Erin had started her day with a prenatal massage, one that had done miracles to her swollen ankles, her lower back pain and her tense shoulders. She had enjoyed hours of alone time before scooping Jay up after his shift to head into the town to run some errands. A quick stop at the bank, a trip to the carwash and a run past the nearest drive-thru had managed to be done in a little over an hour before her last errand of the day could be crossed. Jay had parked her car in the closest parking spot in the lot, one reserved for expectant mothers. She leaned her head against the window, thankful that he offered to drive after they left the bank because she didn't have the energy to pay attention to the road when she felt so drained. If the ride was any longer, she would have fallen asleep, right here in the passenger seat, most likely waking up with a crick in her neck.
He looks over at her, "You sure you want to do this today?"
"Yeah, it's just a little shopping. I don't have to get much and if I don't do this today then it probably won't get done. I doubt anything will get done once Emma gets here."
"If you insist…" he turns off the car and unbuckles his seatbelt, "What do you have to get anyway?" She doesn't answer his question with words but rather with handing over her short list.
She was right; she doesn't have to get much. A few things for the baby and a few things for her apartment and that's it. He gets out first and then goes around to help her out.
"How is everything at work?" Her not so subtle way of asking about her father's treatment.
"It's as good as expected. You don't have to keep checking in with me about that though."
She rolls her eyes and then chuckles to herself, "I know, sorry, how about your cases? Any interesting ones that you can actually talk about?"
"We recently caught a case. I don't know much about it but it's some type of vigilante on the loose, going around kidnapping people he believes are bad, forcing them to play torture type games."
Her posture stiffens. She's somewhat familiar with this only because it's all over the news. She stops walking and turns to face him, head slightly tilting, "I didn't know you guys were leading the investigation. The news said two people had died already, one's a suspected rapist and the other a career criminal. Are the traps he sets for them as bizarre as the news makes it seem?"
"Yeah, but the news even has limited information. We don't want any copycats."
"Do you have any leads?"
"A few," his answer remains cryptic, "I saw a lamp on your list. Where's that going?"
"Not so subtle way of changing the conversation," she chuckles but goes along with it anyway, "I want it for Emma's room. The ceiling light is so bright and when she's here, I don't want to have to turn that bright thing on every time I enter, especially if she's in there sleeping."
Makes sense, he thinks. The two of them resume their walk, entering the store with him leaving her side for only a few seconds to grab a cart. By the time he returns, he's on the phone, speaking in a voice low enough to guarantee himself some privacy. It's obvious he doesn't want her to overhear his conversation so to respect his privacy she walks up ahead.
Halstead keeps the phone to his ear, pressed between his shoulder and his ear so his hands remain free. He pushes the cart, following behind Erin as she shops around Walmart for all that she has on that list she created last night. He keeps his voice low, maintaining the tone despite the irritation he feels growing at Abby, "I'm just saying Jay, we barely spend any time together. You're either hanging out with your coworkers at one of their homes or at Molly's or you're with Erin. How do you expect us to heal our relationship if you're never home?"
He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs aloud, "How about next time I go out for drinks with the team you join me?" He notices the pastel-colored scrapbook Erin placed in the cart. She intends to fill it with photos and mementos of the baby's first year. The sight of that book and the thought of what she intends to do with it calms him down just a fraction.
"If I'm being honest, I don't really like your coworkers and I don't really think they like me."
He releases his nose and drops his hand, "What gave you that idea?" He tries to conjure up the memory of them meeting but he honestly doesn't remember. He doesn't question it though; they probably did meet and his mind is just shooting blanks right now in trying to recall it.
"I don't think you should hang out with them outside of work. At least not so often."
"We're not doing this Abby," he muttered; he tries to keep his voice low but the frustration and irritation causes it to rise a fraction, "they're good guys, some of the best men I've ever met and they're the guys that watch my back and ensure I even make it home to you."
She's speechless. It isn't the first time for that but it sure isn't something that happens often. Jay waits a beat, he actually waits to hear what she has to say to that and he finds himself surprised when she offers an apology, "I'm sorry. I would love to meet your coworkers one day."
