Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton were en route to the border of Indiana to meet up with one of their CI's for a crucial case they were working on. Even though it had already officially switched over to Spring by name, the Midwest had yet to get the memo. Temperatures were close to freezing, and what had started off as a drive in the rain, quickly turned to sleet, which was turning more into snow the further away from Illinois they got. It didn't help that the majority of the drive involved desolate back-highways. The partners didn't think much of it, being from Chicago, and driving in Jay's truck which was supposed to be equipped for the roughest of winters.
"Damn, this sucks, we probably have another 30 miles still!" Hailey says to Jay when he starts triggering his wiper fluid to try to see better.
"Yea, but it's fine, we're already halfway. We'll be there before we know it." Jay smiles at her reassuringly.
"Well, better you than me. 30 years of Chicago winters and I still hate driving in this. Remember next time I volunteer us for a trip like this to check the weather first!"
Jay chuckles. "Well, it's not like we had much choice. AJ really doesn't like talking to anyone but us, well, you really…" he says as he pokes her arm. She rolls her eyes at him.
"Oh stop, I can practically be his mother. Besides, don't act like half of our female CI's, and some males, don't prefer talking to your baby blues." She smiles at him as she says it and he lets out a rare, deep laugh.
"These baby blues have gotten me pretty far!" Jay looks at her for a second as he says it, and that's all it takes. They both feel the truck start to hydroplane on a patch of ice, ripping them away from their moment.
Jay quickly takes his foot off the gas and tries to steady the wheel, but the conditions are much too rough. Before they know it they're skidding towards the side of the road and crash into one of the trees. The impact doesn't feel too severe, but it's enough to make the air bags go off, smacking into Jay and Hailey's bodies.
Jay is the first to shake the disorientation off and his first instinct is to look at Hailey to make sure she's okay, that's all he cares about. He gently touches her arm and thankfully she turns her head to look at him.
"Hailey, hey, you okay?"
She slowly sits up from the air bag. "Yea, I'm good. I think my knee must have gotten jammed up though, it hurts pretty bad."
Jay's face cringes; angry that he thinks he got them in this predicament, and the fact that Hailey was injured, even if it's only minor.
"Dammit, ok. I'm gonna get out and come check on you from your side." He says as he opens his door and hops down.
When he walks across the front of the truck, he quickly surveys the damage. It's not too terrible, but he doubts he'll be able to get it to start anytime soon, let alone in these conditions. There's already a few inches on the ground in the area and it's still sleeting heavily. He doesn't care about any of this right now though; he just wants to make sure Hailey isn't too hurt, knowing she has a tendency to downplay things. He gets to her side and quickly opens the passenger door. She smiles down at him to give him comfort that she's fine. He unhooks her seatbelt and does a quick scan to make sure he sees no visible wounds.
Once he's satisfied with the quick assessment, he finally speaks again. "You sure you're good? I'm gonna try to help you down."
"Jay, please don't worry, I'm fine. I promise!"
He gives her an 'oh sure' look, but takes her on her word and slowly starts to help her down. She manages ok with his assistance, but once she stands, it's obvious to both of them she can't put much pressure on her knee. He helps her to sit quickly on the passenger floor in front of the seat so he can try to inspect her leg. He can't tell much through her jeans, outside of making sure there's no protruding bone or anything.
"I can feel a little swelling, but I'm not sure if anything is broken." He tells her.
"I think it's just badly bruised, that's what it feels like anyway. I think it must have slammed against the dashboard on impact."
"Ok, well, we should get you in the back seat to try to keep warm while I try to call this in. I have a blanket back there somewhere."
"Yea, ok… Jay, I was starting to lose service the more we drove down this road. Hopefully your phone has it because our comms certainly won't work out here."
"Shit, I think my bars were low too. Let me get you settled and then I'll keep trying."
Jay helps Hailey into the back and gets her setup with a blanket. He manages to push his front seat down so she can try to elevate her knee as much as possible. Making sure all the doors are closed tight to try to keep us much warmth in as possible, he embraces the cold and ice again to try to get cell service. He's having no such luck, walking up and down the highway to try to boost the signal to no avail. He tries for a good 15 minutes, then sadly accepts he has to go break the news to Hailey. It wouldn't be terrible if they weren't already on a dead-ish highway in the middle of an ice storm.
