just an fyi that finding out the sex of a baby does not mean you know their gender. this one was supposed to be short, 1-1.5k max. 3.2k later here we are.
At their twenty week appointment, Hailey was more relaxed than than the previous few times she had come. Dr. Trasse and her were old friends and they even made jokes sometimes. Jay had shown up to nearly every consultation—today being no different.
Jay's hand rested on Hailey's knee, though normally his fingers entwined with hers. However, Hailey was currently in an animated text chain with her friends, trying not to laugh out loud at some of the things they were saying.
Stella: Guys, Kelly and I think we have a name for the baby…
Sylvie: I've heard it, it's a really cute idea.
Kim: You told her and not us?
Stella: Sylvie guessed actually. She was bored in Oregon waiting for Matt to finish his shift so she Facetimed me and started listing names. Not my fault Kelly reacted next to me when she said it!
Hailey: Well do we get to guess then?
Stella: Definitely. You guys are still coming over on the weekend, right?
Kim: Count us in. Unfortunately we can't get a sitter for Mak, so she's good to come too?
Hailey: Yep, Jay and I will be there.
Stella: Definitely, there's about to be 2 more kids joining us in less than six months, and Makayla's so well-behaved.
Hailey: Be prepared for the onslaught of guesses.
Kim: I just asked Makayla what she thinks you should name the baby. Apparently "Buddy" is the go-to at the moment.
Sylvie: I put my phone down for one minute and you guys have sent a whole scroll's worth of texts Stella you're naming your kid Buddy instead of *TBA*
Stella: No, that's what Makayla thinks I should name him. Can I ask why?
Kim: She just watched Elf again. Can you blame the girl?
Stella: No, but that's not what I'm naming my kid. As much as it's cute…maybe that can be his nickname.
Kim: Just told Mak, and you got her all excited. She left to go make you, Severide and Buddy a card.
Stella: Glad I could make her day😂
Sylvie: Wait Hailey, don't you have your 20 week appointment today?
Hailey: Yeah, we're in the waiting room actually. Here's a pic of us before we went in today. sent photo attachment
Kim: Nice, taking the same corny underground parking selfie pics as always.
Hailey: You know it 😉
Stella: I found out the sex of the baby before the twenty weeks, yet you still haven't. Think you might do it today?
Hailey: Not if I can help it. Jay was hoping to know last time, but the baby wasn't in the right spot to tell. I want it to be a surprise.
Kim: Fair enough. We wanted to know because Makayla kept asking us every single day. I needed the questions to end!
Sylvie: If you do find out, tell us!
Hailey: You can guess, just like Stella's making us guess her baby's name. Way harder if you ask me!
Stella: Deal.
Just then, Jay nudged her gently with his knee, which made Hailey jump. "They called your name," he explained.
"Oh." Hailey quickly told her friends that she had to go and pocketed her phone. Jay slipped his hand in hers as they made their way to the examination room.
Today a new nurse was on shift. As she was asking the basic questions, she kept looking at Jay with a funny look on her face. Hailey wasn't the jealous type—and vowed never to be—but she was definitely confused. After a minute, the nurse couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Are you Mr. Halstead? The intelligence police officer?"
Surprised, Jay nodded. "Yes. How do you know me?"
The nurse looked so happy. "You sat with my younger sister ages ago, when our grocery store got robbed by gang members after an employee. My dad got sucker-punched in the face, and me and my sister were okay, but scared half to death. I remember you, and another guy who had a deep voice. Forgot his name though. But you kept me and my little sister calm until our mom came and picked us up," she rushed to say. Hailey smiled as she watched the exchange, no longer worried at all. Clearly this was just a really sweet fan of his, giving her husband the rep he deserved.
Jay was also smiling as he replied, "That case was one of my very first on Intelligence, but I remember you. I think your dad offered Voight, the other man, some coffee as a thank you. Not sure why I recall that, but yes."
The young woman turned to Hailey. "Is this your wife?"
"Yes." Jay wrapped an arm proudly around Hailey. "We're having our first kid in a few months."
"I'm so happy for you guys! That's awesome. Oh, I'm Lacey by the way," she said, reaching out her hand to shake Hailey's, then Jay's. "I hope to see you guys around more. I'll also have to call Belle—that's my sister—to tell her that our hero from the store is alive and clearly living a good life!" With that, she left the room and shut the door behind her. Hailey looked over at her husband with a smirk on her face.
"So you have fans? Why am I just hearing about this now?"
Making a funny face, Jay rolled his eyes. "Fans? More like a couple girls thankful that I hung out with them for a bit. You're the real fan of Jay Halstead."
"Fair point." Hailey shook her head with a smile. She loved her husband, and was totally a fan of his.
Soon enough, Dr. Trasse opened the exam room door with big smiles. "Hello Hailey. Jay, good to see you. How are the mom-and-dad-to-be doing?"
"Great," replied Hailey with all honesty. Also it would never get old to hear 'mom and dad' when referring to her and Jay. Luckily, she was preparing herself for a lifetime of it.
