Got your back

Chapter 8

Jay sat at his desk, anxiously tapping a pen against the tabletop, his eyes on the entrance to the bullpen. Any second now his favorite detective would walk up those steps. It didn't matter that she was already almost an hour late. It didn't matter that she wasn't returning his texts or calls. It didn't matter that she wouldn't answer the door last night when he went to check on her. He had stood outside her apartment for so long that one of her neighbors threatened to call the cops on him if he didn't leave. They only left him alone once he had flashed his badge. She still never came to the door, and Jay couldn't help but worry. They'd always been able to talk to each other no matter what was going on. It was their thing. It was what made them great partners and great more-than-partners.

The stressed tapping intensified. Hailey was never late. Jay glanced at his phone to check for a message for the hundredth time. Still nothing. His mind was so preoccupied that he almost didn't hear Voight enter the bullpen.

"Upton called out sick today, so we're a man down. I expect you all to be focused today to pick up the slack."

Hailey was never sick. She never missed work. Not after she and Burgess were kidnapped and beat, not after she got injured by shrapnel, not even after she had to quarantine at Med. As soon as she was medically cleared, she was always right back out there.

Jay got up from his desk and walked into Voight's office, shutting the door. "What do you mean Hailey's out sick?"

Voight briefly looked surprised that he hadn't already known, but he quickly regained his composure. "I mean exactly that, Halstead. She said she's sick."

"But Hailey's never sick."

"People get sick, Jay. I don't know what to tell you," the sergeant said with a hint of exasperation.

"Well, did she say anything else?"

"Just that she wasn't feeling well and wasn't sure when she'd be back. I told her she'd be missed but we'd manage until she was healthy enough to return."

"Right. Thanks, Sarge."

Voight could tell the detective was beginning to get lost in thought as he started to leave his office. "Halstead, I need you to keep your head in the game today. I'm already down one detective; I can't be down two."

Jay nodded before silently returning to his desk.

———

Later that afternoon, Jay was sitting at his desk watching as the unit presented what they had on the case so far. More specifically, Jay was observing Caden, trying to see what Hailey saw. He was beginning to wonder how he'd been so oblivious.

He watched as Caden walked up to the board and took over for Kim. But took over wasn't the right phrase. He cut her off, plain and simple, the third time in almost as many minutes by Jay's count. And he stepped in front of her, too, for good measure. He had never noticed it before. Just like he'd never noticed the slight look of annoyance that flashed across Kim's face as she stopped talking and had to take a step back so Caden was no longer in her personal space.

As Jay watched her walk over to lean on Adam's desk, he wondered how often he had done the same thing to her or Hailey. Most of the time the team had a rhythm, finishing each other's sentences and trading off points. But how many times had they interrupted and not even realized it?

———

By the time the team was packing up to head out for the evening, Jay still hadn't heard from Hailey. He'd sent her an annoying number of texts throughout the day but nothing. Something she had mentioned in passing in an interrogation years ago kept nagging at the back of his brain, subconsciously adding another layer of worry.

Jay saw Kim gathering up her things and walked over to catch her before she left. "Hey, Kim. Is there any chance you can check in on Hailey?"

Kim gave him a bit of weird look, no doubt wondering why he wouldn't want to just check on his partner himself.

"We got into a fight yesterday and now she's not answering my texts," Jay explained, running a hand through his hair. "Please? I'm just- I'm worried about her. Can you please just make sure she's okay?"

"Of course," Kim said, noting the concern in Jay's voice and putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'll head over there now." As she started to leave, she added, "I'm sure she's fine, Jay."

He really hoped she was right.