled her eyes away from Abby and looked down to meet the ones of her daughter, "you found the baby's dad."
"I did," Erin whispered because while she always argued loudly with Hank, she found it difficult to do so with Camille, "and I was going to tell you. Today actually," she spat the last part and then shot a glare in Abby's direction, "but I was never given the chance. I-I'm sorry."
"…and this father is her boyfriend?" She speaks directly to Erin, not to Abby or the detective or Hank because she wants the answers from her daughter, the trusted source that can accurately confirm or deny the accusation.
"Yes, but I didn't know he was in a relationship. We just clicked, we had a good time that night and then this happened," she waved towards her belly, "and now dad is trying to fire him."
"...not trying," Voight chimes in, "I did fire him."
"Wait, he works for your dad?"
"Mom," Erin grumbled because she's not keeping up, "he's right there," she nods towards Halstead and he simply waves his hand but at least he has the decency to look ashamed. So that explains his presence to Camille, it adds to her understanding of why Hank was yelling at him, why Abby is even here, why all of this is such a big deal. She gets it now.
This was a lot to keep up with and while her daughter filled her in on everything that she missed, her husband was behind her, listening, clicking his jaw and pacing. He wasn't taking the news well and just at the sight of him on edge, pushed her daughter's hormones to the max, "You need to stay calm," Camille once again is forced to remind her daughter, "Stress isn't good for the baby."
Erin's hand goes to press against her back, rubbing at a sore and aching part of her spine that has been giving her problems ever since she started showing, "That's easier said than done. I've been stressing since I found out I was pregnant, I've been stressing since I found out about Jay, I've been stressing about work, about telling you and dad, about Jay telling Abby, I've been stressing about every fucking thing. I don't know what it feels like to not stress about something!"
"Why didn't you tell me you found your baby's dad? I wasn't going to judge you, sweetheart," and while Hank had taken the angry approach, her mother was taking the disappointed and saddened approach, "I would have supported you through this."
"You would have told dad."
"No, I would have strongly suggested that you tell dad."
That's honestly not what Erin wants to here right now. What's done is done and there is nothing she can do, no matter how much she wants to, take it all back and be blessed with a do over. Abby had robbed her of the chance of telling her parents and Erin will never forgive her for that. Just at the thought of Jay's girlfriend overstepping, Erin whips around to face her, glaring at her as she watches from the distance, hoping that since she's standing on the outskirts that she won't be noticed. Oh, Erin notices her and hates the pathetic look she has on her face, the one that comes across as if she acted out of pure ignorance. Erin moved around her mother and past Jay in order to approach Abby with all the wrath that a pregnant, hormonal woman can muster, "What do you think gave you the right to tell my dad about anything involving my baby?" She wanted answers.
"…probably the same thing that gave you the right to sleep with my boyfriend."
"I didn't do that on purpose."
"And I didn't tell your dad on purpose," Abby tries, and she struggles to remain calm, wanting desperately to uphold the image of pure innocence in front of Erin's parents, "He's your dad, I thought he knew. How was I supposed to know that he didn't?"
"Why are you even talking to my father in the first place?"
"Erin," she hears and she can feel Jay approach her from behind. He wants her to calm down, he always wants to keep her calm but the way her emotions are kicking into overdrive, the way she's starting to feel bloated after such a heavy lunch and the way her lower back is starting to ache and strain, she doesn't think the feeling of tranquility is in her near future, "please."
"Why is my name even coming out of your mouth?"
"Erin…" he says her name again. And she ignores him once again.
"Why is my baby even the topic of any of your conversations?"
She bows her head in shame and Erin knows it's merely another act, "I'm sorry."
"You're not sorry," she scoffs, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, "You're not sorry at all. You did this on purpose. I know you did." She can see through her façade.
Her eyes aren't on Erin when she responds, "No I didn't," she exclaims, practically pleading with Jay to believe her, "I had no way of knowing your dad didn't know."
