Wrote this October 20, 2020 and it sat like a fluffy cloud on my computer.
There is a possibly this story is stupid, stupid with a capital 'UGH REALLY?' I don't write fluff. I read fluff and it is WONDERFUL! But I'm not sure I can write it. I write whump. I can't write rainbows and butterflies. I write lightning and some other flying thing that is the opposite of a butterfly that I can't think of right now, but something that represents kicking Jay's ass in a myriad of painful ways…then comfort…
This is fluffy marshmallow fluff. Don't let the (something opposite of marshmallow) whump in the beginning fool you.
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They had sat on his couch for an hour. He looked like hell with his black eye, split lip and scraped jaw. It had scared her to no end when she saw Jay and their perp disappear down those steps.
The fear had ratcheted up exponentially when she saw them both bleeding and unconscious at the bottom of the steps.
It scared her to death when she pushed Atkins off Jay and he didn't move. She ignored protocol and concentrated on her partner instead of the unconscious perp. Screw protocol. This was Jay.
She put a hand on each side of his face, "Jay! JAY!"
She moved one of her hands over his heart and tried again, "JAY!"
He lay there a moment longer before he stirred and his aching body protested the idiotic movement.
He groaned out a low, "Ow. Shit…ow."
"Jay. Hey, look at me."
His eyes fluttered open, "Hailey…" A smile grew on his face causing more blood to drip from his split lip.
"Ow."
"I know. You said that already…a couple of times. Where do you hurt?"
"Head, body, pride."
She chuckled. "I think your pride is intact. Nice tackle."
He started to sit up…slowly with another groan.
"Let's get you checked out. You're a bit of a mess."
"I figured as much, but I'm fine."
"You're getting checked out anyway."
"Ya, I figured as much…but I'll let them tell you I'm fine."
XXXXXXX
And he was fine. Even Will agreed he was fine, but he tried really hard not to agree.
They sat on his couch, Jay with a frozen vegetable garden on the bruised parts of his face, her sipping a Coke.
When it finally sunk in that he was indeed fine and was blinking in the slow motion of impending sleep, she decided she needed to get back to work. Will would be there soon.
They stopped at the door, Hailey needed one more vocal assurance that he was indeed okay.
"I'm fine Hailey, really. Gunna take the pain meds and go to sleep."
She tilted her head and looked at him, taking in the truth of the matter and finally nodded.
Then…
The kiss lasted just long enough for him to return it before she pulled away, lips tingling. Big eyes met, not quite sure what just happened. Jay wondered with his mild concussion if he was hallucinating and Hailey was wondered if she imagined it. But when their hearts returned to the here and now, it was evident that it had indeed happened, and Jay was indeed fine in more ways than one.'
I kissed Jay! Holy Shit!
"Uhhhh."
Hailey kissed me! Holy Shit.
"Ummm."
"Ok well bye then…"
"Ya…"
"See you tomorrow…"
"Yup…tomorrow…"
"Pick you up…"
"I'll have the coffee…"
They both could have been speaking gibberish and wouldn't have realized it, both to locked into that moment before when their lips had touched.
Still shocked, Hailey nodded, took one last look at Jay's lips and walked out the door. It took her three tries to grab the door knob to close it.
She stood there, hand still on the door knob and whispered to herself, "Holy Shit." When the shock of her spontaneous action wore off she headed to her car.
"Holy shit...holy shit..."
A big grin came to her face as she walked to the rhythm of her 'holy shit' mantra. When she got to her car it really hit her and a deer in headlights look invaded her face.
"Holy shit!"
He is still staring at the closed door, lips curled in a tight line trying to keep the sensation of the kiss from escaping his lips.
Right now, in this moment, Hailey was the cure for what ailed him. Better than chicken soup or an ice pack on pain, or hot shower. Her lips touching his, made him forget the pain in his body as he focused on the softness, the warmth of her lips, the smile he felt forming on her lips before she pulled away.
And then there was the look on her face when she pulled back. How her lips slowly relaxed and she pulled her bottom lip back in between her teeth.
It was the look in her eyes that really got him. They weren't filled with regret. They radiated humor and surprise and maybe even a little relief, but not an ounce of regret.
Well, at least one of them finally did it. Hailey Upton was the bravest of them, so it was only fitting it was her.
He was glad it was her because he was sure he would have made a mess of it somehow.
He couldn't picture what that mess would have been, but he was sure it would be uniquely Jay Halstead. Yes, he was glad she took the plunge.
He stared at the back of his door until he realized the peep hole was off center. Shit. That was going to drive him nuts.
He closed his eyes and thought of their 'holy shit' moment and forgot all about the peep hole, and his bruises and his mild concussion and his hunger and that he was thirsty. Everything left his mind except Hailey. If they got a case he was screwed. He wouldn't be able to find his way out of the apartment even though the door was right in front of him.
