Protective Men

[Deleted]

Jay scowled as he stormed into Voight's office, slamming the door shut.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, making his way up to the desk. "Are you f-g trying to upset her?" he spat out, slamming his hands down.  Erin had cried herself to sleep because of him.  That wasn't okay.  That would never be okay.  "She thinks the world of you and you go around pulling this crap on her?  I won't stand for it!" he told him.  Intellectually, he knew that he shouldn't be yelling at his superior officer like this, but he was too pissed to care.  Erin had been hurt by one of the few men she trusted and he was going to make damn sure that Voight made it right.  "For someone claiming to care about her, you sure do a crap job of showing it," he told him, glaring at him.

Just the thought of the fact that Erin was thinking of resigning from this unit because of him made his blood boil and he was seeing red.  He would do anything to protect her and if that meant getting in Voight's face, so be it.  He had to know that it wasn't okay to bully her into submission.
"You know, you keep going on and on about how this unit is a family, but right now, I'm not seeing it.  No, what I'm seeing is a g-d damned bully who's pissed that he didn't get his way and is trying tear the team apart," he spat out.  "And if that is your idea of a family, I will lay you out the same way I did my old man," he told him. 

[Henry 'Hank' Voight]

Voight looked up from his desk the minute the door slammed shut. Again with the slamming doors that was his move he thought taking one look at Jay and seeing that something was wrong. “I can ask you the same thing?” Hank said keeping himself seated as Jay made his way up to his desk. ‘Her’ well her had to be Erin and if this was about his disapproval of their relationship then he was doing what he thought was right. Hank glanced at Jays hands before looking at him with a ‘are you serious’ look on his face.

“Oh you wont stand for it, well I wont stand for your crap either Halstead.” Hank snapped back surprised that Jay was even talking to him as he was. Claiming to care and crap job, Hank was fighting everything within him not to snap at Jay or just ask for his badge there and then. He had never been good with keeping the personal and professional separate and this was just another one of those occasions where the two were clashing spectacularly when he didnt even see it coming.

Hank had about enough of listening to Jay as he stood up from his chair. “Family, yes I keep going on about it because it matters to me and this unit. You see what you want to see Jay, you always have. I protect my family and dont you dare tell me otherwise.” Hank grumbled glaring at Jay the entire time. “A bully, who will be the one tearing a family apart when it doesn’t work out? Which one of you will leave this unit and break up the family? You think I’m trying to tear a family apart well look at what the two of you are risking if it doesn’t work.”

It was his main point, other than the fact that Erin was practically his daughter and no man was ever going to be good enough though he had to admit even if it was just to himself and silently that Jay... well he was a good guy and if he had a pick in Erin’s boyfriends then he would have made a top list. “This affects your work? Will you disobey an order because a detective is in trouble or because your girlfriend is? You think I’m a bully because I dont get my way. This isn’t about me it’s about Erin and if you’re too bull headed to figure that out then you’re not the right guy for her and you prove my point.” Hank added deciding if he was getting up in his face then Hank could at least return the favour.

[Deleted]

Jay scowled as Voight said that he could ask him the same thing.
"I don't know what you said to her, but you really hurt her," he spat out. And that killed him more than anyone knew. "That's unacceptable and it wasn't right," he continued, his eyes flashing. If Voight thought that he was going to get away with this kind of crap, he had another think coming.

His eyes flashed even darker as Voight said he wasn't going to stand for his crap either. Crap? He thought what he was doing was crap?
"When what you do or say affects Erin, it affects me. And if what I witnessed last night is an indication of what you've done to her when you disapproved of her or her choices, I will cut you out of her life faster than you cut Bunny out," he threatened. And he wasn't just blowing smoke. Erin's actions had scared him last night. He wasn't used to seeing her cry and he didn't know what to do.  And if ensuring her peace of mind meant keeping Voight away from her, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

He then fell silent, glaring as the other man stood up, saying that he kept referring to the unit as family because he cared about the unit, saying that he only saw what he wanted to see, that he protected his family, and that he couldn't tell him different, repeating what he had called him, asking him who would be breaking the family apart when it didn't work out, asking him which one would leave if things didn't work out, which would tear the unit apart.
"I am not the reason she cried herself to sleep last night! You are!" he shouted. "And as for who would leave, if it came down to it, it would be me because this unit means so much to her, and I would never take that away from her," he informed him.

