Erin felt him grab her wrist to pull her towards the breakroom and fortunately no one notices the interaction since they're all too absorbed by their work. He shut the door behind him the second they entered, "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find out where I worked?" It's obvious he hadn't expected to see her again either. He's shocked, -well, the feeling is mutual.

He probably thought she sought him out and showed up here for him. She made a small noise in the back of her throat because that's the furthest thing from the truth, "I'm the social worker."

The charm and sex appeal from that night weeks ago was gone.

He pinched the bridge of his noise and squeezed his eyes shut, "You have got to be fucking kidding me," he threw his head back, "this can't be happening. What happened between us was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened." Well ouch, that hurts. But, she doesn't disagree with him; that's another mutual feeling.

"I'm not happy about this either but Hank called and-"

"Hank," he repeated, dropping his hand and reopening his eyes, "you're on a first name basis with my boss?"

"He's my dad," she clarified, "not biologically. He adopted me when I was ten."

"This just keeps getting better and better…" he's being sarcastic. She hates it.

This was not going as Erin had planned.

She rolled her shoulders and tilted her head side to side to work out the stiffness. She shimmied out of her blazer and laid it over the arm of the couch. She needed to tell him. But, with the way he was looking at her made her all the more hesitant. She didn't expect to have this conversation, ever, because she didn't know his name and there was no way of finding him. A part of her is happy that she's found him because it means that she might not be alone in this after all, but another part of her, one that she refuses to acknowledge kind of wishes that her one night stand wasn't from Chicago and was just visiting for a night so she'd never have to face him again. This was the worst-case scenario because not only does he live here but he works under her father; he's her father's new detective. The man she slept with was right under their noses, -figuratively speaking- and fate had always intended for them to meet one another.

"I didn't expect to see you again," she took a deep breath and took a step towards him; he took one back because as he looks at her, all he can see is his girlfriend and the betrayal in her eyes that he's trying to avoid putting there again, "I didn't know your name and I had no way of finding you. I…I wasn't going to say anything and it wasn't out of malice or spite but because I actually didn't know you."

"What are you talking about?"

She bit her lip, she was nervous, overly worried and a little scared to admit the one thing -her pregnancy- that makes her feel so vulnerable, especially to a stranger because no matter how much she reminds herself that she's seen him naked and he's her baby's dad, he's still a stranger.

She still doesn't know his name and he doesn't know hers. They're both screw-ups. Their kid is probably going to be a screw-up.

The tension that was in his shoulders, the strain that was in his voice and the anxiety that was in his expression had suddenly disappeared when it came to comforting a woman in need of comfort. He cautiously reached out his hand, being mindful that his coworkers are right outside the door and his boss who just so happened to be her father was in the other room. He didn't want any of his actions to be misinterpreted. And the last thing he wanted was for anyone to find out about their one-night stand. It was a mistake; he constantly has to remind himself.

"This…this is not how I planned to tell you, at all. I uh, I actually didn't plan how I was going to tell you because I didn't think I would ever see you again, I never thought I would ever have to have this conversation with you of all people but uh," she's rambling and it's obvious that she's nervous and Jay just wanted her to spit it out, "I don't know how to say this," she dry chuckled, "oh gosh, we don't even know each other. I don't even know your name."

"Jay."

"I beg your pardon," her rant is interrupted.

"…my name," he answered, tucking his hands into the front of his jeans, "I'm Jay Halstead."

"And I'm pregnant," she blinks, "I mean, I'm Erin Lindsay or Voight, um, take your pick, but I'm…I'm also pregnant." She didn't mean for it to come out like that, but it did, and there was no taking it back now, "I'm seven weeks to be more precise; it's been confirmed."

Erin found that confidence that had temporarily left her suddenly making its reappearance. She stared at him, eyes piercing as she waits for him to say something, anything.

At first, Jay froze, and she could see his muscles hardening. He was taken aback. He had every right to be, Erin thought. What felt like a lifetime and an eternity later, he looked up to meet her eyes, his face expressionless but his voice is filled with trepidation, "Are you sure it's mine?"

And even though he didn't know her too well, Jay had found himself instantly regretting the words the second they came out of his mouth after seeing the horrified look on her face. He tried to come closer, reaching for her, but she stepped away, opening her mouth to speak only to shut it seconds later without uttering a word. His words hit her pretty hard. She wasn't that type of person. She held her breath, finding herself unable to move, think or speak. Jay opened his mouth to talk, to apologize, but when she raised her hand to silence him and to stop him from approaching, he took an immediate step back.

