Hi all! This is my first ever story! I hope you like it!

All of the characters are from Dick Wolf's Chicago PD and FBI

If he was being honest with himself, these 2 weeks were going by faster than he expected. It had only been 5 days, but Hailey was keeping in contact with him and the rest of the unit. Jay was blind sided that night when she showed up on his doorstep. He could tell from her puffy red eyes that something had happened. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. It wasn't that the partner he just got back was being sent away to team up with an FBI task force in New York. He could see in her eyes she was scared. He wasn't sure of what, but he knew she wasn't going to tell him anytime soon. He tried to hold back his anger, his fear. She didn't need that. She needed comfort and support.

So, he did his best to reassure her.

Two weeks will fly by.

This is an amazing opportunity.

Everyone will be here when you get back.

I'll be here is what he wanted to say but the words just wouldn't come out.

And it seemed to work. She seemed less worried, seemed like a little bit of the burden she was carrying on her shoulders had been lifted. And when he dropped her off at the airport the next morning her fear was replaced with sadness and nerves. Sad that she had to leave, nervous about the adventure ahead. They exchanged hugs and well wishes as she walked into the airport and away from Jay.

Since then, they have maintained pretty consistent contact. A text here, an email there. Phone calls at night once the bad guys clocked out and it was their turn to rest. The rest of the unit would ask him and Vanessa for updates every morning. They were also texting Hailey, but they weren't getting enough information from this to really gauge how she was holding up.

She had been assigned a temporary partner that she really liked. She had told Jay that he was a former Army Ranger like him. This made Jay feel much better about her temporary assignment. He knew the training and loyalty that Army Rangers had for their unit, even just the temporary members. He knew that this ranger would watch her back and Hailey would mesh well with him. He was actually quite proud to share Hailey with this Agent Zidan. She had helped Jay battle the demons that came home with him from the war. He knew how perceptive she was of the triggers and how she always seemed to know exactly what to say the push the demons back into the darkness. Understanding how much she had helped him, he was glad that she would be doing this for a fellow ranger.

And so life went on with a new normal. A temporary normal, but new one nonetheless. He hadn't really heard too much personal details about Agent Zidan so he wasn't really able to answer the questions Kim had been throwing at him.

"Has she sent any pictures?"

"She sends pictures of food but no, she hasn't sent a picture of Agent Zidan."

"Vanessa, has Hailey told you anything about her new partner?"

Temporary partner. Jay resisted the urge to correct Kim but reminded himself. Temporary partner.

"Ya! She actually sent a picture over this morning. He is a SNACK!"

Jay suddenly became very interested in the conversation unfolding in front of him.

"He's been showing her all the best vendor carts in the city. She sent me a selfie of her eating a huge pretzel with her new partner."

Temporary partner.

"DAMN! THAT is Agent Zidan?"

" G-I-R-L, I told you he is a SNACK!"

At this point, Adam and Kevin suddenly became very interested in the conversation Kim and Vanessa were having.

"Let me see that" Adam said. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, but it wasn't this. He saw a large man who towered over Hailey. His muscular physique made Kevin look like he needed to hit the gym more often.

"That's her new partner?" Adam finally choked out.

Temporary partner. Temporary partner. Jay found himself torn between wanting to see what the fuss was about and not wanting to see what he was up against.

"Damn." That was all Kevin was able to contribute to the conversation. He considered himself to be a very handsome man who maintained his muscular physique like a fine-tuned machine. He couldn't remember ever meeting anyone that made him feel even a little insecure. Yet here he is. Staring at this FBI agent with an olive complexion and smile that outshone the one Hailey was wearing.

"Damn. Her new partner has got to be 6'5 at least!"

Temporary partner. Jay suddenly felt like this two weeks just got a lot longer. He suddenly started to worry. What if she liked New York more than Chicago? She is clearly having fun, she has said as much. He knew her temporary partner had been taking her on a food tour of the city. Knowing how much she enjoyed trying new things, he was happy that she was getting to do this. But listening to the unit gawk over Agent Zidan was suddenly making him worry she was having too much fun.

He tried to ignore the rest of the unit and his internal dialogue. He suddenly found himself reaching for his phone.

Don't be that guy. You aren't dating. She's allowed to have fun with other people. She doesn't owe you anything. Don't be that guy.

He stared at his phone, wanting to talk to her but not knowing what to say. He had thought this was going by so quickly but now it felt like time was standing still. He needed to hear something so against his better judgement, he dialed her number.

Hailey was surprised to see Jay's name pop up on her screen. He usually texted during work hours. She was suddenly nervous. Did something bad happen? Why else would he be calling? She nervously pressed accept and before she could calm down, she found herself talking.

"Jay? What's wrong?"

Jay couldn't help but suddenly feel silly about worrying.

"Hey Hailey! Nothing! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to call you so you could hear the commotion you caused in the unit today!"

"Oh." Hailey felt better but confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Vanessa is showing off the picture you sent her of your partner. Apparently, he is quite the snack."

Hailey chuckled. And just as Jay had hoped, she said exactly what he didn't know he needed to hear.

"Temporary partner Jay. It's just temporary."

And suddenly, Jay once again felt like these two weeks was going to fly by.