It was a slow day at work and everyone was catching up on some overdue reports. Jay was pouring himself a second cup of coffee that morning when his phone hummed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen before answering. It was Will.

"Hey Will, what's up?" Jay said.

"Just calling in to check on Hailey. How's she holding up?"

Jay frowned and glanced over at his partner, head immersed in a stack of papers. "Good. Why'd ask?"

Jay heard Will clear his throat; when he spoke his voice was a low whisper, "Her dad passed away last night."

"Wait, what?" Jay asked, taking a moment to absorb Will's words.

"Hailey's dad…he passed away last night. He developed a blood clot that traveled to his lungs…" The line went silent. "Jay, you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Jay said, trying hard to keep his voice steady. Again, he looked at Hailey, but her face betrayed no emotion, giving nothing away.

"Please, give her my condolences," Will said.

"I will, thank you."

Jay hung up the phone and stood there, stunned and disbelieving. Why didn't she tell me? Logically, he understood why. He really did. He remembered how conflicted he felt when his dad passed. Hailey was probably still sorting through her emotions, and it was unfair for him to demand anything from her (even if the omission stung). How does someone mourn the loss of a father who was also a violent abuser?

After a few minutes, he took slow, measured steps towards her desk. "Do you need help with the paperwork?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation. When she didn't respond, he moved to sit on the edge of her desk, finally getting her attention. "Need help with the paperwork?"

"No, no," she waved him off. "Just catching up on old reports."

"You sure?" he insisted, trying to make his voice sound casual. "It's no big deal. You've helped me many times before. This will be me returning the favor."

Hailey waved him off and pasted a smile onto her face that he wasn't sure how to interpret. "Thanks, but I'm good."

Jay nodded but didn't move. He sat for some minutes watching her silently work. "Okay, then," he said, drumming his fingers on her desk. But before he stood up, Hank walked out of his office, shrugging on his coat.

"We got an active crime scene in Pilsen. Two dead. Two in critical condition. I want everyone on scene."

Jay stood up and retrieved his jacket from the back of his chair, watching Hailey do the same. They geared up and jumped in the rig. Hailey was silent the entire drive. She wouldn't look at him, only out the window, her eyes following the trees zipping by, at the cars in front of them, and on the side mirror. In fact, she had a distracted look, as if she was straining to hear faraway sounds. He touched her arm to get her attention, and when her gaze landed on him, a faint smile curved her lips.

"I was thinking we could try that new Greek restaurant tonight, the one that opened where the cleaners used to be."

"Can I get a rain check?" she said apologetically. "I promised my mom I would stop by tonight."

"Everything okay?" he asked cautiously.

She shrugged. "I think so."

"Okay," Jay answered, feeling his gut tightening. He gave her a smile and decided to focus on the road ahead. He just wanted Hailey to feel as though she could talk to him. He hated that she felt the need to keep this from him. But what he hated most was that he knew she was hurting, and he couldn't give her any comfort. He kept telling himself he needed to be patient. She would reach out when she was ready.

They arrived on scene and it was business as usual – checking the bodies, talking to eyewitnesses, searching for pods. However, he noticed she looked distracted, as though she were trying to figure out what to do next. A few times he caught her glancing at her phone, but she never made an effort to answer.

When they hopped back in the rig, Hailey's phone buzzed. She bit her lip and looked down at it, her fingers hovering over the screen. After a minute, she just shoved her phone back in her pocket.

Jay couldn't resist. "All good?"

She nodded, not looking at him. "Family stuff," she said and shrugged in a way he knew meant she didn't want to elaborate further.

"Okay," he nodded and smiled tenderly. "I know family stuff can be rough, so I'm here if you need anything."

"Thanks." She smiled thinly. For a moment she looked like she wanted to say more, but wasn't quite sure how. Finally, after several seconds, she said, "We should probably get going. Vought will be expecting a debrief from the scene."

"Yeah," Jay nodded, putting the car in drive and hitting the gas.

x

The case was unraveling slow – too slow. Bits and pieces of information were coming together but not fast enough to create an accurate picture of what went down in Pilsen. Throughout the day he kept an eye on Hailey and she was gradually coming apart at the seams. She was on edge. As though there were tightened wires inside her getting ready to snap. How long before she broke?

She was in the box alone interrogating a suspect, while Jay watched behind the two-way mirror. His usual patient partner was pushing the suspect a little too hard. Her nerves were frayed and raw now, and the suspect's refusal to cooperate was only be adding fuel to the already burning fire.

"Hailey needs to pull back," Adam notes. "Otherwise we won't get anything."

