Erin and Jay worked late into the night, pouring over all of the evidence in the decade old murder case. The more they worked, the more the living room resembled the aftermath of a natural disaster. Pizza boxes and beer bottles littered the coffee table and there wasn't an inch of space left on the rug to walk around. Voight had called just as Ruzek said, and he gave Erin a rundown of how things may go.

At around midnight, Jay and Erin decided to go to bed, their eyes burning and heads heavy. The case revolved around a young woman who had been murdered just days after her wedding. Originally the police had suspected her husband—due to the fact that she had loads of money and had decided not to sign a prenup—but the man had a seemingly airtight alibi.

As Erin brushed her teeth, Jay leaned up against the headboard with his eyes closed. Memories from the night before flashed through his mind and although his bed was calling him name all day, he didn't want to sleep. The sound of the light clicking off from the ensuite brought his attention back to Erin, the scent of mint following her around. She settled under the covers on her side of the bed, snuggling into him.

"You should sleep, you had a long day." Erin mumbled.

"So did you." Jay countered. "I'm really proud of you for throwing yourself into this case. I know it can't be easy after everything that's happened." His hand moved in a soothing pattern on the bare skin under her shirt.

"Yeah… I just hope everything ends okay." When Erin looked up towards Jay, she noticed his eyes were closed. "Jay."

"Hmm."

"Lie down, go to sleep." Erin insisted as she shifted her position to allow him to get comfortable.

"I'm not tired yet."

"Are you sure? We had a really long da—"

"Er, I'm fine. Honestly. Today was just overwhelming. Go to sleep, babe." He opened his eyes and watched her settle again before wrapping his arm around her.

A few minutes passed before Erin broke the silence again. "Jay, I'm not gonna push you to talk, but if, anything ever becomes too much, or if you just need to get something off your chest, please tell me. I don't want you to suffer alone."

"There's just a lot that's happened over the past few weeks. I'll be fine." Jay said, pressing a reassuring kiss into Erin's hair.

Erin sighed—slightly frustrated—but decided not to overstep. Jay would talk to her when he was ready, and she would wait for however long it took him to get to that point. She pressed her hand softly against his bare chest for a moment before nestling deeper under the covers and closing her eyes. After a few minutes, she felt Jay lie down as well, pulling her to him.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he replied, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.


A couple of hours later, Erin woke up after feeling a shiver over her arms. She was lying on her side and when she peeked over her shoulder, she noticed the lack of Jay's body next to her. Fearing that Jay had another episode, Erin's eyes quickly looked towards the bathroom but she breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that it was unoccupied.

Grabbing the sheets, Erin wrapped them around her shoulders before softly padding down the hallway in search of Jay. It wasn't long before she found him asleep on the couch, face illuminated by the TV. His facial features looked soft and almost child-like as he slept. It pulled at Erin's heartstrings seeing him like this, so calm and undisturbed. If only she could somehow make him feel that way while he was awake.

Due to his height, his legs hung off the couch and his head was rested uncomfortably against a cushion. Erin stood there for a moment, debating whether it was worth waking him. Eventually, she decided to just let him sleep. She grabbed a blanket from the closet and laid it over him, gently repositioning him so that he wouldn't be too sore when he woke up.

She was about to head back to the bedroom when Jay stirred. Looking back at him, she saw that his eyes were open but he didn't seem to be awake.

"Jay?" she asked, taking a cautious step towards him.

His eyes cleared as he snapped out of whatever trance he had been in. "Hey, what are you doing up?" he asked, sitting up quickly and looking at his surroundings.

"I woke up and you weren't in bed so I came out to check on you," she explained, relaxing. "I just thought that you had another nightmare."

"No. No, I just couldn't sleep." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands before looking up at the TV. "I thought watching TV would help me get tired and I guess it did."

"Well come to bed, your neck is probably aching from sleeping like that." Erin reached for the remote on the coffee table before clicking the power button. The apartment was flooded with darkness, the only light coming in from the streetlights below. She heard him slowly get off the couch and follow behind her.

He helped her adjust the sheets again before climbing into bed. It seemed like the second his head hit his pillow, he was asleep. All Erin could only hope for a restful night for him.


"Well, you'll have to be undercover, and we don't know how long this could last." Voight sat in his office staring at Erin who sat across from him. "It's risky."

"We don't have any leads, we're starting from square one. How risky could it be?"

"Someone comes snooping around about a murder that happened a decade ago, it's suspicious."

"When will I be going under?"

"I'd say sometime in the next few weeks. We need leads to work with first, make sure your alias works in the environment. This all needs play-by-play planning, Erin. Your job is also riding on this."

"Well I guess we better get started then." Erin stated with finality in her voice. "Let's get me back into the CPD."

"I'm proud of you for taking this head on kid. But what ever happened to 'don't look back'?" Voight laughed.

"You know I couldn't stay away from Chicago. I couldn't even get out."

"Fair enough, now let's get to work."


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