Jay and Hailey walked into the Emergency Department. Hailey straightened her shirt and took a deep breath.

Jay glanced at her, "You look fine, what're you doing?"

"Like Drew says, I want to make a good first impression," Hailey said softly.

"You were held hostage with her at gunpoint for like an hour or more," Jay raised his eyebrows.

"As a cop, not as a potential mother for her baby," Hailey breathed.

"Hey now," Jay set a hand on her arm and led her to the side, "I know you want this, but Hailey, you have to remember this might not happen."

Hailey shook her head, "It has to, it has to happen. We would be really good parents to her baby."

"I know," Jay set a hand on the side of her, "But it's not going to be easy."

Hailey swallowed, "I want to try."

Jay nodded and hugged her tightly, "We will."

Hailey breathed him in for a minute before stepping back, "Should we go talk to her?"

"Yeah," Jay smiled a little.

Hailey took his hand and walked through the ED until she found Nicole's room. She lightly knocked and stepped in, "Hi Nicole."

Nicole looked up from her phone and smiled, "Hi…Hailey, right?"

Hailey nodded and walked closer to the bed, "And this is my husband, Jay."

"Hey," Jay waved at her and leaned against the wall.

"Hi," Nicole smiled slightly and adjusted the sheets on her bed.

"How're you doing?" Hailey asked.

"Um," Nicole flipped the sheets near her leg and showed off the gauze and tubes going into it, "Not great, but I guess there's not too much damage and I'll be able to walk again."

"That's great," Hailey said and hesitantly sat in the chair.

Nicole covered her leg back up and set her hands on her stomach, "My baby's doing okay."

"You're having a boy, right?" Jay asked.

Nicole nodded, "Yeah," she rubbed circles on her stomach, "They told me he's most likely going to be addicted to drugs when he's born."

"You went through a horrible ordeal," Hailey said.

Nicole blushed, "I caused some of this too. I didn't realize I was pregnant for a few months."

Jay glanced at Hailey and crossed his arms, "How far along are you?"

"Six months," Nicole answered, "So I finally made it to the last trimester and look what happened."

"None of this was your fault," Hailey set her hand on Nicole's good knee.

Nicole bit her lip, "Thank you for saying that."

"Have you thought of what you're going to do?" Hailey asked.

"With the baby?" Nicole raised her eyebrows then reached for a business card on her nightstand. She passed it to Hailey, "Dr. Manning suggested this social worker, do you know her?"

Hailey bit back a smile and nodded, "Grace is really amazing."

Jay chuckled and shook his head, looking up at the ceiling.

"So you really are going to put him up for adoption?" Hailey passed the card back.

"Yeah, I can't do this," Nicole shook her head, "I didn't want a baby to start, it was a mistake, and then I realized how I really screwed this all up and plus I'm seventeen…I can't take care of this baby. The second this is over, I'm going to move somewhere far away like Kentucky or Utah."

Hailey looked to Jay and chewed her lip.

Jay walked over and squeezed her shoulder.

Hailey turned her head to lightly kiss his arm before standing, "Thank you for talking with us. We're so glad you're okay."

Jay nodded, "If you need anything, let us know."

"Thank you," Nicole smiled.

Hailey pulled Jay out of the room. Once they were out of earshot, she lightly hit his chest, "Jay."

"I know, I know," he chuckled and hugged her to him, "Can we talk to Grace first?"

"Of course," Hailey said and couldn't help but jump a little.

"I think we should talk to Drew too," Jay tilted her chin up, "We do not want him to think we're ignoring him or replacing him."

Hailey nodded quickly, "Definitely."

Jay spotted an open seat and brought her to it, "I'm trying to figure something out…can you tell me why you want this baby?"

Hailey bit her lip, "We've been wanting a baby for a while now."

Jay slowly nodded, "We have, but last time I brought it up, you were very quick to shut it down."

"And look at everything we've experienced since then," Hailey said softly, "We fostered a baby for a night. We started officially adopting Drew. I stopped taking my birth control and thought I was pregnant. I was held at gunpoint with a pregnant girl. It's all led to this moment."

