A/N: It's the holiday season, so I hope this brings you some Christmas joy! This one's for jays_hailey on Twitter who requested a story like this a while back, so I also hope you enjoy this one!
Enjoy some Season 7 Upstead!
Hailey spent the last two weeks bringing Jay meals, helping him change his dressing, and just keeping him company as he took his mandatory leave. She enjoyed it maybe more than she should have, but it kept her busy and he was her friend.
Her friend.
Her friend that she loved. Undoubtedly.
Spending time with Jay also filled the hole he left at work - if she couldn't spend a minimum of eight hours by his side at the district, she might as well spend at least two at his apartment each night.
She knocked on his door with a bag of food in her hand before unlocking it with the key he'd given her, "You home?"
Jay looked up from the couch and threw a balled up tissue at her, "Where else would I be?"
Hailey laughed and set the bag on the counter, "Beef sandwiches. That okay?"
"Definitely," Jay shoved a book to the side then stood up.
"Did you finish that yet?" Hailey asked while taking the sandwiches out.
Jay sighed, "No. I'm trying. It's long."
"Well, you have another week until you can go back to work, so you might as well read instead of watching TV all the time." Hailey set two bottles of water out on the counter with a handful of napkins before stepping away to tug her jacket off and hang it on the hook near the door. An envelope fluttered to the ground from her pocket, but she didn't notice and even stepped on it on her way back to the island.
On the other hand, Jay did notice the envelope and side-stepped her to go over and grab it. "You dropped something," he said as he straightened up, "Ms. Hailey Upton? Sounds fancy."
Hailey's eyes snapped to him and she hurried over to attempt to snatch it from his hand. He was quicker, though, and held the envelope over his head while trying to ward her off with his arm still stuck in its sling.
She groaned and put her hand on his chest for leverage, "Jay."
"Hey, what is it?" he asked.
"It's personal," she huffed and pulled on his good arm until he gave in and let her have the envelope.
He raised an eyebrow because they had most certainly crossed the personal line within the last year - hell, within the last two weeks as she helped him recover from getting shot, they'd crossed the personal line several times when she'd helped him with his shirt or bandage or just sat and listened to him complain about the situation. She even saw him tear up once from the pain, but neither of them chose to acknowledge it with words, rather Hailey put her hand in his for him to squeeze as she gently held an ice pack to his shoulder. That was personal.
Hailey didn't elaborate as she returned to her coat and stuffed the envelope further in her pocket. She didn't even meet his eyes on her way back to the island where she quickly began eating her sandwich.
Jay sighed and felt his heart ache. It seemed like he took a joke too far without even knowing what the joke was. He sat next to her and struggled for a second to get a good grip on the sub bread with one hand before eating with her.
"You're really not into the book?"
Her voice was quiet when she asked, but its intention was clear: she didn't want to talk about the envelope.
Jay sighed and gave in: "No. Sorry. I'm trying, but…"
Hailey smiled slightly and nodded, "I can pick you up another then."
"Or you can just buy me more of that popcorn you got me so I have a snack while I watch TV," Jay replied quietly.
It got a laugh out of Hailey and she relaxed enough to continue eating her sandwich while holding light conversation: the weather, a show she had been binging, Jay's physical therapy, a meal she'd had with Vanessa the day before.
As Jay wiped down the counter where'd they'd sat, he glanced to her settling into his couch and asked, "So how does Vanessa feel about Christmas?"
"Um, I don't know," Hailey let out a breath. She flipped through the TV channels, "I was thinking of making tacos tomorrow for dinner, you wanna come over?"
Jay hesitated, "What do you mean you don't know?"
Hailey looked up, "We haven't talked about it."
"You love Christmas, how have you not talked about it?" Jay asked, "It's December 3rd. Even I put up my stuff." He gestured toward his side table now filled with various pictures of him and Will with Santa when they were younger, one snowglobe with a police car inside, and a small, fake tree that had a tiny star perched on top.
Hailey laughed slightly at his idea of decorations then sighed, "I don't…it's just not something I've put much thought into."
Licking his lips, Jay slowly nodded, "All right, okay then. What're we watching?" He set the towel down near the sink then went to join her on the couch.
Hailey shrugged, and he watched her hesitate at a Christmas movie while flipping through the channels.
Jay gently nudged her arm, "Put it on."
