Timeline: Late season 6

Completed: Nov. 30, 2019

"5021-George. I am perusing the offender on foot through the ally," Jay called into his radio as he chases the suspect. Making a sharp turn around a corner, Jay slips on a patch of ice colliding with the ground, head bouncing off the pavement.

"You shouldn't have ran," Jay hears Hailey tell the suspect as she puts the cuffs on him.

Jay slowly gets up, "About time you showed up," he jokes.

"Well, not everyone likes running in this weather," Hailey jokes back, before noticing that he is limping towards her. "Hey, you okay?" she asks, "Seriously," she adds giving him a knowing look.

"Yeah, I just slipped. I'll take some Advil when we get back to the district," Jay tells her, hoping to get his partner to back off some.

"Fine, but tell me if something isn't right."

"Yes, Hailey."

The two get back into her car and go back to the district to interrogate the suspect.

At the district, Hailey watches Jay like a hawk as he takes the Advil.

"What do you think?" Hailey asks Jay as they are watching Voight and Kevin interrogate the suspect.

"I don't think he knows anything. I mean, no doubt he's involved, but he's low level. Probably had no idea of what he was getting himself into," Jay answers while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" Hailey questions when she notices his action.

"Yeah, yeah."

"You would tell me if you weren't though, right?"

"Yeah, this case is just giving me a headache."

"Do you want more Advil? I have some Tylenol in my desk if you want that instead," she offers.

"No, I'm good. Thanks though."

"We all hitting Molly's?" Ruzek asks the team at the end of the day.

Everyone looks at each other before answering. They all give different variations of a yes before heading out for the night.

Once at the bar, they each order their drink before finding a spot big enough for the six of them. The girls in one conversation and the guys in another, Hailey is still keeping an eye on Jay as she does not trust him to not hide an injury. She notices that he is a bit quieter than normal, but at the same time, he is not a very talkative person with either Adam or Kevin.

Lightly kicking his foot, Hailey gives Jay a look, silently asking him if he's okay. Looking up, Jay gives a slight nod before trying to look like he is paying attention to what Adam and Kevin are talking about, but the headache is making it hard to focus on what they are saying as he just wants to go home and sleep.

Jay spaces in and out for the net half hour, with Hailey keeping a watchful eye on him. She finally has enough, knowing he won't say anything in front of the others, Hailey claims, "I'm going to call it a night, Jay do you need a ride?" she asks hoping that he will pick up the hint.

"Um, yeah. Thanks, Hailey." The two head out with Ruzek calling to them about being boring.

When the two get in her car, Jay leans his head back against the headrest. Noticing his action, Hailey asks, "Jay, are you okay? And don't say fine."

Jay sighs before answering, "Yeah, I just can't shake this headache."

"I have Tylenol in the glove box if you want to see if that will help," she offers.

"Thanks," he says as he searches for the painkillers, taking out four and dry-swallowing them before resting his head back on the headrest.

The ride to his place is silent, as she doesn't want to make his headache worse. "Jay, we're here," Hailey tells him when they get to his apartment building.

"Thanks for the ride," he replies before he reaches for the door.

"Hold on a second," she stops him from leaving. When he turns around to face him, he finds her hand resting on his forehead, checking for a fever.

"What are you doing?" he questions her as he tries to move away from the touch, but Hailey isn't having that.

"I'm trying to see if you have a fever. You don't feel warm."

"I don't feel sick. It's just a headache. I'll sleep it off."

"Okay," she gives in, "But call me if you need anything. I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow?" she checks.

"Yeah, seven is good," Jay agrees before getting out of the car.

Walking into his apartment, Jay goes straight to bed, hoping that his headache will subside by the time he has to get up for work in the morning.

When Jay wakes up, he notices that his head is still pounding and it is still dark out as he looks around. Just as he's about to try to fall back to sleep, he sprints out of bed, feeling the contents of his stomach rising back up his throat, hoping to make it to the bathroom in time.

Jay just makes it losing everything he ate in the past day. As he is leaning over the porcelain god, trying to rid his stomach of its contents, he can feel his headache worsening.

Once his stomach is done torturing him, Jay takes some more Advil for his head and goes back to bed, hoping he can sleep until his alarm goes off in the morning.

The next time that he wakes up is when his alarm goes off. Forcing himself out of bed, Jay hops in the shower hoping that would wake him up before Hailey is supposed to get there.

Being slower than normal, Jay just finishes getting ready when Hailey texts him that she was waiting outside. Realizing that he won't have time to make coffee, Jay sighs before grabbing what he needs for the day and walking out the door.

"Hey, can we stop for coffee?" Jay asks as he gets in her car.

"Sure," Hailey answers always up for coffee. "What happened? You oversleep?"

"No just didn't have time."

"How's your head?"

"Better," Jay lies, knowing if he told her how he really felt, she'd force him to take a sick day.

