Another story I wrote because I watch Interviews with Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer way too often. This one comes from an interview in which Tracy said she thinks Hailey loves Heavy Metal music, and from a second interview with Jesse, in which he says the same about Jay.

So here we go – enjoy the secret escapes

The music was loud, some would say too loud, but for Hailey Upton it was just right. She could feel the bass in her stomach, took it in together with the loud guitars, the lyrics. The blazing hot sun, the dust, the smell of beer, burgers, people, the constant noise all these people made. It was exactly what she needed after a long and gruesome week, long shifts and a horrible case they had solved. It was the first festival of the year, and here Hailey Upton could be someone else, could forget everything and everybody for a weekend. It was a rare event that she had a whole weekend off, didn't have to worry about the job, about cases, about people. Here she was not Detective Hailey Upton of the Chicago PD Intelligence Unit, here she was plain and simple Hailey. She could get lost in the crowd, be alone among all these people, simply listen to the music, have a beer or two, relax. She looked different too – dressed in black boots, black denims, a black t-shirt with a band logo on it and a leather vest. Her hair was down and messy as always, she didn't care. She didn't notice the looks she received, the admiring looks from a lot of guys, the flirty comments. Not that they were bad, she was simply not looking for company. It felt too good to be alone in the crowd. This was her secret escape from everything: The job, the world, herself.

The festival had just started this Friday afternoon. Her tent was set up, waiting for her to crawl inside sometime after midnight, after too many beers and with ringing ears. She would leave on Sunday afternoon, by then in urgent need of a shower and her own bed, as always. But that was still a long time to go. A whole fantastic weekend to go.

She bought herself a beer and started looking for a place to stay, not too far away from one of the stages, but not right in the middle of the crowd. She was still a cop; she wanted to stand with her back against a wall, so that she could watch her surroundings. These instincts never left.

And then suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks, stared at the person walking in front of her. She would have recognized this body everywhere, despite the completely different clothes. Black leather biker pants, a black shirt that displayed his muscles even more than the usual shirts he wore in the office. And the hair wet and wavy.

Hailey couldn't do anything but stare. What was Jay Halstead doing here? Here, at a metal festival out of all places? HE was one of the reasons she wanted to be alone this weekend.

Now what should she do?

Approach him?

Pretend she didn't see him?

Walk in another direction?

Not walk – run. She turned around and tried to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible while making her way back through the crowd without raising too much attention. Everyone was walking towards the stage, she was walking the other way. Perfect. But she must have been successful. No voice calling out for her, no hand on her shoulder. And when she finally had found another spot she liked, closer to another – smaller – stage and on the other side of the crowd, she turned around, scanned her surroundings – no Jay Halstead to be seen. She exhaled, took a large swig of beer, leaned against the shed next to her. That was close.

Usually she wouldn't run from her partner. Usually she loved his company, more than anything. Usually she would have run to him, would have greeted him and would have loved to spend the weekend with him. Well...

The problem was that recently she hadn't been able to ignore anymore that her feelings for Jay were changing. In the beginning he had been her partner, a reluctant partner, then he had become a friend, and later her best friend. The person she trusted more than anyone else she knew. But ever since he had been shot, she knew that that wasn't the whole truth. Yet, after her almost-confession, she once again had buried her feelings. It was too dangerous. When she had been almost ready to tell him – again – she was sent to the FBI. Now she was back, and nothing had changed.

She knew she would have to do something eventually, because it was driving her crazy. This weekend had been her retreat. Others went to a spa, she went to a Metal festival to clear her mind. Well, that had been the intent. Now ruined by the man himself. From now on she would always keep an eye open, try to avoid him, in order to do her soul-searching.

It was strange, they knew so much about the other, so many details, and yet she hadn't been aware that Jay liked the same music she liked. They had never talked about this. She smiled briefly to herself. Actually, it was a good thing, could be. One more thing they had in common. Yet that made it more and more complicated to stick to her rule to never fall for another partner again. Okay, that ship had sailed a long time ago, she had been falling for Jay for a long time, falling hard. She had planned to think about something else this weekend, but again a plan had gone wrong.

Still, she tried to fall back into her festival routine, there was music, beer, and perfect weather after all. She had found a good place to stand and get lost in the loud music, and slowly she relaxed. The festival was huge, with 6 or 7 different stages, lots of merchandise, food trucks, masses of people. So why should she run into Jay Halstead again? And perhaps – perhaps she had been wrong and it had been someone completely different, who only looked a bit like Jay, because she had been thinking about him too much. After all, Jay would never wear leather biker pants, and he would NEVER not style his hair. Never.

