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“I think this would be a lot more entertaining if we were all drunk.”
Before anyone could say anything, Kim’s hand met the back of Adam’s head, causing the large group in the room to laugh. The whole gang had gathered at Casey, Severide and Stella’s loft to celebrate Stella’s birthday. A few weeks ago, Stella and Sylvie overheard Ritter, Gallo and Violet talking about a new tiktok trend, where you make a powerpoint presentation to present over something random. Stella immediately decided that it would be the theme of her birthday party, so here they all were.
“I’m going to say that I have to agree with Ruz on this one.” Jay said, smirking in his girlfriend's direction. He was finding himself on edge about the whole public speaking part. Plus, his presentation wasn’t nearly as good as Hailey’s.
Stella laughed from beside Hailey across the room, “Um, it’s my birthday and I’m voting no. I refuse to miss out on your (surely) amazing powerpoints because you’re too wasted to speak.” She gave all the boys a pointed look.
Kevin took a step forward, laying a hand out. “The birthday girl has spoken fellas.” He winked at Stella, getting a feigned death glare from Kelly.
“We better get started, there are about 17,000 of these to get through.” Adam said, making his way to the couches that were set up in front of the TV.
They filed in one by one, Stella taking the spot in the middle with Kelly sliding in right beside her, his arm immediately finding its way around her shoulders. Matt settled in next to him, Sylvie pinning herself between him and the arm. They had finally gotten themselves together a few weeks before, then spilled the beans at Molly’s a little while ago. Hailey sat to the right of Stella, making sure to leave enough room for a few more people. Jay smiled at her as he sat down, leaving a little space between them, they were still keeping their relationship under wraps.
It had been a month or so since Hailey asked Jay to marry him, the same night Kim was shot. Thankfully, everyone was on the mend. As for Kim, she was back at work on desk duty and Adam was temporarily living with her and Makayla to help out. Kevin and Adam still weren’t on great terms, but they were a few meaningful conversations away from being friends again.
After learning what happened that night that caused Hailey to propose, Jay confronted Voight. He still had no idea what happened behind the scenes, but as of right now, he was acting Sergeant of the intelligence unit. Hailey stood by him every step of the way, despite him saying no. (Okay, so maybe him saying no isn’t exactly what happened, but that’s another story.) Somehow, they were happier than ever.
Before Jay could nonchalantly scooch closer to his partner, Will plopped down in between them. Jay glared at the back of his head while Hailey stifled a laugh, Will gave them both a lopsided smile, clearly unaware of what he had just done. Kevin, Kim and Adam all took seats on the floor in front of them, patiently awaiting Stella’s next direction.
“Well, who wants to go first?” She asked.
Sylvie shrugged, “I will.” She stood, picking up the ipad that was connected to the TV screen. “Alright everyone, I know you're surprised, but for mine…” She giggled a bit, flinching as she clicked the button that made it show on the screen, “ I will be ranking Taylor Swift’s albums.”
Everyone laughed, some of them applauding. “Oh I am so ready for this.” Kim said, grinning ear to ear.
“And before anyone asks, I will be using Fearless (Taylor’s Version) not the original. I feel like I don’t need to explain myself.” Sylvie explained.
Kevin nodded, “Yes, enough said.” The whole group gave Kevin a sideways glance. “What? You’re gonna tell me The Other Side of the Door isn’t a bop?”
“Anyway,” Sylvie continued, as everyone quieted down. She pointed towards the screen, “In ninth place we have: debut. Don’t get me wrong, Our Song, Should’ve Said No and Picture to Burn are all perfection. But they are not redeeming…”
“Justice for Teardrops on my Guitar!” Kim shouted and Sylive laughed.
“Take a breath.” Adam said, nudging her shoulder.
Sylvie gestured back to the screen, “Next, in eighth, we have Evermore.” Stella and Kevin gasped. “Okay, here me out. Evermore is good, but it is an entire album of songs that you wouldn’t skip, but you wouldn’t pick to listen to!”
Stella rolled her eyes, “Okay, yeah, that’s fair.”
This went on for a while. Sylvie explains her rankings and a lot of rioting from the crowd. Finally they were at the top two: Fearless and Speak Now. “Now, in second place,” Sylvie said, “We have Fearless.”
