This is a complimentary piece to 5x22 and 6x01. How the death of Al affected Jay and Hailey. We got the shoulder-squeeze on TV, I imagined they must have done their "thing" afterwards. However, I decided that I might use this story to write some other one-shots (either from my mind or complimentary to an episode).

None of them was prepared for the dreadful news from Voight. As soon as they heard that Alvin had passed away in surgery, Jay and Kevin left the room. Hailey stayed with the others, Kim and Adam were hugging. Hailey sat on one of the chairs, silently watching Voight spoke quietly to Trudy while blocking away Kim's wailing sobs.

A couple minutes had passed when Jay and Kevin came back. Voight stood, ready to say something. Jay walked past her, squeezed her shoulder and stood beside her. Hailey grabbed Jay's hand, hoping to send some strength back. She looked up at him, but he looked straight forward, avoiding eye contact with her. He couldn't look at her, seeing the hurt in her eyes… it would be too much for him.

After Voight dismissed them, they all went to the district. Hailey hopped in the GMC after talking to Trudy. The older lady was clearly shaken. Trudy, Voight, and Al had a decades-long history together. As Hailey went inside the car, she uttered a half-hearted apology to cause Jay waiting. She didn't pay attention to Jay's blank facial expression.

"Jay?" asked Hailey after a minute. She put her hand on Jay's arm, who was startled. Jay turned to face her. "You want me to drive?" asked Hailey, worried by Jay's reaction.

"No, it's okay. Sorry," Jay started driving. Hailey paid attention on his death grip on the steering wheel and his hardened facial expression.

"Hey, anytime you need to talk, okay?" Hailey touched his shoulder when they stopped on a traffic light. Jay turned to faced her.

"Thanks. You too. Now let's catch this son of a bitch," said Jay. They exchanged sad smiles. Jay squeezed her shoulder just like he did in the hospital.

With all the Voight, Antonio, and Ruzek drama, it was not until after the funeral that they got a moment to themselves. Hailey slipped from the crowd the moment the priest said "Amen". She was walking from the cemetery to her car when Jay caught up with her.

"Hey," Jay stopped beside her. Hailey smiled.

"Hey."

"You okay?" asked Jay.

"Yeah. Just don't feel like socialising," Hailey shrugged.

"Me neither. I don't feel like being alone too though. Beer?" asked Jay. Hailey thought. She was really tired, but knew they both needed company.

"I'm really tired now, let me sleep for an hour and meet you at 5 in Molly's?" proposed Hailey.

"It's okay, you don't have to," said Jay.

"No, I need it too… just, I don't feel too hot right now. You don't want me snoozing on the bar at Molly's, do you?" Hailey smiled.

"Then I'll come over at 5. I'll bring beer," Jay quickly changed the plan. He could see the fatigue in her face, and he felt bad for pushing her. However, he wasn't sure he could face his demons alone. With Will still waiting for Natalie's answer to his proposal, Will's not the best person to talk to. He sensed she needed it too, though maybe not as desperate as him.

"Perfect. I'll see you later," said Hailey. Before they went to their separate cars, she surprised both of them by pulling him into a hug. "Hang in there, partner," she whispered. It took Jay a second to process, but he quickly returned the hug. His tears came dangerously close to spilling at the emotional display from Hailey.

"You sleep first, we'll talk later," said Jay when he saw her yawned. He squeezed Hailey's shoulder and guided her to her car. "You sure you're good to drive?" he asked, suddenly concerned.

"Yeah, I'm good," said Hailey.

"Be careful," Jay closed her car door. After saying this hundreds of times to her over the last year, this was the first time he really weighed in on the statement. If she wasn't careful driving or going into a fire fight, he might have to bury another member of his team… his partner, no less. He shuddered at the thought as he jogged to his car, started his car to follow her.

Hailey of course realised that Jay was tailing her. She rolled her eyes while smiling, touched by his concern, but decided to mess with him. They both needed distraction. She stopped at her favourite pizza restaurant and called Jay.

"You're gonna wait outside or come eat with me?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't mess with me, Jay. Your pizza's getting cold."

"Coming," Jay hang up, and a minute later he entered the restaurant, putting on a sheepish face.

"I appreciate your concern, but that was the worst tailing skill ever," said Hailey. "I'm really hungry though, and you're welcome to join. Don't talk, we'll talk later." She pointed at a slice of pizza on the table.

"I didn't do it in secret, and you're half asleep! You shouldn't realise me following you!"

"I am a detective, of course I know. Which, by the way, you should know too," Hailey laughed. They finished in a couple minutes and left.

"For my peace of mind, I'll follow you to your place," Jay didn't make it a secret this time.

"I'll be fine, but suit yourself," said Hailey.

When Hailey pulled over at her place, Jay blinked his car light. Hailey honked then went inside. In less than 5 minutes she had shrugged out of her uniform and took a shower, and slept the second her head hit the pillow. She woke up to a phone call, at 5 pm on the dot.

"Hey, wait a second," Hailey said into the phone, suddenly realised that there's a knock on her door too. It must be Jay. She opened the door and let Jay stepped inside.

"Did I wake you up?" asked Jay. She rubbed her eyes and nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Still tired, but better. Didn't sleep well last few days," admitted Hailey. They both sat on the sofa.

"Neither do I. It's not fair though… what happened to Al," Jay offered Hailey a beer.

