Detective Jay Halstead had been put through the ringer the past two years. First his ex-girlfriend and partner, Erin, left to join the FBI in New York without so much as a goodbye. Then one of his stray bullets ended up killing a little girl. Soon after that his PTSD nightmares returned and he started silently spiraling, which lead to him sleeping with the sister of a criminal veteran he was trying to stop; and then she turned out to be a drug-dealer (and a suspect in a murder of an undercover DEA agent) herself. Luckily, somehow Voight made Jay's involvement with her all go away; Jay didn't ask how and Voight didn't tell, but his boss did demand Jay go to therapy. He was hesitant at first, but he did it so Voight didn't kick him out of Intelligence, only completing the mandatory sessions though. Things slowed down a little after that until Al, his coworker and everyone's secret mentor got thrown in jail and killed there. Maybe Jay could have handled that had his father not been killed in an arson fire a mere few weeks after Al. Jay lost it then and got himself shot and almost killed trying to catch the guy who planned the fire. That was Voight and the rest of the unit's last straw, Jay was to see a therapist at least once a week now to try to get his recklessness under control. This time he actually agreed because he realized that ever since Erin left and his friend, Mouse went back to war, he really didn't have anyone to confide in anymore. Antonio was having his own clandestine issues it seemed, and his brother, Will, was also dealing with his own drama. Not that Jay confided in any of the above all that much anyway, but now it really felt as if he had no one. So therapy it was.

Fast forward almost a year and things for him had normalized a bit. He couldn't say the same for the rest of his unit, however. Antonio had vanished to check himself into rehab for an opioid addiction he developed from a busted shoulder. Adam had been thrown in jail on misconduct and obstruction, due to him and Voight trying to protect Antonio after he accidentally killed the man who kidnapped his daughter. And Brian Kelton, the Superintendent and newly-elected mayor who had been after Voight and the whole unit was murdered. Voight had looked like the prime suspect, but luckily they discovered Kate Brennan, one of the commanders had done it. This would have been great considering this also helped free Adam, but Voight was going to let Brennan commit suicide to avoid jail and dishonorableness, and Jay just couldn't stand by and let that happen. With Antonio gone now, someone had to keep some semblance of the moral code still going. Voight didn't like it, saw it as another way Jay was going off on his own again. But since he loved the detective so, he knew what had to be done.

Jay was nervous as he grabbed the handle of his boss's office. It had been a week since the whole Brennan ordeal went down and he knew Voight was still a little peeved at him. He took a deep breath and walked in anyway, now or never.

"Jay, sit down, this won't take too long, but I want you to grasp it." Voight said to him in his gruff voice.

"Everything okay, Sarge?"

"Everything's fine. I just wanted to make you aware of some of the changes coming to the unit."

"Okay."

"Well as you know with Antonio gone, we're a man down. Add into the fact that none of us were emotionally ready to replace Al, we're at least two short now. I'm bringing in a new officer who's been doing Undercover for Gangs. She comes highly recommended, but she's fresh, so I'll want you to show her the ropes."

"Of course Sarge!"

"With that said, you're now our most senior member and rank and I'd like at least one more on your experience level. Kevin, Kim, and Adam are all great, but they each only have a few years on the job. That's why I'm bringing in another Detective, and I'm actually making them you're new partner."

Here it is, Jay thinks to himself. "Why? So you can have someone keep an eye on me? I'll work fine with one of the other three; we've been together for years now. I've been doing the therapy, I should have earned your trust back by now."

"It's not that at all, Jay. I just think this unit will be stronger with two intelligent, experienced detectives leading the charge. And if she keeps you in line along the way, well, even better!" Voight gives him one of his rare smirks.

"She?" Jay questions, not because he cares about the two new members being women, but because he's not sure how to feel about having another female partner.

"Yes, she. I've had my eye on her for a while, but I wanted it to be the right time. She has an exemplary reputation working undercover and for Robbery-Homicide. Actually, I've been told you two were in the same army battalion, so you should be used to working together."

Jay closes his eyes briefly as he realizes the only person Voight can be talking about. He's about to respond when he notices his boss look up towards the door. The hair on the back of his neck stands up when he hears a voice he hasn't heard in nearly thirteen years.

"Halstead, it's been a long time!" she says with the same amount of sass he remembers.

The word slips out of his mouth before he can even turn to look up at her. "Hailey…"