"Oh dear… I'm never going to do that again", Kim groaned.

She buried her face in her hands and tried to ease the headache by gently massaging her temples. Adam didn't look much better. He could barely sit upright in his chair.

"Well, you know the saying: If you can drink like a champ, you can work the next day", Voight said and walked past the desks towards his office.

Kevin almost choked on his coffee because he had to laugh. Hailey and Jay both smiled behind their computers.

"Stop guys! How does it come that you don't feel like we do?"

"We certainly didn't drink that much", Kevin said coldly.

"Kev's right, you guys pretty much emptied the bar by yourselves", Jay agreed.

"That is not even true!"

Kim pouted and took a sip from her coffee.

"We saw it Kim", Hailey said and smiled, "believe me, we had the perfect view all night. Do you remember that Jay and I brought you two up to your apartment? I practically carried you upstairs. But you don't need thank me for that."

Kim stuck her tongue out. Hailey started laughing and Jay and Kevin smiled while shifting their attention back to the paperwork.
They were about halfway through with it when Voight came out of his office and headed for the stairs.

"Heads up everyone, we got a case. Double homicide in a church."

They got up and grabbed their stuff. Voight turned back around right before he reached the stairs and faced Kim and Adam.

"Ruzek, Burgess, you good to go or do I need to put behind your desks today?"

"No Sarge, we're good to go. I need some action right now", Adam replied quickly.

Kim nodded in agreement.

"Alright, but I'll keep an eye on you. If I notice that you're not concentrated or able to do field work, I put you in your place. Understood?"

"Yes Sarge."

Then, they headed for the crime scene.

The case was connected to the gang scene around the church. Most of the people didn't want to talk but the pool of suspects was small, so they only had to wait for the forensic evidence to identify the killer. Intelligence caught him at one of his gang meetings and CPD was able to arrest some of his friends, who were wanted for meth.
It was almost eight p.m. when Hailey finally put her pen down and closed her folder.

"That's it, no more paperwork", she exclaimed.

"You done already?", Jay asked jealous.

"Yeah, I'll do the rest tomorrow or at home. I'm tired and hungry."

Jay eyed her closely while she put her jacket on and shut down her computer. Then she walked over into the break room to put her mug into the dishwasher. He followed her after checking if anyone was watching.

"Hey, you want to go somewhere for dinner?"

Hailey cocked her eyebrows at him.

"Is that a date?"

Jay debated his answer.

"Well, I'm in my work clothes and it's in the middle of the week, so I wouldn't call it fancy, but you can label it as a date if you want to."

She smiled.

"Good, because we never had a real date before. Consider your invitation as accepted. Where do you want to go?"

"Remember that I promised you Bartoli's when you were in New York? I think we never went there afterwards so… I still owe you pizza from Bartoli's."

Hailey smiled at him.

"All in. You ready to go?"

"Three minutes and I'm all yours."

"That's not true, you're lying!", Hailey exclaimed when they entered her apartment.

Jay just laughed and closed her door behind them.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that you weren't already madly in love with me by then? You were about to confess in that hospital room, admit it!"

Hailey remained silent. He was absolutely right but she didn't want to agree with him. She didn't want it to get to his head.

"You know, your silence says more than a thousand words."

The boyish grin on his face made her roll her eyes. She dropped her jacket on the chair near the door and walked away.

"Come on Hailey, are you mad at me now? I was just messing around…"

"I don't want to agree with you otherwise it gets to your head", she interrupted and stopped in her hallway. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted.

Jay smiled and came to stand in front of her. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. She lowered her gaze, but she didn't fight his embrace. He looked at her and remembered the day when he first met her. He'd been very impressed with her demeanor. She came flying into that bank, trying to take over the crime scene from one of the scariest cops within the CPD.
Today she wasn't any different. Whenever they first arrive at a crime scene, she changes right into boss mode and has everything under control within minutes. He loved that about her. He loved a lot about her, especially the different sides of her character. Sometimes she is Boss-Hailey, the strong and confident woman that can lead the way without being disrespected by anyone. And then, she has her softer side, the one that she puts on when she talks to victims or spends time with her loved ones. Obviously, there aren't only these two sides, there are so many more. The challenge for everyone around her, especially for him, is to find out which side she shows. That's what makes her a mystery to him, even after their years of partnership and this short time of dating.

"Stop staring at me like that, that's creepy."

Hailey's voice brought him back to the present. He smiled at her even brighter.

"What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about the moment I met you. Long time ago."

He pulled her even closer. Hailey giggled at the thought of that moment.

"Wow… I literally tried to steal a crime scene from Voight. I was pretty badass back then huh?"

"Hell yes", he replied quickly and kissed her.

She smiled against his lips.

"Why did you think about that moment?"

"I actually don't know. My mind just came up with that thought. Maybe because you haven't really changed since then, you know… you're still the confident, stubborn woman I met in that bank all those years ago."

"You haven't changed that much either", she said and eyed him closely.

"Really?"

"Yes… besides this one here."

Hailey gently pushed his shirt aside and touched the gunshot scar on his left shoulder. Jay slightly shivered under her touch.

"Huh it's quite funny that even though I almost lost you because of this little mark, I still love it."

She traced the edges with her finger.

"It's actually the one I love the most", she said and brought her eyes up to meet his.

"Why?", Jay asked toneless.

"It made me realize that life is too short to overthink things."

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to explain.

"Jay, I think I'm ready. Let's tell our friends that we're together."

Her statement caught him off guard. He took a tiny step back and checked her face. He tried to catch every little movement to make sure she did just say that.

"Are you sure? You know, we don't have to rush this at all…"

"Jay", Hailey interrupted him and grabbed his arms, "It's all good. I thought this through and I'm sure about my decision. I want our friends and Voight to know."

"You know how badly I want everyone to know that you're mine, but I don't want that you regret anything afterwards."

"I won't, I promise", she assured him.

To confirm her statement, she leaned in and kissed him passionately. He put his arms back around her waist and pulled her impossibly close.

"I love you Hailey. And nothing in this whole world will change anything about that. Even if Voight isn't happy with the situation or if our friends tease us all the time. I'm yours, now and forever."

And from this moment on, Hailey knew that she found her man. She smiled brightly at him and let him guide them into her room.

Now it was time for the world to know.

I'm all yours Jay Halstead, she thought before she got lost in his touch.

A/N: That's a wrap on chapter 2! Thanks to everyone who likes the story so far, your reviews really made my day when I read them 😊. I didn't expect that my writing is enjoyable to read but it pushes me to continue with this story. There's still a lot to come…
How are you guys feeling about the current season?
I really like it so far. I mean, our Upstead dreams obviously came true and it looks like they're going strong up to now. We'll see what the writers have in mind for them.

Anyways, stay healthy and I wish you a great day 😊! ~ D.