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The award ceremony wasn't too long. It was a lot of talking and standing, but it resulted in five pins being pinned to five chests celebrating the largest drug bust Chicago had seen in over twenty years.
It was exciting.
Hailey stood between Jay and Kevin as Trudy listed off their accomplishments. When it was read out that she'd been caught in an explosion, Jay's hand swung out from behind his back to brush against hers while Kevin lightly nudged her. She smiled slightly and glanced down at her feet as Trudy continued explaining what everyone had done to help the case.
Part of her wished Voight had been there to accept the plaque with them all, but when Jay stepped forward to grab it, she realized they were better off without him there to dampen their mood. His grief and negative attitude toward her surrounding Anna's death was not something she wanted to be around today.
When they stood for the formal pictures, they first felt stiff and barely smiled, but the second the reporters walked away, Trudy held up her phone and insisted they acted like they knew each other. So with Kim's hand gripping her arm around Jay's back and Kevin leaning against her as Adam mirrored him on the opposite side, she smiled wide. Despite the tragedies and setbacks they'd experienced throughout the last year, they had today, and today felt really good.
"We're all going out for beers, right?" Adam asked as the five of them left the building.
"Only if we can go home and change first," Kevin said.
"And go to that bar we went to for Hailey's party," Kim added.
"It wasn't a party," Hailey said with a laugh.
"Platt would disagree," Kim countered.
"Jay, you in?" Adam asked.
"Of course," Jay answered, "But I agree with Kev, I need to get out of this uniform."
"Perfect," Adam said and clapped his hands together, "We get out of here and meet at Turtle's in an hour?"
Everyone agreed and began parting ways. Jay pulled his hat off then held up the plaque on the way to the car. "Think we can hold on to this for the day?" he asked.
"I think we hold onto it until someone asks for it," Hailey teased.
Jay chuckled and shrugged. "We'll see," he said, "But, I do know something for sure: we don't need a whole hour to change and get ready for Turtles. We're at least two miles closer than the rest of them."
Hailey smiled and hummed in response. Setting a hand on his back, she asked, "And what do you want to do instead?"
"Well," Jay said, clearing his throat, "I thought we'd start with taking off your tie that was a pain to get on."
Hailey laughed and grabbed at her tie. "I don't know what was happening earlier. Why wasn't it twisting right?"
"Dry cleaner had to have starched it or something," Jay said, "That was embarrassing."
"Hey, you got it in the end," Hailey assured, "I liked you doing it from behind too. Felt nice."
"Exactly what I want to hear before we head to the bar," Jay replied, smirking and sending her a wink as he did so.
Hailey laughed loudly and shoved his arm just as they reached the truck. "Shut up! You're a-"
"Are you a police cop?"
They immediately stopped walking at the small voice behind them.
Hailey turned to see a little girl standing about twenty feet away from them.
"You a police cop?" she repeated, "I see that gun." Narrowing her eyes, she gasped and stepped forward before saying, "You've got badges too! You are a police cop." She ran forward and said, "I'm just wondering something. I'm wondering something."
Hailey glanced at Jay then slowly squatted down. "Hi," she said.
"Hi," the girl panted. She put her small hand on Hailey's shoulder as she caught her breath. "I'm so happy I found a police cop," she finally said.
"Yeah?" Hailey asked, setting her hand on the girl's arm, "Why are you happy?"
"Cause I need a car," the girl said quickly. She looked up at Jay and explained, "Police cops have cars. I've seen them. Do you have kid seats in your police car?"
"Why do you need a car?" he countered and squatted next to Hailey once he'd placed the plaque on the driver's seat.
The girl sighed and turned back to Hailey to say, "Rosie and I need to go home. It's nap time and she's not in bed."
"Who's Rosie?" Hailey asked.
"My sister," the girl said and grabbed Hailey's hand, "I'll walk you to her, then you can drive us home." Before any more questions could be asked, she was tugging Hailey forward in the direction of a nearby park.
Hailey looked at Jay with wide eyes, but he shook his head and set a hand on her back as they followed the small girl along the sidewalk. They didn't have time to talk or call for back-up: this girl was determined to take them to her sister and nothing was going to slow her down.
Except the edge of the street.
"We stop till the man is on the sign," the girl said, staring up at the crosswalk sign. Just before it changed, she reached over and grabbed Jay's pointer finger: "You hold hands when you cross the street."