Erin's eyes fell down to her flat stomach. Her hand rubbed against it, gaining even more courage to speak, "I get that we don't know each other," she looked up to meet his eyes, to glare at him, "I get that you just learned my name. I get that I just told you that I'm pregnant, with your baby, might I add, but I wouldn't have told you, I wouldn't have shoved my courage, my pride and all of that down my throat to admit to you, a one night stand, that I'm pregnant if I had any doubt that this baby was yours. I hate that I even have to say this Jay, but I haven't had sex with anyone since you and before you I haven't had sex in months if you must fucking know."

"I'm sorry Erin."

"Are you always such a fucking asshole? Is this how you actually are and that night was all just an act to get inside my pants?"

"No," he shakes his head, "of course not, but you honestly can't blame me for asking. Like you said, we don't know each other, we're strangers. How can you expect me not to second guess the paternity of your baby?" For some reason, the word your hurt the most out of everything he just said. She doesn't know why. She's usually not this sensitive. But, she can see in his eyes that he's not totally on board, he's not fully committed to accepting this.

"If you want to get a paternity test done then we'll get a paternity test done," her words come out so hard, so clipped and sharp because this is just added stress and frustration that she does not need right now, "and then when you see that I was right maybe you'll adjust your attitude."

"Erin-"

"Despite what you said earlier," she cuts him off, "I'm starting to believe that it was all an act to get in my pants. You played this smooth, mysterious, confident and flirty guy just to get me to leave with you and after you got what you wanted, it's back to the real you, huh?"

"I just have a lot going on right now," he admitted, vulnerability peeking through his hard expression. He tries to mask it but she sees it reflecting in his eyes.

"You have a lot going on right now," she repeats, nodding slowly as a sarcastic smile breaks out on her face, "well buddy, I hate to break it to you, but you're not the only one. And regardless of what you're going through it doesn't give you the right to be a jerk to everyone else."

She was right; he knows that she is, but it's hard for him to think clearly right now. His whole world is about to change if the paternity test comes back to prove that he's the father of her baby. He doesn't even want kids, especially with a person he doesn't even know. Jay runs both of his hands down his face as he struggles to collect his thoughts, thinking that maybe if he's honest with her then she'd cut him a little slack, "That night-"

"…was a mistake, I know, you already said that," she cuts in. She didn't need to be reminded. And he's getting tired of her cutting him off and assuming what he's going to say.

"No, that night I was on a break in my relationship."

"…oh and let me guess, the break is over?" Her voice was slowly rising in volume and he wanted to shush her, desperately, but he could tell by the passion in her voice and the fire in her eyes that she wouldn't take being shushed too kindly.

"It is," he nodded in the affirmative. It's been over, he should have said.

"…and should I also assume that your little girlfriend has no idea that you were fucking around during your so-called hiatus?"

He scrunched his face up at her harsh words, "She knows."

This is just great -sarcasm apparent. She's pregnant. She's actually pregnant. With a baby. She's pregnant with a baby by a man she barely knows, a man that works under Voight, a man that's in a committed relationship. Fuck.

Erin watched a flash of some unknown emotion cross his face. She felt her overworked emotions start to calm down and her voice lower into a whisper, "Are you going to tell her?"

"…that depends."

"On?"

"Two things," he answers and she tilts her head as she waits for him to elaborate, "First, I need to know the results of the paternity test. I don't want to tell her until I know for sure that you're carrying my baby. And second, I need to know what do you want to do? It's your body; you're in control of this right now," He asked as he took a careful step forward. At some point his gaze fell upon her flat stomach, "in regards to the baby, I mean."

She knew the answer to this. She had time to consider her answer. She's spent months deciding; she's spoke to her mom, to Burgess and to Milo about this.

"I plan to keep the baby, my baby," she asserted; her voice soft despite her indisputable affirmation, "It's okay if you don't want anything to do with it. I don't expect anything from you. I won't take you for custody or child support or anything like that, considering…you know, the circumstances under which the baby was conceived, but I just thought that you had a right to know. So this is me letting you know."

Another long pause filled the room and she took that as her cue to leave. She pats her hand against his chest before reaching around him to grab her blazer. It was when she was about to open the door that he decided to speak, "Who says I didn't want anything to do with it?" She didn't expect that response. She was giving him a clean getaway that he wasn't taking, "That's my baby Erin. I may don't want kids, but that baby is half me and now that I know about the baby, there is no way that I can walk away if it is mine and let you raise my kid without me. I can't do that. I can't. I'm not that type of guy."

