Timeline: Season 7

Completed: May 14, 2020

In the intelligence bullpen, Sergeant Hank Voight is briefing his team on their latest case. "Okay guys, this is Collin Douglass," he tells them pointing to the picture on the board. "He's wanted for trafficking exotic animals. A reliable source tells us that he has the animals stored at a warehouse in the West Loop. We're going to raid the warehouse later today, but for now I want Adam and Rojas to dig up everything you can on Douglass. Kim and Kev, I want you check with your CIs. Hailey and Jay go to the warehouse and keep – make sure he's working alone. If you see anyone else going into the warehouse stay put and let us know. Do not go after them yourselves," Voight directs that last sentence to Jay before dismissing his team to their assignments.

Adam and Vanessa go to their computers to dig up what they can while the other four go to where the cars are.

Getting into Jay's truck, Hailey asks, "What kind of animals do you think he's trafficking?"

"I don't know, but either way we need to bring him in."

"Do you think we should bring in animal control?" Hailey questions.

"When we close the scene. The last thing we need is for them to get in the way and Voight to get pissed."

The drive to the warehouse is focused on Hailey reading the case file on Douglass so both she and Jay have the information that they might need.

Arriving to their location, Jay parks where they are out of view of the warehouse but the warehouse is in their view. Jay grabs the camera from the back seat and hands Hailey the binoculars.

The two sit on the warehouse for four hours before Voight calls them back to the station to regroup. In that time, Jay managed to get many picture of Douglass going in and out of the building– sometimes by himself and other times he would have something in his hands.

Back at the district, Jay is putting the pictures he took up on the whiteboard, "Douglass appeared to be alone. He entered and left the warehouse multiple times. There were times where he had nothing with him, but most of the time he was carrying something– always covered with some kind of tarp," Jay catches the rest of the team up to what he and Hailey knows.

"Did you see what he had?" Ruzek asks.

"No, but it was different each time. The containers he was bringing in to the warehouse were all different sizes."

The other two pairs take turns sharing the information that they learned before making a plan on how they are going to bring in Douglass.

"Hailey and Jay, I want you to cover the back entrance; Rojas and Kev, take the side entrance; and Kim and Adam, I want you to take the front with me," Voight assigns them. "Remember, we don't know what kind of exotic animals he's trafficking so be careful that you don't get too close to any of them."

"Should we bring in animal control?" Vanessa asks.

"We'll call them once we have Douglass in our custody," Voight answers her. "We don't need them getting in the way of apprehending Douglass."

With the information that they got from Kevin's CI, the team has about three hour to prepare for their raid on the warehouse. In that time, they make sure that everyone knows the layout of the building and that the long guns and their guns are cleaned and ready for their raid.

"Please be careful," Hailey asks Jay.

"I always am," he responds.

"Then why have you landed in the hospital more than the rest of the team combined? Including the people who aren't in the unit anymore," Hailey questions.

"Because…" Jay doesn't have an answer for that.

"My point exactly, we don't know what kind of animals this guy has on him. They could be deadly– you need to be careful."

"We all need to be careful," Jay corrects her.

"I trust the rest of the team to be careful, I don't trust you to be."

Jay raises an eyebrow at this statement,

"You know I trust you with my life, I just don't trust you with yours."

"I guess I deserve that," Jay sighs defeated

They spend the rest of their time getting their weapons ready in a comfortable silence.

Getting into their place outside of the warehouse, the team prepares to breach the building. Hailey and Jay get into position to breach the back entrance, looking at each other waiting for Voight's command.

Hearing the order, Hailey and Jay breach through the back entrance; Jay in first and Hailey steps behind him.

They carefully make their way through the warehouse. Looking around, they see rows of cages and tanks covering the shelves. "Well this answers my question," Hailey comments to Jay as their flashlights land of the shelves. Douglass is trafficking everything one can name, from fish to reptiles to birds.

