Chapter Text
Silence fills the air after her confession, and if it weren't for his facial expressions, Hailey would assume that Jay did not hear what she just said. But every word that does not leave his mouth is written all over his face and she knows for a fact that he heard her loud and clear.
He's shocked. That much is obvious. Hailey understands the feeling well. She was shocked when she found out too. They hadn't been trying to have a baby. They had been doing the opposite in fact. The conversation of having kids had come up a handful of times throughout their relationship, and they were both on the same page about wanting kids, of wanting to do it together but they were also in agreement that they wanted to wait. Enjoy a few years together. Settle into married life. Take their time. But apparently, life had other ideas.
There's fear on his face too. Maybe it's the fear of having a life that he is solely responsible for. Of bringing a child into this world when he has seen firsthand how dark it can be. Or maybe it's the realization of how far gone he is and how the man he has been in the last few weeks is not the father that he wants to be for their child. Secretly, selfishly, Hailey hopes it's that one.
And the one that hurts the most - the one that is hardest to see, deeply covered by the shock and the fear but still evident in the green of his eyes - is the excitement.
And damn, if that doesn't break her.
He's excited to have a child because he should be. This should be one of the greatest moments of their lives. She would be telling him with happy tears in her eyes with one of those cheesy pregnancy announcements that would have made her roll her eyes just weeks ago. Instead, she is telling him as tears of frustration well in her eyes in the middle of a fight.
They should be talking about their hopes, dreams, fears, and every little thing they are looking forward to, tossing around baby names while dreaming about whose eyes and hair the baby will have.
Instead, the future feels uncertain and there is no discussion of anything besides the matter at hand.
"You're…you're pregnant?"
The disbelief in his voice mirrors the disbelief she felt when she took the first test. It didn't feel real until multiple pregnancy tests were staring back at her, and even then, it all felt like it could have been a dream. She nods quietly, giving him a moment to process the truth that she has had days to digest. It's a lot to swallow.
"How long?"
"I found out after the awards ceremony," Hailey answers quietly, watching as Jay's expression changes when he realizes just how long she has known and has kept it to herself. She can't quite tell if he is saddened or mad, so she just continues. "I need to go to the doctor to be certain but the test said it was still early. Over three weeks but I'm not sure how far past that."
"Why…" he stumbles over his words, shaking his head in an attempt to make sense of everything. "Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you tell me?"
Hailey fights the urge to scoff at his question because he very well knows the reason why. He's the reason, him and his actions, and it's clear to both of them that the chasm that has been growing between them is the reason that she didn't tell him the minute she took the test. If it were anyone else, Hailey would immediately spew that fact right back in his face. But he's her husband and even in his worst moments, she loves him. No matter how much it kills her.
"Jay, when was I supposed to tell you?" She shakes her head. "When you were off with Voight? When you were staying late at work and leaving early? When you were avoiding me at every chance you could?" She watches as his expression falls with every question she asks, and it's clear her words hurt him deeply but they need to be said. "Jay, you were never around and every time I tried to talk to you, you lied to me. You have to see why I wouldn't say something."
"Hailey, I get that but it's still our child. It's my baby too - "
"And I'm your wife yet you haven't been honest with me in the last few weeks," she fights back. "So yeah, I kept this from you because this -" she pauses and points at him, at the stranger standing in her kitchen where her husband used to be. " - this isn't the Jay Halstead I know. This isn't the man I want to have a child with."
Her words sting him, and maybe that's the point. She's not one to throw stones during a fight but right now, she's desperate. The calm, kind words haven't worked. Neither has the pleading, the asking, the reminding him that she's in his corner.
She feels like she has no options left. She feels stuck and she feels scared and those are feelings Hailey swore she would leave behind. In the years since she met Jay, she has worked so hard to become a better person. To learn how to be open and trust someone else with her heart. But now she is standing here with the very person who taught her to trust and he's lying to her. He's doing what he promised he wouldn't do, what Hailey promised she wouldn't tolerate.
And if it was just her, Hailey thinks she would tolerate it. She would likely allow it until it destroyed her completely because she loves Jay Halstead that deeply, truly, and madly. There is no world in which she is not completely tethered to him. He is her rock, her anchor, her soulmate, on the good days and the bad. She loves him in a way that she feels in her bones, and even now, she trusts him in a way that she cannot explain.
Hailey would let Jay wreck her time and time again. But what she won't let him do is wreck their child.
