2019

2019 New Year's Eve was in fact not their best New Year's yet.

Well it wasn't all bad, except for the part where Jay had been shot and fighting for his life less than two weeks prior. Hailey was still feeling spooked from finding him lying on that concrete floor.

Hailey had moved into a new house in the fall, and had the newest member of Intelligence, Vanessa, join her as a roommate. Things with Jay were good. They had been working well together as partners, their friendship was rock solid. Things with Adam were long over, and Hailey and Jay were spending more and more of their time together. Both at work and after hours. From the outside looking in, they were in many ways "dating", just without the physical part. They'd go for dinner and a movie on a weekend, have games nights at each other's house, run first thing Sunday morning if they didn't have too many beers on Saturday night.

Neither of them were seeing anyone romantically. That wasn't something they really spoke about often, there was sort of this undertone that they were waiting for each other, but they were both too scared to admit it.

That was until the day Jay got released from the hospital, Hailey came really really close to admitting it. And she would have, had Jay not gone to answer his phone.

Judging by the look on Jay's face when she said, "never mind", he knew she was going to admit it too. He looked disappointed almost when she didn't.

So here they were, back in a strange limbo.

Hailey wasn't really sure if they would do their usual New Year's tradition this year. She wasn't all that confident that skating was a safe activity for Jay right now, he was still healing. She knew how much pain he was in, because she'd spent the last few weeks basically glued to his side.

From the second she found him in that warehouse, until now, she had been with him every day, supporting him, taking care of him in one way or another. The rest of the team was definitely on to them big time at this point, Vanessa especially. She had said it herself when she came to see Hailey in the waiting room that day while Jay was still in surgery.

"It's hard because you love him", she had stated so plainly. The newest member of their team, pointing out the obvious. And Hailey did love him. She had never really said it out loud before prior to that moment with Vanessa, but as soon as she did, she knew things were going to be different for them moving forward. It was an unfortunate situation, but perhaps the push she needed to fully admit to herself that she was in love with her partner.

After several excruciating hours where Hailey had waited for him to wake up, she joined him at his bedside and held his hand when he was coming to, because he was groggy and scared.

She took the time to explain softly and calmly what was going on and promised to sit here with him as long as he wanted. Different nurses and doctors, Will included, had come through, along with the rest of their team. But Hailey had stayed put, she even slept in a cot next to his bed the first night too because he had begged her not to leave him. Whether or not that was the pain medication talking, Hailey didn't care, she reassured him she wasn't going anywhere. Jay needed her, now more than ever.

She noticed a lot about him those few days in the hospital too. She had memorized the freckles on his face, nose, cheeks, eyelids, hands. How he creased his brow in his sleep if he was uncomfortable. His blatant dislike for jello and pudding; his love for ice chips.

Will came in to help Jay out of bed for the first time on day 2 following his surgery. He had cleared it with the physiotherapist and occupational therapist, who had already been in to assess Jay. Because of his stubbornness and a little bit of anxiety, he told them he would prefer if his brother was there to get him up for the first time. Hailey went to step out to give them some privacy, noticing the PT and OT hovering outside just observing, honouring Jay's wishes, but still clearly following their professional obligations and there to lend a hand if needed.

"Wait Hailey, I need you to stay and give me a hand in case he goes down", Will asked.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Will", Jay said sarcastically.

"Just being realistic man, you've been through a lot. It's not going to feel good to stand at first. You're probably going to feel dizzy and off balance", Will reasoned.

Hailey smiled and re-joined Will at Jay's bedside, the therapists had quickly shown her where she should stand and how to best support Jay.

As much as Jay didn't want to admit it, Will was right. The change in position from horizontal the last few days to vertical did not feel great. He instantly felt lightheaded and weak. Thankfully, he felt Hailey, and Will both tighten their grip on his back.

"Want to sit back down?" Will asked gently, Jay just nodding.

"That's okay Jay, you did great. Slow steps, you'll be good as new in no time", Will reassured his brother, who he knew was feeling frustrated at his current physical conditioning.

Jay just sort of groaned as he sat back on the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing", Jay said curiously, when Hailey started to reach behind him to fluff his pillows and blanket.

