27. Chapter 27

Let me know what you think!

Over the next week, the Intelligence Unit focused all their attention on trying to locate Jackson and any of his known associates. Hank had been furious that Jay went after Jackson without backup, and Erin was thankful Kate hadn't been in the office to witness her grandfather nearly smack her father for being so careless. Erin could have felt bad for her partner, who seemed have his tail between his legs all week, but no matter how hard she tried, she was still a little bit annoyed that Jay had gone off to confront Jackson without even telling her.

"So, when do you think Voight's gonna stop punishing me?" Jay turned to Erin as they sat in the Sierra, waiting outside a dodgy bar in hopes of running into Sarah Harding or if they were lucky, Paul Jackson.

Erin raised her eyebrows, "Not sure. I haven't made up my mind yet, either."

Jay looked at her incredulously, "I thought I more than apologized to you last night! For like the millionth time."

She smiled mischievously, recalling the fun night they had. "Well, you're going to have to keep making it up to me until I say so. Why do you think I'm driving right now?"

"Because you're still a little mad at me." Jay sighed and leaned back against the seat, defeated, "Fine. It doesn't look like he's here, anyway."

"Hank willl be pissed if we just leave." Erin took a sip of her coffee and continued to stare at the door to the bar.

"I know, but Platt definitely brought Kate to the district already and plus I'm starving." Jay looked down at his cell phone, "Oh great, Ruzek said he's hanging out with her. If we don't get back soon, there's no telling how much damage he'll have done."

"Are you whining?" Erin flashed a grin at her partner and rolled her eyes. Jay sat back and huffed, folding his arms across his chest. When Erin's phone dinged, he perked up instantly.

"Please tell me we can leave," he begged, widening his eyes and giving a boyish smile when Erin nodded, "Thank God."

"I swear, sometimes I wonder who the four year old is in our family." Erin scoffed, pulling the Sierra onto the street and heading for the district.

Jay and Erin ascended the steps to the bullpen, bearing sandwiches for lunch. "I'm so hungry," Jay informed Erin, who was a pace or two behind him, "Like, so hungry I could eat five of these sandwiches."

Erin rolled her eyes and looked around the office, but didn't see her daughter. "Kim, where's Kate?"

"Oh, I think Ruzek took her to the vending machine or something." Burgess shrugged, cheeks turning slightly pink. She sat behind her desk and busied herself quickly, leaving Erin vaguely confused as to why the young officer would be embarrassed.

"I hope he didn't give her a red bull or anything," Jay said, setting the bag of sandwiches on his desk and shedding his coat, "I feel like that's something he would do."

"Mommy! Daddy!" Kate came up the stairs, Ruzek a few paces behind.

"Hi baby." Erin knelt down and wrapped her little girl in her arms, "Did you have fun at school?"

Kate nodded eagerly, "I learned about pe-gwins today!"

"Wow." Erin kissed her baby's cheek, "Daddy and I brought sandwiches, how does that sound?"

"Good." Kate smiled and looked around the room for her father, "Daddy!"

"There's my little squirt." Jay lifted his daughter and placed her on his hip after giving her a hug, "Was Ruzek nice to you?"

Kate giggled, "Yes! He let me taste root beer and it was so bad." She wrinkled her nose at the memory, "I did not like it."

Jay shot a look over to the young officer, who put his hands up in the air, "I thought kids like root beer!" He exclaimed, "Not my fault she doesn't like it."

"Four year olds shouldn't drink soda, Ruzek," Erin informed him, taking the bag of sandwiches off her partner's desk and heading for the breakroom, "I swear if you ever have a girlfriend again I'm going to warn her…"

"I think Woo-zek and Off-cer Kim are girl-friends." Kate told her father, who stopped walking to the breakroom and regarded his little girl in surprise. Ruzek had snapped his head up at the mention of his name. Kim also lifted her head from the paperwork she was doing.

"What makes you think that, kiddo?" Jay asked, raising his eyebrows at the younger man, who was rapidly turning pink.

"Cause he axi-denly called Off-cer Kim babe." She smiled sweetly at Ruzek, not noticing how the heat was rising in his cheeks.

"What?" Ruzek exclaimed, "I did not."

