Please keep in mind the trigger warnings in the notes of chapter 1 before you continue to read!

enjoy the new chapter 4


After six long hours of waiting, Will came into the waiting area with Dr. Marcel, all four of them were on their feet at the sight of Dr. Marcel.

"S-so?" Jay asked.

"The surgery went really well, better than we expected. We managed to completely repair all the damage to her lungs and drain the water that had gotten in there without her heart stopping once," Dr. Marcel told them, and they all sighed with relief.

"However," he started, which caused them to all look back at him, fear now etched onto their faces. "She isn't out of the woods yet. As you were told before she went into surgery, she was deprived of oxygen and blood flow to her brain for a good amount of time. There is the possibility of brain damage, but until she wakes up or until her body is strong enough to go through an MRI scan of her head and brain, we won't know if there is any damage or the extent of it till then either."

"But we all know how strong she is, so now we just hope and we pray that she's going to be okay when she wakes up," Will added on.

"When can I see her?" Jay asked, just wanting to be in the same room as her again.

"They're setting her up in a room in the ICU as we speak, I'm going to go check up on her and make sure that she's got everything she needs. Will can show you to the ICU waiting room and I'll send a nurse to come and get you once she's settled." After receiving a nod from those assembled, Dr. Marcel took his leave.

"Only one person will be allowed in the room to see her, but the ICU has its own waiting room so you can all go up there if you want," Will informed them.

"I know I'm definitely going up but the three of you have been here for ages, you guys should go home," Jay said, addressing Adam, Kevin, and Kim.

"No, no way, we're staying," Adam said firmly.

"She's our girl too, you know," Kevin added on.

"There's no way we're leaving you alone," Kim finished.

"Well, I guess that settles it then, I'll show you guys the way," Will said, leading them up to the ICU waiting area, where he left them to go and check on his patients.

They had been waiting for about twenty minutes when a nurse came to the waiting room.

"I'm looking for Jay Halstead," she said, and Jay was on his feet immediately.

"That's me."

"Dr Marcel said that you can come and see your wife, if you follow me, I'll take you to her room," she told him.

Before he left, he turned and gave hugs to Kev, Adam, and Kim.

"We'll be right out here, okay?" Kim told him, sensing that he was nervous, and he nodded.

"Thank you, guys, I seriously don't know what I would do without the three of you."

"Go see your wife, man," Kev responded affectionately, and Jay gave him a small smile before turning to follow the nurse down the hallway and to Hailey's room. She stopped outside room 909 and knocked on the door before opening it.

"Dr Marcel?" she called into the room, and he came outside to meet them.

"Can I see her?" Jay asked the second Dr Marcel stepped out of the room.

"You can, in a minute, I just want to prepare you first," Dr Marcel told him, and Jay nodded. "She is badly hurt, Jay. And on top of that, we don't know how long she was under the water deprived of oxygen. But from the drainage of the lungs we did in surgery, we can tell she was under for a serious amount of time," Dr Marcel continued, and Jay's eyes filled with tears.

"As of right now, she's fallen into a coma and is on a ventilator that's breathing for her, and we're monitoring her heart in case it gives out again. I'm going to be really honest with you Jay; with all the trauma her body was put through she is so lucky to be alive right now," Dr Marcel carried on with his speech.

"A coma? Do you know when she'll wake up?" Jay asked, just wanting her to be okay as fast as possible.

"It's hard to tell at this time when she'll wake up. With the amount of time, she was without oxygen, I can't say with certainty that she will wake up at all."

"N-no, she was awake, and she was fine earlier, she was talking after she was out of the water, she has to wake up," Jay's voice broke.

"We're hoping that she does and that she'll be fine, but you do need to be prepared for the worst possible outcome," Dr Marcel gave him a sad smile.

"Which is her not waking up," Jay said, resigned.

"That, and her heart may become too weak to keep pumping as it has already had to be restarted twice. We can do things to try and get her to wake up, but if her heart stops again then I'm not sure that we'll be able to get it pumping again, which is why her being in a coma right now is a good thing because it gives her body a chance to heal for a bit before we put her in any machines for scans."

"So, the coma's a good thing?" Jay asked, seeking to clarify.

"For now, as it gives her body a chance for rest and for healing, but if she's like this longer than a week and we can't get the scans that we need her to be awake for, then we can assess the damage that there might be because of her lack of oxygen."

Jay nodded at Dr Marcel's words.

"I-is that it? I know you're trying to be helpful, but all I wanna do right now is see her," Jay admitted.

