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Hailey’s back is pressed up against the rough brick of the wall outside of Molly’s bar. Luckily it’s dark enough outside, and they are mostly hidden in the shadows between the street lights, because the way that Jay has her positioned, they are definitely on the verge of being written up for indecent exposure! She can’t remember exactly how they ended up in this position, but somewhere between leaving the truck and walking to the door, he convinced her that he just needed a minute alone with her before they went inside to spend the evening being interrogated by his colleagues and friends. That innocent suggestion has led the two of them to be entwined together against the wall, lips locked, tongues tangling, his hands wandering under her top and hers caressing the skin on the back of his neck.
“Jay…” she says, breathless, in between deep, hot kisses. “We’re meant to be going inside, not just standing out here making out.”
He pulls back but only slightly, so that their foreheads are still touching and their heavy breathing intermingles in the small space between them.
“But we do it so well,” Jay replies and she smirks back at him. “We could go home and keep making out there?” he suggests with a grin, “or something more?”
She smacks his chest gently with one of her fists.
“No, we can’t,” Hailey replies firmly. “We promised that we would meet the guys for drinks tonight.”
“Yeah, so they can ask us to divulge secrets about our personal life!” Jay mumbles, pouting slightly.
“Is that what this is about?” Hailey asks him, her eyes scanning his face in concern. She’s trying to catch his eye but he is stubbornly avoiding making eye contact with her.
“Babe, come on, we don’t have to tell them anything we don’t want them to know,” she reassures him. Hailey is a bit surprised by his reaction if she’s being honest. She thought she was the one who was reluctant about this whole thing that they had agreed to. Turns out maybe she was wrong.
Jay sighs, winding his arms tighter around Hailey’s waist and slipping his hands into the back pockets of her jeans, effectively causing him to subtly grab her ass in both hands.
“I know,” he says. “It’s just a little strange that’s all, now they all know.”
Hailey presses her lips gently onto his.
“They are your friends, Jay,” she tells him. “They’re happy for you.”
“They’re your friends too, you know,” he responds.
Hailey smiles at him, a big genuine smile. It’s still taking some getting used to, the whole being able to be so much more open with their relationship now. But she does enjoy the fact that she gets to go out with Jay more often. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but she’s noticing the difference already. And being able to spend more time together with their friends is also going to be a part of that now.
“One more minute,” Jay tells her and although Hailey rolls her eyes, she doesn’t complain as his lips descend onto hers once more.
With his hands in her pockets Jay can move her body even closer than it was before and for a moment she gets lost in the sensation of having Jay completely surrounding her. She can feel the way the muscles in his arms move to hold her body against him. She can feel the press of her breasts up against the hard planes of his chest as he gently squeezes her ass, bringing her lower half flush to his own. The thin floaty fabric of her top is not doing much to prevent her nipples from puckering, causing the low thrum of arousal pulsing through her veins to heighten as they rub against Jay's chest. Not to mention the jolt of pleasure that shoots through her when he pulls her into just the right place to feel his growing erection against her core. Luckily he swallows the gasp that escapes from her at that particular moment. Kissing Jay is so natural and yet so exhilarating all at once. It does things to her that probably shouldn’t be happening when out in public, but right now she can’t bring herself to stop.
A small cough brings them out of their bubble. They don’t move their bodies away from each other just yet but they both look to the side to see Adam standing there, hands in his pockets and a smug grin on his face.
“You know, in order to have drinks with us you need to actually come inside!” Adam says, before walking away chuckling to himself.
Hailey drops her head down onto Jay’s chest trying to regain her composure and after a couple of deep breaths Jay places one last kiss into her blond waves.
“You gonna be ok?” Hailey says, pulling out of his embrace and glancing down at his crotch for a second.
“I’ll be fine in a minute,” he replies. “Nothing I haven’t had to deal with before! It’s something I’ve kinda had to get used to with you around!” He admits.
Hailey blushes and looks down at the floor for a moment. She still finds it hard to believe sometimes that he finds her so attractive! Especially as Jay knows her better than anyone; flaws and all! He puts a finger under her chin, tilting her head back up to meet his eyes.
“I love you,” he tells her, placing a chaste kiss onto her lips.
“I love you too,” Hailey replies. “Now come on.”
Smoothing down her hair and her top, Hailey grabs Jay's hand and pulls him towards the entrance of the bar.
Hailey has heard of Molly’s bar many times before and has even picked Jay up from outside on a couple of occasions, but tonight is the first time that she is setting foot inside the establishment. With its reputation as a first responder bar, it was always too much of a risk for her to go there with Jay when they needed to keep their relationship to themselves. Hailey always saw Molly’s as Jay’s place to go. He had been frequenting the place for a few years before she got to know him and she knows that the guys in Intelligence often end up there after particularly long or hard cases.
As she walks through the door she immediately gets a feel for the bright and friendly atmosphere. The hundreds of fairy lights that line the ceiling are a nice touch and there are enough places for people to gather and sit without it feeling too overcrowded and loud. Jay takes over leading them, gently guiding her without letting go of her hand, as he walks towards the bar to get them both a drink.
“Hey, Hermann,” Jay says to the man behind the bar.
“Hey, Halstead, how are you doing?” Hermann replies, glancing quickly over at Hailey, obviously trying to work out who she is, but not making a big deal of it right now.
Hailey is currently taking a look around her as Jay orders for the two of them and then gets drawn into a polite conversation with Hermann as he gets their drinks order sorted. As she turns back towards the bar, Hermann holds out his hand to her.
“Christopher Hermann,” he says, and she reaches out to shake his offered hand. “Firehouse 51 and co-owner of this place.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Hermann.” she replies with a smile. “I’m Hailey.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Hailey,” Hermann responds, his expression friendly but still a little curious. “So are you a Cop too, like our friend Halstead here?”
“Yeah, I’m a detective at Robbery Homicide.” Hailey replies. “I've actually just finished a case working alongside the guys at Intelligence.”
“Ahh,” Hermann leans in closer, “They treat you ok? Because just let me know if they didn’t. I've got your back!”
Hailey chuckles.
“Thank you,” she says, “But I think I held my own!”
“You did more than that, Hails,” Jay says, putting an arm around her waist and kissing her temple before turning towards Hermann and adding, “She pretty much solved the whole case!”
