3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you all for your awesome reviews! This next chapter is a little on the long side, but I wanted to add a little bit of crime into this story and of course the wonderful Maggie Halstead had to be in it as well! Happy reading :)

"So, what do we know", Erin asked as she sat on the edge of her partners desk with an open file on her lap.

"Victim is around twenty years old. Contusion to the head along with a slit across the throat. Looks like a revenge killing, if you ask me", Jay announced from his desk looking up at Erin as he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Our person of interest is a guy named Jackson. Stays pretty much under the radar. Has no record", Antonio added.

"So, why is he our person of interest", Voight asked skeptically.

"Owns the warehouse, so he probably handles majority of what is shipped in and out of there", Adam added to the conversation.

"And he's not in the cage right now because..", Voight asked yet again.

"Skipped town", Jay said as he stood up from his seat to tape a picture of their suspect and the footage from the airport Jin had gotten them.

"So, this case is going cold fast", Olinsky observed from his desk.

"Well, let's not give up now. We keep an eye on this Jackson guy while taking statements from other witnesses. Halstead and Lindsay, you think you can handle that", Voight asked facing two of his best detectives.

Erin looked down at her partner and then back up at her boss, "Yep we got it", she said jumping off Jay's desk as he also stood and grabbed his jacket.

"So, when are you going to bring my niece around here", Erin asked as they walked down the stairs.

"You're niece", Jay questioned a tad confused.

"Okay, my partner's child. Come on Jay I want to be one of those cool relatives that does fun stuff", Erin pleaded with her partner.

Jay laughed at her plans to become Maggie's new best friend. "Who know's maybe she will be coming here sooner than you think", he stated just as they were coming out of the district and watched as a smile came to her face.

xxx

Erin pulled up to the warehouse where bright yellow tape still guarded the area by the warehouse. There were already several cars there, probably other detectives inspecting the body and getting ready to take it to the morgue. Both Erin and Jay exited the car and made their way around the crime scene to talk to some witnesses they had been holding onto.

"Thank you for waiting", Erin stated politely as she approached the man who sat on a bench on the outside of the warehouse.

"It's fine, it's not like I have a job to get to", the man stated blandly.

Erin just gave him a nod of the head, not quite sure what to say to the solemn man. "You worked for Mr. Jackson", she asked instead of comforting him.

"Yeah, he fired a bunch of us back a couple months and only kept about ten men. I am not going to lie to you, but he was a strange guy. Doesn't surprise me his name would be connected to something this", the man said.

"What makes you say that", Erin asked slowly prying more information from the disheveled man.

"The victim was a woman correct", the man asked and in return Erin gave him a simple nod. "Jackson was a womanizer. Along with the ten men he kept on staff he hired a couple women. Just to you know keep things exciting I guess", he continued.

Erin quickly jotted the information down as he was getting it on her small notepad. "Did you know the victim", she asked the next general question she asked almost everyone.

The man just shook his head, "Like I said I had nothing to with whatever he had going on in the warehouse now. Is that all", he asked as he stood from his seat.

"Yes, thank you", Erin barely got out as he began to walk away and Jay began to approach her.

"The Crime Scene detectives aren't expecting to find a lot of DNA, but they are trying their best", Jay reported back to his partner as he stood in front of her.

Erin sighed as she looked over in time to see the coroner load the victim's body in the van, "Like, Olinsky would say this case is going cold fast", she stated quietly.

xxx

The drive back to the district was full of different scenarios of how Jackson could have done it without getting caught or leaving traces of DNA. In the end they agreed on the fact that he was a sneaky son of a bitch.

Upon entering the district Jay had said something to Erin causing her to laugh, like he usually did, and just as they got through the double doors they both heard a little girl's voice ring out.

"Daddy", she almost yelled as the dirty blonde game running right towards Jay and Erin.

Erin looked over at her partner who had a sly smile on his face which she equally matched as Maggie managed to almost wrap her arms around both of them.

"Hi Daddy. Hi Erin", she said looking up at them.

"Hey sweet girl", Jay said as he bent down to give her a kiss on the top of her head.

"Thank you for bringing her here", he continued bringing his attention to the woman sitting on the bench Maggie had just jumped off of.

"Anytime. I will see you next week", the middle aged woman said as she stood from the bench and began to walk away.

"That's my nanny", Maggie said proudly in Erin's direction watching her lips curl up in a smile.

"Look's like you have some explaining to do, Halstead", Trudy Platt's voice rang out from the sergeant's desk.

"Maggie this is Sergeant Platt. Platt this is my daughter Maggie", Jay said as he faced Platt.

A rare smile formed on Platt's lips, not creepy just rare, "It's nice to meet you Maggie", she said looking over at the little girl.

Without saying anything, Maggie tugged on Erin's hand causing her to bend down as the little girl began to whisper something to her father's partner.

"Daddy said that Platt's a witch", she whispered quietly into Erin's ear. Erin let a raspy laugh out causing the little girl to smile towards the gate.

"Maggie, I have a feeling we are going to be great friends", she said as she scooped her up and carried her up the stairs.

Jay watched as his partner laughed with his daughter. They were perfect for each other.

"See ya later, Platt", Jay said to the older woman as he walked away to follow them towards the Intelligence Unit.

"So, do I get to meet everyone", Maggie asked looking up at Erin her brown eyes growing bigger as different thoughts ran through her head.

"Yup, don't worry they are all very nice", Erin reassured the little girl watching her take the steps up to the main unit almost two at a time.

