And I wonder what you're thinking
Whenever you're not around
Any secret I was keepin'
I wanna tell you right now
- Ron Pope (Last First Kiss)
By the time his phone dings with a text from Hailey on Friday, Jay's been at his desk for an hour. The bullpen is still quiet, only the accent lights and his computer screen lighting the room.
He'd fallen asleep early and somehow stayed asleep long enough that he was awake and rested before his alarm went off. He'd skipped the gym and come into work in the quiet, but if he's being honest, he'd spent a lot of time looking at Hailey's empty desk and thinking about the ticket cancellation email he'd gotten this morning.
By the time her name pops up on his phone, he's ready for a break, and she's always been his best distraction.
I'm not going to give you a countdown today. We both know exactly how many days are left. Just saying good morning.
Didn't wanna actually SAY good morning?
His phone rings and he takes a moment to stand up and move around their desks until he's sitting in her chair. When he answers, he's greeted with an eye roll and a smile.
"Good morning. Better?" She asks.
He nods. "Yep, thanks. Bye," he jokes, and she laughs.
"No, absolutely not. I don't think I'm actually supposed to be FaceTiming in the squad room, so you better make this worth the risk."
"God, Hailey. For the last time, I'm not stripping for you on FaceTime."
She laughs again, and it's the best sound he's heard all morning. "Wouldn't do you justice anyway, I know," she says.
He shrugs. She sits back in her chair and he takes a moment to survey the office behind her. It's big and bright, and mostly empty.
"I'm sorry," she says suddenly, leaning forward. "Are you sitting at my desk?"
He turns the camera so she can see that he clearly is. "Mine is a little messy." He pans so she can see the files spread across his side.
"I see that," she says. "You're working early. You good?"
"Hailey." She's checking again to see if he's spinning out, and he appreciates it, he does. But he's good. "I'm still good. I promise. I just actually woke up early this morning, that's it."
She nods. "Okay," she says, but there's an edge to it.
"Where's your partner?"
"I'm looking at him," she says, and he smiles.
"Okay, where's the guy I'm trusting to watch your back?"
"He'll be in soon," she says. The camera moves a little as a voice creeps into the background, and he watches the view of the room change to take in a woman over her shoulder.
"Hang on," she says. "Kristen, hey, wanna meet Jay?"
She stands and he gets a good view of the room before Kristen is in the frame too.
"Jay, this is Kristen. Kristen, this is Jay," she says, and something about the way she emphasizes this tells him it's not the first time they've talked about him, which is… interesting.
"Hi, Jay! We love Hailey, you gonna let us keep her?"
He laughs. "Yeah, not a chance. We love her too. We're counting down the days over here," he says.
They chat for a minute, and he's aware that Hailey's eyes haven't left him the whole time. It's a little distracting, and he's relieved when someone calls Kristen's name in the background.
"Jubal," she and Hailey say together, laughing, and Kristen calls a quick bye before she heads out of frame.
"What's a-" he starts to ask, but footsteps on the stairs stop him. Burgess is coming in, and he waves.
"Wanna say hey to Kim?" He asks, and Hailey smiles.
"Yeah… oh, wait," She pauses, looking off-screen. "Jay, sorry. I've gotta run. Tell Kim we'll do dinner when I get back."
"Okay, but I get dibs on your first dinner," he says, and she grins.
"It's a date," she says. "Gotta run. Talk later."
It's a date.
Well, that's something he could spin out about. But more footsteps echo on the stairs and voices fill the bullpen, and before he can think too much on it, the day begins.
—
She's distracted all through their morning debrief and while she and OA run surveillance on a suspect.
It's a date.
She's pretty sure her brain and her mouth had some sort of disconnect that caused her to say it so casually. It doesn't have to mean anything, except.
Except. It could.
She wants it to.
—
She thinks about it so much the rest of the day that by the time Jay's face pops up on her phone later that night and she accepts the FaceTime call, the first words out of her mouth are rushed and sound so unsure even she questions herself.
"About earlier… when I said it's a date, I didn't mean…"
He chuckles a little, and she watches him adjust the pillows behind his head. He's in bed again, and she tries not to overthink that, too.
"First, hi," he says.
She rolls her eyes. "Hi."
"Second, you've got that Hailey look that says you've been thinking about this all day."
"Yeah, I'm not going to respond to that," she mutters.
"Right. Well, I've definitely been thinking about it all day."
She raises her eyebrows, but he just shakes his head and continues.
"The way I figure it, we've got two options. One, you tell me it's actually a date. I plan on kissing you goodnight and I think about it all night. Or two, you tell me it's not a date and I don't kiss you goodnight, I just think about it all night."
She blinks a couple times. "So, you did think about it all day."
"Totally distracted. Kim probably hates me."
"And just so I'm clear. Either way, you still think about kissing me goodnight?"
"Correct."
"But only if it's a date do you actually do it?"
He nods.
"And if it's not a date, you don't."
"I think that's been established," he says.
"So what if it's not a date and you still want to kiss me?"
