Erin is pacing, suddenly finding herself emotionally regressing as she thinks back to Eric, and the mental scars the thought of him leaves behind. No matter how far she thinks she's come, just the thought of him can send her back. It's terrifying to think how trauma works, of how you can make all the progress in the world, and something slight can send you back. She stood up to Eric, she faced him, yet this conversation is sending her into a spiral. Jay gives her a moment before moving the baby to his hip, being mindful to support her head and neck as he reaches his hand out to Erin, hoping his touch soothes her. It does just a tad, but not as much as he had hoped.

"Hey," he calls out, refocusing her on the present, "hey, what are you thinking? What's going through your mind right now, Er? You can talk to me."

"I've never spoken to her about Eric. I would never speak to her about him. I barely spoke to you about him before his visit. How did your girlfriend find out? How did she know?" It sounds like an accusation, a total implication because why is she referencing Abby as his girlfriend after knowing he just broke up with her? His hand drops from her elbow and he takes a step back.

"My girlfriend?" He repeats, brows furrowing as he tries to ignore the sting of her tone, "Are you trying to imply that I told her because if so let me stop you right now, I didn't! I would never tell her or anyone about anything you confide in me and you know that! I'd never! Never, especially about something like that. Never about something like that." He's insulted, and she knows he has every right to be. He has never given her a reason to not trust him.

Her shoulders relax and her face softens, "I'm sorry. I really am, Jay" She's thinking more clearly now. She reaches her hand forwards to wrap around his wrist, "I know you wouldn't do that but what do you expect me to believe? Only a few people know about him and none of them would ever tell Abby, and I mean none of them. How did she find out?"

"...maybe you mentioned him and didn't remember?"

"Trust me, I remember every time he's mentioned."

"...maybe your social media?"

"I deleted all our pictures together after we broke up."

"...but did he?"

Erin doesn't answer. She simply turns to her phone and loads up her account, scrolling through her tagged photos in search of one he's in. She's desperate, panting, and if not for Milo brushing his head up and down her leg, she just might have sent herself into a panic attack. She's supposed to be healed, this is supposed to be behind her, but the more she thinks about Eric, the more she remembers her relationship with him. Time she can never get back. And when her eyes land on one photo, a missed picture that she hasn't seen in years, she finds herself ready to break her phone in half, "Why the fuck would she do something like that, Jay?!"

He knows she doesn't expect an answer from him, but it doesn't stop him from trying to give her one, "I don't know. She probably had her reasons. Though none of them justifies this."

She stares up at the ceiling, fuming, chest rising and falling with every passing second, "Jay," she pauses, "I swear, I'm going to beat the shit out of your girlfriend when I see her."

"Can you stop calling her that?" He snaps, now he's growing annoyed. And so is Emma.

"Me referencing her to you as your girlfriend doesn't even rise to the top five of the things we need to be talking about right now because all of this shit she's doing is because she is, was, your girlfriend. I don't get it. We've had words, we don't like each other but to go this far." Emma continues to grow restless as she picks up on the changing mood between her parents.

And Jay starts bouncing her in his arms, trying to calm her down before her restlessness turns to tears, "She found out about your boyfriend, probably tried to get you two back together so you wouldn't pose a threat to our relationship. That's the best I can think of, but I doubt she knew about the history you had with Eric. None of that translates from a picture on social media."

Erin was rational enough to agree to that because as she thought about it, how would Abby know about the history she has with Eric. It's not like she's ever talked about Eric in front of her or near her. And it's not like Abby is a fly on the wall eavesdropping into her personal conversations. Erin pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut, "Is it crazy that I'm still more pissed about that tattoo than I am about the whole Eric email thing?"

"No," he whispers, a calmness settling between both of them because the reason is obvious, the tattoo directly involves Emma whereas the email to Eric does not. Her eyes flash to her baby, gnawing on Jay's knuckle, completely unaware of the drama brewing. She's living in her bubble of innocence, having no idea that the portrait of her face is inked into the skin of a crazy woman.

It makes Erin shiver. She leans forward to press a smooch to her baby's face, pulling back once it's done to see her little one's nose scrunching together as if the kiss tickled her.