"She's right Erin," she hears Jay whisper; his hand wraps around her wrist, gently turning her around to face him, "She had no way of knowing."
"…and you're defending her?"
"I'm trying to keep the peace."
"You're doing a horrible job of it," she tears her wrist out of his hand and then presses her hand behind her back, pushing it into her spine to relieve some of the pressure, "you should be just as pissed," Erin moves closer to him because her parents are in the room and she didn't want them to overhear her, "my dad is steaming right now. I've never seen the veins on his forehead look so pronounced. You're going to get the brunt of his anger, not me. You should be more upset than anybody. I don't know why you're acting so calm right now."
Jay doesn't want her worked up. He wants her to be calm and he thought that maybe if he made it look like he wasn't as bothered then she wouldn't be either. It didn't work because her mind was running rampant, coming up with worst case scenarios that leave him hurt. He wants to hug her, to reassure her that everything is going to be alright, that he isn't going anywhere, that he isn't blaming her for whatever consequence he'll have to suffer because of this but with Abby and her parents looming afoot and watching them, he knows it wouldn't be in his best interest to even attempt something like that, "Dad," she waddles around Jay, arm cupping her large belly as she moves to approach him, "can we not have this conversation here? Your team will be back soon."
"That's too fucking bad," he shrugs, unphased by the fact that she's trying to spare herself and Jay from embarrassment, "I found out here at my place of work. I'm going to resolve it here at my place of work," in his peripheral he saw his wife step forward and with the glare on his face, he warned her without saying any words to not interfere, "You've been running around playing house with my detective and you didn't think that I would find out?"
She's taken aback, "What? That's far from the truth."
He doesn't even bother hearing her out, simply waves her away and walks around her to focus on Jay. Voight figured he can always talk to her later but Halstead, he hopes that after today, he won't have to see him again, "Dad," his daughter calls out yet he ignores her, "Dad," she tries again and she knows he can hear her; he's being childish, "Dad, can you please talk to me."
"Of all the people Erin, him," his abrupt words, his raspy voice catches her off guard as he circles around to face her once again, his back now facing towards Jay, "you sleep with him." He looks and he sounds so disappointed in her and she always vowed that she'll never put that look on her father's face ever again. She hasn't seen it in years yet she can never forget what it looks like; the last time she brought that look out of him, she was a teenager.
Erin looks over to her mother, kind of expecting her to chime in, to rescue her daughter from the scrutinizing gaze of Hank Voight but Camille says nothing, she stays quiet and Erin feels it was no point in even calling her, "It's not," she starts and then clears her throat, "It's not like I knew who he was or that he works for you. I honestly didn't know."
"It was a one night stand," he recalls their conversation from the day she discovered she was pregnant, "how would you know? It's not like the two of you decided to get to know each other before sleeping together. You both were careless and irresponsible and now look," Erin takes a step back, head bowing in shame and embarrassment because she can sense the look on Abby's face as she watches the scene. She's quiet but she's mocking. Her hands run over her stomach, rubbing some of the tense spots in order to loosen them up but the discomfort was too strong for a simple caress to relieve it. And her mother seems to notice and comes to her senses, finally stepping in and moving in front of her daughter, "Hank, I need you to back off."
"Camille-"
"Hank," she says his name with the same tone that he said hers, "I said I need you to back off, give her a break. You're angry. You need to calm down. So, turn around and walk away."
He doesn't argue with his wife but at the same time, he doesn't walk away. Instead, he stands firm yet silent, partially giving in to her demand. She accepts it and looks up to everyone in the room, "Can we all please just take a deep breath," Camille always knew how to command a room, "Now," she turns back to her daughter and says, "Erin please, I know I'm asking a lot of you right now but you need to calm down. All of this stress and shouting isn't good for the baby." That seems to be all her mother says to her lately. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Camille is always the person to remind her pregnant kid to take a deep breath, to relax, to take some time off and to keep a leveled head. It was easier said than done but instead of even attempting to explain the complexity of trying to remain calm, Erin bites her lip and nods, accepting her mother's words because apparently mother always knows best, at least according to Camille, "Good job sweetheart," she pats her daughter's cheek before turning to face the detective, "so you're Jay," the young man nods his head and Camille moves closer and extends her hand, "lovely to meet you, wish it could have been under better circumstances."
