Chapter 4

Hailey didn't invite Jay inside, when he dropped her off at her place that night. They briefly hugged, and Jay drove right home. He felt good again. He had his job back, solved the case, and there was Hailey.

Over the next days, Jay didn't have a chance to talk to Hailey again, however; Intelligence was deep into several cases.

First there was a bank robbery with several victims, and then the explosion at Chicago Med, which kept Jay busy. He and Hailey exchanged a few text messages, but nothing more, simply due to lack of time. When he came home at night, Jay fell into bed almost immediately, not able to go out for drinks or even to have a longer conversation on the phone, he was simply too exhausted. But nevertheless, he made a point to text Hailey each night, he wanted her to know that he was thinking about her, that it wasn't only about the Rodiger case.

The bank robbery turned homicide was a big case, but nothing too personal. The unit solved it within a few days, and that was it.

The explosion at Chicago Med felt different, however. Burgess' niece was severely injured and might have died. This was personal for the 21st, and for Intelligence. The case was complicated, it took them a while to solve it, but finally it was done.

Jay was relieved, also relieved that Kim's niece was going to be fine. When it was over, he wanted to go to bed and not wake up for several days. That was of course not feasible. And not Jay's thing.

First of all, Jay drove to Erin's house. She had been attacked, so Jay thought he should drop by. She was his partner, after all, and he should make sure she was okay.

So he drove to her place, before even going home, and parked his car. He was just about to get out of his car, when he saw Severide's car approaching. Severide parked a few yards away from him, and Jay stayed put, watched Severide leave the car and go into Erin's apartment block.

Right, he was not needed here. His partner was fine without him. And somehow, he was glad he didn't have to go upstairs.

Jay started his car again and drove home. Even though he was exhausted, he didn't want to spend the evening alone, he decided. Sometimes it wasn't good to be alone too much.

And he had to admit to himself that he already missed Hailey and her upbeat spirit. He could use that right now, someone who smiled, who spread positive vibes, who liked to spend time with him, with Jay Halstead.

He dialed Hailey's number.

"Care for some Chinese takeout?" he asked, when she picked up the phone.

"Sure, always," she answered immediately, happy that Jay called. She hadn't been sure they would keep in contact after the Rodiger case was solved, despite the text messages, but she didn't want to push too hard. Perhaps she had imagined Jay's flirting, and she would make a fool of herself.

Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to have him on the phone. Her heart skipped a beat.

"OK, I'll bring some over," Jay announced. "Be with you in an hour."

Exactly one hour later he stood at Hailey's front door, takeout food and a six-pack of beer in his hands.

"Beer delivery," Jay grinned at her, and Hailey couldn't help but grin back at him.

"How was your day?" she asked, when they sat on her couch.

"Difficult," Jay answered. "But that part is over now, which is good."

"Tell me about it," Hailey encouraged him.

"The explosion. Anti-government idiots trying to kill numerous people. My partner had a knife to her throat. My colleague's niece was severely injured and almost died. Another girl died."

Hailey nodded, understanding.

Jay was grateful she didn't ask further or offer advice, and exactly that made him talk. "It was a bit too much for one day, you know? You see dead bodies, sure. Your partner might be in danger. And everything else, stuff happens. But if everything happens within 24 hours, it can be a lot. I should be used to it from my time in Afghanistan, yet…"

"You were in Afghanistan?"

"Rangers."

Hailey nodded again, put her hand on his arm. "You must have seen a lot of bad stuff."

"Yeah."

"Therapy?"

Jay shrugged. "A bit."

"I see," Hailey smiled softly. So no proper therapy. And the issues were still there, lingering. No wonder today had been tough on him. A wave of emotions hit her, she put a comforting hand on his arm.

"And how was your day?" Jay was trying to move the focus from his time in the army, Hailey noticed.

"It was ok," she answered quickly. "Everyone was investigating the bombing, but our team was not as involved as yours, obviously."

"Doesn't matter, it's still tough."

