Case by Case Love

Chapter 44: Drug Test

Jay leans back against the glass, running his hands through his hair as he lets out a sigh. How was this happening?

He thought this side of Erin was behind her about 10 years ago now. He thought he did not have to worry about her resorting back to her troubling ways. He thought they were so focused on the positives there was no chance of being in this spot again. He thought it was all gone once they had erased Bunny from her life entirely. That was the cancer, per Hank, and one of the main causes. With her gone, combined with a new outlook and positivity in every front, it seemed ridiculous this was happening.

However, looking at her laying in the bed, he could not pretend it was not happening. She laid there with monitors hooked up to her and IV pumping fluids and other drugs into her system because of a drug overdose on meth. The tox screen showed it with no shadow of a doubt, or question that it could be something else. 

He only glances towards the doorway when he hears footsteps there, thinking they would be Hank. He knew his sergeant was headed to Chicago Med immediately after he had sent the text message. He knew it was not going to be a pleasant meeting as he knew Hank was not going to be one bit happy about this development. He knew it would not be a comforting conversation on his end, either, as they lived together. He knew of the possible accusations that would come, out of anger and confusion mostly, among the other possible emotions to follow.

"I need you to pee in this cup for a drug test," he gets told instead by a brunette, with a plastic cup being forced in his direction. He looked into her eyes, confusion and disgust forming immediately. 

Natalie was married to his brother Will. That was his sister-in-law he was staring at with this cup, and an immediate distrust forming in her simple request. Out of everyone in that hospital, she should know this was not one bit necessary as you would not find Jay a single step close to any drug for that matter. He didn't even like taking pain killers. 

"We've had three officers brought from the same scene that you and Erin came from, one of them suffering severe symptoms of a drug overdose," she begins explaining in seeing the immediate confusion on his face over a rather simple request. At this point, she was going to try to soothe those, but knew she was not walking away without this being done. This just was not a request she was pushing for. It was coming from powers above her. "We ran the same tox screen on each of them and found meth in their system. I understand it was a drug bust, which may explain what is going on." 

"So you are thinking there was some ingested while the scene was searched and the drugs were taken into evidence?" Jay questions, trying to follow with the ever-building theory. It would make sense to him. It would explain why Erin was not the only person at the scene with the effects. However, that left a single bit of confusion. "But I feel fine. I feel the same as I did when I got up this morning. Shouldn't I be feeling something if this is the case?" 

"That's why I need you to pee in the bottle so we can run the same test, and see if there's a trace - even if very minor in your system." He then lets out a sigh as he finally takes the bottle from her fingers, twirling it around in his hands. He was used to these drug tests by now. They were regularly done on random basis by the Chicago Police Department to ensure nobody on duty was under the influence. He had also been tested extra times, courtesy of some investigations into shootings that happened at scenes. 

"I have done this test millions of times. But why is it as soon as I am handed a bottle, I can't find it in my life to go pee?" Natalie chuckles as she hears the comment, knowing it was commonly heard in her time at the hospital. Some people were truthful with those words, probably like Jay right now. Others would say that to try and avoid doing the test. It did not matter to her because the other option would to draw blood instead. She was trying to save Jay from poked with a needle today. "The basement of the house." 

"What about the basement, Jay? Is there something that we should know?" Jay bit his tongue as he did not know whether to say something or not. However, he remembered Erin's words over the radio about what she had seen down there. She was only member of Intelligence to have walked down there. That would explain why she was feeling these effects but he was not. "I know you are not supposed to talk about ongoing cases and the whole protocol. But I've got four officers in my hospital right now all with drugs in their system. Is there something that I should know?" 

"Find out if those officers were collecting evidence from the basemen-"

"Erin was in the basement. She went down there to scout out the house. But you did not go down there. That is why you are feeling fine." Jay slowly nods his head as he takes out his phone, knowing a series of messages should follow. Hank was certainly one of the first people he wanted to notify in knowing the team was involved in this investigation, as well as the concerns over Erin. However, he began to wonder about all the other people who were walking through those walls. "I think you should be telling this information to IAD. They are going to be here shortly given the trend that is going on, and the fact that an officer on duty with drugs in their system creates a problem. We were also maybe wrong in how we judged the findings for Erin..."