A/N: Hi hi and happy Monday! You guys are always so nice and I feel so grateful to be here - especially after the finale last week. I really hope you all continue to enjoy this fic and all that's to come in it :)
The heated summer air seemed to stick to Hailey's skin as she made her way into the community center where the police academy graduation was happening. It seeped beneath her polyester uniform, and she could already feel sweat starting to pool in her armpits and on her lower back. She hated having to dress up in the heat.
But this was for Jay.
She'd promised him that she'd show up to watch his first class graduate, especially since she'd given two lectures to them. At the end of July, he'd asked her over coffee in the morning if she wouldn't mind returning to his class to talk to just the girls about being a woman in the police force. There hadn't even been a question when she'd agreed. She was happy to help him out and happy to have a role in forming the mindset for the young women who were so eager to do what she did.
So maybe part of showing up today was for them and making sure they knew that she was going to support them through it all. She'd meant it when she'd given them all her business card and said they could call her whenever they needed something. She wanted to have a hand in their future within the department, and today was a step in that direction.
The weak air conditioning washed over her the second she stepped into the building. How the department always seemed to pick the hottest days for their ceremonies in conjunction with the hottest buildings was beyond her.
"There she is."
Hailey looked to her right to see Jack Hanover smiling at her. She smiled and waved back as she made her way through the thin crowd toward him.
"Nice to see you," she said, "Pretty warm in here, huh?"
Jack laughed and said, "We have a specialty for making people uncomfortable on important days."
Laughing with him, Hailey glanced around at the others making their way to the small auditorium where the graduation was going to be held. It'd been years since she'd been in this same position, but, in a way, it felt like just yesterday.
She could practically hear Uncle DJ's booming voice over the buzzing crowd as he congratulated her for following her dreams. He had been the only one who showed up to watch her cross the stage, but she'd decided long ago that he was going to be the only one who mattered in attendance. That'd been an early May day, yet was unseasonably warm like this one. Uncle DJ's tight hug had hinged on slightly uncomfortable, but it'd meant the world to her to have him there. She was going to be a cop and save little girls like herself when the world seemed to be crashing down. She did it.
"Jay's inside," Jack said, causing Hailey to turn back toward him. "He wanted to go over a little speech he's giving. Have you heard it yet?"
She helped write it, or, rather, she helped edit and revise it. A lot of the thoughts were Jay's own, but he'd been worried about the order and tone in which he wanted to share them.
"It can't be something too sentimental and emotional, you know?" he'd said the week before as they'd sat out on the balcony with beers in hand while staring at his notebook he'd used to jot down ideas in, "This is a police academy graduation, it should have some sort of seriousness built into it, but I also don't want to scare their families."
"They're already scared enough as is," she'd agreed.
"Right, so…so no death and lies?" he'd asked while holding back a laugh.
She hadn't been able to hold back her own laugh at that and shook her head. "No. We probably shouldn't be advertising that they're going to encounter death and lies on quite possibly the first day of the rest of their career."
"I've heard some of his talking points," she told Jack, "He's a bit nervous, but I know he'll be fine."
"Oh, of course," Jack said, "That man worries too much. He's a damn good detective. No reason for him to overthink everything he tells the kids, but he's committed to starting them off on the right foot."
Hailey smiled and nodded. "That's Jay," she said softly.
He'd put in a lot of work this summer to make the academy more than just a stepping stone for the recruits to become police. He took the job seriously. After their week-long break for the 4th of July, his first lesson back was about the case he'd helped solved with Intelligence. He spent the morning going over everything he'd seen upon first finding Ellie and what they had all done within the first few hours before bringing them all to the 21st District. It was there in the classroom that Hailey, Kevin, and Kim talked through the evidence with him and how they'd put all the pieces together to bring justice to both Ellie and Tessa. Just the other day, a handful of Jay's students told him that was their favorite lesson of the entire semester. He'd been trying to hold back his pride when telling her that night in bed, but she'd been able to see right through it. The comments had meant the world to him.
"You know," Jack said, lowering his voice as if anyone around them was listening in to their conversation, "After tonight, I'm offering him lead instructor. Brian and Eric are great, don't get me wrong, but Jay has something about him that makes him different. He knows why the job's important, and he wants to excel at it. He's what the academy needs – what the future of the police force needs."
Hailey's eyes widened. "Lead instructor?" she repeated, "He…he just started."
"And I want to keep him," Jack said with a nod, "What do you think he'll say? Is he interested?"
Months before, Jay had sat in a hospital bed about twenty-four hours after being blown up and heard that he was permanently discharged from the military. His life had seemed over. Hailey held him for who knows how long as they'd both cried about what seemed to be the end of his career. He couldn't imagine anyone wanting him to work for them, not when he wasn't even good enough for the military like he had been for years.
And then they came home, and those feelings only intensified. They'd sat together at his parents graves, and he told her how he somehow became everything his dad didn't want him to be: an ex-military man with no means to support his family. Jay had been scared and disappointed in himself, and Hailey didn't know how he'd ever get out of that hole.
When Trudy told them she had a job opportunity for him, the world seemed to get a little brighter. There was hope. Jay could return to the job he'd loved for years by teaching others how to do it well – how to be the good cop and detective he'd grown to be. He could shape the next generation of police in a way that redeemed the life he thought he'd given up. Thought he'd messed up.
For the first time in a long time, surviving and living a life filled with love and purpose seemed possible. He could be the opposite of what his father imagined he'd be while also being everything the world deserved. Jay was a good man who could change the world – or at least Chicago – and Hailey loved that he had his spark back.
Listening to Jack, right now, confirmed that the journey might have been rough and unexpected, but it was worth it. Jay was achieving everything he'd set out to do upon returning home, and he was getting the accolades to prove it. He was on his way to be who he was always meant to be.
"I think he'll be honored," Hailey said softly with a smile, "He…He needed this job more than it needed him, and it gave him something that I don't think he could have found anywhere else. Thank you for taking the chance on him."
"It wasn't taking a chance," Jack replied, "I knew he'd be a good instructor; I'd had my eye on him since he took in Torres last year and even whenever he'd come do a lecture. He was a good cop, but this might have been his calling all along."
Hailey's smile widened. She liked to think that was true. Jay had been placed on a path years ago that surely would have challenged his beliefs and policing. After everything that had happened with Roy, she wasn't quite sure that path would have been right for him. In the end, that path wasn't something Jay could continue down, and a much better one presented itself. Just like Trudy had said she'd imagined.
"I think I agree with you," she said, "Thank you. I can't wait to hear what he says about it."
"Me either," Jack said. He glanced away from her to nod at someone toward the entrance of the center before saying, "I'm sorry, sergeant from the K-9 unit just showed up. I want to talk up one of our recruits to her."
"No problem," Hailey said, "I'll see you inside."
"You too, Detective Halstead."
Hailey blushed, but Jack didn't see as he began walking away from her. She hadn't realized how long it'd take to change her last name since the wedding had already happened and she'd been Upton for so long, but it was in the court's hands now, and all she had to do was wait for her day with the judge to come. She'd officially be Hailey Halstead soon enough.
Until then, Jack was one of the few people who was calling her Halstead. He'd been doing it before she even made the decision to make it official, but it still made her smile. Trudy and Voight were aware of what she was doing, but that was more of a formality than anything else. And since Kim knew, and was there when Hailey stopped at city hall to drop off all the paperwork, naturally, everyone else knew as well.
Hailey Halstead.
She liked the ring it had to it and couldn't wait until it was reflected on everything. Finally stepping away from Upton and the abuse of her past really had freed her like Theo had said it would. She was her own person, and soon that was going to be on her license and paystub and social security card and anything else she wished. She was not the type of person who was going to start hanging Halstead signs in the apartment or wearing necklaces with her new moniker on it, but she was the type of person who could be proud of who she was and where she came from – of the journey of her own that she'd been on her entire life.
She made her way into the auditorium where parents, family, friends, and other police were already seated waiting for the graduation to begin. There was a handful of people that she could choose to make small talk with, but none of them interested her enough to actually walk over and talk to. She was here for Jay today, not to try and schmooze anyone else.
Jay could be seen at the side of the stage, reading over a list of names and mouthing them to himself. He'd been practicing for a few days now.
"It's a big day for them, I don't want to screw it up," he'd said when he first brought the list home with him.
By now, he'd surely had the names memorized, but reviewing it for a hundredth time was going to make him feel better and lessen any of the nerves in his gut, so Hailey allowed it. She smiled over at him as his finger traced down the long list.
He looked up and took a step forward so his eyes could look out at the crowd forming. Hailey smiled and sat up more, hoping she could give him one last moment of support before the ceremony started. She'd already assured him several times that morning, much like she had on his very first day of the academy, but she didn't think there would be anything wrong with one last encouraging wave to let him know she was there just like she said she would be.
Jay spotted her after a second, and his face lit up. The nerves were still present in his smile, but his shoulders relaxed and his left hand came up in a small wave.
The black band on his ring finger stood out through their distance, so she hoped he could see her own as she waved back. Without giving a care as to who would even be watching her, she touched her fingers to her lips before dropping them to her lap. Jay chuckled and nodded at her, sending a wink in her direction as a reply.
He was good, and she was even better knowing that he was. He'd worked incredibly hard to get to this exact moment, and she hoped that it was about to be everything he'd deserved in culmination.
The only reason Hailey knew Jay was nervous during the ceremony was because of what he'd told her over the past few days. None of it showed as he sat up on the stage, gave a speech, or announced the graduates' names. He was his usual, steady self, and Hailey didn't know when she'd loved him more.
At the very end, though, a few of the recruits stepped up to the podium Jay had just abandoned and held up a hand to greet the crowd.
"Thank you, everyone, for coming today," the first, a young man named Connor, began, "We really couldn't have done it without any of you."
The second man nodded and replaced him at the microphone. Hailey couldn't remember his name, but he was shorter than the rest and she could recall a time or two where Jay had mentioned needing to help him in the physical assessments. "We especially couldn't do it without our instructors: Sergeant Hanover, Detective Avery, Detective Miller, and Detective Halstead. Can we please give them all a hand?"
The crowd all clapped, and the instructors on the stage gave their thanks in a variety of small waves at the sound. Hailey's smile widened, and she winked at Jay when he quickly met her gaze.
"We'd like to take a moment to extend that thanks to the newest addition to the Chicago Police Academy this year: Detective Halstead," the one woman at the podium, Marnie, who Hailey had spent some time talking to when she'd last come in for a guest lecture, said. She turned to look at Jay and smiled. "Sir, you really gave it your all this year, and we know we weren't an easy bunch."
Everyone laughed in reply, but Hailey gave it no attention. She was staring at Jay and his fading smile as shock crossed his face.
"Detective Halstead, you pushed us when we all wanted to give up," Connor continued, "But you also gave us the drive and the determination to do so. You taught us what it means to be a part of this department and why we should take pride in doing so."
The second graduate cleared his throat and added, "You love this job, sir, and we are incredibly appreciative of you for taking the time to spread that to us."
"So, without further ado," Marnie announced, taking a step back to wave at someone off the edge of the stage.
Two more graduates joined them: one with a plaque in hand while the other carried out some sort of bouquet that Hailey couldn't quite make out besides noticing that it definitely wasn't flowers.
"Can you please come here?" Marnie asked, and Jay took a breath before standing to join them all at the podium.
"We're gifting you with the Top Instructor award," Connor explained, "Because I don't know if there's anyone more dedicated to making sure we come out of this as solid, good cops than you."
"And because you have that weird thing against chocolate, we put together a protein bar and shake bouquet," one of the other graduates said with a laugh, "We're pretty sure they're some of your favorites, at least, they're all the brands you seem to eat the most."
Jay laughed and accepted the two gifts. "Thank you," he said, turning to face the other graduates all clapping, cheering, and standing for him, "Thank you. This really means a lot. I was not expecting it."
"I don't know why," Jack chuckled while joining him at the podium, "We all loved having you here this semester. Thank you for all your hard work."
Jay nodded and shifted his hold on his gifts to shake his hand. By that point, everyone in the crowd was standing and cheering, and Hailey couldn't hear what was being said between the two of them, but she could see another burst of shock cross Jay's face before he started nodding quickly. He managed to give a quick hug to Jack and then turned to thank his students as well.
Hailey's eyes filled with sudden tears, and she laughed quietly to herself in disbelief. Wiping at the tears, she couldn't help but let the pride she felt toward Jay wrap around her. He'd worked so hard all semester and since coming home from Bolivia, and this proved that it was all for something. He had gone from thinking his life was over to winning Top Instructor. She didn't know if she'd ever been as proud of him as she was in this moment.
The crowd began dispersing around her as the graduates came down to greet their families. She made her way to the side of the auditorium and took in the moment while waiting for Jay to finish up. He continued thanking the students who stopped to talk to him and would then follow them to their own proud parents and partners. She didn't mind waiting. Today was about all of them. Her own celebration for Jay could wait.
Close to fifteen minutes went by before Jay finally walked over to her. His smile was wide, and his hands were filled with various cards, and the excitement – and slight exhaustion – was radiating off of him.
"Hey," he said softly, just for her to hear. Clearing his throat against the slight croak that tainted his voice, he offered a smile and held up his hands. "I wasn't expecting this."
Hailey laughed and shook her head. "You're amazing," she replied. She reached over to squeeze his arm and added, "And I'm so happy that you were recognized for being just that."
"I swear I didn't know they were doing that," Jay said, "But that was really nice."
"Of course it was," Hailey said with a laugh, "Where's your gift?"
Jay laughed and nodded toward the stage. "Left it up there. I'll make sure to grab it before we head out. They paid attention."
"Well, they learned their observation skills from the best," Hailey said, smirking.
Jay laughed again and turned to lean against the wall next to her. As he stared out at the thinning crowd, he murmured, "I did it. I didn't think me, of all people, after what I'd done, would be able to properly teach a group of kids to be cops, but I…I think they're not just going to be cops, they're going to be good cops. They're smart, and they've got good instincts. Obviously they all have different strengths and weaknesses, but I'm not worried about any of them."
Hailey smiled and gently bumped her hip to his. "I thought they weren't kids," she teased softly, "Students or recruits, right?"
"Guess they're rookies now," Jay chuckled. Letting out a sigh, he turned his head toward her and asked, "You want to get out of here?"
She raised an eyebrow and gestured toward everyone in the auditorium. "Do you? There's still a lot of people here."
"Yeah, I'm good," Jay said, "They're all leaving. I have something exciting to tell you anyways."
Hailey tried to hide her smile and said, "Oh, really? And what's that?"
Jay gave her one look then laughed. Glancing back out at the crowd, he said, "Should have known he'd say something to you."
"What?" Hailey laughed, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on, he told you," Jay chuckled.
"Who is this he, and what do you think he told me?" Hailey asked, her façade starting to fade as laughter edged its way into her voice.
"Jack told you he was going to offer me Lead Instructor, didn't he?" Jay countered.
Hailey couldn't hide her happiness any longer as she pushed off the wall and grabbed his wrist. "He told me when I walked in. Jay, that is incredible. There is no one else who deserves it more."
"You don't even know if I accepted," Jay said, but the second Hailey laughed, he gave in and nodded. "Fine, yeah, I accepted it, but that was a lucky guess."
"I know you," Hailey interrupted with a squeeze to his wrist, "And I knew you'd be great at this all along. I'm so proud of you."
Jay smiled back at her and nodded. "Thank you," he said softly.
Hailey glanced out at the last few people in the auditorium then pushed up on her tiptoes to quickly press a kiss to his cheek. "I love you," she whispered, "Congratulations."
Jay hummed in reply. "I love you too," he breathed.
"Here's to new beginnings," Hailey said, smiling up at him.
"If we're making a toast to the future, don't you think we need a drink in hand?" Jay countered, laughing softly.
"Okay, okay, let's go," Hailey laughed. She slipped her hand around him and dragged her knuckles down the back of his uniform. "I didn't realize teaching required so much alcohol."
"Shut up," Jay chuckled as he led the way back to the stage, "You know they're all going out to celebrate right now. There's no reason I can't either."
Hailey laughed with him and nodded. "I completely agree with you. How'd you celebrate when you graduated?"
"Beer," Jay chuckled. They walked over to his plaque and bouquet so he could grab them before leaving. "I might have had a career in front of me, but I didn't have a lot of money."
"Fair enough," Hailey laughed. She grabbed the plaque from him and smiled even more at the Top Instructor, Summer 2023, Jay Halstead etched into the metal.
Years before, when she'd graduated from the police academy herself, Uncle DJ had requested a handful of pictures of her to remember the big day: "You achieved a dream, Hailey, it deserves a frame on the wall." At the time, she'd been hesitant and not quite sure she wanted to stand where others could see her as she posed with her certificate and badge, but now they were some of her favorite pictures of herself because he'd been right: she deserved to remember what it felt like to achieve a goal of hers that others – her own parents – didn't think she could.
"Jay," she said before he could walk back down the stairs.
He turned toward her, and she already had her phone out with her camera open. His hesitation was clear on his face, but he glanced behind her at the few people left in the auditorium and dropped the tension in his shoulders.
"A quick one," he said.
She laughed and nodded. "I promise. Trudy and Will are going to want to see this."
"Oh, god," Jay chuckled, but he still reached over to grab the plaque from her and held it up with his bouquet of protein bars.
As Hailey took the picture of him, she found herself smiling as well. It wasn't often that they would ever take pictures to celebrate the end of a case when they both worked Intelligence; there was never a time that it even seemed appropriate to do so. But this was maybe their best "case" that they've solved yet: getting Jay back in the field in such a positive way.
It took everything Hailey had to drag Jay out of their apartment.
He didn't want to drink while in uniform, and she didn't blame him at all, so his suggestion to stop at home to rid themselves of their badges and ties was easy to take, but then they both became off-task the moment he came up behind her in the mirror to unbutton her shirt himself.
She would have loved to stay and get even more off-task with him more than once, but her phone soon started buzzing, and she struggled to keep her focus on Jay in that moment. He insisted they could celebrate another night and that they had beer in their fridge, but she knew tonight needed to be more than sex. She knew plans were beginning to form, and she needed to stick to those new plans. She forced herself to be the adult in the situation much to Jay's teasing dismay.
"I will not complain about having a drink or two," Jay said as they finally entered the bar an hour after they had originally planned to, "But don't think that we have to stay out all night."
"We're celebrating you, babe, you can have more than two drinks," Hailey laughed, "Unless you don't think I can drive your truck."
Jay scoffed and teasingly grabbed her waist. Tugging her into his side, he kissed the top of her head and said, "You can drive the truck, but maybe I don't want you to drive the truck."
Hailey laughed loudly, feeling Jay's own happiness reverberate from his chest. "You're such an ass."
"Am not," Jay chuckled. He pulled her to the bar and added, "I'm a Top Instructor."
The laughter that bubbled out of Hailey wouldn't stop, and she barely registered what Jay asked for from the bartender. Instead, she pushed herself up onto the nearest stool and spun herself around so that Jay was standing between her legs. Smiling at him, she draped her arms over his shoulders and lightly dragged her fingers through the back of his hair. The high she was on from their time spent together at home almost made her feel drunker than any of the alcohol they were about to enjoy was going to.
The excess of happiness she'd experienced over this summer in comparison to the year before reminded her that this was what she needed to always come back to. They were surely going to experience more dark times both individually and as a pair, but that didn't mean they were ever going to be stuck with them. They had proved to themselves that the death and lies they'd talked about months before didn't have to last forever or even take over their lives. It was completely possible for them to grow from the trauma that once consumed them.
Jay let out a soft breath and lifted his hand to drag his fingers through her hair. "You need to know that…that I really don't know if I could have done this without you. You pushed me to do this job when I didn't think I'd be any good at it. I was convinced that after everything I had gone through – everything I put you through – that I couldn't teach anyone anything, but you believed in me, and I'm just as grateful for that as I am the fact that you found it in your heart to still love me and be my wife."
Hailey hummed and slowly shook her head. "I didn't have to find anything," she whispered, "Loving you is always on my mind. I promise."
Jay chuckled and leaned forward to catch her lips in his. "I love you," he breathed.
"I love you too," she whispered back when she pulled back enough to press her forehead to his.
"Forever?" Jay asked, holding back a smirk.
"Only if your answer to that would be always," Hailey replied.
Before he could even finish laughing on his way to kiss her again, Hailey felt a hand on her back, and she knew it didn't belong to her husband.
"You've got about twenty seconds before Platt walks in that door, so make it fast."
Hailey laughed at Kevin's voice as Jay shot back from her.
"What are you-"
"I really thought there would be shots or something already ordered," Adam said while approaching with Kim at his side.
"You've been allowed alcohol for what – three weeks now?" Dante asked from behind them, "Seems a little soon for shots."
Jay's wide eyes darted between their friends, and Hailey had to work to keep her smile from becoming too obnoxiously excited. "Surprise," she said softly, "I sent those pictures of the ceremony, and Will suggested we all meet up for those drinks you'd been talking about. I hope you don't mind."
Almost at the sound of his name, Will entered the bar right in front of Trudy and held up a hand in greeting.
Jay let out a quiet laugh of disbelief and turned his gaze toward Hailey. "You two didn't have to do any of this," he said, "I mean, you realize I'm not the one who graduated, right?"
"But you're the one who got them across that stage," she countered. Smirking, she brushed the backs of her knuckles to his cheek. "You have some news to celebrate, anyways."
"News?" Trudy repeated as she slid onto a bar stool next to Hailey, "I sure hope I didn't miss it like it seems like I missed the drinks."
"Not ordered yet," Adam clarified with a laugh.
Kim scoffed slightly and nudged his arm, but still smiled up at him while shaking her head.
"Uh, yeah, I guess I do have news," Jay chuckled. He cleared his throat and took a minute to look at everyone individually before holding Trudy's gaze and saying, "Jack offered me lead instructor for the Fall semester. I accepted it."
Everyone erupted into cheers, and Will pulled Jay into a tight hug for a moment. Hailey's cheeks felt like they'd crack with the excitement bursting through her. It'd been one thing all day to celebrate Jay's success on her own and then with him, but there was a whole different level of excitement when she was able to share it with her friends.
The bartender placed two beers in front of them and asked, "Anyone else ordering something?"
"Yeah," Kevin said, clearing his throat as he leaned across the bar to place the order.
Kim pulled Jay closer to her to give him a hug of her own, followed by the same from Dante, so Hailey glanced at Trudy and smiled. "Thank you," she said softly.
Trudy shook her head and gave a wave of her hand. "He did it himself."
"You gave him the kick in the ass to get there," Hailey countered.
"You all need a kick in the ass sometimes," Trudy said, "I'm happy to be the one to give it. Makes my life have meaning."
Hailey laughed softly, but she didn't think Trudy was completely joking. She'd taken them all beneath her wing as they'd found their home within Intelligence. She fought for them, supported them, and reminded them all of what truly mattered when push came to shove. Her voice of reason talked them all off ledges they became terrified to look over, and Hailey knew they were all grateful for the safety net she placed out just in case they ignored any of her advice – whether or not it was asked for.
None of them would be here without her. Hailey especially. She'd always felt a connection to Trudy, and now that she was quite possibly the reason her husband didn't give up and had been able to drag himself out of a hole months before, Hailey knew in her heart that she owed Trudy her life. It was not the kind of thing she'd ever be able to repay, nor was it something Trudy would even come close to accepting a "payment" for, but Hailey would know, deep down, that Trudy was behind it all.
Her career.
Her relationship.
Her husband.
Her own drive and direction.
Hailey Halstead had Trudy Platt to thank for everything good that had happened in her life all because she'd supported her years before, and she knew, after today, that there had to have been a few cops at that ceremony that would have Jay to thank in the years to come.
A/N: Let me know what you think? :)