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Lucy was patrolling the streets of Los Angeles on her own, as always, when a man that looked banged up ran across her moving car. She jumped on the break, stopping a few centimeters from running over the man but the man kept on running. Instead of running after him, she looked where he was coming from; finding an abandoned warehouse. She did a U-turn to get the car closer to the entrance, getting out of the shop and pulling her gun up.
“Control. 7-L-19. I have a 10-34 near the corner of Virgil and West Fourth.” Radioed Lucy, giving them a few minutes to respond, but when only static came back, she kept giving her whereabouts. “I’m going 9-5-4 to look for squatters.”
She walked through the warehouse, clearing room after room. She could hear voices, one much more strained than the other. She walked across the last closed door she hadn't tried yet and pushed it open to see one man sitting on a chair, bonded with chain and zip ties.
“Are you alright, sir?” questioned Lucy. She knew it was a stupid question; he obviously wasn’t but she remembered one of her first days at the academy and how they always needed to try to create a connection with their victims or their suspects.
“You’re that detective that went missing from the army!” said Lucy, arms relaxing a little. She looked around herself to get a better understanding of their surroundings, reminded by her inner Tim’s voice.
“Detective Halstead '' coughed Jay to the woman facing him. She didn’t relax her posture, only gripped her handgun tighter. Whoever had trained her, has done it well. He watched as her eyes widened in recognition. She had seen the article and the CLEAR alert the Chicago PD had sent worldwide.
She saw movement on her right, and before Jay even had time to look back, she fired her gun and shot one of the men keeping him hostage. Once she was sure nobody was following, she reached into the side pocket of her pants and grabbed a knife to cut off the zip ties, moving around the room to get the bolt cutter. She cut off the chains as well and without the added support Jay swayed forward, almost falling from the chair. She pressed her free hand to his shoulder, helping him up and holding him, and letting him stagger out of the abandoned building.
She mentioned for him to get in the car and Jay didn’t have the energy to fight off the order. She had thoroughly read the CLEAR alert as they had made it clear not to call for backup on any police radio and just drive to the station. He slowly walked to the passenger side of her police car, hoisting himself up and in the seat. As soon as the door closed, he let himself relax for the first time in a few months. He knew what was coming wouldn’t be a walk in the park but he didn’t need to run anymore. He’d been saved.
“Thank you,” murmured Jay. He had never liked to be vulnerable, but that was a new level of vulnerability, and the only person he would allow to see him like this was his wife. He closed his eyes as he felt the car start. Lucy rushed them to the station, no sirens, no lights. She knew what she was doing. The car stopped, and he heard a door open and close, and before he knew it. The woman who had saved him was in front of him, hand reaching over him to undo the seatbelt and to help him get off the car.
They walked in silence through the doors, and she guided him to a calm and quiet room – giving him privacy.
“I have to go get my sergeant and my watch commander. I’m not allowed to give you anything yet. I’m sorry” apologized Lucy, face turning into a grimace.
He nodded, offered her a smile, and waved her concern over leaving him alone.
“Could you get me a glass of water, a snack, and maybe clothes on your way back?” asked Jay, sheepishly. He hadn’t really been fed in the last week or so. He couldn’t exactly remember the timeline. He was supposed to go home to Hailey after 8 months, that much he knew but then he had been sent to another assignment and they hadn’t let him call his wife to let her know. That’s when days started to blend together and now he didn’t even know what the date was. “Excuse me, what’s the date?”
Lucy grabbed her phone and looked at the date. “November 26th” She watched the detective deflate in relief. She didn’t know much about him. He was married, no kids that she knew of. Veteran, a detective in the best unit of the Chicago police. “I’ll be right back!” Lucy tried to get back to her happy persona to reassure the man that was clearly suffering. She almost ran to Grey’s office, storming right in without checking if he had company. “I found the detective, sir.”
Grey looked up at her, silently. It took a few seconds for the words she had just spoken to register in his head. “Have you called anyone yet?” Lucy shook her head.
“I followed the instruction given. I found him in an abandoned building – killed one of his kidnappers, called it in when I was leaving the scene and I came right here. He’s in the old break room. I didn’t want to take him across the bullpen yet. He’s not doing well.”
