28. Chapter 28

A/N: Well friends, we've reached the end. I cannot believe it's taken me 4 YEARS to finish this story!? But we are finally here and hopefully it was worth the wait lol

Sorry yet again for the wait; I realised in writing this chapter that I had (yet again) fucked up the storyline and timeline so I had to go back through every single chapter and make notes so I could rewrite sections in order for everything to make sense -_-

This is a really looooong chapter, but I couldn't find the right spot in the chapter to split it into two, and you have all waited long enough for this. So hopefully you can manage to get through it all …

apologies for any grammar/spelling, it's 12.45am here and I'm fading fast lol

Enjoy!

Jay held the cigarette between his lips, his thumb running across the spark wheel as his other hand hovered over the tip of the butt protecting the flame from the harsh winds of Chicago.

He took a deep breath, the menthol burning his lungs as it travelled through his system, giving him a slight reprieve from the anxiety he was feeling.

"Shit must be real bad." Jay turned towards the voice "You haven't smoked since we left for our second tour."

Jay smiled uneasily at his best friend; to his team, Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz was his most valuable CI. But what most of them – with the exception of Voight – didn't know was that he had known Mouse since he was 18 years old; they met the first day of training on the Army base, and had been brothers since.

"Hey Mouse. Long time." Jay says, the two one-armed hugging each other.

Mouse groans "Been a minute. What's going on with you?"

Jay chuckles "Not much." He said, taking another drag "Busted some drug dealers, undercover work … found out I'm gonna be a dad."

Mouse looks at him wide-eyed "What?"

"Yeah. It's a long story. I haven't really wrapped my head around it yet."

Mouse shakes his head before walking towards the front door of Jay's apartment building "You coming or not? If I'm gonna listen to whatever this 'long story', I'm not doing it in the freezing cold with you blowing smoke in my face."

30 minutes missing.

Erin, Jay and Voight stormed into the bullpen where the team was waiting for them.

"How the fuck did Yates know where Ella would be?" Erin asks.

Mouse clears his throat "We got word from SVU that Rollins phone was also bugged, when she was visiting Yates in prison. The dirty guard, he's been supplying Yates with files on various members of the SVU and the Intelligence Unit. He would've had access to the photos on your phone, paired with the info from those files … he would've known about Ben before he had even escaped."

"This is all a part of his plan." Fin says "We just don't understand how yet."

"Well we need to figure it out, now!" Jay snaps "Erin and I will go and talk to the victims; Ella's our responsibility."

"Actually detectives," Commander Crawley exits Voight's office "your team will no longer be assigned to this case."

"Excuse me?" Jay looks at his boss "Like hell you're removing us."

"You two are no longer detectives working a case, you're the victims of a kidnapping. You can't work this case objectively." Crawley says.

"Commander-" Voight interjects.

"No, Hank. Your reason for wanting to work this case, while understandable, is exactly why your unit can't be working it."

"This guy is a mass murderer, rapist and now kidnapper. No other unit is capable to take this case."

"And I am inclined to agree with you. But it doesn't change the fact that these two." Crawley indicates to Jay and Erin "have a direct, personal connection to this case. IA will not let them work it, and neither will I."

Voight's eyes steel, his gaze focused on the other woman "I agree, they shouldn't handle the kidnapping case. But Greg Yates is still on the loose and Detective Lindsay is the only one he's communicating with. You have my word; they will not be sent out in the field with us, but they will be helping me interview suspects, locate Yates and figure out his game plan. I can't afford to be two men down."

"I don't think you understand the stakes of this case, Sergeant."

Erin scoffs "Oh please. This unit understands the stakes of this case more than anybody else in the entire Chicago Police Department. We lost one of our own because of him, and now he has my son. So don't you dare try and tell us that we don't know just how serious this case is."

"Watch your tone with me, Detective. You're on thin ice as it is," Crawley bites back "You shouldn't have been allowed on this case in the first place. If there is even one slip-up, this case is being given to Homicide. Am I understood?"

Jay places his hand on the small of Erin's back, trying his best to calm her reaction "Yes, Commander."

Crawley looks around the room, glaring at Hank before leaving. Erin looks to Mouse "So he has everything that's on my phone, right?"

"Right."

Erin nods "Okay, so we need to figure out everything he knows and how he could use it. We also need to find out where he has been staying. He's been in Chicago for almost three days now; there's no way he hasn't got a home base. That's got to be where he's keeping Ben."

Mouse nods, and the rest of the team all get to work looking for any clues they may have missed. Erin eyes the board, Nadia's picture having been put up and now her son's face underneath her deceased best friend's.

Olivia and Voight head into his office, shutting the door behind them.

"This is all about this nurse, Nellie?" Olivia asks.

"Looks that way."

Olivia looks out into the bullpen from between the window blinds "How's she been holding up?" she asks looking at Erin.

"She's pissed at me, but at least she's alive." Voight sighs "I don't know how she's going to be able to work this case now. It was already a personal vendetta for her, but now … and I've got to worry about Halstead too, on top of everything else."

"Why don't you let me take Erin to interview Nellie? You focus on Jay and locating Yates." Olivia suggests.

Voight nods, walking to stand in front of her "I'm glad you're here."

"Of course." Olivia gives him a small smile and squeezes his arm before heading out into the bullpen.

1 hour missing

"Any information you can provide me will do … I don't think you understand what's going on here! Do you- hello? HELLO!?" Jay slammed his phone on his desk "Goddammit!"

Antonio looks up alarmed "What's going on?"

"Nobody's talking! They've all seen the news, they're too scared Yates is going to fucking dismember them or something! This is unbelievable!"

Voight comes out of his office, watching the two detectives "Jay, I get this is tough for you, but you got to calm do-"

"How am I supposed to calm down!? This psychopath escaped from jail and came to Chicago for us! He's leading us all on this wild goose chase, he's playing mind games with my partner, and he kidnapped my fucking son!" Jay fumes, shrugging Antonio's hand off his shoulder.

"This isn't the first time we've dealt with situations like this. We'll figure this out. But you're no use to anyone if you can't keep your cool." Antonio reasons.

