Chapter One: Hailey

It was a quiet day in Intelligence, something none of them dared to acknowledge out loud. The unit was working their way through the stacks of paperwork that had been shoved to the back burner, courtesy of back-to-back cases. Now, however, their cases were all wrapped up and Trudy was breathing down their necks to get their paperwork completed.

Hailey sighed and tossed her pen on top of the case files on her desk. Rolling her chair back a little, the detective stretched her back and neck. She really hated paperwork. As Hailey worked out all the kinks that came from hours of sitting and staring at paperwork, her eyes roamed over the photos on her desk. Her blue orbs froze on two of the newest ones. Both were taken around the same time but they each evoked different emotions. The first was a group photo, taken that past summer at the First Responders picnic. All of Intelligence was there, including Voight and Trudy, but what made the picture special was the man standing next to Hailey on the end.

Jay.

Jay Halstead was a Chicago native, US Army Ranger, younger brother of Gaffney's own Dr. Will Halstead, and, perhaps most importantly, Hailey's husband of almost 2 years.

Jay's time stateside between deployments was brief and usually spent between time in Chicago and time at Fort Benning for training. This particular leave however, was a bit longer than most and allowed Jay more time in Chicago—time which was spent with his wife and brother, hanging out with their friends, eating all the deep dish he could stomach, and attending his first ever First Responders picnic.

Hailey smiled at the memories, specifically the memory of Kevin and Adam using Jay's sniper skills to win a cornhole game against some of the guys from 51. She could still hear Herrmann complaining about them cheating.

The picture next to it, taken just days after the other, didn't have quite as happy of memories attached. It was a picture of Hailey and Jay hugging goodbye at the O'Hare airport. Jay's leave was up, and he was headed back to Benning for a few days of training before shipping out to Afghanistan for another tour. It would be months before Hailey would get to see and hold him in person and, while they'd been through this several times throughout their relationship, saying goodbye never got any easier.

Will had snuck the picture on his phone and given it to Hailey a few days later. As much as she hated saying goodbye to Jay, it was one of her favorite pictures of them.

Sighing at the thought of her husband and how much she missed him, Hailey got out of her chair and headed into the break room to grab some coffee.

She was only gone for a few minutes, away from the bullpen long enough for a pot of coffee to brew, but in that time, everything had changed.

As Hailey left the break room to walk back to her desk, she noticed Platt and two military officers standing in the bullpen, the rest of her team staring in her direction. One of the officers stepped forward, clearly having been waiting for her. "Hailey Halstead?"

No. No, no, no.

She froze; fear flooding her system and sending ice coursing through her veins. Hailey hadn't had the traditional "army wife" experience. Most of her relationship with Jay had been spent with him either in Chicago or overseas, so she'd never lived on base with him or even visited him on base. Her military ID was largely unused, just a formality at this point, taking up a card slot in her wallet. She wasn't friends with other military wives, not really. Some of Jay's closest military buddies were married and she'd met their spouses a time or two, she had their numbers and were friends on Facebook, but they were in Georgia and she was in Chicago.

Hailey had always known something like this could happen, always known there could be a deployment that Jay didn't came home from—she and Jay had discussed it before. She tried to prepare herself for the possibility as much as she possibly could, and as a cop, she'd delivered notifications like this multiple times.

All that preparation, all that experience… none of it mattered at this moment.

Because nothing could've prepared Hailey to be on the receiving end.

This can't be happening.

Over the rushing in her ears, Hailey barely heard her coffee mug smash against the floor. She felt the weight of it leave her hand, felt the hot liquid splash against her legs through her jeans but none of it registered.

She felt hands on her, moving her over to her desk and helping her sit in her chair, but all Hailey could focus on were the thoughts and memories flooding her mind.

She and Jay met for the first time when she was still with Robbery and Homicide. He had witnessed a robbery and provided first aid to one of the injured victims—saving their life. She learned his name when she took his statement, but the two had been properly introduced later that night at a bar by Will.

Their first date—dinner, drinks, and hours at Navy Pier, staying until it closed—came just a few days later. It was simple and perfect, and she smiled like a smitten school girl the entire night.

They'd said 'I love you' for the first time the night before Jay was set to head back to Ft Benning for his next tour. They'd known each other for less than a month but it felt right.

Jay's deployments were a test for the couple. The regular Skypes, emails, and phone calls made the distance feel a little less far and the fun they had when he was home, making the most of his brief time at home, was all the sweeter.

On the anniversary of the day they met, Jay proposed at sunset on the beach of Lake Michigan during a week-long getaway at the Halstead family cabin. The year that followed that fateful day had been a whirlwind, both the best and hardest year of Hailey's life, but saying yes to Jay Halstead was the easiest decision she'd ever made.

Their wedding followed eight months later, and it was everything Hailey never knew she wanted.

