4. I Would Do Anything For You

LINSTEAD IS ALIVE!

See Mr. Haas, it's so easy to make the fans happy...

30 seconds, or in this case ONE word, every week and I'm satisfied. Is this really too much to ask for? I don't even need them to make out, just giving some indications that these two didn't lose their love while focussing on cases (*cough*) is enough for me. Although I think they really owe us a kiss because it's been a while...I also already have a perfect scene for that in my head:

Jay kissing Erin intesely in front of this suspicious weed lady lawyer whatever and seeing how this longing glance in her eyes disappears and how that sneaky grin drops from her face. That would be awesome :D I know it will most likely not happen like this on the show, but a girl can dream, right?

4. I Would Do Anything For You

″I need help,″ Jay almost yelled breathlessly when he finally found a nurse on the empty ICU floor.

″What happened?″ she asked and walked towards him.

″My girlfriend...I think she's in a delirium. Her cheeks...her body...she's burning,″ Jay explained with a feared voice.

″I'll page Dr. Simmons, he has on-call duty tonight,″ she answered and ran to Erin's room with Jay following close behind her.

″Erin do you hear me?″ the nurse asked when she got to her bedside.

But it seemed like Erin didn't even notice her as she kept on talking mazy things.

″I don't want...nooo,″ she moaned.

″Erin, hey,″ the nurse said more intense now.

Jay was more than thankful when Dr. Simmons walked into the room some seconds later. He stayed in the background while the two of them exchanged some words and treated Erin. They injected three more shots with transparent liquid and changed both of the infusions as one of them was empty anyway. Jay sighed in relief when Erin stopped talking and her breathing got steadier again. He saw how her body started to relax in the pillows.

″What happened with her? And what did you do?″ he asked as he stepped out of the corner and closer to Erin's bed.

″Normally the antibiotics we gave her earlier should help to lower the fever but it seems like her body is fighting hard against them and so the fever kept on rising. We now gave her an infusion with some stronger antibiotics especially against high fever to stem it from reaching a life-threatening temperature. We also doubled the dose of fluids she gets to keep her hydrated and gave her another sedative that keeps her asleep. Ashley will now also make some cold calf packings,″ he explained. ″As long as her breathing is good and her heart rate is strong there's no reason to be too worried,″ he added as he saw any color dropping from Jay's face.

Jay meanwhile had really tried to follow Dr. Simmons's explanation but his head had stopped paying attention when he'd said something about life-threatening temperature. These were the only words that stuck in his mind.

″So she's fine now?″ Jay asked, trying to be all collected and rubbed his tired eyes desperately.

″For the moment, she's good. As I said, Ashley will come back with cold calf packings within the next minutes, we'll take her temperature every hour and we'll change the fluids more often within the next hours. Depending on how things will go, we'll give her one or two more doses of these special fever antibiotics.″

″And she's still getting the other antibiotics against her pneumonia?″ Jay asked and raised his eyebrows.

″No. For now we only treat what needs most treatment. We can't mix too many antibiotics up. As soon as we have the fever under control we can start treating the pneumonia again. But at the moment it's most important to get the fever down.″

″Uhm...okay...thank you,″ Jay answered, coping with the flow of information.

″You should go home,″ Dr. Simmons suggested as he looked into Jay's exhausted eyes.

″No way.″

″But you can't do anything for her here either.″

″I can be there for her and that's all that matters.″

″Alright, do what you need to do. I'll check on her in an hour,″ he said as he left the room.

Ashley, the nurse, brought the calf packings some minutes later and afterwards Jay was alone again. Well, not exactly alone but he felt so damn alone. He'd always thought when one of them would one day end up in the ICU of Chicago Med it would be because one of them got shot. And now a stupid damn pneumonia and the fever that came with it threatened Erin's life?

He wasn't able to sleep for even one more second that night. His mind didn't shut up and he was way too worried anyway. In addition, Dr. Simmons and nurse Ashley came in regularly to check on Erin's vitals. The positive thing was, that her temperature stayed the same which was a bad thing at the same time in Jay's opinion. Shouldn't the fever normally drop with these high dosed antibiotics? Or were they just supposed to keep it from rising even more?

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Somewhen Jay saw the sun rising outside. At this point, he was barely able to keep his eyes open. He closed them for just one second, didn't even notice how his head fell over on the bed and the next thing he realized was how someone softly tickled his neck. He blinked some times and it took a while until he was able to scan what was happening around him. He looked up to Erin and a bright smile formed on his lips when he saw that she was awake and that it were her fingers that traced small circles onto his neck.

″Hey Sleeping Beauty,″ she whispered with a weak grin.