Jay glares at the older man "You want to talk to me about keeping your cool? How did you react when Diego was kidnapped, huh?"

"Halstead." Voight snaps "Take five, come back when your head's right."

Jay looked at his boss, then around to the other officers in the bullpen – all keeping their heads down and voices quiet. He shook his head, muttering something to himself as he stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind him.

…

Mouse follows his friend outside a few minutes later, finding Jay pacing outside the entrance to the building in the carpark.

"They're right you know." He says "You're no good to anyone if you can't keep your cool."

"And how am I supposed to do that? We're getting nowhere with this case! You know as well as I do that the longer Ben is missing, the less likely the chances of finding him alive are." Jay says, his voice breaking.

Mouse steps forward and grabs Jay's arms to stop his pacing "Hey, you can't talk like that. We're going to find him."

"Stop saying that! You don't know what's going to happen!" Jay exclaims "You can't promise me it's going to be all okay, and that we're going to live happily ever after with our son. You and I have been through too much to believe in that bullshit."

Mouse can see Jay spiralling, his breath increasing as he takes sharp breaths. Jay was hunched over, hands resting on his thighs as he tried to control himself. He's seen his friend have one too many panic attacks to be able to recognise the signs early on.

"Do you remember the night you told me Erin was pregnant?" he says, trying to distract him "You were standing outside your apartment, smoking a cigarette …"

"You made some smart remark about not wanting to stand in the freezing cold while I told you what exactly happened." Jay mumbles.

Mouse chuckles "Well it was the middle of winter in Chicago, forgive me for not wanting to freeze my balls off while you're telling me about how yours got someone pregnant."

"So you and Detective Lindsay, huh? Can't say I'm surprised." Mouse says taking a sip of his coffee.

Jay looks confused "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh please, you talk about her every time I see you. It's always 'Erin this' and 'Erin that'. No wonder you knocked her up."

"It wasn't like that." Jay argues "I was supposed to go to her graduation with her … she was feeling insecure about seeing all the people she went to high school with. It wasn't the best time for her. We got to the venue, and it suddenly clicked for her. She realised she didn't have to prove anything to anyone. So we went to a restaurant around the corner and had dinner and a few drinks, and we just talked."

"So, it was a drunken one-night-stand type of thing?"

Jay shakes his head "We made the decision. Voight had told me she was off-limits, and we both knew that there was this … thing … between us. I drove her back to her place, and walked her up to her apartment."

"aww, such a gentleman." Mouse teases and Jay rolls his eyes in response.

"Anyways, we said goodnight at the door. I was waiting until she shut the door to leave, but she never did. She started to, but then she turned around and looked at me. And there was just this unspoken understanding between us. And when she opened the door back up, I just stepped forward and kissed her. We didn't think about the consequences, we just let ourselves get caught up in the moment."

"So then what's the problem?"

"We agreed the next morning that it was a one-time-thing. Like scratching an itch; we had gotten it out of our systems and now we could go back to being partners without wondering about what it would be like, you know?" Jay sighs "And then she shows up at my apartment tonight and tells me she's pregnant. And now … I don't know what the hell I'm going to do."

"Does she want to keep the baby?" Mouse asks.

"She said she doesn't know what she wants to do. I told her that we're in this together but …" Jay shrugs.

"What is it?" Mouse presses.

"What if she wants to keep the baby? I don't know how to be a Dad, I barely had a Dad myself! How am I supposed to be responsible for another life? I don't know how to change a diaper, or warm up a bottle, or how to hold a baby. And what the hell is a soft spot? And why is it so easily accessible!?"

"Whoa, calm down man." Mouse says, interrupting Jay's panic "That's what the nine months leading up to birth are for."

"I don't know if I can do this." Jay whispers "I told Erin it's going to be okay, but I'm terrified. I don't want to mess this kid up, I don't want to be like my Dad."

"You're gonna be fine Jay. You have a whole unit that's basically an extended family, and Voight will help, once he's over the initial shock." Mouse chuckles "But you've got a lot of people in your corner, you and Erin are going to be fine, no matter what you guys decide."

"I was so scared to have a kid," Jay says softly, his breathing slowing "Now I can't imagine my life without him."

"You're a good dad, Jay. One of the best I know." Mouse smiles

Jay shakes his head, tears filling his eyes "I can't lose him. He's all I have."

Mouse wraps his friend in a hug, holding him tight "You won't. We're gonna find him. I believe in that; I believe in this team. You need to as well."

Jay nods against his shoulder. Antonio running down the stairs and into the carpark breaks them apart. They both turn to face him.

"Sorry to interrupt. Olivia and Erin have some information from Nellie. I thought you guys would want to know."

They both nods and Mouse walks ahead. Jay pulls Antonio to the side.

"hey, I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have said that stuff, I just-"

"I get it man, don't even worry about it." Antonio says "Let's just focus on catching this guy, and getting your son back."

"What do we know?" Jay asks as he enters the bullpen, standing beside Erin.

"Penelope Williams was searched on one of the phones from Yates cell." Olivia says standing in front of the team.

"Then why would he let her go?" Antonio questions.

"To send a message to Erin." Olivia turns to look at Erin and Jay "Yates' first note said 'I'll see you at home'."

Voight nods along, waiting for her to proceed.

"He asked Nellie about her home. He went to Erin's apartment, her home. Where was Yates born?"

"North Carolina." Antonio instantly answers.

Olivia gives Voight a look, the Sergeant nodding before standing to face his team "let's be sure about that."

Antonio nods, heading back to his desk. Erin turns to face Jay, taking his hand and leading him into the break room.

"Are you okay? Voight said you went to calm down?" Erin rests her hand against his cheek, looking at him concerned.

Jay pulls Erin in, holding her tightly to him. Erin wraps her arms around his waist, her chin resting on his chest as she keeps looking up at him.

"I'm doing as well as I can, given the circumstances. I'm scared though."

"I'm scared too." She whispers "I keep going over every detail of this morning; if I hugged him, kissed him, said 'I love you'…"

"Ben knows we love him, Erin." Jay says.

