Hailey stirred her coffee in the break room and hummed softly.
Kim walked in and laughed quietly, "You seem very happy and relaxed today."
"Jay and I finally had a date night," Hailey said.
"Mm," Kim took a water bottle out of the fridge, "I heard a rumor that you two had sex on top of a ferry."
Hailey's eyes widened and her head snapped up, "Who told you that?"
Kim smirked and opened her water, "Is it true?"
Hailey blushed, "Maybe."
Kim clapped her hands together, "Amazing. I love that. You two still got it."
Hailey rolled her eyes, "Yes, we do."
"I'm really happy for you," Kim sat at the table.
"Well, thank you," Hailey smiled.
"How's your adoption going?" Kim swirled her finger over the top of the water bottle.
"Uh," Hailey shrugged, "Grace said our file's waiting to be looked at."
Kim nodded, "At least it's on the next step."
"You two are still waiting?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah," Kim held up her left hand with the engagement ring, "But once we're married, it's the first thing we'll be doing. I can't risk losing her because I don't have a husband."
"It's pretty stupid that stuff like that could hurt our chances," Hailey said.
Kim rolled her eyes, "You're telling me."
Hailey glanced toward the door, "I have something to tell you."
Kim scooted her chair back and shut the door, "Shoot."
Hailey took a deep breath, "Remember Nicole?"
"Yeah, the pregnant crack head," Kim nodded.
Hailey winced, "Yeah, her. Um, Jay and I have talked about adopting her baby."
Kim sat back in her chair, "You…you two are going to adopt Drew…and a baby? At the same time?"
"She has a few months left," Hailey said quietly, "It wouldn't be at the same time."
"Hailey, do you know what this means? A baby addicted to drugs," Kim drank her water, "That's a lot of work."
"It's the right thing to do," Hailey bit her lip.
Kim shook her head, "I don't know, Hailey, you two have a lot on your plate already."
"W-We do," Hailey nodded, "But we can handle this."
"I love you, I love Jay, but Hailey, I think you need to step away from this," Kim reached out and squeezed Hailey's hand before standing, "I have to go talk to a CI, you want to come?"
Hailey shook her head, "No, I'm good."
Kim nodded and smiled slightly before leaving.
Hailey breathed shakily and looked around the room. She couldn't explain it, but she felt in her gut that she needed to help this girl and her baby out. She and Jay wanted to become parents because of a baby addicted to cocaine anyways. This would bring their journey to parenthood full-circle. She needed this.
Jay walked in and smiled at her, "Hey," he spotted the pot of coffee on the counter, "This for the taking?"
"Uh," Hailey swallowed, "Yeah, go for it," she sipped her own mug.
"You good?" Jay quickly kissed the top of her head.
Hailey blushed and looked down, "Just a lot going through my head right now."
"Tell me about it," Jay leaned against the table, "What's up with this guy? Something seems real screwed up with the case. It's not sitting with me right."
Hailey nodded, "Yeah, it's pretty creepy."
Jay looked up too see Kim putting on her jacket and leaving with Vanessa, "Where are they going?"
Hailey followed his gaze, "Um, a CI."
Jay nodded and slowly took a drink of his coffee, "Want to tell me what you two were talking about?"
Hailey shook her head and stood.
"Uh-uh," Jay set a hand on her side, "Sit."
Hailey raised her eyebrows, "Maybe you can clear something up for me."
"Anything," Jay nodded.
"How did she know what we did on the ferry last night?" Hailey asked.
Jay blinked and glanced behind him.
"Thought so," Hailey shook her head.
"Hey, hey," Jay stood and held her hands, "I'm sorry, I told Adam…and Kevin."
Hailey rolled her eyes, "What are you sixteen?"
"Come on," Jay tilted his head up. He sighed, "Let's be real, we never do stuff like that. I should be allowed to tell my friends."
"You're ridiculous," Hailey breathed.
Jay raised his eyebrows, "You're telling me you have never ever told Kim and Vanessa about our private life?"
Hailey bit her lip, "I…I didn't tell them about last night, and I really haven't told them about anything since we got married."
"Now I know that's a lie," Jay lightly poked her chest, "Because last year after we went to the lake and I got sunburned from our boat adventure, I remember some very pointed jokes from Kim and Vanessa about the fact that I didn't have a tan line."
Hailey couldn't help but laugh, "They pretty much figured it out on their own."
"Sure," Jay chuckled, "You're lucky I like you."
Hailey shrugged and squeezed Jay's arms, "I like you too."
"Feeling better?" Jay asked softly and kissed her forehead.
Hailey looked down at their feet and chewed her lip, "She doesn't think we should adopt the baby," she whispered.
"You told her about Nicole's baby?" Jay lightly rubbed Hailey's arms.
Hailey nodded, "And she didn't approve. Are we making a mistake?"
