34. Chapter 34

Last bit of adorable family time before you all hate me :) Please let me know what you think!

"Halstead," Jay mumbled tiredly into the receiver. His phone had buzzed loudly at three in the morning, rousing the detective from a deep slumber. Kate was snuggled up against Erin, both girls still sleeping soundly. "What?" He sat up quickly, fully awake, "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Swiftly, Jay shed the covers and pulled on a pair of jeans from yesterday before rounding the bed and gently cupping Erin's cheek. He hated that he had to rouse her from her peaceful slumber, but didn't want his girls to wake up and worry about his whereabouts. "Babe, wake up."

"Mm?" Erin turned her head and caught Jay's urgent gaze. "What time is it? Why are you dressed?" She widened her eyes in anticipation, her partner's warm palm on her cheek rapidly pulling her out of her sleep-addled mind. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "I just got a call from Crowley. They've got him. Paul Jackson. In custody," Jay smiled, "I'm headed to the district, right now. They're booking him and I wanted to see his smug face before he gets shipped off to 26th and Cal."

"Really?" Erin sat up in bed, the covers pooling at her waist. She was clad in one of Jay's old t shirts and shivered as the cool air washed over her skin, "They're sure it's the right guy?"

"Down to the fingerprints," Jay confirmed, "I'll be back in an hour or two, you go back to sleep."

"I'll come with you," Erin swung her legs off the mattress, "I wanna give him a piece of my mind and I want to see that bastard sent off."

Jay shook his head, "I know, but you should really sleep, babe. Will said it would help your head heal faster," Jay eased himself down onto the mattress. He grimaced slightly, knowing that he was in for an argument. Maybe he shouldn't have woken her up and just left a note. As he predicted, Erin glared at him.

"It's been two weeks, Jay. I'm feeling better, you don't need to handle me with kid gloves," She narrowed her eyes and scowled, "Besides, he attacked me. I should get some time in the cage for that one."

"Er, Crowley was the one who called. There's no chance of either of us getting in to talk to him. She just said I need to be there as a formality," He took her hand and rubbed her fingers delicately, "Please, go back to sleep. It's a Saturday. We can see him at arraignment next week, after he spends the weekend in lock-up."

Erin huffed and shivered again. "Fine. Only because the apartment is freezing," She tucked her legs beneath the covers again, her eyes softening, "Come back soon though, okay?"

"I won't be long," Jay promised, leaning forward to tenderly kiss her lips, "And after, I'll make us some breakfast, too."

"Okay fine, you win," Erin mumbled, settling back against the pillow. Kate had shifted slightly over to Jay's side of the bed and was now flat on her back, mouth slightly open with one arm extended over her head and the other holding Tiger and Lion against her chest. "She's so out. And she sleeps like you, you know."

"Thankfully," Jay smiled, "I don't know if the bed could handle two cover hogs."

Erin wrinkled her nose, "Get out of here, Halstead."

True to his word, Jay returned two hours later. Tiredly, he shed his jacket, followed by his jeans and crawled back into bed. Kate was cocooned into Erin's side, her mother's arm slung across her stomach and keeping the little girl close. He beamed at the sight, extending an arm over his daughter so that he could touch Erin's hip. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes, heaving a sigh of relief when she caught her partner's gaze. "How was it?"

"They got him. And they charged Bowler too," Jay moved his hand from her hip to gently stroke her cheek, "Turns out he's been helping distribute and cover up the child torture pornography."

"You're kidding," Erin gasped, eyes immediately falling to her little girl. She paused and glanced back to her partner worriedly, "Did-did they have images of Kate?"

Jay closed his eyes, "Uh, I couldn't bring myself to ask. But I'm assuming they do, because Commander Crowley just had this look, like she knew." He swallowed, smoothing Kate's hair back, unable to fathom how someone could be so cruel to a child. "Voight said Stone's probably going to want to talk to us, but that Kate definitely won't have to testify."

