────── LONELY HEART

chapter one

i. Training Wheels

MARLOWE'S MOUTH FELT DRY AS SHE ENTERED THE TWENTY-FIRST PRECINCT MONDAY MORNING. She was not used to coming into walking into the building without carrying a bag containing her patrol uniform, but instead she held a box of Nonie Monroe's freshly made pastries while she headed towards the stairs, not the locker room. Typing in the Intelligence gate code and placing her palm on the scanner, she sighed softly as the metal gate to her left clicked open. Going up the remainder of the stairs, Marlowe took a moment to stop at the very top to look around the office.

No one else was there yet, but that was most likely due to her habit of over punctuality.

Marlowe was nervous about being in the other's ways, nervous that she was going to come off as a try hard. She was even nervous that she was overdressed, even though it was the best business casual outfit in her wardrobe. A plain black t-shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans, cinched with a matching belt. She wore a grey, pea-coat styled blazer with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of comfortable grey ankle boots. Marlowe even spent time on her makeup look, instead of just doing her usual mascara and Chapstick, and pulled her hair up into a sleek ponytail.

She glanced around the bullpen, looking for the open desk Voight told her would be sat aside for her. The 'L' shaped desk sat off to the left of the stairwell, facing out towards everyone else's, with only a computer unit with duel screens and, a phone, and a C.P.D. mug full of miscellaneous writing utensils. With a soft sigh, she placed the white bakery box down on the end of desk closest to the stairs before rounding the front to get to the seat behind it.

Allowing her duffel bag to fall off her shoulder and into the padded rolling chair next to her,  Marlowe unzipped it so she could unpack its contents. She pulled a few picture frames and miscellaneous knickknacks out and placed them on the desktop in desired areas. Stuffing the bag with only extra clothing underneath the desk, Marlowe sat down in her chair to finish arranging the decorations.

"Ah, there's my girl!" Kevin Atwater greeted her as he appeared at the top of the stairs with Adam, "And you brought treats from Monroe's. Really trying to butter your way into acceptance, huh?"

Kevin was a comical character, Marlowe first having met him when they were both patrol officers. He was a tall and broad man, with ebony skin that matched the shade of his eyes. He took pride in his job and role in Intelligence, having proved himself as a vital member of the team. Kevin was selfless and great at keeping others tamed, and for the most part keeping himself cool in stressful situations.

Marlowe smirked to herself, resting her chin on top of her hand as she looked up at the two men, "Gotta start somewhere."

Adam laughed, digging into the box and grabbing one of the Danish pastries, "You're absolutely right, Romero, absolutely right."

Marlowe shook her head, sitting back in her seat as they walked to their own desks munching on their pastries contently.

As the minutes passed, the other Intelligence members began shuffling into the office.

Hailey Upton was a hair shorter than Marlowe, but just as resilient. Her blonde hair fell in loose waves down her back and her blue eyes lit up upon seeing the array of pastries that sat at the end of the desk. Marlowe admired Hailey's obvious strong will, but also the woman's ability to make a fantastic Moussaka dish.

She winked at Marlowe as she grabbed a cannoli and went in the direction of her desk.

Kim Burgess arrived next, greeting Marlowe happily and sifting through the box of goodies. She had a sweet face with brown doe eyes and neatly styled chestnut hair. Kim was a tough woman, with a lot of heart and courage. She worked for years to get into Intelligence, finally proving herself worthy a year earlier. The pair had worked for years together on patrol, Marlowe had even helped Kim plan wedding stuff when she and Adam were engaged a while back... but that was an awkward and sore subject nowadays.

"Happy to see you're settling in well, Mar," Kim told her, settling at her desk adjacent to Marlowe's right.

Adam laughed at Kim's comment, "For now Burgess. Wait until she gets the I.T. requests, then she'll want to hang us all."

Marlowe shook her head at him, her eyes averting to the other end of the room at the sound of a door opening.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Jay greeted as he came in through the back hallway of the office, dropping his jacket off at his desk as his eyes settled on pastry box, "Let the hazing begin."