Hailey breathed in then nodded and sank into the cushions. She took a deep breath and absentmindedly stared at the TV until she quietly admitted, "My mom's inviting me to a charity thing she's helping throw at her church."
Jay didn't look at her as he said, "Why?"
"Tis the damn season," Hailey breathed, "Time to reach out to her kids."
Jay rested his head back then looked at her, "Maybe the better question actually is how did she ask you? I didn't think you two talked much."
Hailey sighed and pushed off the couch to grab the envelope from her pocket. She dropped it on Jay's lap before grabbing a blanket to throw over her legs, "She has my address."
Jay took a second to get the envelope open then looked inside the glitter-covered card with a deep breath.
Merry Christmas, my angel!
Sending you all the warm hugs and fuzzy sweaters this holiday season. Here's a little something for a fuzzy sweater. You look so pretty in blue.
I'm helping put on a Christmas charity event at the church. It's the same night as the tree lighting. Will you come? Here's the flyer that Mrs. B made - you know her though, it's boring! I'll be making yiaprakia and melomakarona (your favorite!)
Please come, angel!
All my love – Mama
Jay glanced at her, "That's nice."
Hailey shrugged slightly and grabbed the card back. She stared at her mom's handwriting then mumbled, "Should I go?"
"Hails," Jay raised an eyebrow, "It's not up to me."
She sighed again and sank further into the couch, "I just want your opinion."
Jay smiled slightly, "Okay, well…what were your initial thoughts about it?"
Staring at the TV, Hailey thought for a moment then said, "That it's important to her."
"Which part?" Jay asked quietly, "The party or you being there?"
"The party," Hailey let out a breath, "She's always loved being a part of the church. It became her escape. Though…I think it did somehow convince her that she couldn't leave him."
Jay internally winced. Without asking, he knew exactly who him was. He hated him even though he'd never actually met him. On no level could he ever respect a man who hurt his wife and children.
"And I do think she actually wants to see me," Hailey continued softly, "She's asking, that has to mean she's thinking about me, right?"
"Of course," Jay answered quickly because it was true, "You definitely crossed her mind." He chewed his lip watching Hailey continue to stare forward while absentmindedly fingering the card in her lap. "When was the last time you two talked?" he eventually asked.
"God," Hailey tipped her head back in thought, "Um…a real, actual phone conversation was after that whole infection disaster. She wanted to make sure I was okay."
Jay hummed, "And what'd you say?"
"That I was fine," Hailey nodded.
"White lie," Jay chuckled, "You weren't fine."
"I…was good enough," Hailey lightly shoved his good arm, "She didn't need to know I was quarantined or that my…partner almost died."
"I didn't almost die," Jay scoffed.
"That time," Hailey shot back with a pointed glance to his arm in the sling.
"Well, sorry," Jay laughed softly, "Last time."
"Better me," Hailey smiled, "You mean too much to me to keep running around getting hurt."
"I promise I will work on avoiding bullets the second I'm back out in the field," Jay said.
"Mhmm," Hailey hummed.
Jay smirked at her before turning back to the TV and saying, "Nice job avoiding the real conversation."
Hailey gasped softly then shoved him again, "I was not the one who did that! You brought up the dying thing."
Jay chuckled, "Maybe, maybe."
"Anyways," Hailey sighed and rolled her eyes, "Since then, just a couple texts like on Thanksgiving and random Tuesdays when she's drunk."
Jay's head snapped to her, "What?"
"Just wine," Hailey shook her head, "Nothing to be concerned about. She needs it sometimes."
The hardness in her eyes stopped him from pushing for more information. He just frowned and nodded. If Hailey wasn't super concerned right now, he didn't want to cause drama and express his own thoughts.
Hailey held up the card to look at her mom's signature, "It's for charity."
Jay smiled and nodded, "Do you know which one?"
Hailey pulled a folded piece of paper out of the envelope and showed him, "Half of it's for the church, but they're also donating to the local food bank."
"Gotcha," Jay breathed and took the paper from her. He smiled at the plain font and the cheesy, Christmas clipart.
"What?" Hailey asked.
"Your mom was right," he chuckled, "It looks boring."
Hailey laughed, "Like she said, Mrs. B's boring."
"Who is Mrs. B?" he asked.
