A/N: Hi! Abby and I were talking about Friends per-usual and particularly one line from "The One Where Old Yeller Dies" and came up with this idea, so I hope you all like it and enjoy :)
During lunch, Hailey had overheard Kim and Adam in the break room whisper fighting about Makayla and a sick babysitter and an important meeting with the social worker. Hesitating for just a moment, she took a deep breath before stepping in and offering to help. She didn't have too much experience with younger kids, but Makayla was always sweet and had been a fan of the cookies she'd brought her the first time she met her - it was the right thing to do.
That night, even though they left work rather late, she had Jay stop at the store so she could pick up craft supplies, graham crackers, and apple juice for the next day despite his comments that everything would be fine.
"We have food and I bought you colored pencils for Christmas, remember?" he said as they walked into the drug store down the block from their apartment.
"But it's not kid food and those are fancy colored pencils for my nice coloring book; I love the girl, but I don't want her breaking my nice stuff," she argued back.
Jay chuckled and shook his head as she grabbed a small basket that she immediately tossed a couple chocolate bars in.
"That's for me," she said quietly and walked past him toward the kids' aisle.
"Mhmm," Jay hummed while following her throughout the store.
Upon returning home, he watched her unpack everything on the counter, arrange it a few times, then sit at the barstool to go on her phone. He figured she was just having a glass of water, but after coming out of their room once changing into sweats, he was surprised to still see her there, just now slowly making her way through one of the chocolate bars.
"Hails," he said and walked over to close their blinds, "Was kind of hoping we could watch another episode of Ozark tonight, you in?"
"Uh, no, no thanks," she replied without looking up.
Jay sighed then sat on their couch, "Really?" She hummed a response causing him to tip his head back and ask, "What are you even doing?"
"Looking up activities to do with seven-year-olds in apartments in the winter," she mumbled.
Jay turned on the couch and raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Because she's a seven-year-old who we'll be watching in our apartment in the winter," Hailey explained with a sigh. She trailed off then put a hand through her hair and said, "We don't have balloons."
"Hey, okay," Jay pushed off the couch and walked over to take her phone from her hand. "I love you," he said quietly as a smile teased his lips, "But we're only watching her for one hour, maybe two. Making cookies and painting will be more than enough stuff to do with her. I promise you. If she somehow gets bored, we could just put on a movie or maybe teach her how to play cards."
Hailey pursed her lips then looked down at her hands and nodded, "Fine, but we're not teaching her poker."
"Adam would think it's funny," Jay said.
Hailey rolled her eyes, but still laughed and slid off the barstool.
"Ozark?" Jay asked.
"Yeah, we can watch Ozark," Hailey smiled, "Set it up while I change?"
"Course," Jay fell onto the couch and put one hand behind his head while turning the TV on. He watched the previews on Netflix for a moment before Hailey in one of his t-shirts blocked his view.
"You know we can't watch this tomorrow when Makayla's here," she said.
"I'm aware," he smirked, "We'll just watch Disney movies and-"
Hailey straddled his lap and put both hands on his chest, "We also can't do this."
Jay stared up at her then mumbled, "I mean, we could, but we'd have to call it wrestling."
Hailey laughed softly as she tossed the remote from his hand and guided it toward her thigh, "Or not."
"Or not," he breathed then tugged her down to kiss her.
They'd never babysat Makayla before, but the way Hailey was nervously rocking back and forth on her heels while they waited for her to come out of school was making it seem like she'd never babysat anyone ever.
"She's seven, it's really not a huge deal," Jay said while reaching over to teasingly tug Hailey's hat lower on her head.
She huffed and crossed her arms, "There's just…a lot riding on this."
Jay raised an eyebrow, "What're you talking about? It's Makayla, and she belongs to Kim and Adam. I doubt they're even paying us for this."
Hailey sighed and stared forward at the school doors.
"Hailey?" Jay asked.
She shook her head and mumbled, "You don't get it."
"Exactly, so clue me in. Please."
She didn't have a chance to respond, though, because Makayla skipped out of the building and waved at them.
