Present Day
There was a muffled voice, a voice Jay knew, but for some reason one he couldn't put a name to. He tried to open his eyes, to locate the person so he could see who it was, but his body refused to obey. It was like a surreal dream; he would focus on a voice, only to catch a word before it was gone again. He would feel a weight on him, something on his back, his hair, his neck, but then he felt nothing. Sometimes he would feel a shot of pain but a second later it was gone. Jay tried to latch onto the feelings, tried to trust what his senses were telling him, but he had no idea what was real anymore.
It was only when he felt something pushing down hard on his side that he become lucid for more than a few seconds. He screamed out in pain at the sensation, finally managing to open his eyes so he could locate the source. That's when he saw Adam, and suddenly he could place more of the hints his body had been giving him. Adam's arm around him, holding him close as his other hand covered the wound with a towel, or maybe a shirt or a cloth? Jay wasn't sure. All he knew was that it had already been covered in his blood.
"Jay, it's okay. You're gonna be okay, man. They're on their way."
Jay felt a scratch in his throat like he wanted to laugh, but his body refused to make the sound. He didn't know much right now but he did know one thing for certain; he was not going to be okay, not after all of this.
"Come on, man, I need you to stay with me. You gotta keep your eyes open, you know, focus on my beautiful face."
Adam was doing his best, doing what they had been trained to do. You had to keep the person awake, had to keep them talking, but it was too much. So as much as Adam pleaded with him, in the end Jay closed his eyes and returned to the hazy dream from before. He still caught the odd word, Upton…Clarke…Hailey, but he couldn't feel anything anymore. So he focused on the last word as his brain conjured up some images of the start of the undercover operation. For some reason memories were much easier to concentrate on than the real world.
Two Months Ago
"Wow," Hailey said as soon as she stepped through the door.
"Yeah." Jay shut the door and took in the foyer of their new home. Her assessment was spot on. "Ever feel like we're in the wrong line of work?"
"I do now."
She dropped her bag to the floor and walked further into the house as Jay did another sweep of the hall. The decor and artwork wasn't really their style, but it certainly screamed money, even to his untrained eye, and that was exactly what they needed. Their wealth had to be on full display at all times and if this was the first impression people got, Jay could only imagine what the rest of the place was like.
He set his bag down on the floor next to Hailey's and headed into the first room on the right. It was a large dining room with a bar, piano, and dining table for eight people based on the number of chairs surrounding it. Again the decor was not something he would have chosen, but he spent less time looking at it as he moved over to Hailey who was inspecting the bar.
"Ever tried this?" she asked, holding up a bottle of whiskey which cost at least four hundred dollars.
He shook his head, he'd certainly looked at it once or twice, but had never been able to justify the cost to himself. "You?"
"Once." She put the bottle back and turned to face him. "Maybe we should test it later. For research purposes."
He bobbed his head, they could probably justify it to the FBI. "I like the way you think."
"I know." She flashed him a smile before walking towards the door as Jay found himself just watching her. This was a serious operation, and it would be hard for both of them at times, but he would do his best to keep a smile on her face when they were alone because he really did love seeing her smile, especially when it was directed at him. "You coming?"
"Yeah." He headed into the kitchen at the back of the house where Hailey was already looking around. It was significantly larger than either of theirs. In fact Jay was sure his whole apartment could fit into the two rooms they had seen so far.
"Fully stocked too," Hailey said as she closed the door to the refrigerator.
"Better than the last time we did this," he said, thinking back to when she had gone undercover to catch Booth.
They had been the ones to carry in the boxes and setup the home to give it the right look. Hailey had been the one to go shopping and stock the fridge with essentials. And then there was the brown water coming from the taps in the dingy apartment which was a far cry from the crystal-clear water coming from the ones in this place.
"You seen the garden?" he asked as he shut off the taps and moved around the island counter to the full-sized back windows.
"Yep," she told him, moving back in the direction they had come from as Jay looked out into the garden.
There was a deck with a table and BBQ setup in front of him and then steps down to a large grassy area. He imagined it was the perfect family home. Easy for parents to sit out back and watch the kids as they played.
"Okay. You need to see this," Hailey called out as Jay pulled his eyes away from the garden and went in search of her.
He caught up to her in one of the other rooms off of the entryway. She was standing on the opposite side of a pool table, smiling at him.
"Well, I think it's safe to say Ryan has great taste," he said.
She chuckled, shaking her head slightly. "You see I think Jen was really the one who picked it out while-"
"Ryan made all the money to pay for it."
"Uh, who says Jen isn't the brains behind the whole thing?" Hailey asked as she moved round to stand closer to him. She was challenging him but he could see her biting back her smile. "I mean I think Ryan's just the dumb, pretty muscle in this operation."
Jay couldn't hold back the grin, knowing she hadn't thought through the words properly. "Did you just call me pretty?"
