Chapter 7

Present Day

A little chirp caught his attention and without opening his eyes Jay stretched out his hand, ruffling Aelin's fur as she sweetly, but slightly aggressively butted her head against his until he gave up on trying to fall back asleep. His alarm was probably going to go off in a few minutes anyway. The cat had an eerily accurate sense of their routines and had very quickly put together that with Tess gone he was the one responsible for feeding her. Rubbing a hand over his face he rolled out of bed, scooping her into his arms as he headed downstairs; apparently Tess normally took her when she traveled but she'd been adamant that he have some company while she was gone. He'd watched as she sat Aelin down to explain she was going away for a few days and that it was her job to look out for him, his amusement turning to shock when the cat then trotted over to sit in front of him, like she was promising to guard him.

And while he didn't think it was likely he would need it, given some of the stories he'd heard Jay believed the cat could give it.

He deposited her on the counter while he started making his coffee and getting her breakfast ready, she ate salmon the spoiled thing, letting his mind wander as he worked. As it often did it went to Tess first, wondering how she was, how her friend was doing, how they were enjoying Toronto. He'd been once, had taken Tess there for a weekend trip when she'd been missing home, with Mouse tagging along of course, and although he'd wanted to go with her this time he was sure she was enjoying herself without him- he was also sure she'd been to Tim Hortons at least once a day, if not more. As much as he missed her, and damn did he miss her, he was glad she was getting a few days to herself, away from all the drama and chaos of the last month and a half. And considering she'd been in the hospital for over a month before that and on back-to-back ops before that she could definitely use the rest.

Thinking about her being gone eventually led to thinking about when she'd left and as if Aelin could sense the direction his thoughts had gone she suddenly let out a loud meow, sprawling herself across the island, belly up, and blinking at him as if she wasn't imitating what they both knew she was imitating.

"You are not a cat." He told her as he put her plate down, flicking her lightly when she chirped before turning her attention to the food. Tess liked to joke that she was actually an immortal trapped in a cat's body and at first Jay had laughed but he was growing increasingly suspicious.

He was suspicious.

Of a cat.

Being an immortal.

Only Tess could have put that thought in his mind. And made it stick. He went back to thinking about her, that moment they'd shared on the island, and then in the sunroom. Twice. Fuck he'd needed that. She had too. What he'd needed even more was to find the note he'd written her on the floor the next morning, where it must have fallen out of her pocket when he'd thrown her pants off.

She'd kept it in her pocket.

Even mad at him, even hurt by how he'd been treating her she'd still carried it around the whole day, folding and unfolding it, and it looked like crumpling it a few times too. But that was fine. She could have tossed it and he'd have understood. But she hadn't.

She'd kept it in her pocket.

If only all he had to do today was moon over his girlfriend. Instead he had work, although at least it would just be a paperwork kind of day- they'd closed their latest case yesterday and just like always it had been a whirlwind. Kim and Adam had been out when they'd found a young girl wandering alone down the middle of a busy street, and when they'd taken her home had found her entire family dead. Murdered. At first it'd looked gang related but in a surprising turn of events it turned out the suspects had been after the kid, who's real father had just been released from prison and who'd decided he wanted her back. And that it wasn't necessary to go through the normal, legal processes. It had been especially rough for Kim who seemed to have gotten attached to the little girl, and vice versa, but they'd caught the guy and his girlfriend and the kid had gone to stay with her aunt, which was more of a happy ending than a lot of their cases got. Though truth be told Jay had been distracted for most of it, and not just because Tess was gone.

Hailey had gotten a job offer from the FBI.

He probably should've suspected it was coming after Voight sent her to New York as a loan out officer as a punishment/lesson for all the lines she'd been crossing lately, even with whatever was going on with her she always impressed, but it had still caught him off guard. It'd been hard not to draw the comparison between her and Erin but he kept telling himself it wasn't the same, that Erin had had to take the job the feds had offered her or she would've lost the one she had with CPD. It had been even harder not to wonder the entire time Hailey had been gone if she would run into his ex-partner and girlfriend, even though they'd already met. Hell, if Hailey took the job maybe they'd work together again.

