"I can't believe it's over," Erin sighed sadly, resting her head on Jay's shoulder as they waited for the plane to take off. As luck, or fate, would have it, their assigned plane seats for the flight back to Chicago were next to each other once again.

"Hey," Jay placed a kiss on the top of her head, letting his lips linger for a moment. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened,"

Despite her sadness, Erin snorted at his adage. "Has anyone ever told you that you're too corny for your own good?"

"Yeah, you," Jay said, smiling at her smile. "About 50 times in the past five days, to be exact,"

"Well it's true," Erin laughed, lifting her head from his shoulder to look at him. "Thank you for this week," she said sincerely, sobering up the conversation.

"Why do you keep thanking me?" Jay asked, reaching an arm around her shoulder to pull her as close to him as their plane seats would allow.

"Because," Erin sighed as she reached a hand up to intertwine their fingers, "I couldn't tell you the last time someone treated me like this. You've been so sweet and I really just had the best week with you,"

"Erin," Jay breathed. They'd had a few serious conversations while getting to know each other in the past few days, but Erin had remained tightlipped about her past. Jay could tell, however, that for some reason she did not think she was worthy of love, and it broke his heart. "You don't have to thank me. The past few days have been some of the best of my life. I kinda like you, ya know."

Erin smiled again, giving in to the urge to reach up and peck his lips despite her hatred of PDA. "That's good, because I kinda like you too,"

Jay chuckled as he pushed her head down back to rest on his shoulder as the plane took off. "You should get some rest, something tells me the criminals of Chicago are gonna kick our asses tomorrow morning,"

Erin groaned, burrowing her head deeper into Jay's shirt. "Don't remind me," she pouted. She was excited to see her team again and get back into the bullpen, but she knew that being back to detective work was going to severely limit her time with Jay. IU's long and unpredictable hours and brutal cases had played a huge role in her breakup with Kelly, and she feared they would take a toll on her relationship with Jay as well.

"It's gonna be fine," Jay murmured into her hair, as if he was reading her mind. He'd had a feeling that getting back to real life in Chicago would cause Erin to close herself off and rethink her decision of giving their relationship a shot, and he was determined to not let that happen.

"How do you know?" she asked quietly, wondering how after just five days he could already read her mind.

"Because I want this, Erin. And I know that deep down, you do too. We'll take it slow, your pace. You can call the shots, but please, just promise me that you'll give this a chance?"

"Okay," Erin nodded into his shoulder, once again amazed at his way with words. "I promise,"

Jay beamed, despite the fact that she couldn't see his face. "Thank you," he whispered. He felt Erin press a gentle kiss to his neck, and not long after, her breathing evened out and he knew she'd fallen asleep. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing she was no longer stuck in her thoughts, and rested his head on top of hers to get his own rest for the remainder of the flight.

The next thing Jay knew, he and Erin were walking hand in hand through O'Hare, and his heart dropped at the thought of having to say goodbye to her for the first time in five days. For the first time ever, really.

"You said you took a cab here, right? At least let me drive you home. My car's in the garage," Jay practically begged, desperate for a few more minutes with her.

Erin smiled and squeezed his hand but shook her head. "My friend Kim is already here to pick me up."

The couple came to a stop just before the exit of the airport, and Jay let out a sad sigh. Erin turned to face him, grabbing his other hand and squeezing them both tight. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Jay nodded, leaning in for one last kiss. Once again breaking her no PDA rule, Erin happily obliged. "Bye, Erin," he said sadly as they broke apart.

"Bye, Jay," she gave his hands one last squeeze then turned around to exit through the automatic doors, already looking for Kim's car. At the last second before the doors closed, she turned back around to see Jay still staring. "Text me," she mouthed with a wink before the doors shut and she was alone for the first time in nearly a week.

xo

"Tell me everything," Kim demanded as she turned out of the airport parking lot.

Erin rolled her eyes and feigned annoyance. "Like what?"

"Hmmm, I don't know, like this mystery man who has you so crushed out in just five days?" Kim side eyed her blushing friend before turning her attention back to the road.

"I am not crushed out!" Erin denied, a little too fast for her declaration to hold any truth.

