Happy Wednesday! I can't believe we are a week away from the premier and the end of this fic. It's a bittersweet feeling. This hiatus fic has been such a good outlet for me and I'm so happy you've enjoyed it too. A couple more chapters to go and we will be wrapping it up.

Rated [M] for smutty goodness at the end.

Jay

"Hey."

I peek into Hailey's hospital room and she is in the middle of a physical therapy session. She is sitting up with her legs dangling over the edge of the bed, holding 5-pound weights in each hand. I watch her face twists every time she lifts her left arm up and down. Even when she spots me and a smile breaks open across her face, it is still warped by a slight grimace.

The physical therapist, a short, stout man with long graying hair, looks over his shoulder to see what has caught Hailey's attention.

"We're almost done here," he says and turns back to Hailey. "Alright, arms up again for 10, 9, 8…"

I watch Hailey's left arm shake as she struggles to keep it up. She began feeling some stiffness on her left shoulder, so she's been seeing a physical therapist to loosen up the muscles. They think it's a stress injury, probably from being dragged aggressively by the arm.

I watch her scrunch her face, biting down on her bottom lip as the therapist finishes counting, "3, 2, 1, and down."

She plops her arms to her lap, breathing heavily, gradually getting it under control.

"Very good, Hailey. Feeling any pain?"

"Yeah, and it still feels really tight."

He manipulates her left shoulder and shows her some additional stretching exercises to do over the next few days. I take mental notes about each of them.

"Keep doing the stretches. It will hurt at first, but after some time, the pain will go away and you'll be good as new," he says. "Remember to take it easy. Don't try to do too much at once," he instructs.

I laugh – that's just not Hailey's MO. She narrows her eyes at me, and I know if we'd been alone, she would have stuck out her tongue at me.

Even though she is doing remarkably well, given that she was shot at point-blank range a couple weeks ago, her recovery has been slower than she would have liked. I know she's frustrated, but just seeing her sitting there with an adorable pout on her lips does something to my heart and I have to fight the urge to want to wrap my arms around her and never let go. I'll never forget how lifeless she looked in my arms, or how ghostly pale her skin was when I pulled her out of the water.

I exhale slowly, pushing those images aside, unwilling to relive them. Instead, I stand back and continue to watch her go through a few more rounds with the free weights before the physical therapist calls it a day.

When it's just the two of us in the room, Hailey releases a lungful of air, looking impossibly tired. It's been a minute since I've seen her look this worn out. I don't think she is getting enough sleep here in the hospital, but that is about to change since she'll be discharged tomorrow.

"I look terrible, right?" she asks.

I shake my head, coming to stand between her dangling legs. "Of course not. You look great."

"I know I look terrible, Jay."

I laugh. "That's impossible."

Her eyes brighten at that; a small grin pulls the corners of her mouth. Lowering my head, I press my lips against her smile, then after a few seconds, I pull back with a low rumble of contentment.

"PT seems to be going okay."

"I feel like we're going at a snail's pace." She huffs out an annoyed sigh. "Maybe I will feel better once I'm back in my own space, ya know?"

"Word is, that's happening tomorrow," I say, and she meets my gaze, the most beautiful smile adorning her lips.

"Can't wait until everything is back to normal."

I gently push her hair from her face where strands have escaped her ponytail. "Slow and steady."

"No pain, no gain," she retorts, aiming a challenging grin my way.

I laugh. Still sassy and stubborn as ever.

"How about a change of scenery?" I ask. "Have you gotten your steps in today?"

Her answer is a groan. Walking has been her least favorite thing to do, but the doctors want her to get moving more.

"Come on," I say. "One lap around the floor."

She lets her body gently collapse on the bed with a dissatisfied grunt. I rest my hands on her thighs, lightly squeezing them.

"How about we go to the vending machines and you can pick whatever sugary crap you want."

"You're only saying that because the vending machines are all the way on the other side."

"Hey, no pain, no gain," I toss it back at her.

She releases a groaning laugh. "I'm getting the biggest candy bar I can find."

"Deal."

I slowly help her to her feet and she stands, weak with pain for a moment. I grip both her arms, keeping her steady until she finds her footing.

