It's a faint knocking, but it echoes loudly around her before fading away. She's floating in the space between sleep and full consciousness as she cuddles into her chest pillow more with every intention of staying in bed for at least another twenty minutes. Sleep almost consumes her again, but then the door to the condo opens, followed by her mother-in-law's voice and the pitter patter of little feet. Erin extends her arm - momentarily forgetting that he's not here and wanting to send him to deal his mother and sister while she takes her time waking up. Her hand sprawls out beside her - the newly familiar feeling of the empty, cold sheets pulls her from her slumber fully, yanks her back to reality and wakes her up like a bucket of ice was poured on her. She opens her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose as she sits up. Once the fog is wiped away, she looks at the framed picture of them on the nightstand on his side of the bed, like she's done every morning since he left.
The sudden movement in her peripheral gets her attention next and she looks towards the front of the room. She smiles tiredly at her niece and then up at Hailey before the need to rush to the bathroom has her jumping out of bed.
A groan rumbles in the back of her throat as she stands at the vanity - waiting to see if she has anything left to throw up. When the gurgling in her stomach subsides, she proceeds with washing her hands and brushing her teeth.
"Morning." Hailey whispers softly as she comes to stand in the doorway of the bathroom.
"Hey. Where's Mom?" Erin groggily greets back while she walks to grab the outfit she picked out for the day before she went to bed last night.
"She's making you some tea."
"She knows, doesn't she?" Erin grumbles, her eyes closing as she thinks of the pending discussion with the matriarch of the family. A discussion she was hoping to put off for a little longer - at least until after the appointment today.
"I don't think so." Hailey shrugs even though Erin can't see her since she's disappeared back into the bathroom to change.
"Hails, I told you that I was going to tell her when I'm ready." Erin continues, projecting her voice just enough to be heard by Hailey and hopefully no one else.
"She knows something's up but I didn't tell her." Hailey defends as soon as Erin re-emerges from the ensuite. Erin gives her a pointed look - wondering how her mother-in-law would have found out if Hailey didn't say anything about it.
"I just don't know how to tell her - not when I don't really know how to feel about it myself." Erin's shoulders deflate after she grabs a pair of shoes from the closet.
"And I get that, which is why I told you I wouldn't say anything to Mom." Hailey argues as she walks towards the bedroom door. She's frustrated with the accusation but she doesn't want to say something that may push a wedge further between her and her sister-in-law - especially not now. She knows Erin and knows that the defensiveness that she's displaying is from her trying to shoulder everything herself. She's trying to wall everyone else off, and seclude herself because she's hurt and scared. She's been struggling for weeks, but now she's even closer to the edge. The one person that vowed to be here for her in sickness and in health until their death, isn't and it's worn her down.
She snapped from her thoughts when Erin nods to acknowledge the statement as she finishes getting herself ready. Hailey leaves her be and goes back out by her mom and daughter.
After another few minutes, Erin's making her way down the hall, she takes a deep breath before rounding the corner of the living room. She smiles again as she sees the three year old lounging on the couch watching one of the preschool channels saved to Jay's prized sixty-five inch TV.
"Auntie Erin!" Prue greets excitedly as she reaches out for her aunt.
"Hi Rue." Erin replies after picking the little one up and placing a kiss to her cheek.
"I get to spend the day with you?" The three-year-old asks as she plays with the necklace dangling around Erin's neck.
"I wish, but not today, Prue, but you and El can have a sleepover here soon." Erin hopes the suggestion is enough for her for now as she's set back down on the couch. The girls usually spend a couple nights here a month, and she feels bad that they haven't had that since Jay left. But when she has thought about having them over, her heart fills with dread that his absence will overshadow what's usually a fun night of building forts, spontaneous dance parties or binging some of the girls' favorite movies and eating popcorn and ice cream.
"Erin, are you ok Sweetheart?" Her mother-in-law questions and Erin nods even though she's far from ok.
"Here." Georgia practically pushes the travel mug of what Erin assumes is the tea Hailey mentioned before, in her hands.
"I brought some leftovers from last night." The older woman adds, indirectly making Erin feel guilty that she wasn't feeling up to the weekly family dinner yesterday. "I made some other food for you too, just quick things that you can throw in the oven to heat up for yourself after work."
Erin actually smiles sadly at the gesture and mumbles a genuine thank you, before she's being enveloped in a warm hug from her husband's mom. And just as she was about to tell her secret, she and Hailey are being ushered out the door with a quick goodbye.
"Don't worry, they're not staying here." Hailey quips during the walk to the elevator.
Erin shakes her head and brows furrow while she takes a tentative sip of the hot beverage in her hands. "I'm not worried."
"Mom just thought that we could meet here, she could bring the food for you and then take Pruey back to her house." Hailey explains and Erin just nods as she takes another small sip of tea.
"Look Hailey about before-"
Then it's Hailey's turn to shake her head, letting Erin know that she doesn't need to finish whatever she was about to say.
"It's better not to bottle up whatever you're feeling, Erin."
