A/N: Hi! This one's based on 8x10 and is set at the end when Kim goes to talk to Adam. I hope you like it!
Jays lips were soft against Hailey's and she was lost in the feeling.
She was on the island of his kitchen with her legs wrapped around his waist pulling him as close as possible. She couldn't get enough.
The case with Adam's dad had been overwhelming and scary. She had truly feared for his life – Adam's life. She didn't want him getting physically hurt, but she also didn't want him being sent to jail. There was nothing she could do about the emotional pain she knew he had experienced.
Jay could tell she was off the second their clock was up and it was time to go home. A simple nod of his head and a raised eyebrow and she gave in. Going back to the quiet of her apartment wasn't something she needed right then. She needed Jay to ground her and remind her that the case was over, that Adam was safe, and that there was nothing else they could do about his father.
They had been spending many of their nights together at her place, so she was okay with following him home.
It didn't take long for his hands to find their way under her shirt caressing her skin in a way that made work a distant memory.
"Bed," Hailey breathed against Jay's lips. She worked at his belt and pulled his zipper down.
"But the counter," Jay smirked and trailed his mouth down her throat, "We've done the bed a lot…I want to try the counter."
Hailey laughed as she tilted her head back, "Fine."
"Fine," Jay mocked nipping her ear, "Way to sound enthusiastic." His lips worked at the spot above her collarbone he had grown to love the past couple months.
Hailey laughed harder through her moan and squeezed her legs around his waist, "Come back up here." She slipped her fingers through his short hair gently scratching the back of his neck.
"Bossy," Jay teased with a smile before kissing her, "Good?"
"So good." Hailey trailed her nails down his spine and tugged at his shirt.
Jay slowly lowered her back as far as she could go while still keeping a grip on her lower back. His other hand easily undid the button of her jeans and slipped inside.
"Jay," Hailey breathed, her hand snapping up to grip his bicep.
A phone rang breaking their concentration.
Jay swore under his breath. "You have got to be kidding me," he groaned. He dropped his forehead to her shoulder.
"Maybe it's spam," Hailey weakly suggested.
Jay pushed himself away from her and the island to walk over to their phones sitting on the counter closest to the door. "It's yours," he said while holding up her phone.
"Can we ignore it?" Hailey asked.
Jay chuckled and shook his head. "It's Kim," he passed it to her.
"Oh," Hailey cleared her throat. "Hey," she said when she answered the call.
"Hey, are you busy?" Kim asked.
Jay crossed his arms upon hearing the words through her phone.
"Not totally busy," Hailey bit her lip, "What's up?"
"I need to go talk to Adam," Kim said, "Can you come watch Makayla?"
"Of course," Hailey hopped off the counter, "Give me ten?"
"Thank you." Kim hung up the call.
Hailey looked to Jay and opened her mouth.
"Go," he kissed her forehead, "I'm good. Makayla's more important."
Hailey smiled slightly, "See you tomorrow?"
"Course," Jay nodded, "Have fun."
"Thank you," Hailey squeezed his hand, "Night."
"Goodnight." Jay held her hand until Hailey was too far away and she was out the door with a soft laugh.
Hailey lightly jogged through the cold toward her car. Once in and driving toward Kim's apartment, she let her mind wander over Jay's words.
"Makayla's more important."
After Kim took her in, they'd all taken turns going over to Kim's and reintroducing themselves to Makayla as people and not just as police officers. Hailey had brought her a couple Barbies while Jay had actually baked cookies for her. Hailey had thought it was incredibly sweet of him to even do; she probably found herself loving him even more that day.
Makayla took a little bit to warm up to them both, but she eventually relaxed while they were all playing Sorry together. She liked to send Jay back to 'start' even if he was nowhere near winning. He would just make a big stink of it making Makayla laugh. It warmed both Kim and Hailey's hearts – Kim's because she loved hearing Makayla's laugh and Hailey's because she loved watching Jay with kids.
Hailey parked her car outside of Kim's apartment building and headed up to take over for the night.
The door slowly opened after she knocked and Makayla stuck her head out, "Hi."
"Hi," Hailey smiled and bent down, "Can I come in?"
Makayla nodded and stepped back.
"Where's Kim?" Hailey asked while slipping her coat off and placing it on the rack.
"In the bathroom," Makayla said, "I'm eating ice-cream."
"Ice-cream?" Hailey looked over at the table where a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream was sitting, "That sounds yummy."
"It is," Makayla walked back to her seat and continued eating.
"Hey," Kim said as she came out of the hallway, "Thanks for coming."
"Of course," Hailey slipped her shoes off. She glanced back at Makayla then whispered, "You okay?"
Kim just shook her head and pulled her coat on.
