CHAPTER ONE.
❛ 𝟢𝟣. THE ONE WHERE
MAEVE ISN'T BRIGHT. ❜

It was safe to say that Maeve Allen was a hot mess.

The question you would be asking yourself is why? And there would be no doubt in Maeve's mind that she, her family, or hell, even her kid could list more than a hundred reasons why but one good example would be what she was doing right now. She was running around her newly unpacked home with her hair half done as she made her daughter lunch, yelling at the same kid to stop throwing a hissy fit and get ready for school. Maeve was risking running late for her first day at work and that was not a good thing. Especially when her boss is Hank Voight.

She had heard stories, rumors, of the recently appointed Sergeant. He was a previously dirty cop, who was caught after a firefighter refused to cover up a crime Voight's son committed. She also knew her father had a past with him, a past he never particularly liked to talk about. She knew it was sketchy how he was promoted after getting released from the slammer but the Intelligence Unit was a gold mine, it was doing extremely well and she knew it was a privilege that she would now be working in it.

"Bellatrix Rain Santiago, if you are not dressed in the next five seconds━━!" Maeve yells at her daughter, finishing up her hair. She hurriedly put all of Trixie's school essentials in her powder pink backpack and poured herself coffee in a tumblr. She really shouldn't have stayed up late unpacking. Maeve could hear the fast footsteps of her daughter and she smiled, relaxing slightly.

Trixie walked down the hallway with a frown, her white untied converse squeaking against the floor and her hair unstyled. "Mom," Trixie whined, pulling out her puppy dog eyes. Maeve released a soft laugh, warmth spreading in her heart.

"Come here," Maeve motioned for her toddler to head to her and Trixie does, no hesitation. Maeve laces up the converse and stands from her crouched position, silently sliding her daughter's backpack on her shoulders. The mother daughter duo started to exit their home when a loud shrill ringing came from Maeve's phone, she read the caller ID and rolled her ocean eyes.

RYAN.

He could wait till she got through dropping their kid off at school before she called him back. Ryan was her boyfriend of one year when she got pregnant. Maeve met Ryan in San Francisco while she was working at the San Francisco Police Department. They had been friends for a year before he made a move on her, knowing she was dealing with a brutal break-up with a high school sweetheart.

The nine months of the pregnancy hadn't been bad, just emotional. If Maeve wasn't eating whatever she could, she was crying and getting worked up. Their relationship couldn't, however, handle co-parenting. Ryan and Maeve were constantly arguing, never agreeing on the right move, the romance dying right before their eyes. They mutually agreed it wasn't working, they ended the relationship and stayed friends.

Friends who co-parented.

Ten minute car ride and dealing with a crying Trixie, Maeve had finally departed from the Elementary school and pulled up to Chicago Police Department's 21st district. She walked in with a nervous smile on her face, sticking her fists into the pockets of her leather jacket. A far away look appeared in her eyes, the bright blue appearing darker as memories flashed before her.

Her whole childhood was in a police precinct, this police precinct. Her father was a police commissioner and she took an internship with the desk sergeant at the time during her high school years. She wondered if they were still there. . . . probably not. She exhaled a breath Maeve didn't realize she was holding.

"Maeve Allen!" Sergeant Trudy Platt exclaimed, a happy smile on her face. "Is that really you?" The blonde twenty eight year old snapped out of her thoughts, looking like a deer out of headlights until she noticed who called her name. Her nervous smile turned genuine.

Trudy Platt was a uniformed patrol officer when she was doing her internship and the woman's personality always made Maeve curious, so the teenager was unbelievably nice to her. She brought her extra coffee, remembered her birthday, and had genuine conversations with her. It made her develop a soft spot outside her tough exterior. Even when Trudy joined the robbery-homicide unit, they always visited each other. Trudy was at Maeve's graduation.

"Officer Platt!" Maeve exclaimed, hugging the older woman who exited behind the front desk. "You're a sergeant now? When did that happen?" A part of her knew she shouldn't be attempting to catch up with Trudy, she was already running late but the woman had such an influence on her, it wouldn't seem right. She hoped Voight wouldn't be too mad at her or have her tardiness blow back on her father.

