Chapter 58: Home, with you.
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.
I do not own Chicago PD or any of the characters.
Next chapter. Please read, enjoy and review :)
A week had now passed since Kim had discovered Hailey and Jay's marriage and, as usual with Jay and Hailey, work was as it was before. As always, the newlyweds kept their relationship, their marriage, separate from work. Their relationship, their marriage, was different from Kim and Adam's, but that had been something which had been clear from the start. Adam still couldn't believe that Hailey, his partner, had married Jay without telling him, but Kim told her husband to let it go.
It was a rare evening that the unit had the evening off, so Jay and Hailey were enjoying their time together by eating pizza and watching Netflix, snuggled together on the sofa. Hailey's hair was in a high ponytail, and she was in a pair of Jay's jeans and one of his hoodies. She loved wearing his clothes and her wedding ring was on her finger, resting next to Jay's. Jay loved his wedding ring and he was always telling Hailey how much he loved their rings. Their wedding had been just right.
Kim's maternity leave was over and she and Kevin had started the tech training. As soon as that was over, they would start the revision for the detectives' exam. Kim was so happy, because it was the right move for her and it meant that she would never have to worry about her daughter growing up without a mother.
Jay nestled his head against Hailey's as he whispered, "When Voight started that speech at Molly's, I wanted a whole in the ground to swallow me."
"Yeah, and then Will and Ruze decided to give speeches, too. It was a long night." Hailey paused as she added, with a smile, "But, for helping our friends and family to accept that fact that we got married in Wisconsin, it was worth it."
"Yeah, it was." Jay smiled and Hailey's lips found her husband's as he pulled her closer. Between kisses, he mumbled, "Hailey Halstead, shall we leave the pizza where it is right now?"
With a smile on her lips, Hailey kissed Jay back as she replied, "That's a fantastic idea, Jay Halstead." They looked into each other's eyes and smiled, before they made their way to their bedroom.
An hour later, Jay was woken by the sound of his phone ringing and he rolled over and answered it. It was Platt. There was a crime scene. "I'll be there in 5 minutes, Sarge." Jay quickly changed and placed his wedding ring around his dog tags. Hailey was still sleeping, so he left her a note and kissed her blonde curls before he left the house.
"What happened, Sarge?" Jay still referred to Platt as that rank, even though he himself was now the same rank. Platt had only called him and told him not to call anyone else in the unit. Just him. Jay wasn't dressed for work, in a pair of jeans and a black hoodie, but it didn't matter. The older woman was looking very grim.
Without saying anything else, Platt asked, "You speak Arabic, right? From your time in Afghanistan?" A lump formed in Jay's throat, but he swallowed it down and forced himself to nod. He could already feel his anxiety creeping it. He had taken his medication the evening before. "We have a witness here. She's from Afghanistan and she doesn't speak English. Jay, she witnessed the bombing."
Jay bit his lip and asked, in a soft tone, "Do we suspect terrorism? Do we need to loop in the FBI?"
Platt sighed as she replied, "I've already given them a call." She paused, then looked at Jay. The tension in his whole body was clear. With a kind smile, Platt said, "I can call in a translator if it's too much for you. I remember you had a hard time with that sniper case."
"No. I'm good. Thanks, Sarge." Jay forced a smile and exhaled a deep breath before he made his way over to the witness. He hated cases that reminded him of his time in Afghanistan and he had a feeling this case was going to be one of those. The last case like this had triggered his PTSD, causing his anxiety and depression to be so bad that admitted himself to hospital, and he did not want that to happen again.
As soon as Jay interviewed the witness, he made his way back to the District with Platt. It was only 2 in the morning, so Jay wanted Hailey, Kim, Kevin and Adam to have the chance to sleep before the morning, but he knew that it wasn't healthy for him, with PTSD, to have no sleep, so set an alarm for an hour and slept on his coach for an hour. After an hour, he woke up and there was a call from the FBI, at which point he called the unit to the 21st.
As soon as Hailey arrived at the District, she went to Jay's office and she could see how his eyes were glazing over. Without knocking, she walked inside and sat on his desk as she passed him a bag. In a soft voice, she told her husband, "I've brought you some food to take with your meds. It's all in here, so we can manage it before it goes into full force."
Jay rubbed his eyes and gave her a small smile. He reached for one of her hands and squeezed it. "Thanks, Hailes. I'm okay. Really."