So yeah.

Distracted.

But all of that was out of his control. Offers like that didn't come around every day and even though he'd hate it if Hailey left if that was what she wanted then Jay would support it. Not that he would be included in that discussion. Not anymore.

But right now that didn't matter.

What mattered was that Tess was coming home today, in t-minus eight hours, which meant the sooner he got to work the sooner he'd be done and the sooner she'd be home.

He hated Canada.

Tess was supposed to have gotten in at four but her flight had been delayed, so much that it was now six and she still hadn't left yet.

Stupid Canadian weather.

"Aw, you still pouting?"

"Fuck off."

Kevin and Adam laughed, and though Kim chuckled too the look she gave him was soft. "Tess still stuck at the airport?"

"Yeah. Last text I got was just a picture of all the maple candy she's bringing back for these bozos."

"Woah, wait- maple candy?"

This time they all laughed at Adam's obvious and immediate interest, though Jay's died a little when they ran into Hailey and Vanessa in the back lot. It made sense, they got off at the same time and were heading to the same place but he hated that subtle moment of awkwardness as they all fell in together, though thankfully it was quickly broken by Kevin joking with Vanessa that he was going to ask Hermann to turn on the karaoke machine since she'd yet to attend one of Molly's open mic nights.

"Hey you're coming right?" Adam turned to ask, making a face before Jay could answer. "No, you're coming. You're not gonna sit around at home waiting for your girlfriend, alright, that's pathetic. I mean, no, it- it's sweet, it's just, it is better to be around your friends, ya know?"

Watching Adam hastily backtrack as Kim raised her brows was worth the insult and he used the distraction to slip away, because pathetic or not waiting at home for his girl was exactly what he wanted to do; he was hoping it wouldn't be too late by the time she got in and he'd have time to run them a nice bath. It felt safer than a shower, not that he was really worried about that. He'd made a point to hop in the one she'd taken before she'd left for the airport and though they'd both been hesitant at first they'd known that was exactly why it was needed. And why Jay had taken it one step further, turning the water just a touch hotter than normal so Tess would know he was serious about what he'd said the night before. Of course that didn't mean it hadn't been among the longest ten seconds of his life when she'd gone rigid in his arms but slowly she'd relaxed and then… well she'd made sure he understood how grateful she was.

Fuck he missed her.

He was pulled out of missing her by something tiny but hard smacking him in the back of the head and turned to find his team just staring at him, all of them wide-eyed. "Did someone just throw a rock at me?"

Kim, Kevin and Vanessa all immediately pointed to Adam who quickly raised his hands in a placating manner. "Okay, it was not a rock, it was a piece of gravel. A pebble."

"I don't care what it was, why did you throw it?"

"I needed to get your attention!"

"Call my name!"

"He tried."

If it hadn't been Hailey who'd spoken Jay probably wouldn't have paid attention but because it was her he paused, long enough to realize she was smiling. It was a half one but it still counted as a smile, though there was a resigned sadness in her eyes that wrenched his heart; he'd never really thought before about how she and Tess had the same colour eyes, they were such different shades, but both were beautiful. Expressive. It was hard to hold her stare so he turned to the rest of the group, confused to find they were all smiling at him, though Kim at least looked sheepish on her boyfriend's behalf. Even Vanessa had a little smirk on her lips, though her eyes held the same hint of distrust she always had towards him, or had ever since Tess had come into their lives. That was what tipped him off and his gaze slowly travelled past his friends to the woman standing a few feet behind them, one hand pressed to her lips as she tried and failed to hide her snicker.

The lying little brat.

