20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Hailey was rushing around the next morning trying to do her hair and makeup, paint her nails, and organize herself for the wedding. As usual she slept in a little later than she planned and was pushing making it on time.

Rojas was yelling at her that Jay was in the driveway and that she better hurry up and get down here the ceremony was starting soon. Shit, Hailey muttered as she put the finishing touches on her outfit. She did a once over in the mirror as she heard Jay and Vanessa talking downstairs.

"I can't believe you fainted", Vanessa laughed as she teased him.

"Hey, it was a big needle, don't let Hailey downplay that", Jay chuckled back.

She made it almost to the bottom of the stairs before their heads turned to the sound of her heels clicking against the hardwood floors.

Jay did a sharp inhale as soon as he saw her, Hailey quite literally took his breath away. He couldn't believe his eyes, how stunning she looked, and that dress. The strapless navy floor length gown hugged her body in all of the right places, her hair gently pulled back in a bun with curls flowing out the side. And those red lips, wow, he accidentally muttered a little louder than he intended. Hailey didn't hear but Rojas definitely did. He shot her a don't you dare death stare. It was a polar opposite to her everyday, jeans-and-plaid-with-a-messy-ponytail look, that he also loved, but he could not take his eyes off of her.

Hailey watched as he stared at her silently, following his eye gaze as it travelled up and down her body, suddenly feeling very uncharacteristically self-conscious. His hand came up to cover the fact that his jaw was hanging wide open. She shyly tugged at her navy blue dress, trying to smooth it.

Vanessa stepped in, giddy over the fact that these two fools in love were just standing there, unable to form words for each other.

"Hailey, mi niña hermosa!" Vanessa exclaimed.

She grinned suspiciously, "What does that mean?"

"My beautiful girl", tenderly spilled out of Jay's mouth before he could control himself.

He meant it as a translation to what Rojas said, but the second it left his lips he realized that it was really what he wanted to tell Hailey in this moment anyways. He considered chickening out and making a joke to lighten the mood, but instead he held his smouldering gaze with Hailey's, challenging her, temporarily forgetting Vanessa was in the room at all.

His cheeks were a rosy colour now, Rojas couldn't believe her own ears and by the look on Hailey's face, neither could she.

The tension was so thick in their entryway Vanessa was sure she could have cut it with a knife. She watched for what felt like an hour, when in reality it was only a few seconds. But those few seconds told her everything she needed to know about her roommate and her partner. Jay and Hailey exchanging telling looks with each other, having a silent conversation of their own. She knew they were in love before, but this might have finally changed the tide, or at least got the ball rolling.

My beautiful girl almost set Hailey over the edge, even closer than that day in the hospital when she nearly came clean with Jay about how she felt. She watched him as he first looked embarrassed that he blurted that out, then shifted immediately to unwavering confidence. Maybe her feelings weren't so one-sided after all. It was subtle, but his tells were so obvious to her. The way that suit was bringing out the colour of his eyes, ones that were flickering with desire, how he was subtly biting his bottom lip. She was melting, and if Jay told her they should just skip the wedding and stay here the rest of the day she might have considered it.

But instead, she cleared her throat, smiling at both of them, thanking Vanessa for the compliment. "You clean up nice Jay", Hailey winked at him. He smiled back, knowing he had her, and not caring that she saw right through him in that moment. She knew, she had to know. Just as quick as the moment had occurred, in an instant it was gone, fleeting in time. But it was one that they would certainly re-visit, one day.

"And who would have thought, Jay a Spanish speaker?" Rojas was surprised and impressed.

"I have all sorts of secrets Vanessa", he smiled coyly at her.

"Mmmm, I bet you do", the young officer winked at him as she walked out the door first, allowing Jay and Hailey to have a little moment in private.

It was just the two of them hanging in their front hall now, Jay felt a bit frozen for a second before holding out an arm for Hailey to grab onto.

"A gentleman", she mused.

"What can I say Hails", he grinned back at her. "You look really nice", he whispered softly. Her smile went wide at that again, "You do too Jay", as she pulled his arm a little closer to her side.

Jay paused to open the passenger door of his truck for her. Vanessa had already hopped in the backseat.

They rode to the church together, laughing about 51's shenanigans yesterday. Kevin and Rojas had been at the scene and she had Hailey and Jay howling in the front over what happened.

"I mean it wasn't super funny at the time because we thought Cruz was really hurt, and the day before his wedding no less. But afterwards we had a good laugh about it. Hope their photographer is good at editing", she joked.

They pulled up and rushed into the church to find a seat, the rest of the team was already there and Vanessa had gone in a few minutes ahead with Kevin.

"Ready?" Jay asked as he caught Hailey staring into space.

"Hmm, ya let's find a spot", she smiled.