"You okay? Does it hurt too much?"

"Everything hurts from my waist up," she says, tempering the frustration in her tone. "I never knew how much core strength was required to stand upright."

"We'll take it slow." I run my hands up and down her arms, before stealing a quick, chaste kiss. "If it gets to be too much, you let me know. Don't try to push through the pain."

She nods and takes my hand.

We walk out of the room and slowly make our way down the corridors. The hospital is now busy; the night shift has been exchanged for the day, and the halls are full of bustling nurses, doctors, and other supporting staff. I keep a close eye on Hailey, untangling our fingers so I can rest my hand on the small of her back. I know she'll try to push through the many aches, so I want to be able to feel her muscles tensing – a big tell that her muscles are throbbing.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Okay," she says, sounding a bit breathless.

"Should we take a break? We can sit on those chairs over there," I point out.

"No, no…" she shakes her head. "I want to get to the vending machines."

I chuckle. "Okay."

It takes us a few long minutes, but we finally get to our destination. A fine sheen of sweat covers her brow and lip. I watch her try to take a deep breath, but then her eyes water from the pain of her expanding lungs pushing against her fractured ribs.

"Hey, hey…" I say, guiding her to take a seat. "Slow breaths, Hailey."

She closes her eyes, releasing a gentle rush of air from her lungs. "I'm okay," she repeats softly, hand cradling her ribs. "I'm okay."

We sit and I run a gentle hand up and down her back. The blue hospital gown drapes slightly from her shoulder, so I lean over and place my lips there, lingering, until she catches her breath. After a few silent moments, she opens her eyes and they shine like beacons, blue high beams, as she clocks the vending machine with all the sugary sweets she loves.

"C'mon, help me up," she says, and I laugh at the bit of vigor returning to her cheeks. "I found what I want."

I help her to her feet and she shuffles toward the vending machine. She chooses a snickers bar that is literally the size of her head.

We return back to her room and she happily lays back on the bed, munching away at her reward.

A few minutes later, a nurse comes to change the big bandage on her left side. Although I've seen the wound being cleaned while she was in a coma, it is Hailey's first peek at it. I watch her sit up in bed, biting her lip like she's a little anxious to see what's underneath.

"I'll need to remove your gown," the nurse says, then looks pointedly at me, a thinly veiled request for me to leave.

Hailey chuckles, "He can stay."

The nurse smiles and assists Hailey in removing the hospital gown, leaving her in just a sports bra and underwear. I see her entire torso for the first time since she was brought in, and it is covered with ugly, black-and-blue bruises, though some are now fading. It looks similar to the bruise I got when I caught a bullet in my vest. My hands immediately tighten into fists at my sides. It's times like these that I believe Booth deserved a far worse fate than what he got. A bullet from my gun was overly generous.

The nurse begins removing the bandages layer by layer until the wound is visible. It looks red and angry against Hailey's pale skin. The stitches are tight and I can see why she feels pain walking. She flinches as the nurse starts cleaning around it, checking for any signs of inflammation.

"Hang in there, I'll get you re-bandaged soon," the nurse says as Hailey hisses, biting her lip to keep from crying out. I've been seeing her do a lot of that today – biting her lip – and all I want to do is pull her lips away from her teeth, soothe them with my thumb and my own lips and tongue.

And once the nurse finishes and leaves, I do just that.

I capture her mouth and gently nibble at her lower lip. Tenderly at first, caressing her mouth with mine, I cradle her face in my hands. When her murmurs of delight vibrate through me, I slip my tongue between her lips and tangle slowly with hers. I suckle again at her bottom lip briefly before releasing it and placing a kiss on the corner of her mouth.

"What was that for?" she asks.

"You've been biting your lip so much, I just wanted to massage it a little."

She laughs. "My lips appreciate it."

I start to lean back in, but the sound of footsteps in the hallway has me pulling back.

Seconds later, Will pops his head inside. "Hey, you two."

"Hey," I say and I move my head in a curt nod of acknowledgment.

"Hey, Will," Hailey says happily.

"Tomorrow is the big day! Ready to get out of here?" he asks.

