A/N: More feels in this chapter, as Hailey & Jay grow closer as they prepare to go to Booth's party. Then, when they actually arrive? Oh, everything happens. I was originally going to post it all in one chapter, but it was 7,000+ words, so I split it up once again – figured ya'll wouldn't mind...though this one is the longer of the two. But it's 99.9% feels, so there's that. Hope you guys enjoy! Thanks for over 100 comments on this story...so glad you guys like it so much! :)

Jay woke up to the smell of coffee brewing. He slowly opened his eyes, stretching out his legs when he remembered that he had fallen asleep on the couch. He looked around briefly, before his eyes landed on his fake girlfriend pouring the coffee into mugs for them. He'd be lying if he said he didn't mind the current situation. It would be a week today living with Hailey, and he was honestly getting all too used to having her around.

"Hey Halstead," Hailey said, as she came around the counter to the sofa. She was carrying a mug in each hand, but that's not what Jay was focused on. No, he couldn't help but notice how by contrast, her eyes were a vivid blue against the pastel of her pajamas. Even with her messy waves and slight rasp of her morning voice, he'd miss seeing her as one of the first things he woke up to.

"Hey," he said, thanking her for the coffee. "How'd you sleep?"

"Probably better than you," she countered, nodding to the couch she just now sat down on.

"Well you could've woken me up," he tried, taking a sip from his mug.

"I did!" She exclaimed, her voice bright with the beginnings of a laugh. "You were out like a light."

"Huh," he thought. "First time that's happened in ages."

"Well, did you at least sleep well?" She asked, peering at him from the rim of her coffee cup.

"Mhmm," he nodded. He was thankful the coffee burned his throat slightly as it went down, if only so he wouldn't focus on how their legs were touching as they shifted on the couch.

Hailey ran her free hand through her hair. "So, are you sure we should go tonight?"

"Oh no, I did not spend two hours in that mall for nothing," he joked.

She looked at him, her tone of voice more serious when she said his name. "Jay..."

His expression softened, as he could tell she was a little bothered by it. "Hey, we don't have to if you're really not comfortable. But just know, I've got your back okay? We're gonna go in, roam around, maybe talk to some potential players. There's gotta be someone there with more power than Booth. If not, then maybe we can get Booth to flip. Who knows, but we won't know anything if we don't at least make an appearance."

Hailey sighed, but she knew he was right. Uncomfortable or not, she had a job to do. And, she trusted Jay. More than she'd trusted anyone actually. And that was saying something, given the fact that she'd only known the guy for a week. And yet, she felt like she'd known him forever. They just clicked, and no matter how hard she tried to think otherwise, she knew it was more than just your regular partner-to-partner connection. She liked him, yeah, but as what? Her boyfriend? No, her fake boyfriend. Which meant that after this op was done, he'd be gone from her life. And she wished she could be okay with that; but the truth was: she was far from it. Which scared her more than anything.

She felt her cheeks heat up, as she realized she hadn't said anything for a minute, and was just staring at him. Use your words, Hailey! "Yeah, no, I know. You're right. You've got me covered, I've got you. We've got this. And besides, it's a party, right? We deserve to have a little fun too." She just hoped she could actually feel that way once they got there.

They sat for a few moments, finishing their coffee. Jay had just flipped on the TV when Hailey's phone rang.

"Upton," she answered routinely.

"Hailey," She cringed hearing his voice. He had terrible timing.

"What?" She asked Garrett, not even bothering to hide the exasperation.

"Don't hang up!" He begged. Well, this is starting out swimmingly.

"What is it, Garrett?" She asked him again.

"I just wanted to apologize...for last night, I mean."

She couldn't help but laugh, thankfully it came out more like a dismissal. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

She glanced over at Jay, who was already looking at her when she met his eyes. She so did not want to be stuck in the middle of this again. "It's Garrett," she mouthed to him, making him grin with her signature eye roll.

"Look, Garrett, just talk to Jay, alright," she said, exasperated. "I don't wanna be in the middle of this anymore."

"In the middle of what? He took a swing at me for no reason!"

"Garrett, you came at him first," Hailey said defensively. She didn't know why she was sounding like that when it was the truth. Garrett had tried to hit Jay first, he just happened to miss.

"So, what? You're taking his side now? C'mon Hailey, you know me. You've known him for what? Five minutes?"

"Garrett, knock it off," Hailey said. She pinched her nose bridge again, feeling a headache coming on. "Look, if you're not gonna apologize to him, that's on you. But don't get mad at me when you're the one who escalated it."

"You can't be serious. When did you get so..." he paused, and Hailey took her chance to interject.