When he asked if the relationship would ever affect his work or if he would ever disobey an order to save Erin because she was a detective or his girlfriend, he scowled.
"Don't lecture me about priority of life, Voight. I've been on both ends of that," he spat out, his voice catching slightly. Yeah, he was still pissed about the fact that he hadn't been able to save Dutchman. That entire mission had been completely FUBAR. So yeah, he understood priority of life and he could adhere to it even if he didn't like it. The scowl deepened more as the older man told him that it wasn't that it wasn't about him but Erin and that if he was too bullheaded to see that, then he wasn't the right guy for her and was proving his point. "Again, I'm not the one she cried herself to sleep over," he spat out. "So help me, drive her to that again, and we'll be having so much more than words," he threatened.

[Henry 'Hank' Voight]

Hank glared at Jay, “You think she isn’t capable of saying hurtful things right back?” It seemed to be a running thing that he either screwed up what he was trying to say, was too protective of his family or simply just ended up on the wrong end of things. “You ask her what she said in all of this. You don’t see me coming storming up to your desk telling you how unacceptable things are.” Hank stated knowing that he had just been beaten to the draw because he knew he would have done the exact same thing.

“Cut me out of her life, well you really do need to talk to your girlfriend because she already beat you to that one. And as for what i’ve done to her, were you there when she was fourteen? Did you give her a home, make sure she went to school? Supported her through all of her trouble? I really did ruin her life Halstead.” Hank barked back, no he and Bunny were entirely different all he wanted to do was protect her and make sure she was safe. Bunny was a self serving little... well it was better left unsaid because Hank knew exactly what Bunny was and had done to Erin.

Hank knew that things were difficult and that both sides were upset but from the way things had been left. It was pretty much detective Lindsay and Sergeant Voight. No affiliations no family just work and that was it, Erin had stormed off and not even fought so Hank wasn’t going to bother fighting either. If she wanted to be an adult, no help and no family then she was more than welcome to it and as he had said before. She could fix her own problems, she had fought her case for being old enough to know better and there it was, simple fix to things.

Then when the conversation turned to the unit and family Hank just shrugged when Jay spoke about Erin crying herself to sleep. It hurt to hear and he’d never meant to do that to her but things had been said and he wasn’t going to back down. Erin wanted her freedom and was old enough to make her choices then she was welcome to them all. “You’d leave, you’d throw all of this away everything you have worked for because it means so much to her?” Hank shouted right back, “You’re the best detective in this unit Jay, i’ve told you that before so dont be so stupid. Unless it came to that you’d have to take your resignation higher than me because I wont accept it.” He stated.

Accepting any resignation wasn’t easy but he knew he wasn’t about to kick either Jay or Erin out even if their whatever it was fell apart. Both of them were too good to lose and he would tell each of them that no matter what happened. “Priority of life, yeah you have so I know what you’d do. I know how crazy it can get when someone you love is in trouble so dont give me any crap on you’d do the right thing because none of us do.” Hank answered back as he slammed his fist onto the desk. “I need to know that the people standing next to me and others on this team aren’t going to disobey a direct order to stand down because their loved ones are at risk. That’s all I’m asking, if I tell you no then you listen.” He said knowing it was all he could ask of anyone of that situation came up.

“She told me herself Jay that she’s old enough to make her own choices. Crying is a choice.” He said making it clear that he didnt care when he did but he wasn’t about to show it to anyone else. “I’ll let you have that one threat Halstead but talk to your sergeant like that again and I’ll cut your legs out from under you and land you on your ass faster than you can say her name.” He threatened in his usual low tone with an equally darkened glare.

[Deleted]

When Voight asked him if he didn't think that Erin could say hurtful things right back and to ask her what she had said to him, adding that the younger officer didn't see him coming up the desk and telling him how unacceptable things were.
"Oh please. Don't kid yourself, Voight. IF you thought I had hurt her, you would be taking me down to the Silos for a chat," he shot back. And since he doubted that would do him any good with the situation reversed, calling him out on his desk was the best that he could do. And he was going to be damned sure that the older man knew where he stood.

