Hailey couldn't keep her hands off of Jay the whole morning. She didn't even find that she needed a reason to touch him, she'd just pass him on the couch or hand him one of Blake's toys and let her fingers drift over him.

She needed the constant reminder that he was real. He was alive. He was home.

Drew was having a similar reaction. He begged to take the day off of school so he could spend it with Jay and was near tears when he was told he needed to go and learn. He surprised both Hailey and Jay, though, when he gripped onto Jay outside of the school doors and said twice "I love you" before heading inside.

He was thankful that Jay was safe and back home to protect their family.

Blake glued himself to Jay. He followed him around the house no matter where Jay went. At one point, Jay was going to the bathroom and turned to see Blake's tiny fingers reaching under the door. He couldn't take his eyes off of him.

It was as if he was worried looking away from Jay would mean he'd leave again.

Jay was just grateful to be back with his family. He liked when Hailey's cool fingers would trail along his arm unexpectedly, he got choked up when Drew hugged him so tightly outside the school, and the soft sound of Blake's hands hitting the floor as he followed him everywhere was music to his ears.

He slowly filled Hailey in on what had happened to him over the course of the nine days he was gone. His stories were peppered with reassurances that he was okay, but that didn't stop Hailey from slipping her hands under his shirt or over his back to make sure that the injuries he was telling her about weren't as serious as her mind wanted her to think.

In turn, she told him about seeing her mom at the store the day before and her agreement to meet her for lunch. Just like her reactions to his stories, Jay was worried with each word that slipped from her lips. She had been so torn up the last time she had a real interaction with her mom that he wasn't quite sure he wanted the two of them getting lunch together.

After spending the majority of the day on the couch in the living room talking quietly and reacquainting themselves with the feel of the other, Hailey and Jay dragged themselves off the couch, bundled up Blake, and headed out into the cold to pick Drew up from school.

Jay jumped around next to the bench as they waited for the bell to ring, "God, it's freezing. You should go back in the car with Buzz."

Hailey shook her head and bounced Blake in her arms, "We're okay; he should be out in a minute."

"Hey, hey," Vanessa waved as she walked over to them with Kevin by her side.

"What're you doing here?" Hailey laughed.

Vanessa shrugged, "Needed to see if the future sergeant was alive with my own two eyes."

Jay chuckled, "I'm alive and freezing."

Vanessa hugged him, "I'm glad you're okay."

Hailey lightly bumped Kevin, "Thank you for keeping tabs on him."

He smiled and nodded, "Not a problem at all."

"Hey!" Adam yelled out as he walked up with Kim, "What're you all doing here?"

"Nice to see you," Kim smiled at Jay and gave him a quick hug.

Vanessa winked at Kim then looked at everyone, "We're here to make sure everyone goes to the gun range."

"Gun range?" Hailey laughed, "What does that mean?"

"That means you're finding out if you're having a boy or a girl today," Vanessa grabbed Hailey's arm.

Hailey stared at her, "What?"

Vanessa nodded quickly, "I told you that once Jay gets home we'll have our party, so we were just setting up at the gun range. I rented it out for the day."

"Well, Jerry owes me a favor," Kevin said, "So I put in the word."

"Don't worry, he has no idea the gender," Vanessa squeezed Hailey's hand, "It's just me and the cake lady."

Kim raised an eyebrow, "I thought we weren't doing cake?"

"Well, there's a big reveal thing, but I figured the cake would be a good touch," Vanessa shrugged.

"So hold on," Jay put his hand up, "We're going to go to a party at a gun range to find out if my baby is a boy or a girl?"

Vanessa nodded, "Fun, right?"

Jay chuckled, "I sort of love that."

"Are you sure?" Hailey asked, "If you're tired or too sore, we can go home."

"I just spent nine days talking to some of the biggest dicks I've ever met," Jay smirked, "And now I get a day off with my friends? I'm okay with the party."