"So, what? Conscious? Rational? What?"

"God, you know what? Just forget it, alright? I called trying to make peace with you,"

"No, you called because you wanted to make yourself feel better. God, you know, Jay was right. You've been a jerk to us this whole time. I don't know what the hell is up with you lately. Maybe if you figure it out, then we'll talk."

"Wait, Hail-"

She hung up before he could finish saying her name. She'd heard enough from Garrett Reynolds today.

She tossed her phone in frustration, not really caring where it landed.

"That sounded like it went super well for you," Jay said, and Hailey shoved his arm as she heard the playfulness in his voice.

"Oh yeah, we're best friends now," she tried joking back.

"I'm sorry if I caused you to get in the middle of it," he said softly, like he was embarrassed or something.

"Hey, no you don't have anything to be sorry for. Like I was telling Garrett, I wasn't the one he needed to apologize to; nor are you the one that should be apologizing to me. He owes us both an apology now."

"I'm glad we're in agreement on that," Jay smirked, reaching out for her coffee cup so he could put them in the sink to rinse them out.

"Yep," Hailey said, a slight smile gracing her lips. It quickly went away though as she watched Jay get up. His shirt rose up just enough for her to catch a glimpse of the gnarly bruise that still covered his rib cage. She quickly turned away, feeling like she'd seen something too personal, too private, even though she was the one icing it last night. She felt her cheeks heat up as she recalled the last two times she saw his abs. Hailey, knock it off. She rolled her eyes at herself, not believing she was losing it over this guy. But, look at him, how could you not fall for him? Plus, he so sweet, and funny. Just an all-around nice guy. Hailey hadn't met too many of those in her line of work recently. Sure, Garrett could be nice, but that wasn't his default setting. Arrogance with a side of being a complete ass-hat was more his specialty.

"You alright over there, Upton?" Jay asked, sitting back down. She realized she was grinning like an idiot to herself for no good reason. Oh well.

"Yeah, I'm good." She said, giving him a genuine smile. And for the first time in a long time, she actually believed it.

Jay had been looking for his phone for the last 5 minutes, with no avail in finding it. He thought he'd left it on the kitchen counter, but when it wasn't there, his next stop was to look between the couch cushions in case it'd somehow gotten there.

"Hey Hailey, have you seen my phone?" He called to her from the start of the hallway.

No answer. He was 99% sure she was back in their room, since they'd each taken their turn in the shower earlier.

He was all dressed and ready to go, except for his damn phone. He assumed she was too... maybe just...putting on earrings? Did Hailey even have pierced ears? He didn't know; he didn't know a lot about how women got ready for things like this.

He and Erin hadn't gotten the chance to do the whole fancy thing. And even when they did, they just changed at the district for their undercover ops. Not that it wasn't fun seeing her strip down, but it was almost too normal for them to see each other in various stages of undress.

Maybe that was part of their problem, he considered as he made his way down the hall. They'd gone for the physical and then their pasts caught up to them. They didn't slow down, instead they'd slammed on the brakes.

He was so caught up in comparing the two women in his life that he didn't register if Hailey had answered when he knocked on the door.

He figured since the door wasn't completely closed that opening halfway wouldn't hurt. Boy how wrong he was.

Because as he had opened the door, there was Hailey, not dressed in her black dress but in a robe and what he assumed to be red lace lingerie — course he'd only seen a strap of her bra as her robe had fallen down her shoulders.

"Jay?!"

He assumed she was finishing getting ready, as his eyes had quickly averted themselves to the edge of their bed, where her dress was; as she refastened the tie of her robe.

"Sorry sorry sorry," he kept repeating it like a moron. He finally shut up when he at least knew he wasn't the only one embarrassed — or excited — by what just happened.

He saw Hailey's face flush about as red as her aforementioned ensemble. He, on the other hand, wasn't so much worried about his facial expression as his physical reaction.

He caught a quick glimpse of her on his way out of the room, and he saw she had opened her mouth to say something else, but he decided to save himself from fresh embarrassment. He quickly took to the couch, running his hands through his hair and tried to think about anything else than how breathtaking she looked.

He leaned his head back on the sofa, taking a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again, Hailey was standing in front of him, thankfully fully dressed.

Too bad that didn't help, as he couldn't help but take in her appearance once again. The black dress really was elegant on her, and she wore some matching heels. And because she was Hailey, she had her leather jacket in hand, ready to throw it on.

"Hey," She said as normal as possible. "You ready to go?"

Jay rubbed his eyes, stretching out and leaning his elbows onto his knees. "Yeah, just lemme grab my jacket and wallet and then I'm good."

"Okay."

