A/N: Happy Monday! I hope you like this much lighter chapter compared to the others. Thank you all for you continued support :) Let me know what you think!


Hailey continued going out with Tarik for a month, and Jay remained the only person she ever really confided in. It was never much, but it gave him something to go off of.

"We went out for Indian last night and it wasn't bad."

"He's never even seen Friends. That's not a red flag, right?"

"Dogs, thank god."

"I just met him up at the bar."

"Actually yeah: Tarik and I are gonna go to the movies."

Their relationship seemed…plain. It was nothing super exciting, but nothing horrible either. Thinking about it, it felt appropriate. Each day of her life was unpredictable and filled with danger, Hailey deserved some normalcy, and apparently that's what Tarik was going to be for her.

The day felt long and dull as if they had typical 9-to-5 jobs: showing up after breakfast, filling out paperwork the entire day, taking an actual lunch break as a group not at their desks, and being dismissed at 4:45pm. It dragged. Jay could only push through the day and tried not to think about the admittedly dangerous situations he'd rather be in at any given moment.

On their walk to the parking lot, Kevin said, "Anyone else really not wanna go home and sit on their ass right now?"

"God, no," Kim groaned, "I feel like there are happy hours right now, right? I know of one that ends at six. Anyone want fried food and a half-off margarita?"

Hailey smiled, "I'm down, but I bet Jay says no because he's healthy."

He laughed despite the jab and just reached out to tug at her ponytail, "I like fries."

"How do you feel about onion rings?" Adam asked, "Or…red dye number twenty-four?"

"Is that even a thing?" Kim laughed.

"Who knows, but what alcohol is naturally bright red? I want to see Jay drink one of those frozen strawberry drinks," Adam smirked.

"You're hilarious, truly," Jay deadpanned. Together, they all stopped just outside the district door and he continued, "I'll go out with you all; I've actually been wanting wings."

Everyone split off in the direction of the restaurant. As he drove, Jay kept his eyes on his rearview mirror watching Hailey behind him. She was singing along with the radio until she seemed to catch his gaze. Laughing, she stuck her tongue out and waved. He chuckled and shook his head before turning all his attention to the road and continuing his drive.

Once everyone was settled in the long booth and drinks were ordered - in which Jay refused to follow suit with the margaritas and settled for a beer - Kim immediately turned to Hailey and asked, "So you've still been seeing the bartender, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Hailey put her hands on the table to play with the wrapper of her straw.

"What's he like?" Kevin asked.

Hailey held back a smile and shrugged, "He's nice. I like spending time with him and slowing down after work. It feels normal."

"What's not normal about us?" Adam teased.

Hailey shook her head causing her ponytail to brush against Jay's shoulder. He winked at her and shrugged earning a laugh.

"Does he have a friend?" Kim asked, "For maybe your own good friend?"

Hailey laughed again, "I don't know, I'll ask him. We've just been spending time together."

Everyone nodded in understanding and soon turned to their own conversations. Jay moved to talk to Hailey to his left, but she was already leaning against the table talking with Kevin. Instead of interrupting Kim and Adam's mildly heated debate on what flavor wings they should order, he turned to Hailey and just listened.

When he listened to her talk the month before, he listened. He absorbed all the information so he could properly respond in whatever she needed – a nod, a quiet 'yes,' squeezing her hand, or even just a twitch of his lips. Now when he listened, he relaxed – he sipped his beer, he smiled, and he rolled his eyes when she attempted a joke that fell flat.

He didn't know which version of listening he like better – one was incredibly intimate while the other was rather fun – and yet, he figured he'd want to do both again. In fact, he knew he'd do both again. He looked forward to it.

Finally, the array of appetizers and pizza they'd ordered covered the table, and they all began eating what felt like the best meal of their lives. It was everything they'd all been avoiding as they worked yet craved every minute.

Hailey finished all the cheese on her plate for her soft pretzel, but a glance to her right told her Jay still had some on his plate despite having finished his pretzel the minute before. She slipped her hand under his arm and swirled hers in the cheese he'd abandoned.

Jay glanced down at her hand and laughed, "Hi."

"Hi," she smiled and popped the pretzel in her mouth.

"I guess I was done."

"I really don't mind."

Jay laughed and shook his head, "I could be sick."

"If you were, I guarantee I already have it," Hailey smirked.

"Are you sick?" Kim asked as she cut up a couple pieces of chicken, "Cause you're annoying when you are."

"Excuse you," Jay said.

Kim shrugged, "I'm serious. You've broken how many bones, and yet you're never more annoying than when you have a cold."

"How kind." He replied and reached over to grab a chip off her plate.

"She has a point," Kevin chuckled.

Jay raised an eyebrow then added, "Go to hell."

"Oh, hush, you're fine," Hailey said, "Everyone gets crabby when they're sick-"

"See," Jay nodded.