Jay's bright green eyes, freckles, and charming smile was Hailey's favorite sight and his strong arms and comforting presence that had the power to make her feel safe, protected, and supported, regardless of the situation was her favorite place to be.

Hailey hadn't realized she'd started hyperventilating; the ache in her chest from lack of sufficient air had mixed seamlessly with the pain brought on by the appearance of the military officers. It wasn't until firm, but gentle hands gripped her shoulders again and gave her a quick shake that she snapped out of her thoughts. She saw her team gathered in front of her, concerned looks on their faces. As her partner, and Sergeant, Kevin and Voight were closest to her, but it was Trudy's hands that shook her.

"Hailey? You back with us?" The desk Sergeant asked. Trudy Platt had never been one to outright show emotion, but her concern for the blonde detective was clear on her face.

"Yeah," Hailey answered, before clearing her throat. She looked at her teammates—her family. "Sorry."

"Nothin' to apologize for." Kevin said. As Hailey's partner, he had more insight into her history and relationship with Jay than anyone else did. Well, he and Vanessa. The two had often joined Hailey at Molly's on the first few nights that followed each of Jay's deployments, allowing the blonde to drink her sorrows away while making sure she didn't go overboard.

Kevin himself had probably spent more time with Jay than the other members of the unit did, and he considered the man a good friend. He didn't have the military knowledge Hailey did, but you didn't need it to know that military officers showing up during your loved one's deployment was never a good thing.

Hailey gave her partner a small smile then stood from her chair and faced the military officers.

One of the officers asked again, needing the confirmation. "Hailey Halstead?"

"That's me," Hailey affirmed. Despite the situation, hearing herself addressed as 'Hailey Halstead' made her heart flutter. She'd kept Upton as her professional name and that was how most people knew her, so she didn't get to hear her married name all that often. But just as quickly as that happy feeling came it disappeared, once again leaving behind the fear and dread that settled into every cell of her body. "What happened?"

"The commander of the United States Army Rangers has entrusted us with the task of notifying you that your husband, Specialist Jay Halstead, was severely injured earlier today. He is being treated on base and once he has been stabilized enough for transport, he'll be taken to Landstul RMC in Germany to continue receiving treatment."

Hailey felt relief rush over her. Jay was still alive.

But, just as soon as the relief hit, the fear was back. Severely injured. The words played through her mind on repeat. "What? How? Is he going to be OK?"

"The last update we received was that he was in surgery, but the doctors are cautiously optimistic." The officer said. "As for how he sustained his injuries, I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to share that information at this time. The Army has opened an official investigation into the incident."

Hailey swallowed hard. That didn't sound good. "What happens next?"

The other officer stepped forward and handed Hailey a business card. CAO/FA Mark Ringer. "I'm Lieutenant Mark Ringer; I'm a Casualty Assistance Officer and Family Advocate. I'll be your point of contact during this time, and I'll provide you with any updates on your husband's condition as I get them."

"What about his brother? Has he been notified?" Hailey asked, clutching the card in her hand. "Can we see him?"

"His brother is being notified as we speak, along with his father." CAO Ringer informed. "As for seeing your husband—you can't see him yet, but once he's been transferred to Landstul, we'll be able to make arrangements to get you to Germany to be with him."

Hailey nodded. It was a lot of information to take in. She genuinely hoped the others were listening because even with her detective training and experience, there was no way she'd be able to remember everything with all the emotions running through her.

The CAO must've picked up on it too. "I am here to help you and your loved ones through this difficult and uncertain time. If you forget anything I've said today, or you have any questions, you have my contact information. You can call or email me at any time. If I don't have an answer for you, I will find someone who can get the answer."

"Thank you." Hailey said sincerely.

The officers left, Trudy walking them out after giving Hailey a comforting arm squeeze.

After a moment of silence, Hailey moved back to her desk, shutting her computer off and grabbing her things. "I need to go."

"Hailey, I really don't think you should go home alone…" Vanessa started.

"I'm not going home." Hailey said, grabbing her keys. "I'm going to go see Will."

Before anyone could say anything, Hailey was high tailing it out of the room. Voight looked at the rest of his unit. "Let's go."

… … …

The rest of Intelligence caught up with Hailey in the parking lot. Despite her arguments, there was no way they were going to let her deal with this alone. They piled into their cars, granting Hailey a few moments of peace by letting her drive by herself, and followed her all the way to Med.

When they arrived at Gaffney, Will was in the ED, waiting for Hailey with red-rimmed eyes and wide-open arms. As Hailey accepted the hug from her brother-in-law, she finally allowed herself to cry for the first time since she got the news that changed her world.


A/N: I've been overwhelmed by the love this story has gotten across all different platforms - thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

I hope you continue to enjoy the coming chapters.