It was something about his smile that did not quite reach his eyes that made Marlowe's mood slightly waver. She was aware of the three positions available in the Intelligence unit, and at the moment she was acting for all three- two detective spots and the I.T. personal. One of the detective spots opened due to the abrupt departure of Erin Lindsay- Jay's partner. Their relationship had gone further than their desk jobs, Jay had even told Marlowe about his plan to propose even though the lines of their relationship were in a blurry state.

But Erin had seemingly disappeared with the wind.

Marlowe glanced him over, pursing her glossy lips as he began walking in her direction.

"Oh, I don't think so," Marlowe told him, grabbing ahold of the box before Jay could get his hands in it, "The others have greeted me with open arms this morning, unlike yourself."

Jay hummed, looking around at their coworkers, "More like open mouths."

Marlowe snarled slightly as Jay easily reached over and pulled the box from her grasp, sending her a sarcastic smile in response as he walked away with a pastry half stuffed into his mouth.

Alvin Olinsky stormed into the room seconds later, startling everyone sitting at their desks.

Al was older and definitely the most seasoned out of Voight's team. He was a taller man with a slight beer gut and a long history with Hank Voight himself. A salt and pepper head of hair was usually topped off with a cap, and a matching handlebar mustache, everyone in the Twenty-First respected him as much as they did their own sergeants. He was the 'dad' of the bunch, always keeping the others in line and their heads on straight. Alvin kept most things in his personal life just that- personal, but sometimes the worst of their private lives liked to slip into the precinct.

Marlowe would never forget reporting to help cover an arson fire in the artist warehouse that killed Alvin's nineteen-year-old daughter, Lexi, earlier that year.

"Voight's got a lead on a gun deal," Alvin told them as he marched down the center isle of the desks, "We're meeting him on site debrief. Everyone load up and follow me out of the lot No sirens, no lights."

Marlowe stood from her seat as Olinsky stopped just before he reached her desk, looking up at him expectantly, "Does Sergeant Voight want me to stay here?"

"No, he said, 'tell the kid to come to'," He slightly snickered as he swiped the last Danish from the box on his way towards the stairs, "You can ride in with Burgess. I'm just glad to see you didn't overdress on your first day like her."

Kim scoffed as she grabbed her blazer from the back of her chair and stood up, "Oh, very funny."

Marlowe took a deep breath and looked around at the others already headed for the stairwell to head out.

"Let's go Romero," Adam said, waving his arm, "Let's see what you bring to the table."

"You're on Ruzek," She told him, rounding her desk and walking in tangent with Kim.

Kim patted her on the shoulder as they began their decent, "Welcome to Intelligence."

MARLOWE WAS STATIONED WITH KIM, Voight not one hundred percent comfortable with her having boots on the ground yet. They sat in Burgess's undercover car stationed a block diagonal to the old seminary warehouse units. Marlowe and Kim sat listening for the radio left in the cup holder in between them to go off.

The anxiety had died down a little bit since she and Kim had split off from the others, who would be crashing the gun deal.

"Hey," Marlowe nodded in the direction of a black car pulling up to the curb of the warehouse.

Kim turned her head, grabbing the radio to alert the others, "Sarge... we have got movement on the west side. One male, white. One male, Hispanic. Both five-ten to six foot about one hundred and seventy pounds, tatted up, carrying large duffle bags.

"They just got out of a black SUV with," Kim paused to strain her eyes to read the fine print of the back plates of the vehicle in question, "with Indiana tags."

Voight's voice responded a few seconds later, "Copy that. Here we go."

Marlowe ran her thumb over her lower lip, "So now we just wait?"

"We wait," Kim agreed, "If someone rushed back out this way, we're to cover them."

A loud pop from the direction of the building caught the two women's attention, followed by Jay's voice coming through the radio, "Ten-one, ten-one. Shots fired at the police. Forty-five thirty-three West Archer."

