#cpd fanfic

[berberriescorner]

“Echoes of Redemption”

Characters: Jay Halstead x Black!Reader.

Summary: After a tumultuous relationship marked by Jay Halstead's absences and affairs, you begin to rebuild your life.

Warnings: A smidge of profanity, a bit of humor, angst, anger, fluff, and a lil’ smut👀😆.

Word Count: 5,000+.

A/N: This is my first Halstead fix, but hopefully you lovelies will love it🩵.

Inspired By🩵:

Adam cradled your work bag and purse in one hand, his broad shoulders carrying the weight of your exhaustion. His free hand pressed the down button for the elevator, the soft ping of the mechanism cutting through the silence. You sighed deeply, closing your eyes for a brief moment, letting the weariness wash over you.

“Tired?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.

“Exhausted. I could sleep for days,” you responded, the fatigue squinting your eyes. A massive yawn escaped your lips as the elevator doors slid open. You leaned against the wall for support, stifling another yawn. “Sorry,” you murmured.

“It’s all good. I hope you can get some rest once you’re home,” he said, as his voice comforted your frazzled nerves.

“Thanks, Adam. For everything. You've all been so supportive. Even if it's a bit awkward.”

The elevator dinged, and Adam gestured for you to step out first. He spotted a nearby vending machine and asked, “Did you eat today?”

Not waiting for your answer, he walked over to the whirring machine and purchased a bottle of water and a bag of smart popcorn. You sank onto a bench, grateful for the brief respite. Adam returned, popping open the snack and handing you the bag and the beverage. The two of you continued on your journey to the parking lot.

“Maybe this can give you a bit of energy.”

“Adam, you don't have to make such a fuss. You, Kim, Kevin, and Voight have already done enough. I can't believe she made a time chart so everyone can take turns escorting me to these appointments. She even has poor Dante in on it. That baby has his hands full taking care of himself. Bless his heart.”

“Are you kidding me? You're family. That’s what you do for loved ones,” he assured you, his eyes steady and sincere.

“Is this not awkward for you guys? Hailey’s your friend too,” you grudgingly admitted.

“Yes, but we knew you first. We're not going to abandon years of friendship over drama. We support her just as we do you. J—”

“Adam, please don't. The thought of him is even more stressful. Thanks for the snack. I can finish this in the car. I'm ready to get home to my comfy bed. It's been a long day.”

You caught a flicker of emotion in Adam's eyes, but he quickly masked it. Clearing his throat, he agreed, “You’re right. Let's get you home. Kim’s making me and Mak’s favorite dinner tonight,” he bragged, trying to lighten the mood.

“You bring baby girl next time. I miss her cute wittle face,” you demanded.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The walk to the exit grew quiet and tense. You glanced at Adam out of the corner of your eye.

“You good?”

“Y-yeah. Just thinking about a case,” he lied, his voice unconvincing.

As he opened the door, you started to press about the case. But your words caught in your throat at the sight of a figure standing across the parking lot. Your gaze locked onto the face, shock coursing through you. You spun around, the question about the case forgotten. "Tell me you didn't. What is he doing here?"

Adam scratched the back of his neck, looking apologetic. “Sorry, sis. The moment Hailey found out, she said he deserved to know. It was either she’d tell him, or Kevin and I. Kim was against it all. Voight was neutral.”

“I told you I would tell him on my own time!”

“When would that have been? You've been putting it off for three months now,” Adam argued.

“You don't get it. None of you know the entirety of the situation. I'm not just some home-wrecking whore. If anything, my home was the one that took the damage. You might want to remind Hailey of that, given that she's out here giving an ultimatum based on my life.”

Your gaze fixated on the once-sparkling eyes that had the power to make your heart flutter. Now, those same eyes left your heart in ruins, a painful reminder of what was lost.

“Why are you here? Shouldn't you be somewhere across an ocean or something?”

Jay walked up slowly like he was approaching a wounded animal. He stood a few inches away from you, hands buried in his pockets, looking down. “I just want to talk,” he begged.

“Now you want to have a conversation? Why, Jay? Why are you here? You made your choice.”

“Did I make my choice?”

“Walking—sorry, running—away was a choice. Was it not?”

His eyes locked with yours as he pleaded, “I know you hate me, but please, just one conversation? I took leave as soon as I found out.”

“Are you supposed to get brownie points for that,” you snapped.

“Sweetheart—”

“You don't get to call me that,” you growled.

Adam’s hand rested on your shoulder, the turmoil between two of his dearest friends cutting deep. It reminded him of the trying times he and Kim had gone through. He held out hope that you two would find some resolve.

“You know this exchange needs to happen. Maybe you'll find clarity,” Adam said, looking you in the eyes. “I'm sure he’s come to his senses over the past couple of months. Surely he realizes he could have handled the situation better and that he was being stupid.”

"Thanks, Adam. That's incredibly helpful," Jay retorted with a sarcastic edge.

Ruzek shot him a glare. “As I was saying, this needs to happen. Do me a favor. Let him drive you home. Give him however much time you want to explain himself. Discuss the most important things. Then you can either reconcile or tell him to go to hell.”

Jay threw his hands in the air. Adam cut his eyes to him. “Being my bro doesn't give you a pass. I'm going to call you on your shit. You know that.”

“Reconcile? You must have confused me with Hailey.”

“Damn it, sis.”

“Fine,” you snarled, turning to head toward Jay's truck.

“Thanks! Love you,” Ruzek shouted as you flipped them both off.

Adam shoved your belongings into Jay’s chest. His voice dropped into a menacing, judgemental tone. “Glad to have you back, brother. Try not to leave things as messed up as you did the last time. When are you going to stop screwing her over and flipping her life upside down? You better make this right.”

“I will make it right with everyone involved.”

“No, just her. You've got to choose, and it needs to be her.”

“Who says I hadn't already tried to do that?”

“Yeah, and then you changed your mind.”

“That's not what I meant to do. You know what, Ruzek? I know I screwed up. Can we pause this lecture so I can try and rectify my mistakes?”

Adam paused for emphasis. He needed Jay to listen to the advice he was about to give, to let it sink in truly.

"You messed up, Halstead," Adam said, his voice gruff but laced with concern. "But you gotta fight for her. Show her you mean it this time." Jay clenched his jaw, the truth of Adam's words scraping at his already sore conscience.

“I hear you, brother. Truly. I’ve been stupid far too long, and it’s time I get my life in order. I just–needed to get away. To finish something I’d run from for far too long. I took that time away to figure out how to stop sabotaging the things and people I love most.

Adam nodded his head before laying into him once more, “I swear to God, Jay Halstead, if you mess this up again—if you don't manage to pull your head out of your ass—Kevin and I are going to knock you out cold.”

“It sure is good to be home,” Jay sighed, walking toward the passenger door. He unlocked it and helped you, vertically challenged as you were, into the monstrous truck.

The minute your butt hit the seat, you snatched away from him. He slid into the driver's seat, reaching across to buckle your seatbelt as he had in the past. He jumped back as you slapped his hand away.

“I’ve got it. Just drive.”

Half the drive to your apartment was filled with tense silence. Jay couldn't take it any longer. He cleared his throat, attempting to engage in conversation.

“How have you been? You look as beautiful as ever.”

Your head snapped to the side as if you had been struck. Jay kept his eyes on the road, but he could feel your piercing glare.

“Look, I'm trying not to raise my blood pressure these days. Do me a favor and keep the stupid ass questions to a minimum,” you hissed.

“Jesus, Y/N. No matter what I say, it’s going to upset you. I admit it’s well-deserved, but can't we be civil until we at least get to the house?”

“Civil? Are you trying to gaslight me right now? You don't deserve civility. How about we ride in silence? Nothing I say to you is going to be nice, Jay.”

“Silence it is.”

The sight of your driveway eased the tension in Jay's shoulders. He shut off the engine, the rumble fading into the quiet hum of the neighborhood. Stepping out of the dusty truck, his legs ached from hours on the road, but he glided to your passenger door.

"Hey there," he greeted with a hint of breathlessness in his voice. He started to reach out, but you mumbled a quick "thanks" as you slid out and brushed past him, already digging in your purse for your keys.

Jay lingered on the curb briefly, a flicker of disappointment crossing his features before the familiar puppy-dog eyes returned. You rolled your eyes playfully, the sound masking the growing unease in your stomach. "Alright, alright. I'll hear you out," you conceded, finally finding your keys. "But I swear if you—"

Your playful threat was cut short by the sudden seriousness in Jay's voice. He reached out, his fingers brushing against yours as he placed the keys inside your pants pocket. "I've got it," he murmured, his gaze dropping to the worn metal in his hand. He chewed his lip nervously a stark contrast to his usual confident demeanor.

"Why keep my spare key?" you asked, suspicion evident.

Jay hesitated, his shoulders slumping slightly. When he met your gaze again, his eyes were a storm of hidden emotions. Sadness mingled with something deeper, something you couldn't quite place. "I wasn't planning to leave," he admitted, his voice thick with regret. "Not for good, that is."

You sighed, the energy draining from your body like air from a punctured balloon. The weight of his words settled on you, heavy and unspoken. "Right," you said, your voice flat. "Just unlock the door, Jay. My feet are killing me."

As Jay unlocked the door and pushed it open, you stepped inside and felt a wave of relief wash over you. The familiar comfort of home was opposite the whirlwind of emotions you were feeling. You kicked off your shoes and trudged towards the living room, dropping onto the couch with a heavy sigh. Jay followed, lingering in the doorway as if unsure whether to stand or join you.

You looked up at him, the silence between you charged with unresolved tension. "You can sit, Jay. I won't bite your head off. I'll try not to that is."

He nodded and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, his posture rigid. "Thanks."

For a moment, neither of you spoke, the quiet settling around you like a heavy blanket. Finally, Jay broke the silence. "I know you're angry. You have every right to be. But I need you to know that I never meant for things to get this bad. Before I get into all of that. I have to ask. It’s a stupid question, and I probably already know the answer. Why didn't you respond to any of my letters? Did you read any of them?”

“No.”

“Not even the emails or texts?”

“Nope,” you responded, emphasizing the letter p.

“If you had read them. You would've known that I tried to explain myself even if they were selfish reasons. Part of you may have understood why I did what I did.”

“Well, I didn't, Jay. You left without even saying goodbye. You didn't deserve another moment of my time. Be grateful you're getting it now.” You glanced at him, your expression guarded. "Why did you come back, Jay? Really?"

He took a deep breath, his eyes searching yours. "Because I found out you're pregnant."

Emotions crashed over you all at once. "So that's it? They tell you I'm pregnant and you come running back?"

"It's not just about the baby," he insisted. "I want to be here for you, for us. I realized that running away was a mistake. I thought I was protecting you, but I was just being a coward. I want to make things right, if you'll let me."

"Make things right?" you echoed, a hint of bitterness in your voice. "You think you can just come back and fix everything with a few words? Every time we've faced an obstacle, you've chosen everything over me. Your career, your fleeting moment of weakness for Hailey, even leaving to return to the army. How do I know this time will be different?"

