A/N: Hey! So this was a little story that's been stuck in my head, not sure if I should continue it or not so let me know after you've read if you think I should keep going! Part of this story is inspired by another writing who wrote a one shot for Erin leaving Intelligence – the story is called the Lake effect. The story helped to fuel my motivation when writing this as I like how she wrote Jay and Erin, so check out that story too!
Let Us Help You …
Voight barged into the office, slamming the gate behind him as he trudged up the stairs. He stopped short at the look of concern on his co-workers faces.
"Alright! Listen up, Burgess will be taking over for Lindsay" Voight said as he walked towards his office.
"She on leave?" Jay asked. Voight stopped and sighed, running a hand over his face. He hadn't slept since yesterday afternoon, his brain trying to process that Erin, the girl who was like a daughter to him, who was practically the only family he had left, had given up.
Voight turned around and looked at Jay. He felt bad for, he knew how Jay and Erin felt about each other, and he knew that He cared about her safety, and wellbeing as much as he did. He carefully walked over to jay's desk, and pulled out Erin's badge from his back pocket and placed it on her partner's desk.
"No Jay, She's not on leave" He spoke solemnly as he turned and walked into his office, shutting the door behind him. He flopped down onto the couch and sighed, he needed to fix this.
Erin needed help, and not just his.
Jay Halstead sat at his desk, not saying a word as he stared at the badge.
His partner's badge.
He sat for a few minutes as his friends all patted their hands on his shoulder, a way of showing their care.
He got up suddenly, his chair almost falling from how fast he stood, and walked to Voight's office, knocking before walking in and shutting the door behind him.
The two men stared at each other in silence for a few moments.
"what do you want Halstead?" Voight's gruff voice bit out. Jay threw Erin's badge across the desk, watching it clatter and stop in front of Hank.
"I think the better question is what are we gonna do to get her back" Jay replied. Voight looked at him, his face hard, his eyes questioning.
"We?" He asked, slightly sarcastic.
"Yeah, you and me. Come on Voight, I know you don't like me especially in light of recent events with Erin, but I care about her. She's my partner, and my friend, and she could've been my future. I accepted that we couldn't be together, but I'll be damned if you sit there and deny that you and I are better working together when it comes to her" Jay said, confidence building up inside of him as he spoke his case.
Voight smiled at Jay's determined attitude. He stood up and walked over to Jay, giving him Erin's badge.
"I'm not going to deny it Halstead, she needs you too, maybe even more than she needs me" He said as Jay took the badge and placed it in his pocket. "Go talk to her, and we'll go from there"
Jay smirked as he lightly slapped Hank's shoulder "Yes sir"
And he was out the door, heading to find Erin.
Jay took a deep breath as he pushed the door to Bunny's bar open, the bell above him ringing out loudly to signal his arrival. He watched as Bunny turned and the smile on her face disappeared as she realised who had come in.
"Can I help you detective?" she asked with a pointed look.
"Nope" he replied, equally as abrupt, as he scanned the bar for Erin.
Bunny smirked as she saw jay look around "I think she's with Landon. They've gotten pretty close, if you know what I mean" she spoke as she reached for a bottle on the top shelf
Jay took a deep breath as he turned to look at the woman.
"You're pathetic" he spat out.
Bunny spun back around, her face red in anger
"Excuse me!? Who do you think you are?" She replied
Jay walked to the bar and stared her dead in the eyes.
"You're disgusting. You took advantage of the fact that Erin lost her friend, someone who had been more like family to her in the two years they'd known each other, than you'd ever been to Erin in her whole life!" His voice was rising as he spoke further, getting more worked up.
Bunny chuckled "You don't know anything. You think that because you were screwing my daughter you get to have a say in our relationship?"
Jay took a deep breath, trying desperately to keep his temper under control.
"like you can call what you two have a relationship. Erin's told me everything. The nights she'd wake up to you barging through the door with some random guy, having him yell and scream in Teddy's face because all he wanted was to say goodnight to his mother, and you were too drugged up to realise" He spoke as Bunny's face fell
"Or how about letting the principal believe your daughter had an alcohol problem because you threw up all over her when she was trying to save your life? Or leaving her and Teddy alone and forcing her to have to turn to Charlie? Or dragging her down the same drugged up path that you took? Or separating her from her brother, or kicking her out everytime she couldn't buy you drugs!?" He yelled at the top of his lungs. So much for keeping my cool he thought to himself.
"I know a lot more than you think Bunny. All you've ever done is brought your daughter pain. You know she's so scared of having kids because she doesn't want to screw them up like you did to her and Teddy? She thinks that she's destined to repeat the same path you went down." He said as he saw Bunny's anger resurface
"You have no right to be in her life. How dare you think you can come in and take advantage of the fact that she lost Nadia?" he asked.
Bunny regained her composure and stood up straight once more, steeling herself.
"My daughter came to me. All I did was take advantage of the opportunity placed in front of me. Johnny wants us all to be a family, and Erin was confused. All I did was push her in the right direction." She smirked.
Jay was seeing red "THE RIGHT DIRECTION!? You think letting your daughter bury herself in a haze of drugs and alcohol, letting her give up her job, her life, was the right direction!? You only care about Erin when she's of use to you. You made contact with her when Johnny propsed because he couldn't understand why you had an adult daughter you hadn't spoken to in years. Then you went radio silent up until Teddy came to town, and then no one heard from you until you needed her help to gain money for handing in evidence in a case!"
