Chapter 77: Lucky.

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. Jay's birthday.

I liked writing this chapter, I really hope that you enjoy reading if. If you're still enjoying this story, please review. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I love writing this story and I really love Jay and Hailey together, so I hope that this is still an enjoyable story :)

Please read, enjoy and review :)

As soon as Jay and Hailey returned to the 21st District, Jay made his way to the locker room to change out of his uniform and Hailey went back to her desk, to finish the paperwork.

She wasn't surprised when Kim, Julie and Vanessa walked over to her desk and Kim asked, with a smile, "Well, how was it? How did Jay react to the surprise?"

With a small blush, Hailey nodded and replied, "He really liked it, thanks, it was a great idea of yours, Kim, and I really appreciate you guys helping me out with it."

Vanessa smiled and replied, "No problem, girl. You know we're always here for you when you need us. Are we going to have drinks later, at Molly's? Or are you and Jay going to go home and have some alone time?"

Hailey shook her head quickly and replied, slightly harshly, "I don't know, but we'll see what's happening at the end of the shift." With that, Vanessa and Julie walked away, but Kim stayed where she was and Hailey added, with a smile, "I really appreciated it, Kim, so thank you so much."

"Hailey, it's really no problem. Anything for a friend, you know that, and I know you guys would do the same for me and Adam. You guys got together at our wedding, after all."

Adam laughed and joked, "Yeah, we'll always remember that. Then you two eloped. Not fair. Really not fair!" Hailey and Kim laughed, before they returned to their attention to their computers.

Their shift was a paperwork shift, closing the case they had closed the day before, but everyone was grateful for the break. Kim wasn't feeling too well; she was finding this pregnancy far harder than her pregnancies with Maria and A.J and she didn't understand why. She was careful not to talk about it too much around Hailey, but Hailey was her friend and she wanted to support Kim, so she said that she and Jay would babysit Maria and A.J, whenever they wanted, to give Kim and Adam a break. Kim was exhausted and she knew that Adam was, too. She wanted to support Kim, just as Kim had always offered Hailey support, but she and Jay were in such a happy place right now that she didn't want to mar that with talking about sadness of their infertility and Kim respected that. She could see that Jay and Hailey were better, happier together, than they had been for months and she was so glad. Hailey had briefly mentioned what their plan was, when Vanessa asked, but that was it and Kim knew that, when Hailey or Jay wanted to talk about it, they would.

By the time their shift ended, Kim was so tired that she just wanted to go home, but Adam wanted to go to Molly's, so Jay offered Kim a lift home, which she accepted, feeling so ill that she just wanted to go home. She also wanted space from Adam, because he was being so protective. She just wanted some space. Hailey knew Kim, so she went to Molly's with Adam, Kevin, Julie and Vanessa, whilst Jay took Kim home and babysat Maria and A.J for a couple of hours, giving Kim a chance to rest before Adam came home and Jay texted Hailey, to let her know where he was. He was glad that they both had the day off tomorrow. His birthday surprise had been an amazing one.

At Kim and Adam's Jay fed and changed Maria and A.J and read them stories before they went to bed. Jay wanted to give Kim and Adam as much support as possible and he knew that Hailey felt the same way.

Hailey was the first one home, so she had a shower and changed, drying her hair. Her blonde curls fell against her shoulders and she smiled to herself, remembering the kiss which she and Jay had shared in the bank, the bank where they had met, years before. With her arms around his neck, Hailey had kissed Jay, then held his wedding ring. She wanted to continue that kiss now. They had each other and they didn't need anything else. Their lives had joined when they had met that day and that was all that mattered. It was because of that call to the bank, years ago, that their lives had changed, the day before Jay's birthday, just like it was today. Hailey smiled to herself, remembering her arms around Jay's neck during that kiss.

The sound of the front door being opened, closed and locked made Hailey jump, so Hailey left their bedroom and went to meet Jay downstairs. Without saying anything, Hailey walked over to Jay, wrapping her arms around his neck and her lips found his in a passionate kiss. In response, Jay kissed her back with equal passion and his hands went to her hips, pulling her close. Breathlessly, Hailey whispered, "The day changed my life, Jay. You changed my whole life and responding to that call was the best thing I've ever done."

"And Voight pairing us together was the best thing he's ever done. You saved my life, Hailey. You made me face my PTSD and you saved my life." Jay whispered back, before he looked into Hailey's bright, blue eyes, with his green eyes looking deep into hers. In a deep, loving voice, he murmured, "You're all I'll ever need, Hailey Halstead."

Like before, Hailey's hands found Jay's wedding ring around his neck and she held onto it, tightly, and they looked at each other, before she chuckled, "Thank goodness for Span and that robbery." They both laughed, before their lips met again in a passionate kiss and, this time, it didn't stop. All they needed was each other. If that day at the bank hadn't happened, Jay and Hailey might not have met, wouldn't have become partners, to what they were now. The very idea made them want to be with each other even more, because they were together. They were married, because that day had changed their lives and they wouldn't change a single second of it.

The next morning, Jay woke up and the sight of Hailey asleep in his arms made him smile. It was his birthday. He was 37. 37. He couldn't believe it. There had been times in Afghanistan when he had believed he wouldn't make it to 18, 19 or 20, or when he had returned after his discharge, when he simply hadn't wanted to live that long, because of everything he had seen and done. His PTSD had been totally out of control and his depression and anxiety had dominated. Jay shook his head, shaking those thoughts from his head. He was a different person now, a man Hailey had fallen in love with. He was Jay Halstead, her husband. He wrapped his arms around Hailey and, with a small smile, he saw that she was waking up.

