Hailey's POV

Jay and I are in the rig waiting for my CI to call. I can feel his eyes on me, watching me from the driver's seat; the same way he has been watching me for the past couple of weeks since we found out I'm cooking his kid. The more my mind tries to wrap around this, the more surreal it feels. There is a baby the size of a medium olive inside of me. I feel excited, nervous, scared, and thrilled. It's all rolled up into a giant ball of happy anxiety in my belly. Is happy anxiety even a thing?

"Got anything for me, Richie?" I answer my phone. Richie is an eighteen-year old informant from Englewood, trying to work off his case. "It better be good."

"It is. You know that guy you're looking for? The one who you got down for those robberies?"

"What about him?"

"I just saw him get in a car and drive off."

"What is he driving? Did you get the plate?"

"Black Dodge Charger. 76HFT7."

"I hope you're not giving me the run around, Richie."

"I'm not. I promise. Look, I don't want this guy to think I snitched. He will go off on me if he thinks I had anything to do with this. Everyone on the street knows how edgy he is. Nobody ever crosses him. He's like a loose cannon."

"You don't have to worry about that. Go home Richie, and stay there." I hang up the phone. "Richie got Brenden's tags. We need to put a BOLO out on his car. It looks like he on the move. "

We summon the team and drive to a neighborhood the suspect is known to hit. Jay backs the car into an apartment complex driveway to wait. The tree hedges give us a vantage point, but allows us to be hidden from passing traffic. It's a quiet afternoon, even with the windows down.

"I think we should take the long eye on this one," Jay suggests. "Brenden will be packing heavy and Atwater and Ruz are two blocks away anyway."

"The intel came from my CI, Jay. I can't take the long eye." I sigh. I know he is trying to protect me - us. "We'll be careful. Like we always are," I tell him. "This guy won't get the jump on us."

Sure enough, within minutes, the Dodge Charger drives directly past us through the dense residential area made up of mostly multi-story apartment complexes. Brenden is probably casing the houses. Jay pulls behind the vehicle at a stop sign.

"5021 Henry, advise responding units that the vehicle in question has been confirmed, offender in the car. Pursuing in cover vehicle," I say into the radio.

"Copy that, 5021 Henry."

"Set up for take away?" Jay asks into his radio.

After a beat, Voight's gravelly voice comes through. "Take him. Everyone stand by."

Jay activates the lights and sounds the siren. Traffic stops are tricky, my only hope is that we won't have to initiate a chase through this residential area.

"Looks like he's pulling over," I say.

The car stops at a red light, but then accelerates, driving into the opposing eastbound lanes. Jay radios that we are in pursuit as we screech around a corner. The Charger continues eastbound at high speeds, pulling out of the opposing traffic lanes. Ruzek and Atwater have the next intersection blocked, giving the driver no options. As a result, he turns into a gas station narrowly avoiding a tanker truck and crashing into a telephone pole. The pole bends at a 45-degreen angle, and mangled wires dangle from it. I call an ambo, thinking this guy is severely injured.

"He's crawling over the right front passenger seat," Jay shouts. "Hailey, stay here. Okay?"

"No way. You don't have back up." I shut off my brain, take my gun from the holster, and go after the suspect who is momentarily out of view, obstructed by a row of vehicles. I run down the middle of the street and Jay follows on the sidewalk as we attempt to box him.

"Move! Go back inside," I yell to the people walking the street. I call for back up, but I have yet to see uniforms. Jay runs ahead and in the heat of the chase I lose sight of him. I run in his direction, but then I hear Brenden, moving slowly behind a gated area several feet from me. My adrenaline kicks into overdrive. I jump the wall into the adjoining complex and scream at him. "GET ON THE GROUND! NOW!"

He does just the opposite. He lunges at me and we collide, me falling to the ground with the weight of him on me. A fear wakes up in me then. It crawls from the pit of my stomach, and uncurl itself. I struggle beneath him, trying to stand up, but his reactions are quicker than mine. When he goes for my gun, a surge of energy hits me. I strike him on the head and the blow makes him stagger back. This allows me to pull away from him.

Then Jay appears, gun cocked. "DON'T MOVE! STAY DOWN ON THE GROUND!"

My heart's galloping like a race horse. My breathing's erratic. I watch Jay handcuff Brenden just as responding officers come to a screeching skid in front of our location and takes over the arrest. Then Jay's hands are everywhere, checking me over, making sure I'm not injured. "Hailey, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I-I think…" Looking down, I discover my jacket and hands are covered in blood from Brenden's bleeding scalp. "I-I'm okay. I-It's not my blood. I'm okay."

