43. Chapter 43

Glad to hear that people are still reading :) I have a a few more ideas in the works for this story, so keep telling me when you like it and I'll get them out to you as soon as I can (wink wink)

Jay and Erin sat rigidly in the gallery seats of the courthouse, listening to Paul Jackson's attorney attempt to his client. "There is absolutely no concrete proof that my client was ever involved in the distribution of child pornography or the abuse of a tender-aged child," Randolph Lewis argued, "Everything that has been brought before the jury is circumstantial and inadmissible, especially considering the fact that the child in question is of direct relation to the Chicago Police Department. Your honor, this entire case is a farce, and my client should be released on his own recognizance."

Erin had to clamp her mouth shut to keep herself from letting out a scream in disapproval. How someone could stoop so low and defend a criminal like Jackson never ceased to make her blood boil. Jay sat on her left, knuckles turning white as he gripped the wooden bench in frustration. "I can't believe this guy," Erin hissed as the lawyer droned on, gesturing wildly to the jury, "If Valdez doesn't get a conviction and Jackson walks…"

Jay shook his head slightly, "He won't. She's good. And he killed Sarah Harding. And jumped you. There's no way he's walking."

"I hope you're right," Erin mused, adjusting her court-appropriate blazer. She snapped to attention when the judge banged the gavel, dismissing the courtroom for the jury to deliberate.

"They'll get him, kid," Hank said gruffly, rising to his feet, "Let's get out of here for a bit, go for a walk. Could be days before the jury reaches a verdict."

"Can we pick up Kate from school early?" Jay looked at Erin hopefully, "Take her out for ice cream or something?"

"She would love that," Erin grinned in response, "Hank, you want to join?"

"You two go," Hank gestured to the exit, "I've got to take care of some stuff back at the district. I'll let you know if Valdez calls, okay?"

"Thanks, Sarge," Jay placed his hand on the small of Erin's back, leading her out of the courthouse and to the Sierra.

"Look, they put new artwork up," Jay gestured to the wall that boasted colorful construction paper posters created by very little hands. "Which one do you think is hers?"

Erin peered up at the carefully-made pieces of art, accompanied by a small write-up by the teacher, explaining that the class made "About Me" posters, and had learned about likes and dislikes. As she slowly walked down the hall, there were colorful drawings of what appeared to be favorite foods, animals and places, along with sentence, "I like _, but I don't like _." One little boy named Eric had drawn a picture of what looked like Wrigley Field with the caption, "I like the Cubs, but I don't like mushrooms." Erin chuckled to herself. "Not sure, babe, but this one is funny."

"I found it," Jay swallowed, pointing at the third from last drawing on the wall. In typical Kate fashion, the artwork was done patiently, depicting herself, her parents and grandfather standing in front of a large fish tank with the caption, "I like the aquarium, but I don't like hitting."

Erin sucked in a breath at the honesty of the little girl's statement. No matter how far Kate had come since moving in with the detectives nearly eight months ago, she was constantly reminded of what her child had been forced to endure and its lingering effect on her psyche. She placed a comforting hand on Jay's tensed shoulder, trying to convey with a simple touch that their little girl was safe now. "C'mon, let's go get her."

She poked her head into the alcove where the door to Kate's classroom was and peered through the plexi-glass at the preschoolers, all sitting at their tiny tables, working on some type of art project. Erin spotted Kate sitting on the far side, intently focused on her work. She smiled to herself and knocked lightly, causing Alexa Carlson to look up from another child and gesture for the detectives to come inside. "Erin, Jay, hi!" Alexa smiled widely, "So great to see you, Kate's over at her desk, we're working on coloring the seasons."

"Wow," Erin mused, taking a step into the classroom, Jay right behind her, "How's she doing?"

"Amazing," Alexa emphasized, "Kate is doing remarkably well. She and Taylor have become good friends, and she is speaking up more, which is just so great to see. The progress that she's made is phenomenal, considering everything she's been through. You two have done a great job."

