A/N: Hi! I'm back and ready to get back into writing and this fic. I'm so glad so many of you are excited about Jay's job offer :) It's definitely something I've been thinking about forever, so I'm so happy it's finally out in the universe. I hope you like this one as well!

For the first time in forever, Jay wasn't in bed when Hailey woke up.

She spun around on the sheets, searching for him to be anywhere, but there was nothing. A familiar ache in her chest formed that she hadn't felt in weeks.

"Jay," she whispered, "Jay!"

He didn't answer her, and she felt like she was sucked back in a nightmare. Panic flooded her system, and she was partly worried that the last few weeks had been a dream.

"Jay!" she said loudly while pushing out of bed, "Jay!"

"Hey, whoa, I'm here!"

Hailey looked up at Jay hurrying through their doorway from the rest of the apartment. She breathed in shakily and wrapped her arms around herself. "Oh."

"Hey," he said softly as he walked over to her. Fully dressed, the smell of coffee was tinted on his breath. He pulled her in a tight hug and whispered, "I'm right here."

"What-What are you doing?" she asked quietly.

Jay brushed his hand over the back of her hair then stepped back to say, "I'm actually meeting Severide for breakfast. I was going to wake you before I left. You looked…you looked peaceful while sleeping. Didn't want to bother you."

"Oh," she repeated under her breath. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she nodded to herself and sniffled. She could still feel her heart racing within her chest, and she hated that that was how she'd woken up.

It was almost embarrassing. There had been absolutely no amount of calm when she'd jumped out of bed yelling for her husband. Things had just been so, so good lately that the idea of all of it being ripped away from her again was jarring. Like a nightmare she'd stopped having had started up again.

The look on Jay's face told her he was worried about her, but instead of asking what was going through her mind right then, he said, "I woke up in the middle of the night and sent Kelly a text asking if we could meet in the next couple days about what it's like working for the academy. I guess they had just gotten back from a fire because he replied pretty fast and asked to meet after shift ends this morning. I said yes. Sorry, I should have-"

"No, no," she interrupted quickly, stepping back from him, "You don't have to ask me to go see your friends. It's okay, really. I was just…I don't know. Felt weird waking up without you again. Not really a feeling I wanted to experience after the last week or so of…of happiness."

Jay shot her a sad smile and nodded. He brushed his thumb over her cheek then said, "It has been nice, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," she breathed while leaning into his hand.

He nodded again and kissed her forehead. "Gonna be okay getting ready this morning without me?"

She laughed slightly and said, "You mean no one's going to be there to distract me in the bathroom while I'm trying to brush my hair?"

"Now who would ever do that?" Jay chuckled. He leaned down to press a quick kiss to her lips. "So I'm going to breakfast with Severide, then I have the gym, and then I'll pick up the groceries for dinner I was going to get yesterday before Trudy derailed our plans."

"Sounds good," Hailey replied softly. She rubbed her hand down his side and added, "Have fun. Be safe."

Jay winked at her then turned to return to the kitchen.

Standing in the bedroom, Hailey could hear him rinsing out the mug he'd used for coffee before going to shift around in the coat closet for his tennis shoes. She didn't go into the bathroom until she'd heard the front door open, close, and lock behind him.

It was then when she was standing underneath the shower, feeling the hot water soak through her hair, that she realized the nightmares she thought had disappeared were always going to remain in the back of her mind. They were nerve-wracking and scary, but they were all in her head. They weren't real; they never had been.

She needed to get better at reminding herself that.

Hailey ran a hand through her hair while sorting through several videos of the Becks. She didn't know how much longer she could keep working the case before the complete boredom killed her. In a way, she felt jealous of Jay for never having to do this again.

At that thought, she sighed and glanced around the quiet room covered in surveillance pictures and notes from Adam's undercover operation. It was hard to imagine Jay never coming back up here to work.

When she first started working for Intelligence, it was weird imagining herself working there, but it fit. This group of people slowly became her support system in ways she hadn't had before. They made her laugh and helped her when she found herself stuck within a case.

They were more than just a support system; they were her family.

And now Jay was leaving it. Officially.

When he'd left months before, it was a leave of absence thing within the unit. Everyone, including her, assumed he'd be back one day. No one wanted to be the one to erase his call sign from the board. She assumed, though, that within the next week, whenever Jay made the final call, that she should be the one to do it. It probably would have been the right thing to do, especially given he was one of the reasons she was even here.

