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It had been a full week. Seven days since their living and life situation had abruptly changed. It was a milestone for both Halsteads - Alex had managed to keep her act together for a full week by not doing anything that would raise eyebrows, and Jay had managed to successfully avoid the school conversion with their father.

"Jay? Earth to Jay," Erin repeated as she waved her hand in front of his face.

Seeing the hand invade his eyesight connected Jay back with reality. He blinked a few times and quickly looked around the bullpen, thankful to see everyone else caught up in their own paperwork or side conversation. "Sorry, I'm just…" Jay trailed off as his mind tried to come up with some lame excuse.

Erin didn't wait for an answer and nodded toward their break room, signaling him to follow, which he did. Once inside, she closed the door quietly behind them. "What's going on with you? You're distracted and it's making me nervous." And she had a right to be nervous after all - this was her partner who was supposed to have her back when shit hit the fan in the field. If he was distracted, it put the both of them in danger, and he knew it.

Jay's eyes darted around the room for a moment. "I just have some stuff on my mind."

A sarcastic laugh escaped her lips. "Obviously." When he didn't offer up any more information, she pressed. "So are you going to tell me about it?"

He ran his hand along his tensed jaw before deciding to let her in. "I still haven't talked to my dick of a father."

Erin's eyes softened, thankful he'd shared with her what was eating at him and also empathetic at what he was going through. But that didn't stop her from speaking her mind. She replied in disbelief, "Jay, you still haven't talked to him?" She was well aware that the school had told Jay a week ago to have Pat call them with approval to update the contact information. She had figured that it would have been taken care of by now.

Inwardly, he felt embarrassed at being called out on this, because he knew that he was purposefully putting it off. "I know, I know, okay? I need to do it." It was almost like he was trying to give himself a pep talk.

"Yeah, you do need to do it. The sooner, the better. Rip the bandaid off and tie up loose ends," Erin encouraged.

Jay nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll do it after shift tonight." He felt his stomach tighten into knots.

Alex was sitting on the couch at her friend Nick's house as she'd done so many times before with her small group of friends: Nick, Maddie, Dustin, and Emma. Nick's parents were super rich, so he had a whole section of their huge penthouse to himself. Not that he needed that type of privacy, because his parents spent more time outside the city than within, which was extremely helpful for Nick and his extracurriculars.

She'd started hanging out with this group just over a year ago. It had taken her a while to find her footing in high school, and she'd been stumbling through this difficult time without any real support at home or a mother to help guide her. She'd spent a while as a loner, keeping to herself and writing poems to pass the time. Eventually, it had come to a point where she was desperate to fit in - somewhere, anywhere - but she'd never admit that out loud to anyone. Deep down the innate desire to be liked and fit in ran rampant with teenagers, so she wasn't the only one.

After a few failed attempts with other crowds, she finally landed with one that accepted her. It honestly felt like a relief to hang with people who truly just didn't care. They weren't studious, but still did just enough to fly under the academic radar. She'd also been able to try out different activities than she had known possible - mainly ones that nobody in her family would approve of like drinking, smoking, abandoned warehouse parties, the list went on. It was a carefree lifestyle that she had so craved and she was able to embrace with this group, given that her father had stopped caring to keep track of her. Being with this group of friends numbed the years of grief at losing her mother and made her forget about her father's actions.

"You got a new boy toy that we don't know about?" Emma joked as she bumped her shoulder into Alex's playfully. Dustin's eyes darted over to Alex immediately, but he tried to keep his cool on the outside. Sure he and Alex had some…intimate moments…but they weren't an official item or anything. However, the thought of her being with another guy sent a pang of jealousy down his spine.

Alex pulled her eyes up from her phone for a moment and shook her head as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she noticed Dustin's gaze as well. "No, nothing like that. Just need to send a quick text."

Going over to a friend's house to do homework. I'll be back later tonight.

She read it over one last time before sending, second guessing herself. She wasn't about to admit that she had to report back on her every move per her brother's command. She was used to being a free bird, and everyone saw her that way. Emma was her closest friend these days, so it wasn't hard for her to see that something was clearly off with Alex. So doing what any good friend would do, Emma leaned over and read what she was typing without asking.

"Since when do you have to tell your dad where you are?" Emma asked, confused. She knew that Alex's dad didn't keep tabs on her or actually care what she did, so the fact that she was reporting back took her off guard. The question caught the attention of the other three as well.

"Your dad riding you now?" Nick pried, shocked that her dad would actually start caring.

Alex pushed her hair behind her ears as she quickly thought over her answer. She could have lied and came up with some lame excuse, and that was honestly going to be her approach. However, she'd always been real with these friends just like they were with her. She knew more about their families' dramas than she cared to know - how Emma's mom was an alcoholic that was barely ever mentally present and also how Dustin's dad was cheating on his mom with a woman 15 years younger. Every family had their crap to deal with, and sadly, hers wasn't any different.

"No, it's not my dad." She paused for a moment. "I'm not staying with him anymore, because he's a dick. I'm living with my brother for now." She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that this situation might be permanent.

"The doctor?" Maddie interjected.

Alex took a deep breath, not sure how they were going to react. "No. With the cop." She could hear Jay scolding her in the back of her mind that he was a detective, but that sounded scarier and she didn't want anyone to overreact.

As if on queue, the reactions started. Dustin shot up straight in his couch seat. "Cop?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, ducking her head.

