On Monday, Hailey hopped up the stairs to Intelligence to find Voight just came out of his office. She spent the whole weekend in her place, did all chores she could and watched a lot of Netflix. She didn't feel like being asked or stared at in public with all the bruises, so she was eager to go to work to escape her place.
"Body, seems connected to last case. Was found an hour ago in a motel," Voight announced.
"Killer was nice enough to spare us the weekend," joked Adam.
"Let's go. Tell Halstead, Atwater, and Burgess to meet us at the scene," said Voight. Hailey followed Adam to his car, and hitched a ride while sending Jay the address of the motel. By the time they arrived, Kim and Kevin were already there, talking to security guard.
"Early bird gets the worm," commented Adam, whistling when meeting them.
"Or in this case, the body," Kevin retorted. "There's a security cam on the stairs, but nothing in the hallway."
"I'll see if we can get footage from intersection camera, long shot, but who knows," said Hailey, pointing at a camera at the far end of the parking lot. Jay jogged up to them. Hailey nodded to him, acknowledging his arrival. Kim, however, caught Jay's eyes and silently asking 'have-you-made-up?' Jay smiled, nodded. Kevin guided them to the body which was covered in plastic sheet.
"Dead body is Maria Sanchez, 17, cocaine bag burst in her stomach," Kevin explained while Jay joined them. Hailey squatted to peek under the sheet that was covering the body. The victim's stomach contents were half outside her body.
"And the killer still tried to get their item," Hailey cringed. It always pained her to see a young lady died so tragically.
"Halstead, Upton, canvass the area, talk to witnesses. Burgess, you and Atwater find her family, talk to them. We'll be in the district going through the file and talking to CIs," instructed Voight. "Upton," he growled, making Hailey and Jay stopped walking.
"Yes Sarge?" asked Hailey.
"How's your shoulder?" asked Voight.
"It's healing, no more pain," answered Hailey.
"Alright. You, watch her. No slamming on hoods, no door breaking," Voight pointed to Jay.
"Copy that," nodded Jay. They talked to the witnesses and looked for cameras before concluding the search and headed back to the district. As soon as they went into the car, Jay pointed to a coffee cup and a paper bag on the dashboard.
"Muffin and coffee," he said. Hailey's eyes lit up.
"Blueberry?" asked her as she opened the paper bag. "You don't have to, Jay," she said out of courtesy, but her face said otherwise. Jay rolled his eyes.
"Just eat," he laughed at her excitement. One thing he picked up over their time being partners was that Hailey rarely eats breakfast, but always lights up when someone brings her breakfast, mostly him. Blueberry muffin, cinnamon bagel, glazed doughnut, and her all-time favourite, loukoumades. Black coffee, no sugar. Jay remembers her favourites since Hailey is very diligent with paperwork, most of the times she does Jay's as well. Every time Jay owed her a paperwork, she would find something on her desk in the morning, to the point Antonio teased her for being a cheapskate and said that she should charge more expensive rates. When Antonio said that, Hailey just smiled and devoured her cinnamon bagel with cream cheese. Jay shot him a look and said, "don't provoke her, ask Kim to do yours," to which Kim instantly made a face and shook her head.
"What?" asked Hailey. Apparently Jay wore a smile on his face.
"No, nothing," said Jay. "Just glad everything is over."
They found the suspect near midnight, and did the bust shortly after in a residential area. Jay, Hailey, and Adam were clearing the kitchen when a suspect chased at them. He slammed into Jay and Hailey, the three of them sprawled on the floor. Hailey was pinned on the bottom, pain spread through her shoulder. Jay rolled off her to grab the suspect.
"Hey, where are you going!?" yelled Adam, grabbing the suspect and pinning him on the floor. He cuffed them and took him out while Antonio and Voight came from the attic with another suspect.
"Upstairs is clear," said Antonio, grabbing the suspect from Adam.
"This floor hasn't been cleared," reported Adam who immediately cleared the floor. Jay noticed Hailey on the floor, holding her shoulder.
"Hey, hey!" Jay helped her sit.
"Don't," Hailey shrugged Jay who was trying to pull her up.
"Upton, what's with no slamming?" reprimanded Voight lightly.
"Say that to the suspect," glared Hailey ineffectively.
"Anything else hurt beside shoulder?" asked Jay, squatting beside Hailey. Hailey didn't answer. "I'm gonna call an ambo," he pulled out his two-way.
"No," Hailey grabbed Jay's arm.
"Halstead, bring her to Med," growled Voight.
"Alright, come on," said Jay. He gently pulled Hailey standing with her good hand. His worry grew when he heard no protest from his stubborn partner. He guided Hailey to his car.
"We'll be there shortly, hang on," convinced Jay when he clipped Hailey's safety belt. He ran to driver's side and slammed on the gas.
"Did you hit your head?" asked Jay.
"I don't know," answered Hailey. Jay felt around her head and cursed when he found a bump on the back of her head. Hailey started to feel the adrenaline lessen and feel the pain in her head. He reached Med in record time, wasted no time as he parked his car in ER Entrance. Maggie was waiting for them in the reception when Jay guided Hailey inside.
