A/N: As I have become more confident in my writing, I have decided to venture out of my quiet Friday Night Lights fandom and into the big One Chicago fandom. If you are a One Chicago fan who formerly watched Friday Night Lights, go check out my FNL stories. I hope ya'll enjoy this, happy reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.
Takes place during season 8, Upstead is together.
"Coffee?" Jay Halstead asked Hailey Upton in the large kitchen of their shared condo. Hailey had finally ventured out of their bedroom after smelling the strong aroma of brewing coffee floated down the hall.
"Please," She answered with a warm smile as she sat down on a barstool, still sporting her PJs.
"It's nice to have a morning off," Jay replied as he poured the coffee into Hailey's mug. Mornings off were a rare occasion for the detectives, so they enjoyed every opportunity of a day off they got. They had just finished a huge drug bust, so Sargent Hank Voight allowed his unit to have the morning off; he expected no one to be at the precinct before noon.
"What are you wanting to do with your morning off?" Hailey asked as she took a sip of the coffee Jay had poured her.
"Enjoy it with you," He replied with a smirk. He took his mug of coffee and sat on the barstool beside Hailey.
"Not a bad idea."
"We could get Bartoli's on our way into work this afternoon," Jay suggested.
"Now I really like that idea," Hailey snickered. Jay chuckled at her response, his girl would never turn down Chicago deep dish. "I'm going to change then we can go on a run, and after that we will get that deep dish you promised me," Hailey decided, heading back down the hall to her bedroom to change. She slipped off her flannel pjs and CPD t-shirt and into some Nike athletic shorts and a razorback tank top. Jay also returned to their bedroom and changed into his athletic shorts and a t-shirt. They each sat on the end of the bed and had a friendly race to see who could tie their running shoes faster.
"Ha! Beat ya!" Jay shouted with a big smirk when he finished tying the laces to his running shoes.
"You might be able to beat me in a shoe tying race, but I can out run you!" Hailey returned.
"You're on Upton!" Jay responded, accepting Hailey's challenge. They left their condo and started on their running route.
"Race to the corner?" Hailey asked Jay once they had stopped at an intersection.
"Let's do it!" Jay agreed. They stood beside each other and waited as Hailey counted down.
"Three. Two. One. Go!" She counted. They both took off running as fast as they could to the corner. Hailey was able to keep up with him, but he passed her just before they reached the corner.
"You talk big, Hails," Jay teased.
"I'll beat you next time," Hailey responded. Her phone, which was tucked into the waistband of her shorts, began ringing. She pulled her phone from her waistband and groaned when she saw Kevin Atwater's name across the screen. "It's Kev, we probably caught a case," She informed Jay. She clicked the green button to answer the call.
"Upton, sorry to interrupt your morning off. Somebody found a body and Voight wants us to take the case. I'll text you the address," Kevin quickly replied and ended the call. Hailey's suspicions were correct, their unusual morning off was cut short. No wonder it felt too good to be true.
"We get a case?" Jay asked, Hailey nodded. They took off running back to their condo, faster than either of them had ran earlier.
"And you said I was all talk," Hailey bantered with a smirk as she raced up the cement steps to their condo. They each kicked off their running shoes and changed into their work clothes. Hailey unlocked the gun safe in their bedroom and retrieved their service weapons and badges while Jay started the truck. After getting their guns and badges, Hailey slid into the passenger seat. She pulled up the location Kevin had sent her and gave Jay the directions as he drove. They drove through neighborhood after neighborhood until they were in one of the roughest parts of the city. They pulled up to the scene of the crime, which was a local club. Intelligence had been called to this club several times before, numerous girls had been kidnapped, killed, and trafficked.
Jay and Hailey exited the truck and switched to detective mode. The crowd of officers and perimeter of yellow tape made the exact site of the crime obvious. The eerie alley behind the club was where the officers were crowded. They flashed their badges to the officer standing at the yellow tape. He lifted the tape to allow them access to the scene. Together, they ventured toward their Sargent - Hank Voight. Laying on the rugged asphalt before their Sargent was a white sheet. Any seasoned police officer knew what was under that sheet, but Hailey Upton wasn't expecting who would be revealed when that white sheet was pulled away.
When a patrol officer pulled back the sheet, Hailey took in the beaten up body that lied under it. With every passing second, Hailey's complexion lightened until she was as white as a ghost. The victim's face was covered in bruises and her blonde hair was matted with dried blood, but Hailey immediately recognized the vicim's face.
"Hails you good?" Jay asked, noticing how pale his partner - turned girlfriend - had become. Hailey couldn't get the words out, so she simply nodded. It was a lie, she wasn't good, but she would hold her composure.
"Our victim is 21 year-old Alana Davis, student at the University of Chicago. She has no priors and we have no witnesses," Kim informed the Intelligence members who were now gathered around Alana's body. Hearing her name only worsened the impact on Hailey. She was fighting back tears. She left the group and leaned on an empty cop car. She let the tears stream down her face. How could someone do this to Alana? Sweet little Alana that had been "Aunt Hey Hey's" sidekick and the reason Hailey was "Aunt Hey Hey." Until Alana's mother gained custody of her, she had been the only reason Hailey continued to go to family gatherings at the Upton household after she moved out. Alana and Hailey had a great aunt-niece bond and Hailey was internally cussing herself for not contacting her more over the past year.
"It looks like there were signs of struggle, most likely result of an attempted kidnapping," Hailey could hear Adam report to group.
"Or someone dumped her body here after successfully kidnapping and sexually assaulting her," Kevin theorized, causing Hailey to continue to wonder how someone could do this to her sweet niece. She was jolted from her thoughts when a comforting hand was place in the small of her back. She quickly wiped away her tears and looked up into Jay's eyes.
"Everything ok?" Jay asked. In the three years as her partner, Jay had never seen Hailey react to a body like she did this one.
"No," Hailey confessed, sending tears rolling down her face again. Jay rubbed his hand back and forth over her back, wordlessly encouraging her to share with him. "Alana is my niece," Hailey finally told him, choking on her sobs.
"Hails, I'm so sorry," Jay attempted to comfort her as he wrapped her in a hug. Hailey cried into Jay's shoulder, her oldest niece was dead.