Since it was just the two of them, their entrance was even more obvious and watched by their co-workers and fellow first responders. Jay and Hailey walked up the aisle together, not linked at the arm, but close. Jay had his hand discreetly on her back, just barely touching, but it was there, guiding her along. They were smiling at each other, talking quietly so that only the other could hear.

"Wow okay Upstead", Kevin said under his breath, eyeing the two detectives up, looking like a powerful duo striding down the aisle.

"You should have seen what just went down at our house before this. I will remember the look on Jay's face forever when he saw Hailey in that dress, mark my words", Vanessa stressed, whispering to Kim and Adam too. Her eyes wide, and she mimicked fireworks exploding with her hands. They all chuckled at that, quickly turning around so that Hailey and Jay didn't catch them staring.

"You guys look great", Kim said, the rest of the unit agreeing, even Voight flashed them a smile of approval. Trudy was a bit further down sitting with Mouch, but she leaned over and pointed and smiled. "Matching", she mouthed at their navy combination and winked at Hailey. She gave her a devilish grin, shrugged her shoulders and waved back with Jay.

The ceremony was short and sweet, Joe and Chloe looked amazing together. They gathered afterwards for a few photos and then made their way to the reception hall for the after party. Hailey's feet were killing her already, she was quickly reminded why she never wore heels, but she was determined to stick it out.

Kelly Severide had the room in hysterics with his best man speech, Stella and Sylvie said a few words about Otis that had everyone teary-eyed. His presence was sorely missed today. They ended with a toast and kicked off the fun part of the night, the dance floor.

The women of 51 and the 21st were gathered in a group, waiting for Chloe to toss her bouquet. Hailey wasn't really taking it too seriously until she saw the flowers flying right at her, her inner competitive edge kicking in and snatching them from Brett's grasp.

"And Detective Hailey Upton snags the bouquet", Severide announced. "She won't break the law, but she WILL break your hearts, everyone give Upton a hand", Hailey was shaking her head at the Squad Lieutenant, bowing at the applause. Kelly flashed her a wink and not so discreetly looked in Jay's direction. She turned around, catching Jay smiling her way, she raised the bouquet at him, he clapped back at her in approval.

The team was sitting around a table having drinks together, catching up and sharing some old stories. Vanessa asking questions about everyone's past, she was fascinated by the intricate history of this unit. "You guys ever think about getting married?" She tossed out to the group, who she realized, were all "single" except for Trudy and well Voight, but that was a little different. She held eye contact extra long with Hailey and Jay.

Hailey smiled nervously, knowing a part of his past that Vanessa was unaware of.

"I was married once", Jay confessed to the rookie.

"Wait what. You were married?!" Vanessa asked wide-eyed, immediately looking to Hailey who did not seem surprised by this news, okay crisis averted, she thought.

"It was a long time ago, and short lived, during my not so great decision-making post Afghanistan", he explained. The team looked around at one another, surprised he was being this open in front of everyone, Voight and Trudy included. They all chuckled in response.

"Rojas, did I ever tell you about the time that I took Ruzek here to dinner with my dad and pretended he was my boyfriend?" Trudy blurted out, trying to divert the attention from a suddenly quiet Jay. He smiled in appreciation at her.

Half the people at the table nearly spat out their drink. Hailey couldn't stop laughing either, she could picture it now, must have been the strangest dinner date of all time.

"I forgot all about that", Kim was howling, Adam caught off guard by that, almost choking on his drink with laughter.

"Do I even want to know", Voight warned jokingly.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to Hank", Trudy replied back, causing everyone at the table erupt in laughter at their Sergeants' banter.

Later on in the night, the team was actively enjoying the open bar, swooned over the first dance, and participated in the Macarena together.

Hailey was sitting down at a table with Kim and Vanessa, who had just come back from the dance floor with none other than Jay Halstead himself, who had loosened up and taken his tie off, leaving the top button of his dress shirt undone. A rare carefree side of Jay sneaking out tonight.

"You know he wants to dance with you Hailey", Vanessa said referring to Jay.

"What, no he doesn't. I don't dance V", Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Hailey you will share a bed half naked with that man but you won't dance with him?" Rojas was testing the waters now, Kim once again was caught with her mouth wide open.

Hailey shot her roommate a cheeky grin, "That's…not the same thing", was the only rebuttal she could come up with. Kim just continued to stare wide-eyed, Hailey laughing at her confusion, and maybe her fear to even ask what that meant.

And as luck had it, the next song that played was a slow song. She watched as Kelly and Stella made their way to the dance floor surrounded by Joe and Chloe, Mouch and Trudy, even Kim and Adam. She didn't notice Jay sneak up until he was standing right in front of her.

He extended a hand to his partner, who glanced sceptically at him before grabbing it and pulling herself out of her seat.

