Everything was spinning.

Hailey couldn't breathe. The wind was knocked at her as she flew through the air before being slammed to the ground.

She didn't even know what was happening, but she had to sit up. The ground hurt, and she needed to get off of it. Her back hurt.

"Stay where you are. Stay where you are. You okay?"

Blinking against the pain in her head, Hailey tried figuring out where Jay's voice was coming from. Nothing was making sense. She was supposed to be doing something. There was a reason there was an explosion, but she couldn't remember what exactly that was.

She pushed her hands into her head to get her bearings straight, and Jay's voice came again, much too loud and rushed for her to really understand what he was saying.

"Can you hear me? Are you hurt?"

She tried rolling away from the ache that was radiating through her only to have a hand reach out and grab her shoulder.

"No, just stay where you are. Don't try to get up."

But she needed to. Everything was spinning and her head really hurt. She could blink over and over and over again, but nothing was registering in her head, and she could not - for the life of her - remember what she was doing here.

She rolled again to try and see where she was just for that firm hand to push her down again.

"Don't try to move. Don't try to move."

His voice was speeding up, and the tone was changing. He was scared.

She was fine, probably, she just needed to figure out what was going on.

Jay's hand slipped into hers, and he squeezed gently. It was enough to get her to settle down on the cement.

"It's okay. I got you. I got you."

Normally, those words would get her to take a deep breath and calm down, but now she just wanted to assure him that she was going to be fine. Once her head stopped spinning, she'd be okay.

She opened her mouth to tell him, but she suddenly couldn't see him again. Her vision was too blurry to really focus in on her husband. He was there above her, but he seemed to be swaying back and forth, and his mouth was moving, yet nothing was coming out.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried slowing her spinning mind before pushing herself up again.

"-ffender's in the wind. No, don't try to move. Don't try to move. It's okay. It's okay. Just stay where you are. Tell me we got Escano."

Escano.

Escano.

She knew that word.

Escano.

There was something about work that had to do with Escano. Escano was something important and the reason that she was here on the ground. She was going after Escano when there was an explosion.

Past the buzzing in the air, she could hear something strange - like the flickering of a firepit. It was hot, too.

The explosion was here. That's why she was on the ground. She was in an explosion.

"Hailey."

Jay's hand squeezed hers again. He was shaking.

Or maybe she was.

All she wanted was for the pain and the buzzing to stop. She kept blinking against the black dots and fuzzy air swirling around in her vision, trying to get it to stop. She needed Jay.

"You're going to be okay," he continued now that he'd put his radio down, "The ambulance is coming, and you're going to be okay."

He was scared - panicked even. His voice sounded weird: kind of quick, sort of high-pitched, and starting to sound thick.

He was trying not to cry. She knew her husband well enough to know that for sure.

He brushed his hand over the top of her head, and she tried to sit up again to get closer to him, but he kept her down on the ground.

"Stay there. You have to stay there until the paramedics get here."

She didn't want to, though. She wanted Jay. She wanted to prove to him that she was going to be okay.

If only her mind would work together. Half of Jay's words still weren't registering in her head. Her eyes still weren't focusing on anything for longer than ten seconds. Even just forming words seemed impossible right now.

All she wanted to do was show Jay that she was going to be fine.

If only she could remember how she'd even gotten in this position in the first place.

There was so much yelling.

Hailey tried pushing past the fuzz in her brain to register what exactly people were yelling about, but that required a lot of effort that she didn't have.

Her head was pounding right now.

She felt so stupid. She'd had to go and trip over her own feet, and that'd ended with her hitting her head on the cement.

Months ago - maybe it was closer to a year? - she'd tripped on the cement while chasing a suspect, and she'd hit her head then, but that didn't seem to hurt nearly as bad as this.

This time, her whole body ached, especially her side. She must have hit a rock upon impact.

Just as she tried sitting up to get off the rock, a burst of fire shot up her side, and she couldn't help but let out a scream. Something was not right at all, starting with the way her head felt glued to the cement and ending with the way that rock dug deep within her.

"No, no, you're not moving, you're not moving just yet. Jo! Did you call it in?"

"Yes!"

Hailey blinked slowly and managed to turn her head to see Kevin kneeling next to her. "What-"

The words faded from her mouth as Kevin pressed his hands into her side right where that rock was digging into her. She gasped in pain and tried pulling away from him before her vision went blurry again.

"Sorry, I-sorry! Sorry, I know, I know it hurts, Hail, but I got to."

"N-no!" she yelled at him.

"I do, I do. We need to stop the bleeding."

Hailey blinked quickly and shook her head, scraping her ponytail against the cement. She wasn't bleeding. She'd know if she was bleeding.