″How long have you been awake?″ he asked and leaned over her to kiss her forehead. With a short sigh of relief he recognized that her temperature was back to normal or at least the same as it was yesterday.

″Half an hour, maybe less.″

″Why didn't you wake me?″ he asked while he checked his clock. He was flabbergasted when the clock hands showed it was noon. Had he really slept through for five straight hours?

″You looked so cute. Plus you looked like you really needed it,″ she answered with a voice that was still barely there.

″How do you feel?″ he asked as he scanned her with his deep blue eyes. She looked a whole lot better than the night before but still far away from good.

″Groggy,″ she answered with a cough that obviously still caused as much pain as yesterday.

″Okay, no more questions. You should try to sleep again, baby,″ he smiled.

″You should go to work,″ she replied. ″And maybe take a shower,″ she added with a weak smirk.

″Wanna tell me I'm stinking?″

″Naah, you could just need some cold water in your face I think,″ she answered and coughed again.

″You should really stop talking now. I'll go home and take the shower you suggested, then I'll stop by the district to tell the others about your condition and then I'll come back. In return, you'll relax, sleep and get healthy until then, alright?″ he asked as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. ″And before you ask, I'll of course bring you some clothes,″ he added with a grin. She looked at him with thankful eyes. She didn't have to say anything else just as she didn't even have to ask for some clothes as he was obviously able to read her mind sometimes.

″Sleep well,″ he whispered and kissed her hair. His back ached and he felt every muscle of his body when he got up from the chair. Sleeping in that uncomfortable position for around five hours literally killed his back.

″80 over night, huh?″ Erin asked and tried her best to suppress a laughter that would cause as much pain as coughing.

″90,″ he winked and moaned when he took the first steps towards the door.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Jay went home and took a quick shower, then he drove to Erin's place and packed some clothes and other stuff into her bag. Afterwards he went to the district to tell everyone about what had happened last night. As only Hank and Al were left as the only healthy cops of the unit, Burgess and Roman were up in the bullpen for the day. But when Jay came in, it seemed like they'd rather have been out on patrol as the case was closed and no new case had shown up yet. He stayed with them for a while before driving back to Chicago Med in the early hours of the evening.

Erin was still asleep when he came and she only woke up one time for some minutes where she told him to go home and have a night with lots of sleep. He tried to argue with her but she insisted that he needed a good amout of sleep just as much as she needed it. He didn't like the thought of leaving her but she was right. So he held her hand and stayed with her until she was asleep again and then left her for the night.

The following morning, he went to the district and begged Hank for yet another free day. Hank wasn't exactly excited about it as Ruzek, Atwater and Antonio were still sick, but he finally approved him one more day off.

When he arrived in Erin's room in the ICU, the doctors were doing their ward round.

″Good morning Mr. Halstead,″ Dr. Simmons greeted Jay when he saw him standing in the doorframe. ″Come on in. I was just about to tell your partner that we're going to transfer her to a normal room now,″ he said.

″That's great,″ Jay smiled as he walked over to Erin's bed, stroked her cheek and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

″The fever is under control and your breathing is fine, so you don't need additional oxydgen anymore. To say it simple: there's no reason to keep you in ICU any longer, Miss Lindsay,″ he now told the both of them.

″Thank God,″ Erin sighed. ″Can I also take a shower then and get rid of this terrible hospital gown?″

″Easy, easy. I don't think your circulation would appreciate that already. You've been laying now for two days, haven't eaten something in this time either, so you have to take it really easy. Maybe you can start with going to the toilet today and when everything goes well, you can maybe take a shower tomorrow,″ he explained.

″But...″ Erin protested, looking to Jay for receiving any kind of help from him. Jay looked back at her and he knew she felt kinda dirty what made her all in all even feel more miserable.

″Listen, Dr. Simmons, I'll take care of her, I promise. She will sit down on a stool and I will shower her and I won't leave her side for one second.″

″Well, you can try to get up later and we'll see how your body reacts. If everything is fine, you can take a short shower,″ he said but still looked like he didn't think it was a good idea.

″Thank you,″ Jay answered.

Dr. Simmons made some more notes onto his chart and left the two of them alone.

″Thank you,″ Erin whispered into Jay's ear.

″Always,″ he winked with a smile and squeezed her hand a little tighter.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Erin passed the getting-up-test in the afternoon after they'd brought her to her new room. When she first had gotten up, she had felt dizzy and had seen stars dancing around again but with Jay holding her strongly and the knowledge that he would never let her fall down had helped her to stay calm. Dr. Simmons had then also finally agreed on the shower. Jay had helped her to walk to the bathroom and now she was standing in front of him, looking completely groggy just from this short walk.

″You sure you're up to that?″ Jay asked with concerned eyes.