"Of course," he said, shooting her a small smile as they finally crossed the street together.
The girl practically skipped between them while they walked through the crosswalk. She didn't drop Jay's hand at the sidewalk, and just continued pulling them both toward the park.
Hailey didn't know what they were about to find. Part of her was scared to see how old Rosie was - anything was possible. And the fact that this girl was assumingly alone without a parent worried her even more.
She had a feeling Jay's pre-Turtle's plans were going to be delayed…by a lot.
"I hid her here," the girl finally said and dropped their hands to crawl into some bushes.
Hailey glanced at Jay then knelt down to follow the girl into the greenery. Her uniform was surely getting stained, but she knew it was necessary to figure out who Rosie was - and this little girl was trusting her to help.
Upon coming out the other side into a small grassy area, Hailey gasped. The girl was sitting next to a sleeping toddler and rubbing her hand over her arm as she whispered, "I found a police cop. There's two. Wake up. They'll take us home."
"Honey, can I see?" Hailey asked as she sped over as quickly as she could.
"See what?" the girl countered.
"Rosie," Hailey said. She didn't wait for an answer before lifting the toddler in her arms. A quick once over told her nothing appeared wrong with Rosie, and she really did seem to be just sleeping.
"Hailey," Jay called through the bush.
"Jay, I've got her, I have Rosie," she answered, "She's a baby. She…she's a baby."
"Jesus," she heard Jay whisper.
"Can you take us home now?" the girl asked.
Hailey glanced at her big brown eyes and couldn't help but frown. "Where's your adult?" she asked.
"I don't know," the girl said and shrugged, "Mommy went to go meet her friend Louis and never came back."
"Okay," Hailey breathed, "Okay. Let's get out of here then."
The girl squealed out of joy then hurried from the bushes. Hailey sighed and held Rosie tight before following.
"Jay," she said as she crawled out, "Take her."
He quickly grabbed the toddler now beginning to stir and held her to his shoulder before helping Hailey straighten up. Glancing at the little girl staring at him with anticipation, he took a deep breath then met Hailey's eyes.
She was worried. She didn't know what exactly was happening, but she had a feeling they weren't going to be going to Turtle's Bar anymore.
Jay nodded without a word and pulled out his phone. As he turned away, Hailey heard him say, "This is Detective Jay Halstead, badge number 51163. My wife, Detective Hailey Upton, and I just found two young girls alone in a park near the Daley Center."
"You're taking us home now?" the girl asked.
"Um." Hailey took a deep breath and squatted back down in front of the girl. "Well," she began, "I don't even know your name and-"
"Lili. Lili!" the girl screeched, fear now on her face, "You need to take me home!"
"Hey, hey, shh," Hailey soothed, "Lili-"
"Lili with an I, there's two Is in my name," Lili continued quickly, "L-I-L-I. It's a pattern. I-"
"Lili, Lili, listen to me," Hailey interrupted loudly, "Honey, I'm not leaving you. I'm not."
Lili stopped and sucked in a breath. "Really?"
"Really," Hailey repeated and gently brushed her hand over Lili's hair, "I'm not leaving you, but we're not taking you home. My name is Hailey, and that man with Rosie is my husband. His name is Jay. We're going to take you to the police station, and then we'll find your family."
Lili blinked then slowly shook her head. "You need to take me home," she said, "My mommy probably went home."
"Okay, but Jay and I want to take you to the police station so we can call her there. Do you know your address?" Hailey asked.
Lili frowned and looked down at her feet. "I'm just six," she mumbled, "I live in a big building with a 2 and a 9 on the door, but…but I don't know how to get there. Police cops know, though."
"They do?" Hailey asked.
Lili nodded and looked up. She rubbed her nose and said, "Police cops come a lot, so they know where I live."
"Okay, thank you, Lili, that will help us," Hailey said, "Jay and I will ask the other police officers to tell us where you live. We'll figure it out." She stood and put a hand out, saying, "Come on. Let's go find your family and your home."
Lili took her hand and walked over to Jay with her. He hung up his phone as they came and said, "Unit's gonna come back here to look around for anything. Kim has Makayla's car seat, and she'll pick-up another from the district for Rosie."