Hailey rolls her eyes.
“You’re exaggerating!” she says stubbornly, looking away from the two men for a moment, scanning the room for any sign of the rest of the team that they are meant to be meeting. Hailey spots Kim, Kev and Adam in a booth at the back of the bar so she turns back to grab Jay’s arm.
“I’m gonna go join the others,” she tells him, tilting her head in the direction of the table they are sitting at.
Hailey places a quick kiss on his cheek and Jay tells her he’ll be there in a minute. As Hailey walks away, Jay turns back to Hermann and he sees a pleasantly surprised expression on the older man's face.
“You love her a lot,” Hermann says. It’s a statement, not a question.
“She’s my wife,” Jay tells him, honestly.
Hermann's eyes widen for a moment but he recovers quickly and Jay is thankful that he doesn’t feel the need to press him for any more information. Hermann's good like that.
“Don’t let her get away,” he tells Jay. “She’s a special one, I can tell by the way you look at her.”
Jay grins back at the experienced firefighter behind the bar. Hailey is special. Jay knows that there is no way on this earth that he deserves someone as amazing as her but somehow, out of all the guys she could have had, she fell in love with him.
“I don’t plan on ever letting her go.” Jay responds as he picks up their drinks, thanking Hermann and walking off in the direction of his wife and their friends.
“Halstead, good of you to join us!” Adam says with a smirk.
Jay places their drinks down on the table and moves to sit on the stool next to Hailey, but not before throwing Adam a glare in response to his comment. The table is on the smaller side so Jay is pressed pretty close to Hailey’s body, not that he minds that at all. It just might make giving the conversation his full intention a bit more difficult, but maybe it will make the underlying uncomfortableness of this whole evening a little bit easier to bear.
“Ignore Adam,” Kim tells them, “He seems to think that catching the two of you kissing outside is the most scandalous thing in the world!”
“That’s not true!” Adam replies, an indignant expression on his face.
“I hate to break it to you, Ruze, but married couples kiss each other,” Hailey teases, “and we sometimes do a lot more than that too!” She adds with a wink, causing Jay to choke on his beer and Kim to cover her ears and shake her head.
“Nope, we don’t need to hear about that!” Kim says. “Let’s move on, please.” And she moves to retrieve a folded piece of paper out of her jacket pocket.
“You actually made a list?!” Jay asks in disbelief, when he realises what Kim is holding.
“Yeah, I did,” Kim says, as if this should have been obvious to everyone. “How else was I going to remember what we wanted to ask you guys?” she counters.
“I guess that makes sense,” Jay accepts.
“Yeah, and it meant I got to weed out the more inappropriate question suggestions too,” Kim adds with a glare at Adam.
Hailey chuckles.
“Good point,” she tells Kim.
“Ok then, let’s get this over with,” Jay says with a half sigh.
“Don’t sound too enthusiastic there, Halstead!” Adam says.
“Yeah, wasn’t this your idea?” Kev jumps in.
“We did suggest it, yes,” Jay says slowly, “But it doesn’t mean that I’m not having second thoughts now we are actually here.”
He feels Hailey’s hand grab his under the table and squeeze in reassurance. Her touch always calms him, so he’s grateful that he gets to sit next to her this evening. Jay lets out a slow breath, taking a sip of his beer to try and prepare himself for what’s to come.
“Ok, first question.” Kim starts. “This is to clear up the debate that we, as in the three of us,” She gestures to herself, Adam and Kevin, “have been having ever since the end of the case. Who was the first person to find out?”
“Well, I guess the first person I told that I was married was Danny,” Hailey tells them.
“Saxton?!” Adam says a little louder than necessary. “Really?”
“Yeah, I mean, I knew him better than any of you,” Hailey reminds them. “I’ve worked with him for over a year now, and we partner more often than not, but I have to admit that I kinda told him so that I could get him to stop flirting with me,” she says, blushing slightly.
Kev and Adam both chuckle at her admission.
“Yeah nobody missed his little infatuation with you!” Adam tells her.
“And did it work?” Kim asks.
“Oh, yeah,” Hailey replies. “Especially when he found out it was Jay I was married to. He was so afraid that Jay would come after him for all the times he had ever said something even a tiny bit inappropriate to me, he was on his absolute best behaviour after that!”
“So you didn’t tell him who you were married to at first, just that you were married?” Kev asks.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Hailey replies.
“So, he wasn’t the first one to know that you were married to Jay then,” Kim says.
“No, I guess just the first one to know I was married,” Hailey confirms.
“Yeah, Saxton actually worked that part out all by himself, right after you shouted at Voight in the bullpen,” Jay interjects, playfully bumping his shoulder into Hailey’s.
“Hang on a sec,” Adam interrupts. “You went toe to toe with Voight in the bullpen? Why didn’t we know this?”
“It’s not something I’m exactly proud of!” Hailey responds, glaring at Jay for bringing it up.
“Damn, Halstead, your girls got balls I’ll give you that!” Kev tells Jay as Adam hums in agreement and Hailey looks like she wants the floor to open up beneath her and swallow her whole.
“Let’s get back on track here,” Kim says, attempting to reel them back in, “So Saxton worked out it was Jay that you were married to, because you shouted at Voight?”
“Yeah,” Jay confirms. “He told me that it was the way I looked at Hailey that gave it away.”
“Gosh, that’s cute,” Kim replies.
“He said that?” Hailey asks, turning her face fully towards Jay.
“Yeah, did I not tell you that part?” He replies, meeting her gaze.
“No, you didn’t!” Hailey says with a small smile. “Your eyes are a dead giveaway though so I’m not surprised that he worked it out from that,” she says, turning back to the group. “Will calls them his ‘Hailey Heart Eyes’” Hailey adds with a snicker.
“Hails,” Jay groans, as everyone laughs, “You promised that we wouldn’t give away anything we didn’t want them knowing.” He says, gesturing at the other three sitting around the table.
“I’m sorry,” she says, attempting to look contrite, looking up at him through her long eyelashes. She’s pulling such an adorable face that Jay can’t help leaning over and kissing her briefly on the lips, not caring who else is watching. He has absolutely no willpower when it comes to wanting to kiss Hailey, anyway. She obviously doesn’t seem to mind either, from the smile that lights up her face and the sparkle he can see in her bright blue eyes once he pulls back from her.