"Can't wait to sleep in my own bed," she says, sounding so thrilled I laugh.

"I bet."

"Do you know what time she will be discharged?" I ask.

"Hopefully by eleven," he answers. "But if things are backed up, you're looking at around 1:00."

I look down at my watch and realize sadly that I have to get to work. I've had a lot of leniencies these past couple of weeks, but I shouldn't take advantage. Hailey figures out that it's time for me to leave and she can't help but pout, looking quite adorable when she does. Reaching to touch her chin, amused at the dip at the corner of her lips, I kiss her tenderly. Will mumbles something intelligible behind us.

"Don't worry, I will be keeping her company, little brother," I hear Will say. "We're watching The Crown. Season four is out."

Hailey squeals with delight, and I roll my eyes, leaning in to kiss her happy shrieks. Though I'm pretending to be annoyed by their choice of entertainment, I'm glad Will is here to keep her company while I can't. Will has been a wonderful brother, and no one is happier than I that he has reclaimed his TV buddy.

x

Returning home should have made things better. But I suppose coming home and facing four walls, as well as living with the reminder of what happened, keeps Hailey in a funk. I let her go through the motions for a few days. The bruises on her skin fade, but the emotional ones do not. I don't push her; instead, I try to be there for her and wait for her to be ready to share her load. But after the fifth day at home in a mood, I feel like I need to intervene.

When I get to her apartment late after a long day at work and see her moping about, I try to get her to talk to me.

"Hey, everything okay?"

She glances up from where she's sitting on the edge of her bed, face buried in her hands, and says, "Yeah… there's just a lot on my mind."

I can feel the frustration radiating from her. Kneeling in front of her I place my hands on her knees. When I get her attention, I grip her hand in mine and raise them to my lips, pressing a kiss to her fingers. "Want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head, lips twisting. "Not yet."

"Okay," I say and smile up at her. My hands are back on her knees and I slowly inch them up to her thighs. "How about I help you relax?"

Hailey's face unwinds into a tiny smile with one raised eyebrow. "You know I can't. Not yet." A hand instinctively goes to cradled her ribs.

"You're right, you can't. But no one said I can't."

I lean forward and kiss her lips slowly, moving my hands along her waist and slipping them under the hem of her shirt, caressing her bare skin. "Just let me know if at any point you feel any pain…" I trace the outer edge of her breast with my thumbs as I steadily remove her shirt, tugging it over her head.

"Jay, you don't have—"

"I want to," I say and our gazes meet.

She laughs, looking at me with wide eyes.

"What?" I ask.

"You're looking at me like you're about to eat me alive."

I smile as I look into her eyes, and state boldly, "I'm going to."

I take her mouth, swallowing the gasp of surprise that bubbles up her throat. I kiss her lazily, settling in to enjoy, as I start undressing her. Her skin prickles when I graze my fingers over her bare breasts and when my thumb and finger tweak her nipple her back arches, but she hisses.

"You okay?" I ask.

She releases a breathy, "Yeah," followed by, "Don't stop."

I replace my fingers with my lips, and I find a home on her left breast, as physically close to her heart as I can get. I suckle at the puckered bud greedily, and she groans. I nibble from one breast to the other, licking, savoring the sweet taste of her skin.

"Mmm," she moans and holds the back of my head – pressing me against her. I release a moan of my own and continue to lave at her breasts. She's breathing hard now, her hands fisted in my hair, holding on tight as her body wakes up to my touch. I release her breast and kiss my way down her body while I slip my hand between her legs. She opens up to me while locking her eyes with mine.

"So wet, babe," I note amused.

"I just –" But she can't complete the sentence because I'm dipping my fingers between her folds. Hailey sighs against my chest, tightening her grip around my neck. I find her lips again, swallowing a string of moans from of her lips as my thumb circles the swollen little bud of her clit peeking at her apex. I continue the motion until every muscle in her body is pliant with delight.

"Beautiful, so beautiful," I whisper, kissing her hard, shifting my position as she grinds towards the knowing pressure of my fingers. When I eventually remove them, I keep my lips pressed to hers, swallowing the disappointed sounds that rip from her throat before pulling away and gently easing her down on the bed, her legs dangling at the edge, her toes barely scraping the floor.