"5021 George, I'm taking heavy fire." His voice came back in a few seconds later, "I got two civilians down in the north alley behind the building."

Marlowe looked at Kim worriedly, but only received a nonchalant shake of the head in response.

"This is sergeant Hank Voight. Advise responding to shut down a two-block radius."

Headquarters responded, "Copy that."

Kim reached behinds them into the floorboard and grabbed their vests, handing one to Marlowe, "This is where we start directing oncoming patrol."

"Sounds like fun..."

The pair left the vehicle after strapping into their vests and shut their doors behind them, Marlowe following behind Kim in the street. Police cars were swarming into the area, lights on and sirens blaring.

Kim looked at Marlowe, "Did Voight give you a radio code last week?"

She nodded, "Yeah, why?"

"Get on your radio and give them directions, Mar."

Marlowe grabbed her radio from where it was clipped to the right-side pocket of her jeans, "5021 Kennedy directing patrol to surround forty-five thirty-three West Archer. Cars blocking Thirteenth, Riverfront, Harriet, and Fourteenth intersections. We have multiple armed offenders. Approach with extreme caution. Plain clothes officers within radius."

"Copy that."

Kim nudged Marlowe's arm with hers giving her a satisfied nod.

Marlowe's attention turned in the direction of a side alley, where a black truck was peeling out, "Hey, isn't that-?"

"Jay's truck," Kim finished for her, brows furrowed as well as his police lights flashed on and the vehicle sped directly by them.

They returned to their vehicle, Kim gassing it down the alleyway Jay's truck had come roaring out of. Behind the warehouse they met Voight and Al who were talking heatedly between one another while Adam and Kevin went in the direction of their car to assist patrol in blocking off the scene.

Marlowe looked between Alvin and Voight as she and Kim approached them, "Hey, what happened?"

"A little girl and two others got shot in the crossfire of Halstead and two of the dealers," Voight told them, "They're rushing the girl themselves to Med."

Kim looked confused, "There were people in there?"

Al nodded.

"Alright, I want you two to call to Med get what you can on the status of our victims," Their sergeant began removing his Kevlar vest, sighing, "Report back to me at the precinct."

"On it."

Back at the Twenty-First, Kim called Chicago Med for any updates on their gunshot victims. Marlowe wrote everything the responding doctor, Will Halstead- Jay's older brother, told them from ages, gender, conditions, and current whereabouts. Kim hung up the phone as Marlowe got the faxes sent over from the hospital off the printer, sticking them in a folder to present to Voight.

"We have three gunshot victims: Female, black, twenties, dead on arrival. Male, black, mid-twenties, named James Pell, who was treated and released. The bullet just grazed his leg," Kim informed Voight, "And a little girl around eight. She's in critical condition."

Hank nodded, "All right, the guy who got nicked, we talk to him?"

Marlowe shook her head, "Hailey and Jay tried at the hospital. Will said James wasn't too cooperative. Claimed he was still in shock."

"And what are those kids doing there in the first place?"

"It turns out the building was used as an off the books day care center," Kim answered, closing the file in her hands, "For ten bucks a day, someone in the neighborhood will watch your kid."

Voight shook his head in disbelief.

"Boss," Adam called from across the office from where he and Kevin stood by his desk, "two bikers killed at the scene. One was Anthony Jonas, twenty-four. Other Mike Scola, twenty-six. Both from Gary, Indiana."

Kevin nodded, "And they're both affiliated with the Gargoyle Kings. That's the biker gang your CI told us about."

"All right hit the streets," Voight told them, "Talk to your CIs. Let's find these shooters. Burgess, I want you and Romero to stick together on this one."

Kim and Marlowe shared a smile as they turned to leave to leave the precinct. They stopped at a coffee shop on their way back to Alvin at the scene, picking up an extra coffee for him. When arriving back to the old seminary, they met Al outside of where the red tape had been stretched across the alleyway leading to the entrance of their daycare. He thanked them for the caffeine boost, telling them to follow him back onto scene with one of the patrolmen who had surveyed the area

"Any witnesses?" Alvin asked the patrolman as they ducked under the crime scene tape.