Trudy smiled in nostalgia, "A year or so after you graduated, kid."

A brunette officer in a ponytail walked into the precinct with her partner after getting back from a call, she frowned in confusion instantly. In front of her was her sergeant talking to a pretty blonde woman her age as if they had been best friends for decades. "What the hell?" She murmured to the guy next to her. He shrugged in confusion as well, this was the only time they had ever seen the older woman with a smile.

They didn't know she could smile.

The brunette officer cleared her throat, "Hey, sergeant, who's this?" She asked kindly, ceasing all conversation and killing Trudy Platt's mood. A scowl formed on her lips while Maeve remained kind with a genuine smile. She's seen first hand how hard Sergeants are on officers, especially ones with high potential. Maeve watched Trudy's eyes narrow and knew something snarky was bound to come out so she stepped forward, a hand out to introduce herself.

"Detective Maeve Allen," She beamed, shaking both officers hands, "I'm a new detective in the intelligence unit. It's so nice to meet you. . ." She trailed off, not knowing their names.

Maeve learned their names of Officer Kim Burgess and Officer Kevin Atwater, The Sergeant had then cut the conversation short. She sent the officers on a call before directing Maeve up to the gated staircase where the Intelligence unit would be.

The nerves that had once evaporated came rushing back like bees drawn to honey, a wave of nausea hit her. She pushed it down and built a tough exterior, she was Maeve Allen. She, along with her family, had been through hell and back, she could get through first day jitters.

Or at least she thought so.

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    Jay Halstead walked into the Intelligence Unit's little kitchen area with a tired look in his eyes, spending the night tossing and turning. Sometimes everywhere he turned he was reminded of a ghost from his past, a ghost he had wished never became a ghost. Last night was just one of his more recent installments of insomnia as every time he closed his eyes he saw blonde curly hair, bright blue eyes filled with dreams, and an infectious laugh he could practically hear.

He noticed Erin Lindsay, one of his fellow detectives, in her typical environment. She was in her basic tee, jeans, boots, and maroon leather jacket chatting away with her partner, Liz Ruiz. Liz was pouring them both coffee in their mugs and relaying her very spanish argument with her older sister to Erin, who grinned, acting like understood anything that was being said to her. Jay snorted, he knew that look anywhere. It was one he gave. . . . he shook his head.

No. He could not, for the life of him, understand that now she was popping up in his mind. It wasn't like he just forgot about her, it was that he never let himself. "That stuff will kill you now," Jay commented, pushing his thoughts away by sauntering toward the two women, his own mug in hand, "apparently."

Liz laughed into her mug, a dumb grin on her red painted lips. "Hey, Erin, how much you wanna bet he read that in some article online?" Her Cuban accent was thick but the two were used to it, it didn't phase them.

Erin laughed, nodding her head in agreement. "He does that a lot, doesn't he?"

Liz laughed, nodding.

Jay opened his mouth to protest, yet couldn't. He belted a laugh as well, because well, he did read articles a lot. It was a habit that someone close to him did and he assumed it rubbed off on him. Guess he wasn't aware just how much. "Well," Lindsay said, grabbing the sugar off the counter and pouring some in her mug, " Coffee killing me is last on the very long list of things that I'm concerned about."

Liz couldn't help but agree as Jay wordlessly leaned up against the fridge, stretching his arm out. The arm that held his coffee mug. Lindsay and Liz just stared at him with a look that said oh really? "Please," Jay begged, a desperate look in his blue eyes. Lindsay snorted, an amused smile on her lips as she poured him coffee into his black mug.

"You know, Caitlin was asking about you." Lindsay brought up the date he had with one of her friends just a few nights ago. Liz looked at him in wonder, he goes out on dates all the time, has meaningless one night stands and it doesn't phase him: she wants to know why. Why can't Jay Halstead settle down? What was wrong with a committed relationship?

Little did she know her questions would soon be answered.

Jay's face flashed with recognition after a second. "Oh, yeah. Tell her I say hi."