Hailey is panting, her blue eyes dark, her skin like silk as I run my hands all over it.

"Still good?" I ask, raking my fingernails along the outsides of her thighs.

"Jay," she practically whimpers my name.

"I got you," I say and push her legs apart.

I settle between her knees and bury my lips between her thighs drawing a long, shaky breath from her lungs. The second my tongue flicks against her center she whimpers. I press the flat of my tongue firmly against her and a tremor ripples through her. I grin. I repeat the action over her clit, and am rewarded by the sweetest sigh in the whole world. I continue to taste her, lick her, exploring all the places I know are her most sensitive, all the places that give her the most pleasure.

Then I feel her muscles tighten, and I wonder if she's feeling any discomfort. The last thing I want to do is cause her pain.

"Hailey?" I look up, and a broken pant falls from her lips, then a plea.

Don't stop.

Her words ignite me and I slide my hands beneath her bottom and gently lift her up, drinking from her, using my tongue to drive her straight to the edge and then over it. She arches, convulsing, silent at first, then beautifully loud as a cry of ecstasy breaks from her. But I don't stop tasting the sweet flavors of her orgasm. I guide her through it and take my time to lick her gently before finally crawling up her body, brushing kisses on her as I go.

I reach her face and she pulls me close, pressing her lips to mine. I stare at her, all warm and glowing, her wild blond hair fanned out, her eyes shimmering, and I'm floored. Her slow, sweet smile makes something soft and hot expand inside of me, so big I feel like bursting. I'm here with this amazing woman whom I'm completely in love with.

And she's in love with me.

How lucky am I?"

"Still a lot on your mind?" I ask.

She smiles, shaking her head. "No, just you."

"Good." I seal my mouth to hers again and swallow her sighs, kiss her breath. I pull back and run my hand over her healing, albeit bruised, torso. "Pain?"

"A little," she admits, and when my face falls, she pulls me down for another kiss. "I needed it," she whispers against my lips. "Thank you."

"You sure?"

"I'm good. More than good."

Our lips meet again and her fingers curl in my hair, and the way the tips massage my scalp each time her tongue collides with mine sends a newfound sense of desire from my head all the way down to my toes. I pull away to take a breath, but Hailey starts kissing my neck and her hands float down to my crotch. Her touch is gentle as she traces my hardened outline beneath my pants.

"Hailey," I say, softly. "You don't have to do anything. I'm not expecting anything in return."

She pulls away and warm eyes gaze at me. "I want to," she tosses my earlier reply at me.

Her hands are inside my pants and all protests die on my tongue. I have to shift a little to give her better access, but then her fingertips brush my tip and I bite back a moan. She frees me from my pants, running her nails over my length, her eyes hooked to mine with a look that is faintly mocking like she knows how crazy I'm for her.

What happens next is a blur of pleasure. The release is all-consuming.

We stay in bed for a long time, her fingertips dancing along my chest. I draw in a long slow breath and let it out gradually. Tonight has been kind of… brain-scrambling. I gently press my hand to the small of her back, bringing her closer still. I slide my other hand into her hair and cup her head.

I can stay like this forever.

"So nice," I murmur.

"Mmm."

"Do you think you can tell me what has been going through your mind?" I prompt again.

She stirs a little against me. "Just… still dealing with what happened."

"He's dead, Hailey. It's over."

"Just doesn't feel as good as I thought it would. It stirred up too many ghosts, you know?"

I nod and kiss her head.

"Having you here makes it all better," she says, and I can see the corners of her mouth twitching upward.

"I'm here to please," I say cheekily, which earns me a genuine laugh. "Want me to distract you again?"

She laughs and snuggles closer as I stroke a hand lazily up and down her back. Within minutes, her even breathing tells me she's fallen asleep. I pull the blankets over us and close my eyes. I kiss her cheek and whisper that I love her. I close my eyes and I'm out.

Thank you for reading. Reviews? The second to last chapter we'll have a small time jump and a trip to the cabin. Cheer, D.