[A/N: Hailey & Jay time after the events of 6x20 and the UPZEK BREAKUP! I don't mean to sound insensitive, but we all knew it was coming... I'm surprised they made it last as long as it did, to be honest. Just another one of my takes on what could have possibly happened between Upstead once the episode ended. Can't wait to see what the final two have in store, as I've heard that's where things get more "complicated" between Halstead & Upton... as I've said, I think there will be a discussion about their feelings before the season ends, setting them up for season 7, Hopefully! :) Thank you so much again for continuing to follow along with this, it means a lot to me!]


Jay watched as Adam returned to the bullpen while he was wrapping up at his desk for the night. Just looking at the expression Adam had on his face, he knew. Without even a second of thought, he quickly made his way down the steps and out the main exit, hoping to catch Hailey in the back before she left. He made it into the parking garage right as she was done putting her gym bag in the back seat of her car and slamming the door. He could tell that she instantly sensed him approaching because she turned to look directly at him and gave him a sad half-smile. He has no intention of pressing her or pushing her if she isn't ready to discuss what happened.

"Hey…" she token-ly said to him.

He gave her a concerned look and simply said, "You alright?"

"Yea…"

"You want to talk about it tonight?"

She seemed to ponder it in her head for a bit, but then nodded. "Yea… come by in an hour? I'll order us a pizza."

"Sounds good… I'll bring the bottle of bourbon I owe you!" he smiles at her trying to lighten the mood, earning him a soft laugh as her response.

"See ya." She says as she gets into her car, looking like she wants to be as far away from there as possible. He totally gets it.

Once he's watched her drive off, he grabs his keys out of his pocket and heads over to his truck. He lets out a long sigh as he turns the ignition. He figures he better get a move on his errands and in getting to the liquor store.

He starts making his way everywhere in a haze. He had sensed the tension between Hailey and Adam since the other day when she broke up his op and Adam wouldn't drop it. Since then, something in Jay's gut just told him this was the end for their relationship. Part of him felt guilty over the amount of happiness it caused him, but the other part felt so bad for both of his friends… he can't stand to see Hailey hurt, and he knows Adam doesn't deserve to be either. He was definitely in an emotional conundrum.

Before he knows it, the hour has almost passed as he finds himself parked outside of Hailey's house. While every fiber in his being wants to walk in and tell Hailey he's happy about the breakup because she never belonged with Adam, she belongs with him, he knows now is just not the right time. Not to mention she'd probably look at him like he was crazy. No, he has to give it some time… not much because he's felt like he's waited enough, but he's not a complete douche bag. He owes that much to Adam, despite the fact he knows the writing was on the wall for them for months. He's sure even though Adam thinks he was devoted to his relationship with Hailey, that Kim would always be in the back of his mind no matter who he's with… and he can only hope that he was on the back of Hailey's. Shit, they needed to get out more; things should never have gotten this complicated between them all! He tries to push this all out of his head as he turns his car off, his top priority right now is being there for Hailey in whatever way she lets him. He lets out another heavy sigh as he makes his way up to her door. When she opens it, he plasters his smile on and shows off the bottle of bourbon, hoping to be the rock for both of them right now.


Hailey was eternally grateful that for the first hour or so since Jay had come over, he just let them sit quietly enjoying each other's company while eating the pizza and having a beer. He didn't pry or even make an attempt to force her into talking about how she was feeling. Just sitting here like this with him, with someone who gets it, gets her, eases her mind of these past months for a few brief moments. She wishes a sentiment like this could last forever.

She knows she's going to need to talk eventually, but before doing so, she's been trying to process all of her thoughts. She knows the conversation with Adam was the right call, still, it sucks. She could tell he was disappointed, but it's better for them, all of them, to break the illusion before it went even further down the rabbit hole. Platt was right, and just reinforced what she's always known… at the end of the day, she would never care about Adam enough in THAT way to risk her career or their lives over. While dating and working together is complicated, her 'but it's more than that' was always the real reason the two couldn't click enough to make it work. She knows Adam knows that, and thought of Kim… just like she thought of Jay when Platt was giving her the advice. She's not quite ready for admitting to wanting to go down that road yet, she owes it to everyone for the dust to settle some; but like she already told him, she knows Jay's the only one she'd follow blind- Intelligence be damned if it came down to it. Her and Jay are already so in sync though, (and even when they're not they rectify it better than most,) that she knows they could combine work and a relationship if they wanted to. But that's certainly a conversation for another time, if Jay even thought of her in that way… a girl could hope though!

"You should put some of that anti-septic lotion I bought on your thigh soon, it works wonders on cuts. Back in the army we always kept one on us while on the frontline just in case." Jay said now that they had finished eating, drifting her from her thoughts.

She smiled at him knowing he was being his over-protective self. "Thanks, I will soon, I promise. Don't worry, it's…"

"…Fine… Yea, I know." he finishes for her smirking.

She chuckles slightly and snuggles further into the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest. After a minute she senses him studying her and knows she should spill since he seems so thoroughly concerned about her.

"So, it was actually mutual, in case you were wondering."

He raises his brow at her, but doesn't say anything, waiting for her to get whatever she wants off her chest.

"I thought it would be harder, but he understood. Platt had come to check on me in the locker room before I left today and gave me some advice that I pretty much already knew; I had just been postponing the inevitable. She said that if I thought Adam was the one that I should make it work, but with the needle we were threading, one of us would have to leave Intelligence… and if we weren't willing for the sacrifice, then it's not worth risking our careers over. And as much as I do care about Adam, I knew it wasn't enough for that sacrifice… and I think he finally realized it too. It started out as fun and did develop into more, but not enough to keep us on the same page. Maybe you were right about nothing good coming from workplace romances, at least with ours…"

Hailey smiles sadly and shrugs, watching as Jay seems to tense up a little. He seems to try his best to leave a blank expression on his face as he contemplates his response. She can't help but feel hopeful that it means something.

"Yea, makes sense. Relationships at work can definitely be complicated. Do you think if you cared deeper about Adam… or someone else… it'd be worth the sacrifice though?"

It's now her turn to study Jay and analyze what he could really be feeling. She thinks she knows. The elephant's been in the room with them for months now, but both of their trepidations are justified. She tries to push down the nervous, but excited feeling before she attempts another concealed response.

"I think… there's more to it than that, yea. I think if I was really with 'the one' it wouldn't be a sacrifice… I think there wouldn't even be a predicament to sacrifice for…. And clearly, that person wasn't Adam. But maybe there will be someone, one day… and all of this will feel like a distant memory…"

She stares at him as he nods slowly. "Yea, that's a nice thought… do you think you know when that time might be?" he cautiously and quietly utters, staring back into her eyes.

She smiles back while biting her lip. "Not yet, but… hopefully soon…"

They continue their agonizingly long stare, understanding without having to say anything more. Once the timing is right, they're inevitable. Finally Hailey can't take it anymore and looks away awkwardly.

"I should probably go put some of that lotion on, I feel the advil starting to wear off." She says as she starts to stand up and head towards her bathroom.

"Yea, you should… I'm gonna turn the Stanley Cup on."

"Okay!" she yells back from the bathroom. She stares into the mirror and looks back into a face that did not foresee the events of today at all… but she exhales deeply, for the first time in months feeling an enormous weight lifted off her shoulders. She's ready for whatever the future has in store, and instead of fearing it for a change, she's positively excited. She's going to owe Platt a drink once this is all over. She smiles at her reflection before grabbing the medicine and applying it, ready for a guilt-free hangout with her eventual one