A/N: Hello! I can't believe we're at Chapter 10 already. Thank you all for all your support, especially recently on Hailey's start to recovery. You've all been the sweetest. How's some happy(ish?) Upstead sound? Let me know what you think!
"Vanessa Rojas, nice to meet you."
Jay's eyes flickered from staring at the short brunette to look at Voight as he deadpanned, "You're joking me."
"Not at all," Voight said and shook his head. He pointed between them all when he explained, "For now, Rojas and Burgess, Halstead will ride with me."
Jay's eyes widened and he looked at everyone else before saying, "Are we just forgetting about Hailey? She's not dead! She's going home tomorrow!"
"And getting a mandatory month off as she recovers," Voight nodded, "End of discussion." He walked past everyone into his office leaving Jay stunned in the middle of the bullpen.
Hailey had been in the hospital for just over a week and it had quite possibly been the longest week of his life. He visited her each morning before work and every night after while texting her in between. After she'd closed off for those few days and finally let him back in, they fell into a new normal that he grew to appreciate. Seeing her begin to smile again and relax wasn't as good as when she wasn't covered in bruises, but it was good enough.
As if she knew he was thinking about her, his phone buzzed with a text from her.
~ Will brought me a milkshake. Your brother's not half bad. Might be my favorite doctor in this place ~
He cracked a smile and walked into the break room to call her.
"A milkshake, huh?" he said the second he heard her answer the phone.
"Chocolate too," Hailey laughed.
Jay laughed with her and sat on the couch. "How's the rest of your lunch?"
Hailey sighed and seemed to debate her words for a minute before whispering, "Can you please bring me a gyro for dinner? I'll pay you back since you bought last night."
"Yeah, I can do that. Hopefully we won't be here too long today."
"How's it going?"
Jay glanced out the door to see Kim, Adam, and Kevin talking to the new girl. He took a deep breath then rubbed his face trying to find the right words.
Hailey had made it clear the past few days that she planned on returning to work. None of them doubted that would be her stance, but they hadn't really expected her to want to jump back in right away.
"I'm hoping Voight won't keep me away for long," she had said two days before to them all as they sat in her hospital room eating pizza, "I get it, I'm…hurt…but still. It's not my dominant hand."
No one had really said anything in response. Jay hadn't known what to say, but the looks on Kim and Kevin's faces told him they knew something he didn't.
Looking back, perhaps they'd known then what was coming.
"Did she show up yet?"
Jay's eyes widened and he asked, "What?"
"Platt stopped by a little bit ago."
Her voice felt very small now on the other end of the phone.
Jay frowned and said quietly, "Yeah, she's here."
"Is she nice?"
Jay again glanced to the bullpen. "Sure," he answered.
To his surprise, Hailey sighed, "Jay."
"What?"
"You're pissed, but can't you be nice about it?"
He let out a breath and admitted, "I didn't realize you'd be gone a month."
"I know. I didn't either. It's not even the worst part."
"What do you mean?"
"Um…Platt…she's worried…I…" Hailey groaned and Jay could hear her shifting around on the bed until she said quietly, "She wants me to go to therapy."
Jay licked his lips and slowly nodded. If he was honest, he'd been thinking the same thing. She'd had such a hard time those first few days with accepting what had happened to her, he didn't know how she was going to react to going home or the trial or anything else that was to come. Years before, she had been the one to push him toward therapy – now it was his turn.
What surprised him, though, was when Hailey's voice came through to say, "I think she's right."
"You do?"
Hailey hummed then added a beat later, "It's only fair, right? If it were any other…victim, we'd have her-"
"Or him," Jay said as if that would help.
"Or him," Hailey repeated and he could hear a smile in her voice at the reminder that she wasn't alone in what had happened to her. "If it were anyone else, I would recommend they go to therapy, so I guess it's my turn now," she finished with her voice fading with each word.
"I agree," Jay admitted, "I…I think there's going to be a lot coming up and…" He closed his eyes remembering a conversation he'd had with Will one night as they walked out of the hospital together.
"I know when she first got hurt that I told you you'd have to be the one to support her, but that wasn't fair."
"What're you talking about?"
"You're her friend, but you're not a trained therapist, Jay. You might be able to make her laugh and help her into a sweatshirt, but you don't know all the ways to help her recover. Let a professional handle it."