Kevin turned away from her panicked gaze and yelled over his shoulder, "Torres, talk to me!"

Hailey couldn't hear what Dante's response to the command was. Her mind was buzzing. She'd felt similarly to this before, but last time she'd had a concussion. This time, she could focus a little longer on her surroundings and she could at least form words. She might not know exactly what was going on, but she was aware of what had happened and remembered tripping over the cement.

Someone had been running at her with a gun. There was a kidnapping case turned murder case turned serial killer case, and they didn't have any true leads until this morning when Voight told her and Jo to go help Kevin and Dante. And now here she was on the cement with a rock in her side and Kevin wouldn't stop pushing against it.

"Okay, so get over here and help me then. Do you have anything we can use to stop the bleeding?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got my hat," Dante replied, his voice coming much closer than it'd been before.

"Take it off and bring it here."

If Kevin said she was bleeding, Hailey knew exactly what they were planning on doing with the hat.

"No, no," she whimpered, suddenly scared of that pain in her side increasing again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kevin said gently before grabbing Dante's hat and shoving it into her side.

She screamed again and tried rolling away only for Dante to kneel next to her and hold her still.

"I've got you," he said.

There was a loud scraping on the ground, and doors were slammed open. It was all way too loud right now. All Hailey wanted was to be in bed with Jay and silence. She needed silence to stop the pounding and buzzing in her head.

"What the hell! She really- God dammit!"

"Did you call Jay? Kev, did you call Jay?"

Kevin shifted in her peripheral vision and shook his head. "Didn't have time yet. Jo called the ambulance and Voight."

"No, no," she mumbled, but no one heard her. They were all still yelling.

"You shot the guy? Who shot the guy? The hell, Kev!"

Adam was too loud.

"I did."

Kevin was stern; he was trying to take control.

"It was all so fast, man, I don't know."

Dante's words were starting to fade away like he was under water even though she knew he was right next to her.

"I'm calling Jay."

Kim was panicked; her voice was sharp, but it was panicked through all the buzzing.

"Shouldn't you wait until-"

Jo wanted to talk, but no one would let her.

"No! Do you know what he'd say if we didn't tell him as soon as we could?" Kim shot back.

"He needs to know," Kevin agreed.

"No!"

The voices stopped despite the buzzing still happening in Hailey's head.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried taking a deep breath, but the sirens in the distance were starting to make it hard for her to really focus. Still, though, she tried getting the words out.

"Do not call Jay."

Four words and all her effort. Just getting them out seemed to take all her energy. She was getting tired as the buzzing really started taking over and her vision started to flicker.

"Hailey, we're calling Jay," Kevin said, but she could barely hear him now. His hands shifted against her, and she groaned low. Not low enough, though, so that she was still able to hear him say, "Getting shot is one of those non-negotiables when it comes to when we call your husband."

Jay was forced to let go of her hand as she was raised into an ambulance.

"Her partner and her husband. I'm going with you whether you like it or not."

She closed her eyes and groaned quietly. The aching wasn't stopping. Everything hurt. She'd heard Jay say she was involved in an explosion, but the memory of flying through the air still hadn't registered with her yet. Vaguely, the word Escano was still floating in her mind. That had something to do with how she was in this position.

"I'm here. Hailey, I'm- dammit."

Opening her eyes, she slowly turned her head to see Jay messing with his radio. She couldn't hear the noise it was making, but the buzzing in her mind increased and keeping Jay in her vision became even harder, especially as the ambulance jerked and they began moving toward their destination.

"What the hell is going on, Voight?"

Voight.

He was probably why she was in an explosion too.

"Hailey, my name's May, can you hear me?"

She blinked and reached over for Jay's hand at the sound of his name. He looked up slightly surprised, but still seemed to relax as he gripped her fingers.

"I'm here," he said, "Right here."

"Hailey? Hailey, can you hear me? Look here."

Jay didn't say that. She was staring right at his mouth as the words slowly registered in her brain, and he didn't say anything.

"Hailey."

That voice was quieter, a little gentler, maybe even higher pitched, definitely not as panicked as Jay's.

She blinked again and turned her head to see a woman sitting on her other side. She didn't look much older than thirty, and Hailey was filled with a rush of skepticism. She wasn't quite sure what was happening right now besides the constant pain radiating through her head, so she wasn't sure how some person who couldn't have been older than her would be able to figure it out.

"Hey, there, how're you doing? Can you hear me? What hurts, Hailey?"

Jay squeezed her fingers gently. He was wanting her to answer.

"I…" She groaned when the words couldn't form correctly in her mind. The buzzing was still loud, but she was able to hear the girl.

"Take your time," the paramedic said, "We're on our way to Rush where we're going to get you all the help you need."

