Chapter 80: Best gift I can give.

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.

As of yesterday, this story is now a year old. I cannot believe it and it's being marked with this chapter, chapter 80!

I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I really hope that you guys will enjoy it too. It's a really turning point in this story. I hope that you're still enjoying this story and, if you are, please leave a review. I'd love to know what you think of this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Hailey's time in New York ended up lasting for 3 months. Agent Brown had asked her to stay for more weeks and she had accepted, loving the energy that it gave her. It was so different from her detective work in Intelligence, and she really enjoyed it. The only downside was that Jay, her husband, was in Chicago, but they talked every day and Jay made several trips to New York over the 3 months, which Hailey really appreciated, considering that she knew how much Jay hated flying. He had for years, ever since returning from Afghanistan. Jay had been true to his word: He had supported Hailey when she had been feeling less than confidant and she was so grateful and Jay was glad, because he wanted Hailey to be happy and he knew that this had brought back her confidence. Confidence which had been lost with their fertility problems.

Adam was still walking on eggshells around Jay, still feeling bad for asking so many questions, and Vanessa felt so guilty for letting the information slip and Kim couldn't believe that the officer had let such a personal thing for Jay and Hailey slip, in front of Adam and Kevin. Jay was doing his best to ignore the situation, not wanting to get involved in it because he was their Sergeant and he didn't want to talk about it, but he knew that it wouldn't be that easy for Hailey. He wished that Adam would simply act as if he had not heard it, but, instead, the officer was trying to do everything in his power to overcompensate for any hurt he might have caused. He had eventually asked Kim about it and she had told him, so he knew about Hailey's cervical mucus and Jay's sperm mobility, which was why he was being so nice to Jay in Hailey's absence. He hated to think that he might have upset his two friends, two people he loved like family. It was clear that Jay didn't want to talk about it and Adam respected that, but he was still overcompensating.

Vanessa felt really guilty about what she had done; whilst Hailey was in New York, she texted her every day. She had never had more interaction with Jay. Before, he had been Hailey's partner and now he was their Sergeant and Hailey's husband. Vanessa didn't always agree with everything Jay did or said. He was very much a military man, but Vanessa liked him and she knew that he and Hailey were very happy together. She had seen the connection between the two of them before they had been together.

After 3 months, Agent Brown relieved Hailey from her duty in New York, so she booked a flight back to Chicago. Back to home, back to Jay. He was her home and always would be. Her partner, her best friend. One thing that Hailey liked about working with the FBI was that she wore her wedding ring every day, because there was no need to hide it. She told Jay about the feeling of wearing it every day and Jay had chuckled and told her it sounded so nice.

The sight of Jay at the airport in Chicago made Hailey's heart leap and she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. They didn't normally engage in PDA, but this was different. Hailey had loved her time in New York, being away from Chicago, but she was home and Jay smiled as he kissed her, before he asked, "Are you ready to go? Go and get some pizza?"

With a huge smile of love and happiness on her face, Hailey nodded and hummed. "That sounds perfect. I've had you in New York, but the pizza just isn't the same." She paused, before she added, "I really appreciated you coming to see me, I know how much you hate flying."

Jay shook his head and told her, "Don't worry about it, Hailes. I'd follow you anywhere." He smiled, then added, "I will say, you've been missed at 21. Especially by Platt."

Hailey chewed her bottom lip, before she asked, "And how are Adam and Vanessa? You didn't mention them when you came to see me."

"We can talk about that later, but right now, we're going to have pizza and you can tell me everything about New York. I want to hear everything! You look so happy, Hailey." Jay looked into her eyes and smiled and Hailey nodded, accepting that Jay wanted to focus on the positivise right now. She was feeling so much more confident, but she could see the dark circles under Jay's eyes and she knew that Jay had been working overtime. She could tell that he hadn't been sleeping well and she hoped that nightmares hadn't returned. Jay would always do anything he could to support her and Hailey wanted to do the same for him, as she had done before.

