A/N: Hi :) It's been a bit and I've just kind of been hanging out trying to figure things out. I want to try and get/be better, so I'm again trying to finish things I've started. I had a bit of this started a few weeks ago before everything went to hell, so I figured I'd finish it. It's in present tense for whatever reason, so I'm sorry, but I hope you still like it. All the best.

March 25, 2018

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see she's arguing with a paramedic. She's stepping away and waving a hand…and she doesn't look like herself.

He tries focusing on talking to Voight about what exactly had happened, but then Al hits his arm and he blinks his eyes.

"Can't let her go to the hospital alone," Al says, "That's your partner."

He slowly nods and meets Voight's gaze.

"Go," he agrees, "We'll talk later."

Nodding again, he turns and tries not to run the short distance to the ambulance.

"Detective, we need to make sure you don't have a concussion," one paramedic was saying.

"I-I-I'm fine," Hailey stutters out, "I just need some aspirin."

"Detective Upton," the other warns, but then Jay steps in front of them.

"Hey," he says softly and puts a hand out toward Hailey. "I'll go with you," he adds, "Let's go."

She shakes her head quickly, but he notices a look of pain cross her face.

"Yeah, come on," he says and takes a step forward. He takes a breath then gently grabs her elbow. "We're going."

She meets his gaze with wide eyes then looks down at his hand. Her mouth gapes for a moment before she slowly nods and takes a step toward him.

"Good," he quietly encourages as he leads her into the ambulance. He slides his hand to her back while she sits on the gurney.

One of the paramedics nods at him in thanks before going to the front. The other follows them in and starts pulling out everything they need.

The car jerks to life and he sits back on the bench, watching Hailey's eyes as she doesn't argue against anything the paramedic does. Occasionally, she winces, but then her gaze flickers to his and he shoots her an encouraging smile, and she visibly relaxes where she is.

They don't say anything to each other the entire ride. He wants to say something, but he isn't quite sure what to say. She's bruised and needs support, and all he can do is hope that he has it in him to do just that.

She was there for his darkest moments, now he wants to be there for her for hers.

It's why he silently vows to go check on her later that night after she's guided into a wheelchair and out of his sight once they arrive at the hospital.

October 4, 2018

He pissed her off, but she still cares, she'll always care.

He's Jay, and he's her partner. He was grieving, and she just happened to be on the receiving end of it.

It sucks.

She hears that he's going to be taken to the hospital, and half of her wants to drive with him.

He'd done the same for her months before. It would be the right thing to do.

But right now she needs space and a drink and just to forget. His anger about his dad inherently dragged out her own anger toward her own dad.

She needed space.

So she walks away. Adam is there and he suggests a drink and she quietly accepts.

She's about to turn the corner toward his car when she glances over her shoulder. Jay is talking to Antonio next to the ambulance, and then a paramedic sets a hand on his arm. She stops walking to stare as he and Antonio climb into the back.

"Hailey," Adam says gently, "You still want to go?"

She blinks and looks up at him staring down at her. She nods and breathes, "Yeah. Yeah. I…I need a beer."

"Beer it is then," Adam says with a smile. He squeezes her shoulder then leads her to his car.

Throughout the night, she continuously thinks back to Jay and hopes everything was okay at the hospital.

She should have gone with him.

February 12, 2019

He moves to get in the ambulance with her. He wants to. She's bleeding badly and he worries her nose might be broken. He doesn't know where they're going to take her, so he wants to be there for her during the ride and while waiting for her to be cleaned up.

He knows she's going to fight any treatment and say she's fine, but not because she has a fear of needles like him - it's because she's stubborn and doesn't want to be taken out of the field. He needs to warn the doctors of her attitude.

But then Adam slips past him and follows her and the paramedics into the ambulance. He catches a glimpse of her beaten face before she's pushed down on the gurney, and the doors slam in front of him.

His chance to drive with her is gone in an instant.

Kim, though, is still there just a few yards away with bruises around her throat and wrists.

Taking a deep breath, he figures it's better than trying to race behind an ambulance through roads he's not sure of. He makes his way over to her and nods before saying, "Hey, they taking you in too?"

"Um, yeah, yeah," she breathes. She glances over her shoulder at the ambulance behind her. "They wanted to take Hailey first…more blood," she quietly explains.

Jay nods and says, "Makes sense," under his breath. "Uh, I'll go with you," he offers, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck.

If he goes with her, he'll end up at the same hospital as Hailey. He might not be able to talk to the doctors about her, but he'll be able to see her.

"Oh," Kim says quietly, "Um, Kevin…Kevin actually offered. He's clearing it with Voight now, but…thank you. Thanks."

"Oh," Jay repeats, "Uh, that…right, of course. You two are close. I…yeah, you go…you go with him and I'll…I'll head back with Antonio. No problem."

Kim nods and watches him slowly back away from her. He's about to turn away when she says, "I can text you any updates - like about me or Hailey. You could…you could keep Voight in the loop. Okay?"

He smiles slightly and says, "I'd appreciate it. Thanks."

