One Chicago: Linstead

Chapter 23: Burzek

"You want us? I mean...? Are you sure?" Kim smiled and hugged Erin while Jay and Adam bro-hugged each other.

"Of course. We'd be glad if you would be Shay's backup parents..." Jay laughed at himself.

"Yeah...backup." Erin smiled and gave Jay a kiss.

"I have to, but I love that you chose us and you guys are one of the cutest family ever." She waved and dragged Ruzek along with her.

"Jay? Can I ask you something?" Erin asked.

"Um...yeah. What's up?" Jay turned and looked into her beautiful eyes.

"What if we got married?"Erin asked.

"If we got married, it would be our choice and it'd be a great one." He kissed her. "But not anytime soon." He kissed her once again. Holding in his excitement for the proposal he's been planning.

That night, they went to bed and Shay was fast asleep, which meant they could "fool" around. When they woke up in the morning, Shay didn't cry once so Jay walked into the room to make sure he was okay.

"Erin!" Jay cried. He checked for Shay's pulse.

"Yeah?" She whispered walking into the room.

"He's..." He sobbed. "He's...." His tears hit the floor.

"What's wrong? Is he okay?" She ran over to the crib. "Shay? She picked him up and held his almost lifeless body. "Call 911!" She ordered.

She'd heard a shallow breath. He was still alive.

At the hospital they both hugged and stood there crying into each others' shoulders.

"What if he..." Erin breathed out.

"I don't know. I don't....wanna think about it. We just got to a good place, things'll get better." Jay hugged her even tighter like he was trying to squeeze the negative out of her.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Mr. Halstead? Ms. Lindsay?" A doctor walked up to them. "My name is Dr. Leroy Koenig, most children call me Roy or Dr. Roy." He looked concerned. "There was a tear in his abdomen and we were able to repair it. Shay is a living miracle. He should've died in his sleep with a tear that long, but he's a fighter. Although he may not recover with the long period of time he was losing blood flow to his abdomen, there is the possibility that he does."

"What if we'd gotten to him sooner?" Erin asked. "Don't answer that. I don't want to know." She cried into Jay's shoulder. Her sobs barely muffled.

"Thanks. Can we see him?" Jay asked politely.

"Yeah, right this way." They followed the doctor into the room where they kept Shay.

"My little fighter. Keep up the good work, boy. I love you." Jay whispered through the glass.

"I love you too, never forget that. Mommy loves you so much." Erin sniffled.

"I'll give you guys a moment." Dr Roy left.

They stood there and cried synchronized.

They went to work, both hoping to get their minds off of it and also because they still had a job to do. Erin went to work puffy eyed and Jay, depressingly.

"You guys okay?" Atwater watching them both plop down and look at the photo of Shay on their desks.

"He's...he almost died. Barely alive and breathing off of a machine." Jay stared at the photo.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Is there anything...anything at all, I can do to help?" He sympathized.

"No, just...can you leave me alone." Jay pushed him out. This was Jay's life, his world. His future. As for Erin, there was no future if he died, this would've been the last straw even though it wasn't him. This would tear them apart. It would destroy their relationship.

"Erin?" Atwater started.

"Leave me alone too." They both sat there silently. Their child was most likely going to die and they couldn't do a thing about it.

"Jay, Erin. You guys need to get him off your minds. Let's go do something...anything." Ruzel suggested.

"I know, but It's too hard. It's too hard to know that we're having fun and he's...dying." Jay finally confessed.

"But you can't just sit here...you can't just not do anything at all." Atwater stated.