Chapter Text
“Jay?”
For a moment Hailey wonders just how hard she hit her head on the concrete floor, because there is no way her husband just walked into her room in the med-bay. As soon as reality sets in about her husband’s whereabouts, Hailey’s smile disappears from her face. Because there is no way he could have made it to Chicago Gaffney Medical Center in less than an hour. Hailey knows the Army has the means to get someone from A to B in a matter of hours (minutes even) if absolutely needed. Although she knows that’s rarely ever done outside of life threatening situations that the soldiers find themselves in during one of their missions. And since that’s definitely not the case here, and since her head injury isn’t life threatening, Hailey knows that the chances of it actually being her husband walking into her room in the emergency department are slim to none.
Jay is in Bolivia for at least another 7 months, possibly more.
It drives a sharp and stinging pain through Hailey’s heart. She knew she would miss him, how could she not, he is the love of her life. But the detective was not prepared for exactly how much her husband’s departure would affect her. It’s only been three weeks, but the thought of having to go through life without him right next to her for another 7 months, physically hurts. And Hailey has to remind herself to take deep breaths to calm her racing and panicking heart down.
“Hailey?” The voice is soft, but so familiar. It’s not her Halstead walking into the room, but it’s a Halstead, her brother-in-law.
“Will? What are you doing here?” The blonde asks surprised.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? I work here, what’s your excuse.” The doctor teases.
“Touché.” Hailey mumbles, but doesn’t elaborate on how she landed herself in his emergency room.
“You had a run in with the concrete?” Will asks, scanning her chart.
“William, if you already know why I’m here then why ask?” The blonde smiles back mischievously.
“Because I was hopeful my sister-in-law was smarter than to try and catch her fall with her head.”
“Yeah well, it wasn’t exactly voluntary.” Hailey mumbles.
“You okay?” Will asks more sincerely.
“You tell me.”
“You’ve got a nasty cut on your head, my guess is you’ll definitely need stitches. And I’d recommend a head CT to rule out internal bleedings. But besides your slight concussion, you’ll probably survive this time.” He adds the last part with a wink.
“Ugh, that sounds fun.” Hailey sarcastically replies. “Does this mean I can’t go back to work in an hour?”
“You know it does. But we both also know you will walk out of this hospital demanding to get back to work. So I’m not even gonna try.”
“You know me so well.” The detective smiles. No way she is getting a little cut on her head and a slight concussion keep her from solving this case.
“Someone from your team out there?” Will questions.
Hailey nods and immediately regrets it as soon as a sharp and stinging pain travels through her head. Hailey’s hand instinctively goes up to the dried blood on her face.
“Yeah, Kev should be out there somewhere. He’s probably flirting with your nurses.”
“Oh, they’ll love that.” Will smirks before his face turns more serious glancing down at the patient chart in his hands. “Hailey, we need to talk.”
“That sounds awfully serious.”
“It is.” The doctor confirms.
“Should I be worried?” Hailey questions trying to mask the nervous tone in her voice.
Will doesn’t immediately respond, which reminds Hailey of one important new detail since the last time Will treated her in the hospital.
“Will?” Hailey interrupts before the redhead has a chance to speak. “Please don’t take this the wrong way because I really appreciate you being here, but are you even allowed to be here right now? Isn’t this some violation of the hospital code, treating your own family members? I don’t want you to get in any trouble for being here. Besides Dr. Abrams already ran a bunch of tests earlier.”
She doesn’t even know why it took her so long to start questioning him, or why she is even questioning him in the first place. She’d rather have Will take a look at her than any other doctor in this hospital. It’s not that she doesn’t trust them, it’s just that she trusts him more. He’s family, her family. And she knows it must be her nerves speaking at this point, trying to delay the inevitable of whatever news she is about to find out.
“It’s not illegal, but it’s definitely frowned upon ethically. But that’s besides the point. I’m not here as your doctor, Hailey.”
“You’re not?” The blonde questions.
“No, I’m here to check in on you. You’re my sister, Hailey. And with my brother out of the country, someone’s gotta do the worrying for him.”
Hailey slightly chuckles. “He’d be pacing back and forth the entire time we would be here.”
“He really does hate hospitals.” Will agrees.
“You can actually be really sweet, you know.” Hailey hums out quietly.
“Me?”
“Yeah, I really appreciate you checking in on me. Not only today, but the past three weeks. You’re a good man, Will Halstead.”
“Yeah, don’t tell other people that.” The redhead jokes.
“I think most people here already know just how big your heart is.” Hailey laughs. “You care about people, it’s one of the reasons you’re such a good doctor.”
“Jeez sis, let me at least pretend for half a second that everyone here thinks I’m as badass as my brother.” Will winks.
“I’ll tell him you said that.”
“And I’ll deny it, every single time.” The redhead chuckles.
Hailey shakes her head, immediately regretting it as another sharp pain travels through her brain. Yeah, she is definitely gonna need stitches.
Will approaches her hospital bed with a more serious look on his face. “I’m also here because Dr. Abrams came to me with your blood results. I know he probably wasn’t supposed to, but given the situation I think you’ll agree that it was the right call for him to make. He asked me if I’d be the one to deliver this news to you. He figured it would be easier for you to hear this from someone you trust. Especially because Jay isn’t able to be here now.”
A million and one situations are running through Hailey’s mind, none of which are any good to be honest. She rationally knows it’s not possible, but it truly feels like her stomach has turned as a wave of anxious nausea hits her.