"Good, let me know if that changes," she answers, always looking out for her partner.

After stopping at Dunkin' Donuts the two make their way into the bullpen. After having five back-to-back cases, Voight has put the unit on standby for the day so his team can catch up on backlogged paperwork.

After finding this out Jay is happy that he's not going to aggravate his headache by chasing suspects across the city all day.

Jay is working on filing all of his reports that he let get tossed to the side for a few hours before noticing that staring at the computer screen is worsening the pain in his head.

Feeling the familiar feeling in his stomach from last night, Jay quickly hops up out of his seat to head to the restroom but gets dizzy standing so he trips on his feet. Managing to bet his balance, he rushes out of the bullpen with his co-workers staring after him.

"Is he hungover?" Ruzek asks.

"He didn't drink that much last night," Kevin defends him.

"I'll go check on him," Hailey voices in concern as she goes after her partner.

Walking into the locker room Hailey can hear Jay gagging. "Jay, it's Hailey. Can I come in?" she asks as she knocks on the stall. Not hearing his protest, she slowly pushes the door open to find Jay leaning over the toilet.

"Feeling better now?" she questions as she puts a hand on his neck trying to both comfort him and check for a fever at the same time.

"Yeah, sorry."

"Not your fault. Do you think it's something you ate?"

"No. I skipped breakfast this morning."

"Okay. Is this the first time you've been sick today?" Jay doesn't answer right away, giving Hailey her answer. Remembering the spill that he took yesterday while chasing the suspect, she asks the dreaded question, "Jay, yesterday when you fell chasing the suspect, did you hit your head?" Again, Jay stays silent. "Why didn't you tell someone?" Hailey scolds him.

"I didn't think I hit it that hard."

"Stay here, I'm going to get my keys and I'm taking you to Med. No arguments."

"Is Jay okay?" Kim asks as soon as she sees Hailey walking back into the bullpen.

"When Voight gets back, tell him I took Jay to Med. I think he has a concussion," Hailey answers as she goes to her desk to grab her keys.

Hailey is able to get Jay in the car and drive to Med after only mildly threatening him. Walking into the ED, she makes Jay sit in a chair while she goes to check him in. "Hey, Leah," she greets the admitting nurse, "I have Jay here, he hit his head yesterday while he was chasing a suspect and I think he has a concussion."

"Okay, have him fill out this paperwork, and I'll get him in as soon as I can. I'll also let Will know he's here," she tells the detective while handing her a form on a clipboard.

"Thanks." Hailey goes to sit next to Jay, "Here, fill this out and she's going to get you in as soon as she can. She's also going to let your brother know you're here," Hailey informs him as she hands over the clipboard.

Leah pages Maggie to let her know that there is a head injury in the waiting room and pages Will that Jay is there.

No sooner does Will get the page is he out in the waiting room by his brother's side. "Hailey, Jay. What happened?"

"He fell chasing a suspect yesterday and I think he has a concussion," Hailey answers.

"Jay, follow my finger," Will orders his younger brother. Taking note that Jay's eyes aren't tracking, he shines a light into his brother's eyes causing them to dilate.

"Yeah, he's defiantly concussed," Will tells Hailey, "He's going to need a CT scan to make sure there isn't a bleed."

"Jay," Will turns to his brother, "Did you lose consciousness?"

"I don't know."

"He probably has a grade II or III concussion. What am I going to do with you little brother?"

"Jay, can you walk or do you need a wheelchair?" Maggie asks as she calls him back before he has a chance to answer his brother.

"I can walk," Jay stubbornly answers as he goes to stand. Becoming dizzy at the movement, Jay starts to fall and would have landed on the ground if not for his brother and Hailey.

"Wheelchair it is," Maggie tells him as the three try to get the stubborn detective to sit in the offered device.

"Hey, he just got here. I've been waiting for hours," complains a man in the waiting room. "He looks fine, he can wait. I heard what that doctor called him, it looks like he's getting special treatment because his older brother is some hot-shot doctor here "

"Head injuries take priority," Maggie answers in a no-nonsense tone.

Getting Jay into a treatment room, Doctor Ethan Choi walks into the room while looking at his tablet. "Hey, detectives. Will," he greets.

"Okay, follow my finger," he tells Jay, doing the same test that Will had just performed on him. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I was chasing a suspect through an ally. I fell and the next thing I hear is Hailey talking to the suspect as she cuffs him."

"Did you lose consciousness?" Choi asks as he shines a light in Jay's eyes.

Jay shrugs his shoulders. "I didn't notice, was too busy trying to cuff the suspect, by the time I looked over Jay was up and limping, but walked that off pretty fast" Hailey adds, "He had a headache when we got back to the district, but said it was just the case. And he was quiet when we were all at Molly's last night, but he gets like that sometimes."

"How is your vision?"

"Normal, my head is pounding though."

"I'll get you something for that. Have you been sick at all?"

