"Hailey." Jay gestured over to Dr. Rhodes who had just walked into the waiting room. We had been sitting there for the past forty-five minutes for an answer, mostly in silence before he had walked in. I thought about texting Eliza or calling Eva's teacher while I had the time, but honestly, for the time being, I wanted to think of something else.

"Hey," Dr. Rhodes greeted us, pulling his surgical cap into his hands. We had met a handful of times since I had started working in Intelligence and saw him as a well-respected surgeon. "You two brought in Mr. Maldanado?"

"We did," Jay answered as we both stood from our seats when he approached us with a tired, yet professional manner. "How is he?

"After initial scans, we found surgery was his only real chance at making it. However, when we got in there, we found extensive damage and the bullet created what we like to call a pulmonary embolism which caused a blood clot to form in his lungs. Despite our best efforts, he flatlined on the table halfway through surgery and we were unable to bring him back."

"Thanks," Jay said with much appreciation, even though inside we both conveyed to the other that we might be back to square one if we didn't find another lead soon.

"I'm just sorry we couldn't do more. Knowing that he was responsible for killing a child is not something to take lightly." Dr. Rhodes nodded before walking back through the hall. He was gone by the time we had grabbed our jackets and walked back downstairs through the emergency department.

As we were walking down the narrow walkway, Will stepped out of a patient's room, fingers pressed against the tablet in his hands. He finally looked up as we passed by and he placed the device underneath his arm. "Hey, I heard you two were here." He was a lot like Jay, minus the red hair. Despite it, the stubborn but caring Halstead nature was still there in its own way.

"We were following up on a suspect related shooting," Jay told him as we approached the side of the main desk.

"I heard about that. I'm guessing you're the one who took the shot?" Will questioned Jay as he handed back the tablet to the nurse behind the counter with instructions.

"Died on the table."

"I'm sorry, that's rough." Will's expression changed to amusement as he observed the side of my forehead. "How's your head?"

"Still bruised, but harder than ever," I told him jokingly, although I was about ready to get out of here. I hoped I wasn't being too eager but I wanted nothing more to finish up this case and figure things out at home so I could focus again. "We should get back."

"Okay. Give me a minute."

"Hey, Natalie."

"Hailey." Natalie sat down at the computer on the other side of the desk, most likely to put in some information about a patient. "You look a lot better than the last time I saw you. How are you doing?"

"Good," I told her as truthfully as I could for the time being. "No more headaches. Not that I was having many, but the initial pain of being knocked around got to me for the first day or two."

"I'm glad to hear it. How about physically?"

"Getting back to work has helped. Still working on a few things."

"I know you have a good partner, but let me know if there's anything I can do on my end. Even if it's just to talk."

"Thanks. I will."

"Everything good?" Jay asked, meeting up with me as we walked outside the emergency room doors. As many times as we had been outside today, for some reason this time it felt really good to feel the sun on my face. Maybe it had something to do with the last time I was here, it had been dark and lonely.

"Fine. You?"

"Good." He pulled the keys from his pocket as we walked a few feet to the car. We had managed to get a parking spot closer to the hospital this time, which almost never happened when we came. "He wants to get together and watch the football game this weekend. A little brother bonding."

"Sounds nice to me. My brothers and I do the same thing when we're together."

"Yeah?"

"Seems like we've gotten into it more now that the years have passed by. Besides the food we all consume, It's all something we enjoy doing as we're yelling at the tv. My brothers do it more than I do because I'm often playing with my nieces or nephews while we're watching."

"Of course, they love their aunt Hailey." Jay beamed, turning the key in the ignition as he looked back to make sure no other cars were pulling out of the parking lot at the same time as us. "How old is your oldest one now?"

"Annie just turned six."

"And she belongs to your oldest brother? What's his name again?"

"Blake."

"Blake." He repeated, turning the steering wheel so we veered smoothly around the corner. "If she's six, I take it his wife didn't give birth long after you gave birth to Eva."

"Annie was born in June. Eva in October. I ended up meeting her for the first time on Thanksgiving that year" I nodded, looking out at passing scenery as I thought back to when I held Annie for the first time. My brothers had mistaken my tears for the love of my first niece and not because I was hormonal. When I had gone down to Virginia Blake had insisted I stay with him, so I had nowhere to go but my room to clean up and pull myself together.

"That couldn't have been easy." Jay frowned, casting glances my way as my words sunk in. "How long did you end up staying on Thanksgiving?"

"I think I left a couple of days later. I'm pretty sure I made some lame excuse how I had to get back to work, even though I spent the remaining night in a hotel before catching my flight back home."