Better an hour too soon than a minute too late is the motto Jay Halstead follows; it had been ingrained in him since he was a child and reaffirmed during his time in the military. He hates to be tardy, and if that was a peeve of his, to be tardy to work was even more of a gripe, especially considering it's his second day on the job at a new department in a new city in a new state. An old friend of his, Mouse, whom he had served in the military with had put in a good word for him with his boss, Sergeant Voight, a tough as nails Chicago cop that has a reputation. And based on that reputation, Halstead knew that his boss wouldn't appreciate him walking in late, especially considering it's only his second day and he's over an hour late.

The Silos in 25 minutes, the text read when he got the alert to his phone over an hour ago. He immediately started getting ready, but then everything that could wrong, actually went wrong.

He still had unpacked boxes, meaning majority of his belongings were still packed up and to get dressed, he had to clutter up his apartment in search of something decent to wear, -jeans and a t-shirt. It'll have to do until his furniture is delivered and he can unpack his clothes inside the dresser that's supposed to arrive sometime this week.

Early morning rush hour traffic was bumper to bumper and since he's new to the city, he only knew one route to The Silos and that was the direction his GPS was leading him.

He didn't have time for breakfast. He didn't have time to pack a lunch. He had only just gotten to town a week ago, moving to the city from a suburb in Wisconsin where he was born and raised, leaving behind his girlfriend, his father and his brother. Will, his distant brother, who never fails to remind him of just how disappointed he and their father are in him. It's a part of the reason why he moved away, wanting to put as much distance between himself and them. He needed to get away from them, from their negativity and their way of somehow holding him down and making him feel horrible about the career path he had chosen.

He didn't want to think about them. He moved away so he didn't have to think about them.

Abby, Jay shakes his head when she crosses his mind next because the two of them didn't leave things off on good terms. He doesn't even know where they left things off. It's a bit unclear. He thinks back to over a week ago when he broke the news of his upcoming departure.

"I don't understand what's in Illinois that's not here in Wisconsin," Abby complained; she's pacing back and forth, arms crossed over her chest and there's a look on her face. It's a look he can't name because he's honestly never seen it before on her.

"…this job," he answers simply because he hated repeating himself. This was the third time he's given her the same answer and it still wasn't registering for her.

Abby blew a strand of her brunette hair out from in front of her face and when it landed in the same position, she sighed loudly, "Yeah, you keep saying that, but what I'm trying to get at Jay is that I'm here, in Wisconsin, and I'm not ready to uproot my life…at least not yet." She wanted something a bit more permanent, she wanted a declaration of love, a ring –preferably given to her while he's on bended knee- and she wanted to be asked, practically begged to come with him. She grew frustrated every second that passed that he didn't pick up on that.

"I get you're not ready to uproot your life which is why I didn't ask you to come along," he attempted to explain but by the look on her face, he could tell that he isn't getting anywhere, "I think we could just do the long distance thing. You know?"

Based on the look she's giving him, he knows that wasn't the right thing to say.

Abby shakes her head, fast enough that Jay suspects she probably has a headache now, "No, I don't know. Jay, you're afraid of commitment," he hated when she went along that train of thought, "we've been dating for almost a whole year and we're exactly where we started in the beginning of our relationship. I haven't met anyone in your family. I've never met your coworkers. You've never asked me to move in or even talked about any long term commitment plans. I don't know things about you that a girlfriend should know. You never let me spend the night and even when you implied I might be able to join you in your move to Chicago, you basically said in clear terms that if I did move down there that I would have to find my own place; that we would continue to live separately."

He couldn't argue. He couldn't defend himself because she was right.

It's plain as day that Abby's feelings for him are stronger than his for her. She's on the verge of saying that she loves him but she knows it'll only push him away. He knows almost everything about her but she doesn't even know his favorite color. And that was on purpose. He didn't want things to get too serious; he wanted to keep her at an arms-length distance away.

Jay sighs as if he was going to respond yet he continues to remain silent. However, silence is a response all by itself and it's a loud one. Abby holds her head high and looks down at him, sucking her teeth before shaking her head in what looks to be a mixture of disappointment and disgust, "I think we should take a break, Jay," and when he opens his mouth to agree, she assumes he's about to disagree and she continues talking so as to not give him a chance to change her mind, "yes, I know it sounds hard but I think it's the best thing to do for us and our relationship. This is what needs to happen because what is happening right now isn't fair to me; you've never been fair to me. We just, uh, we just need to re-evaluate our relationship and the best way to do that is to take a step back. We're just taking a break, not breaking up."