Erin notices the tension leaving his shoulders; she observes as his posture changes and the frown lines on his forehead start to even out and disappear. She doesn't know what he's talking about but she can guess that it took a turn for the best. She looks over each of the lamps, trying to find one that matches the colors of the nursery. She reaches for a table lamp and just as her fingers brush against the shade, an immense pain hits her abdomen. This pain is difficult to describe to someone that has never felt this ever. A pain that takes her breath away, one that's far greater and stronger than the Braxton Hicks she's used to experiencing every once in a while. She takes measured breaths and looks over her shoulder to see Jay still on the phone. She leans forward, pressing her forehead against the edge of the shelf adjacent to her and the second her eyes close, he's at her side, almost as if he sensed something was wrong which made him look over.
"What's wrong?" He's panicking which only makes her want to panic more.
"I'm having contractions," she says in one breath.
Abby remains on the phone. Jay too distracted by Erin to remember to hang up, "Is this it?"
"I don't know," she blew out, "maybe."
"Okay, okay, okay, let's not panic," he says while obviously actively panicking, "we need to get you to the hospital, call your doctor on the way and-"
"Jay," she interrupts with a high-pitched groan, "please less talking and more moving."
Erin is past her due date. In a few days she'll be at 41 weeks, but she hopes, she prays, she begs to go into labor soon because for everyday that her baby doesn't come leads her to another day closer to scheduling an induction date. This pain she's currently experiencing is stronger than the jolts she felt from Braxton Hicks so that can only mean one thing, -Emma is coming. She has to come; she just has to absolutely come today. Nearing 41 weeks of her pregnancy, she is well aware that if she doesn't go into labor by her next doctor's appointment, she won't be leaving with a baby but with a date set for induction. She doesn't like to think about it for long but it's hard not to when she has the ladies she met in Lamaze, coworkers and distant relatives reaching out to ask her if she's still pregnant. Yes, unfortunately, she is still pregnant, but hopefully not for long.
"How are you feeling? Where does it hurt? What's happening?"
"The pain is in the front. It hurts a lot."
"This has to be it, right? This has to be labor?"
"I'm hoping," she breathes in her nose and out of her mouth.
"…but your water didn't break."
"I read that for some women their water doesn't break, for some it gets broken by the doctors."
By the time they walk from the store to the car, Jay is now off the phone after telling Abby that he's rushing Erin to the hospital because she might be in labor. And by the time Jay is helping her into the passenger seat, the pain has passed. It all suddenly just dwindled down to a weaker pain and then went away. It doesn't deter them from going to the hospital, thinking that maybe this break is just the expected reprieve between contractions. Jay, fully believes this is the day his little Cancer will be born. She may not have come on her due date but whatever day she comes was always the day she was meant to come. Jay reaches his hand over the center armrest and sets it onto Erin's restless leg, bouncing up and down anxiously in the passenger seat, "It's going to be okay. This is a good thing, right? Emma's coming."
Erin looks to meet his eyes briefly before he averts his gaze back to the road, "Yeah, this is a good thing," she whispers more to herself than to him, "I've been rushing her this whole time and now she's finally listening to me." She adds just as his phone starts to ring again. Abby's contact photo lights up the screen and he made no move to answer after obviously checking to see who's calling.
Abby screams and throws her fist repeatedly against the steering wheel when he doesn't answer for the third time in a row. She shouts expletives out loud, earning the confused stares of bystanders as they walk past her car. She tightens her hand around her phone, so hard she squeezes in an effort to break it but it doesn't even budge. She pulls at her hair, gripping her scalp so roughly that she tears out a few strands. She throws her head back against the headrest over and over again until a pounding headache started to rip through her skull. And then she suddenly calms down. Her racing heart evens out, the beads of sweat disappear, the headache remains but her enraged demeanor suddenly turns to one of calmness. They may have left her sight but this could be a good thing.
She puts her car in drive and she whips it out of the parking lot, coming close to breaking a few traffic laws as she races to get to Erin's apartment. She parks out of sight, just in case they come, she doesn't want to worry about Jay spotting her vehicle and license plate. She honestly wouldn't know how to talk her way out of that one. Abby pauses after unbuckling her seatbelt when an answer comes to her. If she's caught here, she can say she came to check in on Erin after finding out she went into labor. Erin may not buy it, but Abby knows Jay will at least give her the benefit of the doubt and not call her out on her blatant lie directly to her face.
