"So… that guy? That Narcotics guy?" asked Jay when they were waiting for his CI to show up. So much for punctuality, he grumbled.
"What about him?"
"Was that a date?" asked Jay frankly.
"Yeah. My friend Amy Rigsby from Narcotics, she just finished a 3-months deep undercover. We caught up last week, and she basically forced me to go on a date with her boss," said Hailey.
"Boss?" Jay was caught off-guard.
"Yeah, her boss in Narcs," said Hailey. A sergeant then, Jay thought.
"And how was it?" asked Jay.
"What? Will I be seeing him again? I don't know," Hailey shrugged. "You sounded like Amy, or my mum, or my brothers," she chastised lightly.
"You said you had no personal life. Of course I'm intrigued, it's not every week you go on a date," said Jay.
"Correction. It's not every week you caught me on a date. Hey, how was cleaning the apartment? How did you hold up?" asked Hailey, changing the subject. She's been meaning to ask when she got home from her date, but Amy called her to ask about the date; she simply forgot.
"Surprisingly well. I didn't get nightmare," said Jay.
"Really? That's good," Hailey smiled. "Is that because of the therapy?"
"I think so, I'm past halfway mark, and the nightmares were reduced. I'm hoping to get rid of the PTSD, last time I put Will in a chokehold," Jay explained.
"See, baby steps," Hailey pat his arm. Jay's mind wandered back to the only nightmare he had the past week.
After getting home from the district, he sat on the couch and turned the TV on. His mind wandered back to the airport, when the suspect grabbed Hailey and pointed the gun at her. He shuddered when he thought about how close she got to getting hurt again. And all he did was freeze. He didn't react when she was being held hostage. At a glance, it looked as if he was playing the part of a regular citizen who was scared. However, his fear was real. He fell asleep on the couch with the TV still on.
Jay was awoken by a very loud voice from the TV. He gasped, grabbing the couch pillow and felt suffocated. His breathing was rapid and irregular. After trying to contain himself for a while, his breathing evened out and he started to regain sense of his surroundings. The TV was playing a chase scene, where a police shot out two gunners. He had a nightmare again, this time Hailey got shot in the head by the gunman in the airport. He looked for his phone on reflex, wanted to call Hailey, to make sure that was a dream. He was about to press call when he stopped himself. It was 2 am, surely she was asleep, and he didn't want to worry her. Moreover, he remembered what Will said about not relying too much on her. He scrolled through his phone, finding a report she sent after the ordeal, trying to convince himself that it was just a dream. He sighed, turned off the TV, and settled himself for not sleeping. He didn't want another nightmare.
"Hey, come back," Hailey slapped him lightly on the arm, bringing him back to the present. "What?" she asked, Jay had been looking at her with a blank expression.
"No, nothing."
"Yeah, right," Hailey rolled her eyes. Jay sighed, knowing he had been caught. Jay just opened his mouth when she cut him. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me."
"It's not that," said Jay.
"Really, as long as you're good, I'm glad," said Hailey. Jay was about to answer when they heard a radio call. Jay frowned.
"That's Denise's apartment," he commented when hearing a radio call about shots fired in an apartment complex. "5021 George, plain clothes officers responding to the shots fired in the apartment," he spoke to the radio. "Let's go."
They went to the apartment and drew their weapons as soon as they exited the elevator. They cleared the floor, and went to the unit with the door open. Jay immediately recognised the studio unit as his CI's. He exchanged looks with Hailey, and opened the door. Hailey went inside, cleared the bathroom. A dead body was on the bedroom floor, a bullet hole was visible on her chest.
"Body, it's Denise," Jay said, checking for pulse then shook his head. It was his CI. It must mean something that she was killed just when they had a meeting schedule. He stomped his feet in frustration.
"5021 Henry, this is plain clothes officer responding to the shooting in the apartment, we have found a body. Repeat, a body was found. Send ambo and assistance now," she barked into the radio. Hailey was about to walk over to Jay when she stopped, snapped her fingers to catch Jay's attention, and put her finger in front of her lips. Her eyes looked around the room.