"Hi!" she said happily as she jumped to a stop in front of them.
"Hi, kid," Jay smiled, "Ready to go home?"
"Your home, right?" Makayla asked, "Kim didn't give me a key for my home."
Hailey laughed softly and knelt in front of her to fix the zipper on her coat, "Right. I was thinking-"
"And you made sure to ask to take me?" Makayla continued, "They got really strict about Adam and it wasn't a fun day. Did he tell you? It made me upset for a little bit, like a whole ten minutes."
"Yes, we have permission," Hailey assured her and straightened up, "Do you like painting?"
"Of course I do," Makayla grabbed their hands, "Jay, what's your car like?"
"Well, I have a truck, but Hailey is the one driving us today," he answered as they began walking toward the street.
"Oh, that's cool," Makayla looked at Hailey's gloved hand in hers and frowned.
Hailey glanced down at her and asked, "What's that face?"
"I just heard something about you, but maybe it was a not true story," Makayla explained.
"Really?" Hailey exchanged a look with Jay, "Um, what was it?"
"Kim said you got married," Makayla said.
"We did," Jay smiled and opened the back door for her. He helped Makayla climb into her car seat as Hailey got in the driver's seat herself.
Makayla's face lit up, "Really?"
"Really," Jay chuckled and stepped back so he could close the door and get in the car too.
"Can I see it?" Makayla asked.
"See what?" Hailey countered.
"Your ring!" Makayla smiled.
"Oh," Hailey blushed then slipped her gloves off. She turned in her seat and held out her left hand.
Makayla stared for a second then glanced to Jay and back to Hailey.
"Can I drive?" Hailey asked.
Makayla nodded, her small lips still pursed in thought. As Hailey began driving, she stayed silent until the car first turned a corner to hesitantly say, "Jay?"
"What's up?"
"Do…Do you have a ring?"
He turned to show her his hand, but it just deepened her frown. "What?" he asked.
"I don't understand why there's no jewel on Hailey's ring," Makayla said as if she felt it was something she shouldn't say, "I thought she borrowed yours, but you're matching."
"Well, these rings are rubber and make sure we can't get hurt when we're at work," Jay said while slipping his off. He held it out to her, "Want to try it out?"
Makayla's eyes lit up and she grabbed it. Giggling, she put two fingers in it and swirled it around.
Hailey smiled at her in the rearview mirror then looked to Jay. Her heart swelled at his face watching Makayla with some of the gentlest eyes she'd seen him have.
Makayla held onto the ring the rest of the ride then gave it back to him before jumping out of the car in the parking lot and walking into the building between the two of them. In the elevator, she spotted Hailey's ring again and patted her side. "Do you own jewels?" she asked.
Hailey raised an eyebrow, "Like a diamond?"
"Or other jewels," Makayla shrugged, "I'm interested in them. I also like space."
"So you're into science?" Jay asked.
"And dance and soccer," Makayla nodded.
Hailey froze, "I…I thought you liked to color."
"That too," Makayla put a hand out and lightly touched Hailey's ring, "So, do you own jewels?"
"I have a few," Hailey smiled.
"Can you show me?"
"If you'd like."
Makayla smiled wide and happily followed Jay down the hall once the elevator opened. She looked around at the other doors they passed then asked, "Are there kids here?"
"A couple, I think," Hailey answered, "I've mostly seen little babies."
"I bet they are so cute," Makayla said.
Jay winked at Hailey as he opened their door, "Wash your hands, then we can have a snack."
Makayla nodded quickly and hurried to sit on the floor inside so she could tug off her shoes. She made a pile of all her stuff then looked around and gasped, "Wow. This is cool!" Giggling at the small set of stairs, she ran to the large window on the back wall and pressed her hands against it, "You can see boats! And the water!"
"Pretty cool, huh?" Hailey asked while opening the box of graham crackers she'd bought the day before.
"Mhmm," Makayla reached for the door handle and pulled.
"Whoa, hey, be careful," Jay walked over, "Locked for a reason, okay? It's too cold out there."
"Can I put my jacket back on?" Makayla asked.