"You just get extra crabby," Hailey finished.

Jay's eyes widened and he turned to look at her as she hid a smirk in her margarita. His mouth gaped for a moment before he just took a long drink from his beer.

Satisfied, Hailey straightened up in her seat and grabbed a piece of pizza.

"Whipped," Adam coughed.

Jay scoffed then shot him his middle finger.

"Boys, boys," Kim rolled her eyes and held up her hands as she teased, "Keep the gloves on."

Hailey laughed, "I'd pay to watch that."

"Money's on Jay," Kevin said.

Kim nodded quickly, "I could see it."

"I don't know," Hailey hummed, "I think Adam's a little bigger."

"You really are just insulting me tonight," Jay shook his head, "Thanks."

Hailey smiled and shrugged to say, "I like to tease."

"Tipsy too," Adam chuckled.

"Not at all," Hailey laughed, "That I'm sure of."

"Is yours strong?" Kim asked with a sip of her drink. She swirled her straw around, "I think mine is, but I also haven't had a decent margarita in forever."

"If you want a decent margarita, go to a Mexican restaurant, Burgess," Kevin teased.

She laughed softly, "Shut up."

Hailey took another sip of her own drink then hummed, "I don't really taste it." She pushed her glass closer to Jay and said, "Try it."

He raised an eyebrow when he asked, "Are you serious?"

She nodded, "Take a sip. It won't kill you. It's like a slurpee and you do like slurpees."

He smiled slightly because he knew this was new information to her. Just last week, the temperatures had peaked again causing them both to be pretty irritable, so he stopped at a gas station on the way back to the district parking lot to get them both drinks. They then sat in silence for a while just enjoying the ice before he told her about drinking slurpees with his mom and Will when he was younger. It was one of his favorite last day of school traditions he had, and she smiled the entire time as he talked.

He told her about his past almost as much as she told him about hers: extremely minimal. Lately, however, he'd been feeling this need to tell her more. Perhaps it was because they were just a couple months away from the anniversary of his dad's death. He knew it was that day that things truly shifted between the two of them.

While he still occasionally jolted awake in the middle of the night from the phantom feeling of the bullet connecting with his vest, it was Hailey's eyes and voice that truly kept him awake. She had sounded terrified as she scrambled to get his shirt and vest open before her hands brushed against his skin. Keeping his eyes on her had been difficult, but it almost became harder when he saw how scared she was. At that moment, he knew he was the one who had caused her that pain, and he still didn't know if he'd ever get over it.

It didn't help that that's when her relationship with Adam began – another thing that led him to how he felt now. Seeing her with him had been more of a knife wound than he had wanted to admit. However, he knew Adam would take care of her, so it eased any feelings he'd had knowing that she was at least happy and taken care of.

Now, with Tarik, he wasn't quite sure the same could be said. The guy just seemed so normal that he put Hailey off-balance. Plus, he hadn't even really talked to him that first night. He wanted to trust Hailey's judgment, though, that he was a good guy. It was going to have to be enough for now no matter how much it hurt hearing about her dates with someone else.

And yet right now with her blue eyes staring up at him in joy, she was with him, not Tarik, so he knew he needed to enjoy it.

Raising an eyebrow, he smirked and put a hand on the cup. "Strawberry, right?"

Hailey's eyes lit up and she nodded, "Strawberry lemonade. I'm telling you, you're going to like it."

He smiled in reply then took a sip of the drink. Sitting back, he nodded and said, "That was good."

"You can have more," Hailey smiled back, "Really, I'm fine with sharing. You can't even taste the tequila."

"Oh, you can taste it," Jay chuckled, "You just had a long day."

"Taste it or not, it's delicious," Hailey grabbed the straw back and took a long sip before dancing slightly in her seat and popping a piece of chicken in her mouth.

She was happy and it looked so good on her.

At least for about fifteen more minutes until her face flushed and she scooted away from Jay while sitting up.

He frowned at the loss of contact having just gotten used to her arm being pressed against his while they ate and tried following her eyes toward the door.

She was fighting something inside her as she tried figuring out herself what she'd just seen.

He glanced at her and let out a quiet laugh, "You good?"

Kim stopped talking and looked over her shoulder toward the door. "Do you see someone?"

"I…maybe?" Hailey pushed out of the booth and said, "Sorry, one second." She hurried over to the door and stepped outside in search of whatever she had possibly seen.

"Well, that's not good," Adam muttered.

"What're you talking about?" Kim asked, "It's weird, but I wouldn't say it's not good."

"What if it was her parents?" Adam shot back, "It's clearly someone she wasn't expecting to see."

Jay's face fell at that realization. He had a feeling that if it was her parents, she was going to be pretty off for a while.

"Has she talked about them lately?" Kevin asked.

"Uh, no," Jay shook his head, "We talked about them last month one night, but that was it. She was just figuring stuff out."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Jay took a deep breath, "Something just reminded her of growing up. She's good now."