Hailey nodded her head the slightest amount. Rush would get her doctors that could figure all of this out.

"That's good, right? She can hear?" Jay asked, "This shouldn't be permanent then, right?"

The paramedic ignored him and grabbed a flashlight. Before Hailey could even move to react, a light was shining in her eyes and she couldn't get away fast enough. It just irritated the aching in her head even more.

"I want-"

Jay's radio went off again, and he groaned as he moved to grab it.

"Is she all right, Jay? Can she hear yet?"

"Coming back slow, but she's okay. In the ambo now, on the way to Rush."

"Copy you. Kev-"

Jay turned off the radio and shoved it to his side. Wrapping both his hands around hers, he breathed in shakily and pressed his lips to the side of her thumb.

When he spoke into the radio, he was put together and steady: a detective. When she turned to look at him again, he was nervous and shaky: a husband. He was scared.

"Is she going to be okay?" he repeated so quietly, she could barely hear him over the buzzing still echoing in her head.

"I can't say for sure. We're going to have neuro look at her once we get to the hospital," the paramedic said.

Hailey closed her eyes again and shook her head. She had been around Jay enough when he'd gotten hurt to know what was probably going to happen: a lot of questions and a lot more bright lights.

If only she could remember what those questions were going to be so she could start practicing in her head.

The ambulance shook as it drove.

Hailey was going in and out of consciousness, but she was aware enough to remember that when she'd hit her head badly last time, resulting in a concussion, she had not needed to get poked with this many needles. Kevin couldn't even hold her hand because the girl that she swore she'd met before was putting some sort of monitor on her finger.

She didn't even want him to hold her hand, anyways. She wanted Jay.

Jay knew how this felt, and Jay would be here to protect her. He knew what paramedics should and should not be doing. He'd be here if he was able.

Finding out she'd gotten shot was like a punch in the gut. Literally. She didn't have any other choice but to agree with Kevin: Jay needed to be called.

Earlier in the year, she'd sat in the back of a van with Kevin and talked about how terrified she was that something would happen to Jay and she wouldn't find out about it. He'd reminded her that there were hundreds of people in the military and a spouse or loved one getting hurt was much too common. If all of those loved ones had gotten a phone call signaling their person had gotten hurt, then so would she. She hadn't been happy that it wouldn't be instant like if they were both in the United States, but it'd been something.

Now, they were both here in Chicago. She'd gotten hurt, and Jay needed to know. Thankfully, he'd be able to respond instantly - not within twelve hours like she had.

"Her blood pressure's dropping. Once we get her to Med, they'll be able to get her more blood and start working on getting the bullet out of her side. All of that will help."

"But now, how do we help now?"

"We hold on."

An oxygen mask was placed over her face, and Hailey closed her eyes to shakily breathe in the clean air.

She needed to hold on.

She couldn't leave Jay alone. Tomorrow was their anniversary, and they were supposed to be going to the cabin to spend it together like they were meant to the year before. They were supposed to be together forever.

Jay had worked so hard upon being brought home after Bolivia. He went to therapy and the gym. He got a new job. He put his past behind him. He became better.

For himself.

For their friends and family.

For her.

She could not make all of that worthless.

She needed to live.

They had a future together. Babies and dogs and houses and promotions and vacations and happiness.

They were supposed to be happy together forever.

She could not die.

Just the day before, Jay was telling her everything they'd had to risk and give up for their jobs. That could not be one of the last conversations they ever had.

When they died in the future, it was supposed to be when they were old. Ideally, they'd die in their sleep right next to each other, maybe even within hours of the other. Unfortunately, that might mean their kids would find them, but she knew they'd be okay - their kids.

As they grew old together, they'd raise the most amazing children. They'd have a good life, better than she ever had. Neither of them would ever dare hit their kids or yell at them. They'd teach them that they could dream big and accomplish anything they put their minds to.

On top of all that, their kids would be kind and smart. They'd have a great sense of humor and know right from wrong. They would be athletic and artistic and wonderful in all the ways kids are.

There would be family vacations in Michigan and Wisconsin. Big birthday parties. Silly holiday pictures. Endless celebrations.

She had a great, happy, loving future in front of her, and she refused to let some bullet take that from her or Jay.

She was not going to give up just yet.

The buzzing took over two hours to completely stop, but at least talking became easier in that time.

She stumbled over the exact date and it took her longer than she cared to admit to say the months of the year backwards. Despite her concussion being confirmed, she was still embarrassed to feel so dumb.

She had a cut on her cheek and her back was rather bruised, but it appeared that she'd make a full recovery - once the majority of the concussion symptoms went away. She just needed to wait a few days.

The problem was she didn't have a few days. She needed to return to work now.

