A Family Affair

4

It wasn't late when Jay got home, in fact it had only just gone four, however he can't shake the feeling of guilt about being late home. He had been caught up at work, finishing off some final paperwork for one of the cases Intelligence had solved this week. He was supposed to be done by two, or at least he thought he would have been done by two.

That was just one example of the many pieces of information Voight had refused to give up when handing the unit over three years ago into Jay's hands - exactly how much paperwork was to be signed after each and every case that came through their doors.

He found Hailey in the living room, sitting in the couch looking through something on her phone. She looked up when he greeted her as he walked toward the couch and leans over the back, putting a kiss to her temple.

As he rests his elbows against the back of the couch, leaning down to hold his weight in his arms, he gives his wife a wondering look. "How was your afternoon?" He questions.

She puts her phone down into her lap and turns her head to face him. "Very quiet." She responds with a small smile, making Jay furrow his eyebrows deeply.

"Where's Mae?"

Hailey gives his a concerned look, taking a breath to see if it dawns on him before she has to point out the obvious. "Jay, she's over at Kelly and Stella's for the play date that's been organized for weeks. You were there when we agreed to them having her after school."

The memory of that conversation in Molly's then flashes through his head, making him nod with realization. "Oh yeah."

She shifts her entire body toward him, her face still a little screwed up with confusion. "What is going on with you? You're really not yourself, normally you would never forget something like that."

Jay shakes his head, standing up straight and taking a few steps away from the couch. "Nothing, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired."

Hailey holds back an angry sigh. "Jay, please, I don't want to get pissed off, I don't want you to get pissed off, so will you just tell me what is going on before this becomes a problem?"

It had almost been a week since the whole ordeal with Will and Olivia went down, and up until now Jay still hadn't said anything to Hailey about what had transpired in the apartment. At first she allowed him to have his silence on the matter, but as more time went on she noticed how much not saying anything was affecting him, so she started pushing a bit more for him to tell her, which only really made the two of them get mad at each other.

Jay sighs, shrugging his shoulders. "There isn't anything to tell you, I'm fine, I swear."

Hailey huffs and turns her attention back on to her phone. She went to say something but stopped herself before the words could leave her mouth. He watches her from the corner of his eye and when she sees the fact her gaze was locked to her phone he waited a brief moment before walking back out the living room and toward the bathroom upstairs.

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

He had been the one that decided to go pick Macie up when it was time just before seven. The drive took about fifteen minutes and he pulled his truck up in front of Kelly and Stella's house just after the time he said he would be there.

He could already hear the noises coming from inside as he walked up the path, Mae's loud and infectious laughter causing a smile to grow on his face as he stopped in front of the door.

Stella answered, giving him a tired smile whilst trying to keep the youngest of the kids attached to her hip as she greeted him.

Jay gave a smile to Tara as he walked into the house before looking back up to Stella. "Where's my one?" He asks with a chuckle.