"I'm so excited," Drew pulled Jay's hand toward the entrance to the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Jay laughed and hurried with him, "Slow down, Mom's still grabbing our lunch."
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Hailey called after them and shut the trunk of her car while slinging her backpack on.
Drew stopped and waited for her, impatiently tapping his foot, "Come on."
"Oh hush you," Hailey caught up to them and kissed his head, "So bossy."
Jay chuckled and put his free arm around her shoulder, "Maybe if you weren't slow, someone wouldn't be bossy."
Hailey gasped and lightly smacked his chest, "Jay!"
"It's true," Drew bounced as he walked.
"Kidding," Jay chuckled and kissed the side of her head, "Love you."
"Mhmm," Hailey rolled her eyes.
At the gate, Jay stepped forward and showed the email saying he'd just bought a membership for them. He thanked the cashier before walking in with Drew and Hailey.
"Birds first," Drew said and slipped his hand from Hailey's to run away.
"I swear to god," Jay mumbled and took off after him with Hailey, "We need one of those leashes."
Hailey shook her head and ran after them, stopping when Jay grabbed Drew.
"Dad, no," Drew pushed against Jay's arms.
"Hey, look at me," Jay turned Drew in his arms, "Look at me. Do not run from us ever."
Hailey turned Drew's chin to look him in the eyes, "We want you safe and running away from us in crowded places is not safe, understood?"
Drew sighed and stopped struggling in Jay's arms, "Fine."
"Thank you," Jay set him on the ground, "You need to hold one of our hands all day."
"But! I need to look at everything," Drew said, "Please!"
"Hold my hand for a little bit and then we'll see how things go, okay?" Hailey said and put her hand out.
Drew groaned, "I'm almost eight."
"And you run from us all the time," Jay stated, "Take her hand."
"Fine," Drew repeated under his breath and held Hailey's hand.
"Thank you," Hailey said softly and led him to the bird exhibit.
Jay sighed and ran a hand through his hair before following them.
Once inside, Hailey and Jay were shocked to find that Drew had every sign and description memorized from last time they were there months before. Drew seemed unfazed by their wide eyes and silence as he dragged Hailey along.
"Can I have your phone?" Drew asked after reading a sign about macaws, "I want a picture of the red macaw in my room."
"Sure," Jay breathed and passed his phone to him.
"Oh this is so good," Drew said while taking pictures, "Hey, look at me!" He smiled while taking a picture of Hailey and Jay then took one of himself. He handed Jay's phone back, "Will you print those for me?"
"Of course," Jay nodded and slipped his phone in his pocket.
Drew took Hailey's hand again and continued walking down the path.
"So he's literally a genius," Jay finally whispered in Hailey's ear.
"Yup," she slightly nodded.
"Wow, we could make money off of him," Jay said.
Hailey shoved his arm and shook her head.
Drew looked at them, "Why'd you do that?"
"Dad was being silly," Hailey shrugged and stood closer to Drew, "So teach me about this one."
"I think camels are kind of weird," Drew said.
"Why's that?" Jay asked. He tapped Hailey's arm and switched off holding hands with Drew.
Drew sighed at the feeling of Jay's hand slipping into his and twisted his own hand for a minute before giving in and saying, "Because they keep water in those humps. I don't like that. We should just skip them today."
"Speaking of water, want to pause for a little bit and have a snack?" Hailey pointed toward a bench.
"Sure," Drew jerked to run away, but was stopped by a swift tug from Jay.
"Watch it, bud," Jay sat with him on the bench.
"Copy," Drew mumbled.
Hailey laughed softly and passed him a bag of pretzels, "I have a water for you too."
"Thanks," Drew opened the bag, "Do you want some?" he held the bag out to Jay.
"I'm good," Jay took a water from Hailey, "Thanks."
"Mhmm," Hailey sat on Drew's other side and sipped her own water.
"Don't we know them?" Drew pointed across the path toward the penguin house.
Jay followed his gaze and chuckled, "Yes." He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out, "Atwater! Rojas!"
Kevin quickly turned around and dropped Vanessa's hand.
Hailey laughed and hid her mouth with the back of her hand.
Drew gasped and jumped up, "Mr. Kevin! Ms. Vanessa!"
"Hey," the smile fell from Jay's face and he gripped Drew's hand, "Sit."