In reality, it was Voight who officially offered her the position. Jay really had nothing to do with it. However, he was the one who approached her in the locker room as she freshened up from the day to say Voight wanted to talk to her upstairs.

She could still remember standing in front of the sink in the locker room while fixing her ponytail. Upon straightening it out, she washed her hands and took a deep breath while staring in the mirror just for Jay to suddenly appear in the reflection. He'd nodded at her and apologized for interrupting, but, before she could say anything, told her that Voight was asking for her. She had then turned to face him, quietly thanked him for delivering the message, then watched him walk away.

Close to a year later, she would be watching his every step as he walked. Some of it would be because she needed to have his back and was taking her job very seriously. Other times it would be because she had an unspoken crush on him.

If only that version of them – the strictly partners with hesitant feelings and a strong need to protect each other – could see them now. She didn't think she ever would have imagined marrying Jay, but she also didn't think she ever would have imagined him going back to working for the army or even leaving Intelligence.

This unit was supposed to be his. He'd told her himself in the break room a mere twenty feet away from her almost four years ago now. Voight had cornered him on the staircase and told Jay that Intelligence was going to be in his hands and that he needed to take care of it the right way.

If only they knew what was to come.

Hailey sighed and pushed back from the desk to press her palms into her eyes.

She stood by the idea that Jay needed to take the instructor position at the academy, but it still sucked to think of him never becoming the sergeant for Intelligence or even just a sergeant in general. Trudy had said herself that she imagined Jay taking that exact same path. It wasn't going to happen now, and it was a tough pill to swallow.

"Doing okay?"

She glanced over her shoulder at Adam walking in the room. "Hey," she said quietly, "Talk to Sam today?"

In response, Adam held up a flash drive before sitting at the desk he'd claimed as his own.

She nodded and grabbed her water to take a sip.

As he stuck the flash drive in the computer, Adam asked, "Tired? Did your insomnia come back?"

"No," Hailey sighed, "Just…thinking about some things."

"Care to share?"

Hailey watched Adam click around on the computer and tilted her head to the side as she debated what exactly to say to him. For all she knew, Kim could have already told him that Jay wasn't coming back. He could have even assumed it himself.

"Jay got a job offer," she said quietly.

Adam stopped whatever he was doing on his computer, and she noticed that he really hadn't been doing anything useful. It was all for nothing as he'd waited for her to talk.

"In Chicago?" he asked as he turned toward her.

"Yeah, yeah," Hailey breathed. She cleared her throat then explained, "Trudy got him a spot at the academy. He can be an instructor for a couple years, and then he might be able to take it over and run it."

Adam whistled low and nodded. "Pretty nice. Does he think he'll take it?"

"I don't know," Hailey replied honestly, "I hope he does. I think he'd be good at it."

"He'd be really good at it," Adam agreed, "He's a great teacher."

Hailey nodded and picked at her nails. "Yeah."

Frowning, Adam scooted his chair a little closer to her and asked, "Do you not want him to take it?"

"No, no, I do, I just said that," Hailey sighed, "It's just weird thinking that he's really not going to be here anymore. Part of me kept seeing his name on the board and had this small hope that he'd come back. I knew after Walter Reed that that wasn't going to happen, but now it's real. He's moving on. I don't know."

Adam nodded in understanding then looked around the room. "You're right. This is his place. I've never worked here without him. Hell, I've never worked without him ever. But, we got through the last few months without him, right? And that felt impossible then too. My feelings were nothing compared to yours, I know that, but we survived in the end. And now he won't be here, but at least he'll be in Chicago. He'll be safe here. That's huge."

Hailey tried to smile and nodded. "True," she said softly, "I do like that. I told him he probably won't get shot in a classroom."

Adam laughed and said, "Exactly: much safer with books and dummy guns than running around like some hero. He's taken enough bullets for the rest of us."

Hailey let out her own soft laugh. "Way too many bullets," she said, "You've never gotten shot, right?"

"Knock on wood," Adam said, shaking his head and reaching behind him to rap his knuckles to the desk, "Just over the vest that one time. You?"

"Nope," Hailey answered. When Adam shot her a look, she laughed harder and lightly knocked on her desk. "There," she breathed, "All safe now."

"Seriously," Adam chuckled.