"Thank you," Jay nodded in appreciation, glancing around at the other children. Most were oblivious to the extra adults in the room, including his little girl, who was concentrating hard on what she was writing.

"Kate," Alexa Carlson said softly, pointing to Jay and Erin with a grin, "Look who's here."

"Mommy! Daddy!" Kate exclaimed, dropping the green crayon and rushing across the classroom toward her parents. Jay beamed and lifted his little girl into his arms, holding her closely against his winter coat.

"Hi Squirt!" He kissed her warm cheek, "Surprise."

"You and Mommy both here to pick me up!" Kate grinned widely at her mother and up at Jay, "You don't gotta work?"

"This afternoon, we're all yours," Erin smiled and brushed some of Kate's hair off her face, "Is that okay with you?"

"Yes!" Kate nodded enthusiastically, "I get to go now?"

"You do," Alexa Carlson confirmed, "Don't forget to take your drawing to show your parents, though."

"I won't!" The little girl nodded seriously, "Daddy, you gotta put me down, I gotta get my art!"

Jay chuckled and set his baby down, watching her as she hurried over to her desk and retrieved her carefully-drawn rendition of the four seasons. "Oh, wow, I think that definitely need to go on the fridge," Jay accepted the piece of paper from his little girl and admired her work, "What do you think Er?"

"Absolutely," Erin grinned, holding Kate's backpack and coat, "Ready, baby?"

"Uh-huh," Kate took Erin's outstretched hand and waved goodbye to her teacher, "Bye Miss Carlson, thank you."

"You are very welcome," Alexa waved back, "See you on Monday, Kate."

"We going home early?" Kate asked as the little family made their way out of the small school, "Since you don't gotta be at work?"

"We're actually going to get some ice cream, how does that sound?" Jay wiggled his eyebrows, causing his little girl to giggle. "I know it's a little cold out…"

"Ice cream is still good!" Kate laughed as Jay tickled her gently, assisting her with all the clips to her car seat.

"How come you and Daddy don't gotta work right now?" Kate asked after taking a bite of the Oreo flavored ice cream she had selected, "You guys are always workin' 'cause you gotta protect the city."

"We were in court for most of this morning," Jay explained slowly after Erin cast a nervous look his way, "And the jury has to make a few decisions, which is why they let us all leave and then come back afterwards."

"That's how come you got your suit on," Kate nodded, recognizing that her father seldom wore a suit with the exception of special events and when he was needed in court. She paused and glanced up at her parents worriedly, "Were-were you there 'cause of Mr. P?"

Erin and Jay exchanged glances and both nodded, "But Ms Valdez did a really good job, and the state has a big case against him," Erin tried to reassure the little girl and herself, "They're hopefully going to put him away for a very long time."

"You don't need to worry, okay?" Jay stroked Kate's tiny hand gently, "I know you're nervous, but the lawyers are going to make sure that he spends time in jail for what he did to you."

"And for hurting Mommy?" Kate asked, still appearing incredibly unconvinced, "And for killing that lady?"

"Yep," Jay nodded, offering a gentle smile to Erin, who looked almost as troubled as her little girl, "They're going to get him for those things, and for the drugs, and for other stuff too."

"Is-is that how come you got me from school? Cause he could still get me?" Kate's lower lip quivered and her ice cream sat in the cup, melting and forgotten, "Am I not safe no more?" Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Oh, no, sweetheart, no," Erin rushed out, quickly plucking a napkin from the dispenser and wiping away her little girl's tears, "You are perfectly safe. And you're safe at school. Daddy and I just wanted to spend some special time with you since we've been working a lot."

"And we don't get to pick you up from school often," Jay added, "And we missed you."

Kate sniffed and looked up at her parents who were staring back at her lovingly, "So everything's okay?"

"Everything's perfectly fine," Erin smiled, scooting her chair back so the little girl could climb into her lap, "I know we've had a crazy few months, but everything is finally getting back to normal."

