The banging on his door was not helping the headache that was forming. There was too much going on inside his mind, that he hoped whoever was on the other side of his front door would go away. But with the incessant knocking, it could only be one of two people: his brother or his partner.
"I'm coming!" he yelled, groaning as he sat up. The bullet may have been a through and through, and Will kept him at Med for a few hours, but the adrenaline has disappeared, leaving him with only the pain and his thoughts.
Jay didn't even bother looking through the peep hole, but in the back of his mind, he hoped it was Hailey. There was more he wanted to say to her back at the scene, and he didn't want another lecture from Will.
"Hey," he said, opening the door to find his blonde partner on the other side. She was still dressed from work, obviously not having been home, leaving him to wonder what she'd done in the nearly five hours since he last saw her.
"I need a drink," she mumbled, moving past him and into his apartment. He barely had time to comprehend what was happening before she was reaching to grab a bottle of whiskey, not even bothering with a shot glass as she drank it straight from the bottle.
"Hailey?" Jay questioned. She just held up a finger and shook her head as she went for a second, and third sip, before setting the bottle down. The look in her eyes was wild, a mix of anger, frustration and something else he couldn't quite place, something he had never seen from her before.
"Stop talking," she said, her words steady even if he could tell she had been drinking. She was too far from her usual composed self to be this way, and she wouldn't have come here sober.
"You just get to listen right now," Hailey told him, her words leaving no room for arguments. "You got shot today, you almost died today. Do you get that?"
Jay just nodded his head, heeding her order to not talk. She walked towards him, anger leaving her with every step.
"We almost lost you today, because you were reckless, but I know the past year has been rough for you, the past few days have been rough. But damnit Jay, do you ever think? For once, can you actually stop acting like a rookie cop?"
"Hey," he interrupted, because he wasn't going to sit around and listen to her tell him he can't do his job.
"No," she fired back. "You listen. I am sorry about your dad, I am, but you can't keep doing this to yourself. Think about Will…"
"What about Will?" he interrupted again.
"Jay, your dad died less than two days ago, and you almost died today. Will could have lost both of you, do you realize that?"
Her words settled in, because it was true. His brother could have lost their dad and him, but Jay got lucky with the bullet wound, if you could call it lucky.
"And need I remind you we just buried Al," she continued. "And I am not about to bury another partner that I…"
Hailey trailed off on her sentence and took one look at him before picking up the whiskey again.
"That you what?" Jay asked. He needed to know what she was going to say, needed her to subject him to more of the pain he was feeling. He knew he was an asshole to her, and she didn't deserve it at all.
Somehow, him interrupting her set off something, because the look she leveled with him was one he saw on cases, when she was furious with suspects and outcomes.
"Since you are clearly missing the point, I'll spell it out for you," she told him, slowly walking closer to him again, the anger from earlier back. "You were just shot, do you get that? You took a bullet to the chest and one to the side. I found you laying on the ground, not moving, and for a second I assumed the worst. I thought you were dead, Jay!"
Jay thought her rant was done, but as he started to open his mouth, she shut him down again.
"I'm not done. I am still mad at you for what you said to me, because I do not appreciate being belittled in front of the unit, in front of our boss, especially by my partner. In my opinion, you shouldn't have worked this case, but who am I to stop you? But you went too far this time, and if last year was any indication, you should be lucky I haven't asked Voight for a new partner."
Jay just stood there in silence, not really believing what was coming out of Hailey's mouth.
"I don't think I could handle another partner of mine dying, especially one that is being so reckless on the job as you."
"He was my dad, Hailey!" he finally yelled. The accusations coming from her were the icing on the cake for the past 24 hours. "How would you feel if you had to sit by and do nothing, letting the people responsible for your father's death get away with it? We may not have had the best of relationships, but he was still my father."
The dry laugh that escaped her was not what he was expecting. Jay suspected something earlier after his comment about daddy-daughter issues, but he also knew his partner, she wouldn't have let him get off about that so easily.
"I may have daddy-daughter issues, as you so eloquently said, but at least I don't fuck around to ease my guilt."
Her words this time were an absolute dagger to him, the calmness in the way she said them was bordering on deadly. The case with Luis and Camila messed him up, and Hailey knew it. Jay had thought she had forgiven him, knowing that his PTSD was now somewhat in control, all thanks to her, but apparently not.
"That was different!" he tried arguing but she wasn't having it.
"Please explain that!" she yelled back at him. "Because once again, you go off trying to be self-righteous, leaving me in the middle to sort out your shit. I'm not doing this again, I won't. Erin may have put up with your shit and recklessness, but it's about time you learn I don't."
He should have been mad that she was throwing a lot at him, Erin included, considering they had this unspoken agreement to not talk about her. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt like he deserved it after blowing up at her earlier.