"And I think there are people who are better trained than me," he reluctantly finished.
"Yeah," Hailey whispered.
Jay cleared his throat and looked down at his feet.
"Jay?"
"Hailey?"
She laughed softly then asked, "We'll still talk, though, right? That's not changing? We can still get a beer and have pizza?"
"Hailey," Jay said and sat up on the couch, "It's gonna take a lot more than some therapist to keep me away from you. I meant what I told you that night: I'm not leaving you."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They fell silent and Jay turned back to look out at everyone. He sighed and said quietly, "I should go."
"Yeah."
"Hailey, it's going to be okay. We're going to be okay."
"Thank you. Really. For everything."
"Talk later, okay? Text me if you need anything. I'll be there around six, but-"
"I know. Thank you."
Jay hesitated then reluctantly ended the call.
More than anything, he wanted to be at the hospital with her. She had one more night, but he really wished she could go home today. He knew Trudy had pulled some strings and gotten her a longer stay than maybe necessary because her house was technically a crime scene. Kim and Adam had stopped by the day before and said a lot of the mess had been cleaned up – the broken glass was gone, there weren't any traces of blood, and the hole in the wall had been repaired. They thought she'd be able to return and be okay, but Jay knew differently.
He already anticipated Hailey putting on a front. He expected her to tell him she was fine, but he couldn't see a world in which she was. It felt like simple victim psychology to have a hard time returning to the scene of the crime - he'd seen it multiple times in his own career – so there was no way it could go well. In all honesty, he had been debating packing a spare set of clothes in his truck in case she wanted him to stay the night. He didn't know exactly why that would come up, but he didn't want her to be alone if she didn't want to be.
However, she had met with Dr. Charles a few times, so maybe she'd surprise him and be okay with going home and staying there on her own.
Chewing his lip, he pushed off the couch and returned to the bullpen to see Vanessa settling into Antonio's old desk near Kim's. He glanced at her and suddenly felt bad for his earlier attitude. It wasn't like she came in just to replace Hailey – in the last year, they had lost two other detectives, so they needed someone new. He couldn't deny that having an extra pair of hands, especially when doing surveillance and paperwork, was going to be nice.
He slowly walked over to her desk and said quietly, "Welcome to the team."
Shocked, she looked up then around as if to confirm he really was talking to her. "Um, thanks," she said after a beat.
He spotted a pad of sticky notes on the desk and grabbed a pen to quickly scrawl his phone number on it. "If you need anything ever," he explained before returning to his desk.
It was what Hailey wanted. He felt pretty sure about that.
Whenever he had a second to spare, Jay felt himself worrying about tomorrow and Hailey returning home. He kept telling himself that it was going to be okay, but for some reason he really, really doubted it.
Even as he made the too-familiar walk up to Hailey's room with a bag of gyros in hand, he wondered what the right response to a negative reaction should be. Should he hug her if she starts crying about it? Hold her hand again? Just sit there and listen to her vent? They all seemed like good options.
Like usual, he knocked on the door before entering only to immediately freeze: Will was standing to Hailey's side and removing the staples from her head.
"Will," she hissed and winced.
"I'm sorry, last one," Will said quietly.
Jay cleared his throat and hesitantly stepped forward.
Hailey's eyes flickered over to him and she tried to smile. "Hi," she whispered.
Will glanced over his shoulder and said, "Hey. Just finishing up. I got held up with some stuff earlier."
Jay swallowed and scrunched his nose when Will finally dropped the staple into the bowl on the table.
"How's it feel?" he asked.
"Kind of sore, but I'll survive," Hailey said and hesitantly reached up to touch her head. She looked over at Jay and asked, "You okay? That gross you out too much?"
He tried to laugh and just waved his free hand as he said, "I'm fine. I've had my fair share of stitches. Never seen staples being taken out, though. I might not use a stapler on any of my paperwork ever again, but as long as your head is in one piece, I won't complain."
Hailey smiled then turned back to Will. "Thank you for all of this. I'm glad it's been you."
He smiled back and said, "It's been my pleasure. You're pretty damn stubborn like another detective I know, but you don't faint at needles and talk to me when I come visit, so you're the perfect patient."
"Oh, ha ha," Jay replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes. He walked over to set the bag of food down on Hailey's table once Will had cleared it of all his tools. "Picked up that gyro for you," he explained and pulled it out, "Also got one for myself because I was hungry too. Hope you don't mind the company."
