Year of fire-an Upstead story

Chapter 4: Shattered sanctuary

Meanwhile back at the bullpen...

The intelligence unit is still looking for clues and finding evidence after being awake all night and Jay Halstead has finally landed in Chicago after 10 hours of flying, which rattled him out of the memories he has been going through in his head as well as reading their messages and coming up with ways to fix things between the two of them, as he was not able to sleep terrified of what could be happening to Hailey right now, knowing he was responsible for this as if he was with her he could've prevented it from happening since the flight took off.

Once they land, he grabs his backpack, gets off the plane and grabs his luggage from baggage claim then heads towards where himself and Voight agreed to meet, once he reaches Voight they shake hands and Jay asks if there's any update on the case while walking to Voight's vehicle, Voight informs him that so far they know that it was Hailey's dad that kidnapped her and that there's a second man, the driver which they suspect is Knox as they found out he had been released from prison just 2 days ago while driving to the district, not telling him what they have received from Hailey's kidnappers.

Hearing this Jay feels like he is drowning after finding out Knox was one of her kidnappers knowing that he most likely was taking revenge on him by using Hailey, a life for a life, and he knows he will never forgive himself for this and will make it up to Hailey for the rest of his life. He just wants her back in his arms so he can keep her safe, from the bad and ugly of the world and so she'll never be hurt again, while also knowing he is being irrational.

He knows that Hailey is probably being beaten up, tortured, and also knows there is a big possibility of what he doesn't want to even name or think about, as he knows what Knox and her dad are like. His heart broke even more. When they arrive at the district, Jay quickly says hi to Trudy who is shocked but not totally that Jay is home and then goes up to the bullpen with Voight, once they get upstairs everyone goes silent and is shocked, he's back, they all start asking questions... "Jay? You're back? We thought you were still on a mission in Bolivia, Hailey told us a few days ago that she hadn't spoken to you because you were undercover, how are you here? how did you know to come back?"

As Jay listens, his heart shatters into a thousand fractured pieces at the revelation that Hailey had shielded him with lies, sacrificing her own truth to safeguard his fragile existence within the team. The weight of her unspoken burdens crushes him, a relentless reminder of his unworthiness. With a heavy sigh, he finds the strength to offer the truth they seek, his voice trembling with the raw honesty of a broken man determined to mend what he shattered.

"I'm back," he confesses, the words heavy with regret and redemption. "I took on the duty of a sergeant in a unit battling the worst cartels in Bolivia. I left because I sensed this place changing me, swallowing me whole here, morphing me into a stranger I couldn't recognize. I had to flee, to carve a path back to the man Hailey deserves. I know my departure was sudden, and for that, I'm sorry. I abandoned you all, but I had to escape the suffocating grip of my own demons before they consumed me entirely. I wasn't undercover."

His voice wavers as he speaks of his silence towards Hailey, the anguish of knowing he inflicted wounds that may never fully heal. "I couldn't bear to face her pain, to hear the shattered pieces of her soul because of me," he admits, his throat tight with unshed tears. "She probably spun a web of lies to shield me, a kindness I don't deserve. I flew back the moment Voight's call shattered the fragile peace I clung to. So, what do we know? Do we have anything?"

As silence descends upon the room, Jay senses the weight of their gazes, heavy with shared sorrow and secrets veiled beneath layers of familiarity forged over a decade. His instincts scream for answers, for the truth hidden in their somber expressions. But before he can unravel the truth, Voight's summons pulls him into the sanctum of his office, a foreboding echo of impending revelations. "Jay, let's talk," Voight's voice cuts through the haze of uncertainty, a harbinger of truths yet to be unveiled.