He then fell silent as his sergeant repeated his words, saying he really needed to talk to Erin who had beat him to the punch on cutting him out of her life, asking if he had been there for Erin as a teen, helping with her homework and helping her out throughout everything.
"No," he said quietly. No, when he had been that age, he had been dealing with a workaholic father who hadn't had time for any of them, leading to fights between the whole family. Yeah, that had been fun, he thought to himself. Not that he was going to say this out loud of course. It wasn't any of Voight's business.

At his question of whether or not he'd give Intelligence up because it meant so much to her, saying that he was the best detective in the unit and that if he wanted to to resign, it'd have to go to someone higher because he'd never accept it, Jay nodded.
"Hell, yeah. For her, I'd give up anything. See, despite the fact that you're at odds right now, you and this team are the best thing for her. You give her strength. I don't need that from you as much as she does. You keep her grounded. So yeah, this unit is more important to her than it is to me," he responded seriously.

His eyes then flashed angrily as the Sergeant stated that he knew what he'd do if it came down to the priority of life when Erin was in trouble, stating that he knew how crazy things could get when someone he loved was in trouble, telling him not to give him any crap about doing the right thing, saying that none of them did, finishing by stating that he needed to know that the people on his team weren't going to disobey a direct an order to stand down when a loved one was in danger and to listen when he was told "No".
"Don't you dare give me a lecture on that, Voight!" he growled, his eyes darkening. "When you're carrying a girl to a copter while one of your best friends is being sliced to ribbons right behind you, then come talk to me!" he continued, his voice catching on the last part of the sentence. Oh shit. Had he really said that? That was a part of him that he had been keeping locked away.

Jay then gave himself a mental shake and refocused his attention on Voight as he stated that Erin had insisted that she was old to make her own decisions, calling crying a choice, adding that he'd let him have the one threat, but if he spoke to him like that again, he'd have him on his ass faster than he could say Erin's name.
"Fair enough," he said and then headed out of the office.

[Henry 'Hank' Voight]

Hank couldnt really deny what Jay had said, the silos or worse if he even had one iota of evidence to prove he had hurt Erin. “I’m not kidding myself, trust me you wouldn’t make it to the silos if I thought you’d hurt her.” He warned the younger detective. Hank was good at making threats but the one thing his team knew it was that he followed through on them, it wasn’t the hollow empty bluffing type. No if he said it he meant it and there was no getting around that, a good detective or not if Jay messed with family then all bets were off.

“No, you weren’t there.” Hank stated knowing that he had been there the entire time, he’d taken her off the street tried to steer her own the right path and kept Bunny as far away as possible all while trying to raise his son and be a good husband. It didnt include the day job which took the rest of his time though he found the balance was never quite right for him. He was away too much or home too much and frankly Jay hadn’t watched Erin grow up, he hadn’t been there all along but now the guy felt it was okay to go and yell at him.

Hank raised his brow at Jay, he was willing to give up the unit for the woman. He wasn’t sure if he thought that Jay was crazy or simply just in love. “You better make sure you mean those words, this unit needs you as much as you need it and Erin threw this unit away once. If it comes to it you’d better make damn sure you know what you’re doing because you saw what happened last time. Do you think you can handle that again if you get closer to her?” Hank was being brutally honest or just simply brutal.

Erin wanted him to be professional and he was, simply making sure that another detective knew exactly what he was going into eyes open and all. Hank had seen Erin throw away her career the minute she handed him her badge, it had hurt him more than he could admit but Jay he didnt need two of them making rash choices. If it happened again Hank knew he couldnt let Erin back, not without sever punishments but still it was better that things were in the open where everyone knew where they stood.

Hearing what Jay said Hank stopped, the military had done a number on him he knew that but the details of it had always been vague. Hank hadn’t pushed until he needed to just to make sure the guy was safe and not going to do something stupid. Hank met Jay’s eyes as he glared back, “You do this job as long as I have and then you can come back to me and say i’ve not seen a thing. Partners dying at your side, friends taken because you wear a uniform. Innocent civilians lost to violence because we weren’t fast enough. You’re not the only one who’s seen things.” Hank stated trying to keep calm but then what was the use in it.