"Oh, just this lady from the neighborhood who loved getting in everyone's business," Hailey rolled her eyes, "My mom used to say the B stood for bitch."
Jay smirked, "Sounds like something my mom would say."
"Ah, so your mom was also in the neighborhood gossip," Hailey smiled.
"Of course," Jay nodded, "In a classy way. She wasn't hosting tea parties or anything, but she knew who was getting a divorce and which kid was suspended from school and who lost their job. She was just there. Everyone got along with her and, more importantly, told her everything."
Resting her head back, Hailey softly said, "That's really nice. I wish I could have met her."
"I wish you could have too," Jay took a deep breath. He looked toward the card still in her hands then asked, "Would you want me to meet yours?"
Hailey's eyes widened, "What?"
He nodded, "I'll go with you to this charity thing."
"Oh, you don't have to," Hailey sat up, "It's fine. I might not go."
"We both know you want to," Jay said.
After pursing her lips for a moment and thinking to herself, Hailey pushed off the couch to wander into the kitchen and wipe at the counter again. She tried finding something to clean, but she found nothing which didn't surprise her in the least.
Letting out a long breath, she admitted, "I'll let you know if I go, okay?"
Jay's lips tipped up and he nodded, "Okay."
He waited a day only for her to say nothing about her mom. Instead, she came guns-a-blazing in his apartment close to 9pm needing to vent about her latest suspect and the amount of time she'd spent in the box that day. He just sat and listened. It was the best he could do at the moment. And bring her water. Grateful that she avoided drinking in front of him since he couldn't have alcohol for a couple more days, he consistently filled her glass with ice water as she sucked it down between her bouts of frustration. In all honesty, he just enjoyed her company and listening to her talk. he didn't mind getting up every few minutes to refill her glass – it just gave him a minute of peace to smile about her without her knowing.
The following day, she stopped over to pick him up for her rescheduled taco night. She still didn't mention her mom, but she did bring out her box of Christmas decorations to show him and Vanessa. Together, the three of them put up the tree. He couldn't help too much with the branches, but was more than happy to hang the ornaments and place the angel on top for her. Vanessa was so ecstatic that she couldn't stop drinking the margaritas which inherently led to Hailey drinking more as well. By the end of the night, both girls were rather tipsy, that Jay ended up staying in Hailey's bed while she stumbled into Vanessa's room with her pillow in hand.
He woke in the morning to the creaking of the closet doors across the room. Rubbing his face, he mumbled, "Morning."
Hailey glanced over and blushed, "I'm sorry, I was trying to be quiet. I just need some clothes. I'm going to shower."
Jay nodded and shifted on the mattress with a soft intake of breath at the dull ache in his shoulder.
"What's going on?" Hailey dropped the sweatshirt in her hands and walked over. She perched on the edge of the bed, her hand just inches from his thigh, "What hurts?"
"Just sore when I wake up," Jay shook his head and yawned, "I'm fine."
"Clearly not," Hailey's hands gently tugged at the sleeve of his t-shirt, "Can I see?"
"It's really nothing," Jay used his hand not cradled to his chest to lightly shove her away, "I'll just take some pain meds when I get home."
Hailey frowned, "I'm sorry. I didn't even think yesterday to grab them."
"Hey, neither did I, don't blame yourself," Jay yawned. He winced again at the tugging in his shoulder, "Actually, do you have some Tylenol? That's basically all those pills are."
"Course," Hailey squeezed his leg then hurried out of the room.
Jay chewed his lip while sitting up fully. Taking in her room, he realized he'd never been alone during the day in here before. Most of the pictures were of different places in Chicago, but there were a few of the unit and some of her old friends too – he smiled at the one he knew Kim took of the two of them in their blackout gear. One, though, stood out to him. He'd never seen the people in the picture before, but it wasn't hard to figure out: there was Hailey maybe seventeen or eighteen in a long navy dress to the left of an older woman with long blonde hair who in hand was next to a boy perhaps a year older than Hailey with the eyes to match.
He slowly got out of bed to make his way over to her dresser so he could pick up the frame. A smile ghosted over his lips. He'd seen Hailey undercover, but there was something about Hailey in a prom dress that felt different. It was softer. Unfortunately, he knew at this point, the abuse with her dad had been going on for a while, so there most likely wasn't anything soft about this moment. It hurt him to think about.