"My God," Erin whispered, instinctively holding her daughter closer against her chest, "At least they're behind bars." She let out a breath that she had been holding since they first brought Kate into their lives, relishing in her partner's touch and her sweet baby's warm little body. "And we're safe."

"That we are," Jay agreed, running his knuckles across her cheekbone, "We're safe, and everything is going to be okay."

Kate stirred slightly, cuddled up against her mother's chest. Her father's arm was draped across her, resting delicately on Erin's ribcage. The night before Kate had sleepily asked to spend the night with her parents while they were reading a story on the couch, and of course they agreed. A night with their little girl in bed with them usually meant no nightmares, which benefited the entire family. "Morning, Squirt," Jay breathed, moving his hand from Erin's torso to brush Kate's hair off her face, "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh huh," she smiled tiredly, "I always sleep good in here." Kate looked up at her father sweetly, "Cause here's where I feel the safest."

"Me too," Jay leaned down to kiss the crown of her head, "What do you think about making some chocolate chip pancakes this morning, hm?"

"You don't gotta go to work?" Kate widened her eyes in excitement. Due to the craziness of the past few weeks and the fact that Intelligence was basically down a detective with Erin on desk duty, Jay had been working on Saturdays. But now that Jackson was behind bars, Hank practically ordered him to take the weekend off.

"Not today, kiddo." Jay smiled, "And I was thinking that maybe later, we could go to the Children's Museum."

"Really?" Kate had been to the Children's Museum down at the Navy Pier back on a rainy Saturday in August, before she had really opened up to Jay and Erin. While she was captivated by the exhibits, Jay knew that a trip would now blow her mind. She looked up at her father worriedly, "But last time, the lights at the 'quarium made Mommy sick. And they have lights at the moo-se-yum. And-and I don't want it to hurt Mommy's head."

Jay felt his heart melt. His little girl was so incredibly thoughtful and considerate. He hadn't even considered that Erin might be sensitive to the lighting. "Oh, Squirt, you are the most thoughtful kid ever," he kissed her forehead, "But the good news is that Mommy is doing a whole lot better. And you're right, we'll have to see how it goes, but think she would feel very left out if we went without her."

"Right," Kate whispered back, "We gotta go with Mommy, cause she knows where all the stuff is."

He nodded, "How about you and I get started on the pancakes and we let Mommy sleep for a little bit longer? And after breakfast we can see if she feels up to a trip to the museum."

The little girl put her finger to her lips, indicating that she would be as quiet as possible. Carefully, Jay vacated the bed and helped Kate shimmy out of Erin's embrace, quickly replacing the child's body with a pillow. Erin stirred slightly but relaxed almost instantly. Jay hoisted Kate into his arms and proceeded to the kitchen, relishing the fact that he was able to hold his baby so close. "I love you Daddy," Kate whispered, her arms around her father's neck. She shivered slightly so Jay held her closer, inhaling deeply as he pressed his nose into her soft hair.

"I love you more, Squirt." Jay replied, feeling his daughter shiver again, "Are you cold?" She nodded. Jay adjusted the thermostat and decided that Kate might need something a little warmer while he waited for the apartment to warm up. He snagged Erin's sweatshirt that she had been wearing the night before off the couch and placed the little girl on the countertop, slipping the worn material over her head in one motion. "Mommy's sweatshirt's gonna keep you warm, okay?"

Kate nodded, reaching out to her father again, "You keep me warm too, Daddy."

Jay chuckled and adjusted the little girl on his hip so he could rifle through the pantry for some pancake mix and chocolate chips. "Do you think we should do dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips this morning?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

"Two kinds?" Kate's eyes were huge, "There's more than one kind of choc-lit?"

"Oh yeah. There's a bunch of different types that all taste different," Jay pulled the two bags out from the cupboard, "Should we do a taste test with what we got?"

