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He'd come back from New York with a lot of things, his degree, his license, his experience, and his daughter. That last one wasn't part of the plan, but Julie had given him a smile at the bar that he couldn't turn down, and he'd fallen head over heels in love with her. Their romance had been a torrid thing, building like a wildfire, sudden and all-consuming, and then, she came home to him with some news.
Theodora Grey Halstead was born on a stormy November afternoon, November 8th to be exact at 3:19 PM, with soft red hair and an insatiable appetite. He was in love immediately, her heartbeat syncing to his as he held her. He would give her the world if he could, and he was going to try. He loved her, and nothing in the world mattered more than that little girl in his arms, looking at him with those stormy grey eyes.
Julie walking out on them in December wasn't part of the plan either. She packed up a bag while Will napped with Theo on his chest, wrote him a letter, and left them there alone. When he woke, she was gone, and all he had was a pitiful excuse saying she wasn't ready to be a mother and he could take care of Theo far better than she could. It didn't matter that Will was a doctor who worked long hours, who didn't have time to shower let alone bathe a baby and feed her and teach her about the world. But Julie was already gone, and Theo was blinking at him, so he made a decision, too late but he made it.
"Let's go home, Theo," he said softly. He packed up her stuff in a suitcase and bought a plane ticket back to Chicago.
Jay was there when they landed, and he held out his arms immediately. Will laughed and shifted Theo into his waiting embrace. His face softened, and eyes went wide as Theo looked up at him. Her hair had lightened to a strawberry blonde over the months, and her eyes had started to darken to a steady brown just like Will's.
"Oh, hello, sweet girl," Jay said, and Will chuckled. "Daddy should have brought you home sooner, shouldn't he?"
"Don't start."
"The day Julie left, you should have packed up and come back, not three months later."
"I couldn't -"
"It's fine," Jay said, looking at the baby in his arms. "You're back where you belong now, huh? You're a Chicago girl."
"You don't mind us coming to stay for a while, do you?"
"I wouldn't have offered if -"
"I know, but me crashing on your couch is one thing and me crashing on your couch with an infant is something else entirely, Jay. She cries, and she needs attention, and - stop looking at me like that."
"I wouldn't offer if I didn't want you here, both of you. You're family, even if you're loud and needy and smelly. You are both my family, Will, and you can stay as long as you want."
Will sighed and nodded, looking down at Theo in Jay's arms.
"Thanks, Jay. I appreciate that. We both do. It'll be nice to, you know, have someone I can trust with her."
"Dad is going to absolutely flip, though."
"God, I hope he's better with her than he was with us."
"Yeah," Jay said, looking at Theo and then around them. "Do you have a car seat?"
"Yeah, I didn't need a seat for Theo on the flight here, but I did check it with the rest of her luggage."
"That's fun. Okay. Come on, let's go get your stuff and head home."
Will hiked the diaper bag up on his shoulder and followed Jay through the airport to baggage claim.
"Oh, there is one thing I should mention," Jay said, "which I hope doesn't change anything."
"What's that?"
"You remember Mouse?"
"Yeah."
"I'm, I'm kind of dating Mouse. Not kind of. I am. Dating. Mouse. And he lives with me. In my apartment."
"Why would that change anything for me?"
"Well, Mouse has some stuff on his record. And he's, he's sober now, but he wasn't for a while, and -"
"You trust Mouse?"
"With my life."
"Then, I can trust him with Theo."
It was fascinating to watch Jay struggle with a car seat for several minutes, his detective brother unable to figure out how the seat belt looped through the base.
“Here, take her,” Will said, passing her back to Jay before stepping in closer to the black sedan to take over. He’d only done this once, and it had taken him almost twenty minutes. Mostly, in New York, he carried Theo in her car seat on the subway or in a carrier on his chest. Keeping her close and safe against him was his preferred method.
“See, it’s not as easy as it looks,” Jay scoffed at him.
“Listen, it’s not like I took her car seat base in and out of my car.”
“You got it?”
Will shifted the car seat and let out a breath.
“I got it. It’s just -”
“Do you want me to try again?”
“No, I got it.”
It took Jay and Will ten minutes of passing Theo back and forth until Jay finally clicked it into place.
“Ah! Yes! Nailed it! I’m the best. Give me the baby, Will.”
Will rolled his eyes at his brother and passed Theo over for Jay to settle her into the seat. Jay was careful as he clipped her in, and smiled at her. It was a soft coo that really settled Will’s heart. He’d made the right choice. This is where they belonged, right here with Jay, right here in Chicago where he could follow his feet home. He would find a stable job, and an apartment, and he would raise his daughter in the same city he loved, and his brother would be there, and his father would be there.
This was the right choice.