"What are we going to do Jay?" She asks while her gaze is focused on the baby, "We can't just have her walking around the city of Chicago with Emma's face and name tattooed on her. We can't have her walking around pretending that my baby is hers because we both know if someone asks about that tattoo, she's not going to say it's a random baby or it's her boyfriend's baby, she's going to claim Emma as her own and Jay, I'll be damned if I let her get away with that!"

"We aren't going to do anything," and before she could argue, he raised his hand up to pause her words, "I am going to go back to my place and I am going to talk to her."

"Didn't you try that already?" She rhetorically remarked.

"Erin-" they seem to be arguing a lot more lately. They noticed it before, and they're noticing it now. Both cannot wait until the day they're on the same page.

"I'm just saying Jay…you've spoken to her already, what are you going to say differently this time that you didn't say the last? Hmm? Because as I mentioned, you already got to try, I didn't."

"Erin, you said she's my problem, you basically said it's my fault that she's in our life. I'm agreeing with you so let me handle it. It's either my problem or it's our problem, it can't be both. I'm going to talk to Abby, I'm going to emphasize the importance behind her removing that tattoo and I'm going to pack my bags and leave. You're going to stay here. You're not going to get involved. Is that understood, Erin?"

She's speechless. And if she's being honest, a little bit turned on. She didn't expect him to get so demanding, to practically tell her what she is and isn't going to do. But, seeing Jay like this, seeing him take charge, seeing the part of his personality that makes him a great protector and cop has her mute. All she simply does is nod. And now he's the one that's speechless. She's normally so feisty, and protective of the ones she loves, but now she's quiet, appearing petite and vulnerable as she accepts his words. He maneuvers the baby around, adjusting her until she's laying on his chest, her head resting against his shoulder as she fights off her midday nap. He takes his free hand, extending it to gently wrap around Erin's wrist. A silent nod towards peace, both recognizing that they're on the same team, that's team Emma, and they need to be working alongside each other and not against one another.

"I understand, I don't like it, but I understand."

He leans forward, pecking her cheek and then disappears to the nursery to lay Emma down. The weather isn't the best outside, but it's not stopping him from getting more of his things. He hands the baby monitor to Erin, grabs his keys and walks out the door. He's in the hall, walking towards the elevator when he hears a door open, and looking over his shoulder, he notices it belongs to Erin's apartment. Her head pokes out, a grin spread on her face in an encouraging manner as if he's not about to have a serious conversation, "Jay, you can stay here as long as you need," she says randomly and he wonders what sparks this, "I was actually wondering if you wanted Milo to come with you, he can come as back up."

"Abby doesn't like dogs."

"What monster doesn't like dogs?"

He's walking backwards, chuckling, and coming to a stop to press the elevator button, "I'd bring him if you wanted me to but as for backup, I don't think I'll need it."

"Nah, he's a protector and if Abby doesn't like dogs, she might kick him and then next thing you know, I'm coming over to kick her. Drive safe, it's coming down bad outside." She says just as the elevator doors open. She watches him step inside and then he hears the door close.

Jay knew it was storming, but he didn't expect the weather to still be just as bad as it was last night. The sky was darkened, with storm clouds hovering above, as rain drowned the city. He forgot his umbrella, but doesn't feel like going back to grab it. Using his hand to realistically not protect an ounce of him, he jogs to his car. Keys already out so it's unlocked by the time he hops inside. He shakes, like a wet dog, once seated and then starts the car to get some air pumping and the windshield wipers moving. He takes his time driving home, not only because of the weather but because he knows what's waiting for him when he walks through the door. He doesn't want to have this conversation but he definitely needs to have it. Honestly, it's been a long time coming, and it's his fault for waiting so damn long. And while he's nervous, by the time he parks and turns off the engine, he feels ready, he just wants to get this out of the way.

