Mother's Day.

Chapter 4: Right now.

A sweet Upstead married short story, set after 9x09.

Here is the next chapter. I've loved all of the reviews for this story so far, so I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. I only have about 4 more chapters planned after this one, so this will be quite a short story. I would love to hear your thoughts as this story takes Jay and Hailey through their different Mother's Days together :)

I do not own Chicago PD or any of the characters.

That year, Jay and Hailey celebrated their 3rd wedding anniversary, only a couple of months before this day again. Mother's Day. Again, it was their plan to go away for this weekend. The past year had been marked a critical event in the lives of the Intelligence Unit: Kim had given birth to her and Adam's son, whom they had named Anthony Alvin Burgess-Ruzek, known as Tony, after Antonio and his second name was for Alvin. This day was going to be Kim's first Mother's Day with Baby Tony. Jay and Hailey had been trying to conceive a baby of their own for a year, but neither of them was concerned. Besides, they had only been married for 3 years, so maybe it was universe's way of telling them that it just wasn't the right time for them to bring a child into this world. They knew that, when it was the right time for their child to be brought into this world, it would happen.

Voight had given the unit the day off, which Jay didn't want. He wanted to be working, he didn't want to have time to think about his mum and how she had died. It was the last thing he wanted. Jay had done this best to convince their Sergeant that he didn't need today off and had even gone to Platt plead the same case when Voight had refused, but the answer was the same. The whole unit was having the day off, no exceptions. Hailey knew that this was the last thing her husband wanted.

Normally, when Jay and Hailey had days off and Jay was the first to wake, he would stay in bed, with Hailey wrapped in his arms, but this morning, on this day, when he woke up, he closed his eyes against the bad memories. They hadn't come out in nightmares, but they were very much there, so he carefully removed himself from Hailey's arms. Jay smiled down at his wife and softly kissed her blonde curls before he changed into clothes to go running, but, before he left, her left her a note. Hailey didn't want her phone switched on this weekend, because she didn't want her mum to contact her. Even though it was Mother's Day, it didn't change anything; Hailey didn't want to be around her mum when her dad was there and, after all of these years of distance, there wasn't much of a relationship left between mother and daughter.

As Jay ran, he tried to clear his mind of thoughts of his mum; he tried to fill his mind with good memories of her, happy memories of the time before she was diagnosed and before she was ill. Jay knew that he would never forget the look on his mum's face when he had told her that she was joining the Army and deploying to Afghanistan. Holding onto the good memories wasn't always easy, because they would always be attached to the sad ones, no matter how hard he tried. Jay and Will had talked it over, thanks to Hailey, but Jay knew that it was something which would never totally heal.

Out of nowhere, Jay found himself in the park where his mum had brought him and Will as children and he remembered he and Will had created some Mother's Day picnics for her. They had sat under the tree, the three of them, totally unaware that, at some point, their time as mother and sons would be tragically ended. Jay would give anything to have his mum back, healthy and alive and he smiled sadly, thinking about what his mum would think of Hailey, his wife. His wife. Even after being married for 3 years, calling Hailey his wife still felt as magical as the day they had married. Unsure of what else to do, Jay found himself sitting under the tree, trying to focus on the good memories of his mum and he found himself looking at a picture of himself, his mum and Will. Jay wished, now, that he could have spared his mum the heartache of him going to Afghanistan, but it had been what he had needed and, afterwards, he had returned, to take care of her, even when his own health had been awful. Jay wished that he could go back to those Mother's Days, under this tree, with his mum and Will. He needed to think about the good memories, the happy memories.

"Do you mind if I sit?" Hailey's gentle voice pulled Jay out of his thoughts, and he looked up at her. She had clearly woken up, seen that he was gone and thrown on some warm clothes, quickly. She was wearing her blue coat and a pair of leggings, and her hair was wrapped under her hat. Jay thought that she looked beautiful. Unable to speak, Jay just nodded, so Hailey accepted this and sat down slowly, so as not to spook to ex-Ranger. Slowly, she rested her head against his shoulder and, with that point of contact, Jay felt his eyes welling up with tears, so he closed his eyes quickly, but Hailey had seen. She was his partner. In silence, Hailey kissed Jay's hair and nuzzled her face against his as Jay sat there and allowed the emotions to take over him. The park was totally dead. Eventually, the tears subsided, so Jay removed his gloves and wiped his eyes. After a while, Hailey smiled at her husband and told him, "Jay Halstead, your mum would be so proud of the man you are today. As a son, a brother, a friend, a partner and a husband. You are everything good in this world."