However, the part of him he kept buried from everyone, the side of him that lost his mother, had seen war, was subject to the verbal abuse of his father, roared inside, threatening to explode.
"Well maybe you should find a new partner!" he said before thinking. Even while the look on her face did something to his heart, it didn't stop him from continuing on. "I'm sorry if the way I do things bothers you this much, but I can't change how I do my job. No one is stopping you from leaving Hailey! Everyone else leaves, so one more person isn't going to kill me!"
At some point during his own rant, he had moved closer to her, causing them both to be near inches apart. Something in his brain told him this was probably the closest they had ever been, also while causing him to really realize the difference in their size. He knew Hailey was smaller, smaller than Erin if he wanted to go there, but she could hold her own. Her head was tilted back at him, more than normal when she had to look at him due to their close proximity. If she wasn't staring back at him, she would probably barely reach his jaw.
He stared back at her, into her eyes, the blue having become darker with rage, a shade that was captivating on her but he never wanted to see directed at him again, he realized what else was there, what he noticed earlier. It was lust, maybe even love, but he didn't want to venture down that road. All he knew was that she stormed in here, angered and dare he say, hot and bothered, and he needed to do something about it.
"Hailey," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. He saw her eyes flick down to his lips, and that was all he needed.
The next moment seemed like a blur, but Jay knew he would remember this moment forever. Her lips were suddenly on his, tasting like the whiskey he knew would be there. His hands found their way to her hips, pulling her closer to him than she had ever been before. He felt her arms wrap around his neck, and Jay wasn't sure where he ended and she began at this point.
"Hailey," he whispered again. This was going somewhere fast, and while he would like to think he had control here, he didn't, she did, and he would hate himself forever if he let this go beyond the point of no return.
"Shut up, Halstead," she mumbled back, her hands travelling down his torso before finding the waistband of his sweatpants.
"You've been drinking," he tried again, groaning as her lips found his neck.
"And? If I didn't want this, then this wouldn't be happening right now."
Hailey pulled back, enough to look up at him. Her chest was rising as she tried to control her breathing, but all he could notice was how low the neckline of her top was. He felt her fingers playing with the hem of his tshirt, her fingertips grazing his lower abdomen a few times, dangerously close to the more sensitive part of his body.
"I need you," she whispered, and without a second thought, his lips were back on hers.
She broke their kiss for a split second to pull his shirt off before her arms moved back to his upper body. His own hands moved to her belt, undoing it quickly before unbuttoning her jeans. He felt her almost shrink but as he processed it, he heard her boots kick against the wall as she rid herself of her pants.
"Bedroom," she mumbled against his lips, and suddenly she used her leverage to jump up, her legs wrapping around his waist. The warmth of her bare thighs around him jolted him out of his mind, his brain processing her words. As his hands found her ass, the feel of her bare skin clueing him in to how little underwear she had on, he made his way to his room.
It was his turn to break their kiss, tossing her gently onto his bed. It didn't take much effort, as she seemed to weigh nothing when he was holding her. Hailey just sat there, smirking, before pulling her tshirt off, throwing it at him. His reflexes caught it instantly, not wanting to miss whatever else she had up her sleeve.
It was a damn near erotic sight, his partner sitting on his bed in only her bra and underwear. All he could do was just watch as her hand snuck behind her and seconds later, she was throwing her bra at him too, leaving her the most exposed he had ever seen her. Jay smirked at the thought, because he knew in a few more minutes, she would be even more exposed than either of them expected.
No words were spoken as she moved forward, her hand dipping into the waistband of his sweats as she pulled him towards her. His legs hit the edge of the bed, and Jay stared down at her, willing her to do whatever it was she wanted. Their silent communication seemed to pay off even in the bedroom, because before he could verbalize anything, his sweatpants were off, and he kept the smirk on his face, feeling somewhat proud of himself as Hailey realized he wasn't wearing underwear.
"Well this helps," she said, her hand wrapping around his dick and the smirk on his face was gone as he felt her mouth on him.
"Fuck," he groaned, the sensations becoming too much. The sight of her didn't help at all, as he watched her head move up and down as she easily gave him the best blowjob ever. He couldn't pull himself away from looking at her ass, the thin piece of black fabric standing out against the slight tan to her skin. At any other time, he would question how the color of her skin was so perfectly even, but now was not the time to entertain those thoughts.
The pressure inside him built, and the longer he watched her and felt her, the sooner this would all be over. It took sheer willpower to pull her away, his hand tangling itself in her messy waves. Still grasping her head, he pulled her up to him, kissing her once more as his tongue battled with hers, his free hand finding her waist to pull her closer before they crashed onto the bed.