"God, Hailey. You could've…" he lets the sentence go unfinished. "We need to get you checked out."

"I feel fine, okay?"

"Hailey," He pauses, considering his words carefully since we are surrounded by patrolmen. "Humor me, please?" I can see he is genuinely concerned. "I can call Will and he can arrange for us to be in and out," he says, his eyes pleading.

I nod my head. "Okay."

He closes his eyes briefly, and sighs. "Good. Let's go."

x

"Everything looks good, Hailey," Dr. Asher says. "Placenta is intact, baby is healthy, and measuring right at ten weeks."

"Are you sure?" Jay chines in. My heart softens when I hear the anxious tone in his voice. I can see he is trying to keep his emotions in check. "I saw her take a nasty fall. A guy twice her size landed nearly on top of her."

"I can assure you that all is good, Jay. At this stage in the pregnancy, the uterus sits low in the pelvis and is well protected. A fall is unlikely to hurt the baby. Now, as the baby grows bigger that's no longer the case. So Hailey, I will need you to be more careful. Maybe stay away from the action." Dr. Asher suggest with a smile.

I nod. "Will do. Thank you, Doctor."

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Asher," Jay says.

"Of course. I will leave your discharge papers with the nurse."

Dr. Asher leaves and I lack the energy to do anything more than sit quietly. But Jay can't seem to stop touching me, lightly rubbing my knee, holding my hand, or kissing my hair. I look up at his face. I can see the lines of worry around his eyes.

"Hey…" I take his hand in mine. "You heard her, we're okay."

He hesitates for a moment, and when he speaks his voice isn't much above a whisper. "It was just scary; you know? One moment we're chasing the guy, the next he is on top of you reaching for your gun."

"I know."

We don't speak for several minutes, but eventually Jay clears his throat, breaking the silence, "How about we go home," he suggests.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," I say.

We drive in silence. It's nearly dark outside and the breeze has chilled a few degrees. Sitting in the passenger seat, with my head pressed against the cold, smooth window, I stare at the streets, my mind scattered with a million scenarios. When we finally get home, I feel sort of weighted down – exhausted; limbs loose and joints feeling as if they might come apart at the seams. Maybe my body is just sore, or maybe the gravity of today's events is finally sinking in. I was so selfish.

Jay is watching me again. I know he can see right through me, right into me; he can see all the little nooks I conceal from everyone else. "You good?" he asks.

"Not really." He nods, either in understanding or for me to continue. I add, "Long day."

"Want to call it a night?" Though Jay smiles, there are still lines of strain around his mouth.

I give him a barely perceptible shrug, then a nod. "Yeah."

He kisses my hair, my shoulder. I close my eyes, allowing myself to get lost his tenderness. I know he wants to say more but is holding back. It isn't until later that night in bed when he snuggles close against my back, running his hands across my stomach that we finally address the elephant in the room (or the medium-sized olive in my belly).

"Hailey…"

"Look, I know messed up. I was selfish. I should've listened to you and stayed in the car." I sigh. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything, okay?" I tell him softly.

After a silent beat, he asks, "You scared?"

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. "I'm scared that everything I've worked so hard for will be taken away from me." The words pouring out from between my lips, not giving myself the chance to overthink them. "I'm scared that with everything changing so fast my head won't be able to keep up."

I hear him take a deep breath. "I get that everything is changing really fast, but nothing will be taken from you. You'll have to take a back seat temporarily, but you're still a valuable member of the team. You have to know that. On the street or behind a desk, you're still Hailey Upton. The most badass cop I know," he says, placing his lips against my neck.

Turning back to face him, I slowly open my eyes to see him looking into mine. It's true what they say in romance novels, the world around you can truly vanish.

"I know you're doing this part alone, but I'm here for you." Jay continues, reaching up to cup my face with his hand. "I will even take a desk job with you. Stop drinking. Whatever it takes. We are in this together."

The raw sincerity in his voice makes my eyes fill with emotional tears. "Hormones," I sniff. "Are you scared?" I ask.

"Terrified." His hand goes rigid on my belly. "I'm scared I will end up like my father," he admits quietly.

"Not possible," I say without hesitation. "Jay, you're the best person. The single reason why I'm not completely freaking out is because we're doing this together."

Jay smiles and leans to kisses me. I open my mouth slightly and press my lips to his. His hands slides to my lower back and pulls me against him. I kiss him just under his jaw line, and then just under his ear. He curls around me slightly. Then suddenly he rolls us so that I'm on my back with himself on top of me. He holds himself up so that his chest just barely touches mine.