"You're a fun sucker," Drew groaned and sat back down.
"Hey guys," Kevin said once they came over, "What's up, little man?" he held his fist out to Drew.
"My dad won't let me run anymore," Drew said while touching his fist to Kevin's.
Jay rolled his eyes and put his arm on the back of the bench, "What're you two up to?"
"Just hanging out," Vanessa said, "Enjoying this nice weather."
"Mm," Hailey smiled, "It is very nice."
"Well do you want to hang out with us?" Drew asked.
Kevin looked at Vanessa and shrugged, "Um."
"They don't have to," Hailey rubbed Drew's arms, "They're busy right now."
"It's not a date," Vanessa shook her head.
"I never said it was," Hailey smirked.
Vanessa blushed and put her hands in her pockets.
"Hailey and I used to hold hands all the time before we were dating," Jay winked.
Kevin glared at him, "You know what? We will join you."
"Yes," Drew whispered and ate another pretzel.
"You sure?" Hailey said softly.
"Yeah," Vanessa nodded, "It's not a date."
Jay laughed softly and put his water bottle back in Hailey's backpack.
"You all came prepared," Kevin said.
"We brought lunch," Drew passed the pretzels back to Hailey, "I'm ready to keep walking."
"Okay," Hailey put the pretzels away and stood, "Should we go see the penguins?"
"Obviously," Drew stood and took a step forward.
Jay clicked his tongue as he stood next to Kevin and held his hand out, "Drew Alexander."
Drew blushed, "That's my full name."
"I know," Jay nodded, "Hand."
"See?" Drew looked at Kevin and put his hand in Jay's, "Fun sucker."
"Be nice," Hailey whispered before they all started walking along the path.
"I'm trying to keep you safe," Jay squeezed Drew's hand.
"I just see things I like and I need to run," Drew lightly kicked the ground, "I need to."
"I know, but I don't like the idea of you just running through the zoo on your own," Jay said.
"Your dad's a fast runner," Kevin cut in, "But you're also a determined little boy who I know would easily slip away from all of us. None of us want to lose you, especially your parents."
Drew blushed and nodded slightly.
The three of them walked ahead into the building and Hailey slowed with Vanessa, "Want to tell me the truth now?"
Vanessa laughed softly, "Not much gets passed you."
"You two were holding hands," Hailey said.
"Yeah, it's a date," Vanessa stepped in the building behind Hailey, "Happy now?"
"I am," Hailey smiled, "I'm really happy for you."
"Thank you," Vanessa lightly squeezed Hailey's arm.
"Mom," Drew turned and waved at her, "Come on, you're missing all the fun!"
Hailey laughed softly and walked over to him, "What're we looking at?"
"That girl's feeding the penguins and it's the coolest thing ever," Drew pressed his free hand and forehead against the glass.
Jay winced, "Bud, that's dirty."
"I have hand sanitizer," Hailey said softly.
Jay sighed, "Fine."
"Look at Halstead being a dad," Kevin chuckled.
Jay smirked, "Whatever."
"Looks good on you," Kevin patted his back, "Just like I've said before."
"Thanks," Jay took a deep breath.
"Drew, I heard that there are baby animals in the farm section that we could hold, would you want to do that?" Vanessa asked as the five of them walked to the end of the park.
"Um," Drew bit his lip and scratched his arm.
"What's going on?" Hailey tilted his head up.
Drew glanced to Vanessa then whispered, "I don't think that's a good idea. I don't want to touch animals."
"Not even a bunny?" Jay took his water out of Hailey's backpack.
"Bunnies turn into rabbits and they have gigantic teeth," Drew shuddered, "No way."
"They won't hurt you," Hailey smiled, "Let's just go look. We don't have to hold them."
Drew chewed his lip, "Promise?"
"Pinky promise," Hailey loosed her grip on Drew's hand and held her pinky out.
Drew smiled a little and linked his pinky with hers, "Okay. We can look."
"Copy you," Hailey winked.
They walked over to where some workers were talking and holding baby bunnies and chickens.
"See? Now that's cute," Kevin said and introduced himself, "We'd like to hold some of your friends if that's okay."
"No, I don't," Drew stepped behind Hailey.
"I'll do it," Jay stepped into the small caged area.
"Dad," Drew shook his head.
"It's okay," Jay smiled.
