Chapter 39: They don't know we know!

Jay/Hailey. Set after series 7. At Kim and Adam's wedding, Jay and Hailey finally confessed their feelings and spent the night together and now they are back in Chicago and hiding their relationship from their friends.

Next chapter. If you're enjoying the story, please review. Suggestions are always welcome :).

I do not own Chicago PD or any of the characters.

The next morning, Hailey was the first to wake and, as if sensing that she was awake next to him, Jay opened his eyes. His arms were already wrapped around her. Hailey greeted him with a soft kiss as she said, "Good morning." She paused, then added, "I love you, Jay."

"I love you, too, Hailey." Jay smirked and added, with a grin, "I think we have some time before going to work." Their eyes connected and they both laughed, before pulling each other close under the covers of Hailey's bed.

Meanwhile, Kim and Kevin were discussing the fact that Jay and Hailey were in a relationship, and they thought that only Kevin knew and he had promised to keep it a secret. It was their wish and he wanted to respect that. Kim came up with a plan: Considering that Jay and Hailey didn't that she knew about their relationship, she could have some fun with the situation. Jay and Hailey had been laughing at the idea of Hailey's mystery guy when Jay had been sitting right there, so it was time for her and Kevin to have fun with the situation. Both she and Kevin wanted to have fun with the situation, whilst Adam remained oblivious.

It was a slow day for Intelligence. A paperwork day, as they called it and Jay was in his office, having meetings with other Sergeants. Both Kim and Kevin had noticed that Hailey had arrived 10 minutes after Jay and she had brought him some coffee, which was something they had done in prior years, but Kim also noticed that Hailey was wearing a checked shirt. She wondered if it was Jay's. She wondered how many other signs of their relationship she and Kevin had missed. "Hailey, are you free for lunch?"

Hailey agreed. It was a slow day, and she did not want to spend any longer staring at paperwork or the computer screen without a break. She and Kim had a tentative friendship and she wanted to support her. Hailey hadn't found it easy to have friends as a child or a teenager, but she wanted to change that. Jay was her friend, but he was also her boyfriend. Vanessa was her friend, but she also away on an undercover mission.

After discussing a case for a while, Kim asked, "Hailey, can you do me a favour and not talk about work?"

"Yeah, of course. Is everything ok?" Hailey asked, concerned.

Kim looked up at her friend and shrugged. "I don't know, I'm not sure." She paused, then asked, "I have a friend who was in the Navy and I've invited her to Molly's tonight. Do you think I should try to set her up with Jay? I mean, he hasn't been with anyone since Camilla and it might help to be less… intense. Do you know if he's seeing anyone? If he'd tell anyone, it'd be you. He's very private about is personal life."

Hailey shook her head and replied, "I don't think he's seeing anyone. How do you know this woman?"

Smiling, Kim replied, "I know her from high school. She's ex-military and so is Jay, so I figured it might work."

"Guess it wouldn't hurt to ask him." Hailey fought to keep her face straight. She was going to find this entertaining.

After their shift was over, the unit, including Jay went to Molly's for drinks and Kim and Kevin watched Jay and Hailey as they interacted and there was nothing to indicate anything deeper than friendship. They were very good at hiding their relationship. That much was clear. Maybe that was why they were both detectives. They had all changed before leaving the district, besides Jay who was wearing a blue, checked shirt and trousers and Hailey smiled to herself, thinking about how she had worn those clothes before when she had been staying at Jay's apartment. She had not had a chance to warn her ex-partner that he was going to be set up on a date by Kim.

Jay ordered drinks for the table, besides Kim, and the group settled down, after their day at work. Jay was sitting next to Kevin, opposite Hailey, and, in their heads, they were both thinking about the night before. The candles and the food had been totally forgotten. Their eyes connected and they both smiled and, this time, Kim and Kevin saw the exchange, but only because, now, they were looking for it.

Kim caught sight of her friend, Casey, so she stood up and indicated to Casey to join the table. "Everyone, this is Casey Evans. We went to school together and after that, she joined the Navy and now she's back working as a teacher." This part was directed at Jay and he glanced at Hailey, wondering why she had not given him a warning about this. He internally sighed as Kim continued, "Casey, this is Jay Halstead. He was in the Army."

Before Jay had a chance to say anything, Casey smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Jay Halstead. Rangers, 75th Regiment." The look of confusion was clear, so she added, "There's a rivalry between the Army and the Navy, but we hear stories. We hear stories about war heroes."

Jay never talked about his time in the Army to the unit and he would never have described himself as a war hero. He technically was, but it was not something he liked to think or talk about. With a charming smile, he stood up and said, "Evans, let me buy you a drink." The use of her surname was deliberate.

Once they reached the bar, Casey apologised. "I'm sorry, Halstead. I didn't mean to make you feel awkward. I shouldn't have said anything, but I really have heard epic stories about you."

Rubbing his finger against his temple, Jay sighed and nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about that. I mean, I don't talk about my time in the Rangers, but that's- that's not why I'm awkward, Evans."

Casey laughed. "Let me guess: You have a girlfriend and Kim doesn't know, about? No hard feelings, Halstead." She paused, then added, "I've only been stateside, but… adjusting isn't the easiest, is it?. If you'd ever like to get together and talk, we could- even if you are a Ranger."

Jay grinned and chuckled softly. "You, too, Squid."

As Jay walked back to the table, his eyes connected with Hailey's as he sat back down and Adam asked, "Dude, what was that? She was good-looking, ex-military. How are you not interested?"

Jay's eyes lingered on the beer bottle for a while, before he replied, in a clipped tone, "I don't date ex-military."

Adam didn't understand Jay's body language or tone of voice. "Since when? You were in the Army. She was in the Navy. You've got that in common. What's the problem?"

Turning to face Adam, in an irritated tone, Jay replied, "The problem is it all gets too much. Most veterans suffer physically or psychologically. It's too hard with two people like that in a relationship." Jay turned away from Adam, before he threw some money on the table and stood up, sounding resigned, "I'm going to call it a night. See you tomorrow." He grabbed his jacket and left.

"You're not offended he just said your friend has a problem?" Adam asked his wife.

"Adam, grow up!" Kim scolded her husband. "We all know Jay has PTSD and someone else would be a lot to deal with." She paused, then asked, "You ok, Hailey?"

Hailey said she had a headache, so she left, too. Kim and Kevin glanced at each other, raising their eyebrows. They knew that Jay and Hailey were going to the same place.

"You couldn't have given me a warning?" Jay asked Hailey as they changed and lay down on her bed. Jay kicked his overnight bag under the floor and lay his arm down, where Hailey lay down next to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Shaking her head, Hailey sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't have a chance. I thought it would be funny, until I saw your face. She said you were a war hero."

Jay looked into the distance as he murmured, "Yeah, that brought back memories." Hailey watched as his green eyes started to glaze over, but then he closed them and breathed. He left her bed to have some water and medication, before he lay back next to her and ran his finger against her cheek. "But I'm here now. With you. That's all that matters."

"I'm proud of you, no matter what you did. I love you, no matter what." Hailey kissed Jay and looked into his eyes, before she closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep, with her arms around Jay as they slept.