They chatted for a few minutes, then it was time for their ultrasound. Hailey dutifully rolled up her shirt and only flinched a little bit when the gel was squirted onto her stomach. Jay flipped the lights and came to take Hailey's hand at the end of the examination table. She was only showing a little bit at this point. Enough that when Jay hugged her, they couldn't be flushed up against each other, but Hailey could still see her toes.
It took a second, then the heartbeat of the baby echoed in the dark room. "There's your baby," Dr. Trasse announced softly as she pointed at the monitor.
Hailey didn't even have to glance at Jay to know he was crying. It warmed her heart to know that their baby was so loved even before they were in the real world. She squeezed Jay's hand and watched the blurry image on screen wiggle around a bit.
Dr. Trasse peered a bit closer at the screen, then smiled. "The baby is right on track for twenty weeks. And their actually in a good place this time, if you want to know the sex?"
"No," Hailey said instantly, at the same time Jay replied "yes". They both looked at each other in an intense stare, wondering who would back down first.
After about twenty seconds of no one saying anything, Dr. Trasse tried to clear the air. "You guys don't have to decide now. I can give you a few minutes."
Hailey shook her head. "I want it to be a surprise. Come on Jay, we only get to do this once."
Pretending to look shocked, Jay looked at her. "You mean you don't want to have another munchkin after this one?"
Hailey ignored Jay's silly baby nickname and said, "Keep it in your pants. Let's focus on this kid before we start talking about the idea of another." She rolled her eyes playfully, before continuing. "I want it to be a surprise," she said.
Jay argued, "But then how are we going to think of a name? I can't come up with a girl's name and a boy's name." He quickly moved out of the way, as Dr. Trasse flipped the lights back on and passed Hailey a tissue to wipe off her stomach.
"How about you find out and then just don't tell me?" Hailey offered, willing to be cooperative about it.
"That's a great idea, until I slip up. I'm not reliable at this stuff, Hails."
Dr. Trasse cleared her throat and the couple looked over at her, stopping their conversation. "How about I write it on one of the sonograms and put it in this sealed envelope? You guys can take it home and decide. If you don't want to know, just recycle this envelope and you'll be all set," she said.
Jay's gaze met Hailey's. They had a soundless conversation with their eyes, then Hailey nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She pulled her shirt back down and put back on the jacket Jay passed to her. Pocketing the unrevealing picture, Jay let Hailey take the sacred one. They said thanks to the doctor and got back into the truck. Jay quickly snapped a picture of the newest ultrasound picture to his brother; Hailey did the same to the girls group chat. She hadn't told her mom and dad about the baby yet because she wasn't sure she wanted them in her child's life. Since her parents came as almost a package deal, Hailey was very unsure about her father finding out. Not that he would do anything, but she was not letting him anywhere near her kid after what he had put her and her brothers through. Eventually she would tell them, and waiting at least until the baby was born seemed like the safest idea. Hailey also planned on telling her brothers when the baby arrived, but that was a definite plan.
At least they had Will, in terms of family support. He and Jay didn't used to be on the best of terms, but life had changed for the better over the course of the last couple years. Now they were fine, getting a drink together most times when a break in their off shifts aligned. The girls were close enough to Hailey's family at this point too. No matter what, Jay and Hailey had good people surrounding them and willing to step in to help with the baby whenever. The baby that Hailey was very adamant would not be sex-revealed until birth. Maybe she would try one of Kim and Stella's guilt tactics to get Jay to succumb to her side. Couldn't hurt, right?
...
A few nights later, Hailey woke up with a start. She hadn't been sleeping well the past couple days, and when she fell asleep next to Jay, she didn't expect tonight to be any different. Instead of forcing herself to lie there, Hailey carefully wormed her way out of bed and threw on one of Jay's discarded shirts from the chair across the room. Then she made her way into the kitchen to make herself some decaffeinated tea. At five months pregnant, something else she couldn't do, was lean against the counter anymore. It made her smile because it meant that their little bean was growing in there.
Of all the nicknames Jay had tried to use, Bean seemed to stick the most. It was more cute than cringy anyways, because their baby was a tiny growing bean inside Hailey. It also was a very gender neutral term, as Hailey still didn't want to find out the sex of the baby until they were born. The envelope with the reveal was stuck to the fridge and it taunted Jay every single time he walked by. He was trying to hold out for his wife's sake, but Hailey had a feeling he was going to peek any day now. While Hailey's guilt tactics—plus her pregnancy hormone-increased sex drive that Jay was living for at the moment—had worked initially, there was only so much willpower a person could have.
Drinking her tea in silence, Hailey's gaze wandered around their apartment space. It was a cosy place, and there was enough room for her and Jay to live without problems. Even when little bean came, there would still be enough space at least for a short while. A bigger place was something she and Jay had been thinking about, but didn't want to make any rash decisions. Maybe in a year or so.
Throughout her gaze travelling, Hailey kept coming back to the envelope stuck to the fridge. It was most definitely bothering her and being alone with no one to tell her to stop thinking about it, made Hailey want to open it. Of course, she wasn't going to do that because it was only in their house still for Jay's torture sake. Speaking of Jay, Hailey decided to put Jay out of his misery and trash the envelope right now. She grabbed it off the fridge, attempting to rip it in half but failing miserably. All it did was break the seal but the sonogram remained intact. Instead of just trashing the whole thing, Hailey was determined the destroy all elements of the envelope so that Jay wouldn't accidentally take a peek.