Every level of Hailey knows that he wouldn't. She knows he's nothing like his father and nothing like her own. He's a good man, an honorable one. One day, he will make an excellent father - will put his child first and will love them in a way that neither of them saw growing up. Hailey wants to believe that he could separate the choices that he is making right now and the way that he is with their child. That he could draw a solid line between the two.
Hailey also knows that the way things are right now is not sustainable. The two of them cannot continue the way they are going without one of them exploding. He can't continue to make these kinds of choices and not have any repercussions. He can't walk this line for years to come and expect his heart to not change as a result.
And the aftermath of it all - of their relationship falling apart, the consequences of his decisions - there is no way that at some point, that will not affect their child. Hailey has seen it happen to the children of too many cops, of too many people, and she refuses to allow it to happen to her child.
"Hailey, what are you saying?" His voice is a hushed whisper like he knows exactly what she is saying but he doesn't want to believe it.
And honestly, Hailey does not want to believe it either. There was no universe in which she thought she would be giving Jay this ultimatum but there was also no world in which she thought her husband would become the man that is standing in front of her right now. Sometimes, things happen.
"I'm saying that I need you to be honest with me," she says slowly, tentatively, although she feels sure. "I'm saying that this - the crossing lines and the lying - needs to change. Because I am not okay with it. And Jay, I don't care if it's fair but I am not allowing our child to be around that."
"Hailey," he whispers her name in a desperation that she has never heard from him before and it shakes her to her core. There are tears forming in his eyes and she sees, knows that this is cutting him deep. "Hailey, I would never do something to hurt our child. You have to know that -"
"I do know that, Jay. But I also know that you can't do this forever. Not without someone paying the cost."
Someone always pays. It's a fact that they've known for so long, something made so clear to them during the Roy ordeal. Jay told Hailey how their boss didn't want Jay to pay for his decisions - and how Jay told him that someone always pays. Now, it's Jay paying for the environment that Voight created. It's changing him, and Hailey is scared about what comes next.
And finally, she sees it in his eyes. He's scared too.
He's scared of what he's done, what he's becoming. What kind of man he will be for their child.
It happens in slow motion - the way Jay falls to the ground as heavy sobs wrack through his body - and Hailey isn't quick enough to catch him. What she is able to do is come to kneel next to him as he cries, muffled whispers of "I'm so sorry" slipping out as the emotions that he has been holding onto for weeks finally break free.
Hailey isn't sure what armor finally cracked but this - the broken, grieving man - feels closer to her husband than she has seen in weeks.
Hailey doesn't know how long he cries. How long she sits there on the floor with him, rubbing his back in comforting motions as she whispers to him that she is there. They've been in this position countless times before, one comforting the other while the other cries, and it feels so raw, so them, that it almost brings tears to Hailey's eyes as well.
When his tears finally slow, he tilts his head up to look at her, and she sees it - her husband buried deep underneath all of the pain - and the small smile that he offers her in thanks makes her believe that things will actually be okay. It's the first bit of hope she has felt in weeks.
He scooches to lean against the bottom of the kitchen counter, and Hailey follows him, sitting next to him on the kitchen floor, his legs laid out long while she sits crisscross. It's quiet for a few moments, and Hailey is not even sure if either of them is going to speak or if they are just going to spend several hours in silence processing the words that they just exchanged. But finally, Jay starts.
"You were right. I changed."
She looks at him with soft comforting eyes - trying to silently tell him that it's okay. That she's not mad at him, that no part of her ever truly could be but that she needs the truth. That she'll sit here with him while he tells her it.
"I was trying so hard to be everything for everyone," he continues. "I thought I could be everything for everyone. That I could save Voight and make Anna's death mean something. That I could protect you and the rest of the unit…"
"But you weren't protecting yourself…" Hailey finishes when his words trail off, and the heavy sigh that escapes his lips feels like a confirmation.
"I knew he was going to go off the rails," Jay doesn't have to say who he is for Hailey to know. "I thought I could fix things like we did last time. I thought if I just kept pushing that everything would be fine. But everything got so messy. I saw the lines and I couldn't tell which way was up…Hailey, I don't know what I've been doing."
It breaks her to see him like this. So broken up, so guilty about the choices that he has made. About the things that he might have done. He's nothing like Voight, and Hailey likes to think that he could have pulled himself back before things went too far. But it's still a scary thought.
"You're not alone, Jay," she whispers to him the same thing she has been telling him for weeks but now, he seems to hear it. "You're not alone, and it's not your job to protect everyone else. You can't keep doing this."