“Ok,” Hailey turns to address everyone else, “Nobody is allowed to mention Jay’s heart eyes again or you will have to answer to me!”
They all grin but nod in agreement. It’s the best she can hope for for the moment.
“So, did you not tell Voight?” Kev asks.
“No, and that caused some rather big problems that in hindsight, we probably could have avoided had we just been honest with him in the first place.” Jay explains. “But it was actually Trudy who was the one who found out about us being married to each other first.”
“I’m not surprised,” Kev responds.
“Nothing gets past that woman,” Adam says.
“Did she say what gave it away?” Kim asks.
“Apparently it was the fact that he let me drive his truck,” Hailey tells them.
“You get to drive the truck?!” Adam says, incredulous.
“She’s my wife, Ruze. What’s mine is hers and all that,” Jay responds.
“I didn’t realise the whole truck thing was such a big issue,” Hailey says with a shrug. “I've always been allowed to drive it.”
“No one gets anywhere near Jay’s truck!” Kim says with a laugh.
“Yeah, It’s definitely a big deal,” Adam tells Hailey, “He didn’t even let Erin drive it!”
Jay groans quietly and Hailey rubs her hand reassuringly up and down his arm. She knows Erin is a sore subject with Jay. It’s not like they never talk about her, it’s just that Jay doesn’t like to be reminded of that time in his life just before and after Erin left for New York.
“Really Adam?!” Kim scolds, giving him a disapproving look, “Why did you have to bring up Erin?”
“I dunno,” Adam replies with a shrug, “I didn’t realise it was off limits.”
“Yeah, but you just don’t think sometimes,” Kim chastises.
“But Hailey must know about Erin,” he replies to Kim, before turning towards Hailey, “You know about Erin right?” He asks her.
“Yes, Adam, I know all about Erin,” she replies, “Jay and I don’t have any secrets from each other.” Hailey can tell Jay is getting more uncomfortable with the direction the conversation is taking so she tries to deflect away from it as best she can by turning it back on Adam. “Just remember that when you next decide to do something stupid, because I will definitely hear about it!”
Adam narrows his eyes at Hailey in annoyance as Kim and Kevin laugh at his expense.
“Ok,” Kim says, moving the conversation along. “So the second thing we wanted to clear up was, why all the secrecy? It’s not like you worked in the same unit or anything.”
“Well,” Jay begins, glancing briefly over at Hailey before continuing. “When we first started seeing each other it wasn’t that long after Erin left, and I didn’t want a situation like that again”
They all nod. Kim, Adam and Kev were all around for that. Not to mention the awkwardness that came from Adam bringing Erin up in conversation just now. At least they all seem to have decided that nothing more needs to be said on that particular subject.
“And I was up for a promotion at the time,” Hailey continues, “so I didn’t want people thinking that I didn’t earn it.”
“But, don’t you have to pass an exam to become a detective?” Adam queries, a little confused as to why being in a relationship would affect that.
“Yeah, dating Jay wouldn’t have made it any easier for you to pass the exam,” Kim points out.
“You do usually have to pass an exam, yes,” Hailey replies, “but… I was given a meritorious promotion to detective,” she adds quietly.
All three of their mouths drop open, but she tries to ignore their reactions and carry on. Hailey hates having people’s attention on her especially when it’s to do with her achievements.
“So you can see why I didn’t want people finding out I was in a relationship with another detective, especially one in an elite unit like Intelligence, at the same time as that,” she concludes.
“Fuck,” Adam exclaims. “I can’t believe you were meritoriously promoted! That’s badass”
“She’s a total badass, you should all know that by now!” Jay says with a proud smile.
Hailey can feel herself blushing. God, she hopes the conversation moves on again soon. It’s one thing for Jay to be proud of her and her achievements but it’s something else when it’s other people. Especially ones that are still getting to know her. Luckily, Jay can read her body language like a book and he makes sure to quickly move on from discussing Hailey’s achievements any more than necessary.
“So then we just kinda got comfortable having our own little bubble outside of work. We didn’t want to change anything because it was good and it was working, so we just carried on as we were.” Jay explains.
“Until this last case blew a hole in our neat and tidy arrangement,” Hailey points out.
“And now here we are,” Kevin says.
“Exactly,” Hailey agrees.
“So how did the two of you meet?” Adam asks.
“The second time,” Kim interjects, “because we know you worked a case together before Jay joined Intelligence.”
“We actually ran into each other in a coffee shop,” Hailey tells them.
“No way, that’s like the perfect romcom,” Kim says, making Hailey chuckle and Jay’s cheeks flush pink.
“Yeah, it turned out that when we bumped into each other, we both had a little time to spare, so we sat down and caught up on what we had been doing over the past few years since we saw each other last.” Hailey continues.
“Not much else happened,” Jay says. “We exchanged numbers and went on with our lives.”
“We crossed paths a few times after that though, at work events or at the same coffee shop and sometimes we would take a walk together and chat,” Hailey adds.
“So when did it change?” Kim asks, leaning her chin on her hand, completely drawn into the story they are telling.
“There was one time when we were walking through the park together,” Hailey begins, smiling softly at the memory. “I had told Jay about the possibility that I might be getting a promotion and that I would be contacted via a letter sent through the post, telling me whether I had officially been granted the promotion or not. So on this particular day, I had just received the letter, but I hadn’t opened it yet. I was a bit apprehensive as to what it might say and what that would mean for my future. By that point I was wanting to move away from the long undercover assignments and maybe get a more permanent position in a unit, and the promotion would definitely help with that. So I had the letter in my bag and I gave it to Jay to open.”
“So you opened it for her?” Adam asks Jay, almost as riveted as Kim is with their backstory.
“Yeah I did,” Jay replies.
“I knew what it said the moment he read it because his face gave the game away,” Hailey says with a grin and Jay rolls his eyes at her. She’s always teasing him about how his emotions show all over his face. Jay’s not sure he agrees but he knows that Hailey can read people really well. Or maybe he’s just so much more obvious with her, because he feels so strongly for her.
“So, I pulled her into a hug and spun her round and she squealed so loud that she freaked out this guy that was walking his dog,” Jay teases her.