Hailey turned so her back was to Makayla, "What's going on?"
"I don't know," Kim took a deep breath, "After she's finished with that ice-cream, can you have her brush her teeth and put her to bed."
"Yeah," Hailey said softly.
"Thanks," Kim fixed her hair so it wasn't stuck in her coat, "I…I don't know how long I'll be there, so are you okay with possibly staying the night?"
"Whatever you need," Hailey nodded.
Kim patted her arm then slipped around her to go to Makayla. She squatted next to her, "Hailey's going to put you to bed, okay? I'll see you in the morning."
Makayla hugged her tightly, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, kiddo," Kim smiled a little. She placed a quick kiss to Makayla's head before hurrying out of the apartment.
Hailey let out a breath and sat at the table across from Makayla, "So, how have you been?"
"Good," Makayla shrugged. She took a big bite of ice-cream and swung her feet while she ate.
Hailey smiled watching her and rested her chin on her palm.
"Kim's going to see Adam," Makayla said.
"Yeah," Hailey nodded, "She wants to make sure he's okay."
"Did he have a bad day at work?" Makayla asked.
"Um," Hailey took a deep breath. She caught sight of a framed picture of Kim, Adam, and Makayla on the wall. She hadn't noticed it last time she'd stopped over briefly, so Kim must have just hung it up. They were a tiny mash-up of a family, but they were a family. They all depended on each other.
Makayla was still patiently watching her, so Hailey took a deep breath, "He had a long day. It was a little rough."
"Rough," Makayla repeated and nodded, "I've had rough days."
Hailey sadly smiled, "I know."
Makayla finished her ice-cream and stood up to bring the bowl to the kitchen. She placed it in the sink before going down the hall to the bathroom.
Hailey tied her hair up in a ponytail before following her. She leaned against the doorway to watch Makayla brush her teeth. She had one of the toothbrushes that played songs while she brushed, so she danced around a little. Hailey laughed and waited for her to spit in the sink before grabbing a towel off the counter and gently wiping her face and shirt.
"Little messy, huh?" Hailey smiled.
Makayla nodded with a giggle, "Oops."
"Oops is right," Hailey laughed, "But at least you're all clean."
Makayla smiled wide, "Ready for bed!"
"Ready for bed," Hailey repeated and led her down to her room.
Makayla quickly buried herself within her covers and pulled all her stuffed animals around her.
"Oh, look what you have," Hailey said. She knelt next to the bed, "I love this platypus, that is adorable."
"It's my favorite," Makayla said and hugged it to her chest.
"I can tell why," Hailey smiled, "My favorite stuffed animal was a green dog."
Makayla laughed, "A green dog? Why?"
"Because it was so soft," Hailey said. She rested her arms on the mattress and rested her chin on her hands, "And I always wanted a dog, but my dad said we couldn't have one."
"I want a cat," Makayla turned on her side, "But Kim said it's not a good idea, so it makes me sad."
"Aw, it's okay," Hailey gently brushed her hand over Makayla's hair, "Kim works a lot and you go to school; it'd be hard to take care of a cat."
"I guess," Makayla sighed. She reached over with her platypus and touched Hailey's neck with its nose, "You're hurt."
Hailey's eyes widened, "What?"
Makayla again tapped her platypus to Hailey's neck, "You have a burn."
"Oh," Hailey felt her insides turn cold because she definitely hadn't burned herself – the mark Makayla was referring to was likely from Jay that night…or maybe even Jay the night before. She weakly laughed, "I guess I do."
"Kim burned her neck too," Makayla said, "She was trying to curl her hair and slipped."
"Really?" Hailey laughed softly, "What a coincidence."
"What's that?" Makayla asked.
"Hmm, a coincidence is like when two things happen at the same time, but you didn't plan on that happening," Hailey explained.
"Oh," Makayla nodded, "Okay."
"Are you tired?" Hailey tapped Makayla's nose.
Makayla giggled and yawned.
"I'll take that as a yes," Hailey laughed, "Goodnight, Makayla."
"Goodnight," Makayla tapped the platypus to Hailey's arm.
Hailey smiled at her and stood up.
She was walking out the door when Makayla asked, "Are you going to leave me home alone?"
Hailey felt her heart crack a little as she turned around. She shook her head, "I'm not going to leave you alone. I'll just be on the couch."
Makayla nodded and sank back into the pillows, "Okay."
"Okay," Hailey winked and waved. She turned off the lights before gently closing the door and making her way to the living room. She sighed as she dropped backwards onto the couch.
Part of her wanted to watch TV, but she really was enjoying the peace and quiet. She turned to lean against the arm of the couch and rested her head back on a pillow.