Abby steps out of her car, locking the doors behind her before jogging across the street. She enters the apartment building as if she belongs and makes her way to the elevator and up to Erin's floor as if she actually lives there. Her heart starts to race again as she gets closer. Each step down the hall towards Erin's apartment sends her nerves into high alert. She doesn't know if Erin has neighbors that know her and she doesn't want to get caught by them entering her apartment with a key that should not be in her possession. Abby looks over her shoulders multiple times which only makes her look even more paranoid. She searches through the keys on her keychain so she can already have it picked out to use and enter the apartment more easily. The less amount of time she spends in the hallway, the less chance she has at getting caught. Abby doesn't know what she expects to find in her search or even what she expects to do while she's here but she figures she'll figure that out once she's inside. Maybe she'll destroy the nursery and steal a few things to throw off suspicion and have people thinking it was a burglary? Maybe she'll find some incriminating information about Erin that will turn Jay completely off and make him want to keep his distance?
She found herself getting giddy in excitement. She's so close, she can feel it, she's going to get him back. Erin may have won the battle but it'll be a cold day in hell before Abby allows her to win the war. Abby inserts the key in the bottom lock and unlocks the knob but the top lock prevents her from opening it. She rolls her eyes in annoyance at the extra effort she has to take to open a door because Erin decides to lock both bottom and top locks when she leaves. At least Abby has the key to both, she reminds herself. Abby switches between keys and inserts the top lock key, turning it until she hears the beautiful sound of the door unlocking, granting her entrance with just one knob turn and a gentle push. And now, unlimited access is hers.
As gently as possible, she shuts the door behind her, not wanting to alert the neighbors she's paranoid about that someone is home. For all Abby knows, they might want to stop by and check in on her, that's only if they actually know her. It's a variable Abby is unaware of and therefore she has to act as if all negative possibilities are true. Abby rests her back against the front door once it's closed, collecting her breath to steady her erratic heartbeat before a gleam appears in her eye and a smile rivaling the one of the Grinch stretches across her face. She pushes herself away from the door and starts walking down the hallway as if she pays the rent in this place, as if she has every right in the world to be here. And a part of her delusional mind convinces her that she kind of does have a right to be here, thinking it's a fair trade for her to encroach on Erin's personal possessions the same way in which Erin has encroached on hers.
It was only one variable she didn't consider. It was one possibility she did not plan to face. And that was her being met by the vicious growl of a dog.
She gets spooked when suddenly a dog jumps out and starts barking at her, its booming bark sending a ripple of fear coursing through her veins. A fear that he may hurt her and a fear that he may alert her neighbors. She's frozen in terror, knowing that it probably wouldn't be wise of her to take off running, not when this dog is meeting her gaze from across the coffee table. He barks again and this time she throws her hands up into the air. A growl follows and now she's slowly backing away from him. A combination of the two comes next as he moves closer towards her. Milo releases a low, guttural growl that puts his canine teeth on full display as he barks and stands guard in the living room of the apartment. The posture of his ears, the positioning of his tail, the bowing and the eye movement as he follows every step she takes towards the front door. She's not close enough for a clear getaway especially if she doesn't want to turn her back on him. Abby lowers her hands and holds them out in front of her, "I mean no harm."
For Milo, that simply wasn't true. Her unfamiliar presence has triggered his natural instinct to protect Erin, whether she was home or not. This was their home and Abby was violating. His deep growl is obviously a warning to her, reminding her that she doesn't belong here, that her mere presence is making him uncomfortable. She is encroaching on his personal space. Milo doesn't want to escalate the situation but if she doesn't heed his warning, then he will be forced to raise things up a notch. Abby backs further up until her back brushes against the door, which calms the dog enough to have him no longer barking or growling. She reads his signals wrong. She reads it as if he's warmed up to her, as if he's accepting of her presence in his home. She smiles and sighs in relief, hand covering her chest as she catches her breath, "Good boy," she compliments.