Hailey smiled back then pulled a leg up on her chair. Taking a deep breath, she said, "He probably wouldn't have stayed here forever, right? Don't most people eventually move on?"

"I think so," Adam said, "Seems like a normal thing. Then again, this isn't actually a normal job."

Hailey nodded and looked around the room at the dozens of pictures of people she'd never actually met but somehow knew every detail of their lives. "Definitely not normal."

Adam smirked and leaned back in his chair. "Did I tell you that Sam invited me over to teach Calum how to make pancakes? Like what kind of job requires that?"

Hailey laughed with him and shook her head. "I have no idea. I guess the same one that required us to chase after someone last week and get shot at. It's a nice range."

"You could call it that," Adam laughed. He turned back to his computer and sighed. "I'm not bad at pancakes, but-"

"Your waffles were trash," Hailey finished.

Adam laughed harder, and it almost sounded like a bark. Shaking his head, he blindly threw a stack of sticky notes at her and said, "You suck."

"I'm the best ex-girlfriend you've ever had," Hailey shot back.

Adam smirked over at her and said, "Am I your best ex?"

Hailey jokingly rolled her eyes then said, "Sure. If it makes you happy to hear."

"I will take it, I'll take it," Adam replied. He let out a slight sigh and opened up the flash drive files. "Well, should we get to work? Or, rather, should I get to work and you take a break?"

"I don't need a break," Hailey said softly, "I'm good. Currently in the middle of watching that video you got last week of Richard and Calum talking through the parts of a gun. I can't believe this is all happening."

Adam shook his head. "Sam wasn't too happy when she came back from the bathroom to hear that conversation was taking place. Don't worry: you've got like five minutes left before she comes and raises hell. Take a break after that, at least, go to the bathroom yourself."

"Yeah, yeah," Hailey breathed. She pulled her headphones back on and pressed play on the computer.

Watching the remainder of the video, she felt her eyes start to glaze over. This was never Jay's favorite part of the job, but he accepted it. She wondered if there'd be parts of his new job that he would just accept because there was so much more that he liked. That was just the name of the game, though: everyone had things they loved and hated about their job. This job might not have been normal, but that fact made it feel normal.

Personally, she hated listening to all these tapes. She much rather would have been sitting in a surveillance van outside the Becks' warehouse.

Before, she would have loved to sit there with Jay, but she'd accept Kevin right now. He always knew how to make her laugh.

A couple weeks before, Hailey would come home to silence followed by absolutely no questions about how her day was all while knowing someone else was in the apartment.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case anymore.

"Hey! You're early today," Jay said the second she walked through the door.

Hailey slipped her shoes and coat off before heading over to him at the kitchen island. "Nothing much was happening today. I mean, stuff happened, but, I don't know, kinda boring."

Jay reached over to tug her into his side. "Can't always be chasing bad guys and dodging bullets," he said as he kissed her temple. "You okay, though?"

"Mhmm," she hummed, wrapping her arms around him. She glanced at his laptop screen and asked, "What're you up to?"

"Uh." Jay let out a soft chuckle before replying, "Job paperwork. I took it."

Hailey's eyes widened, and she pulled away to say, "Really?"

"Really," Jay laughed, "Kelly had nothing but good things to say about the academy. I know it's different than what I'd be working, but it's still teaching and helping others. I spent a lot of my time at the gym going through why I started this job at all – and it came down to just that. I like the idea that I'm making some sort of difference in the world. It's partly what led me to the army when I was 18, it's why I joined the academy myself, and I think it's why I went back last year. I need black and white, but I also need good. This can be my chance at doing good in the world."

Hailey smiled and set her hand on the back of his head. "You will do good. You have done good. I'm so proud of you, Jay."

"Thank you," he responded softly before leaning over to kiss her.

She hummed in response and brushed her hand over his back before stepping away to grab two beers from the fridge. Without hesitation, she placed one in front of him and said, "To celebrate."

"You sure?" he asked.

Hailey nodded and opened her bottle. She held it to her lips with a smile and said, "It's just the start."

Jay raised an eyebrow and smirked while grabbing the beer. Once he had it opened, he said, "So there's gonna be more celebrations tonight?"

"I think it's deserved," Hailey replied. She leaned against the counter, taking another sip, and added, "We made it."

"We did." Before taking a sip, Jay reached over to tap his bottle to hers and said, "Love you."

"I love you too."