Kate turned to him, "You said you thought you were talking to me, but nobody calls me babe. Only Mommy calls me baby." She flashed a grin at her mother, "And Mommy and Daddy call each other babe."

Erin looked at Kim incredulously, while Atwater burst out laughing, "Out of the mouths of babes." He chuckled, patting Ruzek on the back.

"It was a reflex," Kim rushed out, Adam still in too much shock to respond.

"I thought we talked about how it was a secret," Ruzek croaked, unable to be angry at the cute little girl on Jay's hip, "And that you weren't going to tell anybody."

"Mommy and Daddy aren't anybody," Kate told him, "And I don't have to keep secrets from them." She smiled up at Jay and then to Erin, "Right?"

"That's right, Squirt." Jay kissed the top of her head, "No secrets."

"You're lucky she's so cute!" Ruzek called after them, earning an unsavory gesture from Erin.

"Daddy?" Kate looked up at her father from her seat in his lap. There was a Blackhawks versus Penguins game on television and Jay was intently watching the close match.

"Mm?" Jay tilted his head down so he could see his little girl, who was peering expectantly at him, "What's up, Squirt?"

Kate wrinkled her brow slightly, "You 'member how I told you and Mommy 'bout Woo-zek callin' Off-cer Kim babe?"

"Mm-hm, that was just this afternoon." Jay smiled, running a hand over his daughter's hair, still slightly damp from her bath earlier in the evening.

"And even though that was a secret, it was okay that I told you cause you're my daddy?"

"Yep." Jay nodded, "You can tell me anything, you know that, right? No matter what."

"Cause I can always be honest?" Kate asked.

"Yep." Jay confirmed, placing a kiss atop her head.

"And you won't be mad?" Kate pressed, appearing slightly nervous.

"Not if you're being honest, kiddo," Jay promised, "Do you have something to tell me?"

Kate nodded slowly, "But you won't be mad at me?"

"No, no," Jay assured her, a nervous pit forming in his stomach. He had no idea what the little girl was about to tell him, but judging by the anxiety radiating off her, it wasn't going to be good. He wished Erin was here, but she had left the game after the first third to take a shower and he could still hear the water running. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

She took a deep breath. "Today after Sergeant Platt picked me up from school, I was sittin' behind the desk with Off-cer Garcia, cause Sergeant Platt had a very 'portant phone call," Kate began, gripping Tiger and Lion tighter, "And a man came into the district, looking for you."

Jay felt his blood run cold. "Did you recognize the man?" He asked, suddenly nervous that Jackson may have sent one of his associates to intimidate him and saw that Kate was at the district.

Kate shook her head, "He said his name was Pat Halstead. And that he was looking for his son." She looked up at her father nervously, "And I didn't know what to say so I ducked and Off-cer Garcia saw Woo-zek and told me to go hang out with him. And then he said he would tell you 'bout the man but then he got a 'portant call so he didn't get to." She let out a breath, "Was that your daddy?"

Jay nodded slowly, taking in what his daughter had just told him. His father came by the district? Looking for him? The man he barely spoke to and only saw briefly on Thanksgiving? "Um, yeah, that's my dad."

"Are-are you mad at me?" Kate tensed up in his lap, "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but he said he was a secret and not to tell you but Off-cer Garcia said he would but-"

"I'm not mad, kiddo, I promise," Jay assured her, "Thank you for telling me. I know Officer Garcia got called across town which is probably why he didn't get a chance to find me."

The little girl visibly relaxed. "How come I never met your dad before?" she asked, glancing curiously at her father, who was still reeling from the fact that his father dropped by the district unannounced. Jay didn't even know that his dad knew where he worked.

"Uh, well, I don't really talk to my dad anymore," Jay replied after a moment, "He and I don't really get along."

Kate furrowed her brow, "Like Mommy and the Bunny?"

Jay grimaced slightly, "Um, a little bit like Mommy and Bunny. But my dad and Uncle Will still see each other from time to time and he's not a bad guy, we just have a really um, complicated relationship." He watched as his daughter slowly processed the information she had been given.

"What 'bout your mommy?" Kate asked quietly, searching her father's blue eyes for a hint about his past.

He sighed softly, trying to figure out a way to talk to his little girl about his late mother and his jackass of a father without lying but also not giving her the full scope of the drama. "Well, my mom passed away a few years ago. Just after I got back from Afghanistan. So she's in heaven now, but I know she would have really liked you." Jay smiled wistfully, remembering the kind woman who raised him.