Memories of your tumultuous past resurfaced. You and Jay had started dating years ago, your connection was instant and intense. Things got serious quickly, but Jay's fear of commitment led him to break things off and pursue a relationship with Erin Lindsay. When Erin left for an FBI job, Jay came running back to you, realizing he'd only gotten involved with her as a means to run from commitment as always.

You took him back, and things got serious again. Only that time his career became increasingly dangerous, and your constant fear for his safety caused a rift. He chose his job over you, and the two of you broke up. That time it hadn't hurt as much. You had no right to force him to choose between a career and the woman he loved. You took it as a sign that perhaps you just needed time apart.

After some time, you started to slowly rebuild your relationship, only for Jay to start having feelings for Hailey Upton. Though you know the responsibility lay mostly in your man. You still felt a way about Hailey deciding to pursue him anyway. She knew the two of you were amid reconciliation. Even with that knowledge, she still initiated the kiss and confession of attraction that confused Jay.

You argued over his feelings for the both of you and eventually, you broke up. Jay pursued things with Hailey, and while at first, it was just hooking up, things eventually got serious. Your weakness for him led to the two of you still sleeping together, but when Hailey discovered the two of you were still involved. Suddenly she wanted a committed relationship, Jay chose her. They got married (out of Jay’s perverse sense of loyalty and obligation to the team), and you tried to move on. But Jay's jealousy and selfish attempts to sabotage your relationships made it clear he was still not over you.

He soon realized he made a mistake getting involved with Hailey. You refused to take him back until he was a single man, and after a quick divorce, Jay struggled with wanting to serve a bigger purpose. It was as if he was in the midst of an early midlife crisis. Just as you two had started to rekindle your romance and rebuild, he up and left to rejoin the army.

As you were trying to pick up the broken pieces of your heart, you discovered the pregnancy. Jay found out from your friends and returned home to explain himself, determined to make things right this time. The touch of his fingers gliding across your cheek brought you back to the present. You tilted back from his touch.

“That's what you always do, Jay,” you began, your voice trembling with suppressed emotion. “Run and leave me to deal with the fallout of broken promises and heartbreak. At every turn, you've chosen everyone, everything else, over me. Erin. Your job. Marrying Hailey! Not to mention she's not the first wife, but the second. What is it three times a charm? You’ve already knocked me up. Now all you gotta do is marry me and run. Just like you always do. Hell, you chose the military over me, Jay! So tell me, why? Why should I let you back in and risk you breaking this baby’s heart in the future? Why do you always run, Jay?”

His expression softened, his eyes filled with regret as he listened to your words. He reached out, gently cupping your face in his hands. The pads of his thumbs swiped at the tears rolling down your cheeks.

“Because I was scared, honey,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “Scared of messing things up, of not being good enough for you. But I realize now that running away only made things worse, that I can’t keep hiding from my mistakes. I want to be here for you, for our child. I want to make things right, to be the man you deserve.”

Jay met your gaze, his resolve hardening. "No more running," he vowed silently. The fear of losing you forever was a terrifying prospect, but it paled in comparison to the regret of never trying at all. He had to face his demons and fight for the future he longed for.

More tears fell as you looked into his eyes, searching for any sign of sincerity. And there, amidst the pain and regret, you saw it – a glimmer of hope, a flicker of determination.

The weight of your history hung in the air as you sat together, the past intertwining with the present. Jay reached out, his hand gently covering yours. “I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I’ve hurt you more than I can ever make up for. But I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. I want to be a part of your life, and our child’s life, if you’ll let me.”

“I’m tired of being hurt, Jay,” you whispered, your voice barely audible. “But if you’re willing to try, if you’re willing to fight for us, then maybe... just maybe, we can find a way to make this work.”

Jay nodded, his grip on your face tightening ever so slightly. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes, sweetheart. I love you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”

You looked into his eyes, seeing the pang of regret. “It’s not going to be easy, Jay. We have a lot to work through. But I want to believe that you’ve changed, that you’re here for the right reasons.”

“I am,” he said firmly. “I know I’ve chosen wrong in the past, but I’m choosing you now. I’m choosing us.”

“Okay,” you said, your voice steady. “Let’s take it one step at a time.”

Jay nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. “One step at a time.”

As you sat together, the first glimmers of hope began to shine through the darkness. It was a long road ahead, but with determination and love, you knew you could face whatever challenges came your way, together.

But there was something Jay had kept from you, something he had been working on while he was away. As you looked into his eyes, you saw a hint of hesitation, a flicker of uncertainty.

“There’s something else I need to tell you,” he began, his voice hesitant. “While I was deployed, I... I started talking to a therapist.”

Your eyebrows furrowed in surprise, a million questions flooding your mind. “A therapist? Did something happen while you were away? Are you okay,” you rambled as your mind raced with a thousand different scenarios.

Jay took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. “Honey. Honey, relax. I'm not hurt. I realized that I needed help and that I couldn’t keep running from my problems. I needed to confront my past, to understand why I kept making the same mistakes over and over again.”

“And did it help?” you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded, a sense of relief washing over him. “Yeah, it did. I learned a lot about myself, about the things that drove me to make those mistakes. And I made a promise to myself – and you – that I would come back a better man, that I would do whatever it takes to make things right. I'm going to continue my journey with therapy. After all the pain I've caused. I think it wouldn't hurt to do couples counseling. Only if that's something you're interested in pursuing.”

Tears welled up in your eyes as you looked at him, a mixture of relief and gratitude flooding your heart. “I'd like that. Thank you,” you whispered, the words barely audible.

Jay reached out, gently wiping away your tears. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through. But I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. I love you and I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right.”

You leaned into his touch, feeling a sense of peace wash over you. The weight of the past slowly began to lift, replaced by a sense of hope for the future. It wouldn’t be easy, you knew, but with determination and love, you were ready to face whatever challenges came your way, together.

Things grew quiet as the two of you looked longingly at one another. The faintest gasp slipped and you whispered, “Jay, you can't look at me like that.”

His voice low and husky, he responded, “How am I looking at you, sweetheart? I haven't seen or held you in quite some time. Admittedly, I'm the one to blame for that, but there isn't any other way I could look at you right now.”

“Please,” you begged. “Damn it, Jay. Look at me like I disgust you. Just, anything but the way you're staring at me now.”

“You want me to look at you with disgust,” he questioned, already shaking his head no. “That's not possible, honey.”

“Listen to me, Jay Halstead. I'm very pregnant and hormonal right now. I need you to be the bigger person and say that what I'm thinking is a bad idea. You need to be strong for both of us. Go home, Jay. If you don’t, we may give in to temptation. Why did you have to wear that damn uniform?”

He gave you a megawatt smile, slightly nibbling at his lips as if he was embarrassed by your compliment.

“Why, Mr. Halstead, are you blushing,” you questioningly teased.

N-No,” he spluttered.

A brief silence was followed by laughter. Once it ceased, Jay spoke in a soft, warm voice, “To answer your question. This is home, sweetheart. It is in my heart.”

And then, in a moment of weakness, as the pregnancy hormones surged through your body and desire flared between you, you found yourselves giving in to the longing that had been simmering beneath the surface. In each other’s arms, you found solace, comfort, and a renewed sense of hope for the future.

Jay didn't want to ruin things, but if something were to happen. He'd not only need consent and for you to set things in motion. He'd been given a chance to make things right. Jay wouldn't risk it all by making you believe this was the only reason he had come to talk.

“Don’t make me regret this, Jay.”

Before he could answer, you surged onto his lap, kissing him with all the pent-up passion you could muster. You both sighed and moaned as your lips met. Pulling away briefly, you pressed yourself into him. "There's no time for foreplay," you murmured.

Jay groaned as his eyes snapped closed. He grabbed hold of your waist, anchoring you to his lap. Slowly, his eyes peeled open. They were filled with hunger and uncertainty. “Are you sure, honey? I'd understand if you wanted to wait.”

Your hand trailed up his back, sending shivers down his spine as it glided sensuously up his neck and into his hair. Your fingers tangled gently in his light brown locks, tugging playfully. Your other hand encircled his throat in a delicate caress, “That depends. How badly do you miss me riding your thick, veiny, co-.”

Jay's growl silenced you abruptly, shattering his composure.“Ever the little tempting brat. Aren't you, sweet girl?”

In a feverish rush, you tore at each other's clothes. Pushing Jay onto the sofa, you straddled him, reclaiming your dominance. You descended slowly, savoring the sensation. Your pants joined his symphony of groans as you moved your hips. Alternating between rocking and moving in a circular motion. Pleasure washed over you both, leaving Jay breathless.

“F-fuck. Baby, if you squeeze me any tighter, this won’t last long.”

Being the petty brat you are. You allowed your muscles to contract around him again. Jay couldn't help but shake his head from side to side and chuckle. His eyes found yours, turning dark as they simmered with heat. Jay’s hand collided with your soft, ample, flesh. He reveled in the half moan, half whine it pulled from your lips.

His hands pawed at your hips possessively forcing you up to his tip before quickly pulling you back down. You both cried out and you begged him to do it again. Jay repeated the motion as he freed one hand to toy and pinch at your bundle of nerves. With every pinch and circle of his fingers, you climbed higher. The closer you came to falling over the edge the more your walls gripped his flesh.

“Let go for me, sweetheart. Can you do that for me, sweet girl? Hmm? Yes, you can. Can't you, baby? Come for me, sweetheart. Soak me and this damn couch just like I know you can.”

Jay slammed you down one final time locking you into place as he circled your nub. Your face buried into his neck as violent shakes paired with sobs. You ground against his lap riding out the orgasm. Jay held you close as he left kisses against the side of your head. He talked you down from an intense orgasm. “You’re okay, honey. You're okay. You did so good for me.”

He tensed hearing sniffles muffle into the side of his neck. “Baby? Are you okay?”

“Promise you won't leave me again, Jay.”

He lifted your head, his eyes filled with reassurance. “I promise, baby. Never again. Okay?”

You nodded in agreement as he wiped your face. He stole a quick kiss before pulling you back against him to cuddle again.

“Jay,” your question muffled against his neck again.

“Yes, baby-.”

His response caught in his throat as you clamped down on him once more. Your lips trailed from the side of his neck up to his ear. You playfully bit his ear and moaned, “You didn’t get to come.”

“Keep doing that and it won't take long, sweetheart,” he groaned.

The morning sun streamed through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room as you stirred in Jay's embrace. The events of the previous night played like a dream in your mind, a mixture of vulnerability, longing, and desire. You glanced at Jay, still sleeping peacefully beside you, and couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment wash over you.

As you lay there, basking in the afterglow of your shared moment of weakness, you couldn't shake the feeling of hope that filled your heart. Despite the challenges and uncertainties that lay ahead, you knew that you and Jay would face them together, united in love and determination.

With a soft smile, you pressed a gentle kiss to Jay's lips, feeling a surge of warmth and affection between you. The kiss pulled Jay from his slumber. Blinking a few times to clear the sleep from his vision, he rubbed at your small but noticeable bump.

