"Upton," Hailey grumbled to her phone without even looking at the screen.

"Hailey," she heard Jay's voice.

"Yeah?" Hailey looked at the clock. It's 1 am.

"Can you drive me to Med?" asked Jay.

"What? What happened?" Hailey jumped from her bed.

"I tore my stitches," said Jay.

"Alright, hang on there. I'm gonna be there in 10," said Hailey. She threw on a hoodie and ran to her car. She arrived at Jay's apartment in no time, and she went inside without knocking. She saw medicine bottle on the table, but Jay wasn't in the living area. Peeking into the slightly opened bedroom door, she didn't find Jay either.

"Jay?" she called.

"In the bathroom," Jay answered. Hailey went inside the bathroom. Jay sat on the closed toilet seat, many bloody tissues and towel littered the floor. Jay's face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot. He had put emergency bandage on his wound, but most of it had been soaked in blood.

"Oh my God," Hailey's hand quickly went to Jay's forehead, checking his temperature. He was cold and his skin was clammy. Hailey picked a roll of bandage from the first aid kit and put on a tourniquet on Jay's arm. "Come on," she pulled Jay standing. She slung Jay's jacket on his shoulders and guided him to her car. Hailey helped Jay got in and ran to the driver side. She drove as fast as possible to Med.

"How did you burst the stitches?" asked Hailey.

"I got nightmare and accidentally tore it," answered Jay sheepishly. Hailey reached over and squeezed his arm. Jay squeezed his hand back.

"Thanks," said Jay.

"Will is gonna kill me," muttered Hailey.

"No, don't worry. He adores you. If any, he would yell at me," said Jay. Hailey pushed the gas deeper. "Hey, slow down. We don't want to get admitted into ER more often than we already did."

"We're platinum members anyway," smirked Hailey. She dropped Jay off in the ER entrance, then parked the car. When she went into the ER, she met Will at the nurse station.

"I'm sorry Will, I should keep an eye on him," said Hailey.

"What, no. It's not your fault, of course," Will looked perplexed. He walked with Hailey to Jay's exam room.

"I should've stayed," said Hailey.

"What happened?" asked Will.

"How is he doing? With everything."

"What do you mean?"

"He kept telling me that he was fine, and for a while I believed him. He's not fine. He didn't want any help from me, so I assumed he went to you," said Hailey.

"He didn't, not really…" said Will. "Give me a minute with him, okay?"

"I'll be in the cafeteria, I need some caffeine."

"Thanks," Will patted Hailey's shoulder. He watched Hailey passed and went inside the exam room, where Ethan was giving Jay stitches. Jay looked down, didn't acknowledge him going inside.

"I hope you don't tear the new stitches," said Ethan after he finished the procedure and wrapped a new bandage on Jay's arm. "Don't get it wet, change it every day, and come back next week. I said it before, haven't I?"

"Thanks, Ethan," said Jay. Will gave Ethan a pat on the back as he walked out, eager to escape the conversation between the brothers. From the look of it, Will wanted to yell at Jay but having trouble finding the words. And Jay… Jay seemed to wanting to disappear.

"What happened?" asked Will as he stood opposite Jay.

"I got a nightmare, popped my stitches as I trashed around," said Jay.

"No, you know it's not what I asked. Why did Hailey apologise to me?"

"You were the one who said that I should be careful being around her, to not lead her on, and I did all that. I pushed her away, that's what you want, right?" Jay was upset. On top of being shot…no, grazed by a bullet, he snapped at Hailey, tore his stitched, he didn't want to have this kind of conversation with his brother, let alone in the ER at 2 in the morning. He hopped off the bed and grabbed his jacket. Will helped him put on his jacket, and they walked out of the room. Will guided Jay to the break room, which was surprisingly empty considering the strangely quiet ER.

"I said you shouldn't lead her on, not that you should push her away," said Will. "What happened? This isn't just about you pushing her away, is it? There's something bothering you. This has something to do with you being shot?"

"Scratched by a bullet," Jay didn't miss a beat to correct Will. "No, it has nothing to do with that."

"So?" asked Will. Jay said nothing. "Jay," said Will, half pleading.