"I know he does. But I can't live with myself if that's the last time that I ever say it to him. He's barely 15 months old. He's got a whole life ahead of him."

Jay can hear Erin getting choked up and holds her tighter. They stand in the breakroom, grasping at this moment before they have to face reality again.

"We're going to find him." Jay says softly.

Erin nods "We have to."

2 hours missing

"Hey boss?" Ruzek calls.

Voight and Olivia both step out of his office, turning their attention to the young detective.

"Nellie grew up Penelope Williams, to parents Susan and Michael Williams here in Chicago." Ruzek begins "The thing is, is they also had a son by the name of Gregory."

The entire unit looks stunned. Erin looks to Olivia.

"Yates is Nellie's brother."

"Looks that way." Ruzek agrees.

"Yep." Antonio says, covering the speaker of the phone with his hand "Nellie's mother is downstairs. Susan Baldwin."

"Alright you and Halstead, as soon as she's seen Nellie. Go interview her." Voight orders, looking to Ruzek.

"Run his name through DCFS. Do a national check, anything you can get."

"On it."

3 hours missing

"So serial killers often kill the same person over and over again." Olivia explains "Susan is a brunette. She has brown eyes. She would've been 25 when Michael took him to North Carolina."

"Explains his MO." Fin adds.

"But he's been in Chicago before. He could've looked for at any point." Atwater points out.

"Michael and Susan Williams are pretty common names. Susan remarried and changed her last name. It could've taken him some time to find that new name." Fin says.

"Time he had plenty of in jail." Jay says, looking at Erin.

Erin shakes her head "But he's had a cell phone before. And it's been 40 years since they gave him up, so what-"

"Back at the hospital," Olivia interrupts "Rudnick says that Yates was obsessed with one thing. Revenge."

"But if Yates wanted revenge on anyone, it would be Rudnick. Rudnick killed his fiancée." Jay states.

Erin's eyes grow wide, turning to look at Olivia "his pregnant fiancée. She was pregnant when she was killed."

"Just like Yates' mother was with Nellie when they gave him away." Olivia adds.

"And that triggered something inside of him." Fin continues.

"And when he couldn't find them on his own, he went thorough Nellie." Voight says "He's come here to finish them off, that's his end game."

"It has to be more than that. I mean, if you look at his movements, he's frenzied and he's killing in a way he's never done before." Olivia says "I don't think that he expects to make it out of here alive."

Erin shrugs "Neither do I."

"It still doesn't explain why he took Ben. What purpose does that serve him?" Jay asks.

Olivia looks at Fin, then to the rest of the team "Rollins was pregnant when she went to visit Yates in prison. She didn't know herself, until Yates told her."

"How would Yates know?" Jay asks again.

"Rollins asked how he knew that his fiancée was pregnant. He told her it was because her scent had changed, and so had Rollins. And while the guard gave him several files on SVU and CPD members, the only ones that show any evidence of even being touched were Rollins' file, and Erin's."

"We think he's using Ben as some kind of poetic symbolism for the child he believes was taken from him. He has some kind of bond with Erin, and that's why he took Ben." Fin says.

Jay looks over to Erin "If he doesn't expect to live through this, and he's finishing off his own family members-" his voice trails off, the entire team understanding without words.

If Yates would kill his own family, what was to stop him from doing the same to Ben?

Erin looks over to Olivia "This all centres around this idea of family. If the pregnancy led him back here to me and his mother, and he's already gone to my home …"

Olivia grabs the notepad and pen off Erin's desk, rushing down the stairs to the room where Nellie and her mother are being held.

Erin's phone rings out, and she picks it up off her desk as she sees the text message notification: Bunny.

She clicks on the message and an attachment opens up.

"Oh my god." Her hand covers her mouth as she sees the photo.

Jay comes around to her side to look. Ben, with tears in his eyes and a piece of tape over his small mouth. There's a piece of paper placed on his stomach with a message.

HIDE AND SEEK, ERIN. TICK-TOCK.

4 hours missing

Voight walks into the locker room, his eyes meeting Erin's.

"I should be going with you." She says.

Voight shakes his head "You and Halstead are staying put. There's too many eyes on this one, we can't risk toeing the line."

Erin turns away from him, moving towards her locker "I should've taken him out when I had the chance. If I had just gone to New York, if I had been there in that cabin with them, I could've had him by now. Those four nurses would be alive."

"Don't do this to yourself." Voight says.

"That's reason number two." She opens her locker and slams her hand against the photograph that is taped to the inside of the door "That's reason number one."

Voight looks at the photo. It was taken the night of Ben's birth. Nadia was smiling down at the little baby as he rested comfortably in her arms. In the background you could see Erin laying in the hospital bed with Jay sitting on the edge beside her, the two looking happily at the pair.

"You're not going out, Erin."

"He has my son, Hank. Did you not see that photo he sent!? I have to be there!" she exclaims.

"This is exactly what he wants. To get in your head, throw you off your game."

Erin scoffs "How can I be 'off' my game if you won't even let me in it?"

"And how am I supposed to put you out there? You can't even keep your cool with me." Hank argues.

Erin takes a breath, looking her Sergeant dead in the eyes "I want to be the one to bring him in, Hank."

"You want to be the one to get in a confrontation with him. You want to be the one to end this."

Erin shakes her head "That is not where my head is at right now, I promise."

"I don't believe you. Like it or not, you're a grieving friend and a hurting mother. And you and I both know, that parents will do anything when their child is in danger. Yates has taunted you since Nadia, and I will not allow you to give him what he wants. You're staying here."

And with that, Voight walks off. The sound of a slamming locker door bouncing through the room.

5 hours missing

The team had been gone for almost half an hour; the journey to Susan Baldwin's home was almost forty minutes from the precinct. Jay and Mouse were upstairs, tracking the team through the body cameras attached to Voight and Antonio's vests and the unit's comms. Erin was downstairs confirming Nellie Carr and her mother's statements with Trudy, waiting until Jay informed her the team were moving in.

"Detective!" Nellie Carr yelled as she raced out Commander Crawley's office, where she and her mother had been set up.

