28. I Hear Trouble In The Land

Thanks so much for the reviews and the feedback everybody! So, since you guys gave me your opinion, we're going to have a wedding with Erin and a baby bump. Can we take a minute and talk about those Linstead scenes in the newest episode? That last scene, I was dying. I loved that hug so much...so much. I would say I can't wait until next week, but I don't want to go there and say "Linstead's going to kiss next week" and then it not happen. The writers sure like to lead us on. But, here's to hoping that we get the kiss that we deserve, and not just some glances across the room. Hope that you guys like this chapter.

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Adam Ruzek walked into the hospital and down the hall to Jay's room. It was almost midnight and he probably should've just went home, but he needed to talk to his friend, ne needed advice. So, as soon as he was able to leave work for the night he came to the hospital. Adam flashed his badge at the nurses station as he walked past and down to Jay's room and took a seat in the chair. Adam flipped the light over Jay's bed on and sat back down.

"I need to talk to you" Ruzek said as he pulled his chair closer to Jay.

Jay's eyes fluttered open and he looked over at Ruzek who was gazing at him.

"About?" Jay asked. He groaned as his chest radiated with pain and he struggled to take a deep breath as he looked at his best friend.

"I got Burgess pregnant" Ruzek said and exhaled as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What?" Jay asked becoming more alert.

"Kim's pregnant" Adam said again. He couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Are you serious?" Jay asked as he winced and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'm serious. What am I going to do?" Ruzek asked.

"I don't know man. It'll all work out" Jay said reaching a hand up to push his oxygen further up his nose.

"That's your advice? It'll work out?" Ruzek said "Jeez man. You're losing it"

"I'm sorry" Jay said as he struggled to take a deep breath.

"Well, what would you do if you got Erin pregnant?" Ruzek asked.

"Erin's on the shot" Jay furrowed his brow and coughed as he took a breath.

"But what if she got pregnant?" Ruzek asked.

"I don't know. I don't know if now would be the right time for her and I to have a baby. I'd like us to have a solid start to our marriage before we even talk about kids" Jay turned his head to look at the ceiling.

"So what am I supposed to do about KIm?" Ruzek asked.

"Just talk to her man. That's what you need to do" Jay's words came out in strangled breaths as he tried to take a deep breath.

"You ok?" Ruzek asked standing up from his seat as he looked at Jay.

"I...can't...breathe" Jay groaned and as his breathing became more labored.

"I'll go get someone" Ruzek said as he started out of the room.

Adam took off running down to find a nurse and once he did he grabbed her by the arm. "I need help"

"What's the problem, sir?" The nurse asked as she looked at Adam.

"My best friend. He can't breathe" Adam explained. As he tried to pull the nurse down the hall.

"Who's his nurse?" The nurse asked as she followed him down the hall.

"I don't know. You are" Adam said.

"Well, what room is he in?" The nurse asked.

"336" Ruzek answered.

"That's Nurse Taylor's room assignment" The nurse replied. "I'll find her and send her down there"

Ruzek stopped in his steps. Clearly this bitch wasn't taking him serious.

"Are you stupid? My friend needs help. He. Can't. Breathe" Ruzek said again. "Do your job and come help him. I'm not looking for a Nurse Taylor, I'm looking for you, Bitch"

The nurse shook her head and walked past Ruzek and into Jay's room.

"Mr. Halstead? I hear you're having some trouble breathing" The nurse said as she walked over to Jay's bed.

Jay didn't respond. He kept his eyes up on the ceiling as he struggled to take a deep breath.

The nurse took a look at Jay and saw his face turning white and his lips turning a shade of blue. She quickly his the button to notify the floor that there was a Code Blue.

Adam watched as the nurse quickly laid Jay's bed back and all the nurses and doctors came running in. He watched helplessly as the doctors started yelling out things he'd never heard before and he felt like he was going to be sick when he watched Jay get sedated and a nurse tilt his head back and slide a tube down his throat.

"What's happening?" Ruzek asked.

"You need to leave" A doctor shouted as a few nurses came towards Ruzek.

