Author's Note: So glad y'all are excited about Baby GIRL Voight! I thought about making you wait until delivery, but that would just be cruel :) I wasn't planning to post until tomorrow, but this chapter is ready to go, and I just couldn't wait any longer!
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Chapter 44-It's Been a Bad Day
Jenna entered the third trimester of her pregnancy without any major complications. Up to this point, her doctor had been incredibly impressed with how well she was doing, and aside from slightly elevated blood pressure, so far there had been very little reason for concern. In just three short months, Jenna would hopefully be giving birth to a very healthy baby girl.
Hank sat at his desk waiting for Jenna's call after her twenty-eight week doctor appointment. He smiled when his phone started to ring.
"Hey honey. How did the appointment go?" he asked.
After a brief hesitation, Jenna said, "Not good, Hank. I'm actually being transported to Med for observation." She closed her eyes for a moment, unsuccessfully fighting back tears. "I'm scared."
"What happened? What's wrong?" Hank asked, as he tried not to panic.
Jenna wiped at her tears. "I'm showing signs of pre-term labor. There have also been a few contractions, a little bit of bleeding, and my blood pressure is high. My doctor thinks she can stop it, but I need to be at the hospital until she can get things under control."
Hank covered his face for a moment as he processed the frightening news. "Ok, Jen. I'm heading that way right now. I'll be there soon."
"You don't have to. I know you're busy right now."
"Jenna, no arguments. You and our daughter are the priorities. I'm on my way. I love you."
"I love you," Jenna whispered through her tears.
As he hung up the phone, Hank quickly stepped out of his office to inform his team about Jenna's condition.
"Halstead and Olinsky, I need you to hold things down for me for the rest of the day. I have to go."
"Happy to do it, but what's going on?" Al asked.
"Jenna just called. Her doctor is transporting her to Med because of pre-term labor. I need to go, and I'm not sure when I'll be back."
"Oh no. Is the baby ok?" Erin asked.
"We don't know yet. I have to go," Hank said, pulling on his jacket as he headed for the stairs.
"Let me drive you," Erin said, rushing up behind him.
Hank held up his hand. "I'm fine, Erin. I'll let you know when I know something."
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When Hank rushed into Jenna's hospital room, he immediately felt a sense of relief when he heard the sound of their baby's heartbeat filling the room. He walked over to Jenna's bed and sat down beside her, pulling her close with one arm while his other hand rested on Jenna's stomach. Jenna held him close as she cried into his chest.
"Don't cry, babe. Please, don't cry. It's not good for either of you," Hank said, rubbing her back soothingly.
When they finally pulled apart, Hank leaned down and gently kissed Jenna's stomach. "Hi baby," he said softly before moving to the chair next to Jenna's bed. "Ok, tell me everything."
Jenna took his hand, intertwining their fingers. "Things are stable for the moment. They gave me something to bring my blood pressure down and to stop the labor. Contractions have stopped, and the bleeding didn't last long. She's good, but I guess my body has decided that I'm overdoing it. I'm here at least overnight, just to make sure things stay stable, and then I will probably be on at least modified bed rest until she's born."
"Ok," Hank said, raising their joined hands to kiss the back of hers. "We can do modified bed rest. Everything is going to be fine, ok?"
Jenna nodded. "I hope so," she whispered.
"Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'm going to be right here, and I'll keep an eye on everything," he said, reaching up to wipe her tears.
"Ok," she said softly, squeezing Hank's hand before closing her eyes. As she drifted off to sleep, Hank kept his eyes on the monitors, watching Jenna's blood pressure return to normal and watching the baby's heartbeat remain constant. After an hour of normalcy, he finally allowed himself to relax. They were going to be fine; he wouldn't accept the alternative.
After a night of no more complications, Jenna was released the next day with modified bed rest orders from her doctor, as well as a Doppler to monitor the baby's heartbeat. She would not be required to spend every moment in bed, but her activity level needed to decrease dramatically, and she needed to spend most of her day off of her feet. It would be difficult spending the next three months in bed, but Jenna and Hank were willing to do anything necessary to bring their baby safely into the world. Her health and safety were more important than anything else.