"Your company? Never," Hailey gently teased. She then pointed toward her bag on the couch that Kim had brought her a few days before and said, "Mind passing me my wallet? I'll pay you back."
"You don't have to do that," Jay said while pulling the recliner closer.
Will chuckled to himself as he began washing his hands.
"Jay," Hailey sighed, but didn't say anything else and just grabbed her phone.
He was just about to bite into his own gyro when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He set his sandwich down then grabbed it out and saw Hailey had sent him $20 on Venmo. "Really?" he said.
She shrugged and unwrapped her gryo with a small smirk on her face.
Will returned to her side, grabbed a chip from Jay's box, and said, "I'm leaving at nine, but call me if you need anything."
Hailey nodded and waved at him as he walked out of the room.
"You really like spending time with him?" Jay joked.
Hailey rolled her eyes and said, "Yes. He's a good doctor. The night nurse too, Evelyn, she's awesome. And there's this nurse that I think you might have met, her name's Coral, but she doesn't really show up when you're around, she must think you can take care of me yourself." She smiled at him and winked before taking a bite of her gyro.
Jay cleared his throat with a short laugh and tried to keep his eyes from widening as he asked, "Oh, really? What-uh-what's she like?"
"Pretty nice," Hailey said with a shrug once she swallowed her bite, "A little strict, but I respect it. I can maybe be a little stubborn sometimes, so I might deserve it."
Jay weakly laughed again and nodded while picking up his gyro; he took a slow bite to avoid saying anything as he chewed over his words.
He'd felt like things were really good between him and Hailey lately that there was no reason to bring any sort of drama into their friendship – he wasn't going to tell her he liked her, but he also wasn't going to tell her that the night her relationship started to crumble was the night that he'd also made-out with another girl in the back of a bar. He had met Coral, it was just before Hailey's surgery, not that morning like she may have thought. However, he really didn't give much thought to her at all after that night. She wasn't someone that lingered in his thoughts late at night or while he was in the shower – that was Hailey.
So he settled on nodding again and saying, "Most stubborn girl I know."
Hailey laughed and rolled her eyes. "And you're the most stubborn guy I know," she said and held out her gyro to tap it to his, "Cheers to that."
Jay finally let out a real chuckle and repeated, "Cheers."
Hailey's face lit up as she got comfortable on her bed and continued eating her dinner. They discussed the day – Hailey's last few check-ups, Jay's thoughts on the new officer in the unit – and some dumb story she'd seen on the news that morning about a person keeping an alligator in their house.
Jay was laughing at her impression of how she would have reacted had she been the officer on the call when he thought back to his conversations with Kim and Adam about Hailey's own house. He'd wondered earlier if she'd be able to return to her condo, and now that thought circled back through his brain.
He never knew how people could return to their homes if someone they loved had been murdered there or even if there had been some sort of robbery. Now, Hailey was going to have to be that person.
He took a deep breath once he quieted down then hesitantly said, "Hailey?"
She hummed and finished her bottle of water.
"I'm driving you tomorrow, right?" he asked.
She nodded then met his eyes. Her smile seemed to fade for a moment before she said, "Can you not now?"
"No, uh, I definitely can," Jay said with another deep breath, "I was just wondering how you felt about all of that. We haven't really talked about it yet."
Hailey slowly nodded again then scooted back on her bed. "I have talked about it with Dr. Charles," she admitted quietly, "And I think I do want to go back. I want to get my stuff, you know?" She weakly laughed and chewed her lip while shrugging.
"Yeah," Jay breathed. He watched her for a moment before saying without thinking, "You can stay with me if you need to."
He hadn't considered having Hailey stay with him – he even only had one bed – but he'd always wanted to protect her and keep her safe. Their relationship didn't matter – partners, friends, something more – all that mattered was knowing Hailey was happy. If she stayed at his own apartment for the time being, then he could know what she was going through and maybe even help her through everything more than if she was on her own. It seemed like the right thing to say even if it was a sudden idea he hadn't first thought all the way through.
Hailey's eyes shot open and she asked, "What?"
Jay swallowed and nodded as he said, "Yeah. Yeah, you can stay with me if you need to. I don't know what your thoughts about your own place have been, but if things get too much, my place is open for you."