"I grabbed some water too, I don't like when you take pills without it – seems wrong."
Jay looked over his shoulder at Hailey walking in the room.
She stopped near the bed, "What're you doing?"
He shrugged and set the picture down, "I'd never seen this one before."
Hailey pursed her lips then sat on the mattress, "Junior prom. That's my mom and one of my brothers, Colin."
Jay nodded, "You look pretty."
Hailey laughed softly and looked down at her hands, "Thanks. Was the only time I went."
Jay raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
Hailey let out a breath, "Yeah, long story. Here."
Jay stared at her in a loss for words then gave in and nodded. She didn't want to talk about it, and that was fine. He walked over to her and accepted the two pills and water. Swallowing them, he settled on the mattress and said softly, "Thanks for letting me stay the night."
Hailey smiled slightly, "Sorry I was too drunk to drive you home."
"It's fine," he chuckled, "I'm sorry I can't drive."
Hailey laughed shaking her head, "Soon."
"Yeah," he smiled, "Soon."
She squeezed his knee before standing to return to her closet. She glanced at the picture he'd been looking at on her dresser and stopped with one hand on a sweatshirt. Taking a deep breath, she dropped the hoodie to the floor on her way to pick up the picture.
"She did my hair."
"It looks really good," Jay said quietly.
"She wanted to be a hair stylist," Hailey breathed. She patted the frame to her palm as she absentmindedly mumbled, "But it wasn't…wasn't the plan…"
Jay frowned, but couldn't look away from her deep in thought.
"The diner and three kids and law school…that was the plan," Hailey continued, "One-by-one, we broke the plan. Greg works construction in Springfield, Colin's a pharmacist here in Chicago, and then me…the cop. She didn't though. She understood the plan, but he did let her have the church, so that became her new thing. It's no salon downtown, but it's something. He liked it because it convinced her to stay."
"Sounds like you all followed your own dreams, though," Jay said softly.
Hailey smiled and looked at him, "We did." She took a deep breath and set the picture back on the dresser, "She supported us. I should probably support her, or at least work on supporting her."
Jay cleared his throat and debated his words before saying, "You should support yourself. If you think this will be too much or bring up some unpleasant thoughts, it's okay not to go."
Hailey met his eyes, "Would you still go with me?"
Shocked, Jay froze for half a second then nodded quickly, "Of course."
Hailey relaxed, "I think I can go then. I know I can. I'll be fine."
Despite being fine, her fingers couldn't stop drumming against the steering wheel the entire drive to the church. Jay kept his eyes on her as she drove, but just let her think. She hadn't said much when he got in her car, so he didn't want to break her thought process.
Hailey eventually parked in the back row of a church just inside Greektown. "Okay," she breathed, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Free Greek food and Christmas music? What could I hate?" Jay gently teased.
Hailey relaxed with a laugh, "Fair. I mean it when I say I appreciate you coming with me."
"And I mean it when I say I'm happy to be here," Jay said, "You've been supporting me these last couple weeks, this is the least I can do for you."
Hailey smiled and whispered, "Okay."
"I'll follow your lead," Jay gestured toward the church, "You want to head in or hang out here for a little longer?"
"What I want is a stiff drink," Hailey said.
Jay laughed, "Well, I'm sorry, but I don't think a church has much besides wine, and even then, I'm pretty sure there are rules around when you can drink it."
Hailey laughed, "True. All right, come on, let's do this."
Jay stayed close to her on the walk inside. The breeze and the soft flurry of snowflakes sent a chill through the air, so the close contact with her kept him warm. At least that's what he kept telling himself each time her arm would brush against his.
Once inside, Hailey silently led him to the coat racks and helped him out of his winter jacket. She hung hers up beside it then smoothed out her green turtleneck and brushed her fingers through her hair.
"You look great," Jay said.
Hailey blushed, "Thank you. So do you."
Jay shrugged in his black shirt and jeans quietly wishing he could have had the patience or ability to put a button down on. Next time he told himself.
"Should we go find her?" Hailey asked.
"If you want," Jay nodded.
Hailey tried to smile then placed a hand on his arm as they walked through the small crowd toward the community room. Inside, there was a long tabled filled with more Greek food than Jay had ever seen. A group of women manned a bundle of tables in the middle that were covered with a variety of gift baskets and wrapped presents. Close to a hundred people were scattered throughout sitting at tables and standing along the walls all talking to each other. And in the corner, off to the side, was a blonde woman standing next to a Christmas tree talking to a young couple.