″Yaah, I can't wait for that damn shower.″

″Alright, sit down,″ he said and pointed to the plastic stool which was placed in the shower cubicle. She did as ordered and sat down.

″Let's get you undressed,″ he said and opened the knot of her gown.

″That's the part you like now, huh?″ she chuckled.

″Of course, I've been waiting for that all day,″ he laughed and slipped the gown of her. He grabbed the shower head and turned the water on, waiting for it to get warm enough.

″I think I'll get it from here,″ Erin said while looking up to him.

″What?″ Jay asked.

″I can do it on my own.″

″Erin, I promised Dr. Simmons to shower you and to take care of you and that's exactly what I'm going to do now.″

″But...I don't feel...comfortable with it,″ she mumbled and focused her gaze on the water that rinsed down the sink.

″Why? This isn't the first time I see you naked, Er.″ He tried to say it with a laughter but when Erin gazed up to him for a second she could swear that he looked hurt.

″It's not that,″ she quietly said. ″I just hate feeling so weak...and helpless,″ she added with barely no voice, giving Jay some troubles to even understand her.

He laid the shower head down on the floor and knelt down in front of her. ″I know,″ he sighed, softly stroking her knees with his hands. ″But there's not much of a choice for you right now. You have to accept that your body simply is a little weak at the moment and much more important is, you have to accept the help I'm offering you,″ he said while his blue eyes gazed into her hazel ones. ″And...I mean...this isn't the first time that we shower together. Just the circumstances are different,″ he added with a smirk and now even Erin had to grin.

″You got a point there.″

″I know,″ he replied, grabbed the shower head and got up again. ″Let's get my smelly girl scenting good again,″ he laughed as the water ran over her head whereon Erin replied with punching her elbow into his thigh.

After finishing the shower, Jay helped her to put on a pair of leggins, a big gray hoodie and some cozy socks. He then blow-dried her hair and was more than glad when she was finally back in her bed as she started to look worse and worse with every minute passing.

″How do you feel?″ he asked her while covering her with the blanket.

″Dead,″ she sighed with her eyes closed. ″My head hurts,″ she added and coughed hardly once more, immediately grimacing with pain.

″I'll be back in a minute,″ Jay said and got up. He couldn't handle seeing her like this and went to get one of the doctors.

Some minutes later, Erin was back on the IV as her antibiotics and fluids were due anyway and again she also got a sedative and some painkillers. One of the nurses also bandaged her sprained wrist again. Afterwards, Jay laid down in Erin's bed and she fell asleep on his chest while he held her tightly.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The following two days, Jay visited her in the mornings before work and came back to her in the evening, always bringing some of their colleagues with him. Erin not only started to feel better, she also looked a lot better and was awake now throughout the most parts of the day what bored her to death. Due to her concussion she still didn't feel good with watching TV or reading, so the only thing she was able to do was listening music. She was happy about all of the entertainment that her team members brought into the room in the evenings but she of course also enjoyed it when she and Jay were alone and he laid down next to her for about an hour before he left overnight.

When he went into her room on Wednesday evening, she sat on the edge of her bed, eagerly waiting for him.

″Finally,″ she sighed with a laugh.

″Yeah, I know it's hard for you without me,″ he chuckled and leaned in to kiss her. ″Why so impatient?″

″I'll give you three guesses.″

″Because you missed me?″ he winked.

″No...I mean, of course I did but wrong answer, you know?″ she smirked.

″Because you need your human pillow?″

″No. Come on Jay Halstead, you're a detective for a reason, aren't you?″

″Because I can take you home with me tonight?″ he then whispered and leaned down to kiss her smiling lips again.

″Impressive. Seems like you're actually in Intelligence for a reason,″ she laughed but moaned when she felt some stabbing pains in her ribs again.

″Of course I am. So you're clear to go?″

″Yep, all the paper work is done, I have my antibiotic-pills and all these other disgusting meds for the next days and my bag is packed,″ she said and proudly pointed to her bag in the corner.

″Amazing,″ he laughed.

″Take me home,″ she whispered and let him pull her up from the bed.

″With a pleasure,″ he answered, interlocked his fingers with hers, grabbed her bag and together they walked out of Chicago Med, hoping that none of them needed to be there again in the near future.

When they were at his car, like the gentlemen he was, Jay opened the door for her and let her sit in. He placed the bag in the trunk and sat down on the driver's seat.

″Don't get used to that,″ Erin chuckled and bit her lower lip all innocent when she gazed to him.

″Shut up, baby″ he laughed and started the engine of his car.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

″Home sweet home,″ Jay said as he opened the door to her apartment. At this point, Erin felt exhausted and tired just from the short ways from the hospital to the car and now from the car to her apartment. In addition her headaches returned and her lungs burned due to the strain. He helped her taking off her jacket and guided her to the couch.