Hailey nodded and, with a small smile, added, "I know. You'll be good until the case is over and, when it is, I'll be right here, Jay." Hailey lightly touched Jay's shoulder and stroked it, as she smiled at him, before she left the office to go back to her desk. Through the glass of the office, she could see Jay eating and taking his medication and she was glad and she hoped that, this time, it would not be triggered as badly as last time, because of the new medication and techniques.
An hour later, the sound of the buzzer could be heard from the bullpen. Platt had buzzed someone up to the Intelligence bullpen and Hailey could hear Platt's calm and steady voice, but not the other person. Kim, Kevin and Adam were at their desks too, but Kim and Kevin had headphones in because they were going through tech training and Hailey was focused on reading the crime scene report that was in front of her. The unit needed to be ready to brief the FBI when they arrived in Chicago. This had been a confirmed act of terrorism.
"This place really hasn't changed one bit." It was a husky female voice and Hailey looked up. It was Erin. Erin Lindsey, Jay's ex-girlfriend and ex-partner, the woman whom Hailey now knew had not supported Jay when he had been struggling with his PTSD, but had, instead, complained about her family drama and hadn't seen when Jay had been slipping into a dark time in his life, and Hailey wished that the FBI could've sent someone else. Platt was standing beside Erin and, when the others turned to face her, they looked as confused and shocked as Hailey. Erin ran a hand through her short hair and shrugged, "This place really hasn't changed. I'd love to catch up with all of you. Kim, Adam, Hank told me you guys got married."
Kim walked over to Erin, feeling slightly awkward and she forced a smile. "Yeah, we did, last year, and we have a baby girl now. Maria Lexie."
"A baby! Lexie, in honour of Al's daughter?" Erin asked, sadness in her eyes and face. "That's good to hear. Adam, Kev, you going to come and say hi?"
The two men laughed and nodded. "Yes, ma'am." They both hugged Erin and her eyes landed on Hailey, who hadn't left her desk. She offered Erin a small smile, but that was it.
Erin walked over to Hailey and Adam's desk and smiled, "Upton, I'm not surprised to see you here. You're a good cop. I knew that even though I only worked with you for a few weeks." Erin paused, then asked, carefully, "Does Jay still work here? I'd love to see him."
Platt spoke up. "I think you should speak to the new Sergeant first, Erin. Voight's replacement." The older woman caught Hailey's eye and smiled slightly.
At that exact moment, the office door opened, and Jay walked into the bullpen, and he stood by Hailey's desk and Hailey could see Erin's eyes wandering over him. Her husband. Kim, Adam and Kevin exchanged looks, all wondering how this would go. Erin looked confused and said to Jay, "I'm here to see the Sergeant of the unit."
With a nod, Jay simply said, "That's me. Sergeant Halstead. Why don't you tell us what the FBI has on the case, Lindsey?" The authority in his voice was so clear. As the Sergeant of the Intelligence Unit, he didn't have any drama or messing and Hailey saw how Erin's eyes changed. Jay was in charge and she knew it and Hailey secretly smiled to herself. This Jay was a very different Jay to the one Erin had left behind, the one who was now Hailey's husband. Her partner, her best friend.
As Erin briefed them on the bombing, Jay lent against Hailey's desk, with his arms folded. His tone of voice was friendly, but authoritative, and he clearly didn't want any time to be lost on this case. "Here's the plan: Burgess, Atwater, track the suspects and get mud and tolls on their phones. If they move, we know. Upton, Ruzek, go to the crime scene and see if we missed anything. Lindsey, go with them. I'll go to Med and interview the witness again." He walked back into his office, grabbed his coat and made his way downstairs before anyone else had moved. Hailey stood up and put her coat on, in silence. She knew that this day would have an effect on Jay, no matter how much medication he had.
Erin smoothed down her suit and smiled. "Wow. Jay's really something, isn't he? He's filled out in all the right places." She chuckled and Hailey stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She exchanged a glance with Kim and gave the other woman a small smile before she walked downstairs, and Adam and Erin followed her. Now wasn't the time to talk to Erin.
Over the next 24 hours, the unit and Erin identified the terrorist cell and, with a raid led by Jay, they took down two of the key offenders in the cell. Jay had shot both of them. They had been shouting in Arabic and threatening to blow the building up, so Jay had shot them, without a second of hesitation. He had shouted back at them in Arabic. The whole team was grateful for Jay's experience in the Army, in Afghanistan, because without him, the case could have ended differently. Hailey had seen how Erin had been watching Jay over the past day.