"That's her," Hailey whispered, "Her name's-"
"Harmony, I know," Jay stopped and tilted his head to the side, "Hailey, relax, okay? It's going to be fine. You've got this, I know you do, but if you need me, I'm right here."
Hailey nodded then placed a hand on his lower back and walked him toward her mom. If her touch sent a spark down his spine, he didn't say anything about it.
Harmony Upton smiled the instant she saw her daughter walking toward her. She quickly ended her previous conversation and hurried over to hug Hailey.
"You came," she said.
Hailey smiled slightly, "Hi, Mom."
"And you look so beautiful," Harmony stepped back to take in Hailey's outfit. She brushed her hand over her hair, "Not that I'm surprised."
Hailey blushed, "Thank you."
Harmony turned to Jay and said, "Hello."
Her once long, blonde hair was now perfectly curled in ringlets just past her shoulders that framed her face so incredibly similar to Hailey's. She had the matching nose and wide smile, but her eyes were a darker brown. In a way, it made Jay's heart ache because he then just knew that Hailey's eyes were her dad's.
"Hi," he simply replied.
"Mom, this is Jay Halstead," Hailey explained, "He's my partner at work and my friend."
Jay smiled at her then put out his good hand, "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Upton."
She shook her head and stepped forward to carefully hug him mindful of his sling, "Nice to meet you too, Jay. Thank you for taking care of my daughter."
He laughed quietly, "More like she takes care of me."
"Was this from work?" Harmony asked.
"Yes, but he's fine," Hailey quickly interrupted, "Just a sprain. Took a hard fall."
Jay narrowed his eyes, but didn't fight her.
"I am so sorry," Harmony said, "Make sure to grab some food to go. Hailey knows which ones are good for heating up. It'll be easier than trying to cook with one hand."
"Thank you," Jay nodded, "I appreciate it."
Harmony looked between Hailey and Jay then took a deep breath and said, "Here, sit, sit, I want to talk."
"We don't want to bother you," Hailey said.
"Nonsense," Harmony whispered and led them to a table nearby the tree. Once all three of them were settled in their seats, she said, "It is so great to see you, I was worried you weren't going to come."
Hailey blushed again and moved her hands onto her lap, "It's a good cause and you asked. I know this is important to you."
"Tell that to Gregory," Harmony shook her head, "Colin came earlier to help me set up, but Gregory told me he was busy. Apparently Mary Beth's family is doing something tonight."
Hailey slowly nodded along, "Well, he is busy. He has the kids too."
"And they would have loved this," Harmony said quickly, "Did you see the gingerbread house table? It was my idea to use graham crackers – just like we used to do; do you remember?"
Finally, Hailey had a genuine smile on her face as she said, "I do."
Jay smiled back at her and tilted his head to the side.
Harmony didn't catch on, though, and just sighed, "Oh well. At least you're here. I really hope you look around – there are some very nice donation spots. The food, of course, and the gingerbread houses, but there are some wreaths out back to buy, and then the different raffle baskets. I'm most proud of my tree, though. Each piece of paper on it has a family to buy gifts for and what they're asking for. It's doing very well."
"Wow," Hailey nodded, "That's really great. Actually, this all looks really great."
Jay nodded as well, "It's a good turnout too."
"Isn't it?" Harmony smiled, "I'm very proud."
"You should be," Hailey said. They were all quiet for a moment until she cleared her throat to ask, "How are you? Have you been okay?"
Jay glanced down at a slight movement of the tablecloth and noticed her picking at her fingernails.
"I've been doing well," Harmony nodded, "I've been taking on more projects here. It's nice to get out of the house each day."
Hailey sucked in a breath, "That's…great."
"Actually, I just accepted a role to teach Sunday school this coming year," Harmony added, "I get my curriculum this coming week and I'll shadow one of the classes, so that I can be prepared in January."
"My mom did that for a while too," Jay said softly.
"Really?" Harmony smiled at him, "That's wonderful. What age group was she with?"
"The little ones," he laughed under his breath, "She'd write to me when I was deployed with stories of these crazy things the five and six-year-olds would say."
