[Disclaimer: It pains me that I have to do this because I sadly still have hope in humanity and morals, but alas... It's been brought to my attention that some people have been stealing my stories. I ONLY post on FanFiction and ArchiveofourOwn... so if you come across anything of mine on Wattpad or any of the socials, please report it. Thank you! And to the offenders, be better people!]

It's been a little over a month since Kelton was murdered and the Intelligence Unit was left in upheaval. Since then things have changed drastically, for the moment, and forever. The running theory around the entire Chicago Police Department is that Brennan killed Kelton, and was assisted by Voight to help cover her tracks. She's completely in the wind and hasn't been heard from since that dreadful early May day; and as for Voight, he's gone dark as well. He did reach out to his team on all their burner phones to let them know he had a plan to fix everything, he just doesn't know how soon he can pull it off. Outside of that, none of them have any clue where he is, not even Platt.

As for the rest of the unit, that chaos is just as bad. After Antonio relapsed in his car he really couldn't handle the guilt anymore. He went to Detective Heller to not only confess to everything, but also to make him aware that he's in the know about his prostitute of a daughter. The only stipulation he wanted out of that little piece of blackmail was that Adam gets to walk away scott-free in a trade for him. A day later Adam was released and Antonio sacrificed himself for the greater good. Adam was enraged, and Kim and Trudy were completely heartbroken, but there was nothing any of them could do. Antonio needed to do this, he needed this amends, and what's done is done. They wished there could have been a better sendoff for one of their favorite detectives who helped to start their unit, but sometimes life has other plans. He feels at peace now, even though it's behind a jail cell, and that's all that matters. With his upstanding background and confession, he'll be out in 10 years with good behavior; it was an accident after all. It eases all of their minds some.

The saving grace for Kim, Kevin, and Adam is that they get to stay under Platt's wing for now. The only caveat is that they're all back on Patrol again. Definitely not what any of them would like to be doing again, but they know their patience will pay off soon enough, they trust in Voight. The new Superintendant actually allowed Kevin and Kim to be partnered again, and Adam is doing well riding with an older officer who ironically enough, reminds him a lot of Al. The three of them have stayed close, and if they don't constantly think about everything that's happened, to them they still feel like a huge part of their team is still intact.

Jay and Hailey are a slightly different story. They've distanced themselves from the others a little for now; mostly in order to keep their emotions under control and not think about how much they've all lost. All five did all get together for drinks a couple weeks ago, but it was really the only time they all hung out since everything went down. The one silver lining in all of this is that Jay & Hailey have managed to stay close with each other, despite not being partners anymore and in separate departments completely. They don't see each other quite everyday like they used to, but manage at least three or so nights a week depending on their latest cases. Robbery and Homicide begged to have Hailey back once they found out Intelligence was being split with all the turmoil and naturally, she had not much choice but to agree. As for Jay, with his Ranger background, SWAT had decided that they'd like to have him on some of their special cases. While they certainly didn't get to follow the other where they went job wise, they've managed to maintain it in their personal lives, and they're the only ones that keep each other sane these days.

In fact, tonight is one of those nights that they're doing their thing. They were both done with their individual work days by 7 o'clock and decided to meet up at Hailey's favorite watering hole for dinner and drinks. In a Summer where everything has changed, they're so glad this has stayed the same. Their smiles beaming for the first time today when they see each other and both getting the butterflies in their stomach that neither has yet to admit to the other. Their feelings have all been coming to a head the past couple of weeks though. The tension has ticked up a notch, their flirting has been more bold, even their hugs goodbye have been held a beat too long to just be friendly. Neither is sure precisely when they've both become more daring, but if they had to guess it all culminated on that fateful May day. If looks could speak, then their moment in the break room that day would have screamed to "kiss each other!" Of course, everything fell around them that day and they didn't have much time to question or think about it… but now that a few weeks have passed, and things have settled as well as they could for now, not to mention that there's no imaginary line between them being partners anymore; how they really feel for the other is all they ever think about these days.

