Hailey woke before her alarm and quickly untangled herself from the blankets and Jay to run to the bathroom. She slammed the door shut and just made it to the toilet when she started getting sick. She gripped the side of the toilet with one hand and held her hair back with the other.
Jay knocked at the door, "Hailey." He slowly opened it, "Hey, what's going on?"
Hailey shook her head and coughed.
Jay sat behind her and held her hair, "I've got you."
Hailey finished throwing up and tried catching her breath.
"You're okay," Jay whispered and rubbed her back, "I'm here."
Hailey whimpered and wiped her mouth with toilet paper, "I don't understand."
"Maybe it was that chicken sandwich you ate last night," Jay suggested, "You said it smelt weird."
Hailey nodded and carefully pushed up from the ground. She went to the sink and started brushing her teeth.
Jay sighed and flushed the toilet, leaning against the bathtub, "Want me to call Platt?"
Hailey spit in the sink and rinsed her mouth, "No, I'm going."
Jay raised his eyebrows, "You just puked."
"I'm fine," Hailey looked at him through the mirror.
"Would you let me go to work after puking?" Jay asked and crossed his arms.
Hailey rubbed her face, "Don't play this game with me."
"There's no game to play," Jay stood and hugged her back to him, "I don't feel comfortable with you going to work after being sick."
"What if I just do desk duty?" Hailey asked.
Jay groaned, "Come on Hailey."
"Jay," Hailey turned in his arms.
"Not a discussion," Jay said and left her in the bathroom to call Trudy.
Hailey sighed and followed him. She sat on the bed and listened to him leave a message at the front desk. "We should call and cancel Drew's babysitter, we won't have to drop him off today," she said softly.
"No, he's going," Jay walked to the closet and started pulling clothes out, "You're staying here and sleeping and drinking fluids."
"I think you're overreacting," Hailey said.
"Don't, Hailey," Jay slipped his pajamas off.
"I'm good enough to watch Drew," Hailey argued.
Jay shook his head and got dressed. He was about to go into the bathroom when he turned and grabbed both of their phones. He just looked at her before going into the bathroom and shutting the door.
Hailey sighed and laid back on the bed. If she really did have food poisoning, she'd be feeling much worse than this.
Jay and Drew had been gone exactly 43 minutes when Hailey decided she couldn't take just sitting around anymore. She got dressed and decided to be productive on her forced day off. She had tried telling Jay as he left the house that she felt completely fine, but he simply ignored her and left with Drew. If Jay was gone though, he didn't need to know what she did.
Hailey spent her morning shopping. She picked up food for the week, some back-to-school clothes for Drew, and socks for Jay because he had mentioned the day before that he'd lost most of his.
Hailey was driving home when she noticed the pet store and decided to stop in. Her and Jay never really wanted a dog because of the responsibility, but she thought Drew could use some sort of friend. She wandered the aisles until she found herself in front of a tank of glofish. They were super bright and she knew Drew would think they were cool, so she grabbed a cart and started filling it with anything she thought she'd need.
An hour later, Hailey had a whole fish tank set up in Drew's room with six different colored glofish inside. She smiled at it and couldn't wait until he came home to see. She really didn't care what Jay would think – if he had a problem with it, then he should have let her go to work.
She glanced at her phone and decided to eat lunch before becoming bored all over again. She couldn't take it anymore, so as soon as she finished her peanut butter sandwich, she got in the car and drove to the district.
At the 21st, Kim was explaining the latest case to everyone, when they all heard, "Detective, your husband called you off today."
"I'm fine."
Jay's face hardened and he stood in time to see Hailey walking up the stairs with a new officer trailing behind her.
Hank crossed his arms, "Hailey."
"Catch me up," Hailey leaned against the desk next to Adam.
"Didn't you throw up this morning?" Adam asked quietly while moving away from her.
"I'm fine," Hailey shook her head.
"Office," Hank said and pointed.
"Sarge, I'm fine," Hailey repeated.
"Now, Upton," Hank snapped.
Hailey sucked in a breath and walked to his office.
Hank followed her, grabbing Jay's shoulder as he walked.
Once the three of them were in the small room, Hank closed the door, "Hailey, I'm sending you home."
"Oh come on," Hailey tipped her head back.
Jay shook his head and sat in a chair, "I don't understand why you won't take care of yourself."
"I take care of myself," Hailey said softly.
"You jumped out of bed and immediately puked!" Jay yelled, "You should not be here!"
Hailey rolled her eyes, "I feel fine!"
Before Jay could reply, Hank said, "I don't want to be involved in your marital issues, but I'm putting my foot down. You're leaving, Hailey, and I will drive you myself while the rest of them are working on the case. It's an order and you will not argue with me."
Hailey looked at Jay and debated fighting them both, but she gave in and walked out of the office.
"You okay?" Vanessa asked her.
Hailey rolled her eyes and walked down to the locker room.
Vanessa followed her, "Hailey," she caught the door before it could close and slipped in, "What's going on?"
"I feel fine!" Hailey sat on one of the benches, "I hate that they're taking me out."
Vanessa sat next to her, "But you threw up."