Kate gently placed a comforting hand on her father's arm, "Was she sick? Like Erin's almost-mommy?"

Jay nodded, glancing down at the tiny fingers on his forearm. His daughter's mature mannerisms never ceased to amaze him. He smiled sadly at how she referred to Camille, "Yes, she was sick. When I got home, she was really sick and it was really hard to see her like that." Jay swallowed thickly, "And my dad, uh, he wasn't much help."

She nodded as he spoke, moving her small hand up and down his forearm, "And you were hurting, too." Kate looked up at her father with knowing eyes. He raised his eyebrows, unsure of what she was getting at while she cuddled closer. "One time, back when you first got me and I still called you Jay, you told me that when you got back from 'fgan-is-tan, you were really scared. And if your mommy died when you were scared, I bet it hurt really bad."

Jay nodded, again swallowing hard and trying to stop the tears from forming in his eyes. How his four year old could piece together everything he went through after returning home from the snippets of anecdotes he told her absolutely shocked him. "You're right," he managed, "It did hurt."

"I'm sorry if I made you sad." Kate said hurriedly, realizing how upset her father had gotten, "I-I didn't mean to."

"Oh, no, sweetheart." Jay shook his head, "It's okay. I'm glad you asked about my parents. It-it was just a tough time to remember, but don't worry." He forced a smile for the little girl's sake.

Kate nodded in understanding, "It hurts to 'member sometimes."

"It does." Jay mused, lost in his own thought. He snapped back to reality once he remembered that his sweet child had gone through an even worse time than he had, "But it helps to talk about the hard memories." He paused, "You know how on Tuesdays, you and Mommy come home before me?"

"Uh-huh." Kate looked up at him curiously, "Cause you gotta meeting."

"That's right." Jay nodded, "And the reason I go to those meetings is because there are people there who hurt the same as me."

"People from 'fgan-is-tan?" Kate widened her eyes.

"Some people fought in Afghanistan, but there are others who fought wars in Iraq or Europe or Asia. It's a support group," Jay explained, "And it helps to hear about other people so you know you're not alone." He smoothed Kate's hair back, "And mommy and I, and Uncle Will and Sergeant Platt and Grandpa Hank, we're your support group. And that means that if you're feeling scared from something you remember, you can always come to us and we'll help you." Jay brushed her cheeks softly with the pad of his thumb.

Kate smiled softly but then looked nervous, "Do I gotta talk 'bout it now?"

"Whenever you're ready," Jay said, "Whenever you feel that you can, I'll be here to listen, I promise."

"Okay." Kate nodded, leaning in closer to her father. "I didn't tell your daddy who I was," she murmured, "Cause I wasn't sure if he was lyin' or if he was good."

Jay cleared his throat, "Well, um, he's okay. And I guess you could meet him. If you want. I mean, to be honest with you, I haven't told him about you. And I actually haven't told him about Mommy, for that matter." Jay paused, as the shower had ceased running and he hoped that Erin would be out soon so she could join the conversation. "But we can talk about it, if it's something you'd like."

Kate shrugged her shoulders, still smoothing her palm over Jay's arm. "I just didn't want to have secrets from you."

"I'm glad you told me, Squirt." Jay kissed the top of her head, "And I'm glad you asked about my mom. I really wish she could have met you."

"She sounds nice," Kate mused, "I bet she'd like Mommy, too."

Jay chuckled, "I think you're absolutely right."

Jay was grateful when Erin emerged from the shower so that he could tell her about his father's trip to the district. Like Jay, she reiterated to Kate how it was okay to tell them anything, no matter what. Kate appeared to be incredibly relieved after telling her parents, and was now sleeping comfortably between the two adults on the couch. Neither Jay or Erin had the heart to move the sleeping child, so the family cuddled together while the Blackhawks went into overtime.

"You okay, babe?" Erin asked after the Blackhawk goalie made an incredible save and Jay didn't even flinch. While it looked like he was watching the game, his mind was miles elsewhere.

"Mm," he replied, running a hand over the back of her head, "Just thinking," he swallowed, "about my mom."