"Still, I shouldn't have assumed you told your mom and taken it out on you." Erin admits.
Hailey shrugs before pressing the bottom for the lift. "Maybe not, but it is what it is. I just hope my brother sees some of that anger when he comes home."
Erin chuckles lightly at that as they step onto the elevator. They leave it at that and ride in silence the entire way to the hospital.
"Erin Halstead." That's all that's said to the receptionist who just glares up and over her glasses for a moment before seemingly going back to whatever she was busy doing on the computer.
"I'm here for Erin Halstead's appointment, my sister, she said to be here at this time." He's still panting from rushing here and the panic he felt when it dawned on him that he may not make it in time.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you."
"I'm Jay Halstead, Erin's husband, I can show I.D. but I can't be late. I know she's here for an appointment, and I'd like to be here for this."
"I understand sir, but-"
"No I don't think you do, I need to be here for her." He raises his voice and slams his hand down causing the woman to jump back in her chair.
"That may be, but you're too late. Your wife's appointment was moved up and I'm afraid you just missed her." The middle-aged woman's words take a minute to register in Jay's head. He shakes his head and checks his phone - his usual phone - to see if he read Hailey's text wrong.
"I'm too late?" He doesn't realize that he asked that out loud until the woman in front of him nods.
"That is what I just said." Is her snarky reply.
"Are they ok?" He knows that she can't release that to him - no matter his relation to the patient, but he still feels a little hopeful when she looks at the computer screen before shaking her head at him. It's the only type of answer he gets before she has to take a call. He's left wondering if she was saying that she can't answer his question or if the gesture was meant to let him know that they weren't ok. His heart constricts as he thinks further into that as his new phone starts to ring - that same hopeful feeling coming back to him but it vanishes again when he sees that it's not his old phone ringing and that it's not his sister or wife.
He doesn't greet them or interject into the conversation being had on the other end of the phone. Instead he chooses to wait to hear what they want as he walks - still reeling from the last few minutes. He can tell they're in the car, but he doesn't think much of it as he steps outside the sliding doors. His foot is just about to hit the asphalt of the parking lot when he hears the screeching of tires to his right, causing him to step back onto the sidewalk. Jay instantly rcognizes the vehicle, a blacked out cargo van, as it comes to stop mere inches in front of him. The back door is opened and then he finds himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Get in." The masked man demands, the slightly high pitched voice letting Jay who it is without seeing him.
He looks around and then climbs into the van. The phone is still in his hand, and he doesn't hide it as he sends a quick text before his attention is pulled to the guy still pointing the gun at him.
There's an unnerving feeling that sets deep into her bones as she types in her memos. A premonition of sorts that makes her stomach twist into knots even more and the bile to rise in her throat again. She doesn't know what it is, but she wishes the feeling would stop - not needing to stress herself more.
A deep breath is taken followed by a few more to soothe herself as her hands retract from the keyboard and come to rest on her belly. She takes a look around - observing both of her friends and colleagues engaged with separate clients. A sad smile pulls at her lips as she looks at the woman talking to Kim - more specifically the little one she has propped on her hip. The baby fast asleep on the woman's shoulder with one of her hands tightly fisting her mom's shirt while the other is holding onto a stuff bunny. A sigh passes through her lips as she looks down at her abdomen for a moment. The feeling of tears welling in her eyes has her looking up again - this time settling on Al as he nods at the elderly gentlemen that just walked in the door. Erin blinks rapidly in hopes of clearly the perspiration from her eyes and plasters on the best smile she can muster as the man walks up to the counter in front of her.
She clears the lump from her throat before she asks him how she can help him. He begins to reply when the back door of the bank slams against the wall behind it with a loud bang.
The hammering of his heart echoes in his ears as he pulls on the mask given to him. Even the murmurs and clicking of the keyboard next to him go unnoticed while he attempts to calm his nerves. He doesn't know how he got here, how he went from giving these men his routes to actually going to rob a bank, but here he is. Each one of these "jobs" has made him more and more on edge, but he reminds himself of Terry and his family - of his own family. His eyes close as he thinks of them - his mom and siblings, his nieces and then his wife. He lets images of her play in his mind as he attempts to prepare himself for whatever is coming.
The sudden stop alerts them of their arrival – each of them grabbing their guns as they quickly exit the van after making sure the security cameras are turned off and the back door of the building has been unlocked. He holds the thick steel slab open as he lets the rest of the guys into the bank - not even noticing where they are. One more deep breath is taken before he follows after them. The quiet atmosphere quickly shifts to loud and chaotic as they start to shout their orders. That's when he sees them - both Erin and Hailey standing side-by-side, their eyes wide with fear and his own blood runs cold for a moment. Then the sight of them sets a fire under him - motivating him to protect his wife, sister and everyone else in the bank by rushing the rest of the guys to get what they came here for. He only stops again when the sound of a single gunshot rings out and he immediately looks to where he last saw them. Hailey's been moved out from behind the counter and is now seated on the floor next to the woman with the baby that's now screaming. He moves back to where they entered the bank, his heart sinking when Erin is nowhere to be found.