She paused for a moment before brushing past him. "I also called you dumb."
It was true, but that was not the part Jay was focused on as he followed her again. She headed back into the hall and then into the only downstairs room they had yet to explore. It was a large lounge; an L shaped leather couch in the center pointed at what was effectively a home cinema unit and Jay could not take his eyes off of it. It was perfect. As soon as he moved to a big enough place, this was exactly what he wanted, because while he had considered it many times, it really wouldn't fit in his apartment right now.
After a few more moments of staring at it and trying to work out just how big the screen was, he felt Hailey's hand under his chin, gently pushing his mouth closed. "Thought you were about to start drooling."
He met her eyes for a second, noting the smirk, before she headed off towards the stairs. He considered saying something in response but in the end he turned back to take one more look around the living room as the whole situation started to sink in further. When Voight had said the house next door to Damien's had come up for sale and the feds wanted to try a new tactic to get to him, Jay hadn't realised just how nice a place they would get. And while they had a job to do, there was no harm in taking advantage of some of the perks that came with a place like this.
"Oh man."
Jay heard Hailey's call from upstairs and hurried to catch up to her. Given the state of the downstairs he could only imagine what the upstairs was like. He expected her to be in the master bedroom because surely that thing would be incredible, but instead he found her looking into a home gym room.
"And there you were thinking you'd miss the gym today."
He had mentioned it once this morning during a gap in their briefing from the feds. It had been playful banter, her asking what great plans he'd had for his day off and him making up some ridiculous stuff before being honest about his gym plans. She had teased him about it, saying he'd have to find another way to work off his excess energy, which had caused some inappropriate thoughts to spring to mind, before the briefing began again.
"What do you think? Good enough?"
"Yeah," he muttered as he walked around the equipment. All of it was top of the line stuff and looked barely used. "This is insane."
"Definitely worse places to end up," Hailey said as she inspected some of the machines.
He agreed before heading out of the room, deciding to have a look at the master bedroom. Given the size of this place, he assumed all of the bedrooms would be more than enough for either of them, but he was still curious as to what the master was like.
"Well this is just ridiculous," Hailey said as she came to a halt next to him, causing Jay to nod.
The thing was triple the size of his bedroom and the en-suite was just as ludicrous. Two sinks, a jacuzzi tub, a separate walk-in shower. Surely this was more than anyone would ever need, it was certainly more than he needed. He was about to offer it to Hailey, knowing he would be happy in any of the other bedrooms, but she spoke first.
"I'll play you for it." She must have noticed the skepticism on his face because she continued. "What? They said he was out for the day so we can't run into him until tomorrow. May as well play some pool and have some fun while we have some down time. Unless you're too worried about losing to me again? I mean this would make it three times in a row."
"Let's go."
Unpacking the small wardrobe he had brought could wait until he knew which room he was staying in because even though he wasn't fussed about the room itself, he really didn't want to lose to her again. She had already told him that he still owed her dinner and that being undercover didn't wipe the slate clean, which he had protested about but really didn't mind in the slightest. If anything, the thing he minded most was having to act professional for however long this thing took. They had been getting closer recently, spending more time together with dinners, drinks, chats, or anything else they felt like. Yet neither of them had taken it any further than that. There had been a little more touching sure, a brush of a hand or an arm, and when they ended up on the couch at the end of a long day they sat closer than before, but that was as far as it had gone.
"Babe." Jay froze before hearing Hailey's soft laugh as she held out a pool cue to him. "I thought it might be a good idea to practice a few things since we didn't get much time earlier. And given how terrified you-"
"Not terrified, just unexpected." If they had been around other people his reaction would have been completely different, but she did have a point. They hadn't had much time to practice. So he moved closer and took hold of the pool cue, letting his hand linger next to hers. "You're far too cute to be terrifying, Jennifer Anne Quinn."
He was sure he saw a slight blush as she let go of the cue to him. "Very smooth, Ryan Quinn."
"Think you missed a name there." She was still smiling but he could see the frustration too. "Begins with a Ja-"
"Jacob. Ryan Jacob Quinn. I totally knew that."
"Uh huh, sure you did, babe," he said as he moved round and grabbed the cue ball. "For that I'm starting."
Hailey just nodded, unable to suppress the grin on her face even though she was clearly trying to. It was a small victory but Jay would take it. He wasn't sure how the game would go since they were both decent at pool, but he knew it might be one of the last times they could really let loose and not have to keep their guard up, so he planned to make the most of it.
It seemed Hailey had similar ideas in mind as they quizzed each other while playing the game. There was bragging from both sides as they potted shots and remembered obscure details about their backstory, but it was the slight flirting Jay enjoyed the most. There was one shot when Hailey had run her hand down his back to distract him, and another when he had leaned in close at the last second and whispered something into her ear. They had never been so forward before but playing Ryan and Jennifer, who were newly married and madly in love, meant the lines were more blurred than usual, and anything Jay and Hailey weren't ready for could easily be brushed off as their alter egos.
