67. Chapter 67

This one isn't one of my favorites but there's some interesting stuff coming up. Let me know what you think!

"Mommy?"

"What's up, babes?" Erin peered in the rearview mirror as she drove along the street toward pre-school. The drive had been quiet following Jay's hurried departure from the apartment.

"How come I gotta wear these when we drive?" Kate tugged at the kiddie seatbelt that was attached to her car seat. "The odder kids at school, they don't wear the clips."

Erin cleared her throat, "Well, it depends on the size of the kid in the seat. So bigger kids, they um, can use the regular seatbelt. And littler kids, they use the smaller one, just until they grow into the big one."

"And I'm one of the littler kids?" Kate guessed, "That's how come I still gotta have these ones?" She tugged again at the clips on her seat.

"That about sums it up," Erin offered a smile in the rearview, "But I think you'll be big enough pretty soon, at the rate you're growing."

"I wanna be big and strong, like Daddy!" Kate exclaimed, "That's how come I eat my breakfast in the morning."

"Oh yeah?" Erin chuckled, "All those bananas are good for growing, huh?"

"Yes!" Kate giggled. She paused, "How come you and Daddy both aren't takin' me to school today?"

"Daddy's got a meeting downtown, remember?" Erin reminded her, "But we'll both be at the district later when Sargent Platt brings you back."

Kate nodded slowly, "Is Daddy in trouble?"

Erin was quiet for a moment, not wanting to lie to the little girl, but she certainly didn't want to tell the whole truth. "No, baby," she said finally, "He's not. He just has to answer a few questions about the case yesterday. It's all very normal, I promise. These things are just part of the job."

She appeared unconvinced, but didn't press her mother further. Instead, the little girl nodded and looked out the window at the budding trees as they passed by.

"Okay, kiddo, so your mom is down at Area Central with Atwater, but your dad is upstairs," Platt informed the little girl as she helped her take her spring coat off, "I've got a bit of paperwork to do, but how about you and I do some reading in a bit?"

Kate nodded, glancing around the lobby, "How come Goose isn't here?"

"He's at a mandatory training, I believe with Garcia. But I think he'll be back a little later," Platt sifted through a few messages on her desk, "Are you hungry, kiddo?"

"I'm okay," Kate offered a smile, "Can I go see Daddy now?"

"Yep, I'll buzz you up. I'll be down here if you need anything," Platt smiled at the little girl's eagerness to see her father.

"Can you tell me when Goose comes?" Kate asked as the buzzer sounded. She didn't even flinch at the noise, a far cry from her first time in the district when she had practically jumped out of her skin at the noise.

"Of course!" Platt said, "Go on and see your dad."

Kate clambered up the steps to the bullpen and stopped short at the top. Ruzek, Olinsky and Burgess were listening to her father's loud voice echoing from Voight's office, the door cracked open. Jay sounded incredibly angry, while the older sergeant was maintaining his composure. The veins in her father's neck bulged out and his jaw was clenched as he argued, his hands behind his head in frustration.

She jumped when her Grandpa Hank slammed his hand down on the desk, all items on the top bouncing in the air at the sheer force of the man's palm. "Hey, hey, kid," Ruzek said, noticing that the little girl was standing at the top of the steps, looking incredibly scared. Burgess stood quickly and went to approach the nervous child.

"It's okay, honey-" she started, but Kate bolted around her and raced down the hallway, intent on putting as much space as possible between herself and the two angry policemen.

"Woah, woah, kiddo, where are you going?" Platt hurried around the desk and caught the little girl as she barreled into the seasoned sergeant's legs with a sob, "What happened?"

"They yellin', they yellin'," Kate sobbed, clinging to Platt's legs with all her might, "I don't like it, I don't."

"Alright, uh, okay," Platt said, hoisting the little girl into her arms. Kate buried her face in the woman's neck, shaking like a leaf, "It's okay, kiddo. I'm sure there's an explanation for what happened."

"I don't like yellin'," Kate managed, "It makes me so scared."

"Shh, shh," Platt rocked gently back and forth and looked around the district. "Why don't we go back upstairs together and see what's going on, hm?"

"No, no, no," she cried, "Please, no, I don't wanna go."

"Alright, um," Trudy looked around for some support, but all the patrolmen and women were minding their own business. "Hey, Garcia. Watch the desk for me, will you?"

"I don't wanna go upstairs," Kate shook her head, trying to push away from the older woman, "I don't, I don't!"

"It's okay, kiddo, we're just going into this room right here," Platt brought the distraught child into the office across from her desk and settled into the chair, "We're just going to sit here until you're feeling better, okay?"

She didn't reply, but relaxed slightly, feeling safer as time wore on.