Hailey sucked in a breath then said, "Well…thank you. I…thank you." She squeezed her eyes shut and began twisting her fingers together as best she could despite the cast. After a minute, she said quietly, "Dr. Charles told me that I wouldn't be weak for getting a new place because that was a fear I had. I didn't want to be this cop that was scared of her own house, but also…how could I be scared of a place? I don't even know what it looks like right now. I can barely remember what exactly everything looked like that night. He…He threw my gun, so that probably broke something."
As she talked, Jay slowly nodded along because everything she said made sense to him. It seemed on pace with what he thought she'd be feeling, so he went with it. He just wanted to support her; for the past week, it's all he figured he could do.
Hailey paused then asked, "Have you been there at all? What's it like?"
"I haven't," he answered, "Kim and Adam have, though, and they said it's been cleaned up a bit. The gun…the gun put a hole in the wall, but Trudy made sure it's been patched."
Hailey sniffled and whispered, "That's nice."
Jay nodded. He watched her for a moment before saying, "I know you're nervous, so the offer stands and it will stand for a long time. If you want to go back to your place tomorrow, I'll drive you there. If you want me to take you straight to my place, I'm cool with that too. If you stay at your house for a month and then decide you want to leave, I will be there with my truck taking any furniture you need."
A smile crossed Hailey's face as she said, "Thank you."
"Any time," Jay replied and smiled back.
Hailey quickly pulled herself together then shifted further on her bed. Patting the mattress beside her, she asked, "Sit?"
Jay held her eye contact for a moment then nodded and pushed the table to the side so he could walk around it and sit next to her. The second he was there, she scooted back toward him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you," she whispered and placed her casted hand over his own on his thigh.
Jay smiled and flipped his hand over to grab onto her fingers as best he could. "You're welcome."
A smile ghosted over Hailey's face and she leaned further into him.
Jay turned his head toward her and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. She didn't quite smell like his usual Hailey, but he knew she was in there. She might have smelt like a hospital and be covered in bruises, but she was still his Hailey. Always.
Two hours later, the hot shower water washed over Jay as he stood still underneath it. He showered most nights to avoid having to wake up even earlier than usual before work, but for the past week, he'd made sure to shower upon returning home from the hospital almost immediately. It wasn't anything against Hailey, he just hated feeling like the hospital and all its sadness was still on him.
The hot water also numbed him from any emotions that had been stirred up from the past few hours. For the last year, memories of his last moments with his father haunted him each time he walked into a hospital no matter the reason. Before that had happened, it'd be various cases that lived in the back of his mind, his own trips to the hospital, or just general sadness. The worst had always been any trip he'd had to take during his time on patrol – his mother's death was still very fresh in his mind to the point that he'd felt sick each time he was even near the building.
And then Hailey was admitted and it was like a knife to the gut every…single…day.
He stood now breathing in the steam with both hands against the walls of his shower to hold him up. Thinking of Hailey in some stark white bed covered in bruises made him just as sick as the memory of his mom dying. She just looked so incredibly small sitting there each day. While he knew she was still his Hailey, her smile wasn't as big and she was much quieter. He had noticed rather early on that her nervous scratching she had occasionally done in the past had returned in full force; the cast prevented some of it from happening, but he had still spotted a few stray scratches on her neck or her arms.
However, thinking of it, it wasn't the bruises or the scratching or even the IV she once had that made him the sickest, it was the fact that he could have done something.
For one, he set her up with him. He then didn't push hard enough when it came to the hickeys and the bruises. He didn't tell her his true thoughts about the bracelet. He didn't say anything when he'd interrupted her hand reaching toward him outside the bar.
And, worst of all, he didn't make it in time to her condo when he'd hurt her.
He squeezed his eyes shut and coughed against the bile forming in his throat. Tilting his head down against the burning stream of water, he prayed the guilt that was eating at him would eventually end, but he doubted that would ever happen.
Was he the one who had hurt her? No.
Did he do anything to prevent it from happening? Also…probably not.
Tears as hot as the water streaming against him formed in his eyes and the air stuck in his throat preventing him from properly breathing. It was as painful as the reality of Hailey's entire situation was.
He didn't know how many times he'd cried in this shower now within the past week, but it was perhaps more than all he'd done in the years leading up to it.