She handed Erin the ringing phone "It's my mother's. it says it's coming from me, but I don't have my phone."

Erin clicked 'record screen' before answering. Gregory Yates' filled the screen once again. A greying man sat on a chair in front of him, barely conscious.

"Oh look. It's my two favourite women." He cheerfully said "On my dear mother's phone. What are the odds?"

"Oh my God. Dad?" Nellie cries "No! What is this? Why is he doing this!?"

Erin clutches the phone to her chest, pushing Nellie towards Trudy's desk "Keep them in that office, do not let them leave. And buzz me up." She says quietly.

Trudy nods and leads Nellie back inside Commander Crawley's office as Erin quietly heads up to the Intelligence Unit offices.

"Did you think at all, about what I said about Cain and Abel?" Yates asks.

Erin spies Jay out of the corner of her eye, leaning over Mouse's shoulder as they both look at his computer. She taps him on the shoulder. Jay looks up, and Erin motions to the pad of paper on Mouse's desk. He holds it up to her as she writes against it.

PING NELLIE'S PHONE.

Jay follows behind her as Erin moves into the breakroom. She turns around so he's no longer in the camera's view, and motions with her free hand for him to stop. Jay steps inside the breakroom but stays leaning against the wall out of sight. Erin sits at the table as Yates continues his speech.

"I mean, we've all got a little murderer in us. It's a gift from our parents. Wouldn't you agree?" Yates says, grabbing the man by the hair "isn't that right, Dad?"

"Is that why you called? To tell me that?"

"Are you recording me again? God, you're just begging for a confession, aren't you? You haven't even bothered to ask if I know where you son is. I heard he was kidnapped today, such a tragedy."

Erin's jaw tightens as she tries to keep her composure. Hank was right, he was trying to get in her head. But she wasn't going to let him; her son's life depended on it.

"Aren't you begging for a confession too?" she counters "You want to tell the story of your sister, your mother, your father so badly. You kidnapped my son. You created all of this just to do it. So either start talking or tell me where you are."

Yates smirks "I knew I could count on you Detective."

Erin ignores him "When we first met, you said I reminded you of someone. I'm 5'4" and brunette. It's your mother. I remind you of your mother, don't I?"

She says the question like it's a fact, watching the discomfort set in his face.

Yates swallows noticeably, turning away from her for a moment "We can talk about that later, but let's- uh, let's start with the fact that your team went to the wrong place."

Erin glances over to Jay and he nods as he quietly rushes out of the room and heads towards Mouse "You need to tell the team to get out of there, it's a trap."

"Too late. House was set on fire. Boden said the call came in 30 minutes ago from a phone booth on the corner." Mouse informs him.

"Dammit. We need that trace Mouse, now." Jay bites out and rushes back into the break room.

A text comes through to Erin's phone, and she pulls it out of her pocket to check it.

SUSAN'S HOME ON FIRE. NO SIGN OF YATES.

"Now, that will be Detective Tutuola. Have you figured out where I am yet?"

Right on cue, Mouse rushes into the room and hands jay a post-it note. Jay's eyes scan it before he holds it up to Erin.

34TH + SANGAMON

"Yes." She answers.

"Then come." Yates smiles "And we'll talk more."

He moves the phone so Michael Williams is back in the frame, and holds a knife up to the man's throat.

"no, no, no, please!" he whimpers.

Yates looks up at the camera "But come alone, or there will be one more body to add to the list." He says stepping away from his father.

"And the answer is yes. You do remind me of my mother. Right before she threw me in the trash."

The screen goes black. Erin looks to Jay.

"I'm coming with you." He says.

"Jay, you heard him-"

"I'm coming with you. I don't care what you say, he already has our son. I'm not giving him the chance to take you too."

Erin nods, looking to Mouse "Tell Voight we're heading out."

6 hours missing

"Stand down. You are not going in alone." Hank practically yells through the phone.

The tires squeal as Erin turns the corner, Jay trying not to slide around from his position in the backseat.

"I'm not alone. Jay will go in after I do and sweep the house for Ben. Yates won't see him in the car." Erin reasons.

"I am telling you two to stand down, that's an order Erin." Voight repeats.

"He'll kill Michael Williams if I don't show up. He could've already hurt Ben. I'm not waiting any longer. I need to get my son back."

"That's just what he wants you to think. We don't even know if Ben is there!" Voight exclaims.

"It's 34th and Sangamon, Hank." Jay yells out "It's his childhood home. We're almost there."

"34th? Olivia and I are five minutes away. Erin, you are not meeting him alone. Jay cannot cover your back while he's looking for Ben, this is too risky. You hear me? Erin?"

Erin shakes her head "You know that's not happening Hank."

"Jay?"

Jay's eyes meet Erin's in the rear-view mirror "It's not happening Sarge."

Erin disconnects the call, glancing over her shoulder at Jay "You good with this?"

"Am I good with you confronting a known serial killer on your own? No." Jay scoffs "But we don't have a choice."

"I'll be fine. He won't hurt me, at least not until he gets his chance to say whatever the hell he wants to say. You just focus on finding Ben and getting him out of there."

Erin pulls up across the street the street from an old brick house. Overgrown weeds filled in holes of the façade where the worn-down brick had come out. A large sign with a red 'X' sat in the front window, meaning the house had be closed down by the city council – most likely due to structural issues, from the looks of the house.

Erin turned to face Jay, who was now laying almost completely flat across the back seats. His head lay uncomfortably against the door, his view of the house was limited but still enough to keep an eye on his partner.

"Okay, wait five minutes before you enter. I'll leave the door open so hopefully he won't notice you come in."

Jay nods, looking at his partner "Be careful, okay?"

"Always." Erin gave him a small smile before she got out of the car.

Erin held her gun in her right hand. Her hands criss-crossed at the wrist as she used her left arm to stabilize her gun's position. Her left hand held a small flashlight.

She crossed the street and walked up the front stairs with caution. She used her shoulder to press against the front door, finding the door already unlocked. It swung open slowly, and Erin turned her flashlight on.