"How about you wash your hands and eat a snack?" Jay suggested. He led her through the bedroom to the bathroom, "Can you reach the sink?"
"I'm not a little child," Makayla sighed, but still pushed up on her tiptoes to reach the soap and running water.
Jay held back a laugh as he watched her then passed her a towel to dry her hands. He followed her back to the kitchen and helped her onto one of the barstools.
"Thank you," she huffed as she settled into her seat.
"Here you go," Hailey passed her a plate with two graham crackers on it and a cut up apple.
"Thanks!" Makayla looked down at the food then slowly started eating the graham crackers.
Jay reached over to grab an apple slice from her and popped it in his mouth much to her amusement. She pushed the slices closer to him and smiled when he took another piece.
Hailey's face fell, though, and she stopped herself from pouring a glass of juice to say, "Do you like apples?"
Makayla glanced to her and nodded slightly before hesitantly picking up a slice.
Jay raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"
Makayla bit her lip then said quietly, "I don't like the green ones."
"Oh," Hailey breathed. She stayed staring at the plate of food debating what to do.
"No problem," Jay said and walked around the counter. He opened the fridge, "What're your thoughts on grapes or oranges?"
"An orange!" Makayla smiled, "I love oranges. Can you open it for me?"
"If you say 'please,'" Jay winked at her.
"Please," she giggled.
Jay nodded and pulled her plate back closer to him to begin peeling the orange.
Hailey bit her lip, but still finished pouring the juice. She slowly pushed it across the counter and asked, "Do you like apple juice?"
"Oh, yes," Makayla happily took a long sip of it then said, "Thank you so much."
Hailey nodded and filled her own glass with water.
Jay finished peeling the orange and ate a slice before giving Makayla her plate back.
"Thank you," she said and started eating it as well.
"So, how was school?" Jay asked while leaning against the counter.
Makayla launched into a story about her gym class that day and then what she learned about Jupiter followed by reciting her spelling words for the week. Jay nodded along and added comments every once in a while, but Hailey felt stuck.
She felt like she had messed up already and Makayla had barely been there ten minutes. She was almost nervous to even suggest the paint she'd gotten because she didn't want to disappoint Makayla again.
When she finished eating, Makayla turned to Hailey to ask, "Can I see your jewels now?"
"Oh," Hailey straightened up and blinked her eyes quickly, "Yes, of course! Come here." She led the way to the bedroom and grabbed out her jewelry box before sitting next to Makayla on the bed.
"Jay got me these earrings for Christmas," she explained and passed over the small box.
"Wow," Makayla breathed as she stared at the small onyx studs, "I bet you look pretty with them in."
Hailey smiled, "I hope so."
"I know so," Makayla sat up on her knees and pushed Hailey's hair back to look at her ear. She lightly touched the plain gold studs Hailey was wearing then asked, "Can you put them in?"
"Really?" Hailey countered.
Makayla nodded and folded her hands in her lap.
"Okay," Hailey said softly and switched out her earrings.
Makayla's smile widened and she nodded again, "So pretty. I knew it."
"I agree," Jay said from the doorway.
Hailey met his eyes and smiled, finally feeling like she could relax for a moment.
"I like how they match your ring," Makayla added.
"Oh, they do, don't they?" Hailey said.
Makayla nodded and glanced at the jewelry box, "What else do you have?"
"Let's see," Hailey sorted through everything then held out two small hooped earrings, "These have diamonds."
Makayla looked at them and hummed, "Hmm, I like the black better."
Hailey smiled at her, "Me too. Oh," she grabbed out an old rope necklace with a small pink crystal hanging from it, "I think this is quartz; I don't really remember. I got it when I went to Florida."
"Florida?" Makayla gasped and looked at it, "That is so cool."
"You think?" Hailey passed it to her.
Makayla nodded and gently turned it around in her hand.
"Should I put it on you?" Hailey asked.
Makayla's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"
"Yeah," Hailey laughed softly and grabbed the necklace back to loosen it then place it over Makayla's head.
"When'd you go to Florida?" Jay chuckled.
"Freshman year of college," Hailey smiled.