She nods slowly in response and turns away from the door, "This is a baby we're talking about, Jay. You can't just walk in and out when things get hard and it will get hard."

"I know."

"Do you have any children of your own?"

Halstead shakes his head, "No." He's pretty sure and confident when he answers that question.

"This is going to be a new experience for the both of us. And I'm not seeking a relationship, I'm not going to make your life difficult with this, and we have time to figure things out so there's no need to hash everything out right now."

"Yeah," he says, rocking on his feet, "We can just start with the basics. Swap information and maybe keep in contact?" She looks up to meet his eyes, her head tilting in question, "…only about baby related things. Like you said, you're not looking for a relationship and I'm already in one so it works out for the both of us."

"What are you going to tell your girlfriend after we get the results back?"

"…the truth."

She slides the blazer back on and asks, "…when?"

"I don't know yet but I don't think that's really any of your business."

Erin doesn't know what brought on his lousy mood but his remarks and rebuttals she did not deserve. She gets he's upset, she is too. She gets he's probably freaking out, she hasn't stopped freaking out since she saw the plus sign on the multiple pregnancy tests. She didn't need the attitude because frankly she didn't deserve it, they both screwed up, this is on him as much as it's on her. She refused to suffer the burden of responsibility alone; it takes two. She turns around to reach for the knob again but then she suddenly remembers that it has never been like her to walk away from a dispute, she's never been one to let someone else have the last word, "you know what," she turns back around to face him, "you're right, it's not any of my business at least not right now, but I want you to know that the second this baby comes, if you're still in the picture, then my business becomes yours and yours becomes mine as we figure out this co-parenting thing because all of the decisions I make and the people I bring into my life will affect this kid and the same goes when it comes to your decisions and the people you choose to surround yourself with," she starts to turn back around, to leave, but she has just one more thing to add, "and you know what else, I get you're mad because you're in a relationship and you probably had no intention of telling your girlfriend about our hook up and now you're basically forced to give her the details because you knocked me up, but it's not my fault that you cheated," he opens his mouth to interrupt, to clarify and try to rationalize that since they were on a break, it shouldn't really be classified as infidelity but she continues to talk, interrupting him before he could interrupt her, "I'm not in a relationship so I owed no one my loyalty or my celibacy. So no matter how mad you are at me, it's not my fault, at least not when it comes to you cheating but I'll take and accept the responsibility for my contribution to the conception of my baby."

She got that out. And it felt fucking good.

Erin immediately turned on her heel; hair flying as she whips around to face the door and the strands of her long hair hit his face. She leaves out before he has a chance to stop her, before he gets a chance to apologize or to discuss the baby and what they should do in reference to her dad.

"Hey kid," Jay hears as he exits the breakroom, "thanks for coming by on such short notice."

The smile on her face is strained. She can feel Jay staring into the back of her head even as she tries to ignore it, "No problem. Where is he?" Her question is posed in reference to the six year old boy. And she doesn't have to wait long for her father to wave for her to follow him into his office to find the little boy sitting quietly, staring at a framed drawing, "Hi Evan," she whispered carefully to ensure she didn't startle him, "I'm Erin," she introduces as she stoops down beside him. He doesn't turn to face her. Instead, his gaze is focused on the framed drawing.

Every member of the Intelligence Unit is watching, all with bated breath to see if she will be lucky enough to get the traumatized boy to speak. Jay is watching too, more so, focused on her stooping low and wondering if that's a comfortable position considering her situation. He pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to force himself to think of something else, anything else, and when his phone vibrates, an unread message from Abby comes through and he's suddenly reminded of everything he was trying to forget.

"I see you're staring at the picture," Jay hears Erin tell the little boy, and based on the five minutes she's been talking to him, he already knows that she'll make a great mom, he on the other hand is a different story, "Do you like it?" That gains the little guy's attention and slowly he nods. And that's something. Even if he's still not speaking, he's responding.

"Would you be amazed if I told you that I drew it?"

Upon hearing that his eyes widen; he still doesn't speak but now he's looking at her, mouth agape in surprise. She smiles, knowing that she has him hooked and she reaches forward to grab the framed photo in order to bring it close, "I drew this when I was ten." She holds it out for him to grab and he does, his little finger tracing over the sketch of the animal, "I love dolphins," he says and everyone in the room releases a breath when he finally speaks. His voice is music to their ears, "and I love the little fishes on here too."