Eventually, his hands were shaking against the tile and the water was turning cold, so he ripped himself from his position and shut the shower off. Standing there with the water dripping off of him, he tried finding one positive thing to focus on before stepping into the cool air of his bathroom. Four days before, it had been the fact that Hailey's IV was taken out. The day after that, he was pretty happy that he'd finished all his paperwork early and had gotten to Hailey before 5:30pm. Today…he struggled for a moment and wracked his brain for something good to grasp onto.
Just when he was getting frustrated, he heard his phone ringing in his bedroom.
The heat from the shower got to his head causing him to stumble out of the bathroom to answer it in fear it was the hospital. The second he noticed Hailey's picture on the screen, he dove onto the bed to grab it.
"Hey," he croaked into the speaker, wincing that the tears were still evident in his voice.
"Hi," she replied quietly.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Um…I-I was thinking and I think I like your idea."
Jay raised an eyebrow and sat up on the bed as he asked, "What idea?"
"Staying at your apartment. I think I need to do that for a little bit. I don't…I don't think I can live at that condo anymore. My lease is almost up anyways. Is that okay?"
Her words sank into him and suddenly became his reason for stepping out of the shower.
"Definitely okay," he said softly, "You can stay as long as you need."
Hailey let out a long breath, but it didn't seem to be a sigh of annoyance rather one of relief. "Thank you, I appreciate it."
"Of course, mi casa es su casa."
Hailey laughed and it helped ease any of the nerves Jay had been feeling. "I'd still like to go back to grab some stuff, but I think it'd be too hard to stay there. Is that stupid?"
"Not at all. I'll drive you, okay? And I can help you grab whatever you need."
"Thank you."
Jay chewed his lip then said, "We'll figure it out, Hailey. We can get through this together. I'm not leaving you, remember? I'm keeping that promise."
"I know. Thank you, Jay."
"You're welcome, Hailey."
She laughed again then was cut off by someone in the background. After a second of listening to whoever talk, she said, "I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight…again."
Jay chuckled and replied, "Night. See you in the morning."
"Bye."
Jay smiled at the phone once she ended the call and nodded to himself.
They really were going to figure this all out together, and he was going to be by her side every step of the way. Literally.
He found it in himself to get off the bed and go pull some pajamas on. He just kept thinking of Hailey and how confident he felt now that she was going to be okay. He knew she wasn't going to go through this alone anymore because she asked him herself for help – technically, she asked for a place to stay, but he was going to take the win.
Throwing the now wet comforter off of the bed, he settled himself within the blankets and stared up at the ceiling.
"Thanks, Mom," he whispered after a moment, "She's going to be okay, and I think I will too."
He then rolled over and pulled a pillow closer to his head before falling asleep easily for the first time in over a week.
Waking up, it took him a minute to remember the conversation he'd had with Hailey the night before.
They'd actually settled on her staying with him for the time being. They were going to live together.
At the time, it felt like the right, easy choice. Now, he wondered what he was thinking. He wanted to stick to his own decision and not make any sort of move with Hailey, so he wondered how long he could hold off saying anything. He knew she was having a hard time as is about him and what had happened, now was not the time to tell her he liked her. Despite any feelings he had for her, she was more important than he was, that was for sure.
He sat up with a groan and looked around. His room wasn't dirty by any means, but he wanted Hailey to be comfortable as she stayed with him, so he needed to at least wash the sheets and straighten up before going to get her.
Rolling out of bed, he rubbed a hand over his face and padded over to his dresser. He pulled out a pair of jeans that he slipped on. Just as he began walking over to his closet for a shirt, he felt something against his leg in his pants. He paused thinking it was a drier sheet, but upon sticking his hand in the pocket pulled out a bracelet.
It was Hailey's bracelet from him.
His mouth felt dry as he stared at it in the palm of his hand. It had to have been from when he'd taken it off of her the week before. So much had happened that night and the following days that he completely forgot it had been in his pocket all along.
Personally, he wanted to throw it out. Maybe burn it. Toss it in the river. Down the garbage disposal.
But it wasn't his.
It was Hailey's, and she had the right to do as she'd like with it.
So he tossed it in his bedside drawer and went on with his morning. Neither of them needed to bring that energy into their day.
