Hi again CF fans! I'm so sorry that I haven't posted any new stories since August - my life has been really hectic the past 2 months. However, I'm happy to announce that this is the first chapter of my new story! Yay! For all you amazing Bad Timing fans out there, the first chapter of the sequel will be posted soon! Stay tuned!

A Place To Crash

Chapter 1

Erin locked the front door of her apartment after Jay had followed her in with a duffel bag full of his stuff. She put her keys, phone, and purse down on the table and headed straight for the fridge. As she gulped down a glass of cold water, Jay plopped down on her sofa, after putting his bag on the floor. He leaned over and put his head in his hands.

After walking over and sitting down next to him the sofa, she looked at Jay and said, "Jay, it wasn't your fault. She's going to be okay."

"With a bullet in her neck? I'm not so sure," Jay retorted.

"Hey," Erin said affirmatively, "There was nothing else you could have done."

"I could have chosen not to go out to a bar to get a drink tonight," Jay suggested.

"But then I wouldn't have had anyone waiting for me," Erin reassured him with a small smile, "And, besides, I'm glad I saw the guy walk in so I could push you out of the way. If you had gotten shot…"

"What, Erin?" Jay asked, turning towards her as he heard her voice falter. For a second, he thought her saw tears in her eyes, but after a split second they were gone. Erin sighed and replied, "If you had gotten shot, I would probably be sitting in that hospital refusing Voight's orders to go home and sleep. Because I care about you so much, Jay, and I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

"I feel the same," Jay admitted. "I wouldn't want anyone else for a partner."

"Really?" Erin said, surprised.

"No…unless there was a version of you who let me drive," Jay smirked.

"Oh, very funny," Erin said, playfully punching him in the shoulder. They shared a light laugh and Jay said, "Thank you for this. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. If you're here, then I can keep an eye on you," Erin said, smirking back. "Let's just hope that they didn't track you here."

"I'm sure they didn't," Jay said with a small amount of uncertainty in his voice. Erin noticed, and said, "You want to open a beer?"

"I'd rather stay sober for the rest of the night, thanks," Jay declined, "Where am I sleeping?"

Erin, without replying, got up and headed for the back hallway. When she returned with a pile of blankets and a pillow, she tossed them at Jay's face, hitting right on target. "On the couch," she replied verbally, followed by a laugh.

"Gee, thanks," Jay fake-pouted. His response was met with an eye-roll from Erin, who said goodnight and turned around to head for her bedroom.

***The next morning***

Erin woke up from a deep sleep, and her eyes burned from the strong sunlight flowing in through her window. She leaned over to check her clock, and after almost having a panic attack that she overslept her alarm, she was relieved to be reminded that it was Saturday.

And Saturday meant no work.

Upon reading the time, she sighed and laid on her back, staring at the ceiling. It was almost 10am, and even though she hadn't yet had her morning coffee, she didn't need caffeine to remember the dream she had had during the night. She had been dreaming about Severide.

It had pained part of her to break up with Kelly when he was in such a bad place, but another part of her didn't want to be the girl he stood up at the restaurant. She had understood where he was, but she didn't want to be dragged into his downward spiral. Hence, her breakup in the middle of the street two days before. Kelly had been sad, understandably, but he had clearly been more concerned about drinking than talking to her. Maybe he had never been right for her after all.

After trying to push away all her sad thoughts by reassuring herself that she did the right thing for herself by breaking up with Kelly, she dragged herself out of bed and headed for her closet to find a sweater to put over her t-shirt. As she opened her bedroom door, her nostrils were filled with the tempting aroma of cooked breakfast food. After almost having another panic moment, she remembered that Jay was staying with her. I didn't know he could cook, she thought to herself, smiling a little.

As she entered the kitchen and found Jay in shorts and a t-shirt at her cooktop, she joked, "I could get used to this."

Jay, turning his head so he could see Erin in a baggy sweater and relaxed pajama pants, smiled and said, "Good morning to you too, Erin."

"Good morning, Jay," Erin said, "What are you cooking? I didn't know you could cook."

"Well, when you're single for a long time, you learn how to cook for yourself," Jay said, serving up scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon onto two breakfast plates. He put one down in front of Erin, who had sat down on the other side of the counter, and began eating his while standing up.

Erin grunted in surprise and approval. "This is really good. Seriously. Thank you," she said meaningfully. "What prompted you to cook breakfast?"

"Didn't sleep well last night. Was worrying that that gangster guy was going to break in here and kill me."