Using his hand once again, he races from his car to the lobby of his apartment building, stopping right when he's under the awning to collect himself. He reaches for his phone in his back pocket, checking the time and hoping he's out in under an hour and then his eyes drift to take in the home screen photo, it's of Emma, the reason he's doing all of this, his forever purpose in life and with a renewed passion, he goes inside. He's upstairs in a heartbeat and when Jay walks through the door, he barely recognizes his own home. A part of him would have taken a step back and peeked at the number on the door just to verify it's his address but he knows it's home. He recognizes the furniture, the layout, the decor and more than anything, he recognizes his ex-girlfriend, disheveled, with a bowl of melted ice cream in her lap. He thought he wasn't ready for this conversation at first, and now he really isn't ready. Bring on the theatrics, he thinks to himself before shutting the door behind him, alerting her to his presence.

"Abigail," he says formally, he wants to keep things as strictly platonic as possible and he knew that she understood what it meant by him calling her by her government rather than her nickname. She looks up immediately, obviously not expecting him or hearing him when he walks in. She sets her bowl down and jumps to her feet, "Jay," the smile on her face is maddening, "you're back. You came back. I knew you'd come back for me."

"...just to get more of my stuff."

That stumps her. She's taken aback. And the hopeful look on her face suddenly changes, "What-"

"I came to pack a few more bags. I'm going to stay at Erin's a little longer, at least until we figure out what we're going to do about this place and the lease."

"I don't understand, Jay. How did everything go so wrong? We went from being so happy in Wisconsin to you leaving me. That just sounds so crazy to me, like, how could this happen, how could we let this happen to us? I knew we shouldn't have moved here."

"No, you shouldn't have moved here."

"If I didn't follow, you'd probably be on kid number two with Erin by now," she remarks.

He has no plans of dignifying that with a response. Simply, he shrugs his shoulders and moves around her, heading into his bedroom to grab his suitcase. She's at his heels, following behind him, watching as he lays it down on their bed and opens it up. She remains beneath the threshold of their bedroom door and watches as he takes his time in packing, this time thinking things through instead of just randomly stuffing things in his bag. She watches him in shock, mouth agape as real tears silently fall from her eyes. Jay remains unfazed, doing everything in his power to not look at her because he doesn't want to back down, he doesn't want to feel bad. He moves to the bathroom to collect his toiletries, using that moment of not being watched to gain the energy to have this conversation. By the time he's stepping back in the bedroom, arms filled with his toiletries, he's ready, "I also wanted to talk to you while I'm here."

"...about what?" She steps further in the room, "About how you're leaving me? About how you don't care about me? About how you want me to off myself-"

"What the hell are you talking about?" He drops the toiletries in the bag, "I said none of that."

"You didn't have to, your actions said it."

"Just because I broke up with you and am moving out does not mean I want you dead."

"Cut the bullshit, Jay."

Now he's the one taken aback. Gone was the innocently sweet girl that she made herself out to be and in her place was this person he barely recognized, in appearance and in action.

"Abigail-"

"Don't call me that. You call me Abby. I'm Abby to you, Jay! Abby!"

"Okay, Abby," he gives in to that to keep the peace, especially since he already knows he won't be giving in to anything else. He's choosing his battles and the battle over her name is not one worth fighting, "I care about you, but you need help, and I can't give you the help that you need. Just because I ended the relationship doesn't mean I don't care about you and I want you to hurt yourself. I don't know where you got that from, but that's not true. And also just because I care about you doesn't mean I love you or want to be in a relationship with you."

"How am I supposed to believe you care about me when you chose her over me?"

"I did not choose Erin over you. We're not together."

"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT ERIN! Everything is not about her Jay!"

He slams his deodorant into his bag then turns to face her, "Who are you talking about then?"

"Emma!"

Color him confused because now he's lost. He pauses his packing and focuses his undivided attention on her because what the hell is she talking about, "Wait, you're competing with a baby," he's dumbfounded, absolutely flabbergasted at the words she's spewing, "why wouldn't I choose Emma over you? She's my kid, Abby! Maybe you don't understand because you're not a parent but any decent parent would choose their kid over their crazy girlfriend. You and this one sided competition is in your head. How are you beefing with a two month old baby while getting her face and name tattooed on you? You're deranged and you need serious help."

"Stop saying that! Maybe you're the one that's crazy!"

"I'm not the one that pretended to be Erin, found her ex and invited him here under the guise of getting back together. That's something an insane person would do."

"Jay, what are you-"

"Don't lie to me, Abby! I know the truth. I'm tired of the lies. I'm tired of believing them."

