Chapter 33
Hailey started to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening.
Is he okay? Was the first thing she typed out and sent.
Kim replied immediately. Not sure, I hope so. They won't let us in because of covid. He was conscious the whole time. I found him in a backyard, patrol didn't roll for us, Kevin thinks it's because of him. Voight is going to make them pay.
WTF. How could they do that?
I don't know, things are a mess right now Hailey. He took two, one hit the vest the other went in his side. Lost a lot of blood. I think he's in bad shape, but not life threatening.
That made Hailey feel slightly relieved, that Kim wasn't panicking.
In as in the bullet didn't go through his side. Hailey confirmed.
No, didn't see an exit wound. They're prepping him for surgery now that's all I know.
Okay, keep me posted. He's gonna be okay Kim.
I know he will, he's too stubborn to die. Sorry we weren't able to go on a grocery run for you guys.
Omg Kim don't even worry about that. We'll manage. Sending you love.
Hailey was secretly wondering how they would manage, Jay would be up soon, needing more Tylenol. They could deal with whatever food she had in her house, they wouldn't starve, but she was more concerned about that than anything else.
"What's wrong?" Will looked at her nervously, seeing her body language change as soon as she picked up her phone to read her messages.
"Adam was shot. I don't know much about his condition other than that. He's getting prepped for surgery to take a bullet out of his side. Kim said he was in bad shape, but she didn't think life threatening", Hailey said seriously.
Will took a minute to process that, he could easily find out his condition if they needed to, even though it would be a HIPPA violation.
He let that sit before responding. "Has she been able to see him?"
Hailey shook her head. "No, covid policy no visitors. They're all in the dark right now."
"I'll make a call, see if I can get Kim in, or at least an update", Will stepped away to call Ethan.
"Thanks, Will", she said as she got up to go upstairs to check on Jay and fill him in.
She could hear him coughing loudly already from halfway up the stairs.
"Jay?" She poked her head into the darkness of the room.
"Hmm", he muttered in reply. She sat down on the edge of the bed, resting a hand on his back, noting the lack of heat radiating from his body. A welcome change after the last few days.
"I just heard from Kim; they aren't coming today. Adam's been shot."
Jay turned over, letting out a yelp after moving too suddenly with his ribs.
"He okay?" He asked concerned.
"We don't know yet. Kim didn't seem too panicked, but he was hit twice. Something about patrol not backing them up…things with Kevin…", she trailed off, fuming herself.
He raised his eyebrows, "Seriously?!" More coughing.
"Ya, Will's trying to get us an update- unofficially of course."
He nodded, feeling fatigued from holding his head up even for a few minutes, gently lying back down.
"How are you doing?" She gave him a once over.
"Feel like I've been hit by a bus", he admitted. "Do you have more Tylenol?"
That made her feel extra guilty, Jay rarely admitted he was feeling terrible, and even more rarely asked for medicine if he didn't absolutely need it.
Hailey shook her head, "Sorry, we're out. Kim was supposed to get more", she said sheepishly. He nodded and told her it was okay.
"What hurts the most?"
"My head. Bad headache. And my side", he said holding his ribs to protect them as he shifted in bed.
"We'll get someone to drop something off this afternoon okay", she said, running her hand against the back of his head.
"Okay", he said faintly, still holding onto his side.
Hailey got up to grab him a cool washcloth and an ice pack for his ribs.
When Hailey came back, she found Jay face down in bed. She knelt down next to the bed, placing the washcloth on the back of his neck and the ice against his side.
"Mmmm thank you", he groaned, enjoying the coolness spreading across his aching body.
"Are you comfortable like this?" Hailey had her doubts, if his ribs were sore, she wasn't sure how great that felt.
"It actually hurts less if I lie this way, pressure on my ribs makes it easier to breathe. I don't know why but is does", he explained.
Hailey laughed, "Okay just checking. What else can I do? You need to eat something you've been picking for days Jay."
"I'm not hungry, but I'll try", he agreed to make her happy.
"How about a smoothie?" She suggested.
"That would be good", he replied after giving it some thought. She continued to rub his back before starting to get up to go make something to eat.
Hailey found Jay in the exact same place she left him, coaxing him to sit up so he could have some smoothie.
"I know, I know", she empathized and helped him as he moaned in pain moving around again.
"You sure you don't have anything for pain in your purse or something", Jay begged.
Hailey felt so terrible but had to laugh too. "Jay when have you ever seen me carry a purse."