It didn't happen though, if anything they both seemed to enjoy having the excuse to be bolder with each other whilst still keeping it professional. Due to the quizzing and distractions provided by both sides, the game went on for the best part of an hour, but in the end Jay emerged victorious.
"Well it looks like my losing streak is over," he said, keeping his eyes on Hailey who was busy studying the table.
"For now," she said when she looked up to him. "But you still owe me dinner tonight."
"Really?"
"Why not? It will be a good way to settle in."
"Alright." She had a point and it would be a good way to ease into their characters. "We could head out in an hour or two, but first I need to go and unpack my room."
He purposely flashed her a smile at that point, gaining the desired reaction as she tried desperately to look annoyed.
"Well in that case I'm gonna take a shower." She walked past him before his brain managed to come up with a witty response.
In the end he just picked up his bag and headed upstairs to unpack his room like he had said he would. Once it was done, he decided to make use of the home gym for a quick workout session. It always helped focus his mind and he knew he needed to rein in some of his current thoughts. After all they were here to do a job and they couldn't afford any slip ups.
"J-Ryan!" Hailey called out as Jay finished doing the top button of his shirt.
"Coming," he called back as he slipped his phone and wallet into his pocket before exiting the room.
He headed down the stairs to find Hailey waiting by the front door for him and looking incredible. Gone were the jeans and hoodie from earlier, now she was in a mid-length black dress which was making it extremely hard for him to have any coherent thoughts.
"And they say women take a long time to get ready, what were you doing?"
He forced himself to maintain eye contact as his brain reengaged. "I just got turned around in my room, so many-"
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered as she opened the front door and stepped outside, pulling on her coat.
"You look amazing by the way," he told her as he followed her outside and locked the door.
"Not so bad yourself," she said once he turned to face her.
They held each other's gaze for a few moments, both with small smiles directed at the other. Jay knew they should get going but he couldn't find the strength to move away until he heard the sound of a car slowing down.
They both turned to look at their neighbour's drive as the car came to a halt and two people exited the vehicle. Jay recognized them straight away, but he still felt a knot in his stomach as he watched Damien say something to his daughter before he looked over to them. As soon as they locked eyes, Jay forced himself to smile and wave. He wasn't going to initiate any further interaction right now because they hadn't planned for anything today, but a second later Damien was walking over to them, his daughter trailing slightly behind.
"Hey, you must be our new neighbours," Damien said, sticking his hand out.
"Yeah," Jay said as he shook it, channeling his new persona who was excited to meet his new neighbour and not completely repulsed by the man. "I'm Ryan. And this is Jen."
"His better half," Hailey said gaining a small laugh from Damien as he shook her hand.
"Well I'm Damien and this is my lovely daughter Katie." She exchanged pleasantries with them as Damien's phone started to go. "I'm really sorry but I've got to take this. It would be great to have you over later this week though so we can welcome you to the neighbourhood properly. Katie can sort out the details with you."
Damien didn't wait for an answer, instead flashing them a friendly smile before turning on his heels and walking away to his house. Jay looked at Katie for a few seconds, she seemed slightly annoyed at being turned into his secretary but was soon smiling again as she listened to Hailey who was playing up her character's overly friendly, chatty nature. Jay tried to focus on them and what they were saying, yet he found is eyes moving back to Damien. While they hadn't done anything wrong, and Damien clearly believed they were just his new neighbours, Jay wasn't thrilled about being blindsided like this.
Their intel had said he was gone for the day and wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Sure this was a small thing which was easily dealt with, but they really couldn't afford for their intel regarding this guy to be wrong because next time it might not be something so small. Next time it could be something serious, something that put someone's life at risk, and Jay didn't want to find out how that would end.
Present Day
Jay was brought back from the memory by the searing pain from his abdomen. He squinted open his eyes, trying to work out where he was and what was happening. Had Damien returned to finish him off properly? Had he been found? He remembered Adam and Kevin being there but was that real or his imagination?
"Jay. Jay, can you hear me?"
It sounded like Brett, but he wasn't sure. His eyes were struggling against the bright lights.
"Jay, man. Stay with us okay?"
That was Adam, it was definitely Adam wasn't it? He closed his eyes again, trying to make sense of the jumbled pieces of information his senses were telling him. He wasn't as cold anymore and the voices were real, he was sure of it. Or maybe he was just hallucinating as he bled out on the floor? They said people could have euphoric experiences as they died. Maybe that's what was happening to him? But then if he was hallucinating, he wouldn't be thinking about Brett or Adam or Kevin. No, there was only one person he would be thinking about.
He needed to understand if it was real, he needed to know what was happening. He opened his mouth, ready to ask, yet in the end he only managed one word. "Hailey."