Hank sat at his office. Vernal evening sun shone through the windows, bullpen was almost empty. Only his two detectives were left, their quiet conversation was audible from time to time. Team had closed their latest case afternoon. It had been rough, including little kids. Hank knew that Kim took this kind of cases hard. She had left first, mumbling something about errands she had to take care. Adam had followed her soon. Immediately after that, Kevin left, telling Hailey and Jay that they should also call it a night.
Hank snorted. Ruzek and Burgess. They thought he didn't know. Truth was that he had chosen not to know. Don't ask, don't tell. That was his rule nowadays regarding in-house relationships. Maybe he has gone soft, but it seemed to be easier that way. And in the end, maybe they all deserved some happiness to their lives. Who he was to deny it? At least as long as it didn't affect their work. That was a problem he had decided to solve if it would occur. Hopefully it wouldn't.
Soft talk in the next room had paused. Hank glanced up, through the open doorway. Jay was now sitting on Hailey's desk. They were close together, and Hank could see Jay touching Hailey's shoulder. It was a small, but somehow intimate gesture. Hank could see how Hailey's shoulders relaxed; her whole appearance seemed suddenly to be calmer. He couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of him.
Those two also probably thought that he didn't know about the change of their relationship. But how he could not know? It wasn't so that they would show any PDA at work. No, they were still strictly professional. Nor it was the closeness as he had witnessed earlier. No, that wasn't new. Closeness and light touches, that weren't typical for the normal professional partnership, had been there for some time. Maybe those kinds of features had begun to appear after Kelton's case, only to strengthen after Hailey had been back from New York. However, those things hadn't been the signal he had reacted. Those had been just them. Partnership had evolved into friendship. It was just their thing, being each other's person. It hadn't been romantic yet, not then.
It had been before Christmas. Hailey had gotten a package from the feds. She probably believed that Hank didn't know about the job offer, but he knew. However, that wasn't important, since Hailey was still here.
It was that time when he noticed it. Things had changed. Suddenly Hailey was more serene. Jay was happier, happier than Hank had ever seen him to be. They smiled the kind of smile you smile when you had found reason for existence. That was when Hank had known. And had chosen not to ask.
Hank woke up from his thoughts. There was soft footsteps in the stairs. He looked up again, just to see that detectives had also awakened from their own world. Jay straightened himself, but continued to sit on Hailey's desk. Like said, there was nothing new about it, why should he pull back. All three members of intelligence saw Sergeant Platt entering to the bullpen.
"Ahh… Detectives, shouldn't you be home already. I'm quite sure I saw your teammates leave some time ago." Platt asked.
Hailey smiled to the sergeant. "There is a reason, why we are the only detectives in this unit. Someone has to write all the reports you have been asking all the time", she quipped.
"Quite an overachiever, aren't you, Goldilocks." Platt smirked. "And what are you doing, Chuckles? That doesn't look like writing reports?"
"I'm her moral support," grinned Jay, flashing his best smile at Platt.
"Oh, I bet you are… But now, reports can wait. Take your girl home. Even the best of us need their beauty sleep."
Jay blushed. Your girl. She couldn't know, could she? They had been professionals, like always. But Platt had already continued her journey to Hank's room. And maybe he really should take his partner home. He wasn't sure she needed any beauty sleep, she was gorgeous anyway, but he definitely needed some quality time with his girl after the latest case.
Sergeants sat at Hank's office, looking at how detectives gathered their things and headed to the stairway. They walked close together, arms touching each other. Trudy sighed happily and looked at Hank. He looked somewhat amused.
"They really think we don't know, don't they?"
Hank breathed deeply. "I have chosen not to ask, so they don't have to tell."
Trudy smiled. "You know, do you really have any other options? At least for those two?"
Hank looked little puzzled. "What do you mean?
"In this situation, you force them to choose, you lose both. At least, you will lose Jay. There's no way he lets Hailey do it, he would be one to leave. You know him as good as I do. That's how Jay Halstead works."
"You don't see option that they would give up their relationship?" asked Hank.
Trudy snorted. "Do you? I don't think you do either. They have passed that point a long time ago. This thing has been coming for years. Moreover, you know that as good a job as intelligence is, they both could get many equally good job offers as soon the word about them being free agents leaks out. This team is elite team, but it is that because it has the elite professionals in it. And those two had such a reputation that if you choose put them out, I have to start sharing queue numbers for all the sergeants, lieutenants and even captains who will come here to bribe them to join their units."
Hank sighed. He knew all this. He just did not like to think about it. "I know. I know that the feds want Hailey and the robbery-homicide would take her back in a flash. I know that ivory tower wants Halstead to take sergeant's test and I know that even SWAT has been after him at times ever since he graduated academy. He's a prized special forces' sniper, for god's sake, of course they want him."
"That's a lot of knowing," laughed Trudy. "We both also know that they don't want to leave, if you don't put them to the situation where they are forced to choose. If you do, as said, they will choose each other over Intelligence, I am sure. Even if you're not, you have enough doubts that you don't want to try and see"
Hank stared Trudy in the eyes. "You are right. I wouldn't do it. But not because I would be afraid. I don't do it, because deep down I understand that they are better together. As work partners they have been unique for a long time. The level of trust between them is remarkable. But being together, in a personal sense, it seems to make them even stronger. For the most police partners it doesn't work like that, being together makes most partners weaker. But for Jay and Hailey…. For some reason it makes them stronger. Maybe it's because of all the shit they both have had before in their lives."
"Or maybe they are just meant to be?"
"Save that crap for the girls' nights", Hank smirked. "Being married has made you a big softie. Who are you and what have you done to Trudy Platt?"
"Oh, don't you dare. Like you hadn't become soft over the years. When Jay dated Erin, you weren't that approving."
"As I said, it does not work for most of partners. And Jay and Erin were not ever like him and Hailey. There was not such a trust, not even close. Sure, they had chemistry and they worked well together. They probably even loved. In addition, in the end, they weren't right for each other. Jay has this primitive need to protect other people, particularly them who he loves. Erin never let Jay to protect her, even if she needed it." Hank smiled sadly, thinking his daughter.
"Hailey may be strong, but even the strongest ones need sometimes someone to protect them. Hailey lets Jay do it. Hailey also has patience as Erin never had. Erin couldn't help Jay over his trauma, I don't know if she ever really tried at all. Erin doesn't believe in therapy." Hank continued to smile with sad smile; he hoped that his substitute daughter would have had easier life.
Trudy smiled sadly too. She missed Erin. However, she shared Hank's opinion that her and Jay were never like Hailey and Jay. It ended badly, but it probably would have ended anyways eventually.
"You know, I have told Halstead that one day this unit will be his." Hank changed subject.
Trudy was a little surprised. Sure, she had thought that too. However, she hadn't been aware that Hank had told Jay.
"Do you mean that someday he will ask me call him Sergeant Chuckles", she laughed.
"That's possible, if Hailey can stop him from being shot again", Hank also wanted to lighten the atmosphere.
Trudy winced. "Let's really hope that never happens again. I swear that Chuckles and his weird attraction to lead is the reason why my hair is so grey"
"That's the wish we should drink to", said Hank. He bent down, took the glasses and bottle of whiskey from the desk drawer, and poured drinks for both.
The sun had gone down when two sergeants of the 21th district sat in the office and enjoyed the evening. Everything was good; all had gotten home intact and alive. And maybe there was still happiness and hope left in this otherwise cruel world? At least they hoped so.