"What was that like?" he asked while still fighting a laugh.
"I'll tell you later," she laughed.
Makayla hurried off the bed to run over to the mirror and look at her reflection. "Wow," she said, "It is the prettiest thing I've ever worn."
Hailey tilted her head to the side then said, "Do you want to keep it?"
Makayla spun around, "What?"
"Yeah," Hailey laughed, "You can have that. It looks much prettier on you than me."
"Oh, thank you so much," Makayla ran back to her and quickly hugged her, "Thank you."
Hailey sat in shock for a second then relaxed and patted her back, "You are very welcome."
Makayla turned to Jay and asked, "What do you think?"
"Gorgeous," he said.
She squealed quietly, "I can't wait to show Kim."
Hailey put her jewelry box away as Makayla continued staring down at the necklace. She spotted the paint supplies over Jay's shoulder on the counter and took a deep breath.
Jay followed her gaze then said, "Hey, Makayla, do you feel like painting? Hailey just bought some watercolors."
"That's cool," Makayla shrugged.
"All right," Hailey smiled slightly and returned to the kitchen. She set everything up as Makayla watched from her spot back on the barstool. She was reaching over to grab paper towel when her elbow bumped the cup of water and it spilt it across the counter.
"Oh boy," Makayla jumped down and stepped back.
"Here, here," Jay quickly used a hand towel to soak up the water.
"Shoot," Hailey whispered and picked up the paints and paper.
"It's fine," Jay assured her and pushed the water toward the sink.
Hailey frowned, "Is it?"
"Yeah," Jay nodded, "It's just water."
Hailey sighed and rubbed her face.
"Maybe we could just plain color," Makayla suggested.
"I…yeah," Hailey sighed.
"You didn't ruin anything, Hailey," Jay said softly.
She shook her head and tossed the paint and brushes into a bag before walking over to the bookshelf. She bent down to grab out the colored pencils and her two coloring books.
"Those look fancy," Makayla said.
Hailey smiled slightly and set it all down on the counter once Jay finished drying up the water. "Jay got these for me for Christmas," she explained.
"You pick out good gifts," Makayla told him.
He chuckled and rung out the towel, "Thanks."
"Here you go," Hailey opened the tin of pencils and showed Makayla.
"Are you an artist?" she asked.
"Um, no," Hailey shook her head and sat next to her. She watched her slowly flip through the book filled with mandalas then softly added, "Can I tell you something?"
Without looking up, Makayla replied, "Sure."
"I was having a hard time sleeping for a while, so I was trying to color at night when I'd have bad dreams," Hailey said.
Jay stopped moving on the other end of the counter and breathed in slowly.
Makayla glanced up as well to look at her as she asked, "Did it work?"
"Sometimes," Hailey shrugged. She hesitated then walked back to the bookshelf to put out a coloring book filled with flowers. She passed it to Makayla, "I finished that entire thing."
"Wow," Makayla breathed and flipped through it.
"So he bought me more when I did that," Hailey continued, "It was nice of him."
"Very nice," Makayla nodded. She stopped at a big drawing of a daisy that Hailey had shaded with different purples. She smiled and showed it to her, "You did an amazing job with this one."
"Thank you," Hailey said softly.
"Will you show me how?" Makayla asked.
Hailey scrunched her eyebrows together, "How to color?"
Makayla nodded, "How to color all pretty like this."
"I'd like to learn too," Jay said.
"Um, okay," Hailey nodded slightly. She grabbed the other, half-filled coloring book of flowers and found a few bigger ones that she ripped out for each of them.
For the next hour, she softly explained how to shade the colors together and they all worked on their flowers together. Makayla took the task very seriously and hung onto her every word as if she was in an art class. Jay was admittedly very distracted from his own picture just because he couldn't stop watching the two of them interact with each other until there was a knock at the door.
He walked over to open it and smiled at Adam and Kim on the other side. "Hey," he said and stepped back, "Come in."
"Does that match?" Makayla asked once she finished coloring a soft yellow flower in the background of her picture.
"Perfectly," Hailey smiled.