Abby doesn't feel like lying to him right now, and she knows this truth isn't as bad as others, "I just wanted her to be as happy as we are, they've been together for years so that means they obviously care about each other. I was just trying to do something nice. A peace offering."

He doesn't know if he believes it. If he were to have this conversation a few weeks ago, he would have undoubtedly believed her. He would have accepted her answer and more than likely defended her answer to Erin, but today is a new day, and the more she talks, the more he questions just how she got away with so much. Her bottom lip quivers, and that in mixture with the tears streaming down her face has him ready to just leave, he doesn't want her crying, but this conversation pulls him in different directions, one towards what's morally right and one towards what's morally wrong. He knows this is just the beginning of what's to be a long conversation so he pushes his suitcase to the side and takes a seat, "How did you find out about him?" His legs open, his forearms rested against his thighs and his hands are clasped. He's looking down at the floor, staring at the padded carpet and the lint tangled in it.

"What?"

"How did you find out about Eric, Abigail?"

"I don't really remember," she's a bit flustered, scratching the back of her head as she tries to recall. Her performance is Oscar worthy because he believes it, at least that's what she thinks when he doesn't push it, "I just remember how I found him. It was on Erin's social media." He figured that much but it's nice to get confirmation.

She takes a seat next to him, mimicking his posture when he speaks, "What do I have to say or do to convince you to get rid of those tattoos?"

"Give me another chance," she immediately answers.

"...besides that."

"Jay-"

"How could you possibly convince yourself that you're in competition with a baby?"

"I misspoke."

"No you didn't," he interrupts because that's the one thing she's said tonight that he believes is the full truth, "you might not have meant to say it but you did and we both know it's the truth."

She slides to the right, moving to sit closer to him,"Why would I tattoo the name and face of a baby that I think I'm in competition with? That doesn't make sense."

"You're right, it doesn't, but you've been doing a lot of things that don't make sense," he moves further away and when she moves to follow, he rises to his feet, "look Abby, we obviously aren't going to agree on this and I'm tired of arguing about it especially with you. Get rid of the tattoos," he pauses then thinks about how she'll use them to try and finagle herself further into his life, "or, don't," that shocks both of them, "keep them, but they'll always be a reminder to you about why I left, about how mentally fucked up you are to get someone else's kid's name and face tattooed on you and it'll prevent you from ever moving on. I mean, what person in their sound mind would choose to be with a woman coo coo enough to do some shit like that. My Emma just spared them the trouble of having to deal with your bullshit."

Those words hurt more than anything he's said tonight. And when he walks over to grab his bags, her mind starts to race as fast as her heart. She panics. And she clenches her fist and swings it in the direction of her own face, causing her to fall off the bed and to the floor. He swings around, startled by the noise, he didn't see the first hit, but he does see the second.

"Abby, what the fuck are you doing?" He looks as if he's seen a ghost, absolutely frightened beyond disbelief about what he's seeing.

"What am I doing?" She looks up at him, pouting her busted lip, "What are YOU doing?"

"You're absolutely out of your mind," he whispers, backing away slowly, and mentally questioning himself on why he couldn't see this. He exits the bedroom and sweeps his eyes around the living room, spotting her phone and by the time he grabs it, she's at his heel, reaching over his shoulder to try and snatch it from him. He's too quick, and he turns around, holding it above his head, causing her to jump up into the air to continue to try and snatch it.

"Give me that. That's mine!" She hops, but she's too short.

"Not until I call your therapist, you obviously need help!" He retorts, unlocking her phone and going directly to her contacts. He can't recall the name of her therapist but he knows if he sees it, he'll remember it. He turns around, keeping the phone above her head as he swipes.

"Give me my phone Jay, you won't find anything in there! I don't have a fucking therapist."

The shock distracts him and she manages to jump and snatch her phone. He's speechless, and his gaze is zeroed in on her face, leading him to break the daze long enough to grab his phone and capture a quick picture of her face, shooting the text off to Erin with a short blurb about Abby doing it to herself. He takes a page from Abby's book and hits record, he has to protect himself.

Abby finally looks up, eyes wide in relief now that she got her phone and now that she utilized the time right when she got it to change her password. This isn't how she saw this night going.

