Hi friends! Can't wait for you all to read this next chapter of Bulletproof. Would love to hear any thoughts/predictions you have after reading. As always, thanks for taking the time to read my work. Also, I should've probably mentioned this sooner, but you can find me on tumblr under the same username: .com.

"Come on, J, you ate like, three bites."

Hailey stared at the miniature version of herself from across the room with an unimpressed look on her face. Jordan, who was currently avoiding eye contact, sat on the floor in front of their coffee table twirling her spoon around in her bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.

"I'm not hungry right now," she told Hailey, looking up to the screen that was playing an episode of Fuller House she'd already seen at least five times.

Hailey furrowed her brows, crossing the room to close the distance between them. Considering the fact that coffee was the only thing that constituted her own breakfast 85% of the time, she couldn't really argue with that. Then again, not finishing meals was becoming a growing theme, and that wasn't ordinarily like her daughter despite the fact that she was a picky eater who practically survived off of pizza. Taking a seat down on the couch, Hailey ran her fingers through Jordan's wavy blonde locks. "Okay."

As Jordan leaned back into her hand with a contented sigh, Hailey's own eyes traveled naturally to the action on the TV, just as the doorbell rang.

"Who's that?" Jordan asked, turning her head to look in the direction of their front door, then up at Hailey.

A small smile came to Hailey's face as she pecked the top of Jordan's head. "Why don't you go find out."

Jordan sprung up from her spot on the ground and made her way into the foyer. With her hand on the doorknob, she glanced back at Hailey once more for a reconfirmation of permission. The older blonde nodded, watching as Jordan opened the front door to find Jay standing on the other side of it with a to-go cup holder in hand, housing three drink cups. "It's Jay!" She said, an open-mouthed smile taking over her face.

"Hey you," Jay said, grinning right back at the little girl.

Hailey took the few seconds Jordan's attention wasn't focused on the television to grab the remote and shut it off and clear her bowl of cereal from the table before joining them in the entryway. "Morning," she said, placing her hand on the door and opening it up a bit further.

"You came back," Jordan pointed out, almost in wonder.

"Duh," Jay said as he stepped inside, as if it was a no-brainer. Because it was.

Hailey closed the door behind him and Jordan watched as he stepped inside, as if she couldn't believe his presence was real. "Are you going to the river dyeing with us?" She asked.

"I sure am," Jay said, clocking the way Jordan continued to beam. Pulling the smaller of the three to-go cups from the container, Jay held it out and offered it to her.

"What is it?" She asked, placing both of her hands around the cup as she took it from him.

"Hot chocolate. With extra whipped cream." Jay said. "And I think they might have even put sprinkles on top."

Jordan's eyes grew three sizes as her head spun around to look up at Hailey, shooting her a look that screamed even more unexpected excitement.

Hailey dropped her jaw to simulate Jordan's level of excitement. "Lucky you. What do you say?" She prompted.

Looking back up at Jay, Jordan said a quiet thank you before she shyly took a sip of the hot chocolate, rocking back on her heels to lean against Hailey as she did so.

"You're welcome," Jay told her, offering Hailey one of the two medium sized cups next. "Don't worry. Didn't forget about you," he joked.

Grateful, Hailey took it from him. "Thank you," she said, echoing Jordan's words. She placed her hand on top of Jordan's head then as her daughter tilted it back to look up at her.

"Can we go now?" Jordan asked. "I wanna get a good spot."

"As soon as you go get dressed," Hailey urged, nodding her head in the direction of the hall.

Belatedly, Jordan remembered the state of her current outfit: flannel pajamas pants, an oversized t-shirt that once upon a time belonged to Hailey, and a pair of corgi dog slippers. "Oh, right," she giggled, handing her hot chocolate to Hailey. "Be right back." And with that, she turned and scurried off to go change.

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From Columbus Drive to State Street, the Chicago Riverwalk was packed with city goers eager to watch it turn green. Jordan was practically bouncing with excitement by the time they made it to the start of the Michigan Avenue Bridge — the best place in the city to watch the boats glide through the river. Unfortunately, it too was packed with people, even more so than each of the sidewalks to either side below.

"We're too late," Jordan complained, pouting as she leaned up on her tiptoes to try and get a glance of… literally anything.

Hailey gave the hand of hers that she was holding a reassuring squeeze. "No, we'll find a spot," she told her, scanning the crowd herself for a spot they could maybe squeeze into that was up closer towards the front. However, their odds were looking pretty slim with everyone standing as shoulder to shoulder as they were. It didn't help that almost half of them seemed to have gotten an early start on drinking some of that green beer, either.

"Ouch!" Jordan yelped then, stumbling sideways as a twenty-something year old boy holding a water bottle that was definitely not full of water stumbled into her. One of his large feet stomped down on top of one of her much tinier boots as he struggled to regain his balance.

Before he could do any more damage, Jay caught the guy by the upper arm and yanked him away from Jordan. "Hey, watch yourself." Smelling the alcohol on his breath, he added. "It's not even 9am, dude. There are kids here."