"Likewise, Mrs. Voight," he shakes her hand.
"Please, we're kind of family now," she looks to Erin and her daughter looks away, completely embarrassed by her mother's assertion, "...Kind of. But, just call me Camille, Mrs. Voight is too formal for the situation you've found yourself in."
"Don't call my wife by her first name, Halstead," Voight interjects with a warning.
"Hank," Camille snaps, nudging her husband with her elbow before turning back to face the detective, "Call me Camille, please, I insist," she doubts he'll do that now with her husband's warning looming overhead, but she still wanted to give him permission to do so, "and uh, who may I ask is this?" She notices a woman a few steps behind Jay, her head is down and her feet are shuffling side to side nervously. Based on the conversation, she can make an assumption but she'd rather have it laid out, clear as day, in front of her.
"I'm Abby," she looks up and extends her hand towards Camille, "Jay's girlfriend."
"Jay's girlfriend," Camille repeats, slowly shaking her hand; with how slow their hands are moving, it makes the entire exchange awkward, "this can't be easy for you, huh?" Erin scoffs and the sound doesn't go unnoticed by her mother. She taught her better than that and with a sharp glare, reminding her daughter not to lose her manners, Erin bites her lip and turns away.
"I'm managing," Abby whispers with such an innocence to her tone that Camille actually empathizes with her, "It's hard though but I'm really trying to be mature about this."
"Oh pleaseeee," Erin exclaimed; she's never been one to bite her tongue but even she knew that her comment was unnecessary in this moment, however she couldn't stop herself, she was too riled up, her hormones were over the moon right now and for a moment she didn't care about how her mother would feel at her sudden outburst, "She knew what she was doing. She's not some innocent little puppy that needs comforting. She's singing you a song of pity because she wants you to feel bad for her and apparently, it's working. I don't know what she thought she was going to get out of doing that but," she cuts herself off because she feels her nerves working up and her back is starting to ache even more and she suddenly needs to pee. It's come out of nowhere, but that's apparently pregnancy for her. She tries to ignore the baby pressing against her bladder, "She wants all of you to feel bad for her and it's working on everybody but dad. Don't be so naïve."
"I'm going to need you to watch your mouth," her mother whips around to face her. No matter how old Erin is, how many kids Erin has or where Erin lives, Camille is still her mother and she won't stand or tolerate her daughter getting smart with her. Erin ran her hands down her face, sighing because she wasn't trying to be disrespectful or get smart with her, she was just frustrated and she really has to go to the bathroom, but the way her dad is currently glaring at Jay, she knows that he'll take her being gone as the opportunity to say and do whatever.
But Erin really has to pee which seems to occur a little too often and always at the worst possible moment. She didn't want to leave Jay out here to fend for himself, but she's already rocking side to side because of the baby's weight against her bladder. If she doesn't go soon then she'll go on herself and while that'll serve to be a good distraction, it'll be a moment of embarrassment that she'll never live down for the rest of her life. Quickly, she looks to her mom, grabbing her wrist to pull her attention off of her dad and Jay, "I have to go to the bathroom," she says in a rush, "please promise me that when I get back they'll both still be alive."
"Don't be so dramatic sweetheart."
That wasn't what Erin wanted to hear, "Mom, make sure they don't fight. Please."
"I have this all under control, go on," she waves her daughter away. And while Camille thought that keeping the two of them away from each other and keeping the brewing argument at a low volume would be easy, she was highly mistaken because by the time her daughter came waddling back, as slow as ever because of her swollen feet and ankles, Hank was shouting and he was so damn close to busting a blood vessel with the way his veins were popping out.
