The TV flashed the end of the episode and transitioned into a new one. Jay rubbed his eyes and looked to the couch. Drew was asleep next to Hailey, his back toward the TV, who had one arm wrapped around him and the other propping her sleeping head up. Jay chuckled and stood, he gently pried Drew from Hailey, but still managed to wake her.
"Hmm?" Hailey yawned and opened her eyes.
"I'll come get you in a minute," Jay whispered and straightened with Drew against his shoulder.
"What time is it?" Hailey rubbed her face.
"Just past 9," Jay smirked, "Tired?"
Hailey rolled her eyes, "Don't start with me."
Jay bent and kissed her head, "It's still light out."
Hailey laughed and tiredly pushed him away, "Go. Take him to bed, then come back for me."
Jay chuckled and carried Drew to his room. Once he was tucked in bed, Jay returned to the living room where Hailey had started dozing off again. He lifted her in his arms and started walking up the stairs.
"Remind me never to volunteer for morning overtime again," Hailey breathed.
"But you've done it so many times before and you're so good at it," Jay smiled and laid her in bed. He climbed over her to his own side and pulled her against him.
"That was before I had a child and a child-like husband who want to play video games late at night," Hailey muttered and curled up.
"You had fun," Jay wrapped the blanket over them.
"Yeah, yeah," Hailey sighed and rubbed her cheek against Jay's shirt.
He smiled and kissed her head, "Goodnight, Hailey."
"Goodnight," Hailey breathed and quickly fell asleep.
Jay stayed awake listening to her breathe. He loved when Hailey was awake more than anything, but he also loved when she slept against him. She was peaceful and it helped him fall asleep.
Jay woke to his phone vibrating on the nightstand. He sighed and reached out to grab it, "Halstead."
"Jay?"
"Who's this?" he yawned.
"Grace. Grace Wood."
Jay gently slid Hailey off of him and onto a mattress before sitting up, "Everything okay?"
"I need a giant favor," Grace said.
Jay glanced at the clock, "At midnight?"
"Can you come meet me at Med?" Grace asked.
Jay rubbed his face, "What's going on?" He stepped out of bed and walked to the closet.
"I need an emergency foster home," Grace said quietly, "And you and Hailey are the closest available family."
Jay stopped searching for his jeans, "What?"
"One night. His name's Daxton and he's about three months old," Grace continued, "I can find a full-time family in the morning, but I don't have the right paperwork and it'd be hard to get new foster parents at this time of night."
"We don't have anything for a baby," Jay said slowly, turning to look at Hailey.
"My car is filled, I'll help you out," Grace pleaded, "Please."
"I…okay," Jay swallowed, "Um, give me ten or fifteen minutes then I'll be there."
"Thank you," Grace ended the call.
Jay swallowed and tugged his jeans on. He rubbed his face and groaned before biting the bullet and nudging Hailey awake. "Hails," he whispered and brushed his hand over her forehead, "Hailey."
She yawned and opened her eyes, "What's going on?"
"Grace just called," Jay said.
Hailey sat up and turned on her bedside lamp, "What's wrong?"
Jay bit his lip, "She needs an emergency foster family for a baby boy."
Hailey's eyes widened, "So she called us?"
Jay nodded.
Hailey looked around, "Where are we going to put a baby?"
"She said she has a crib and stuff for us," Jay said quietly, "I didn't know what to do."
Hailey shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, "For how long?"
"Just tonight," Jay bit his lip.
"Okay," Hailey said quietly and nodded, "Okay, um…don't panic Hailey…okay, okay."
"Don't say that, you're going to freak me out," Jay said.
"I can freak out because you're going to get a baby," Hailey hissed.
"I didn't know what to do," Jay snapped back.
Hailey sighed and put her hands in her head, "Sorry, I'm sorry."
Jay shook his head, "I should have asked you."
Hailey looked up at him, "Are you leaving now?"
Jay nodded and rubbed his arm.
Hailey got out of bed and hugged him tightly, "Good luck."
Jay smiled a little, "Thank you. I'll text you when I'm leaving Med."
Hailey nodded and kissed his cheek, "See you soon."
Jay squeezed her hand and hurried out to head to Med.
Jay entered the Emergency Department and walked straight to the front desk, "I'm here for Grace Wood."
The nurse nodded and led him to a small room.
Grace looked up from the baby she was holding and smiled, "Hey, thanks for coming."
Jay nodded, "You're welcome," he walked over to her, "What happened?"
"His parents died in a car crash," Grace sighed and rubbed her thumb over the baby's small hand, "Well, his dad died on scene, his mom died on the table here."
Jay swallowed and sat across from her, "He's three months?"
"Yeah," Grace held the sleeping baby out.
Jay raised his eyebrows, "What're you doing?"
Grace laughed softly, "Can you hold him? I'll show you what I have for you."
"Oh," Jay carefully took the baby in his arms. He bit his lip thinking how horrible it was that this baby was even in this situation in the first place.
Grace picked up a small diaper bag, "I have a few onesies, like ten diapers, formula, a couple pacifiers, basic stuff, and then in my car, I have a pack-n-play."