"No, not at all," Jay shook his head, "We've been wanting a baby and this lady came in our lives for a reason. We're doing the right thing."
Hailey swallowed and nodded again.
"Don't let her get in your head," Jay said softly, "This is our family not hers."
"Right," Hailey bit her lip.
Hank knocked on the door and opened it, "Am I interrupting?"
Hailey rubbed her face, "No, I'm good. We're good."
Hank nodded, "All right, well, Hailey, I need you in interrogation with me."
"Got it," Hailey walked out leaving Jay watching her as Hank followed.
Jay shook his head and went to his desk; he managed to make eye contact with Adam and clenched his jaw.
Adam looked around and upon seeing no one else asked, "What's going on?"
Jay slowly stood and said quietly, "Tell your fiancé to leave my wife alone."
Adam's eyes widened, "Excuse me?" he walked closer to Jay, "What are you talking about?"
"Kim overstepped with Hailey," Jay said, "It was uncalled for and, frankly, rude."
"Wow," Adam breathed, "You've got some balls talking about Kim like that."
Jay stepped around his desk, "She needs to mind her own business when it comes to my family."
"What did she even say?" Adam asked.
Jay took a deep breath, "Hailey and I are going to adopt a baby and Kim opened her mouth and told Hailey not to do it."
Adam stepped back and ran a hand over his face, "I'll talk to her, okay?"
"Thanks," Jay went to sit back down.
Adam walked back to his desk; he spotted a piece of paper and crumbled it up, throwing it at Jay.
"What the hell?" Jay threw the paper back.
"You pissed me off," Adam shook his head.
"Whatever," Jay whispered and looked at his computer.
They worked in silence until Trudy walked upstairs, "Jay, your son's school just called, he's on the phone."
"What?" Jay's eyes widened and he grabbed his phone, "Thanks." He quickly connected the call, "Hello?"
"Dad?" Drew sniffled.
"Yeah, hey, bud," Jay said softly, "What's going on?"
"I'm having a bad day," Drew whimpered.
"Okay," Jay nodded, "What's going on?"
"I did r-really bad on a spelling test," Drew said, "Don't yell."
"Whoa, whoa, no, I'm not going to yell," Jay shook his head, "These things happen. Spelling is hard."
Drew cried quietly, "Can you come pick me up?"
Jay glanced over at Adam, "I…Drew."
"I can't do it, I can't do school anymore," Drew cried harder.
Kevin ran up the stairs, "We gotta go."
Jay rubbed his forehead, "Drew, you have to stay at school." The phone call ended with a slam and Jay winced. He breathed shakily and put his phone back, "Um…yeah."
"What happened?" Adam asked while putting his jacket on.
"Drew wants to leave school," Jay said quietly and grabbed his own coat, "And he's not too happy that I said no. Let me tell Hailey, then I'll meet up with you two."
Kevin nodded and walked out with Adam.
Jay sighed and walked down the hallway. He hesitantly knocked on the door to the interrogation room before opening it, "Detective Upton, I need to talk to you."
Hailey and Hank exchanged a look as Hailey slowly stood, "Um, okay."
Jay held the door open for her and stepped back.
Hailey waited for him to close the door to ask, "What's going on?"
"Drew wants to leave school," Jay said quietly.
"Is he sick?" Hailey crossed her arms.
Jay shook his head, "He's upset because he didn't do well on a spelling test."
"So did you talk him down?" Hailey asked.
"Hailey, the conversation was like thirty seconds," Jay whispered, "He said he was upset over the spelling test and that he wanted to leave school, but we can't go get him, so I told him no, and he slammed the phone down. That's it."
Hailey sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Well, call him back."
"I have to go work the case," Jay said, "I told Kevin and Adam that I'd meet them."
Hailey groaned softly, "I can't call him right now."
"So let him simmer off," Jay shrugged.
Hailey looked around and shook her head, "Fine. It's our only option."
"He'll be okay," Jay squeezed her arm.
"I hope so," Hailey whispered.
Jay kissed her forehead quickly, "I'll see you soon."
Hailey nodded, "Yeah, see you."
Jay left and Hailey tried pulling herself together by taking several deep breaths and steadying herself against the wall.
Hank opened the door, "You good?"
"Uh, I guess," Hailey rubbed her face, "Where are we at?"
"He's going to make an official statement," Hank said and closed the door, "What'd Jay need?"
"Drew's having a bad day," Hailey shrugged.
Hank nodded and walked with her down the hall, "Kids are hard."
"He wants to leave," Hailey said quietly as they walked in his office.
"So bring him here," Hank shrugged and looked through his desk.
"If he's as upset as he seems, it's not going to be a peaceful scenario," Hailey sighed.
Hank glanced up at her, "You can take the day off."
"No, I…no, Jay's right, Drew just needs to calm down," Hailey ran a hand through her hair.
"If you say so," Hank nodded and moved to walk past her.