Hailey smiled slightly and nodded. Jay still had the toddler laying against his shoulder. Her eyes were half-open and she was sucking her thumb, but her free hand was slowly rubbing against the collar of Jay's shirt.
Jay followed her gaze and smiled back at her. He slipped his phone in his pocket then patted the little girl's back. "So if this is Rosie, what's her sister's name?" he asked.
"Lili," Lili answered and stepped forward, "Mrs. Hailey said you're Mr. Jay."
"I am," Jay said and nodded, "How old are you?"
Lili held up her fingers and said, "Six. How old are you?"
"Thirty-six," Jay answered, "Do you know how much older that is than you?"
"I don't know numbers that good," Lili admitted.
Hailey laughed and leaned down to whisper, "That means he's really old."
Lili gasped then laughed and covered her mouth.
"I'm not really old," Jay chuckled.
"He's older than me," Hailey said.
"So that's really old," Lili agreed.
Jay shook his head as the girls laughed harder. Rosie shifted against his shoulder and whimpered softly.
"Oh, hey, hey," he whispered and looked down at her, "It's okay. You're okay."
Rosie blinked her eyes open and started crying into his suit jacket.
"Shh, shh," Jay soothed quietly as he began lightly bouncing on his heels, "You're okay. Everything's okay."
"She wants a bed," Lili said before jumping up to try and pat Rosie's back. "Rosie, shh, we're gonna go sleep in police beds," she said.
"Oh, you don't have to sleep in the beds there," Hailey said, "We have a better couch you can sleep on if you want a nap." Rosie let out a loud cry, so she glanced at Jay and asked, "Need help?"
"No, I've got her," he said quietly as he stopped bouncing and shifted her down in his arms. He tried rocking her against his chest and gave her his finger to hold on to.
Lili continued reaching up to rub Rosie's back or leg, but Hailey couldn't keep her eyes off of Jay. He was standing there in his formal uniform soothing a toddler back to sleep, and her heart skipped a beat.
She hadn't considered kids at all until she began seriously dating Jay. It'd been about two weeks after they'd said 'I love you' that she first wondered what a family with him would be like. She was too scared that she'd fail at being a parent that she never entertained the thought, but then Jay showed her she was capable of love and opening her heart, and she realized that maybe she could do it.
Getting married reminded her that being a parent wasn't going to be an individual effort - they were going to have to be a team; and, right now, with Jay holding Rosie to his shoulder again as he hummed quietly to her, she smiled because he really was going to be a great teammate to have.
Rosie stopped crying just as cars started showing up, but Jay didn't let her go. He just led the way to Platt and the others to (quietly) explain what he knew.
Hailey jumped in when he finished explaining who he called to tell her what Lili had shared. The little girl held her hand and nodded along, occasionally interrupting with important facts:
"I needed a police cop to drive me home."
"Because Mrs. Hailey has a gun."
"We held hands when we crossed the street."
"Rosie was tired, that's why."
"I don't know any persons named Louis. I do not."
"Mr. Jay just holds Rosie. I hold Mrs. Hailey's hand."
It took twice as long as Hailey would like, but she had to admit Lili's interruptions were cute - everyone was smiling along when she'd share any of her thoughts, which just urged her forward to keep talking whenever she had a chance.
Finally, Platt said Lili and Rosie should go back to the district, and Hailey was all too happy to comply. Looking at the girls, she could see how tired they truly were, especially with Rosie once again dozing off against Jay's shoulder - whether she was encouraged to do so by his constant, slow swaying or his fingers absentmindedly swirling over her back, Hailey wasn't sure, but she knew she really liked seeing him in such a state.
Kim helped Hailey get the car seats in the truck as Lili watched on with wide eyes. She held the side of Hailey's uniform the entire time and followed each movement she made.
Finally, Jay moved to place Rosie in the car seat, which caused Lili to dart away from Hailey and run to him. "Mr. Jay!" she yelled, "You need to make sure it's tight." She patted her chest and said, "Right here. You make it tight here."
"I know," he assured and stepped around her to get Rosie in the seat.
Lili watched nervously, and the second he moved away, she struggled to climb up into the truck and stare down at her sister. Lightly tugging the straps, she pursed her small lips before slowly nodding to herself.
"Is it okay?" Jay asked.
"I think so," Lili said quietly. She gave Rosie one last look over before climbing over her and into Makayla's car seat. "Mrs. Hailey," she said, "I need some help."
