Wishing For One Day

Introduction (Erin's POV)

I'm going to be perfectly honest with you.

If you would have told me twelve years ago that I was going to become a detective working in Hank Voight's Intelligence Unit, I probably would have knocked your teeth out.

My childhood was rough. My dad was in and out of jail (currently in for who knows what) and my mom was never there for me when I needed her. She was a junkie. I practically wore the pants of the family at the age of nine, making sure that my mom stayed alive after every overdose.

And it stayed like that for years. There was Charlie. An old boyfriend. A regret, mostly. He helped me keep my head above the water when my parents were drowning me. But in the end, he did more harm than good. He's gone now though. In jail. Gives you a sense of what I was like before Hank.

He saved me. He turned my life around. He stepped in when my parents had way past let me down. Him and his wife, Camille, turned me into a person with a life that someone wants to live. I wasn't just getting by, I was enjoying life for the first time ever. And my real parents weren't even in the picture.

Hank Voight was a detective when I met him and now I'm the detective and he's my sergeant. He payed for my tuition at the academy and fathered me until I no longer needed to depend on someone. Even though I would never admit it to anyone, he's like my father. He's my family. His son Justin is like my brother and his wife was like a mother to me, before she passed away.

And now I'm working for my father figure. People say he's tough and mean but I wouldn't change a thing about him.

Or my team. I work with some fantastic people, if I do say so myself.

Sergeant Trudy Platt is hard core but she is down to earth and there for you when you need her. She's passed the detectives' exam more than once and was a fantastic detective herself before she was shot and stuck behind a desk.

I like to call Nadia our receptionist. She used to be an addict before I helped her get to the other side. I wanted so bad to help this girl because I was in that same position before Voight saved me. And now, she is sober and working for Voight as well. She is currently in school studying to become a cop. It's amazing how life works itself out, isn't it?

There's Alvin Olinsky, who Hank served with. They've been working together for years. He has a daughter, Lexi, and a wife. He just recently found out his wife was sleeping with an old friend, so it's been rough for him lately. I think they're trying to work through things together though.

Adam Ruzek, Al's partner, was brought up last year and he's definitely proven himself. He's currently in a serious relationship with one of our patrolmen, Kim Burgess. Relationships are usually not allowed at District 21 but Voight made an exception for the two of them because Burgess nearly lost her life after she was shot in the face. I personally think it's only a matter of time before Adam pops the question but who knows.

Sean Roman is Kim's partner. He was an asshole towards the beginning but he's grown on me and I think everyone else too. He transferred to the twenty first after he fell in love with his former partner and she found someone else. And I'm sure he'll find a way to persuade himself that he's madly in love with Kim as well.

Kevin Atwater is Burgess' former partner. He's a real big, tough guy. He's one of the few people that grew up in not the greatest of neighborhoods but he found is way out.

Antonio Dawson is another great detective. He is a living example of cops who take bullets for their cities. When he was shot, though, it was too much for his wife to handle. She packed her stuff up and left town. I think Laura and Tony are going through the divorce process right now. He has two kids. Eva ad Diego, who he doesn't get to see a ton. I feel bad because he rarely spends time with his family anymore. I'm pretty sure he's got a thing going with one of the detectives from robbery homicide right now though...

And then there's my partner. Detective Jay Halstead. He served in Afghanistan before he became a cop. He is the toughest cop I know and would do anything it takes to save just one person in Chicago. As he likes to say, he's got no beneficiaries. I think he would rather die in the line of duty rather than die of old age. The thing is, Jay isn't your ordinary cop. Yes, he's there to serve his people. But I think he was born to be dangerous. Ambitious. Guns and blood is just the thing for him. Despite his tough look, though, he really is a great guy. He's kind and down to earth and a Chicago superhero and protective of his people. He tries hard and does what he can not to fail. Doesn't every cop though?

Oh. And one more thing about Jay and me. We've had feelings towards each other for years but we were never allowed to act on them. But after two years, we didn't give a crap anymore. We gave in and ignored the warnings.