The taller man shook his head, "Not yet."

"What about the kids?" Kim asked, taking her field notepad from her back pocket."

"They didn't see anything," The officer gestured his hand to where the scene analyst was looking at the wooden door with a prominent bullet hole in the front, "except that little girl get shot."

Alvin looked beyond the open doors into the facility, "How long has the daycare been here?"

"Don't know. Still looking for the parents," The officer's head turned in the direction of a man not in any police uniform, casually ducking underneath the crime scene lines they had just come through, "Excuse me, sir. This is an active crime scene investigation."

"Active?" The man asked, seemingly amused, "Hell, I see five cops sipping coffee, two smoking cigarettes, and one having a roast beef sandwich."

Marlowe looked at Kim to see if she recognized the man, but from the confused expression on her face it was clear she didn't either.

The man approaching was a very formally dressed black man, walking with an abundance of determination in the direction of the daycare.

"Please step away," The officer tried to deter the man's path, but when he showed no signs of stopping Alvin stepped up.

"Who's in charge here?" The man asked as Al approached them, pointing a finger in his direction, "You?"

"I'm Detective Olinsky," Alvin nodded, sending the patrolman away, "Just don't let anybody else in."

"I heard a woman got shot here and was killed," The man speculated, causing Marlowe and Kim to share another look, "and the little girl's in critical condition."

Alvin kept a blank face, "We can't comment on the investigation."

"So it's true?"

Marlowe scoffed at the man's obvious attitude.

Alvin tried to get the man to step back, but he resisted.

"Why don't you just fill me in, Detective Olinsky?" The persistence of this man was obviously beginning to wear of the three Intelligence officers.

Kim stepped forwards, having lost her patience, "Why don't I fill you in? Two gangbangers opened fire on the police."

Marlowe felt like ducking behind one of the nearby dumpsters as Kim raised the attitude to meet the man's own.

"They killed a young woman and critically injured a little girl. That's what happened. Okay?"

The man scoffed, "I see. So you're gonna put it on the gangbangers?"

Kim shot Marlowe an incredulous look before nodding her head to the man, "Yeah, that seems pretty obvious, sir."

He looked her up and down "Must be nice... to be so naive and beautiful too. One hell of a combination."

"Um, excuse me?" Marlowe finally spoke up, grabbing Kim by the back of her arm as she stepped forwards, "I think you've overstayed your welcome."

"Ah, they come in pairs."

"Did you just say that?" Alvin asked in an angry tone, having finally lost his cool, "Did you just say that?"

Kim and Marlowe tried to shush him and reassure him it was fine, but the Chief of police had already heard them as he approached the site.

"Everything okay?" He asked, but the bickering still continued, "Excuse me."

Kim tried to push a believable smile, "We're fine."

Chief Lugo glanced between the four skeptically, "What's going on here?"

"Your people were just bringing me up to speed," The still unnamed man told him, staring down the three before them.

Chief Lugo looked pointedly at them, "Alderman Price is an old friend and an important member of the community."

That explained it, all in one word: alderman.

Marlowe had had a fair share of Chicago politics in her life- her father who was a successful corporate owner of a large private banking company, once holding the title of alderman as well. The philosophy of politics in the city was if you wanted to beat them, you had to stoop lower than them. David Romero was no saint, far from it to begin with, but he was the most dedicated people pleaser Marlowe had ever met. He went far and beyond in his campaigning for giving back to low-income families in the community and buying construction deals for homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

Marlowe sighed as she settled in the driver's seat of Burgess's car, the woman's field notes discarded in the passenger's seat. She put the keys in the ignition, her eyes staring out at the passing cars slowing down periodically to get a glance at the busy scene.

She still felt tense from Alderman Price's arrogance as she pulled out onto the street but hated to admit that she understood it. That job was known to inflate egos.