"You hear that?" she whispered. Jay shook his head. Hailey searched under the bed, and opened the closet. A little girl, no more than 6 years old, squatted in the corner. Her face was wet with tears. Hailey immediately holstered her gun. "Hey, my name is Hailey. What's your name?" she asked.
"Rosie," she answered, sobbing.
"Rosie, you are safe now, I'm gonna take you with me, okay?" asked Hailey.
"Are you good or bad?"
"I'm with the good people. Here," Hailey offered her arms. Rosie went to her and hugged her. "You are safe. Can you close your eyes for me?" Hailey carried her to the bathroom where they couldn't see the body. She sat on the side of the bathtub, Rosie still clinging to her.
"Denise doesn't have a child," said Jay as he went to the bathroom waiting for assistance.
"Rosie, do you live here?" asked Hailey. Rosie shook her head. "Do you know where you live?" asked Hailey. Rosie shook her head again.
"Do you know this person?" Jay showed her picture of Denise. Rosie didn't answer; she looked at Hailey with wide eyes.
"It's okay, he is my friend. His name is Jay," Hailey looked at Rosie.
"That's Denise," said Rosie.
"How do you know Denise?" asked Hailey.
"She looked after me after school. She told me to stay quiet until good people come," said Rosie. Hailey and Jay exchanged looks. Denise was a witness.
"What else did she say?" asked Jay.
"Nothing. Someone on the door, Denise told me to stay, a loud bam, and quiet," said Rosie.
"Did you hear Denise talking to someone?" asked Hailey. Rosie shook her head. Jay went outside and back with a pink backpack.
"Is this yours?" asked Jay. Rosie nodded.
"May we take a look at your bag?" asked Hailey. Rosie nodded. Jay quickly rummaged through the bag. Hailey picked a story book. "Is this yours?"
"Yes. My mum read it to me every day," said Rosie.
"Can you read it for me?" asked Hailey. Rosie recounted the story of Three Little Pigs to Hailey perfectly until assistance arrived.
"Got her school name, her parents are being tracked. Let's bring her to the district," murmured Jay to keep Rosie from hearing him. Hailey nodded, looking down at the little girl.
Bringing Rosie to the district turned out to be difficult. Because the killer was still in the wind, and they were worried that the killer would see Rosie as she was brought out, they made a plot where Rosie was given a neck brace and being put into an ambo as if someone called 911 for her. In a deserted road, Hailey carried her, covered in CPD jacket, to Jay's car. The moment they went to the precinct, Platt called them.
"The school called. They found her parents. Apparently her name is Mary Rose, but she goes by Rosie. Took a while finding her real name. Her mum is on the way here," said Platt.
"Thanks Sarge," said Hailey.
"Hi, Rosie. My name is Trudy. Your mum is going to pick you up. You can sit with me," Platt went to her and knelt in front of her. Rosie whimpered and hugged Hailey's waist.
"It's okay, Trudy is good," said Hailey. Rosie shook her head.
"Bring her up," said Platt. Hailey sighed and shook her head. "You sat at my desk the whole night, little girl," scolded Platt lightly, both smiling at the reference.
"Alright. I was in high school, though. Come on, Rosie," said Hailey and held Rosie's hand. She buzzed in to Intelligence. "Scene picture out, everyone, sorry," said Hailey. Kim turned the board. Hailey pulled a chair and pointed it to Rosie.
"Can you draw something for me?" asked Hailey, giving Rosie a piece of paper and watercolour pencils from Rosie's bag. "I really like flowers. Can you please draw flowers for me?"
"You babysit often, Hailey?" teased Adam.
"Yeah, you need one, big baby?" retorted Hailey. Kevin and Jay snickered.
"That hurts," commented Kevin.
"Phone record suggested that Denise received a phone call from a burner phone five minutes before 911 call came in. Before that, Jay called her," said Adam.
Hailey ran Denise's bank record and found two suspicious bank transfers in and out at similar amount. Jay went back after running facial recognition from street camera nearby and saw Rosie munching chocolate biscuits. Hailey grinned guiltily; she stole those from Jay's desk.