"And you're safe, we promise," Jay emphasized, "Mommy and I are going to make sure of that."

"I won't be late," Erin reassured Jay as he zipped up the back of her tight navy dress, "Burgess just needs some support from her girlfriends right now, you know?"

"I get it," Jay nodded, taking a step back to admire his girl from behind, the dress she had donned causing his mind to venture to all kinds of places, "I just wish you didn't look so smoking hot in that dress."

"You're going to be the one taking this off tonight," Erin spun around, her eyes twinkling, "And I wanted to watch the game tonight with you and Kate, but Kim's been seeing that guy and I know she still misses being with Ruzek…"

"Don't feel guilty for having a night out, babe," Jay leaned down and kissed her cheek, "It's going to be great. Will's coming over, and he and Kate and I are going to eat pizza and watch the game."

"I know, I can't help it." Erin tousled her hair, "Maybe I should just stay. Work's been busy, I feel like we barely see Kate, and I don't want her to feel like I'm choosing to do something else over spending time with her."

"Erin," Jay cupped Erin's cheek with his palm, "Kate's going to be fine with Will and I for a few hours. We spent the whole afternoon with her yesterday and the whole day today. You haven't had a night out in months. Seriously, babe, you're going."

A loud knock at the door cut off Erin before she was able to speak. "I got it!" Will's voice echoed throughout the apartment, followed by the pitter-patter of Kate's footsteps away from the front door. While she was comfortable with her family, new people always made the little girl nervous.

"Wow Mommy, you look so fancy!" Kate exclaimed, hurrying into their bedroom to stand beside Jay while Will paid the pizza guy, "You gonna play with Off-cer Kim?"

"I am," Erin smiled and squatted down to look her baby in the eyes, "Is that okay with you? If you spend some time with Daddy and Uncle Will?"

"Uh-huh," Kate nodded, reaching a tiny hand out to touch the earrings that Erin had selected, "You look very pretty."

"Thank you, sweetheart," Erin stroked her cheek, "And I won't be very late, and I know you three are going to have a great time watching the game and eating pizza."

"You comin' back though, right?" Kate confirmed, looking up to Jay as well.

"Absolutely," she kissed her baby's forehead, "And I am so jealous that you and Daddy and Uncle Will get to watch the game."

"We get pizza too," Kate smiled sweetly, "We can save you a piece?"

"That would be amazing," Erin stood and adjusted her dress, "Okay, Kim is probably waiting for me. You sure this is okay?" She looked at Jay, who rolled his eyes.

"Get out of here, babe. We're going to have a great time." He lifted Kate into his arms, "We're going to eat pizza and watch the Hawks decimate the Rangers and read some stories before bedtime!" Kate giggled when Jay tickled her gently.

"We gonna miss you Mommy," Kate squealed as Jay poked her again, "But you gonna have fun!"

Erin chuckled and grabbed her clutch from her dresser, "Okay, you three Halsteads better behave yourselves. Kate, I'm trusting you to keep these two goons in line, sound good?"

"I got it!" Kate said seriously, earning a laugh from her father.

"Don't worry, Erin. We're going to be fine." Will placed the hot pizza on the countertop, "You've got a doctor and a cop in the building."

"Yeah, yeah," Erin scoffed, pulling on a pair of heels and accepting her heavy coat from Jay, "Okay, call me if you need anything. I won't be late."

"Love you," Jay pressed a chaste kiss on her lips before whispering something in her ear. Her cheeks darkened and she gave him a swift swat on the chest before turning to her little girl.

"Have a fun time with Daddy and Uncle Will, baby. I'll come say good night to you when I come home, okay? I love you."

"Love you too," Kate kissed her mother's cheek.

"Be good, boys," Erin called over her shoulder, raising her eyebrows at her partner when he flashed a boyish grin. She closed the door behind her.

"I order wings as well," Will broke the silence, "And mozzarella sticks."