The day had gone to hell already and now this was just the icing on the cake. Fair enough, was that all he was going to say as Hank watched Jay leave. Hank grabbed his phone as he was half way through dialling Erin’s number when he stopped himself. No, she wanted to be the adult, it was a choice ifs he was upset because she had yelled at him, told him off and now what she felt guilty then she was welcome to it he thought as he hurled his phone across the room. He watched it smash into pieces once it hit the wall as he glared at out his office before he got up.

Hank grabbed his jacket and gun before he walked out of his office and past the desks. “Halstead with me.” He barked not caring who heard but he wasn’t about to leave the conversation at that, not if the team was going to work as a unit. Better to get it all out in the open than to leave it on a bad note he thought.

[Deleted]

Jay nodded as Voight said that he wasn't kidding himself and that they wouldn't even make it to the Silos if he thought the officer had hurt her.
"I don't doubt it, so what makes you think that I wouldn't do the same for her?" he asked. Well, maybe not a trip to the Silos exactly, but he was definitely willing to get into the older man's face on her behalf.

He nodded again as Voight reminded him that he hadn't been there when Erin was a kid, which he was right about. Hell, he hadn't even known her back then. What was he thinking really? He didn't have any room to talk as far as that was concerned, which his Sergeant was right to remind him about. So yeah, he was going to give him that one, because it was well-deserved.

His brows then furrowed as the other man continued, saying that he had better be sure that he meant what he said, saying that the unit need him as much as he needed the unit, reminding him that Erin had thrown away the unit once, and that he had seen what had happened last time, asking him if he was sure he could handle it if he got closer to her.
"Temporary insanity on her part because her bitch mother got into her head at a vulnerable moment," he responded harshly. Bunny. Just the thought of the woman made his blood boil. She had taken advantage of Erin's grief and had twisted it to suit her needs. But he couldn't be angry with Erin about that. Everyone had their own Bunny, he was sure of it. Hell, even he did, but that was besides the point. But Voight was wrong about one thing: the unit didn't need him as much as he needed the unit. The team kept him grounded and he was sure that that he would've been dead without them.

He was silent as the Sergeant went on, saying that when he had been on the job as long as he had, he could come back and say that he hadn't seen anything, listing losing partners, friends caught in the crossfire of him being a cop, and not being fast enough to save innocents, saying that he wasn't the only one who had seen things.
"Of course, Sir," he replied, instinctively going into "soldier mode". Great job, Jay. Smooth, he berated himself. What had he been thinking, talking to a superior like that? Even if he was angry at Voight---which he was----he still should've remembered the chain of command.

When the older man walked out of the office, Jay figured that was his way of ending the conversation and went to his desk, eyes flickering when Voight he was with him. He stayed at his desk long enough to grab his gun out of his desk drawer and then followed him.

OOC
If anything I put doesn't jive with a character's on-site history, let me know and I'll fix it.

[Henry 'Hank' Voight]

It was a fair question and Hank struggled for an answer to that, the problem was Hank knew Jay would do the same he just didnt want to admit it. Admitting it meant that he was okay with what was going on and frankly he still wasn’t too sure what his feelings were on it other than Erin wanted her freedom to do what she wanted and she had it. Now all of a sudden it was his fault for giving her that and she was crying over it. What was he supposed to do, just argue it to the death with her?

“You wouldn’t be in my office if you didnt but that’s not the point.” Hank stated not sure what his point was other than he wasn’t keen on the idea? Hank knew that life hadn’t exactly been easy for Erin, hell he had come in half way through her childhood and there was still a good portion of it he was sketchy about though he had his own ideas as to what went on. Bunny had practically given him as much on information and ideas there.

“Temporary? It was weeks! I cant put her on that much leave again, her mother gets into her head because she lets her. You’ve no idea what it felt like to watch her throw that away, what she said in that bar... put it this way if you have a daughter and she does that to you. Then come back to me.” Hank snapped back, Bunny was to blame but then Erin knew better than to let that happen. It was difficult but then with everything that had happened already with the woman Erin was better just letting the woman leave her life. Hank knew he would have tried something way before now to make that happen though he knew if Erin found out it would play right into Bunny’s hands.