“Good job, Chen. As always, you’re saving the day.” praised Grey. He moved to his left, pressing a button on his desk phone, and was directly connected to Trudy Platt.
“Sergeant Platt speaking.” came the voice of one Trudy Platt.
“Platt, this is Sergeant Wade Grey from the LAPD. We have your detective.”
Lucy smiled at the gasp they both could hear from the phone and then the excited squeal. It was very out of character for a person like Trudy Platt.
“Sir, I’m going back to him and getting him the things he needs. I’ll get Tim here.”
Lucy left the office, walking back to the old break room. She stopped at the vending machine and grabbed a bit of everything before rushing to the man. She remembered how she felt after they found her and if he was anything like her, he was dreading the solitude.
She opened the door slowly so as to not startle him. “Here are some snacks and drinks. I asked my boyfriend to get you some of his clothes. He’ll be there in twenty.”
They sat together on the couch in silence. Lucy wanted to ask a million questions but she restrained. “Are you allowed to contact my wife?” asked Jay with the smallest voice.
“Yes.” Lucy wasn’t really sure but she knew that if she was in his shoes, she’d want someone to call Tim. “Do you want me to do that right now? She’s probably already aware as my boss called your desk sergeant Trudy Platt.” She waited for the nod she knew was coming and scrolled through her phone to the email they had all received about 5 months ago – with the information of the Intelligence Unit.
She clicked on the phone number following her name, Hailey Upton, pressing the phone to her ear. It started to ring and Lucy waited. She didn’t have time to think about what she was going to say when she heard her voice.
“Upton.”
“Hi, Detective Upton. This is Detective Lucy Chen. I just want you to know that I found him.” Lucy’s voice was shaking with the adrenaline coursing through her body. She kept his name out of the call; being careful – not knowing who was the dirty cop, still.
“You found him? He’s alive?” Hailey’s voice turned frantic and Lucy could hear her move around, whooshing sounds as if she was throwing clothes together. “Trudy told me they had a lead but not that it was him. “I’m on my way to the airport, I’ll get to LAX around 6 pm.”
“He won’t be able to leave the station for another couple of hours but I’ll be there to pick you up. We’ll see you in a few hours, Hailey. Be safe.” reminded Lucy. She was excited to reunite the couple but she still had a job to do. She hung up the phone and turned to Jay.
“You ok?” He nodded, smiling at her.
“I’m seeing my wife tonight. I haven’t seen her in 13 months, I’m excited.”
The door opened and Tim entered the room. Jay immediately sat straight, shoulder squared up and head held high. Lucy moved to Tim’s side and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his lips.
“I have all the things you asked me to bring and I also took the first aid kit, since we can’t take him to the ER yet and Grace won’t be able to come in for another hour or so.” Tim handed the bag to Jay. “Tim Bradford, this one’s boyfriend, and partner.” He pointed to Lucy with a smile on his face as Lucy blushed a pretty color.
Jay pushed himself up and offered Tim his hand for a shake. “Jay Halstead.” He grabbed the bag and asked for privacy to change. “Not that I don’t appreciate you both being there, but could I change alone?”
“Holler if you need anything!” offered Tim as he guided Lucy out of the room. It only took him a few minutes to change and he pushed the door open what he saw made his heart soar but also constricted painfully. Tim was hugging Lucy to his chest, one of his hands curled in her hair, and the other was running the length of her back while Lucy was holding onto the back of his shirt. He watched them for a few seconds, longing to be able to do the same with Hailey.
In the next hours, Jay went through multiple interrogations; a visit from a doctor that stitched him up, cleaned up his wounds, and gave him antibiotics for his lung infection; statements; followed protocol and stayed in that room but was regularly interrupted by Lucy’s friends and colleagues. He was getting desperate to get the hell out of that room when Lucy popped in.
“I’m leaving for the airport right now and Tim will take you to our place. I’ll be back in about 2h, depending on traffic.” She walked up to him and hugged him, and before Jay had the time to return the hug, the brunette was leaving the room and Jay followed Tim outside of the station and to his truck. The sight of the truck was so familiar that it tugged at his heart. He missed his own, and he hoped Voight had kept his promise to keep the truck until his return. They got in the vehicle and drove silently to a beautiful house. He wanted this with Hailey, but he wasn’t sure they would have the chance. He knew he fucked up. He had promised not to leave her, that he wasn’t going anywhere and he did exactly that.
