jay and hailey are following up on a lead for their double homicide case when things go awry.
it's an older building and the elevators are slow and creaky. the partners don't think much of it, as they are always down for a slow morning. jay is leaning against the far wall as hailey stands in the middle, head tilted as she waits for the slow elevator to make its way up.
it all happens so suddenly.
one second they are upright and standing, and the next, the floor is shaking, and hailey is losing her balance. she manages to catch her footing and lock eyes with jay; he looks about ready to lunge in her direction (because of course he'll put her before himself), but she beats him to it when he loses his footing and tumbles down. she instantly dives on top of him (her lame attempt to protect her partner that is twice her size).
her sweet attempt at protection ends with knocking her head off the elevator wall and she groans. she is still splayed across jay's body and with the blinding pain reverberating through her skull and the shaking, she momentarily disconnects from reality. the lights are flashing, the sounds are horrific and the elevator groans as if it can't support them anymore.
jay grunts as he hits the ground and listen as hailey's head connects with the wall in front of him. he's frustrated at her attempt to protect him because that's what he was attempting to do before he lost his balance and fell. He does his best to maneuver underneath her and turn himself over.
he's face to face with Hailey and her eyes are squeezed closed and his eyes dart to the blood dripping from the front of her head. he quickly gains momentum, grabs her waist and rolls over, all while cushioning her head with his other arm. he keeps his arms around her and pushes her deeper into his embrace. the elevator is lurching but they're managing.
it feels like it lasts for hours, but in reality, it's probably only a few minutes.
as the rumbling stops, the lights dim and the elevator lurches one more time before stopping. it creaks loudly one last time, and jay can finally hear himself think again.
"hailey," he mumbles as he rolls off her. there is blood matting her blonde hair, but it isn't excessive. he reaches for her head, searching for the cut. the lights are dim, and he can't see much; he grabs his phone out of his back pocket and opens the flashlight app. it's a long cut on the crown of her head, but it doesn't look deep and the bleeding has mostly subsided.
jay slumps down beside her against the wall; she's going to be fine.
"jesus fucking christ," she mumbles, sitting up and clutching her head. "that was stupid."
jay chuckles. "yeah. what were you thinking?"
hailey rolls her eyes, but it pains her, and she clenches her jaw. "i was trying to protect you, dumbass. clearly it worked because you don't have a single scratch," she says matter-of-factly. she groans again, dropping her head; it absolutely kills.
"you probably have a concussion," he says, patting her shoulder. "it's a decent cut but not deep; maybe a few stitches."
"thanks dr. halstead," she replies, with a touch of glib.
it's jay's turn to roll his eyes. "next time don't dive into a metal wall."
hailey punches his thigh with as much force as she can in the moment. "i'm sorry but you covered me with your entire body when we were being shot at in a van," she says with attitude, "the least i can do is protect you from a damn elevator."
jay nods, smiling. "you're right."
"i know i'm right," she replies sassily, "now say thank you and let me use your lap as a pillow because i think i'm going to throw up."
jay laughs, grabbing his radio from his waistband. hailey lays down across his lap and closes her eyes; it instantly soothes her. jay can hear his radio crackling and is pleased to find they aren't offline, but they are probably overwhelmed as hell.
"5021-george to main: requesting cfd and an ambulance to our last known location; two plain-clothes officers trapped in an elevator. one injury; laceration to the head."
they both listen to main's confirmation, noting that it may take a while due to the severity of calls they're receiving. jay isn't worried; he knows they'll be seeing the familiar faces of their friends at the cfd very soon.
"hey," he mumbles, poking hailey's cheek. she furrows her eyebrows and angrily opens an eye. "you're not allowed to sleep if you have a concussion."
she rolls her eyes, "then keep me distracted."
he thinks for a moment. there's something he's been wanting to bring up for a while now but could never find the right time. maybe this was a good time; no one else was around, just the two of them, trapped in an unsteady metal box.
"okay," he says quietly and looks down at her. "what were you going to tell me in the hospital?"
hailey's eyes snap open wide and if she's trying to be subtle, she's failing. "i don't really remember," she says offhandedly, refusing to make eye contact. "must have been something stupid if i can't remember."
