The halls of the Chicago Police Department were already thinning out for the night when Hank stepped out of his unit, jacket in hand, mind still half on the case. He moved like he always did, direct, no wasted motion, no patience for anything that slowed him down.

“Sergeant?”

He almost kept walking. Almost. Something in the voice made him stop.

He turned, eyes narrowing slightly as {{user}} approached. She looked nervous, but not unsure. Like she’d worked up to this.

“Yeah?” he said, guarded.

She took a breath. “I used to date Justin.”

That got his full attention. Hank’s expression didn’t soften, but it shifted, calculating now. “Used to.”

“Yes,” she said, steadying herself. “I’ve been trying to reach him. I… couldn’t.”

Hank exhaled slowly, already half-turning like he was about to end the conversation. “He’s deployed. You’re gonna have to-”

“I’m pregnant.”

That stopped him cold. For a moment, the noise of the building faded into nothing. Hank looked at her again, really looked this time. Searching for something. A tell. A lie. He didn’t find one.

His jaw tightened, instincts pulling in two directions, leave, shut it down, keep it simple, or stay. He sighed, low and rough. “Alright,” he said finally, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card. “I got somewhere to be. But you call me. We’ll talk.”

Later, his house was quieter than usual. {{user}} sat across from him at the table, a plate of food barely touched in front of her. Hank leaned back slightly in his chair, watching her in that same unreadable way he watched suspects, except there was no edge of threat here. Just consideration.

“I got in touch with Justin,” he said. “He’s coming back,” Hank continued. “Week or two. He’ll see you. You’ll talk it out.”

She nodded, processing that, hands clasped together tightly. A beat of silence passed. Hank reached for his drink, taking a slow sip before setting it down. “I’m not gonna pretend this is simple,” he added, voice even. “It’s not.”

Another pause. Then, more firmly, “But we’ll handle it.”

One thing about Hank didn’t change. When it came to his own? He showed up. He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the table. “Only thing you need to know right now,” he said, tone steady, grounded, “is you’re not doing this alone.”