She couldn't help but watch him get up and walk away. Hailey hated herself for thinking it, but she was still buzzing about the encounter they had a few minutes ago.

It took all of her energy to focus on just Jay's face when she saw him standing the doorway. He had worn the suit, and even went with a black tie— which, much to Hailey's disappointment, was straightened out.

She didn't even realize the door was cracked open when she got out of the shower. She had heard Jay mumbling something to himself, before the opening and closing of drawers began in their kitchen.

She shook her head, figuring he was getting something to eat. She had already blown out her hair, and was walking back to her room when she heard him drop a couch cushion on the ground.

She hadn't meant to pack her red bra and underwear, but she was glad she did, because at that moment in time, that was the only set that would cover her, while still being slightly skimpy enough to be concealed under the short dress.

She wasn't one to admit when she was feeling super-femme, but when she slipped into the lingerie, she felt a new wave of confidence come over her. She had tied up her robe and gotten her dress out, but then remembered she wanted to wear a little bit of makeup.

She picked out a red lipstick, and made sure to carefully apply some eyeliner and mascara to her eyes. She powdered her face a bit, and had just put on her shoes when she heard the door creak. She figured it was just an echo from the hall, as she swore she heard his footfalls.

But, as her type of luck would have it, just as she decided to untie her robe and begin to slip it off to trade it for her LBD, that's when she found herself face to face with Jay.

And well— she skipped over everything else, as she could feel her face reheat at the thought of it. So much for keeping your cool Hailey, she told herself.

She was pulled out of her ridiculous feelings by his soothing voice, and before she knew it, his hand found her shoulder.

"Ready?" He asked. His fingertips felt like ice on her skin.

"Yeah," she answered, letting out a breath. She really needed to pull it together if they were gonna make it through tonight.

He led the way out, and Hailey followed, noticing how pretty Chicago was when it had little flurries of snow start to fall.

"Hey, what were you looking for earlier?" She asked as she strapped in.

"Hm?" He replied, following suit.

"I heard you rummaging around in the kitchen," she tried to jog his memory.

"Oh, shit," he cursed, looking from her back to his lap. "My phone!"

"You mean this phone?" Hailey said, beaming at his genuinely surprised expression.

"Where the heck was it?!"

"Bathroom counter. You must've left it in there when you finished your shower or something. I grabbed it for you on my way out. I was gonna give it to you once I had finished getting ready..." she trailed off, realizing how that whole thing didn't go as planned.

"...and then I barged in on you like an idiot. Which again, let me reiterate, I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, Jay."

She was shocked the words tumbled out of her mouth, but even in the dark, she saw something spark in his eyes, which made her glad she was bold.

"So, now that we both have our phones, we're finally ready to do this," she said, lightening the intense mood she steered the conversation into.

"Yeah," he said, and she noticed his voice was a couple octaves lower than normal. Wow, is everything he does this attractive? Or am I just really losing my mind here? She wondered.

She sat back in her seat, careful to sit more ladylike given her dress' short length. She heard the familiar hum of the truck, and she felt a strange sense of calm as Jay pulled off into the night.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Hailey was instantly taking her earlier thought back as the first thing she was greeted with at the door of the Mason Room was Ronald Booth's ugly mug. She plastered on a grimace, and didn't object to Jay sticking to her like glue as they made their way inside.

"Ryan," he easily greeted Jay, who gave him a nonchalant nod. "Kelly," he said slower, and his eyes matched the pace of his voice, sizing Hailey up much to her disgust.

She bit her tongue, still trying to show some semblance of politeness. She didn't want him pissed off at her when she needed to get information from him. But, that could wait a while. Because right now the only thing she needed to get was a drink.

"Um, nice party," she commented, hoping she sounded at least grateful for the invite. "Now, my boyfriend and I would love to know where the best drinks in the house are served. Would you mind showing us?" She asked sweetly.

She looped her arm around Jay's, noticing how there wasn't any hesitation in him anymore. None from her side either, and she didn't know whether or not that should scare or excite her. She honestly didn't really want to think about that right now, as she had to focus on getting through the rest of this night.

"Right this way," Booth said, leading them towards the bar. Of course, as Hailey's unfortunate streak would have it, Garrett was there nursing a beer. Awesome.

"Hey, if it isn't our two favorite people!" He greeted, his voice obviously showing the signs of drinking too much too early. Even better, Hailey thought sarcastically. She swore, if Garrett messed this up for her or Jay, she'd deck him herself.

"Hi Garrett, good to see you again," Jay said, giving him a tight-lipped smile. Hailey's lips mimicked his before long, and Garrett carelessly turned back to his alcohol.