Hailey wasn't sure the last time she'd had a beer that tasted that good.

When they'd first moved into their apartment together, they made a plan to go out and celebrate once everything was unpacked. It was going to be a reward for surviving the move.

But then they actually spent an entire day off unpacking and they were exhausted. Hailey felt like she hadn't stopped sweating the entire day and Jay kept saying his back was sore from all the lifting and bending over. Getting out of the apartment felt impossible. What wasn't impossible, though, was ordering takeout from the Thai restaurant down the street.

They both swore it was the best meal they'd ever eaten even if it cost under twenty dollars for them both. Like their first night in the apartment, they ate on the floor in front of the balcony. The setting sun had been so pretty to look at that Hailey couldn't imagine living anywhere else with her future husband.

Now, she was sitting in that exact same spot with her now-husband as they had that exact same meal. Perhaps a celebration for a job would have been better off at an actual restaurant, but then Jay finished filling out his paperwork and made his way around the island to slip his hands beneath her shirt, and Hailey didn't feel like putting pants back on half an hour later. A celebration with a bottle of whiskey and Thai food while staring at each other half-dressed was really the best option for the circumstances.

And it made them both happy. That was the most important part of it.

"I know I said I missed deep dish the most, but Thai food with you? I think that's what I really missed," Jay said as he finished his plate.

Hailey smiled around her last bite of food then closed the small box it'd come in. "I missed this a lot too."

"Did you finish?" Jay asked, grabbing her take-out container.

Hailey shook her head as she picked up her glass of whiskey. "Figured I can have leftovers for tomorrow. Or, rather, you can have my leftovers tomorrow."

Jay chuckled and stood with the container in hand. Walking to the kitchen, he said, "Thanks."

"Yup."

Hailey glanced over her shoulder at the setting sun and took a deep breath.

"Mind if we talk about something?"

Hailey quickly spun back to look at Jay and said, "Of course. What's up?"

Jay chewed his lip, nodded to himself, then started walking over.

Hailey'd seen that look before: when he'd approached her the night she told him she loved him. She didn't know if it scared her or made her feel at ease – just like she'd felt that night years before.

"I love you," he began while sitting next to her.

"I know," she replied softly.

Jay grabbed both her hands and squeezed them before saying, "I'm worried about you. I've been thinking about it all day when I wasn't so bogged down with paperwork and worrying about this job. How you acted this morning when you woke up alone-"

"Whoa, hey, I am fine," Hailey interrupted quickly, "Like I said, it was just-"

"Hailey."

She stopped at Jay's voice and sucked in a breath.

"We're not doing that anymore," he continued, "We've been getting better at communicating, so this is the chance to put it to the test. What happened this morning?"

She could continue to blow it off. She could tell him it was nothing. That she'd just been worried something was wrong with him.

But he knew. He knew she was lying – or omitting the truth – all along.

So she nodded to herself and released one of her hands from his to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"I had nightmares a lot when you were gone," she slowly explained, "They were…well, they were nightmares, so you know." Sighing, she glanced up at Jay who nodded along with her. "I don't know why, but my mind played a trick on me this morning: I really thought you were gone for good again or that this whole thing had been a dream. It was…it sucked."

Jay hummed quietly and brushed his thumb over the backs of her knuckles. "How often did you have those nightmares?"

She shrugged and whispered, "I don't know. Once or twice a week maybe? Sometimes more. It really depended on the day. They pretty much stopped when we were back together in Walter Reed. At least, they calmed down. They weren't as scary as seeing you dead or hearing that you were stationed somewhere else or-or that you just wouldn't answer any of my calls. They were just…it's going to sound dumb."

"Nothing you say is dumb," Jay replied. He placed his hand on the side of her face and added, "Never."

Hailey felt like that was a lie, but ignored the thought and pushed herself closer to him. When her knees were pushed up against his, she explained, "It was just fear; does that make sense? I've woken up a few times since you came back to me and just felt afraid. I think today was one of those times."

Jay watched her for a moment then hugged her tightly to his shoulder and pressed his lips to the side of her head. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

She closed her eyes as she leaned into him and nodded. She knew he'd be sorry and that he loved her. In a way, that was probably why she'd been holding off on telling him anything about any of her past nightmares: she could anticipate what he would tell her. However, hearing what she'd expected actually felt much better than she thought it would. Before, she'd felt like if she knew what he was going to say, then what was the point in telling him? She could practically give herself her own comfort through his voice in her mind.