They were wasting time by staying cooped up in the hospital room. Escano was still out there, and something needed to be done.

Especially where Jay was involved.

While she had done a fair share of work with Anna, she knew Jay had stepped up to help her a significant amount as well. He was going to want to get back out there sooner than later, and she was just holding him back by remaining in a hospital bed.

The latest nurse left the room after finally giving Hailey some pain medication, so she sat up to point at her pile of clothes on the nearby counter.

"Pass them over. Let's get out of here."

Jay sat up slightly in his seat and said, "What?"

"Give me my clothes," Hailey clarified. She reached behind her back to begin untying the knot at the top of her hospital gown, but her fingers slipped, and she groaned in frustration. "And then can you help me get out of this damn thing?"

But Jay didn't move. He didn't even blink. He just stared at her as she continued struggling with her gown.

"Jay," she sighed, "Come on, are you the one with the concussion or is that me? Let's go."

"Are you insane?"

Hailey froze, and her eyes widened. "What?"

"Are you insane?" Jay repeated, finally standing up, "Do you not realize what happened today? What's going on right now?"

Hailey's mouth opened for a moment before she shook her head. "I…a car exploded, a cabin or something exploded, and Escano is still out there. I know I haven't been talking to Voight today like you've been, so I don't know what's happening right now, but…but the gist has been coming back to me and I've heard your radio." Her arms dropped to her sides, and she added quietly, "Most of it at least."

Jay pursed his lips and stepped forward. "Hailey, you have a Grade 2 concussion. That's not nothing. That's pretty damn serious. We're not leaving until the doctors tell us we can leave, and then we're going home. We're not going back to work today."

Hailey didn't understand. They were in the middle of a case, and they were not the type of people to just give up. Usually, they were some of the last to leave and the first to arrive. They were always fully committed. Going home now would be giving up some of the control they'd fought for within the unit over the last few years.

"Baby-"

She winced. It was rare they'd call each other 'baby' or even other pet names, but that made all of this so much worse and simply highlighted Jay's fear right now. He wouldn't be saying it if everything really was fine.

"No, no," she whispered, waving him off as he stepped closer to her. Tears flooded her eyes. She didn't want to admit that something was seriously wrong with her. She wanted to work.

"Hey, yes," Jay breathed. He set a hand on her shoulder and guided her back against the hospital bed, so she was leaning back more, a pillow waiting for her head.

The tears slipped down her cheeks, and she tried angrily wiping them away.

"You're okay," Jay murmured. He set his hand on the side of her face and soothed his thumb over her warm skin.

"I want to go home," she whimpered.

"I know you do," Jay said softly, "And I want you to go home too, but we've got to wait it out. I'm here with you, and you're safe."

"I-I know," she argued, "But…Jay…we have work."

To her surprise, Jay scoffed out a laugh and shook his head.

"Work is not the most important thing right now."

Hailey closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Moments ago, she'd been filled with frustration at Jay's inability to move, but now that was being replaced by sadness. She knew she had important work to complete, and she wasn't going to be able to do it all because she'd gotten caught in a stupid explosion.

"Hailey, I thought you died," Jay continued, "Truly. I-I sat up from falling down, and I saw you laying there on the ground, and I thought you were dead. Do you understand what that's like?"

Running up to a still body covered in blood?

She'd done that once or twice in her life.

"Of course I do," she said through a sigh as she opened her eyes again, "Jay, I've done that with you-"

"So you get where I'm coming from?" he interrupted, "You understand why I'm not taking this lightly."

He was tricking her, and she silently cursed him for doing so at the moment. Her brain wasn't working fast enough to anticipate what he was going to say or do.

He softened next to her and knelt down so his eyes were just below hers. Bringing his hand back up to the top of her head, he pursed his lips and rubbed his thumb along her hairline.

"You're beautiful," he whispered after a minute, "And you are the most incredible woman I have ever met. Calling you my wife is the thing that I am the most proud of. I cannot lose you. I couldn't lose you six months ago when the FBI threatened to take you away, and I couldn't lose you today when a car bomb went off. I am going to do everything in my power to keep you safe, and that's starting right now with putting my foot down. You're not going back to work for a few days, Hail; it's just not safe - for anyone involved."

Hailey hated that more tears came to her eyes, but this time it wasn't because she hated what Jay was saying. It was because she loved every word that passed his lips.

He cared for her, and he loved her, and she would be doing the exact same thing if the roles were reversed.

She was married now. They'd been over this months before when she jumped into the Chicago River. Whatever they did individually impacted the other. It'd been that way for a while, but it'd only increased upon saying their vows.

If she wanted to spend the rest of forever with Jay, then she was going to have to play by his rules this time. She couldn't risk losing him either.