"I'm not going anywhere. What's wrong with my best friend?!" Adam asked as turned away from the two male nurses who were trying to usher him out the door.

"Sir, you need to wait outside" One of the male nurses said.

"Don't tell me what to do" Ruzek said jerking out of the male nurses's grasp again.

"Don't make us call security, sir" The other male nurse said "Wait outside. We need to work on your friend. Someone will be out there shortly to tell you what's going on"

And with that statement, the two male nurses escorted Adam out of the room and into the hall, before shutting the door behind them.

Adam looked at the door for a few seconds before he backed against the wall and sank down it. With shaking hands he took out his phone and dialed the number he dreaded the most.

After a few rings the person on the other end of the phone picked up and a groggy voice answered "Hello?"

"Erin, I know it's late. But you need to come to the hospital. It's not good" Ruzek said into his phone.

"What?" Erin sat up in her bed suddenly very awake from the sleep her body had been craving.

Ruzek didn't want to be the one to tell her. He really didn't "Jay had some trouble breathing and they are in there working on him right now. So, just get here, Erin"

"I'm on my way" Erin hung up the phone and didn't worry about changing out of her black leggings, sports bra and tank top she'd put on after her shower.

She flipped the bedroom light on as she started to search for her keys and uggs in a panic. Tears were already brimming at her eyes and her eyes went to the bedside table to where the sonogram of baby Halstead laid.

Erin ran a hand over her flat stomach as she walked over and picked the picture on the nightstand up. Why didn't she just go back to the hospital after her doctor's appointment? If she'd been there then she wouldn't have gotten woken up to a phone call she didn't want to hear.

"Please God, don't take him from us" Erin softly whispered as she looked down at the picture in her hand. She shook away fresh tears and laid the picture back down and she slipped her boots on and grabbed her keys and ran out the door.

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Ruzek stood in the waiting room as he waited for the doctor to come in and give him some idea about what was going on with Jay. One minute he was fine and the next they were putting a tube down his throat down to help him breathe? What kind of sick joke was this?

The door to the waiting room opened and Dr. Amato stepped in and made his way over to Adam.

"How is he?" Ruzek asked walking over to Dr. Amato.

"There's been a complication from his collapsed lung. It's most likely from him being taken off of the vent before hs body was fully ready for it. He's hypoxic..." Dr. Amato explained.

"Hypoxic? I don't know what that means" Ruzek confessed feeling embarrassed that he didn't know these medical terms.

"Hypoxic means that he's beind deprived of adequate oxygen. The oxygen that he is getting, his body is taking to his most vital organs and it's causing some trouble with his other organs, mostly his kidneys. They're starting to shut down and we've got him upstairs and are going to go back in and see if we can find where the trouble is coming from" Dr. Amato watched as Ruzek nodded.

"What am I supposed to tell his fiancee?" Ruzek asked.

"When she gets here, you just have her come to the nurses station and they'll be happy to explain to her anything that she needs to know. I need to get back in there. I'll be out as soon as everything is over" Dr. Amato gave Ruzek a nod and quickly walked out of the door and out of sight.

Ten minutes later Erin came running down the hall. Adam had just paid for his coffee and pressed the button when he saw Erin coming towards him.

"What happened?" Erin asked her voice full of fear and panic as she searched Ruzek's face for answers.

"They took him back into surgery. Something about hypoxia and his breathing. Said his organs were starting to shut down and that they needed to work on him fast" Ruzek explained as he looked down at Erin.

If there was ever a time that Adam Ruzek had seen someone's world fall out from under them, it was right now looking at the girl in front of him.

"Hey...he's going to be ok. He's been through war, Erin. This is a cake walk compared to that" Ruzek stepped towards Erin and pulled her into a hug.

Erin fought back tears as she wrapped her arms around Ruzek. This crying isn't her. Her hormones were so out of control and she hated it. She hated crying, it was weak and Erin Lindsay wasn't weak. "I shouldn't have went home"

Ruzek tightened his arms around Erin and shook his head "Erin, you couldn't have known this was going to happen. You can't stay here 24/7. You need to take care of yourself, too"

"Yeah, but if I'd have just stayed here tonight. I could've helped him. I don't even know what the last thing I said to him was" Erin shook her head, hot tears finally spilling over her lashes and down her cheeks.