Kim nodded and swirled her straw around. "Has she told her guy about all of that?"

Jay remembered what they had talked about before, but in all honesty, he didn't know if Hailey went through with talking to Tarik about her dad. He knew they'd mentioned it at least regarding the bruises, but he didn't know if the conversation ever happened. He hadn't asked, and maybe he should have.

"I don't know," he quietly admitted.

Hailey returned a moment later still looking confused. She ran a hand over her hair then took a long drink. Shaking her head, she looked at Kim and said, "You were talking about Hawaii."

No one said anything and just stared at her.

"What?" she asked.

"What was that?" Kevin countered.

Hailey glanced around then waved her hand before saying, "I just thought I saw someone. It's all good though. Tell us about Hawaii. I think I want to go there in the future and lay in the sun. It sounds amazing."

Adam leaned over the table and whispered, "Was it your parents?"

"What? No," Hailey shook her head, "Guys, I'm fine. It's nothing."

Kim still looked skeptical, but continued her story about Hawaii from when she was a flight attendant. Kevin and Adam exchanged a look with Jay before turning to listen to Kim. However, he wasn't as quick to move on and continued watching Hailey. She worked hard to ignore his gaze and stared intently at Kim. Also, she was no longer leaning into him even if had been unintentional before: instead of less than an inch between them, now there were about six. It took her a few minutes, but she eventually relaxed and moved closer to him. Her eyes stopped shifting over to the door and the smile was much more effortless than before. It calmed him down enough to believe that she was okay despite whatever had torn her from the table.

Eventually, they all walked out of the restaurant together once happily fed and with traces of a buzz swirling around them. Jay walked with Hailey to her car and decided one last time to ask, "So who was that?"

"Oh," Hailey shrugged, "Just thought I saw Tarik. I looked up and some guy was shaking his head and I thought it was him. He looked upset so that's why I hurried out of there, but when I got outside, I couldn't find him."

"Why would he have been upset?" Jay asked.

Hailey took a deep breath, "We talked about you yesterday."

Jay's eyes widened and he felt his face flush before he asked, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Hailey ran a hand over her hair once again then nervously twirled her ponytail, "He just asked a little more about work and the unit and he saw a picture of you in my place and recognized you from the bar last month. He seemed a little weary when I said we're friends, but I told him we were just that."

They were just that, so the answer worked…even if it stung a little to hear.

"Right," Jay nodded, "If you need me to talk to him-"

"No, that's silly, it's fine," Hailey shrugged, "Between the two of us, he's a little insecure – at least that's what I think. He said his last girlfriend cheated on him."

"When was that?" Jay asked.

"Like a year ago, but I get that he's still not over it," Hailey said, "Being cheated on sucks."

Jay snorted slightly, "Got experience?"

Hailey's lips finally tipped up and said, "Yeah – freshman year in college. Boys are the worst."

Jay laughed, "Hey, girls can cheat too."

"Have you ever been cheated on?"

"Look at me, no."

The words were barely out of his mouth before Hailey punched his arm. They both laughed, though, and couldn't stop for a solid minute.

"I'm serious," he eventually choked out, "Never been cheated on and never cheated on anyone. It's way too crappy. I'd break-up with her first before attempting anything stupid."

"Noted," Hailey laughed harder. When her laughter faded away, she unlocked her car and put her hand on the handle, "I'm glad you came out and I'm even happier that you tried my drink."

Jay laughed again and shook his head, "It was just a sip."

"But you liked it," Hailey pointed at him, "And that's all that matters."

Jay smiled and shrugged while putting his hands in his pockets, "I guess I did like it."

"This is where you say thank you for making you try new things," Hailey teased.

He barked out a laugh before jokingly saying, "Thank you for making me try your fancy margarita drink."

"My pleasure," Hailey said and tilted her head to the side still with a smile crossing her face that Jay didn't know he'd ever get tired of seeing. "See you tomorrow."

"Of course," Jay said softly and stepped back, "Goodnight, Hailey."

"Night, Jay," she waved then got in her car.

He waited for her to lock her doors back up before putting his head down against the soft breeze and heading to his car. Once in with the air conditioning on, he shot one last smile toward Hailey's car driving away. He looked around at the few cars in the parking lot before pulling out of his spot. Despite not seeing anyone get in the silver Malibu, he noticed its lights turn on in his rearview mirror. He brushed it out of his mind as he drove onto the road and toward his apartment while the Malibu turned right like Hailey had.

The rest of the night, he couldn't stop thinking of Hailey's laugh and the way her eyes lit up whenever she had teased him about anything. She'd made the early dinner at the restaurant much more enjoyable than he'd probably admit to anyone, but it was okay. He always looked forward to spending time with her – it didn't matter where he was or who else was there with them. Hailey brightened his day no matter what and it felt damn good.