"Remember when I said I want to deal with everything on my own? That I don't want you helping? I kinda said the same thing to her… not about those stuffs, though. I dreamed about her getting blown up to death because of me. Today the dream flashed before my eyes when we were doing raid, and she caught me. The suspect pointed the gun at her. I can't have her killed, or hurt, on my watch," said Jay.

"Jay, she knew her risk when she signed up to be a cop. You can't think like that, however much I don't want her hurt as well," said Will.

"I told her about the nightmare today, and she asked how she can help. I said she can't. I don't want to rely on her, isn't that what you said I should do?"

Will was at lost about what to say. He started to understand why Hailey felt guilty. Jay told her he was fine, and she believed him. He told her that because of Will's warning. He cringed internally.

"Was today's nightmare about you getting shot or her?" asked Will.

"Her," said Jay. "That I couldn't save her, and I lost another person I care about," said Jay.

"Okay, I was wrong, Jay. Obviously she means more to you than I thought. You need to talk to her, go talk. You need her help. It's obvious she's worried about you. She knows something's not right," said Will.

"I told her she can't help," said Jay.

"Can she?"

"I think… yeah, I think she can. I went to her often before, before you said not to," said Jay.

"Did it help? When you do your… whatever it is, does it help?" asked Will.

"Yeah, it helped," said Jay.

"Then don't listen to me, Jay. Since when you do, anyway? I don't want you to lead her on, I don't want you to hurt her, but I want you to be better in the first place. Sorry," said Will. "Go, talk to her. She wants you to get better, too."

"That's if she wanted to talk to me," said Jay, whipping out his phone.

"She's in the cafeteria," said Will. "I'll call you tomorrow... today, on the evening."

"Thanks," said Jay. He went to the cafeteria. Hailey was there, asleep on the table. Her head was buried in her hands on the table. A cup of coffee sat in front of her. Jay sat in front of her.

"Hailey," he shook Hailey's shoulder. As much he hated to wake her up, he couldn't drive with the painkiller. She stirred slowly, looking up at Jay.

"Is it done?" asked Hailey. Jay nodded.

"Sorry it took some time. I'm good to go. Are you good to drive?" asked Jay.

"Yeah," said Hailey, downing her coffee. He led her out of the hospital and walked to the parking lot. She drove back to his place. Jay didn't comment when she parked her car and followed him inside his place.

"What are you doing?" asked Jay when Hailey went straight to the bathroom. Hailey didn't answer him; she closed the door and cleaned the bathroom from bloodied tissues and towel on the floor. On the sink there was a smear of blood. She scrubbed clean the sink. When she went out of the bathroom, Jay went out of his bedroom carrying sheets smeared with blood.

"You shouldn't," said Jay.

"I know you like to do all by yourself, but it's not wrong to ask for help," said Hailey. Jay's expression softened. He dumped the dirty sheets on the floor near the kitchen and sat on the couch. He motioned to Hailey to do the same. She crossed her legs, facing him.

"Sorry I snapped at you," said Jay.

"It's okay," said Hailey.

"It's not. Why do you keep insisting that it's okay for me to treat you badly?" asked Jay.

"What do you want?" Hailey let out a deep sigh. It's nearly 3 am and she was in no mood to argue.

"I treated you horribly. You wanted to help and I snapped at you. Why are you not angry?"

"Because I know you're struggling," Jay was taken aback. "I can see that, despite you thinking you're hiding it well. And I want you to know that I got your back; that I'm here. I wasn't there last year, I want to make sure you get help this time," Hailey's concerned eyes warmed Jay's soul. He knew that he hit the lottery in partner department, but Hailey kept him surprised all the time. "I'm not an angel, Jay. Of course I was upset when you kept me at arm's length, when you insulted me. But I reminded myself that you didn't do it on purpose, and you only need a punching bag for a while. I know that you're a good person; that you didn't intend on hurting me. Guess that makes it okay. If you need a shoulder to lean on, mine will always be available," she smiled. Jay couldn't hide his amazement. He looked down because he wasn't sure he would be able to keep his eyes dry. He replied only after he was sure he wouldn't break down.