"What do you mean you don't have a therapist?"

She blinks back into focus, forgetting the words she spoke in the heat of the moment, "I-I-I-"

"Abby don't lie to me, you said you don't have a therapist. Did you ever have one?"

"I did," she admits, calming down, "then I didn't, then I did again when you got one and then I didn't. I was in therapy and now I'm not anymore. I don't need it."

"If anybody needs therapy, it's you." He mumbles under his breath as the pieces start to connect. It all makes sense now. It's why he didn't think therapy was working for her because she wasn't fucking in therapy. All those times in the past when she made him believe her therapist advised her to stay with him to combat her suicidal thoughts were lies. He's stayed way longer in this unnecessary relationship for the sole purpose of her mental health when she obviously didn't give an inch of a fuck about his. His eyes darken, his posture straightens and his grip around his phone tightens, "if you had stayed in therapy, you could have gotten the help you needed."

"I don't need-"

He interrupts with, "you were literally taking your fists and hitting your face, don't dare look at me and tell me that you don't need help!"

"I know I need help," she amends, "I was going to say I don't need a therapist's help. I just need yours. You're a cop, you help people all the time."

"I'm not qualified to help you."

"You never even tried."

"Okay then let me amend that, it's not my responsibility or job to help you. The most I can do is have you committed but the longest they can hold you is like 72 hours and we both know you'll need more than that. Abby, you have to want to help yourself. I can't do the work."

"If I get the help, will you give me another shot?"

"If you get the help and get those tattoos removed, we'll talk about starting over," he takes a page from her book and lies so flawlessly. She tears up, and wipes the fallen tears off her tender cheek. She hit herself pretty good and they both know it'll bruise tomorrow.

"You probably want to ice your cheek and lip tonight because it's going to hurt bad tomorrow."

She smiles, obviously reading his advice as a sign that he loves her, "Okay, I will," he goes to grab his bag when she calls out his name, coaxing him to look over his shoulder, and the smile on her face really emphasizes her inability to see reason and how in the clouds her mind really is, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for hitting myself and trying to blame you," he nods, silent on accepting the apology because honestly he doesn't, he knew where she was going with the accusation and that's something that could ruin his career, "even after I did that, you still cared. I promise I'm going to get some help so that way we can start over and raise Emma together."

And once again, he loses her. But he has high hopes that if she keeps her word and gets the help, she'll realize that the two of them aren't good for each other and she'll move on. He hopes he never has to eat the lies in his words because if what he just saw was any sign of how far Abby can go, he needs to stay on guard. He gives her a small smile and a head nod, it's the best he has to offer. She stands hopeful in the living room, watching him grip the handle of his bags before disappearing out of their home, but never from her life.

Jay tossed his duffel bag over his shoulder as he carried it towards the stairwell, pulling his phone out of his pocket to stop the recording. He didn't bother looking back. He found no reason to do so. He had no intention of renewing his lease later this month. He'll let her keep the apartment. She can get a whole new lease in her name unless she plans to move back to Wisconsin. He hoped it was the latter. It would make things easier. Breaking up with her was the best thing for him to do for her, for him and for his kid. Every decision he made in life would inevitably impact Emma so he knew he had to carefully plan each major decision with precise forethought. This is what's best. It's best for everyone and even as he steps outside and the night air hits him, he feels the tension leave his body. He smiled. He knows it's going to take some getting used to, being single that is, but he was up for the change.

He needed it. It was going to be good for him, good for Emma, honestly good for everyone involved. He had no ties to Abby and fortunately that meant he didn't have to see her again.

However, unbeknownst to him, Abby had no intention of going anywhere. She had her savings that will hold her over for a few months before she would have no choice but to work again. But, for the time being, she was going to try to win the love of her boyfriend which leads her to set a reminder for the morning, she has to contact her therapist to re-enroll in sessions. She was willing to do everything for him, and she knows he's always been a man of his word so that means she has to keep hers. He was everything that she's ever dreamed of and she refused to let that go, to allow him to just walk away without a fight. She was going to use this time of being single to prioritize and focus on what's important and that includes getting Erin out of the picture so that's one less thing standing in the way of her getting her boyfriend back.