"Just mother henning", she echoed something he's told her before, with a cheeky grin.

"Hmm, fair enough", Jay smiled, and he eased his way back into bed to lie down for a rest. His eyes were already closing, but he felt Hailey gently put a pillow under his left arm and lay a blanket over him. He couldn't get the image of her soft hands running over his body out of his mind.

Jay was released from Med a few days before Christmas, somewhat of his own Christmas miracle. Not that he usually had big plans anyways. He was just happy to be leaving the hospital, sleeping in his own bed.

He saw the disappointment in Hailey's face when he reached for his phone at what felt like a pivotal moment in their relationship. He wished more than anything he could take that back. But despite a brief moment of awkwardness, she still drove him home, helped him get settled and made him something to eat. She promised Will she would stay with Jay, until Will got off shift Christmas Eve to come take over.

Hailey reluctantly explained the situation to Voight, who didn't question her as much as she was expecting on the whole playing house with her partner thing. "Of course, take care of Jay. See you after the holidays."

So, Hailey did just that. She made sure Jay stayed on top of his meds, cooked for him, put movies on, encouraged him to close his eyes and rest as much as possible. She sat there on his couch in silence while he napped, every once in a while, looking over to make sure he was breathing, that he was okay. They were going to be okay.

Jay had a rough couple of days home initially, needing help with most tasks. Hailey happily stepped up, never making fun of him for not being able to bend down to put his socks on or pull on a shirt independently. He thought it might be weird…strangely intimate that Hailey was helping him with the most personal of care, but it wasn't. It just felt normal. He wasn't sure what that really meant. What he was sure of though was the fact that he was still independent with going to the bathroom. He loved Hailey but wasn't ready to let her take on that task- now or ever.

Playing house with Hailey for a few days, despite being in pain and grumpy for the majority of them, was something that felt so natural to him. She slept on his couch most of the time, but when she'd come in during the night to give him meds or check on him, she had fallen asleep in his bed with him a few times. Neither of them bringing it up the next morning. Even if she did bring it up, Jay decided he was going to just tell her that he liked it. See where things went from there. But the opportunity never arose so he didn't say anything.

When it was time for Will to come "relieve" Hailey from her duties, they said good-bye, both planning to continue their tradition of spending NYE together. Jay promising her that he would be feeling better by then, that he had no intentions of missing out on their tradition, even though Hailey told him she'd understand if he didn't want to.

"Have to go back to my actual roommate", Hailey joked when Jay gave her a puppy eye look.

Vanessa had taken plenty of liberties with her being here the last few days, sending her pictures of dirty dishes in the sink which Hailey hated, Vanessa jokingly sleeping in Hailey's bed because she missed her.

"I know. Say hi to Vanessa, see you in a few days. Merry Christmas", Jay replied, leaning on his door frame. He was sad to see her go.

"Merry Christmas Jay", Hailey gave his good arm a squeeze. "Merry Christmas Will!" Hailey shouted inside the apartment to Will who was sitting on Jay's couch.

"Merry Christmas Hailey!" He replied.

Jay said his good-byes and joined his brother on the couch to watch the Blackhawks.

"Don't", Jay threatened, knowing that look from Will.

"I wouldn't even know what to say, theoretically, if I was going to say something about you guys being in love with each other", Will said cheekily.

Jay just rolled his eyes. "I plead the fifth."

"I bet you do", Will smirked back.

They spent the next few days not in total radio silence, but just texting or calling here and there. Jay wanted to give Hailey some space and some rest, she had been so good to him this week. Really going above and beyond her partner duties. Adam, Kim, Kevin, hell even Voight and Trudy- would have stepped in to help him out he's sure of it. What he wasn't so sure of was that they would have offered to wash his hair for him in the sink because he couldn't get his stitches wet in the shower or hold his hand to curb his anxiety so he could sleep. That thoughtfulness and gentleness was all Hailey.

Jay found himself smiling a lot lately when he thought of Hailey. His apartment felt lonely without her since she had been relieved of her duties by Will, the two of them kept jokingly calling it that. He was excited to see her again, after spending almost a week apart. Probably the longest they've spent apart ever, if he thought about it. But it was the holidays, and he knew she was spending it with Vanessa.