Jay sighed and looked down at their hands. He rubbed his thumb over her fingers, "I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it all, Hailey." He glanced back up at her, "I am with you one hundred percent, please believe me, but I guess this…shock of having the baby right in front of us is a lot to take in all at once."

Hailey nodded and squeezed his hand, "I know. I-I'm trying to comprehend it too. It feels right."

Jay looked around the ED and took a deep breath.

"I could have died yesterday," Hailey whispered, "I'm done living my life carefully and pretending like I'm going to live forever. I want to take this leap because what if I'll never get another chance."

Jay's heart sank, "Come here," he pulled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Hailey breathed.

Jay closed his eyes for a second before leaning back and saying quietly, "The first time I wanted to adopt a baby, we had like three hours to hypothetically prepare…this time we have three months."

A smile flickered over Hailey's face, "Are you serious?"

Jay bit back his own smile and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm serious. Let's adopt that baby."

"Oh my god," Hailey hugged him tightly, "Jay."

Jay laughed and rubbed her back, "We're going to have a baby."

Hailey gripped his shirt, "A baby."

Grace smiled from her spot at her desk, "I can make that happen."

"Just like that?" Hailey asked.

"Well," Grace shrugged, "It'll take time, but I can most likely get you approved to adopt the baby by the time he's born. Knowing Nicole will make things easier for you."

"We finished filling all this out," Jay slid the folder across Grace's desk, "Does that help?"

"Definitely," Grace glanced through it, "Thank you."

"You've already talked to her too, right?" Hailey sat up in her chair, "Like you've already started paperwork on your end?"

Grace shook her head, "Yes and no. I've talked with her about options and what she wants and that's helped me figure out what path we'll be taking, but I haven't started paperwork yet which is actually a good thing because now I can tailor it toward the two of you. I can call her once you two leave, but she is hoping for a closed adoption."

"She doesn't want to be involved?" Jay looked at Hailey.

"No and that's normal with pregnancies like this," Grace said, "Part of her feels ashamed and she wants to distance herself from her 'mistake.'"

Hailey slowly nodded, "But can we still adopt the baby even though we know her?"

"Yeah, that's not an issue," Grace smiled.

"Great," Jay breathed and rubbed his face.

Hailey glanced at her phone, "We need to go get Drew from school."

Jay nodded and stood.

"Wait," Grace stood with them, "With Drew, how're things going?"

"Pretty good," Hailey smiled, "We're realizing he's much different than either of us were in school."

Grace laughed, "Yeah, he's not exactly the typical seven-year-old."

"How's his adoption going?" Jay asked.

Grace sighed, "It's going. I've done all I can and now it's most likely just sitting on the judge's desk waiting to be reviewed."

Hailey set her hand on Jay's arm, "We are incredibly grateful for everything you're doing for us."

Jay nodded, "If you ever need anything at all, we are more than happy to help you out."

Grace smiled, "Well, thank you. I'm just glad I've found two people who are finally willing to help out some of the most vulnerable people in Chicago."

Hailey looked up at Jay, "And we love doing it."

He chuckled and shook his head, "Let's go, you cheeseball."

Hailey laughed, "Oh whatever."

Jay shook Grace's hand, "Thank you again."

"Not a problem," Grace smiled and waved, "Maybe I can see Drew soon?"

"He'd love that," Hailey said as they started walking away.

"What is taking him so long?" Jay breathed and looked over the heads of kids streaming out of the school.

"Do you think he's hurt?" Hailey asked.

"Don't get yourselves worked up, it's probably nothing," Kim said.

"I don't know," Jay stepped away, "What if he can't see us?"

Adam walked over holding Cara's hand, "All right, the princess has arrived to take the Ruzek chariot home."

"Did you see Drew?" Hailey looked around him.

Adam glanced over his shoulder, "Uh, no, sorry. I figured he was already here."

"There he is," Kim pointed.

"Thank god," Jay lightly jogged over to him, "Hey, what took you so long?"