Soon enough, there were new, clean sheets on the bed and a spot was cleared in his closet for any clothes Hailey may bring. He cleaned out the bathroom and even folded the toilet paper into a triangle. The kitchen was next, so he double-checked the amount of food he had and figured a stop at the grocery store wouldn't be a bad idea. Once he made sure there was an extra set of blankets that he could use on the couch for the next few days or even weeks, he grabbed his keys and headed out.
Picking up Hailey actually made him laugh because she was pouting at having to be in a wheelchair for the walk down to the lobby. She argued that her legs were never an issue and that her ribs felt fine, but the nurse – a guy named Drake since apparently Coral was too busy according to Hailey to take her down – didn't budge and just pushed the chair as Jay followed behind carrying the duffel Kim had brought Hailey days before.
"Need me to lift you?" he asked when they reached the truck waiting alongside the curb.
"As if this isn't humiliating enough," Hailey grumbled and slowly stood up. She looked between him and Drake and said, "See? I'm totally fine."
Drake nodded, but there was still a hint of a smile on his face as he replied, "That's great, Hailey. It was nice working with you."
"Thank you, you too," she breathed before turning and studying the truck.
Jay tossed her duffle bag in the backseat then raised an eyebrow and gestured toward the door.
Hailey rolled her eyes causing him to laugh and opened the door. Reaching up to the handle with a wince, she heaved herself into the passenger seat letting out a low groan.
"You good?" Jay asked.
She nodded and rested her head back on the seat.
Jay smiled and patted her arm softly before stepping back to shut the door. He was in the driver's seat a second later asking, "Your place?"
Hailey glanced toward him with a slight nod.
"Hey," he whispered and put his hand out. Once she smiled at her hair tie still around his wrist, he said, "Together, okay? You've got this."
She nodded again before lightly hitting her hand to his. He smiled and winked back at her before starting the car and beginning the familiar drive. Throughout the short trip, she didn't make any comments or remarks, just letting the soft music in the background be the only noise between the two of them.
Jay eventually slowed the truck in front of Hailey's condo and took a deep breath before looking toward her. She was staring out the window, though, and didn't move.
"I can go in myself," he said softly.
She slowly shook her head before unlocking the truck door and slipping out. Jay did the same and silently followed her up the sidewalk to the front door. Breathing slowly, she put her hand on the door for a moment then shakily took her key out and slid it into the lock. The click cracked through the air as the door was pushed open.
Months before when he'd come over at the start of her relationship with him, Jay hadn't paid too much attention to the condo. It was clearly lived in, but clean. Shoes had been shoved off to the side near the closet and maybe there had been a glass or two near the sink. It was a home.
About ten days before, Jay had paid attention to his surroundings. There had been all the broken glass, overturned furniture, and a hole in the wall at the top of the stairs. It was the complete opposite of what it had been before.
Now…it was in a weird in-between phase. All the glass had been swept up, but that left the entryway table looking rather empty. The once blood stained hardwood floor was clean giving the entire place the smell of bleach. The hole from the gun had been patched, but it hadn't been painted over leaving a chunk of drywall showing. It still didn't feel like home.
Hailey rubbed the back of her hand under her nose then mumbled, "Come on," and led the way up the stairs.
Letting out a long exhale, Jay nodded and followed her into her room. He'd never been in it, but it instantly felt cozy. While it was similar in colors to his own, there was something open and light about her space. It was bigger than his own room, so there was that, and her bedding was teal whereas his was just another shade of dark brown. He liked that hers was teal and actually smiled as he walked over to it.
Hailey glanced back at him and asked, "Can you grab my pillow? And that purple blanket at the bottom of the bed?"
"Course," he said and picked up the pillow closest to him. Underneath it was a black t-shirt balled up with a pair of green boxers. He hesitated for a moment and wondered if he'd found some of his old stuff.
"Oh, those too. They're my favorite. I was wondering why Kim couldn't find them, but duh."
Jay looked up at Hailey's voice to see her stuffing clothes into a suitcase. "These are yours?" he asked.
She nodded and reached up to grab a handful of t-shirts from a drawer.
Picking up the pajamas, Jay's eyes widened before his face broke into a grin. They were men's clothes like he'd assumed, but they were his own. Hailey had been sleeping in the t-shirt he'd lent her weeks before when she'd ripped her own at work. He didn't know what kind of boxers he had worn, but something told him Hailey was the one who picked out the looser plaid shorts.