Hailey took a deep breath then relaxed with a small smile, "Okay. I guess we're doing this then."

Jay smiled as well and tugged her to his side, "I'm very ready for this. Last votes everyone?"

"Girl," Adam said, "I want to see you soften up even more than you have already."

"Oh, so funny," Jay shoved him.

"Definitely a boy," Kim smiled.

Kevin high-fived her, "I'm ready to win this bet with you."

Hailey laughed, "It'd be a lot of boys in the house, but I think I agree with you two."

"I don't know, I'm thinking girl," Jay took Blake from her, "This guy's going to be the best big brother no matter what, though, aren't you?"

Blake smiled at him and waved his mittened hands around. "Doo!" he yelled.

They all turned to see Cara and Drew hurrying through the cold toward them.

Cara automatically hugged Jay's legs, "I missed you, Uncle Jay."

"Hey, kiddo," Jay smiled and set a hand on her head, "I missed you too."

"What's going on?" Drew asked.

"We're going to go see if you're going to get a brother or a sister," Vanessa answered, "I think it'll be fun. I got a cake too."

Drew's eyes lit up, "Cake before dinner?"

Hailey laughed and nodded, "Yes, you can have cake before dinner today."

"Cool," Drew started taking off his backpack, "I got another sticker today."

"And I'm so proud of you," Jay grabbed his backpack from him, "But can we look at it in the car because I am freezing my a-"

"Jay Halstead," Hailey snapped.

"What?" he whispered.

Hailey rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around Drew's shoulders to start leading him to the car, "Come on, let's go see what Aunt Vanessa has for us."

Vanessa and Kevin had hung up blue and pink streamers throughout the range along with a big sign that read 'Boy or Girl?' above a cake with 'Baby Halstead' written in icing. They had matching balloons lining the walls leading to a target at the end with several black balloons connected to it.

Hailey smiled as she looked around. It was nothing like the pictures she'd seen online that had honestly made her stomach twist with nerves, but it was perfect. She loved how simple and normal it was – it was very them.

Hank and Trudy arrived soon after everyone else soon followed by Will which prompted Vanessa to clap her hands together.

"Rules are simple," she said, "One of those balloons down there is filled with blue or pink paint – blue for boy, pink for girl – and as soon as you hit it with," she held up a BB gun, "This, we'll know who's going to join our little family." She handed the BB gun to Jay, "I was thinking you could teach Drew too."

Jay smiled wide and looked to Drew, "What do you think? You want to help Mom and I out?"

Drew rubbed his hands over his jeans, "I don't know. I've never shot a gun before. It seems dangerous."

"It is," Jay nodded and squatted down so they were eye-level, "And I'm really happy you know that. I will help you out, though, so that nothing bad happens."

Drew took a deep breath, "Can I watch first?"

"Of course," Jay straightened up and squeezed Drew's shoulder.

"Are you just going for it?" Hailey asked.

Jay nervously laughed, "I think so."

"Wait, wait, I need to record this," Kim pulled her phone out.

Hailey set her free hand on her stomach, "Here we go."

Cara jumped around, "Oh my goodness, I can't wait!"

"What if I hit the wrong one?" Jay laughed and set himself up, "We could be freaking out over nothing."

"Just shut up and do it," Will called out.

Hailey chewed her lip and hugged Blake tighter to her as Jay prepared himself. When the soft sound of Jay shooting the BB came, she actually found herself closing her eyes. She didn't know exactly why she was so nervous, but she couldn't bring herself to watch in that moment.

"Darn," Drew whispered when the balloon popped.

Hailey opened her eyes to see no paint what-so-ever on the target.

Jay chuckled and held the gun out to Drew, "Want to try?"

"Um," Drew glanced to Hailey, "Mom should do it first."

Hailey smiled and took a deep breath, "Okay." She swapped Blake for the BB gun with Jay before shaking the nerves from her hands. She weakly laughed and looked at Vanessa, "Which one?"