This ended up being much better.

She couldn't hug herself. She couldn't run her own fingers through her hair or kiss her own forehead. She could just imagine it. She'd done it multiple times – imagine what it'd be like to have Jay there, holding her as she calmed down – and perhaps it worked, but this was real and right and good.

"I love you," Jay repeated softly, "And I'm here for you."

A ghost of a smile crossed Hailey's face that she hid in his shoulder. "I love you too," she breathed.

Letting go in that moment felt impossible. Jay was safe in more ways than one, and she wanted to live here forever. There was nothing that could rip them apart now. It all just affirmed that renewing their wedding vows was important and the right thing to do. They'd lived their lives, made mistakes, and knew how to be better than they were the first time around. It was a perfect time to, now, stand in front of their friends and family and say that this really was it for the two of them, that they meant the vows the first time and were going to continue living by them for the rest of their lives.

Hailey felt proud to know that they were going to do just that. She was proud of herself for believing in what Jay had taught her long ago: she was capable of loving others and receiving love. She beat her childhood fears and found a love within Jay she didn't ever think was possible.

There was much more to celebrate than just Jay's new job.

After first hiding their engagement and then their marriage from their friends and then Jay leaving without a proper goodbye, it felt best to share the news of their vow renewal and Jay's new job with their friends before it all happened, so they spent the following day asking everyone to meet them at the bar after work.

Hailey was looking forward to it. By the time she'd climbed into bed with Jay the night before, she'd felt much calmer and ready for this next period of their lives. She was still nervous for officially working without Jay, but she knew this was the right change of pace for them.

It helped that Jay laid on his stomach next to her for a while so he could lightly trace his finger over her tattoo. His gentle movements brought a smile to her face and reminded her why they were doing all of this: to heal and prove to themselves that they could happily be married to each other. Their love was going to be forever, and it excited her.

Right after work, she drove to the bar and ended up parking right next to Jay's truck. She smiled at the thought of eventually meeting him like this once he started his new job and they wanted to have a drink somewhere besides the apartment. They could catch up on people they'd talked to and share their days and ask for advice without worrying what their boss would think. There were so many possibilities and so many good things that could happen with Jay working somewhere else that Hailey felt her smile grow on her face.

Focusing on the good was a nice change of pace, as well, and it resulted in having a much better attitude. It was an obvious observation that made Hailey feel a little silly at not having realized it before, but she decided to ignore that and just revel in the optimism that was flooding her system. It felt just as good as all of the kisses Jay had given her the night before.

He was sitting at a back table when she walked in the bar, and he met her eyes instantly. He laughed softly as he stood up to wait for her.

"Hey, you," he said when she wrapped her arms around him, "You look happy. Finish that case?"

"The Beck one? No, no," Hailey replied while sitting down in one of the seats across from his, "Just…this is going to be good. Not just tonight, but forever. We're going to be okay. I'm really seeing that now."

Jay smiled back, and it was always how Hailey wanted to remember him: in the bar lighting with obvious laughter on his face. This was her husband. He was real. He was here. He wasn't leaving her ever again.

She truly believed that now.

"Any idea when that case will end?" Jay asked.

Hailey blew out a breath and shook her head. "Absolutely no clue. They're planning something, though, so hopefully once we get that official date, we can stop whatever awful thing I'm sure it is."

Jay nodded and took a sip of his water.

Hailey raised an eyebrow and quietly asked, "Miss it? If you want to go home-"

"Of course I miss it," Jay gently interrupted, "But no, I don't want to go home. I'm okay with talking about it too. Just a new chapter now, right? Besides, constant surveillance and listening to recordings was never my thing."

Hailey laughed softly and nodded. "Very true. You probably wouldn't love this case."

"Definitely not jealous of Adam, that's for sure," Jay chuckled, "Did I tell you about when I went under while in Bolivia, though? It was just a one-time thing, but I kind of liked it. Reminded me of home."

Hailey shook her head and scooted closer to the table. "Tell me about it?"

Jay smiled back, nodding before launching into what turned into one of his favorite raids during his whole time while gone. As he talked, Hailey felt familiar nerves build up in her gut over fear of what he was going through, but kept in mind that he was right there in front of her talking. He hadn't gotten injured on this raid and nothing really bad had happened to him at all. He'd succeeded and cooked dinner that night for his crew to celebrate. It was when he was talking about that small party that she felt those nerves completely fade away because here he sat with a smile finally on his face discussing something he'd done a few months before. He truly looked and was acting like her Jay again, and it made her look forward to their future.