"That's right," Hailey agreed. "Just to see how this big part of Chicago Med collapsed, to know how many people died there."

She looked down, thinking about the day.

Slowly, carefully, as if he expected to be pushed away, Jay moved closer to Hailey, put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

Hailey hadn't expected that, but she didn't push Jay away. It was just what she needed right now – and Jay too, she assumed. She smiled at him, he smiled back. Then she leaned against him, and bit by bit the tension that had built up in both during the day, vanished.

Both were silent for a while, let their minds wander, thinking about what had happened during the day, about what was happening here.

At some point Jay dozed off, and his head fell against Hailey's. She noticed but didn't move. Jay was tired, she told herself, let him rest for a bit. And it was kind of cute, she had to admit, cute and flattering. He trusted her enough to relax in her company.

When Jay woke up, he was disoriented. He didn't remember right away where he was, and his first impulse was to run. But he remembered quickly. He was at Hailey's place. And the body he was leaning on was hers.

"Should I be flattered you feel so comfortable in my company?" Hailey asked with a grin. "Or should I be upset because you are so bored that you fall asleep?"

Jay looked at her, a bit ashamed. Was she flirting with him? Her grin was definitely teasing, and he couldn't help but smile back at her. He always had to smile back at her. Her smile was so bright and full of life, and so contagious. And it felt so good that she smiled at him, that he made her smile.

"Definitely not bored," he answered, looking into her blue eyes. Suddenly he felt his heart beat faster in his chest, and before he could think about what he was doing, he leaned closer and kissed her.

Taken by surprise, Hailey didn't react at first, so Jay pulled back. "Sorry," he whispered. But Hailey shook her head, slowly realizing what was happening. "I'm not sorry," she said with a smile, slipped her hands around the back of his head and neck and kissed him.

With a moan, Jay pulled her closer, answered her kiss. At first their kisses were soft and tentative, but quickly they became more passionate, and their hands moved all over the other's body.

Jay slipped one hand under Hailey's shirt, caressed the soft skin.

"Want to take this to the bedroom?" Hailey asked, already out of breath.

"Oh yes," he just answered, which made Hailey laugh into his mouth. Unable to take their hands off each other, they stood up, Hailey took Jay's hand and led him to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes on the way.

Later, Hailey lay in Jay's arms, her head on his chest. Her fingers softly caressed his skin. Jay woke up reluctantly, placed a kiss on her head.

"You know, I didn't plan that," he whispered.

"You didn't?" she asked back. "Neither did I, but it was nice."

"Nice?" Jay chuckled. "Just nice?"

Hailey laughed, then lifted her head up to look at his face. "It was more than nice, Jay."

"Yeah, it was," he answered, pleased with her answer.

"You're not leaving now, are you?" Hailey asked, a bit afraid of the answer. She enjoyed being with him too much to just let him go.

"Not if you want me to stay," he answered. "But I need to go home in the morning before work. Can't go to work in my clothes from last night."

"That's fine, Jay," Hailey agreed. "Just stay the night."

"I'm not going anywhere."

In the early morning Hailey woke up and saw Jay next to her, looking at her. She felt self-conscious with him staring at her, until she noticed the soft look in his green eyes, these eyes that seemed to caress her whole body.

Jay lay on his side, head propped up on his hand, admiring Hailey. She's so beautiful, he thought. His hands soon followed his gaze, slowly caressing her. Hailey smiled at him, savoring his tender touch. What a perfect way to start the day.

"Jay, is this a one-night stand or more?" Hailey needed to know.

"It is whatever you want," he answered. "I'm here as long as you want me to." Jay's eyes suddenly showed some worry. "I don't want it to be just tonight."

"Neither do I, Jay."

Relieved, Jay leaned down and kissed Hailey softly. There was still time before he had to leave for the day.

In the end something really good had come out of this whole Rodiger-mess, he thought. He was so grateful for Hailey. He was falling for her, falling hard.