Not finding Douglass, the team starts to meet in the middle of the warehouse, but Jay hears a noise and takes off before Hailey can stop him. She and the rest of the team can hear Jay yell, "Stop! Police!" Followed by heavy footsteps, a crash, and the sound of Jay yelping in surprise.

Hearing the commotion, Hailey is the first one to run in Jay's direction, quickly followed by Kevin and Adam. Rounding the corner, they see Jay on the ground, shaking out his arm in an attempt to get whatever attached itself to him off.

"Jay, what happened?" Hailey asks, by his side in an instant.

"Son of a bitch threw a jellyfish at me," Jay tells her. By now the rest of the team has caught up to them, Kevin and Rojas go after Douglass while Adam, Kim, and Vought stay with the two detectives.

"Do you need me to pee on it?" Adam asks.

"No," Kim yells at him. "That's a myth. We need to get it off of Jay without touching it. It's going to keep stinging him until all the nematocysts are used up," Kim tells them while grabbing a metal pole and uses it to pry the jellyfish off of Jay's arm. "Call an ambo and find something to put that in."

"How do you know this?" Hailey asks, both curious and relieved that someone knows how to help Jay.

"I had a summer job as a lifeguard, we had a lesson on how to deal with animal attacks in the ocean even though we're nowhere near the ocean," Kim tells her before turning her attention to Jay. "How are you feeling Jay? Honestly, we don't know what kind of jellyfish it is, it could be really dangerous."

"It hurts and itches at the same time," Jay tells her, trying not to show much emotion, even though she can see the pain in his eyes.

"Ambo will be here in three minutes," Voight tells them.

Noting that his arm is getting red where the tentacles wrapped around him, "Jay are you allergic to jellyfish?" Hailey asks.

"I don't know, I've never been stung by one before," Jay answers her.

Kim can see the worry in Hailey's eyes when Jay answers her, as she wrangles the creature into the plastic container Adam found for her. "Hailey, breath. Help is coming and he's still conscious and alert," she tells her friend.

Before anyone else could utter another comment, the paramedics of Firehouse 51 appeared in the warehouse.

"What happened?" Sylvie Brett questions the group.

"Our suspect threw a jellyfish at Jay. It landed and attached itself to his arm," Kim tells her since Hailey is too preoccupied with Jay.

Brett raises an eyebrow at the officer, not believing what she is hearing.

"The suspect was trafficking exotic animals. The one that stun Jay is in this box," she explains as she points to the container that holds the jellyfish in question.

"Okay, let's get a set of vitals on him before we go to Med," Brett directs at Foster. "Can you walk?" she asks Jay.

Jay nods, getting up to go to the ambulance. Before he is able to take a step, Jay sways some only to be steadied by his partner.

"Hailey go with him," the group hears Voight tell them over their retreating backs.

Sitting on the gurney in the back of the ambulance, Jay gets his vitals taken by Foster as Brett examines where the jellyfish stung him.

"How are you feeling?" Brett asks.

"Okay."

"Breathing okay? Any nausea, dizziness, or anything abnormal?"

"Yes, no, no, and no," Jay answers.

"Earlier he said that it itched and hurt at the same time," Hailey tells the blonde paramedic, knowing Jay will omit information if not asked about it directly.

"Okay, we can't do much for you right now because we don't want to interfere with anything they might do at Med," Brett answers them.

"If he's allergic to bees does that mean he'll have a reaction to the jellyfish?" Hailey questions still worried about her partner.

"He's right here," Jay cuts in, annoyed.

"Both have venom, but it's not the same. I don't think so if he hasn't reacted yet," Brett answers ignoring the injured detective. "Foster, you good to drive?" Brett asks the other paramedic.

Foster nods, getting out of the back of the ambulance and gets into the front of the vehicle.

"This is unnecessary," Jay complains as they feel the ambulance taking off.

Before Brett can say anything, Hailey scolds him, "This could be dangerous."