It's a drawing of a dolphin swimming and in the background it's fish, seaweed and other little water animals. His eyes are drawn to it. He can't stop staring at it.

"Want to know the story behind the picture?" He doesn't verbally answer but he does silently nod, "Okay, scoot over," he slides to the side and she stands up, stretching her aching legs in the process before taking a seat next to him, "When I was a little girl, my parents took me to the aquarium to tell me they were going to adopt me. It was one of the best days of my life. I drew that when I got home, promising myself that I'll never forget that day for as long as I live."

"Dolphins are my favorite animal," he tells her. And Erin's hand is now brushing his brunette hair out of his eyes. He smiles at her; it's his way of thanking her.

"I like them too; they're pretty cool," she leans forward to grab a pen off her dad's desk and then a notebook, flipping to a blank page to start doodling, "they're pretty smart too," she starts to sketch the image of a dolphin, "have you ever seen one in real life?"

He nods eagerly even though his eyes are connected to the image she's drawing on the page, "I did. Oh I did. Mommy took me to the aquarium and I saw two of them swimming around. It was awesome," he's starting to loosen up, he's talking and smiling more, "and I even got a dolphin from the gift shop to take home with me," suddenly a worried expression crosses his face and he grabs Erin's arm, stopping her from drawing, "I…I left my dolphin at the house."

Erin looks up to meet Voight's gaze, silently asking him a question without even opening her mouth. He walks over, taking a seat on the other side of the little kid, "You're going to be leaving with Erin and I'm pretty sure if you ask nicely, she'll stop by your house to pick it up."

Jay clears his throat, alerting everyone in the room to the fact that he has something to say, "Sir, it's still an active crime scene," it's only been a few hours since the kid came home from school to find both of his parents deceased and the person responsible is still out there somewhere, "and it might not be safe," and while he doesn't particularly know Erin that well, she's carrying his baby and that was reason enough to express more concern for her than he would normally in this type of situation, "whoever is responsible could be watching, they could come back."

Voight doesn't say anything to him. Instead, he turns to look at the little boy, "Hey kid," and Evan pulls his gaze away from Erin's sketch in order to meet the older man's eyes, "do you mind coming with me for a second and we'll make a list of everything you want from your house and I'll send one of my best detectives to pick it up."

Evan wants to nod his head but he doesn't want to leave Erin's side, or the side of the drawing.

"It's okay kid," Erin reassures, patting his back, "the drawing should be finished by the time you get back and then it'll be all yours." He finds comfort in that. And he gets up, taking Voight's hand and following him and the rest of the detectives out of the office.

Only. Jay doesn't follow. He hovers by the opened office door, watching as Erin shades the inside of the dolphin. He doesn't speak. He doesn't even know if she's aware of his presence.

"Staring is pretty creepy. You should at least say something."

He makes his way further into the office, hands tucked into his front pockets, "You're very talented. Do you draw often?"

"You don't have to do this, Jay." She appreciates the fact that she's drawing because that gives her a reason to not look at him, to not make eye contact with him.

"…do what?"

"Try to make idle chitchat. Try to get to know me. Try to pretend that you care."

"I do care."

Upon hearing that, she slams the pen down onto the notepad, "You care because I'm pregnant."

"I just don't want things to be awkward between us. Or weird."

Erin lifts her pen and scribbles her initials into the bottom corner of the photo. It's almost an exact replica of the original drawing she did years ago. But, the only difference is the fact that she's sketching an image of Evan pointing up at the dolphin, face absolutely amazed at the sight, and Jay wants to comment on it, wants to compliment her again but he doesn't know how she'll take it so instead he chooses to bite his lip and stay silent.

"Things are going to be weird," she says, pen lightly brushing against the page as she sketches his wide eyes, "there's no avoiding that. I mean, you knocked up a total stranger. And I keep trying to think of anything else but this," and his eyes widen when he sees her hand fly to her flat stomach, "but eventually this'll be our life. I mean, I'm growing an actual baby inside of me. I'm going to be someone's mom and I'm good with other people's kids but that doesn't mean I'll be good with my own. I…" she stops talking when she senses that she's talking too much but not once did he interrupt, or sigh or make any attempt to imply that she's been rambling for too long, "I'm just… I'm just terrified right now."