"SO, NO WITNESSES HAVE COME FORWARD YET," Marlowe said, catching Voight up to speed on everything, "Even the kids that were interviewed just saw the little girl, Morgan, get shot."

The sergeant was understandably frustrated by the lack of breakthrough in the past few hours. The team was being held under a microscope by the reformation of the police board and the media for the actions that took place that morning. Hank Voight was in no position to sweep anything under the rug at the moment.

But from the look on his face Marlowe knew something else was going on other than they were no closer to arresting the gun dealers.

"Hey, sorry. I just got your call," Jay's voice startled Marlowe as he approached Voight's office, "Finally located the girl's mother."

Hank nodded, standing up from where he had previously been hunched over his desk staring at his computer screen, "Would you give us a second, Marlowe?"

She nodded slowly, "Of course."

Walking around Jay, they shared an equally confused look. Marlowe shut the door to Voight's office behind her- the blinds covering the glass panel now obscuring her view of them. She was worried, the tone of Hank's voice not sounding so eager to talk to his detective.

In the meantime, Marlowe preoccupied herself with getting a cup of coffee in the breakroom. It was bitter tasting, but it did the job. She was thankful that Adam had shared his trick in adding a mountain of sugar and Kevin told her to have at the creamer in the refrigerator.

Marlowe wondered back to her desk with her mug, intending to write up an official report of the new statements from the scene. She glanced up from her desktop when Voight's office door reopened, watching Jay angrily stomp in the direction of the back hallway. Hank soon followed after him, catching Marlowe's gaze and waved to her dismissively.

Her worry returned as she listened to the backdoor slam shut behind them, losing herself in all the possibilities of what could be going on.

She typed up the report within a half hour, making sure the documented everything right before standing at the fax machine to send a copy over to the Ivory tower. The door from the back hallway opened and closed, followed by heavy footsteps as she pressed the fax button. Marlowe looked over her shoulder as Jay appeared from, he hall, his face scrunched up in thought as we went to his desk to grab his windbreaker and a few files. He was being uncharacteristically quiet as her stood bent over his work area, head down and hands tightened around the end of the desk.

Marlowe cautiously took a few steps his direction, "Jay?"

His shoulders tensed at the sound of her voice.

"Jay, what's going on?" She asked walking closer

"I-" He cut himself off as he stood up back up, running a hand over his face, "It was me, Mar."

She leaned against the side of his desk, confused, "What are you talking about?"

"I shot that little girl!" The sudden spike in his voice made her jump slightly, Jay quickly apologizing as he rested his palm against his forehead.

Her expression turned into one of horror and pity at his words. Jay had been so determined to find out who had shot the little girl for it to come out that that bullet came from the barrel of his gun. His eyes were red and glassy, a sign that he had been crying and most likely soon to do so again, and he was trembling with his fists balled up at his sides.

"Jay-"

"I- I didn't know that there were kids in there," Jay cut her off, "But I shot that guy, I swear to you, Marlowe. It hit him. He went down!"

She nodded, believing him, "The bullet had to have traveled through him."

Jay angrily kicked the bottom drawer of his desk shut, holding the keys of the Jeep he was borrowing from the precinct tightly in his left hand, before he turned in the direction which he had come in from.

"Jay," Marlowe called out after him, walking to the entrance to the hall, "Where are you going?"

His back was still turned to her as he stormed to the stairwell door, "The hospital."

As the door closed behind him, Marlowe was left standing in a silent office filled with sadness and concern.

THE FEELINGS REMAINED AN HOUR LATER while Marlowe worked up a lead on a car seen fleeing the area of the seminary that morning. Kim had rejoined her, already filled in on everything going on with Jay's situation.

They had made the mistake on turning on the news too- the local companies pressing the Chicago Police Department for answers on why there was a woman dead and a young girl in the hospital. The Intelligence Unit had been called out by name several times during one broadcast, even questioning the leadership of notorious Hank Voight and how loyal the team was in helping the black community of Chicago.