The house was bare. Stripped down to its foundation. Erin made her way inside, moving room-through-room trying to find Yates, Michael Williams, or her son. She moved into the second room when she heard a loud 'thud' come from upstairs.

She turned around, flashlight and gun pointed up towards the sound. She saw the staircase to her left and moved watchfully towards it, her eyes continually flicking up to check her surroundings.

Erin reached the top of the staircase and walked silently through the corridor. She saw an entrance coming up to her right and slowed down. She leaned against the corridor walk and side-stepped closer. When she reached the doorway she paused, taking a breath before she turned the corner.

The light shone on Gregory Yates, who waved at Erin with one hand. The other, holding Michael Williams who sat on a chair with a rope tied around his hands and another tied around his neck connected to a beam on the ceiling.

"Detective Lindsay. So good to see you again."

…

Jay had entered the house, searching through each room in the hopes of locating his son. He was on the third room. It was in the front of the house near the entrance, he assumed it was a living room. The curtains had been torn down and the light from the moon shone through. He could hear Erin and Yates talking above him. The hole in the ceiling above him giving him a clear view of Michael Williams.

He moves back against the wall, hoping to stay out of Yates' sight.

"Let him go." Erin's voice rang out, and Jay could hear how nervous she sounded.

Yates chuckled "I could. But I am the only thing holding him up."

"Let me call an ambulance for him. Then it'll be just you and me. Just like you wanted."

"He'll be dead before they get here, put that away." Jay can hear Erin's phone beeping as Yates speaks "Well, it won't be just you and me, now will it? After all, your son is somewhere in this house too."

"What did you do with him?" Erin asks.

"Don't worry Detective, he's in a safe place. I would never do anything to hurt him."

Jay's focus is broken when he hears movement behind him, turning quickly and holding his gun up.

He sighs in relief when he sees Benson, and quietly moves towards her.

"Voight's going around back, he's going to check the basement." She whispers to him.

Jay nods "Keep an eye on her, I'm going to clear the rest of the rooms."

…

Erin keeps her gun trained on Yates' head, her other hand ending the 911 call and putting her phone back in her pocket.

"Then why take him? What does my son have to do with any of this?" she asks.

"To prove a point." Yates simply answers, "To demonstrate to you the story of Cane and Abel."

"What do you want here? You want me to shoot you, is that it?"

Yates reaches his hand out, the chair Michael Williams sits on slowly teetering over the edge of the hole in the floor.

"You shoot me, and he falls."

"Stop." Erin says, holding her gun up "Stop!"

Yates pauses. Erin outs her gun back in its holster and holds her hands up. Yates sets Michael's chair back on the ground.

"This is it." She whispers.

Yates nods, motioning to the rocking chair on Erin's left "Have a seat."

Erin does as instructed; her eyes trained on the two men the entire time. She sees movement in her peripheral and her eyes quickly flit down to see Olivia tucked against the wall in the room below them.

"Gillian Hale, do you know her?" Yates asks.

Erin nods "She was your first victim."

Yates hums in agreement "If you've read her file, then you know it says she was a nurse. But what she really wanted to be was a surgeon. A helper. And you know who suffers the most? Helpers. Because up until that moment when you snap their neck, they really believe in the goodness of people."

Erin shivers at his words "She thought that I would spare her because she was three months pregnant. But I didn't, and do you know why? Because that is because that is why I picked her. A pregnant nurse, the beautiful symmetry."

"Why are you telling me this?" Erin probes.

"You wanted this, didn't you detective?" Yates says "Now, my first pair? Oh, that was … electric. Lisa and Rebecca. They fought for each other so hard."

…

Jay grew more frustrated as he went on. He had searched all the rooms and he hadn't found his son. Every room was the same as the last; stripped down and bare. He pressed the comms in his ear, turning it on.

"Did you find him?"

"No. I've searched every room, he's not here." Jay whispered hysterically "There has to be something I'm missing Mouse; he has to be here!"

"hold on, let me check something," Jay can hear Mouse typing "Got it! The second room on the right."

Jay rushed back in, looking around frantically for any sign of Ben "There's nothing in here Mouse."

"There's an extra room behind it, the council report says it was water damaged and the previous owners had it sealed off. There has to be a door or a way in somewhere inside, it's the only room connected to it." Mouse says.

Jay moved his hands slowly along each wall, looking for any mark to show him where the room was. He moved onto the second wall, and that's when he heard it.

A light, almost unnoticeable 'squeak'. But it wasn't in the walls. He looked down at his foot, to the floorboards. He stepped back and searched his eyes over them, noting three that were a slightly darker colour than the rest. The dust on them had been shifted.

"Hold on Mouse, I think I got it."

Jay reached down and took out the switchblade he had put in his boot. He used the knife to slowly pry the floorboards up, trying to keep the noise to a minimum. He was in the process of lifting the final one when Benson came in.

"What the hell are you doing in here!?" She exclaimed softly "I can hear it squeaking from over there."

"There's another room behind this one, it looks like a tunnel connecting them." Jay said, looking at the staircase leading down.

They could hear a soft whimper echoing through the tunnel, and Jay began rushing down.

"Go back to Erin, I'll let you know what I find."

…

"Suffering. It's such an underrated art, isn't it?" Yates poses the question.

He kept rocking the chair back and forth on its hind-legs, Michael Williams letting out a fearful plea every time.

"You know who suffered the most beautifully of them all?" Yates asks, pulling a photo out of his pocket "Poor Nadia."

Erin shakes her head, looking away from the photo he had taken from her apartment.

"You and I, Detective Lindsay, we are so similar. Damaged by a terrible mother. A father who abandoned us, instead of trying to save us. And now, children who were taken from us."

Yates pushes the chair further forward, and Erin lifts off her seat slightly "And we tried to overcome it, didn't we? To become healers. But as it turns out, fixing other people doesn't pave over what you're born with."

"Then what do you want? Why am I here?" Erin growls.

Yates looks around them, quiet for a moment before he turns his attention back on her.

"An execution always needs one thing." He says as he pushes Michael's chair forward "An audience."

"NO!" Michael yells as the chair falls forward.

