Years left behind

To new beginnings

Beginnings.

Everything always has a beginning and an ending whether it was the beginning or ending of your life, beginning or ending of the school year or the beginning or the ending of playing a new sport or hobby.

For Detective Hailey Upton today was one of those new beginnings.

Waking up at 6:30am Hailey rolled out of bed on the first day of her fresh start as today with her first day of her new job at the 21st districts intelligence unit working under sergeant hank Voight.

Today was not the first time that Hailey would be meeting the famous sergeant as she has known both the desk sergeant at the 21st and the sergeant hank Voight for years.

February 9th, 2003

For the first time in a long time Hailey walked out of school with a smile on her face, it wasn't that Hailey hate school it was the complete opposite Hailey loved school, but the end of the school day always made her frown.

Growing up in the Upton household was tough for Hailey and her two older brothers Oliver and josh and school was the only place Hailey felt safe, safe from the outside world, safe from cops as her father would say and finally safe from her father himself.

Hailey walked out of the gates of her school waving goodbye to her friends before her walk to her parents' diner.

Hailey lived in Greektown; she has just moved there recently from lake forest when her parents decided to open a Greek diner as being Greek what a huge part of who they were.

Hailey enjoyed working at her parents' diner she worked the register every day after school and liked that it was busy which meant she was safe from her father for now.

Hailey's day was very basic she would wake up at 6:30 and have shower where she would be out and dressed by 7, then from 7-7:30 she would dry her hair and then apply makeup to cover the bruises that she received are visible from her father the night before and then it was breakfast and out the door for school starting at 8:30.

Her daily routine was consist go to school, walk to her parents diner, work till closing, get home and have diner then her daily beating after her father had gotten drunk.

School and the diner where the only places Hailey felt safe until later that day.

"Hailey your late"

"Sorry dad my teacher kept be behind after class"

"Sorry doesn't cut it you will be paying for it when you get home and also what trouble are you in now, I better not be getting a call from your school or any cops otherwise you know what's coming"

Hailey gulped after hearing her father's words, none of her teachers knew anything about the beating she received at home she made sure of it because if someone knew it meant the more frequent and painful the beatings would be.

"No nothing like that day she just wanted to walk to me about my grades as she was impressed with how well I'm currently doing she was thinking about moving me up a class from normal biology to AP."

Hailey swallowed after replying to her dad but thankfully for her he just grunted and walk towards the office. Hailey took a sign of relief and put her backpack behind the register ready to start her shift.

Today the diner was busy which made Hailey hopeful that maybe her father would be in a good mood and forget about the beats but unfortunately for Hailey she spoke too soon.

Just as Hailey had finished her father with the last of the dishes and was about to clean the front of the diner Hailey heard the door of the dinner open and the bell ring without looking Hailey spoke to however walked through the door "sorry we are closed for the" she didn't get to finish her sentence as she turned around and saw a man standing in front of her.

The guy was 6'3 about 180lbs dressed in all black with a ski mask on with a gun in his hand, before the guy got the chance to go anything to Hailey her father came out of the back offices when he noticed the guy towering over his daughter who was ducked in the corner scared out her mind her shouted at the guy in the mask.

Hailey doesn't remember what happens one moment there is a 6'3 man standing in front of her with a gun telling her to give him everything that was in the till as well as the night receipts and the next she is sitting in the back of a cop petrol car on the way to a station.

Pulling up the 16th district Hailey finally managed to have the night get caught up with her, she was so scared still upset and worried over what happened but also tired since it was now 1am and the poor kid had been up since 6:30.

She walked up the step into the district and the detective who she had not left she they arrived at the station brought Hailey over to her desk and let her stay there until they has caught the guy.

Hailey knew her family was in the hospital but she was unaware of his injuries all she was worries about that guy who robbed them and pistol wiped her father would try find her and B that when her dad finds out that Hailey give the guy all the money left in the till along with the receipts, tonight's beating was supposed to be bad enough but this was just going to make tomorrow 100 times worse.

"Sarge the kid is really shaken up would you be alright if she stays here with me until we can get contact with a family member to come pick her up, meds not long off the phone the dad sustained a broken eye socket and is going to need stitches they are unsure if he has a concussion, yet they are still running tests doesn't look like he will be released before the morning."

"Sure, Platt just make sure she's alright get her to eat or drink something I don't think she has touch food since dinner."

The detective walked over to Hailey carrying a sandwich and a bottle of water and put it down in front of Hailey, but Hailey wasn't hungry, so she answered the women standing behind her

"sorry mam but I'm not hungry thank you for the offer though" "hey kid there no need to apologise but I'd really like you eat something even if it's just a bite" sure enough that got Hailey to eat one of the half's of the sandwich and some water.

Trudy was happy the kid finally walked to her and hand something to eat and drink for the first time that night, but she pushed eat her own snack "oh and kid its Detective Trudy Platt or Trudy will do just fine."

The kid needed a first right now and if it calmed the kid down and made her comfortable that first is who Trudy would be.

Present time:

Finally, Hailey shook out of her daydream of when she was 15 years old from a phone call from her favourite Sargent "morning Platt I was just thinking about you" "Hailey its Sarge now and good morning to you too."

After the phone call with her new desk sergeant Hailey just couldn't get her father out of her head and she shudder at that thought, the memories that popped into her head of head dad beating her when he founded out about Hailey handing over the money.

$272.57c. that number kept replaying Hailey's head as that was the amount of money they lost in that robbery, that's the enough of money Hailey had been beaten by her dad over.

After finally getting ready for work she hooped into her SVU and drove to the district ready for her first day in intelligence working long side her two favourite sergeants the two people Hailey if you asked would say safe her life. 

Just as she took her first steps into the bullpen the memories of her dad's beatings and that $272.57c were gone and the memories of September 28th, 2006, where quickly there to replace them.