She almost convinced herself that she must have been mistaken. After a while she found herself moving to the music, lost herself in the crowd. She spent the whole afternoon in the spot she had found earlier, danced along with the people around her, exchanged a few words, had some more beer, a burger, and felt good.

This is why she was here after all.

It was already dark, Hailey had a bottle of beer in her hand, and was dancing to the music, lost in thought, until the music stopped. She stepped back, when someone bumped into her from behind. Lazily, she turned around, and then froze.

As did Jay Halstead, who turned around at the same time.

They stared at each other, and just like in the cheesiest of all movies suddenly there was silence and the crowd vanished. They just stared at each other.

Slowly, Hailey's eyes wandered up and down Jay's whole body, and she had to admit, she liked what she saw – a lot. The black shirt showed off his muscular chest and arms, the black leather pants hugged his hips and legs tightly. She took a large swig of her beer to mask her feelings, the butterflies in her stomach, the blood rushing to her head, the weak knees.

Jay didn't move either, but slowly a small grin appeared on his face.

"You really think I didn't see you earlier, don't you?" he teased her softly.

"Wha... what?"

Jay looked at her slightly amused, hiding his own insecurity. "When you ran away so quickly. I'm sure you remember."

He drank some beer too, trying to get his body under control. Wow, she looked so beautiful. Her tiny body dressed all in black, the leather vest, the long blond hair. Jay downed his beer.

"What are you doing here?" Hailey managed to ask.

Jay shrugged. "The music," he said.

"You? You like Metal?"

"Sure, always have."

"I wasn't aware of that," Hailey admitted.

"So, I guess I have some secrets too," Jay smirked. "Get you another beer?"

Hailey nodded. Slowly she had herself under control again, and she had to admit that she wasn't too disappointed she hadn't been able to escape him.

They walked to the beer stand side by side, for a second not sure what to say. It helped a lot that the music was getting louder again, so that they couldn't actually talk. Both cautiously looked at the other from the corner of the eye, hoping the other wouldn't notice, which of course didn't work.

Hastily Jay bought two more beers, handed one to Hailey.

They moved a bit further away, to a quieter area, both clinging to their bottles.

After another swig, Jay leaned against a wall, smiled softly.

"So..." he started. "Did I just ruin your weekend?"

The look in his eyes was too much for Hailey, the make-believe bad conscience, the cheeky grin – she just had to laugh at him, a happy laughter.

"No Jay," she confirmed. "You didn't."

"Great, so let's have fun," Jay's grin got wider. He drank some more beer, took both now empty bottles and put them in a nearby trash bin, and put his arm around Hailey's shoulders casually.

"Let's go back to where the action is, okay?"

And that was what they did. Together they tried to get closer to one of the many stages, let the music take over.

They had been through so much together, yet this was completely new and unexpected, and as soon as both had agreed to just go with it, the evening became a lot of fun.

Several beers later the music slowed down, the stages emptied and people stumbled back to their cars, RV's, tents or wherever they wanted to spend the night. A soft rain began to fall.

"Where are you sleeping?" Hailey asked.

Jay shrugged. "Didn't really worry about it. Thought the back of my truck would be okay."

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Could be a bit wet, don't you think?"

"Well, then I sleep inside the truck. You?"

"Got my tent over there," Hailey answered, paused. "Want to come? At least it's dry inside."

"I don't know," Jay admitted. Suddenly his knees were weak. Had Hailey just invited him to sleep in her tent, which was probably tiny?

"Oh, come on!" The beer and the whole atmosphere made Hailey lightheaded. She took his arm and dragged him in the direction of the makeshift campground. "You really want to sleep on the loading platform of your truck in the rain? Or sit inside?"

"Okay, okay," Jay grinned back at her. "Guess you're right."

Perhaps it was just a harmless invitation, but his slightly drunk mind liked the idea nevertheless.

The tent was not as small as he had expected, but of course not large. Sufficient for two to three people. They crawled inside and sat down on the ground on either side. There was only one sleeping bag, of course, and Hailey's small bag. Both of them would have enough space, even though it was probably not too comfortable on the bare floor. At least it was warm and dry. They got rid of their boots and placed them outside under the small roof. Then Hailey spread the sleeping back out on the ground as a blanket for both, so they wouldn't lie on the bare ground. She held her bag in her hand, not quite sure what to do with it. Should she put it between them, as a barrier? But wasn't that a bit ridiculous? And where else should she put it? Not outside – boots were safe, but a bag – not a good idea. She didn't realize that she held the bag in mid-air and that Jay was watching her with an amused grin, until he simply took the bag and put it on the ground where their feet would be.