"I'll buy you one tomorrow," grinned Hailey. Jay rolled his eyes.
"Rosie's mum is here," announced Platt.
"Come on, Rosie," Hailey offered her hand. Rosie grabbed her hand, and followed her downstairs. Jay followed them.
"Thank you, thank you," said Rosie's mum. Rosie immediately latched on to her.
"Mam, Detectives Halstead, Upton. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about Denise?" asked Jay.
"No, of course not. It's unfortunate, oh Rosie," she held Rosie. "Sweetie, can you wait for a bit?," said her. While Jay interviewed her, Hailey kept her company. Rosie hugged her when they were about to leave.
"I didn't know you were a child whisperer," teased Jay when they walked up to Intelligence.
"I have friendly face, unlike you," mocked Hailey. Jay pouted.
Their investigation revealed that Denise was forced to bait the unit with wrong information to trap them. Denise agreed at the beginning, only to bail at the last second and transferred the money back. She was killed because she was unwilling to cooperate. It turned out she set up the meeting with Jay to trap him in the first place. She didn't intend to come after bailing on the people who forced her. The mastermind was in the run. Voight sent them home for the night, and Hailey was wrapping up her partial report when her phone rang.
"Upton," she answered.
"Hailey. It's Aaron. You up for some dinner?" asked Aaron. Hailey looked at the clock. It was 7 pm. She was about to head home and watch Netflix. Moreover, she hadn't pondered upon their date on the weekend. She hadn't decided whether to go on a second date, that is if he asked.
"I'm just wrapping up," said Hailey, didn't give a definite answer.
"Perfect. Can I pick you up at your district?"
"Um, I drove here. Can we just meet somewhere?" asked Hailey. Jay looked at her with curiosity. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was eavesdropping. Hailey picked a pen and threw it at Jay while glaring at him.
"You know the Italian Restaurant, Pecorino, at Uptown?"
"Yeah, I know. I'll see you in… 30 minutes?" Hailey hang up after hearing an affirmative answer from the other end. "Jay, you're just as bad as my brothers!" she scolded him for paying attention to her talking on the phone.
"Is it the Narcs guy? Where are you going on a date?" asked Jay.
"Yeah, and he has a name," said Hailey. She turned off her computer. "See you tomorrow. And since you act like my brothers in high school, if you're tailing me, you're a dead man tomorrow," threatened her.
"Your brother did that?" asked Jay.
"Brothers. Plural. I have two, and they tailed me and sat in the next booth. Remember, I threw a guy bigger than you to the floor last week. Just saying," Hailey laughed.
"Just tell me when you get home safely," said Jay.
"What if I don't go home?" Hailey smirked. Jay got caught off guard. "Kidding, dad," she smiled and walked downstairs. "Kev, if Jay asked you to track my phone off the record, tell him he's dead, or else you are," said Hailey as she left. Kevin has two teenage siblings who lived with him until last year, which means he could track a phone off the record in no time.
"What was that about?" asked Kevin.
"You heard her," Jay grinned.
"Man, I don't dare," said Kevin.
"Yeah, me too. I'm heading out. Don't track her," Jay laughed as he left the district. He went to the therapist's office. Around 10 pm, right after he got home, he got a message from Hailey: "Dad, I'm home. Don't track my phone." He snickered at the way Hailey teased him, but still texted him.
An hour later, he received a message from a CI asking him to meet. He called Hailey.
"Hey, what is it?" asked Hailey directly. He doesn't usually call late, unless they have a case.
"You know my CI Andrew? He asked to meet," said Jay.
"You sure? Denise wanted to meet, and it was a bait. How do we know this is a legit one?" asked Hailey.
"I don't," said Jay.
"Tell him to meet you tomorrow. And you set the place, not him," said Hailey. "I'm sure whatever information he has, it can wait a night."
"Yeah," Jay hesitated.
"I'm serious. Do not meet him without back up. Or better, without me," warned Hailey.
"Okay, I'll tell him," said Jay. "Hey, how was the date?"
"Night, Jay," said Hailey, then hang up.