She didn't understand. An hour ago she was asleep in her bed and now here she was. Standing in a hospital with Adam Ruzek hugging her. Her biggest fear coming true, Jay slipping away. There was so much she needed to tell him. So much that she should've told him, instead of just walking away.

If he dies? He'll never know how much he's meant to her. How much she truly loves him, how she's been in love with him since the night she forced him to go with her to her high school reunion. She wished she could go back to that night and forgotten about the whole "Maybe One Day" because that night should've been the start of their "One Day" not her dragging her feet all this time out of fear of what Hank Voight would think.

Sure, he knew she loved him. But she was afraid that he didn't know how much. How she owed him her life and how he was her other half. How she'd spent the last two years of her life denying something that was fate. She couldn't lose him, not now. Not when they only had a short time of happiness. He had to pull through, not just for her. But for thier son or daughter.

Their baby. Those two words, a soon to be symbol to the outside world of the love the two of them shared. How could their son or daughter grow up without their father? Without knowing what an incredible, handsome, kind, hard working and devoted father that they had?

Erin had never been so thankful for Adam Ruzek having his arms around her. She knew if he didn't that she surely would collapse to the floor. So she did the only thing she could. She held onto him and cried.

"When Jay was first shot. I was up there with him" Ruzek started.

"I know you were" Erin replied.

"When he first fell to the ground, I ran to him. It's my best friend you know? And he looked up at me and I told him that help was coming to just stay with me. That he was fine" Ruzek continued. He felt his own eyes welling with tears as he continued to embrace Erin.

"You're his best friend" Erin mumbled against Adam's chest.

"Yeah, but his only concern was for you" Adam didn't fight the tears that slid down his cheeks. "The first thing he even said to me was your name. He was worried that you were in the house"

"He did?" Erin asked closing her eyes as she tried to will off the dizziness that was clouding her head.

"He wanted me to tell you someting. To make sure that you know how much he loves you" Adam whispered. "I told him I wasn't going to. That he was going to be the one to tell you. But, I just thought you should know. That was what he said to me. He's loved you for so long. It just feels so good to see my best friend happy"

"Thank you" Erin whispered against Adam's shirt as she opened her eyes.

"You're welcome" Ruzek said reaching up to wipe his eyes as the elevator doors opened and the rest of District 21 stepped off the elevators and made their way down to Adam and Erin.

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The sun was rising over Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The members of District 21 sat in silence waiting on any news from the doctor on Jay. This second surgery was taking longer than the first one ever did. Exhaustion filled everyone, but yet nobody had the desire to sleep.

Atwater and Roman sat in a group of chairs against the wall, flipping playing cards into an empty seat.

Dawson and Olinsky were both on their fourth cup of coffee and had the TV playing the sunrise news cast playing on low volume.

Voight sat with Platt and Burgess making quiet small talk as Ruzek walked back and forth pacing the floor.

Erin sat on the other side of the waiting room staring down at the ring on her hand. She may have been in a room full of people, but she felt so alone. She knew she should probably be sleeping, her body was craving it and all the paperwork that Dr. Backus had given her had explained that during the first trimester the placenta is still forming and her body was currently doing everything for baby Halstead who, by the cramps that were radiating over Erin's abdomen, was displeased by the lack of sleep that his or her mother was missing. Erin curled up on the couch and rested her head against the back of the seat as she tried to alleviate the pain in her lower stomach. How did things get so complicated? 48 hours ago, things were perfect...well, maybe not perfect, but as close to perfect as things could get.

Ruzek looked over at Erin and then turned his gaze back to Kim who was talking to Platt. He needed to talk to her, it may not be the perfect time, but he needed to talk to her.

"Hey, can we talk?" Ruzek asked as he held his hand down to Kim.

