Erin waved a hand in goodbye as Olivia's form disappeared into the hotel lobby. She sat for a moment staring blindly out the window. Utter exhaustion washed over her. She should be headed home to bed but she knew Olivia was right. There was no sleeping for her tonight and frankly the idea that Yates had been in her apartment still freaked her out a bit.
She put the car in drive and headed to the one place she knew she could go without facing a barrage of questions. The one person she knew would just be with her in silence as she tried to get a grasp on what exactly she was feeling. If she had any hope of sleep claiming her tonight, she knew it would be next to him.
Next to Jay.
Ten minutes later she was gently tapping on his front door. Maybe she should have called. It was late after all, it had been a treacherous day for all of them. Maybe he didn't want to deal with her and all her fucked up shit tonight.
Just as she was talking herself into leaving the door opened. "Hey,"he said.
"Hey, I'm sorry I should have texted." She apologized.
"No," he said reaching to gently grab her hand and tug her inside the apartment. "Id hoped you'd end up here."
He shut the door and turned to assess her. "How was your talk with lieutenant Benson?"
"Good actually. Yeah. She's seen a lot. I don't know how she does it." Erin said shaking her head.
"Can I get you something?"
"No I..... I just." Erin struggled to find words to describe what she needed but she didn't even know.
"Hey."He said lifting her chin. "It's ok." They stared at each other a moment. Jay silently communicating his unwavering support.
A sad smile crept across Erin's face. "I'm sorry... I... you... you don't need all this. Me. All this baggage all the time." She lifted her arms in a shrug of apology.
"hey, come here." He stepped forward and folded her into his embrace. Within seconds her body relaxed agains his. Her head rested on his chest, the beat of his heart thumping in her ear. Her arms slid up around his waist and she closed her eyes.
"I happen to be pretty attached to you and your baggage" he said into her hair. "It matches mine perfectly."
She snorted softly and turned to bury her face in his shirt. His hand stroked her back slowly. "Erin," He whispered. "You've got to be exhausted. Why don't we go to bed."
"I'm not sure I can sleep." She confessed.
"I know. But it wouldn't hurt to try." Jay encouraged.
"I don't want to keep you up. I just wasn't ready to go home yet." She fought to keep her emotions in check but there were so many different one coursing though her.
"I'd be up worrying about you all night if you weren't here. Come on." He said leading her to the bedroom.
"Would you mind if I showered first?" She needed to try and wash away some of the days events.
"Of course, you know where everything is." She nodded and headed into the bathroom. A few minutes later she emerged, clad in one of his tshirts.
He smiled at her. "Though you kept pjs here?" he asked, a bit amused.
She shrugged, tugging at the hem of his shirt. "This is more comfy." His smile widened. She made her way to the bed and climbed under the covers. Jay stripped down, turned out the lights and joined her. She lay on her side facing away from him and he gently slid in behind her dropping an arm across her waist. She took his hand in hers and pulled it up to her chest, settling back against him. He placed a soft kiss on her temple then lay his head down.
Several quiet minutes past. Erin stared into the darkness. Yates words of how they were alike playing through her mind. Her careening emotions making her heart beat too fast.
"He got in your head."Jay observed softly.
"Yeah,"She admitted.
"That's what he wanted."
"I know."she did know it but she was buried under the weight of his words.
"So tomorrow we start working on getting him out."
"Yeah,"she agreed.
"Together."He promised. "No going it alone this time."
Her fingers squeezed tighter around his, and the weight lifted ever so slightly. She nodded gently. "Yeah,"she whispered. "Together."