"Yeah," Kim breathes just as a paramedic appears and ushers her into the ambulance.

Jay's staring after her when Kevin clasps him on the shoulder and jumps in the back too. She holds his gaze as the doors close, and he realizes he's not the only one wishing Adam wasn't with Hailey.

November 21, 2019

She grabs his hand the second she's sitting next to him. For a second, it's limp in her hold, and then he squeezes her fingers the slightest amount.

She laughs in a watery disbelief and says, "Good. Good. Hold on. I'm here. I've got you. We're getting help. We're going to help you, Jay."

His eyes close, and he lets out a quiet groan.

"We'll get you something for the pain, we're working on it," a paramedic says.

He groans again and Hailey knows it's not from the bullet lodged in his chest.

She sniffles and scoots forward to see his face better. "It's gonna be fine," she assures quietly, "I bet it'll be way easier than the flu shot." She tries to smile at her lame attempt at a joke, but his eyes are still closed and something about the way they crinkle around the edges tells her he's scared.

So she squeezes his hand again just as the paramedic grabs his other arm. The woman is saying something about grams and numbers, but all Hailey can focus on are the remnants of blood staining Jay's skin. She doesn't know how the paramedic can find his vein when he's covered in so much blood.

His arm tenses before the needle can pierce it, and she looks up to see him watching everything.

"Hey, no," she gently scolds. Her hand's shaking as she reaches to turn his chin toward her, and she hopes he doesn't notice. "We don't watch, remember?" she says while holding his gaze, "Just let it happen."

He's staring at her when the paramedic gives him the medicine. She doesn't say anything as she waits and silently prays it helps him. Breathing in slowly, she squeezes his hand again and brushes her thumb over his knuckles while her other rubs along his jaw.

When his eyes close, her heart drops for the umpteenth time, and the fear must be evident on her face because the paramedic puts her hand up and says, "He's fine; it's working."

She slowly nods then returns her gaze to his face. She wants to believe her, but she doesn't think he's been truly fine for a while. It hurts.

She squeezes his hand and breathes, "Not going anywhere. I'm staying with you until Will takes over. You're…you're safe now."

A lump forms in her throat that she fights to hold back. She wants to do something to prove to him he's safe. She doesn't know what's going through his mind as the pain medicine does its job, so she works on reassuring herself that he's alive right now.

If she presses her fingers just right against his throat while still brushing her thumb along his jaw, she can feel his weak pulse. At least it's something.

And his hand is occasionally moving in her hold. She tells herself that he's causing the movements, not the bumpy road. It's slightly reassuring.

"Ma'am," the other paramedic says. She looks at him to see the wipe he's holding out to her.

She quickly grabs it and, without thinking, tries ridding the side of Jay's face of blood.

"Oh, it's…"

She looks up again and sees that the paramedic is gesturing toward her hands. Sniffling quietly, she shakes her head and continues wiping at the blood threatening to pool in Jay's ear.

He opens his eyes a second later and seems to mouth something into the oxygen mask.

"Hang on, we're almost there," the paramedic says with a soft pat to Jay's leg.

But Hailey knows better. He wasn't asking for the time; he was telling her to stop.

"No, just let me," she whispers, tears forming in her eyes again, "I want to-to help, and…and this lets me help."

He squeezes her hand in response as his eyes threaten to close again.

She clears her throat and sets the bloody wipe down to rest her hand on his forehead. Her bottom lip shakes just as a tear carves its way down his cheek.

"You're going to be okay," she forces out, "You're going to be fine. You hold on for me, okay?"

He groans quietly and nods just the slightest amount before his eyes finally close.

Tears prick her own eyes and she whimpers, "Jay?"

He's still underneath her hand causing her heart to race.

"Jay," she repeats.

He doesn't move and her stomach drops.

"Jay!" she says loudly.

The ambulance stops moving, but she can't breathe. The paramedics seem to become frantic again as they prepare to move the gurney.

"Ma'am-"

"Jay!" she yells when the ambulance doors swing open.

"Hailey?"

The light is so bright, she wouldn't be able to see Will if she tried. But she has to, because suddenly Jay's being pulled from her grasp and she needs to scramble outside to follow him.

She crashes into Will who grabs her too tightly. Either he's shaking her or she's trembling where she stands when he asks, "What happened?"

She shakes her head and stares off at Jay being rushed inside.

"Hailey, what happened?" Will repeats.

"He was shot," she finally breathes, "He was…he was shot."

Will's face crumples and his grip loosens on her arms. She can feel him huff a small breath against her face before he's turning and running inside.

She's left scared and alone outside.

She doesn't want to be there, she wants to be inside, but she's not family.

She's alone, and all she wants is to know is if her best friend is going to survive.

She can't help but finally let those tears fall.

February 23, 2022

He hadn't been in an ambulance in years, but he would have happily gotten in one if he had been there when his wife jumped in the Chicago River.

"Hailey's fine, but she's in shock and fighting hypothermia. Get to the district, that's where she's heading."

It's a call he never wanted to receive.