"Shoot," said Hailey without even glancing at Jay. Jay had been drilling a hole on the side of her head by staring. "Come on, ask me whatever you want to know." They had been seated at the coffee shop for 15 minutes, waiting on Jay's CI.
"No, I didn't… okay, how was your date?" Jay blushed when he asked that. He isn't usually nosey, but this time he was intrigued to know about Hailey's personal life.
"It was fine," Hailey sighed.
"You don't look happy," said Jay.
"Wow, hitting on the girl without me," a man in mid 20s sat beside Hailey. She smiled. Andrew is Jay's CI. He was a rich kid who went on wrong route in life. He would do anything to avoid jail for doing drugs back then, which made him a perfect CI.
"Hi, Andrew. What do you have?" asked Hailey.
"This," Andrew slipped a piece of paper to Hailey. "I have to go, I'm on the way to practice. Be careful of him," Andrew motioned to Jay. Hailey laughed.
"Hey, what's that mean?" protested Jay, but Andrew was gone quickly. "How come my CI likes you more?"
"I'm a girl?" offered Hailey. "Don't be sour," she passed on Andrew's paper, then checked her phone. "We got a hit on yesterday's case, Denise's killer. Come on."
"Chicago PD!" Hailey kicked the door of the apartment and they barged in, weapon drawn. The apartment was quiet, but Jay noticed the key was hanging on the inside of the door. He pointed that out quietly to Hailey, and they spread out to clear the apartment, being careful because the suspect was somewhere inside. Jay's mind went racing. He remembered last week's scene at the airport and his dream of Hailey getting shot in the head. His paling face didn't slip Hailey's attention, but she brushed it away. They could talk later… if Jay wanted to. They hadn't had their talk in a while. On one side, Hailey was glad because it might mean Jay was getting better. However, she had the feeling that he wasn't completely okay; he just stopped talking to her.
"Put that down!" Jay heard Hailey yelled. He went to the kitchen and saw Hailey and the suspect were pointing their weapons to each other. The suspect pointed his weapon to Jay.
"No," said the suspect, pressing the trigger. Jay threw himself to the side and shot at the same time. Hailey also took a shot. The suspect was on the floor, dead. Hailey pressed her fingers to find his pulse and found none, before making a radio call.
"That was a hell of a shot," she commented while walking towards Jay. Jay was also on the floor, holding his arm. Blood seeped through his fingers. "5021 Henry, roll an ambo to the same location, officer was shot. Shit, Jay!" She panicked. Barely a month ago they were in same situation, Jay was shot and she knelt over him, assessing his wound.
"It's a graze," said Jay. Hailey peeled his hand from his arm and checked his wound. It was a graze, but there was a lot of blood. "It will leave a mark. I will look more badass than I am now."
"Oh, you are a badass now?" teased Hailey. "I'm gonna bubble wrap you," she muttered. She took off her belt and tied it on Jay's arm. She checked Jay's pulse.
"I'm alive."
"Obviously. You're also deadly pale. Try not to pass out," said Hailey, pushing him to lean on a chair. They heard ambulance in the distance. She sat beside him, exhaling a long breath. "When are you gonna stop being shot?" asked Hailey. Jay nudged her with his feet, smirking.
"You know de ja vu feeling?" Hailey said randomly.
"Yeah?"
"That just happened to me. I remembered I hovered over you after you got shot," said Hailey.
"Yeah, sorry," said Jay.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Will when Jay and Hailey strolled in. Jay received first aid in the scene, but decided to go to Med with their car. The paramedics reluctantly agreed after making sure Hailey would drive.
"He got shot," said Hailey. Will's eyes widened. Jay pointed at his arm.
"It was a scratch," corrected Jay.
"Detectives, Exam Room 2," said April.
"We're platinum members, Will. Where's the VIP treatment?" asked Jay.
"When I said that, I didn't mean you should pop in once a week," Will rolled his eyes. He started to undo Jay's bandage.
"You're working on my patient, who is your brother. It's a good thing you're you," said Ethan from the curtain.
"Relax, I just wanted to take off the bandage to see the wound," said Will.
"Scratch, it's a scratch," said Jay.