"Of course," Hailey laughed softly as she stepped forward to help her buckle up. She looked over at Jay who sent her a smile before going to get in the truck himself.
"Tight?" she asked Lili once she finished up.
"Better be," Lili mumbled and wiggled around.
Hailey smiled and squeezed her knee then stepped back to shut the door.
"Call me if you two need help," Kim called over.
Hailey nodded and waved back before climbing in the passenger seat.
"Good?" Jay asked.
"I think so," Hailey said softly.
"Lili?" Jay asked, turning in his seat.
She shot him a thumbs up and said, "Rosie too."
"Perfect," Jay said and started the car.
He was driving for about five seconds before Lili asked, "Where's the music?"
Jay raised an eyebrow and countered, "What do you want to listen to?"
Lili sighed and said, "Really? Kid music!"
"Oh," Jay hummed then mumbled, "How dumb of me? Obviously."
Hailey snorted and punched his arm before reaching to turn the radio on. Scanning the stations, she eventually landed on one that was playing an old Disney song she recognized. She smiled to herself and sat back in her seat.
Immediately, Lili perked up in her seat and began singing along. It wasn't super loud, but Hailey thought it was the cutest thing she ever heard. She stumbled over some of the words, and yet it didn't stop her confidence. She sang in her little bubble, not a care in the world, and it warmed Hailey's heart.
This little girl was admittedly scared, but she seemed to find some comfort in Hailey and Jay. She was trusting them to take care of her, and Hailey really liked that.
She'd been a cop for a long time now and was used to people knowing she would help them, but no one had really whole-heartedly done so like Lili had. She wondered if Lili was different, or if it was simply because she was a child that had been taught police officers – or police cops – could help if you were in trouble.
Getting the girls into the district was easy. Keeping them busy was the hard part.
Rosie refused to have Jay set her down. She woke up in his arms about ten minutes after they walked into the bullpen and began whining immediately. He tried getting her to lay down on the couch and fall back asleep, but she simply gripped his shirt sleeve and wouldn't let go. When he tried tempting her with coloring, she stared at him like he was crazy. She wouldn't dance with Lili and she certainly wouldn't watch videos on his phone, but she would sit in his lap; so there they sat - Jay going through the dispatch call logs, and Rosie eating pretzels in his lap.
If possible, Lili was worse. Her attention span was rather short. She bounced between asking Hailey questions, dancing, coloring, staring at Jay, eating snacks, and attempting cartwheels. Her conversations ranged from her mom and Rosie to her teddy bear and the squirrel she liked to watch out the window. She asked Hailey about her wedding ring and why her hair was in a bun before rolling around the floor doing 'somersaults' until, eventually, tears formed in her eyes and she sat in Adam's empty chair with her head in her hands.
"Lili, what is it?" Hailey asked softly.
Lili mumbled something under her breath then looked up as tears fell down her cheeks.
"Hey," Hailey whispered and scooted her chair closer, Jay's eyes now on the back of her head, "Tell me what's wrong."
Lili sniffled and said, "It's been such a long time - pretty much forever - since my mommy hugged me and-and what if she never does it again? What if I never get a mommy hug ever in my life? What will I do?"
"Oh," Hailey breathed, "Sweetheart."
"I-I know you're a police cop, but I am getting really worried, Mrs. Hailey. I'm so worried I'm never gonna see my mommy again," Lili cried.
Hailey's heart sank, but there was just a beat of helplessness before she closed the distance between them and gathered the little girl in her arms.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered while pulling Lili on her lap, "We are trying so hard, sweetheart, I promise you we are. We want you to go home too."
Lili nodded and pressed her face into Hailey's uniform.
Hailey stroked her hand over Lili's hair and took a deep breath before closing her eyes and tightening her grip on her. All she wanted to do was protect her from the scary parts of the world, and she felt like she was starting to fail at doing so.
Six-year-old girls didn't deserve to think they were unloved or abandoned. They deserved to be happy and play dress-up and eat too many cookies every once in a while.
When she was six, she still felt loved - sixteen was a different story, but six was fine. Six was all about soccer and being outside. She rarely watched TV, but when she did, it was whatever kids' show was on PBS and she loved it. In general, she was happy until she was maybe eight or nine - that's when it all went downhill.