"For breakfast?" Kate asked excitedly, "We gonna eat choc-lit for breakfast?"

"Before breakfast," Jay corrected her, grinning widely, "And we'll see which ones we like best, and put those in the pancakes."

"Okay!" Kate said gleefully as Jay set her down on the counter. He wiggled his eyebrows and reached into the first bag.

"Tell me what you think of this one," Jay handed her a small piece of dark chocolate before popping one into his mouth. Kate chewed thoughtfully, wrinkling her eyebrows in consideration.

"Dis tastes like the choc-lit Grandpa Hank has at his house," Kate informed Jay, "It's the kind Mommy don't like too much."

"Okay, what about this one?" Jay gave her a white chocolate chip. "This is white chocolate, so it's a little different."

Again, Kate chewed slowly. This time, she grimaced slightly, "It doesn't taste like choc-lit."

Jay smiled, "It's not my favorite either. Let's try these ones." He pulled out a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips and placed one into Kate's open palm. "What do you think?"

"These are best," Kate said, nodding eagerly.

"Alrighty, last ones." Jay handed her a milk chocolate chip, smiling when Kate's eyes lit up in delight. "You like them? These are Mommy's favorite."

"I change my mind. These ones are the best," Kate said, "We put these in the pancakes?"

"Do you want to put both in?" Jay asked knowingly, reaching out to tickle his little girl. She squealed in delight and nodded enthusiastically. "You know what else? We could put bananas in the pancakes too."

"Really?" Kate stopped giggling and looked at her father seriously, "Bananas inside pancakes?"

"Oh yeah," Jay nodded, reaching across the counter to pluck a few bananas from the bowl of fruit, "I should have thought of this before. Double chocolate chip banana pancakes, coming right up."

While Kate mashed the banana carefully with a fork, Jay heated up the pan and quickly mixed the batter. "How are the bananas coming, Squirt?"

"All done," Kate said, "I mashed 'em up."

"Good job," Jay slipped the mixture into the batter and stirred before placing a dollop on the sizzling pan. "You want to sprinkle on the chocolate chips?" Gently, Kate sprinkled a few semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips across the pancakes. "I think we can put a few more on there, don't you think?" Jay asked, adding a few more.

"That looks more like dessert than breakfast to me," Erin mused, stepping into the kitchen, wrapped in a sweatshirt of Jay's, "Is Daddy feeding you chocolate for breakfast, baby?"

"Before breakfast," Kate said sweetly. Erin shot a look at her partner, who grinned wildly.

"We had to do a taste test to see which chocolate chips were best," Jay shrugged, flipping the pancakes onto a plate.

"Just this once," Erin acquiesced, glancing hungrily at the pancakes on the plate, "Too much chocolate in the morning isn't good for us, you know."

"That's why there are bananas in the pancakes," Jay scooped more batter onto the pan, "It's healthy."

"It's not." Erin rolled her eyes, "But today's a special day."

"How come?" Kate asked, now looking expectantly at her parents. "Is it cause you and Daddy don't gotta work?"

"Yep," Jay confirmed, flipping the pancakes. He exchanged looks with Erin, who nodded, "And because we have some good news for you." He paused, "They caught Paul Jackson. He's in jail and he's not getting out."

Kate looked from one parent to the other, "We safe now?"

"Yes, baby, we're safe. You don't need to worry, okay?" Erin smoothed Kate's hair back, "What do you say we eat some pancakes and then enjoy the day, hm?"

Kate sat quietly at the kitchen table, carefully eating the pancakes that Jay had sliced up on her plate. Jay and Erin could tell that something was up as the little girl pushed the pieces around, only eating a few bites. Silently, they looked to one another trying to discern what was going on in their child's head. "Do you like the pancakes, baby?" Erin asked gently, resting her finger's gently on her little girl's hand.