She was good like that, mind games on people. Hank was caught up in thinking about that when Jay went into soldier mode. It surprised him to be called Sir, it wasn’t something he was against but he preferred Voight, or Hank or boss because Sir was a little too formal for his liking. “Don’t sir, just Voight, Hank, Boss or any other word.” He said before he realised that, “That’s appropriate.” He added deciding that being called ass or anything worse than that was better left for bar talk after work where he wasn’t going to have to yell at someone for it.

Hank kept walking as he stopped at a filing cabinet pulling out a thick file before heading down to the garage where the cage was. More to get out of the way of prying eyes and ears and for the sake of privacy. Not that Hank was about to kill Jay but he guessed the conversation was best left to the silence of the walls there. When he got to the garage he dropped the file onto the table and took a few steps away from it. “Tell Erin I did this and you die, speak about this file outside of these walls and you die... get the picture?” Hank asked wanting to make sure that Jay knew he was being entirely serious.

The file contained everything he had on Bunny, good and bad and everything in between. It wasn’t anything that he could do with it without messing up Erin even more but he had it and he wanted Jay to know what he was stepping into. Hank knew it was his battled from the start but he wasn’t about to have another team member stepping into something and being blindsided by it. No better to be forewarned and armed than to be unknowing.

OOC: No it's perfect, great post!

[Deleted]

Jay's eyes flickered as Voight said that he wouldn't be in his office if he hadn't felt the same way about Erin as he did. And that was true. If he hadn't loved Erin so much, his heart wouldn't have broken as she cried about the fight with Voight. But he did and it had, which was why he had barged into the office like he had. Which, granted, not the smartest move he had ever made, and if he had still been in the Rangers, he most definitely would've been brought up on charges for his insubordination. Hell, he still might be. Not that he would fight it. He did deserve it after all. Really, what had he been thinking? Had he been thinking? No. He had lost his head and had probably gotten himself fired.

And mentioning that Bunny had gotten into Erin's head was a bad idea, because Voight pounced on the word, reminding him that it had been weeks, adding that he couldn't put her on that much leave again and that Bunny had gotten into her head again because she had let her, telling him that he had no idea what it had felt like watching her throw it all away in the bar, and to come back to him when he had a daughter who did the same thing as Erin had.
"You're right, I don't know what that feels like, but I do know what it feels like to---" Shit! Realizing what he had been about to say, Jay cut himself off. No need to air out the Halstead dirty laundry in his Sergeant's office. Did it hurt that Dad had cut him off when he had announced he was joining the Academy? Hell yeah. But he knew that he would never be able to live up to his father's expectations and he was sick of trying. That being said, if his father had come to him and had acted like he wanted to be a family, he probably would've fallen for it hook, line, and sinker like Erin had with Bunny. So yeah, he couldn't fault her for that one.

His eyes then flickered as the other man told him not to call him "Sir" but Voight, Boss, or any other word that was appropriate as he got a file out of one of the cabinets, following him down to the garage, where he gave him the file, saying that if he told Erin what he had done or mentioned the files to anyone else, he would kill him, asking him if he got the picture. Okay, so he didn't come right out and say he would do it, just that he would die. It was the same thing though. He turned his attention to the file and began reading it, his eyes clouding as he absorbed the information. Multiple arrests for various schemes, charges of abuse, neglect, drugs....Damn, he thought to himself. He had known some of this from Erin, but...his dad had never gotten this bad. Henry Halstead was certainly set in his ways and could be a hard man, but he was a good man. He and Will had never had to worry about heat or food or anything like that. Okay, he was getting himself off topic here.

He gave himself a mental shake and then handed the file back to him.
"Thank you for trusting me with this," he said softly. And the man didn't have to worry about him telling anyone anything. He would take what he had learned to the grave. If Erin ever opened up about anything, he would react appropriately and wouldn't give the Sergeant away. He just hoped that this didn't come back to bite them both...

