4. Chapter 4

Sorry about the format! I think I fixed it.

Chapter 4,

"We are going to eat dinner in a half an hour, so you're going to have to take a break in the middle of the movie," Jay turned on the Blue-Ray player and waited for the options menu to pop up on the big screen TV. The 72 inch plasma screen TV was his one big purchase, it was the only time he had truly spoiled himself since his daughter was born. It was mounted above the fireplace, and it was a sight for sore eyes, if he did say so himself.

"Daddy, can we have popcorn with the movie?" Maddie asked from her spot on the large leather couch.

"When you come back after dinner to watch the second half you can have popcorn, okay?" He replied, pressing play. The introduction to the movie illuminated the screen.

Erin watched as he adjusted the volume on the TV and placed down the remote. He took the brown throw blanket from the back of the leather couch and placed it over both girls, careful not to block their view of the movie. She watched in awe; he was quite the dad.

She felt her phone buzz in her back pocket, and not wanting to interrupt the movie, she walked into the kitchen to take the call. "Hey, how's it going?"

"It's going slow," Hank answered gruffly. He sounded like he was calling her from the car, and he did not sound like he was in a good mood. "How'd it go with Jay and the kid?"

"Good. I'm still here, Jay just finished up all the paperwork. I think I have everything I need."

"You're not going to file it yet though, right?" Concern leaked into his voice.

"Right." She replied. "I think Grace will do well here, Jay seems like a good dad." She knew Hank was working and he was definitely stressed, but she just couldn't help it. The statement, or really the inquiry, just slipped out. She really wanted to know what Hank thought of his detective. Hank would never put someone in his unit that he didn't trust, but she wanted to hear him say those words.

"He is." He agreed.

She didn't speak right away, hoping he would elaborate and say something more. When he didn't, she realized it was probably time to let him get off the phone and get back to work. "Ok, well I'll let you go."

"Thanks for the help, kid." She was about to hang up when he added, "Oh, and at the rate this case is moving, I don't think I'll make it home for dinner tonight. But I'll still see you when I get you home, right?"

So that's why he called, she thought. Oh, Hank. Always worrying about her, even when he was stressed out and deep in a case. "I'll see you at home."

"Hey," Erin jumped at the sound of Jay's voice entering the room.

"Hey," she sighed out the word and looked down at her phone, hoping he couldn't see how flustered she was.

After Jay had finished setting up the movie and making sure the girls were comfortable, he had returned to the kitchen in search of Erin. He had found her just in time to hear the tail end of her phone conversation. His heart sank at the words... I'll see you at home. She wasn't wearing a ring, but at the very least it sounded like she had a boyfriend.

He knew he shouldn't be surprised. She was smart, caring, well-educated, and absurdly beautiful. Of course she had a boyfriend. One look at those hazel eyes and any man would fall over himself to be with her. "Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to stay for dinner, but I guess you have to get home," he said motioning towards her cell phone, signaling that he had heard the tail end of her call.

"Oh, I, uh-" She flinched slightly as she was cut off by the sound of his cell phone ringing loud in his pocket. Stop being so jumpy, she scolded herself.

"Excuse me, I have to take this," he said, looking down and seeing his boss's name. He considered stepping out of the room to take the call, but decided against it. He would likely have to fill Erin in anyway. "What's up, Sarge."

"Just wanted to give you a quick update on the case." Voight's voice sounded somewhat distant, and Jay assumed he was in the car.

"You on your way back to the district?" He asked.

"Yeah. We got a tip from a CI that the stolen drugs were being held along with the rest of the King's stash in a warehouse, but when we got there the drugs had clearly been moved. And the place was wiped clean." Jay could hear the anger in his boss's voice. He couldn't blame him. If the drugs had been moved, the Kings knew the police were onto them. "We are going back to regroup, but I don't think we are going to wrap up this case tonight."

"Okay, well let me know if you need anything from me. I can check in with some CIs of mine from here, if you think it will help."

