Chapter Text
Jay Halstead had been married to Hailey Upton for two years now. It was the best two years of his life, not including the year they were together prior to tying the knot, and the four years before that where they had been work partners and friends. They had taken a long and winding road to get here, but he wouldn't change a thing. It took Hailey being offered a job across the country with the FBI that kicked them into gear. They finally realized they wouldn't be able to be without the other and Hailey decided to stay home in Chicago right where she belonged. It worked for them. Besides, their romantic feelings aside, both knew they could never leave their unit or their sergeant, who had all become family in their own right over the years. In fact, Hank Voight, their sergeant, was the first person they had announced their engagement to; he was so happy for them. Yes, they had all come a long way over the years.
Their first year together they had both kept waiting for the ball to drop on them working so closely together while now being romantically involved. Work place romances had not gone in either of their favors in the past. But to their surprising delight, the ball never dropped. They had been so incredibly close, tied by a special bond, with hidden feelings for the other for so many years prior that it was as if nothing changed when they finally made the big leap into an actual relationship. The sayings seemed to be true, if you want a marriage to work, marry your best friend. Some may think that they'd get sick of another person if they worked with them constantly AND lived with them, but not Jay and Hailey. Those things just made them stronger. It sometimes annoyed their coworkers to no end to see how well they worked, but only because they were deliriously pleased for them.
In fact, it was finally the weekend of a rare quiet week for the above and some were hankering to celebrate as they were leaving at 4pm on a FRIDAY in May. Adam Ruzek, Kevin Atwater, and Kim Burgess, now all detectives too, were planning their night out. Along with their Sergeants, Voight and Trudy Platt, and their newest member, Leonard 'Leo' Shaw who joined the team a year ago. He was young and had actually been taken in by a mentoring Kevin. They had met on the streets a few years prior when Leo was hanging out with one of Kevin's CI's. Leo wanted to be on the right side of change, which Kevin knew all too well, and he helped him get into the Academy. The rest was history. Leo had become everyone's surrogate little brother. He loved joining in with the teasing like everyone else.
"Oh, come on Halsteads, it's been weeks since we've all gone out together. Why do you have to be such an old married couple." Leo said to Jay and Hailey while they chuckled and everyone else cracked up.
"We'll meet you guys at the bar later tonight. We have to go shopping for our vacation first." Hailey said while grabbing her light hoodie off the back of her chair. Even though it was almost Summer, it had still been chilly that morning. Jay shrugs in agreeance with Hailey as he grabs his keys off his desk.
"C'mon Jay, you really gonna let her be the boss of you like that?" Leo asks.
"Oh no, dawg.' Kevin shakes his head at him and holds back a grin.
"Don't even bother, Shaw, Upton here has had Jay whipped since 2017." Adam joked as he was passing Hailey and had to jump out of the way as she raised her foot to kick him.
"I do not!" … "She whips in the bedroom too!" Hailey and Jay exclaim at the same time.
"Oh my God, Jay, TMI! We'll see you guys later, take your time… and leave the whip at home, please!" Kim laughs and rolls her eyes as she rallies the three guys out of the bullpen.
"Just for that, you're so not getting laid today." Hailey jokes to Jay as they make their way to the garage out to his truck.
"Pfft, please, you know you can't resist or live without my loving!" Jay shoots right back as he unlocks the truck.
A quick flash of something Jay doesn't recognize crosses Hailey's face, but just as soon as it appeared it's gone and she's giving him one of her signature smirks. She tries to hold back her eyeroll and simply replies, "This is true!"
Jay starts driving towards the downtown of Elmhurst, where they bought a house six months prior. It took a little bit longer to get to work now, but they had both agreed they were done with the hustle and bustle of city life. The burbs made sense since they had been thinking about maybe starting a family soon. They wanted the space and a full yard of their own. Plus, with the money they made off of Hailey's townhouse, they really didn't have to stretch their means for a down payment.
The ride so far had been quiet as they were both enjoying the music and the scenery of Spring life, kids playing and people bustling along the streets. Three years removed from the dreaded year that was 2020, it was still nice to see life back to normal. Mundane activities with others were never taken for granted again, especially by Jay and Hailey who had witnessed so much as first responders. It's not until they're on the outskirts of the town center that Jay starts talking. He reaches his hand over the console to grab Hailey's.
'I can't believe we get two weeks off soon. We haven't had that much time off since our honeymoon."
"Mmm, yeah, it's going to be nice. It'll be good to get away from it all for a bit."
"Definitely. So I know we're going shopping for some cool things to take, but you know, if you want to just keep that same bikini you wore in Greece, I wouldn't be opposed to it." He grins and winks at her.