"What's going on here?" Kim asked while walking over and unzipping her coat.
Makayla looked up and gasped, "Hi! Hailey's teaching us how to color."
"Really?" Kim leaned over her shoulder, "Oh, that's so pretty. You're doing such a good job."
"I want to see," Adam joined them at the counter then nodded, "I love that. We need to frame it for sure."
Makayla smiled, "I'd like that."
"Grab your coat," Kim said and patted her back. Once Makayla was hurrying over to her stuff, she looked at Jay and Hailey and said, "Thank you for watching her."
"Anytime," Jay smiled.
Hailey nodded and started putting the colored pencils away, "It was a lot of fun."
Jay glanced back at Makayla then asked under his breath, "How'd it go?"
Adam rubbed his face, "I don't know. I want to have all the hope in the world, but…"
"We're not her biological parents so it's scary," Kim admitted.
Hailey nodded and lightly squeezed her arm, "She belongs with you. If you need anything from us, we'll do it."
Jay nodded as well and said, "We can write letters or show up in court, whatever you need."
"Thank you," Kim said quietly.
"Hey, Kim," Makayla said as she returned to their side now with her shoes, coat, and backpack on, "Hailey gave me a necklace."
"She did?" Kim asked and knelt down, "Can I see?"
Makayla held it out from around her neck, "Isn't it just so pretty?"
"So pretty," Kim smiled then zipped up her coat, "What do you say?"
"I already said thank you for giving it to me," Makayla told her.
Adam chuckled, "No, what do you say to them for watching you?"
"Oh," Makayla turned to Jay and Hailey, "Thank you so much. I had lots of fun." Before they could reply, she hugged Jay around the waist then looked up at Hailey and added, "Thanks again for the necklace." She hugged her as well and smiled when Hailey ran a hand over her hair.
"Thank you for being so much fun to be around," Hailey said with a poke to her nose.
Makayla softly giggled then stepped back to ask, "Do you think we could hang out again?"
"I would really like that," Jay answered.
"Me too," Hailey smiled.
"Come on, I want tacos for dinner," Adam said.
Makayla clapped her hands together, "That sounds delicious."
Kim laughed, "All right, let's go then, bear."
Makayla waved at Jay and Hailey as Adam led her to the door, "Bye!"
"Bye," Hailey waved.
"See you later," Jay smiled and closed the door behind the three of them.
Hailey immediately sank onto a barstool and sighed.
Jay's eyes widened, "What's wrong?"
"That was so hard," Hailey said quietly, "I feel like I failed."
Jay's eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about? She was just saying she had fun and wants to come back."
Hailey shook her head and frowned, "She didn't like the snack, we didn't paint, and then we didn't even make cookies."
Jay slowly walked back to her, "But what we did do, she really enjoyed. She seemed happy the entire time."
"I should have known she likes oranges and prefers colored pencils over water colors," Hailey said.
Jay gave in and finally chuckled as he placed his hands on her shoulders, "Hailey," he shook his head, "It all worked out. There was no way you could have known that stuff. It's fine."
"I should have asked," she argued.
Jay shook his head again, "It's fine."
"But…how…" Hailey trailed off and looked down at her hands, "I just…"
Jay brushed his thumb over her cheek as he waited for her to speak.
"I thought this could be like a practice for us," she finally quietly admitted, "I figured if we did well, then it would be clear that we'd be good parents. Now I'm just worried I won't know what my kids like or won't ever be able to let them water color because I'll spill the water."
Jay breathed in then pulled another barstool in front of her and took a seat. He took both of her hands in his then said, "I think you did an amazing job today, but I think you'll be even more incredible when it's our own kids. You'll know what to do and you'll know them. You'll know what their favorite after-school snack is and if they prefer water colors or colored pencils."
Hailey smiled slightly and nodded.
"We'll figure it out together," Jay whispered.
Hailey nodded again and leaned forward to hug him tightly. "Thank you," she breathed.
He kissed the side of her head and rubbed his hands over her back as he said softly, "You're welcome."
"The thought of multiple kids kind of scares me though," Hailey joked as she sat back, "Can we deal with one kid first?"
