Erin sat at her computer and tapped her fingers against her desk. It was a slow day at the office, and well she didn't want to complain abou the lack of crimes, but that was her job, without crime she was just about useless.

She looked over at Ruzek who looked like he was about to fall asleep himself. Paperwork wasn't exactly the fun part of this job, nobody liked filling it out, but Sergeant Platt was adament that they all finish it this week, and Voight was in agreeance. He said they weren't getting any more cases until they got through it all, which sucked on a regular day, but especally on Valentines Day which you wouldn't even know it was such an occasion.

As the only female in the room, Erin thought she might possibly be the only one who knew of the occasion. She looked over at Jay who was busy typing away with that little concerning frown he gets when he's concentrating. It was cute really, but what wasn't cute was the lack of romance. Their relationship mightn't be like the Notebook, but she thought he'd at least mention the day, which he had not and it made her feel a little misplaced, especially since from the moment she walked into the precinct she was welcomed by Platt's giant bouquet of flowers, that she liked showing off to everyone who came in. Curse whoever decided that woman should be in love honestly.

"Want a coffee?" Erin asked after she had walked over to Jay's desk. He looked up and smiled at her. "Ah, sure. I could use one." He answered, saving his recent file before following her to the break room. He stood back as she switched on the kettle, and waited for the water to heat up.

"Not the best Valentine's Day I've ever had." She mentioned casually to test the waters. Jay just nodded and gave her a little smile.

"I mean it's got to beat last year, when we had those V'Day killers..." He pointed out, taking out a mug ready for his cuppa. She frowned, opening her mouth to say something but against her better judgement, she decided to keep it to herself.

"That was a killer." She nodded after a moment, and listened out for the hum of the kettle. She started spooning out coffee for both of them, and reached out to grab the sugar jar. Jay curled his hand around her wrist and smiled.

He spoke in a low whisper, as if he was afraid of other people hearing what he had to say. A shiver ran down her arm as she felt his hold against her skin. "Are you doing anything tonight?" He asked her, leaning across grab the milk.

She frowned and looked at him, shaking her head. "It's a little late for you to ask me out on Valentine's pal." She told him, laughing softly to herself. She poured the hot water into her mug and walked back out to her desk to enjoy it. She just couldn't believe him, waiting until now to ask if she had any plans? It just didn't make any sense.

Later that afternoon, Erin was sitting by her locker with Kim Burgess sitting beside her. She didn't know how hard it must be for Kim, spending this holiday alone after ending an engagement. She seemed to be holding up okay though which was a good sign at least.

"How're you doing today?" Erin asked, reaching out to give her arm a gentle squeeze. She smiled and put on a brave face, obviously not wanting anybody to feel sorry for her. She just wanted to pretend like this was any other day really, she didn't want to spend time thinking about what wasn't meant to be. She loved Adam, she really did. She just didn't know how to love him when he didn't love her the same way.

Erin understood this, she did. She understood what is was like to have all of this love in your heart, and not knowing how to give that to the right people. At least that's what it used to be like. She had Jay in her life now, and maybe today wasn't one of his best moments but she knew he loved her.

"How about you?" Kim asked, turning it back on Erin who has been through a lot lately. She admired the detective, who was pretty much who she aspired to be in a few years time. Kim knew that she didn't have to be in intelligence to be like Erin, she just had to be the best damn cop she could be.

"I'm good. Yeah." Erin answered, feeling a little silly about this whole thing. "Do you think there's like this guy's handbook where they simultaneously forget about Valentine's Day?" She questioned curiously, laughing a little at the randomness of this conversation.

Kim just laughed and shrugged her shoulders, she could tell that Jay had messed up big time here, even the girls with the hardest shells loved a bit of romance on the most romantic day of the year.

"He hasn't done anything?" She asked, and Erin snorted and shook her head.

"Not unless you count him asking if I'm busy tonight." She said in a light hearted tone. She didn't feel so light hearted, but whatever. This was just one of those things she had to deal with. They didn't have a perfect relationship, and maybe she hasn't ever mentioned Valentine's Day to him before, but still..

"Men!" Kim laughed, shaking her head at that. She laced up her boots and slammed her locker shut after a long hard day's work. She was ready to go home, run herself a bath and forget that this day existed.

Erin offered to walk out with her, but Kim insisted she had something to do first. They parted ways and Erin walked down the hallway, thinking about what food she had in her refrigerator. She didn't think there was much else other than take out that could be a week old at least.

Erin wandered down the stairs and out to her car, feeling a little deflated. She hadn't expected Jay to go all out, but she had thought he'd at least leave her a nice message, or say something sweet to her. That's what boyfriends do, at least that's what she thought they did.

She can remember growing up with the Voight's, and Hank would always leave a bouquet of daisies on the kitchen table every valentine's day. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it happened every year and it was beautiful.

He was the man she looked up to, the man who showed her the way men are supposed to treat you. That's something she will never know how to thank him for.

When she was finally home, she kicked off her shoes as she walked in, and almost jumped out of her skin. "What are you doing here?" She asked Jay, as she clutched her belt where her gun was holstered.

"It's Valentine's Day..." He pointed out, shaking his head at her. She looked over at kitchen bench, which was covered in all of her favourite foods. She walked over and inspected all of the take out containers and smiled to herself.

Who needed a big fancy meal, when your boyfriend bought you all of your favourite treats, huh?

"I wasn't sure if you were a rose petal kind of girl, so I bought some just in case. But I thought champagne was at least a little bit fancier than the usual beer." He said as he held up the bottle.

She nodded her head, tears welling in her eyes as she realised how wrong she had been. It wasn't the lack of interest or romance, it was his uncertainty. He didn't know what she expected, but that didn't stop him from trying for her.

"I love you." She breathed, reaching over to pull him into her body. "I love you, you big idiot." She said into his neck as she melted up against his chest.

This was her man, and this was her kind of Valentine's Day.