"Riiiight," Kim rolled her eyes. "So a detective, huh? You know what they say, 'opposites attract, but the like-minded last.'"

Erin snorted and was about to retort when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and couldn't help but smile when she saw the screen lighting up with a text message from Jay that read, I miss you already.

"Oh my gosh, that's totally him! Erin Lindsay is smiling at a text message! You are so crushed out." Kim exclaimed giddily once she saw Erin's reaction to a simple phone notification.

"Whatever," Erin mumbled, turning her attention to the streets of Chicago through the window.

"Erin," Kim said, turning serious. "All kidding aside, I could tell you really like the guy through the few texts you sent me this week. And you look so happy right now. Let yourself have this."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Erin sighed, not removing her gaze from the window.

"Everyone?" Kim questioned, curious about who else Erin had confided in.

Erin sighed again, realizing her exaggeration. "Not everyone. Just you and Jay, I guess,"

"Jay? Is that his name?" Kim asked, turning onto Erin's street.

"Yeah," Erin nodded. "Jay Halstead."

"That sounds so familiar…" Kim said, racking her brain to try and figure out where she'd heard the name before. "He's a detective, you said?"

"Mhm," Erin nodded again, suddenly nervous about where Kim had heard the name before. "You've heard of him?"

"Yeah, but I can't remember where…" Kim sighed in frustration. "I'll have to ask Adam when I get home,"

"No!" Erin exclaimed.

"What?" Kim raised her eyebrows as she parked the car in front of Erin's apartment and turned to look at her friend. "Why not?"

"I just…" Erin sighed. "Please don't tell anyone yet, okay? I'll tell them when I'm ready."

Kim nodded in understanding. "Of course. But Erin, please give the guy a chance. He is not Kelly. You have to let someone in. You deserve all of the happiness in the world, stop hiding from it."

"Thanks, Kim," Erin said softly, reaching for the door handle. "I'm really trying, okay?"

"That's all I ask," Kim smiled softly, reaching to squeeze Erin's hand before she got out of the car. "See you tomorrow,"

Erin nodded as she exited the vehicle and grabbed her bag. "See you at work. Thanks again," she waved to her friend then shut the car door, excited to fall into her own bed for the first time in nearly a week.

xo

"Linds!" Atwater exclaimed as Erin reached the top of the bullpen stairs the following morning. "Damn girl, furlough did you good. You look great."

"Thanks, Kev," Erin smiled as she dropped her coat on her desk and immediately walked into the break room in search of coffee.

"Hey, Erin. Lookin' tan," Ruzek greeted her from the counter. "How do I get myself a paid week off and a cruise?"

"It helps when you stop taking sick days every time you have a headache," Erin teased, handing him a mug to fill with coffee for her.

"Ouch," Ruzek rolled his eyes as he passed the now full mug back to her. "You look… different."

"It's called happiness," Kim announced as she walked into the break room, earning a glare from Erin.

"What?" Ruzek questioned, thankfully not picking up on Kim's hint.

"Yeah, happy to be back," Erin said, sending Kim another glare as she walked back out into the bullpen.

No one else had arrived yet, so Erin sat down at her desk and pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket. Before she could overthink it, she typed out and sent a quick message to Jay: Have a good first day back at work. Be safe. –E.

The response was almost immediate. Good morning beautiful. It's been 8 minutes and desk duty already sucks. Be safer. –J. Erin smiled; she could practically hear his whiny tone through the message, but she wasn't able to wipe the goofy grin off of her face fast enough.

"Oooh, Lindsay is smiling at her phone. Who's the man?" Ruzek asked immediately and Erin groaned.

"You and Kim spend too much time together," she muttered under her breath before raising her voice. "It was Nadia telling me she passed her first academy practice exam, if you must know," Erin lied, praying to God none of them would see their old colleague anytime soon to try and validate that information.

"If you say so," Adam shrugged, going back to his paper football match with Kevin.

The day drug on, proving to be another one of the "paperwork days" that Kim had complained about so much while Erin was away. As soon as the clock hit 6:00, Adam was in Voight's doorway begging their boss for permission to leave. Permission was quickly granted, and the next thing Erin knew Adam was bouncing up and down in front of her desk.