Drew crossed his arms over his chest and walked past Jay.

"Hey, I was talking to you," Jay followed him.

Hailey knelt in front of Drew, "Hi, how was school?" She tried hugging him, but Drew lightly pushed her arms away.

"What cha got there?" Adam asked Drew and pointed at his chest where a folded piece of paper was pinned to his shirt.

Drew sniffled and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Let's go play on the swings for a few minutes," Kim said softly and set a hand on Cara's shoulder.

Once they walked away, Jay put a hand on Drew's shoulder and had him sit on the bench Kim was just on, "What's going on?"

Drew tried talking again, but couldn't get the words out.

"Can I take this off of you?" Hailey asked and touched the paper.

Drew's eyes teared up and his mouth gaped.

Jay sat next to him, "Deep breaths for me, bud."

Hailey quickly worked to unpin the paper and unfolded it.

Jay took Drew's backpack off him, "Do you need water?"

Drew shook his head and shivered.

Hailey read over the paper and chewed her lip. She passed it to Jay and lightly set her hand on Drew's knee, "You're okay, sweetheart."

Drew closed his eyes and sniffled.

Jay's eyes scanned the paper and glanced at Drew.

~Hello! Drew had a rough day today. I'm sorry he's late coming out, I hope it didn't cause any issues. As we were leaving to come out, he got upset because some of the kids weren't in a straight line. I talked to him about patience and not having strict rules. He's not in trouble – I wanted to give you a warning that he's probably not going to be in the best mood for a bit and this was quicker than an email. I'm happy to talk on the phone if you'd like. My extension is 4027. M. Sampson~

"Bud," Jay said softly, "You are not in trouble at all."

Drew started crying and put his head in his hands.

"Oh honey," Hailey breathed and hugged him, "No, you don't need to cry about it."

"Want me to read it?" Jay asked.

Drew shook his head fast.

"Let's go home," Hailey said and rubbed Drew's back.

Jay nodded, "Can you walk?"

Drew shakily stood and grabbed Hailey's hand.

"There you go," Hailey said softly, "We'll go home and talk about it."

Drew cried quietly as they walked past the playground to the car.

"Drew! Drew!" Cara yelled, "Come swing!"

Hailey gently tugged him to her side, "We're going to go home, Cara, but thank you."

"Aw, Drew, are you sure?" Cara jumped off the swing.

"Cara Marie," Kim scolded and took her hand, "No."

"Another time," Jay set a hand on Drew's back.

"Okay," Cara sighed and got back on the swing.

Drew tried to stop himself from crying and gripped Jay's side tightly.

Adam waved at them, "See you."

Jay nodded and put Drew's backpack over his arm as they walked to the car.

"I'll sit in the back with you," Hailey said and helped Drew in her car.

Drew's lip wavered and he nodded, not letting go of Hailey's hand.

Jay made eye contact with Hailey through the rearview mirror as he started driving. She sighed and shook her head.

Once parked in the driveway, Drew had stopped completely making noise while he cried, but a steady stream of tears still came down his face.

"Come on, honey," Hailey said softly and picked him up.

"Need help?" Jay asked and set a hand on her back.

"I'm okay," Hailey breathed and carried Drew inside. She sat on the couch with him and took off his shoes.

"Want a snack?" Jay asked. He leaned over the couch and lightly wiped Drew's face.

Drew whimpered and shook his head.

"I miss your voice," Hailey said as Jay walked around to sit next to them.

Jay nodded, "We'd really like to talk to you."

Drew covered his face and took several deep breaths.

"Good job," Hailey rubbed his back, "We're proud of you."

"You didn't even scratch your arms," Jay said.

Drew looked up and shakily stood. He pointed toward the stairs and stumbled over Jay's legs before walking upstairs.

Hailey sighed as she watched him, "I'm worried about him."

"Yeah," Jay rubbed his face and leaned back against the couch.

Hailey bit her lip, "Maybe we shouldn't talk to him about the baby tonight."

"Do you think it's still a good idea?" Jay asked.