"Hailey, that's just like a random Tuesday for me."
"Only a Tuesday?"
He smiles. "Wednesday, Thursday, Friday at," he pauses, and she sees him glance at his watch, "7:34 PM."
She bites her lip. "Very specific."
"Yeah, well."
"Yeah, well," she mimics. "Jay?"
"Hmm?"
She pauses, watching him get comfortable again. "I'd hate for all that thinking to go to waste."
"It's pretty enjoyable. I wouldn't really call it a-"
"Jay?" He stops. "It's a date."
"If you insist."
"Shut up." She rolls her eyes, but he just grins.
—
She carries that grin with her into a busy weekend that doesn't go at all like she'd started the week hoping it would.
OA calls her on Saturday morning before she's even had her first cup of coffee.
"Sorry to bug you. I figured you might have plans already, but. On the off-chance you don't, I think we've got him, Hailey. Want to get some OT and get this guy?"
"I'll see you in half an hour," she says.
"Thought so," he laughs.
—
So, it's not as good as you and the Brooklyn Bridge, but I'm spending my Saturday catching a murderer.
That's gotta be almost as good.
Almost.
Try not to annoy Kim today.
You're the one who distracted me yesterday. Hopefully, we'll get this guy today and she can be free of me for the weekend.
Hopefully. Later.
—
True to his word, OA is right. They finally get the guy and get a confession, and for how frustrating the case has been, it's a relatively easy process.
She's finishing up her paperwork later that afternoon when her phone rings.
"Hey," she says slowly as she finishes jotting down a note.
"Hey. You sound distracted. Busy?"
"No, just finishing up some paperwork."
"Knew I recognized that tone. Get your guy?"
"Finally," she says. "What about you?"
"Almost. We've got him for another 36. You know the drill."
"Too well," she laughs. "Heading home?"
"Yep. I just wanted to say hi again before I go home to crash. I told Voight I'd come in early tomorrow to finally put this to rest."
"What a guy," she smiles.
He laughs. "What are you going to do on your day off tomorrow?"
"I don't know, honestly. Maybe a museum? I hadn't given the weekend much thought beyond seeing you," she admits.
"I know. Voight looked at me like I was an idiot when I volunteered to come in tomorrow. I believe his exact words were, 'you realize you're the tenured detective here now? You don't have to pull Sunday duty, it's literally why Ruzek and Burgess and Atwater are here.'"
"I'm sure they all loved that," she laughs.
"It's why you can never leave me here again, Hailey. I'm pretty sure they're gonna gang up on me eventually."
"Poor baby. You'll survive."
"Debatable."
"Mhmm." She tidies her desk and turns off her computer, gathers her stuff, and heads for the elevator while he complains about traffic.
"Gotta admit," she says, stepping off the elevator a minute later, "I haven't really missed driving while I've been here. It's a nice break."
He laughs. "Okay, but when you get home and I ask you to drive to a scene, it's gonna be 'too early' or 'too trafficky'."
"Right, like you ever ask me to drive. Pretty sure if your truck got stolen and I got kidnapped on the same day, you'd really have to think about which to look for first."
"Hailey, that's ridiculous. I'd find you first so you could help me find the truck, c'mon."
She laughs. "Right, no. That makes me feel very important."
"It should," he says.
She exits the building and merges into the crowd of people on the sidewalk, the traffic loud around her. She's tired and her feet hurt from days of more walking than she's really used to. She'd give a lot for Jay's truck to emerge out of the traffic now, like some knight in matte armor.
"Hey," he says. "Let me call you later? Will's on the other line, I forgot I told him we'd grab a beer tonight."
"Yeah, sure. Go have fun, might help you sleep sooner rather than later."
"Maybe. Later, Hailey."
—
"Wait, you almost did what?" Will asks a while later, almost dropping his beer on the bar.
Jay rolls his eyes. "I was gonna go to New York to see Hailey, but we caught a case."
"To see Hailey, or to see Hailey?"
"... I don't know what that means, bro. I was gonna go see her."
Will shakes his head. "Jesus, man."
"What?"
"It's just… that's a step. You don't just go back to normal life after you hop on a plane to spend the weekend with a woman you're not dating."
"Maybe that's the point." He takes the last swig of his beer and stands. "I gotta go, bro. Early morning. Wanna come watch the game Thursday?"
"Yeah, sure."
He nods and reaches out a hand to clap Will on the back, none too gently. "Night, man. Careful getting home."
"You too. And don't worry, I'll pay for your beer," he grumbles.
"Hey," he calls as Jay gets a few feet away. "This is good, Jay. Don't fuck it up."
"Shut up," he calls, but he's smiling as he heads out the door.
—
My brother might be a good doctor, but he's actually an idiot.
You can't both be the best Halstead brother.
... I'm the best Halstead brother, right?
... Sure.
Ow. Your sarcasm hurts more than the last time I was shot.
It's the fact you have to say "the last time" that really does it. Go to sleep, Jay.
—