Abby takes a few cautionary steps forward, testing the waters to make sure Milo doesn't growl again and when she's met with a silent stare, she takes that as a good sign. He's warmed up to her. He may even smell Jay's scent on her. She is aware of the living room for she's been in it before and she knows the kitchen and pretty much every room besides the nursery. She's never been inside of Erin's room but she has seen a glimpse of it the night that she desperately wants to forget ever happened. Abby doesn't know why she's here if she's being honest but she figures she'll find out when she comes across it. She turns in the direction of the hall and the second she's no longer in the pathway of the door, the growling starts back up again. This time the barking is absent. And this time the growl sounds just a wee bit different. His mouth is closed, his pupils are dilated, his body is rigidly stiff and Abby is willing to argue that he isn't breathing. Abby's closer to Erin's bedroom door than she is the front door and considering her back is to Milo, her best bet is to run forward, further away from her chance to safely get out of here.
However, she underestimates the speed of a dog, especially one that desires to protect his home. Milo runs to her, never ceasing his growls and the second he's caught up, she's about to enter Erin's room and slam the door on his face, but he captures her leg with his canines. His teeth pierces skin and her mouth drops open as she lets out a piercing scream. Abby makes it worse by twisting and turning in an effort to wiggle her leg out of his mouth. He tries to pull her, to drag her as if she was one of his chew toys and the direction in which he was taking her was obvious, he wanted her to leave, he was backing himself up, yanking her calf which sat impaled through his upper and bottom canine teeth in the direction he wanted her to follow. Tears swarmed her eyes and she knew the best way to get out of this situation was to follow. She hopped along on the leg that wasn't currently being held in the mouth of this aggressive animal, "You stupid mutt," she spats, bringing her fist to her mouth to bite down on it, "let me go! Let me go now!"
And he listens, surprisingly, he drops her leg when both of them are back in the living room. He doesn't walk away though. He's growling once again, hinting towards her to leave, letting it be known loud and clear. She heeds his warning, limping towards the front door with him following slowly behind her. She looks over her shoulder at him, the growling continues and now the barking is back and when he rises himself onto his hindlegs, he brings his front paws back down to the ground, absolutely frustrated at her continued presence. He comes forward again, ready to snap at her other leg when she steps out and slams the door shut behind her. She rests her back against the door, catching her breath as the tears continued to fall. Abby remembers to lock the door back, both top and bottom lock before limping away, the fabric of her leggings being stained red with blood, she can still hear the aggressive growling of her attacker practically taunting her.
It was supposed to be quick. She only intended to be in and out. She had been planning this for weeks, but nowhere in her plans did she expect a dog. All she wanted to do was find something, anything that could be used against that woman, just a little something to tip the scale back to her advantage, to win him back, to get Jay back in her good graces. She didn't expect to get there, to unlock the door and be met with a growling dog that deserved to be put down. She didn't expect to be bit, her skin to be penetrated and torn in her effort to get away. She's so mad at herself. She grunts, she screams and she throws the side of her fist against her head to reprimand herself for her mess up. Abby didn't touch anything but she hoped when she closed and locked the door, she left the apartment in the way in which she found it. Abby throws her head back, crying due to the pain in her leg and how quickly her plan failed. She bangs her head against the headrest over and over again until the headache from earlier comes back, "You're so stupid," she shouts at herself.
Abby looks down at her leg the best she can considering she's back in her car and the space is limited. She notices the bleeding doesn't look to be stopping anytime soon. And she suddenly remembers that Jay is at the hospital with Erin. She buckles up and starts her car after putting the address in. If she can't ruin Erin's image right now to get Jay then the least she can do is use her stupid mutt's rabid infested being to her advantage. Abby heads to the hospital.
Jay's phone rings and he withdrew it from his pocket, spotting Abby's name once again. He sends her directly to voicemail without a second thought or even a consideration. And she calls back again. This time, he bites the bullet and answers.
"Jay," her voice wavers. It's obvious she's in tears. He straightens his posture and turns his back to Erin to pay closer attention to what Abby has to say, "I'm at the hospital."
One brow furrows and he turns back around to face Erin, mouthing to her who he's on the phone with and why, "What hospital? Are you at the same one that I'm at?"
"Yes," she sniffs, "I'm heading back towards the waiting room now. I've just been discharged."