Marlowe had even gotten several messages from her parents and older sister, asking if what they were hearing on the news to be true, but seeing a clip on the screen of her standing beside Kim and Alvin on scene with Chief Lugo and Alderman Price really put things in perspective for her.

The phone ringing on her desk brought her attention away from the screen.

She sighed, picking up the phone, "Intelligence."

"Hey this is Connor Rhodes at Med," The man's voice answered, "I was told to call to inform you that the little girl brought in this morning with a gunshot wound passed away about ten minutes ago."

"I-I, oh," Marlowe stuttered out, catching Kim's attention from the television, "Um, thank you Dr. Rhodes. I'll let everyone know."

As Marlowe hung up the phone, Kim went to open her mouth only to be interrupted by a special news bulletin cutting into the current news interview. They both watched in horror as the little girl's photograph flashed on the screen, followed by a clip of her parents leaving Chicago Med's doors in tears. The caption 'Nine-year-old child from seminary shooting pronounced dead' rolled below the announcement followed by 'a cop said to be responsible'.

Marlowe gulped, staring at the screen, "Dammit."

"We have to tell Sarge that it's out," Kim responded, getting up from her spot perched at the end of Marlowe's desk.

The two women left through the backdoor of the precinct in search of Voight, Marlowe stopping in her tracks as they stepped outside. Jay stood with their sergeant talking in the middle of the back lot, still looking distraught. Marlowe's throat felt tight as their eyes flickered in their direction.

Kim tugged at her arm, whispering, "Maybe he already knows."

They walked forwards, Kim greeting Jay.

"How you doing?" She asked him in a soft voice.

Jay shrugged slightly, sticking his right hand in the pocket of his jeans, "I'm just trying to stay positive. Um, I was at the hospital earlier, and my brother said there's a good chance the little girl's gonna be..."

Seeing the sad Marlowe's face, Jay trailed off, "What?"

Voight looked between him, Marlowe, and Kim.

"She just died Jay," She told him in a soft voice, biting her bottom lip, "And now it's all over the news."

He stared at her with blank eyes, his lips slightly agape. It was like he was searching for any sign of her lying to him, which only added to the guilt she felt weighing down on her shoulders.

Voight went to put a hand on Jay's shoulder, "Jay-"

"No," Jay's voice was soft as he shrugged off the hand, beginning to trudge in the direction of the stalls their vehicles were parked in.

"Romero."

Marlowe turned from looking at Jay's back to Voight.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," He told her, his eyes never leaving Jay's figure.

At his words, Marlowe nodded and ran in the direction of the Jeep. Her hand gripped around the passenger handle just as he threw the keys into the ignition and started the car. Pulling on the handle, the door would not open.

"Dammit," She cursed, hitting the window, "Jay open the door."

He rolled his eyes, unlocking the doors.

Marlowe wordlessly got into the passenger's seat and slammed the door shut behind her. She watched him closely as she pulled her seatbelt around her as he floored it in reverse from his parking spot. She refrained from cursing as he drove recklessly over the speedbumps lining the neighboring lot- the lot connecting to the stretch of road closest to leading to Med. It did not surprise her when he flicked the response lights on, making it more convenient to speed through the city's traffic.

Marlowe's right hand gripped the safety handle on the door as Jay took a sharp left turn into the parking lot of the hospital.

"Jesus..." She grumbled to herself as he parked next to the loading zone to the Emergency Department.

Marlowe opened her mouth the speak to him, turning in her seat slightly to face towards him, but Jay paid her know mind as ripped the keys out of the ignition and got out the vehicle. She threw open the passenger door and got out, having to widen her usual stride to catch up to him. Marlowe was a few paces behind Jay as they entered through the sliding glass doors of the ED

Will Halstead looked up from the papers he was signing, his face faltering as his brother's face came into view.

Marlowe was a frequent flyer at Chicago Med in her earlier days on the job- the side effect of being impulsive and independent new officer that thinks their invincible. When Will came back to Chicago from New York, he had gotten used to seeing her face either as a patient or as someone bringing in a patient in cuffs.