"I know," he says quickly, but it doesn't sound like he is going to brush her off like every quick answer in the last few weeks has been. He really does know. "Something has to change. I can't go on like this."
Hailey feels the slightest bit of relief in the desperation of his words. She takes comfort in knowing that he sees the problem too and that he wants to fix it. For himself. For her. For their child. In the silence, Hailey thinks about the ways that things could change - he could go back to therapy or he could distance himself from Voight. They could take a few days off to really talk things through, and come up with a game plan of how they are going to make this work - both professionally and with the upcoming changes in their personal life.
"I should leave Intelligence."
This time, it's his words that leave her with the feeling of overwhelming shock. They are much closer than when she told him she was pregnant, and she knows for a fact that she heard him correctly. The idea of leaving Intelligence is something she never thought would fall from his lips, even now. The unit was supposed to be his - he is second in command and when the day comes that Voight is ready to step down, everyone knows that it will be Jay who steps up. It's inevitable.
But when she turns her head to look at her husband, he looks serious and he looks sure. It was a split-second decision but one that he does not seem to question.
"Jay….Jay, no…."
"You said it yourself that this can't continue," he picks up when she fails to find the words to respond. He turns his body so he is more facing her than he is the openness of the kitchen, eyes set on hers, and then he says, "Something's gotta change, Hailey. For us. This isn't the man I want to be for you. For them."
He reaches out and rests his hand on her still-flat belly. It's the first time he has touched her stomach in this way, something she always envisioned he would do when he found out she was pregnant, and the small gesture brings tears to her eyes. Before he can move his hand away, she lets her hands rest over his, keeping his hand firmly in place over the fabric of her shirt.
"Jay, something needs to change but it doesn't need to be this. Intelligence is your home. You've been there for ten years. You're supposed to take over the unit one day."
"Hailey, you're my home," he whispers the words but they feel loud, strong, sure. "And the only thing I am supposed to do is love you and protect the family that we create together. Nothing else besides that matters. So, if I have to leave Intelligence to do it, I leave in a heartbeat."
This is the most like Jay he has sounded in weeks. The surest and most levelheaded, and it breaks her that he has only found certainty in his decision to leave. This is not what she meant when she said something needed to change. She didn't want him to think she was making him choose - her or the job.
"Jay, are you sure? I don't want to make you - "
"You're not making me do anything, Hailey," he cuts her off, and with the hand that is not resting on her belly, he cups her cheek. "Hailey, it's you. You're the choice. It's you and our baby over any job or promotion or unit. I want you and I choose you. So yeah, I'll leave Intelligence if it means I can be the man who is worthy of having you."
His words bring tears to her eyes because on one hand, his gesture is world-shattering but at the same time, so simple. Ever since Hailey first told Jay that she had feelings for him, she knew there was a chance that one of them would have to get out of Intelligence. It was what Trudy told her years ago when she was in a relationship with the wrong man. That if he was the one, one of them would likely have to leave the unit.
And while Adam was not the one and neither of them was willing the make the sacrifice, Jay is the one, and Hailey would make the sacrifice in a heartbeat. The same way he is willing to make it now.
It doesn't even feel like a sacrifice. It feels like exactly what he said - a choice. A choice for what is better, the choice of them.
"What would you do?" She asks quietly. It's not her accepting his offer quite yet but rather just exploring it. It's not like him to put something out there into the universe if he hasn't thought it all the way through.
But to her surprise, Jay shrugs. "There are lots of units I could go to. Maybe I finally take the Sergeant's exam or look into SWAT or something else. We could see what would have the best hours with your schedule so that one of us could be home with the baby."
She smiles at the mention of the baby. No longer is his decision just about making sure he doesn't change - it's making sure that every change that is about to happen is a good one.
"I could see you being a Sergeant," Hailey murmurs. Just like having a baby, his becoming a Sergeant has been a conversation they've had in the past too.
From the minute she met Jay, Hailey knew he was destined for more. He is far too talented a cop to stay in his position as a detective forever. Back when they were just partners, she used to tease him about potentially becoming a Sergeant one day. When there were flyers about the upcoming exams, she'd elbow him and ask if he was going to take it. When they'd interact with a Sergeant that they didn't like on a crime scene, Hailey would teasingly tell him how he could do the job better.
The teasing jokes slowly turned into conversations about their future, curled up in bed with just a thin sheet covering them. Talks about what life looked like for them in the next ten, twenty, fifty years. Long careers and a family, and whispered conversations about how they would do it all.