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As the sound of the alarm clock pierced the quietness of their room, Hank reluctantly pulled away from Jenna to start his day, silencing the alarm to hopefully allow her to remain asleep. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, Hank put his pillow in his place in her arms, smiling as she curled herself into it. Before he could walk away, he let his hand softly brush over her stomach. "Let Momma sleep, baby girl. Daddy loves you," he whispered.
"She loves you too," Jenna mumbled, her words muffled by the pillow she was burrowed into.
Hank kissed Jenna's head again. "I love you too, babe. Take care of yourself today."
"Love you," Jenna softly said as she drifted back to sleep.
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As he drove toward the precinct, Jenna and their baby girl consumed his thoughts. It was getting harder every morning to leave Jenna, especially with her new pregnancy restrictions. While he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, he deeply wished he could be by her side through every moment of this pregnancy. When he pulled up to the precinct, he took his phone out of his pocket, pulling up a picture of Jenna on his phone to look at one more time before starting his day.
The Intelligence unit's morning was unusually quiet, which had everyone on edge. Quiet mornings generally led to brutal cases, and although the quiet allowed the unit to complete a great deal of backlogged paperwork, in the back of everyone's minds was the phone call that would inevitably shake them to the core.
While he waited for that call, Hank couldn't help but smile when he heard the ding of his phone's text tone.
'Hey babe! How's your day so far?'
Hank smiled when he read Jenna's text, wishing he could ditch the team and go home to her instead.
'Better now. It's been pretty slow. How are you feeling today?' he wrote back.
'Right now? HUGE. Baby girl is making herself known today, and the bump is popping!'
'Send me a picture. I miss my girls'
A few minutes later, he received a picture of Jenna in the mirror, her hand cradling her baby bump. She was absolutely glowing, and Hank couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. He was so consumed with the picture that he didn't notice Alvin walk into his office.
"The last time I saw someone staring at their phone with a stupid smile on their face, Ruzek's fiancé had sent him photos in her underwear," Al said.
Hank looked up at him and laughed. "Just looking at a new picture of my girls," he said, turning the phone for Alvin to see.
"Wow. Jenna looks great."
"She does. Her little bump is adorable." Hank tore his eyes away from the photo to look up at Alvin. "Can you believe this? That this beautiful woman is carrying my baby?" he asked.
Alvin sat down in a chair across from Hank's desk. "It's pretty unbelievable, but it's good. You deserve this."
"I don't know about that, but I'm happy about it. I haven't been this happy in...years."
Al smiled. "Jenna is a good woman. I'm glad you found her. And you do deserve this, Hank."
A little after 10:00am, Hank's phone rang, and in that moment, everyone knew their quiet morning was over.
"Thank you," Hank said, hanging up his phone as he walked out into the bullpen. "We caught a case," he said to the rest of the unit. "Sounds like either a robbery gone bad, or a very targeted attack. An entire family was murdered. Let's get moving."
As he pulled on his jacket, he glanced down at the ultrasound picture on his desk. He hoped he'd make it home early enough to spend some time with Jenna before bed, but he feared she'd be asleep long before this case was at a stopping point. "Go easy on your momma today," he whispered, gently touching the frame before following his team out of the district to their crime scene.
When they arrived at the house, the entire unit was deeply disturbed by the crime scene. A few steps into the house revealed the first glimpse of the horrific crime as the husband lay dead just inside the door. One of the patrolmen that answered the call walked Hank and Erin through the scene.
"The crew took the entire family out. Their throats were slashed, multiple stab wounds, and it appears they all probably died very painful deaths," the officer said.
Erin covered her mouth with her hand as she took in the scene. "How many family members?" she asked.
"Five. Father, three children, and the pregnant mother."
"She was pregnant?" Hank asked.
The officer nodded. "She was. Appears to be five or six months along."
Erin put her hand on Hank's shoulder, knowing this could be hard for him to hear, as his thoughts would immediately drift to Jenna and their unborn daughter. As the officer walked away, Erin turned Hank around to face her, and she could immediately see the fire and the pain in his eyes.
"It's not Jenna. She's at home, and she's safe," Erin said softly, trying to avoid drawing the unit's attention to Hank's inner turmoil.