"That's wonderful," Harmony hummed, "I'll be with the upper elementary group. What does your mom do now?"
"She passed away," Jay answered.
"Oh," Harmony blushed, "I am very sorry to hear that."
"Thank you," he tried to smile.
"Um, so," Hailey cleared her throat, "You said you made some of the food?"
"Yes," Harmony stood up, "Please, go grab some. You must be starving."
"I actually am pretty hungry," Hailey laughed softly, "Thank you."
"Okay, go, go," Harmony gestured them to walk away, "I'll be here. Please walk around, too; just check it all out. Have fun."
Hailey nodded and stood with Jay. She led him to the food table where Jay silently passed over a ten-dollar bill to pay for them both. She smiled a 'thanks' before grabbing two plates for them. Filling Jay's plate for him, she explained each item to him, but didn't give him any time to fight or say he didn't want it; she wanted him to try everything, and she just had a feeling he'd love all of it – he always enjoyed when she'd make food for the unit as a random dinner in the bullpen.
"Thank you," Jay said once they were at a table by themselves, "Would have taken a lot longer to get through that line if I was doing it all myself."
Hailey laughed, "You're welcome." She grabbed a napkin to place on her lap, "It looks delicious. I love my mom's melomakarona, so make sure you have one. I think you'll like it even though you don't like sweets."
He rolled his eyes, "Don't say it like an insult."
Hailey laughed harder, "It's not! I'm just saying."
"What are they anyways?" Jay asked while picking one up.
"Honey cookies," Hailey smiled, "She only makes them at Christmas. They taste like," her smile faded and she looked back down at her hands to again pick at her nails, "They taste like home."
Jay frowned. He breathed in then hesitantly set his hand on hers. Waiting until she looked up to meet his eyes, he said quietly, "There's nothing wrong with liking pieces of your childhood. I saw you smile when she was talking about the gingerbread houses too."
Hailey's cheeks turned red, but she nodded.
He lightly squeezed her hand, "I don't even know the whole story, but I know it was rough. I also know that you are amazing and deserve to feel happy all of the time and especially during the holidays."
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Course," he brushed his thumb over the back of her hand then grabbed his fork, "Tell me where to start."
Hailey laughed and quickly wiped her nose before saying, "Always the salad."
"Obviously," Jay nodded.
"Obviously," Hailey repeated with a smile.
Jay winked and started eating. He felt Hailey scoot her chair in closer to the table so that her leg was against his. They both took a few bites of food before he quietly said, "So you lied to your mom."
Hailey looked up with wide eyes, "What?"
"A sprain?" Jay repeated.
Hailey blushed, "I…sorry."
"Do you just not want to talk about it?" he whispered, "I know I messed up, but…but I never thought you'd ignore the truth."
She sighed and put her fork down, "It's nothing like that – I promise. It's more along the lines of I don't want her to know you've been shot. She thinks this job is dangerous, she doesn't need more proof that it is."
Jay slowly and knowingly nodded, "Gotcha."
"I'm sorry, I should have warned you," she continued, "If you want to tell-"
"No, no," he cut her off, "My mom probably would have had a pretty bad reaction too. I get it. No hard feelings."
Hailey nodded and picked at her fingers.
Jay noticed, but didn't ignore it this time and, instead, reached over to squeeze her hand. "Relax," he whispered, "Everything's okay. Don't hurt yourself."
She met his eyes and sucked on her bottom lip before nodding again and letting go of her fingers.
Jay kept his hand on hers for a moment just letting his own fingers slowly stroke over her skin in an effort to calm her down. When she finally did as he asked and relaxed into her seat, he let go to continue eating his dinner. Occasionally sharing thoughts on the food, they quietly ate until both of their plates were empty.
Hailey made sure to watch Jay eat the cookie and smiled as he appeared to enjoy it. "Good, right?" she asked.
He chuckled and wiped his mouth, "It is. You're right. This is my kind of cookie."
"Perfect," Hailey laughed, "I'll try and make some for you."
"Oh, you don't have to do that," Jay shook his head.
"As a thank you," Hailey said, "You didn't have to come with me to this, but you did, and it means a lot to me."
"I'm happy to do it," Jay smiled.
Hailey stood to grab their plates, "We'll grab you some leftovers and then head out."
"Whoa, wait," he grabbed her wrist, "What're you talking about?"