Jay swallowed against the lump in his throat and turned to face his wife before he mumbled, "I wouldn't be who I am, where I am today, without you, Hailes." In a quick, soft motion, he kissed the top of her hat and smiled, before he took hold of her hand and said, in a shaky voice, "Let's go home." Home. Where they lived together, where they had their new lives together. Even on a day which was painful for both of them, Hailey and Jay had each other.

A couple of hours later, after another attempt to conceive a baby of their own, Jay and Hailey were on the sofa, watching an old film. It was a good distraction. Jay wished that he could be at work, with something to focus on, but he was with Hailey. When there was a knock on the door, neither of them thought anything of it. Jay went to answer the door and he stood there, in silence. It was Hailey's mum. The two of them had never met, because Hailey wasn't in contact with her, but Jay knew who she was. She was the spitting image of Hailey, just 30 years older. She didn't even know that Hailey was married. Of course, she came around here, today, on Mother's Day, of all days.

"Mrs. Upton, how can I help you?" Jay asked, calmly, glad that Hailey was in the sitting room, not the kitchen which was right next to the hallway which lead to the front door.

Mrs. Upton looked around Jay. She was looking for Hailey, before she asked, "I'm sorry, but- who are you? I need to speak to my daughter."

With a hint of pride and protectiveness, Jay's reply, "I'm Hailey's husband. Jay Halstead."

The shock on the older woman's face was clear as she asked, "Hailey's married? My baby girl's married? When did- How long?"

"3 years a couple of months ago. Mrs. Upton, what can I help you with?"

"I told you: I need to see my daughter!"

From the sitting room Hailey heard that voice, her mum's voice and her heart dropped. What was she doing here? Why she was here? This day was hard enough, without Hailey hearing her mother's voice and having to see her. Hailey hated the fact that she didn't have a relationship with her own mum, especially when she knew what Jay would give to have one with his mum, but it was a fact. Her brothers were able to have a relationship with her, but it was different for Hailey. It always had been.

Inhaling and exhaling deep breaths, as she stood up, Hailey looked down at her wedding ring, the reminder of the promise she and Jay had made to each other, the promise of their lives together, before she left the room to walk to the front door. Hearing her mum's voice, it felt like one the longest walks she had ever done. Jay heard her before her mum saw her and he gave her a look to tell her that he was there, but Hailey put her hand on his arm, silently telling him that he could go. She was OK. If Jay could survive this day when it brought back memories of his mum's illness, death and the painful time of his medical discharge, then she could talk to her mum.

With her eyes slightly cold, Hailey asked, "Mum, what are you doing here?"

"Darling, you're married, for 3 years? Why didn't you call me, to tell me?"

Hailey shrugged and crossed her arms as she replied, "It wasn't a big deal, really. We went to the courthouse and got married one morning."

Mrs. Upton smiled and replied, "That sounds so romantic. I wish you could have shared that with me, Hailey, darling."

Keeping her arms crossed, Hailey replied, "No-one was there, Mum; it was just me, Jay and the court official." Her tone was clipped, but she knew that it was, so she repeated her question, "Mum, what are you doing here?"

There was a silence before her mother replied, "Hailey, your father died last night. It was- a shock, a heart attack and we didn't see it coming."

The first thought that crossed Hailey's mind was Thank God, but then she bit her lip, feeling a slight feeling of remorse. No matter what, he was- had been- her father. Hailey looked at her mother and shrugged, "And, what, do you want me to tell you I'm sorry for your loss, tell you that I'll miss him? He was a monster, no matter what you say, and I'm not sorry that he's dead. I wish I could say that I am, but I'm not."

All that Mrs. Upton said was, "I know that, darling. I just came here to tell you and ask if- if you wanted to join me for dinner tonight? Maybe, after all of these years, we can finally have a Mother's Day dinner together?"

With a small smile on her lips, Hailey replied, "Let me think about it, I'll text you." Then, her mum was gone, and Hailey stayed where she was, staring at the doorway. Her dad was dead. Her mum was free. Finally, she could rebuild her relationship with her mum, without worrying about her dad being there. She could have a relationship with her mum.

