When Erin got back up to the bullpen she found a donut and fresh coffee on her desk. She looked up and across the isle at her partner who flashed her a wicked grin and winked at her. She couldn't help but grin back. It was a good morning, a puppy and a partner who'd saved her breakfast, what more could a girl ask for? Erin settled in, figuring she'd better get as much as she could accomplished before her puppy meeting.
When Hank and Antonio left on call from HQ Jay appeared, perching himself on the edge of her desk.
"So.... What you gonna name him." He said with a huge grin. Erin scrutinized him.
"You could have given me a heads up." She said, with fake agitation in her voice.
But Jay didn't buy it. He could see how happy she was. "What? And ruin your surprise. No way. Besides Voight would have killed me."
Erin shrugged not seeming to care that his life was in peril. "Gee thanks, glad to know you care so much about me." Jay laughed and pouted at her reaction.
She shoved him off her desk with a laugh, "get back to work detective."
"Yeah yeah, but you do need to name him." Jay pointed out, making his way back to his desk.
Two hours later Erin was feeling completely overwhelmed and wondering why she hadn't listened to Hank. She'd met with the dog trainer and the list of needs for her sad little puppy was daunting. The icing on the cake had been his apparent fear of men, due to the trauma he'd endured from his last owner. Men. Ninety percent of the people in this building, in her unit, in her life, were men. Hank had been right, she didn't have time for this.
Erin sat down hard on her desk chair and rubbed her temples.
"Didn't go so well?" Jay inquired as he came out of the break room.
"What the hell was I thinking?" Erin lamented. "I have all these things I need to do to help him get over his trauma from the abuse plus normal puppy training. How am I gonna take care of him and do this job?"
"Hey, it will work out. I heard Platt took a real liking to him, plus I can help." Jay offered.
Erin laughed sarcastically, "That would be great except he's terrified of men."
Jay frowned. "Well I guess I'm just going to have to help him with that. It will be okay. We can do this."
Erin lifted her head from her hands. "We?" She questioned hopefully.
Jay smiled at her "yeah we. I said I'd help."
"Well it was you that called Voight to help change his mind, so yeah I guess you are on the hook for this puppy too."
Jay nodded, "that's fine. It will be fun."
Erin's eyes widened as reality hit her, "you wanted this puppy! You called Voight because that dog down their broke your heart too. And you had the gull to tease me," Erin playfully swatted at Jay.
He laughed and jumped away. "I'm not admitting to anything."
Erin pointed her finger at him with her most firm expression, "this is your fault Halstead. It's gonna be your ass up at 4am when the puppy wants to go out and pee!"
Jay smiled wickedly at her and strode back to her desk. He bent over, placing one hand on her desk the other on the arm of her chair. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "Well at least that means I get to spend more time in your bed." Her heart jumped and her tummy fluttered. Erin involuntarily licked her lips. He cocked an eyebrow at her. The bastard knew what effect he was having on her. So much for workplace professionalism. But maybe this puppy thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.
/
So Erin had caught on to his game. Yes he wanted the puppy. He'd been just as heart broken as she was when he saw him chained in that dark cold basement. It brought back old memories of the stray he'd tried to rescue as a child. Erin's reaction last night had sealed the deal for him. He knew they didn't need the extra responsibility but wants sometimes trumped needs.
He also knew the only way to make sure it got the care it deserved was to have Voight on board. Not that he should have a say in their personal lives but he sure as hell had the power to make things either easier or harder for them. So he'd taken a gamble and called Voight last night to 'see what Voight thought' about Jay getting Erin the puppy. It was an awkward conversation but then any conversation with Voight outside of work always felt awkward to Jay.
It had been the right move. Voight had a need to exert his male dominate role in Erin's life and he took the bait. It also meant he took the credit for getting her the puppy but Jay could live with that. It meant Jay got to spend more time with Erin outside of work and he finally got the dog he'd been longing for all these years.
He'd been working steady for awhile chasing dead end leads at his desk. Most of the team, including Erin, were out on one call or another. With everything quiet and Mouse manning the phone Jay decided it was time to go formally meet his new furry friend.
He came down the stairs to the roll up slowly. He didn't want to startle the pup and he took to heart what Erin had said about it being afraid of men. Last thing he wanted was to cause more stress for his new friend. At the sound of his footsteps on the concrete floor the puppy's ears perked up and he stirred from his sleep. His head shot up to locate the source of the sound.
"Hey buddy," Jay cooed softly at the pup, as he approached slowly. He had a sudden flashback to the skittish hungry stray he found huddled in his back yard. Jay had convinced it to take food from him all those years ago. He could convince this little pup he was a good guy.
Jay took a deep breath and let it out slow, making sure his demeanour was relaxed and open. As he got closer the dog let out a low growl. "It's okay buddy. It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you, see?" Jay opened and extended his hands. "Nothing's gonna happen to you here boy."
The puppy backed up in his bed until his bum hit the wall. Jay continued his soft cooing and crouched down low, slowly moving forward. When he was about two feet away from the dog bed Jay carefully moved to a sitting position, legs crossed. He sat still. "See, I'm not gonna hurt you." The pup growled a moment more then cocked his head to the side in curiosity. Jay took it as a good sign and eased his arm forward offering his palm for the pup to sniff but the pup barked a warning and growled some more while trying to disappear into the wall behind him.
Jay was disappointed even though he knew he shouldn't be. He knew he couldn't rush things but he had visions of long hikes, playing fetch and wrestling on the ground. He shook his head gently, admonishing himself. Seems the eight year old boy in him was coming out in full force today.
"Shh shh it's okay. Alright you're not ready yet. It's okay." Jay soothed the frightened pup. He replaced his hand on his lap and waited. The pup watched him carefully. His intrigue getting the better of him again. Jay smiled to himself. The puppy's cautious curiosity reminded Jay of someone else he knew. "Seems your new mom is right, the two of you do have a lot in common. That's okay. I waited for her. I can wait for you too."