"That can be it for now. Before you go in, just know that she is attached to quite a few machines and it can be very daunting seeing a loved one like that, but everything that is attached to her is helping her and keeping her alive, okay?"

Jay nodded and finally opened the door to see Hailey, a tube down her throat to keep her breathing and different wires attached to her to monitor various things.

"The nurses' station is just down the hall to the left, if you need anything come to us there," the nurse informed him, and both her and Dr Marcel left him alone as he went into the room.

He pulled out the chair that was on the left side closer to her bed so that he could hold Hailey's hand. He didn't even realise he was shaking till he tried to pick up her hand. A sob escaped his mouth and tears started to stream down his cheeks.

"Hails," he managed to get out. "Baby, I'm so sorry that I wasn't fast enough, I should've got you out of there sooner," he cried, putting his head on the bed near her hand.

He stayed like that, holding her hand and sobbing, for what was likely at least a couple of hours, telling her how sorry he was and how he wished it was him in that bed and not her.

Will came in after a while to tell him that he had sent Kim, Adam, and Kevin home since he knew Jay needed to be alone with Hailey and that there was no point in them staying any longer if they weren't really going to get a chance to see her.

Jay thanked him quietly, not really looking at him, his attention on Hailey like if he stared at her hard enough it would wake her up. Or like if he looked away for too long then she'd disappear.

Will sighed and placed a coffee for Jay on the table beside Hailey's bed before leaving his brother to be alone with his wife.

After not leaving her bedside for over twelve hours, Will finally convinced Jay to let him take him home so that he could shower and rest. Jay reluctantly left the hospital and got into Will's car to go back to his and Hailey's apartment. Will walked Jay up to the apartment to make sure he got there, and as much as he didn't want to leave his little brother alone, Will had to since he needed to rest as well as he had stayed at the hospital overtime while trying to convince Jay to go home and rest.

Jay moved like he was in a trance, everything he did was kind of a blur. He showered and then ate a bowl of cereal, his first true meal in about twenty-four hours.

Then he went to sleep, or he tried too at least. Laying in his and Hailey's bed alone felt so wrong. He tossed and turned on the bed for about forty-five minutes before deciding trying to sleep in there would be no use.

He grabbed the throw from the end of the bed and went and made himself comfortable on the couch, switching the tv on to whatever was on so it wouldn't be so quiet in the house and would drown out the voices in his head.

After about an hour of laying on the couch he eventually did fall asleep. Not that it was very restful. He knew he needed to rest but his mind was moving so fast, and he was trying to prepare himself for the worst, but he just didn't want to believe it. He couldn't lose her. She was the only stable thing in his life, she was always there, she slowly broke down his walls as he did the same to her.

She kept him grounded and he did the same for her. She was his person in every way, his confidant, his best friend, his lover, his wife, the woman who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, the woman who he wanted to be the mother of his children, the woman who he wanted to grow old with. He didn't know where he would be without her, and he didn't want to think about where he would go and who he would become if he lost her.


Five days. Hailey had been in a coma for five days, and Jay had been by her side for almost every single second possible.

For five days, Jay had gone home to an empty apartment and an empty bed. For five days, Jay had been sleeping on the couch because he couldn't bear the thought of sleeping in his and Hailey's bed alone. For five days, Hailey had been in a coma.

The week that Dr Marcel had given as the time frame of when they wanted her to wake up was approaching its end very quickly, and Jay was getting more and more worried with each moment that passed.

Kevin, Adam, Kim, and Trudy had visited a few times too. They still had to work although Jay had taken some time off to make sure he could spend every single second with Hailey. Kim had brought flowers and cards that Makayla had made and would sit by Hailey's bed with Jay, and she would tell Hailey all the funny and cute little things Makayla had done because she knew that Hailey had a soft spot for the little girl.

When Adam came, he told Hailey some of the weirdest and random facts that he somehow knew which made Jay laugh, and Jay knew they would have made Hailey laugh too. When Kevin visited, he told her how annoying Adam had been in the bullpen and told her how Adam stole some of her (Jay's) really nice pens, so that meant she had to wake up because she had to go and 'fight' Adam to get them back.

When Trudy stopped by, she gave Hailey updates on Ellie, explaining that Jay had told her that Hailey had promised the little girl that she would get her a police badge. And of course, that's what Trudy did. She went and got that little girl her very own police badge with her very own 'police name'. Trudy recounted how Ellie's face had lit up when her and Jay gave the little girl the badge and how big Ellie's smile was and how grateful her parents were.