“Oh, I see put me back to sleep so you can nap some more,” you teased. “Fine by me, Halstead.” Jay smirked and continued rubbing in circular motions. Just as you were about to drift off to sleep, there was a loud knock on the door, causing you both to jump.

Jay chuckled, planting a kiss on your forehead before pulling away. "I'll go see who it is."

As he made his way to the door, you heard familiar voices on the other side. "Come on, man. We gotta make sure Jay's still in one piece," Adam's voice rang out.

"Yeah, and see if they've reconciled yet," Kevin chimed in.

With a grin, Jay swung open the door to reveal Adam and Kevin standing on the doorstep, wearing matching grins and teasing expressions.

"Hey there, lovebirds. Just making sure Jay survived the night," Adam quipped.

Jay rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of amusement in his expression. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the concern, guys."

Kevin nudged Adam with a smirk. "Did y’all kiss and make up, or do we need to start planning your escape route? Blink twice if you need help bro."

You couldn't help but laugh at their antics, shaking your head in mock exasperation. "We're working on it, okay? Now, if you don't mind, we were kind of in the middle of something."

Adam and Kevin exchanged a knowing look before raising their hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. We'll leave you two lovebirds to it. But just remember, we're always here if you need a referee," Adam teased, earning a playful swat from Jay. Kim told me to say she expects a full run down over lunch tomorrow. She kept saying she wanted all the tea. What does that even mean?”

Kevin shook his head in disappointment. “Come on big dog. I'll have to teach you some new lingo on the way back to the precinct. Jay? Voight said you always have a job where he's concerned. Before you decline. Hailey is joining the FBI,” he finished with a wink toward you.

As they turned to leave, you couldn't help but feel grateful for the friends who always knew how to lighten the mood, even in the most awkward situations. As you snuggled back into Jay's arms, you felt a surge of passion coursing through your veins, igniting a fire that had been smoldering between you since the moment you first met.

With a mischievous glint in his eye, Jay turned to you, his gaze filled with desire. "Well, that was unexpected," he whispered, his voice husky with longing.

You couldn't help but smile at the intensity of his gaze, feeling a rush of heat spreading through your body at the thought of being so close to him again. "Unexpected, but not unwelcome," you replied, your voice barely above a whisper.

As Jay leaned in to capture your lips in a searing kiss, you melted into his embrace, the passion between you igniting like wildfire. In that moment, all the doubts and uncertainties melted away, leaving only the burning desire that had brought you back together.

“I’m insatiable, sorry.”

“No need to apologize. That makes two of us, sweetheart,” he responded, brushing curls from your face. His heart warmed that he was able to hold you this way. Jay had missed the feel of your skin and moving the hair from your vision. “You might want to put your bonnet on this time. I don’t want to get in trouble for ruining your hair, love.”

“Smart man, Mr. Halstead,” you giggled, leaving feathery kisses along his jaw.

And as the passion between you intensified, you couldn't help but joke, "Maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones," eliciting a laugh from both Jay and yourself, knowing that the truth was far deeper than a mere hormonal surge.

How y’all feeling about this one? I hope I did Mr. Halstead justice. Be sure to comment and reblog lovelies🩵.

Tagging a few lovelies🩵:

@darqchilddaydreamz @sunshine-flower @astoldbychae @1andonlytashae @alertyoulikeitsamber @thirtysomethinganduncensored @starrynite7114

[gregorygerwitz]

there’s no morning glory (it was war, it wasn’t fair) a platonic Moustead fic

Written as part of a Yule fic exchange with @konnfusion, @okayhotshots, and @thatdramabitchq.

Summary:  After spending three years away from Chicago without a single attempt at communication, Mouse comes back. And his friend's first Christmas back in the city comes with more emotions and meddling than Jay is capable of dealing with.

Warnings: implied PTSD, mentions of a(n off page) life threatening injury, Thelma isn’t there physically but she is mentioned briefly in the context of Bad Parenting and general narcissism

Words: 9,722

Sneak Peek:

He didn't even know how he'd ended up there, sitting next to someone he once called his best friend and now felt like a stranger, driving toward downtown. Jay knew there were places to get bigger trees if he went outside the city, and Platt did say she wanted something big enough to display in the lobby, but that wasn't going to happen. If he did that, he'd have to spend more time with Mouse, and the silence was already awkward and tense, and he doubted either one of them wanted to put up with more of that than was strictly necessary.

After two months of working on the same team again, they hadn't actually fixed anything.

Things hadn't exactly ended well between them, when Mouse left. They'd fought, and the decision had been questioned from every angle, and one day... his best friend was gone. He'd shipped off to a war zone on the other side of the world without a proper goodbye. There were no letters, no skype call requests, no emails, no contact at all. Jay thought that would be the end of it. He didn't expect to ever see his best friend again, let alone wake up in a hospital room after getting shot in the chest, with a familiar face nearby. The only conclusion his mind could come up with at the time was that he'd died, that there was no possible way that Mouse was standing over him and making sure he was okay. But death probably wouldn't have hurt that much, if he thought about it long enough, and reality was all too obvious.

[ read the rest on ao3 ]

[middlemistcs13]

I’ve been working on this piece for a little bit now, and I’m super pleased with how it turned out. All comments and feedback are welcome! This fic is a LINSTEAD fic, and we are just pretending that the last few episodes of season 4 and on didn't happen, okay? Great. This is a future-established Jay/Erin fic, where they have two adorable little babies.

In case this is a trigger for anyone, one of the Linstead babies has Down syndrome, and the family deals with some unkind comments. There is also some very mild language and mild violence (but if you watch Chicago PD, this will be fine!). Just a disclaimer, I do not have a child with Down syndrome, but I work with many children with Down syndrome. I also am a speech therapist by trade, so everything the children say in the story is realistic to real children I know, work with, and observe at these ages!

I might write another chapter for this if there is interest, and I will definitely be writing more in this beautiful little happy Linstead bubble I've just created. Story after the cut!

Rating: General Audiences Summary: They had been planning their trip up to Jay's grandfather's cabin for months now. Just Erin, Jay, and their two young children for a long, relaxing weekend. Will they still go even after Erin is injured on the job and doesn't mention her injuries to Jay for several hours?

The phone ringing startled Erin from her sleep, leading her to reach blindly for her cell phone in the dark bedroom. She’s always been a relatively light sleeper; never knowing what dangers may exist with Bunny and whoever she was with that week when Erin was a child. However, now that she’s a mother, Erin is awoken by the faintest creaks in the house. While grabbing her phone off her wireless charger, Erin notices the time on the alarm clock. Just what she thought- too damn early to have someone calling her. The caller at 3:22 in the morning was none other than Hank Voight.

Sighing, Erin quickly accepted the call so the ringing didn’t further rouse her husband from his slumber.

“Hello?” She questioned, cringing at her early morning raspiness.

“Hey, we caught a case. Sorry, it’s so early. I’m calling in half the team, and the other half will come in at the normal time. I’m just calling you so Halstead can stay home to get the kids off to school.” Hank explained. Erin nodded her head, despite Hank not seeing her, as she slipped out of bed and out of Jay’s protective arms.

“Alright, thanks. I don’t think the kids or Will would appreciate getting up this early. Where’s the address?” Erin asked while pulling a bra, jeans, and a tank top out of the dresser and quietly making her way to the bathroom ensuite. Hank told her the address, and she told him she’d be there in half an hour.

“Thanks, kid. See you soon.” Hank responded.

“Of course, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Erin said, before ending the call and slipping her clothes on. Over the course of her time on Intelligence, Erin has started showering and blow-drying her hair at night in case of an early-morning wake-up call like this. She quickly brushed her teeth and applied the bare minimum of make-up to still look like a professional and not like she got 4.5 hours of sleep- even though she did. After finishing up in the bathroom, she quietly slipped into their closet and pulled on her socks and boots. She took a long-sleeved forest green shirt off of a hanger and slipped it on, before making her way back into the bedroom.

“Hey babe, do we have a case?” Jay asked sleepily.

“Yeah, but Hank is only sending in half the team. I think it’s just a crime scene. He said you can stay at home and get the kids off to school like normal, if not a little early. But I’m going to head over there now,” Erin replied while putting her badge and gun on her belt and half-making their bed. She slipped her phone into her back pocket before walking around the mattress so she was perched on Jay’s side. He smiled at her while gently rubbing her hip that was nearest him.

“I love you, stay safe out there. See you in a few hours.” Jay said.

“Love you too. Enjoy sleeping a few extra hours for me. Also, I think I have everything for our trip already in the back of my car, so you shouldn’t have to worry about anything except for the backpack.” Erin said.

Jay grinned at her comment about sleeping extra and nodded along to her instructions for their trip. “Alright, seriously be careful. I have no idea who Hank called in, but make sure they watch your back.”

“Of course babe. See you in a few hours. And give Holland and Jamey morning hugs and kisses for me, alright?” Erin asked while getting up.

“Alright. Love you”, Jay said before Erin leaned down and pecked him on the lips before she left.

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“Daddy, where’s Mama?” the 6-year-old asked as she entered her brother’s room. Jay was helping Jamey get dressed and ready for the day.

“Mama had to go to work early this morning, so it’s just me getting you two off to school today. Mama will come to pick you guys up from school this afternoon,” Jay answered.

“I miss Mommy,” Jamey said while using his puppy dog eyes on Jay.

“I know buddy, we’ll send her a picture of you two eating breakfast, alright?” Jay asked his kids.

“Okay Daddy,” Jamey said, while Holland nodded along her agreement.

“Daddy, can you do my hair after you’re done helping Jamey?” Holland asked.

“Of course sweetheart. Are you all ready beside your hair? Brushed your teeth? Pottied? Clean undies?” Jay questioned.

“Uh huh. It’s just my hair!” Holland exclaimed proudly.

“Alright, well Jamey is all ready, so why don’t we go downstairs and get some breakfast, then I’ll get your hair done princess.” Both kids nodded along, and Jamey followed his sister out the door before heading downstairs.

“Hold on Jamey!” Holland chirped, repeating what her parents had said to her younger brother anytime they approached the stairs. Jay bent down and picked his son up, trying to hurry the kids along since he was itching to check in on Erin at work. Jamey sulked at being picked up instead of getting to do it by himself.

Once the trio made it downstairs, Jay quickly fixed Holland’s bowl of cereal and put Jamey’s cereal in a bowl dry, giving him milk as his breakfast beverage. Both kids were happily munching away at their breakfast, while Jay made a breakfast shake for him and Erin to split later, knowing his wife didn’t grab breakfast on her way out at 3:30 in the morning. After the shake was made, he put together Holland’s lunchbox and set it by her backpack, before running upstairs to grab his gun, badge, and the backpack Erin had told him to get this morning. When he came back downstairs, Holland was bringing her bowl to the sink while Jamey was still eating his breakfast.

“Daddy, are we still going on our trip this weekend?” Holland asked as she sat back down at the table while Jay started working on her hair.  

“Yeah, of course, baby. Why wouldn’t we?” Jay asked.

“Cause Mama had to go to work early, and now you gotta catch the bad guy. Can’t go on a trip without catching the bad guy first.” Holland stated matter-of-factly, as Jay finished putting Holland’s hair into two braids, and Jamey finished his cereal and milk.