He was moving before he even registered it but even though he wanted nothing more than to run up and sweep her off her feet something held him back. Several things. Vanessa's anger to start. Hailey's sad acceptance. And Tess's understanding. He could see that she would've liked to run to him too, to jump in his arms like she had so many times before but she was holding herself back just like he was, likely for the same reasons and while he hated that they had to be different if her return had taught him anything it was that he didn't need things to be like before. He just needed them to be. Of course that didn't mean he just casually strolled up and gave her a high five. Once he got close enough Jay pulled her into a bear hug, and if his momentum made him swing her just a little and if it was tight enough that her feet lifted just a touch off the ground well he couldn't help that. He also couldn't help how deeply he breathed her in, like she'd been gone for weeks or months instead of just days. He hadn't realized how worried he'd been that she wouldn't come back, the subconscious fear that she would decide it was better not to. But she had. Just like she'd promised.

She promised before.

She had. But they'd dealt with that. She'd promised she wouldn't do it again and he…

He wouldn't let her this time.

A wriggling had him looking down and he realized she was trying to step back, try being the operative word because he had her in a vice grip. Jay quickly loosened his hold, shooting her his own sheepish look as she laughed.

"How's your head?"

"Ha!"

They both looked to Kevin who was struggling to hold back his laughter, then to Adam who grinned as he grabbed Kim's arm and started pulling her backwards. "Good to have you back! We'll see you at Molly's- twenty minutes!"

"No-"

"See you there!"

He sighed and turned to Tess, who also grinned at him. "Was your flight even delayed?"

"Yeah. By thirty minutes." Her smirk grew and then she turned to follow the rest of his team and he quickly fell in step beside her, bringing his hand up to her back as he led her over to his truck.

He had zero desire to go to the bar but he supposed an hour or so couldn't hurt.

He loved Kim.

He'd always liked her, she was smart and strong and kind, not to mention a hell of a shot, one of the best on their team in his opinion, not though she got the credit. But seeing the look on her face as she talked to Tess about their latest case, and seeing the look on Tess's as she listened… Now he loved her.

And he wasn't the only one. Obviously Adam did too but Jay could tell that the way he felt about Kim was the way his friend was feeling about Tess, that he also recognized the friendship that was forming; actually all it took was a quick glance around the table to see that everyone could see it, though not everyone seemed as pleased. Well too fucking bad for them. Kim and Hailey were fairly close but they didn't have the same kind of relationship his ex-partner did with her new one and from what Adam had told him Kim hadn't really had any close female friends since Erin left, not counting her sister but that was different. Kim and Tess for that matter needed someone who understood the job along with all the other… womanly stuff they had to bond over. And in that regard they shared a lot.

He and Adam hadn't talked much more about their almost-fatherhoods, aside from him explaining what had happened in his and Tess's situation and apologizing again for not speaking up after Kim's miscarriage, which his friend had again accepted, along with giving his own condolences. And Kevin knew now- it'd been hard to keep it a secret when he kept noticing the three of them giving each other understanding glances, and when he'd demanded to know why he hadn't been invited to dinner. But Jay didn't think anyone else knew, not yet anyway and that was fine by him.

They had enough going on.

Kevin had gone to see Nolan. Right after he'd left their place, and by his partner's account everything was settled. Apparently he'd taken Tess's words about a third option to heart, which had been him threatening to leave the CPD and go after Nolan publicly, something no cop wanted in this climate. Plus Kev had given him the USB as a warning that he shouldn't continue going after other officers. He'd also told Jay that he'd told Voight about that conversation, and about what Tess had done for him. His Sergeant had yet to mention it, surprising given their history, and after a lot of thought Jay had decided that unless he did he wasn't going to. If he had questions or concerns he would address them but otherwise he was going to leave that up to Tess. God knew she was better at handling that sort of thing.

She was better at this too.

Being out, being social, acting like she didn't notice much less care that two-fifths of his team still weren't being as welcoming. It probably didn't help that Hailey and Vanessa could sense the bonds she was forming with the others, which seemed stronger now that Kevin had also told Kim and Adam about how she'd helped with Nolan; Jay didn't know if he'd told Vanessa too but to tell the truth he didn't know if it would matter. The newest addition to their team seemed to have made up her mind about Tess and he was starting to wonder if anything would change it. He'd almost stopped worrying about Hailey entirely- it hurt too much and when she wasn't even willing to have a conversation with him… it wasn't worth it. They'd just have to get over it.