"Whatever you'd like to order," Booth said, shocking Hailey by leaving them be. Of course the one time I actually need to him to be all over me, he's not. Go figure.

She sighed, nodding to Jay to order a drink first. "Um, I'll take whatever's on tap." He looked to Hailey, who ordered a vodka soda. They got their drinks a minute or two later, hopeful that the spirits could maybe lift theirs up a little.

While they drank, they each did their own version of surveillance. Hailey scanned the party goers, trying to find where Booth had wandered off to. Jay was people watching, studying their movements to see if any of them stood out.

They'd occasionally shift next to each other, and they found themselves brushing each other's arms or shoulders when they'd try to get the other's attention. The tiniest of touches used to be normal for the two detectives, but tonight, everything seemed to have a new energy, a different feel.

And neither minded one bit.

"Do you think Booth went off to get more booze or score some more product?" Hailey wondered, her eyes flicking up to Jay for a second.

"I don't–" he was cut off by Garrett so rudely interrupting.

"Guys! Booth's probably in the back, that's where he keeps his scores or "investments" as he likes to call them!" His drunk and disorderly voice was bouncing off the walls, and the two other detectives really wished he'd clam up right now.

"Alright, hey, thanks man," Jay said, giving Garrett a pat on the shoulder, which got him to sit back down in his seat.

"Yeah, thanks," Hailey said, before she whispered to Jay that she'd be back in a minute. She was going to go scour the back way for any sign of Booth. She prayed Garrett was actually correct, and not just making shit up.

She rolled her eyes as she tripped over her shoes for the second time tonight. "This," she groaned, leaning down to straighten her crooked heel. "Is why I hate heels." She muttered, glad everyone else was too inebriated to hear her talk to herself.

Once she was all fixed up, she continued her way through the crowds of people. She checked her phone, noticing it had somehow been almost 45 minutes since they'd arrived. Wow, scanning the place must've taken longer than they thought. She really hoped Ron was back here so she could relay that info to Jay via text.

She was reaching into her pocket to grab said cell phone when she collided with someone. "Oh shit," she muttered, looking up to see who it was. "Sorry about that."

"That's alright, Kelly." She was met with Booth's face looking at hers, which she hated. Why'd she always have to be close to him? Course, Hailey, you're about to get a lot closer in a few minutes, she reminded herself.

"What'd you think of the party?" He asked casually.

She tried to ignore the fact that they were still standing too close for her initial comfort, but she soldiered on. "It's really great."

"You don't sound that enthused."

"No, it's just–" she paused, pulling out her phone to shoot Jay a coded text.

"What?" He asked over the music, which had somehow gotten louder back here.

"A little noisy!" She yelled over the blaring sounds, proving her point.

"Ah," he nodded, understanding her now. "Well, we can always go somewhere quiet if you'd like."

She honestly hadn't expected that shitty trick to work, but here she was. And she felt like she was gonna be sick. She really needed more than just one drink. Okay, so get a drink, say you'll be back, and then get on with it.

"Sure," she said, turning back towards the bar area. "But first, let me buy you a drink." She offered, thinking that maybe he wouldn't be as suspicious if she could keep her act up.

"Alright," he said cautiously, but he seemed accepting of her offer as he followed her back to the bar.

She nodded to Jay as she came back with Booth in tow, hopefully communicating that this was a new part of their plan, and he nodded back at her, indicating he understood.

"What'll it be?" She asked Booth, who glanced from her back to the bartender.

"An IPA," he told her, and Hailey flagged down the bartender.

"So, Ryan, you enjoying tonight's festivities?" Ron asked, trying to make small talk.

"Mhmm," Jay mumbled, finishing off his beer. "Wow, can't believe it's already 11:45. Time is flying by," he commented, checking his phone.

"Here you go," Hailey was back with Booth's drink.

"Thank you," he said. "So, cheers," he said, leaning over Hailey and towards Jay, who clinked his empty beer bottle against Booth's full glass.

"Another round, man?" Garrett asked, and Jay kept his eyes looking straight ahead as to not roll them back over the absurdity that they'd somehow managed to make it back to where he was too.

"Sure."

Once he had another beer in his hand, he got Hailey another soda, which she thanked him for.

"So," Ron began. "How'd you two get together again?"

"Out at CCU. He was dealing out of his dorm room, I hadn't met anyone like him really. And then we sort of hooked up in more ways than one." She said, fumbling her words a little bit.

"Some story that was," Ron chuckled dryly. "That how you remember it, Ryan?" He was looking at Jay only now, which made Hailey nervous. Was he trying to do something? Or get Jay riled again? She didn't know, and she was anxious about it. She instinctively reached for Jay's hand, which he took with ease.