Like his younger brother, Marlowe would describe him as handsome. Will had light brown eyes, almost red hair that fell in loose waves on top of his head with brown and stood slightly taller than Jay. They were most similar in facial structure and build, but sometimes their personalities clashed head on. Will tended to be more laid back and accepting in matters but was certainly not a push over. When push came to shove, Will did have his impulsive and rash moments, something he and Marlowe often talked about when she was seated on an examination table. But like Jay, he was passionate about his work and dedicated his life to helping others.

Will approached his brother with sorry eyes, "I was just about to call you."

"You said she was gonna make it," Jay seethed as they stood before each other, "You said she was gonna-"

Before much of a scene could be made in the middle of the ED, Will wrapped grabbed Jay by the back of the arm. He pulled him into a neighboring exam room vacant to anyone else, Marlowe lingering slightly in the doorway as she watched Will try to settle Jay down. She had her arms crossed loosely over her chest and leaned against the glass frame of the door, hoping Will could be the person to anchor Jay in the slightest.

"Hey, I said she had a chance, okay?" Will asked in a calm voice, "She was in bad shape,

lost too much blood."

Jay looked like he was about to cry again as he paced around in his spot, trying to control his anger through deep breaths, "I know."

"There's only so much we can do," Will reminded him.

"I know, I'm sorry," Jay shook his head, "I just..."

He trailed off as something caught his eye, looking directly past Marlowe. Turning her head slightly to the side, Marlowe caught sight of Morgan's parents leaving the Emergency Department holding onto one another in tears. Her eyes settled back to his pain-stricken face, feeling her frown deepen. Jay shook his head and turned away from the two of them, passing Marlowe on his way out of the room.

She turned so she could look Jay, looking back over her shoulder at his brother with a lost expression.

But he was just as speechless.

"Jay," Marlowe called after him, heading behind him towards the entrance, "Jay, stop!"

He spun around to face her; his bottom lip being bitten harshly between his teeth. Red filled his cheeks, the tips of his ears, and the base of his neck.

Marlowe held her palm out in front of her, "Keys."

"What the..." He shook his head giving her an disbelieving look, "Marlowe, seriously-"

"Am I speaking Spanish, Jay?" She asked him in a firmer tone, "Give me the keys, I am not getting back in that car if you are driving."

Slapping the ring of keys in the palm of her hand, "Unbelievable."

Marlowe shook her head walking in the direction of the Jeep. He continued his huffiness even after he was settled into the passenger's seat. She pulled out onto the road, but much to Jay's surprise it was in the opposite direction of the precinct.

Jay sat forwards slightly in his seat, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Would you just stop?" She sighed, focusing on the road.

"We have to get back to work!" He argued.

Marlowe scoffed, "You're not going to be able to work period if you do not shut up, Jay."

Marlowe pulled off onto a lonely road that soon turned into gravel and grass. The further out they drove, the more aggravated Jay grew. She pulled off onto a grass embankment, overlooking the river with a small suburb directly across the way. Marlowe cut the engine, relaxing back in her seat.

"What are you doing?" Jay snapped, "Drive!"

"Oh, don't raise your voice at me," Marlowe told him in a more than serious voice, "Drop the tough guy act, Jay. I know you better than that."

He scoffed throwing his sunglasses from the dashboard at the windshield. Marlowe rolled her eyes and continued sitting there with her hands in her lap as she stared out at the water.

As the minutes rolled by before she heard soft cries begin to fall from Jay's lips. He leaned forwards into his hands, placing his elbows on his knees. His crying became more violent and turned into shaking sobs. The last sound Marlowe wanted to hear was Jay crying, but he needed it- he was to stubborn to take the time to do it.

Gently, Marlowe reached over to rest her hand on his shoulder and sighed.

Life had the tendency to do the worst things to the best people.

season five, episode one (part one)

published ── 05.03.20