He folded the clothes then slid them in the pillowcase before grabbing the blanket. "What else?"
"Um," Hailey sighed and he turned as she opened her closet to grab out a few flannel shirts and sweaters. "Are you good at folding?" she asked.
"Oh, the best," he easily lied and walked over. He knelt on the ground and tugged her suitcase closer just as she tossed the shirts at him.
"Are you really?" she smiled.
He chuckled and shook his head. "Not the best," he admitted, "But I'm not awful at it. I'll try my best."
"That's all I ask," she laughed softly, "I think those should be it." Bending down, she grabbed an empty black backpack from her closet and asked, "Are you okay with me bringing a couple things to do? I don't know how long till I get my own place, but if I can't work for a month-"
"I really don't mind," he said while folding a green button down, "Seriously, bring everything if you want. We'll figure it out. I don't have much."
Hailey smiled slightly then squeezed his shoulder before walking out of the room.
Folding her few chosen shirts didn't take long, yet it gave Jay time to think about what exactly they were doing. He didn't know if it was being in her apartment helping her pack her clothes or the fact that his own place was clean and ready for her, but he didn't feel nervous. If anything, he felt rather calm. Hailey was going to be recovering in his apartment and it just felt right. Like he'd been saying, they really were going to be okay.
It took him a minute to squish the suitcase down now also filled with the blanket and pillow, but then he was zipping it up and rolling it out of the room. He could hear Hailey downstairs, so he figured he'd give the rest of the upstairs a once-over before joining her.
Her bathroom was first, but it already seemed to be cleaned out by Kim. The curtain was pushed to the side too, so he assumed Hailey had grabbed out her own soap and shampoo minutes before.
Next came a guest room that he almost blew past until he noticed an easel nearby a window with a few blank canvases leaned up against the wall next to it. He flipped on the light while stepping into the room. Standing next to the easel, he could tell that the lighting outside was probably the reason for its position. He also assumed that the sunset looked rather pretty from this direction. He felt bad that Hailey hadn't grabbed it, but guessed it had to do with its size. It wasn't big, just looked a bit hard to maneuver and was probably something Hailey had considered when picking what to bring with her. Frowning slightly, he brushed his fingers over the plastic before walking out of the room and leaving it as is.
"What else do you need?" he asked while carrying the suitcase down the stairs, "There's a lot of room in the truck, so we can fit more than this."
But Hailey wasn't paying much attention to him and was instead standing a few feet away from him staring in the mirror near her front door.
"You good?" he asked and stood by her side only to realize she wasn't staring at her reflection, rather she was looking at wooden cross nailed to the wall to the right of the mirror.
To his surprise, Hailey shook her head. She blinked her eyes quickly against a few tears that had formed and shakily reached up to pull at the cross until it came off. Her fingers were still shaking as she traced along the simple wood.
Jay watched her sniffle and grip at the cross. He had no idea what it truly meant, it didn't look exactly like the cross his mom had once had in their house, but it was clearly something to her, so he said softly, "Bring it."
Hailey nodded and carried it over to the backpack on the couch. She carefully set it in the front pouch and zipped it inside. "I'm ready," she whispered.
"You sure?" Jay asked.
She nodded again and wiped at her face. After slinging the backpack over her shoulder, she picked up a rolled-up yoga mat and grabbed a few grocery bags.
"I have food," Jay said, but still grabbed a small cooler from the couch along with latched wooden box.
"This is just a couple snacks and stuff that'll go bad soon," Hailey quietly explained, "I grabbed my tequila too."
"Well, I can't argue with that, can I?" Jay gently teased.
Hailey finally smiled again and nodded.
"We can always come back if we need to," Jay said.
"I know," Hailey breathed, "Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome," he said softly, "Back to the apartment?"
Hailey gave one last look around the condo. Her face seemed to fall further, but she just sucked her bottom lip in and turned on her heel to leave.
Jay took a deep breath before following her out. He gave her a second alone to lock up the place by heading over to the truck and tossing everything he was holding in the backseat. Hailey joined him a second later and added everything from her arms to the pile.
"You ready?" Jay asked with a hand on the door.
Hailey wiped her face from any stray tears and nodded. "Ready," she said.
Jay smiled and winked before walking around the truck to get in the driver's seat. He was ready too.