"Erin and I were just discharged. I'm heading to you now. What floor are you on?"
"…main floor, I'm near the emergency room," she sniffs again and wipes her leaking nose with the sleeve of her shirt, "I had to get stitches on my leg." She doesn't give him more information than that before hanging up and waiting patiently for him to meet her.
Erin approaches him, a look of concern on her face only because he's concerned, "Is everything okay?" She settles her hands on her bump. Since the earlier contraction left, it never came back.
"It was Abby," he says even though he knows she already knew that, "she had to be admitted, I think she got hurt. I don't know much. I just know she was just discharged."
"Well, if she was admitted and discharged the same day, it can't be too serious, right?"
"Yeah," that calms him, "you're right." She rubs his back as they head towards the elevator.
She presses the button for the lobby and steps to the side as other people enter the elevator. She looks up at Jay, whispering under her breath, "Do you think something's wrong with me?"
"…about?"
"The fact that I haven't gone into labor yet."
"No, I think you're perfectly fine and healthy," and when she opens her mouth to ask another question, it's like he read her mind because he tells her the answer, "and the baby is perfectly fine too, if she wasn't and if you weren't, the doctor would have said something."
He's right. She knows he's right. And just as she calmed him with her words earlier, he has managed to do the same for her now.
By the time they reach the emergency room floor, exit the elevator and enter the waiting room, they find Abby in full blown hysterics, making a scene and causing for everyone in the waiting room, both patients waiting to be admitted and loved ones of patients to stare at her. Jay rushes to her side, extending his hand to her shoulder in an effort to comfort her. She rises to her feet and throws her arms around him, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Over her head, Erin's gaze meets his and all he can do is shrug because he doesn't know what's wrong. She's crying, practically hysterical and inconsolable, even with being wrapped up in his arms. He rubs her back, whispering comforting words in her ear in an effort to console her. He doesn't know what happened to her, he's trying to get the words out but he's having trouble understanding her.
"I don't know what you're saying," he tells her, taking a step back and wrapping his hands around her shoulders to urge her to look into his eyes, to breathe deeply, "good job," he encourages, "now tell me what happened. What brought you here? And are you okay?"
She swipes her hands along her thighs to dry her sweaty palms, "A dog in the neighborhood bit me when I went out for a walk. I was so scared Jay. I was in so much pain and the more I tried to get away, the harder that damn dog bit me! All I wanted to do was walk and get some fresh air because I've been stressed and this happened. Next time you'll have to join me to protect me."
"You went on a walk?" Of all the things she had said, and she's said a lot, that seemed to stand out to him the most, "You never go on walks."
Abby shrugs, using the palm of her hand to wipe the fallen tears off her face, "I figured now is a good time to start walking considering you jog every morning. I wanted to join you one day."
Erin watches from the sidelines, wiping her own tears away. Her tears were primarily caused by the false labor pains and the disappointment of not actually being in labor; they had nothing to do with Abby and her theatrics. Erin took a seat in one of the empty waiting room chairs, thinking about the fact that it's another day of no baby, another day of no active signs of labor. Apparently, it's false labor because her contractions didn't come regularly and they didn't come close together and also, they appear to stop when walking or changing positions. Her doctor said they're Braxton Hicks and while she tried to argue that because she's experienced those multiple times in the past, her lack of medical degree is proof enough that her doctor's diagnosis is most likely right. He said they are usually weak and don't get stronger, -those are the ones she's used to feeling. Today though, she felt the opposite, it started strong and got weaker, which apparently falls under the same classification as Braxton fucking Hicks. And the pain was felt in the front, her doctor said labor pains usually start in the back and move to the front. She has nothing to compare it to so all she can do is hang onto his every word, even if his every word sucks right now.
She wanted to go home. She wanted to curl up into a ball and order food and watch some type of over dramatized soap opera as she feels sorry for herself. But apparently that's going to have to wait because Abby is talking a mile a minute about her run in with a neighborhood dog. Erin tunes back in, figuring the show Abby is putting on will at least entertain her enough to pass the time and distract her from her disappointment. Abby lifted her leg and situated her foot on the center of the waiting room chair positioned next to Erin. She rolled up her leggings to show the large bandage covering her calf muscle, "I had to get sutures," she pulls the bandage partially off to show him the fresh stitch, "the doctor was pretty concerned because I didn't know if the dog had all of its shots or not, but the doctor gave me some pamphlets that detail signs to look out for just in case."