"I'm not ruining the surprise," Vanessa laughed, "Just go for it."

"Top right," Hank said.

Hailey laughed softly and shook her head, but did as he asked and aimed for the top right balloon. Shooting the gun meant forcing her eyes to stay open, so she steadied herself and slowly pressed the trigger.

"Why?" Cara loudly yelled when the balloon popped and paint still didn't spill out, "I just need to know!"

Kevin laughed and picked her up onto his shoulders, "You need to be patient."

"I hate being patient," Cara groaned.

Hailey turned to Drew, "Ready?"

Drew looked between her and Jay then nodded slightly.

"Sweet, you're going to love this," Jay again swapped with Hailey and led Drew to the edge of the range.

Hailey watched as he softly explained to Drew how to stand and where to look. She smiled and kissed Blake's cheek. He giggled around his pacifier and tangled his hands in her hair. "What?" Hailey whispered to him, "Are you ready? I think I'm ready."

Jay patted Drew's back then stepped away, "Everyone ready? Look at my kid. He's going to be just like me."

Trudy rolled her eyes and teased, "Because we need more Jay Halsteads in the world."

"I'm worth replicating," Jay shot back.

"As long as you don't replicate your need for danger," Will chuckled.

Hailey laughed and grabbed Jay's hand, "Ready?"

He nodded and kissed her head. "Love you," he chuckled.

"Can I do it?" Drew asked.

"Yes!" Cara clapped her hands.

Hailey smiled at her and winked, "Excited?"

Cara nodded quickly, "Let's go!"

Drew shifted slightly where he stood before he breathed in and pressed the trigger.

In an instant, pink paint exploded across the target and the room erupted into screams despite the few people inside.

Hailey stared in shock down the range then began laughing. She covered her face and shook her head.

They were having a girl. She was having a little baby girl.

Jay dropped to a squat and pressed his hands into his eyes to hide whatever emotion was starting to bubble up.

They were having a girl. Hailey was having a little baby girl.

Drew didn't know what came over him, but he started jumping around and yelled, "A sister! I shot a gun and I'm getting a sister!"

Will laughed and picked him up to swing him around, "Your mom's having a girl!"

Jay stood up and grabbed Hailey around the waist. He smiled at the tears in her eyes and just shook his head because he knew he probably looked the same.

Hailey laughed harder and kissed him. "A baby girl," she breathed against his lips, "We're having a baby girl."

Jay laughed against her lips and held her even tighter, "We're having a girl."

Blake screamed and clapped his hands at all the commotion in the room.

Hailey smiled at him and kissed his cheek, "You're going to have a little sister!"

Kim ran at her and hugged her tightly, "We're going to have little girls together!"

Will shook Jay's hand then hugged him as well, "Congratulations, man, she's going to be amazing."

The room seemed to fade into hugs and hand squeezes and 'congratulations' and laughter. Hailey felt like she was being passed around like a doll, but she really did not care as much as she might have before. She just couldn't stop imagining her little family. It felt complete now – she could picture it in her head. Sure, she didn't know what the baby's name was or what color her hair was (her, she still couldn't believe she was able to think of a 'her'), but she could see a little baby in a soft purple onesie sleeping on her daddy's chest.

Hailey smiled at Jay talking with Cara and Trudy while feeding Blake pink frosting off his finger. She ignored the fact that his hand was probably covered in germs that Blake was licking and instead focused on the fact that the little girl inside her was going to have Jay completely wrapped around her tiny pinky finger. She couldn't wait to see it.

Vanessa walked over to Hailey with a gift bag and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, "You're having a baby girl."

Hailey laughed and looked at her, "I know. How did you ever keep the secret?"

Vanessa smiled, "Literally no idea. It helped that I wasn't seeing you in-person at work 24/7."

"Good point," Hailey softly nudged her.

Vanessa held up the bag, "I did hold myself over by buying this for you."