“What?” Kim snapped.
Kevin threw an arm out, “Seriously Brett, what the hell?”
“I’m sorry, Speak Now is superior.” Sylvie said, defending herself.
“You’re just wrong…” Kim said, exasperated.
“Actually, I agree with Sylvie.” Hailey said, speaking up for the first time. “Speak Now is an album full of songs that are over 4 minutes long, have distinct themes and lyrics, and all of which were written when she was 19 or younger…” Everyone stared at her in shock, “I’m just saying.”
Sylvie smirked, skipping to the next slide that declared speak now as the winner. “I rest my case.”
Everyone clapped as Sylvie gave a small curtsy, giggling a bit. Jay snuck a glance at his girlfriend, his smile growing when he found her looking at him as well.
“Alright, I’m next.” Will said, standing up and abandoning his spot between the two partners. Jay took the chance to fill the gap between them, subtly of course.
Within seconds of Will’s title slide appearing, everyone burst out laughing. “Haha Will, so funny.” Kim said, trying to hide her smile.
Will winked at her, “What too soon?” Kim rolled her eyes and Will continued. “As you can see, I will be rating your gunshot wounds.”
Jay glared at his brother, knowing he was going to appear on the list at least 3 times.
“First up, we have Adam’s from this year.” Will clicked on his ipad and the slide changed, showing a smiling picture of Adam next to his nasty bruise. “I give this a 2/10 because it didn’t break skin and you didn’t break any bones. The 2 is for the sick, bruising, nice work buddy.”
Adam laughed out loud, nodding, “Thanks man.”
Next up was Kevin, who was seen flexing in a photo on the screen and then glaring at whoever had taken the picture while he sat on the back of the ambulance. “Kevin I give this one a 5/10, it was a nice through and through, minimal scar tissue, great recovery time. Truly was a beautiful wound.” Will was laughing himself by the end of his sentence and Kevin could barely keep it together.
Will kept going, mentioning Kim’s brush with death briefly, he didn’t want to upset her. He was also sure to mention Sylvie’s multiple encounters with gunmen and Matt’s as well.
Finally, he got to Jay. Will was already smirking. “Now, to close us out, we have Jay. Honestly, getting shot could be called “pulling a Jay,” because both Kevin and Adam’s injuries were taken out of Jay’s book.” The next slide was a photo of Jay with a bloody bullet proof vest at his feet. “Now, for this one, I give you a 5/10. You had us all for a minute.” Adam and Hailey shared a look, him stifling a laugh while Hailey glared at him. “However, despite you getting shot twice that time, there were no long term effects and you recovered pretty quickly.”
Jay glanced at his girlfriend, only to find her looking at him. She gave him a small smile of reassurance as Will carried on.
“Next,” The slide changed, “We have the shoulder hit from all those years ago. I give this one a 7/10, it got you into Intelligence.” Will winked. “And now, the big kahuna, December 2019.” The slide switched and it showed Jay giving a weak thumbs up from a hospital bread with Hailey standing beside him. Hailey reached down and squeezed Jay’s hand, remembering the day with less than fond memories. “I give it a 10/10, it was a hell of a wound, and this guy, he fought like hell. Plus, we got to see Hailey have actual emotions for like a week, I call it a win.” Will smirked at her as Hailey gasped, Jay burst out laughing along with the rest of them.
Will gave a small bow as everyone clapped, Kevin jumped up. “I’m next.”
Noticing his seat had disappeared, Will gave his brother a look and then took Kevin’s.
Kevin took the ipad from Will, but took a moment before pulling him up. “Now, I think this is a good segway into my presentation. I have been waiting for this moment for years, and I have been researching the topic for longer. So, I present to you…” He tapped on the ipad. “5 reasons why I think Jay and Hailey are secretly dating.”
The couple sat in shock as all their friends erupted in laughter, Jay snuck a glance at Hailey, who looked bewildered. It had been six months, and they were going to tell everybody soon, but this is not how they planned to.
