"I'm just saying, we're going to have to tell them sooner than later, especially Voight. We should start brainstorming temporary jobs you won't want to kill to get you out of the field as soon as we can."

"I know, and I agree, and I'm just saying it's still very early. We've only known for a few weeks, I don't want to be superstitious, but I can't help it. Besides, I already told Voight I'd like to spend more time catching up on all the unit's paperwork since the District Sup has been up his ass for it. That will buy us some time."

Detectives Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton Halstead were engaging in one of their typical bantering conversations as they were driving back from their lunch break. Newly pregnant, Hailey had been craving Portilla's hot dogs fiercely, and since she sadly couldn't partake thanks to the processed meat, her dutiful husband still took her to get one of their famous shakes to go along with her begrudgingly eaten salad.

"Yeah, I get it. I don't want to say or do anything to ruin these moments for us either." Jay agrees as he reaches for her hand over the driving console and rubs his thumb over hers. "Is it too early though to start thinking of names? I'm just saying, we need something real badass for the newest Halstead. Something that will show just how kickass their mom is."

Hailey grins, her cheeks coloring slightly, adding to her newly added glow. "You're really excited about this. It's so cute!"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. It's just not something we planned or had ever seriously got around to talking about yet. It's definitely unexpected timing wise, we've barely been married a year yet."

"Yeah, but we've known for years we were it for each other, maybe we didn't plan for it yet, but it's the best surprise I've ever gotten!" He turns his head to look at her and they beam at each other. "I am a bit bummed though that I won't get to take you to Greece or Hawaii for our long overdue honeymoon before the baby comes, though."

"You're just mad I won't be getting into any string bikinis anytime soon!" she teases.

"Nah, that's what we have your sexy lingerie for!" he winks back at her.

She lets go of his hand to lightly smack his shoulder, while trying to hold back her laughter. "Pretty sure that's how we got our unexpected surprise!"

Jay's just about to respond when their radios go off with a call of gang-related shots fired just a mile out from their location. They look at each other, silently communicating. Normally they wouldn't think twice about responding to the call, but something about finding out you're about to be parents changes things. Saving people is in their blood though and they can't just stand by and take a chance of innocent civilians getting injured. Hailey gives Jay a little nod and then they're vesting up and letting dispatch know they're on their way.

When they arrive on scene there's a group of three teenagers shooting at each other from across the busy street. One of the teens gets clipped and falls to the ground once they see the detectives pull up. Jay and Hailey quickly rush out of their truck, guns drawn, as the other two teenagers start scrambling away while patrol sirens draw closer. Hailey drops down to the wounded teen, kicking his gun away and starting to apply pressure to his chest.

"You good?" Jay yells back to Hailey and when she nods he quickly takes off after the other two. They split down an alley and Jay can only run after one of them, but patrol officers are now hot on their tails too.

The one offender quickly cuts down to a small two-story industrial building and starts climbing the medal ladder to the roof. Jay latches on and starts climbing himself right as the kid makes it over the roof. In retrospect, he should have waited and had patrol try to block off the offender another way, as Jay's line of vision will be compromised, but with seconds to make a move he just reacts. Jay's pulling over to the top of the ladder when he hears the shots again. Three in rapid succession nailing him right in the chest. The vest protects him just like it did the time after his father died and he confronted the killer on his own, earning him two in the ribs. But this time, while barely getting time to catch his balance off the ladder, the blow back is too severe. His body falters and he falls back the two stories, landing on the medal dumpster along the back of the building. He blinks rapidly in shock, tastes the blood, then all that's left is blackness.

Everything becomes a slow, but rapid motion blur from there. He regains brief consciousness in the ambulance and he can sense Hailey's presence before he can feel or even see her. She's leaning over him as the paramedics work, tears streaming down her beautiful face that had been smiling only just 30 minutes prior. "Stay with me, Jay!" He can make out her lips saying as she strokes his arm. He fights to stay awake, stay alert, but it seems to be a losing battle.

He feels the stretcher being dropped down and bright lights coming into view as Hailey is getting pushed back. He tires to smile to reassure her, but he's not certain if it's all in his head, or even if she'd be able to tell with the oxygen mask surrounding his face. Then he suddenly feels his pupils bobbing before he faintly realizes Hailey is screaming and he can hear other voices saying words like "he's crashing!" Finally he's closing his eyes once more, but only instead of blackness this time, he gets a vision of Hailey in their spare bedroom on a rocking chair, holding their baby, and a sense of calm surrounds him.

Maybe it's minutes, maybe it's hours, maybe it's days, but when he finally comes to again all is quiet except the sounds of his monitors beeping. He slowly opens his eyes to a nurse hovering over him checking his vitals. She smiles down at him and keeps him calm.

"There's going to be a lot of people glad to see you're finally awake, Mr. Halstead."

"Let's wait until he starts talking."

He hears Hailey tease to his right and slowly turns to see her sitting in a chair, grin on her face, and tear-streaked cheeks. She reaches over and grabs his hand.

"Welcome back, partner!"

"I'll give you two a minute. I have to alert the doctor anyway." The nurse says, leaving Jay and Hailey alone.

"Hailey…" Jay rasps.

"I'm here. You gave me, all of us another scare. We should start charging you soon!"

He tries his best to laugh and then asks, "Did we get the guys?"

"We did. Patrol was rounding up the other one as you broached your offender, then they caught yours as he was trying to run down the fire escape. The third suspect who was shot, it was through and through, so he'll survive to make it to jail too. Luckily, no one else got hurt… well aside from you, again." She smiles wretchedly.

"I know. I'm sorry! But I fought for you. When I could feel my body crashing, it was the thought of you and the baby that brought me back! I'll never leave you guys."

Hailey looks at him confused. "Baby? Jay, what are you talking about?"

Jay shoots up as much as he can, the pain in his head making him cringe, but he fights through it. "What? Are you okay? Did something happen to the baby?"

"Jay, I'm fine! But what baby? Maybe I should get the nurse back, get the doctor in. Maybe the brain bleed was worse than we thought."

He grabs her arm and pulls her back down as she goes to stand. "No, No, I'm fine. But our baby Hailey. We just found out a few weeks ago…" he reiterates to her like she's lost her mind.

"Our baby!? Jay, we're not together."

"What are you talking about? We're married!" Jay exclaims.

"Married?" Hailey questions more confused than ever. "We've never even kissed!"

"Of course we did! We first kissed once you came back from the FBI and turned down their job offer…"

"Yeah, I mean, uh…" she stumbles over her words. "We thought there was something there, especially the distance making the heart grow fonder and all that… but then we had a fight over my crossing lines and I extended my stint by a couple months and then you started dating Trish. I did turn down their offer six months ago, but we're just friends, Jay. It seems to be the one thing we can get right."

Jay stares at her in shock, secretly wondering if she was the one who took two to the vest and fell off a building. "Trish? Who the hell is Trish?" he gasps.

Hailey opens her mouth to answer when they hear people coming in.

"There he go again!" Kevin Atwater walks in boasting, with their Sergeant, Hank Voight by his side, big smiles on both their faces.

But their teasing is not what causes Jay to stare... it's the woman standing next to them. A woman who he's never seen in his life, and the sad smile Hailey gives him once they enter, quickly dropping his hand. Jay tries to smile back at them, but all he can think is if this is his life, this life where he and Hailey never made that leap together, maybe he shouldn't have woken up just yet after all…


[A/N: Hey guys, been a while! I had a little bit of time, so thought I'd write a quick story. Thank you for all your continual support and I hope everyone has been well!]