"She knows what she's doing," Jay replied, trying to cover for his partner. "She'll get him to talk."

"I hope you're right," Adam said.

Another few minutes passed and the situation escalated. His heart began beating frantically. With every word Hailey uttered, Jay flinched with a familiar feeling of impending doom. He could see her drawing from a thin reserve of good judgment as she pushed the subject to confess.

"Pull back, Hailey," Adam mumbled to himself.

Then she snapped, anger consuming her self-control, and all of it was directed at the suspect. She knocked him off his chair and shoved him with her boot.

"Shit," Jay uttered and ran out and into the interrogation room. "Hailey, hey, hey…" he said taking her the arm, pulling her back.

"Let go. I'm fine!" she said, jerking her arm free. Her eyes gleaned with repressed anger. "I'm fine," she repeated.

Jay lifted his hands and watched her stomp out of the room. Adam and Kevin were already there to do some damage control. Jay followed her to the locker room where she paced, breathing hard and deep. Turbulent emotion tautened her features. Jay leaned against the door frame and just watched her, unsure how to help her.

"Hailey…"

"No," she shook her head angrily. "He knows more than he is letting on. He knows, Jay."

"I know," he agreed with her. "No doubt he is involved in this. But he is a bottom feeder and he won't give anything up without a deal."

"We don't have enough to make a deal," she snaps. "We need a confession otherwise we have nothing."

Breathing deeply, she stood still for several seconds, before slumping down on a bench, leaning her head on her hands. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. He took a seat next to her and placed a hand on her back, gliding his fingers up and down. He studied her face, there was a mix of emotion there.

"Hailey, talk to me, please." His throat felt dry as he spoke. "I can tell something's off. I just want to help."

"You can't," she said bluntly, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Try me," he said softly.

Hailey said nothing, her body tense and hard, but her expression uncertain.

"I promise to just listen," Jay added, hoping she understood his words and the meaning beneath them.

She opened her mouth – then shook her head. "I-I can't." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I have to go."

"Hailey," he called after her, but she shut him down with a hand in the air that told him she wasn't ready to talk. Jay had no choice but to let her go. She would tell him, he hoped, but it would be in her own time. Right now she needed space.

x

It was nearly midnight when there was a soft knock on his door. He got up groggily and staggered toward it. He opened it to find Hailey standing there, eyes red-rimmed, tears streaming down their cheeks. Wordlessly he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, his chin resting on top of her head. She leaned into his warmth, finally letting go of the emotions she had ignored all day. Her tears dampened his shirt, her sobs tearing at his heart. Eventually, the tears slowed and she drew in a deep breath.

"He's gone, Jay," she said quietly.

"Who's gone, Hailey?" he asked gently.

She drew a shaky breath, her vision clearing slightly. "My dad. He died last night."

"Oh, Hailey…. I'm sorry," he said and pulled her even closer. "I'm so sorry. Come inside," he said.

"I don't even know why I'm crying," Her words were muffled against his shirt. She was clinging to him for dear life.

He would be lying if he said he didn't like the feel of her finally in his arms. That she was seeking him out for comfort. "It's okay to grieve. He was still your father," he whispered. Whatever Hailey was experiencing, Jay wanted her to know it was okay – okay to cry, okay to mourn, to remember him, to miss him, to talk of him. "Feel whatever you need to feel. There isn't a right way to mourn."

Hailey lifted her head to look at him and nodded.

She looked exhausted, he noticed—not just emotionally but physically too. "Want to call it a night?" Jay suggested, knowing she needed some shut-eye.

She nodded, wiping at her eyes.

Jay locked the door and steered them to his bedroom. He helped her to undress and they climbed into bed together. She moved toward him and cuddled close against his side. He wrapped his arm around her body and kissed her forehead. She snuggled closer.

"I thought I would feel relief. But I don't." Her voice trembled as misery knotted her insides.

Jay didn't say anything, he just smoothed his hand over her hip, a gentle motion meant of comfort.

"When I was little girl, sometimes I would wish he would just die." Tears stung her eyes, and she reached to wipe them away, but Jay got there first, using his thumb to dry them. "Now that he is gone..." She let the sentence go unfinished, as large tears coursed down her pale cheeks.

Jay cupped her face between his hands and lightly touched his lips to hers, undemanding. He held her while she cried until she fell asleep, from sheer exhaustion. Jay kept watch, holding her, wondering what the next day would bring.


Thanks for reading. This one-shot popped in my head and wouldn't let me sleep. So, I put it on paper. Hoping everyone is happy and healthy. Cheers, D.