"Are you okay?" Jay expressed concern the second his sight landed on the wound.
"I'll be okay. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty scary," she shrugged her shoulders, "but I'm alive," she releases a humorless chuckle, "the doctor wanted me to report the dog to animal control, but I couldn't bring myself to do that," she purposely leaves out the fact that it's because reporting Milo would link her back to Erin's place and that's the last thing she needs right now.
"Did the doctor say what you should do at home to take care of it?"
Erin smiles at him, because for all the grief Abby has given him the last couple of months, he still cares and wants to take care of her. He's actually concerned even though it's just a dog bite. Erin was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear Abby's answer, she had no interest in zoning back in to hear Abby retell the story of the dog bite, however the only reason she pressed escape from her reverie was because she saw the excited expression on her parents face as they ran into the waiting room, only for the sight in front of them to register and knock the look completely off.
Camille greets both Jay and Abby and then turns and directs her focus to her number one concern.
"It was a false alarm," she waves off their excitement because she feels nothing but disappointment right now, "sorry I forgot to call and let you know. I didn't mean to get you so excited." She had been so eager to have this baby that she sent out a mass text to her parents and Kim.
"Hey, it happens sometimes," Camille extends her arms and smiles sadly when her daughter stands and walks into her embrace, "If the doctors aren't worried, then you don't need to be either."
"I don't get it. Why won't she come out already?" She feels like a spoiled brat right now not getting her way, but this pregnancy has been going on for far too long now. She's full term, she's been full term for a couple of days now; the bun in the oven is ready to be taken out.
Erin ignores as her dad greets both Jay and Abby as she reminds herself to shoot off a text to Kim, letting her know not to come up to the hospital because it's a false alarm. Emma is playing games and her body is torturing her right now with all these signs of false labor. Voight throws his arm around her shoulders after noticing her flat affect, "Come on kid, we'll walk you to your car." She casts a glance over her shoulder and knows based on Jay's facial expression, he'll be hitching a ride with Abby. She shrugs, trying to tell herself it's no big deal. They live together; it's a convenience factor. Why wouldn't he ride with her back to a place where they both live?
She allows her parents to escort her out of the hospital. She nods towards her car parked towards the front. The only benefit right now from not delivering her baby is being able to continue parking in the expectant mothers parking spots that are near the front of every store and building. The second the automatic doors closed behind them and the warm summer air blew through her hair, Camille has her arm thrown around her daughter's waist and she's whispering, "What was that about?"
Erin doesn't need clarification; she knows exactly what and who her mother is referring to, "Oh, that was just Abby crying about getting bit by a dog."
"I need you to be a little more empathetic. I didn't raise you to sound so heartless."
Her jaw drops, "How was that heartless? All I said was what happened. She got bit by a dog and she was crying to Jay about it. What part of that was callous?"
"Sometimes it's not what you say, it's how you say it. I know you don't like the young lady but you can do a better job in acting like it."
Erin looks around mockingly before retorting, "She's nowhere around me. If I have to act like I like her, let me at least save the performance for when she's around."
"Sweetheart, from what I saw in there between she and Jay, it looks like she's going to be around for a while. You'll have to get used to it and to make it easier on yourself, you have to change the attitude." Erin wanted to tell her mom the only thing she saw between Abby and Jay was Jay being a compassionate human being concerned for Abby like he would be for any person in the world.
Erin doesn't want to argue anymore so she immediately gives in, "Alright mom, you're right."
"I hate when you do that. You used to always do that as a teenager."
"You hate when I agree with you?"
Camille rolls her eyes, "No and you know that. I mean writing me and what I have to say off."
"I'm sorry mom," Erin says sincerely because that wasn't her intent, "and I don't want us to argue over Abby of all people. You don't know what I know about her. I'm tolerating her for Jay and that's the best I can do. All I can do is offer tolerance."