Erin shot her a glare, "I thought you had this under control."
"I do have this under control."
"It doesn't look like it!"
Camille shot her daughter a look, a warning expression on her face to remind her daughter to watch her tongue, her tone and her manners. She understands emotions are high but in Camille's eyes, it doesn't give her daughter any cause or justification to raise her voice. No matter how old Erin is, Camille is and will always be her mother, "Erin, your father has every reason to be upset."
"Mom, whose side are you on?"
"I don't take sides," Camille reported, crossing her arms and shaking her head, "This is huge baby, bigger than huge, gigantic and this news had suddenly been dropped at our feet. He's reacting," she shot a look over her shoulder, "he's angry," she gives her husband a look of warning, "and he's expressing himself with his words and with his words only, isn't that right?"
All she gets is a nod of the head to reassure herself that Hank isn't going to punch someone. Her husband is upset and with good reason to be, and Camille is kind of pissed off too. For the many times that she's seen and spoken with her daughter in the last couple of months, Erin had said nothing. She's disappointed. She's livid. Yet she tries to keep her cool because Erin doesn't need all of this anxiety weighing on her, "Your dad is way past me or anyone calming him down." Erin followed her mother's gaze, watching the way that Hank looked at Jay. This might not end well.
And Halstead seems to sense it too because his guard immediately goes up the second Voight rushes towards him, faces practically inches apart as the wrinkles in Voight's forehead deepened under his hardened glare, "You looked me in my face every single fucking day for months and you said nothing." Voight's fists are clenched at his side. He's not going to hit him. He wouldn't do that especially here at work, but Halstead didn't need to know that.
"Dad-" Erin stepped forward to intervene but her mother pulled her back.
"ERIN! NOT NOW!" Voight shouted, his deep, roguish voice making his angry demand even scarier as he spat the words out. Not once did he turn away from Jay, he simply threw his hand out in his daughter's direction, warning her with his tone and his hand to stay back, "Stay out of this," he says it as if this whole subject has nothing to do with her, "I have a few things to say to the dad to be," he says it mockingly and by the sneer on his face Jay knows that there's no talking any sense into him when he's this riled up.
Even knowing that, it didn't stop Jay from attempting to try, "I didn't know the right time to tell you."
"We," Erin interjects with the correction. They were in this together. She wasn't leaving him to suffer the wrath of her father alone. But despite Erin's correction, her father acted as if she said nothing, not once did he even acknowledge her speaking.
"Do you understand how disrespectful that is?" Jay knows this is a rhetorical question so he doesn't bother answering, "You, my subordinate, my detective, my employee got my daughter," he swings his arm to point at Erin as if Jay didn't know who he was referring to, "my fucking daughter, pregnant, Halstead?" And just at that moment the team returned from their lunch break and Jay could only hope and pray that the floor below him would open up and swallow him whole.
Voight finally takes a step back after a few moments of silence. He turns on his heel, casting a disappointed glance at his daughter before looking up to meet his wife's eyes. He opens his mouth to say something to her but Jay speaks before he has the chance to, "Sarg."
"I'm not your sarg anymore."
"Dad," Erin exclaims, moving forward despite her mother calling her back, "you can't do that," the irate look on her face matches the one her father is sporting, it's practically identical, "He can sue you. You can't just fire someone for having sex with me, just because I'm your daughter."
"Oh, that's funny because it looks like I just did. Or would you prefer for me to not fire him and just make his time working under me so difficult that he would want to quit? I'll leave it up to you to decide kiddo since you're apparently fighting his battles now."
"Hank," it's obvious that it's her mother speaking up since she's the only one with the privilege of calling him that, "must I remind you that this is your place of work. Calm down."
"I'll calm down when he's out of my sight."