"Everyone pukes every once in a while," Hailey groaned, "It's normal."
"Not really, but I'm not going to fight you," Vanessa pulled her legs up and crossed them under her, "Why do you even want to be here?"
"Because I love my job," Hailey said, "I love being here and helping people. I hate taking unnecessary days off."
Vanessa smiled sadly, "I know you do, but sometimes you need to take care of yourself first."
Hailey huffed, "I guess."
Vanessa squeezed her arm then went to the bathroom stall, "Just take the day to relax. Jay said Drew's gone, so sleep – take a nap."
Hailey laughed softly, "I went shopping. I actually bought Drew some fish. Don't tell Jay though."
Vanessa laughed in the stall, "That's amazing."
"I hope he likes them," Hailey said.
"Hey, do you have a tampon in your locker? I need to go buy some more after work today, I'm out in mine," Vanessa said.
"I think so," Hailey opened her locker and grabbed the small bag she kept on her top shelf. As she walked over to the stall, she slowed down and stared at the bag in her hands.
"Hailey?" Vanessa stuck her hand under the stall.
"I think my period is late," Hailey said quietly.
"What?" Vanessa asked.
"I don't remember having my period recently," Hailey breathed.
"I thought you were on birth control," Vanessa said.
Hailey passed her the bag and went back to sit on the bench. She opened her calendar app and scrolled through it, "I forgot to refill my prescription last month."
"Don't you and Jay still do it?" Vanessa flushed the toilet.
Hailey rolled her eyes and couldn't help but laugh, "Yes. Not as much as we did before Drew, but yes, we still 'do it.'"
Vanessa stepped out of the stall, "That explains this morning."
Hailey raised her eyebrows, "What?"
"Morning sickness," Vanessa shrugged and tossed the bag to her before washing her hands, "I've known a couple girls who got pregnant. They'd throw-up in the morning then feel fine after."
Hailey bit her lip, "You're making me nervous."
Vanessa laughed softly, "Do you have any other symptoms?"
"I don't think so?" Hailey tossed her phone between her hands.
"Just go buy a test," Vanessa dried her hands while walking back over to her, "One of those fancy ones. What if you're like really pregnant?"
Hailey set her hands on her stomach, "I'm not."
"You never know," Vanessa smirked.
Hailey blushed and walked over to the mirror. She turned to the side and lifted her shirt, "Do I look pregnant?"
Vanessa shook her head, "Maybe you're not far along. Could just be a month."
Hailey rubbed her face, "I can't have a baby."
"Like you wouldn't love seeing Jay hold a baby," Vanessa rolled her eyes and leaned against the lockers.
Hailey sighed and dropped her shirt, "There's a difference between finding my husband with children attractive and wanting to make my life more complicated. I have enough on my plate without a pregnancy."
"Want me to take a test with you?" Vanessa asked.
Hailey cracked a smile, "Is there even a chance you could be pregnant?"
Vanessa looked away from her, "You never know."
Hailey laughed and shook her head, "Maybe I should just ask Kim what she thinks."
Vanessa loved the new topic and nodded, "Yes, definitely."
"But she's partnered with Jay, isn't she?" Hailey breathed.
"Would she tell him?" Vanessa asked.
"I don't know," Hailey ran a hand through her hair, "They're friends."
"Well, we're all friends," Vanessa shrugged.
"Yeah, but they've known each other a while," Hailey sighed, "All right, just me and you know this. Do not tell anyone that I might be pregnant."
Vanessa nodded, "Your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you," Hailey smiled a little.
"Need a hug?" Vanessa put her arms out.
Hailey laughed and hugged her tightly.
"It'll be okay," Vanessa whispered.
Hailey took a deep breath, "I know."
Hailey waited in her house for fifteen minutes once Hank dropped her off to make sure he'd left before heading out to the store. She found herself in Target staring at the different pregnancy tests on the shelf.
A woman walked over to her, "First one?" she picked one of the digital tests.
Hailey laughed weakly, "Uh, maybe."
The woman smiled, "Well, good luck then." She set her test in her basket and walked away.
Hailey shakily reached out and grabbed the same test. She read over the box and chewed her lip. She'd never bought one before. She used to be extremely organized with her birth control and took it everyday at 9pm since she was 17, so there was no reason to ever worry.
And then Drew came in her life and she was busy and forgot to go to the doctor so she could get a new prescription and figured she'd be fine.
She took a deep breath and dragged herself to the self-check-out. She was doing this. She was buying her first ever pregnancy test. Part of her felt like she should remember every detail of the day. Another part of her wanted to dig a hole and hide in it forever.
She was always the one adamant that they needed to focus on Drew and now here she was possibly pregnant which was exactly what she knew they didn't need.
She couldn't really even fully blame Jay. Sure, he had a large part to do with this entire situation, but she hadn't even told him when her prescription ran out or that she needed to make a doctor appointment. He had no idea what he was getting in to. Quite literally.
She laughed under her breath at her own pun and bought the pregnancy test.
They'd be good parents to a newborn. Jay did say he pictured a baby with her eyes. She knew his traits were more dominant though and her kids were going to have light skin and red hair, it was inevitable…but she was still excited to see what would happen.