"didn't sound stupid," he says lightly.
hailey meets his eyes; he's looking at her with thoughtful eyes, though his face does not display ant emotion. he isn't trying to overwhelm her, but he knows it means more to her than she is letting on.
"hailey, your faith in my detective skills is very disheartening."
hailey rolls her eyes but decides to humour him. she spins herself around, so she is facing him and sits cross-legged. her head still hurts a considerable amount, but it's bearable compared to the awkward conversation she's about to have.
jay looks so innocent and attentive to what she's thinking and has to say that it literally begins to annoy her.
"stop looking at me like that," hailey mumbles, an edge to her voice.
jay raises an eyebrow at her tone, but a smug smile is on his lips. "how am i looking at you, hailey?"
"stop saying my name," she groans, covering her cheeks with her hands as she feels them heating up. jesus christ, he's not even touching her and she's already hot and bothered.
jay laughs and his eyes never leave hailey's face; not even when she sneaks a glance at him and then rapidly averts her eyes. "you don't have to tell me," he says softly, "but, hypothetically, if you were to tell me, i think you'd be pretty satisfied with my answer."
she looks at him and he knows; and she knows he knows. and her burning cheeks are the least of her problems because her whole body is on fire.
"are you sure you didn't hit your head?" she attempts to deflect poorly.
his eyes are pleading; he could just say what he wants to say, but she started this, and she should have the chance to finish it.
she makes up her mind; she's finally going to tell him. but something always interrupts.
there are two loud pounds on the elevator doors and a male voice calls out, "cfd! you guys okay in there?"
jay smirks, because what are the odds this happens again? hailey looks slightly relieved, albeit flustered. he has the audacity to drop his right eyelid in a wink before standing up and knocking once on the inside doors. "this is detective halstead, we're alright! we'll need paramedics on standby, my partner has a head wound."
"jay, is that you? it's kelly, we'll get you out soon, hang on."
jay turns back to hailey, who's finally stood back up, even though she's dizzy as hell.
she's dizzy, but she's looking at him and she thinks it wouldn't be the worst thing if he were to be the last thing she ever sees.
"you know what, jay?" she says suddenly and grabs his attention. she can hear the firefighters working away on the doors. "if i were to go down like this, stuck in this elevator, i wouldn't mind if the last thing i saw was your face."
they're almost there, he knows it; he can feel it.
"because i love you. and that's what i meant to tell you in the hospital, but there was so much going on and i could never find the right time and oh god, what if you don't feel th—"
jay doesn't want to listen anymore; he got his answers.
in one long stride, he's flush against her and her words die on her tongue. their height difference is significant, so he brings his hands up to cup her cheeks and angle her face close to his. her blue eyes are wide as she's shocked, but not at the same time; it was obvious they always had some kind of chemistry. she just was never sure if he felt the same way.
he's about to kiss her, he really is; but there's a loud yank on the elevator doors and jay looks to his side to see severide, casey and herrmann pulling open the doors and falling short when they notice the scene before them. brett and foster are hanging slightly behind, with shocked but perky smiles on their faces.
"looks like we should've kept you trapped in here a little bit longer," herrmann says with a cheeky smile.
severide laughs. "sorry."
hailey drops her head to his chest, chuckling at the awkwardness of the whole situation. "okay, i really do think i have a concussion. can i get that medical attention now please?"
jay smiles out of sheer adoration; maybe all they needed was a push in the right direction. or in this case, they needed a natural disaster to trap them in a metal death box.
whatever works.
helloooo! thanks for reading - also i just wanted to note i totally know that chicago is not prone to earthquakes... HOWEVER i read this bradford x chen (the rookie) fic where they got trapped in an elevator after an earthquake & i thought it was an adorable idea & wanted to give it a try.
hope you enjoyed it! pls review & let me know your thoughts :)
p.s. i have like five more upstead fics lined up including one where jay is hailey's pretend boyfriend at her exes wedding AND IM SO EXCITED
also, make sure you follow me on tumblr; ruzek-halstead!