"Amazing," Jay grinned, "I don't think Kate has ever tried those. What do you think, Squirt? Want to go on a culinary experience that you'll never forget?"

"Okay," Kate said skeptically, glancing at the Styrofoam containers with the junk food, "Am I gonna like it?"

"I hope so," Will grinned, "You can't have a Hawks game without wings and mozz sticks."

By the end of the second third of the game, Kate was fast asleep on Jay's chest. She was not a fan of the chicken wings, but found the mozzarella sticks to be surprisingly delicious despite their appearance. "I like them, Daddy!" she had squealed, mouth full of cheese, "But not as much as I like strawberries."

"You've got an amazing kid there," Will said fondly after a sip of beer, "Sometimes I can't believe she's actually yours."

"Thanks, man," Jay rolled his eyes at his brother's jab, "She is incredible though. I mean, she's literally been through hell and has come out on the other side. You know what she told me and Erin the other day? That we were the best thing to ever happen to her. And she's four. And honestly, she's the best thing that ever happened to me. But the fact that she knows about what she went through and how drastically different her life is now…" he trailed off, taking a slow sip of his beer, "She amazes me, constantly."

"How are the nightmares?" Will asked, "Voight mentioned that when she stayed with him, things were pretty okay."

"It's alright," Jay ran a hand over his sleeping daughter's head, "When she sleeps in our bed she usually makes it through the night. So on nights when she's in her own bed there's usually one or two, and sometimes we just end up taking her to bed with us. It's hard to find a balance though, because we don't want her to be unable to sleep alone, but it kills me when she wakes up screaming."

"I bet," Will mused, "Can't imagine how terrifying those dreams must be."

"Breaks my heart," Jay responded honestly, "Some of the things she says, the things that she's seen…And being in the courtroom yesterday, where that bastard was sitting smugly…" he trailed off, unable to complete the thought.

"They'll get him, Jay. There's no way they let a scumbag like that just walk."

"I know, I know," he shook his head, "I get so angry when I think about what he did to Kate, how he hurt Erin…they're my girls, man. I just…it makes my blood boil."

"I get it, I really do." Will nodded, "They're the most important things in your life, Kate and Erin. They're your family. And he hurt them. But justice is coming for him."

"I hope you're right," Jay mumbled. He glanced down at the sleeping form on his chest and then turned to his brother, "Do you have the key to Mom's safety deposit box?"

"Yeah, I do. It's in my apartment," Will raised his eyebrows, "What do you need in there?"

"I want to ask Erin to marry me," Jay breathed. He smiled wistfully, "I love her. And I couldn't do this without her. She's my daughter's mother, she's my partner and she's the strongest woman I know."

"About time," Will grinned, taking another sip, "I'll get you the key, bro. And I'm happy for you, I really am."

Will left after the Blackhawks won in overtime, determined to get home before his long shift in the morning. Jay remained on the couch, unwilling to remove his daughter from her comfy position on his chest. He glanced at the time in the lower right-hand corner of the screen and widened his eyes in surprise. It was past midnight, and Erin had texted two hours earlier promising to be home around eleven. Just as he reached for his phone on the coffee table, Jay heard the familiar sound of the key scraping against the lock.

Erin stumbled into the apartment, clearly trying to be as quiet as possible but quite obviously failing at it while she struggled to pull off her heels. "Hey babe," Jay whispered, causing her to snap her head up. A goofy grin spread across her cheeks as she regarded her partner and her little girl. "Did you have a good time?"

"Uh-huh," Erin giggled, shuffling across the living room and squeezing herself in between the side of the couch and Jay's lap. He chuckled, running a hand over her wind-blown locks and pressing a kiss on her forehead. "Who knew that becoming a mom would make me such a lightweight?"

Jay chuckled again as she settled against him, reaching a hand to run through her baby girl's hair, "How'd she do?"

"Well, we tried mozzarella sticks and chicken wings. She didn't love the wings, but she liked the fried cheese," Jay informed her, watching in amusement as Erin's eyebrows shot up.