"Nothing is fair. We just… gotta live with that. At the end of the day, he was loyal. And that got him killed," Hailey huffed. She didn't blame Voight, no one did. If any, they blamed the person who wanted Olinsky dead. But for her, it confirmed something. Voight pulled the strings for those under him, but there was a limit even for Voight.

"Yeah. How loyal can we be without endangering ourselves? I keep wondering," said Jay. He was confused and angry. For him, that cheapens loyalty. The one thing Voight kept drilling in his head since he joined Intelligence bit a team member in his face.

"At the end of the day, you gotta save yourself," said Hailey. "You can save others, but will one put others above themselves?"

"Yeah… it depends for whom though," Jay shrugged. He was with Hailey on this one.

"If you find someone for whom you would sacrifice your career, your life, I believe you have to hold on, and never let go," said Hailey. She and Jay covered for each other a few times already, giving white lies even to Voight, but they both know they're not there yet.

"Do you believe that he killed Bingham?" Hailey suddenly asked after a few minutes. Jay held his breathe.

"I don't know, but I know Voight had something to do with it. And Lindsay," Jay spat. "Oh yeah, I do. Off the record, we were together then. She went off the radar… Voight went dark too. When I asked her she didn't answer. I didn't think much of it, but now…"

Hailey didn't know how to respond. She went to her cabinet and pulled out a bottle of vodka. They're gonna need something stronger for this conversation.

"Did you confirm it?" asked her. "No, on a second thought, I don't wanna know."

"I didn't," Jay accepted the glass of vodka Hailey offered.

"It's gonna be weird. Coming into work, Al's not gonna be there," said Hailey. Jay nodded. "I worked with him once… when I just joined. He was the first to warm up to me," she smiled sadly.

"Sorry," Jay cringed remembering how he greeted Hailey with accusation about her undercover work.

"Don't be. It's alright," said Hailey. No one was thrilled to be partnered with her at the beginning, considering she was the new girl who butted head with their department previously. Jay even resented her because she was partnered with Erin. But Olinsky looked content to ride with her. Her tears fell remembering their first day together. Seeing Hailey cried, Jay looked away. He tried to compose himself.

"He told me off when I was upset to not ride in with Erin. I remember what he said; many other cops are willing to do anything to be in my spot. Don't take it for granted. Felt like I betrayed him when I nearly went down the hole with Camilla," Jay smiled sadly. The Camilla case was still a topic they both avoided talking to each other about.

"And he had a point. We got the best spot in CPD, that's why I transferred," said Hailey. She wiped her tears. "Working under Voight… How's he doing by the way?"

"I don't know. Tried calling him, didn't get through," said Jay. "Not surprising. He lost Al. His best friend, his partner for a long time. I cannot imagine being him."

Hailey smiled sadly through her teary eyes. They both had lost their partners. She lost Garrett, he died protecting her, and Jay lost Erin. Erin didn't die, of course, she was very much alive, but from what she heard, she avoided any kind of contact with Jay. Of course, she didn't ask him about this herself. She sniffled remembering Garrett, feeling some kind of dejavu. Last time they were sitting in her apartment, drinking, was when Jay comforted her after the case with Booth. She remembered that she shed tears when Jay asked whether she loved Garrett. Of course she did. And she might still do.

"You alright?" Jay asked with concern. He absentmindedly rubbed Hailey's arm.

"Yeah, just… remembering things," Hailey shook her head.

"Garrett?" asked Jay cautiously. Hailey nodded, wiped her eyes and looked down at her lap. "Sorry," murmured Jay. He felt guilty for mentioning Garrett to Hailey. Hailey never mentioned Lindsay, even though the said person was very alive and well and running around NYC.

"No, it's okay," Hailey gulped some vodka. They kept their silence, finishing their vodka and going through the beer bottles.

"What's on TV?" Jay suddenly grabbed the TV remote. He found a 9-1-1 kind of reality TV show. Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Really, Jay? Half of it is our routine, or you better go to Molly's and let Dawson and Kidd entertain you," she said sarcastically. Jay changed the TV to a cartoon channel.

Hailey leaned back and put her feet on the coffee table. Both were engrossed in their own thoughts, but neither said a word.

"Hey, Jay?" she suddenly grabbed Jay's arm.

"Yeah?"

"Anytime you need to talk, okay?" she looked at him deeply.

"Likewise," Jay pulled Hailey into his arms and hugged her tightly. Hailey hugged him back, sobbing. She finally lost it. Jay rubbed her back, while crying silently himself. They were shaken, tired, and angry. The events in the past week had shaken them to the cores. Both won't admit it out loud, but they trusted each other even more after that week. The following days would be difficult, they had bruises to heal, and no doubt they would take up the offer to talk, sitting at either one's place, talking over alcohol. Or screw the talking, just the alcohol after a shitty day. However, at that moment, they felt safer in each other's presence then they felt all week.

Little did they knew, the following week, life would prove itself to be shitty for Jay. But that's the problem for different day. For now, they had wounds to heal.

And the following episode, was when Jay's father died because of the fire. So this is sort of like the prequel to "A Shoulder to Lean On", which is still ongoing.

Oh, and there's a poll in Carter Matt about Best Crime Duo... Upstead is in Round 3 currently, and is losing against Suits couple... go over there to vote for them!