"What's the difference?"

"…we're just going to put a pause on our relationship. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder so maybe this is healthy for us. Maybe it's what we need? What you need?"

"You're probably right," he slowly nods.

But, ouch. The last thing she wanted to hear was him agreeing that distance may be the best thing for them. She wanted him to fight for her, to declare his love for her, to propose, to plea for forgiveness, to wrap her up in his arms and to vow to share every part of him with her! She didn't want this but she couldn't renege on her own idea.

Abby steps closer, she's always the one initiating affection. She reaches for him, wanting to settle her hand against his chest or his waist or somewhere that exemplified the fact that they're not friends but in a relationship, but he side-stepped her, choosing instead to finish what he had been doing when their conversation had started, "I don't want this to hurt us."

"It's like you said, Abs, it'll give us a chance to re-evaluate our relationship. If we're meant to be then we'll find a way back to each other, and if we're not then hopefully we both find the happiness we're seeking, separately or with other people."

And that's not what she wanted to hear either. She didn't want anyone else; she wanted him. She invested time into this relationship. She was too far in to just give up and try again with a different person. No, Abby was going to make this work, "That's not…" she cuts herself off because she may have implied what he said, but that's not what she actually wanted.

If only Jay could read her mind…

"Abby I'm just trying to appease the both of us."

"You're not doing a good job of it," she snapped, voice raising and reaching an octave that hadn't been reached in their entire relationship, "I mean, I know relationships are hard but you make them impossible! Have all of your relationships been like this? I should know, right, but I don't know anything because you won't fucking tell me anything! I've never done coupley things with you and we've been together for almost a year!"

He's never heard her curse ever. He slams the remote down that he had lifted at some point, "What do you want me to do, Abby?"

"I want you to love me…"

"I can't force myself to love someone!"

"I want you to tell me things!"

"…like what?"

"Have all of your relationships been like this?"

"Yeah and this is why they don't last! So now that you know that, do you still want to stick to going on this relationship break or actually break up because I have enough to do with my upcoming move that I really don't need the extra grief you're giving me?!"

She left after that, without giving an answer. And he didn't stop her, not even to get one. He actually felt relieved when the door closed behind her.

Days later, Abby had text him while he was in route to Chicago, providing an answer to the question left in the air.

It's just a break; I don't want to break up, -Abs

Jay had gotten to the scene of the crime and unzipped his leather jacket the second he stepped out of his car. He took in his surroundings; his dark eyes glinting under the rising sun. There was an arrogant half-smirk on his face, "Second day on the job," he whispers to himself "you got this."

The dark shades covering his eyes gave him the appearance of a bad boy, and some may even call him that considering his commitment issues and the tendencies he typically has that correlates to those of a bad boy, a bachelor. His tousled hair sat uncombed because he truly didn't have time to do it this morning; he was already running late, he didn't need to be later than he currently is. He approached the crime scene, exuding an air of confidence even though he was a little nervous at the reaction his boss would have with him strolling in late.

"Halstead, it's nice of you to grace us with your presence," Voight retorted; the look on his face telling him that he doesn't want to hear an excuse. His tone was sarcastic; he wasn't happy with Jay's tardiness. And there was no excuse that Hank Voight would be willing to accept. Instead, he pointed towards the covered corpse, "We have a dead body. I hope it's not an inconvenience for you," he's still being sarcastic. Jay's eyes rolled but his dark shades hid it.

Jay ducked under the yellow crime scene tape that was already in place, to make his way over to the team, all of whom were near the medical examiner, "Sorry sarge," Voight waves off his apology as he nods for the medical examiner to continue where he left off, "Ligature marks on the wrists and ankles. And I'll still need to do a full autopsy but from what I can see, he died of blood loss from a gunshot wound to here," he points at the man's chest, "and here," he then moves his gloved covered hand to point at the man's neck." The medical examiner lifted the thin, white sheet and recovered the body before standing, "Based on there being no exit wound to the chest, I can assume the bullet is still lodged. When I get it, I'll hand it over to forensics for analysis. I'll get the body back to my lab and complete a full autopsy. I should have the report ready by the end of the week. I'll personally deliver it to you myself, Hank."