"I love you," she said through her throat thick with tears.

He finally smiled as he nodded and whispered back, "I love you too. Forever."

Hailey's eyes fluttered close when he kissed her forehead, and she murmured, "Always."

There was a lot of beeping and yelling and everything hurt.

Hailey's side now felt like it was on fire. Her skin pulled and moved with the material that'd been shoved against her wound in an effort to get the bleeding to stop. The back of her head still ached, and it was starting to spread to her eyes and jaw, almost like the migraine from hell.

"Hailey, I'm right here, you're going to be fine. We're gonna check you out then take you to surgery. I'm staying here the whole time, I promise you."

She was sane enough to know that Will was her only option at this point. She could fight and ask for Jay, but she really didn't know if she had the energy to do so, and she knew they'd tell her 'no.' Jay might have gotten shot before, but he wasn't a doctor. He was going to have to stay in the waiting room.

She blinked quickly as more tears flooded her vision, and she was forced to gasp for breath. Her lungs wouldn't fill with air quick enough, and the feeling was starting to scare her. It was worse than the pain in her side - at least she knew that could be fixed, right now she didn't think she'd ever be able to breathe properly again.

"Her pulse is increasing."

"I think she's having a panic attack."

"Someone get that IV going. What's taking so long?"

Will's voice came clearer above the rest, and his face was suddenly right above hers.

"Look at me, I'm right here. Take a breath, and try to slow down. You're safe now."

But it wasn't about her being safe. It was about Jay not being here and the fact that she felt like she was dying. Her throat was too thick. Her lungs were too tight. She was going to die before she could live her forever with Jay.

"Hey, I'm here," Will said as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight, "I'm right here."

A nurse placed an oxygen mask on her face to replace the one from the ambulance, and she shakily breathed in, but it still wasn't enough. Her head was spinning again. She wasn't going to make it.

Her eyes darted around the room because maybe she'd see Jay amongst all these strangers. Maybe he'd managed to beat the ambulance. Kim had called him just as it'd arrived on scene; he'd had plenty of time to get here.

"No, eyes on me," Will said, "Hailey, look-"

"Hailey!"

She was right. He did make it.

"My wife! Where's my wife?"

Hailey ripped her hand from Will's grip to pull her mask off. "Jay," she croaked.

"You can't-"

"That's my wife!"

Hailey tried sitting up to see Jay through all the commotion, but everyone had crowded around the door to the triage room she was in. No one was letting him in. She swore she even saw Kevin pulling someone back, but whether he was keeping Jay away or trying to get him inside, she wasn't sure.

"Jay!" she cried, tears again burning at her eyes as a fire shot up her side.

He pushed past the doctors and nurses blocking his way in and made his way to her bedside. His eyes were wild in panic and his hands shook as they grabbed her free hand, but he was here, and she wasn't alone anymore.

Jay was here.

"Jay, you can't-"

"Will!" he yelled, ripping his gaze from hers to stare down his brother, "You know what this is like, so just let me be here. Please!"

The room stood still for a moment, and Hailey didn't know who was going to win their battle. Right now, she didn't even care if she needed to listen to Will and do what was best for her health. She just needed her husband.

"You have five minutes before we take her back for surgery. The meds should be kicking in any second now, but if you get in my way-"

"I won't. I won't. I just need her to be okay - to know I'm here."

Hailey whimpered and tried squeezing his hand still tightly holding on to her. "Jay."

He looked down at her and immediately softened. "Hey," he breathed, "Hey, I'm right here, and you're going to be fine. Will's going to take care of you."

Hailey's bottom lip pouted out, and she felt like a toddler as she shook her head. "I don't…I want you."

He chuckled and set his free hand on the side of her face, distracting her from the doctors and nurses as they began cutting away her clothes to clean up the wound in her side. "I'm not a doctor, baby, and you heard Will: I've got five minutes until you fall asleep."

She winced at a burning that started radiating up from her left hip and tried pulling away from the sensation.

"Hold on, Hailey, we're sorry, but we've got to get this clean before we take-"

"Will!"

Will fell silent upon Jay's snapping tone, and Hailey would have laughed had his words not ignited more fear within her.

"I don't want…I don't…"

She tried speaking to tell Jay that she didn't want to go to sleep. She was afraid she'd never wake up from surgery. It was too big of a risk to take. She couldn't do it.

"I know," Jay said gently. He squatted next to her bed and rubbed his thumb under her eye where tears were continuing to fall. "But we need to get that bullet out of you."

"No," she mumbled. It wasn't about the bullet. It was about what it was going to take to get the bullet.

But her eyes were starting to blur, and her head was spinning again. It took more effort than she had to speak right now as her body felt like it was falling asleep.

