Chapter 7

Voight followed at a discreet distance even though he was certain they weren't looking for a possible tail. He was not even a little surprised when Halstead pulled in behind Upton and brought out a go-bag from his truck. The porch light was on and even from his parking spot across the street, he could see the smiles on their faces as Upton unlocked the door.

He sat in his darkened vehicle for several minutes. This was a new wrinkle in his Intelligence unit and he wondered what, if anything, he was going to do about it. He took out his wallet and removed the well-worn picture of his late wife, Camille. In two days, it would be the anniversary of her death. He ran his thumb over it and stared at it for a long moment. Finally, he sighed and returned it to the wallet.

What the hell, you can't control who you love. These two are so good on the job. But can they manage this new development as efficiently?

There would be no answer to this question tonight. Therefore, he cranked the SUV and headed for his off-the-books meeting with the man from the Ivory Tower.

Jay followed Hailey inside and promptly dropped his bag by the umbrella stand. "Let's finish what we started," he said. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "We are definitely alone now. No Voightus interruptus."

She touched a finger to his lips. "Too much talking." She braced her hands against his chest and gave him a flirty look.

Jay grinned. "Copy that."

Hailey wound her arms around his neck, urging his head down to meet her lips. Clothes began dropping at the front door and left a trail down the hall to Hailey's bedroom. Then Jay got to see the matching black lace thong under Hailey's jeans. She reached up and shook out her hair from the ponytail.

Jay slowly scanned her body with loving admiration. "I still can't believe you're mine," he said quietly. They stared intently at each other and the air between them felt electric. "As nice as this is, it needs to go," he said.

"You sure?" asked Hailey.

"Oh yeah."

But before trying to unclasp the bra, he ran a knuckle over one breast and felt her nipple immediately tighten. Hailey sucked in a breath and caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Did you like that?" he asked

Hailey gave a little nod.

He leaned down to kiss her as he moved her closer to the bed. She jerked when the back of her knees touched the mattress. He grabbed the edge of the duvet, yanked it back and they tumbled down together. Hailey rolled them so she loomed over Jay. Then she leaned down and kissed him, her long hair hanging like a curtain around them.

"Did you like that?" she asked as she ran her hand over his cheek and down his chest.

"Hell, yeah. But . . . too much talking," he said, echoing her earlier words. The room was dark, save for the street light filtering through the half open blinds. However, it was enough for Hailey to see Jay's face.

"So, make me stop," she challenged.

He smiled before he flipped them over.

Some time later, they decided to leave the cozy bed in search of nourishment. Hailey snagged an old tee shirt from the bench at the foot of her bed and dropped it over her head while Jay pulled on his boxer briefs. Her lingerie was still strewn on the floor.

"How did I miss this sexy little ensemble this morning?" he asked as he picked up the bra.

Hailey's eyebrows lifted. "Well, as I recall, we overslept because we were tired from, uh, certain activities last night." She gave him a knowing smile.

Jay narrowed his eyes. "Activities? I don't remember running down any perps last night or busting any gun runners."

Hailey laughed. "Definitely not that, but it was very, uh, physical." Her face felt warm just remembering. "You went to start the coffee while I showered and dressed."

Jay nodded thoughtfully. "We need to work on our time-management skills because I don't want to miss something like this again." He twirled her bra around with his index finger.

Hailey tried to grab it from him, but he held it high over her head. She huffed and poked a finger in his chest. "Just be aware, Halstead, that every day is not a Victoria's Secret kind of day."

He wrapped his arms around her and smiled sweetly. "Hailey, you could wear a garbage bag and you'd still be sexy."

"I'll try to keep up with laundry so you won't be subjected to that," she laughed.

They dined on leftover pizza and beer on the couch. There was nothing good on TV, so before long, they were both yawning and heading toward the bedroom. "My bag," said Jay. He doubled back to get his go-bag from the foyer. Hailey was already brushing her teeth when he returned.

He rooted around in the bag to find his own toothbrush. Hailey looked down at him. "You know, if I'm going to leave a pillow at your place, I think you can safely leave a toothbrush here."

"Found it." He stood up and spueezed toothpaste on it, but paused halfway to his mouth. "Okay, but you wouldn't get them mixed up, would you? Because, you know, you might have cooties . . . or something."