“God, I had totally forgotten about that,” Hailey says, eyes wide and cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment at the memory. “It wasn’t my fault, anyway. I wasn’t expecting you to do that!” Hailey points out and Jay grins back at her.
“And then we kissed,” he tells them simply, but his eyes never leave Hailey’s, like he is back there in the moment, looking into her eyes in the middle of the park. Still holding her in his arms, just before they both leaned in and their lips touched for the first time.
“Just like that?” Kim asks.
“Just like that,” Hailey confirms.
There is a moment's pause before Hailey and Jay tear their gaze away from each other and back to the rest of the people at the table.
“Ok, so what are we on now, number 5?” Jay asks, trying to get his head back in the room and not lost in memories of him and Hailey.
“Yeah I think so,” Kev agrees as Kim consults her list once more.
“How did Jay propose?” Kim asks.
“He didn’t really,” Hailey says, taking a sip of her drink.
“What do you mean he didn’t really?” Kim says, her mouth dropping open at Hailey’s admission.
“Well, it was kinda just a discussion we had whilst we were sitting on the floor of his apartment one night. We had both come to the decision that we were it for each other, so we decided that we should commit to each other officially and get married,” Hailey explains.
“So he never even gave you a ring?” Kim says, incredulous.
“Nope,” Hailey confirms.
“Shit, Jay, at least I got Kim a ring,” Adam admonishes, a look of snug satisfaction on his face, like he’s pleased to one up Jay at something.
“Yeah and then you broke up, you idiot,” Jay retorts, causing Adam to scoff and Kim to respond with a slightly offended “HEY!”
“Hold on,” Hailey interrupts, “You and Adam were engaged?!” She asks, astounded by this revelation and looking back and forth between the two of them for confirmation.
“Yeah,” Kim responds. “I mean, it was a good few years ago. Whilst I was still on patrol.”
“Why have you never told me that?” Hailey says, looking at Jay accusingly.
He holds his hands up in surrender.
“I dunno,” he replies. “It never came up! When we got together Kim was dating Roman.”
Hailey looks at Kim in confusion.
“Sean Roman,” Kim explains. “He was my partner on patrol.”
“Still,” Hailey argues, turning her attention back to Jay. “We’re not meant to keep things from each other Jay!” She says, poking him in the side.
“Yeah, what happened to ‘Hailey and I have no secrets from each other’, eh Halstead!” Adam gloats.
“Fuck off, Adam.” Jay responds and Adam snickers into his drink.
“Ok, can we go back to the engagement ring for a sec,” Kim says, “Or lack of it for that matter,” she adds quietly, causing Adam and Kevin to chuckle in the background.
“Now you mention it,” Hailey says, thinking back to their conversations in the past, “Jay did promise that he would get me one at some point.”
Hailey raises an eyebrow at Jay and he at least has the decency to look a little ashamed that he never followed through on that particular promise.
“You said it wasn’t about having a ring,” he says, trying to justify his reasoning. “You said getting engaged was just about the promises that we made to each other. Getting married was the important bit.”
“I did say that,” Hailey agrees, as she recalls the conversation they had at the time.
“See…” Jay says feeling vindicated.
“That’s cute,” Kim says, “but it’s always going to be a little bit about the ring, Jay.”
Hailey chuckles and Jay furrows his eyebrows in frustration at Kim.
“Yeah, I mean, you’re already married so Hailey’s never going to get the chance of a proposal ever again,” Adam says dramatically.
“Well, I’m glad you’ve realised that I’m not you, Ruze,” Jay snaps back, hinting at Adam’s several failed engagements.
“Yo, Guys, maybe we should move on from this particular subject, hmm,” Kev interjects and Hailey breathes a sigh of relief because she didn’t like the direction that this was going in.
She places her hand on Jay’s thigh and she can feel how tense he is. She squeezes gently and then uses her fingers to trace nonsensical patterns over the denim of his jeans until she can feel his muscles begin to relax under her touch.
“Just out of curiosity,” Hailey says, wanting to find out a little more about this new development that she was completely unaware of until tonight. She is also thinking that it might help to move the conversation away from her and Jay for a little while, “Do you still have the ring, Kim?”
“No,” Kim shakes her head, “I actually gave it back to him.”
“And do you still have it, Adam?” Hailey enquires.
“Yes,” he says without hesitation, “I kept it in the hope I could give it back to her one day.”
Kim’s eyes go comically wide at that admission. Even Kevin looks a little taken aback at Adam’s honesty, but Hailey’s not convinced Adam has even realised the full implications of his words and how they might affect the people sat around him. None of them really know what to say in response to that, so they sit for a moment in silence, periodically sipping their drinks.
“If we are going to continue this, I’m going to need another drink,” Jay says, as he moves to get up to head over to the bar. Adam makes a move to join him. Hailey thinks that he likely feels a bit bad about what he said just now and he probably wants to apologise to Jay alone.
“I’ll go with you,” Adam says and Jay nods in acceptance.
“You want the same again, Babe,” he asks Hailey.
“Not if you want to have another one,” she tells him. “I’ll just have a soda.”
“Ok,” Jay replies, leaning over to place a quick kiss in her hair.
Hailey’s concerned that Jay seems a bit preoccupied and she worries that maybe this was too much too soon. The last thing she wants to do is upset him, and she can tell that the last part of the conversation in particular has tugged on a nerve somehow. Hailey makes a mental note to reassure him later that she doesn’t need anything more from him. She has never thought that he loved her any less just because they didn’t have what society thinks of as a ‘proper engagement’. She didn’t need a flashy engagement ring to know that Jay loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Hailey’s not one for expensive jewellery anyway, especially as she can’t wear it to work every day and for the first two years of their marriage, they didn’t want anyone to know, so what would she have done with a ring? It would have just sat in her jewelry box at home, gathering dust. Hailey lets out a sigh as she continues to watch Jay’s retreating form cross the space from their table to the bar.
“You two are disgustingly romantic, you know that right?!” Kim says, pulling Hailey out of her thoughts.