"Well, I think we'll first have to deal with a baby," Jay said with a smile spreading across his face.
Hailey laughed softly, "I guess. I haven't really been around babies in a while though. I'll need a refresher course."
"I really haven't been around babies ever," Jay chuckled, "Maybe not even since I was one. What if I can't handle it?"
Hailey shook her head and brushed her thumb over his cheek, "I'm sure you'll feel totally different when it's our baby. Like you said, we'll figure it out. And if not…well, you clearly excelled at the kid stage, I'll do the baby stage. Teamwork."
Jay laughed and kissed her, "Perfect. I can't wait."
Hailey smiled and nodded, "Some day."
"For sure," Jay said. He kissed her again then stood up just to pick her up and carry her over to the couch. He dropped her on it smiling as she laughed.
"What're you doing?" she asked, "We should clean all that stuff up, and I really did want to make cookies today."
"That can wait," Jay chuckled and climbed over the back of the couch so he could fit himself between her and the cushions.
She cuddled into his side and watched him turn the TV on then quickly navigate to Netflix.
"We never got to watch Ozark last night," he explained.
"Oh, of course," she smiled and rested her head back against his chest. As he selected the show, she turned to look out at the balcony and spotted two handprints right at Makayla level on the glass. She'd wipe them off later – for now, she was going to enjoy the look of a little life in their normally very calm, quiet, adult apartment.
Two years later, Jay knelt on the carpet of his living room wiping off little handprints from the doorwall. He put the cloth down then rocked back right onto a pile of toy cars.
"Dammit," he hissed and pushed them to the side.
"Dada."
He looked up at the soft voice and quickly smiled, "Hey, buddy."
His son, now sixteen months old, toddled over to him and picked up two of his cars. He passed one to Jay then sat on his lap.
Jay chuckled and patted his back, "Where's Mama and your sister? Mase, do you know? Where's Mollie?"
Mason looked up at his twin sister's name and smiled, "Sis!"
"Sister," Jay nodded, "Mollie's your sister."
"Here she is!" Hailey called out while walking toward them with Mollie in her arms. "She had too much lunch on her clothes, huh?" she kissed her daughter's cheek then set her on the floor.
Mollie ran over to sit on Jay's other leg and picked up a car. She giggled while touching it to the one Mason was holding.
Hailey smiled and sat on the couch as she watched her kids babble at each other while playing in Jay's lap.
Her mom was a twin, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise when she found out she was having two babies instead of one, but it still shocked her to her core. If she thought she'd been nervous when she found out she was pregnant the morning of their St. Patrick's Day party two years before, it was nothing compared to the day of that first ultrasound. Even Jay, who had reassured her the couple weeks leading up to that first appointment that they were going to be great parents, had driven home in silence and sat on their balcony alone for a while.
It took them a few days to wrap their heads around what was happening, but once it was processed, they fell into their new roles with general ease. Part of it felt like fate that the night they made their two little bits of sunshine was the night before they had their talk about kids and their future, so they kept that in mind as they juggled twice the amount of preparation they may have originally anticipated. Soon enough, they dove head first into searching for a new, more family-friendly apartment, researching car seats, learning infant CPR, and buying the tiniest clothes they'd ever seen.
From the second they were born, Mason and Mollie were the best of friends. There was a week where the only way to get them to stop crying was to lay them next to each other. Their big blue eyes and soft auburn hair made them adorable separately, but they were almost unbearably cute when together.
Even now as they talked in their own way and crawled off of Jay to push their toy cars around, Hailey couldn't take her eyes off of them. At just over a year old, she already knew they were going to be the kindest, funniest people she'd ever met. She was still nervous about being a mom, but now that she was one…she truly couldn't have been happier.
Jay glanced up at her and winked before leaning back on his palms. She smiled back and knew he had to have been thinking the same thing.
Just past him on the wall was a framed picture from the day Makayla's adoption was finalized and Kim and Adam were named her guardians for good. It was the perfect reminder that their life might be filled with unexpected moments, but, in the end, they all had each other and that was what mattered.
