Making amends (An Upstead story)

Chapter 2

Jay and Hailey pull up at the police station after dropping off JJ at daycare. They walk into the police station, greet Platt, and buzz themselves up. When they reach the top of the stairs, they can see the team looking at them with uneasiness all over their faces. When Voight sees them walking towards their desks, looking confused, he calls them over to his office and closes the door behind them.

"Hey guys, I'm not sure how to tell you this, so I'm just gonna tell you what I know," Voight says with a concerned look in his eyes. Jay and Hailey share a worried look before turning their focus back to Voight. "I received a call this morning from another district, they told me that last week there has been a murder and that the murderer has taken the victim's daughter. The thing is, it was a domestic case, the victim is Olivia Brown, and they suspect that her husband Wayde Walker is the one who killed her. They think that after he killed Olivia, he might have taken Olivia's daughter. Because she might have seen something, or he took her for another disturbing reason." He says uneasily. He pauses and looks at Hailey, who heaved at hearing the name 'Olivia Brown'. Voight has been informed that Hailey is the biological mother of the missing girl but had decided not to tell them yet. Because he wanted Hailey to decide for herself whether or not she wants to tell him.

Jay looked at Hailey, Hailey has talked to him about her first daughter - Sky Hailey Joy Brown -, but they both thought she was safe. Jay gently strokes her back as he can see her eyes fill with tears. She clears her throat before speaking up, "Olivia Brown adopted my child about 13,5 years ago. What is the name of the missing child?" she asks with a trembling voice. "Her name is Sky Hailey Joy Brown," he says carefully, with concern all over his face. Voight continues, "Because it involves a child, I want to work this case. But if we take it, we need to be honest with the entire team. Are you okay with that?" Hailey nods, still looking down at her hands, trying to process what he just told her. "If you want to sit this one out, I will understand," he continues. Hailey looks up, with only hatred left in her eyes "oh hell no, Sarge, I wanna be there when we nail this son of a bitch." Voight nods in understanding and leaves the room to get the unit up to speed.

"Guys, gather up. We have a new case," Voight says as he grabs the whiteboard. Platt walks in with the files about the case and hands them to Voight. The team helps Voight put all the information on the whiteboard, including the dreadful pictures. He decides to put up the school picture of Sky on the opposite side of her mother's crime scene. He tells everybody to take a look at the diseased mother before he turns all of the dreadful pictures around, so now they can only see the white backside of them. He taps on Sky's and sighs, "I don't know who of you may or may not know it yet, but this is Hailey's daughter, so this one is personal," he says, staring at the picture. "I WANT THIS GUY TRACKED DOWN TODAY!" He ends up yelling as he snatches the picture of Wayde Walker off of the board. Holding it up to show everyone before smacking it down on one of the desks. He tells everybody what he wants them to do, then walks back into his office to grab his jacket. As he makes his way to the stairs, he lets the team know that he's gonna talk to the detectives who called earlier today.

In the meantime, Jay had been able to calm down Hailey. "I got your back, always. What's mine is yours, and vice versa, so let's get OUR daughter home safe, okay?" He says gently but explicitly. She looks at him, takes a deep breath, wipes her tears, and kisses him. "Thank you, you always know what to say. I love you," she says when she pulls away to look him in the eyes. "It's a talent, you know," he smirks at her trying to lighten the mood. She manages to return a small smile. "And I love you too, more than I ever thought I could love anyone," he adds as he pats her cheeks before kissing her forehead.

They stand up and walk out of Voight's office to join the team. Hailey is hesitant to look at the whiteboard at first but after taking a deep breath she does it anyway. She is surprised to see that many pictures have been turned over. But when she realizes why they are, she is relieved that she doesn't have to look at any horrible pictures. She takes Sky's picture off the board and looks at it for a moment before showing it to Jay. He had only seen Sky's picture from when she was one day old, as it's the only one Hailey has of Sky. "She is beautiful like her momma," he says as he looks at Hailey, who is back to feeling overwhelmed. She gives him a small (and proud) smile before her lip starts to tremble, and her eyes are filling up with tears again. They walk to the break room (Jay still holding onto Sky's picture) and sit down on the couch. Jay puts his arm around Hailey, who has started to cry. Hailey snuggles up into his chest and lets the tears roll down her cheeks as her mind wanders off.

*** 13,5 Years ago:
At the time, Hailey was only seventeen and still living with her abusive father. She wanted a better and safer life for her child and decided to give her up for adoption. She had been given a folder with names and information of possible adoptive parents and picked out a seemingly loving woman. Her own parents weren't there for her much at the time, but Olivia, her baby's adoptive mother, was though. Olivia was there the day Hailey went into labor. She held Hailey's hand and comforted her during the delivery. And even stayed with her for two more days at the hospital afterward. The first two days, they cared for the baby girl together. And while Olivia was bounding with both mother and baby, Hailey knew she had made the right choice, giving her child the loving home she wishes she would have herself.
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