"Come on Hails, I know you have two left feet but humour me. Follow my lead", he smiled as she gently punched his arm.

They made their way to the dance floor, feeling a few eyes on them. Suddenly, Hailey didn't really care that much, they were at a wedding, enjoying their time together. It was an innocent dance between two partners.

She thought she would be more nervous, but instead she felt relaxed, calm, as if this was already second nature to them. Even in heels she still only came up to just below his chin. Perfect height to nearly rest her chin on his shoulder, to fit between the crook of his neck. She was so close now she could smell his cologne, hear his breath in her ear and feel the vibration from his voice, sending a tickle down her spine. Jay spent a minute inhaling her shampoo, the lavender scent he had grown so accustom to, one that often lingered behind on his pillow days after she had spent the night. He had his right hand against the small of her back, taking time to appreciate the feeling of the smooth satin fabric beneath his fingertips. His left hand was holding up her right one, using it to guide them along. After they settled in and he felt her nerves come down he decided to break out a few of his signature moves. She was surprised at first when he twirled her around but quickly found their rhythm again like they did in most things.

They didn't realize that a few pairs of eyes watching them turned into almost the entire room, seemingly mesmerized by either realizing there was a spark between Hailey and Jay for the first time or getting satisfaction from witnessing it unravel so publicly.

Hailey's eyes stayed on his the majority of the time, their movements fluid, natural and trusting with one another. Like most things and especially in this moment right now, Jay was her anchor, an everyday fixture of her existence. Keeping her grounded in all the corners of her life, making her feel confident, safe and secure. An extension of herself through all the ups and downs of their chaotic professional and personal worlds.

The song ended, the two of them pausing for an extra minute to soak in and enjoy the rare excuse to display public affection for one another before returning to their guarded selves. They parted ways, their hands lingering for a half-second more before re-joining their group.

"Want another drink?" Jay asked as he pointed towards the bar, as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened.

"Sure, thanks", Hailey smiled as she sat down with the ladies of the 21st.

They were silent for a minute, watching Hailey's expression. None of this seemed new or earth shattering for her, but to them, they had thoughts.

"What?!" She asked with a grin on her face.

"That was…", Kim started, struggling to find the right word.

"In-ti-mate", Vanessa stressed, Kim immediately nodding in agreement.

Hailey rolled her eyes and smiled, "You guys are blowing this out of proportion. He would have done the same with either of you", she said not really believing her own words, and by the looks of her friends faces neither did they.

"I see why you didn't want to dance with him Hailey. I am hot and bothered by what I just saw, I can't imagine you", Rojas teased.

"Vanessa", she hissed as she watched Jay approach their table with a round of drinks for everyone.

"Ladies", he smiled at the group, didn't take him being a detective to figure out that they had most likely just been discussing his first dance with Hailey.

"Thanks Jay", they replied, Hailey giving them all death glares to change the subject.

When it was time to leave later that night, one by one Intelligence filed, more like stumbled, out of the reception hall. Ruzek, Kevin and Jay had all been into the whisky and were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Perks of an open bar, and of the cigars Kevin brought with him to share with the guys. Hailey hated smoking but couldn't help but laugh at the three of them all in a circle in their fancy suits, looking like an old boys club.

"I feel like I could run a marathon right now", Jay was full of energy, circling the group in the parking lot.

Kim laughed. "Hmm, something tells me you aren't going to be feeling that way tomorrow."

"Guaranteed in bed with a headache all day", Hailey whispered to Vanessa.

They split up into Uber's and said their good-byes for the night.

Jay was left standing behind with Hailey and Vanessa, waiting for their ride. He was feeling bold so he moved behind his partner and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"So, your place or mine?" He said in a low husky voice. Hailey looked back, realizing how close his face was to hers, eyeing him up to get a read on the meaning behind that.

Hailey's eyes widened, this was drunk Jay talking. But probably his most sobering thought, her own too if she was being honest. She felt a wave of emotions, and warmth spread across her body.

He held his breath, he knew that was very forward of him, even in his current state. He half expected her to slap him. But he was even more pleasantly surprised by her response.

"Mine. Your bed sucks", she winked and motioned for him to join her in the backseat.

Quarantine has really brought out the writer in me….that and finally being able to breathe after finishing up the school year! Any other grad students out there wondering what the future might look like? Especially in the healthcare world… Anyways I digress. Using this time to write some happiness into our One Chicago universe. Can't quite bring myself to write Hailey leaving yet lol so couldn't help myself with this one and why wait to post! As usual thank you for all the wonderful comments, I love reading feedback on my stories and am so glad to see so many of you loving the updates. I've been reading a lot of other Upstead stories and enjoying all the creativity out there right now from you guys too keep it up! Enjoy -K