Yet here was Lili whose world was starting to crumble at six. Hailey had no doubt she'd always remember that scared feeling of looking up and her mom was gone. She'd remember having to look for 'police cops' and how those two made her feel.
It gave her a little comfort knowing she and Jay were doing the best they could. They could help soften the harshness of today for two girls who just wanted hugs from their mom and to nap in their beds.
Hailey held Lili close as she turned her chair back toward her desk. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at her computer screen before meeting Jay's eyes. He looked just as heartbroken as she felt, and it made all of this worse. Like her, he knew there was only so much they could do for the girls.
"We'll figure it out, Lili, we will," she whispered.
"Thank you," Lili mumbled.
Hailey smiled slightly and rested her chin on the girl's dark hair. She took one last deep breath, nodded at Jay, then closed her eyes for a moment before returning to work.
By the time everyone returned to the district, Lili had calmed down and was quietly coloring next to Hailey, occasionally asking her questions about animals since the drawing she had was filled with different zoo animals. She happily showed her coloring pages to anyone who would look and liked pointing out all the animals she knew.
Jay was still holding Rosie as he gathered all the information everyone shared and placed on the white board. She was wide-awake now and softly babbling in response to anything he said. He'd smile back at her when she'd do it and nod along as if she was helping him out. They were two peas in a pod, and Hailey couldn't look away.
She had to, though, when finally an older man walked up the stairs with Trudy.
"Grampa!" Lili gasped and shot out of her chair to run to him.
He chuckled and bent down to catch her in his arms. "Hi, my pretty flower," he said, "Are you okay?"
"Well, I'm a little sad," Lili said as she stepped back, "Cause I want to go home, but I don't know how to get there. I like being here, though; I'm friends with some police cops now."
Trudy smiled and said, "This is James Hill. He's here to bring Lili and Rosie home."
"Oh," Hailey breathed. She looked back at Jay helping Rosie drink out of a straw and bit her lip.
He weakly smiled and took the straw out of Rosie's mouth just for her to pat his cheek and stick her tongue out again.
"Thank you for taking care of my babies," James said, looking around the bullpen, "My daughter does many things wrong, but she gave me these little flowers, and I'm grateful for that. I'll be working hard to get them in a safer environment after today." He took a step toward Jay and put his arms out, saying, "Rosie Posie, is that my big girl?"
Rosie looked away from Jay's face, blinked, then squealed and kicked her legs, reaching out toward him too.
After James grabbed her, he stuck his hand out and said, "Thank you for taking care of my girls."
"Not a problem," Jay replied quietly, shaking his hand.
"And Mrs. Hailey!" Lili said. She skipped over to pull on Hailey's arm and added, "Grampa, Mrs. Hailey helped me. Mr. Jay helped Rosie. They're married too, isn't that cool?"
James laughed and shook Hailey's hand as well. "Very cool," he said, "Thank you, Mrs. Hailey."
She forced a smile and said, "You have two very special granddaughters."
"Yeah," James said and kissed Rosie's cheek before looking down at Lili smiling wide up at Hailey, "They are beautiful inside and out."
Lili grabbed his hand and asked, "Can we go home now?"
That one simple question, the one Lili had been asking all day, suddenly broke a dam in Hailey. She couldn't help but turn away as tears formed in her eyes. She didn't know why she was so upset, she knew all along that these girls weren't going to go home with her and Jay, but she still felt like she was going to miss them.
"I was thinking we could go eat some food first," James replied, "Does that sound good?"
Lili nodded quickly and said, "Can we eat mac and cheese?"
"If that's what you want," James said. He put a hand on her back and looked over at Hailey now standing next to Jay, her own hand lightly gripping his thumb. Clearing his throat, he bent down and whispered, "How about you go say goodbye to your friends?"
"Yes!" Lili quickly agreed. She hurried over to Hailey and immediately wrapped her arms around her waist. "Thank you," she said quietly, "I hope we can always be friends."
Hailey smiled sadly then squatted down to lightly hold Lili's arms. "If you ever need me, you call this number." She reached up to grab a business card off her desk and gave it to Lili, as she added, "Because I want to be friends too."
Lili smiled and looked at the little card. Nodding, she asked, "And will you be able to call me?"
Hailey laughed and hugged her tightly. "I will," she said, sending a winking to James who chuckled in response.