Hailey blushes. It’s strange getting glimpses of their relationship from other people's point of view. The only person who really saw them as a couple before now was Will and yes he always used to tease them, but she just assumed that was because he liked to wind them both up. Hailey doesn’t think that she acts particularly romantically, or lovingly towards Jay, especially when they are out in public, but it’s interesting that several people have already commented on it. She feels like it should put her off or make her uncomfortable, but it doesn’t. Hailey almost gets a strange sense of pride from people complimenting how they act towards each other. Being with Jay is so natural for her so the way she acts towards him just happens without her having to think about it. Hailey’s pretty confident that it’s the same for Jay too.
“I’m not sure if that’s meant to be a compliment or an insult, Kim?” Hailey replies with a smirk and her comment makes Kevin laugh.
“I was aiming for a compliment,” Kim says, smiling back at her. “Jay’s so different with you,” Kim continues, “it’s like he’s so comfortable and content and being with you just seems so natural for him. It’s like you complete him.”
Hailey feels the sudden sharp sting of tears building behind her eyes. It’s humbling to hear those words from someone who has known Jay longer than Hailey has.
“It’s true,” Kevin agrees. “I might not have said it in that sappy romantic way that Burgess did, but out of all the girls we tried to set Halstead up with, we never could have found someone as perfect as you are for him. I mean that.”
Hailey swallows thickly, desperately trying to dislodge the lump of swelling emotions from her throat.
“Wow!” Is all she manages to get out before Jay and Adam return with the drinks. Jay takes one look at Hailey and she can see his body language change instantly into protective mode.
“Ok, what happened?” He asks accusingly.
“Nothing happened, Halstead, calm down,” Kim tries to pacify Jay’s righteous anger.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Kim,” Jay replies, irritated, “I am allowed to care about Hailey, you know.”
“Jay…” Hailey says, “I’m fine, really.”
He looks at her sceptically for a moment, poised to attack and defend her honour if needed.
“They just said some really nice things about us, that’s all,” Hailey explains in a small voice.
He immediately understands, relaxing his posture now that he realises that he doesn’t need to go on the offensive. Hailey loves that he is protective of her, but sometimes he jumps to conclusions a little too quickly and she is more than capable of holding her own anyway. She knows that Jay knows this, but she knows that she also needs to let him take care of her sometimes. Hailey was just feeling a little overwhelmed, that was all, and she didn’t have time to compose herself properly before he re-appeared at the table. She hopes he’s got the message now.
“Ok,” Jay says, “Sorry guys.”
“No worries,” Kevin replies. “You’re allowed to want to protect your girl.”
Jay gives him a smile.
“Thanks, Kev.” he says.
“So, are we allowed to get back to our questions now?” Kim asks.
“Sure,” Hailey replies.
“Ok, so how long were you engaged?” Kim says.
“Or how long was it from your ‘conversation’ until you got married?” Adam specifies.
“About a week,” Jay replies.
“A week?!” Adam and Kim shout in unison.
“Well, we had already made the decision and we didn’t want a big wedding or anything so why wait?” Jay explains.
“You know, I’m beginning to sense a pattern here with you two,” Adam tells them.
Hailey and Jay smile.
“You could say that,” Jay replies.
“Yeah, I mean, we don’t have the most conventional story, that’s for sure, but everything we did was right for us at the time. I don’t regret any of it.” Hailey says, glancing over at Jay who is looking at her with what she can only describe as one of his lovestruck expressions. Like he can’t believe that she chose him and he thinks she’s nothing short of amazing. Hailey still doesn’t really know what to do with that! She doesn't consider herself as anything special.
“Was anyone else there when you got married?” Kim asks.
“Just Will,” Jay replies.
“Son of a bitch, Will has known this whole time?” Adam complains.
“Of course he has, he’s my brother!” Jay responds.
“Man,” Adam says with a frustrated sigh. “I've had conversations with him about setting you up with some girls as well. He didn’t say a thing!”
Hailey chuckles.
“Will has been very respectful of our wishes to keep our relationship quiet,” Hailey says diplomatically.
“Speaking of which, I should probably let him know that he doesn’t have to keep it to himself any more!” Jay says, when he realises that Will would still be under the impression that nobody knows about Jay and Hailey’s relationship.
“Might be a good idea,” Hailey replies with a grin.
“Well you’ve pretty much just covered what I was going to ask for question 7 so I’ll go with question 8 instead,” Kim says. “Do you think the two of you would ever work together permanently?”
“No,” Hailey and Jay reply, together and the others look surprised at their surety on that subject.
“It’s not for us,” Jay explains.
“Yeah, I mean I’m not against working another case together, but working in the same unit is a definite no for me,” Hailey tells them. “I like the relationship we have and I like being independent from Jay at work. I like that we work in different units because it means when one of us is having a hard time with a case, the other one can be more supportive because we are not caught up in the same case, and vice versa.”
“Yeah, I really can’t imagine it being too healthy for our relationship if we lived and worked together. Everything would just bleed into everything else and there would be no distinct lines between work and home,” Jay adds.
“I can understand that,” Kim agrees.
“Yeah, I think Hailey must be one of the few people to have ever turned Voight down!” Jay says.
“Voight offered you a place in Intelligence?” Adam asks, looking impressed.
“Yeah,” Hailey replies.
“Wow!” Kim responds. “You must have really impressed him! He doesn’t offer up spots in his unit to just anyone.”
Hailey just smiles. She doesn’t really ever know what to say in these kinds of situations. She knows deep down that she is a good cop, but when people give her praise or commendation or support, she just doesn't really know what to do with that. Her therapist would likely tell her that it stems from a lifetime of being put down and criticised and ignored, so now she doesn’t really know what to do with genuine praise. This time it’s Jay’s hand that finds hers under the table, intertwining his fingers with her own and squeezing her hand in reassurance.
“Ok, then,” Kim says. “So what’s Jay actually like to live with?”
Hailey laughs and Jay arches an eyebrow at her, curious to know what she might say.
“I’m not really sure how to answer that,” Hailey says.
“How about you give us three words to describe Halstead at home?” Kevin interjects.
“Ooo, yes, that’s good,” Kim responds, enthusiastically.
“Ok…” Hailey replies, pausing for a moment to think. “Jay’s very particular about things in the house, like everything has a place and he doesn’t appreciate when I leave stuff out or put things back in the wrong places.”
“That sounds like his desk,” Kim laughs.
“And his truck,” Adam adds with a chuckle, as Jay glares at them all.