Soon enough, he'd be going through more events that could call for celebrations that he'd then talk to her about. He'd be laughing and smiling about something he saw that day or one of the recruits he talked to, and she'd be right there reliving it with him. She didn't think she'd want to be anywhere else.

"No beer? What's going on here?"

Hailey glanced away from Jay as Adam settled into the seat to her right. "We were waiting," she said.

Kim met her eyes while sitting next to Jay and raised an eyebrow. Hailey softened and nodded. Since their conversation in the cemetery about alcohol and the pressure Jay was feeling from his past, he hadn't had even a sip of beer without her present. He wanted to be open and honest with her and prove to her that he was serious about his apology. While she trusted him whole-heartedly, she also appreciated his effort to keep the whiskey and beer bottles away. It also gave them something to do together and kept them both in check.

"Well, then I think we need to get to ordering, right?" Kevin said without sitting down, "Usual?"

Once everyone had given their order and he'd walked away with Dante to get everything at the bar, Adam lightly hit Jay's left arm and said, "Look at you all free again. How's it feel?"

"Pretty good," Jay replied, stretching out his arm in front of them for good measure, "I'm still doing physical therapy twice a week, but I've been cleared to do light weights on my own and some leg work, so I've been going to the gym on off days."

"That's really great," Adam said, "You're on your way."

Jay smiled and nodded. "Hope so." He glanced toward Hailey and his smile spread. "Actually, I know so."

She smiled back at him as she gently kicked her foot forward to nudge his.

Kim again followed her gaze and quietly asked, "Not to be this person, but the no beer really was for waiting, right? Not a pregnant thing?"

Hailey straightened up quickly and said, "Not pregnant. Definitely not pregnant."

"Definitely?" Jay repeated, scoffing with a slight smirk.

Hailey rolled her eyes in response and kicked his ankle a little harder. "Shut up."

Adam snorted quietly, but easily hid it with a cough when Kim shot him a look. Hailey turned toward her and sent her her own smirk only for Kim to sigh and shake her head.

"Missed you both," Jay chuckled.

"All right, here we are," Kevin said upon returning to the table. He passed out the beers with Dante then sat to Hailey's left. "It's been way too long since we've been out like this. Let's not make it another couple months. Deal?"

Everyone agreed while tapping their bottles in the middle of the table. Once they'd all taken a sip, Dante straightened up and asked, "Did you all do this a lot before?"

Before Jay left.

Hailey winced at the unspoken words and noted that Jay had done the same. Taking a long sip of beer, she suddenly wished she was sitting where Kim was just so she could rub her hand over his leg instead of kicking it.

"I don't know if I'd say a lot," Adam said, "Well, okay, maybe it was a lot before Makayla."

"Some people had to go off and get a kid and were suddenly too good for their friends," Jay teased.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Don't be an ass. That girl has you all wrapped around her finger. She was just talking about her Uncle Jay and Uncle Kevin telling her at dinner the other week that they'd take her to the park to play basketball soon. Something about wanting her to be better than Adam."

Adam held up a finger and said, "Actually, she said her dad."

Hailey's eyes widened. "Really?"

Adam smiled proudly and said, "She's officially called me 'Dad.' It's pretty cool."

"Very cool," Jay said, tapping his bottle to Adam's, "Congrats, man."

Kim sent him a smile and said, "It's been really nice."

Kevin caught Hailey's eye and winked before asking, "Does that mean you two-"

Hailey let out a laugh and shook her head as Adam and Kim both quickly tried changing the subject. She clocked the amusement on Dante's face and the laughter ringing from Jay's chest. It was very reminiscent of when everyone finally confronted her and Jay about dating years before, and the warmth that spread through her at that memory felt like it could erase all the sadness that existed within her heart.

That day, just like right now, consisted of everyone huddled around a table in Turtles. She'd taken the seat right next to Jay like usual and didn't think anything of it – she didn't think anyone else would either, and they probably wouldn't have, but she realized too soon that more than a few whiskeys made her hands wander. Had she just squeezed his arm or put a hand on his shoulder while telling everyone about the soup they'd picked up for lunch, no one might have thought anything was going on between them, but she ended up absentmindedly brushing her hand over the back of his hair, and there was no turning back.