But then Hailey got curious. She couldn't help herself; the answer was right there and her brain was practically telling her to look. She wanted to look. No, wait, she didn't want to know the sex of the baby. Jay did and she would be damned if she hadn't let him see it but then looked at it herself. Not that Jay would be angry in the slightest, it was just something Hailey did not want to happen. Right? The reasons for her wanting to keep it a surprise seemed less important now that she was almost being fed this opportunity to peek. It wouldn't kill her to go back on what she said before. She was allowed to change her mind.
After staring at the tear in the seal for a solid two minutes, Hailey decided to trash it. She fought against her brain and walked over to the cupboard. But suddenly, she felt movement in her belly, which made her stop short. She placed a hand on her stomach, wanting to see if the baby would do it again.
A second later, she felt another shift. In absolute awe, Hailey leaned against the counter and let her child test its boundaries. She was so enamoured, that the envelope was long forgotten about. At least until Hailey realized it was still in her hand. Being the kind of detective she was, Hailey decided that the baby kicking right before she was about to trash the envelope, was a sign. A sign that Hailey should look at the sonogram and find out what she clearly wanted to know. Because Hailey was already wrapped around this kid's finger, she listened.
Ripping it open, Hailey saw the grainy image of her little bean first. Dr. Trasse had apparently written the results on the back. So, with her heart pounding, Hailey flipped the paper over. Clear as day on the flip side of the sonogram, was the sex of the baby. Girl. Hailey's face broke into a smile and she couldn't contain herself. She let out a tiny squeal right there in the middle of the kitchen. Then she slapped her hand over her mouth, remembering that Jay was still sleeping. But he was the one who wanted to find out in the first place so what did it matter if he knew now? She was so excited she simply couldn't contain it..
Hailey would've been happy with a boy. Stella and Severide's first baby was going to be a boy and the idea made her smile. Yet there was something adorable about the idea of Jay being a girl dad, just like Adam. Also having a girl would mean that Isla would have a playmate just over nine months younger! The grin on Hailey's face was insurmountable. Without thinking about the fact that it was three a-m in the morning, Hailey ran as carefully as she could into the bedroom and leaped onto the mattress; again, as best she could while pregnant.
"Jay, wake up!" Hailey whisper-yelled.
"Mmhhmmm," Jay grumbled, but he turned over to blink at her in the inky darkness. "What's up?" He asked.
"It's a girl! We're having a girl," Hailey announced, eyes still bright.
Jay was puzzled at first until it clicked. "You looked?"
Hailey knew he wasn't upset, mostly just finding it funny. "I couldn't sleep and then I got curious. I tried to trash it, but the envelope seal broke and then the baby kicked and I took it as a sign. Plus, it was mean to put it on the fridge."
"You're the one who put it there in the first place!" Jay replied, exasperated. But he was smiling too as he took in the rest of what she said. "You felt the baby kick?"
"Well, kick is a relaxed term. Move, yes. But nothing substantial. Pretty sure she went back to sleep though." Smirking, Hailey shrugged. "And oops about the fridge placement. Anyways I looked at the sonogram and it said girl. We're having a baby girl, Jay!"
Jay didn't say anything because he was the type of man who spoke louder with actions rather than words. He quickly wrapped his arms around Hailey and rolled over so that her back was pressed into the blankets, and he was half hovering over her. Her face was flushed with happiness, her hair messy and Jay thought she looked like the prettiest sight in the whole wide world. She was though and that was the honest truth; Jay didn't care how biased the comment made him. Hailey Anne Upton was a ray of sunshine wherever she went and he couldn't get enough of her. Thankfully by some miracle she agreed to marry him, and was soon to be the mother of his child. His daughter, which he would never get tired of hearing.
His lips descended on hers and met softly. His eyes opened to stare into her impossibly blue ones. "Do we tell our friends and Will? Or should we keep it a surprise?" He asked, not caring one way or another.
"I'll tell the girls soon enough. Especially Kim, because Isla's going to have a ready-made best friend," said Hailey after a moment. "You can tell Will whatever you like."
Jay nodded. "Okay. I'm meeting him for a drink next week; maybe I'll spill it then. I love you."
"I love you too." Hailey's smile returned, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now shut up and kiss me." No reply was needed. Jay did exactly what she asked and held her close as they made out. Later, he would laugh about the fact that Hailey had been the first to break and look at the results, even though she had been adamant about waiting until the baby was born to find out. Although right now, Jay was content with holding his wife in his arms and drifting off soon with the promise of having a little girl just like her joining them in a few months. He couldn't wait.
if you haven't noticed, i've been updating this fic on tuesdays and fridays/saturdays and honestly it's going well so far (chapter 5 strong!) i'm gonna force myself to keep up this schedule until 'willow' is done, and then i'm taking a much-needed hiatus from consistent fic updates lol. but until then, either keep an eye out on my tumblr for updates, or check back here 2x a week!