"Just hold tight for now. I'll let you know if I want you to reach out."

"Okay, boss. And don't worry, I have everything handled over here," Jay said, knowing that as rough around the edges as Voight seemed, he often had a soft spot when it came to kids and would likely appreciate the update.

"I know. I just hung up with Erin. Glad you two got everything squared away. Talk to you soon."

Voight hung up the phone, but Jay didn't move the phone away from his ear right away. He was more than a little stunned by his boss's words. That's who Erin was talking to? Voight? She was going home to Voight?

He ran his hand through his hair and put his phone back into his pocket, but he was still reeling. He couldn't decide if Voight was better or worse than a boyfriend. He felt like it was probably the latter.

When he finally found his voice again, he turned to look at Erin. "That was Voight." Stupid. Obviously she knew it was Voight. "He, uh, just wanted to let me know the case definitely won't be wrapped up tonight."

Erin had spoken to Hank so she already knew that. But she nodded along, acting as if this was brand new information. She wasn't sure why, but she really didn't want Jay to know she had been talking to Hank. He had clearly heard the end of her conversation and that would certainly invite questions.

She was also irritated with Hank's timing. She had been hoping to stay for dinner, and she had been about to tell Jay she actually didn't need to get home. But now, she couldn't figure out how to redirect the conversation back there.

"Which we already planned for," he said, finishing his thought and filling in the silence that was beginning to feel a little awkward.

"Right," she began stacking all the papers and putting them back in the file. She placed the file in her bag and began to sling her bag over her shoulder. "I should probably get going."

He really wanted her to stay, but as she packed up her things, he couldn't think of any reason to make her stay. He had already brought up dinner, and with the phone call interruption, he wasn't sure if he should bring it up again. Instead, he retrieved her coat from the hall closet and walked her towards the door. "It was really nice meeting you, Erin." He said and he handed her her jacket.

"Likewise," her voice came out in a raspy whisper.

He loved the sound of her voice. He felt the charged energy between the return as they neared the door, and he couldn't tell if it was only one sided. "I guess I'll be seeing you soon," he said, testing the waters. "You know, at one of your home visits." He grinned at her, his trademark Halstead grin, as Allie always used to call it, and he was pleasantly surprised when she rolled her eyes playfully in return.

The energy was definitely not one sided.

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"Hey, kid." Erin was awoken the following morning by a knock on her door. She was completely disoriented, and it took her several moments to remember that she wasn't in her apartment. She was lying in a full-sized bed in her bedroom at Hank's house. This was the first place she had ever really called home, the first place she had ever felt completely safe.

At that thought, she tacked on another reason to be mad at her ex-roommate. Erin had finally saved up enough money to find her own place. She had been so proud to have a home of her own, even if she had to share it. But now she could never go back there. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," she answered, her voice still thick from sleep. She looked at her cell phone, it was 6 am. "Hank, it's Saturday," she whined.

"It's like nothings changed," he laughed. He came in and sat on the edge of her bed. "I have to go into work today, I just wanted to check in with you first." He paused, but kept talking when she didn't answer. "You can stay here as long as you want, and you don't have to tell me what happened with you and Olivia. I just want to make sure you are okay."

She appreciated his concern. Even more than that, she appreciated that he wasn't grilling her about everything. "I'm okay," she whispered, trying to force a smile.

"I'm sorry I'm deserting you again," he stood from her bed. "There's fresh coffee in the kitchen for when you decide to get your lazy bones out of bed," he added as he closed the door behind him.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, as if Hank could still see her. It was the same response she had every Saturday morning as a teenager. That thought made her smile, the first real one of the day.

She debated going back to sleep, just wallowing in the events of the past few days. "No, no more wallowing," she said to herself, as she swung her legs out of bed. She went over to her suitcase and pulled out her running gear. She pressed her earbuds into her ears and turned on her favorite playlist, trying to convince herself that there was no better way to start the day.