She was going to have surgery whether she wanted to or not, and that terrified her. She needed to stay awake for Jay.

She blinked against the tears in her vision, but it didn't really help make things any clearer. What she could make out, though, was Jay sniffling and turning his head enough to wipe his face on the sleeve of his uniform that he was still wearing.

"Blood pressure's dropping again. We need to move."

Hailey barely registered as a hand came out to lightly push Jay away from her. He didn't even fight it, and that fact brought more tears to her eyes.

He couldn't just give up on her. He needed to keep her awake. She couldn't fall asleep and lose him.

"Please," she mumbled before her eyes shut against the pain.

If she couldn't fight for herself, she needed Jay to fight for her.

That's what being married was supposed to be for.

The sunlight was warm on Hailey's skin. There was a soft breeze in the air, and she could hear the waves lapping against the beach. It was the perfect summer day.

She smiled down at her feet dipping into the sand before lowering herself down to sit in it. As she leaned back against her elbows, she breathed deeply and wished she could stay here forever.

"I don't know if Jay would like that, firefly."

Her eyes shot open, and she turned to see Uncle DJ walking toward her.

He looked just as he had before he'd died: dark hair just slightly longer than a buzzcut, brown eyes that always looked like he was laughing, callused hands from working odd jobs all his life, and a stained button down over a pair of jeans worn around the ankles. He looked like home.

"Hey, kid," he chuckled, "I missed you."

"Oh my god," she whispered while scrambling to stand. She hurried over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. "What-"

"Doesn't matter," Uncle DJ answered with a wave of his hand. He nodded back to where she'd been sitting and said, "Talk with me for a bit?"

"Of course."

Together, they settled back within the sand to stare out at the water. Hailey wrapped her arms around her curled up knees all while keeping her peripheral vision on her uncle. This couldn't be real.

And yet there were the seagulls flying above and boats out in the water and tiny little seashells beneath her toes. It sure felt real, and she really wanted it to be.

"You've had a hell of a run," Uncle DJ murmured.

Hailey's head snapped to him, and she said, "What?"

"You've done so much," Uncle DJ continued as he watched the waves, "I've been keeping track of you in the department, and you have achieved your dreams. You became that strong detective you always wanted to be. Do you know how proud I am of you?"

She smiled slightly. "I imagine, but it's never been confirmed."

"Well, consider it confirmed," Uncle DJ said, "Hailey, you make me smile every damn day. I watch you out there and think 'Wow, she's mine.'"

Her smile spread, but so did a red flush across her cheeks. She'd never heard those words before. No matter how much she knew her parents loved her, despite the abuse, they never once told her they were proud of what she was doing in the world.

Jay told her all the time that he was proud, but he was her husband. It meant something, but not as much as this. He hadn't been there as she'd grown up or even at the beginning of her career when she was accepted to the academy or going undercover or figuring out patrol after her uncle's death. Her uncle was her family, and he was proud of her. That was all she ever wanted.

"Your mom too," Uncle DJ said absentmindedly, "She is proud. She just has a rough time showing it."

"You think?" she breathed.

"Twins know," Uncle DJ said, "Twins always know what the other's thinking, firefly. You'll see."

She hummed and took a deep breath. Some day, she'd get to a point where she could talk to her mom again, and when she got there, she'd hear some version of what Uncle DJ told her. Until then, she was going to hold on to his own words because they were so much better than anything her mom could muster up.

"And then, it got even better," Uncle DJ continued, "You finally allowed yourself to experience love, and I felt like you finally got to the point of life I had tried teaching you about everyday."

Hailey raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, firefly," Uncle DJ chuckled, "I wasn't stupid. You never believed in love. I tried every single day to get you to see that it was out there, but you were so stuck on the way your dad treated your mom that I died thinking there was no way I had achieved that. However, it looks like you just needed some time. You two needed to find each other to realize that love is real and that you deserve it. Forever and always, right? That's what you two say to each other. I liked during your vows when you brought up that Beatles song; I like that you two listened to that because it's true: you really do deserve love."

Tears came to Hailey's eyes, so she brushed them away quickly. Nodding, she said, "We did figure it out together."

"Do," Uncle DJ corrected quickly. He pointed his finger at her and repeated, "You do figure it out together everyday."

Hailey sighed and brushed her hand over her hair. She needed them both to keep figuring it out, but she was still so terrified that she wouldn't wake up, that all of this wouldn't work out, and Jay would be left alone.

"I know what you're thinking, and I don't like it."

Hailey glanced back at Uncle DJ and said, "What're you talking about?"

He let out a deep breath. "I love you. I would love if we could hang out on this beach for the rest of forever, but, firefly, I think she'd be pretty pissed if I let you do that."

