Chapter 81: Hailey's embryos.
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 (If I did, Jay would not be leaving the series).
I really appreciated the reviews for the last chapter. It is great to know that you guys are still enjoying this story, so thank you to Astrid, Quack-Quack21 and Caryn12. Here is the next chapter and I hope that you enjoy it :). I only know about surrogacy what I have researched, so this might not be accurate, I'm just using it to move the story along.
After their shift the next day Hailey and Jay had dinner with Vanessa to talk about what Vanessa had told Hailey, because Jay wanted to hear it for himself. Even though Hailey had assured Jay that Vanessa was totally prepared for what she would be doing, Jay wanted to be certain, and Vanessa was sure. He and Hailey had made their decision, but he wanted to hear it from Vanessa, herself. She knew what was signing herself up for and she wanted to do it, for Hailey and Jay. She wanted to do it, for Hailey and Jay, and Jay was convinced, so he and Hailey called Dr. Lawrence and told her that one of their friends had offered to be their surrogate. Dr Lawrence told the three of them to come to see her the next day, so that they could discuss the process. The last time Hailey and Jay had read about surrogacy, even gestational surrogacy, it had been months ago because they hadn't wanted to think about it, instead, they had refocused on their marriage, and all three of them needed to know what was going to happen.
That evening, in the privacy of their own room, Jay and Hailey made a promise to each other: No matter what happened, they would never go back to that place in their marriage. They were together, through everything. Both Jay and Hailey believed in the other and in their marriage, more than anything, and they would never, ever forget again.
It was a productive meeting with Dr. Lawrence, and she gave Vanessa another chance to back out of the surrogacy, before she, Hailey and Jay signed a piece of paper. Illinois law was one of the best for surrogacy, but it still needed to be clear and in writing and Vanessa understood what was going to happen and even something known as a birthing plan was drawn up. Vanessa had been prepared for it and she knew what she was doing, for Hailey and Jay. Hailey was very happy about the meeting, because now, they had a next step. They had a plan. It was no longer a maybe, one day. It was finally, hopefully, going to happen. She and Jay were going to conceive their baby, even if it was with scientific assistance, it would still be their baby, or possibly, babies. Dr. Lawrence said that there needed to be several embryos so that at least one had a chance of attaching to Vanessa's womb. That made Hailey's heart sink and Jay swallowed against the lump in his throat. The odds were not good. There was a chance that they could go through the process of surrogacy with Vanessa, and, at the end, there would be no baby. Jay and Hailey would be no different from how they were now and agreed that it was worth the money. It would always be worth it, because it could give them a child. Their child. Their baby.
First of all, Hailey went through an IVF cycle, so that the embryos would be as healthy as possible. The cycle of IVF was tiring and emotionally draining for Hailey, but Jay supported her through the whole time and they both new that it would be worth it. After the cycle, Hailey and Jay went to the clinic, to retrieve the most viable eggs that Hailey had from the cycle of IVF and Jay's sperm for the IVF procedure. Quicker than Jay or Hailey had expected, 5 of Hailey's eggs were fertilised in a lab and they become embryos. 5 of them. Hailey and Jay found this emotional, considering the heartbreak of not being able to conceive naturally. Even though she was happy that it was happening, Hailey cried when they returned home from the hospital after being told that 5 embryos were ready and Jay held her in his arms, allowing his own tears to fall. It hadn't been easy, but they had finally, even if it was with science, conceived.
The second step was for Vanessa to receive treatments, to increase her fertility, so that her body was ready for the transfer. The process lasted for 2 weeks during which Vanessa was very happy because of the hormones. Luckily, it wasn't too noticeable at work, as Vanessa was always very bubbly. For Hailey and Jay, those 2 weeks were strange, especially for Hailey. She spent time with Vanessa, as her friend, but she also wanted to make sure that she was being healthy, and she wanted Vanessa to know how much she and Jay appreciated what she was doing for them.
The day of the embryos being transferred into Vanessa finally arrived and Jay arranged their shifts so that he and Hailey could be there, with Vanessa. Vanessa had already agreed to go on desk duty as soon as she was pregnant with their baby, in fact, as soon as the embryos were transferred into her.
In the locker room, Kim found Hailey and lent against the locker as she asked, "Hailey, are you OK? You know that you can talk to me, about anything." Hailey and Jay hadn't told anyone that they had found a surrogate, not even Will or Hailey's mum. They didn't want to jinx it. Neither of them wanted to get their hopes up. Kim had noticed the change in Hailey's behaviour when she had been going through the IVF cycle and, in a way, Hailey wished that she could tell Kim, but she and Jay had said that they wouldn't tell until Vanessa was at least 12 weeks along, if she was even pregnant in the first place, if the embryos attached. She and Jay had agreed not to get their hopes up, in case it didn't work. "You're always here for me, when I need you. Please, Hailey, talk to me."