And while she doesn't know if his becoming a Sergeant fits into that plan, Hailey smiles because she knows that come fifty years, they'll still be together, and they'll still be fine. Good even.
They're good. They'll always be good.
"Maybe I should leave too."
Jay looks at her in surprise, and honestly, Hailey feels shocked as well. When they started this conversation, Hailey didn't think she would be the one who needed to make a change. She's not the one who has been crossing lines - she's the opposite, the one who has been holding him back.
But she's crossed lines before. Both because of her own choices and because of the situations she has been put into. Looking back, Hailey can't help but wonder if she would have made different choices, and experienced different things if only she was in a different unit with a different leader.
And while she knows that no unit is completely black and white, Hailey does know one thing. She can't be in another situation like she was last year - where there was a man's blood on her hands because of the decisions of her boss and she was lying to the man that she loved most - after she has a child.
She promised that she would not let Jay wreck their child. But she does not want to wreck them either. And she'll be damned if Intelligence lets either of those things happen.
"Hailey…Hailey, no you don't have to do that," Jay sits up straighter as his words rush together, and Hailey can't help the small laugh that falls from her lips, despite the seriousness of the situation. She shakes her head and reaches for his hand that is on her cheek, wrapping it up in hers and squeezing it tight as she rests their intertwined fingers in her lap.
"Maybe a fresh start would be good for us. A clean break. A new chapter for you, me, and the baby. A better chapter."
He scans her eyes for any hint of hesitation but Hailey knows that he won't find it. She has not seriously thought about leaving Intelligence up until today but right now, sitting on the kitchen floor with her husband, tears staining both of their faces, she can't think of anything else. It feels like the right decision.
"Where will you go?"
Similar to when Jay asked her that question, Hailey shrugs. "I don't know. I probably should wait until you are settled to leave…but like you said, there are plenty of units. I'm sure I could find something."
"But the baby -" Jay whispers. "Is another unit going to let you work while you're pregnant?"
Hailey sighs. It's not something she's considered much yet - being on desk duty due to her pregnancy. She knows that Intelligence will likely be the most lenient with the accommodations she'll need due to her seniority there. Another unit might not give her the same grace.
"We'll figure it out," she tells him. "We don't need to come up with every single answer tonight. But we have an idea of how we're going to move forward."
Immediately, Jay nods, and she feels his fingers squeeze hers. "We're gonna get out, and we're gonna move on."
Hailey smiles, wider than she has during this whole conversation, wider than she has in weeks, and she nods. "And we're going to be fine."
Jay leans forward and kisses her, soft and easy, but it still feels as earth-shattering as this conversation. It's the first time that he has kissed her in weeks where there hasn't been a pit of anxiety in Hailey's stomach. His fingers brush against her stomach again and she's reminded of the life there that is growing, and his hand drops hers to wrap itself in her hair, and she's reminded that everything is going to be okay.
"I'm sorry," he whispers as he pulls back from her kiss, breathless and wild-eyed, and rests his forehead against hers. "Hailey, I am so sorry for everything. For every line I crossed. For every time I lied to you. For every time I made you doubt me. Hailey, I am so sorry -"
"I know," she cuts him off before he can give her another apology. She does know - she can taste it on his lips and she can see it in his eyes. She appreciates the apology and needed to hear it. But now, she needs them to move on. "I know. I forgive you, Jay. We're good. You, me, and our baby, okay? The three of us are gonna be good."
"Always."
This time when he leans forward to kiss her, the soft kiss is gone and it's replaced by one of desperation. It's everything that has been left unsaid from the last few weeks - every unspoken apology and regret. Every ounce of pain from the chasm that was growing between them.
It's more than that, though, and as he deepens the kiss, she can feel his unspoken apologies turn into promises. Promises of a better chapter. Of a good life. Of doing what's right for her, for their growing family.
She kisses him back and gives him the same promises - a life of love and happiness. Supporting him on the good days and the bad, through whatever comes next.
No matter what the next few months look like, they promise each other that they'll be okay.
(One year later)
"Babe, do we have any clean bottles?"
'I washed some last night. Check the cupboard over the -"
"Got them!"
Hailey smiles as the sound of her husband's voice carries through their apartment. She hasn't quite adjusted to the domesticity that they have found themselves in throughout the last four months since their daughter was born. It's been a good adjustment, though.