"What?" Hailey asked, spinning around to see who he was talking about.

Uncle DJ pointed to an older woman with dark brown hair sitting on a blanket a few yards away. She was scribbling away in a book, not even paying attention to the two of them. It wasn't until Hailey squinted her eyes and noticed that she was writing in a crossword book that she realized who she was staring at.

"And don't even get me started on her husband," Uncle DJ said quietly, "He'd be pissed to hear you weren't going back to his kid; good thing he hates the sand and isn't here right now. I swear, kiddo, I don't know if I've ever met two parents so proud of their son. They just want him happy, and they want you happy too. They love you just as much as I do, and, I'm telling you, we all want you to go back to Jay."

"I…"

Hailey was at a loss for words.

She did want to go back to Jay, truly, but what if she couldn't do it? What if she went back and something was seriously wrong? She couldn't do that to Jay. He deserved her as she was, not some broken form of a person.

"Hey, what'd I tell you before about negative thoughts like that?" Uncle DJ murmured, "They don't belong in that pretty little head of yours. Hailey, it's all going to be okay. You have some good things coming your way, you just have to put some work in to get them - just like everything else you've done in life."

She breathed in shakily and quickly glanced back at Amelia Halstead now watching the two of them before whispering, "Does he deserve to have a life where I'm not whole?"

"Hailey, you make him whole," Uncle DJ assured.

She wiped at the tears still coming down her cheeks. "I love him."

"And he loves you," Uncle DJ whispered, "Hailey, you two have fought too hard to just give up because you're scared. This last year of your life has been full of heartache, but it's also been full of so many incredible moments of growth. I know your heart, and I know you want to keep going forward; you're just scared."

He reached over and tugged her into his side, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

She sniffled while looking out at the water. Months before, she and Jay had sat staring at the lake in Michigan. They'd talked about their future and everything they were going to have someday: the kids, the house, the dog, the backyard, the promotions, each other. It was supposed to be a great life, a wonderful life, and she really did want it.

"You've got a lot to look forward to," Uncle DJ continued softly, "And some of that's just about to start, so head on out, firefly; Jay needs you for this next chapter."

Hailey wiped her face once more and sat up. "What do you mean?"

Uncle DJ laughed and shook his head. "That's a story you've got to figure out for yourself. Now, come here and give me one last hug."

Annoyed as she was that he wasn't telling her something about herself that he knew, she couldn't deny him a hug. Not when it'd been all she wanted for years now.

There was a soft beeping in the room, and Hailey wished she could open her eyes so she could reach over and unplug whatever was making that noise.

Instead, she was stuck in some uncomfortable bed on a mattress that seemed much thinner than the one at home. She almost felt like she was stuck underwater. Something was keeping her from opening her eyes, and she was left just laying here trying to figure out her surroundings.

There was a murmuring a few feet away, and suddenly her right hand was grabbed. Lips were pressed against it and what felt like water was dripped on it as well. The murmuring continued, causing a soft buzzing feeling in her hand.

Some of the pressure from her hand lifted and moved to her stomach. It didn't press down hard enough for her to really feel it, but it was enough for her to know it was there.

It was comforting and allowed her to sink further back in her dream and further back in Uncle DJ's hug.

When she came back to, she was still underwater, but it was a little easier for her to hear everything this time, only no one was talking, so there was nothing of importance to really listen for.

There was still the beeping, but there was also the sound of shoes against the ground. Someone was pacing.

She couldn't tell who it was, but she wanted to comfort them, wanted to tell them that she was okay. She was just tired and heavy. She felt so heavy. It had to have been all the medicine she was on - not to mention the impact her head had had on the cement combined with the bullet that'd be taken out of her side.

But she was getting there. She'd be okay eventually. Just give her a few more hours of rest.

The pressure in her hand was back, and so was the buzzing of words against her skin. Only this time, she was able to hear what that voice was saying to her.

"Will's been talking to Natalie again. Did you know that?"

No, she didn't. Will hadn't said anything about Natalie last week when she talked to him. He'd said something about wanting to come back to the topic of him being single, but nothing more than that.

"Well." Jay cleared his throat and kissed her hand again. "I guess they've been texting for a while and it's turned into calls recently. He was trying to distract me a bit ago and said he's thinking of heading out to Seattle to go visit her. I…"

Seattle? Will couldn't go to Seattle. His family was here. Jay was here. Jay needed his older brother. He'd just fought like hell to get back home after Bolivia; his brother couldn't leave him now.

"I told him he can go in a week or two. I have to make sure you three are okay first. He said he could do that."

You three.

Hailey knew she'd been shot, so maybe Dante had been too. She could remember him sitting next to her when she'd been stuck on the ground with Kevin, but she didn't know he'd been hurt at the time. She'd feel horrible if something awful happened to him and he was ignored all because she'd gotten hurt.