"I'm sorry…" Erin said, feeling bad for him. "But I didn't have bacon in my fridge this morning."

"That's because I woke up early and since you were still asleep, I walked down the street to the grocery store. You need to keep more food in your fridge."

"Well, I really appreciate it."

"I did it as a way to thank you for letting me crash with you," Jay admitted. "It makes me feel better that you're here and I'm not alone."

"Same here," Erin said, "Weird, huh?"

"Not really, since we're partners," Jay pointed out.

"Work partners," Erin corrected.

"Right," Jay replied, "Are you okay? You seem a little down."

"Before you start going off about my mood, I broke up with Kelly, okay? I'm still feeling upset about it."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring it all back," Jay defended himself.

"It's okay…I had a bad dream about it last night anyway," Erin confessed. "Which is why…why I need to get out for some fresh air." She put her finished plate next to the sink and looked in her pantry. "And since my pantry didn't seem to get magically restocked, I'm going to go out grocery shopping since we have today off."

Before Jay could ask if he could come, Erin read his mind. "No, you can't come. I don't want you walking around the streets with a 100 grand bounty on your head. No way."

"Please, Erin."

"Jay," Erin pleaded, "I don't have to tell you how dangerous this is. Just please trust me."

Jay sighed, knowing that he had been beaten. "Okay…but do I have permission to go through your DVR while you're gone?"

"Of course," Erin agreed, "My home is your home. For now."

"Thank you," Jay said.

As Jay put the dishes and utensils away while Erin was getting dressed, his eye caught on the tag board hanging under the kitchen cupboards. In the middle of the collage of photos, amidst photos ranging from her and Voight when she was probably a teen to photos of the team, was a photo of Erin and Jay in the intelligence office. Jay was sitting on Erin's desk, while she was sitting in her chair, and they were both laughing at some joke one of them had cracked. They both looked so naturally happy together in the photo, and it made Jay smile.

"See you in a bit," Erin said, breaking Jay out of his trance. She caught him looking at the photo of the two of them, and she smiled lightheartedly. "I can't remember for the life of me who took that photo."

"Me neither," Jay admitted, "But it's a great one."

"It is," Erin agreed, looking at Jay.

"Can I ask why you stuck this one in the middle? And not one of you and Voight or of the whole unit?"

Erin avoided the question by saying goodbye and heading out the door. As she got in her car, she scolded herself for not answering the question. But then she reminded herself that Jay might not want to know the true answer: that the photo of her and Jay was in the middle of her tag board because she had feelings for him.

***Two hours later***

Erin walked through the entrance of her apartment building, hands full with fresh groceries. She was already hungry for lunch, and secretly praying that Jay hadn't been afraid to use her coffee maker. She was feeling sleepy because she hadn't drunk coffee yet, and it was nearly 12:30 in the afternoon.

But what she didn't know was that she was being watched.

In an unmarked car half a block away, a young guy in a black hoodie was sitting next to an older dude with multiple tattoos and rings. He was wearing the gold cross necklace that identified him to everyone as the leader.

The leader who wanted Jay dead.

Jay had killed his best friend's brother, and since his brother was going to jail, he had agreed to do the job as a favor. So he had hired the young guy, who was sitting next to him in the car, to shoot Jay the night before. But the young guy alleged that Jay escaped unharmed because a woman with him had seen him first, and had had just enough time to push Jay out of harm's way.

"You're sure that's her? Because killing the wrong cop would not give me a good rep," the leader emphasized.

"Absolutely. I recognize the hair and that jacket. She was definitely there."

"And Jay's not at his apartment?"

"No, sir," the young guy confirmed. They had checked Jay's apartment earlier that morning, but to find no one there. They had been driving a few streets away from where they were now parked when the young guy had recognized Erin getting into her car. They had then followed her back to her apartment block.

And now they were plotting again.

"Alright, since he's not at his place and you say she was there last night," the leader thought out loud, "Then she must know where he is now."

"Exactly," the young guy agreed, "So should we break into her apartment tonight? Catch her off guard or something?"

"You will break in tonight," the leader corrected, "And if Jay is there, take him out."

"What if he isn't? What if it's just her?" the young guy asked cautiously, knowing that his leader had a temper.

"Then we'll make another plan," the leader declared. But as soon as he had finished talking, he thought about it some more. That woman would make good bait for Jay. Then they could kill Jay and break this woman at the same time.

"Now that you mention it," the leader continued, "If she's there tonight, take her to base. He'll come to find her, I'm sure of it. He'll fall into the trap."

"Roger that, boss."