He walks back to the truck, opens the back door, and hops inside with her. She can already tell by the look on his face that he had no luck.
"Guess we're trapped, huh?" she grabs his hand and makes the joke to lighten his mood.
"Hailey, I'm so sorry! I should have been paying closer attention, I could have stopped sooner and never got us in this predicament."
"Jay, stop! It's Mother Nature, there's nothing you could have done to avoid the ice. We'll be fine, and we certainly don't need you blaming yourself all night… at least I don't." she gives him one of her 'partner' smiles.
"Besides, it's still light out for a while longer, and civilization is probably only a few miles back at that last exit, maybe we can just walk to get help."
Jay looks at her like she's crazy, and he's quite certain if he didn't feel the way about her that he did, he would. He also can't blame her, because that would probably be his idea too if he was alone, or with someone he didn't care so much about.
"Hailey, you can barely stand, how are you gonna walk, let alone in this!?"
She chuckles a little. "You got me there, Halstead. Ok, soooo… I'll stay here, and you go."
He looks at her even more like she's crazy.
"No, no way! No, I'm not leaving you out here by yourself, especially while you're injured!"
"So, what do you suggest? We both freeze and just hope that someone else is as dumb as us to drive in this and pass by!?"
"The team should realize soon enough that we never checked back in, or someone will drive by and see us. In the meantime, we won't freeze, body warmth is a real thing… Speaking of, give me some of the blanket." He says smiling at her as he moves as close to her as he can, snuggling up next to her side.
She rolls her eyes at him. "Body warmth? Really Jay? Alright, I'm not touching that one!" she says as she laughs.
"I'm serious; we did this in the army all the time while in the foxholes!" he looks at her matter-of-factly.
"Yeaa… I'm really not touching that!" she bursts out laughing. "…but seriously, ok, yes I know we'll conserve our warmth and not freeze… but Jay, we didn't tell anyone where we were meeting AJ exactly." She stares at him, worry showing for the first time on her face.
His heart breaks seeing her concern, and knowing there's not much he can do to squelch it. He puts his arm around her to comfort her and pulls her into his chest.
"They'll find us soon Hailey!" he tells her reassuringly, wishing he could believe it himself.
Two hours have gone by and the sun has already started to set. Fortunately, Jay's body warmth idea has been working marvelously, and neither one of them is too cold. While the circumstances aren't ideal, and certainly neither partner would ever admit it, both Jay and Hailey are enjoying their time together. It's not every day a circumstance allows them to be this close physically, and they certainly don't under normal conditions… even if they both secretly would love to.
Hailey's gurgling stomach interrupts them from their thoughts and they both giggle a little.
"I guess I'm pretty hungry. I didn't opt for the extra large combo at lunch like you did." She jokes.
Jay moves away for a second and tries to turn around to reach into the back of his pickup. He manages to grab a bag and pulls it over the seat.
"Here, I think I should have a protein bar or two in my gym bag." He says as he rummages through it. His hand comes across them at the bottom, and he hollers out triumphantly, "UH-HUH!"
She smiles as he hands her one. "You don't happen to have a cell phone tower in that bag too, do ya?"
He bites into his bar and laughs. "No. But I do have a third bar… can be dessert, of course!"
She bites into hers and moans a little. "Mmm, I can't believe how good this tastes right now!"
"Right!?" he says as he puts the blanket back on them and leans in closer to her again.
They savor the rest of their bars slowly and sit quietly as they watch the remaining sun go down… the sole light coming in from one street post now.
Their conversations over the past few hours have varied over anything from cases to memories to jokes and shared experiences, but nothing too serious. Now that night has officially fallen though, it seems to have brought out the deeper thoughts in the partners. Thoughts about the two of them that both have been avoiding for months, maybe even years at this point.