“Well, I’m not at work yet so I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but Papa Hank called Mama in really early so I think they’ve been working hard to find the bad guy. But if we want to go on our trip, then we have to go so I can get into work and help Mama find the bad guy, alright?” Jay explained.

“Okay Daddy, I done,” Jamey said, holding his milk cup out towards Jay.

“Alright buddy, good job eating all your cereal and drinking all your milk!” Jay encouraged his son. Jamey beamed at the praise before Jay helped him down from his chair at the table. “Both of you go put your coats on, it’s pretty windy today.”

After the dishes were put away, the kids and Jay had their lighter coats and backpacks on, Jay ushered them out the door with his breakfast and Holland’s lunchbox. They were leaving nearly 45 minutes earlier than usual, as that was as early as Holland and Jamey could be dropped off at their respective schools. Jamey was dropped off at his preschool facility first, where Jamey gave both Holland and Jay several hugs before smiling at his teacher and making his way over to her. Next drop off was Holland’s elementary school, where Jay was able to drop her off in the carpool line before driving off to the precinct.

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The morning was a flurry of events, and the team had several leads quickly. Most of them turned out to be dead-ends, but Erin and Kevin were hopeful that the house they pulled up to would turn out to be helpful for their case. After knocking on the door, Kevin spotted movement out of the side window, and Erin flew around the front porch in pursuit of the suspect. Kevin called in the runner before following after the suspect and Erin.

The suspect ran through an old abandoned shed, before turning down an alley and making a run for it. Erin was catching up to the suspect; her endurance was one of her strengths in the field. Suddenly, the chase took a turn when the suspect darted through an old warehouse. Erin quickly followed behind, but Kevin was too far behind to see where they had gone. Erin was essentially in pursuit by herself.

While Erin’s mind was working in overdrive trying to predict the suspect’s next move and prevent him from getting a jump on her, the suspect suddenly disappeared behind a wall. Erin drew her gun while quietly checking her surroundings, and she ended up back outside of the warehouse after hearing an exterior door shut. After exiting the warehouse, Erin still couldn’t locate the suspect. While checking behind a car in the alley, suddenly the suspect jumped out from behind some crates beside her and struck her midsection with a metal pipe. Erin was knocked to the ground and her gun fell out of her immediate reach. The suspect was coming at her again with the pipe, but Erin quickly rolled to the side and knocked the suspect off his feet.

There was intense pain radiating from her abdomen, but Erin couldn’t afford to check over her injuries yet. She got up off the ground as quickly as she could despite the pain, but the suspect was quicker. He again struck her with the metal pipe, before Erin was able to knock the pipe out of his hands and struggle with him in hand-to-hand combat. The boxer in Erin came out, and she was able to get the upper hand on the guy, even as he elbowed her in her ribs while being taken down. She quickly cuffed the suspect just as Kevin rounded the corner and caught up with them.

“Lindsay!” Atwater called while jogging over to her. By the time Kevin was at her side, Erin had re-holstered her gun and was bent over with her hands on her knees, desperately trying to catch her breath and regulate her breathing. “Are you alright?” Atwater questioned her.

“Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of me is all,” Erin replied.

“I don’t think a metal pole to the side is ‘just getting the wind knocked out of you’”, the perp sassed.

“Shut up!” Atwater snapped, getting the suspect off the ground before turning back to Erin. “Linds, the metal pole? That’s pretty serious."

“Just call it in, would you?” Erin snapped, not in the mood for Atwater to be as overprotective as her husband. Atwater called in on his radio as the three of them started heading back to the main road where their car was waiting. Erin immediately noticed how painful her injury to the stomach actually was, but tried to keep her wincing and pained expressions to a minimum so as not to alert Atwater that she was actually hurt.

“Lindsay, are you sure you’re okay? Halstead’ll never forgive me if you got hurt while I was your backup.” Kevin questioned her.

“Relax Atwater. The person who will actually never forgive you is going to be me if you speak a word of this to Jay. This stays between us- I’m fine.” Erin emphasized, lying straight through her teeth. At least Atwater didn’t know her as well as Jay. He would see right through her lie.

“You have to tell him! You could have like, I don’t know, a broken rib or something.” Atwater pushed. Two uniformed officers met them and took the suspect to their patrol car, leaving Erin and Atwater to continue on back to their car by themselves.

“Kevin- I appreciate that you’re worried about me, I really do. But if I tell Jay that I got whacked a few times by a deranged suspect with a metal pole, he will bench me in Chicago this weekend. We’ve had our Halstead Family Getaway planned for months now, and I’m not taking that away from my kids or Jay, and I’m certainly not taking that away from me. We’ve had our two days off approved and we are going to spend a long, laid-back weekend in Wisconsin. I’ll tell him when we get up to the cabin so he can’t do anything about it.” Erin reasoned.

“But what if you’re seriously hurt, Lindsay? I think you need to tell him before you guys leave the city,” Atwater attempted to reason with her.

“Atwater- I’m fine, just a little sore and probably bruised. You’ve got to let it go, and you can’t tell Jay. Him being overprotective is bad enough, I don’t also need you on my case. I swear to God Atwater, you better not say anything to him, or I’ll make your life a living hell,” Erin threatened while getting into the car. Atwater followed her lead and got into the passenger seat with his arms held up in surrender.

“I won’t say anything to him, but just consider letting him know sooner rather than later,” Kevin responded as Erin started the car and drove them back to the district.

Upon entering the bullpen, Erin saw that Jay was already there studying the skimp suspect board to catch himself up.

“Hey,” Erin greeted, coming up to stand next to her husband. “You’re here earlier than I thought. The kids okay this morning?”

“Hey, yeah. They were good. Jamey said he missed you as soon as he heard you were already at work, and Holland’s worried that because we caught a case this morning, we won’t be able to go up to the cabin,” Jay laughed. Erin smiled at Jay’s descriptions, feeling a little bummed she didn’t get morning snuggles with her kids today.

“We just caught a suspect- Alex Jeffersons, who we think might be related to the shooting this morning,” Erin explained. “We think there’s a few of them involved though, so hopefully this guy cooperates so we can end this and still get out of here early like we planned.” Jay nodded at her information, before turning his head slightly so her could kiss his wife on the forehead. Erin smiled gratefully at his gesture, before nodding her head to the interrogation room so they could watch the conversation.

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After spending several hours trying to track down Jeffersons’ looser friends, the team finally got a break and found two of the three other suspects. Erin and Jay stayed in-house while the rest of the team captured the suspects because they were finding additional evidence for their case.

“All right, the link between these guys is all from Jefferson’s cousin, Mikey ‘Bud�� Jeffersons. Apparently, Bud brought in these two, and it’s all some ploy of revenge because our victim, Wesley Zimmerman, had some sort of dispute with Bud over property lines,” Erin informed the team.

“Wait, they killed an old man in the middle of the street over a property dispute?” Ruzek asked incredulously.

“Yep. It also appears Bud and Zimmerman used to be business partners before Bud went to jail, and Bud claimed that it was actually Zimmerman laundering the money from their business, not Bud. However, I just spoke with Bud’s girlfriend on the phone, and she said that Bud and Zimmerman had made amends over the money laundering and jail thing,” Erin explained.

“Good work team. Let’s go get this ‘Bud’ character and finish up for the day,” Voight instructed. Erin excused herself to the locker room as the rest of the team went down to the roll-up to gear up for their raid. Once in the locker room by herself, Erin gently pulled up her top and tank top, getting a good look at the damage done by that metal pole. She’s been in an incredible amount of pain all day, taking some ibuprofen to try and curb some of the pain. She’s been distancing herself from Jay because she knows she can only hide her pain so well from him. She also knows that Jay is aware something is up with her today, but she’s thankful he’s been respecting her space. The nasty bruise is already nearly black, and it stretches from her left hip across her side, up by her ribs, and then over to her right breast. She gently probes the bruised area with her fingertip, and immediately recoils and gasps from the pain. She’s tried her best to not move her upper body a lot and to not accidentally bump her side into anything, but the faintest of touches is horribly painful. Clenching her teeth until the sharpest, most intense pains dissipates some have been her only relief all day.

“Hey Er? You alright?” Jay questions, coming around the corner and entering the breakroom. Erin immediately yanks her top down, causing pain to burst out from her side and her to gasp at the movement subsequently. “What is it, Erin? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing Jay, don’t worry about it,” Erin attempts to brush off.

“You just gasped, and you were looking at your stomach when I walked it. What happened?” Jay probed his wife.

“It’s just a little scrape, no big deal. Ready to suit up?” Erin questioned, trying to change the subject. Her husband, however, was used to her antics and was not buying it. He gently reached his hand out and skimmed her left side, and Erin hissed and jumped out of his reach, her face scrunching up in pain.

“Erin? What the hell is going on?” Jay finally demanded, worried about his wife who always, no matter what, insisted she was fine. She insisted she was fine throughout both of the labors and births of their children.

“Jay it’s really-” Erin started, but Jay had her backed up against the wall and gently began lifting her shirt and tank top up, revealing a small section of the bruise on her hip before he gasped.

“Erin, what the hell?” He questioned but continued pulling her shirt up to her bra, exposing the entire bruise. His face looked to hers in horror. He couldn’t believe she had hidden this so well over the course of the day, and he couldn’t believe she had neglected to tell him she had a bruise expanding over her entire abdomen. His wife happened to also be the most stubborn person he knew, so he supposed he wasn’t actually surprised by her not telling him. “What happened?”

“It was the first suspect- Jeffersons?” Erin clarified. Jay just nodded along, waiting to hear what happened. “We were on a chase, and we went out of this warehouse and I was checking behind this car when suddenly- I don’t know. Jeffersons was there- behind me with some sort of a metal rod or pole or something. He got me once across the stomach, knocking me down. He was able to get me one more time before I gained control and cuffed him.” Erin explained the confrontation.

“It looks like it hurts like hell,” Jay commented, nodding his head toward her abdomen where he was still holding her shirt up to inspect the damage. "And you have a higher pain tolerance than almost everyone I know."

“It does. I’m kicking myself for letting the son of a bitch get a jump on me.” Erin replied quietly.

“You could have a few broken ribs. Metal rods aren’t exactly known for their cushion upon impact on your skin. Does Voight know?” Jay questioned her. She shook her head ‘no’. “Erin, I seriously think you need to go over to Med. It’s probably just some bruised or broken ribs, but it could have done some more internal damage.”

“No, this is exactly why I didn’t tell you earlier!” Erin whined.

“Yeah, I would love to know why you didn’t tell me earlier. This happened before I got in this morning didn’t it?” Erin nodded in response to him. “Erin, I mean, seriously. Why didn’t you say anything this morning? This isn’t some minor thing, babe. This is like, broken bones level stuff,” Jay scolded her.

“I know, I know. And normally I would have told you, but Jay, we’re supposed to go out of town today. And we’ve been looking forward to this for months. And not just the two of us, I mean Holland and Jamey have been looking forward to it too. You said Holland even asked about it this morning. I didn’t want you to overreact and say we had to stay in Chicago this weekend. I really want to go up to the cabin, and I really need just some quality time with just the four of us- with no work and cases to worry about,” Erin sighed.