"I've had enough of hospitals lately."

"I know, but this needs medical attention," Hailey answers putting a hand on Jay's uninjured arm.

Arriving at Med, the two paramedics unload Jay with Hailey close behind. Going inside of the ED, they are met by a swarm of people, including a worried older brother.

"Jay, what happened?" he asks pushing his way through.

"The team is overreacting," Jay tells him.

"Our suspect was trafficking exotic animals. We heard a noise and Jay went after him before the rest of us knew what was happening. By the time we got to him, he was on the ground trying to shake off the jellyfish," Hailey fills in the older brother and Choi.

"Do you have the-" Choi starts to ask only to be interrupted by Hailey handing him the container with the jellyfish. Choi hands the container to the nearest nurse, "See if you can find out what type of jellyfish this is." Choi then turns back to Jay, "Let's get another set of vitals on you."

Choi takes another set of vitals on Jay. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Earlier he said that it itched and hurt," Hailey adds.

"Okay. I can see some welts from where the tentacles had you. We'll get you on some anti-histamines for now and hopefully soon we'll know what type of jellyfish it was."

"When can I leave?"

"I'd like to keep you for observation for at least a few hours. Your blood pressure is low, your heart rate is high, and you're running a low-grade fever. Once we find out what type of jellyfish it was, I'll have a better idea of when you can leave."

Hearing this, Jay groans causing Hailey to grab his arm in a comforting manner.

"I'm going to send April in to start an IV," Choi tells them before leaving the room, forcing Will out at the same time.

Hailey notices that Jay doesn't even flinch when April inserts the IV into his arm. "How's your arm?" Hailey asks when April leaves.

"Fine," Jay grunts.

"Jay," she sternly said.

"It really hurts," Jay admitted, leaning his head against the pillow, clutching his arm in his hand- his façade dropping when it's just the two of them.

"I know. Do you want me to see if you can get some pain meds?" Hailey questions concerned.

"No," Jay moans.

Before Hailey can argue, Choi comes back into the treatment room. "We were able to figure out what kind of jellyfish it was that stung you. The most common name for it is the Mauve Stinger; the good news is it's not dangerous, but the bad news is you're going to be feeling it for a while."

"How long is a while?" Hailey questions.

"A week, maybe two."

"What happens now?" Jay grits out.

"We're going to rinse it off with simulated seawater and then apply a mixture of the simulated seawater and baking soda. After that we will apply cold packs for five to fifteen minutes reassess the pain and ice it for an additional five minutes if needed," Choi tells the two detectives.

"What happens after that?" Hailey asks.

"If he's still in pain I can prescribe him a painkiller and anti-inflammatory creams."

"When can I go home?"

"I want to keep you for observation for a few hours to make sure you don't have a delayed allergic reaction. You have to be careful though in the future; there can be cross-reactivity, an allergic reaction, if you get stung by a Portuguese mon o' war or sea nettles."

Before they can ask any questions, a nurse walks in with the simulated seawater solution. Choi runs the solution over Jay's arm. He then puts the mixture over the detective's arm. "Leave that on for two minutes," Choi tells him.

When the two minutes go by, Choi uses a plastic card to scrape off the mixture from the detective's arm. "Okay, I'm going to get some cold pack for you," Choi tells him as he gets up.

"How are you feeling?" Hailey asks when they are once again alone.

"It helped a little, but not much," Jay tells her, eyes showing how much pain he is in.

Before Hailey can reply, Choi comes back in with the cold packs. "Leave this on your arm until the timer goes off," he tells Jay. "Make sure he keeps it on," he turns to the blonde detective.

Twenty minutes later, Choi is back to check on Jay. "How's the pain now?" he asks the detective, giving him a look.

"Bearable," Jay answers.

"Okay, then. On a scale of one to ten; one being mild and ten being the worst pain in your life."

"Five," Jay answers.