Will was beaming ear to ear when Jay had asked him to drop him off at Hailey's for the night on NYE.

"It's not what you think", Jay said as Will grabbed his overnight bag, since Jay was still in a sling.

"Again, not saying anything. But if I did… it definitely wouldn't be a comment about you packing a bag for a sleepover at your partner's house on New Year's Eve", Will said smugly.

"We do this every year", Jay blurted out, realizing that was just incriminating himself more.

Will chuckled, "That's all you needed to say."

Jay rolled his eyes and got into Will's car; he was heading to work nights at Med.

Will brought Jay's bag inside Hailey and Vanessa's house, quickly saying hello to the two women. Jay initially protested and told Will it made him feel like he was his parent dropping him off at a kids sleepover.

"Well that is sort of what this is no?" Will laughed, Jay couldn't help but laugh and agree too. Jay quickly hushing his brother as Hailey opened the door and invited them inside.

"You know Hailey, since Jay still has stitches in, he really should be sleeping in a proper bed tonight", Will was testing his luck, in his most serious doctor voice, knowing full well this was only a two bedroom house as he and Jay had helped Hailey move in.

That earned a huge laugh from Vanessa in the background. Who quickly silenced herself when she felt Hailey's eyes glaring at her. It had been fun, and way too easy these last few weeks to point out the love they shared for one another.

Hailey cleared her throat, while Jay looked like he wanted to curl into a ball and hide. Vanessa and Will were just looking at each other with wide grins, enjoying the chaos that was unfolding.

"Right, we'll take that professional advice into consideration", Jay replied.

"See you next year brother, Happy New Year ladies", Will waved goodbye after excusing himself to get to his shift on time.

"Is he always that….", Vanessa was having a hard time putting into words the joy that's she's stumbled upon in finding another Hailey and Jay shipper.

"Annoying? Yes, our whole lives", Jay replied with a grin and made his way to the kitchen.

"You better keep it together", Hailey whispered to Vanessa under her breath, in a slightly threatening yet goofy tone.

The three of them enjoyed their Chinese takeout together, laughing at Vanessa's dating life antics, and listened to an old vinyl on Hailey's record player.

"Ready to go skate?" Vanessa asked after they had cleaned up the kitchen.

"You sure you're feeling up to skating?" Hailey asked Jay seriously.

"Yes, I'm sure", Jay confirmed.

"Alright, but no drinking. You are off balance enough", she added, pointing to his sling.

Jay pretended to roll his eyes, "Fine. You guys are no fun."

"Bosses rule, sorry Jay", Vanessa replied.

"We can have a few drinks later", Hailey smiled, trying not to be uptight but she was nervous Jay was going to fall.

The walk was short over to Hailey and Vanessa's neighbourhood rink. Luckily, they had it all to themselves.

Jay chuckled when he sat down, totally forgetting that putting his feet in his skates was about as far as he could get on his own.

"What?" Hailey asked.

"You're gonna have to tie my skates for me", Jay stated with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, now look who needs a man", Hailey replied teasing him.

"Yeah, yeah. Please?", he batted his eyelashes at her.

"I got you", Hailey smiled bashfully this time, standing up after tying hers, pulling his right leg up between her knees.

"You good V?" She asked the young officer who seemed to also be struggling with her skates.

"Uhhh…I think so? I don't know I've never done this before", she admitted sheepishly.

Hailey and Jay both looked at her. "Wait you've never been skating?" They asked.

Vanessa shook her head, "Not really something we ever did growing up."

Hailey and Jay smiled at each other, realizing this was going to be a special memory for her.

"We'll teach you. Well mostly me, Jay needs to focus on his own balance right now", Hailey laughed, Jay nodding in agreement.

"Alright come on, you first", Hailey held out her hand to pull Jay up and make sure he got on the ice okay. If he was going to fall it was getting on and off the bumpy outdoor rink.

Jay's muscles tensed up in a good way as he felt Hailey's hand on the small of his back, and the other intertwine with his fingers, lending him some support as he got his skating legs under him.

"You're good?" Hailey asked cautiously as she slowly pulled her hand away from him to see if he was going to be able to do this safely in a sling.