Having a newborn on top of having new jobs was hard - and there were many moments where both of them questioned if they bit off more than they could chew. Nights spent laying in their bed, wide awake as they discussed their fears about the choices that they are making, wondering if they were doing the right thing. Anxieties as they both stepped into unknown rooms without the other by their side for the first time in years.
But Hailey knows they've made the right choice. When Jay came home from his first day as the Sergeant of his own unit - a unit made of young officers that he could help shape into good police - and Hailey saw the smile on his face that she had not seen in months, she knew they made the right choice.
After their initial talk about leaving Intelligence, they decided Jay would take a leave of absence. He needed time to get his head on straight, to heal, and to get away from Intelligence. He used the time to go to therapy, to work on himself, and to study for the Sergeant's exam so that a few months later when it was offered, he was more than prepared.
Hailey was six months pregnant when they found out that he passed. Jay was ecstatic. Hailey wasn't surprised. But still, she was proud.
Less than a month later, he was assigned to a new unit, and he was going to work as a Sergeant with his own team to lead. And every day since then, Hailey has seen the light return to his eyes.
Hailey on the other hand, stayed in Intelligence for a few more months after Jay left. She needed somewhere that she could do desk duty, as much as she hated it. She was removed enough from the fieldwork, though, that she did not feel Voight's grasp on her quite so tight. And when she was seven months pregnant and told him that she did not have plans to return to Intelligence after the baby was born, Voight didn't seem too shocked.
Telling their friends was hard. When they first told them about Jay's leave of absence and his intention to become a Sergeant, there were mixed emotions. It was clear that they could all see how Jay had been slipping but none of them were quite sure what to say. They were saddened by his leaving but happy for his new opportunity.
When they had to sit them down just a few months later and tell them that Hailey was also leaving, it nearly broke them. Kim cried. Adam shook his head in disbelief. Kevin bit the side of his cheek to keep his emotions at bay. Even Torres, notably the quietest among the group, seemed to be affected by the news.
But they all supported them, and even after Hailey's last day in Intelligence, they continued to be a part of their lives. Kevin and Adam came over to help Jay set up the crib for the baby's nursery. Kim took Hailey out to go shopping for baby clothes. All of them came to the hospital when the baby was born, and all of them continued to drop off food and diapers for two weeks after she came home.
They've continued to be a family, despite not working together anymore, and for that, Hailey is extremely grateful.
"There are my girls."
Hailey smiles at the voice that pulls her out of her thoughts, throwing her head over her shoulder to see Jay leaning against the doorframe of their daughter's nursery. Her smile mirrors the one on his face, the one that only grows when Jay looks past Hailey and sees their little girl on the changing table in front of her. He walks over their way and stands behind Hailey as she finishes changing their daughter out of her pajamas, swapping the flower footie pajamas for a onesie that says "I love daddy" with a small rainbow drawn on it paired with some light bottoms.
"How's my baby girl doing?"
Hailey lets out a soft laugh as she sits their daughter up, and then scoops her into her arms, adjusting her onto her hip so that she can turn and see Jay. "Your little girl is feisty today. Fought me the entire time that I tried to change her diaper."
Jay rolls his eyes as he reaches out for their daughter, the wide smile on his face somehow growing as he settles the little girl against his chest. "Never my Evie Grace. She's a sweetheart."
Evie Grace. Jay has a habit of saying their daughter's full name and it always brings a smile to her face. They spent many months tossing around baby names - putting together different combinations of first and middle names while they drove in the truck and while they made dinner, agonizing for months about what they wanted to call their little girl.
They wanted something special but not so obscure that her Kindergarten teacher would not be able to spell it. Something simple but not overdone.
Something that had meaning to them and their journey. And with Evie meaning life and her middle name being Grace, it felt like a pretty accurate representation of where they were at.
A better chapter. New opportunities and happy moments. Being together. A life of grace.
"She has you wrapped around her finger at the ripe ol' age of four months," Hailey rolls her eyes at him as she steps past him to throw Evie's pajama's into the hamper.
When Hailey turns back to her husband, he shrugs with his daughter in their arms. The very sight of it brings a smile to her face. "Well, she got that from her mother."
Normally, Hailey would roll her eyes again but today, she allows herself to take the compliment, smiling wide. She raises herself up on her tiptoes and presses a quick kiss to Jay's lips, and then presses a noisy kiss to her daughter's cheek.
Evie laughs - one of her newest milestones that Hailey absolutely adores. She tickles her daughter's stomach in an attempt to hear the sound again and relishes the way that her sweet laughter fills the room.