"If he's saying five, it probably more like a eight or a nine," Hailey interrupts.

"Okay, we'll get you some pain meds," Choi tells him. "If you don't have any reaction in the next four hours I can send you home."

"Four hours?"

"You're lucky I'm not keeping you overnight."

"Okay, I'm going to fill in the team. I won't be long; try not to escape while I'm gone," Hailey tells her partner.

"You're coming back?" Jay questions.

"Yes, don't give them too much trouble," Hailey reminds him as she walks out of his room to go outside so she can use her phone.

"I'll have April give you something through your IV and I'll send you home with some anti-inflammatory creams. If you need anything hit the call button."

Jay nods in acknowledgment before Choi leaves the treatment room.

"How's Halstead?" Voight answers when he picks up the phone.

"He's going to be fine. Good news is that the jellyfish wasn't dangerous; bad news is, he's going to be feeling the sting for up to two weeks. Choi wants to keep him for observation for four hours and if he doesn't have an allergic reaction, he can go home."

"I assume you're staying with him," Voight states.

"Yeah, he seems pretty eager to leave. I don't want to chance giving him an opportunity to escape."

"Okay, I'll have Rojas and Kim drop your car off at the hospital," He tells her before hanging up.

Hailey looks at her phone before going back to Jay's room.

"You're still here," Hailey jokes when she gets back to Jay.

"You asked so nicely," Jay deadpans.

"How are you feeling?"

"The pain meds really help," Jay admits.

"Good, so Voight is sending over Vanessa and Kim so we have a car," Hailey informs him. Jay groans hearing this. "What's wrong? Is it your arm?" Hailey asks concerned.

"No, do they have to come here. I don't feel up to visitors."

"Jay, everyone's worried about you."

"It's just embarrassing," Jay tells her.

"It could have happened to any one of us."

"Of all the work-related injuries I've had, this has to be the stupidest," Jay complains.

Hailey rubs his good arm, not knowing what to say to him. "Why don't you try to sleep some, hopefully by the time you wake up you can go home," Hailey suggests.

"You're staying?" Jay questions.

"Yeah, try to sleep some."

Jay turns on to his side, back facing Hailey, knowing he can trust her.

An hour later Vanessa and Kim walk into the ED. "Hey, Maggie," Kim greets the charge nurse.

"Hey, guys. You here to drop off car keys for Hailey?" she asks.

"Yeah, we were hoping to see Jay too," Vanessa adds.

"Sorry, Hailey said that he didn't want visitors and he is sleeping right now," Maggie answers sympathetically.

"Is he okay?" Kim questions.

"He's going to be fine. Dr. Choi is releasing him in a couple of hours if nothing changes," she tells them. "I'll make sure that Hailey gets the keys," Maggie reassures the two officers.

They leave disappointed that they couldn't check on their teammate, but at the same time glad that he was going to be okay.

Soon after the two leave, Will brings a file to the nurses' station. "Hey, Will," Maggie calls. Will turns his attention to her, "You about to check on Jay?" she questions.

"If you don't have another patient for me," he answers.

"Nope, but if you can give this to Hailey," Maggie tells him while handing over the keys. "Kim was here with Vanessa to drop off Hailey's car. Mind bringing her her keys?"

"No problem," Will answers taking the keys from her. Will leaves the nurses' desk in the direction of his brother's room.

Seeing that Jay is sleeping, he quietly goes to Hailey, handing her the set of keys. "How's he doing?" asks the older brother.

"Okay, the pain meds really helped. He's been sleeping for an hour now," Hailey tells him.

"That's good. His body's been through a lot today."

Jay wakes up half an hour before Choi is set to discharge him. "Hey, Choi is going to get your charge paperwork soon," Hailey tells him.

"Okay," Jay answers, still sleepy from the pain meds.

Hailey spends the next half an hour catching Jay up on what she was told about the case.