0000000000

"Daddy, daddy, wake up!" Jay was awoken at 6 am as disoriented and flustered as Erin had. He had been in the middle of a very lusty dream that involved Erin and him in the shower, and when he saw his daughter at the edge of his bed, he thanked god the blanket was covering him.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked, trying to rid his mind of the image of Erin, soapy and wet in his shower. "

"Grace is screaming and crying. I think she's having a nightmare." Well, that'll do it.

Jay followed Maddie down the hallway to her room, and as he got closer he heard Grace whimpering. She sounded like she may have been yelling for her parents, but he couldn't be sure. When he walked into the room, his heart broke into a million pieces. Her eyes were closed, but there were tears streaking down her pale, beautiful face and he could see how scared she was. "I tried to shake her, but it didn't help."

"It's okay, Mads. She's just having a nightmare." He wasn't actually sure if it was going to be okay. Sure, Maddie had her share of nightmares, what little girl hadn't. But they had never been this bad.

He had also had his share of nightmares. He had them almost every night when he got back from Afghanistan. He remembered waking up, drenched in sweat, screaming out for the friends he had lost.

It had been the worst time in his life, but he hadn't had anyone there for him. This would be different. Grace would have him.

"Grace, sweetie." He whispered her name and nudged her gently, knowing that sometimes that was all a person needed to break them out of a nightmare. Sure enough, her eyes fluttered open.

She looked around, taking in her surroundings. It seemed to finally set in, she remembered where she was. "J-Jay?"

"Yeah, Grace. It's me." He brushed her hair out of her face, and he noticed that she was covered in a thin layer of sweat. "Maddie's here too, sweetie." He motioned for Maddie to come closer.

"Hi Grace," Maddie whispered to her new friend, tears falling from her eyes now, too. "I'm sorry. This was my first sleepover. Did I do a bad job?"

Grace didn't answer her, but instead reached for her hand and just shook her head lightly. Grace seemed wise beyond her years, and Jay knew that was not a good sign.

"Girls, I have an idea." He placed his hand over both of theres and squeezed it. "Let's get you both in the bathtub and then-"

"Chocolate chip pancakes!" Maddie interrupted.

"Yes," he said, exaggerating the word as he stood up. "A bubble bath, followed by chocolate chip pancakes."

00000000000

He was cleaning the dishes when he heard the knock at the door. He dried off his hands before walking down the hall. He didn't even bother checking the peep hole, already knowing who would be waiting for him on the other side of the door.

She was even more beautiful then he remembered, this time casually dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "Good morning," he managed. His dreams didn't even come close to the real Erin, standing here in his apartment, in the flesh.

"Good morning," she said. She handed him one of the cups of coffee in her hand, and followed him into the kitchen.

"Thank you. But you didn't have to bring me coffee, I could've made you some here," he said, motioning to the coffee machine he had used yesterday to brew her a cup.

"I don't like to come empty handed when I show up unannounced on a Saturday morning," she replied and flashed him a smile. "Where are the girls?"

"Had you called first, I could have warned you." He smirked, and took a long sip of his coffee. He was surprised when he noticed it was prepared just as he liked it. She must have been paying attention when he made the coffee the day before. "I put them both down for a nap about twenty minutes ago."

"Oh," she looked at her watch, surprised. It was only 9:30 in the morning, usually a safe time to drop by.

"Grace had a nightmare, so we were all up a little earlier than usual this morning. They were both practically falling asleep into their pancakes." He began to dry the dishes as he spoke to her, happy to have a task to complete. "You're welcome to stay until they wake up."

Grace was clearly being well taken care of, and she didn't need to actually talk to Grace to know that. She could just see her tomorrow. But he had given her an opening, and she found herself unable to refuse. "Sounds good," her voice came out a little breathier than usual, and she immediately took a sip of coffee to hide it.

"While we are waiting, can I interest you in some pancakes and riveting conversation?"

That grin again. It just about killed her. "I'd like that."

xoxo

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