Chapter Text
"Hey." A woman breathed to the man lying next to her.
"Morning." The man groaned in his morning gruff voice.
The woman rolled onto her side and placed a gentle hand on the man's chest, drawing shapes on the skin beneath her fingers. She rested her head of ebony hair on the man's chest and his hand found the straggly ends of her braid.
"You came home late last night. I thought we were going to watch the game together." The woman sighed.
"I just got a little sidetracked." The man dismissed, "Besides, you hate hockey,"
"Jay." The woman whined.
"I promise, Scout." The man by the name of Jay reassured.
Scout was the woman's nickname. She got the nickname from her time in the military alongside Jay. Scout was the designated ferret for the Rangers. IEDs were her thing, she could sniff them out like an EDC, which was fortunate because their unit didn't have one, despite all of them longing for a military working dog even if it was only for the companionship... and maybe the reduced cortisol levels. There were times that Scout wondered why she never joined the bomb squad after the army.
"Please don't lie to me." Scout begged.
"I'm not lying Iris." Jay promised.
"Alright." Iris sighed, rolling onto her back and stretching her legs.
"Oh, come on Scout. Don't do this to me." Jay groaned.
"I'm not doing anything." Iris shrugged, looking over to Jay.
Jay didn't believe her. He leant up on his side and placed his hand on Iris' toned abdomen. Then, he slowly trailed his fingers up to the top of the cover over Iris' chest. Teasingly, Jay pulled it down and pressed his lips on Iris' sternum, not allowing his lips to touch the dog tags around Iris' neck.
"What's this for?" Iris asked softly, draping her arm over Jay's shoulders as he got up on his knees.
"I don't like you being mad at me." Jay mumbled into the smooth skin underneath his lips.
He spotted kisses and small sucks down her chest with his mouth, his stubble scratching along her stretchmarks. She had lots of them, her hips, her thighs, her bum, and ones on her tummy from when she was pregnant. She'd never planned on getting pregnant at seventeen, but she loved being a mother. Iris lived for her daughter, even though her daughter didn't get to live very long. In what world was it okay for a mother to have stretchmarks longer than their child, Iris would never know, but it was the world she lived in with Jay and she was trying her best not to be miserable in it.
So Iris laughed gently, and pulled Jay's head up to hers.
"I'm not mad at you." She reassured, lifting her head up to kiss Jay.
"How did I get so lucky to marry someone like you?" Jay inquired quietly.
"I guess we both deserve something good." Iris responded, sitting up a fair bit.
"Now, we need to get up." Jay sighed, "And I did drinks yesterday."
Huffing slightly, Iris sat up and kicked off the covers before stumbling over to the kitchen and starting on the hot drinks. It was a rule of theirs. They would alternate days as to who got the shower first. Whoever wasn't in the shower had the responsibility of making the coffee.
Whilst the water was boiling over the stove, Iris heard the shower start. Leaning against the counter with her forearms, Iris stretched out her back and rested her forehead on the marble side. Iris was a patient being, but for some reason, her patience wore thin when it came to waiting for water to boil. The sound of her fingernails drumming against the counter top was muffled out by the ever present boiling noise.
Iris didn't have her drive until she had her daily caffeine intake.
After making the drinks, Iris tucked a stand of her hair behind her ear and rubbed her tired eyes. It unsettled her that she was awake before the sun was up over Chicago, but she still carried the drinks into her bedroom and placed Jay's overwhelmingly strong coffee down on his bedside cabinet, like she did every other morning.
Taking occasional sips from her drink, Iris set out her clothes and smiled as Jay walked into the bedroom. It wasn't a bad view, Jay with a towel around his hips.
"What are you smirking at?" Jay questioned, taking up his coffee.
"Oh, nothing. Just the very nice view." Iris shrugged, taking one last sip of her drink before walking to the bathroom, leaving the remainder of her beverage on the side to cool.
"Well, a view should be admired." Jay shrugged, watching Iris go.
She was only in a set of pyjamas, makeup-less, with bedhead, morning breath, and knife scars all the way down her left arm, but to Jay, she couldn't have looked more beautiful. Jay simply adored Iris; her charcoal black hair and her hickory coloured eyes. Everything about her had its own reason for making him fall in love with her over and over again, every single day.
The pair of them had been married for over eight years. It amazed them how they managed to get through a Chicago winter in an apartment with no heating, without having filed for a divorce. She remembered almost everything about that day, she remembered her gloved fingertips were completely numb as she fiddled with the battered kettle on the hob, trying to coax it into working. The cold had settled deep into the apartment overnight. Ice crusted the windows, and the one that never quite shut had frozen along the frame again.
For all its faults, she loved the crappy apartment they used to live in. It had been falling apart before they rented it, permanently freezing, and the wardrobe doors barely worked-but it had been theirs. And for that moment, it had been all she and Jay could afford until they were both earning enough to do better.
The patrol car they would sit on their together in uniform had better heating than their apartment and Jay and Iris would buckle down and persevere through overtime and late finishes to both stay in the warmth as long as possible and save up enough to move out. In the end, it wasn't until Jay made it to a detective's salary that they could afford to move into their current apartment.