Kevin nodded and sat next to him on a bench, "Look, I'll do it too."
"Mom, please," Drew gripped her shirt.
"I'll stay with you out here," Hailey reached back and squeezed his wrist.
"Okay," Drew mumbled.
Vanessa sat next to Kevin and happily took a baby bunny in her hands, "Drew, it's so soft."
Drew shook his head fast, "I can't."
"What about a baby duck?" Jay asked and accepted the bird in his hands.
Drew chewed his lip, "That's a bird."
"Yeah," Jay nodded, "Come a little closer to look at it."
"Only if you want to," Hailey said softly.
"Maybe just to look," Drew stepped forward.
Hailey smiled and set a hand on his back as they walked to stand next to Jay.
Jay held it out, "Look, bud. Want to touch it?"
"Wait, back it up," Drew said.
"Okay," Jay chuckled and looked to Hailey.
She sat next to him and lightly touched the soft feathers, "It's really cute."
"I'm loving the bunny Rojas has," Kevin said.
Drew looked over and smiled at the small grey bunny, "It's cute."
"Want to pet it?" Vanessa asked.
"Um, I don't know," Drew sat on Hailey's lap.
"No problem, I'll just cuddle him all by myself," Hailey smiled.
Drew stared at Jay's thumb stroking over the back of the duck. He took a deep breath and shakily reached forward with his pointer finger and just barely tapped the top of its head, "Oh!"
Hailey laughed softly, "What do you think?"
"I just touched a bird," Drew whispered, his eyes wide.
Jay chuckled, "Want to hold it?"
"That's pushing it," Drew said and touched the bird again. He giggled under his breath and leaned forward, "Hi duck. What's your name?"
"That one's Lemon," one of the workers said.
"Lemon," Drew repeated and nodded, "I like that. We should name the baby that."
Kevin smiled, "I like that. Little Lemon Halstead."
"No," Hailey shook her head and laughed, "We're not naming him Lemon."
"Bummer," Drew sighed, "I guess we'll just stick to Buzz."
"Oh that's even better," Kevin laughed.
Jay looked at him and chuckled, "We'll see."
"Buzz is a cute name," Vanessa nodded.
Hailey leaned behind Jay and Kevin to look at her, "For a bee," she hissed.
Vanessa laughed and continued petting the bunny.
"Mom, take a picture of me," Drew patted Hailey's arm, "I want to put it by my macaw picture."
"He knows what macaws are?" Kevin whispered.
"He knows everything," Jay whispered back, "He's a freaking genius."
"Okay, let's see," Hailey stood and opened her camera, "Want Dad in it?"
"Make it look like I'm holding the bird but really it's Dad," Drew said and lightly pulled Jay's arms closer to him.
"I'm holding the bird and I can't even be in the picture?" Jay asked.
"Not right now, I took a lot of pictures of you today," Drew smiled at Hailey.
Vanessa laughed, "Oh my god, I love you."
"He's something else," Hailey shook her head and showed Drew her screen, "Good?"
"Yeah, now Dad can be in it," Drew hugged Jay's arm tightly.
"You're lucky you're cute," Jay rolled his eyes and smiled at Hailey's phone.
"Perfect," Hailey moved over, "Okay you two," she waved her phone, "What do we think? Document the not date?"
Kevin winked at Vanessa, "Yeah, you can take a picture of us."
Vanessa laughed softly and blushed, "I'd like that."
"I'm so glad this has finally happened," Hailey said and took the picture, "I'll send it to you both."
"Thanks," Vanessa said and passed the bunny back.
"All done?" Jay asked Drew.
"Um," Drew rubbed his hands on his pants, "Yeah, I guess."
"Are you sure you don't want to hold it?" Hailey asked.
The duck quacked in Jay's hands and tried flapping its wings.
"Nope, no," Drew backed away, "I'm done."
"Okay, not a problem," Jay chuckled and passed the duck back, "Thank you so much."
Drew hurried out of the caged area and waited by the entryway, "I'm not running."
"Thank you," Hailey said and stood next to him, "Here, clean your hands please," she squirted hand sanitizer into his palms.
"Birds are pretty dirty," Drew nodded, "Dad, clean yourself."
"Gotcha," Jay took the hand sanitizer from Hailey, "Thanks."