"Jay and I want to adopt a baby," Hailey blurted.
Hank turned around, "Really?"
"Yeah," Hailey bit her lip, "Nicole's baby."
"Nicole's baby," Hank repeated.
Hailey nodded and slowly sat in the chair near Hank's door.
Hank walked back to her, "Hailey, that baby is going to have a lot of issues."
"We know," Hailey spun the tie of her shirt around her fingers.
Hank lowered himself onto the couch, "You could have died."
Hailey glanced up and whispered, "Yeah."
"And you want to protect her," Hank continued.
"I want to help a girl in trouble out and I want to expand my family," Hailey said.
Hank smiled a little, "Then I'm happy for you."
"Really?" Hailey raised her eyebrows, "Are you serious?"
Hank nodded, "Why wouldn't I be? Hailey, I know you're a good mom and you have good intentions. Your husband's not bad either."
Hailey laughed, "He's an amazing dad."
"So go for it," Hank shrugged and stood, "Adopt that baby."
"Thank you," Hailey said softly and stood, hugging Hank.
"You're okay? Can you come finish this up with me?" Hank held up the paper and pen.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Hailey stuck her hands in her pockets and followed Hank down the hallway.
Downstairs, the phone rang and Trudy looked at it, recognizing the numbers, and answered the call, "Hello?"
"Hi, is this the 21st district with the police department?" the woman asked.
"It is, may I ask who's calling?" Trudy asked, sighing when her suspicions were right and this was the secretary from Drew's school. "You know what, his parents aren't available right now, but do you mind if I talk to him?" Trudy asked.
"H-Hello?" Drew sniffled on the other side of the phone.
Trudy smiled slightly, "Hi Drew, do you remember me?"
"You're my mom and dad's friend," Drew said quietly.
"I am," Trudy nodded, "I'm guessing you're not having a great day."
Drew started crying again, "School's too hard right now. I can't stay."
"Where do you think you'll go then?" Trudy asked.
"Home. I want to go home and hide in my bed," Drew said.
"Now that is something everyone can relate to," Trudy laughed, "Drew, I like you, you're a good kid."
Drew sniffled, "I make mistakes."
"Hey, we all do," Trudy said, "Even your mom and dad."
"Can you tell me one?" Drew asked.
Trudy laughed, "Hmm, let me think."
Drew hiccupped and breathed shakily.
"Well, here's one," Trudy leaned forward against her desk, "Your mom and dad just started dating and we were super busy here at work and your dad actually planned this super fancy dinner for your mom and guess what she did?"
"What?" Drew sniffled.
"She made a mistake," Trudy smiled, "She messed up and she went to the wrong place and your dad waited forever for her to show up and at the same time, she was waiting forever for him."
"They still got married though," Drew said quietly.
"They did," Trudy nodded, "Because it was a mistake, no one got hurt. What mistake did you make?"
"I…I didn't do a good job on a spelling test," Drew said.
"Oh," Trudy scoffed, "Drew, that's not a big deal at all. Your dad's a horrible speller. I have to read through his spelling errors all the time."
Drew laughed softly, "That's kind of funny."
"It is," Trudy smiled, "So what do you say? Think you can stay in school? I've got your mom and dad for a couple more hours and picking you up early would cause some issues for all of us."
Drew thought before finally saying, "I guess."
"Thank you, bud," Trudy nodded.
"Don't call me that, you're not my dad," Drew said quickly.
"Okay, I'm sorry," Trudy said, "Will I see you soon?"
"Sure, you can come over to our house," Drew nodded, "Bye."
"Bye," Trudy laughed softly and hung up the phone. She looked up in time to see Hailey walking down the stairs, "Hey, I just talked to your boy."
"Which one?" Hailey asked.
"Drew," Trudy smiled.
"I was not expecting that," Hailey laughed slightly, "Um, is he okay?"
"Yeah," Trudy nodded and turned to her computer, "He's fine. I told him everyone, even you and Jay, makes mistakes."
"Did it help?" Hailey leaned against the desk.
"How about a thank you, Halstead?" Trudy smirked.
Hailey sighed, "Fine, thank you. Now, do you think he's feeling better?"
"I think so," Trudy nodded, "I told him Jay's a terrible speller, he liked that."
Hailey laughed, "It's not a lie."
Trudy smiled, "He invited me over to your house, so maybe I can have dinner with you all soon."
"Oh," Hailey slowly nodded, "Huh."
Trudy shrugged, "I do like steak."
"Of course," Hailey said softly and walked out the front door.
A/N: Hi! Couple things…I know this is a short chapter, but I really wanted to keep it one scene/at least one place (idk, style choice that I wanted to try). Second, I wrote and rewrote this a few times trying to figure it out and figure my own self out which is why it's been a few days since a chapter, so please let me know what you think, I'd super appreciate it! I need to come up with an idea for a new chapter, so send me your ideas!