Happy Wednesday Everyone! I loved the CF episode last night and I hope we get a few more Linstead moments in the new CPD episode tonight. :) I'm going to be really busy this coming weekend so I won't be updating until probably Sunday...so I'm updated both this story and Good Timing today - as always, please read and review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 29

***A few weeks later***

"Morning, Erin," Platt said with a smile as she saw Erin walking into the lobby with Voight.

"Morning, Platt," Erin replied, giving the sergeant a little smile as she headed for the stairs up to Intelligence.

"Morning, Hank," Platt said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Morning, Platt," Voight said gruffly. Platt chuckled, wondering if she was ever going to get more than gruff 'good morning' from that man; then again, he was a good listener when she needed him to be, so she let him off the hook considering it was 8 in the morning.

When Erin and Voight reached the top of the stairs, Antonio had already arrived, the three of them exchanged good mornings and eventually settled down at their desks while they waited for everyone else to arrive. By 8:30, the room was filled with the rest of the unit making light conversation in between sips of strong coffee from the machine in the break room. Of course, Jay was also throwing occasional glances at Erin, who was smirking at him in return and trying to get him to return to his work.

You should probably finish that paperwork, she texted.

Says the person who has more to do than me, he replied.

Shut up, we both know I can work faster than you, she texted back.

Wanna bet? Jay replied. Just as Erin was about to type a reply, her phone vibrated and she noticed that she had a voicemail from her mother. What? Was the first thought that came into her head as she wondered why her phone hadn't made a noise when Bunny had called. Pushing that thought aside, Erin pressed "Play" on her mother's voicemail message, not being prepared for what she was about to hear.

"Hey Erin, I've really missed seeing you, and I hope that you'll come to your senses eventually that Voight isn't your blood and that I am. Anyway, I got a call from the state department of corrections this morning and I thought you would want to know that your father, Richard, is up for parole. The hearing's this Friday at 10 and apparently he hopes you can be there, at least that's what his lawyer told me on the phone. See you soon."

Erin had tried her best not to show huge changes in her facial expressions, but it wasn't surprising that Jay realized that something was up. He looked over at her with a 'what's going on?' look, and Erin nodded to the hallway. They both stood up and Jay followed her down the stairs and into the bullpen.

"What's wrong, Erin? Did you get bad news or something?"

"I just got a voicemail from my mother telling me that Voight will eventually screw me over and that I should be listening to her because she's my blood and not Hank," Erin blurted out, feeling pissed off and worried at the same time.

"I'm sorry, but if I recall that's not the first time she's said something like that to you," Jay replied.

"I know, but that's not even the worst part," Erin said.

"What did she say?" Jay said, putting his hand in hers.

"My dad's up for parole," Erin said, watching as Jay's facial expression changed from one of concern to one of surprise and confusion.

"Wait…you mean your dad who was never really in the picture?" Jay said slowly.

"Yep, that's the one," Erin huffed, "Apparently the hearing is happening this Friday."

"Whoa," Jay said, "That's a lot to think about. Have you…ever seen him since you were little?"

"No," Erin said quietly, "And after he'd been gone a few years I forced myself to accept that he was never coming back and that I had to take care of myself…around Bunny, of course, who went all wacko because my dad was arrested."

"I'm sorry, Erin," Jay said, "And you know I'll support you whether you decide to go to the hearing or not, right?"

"I know, and thank you," Erin replied, smiling a little, "It's just a lot to process all of a sudden."

"I get that," Jay said, "Come on, let's go back upstairs and see if we've got a new case. Something to get your mind off this for a while."

"Sounds good," Erin said, "I might ask Voight if I can look into the database later though…my memories are a little fuzzy from back then."

"Seems like a good idea to me," Jay said, "Now we better get back upstairs before Ruzek decides to throw a paper plane at someone."

***That afternoon, after the end of shift***

Erin had gotten permission from Voight to look into her dad in the police database after hours, so after Mouse had finished with his work in the tech office, Erin sat herself down in front of the three computers, pulled up the Illinois criminal database, and took a deep breath as she typed "Lindsay, Richard" into the database's search bar. Her finger hesitated over the keyboard for a few seconds before pressing "Enter;" she felt torn between wanting to know and not wanting to know why her dad had been put away.

Within a few seconds her father's criminal file was on the screen in front of her; she saw that he had been arrested for various drug and assault charges when she was 8 years old, and sentenced to 30 years in prison that could be reduced to 20 with good behavior. Since Erin was now 30, Erin did the math and concluded that her dad was getting out after 22 years…she couldn't digest the thought that her dad was getting a parole hearing to reduce his sentence because of 'good behavior' when he had never been on his 'best behavior' as a father when Erin was little.

As she scrolled through various reports, she found herself stop when she read about another arrest and jail sentence that had occurred a few years before her father's current jail sentence; the records said that Richard Lindsay was jailed 10 months before Erin was born, and that he returned home when she was just over a year old. What? That doesn't make sense, Erin thought to herself, redoing the math in her head to make sure she wasn't crazy. Any sensible person knew that pregnancy was 9 months long, so…Is he really my father? Erin thought to herself.

Deciding that she needed to talk to someone about it, she yelled for Jay, who had been waiting nearby to drop her to Voight's place after she'd finished her searching on her father. When Jay came in, he asked, "What'd you find?"

"Something that doesn't fit," Erin said, "Jay, look here, this arrest report says that my father was arrested, booked, and sent straight to jail for about 2 years…10 months before I was born."

"That's weird," Jay said, "And you've done the math?"

"Yeah, like four times because the first time I thought I was misreading it," Erin said. "Either my mom's been telling me the wrong date of my birthday or my father isn't really my father."

***Half an hour later, at Voight's house***

"Hey, Hank, can I ask you about something?" Erin asked tentatively as she sat at Voight's kitchen counter sipping on hot chamomile tea.

"Sure, kid. What's up?" Voight said. When Erin paused, he continued, "Something to do with your father?"

"His files say that he was arrested and sent straight to jail for 2 years 10 months before I was born, which doesn't fit with him being my father…if you know what I mean."

"Do you think there could be an error?" Voight asked.

"That's what I thought, but I looked it up in three different criminal databases that we have access to and they all say the same dates," Erin said. "Do you have any ideas?"

"I don't know, Erin, I'd have to look into it a little bit," Voight said quickly.

"I haven't been thinking that my birthday is a month later than what it actually is my whole life, have I? Cause Bunny could have given me a wrong date in her drunkenness at one point, knowing her," Erin said.

"Does your birth certificate say the date that you believe your birthday is?"

"Yes, and Bunny and Richard's names are on it, which is why I'm confused," Erin said.

"Why don't I look into it a little bit tomorrow, okay? I'm ready to hit the sack," Voight said, putting his mug in the sink.

"You mean you're not interested in this?" Erin asked, slightly confused as to why Hank was being evasive.

"I am concerned just like you, I'm just a little tired, okay?" Voight said, his voice getting a little louder towards the end.

"Okay, sorry, we can talk about it another time," Erin said, "But I don't think I'm going to go to the hearing on Friday."

"That's up to you, as I'm sure Jay's already told you," Hank said.

"You're right, he did say that," Erin said, "How'd you know that?"

"I have ears like a bloodhound's," Voight said, his signature smirk gracing his face, while internally his stomach was in turmoil.