After having pizza, they dropped Hailey's suitcases at home, before they made their way to the 21st District. Jay had told Hailey about Adam and Vanessa's behaviour so that his wife was prepared, but he hoped that the two officers would be different now that Hailey was back. He didn't want Adam knowing to upset Hailey any more than it already had. When she had been in New York, Hailey had told Jay that she had seen Erin in New York and Jay had listened, but hadn't been that interested in what Erin had said. He told Hailey that he had been working over-time to save up money for surrogacy and they were still waiting to hear from Dr. Lawrence. Hailey had been away from that for 3 months and she was glad, but she was aware that Jay had still been in the same place and, in a way, she wished that Jay had been away in New York with her.

"Goldilocks, we didn't lose you to the Feds after all!" It was Platt and Hailey smiled and the older woman left her desk to give Hailey a hug, a rare display of affection from the desk sergeant. "We were starting to wonder if you'd ever come back to the Windy City. Did you enjoy it, out there?"

Hailey nodded and smiled. "I did, yes, Trudy. As you know, I didn't want it, but I'm really glad that I went, because it was great. It was so different."

Platt raised her eyebrows and asked, "We're not losing you to the Feds, are we?"

Chuckling, Hailey shook her head, "No, Sarge, don't worry: My life, my career, is here."

"Your husband, Sergeant Chuckles over there, was quite lost without you. He stayed here to do a lot of overtime." Platt indicated to Jay as she said it, who was standing against the desk, waiting for Hailey to go up to Intelligence. "I didn't miss anything, Hailey. I kept an eye on him, like you asked me to." Hailey smiled softly before she glanced over her shoulder and her blue eyes met her husband's green ones and he gave her a shy smile. He knew that she and Platt were talking about him. "It's a good job you to have each other. You're a real good team."

Hailey tilted her head and hummed, "Yeah, we are, and I really appreciate it, Trudy." She gave the older woman a smile, before she turned to Jay and asked, with a smile, "You ready, Sergeant Halstead?"

Jay smiled and walked over to her as she nodded. "With you, Detective Upton. Always." Their eyes connected and, if they hadn't been at work, Hailey would have kissed Jay and held him close, but, instead, she settled on looking into his green eyes and smiling at him, before they walked upstairs. Hailey knew that Jay was walking up there with her because she was nervous about seeing Adam. As always, they were a team. Their eyes connected before they walked up the stairs together.

Kim was the first to see Jay and Hailey and she left her desk and hugged Hailey and Hailey knew that she was also doing this to reassure her, with everything. Kevin hugged her and Hailey smiled and glanced at Jay, who was standing behind her. Adam walked over to her, slightly awkwardly, and said, "So, the Feds didn't pinch you. Good job, you're the best partner ever." He opened his arms to Hailey and smiled, "Welcome back, Upton."

Finally relaxing, Hailey hugged Adam in return and chuckled slightly as she replied, "Good to be back, Ruze. I hope you've been behaving while I've been away."

"You know me. I live for trouble and for making your husband's life as hard as possible." Adam joked, but Hailey could hear that there was something else behind what he was saying. When Adam stepped aside, her eyes fell on Vanessa, who was still in her seat. Julie said hello to Hailey first and Vanessa rose from her seat, but stayed by her desk. Jay moved through the group and went into his office, but they all knew that he was watching this exchange through the blinds of his windows.

Smiling softly at her former partner, Hailey simply said, "It's good to see you, V."

Tentatively, Vanessa stepped closer to Hailey and returned the smile. "It hasn't been the same without you. Halstead hasn't been happy without you." She paused, then added, "It's good to see you, Hailey."

Hailey smiled and asked, "Do I get a hug, V?" She wanted Vanessa to know that, whilst what she had said had hurt her and Jay, she was still her friend and she didn't need to feel guilty about it now. It was done and Platt was right: She and Jay had been through far worse than Vanessa telling Adam and Kevin.