"Ruzek called. Come on," she waved to a stretcher.
"I can walk just fine," Hailey insisted.
"She has a bump on her head. Please check for concussion," said Jay, patting Hailey on her back. He ran back to the lobby and parked his car. When he jogged back to the ER, Maggie pointed him to Treatment Room 2. Will was just about to enter the room.
"You know, you two should stop popping in like we offer premium membership card," quipped Will, then muttering thank you to the nurse who already checked on Hailey. "Hi, Hailey. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked. Jay sat in the corner, smirking. Will had not seen Hailey in her worst mood.
"Normal day in the office," said Hailey.
"If this is your normal, then I'll start offering the membership card just like coffee shop across the street," Will looked at Jay, asking for clue.
"A suspect slammed into us, took us down. She fell on her shoulder. And I think she hit her head on something, there's a bump on the back," Jay explained.
"Alright, I'll check for concussion. Tell me your name?" Will inquired.
"Hailey Upton."
"You know where you are?"
"Chicago Med."
"You know who I am?"
"The better Halstead," Hailey joked.
"Yep, you got memory loss," retorted Jay. Will laughed.
"Follow my finger with your eyes," instructed Will, moving his finger in front of Hailey's face. Will checked her pupils, and felt the back of her head. Hailey flinched when Will touched her shoulder.
"I'll order some CT scan, and also some tests. I'll come back to do your shoulder. Do not sleep," warned Will, locking eyes with Jay. Jay nodded.
"Thanks, Will," said Hailey before Will stepped out of the room. She groaned.
"Can I get you anything?" asked Jay, standing beside the bed and gingerly placed his hand on Hailey's arm.
"No, I'm good," said Hailey.
"Hey, look…" Jay trailed off. He didn't tell Will the whole story. He fell on top of Hailey, adding weight to her shoulder. However, Hailey realised what he wanted to say because he looked guilty.
"No, Jay, it's not your fault. It's the suspect's fault," Hailey cut him off.
"How did you…"
"It's on your face. If you apologise, I'll call Maggie and said that you threatened me," joked Hailey. Jay laughed.
"What's with you and injuries these days," wondered Jay, gingerly moving her hair to see her face and neck clearly. The bruises on her face and neck were still visible, and now shoulder injury and possible concussion. A nurse came in to do some tests, so Jay waited outside. Will walked up to him and handed him a coffee cup.
"What are you not telling me?" Will didn't waste time to question him. Jay started wondering his competency as a detective. He should be a pro at maintaining his emotions and thoughts, yet both Hailey and Will could read him like an open book.
"I crashed on top of her when the suspect ran into us. I fell on her shoulder," sighed Jay. "You don't need to lecture me. She just did."
"Good for you. I always need a helping hand to knock some sense into your head," chuckled Will. "Do you need to be checked?"
"No, I didn't hit anything, she cushioned my fall," said Jay.
The nurse from Hailey's room came and passed a tablet to Will. Will read it, motioning Jay towards the room. "Stay with her. Don't let her sleep." Jay went inside.
"You wanna drink?" asked Will.
"Unless it has alcohol, no," said Hailey. Jay and Will snickered. "No, I don't feel good. Shouldn't take the risk."
"Hang in there," Jay touched her hand. She seemed very pale.
"So, you have a mildly sprained shoulder. The one you got last week was a very mild one, it barely categorised as a sprain, it was just bruised. This is a real sprain, you shouldn't do anything with your arm at least three days. Should I put your arm in a cast to make sure you don't use it?" asked Will.
"That won't be necessary," said Hailey.
"I'm gonna tape it to help it stay in place though. No use of your arm at all for three days. After that, don't put too much weight on it. If that's heavier than your firearm, than it doesn't qualify. At least a week, and we'll see it from there," ordered Will.
"Can I lift a three-year old?" asked Hailey, not even hoping to hear a yes.
"Is he or she lighter than your firearm?" challenged Will. Hailey rolled her eyes.
"I'm babysitting my nieces this week," Hailey pleaded.
"If, and I say if, you take care of your shoulder, which means you ice it until the swelling subside, you can use your arm to lift a diaper bag at the end of the week. But not to lift your niece with this hand," said Will.
"Alright," Hailey shrugged.
"What I'm more concerned about is your concussion, though. I won't say it's bad, you still remember I'm the better Halstead after all. But either I need you to stay overnight for observation, or you have someone to stay with you tonight. You need to be woken up once an hour and monitored for symptoms," Will explained. "And since it's 2 am, I mean until noon."
"I'll stay with her," said Jay.
"Okay. Can you sit up straight so I can tape your shoulder?" asked Will.
"I cannot move, my head is killing me," Hailey cringed, the concussion is already making itself known.
"Okay, just sit still," Will moved to her side and slowly pushed her bed up. "Jay, hold her still. I'm gonna tape your shoulder. You want a pink tape?"
"Put pink and I'll shoot you," Hailey glared at Will, who snickered.
"See, you'll kill him in less than a day," Jay chimed in while helping Hailey straighten her back. He checked his phone. "We got the day off. I guess I'm playing nurse after all."