"I'm good", he gave her a thumbs up, mentally shaking his head as she skated back to get Vanessa. Why a thumbs up that was so dorky? She was just holding your hand, he thought to himself.

Hailey met him on his next lap with Vanessa in tow, who surprisingly wasn't as bad at skating as he thought she was going to be. He was picturing a full on Bambi on ice moment. But she was holding her own, only needing to hold on to Hailey a little bit here and there.

They went around in circles, slowly of course, enjoying the fresh, crisp air.

Vanessa even got confident and was taking strides on her own.

"I feel like a proud parent", Hailey said as she caught up to skate next to Jay. He snorted.

"Me too, kids- they grow up so quick", Jay pretended to wipe a fake tear from his eye and stumbled a bit, quickly catching himself. But Hailey was quicker- jumping into action, putting her hand on his back to steady him.

"You alright?" She asked, he could hear the nerves in her voice.

"Yeah I'm alright", Jay reassured her. "You don't realize how important both of your arms are for balance until you only have use of one…"

"Okay that's it you're holding my hand. If you fall Will is going to kill me", Hailey said nervously, grabbing onto his right hand, Jay quickly accepting it and wrapping his fingers around hers.

He smirked and said boldly, with a twinkle in his eye, "You know if you ever want to hold my hand Hailey you can just ask."

Instead of a sassy reply back like he was expecting all Hailey had to say was, "Good to know." Her own cheeky smile spreading across her face.

Unbeknownst to them, Vanessa managed to pull out her phone to snap a few discrete pictures of the normally super private and reserved detectives, casually holding hands while skating around as if this was the most normal thing in the world for them. And maybe it was.

They didn't last too much longer outside; Vanessa was complaining that her feet were hurting. Jay didn't say much, but Hailey could tell her was getting tired.

"Can we head back", Jay finally whispered to her after one last lap around the rink. That was all the confirmation that Hailey needed that it was time to call it a night.

They made the short walk back to their house, Jay yawning more than a few times.

"You sure you're okay?" Hailey whispered as they made their way inside, plopping themselves down on the couch to get warm.

"Just tired", Jay admitted, a wave of it coming on quickly. He felt it as soon as they started skating, but he stuck it out because he knew Hailey and Vanessa were having fun. His endurance was still not back up to par after surgery.

Hailey gave him a once over, trying not to fuss. She settled on grabbing the blanket hanging on the back of the couch, to drape over him. She thought he'd object and say he wasn't that tired, but he didn't. He just murmured a thank you, and said he was going to close his eyes for a few minutes.

Vanessa came back downstairs after she changed into more comfortable clothes. "Alright time to party!" She said loudly, before she saw Hailey trying to shush her to keep it down, pointing to a sleeping Jay on their couch.

"Oops", she said quietly, holding her breath for a minute, then letting it out once she saw Jay was still out cold.

"What's wrong with him?" Vanessa asked nervously. All joking aside, she knew Jay had been seriously injured obviously, his body had been through a lot in the last few weeks. But she didn't really have the front row seat to all of it like she knew Hailey had. So, she wasn't sure if this was a cause for concern, Jay passed out cold so early in their night.

"He's okay, just sleepy and resting for a few. Think skating took more out of him than he'd like to admit", Hailey answered.

"Gotcha", Vanessa replied, moving to follow Hailey into their kitchen to mix up some cocktails.

They were trying their best to keep their voices down, and when it came time to go back out to the living room to throw on a movie, they were surprised to find Jay still napping.

Hailey just shook her head, mouthing let him sleep, turning their TV down low. Hailey and Vanessa decided on a romantic comedy, it was about halfway through, barely pushing 9:30 when Jay finally woke up.

"Well hello sleeping beauty", Vanessa cooed.

Jay looked confused for half a second, looking around, until remembering where he was. He even had an imprint of the blanket on his cheek, which made the two women laugh, the ultimate sign of a good nap.

"Hey", he said gruffly, lifting his head, which he realized had found a resting place on Hailey's shoulder.

"Feeling better?" Vanessa asked, Hailey was watching him carefully for his answer.

Jay nodded, "Sleepy."

"I bet", Vanessa added, now watching Hailey carefully as she subtly moved closer to Jay on the couch and gave him a look, clearly just reserved for communication between the two of them.