Hailey put her overnight bag over her shoulder and pushed her blonde curls behind her ears. She smiled and said, in a very tired voice, "Thanks, Kim, you know how much I appreciate it and value your friendship."
"But you still won't tell me what's wrong?"
Shaking her head slowly, Hailey swayed slightly before she bit her lip, before she admitted, "A couple of weeks ago, I had a cycle of IVF, because Jay and I are trying surrogacy and it's part of the process. The first step is to go through a cycle so that the eggs have the best chance, and they were fertilised with Jay's sperm, in a lab, and now they're embryos. There are 5 of them, to be exact, waiting to be implanted."
A smile spread across Kim's face and she walked over to Hailey as she asked, "So you and Jay have found a surrogate?"
Hailey tilted her head and nodded before she replied, "Yes, Kim, we've found a surrogate, but the transfer hasn't been done yet and, even when it is, it might not work. Jay and I are really trying not to get too excited, because we don't want to be disappointed again, we don't want to get our hopes up. I'm trying not to be too excited about this and so is Jay. I'm not being funny, Kim, but I-we haven't told anyone: My mum, Will- we don't want to tell anyone what we're trying, until we know if it's going to work and there is a chance that surrogacy might not work. There's always a chance and knowing the luck that Jay and I have…" Hailey trailed off, not knowing what else to say, but she knew that Kim would understand. She and Jay hadn't been lucky with trying to have a baby.
Kim just nodded in an understanding way and replied, "Ok, I get it. Good luck and you know that you can talk to me anytime. Hailey, I believe it will happen. When the time is right, you and Jay will be great parents."
With a small smile, Hailey said, "Thanks, Kim. If you're up for it, we should have dinner this week, have a catch up." She was still concerned about her friend, with this difficult pregnancy, and she knew that Adam was, too.
Jay was on his way home after a meeting when he heard someone calling his name. It was Will. He glanced at the time on his phone. It was now 3 hours until Hailey's embryos were transferred. Only 3 hours. He smiled and turned to his brother, wondering what he wanted to talk about. Will had posted a picture of himself and Natalie and Natalie was quite far along with her pregnancy, but Jay and Hailey knew that Owen was still not that happy. Jay and Natalie spoke occasionally. Natalie's first husband, Jeff, had been a Ranger, so Jay and Natalie had a connection which was a strong bond and Will was glad that that was there. He instantly stood straighter and raised an eyebrow, waiting for his brother to speak and when he didn't, he asked, "You alright, man? How's Nat?"
Will paused and shrugged, "Yeah, I'm good, man. I'm just- I'm starting to get a bit nervous, you know?"
"About becoming a dad?" Jay asked, wishing that he didn't have to have this conversation today, on the day that Hailey's embryos were going to be transferred into Vanessa, but Will was his brother and he needed to be there for him. With an encouraging smile, Jay added, "You've been a great dad to Owen, for years. The kid adores you, Will."
"Yeah, I know. I just- it'll be different when the kid's mine, biologically." Will paused, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jay, I shouldn't be talking to you about this, with all that you and Hailey are going through."
Jay stepped closer to his brother and told him, with a serious voice, "No, Will. I don't want you to ever think that. Ever. I'm your brother." He smiled, before he added, "You don't need to worry about me and Hailey. We're good. Go and talk to Nat. I'm sure she'll want to listen to you." He joked and this caused his brother to smile, which had been his intention. "You'll be a great dad, Will."
Will gave him a quick hug and said, "Thanks, man. Give Hailey my love."
Only 3 hours. Hailey's nerves were starting to build, but this was so important. This was it. The day that their embryos were going to be transferred into Vanessa. It was a big day. "Hailey, where's your head right now?" The sound of Jay's voice made Hailey smile as he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. His voice was softer as he added, "You looked very far away."
Hailey tilted her head against Jay and smiled softly as she replied, "I was just thinking: Today is the day, Jay. 3 hours. 3 hours and Vanessa could be carrying our baby." She paused, then added, "I know we said we're not going to get our hopes up, but Jay, I want this, so much."
"I know, Hailes. Me, too." Jay kissed her temple, before he said, "I'll have a shower before we go."
Looking straight into Jay's eyes, Hailey told him, "I know we said that we weren't going to tell anyone, until we knew that the embryos had implanted and after 12 weeks, but Kim kept asking, so I told her. I told her that we're trying surrogacy and that I went through a cycle of IVF." She lowered her eyes and murmured, "I can't believe that it was so easy for us to conceive, in a lab, when we tried for so long and it was useless. We couldn't do it, naturally."
