yeah i know i said this would be up by tuesday but then i had to work (i babysat the little boy who owns half of my heart, the half that doesn't belong to jay halstead/upstead & my fav tv shows lol)
The lights from the tree were reflected in the glass of the window, like candles on a romantic date. A heavy snowfall was coming down and the ploughs on the street below were working overtime to keep the roads cleared. Hailey felt bad that the workers were missing Christmas with their families; she was thankful to be warm and cozy in her apartment with her favourite people in the world. Her husband being one of them, and her daughter being the other.
"Beaner-bug is excited that it's Christmas," said Jay softly, his hand resting on Hailey's stomach. Jay had been absolutely enamoured with his wife's pregnant belly the past few weeks. Ever since he found out that the baby was a girl, the detective had been wrapped around her little finger. He was right there, talking to her and telling her all the exciting things that happened at work, or the story of when Adam broke the coffee pot and no one was letting him live it down. Hailey sometimes rolled her eyes when Jay got home from work because he went straight to saying hi to his daughter; he sometimes forgot about the woman she was inhabiting. But he was so good to his kid already, that Hailey didn't mind too much. She was mostly just excited for her to be in their arms. This was going to be the last Christmas just the two of them, which was a little bit crazy to think about. Hailey and Jay were prepared to pull out all the stops next year and leave this year's quiet and the two of them.
Sylvie was at Matt's sister, Christie's, for the holidays after Matt, Griffin and Ben flew in from Oregon. Kim, Adam, Makayla and Isla were doing the same home-Christmas as Hailey and Jay. And Stella and Severide were on edge about when their son would make his appearance into the world. Stella's due date had been the twentieth of December, which put her already five days overdue. She was not a happy camper, blaming her husband for their lazy son not wanting to make a move yet. Severide was doing whatever he could to keep Stella happy and comfortable, which one could imagine was tough at over forty weeks pregnant. When Hailey and Jay had dropped off some Christmas presents the previous day, Stella told her that the baby was going to be here by New Year's, if she had anything to say about it.
As it was just the two of them, Jay and Hailey were in no rush to open presents and eat breakfast. Jay had made hot chocolate for both of them and they just watched the world come to life around them. It was a picturesque scene to see the snow outside, and here bells jingling as people crunched in their boots. Jay pulled Hailey closer with his other arm and she rested her head on his shoulder, in absolute bliss.
When the clock changed to eleven, Jay decided he wanted Hailey to open at least one of the presents he had gotten her before noon. He moved himself off the couch and searched through the small pile of gifts around their mini Christmas tree to find the one he wanted Hailey to open first. She smiled when he came back towards her with a small rectangle box, and pulled the blanket back so that he could snuggle up next to her again.
"I wonder what this could be," Hailey said mysteriously. She genuinely had no idea and was eager to find out. She tore the wrapping paper and lifted the lid of the box. Inside was a card and a necklace which Hailey immediately noticed had a J and H on it. "I love it," she told Jay, leaning over to give him a quick hug.
Jay smiled as he rescued the box from her lap. "Wait, you didn't read the card."
Hailey smiled back, sheepishly. "Sorry." Her eyes skimmed the note, and then she smiled even wider. "What does 'pending letter' mean?"
"I told the jewelry store that we were waiting on adding a letter to the necklace. You can wear it now and then whenever we figure out a name for our daughter, we can go and get her first initial added," Jay explained.
"That is the best thing," Hailey said, tears springing to her eyes. She hated these pregnancy hormones that made her more emotional, but she was very touched.
"Don't cry, that's like the first present of many," Jay said jokingly. He used his long arms to snag the next closest present and read the tag. "This is from Makayla and Isla, for the both of us. Let's get through at least a few of the gifts or else we'll be opening them until New Year's."
"Okay." Hailey dried her eyes with her sweater sleeve, then reached to take the bag. The girls had gotten Hailey and Jay's little girl a bow headband and Makayla had drawn a picture. Hailey bought Jay a "cop dad" hat plus a new sweater since she stole his most of the time. Besides the necklace, Jay got Hailey a new winter jacket and a 'world's best detective mom' mug to match the one Hailey had used to surprise him about her pregnancy. Will bought his future niece a cute Chicago bears jersey and a nice whiskey decanter for Jay and Hailey to share once she wasn't pregnant anymore. And from their friends, they had a weekend away to a nearby lake as one last "vacation" before the baby came. Other small things were sprinkled throughout as well. Both Jay and Hailey felt extremely spoiled by those that loved them in their lives, and incredibly thankful.
Jay took to putting all the wrapping paper in the recycling, as Hailey fell asleep on the sofa with Jay's new sweater over her like a blanket. He smiled and shook his head; when he had unwrapped the present, he fully expected his wife to take it over. Grabbing a throw off the nearby chair, Jay tucked Hailey in tighter and grabbed his laptop. If she was going to nap, he could at least get a little bit of work done or read news during it. Their dinner plans were nothing fancy as Hailey's pregnancy food aversions were in full swing. Toast and eggs seemed to be a safe bet, so that's what Jay intended to make for Christmas dinner.
When Hailey opened her eyes, she raised her head and saw that Jay had fallen asleep too, his head resting on the top of the sofa. His right hand was on her belly, the left holding her hand. Always close with both of his girls. The thought made Hailey smile as she just watched Jay sleep, in the least creepy way possible. They were married, so it didn't really matter.
Later, when dinner was cleared away and the extras put away, Hailey went over to the stereo and turned on some Christmas tunes. Today was the last day that was socially acceptable to listen to them and Hailey intended to make the most of it. Jay shut the dishwasher and walked over to his wife, wrapping his arms around her as best he could. They swayed slowly together, as the music set the speed. Jay pressed his forehead up against Hailey's and his eyes closed. The weather outside was frightful, but inside with his arms wrapped about both of his girls, Jay never felt more safe. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
can't believe we're halfway already? I started this fic less than a month ago lol, and we're 2 thirds of the way through Hailey's pregnancy. only good things to come, I promise :) find me on tumblr at thedefinitionofendgame. thanks for reading!