The deafening noise of shattering glass and metal had finally stopped. Jay was sprawled on the floor of the unit's van, his heart racing as he realized they'd been mere inches from falling victims to the countless bullets that had been so unexpectedly fired their way. He was still holding onto Hailey, his arms tightly wrapped around her in a protective embrace. His first instinct when he'd heard the shots had been to shield her as best as he could, regardless of his own safety. His sole purpose had been to protect her, no matter what the cost.

"Hailey" he whispered in her ear. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah... I think so" he heard her say in a trembling voice, her head still buried in his chest.

She slowly lifted her head to look at him, and he immediately noticed the fear in her eyes.

"It's over" he reassured her, cupping her face in both his hands.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I guess someone tipped off Wilson's crew that we were coming."

She lowered her head and exhaled, trying to calm herself down. Jay sensed she was still shaken from the events. He wanted to comfort her, to let her know she was now safe. He tenderly caressed her cheek as she lifted her head back up to look at him.

"Hailey..." he murmured, deeply gazing into her eyes.

He felt his heart flutter in his chest as a faint smile appeared on her lips. She was undoubtedly trying to be brave, but he knew her too well by now; she was scared. But not of the danger potentially still lurking outside... she feared what was about to happen next.

Jay's gaze moved from her eyes to her lips as he slowly bent down to kiss her. But before his lips could touch hers, a loud noise erupted as someone slid the van's door open.

"Are you guys all right?" Hank shouted.

"Yeah Sarge" Jay responded, his voice a mere whisper.

"Wilson was shot dead, probably by one of Kelton's minions. EMTs are on their way right now to check you two out and make sure you're ok. We need both of you to finish this" he said before he walked off to join the other members of the team.

Jay turned his attention back to Hailey, who was still looking at him. He realized he hadn't let go of her; he was still holding her face.

"Thank you" she told him after a moment. "I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here with me."

"That's what partners are for" he replied in a soft voice. "Like I told you before, I'm going where you go."

She smiled at him and, for a moment, they just laid there, gazing at each other. Jay could sense the intensifying warm feeling that always rocked his insides whenever they were alone together. When they'd first been partnered up, he'd been going through one of the roughest periods of his life. Erin had just left town without saying goodbye; she'd hurt him badly and broken his heart into a million pieces. He'd sworn himself to never let anyone in again. But his feelings for Hailey had quickly snuck up on him. Despite trying to keep their relationship strictly professional, he had unknowingly let himself fall for her. She had irrevocably become his touchstone. Never had he felt this connected to someone. For the first time in a long while, he felt whole again; his heart had finally healed. But he couldn't bring himself to express how he felt, perhaps because he was terrified Hailey didn't feel the same way. She'd just broken up with Adam, so she probably wasn't ready to date again, especially not another work colleague. But he wanted her... he needed her.

"Can you help me up?" she asked, probably trying to cut the tension that had built up between them.

"Sure" he said, quickly getting up and taking her hand to help her get on her feet.

"Anything broken?" he asked.

"No, you?"

'Not anymore' he thought, smiling at her.

"No" he simply replied in a whisper.

"Jay..." she said, letting go of his hand. "About before..."

But she was unable to finish her thoughts as the EMTs had just arrived on the scene.

Jay had just gotten back to the precinct and was about to head upstairs when he saw Hank standing in the stairwell, visibly upset about something. He went up to join him.

"Sarge..."

"Not now Jay" Voight replied.

"No, we gotta talk" Jay said, grabbing his arm.

"Not now!" Voight yelled, pulling away from him.

"Hey, calm down, just calm down. Stop, stop, stop it. What is going on?" Jay asked.

"Nothing. Nothing. I need you to go upstairs."

"I'm not going upstairs" Jay interrupted.

"I need you..."

"I'm not going upstairs!" he repeated. "Hank, if there is something that I need to know then you have to tell me so I can help you!"

Jay was starting to get flustered; he could sense something was terribly wrong... like things were about to change and never be the same again.

"I'm going to see Kelton" Voight continued in a calmer tone of voice. "Do what needs to be done."

Jay furrowed his brow, confused by Hank's words.

"Jay, this unit is gonna be yours one day."

"Sarge..."

"Shhh, listen" Hank whispered, putting both his hands on Jay's shoulders. "Do it the right way."

Jay watched in shock as Hank walked away. Feeling sick to his stomach, he made his way back upstairs. He was still reeling from his conversation with his sergeant; he simply couldn't face anyone. He needed to make sense of what had just happened. He walked past his team's desks and went straight to the break room. He leaned forward against the counter and lowered his head, closing his eyes to play his conversation with Voight back in his mind.

"Hey, what's going on?" he heard Hailey ask behind him.

He turned around to face her as she leaned her back against the counter, crossing her arms on her chest.

"I have no idea" Jay said. "Voight just left and he said something about... about me running the unit."

Hailey looked at him, a look of shock spreading across her face.

"We lost" he told her, the emotion clearly palpable in his voice.

"Kelton is who he is" Hailey said after a moment. "His time for reckoning's coming."

"But not in time for this unit... for us" he whispered.