Hailey rinsed her mouth and spit. "Cooties? I guarantee you have nothing to fear." She playfully nudged him. To a casual observer, they resembled an ordinary, loving couple at the end of a long day.

"There. All minty fresh," proclaimed Jay. Then he started scratching his vaccinated arm. "Ugh. This itching is bugging the hell out of me."

Finally, he took time to look at his arm. "Check this out." He turned to Hailey with a frown. "It's a smiley face. Do I look like a smiley face kind of guy?"

Hailey began laughing. "At this precise moment? No, you don't, Detective Cranky Pants."

Jay kept puzzling over the Band-Aid, almost as if it were a grenade and he was wondering whether he should pull the pin. "It's only a Band-Aid, Jay. Just take it off," said Hailey in a soothing tone. She gently rubbed his other arm.

He continued standing there while Hailey suppressed a yawn. It had been an eventful day, but now she was tired and ready to go to sleep. She reached around him, almost like she was going to hug him, but then unceremoniously ripped off the Band-Aid.

"Ouch!" he yelped. "You could have warned me, Hailey."

She looked up at him. "Really? Because you would have said, 'I got this. I can take it off.'"

He shrugged. "Yeah, probably. You know me so well."

Hailey cocked her head and studied him. "I bet if this Band-Aid had some Army Ranger symbol on it, you would have worn it for a week."

"Damn straight," said Jay with a little smirk.

Hailey turned him toward her. "Let me look at that." The site was indeed red and angry. "You're allergic to the adhesive on the Band-Aid. Here, sit down." She lowered the toilet lid and pushed him down. Then she found some rubbing alcohol and cotton balls under the sink and wiped his arm. Jay kept his eyes focused on Hailey's beautiful face.

She looked up and met his gaze. "Better?' she asked.

"Yeah. Thank you." It was such a simple act, but it showed how much Hailey cared about him.

"When you get the second shot, don't leave the Band-Aid on so long," she said.

"Yes, ma'am." The day was catching up with Jay, too and he yawned. "Ready for bed?" he asked.

"After I brush my hair. If I don't, it'll be like a rat's nest in the morning."

Jay gasped. "Wow, that would be scary to wake up to," he laughed.

"Hey!" Hailey swatted his arm.

He leaned away from her. "Hey, yourself. That's my injured arm."

Hailey gave him an eyeroll and picked up her brush. Jay stood up. "Here, let me do that. You're always taking care of me so let me return the favor."

She nodded slowly. "Okay." He took the brush from her hand. She watched him in the mirror as he concentrated on sorting out the long strands. She found it fascinating. No other boyfriend had ever done that for her. But no other boyfriend was like Jay.

As he brushed, Jay had a sudden image of their future. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name. They would have a little girl, a mini-me of Hailey. Okay, maybe she'll have my green eyes. He'd brush her hair and help her get ready for school while Hailey made her lunch. The thought brought a smile to his face.

"Why are you smiling?" asked Hailey.

Hailey's voice snapped him back to the present. "What? No reason, just thinking."

"About?"

He hesitated. "It might scare you if I told you."

"I'm tough," said Hailey. "Lay it on me."

He could try to lie his way out of this, but Hailey would know it was an untruth. He took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes. In the future, like way, way in the future, we have a daughter. She looks exactly like you, but she might have her dad's eyes. And I help her with her hair."

He paused to gauge Hailey's reaction. Her eyes were wide, probably from shock. "Wow. That . . . that's deep. Not at all what I expected you to say."

Jay continued brushing. "Any thoughts?"

She took the brush and laid it down before turning to face him. She took a moment to compose herself. "I think something like that is not entirely out of the realm of possibility."

A huge grin spread on Jay's face. "Really?"

"Really." Hailey smiled, too. "But we can revisit this in the future." She yawned again.

"Tomorrow is the future," Jay pointed out. When she didn't respond, he said, "Too soon?"

"A little too soon," she said.

"I can live with that," said Jay.

They turned out the bathroom light and crawled into bed. Once they were settled, Hailey said, "Thank you for brushing my hair. That was so sweet."

Jay was already half asleep. "You're welcome," he mumbled. "I'd do anything for you, Hailey."