He hates himself a little bit.

Okay. A lot.

He'd been getting so many spam calls that he put his phone on silent while he took a shower just for some peace. He deserved five minutes of peace.

It was stupid.

He drives as fast as he can to the district, confused as to why Hailey was being brought there compared to their home, but then he remembers another piece of Trudy's phone call.

"There was a gun. We're taking the case. She's obsessing over it."

It was just like Hailey to focus more on a victim rather than her own well-being. It was something he had a love/hate relationship with.

Parking his car in the lot, he jumps out and runs into the garage. He's weaving between the cars looking for her when the garage door opens, and he knows it's her.

Upon seeing her, he hugs her. Part of it is to comfort her, but it's mostly for himself. He needs to hold her in his arms. He needs to know she's safe. He needs her to be okay.

She's not.

And he worries it's because he hadn't been there for her in the ambulance, but it turns out it's really because she unknowingly saved a stalker over a victim.

It's twenty-four hours later when he can hold her again. They're in bed now after a long day of trying to piece together the crime that had traumatized his wife, and her skin is finally warm.

He forced her into a warm shower and then dressed her in his own clothes, so that now she could attempt to relax before jumping back into the damned case the following day.

"I'm sorry," he whispers against her temple.

She sighs and looks up at him. "Jay, I'm just trying-"

"Not about the case and the car," he interrupts, "I'm sorry I wasn't in the ambulance with you. I'm sorry you had to be alone at the hospital. I…I…"

For a moment, he hates that tears form in his eyes, but then he remembers he could have lost his wife that day, and he stops caring.

"Jay," she breathes. This time, though, she's not exasperated or tired; she's gentle. Shaking her head, she sits up further and sets her hands on his shoulders. "There's nothing-"

"I should have been there," he says forcefully, "You-You were alone, and I should have been there. It's a goddamn ambulance, no one should ever be alone in one."

"You were," she says quietly before pulling him against her. She closes her eyes and rubs her hand down his back. "I never took my ring off, you were there," she whispers.

"It's not good enough," he mumbles back.

"Maybe not," she admits, "But it was enough. Yes, I wish you were there, but I knew you would have been there if you could have been. Sometimes we have to be apart and…"

She doesn't finish her sentence, and he can feel the air get caught in her lungs, so he sits up to see her struggling to talk in front of him. He frowns and slips his hand in her hair, rubbing his thumb behind her ear for a moment before saying, "And it sucks. It sucks. I hate being away from you, but you're right. Sometimes it just happens, and we have to, unfortunately, deal with it."

Hailey wipes the unshed tears from her eyes then nods and whispers, "Yeah."

He smiles slightly and kisses her forehead, whispering against her skin, "But I love you, and I promise you you'll never have to be in an ambulance alone anymore as long as I'm there."

She closes her eyes and wraps her arms around him. "I love you too," she whispers back, "And I also promise to always ride with you in the ambulance."

He chuckles and strokes his hand through her hair. "Maybe we should have put that in our vows," he jokes.

"Oh god," she groans, "That would have been depressing."

"Maybe," he replies while pulling her back down under the covers, "But it would have been honest, and I always want to be honest with you."

Wrapping an arm around his chest, she says, "I know, so…do you-do you think…will we…this case…"

"Hey," he whispers before kissing her temple again, "I do, and we will. It might take another day, but we'll figure it out. We always do."

She nods and curls up against him. "Thank you."

"Always gonna be with you," he whispers as he tightens his hold on her, "Never gonna leave you."

May 25, 2022

He has to keep his ambulance promise much too soon for his liking, but he does it without blinking an eye.

When she's hit in the explosion and is struggling in pain on the hard cement, he doesn't let go of her hand. He's not sure if she can hear or see him, but he doesn't care; he needs to be there for her. He needs to keep his promise.

"I'm here, I'm not going anywhere," he says as she's placed on a backboard and a brace is then tightened around her neck. "I'm going with you, Hailey, I'm not leaving you," he adds when they lift her in the air.

"Are you her partner?" a paramedic asks.

"Her husband," he corrects, jumping into the ambulance before anyone can stop him. Immediately, he grabs her hand again and presses a kiss to it. "Right here," he whispers, "I promise."

Her eyes are fluttering in pain the first minute they're driving, but then she seems to calm down before mumbling, "H-Honest…am I…Jay…am I…"

He spots a tear fall down her face and scoots impossibly closer to her. Wiping it away, he whispers, "You're not dying. I can feel it in my gut, Hailey. You're going to be okay. We'll figure it out."

She closes her eyes and weakly squeezes his fingers as she gives the tiniest of nods.

His gut also tells him this won't be their last time in the back of an ambulance, but he pushes that to the side because they have each other, and that will always be more than enough. They have forever together; that might add up to a lot of ambulance rides, but there wasn't anyone else he'd rather take one with than Hailey.

Once his best friend, and now his wife.

A/N: What do you think? I know I've mentioned some of these a couple times before, but hopefully this is different enough. I hope you're all doing ok, really. Talk soon?