Wracking her brain, she tried figuring out who the third person had to be; surely Jay wasn't talking about the man who'd shot her. Kevin had been pretty far away from her, Dante, and the offender, but Jo had been right there on the other side of the car. Maybe the gun had gone off a second time and ricocheted off of something to hit her.

She completely disagreed with Jo's choice of actions and ability to work while intoxicated, but that didn't mean she deserved to be shot. Jay had to have known she'd feel like that and would want Will on Jo's team, ensuring that she stayed alive. Jo deserved a chance at a better life. With some rehab and help, she'd get to work again.

"Once he takes his trip, we'll have to sit down with him and see if that's what he really wants. I don't know if I can lose him, especially now that we've got all this going on, but I do want him happy. He deserves a family of his own now, too. I need to let him have that."

Will did deserve a family. Natalie had made him so happy, and he loved little Owen. They were all so cute together.

Someday she'd have a family like that.

Until then, she was going to keep resting. She needed to be fully healed before talking with Jay.

The first thing Hailey realized when she awoke this time was that the room was glowing.

For once, she could actually see where she was at.

Her eyes were open.

She made it.

She breathed in carefully and slowly turned her head to take in her surroundings. The hospital room she was in was nicer than any she'd been in before whether on her own accord or Jay's. Actually, it seemed a little similar to the one Jay had been in at Walter Reed: more like a room to stay in rather than a room to visit.

There was a pull-out bed set up against the wall, but the blankets were thrown to the side. A duffle bag sat in front of it, and a phone connected to a charger was waiting on the two pillows. Jay's old sweatshirt he sometimes slept in was on the back of the recliner just a few feet from her face, but he was nowhere to be seen.

She was alone in the room.

Her throat felt raw, and she was reminded of Jay's croaking voice when he'd woken up months before at Walter Reed and again years before in this very hospital after he'd gotten shot as well. There was something about sleeping for who knows how long that screwed with your voice.

A toilet flushed to her left, and she turned her head to see the light on beneath the crack in the door. She wasn't alone, then. Someone was here.

Jay was here.

He had to be.

She hoped he was.

She didn't even know what she was going to say to him upon being reunited. She didn't even know how long she'd been asleep for. For all she knew, it'd been days, maybe even weeks since she'd been shot. She couldn't forget that she'd hit her head - hard - when the bullet made her trip over her own feet. That had to have affected her recovery rate.

When Jay had woken up, he'd told her she looked like his wife before crying in disbelief at everything that had happened. She didn't think she would feel that same way. She hadn't run away to another country or been involved in a car explosion of all things. Getting shot on the job was, unfortunately, not out of the ordinary for Intelligence. There was no disbelief toward anything. She just hated that it happened.

She knew all too well what it was like to sit vigil at a loved one's - namely, Jay's - bedside, waiting for them to wake up. There was praying and crying and anger and grief and confusion. Jay surely had gone through all of that. He didn't deserve any of that pain; she was almost more upset that he'd had to go through that than the fact that she'd been shot.

She still didn't know what her recovery was going to look like, but she knew that she'd be able to get through it with Jay at her side. She wasn't scared of what was going to happen now.

She was awake, and that was all that mattered.

Finally, the bathroom door opened, and Jay was backlit by the light for a brief moment before he turned it off. Letting out a low groan, he rubbed his face and carefully made his way around her bed toward his own.

Hailey bit her lip and watched him sit on the makeshift bed and place his head in his hands. There was a beat before he let out a quiet sob. He tried stifling it with the back of his hand, but it did little to hide the pain he was experiencing.

It was enough to bring tears to Hailey's own eyes and give her the strength she needed to break through the soreness in her throat and say, "I'm okay, baby."

Jay's head snapped up. Through the dark, Hailey could see him staring at her as if to see if she really was awake. His eyes flickered over to the monitors, then to the door, and back to her.

"I'm okay," she repeated, slowly lifting her right hand against the heavy feeling still seeping through her limbs.

"Hailey," Jay whispered.

She nodded and wiggled her fingers the slightest amount. She wasn't sure she could say anything else without a little bit of water.

Slowly, Jay stood from the bed and walked over to her. His fingers gripped hers before he shook his head and leaned down to envelope her as best he could.

Together, they both cried, Jay much more quietly than her, but she didn't care what noises she made.

She was home.

She'd made it.

A/N: I know some of you had questions that may or may not have been answered in this chapter, but I hope you still enjoyed it! I hate to say it, but you're going to have to wait an extra week for more answers because I'll be going on vacation. Next chapter will come on August 12 - and it will be worth it, promise :) Until then, let me know what you think!