“Will, what’s going on? You’re freaking me out a little here.”
“I don’t know how to tell you this…” Will starts, but before he can elaborate Hailey interrupts him once more, scared and impatient.
“William, please, just spit it out already.” Hailey begs. She needs her brain to stop thinking about what Will could possibly be telling her. Because too many of the situations she is coming up with are too close to having her belief she won’t live long enough to see her husband return home to her.
“Hailey, your test showed hCG levels in your blood.”
The room falls silent after that. Of all the situations that have run through Hailey’s mind in the past 40 seconds, this one never even occurred to her as a possibility. Thanks to her job Hailey has looked at enough autopsy and hospital reports to know exactly what that means. “I’m pregnant?” The blonde whispers in disbelief.
Will simply nods his head. “It’s still very early, 2-3 weeks I expect from these results. There is no way you could have known without the blood test.”
“Will, no. That’s not possible.” Or is it? 2-3 weeks would put her conception right around the time of Jay leaving for Bolivia. The last time they had been intimate had been moments before his departure. Holding each other close, cherishing and memorizing every part of their significant other’s body. Kissing and touching every scar, every freckle and every part they found during their love making session. Unsure when the next time they’d be able to do this again would be. They hadn’t used a condom for almost a year. After they both got tested for STDs a few weeks into their relationship they decided to rely on Hailey birth control which she had been rigorously taking for years. So the risk of pregnancy hadn’t even been on her mind.
“Hailey, I know this is a lot to take in.” Her brother-in-law states, as he notices the panic look behind Hailey’s eyes settle in.
“It can’t be.” Hailey says more to herself than Will standing on the other side of the room. Still in denial that this is actually happening.
But when Hailey digs a little deeper and thinks about the first few days she spent without Jay by her side, she has to admit that she is not 100% certain she took her birth control every single night.
The first five days are a complete blur. She threw herself into work (still does, I mean that’s how she ended up with her head split on the concrete floor after all), doing everything and anything to avoid going home to an empty apartment. Hailey struggled to sleep, and forgot to eat at times. It wasn’t until her first phone call from Jay five days after he had left her in Chicago and begged her to take better care of herself, that she had been able to talk herself into at least pretending she was fine for the remaining 8 months they were apart. Jay had fallen apart in front of her, he was more than 4000 miles away, trying to find himself again in a different part of the world so he could find his way back to her. The last thing he needed was to worry about his wife falling apart and losing herself too.
Will remains silent in his spot in the room, giving Hailey time to let the news he just broke to her sink in. He’s still processing the news himself if he is being completely honest.
The silence settles into the room, and both Will and Hailey are unsure if five minutes have passed or five seconds.
Eventually, the doctor swallows the lump in his throat before he manages up the courage to address his sister-in-law again. Knowing he is about to uproot Hailey’s world some more with what he has to ask her next. “Hailey, would you like me to get the Ob Gyn on call to talk about your options?” The words sound foreign in his mouth. Like he isn’t the one to speak them out loud.
“What options?” Hailey questions, before realization sinks in. "Oh."
Will just nods, unsure what to say in this situation they have found themselves in. He wishes his brother was here right now more than anything. This should be something they discuss together. He shouldn’t be the one to know that his sister-in-law is pregnant before his own brother even does.
“I don’t need to talk about options.” Hailey confirms in a soft whisper. Yes, she may be in shock, and there possibly couldn’t be a worse time for her to have a baby, especially with her husband so far away and the team already one detective down since Jay resigned. But there is no doubt in her mind that she wants this baby. She only learned about their mere existence moments ago, but she already loves this baby, their baby.
When Jay told her at the airport before catching his flight to Bolivia that she’d always carry a part of him with her, no matter where she goes, she hadn’t realized it would become so literal. Hailey blinks away a few tears. It seems so cruel that Jay is so far away right now. That she cannot immediately call him to tell him that when he gets back a whole new life is waiting for him. She knows he’ll be thrilled. Jay will make an incredible dad, there is no doubt in Hailey’s mind. But she also knows that her husband is gonna beat himself up for not being there to help support Hailey through her pregnancy. And in all honesty, that stings. Because he should be right here, with her. He should be at her first ultrasound, holding her hand as they listen to their baby’s heartbeat. He should be lying next to her in bed when she feels the baby kick for the first time, bringing his hand to her stomach so he can feel it too. He should be the one putting the crib together, and painting the nursery which is currently used as their home office. He should be here, and the fact that he is not causes a whirlwind of emotions to go through Hailey’s brain.
“You okay?” Will asks.
Hailey feels so overwhelmed, she doesn’t even know how to begin to answer that question right now. But as her hand finds its way to her still flat stomach it instinctively calms her down and the detective can’t help the small smile from forming on her face. She’s going to be a mom, and Jay is going to be a dad. They are really going to be responsible for another tiny human being. A little baby that is going to fully depend on them for months, years even. And although that thought should terrify her, it somehow does the complete opposite. Because with Jay by her side, she knows she can do anything. Even being someone’s mom. Jay may not be physically with her right now, but he was right, she’ll always carry a part of him with her. Now more than ever.
She knows the next few months are going to be challenging and may even feel impossible to get through at times. But this baby, their baby, will help her get through the remaining 7.5 months until her husband comes home to her, to them.
And although this is not what they planned for, maybe this is exactly how things are meant to be.