For the first time in what felt like forever, Jay felt unequivocally happy. It had been a few days since he and Erin had agreed to try and start a family, and they'd had so much sex that he wondered how long he could keep going, not that he was going to complain. They had also talked about Jay moving out of his apartment and in with her, the downside being he had only moved into his current place when he had returned to Chicago, meaning he had almost a year to wait before he could get out of his lease - one more decision to add to his list of regrets.
Today though, he wasn't focused on negatives. It was his day off work, and he was meeting up with Jess at a clinic to get their DNA tests done. Within a couple of days, they would know for sure if they were related.
His plan after parking up was to wait for her near the clinic's entrance but he soon discovered that she had beaten him to that idea. She was there waiting herself, dressed smartly in black pants, a white blouse and a grey blazer. He wondered if she liked dressing that way, or if it showed she wasn't totally comfortable around him yet. Either way, she smiled broadly when she saw him approaching.
"Good morning," he said.
"Morning. How are you?"
Jay reached her and they exchanging a rather tame hug. It was as if they both felt it was the right thing to do, but had to test it out for the first time.
"I'm good, Jess. You? All set to get tested?"
"I'm fine. Let's do it. Shouldn't take long based on what I've read online. A mouth swab, essentially. Then we wait for a phone call with the results in about two days or so."
"Yeah, that's what I expected," he said with a smile. "Are you still up for tonight? Everyone on the team will be coming out, even Sergeant Voight I think."
Jay had arranged a night out at a fairly new bar, Hunter's, that had opened not far from the 21st. Members of the Intelligence team had started going there whenever they felt like some after work drinks. At Jay's suggestion, they had all agreed to come out tonight to have a good time together as well as meeting his sister. Based on his own very positive first impression of Jess, he was confident they would like her.
"For sure. I'm looking forward to it. Don't get to go out often, since I probably work too much. It'll be nice to take some time to unwind a little. Shall we go in?" she asked, looking towards the clinic's entrance.
He nodded. "Let's go."
That night, arriving at Hunter's bar, Jay found Erin and Hank there before him. Erin had on a dark blue dress, showing off some leg and some cleavage. It made him hungry for her again at first sight. But now wasn't the time to think about sex.
"Evening," he said, joining them at the bar.
"Jay. Beer?" Voight asked.
"Please," he said. "Hey," he added to Erin as they exchanged a peck on the cheek. That was as far as it was going to go in front of her foster father.
"Looking good, Jay," she said quietly.
He well knew she liked him dressed in a smart shirt and pants. This time he had gone for black pants and a pink shirt.
"Thank you. But not as good as you."
"So, tell me about your sister," Voight said pointedly after ordering Jay's beer, clearly none too impressed with their mild flirting.
Jay gave him some brief information on Jess's background, adding a description of what she did for a living, and planned to do when she started her own company.
"Sounds like a woman with her head screwed on," Voight said. "Here are Adam and Kim."
The new arrivals joined them at the bar, and not long afterwards Kevin also showed up. Jay had given Jess a time half an hour later than everyone else so that she could arrive and be introduced to everyone at once, figuring that would be easier for her. After all, he didn't know if she was comfortable socialising with a group of new people or if she would be nervous about it. There was so much they still had to learn about each other.
While enjoying the company and conversation, Jay kept half an eye on the entrance, waiting for Jess to arrive. When she eventually appeared, he found himself at the bar with Adam and Kevin. Erin was over at a table, engaged in a somewhat animated conversation with Voight and Kim.
"Guys, she's here," Jay said as Jess walked over. She had certainly made an effort for the occasion, with her hair straightened and wearing a soft black wrapped dress that showed a lot of leg. Eyes would be drawn to her without doubt, and he wasn't sure how he should feel about that. The first negative of having a sister had reared its ugly head – men being interested in her. He felt the beginnings of a protective instinct inside him, although he felt pretty sure Jess didn't need or want any protection. He needed to find the right balance on that issue.
"That's your sister?" Adam asked, approval noticeable in his voice.
"Yep," Jay said before Jess got over to them. "Hey, Jess. How are you?" he asked.
She didn't hug him this time. Their greetings needed work and an infusion of confidence. "Jay. I'm doing good. You?" she asked with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, good. Let me introduce you to everyone."
He didn't need to encourage the rest of the group to join him, they were already coming over, drinks in hand. Jay got the introductions underway, starting with those standing closest to him.
"Jess, meet Adam Ruzek, Kevin Atwater, Erin Lindsay, Sergeant Hank Voight and Kim Burgess. You'll never meet a nicer bunch of people. Everyone, this is Jessica Sutton, my sister."
"Call me Jess. It's great to meet you all," she said, not showing much in the way of nerves.
Greetings were exchanged all round, and that was the most awkward moment of the night out of the way. Jay knew what to do next to move things on.
"Who's drinking what? It's my round," he said.
"I'll have a pint of whisky then," Adam said, drawing a mix of laughter and groans at the poor joke.
Jay added everyone's requests to a mental list, grateful to see Erin start to engage Jess in conversation, bringing her properly into the group. He went to the bar feeling pleased. The ice was broken. He had introduced his girlfriend, his friends and his boss to his sister.