"Ready to get out of here?" Choi asks as he walks into the room.

"Yes," Jay answers immediately.

"Okay, keep your arm dry except for the anti-inflammatory cream and take the pain medicine if you need to," Choi instructs. "I'm putting you on medical for two weeks," Choi continues, inferring that he doesn't trust Jay to take the time off until his arm is no longer causing pain, on his own.

Hailey understands his unspoken words, "I'm staying with him for the first couple of days to keep an eye on him," Hailey informs the doctor.

Jay looks over, surprised by her words, "You thought I was going to just drop you off to fend for yourself? Not happening partner."

Once receiving all of the aftercare instructions and prescriptions Hailey drives the two of them to Jay's apartment.

A/N: WOW! I'm so sorry I went MIA for almost 3 weeks. End of semester projects got in the way. So this is the story that should have been up on May 2. I had trouble with this letter. I first tried to do something where Jay just had a lot of bad luck and make it lighthearted, but it felt out of character to me, so I changed the word at 2AM on the day of the scheduled post. I hope this chapter is interesting enough to make up for that. Bad news is that I still haven't started "K", but I do know what I want to do with it, so hopefully I will be able to post "K" later today to Saturday. Good news is, both "L" an "M" are complete, so hopefully "L", the scheduled chapter for this week will be posted this weekend. I said that I expected this story to end Mid-July before, that was a mistake and it will actually end August 22.

For "Man's Best Friend" I am working on the next chapters, but I want to get caught up on this one first since there is an end date. "Man's Best Friend" will be multiple chapters uploaded at once to make up for going MIA. They will be connected directly and longer than my usual chapters for that story.

Deaf Jay may be postponed by a couple of weeks due to my schedule being messed up. Speaking of this story, since I am pre-writing the first several chapters let me know what you want to see in it as it will be a long story (Probably at least 20 chapters if you all are interested in it being a longer story. Leave a comment in the deaf chapter if PM me.

floopdeedoopdee left me a request, so that will be a five-ish chapter story itself.

Check out my profile for a list of my Published and Unpublished stories. I do my best to keep them updated. They are organized by Title of the fic, Category of the fandom, Status of the work, When the work last made any progress, and most have Summaries. The ones that don't, I will try to get summaries on them soon.

Chapter Questions & Comments:

LostCause789- Chapter 9- Awwwww poor Jay. He is so cute when he's sick. I would never complain about taking care of him. For a long time I didn't want them to be together romantically. I felt like everyone within the department too much and I wanted them to stay super tight amazing partnership without having to sleep together. But somewhere somehow I became a full fledged obsessed with them together. They are just perfect for each other. Ride or dies and so good for each other. They are end game, not just a fling. I loved this chapter.

Response- I felt the same about not wanting them be together romantically. Although at first, for me, it was because I was a Lindstead fan and didn't like Hailey at all, at first. But then she grew on me... still I didn't want them together because they have an awesome partnership without being involved with each other, I mean can guys and girls be good friends without there being more to it? I think the way the writers have made it a slow burn and not dive in head first, like with Lindsay, is what made me support it because you can see how their relationship builds from being strangers to partners to supporters to best friends. You can see the way they trust and care for one another in "more than partners do" way. An example is patrol Kevin and Kim- they trust and care for one another, but Hailey and Jay take it to another level.

Ehmba- Chapter 4- I'd love for this to be an independent fanfic, I'm really interested in deaf culture too... and I haven't read any good deaf fits in a while!

Response- It's already in progress, I'm about 2,000 words into Chapter 3. I hope that my Deaf fic can live up to your expectations, that being said: while I do research for all my fics, I haven't been doing as much for Deaf Jay, only for the fact that I have a good amount of knowledge for the Deaf Culture and American Sign Language (ASL) for a hearing person. I will look something up if I'm unsure about it, so if something seems wrong it might be outdated as I first started learning about 10 years ago (some signs have changed since I first learned).