With a smile on her face, Hailey turned over to face Jay and she greeted him with a gentle kiss before she said, "Good morning, birthday boy."

Jay stroked her arms and replied, "It feels like a birthday, especially after last night." He kissed her again, then paused and Hailey waited, silently, patiently, for him to speak. "It's only since I've been with you that my birthday has been special, Hailes. You know what I want to do today?"

Hailey smiled and titled her head, "What's that, Jay Halstead?"

"I want to spend the whole day with you, because you're my wife and all I'll ever need." Green eyes met blue and their lips met in gentle kisses which turned passionate as they held each other close.

After breakfast, Jay changed into a black suit, with a white shirt, and Hailey also changed into a blue top and jeans, which Jay told her made her look so beautiful because it highlighted her bright, blue eyes.

First, Jay went to the graveyard, with Hailey, to see his mum's grave. Hailey held his hand and respected her place there, until Jay asked her to come forward and he 'introduced' her to his mum, because it was his birthday. She was his wife. It was no surprise that Will turned up, too, so Hailey gave the two brothers some space and, afterwards, the three of them went for a coffee.

Next, Jay wanted to go to the memorial for fallen soldiers, so, like before on Thanksgiving Day, Hailey stood across at the other side of the road whilst he was there. Jay would never let himself forget that his friends had sacrificed their lives so that he could come home and live his. He shook his head, against the memories of the pain and trauma and focused his mind on that. He had survived. He was alive and he had a wife he loved more than anything. The scars, mentally and physically, would always be there, but he was alive.

Jay was glad when he saw Hailey waiting for him and, without saying a word, he pulled her into a tight hug and rested his head against her neck. He closed his eyes and was silent before he whispered, "There were so many birthdays I didn't think I'd make it to when I was over there. 19, 20, 21, 22. And then, when I came home, there was a time when-when I didn't want to make it to another birthday, because I was- I was so messed up. I'm never going back to that place. It's not how to honour how they died."

There were tears in Hailey's own, blue eyes because of the pain in Jay's voice and in his whole body, so all that she said was, "I'm here, Jay. I'm here." Neither of them were sure how long they stood there for, but, eventually, Jay let go of Hailey and took hold of her hand and wiped his own eyes as well as hers. In a gentle voice, Hailey asked, "Shall we get some pizza on the way home?"

With a small smile, Jay nodded, "Definitely." His dog tags were still hanging out over his suit and he didn't want to put them back yet. He didn't want to hide them today. They were a reminder of the fact that he had survived. He was home. He was with Hailey.

Back at their house, Hailey and Jay had pizza and watched old films, curled up together on the sofa and Hailey's fingers traced Jay's dog tags. Out of nowhere, Jay told her, "Hailes, I'd like you to wear my mum's neckless tonight. I think she'd like that."

Smiling softly, Hailey simply replied, "I'd be honoured." She kissed his cheek, then rested her head back onto his shoulder and watched the film. Last night and this morning they had made love, here, in their house, and they were so happy about that, both of them feeling so lucky to be alive and to be together.

For the meal at Danny and Gail's, Jay and Hailey changed into more casual clothes and, whilst Hailey was changing, there was a knock on the door and Jay answered it. It was Avery. His daughter. He gave her a hug, before he dashed off to talk to Hailey and Jay watched, chuckling to himself. Avery was so fond of Hailey. When Jay checked his phone, he had birthday texts from Kim, Adam, Julie, Vanessa, Kevin, Platt, Voight and Natalie and he replied to all of them, smiling at the sound of Hailey and Avery's voices as they talked to each other. Gail had invited Will to the dinner tonight, but was on shift tonight.

Gail and Danny loved Jay like a son and, by extension, Hailey like a daughter-in-law. The couple had gone through the tragedies of losing both of their children, but they loved Avery more than anything. She was their granddaughter and Jay was her father, so, for the couple, finding out about Avery had confirmed to them how they had treated Jay for years. He was their son and they were so glad that had found Hailey. Gail and Danny knew the pain the young couple had gone through, but they were still happy and loving each other. For Jay, considering that he had lost both of his parents, Gail and Danny assumed a surrogate-parents role in his life and Hailey knew how much the older couple meant to him, how much they had meant to him for years, ever since he had been a teenager, dating Ally. They had known him since he had been a teenager, since before he had gone to Afghanistan. There weren't many people who still knew him from all of those years ago.

As always dinner at Gail and Danny's held a warm, happy feeling and both Jay and Hailey laughed and smiled so much and Gail, Danny and Avery were glad to see it; the last time Jay had been there for dinner, he had not been so happy. They didn't ask any questions and Hailey and Jay were glad about that.

Smiling, Gail raised her glass and declared, "We need to toast. 37 years ago, this brave, loyal young man was born and has come into all our lives in different ways and, I can certainly speak for myself and Danny, made our lives a lot richer."

Danny clapped Jay on the back and added, "We love you, son. Happy birthday."

Jay paused, and blinked, overwhelmed by emotions, until Avery hugged him and he smiled. Across the table, Hailey raised her glass and their eyes met, before she simply said, with a loving smile, "Happy birthday, Jay." There was so much love behind those words and Jay wanted to kiss her and hold her, but that would wait until later. They had all the time in the world.