Get over themselves.

And he had to start paying attention.

"Makayla's lucky you two were the ones that found her." Tess said softly, bringing him back into the current conversation where Adam was bumping his hip against Kim's as he gave her a wide smile.

"You know if it wasn't for Kim things could've turned out a lot worse. She really went to bat for the kid."

The woman in question just waved the compliment off, but then he supposed if the situation had been reversed they all would have done the same. "Anyway, enough about work. What about you? Jay said you were visiting a friend in Toronto?"

He couldn't help tensing, it was habit, but Tess smiled, subtly bumping her knee against his much like Adam had. "Yeah, she just moved there so I was helping her settle in, get acquainted with the city, all that jazz."

"Well that's nice of you. Where'd she move from?"

"Hong Kong." She answered Adam, which was met by raised brows all around, but before Jay could tell himself to relax someone else cut in.

"China? That's a big move."

Fucking Vanessa.

Of course.

It was a normal question, statement to be more accurate but fuck if the way she said it didn't get his blood boiling; she sounded innocent enough, looked innocent enough, but you had to be a damn good actor if you wanted to make it in undercover. Not to mention she'd been asking Tess all kinds of seemingly harmless but actually nosy questions ever since she'd met her so it wasn't like he trusted her. What did she think was going on?

That Ling was a fucking spy or something?

That was so far from the truth he had to bite his tongue to stop from saying something he shouldn't, although as Tess explained that her friend was a journalist who'd simply wanted some more freedom, true even if it avoided the direness of the situation, he wondered if maybe there was something he could say.

"With all the new restrictions being imposed there it's probably a good thing she left when she did."

He spoke casually and while most of the others took his comment at face value at least one person did not; he caught Hailey looking him and Tess over, trying to figure out what he'd meant, what it implied, but he didn't get the chance to try and send his point home because the conversation had already moved on.

And not in the direction he'd intended.

"…during the George Floyd protests cops here were beating folks down all over the place."

"Yeah but that's different."

"How so?"

Shit.

Jay warily took in the heated stares being exchanged between Kevin, Adam and Vanessa then found his own gaze traveling back to Hailey, surprised to find she met it, probably only for the fourth time tonight. He recognized the look she gave him, for once on the same page that they had to shut this conversation down and gave her the slightest nod to let her know she could take the lead. But maybe that was another bad idea.

"Our government doesn't operate the way China's does."

Fuck.

He felt Tess stiffen beside him, no one knew better than her how untrue that was but unlike him she held her tongue, not that it mattered when Kim decided to chime in.

"Yeah, for now. All those abortion bans down south? That's about as restrictive as it gets. And whether they like it or not, cops are having to enforce it."

"Yeah, cause it's our job to enforce the law."

"And when the law is wrong?"

Double fuck.

This was going south fast.

This time he looked to Tess and though he hated to put another thing on her shoulders he knew she was the only one who had a chance of calming things down.

"Then we change the laws." She said with a light shrug, somehow commanding everyone's attention without raising her voice or taking on a tone. "Through activism and civil disobedience and the complete dismantling of the cis white supremacist patriarchy."

Adam raised his brows but Kim huffed a laugh, the tightness in her shoulders loosening. "Oh, is that all?"

Tess just grinned and nodded as she gave another shrug and just like he'd known it would her easy nonchalance started to calm the group, enough that he felt comfortable speaking up. "Oh yeah, super easy. Don't you know how valuable our opinions are to the rich and elite?"

"Okay, easy there Papa Halstead."

He shot Tess a look, although to be fair that was something his dad had said God knew how many times, but while most of the group laughed apparently not everyone appreciated her sense of humour.

"You don't get to say that to him."