Her mother opens her mouth, prepared to respond when her dad cuts in, "Cam, you always tell me to not stress her out when she's pregnant. Now I'm telling you the same thing." Sometimes, more times than not, her dad drives her crazy but today is not one of those days. Her mother, obviously recognizing defeat when her words are thrown back at her shuts her mouth and keeps it closed.
Erin hides the smirk that graces her face, knowing that if her mother spotted it, even her dad wouldn't be able to hold her mother back. She walks alongside her dad, leaving her mother a few steps behind them as they get to her car. Voight waits for her to pull out her keys and unlock the car door before speaking, "How about we go out to dinner? It'll be our treat."
"I never pass up free food so of course I'm in." Her mom opens the driver's side door for her, "I'll follow you guys to the restaurant. I'm not picky. We can go wherever."
"It's a new Cuban restaurant that opened up a few weeks ago. I've been wanting to try it."
"…then Cuban it is."
Before she could turn to get into her car, she spots Jay and Abby exiting the hospital. He senses her gaze and turns his head to meet her eyes. He smiles. And she smiles back. Then he disappears from her sight when he turns a corner, following behind Abby to get to her car. Erin turns back to her parents, noticing the quirked brow of her mother and wanting to ignore the smirk her mother was sending her way, she turns to face her father, who is now swatting low inspecting her tire.
"Is everything okay?"
Her dad brushes his thumb along the tire marks, poking at the fullness before turning his head over his shoulder to answer her question, "This tire is new?"
"Huh?" His question catches her off guard.
"I noticed a slight difference between your other three tires and this one. It's less worn. It looks newer than the other three. What happened to your old tire?" A cop's eye, that's the only thing to explain it because how did he even notice that. He rises back up, "What happened to your tire?"
She plays confused as her mind scrambles for an answer, "Huh?" She repeats.
"I noticed-" he starts to repeat himself but she interrupts.
"I know, sorry, I just blanked out for a minute. I got a flat some weeks ago."
He stares at her face, tilting his head as he inspects every last twitch and inch. She hates when he does that. She grew up with him doing that. She hardly ever got away with things when he did that. He squints. She feels under a limelight. He takes his thumb and pointer finger and swipes the corners of his mouth, "Why didn't you mention it?"
"…because I'm a big girl dad and it might be surprising to you but I can handle a flat tire."
Erin's tire had been slashed weeks ago and the only person aware of that was Kim and she would prefer to keep it that way. She has moved past it and she'd prefer for that to stay in the past. She goes to get into her car, reminding her parents that she intends to follow them and before she can shut the door, her dad catches it, holding it open, "You usually always mention car problems, I'd even joke around and say you must think I'm your personal mechanic. Hmm," he's thinking out loud, "What did you run over? Where did you get the flat? Who changed the tire?"
"Hank, drop the third degree," Camille orders, chuckling. And now Erin finds herself once again appreciative of her mother, the pendulum swinging from having her dad's side earlier when he interrupted their brewing argument to now having her mom's side because of her interruption.
"Thanks mom, I will see you guys at the restaurant," she shuts the door before her dad has the opportunity to try and pick up where he left off on his line of questioning.
Erin waits for her parents to get to their car parked a few rows behind her. And to pass the time, she reaches into her purse and withdraws her cell, finding an unread message from Jay. She doesn't think twice before opening it, frowning when she reads his message, -I'm sorry. She reads his reason for the apology, one being her disappointment behind her false alarm and two because he came here with her and he left with someone else. She shoots off a reply, not wanting him to beat himself up any more than he already is, -you honestly do not need to apologize, not your fault, none of this is, so no apologies necessary.
She waits, watching as the bubbles appear on the screen before disappearing. She waits longer, watching once again as the bubbles appear on the screen, hinting that he's typing before once again disappearing. No message is sent. And just as she's about to put her phone down and get ready to drive off a message comes, -maybe tomorrow is our lucky day and we'll meet her?
Just as she prepares her fingers to type a response, a horn honks, alerting her that her parents are in front of her, reminding her to follow them. She shoots off a quick response -maybe- and then buckles her seat belt, turns the key in the ignition and drives off behind them, keeping a close distance as best as she can considering her father is driving almost as if he's chasing down a lead.