Kim had immediately stopped listening to whatever she'd been saying and jumped into asking what was going on between the two of them, Kevin asked if they'd ever slept together, and Adam claimed he knew all along that they were dating.

No amount of redirection or alcohol could get their friends off the matter, and that proved to be the exact same thing tonight with Kim and Adam.

Hailey sent Kim a knowing smile, something Jay seemed to catch instantly when his eyes lit up, and he turned to look at Adam. He knew that she knew what was going on even if he didn't know what exactly that was.

The normalcy of the entire moment was so welcomed that Hailey practically forgot why they'd asked everyone out for drinks in the first place.

It wasn't for another hour when a bachelor party had walked in the bar that Hailey felt herself sober up enough to reach across the table and grab Jay's wrist.

He raised an eyebrow, pausing as he lifted his second beer to his lips. "Yes?" he asked.

"Jay," she whispered.

"Hailey," Adam interrupted, matching her voice level, "We're at a table."

"Are you two really telling secrets right now?" Dante laughed.

Hailey ignored him, though, and held up her left hand.

"Oh," Jay blurted, laughing to himself. He set his bottle down and said, "Okay, Hailey and I have an announcement."

Kevin eyed the beer in front of Hailey and said, "Well, I'm guessing it's not what I originally thought."

She rolled her eyes and shoved his arm, but before she could reply, Kim waved her hand and said, "She's not pregnant; I already asked."

"Mhmm," Hailey hummed, "But this is a good thing."

"Very good," Jay added, "Actually, two things to share. First, Hailey and I want to renew our vows."

"And we'd like you all to be there," Hailey said, glancing around at the others, "It really won't be anything big – no white dresses or bouquets or fancy reception dinners – but we'd like to make an afternoon out of it at least."

Jay nodded. "Things have been…Hailey's been amazing. She is…"

His mouth gaped for a moment as he shifted his gaze back to her. She softened and shot him a small smile.

"Things got tough," Jay explained quietly, "Not just physically, but-but I felt like giving up, and Hailey didn't. She stayed through it all and reminded me that there's still good out there. This isn't the end of my rope, just a new chapter."

Again, Hailey reached across the table to squeeze his hand. She brushed her thumb over his knuckles and nodded.

A new, better chapter that they could conquer together. They weren't on their own anymore. They had each other.

"And somehow within her heart, she decided that she really would marry me again," Jay finished explaining with a quiet laugh, "So we're doing it…well, not right persay, but we want our friends and family there. Prove to you all and to each other that we're okay."

"Better than okay," Hailey said, "We're good."

"And we're always gonna be good," Jay finished with a wink.

Hailey felt her cheeks blush red, and she felt like she was back at the district. When he'd first uttered those words to her, she'd been so scared to admit that her feelings for Jay were real, that she was covering them up by dating Adam, that she actually wanted a real future with Jay outside of the department. She had gone home that night and just stared at the ceiling of her bedroom wondering what she was doing. Part of her felt like a horrible person for lying to everyone including herself, but a bigger part of her ached for Jay. She could tell by the look on his face that her relationship with Adam had hurt him in ways she hadn't expected and realized that maybe he had feelings for her as well. It was a turmoil of emotions she hadn't expected to have over a few simple words.

Now, that same boyfriend that she had back then cheered and raised his beer for them both. "That is great," Adam said, "Here's to that."

Kim nodded quickly and tapped her bottle to Adam's. "Congratulations…again."

Jay laughed softly and nodded. "Thanks." He smiled at Hailey and tilted his head to the side. "Was my third time proposing to her, so maybe this time will be the charm and we'll have a much happier life."

"Third?" Dante asked, "You really proposed to her three times?"

"Well, she actually proposed to me first," Jay said.

"Look at you go," Kevin said with a nudge to Hailey's shoulder.

She laughed softly and shrugged. "I knew what I wanted."

Jay winked again and sipped his beer.

There were so many emotions running around her mind that night of her proposal that what exactly she wanted was possibly unclear: Jay, safety, freedom, happiness. It didn't matter now, though. All that mattered was that Jay had said yes and countered her with his own proposal a few hours later. They'd moved on from that dark period of their lives and were truly turning a page in their relationship.

"So she proposed," Kim said, "And then…what? Did you say no?"

