Everyone was working on some paperwork, and Adam looked at Jay.

"You know, Tommy Rixton, right?"

Jay looked up, nodded. "Yeah? Why?"

Adam shrugged. "I signed up on a boxing match..."

"You're boxing? With Tommy Rixton? You're out of your mind. That guy's a beast."

"He's not THAT good," Adam said, trying to sound confident.

Jay leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "He's one of the best boxers in the city. You're gonna get your ass handed to you, Ruzek."

"Nah, nah, I can take him," Adam said, shaking his head.

Kevin chimed in, "You're going up against a professional. You sure about this, man?"

Hailey chirped, referring to Jay. "Ruzek, my husband went against him, Rixton made him have a migraine for a week!"

Adam rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, that was a long time ago. I've trained more since then."

Jay chuckled, "Yeah, and Rixton's probably trained even more. You're gonna get flattened, Ruzek."

"I'll be fine," Adam said, stubborn.

Hailey shook her head, "I doubt it."

"Rixton's no joke, Ruzek. You sure you're ready for this?" Voight noted.

Adam stood up, raising his fists in a makeshift boxing stance. He tried to throw a few punches, but his form was sloppy.

Kevin chuckled, "Yeah, you're ready, alright."

Hailey gave a sympathetic smile, "You might want to work on your stance..."

"You need to straighten your form, Ruzek. You're off-balance and leaving yourself open." Jay groaned, rubbing his head.

Jay shook his head, smirking. "Yeah, those fists are about as intimidating as a butterfly."

He grabbed one of Adam's arms, adjusting it. "You need to keep your guard up. You're leaving yourself open for a clean hit."

"Better," Jay said, still not completely convinced. "But you need to focus on your footwork too. Your weight is all over the place."

"I'm trying, man. It's not as easy as it looks."

Kevin chuckled, "Maybe you should consider a different line of work. You're going to get embarrassed if you step into that ring."

Jay held back a smirk. "Yeah, listen to Kev. It's not too late to back out."

"I'm not backing out. I can do this."

The team were at Ruzek's boxing match, but they were nervous as shit. They glanced nervously at the ring, where a match was currently underway.

Voight leaned back in his chair; arms crossed. "This is a bad idea. Ruzek's gonna get his ass handed to him."

As the round ended, they could see Adam waiting in the corner, his shoulders tense. He was clearly nervous.

Voight grumbled, "This is gonna be a bloodbath."

The audience cheered as the next match was announced, and the team watched as Adam entered the ring.

Adam circled the ring, his eyes locked on Rixton, who was already in a fighting stance. He looked far more relaxed than Adam.

Hailey cringed, "Looks like Rixton's not even worried,"

Jay tensed, watching as Adam squared off against his opponent. "Ruzek, keep your guard up!" He shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

Rixton wasted no time, quickly darting in and landing a straight jab that made Adam stagger back. The crowd cheered, and Jay winced as he saw Adam's left side completely unguarded.

Adam managed to land a couple of weak punches, but they seemed to only anger Rixton more. The crowd roared their approval as Rixton continued his onslaught, driving Adam towards the ropes.

Voight leaned over; his voice low. "He's getting destroyed in there."

Jay clenched his fists, watching helplessly as Adam tried to shield himself from another vicious hit. "He's going to get hurt if he doesn't get it together," he muttered through clenched teeth.

Adam stumbled back, his face bloodied, trying to keep his guard up. Rixton advanced, sensing Adam's weakness, and landed a powerful uppercut to his stomach. Adam dropped, wheezing for breath.

The team glanced worriedly at Jay, who looked like he wanted to jump into the ring himself.

Adam struggled to get up, but his legs felt like jelly. Rixton was waiting, his fists raised, ready to inflict more damage.

Jay stood in the ring, his hands taped and ready to go. Adam, his face swollen and bruised, stumbled over, clearly frustrated.

"What are you doing? I was handling things," he protested, wincing from pain.

Jay rolled his eyes, adjusting his stance. "Yeah, handling it by getting your ass handed to you. You can't fight him. You're done."

Adam sat in the locker room with the team, his face swollen and his clothes disheveled. He winced visibly as he moved, clearly in a lot of pain.

Voight shook his head disapprovingly. "You're a mess, Ruzek."

Adam grimaced, trying to sit up straighter. "Yeah, I feel like I've been through a meat grinder."

Hailey winced, seeing the extent of Adam's injuries. "You look worse than Jay when a case goes bad."

Kevin chuckled, "Not a high bar there."

Adam grumbled, holding his ribs gingerly. "You could at least try to be sympathetic. I just went toe-to-toe with Rixton, remember?"

"Toe-to-toe and got beat down,"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Halstead," Adam muttered, wincing as he sat back. "But I would've had the guy if you hadn't interfered."

Jay scoffed, his voice cracking. "I saved you from getting killed, and this is the thanks I get?" he got up and headed towards the exit.

Hailey called out to him, looking concerned. "Where are you going?"

Jay didn't answer, his hands shoved into his pockets as he walked briskly out of the room, the door slamming behind him.

Hailey opened Jay's locker, packing his things in the gym bag. "You could've said 'Thank you'."

Adam groaned, adjusting his ice pack. "Jay's just... he's Jay. Always gotta be the hero."

Hailey rolled her eyes, zipping up the gym bag. "You're just mad that you got your ass kicked."

Adam grumbled, "Yeah, well, I would've done better if Jay hadn't stepped in."

Kevin and Kim got themselves together. "Hails, you and Halstead? Up for a beer?"

Hailey closed the locker, throwing Jay's gym bag over her shoulder. "No, I've got to get this to Jay. He needs to ice down, and he's in no state to be going for drinks."

Adam sat up, wincing from the pain. "Let him sulk. That's what he's good at."

Hailey shot Adam a glance. "Maybe Jay should've just let you get your ass kicked. Then at least you'd stop complaining."

Adam muttered, grabbing his ice pack. "Yeah, well, at least I tried. He's always gotta be the big hero."

Hailey shrugged, heading for the door. "Maybe he is. He lasted longer against Rixton than you did."

Adam called out as Hailey walked out. "Hey! I could've won, given time!"

Hailey pushed open the door of their shared apartment, gym bag in hand. She glanced around, spotting Jay on the couch.

He was lying on his back, his arm over his eyes. The TV was on, but the sound was muted. His hoodie was rumpled, his hair messy from running his hands through it.

Hailey kicked off her shoes, dropping the gym bag to the floor. She walked over to the couch, tugging on Jay's shoes until he sat up, swinging his legs over to let her pull his sneakers off.

Once his shoes were off, she sat down next to him, unbuckling his belt. He lifted his hips to help her pull it off, the buckle clinking as she set it down on the coffee table.

She grabbed his arm, guiding him to lie back down again, and pulled up a blanket over him. He mumbled his thanks, his eyes still closed as he huddled under the covers.

Hailey grabbed the remote from the coffee table, unmuting the TV as she settled next to him. She propped his head gently on her lap, running her fingers through his messy hair.