Jay looked up, "So we just…take him for the night?"
Grace nodded, "And I'll come tomorrow to pick him up and take him to his new house. My goal is to be at your house by 4pm."
Jay took a deep breath, "Okay, that's fine."
"You okay?" Grace asked softly and stood. She set the car seat on the hospital bed and took the baby from Jay's arms.
Jay glanced at her as she strapped the baby into the seat, "Um, just nervous."
Grace smiled, "If I didn't think you could do it, I wouldn't have called you."
Jay laughed slightly, "I guess."
Grace passed him the car seat, "I have the attachment in my car too."
Jay just nodded and followed her to the dark parking lot. He kept looking down at the baby waiting for him to wake up, but he was completely passed out and didn't even understand what was going on.
Grace helped Jay set the car seat up in his truck and placed the pack-n-play in the back as well, "Ready?"
Jay chewed his lip, "As ready as I can be."
Grace smiled, "Thank you again for doing this. I don't anticipate any problems."
Jay took a deep breath, "Okay."
"Call me if you need anything," Grace walked backwards to her car.
Jay closed the car door and leaned against it. "Holy crap," he breathed and rubbed his face. His heart started pounding, so he called Hailey.
"Hey," she answered on the first ring, "Do you have him?"
"Yeah, he's in the car," Jay turned and looked through the window at the sleeping baby.
"Okay," Hailey took a deep breath, "I'll see you in a few."
"Wait-" Jay said quickly.
"Yeah?" Hailey asked.
"We can do this, right?" Jay bit his lip.
On the other end of the phone, Hailey smiled a little and sensed how worried her husband was, "We can," she said softly, "Bring him home, Jay. It's one night."
Jay nodded and breathed shakily, "Okay, I'll head out."
"Want me to stay on the line?" Hailey asked while Jay got in the truck and started it.
"No, he's sleeping and I don't want to wake him," Jay glanced back and rolled his eyes, "Moron."
"What?" Hailey laughed softly.
"I just looked back as if I could see him, but obviously I can't," Jay sighed and started driving, "Okay, be home soon." He ended the call and drove home.
Hailey was waiting at the front door, so when Jay parked the car, she hurried out, "Hey."
Jay jumped out, "Hey." He opened the back door, "He's still asleep," he carefully took the baby out, "Meet Daxton."
Hailey's nerves disappeared as Jay passed him to her, "Hi there."
Jay smiled at her and grabbed the pack-n-play and the diaper bag, "He's cute."
Hailey nodded and led the way inside, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe we're doing this."
Jay laughed and walked up to their room, "It's one in the morning and I just brought a baby into our home."
Hailey sat on the bed and cradled the baby close, "Is he hurt at all?"
"No, thank god," Jay said and started putting the portable crib together, "His parents died from a car crash though."
"That's horrible," Hailey whispered and gently ran her finger down the baby's nose.
The baby yawned and opened his eyes.
"He's awake," Hailey's own eyes widened.
Jay stood and walked over to her, "Do you think he's hungry?"
Hailey shrugged, "How do we know?"
"I don't know," Jay said.
The baby squirmed in Hailey's arms and started crying.
"Oh gosh," Hailey lifted him against her shoulder, "Shh, shh, Daxton, it's okay."
"Feel his diaper," Jay sat next to her on the bed.
Hailey shifted her hand down, "It doesn't feel full."
Jay looked at the baby's face, "Hey little guy, what's going on?"
Hailey laughed, "What are you expecting him to do?"
"Some sort of cue," Jay chuckled and lightly stroked the baby's soft hair.
"Hey, look in the diaper bag," Hailey nodded toward it on the floor.
Jay nodded and walked to look through it, "Want a pacifier?"
"Sure," Hailey caught it in her lap once he threw it to her.
"Any idea on how to make a bottle?" Jay asked and pulled out a baby bottle and a can of formula.
Hailey raised her eyebrows, "What do you think?" she gently nudged the pacifier in Daxton's mouth.
Jay smirked, "I don't know." He sat on the ground and opened his phone to look on Google, "I can do this, but it seems like it'll take some time."
Hailey rubbed Daxton's back, "I think it'll be worth it."
"Well, of course," Jay said and walked out of the room to the kitchen.
Hailey scooted back against the headboard and slowly rocked Daxton in her arms, "Are you just hungry?" she whispered, "Or are you scared? I know, I'm not your mom, I'm sorry."
The door was pushed open further and Hailey looked up to see Drew standing there rubbing his eyes.
"Hey," Hailey said softly, "Are you okay?"
Drew cried and shook his head.
"Come here," Hailey patted the mattress next to her.
Drew sniffled and sleepily walked toward her. He climbed onto the bed and leaned his head against her shoulder. He sniffled and said, "I had a bad-" he stopped as Daxton cried, "What?" he blinked his eyes a few times to register what was happening. He wiped his nose, "You're holding a baby."
Hailey held back a laugh, "I am."
Drew looked up at her, "Where'd you find it?"
"Grace called Dad and told him she needed help, so we're watching him for tonight," Hailey said softly and tilted the baby to show Drew, "His name's Daxton."
