Fragments of Us - Upstead One Shots

❁ the day he lost her ❁

⚠️ death + gorey? ⚠️

The partners, Jay and Hailey, were on a "stakeout," so to say. Following a criminal through the backstreets of the windy city, they kept close, not letting their guard down for a second. They had been searching for this man for hours, just missing him each time. But now... Jay's sure he can see him.

Where? They just watched him slip out of view, turning a corner.

The person they were chasing was a suspected dealer in a local drug ring. The connections were just starting to unravel, hence their 3 am pursuit.

Jay and Hailey exchanged a knowing glance. Then Hailey split from him, walking stealthily down the narrow alley, attempting to intercept the perp, stopping him from slipping out of their grasp once again. They were splitting up.

Jay followed the man, turning the same corner he watched him slip down a minute before. The man was there, standing tall at about 6 feet, stocky, a bit bigger than Halstead. That was all he could make out; everything else, just a silhouette.

Jay made his way forward, unnerved without his partner by his side. What looked like a gun dangled from the perp's left hand. His arms beside him, debating on where to go. Unknown to Jay, the man had only stopped after hearing Hailey around the next corner.

Jay was about to announce his presence, his gun already aimed, ready if anything went wrong. As he opened his mouth to speak, the man turned, making direct eye contact with Halstead as his left arm raised.

Now, their guns were pointing at each other. "Drop it," Jay yelled, "CPD!" But he didn't drop the firearm. The low click of the perp's gun could be heard amidst the almost silent night, so Jay did what anyone else would. He fired, and the man began to drop.

The metallic sound of two shots ricocheted off the buildings, ringing in Jay's ears as he waited for the expected rush of pain. Nothing... Jay had only fired once, yet seemed unharmed, leaving him with one question: Where did the man's bullet go?

As the man slumped to the floor, Jay's jog turned into a sprint. A blonde mop of straight hair falling... Jay wasn't shot. That man never fired his weapon... Halstead was unharmed, yet in that moment, he would have given anything to trade places with her.

"Hailey?!" He yelled, his tone desperate. "Hailey, you're shot?!" He dropped to his knees, instantly putting his hands over the wound, which only just missed her vest. "Hailey, come on! Stay with me! Stay with me..." He repeated, guilt flooding him as he radioed in.

"50-21 George. Officer down! Officer down." Then he gave them their approximate location as he chucked his radio down with utmost force, probably damaging the flimsy plastic in the process.

The bullet went through the sternum, just under the jugular notch, and although Jay tried to apply pressure, he knew there was no hope. By now, her lungs were filling with blood, he could see that through the desperate choking, the way her body jumped with each forceful cough.

Blood spilled out through his fingers by this point; he didn't know what to do. "Keep your eyes open, Hails... please," he begged, watching the blood spill further up her neck. Her eyes, although fearful and squinted, were still visibly blue, leaking with tears like tiny waterfalls, falling down each cheek with every labored breath.

She blinked at Jay, but for once, he didn't understand. They had always been good at the non-verbal side of things; they knew each other better than they knew themselves. She blinked, so slowly, looking into his eyes, pleading for something... When he realized what the simple blink implied, he couldn't help but drop his head slightly.

"No," he whispered, "no.. no, I'm not letting you go, you can't die on me..... come on, you can't die on me..." he begged.

"You can't leave me here... you can't go." His tone no longer determined, it had morphed into soft pleas, begging her to hold on... He had never felt that afraid before, and he never would again. There's no room for fear when your worst nightmare is a rapidly approaching reality. There's no point in fear when you have nothing to lose.

He felt her cold, shaking fingers on his, as she rubbed her thumb over each blood-covered knuckle, still slowly blinking to him. As if she was saying it was okay, okay to let go... but he wouldn't, he couldn't. He shook his head,

"No! No... stay with me, stay with me... please.." he begged, tears streaming freely down his face, landing on her now, almost limp body. "You can't leave me here alone..."

"H..hold..m..me." she pleaded, trying to move his hand, but not getting too far. Her weak words almost didn't make sense amidst the splutters of blood and sounds of her desperately trying to avoid drowning.

Sirens blared, growing closer and closer, "The team will be here soon... just hold on.. hold on, you're not dying..." he begged. But she blinked again, her eyes pleading him to let her go, to just hold her, Although, he wasn't sure he could...

But as he watched more tears spill from her delicate cheeks, and the sirens he originally heard fall further into the distance, he nodded. He moved his hand, just one of them, scaling it under her neck. Pondering a second before removing the other and using it to pull her to his chest.

He let his head drop, his eyes shut, as hers were, his tears now falling into her golden hair. "I love you..." he sobbed. "I love you so much Hails..." Jay repeated. Holding her as tight as he could, begging for it to somehow change, begging to wake up. But it wouldn't, he wouldn't... Hailey was no longer afraid, nor in pain, she no longer felt it. She could finally sleep. She was gone...

That was the day Jay lost his ability to feel, the day he broke his promise to never end up like a drunken wastoid like his father. That was the day he lost everything.

That was the day he lost her.