"Me too," he admits in one breath.

"I don't know anything about raising a baby," she sets the drawing to the side and looks up to meet his gaze, "I'm still sleeping at my best friend's place so there's that. I just moved back to town. I'm trying to get my life back in order and this happens."

"I understand what you mean."

She rolls her eyes. She doubted that. She runs her hands over her face and shuts her eyes, blocking out the queasy feeling in her gut. She starts to rub her temples in an attempt to brush away the incoming headache. Are these a symptom of pregnancy? Because she's starting to get them a lot. She could hear Jay move, and she thinks he's about to leave the office, when instead he takes a seat beside her, "Does he know?"

And she doesn't need to ask who he's referring to; she knows.

"…that I'm pregnant?" She opens one eye to look at him, "Yeah."

"…that I'm the father?"

She sighs, "Of course that's all you care about," and now she's growing defensive but if anyone asks her about it, she'll blame it on her hormones, "look, I know you're on shaky water with my dad and if you think this'll screw things up don't tell him about it. We can pretend that I never said anything and we can part ways. He doesn't know. I mean, I didn't really know who you were so it was kind of hard to tell him that," she hears the kid laugh from somewhere out in the bullpen and that seems to cure her incoming headache, she drops her hands from her temples, "Look Jay, there will be no hard feelings, I mean it, if you want to part ways and continue to pretend like we don't know each other, then that's fine. I have my parents to help. I have a very committed best friend who I'm pretty sure will probably try and sneak her name on the paternal name line of the birth certificate. I'm not alone. So, if you don't want this, it's okay to cut ties. I can handle it and I won't hold it against you."

"Not wanting this," he repeats, shaking his head, "that's not it. That doesn't matter, not anymore. I mean, if I could have prevented this then yeah I would but I can't now, there's no going back and now that this is happening, I'm not abandoning you. I'm not cutting ties. I won't do that. I can't do that. You can't expect me to live my life knowing that I have a child out there somewhere, wondering if the kid looks like me or acts like me. It's not the child's fault that both its parents are irresponsible and reckless."

And he was right, Erin realized. This isn't about her feelings or what's comfortable for her, this is about the kid. In a night of passion, without thought of consequences, they created a baby and whether they like it or not, they're partners in this, -for life.

"Erinnnn," the little boy exclaimed, running back in the office, "did you finish the drawing?"

She carefully rips it out of the notebook, "I sure did." She tries to plaster a smile on her face, she tries her hardest but with Jay sitting next to her and the nausea suddenly coming back, she finds it difficult. Fortunately, the little boy is more interested in the drawing than in her face.

"Is that," Jay clears his throat and he tries to whisper so Evan doesn't hear him, "is that normal? I mean…he found both of his parents," he never finished that statement but Erin knows what he's trying to ask.

"We all respond to grief differently. Maybe he doesn't truly understand what he saw when he walked into his house? Maybe he pushed it back to his subconscious? Maybe he's in denial? Honestly, I don't know I'm not a grief counselor; I'm just here to make sure he ends up with a foster family while I research to see if he has any living relatives." She knows her tone sounds a bit harsh, and that honestly wasn't on purpose, but she's got a lot going on, "but I will say this and then I'll leave it here, I've come to learn in my many years of life to never judge someone on how they grieve. It's a process. It'll catch up to him eventually so if I can keep that smile on his face for a little bit longer then what harm does it do?"

Erin rose to her feet, withdrawing her keys from her pocket and extending her hand towards Evan. It was going to be a long day for the two of them and the sooner she started, the sooner it'll wrap up. She'll follow whatever detective her dad sends to the house and she'll sit in her car while he goes inside to grab the few items on the list. She needed to get out of the bullpen. It was starting to get extremely stuffy and if she had to talk about the baby one more time, she might scream. And she's going to scream eventually if Jay keeps looking at her like that. Like he's scared she's going to just disappear on him. She wouldn't do that. She just got back.

"Here," she starts to dig around her purse, her hand feeling around in search of a business card, "It has my work and cell phone number on it. It also has my work address on it. Just text me your info. That's a good place to start. And the paternity test is more for your peace of mind than mine, so you research and pay for it and then text me the information. I'll make sure that I'm there for the appointment." He nods. He doesn't waste any time, pulling out his cell phone the second she leaves out in order to send her a text with his first and last name attached.

It's definitely a start.

He might as well get to know her. If this baby is his, she's going to be in his life for the rest of his life.