OOC
When they first introduced Will, they alluded to the fact that Jay and their father hadn't talked for a couple of years, so I just made something up. Hope that's okay. And sorry this got massive. Jay kinda got away from me.

[Henry 'Hank' Voight]

Hank could just imagine what would happen if he brought Jay up for insubordination. It wouldnt just be him yelling at him in his office it would be Erin too, there was enough damage done there at the moment for him to let things go. Officially at least, a friendly disagreement until friendly was lost and then well he wasn’t quiet there just yet. It was the problem with Erin and Jay, one was his daughter and the other a guy he trusted and believed in. Two things he didnt want to rock but he had managed to do both and made his daughter cry. Parent of the year award goes to anyone but Hank Voight, he even imagined Bunny might have been higher on the parenting scale at that point.

Glancing up at Jay Hank had a decent idea of what he might be about to say though did that go for or against the guy right now. “That’s why you of all people should understand.” He stated not wanting to be harsh but right now he was caught between the idea that Erin would go running back into the arms of Bunny where she would ruin the womans life or stick with the people who were trying to help her. It was all Hank had ever wanted to do for her but it seemed at every turn she found a new reason to make it difficult.

Hank hadn’t a clue what he was going to do, talking to Erin was a bad idea because he knew they would just argue. Jay, he was still trying to make his mind up if he wanted to shoot him for what was going on but then it took a strong man to come into his office at the risk of his job to stand up for Erin. Then where was she in this, why wasn’t she there? Hank didnt want to think about that, no he wasn’t going to back down or apologise for what he had said. She wanted to be the adult and have him as far away from her as possible, he knew he could do that.

Work was work and after that it was up to her if she wanted him to be a part of her life. Either of them really, honestly there were days when he just wanted to go home and pretend that the world wasn’t as messed up as it seemed. Hank watched as Jay turned his attention to the file, he knew that Erin would kill him if she knew what he had done but then it was only fair. To let Jay know exactly what he was up against, he obviously had some experience but even he struggled to cope with Bunny and to stop Erin going back to a life that didnt suit her at all.

“I’m not trusting you with a file Jay.” He said though technically he was, “I’m trusting you with Erin, I’m not happy about it and dont expect me to be the smiling one because i’ve no idea what the two of you are aiming for or if you’ll still be together in two days.” He stated harshly though all in all he hadn’t a clue what would happen. There had been a lot said and Hank wasn’t so sure if he was going to come back to a full team the next day at all. “I wouldnt have showed you that if I didnt think you could be trusted. Now just dont go proving me wrong on this because we both know what i’ll do to protect my family.” He stated knowing full well that Jay probably knew a lot more than most of the team when it came to what Hank would do for family.

Notes: No worries, great post.

[Deleted]

Jay nodded as Voight said that he of all people should understand where he was coming from.
"You're right. I do," he said softly. Wow. Had he really just been yelling at his Sergeant? Damn...talk about a good way to get yourself fired. Hell, he was lucky the man hadn't thrown a punch. And he had a feeling that option was still up in the air. Man, I really gotta learn not to go off like that, he thought to himself. Nothing good ever came of him losing his cool like that, so why had he done it this time? Oh, right. Because Erin had been crying over the fight with Voight. Yeah, he hadn't been too happy about that.

He nodded again as the sergeant said that he wasn't trusting him with the file but with Erin, saying he wasn't happy about the situation and to not expect him to be smiling because he didn't know what he was aiming for or whether or not they'd still be together in two days, adding that he wouldn't have shown him the file if he didn't think he couldn't be trusted, warning him not to prove him wrong because they both knew what he'd do to protect his family.
"I know," he said. Which was part of the reason why he couldn't fathom why he had come in guns blazing like he had. Had he completely lost it? Yes, yes he had. But at least he didn't seem to be any worse for wear. And by that, he hadn't been slugged, like he so richly deserved. Okay, enough of that. "Sorry for the---yeah," he said as he gave the file back and then headed out the door. Yeah, he wasn't really sure what to say to be honest. Hopefully, Voight understood the apology. And he'd read the file in his own time and then get it back to the Sergeant.