Jay sighed slowly and nodded. "I know, Hailes. But it's finally done. We have 5 embryos. It could work and, if it does- if it does, we'll be the luckiest people ever. Even luckier than we already are." He added, with a smile.
Chuckling softly, Hailey smiled and teased, "You're such an idiot, Halstead!" She fell silent, then whispered, "3 hours, Jay, only 3." They stayed where they were for a while, holding each other close, before Jay moved to go and have a shower and Hailey sat down and read some more of a book. They were both filled with nervous anticipation and, before they left, they diverted themselves with time together. It was such a relief to be together, without the stress of trying to conceive. They could just be together and love each other.
In the exam room, Hailey's eyes fell on the embryos which were in a petri dish and her heart leapt. It seemed so strange that those parts of her and Jay were outside of her body, waiting to go into Vanessa, their surrogate. Hailey walked over to Vanessa and hugged and, as she did, her eyes met with Jay's and he knew what she was thinking. Vanessa took hold of her hand and told her, "Hailey, I'm going to do the very best that I can with this. For you and Jay."
With a small smile, Hailey replied, "I know, V, you'll never know how much this means to us."
"You could name the baby after me?" Vanessa suggested, with a mischievous smile and this earned a mock eye roll from Hailey and a chuckle from Jay.
Jay's response was interrupted by Dr Lawrence walking into the room and saying that they were ready for the implantation, which meant that Jay and Hailey needed to leave the room. Hailey hugged Vanessa and walked straight past the embryos, but she stopped when she realised that Jay wasn't with her. He was standing next to Vanessa, with his eyes fixed on the embryos, until his eyes connected with Hailey's and he walked towards her, putting his arm around her as they walked to an area to wait. Hailey sat down and tried to distract herself, but Jay remained standing and placed his hands together. He was praying. There was only chance and luck that this would work, but Hailey's heart swelled. Jay was trying not to get his hopes up, for her sake or for his own and, yet, he was praying. If this worked, their baby would be so loved.
Meanwhile Vanessa's eyes fell on the embryos and smiled down at them, before she started to talk, in a very calm voice, "You don't know me, but I'm Vanessa and, hopefully, I'll be your home for the next 9 months. We're doing this for Hailey and Jay, your mummy and daddy- you know them. You've met them. You wouldn't be here without them." She paused and pressed her lips together before she added, "I want you to know I'm going to do everything I can to keep you safe and warm. Until you're ready to be born and Hailey and Jay can take you home. When you get in there, hold on really tight, ok? Good luck." The last part came out in barley a whisper and she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer before she opened her eyes again and looked at the embryos. "Good luck."
The embryos were implanted into Vanessa and Dr. Lawrence told her to act as she normally did, because, if the embryos were going to attach, they would. She said that it would take a couple of days, or even a couple of weeks, for Vanessa to find out that she was carrying their baby. She was their surrogate. Despite listening to Dr. Lawrence, as soon as Vanessa returned home, she took a pregnancy test. It was negative, but she told herself that it was probably too early for anything to show.
For the next couple of weeks, the tests were negative and Hailey and Jay were preparing themselves for the worst; none of the embryos had attached. They would never have their baby, but, no matter what, they had each other, so after another negative test from Vanessa, Jay and Hailey decided to go out to dinner. It wasn't something they often did, but they wanted to, especially as it seemed like the surrogacy had already failed. Hailey wanted Vanessa to know that neither she or Jay blamed her for it not working and she told Vanessa that. Unknown to Jay or Hailey, Vanessa had hope for the two of them.
That evening, when Hailey and Jay were at an Italian restraint, Vanessa returned from the toilet to find no-one in the bullpen besides Kim. Walking over to Kim, she asked, "Hey, Kim. Can you track Hailey's phone, please? I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important."
Kim frowned, wondering why Vanessa wanted that, instead of calling or texting Hailey, but she obliged, anyway. She noticed that Vanessa seemed to be moving in a slightly different way from how she normally did. Kim couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something different.
Hailey and Jay were enjoying their evening together. It was nice to be away from work and from the stress of surrogacy. If they had more time, they would have gone to the cabin for the weekend, but their case load didn't permit it. Maybe in a couple of months.
Watching his wife carefully, Jay suddenly asked, gently, "Hailes, how are you feeling? You keep glancing at your phone. Are you waiting for a text from Vanessa?"
Hailey sighed and put her phone away, in her bag, before she nodded and said, with a sigh, "Yes, I am, and I'm so glad that we didn't tell anyone, besides Kim that we were doing this because it means that we don't have to explain that- that it didn't work. The chances weren't great, anyway, were they, not with our luck?" She forced a smile and tried to sound casual, but it wasn't true and she knew that Jay knew that.