"Yes," Hailey answers as Jay starts to shake his head no. "He rushed out of the bullpen, by the time I got to him maybe a minute or two later, he was gagging into the toilet. And when I asked if that was the first time today, he didn't answer right away, so I'm assuming it wasn't."

"Jay," Will ask sternly.

"I don't know. I got up once, but I threw up a couple of times before I went back to bed."

"You should have called me," Will scolds his brother.

"I already got the lecture from Hailey," Jay tells him.

"And you're getting one from Voight when you come back," Hailey adds. Jay groan hearing this new bit of information.

"Okay, I'm going to send you down for a CT to make sure there isn't a bleed. But I'm pretty sure you have a concussion, at least a grade II possibly grade III. You're going to be off work for at least a week, possibly more, and when you do go back, you'll be on restricted duty for another week until you're cleared to go back into the field."

"Sick," Jay murmurs before leaning over the bed, throwing up the little water Hailey had forced him to drink on the way over. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Bud," Will comforts, "Think you're done?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Okay, I'll get you some anti-nausea meds too before you go for the scan."

"Thanks, Ethan," Will thanks on the behalf of his brother as a nurse injects the medicines into his IV.

"Will?" Jay calls.

"Yeah?"

"My head hurts."

"I know, the pain meds will help soon. Try to sleep some." Jay turns to face his brother, knowing he is safe with Will and Hailey in the room.

Twenty minutes later, two orderlies come to take Jay to get the CT done. Jay wakes up briefly but quickly goes back to sleep with the reassurance from his brother.

"Well, it's a grade II borderline grade III concussion," Choi informs them when he gets the results back.

"What does this mean, can he go home?" Hailey asks.

"I'm going to admit him for twenty-four hours and if everything is fine, he can go home tomorrow afternoon."

"I'm fine," Jay argues, "I already spent one night without a babysitter."

"Which is why I will restrain you if necessary," Will threatens his brother.

"It's just a precaution," Choi tries to mediate. "When you go home, have someone stay with you for the first week."

"That's all the medical leave I need for this. I don't need someone with me the whole time."

"Because of the grade of the concussion, you're on medical leave for two weeks, then restricted duty for a week."

"I'-"

"Do not mess with a head injury, Jay," Hailey scolds.

"Don't take any unnecessary chances," Will tells him at the same time.

"You'll be moved to a room shortly," Choi tells him before going to check on other patients.

"You should go back to work," Jay tries to convince the two still in his room.

"My shift was just ending when you came in," Will answers.

"You're getting me out of paperwork," Hailey teases.

"I hate you both," Jay states as he leans back, realizing that they weren't going to leave, not wanting to give him a chance to escape.

"Jay, wake up," Hailey calls her partner.

"I swear, the next person who wakes me or asks a stupid question, their body will not be found."

"Hey, now. It's almost time for dinner," Hailey tells him. "Will should be back soon with something for you."

"Where is he?" Jay questions surprised his brother left at all.

"He went to grab something to eat. We figured there was a better chance of you eating if it wasn't hospital food. Are the meds helping, do you think you can eat?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Hey, I got sandwiches from Subway," Will tells the two as he walks into the room. "How you feeling, Jay?" he asks when he notices that Jay is awake.

"I'd be better if I could go home," he tries.

"Tomorrow."

"Fine, what you get me?"

"Italian."

"Thanks."

"How much trouble am I in with Voight?" Jay asks when they are done eating.

"You may still be on desk duty after you're cleared with all the paperwork he has in store for you," Hailey answers causing Jay to groan. "Try to go back to sleep. I'll do my best to keep the nurse from coming in and waking you for a while."

"Thanks," Jay tells her, grateful of the offer.

"Detective, wake up," a nurse orders.

"Should we sedate?" asks a second nurse.

"We can't, he's a head injury," replies the first nurse.

The two had rushed into Jay's room when the monitors in his room started going crazy. When they arrived, they see their patient thrashing around in the bed, caught in a nightmare.

It is this moment that Will Halstead chooses to walk back into his brother's room. Seeing Jay trapped, he quickly goes to the bed, carefully putting a hand on Jay's back. When Jay doesn't hit him, Will starts rubbing circles, hoping it will settle his brother down like when they were kids. After a couple of minutes, Jay stops thrashing and his breathing becomes regular again.

The two nurses leave, seeing that the redhead has managed to calm down the patient.

Screw hospital policy, Will thinks to himself as he climbs in the be next to his brother, knowing Jay can never sleep well in strange places. Jay subconsciously turns to Will, resting his head on his brother's shoulder. This is how Hailey finds the two the next morning when she stops in to check on Jay before going to work.

When Jay is finally cleared for active duty, he is more than ready, having drove everyone crazy the whole time he was on restricted duty. Happy to be back in the field, Jay knows the next time he gets hurt in the field he needs to be honest because the punishment was worse than being on medical leave.