She nodded but didn't look up to meet Erin's gaze. Instead, she focused on the pieces of pancake and gripped her plastic fork tighter in her small fist. Erin looked to Jay, who set his fork down. "Are you feeling okay?" Jay asked after a moment, "You haven't eaten very much."

"I'm okay," Kate whispered, her eyes still cast downward, "I'm not hungry."

"Did the chocolate make your tummy hurt?" Erin asked. Kate shook her head and ate a piece of pancake.

"I'm okay," she repeated, swallowing and setting her fork down.

"Are you sure?" Jay probed, "You've been awfully quiet." He tried to meet his daughter's gaze, "Are you worried about Paul Jackson?"

Kate shook her head again, but glanced up toward her father. "He's in jail?"

"Yep," Jay confirmed, "I watched them put him in the back of the squad car really early this morning while you and Mommy were still sleeping. He's not getting out anytime soon."

She listened intently, tears filling her eyes. "But does that mean I gotta leave now?" Kate asked, the tears quickly spilling over her cheeks.

"Oh, no, baby," Erin reassured her, "Why do you think you have to leave?"

Kate hiccuped, "Cause I came to live with you so Mr. P wouldn't get me. And-and now he's in jail but I don't want to go back." With that, the little girl erupted in sobs. Both Erin and Jay immediately vacated their seats and crouched beside their daughter.

"No, no, my love, you're here to stay," Erin cooed, running her hand down Kate's back, "Just because he's in jail doesn't mean you have to leave. You never have to leave, okay? Never." She swallowed the growing lump in her throat and looked at Jay sadly.

"Squirt, sweetheart, we brought you home because you're our daughter. We had you in protective custody because of him but now that he's gone we don't have to worry. You're our little girl," Jay kissed the top of Kate's head, "You're not going anywhere, I promise."

Kate sniffed and looked at Erin with watery eyes, "I get to stay forever?"

"Forever," Erin said confidently, "Forever and ever."

Just as the family was getting ready to head out to the Children's Museum, Erin's phone rang. "Lindsay," she answered, holding her cell to her ear while simultaneously helping Kate slip on her coat, "What?" She paused what she was doing, "It's a Saturday. This can't wait until Monday? Yes, no, I understand. I'll get back to you." She disconnected the call, squatting down in front of her little girl.

"Who was that, Er?" Jay asked, pulling his heavy coat off the hook.

"That was Ana Valdez. She's the assistant state's attorney who's going to be trying Paul Jackson, and she needs me to make another statement about what happened." She glanced up at Jay, "And she needs Kate to make one too."

"I-I-I don't wanna see him," Kate rushed out, tears filling her eyes and rapidly streaming down her cheeks, "I don't, please, please, I don't wanna."

"No, no, sweetheart, you don't have to," Erin quickly assured her, cupping her baby's cheek with her hand, "He's not going to be there. It's just going to be a lawyer and she's really nice. She just wants to make sure that she has all the information so Paul Jackson has to spend the rest of his life in prison."

"I don't wanna do it again," Kate sobbed, stepping backwards, away from her mother. "I-I don't wanna test-fy." She burst into tears, covering her face with her hands.

"You don't have to, Squirt," Jay crouched beside Erin and gently touched Kate's arm. "This is much different. It's just us and the lawyer-"

"And Dr. Handel," Erin interjected, "And we're just going to talk for a little bit. Mr. P won't be there, his lawyer won't be there, it's all very easy."

"Mr. Bowler not gonna be there e-der?" Kate asked, removing her hands from her tear-stained cheeks.

Jay and Erin shook their heads, "No, kiddo, he's going to jail too. He did some bad stuff and worked for Mr. P," Jay explained, reaching up to brush a few tears off Kate's cheek, "You don't have to worry about him, okay?"

"It won't be long," Erin told her, "And maybe we can go to the museum after, or even tomorrow and then we'll get Grandpa Hank to come with us since he won't be working."

"No bad guys gonna be there?" Kate asked quietly, looking expectantly at Erin.

