AN: I've arrived at the bridge. There was a lot left to be desired... so here's another chapter. And I totally made things worse. I don't wanna say more "realistic" because I can't really describe what I've not experienced... so, yeah. Just worse.

A few things you'll need to know. This chapter takes place over the course of a day. Hailey does not leave the hospital to help with the case. I'm guessing with what Jay's other injuries were based on research and watching 7x09 too many times. Beyond Google and CPR certification, I don't really have proper medical knowledge. All mistakes are my own.

Chapter 2

Waiting was the worst part.

Knowing that Jay was still in surgery, knowing he lost a lot of blood, knowing that he was fighting for his life… it was enough to drive Hailey mad on the inside. It had been hours and it wasn't getting any better.

On the outside, she was fairly cool, fairly calm and fairly collected. She kept to herself still, stared at the clock as time continued to tick by. Waited. But on the inside, she was freaking out. Far from being a doctor, Hailey couldn't help but worry over the injuries she knew about. And the ones she didn't see?

"Hailey?"

At the sound of her name, Upton stopped bouncing her leg. Spotting Will in front of her, she sat up straight, prepared to stand, before Will placed a hand on her shoulder which stopped her in her tracks.

"You should probably-" Will said, stopping short.

This is when Hailey noticed Dr. Halstead's red, puffy eyes. The way he bit his lower lip as he took a seat next to her. The way he avoided looking at her as he composed himself. The way he ran his hands over his pants five times before stopping. Hailey was Jay's partner, but Will was his brother.

It was all too much.

"Is… is he…?"

"The bleeding in his artery is mostly under control now, but new problems… they just kept popping up," said Will. "His head wound was deemed secondary to the pneumothorax and bleed in his chest and Dr. Marcel put that on hold. A rookie choice. It was a stupid choice and he should've-" Will stopped again, composed himself. "Jay, he… he crashed."

Tears welled in Upton's eyes. She prepared herself for the inevitable news.

"They lost him for about 45 seconds before they got him back, but," Will took a steady breath as he forced himself to look at Jay's partner. "turns out he has an epidural hematoma - bleeding between the brain and the skull," he pointed to the area of his head, showing Hailey where the injury to Jay's head was. "That's… that's all I know right now."

Hailey, somehow, found the strength to nod. She took the news in, wiped the tears from her eyes, and turned toward Will. "Is he gonna be okay?"

Over the years as an ED doctor, Will has had to tell family members, work partners, even good Samaritans tough news. It never got easier, but he managed. One would think that facing a detective's partner would be a walk in the park. Maybe that would be true, if it wasn't his brother's partner.

Will couldn't lie to her.

He couldn't even lie to himself.

"I don't know, Hailey. I just... don't know."


Time continued to tick by.

Hailey sent a short update to the team, walked one lap around the waiting room to keep her legs from falling asleep, changed into the clothes Rojas brought her… but that was it. She couldn't look at the food, let alone eat it. Was she hungry? Probably. The detective couldn't tell if the pain in her stomach was due to hunger or anxiety.

The day dragged on and on and on.

There were no more updates.

The team informed Hailey a while ago of the case they caught, and offered updates on that as the day dragged on. It was a decent distraction, but it did little to stop her worry in the long run. Eventually, the waiting room cleared out as a few officers went back to their regular patrol while the rest stayed to watch over the woman responsible for this predicament in the first place.

Hailey had just closed her eyes for a few seconds when a noise brought her back.

"Detective Upton?"

Through groggy eyes, Hailey saw Dr. Charles standing in front of her.

"Dr. Charles, hi," she said as she sat back up. Upton rolled her shoulders and pulled the sleeves of the red hoodie down over her hands. "What are you doing down here?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," he said. "I heard about Jay, but I've been swamped. I'm so sorry."

Hailey smiled. A genuine smile. She didn't know Dr. Charles very well, but she appreciated him checking up on her. "Yeah, thanks. Thank you."

Dr. Charles took a seat next to Hailey. "Do you need anything? Some water? A granola bar?" he gestured toward the sack of cold food on the floor.

"No, no, I'm okay." Hailey said. But before she knew it, tears were welling in her eyes again. And she didn't have the strength to stop them from spilling from her eyes and down her face. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"You have no reason to be sorry," Dr. Charles said as he offered the woman a tissue. "This is a tough time for you. You don't need to be sorry for how you're feeling right now."

Hailey nodded again, not trusting herself to speak without her voice cracking. So, Dr. Charles sat there while Hailey cried. He didn't say a word, didn't try to explain things to her psychologically. He was just there as a friend because that was just what Hailey needed.


Dr. Charles left a couple of hours ago. Evening was approaching, if the fading light in the ED waiting room was any indicator.

Hailey tried to sleep. Tried to keep her mind busy while she waited and waited and waited but nothing held up to the challenge. But as her mind wandered, she couldn't help and think about what Rojas said.

It's hard because you love him.

There was a lot of truth in what Vanessa said, in more ways than one. Hailey tried to convince herself that it wasn't what it appeared to be, but she knew, deep down, the truth.

And now she may never get a chance to tell him.

"Hailey?"

Again, like déjà vu, the sound of her name brought Upton back to reality. And just like before, it was Will standing not too far off.

Hailey couldn't stand up fast enough.

She had to know.

Was this it?

"He crashed a second time, as they were working on releasing the pressure in his brain," Will said. This time, he didn't sit down. "It was longer… pushing two minutes," Will's voice broke. Hailey could barely stand. "But, they uh, they got him back and, uh, he's… he's..."

"Will?"

"Jay's… he's in a coma."


It took some time, far too long, really, but after Jay was settled into a room in the ICU, Hailey was finally allowed to see him.

In the time she spent waiting for that moment, Upton updated the team, threw the untouched food away, and listened to Dr. Marcel and Will break down Jay's injuries.

GSW.

Arterial bleed.

Pneumothorax.

Epidural hematoma.

Cracked ribs.

Contusions.

Hailey was sure there was more, but she tuned the men out after the word Coma.

Now she stood beyond the threshold of Jay's ICU room, peering in from the outside, steeling herself for what awaited her.

AN: I'm thinking there'll be another chapter...