She couldn't do it.
She couldn't bring herself to pee on the test.
She actually completely stopped drinking any sort of liquid after leaving the store despite being super thirsty. Hailey didn't want to make herself have to go to the bathroom because then it would give her an excuse to take the test and she wanted to avoid doing that as long as possible.
So she hid it. Hailey tucked the box inside the nearly empty tampon box under the sink. She thought it was ironic, but more importantly, she knew Jay wouldn't look there and notice it.
She heard the front door open and Jay and Drew enter. She took a deep breath and hurried out of her room, "Hey!"
Drew ran upstairs, "Mom, are you feeling better?"
Hailey nodded and hugged him tightly, "Definitely. Especially now that you're here."
Drew smiled, "I'm glad."
"I bought you something today," Hailey whispered.
Drew's eyes widened, "You did?"
Hailey nodded and led him to his room.
"What?" Drew shouted and ran to the fish tank, "You bought me fish?"
"Do you like them?" Hailey smiled.
"This is so cool!" Drew pressed his hands to the glass, "They're so many different colors!"
Jay walked in the room, "What's going on?"
"Mom bought me fish!" Drew looked closely, "Oh my gosh, they glow!"
Jay slowly turned to Hailey, "You bought him fish?"
"Glofish!" Drew yelled.
"Glofish," Jay repeated and crossed his arms.
"He's happy," Hailey whispered.
Jay turned back to Drew and ran a hand over his hair, "I…"
"You bought them a little rock house," Drew smiled. He couldn't take his eyes off of them.
"Fine," Jay breathed, "It seems like it's worth it."
Hailey smiled a little and hugged him, "Thank you."
Jay rubbed her back, "I'm not happy that you left the house though."
"I bought you socks," Hailey whispered.
"Can't buy me over," Jay chuckled and kissed the side of her head, "Did you relax at all?"
Hailey breathed deeply and closed her eyes, "Yeah, of course."
"Good," Jay sighed and squeezed her gently, "You deserve a day off."
Hailey swallowed and stepped back with a small smile, "Thanks."
"I can make soup for dinner," Jay lightly set his hand on Hailey's stomach.
She jerked away and wrapped her arms around herself.
Jay raised his eyebrows, "Still hurt?"
"I-no, no, I'm fine, sorry," Hailey blushed.
Jay nodded slightly, "Okay. You can go lay back down if you want. He seems entertained."
Hailey glanced at Drew smiled a little, "Okay, I can do that."
"Good," Jay whispered and squeezed her hand.
Hailey slowly walked to their room and absentmindedly changed into sweatpants and one of Jay's sweatshirts. She laid under the covers and did everything in her power to try and forget about the pregnancy tests under the sink.
She couldn't do it.
Jay made broccoli cheddar soup and Hailey couldn't stand the smell. It made her want to throw-up all over again, but she knew Jay would lose it if she did, so she fought the nauseous swirling in her stomach and ate as much as she could before pulling the sick card and going upstairs to lay down.
She didn't want to fully admit that she could have gotten pregnant, but she knew that it was completely possible and not at all a stretch. She was reckless and deserved this surprise.
Maybe not completely in a bad way though. Her and Jay were good parents to Drew and would be great with a baby. They should have kids. They both learned the hard way that not all parents should be parents, so now that they have this opportunity in front of him, she knew in her gut that they would be okay.
Instead of walking to the bed, she went in the bathroom and tore open the box of pregnancy tests. She skimmed the directions before sitting on the toilet and peeing on the stick. This was it. There was no going back now.
She quickly capped the test up and set it on the counter. She swallowed and set her phone timer to three minutes before washing her hands.
She shakily sat down on the floor and leaned against the tub to wait. She didn't know what to do. She tried scrolling through Instagram, but she couldn't focus and it was just annoying her. She stared at the ceiling and fought back tears that formed. She didn't know why she was crying, but it felt appropriate.
Her phone timer beeped and Hailey felt sick as she turned it off. What was she thinking? She shouldn't have bought the test in the first place.
As she stood, though, she started getting flashes of a little girl with long strawberry blonde hair running through their backyard. She was small, but athletic and fast. Her eyes were a bright blue and her smile was wide.
Hailey wanted her more than anything.
She grabbed the pregnancy test off the counter and closed her eyes.
"One," Hailey whispered, "Two, three," she opened her eyes and looked at the test.
NOT PREGNANT
There was a knock on the door and Jay asked, "Hails, you okay?"
Hailey blinked past the tears in her eyes and whispered, "No."
A/N: And that's where I'm going to leave you for the next two weeks! Maybe I'm a terrible person, but I really wanted to leave you on a small cliffhanger to make you excited for when I come back and to even make me excited to come back. Like I said a chapter or two ago, I'm heading on a much needed vacation for about ten days starting Sunday and will be back on July 7, so this is my last update here before I go. I might post another chapter to Needles if I have time, but I'm already up super late finishing this one haha. I hope you like this one though and I'm super excited to talk to you all again once I come back. Enjoy your summer!