"Yeah." Vanessa gave Hailey a small hug, but Hailey could feel the tension in her shoulders. Everyone else was at their desks, but over Vanessa's shoulder, Hailey's eyes connected with Jay's. His green eyes were trained on her blue ones and she threw him a small smile.

Hailey settled back into Intelligence as if she had never been away. Adam was still acting slightly different with her, but she knew that it would pass and she knew that Jay had been dealing with this for the 3 months she had been away. She could tell that that had caused him stress whilst she had been in New York. He hadn't said and she hadn't asked, but Hailey knew her husband better than anyone. Hailey was so glad that Jay had encouraged her to go to New York and Jay was glad that she had accepted the offer, because he could see how much of a difference it had made.

The unit had worked through the night on a shift, on a murder case and they were all tired, so Jay sent all of them home for 12 hours, to rest. He had an appointment with his therapist, so, in the locker room, he kissed Hailey on the forehead and left, promising to see her when he was home. Hailey smiled and continued to sort out her overnight bag and she was surprised to see that Vanessa was there. "V, are you alright? You look like you're about to turn into a statue?" Hailey weakly joked, but she knew that Vanessa was troubled by something. The two of them hadn't really spoken since Hailey had returned and they had been great friends.

Vanessa lent against the locker and closed her eyes before she replied, "Hailey, can we go and get a coffee? I really need to talk to you about something."

Hailey turned her head to her friend, concerned now and she walked over to Vanessa, dropping her overnight bag. "Vanessa, is everything alright? I knew that there was something wrong, you've hardly spoken to me since I got back."

The younger woman bit her lip and asked, "Can we talk about it over coffee? Please?" Her tone was almost pleading and that made Hailey even more nervous. What was wrong with Vanessa?

Holding her hands out in an assuring way, Hailey replied, "Of course, Vanessa. We can go and have coffee right now and talk, if you'd like."

With a small smile, Vanessa nodded. "That would be great, Hailey." The worry and concern in Hailey's eyes must have been clear. Hailey followed in silence as she and Vanessa left the district and made their way to one of their local coffee shops. It was one which Hailey and Jay often went to together and the thought made Hailey smile. She was so glad that she and Jay were back to where they had been before; they had been through pain and heartbreak and different ways of dealing with pain, but they had worked through it and they were stronger together because of it and they both knew it. They would try surrogacy and, if it worked, it worked, but if it didn't work, they would always have each other.

As the two women ordered coffees, Vanessa remained totally silent, so Hailey did the same, wondering what was wrong, going through scenarios in her head. Her worst fear was that it was something to do with Vanessa's past or, even, her biological parents. Vanessa had spent most of her childhood in foster care, but that didn't mean that that couldn't be a cause of great stress. Hailey would be there for her friend, no matter what, and she knew that Vanessa knew that.

Vanessa chose to sit down on a big, red sofa so Hailey sat down on the other side of the sofa and Vanessa pulled her legs up and tucked them underneath, but Hailey sat up straight. In a soft voice, she told Vanessa, "You know I'm here for you, no matter what, V."

With a smile, Vanessa shook her head and said, "Hailey, it isn't anything bad." What? Hailey thought, shocked. "It really isn't. I just didn't want to talk about it at the District, where we could be overheard. You can stop worrying." Vanessa laughed and reached out for one of Hailey's arms and smiled. "Your mind always goes to the worst thing, Hailey! No wonder you and Halstead go so well together."

Frowning, Hailey asked, "So, what did you want to talk to me about, you said that you really needed to talk to me about something?"

Nodding, Vanessa smiled and replied, "Yeah. I did. I would've talked to you and Jay about it. Together. But I don't think he's my biggest fan right now. So I want to talk to you about it." She paused, then began, "You know how you and Jay are waiting for a surrogate? To have a baby?" Hailey nodded and she internally rolled her eyes. She really didn't like Vanessa asking questions about this, when it was so painful for her and Jay, but she stayed silent, hoping that there was a point to this. Vanessa looked at Hailey very seriously and told her, "Hailey, I want to do it. I want to be your surrogate. To carry your baby."