"Jay, we don't have to stay long," she whispered.
He tugged her arm until she sat back down, "Are you sure? We can at least walk around and maybe donate some money. I really don't mind spending some more time here."
Hailey chewed her lip, "Really?"
"Really," he nodded, "Maybe you can teach me how to make a gingerbread house."
Hailey let out a small smile then gently touched his sling, "I feel like I'll have to do most of the work."
"Is that a problem?" Jay chuckled.
Hailey took a deep breath then shook her head, "Not at all."
"Then come on," Jay stood and stacked their plates, "You go grab that stuff, and I'll throw this out."
"Sounds like a plan," Hailey smiled.
For the next hour, they sat together in a corner decorating a small gingerbread house out of graham crackers just like Hailey had done throughout her childhood. She did most of the frosting, but didn't mind in the least. She just loved spending time with Jay. Despite disliking sweets, he still licked the frosting occasionally and ate a few of the M&Ms and gumdrops. He also enjoyed putting the frosting on Hailey's cheek and watching her eyes light up as she laughed and told him to wipe it of each time.
By the time they were done, their gingerbread house wasn't going to win any awards, but Jay declared it the best he'd ever seen let alone made.
"Come on, I want to say goodbye to my mom and then I'm ready to go," Hailey said.
"Works for me," Jay stood up and grabbed their gingerbread house, "You're taking this home, right?"
"Do you want me to?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah, you could use some more Christmas decorations," Jay teased.
Hailey laughed, "I think you're the one who needs more decorations. You have a wreath and a snowglobe, you could use a gingerbread house."
"Okay," he chuckled, "I'll take it home, but don't forget that I have a little tree too – I'm festive. Is this going to attract flies, though? Because maybe I don't want it if it's going to bring bugs inside."
"Oh my god," Hailey rolled her eyes. She led the way to her mom where they waited off to the side until she was done talking to a few older ladies.
"You made one," Harmony smiled once they stepped up to her.
"Your daughter's quite the artist," Jay said.
Harmony laughed, "I've always said that. I love it."
"Thank you for inviting me, Mom," Hailey said softly, "It really was a nice night."
"I'm so glad you could come," Harmony replied. She waited a beat, then gave in to whatever internal debate she was having and closed the gap to hug her daughter.
Hailey closed her eyes and leaned into the hug for a brief second before stepping away.
"So nice to meet you, Jay," Harmony said as she gave Jay another gentle hug.
"You too," he nodded.
"Here," Hailey pulled out a fifty dollar bill from her wallet, "For your tree donations."
Harmony's eyes widened, "Oh, Hailey, you don't have to."
"I want to," Hailey smiled, "Merry Christmas."
"Thank you, angel," Harmony turned to place the money in her cashbox, "And, again, thank you for coming."
Hailey nodded. She took a deep breath and looked up at Jay before putting her hand on his arm and walking him back to the lobby where their coats were waiting.
As soon as they were bundled up, they walked together outside. Hailey started toward the car, but Jay grabbed her arm.
"I want to buy you a wreath," he said.
Hailey raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"They look nice and I know you don't have a real one," he explained, "And it's kind of like buying you flowers. You deserve flowers tonight."
For what felt like the hundredth time, Hailey blushed and breathed, "Jay."
"Come on, you can pick it out," he said.
Together, they walked over to the outdoor tent filled with various wreaths and arrangements all made with fresh plants. Hailey let her hand lightly drag along the Christmas foliage. Admittedly, she loved the smell because it reminded her of Jay. His cologne was never overwhelming, but it had a hint of pine that was slightly addicting.
"What are you looking for?" a woman asked.
"Just a wreath," Jay answered, "Whatever she wants."
The woman smiled and nodded. She pointed to one hanging from the tent above them both and said, "I personally like that one for couples."
"Oh, we're not-"
"He's not my-"
"I apologize," the woman put a hand up, "You both just look so comfortable with each other."
Jay smiled slightly because he really was comfortable with Hailey even if he wasn't dating her, and he turned to look up at the wreath.
Hailey followed his gaze and breathed, "Oh."
The dark green wreath above them had pieces of mistletoe scattered among the holly. It really was beautiful and screamed Christmas, but it was definitely clear as to why the woman would recommend it to a couple.