“Er, I understand that- I do. And as long as you don’t need some sort of crazy emergency surgery, then I see no reason why you can’t get an x-ray or something at Med, make sure everything is okay, and then we can still head up to the cabin afterward. I just- I need to make sure you’re okay before we go up there. There isn’t a hospital close to the cabin- you know that. I don’t want anything worse happening when we are in Wisconsin and the nearest emergency room is an hour and a half away,” Jay said. Erin listened and nodded along, before realizing Jay was right. Even if she has a few cracked or broken ribs, they can’t do anything about that except give her some pain medicine, and they could still go up to the cabin like they planned.

“Alright, I’ll talk to Voight and go to Med, because seriously, it hurts like hell. Then if I have to be there for a while and you guys wrap things up here, you will have to go pick the kids up and we can leave from Med,” Erin agreed.

Jay nodded his head slightly, thankful Erin was going to get herself checked out. "Who was your backup today? Because they really botched the job."

"It was Atwater, and he's been telling me to go get checked out and tell you since this morning. He's seriously worried about you being pissed at him. If you're going to be pissed at someone, pick me."

Voight sent both Erin and Jay to Chicago Med so Erin could get checked out, while the rest of the team went on their raid. Dr. Ethan Choi saw the Halstead’s when they arrived, and immediately got Erin scheduled for an x-ray and an abdominal ultrasound to make sure there was no damage to any internal organs. While waiting for the x-ray, Jay got a call from Voight, letting them know that the last suspect had been apprehended and that the Halstead’s were off for the rest of the day.

“Have fun up in Wisconsin, and take care of Erin. I’ll see you two on Monday morning,” Voight said before hanging up the phone.

“Alright, we don’t have to go back to the district. Voight said we’re done for the day since we had the approval to leave at 4 today,” Jay informed Erin.

“Okay, will you go pick up the kids? You can bring them back here, and hopefully, I’ll be done by the time you get back,” Erin suggested. Jay didn’t love the idea of Erin being left at the hospital alone, but ultimately agreed when Erin insisted she just wanted to hug their kids and get on the road as soon as possible.

“Call me if you need anything, okay? And I’ll be back with the two little monsters soon,” Jay said, before kissing his wife and heading out of the hospital.

An hour later, it was confirmed that Erin only suffered from a broken rib and three fractured ribs and that she was on light duty at work for two weeks.

“Okay, your prescriptions for the regular, lower dose pain meds and the higher, if necessary, pain meds are in the folder. They’ve already been called into your pharmacy, and I would probably take a dose of the higher-strength meds when you get them. You can’t drive on the higher-strength meds, but the other meds are fine. The lower-strength ones are basically over-glorified ibuprofen,” Dr. Choi explained to Erin.

“Okay, thanks so much for your help, Dr. Choi,” Erin thanked him before heading out of the hospital room and looking around the ER nurses' station for her brother-in-law. After a moment of looking, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

“So the rumors are real. The Erin Halstead is actually in the ER and not actively fighting doctors,” Will said with a smirk.

“Haha, very funny William. Also, I don’t fight doctors, you guys have a job to do. I only fight my husband, and you usually approve of that,” Erin remarked.

“Very true. Where is my brother, anyways? I figured he’d have to be here to physically hold you down so you actually got some medical attention,” Will commented. Erin rolled her eyes at her brother-in-law.

“He’s picking up Holland and Jamey from school. We’re heading up to your grandfather’s cabin this weekend, and we are going to leave from here. He should be back any time now,” Erin said. “Also, for your information mister, no one had to hold me down while I got my x-rays or ultrasound, thank you very much.”

“X-rays and ultrasound, huh? What happened today?” Will asked.

“A metal rod. Or pole, I don’t really know. Got whacked across the stomach with it twice, and also an elbow or two landed right on the bruise. Dr. Choi said a broken rib, and three fractured ones,” Erin informed him. He nodded along and then grabbed her folder out of her hands to double-check how her x-ray and ultrasound went, and to see what medication he prescribed Erin.

“He prescribed tramadol, which isn’t as addictive as hydrocodone or oxycodone. Just take it with extreme pain, which is probably going to be the next few days. Honestly, I'd probably take it all weekend and just let Jay drive. You'll feel much better if you do that. The toradol isn’t addictive, and it should help with the pain after you get through the next few days,” Will assured Erin, knowing her history with substance abuse.

“Thanks, Will. Tell Jay too, will you? I know he worries about these types of things, and he’s going to believe it better coming from you,” Erin said. Just then, Erin heard her little family walk into the hospital.

“Hi, Mommy!” Jamey excitedly said, waddling over to her as quickly as he could with his arms outstretched towards her. Erin’s smile immediately lit up her entire face upon seeing her kids.

“Hi baby! I missed you today,” Erin replied, getting down on a knee so she could get a big Jamey-hug without hurting her ribs too badly.

“Mama! Are you okay?” Holland asked, with worry written across her small face.

“Yeah Holland, I’m alright baby. Just a little bruised,” Erin explained, making sure to give her daughter a big hug to prove that she was alright.

“Did the bad guy from this morning hurt you?” Holland asked, still not satisfied that her mother was okay.

“Yeah, but it’s alright. I got him, and he’s not going to hurt anyone again,” Erin assured her. Seemingly content with her mother’s explanation, Holland gave Erin another hug before turning around and greeting her Uncle Will.

“Bad guy hurt Mommy?” Jamey questioned.

“It’s okay baby. I’m alright,” Erin assured her three-year-old.

“A bwuise?” he questioned again.

“Mhmm, a big bruise on my tummy. But I’ll get my medicine and some ice packs at the store on our way to the cabin. We will still get to have lots of fun this weekend, okay?” Jamey nodded his head before retreating back into her arms and tucking his head into the crook of Erin’s neck. Erin gently rubbed his back up and down, trying to soothe him and herself. It had been a long day after all.

“What, no hugs for Uncle Will?” Will questioned Jamey while setting Holland down.

“I miss Mommy,” Jamey said in response to his uncle’s questioning. Will tried to tickle his nephew in Erin’s arms, but Jamey was not having it. “No Uh Will! No!”

“Alright, alright,” Will backed off. He explained to Jay about Erin’s medicines as she had requested, before seeing them off and finally getting one hug from Jamey. “You guys be safe, and have a great weekend!” Will said on their way out. Erin carried Jamey to the car and took off his coat before buckling him into his car seat. Jay secured Holland on the other side, before getting in the driver’s seat.

“I’m honestly shocked you’re letting me drive,” Jay said, pulling out of the parking lot and heading toward the pharmacy.

“I’ve been up since 3:30, and I’m in pain. You get to drive tonight Halstead. Don’t get used to it.”

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After stopping by their CVS to pick up Erin's pain medicine and buy some ice packs for the cabin, the family got on the road heading for Wisconsin. After a little bit, they pulled into a diner they eat at sometimes on their way to and from the cabin. While they wanted to get to the cabin as soon as they could, they also had to sit down to eat for Jamey to be able to safely and efficiently eat his meal.

Upon entering the diner, they were immediately sat in the back section, with a booster seat for Holland and a high chair for Jamey.

"Hey Jamey, they have chicken tenders, Mac and cheese, a chicken quesadilla, or a hot dog for dinner," Erin told her son. "Which one sounds yummy to you tonight?"

"Chicken! I want bwed." Jamey said.

"Okay, we will get some bread for all of us soon. What side do you want? Green beans, Mac and cheese, broccoli, peas, or french fries?"

"Maccy cheese pwease!"

"Sounds like a yummy meal buddy. What about you, Holland? What did you decide for dinner?" Erin asked.

"I want the chicken quesadilla. And the green beans! They are super yummy here!"

"They are super yummy, aren't they sweetheart," Jay responded. Shortly after they had decided what they wanted to eat, a middle-aged waitress came over to take their orders. Erin was still looking down at her menu when the waitress spoke.

"Oh my! Bless your sweet baby Jesus hearts!" The woman - her name tag read Shelly- exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Erin looked up and questioned the woman, confused by her comment.

"Well you folk have to go through so much to raise a messed up child," the waitress said, which further confused and outraged the couple.

"Ma'am, please stop talking about my son. He's absolutely not messed up, and if-"

"Just look at his face! He's a little cute, but everyone can tell something is wrong with him!" The woman went on, enraging Erin and Jay.

"Alright, you need to walk away from our table please," Jay said, barely containing his fury at the woman.

"But I'm your waitress!"

"Not anymore, please get away from us and our table, and think about what you say before you sit another table." Jay angrily said, standing up to ensure the woman walked away. He looked back towards his wife, who had a layer of tears in her eyes. They silently communicated Jay's intention to ask for a new waiter, before she nodded her head and he walked towards the front of the restaurant.

"Excuse me, ma'am, could I please speak to your manager?" Jay asked the hostess. She smiled and nodded, before walking into the kitchen and returning with the owner of the restaurant.

"How can I help you sir?" The owner questioned.

"Hey, I'm sorry to cause a problem, but I would like to request a new waiter for our table," Jay explained.

"Of course, sir. Can I ask why?" The owner pressed.

"You have a waitress, named Shelly? I understand we are sitting in her section, but she just insulted my son, and in turn, my family, and we won't stay if she has to serve us," Jay explained as diplomatically as possible, despite his fury at the woman's comments towards his son.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear about that. Kayla, have Casey serve this family please," the owner said to the hostess. "I understand if you don't wish to relive what was said, but it will help me when I speak with Shelly if I understand the full situation, sir."

"Of course. I don't want a word of this spoken around my wife or my son, alright? My son has Down syndrome, and he has very slightly different facial features than you and I due to his syndrome. The first thing out of Shelly's mouth was about blessing our hearts, and she further 'explained' herself by calling my son messed up and saying something was wrong with him. He's three, he's a child, and he's just like every other kid. I would appreciate it if no one commented on how my son was different, especially considering he wasn't being disruptive or anything of the sort," Jay explained, getting a little emotional defending Jamey.

There have been looks and small comments before regarding Jamey, but it never got any easier trying to teach the world how wonderful his son is and that his syndrome doesn't define him. He is a regular three-year-old, and he acts like one as well. He is smart, creative, loves to pretend play, and loves his family over everything else. He's sweet and he loves cuddles, and the Halsteads have been head over heels in love with him since the moment he was born.

"I'm terribly sorry for you and your family's experience, and your meals will be on the house tonight. Casey is one of our best waitresses, and she will be by your table shortly," the owner expressed his condolences, before heading back to find the waitress. Jay headed back to his family, where he saw his kids laughing and his wife smiling. When he made his way to his chair across from Jamey, he realized what was going on.

"Do it to Daddy, Mama! Do it!" Holland cheered Erin on. Erin smirked before placing her straw in her mouth and blowing the paper wrapper right at Jay's face. The whole table erupted into giggles, trying to forget their earlier encounter.