…

Jay climbs up the short ladder, pushing the trap door open as he enters the dark room. He pulls his flashlight out of his pocket, illuminating the room.

"Oh my god."

"What is it?" Mouse asks.

Jay looks at the various photos taped around the room. Most are of his victims, but one wall is dedicated entirely to Erin.

Photos of her and Nadia, her walking the street. Pictures taken of her with Jay in their house. Her and Ben at the park.

Large boxes fill the space, Jay counts at least 40.

"He's been collecting information since we first met him." Jay looks around the room, opening one of the boxes that sits in front of him "There's boxes full of evidence in here. He's kept it all."

"mama" the soft voice behind him pulls Jay's attention.

"Ben?"

"mama" he hears the call again, coming from the left side of the room.

"Ben!" He calls louder, trying to pinpoint the sound of his son's voice.

"mama" Ben starts crying, and Jay realises it's coming from behind a stack of boxes.

"He's here, Mouse. He's in one of the boxes!" Jay says as he starts frantically tearing the lids off every cardboard box in sight.

…

Erin and Yates face each other, the man inching towards her as he speaks.

"There's no saving people, Erin." He leans down to pick up the rusted ice pick he had set down next to a bottle of green nail polish "We're killers. And, at the end of the day, what is more liberating than killing someone?"

And before Erin has a moment to react, Yates lunges forward. He tackles her to the ground and straddles her hips. Erin squirms under him, trying to fight him off.

"Bad begets bad, begets bad." He says "And you, my lovely, you get to tell this story."

Erin bucks her hips, using all her force to push him off. Yates barely jostles, looking down at her and laughing.

He sets the ice pick down, grabbing Erin's hands and pinning them above her head with one of his hands "You write my name down in a police report. You talk to the press. You testify in court."

His other hand trails down her shirt, lifting it up at the hem "You are my balladeer, singing the song of Gregory Williams Yates."

"NO!" she yells.

…

"I can't find him, Mouse!" Jay says as he pulls open the next box. It's been at least ten minutes since he's been down here, and he knows that if his son is in one of these boxes there's not much time left.

Ben's cries grow softer, the baby growing weaker as his strength evades him.

"Hold on buddy, hold on." Jay says "I'm coming."

He throws the box to the side and grabs the next box from the bottom of the pile. The weight of it takes him by surprise, and his eyes widen as he kneels down. The soft whimpers grow louder and Jay can feel the hope threatening to burst through him.

He pulls the box off the lid and is immediately met with the teary green eyes of his son.

"mama?" Ben tiredly whispers.

"Oh, thank god." Jay cries as he pulls his son into his chest.

"Mouse! I found him!" Jay yells "Turn Erin's comms on. And call an ambulance."

Jay looks down at Ben as he curls up against his father's chest. He looks pale and weak, and his breath is short.

"Hold on buddy, we're going to get you some help." Jay whispers against his son's cheek.

Jay's eyes catch sight of the box his son was in. He can see all the photos of her. Nadia. But these photos were not ones taken by the police after finding her body. These were ones Yates had taken himself. When she was still alive. And after he had raped her.

Yates had gone to all these lengths, just to torture his family.

But he hadn't won.

…

Hank runs into the house and sees Olivia, her body holding Michael Williams up as best she can. He rushes over to her, untying the knot of rope around the man's neck and helping her set him down on the floor.

"What took you so long?" Olivia grunts as the man's weight is removed from her.

"it's a big fucking basement. Took me some time to clear it all." Hank asks "Is he still alive?"

"He stopped breathing, but I could still feel a pulse." Olivia answers starting CPR.

Just then, Erin screams above them.

"NO!"

Voight looks to Olivia, drawing his gun "Stay with him."

Olivia focuses back on Michael Williams as Voight heads towards the stairs.

"Hank." Olivia whispers "Be careful. He's on the edge, if we startle him … He could hurt her."

Voight nods, moving quietly and slowly up the staircase.

…

"Get off me!" Erin fights as hard as she can, trying to pull her hands free.

It feels pointless. Even with one hand pinning hers down, he still significantly outweighs her. But his words keep taunting her. She won't let this be her end.

"Over and Over and over. My story will be with you."

"Erin?" Mouse's voice pulls her attention "Erin, if you can hear me, we got him. Jay found Ben. He's safe."

Relief floods her system. He's safe. They've found him.

"You put me away."

Yates leans downs to whisper in her ear, and Erin takes her chance. She swings her head up as hard and fast as she can, her forehead colliding with his nose.

It stuns Yates, who's hand loosens around Erin's just enough for her to slip them free. She shoves him off her hips, his body falls on top of her feet and she struggles to pull herself out.

She hears noise coming from the hallway and looks up to see if she can spot Olivia. She hopes someone's coming to help her.

A sharp pain suddenly fills her, and Erin screams. Her leg is throbbing. She looks down and sees Yates hand holding the ice pick, now jammed into her leg.

"Did you really think it would be this easy?" Yates says, pulling the ice pick out "I told you. You're going to tell them all my story."

He stands up and Erin pulls her gun out "Don't move." She says, her voice shaking.

She points her gun up at him as Yates towers over her "Take me in. Come on Erin. Take me!"

He winds his arm back, ready to stab her again. Erin squeezes the trigger.

…

Voight stands in the corridor, moving slowly towards the doorway. He steps over a creaky floorboard and pauses, hoping Yates didn't hear him.

He can hear the two fighting, and it takes all his strength not to run straight in and shoot the man trying to harm his detective. But he knows if he gives himself away, it could do more harm than good.

A few more steps closer, he's almost there.

'BANG!'

A gunshot rings out, and Voight abandons his previous tactic. He charges into the room, gun drawn and ready to fight.

Gregory Yates lays motionless on top of Erin Lindsay, blood seeping out onto the floorboards.

Erin grunts, trying to push the dead weight off her. Hank holsters his gun, grabbing Yate's arm and dragging him off the young woman.

Voight's two fingers press against his neck, he waits a minute before shaking his head.

"He's gone." He says, turning back to look at Erin "Are you okay?"

She whimpers in response, clutching her leg "Where's Ben?"

