Chapter 1

BEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP.

Jay opened his eyes begrudgingly when he heard his alarm go off. He looked over at the clock, 6:00 a.m. "That time already I guess", sighed and pulled himself out of bed. He had been having trouble falling asleep the last few nights, the stress of the last few cases weighing heavily on his mind. It didn't help that he woke up feeling like his throat was on fire, each time he swallowed felt like shards of glass in the back of his mouth. "Great, that's all I need is to get sick this week, he thought." He silently cursed Will, who seemed to bring every bug home from the hospital with him. Will was immune to it at this point of course, but since he had been staying with Jay after him and Natalie split, the flu going around appeared to have found its way into Jay's apartment.

He pulled himself out of bed to get dressed and grab a bite to eat before meeting Hailey for their usual morning workout. Hailey arrived at his apartment at 7 am on the dot and texted him telling him she was here.

Jay grabbed his bags and headed downstairs to meet her. Thankfully, she must have read his mind and had a coffee waiting for him in her car. "The usual", she said and gave him a smile, quickly realizing how tired he looked.

"Morning Hails", Jay started as his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and said, "Mind if we skip the gym today, I'm exhausted."

She looked at him sceptically, as he never missed a workout, but didn't push it. "No problem, we have a ton of paperwork to catch up on at the station anyways, we should get an early start."

He looked at her with his signature Halstead stare and was thankful that she didn't ask him anymore questions. His head was throbbing and needed the caffeine to kick in before he could wrap his head around the schedule for today.

When they arrived at the station, Antonio and Kim were already at their desks, Voight sitting in his office. Hailey looked at Jay and laughed, "And I thought we would be the first ones here, these guys making us look bad."

Jay managed a smile and said, "Kim, you know its before 8 right? Are you here under your own will?" Antonio and Kim shared a laugh, everyone in the unit aware that she was the furthest thing from a morning person.

"Well Antonio bribed me with coffee and donuts, how could I say no."

Just then, Voight walked out into the bullpen and said, "Halstead, Upton, my office."

The two shared a look and hoped that they weren't in trouble, it was far too early to be yelled at.

"Keep the door open." The two sat down across from Voight as he slid them a file folder.

"Jason Armstrong, recently released from Cook County. Did a stint for possession and distribution."

"Okay, what does this have to do with us?", Hailey asked.

"He was spotted at a known stash house in the South Side last night. Narcotics has been sitting on that house for a few weeks now, waiting for the right time to bust, there's some bad dope in that neighbourhood right now. People have been dropping like flies. Now that Jason has been seen there, and is most definitely on probation, I want you two to find out what he's up to. If we can bring Jason in for some probation violation, maybe he can give us some information on who he's working for and flip him."

"Copy that Sarge, Jay and I will head over and do some surveillance."

"Sounds good, he usually makes a run around noon. Make sure you have photo evidence of him coming and going, any bags he's carrying or who he's with", Voight said.

Jay and Hailey left his office and grabbed everything they needed for a stakeout, knowing they were in for a long day.

Once they got set up in a vacant house across the street it was a waiting game. Stakeouts were usually intense and action packed. The one today was hardly anything to write home about. It was after lunch now and no sign of Jason, or anyone really heading in and out of the stash house other than a pizza delivery guy pulling in to the house next door.

Jay had been fighting a headache all morning and sitting in a dark, quiet room didn't help him in his fight to keep his eyes open. His body was starting to ache and felt the chills setting in.

"You can close your eyes for a few minutes you know, I won't tell anyone", Hailey chuckled.

Jay smirked back at her, "I may just take you up on that offer."

His comments took her by surprise, she figured he would have a sassy reply and tell her to mind her own business. She knew he had been struggling this week, as much as he didn't want to admit it. Will moving in was an adjustment for him, on top of a few stressful cases at work. Jay didn't handle times like these very well, and she got the feeling that he had been having some nightmares again. She caught him sleeping in the lunch room a few days ago and he just looked….troubled. Face scrunched up in pain, cold sweats, and nearly punching Adam as he tried to grab his shoulder and shake him awake.

"You okay Jay?"

It was a simple question, but Jay knew what she meant by it.

"I'm okay Hails, just a headache."

She looked at him like she didn't buy it, but never asked anything else. They sat the next few hours in silence.

At about 2 o'clock, Jason Armstrong finally pulled up to the house.

"Finally, okay Jay check this out, this is our guy. Grab some photos of his license plate." Jay quickly zoomed in on the plates and followed Jason through the camera lens into the house.

Armstrong was in the house for no more than ten minutes, and came out with a duffle bag in hand. Hailey and Jay snapped a bunch of pictures and passed on the license and car information to Antonio over the radio. They waited for their next instructions.

Hailey looked over at Jay, who was fighting to keep his eyes open. She was just now noticing how flushed his cheeks looked and saw that he had taken off his jacket, even though it was barely above freezing.

"Jay are you sure you're alright? You don't look very well," sounding a little more concerned than usual.

He cleared his throat a few times and finally gave in to what his body was screaming at him all day. "Not feeling the best. I think I'm getting sick, Will had something earlier this week. Must be catching up to me", he smiled weakly.

Hailey quickly reached over and felt his forehead with the back of her hand, not surprised by how hot his skin felt.

"I knew it, she said shaking her head. Jay you're burning up, why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know, we had things to do today. Criminals to catch."

Hailey laughed, "You need to take care of yourself too, you are notoriously bad at it. I know you haven't been sleeping well either, it was bound to catch up with you at some point."

Jay loved that Hailey could read him so well, even though it was sometimes a curse.

"Ya well, do you think these photos are enough for now? I am about ready to call it a day."

"I think we should be okay, Antonio is running Armstrong's information now. If anything jumps off, the rest of the unit can handle it. I'll tell Voight we're taking off early. We did have an earlier than normal start, I'm sure he'll be fine with it."

"We're?" Jay looked at her curiously, wondering what she meant by that.

"I'm taking you home Jay, you need to get some rest."

"You don't have to do that Hails, I don't want you to get sick."

"We've been cooped up in this room together all day, damage is already done. Plus, its part of our thing you know?"

"I thought our thing mostly involved alcohol."

"That too, Hailey chuckled, but partner privileges also extend to sickness. I make a mean pot of soup."

Jay rolled his eyes, but the thought of Hailey playing nurse secretly enticed him. Even though he could never tell her how he really felt, it was nice to know that she was in his corner.

"Plus I did drive you to work this morning, so unless you were planning on walking home…" Hailey trailed off as Jay managed a laugh.

"True, I did kind of forget about that detail, must be the fever talking."

She held her hand out to get him up off the chair, helping him put his jacket back on, silently wondering if this was a good idea. She had been thinking about Jay's comments to her a few weeks back, and it made her heart flutter. Things between them had felt more complicated lately. She was still seeing Adam, but Jay was often on her mind, and she didn't know how to feel about it.

"We're good Hailey, and we're always going to be good." His words echoed in her mind.

Hailey wasn't happy that Jay was sick, but she was happy they could spend some time together, even if that meant taking care of him. She sent a quick message to Voight that they were heading home for the day and went out to start the car. By the time she got back she could tell Jay was starting to fade, his eyes were closed and a thin layer of sweat was starting to form across his forehead.

"Okay partner, let's get you home." Hailey placed her hand on his lower back and guided him to her car, making sure he stayed on his feet.

"Close your eyes Jay we'll be home soon."