"Hey, thank you guys for letting us tag along," Kevin said and accepted the hand sanitizer from Jay, "But I think we're going to take off and maybe get some food."
"Where at?" Drew asked, "Maybe we could go to."
"Sweetheart, I think we should let Kevin and Vanessa go on their own," Hailey set a hand on Drew's shoulder.
"But we let them join our family day," Drew said.
"And now I think they want to do their own thing," Jay lightly hit Kevin's back, "Then we can go do our own thing too, okay?"
"Okay," Drew breathed and held his hand out to Kevin, "Bye Mr. Kevin."
Kevin smiled and squatted down to shake Drew's hand, "Bye, little man. It was fun today."
Drew smiled back and turned to Vanessa, "Bye Ms. Vanessa. Thanks for hanging out with my mom. I think she needs girl time sometimes."
Vanessa laughed, "I'm always happy to hang out with your mom, but you're welcome."
Drew grabbed Hailey's hand, "I'm ready now."
Hailey quickly hugged Vanessa, "Text me when you get home," she whispered in her ear, "You owe me."
Vanessa smirked and shook her head, "I mean I guess that's fair."
"Very fair," Hailey nodded.
"You two were 'not dating' for like a year, maybe more," Vanessa said.
Kevin overheard and chuckled, "That's the truth," he looked at Drew, "Your mom and dad were probably the most frustrating couple in the world. They didn't know they were in love until literally everyone else in the world knew."
Drew smiled, "Really?"
"Hey, no, not now," Jay blushed, "Let's go."
"I want to hear about how you and Mom dated," Drew looked up at him.
"It's really a boring story," Hailey set her hands on Drew's shoulders, "See you both soon!" she led Drew and Jay away from the petting farm.
"Why can't I hear?" Drew asked.
"Maybe when you're older," Jay to his side and took his hand, "Come on, we'll go home and play video games."
"Fine, but next month when I turn eight, you're telling me," Drew said.
Hailey laughed softly and reached over his head to brush her hand through against the side of Jay's face, "We'll see."
Jay smiled at her and kissed her hand lightly.
"Remember when we first started dating and – stop that tickles – we tried to keep it a secret?"
"What're you getting at?"
"It was fun to have a secret. – Jay."
"Shh, he's going to hear you."
"We…should go downstairs."
"Too easy to get caught."
"He's just down the hall."
"You're talking way too much right now."
"I…sorry."
"Mhmm."
Hailey ran her hands over Jay's arms and tilted her head back, "But wait."
Jay groaned and pressed his face into her neck, "You're killing me. Please."
"I just wanted to say that we should have another secret," Hailey threaded her fingers through Jay's hair, "I liked sneaking around with you."
Jay kissed under her ear and rolled off of her, "What would even keep secret?"
"I don't know," Hailey propped herself up on her elbows.
Jay brushed her hair behind her ear, "You're so pretty."
Hailey blushed and smiled, "Thank you." She lowered herself back down and rested her head on his shoulder, intertwining their fingers and squeezing gently.
"You know what we could do?" Jay whispered.
"Hmm?" Hailey tilted her head up.
"I dare you to keep your hands off of me while we're at work this week," Jay said.
Hailey smiled a little, "Really?"
"Yeah, you won't be able to do it," Jay chuckled, "No kissing, no touching. Just like when we started dating."
"Does this apply to you too?" Hailey moved onto her side and slid her hand down his front.
"Would you like it to?" Jay smirked.
"Yes," Hailey set her hand on his waist.
"Then let's do it," Jay said, "This whole week at work we have to keep our hands to ourselves."
"And what does the winner get?" Hailey asked.
Jay breathed out and looked up at the ceiling, "Something good."
Hailey laughed softly and rubbed her thumb in small circles, "What if she chooses where we go for our babymoon?"
Jay turned to look at her, "What the hell's a babymoon and why did you say 'she?'"
Hailey winked and kissed his nose, "It's like a honeymoon, but before the baby is born just to hang out and celebrate…and I said 'she' because I'm going to win."
Jay smiled, "Okay, I like that, but I disagree – I'm definitely going to win."
"I guess we need to get some touching in before we start this bet then, right?" Hailey smirked.
"Now you're talking," Jay laughed and pulled her on top of him.
A/N: I hope you liked this one! It feels like it took me forever, but I'm happy with how it turned out :) What do you think and who do you think will win? ;)