"What's going on?" Erin glanced around the bullpen after returning to the district with Atwater. "Where's Halstead?"

Ruzek looked up from his computer, "He uh, got into it with Voight. Stormed outta here about an hour ago."

"What?" She reached into her pocket for her cell phone, but there were no missed calls or texts from her partner. "Where did he say he was going?"

"He didn't," Ruzek replied, tapping on the desk with a pencil, "Voight's not in his office either. He left after Jay."

Erin raised her eyebrows in surprise before dialing Jay and receiving his voicemail. "Where's Kate?"

"With Platt. She um, saw most of the exchange, so she's…" Burgess trailed off, not wanting to be the person to tell Erin that her daughter had an absolute meltdown at the sight of her father and grandfather fighting.

"Terrified," Erin supplied, exhaling in frustration. "Great." She glanced around the bullpen, "I'm going to find her and-"

"Go home, kid," Olinksy instructed, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, "Your family needs you."

Erin managed a slight smile. "Thanks, Al."

"Where's Daddy?" Kate mumbled sleepily, her head resting on Erin's shoulder as they rode the elevator up to the third floor. She had been extraordinarily relieved to see her mother, but Erin could tell that watching Hank and Jay argue frightened her baby to her very core.

"Not sure, babes," Erin replied honestly, too exhausted to come up with a better answer. "I'm sure he'll be home soon though."

"He was fightin' real bad with Grandpa Hank," she whispered, instinctively tightening her grip around her mother. "He was yellin'."

"I know," the detective managed lamely, "But I'm sure everything is fine now. Sometimes Daddy and Hank, uh, don't always see eye-to-eye."

Kate was quiet as the elevator dinged and Erin trudged down the hall toward their apartment. She unlocked the door, pushed it open and immediately froze, recognizing that something wasn't right. "Mommy?" Kate asked, acutely aware of her mother's ridged composure.

"Shh, baby, stand behind me," Erin instructed in a whisper, dropping the little girl to the floor and reaching for her piece in one motion. "Chicago Police. Who's there?" She called out, one hand drawing the gun, the other on her child's shoulder as she held tightly to her mother's jeans.

"Erin, baby!" Bunny emerged from the kitchen, holding a tumbler of amber liquid in her hand.

"Mom?" Erin lowered her weapon but kept her hand on Kate's shoulder. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"Your super let me in," Bunny rolled her eyes, "What, no hello for your mother?"

"You broke into my apartment," Erin hissed, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see you, of course," Bunny took a long swig of the liquor, "I worry about you, sweetheart. All those long hours, and you're around Hank Voight all day." She said the sergeant's name like it was a dirty word, "Can't a mother stop by to see her daughter?"

"Not after what you did," Erin gritted out, feeling her little girl shake violently behind her. She narrowed her eyes, "What are you on?"

"Oh, c'mon, baby," Bunny set the glass down, "I'm fine."

"You're stoned," Erin growled, "And drunk. This is not what I need right now."

"Pfpt," she replied, picking the tumbler back up and knocking back the contents, "I don't need you telling me off."

"Get out," Erin demanded, holstering her gun and pointing the door, "Leave, Bunny."

"I didn't even notice your little girl!" Bunny offered a wide smile to Kate, who shrank further behind Erin's legs, "Hi honey. I'm your Grandma Bunny."

"Leave," Erin insisted, taking the tumbler out of her mother's hands.

"Oh, Erin, you don't mean that. I'm your mother. I know you better than anyone."

"You don't," she replied, "Leave."

"Fine," Bunny turned, her gaze turning menacing, "Watch out for that little girl though. If she's around you for too long, who knows what trouble she'll get into."

"Get out," Erin spat, slamming the door behind her. She leaned against the closed door, breathing heavily and trying not to cry. How her mother knew just how to poke her buttons never ceased to amaze her.

"Mommy?" Kate took a step toward her mother nervously. Quickly, Erin wiped her eye and forced a smile.

"Hi baby. I'm so sorry about that. Can you go get your pajamas on?" She exhaled, trying to stop her heart from racing.

"Are you…okay?" Kate cautiously took another step, but her mother turned for the kitchen.

"Yep, don't worry, okay? How about after you put your pajamas on, we watch a movie?"

Kate did as she was told, leaving her mother standing in the kitchen. Erin slipped her black boots off and wiped another tear away, determined not to break down. She pulled out some cereal from the cupboard and started her dinner despite not being hungry at all.

Erin was lost in thought when Kate reemerged from her bedroom. "Mommy? Do you want to change? For the movie?" Kate asked, noting that her mother was still clad in her clothes from earlier.

"What?" Erin looked up to see her daughter's concerned expression. "Oh, yes. Give me a few minutes. Can you get it set up?"