Trudy also mentioned that she wanted her favourite Halstead back on her feet and she also needed someone else to help her keep the boys (namely Jay and Adam) in place. Will came by as well, more often than all the others since he worked in the building, and he would always tell Hailey embarrassing childhood stories about Jay with the promise of more when she woke up.

Jay appreciated the things every single one of them had done for Hailey and for him, such as sneaking in food and snacks to him that weren't from the hospital cafeteria so that he didn't have to leave Hailey's side for longer than necessary. But all he really wanted was for her to wake up.

It was almost one o'clock in the morning, and Will had already stopped by multiple times to tell Jay that he should go get some rest, and every time Jay would tell him that he'd be out in ten minutes. But Will didn't blame Jay, he knew that Hailey's time was running out so he let his little brother spend every moment that he possibly could with her.

Will had just left the room for the sixth time that night. Jay turned back to Hailey and resumed talking to her again.

"I think I'll go for real the next time Will comes in since it's getting late, but I'll be back first thing in the morning, baby, I promise," he told her. "And I think Kim's going to come again tomorrow as well, Makayla had a spelling competition in school that she wants to tell you all about," Jay continued, squeezing her hand.

"The week Dr Marcel gave you is almost up Hails, so you need to fight this, I know you can." He let out a shaky breath. "You're so strong Hailey, so, so strong." He sighed, putting his head down on the bed next to her arm. "I just need you to wake up, baby, I don't know how much longer I can do this," he said, the tears starting to fall again. He didn't know how he could cry anymore, it felt like all the tears had been drained from his body already.

"Baby, you need to fight, you need to fight the hardest you've ever fought in your life, because I need you, I can't do this without you." The tears were streaming down his cheeks in quick succession now, soaking the bed sheets that his head was resting on.

He sighed again, not expecting her to do anything or react to him, but his head shot up when he felt the hand he was holding return a light pressure.

His head snapped up, shock running through his body. Hailey's eyes were open, and she was looking around, trying to make sense of where she was. Her eyes landed on Jay, and she tried to speak despite the tube down her throat.

"Hey, hey, no, don't try to talk, I- I'm going to go get someone and I'll be right back, okay?" he replied hastily, and she clearly attempted to give him a small nod. Jay rushed out of the room, crashing straight into Will who was on his way to stop by again.

"Woah, woah, Jay, what's wrong?" Will asked, worried.

"She's awake," Jay breathed, somewhat faintly. "She's awake," he repeated in disbelief, and Will rushed into the room at his statement. Jay followed straight after but stayed on the other side of the bed and took hold of his wife's hand once again.

"I'm going to put the bed up and sit you up so we can get this tube out of your mouth, okay?" Will told her, and she nodded. Will pressed the button on the control that was on the side of the bed, and it sat her up. When she was in the position, he wanted her in, Will spoke again. "I'm not going to lie to you, Hailey, it's going to feel horrible when I pull this out," he told her, gripping the tube in the proper position and getting ready to pull.

"I need you to cough on three for me, can you do that?" he asked, and she nodded. "One, two-" she coughed, and he pulled the tube out, causing her to gag and sputter and then gasp as she attempted to catch her breath. Once she had caught her breath, Will started asking her routine questions.

"Hey, welcome back, do you know where you are?" Will asked.

"H-hospital." Her voice was barely a whisper, but Jay almost collapsed in relief from finally hearing it again.

"Do you reckon you could tell me what your name is?" Will asked her softly.

"Hailey," she answered, her voice raspy still. "Hailey Anne Upton- sorry, I mean Halstead." Despite themselves, the answer made both Will and Jay smile.

"Can you tell me who that is?" he said pointing to Jay

"My husband, Halstead number two," Hailey replied, and Jay bit back both his chuckle and the elation that filled him from hearing her crack a joke. It figured that she would respond like that, he honestly shouldn't have expected anything less.

"And what about me, what's my name?" Will questioned, clearly fighting his own grin.

"You forgot your own name? Maybe we should trade places," she joked, making Will lose the battle against his face muscles and break out into a laugh. "You are William Patrick Halstead," she answered. "Oh, would that make you Halstead number three?" Will ducked his head, clearly grinning now, and took her other hand in his.

"Can you squeeze my hand for me, Hailey?" he asked, and she obeyed. "That's good, this is really good," he told both her and Jay. "Okay, this light might be a little bright but I'm going to need you to follow it with your eyes, okay?" Will got out the little torch from his pocket and turned it on before shining it in her eyes and moving it from left to right a couple times, watching as Hailey followed it with her eyes.