------------- e&j -------------

"Thanks for taking care of that, earlier," Erin said in the quiet car, just a playlist of music playing softly in the background. The kids were both asleep and had been for nearly an hour.

"You don't have to thank me for that, Erin. That’s why you have backup, right? I would do anything for our family, and I will not tolerate anybody saying anything uncalled for about our son. He's perfect the way he is, and I wouldn't change him for the world."

"I know we've been through it before- and I know the looks are the most common. But, it never seems to get any better. I mean, he's a few months shy of 4 years old, and that's 4 years of people not understanding him or other kids like him. I think sometimes we're spoiled by his school. I know they are an inclusive school environment and they are always concerned about every kid succeeding- regardless of their disabilities. It just frustrates me that we always have to educate the world on Down syndrome and our son," Erin said quietly, making sure Jamey was still fast asleep. "He is perfect, and I didn't know I could love someone as much as I love our kids. And I'm so proud of him. I mean, think about all the progress he makes every single day, and he has so many more obstacles in his life to go through than the rest of us. He's truly our little ray of sunshine." Jay smiled at his wife and reached his free hand out to entwine their fingers together. They sat like that in silence for several minutes before a small voice piped up from the backseat.

"Mama? I have to go potty." Holland said, waking up from her nap.

"Okay, sweetheart. There's a rest stop in a few miles, it will only be a few more minutes, alright?" Jay said to his daughter.

"Okay, Daddy."

"Jamey probably needs a diaper change too, so this will be a good stop. Only two more hours after this anyways. Should be able to make it to the cabin," Erin said. Jay soon pulled their Jeep Cherokee into a parking spot outside of the quiet rest stop.

“Jamey, it’s time to wake up! We have to go potty now!” Holland said, attempting to wake her sleeping brother. He groaned and turned towards Holland and brushed her hand away from him.

“No Sissy! Stop it, Sissy!” Jamey said sleepily. Erin then opened his door and smiled at him, causing him to stop his bickering and smile back at his mom.

“Hey buddy, I know you were sleeping, but we are going to go potty and I’ll change your diaper, okay?” Erin softly explained to her son.

“Okay Mama, then night night.” Jamey said as Erin unbuckled him from his car seat. She put the diaper bag on her back before picking him up and shutting his car door gently.

“Yeah baby, after we get you changed and clean, then you can go night night again until we get to the cabin.” Holland walked around the car with Jay before running to Erin and grabbing her hand. The family trudged up the stairs towards the rest stop, with an energetic 6-year-old and a sleepy 3-year-old in Erin’s arms. Erin, Jamey, and Holland made their way into the women’s restroom and into the large handicapped stall with the changing table in it.

“Jamey, wanna sing a song?” Holland asked as Erin helped her onto the potty before pulling down the changing table and putting down the reusable changing mat from their diaper bag.

“Okay, Sissy. Sing sunshine song?” Jamey asked as he was laid down on the changing table and Erin got to work cleaning him up and putting on a fresh diaper. They were working on other things in Jamey’s life right now like chewing his foods more thoroughly and expanding his utterances, so potty training wasn’t a huge push at the moment.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray…” Holland and Jamey started singing at the same time. By the time their impromptu serenade was finished, Jamey and Holland were also finished going potty and getting changed. After Erin used the restroom and all three of them washed their hands, they finally made their way outside where Jay was waiting on them.

“Daddy! I hungy,” Jamey said, while walking towards Jay with his hands outstretched.

“We can get out some Cheez-Its when we get in the car.” Jay picked up Jamey and swung him in the air, causing the toddler to erupt into giggles.

------------- e&j -------------

A few hours later, Jay finally turned off the main road onto the long, winding, gravel road of the family’s cabin. Erin and the kids had been asleep for most of the last leg of their trip, but Erin was wide awake by the time they got to the cabin. Erin turned her head around to look at her kids, noticing that both of them were out and they probably wouldn’t even wake up when they were taken out of their car seats.

“They are both passed out,” Erin told her husband as he pulled up beside the side door and parked their car. “I’ll get Jamey since he’s lighter and my abdomen is starting to really hurt again. After we get them in their room and get our bags in, I’ll take another dose of the pain meds before bed.” The couple worked together to quietly unbuckle both kids and gently lift them into their arms. Jay unlocked the side door of the cabin before they quietly made their way into the mud room and up the stairs toward the bedrooms, flipping the lights on as they went.

After both children were stripped of their shoes and slipped into their respective beds, Jay and Erin quickly unloaded the car. Erin put the ice packs in the freezer before locking up the cabin for the night. As the couple was getting ready for bed, Jay noticed how horrible his wife’s injuries from today looked.

“Babe, the bruise looks awful,” Jay commented, coming over to stand by her in the bathroom as she pulled her PJ bottoms on, her top still exposed.

“Well, it hurts like hell, so it better look awful,” Erin replied, gingerly touching the bruise and taking in how much pain she was actually in. After slipping her top on, she grabbed the bottle of pain pills from her purse and took a dose, before brushing her teeth and making her way over to the bed. Jay soon followed her and watched as she struggled to get comfortable in bed with her injuries.

“Jay, I love you a lot, and normally all I want to do is cuddle up to you, but I think I might need my extra pillows tonight. The pillows are softer than your abs,” Erin laughed. Jay grinned and nodded at Erin, before pulling out extra pillows from the linen closet in the master bedroom. “You’re the best,” Erin smiled, gratefully accepting the pillows and situating herself.

“Oh yeah,” Jay said, echoing their conversation so many years ago after they first moved in together. “But seriously, I love you Erin, and I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I love you too, Jay. Thanks for letting us still come up here.”

“You think I was going to miss a weekend getaway with my three favorite people? Not a chance,” Jay smirked, before getting comfortable and drifting off into a much-needed slumber.

------------ e&j -------------

“Mommy? Daddy?” Jay heard a little voice in the dark bedroom.

“Jamey? What is it, buddy?” Jay asked sleepily, turning towards the door to see his son standing in the doorway of their bedroom in the cabin.

“Want snuggles, Daddy,” Jamey said, walking towards the bed with his arms reaching out towards Jay.

“It’s really early. Did you have a bad dream?”

“No bad dweam. No no. Want Mommy and Daddy,” Jamey said, reaching the edge of the bed.

“Is Holland still asleep?” Jay picked up his son and put him in the bed between Erin (or her pillows) and himself.

“Mhmm. Sissy sleepy.”

“Okay. Shhh, Mama’s asleep and we don’t want to wake her up.”

“Shh shh shh!” Jamey imitated with his finger to his lips. “Night night Daddy. Love you.”

“Goodnight buddy. I love you too,” Jay replied, pulling Jamey closer to him and getting in some snuggles before both boys drifted off to sleep.

------------- e&j -------------

“Jamey?” Erin questioned tiredly, noticing her son was in their bed and she did not remember him joining them last night. Both her husband and son remained fast asleep, so Erin decided to go check on Holland. It was 7:30 am, which was much later than the family usually got up. The kids were both pretty early risers, constantly reinforced by her and Jay’s work schedule (or lack thereof, sometimes). Walking silently across the hall to the kid’s room, Erin saw that Holland was awake- but barely.

“Mama? Where’s Jamey?” Holland asked upon noticing her mother in the doorway.

“He’s in bed with Daddy. I’m not sure when he came into our room, but he’s fine. How did you sleep, sweetheart?’ Erin asked as she came to the bunk bed and sat on the side by Holland.

“Good. I was really sleepy last night Mama. Can I come cuddle with you and Daddy?”

“That sounds like a great plan. Why don’t you go to our room and get in bed and I’ll run downstairs and start the coffee maker for me and Daddy, sound good?” Holland nodded her head at her mother’s instructions but went to the bathroom before going across the hall. After turning the coffee pot and the light over the sink on, Erin made her way back upstairs with an icepack for her stomach. She took another dose of pain medication before joining her sweet family in bed.

“Hi Mommy,” Jamey whispered, smiling when he saw her.

“Hi, baby. Did you have a nightmare last night?”

“No. No bad dweam. Want snuggles.” Erin smiled at her son and pulled him closer to her and Holland, causing both of her kids to giggle.

“Shh,” Erin got out between her own laughter, “Daddy is still sleeping. And we know how he gets when he doesn’t get enough beauty sleep.”

“Daddy gets grumpy!” Holland exclaimed, not heeding her mother’s warning of being quiet.

“Gwumpy Daddy! No want gwumpy Daddy!” Jamey copied his sister’s words.

“What is this I hear about a grumpy Daddy?” Jay asked, pulling both kids into his arms and ticking them. All four Halsteads were now laughing at the sudden tickling session.

“Stop it, Daddy! No no! No Daddy!” Jamey said while trying to catch his breath. “No tickwl Daddy! No tickwl!” Jay stopped tickling them at Jamey’s request, but Jamey still crawled across the bed toward Erin as soon as he was put down. Holland was still laughing and rolled towards Jay so Jamey could be by Erin.

“Did Daddy tickle you, Jamey?” Erin asked while gently tucking Jamey into her side, being mindful of her broken and fractured ribs.

“Mhmm.”

“You did a good job telling him to stop. Did you see how he stopped as soon as you asked him to?” Jamey nodded his head before changing the subject entirely- in typical 3-year-old fashion.

“Time to eat?” He asked.

“What do you want to eat for breakfast?” Jay asked.

“Waffles!” Holland exclaimed.

“Ooh! Waffles! Want waffles Daddy!” Jamey said.

“Then waffles it is for the Halstead’s this fine Thursday morning!” Jay said, practically jumping out of bed, with his children and wife following. Despite her aching body, Erin was beyond thankful that they were at the cabin and not in Chicago this weekend. They had the entire weekend ahead of them full of swimming in the river, tubing down the river, relaxing and reading in the hammocks, family snuggling by the fire, and making smores.

[chicago-pd-is-weird]

Hank Voight and the Crackhead Detective: NOW POSTED!

It is finally posted! @creativeimagination206 and I have edited it and made it even better for all of you lovely people!

I am so excited to share this work. If you're new here, let me tell you about it: It's about an interim detective in Voight's unit who will NOT stop quoting memes!

You can find the full synopsis below the cut, along with the link. I really hope you love it, and please feel free to leave us feedback either here, in my DMs, in my inbox, or on AO3!

Detective Katelyn Meyers was “highly recommended” by Trudy Platt, but when Voight meets her for the first time, he has no idea he is in for a wild ride.

Everywhere he turns, she’s there, and has something to say. Typically, these quips don’t make sense to Voight, who has no idea what a meme or vine is. But to Adam, Jay, and others, it is hilarious to watch their Sergeant be tortured to his breaking point by a young detective. She not only continuously quotes memes and vines, but she helps them solve the case. She is a great detective, who nobody can figure out, and it drives Voight to the point of (almost literal) insanity.

Will Voight ever understand what a meme is? Will he be able to intimidate Katelyn and make her back off? Or will she call his bluff and stare him down? Will he actually go insane? Read on to find out.

[jayhalsteadsimp2019]

Dude, There’s A Cop

Summary: Lyla pulls Elleigh away from doing something stupid.  Little did they know, a police officer was watching the whole time.