Jay doesn't even bother trying to argue his side of things. He's worked for him long enough to know that there isn't even a point. It'll only serve to dig himself a deeper grave. He just meets Erin's eyes, shaking his head because he doesn't want her worrying about this, the stress, it isn't good for her or the baby. So, to keep the peace, he backs away and avoids the eyes of his coworkers as he goes to grab what he can carry from his desk, "Jay," he hears her before he sees her; Erin moves to stand beside him, hand wrapping around his wrist to stop him from aggressively yanking the drawers out and snatching things from the compartment. He isn't paying attention to her; he's too busy grabbing his few personal possessions that he kept at his desk and her holding his wrist is preventing him from grabbing his things and making his escape.
He snatches his wrist away. Abby sees. And Abby smiles, satisfied to watch him pull away from her. It doesn't push Erin away though. She's determined, always determined and a bit stubborn just like her father and she stands at the side of his desk, whispering because his coworkers are nosey and even if they try to appear as if they're working and not eavesdropping, she knows better than to truly believe that, "Let me talk to him, Jay. Just let me try."
"Your dad doesn't listen, Erin, he never listens," he mutters, keeping his voice low because even if Voight is no longer his boss, he doesn't feel like starting another argument, "I doubt he'll change his mind. He's too stubborn."
"Well I'm just as stubborn," her hands move to her hips, "and I'll talk to my mom too. She'll be able to talk some sense into him. I truly believe that."
"I won't hold my breath," he scoffs. He snatches up the collection of sonogram photos he kept in his desk and when Erin sees them, she can't help but to smile. It wasn't the time or place to be grinning but just knowing that while he keeps the most up-to-date sonogram in his wallet, he doesn't dispose of the old ones. He keeps them here. And Ruzek, whose desk is beside him, notices them when they're slammed down onto the desk, eyes going wide at the realization that maybe he doesn't know Jay Halstead as much as he thought he did.
It's when Jay unclips the badge from his hip that has her mouth going dry. It's when he unstraps his holster and sets it on his desk that brings tears to her eyes, "Jay," it comes out in a ghost of a whisper, "I'm sorry. I'm sure there's something that I can do, let me just-"
He cuts her off, "Not your fault," he asserts, grabbing the small desk photo of his mom, "not pissed at you either," he adds the final part, gathering up the framed photo, the sonogram pictures and the few other personal possessions he kept there, "I should have known that something like this wouldn't have lasted long. It was too good to be true. Maybe my dad was right? Maybe-"
"No," Erin cuts him off before he's able to go down that train of thought for too long, "don't listen to that voice. I know that voice, I have one of my own, don't listen to it. It won't serve you any good. Trust me, Jay. This isn't permanent. He just needs to calm down. He's making decisions high on emotion and he's talking out of his ass. He does that from time to time."
"Erin," the look of defeat on his face breaks her heart, "I have rent, a car note, bills in general. I have a baby on the way. All of those things need money. Waiting for your dad to get his act together isn't going to put cash in my pockets, food on my table, clothes on my back or anything."
She didn't know what to say to that. She wanted to say more, to convince him differently, but he was right. There was no guarantee her father would come around so what's the point of holding onto hope. Erin rubbed her palms down her cheeks, wiping away the escaped tears. Her emotions were everywhere. She felt guilty, sad, angry at her father for acting like this, disappointed at her mother for not stepping in, for not defending her or Jay. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, the only sound in the room being Jay grabbing his things before Abby's voice fills the quiet space, "Babe, you can ride home with me."
"I don't need a ride. I drove to work." He says it so clipped, so short and simple with no emotion attached and while Abby looks disappointed, Erin couldn't help but to return the smile that Abby passed along to her only a few moments ago.