Liz's face contorted, quickly swallowing her hot coffee before speaking up. "Wait, so that's it? No interest at all? Why?" Liz had met Caitlin, she was a sweet, perky, blonde who always smiled and wanted the whole domestic family thing. Why wouldn't he be interested? Maybe that was her gay side talking. . .

Jay shrugged carelessly, now remembering why he was tossing and turning all night. Caitlin just reminded him of somebody that he used to know, like the girl was just some knock off version of her and it didn't settle right with him. Caitlin would never be his pretty girl. "She's super sweet, but my loss."

Both girls shared a look, ready to fight him on it when a knock was heard from the doorway. There stood Sheldon Jin in a green plaid longsleeve and gray pants. "Hey, you guys seen Voight around?" He inquired, a look on his face the detectives couldn't decipher.

"No," Lindsay answered, almost looking at the man in concern, "Why?"

Jin shook his head, not wanting to spill what he knew to Lindsay, Halstead, or Ruiz. "Nothing," Jin responded, doing a once over of the bullpen, making eye contact with an obviously nervous curly haired blonde woman. He narrowed his eyes, why did he recognize her? It clicked, she was the new detective Voight wanted information on, he had asked Jin to pull her file. Jin turned back to his three friends before leaving, "Uh new detective is here."

Jay looked confused while Liz and Erin looked excited, while exiting the kitchen area. "You," Lindsay pointed at Jay, "I'm never setting you up again."

"What?" Jay exclaimed, "Why?"

Liz smirked at the playboy, turning around from in front of him. "Because she knows you don't know a good thing when you see it." You could say that again, Jay thought bitterly, yet again thinking of his pretty girl. As he watches Lindsay laugh with Liz, agreeing with her, he wonders where Maeve is today. If she was doing good.

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    Maeve exhaled a shaky breath, rubbing her sweaty palms onto her jeans. She was trying to find Voight anywhere in the bullpen but she didn't see him, he must have been running later than she was. Tension released in her shoulders, relaxing her just a little bit by knowing she isn't off to a bad start.

A laughing Mexican man in a leather jacket noticed her first, looking curiously. He walked over with a warming smile, "Can we help you?" He asked, gaining his partner's attention and she soon joined his side. Both having their detective badges around their necks. Maeve smiled at the tall blonde in a green zip up jacket.

"Yeah," Maeve answered, introducing herself to two of the detectives she'd be working with. "My name is Maeve, Well actually Juliet by I prefer Maeve, it's my uh middle name," both the detectives had amused smiles on their faces as she rambled slightly due to her nerves. She blushed in embarrassment, "Sorry, I'm looking for Hank Voight."

The man chuckled, finding the girl adorable. She almost reminded him of a golden retriever. "Well, Maeve, can I ask why?"

"Right," She laughed, "duh. I'm the new detective that's starting today."

The blonde on his right got excited, she loved newbies. Their grins widen and introduce themselves as Antonio Dawson and Julie Willhite but she goes by Jules. They also introduced her to Detective Alvin Olinsky ( who she vaguely remembered ), Sheldon Jin, and just as she was being introduced to Erin Lindsay and Elizabeth Ruiz, she made eye contact with blue eyes that she swore she'd never see again.

The eyes of her high school boyfriend.

The eyes of the one that got away.

The eyes of Jay Halstead.

All color drained from her face, she couldn't believe her eyes. He looked the same as he used to and that unbearable pain to her heart yet at the same time it brought. . . relief. Relief of the fact that he was alive, breathing, that his heart still beat. Memories of the last night they saw each other flashed before her eyes, reopening a wound she had sworn was closed up and healed.

It was as if her feelings were a dam of water, the more she repressed them, the more that dam filled up and being face to face with the cause of that dam caused it to overflood. The walls were broken and everything came rushing back to her all at once. Along with a wave of nausea.

"Pretty girl? Jay whispered, staring at her in disbelief.

SYD SPEAKS!   🌻🍯💐💛
so i never thought this day would come,
i actually wrote the first chapter? and i
actually kinda like it?   as you can see,
both of them still obviously feels things
and think of one another but they are
stubborn little shits so they won't act
especially because lindsay may or may
not be an obstacle who knows 👩🏼‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏻😺