As the morning sunlight streams through the bedroom window, Jay slowly wakes up. He rubs his eyes and rolls onto his side, only to find Hailey lying next to him.
For a moment, he just stares at her, taking in the sight of her sleeping peacefully in his bed. Her blonde hair is messy, and she's wearing one of his t-shirts.
He can't help but smile as memories of the night before flood back. They had stayed up late talking and drinking beer, just like they used to. Somewhere along the way, they had both ended up in his bed.
Jay watches as Hailey's eyes slowly flutter open. She looks over at him and a sleepy smile graces her lips.
"Morning," she murmurs, her voice heavy with sleep.
"Morning," Jay replies, his own voice still gravelly.
Hailey stretches, and the t-shirt she's wearing rides up, revealing a strip of smooth skin. Jay's eyes linger on her exposed stomach for a moment before he tears his gaze away.
"See something you like?" Hailey teases, catching him looking.
Jay feels his cheeks heat up. "Shut up."
He props himself up on an elbow and turns his attention back to her. "You know you're wearing my shirt."
"Mm, I do. It's comfortable," she says, settling back into the pillows.
Suddenly, her stomach growls loudly, causing them both to laugh.
"Guess someone's hungry," Jay jokes.
"I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday," Hailey says, rubbing her stomach. "I think I need breakfast."
Jay sits up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I can make you something. Pancakes sound good?"
"Pancakes sound perfect," Hailey replies, rolling onto her back. "And coffee. Lots of coffee."
"Coming right up," Jay says, standing up. He puts on a pair of sweatpants and heads into the kitchen.
Hailey watches him go, admiring his lean, muscular frame under the thin material of his sweats. She stretches again, enjoying the feel of his shirt against her skin.
As they walk into the bullpen, the rest of the team notices their good moods.
Kevin shoots them a knowing smirk. "Looks like someone had a good night."
Jay rolls his eyes but can't help smiling.
Hailey gives a casual shrug, "Just a good night's sleep."
Adam raises an eyebrow, "Yeah, okay. And Santa Claus is real."
Voight appears from his office, eyeing them both sternly.
"Halstead. Upton. My office, now."
Jay and Hailey exchange glances before following Voight into his office. Once they're inside, he closes the door behind him.
"Mind telling me what's going on with you two?" he asks bluntly.
Hailey speaks up, "What do you mean, Sarge?"
Voight crosses his arms, giving them a knowing look.
"You two have been practically inseparable lately. Always riding together, hanging out after work... and now waking up together."
Hailey remains collected, "We're partners, Sarge. We spend a lot of time together, it's normal."
Voight doesn't seem convinced.
"Maybe so. But I've seen the way you look at each other. There's more going on here than just work."
Jay opens his mouth to protest, but Voight holds up a hand.
"Look, I don't care what you two do in your personal time. But if it's going to affect your work, then we have Upton working with someone else. Understood?"
Jay and Hailey are both taken aback by this. They exchange a look, both silently worrying about what this will mean for their partnership.
Hailey finally speaks up, "Understood, Sarge."
Voight gives them a nod. "Good. Now get back to work, both of you."
Jay and Hailey are in the middle of a tense homicide case when Voight approaches them, his face serious.
"Halstead, Upton. What have you got on the vic?"
"Not much so far," Jay replies, frustrated. "Neighbors heard arguing last night, but no one saw anything."
Voight nods, then looks at Hailey. "And you?"
Hailey shuffles through her notes. "Nothing yet. We're waiting on Forensics to get back to us on the DNA results."
Voight considers their reports before making a decision.
"You two aren't making progress. I'm switching partners."
Jay's head snaps up, alarm written all over his face. "What?! You can't be serious."
"Sarge, we've always worked together," Hailey protests.
Voight holds up a hand to stop them. "I know that. But you two are too close. It's affecting your judgment. I need fresh eyes on this case."
Frustration boils in Jay's gut. "We can handle it, Sarge. We always do."
Voight quirks an eyebrow at him. "Is that so? Because from where I'm standing, you're more interested in each other than solving this case."
Hailey placed an hand on Jay's wrist.
"We're gonna be fine, Sarge,"
Jay glares at Voight, but doesn't protest further. Hailey squeezes his wrist, silently trying to calm him down.
Voight looks between the two of them, then sighs.
"Alright then. Hailey, you'll partner with Rojas for this case. Jay, you'll work on some other open homicide cases. Understood?"
Jay clenches his jaw but manages a curt nod. "Understood, Sarge."
Hailey sits at the bar, her fingers wrapped around a cold bottle. She glances over at Jay, who's sitting mutely in the corner, staring into space.
Adam slides onto the stool next to her, ordering a drink. He glances at her, sensing her mood.
"You okay, Hailey?"
Hailey forces a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, you know? This case has been draining."
Adam nods sympathetically, "Yeah, I know. Voight switching up partners didn't help either, huh?"
Hailey takes a long, hard swig of her beer. "No, it didn't."
She casts another glance at Jay, who's now deep in conversation with Kevin. Her heart sinks a bit, watching him.
Adam notices her expression and frowns.
"Hey, what's going on with you and Halstead? You two have been acting weird ever since Voight split you up."
Hailey sighs, turning back to Adam. "It's nothing. We just... we're too close, I guess. It's affecting our work."
Adam raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "That's it? That doesn't explain why you two can't even look at each other."
Hailey placed her beer down.
"We've decided to take a break from each other, he's dating Kim and I'm now dating you, if you have me?"
"You want to date me?" Adam asks, a smile spreading across his face.
Hailey shrugs. "Yeah, why not? We get along, we're friends. It could be fun."
Adam grins wider. "I'd love to date you, Upton."
It's late at night when Jay and Kim return to their apartment. Jay plops down on the couch, exhausted. He falls asleep almost instantly, his body succumbing to fatigue.
Kim quietly watches him for a moment, then heads to the bathroom to shower. When she exits the bathroom, she sees Jay still passed out on the couch. Smiling to herself, she grabs a blanket and covers him with it.
Jay lies awake on the couch, restless and unable to sleep. His mind keeps wandering to Hailey.
Meanwhile, Kim is silently awake beside him, lost in her own thoughts. She glances over at Jay, sensing his restlessness.
Without a word, she grabs her phone and types out a text to Adam.
Adam's phone buzzes with the incoming text. He glances at the screen, surprised to see it's from Kim.
He reads the text, which reads: "Hey, how's Hailey doing? Is she okay with the partner switch?"
He hesitates for a moment, then responds: "She's not super happy about it, but she's dealing. Why do you ask?"
Kim reads the reply and frowns. She glances at Jay again, who is now tossing and turning. She types out another text to Adam.
"Jay's tossing and turning, he misses his girl,"
Adam reads the text and grins. He responds, "I'm not surprised. They were practically glued together. You sure Jay's okay?"
She types out another text. "He's pretending he is, but I can see right through him. He's not himself without her."
Adam reads the text and types out a response. "He won't admit it, but he's a mess without her. He's not sleeping well, and he keeps zoning out at work."
Jay jolts slightly as Kim surprises him with a hug. He relaxes as he feels her rest her chin on his stomach.
For a moment, he just lets her hold him. He misses the feeling of being held by Hailey, wrapped up in her arms like a comforting cocoon.
Kim rubs his back soothingly.
"You okay, baby?" she asks quietly.
"Yeah," he mutters, his voice thick with emotion. "Might go for a run."
He gets out of bed, and gets his running gear on.
Kim knows Jay's only running, because he wants to take his mind off Hailey.