Finally, Jay dismissed the unit, saying that they could go home and have the next day off and he shared a smile with Hailey, before he returned to his office. Erin stayed where she was, before she followed Hailey to the locker room. She wanted to speak to Jay, but she knew that Detective Upton would be honest with her and she had already agreed to meet up with Kim for drinks.
In the locker room, Hailey saw Erin and she put her bag over her shoulder before she asked, "Are you heading back to New York?" All Hailey wanted to do was go home and be with Jay, but she could tell that Erin wanted to speak to her and she was sure that the other woman wanted to speak to Jay, too. More than she wanted to talk to Hailey. Clearly, no-one had told Erin that Jay and Hailey were married and Erin clearly hadn't noticed, not that was surprising considering how Jay and Hailey acted at work.
Erin shrugged as she replied, "I'm going to stick around for a couple of days. I'll have a catch up with Kim." She paused, then asked, "After I went to New York, were you partnered up with Jay?"
Hailey fixed her gaze on Erin before she replied, "Yes, I was, and, as far as I'm concerned, it was the best decision Voight ever made."
Chuckling, Erin nodded. "Yeah, I agree with that. Jay's changed…a lot since I left. He's a lot calmer. A lot steadier. He's a good leader."
Without a second of hesitation, Hailey stated, "He's the best partner I've very had." She paused, then asked, "Erin, why are you here, talking to me?"
"Does Jay ever talk about me? Does he think about me, about what might have happened if I hadn't left?"
Hailey knew the answer to that, but she just titled her head and replied, "I think you need to ask him that." She paused, then added, "Have a safe flight, Erin."
Taking in a deep breath, Erin took in a deep breath and made her way to Voight's office- Jay's office- she reminded herself. The door was open and Jay was sitting at his desk, doing paperwork. He knew that she was there, but he waited for her to make her presence known. In her husky voice, Erin said, "I always knew you'd end up here. In Hank's office. It suits you, Jay." She walked into Jay's office and walked over to his desk. "It suits you very well." She added, with a sensual smile.
Jay cleared his throat and stood up, standing behind his chair. He put his hands on his hips. In a steady voice, he asked, "How are you, Lindsey?"
"I'm good and I can see you're good, too. Maybe we could go and have a drink, for old time's sake?" Erin suggested, hoping that he would say yes. Her voice became softer as she said, "Jay, I'm not proud of how I left. I wish I could go back and change it. Do you ever think about it? About what would have happened, if I'd stayed?"
A smile appeared on Jay's face, but it wasn't the kind of smile Erin was used to seeing. He shook his head and replied, "Honestly, Lindsey, I don't. You leaving was for the best and I see that now. We were both pretty messed up back then."
Swallowing hard, Erin closed her eyes and suggested, "We had some good times, didn't we? It wasn't all bad."
"We did. But we didn't ultimately trust each other and let the other in. Not one of us is to blame. It was both of us." Jay stated, in a very matter of face tone of voice.
Erin ran her hands through her hair and asked, "So, you're saying no to the drink? I thought- maybe, we could try to rekindle what we had? It was pretty good? And we're both in better places now, so maybe, it could work the second time."
All that Jay wanted to do was be at home with Hailey, to take his next dose of medication and go to bed, with Hailey. His wife. Slowly, he shook his head and just said, "Erin, I'm married. So that's not going to happen."
The shock on Erin's face was clear and she stared at him, thinking that it was a joke, but it wasn't. "You didn't divorce Abby, did you?"
Jay picked up his coat and walked past his chair and desk to stand next to Erin. "No, Abby and I got divorced. Hailey and I got married." He paused, then added, "Have a safe trip and, if we work with the New York field office again, I'm sure I'll see you."
"Thanks. And Jay? Congratulations. I can see you and Hailey must make each other very happy." Erin watched as Jay left. She could see how much he had changed, for the better, and she guessed that he wouldn't have been like that without Hailey.
After what felt like an eternity, Jay stepped inside the house he and Hailey shared and he took off his shoes and coat and went straight to the bedroom. Hailey was awake, reading in bed, under the covers. Too tired to even change out of his clothes, Jay crawled under the covers next to Hailey and rested his head against hers. Hailey turned to face him and she kissed him softly and watched as he closed his eyes and went to sleep, with his arms wrapped around her.