"Actually, we met at a bar. Well, we didn't meet just yet. But that's where I first saw her. I was talking to another girl at the time, but she wasn't as interesting as this one here," he said, nodding down to Hailey. "She was wearing this bright red top that made her stand out, sure, but I first noticed her smile, all the way from across the room. She just seemed to draw people to her, which made me want to be one of those people. Took a lot of effort to get close to her, but somehow I managed to snag her."

As he slipped his hand out of hers, and instead wrapped his arm around her shoulders, Hailey was still trying to get her mouth to work. She kept moving it slightly, thinking she was ready to say words, but instead all that happened was it would shift a millimeter here and there. She couldn't even believe he remembered all of that. About that night. The actual night they met.

Well he's just full of surprises, she thought as she decided to play off his very true story.

"Yeah well, this one here was playing hard to get the whole night. I remember I saw him, and I was trying to order a cocktail from the bartender, but Ryan kept hogging the dude's time with beer orders!" She joked, placing her hand against Jay's chest, as if it was meant to go there after sharing a laugh. It was, in this fictional world they had created; but Hailey couldn't help but think it was meant to be there regardless.

"Wait, that's the thing you remember about me?" Jay asked, genuinely curious.

"Psh, that's not the only thing," Hailey countered. "I remember how you seemed to know your way around the place, whereas I'd never been there before. And you seemed to get along with everyone around you…you had this easygoing nature about you, which made me want to get to know that 'mystery beer drinker' down the way." She offered, hoping that would be enough to both sell it and make Jay believe her.

She watched his lip tick up, almost into one of his signature smirks, and he let out a breath through his nose, like he had tried to laugh but it didn't come out exactly how he wanted.

"Huh, so you guys really pay attention then. Interesting." Booth acknowledged.

"Yep." They said at the same time, sharing a look.

"Told ya they were good guys," Garrett slurred in the background, seemingly proud of his recommendation.

"Mhmm" Booth muttered as he gulped down the rest of his drink.

The two of them obviously had Jay and Hailey beat in the plastered department, but they could work with that.

Jay blinked a few times, noticing how it got slightly louder as the music actually turned itself down. He realized it was because the countdown was starting. "10…9….8….7….6….5" They joined in for the rest of the numbers. "4….3…..2….1!"

Happy New Year was said amongst all the guests at the Mason Room, 99.9% of the couples kissing as the clock stroke midnight. That .1% that didn't? Well, to be fair, Jay had brushed his lips against Hailey's cheek, which made her a shiver run down her spine.

Oh now that's not a way to start the New Year!" Booth commented, as he apparently watched the exchange.

"Sorry?" Jay asked, and Hailey saw him try to wipe the disdained look off his face.

"You've still got 30 seconds to kiss your girl, man, before someone else does…." Booth said, and from the glint in his eye, Hailey didn't like his implication.

Course, before she could even answer his ridiculousness with a comment, Jay's lips were on hers, kissing her with what felt like everything he had.

Her lips were hesitant at first, not even processing what the hell was occurring, but she couldn't help but melt into him a moment later. She kissed him back with just as much force, and felt her brows raise when his tongue traced the bottom of her mouth.

She granted him access, and the two were tangled up in an instant. Jay ultimately won the battle for dominance in what turned out to be the longest kiss of Hailey's life. She had only broken the spell she was under thanks to Garrett's terrible timing of a cough.

She pulled back from Jay only a fraction of a centimeter, breathless from his lips. She couldn't even believe that just happened. And even more so? She couldn't believe how normal it felt. Yes, her face felt like it was on fire, and yes her whole body was tingling, but what else happened? She felt giddy, and her heart felt light in her chest, like she was floating. And she knew why, and he was staring back at her just about as shocked as she felt.

They still stared at each other for a beat too long for normal couples who would kiss on the countdown, as everyone else had already gone about their business like nothing happened. Well, everyone except for Booth, whose gaze was burning a hole in Hailey's back. She turned around to see if she was just being paranoid, but she wasn't as he not-so-subtly looked at her way longer than he looked at Jay. She felt like he was looking through her, and that scared her a little if she was being honest.

She leaned into Jay, ready to whisper something to him when Ron's voice overshadowed her effort. "So, Kelly, about earlier..." he looked at her expectantly.

"Right," she said, ignoring the pit in her stomach when she remembered what she still had to do. "Sure," she said, catching Jay's eye for a moment. He grabbed her hand unexpectedly, giving it a gentle squeeze. Her lip curved into a small smile, before they parted ways.