Set after Season 6 Episode 14 "Ties that Bind."

Trudy POV

Trudy had always liked Molly's. But sometimes, when she wanted a quiet drink and some time alone with Randy, it paid off to visit the bar just down the block from the 21st District.

And the best part? It was so close to the District that none of the police ever frequented, something else she valued after a long day.

Therefore, she was shocked, something that rarely happens anymore, when Kim and Jay walked in together.

She momentarily gazed over Randy's shoulder to watch them both take seats at the end of the bar.

So, the other night wasn't a one off. It looked to Trudy like this was a date.

A private one, considering they weren't at Molly's. Maybe whatever was between them was on a trial basis.

Really, she wouldn't blame them for taking things slow and cautious, not after they had both been badly burnt before with their previous relationships with their other colleagues.

They looked very cosy together, smiling and laughing and in their own bubble.

She started going over their recent interactions in her head as if she was gathering and collating evidence for a case. Nothing stood out that would point to them becoming a couple, but she thought by the looks of things, it was happening before her eyes.

Kim POV

It was inevitable.

That Kim would eventually find out directly about Adam and Hailey. The district was not that big, secrets didn't stay secrets for too long.

Kim had just thought that her ex-fiancé and work colleague would tell her themselves without her having to walk in on them.

She was glad that Jay had given her a heads up. She just wished Adam and Hailey had told her before.

But oddly enough Kim felt fine about it now.

After they day she had had and after having a proper conversation with Hailey, she could let it go.

But it was still weird when Hailey got a message from of Adam and Kim had told her to go.

It felt oddly like if her new best friend was dating her brother. She was, in fact, happy for them, but really, really, didn't need to know the details.

Voight was in his office when she made it to the bullpen, and she knew Antonio and Kevin were leaning on a CI for a potential next case and with Adam and Hailey gone home it left just Jay in the room.

Kim slumped into her chair, the effects of the day were only catching up with her now. It had been a long day.

She didn't know how long she sat there, resting her head in her hand and staring aimlessly at her computer screen that she had turned off earlier. She just didn't want to go home yet. Not when she would be alone with her own thoughts.

"Hey Kim." Jay Halstead appeared beside her, leaning back against her desk beside her. He looked as beat as she was feeling.

"Hey Jay." She tried to give him a tired smile.

He ran a hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, before speaking, "Look Kim, I'm really sorry about today, I shouldn't have let you out with them alone and I…"

"Jay. Stop. You don't need to apologise."

"No, Kim, I made the wrong call and you could have been seriously hurt."

"Jay, there were a million different ways that case could have gone south. You made the best decision you could. And we're all home safe, that's the important part, right?"

He nodded looking off into the distance before looking back at her and taking a breath before he spoke.

"Do you want to get out of here? Want to get a drink?"

"You know what?" She said, already rolling her chair away from her desk. "I would love that."

"Great." He smiled, taking off his badge that hung almost permanently around his neck, "I'll just grab my stuff."

Kim smiled back as he made his way back to his desk and then she realised she had never hung out with Jay alone before. The opportunity had just never arisen and now she wished it had before.

She packed her bag before knocking on Voight's door and letting herself in.

"Hey Serge, I'm just heading home, you said to check in before I left."

"Yeah, are you okay? You need a ride home or a home check?" Voight asked, looking up at her as if trying to assess her current condition after the day from hell. Her Sergeant was a lot of things, but protecting his team was always his top priority.

"No, thanks though. I'm meeting up with some friends, take my mind off today hopefully."

"Good. Take care of yourself Kim. Have a good night."

She nodded before letting herself back out and met Jay who had just shrugged his jacket on.

"Molly's?" He asked.

She hesitated for a second too long. She hadn't thought of that, suddenly the possibility of having to hang out with Adam and Hailey while they were on a date didn't seem all that appealing.

She didn't mind them dating really, but she didn't want to see them as a happy couple while she wallowed with a work friend. The day had been hard enough already.

Hailey had Adam to run for her after the kidnapping. And she was feeling the sudden realisation that there was a void of someone to run for her in her life. And she would be lying to herself if she said it didn't hurt.

Jay glanced at Hailey's desk, "Want to go somewhere else?" He asked with a soft smile and kind eyes.

"Would you mind?"

"Not at all, I know a good place."

And that was how Kim Burgess found herself at a bar alone with Jay Halstead, hiding out from the world.

Finding herself in the situation she was suddenly terrified that there would just be an awkward conversation of vaguely friendly work colleagues and they'd have to politely give up on the social interaction and go home after one drink.

What she hadn't expected was the fact that they were two drinks, 3 and half hours and multiple stories deep into the night and she had almost forgotten about the day she had had.

"You're not serious?" She laughed at his story.

"I am!" He replied with such earnest laughter that made her believe him.

She liked this side of Jay Halstead. The side that let his guard down gradually, let his smiles reach his eyes and with his focus on her instead of darting around focusing on a case.

Not that she didn't appreciate his work side. He was hardworking and utterly dependable and had kept his good heart through all the dark side of Chicago and humanity they encountered on a daily basis.

It was when she stifled a yawn that Jay finished his drink, "Do you want to head on home? You've had a long day."

"Yeah." She nodded, "I might do that. But I needed this. Thank you."

"Come on, I'll get you a cab." He said, after she had finished her drink and he had finished his story.

"No, it's fine, I only live like two blocks over." She explained.

He raised his eyebrows with a grin, "What? Do you live in Intelligence?"

She laughed, "You know sometimes it feels like that. But I had to move a while ago, the landlord didn't give me much time so I had to find something quick and living closer to work seemed like a good idea. I just didn't realise how close I was."

She pulled on her coat and Jay paid for their drinks even though she objected that he didn't owe her for the events of the day. But he just shrugged, telling her that she could pay next time.

Kim was surprised with the sudden feeling of warmth that spread through her at the idea of having another night with Jay. Though the night had been one of the best she had had in a long time.

The bar was dimly light was had filled more than Kim had expected, so they moved towards the door and Kim expected him to call that cab for himself.

"Nah, you're only a little bit away, I'll walk you." He explained.

"You don't have to keep trying to protect me after today, you know?" She pointed out as they fell into step together and started to walk under the clear night sky.

Jay scoffed, "As if you need protecting. You're one of the strongest people I know." She happily let the compliment sink in as he shrugged, "But it's always nice to have backup, like partners."

"Are you going to be one to tell Voight to reorganise his team to make us partners?" She joked.

Jay threw his head back in a laugh, "I know way better than to tell Voight to do anything. Even if we're not partners, we're friends right?"

"Hell yeah." She nodded, after years of working in Intelligence they were more like family by default but she had liked to get know Jay as a friend lately. "You're not too bad, Halstead."

He knocked his shoulder into hers, smiling, "You're not bad yourself Burgess."

Author's Note: I know nothing about writing for Chicago PD and I honestly didn't expect anyone to be interested in this story so I'm so glad people are enjoying this! Burstead is very quickly growing on me! Thanks for reading :)