Hailey has still had her reservations, and is obviously too scared to make the first move… after all, if she doesn't guard her heart, who will!? Even though the little voice inside her head screams Jay… and her subconscious knows that he's the only one for her, the only one who can, has, and ever will break through her walls and protect her… so she finds herself running away less. While she may not make the first move, she knows she won't be able to turn him away ever again if he does.

"I still can't believe your latest case made headlines as the 'Insane Clown Posse!' You'd think there'd be some kind of copyright from that 90's band? Talk about a throwback to high school…" Jay says.

"Y'know I don't know what's more embarrassing… the fact that a bunch of robbers thought it looked cool dressing up as clowns, or how much you just dated yourself right now? Damn you're old!.." Hailey teases him.

Jay can't help but laugh. "You got some nerve, you're like barely 4 years younger than me!"

"That may be so, but I was in middle school when they were popular, and I will always look younger and better than you!" she smirks and then lets out a shocked giggle as he pokes her side in a ticklish manner from the stool next to her. She swats his hand away while still smiling.

"Fine, I will admit that you'll always be the pretty one…" he gives her his flirtatious grin and they both can't help but stare at the other a second too long.

"Don't you have some fries to finish instead of trying to hit on me?"

"Trust me Hailey, when I'm hitting on you, you'll know!"

"I don't know about that, you're probably so corny and rusty at this point."

"Wow! You got the jokes today, Hails!"

She shrugs and laughs, "Have to get it out of my system somehow, I don't see you as much as we used to."

"Yea, that's true… maybe there's a way we can change that though!" Jay's expression suddenly turning more serious.

"What do you mean? Have you heard from Voight again?"

"No, sorry, I haven't… that's not what I meant…" his voice drops down towards the end as he tries to imply his unfinished thoughts, knowing she'd understand.

"Jay…" she whispers back cautiously.

He reaches over and grabs her hand from off her lap and holds it for a bit before he starts to speak again. "Come on, let's go back to your place and talk in private. It's long overdue."

"Talk Jay, really?" she questions smirking slightly, trying to calm her beating heart.

"Yes, talk, Hailey… to start anyway!" Jay winks and grins at her, getting his favorite eye roll and headshake back at him.

"Ok… you're right, we probably do have to finally talk about what this really is…" she reiterates while staring back at him, the intensity of their gaze getting more powerful by the second.

He begrudgingly lets go of her hand so they can stand up and start walking out. "Lead the way."

As they start walking towards the door and back out into the night, he confidently and softly puts his hand on the small of her back, pleased when he sees it makes her shiver and she doesn't push him away.

They're in their own little world as they make their way to the parking lot, both positively gleeful that it seems like their time has finally come; when they hear a voice call out walking towards them in the direction of the bar, their face hidden in the shadows.

"Hailey! I figured I'd find you here…"

Hailey stops dead in her tracks as she recognizes the voice instantly, shuddering eerily all the way down her spine. She hasn't heard that voice in almost six years. She never thought she'd hear that voice again. She shouldn't be able to. It's not possible… It can't be… But she knows deep down in her core that it's him, somehow, and every single emotion rises at once, anger being the most prevalent.

"GARRET?…" she finally chokes out.

Jay's hand drops from her back instantly, in as complete of shock as her. He turns to see her remorseful and stunned face and knows it to be true. All he can do is whisper to her in surprise.

"Garret!? As in your ex-partner? The guy who died?…" It pains him to get out the next part but he powers through. "…the guy you were in love with and lost!?"

"It's been a long time, Upton!.."

The apparent ghost from her past says as he walks closer to them and into the street light. Jay instantly recognizing him from the photograph Hailey still has. There's some aging and harder edges for sure, but it's definitely him. And in that moment, Hailey and Jay feel their whole world get ripped out from under them again…

[A/N: SURPRISE! Sorry to leave y'all hanging, but I hope it will be worth it... As you can tell, this will be another multi-chapter; TBD how long I will make it, but we'll play it by ear. Hope you enjoyed the prelude thus far, and thank so much for the continued support, reads, and reviews, it means a lot! So happy to see more Upstead stories/fans these days, keep 'em coming!]