Hailey realizes she should probably be more scared about the predicament they're in, but she's not, because with Jay she always feels safe. Well, except when it comes to her feelings for him… They may be semi-physically trapped now, but she's been metaphorically trapped for a while; never knowing how to broach the subject or if she should.
"How's your knee feeling?" she hears Jay break through her thoughts, thankfully.
"Wow, I think it's been a full 10 minutes this time since you last asked!" she hits his arm playfully.
"I'm just a little concerned… oh, how did it go, 'you cover well, but I got eyes!'" he smiles at her, looking directly into her eyes, and he swears he sees her blush a little.
"I'm surprised you remember that. That was so long ago… almost feels like a lifetime ago now…" she says wistfully.
"Yea…" He agrees and they sit quietly for a few seconds, lost in their memories. "Of course I remember, I remember all of our conversations. They're usually the highlight of my day, especially when you boss me around!"
"I mean, someone has to do it Jay, have you seen you!?" they both laugh and get quiet for a while, equally relieving moments of their partnership turned friendship in their heads.
Jay's not sure what makes him, but he somehow finds the courage to ask Hailey something that he's wanted to for a while. It's a question that's been at the tip of his tongue at each of their bar dates or drinks around one of their tables recently, but he could never get it out. Part of him scared if he brings the subject up, it would bring her back to him… and he's not sure he could handle it a second time.
"So don't take this the wrong way, or get mad, but I've been wondering for a while… you never told me the full story why you and Adam aren't together anymore?" he asks, hardly realizing he's holding his breath for her response.
Hailey takes a long time to gather her thoughts and answer. She's debating whether she should finally give Jay the real story, instead of the half-truths she's been telling everyone. The last conversation with Adam, she begged him not to tell anyone else the real truth. She takes a deep breath and decides the time has finally come… after all, it does involve him, and he has a right to know.
"Well… it's because of you, actually."
"ME!?" Jay asks, extremely shocked. He's quite certain he did his best to hide his jealousy at all costs; maybe he didn't do as good of a job as he thought?
"Yea… Adam actually broke up with me, or whatever you want to call it."
Jay has so many questions he wants to ask, but thinks it best to just let her take her time and get it all out.
"He said that it was clear there was something going on between us. That he tried to ignore it, but it was so obvious the longer him & I were together."
Jay looks at her wide-eyed.
"He said he felt a difference between you and him once you found out about us. And he swore to me that he thought you were jealous… and I of course told him that he was crazy, cause that's crazy, right?"
Jay's not sure if she's looking for an actual answer, but he lies and says, "Of course…"
"Right!? That's what I said… but he told me that even if he could get over hurting you, there wasn't a point to… because it was clear that I had feelings for you too… which of course… y'know, crazy right? We're partners. Of course we're close! Kim and Kevin are close, and Antonio, I told him. And he told me, 'it's not the same thing!'…"
Jay sits there nodding his head, trying his best to process everything; and boy is it a lot to process. He's not sure what to say… of course Adam was dead on about him, but Hailey? She couldn't have feelings for him too, could she? They both know there's been something between them, but neither for the life of them thought the other felt it just as much.
"Anyway, no matter how much I tried to convince him he was wrong, I couldn't. He was adamant, and even more so that I had to accept it, and that you and I had to talk about things. That's why I made him swear not to say anything… And I don't know it just never felt like there was a point to bring it up. I mean, it's Adam right, he can be a little weird? I wasn't going to make things awkward between us, you're my partner, I'd never risk that…" she says tentatively.
They both stare at each other silently for a long time, unsure of what to say or how to begin, their hearts racing.
Jay gets up the courage again to speak. "Well… he wasn't wrong about me…"
It's now Hailey's turn to sit there wide-eyed.
"I tried, I tried to brush it all aside, make like I was happy for you. But every time I saw you with him, I hated it, and I hated myself for feeling that way. It's not like there had ever been anything between us, I had no right to be jealous… but I was… and I was so angry that he acted first. It's not like you guys had spent any time together! I didn't even know how it happened, you & him! And it confused the hell out of me because I thought if it made sense for anyone to be together, it'd be us… but, I was too late, and that was a hard pill to swallow…"
Hailey looks at him sadly, her heart aching.