Hailey raised her eyebrows, "The baby?"

Jay nodded.

Hailey glanced to the stairs, "I do. I kind of think it'll help him."

"Yeah," Jay breathed out, "I agree, but I also agree that we shouldn't talk to him about it right now."

"Let's try chocolate," Hailey said and walked to the kitchen. She came back with a Hershey's bar, "Let's go."

Jay laughed and stood, "It's go time."

Hailey smiled and went upstairs with Jay. Drew's door was closed, so she knocked lightly before opening it, "Drew?"

He didn't look up from his fish tank.

Jay stepped inside, "Bud, Mom brought some chocolate, do you want a piece?"

Drew looked over and shrugged.

"That's not a no," Hailey said and sat on his bed. She broke off a piece and held it out, "Come on, you know it's delicious."

Drew smiled a little and walked over. He took the piece of chocolate and whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Hailey smiled and ate her own piece.

Jay sat on the floor, "How're your fish doing?"

Drew looked at them and shrugged.

"Yeah," Jay nodded, "Understandable."

Hailey laughed softly and shook her head.

Drew rubbed his eyes and hesitantly sat next to Hailey, "C-Can I have the heavy blanket?"

Jay's eyes widened, "Of course, yeah." He jumped up and hurried out of the room.

"I'm so happy that you're asking for help," Hailey said, "I am so proud of you."

Drew blushed and looked down at his hands.

Jay came back in with his weighted blanket, "All right, here we go," he gently put it over Drew's shoulders and sat on his other side, "How's that?"

Drew nodded and held onto the blanket.

"I was just telling him I'm proud of him," Hailey smiled.

"Oh definitely," Jay said, "I'm super proud."

"Even though I got in trouble?" Drew asked.

"Sweetheart, you did not get in trouble," Hailey tilted his chin up, "We are not mad or upset at all."

Jay pulled the note out of his pocket, "All she said was that she needed to talk to you about being patient because some kids weren't in line."

"They weren't in a straight line," Drew groaned, "We needed to be single-filed, not two lines – it is a big difference and no one was understanding and no one listened to me when I was talking."

"That sounds frustrating," Hailey said softly.

"It was!" Drew put his head in his hands.

"Did you yell?" Jay asked.

Drew sighed and mumbled, "A little."

"Did you hit anyone?" Jay added.

Drew shook his head and pulled the blanket over him.

Hailey gently pulled him on her lap, "I know it's upsetting to hear that maybe you made a mistake and I know you're feeling really overwhelmed, but like Dad and I said, you handled it super well."

Drew shrugged and said something quietly.

"We can't hear you," Jay rubbed his back.

Drew winced and poked his head out, "Even though I yelled in school?"

"Hey, we all make mistakes," Jay shrugged, "As long as you promise to be better tomorrow."

Hailey nodded, "Some things, like being in line, are rules that can be bent, and those rules are ones that we should not yell about."

Drew groaned, "But why call it a rule?"

"Rules can be broken, laws cannot be," Jay said.

"Jay Halstead," Hailey hissed, "Do not say that."

Drew chewed his lip, "Huh and you are a detective."

Jay nodded, "I am."

"I'll think about that," Drew said quietly.

Jay smiled, "Good."

Drew rubbed his arms and yawned.

"What're you doing?" Hailey asked and set her hands on his.

"They feel tingly," Drew shrugged.

Jay glanced to Hailey and took a deep breath. He spotted Drew's stress ball on his pillow and passed it to him, "Here you go."

"Thanks," Drew breathed and squeezed it tightly.

Hailey lightly kissed the top of his head, "We love you."

Drew flinched, but he still smiled a little, "I love you too."

"No matter what," Jay added, "Always remember that."

"I will," Drew pulled at the blankets.

"Good," Jay said softly and looked at Hailey, "Good."

A/N: It kinda feels like forever since I've posted here, but I think it was just a couple days? Idk, I needed a small restart, but I'm feeling a little better now :) I hope you guys liked the chapter! Let me know what you think about the future baby!