After hopping out of the shower, Iris wandered over to her side of the bed where she had laid out her clothes. She quickly got dressed, finishing her drink along the way as well. Then, she began to brush her hair with her fingers as she began to search for her hat and scarf. Whilst Jay was content in stepping out into the April air with merely a jacket on, Iris naturally ran cold so she would bulk up on clothes. It was probably her latina background, with biological parents being from both Mexico and Peru.
"Come on." Jay urged, taking a granola bar from the side, opening it, and shoving it in Iris' mouth.
Iris muffled her response as she zipped up her boots and grabbed the car keys out of the dish on the entryway table. She took a bite out of the granola bar and held it in her free hand before chewing and swallowing.
"It's not that I'm letting you drive, I just can't be bothered driving. No funny stuff, just drive us to the district." Iris warned throwing the keys to her husband.
"Yes ma'am. Also, did you tell Lindsay to not let me drive too?" Jay asked, making Iris scoff playfully.
"No, Lindsay just has common sense." Iris laughed.
She took up her gun and holstered it then did a double check; patting down her body, feeling for everything she needed in her pockets as Jay did the same. Then, the pair of them headed out of their apartment towards Jay's car. Even though the car didn't belong to Iris, she was still the better driver.
As they arrived at the 21st district, Iris stepped out first and smiled over to Jay. He began to count down from five as Iris hasted over to the front, throwing her granola bar wrapper in the bin, and stepped up to the main desk, where she met a sarcastic look from Trudy.
No one knew that Jay and Iris were a couple, let alone married. They never walked in side by side, people just knew the pair used to be patrol partners and were now roommates. Neither of them wanted any one to really know about their marriage just because of all the things they went through together. It was just to avoid all the questions that would inevitably need to be asked about their relationship.
Iris smiled at Trudy, then headed over to her locker where she bumped into her current partner; Daniel Riggs. Quickly, Iris slipped off her many layers, leaving a thermal on underneath, then she began to dress in her blues so she was ready for patrol. As she stepped out of the locker room, she overheard a few whispers concerning Jay.
"You think Halstead really killed him?" Someone mumbled.
Initially, Iris tried to let the comments slide until she slid into the patrol car with her partner and cranked up the heating. Mumbling something along the lines of, 'I swear your heart is made of ice', Daniel began to drive off on patrol. However, the topic of Iris' husband cropped up quickly.
"You know if Halstead did it or not?" Daniel inquired, pulling up in the parking lot of a public park.
"Halstead did what?" Iris pondered, gazing out of her window at all the children playing basketball and messing around in the sandpit.
"Killed Lonnie?" Daniel clarified.
"What? That paedophile who killed Ben Corson?" Iris asked, looking back into the patrol car.
"Yeah. He was found strangled this morning." Daniel mumbled, as if the news was nothing.
"You're kidding." Iris gasped, folding her hands in her lap and looking to her fingernails.
"So?" Daniel pushed, "You're his roommate?"
"What, you think I know everything Detective Halstead does? I live with him, I don't stalk him." Iris asked sarcastically, "No. We watched the hockey game together, if you think you need to know."
Daniel shrugged and began to tap his fingers along the steering wheel, watching the world go by. Iris had gotten very good at concealing lies. In truth, Jay returned hours later than usual; and now discovering the news about the suspicious death of the paedophile Jay loathed, Iris couldn't help but join the dots out of her husband's favour.
Jay wouldn't do that Iris thought.
The pair were distracted by the quiet rapping of their window. Iris looked over to see a group of three young children holding a basketball between themselves.
As Daniel groaned and complained about the game, most likely due to his old age, Iris rolled down her window and smiled at the kids.
"Wanna play officer?" A girl asked.
"I don't know... Officer Riggs? Can we play?" Iris questioned, looking over to her partner and pleading with her very efficient puppy-dog eyes.
"You can. What are you, twenty? I'm twenty with an added twenty years experience." The forty-year-old officer shrugged.
"Twenty? I'll take that. Alright kids, I'll play." Iris beamed, hopping out of the patrol car and heading over to the basketball court and joining in with the game.
Taking a few shots, but mainly passing the ball and playing about, Iris played with the children. It wasn't often kids from the south side got a good interaction with the police, and it was obvious that some of the kids were hesitant to join in. Iris didn't blame them, she wasn't used to having good interactions with the police as a kid. When she came to Chicago from D.C. as an angsty fourteen year old girl, the cops seemed to have made their mind up about her.
As the game came to an end, Iris stepped back to the patrol car and met up again with Daniel. Daniel then drove around a fair amount, trying to find a slight bit of action around the usually hectic streets of Chicago. At least they weren't stuck parked up somewhere on standby, which was probably the dullest job on patrol.
Except that day was just as dull. There was nothing happening. Iris was a little conflicted; concerning how she felt. She was happy that not many patrols were needed, because that meant the people of Chicago were relatively safe. However, Iris was also incredibly bored of just sitting in a patrol car with a forty-year-old.