"Who does this?" he asked angrily. "How do you walk into a house and murder an entire family? How do you slit a woman's throat knowing you're killing an unborn baby too? How do you kill children so brutally?"
Tears came to Erin's eyes. "We're going to figure out who did this, and we're going to find them, and they are going to pay for this. We won't stop until they are brought to justice, I promise Hank. We'll get them."
"But what good does it do now?" Hank asked, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "What does it even matter? An entire family is just gone!"
Erin grasped Hank's arm. "Come on, let's go outside. We'll let the others handle the rest of the crime scene."
Hank tried to pull away from her, but she held on. "I'm fine, Erin. I can do my job."
"I know you can, Hank. I don't doubt your abilities, but maybe right now, you don't need to see a murdered pregnant mother and her children."
He sighed. "Fine. I'll stay outside. Tell Halstead and Antonio to get all of the details."
"I will. Why don't you call Jenna? Hearing her voice always makes you feel better and helps you refocus."
Hank nodded, pulling out his phone as he walked out to his car. He started to call her, but then changed his mind, needing to see her face.
"Hi honey," Jenna said as their FaceTime call connected. Immediately she could read his face, and she knew he was in an extreme amount of pain. "Oh Hank, what's wrong?"
Hank shook his head, as he didn't want to put the brutal images that were living in his head into Jenna's head. "Just a difficult case. You don't need to hear the details, but it's a bad one. Erin sent me out because I…it's just hitting me hard, and I needed to see you. Are you ok today? Feeling ok?"
"I'm fine. Taking it easy, resting, leaving the laundry and dishes for you to do when you get home…" she said, forcing a smile, hoping to lighten the mood.
Hank appreciated her effort to distract him from the case, and he managed a smile, and although it didn't quite reach his eyes, Jenna released the nervous breath that she was holding.
"Thank you. You always help me feel better." He looked up and saw Jay and Antonio walking toward his car, and he knew they were coming with an update. "The guys are coming, so I should probably go."
"Ok. Go catch the bad guys. I love you so much, Hank. Be safe."
"I will. I love you, Jen. Thank you, for everything. I'll see you tonight."
Jenna blew him a kiss as their call disconnected, and Hank turned his focus back to the case.
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Hank slammed his fist into the wall in his office. He'd just been pulled out of the interrogation room by Jay, Antonio, and Kevin after he slammed a suspect against the wall, threatening to slit the suspect's throat, as had been done to the victims. Jay had shoved him down the hall and into his office, recognizing the need to have distance between Hank and the suspect, and Hank was angry; angry at the suspect, angry at the rest of the crew, and angry at the cruelness of the humans in his city.
Erin grabbed Hank's arm and led him down the stairs and outside. "You need to go home, right now, before you get yourself fired," she said.
"I'm fine, Erin," he said angrily.
"No, you're not!" Erin said. "You haven't been fine since we got to that crime scene! I know it's the kids and the pregnant mom that are getting to you, and I'm not going to stand by and watch you lose everything you've worked your entire life for. You've got to calm yourself down and remember that you have a wife and unborn baby at home that can't afford for you to throw away your job. I'm driving you home right now."
Hank sighed, reluctantly giving into Erin's demand. "Fine. I'll go, but I want to be kept in the loop about what's going on."
Before she pulled out of the parking lot, Erin texted Jay to give Jenna a call and let her know what was going on. Since she was on modified bed rest, Erin didn't want her surprised by the mood of her husband or to cause her any undue stress.
Jenna was outside waiting by the front door when Erin and Hank pulled up. Erin put her hand on Hank's arm before he got out of the car. "Don't forget she's on bed rest. Be careful, and don't stress her out too much. She doesn't need that, Hank."
"It'll be fine, Erin."
Erin sighed. "Ok, I'm just going to let you out here and head back. Jay and I will bring your car home later this evening."
"Ok. Thanks, kiddo." He pulled her into a quick hug before getting out of the car. "Be safe, ok?"
"I will. We'll check in later."
When Hank reached the front door, Jenna opened her arms, and he walked into them. Neither knew how long they stood on the porch holding each other, but they stayed until Hank felt he could move. He took Jenna's hand and said, "You shouldn't be on your feet this long. Let's get you back to bed."