Erin felt the guilt coursing through her body start to simmer down as anger became the prominent emotion taking over. Her ankles and feet are swollen and while at this point, she would have found somewhere to sit and prop them up, her feelings overwhelmed her enough that she barely noticed how wide and full they appeared to be, "damn man, out of everyone, the boss's daughter," she hears Ruzek's whispered words as he gives Halstead a pat on the back. Erin starts to rub her temples, struggling to keep the anger suppressed, "Whew, you must have a death wish," Ruzek is still talking. Why is he still talking? She opens her eyes and cast a glare in his direction, forcing him to silently go back to his seat, log onto his work computer and pretend like he's working. She scoffs, shutting her eyes again and ignoring when Mouse says, "I don't want to be you right now."
"…and why is that?" She snaps, reopening her eyes and shooting a glare in his direction, "Aren't you supposed to be his friend?" Jay never claimed they were friends; he said Mouse gave him the heads up about the job and put in a good word for him but he never said they were friends, "I just," she bites down on her bottom lip before releasing it, "I just don't understand how you thought saying that would be helpful. I don't get it. What was your point?"
"Mouse, get back to work," she overheard her father say from behind her. Mouse doesn't even bother answering her question. He just bows his head in defeat and has the audacity to go back to his desk looking ashamed. With so called friends like those who needs enemies?
She shuts her eyes again, choosing not to jump at the chance to take her anger out on Mouse. He may have pissed her off but he wasn't the reason for her growing rage. At least when she hears Dawson say, "sorry Halstead, hopefully Camille is able to talk some sense into him," it doesn't send her over the edge because his words were way more helpful than what Ruzek and Mouse had to say. Just the reminder has her shooting a glare in their direction and they had the decency to look ashamed. In the months they've talked and learned things about each other, she grew a bit protective of him and to be reminded that there doesn't seem to be anyone in his corner really does make her sad and just sends her protective instinct into overdrive.
"If you ever need someone to talk to…" Upton, a detective her dad hired a little over a month ago says and she doesn't finish the statement because her dad is glaring daggers at her. But, the message is still clear. And based on the way she's looking at Halstead has Erin wondering if Abby needs to feel more threatened by Upton than by her.
And watching him grab the few possessions on his desk, the few pictures -one of his mom and the collection of sonograms- has Erin wanting to rip her father a new one because Jay just looks so sad, so sad. Despite her dad obviously not liking him, this job was everything to Jay. He showed up, he worked harder than everyone in the room, he stayed later, he showed up earlier, he overcompensated in every way that counts and her father is willing to throw out the best detective on his team because of some deep seeded root of embarrassment mixed with betrayal.
Erin sees Abby approach him, rubbing her hand up and down his arm because it seems like she noticed the way Upton was looking at him too. She's setting her claws in him, marking her territory with the glare shooting from her eyes, "Want to get out of here?" And to hear those words, to hear her voice, it sends all of the pent up emotions within Erin spiraling out, "I know she told him on purpose," she says it so loud and so clearly that even Voight's detectives who pretended as if they were working had stopped to look up and pay attention.
"How would she have known that he didn't know?"
And that's the one question she couldn't answer, "I don't know but…"
"It's no buts, Er," she smiles when he calls her that, "It's no point. I already lost my job." With his possessions in hand, he doesn't bother bidding any of them farewell, he wants to keep intact what's left of his pride and dignity and he simply leaves, going down the stairs with Abby at his heels and when her dad opens his mouth to say something to her, she doesn't bother sticking around to hear him out, "You've made a huge mistake," she says to both of her parents, "I know you're mad and probably disappointed but at this point there's nothing either of you can do to change the fact that me and Jay are having a baby. Dad," she looked at her father, face grimacing in pain because her ankles are the size of saucers and they're currently holding up all of her weight, "fix this."
"…and if I don't?"
"Then," she smiles to match the fake smile that he's giving her, "you and mom will have the pleasure of seeing and meeting your granddaughter through the pictures I mail to you." Erin doesn't wait around to see or hear their reaction to her words and she doesn't care if she embarrassed him in front of his detectives, he embarrassed Jay in front of them already so fair is fair and she would have happily walked away much faster than she's currently moving if it wasn't for her size golf ball swollen ankles preventing her from making a dignified escape.