Jay shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. He’d deal with them with his wife. Another thought sneaked up on him and suddenly he was terrified that Hailey had filed for divorce when he didn’t come back when he was supposed to. She didn’t know anything about his mission, and when he went missing. For all he knew, she’d had enough of his bullshit and threw their marriage to the wind. He couldn’t even fault her for that, he had fucked up. They crossed the door and walked to the living room where Tim opened the door of a crate. It didn’t take long for the beige and white pitbull to come out and say hi excitedly to Tim and then cautiously to Jay. He kneeled down to be at his high and offered him the back of his hand for a sniff.
“This is Kojo, our first puppy” announced Tim before he walked to the kitchen to grab them each a bottle of water. Jay hadn’t been cleared for alcohol and Tim wasn’t one to drink alone. He was going to ask if he wanted something to eat or anything but stopped short when he turned and found Jay, sitting on the floor, back against the couch, and Kojo sitting next to him and whimpering softly. Kojo had found yet another broken soul to put back together. He decided to leave them alone, walking to the backyard. He had faith that his dog would lead the both of them to him if needed.
Jay didn’t know how much time had passed but one second he was saying hi to Kojo and the next he was sitting down, breaking down over what he had lived through in the past months in the pup’s fur. He ran his fingers over his soft fur, trying in vain to stop the tears from falling but they kept coming and he remembered how his therapist said it was a good thing. He was evacuating this would give him a better chance to articulate his feelings and fears later on. He heard a clock chime and Jay took it as a sign to move from his spot and find Tim. It didn’t take long.
“Sorry for that.” apologized Jay, a blush coloring his cheek. It wasn’t often he broke down in front of people that weren’t his wife or brother. Tim waved his concern away with a smile.
“Do you want to watch TV or we could stay out there?”
“Here is fine. I haven’t felt the sun on my skin in a long time. They kept me in dark places most of the time.” He shivered, recalling the places he had been kept.
“I know you talked about it a lot at the station but if you want a friendly ear to listen to what you’ve been through…” Tim let his sentence die, he had never been one to offer his help when it came to feeling but Lucy had been changing him.
“There was this case right before I left that shook me to my core, hard enough for me to not know who I was and I needed to get away to find myself again. I couldn’t stay and become someone I was unable to look at, you know?” Tim hummed, letting him speak.
“I fucked up really badly in the way I handled it all. I resigned from the force, called one of my buddies, and got a Job in Bolivia – all before talking to my wife. I got home and we hadn’t been communicating properly for days and she knew something was off with me and I broke her. I remember so vividly how torn and broken she was when I told her I was leaving.” Jay took a sip of water, taking the time to throw the tennis ball to Kojo to gather his thoughts.
“I told her and three hours later I was on a plane to Bolivia without any exact knowledge of what was going to happen to me, to my wife, to my team, to anything. She let me go because she knew I needed it. It was only supposed to be 8 months at first, maybe a little longer but after 4 months, I didn’t hear anything about my ETS. I knew something wasn’t right. I had felt it before on base but I just pushed it to the side, thinking I wasn’t used to the army way anymore. I should have trusted my instinct, but I was so lost that I didn’t trust myself. I was following orders and living day by day.”
Tim watched as the man in front of him got lost in his memories and decided to take over the game of fetch and let him talk. He knew that right now, Jay didn’t need someone to converse with. He’ll ask when he needed it and Tim knew he wasn’t the person who could give him the answer he wanted.
“Hailey and I struggled to connect, I wasn’t on base a lot like I thought I would be, and my schedule was all over the place. We texted and called when we could but the deeper I got into the mission the last time they’d give me and when I started to piece together what was going on, they took my phone, and weirdly enough my office didn’t have any access to anything that was outside of the base. It got harder and harder to deal with the unknown and I started asking questions. I thought I could trust my direct Major Sergeant but he was one of them. I don’t remember much about when, how, or where I was taken the first time. I don’t even know why they took me. It wasn’t like I had any information they didn’t have.”
“We believe they wanted information about a case you guys had. I think it was a case that happened when you were already gone but your wife was the lead detective on it. It was a trafficking case.” offered Tim. He didn’t know much about the case in question but what he knew he offered his fellow rangers.