Hailey's mouth drops open wide and she tries to stifle her laugh. "JAY! I can NOT wear that bikini here in Lake Michigan. No way!"
"I never said you had to wear it to the lake!" Jay teases and Hailey playfully punches his arm as they both laugh.
He parks the car and they make their way out to walk around. Their first stop is a quick bite to eat at one of their favorite pizza shops. It was no Bartolli's or Lou's, but it was pretty damn good. Next, they made their way to one of the department store chains to do the bulk of their supplies and stocking up for whatever they may need for their vacation house rental. They were loading the truck up when Hailey noticed the hardware store across the street.
"Hey, why don't you stop in there and see if they have the saw you want to trim the back tree?" Hailey pointed to the store.
"Oh, good idea. Want me to start the car so you can play the radio?' Jay asks.
"Nah. I actually think I'm going to check out that cute boutique shop while you're in there. I'll meet you back in a few."
Jay reaches out his hand up her arm and their fingers run down each other's until they lace together at the end as the start walking away from each other. "Hey, if that shop happens to have that scented potpourri you used to put out at the old place, even though it's too flowery, I wouldn't mind it. I'm just saying." Jay grins at her and Hailey rolls her eyes with a smile.
"I always knew there was a sensitive mushball under that rugged, army demeanor." She teases.
"I'm gonna go buy a saw now. Then later we can go shoot things before I pound manly beers at the bar." He yells down the street as they both make their ways to the separate shops. He watches his wife's blonde ponytail bob back and forth as she walks away and he just knows he made her laugh.
Five minutes later Jay is walking back to the truck empty handed. The store didn't have the saw he really wanted and there was no sense wasting money on something else he didn't need. He took out his keys to unlock the truck, but then decided he was going to meet Hailey in the shop. He thoroughly enjoyed teasing her when her secret girlie side came out. She didn't show it very often and he loved every minute that she did. He was maybe 50 feet away from the shop and glancing down at his phone quickly to view the group pic the team had sent, the guys looking tipsy already with Kim, Voight, and Platt jokingly looking on disapprovingly. He was just about to respond when he heard a loud clicking and right as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up in memory reflex, he watched one of the shops explode into flames. He instinctively knew it was the one Hailey had been in, dropping his phone and keys on the hard street as he started screaming and sprinting towards the inferno.
"HAILEY!" his scream was blood curling, hysterical, and incessant.
He was maybe five feet away and literally about to run inside without a second of thought to his life when three guys from the hardware store chased after to stop him. Jay was about to storm inside and it took every bit of strength of all three men to pull him back. It would be certain death for him and the men knew there was nothing left inside that would be able to be saved. Any life that had been inside was lost. They stared at him sympathetically and with a hint of tears in their own eyes as he flayed against them screaming and crying, his wife's name falling from his lips over and over. It wasn't until natural shock took over Jay that he stopped fighting them. By the time he did the sounds of sirens were getting louder and louder and the street was surrounded by onlookers.
Jay dropped lifelessly to his knees on the cold pavement of the street. The setting sun mixed with the flames and ash making for an eerily scenic scene, like something out of an apocalypse movie. Police and firemen were circling around the shop and pushing everyone back by now, but they couldn't get Jay to move, and something told them maybe they should give him this. Jay had lost all feeling in his limbs and he kneeled there motionlessly, tears streaming down his face, his mind completely lost with no acknowledgment of anything happening around him. He stayed like that even as Voight had arrived nearly an hour later with the team, his boss gently repeating his name over and over like a mantra. "Jay, Jay, c'mon, let's get you home. Jay, Jay, please, Hailey wouldn't want this." Kim and Trudy hysterically crying on the side as Leo holds onto them, tormenting hurt in his young eyes as well. Jay stays like that until Adam and Kevin join Hank and have to physically lift him up together. He's so catatonic it takes everything they have to carry him to the backseat of Hank's jeep. Trudy gets in the back with him, trying to hold and comfort him as they all make the trip to Med. Maybe getting him to his brother or doctors he's close and familiar with can help some. But the only thing Jay can see and hear are the flames, and his everything burning up with them…
[A/N: Don't hate me, please! I promise… well, I don't promise anything, just bear with me! This story will be all Jay's story, slightly different than my norm, but Hailey's presence will be felt throughout. I know where this is going, but not sure how many chapters it will be yet. I will get back to update my "Feelings" one with the season 8 episodes thus far, hopefully before holiday hiatus ends. Until then, hope you enjoy this dark and windy road I've veered on… Be well!]