"What time do you have to be in today?" Hailey asks Jay as she settles back onto her feet. She wishes nothing more than that they could stay here all day like this, simply enjoying their time with their daughter but unfortunately, they both have jobs that require their attention.
"Not until eleven. I told the team to come in late today because we had that raid that went late last night."
Hailey breathes out an airy laugh. "Perks of being the Sergeant."
He chuckles. "I mean, part of it was me being selfish and wanting a few more hours with Evie."
Hailey smiles. She's never not in awe of what a good father he is, and how much he loves their little girl. She knew it for months, from the minute that she found out that she was pregnant, that he would be a good father but she never expected that he would be this good.
From the very first moment that he held Evie in the hospital, Hailey could tell that Jay was taken aback by her. He spoke to her in a soft voice that she had never heard and he promised her that he would take care of her, always put her first, and always love her no matter what. Just the thought of his words could bring tears to her eyes.
But what does bring tears to her eyes is how he has lived out those promises every single day since Evie was born. He is patient with her when she cries in the middle of the night and is kind to her when she is grumpy. Every moment that he sees her, he somehow loves her more than he did in the moment before.
He is showing their daughter what love is supposed to look like, and Hailey swears she has fallen deeper in love with Jay because of it.
"What time do you have to go in?" Jay asks her.
"9:30. I've got a full day today."
Jay smiles, bouncing Evie in his arms as he says, "That's my wife. Academy instructor."
Hailey rolls her eyes at the term. It's a temporary gig - teaching some classes at the Academy. When one of the Sergeants there heard she was leaving Intelligence, and that she was unsure where she would end up after she had the baby, they offered her a temporary spot at the Academy. Apparently, they had liked the classes that she had taught before and thought that she could have something to offer to the newest officers in Chicago.
Hailey's liked it. It's never something she has seen herself doing, and while it's not what she wants to do long term, it's something nice while she is adjusting to being back at work and having a newborn at home. It also leaves her excited for what comes after this, the next change in their year of brand-new things.
She's been in talks with the Sergeant for the Special Investigations Unit, and he thinks that Hailey would be a good fit for their team. She's only got a week left at the Academy before she is back in the field working for a brand new unit, and as terrified as she is, she's also ecstatic.
"Not for long," she reminds him as she nods over to the door. He follows her out into the living room, Evie still on his hip. Hailey smiles as she sees the tornado their once clean living room has become. There are toys on the floor and half-folded laundry on the couch, and even in the chaos, it's all perfect.
"I know," Jay hums. "But it's still exciting. And next week when you start the new unit, Evie and I are going to be just as proud of you as we are today. Maybe even more."
Hailey turns around, standing right in front of Jay in the middle of the living room. He's got that sweet boyish smile that she fell in love with all those years ago, and a twinkle in his eye that tells her he believes every word he is saying deep in his core.
"Thank you, Jay. For everything."
For the support over the last few weeks. For being the best father to their child and the best husband to her. For being willing to make the sacrifices over a year ago and putting in the work to change so that they could live the life that they have right now.
He smiles, and it's clear that he knows exactly what she is thanking him for, and he simply nods at her words.
"Thank you, Hailey. For giving me a second chance. I don't know where I would be without you two."
Hailey takes a small step forward, close enough that their feet brush against each other on the hardwood floor. She cups his cheek, thumb brushing against the stubble on his skin, and the feeling of it makes her smile.
"Well," she whispers. "You're never going to find out. You have us. Forever."
He leans down to press a soft kiss to her lips, short and sweet due to their daughter wiggling in his grasp, but he still leans his forehead against hers when he pulls away, and lets his free hand get lost in her hair.
"I love you, Hailey."
"I love you too, Jay. So much."
It's just a matter of moments before Evie starts demanding attention or before one of their phones goes off to tell them that they have to be at work. This moment will just be a fleeting one in the hecticness of their day, but they still allow themselves to savor it, as long as it will last.
It's a moment to remember all that has happened in the last year - the good, the bad, the ugly - and to cherish where they are now.
A year ago, their marriage was holding on by a thread, and Hailey was sure she was going to lose him. But here they are now, standing just centimeters apart, with their daughter between them, happy and whole.
It's a new chapter of their lives. One they never saw coming but one they wouldn't change for the world. It's a good chapter, a great chapter.
And Hailey knows that even with the inevitable bad days and hardships that will come, the rest of the new chapters will continue to be good too.
Because it's them. And they're good.
And they always will be.