TW: Suicidal Thoughts, Slight Language Warning

Word Count: Around 596

Note:  Hi!  This one was inspired by something that happened to my friend and I yesterday and she wanted me to turn it into a fanfiction.

FYI:  Lyla is Jay and Hailey’s daughter (when I originally thought of Lyla she was supposed to be Jay and Hailey’s adoptive daughter.  It went from that to biological daughter to Halstead!Sister, which you can see based on the other imagines I’ve posted.)

Also, Elleigh is pronounced Ellie, Elleighana is pronounced Ellie-Anna (If you couldn’t tell I love unique names/unique spelling.)

Should I write more daughter fics?  Also I do take requests, it just may take a while depending on how I feel writing it/if I feel like writing it.

I also may not write a request at all if I feel like I don’t have enough creativity or freedom if that makes sense.

Enough from me, I hope you enjoy!! (:

     “Come on, Elleigh, get out of the road!”  Lyla complained as she dragged Elleigh along, stopping her from standing in the middle of the road.  The car passed them, the driver looking at them like they were stupid.

     “They’re looking at us like we’re stupid.”  Lyla complained as the two of them walked along, Elleigh just laughing slightly and putting a different song on.

     They took a right and kept walking, eventually moving to the left to get onto another road by the bike trail.

     “Ooh, a car!”  Elleigh exclaimed kind of childishly, standing in the middle of the road and putting her arms out as if she wanted the car to hit her (hint, she did).   

     “Here we go again.”  Lyla thought to herself, grabbing Elleigh’s arm, practically dragging her away from the road, “Come on, Elleigh!  Stop standing in the middle of the road!”

     “Aww.”  Elleigh complained as the car passed them, Lyla rolling her eyes, clearly annoyed.  Elleigh would do this every time they went somewhere, and it honestly kind of got on Lyla’s nerves, because Elleigh wasn’t about to throw herself in front of a car on Lyla’s watch.

     The two walked up the hill, walking over the bike trail and back down the hill onto another road, jumping over a puddle as they did so.  They walked down a small street, standing in front of the highway at the end of it.

     “Wait.”  Lyla instructed, putting her arm out to stop Elleigh from throwing herself in front of the car.  After a moment, it was safe enough to cross.

     “Okay, now we can go.”  Lyla grabbed Elleigh’s arm, pulling her across the street, Elleigh struggling playfully against her.  They made it to the sidewalk, Elleigh trying to step into the road as more cars drove past.

     “Elleigh, stop.”  Lyla demanded, grabbing Elleigh’s arm as Elleigh stumbled to the side and almost fell, being the clumsy person she is.  Lyla shook her head, “People are gonna think you’re drunk!”

     “But I am.”  Elleigh replied playfully, Lyla just laughing at the comment.

     “Dude, there’s a cop right there.”  Lyla stated, seeing the truck parked across the street.  She looked at it as the driver stepped out, walking across the vacant parking lot and stopping at the end of it.  He looked both ways as if he was about to cross.

     “He’s coming!”  Lyla exclaimed, laughing slightly.

     Elleigh and Lyla watched as the officer crossed the street, and it was that moment Lyla realized who it was.

     Lyla burst out laughing, and it was when Lyla did so that Elleigh too realized who it was.

     “Oh my God.”  Elleigh muttered, “He’s gonna tell my dad!”

     “Hi Dad.”  Lyla greeted, Elleigh sending her a death glare.

     “Elleigh, what are you doing?”  Jay questioned, ignoring Lyla as he crossed his arms and stood in front of the two of them.

     “I, uh-”  Elleigh trailed off, not knowing what to say.

    Jay sighed, “Alright.  Just, stop doing that, okay?  Cars keep trying to brake because they don’t want to hit you.”

     “His breath stank.”  Lyla whispered, Elleigh sending her a death glare.

     She turned her attention back to Jay, “I’m sorry.  It won’t happen again.”

     “It’s okay.  I trust you.”

     “Good.  Just, please don’t tell my dad.”

     Jay chuckled, looking behind him, “I won’t have to.”

     “Elleighana Lin Voight, what in the world are you doing?”  Hank questioned as he crossed the street, an angry look on his face.

      Lyla snickered as Elleigh groaned in annoyance.  There was no way in hell she’d be doing that again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Finish*

I hope you enjoy!  If you have a request feel free to send it!  (I am working on a request and I’m actually pretty happy about it.)

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

my issue is that i have so many projects going at one time so then i never get anything done

[uptondixon]

"You can hear it in the silence" - Sam Carver x Intelligence Officer!Reader

I noticed there's a surprisingly small amount of Sam Carver fanfics out here so this was born!

Reader is an officer from the Intelligence unit, she and Carver have been dating in secret for a couple of months. After a tough call involving both Truck and Intelligence, Carver can't help but demonstrate his love for you.

One robbery in progress, a bomb, and a bunch of civilians hurt. That is not how anyone imagined a Sunday morning to go. 

After the mess was contained, two out of four offenders were dead after a shooting with CPD. The other two, however, disappeared among the crowd of civilians. Paramedics were handling the wounded in triage while the firefighters were dealing with the remains of the explosion. 

“Y/n?” Voight said, calling your attention to him. “What about the guard you talked with?”

“He seemed nervous Sarge, even scared, and it wasn’t because of the robbery,” you said, checking the information you wrote about the guard. “The story he told, it looked rehearsed to me.”

Voight nodded, “Okay, you talk to him again and see if you can get more info, meanwhile Kev and Adam can search his proprieties so we can try and make a connection—”

“Y/n!” a shout was heard from a distance, directing your attention towards the sound.

Sam’s figure came into view. He was dressed with his coat and helmet, his face carrying a mix of worry and relief. You couldn’t help but leave a small gasp, your face morphing into pure and genuine surprise.

“Carver! I—” you started but the words vanished when he hugged you. Your arms wrapped around him, instinctively hugging him back. The embrace was so strong it lifted you a little off the ground, making you smile.

“Sam,” you said, a smile still on your face. Breaking the hug was hard since he was holding you so tight, but he started to let go when you said his name. Your feet met the ground again. 

“I saw you in the middle of the shooting, I thought you were going to be shot!” Carver said, his hands holding yours. 

“I'm fine, I ducked in time,” you smiled at him again, trying to soothe his worries. “We all did,” you looked at your team behind you, Sam’s eyes following yours.

He suddenly went quiet, his eyes staring at your intertwined hands. Realization hit him that you two were in public. 

You smiled at him sheepishly, arching your eyebrows and holding his hands tighter for reassurance. You knew he was feeling shy, it was so cute the way his eyes shifted back and forth between your eyes and the ground. You were not any different, looking between him and your team. You both sure did not expect your relationship to be out like this, but there was no coming back now. 

Your team held both confused and smiley faces. Hailey and Jay were smiling so big you could count every tooth in their mouth. They have been suspecting about your relationship with said firefighter after catching you messaging him during a boring lookout late at night. Another one who had suspicions was Voight, he heard from Mouch one night over dinner at his and Trudy's house that he saw you and Carver talking at Molly's. On the other hand, Adam, Kim, and Kevin looked absolutely shocked. They appeared to be the only ones who missed any signs about this.

“Is everything okay guys?” Stella's voice brought you back to reality. She was more discreet with her reaction than the others, but you could spot a small smile forming in her mouth.

“Of course, Lieutenant,” Carver said, regaining his composure. “I’ll see you later, yeah?” he smiled that smile you love so much. Staring into his blue eyes, you smiled back. 

“See you around, Y/n,” Stella said, leaving with Carver following behind.

You nodded with a smile, walking back to your team. 

“Don't look at me like that, Adam,” you said pointing a finger at him. Adam was staring at you as if you had grown another head.

“Well forgive my shock, but is that the reason why you rejected all the guys I told you about?”

“Bro, I rejected them because they suck.”

“They do not suck, Y/N, they’re nice guys.”

“Well, would you date them?”

“Enough you two,” Voight said with a ghost of a smile. “Let’s get back to the case.”

After listening to the rest of Voight’s instructions you all left in the direction of the cars.

“Now, I’m your partner, how come I’m one of the last people to know about this?” Kevin said, getting into the passenger seat of your car. 

“Y’all need to share when stuff like this happens!” Kevin said through the window when Jay and Hailey passed beside your car to get to their truck.

All you could do now was laugh and get ready for the teasing coming your way in the next few weeks.

[cynfuldelights]

Wardens: Cops By Another Name

So, in writing my Dresden fanfic I've once again stumbled upon another interesting quandary in the Dresdenverse and that's just how remarkably pro-cop the series is. Not in like, its representation of the Chicago PD which someone tried to point out to me was not "copaganda" because there were "good cops AND bad cops" Okay. Let's talk about Wardens then. So, Wardens unequivocally are the police of the wizard world at least for human mages. They answer to the authority of the White Council and the Head Warden, they're allowed to use lethal force in order to enforce those laws, and members are generally pulled from the populace policed (e.g. other wizards). With maybe the exception of Morgan, they're all generally portrayed the same was as the CPD are. They're also about as easy to corrupt and abuse their power as normal police, are given extrajudicial power to murder pretty much whoever they want if given a good enough "reason", and are able to carry out that act using a means of force unavailable to the rest of the population they police. Warden Donald Morgan IN THE FIRST BOOK, deliberately tries to misinterpret the Laws of Magic in order to kill Harry, who Morgan sees as a dangerous liability to leave lying around. So he just like. Tries to lie to Harry about how the Law works. Either that or he just doesn't understand the Laws of Magic. Kinda fucked up don't you think? Isn't it even more fucked up that if Harry didn't know about the Laws of Magic, Morgan could've just killed him right there in that Chicago park and the series would've just ended? Like. There's not really a criminal justice system it seems in the White Council aside from the Doom of Damacles, a laughably terrible system, that puts people who want to help reform people instead of kill them in harm's way. The only other trial we see is when a poor kid is laughably fucked up from using mind control magic and we just had to kill the fifteen-year old don't you see??

Like, sure, the Doom of Damacles is obviously a terrible shitty system that you could say is a reflection of how old and backwards the White Council is but so little of the Wardens or even the Laws of Magic are shown in the same light. Like, Morgan, is our "quintessential" bad cop, but like NOTHING BAD HAPPENS TO HIM FOR ABUSING HIS POWER! If anything in the end he's given a heroic death despite the fact that he was a terrible Warden who most definitely killed innocent people. He almost killed Harry!

Not only could he have killed him, he could've killed him easily. All Wardens, after all, are given anti-magic swords, purpose-built to negate the magic of 'renegade' mages and warlocks that they're trying to murder bring to justice. Nobody else is given these. Only Wardens, using a method that only ONE WARDEN knows how to use.

All based on, not the letter of the law, but on Morgan's interpretation of it. Just like cops do. They don't have to actually understand the law. Just try to stomp on anyone they perceive as dangerous. I wonder how it would've gone if Harry wasn't a tall White guy. You think Morgan a guy raised in a different CENTURY doesn't have weird internalized views about people different than him? Y'know. LIKE HARRY?