We let the passion build slowly, unhurriedly, before we make love. It is all so easy and unforced. No wonder I got pregnant. He lights a fire inside me and fans the flames. We know the power we have over each other and we unashamedly give ourselves over to it, whether shyly or lustfully or playfully. And in this perfect, magical world, we are isolated and liberated and safe - the only place where I feel I truly am.

"Are you happy?" I ask.

"I'm." Jay smiles and wraps an arm around me, allowing me to rest my head in the crook of his shoulder. "I'm happy and scared and excited and nervous."

I chuckle. "My feelings exactly." I look up and lock eyes with him for a few seconds before I ask, "We'll be okay, right?"

"Definitely," he states. "This kid is already a legend."

"Oh, yeah? How so?" Jay is trying to suppress his laughter, but I can feel his body shaking and his eyes sparkling with mirth. "What?"

"The kid knows no barriers. Think about it, if contraception couldn't hold him or her back, nothing will."

"Ha-ha, real funny." I roll my eyes and snuggle against his warm skin. I can feel his muscles ripple as he settles himself and that's the last thing I think before I fall asleep. We'll be okay, and I know that's the truth. Despite how much my mind is playing catch up right now; I know with Jay I'll be okay.

Jay's POV

Just as Hailey and I are getting ready in the morning, I hear a knock at the front door. I go to answer it, and it's none other than my brother.

"Hey, come in," I open the door, and we greet each other with a quick hug. "Did you just get off shift?"

"Yeah. Worked overnight…I thought I would just drop by on my way home," he says, though I hardly believe that.

"You decided to just drop by?"

"Yeah, I was in the neighborhood. I also wanted to check on Hailey since I wasn't there when you guys were in. You sounded worried when you called."

I eye him suspiciously. Does he know? "I was worried," I tell him truthfully. "But she's good. Thank you for calling in a favor."

"No problem. Anything for my future sister. Is she here?"

"Yeah, she's in the shower," I tell him.

Will stands there with a stupid smile plastered on his face, which he is not even trying to hide. He knows.

"Just say it." I tell him.

"Say what?"

"Whatever you came here to say."

Will runs his fingers through that red mop on his head and says, "I, um, I looked through Hailey's ER charts, just to check if everything was okay, but then I saw that Dr. Asher was called in for a counsel."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well, Dr. Asher is an OB-GYN." He pauses, looking at me expectedly.

I roll my eyes and nod, confirming his suspicious. "You nosy bastard!"

Will pulls me in a hug, nearly squeezing the life out of me. "Holy shit, man! You're going to be a dad?"

"Looks that way."

"How far along is she?"

"10 weeks."

"Still early—"

"Which is why we aren't telling anyone, Will."

He runs a finger across his lips in a zipping gesture. "My lips are sealed."

Hailey chooses that moment to walk into the living room. She looks beautiful standing there, fresh out of the shower, hair damp, cheeks pink. "Hey, Will," she says, her voice wary.

"Hey sis," he says, with a strategic inflexion on the word, sis. He thinks he is so clever.

Hailey senses something's off and looks to me with her brow furrowed. "He knows," I explain.

"Ah –"

"Congratulations!" Will says, also pulling Hailey into a tight hug. "Can't believe I'm going to be an uncle! Uncle Will – it has a good ring to it, right?"

"It sure does," Hailey says.

"We are not telling anyone, yet," I remind him. "So, you need to keep your mouth shut."

"You don't have to worry about that."

Will is still smiling really big, and it seems contagious because we are all smiling like idiots now.

"I won't keep you guys, just wanted to come and be in your little secret."

"Thanks for stopping by, Will." Hailey says sweetly. Her smile is bright and wide, and makes my breath catch in my lungs.

I walk to where she is standing and circle an arm around her shoulder. "Keep your mouth shut, Will."

"Don't worry. Let me know if you guys need anything."

Will shows himself out and I chuckle and kiss Hailey's forehead, breathing her in. "Sorry about that. I know you wanted to keep it between us for a little while longer," I say.

She leans in and nestles her cheek on my chest. "Did he look at my charts?" When I nod and she says, "It's okay. I think it's endearing."

I raise an eyebrow, giving her a skeptical look. "Endearing? I'm pretty sure he just committed a federal crime by prying into your medical records."

Her eyes light up with a mischievous smile. "Don't worry. We'll use it as blackmail when we need a sitter."

"I like the way you think."

Amazing. She is so amazing.

Thank you for reading and for your reviews on the last chapter. We'll continue to explore how Jay and Hailey navigate this new phase in their lives. Hope everyone is safe and healthy. #BLM Cheers!