She wobbles away.
And she struggles to catch up to him.
Erin follows them outside but it's honestly hard for her to keep up. It's nearly impossible and she would have given up if he hadn't stopped walking. Fortunately for her he waits, pouting at her attempt to waddle towards him in such a rapid manner, "Erin, don't rush. You might fall."
She waves off his concern and she overlooks the roll of Abby's eyes as she gets to him, "I wouldn't have to rush if you hadn't ran out of there so fast."
"I didn't run. I walked."
She shakes her head, "I don't want to talk about that. That's not why I followed you. I'm sure there's something we can do about this. He can't just do that, right? That's unjust cause."
"He does whatever he wants Erin," Jay shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets, "he always does what he wants because no one has the balls to stand up to him."
"I do," she scoffs even though that isn't what Jay means. He's not talking about her.
"I know you do, Erin, that's not what I was getting at," he feels his patience running thin and he's not upset with her, not even a little bit but if she keeps pressing this he's going to take his anger out on her and that's the last thing he wants to do, "look, he's never liked me. This only gave him reason to do what he's wanted to do for months. Your mom could barely play damage control in there. It's too much. I'll figure something out. I always do. I don't need you getting upset about this and I don't need you jeopardizing your relationship with your parents." He feels Abby's hand fall to his back to rub soothing circles into it. He feels it. Erin sees it.
"That's easier said than done because I'm already upset and it's already jeopardized," she's on the verge of tears and she's never cried so much until she got pregnant. Her hormones are skyrocketing right now. And it doesn't help matters when Abby decides to chime in, "What are you so upset for? You're not the one who just lost their job. This is his livelihood; this is everything he spent years working towards and it's all gone because of you. Everything he's built is over," she snaps her fingers one time simultaneously with her words, "just like that."
She refuses to allow this woman to even think she's getting the best of her. She's upset, she's hormonal, but not to the point where she'll crumble and cry in front of this girl. Erin straightens her shoulders and for a brief moment flashes her eyes to meet Abby's glare, "This conversation has nothing to do with you. Just stay out of it and anything that involves me and my family."
"So you think just because you're having his baby that you're more important than me?"
Erin has no idea what gave Abby that idea. Those words never left her mouth; she didn't even imply them yet that's what she heard. Standing in confusion, Erin takes a step back "How-" she starts to ask before shutting her mouth and switching gears. The question she wanted to ask, she changed her mind about it and instead chose to ask, "Are you seriously trying to fight over a guy," because that's what it felt like she was trying to do. She's making insinuations that Erin has never once implied and she's trying to appear as if she's the victim, as if Erin accusing her of telling her dad intentionally somehow hurt her feelings, "Look," she moved closer and this time Abby takes a step back, trying to appear as if she's intimidated; she's such an actress, "Jay and I are friends, that's it, just two friends that will have a baby together. The sooner you come to terms with that then the better for all of us," Erin has to use the restroom again and like she thought earlier, it always hits at the worst possible moment in time, "I'm not trying to be your friend, Abby, but I hope since I'm an adult and you're an adult the least we can do is not fight with one another. I'm sure that'll make Jay's life easier and if you love him-"
"Of course I love him!" Abby shouted in defense.
Sighing to herself because of the interruption, Erin simply picks up where her unfinished statement left off, "If you love him as much as you say you do then you should want the same thing. He just lost his job. The last thing he needs is for us to be arguing. I'm sure he would appreciate that."
Abby has her arms crossed over her chest and she looks like a petulant child. Ugh, Erin hopes her kid doesn't try to pull any stunts like this as an adult. Maybe a toddler because that's what they do, right? They whine and throw tantrums to try and get their way? But a woman in her thirties? No, there's definitely something wrong with that. And Erin feels worse for Jay, wanting to play hero and practically offer him the chance to move into her guestroom because she can't imagine how hard it'll be to raise two kids, -their baby and apparently Abby since she enjoys acting like one every so often. Keeping her arms crossed, Abby stomps her foot to get Erin's attention, "You think you know him so well, don't you? You think you know him better than me?"