He grinned a little, "I don't know. Never. But you've got to have something somewhere around here. Gym bag? Glovebox? I always have stuff for you in my truck when you insist that we go for Mexican for lunch even though it gives you heartburn", he raised his eyebrows slightly at her.
Hailey did love that quality about him, always thinking of others before himself.
She smiled, "I know, and I love you for that. I'll go see if Will has something okay?"
"Okay", he sighed. "Can you rub my back first?" He asked ever so sweetly.
"Of course, come here", she motioned for him to lie against her.
Will appeared in her doorway not too long after, Jay was awake but struggling.
"How's it going in here?" Will poked his head in, looking at Hailey for the real answer as Jay shrugged his shoulders in defeat.
"Fever isn't too bad, if he even has one at all anymore", she said with a hand on his forehead.
"Rib pain is", Jay grunted and continued to hold his side protectively.
Will came over to check on Jay himself, taking his temperature, pleased to see he wasn't running a fever anymore.
"That's good Jay, your body is fighting it. Your ribs are sore because of the coughing. I have some anti-inflammatory meds, best I can do", he said sympathetically.
"Okay thanks", Jay replied, gratefully taking the medicine.
"And I texted Stella, her and Kelly are going to drop off some stuff for us", Hailey said looking at her phone.
"That's great", Will said. "Think you can get up and walk around a bit Jay?"
It was important that Jay moved, it wasn't good to be lying down in bed for so long.
He nodded slowly, thankful that whatever Will gave him was kicking in.
They walked around the house for a few minutes, Jay even went outside on Hailey's back deck for a little bit and got some sun.
"Fresh air will do you good", Will said as he sat down next to his brother.
"Sorry I rained on your chicken noodle soup parade", Jay gave his brother a cheeky grin.
"Ahh it's alright, I'm a lousy patient anyways", Will replied with a wink.
Hailey joined them on the deck, each of them soaking up the late summer sun.
Stella and Kelly came by a while later, bringing groceries, some alcohol and board games to keep them occupied. Hailey and Will waved at them from a distance, wishing they could run up and hug each other.
"It's going to be okay you guys, rounds on us at Molly's as soon as we can", Stella mentioned.
"Thanks again, you guys are the best. Stay safe out there", Hailey replied, Will echoing her sentiments.
"Anything for our favourite couple…I mean detectives. And doctor too!" Kelly laughed and winked at Hailey, who rolled her eyes but didn't deny anything. Will nudged her shoulder laughing along with the firefighters.
They waved them off, bringing their goodies inside.
Hailey almost welled up at all the extras Stella and Kelly put in there for them. On top of groceries and necessary supplies Hailey sent in her list, there was cards from people at 51, and the 21st, Bananagrams, a bouquet of flowers, takeout gift cards, extra snacks and beer. They were so lucky to have great people in their life.
Hailey heard back from Kim a few hours later, letting them know that Adam was in recovery and doing just fine. No long-term damage, he was going to be off for a few weeks and sore as his incision and bruised ribs healed. A collective sigh of relief.
She snuck a FaceTime call in from his recovery room, Choi had pulled some strings and got Kim in. She was head to toe in PPE, but that didn't bother her. All that mattered was that Adam was okay and she was sitting at his bedside, holding his hand. The team was grateful for that, so that Adam wasn't alone. He was a bit groggy but managed to give a thumbs up to the camera. Even Platt had figured out how to join their group call and smiled from ear to ear as she scanned the screen. Staring at Adam and Kim together, and Hailey and Jay snuggled up on the couch. Normalcy, it was something that they were all craving these days.
Things were going to be alright.
Another week had passed in quarantine before they knew it. By the following weekend, Will's stitches were out, Hailey had to assist him on that. Jay rolled his eyes, not appreciating how low on his stomach Hailey had to get to help him.
"Grow up Halstead", she rolled her eyes, laughing at how ridiculous he was.
"What…so a guy can't be mad at his girlfriend practically seeing his own brother naked?!"
"Jay, she did not see me naked", Will laughed too.
"From where I was standing, she might as well have", he eyed the two of them, who couldn't stop laughing at him.
"Trust me, if that is the worst thing that's happened to us this week, I think we're doing okay", Will reminded him.
Jay paused and reflected on that. "I suppose."
"You're the only Halstead I want to see naked Jay", Hailey raised her eyebrows seductively, her eyes travelling down the front of his grey sweatpants.
"Aaaand that's my cue to leave", Will blushed a little, laughing as he left their room as Hailey and Jay shut the door for some private time.
The three of them finally left the house later that day, they were all going a bit stir crazy. Jay especially. He was finally well enough to be moving around more and was convinced he was over the worst of it.