"Well that ain't good," Nick declared as the room fell silent.

"Sssooooo…," Emma started to fill the awkward silence. "I'm just going to ask it...does that mean Operation Fall Break is a no go?"

All eyes turned to her. Alex shook her head fervently. "Hell no!" She flashed a smile that hid the anxiety she felt inside. "We're still on. I'll have everything ready by then."

Maddie ran the back of her hand along her forehead dramatically in relief. "Oh thank god."

"But he's a cop," Dustin stated with raised eyebrows. This would put a big wrinkle in their usual afterschool and weekend plans, and he was starting to get worried that they'd get caught.

"Guys, chill. This doesn't mean anything. Our plans haven't changed, we can still drink and do shit, it's not going to ruin anything. I'm just going to lie low for a while so this whole bullshit with my dad blows over. But nothing has to change. He's not going to come after us or anything," she chuckled.

"You're sure?"

Alex rolled her eyes with exaggeration. "I'm positive. We have nothing to worry about. He's just my brother."

"Who is a cop," Dustin repeated as he sipped his beer again.

Nick held up his own beer can. "Well cheers to shitty dads not being around anymore."

Emma and Maddie followed suit and picked up their beer cans while Alex held up her Coke, choosing not to drink since she'd moved in. "Cheers to that," Alex replied. "Just hang tight until fall break and we can go big," she announced with a mischievous smirk.

They all clinked cans at that.

Lately, Jay had been working late hours on a hot case, so it was hard for him to be there each day when she came home. So that was why he had instated the texting rule - she had to text when she got home, and if she wasn't coming home right away, she had to let him know where she was going. She'd been keeping up with his demand so far like an obedient soldier.

Jay and Erin were heading to interview a witness on their latest case that was dragging into the evening now. Erin was driving as usual, which gave Jay a good excuse to stare at his phone.

"Are you expecting a call from your other lover?" Erin joked with a smile.

Jay felt his cheeks flush as he quickly turned his phone over "Alex hasn't texted yet," he confessed.

"And?"

Jay took a deep breath. "And she's supposed to text me when she's on her way home." Alex had texted earlier that she was going over to a friend's house for just a few hours and would be home later. It had been "a few hours" as it was after 6:00pm now, and he hadn't heard back from her. His nerves had constantly been on edge since the moment she came under his care, and he was feeling more exhausted than ever.

"So why don't you just text her and ask where she is?" Erin countered lightly.

Jay shrugged. Yes, he could do that and oh man, did he want to, but then he'd be the overbearing brother that he was trying to avoid. If she'd just let him install the tracking app on her phone, then he'd have immediate answers instead of this waiting bullshit he didn't like. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he mulled over ways to eventually do it. "I'm trying not to control the situation," he confessed.

"Control, huh?" She questioned as she let out a chuckle. She shook her head in playful disbelief. "I would say asking her to text you her twenty every day is, in fact, controlling."

That grabbed his attention. "Controlling? More like being cautious," he defended without any anger. "You've seen the same shit I have out there. Chicago streets can be dangerous, so I have to be cautious."

The smile didn't fade from her face. "Sure, if that's how you're justifying it."

The comment didn't affect Jay at all and he just chuckled in return. He knew that he had to be careful with Alex. She hadn't given him any reason to not trust her, but the weight of the responsibility was a lot. And he couldn't screw this up. So if keeping tabs on Alex and making sure she was safe made him "a control freak," well then so be it.

"This is it," he said as he pointed to the white house on the corner up ahead.

Erin pulled along the curb and cut the engine, shoving their current conversation to the back of her mind so she could focus on the task at hand. She unbuckled and started to get out, throwing over her shoulder, "Let's hope we get something useful for the case."

Meanwhile, Alex was still enjoying the company of her friends. They hadn't brought up her brother again, which she was thankful about. If she wasn't (overly) worried about the situation, then they shouldn't be either. It would all be okay - she'd make sure of it. She wasn't about to jeopardize the only group of friends that had cared about her in years. She'd done her due diligence and texted Jay after school every freaking day so far, and she knew she'd have to check in soon.

"So Chloe said the party is at this abandoned warehouse tonight. You guys in?" Dustin asked as he looked up from his phone where he'd been texting another classmate. It wasn't unusual for them to frequent a party or two during the week, and they almost never missed one on a Friday like today.

Everyone shared looks for the usual "if you go, I go" decision. Once everyone nodded, Emma replied on their behalf. "Let's go!"

They'd taken an Uber to the location on the east side of Chicago. Warehouse parties were fun - the abandoned and usually dirty warehouse gave it a distinct and laid back vibe for the teenagers that flocked there for a good time. It was like anything was possible at these places. These parties tended to draw out a crowd, many of which Alex didn't know, but that never mattered. Sometimes she'd branch out and meet others, but most of the time, she just stuck with her usual group and listened to the blaring music with a beer in hand.

Just as they were heading into the warehouse, it hit Alex that she hadn't told Jay she wasn't coming home yet. Not wanting to ruin her obedient streak, she quickly pulled out her phone - it was 7:30pm. She was truly surprised to not see a million texts from him, demanding to know her location. A wave of relief washed over her. Maybe he was going to be chill like her father in this department after all. Not wanting to rock the boat, she typed out her message: Going to hang with some friends tonight. Be back late. After hitting send, she shoved it in her back pocket and grabbed a beer - one wouldn't hurt tonight and it'd be out of her system before she left.