Kate nodded, clearly aware of how upset her mother was. She waited patiently for her mother to come out of her bedroom, but ten minutes later she was still waiting. "Mommy?" Kate called, slowly entering her parent's bedroom. "Are you ready?"

She heard sniffling noises, so Kate pushed open the bedroom door. She saw her mother sitting on the bed, repeatedly wiping her eyes. "Mommy?"

Erin sniffed and wiped her eyes again. "Oh, baby. I'm sorry, you can go start the movie, I'll be there in a bit."

Kate moved closer to her mother and crawled on the bed beside her. "I-I'm worried 'bout you. And I know you say I shouldn't worry about you since you're the mommy but something's wrong and I know it."

Erin took a deep breath and hugged her daughter close. "I'm sorry sweetheart. My mom, she just – she really knows how to make me sad."

Kate listened quietly, gently rubbing her mother's arm. "Are you comforting me?" Erin let out a laugh through her tears. "You really are incredible, you know that?"

"We could make you some tea." Kate offered, giving her mother another hug. "That always makes you feel better."

Erin smiled. "That sounds like a good idea." She paused, "Have you had dinner yet?"

The little girl shook her head. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry," Erin scooped her up and headed for the kitchen, "I didn't realize how late it was. You must be so hungry."

Kate shrugged. "I'm okay, Mommy." She glanced over to the apartment door. "Do you think…Daddy's coming home tonight?"

"I hope so," Erin sighed, pouring some cereal into a bowl for her little girl. "He has a lot of explaining to do." She mumbled under her breath, pressing a kiss onto Kate's forehead.

"Is he okay?" Kate traced Erin's palm with her small fingers. "I haven't seen him since he was yellin'."

"Hm," Erin mused, thinking back to the last time she saw her partner. "He only texted me before lunch…" She trailed off, abruptly rising from the table and heading for her cell phone.

"What-what are you doing?" Kate looked worriedly at her mother.

"Calling Ruzek," Erin replied. "Adam. When did you last see Jay? Because I haven't seen him in maybe twelve hours and now I'm getting worried." She hung up quickly before dialing another number. "Mouse." Quickly, Erin headed for the bedroom. "I'll be right back, baby, sit tight." She offered a forced smile before shutting the bedroom door.

Kate sat anxiously in the kitchen, slowly trying to eat her cereal. She could barely taste anything, unable to take her mind of her absent father and her concerned mother. Another few minutes passed as Erin's uneasy tone occasionally was heard from the bedroom.

Suddenly, the deadbolt was turned and Jay stumbled into the apartment. "Daddy?" Kate called quietly, jumping from her chair and running to where her father stood.

"Hey kiddo," he slurred. Kate stopped short just in front of her father. He offered a crooked smile and held his arms out. "How's my girl?"

After catching a whiff of him, Kate shrank and took a step back down the hallway. "I'm okay." She whispered, taking another step back.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Jay chuckled drunkenly. "I could use a hug. It's been a rough one."

"Where have you been?" Erin emerged from the bedroom, Kate backing into her legs. She sniffed the air, "Are you drunk?"

"Just a little," Jay ran his hands through his hair. "I needed to blow off some steam."

"Sure. And dinner," Erin spat, placing a hand on Kate's shoulder as the little girl stood behind her legs. Jay's face fell, realizing how late it was and that his girls were waiting for him.

"Oh, God, Er, I'm so sorry-"

"Save it." She took a step back as Jay reached out. Kate continued to tremble behind her, burying her face in Erin's leg as she had done earlier. "I think you should leave."

"What!" Jay exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air, "Why? Because I missed dinner?"

"Fine." Erin was not in the mood to argue. "We'll leave." She hoisted Kate up into her arms and pushed around her partner.

"You're taking my daughter away from me?" Jay was beside himself. "You can't do that!"

"You're in no state to take care of a child right now. And I'm not leaving her with you." She attempted to put Kate down, but the little girl held tight. "I just need you to put your shoes on, baby," Erin insisted. She set Kate down, pulled on a pair of shoes and handed the little girl a coat. "We'll be back later, when you're sober. Right now, we need to leave."

"Kate!" Jay called out, moving toward his girls, "Erin, wait!"

Kate burst into tears, frightened sobs echoing around the apartment. Erin quickly scooped her up, trying to soothe the little girl. "He smells like the mean men!" Kate wailed, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother, "Daddy smells like the mean men!"

Erin shot Jay an angry, disappointed and disapproving look before grabbing her keys and purse and heading out the door.

ALSO been thinking about posting this on tumblr for a wider crowd but don't have an account/any idea how it works - if you have any advice, let me know.