Hailey ran her hands through her blonde curls before she closed the front door and walked back into the sitting room, where Jay was waiting for her. She walked over to him and reached for his hands, which he accepted, but remained silent, knowing that she needed silence. They knew each other so well. After a comfortable silence, Hailey finally told him, in a gentle voice, "My dad died, of a heart attack, yesterday, and my mum wants to have dinner with me, tonight, to have a Mother's Day dinner."

Carefully Jay nodded and said, "OK- so what do you want to do?"

Hailey shrugged and bit on her bottom lip. "I don't know, Jay. I-I feel like, in a sick way, this is what I wanted: To be able to have a relationship with my mum, without him being here, but, at the same time, how can we repair the years' worth of damage to our relationship now, after all these years?"

Jay sat down on the sofa and Hailey followed him, still not letting go of his hands. Jay squeezed her hands and told her, "Hailes, whatever you decide, I'm with you. I'm on your side, no matter what. But, personally, I feel like, if you don't now, you might regret it." He could see the tears welling up in her eyes, so he asked, "Hailes, what is it?"

Chocking back the sobs, Hailey shook her head and replied, "It just seems so unfair that my mum is here and yours isn't, Jay, when you would give anything to see her."

That brought tears to Jay's own green eyes, but he brushed them away and ran his hands through Hailey's blonde curls, "Hailey, don't worry about me." He paused, then asked, knowing that his wife had made up her mind, "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, this is something I have to do alone." Hailey leaned closer to Jay and kissed him gently, before she asked, "Are you sure you'll be okay here, by yourself?"

Forcing a smile, Jay nodded, "I'll be good. Don't worry about me." For a while, the couple remained where they were, holding each other, until Hailey moved, turned on her phone and texted her mum. No matter how this went, she had Jay and he was on her side, no matter what.

Whilst Hailey had dinner with her mum, Jay went to the 21st District to see Platt. The older woman wasn't surprised; she knew that today was hard for Jay, but she also knew that he didn't want to talk or think about it, so she gave in and gave him some overtime. The young detective clearly needed it today.

Much to her surprise, Hailey enjoyed her dinner with her mum. Of course, they had years of a damaged relationship to mend, but it was a start. They were finally here, together, on Mother's Day.

By the time Jay finished his overtime shift, Hailey was on her way home, so he had a shower and waited for her. Hailey knew that she had someone to go home to, her husband. Hailey was tired, but she knew that Jay was also going to be tired, for different reasons. This was a hard day for him, she could see that when she had found him in the park this morning.

Silently, she walked into their house, took off her shoes and coat and made her way into their room, where she pulled her hair into a high ponytail. Jay rolled over in their bed and took in every inch of Hailey before he asked, gently, "How did it go?"

Hailey hummed as she took off her clothes and changed into her PJs. "It was-it was actually nice. We had a lot to catch up on, obviously, and there's still stuff we need to work out, but it was good. I'm glad I did." Hailey smiled softly before she sat on their bed and took hold of Jay's hands. "How are you doing?"

Slowly, Jay nodded, "I'm ok, Hailes. I- went to see Platt and I did an overtime shift." Hailey just raised her eyebrows, before he added, "Hailey, I really needed to take my mind off things today. Going for a run, going to the park this morning- it brought back a lot of stuff. Memories. I'll never be able to think about Mum and not think about how ill she was, how she didn't want me to go to war. When I came home"- Jay swallowed against the lump in his throat and Hailey could see the tears shining in his green eyes, "I wasn't in the best place and she knew that. But I took care of her, because I loved her." He shook his head and chocked out, "I should have stayed. I shouldn't have gone to Afghanistan."

Hailey forced away her own tears and looked into her husband's eyes as she told him, "Jay, even though I didn't know your mum, I know that she was proud of you, and, even more so, because you were discharged, you were ill, mentally and physically, and you took care of her. That's the greatest act of love I could think of." Leaning closer to Jay, Hailey kissed him gently on the lips and kept her head resting against his before she asked, softly, "What do you need?"

Keeping his head against her, Jay whispered, "All I need, right now, is to hold you as we go to sleep." He kissed her temple and stayed where he was as Hailey slipped herself into their bed next to Jay and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close as he possibly could. After a while, Jay whispered, "When we have kids, we should take them to the park."

With a small smile, Hailey whispered back, "Yes, we should, we could take them there on Mother's Day. When we have kids, this day will be different, for both of us."

"But, Hailey Halstead, right now, there's you and me. Always, you and me." Jay kissed her neck before he nestled his head against it and the two of them fell asleep, with Hailey having dreams of a future Mother's Day with their daughter.