"No," Jay chuckled, "No, not really. I…maybe I was a bit of an ass. I didn't really answer her. I actually went to go see you since you were in the hospital."

As everyone laughed, Hailey quickly said, "In his defense, that's where we were supposed to be anyways. I just kind of derailed the situation."

"And once our search for Roy ended that night, I headed back to her place where I accepted the proposal and got down on one knee," Jay said.

"Very nice," Dante said against his beer bottle.

Jay smirked at him and nodded.

"But in her apartment?" Adam asked, "Was that really the most romantic place?"

"I'm sorry, did you not propose to your last fiancé in the locker room?" Jay shot back.

Adam put his hands up and said, "I had my reasons."

Kim laughed softly and shook her head.

"Last fiancé?" Dante asked, his eyes flickering to Kim.

"He was engaged before we went out and got engaged as well," she explained, "Never walked down the aisle, though."

"And before you ask," Kevin interrupted, turning toward Dante, "No, I've never dated either of these wonderful ladies. Shocking that they ignored me, but, you know, it all worked out."

"And we do love you," Hailey said as she lightly nudged him.

"I know, I know," Kevin chuckled.

"So that's one," Adam said, holding up a finger, "I believe the detective said he begged Ms. Upton to marry him thrice."

Jay shot him his middle finger and explained, "I did not beg. First time was an ask, second time was…okay, second time was maybe begging."

"I'd call it more like a demand," Hailey laughed softly, "The night we actually got married, he just straight up told me to marry him right then."

"So you did?" Dante asked.

"Of course," Hailey said, "We were real crappy wedding planners anyways."

"This time will be different," Jay said, "I have all the time in the world to pull something together."

"Well," Hailey hummed.

Jay breathed in slowly and smiled back at her. "Guess that brings me to my other piece of good news. I – uh – I got a job. Actually, Trudy got me the job. I'm gonna be working at the police academy come May."

Adam sent a smile to Hailey before saying, "You're going to do an awesome job. Congratulations."

Dante nodded quickly and reached over to fist bump Jay. "You're a great teacher."

"We're proud of you," Kim said before giving Jay a quick side hug.

Kevin nodded as well and added, "There's no one better for the job. You're going to kick ass."

"Thank you," Jay said, "Thanks. It means a lot coming from all of you."

"Well, hey," Adam said, "You practically taught all of us in a way."

Jay's smile widened. "I guess so, huh?"

"Maybe not Hailey," Kim said.

Only for Hailey to shake her head. "He taught me a lot," she said softly, "I'm a better cop because of him. He taught me an empathy I don't know if I had before Intelligence. Also how to shoot a sniper rifle."

"Thank god, right?" Adam laughed, "Aren't you the one who saved him from that flesh eating bacteria?"

"She was," Jay chuckled, "Came back to save my ass."

Dante raised an eyebrow then laughed, shaking his head. "I think I'm gonna need another story time. I remember when that all happened, but never really found out how it ended."

"Which means I'm gonna need another beer," Jay said as he stood up, "Who else wants one?"

"Let's just get a round," Hailey said, standing up with him.

"I'm not against doing a shot," Kim said before they could walk away.

"Buy it yourself, Burge," Jay shot over his shoulder. Still, though, he laughed and grabbed Hailey's hand. When they reached the bar, he nodded back to the table and said, "Another round of beer, and we'll also do a round of tequila shots."

Hailey looked up at him amused and asked, "Are you serious?"

Jay shrugged and put his arm around her shoulder. "She asked, and I like when you get a good buzz."

Hailey laughed softly and shook her head. "You're something else."

"So are you," Jay chuckled, "Thank you for joining Intelligence, and thank you for being my wife."

Hailey hummed and pushed up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for being a good man. I hope tonight's helping you realize how loved and respected you are."

"Hey, we don't need to get all mushy at the bar," Jay said quietly, a soft red tinge on his face.

Hailey shook her head and rubbed her hand down his back. "Might as well get used to it since you're the one who first insisted on having our friends watch us renew our vows."

Jay laughed and shook his head as well, kissing the top of her head. "I love you," he whispered.

Hailey closed her eyes, turning to hug him tightly. "I love you too," she murmured, "Forever."

"Always," Jay replied. He squeezed her to his side and took a deep breath. "That's a promise."

It felt good to believe him again.

A/N: Let me know what you think? Talk soon!