Erin reached up and cupped his unshaven face with her cool palm, "You don't really talk about her much."

Jay smiled sadly, lightly stroking his girl's hair, "Kate reminds me a lot of her actually. Strong. Kind. Brave." He sighed wistfully, "She would have loved you."

"Please." Erin scoffed, "I know from experience that mothers aren't exactly my biggest fans. My own mother barely cared enough to keep a roof over our heads."

"Er." Jay moved his hand from the back of her head to under her chin so that she would meet his gaze. "I'm not telling you that because it's something you'd want to hear. I mean it. My mom would have been crazy about you. Shocked that a girl actually wanted to hang around my psycho family." Erin looked away, heat slowly rising in her cheeks, "Babe, those mothers were plain stupid for not loving you. Besides, I love you, and Kate loves you."

"I know." Erin whispered, scooting her body impossibly closer to her boyfriend's, "Do you want to tell me about her?"

Jay smiled and pressed his lips to the top of Erin's head, "Well, she was not crazy about hockey. I think she always wished that she had a girl because Will and I were always beating the crap out of each other and causing all kinds of trouble in the neighborhood," He chuckled at the memory, "But no matter what we did, no matter how many things we'd break or how much of a mess we'd make, she always found a way to forgive us at the end of the day."

He traced delicate circles on her shoulder as he reminisced, "And she made the most amazing almond butter cookies. Even though she wasn't that great a cook, those cookies were like the best thing ever. And she always went to every single baseball or football game we had. No matter if it was raining or snowing, she'd always be there."

"She sounds incredible," Erin mused, relaxing against his shoulder.

"She was," Jay replied, "And she dealt with my dad every day, even when she was really sick." He paused, "But honestly, Er, my mom was great, but you're even better." Jay swallowed thickly, trying to rid himself of the lump that had built up in his throat, "When I see you with Kate and how much you love her and how much she loves you, I just can't believe how lucky I got." He allowed a single tear to escape before pressing his lips against the crown of Erin's head again, "She has a family now, we have a family, and I feel so thankful, every single day."

"I know, babe." Erin titled her head up so she could look into her partner's eyes, "Before you, Hank was all the family I had. Hank and Justin. And with everything that happened…you never gave up on me."

"Never gonna happen," Jay promised, resuming his gentle ministrations, "What do you say to us heading to bed before we have to get up again, huh?"

"Mm." Erin replied, slowly peeling herself from the comfort of the couch. She bent down and lifted the little girl who was still snuggled against her father, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo as her brown hair grazed Erin's nose. "Can she come to bed with us?" Erin asked sleepily, already heading toward their bedroom with Kate in her arms, "She just fits in between us so well."

"Of course, babe." Jay grinned, trailing after his family.

"Halstead, Lindsay, we got 'em!" Atwater announced, leaping to his feet after hanging up his phone, "Yes, thank you, someone will be right there."

"Got who?" Jay turned to the young officer as Erin and Hank emerged from the office at Atwater's announcement.

"Paul Jackson. Patrol just picked him up a few blocks from the house in Wicker Park. Tried to get a kid into his car, the mom called 911, and they got him." Atwater informed them, "They're booking him over at the 14th."

Wordlessly, Erin and Jay snatched their coats from the back of their chairs and headed down the steps. Hank pulled his coat off the hook and followed suit, instructing the rest of the unit to "sit tight" until they returned.

The drive over to the 14th district was silent, Jay sitting mutely in the back of the Sierra while Erin drove and Hank rode shotgun. Erin could sense the anger radiating off her partner as she put the truck into park and followed her sergeant up the steps to the 14th. All she wanted was to finally look the bastard who harmed her sweet, innocent baby girl right in the eye, and promise that he would never see the light of day again.

"I'm sorry, Sergeant Voight. Mr. Jackson lawyered up the second he set foot in this district. I also received a call from the Ivory Tower not to let anyone from your unit near him."

"Bullshit." Hank spat, leaning on the sergeant's desk with Erin and Jay behind him, "This is my case, we've been working on it since July."

"Believe me, Sergeant, everyone in the CPD knows about how the child of a detective was kidnapped and how you have been working on it. But the order came from over my head." The older man appeared nervous around the angry sergeant, "I really am sorry, but you'll have to speak with the Commander."