"And Mr. Jay," Lili said as she pulled away, "You were nice too. Thanks for driving me and Rosie here. She liked you."
Jay laughed and rubbed her back as she hugged his legs. "You are very welcome. You are two very nice girls. It was my pleasure to drive you."
Lili smiled up at him, gave Hailey one last long hug, then hurried back to her grandpa.
Rosie happily waved at Jay and blew him a kiss that Hailey was shocked to see him return before James led the girls away.
"They're adorable," Kim said softly.
Hailey nodded and looked up at Jay. He smiled and reached over to squeeze her hand.
"Home?" he whispered.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded again.
Jay quickly kissed her temple before stepping around her to clean up his desk while she remained frozen in the middle of the bullpen thinking about the little girls that had just left.
The entire ride home, Hailey held the plaque Jay had placed back in the truck hours before. She couldn't look away from it - this award they'd received for stopping Escano and getting all of those drugs off the street. She couldn't help but think it felt worthless now.
Even when they took the elevator up to their apartment together, she kept looking down at the plaque, not paying attention to where exactly she was going.
Jay pushed the door open to their apartment and followed her inside, waiting for the door to shut behind them before saying, "You okay?"
Hailey blinked and looked up from the plaque to ask, "What?"
"What's wrong?" Jay asked, hesitantly reaching out to grab the plaque. He raised an eyebrow then looked down at it.
Hailey shook her head and shrugged her jacket off. She walked into the bedroom, still lost in her thoughts, tossed the jacket on the bed, then pulled her hair from its bun. Instantly, relief flooded her head as her hair fell to her shoulders. She just wished her heart could feel the same way.
"Hailey," Jay said, walking in their room, the damned plaque still in hand, "Can you-"
"How many bricks did we find?" Hailey asked as she turned to face him, "What exactly was in that safe house? How many overdoses do you think we stopped by solving this case?"
Jay simply stared at her, no answer even forming on his lips.
Hailey stared right back at him, her eyes wide, as the words she'd been struggling to find for the last half hour tumbled out of her mouth: "That damn Escano case should be it. It should be! There are narcotics officers who dream of solving a case like that, and we did it. And-And…and it felt nothing like that hug from that little girl."
She didn't understand why one thing was considered worthy of a plaque and the other wasn't. Safety and security should be the number one thing they worked for, and yet being a part of a team that found an endless amount of drugs was how she'd spent the last few months. It didn't sit right with her.
Jay's face fell before he shrugged and whispered, "I don't know."
Hailey softened and asked, "Did you feel it too?"
Jay smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah," he breathed, "And, honestly, it hurt to pass over the baby."
Sighing, Hailey sat on the bed and said quietly, "But why?"
Jay sat next to her and guessed, "Because they're kids?"
Hailey nodded and ran a hand through her hair.
Jay sighed himself and tossed his jacket off before laying back on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, he mumbled, "They make this job worth doing. If we can't protect them and give them a better life, what's the point?"
Hailey frowned, but nodded again and laid back as well. Gripping onto his fingers, she said, "How are we ever going to have our own kids? How…How did Kim survive losing Makayla like that? How did they breathe?"
Jay shook his head and closed his eyes.
Hailey chewed her lip for a moment then turned to the side to watch Jay. Stress was evident on his face, and she knew she had to have had a similar expression on hers. None of this was fair. None of it.
Pulling at her tie, she tried reminding herself that it was good they'd finally put an end to the Escano case, but all she could see and think about was Lili.
Hours before, Lili had asked her if she'd ever seen a giraffe in real life only to be disappointed upon hearing Hailey had only seen one in a zoo, not on a real safari. Her mom was missing, but in that moment all that mattered was that the police cop she was talking to had never seen a 'real' giraffe. Hailey had teased her over it and they'd laughed together about what the animals in the zoo did after everyone left. Something as simple as talking about animals put a smile on Lili's face. It'd made Hailey's job worth doing for the day.
