explosion (jay halstead / one chicago)

chapter 30

liz's pov

"Ready?" Jay asked. We were standing next to his car in front of the police academy on my first day of classes. He had insisted on driving me, saying that parking was the worst in this area, and since I didn't mind having him with me for a few minutes longer, I had agreed without protest. "We'll see," I replied, trying to hide how anxious I really was.

"Hey." Jay grinned. "Everyone's nervous on their first day. You should have seen me." I had to smile at his attempt to cheer me up. He shrugged, turning more serious. "Honestly, just do what you're told and try not to freak out. It will be hard, and the instructors can be harsh, but don't take it personal. They only do what they do so you'll be the best of the best one day, understood?" I nodded. I was glad I knew people who had been through this before. Jay and his friends had told me a lot about their time at the academy. Above all, of course, I was glad to have Jay by my side, though. We shared a deep kiss before I turned and walked inside the building.

After a few administrative matters and introductory speeches, we had a short break so we could get right into the first training sessions after. I was sitting on a bench by myself, enjoying the last peaceful moments in the sunshine, when a guy approached me. He was tall and muscular with dirty blonde hair, and he was followed by some others that all together looked like the bullies at school you would try to avoid at all cost.

"You're Severide?" the boy asked, grinning at me. He had most likely picked up my last name during the initial attendance check, so I didn't think too much of it. After all, there were more guys than girls in this class, and it wouldn't be the first time someone knew my name before I knew his. "That's right," I replied with a shrug. The guy smirked, then turned to one of his friends. "It's her," he said, as if that wasn't obvious already, before looking back at me. "Be ready." His hazel eyes were sparkling with amusement. "Because these next few months will be hell for you. You think fucking that pretty detective boy will get you through academy? I'll make sure it won't."

I was surprised and irritated by what he said, but at the same time it made me incredibly angry. My relationship with Jay had nothing to do with getting through the academy, or with getting into the academy in the first place. I had trained hard for this every day for the past few months, and I was more than ready to give my everything on every single day here. Before I could come up with a fitting response, however, the guy leaned down to whisper in my ear, and his words were like bullets. "This place isn't for you, sweet girl," he hissed. "And no matter who you jump into bed with – that won't help you."

I knew he was most likely just throwing around idle threats, but they still unsettled me. I wasn't here to fight with anybody, or to get picked on. I was here to become a policewoman, and that had nothing to do with my boyfriend being a detective. I took a deep breath once the guys disappeared again. I had been through so much; I wasn't going to let this stop me. I just hadn't expected it to be an issue either.

jay's pov

I walked into the district, silently smiling to myself. Dropping your girlfriend off for her first day as a recruit sure was something. I could perfectly well recall my feelings standing in front of the academy for the first time a few years back, and I could sense the same mixture of nervousness, insecurity and vast excitement in Liz. Maybe even more, considering her backstory and the slight difference that I had already been in the military long before I joined the police. Besides, seeing her disappear into the building made the whole thing feel way more real, and I was incredibly proud. Liz was going to be a policewoman, and a damn good one.

"Important day, huh?" Adam asked as I reached the bullpen. Of course, everyone here knew it was the first day of classes at the academy. I nodded. "You bet." My friend grinned. "You know she's gonna kill it, right? She's tough, and she's more than ready." I chuckled. "No doubt." Adam patted my back as I walked past. "Voight wants to talk to you in his office, by the way."

Slightly confused, I dropped my jacket off at my desk and knocked on Voight's door before I entered. I couldn't recall doing anything stupid in the recent past, and I also couldn't think of anything else this might be about. "Close the door," my Sergeant demanded. I did so, and he got up from his chair, standing opposite me. He knew quite well I wasn't the person to sit down for a difficult conversation. Although I still wasn't aware of anything that I might have done wrong, I started to worry a little as Voight studied me intensely. "The name Sienna Evans ring a bell?" he questioned.

Just like that, I froze. Sienna. In a split second, all my cheerfulness was gone. I hadn't heard her name in a while. And to be honest, I hadn't expected to hear it again, ever. But I guess every mistake from your past is bound to come up again one day, and usually it's at the worst possible point in time.

I tried to find the right words to answer. Of course, I remembered Sienna. But I had no idea what this was about, so I didn't know what to say. Judging by the expression on Voight's face, however, I didn't have to tell him anything. He already knew.

See, that's the scary thing with working for Hank Voight. This guy knows everything you've ever done, good or bad, right or wrong. You have no idea how, because you've certainly never told him, but he simply knows all these things – all the times you fucked up and all the skeletons in your closet. There's no point in lying to him because he already knows the truth before you open your mouth to try and conceal it.

"Hmm," Voight commented on my silence. "I thought so." He made a short break before he continued. "Sienna Evans is out of jail and back in Chicago. I got a call from narcotics; they say she's been working with some of the same people she's worked with before. They're asking if you could come over and look at some files and pictures, see if you recognize anyone from your time undercover."

There were a million things going through my mind at once. Sienna was out of jail. Crap. Sienna was back in Chicago. Holy shit. I vaguely nodded, a certain numbness spreading throughout my body. "Jay," Voight said, still staring at me with this expression on his face telling me he knew everything there was to know about that uc run, everything there was to know about Sienna and me. How badly I fucked up. "Do you have a problem with that?" he asked.

I could tell that Voight was looking out for me, trying to protect me. Do what was best for me although he had no goddamn reason to. After all, that's what Voight does. He memorizes the times you fucked up and counts the skeletons in your closet just so he can bail you out when he needs to.

I shook my head. "No, I don't have a problem with that," I replied, only half telling the truth. Of course, it bothered me. I didn't want my past to catch up with me in ways that could get out of control. But they just wanted me to look at some faces. I wasn't going to be involved. And I wasn't going to see Sienna.

"Alright." Voight stared at me for a moment longer. He knew exactly that I wasn't as sure of this as I pretended to be. "They'll be in contact," he then said and finally broke the eye contact, walking back to his chair. I left the Sergeant's office, my mind a mess. Erin watched me with a worried expression on her face as I sat down at my desk.

I buried my head in my hands. They just wanted me to look at some faces, nothing more, I tried to tell myself again. But the queasy feeling remained. Sienna was back in Chicago.

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sooooo, we're getting into some trouble here, on both ends... who do you think sienna is? we'll certainly find out soon o.O also, i just wanna say that i don't exactly know how the chicago police academy works. i've done quite a lot of research, but i'm still pretty clueless as to exact procedures, classes, exams etc. so everything i write about that (in the chapters to come) is for the most part made up. if you do know more about it, however, feel free to tell me, i'm more than willing to learn ;)

either way, as always... i hope you enjoyed the chapter! thank you so much for reading and leave a vote or comment if you like! ❤️