Hailey bit her lip over a smile and grabbed the bag, "You already bought me a gift."

"Sort of," Vanessa sat down to watch Hailey open the bag.

Hailey laughed as she pulled out three big pink t-shirts that said 'Girl Gang,' a matching smaller one, and an even tinier one as well. "What're these?" she asked.

Vanessa pointed between the two of them then over to Cara and Kim, "We're going to have a photo-shoot and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Hailey laughed harder and shook her head, "We do not need a photo-shoot."

Vanessa scoffed, "I know you're not going to buy matching outfits, so I'll be doing it for you and I'll be scheduling all the pictures. You have the perfect family, we need to capture it."

Hailey smiled and hugged her, "Thank you. I love it, really. It's super sweet."

Vanessa patted her back then pulled her phone out, "Let me show you all these nursery ideas I've been putting together."

Across the room, Cara jumped up from her seat and ran over to Adam. Jay chuckled and watched Blake squish the cake between his fingers.

"You excited?" Trudy asked once she'd wiped her mouth.

Jay smiled, "You have no idea. Nervous too, though."

Trudy shook her head, "You're going to be great."

"I hope so," Jay bounced Blake, "I think I'm a pretty decent dad to this guy and Drew," he nodded toward him excitedly eating his cake with Will, "But a girl's a whole other story, right?"

Trudy shrugged, "Could be, but you're still going to love her as much as the boys. Each kid is different, you know that. This baby is most likely going to be brought into the world much differently than this one," she reached over to touch Blake's hand.

"I hope so," Jay breathed.

"Everything's going to be fine," Trudy said, "I mean, look at Adam, he's raising a girl just fine."

Jay smirked, "It's a miracle."

Trudy laughed, "Point is, you can do it. You're a good man."

Jay's smirk faded into a soft smile and he looked down at Blake, "Thank you."

Two tables over, Drew kicked his legs back and forth, "I'm having a sister."

"I know, bud," Will chuckled and sipped his water, "It's pretty cool."

"Did you know I have a sister?" Kevin asked.

Drew's eyes widened, "Can you give me advice then?"

Kevin laughed and sat down, "What kind of advice would you like?"

"How do I keep her safe and protect her?" Drew pushed his plate of cake away, "And how do I pick her name?"

Will laughed, "I think your mom and dad are going to want to name her."

"They named Blake," Drew waved his hand, "It's only fair that I get to pick this baby's name."

"I can't wait to see that," Kevin nodded.

Drew tapped the table, "So what advice do you have?"

Kevin smiled, "It's a little scary because you want to be the big brother who makes sure she never gets hurt-"

"Exactly," Drew sighed, "And you know that too, right, Uncle Will?"

Will chuckled, "Yeah, I am a big brother."

Drew shook his head, "It's hard work because I want to be good, but what if I'm not?"

Kevin bent down slightly to meet his eyes, "Drew, you are going to be a good big brother. You're going to be better than good; you're going to be great. You care so much about everyone."

Will nodded, "You know exactly how to make people smile when they're feeling sad and that is the perfect trait for a big brother."

"Even for sisters?" Drew looked to Kevin.

"Especially for sisters," Kevin nodded, "Sisters need brothers who make them laugh and who can distract them when they're sad."

"I'll have to practice my jokes," Drew said.

Will laughed, "Bud, I think you're all set."

Drew chewed his lip and swirled his cake around with his fork, "Practice doesn't hurt."

"You're right," Kevin lightly punched Drew's arm, "But I don't want you worrying about being perfect because we all know you're going to be the ultimate big brother to that little girl."

"I agree," Will said, "You are a good kid. Everything's going to be fine."

Drew smiled a little, "Okay."

Will squeezed his shoulder, "You want more cake?"

Drew's face lit up, "You'd give me more cake?"

"Don't tell your parents," Kevin laughed and pulled the cake closer to cut another slice for him.

