AN: I am back, briefly, from the deep dark depths called Life to present to you all a new chapter. I apologize for the lengthy delay (tries to forget the bit that I haven't updated since January...). As always, thank you for the kind words and support you've shown me since I first jumped into this mess called "fixing what the CPD writers ignored/left out." Mistakes are mine, though I feel like it's my Muse's fault, too.

Chapter 9: Hope

Somehow, as the hours ticked by, Hailey managed to fall asleep. It was a fitful, restless thing, one filled with nightmares rather than pleasant dreams.

It was after the first two hours or so of waiting with no updates that she finally caved and closed her eyes. She was welcomed with nothing. Just unending darkness. It was only after she found comfort in the void that the nightmares actually started. But they weren't just nightmares. They were memories, too. She was back in that warehouse, leaning over Jay, begging him to stay with her. His gasps for breath swirled around her head like a never-ending echo as his blood puddled beneath them both and life slowly faded from his eyes. And every time Jay died, Hailey found herself snapped back to the beginning of it all and she was forced to go through it again and again and again. Failing to save her partner every single time.

The cycle continued until she was pulled from her vice by the sound of someone calling her name. Hailey rubbed her eyes and watched as the brightly lit room she was waiting in materialized in place of the dark warehouse. After a second of searching for the origin of the voice, her eyes landed on Will.

"Jay is back in his room," he said as he offered her a steaming cup of coffee, a small gesture that went a long way. "Crockett and Sam are here,"

Now more awake than she was before, Hailey accepted the drink and stood up from the unforgiving chair as the other two doctors walked in.

Sam began, stating that, in spite of the head trauma Jay suffered and the memory loss he had experienced so far, he saw no signs of it being permanent. Marcel chimed in and stated that, in time and with physical therapy, he should likely regain full function of his shoulder. All in all, considering everything that happened, Jay's recovery looked good, though a bit lengthy.

So, why wasn't Hailey happy?

"Can we see him?" she found herself asking, maybe too quickly.

"Once they are done getting him settled in," said Marcel. "But you need to understand, Detective Halstead needs time to heal. He's still in pain, so we gave him something for that. You can sit with him, but he likely won't awake for some time."

From behind, Hailey watched as Will shook both of the other doctor's hands and thanked them for everything they did for Jay. Then, once they were gone, he turned toward her with a blank expression on his face. "Hailey, I-" he began, only stopping short when his breath caught in his throat. "I need to go home for a while. Would you-"

She was nodding before Will could even finish his question. "Of course,"

After Will thanked her with a gentle hug and took his leave, Hailey found herself alone. No longer feeling the need to put on a brave face in front of everyone, she closed her eyes and let the tears that were welling in her eyes fall freely. She ran a shaking hand down her face and soon found herself back in that uncomfortable chair. The smell of the coffee, not too long ago a welcome sight, now made her stomach turn.

From her seat, Hailey had a clear line of sight toward Jay's room. How convenient. She watched as Marcel talked with one nurse, while other nurses entered and left again. Unaware of how much time had passed, the detective stayed, hunched forward with a cooling cup of coffee still in hand and watched.

At some point, whether it was due to the nature of her current seated position or because of some other cosmic occurrence, Hailey got the urge to get up and go. She stood, without a plan of what she would do or say, and walked toward Jay's room, trashing the drink as she passed a lone trash can.

The walk itself was not all that far. She'd made it a few times already, yes, but this time seemed different. Not just because Will was not with her, or because she now knows that, with time and hard work, Jay will be okay. No, it was because of something else. Something she wasn't ready to admit to herself, let alone confront at this time. When she arrived at Jay's doorway, again, she realized, if faintly for a fleeting moment, that the feelings she tried to ignore were not going to go away. Maybe the fact that she nearly lost her partner brought the facts to the forefront of her mind at that precise moment: about how she did not want to think about a world that no longer had Jay Halstead in it. Not without letting him know how she feels.

Eventually, after the seconds seemed like hours, Hailey was back by her resting partner's side. She looked him over with careful eyes, needing to see for herself that he was, truly, okay.

Jay was still beat up, but he didn't appear to be in pain at the moment, and for that Hailey was glad to see. As she pulled the chair up closer to his bedside, she eased in and worked on building the courage to tell him.

Would she just say the words, get it all out of the way like ripping off a bandage? Maybe she should just ease into it. Yeah, he's been through a lot already, she didn't need to drop a lot on his plate right now, so that seemed like they way to go. Now, figuring out how to go about that was another matter to figure out.

Hailey knew that, because they have been partners for years now, it would make talking to him easier. But at the same time, that fact made it all that much harder. She'd come to care for Jay over time, the longer they worked together. And the longer they worked together, the stronger her feelings toward him grew. Hailey didn't want to risk tainting the friendship and partnership they've built by voicing the thing she still had trouble accepting.

That was the thought that swirled in her mind as she settled deeper into the slightly more comfortable chair. Then she thought about what she would say, how she would say it and when the perfect time would be to say it. Should she wait until Jay's memory comes back completely? Should she tell him right away, and hope that sparks something? Just maybe, something that would jog his memory about all that they've been through so far?

Hailey fell asleep, right there in that chair by her partners side, unaware of what she would do next.

AN: I'm guesstimating that there will be one chapter. Hopefully that will be posted before the end of the world. *dry laughter* Feel free to let me know what you thought.

Also, how are you Upstead shippers feeling after 9x1? *smirk*