Just as the reached the top of the steps, Erin stopped and looked towards Jay as he caught up with them. "You talked to Voight about this", she asked.

Jay nodded his head, "He said it was perfectly fine and was actually glad that you showed up at my apartment that night. I think that's the only time I will ever see him happy that we are hanging out", he explained causing her to laugh.

As they entered the unit, everyone was sitting there. Antonio and Ruzek were sitting in the middle chatting away about God knows what, while Alvin and Voight sat at a desk discussing something that looked important. All of a sudden, Erin felt a clammy hand grab onto her own in desperation. When she looked down to see who it was, she couldn't help but smile to see Maggie's little hand grasping onto her own.

"Anything", Voight asked without looking up as he heard the two detectives come up the stairs.

"Just a lazy worker with a grudge, but he had an alibi", Erin said as she lead Maggie over to her desk and set her on her lap as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Immediately Adam and Antonio looked over in her direction from their seats in the middle of the unit, quite surprised at the sight of a little girl in the unit.

"And so you decided that you should stop and pick up a kid on the way", Adam asked sarcastically referring to Maggie. At this point the attention was brought to Maggie and both Olinsky and Voight raised their heads to also take in the scene going on in the unit.

"Guys, this is Maggie. She's my daughter", Jay spoke up from where he stood in front of Adam and Antonio.

Voight immediately stood up and smiled at the little girl who sat on Erin's lap, "Well, it's nice to finally meet you Maggie. I am glad you're dad decided to bring you around", he said.

"Me too", she said quietly looking up at Hank before he turned to walk into his office.

"Wait, Erin and Voight knew, but we didn't. Halstead, I am hurt. I thought we were friends", Adam said as he pretended to almost get stabbed in the heart.

"Who's that", Maggie whispered in Erin's ear as Jay talked to the rest of the unit.

"That's Adam and Antonio. And that over there is Alvin", she answered pointing to each of the guy's in the unit.

"Are there any more girls", Maggie asked as she leaned back in Erin's lap allowing her to run her fingers gently through her long dirty blonde curls.

"Nope, just me", Erin answered an almost sad smile coming over her face. She knew that if Jules were still here she would have loved seeing the small replica of Jay exploring the district.

"Good cause I like you Erin", Maggie said turning her head to give her a big smile.

Erin kindly returned her smile as Maggie laid her head back on Erin's chest, "I like you too Maggie", she stated.

"Halstead with a kid. I never thought I would live to see the day", Alvin said patting Jay on the shoulder.

Jay gave the older detective a smug smile as he turned to his other colleagues. "Don't tell us you're married to", Adam teased.

"Nope. Just me and Maggie", Jay answered.

"Good. Now I should probably go and introduce myself", Adam said with a goofy grin on his face as he and Alvin walked towards Erin's desk.

"What happened to her mother", Antonio now questioned looking over at one of his closest friends.

"Dropped her off at my door a few months after I got back from my tour in Afghanistan. Haven't heard from her since", Jay answered.

"So, I have to ask this, when you were..you know..seeing my sister, did she know about Maggie", Antonio asked the question being on his mind the second he saw the little girl.

"Yeah she knew. They never met. I hate to say it, but I keep her kinda sheltered with all the bad stuff that we see", Jay stated simply.

"Trust me, I understand", Antonio said giving his friend a small smile. "So, how did she meet Erin before any of us", he asked.

"Erin came by and Maggie is really into answering the door right now, so that was about it. Kind of a happy accident", Jay explained as he took a look over at Erin's desk where she was braiding Maggie's hair while Maggie doodled on some sticky note she had on her desk.

"Well, I wouldn't be getting any ideas. You know Voight would be pissed", Antonio explained as he took Jay out of his gaze.

"Trust me I know", he said just as Voight was coming out of his office.

"I just got off the phone with the patrol at the airport. Jackson's flight will land Monday afternoon", Hank announced to his detectives.

"Probably thought that if he gets out of town for a few days the heat will wear off", Erin stated from her desk.

"What he doesn't know is that we've got eyes everywhere. Everyone takes the weekend off and I will expect you guys back here bright and early for some planning", Voight finished before re-entering his office.

Erin sighed as she reached over to lift Maggie off of her lap, "Alright Maggie, that's about all for me. I will see you soon okay", she said as she stood to put her jacket on.

"Erin! Don't leave yet", the little girl begged holding onto Erin's hand. "Can you come over to my house and eat pizza", she whispered in Erin's ear as she brought her down to her level.

"I don't know you will have to ask your daddy", Erin asked pointing towards Jay who was looking right over at them.

"Daddy, can Erin come over for dinner", she pleaded with her father.

Jay looked up over at Erin and raised an eyebrow in her direction which she kindly returned with a head nod. "If she wants to come, she can come", he stated to his hyper four year old.

"Erin, you can come! You can come", Maggie almost yelled running towards Erin.

"Okay, why don't I get something sweet for us to have and then I will come over", she stated watching Maggie give her a big smile.

"Okay", the little girl said before wrapping her arms around Erin's legs.

Erin laughed as Maggie released her grip, "I'll see you soon", she said.

"Bye guys", she said before walking down the stairs that led out of the district.

Each one of the guys said their goodbyes and Erin quickly gave a little wink to Jay before leaving the main offices. Antonio looked over to see Jay with a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey", Antonio said throwing a piece of paper at him to get his attention. "No ideas", he continued.

"No, none at all", Jay said trying to hide the fact that he was lying as Maggie now trotted over to him and sat on his lap. He had so many ideas.