"Okay?" he grinned.

"Yeah, I guess," she grinned back. She took off her leather vest and stretched out on the ground, lay down on her side, facing Jay. This wasn't the worst outcome of the day, she decided.

Now Jay was a bit indecisive. His tight pants weren't exactly comfortable to sleep in, but taking them off wasn't an option, was it?

Hailey seemed to think the same, she just lay down almost fully clothed, smiled at Jay in the light of the small flashlight. "You know, it's nice to have you here."

"Yeah, it is nice to be here," Jay agreed, and in an impulse leaned over her and kissed her cheek.

"Jay, you're drunk," Hailey answered, put her hand on his chest and pushed him back very softly, reluctantly. Jay didn't resist and rolled back on his side, still looking at her.

"But you know what?" Hailey continued. "I'm drunk too." She placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Good night, Jay."

"Night, Hailey."

Despite lying on the bare ground, despite the constant noise around them, both slept quite well. When Hailey woke up, Jay's hand was resting on her waist, they had moved closer to each other in their sleep. She couldn't deny that this closeness, his touch, felt good. While the weekend hadn't turned out quite like she had planned, it was good, probably even better.

Before he woke up though, he rolled on his back, his hand left her waist. With a sigh he opened his eyes, stretched.

"Morning," Hailey greeted him.

He smiled back at her.

They had a few hours before the music would start again, so Jay walked to his truck, got his bag, and both stood in the long queue for the bathrooms, to at least wash a bit, change clothes. Not that it would do much good, as the ground was a bit muddy from last night's drizzle. Still, a fresh t-shirt helped a bit. That and a coffee and some breakfast, which they had sitting comfortably next to one of the food trucks.

People were slowly waking up, some had partied significantly longer than the two of them, most looked at least a bit tired. The music started slowly, quietly, and around noon it was back at full force, so Jay and Hailey went back to where the action was. They quickly found the stage with the best music, a nice place in the crowd, perfect to continue the party.

It was definitely good to have Jay around, Hailey noticed once again. He was fun, he was much more relaxed than usually, didn't want to be entertained constantly, and they didn't feel the need to talk all the time.

Hailey didn't even notice that Jay disappeared to get some drinks, so when suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, she just assumed it was Jay.

It was not. A very tall, broad shouldered man was standing very closely behind her, smiling.

"Hey, pretty lady, fancy a drink? Or more?"

Hailey shook her head, smiled apologetically. "No thanks. Not interested."

He wasn't willing to accept her refusal. "Come on, don't be shy." His arm landed on her shoulder.

What he didn't expect was that Hailey's instincts kicked in immediately. As soon as she felt his arm trying to hold her tight, to not let her go, she ducked, raised her arm and elbowed him right in the face.

The guy didn't see that coming, but unfortunately the blow, which must have hurt, didn't stop him. Instead he took both her arms in his hands, holding her. "Want to play? Fine, I like a bit of action."

Even though his grip was strong, Hailey managed to free her arms, was about to kick him in the groin, but before she could do that, she saw how he was shoved to the ground.

Jay had been on his way back to Hailey, when he saw the guy approaching her. He walked faster, and when he saw him holding both Hailey's arms, the bottles dropped to the ground and Jay ran. He was next to the guy in the same moment when she freed her arms, and without hesitation Jay grabbed him, picked him up and threw him on the ground – even though he was taller and significantly heavier than Jay. The guy lay on his back, breathing hard, not quite understanding what just happened, when Jay's boot landed on his chest to prevent him from standing up.

"You good?" Jay asked Hailey, who briefly nodded.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jay asked the guy, who was struggling to get up. Slowly, Jay removed his boot.

"The lady was alone, I thought she wanted some company."

"I told you I wasn't interested," Hailey replied.

"Sorry," he was all meek, looking to Jay and Hailey. "Didn't know you had company."

"Next time remember that no means no," Hailey said. Jay nodded, looking grimly at the guy who quickly turned around and walked away.

"What was that?" Jay asked, now that they were alone again. "You okay?"

Hailey nodded. "Don't ask me, Jay. I've been to so many events, but something like that has never happened. But I'm fine. Thanks."

"You didn't need my help, did you?" Jay grinned admiringly.

Hailey shrugged and grinned back at him. "It feels good that you had my back, Jay."

She leaned against him, and casually he put his arm around her shoulders. "Always, you know that."

"Yeah."

"Want another drink? The beer I bought didn't survive this, I'm afraid."