"You're determined to pick a fight, aren't you?"
"You've been wanting to pick a fight with me," Abby exclaimed defensively. And she's looking over her shoulder at Jay because she's worried about how she looks to him. That innocent, good girl act isn't holding up because of Erin's ability to get under her skin, "You've been wanting to fight with me since the day you slept with my boyfriend!"
"Hey, stop," he reaches for her wrist, tugging it from it's crossed position over her chest until they drop to her side, "She doesn't need this."
"Why are you calling me out and not her?"
"Oh grow up," Erin spat. And she just rolls her eyes because Abigail is truly determined to sound like a spoiled child. She doesn't understand how Jay was able to tolerate her for this long. And he had the nerve to be worried about raising a kid; if he can deal with Abby, he can deal with a baby. His patience must be out of this world because there's no way the average adult can deal with her for as long as him. She has such little patience, and on top of that she still has to go to the bathroom, so with all of this back and forth, she feels so tempted to just hit the girl, maybe one good time, but they're in front of the precinct and she wouldn't be surprised if Abby pressed charges, so she keeps her hands at her side and steps back to put more distance between the two of them.
Jay pulls Abby, as if trying to get her to walk with him but she remains firm in her spot, looking at him affronted, "Are you going to let her talk to me like that, Jay?"
"He doesn't let me do anything. I'm an adult. I don't need permission to speak. I can speak to you any way that I see fit."
"Jay," Abby repeats, "are you going to let her continue to talk to me like that?"
He doesn't answer but his eyes do fall to Erin, reading the look on her face that practically growls don't you dare. As if he would answer. She was right. He doesn't control her. He doesn't control any of them. They're all grown women, they can make their own decisions; they should be able to have a civil conversation. He releases Abby's wrist, casting a glance from her then to Erin, "I'm going to head home," he nods towards his car that's parked down the street, "I want you to go home too, rest, relax, prop your feet up because with the way your face scrunches up with every step you take, I know they're in pain," he moves closer and he thanks the heavens when Abby doesn't make a smart remark and he stoops down to grab the bottom of her leggings to pull up carefully and inspect her ankles closely, "The doctor said puffiness is normal," he repeats from their last appointment, "If it gets worse than this then maybe we should call the doctor. He said extreme swelling can be a sign of preeclampsia. Maybe drink some more water, huh?"
She reaches for his arm and pulls him back up to his feet, "Please don't worry over me. I should be worrying over you. You just lost your job," her voice lowers to a whisper so Abby doesn't hear, "and I kind of feel like it's my fault. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault at all," he reaches for her arm, squeezing it in reassurance as a smile graces his lips. It's fake and she can see that but she appreciates him even trying to pretend that it was real to make her feel better. He's always thinking of other's feelings, always putting others before him, "go home, drink some water, walk around your apartment a bit and put your feet up as much and as often as you can. The doctor said that should help. I'll text you later, okay?"
She nods, biting her lip because she wants to say more but they're not alone, "Okay," she agrees, "and please don't forget or I'm going to stress out because despite what everyone thinks I do care about you and I feel bad and I'm worried. You deserve better. You deserve more. You're a genuinely good guy who puts everyone above him."
"Thanks Erin, that really means a lot." He wants to hug her but Abby's directly behind him and he doesn't feel like another argument possibly starting by him hugging a friend so he settles on squeezing her arm and then walking away. Abby at his heels, trying to intertwine her hand with his but he wasn't in the mood. He pulled his hand away and walked faster, but she kept up, wrapping her arm through his and leaning her head to rest on his shoulder. Erin watches and Abby knows it after glancing over her shoulder and sending her a sly smile and a wink.