Hank practically growled at the desk sergeant before turning to his detectives. "I'll call Crowley."

Voight was unable to convince Commander Crowley to allow Intelligence to pursue the case against Paul Jackson. However, the unit was working covertly to make the case against him so that the moment he was processed, they could charge him and get the ball rolling with putting him in jail for the rest of his life. Atwater had created a photo array for Kate, who was sitting with Burgess in the breakroom, coloring in a picture of a frog. "Hi Daddy," Kate said brightly, pushing herself off the chair to give Jay a hug.

"Hey Squirt." Jay bent down and lifted the small child into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest, "I missed you." He was so glad that she was safe.

"I missed you more!" Kate grinned, pulling back slightly so she could see his face, "Me and Off-cer Kim are doin' some coloring."

"Is that a frog I see?" Jay smiled, heading over to the table and taking a seat, placing the little girl in his lap. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh. There are three frogs," Kate pointed each of them out on the piece of paper, "And I made two green ones and one poison-is frog here." She pointed to the blue frog with yellow spots, "It's in the rainforest."

"Wow." Jay said, smoothing one hand over her head. "Uh, Kim, could you tell Atwater that we're ready?"

Burgess nodded and stood, "Ready for what, Daddy?" Kate looked expectantly up at her father.

"Well, today some of our, um, friends, in the 14th district got a bad man," Jay began, watching as his little girl's features instantly went rigid with fear, "And he's in prison," he emphasized, "But we need to see if you recognize him at all, okay?"

Kate nodded slowly, "W-where's Mommy?"

"She's going to meet us at home. We needed some groceries but as soon as we're done here, we're going to head home, sound good?" Jay gestured for Atwater to enter the room, bearing the iPad with the photo array. "Kev's just going to show you a few pictures, and you can tell us if you recognize anyone."

"Hey Kate." Atwater greeted, sitting beside Jay and Kate, "Let me know if you see anyone you recognize, okay?"

Kate nodded again, watching carefully as the young officer scrolled through various images of offenders. "Wait," Kate said, pointing to the picture of Jackson on the iPad, "That's Mr. P's brother."

"His brother?" Atwater and Halstead exchanged glances, "You're sure about that, Squirt?"

Kate nodded fiercely, "Yes, that is Mr. P's brother. I-I can't remember his name because he didn't hurt me." She paused, studying the image further, "He did the selling."

"Do-do you know what this man sold?" Atwater asked gently, unsure if the child would have any idea about what the Jackson brothers were into.

The little girl thought for a moment. "Um, he sold the powders. And tiny little boxes for the computers." She looked up at Jay, "The kind you plug in."

"USBs." Jay breathed, realizing that they had the wrong Jackson in custody. While this man was still a criminal, he wasn't the Jackson who abused his daughter.

"So the guy in custody is Peter Jackson?" Erin asked, holding her phone to one ear with a bag of groceries and bag of takeout on the other arm, "Not Paul Jackson?"

"Turns out this was the guy who moved the dope and the images and video. He had fake IDs on him that said he was his brother, so I'm guessing it's some kind of ruse." Jay informed her, glancing into the breakroom where Kate was back to coloring innocently, "I uh, told Kate that we had Paul Jackson's brother in custody, but she said he never actually touched her."

"So Paul Jackson is still in the wind." Erin confirmed, shifting the bag of groceries so they didn't topple to the floor of the elevator. "Damn. Well, at least this guy will probably know where his shitbag of a brother is."

"He's lawyered up and isn't talking," Jay ran a hand over his face, "But it looks like they found all sorts of kiddie porn on his person, in addition to a couple grams of heroin. So he should be in custody for a while longer."

"Do we know if there were pictures of Kate?" Erin whispered, the elevator dinging to signal her arrival on the third floor.

"I didn't ask." Jay replied, "But I'm done here. And we'll be home in a bit."

"Good. I got sushi." Erin said, fumbling to get her key out of her coat pocket. "I'm at home, see you in a bit."

"Love you." Jay smiled, still focused on his little girl.

"Love you too." Erin replied, hanging up the phone and retrieving the apartment keys from her pocket. She pushed open the front door and stepped inside, flicking the lights on.

"Nice to finally meet you, detective." A voice came from behind. Erin whirled around and gasped before everything went dark.