“He does some things exceptionally quickly,” Hailey says next, “Like he has the quickest showers known to man, and he often washes up and cleans the apartment super quickly too.”
“Well, when you spend several years showering with a bunch of guys in the desert, you learn how to get clean quick!” Jay defends himself.
“I guess that makes sense,” Adam says.
“And the reason that you think I clean the apartment quickly is because you take so long to do it because you always get distracted by something else part way through!” Jay tells Hailey and then proceeds to laugh at her when she looks suitably indignant at his less than positive description.
“That’s not true,” Hailey says with a huff.
“I think you’ll find it is,” Jay counters and Hailey shoves his shoulder, playfully.
“What about the third one?” Kim asks.
“Well I was going to say that he’s really caring and affectionate, but now I think I've changed my mind!” Hailey says, shooting a glare in Jay’s direction.
“Jay, Man, you've got yourself in the doghouse now!” Adam teases.
“It’s ok, I know how to distract her and win back her affections, don’t you worry,” Jay says, winking at Hailey with a cheeky grin plastered on his face.
Adam snorts at that response as Hailey smacks Jay on the arm once more.
“God, you’re such an ass sometimes,” she mutters.
He smiles at her for a moment before turning back to Kim.
“So, Burgess, what’s the final question on the list?” Jay asks.
“Well, first of all I want to put it out there that this question did not come from me.” Kim says firmly.
“Ok, I’m intrigued,” Hailey responds.
“Adam, would like to know…” Kim starts, putting a large amount of emphasis on Adam’s name, “Did you have sex at work?”
Hailey’s mouth falls open in response because she was not expecting that! She racks her brain attempting to come up with the most diplomatic answer for them. Surely they can’t know about that time in the locker room, can they? She’s pretty sure that Danny would have kept her and Jay’s confidence, and Danny didn’t even really know what happened. He had just suspected something had. Before she can come up with a suitable response though, she hears Jay ask;
“Define sex?”
“Anything more than kissing,” Adam replies quickly and Hailey can feel the blush creeping up her neck.
“Then, yes.” Jay answers in a matter of fact tone.
“Oh My God!” Kim exclaims, immediately covering her ears like she can’t face knowing any more information on this particular subject.
“Come on Kim,” Adam coaxes her back into their conversation. “It’s not like we never did it.”
Everyone else's eyes go wide at that admission.
“Fuck… Adam, I really hate you sometimes,” Kim moans, resting her head on the table in embarrassment.
Hailey chuckles.
“That actually makes me feel a little better about it now!” Hailey says with a smirk.
“Like it wasn’t all your idea anyway,” Jay responds with a mischievous glint in his eye. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who dragged me into the locker room!”
Hailey opens and closes her mouth in complete shock! So much for not revealing anything too personal. Jay sure has had a change of tune from earlier on in the evening and she’s not sure she likes it!
“I wouldn’t say I dragged you,” Hailey replies, once she’s recovered herself enough to answer.
“Semantics,” Jay replies with a smirk.
“Jerk,” she throws back at him.
“Wait a minute,” Adam interrupts, “Was that where you were when Voight was looking for you and then Saxton all but fell over himself volunteering to go find the two of you, before any of the rest of us could?”
“No comment,” Jay replies.
“Did he know what you were doing?” Kim says, looking conflicted as to whether she wants to know the answer to that or not.
“No, of course not!” Hailey replies. “He just knew where we were, that's all, so he knew he could find us quicker than the rest of you could.”
“Yeah, we still owe him one for that,” Jay adds, quietly.
“And for the record, we were NOT having sex,” Hailey tells them with a stern expression on her face.
“Oral sex is still sex,” Jay responds.
“JAY ALEXANDER!” Hailey shouts in complete disbelief, “I can’t believe you just said that!”
“Ooh, middle naming you, Halstead, you’re in for it now!” Adam teases with a laugh.
“Yeah, I’m definitely filing that one away for later,” Kim replies with a chuckle.
“Try it and you die, Burgess!” Jay tells her.
“I know all your secrets now, Halstead,” Kim teases back and they all burst out laughing.
Jay leans over and whispers in Hailey’s ear.
“I’ll make it up to you later,” he says.
“You better,” she whispers back, “because right now I’m considering withholding that particular pleasure from you for a while.”
Jay pulls back to look at her face, attempting to tell if she’s messing with him or not. Hailey is being very careful not to reveal too much in her expression in order to keep him guessing, but inside she is revelling in the fact that he looks kinda worried that she will make good on that threat!
“You wouldn’t,” he says, narrowing his eyes at her.
“We’ll see,” she replies with a shrug, but she can’t stop a small smile from gracing her lips.
“Hey guys!” Will’s voice cuts through the remaining laughter around the table.
“Oh hey, Will,” Adam says, standing up to greet the other Halstead brother with a handshake and a friendly pat on the back. Kevin greets Will in a similar fashion before Will turns his attention to Jay and Hailey.
“So, I wasn’t going to interrupt you all but then I noticed you had someone new sitting with you tonight.” Will says cryptically, giving Jay a look out of the corner of his eye.
“Stand down, Will,” Adam says, chuckling. “We all know Hailey is your sister in law.”
Will exhales dramatically.
“Well thank God for that!” he exclaims, “I no longer have to watch what I say around you all! Wow, it’s like a whole weight has been lifted off my shoulders”
“No need for the dramatics, William,” Hailey tells him.
“Hey,” Will points a finger at Hailey, “you should be nicer to someone who has kept your secrets for the last two years, Hailey Ann Halstead!” Will retorts, causing Hailey to roll her eyes.
“Oh, did you change your name?” Kim asks, “You don’t use it at work.”
“I thought we had finished the questioning?!” Hailey says, quirking an eyebrow in Kim's direction. “You already asked us ten.”
“You guys were questioning them about their relationship?” Will asks with genuine interest.
“Yeah, when we found out about the two of them, they gave us the courtesy of letting us ask them ten questions about their relationship.” Kim replies.
“And ten questions only,” Jay reminds Kim.
“I’m guessing you know the answers to most of them, anyway,” Kevin tells Will.
“Except maybe the fact that they had sex at the district when we were working this case,” Adam interjects.
Will’s eyebrows raise as he looks towards his brother and sister in law. The two of them are looking suitably mortified and he can't help but want to tease them a little further.