"Halstead has him outside." Voight answers, focusing on her leg "You're bleeding badly. We need to get you checked out. Come on."

Erin puts her right arm around Hank's shoulder as he helps her up. She uses him as a crutch, her right leg bent at the knee, so she wasn't putting any weight on it. They hobble together slowly down the stairs.

"What the hell did he do to you?" Voight growls.

"Ice pick." Erin simply says, knowing Voight will understand.

"I can carry you." He offers.

Erin shakes her head "'s fine." She mumbles "I just want to see Ben."

Voight notices her voice growing drowsy. The adrenaline is wearing off.

"Hold on kid, we're almost there."

Erin can feel her body growing tired. They had been at the house no more than thirty minutes, but to her it felt like a lifetime. She could feel the pain in her leg setting in, the initial burst of energy she had in her altercation with Yates slowly fading.

The sirens grow louder as they make their way to the house, and Erin looks at her boss confused.

"When did you call the ambulance?"

"I didn't. Halstead did." That makes her more alert.

"Is he okay? Is Ben?" her voice grows frantic, and Hank holds her stronger against him.

"They're okay, just a precaution. Benson managed to save Michael Williams, he needs to be transported to Med. From the looks of it so will you."

"I'm fine." Erin insists.

Hank pauses for a second to look at her "You have a puncture wound in your thigh. That's not exactly what I would call 'fine' Erin. It could've been much worse."

Erin shrugs "He had my kid. I wasn't going to wait for backup."

"I know." Hank sighs.

They make their way out the front door, the blue and red lights of the sirens temporarily blinding them both.

"Erin." Olivia rushes towards them both "Thank God. We heard the gunshot, but they wouldn't let us go back inside."

Erin looks behind the older woman and sees the rest of her team working the scene. She manages a small smile.

"I'm good." She replies.

Hank shakes his head "She's got a stab wound. We need to get her to Med."

"No. I need to see Ben." Erin argues, trying to walk towards the ambulance.

The pain shooting through her leg prevents her, and if it wasn't for Hank's arm around her waist she's sure she would've fallen to the ground.

"Hank, please." Erin begs "I need to see him."

Olivia stands on the other side of Erin, lifting the detective's left arm to place over her shoulders.

"He's in the ambulance with Jay, getting checked up. come on." She helps Hank walk Erin down the front steps and to the waiting ambulance.

The team all stand besides, nodding at Erin as the three pass through towards the ambulance.

Jay is sitting on the edge of the ambulance, bouncing Ben on his lap. The paramedics had given him some food and water, which had slightly improved his colour. They had deduced that he was most likely a little dehydrated, and would need to go to the hospital tonight for IV fluids. But Jay refused to leave without his partner.

His stomach had felt like it was in knots since he found Ben. The worry for his son had now been replaced with worry for his girlfriend. They had heard a gunshot almost ten minutes ago. But no one had told him what was going on, Benson insisting that she would check it out while he stayed with Ben.

"Jay." Olivia's voice caught his attention and his head snapped up.

"Oh my god, Erin." He said as he saw her.

Jay stood up and took her arm from Olivia, leading her over to the ambulance so she could sit down. The paramedics immediately began assessing her wound, wrapping a compression dressing around it to slow the bleeding.

Erin reached for her son and Jay let her take him into her arms. She let the tears fall from her eyes as she finally held Ben. The relief of knowing her son was safe felt like a weight had been taking over her shoulders. For the first time since Yates had escaped, she felt like she could breathe again.

"What happened?" Jay asked panicked "Did he shoot you?"

Erin shook her head "He's dead."

Jay lets out a sigh of relief, kissing the top of her head "I was so worried about you."

"I was worried about you guys." Erin says looking down at Ben "Hi buddy."

Ben snuggled against his mother's chest, relaxing into her "mama."

Erin felt her eyes sting as she looked up at Jay "did he just?"

Jay smiled "First word. Hasn't stopped saying it since I found him."

"Oh, I love you so much Ben. I'm so sorry baby." She cried as she kissed the top of his head, holding her son tightly to her.

"This isn't your fault Erin. Yates was a sick, psychopathic murderer. The world's a better place without him." Jay said.

Erin doesn't reply. Instead she leans to the side, resting her weight against Jay's chest.

"It's over." She whispers.

"It's over." Jay agrees.

"we are please to announce that the extended manhunt for escaped convict and murderer Gregory Yates has come to a close…"

Commander Crawley's voice rang out from the television screen in Erin's hospital room. She was seated on a bed, her legs dangling over the edge as she waited for Dr Rhodes to come back in.

She was awaiting her test results so that she could be released. Despite adamantly saying that she was fine, Dr Rhodes insisted on keeping her under observation until he could be sure that the ice pick she had been stabbed with didn't have any traces of potentially harmful bacteria or poisoning.

Jay was with Ben in the paediatric ward. Their son was being checked over by Dr Manning and last she heard he was being hooked up to an IV for the night to make sure his fluids were back to normal levels before he was released tomorrow morning.

She was grateful that Ben hadn't been with Yates long enough to inflict any permanent damage on her son, but it didn't erase the guilt she felt. She was trying her best to just focus on her son and getting past this terrible situation.

Erin held her phone in her hands, looking at the last few items in her camera roll. They were all screen recordings of her phone calls with Yates for the past two days that he had been in Chicago.

"I need to say that this Intelligence Unit never gave up and never backed down. This unit serves the city without recognition or medals,"

Erin selected each of the videos and tapped on the small trash icon in the bottom left corner of her screen.

Are you sure you want to permanently delete these files?

but every single one of them deserves our thanks tonight for their bravery and their continued service."

Erin clicked confirm and placed her phone beside her. She felt lighter.

"Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, and our special thanks go to the state of New York for the cooperation of Lieutenant Olivia Benson and Detective Odafin Tutuola."

"Knock knock." Olivia says as she walked in "I hope you don't mind, I wanted to check in with you before I leave."

Erin smiles "speak of the devil." She motions towards the television "You missed your shoutout."

"I'm sure I'll catch it on the news later tonight." Olivia laughs "How are you doing?"