Burgess gave Platt a quick glance and looked up at Adam. "Um, sure"

Kim extended her hand up to Adam and he took it as he pulled her to her feet.

"I think maybe outside. Let's go get some orange juice...you can have orange juice...right?" Adam asked as he led Burgess out of the waiting room and down the hallway.

"Pretty sure there's no orange allergy that I've developed" Burgess gave Adam a smile but it slowly fell when she realized he wasn't smiling back. "Hey, are you ok?"

Ruzek nodded but then stopped in his steps. "No, actually I'm not"

"What's wrong?" Burgess asked as she stopped and stood in front of Adam.

"I know, Kim. When were you going to tell me?" Adam asked as he looked down at Kim.

"What?" Burgess asked her eyes searching Adam's

"We should get married. I mean, that's the only logical thing to do" Ruzek ran a hand through his hair and he closed his eyes.

"Married?" Burgess repeated.

"Yeah, I don't know where yet, but we'll get married. And buy a house. I'll look into preschools and everything. I mean there's waiting lists for that shit" Adam rambled.

"Preschools? Adam what the hell are you talking about?" Kim asked. Was she completely lost? She had no idea what the man in front of her was going on and on about.

"I know that you're pregnant, Kim. And the fact that you'd go to Platt before me...I mean tha't pretty low" Adam didn't want to hash this out here, he'd planned to wait until when him and Kim were alone. But if Jay being in surgery had showed him anything, it was to take each moment as it came.

"You know, you're really something. I knew there was something bothering you at work. But I didn't think it was this. I expected more out of you than this, Ruzek" Burgess harshly whispered. She was trying to keep her voice down so that the nurses wouldn't hear and out of respect for the patients that were sleeping.

"More out of me?" Adam spat. "You're the one who should've come to me first. I can't believe after all we've been through that you'd hide something this big from me"

"I'm not hiding anything from you, Adam. You're jumping to conclusions before you have facts" Kim was pissed. How dare Adam just come out and attack her out of nowhere.

"I just want to know one thing, when were you going to tell me about the baby? When? And why did I have to hear about it from Trudy Platt? Why the hell does Platt know so much more about my damn girlfriend than I do?" Adam was trying to keep calm, but lack of sleep and the fear of the unknown was too much at this moment.

"You know what? I am done talking to you" Burgess couldn't believe Adam right now. And she made a mental note to kill Trudy Platt. She shook her head and brushed passed Adam.

Ruzek reached his hand up and took Kim by the arm. "I'm not done talking"

"Yeah, well I'm done listening. And just so you know, that was some bullshit proposal. For the record, I'm not pregnant, Adam. And it hurts me to think that you'd think I was trapping you into something, or trying to force you into some marriage. But, even if I was pregnant, I'd deserve better than some half assed hospital hallway proposal from a man who's supposed to love me" Burgess fought back tears. She wasn't going to cry in front of Adam. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"You're not pregnant?" Adam asked.

"No. I'm not. I never was pregnant, and I never have been. So you're good" Kim's heated gaze locked with Ruzek's. She'd never been as hurt by him as she was in this moment.

"I'm sorry" Ruzek mumbled. The anger and fear that had filled him, was now being replaced by embarrassment. "When Platt gave me those papers today, all I could think about was you and me and our careers and our relationship"

Burgess rolled her eyes. "Our careers? You know what Adam, your future in the intelligence unit is looking bright, your future as my boyfriend? Not so much"

And with those words, Kim jerked her arm out of Adam's grasp and stormed off down the hall and outside. Leaving Adam Ruzek standing alone in the hallway of the hospital.

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It was just after seven in the morning when Dr. Amato stepped into the waiting room. He scanned the room quickly before he spotted Erin and made his way over to her.

Erin quickly stood up, ignoring the dizziness that filled her head. "How is he?"

Dr. Amato watched as Hank Voight walked up to where he and Erin were standing and he stood beside Erin in support.