"Thank you, for sticking up with me," said Jay. "I promise, whenever you need me, literally, whenever, 50 years from now, I'll come to you," he stood up and bent in front of Hailey, grabbed the side of her head and placed a light peck on her forehead, conveying his gratitude for his partner, his best friend. He meant every word he said. She had been his anchor, his light these past few weeks, no, this past year, and he planned to keep her around. Even if life separates them someday, he would come running to her whenever she needs him. Despite Will's warning, he knew Hailey knew not to interpret the kiss romantically. There might be a time later for that, if that happens in the future, but his feeling for her right now ran deeper than just a sexual affection. When he sat back down, he saw Hailey's eyes were teary. He found her tears infectious and started to get teary eyed as well.

"I'll hold you for that. I do have to remind you though, and I hope you get it instilled in your mind, that I am a very capable cop. Even when I was held hostage for a couple seconds, or was held at gunpoint, I know how to get myself out of those situations. Yes, we watch each other's backs, and I am touched to know that my safety means a lot to you, but I don't want you getting nightmare about me being shot, or killed," said Hailey.

"That's one of my fears," whispered Jay.

"Trust me, it's mine too. But the danger comes with the job, and I don't need to be bubble wrapped. I'm not made of glass," said Hailey.

"Yeah… I don't know what I would do if it happened, though. So be careful, okay? You're one hell of a partner, I don't intend on losing you," Jay reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

"Same goes to you," said Hailey. "Tell me if you need anything?"

"I'll try," Jay smiled. They locked eyes for a couple seconds, both conveying emotions to each other. They felt relieved with the talk, but they speak more with their eyes. Jay's had amazement, gratitude, and relief while Hailey's conveyed concern and sympathy, and… sleepiness. Her yawn broke their moment, and infected Jay who mirrored her yawn. Both laughed.

"You're crashing here," Jay's words were more a statement than a question. He wasn't gonna let her drive home at 3 am when she was sleepy and tired.

"Yeah, guess I am," Hailey shrugged.

"You can take my bed, I'll sleep here. It's clean, I just changed the sheet," Jay motioned to the pile of bloodied sheets on the floor.

"You're the wounded one, I'm not taking over your bed," argued Hailey. Jay pulled a blanket from behind the couch and passed it to her. "You're gonna be okay? Don't let your..." Hailey glanced at the clock, "two hours beauty sleep disturbed by nightmare," she tentatively offered. Jay had been putting distance between them lately; she didn't know how he would react.

"Do you mind?" asked Jay sheepishly.

"Tucking you in so the bed bugs don't bite?" teased Hailey. "Come on, I'm a child whisperer. I put Angie to bed in record time."

"You tell anyone," Jay started threatening Hailey while laughing.

"You don't have my cards," Hailey half-pushed Jay to the bedroom. Jay lied down and Hailey sat on the bedside, tucking the blanket carefully around his bandaged arm. "I'll blackmail you 50 years from now," she teased Jay. Jay yawned. "Don't fight it, just sleep. You won't get nightmare."

"I don't want any nightmare anymore, I've had enough," said Jay.

"Yeah you have," Hailey rubbed Jay's shoulder just above his bandage.

"When is your next date with the Narcotics guy?" asked Jay sleepily.

"What makes you think I'll see him again?" said Hailey. Jay fell asleep quickly. After making sure Jay was in deep sleep, Hailey ran her hand through Jay's hair and planting a soft kiss on his forehead. Her heart ached for her partner who had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She sighed before went to sleep on the couch.


Just for fun: who would wake up first in the morning?


A short one but full of fluff. Seems many are disappointed when I said they won't end in a romantic relationship, but as I said, I need to be convinced further by the show (which is currently on hiatus). I saw the slow burn and affection between them, though, which I would inject into my stories. Kisses on the forehead? Kill me now! But jumping into bed together? Noo, not at the moment, at least in my head, because I've written my take on Season 6 later episodes and they weren't in a relationship there. This story and 'Anytime' are in the same universe.

If you fancy a romantic Upstead, read my story 'It's Mutual'. I went against myself and wrote an angsty take on romantic Upstead.