"Doc said it just needed a few stitches. A couple weeks of physical therapy and I should be good to go. I'm just glad it didn't nick an artery or anything."

"I'm not talking about your leg, Erin. Are you doing okay?"

"I don't know yet."

Olivia nods. She moves to sit on the bed next to Erin.

"Have you ever heard of William Lewis?" She asks.

"Yeah, he's that killer in New York who you …" Erin's voice trails off.

Olivia focuses on a patch of the linoleum floor below her feet "What Lewis wanted was to get so far into his victim's head that- that they couldn't get rid of him. That they couldn't live the lives that they'd planned."

"… I figured out why he took Ben." Erin says abruptly "He kept saying he wanted to make a point. He told me on the phone, that we've all got a little murderer in us. That it's a gift we got from our parents."

Erin takes a deep breath before continuing "He wanted me to be the one to tell his story. He wanted to be responsible for taking his life. So that I would be the one gifting 'the murderer' to my son. And if I didn't kill him, he would've killed me. Either way, Ben gets that 'gift'."

"What makes you think that's the reason?"

"Just a hunch. He was so focused on Cain and Abel. On the murderous traits that we give to the next generation, without even realising it. Something so ingrained in all of us. It's the only reason that makes sense to me."

Olivia looks up at the detective "You see, this? This is what you're up against Erin. You can't let him get to you."

Erin murmurs her agreement "is it wrong? That I'm kind of relieved that I'm the one who killed him? Does that make me a bad person?"

"Not at all." Olivia says emphatically "Greg Yates murdered your friend. He came at you with an ice pick. No, it's not wrong to feel that way. But it doesn't mean that you'll be able to sleep tonight."

"I think I can live with that." Erin nods.

Olivia wraps her arm around Erin in a side-hug "Well, on the nights you can't, just remember that my phone is always on. Always."

"Thank you, Liv. For everything."

Erin returns the hug, the two women holding one another tight. Erin can feel the strength and pain in Olivia all at once. They don't need words to express their feelings.

"uh, is this a bad time?" Connor Rhodes says, Will Halstead standing beside him in the doorway "I can come back later."

"Not at all, I need to get to the airport anyways." Olivia stands up "I'll call you."

Erin nods, squeezing Liv's hand before she exits the room. Erin turns her attention to Connor. She clears her throat and smiles at the doctor.

"So, am I good to go?"

Connor looks at Will "Your initial blood reports show no signs of anything toxic of bacterial in your bloodstream. We'll have to monitor the wound for a few weeks to make sure, you did get stabbed with a rusted ice pick after all. But we're clear for now."

"Sweet!" Erin exclaims "So, who's taking me to the paediatric ward? I need to see my kid."

Will steps forward, stopping Erin from getting off the bed "About that … We did find something else in your bloodwork. Connor thought it was best that I tell you."

Erin frowns at the older Halstead brother "Is everything okay?"

"You should stay seated."

Jay held a sleeping Ben in his arms as he walked short distances back and forth in the room. The IV in his son's arm meant they couldn't go too far. But Ben liked the motion; it soothed him. So Jay kept walking.

A soft popping sound alerted him to the presence of someone else. Jay turned to see Erin coming into the room, on crutches, with Will trailing behind her to make sure she didn't fall.

"Nice ride." Jay jokes as Erin finally reaches them.

"Shut up." She laughs.

Will smiles and helps her sit down in the lounge chair, placing the crutches against the wall beside her.

"She's just got to use those while she's in the hospital. Part of the conditions Connor set for her to be discharged early." Will explains "I've got to do my rounds, but I'll come see you off in the morning."

Jay gives his brother a one-armed hug "Thanks man."

"Of course." Will says and exits the room.

Jay walks over to Erin, who looks antsy. She's waiting with her arms outstretched. Jay leans down and slowly places their sleeping son in her arms, kneeling down beside her.

"What did Natalie say?" Erin asks as she watches Ben.

"He's just dehydrated. They're going to do two bags of fluids over the course of tonight, and he should be good to go tomorrow."

Erin nods "Thank God. I don't know what I would have done if Yates had hurt him.

Jay shakes his head, not wanting to think about the possibilities "How's your leg?"

"Couple of stitches. I have to take the week off while it heals." She answers.

"Good thing Hank's given us two weeks off. Figured we could all use the break, and Commander Crawley figured it was fair given everything we did on this case."

"There's still so much left to do to wrap this up. We still have to give our statements. I have to get tested since I fired my weapon. Not to mention IA's going to be all over our asses for disobeying orders." Erin rambles "But right now, I just want to hold him and not let him go. Ever."

Jay reaches his hand over to rest against Ben's cheek "I know what you mean. I don't think I'm going to be able to let him out of my sight for the next few years, at least."

Erin looks to Jay, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I'm just so glad you both are okay. I don't know what I would do if I lost either of you."

"You don't ever have to worry about that. All three of us are safe and sound." Jay leans in and kisses her softly

Erin smiles against his lips "All four of us."

Jay pulls back surprised and Erin grins wider "What?"

"I had no idea. It showed up on my tests." Erin explains.

"Well, I guess it was more than just anxiety causing your nausea, huh?" Jay jokes.

"I guess it was." Erin laughs "You're happy about this, right? Because I'm really happy."

Jay places his hand over hers holding Ben "Are you kidding me? This is everything I ever wanted."

He leans in and kisses her again "Thank you for fighting us. For coming back to me. For giving me our family."

Erin smiles at his acknowledgement of her returning to him after Nadia's death. They had come so far in such a short time. They had faced so much together in the last ten months, and their future looked more hopeful than ever before.

"Thank you for giving me something – someone – to fight to come back for." Erin leans into Jay, closing her eyes as she rests her head over her partner's heart.

"You're my home, Jay Halstead. Always."

The End.

A/N: Well, here we are. Thank you so much for sticking with me through it all. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought! I hope you guys liked the little surprise I threw in that ending; I thought it kind of made everything come full circle a little bit.

Stay tuned for the epilogue …

Thank you for all the support, and for staying with me on this ride xx

- Maddie :)