He didn't know how long he stood there looking at the inside of his eye lids, but his battered body brought him back to reality as he put a hand on the wall to steady himself. The physical pain pulled him out of his head and the lips that had just touched Hailey Upton's split into a shit kicking grin. "Holy shit."
He slowly made his way back to the bedroom and eased himself onto the bed, on auto pilot, he grabbed his pain meds downed two and washed them down with the rest of his water.
He laid back on the cloud of pillows behind him. When the pull of a drug induced sleep got the better of him, he once again broke into a grin. . Shit! And with thoughts of Detective Hailey Upton, he let himself drift off to sleep.
Hailey picked him up the next morning and he had the coffee. They didn't say anything, just stole looks at each other and grinned like a couple of kids at Christmas.
About an hour into mounds of paperwork, their eyes met across their desks, sparking synchronized grins from both of them, and that ignited a few chuckles, which exploded into uncontrollable laughter as they both thought about the kiss.
Ruz didn't like the idea of an inside joke, especially since it seemed like it was a good one and they could all use the laugh. That just made the two of them laugh harder, to the point that Hailey had to go to the break room for coffee and Jay had to go see Platt so she could snark him out of his laughter. They were both able to come together into the bullpen then, not looking at each other to keep the laughter at their fantastically awesome inside joke at bay.
That night at Molly's they bought the first round, Hailey looked at him while they were waiting for their drinks.
"So, do you think we should go out?"
A grin tweaked at the corner of his lips, "Go out? But we just got here?"
Which caused them both to bust out laughing again.
They carried the drinks back to the table and caught each other's eyes a nanosecond before they threw back their shots. That was a mistake. They both laughed mid throw. Hailey spit hers out all over Jay, Jay was kind enough to turn his head and spit his all over Ruz.
"What the hell, Halstead."
He couldn't apologize he was laughing too hard and at the same time trying to breathe, thinking tequila is pretty painful when laughed out your nose. He wouldn't share that information with Adam though, the guy probably wouldn't appreciate the fact that half the tequila on his face had traveled through his nose.
That just caused him to laugh harder, until he had to leave the bar.
He tried to come back in twice but didn't quite have a handle on it when his eyes would land on Hailey.
Finally he came back in and Hailey wasn't there. He was able to keep a straight face even apologize to Adam with a straight face as he sat down.
He made a point of getting into a deep conversation with Kev so he wouldn't see Hailey when she returned from the restroom. She sat by him this time so they couldn't look at each other. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him clamp his mouth shut a couple of times, once even covering his mouth with his hand then turning it into a cough before distracting himself by butting into Vanessa and Kim's shoe conversation.
That night they took the kiss farther. There was no surprise this time. It was purposeful, it was great, whatever was beyond great. It wasn't just sex. Their hearts were in charge…no, it wasn't 'just sex.'
They found out it was a long time coming.
For him it was when she made him go to therapy with an 'or else' attached to it. No one had cared for him to that degree since his mom. The ember of love was sparked that day, and grew from that day forward, every 'their thing' throwing another log on the fire.
For her it was when he went to therapy and admitted it was working and continued to go. The pilot light was lit and became an inferno when he sat on the couch and said he was fine, reminding her that he never let her get away with that notion when they did 'their thing.' No one had ever cared for her in that way.
They laid in bed that night after leaving Molly's. There wasn't much conversation, at least not out loud, but their hearts had an awful lot to say.
Occasionally she laughed out of the blue and he could feel it vibrate through her chin where it rested on his chest. Occasionally he did. That's what you did when you were unbelievably happy. You bask and you laugh.
They didn't say anything for awhile. Just laid there, smiling at each other, lost in their own thoughts. Each wondering what the other was thinking neither knowing that they were thinking the same thing 'I'm in love with Jay.' 'I'm in love with Hailey.' Followed by a 'HOLY SHIT!' grin.
She was thinking of getting up to start their day, when his sweet smile turned into a grin that lit up his face, hell the room.
"I love you."
There was no surprise on her face, just her smile growing to match his. If his smile lit the room her's supernova'd it, if that were such a thing.
"I love you too."
He closed his eyes and sighed. His smile lingering in contentment. She laid her head back on his chest. He felt the warmth from her own contented sigh cross his chest, felt the smile against his skin then felt it relax as she drifted off to sleep, hand over his heart…no…hand over her heart, after all, it belonged to her and had for a long time.
XXXXXXX
Hope you liked it…sorry there's no whump if that's what you wanted. I am working on the next chapter of Blink for you whumpers, but the chapter is a bit of a mess right now, it is however very whumpalicious.
I have about 5 fluffy stories molding, partially completed on my computer and about 30 whumpy whump, partially completed stories that I work on when my muse takes over. So there ya have it…
Thanks for reading…let me know what you think, even if it is, 'Stick to whump.' Or 'don't quit your day job.' LoL
You are the bombdiggity! Stay safe!
