[A/N: Jay and Hailey's thoughts in the aftermath of 6X14. Sometimes you just need to seek solace and comfort in those you're closest to. Thanks so much again for all of the reads & lovely reviews... hopefully the show will give us more quality Upstead moments soon! I'll try to do another chapter of my "Undercover Blues" story soon too.]


Jay is sitting on his couch, nursing his beer, with the TV on low to some late-night sports game; but he's so lost in his thoughts he has no idea who is playing. It's been hours, but for the life of him he can't get the image of Hailey, blood dripping down her face, out of his head. When he first saw her like that, relief flooded him, just for the simple fact that she was alive. The relief was short-lived; once realizing seeing her like that, bloodied & beaten, really kicked in and made him think how close they'd come, and especially he'd come, to losing her.

The entire day his heart had been beating with such fear that they wouldn't find Hailey and Kim in time. It was to be expected of course, everyone was worried; they all loved each other like family. From the outside looking in, it would appear that Adam would be the most distraught… after all, one was his ex-fiancé and the other he was currently sleeping with. But even though he hid it well, Jay would bet an argument could be made that he was the most worried… he would be the one losing his partner, he would be the one losing a close friend (probably his closest), he would be the one losing his only confidant, he would be the one losing the person he was too scared to admit he was falling in love with. And honestly, he's not sure how he would have survived if things didn't turn out as positively as they did. The thought of never being able to see or talk to Hailey again scares him to his very core.

He takes another sip of his beer and continues to ponder off. If it wasn't for Adam, he'd be with her tonight, consoling her and making sure she was okay, emotionally and physically. He feels the hint of jealousy arise again and tries to swallow it away. He knows he has no right, it's not like he ever made a move or made it known how he really felt; still, he can't help it. Even now, even though he figures she's in good hands, he still feels like he has to check on her to make sure. To be fair, that's supposed to be their thing anyway.

After mulling it over some more, knowing he won't get to sleep if he doesn't, Jay thinks "fuck it" and decides to text Hailey. He's at least making sure just to message, instead of calling, not wanting to overstep since Adam is probably with her. He lets out another sigh of frustration at that as he grabs his phone.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, just wanted to make sure you're ok again?" he quickly types.

"I'm good. Why would you be a bother?" Hailey responds rather quick, surprising Jay.

"Nah, it's nothing… I just wanted to check in."

"You sure? You're not normally a texter." She responds.

He takes a few beats to formulate his response. It must have taken a bit longer than he thought because suddenly Hailey is calling him. He smiles as he sees her name pop across the screen and quickly answers.

"Hey! Sorry, I didn't mean for you to have to call, I just… I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Jay, you usually call. You always call. You CAN always call. Why would you be a bother?" she asks him, her suspicions obviously on alert from his texts.

"Yea, I know, but I just figured with the day you had, you and Adam were probably going to sleep soon. I thought it'd be better to text."

There's a long pause from her before she finally responds. The silence is deafening on the line, but Jay patiently waits, wondering what she could be pondering.

"Adam's not here. I told him I just wanted the night to myself to regroup and rest." She finally says.

"Oh, I see." Jay voices before there's another long pause between them.

Both ends of the phone are contemplating their next words, ignoring the awkward silence.

"Well, I don't mean to keep you Hailey. Just, you sure you're good?"

"I'm fine." She says hesitantly.

"Ok then, well, I guess I'll… see you tomorrow."

"Yea…"

Instead of hanging up, there's another long beat between them, before Hailey speaks again.

"Actually Jay…"

"Yea?"

"You wanna come over for a bit? I could use some company."

"Sure, I'll be there in 20!"

Jay hangs up the phone after she tells him ok, and for the life of him he can't stop the smile that forms on his face.


Hailey is lounging on her couch as she waits for Jay to arrive, frozen peas at her side. While the swelling of her cheek has gone down from hours before, the bruising has begun to form, making her whole face ache. All things considered, it could be a lot worse. Physically, she'll be fine within a week or so. As for emotionally, well, that department is a little trickier, but not for what people would expect. While getting abducted, beaten, and not knowing if you're going to make it is traumatizing, she's actually handling all that rather well. The tricky part comes into play when thinking about the only thing she was in fear about with losing her life (outside of worrying about Kim's) – and that was she wouldn't get a chance to say goodbye to Jay. Lying there on the freezing cold floor, blood seeping down her cheek, while almost losing consciousness; and her only thoughts were about not seeing her partner again. Go figure! Even all the crazy with Kim and Adam the day had started with weren't making the cut on her near-death reel. The worst part of all these thoughts, she knew she couldn't confess them. Even now, while waiting for Jay to arrive, she tries to bury those feelings of today deep down. What a mess that would be at this point.