"He's stable. The artery that we removed from his leg and placed in his chest wasn't supplying the proper amount of blood, so it was starting to weaken and the pressure from the weakening artery was what was causing the pressure in his chest and his breathing problems. I was able to replace the artery with a larger one from his leg and so far the artery seems really strong. However, we are going to leave him on a vent for now. Just so his lungs don't have to work as hard and the new artery has time to properly heal and strengthen. He's in post op right now and he'll be there for a few hours, just so we can monitor him and his vitals and he'll most likely be moved to ICU for continued observation" Dr Amato explained.

"Is he going to be ok?" Erin asked. She found herself leaning against Voight. She didn't even realize she'd been doing it since he'd joined her when Dr. Amato came in.

"I think so. Chest trauma always has it's complications, Jay should've stayed on the vent a little longer to give his body a chance to recover from the first surgery. It was a misjudgment for the attending doctor at the time to have removed it so early. He just needs time for his body to heal. But, with cardio therapy and rest, I am sure he'll be back to protecting the city in no time" Dr. Amato assured.

"Can I see him?" Erin asked

"Not right now. Family isn't allowed back in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit. But as soon as he's moved to a room, you'll be allowed to go in. The nursing staff will give you updates to let you know what's going on with Jay while he's in PACU. I'll be back in the morning to make my rounds and check on him. I have the highest trust in the care he's being left in" Dr. Amato reached his hand out and touched Erin's arm softly. "If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact my office, and they'll page me and I'll return your call"

Erin nodded and forced a smile "Thank you"

"You guys should get some rest, maybe eat a little something. Jay will be in post op for a couple hours, the cafeteria is on the main floor and has a variety of choices for breakfast" Dr. Amato explained as shook Erin's hand and then Voight's.

"Thank you" Voight gave Dr. Amato a nod and watched as the man walked away before turning to Erin.

"Let's get you something to eat, kid" Voight said reaching over to wrap an arm around Erin's shoulder.

"I'm ok" Erin's gaze fell to the ground and she took a shaky breath. "I just want to see Jay"

"You need to eat. At least something. I know you're trying to fight off that stomach bug that Platt had, but you're not doing yourself any favors by not eating anything" Voight knew better than anyone how stubborn that Erin was, but he wasn't going to let her use it as a reason to not take care of herself.

"Stomach bug" Erin thought to herself. "If you only knew how wrong you were"

Erin didn't want to leave the waiting room. At least not until she could go and see Jay. She shouldn't have left him to have went back to her apartment in the first place. Then she could've realized that he needed help and would've gotten him help before it led to this. "I want to stay here"

Voight nodded "Ok, well, I'll go get you something and bring it to you"

Erin nodded and she backed away from Voight and back to the couch she'd been sitting on. She really was hungry, and she knew she needed to eat. Dr. Backus had told her that she needed to be eating around 300 more calories a day. "Pancakes?"

Voight raised his eyebrows and he looked at Erin "I can do that. I'll bring you a coffee, too"

"No" Erin said almost too quickly. Coffee, her basic lifeline was going to be a no for the next seven and a half months. "I'm just...I'm... really just not in the mood for coffee right now" Erin stumbled over her words while she tried to explain herself. "Orange juice, no pulp though"

Voight gave Erin an awkward gaze. She was never the type to turn down coffee. "Orange juice...no pulp...got it"

Erin nodded and ran a hand across the back of her neck. She was so tired. She didn't know if it was from the events of the last few days, or if it was from the pregnancy. Either way, she felt like she was a zombie. She groaned softly when she felt the pain from her abdomen start up again.

She ran her hand over her flat stomach and closed her eyes. Clearly this baby was already showing the personality of it's father. Opinionated and strong already, clearly Erin didn't know what she was in for. A baby with her and Jay's combined personalities? Good luck world.

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After Erin had some breakfast she was finally starting to feel better. She was still exhausted of course, but the cramps she'd felt earlier had turned into a dull ache now that baby Halstead had gotten those much needed pancakes Erin had been craving.

It was almost 10am when a nurse came to get Erin and told her that she could go back and see Jay.

She led Erin down the hall to the ICU and through the doors to where Jay's room was.

"He's awake. But he's very sedated so he won't fight the vent" The nurse explained.