"Do you have any allergies?" asked Ethan.
"No," answered Will.
"Go on, I'm not here," Jay said sarcastically. Hailey snickered. "Upton," she went outside to talk on the phone while Ethan got ready to suture Jay's wound.
"The suspect's phone record came back, he was the one who blackmailed Denise. And footage shows his car just outside Denise's apartment just before we came in," said Hailey. Jay nodded.
"I'll grab your clean clothes from the truck," said Hailey. Jay's shirt was torn by the bullet. When she came back with clothes and a cup of coffee, Jay's wound was already sutured. Will and Ethan were talking outside the room. She gave Jay his clean clothes and the coffee.
"Thanks," said Jay. He shrugged out of his shirt and took off his vest before shrugging into the clean shirt. "Let's go."
"Wow wow wow, wait a minute. Dr. Choi, is he free to leave or does he need to stay overnight for observation?" smirked Hailey after opening the curtain.
"Free to go. If you feel pain, have the painkiller," said Ethan.
"Thanks," said Jay and Will simultaneously, then Ethan left.
"I'll drive you home," said Hailey. "Bye, Will."
"Try to not get hurt in a month, you two. How about for a change, we hang out in Molly's and not here," said Will. He patted Jay's shoulder. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?" Jay just nodded and clasped Will's arm.
"I'll hold you to that," said Hailey. Jay followed her to the car. The drive to Jay's place was silent. When they arrived, Hailey faced Jay.
"You're okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's just a scratch," said Jay. Hailey looked at him meaningfully.
"Come on. You think I didn't notice you paled when we entered the apartment? What was that about?" inquired Hailey. Jay sighed.
"Tequila?" offered Jay. They went to Jay's apartment. Jay poured a shot of tequila and gave it to Hailey before sitting next to her.
"I got nightmare last week after the incident at the airport. Your head got blown up in the dream," Jay stated simply.
"You didn't say anything, I thought it passed," Hailey remembered Jay's immediate reaction after the ordeal.
"I accidentally fell asleep to a cop TV show. The gunshot sound from the TV made the perfect background for the nightmare, I think. You were on the ground and lifeless because I failed to negotiate," Jay was pale. Hailey grabbed a glass of water and gave it to Jay.
"That was first nightmare since the previous week, because when I slept with booze, I didn't have nightmare. I wanted to make sure you were alive, but it was 2 am," said Jay.
"It's okay, you should've called anyway," said Hailey. "You talked to your therapist?"
"Yeah… it got better the following night. And today you were at gunpoint, it brought back the memory," said Jay. Hailey nodded understanding.
"Anything I can do?" asked Hailey after a while. Jay shook his head.
"I want to do this on my own," said Jay.
"I'd rather not," said Hailey. Jay was caught off guard.
"Excuse me?"
"I don't want you to deal with it on your own. Last year… it didn't go so well," Hailey said cautiously. She knew she's venturing into dangerous territory here.
"You didn't trust me," Jay concluded. He stood to grab a shot of tequila. Hailey looked at him disapprovingly.
"Hey, you're under painkiller," she reminded. Jay ignored her and downed the shot. "Jay, I trust you. But I saw firsthand how you did when… when you accidentally shot that girl. I regret that I wasn't there for you then. I saw the sign, but I didn't act on it. Now, I want to act on it. I want to help if I can," said Hailey. She went after Jay to the kitchen.
"Well, you can't," snapped Jay. Hailey was taken aback. Jay realised he had gone too far the second he said it.
"Alright," Hailey nodded. She went to the door. "You should go to bed, let the painkiller work," she said. "Still, if you need anything, I'll always be a call away," she was gone before Jay had time to answer. Jay huffed and buried his face on his hands.
A conflict, sorry! I like writing conflict. And many of you hated that Hailey went on a date, well... bear with me, please. Spoiler: the chapter about Will's wedding in my other story 'Anytime' is after this story ends. They were not romantically together in that story, so if you're looking for a romantic involvement between them in this story, you might be disappointed. I do promise some fluff and deep conversations in this story though... hope I don't let you down too far.