Drew scrunched his nose, "I probably will tell them. I don't like secrets."

Kevin hesitated then put the piece of cake on his plate, "Whatever. We'll be fine. Not our problem."

Hailey sat next to Drew on his bed and softly rubbed circles on his back, "It was good cake, wasn't it?"

Drew sniffled and nodded.

Hailey smiled and bent down to kiss his forehead, "It's like the wedding all over again."

"Sorry," Drew coughed.

"It's okay," Hailey whispered, "I'll just wait with you until you go to sleep."

"Thank you," Drew curled up more and groaned, "Maybe it was my dinner too. I told you broccoli is a bad food."

Hailey laughed, "You had three pieces."

Drew shook his head, "It was horrible."

Hailey fixed the blankets around him, "You'll survive. Just relax for me."

Drew let out a breath and grabbed her hand that was resting on her stomach.

Hailey squeezed back, "I'm right here."

"And my sister," Drew closed his eyes.

Hailey smiled, "And your sister. We're both here for you."

Drew coughed again with another groan and shifted around on the bed until he made himself comfortable enough to fall asleep.

Hailey kissed his head then walked out of his room and straight into Blake's where Jay was rocking him in the corner of the room. She smiled and picked up Jay's shirt and Blake's onesie from where they hung over the edge of the crib, "I'm guessing he wouldn't calm down."

Jay shook his head and patted Blake's back, "But this worked."

Blake whimpered softly and in return patted his hand over Jay's bare chest still littered with purple bruises and scattered patches of gauze from Hailey's first-aid job the night before.

"It always does," Hailey perched herself on the footrest of the rocking chair, "And soon-"

"Don't, I'll cry thinking about it and I'm not even embarrassed to say that," Jay laughed.

Hailey smiled, "Then I won't say it today, but no promises for tomorrow."

Jay chuckled and rested his head back, "A baby girl."

"Mhmm," Hailey set her hand on her stomach, "I can't believe it."

"I won," Jay smirked.

"Oh, okay," Hailey rolled her eyes, "If you insist."

"I do," Jay laughed.

"We have a lot to talk about," Hailey took a deep breath.

"Let's hold off on that too, at least for twenty-four hours," Jay said.

"Are you sure?" Hailey asked.

Jay nodded, "I know you want to talk about a new house with another nursery and a name and my mom, but right now, let's just stay in this not-stressed bubble."

Hailey smiled, "Not-stressed bubble?"

"Yeah, it's bliss," Jay smiled and closed his eyes, "I love it."

Hailey reached up to brush his hair off his forehead, "I can take over if you want to go lay down."

"I'm good," Jay hummed, "Just want to sit here for a bit with our babies and you."

Hailey's smile widened, "Can I join you?"

Jay opened an eye and smirked, "On my lap?"

Hailey laughed softly, "Yes."

Jay chuckled and shifted Blake over so there was enough room for Hailey on his other side. She happily moved over to sit with him and lightly ran her finger down Blake's arm.

Jay touched her stomach, "Just sitting with my girls and my little dude."

Hailey laughed and kissed his cheek, "I love you so much."

Jay chuckled, "I love you too. And I love you," he poked Blake's nose, "And I love you," he slipped his hand under Hailey's pajama shirt.

Hailey pressed her face in his throat and breathed in.

They were having a girl. She was having a little baby girl.

A/N: Ahh! I've been so excited for this one and have had baby girl planned since before I wrote "We Can" which means it's been like a year haha. Please let me know what you think, I hope you all liked it and are as excited as I am! I'm totally open for name suggestions – I might have one planned honestly, but I just like to hear ideas. And also! I'm coming up on one year of writing (and yes I tweeted about this tonight, but in case you're not over there), so if you felt like sharing a part from literally anything I've written, I'd love to hear it because I'm sort of working on this mini project for myself :) Anyways, thank you for sticking around! I can't wait for what's to come :)