AN: I know this has been done already, but I haven't read the One Chicago fandom in a couple of years or so, though I still follow the shows. After the PD winter finale, I couldn't help but let my muse wonder a bit as to Halstead's fate. Then this happened after I watched 7x09 about three times, so here's my take on the following events. Oh and Upstead, I guess, if you squint.

Chapter 1

It was the gunshot that stopped her world. The sudden, suffocating, silence froze her heart. Only a second passed before that silence was broken by Hailey screaming his name. And the world sped up.

"Jay," Hailey called out as she drew her weapon. Silence met her. "JAY!"

Having enough presence of mind to make sure the guy Jay just took down wasn't going anywhere, Hailey descended the stone steps with her weapon raised. With the sound of reality flowing back into her ears, she slowed as she rounded the corner. First she saw another man, Angela and-

"Jay! 5021 Henry, officer down, I repeat officer down! Get me a bus here, now!" she said as she quickly cleared the room. Hailey checked the bad guy, noted he was unconscious, before she walked over and kicked the weapon away from Angela's still hand. Upton could see the rise and fall of the other woman's chest, could hear her wheezing breath between parted lips. She mumbled something at Hailey, but the detective couldn't understand her.

"Jay? Jay, talk to me, man, c'mon." Haily pressed against the bullet wound on his chest, tried to get Jay to focus his unswollen eye on her as blood bubbled between her fingers. "Look at me, Jay, c'mon. C'mon! Jay!"

Halstead could only gasp in response, but those forced breaths were fading.

"Hailey?"

Hailey's head snapped up in the direction of Adam's voice. "Down here!" she yelled. "You hear that, Jay? Helps coming, just hang on. Stay with me, stay with me. You're gonna be fine, okay?"

"Hai-ohmygod! Medics, over here! Right now, let's go!" said Adam as he entered the room with Voight and Atwater right on his heels.

"Hailey, let them work." said Voight.

"I can't-there's so much blood from his head and his chest." Hailey stammered as two medics rushed in and began working on her partner. "I couldn't-"

Jay's blood felt like a weighted blanket on her hands as she applied pressure to his chest. She honed in on the puddle that formed beneath his head, then to the one under his left shoulder. Did the bullet go through? Should she have checked that when she got to him?

"Detective, I need you to let go, now." the medic to her right said. "I need to pack his wound."

"No I-I can't there's too much blood he'll bleed out if I move-" Hailey said quickly, shaking her head.

"I've got him." the medic reassured.

"Hailey, let the medics work." someone said behind her. Upton wasn't sure who said the words, didn't know who helped her stand up and out of the way.

But she did.

What happened after was a blur. She knew she followed him alongside the gurney as he was wheeled out of the warehouse, and as she rode in the ambulance to Med. Hailey even realized she tried to follow the doctors into the OR before Maggie stopped her from getting more than two steps into the ED.

That's when her world started to slow down.

"We've got him, Hailey," the nurse reassured.

"I have to go with him," Hailey said as she tried to push past the other woman. "I need to be there, Maggie. I need-"

"You know I can't let you back there. He's in good hands."

Hailey stared blankly at the other woman, not able to process the words spoken. Jay had a bullet in his chest. What vital organs did it hit? Was he going to bleed out before they got him on the table? Would she ever see her partner alive again?

"Ohmygod," Hailey mumbled into her sleeve as tears welled in her bloodshot eyes. "Will-"

"Voight called ahead. We told him before you all arrived," Maggie said as she placed a comforting had on the detective's shoulder. "Let's get you cleaned up, maybe into a pair of scrubs."

At that suggestion, Upton shook her head and pushed herself away from Maggie. She wasn't going to risk missing any news about Jay. She just couldn't. Even if the blood was already drying, staining her skin and clothes.

"I can't, Maggie. What if something happens and I'm not-" her voice catches in her throat. "I can't."

"Okay," said Maggie in a soft voice. Though she didn't know Upton as well as some of the rest of Intelligence, it was obvious she and Halstead were close. "Here are some wipes. We'll keep you updated on everything along the way. Okay?"

Hailey took the offered box of wipes and forced herself to look at Maggie. With a deep breath, she said, "Thank you." and headed for the waiting room.

Time was an illusion.

At first, she sat in the waiting room alone. Then the rest of Intelligence arrived. Followed by what had to be a good portion of the department. People stopped by the chair she occupied, spoke words she didn't hear. Nodding seemed to be the best response the first few times but then that grew old and she simply ignored anyone else who tried to comfort her.

Rojas gave her a coffee, but she didn't have the strength to bring the cup to her lips. Hailey sat the drink on the ground, folded her hands over themselves repeatedly. The wipes Maggie gave her left them a pale pink color, but that easily could have been due to the fact that she couldn't help but clench and unclench them. Over. And over. And over.

Eventually, Will arrived and gave them an update about how Marcel was still trying to fix the damage to an artery. How Jay lost a lot of blood. Hailey was hurting, not knowing if her partner was going to survive, but looking at Will, Jay's own brother, made everything hurt even more.

Upton saw Voight and Burgess leave after the update, but she didn't care much to know where they went. No one saw Will leave. Hailey found her way back to her chair.

By now, hours had passed since Will gave them the latest update on Jay about the artery and blood loss. No one had come since. There was a saying that "no news is good news", but Upton couldn't convince herself to have hope. Not now. Her mind went to the worst possible reason as to why Dr. Marcel, or even Will, had yet to come back and it stayed in that gutter. Maybe they couldn't bring themselves to speak the news because that would make it all too real.

Maybe she'll never see Jay alive again.

Maybe the last thing she told him-the last thing he heard her say-turned out to be a lie.

Maybe the last image she'll ever have of him is of his corpse. Cold, unmoving. Dead.

Maybe.

AN: There *could* be a second part if 7x10 doesn't fill my strong desire for solid hospital scenes and Will and Jay scenes. We'll jump off that bridge when we get there.