A Family Affair

1

Will's wall just beside the door was scattered with so many photos, some of which Jay had never seen until his brother placed them in a frame against the structure of the apartment. There were a few from when they were kids, more than likely taken right in the middle of a bickering match between the two of them about who could pick the game this time, paired with ones taken more recently. There was a few of Will and Natalie, a lot of them containing their daughter Olivia too, snapshotting her life up until the present, and the odd few containing everyone, or at least almost everyone, from Gaffney.

One that stood out to Jay specifically was the one in the top corner, taken the day Olivia was born. It showed both Jay and Will along with the newborn girl, who was contently sleeping in her uncle's arms.

Jay had been at work the day his niece was born, however he couldn't really focus on anything other than his phone. Will had texted him in the very early hours of that morning saying that Nat had gone into labor and he had barely been able to keep his attention on anything for more than ten seconds because he found himself constantly checking his phone.

Hailey had to wave her hand in front of face one time because he had zoned out so much. She held in a laugh as Jay snapped back into reality, humming with alert. "Staring at your phone will not make her come any faster, so why not put it down and give it a rest for a few minutes?" She had said, gaining small smiles of amusement from everyone in the bullpen, including Voight.

But even after being called out in front of everyone, Jay still couldn't take his eyes off the tiny screen in his hand. Olivia wasn't born until hours after that, and it was as Hailey snapped and reached over Jay's shoulders to take the phone out of his hand did he get the text through from Will telling him the news.

Voight had told Jay and Hailey in that moment that they would be allowed to take the afternoon off to go to the hospital and meet the baby, if Jay promised that when he returned he would be fully focused on work.

So with that Jay had quickly grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and left the bullpen, leaving Hailey long behind him.

He remembers being weirdly so excited. Since their dad died, Jay and Will didn't have much, if any, family left. Their mom had died years before that, so it was just the two of them. But that day their small family grew just a little more, and now he had a niece.

"You look at those pictures every time you come over." Will's voice coming from just down the hall snaps Jay out from the pictures hanging on the wall.

Jay shrugs a little. "It's not like I can help it, it's the first thing you see when you walk in here," he remarks, following his brother through toward the kitchen, coming to a stop and leaning against the island. "I just can't believe it's been so long since that photo was taken, she's grown up so fast."

Will stiffles back a chuckle. "You can say that again."

Jay furrows his eyebrows. "Speaking of Liv, where is she?"

With his back turned to his brother, reaching into the cabinet over the counter for two glasses, Will responds almost immediately. "She's over at one of her friend's for the afternoon, it's easier to get her school stuff ready for tomorrow done that way too, when she's not here."

"I know that feeling," Jay says with a single laugh as he leans forward and takes the glass out of his brother's extended hand. "And maybe that's for the best too, that I'm here when she's not. I'm sure you would want to see her before tomorrow morning."

Despite not wanting to agree with him, Will knew deep down that Jay was right, if Olivia saw him here, she wouldn't leave her room until the morning, or dinner at the very earliest.