"Why don't you go lie down Jay? Hailey spoke in a soft tone.

"I'll be fine here. You ladies going to offer a guy a drink or what?" He said with a grin.

"Now I know that means you're feeling okay", Hailey laughed as she went to grab him a beer from the fridge.

"Cheers", he said to both of them, toasting their drinks together.

Jay got a bit of a second wind and enjoyed a few drinks with Hailey and Vanessa, they played a few rounds of cards.

But his second wind didn't last too long, and Vanessa nudged Hailey to look at Jay whose eyes were once again closing on the couch.

"Jay", Hailey whispered softly, with no response.

She carefully sat next to him, rubbing his forearm to wake him up.

"Hmm?" Jay mumbled without opening his eyes.

"Time for bed okay?" Hailey said.

"Did I miss the ball dropping?" Jay said sleepily.

Hailey and Vanessa laughed. "No, it's not even 11 o'clock yet grandpa", Vanessa said.

That caused Jay to crack one eye open, laughing at himself a little.

"I don't think I'm making it to midnight this year", he said looking at Hailey.

"I know, that's alright, come on I'll tuck you in upstairs", she said.

"Hailey it's fine I can just sleep on the couch", Jay said, suddenly feeling a bit weird about intentionally sleeping in her bed with her, not just an accidental crash like they've done before.

"Jay you're not sleeping on my couch, you just had surgery. As much as Will was messing with us, he's right- you do need a real bed", Hailey said sternly.

"Well are you at least going to let me buy you dinner first?" Jay said jokingly.

Vanessa nearly spat out her drink. These two, they're so close…they're just playing chicken with one another at this point, she thought to herself.

Hailey playfully slapped his good arm, giving him a hand off the couch.

She followed him upstairs, tucking him into her bed as promised. He needed to sleep propped up still, so she made sure he had enough pillows behind him.

"I'm good Hailey really, go back downstairs with Vanessa", Jay said with a yawn.

"Okay, get some sleep. See you next year", she winked, he smiled and shook his head.

Hailey closed her door quietly and went back downstairs to have another drink with Vanessa and get ready to watch the ball drop.

The two of them popped champagne at midnight, hugged, and danced around their living room, finishing up their drinks and snacks.

"So- You're telling me that you're gonna go up to your room and sleep in your bed with Jay Halstead, and not feel anything?!" Vanessa said bewildered.

"Well V if you really must know we do this every year- go skating, have dinner and make a couch fort to have a sleepover" Hailey confessed cheekily.

Vanessa's eyes went wide at her admission- "Wait so I third wheeled this hot date?!"

Hailey chuckled. "Yeah some wild night, my date passed out before midnight."

Vanessa caught her friend, "So you did want this to be a date."

Hailey just rolled her eyes and smiled. "I don't know what we are at the moment, we haven't really talked about it. But I think we're both on the same page."

That was enough for the young officer, "Aww. Well I think there's a lot of love there, whatever "there" is", Vanessa replied.

"I think so too", Hailey agreed quietly.

Hailey made sure to crack open her door slowly and ever so quietly. She went into her bathroom, got ready for bed and brushed her teeth.

She pulled back the covers on her side of the bed, and slowly dipped in, trying not to wake Jay.

She paused for a second, seeing if he would wake up, but he didn't make a sound. She rolled over to face him, staring at his face in the dark for a minute. He got so lucky a few weeks ago, that was not lost on her. If she wasn't there right as it happened, he might have bled out. And before she could stop herself, not sure what suddenly came over her, Hailey leaned over and gently placed a kiss on the side of his forehead.

"Saw that", she heard a low rumble from her partner next to her a few seconds later.

She smirked, feeling the blush creep across her cheeks, but also confident lying in darkness.

"I know", she replied.

"Happy New Year Hailey next year will be our year", Jay said in a tired voice, his own confidence shining through.

"Happy New Year Jay, I think it will be too", she rested her hand on top of his, leaving it there as they slept soundly the rest of the night.

And there we have chapter 3! Longest one so far. Can you tell that Season 7 Jay and Hailey was my favourite...haha. Thanks for following along so far. Hope everyone had a great weekend - K