″You don't feel too well, do you?″ he asked and once again his eyes were deeply concerned.

″Now I know why they put me on sick leave for at least two weeks,″ she sighed and rubbed her aching temples.

″How about laying in your bed and I make you a soup or something?″

″Not hungry,″ she answered.

″We both know you need to eat something, Er. You lost quite some weight during the last days.″

″Yeah, where does that come from?″ she asked and for the first time in days her voice was bugged and hard.

″Why so touchy?″ Jay asked and raised his eyebrows.

″I don't know. It just bothers me to be so exhausted from doing nothing I think. And I hate to be helpless, but you already know that,″ she shrugged.

″Tell me about it. But let me simply help you nonetheless, okay? It'll make your life a lot easier.″ He looked at her and she gazed back into his eyes. These amazing, deep blue eyes that told her that he would do anything for her. Did she need him? Of course she did. Would she ever admit it? Most likely not. Although she knew she could always rely on him, admitting she needed his help and really, fully rely on him was still not easy for her.

″As from tomorrow I'll be on my own anyway,″ she answered and her voice was soft again, almost sad.

″You won't,″ he simply said with a little grin.

″What?″

″Do you really think I leave you alone for the next days?″

″No,″ she whispered without hesitation and in all honesty. ″But how?″

″It's called leave days,″ he winked.

″You can't use your rare leave days for being my nurse or whatever.″

″They're my leave days and I can use them for whatever I want.″

″You know you don't have to do that,″ she whispered but she couldn't deny that she was touched. Once again she got the prove that Jay Halstead was the most protective and most caring human being she has ever met. And sometimes she still asked herself how she got to be so blessed to call him her boyfriend.

″I know. But I want to do it,″ he answered. She leaned closer to him, kissed him and then wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her face in his neck.

″Thank you,″ she mumbled on his skin and enjoyed how he now wrapped his arms around her waist and rubbed her back with one hand.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The following days were just as uneventful as expected. Erin was too exhausted to do anything more than going from the couch to her bedroom and after showering or eating she always needed some sleep. Jay brought her to her daily appointments at the doctor, did the grocery shopping while she slept, cooked for her, made her smoothies with fresh fruits, picked up new meds from the pharmacy when she needed them and kept her apartment tidy and clean.

″Don't you ever complain about feeling like a house husband again,″ she casually said when he cleaned up the kitchen after they had dinner. He didn't hear her coming as he thought she was still in the bathroom, taking a shower. He turned around and grinned at her.

″This is an exception due to special circumstances,″ he winked.

″So is your driving these days,″ she teased and got closer to him.

″Slowly but steady getting back to your old self, huh?″ he laughed and shook his head.

″Yep, feeling better day by day.″

″I see that,″ he said and kissed her smiling lips.

″Admit it, you missed that.″

″For sure. It's not the same when you don't have the last word. I'm not used to that,″ he chuckled. She looked up to him, saw his eyes sparkling as they always sparkled when they did that kind of flirting.

″I love you,″ she whispered. She never had thought that these three little words would one day come so easily from her lips. But Jay Halstead has changed her. The love she felt for him has changed her. ″For all you are and for all you do,″ she added with a shy smile.

He softly grabbed her chin and kissed her lips with an intense kiss.

″I love you, too.″

″Seriously Jay, thank you for everything you're doing for me. No one has ever cared about me like that before. It makes me feel...special.″

″Because this is what you are for me: special. In fact, the most special person in my life,″ he said and his voice was low. Meanwhile, Erin's face blushed a little.

″Uuhm...I don't know what to say...″

″You don't have to say anything. Making you speechless feels good. Really good. Like a win or something,″ he laughed and earned a soft punch onto his shoulder from her.

"A rare win," she teased.

″A win's a win," he chuckled. "But however, you wanna watch a movie?"

″We can try. Can't promise I'll make it to the end though,″ she grinned.

They put a movie into the blue ray player and laid down on the couch, with Erin comfortably resting in Jay's strong arms. Of course he did not forget to cover a cozy blanket over his still sick girlfriend. He was glad that his girl started to feel better day by day. This one girl, he would do anything for. And he knew Erin slowly but steady realized that...

By the way: thanks for the reviews again, I really appreciate them and I'm happy you like this story. On another note: I finished writing the aftermath of 3x14 and it will come up in chapter 8. I tried to find a feasible explanation for Jay's behaviour and it was more than nerve-wrecking and time-consuming so I don't think I will ever try to fill a gap the show gives us again and will instead fully concentrate on my story :D