Jay couldn't believe those last two words had just escaped his mouth. But it was too late to take them back. They were out there; and Hailey had heard them. She stared at him, and he could sense she'd been surprised.

"We've only been partners a couple of years, you'll forget about me just fine."

"Hailey" he replied, shaking his head.

His heart was caught in his throat. He desperately wanted to tell her just how much she meant to him, but something inside of him pulled him back and prevented him from speaking from his heart. Hailey was staring at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"We'll be alright" she told him, a faint smile on her lips.

Jay still couldn't talk... and he hated himself for it. He wanted to open up to her and tell her everything. So when his mind couldn't find the words to express how he felt, he let his body take over. He took Hailey's hand in his and squeezed it gently.

"I need you" he finally told her. "I know you probably don't wanna hear this right now with all this uncertainty, but..."

"I need you too" she replied before he could say anything else. "We've got each other's back, that's not gonna change."

"Hailey, no..." he murmured. "This is more than..."

But again his mind shut down, preventing him from verbally communicating his true feelings. As he struggled to translate his emotions into words, Hailey moved closer and snuggled up against him. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head, burying his face in her hair. He closed his eyes when he felt the tears rise to their surface. He tightened his embrace before he finally spoke.

"You're my rock" he breathed. "I don't wanna do this without you... I don't think I can."

"I'm here" she responded softly. "I'm not going anywhere."

She lifted her face to look at him, forcing him to do the same. He desperately wanted to kiss her, but he didn't want their first time to be at work, not with their colleagues right outside. It just didn't feel right. So instead he bent down and lightly kissed her forehead. He lingered there for a moment, unwilling to let her go.

"Jay..." Hailey whispered.

He looked down, gazing deeply into her eyes. A faint smile appeared on her face, causing his heart to melt.

"We should get back to work" she said, staring at his lips.

"Yeah" he replied, his entire body screaming in pain as he finally let her go.

It was the middle of the night, but Jay needed to see Hailey. On the way to her house he'd tried to convince himself that it was a bad idea, that he should just wait until the morning. But he'd kept driving, until he'd ultimately reached her home. He got out of the car and climbed the stairs leading up to her porch. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

A few moments later he heard the bolt slide open and her gorgeous face appeared behind the door. She was wearing nothing but a long-sleeve shirt. He'd probably woken her up.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry to bother you so late" he responded. "I just really needed to see you."

"It's fine, I couldn't sleep anyway. What's going on?" she asked, stepping aside to let him in.

Jay didn't know where to begin. He took off his jacket and sat down on the couch.

"You want a beer or something?" Hailey asked, undoubtedly trying to help him get comfortable.

"No thanks. I really should be sober for this."

Hailey slowly sat down next to him. She remained silent, looking at him in the same way she always did whenever she sensed he was struggling to open up. It instantly reassured him.

"Kelton's dead" he said after a moment.

"What?" she asked, surprised by his words.

"He was shot in his home earlier tonight. I just left the scene an hour ago."

"Does Voight know?"

"No one's been able to reach him" he told her, hesitation in his voice.

"It doesn't mean anything..."

"Voight went to see him. He said he was gonna make things right. Hailey we both know what that means. The unit's at stake... or at least it was before..."

"Voight wouldn't kill Kelton..."

"You don't know him like I do. This unit is like family. We do what needs to be done to protect each other. No matter what the consequences..."

"You mean like what Adam's doing?" she said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hailey..."

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to lash out at you. I know you have nothing to do with what's going on with Adam. But I just hate the fact he's taking the fall for something he didn't do" she said, her voice shaky as she lowered her head. "He's putting his career on the line, not to mention his life."

"You still love him, don't you?" Jay asked, feeling a pinch in his heart at the thought of her and Adam together.

Hailey lifted her head to look at him, tears in her eyes.

"I care about him... he's my friend. But Adam and I…" she hesitated. "We got together for the wrong reasons."

Jay leaned back at the sound of her words. She'd never really talked about her relationship with Adam before, and he'd never asked her about it either because he simply couldn't bear the image of the woman he loved with another man; a friend he respected and cared for.

"Do you remember the day you got shot?" she asked after a moment.

"Yeah" he answered softly, not sure where this was going.

"I... I was a mess. Something broke inside of me that day. And Adam just happened to be there to pick up the pieces. I didn't want to think, I only wanted to forget that I'd almost lost my partner" she said, her voice quivering. "So I let Adam take the pain away."

"Hailey..." Jay whispered, moved by what he had just learned.

"I hated keeping our relationship from you" she continued. "And when you found out about us I felt even worse; like I was betraying you somehow... like I was letting my partner down... again."

"Hailey, you've never let me down. You've always been there for me, from the very beginning. I can't even begin to find the words to express just how amazing you are... I trust you with my life."

He was surprised by how he was suddenly able to open up to her, to tell her exactly how he felt. He instinctively reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. He gazed at her, his heart racing. Her gorgeous blue eyes were starting to fill with tears again. Jay just knew from the way she was looking at him that his words had touched her; he could feel it. He slid closer and tenderly cupped her cheek in his hand.

"You mean so much to me Hailey…" he murmured.