"You don't have to, I can stay here," said Hailey tiredly. The thought of sleeping right there and then was tempting to her as she was drained.
"Nope, I don't intend to sleep on the chair," Jay insisted, sending the memo that he wasn't going anywhere. He sat on the bed and let Hailey rest her head on his shoulder when Will pulled her shoulder in place and taped it. She nearly fell asleep in that position as she was very tired. When Will was done, he tapped her shoulder. Jay slowly helped her to lean on the bed.
"Done. I'll give you some painkiller, take one every three hours. No alcohol, and don't sleep more than an hour at a time. Jay, wake her up every hour. Give ice on your shoulder, the swelling should reduce soon. Prop it up when you sleep, don't move it. I'll give you sling to be worn if you're feeling fancy," said Will.
"Not gonna happen," countered Hailey.
"It helps with recovery. You might be able to use your arm earlier than expected if you put it in a sling," Will baited Hailey.
"Alright," Hailey agreed. Will grinned, then went outside to take some meds and instruction sheet. Jay helped Hailey lie down.
"You feeling better?" asked Jay.
"A little bit," whispered Hailey.
"Here is your meds, complete with instruction and what to do for concussions. Mostly for Jay, though," said Will. "If she worsens, call me immediately. Or bring her in."
"Got it," nodded Jay. "So, she's good to go?"
"Yeah. Come back in three days," said Will, putting the sling on Hailey's arm. Both helped Hailey stood up and walked to the ER door as she turned down the wheelchair offer very quickly. Will stayed with her while Jay pulled his car to the lobby. When she sat in the passenger's seat, she was almost asleep.
"Hey, wake up," Jay shook Hailey's good arm when they arrived at her place. Hailey yawned. She cringed and held her head. Jay quickly went out of his door and went around the car, opening the door and helped Hailey got out. He guided her to the door and let her opened the lock.
"Alright, you want to freshen up before going to bed? Remember, I'll wake you up every hour, don't shoot me," joked Jay. Hailey just nodded and disappeared inside her bedroom. Jay decided to find something in her freezer to ice her shoulder. He knocked on her bedroom door after 10 minutes.
"You alright in there?"
"Yes. It's hard to change clothes without really moving my arm, you know," said Hailey, letting Jay inside when she was done. Jay looked around. The bedroom was nice, with a dresser and two paintings on the wall. He lifted the blanket, motioning for Hailey to lie down.
"Really? You're gonna tuck me in?" Hailey asked in disbelief, but decided to humour him and sat on her bed.
"It is written here that your head has to be higher than your body, and your arm has to be propped up," Jay carefully lifted Hailey's arm and put a pillow underneath. "I'm gonna ice your shoulder every now and then, hopefully it won't disturb you too much."
"I'm a heavy sleeper, even without the concussion. You need rest too, Jay," Hailey's concern was visible.
"I'm good. I'll wake you up every hour to ask questions, though," Jay tucked Hailey in her blanket. He went for a minute and came back with a bag of frozen corn, which he put on her shoulder. "Just call if you need anything, I'll be outside."
"Thanks, Jay. For everything," Hailey smiled, and sighed before closing her eyes. Her breathe started to even out. Jay cannot help but feeling envy at how easy she drifted away to sleep. He sat on her bedside, holding the frozen corn for about 10 minutes until the corn started to thaw. Then he went back to the kitchen and threw the corn at the freezer. He found an icepack to be used later, then went to sleep. It was almost 3 am, and he was tired as hell.
An hour later, Jay shook Hailey's arm to wake her up.
"Sorry, Hailey. Concussion check. What's your boss' name?"
"Hank Voight," said Hailey. "And why bring him up?"
"In what unit do we work?"
"21st."
"Nope."
"Sorry. Intelligence."
"What's your radio call?"
"5021 Henry."
"Okay, go back to sleep," Jay put an icepack on her shoulder. She drifted back to sleep. Jay too, after taking the icepack off and putting it back to the freezer. That happened every hour until morning, sometimes with a painkiller and a glass of water. When Hailey woke up before 9, feeling a little bit light-headed, she went to the kitchen to grab something to drink. She saw Jay sleeping on the couch. She grabbed his phone, carefully pressing his thumb on the fingerprint scanner, and opened the alarm app. There was an alarm every hour, no doubt for waking her up and check on the concussion. She turned off the alarms and fixed Jay's blanket. She opened the fridge to grab something to eat. The blessing in disguise was that the injury happened to her right shoulder, and she is left-handed. She grabbed an apple and sat on the couch, avoiding Jay's legs. Setting the TV with subtitle and no sound, she watched Netflix.
I'm at lost about at what point should I conclude this story. Probably I will write until Jay cleared his dad's apartment and meet with the therapist. I don't think I'll do AU (in which Upzek never happened) for the entire season 6, though the idea did pop up! And I'm very curious as to what 6x20 up to season finale will deliver as it will be Upsteadzek-centric.
Companion pieces to this story is on my other story "Anytime". Some events here will refer to something that happens there, and so on. I will post about the 'report and bagel' situation on that story later this week.