Towards the end of the night, people had diverged into smaller conversation groups. Jay and Erin, in that new love stage of their relationship even though theirs was not new love by any means, were standing together talking about whether her apartment would be big enough for them if or when they had a child.
After a pause in which she drained her drink, Erin nudged him and motioned across the room with her head. "That looks quite cosy."
Jay looked across the room and saw that Jess and Kevin were at the bar, her sitting and him standing, deep in conversation. It didn't take elite detective skills to see that there was some flirtatiousness on show. Jess was sitting with her legs crossed, which Kevin was likely enjoying.
"I can't believe it," Jay said, feeling annoyance building up rapidly inside him. "Kev meets my sister and the first thing he does is start flirting with her."
"Jay," Erin scolded him quietly. "Don't do that. You're her brother, not her dad. And anyway, I don't think most of the flirting is coming from Kevin. Jess likes what she sees, and so what? Good for her, in fact."
Reluctantly, he had to admit she was right. He wasn't Jess's dad, and if he said something out of line it would alienate her so soon after they had met. He didn't want that at all. And she was also right that the flirting seemed to be coming mostly from Jess, who looked a little drunk. Putting himself in Kevin's shoes, it would be hard to turn away from the charms of a beautiful woman when he had been single for so long.
"You're right, Erin. I'll leave them to it," he decided.
"Wise choice. If you ask me, they look good together."
Jay wasn't sure if she was ribbing him a little. If she was, he didn't rise to the bait. "So what do you think of Jess? You guys talked for a while after she arrived."
The smile on Erin's face said a lot before she even spoke. "I like her. Quite a lot, actually. Seems like my sort of person. She's confident and determined. And also she spoke very kindly of you. I think it's quite likely we'll get on well. We should do dinner some time at my place, the three of us. That would be a better setting for both of us start getting to know her. Or continue getting to know her in your case, I guess."
"Dinner one night sounds good. Maybe as something of a celebration when we get the DNA test results, assuming they say what we think they'll say."
"That's an excellent idea, Jay. I'll plan something to mark the occasion."
"Thank you. I love you, Erin. It's important to me to get close to Jess. I'm kind of set on having a sister now that the opportunity has presented itself. So it means a lot that you like her and you're open to being friends with her if it works out that way."
"I love you too, Jay. Jess is rightfully important to you, and that's important to me. When I said I want us to do this thing right between us this time, I meant it. No half measures. I'm all-in, Jay. All-in with you."
Jay didn't know what to say to that, so he leaned in and kissed her.
Moments later, Jess approached them. Jay's impression that she was a bit drunk grew stronger, which maybe explained her behaviour with Kevin. Sure enough, she promptly confirmed exactly that.
"I've just ordered an Uber, Jay. Sorry, I don't drink often so maybe I shouldn't have gone so hard on the gin. Feel a bit drunk and I just made a bit of a show of myself with Kevin and gave him my number. Not what I planned for tonight."
"Don't apologise to me," Jay said in a relaxed tone. "Are you sure you're okay heading home by yourself? You can share a ride with Erin and I if you hang on? I think I'd prefer you do that."
Also making ready to leave, Voight had heard that exchange. He hadn't been drinking, so he was okay to drive. "Cancel the Uber. I'll drop you off," he said to Jess, joining the little group.
"Thank you, Hank," Jay said.
"Are you sure?" Jess asked him.
"Of course. And I'm ready to head out if you are?"
Goodbyes were exchanged, and Hank and Jess made their exit.
"In a way that was quite endearing," Erin said. As ever, detective skills helped with reading people. "Knowing what you told me about how highly Jess prioritises work, I don't think she had much of a social life. I've been there, and it's easy to get carried away when you finally do let your hair down. Don't hold it against her."
"I won't," he promised. In a way he was glad that Jess had felt comfortable to unwind at the gathering he had invited her to. Even workaholics needed some down time in their lives. "One more drink before we go?"
"Why not?" Erin said.
Jay went to the bar to get the drinks in. He had just ordered a beer when Kevin moved down the bar to join him and spoke to the bartender.
"Make that two. I'll get these." Then he turned to Jay, looking about as sheepish as it was possible for him to get. "Uhm, Jay?"
"I'll make this a bit easier on you, Kev. I saw you and Jess together and it was pretty obvious what kind of conversation you were having."
"Sorry, man. The last thing I wanted to do when you invited us to meet your sister was find myself... Well, she gave me her number. I'll lose it if you want me to?"
Now over his initial negative reaction, and mindful of what Erin had said about overstepping with Jess, Jay shook his head. "Although I appreciate you coming to me and saying that, don't lose her number. You're a good guy. If Jess wanted you to call her, call her."
Their beers arrived and Jay placed a separate order for Erin's drink. Kevin picked his glass up and raised it slightly to show gratitude to Jay. "Thanks for that. Not saying it'll go anywhere, but whether it does or not I'll naturally treat her with the same respect I have for you. You know that."
"Then she's really in the shit," Jay quipped. Both men laughed, and Jay slapped his friend on the back. Any tension that might have been caused between them was dispelled.
A/N: Do you think Erin gave Jay the right advice about not getting protective over Jess?
And might there be something between Jess and Kevin?