When Daniel pulled the patrol car into its designated space, the pair of partners ambled over to the 21st district entrance, except Iris was stopped by Trudy. But it was different to all the other times Trudy stopped her. Trudy seemed... disappointed.
"Officer Monroe." She called.
Iris was taken aback by the use of her genuine title in her workplace on Trudy's behalf. Hesitating, Iris headed towards the desk sergeant but was quickly dismissed into her office.
"Badge and gun." Trudy stated bluntly.
"What?" Iris inquired, resting her hand on her badge, almost protectively.
"There's an inquiry on you and Detective Halstead. Right now, you're being suspected of accessory to murder." Trudy explained, "You're officially suspended pending further investigation."
"Accessory to murder?" Iris inquired.
"Lonnie Rodiger. He was found strangled to death this morning." Trudy clarified, making Iris gasp, although she already knew.
Iris just needed to pretend to be oblivious so she'd still get a chance to see Jay before they were separated. Slowly, Iris handed over her badge and pistol and then was dismissed from Trudy's office.
Before Iris got to the changing room, she doubled back and rested her hand on the doorframe.
"Sergeant, what will Officer Riggs do during my suspension?" Iris inquired.
"Find a new partner." She responded bluntly, shrugging her shoulders.
Iris nodded simply and left to the locker room. After changing out of her uniform, she tugged on her coat and stepped out, earning confused glances and hard stares from her fellow patrolmen. Deciding to keep her head low, Iris stuffed her hands in her pockets and exited the 21st district as no more than a civilian. With her fingers crossed, Iris hoped Jay hadn't taken the car; except knowing her husband, he was probably out there looking for evidence. Much to her dismay, the car was gone and Iris settled on walking back to her apartment.
Crossing the busy Chicago roads at the correct crossings, Iris pulled out her phone and called Jay. She lifted the phone to her ear and waited for Jay to pick up. The sharp blares of the dialling sound left Iris unsatisfied and after they repeated their pattern of five, the two times Iris rang her husband, she chose to leave him a voice mail.
"Hey, Jay. It's me. I'm heading back home and you're not answering. You know, just... Call me. Please." Iris stated over the one-sided conversation.
Her blue-ing fingers not thanking her for the walk, Iris fiddled with the door key as she struggled to get into her apartment. On the side, she dumped her keys and tugged off her boots, then began wandering around the apartment, calling out for Jay.
There was no sign of him anywhere, so Iris was at a loss for what to do. She could go on her phone, she could sleep, she could do whatever, but she was so unsettled by Lonnie's death and Jay's disappearance that Iris simply sat on the couch, cross-legged, and toyed with the dog tag hanging around her neck.
Attached to the chain were her two rings. Her wedding band and her engagement ring. Jay got help buying the engagement ring from his mother, because he wanted it to be perfect for Iris. Both Iris and Jay missed his mother dearly, she was such a tender and kind woman who taught Iris everything she needed to know about raising a baby. She was heartbroken when her granddaughter died. And Jay and Iris were heartbroken when she died.
Iris must've sat on the couch for an hour, completely oblivious to the passage of time. When she heard keys in the lock, she didn't turn her head. Patiently, she waited for the sequence of sounds Jay made when he came home. The sequence Iris had memorised.
"Scout?" Jay asked.
She didn't turn to look at him. She remained focused on the wall in front of her.
"I'm gonna ask you something, and you're gonna be honest with me, what were you doing last night?" Iris asked sternly.
"What are you doing home so early?" Jay questioned.
Iris looked up and then back at her folded hands. She took a deep breath so she didn't snap at Jay and then repeated her question.
"Don't change the subject. Where were you last night?" Iris repeated.
"I was just somewhere." Jay shrugged, taking an idle seat beside Iris on the couch.
"Jay. I've been suspended pending an investigation about the death of Lonnie Rodiger. I'm suspected of being an accessory to murder." Iris stated bluntly, "Please, just. Talk to me."
Jay's stomach curled up with guilt, even though he did nothing wrong.
"He would have been fifteen." Jay began, holding his head in his hands and leaning forward, "I was following him home last night. I watched him buy toys and duct tape and rope over the past week. He was gonna kill another kid. But I watched him enter his dad's house. He went home and I didn't kill him, Scout."
"Hey." Iris whispered softly, placing her small hand on Jay's shoulders comfortingly, "I never believed you did."
"I can still see his face. Sometimes at night, it isn't what happened in Landigal that I'm dreaming of. Sometimes it's Ben. I can see what Lonnie did and there's nothing I can do. It's like I'm watching it happen in slow motion." Jay admitted.
Iris titled her head to the side sympathetically. She then got the idea to pull the comforter off the back of the couch and she pulled Jay in between her legs and draped the blanket over the two of them.
Jay settled into the feeling of the blanket and made himself comfortable on his girl's abdomen whilst she laid back against the decorative, yet handy, pillows she forced Jay to let her buy.
"We're gonna sleep this off, then we're gonna sort it all out." Iris stated confidently.