Jay took a deep breath and sighed, he knew he was getting to the woman, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference.
"You know the worst part Bunny? If you had actually just made an attempt, and showed your daughter that you actually loved her, and wanted to be in her life, instead of using her for your own personal gain, you'd have her. All she's ever wanted was for you to just be her mum. And the worst part is that Erin suffers the most."
"You can't take her from me. I finally have what I want, and I'm not giving it up for anything." She replied defiantly crossing her arms.
Jay raised his hand and pointed to her, his face hard and cold.
"If you think, for one second, that I'm going to let you take advantage of her anymore, you're dead wrong. I don't care how long it takes, or what I have to do, but I'm gonna bring her back. And let me tell you know Bunny, I don't care who gets in my way" He said as he turned to walk out of the bar, halting at her voice.
"Is that a threat detective?" She taunted him.
He turned and plasted a menacing smile onto his face, and was rewarding with a visible shudder from the older woman.
"Not at all. Just a friendly warning from the 21st District" he said as he walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.
He let out a massive breath as he made a call on his phone.
"Halstead. Any news?" Voight's voice travelled through the phone.
"She wasn't at the bar. Bunny however…let's just say we exchanged words"
Voight chuckled "I'm sure she was helpful" his voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Look I'm gonna go check her house. Get Mouse to see if he can track her phone. I want to know where she is"
"Already done. She's turned it off, but the last location was near the park on Smith Street" He replied.
Jay smiled as his brain put the pieces together.
"I know where she is" he smiled as he ran to his car.
"Alright, let me know and I'll meet you there" Voight said as he stood up and walked towards his office door, only to be stopped by jay.
"Hang on Hank. I think it's best if I go alone for this. I'll meet you back at your house with her" He replied. He knew Erin wouldn't listen to Voight, not where she was.
Voight sighed "Alright. I'm trusting you with her Halstead. Don't screw it up"
Jay chuckled "Wouldn't dream of it sir. And one more thing" He said
"You're on a thin line Halstead" He replied irritated.
"Get Mouse to dig up everything he can on Landon Vanick" He spoke as he started the car and drove to where Erin was. Their spot.
Jay sighed as he exited his car, walking across the street to the park.
He walked through the line of trees, leading out to a grass covered, cliff-like area with a perfect view of the sunset.
He smiled as he saw her, sitting with her legs dangling over the edge, the cool breeze causing goosebumps to form on her skin. He approached her slowly, taking off his coat and placing it gently on her shoulders. She froze at first, before realising who it was.
"How'd you know?" Erin asked as he sat beside her.
"Mouse tracked your phone before you turned it off. Once he said Smith Street, it wasn't that hard to figure out where you'd gone" he spoke as a small smile graced her lips. The first in days.
"So… you here to make me go home?" She asked.
Jay chuckled, "I can't make you do anything Erin. But you need help –"
"I'm fine" She bit out harshly
"No you're not Erin. We can all see it. You need help"
Erin looked at him, her eyes throwing daggers "and what? You think you're just going to come in here like some knight in shining armour and save me!?"
"No" he stated calmly "I'm not here to save you Erin. I am, however, here to help you. Only you can save yourself, but I just think that you might want someone with you when you do" He said as he stood up and walked back towards the trees, looking over at her once more, tears threatening to fall down her face.
"I'm here Erin. Voight's here. Intelligence, we're your family. Don't let Bunny take advantage of you. Don't let this…darkness, beat you. Let us help you" He said as he turned back around, but halted at the sound of her voice.
"I'm not strong enough" she whispered "I know what I'm doing isn't right, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to do anything about it. Everyone I love get hurt. And I can't keep watching them all die"
Jay walked back to her, and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.
"You, Erin Lindsay, are the strongest person I know. I know you miss her, I miss her too. Everyday. But I know that she's watching over us, and I know that if she could, she would be down here kicking my ass for letting you get like this. She wouldn't want this for you Erin. She loved you, and she was happy. I know she wouldn't blame you for what happened" He spoke as she started to cry
"It's time to move on from the pain Erin, use her loss to make something positive in your life, for her."
Erin nodded against his chest "I know, you're right" she whispered
He kissed the top of her forehead "Come on, let's get out of here"
They slowly walked back to the car, jay's arm wrapped protectively around her body as she leaned into him. They reached the car and he opened the door to let her sit. He quickly rushed around and jumped into the drivers seat, starting the car.
He let out a big breath as he looked at her. "Where do you want me to drop you"
This is it he thought, she had to decide what the next step was. The ball was in her court.
Erin hesitated for a moment, looking out the window.
She knew that if she wanted, jay would take her to the bar, to Bunny. But she knew her mother's intentions were less than honest.
"Let's go see the family" she said, looking over at Jay, his bright smile causing her to smile as well.
He held her hand as he drove to the 21st District.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the Voight and Jay stuff, and the story in general! I'm really intrigued with Voight and Jay's relationship since they're so similar yet so different, and how they both care for Erin. I feel like next season they should be working together to help Erin.
OK! So for now, this is a one shot. I wrote a one shot about Nadia being alive which I'm working on writing a second chapter for, since I've decided to make it a three-part story.
PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you thought and if you'd like me to continue!
maddie