Voight and the medical examiner shake hands once the doctor pulls off the latex gloves. Hank appeared to sense the overwhelming growth of frustration from the detective to his left, "Can I do something for you Halstead? Do you need help with something? No? Then come on, get to work. I didn't hire you to micromanage you."

And this was not how he expected his first week to go. His boss glared at him before turning and walking away, moving alongside the medical examiner towards the back of his vehicle. He stood firm, hands tucked in his pockets as the hard look on his face masked the way he actually felt, "Voight just takes some getting used to; he'll warm up to you eventually." It was Dawson, if Halstead remembered his last name correctly, who had spoke, "Just keep showing your worth and prove to him that it wasn't a mistake to hire you. You got this, Halstead. Now come on," he waves for the new detective to follow him, "there are a few people around here that we can question to see if they saw anything and I'll catch a ride back with you and you can tell me what made you want to even accept a job from the infamous Voight."

Infamous? Halstead wasn't from Chicago. He doesn't know Voight's reputation and as he follows behind Dawson towards the group of crowded bystanders watching from behind the yellow tape, he starts to question his decision. Maybe this wasn't for the best? If people walked on eggshells around his boss, maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he acted too rash? His father has always said he made impulsive decisions; maybe he was right and this was one of them? He'll give it a month, and see where his head-space is at before he decides whether to stay in Chicago or go back to Wisconsin. He couldn't face the shame of looking his father and brother in the eye, telling them without actually saying the words that they were right. A month should be enough time to consider his options and weigh the pros and cons of staying and leaving, he takes a deep breath and ducks beneath the tape, "Hello, I'm Detective Halstead, I just want to ask you a couple of questions," as he introduces himself, he can feel the eyes of his boss glaring into the back of his head as he performs the duties of his job, "I just, um," he's never been nervous to perform his job but with his boss practically looking over his shoulder, he felt the pressure, "I just want to know if you witnessed anything."

"…nothing of substance," the guy shrugs, "I just got here. I'm walking to work and I saw all the commotion and I wanted to see what was going on."

"How long ago did you get here?"

"…probably about five minutes ago."

Jay sighs and whispers his thanks before moving towards the next person in the crowd of bystanders. Out of every person he spoke with, no one had seen anything. Each person he questioned provided him with no substantial information. And if he wasn't frustrated by that, he was annoyed by his boss staring at him from the distance, watching as if he expected Jay to mess up. He was new at the Intelligence unit, but he wasn't new at investigating cases, at questioning witnesses, solving crimes and arresting perps. Jay couldn't go his whole career being shadowed. If he was going to get his boss to cut him some slack, he would have to step it up, work overtime and go the extra mile just to get on Voight's good side.

And maybe in his free time he'll see why out of all the adjectives Dawson described Hank Voight with, it was infamous.

The crime scene is tightly secured, officers not allowing anyone in unless they provide the proper identification. After questioning the bystanders, he watched as those officers cleared the scene.

"I don't like it when my detectives are late," he hears the gruff voice of his sergeant as he approaches; "my team works as a cohesive unit. I expect the same from you that I expect from them, whether you're new or not, whether you're the youngest member or not, whether you're the least experienced or not. It's your probationary period. If you continue to slip up, you're out."

Voight walked away, not even giving Jay a chance to respond. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, kicking up gravel before scanning his eyes to search for Dawson. Now as he stands outside, Jay found himself even happier that Abby didn't come with him to Chicago. With Voight breathing down his neck, a new case, unpacking his new apartment and most likely having to work late nights and prove himself, he didn't have time for a girlfriend. This break in their relationship was needed and while he really didn't have much of an opinion on it at first, he's grateful for it now.

At first, Jay gave himself a month but he's never been a quitter. He's going to make this work because this opportunity would do wonders for his career. This was going to work. He was going to prove himself to Voight because while he has a reputation and could flush his career down the sewer, he could also raise it and provide him with opportunities that are currently unimaginable. He'll get through this probationary period; he'll make sure he doesn't screw this up. He'll get words of advice from Dawson on the ride back to the precinct, he'll come into work early, he'll leave work late, he'll do what needs to be done to get in Voight's good graces and he'll do everything he can to avoid getting on his bad side. If it's anything he's learned in the last few days, it's that to have Hank Voight as an enemy is a career killer.