"Come on, Erin, come to Molly's with us to celebrate your first day back. We haven't seen you in forever,"

"It was literally less than a week, Ruz," Erin shook her head as she shut down her computer. She really had missed her team. "But fine, only if you're buying,"

Adam rolled his eyes. "You're the one with the fancy detective's salary,"

"You're the one begging me to hang out with you," Erin shot back.

"Fine," he groaned. "First round."

"And second," Erin countered.

"Deal," Adam agreed, clearly pleased with himself. "Let's go!" he announced to the bullpen, leading the whole team, sans Voight and Olinsky, down the stairs.

xo

"How was your trip?" Antonio asked, sliding into the seat next to Erin at the bar.

"It was good. Really good, actually," Erin smiled as she took a sip of her beer. "It was nice to get away, but I missed you guys,"

"We missed you too. Voight is always extra cranky when you're gone," Atwater teased from the other side of Erin.

Erin rolled her eyes. "That's just because I'm not there to keep you all in line," she teased back. She was about to ask Antonio how his kids were doing when she caught a whiff of a newly familiar cologne and whipped around on her stool.

She heard him before she saw him, that unmistakable laugh that had quickly become her favorite sound. He had just walked in the door and was being greeted by a group of guys who were saying how great it was to have him back. Erin excused herself from Dawson and Atwater and their confused looks and made her way over to the other side of the bar.

His back was to her, but she had no doubt in her mind that it was him as she reached out and placed a hand on his bicep. Then he turned around, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Erin!" Jay exclaimed, immediately abandoning his conversation and pulling her in for a hug. "I had no idea you would be here, I would have-"

"Hey," Erin laughed, squeezing him back. "Last minute plans with the team. But I'm so glad you're here,"

"Me too," Jay smiled as he released her, pulling back to look in her eyes. "God, I missed you."

"Jay, it's been 24 hours," Erin joked, trying to hide the fact that she missed him even more.

"Doesn't matter," Jay shook his head, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek. "You look beautiful,"

Erin just shook her head, not even bothering to bring up the argument that she was running on 4 hours of sleep and had just sat at a desk staring at a computer screen for 10 hours. "Come on, there's some people I want you to meet." She gestured towards her team in the back corner of the bar.

"Really?" Jay asked, shocked that his commitment-phobe girl already wanted to introduce him to some of the most important people in her life.

"If we're gonna do this… they're bound to find out eventually, right?" she asked, a smile erupting on her face as she saw relief and happiness flood Jay's baby blues.

"You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that," Jay said with a huge smile as he leaned in to capture her lips.

"Jay! PDA!" Erin murmured against his lips, but made no move to pull back.

"Hey, they were gonna find out eventually, right?" Jay teased, pecking her lips once more.

Erin shook her head playfully as she pulled away and grabbed Jay's hand and pulled him towards her team, who were staring at her with dropped jaws and wide eyes, clearly having witnessed the past few minutes.

"Guys… there's someone I want you to meet," Erin announced as Jay slipped an arm around her waist. "This is Jay Halstead, my… boyfriend. Jay, this is some of my team. Antonio, Kevin, Adam, and Kim."

"Halstead!" Atwater exclaimed, standing from his barstool to engulf Jay in a bear hug.

"Wait… what?" Now it was Erin's jaw that dropped. "You two know each other?"

"We went through the academy together!" Jay explained excitedly. "Dude, I had no idea you were in IU! Good for you!"

"That's why the name sounded so familiar!" Kim exclaimed, finally putting the pieces together. "You've totally told me stories about him before, Kev!"

"Definitely, Burgess. This dude right here is one hell of a sharp shooter," Atwater slapped Jay on the back.

"This is so weird," Erin shook her head, elated that all of her favorite humans got along but still in shock.

Jay tightened his hold on Erin's waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Add another bullet point to the list of reasons that this is fate,"

Erin just shook her head in disbelief as she leaned further back into Jay, but she couldn't find a reason to argue with him. He was right. This seemed more and more like fate with every second that passed.