Three Years and One Lifetime

17

A/N: I'm baaaaaack! Those of you still here: thanks for sticking around and a special thank you to everyone for 8k reads!!! Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to write on my trip but I did brainstorm some new plot ideas for future fanfictions ;) But first, let's finish this one shall we? This is a short chapter, but it'll get us on track for the last part of this story.

"Hey, is Jaiyana okay?" Voight asks as soon as Jay walks into the bullpen. 

"Yeah, the doctor said she'll be fine and Hailey's with her" he says. "I still can't help but worry though" he admits.

"There's no such thing as not worrying, man. I remember when Brayden got sick for the first time. I watched him sleep for two nights straight" Adam confesses. 

"True story" confirms Kim. "Don't do that" she advises. 

Jay cracks a smile in response. "Ok, I won't" he assures. 

"If anything changes, you have my permission to leave. Just give me a quick heads up" Voight offers.

"Thanks Sarge" Jay says, grateful for his understanding.

"Right, let's get to work. We have a case to solve" Voight announces, gesturing towards the board.

...

It's probably a good thing today's case was so intense. It distracted him enough that he only picked up his phone a few times throughout the day to check for Hailey's updates. 

Jay returns to a quiet home that evening and immediately tip toes down the hallway to Jaiyana's room. He finds her fast asleep, tiny body sprawled out over the bed and mouth hanging slightly open. He presses a gentle kiss to her forehead and brushes back her hair, sighing in relief when he finds her skin slightly cooler than it was this morning.

He's preparing to enter the bathroom to shower when he notices the soft light behind the closed door escaping through the small gap at the bottom. He knocks gently. 

"Hailey?" he asks, voice quiet to avoid waking Jaiyana. 

"Yeah?" she croaks out, voice weak. "You can come in...I promise it's safe" she assures, and he can hear the smile in her voice despite sensing something is off.  

He cracks open the door to a puff of hot steam, revealing Hailey completely submerged in Jaiyana's bubble bath. Her skin is flushed bright red and he can clearly tell she's sick.

"Jeez Hailey, it's way too hot in here! You gotta get out before you give yourself brain damage."

He quickly grabs a large fluffy towel from the shelf and hangs it on a hook beside the bath. 

"I'm going to get you some tylenol and water. You get dried off and dressed, okay?"

"Fine" she relents, knowing it's no use arguing against him right now. 

He sets some water and tylenol on her bedside table and goes to his own room to change before returning to sit on her bed, leaning against the headboard, waiting for her return. His shower can wait. All that matters now is making sure she's okay. 

He hears the door open and watches as she steps out of the steam, damp hair in a messy bun, cheeks pink and eyes glassy. Her arms are wrapped around the front of her body, trying to keep the heat in despite it being the middle of summer. 

Without a word, she climbs onto the bed and sits next to him, head resting sleepily on his shoulder. 

"Come on, you need to take some medicine" he reminds her before she falls asleep.

She complies, swallowing a dose of tylenol and half a cup of water before settling back against him with a sigh.

"Have you taken a temperature?" he asks.

"I'm fine, really" she lies. "I just need to sleep it off."

During their time as partners, Jay has never seen her this sick. It's quite obvious that she's most certainly not fine. 

"You cover well, but I got eyes, Hailey."

She smiles a little, remembering when she said those words to him years ago.

"I hate it when you're sick" he says. Or injured, he thinks, remembering the multiple times she'd been injured on duty. "I hate seeing you in pain."

"Labor would've been a real bitch for you then" she mumbles.

He immediately freezes, mind inundated with images. Hailey heavily pregnant, Hailey sweating and crying out in pain, reaching for a hand that should be his but isn't.

His hand drifts down shakily and settles on her lower abdomen. 

"You okay?" she asks, sounding sleepy yet more alert and more herself.

"You grew our baby here" he whispers.

He hears her swallow and imagines he's probably left her speechless with his random emotional observation. Now probably isn't the time, but there's something about the intimate quiet setting of the darkened room that has him opening up. 

"I picture you pregnant sometimes" he confesses. "When I do, you always look so sad...I hate that." He hates that that's the image his mind pictures when he thinks about something so special. He hates that he's the reason she would've been sad in the first place.

"Jay" she breathes "I wasn't" she assures. "Well I was sad, but not always. I loved her so much, even before she was born" she tells him, placing her hand on top of his. "The love I experienced, that I still experience, it makes it all worth it."

I still should've been there, he thinks.

"Jay you've got to stop blaming yourself" she says, turning to look him in the eye, sensing his thoughts. "Yes it was hard, but it was worth it to get to where we are today. I've already forgiven what happened, but you need to as well if we're going to move onto the next chapter of our lives."

He nods and she squeezes his hand in response. 

"Goodnight Hailey" he whispers, shifting forward to get up. They've been getting closer, but he's still careful about not pushing her. While they've slept in the same bed before, it's previously been with their daughter between them.

Just as he's about to stand, she reaches out and grabs his wrist. 

"Stay?" 

One word, yet so much meaning.

"Ok" he whispers, and climbs back in to lay down next to her.

After a while, her eyes close and her breaths become long and even. He allows himself to relax a little.

Those words from earlier don't even fully sink in until he's on the verge of sleep himself. 

The next chapter. 

Smiling, he drifts off to sleep.