Plus, like... what would've even happened if he did!? Who would investigate Morgan? Other Wardens?! You think a community as insular as The White Council would actually bother with doing something when a Law of Magic hasn't been broken? Do you think they're going to believe a warlock or Lawbreaker over a wizard and Warden of the White Council? After all, breaking the Law(s of Magic) is one of the most fundamentally evil things you can do. So in order to fix that, we need to use summary execution via military police, no matter if they're a child or an adult.

After all: KILLING SOMEONE WITH AN ANTI-MAGIC SWORD DOESN'T COUNT AS KILLING SOMEONE WITH MAGIC. SO THAT MAKES IT OKAY, DOESN'T IT? (And as an aside, uh, what do you mean killing someone with an anti-magic sword, doesn't count as killing them with magic.

Like, I understand that a certain level of semantic bullshit can be argued with a lot of things in any Fantasy setting but like... What? You're telling me a sword forged with magical properties does not count as killing people with magic, even if its magical properties are used to kill them? Like. If I stab someone with a flaming sword and they burn to death, does that count?)

[digital-dumbass]

I have a great wild kratts fanfic idea ^_^

So basically, all of the villains get together cuz they’re sick of the wild kratts always ruining their plans. They come up with an idea to steal their CPS and their CPD. Zach comes up with a plan to kidnap Chris and blackmail them into giving them the stuff or else they kill Chris.

So one night Zach sends a zachbot to the tortuga to kidnap Chris and leave a note telling them about how they want the CPS and CPD in exchange for Chris. In the morning, the crew realizes that Chris is gone. Martin finds the note and is ABSOLUTELY LIVID. The only thing going through his mind is “how dare they”.

Then they pull up to Zach’s building to get Chris back. They keep denying giving them the stuff so they decide to kill Chris, but before they can do it Martin frees Chris.

In a fit of anger, all of the villains send every robot they have(except Gourmand) but Martin and the rest of the crew destroy them in CPS. (Then the group lowkey has to hold back Martin from ripping the villains heads off)

Then they go back to the tortuga and all is fine and dandy :)

PLEASE someone make a fanfic with this 🥺🥺

[accidental-spice]

3, 15, 16, and 19 for fandom asks?

#3: A character that fandom has helped you appreciate?

Commander Fox from The Clone Wars! I didn't have any particular opinions on him at first, but via various Tumblr posts and fanfics, he became my emotional support background character!

#15: The character that always makes you smile

Oh, Kate Bishop from the Hawkeye show for SURE. She's a delight. I relate to her so much

#16: A tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

Hoo, boy. This is gonna get long, and spoilery for Chicago PD S2

Okay, so I watch this show called Chicago PD, which has a bad habit of stabbing me in the HEART. Anyways, there are these two side characters, Mouse and Nadia. (Disclaimer-- this is not romantic, she's like, a teenager) They're both civilians with sketchy pasts who work with the CPD in a non combat way. Long story short, (spoilers), Nadia dies, and it SUCKS, which isn't the point. What IS the point is that Mouse, up to this point, isnt really taking care of himself, he looks very scruffy and unkempt. The episode after Nadia dies, he's shaved and his hair is styled, and he looks NICE. Which leads me to belive that he cleaned up for Nadia's funeral. He's also a vet, and I've read that some PTSD symptoms include a unwillingness to take care of your appearance. HE OVERCAME THAT FOR HER (obviously I'm not an expert in PTSD BUT IT'S STILL COOL)

#19: Your current fandoms

Star Wars, always. Also White Collar, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, and probably others I'm not thinking of🤣

Thanks for the ask!!

[kim-ruzek]

REE MY LOVE YOU’RE BACK!!! The prodigal friend hath returned!! Oh how I’ve missed you! I’m so glad you took a step back and focused on you, I truly admire you for it. Hopefully you’re greeted with nothing but love. How are you feeling? What are you looking forward to catching up on? I wanna know it all! 🥰💛

Abby, hiiiiii!!!! ♥️ God I've missed you, the smile I got on my face when I saw this ask!!!! Which is precisely the feeling I've missed having and made me want to come back!

I have been greeted with so much love, which is just wonderful, especially as it's reminding me of alllll the positives that come from being here.

I am feeling good! In a lot of ways I'm still fragile but I've set up safeguarding for myself to help me so I feel confident about hopefully staying good. Honestly, the thing I'm most excited about catching up on is the gifsets of both the cpd episodes that stole my heart AND allllllll the glorious chenford gifsets. I'm also really looking forward to rewatching stuff and doing my metas, although I am also really nervous about that because I don't want any drama in my life which means staying away from certain stuff.

But honestly, chenford has kept me going through the last few months and my heart just bursts every time I see them being the cutest cuties that ever lived so if I could describe how I'm feeling in a word that's not an emotion but feels like it should be, it'd be chenford.

And OH. actually what I'm most looking forward to catching up on: FANFIC. I've been away from it for agessssss now and while there's probably only like a handful of new burzek fics lol, I know chenford will deliver. And I'm very much looking forward to that.

I'm also looking forward to writing my own fanfic; I have a lot of chenford fics I want to write although I'm unsure on how long that'll take me because at the moment I'm living in heaven seeing canon chenford on my screen so it's hard to sum up the want to write when I could just rewatch lol, but I have a lot of burzek buzzing around in my head (and other oc ships...) Although that also might take me so time since this year I'm also (re) writing my original story which is exciting but does mean I'll be splitting my writing time.

Not so much catching up on but still very much looking forward to-- Kim's storyline stuff this season. I'm already loving everything so much so far and I'm so pleased with what having a woman in charge is doing for the show. I'm also looking forward to the 200th.

And finally, I'm just really looking forward to catching up with all my friends! I've missed y'all so much and hearing what everyone is up to and thinking about these shows we love. Also looking forward to actually showing my burzek discord some love lol, I've been a bad admin.

ANYWAY. thank you for this lovely lovely welcome back Abby, it really feels good to be back and I look forward to catching up with you my lovely (especially hearing your thoughts on chenford 👀)!!! 💖💖💖

[jaywritesrps]

I don't know if you followed Ashlyn before her and Sophia started dating but she is one of the nicest players in woso. Shes outspoken but Don't think I have heard a negative thing said about her throughout her career. Always respectful towards staff and fans etc..so yeah this "story" is questionable.

Yeah, I was already in the fandom back then, I know some people who met her a couple of times. I also know some people who worked with Sophia back in CPD days, and from what they told me, she wasn't much of fan of this "I'm famous" kind of behavior. It's why I'm a bit mixed about this rumor overall, cause Deux moi is not much trustworhy since this whole thing started, but their anons overall usually aren't 100% wrong.

So putting all of this together, my guess is that it's not all lie, cause they were in fact in that restaurant, but the anon who sent the rumor either exaggerated and transformed something minor in something big or created a fanfic. Both scenarios are to paint Ashlyn in bad colors.

If it's true, her relationship with Sophia won't last much. Like she won't help her own cause by mistreating staff and being cocky. Only it will make it people who hate her say "see, she is the bad guy". And if she is already acting like this in the beginning of the relationship, can't imagine what will happen down the line.

But again, I don't think it is. I am a strong believer in the fanfic theory cause she has been receiving a lot of hate, especially yesterday due to Sloane's bday, just look at the comments in Ali's post or in L chat to see that.

[gregorygerwitz]

First Kisses a fic for @yearoftheotpevent‘s 2023 event January prompt: first kiss(es)

Summary: There are three times as many firsts in a relationship with so many people, with so many dynamics at play. Kisses were the first of those firsts.

Warnings: none

Words: 6,185

developing “cozy trio” (MouseUpstead) relationships

Sneak Peek:

It was a wonder they didn't end up there more often.

Between a new, somehow more exhausting case every week, their weekly Chinese food dinners, and exhaustedly making their way in the same direction after drinks with everyone at Molly's, it was starting to occur to Jay that he should really just keep a change of clothes in a bag somewhere. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd fallen asleep on that couch, with a borrowed blanket and the smell of coffee to wake him up. It was a good arrangement, the kind that kept their friendship exactly where it needed to be, carefully distanced from the line that would be all too easy to cross.

On one of those nights, the ones with cheap, greasy food and a late night rerun of some show from when they were kids, they were right where they always were. They had their usual orders, with extra soy sauce packets that would be added to the drawer with all of the others from every other week. They were sitting next to each other on the couch that would be his bed for the night, trying to follow the plot of whatever episode was on. They weren't having much luck, not when half of their attention was on each other and their conversation instead of on the screen.

[ read the rest on ao3 ]

[chicago-pd-is-weird]

Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: Chicago PD (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Adam Ruzek/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Adam Ruzek, Trudy Platt, Bob Ruzek, Jade Parker (OC), Stephen Parker (OC), Kim Burgess, Sean Roman Additional Tags: Suicide, Infidelity, mentioned rape, school shooting mentioned, mentioned sex, No Smut Summary:

Jade Parker had a hard life. It wasn't until she met Adam Ruzek that her life got infinitely better. In the long run, though, did he really make it better? Or did it all get so much worse because of him?

--

The song which fits this story is "Colder Weather" by Zac Brown Band, thus it is what the story is named after.

[bylightofdawn]

Fanfic Rec: Chicago's Most Wanted

So I started to re-read Chicago's Most Wanted and I forgot how HILARIOUS this fic is. It opens in media res with Fraser and Ray K in an interogation room and from there jumps back in time to where Fraser is undercover in a prison, gets konked on the head and forgets he's a Mountie etc. He buys his cover identity and just...goes with it. Becoming a unholy terror to the CPD and a modern day robin hood who wins the hearts and support of the people because he gives huge chunks of his burgled loot to those in need. Because even an amensiac Fraser is still a do gooder at heart.

Meanwhile poor Ray is losing his mind over the whole thing.

So it's pretty much the plot of a really ridiculous and totally believable due South episode. In point of fact, Fraser did lose his memory in one episode from a similar konk to the head.

Even if you don't know this fandom I highly recommend it because it's hilarious, a fun romp, well-written and just the right amount of spicy.

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

ask game high five!! 6, 7, 9, 15! + a little 19 - I will always have a soft spot for everyone feels a little bit nervous <3 I think it was the first of yours I read and it's just so cute. max lucy friendship BELOVED. anyway good luck with the words :^)

i just answered 7 and 9, so i'll do the other ones!!!

6. Have you written any fanfictions featuring OCs? If so, elaborate!

for like main character ocs? i used to, but it was when i was in my 13-year-old fanfiction dot net phase. for non-mc ocs, i guess the extra characters i created for the goes-right cpds in twbh count? however a fic that i'm considering writing (for a different fandom though) would be almost completely made up of ocs though.

15. Are there words, phrases, mannerisms or scenes you tend to use a lot?

definitely lmao, i'm the kind of writer who just uses the same ways of saying things over and over again. i feel like there's so many that i can't even name them ahaha. probably a lot of cliche kind of phrases. i wish i had some examples off the top of my head but i do not!!!

19. For the readers: send in your favorite fanfic, scene, title, phrase, etc. by the person who reblogged this!

sooo true max lucy friendship for the winnn <3 and thank youuu