"These need to go," he said, hooking his fingers into either side of her underwear, quickly pulling them down. It was his turn to attack her, and before she could protest, his mouth was on her.
"Jay!" she yelled, her hand on the back of his head as he licked and sucked every place he could reach. He could sense her legs all over the place before blindly grabbing them and shoving them over his shoulders, her heels digging into his back as he got better leverage to continue eating her out.
It wasn't even a minute later before he felt her heels push harder against his back and her thighs tense up from where they were on him as she screamed, and Jay was sure his neighbors heard her. He just smiled to himself while he continued, letting her ride out her high while he let some pride settle in at the fact he just made her do that. Sneaking a glance up at her, he caught her looking at him, her chest rising and falling as she tried to get her breathing under control.
The hand on his head grasped his short hair, tugging gently to pull him up. Jay got the message, he always did when it came to her and his lips found hers again.
"Inside," she mumbled as her hips met his. "Now."
Before he could say or do anything, her hand wrapped around him again to guide him to where she wanted him, where she needed him. In one swift move, he was buried inside her, and Jay swore he saw stars. In the few times he fantasied about this, it was more than he ever imagined.
"Fuck, Jay," Hailey whispered, but he kissed her once more, effectively silencing her as he started moving. His movements were sharp, desperate even, chasing that high she already got because of him. He simultaneously wanted that high while also never wanting this to end.
He could sense she was close, and his thoughts were confirmed as her hand crept down between them, her fingers finding her clit in an effort to get her there faster. Jay grasped onto her hips, both for better leverage and depth as he angled her in a way that let him drive deeper into her, finding that spot he knew would send her over the edge into oblivion.
He glanced down at her, dark blue eyes staring up at him, her chest flushed red as blonde waves spread out on the bed. Hailey then screamed once more, telling him that his what he was doing was working, that he was hitting that spot he could see drove her wild. His mouth found hers for one more kiss before he let himself go, his own release coming at the tail end of her orgasm.
Jay soon collapsed beside her, both on their backs as they just stared up at the ceiling, neither fully comprehending what just transpired. Even while he couldn't help but smile, knowing he could finally stop wondering what it would really be like. He turned his head to sneak a glance at her, only to find her looking at him. The small smile on her face told him he didn't have to truly wonder if they just ruined everything and wonder what this meant going forward.
"So," Hailey finally said. He tried not to focus on the fact she was still naked beside him, clearly not caring to cover herself up.
"Yeah," he replied. "What now?"
Silence fell between them as the bigger questions hung in the balance. Could they go to work tomorrow, knowing what just happened tonight? But the way Hailey was looking at him told him more than he needed to know.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "All I know is that I don't regret this."
The sigh that escaped him was one of relief, one he didn't know he was holding inside. In the back of his mind, he worried that her threat from earlier would come true, that whatever just happened would happen and she would walk into the district tomorrow and demand a new partner.
"Me neither," Jay told her, realizing he had been silent for too long. "But can we go to work and pretend like this didn't happen?"
Hailey turned on her side, using her hand to prop her head up. Blue eyes looked at green as silence fell once again, uncertainty hanging between them.
"I can't do that," she said. "I can't pretend like this didn't happen, and I don't want to. But how can we act like we didn't just do this and still do our jobs? We've been down this road before and both been burned. But this partnership means too much to me to go down like this."
"I agree," Jay said, mimicking her movements and turning to look at her. "So how about this? Tonight is tonight, and tomorrow we go back to work, business as usual?"
He watched the wheels turn in her head, before she nodded.
"I can work with that," she said. "However, tomorrow we have to talk about earlier. This doesn't negate all of that, because we need to be on the same page, okay? This only works if we trust each other."
It was his turn to nod, processing her words and agreeing. They needed to talk, really talk, and not let this cover up that there was more to be discussed, stuff that was more important than them lying in bed together.
"Deal," he said finally. "But does this have to end now?"
He needed to lighten the mood, and also get as much of her as he could before this was gone. The smile that creeped back onto her face told him that she was on the same page. He watched as Hailey sat up and moved towards him as he instinctively rolled back onto his back.
"I don't think so," he told her as she swung a leg over his torso, her hands finding his as she straddled him.
"Good," she whispered, leaning down and hovering over his lips. "Cause tonight is not over just yet."
Continuing on with my challenge to update every Wednesday while the season dwindles down. This is going to be a new story I am going to be exploring (more new stories from me lol) so I hope y'all will join me on this different take of season 6!
If there is anything you want to see explored with this dynamic, please let me know! As of now I'm just going to be exploring this idea, but am welcome to ideas!
Hope everyone is staying safe and that I can do a little part to help brighten your days!