“Just be glad you didn’t have to walk in on them,” Will says, shuddering and causing Kim, Adam and Kevin to dissolve into laughter once again.
“Well, what do you expect when you use your key to enter our apartment unannounced!” Jay retorts.
“It was three o’clock in the afternoon, Jay,” Will counters, “on the couch where everyone could see.”
“Yes, in our OWN APARTMENT!” Jay emphasises in an exasperated voice.
“And there was that one time, in the truck…” Will starts, but Jay proceeds to shove him playfully and he chuckles, deciding that’s probably enough for now and he doesn’t continue that particular story.
“The truck, really?!” Kim says.
“Yeah I’m never riding in the truck with you again,” Adam tells Jay, making a disgusted face.
“Don’t be a baby, Ruze,” Hailey retorts, “I bet you can’t say you’ve never done that. And Jay’s truck is much more spacious than most vehicles.”
Adam scoffs but doesn’t reply and Hailey looks at him suspiciously, but she’s interrupted from investigating further by Jay questioning her.
“Most vehicles makes it sound like you’ve done this more than once,” Jay points out, eyebrows raised, and Hailey’s face flushes red.
“Oh My God, you have,” he responds and then shakes his head. “Please don’t tell me anything else about that, I’m not sure I could take it!”
Jay runs a hand over his face whilst the others laugh at his discomfort.
“Don’t worry, Babe, the other times didn’t even come close to that night in the truck,” Hailey says with a wink, only causing the others to laugh even harder at Jay’s expression. It’s a mixture of disgust at thinking about her with anyone else, but also pride that she has basically told him, in front of all his friends, that he’s the best she’s ever had.
“But back to you Ruze,” Hailey says, drawing the attention away from her once again, “I have a way to settle this. Grab your drinks. Never have I ever had sex in a car.”
She and Jay both lift their drinks and take a sip, along with Kevin and Kim but Adam doesn’t take a drink.
“No way!” Jay says with a laugh as Adam looks suitably embarrassed.
“Will didn’t drink either,” Adam deflects.
“I don’t have a drink right now, so I’m going to leave you all guessing,” Will points out and Adam huffs.
“So who then?” Will says, pointing at Kim who has gone suspiciously pink.
“It’s not like I’ve only dated Adam!” Kim replies annoyed and also not really answering the question. “We’re not even together anymore, anyway!”
“Yeah, that’s a conversation that needs addressing another time,” Kev adds, causing Hailey and Jay to chuckle.
“It was Roman, wasn’t it.” Hailey says and the deep blush on Kim's cheeks confirms her answer.
“I wanna know how she does that,” Kev says, pointing at Hailey. “She always seems to figure stuff out before anyone else, It’s damn impressive!”
“Roman, seriously?” Adam says, incredulous. “You did it with him and not with me?”
“You never asked me to, Adam,” Kim replies, exasperated.
“So if I asked, you would?” Adam asks her, tentatively.
“Depends on the moment,” Kim replies in a non committal way.
“Ok,” Adam says, nodding and filing that information away for later whilst taking a sip of his drink.
“Not together, my ass,” Kev mutters, causing Will to chuckle and Jay to snort into his drink. They were the only two people close enough to hear what he had said though. Adam gives Kevin a suspicious look, but ultimately decides not to ask as Kev just grins back at him.
“In answer to your question, Kim,” Hailey says, steering the conversation back to safer topics. “Yes, legally my name is Hailey Halstead, but I use Upton for work. It would invoke too many unwanted questions otherwise!”
“But question time has now finished!” Jay tells them, with a finality to his tone, as he drinks the last of his beer, placing the empty bottle back on the table.
“That’s fair,” Kim replies. “And thank you both, really. Tonight has been fun.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it hasn’t been too bad,” Hailey replies. “Maybe I’ll decide to keep in touch,” she jokes.
“Nah, you’re stuck with us now,” Kevin says. “Sorry about Ruzek though, you could probably do without him,” he whispers loudly enough for the whole table to hear.
“Hey, Man!” Adam says. “That was uncalled for! Hailey and I are going to be best friends!”
“You can’t have her, Ruze, she’s already mine!” Jay replies, wrapping his arms around Hailey’s shoulders as she laughs at him.
“You’re such a possessive asshole sometimes, Jay!” Will says, shaking his head.
“Yeah, Jay, I am allowed to have more than one friend you know,” Hailey teases him and Jay responds with an over exaggerated pout.
“Fine,” he replies, pretending to sulk.
“Just don’t get in between him and Hailey when Jay has that look in his eyes,” Will teases and Jay hangs his head.
“Oh, we know all about his heart eyes,” Kim laughs.
“And now it’s really time to leave!” Jay says, making to get up. “Come on, Hails.”
Hailey laughs but grabs her jacket anyway. She's happy with how the evening ended up, but she’s also keen to get home and have some time alone with her husband.
“Thanks for tonight guys,” Hailey says as she gets up to follow Jay. He’s already wandered off saying goodbye to Will.
“No problem,” Kev replies, “It was good to hang out.”
“Yeah, we will definitely do this again.” Kim agrees and Hailey smiles back at them.
—-----------------------------------------------
Hailey walks into their apartment later that night with Jay following closely. He closes the door, making sure to turn the locks and then proceeds to wrap his arms around Hailey from behind before she even has a chance to remove her shoes. He places a kiss in her hair and rests his chin on her shoulder.
“Hey,” she says softly.
“Hey you,” he replies, kissing the exposed skin on her neck and shoulder.
Hailey closes her eyes in contentment, leaning back slightly into his touch.
“That wasn’t too bad in the end,” she says and Jay chuckles against her skin.
Hailey pulls away from Jay, moving to take off her jacket and shoes and Jay does the same, before she takes his hand and leads him to the sofa. They both collapse down onto the seat together, Jay leaning his head on the back of the couch and Hailey curling herself up into his side. He lifts his arm and wraps it around her, pulling her closer to him as she snuggles into his body. She loves this part of their relationship. The comfortable quiet. Just the two of them, no agenda, no disruptions. She can feel Jay’s fingers running up and down her arm, gently caressing her skin there. His touch both relaxes her and excites her. Leaving her with the desire for more, but she’s more than content with remaining where they are right now.