They both stared at it in silence. While Hailey was thinking that it was a beautiful wreath, Jay was thinking about how beautiful Hailey looked underneath it. Without any hesitation, he leaned down and lightly pressed a kiss to her cheek.
Her cheeks burned under his lips as her bright blue eyes met his.
He smiled slightly and shrugged.
Hailey laughed softly and stepped toward him.
He put his good arm around her and said, "We'll take it."
"Great," the woman smiled, "Sixty dollars."
Jay reached up to grab the wreath for Hailey then passed over his money. As they quietly walked through the parking lot, a light snow began falling upon them.
Hailey could still feel Jay's kiss on her cheek, and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was smiling as well thinking about the shock on her face when he'd kissed her. He didn't know why exactly he'd done it, but it felt right after the night they'd had and the time they'd spent together over the past two weeks.
Almost dying reminded him that he didn't just need Hailey in his life, but he wanted her. He wanted her late at night drinking a beer on his couch. He wanted her in the early morning splitting waffles over a cup of coffee. He wanted to take her to his mom's grave and dinner with Will. He wanted to listen to her past and support her future. He wanted Hailey Upton like he'd never wanted her before.
Together in the warmth of the car, Hailey drove them toward Jay's apartment with just the sound of Christmas music filling the car. She kept both hands on the wheel despite how much she wanted to reach over and hold Jay's hand – it just wasn't going to be easy with his sling and she knew her hand was sweating after that kiss. She couldn't stop thinking about why he'd kissed her: maybe it was tradition under the mistletoe or maybe it was more. Whatever the reason, she liked it and wanted it to happen again.
All too soon, Hailey pulled her car into the parking lot next to Jay's building. She looked at him and repeated, "Thank you for coming with me."
"Thank you for inviting me," he said softly.
Hailey nodded and swallowed.
Jay watched her eyes drift across his face then smiled slightly. He blushed looking down at his lap and took a deep breath, "Sorry if I overstepped back there."
"You didn't," Hailey breathed.
"It was just the mistletoe and you tonight and you the past two weeks and of course the season," Jay continued not hearing her.
"You didn't overstep," Hailey said quietly.
Jay sucked in a breath, "You really did look so pretty tonight in that green and all I could think about as you made that gingerbread house was how much I appreciate you."
Now slightly amused at his rambling, Hailey cleared her throat and said, "Jay." He looked up without saying anything, so she again said, "You didn't overstep."
He blinked then asked, "I didn't?"
Hailey shook her head and slipped her seatbelt off, "Not at all."
Jay watched her fingers slide along the seatbelt, "That's…good."
"Very good," Hailey laughed softly.
Jay laughed as well and shook his head, "I should not have said that."
Hailey smiled and scooted as close as she could to him with the console between them. She gently reached her hand out so it was resting against the side of his neck. Raising an eyebrow, she met his eyes before lightly kissing him on the lips.
When she moved to pull away, Jay followed her lips and leaned closer to her until his sling bumped against the console and he groaned.
"Are you okay?" Hailey quickly asked as she snapped backwards.
Jay sucked in a breath and cursed quietly at the sling before saying, "Yeah, yeah, just…of course I really want to kiss you up in my apartment while I'm messed up. Tis the damn season."
Hailey laughed and tilted her head to the side, "You'd want to kiss me again?"
"I'd really like to," Jay smiled, "Is that okay?"
"Very okay," Hailey breathed before again pressing her lips to his. Her hand trailed up to stroke along his hairline as she kissed him. She eventually pulled back and said softly, "Will I see you tomorrow?"
"Please," Jay answered.
Hailey again laughed and rubbed her hand down his back before she sat back in her seat, "Goodnight, Jay."
"Goodnight, Hailey," he whispered. He stared at her in an attempt to memorize every little piece of her in this moment then reluctantly stepped out of the car.
He moved to close the door when Hailey said, "Don't forget the gingerbread house."
Jay chuckled and grabbed it from the backseat, "Of course."
"Bye," she waved.
He waved back and stepped away to watch her drive out of the parking lot before beginning the walk up to his apartment. Once there, he placed the small gingerbread house on the table with his other Christmas decorations and while this was most definitely the cheapest one there, it was his very favorite.
He didn't know what exactly tomorrow would bring or if tonight's kiss was a sign of things to come, but he did know that Hailey Upton made him smile and that was something he didn't ever want to end.