There was a dead silence and Hailey remained totally still, before she asked in a slightly quivering voice, "What?"

Vanessa sat up and replied very confidently, "I've done my research. The baby would be yours and Jay's. It's called gestational surrogacy and it's the most common kind, from what I could find. I'd just be carrying it- your baby. I'm saying I'll be the surrogate, for your baby, if you and Jay will have me."

Letting out a breath she had been holding, Hailey asked carefully, "V, why would you offer to do that?"

Vanessa sighed, before she shrugged. "I don't want kids of my own, I never have and I never will. And, if I can do this for you and Jay, then, I will. I've seen the pain that all of this has caused the two of you. The pain of not being able to have a baby naturally. I can see how much you want to have a child, both of you, and I know you'd be great parents." Vanessa paused, before she added, "Hailey, it's the best gift I can give you and Jay. I'm offering this, from the bottom of my heart."

After a long silence, Hailey chewed her bottom lip, before she said, "I'll have to talk to Jay about it."

"Of course you do." Vanessa reached out to Hailey, before she added, "Hailey, I really do want to do this for you and Jay. It isn't a whim thing. I've done a lot of research and I've talked to my Dr about it. I really want to do this for you and Jay. You've always been like a big sister to me." Without saying another word, she picked up her bag and left the coffee shop, leaving Hailey sitting where she was. Vanessa had offered to be a surrogate for her and Jay's baby. She and Jay had been waiting for this, they had been waiting for a surrogate for a chance to have a baby of their own, so why did Hailey feel so scared now? She closed her eyes and the image of Vanessa pregnant with their baby was in her head and she smiled, but she couldn't shake that feeling. Vanessa had offered her and Jay something which she and Jay had wanted since they decided to go down the path of surrogacy so that they could have a chance to having a baby. Vanessa was offering that to them. Hailey shook her head, clearing it of her thoughts. She needed to talk to Jay. She needed to talk to her partner, best friend. Her husband.

As soon as Hailey returned home, she had a shower and ordered a takeaway. Jay was the best cook in their home, so she settled for other food, considering that he was still at therapy. It was a Chinese takeaway, so as soon as it arrived, Hailey put it into the oven, waiting for Jay to come home. After her shower, she had changed into an old pair of Jay's sweatpants and one of his old jumpers and her hair was up in a messy bun. No matter what she did, she couldn't take her mind off what Vanessa had told her, what Vanessa had offered, to her and Jay. It seemed almost too good to be true and, yet, there was uncertainty in Hailey's stomach and she wasn't sure why it was there, but, even if she didn't know, she knew that Jay would know. He sometimes knew her better than she knew herself. She occupied herself with reruns of a drama she and Jay watched on Netflix. She wasn't really watching it, anyway and Jay wouldn't mind.

After what felt like an age the front door opened, closed and locked and Jay walked inside, dropping his jacket and walking over instantly to Hailey, who was sitting on the sofa. He lent over the sofa and kissed the top of her head. "I'll have a shower, then we can eat, yeah?"

Hailey hummed in response, before she asked, slightly absently, "How was therapy?"

Jay sighed and dropped his face into her hair as he mumbled, "It was therapy. Tiring, but necessary. I can see the progress." He removed his face from Hailey's messy bun and kissed the top of her head again and he started to move towards the door, before he walked back to the sofa and sat on the arm. He tilted his head, in a Hailey-like fashion, and, in a gentle voice, asked, "Hailes, what's wrong? You've got that look on your face."