It reminded her of a conversation she'd had with Trudy years before when she was just twelve years old. It hadn't been about giraffes, but about cake. Trudy had let her sit next to her desk while she searched for the men who had attacked her dad at his restaurant much like how Lili had sat next to Hailey while she searched for her mom. Trudy, though, was the one who'd brought up cake. It'd be a few hours of quiet work when she announced they needed a snack. Hailey's stomach rumbled and when Trudy asked what she wanted, she'd said revani cake. She was then shocked to hear that Trudy had never had it. Next thing she knew, they were sitting in the break-room eating revani cake at 11:16pm talking about Hailey's last soccer game. It'd made her feel better even if it was just for twenty minutes.
She hoped, and admittedly felt in her heart, that she'd done the same for Lili. She had to have.
"I think I want to drive past their grandpa's house tomorrow," Jay suddenly whispered.
Hailey raised an eyebrow and breathed, "Yeah?"
He nodded and said, "Just to check they're okay. I'm sure they are, but…but I need to know for sure."
Hailey nodded in agreement and took a deep breath.
Jay sat up then announced, "It felt better for two reasons."
Hailey sat up with him and asked, "How so?"
"One, the results were immediate," Jay said, "We won't really ever know the true change we made by taking Escano's drugs off the street because of that very reason – they're off the street; we can't ever know what they really would have done."
"That makes sense," Hailey said quietly.
Jay nodded then continued, "And two, I really do think it was because they were little kids. They were pretty helpless without an adult, yet they picked us to be that person for them all because we were in uniforms and had a gun. They believed in us. Lili believed in us. It's okay that that felt good. It's nice to have someone believe in you."
Hailey finally felt a smile form on her face as she replied, "That makes sense. I-I think I saw a little bit of myself in her too. When Trudy helped me, I was older, but it was still nice to have an adult on my side. I think Lili felt that too, and I like that I was able to…repay the world by doing that."
Jay smiled as well and nodded again. "Exactly," he said, "And there's nothing wrong with that."
"Yeah," Hailey breathed.
Jay reached over to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You were really good with her," he said, "It looked natural."
Hailey shrugged and said, "It was nothing. You were the one who was amazing. I've never seen you with a baby like that. She really did like you."
Jay chuckled and glanced down at his hands. "It was fun," he admitted softly, "I liked holding her and taking care of her."
Hailey's smile widened, and she lightly nudged his shoulder, saying, "I especially liked that you were in your uniform while doing it."
Jay laughed again and looked up at her. "Oh, really?"
"Really," Hailey laughed, "I had a few thoughts about you while I was watching you."
Beaming at her, his eyes bright, Jay pulled her back again against the mattress and said, "Tell me about them."
Hailey scooted closer to him and said, "I just kept thinking about our own kids and how I'm sure they're going to love you more than me."
"Oh, shut up," Jay said and kissed the top of her head, "They'll love you so much. You're going to be way better at the make-believe stuff and games and listening and-"
"And you're going to be their dad," Hailey interrupted, "You're going to be the one who protects them and teaches them baseball because why is that sport stupidly hard?"
Jay laughed hard and shook his head. "It's really not, babe," he teased.
"Mhmm," Hailey hummed, "It's embarrassing. You'll need to teach me before our kids join t-ball."
"I think I can do that," Jay said, "Do you think we have a couple years?"
"Oh, for sure," Hailey replied, setting a hand on her stomach, "I am 99% sure there is not a baby in me, so we have a while."
Jay smiled and nodded. He watched her for a moment before asking softly, "Want to change that tonight?"
Hailey raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you serious?"
Jay again nodded and breathed in.
Hailey searched his eyes briefly until a smile began to form on her face. "Okay," she whispered, "I'd like that for a lot of reasons."
Jay laughed and leaned over to kiss her. He carefully rolled on top of her and breathed, "Thank god we rescheduled bar night to tomorrow. I'm taking my time with all this."
Hailey laughed with him, running her hands along his arms, and said, "You're gonna need that extra time to get off this stupid tie."
Jay laughed harder before trailing his lips down her jaw.
As she felt her eyes flutter close and her head tipped back, Hailey breathed in slowly and dragged her nails down Jay's back.
It'd been a long few months, a long day, and yet at the end of it, she was proud of what she'd accomplished. Somehow, she'd survived a car bomb. Her unit had solved a lengthy case. She'd helped two girls feel safe in a big city. Jay had finally initiated their future family. It was all interconnected – one wouldn't have existed without the other.
Everything was going to be okay. It was all meant to happen for a reason, and she was excited to see what the next piece of the big puzzle was going to be.