"Do we have any more?" She asked hopefully, her voice sounding remarkably innocent and sweet through her inebriation. Jay nodded and gestured toward the pizza box on the coffee table.

"Will wanted to eat them, but Kate told him we had to save a few for you. And two slices of pepperoni." Jay grinned as Erin excitedly lifted a piece of pizza to her mouth, moaning in appreciation.

"God, I love this kid," she mumbled through a mouthful of sauce and cheese, "If she wasn't here, you two totally would have eaten everything."

"Hey!" Jay exclaimed, "I would not."

Erin giggled and proceeded to take a bite out of the cold mozzarella stick, "I know. You would have saved me a piece. 'Cause you always take care of me. Even when I make you mad." She settled in closer, trying to get comfortable in her fancy dress, "I love you, you know that, right?"

"I know," Jay kissed her cheek where she had gotten a bit of marinara sauce, "And I love you." Erin snuggled closer, still holding a slice of pizza in one hand, "So, did you have a good time?"

"Eh," Erin shrugged, "I just wanted to be home with you guys." She glanced over at her little girl, still snoozing softly on her partner's chest, "God she's cute."

Jay grinned, pulling Erin closer, "I guess being a mom really has made you soft, Er. Never thought I'd see the day when Erin Lindsay couldn't hold her liquor."

"Hey!" Erin pulled back from her partner's embrace, scowling at the goofy grin he wore, "I am not soft. I haven't been drinking since I got bashed over the head by a psychopath, thank you very much. And I'd like to see you keep up with a group of women, two of whom are heartbroken."

"I'm kidding babe." Jay tucked some loose hair behind her ear, "I'm just kidding."

"Fine," she huffed, settling back against his shoulder, "And to think, I just wanted to come home and have sex with my boyfriend, but he thinks I'm too soft."

"Er…" Jay stifled a laugh. Sometimes, when she had a little too much to drink, Erin became incredibly stubborn and grumpy if she didn't get her way. "Come on, let's get you and Kate to bed. It's late."

"No," Erin shook her head, "We're staying here."

"Oh, are we now?" he asked teasingly, "Since when?"

"Since I decided," she replied simply, turning her face into his shoulder, "I don't want to go to bed yet."

Erin groaned slightly as she opened her eyes, turning her head from the pillow her face was pressed into. For a Chicago winter, the Sunday was bright and the floor to ceiling windows were not helping her pounding headache. "Hi Mommy," a soft voice whispered. Erin tilted her head and caught the gaze of her sweet little girl, standing beside the bed bearing a mug of what smelled like hot coffee.

"Hey, baby," Erin rasped, pushing herself up slightly, "Did you bring me coffee?"

Kate nodded and offered a smile, "Daddy said you gonna need it 'cause we're going hiking today."

"Hiking, huh?" Erin accepted the mug from her daughter a took a slow sip, savoring the beverage as it scalded her mouth, "Well, that sounds like fun."

Kate nodded again, placing her little arms onto the mattress, "But I told Daddy that I had an idea that would be more fun," she smiled up at Erin, "If we played legos inside," Kate leaned in closer to her mother, "That way you could go back to sleep."

"Ah, I love you so much," Erin hoisted the little girl up onto the bed, Kate eliciting squeals of delight, "How do you always know what I need?"

"Cause you're my mommy," Kate replied simply, snuggling under the covers next to her mother.

"So I guess we're not going for a hike then, are we?" Jay stood in the doorway, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"No," Erin grunted, burying her face in Kate's hair. She reached an arm out from underneath the covers, "Come back to bed, babe. We're having a lazy day in bed."

"Mm, I can see that," Jay crawled closer to his family, shimming underneath the covers and pulling Erin closer, "Next weekend we can go for a hike."

AHH is a Linstead proposal in the works? Marriage? Drama? Idk, you'll have to stay tuned to find out ;)