“You know, it’s not so bad being able to go out with you and spend time with people together,” she teases.
“Gee, thanks for that ringing endorsement, Hails,” he responds sarcastically and she giggles into his chest.
“It’s just been a bit of a change that’s all,” she tells him truthfully, “But a good one, I promise.” Hailey makes sure to pull back so that he can fully see her face and know that she means what she says.
“So we made the right decision?” He asks, wanting to confirm with her that she’s definitely happy with how things are now.
“We did,” she confirms, kissing him gently on the lips. “Like I said earlier, I don’t regret anything and I mean that. It’s all part of our story and I wouldn't change a thing.”
He pulls her close again and presses his lips to her temple.
“I just wanted to make sure that you know that just because we haven’t done everything in the traditional sense, it doesn’t change anything for me,” she says quietly. “I know Adam got under your skin about the whole engagement ring decision earlier.”
She can feel Jay’s body stiffen slightly next to her before he lets out a long sigh. He shifts, moving himself to get up off the couch causing Hailey to sit up, confused. She’s looking at him with a furrowed brow wanting to know what’s going on.
“Just hold on a sec,” he tells her before leaving the room in the direction of their bedroom.
Hailey’s mind is on full alert, running through all the possibilities of how Jay might be feeling right now. This isn’t the reaction she was hoping for. She wanted to reassure him, not upset him. Maybe she read the whole thing wrong. She’s still chastising herself when Jay returns and sits back on the couch next to her. His body is turned to face her, one leg curled up on the seat, so she mirrors his position, looking him face on.
“Jay, I’m sorry…” she begins to apologise but stops abruptly when she sees what he’s holding in his hand. Her heart starts beating so hard and fast she thinks it might just fly out of her chest. Surely that’s not what she thinks it might be, is it?! Jay’s holding a small square box that’s a deep shade of red velvet. Hailey looks between his face and the box a few times, and she’s pretty sure that she has a completely awestruck expression on her face right now because she watches his face morph into a big genuine smile.
“Of course I bought you a ring, Hailey,” he tells her, as if that sentence hasn’t just turned her whole world on its head! “There was no way that I wasn’t going to get to do this part. You’re it for me. Forever and always.”
Hailey can’t believe this is happening. She thinks that maybe she came home and went to bed and this whole thing is something she is dreaming up as a result of the conversations they had earlier in the evening. It’s a really good dream, but a dream all the same.
“But…” she says, “We’re already married?”
It sounds ridiculous the minute the words leave her mouth but her brain can’t comprehend what’s going on right now so forming sentences is not coming easily to her.
“That’s true,” Jay agrees. “I actually bought this before we got engaged. I knew right from the beginning that we had something special and the more time we spent together the more certain I became that I was going to marry you. I wanted forever with you and as much as that scared me, it also felt so right. Being with you, loving you is so easy, Hails. It’s like I was made to do it.”
Hailey can feel the tears cascading freely down her face. She wasn’t lying before, she really was perfectly happy with not having had an engagement ring. When they got married they decided on choosing something for each of them that they would wear to remind them of the day when they committed their lives to each other. Jay has his bracelet with the date of their wedding engraved onto it and Hailey wears a simple silver ring on a chain around her neck. Their whole story hasn't been conventional but it has been theirs, and theirs alone. But now, this moment is something that Hailey never could have imagined, even in her wildest dreams.
“When we talked together about what we wanted from the future, I realised that it wasn’t the time to give this to you at that point” Jay continues. “When I give you this ring, I never want you to take it off and I was willing to wait for that. I want this to be a symbol, a representation for everyone to see how much I love you and how much you love me. And if you’re still not ready for that, then I will wait, as long as it takes.”
Hailey reaches out and covers his hands with hers. She looks up at him through watery blue eyes and she is amazed once again by the love she sees residing in his own green ones. She swallows thickly, trying to get her emotions under control enough to speak.
“Before you show me that, can I say something,” she says and Jay nods.
“I only want to wear this if you have one too,” she tells him and a big genuine smile spreads across his face.
“Open it,” he tells her, offering her the box which she takes tentatively into her hands, like she’s holding something exceedingly precious.
Hailey opens the box and lets out a gasp, one hand coming up to cover her mouth in shock. Inside the box, there are two rings. A simple gold band to fit Jay and a beautiful delicate band for her. The gold metal strands on her ring intertwine and twist around the band and there are tiny diamonds encrusted into the woven golden tendrils all the way around. She’s speechless, utterly speechless. Jay couldn't have picked something more perfect if he tried!
“I wanted it to be something you were comfortable wearing to work so I didn’t want it to be big or bulky.” Jay explains, “I figured this was more your style anyway,” he adds with a smile.
“Jay…” Hailey says, but she can't quite get the words out to express just what this means to her. She swallows in an attempt to dislodge the lump in her throat. “This…Wow…just Wow!”
Jay chuckles.
“I’m guessing that’s a good speechless?” he asks tentatively.
“Defintely,” she replies with a shaky laugh.
“So what do you say, Hails? You ready to tell the whole world you’re married to me?”
Hailey can hear the nerves in Jay’s voice and she’s not surprised. This is a really big public step for their relationship but for once, she doesn’t have any reservations. She doesn’t need any time to think about it.
“YES!” she replies and she watches the tears well up in his eyes.
“Yes?” he repeats, almost in disbelief.
“One hundred percent, yes,” she confirms as she sees a couple of tears escape and run over Jay’s cheeks. She reaches out immediately to swipe them away with her thumb and crashes her lips into his. The kiss is wet and messy and full of everything that they can’t quite put into words right now and it couldn’t be more perfect.
When they break apart, Jay takes the ring out of the box and slides it onto her left hand ring finger. She then takes the one made for him, taking his left hand and sliding the ring onto his.
“I love you so much, Jay,” she says, not able to tear her gaze away from their ring adorned hands.
“I love you too, Hailey,” he replies softly.
“You know,” She says, “When you said earlier that you would make it up to me when we got home, I was expecting sex.”
Jay laughs out loud.
“Yeah, honestly, so was I!” he replies. “But this is ok too, right?”
“More than ok,” she responds with a wide smile looking him directly in the eye.
“Good,” he says quietly.
“More than good,” she says. “This is everything.”