He didn't care anymore; he just wanted to be with her... in every single way possible. Slowly, he leaned in and kissed her softly. He immediately felt her respond as she put her hand behind his neck and pulled his face closer. Their lips still pressed together, Jay slid his hands down her back and pulled her on top of him. She wound her legs around his waist and sat on his thighs. As he continued to explore the inside of her mouth, he felt her soft hands slide underneath his sweater and make their way up his chest. He broke the kiss and momentarily let go of her so she could take his sweater off. She let it fall to the floor and quickly clasped her hands behind Jay's neck, her lips clashing with his.

Jay had waited far too long for this very moment, wasted too much time trying to open up and let her in. He was done with putting his life on hold because he was scared to lose it all over again. It was time to live... to love. And Hailey was the only one he wanted to do it with. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up as he got on his feet. With his lips still pressed against hers, he slowly made his way to her bedroom and carefully laid her down on the bed.

"Hailey" he whispered. "I'm not looking for some random hookup or a fling. My feelings for you run deep… so deep it scares me. I've never..."

But before he could finish his thoughts, she grabbed his face in both her hands and pulled him into a kiss. He let himself drown in her embrace, enveloping her in his arms. When she finally broke the kiss and opened her eyes to look at him, his heart skipped a beat.

"You don't need to say anything" she whispered.

"I do… I'm tired of being closed off. I want to open up to you and tell you exactly how I feel. Hailey, you have no idea just how much you've helped me heal in the years we've known each other. There were times when I couldn't trust myself to do the right thing, but you… you always trusted me, from the very beginning. You never gave up on me, not once. And that means the world to me."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, you're a good cop Jay" she told him.

"Because of you" he said, cupping her face in his hand.

"Jay…"

"It's true. And I have no idea what's in store for us now that the unit's in jeopardy. But I do know one thing; I can't lose you."

"You won't. I'm not going anywhere" she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her and slowly bent down to kiss her. He rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed. He pondered what to do next and quickly decided to take the plunge. He opened his eyes to look at her before he spoke.

"I'm in love with you Hailey…" he murmured. "And if you're not there just yet, it doesn't matter. I'll wait for you."

"I'm right here Jay" she replied, pulling his face down to kiss him.

He felt her hands slide down his chest and reach for his belt buckle. As she started to unzip his pants, he gently kissed her neck, his moist lips leaving a warm trail on her soft skin. He slid his hands up her naked legs and underneath her shirt. He ran his fingers past her panties and up her waist. He swiftly unbuttoned her shirt and opened it to reveal her lacy bra, which perfectly hugged her breasts. He slipped her shirt off as she slightly hoisted herself up, only to draw him back down, pressing her lips on his. He traced his hand down the length of her arm and slipped her bra strap off. Moving his hand behind her back, he unhooked her bra and finally removed it, exposing her breasts.

"Jay" she murmured when he moved his lips from her neck to her chest, slowly making his way downward.

He took his time to discover every inch of her, tasting her sweet flesh with his tongue. Each time he moved to a different area, he heard Hailey slowly exhale and felt her fingernails dig into his back. Once he was done exploring each perfect curve of her body, he came back up and gently kissed her soft lips. He felt her hands slide down to his waist and take his boxer shorts off. He opened his eyes and glanced down at her; she was staring at him, her eyes silently begging him to make her his. Sliding down her legs, his hands found the delicate lace of her panties; he slipped them off, his fingers tickling her skin. Every muscle in his body craved her; he needed to feel her, all of her. He bridged the gap between them and, moving slowly, he slid inside of her. Their bodies began to move in unison, rocking back and forth. Moans began to rise from Hailey's throat as the pressure mounted inside of her and all around him. The liquid heat burning in her sweet center only fed his desire for her. They continued to move together for a while, each stride bringing them closer to pure bliss, until an intoxicating feeling of pleasure spread throughout his entire body, all the way down to his toes. Hailey laid her head back on the pillow behind her, releasing one last moan as she reached climax. Jay wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck as he tried to regain control of his senses.

When he opened his eyes, Hailey was staring up at him, a faint smile spread across her lips. He smiled back at her and bent down, resting his forehead against hers.

"Does that smile mean you're glad I came by?" he asked.

"What do you think?" she replied with a little laugh.

He lifted his head back up to look at her.

"I think I'll be spending the night here" he breathed, gazing into her eyes.

"I think you're right" she told him, running her fingers through his hair before she pulled his face down into a kiss.

When Jay woke up in the morning, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Hailey's beautiful face. She was still asleep, her head resting on his chest. Their night together had been incredibly passionate, so much so that he'd completely forgotten about the events that had transpired hours before their bodies had come together. Jay felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach as he slowly began to remember what had happened: Kelton was dead… and Voight was probably involved. And that could only mean one thing; the intelligence unit was on the verge of being disbanded. Jay could simply not face another loss in his life, he'd had to face too many already.

Right as he felt himself start to shut down again, Hailey opened her eyes. She looked at him and a smile spread across her lips; it instantly soothed his heart. Jay had no idea what the future held, but he was certain of one thing; he and Hailey would face it together.