Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 2

Jay Halstead sat at his desk in a state of disbelief and confusion. Of all the things he had thought might happen as a result of Voight's stroke, Erin Lindsay returning to Chicago to take command of Intelligence Unit hadn't been one of them.

He had made his peace with never seeing the woman he had loved again after she had bailed out to take a job in New York without so much as even a phone call to say goodbye. To make matters worse, her shock departure had happened on the day that Jay had planned to propose to her. Losing Erin like that had shown him what heartbreak felt like, and it had taken him a long time to recover from it. And now she was back, bringing all of those painful memories and emotions back with her.

"You okay?" Olinsky asked him discreetly. Their desks were next to each other, so they could talk quietly if needed. Al knew all about what had happened five years ago, so Jay figured he could well imagine what he was going through.

"I... I just can't believe she's here," Halstead said, shaking his head slowly.

After greetings and welcomes had been exchanged, Lindsay had gone back downstairs with Voight to see Sergeant Platt, who had apparently insisted on driving Voight home personally. Soon, Erin would return to take charge of the unit for the first time.

"Hi," was all Halstead had said as they had exchanged a very awkward handshake. A hug hadn't felt right, not after everything that happened, and after so much time. Besides, Sergeant Lindsay - newly promoted - was the boss. He felt like you didn't hug your boss in front of everyone on the team.

"I can't believe Voigt's gone," Olinsky muttered, reminding Halstead that he wasn't the only one who was suffering. Yes, he had the baggage with Lindsay, but everyone else had lost the man who had done so much for their careers, making them the fine detectives they now were.

"At least the stroke didn't kill him," Jay offered in consolation.

"No, but having to retire might."

That was a worrying point that Halstead hadn't thought about until then. Voight was all about the job. Intelligence was his life, and his pride and joy. It had all suddenly been taken away from him through no fault of his own. Even a man as tough as Voight would find that extremely hard to deal with.

Before Jay had much of a chance to think about it, it was pushed out of his mind by Lindsay walking back in. Christ, she was beautiful, he thought, watching her walk by his desk towards the far end of the room. Five years had gone by, but she didn't look like she had aged a day. In fact she looked even hotter than he had remembered. He didn't even want to be thinking that about her now, but he couldn't help it. He would never stop being attracted to her, he knew that for sure.

"Okay, I don't want to make a big speech," Lindsay said, standing in front of what was now going to be her office. "You all know me, and I know all of you. You also know that I didn't want to be standing here replacing Voight any more than you want me doing it. But, speaking professionally, Intelligence must continue running as close to normally as possible. The work we do is vital to the city of Chicago. That's the only reason, I believe, that they didn't shut us down. Instead, they called me and gave me the top job. I want to tell you all that I'm not going to come in and make sweeping changes. Jay, I know you're partnered up with Al. And Ruzek, you're partnered up with Atwater. I'm going to keep it that way."

She speaks differently now, Halstead found himself thinking. She was in charge, and she sounded like it. Whoever she had worked with in New York had taught her leadership.

"There is one area where I think we're behind the times. It's not a knock on Voight at all, but he has never been good with the technological side of police work. We should have an expert in that field on the team, and we're going to have one."