Before Jay had the chance to reply, something behind Hailey caught his eye: It was Vanessa. In a slightly chocked voice, all that he said was, "Hailey." His green eyes connected with her blue ones and Hailey turned around, to see Vanessa, who was walking towards them, with a huge smile on her face. As soon as she reached them, Jay stood up. "Rojas, you OK?" Hailey stayed where she was, not thinking anything, not wanting to hope, or wish, for anything. There could be a million reasons why Vanessa was here right now. She wished that Jay didn't look so nervous and excited right now. She couldn't deal with that. She noticed that Jay's eyes were fixed on something Vanessa was holding. Something that she didn't want to look at. She didn't want to hope.
Gently, Vanessa nudged Hailey in the elbow, causing Hailey to face her and, without a word, the younger woman passed Hailey the item Jay's eyes were fixed on. A pregnancy test. It was positive. It was positive. With a sudden, chocked breath, Hailey looked up from the test and looked at her husband, who was looking at her with as much love and awe as she had ever seen. Vanessa pulled Hailey into a hug and told her, "Hailey, you're going to have a baby. You and Jay are going to have a baby! I've done 6 of those and they're all positive! Your baby's inside of me, Hailey."
Hailey's blue eyes filled with tears and she hugged Vanessa as hard as she could, with the pregnancy test still clutched in her hand, until Jay's gentle fingers took it from her hand and he looked down at it and held it. None of them were sure how long they stayed there, but it turned into a celebration meal. Later that evening, as soon as Hailey and Jay returned home, Jay placed the test in a safe place, as if it were some kind of treasure and Hailey fell into his arms. They were going to have a baby.
The next morning, Vanessa went to see Dr. Lawrence, who confirmed that she was pregnant. She was carrying Jay and Hailey's baby. Dr. Lawrence set up an appointment. A transvaginal ultrasound. It was the earlier there was and it was often encouraged for surrogacy cases, so that the expected parents could feel as close to the baby as possible and Hailey and Jay were very excited by this idea. Even though they knew that they were having a baby, they had seen the tests Vanessa had done, it still didn't seem quite real.
The day arrived and Hailey and Jay made their way to the hospital and Vanessa met them there. She was excited for Hailey and Jay, because she could see how much joy she had already given them. She hoped that it worked because she wanted to give this to them, more than anything.
Vanessa lay herself down, just as she done a couple of weeks earlier, when the embryos had been implanted and Hailey and Jay stood at either side of her. In all honesty, neither Hailey or Jay knew what they were looking at the screen, but it was clear that there was something there. Their baby was there and growing. As soon as Dr. Lawrence said this outload, confirmed it, Jay nudged Vanessa in an affectionate way and Hailey gave her a one-armed hug. Her eyes met with Jay's and they shared one of their silent looks. Their baby was there. Their baby.
Later that day, Hailey found Jay in his office and sat down opposite his desk, and he did the same, putting his arm against the back of the chair and Hailey turned to face him. Everyone else, including Vanessa, had gone home. It was just the two of them and their happiness was clear, even in their eyes. Before either of them said anything, Hailey's lips caught Jay's in a passionate kiss and she put her arms around his neck, holding him close, before she broke the kiss and she almost squealed, "Jay, this is real! This is really happening!"
Jay chuckled softly and nodded as he replied, "I know, Hailes. I was there! That was our baby." He paused, before he added, in a whisper, "Hailey Halstead, that was our baby. Our baby."
With a wide smile on her lips, Hailey tilted her head and repeated his words, "I know. I was there."
Jay's kissed her temple and her cheek before sat back, looking serious and Hailey waited for him to speak, holding one of his hands as she waited. "I've been thinking and I've done research. The baby needs to know our voices. So I was thinking, maybe Vanessa should move in with us?" When Hailey froze, Jay frowned and asked, "Hailey, don't you like that?"
A smile spread across Hailey's lips and she rested her head against Jay's, with her blue eyes, looking deep into his eyes, before she whispered, "I think that sounds perfect. Who knew that Jay Halstead was such a softie?"
"I have my moments." Jay smirked as he added, "What can I say? You bring it out in me, Hailey Halstead."
Hailey reached for Jay's wedding ring and, when her fingers found it, she threaded a finger through it, smiling. In a gentle voice, she said, "You always know what to say." She paused, before she added, "Jay, our baby. Our baby." They looked into each other's eyes and smiled, before she stood up and made their way home. As always, when they arrived home, they put their wedding rings in their rightful places. Together, in sorrow and in joy.
