Another Life

33

just quick, there is a time jump in the middle of this one of about a month, i'll explain more at the end :)

-
I stare at Jay. "Are you serious?"

He couldn't actually be doing that, after how hard he worked to take the exam in the first place, he couldn't seriously be turning down the promotion without even knowing if he passed the exam yet.

Jay nods his head, looking to me as if the answer was obvious. "Yes."

I close my eyes and shake my head, the information taking a beat to fully sink in and once it does I continue to stare in his direction. "Why?"

"Hailey, if it wasn't me leaving it was going to be you and I'm not gonna let them take you out of the unit just so I can be the sergeant. I'm happy where I am, the ranks don't mean squat to me, and you're happy where you are. I'd rather stay a detective and keep my place in the unit than rise up one but have to leave, or make you leave."

I sigh. "But you worked so hard and you deserve to be in charge."

He shrugs. "Intelligence was where I wanted to go, and you love it there, I love it there. I don't want to be put in charge anywhere else, but more importantly I don't want you to be put somewhere else."

"Will you at least think about it before you do something rash?"

"I just told you I already made my wishes clear to Miller," he replies, making me lean back into the couch with a huff. "She said the same thing so I told her I'd give it a day to think it over, but I'm not changing my mind."

************

The following morning I barely saw Jay before he had to run out of the house, Voight had asked to see him urgently and I can only guess that word got to him through Miller on Jay's plan to decline the promotion. The time I did see him I spent it trying to convince Jay to just think it over once more but like every time that fell before it, he used the same argument and then went off into another room when we both started to get frustrated with each other.

Because Voight was taking to Jay it meant that the unit wasn't at work - not currently anyway - which meant I was able to have Kim over to talk with her, get her opinion on the matter, as well as Will, who was there to give me advice on handling Jay.

"He really said that?" Will asks and I hum. "Like actually said he'd decline the promotion if he was offered it?"

"He's such a dumbass." Kim mumbles.

"I can see why he did it." Will says at the same time as Kim and it makes me furrow my eyebrows together in his direction, Kim giving him a very similar look. He shrugs. "He's being selfless, got his heart of his sleeve. It's classic Jay, and yeah it's infuriating but he's looking out for you, Hailey, he's got your best interest in mind. He's actually only doing it so you don't have to transfer out."

I sigh, looking around the room for a beat. "I just wish he'd listen to me, think about it some more, but he's dead-set on this after a second of thought. I don't want him to do something he's gonna regret and he was genuinely excited about the idea of being a sergeant, after the initial panic."

Will leans into the chair with a nod. "And that's even more classic Jay, not listening to a word you say. How do you think he ended up with so many bullet holes?"