Ashley's voice echoes into the surveillance room, intelligence and I are piled into. Her voice calm as she assures us she's okay and hasn't been made. The panic booming through my chest eases, she's okay. At least for now. I lean over the table taking a breath to relieve my nerves. This reminds me all too much of afghanistan, and that thought alone is terrifying.

"She's got this man, you seen that girl? She's got bigger balls than all of us." Adam chuckles patting my shoulder in a clear attempt to calm me down. But it does quite the opposite. It's all too easy to get overconfident...

I nod, to ensure no one else worries about me. I can see the way they look at me, at least the ones that know. They see a ticking time bomb, waiting for my PTSD to explode. I know it won't, or it shouldn't, as long as she's okay.

The way Ash and I left things, god it makes me so uneasy. I love her, and I couldn't have found a worse time to tell her. I guess there's never really a good time in our line of work, there's always going to be something in the way. Only this time it seems a lot bigger, it is a lot bigger. I can't stop thinking about what she told me the other night, the things she did, the things that happened to her, the people that hurt her. God, I can't explain the anger. I just want her safe, and in my arms again. I'll do anything to make that happen.

The rest of intelligence disperses after finding out she's okay, yet Kev and I stay, listening to nothing aside from the revs of her car.

Hours pass without anything, no voices, nothing. Just the sound of her car. My jaw aches from its constant tensing. My shoulders stiff. Silence lingers for a while longer before the sound of Ash's phone ringing catches our attention. I lean forward listening carefully. Jośe.

"Kelsey, there's a motel two miles up. We're stopping there for the night, continue in the morning."

Then Ashley's voice... "alright."

That's it. Again, nothing to go on. I keep trying to convince myself this is helping the case. This fucking silence. But it's not. It's unnecessary danger, risks. I may be bias, I know stuff like this takes time. But time isn't on our side this time. It kills me to know how much danger she's in and how long it would take us to get there if she truly did need our help. The risk, reward doesn't seem worth it in this case.

"Jay! I need Jay and Voight!" Commotion echoes from the bullpen. A familiar voice, angry and panicked. Kelly Severide. Kev and I exchange a quick worried glance before getting up and making our way to the bullpen.

"What's going on?" Kevin asks, beating me to it. Kelly huffs. Trudy and the rest of intelligence now surrounding a panicked Kelly. Somethings wrong, very wrong.

"Someone's been stalking Ash. They left these photos on her desk a week ago." Kelly exclaims slamming photos of Ash down on my desk. My blood runs cold, anger encasing my bones as I look down at the photos.

"Then this shows up at the firehouse!" Kelly places a box beside the photos, his face red in rage. Bile instantly climbs up my throat, worry consuming me as I catch sight of what's inside