She nodded and without thinking further put her arm around his waist when they walked back to the beer stand. She was still a bit agitated – not exactly shocked – from this stupid attack, therefore it felt good, safe to have Jay close.

They got their beers and downed them quickly. When Hailey turned and wanted to go back closer to the stage, however, Jay held her back. He leaned against a wall, pulled her closer.

"You know, I like this," he said. He brushed a strand of hair from her face and slowly leaned down to kiss her, almost expecting to be treated just like the guy who had approached Hailey just a short while ago. But that didn't happen.

Hailey leaned against him, into the kiss, slipped her arms around his waist. This felt even better than she had ever imagined. So much better. His soft lips on hers, his arms wrapped around her, pressing his body against hers. Firm, but she knew he would stop the second she resisted, even slightly.

Neither would be able to tell how long the kiss lasted, when they finally just looked at each other, smiled.

"Want to go have a look around?" Hailey said. For once she had no idea what she should say. There was nothing to say, the kiss had happened so naturally to both of them.

Jay smiled at her, nodded a yes, "Let's go."

Again his arm rested on her shoulders, her arm around his waist.

They found an area close to a stage with the music they liked best and leaned against a fence. They didn't mind that it was too loud to talk, as both needed to gather their thoughts. Was that just the heat of the moment for the other, or... ?

Despite these thoughts, they leaned against each other comfortably.

The weather wasn't as good as the day before, the drizzle from last night returned in the afternoon. It wasn't bad and usually it wouldn't have stopped either of them from listening to the music. But today was different. Something else was more important than the music and the festival.

"You know," Jay said suddenly. "I'm afraid we'll be drenched if we stay here much longer."

"Yeah," Hailey agreed. She had a slight idea what he wanted to tell her. "So?"

"So, what do you think, we go back to your tent and wait for the rain to stop." His eyes slowly ran up and down her body, and his free hand softly touched her arm. "I've got a few ideas."

Hailey raised her eyebrows, grinned at him. "You know how many people will be around this tent? Everyone can hear whatever would be going on there, you are aware of that, right?"

Jay shrugged. "I can be quiet. I mean... "

"Oh I know what you mean," Hailey grinned. "Let's go."

They returned to Hailey's tent as fast as possible, and as if they had anticipated it, the rain got stronger when they arrived. Nevertheless the area was almost deserted, most people remained on the festival grounds, partied.

Quickly they took off their boots, put them in a corner next to Hailey's bag, and closed the tent. Automatically they sat down crossed legged, looked at each other. And suddenly Hailey started giggling, so hard she couldn't stop. Jay looked at her curiously.

"Don't you think this is funny?" she said. "I mean, all of this. Us liking the same music, meeting here by chance, and now... now we sit here as if we didn't know what to do."

"Oh, I know what to do," Jay grinned, smiled his widest smile at her, his hand touched her cheek. "You're amazing," he added.

Hailey stopped giggling, looked at him, saw the warmth in his eyes, and so much more. She didn't resist when he moved closer, took her in his arms and kissed her.

Within seconds they had forgotten about their surroundings, had forgotten they were in a tent, lying on the bare floor on a sleeping bag, with only a thin piece of fabric separating them from the outside world; all that counted was that they were together.

The sound of the raindrops on the tent mixing with the faint music was the perfect background noise, the whole scenery was romantic in an unexpected, different way.

Later, when they were lying close to each other, Jay's arms around Hailey's body, her head on his chest, they couldn't stop smiling.

When they got dressed again, ready to go outside, where the rain had stopped and the music was inviting and loud, Jay suddenly stopped what he was doing, looked at Hailey.

"What?" Hailey asked softly.

"Would you..." he started. "Would you forgive me if I told you something?"

She raised her eyebrows in the typical Hailey way.

"Would you forgive me if I told you that I came here because of you?" Jay smiled at her, then very slowly continued. "It wasn't a coincidence. My contact was right, he told me you'd be here. Mind you, I do like the music, I didn't lie about that. But I decided to come because of you."

Jay's confession surprised Hailey, she didn't answer for a moment. Almost long enough for Jay to think he had messed it up, he shouldn't have told her. But then a wide smile appeared on her face, she tilted her head.

"I forgive you, Jay. Under one condition."

"And that would be?"

"These leather pants." Hailey put her hand on his thigh, caressed the leather. "I need to see them on you more often. They are incredibly sexy."

Jay grinned. "I guess I could do that," he slowly answered. "I mean, I love to see you in this leather vest – preferably with nothing underneath."

"Yeah," Hailey nodded, her hand moved up his thigh suggestively. "I guess we could do that."