"Jay…"
"No, it's ok. I get it. We're partners. I'm the one who said office romances don't work in the first place, I should learn my lesson."
"Jay… Adam and I got together the night you got shot. You scared the hell out of me that day, the thought of losing you… anyway, it was easier for me to try to brush things off too. We've both lost someone we really cared for, who wants to go through that again?" she responds, choked up.
"You're not gonna lose me, Hailey!" he grabs her hand under the blanket and holds it reassuringly.
A tear falls down Hailey's cheek as she looks at him sadly. "You don't know that, Jay… I almost did."
"Well, then you can always sleep with Adam again." He jokes trying to get her to laugh.
She lets go of his hand to punch his arm, hard, and wipe at her tears as she smiles. He pulls her hand away and starts to brush them himself.
"Promise me that we'll be more honest with each other from now on. I know we both suck at sharing our feelings, but we're normally pretty good when it comes to each other... I guess when it's not about each other. Besides, if we don't, apparently it starts becoming very obvious to everyone else." Jay grins.
"Yea, it's a deal…" she agrees as she leans into his chest.
"After all this, I really want to kiss you… but we're still in a pretty dire situation here!" he looks at her, slight concern on his face.
"Screw it! Like you said, the team will come find us soon…" she smiles before she brings his head down to hers and kisses him. It only takes him a second to reciprocate; besides, Jay's learned time and time again it's not in his best interest to argue with Hailey, and he's never been happier that he learned that lesson…
An hour later the partners, turned friends, turned… couple… are still snuggled together conserving warmth and stealing kisses every so often. They're about to open up the third protein bar and share it when they see headlights coming up behind them. Jay turns his head and excels his breath… the cavalry has arrived.
Kevin and Kim come running out to Jay's truck and are so relieved to see that they're both fine, all things considered.
Jay gives Hailey a kiss on the forehead and walks outside to officially greet them.
"Oh, thank God, we were so worried when we realized you hadn't checked in!" Kim says anxiously.
"Yeah, we kept trying to ping a location on your phones, but nothing. Then Voight remembered that we could probably tap into your truck's GPS, but we couldn't get a signal from that for a while either." Kevin says.
"Yeah, then once the storm died down, it must have opened the satellites some and we were able to locate you. You guys must be freezing!" Kim says while she shuffles back and forth.
Jay looks in at Hailey inside the truck still and smiles. "Nah, we were surprisingly good... body warmth!" he winks so only she can see, getting his favorite eye roll.
"Well, let's get you guys the hell out of here, cause I'M cold!" Kevin says, rushing everyone along.
Jay and Kevin both grab Hailey from the back and help her over to Kevin's car. Her knee feeling a little better, but still not able to put much pressure on it. Once they're all settled inside Kevin's car, he cranks the heat and starts to drive away.
"I'll call the shop to come grab your truck Jay, once service gets a little better." Kevin says.
"Thanks man!" Jay tells him from the back seat.
"You poor things, you must have been so nervous, waiting all this time, not knowing!" Kim says from the passenger seat.
Hailey grabs Jay's hand under the blanket and smiles. "It actually wasn't too bad. I think we're both pretty used to waiting things out…" she says and Jay smiles back at her.
Kim looks in the rear-view mirror at the two of them with a knowing & questioning stare. Kevin looks at her and she just shakes her head smiling. His eyes go wide.
"I knew it!" he says.
"OH, C'MON!" Jay yells from the back… the four of them crack up and continue laughing the rest of the way. Jay and Hailey guess they're not as discreet with their feelings as they thought; only the two of them were so damningly blind, apparently…
[A/N: I came up with the idea for this story after foolishly driving to work during a snow storm for another countless time, & a little bit from the "Chicago Fire" episode where the girls get stuck with that accident on their road trip... I just had to get it out and over with, so hope you enjoy it some. I'll take any Upstead together I can get at this point, even if I have to write it myself, lol. Thanks again for all the love you've shown, on this or other stories, it's much appreciated!]