While she knows she has to contain those thoughts, she is completely relieved that she at least managed to get Adam to agree to leave her alone tonight. She feels kind of bad, she knows how worried he must have been and that he just wants to be there for her, but having him with her tonight just didn't feel right. She knows even more should be read into the fact that she just invited Jay over, but she really doesn't want to analyze it yet. She's aware how she's felt about her partner all these months, and it became even more obvious today, but some things shouldn't be spoken out loud. There will be a time someday, but it's not now. And it's certainly not the time after that mortifying speech from Voight. Man, she really knows how to make a mess of things. Hailey couldn't be more thankful when she hears the knock on her door, to get her out of these thoughts, and to get to see him.

She smiles as she lets Jay in and he smiles back at her. Almost as if they're reading the others thoughts, in mutual agreement to not voice them.

"Your face is looking a little better from this afternoon. You're looking real badass now!" he says to her as he steps through to the kitchen, missing her eye roll at him.

"Yea, it's still pretty sore, but I'm sure it could be feeling a lot worse." She responds as she grabs them two beers and they make their way to the living room.

They plop on her couch and peacefully sip their beers for a bit, just enjoying each other's company. Jay is the first to speak again.

"So, anything you want to talk about? I can only imagine how you must have been feeling today."

"I'm… doing ok actually." Jay gives her his 'yea right' look and she gives him a reassuring smile.

"No, really! Being abducted by amateur losers is definitely trying, but I'm fine considering. To be honest, I was more worried about Kim anyway… and had a lot of other thoughts on my mind."

Jay seems to ponder this for a bit. He starts to pull slightly at the paper on his bottle.

"Yea, I'll bet. How did the talk with Kim go actually?" he says.

Hailey finds it ironic that Jay's mind goes there and is amused by the fact.

"It surprisingly wasn't too bad. I think it was a conversation we both handled pretty well. I mean, her better than me of course. I am the one who has now been with her ex."

Jay swallows another sip of beer. "Yea, I figured she'd be fine. They've been broken up for a while now. We don't pine over our exes forever. Certain things make us move on eventually."

He looks into her eyes and she looks back, she's well aware of the implications of that loaded response. Nonetheless, she breaks eye contact first and gives a small nod.

"Yea…"

They're silent for a minute, neither wanting to say something too revealing.

"So… speaking of, how come you didn't want Adam over tonight?"

"I don't know. I just… I didn't want to be treated like a damsel in distress, y'know? He means well, but, there's nothing really to say. I'm alive. Kim's alive. And we'll both be fine. I don't need to be fussed over."

"That's fair… I have a confession to make though…"

She looks at him, waiting patiently for him to gather his words.

"You really scared me today, partner. The thought of losing you… I've never been more scared in my life! I know you guys can handle yourselves, and part of me knew you'd be fine… but the part of me that didn't…" he chokes up slightly.

Showing emotion he normally only shows her, she knows just how to calm him. She lightly places her hand on his knee to give extra reassurance for her following words.

"I know, Jay. But, I'm fine. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. It's going to take you a lot more to get rid of me… YEARS, at least!" she jokes with him.

He smiles back at her, just nodding, too afraid he'll break down if he says anything else. She knows this, she's aware, and honestly, she's too scared herself to say anymore. This moment is enough.

Hailey switches the TV to a reair of the Hawks game from earlier and they lean back into the couch quietly and comfortably. After a while, Hailey lightly rests her head on Jay's shoulder. Soon enough, all the pain meds finally catch up to her and she falls asleep. Jay spends a while studying her, relishing that she's here, she's ok, and she's leaning on him. He rests his head faintly onto hers and the exhaustion of the emotionally draining day finally catches up to him as well. Despite the abnormal sleeping conditions, it's the most peaceful night's rest either has had in a while. The partners will live to fight another day tomorrow…