"We are only allowed to drive to the testing facility, and nowhere else", Hailey reminded him.
"I know, it's just going to feel good to leave the house", Jay replied.
"Agreed. Let's go", Hailey rounded the two brothers up and hopped in her Jeep, getting an instant serotonin boost from feeling the sun on her face and fresh air in her lungs.
Each of them waited patiently to get swabbed at the drive-thru centre, gagging and tearing up as it happened. Even Will, who had done these many times, couldn't stop his eyes from watering.
"Never get used to that", he said afterwards, the other two in agreement.
"That wasn't so bad though", Hailey said, Jay nodding along.
"Now we wait."
A few days later their test results came back, each of them nervous to open their emails.
"Negative!" Jay shouted, as did Hailey and Will. Jumping around her living room in excitement.
"That means as of tomorrow, our quarantine is officially over", Will said with a smile on his face.
"Not that I didn't love spending 14 days straight with both of you", he added quickly.
"Not offended in the slightest", Hailey chuckled. Once Jay was over the worst of his symptoms, they had spent hours playing games, watching movies, doing a deep clean, organizing and re-organizing her entire house. It was nice in some ways to have down time, but there is such thing as too much together time and they were at that point.
"Back to normal life?" Jay asked Will.
"Something like that", Will agreed, but knowing deep down that the normal life they were referring to was gone. There was a new normal now, he wasn't sure things would entirely go back to how they were, not for a while anyways. But that wasn't necessarily a terrible thing. This pandemic had given everyone a chance to reflect on what was important to them, what values they held near and dear, and exposed some of the troublesome issues in their city, that had been there long before the pandemic, and would hopefully get the attention it deserved moving forward. It was both heart-wrenching and refreshing. He was thankful for this new perspective on life, and ready to head back into the front lines.
They spent their last night together, laughing and joking around. Morning came and they went their separate ways. Well, Will did anyways. He hugged his brother and Hailey good-bye, soaking it in. He didn't know when he'd be able to do it again. He watched as they drove away after dropping him off at his apartment, jogging up the stairs, eager to see his four-legged friend.
Hailey and Jay on the other hand, drove straight to the station. They were welcomed at the front by Platt, resisting the temptation to hug everyone. They still had to follow protocols. Platt looked down at the way Jay's fingers were intertwined with Hailey's and smiled. The mask hid it, but her eyes didn't. Jay winked as he walked upstairs with Hailey, ready to get back to work, just like his brother.
"Well, well, well", Ruzek said from his desk, looking much better than he had last week.
"I was gone for a few weeks and you just had to go and get shot huh", Jay joked.
"Someone had to fill in for your usual shenanigans on your sabbatical", Ruzek joked, Kim rolling her eyes.
"I get it now Hailey. Truly", Kim stared, having this new worry and protectiveness over Adam.
Even Voight laughed at that one. "Good to have you guys back", he said to Hailey and Jay, and to Ruzek.
"Now would probably be a good time to fill out that HR paperwork Sarge", Jay voiced.
"It's been sitting on my desk for months, was just waiting for you guys to come clean", he quipped back.
Hailey was glad she was wearing a mask, because her mouth dropped a bit at that.
"Months eh Sarge", she tested her luck.
"In the grand scheme of 2020, this isn't as crazy or as secret as you think it is Upton", he winked, referring to her more than partnership, partnership.
They all shrugged and agreed at that. "So, thinking distanced patio drinks to celebrate tonight. Thoughts?" Hailey asked the group.
"Sounds good to me, but where should we go?" Kevin asked sarcastically, as if they went anywhere else other than Molly's.
"What are we even celebrating", Kim joked.
"Life!" Hailey and Jay shouted at the same time, staring at one another from across their desks.
Life had been crazy this year, and it was far from over. What they did know was that they had every reason to celebrate their successes, their failures, their resolve and the future. 2020 had been the most challenging year to date, there was no denying that. There were many times that they wanted to give up, physically and mentally. However, this year also taught them many lessons; in kindness, selflessness, compassion, leadership. A chance to grow individually and as a group, to stand up for those facing hardships and challenges different than their own. To being on the right side of history. For they were all in the same storm, but just in different boats.
Ahhh, one more chapter to go! It will feature a bit of a time jump… Thank you all for sticking with me this long. Just like 2020, this story has been a wild ride and rollercoaster! I appreciate all the nice reviews and messages. Be kind to yourself and your neighbour. Thank all of the essential workers in your life! – K