She smiled at the framed photo of the unit on the wall by the door that was in her line of vision – it was from early the year before in the summer, even Vanessa was in it. They were a family together all mixed up from different backgrounds but with a common goal in mind.
Hailey's eyes drifted toward Jay in the picture and blushed at the memory. She hadn't admitted to Vanessa, let alone herself, that she loved him at the time, though she was certain she did love him then even if it was just as her partner. Days after the picture was taken, she had needed to use his gun to save his life from a deadly infection – it was something she'd love to forget.
What she didn't want to ever forget was their first night together or how he'd make her laugh or even him in this apartment. Again, her mind thought back to that Saturday when they'd decided to come visit Kim and offer their help with Makayla.
Together as more than just friends and partners, they were rather fresh, so she was still completely enamored by everything he did. In all honesty, she didn't know if she'd ever not be enamored by him.
He was physically attractive, of course, but it was his heart and soul that she was truly attracted to. He was trustworthy and loyal and just a genuinely good person with a solid head on his shoulders. He made her feel safe at all times. She had no hesitations in placing her heart in his hands. He wouldn't ever break her.
She yawned and turned on her side on the couch to get comfortable. She spotted Makayla's backpack on the floor and smiled while closing her eyes.
She thought back to seeing Jay with kids – all the times he had softened and put on a calm, brave face so scared children could look at him like he was some superhero. He would never want to be considered a superhero, he'd say he was doing his job, but these kids would look at him as if he was Superman or Batman because to them he was. He was steady while carrying them out of a broken house littered with bullets. His hands were warm as he led them from an RV where they had been waiting to be sold.
For a moment, she remembered his slightly bruised knuckles after taking a woman to the airport to avoid her abusive husband. She had told him that night that she had wished someone like him would come in and put her father in his place. She had meant it. He would have been her Superman.
The front door opened and Hailey shot up on the couch to see Kim step inside.
"Hey," Hailey glanced at her phone and swung her feet off the couch, "That was really fast."
"He didn't want to talk," Kim avoided looking at her as she threw her coat off. She groaned and ran a hand through her hair.
She stood frozen in the doorway before quietly breaking into tears and lowering herself to the floor.
"Kim," Hailey whispered. She hurried over and sat next to her on the ground. Wrapping her arms around her, she said, "What happened?"
Kim shook her head, "I said, 'What did you do?' I didn't know…I…I just said it and-and it hurt him. I hurt him."
Hailey felt a little lost, but said nothing as Kim cried more. She just held her occasionally rubbing her back or stroking a hand over her hair.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but a soft creak of the floor made her look up to see Makayla standing in the hallway.
"Kim," she whispered, "Makayla's here."
Kim sniffled and wiped her face. She turned with a weak smile, "Hi."
"You're sad," Makayla stated.
"Yeah," Kim nodded, "I-I'm sad."
Makayla crossed the floor in a second and hugged Kim tightly.
Hailey sadly smiled and squeezed Makayla's shoulder.
Kim breathed deeply then slowly stood with Hailey's support and Makayla in her arms. She faced Hailey and said softly, "Thank you for coming over, I really appreciate it."
"I can stay the night," Hailey offered.
Kim shook her head, "I think I just want to lay in bed and cuddle this one. That okay with you, silly?"
Makayla nodded and tightened her grip on Kim.
"If you're sure," Hailey put a hand on Kim's arm.
"I'm sure," Kim blinked back tears and nodded.
"Okay," Hailey bit her lip. She gave one last arm squeeze to Kim before walking out.
Her walk down to her car was slow. She considered Kim a friend and she never liked when any of her friends were ever in any type of pain. But Kim needed her alone time right now with Makayla. Hailey understood that.
She also understood that she did not need alone time. She needed Jay.
Thinking about him with kids and how good he had always been to her made her heart ache for him.
She considered herself a strong, independent woman, but sometimes she just needed a hug and this was one of those times. She felt like she was on this new level with Jay where 'their thing' could be more than just a beer and a long talk – it could be physical comfort.
So she wasn't completely surprised when she somehow ended up in front of his building. She walked up to his apartment and knocked on the door. She did have a key, but it was getting late at night and she didn't feel like scaring him tonight.
Jay opened the door within seconds of her knocking. He had changed into a pair of sweatpants and had a hoodie haphazardly pulled on as well.
Hailey didn't wait for him to say anything to step into his apartment and right into his arms.
Jay seemed shocked for a moment then hugged her back.
Hailey sank into his embrace and breathed him in. He was comforting and just what she needed in that instant.
It wasn't that she was particularly sad or melancholy. She just wanted a hug. It had been a long, stressful case followed by an honestly heartbreaking moment at Kim's own apartment. She needed Jay.
He was always there to save her from those dark parts of the job and her life.
He was her Superman.