"Good, Hailey, you're doing so good," he told her, clicking the light off and putting it back into his pocket.

"I have one more question for you, okay? Do you remember how you got here?"

"R- Rivera," she breathed, and then her head spun to look at Jay. She groaned from the pain of moving too fast.

"Hey, maybe try and move slower, Hailey, yeah?" Will suggested, but she pretty much ignored him and looked back at Jay.

"Rivera, did you—"

"We got him, Hails," Jay cut her off. "We got him, and he's going away for life. He's never going to hurt anyone again, no kids and never you, okay?" Jay told her, his voice soft.

"Can you tell me what else you remember, Hailey?" Will asked.

"We were fighting, he was winning, and then I was in the water. It was cold, there was rope and netting on me, I tried getting out but couldn't and then everything went black," she spoke in half sentences, tears filling her eyes as she tried to recall what happened, and Jay squeezed her hand again.

"You're safe now, Hailey, I got you," he reassured her, and she gave him a weak smile.

"Everything seems good with you Hailey, so I'll leave you two alone for a bit and put a call in with Dr Marcel so he can come and check on you. And I'll also send a nurse your way with some ice chips for your throat." He put his hand on Hailey's shoulder affectionately, before leaving the pair alone.

"How long was I out for?" Hailey asked Jay after Will had left, expecting an answer of a few hours at most.

"Five days," his voice broke. "You were in a coma for five days, Hailey."

"F-five days?" she repeated incredulously, not knowing what to say.

"You scared the crap out of me, baby, I thought I was going to lose you."

"Yeah, well, I don't go down easy," she reminded him.

"Yeah, I know you don't," he replied fondly, still squeezing her hand.

"C-can you tell me what happened?"

"You had surgery. Your lungs got a little damaged from being underwater for so long and the docs were worried about your brain being damaged in some way because of the lack of oxygen but nothing major." She could tell he wasn't telling her everything, but she let it slide and nodded.

"They said they wanted to do some scans of your brain once you were awake just to make sure everything was good," he finished.

"That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it, now you need to rest because Dr Marcel will be here in the morning to do all sorts of checks and things, okay?"

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Uh, let me check," Jay said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Two in the morning," he told her after switching his lock screen on.

"You should get some sleep."

"Look at you, in a hospital bed and you're worried about me."

"Come get in with me."

"Are you sure? Hails, I don't wanna hurt you."

"I'll be okay," she told him and then winced as she tried to move herself over.

"Hey, hey, no, don't do that if it hurts."

"I'm fine, Jay, really," she replied, managing to move over to give him enough space to get on the bed with her. "Now come on and get up here with me, I didn't almost pop my stitches for nothing."

Jay sighed, a small smile on his face, shaking his head at her before he kicked his shoes off and got onto the bed as slow as possible. He put his arm around her shoulders gently and she moved forward for him to do so and then rested her head on his chest. She put her arm across him, and he took a hold of the hand that was playing with the button of his shirt and let her play with his fingers.

"So much comfier than hospital pillows," she mumbled, getting tired. Her body was still so badly hurt and trying so hard to get better. They laid there in silence for a while, neither one of them knowing what to say. Jay was just glad to have his girl back in his arms and Hailey was just glad to be safe in his arms.

"You're on the other side of things," she suddenly spoke into the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the one in the hospital bed, not you," she said with a small smirk and looked up, meeting his eyes. "It's not so fun being on the waiting end, is it?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows and trying to get him to laugh. He chuckled and let out a small sigh, squeezing her gently and trying his best not to hurt her.

"I really thought I lost you, Hails." He pressed a kiss into her head, and she yawned.

"I know, and I promise I will try my very best to never scare you like that again," she said before yawning again.

"Try and sleep baby," he told her softly.

"But you missed me so I need to stay awake so you can spend some time with me," she said, the tiredness evident in her voice.

"And I can spend time with you tomorrow and for the rest of our lives, how about that?"

"We got each other forever," she mumbled against his chest.

"Exactly, forever, so you rest now, and I'll be right here when you wake up, okay? I got you, always."

"Always," she murmured and yawned as she snuggled into his chest as much as she could without it being painful and after a couple minutes, the silence in the room was filled with Hailey's soft snores which signalled to Jay that he could let himself fall asleep.

He let his body relax and he leant his head back and closed his eyes, and just like Hailey he was asleep within minutes. As uncomfortable as the position he was half sitting in and half laying in was, it was probably the best sleep he had that week, with his wife alive and safe and back in his arms.


Notes: Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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