“Let’s begin. Reason number one. Now, before we get into the down low relationship, I need to set the stage. Our beloved Halstead has dated within’ the unit before, as have the rest of us, and it did not go so well. As did Hailey, so it is no wonder they would want to keep their blooming love affair a secret.” Kevin smiled at them, “Back to my first reason. Several months ago, Hailey was offered a job by the FBI and Jay was grumpy (more than usual) for days. Not only did Miss Upton not take the job, but then all the sudden, Detective Chuckles and Goldilocks show up to a crime scene together and Jay is wearing the exact same shirt as the day before...I think it’s fishy.”
Kim grinned, “I knew that was the same shirt!” She elbowed Adam, “I told you.”
Hailey looked at Jay with a blank look, he pinched his lips together trying not to laugh. They were so caught. “I haven’t the slightest clue what you are speaking of. I own multiple of the same henlys, sue me!” Jay burst, causing Hailey to laugh.
Kevin nodded at Jay, “Touche, but not good enough. Exhibit B!” Everyone cheered, Kevin clicked to the next slide, where there was a picture of two coffee cups on Hailey’s desk. “A few weeks ago, the two of them walked in together, like usual, holding coffee cups from the same shop. However, Jay’s cup had lipstick on it! Now, I don't want to know how it got there…” he pointed at the screen, “But as you can see, it is the exact same shade as Hailey’s.”
Hailey pinched Jay’s leg as if to say dumbass . While everyone around them continued to laugh. Kevin however, stopped for no one.
“Number three!” He shouted in a dramatic voice. “As you all know, I am not ever the first one to work. And now, I will definitely not be the first one to work. About two weeks ago, I came in early to finish up some paperwork.” He pretended to type, “I’m just sitting there, minding my own business, when Hailey walks out of Jay’s office, where the door was shut. She doesn’t even notice me, she’s just all smiley and walks straight to the breakroom!”
Hailey watches as her boyfriend’s face goes red, knowing exactly what Kevin is talking about.
“I just smile, thinking, oh, she’s such a good partner, helping him with all his new sergeant duties . But, no no no. Then Mr. Sergeant Jay Halstead himself comes walking out of the office with his shirt inside out and his fly unzipped. Come on you two, be more obvious!”
Kim looks at the two of them in disbelief, “In your office? Holy shit, I sat in that chair yesterday!” Hailey covers her face as Jay blushes even harder.
“Four! Come on, there’s more!” Kevin says, getting their attention back. “Approximately three days ago, intelligence members, you know the case. There was a particularly scary moment where we were about to bust a gun stash house. Adam and Kim are at the back, Hailey and Jay are at the stairs and I am behind them. Very faintly I hear, ‘I love you Hailes,’ followed by a ‘I love you too.’ I barely had time to recover before we breached!” Kevin said pointing at them, “Your love distracted me…” Jay and Hailey were both laughing so hard that they didn't even care anymore, but they definitely wanted to hear the finale.
The group began to chant “number five!” So, Kevin brought it home for all their friends.
“Without further ado, here is reason number five.” He walked over to them slowly, “They are sitting right next to each other!” He points at the lack of space between them. “There isn’t close to enough space for Jesus here, and they kicked poor will out of his seat!” He walks back to the TV, “There you have it folks, Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton are 100% an item!”
He gets a standing ovation from the group, other than the happy couple, who are sitting there in pure shock. “Anything to say for yourselves?” Will askes, giving his brother a pointed look.
“Yeah actually.” Jay says, standing and pulling Hailey with him. He grabs her by the waist and dips her in front of all of them, lowering his lips to hers. They begin to hoot and holler, Kim and Stella cheering while Adam and Kevin High five. Sylvie and Matt stare blankly while Kelly almost busts a gut laughing. Jay brings Hailey back up, kissing her temple and pulling her to him. “We are together, and we have been since what?” He looks at Hailey, “January?” Hailey nods, grinning big.
“Yeah, so great job, it took you six months to have enough proof to say something! Some cops you are!” Hailey says, laughing harder.
Severide stands, “Alright, everyone settle down, it’s my turn and I won’t have you two in my spotlight.” He teases them.
The two nod, giving a little bow before taking their seats again. Hailey sits close into Jay, his arm around her shoulders as her head leans on his chest.
“Now, I think I can honestly top Kevin…All of you as Disney princesses!”