When they reached their bedroom, Hank took off his jeans, button-down, and t-shirt while Jenna stood in the doorway, giving him a moment of space. When he was finished, he held out his hand to Jenna, and she walked over. Hank's hands held onto the hem of her shirt, as his eyes met hers, silently asking for permission. Jenna put her hands on top of his.
"Honey, I know you're hurting, and believe me, I would do this for you in a heartbeat, but I'm at risk of pre-term labor. We…can't."
Hank shook his head. "That's not what I'm asking for. I just…need to feel close to you right now. Please, Jen."
Jenna could see the pain in his eyes, and she nodded her head, lifting her arms so he could slip her shirt off. She helped him slip her leggings off, and they climbed into bed together. Jenna moved to lay in Hank's arms, and he held her as close as he could, desperately needing to feel her skin against his, to reassure himself that she was there, and that she and their baby were safe. He buried his face in her hair, breathing her in. Jenna's fingers traced soft circles on Hank's back as her lips pressed gentle calming kisses against his shoulder.
When he had relaxed a little, Hank moved down in the bed to lay his head next to Jenna's stomach. He gently ran his hand along her bump before circling his arm around the baby as best he could, pressing his face against the side of Jenna's stomach. "Hi baby," he whispered. He clung to Jenna as tight as he could without hurting her, waiting for the baby to move against him. After a few minutes without movement, he started to feel panic rise in his chest.
"Jen, I can't feel her. I can't feel her moving."
Jenna put her hands on top of his, gently brushing her thumbs along the backs of his hands. "She's fine, Hank. She's been moving around all day."
Hank shook his head. "I can't feel anything. She has to be ok. Come on baby," he said, rubbing his hand across her stomach over and over. "Come on, kick for Daddy, please." When he still felt nothing, he started to panic even more. "Jenna, why isn't she moving?"
"Honey, she is," Jenna said softly, trying to calm him back down. She understood that he was hurting, but his fear was causing her heart to ache for him. "She's not kicking, but she's moving. It's just tiny little flutters that you won't be able to feel on the outside."
Hank raised his head to look Jenna in the eyes. "But she's moving? You promise me, she's moving?"
"I promise." She pressed Hank's hand into her stomach where she was feeling the flutters. "Right here. I know you can't feel it, but she's right here, and she's wiggling around in there. I promise she's ok."
Hank wasn't entirely convinced, but he lay back down and tried to trust that Jenna would know if something was wrong. After a few more minutes with no movement, he asked, "Can we try the Doppler for a few minutes? If I can't feel her moving, hearing her heartbeat might help."
"Of course," Jenna said. "Whatever you need, babe."
Hank got up to gather everything before sitting on the bed next to Jenna. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Jen. I know I'm being irrational and demanding. I just...it's been a bad day."
Jenna pulled him close until their lips met. "You have nothing to apologize for. I only know a tiny piece of what you went through today, and it's horrific. With all of that, plus the scare we had the other day, I can only imagine what you're feeling right now, and if there's something I can do that will make you feel better, you know I'll do it." She kissed him again. "Go ahead and try to find her heartbeat."
Moments later, the sound of their daughter's heartbeat filled their room. A few tears made their way down Hank's face. "There she is," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Hi baby girl," Jenna said.
Hank listened for a little while longer. When he turned the Doppler off, he leaned down and gently kissed Jenna's stomach. "Daddy loves you so much, little one."
Jenna gently threaded her fingers through Hank's hair. "She likes the sound of your voice. It calms her."
"Really?" he asked.
"Really," Jenna said. "Every time you talk to her, she gets very still, like she's really listening, and then when you stop talking, she starts moving again." She pulled him up to kiss him again. "Her momma likes the sound of your voice too."
Hank laughed, thankful for the comfort his wife always managed to give him. "I love you," he said, his hand cradling her cheek, stroking it gently. "I don't know how I lived without you, and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you now."
"Well it's a good thing you'll never have to think about that. Baby girl and I aren't going anywhere."
Hank gently rubbed his hand across her stomach again. "You two mean everything to me." Just then, he felt a kick against his hand, and his eyes flew up to meet Jenna's. She smiled back at him.
"There she is," Jenna said softly.
"There she is," Hank repeated. "Thank you, baby girl. Daddy loves you."