Chewing against her bottom lip, Hailey sighed, before she turned to face Jay, reaching out for one of his hands, which he accepted and squeezed. As always, Jay was there, waiting patiently. Hailey hummed in a nervous way, before she finally said, "Vanessa said that she wanted to talk to me and, we did talk when we had coffee, and, Jay, she's offered to be our surrogate. Like, for real. She's researched it and she really wants to do it, for us, she says it's an offer from the bottom of her heart."

Jay's eyebrows raised and Hailey could see that he was processing it, just like she had done for years, before he finally said, deliberately slowly, "Ok. And she's serious?"

Hailey just nodded. "She's very serious, Jay."

With a loving smile, Jay tilted his head and asked, "So, why aren't you looking happier right now, Hailes? Rojas is offering us what we've wanted since we've made that decision." Hailey's blue eyes connected with Jay's green eyes and he knew the answer. He knew the answer the second that Hailey worked it out herself. "Because you're not sure how you'd feel about seeing her pregnant with our baby when we see her every day." Without another word, Jay slipped down onto the sofa and wrapped his arms around Hailey and she rested her head against his as she swallowed and breathed slowly.

Slowly, Hailey nodded and admitted, "Yeah, that's it and it sounds so stupid, Jay, because Vanessa is offering us what we want and we don't know when we'll have this chance again. So why do I feel so uneasy about it?"

"Nothing you feel can ever be stupid, Hailey." Jay told her, in a light murmur, keeping his arms wrapped around her. "It was like me not liking the idea of you being pregnant from another guy."

Hailey closed her eyes and threw her head against the back of the sofa as she exhaled. "But, Jay, it does feel great, it feels great. In some many ways, it would be perfect. What do you think, it's a decision we need to make together?"

Slowly, Jay rocked her in his arms before he replied, "We don't need to decide anything right away, do we? So we'll sleep on it. And, Hailey," Hailey turned to face him and their eyes connected, "I love you, so much."

With a loving smile, Hailey whispered, "I love you, too, Jay."

For the next couple of days Jay and Hailey didn't talk about Vanessa's offer. Jay was giving Hailey the space which she needed to process it and she was beyond grateful. Gestational surrogacy. Hailey's egg fertilised by Jay's sperm, externally, and it would grow inside of Vanessa. It was a lot to process, for both of them, but Jay was very calm about it. He needed to be because Hailey needed that right now.

A couple of days passed, until finally, when they were collecting coffee before shift, Hailey asked, "How would you feel about it, seeing and watching Vanessa pregnant with… our baby, Jay? It would be our baby, but it would be growing inside of her."

Jay pressed his lips together and replied, "To be honest, I'd feel OK about it. I've had to accept that you'll never be pregnant with our baby, Hailes. And we know Vanessa. We trust her." He paused, then asked softly, "What about you? How do you feel about it?"

Hailey fiddled with her takeaway coffee cup as she thought about how to word her thoughts. She nodded, before she replied, "Jay, I want to do it, I think it's how we're going to try to have a baby. They'll be my eggs and your sperm, fertilised in a lab. It will be our baby and I don't want anything else. It won't matter whose body the baby grows or comes out of, because he or she will be ours. Our baby, Jay." She smiled and added, "It could work and we've got nothing to lose."

"So, we're going to try it? We'll talk to Rojas about it?" Jay asked, with a smile on his face.

With a wide smile on her face, Hailey replied, "Yes, Jay. We're going to talk to Vanessa about being our surrogate." She chuckled softly before she took hold of one of Jay's hands and told him, in a soft voice, "This sounds perfect and we don't know how long we'll have to wait, otherwise, so we'll try this and then we can't have any regrets."

Jay bent his head closer to hers and told her, in a low voice, "Hailey Halstead, I get to spend the rest of my life with you. I already have no regrets." Their smiles matched before Jay added, "We'll try it and, at the end of the day, we'll always have each other."

Hailey's blue eyes were swimming with tears before she replied, "Yes, we will, Jay Halstead. Always." She paused, before she added, "I knew we'd figure it out, together."