“Oh…” He tried to remember if Hailey had told him about the case when a name appeared in his head. “Sean,” murmured Jay to himself. He’d have to talk about this with Hailey; thinking about his wife reminded him of how soon she’d be there and how scared he was of her reaction.
“I went radio-silent for over a year and I don’t know how Hailey dealt with it. For all I know, I don’t even have a wife anymore.”
“I can’t really help you there. I don’t know the two of you but I know that if Lucy had been missing for a year, no matter the circumstances, I’d want to know and be there. Your wife didn’t just lose her husband, but she also lost her partner and her best friend. She’ll probably need time and some long conversation about what happened. She’ll probably be mad at you for not talking about losing yourself, making the decision to leave without getting her input, and leaving so soon but I can guarantee you she won’t be mad for you going missing. She knows it wasn’t your fault.”
“He’s right, you know.” spoke a voice Jay hadn’t heard in a year. He turned around and there she was; his wife. He pushed himself up, legs shaking from weakness but also from adrenaline. She was there. Hailey was here and he was finally safe.
“Hailey..” murmured Jay, hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck, tears forming in his eyes. “I’m sorry.” That’s all he was able to speak out before Hailey was in his arms. Her arms came up and wrapped around his neck, head falling to that spot in the crook of his neck. The impact sent him back and Tim reached out to keep them upward. He made sure Jay was stable again before moving to join Lucy back inside and they left the couple alone.
Hailey broke their embrace first and felt Jay tense up. She dragged her hands over his shoulder and down his arms to grab onto his hands. She gestured for him to sit back down and instead of sitting in the chair next to him; she sat on his lap, refusing to be away more than necessary.
“Don’t ever do that to me again, Jay,” whispered Hailey in his neck where her face was tucked. Her fingers dove under the hoodie he was wearing to touch his skin. She knew they were far from ok but they were together and that’s all she ever wanted. She didn’t know where to start and Jay seemed to be lost in his head. She’d have to force him to therapy again and they’d probably need to go together as well. She had started therapy a few weeks after that last visit with Sean, and needed to clear her head instead of losing herself in there. She got a lot better as the sessions went on and she didn’t want to erase all of her progress because Jay was back.
“What–” spoke the both of them at the same time and Hailey pressed a kiss to his cheek, a small smile pulling at her lips.
“You first. I haven’t heard your voice in a really long time.” requested Hailey.
Jay laughed, probably for the first time in a year.
“I don’t want to talk about what happened until we’re home.” Hailey watched him realize something. “Do we still have a home?” murmured sadly Jay, head dropping in fear.
“Jay.” Hailey waited for him to look at her. She guided his head up with her hand, pulling their foreheads together.
“You once promised me it would always be the two of us. I vowed to join my life with yours. I was serious that day.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Yes, you hurt me by leaving and we’ll have to talk about that but you’re here. you came home to me, and that’s all I ever wanted.” Hailey pulled him into her embrace, tucking his head in her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, because I still wanna be with you. I’m not going anywhere, baby.”
“I love you so much, Hails.” The words were pressed to her neck, wetness accompanying his words. She turned her head and pressed another kiss to the top of his head. He needed a haircut, and soon because the man hated having it long.
Her “I love you, too” was lost in his hair. Kojo interrupted their moment by pressing his wet nose to Hailey’s leg. “Hi, you!” she smiled and offered him her hand before petting him.
“That’s Kojo. He’s my buddy, now.”
“Oh, he is, is he?” Laughed Hailey.
“Yup. He and I are best buds. He knows all about you, too.” That pulled out a full belly laugh out of her. His eyes closed with the force of his smile. He loved her laugh, it was one of the most soothing sounds and he couldn’t believe that he was lucky enough to still be able to hear it.
“Stop thinking about the worst scenario. We might not be at our best, but we’re good. We’re always going to be good. Besides, you’re going where I go, remember?” He nodded, pulling away from her and grabbing her face between his hands. He looked at her, waiting for any sign she didn’t want him to kiss her. He must have seen it in her eyes because the next minute, his lips were closing over hers, and it was like he was home. finally.
Hailey Upton-Halstead was his home, and he’d been the biggest idiot to think he’d find himself anywhere she wasn’t.