Drew rubbed his eyes again, "Just tonight?"
Hailey nodded, "Is that okay?"
Drew smiled and softly touched the baby's foot, "Yeah, I like babies."
Hailey relaxed, "Grace did tell us that."
"Can I hold him?" Drew asked.
"Um, maybe in the morning, right now Dad and I are going to try to stop him from crying," Hailey placed the baby back against her shoulder, "Shh, it's okay, sweetheart."
"You call me that," Drew said.
Hailey glanced at him, "I can call you both 'sweetheart.'"
Drew shrugged and laid down on the mattress.
Hailey held back a sigh and rubbed Drew's arm, "You had a bad dream?"
"Yeah," Drew mumbled and curled up.
"Want to talk about it?" Hailey asked quietly.
Drew cried softly, "It was too scary."
"I'm so sorry," Hailey whispered and gently pulled him closer to her, "You're safe with me."
Drew cried against her leg.
Jay walked in with the bottle, "Uh-oh, what happened?"
"Bad dream," Hailey smiled sadly.
Jay passed her the bottle and picked up Drew, "Hey, bud."
Drew continued crying into Jay's shirt.
"It was a bad one?" Jay asked softly and sat on the edge of the mattress.
Drew nodded and tightened his hold on Jay.
Hailey winced as Daxton let out a loud scream, "Shh, shh," she set his pacifier on the pillow and put the bottle in his mouth, "There you go."
Jay looked over at her while rubbing Drew's back.
Hailey made eye contact with him and sighed.
Jay smiled slightly and reached out to squeeze her arm.
Drew calmed down and rubbed his eyes, "Can I please stay in here? Please?"
Hailey looked at the clock. It was pushing 2am and she didn't feel like fighting him, so she breathed, "Sure."
Drew swallowed and climbed off of Jay's lap to lay on his pillow. He pulled the blanket over his head and hiccupped.
Jay chuckled softly, "Night, bud."
"Stay here, please," Drew whispered.
Jay's smile faded and he set a hand on Drew's side, "Of course. We're not going anywhere."
Drew nodded under the blanket.
Hailey held the bottle up, "He's eating, but is it supposed to be this slow?"
Jay shrugged and looked at it, "I don't know. He stopped crying though."
"Yeah," Hailey said softly and put the bottle back in Daxton's mouth, "We can try a little longer."
Jay went back to the pack-n-play and finished setting it up, "No blankets, right?"
Hailey nodded, "Do you think he'll be cold though?"
Jay looked through the diaper bag, "There's a pajama set," he pulled it out and laughed softly, "Look at the little feet."
Hailey smiled and walked over to him, "I like it." She sat on the ground next to Jay and set the bottle down so she could undress Daxton.
Jay held out a diaper.
Hailey raised her eyebrows, "Yes?"
"You should change him," Jay said.
"Why do I have to change him?" Hailey laughed.
"Cause you're the mom," Jay smirked.
Hailey grabbed the diaper, "You are a horrible person," she whispered.
Jay chuckled, "I love you too."
Hailey quickly changed Daxton's diaper, "You get the next one though, and I hope it's a gross one."
Jay laughed and tickled Daxton's stomach, "You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"
Daxton smiled and kicked his feet.
"Oh you are adorable," Hailey picked him up, "I could cuddle you all night."
"You're not gonna share?" Jay asked as they stood, "I left in the middle of the night to go get him."
Hailey hummed, "I might share." She went to the bed and laid next to Drew, Daxton on her chest.
"Whoa whoa," Jay chuckled and got on the bed, "Why did I put together that crib if he's sleeping here with you?"
"Just for a little bit," Hailey whispered, "And shh, I think Drew's sleeping."
Jay rolled his eyes and reached over to kiss her softly, "Love you," he breathed.
"Mm, love you too," Hailey said against his lips.
Jay watched Hailey softly run her fingers up and down Daxton's back. She was completely at peace and he thought she looked beautiful. If he were to rank when she looked most beautiful, this moment would rank Top 5…hands down. She slowly fell asleep, but Daxton continued squirming around a little.
Jay sat up and carefully picked up the baby, "Still awake?" he whispered. He laid him on his chest, "You had a rough day, didn't you? I'm so sorry all this happened. I bet you're terrified. Two strangers are suddenly putting you to bed instead of your own parents. I don't have parents either. Well, I did, but they're both gone now. I guess maybe that's not the best comfort. Sorry." By now, Daxton was asleep and Jay reluctantly got out of bed to put him in the pack-n-play. If anything happened to the baby, he'd feel horrible, so he laid him down and leaned over the side, "Goodnight, bud. We'll see you in the morning."
A/N: I felt bad this was taking so long to get up, so I cut it short, but next chapter will be the next morning :) Thank you everyone for your patience! I hope it was worth it, so please let me know what you think!
*PS…I realized I made a mistake a few chapters ago and gave Hailey's mom an extremely similar name to Jay's mom, so I fixed Chapter 4 and changed Jay's mom's name.
Also! I want to go through and give all the chapters names, so if you have any suggestions for chapter titles, send them my way!