"Nope, just us, Dr. Handel and Antonio's friend Ana Valdez," Erin confirmed, reaching forward to pull her little girl into her embrace, "Daddy and I will be there the whole time, okay? And then maybe we could go out for some ice cream."

"Even though Daddy gived me choc-lit for breakfast?" Kate asked, wrapping her arms around Erin's neck.

Jay chuckled and stood, donning his coat, "I think we can make an exception today."

"Okay, Erin, I'm just going to need you to state your full name for the record," Ana Valdez smiled kindly at Erin, who was seated across the conference table. Jay sat beside her with Kate in his lap, slowly stroking the little girl's arm to keep her relaxed. He can feel her tiny heart pounding as she rests against his chest, and hates that the only thing he can do to help her feel better is rub her arm so that she knows that he's there.

"Erin Lindsay," Erin stated.

"And what is your occupation?"

"I am a Detective with the Chicago Police Department, in the Intelligence Unit."

"What happened on the evening of January 18th of this year?"

Erin swallowed, "I had gotten off work to go to the grocery store. I picked up some sushi and went back to my apartment, alone. I uh, opened the door and heard a voice behind me say 'nice to finally meet you, detective'. I knew it was Paul Jackson. And the next thing I knew I was laying on the floor, tasting blood in my mouth because I bit my tongue. I heard my daughter crying, my partner asking me to wake up." She swallowed again.

"How did you know it was Paul Jackson?" ASA Valdez asked, making notes on her paper while the stenographer typed away.

"I just did, I guess. He had been trying to hurt my family, we had his brother in custody and were closing in on him."

"Did anything else happen that evening?"

"Um, my partner, Jay, told our daughter, Kate, to grab some clothes from her dresser because we needed to leave. And she screamed and when I got to her bedroom, there was a dead woman, laying on the floor who fell out of the closet. Then my boss showed up and took me to the hospital, but to be honest that's all a bit fuzzy."

"Thank you," ASA Valdez smiled. She turned to the nervous child seated on Jay's lap. "Kate, are you alright to do what your mom just did?" She gestured for Dr. Handel to enter the conference room. Prior to Erin's statement, the detectives, doctor and lawyer agreed that it would be best for the therapist to ask Kate the questions, while ASA Valdez could interject as necessary. Because Jackson was on the hook for the child pornography and drugs in addition to the child abuse, Kate's statement was not imperative but could prove helpful if the case got complicated.

"Hi there Kate," Dr. Handel greeted cheerily, "Mind if we chat for a bit? Ms. Valdez is just going to listen mostly, okay?"

Kate squirmed uncomfortably. "I gotta talk about Mr. P?"

Erin nodded, "Just for a bit. It will really help Ms. Valdez make sure he stays in jail. But Dr. Handel is going to ask the questions. And Ms. Valdez is so nice."

"You and Daddy gonna stay?" Kate whispered, anxiously glancing around the room.

"If that's what you want," Dr. Handel piped up, smiling kindly, "I think it would make you feel a whole lot better to have your folks in here with you."

"But I gotta talk about Mr. P," the little girl avoided Erin's gaze, "I-I don't want to make Mommy and Daddy upset."

"Sweetheart, you don't need to worry about Mommy and me. We want you to feel comfortable enough to talk about what happened to you, so if it would make feel better, we could wait outside. Or we could stay, it is up to you. But you don't need to worry about upsetting us. We love you, no matter what." Jay kissed the top of his daughter's head, Erin nodding in agreement.

"Whatever you want, baby." Erin smiled softly and stroked her small fingers, "We'll be here for you regardless."

Kate thought about it for a moment. "C-can you please stay?"

Jay smiled and kissed her head again, "Of course." He looked nervously to the therapist, who nodded her approval.

"Okay," Kate breathed, "I ready."

Badum badum the next chapter is a tough one BUT I think it's important to the story as a whole.