Erin nodded and walked into Jay's room and over to his bed. Jay's blue eyes followed Erin as she sat down in the chair next to him. As soon as she was sat down he raised his hand up off the bed and reached for Erin's hand.

"Hi" Erin's raspy voice softly said. She scooted her chair closer to Jay's bed and she smiled sadly as she felt him tighten his grip on her hand, not wanting to let it go.

Jay kept his eyes on Erin, he was aware of the tube that was currently down his throat, but didn't remember what happened in order for it to be there. All he could focus on was this beautiful, heaven sent girl sitting next to his bed, holding his hand.

"I was so scared" Erin laid her other hand on top of Jay's arm and ran her fingers up and down as she looked at him. The feel of his skin under her fingers was the comfort that she'd been searching for all night. Sure, everyone from the district had been with her all night and offered the occasional shoulder squeeze or hug. But this, is the true comfort that she had been searching for, waiting for, praying for and craving.

Jay's hand squeezed Erin's again. With the tube down his throat it made their lines of communication limited and he didn't want to let go of her hand to write with a pen and paper. It was like her touch was what was going to heal him. Not surgery, not medicine, just her. His girl, and he couldn't wait to spend his life with her. September couldn't come fast enough, he couldn't wait to show the rest of the world the feelings that he'd felt even when Erin was still just his friend.

"I love you" Erin brought her and Jay's joined hands up to her lips and kissed his hand. "You have no idea how much"

Jay squeezed her hand he nodded his head as best as he could. He wasn't used to seeing Erin like this. This emotional side of Erin was something that she didn't share very often. But she was so beautiful when she was this vulnerable.

Erin laid her free arm on Jay's bed and laid her head on top of it. She kept her other hand in Jay's and her eyes fluttered closed as she held tight to his hand. The rhythmic movement of Jay's thumb moving across the inside of Erin's wrist was lulling her into a much needed sleep.

Jay watched as Erin closed her eyes. Her hand relaxing it's grip on his let him know that she'd fallen asleep and he kept his blue eyes on her until they were too heavy to stay open

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Hank Voight walked into Jay's room an hour later and found Erin still asleep holding Jay's hand. He didn't want to wake her, but visiting hours in the ICU were over and it was time for the nurses to come in and do an assessment on Jay.

Voight walked over to Erin and gently reached down and nudged her shoulder.

Erin's eyes slowly opened and she raised her head off of her arm and looked at Voight. "Hey" she whispered groggily.

"Visiting hours are over for now. You've got to come out to the lobby so the nurses can make their rounds" Voight explained.

Erin looked at the clock and nodded. Sleeping hunched over for the last hour wasn't comfortable and her back was on fire as she stood up. She let her hand slip from Jay's and leaned over him and placed a kiss on his forehead.

Voight looked down at Jay and reached down and gave his arm a squeeze before follwing Erin out the door.

Erin and Hank walked down the hall in silence. The cramps that she had earlier were back in full force and were making her light headed.

"You ok?" Voight asked as he looked over at Erin.

"I'm...alrig-" Erin didn't even finish the word before she felt darkness closing in around her and she fell to the floor.

"Erin!" Hank called as he grabbed her the best that he could to soften the blow of her hitting the floor.

The rest of the district had seen Erin fall and came running along with a few nurses.

Erin groaned when she opened her eyes. Everything around her was fuzzy and she felt hot tears slide from her eyes as she tried to keep her eyes open.

"Let's get her to a room, and do an exam. Grab a gurney and backboard" A nurse said as he took Erin's vitals. "Does she have any allergies? Any medical problems?"

"No..none at all" Voight answered from where he was knelt down beside of Erin holding onto her hand.

Erin's hazel eyes looked from the nurse to Voight who was staring down at her. All she could do was bring her empty hand down to her stomach protectively before closing her eyes.

Burgess knew it wasn't her place to say anything, but the look of concern that was on Hank Voight's face and the face of all of her colleagues told her that she needed to say something. So she took a deep breath and said it.

"She's pregnant"

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