"Chill out, old man," the drunk guy slurred, pulling away from his grasp. "We're just having fun."

"'Old man'?" Jay repeated in an unimpressed tone. With one hand, he lifted his jacket enough to reveal the badge clipped onto the waist band of his pants and snatched the vodka-filled water bottle out of the guy's hand with his other. "Do me a favor? Get lost."

With a shake of his head, Jay shoved the water bottle into his back pocket and watched as the guy and his buddies all scrambled to do just that, disappearing into the crowd to more than likely disturb someone else's peace. Once he was out of sight, he turned his attention back to Jordan, who was already pretty much over what had happened after being momentarily comforted by Hailey.

"She okay?" He checked with his partner, who'd moved Jordan so that she was now standing in front of her so she could wrap her arms around her shoulders in a protective stance.

"Yeah, she's fine," Hailey said, smoothing a hand over the top of Jordan's head. Looking down at her daughter, she smiled to herself. She'd witnessed Jay acting defensively on her own behalf countless times, but for some reason, seeing Jay protective of her daughter hit differently. "Thanks," she added, looking up at Jay then so he would know the smile was for him. They locked eyes for a moment, until Jay lowered his to the smaller of the two blondes next to him.

"Can you see okay?" Jay asked Jordan, who was craning her neck to get a glimpse of the river between two taller bodies that stood before her.

"Kind of," she said.

Getting an idea, Jay held his hands out towards Jordan, like he was offering to pick her up. "Come here."

Hailey loosened her arms around Jordan's shoulders so she could scoot over towards him. With ease, Jay spun Jordan around, slid his hands underneath her armpits, and in one swift movement lifted her up behind his head and onto his shoulders. "How's that? Better?" He asked.

Jordan had laughed, surprised to be lifted as high into the air as she was. Holding onto the top of Jay's head, she nodded, looking out towards the river just in time to see boats emerging from underneath the bridge they were standing on. "Yeah! There are the boats!" She shouted, a smile spread across her face as she thrust one of her arms out and pointed towards them.

Jay wobbled ever so slightly as she leaned forward, but was quick to readjust the secure hold he had on her legs so she wouldn't fall. Catching Hailey staring at him out of the corner of his eye, he questioned, "What?"

About a million thoughts were racing through Hailey's head at that moment, at the sight before her eyes, but not a single one of them was appropriate to say out loud. "You got her, old man?" She joked, earning an eye roll with a half smile from him in response.

"Yeah, I got her. She's tiny. Like you."

They held one another's gaze for a second longer, a moment of silent communication, until Jordan's squeals and exclamations reluctantly drew their focuses back to the main attraction: the boats swirling in literal circles down the Chicago River, transforming its normally murky-colored water into a bright, festive green.

––––––

"That was so much fun," Jordan mused from the backseat of Jay's car, buckling herself in. "You should come with us every year, Jay."

Jay turned to look over his shoulder at her before starting the car after doing the same. "Yeah? Well, if your mom's cool with it…" His words trailed off as his eyes moved from the nine year old to his partner who was sitting directly in front of her in the passenger seat.

"She's cool with it," Jordan cut in before Hailey had the chance to comment.

Hailey laughed and shook her head — and was that a slight blush on her cheeks, or just her skin's natural reaction to the bitter cold weather they were just out in? "What can I say, she speaks the truth," she admitted, looking at Jay and leaning her head back against the headrest with a smile. She watched as he started the car with a similar grin plastered to his face, her smile remaining as she spotted the letter bead bracelet he still wore on his wrist as he reached for the steering wheel. She couldn't believe he was still wearing that thing.

At the same time, knowing his heart — and the special kind of heart that it was — she also wasn't the least bit surprised.

"I still owe you a green beer," she recalled, shifting her eyes to the road as Jay backed out of their parking spot and pulled onto the street. Groups of pedestrians decked out in green still littered the sidewalks, likely hopping from bar to bar for some green beer themselves. St. Patricks Day weekend in Chicago always made for some interesting people watching, as well as interesting calls for the poor cops who were on duty on patrol.

"I've got a confession," Jay said in response, looking at Hailey briefly before returning his eyes to the road. "Green beer is actually disgusting."

"So that was just a ploy," Hailey accused, turning to look at him.

Jay shrugged innocently, slowing the car as they approached a four way intersection with a red light. "I mean it worked, didn't it?" He said, turning his head to meet her eyes. She confirmed his suspicions with a silent shake of her head. "You know green beer doesn't actually taste different, it's just food coloring," Jay elaborated. "I've never been able to get past the green, though. It weirds me out."

"Some Irishman you are," Hailey retorted.

This time, Jay was the one who amusedly shook his head. Technically, she had a point.

After the light had turned green, he returned his focus to the road and pulled out into the intersection. And it had been clear when he had.

"Mom!" Was all either of them heard — Jordan's abrupt, shrill voice the only bit of warning Jay'd had. And it hadn't been enough.

Jordan watched through her window, helpless, as the truck that nearly matched Jay's in size came swerving towards them, barreling through their own red light.