Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 12

Jay Halstead woke up in an emotional mess, not that he was a stranger to that at this point. He should have been on a high after such a successful date with Erin. The baseball game and the dinner afterwards had been the best time he could remember having, and they had even kissed when he had dropped her off at home. But during the night he had dreamed about being on a job with Adam Ruzek and Kim Burgess. His two closest friends and most trusted colleagues were Intelligence Unit as far as he was concerned, as much as Hank Voight had been. Lindsay's decision to unjustly and callously cut Burgess from the team was never going to sit right with him.

And there was another problem. Kim being one of his best friends made him feel like he was knifing her in the back by dating Erin. He just couldn't properly separate Erin from Sergeant Lindsay, and he doubted Kim would be able to either. There was only one thing he could do, and even that wasn't likely to be a solution. He had to talk to Kim. The least he could do was be open with her about what was going on and what a mess he was in about how to deal with it all. Her reaction would have to be whatever it was, and he would have to accept it no matter what. One thing he didn't want to do was throw their friendship out of the window. It meant too much to him to discard it.

So, with a plan in mind, he got up, showered, and ate a quick breakfast. His plan was to go over to Adam and Kim's before they left for work and talk to them. He expected that it would be a weight off his shoulders to put everything he was feeling out there. He had to trust his friends not to go off the deep end with him about it.

When he arrived at his friends' house, Halstead saw that their car was not on the driveway, but a different car was. At least one of them had to be out already, likely with someone sitting for Alex. He figured he would go and knock the door anyway in case Kim was home.

If she is home, how do I put what I want to say to her? Halstead asked himself as he walked up to the front door. He probably should have planned it all out ahead of time, but even if he had, the conversation probably wouldn't have unfolded the way he imagined it.

For a moment, Halstead hesitated to push the doorbell, wondering if he should abandon the idea and head into the office early to work on the strangler case instead. But no, that would only mean another day of emotional turmoil, and he wasn't sure if he could stand that.

When he pressed the doorbell, Jay heard the sound of it inside the house, followed by Kim's voice calling out to someone.

"It's okay, I've got it!"

Moments later, the door opened. Kim stood there wearing a simple white t-shirt, black leggings and green rubber gloves covered in soap suds. Clearly she wasn't going to work any time soon.

"Jay! Come in," she said with a broad smile on her face, happy to see him. "If you're looking for Adam, you've just missed him. He's gone in early, hoping to make some progress with this serial killer."

"Hi, Kim," Halstead smiled back as he stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. "It was actually you I wanted to speak to. Are you not working today?"

Burgess spread her arms and laughed. "Don't I look ready to patrol the streets? No, I'm working a night shift tonight. Someone asked to switch with me and I owed them a favour, so I couldn't really say no. Come through to the kitchen, I'm halfway through cleaning up after breakfast."

"A night shift must be the last thing you need. How's Alex?" Halstead said as they went through to the kitchen.

The cooker was where the cleaning was currently happening, and Burgess went back to work. "He's great, thanks. Mom and dad are here. They're taking him to their place today to give me a shot at some sleep. So, what brings you over here? Are you okay?"