Hailey is waiting in her living room for Adam to arrive. Today had been another doozy of a day and she knows it's only about to get worse. Hours before they had all been on a case involving a paranoid schizophrenic. They had gotten the intel on the guy's address and were sent to check it out. Jay and Hailey were to be the first ones to broach the house, while the others were going to question the neighbors. Within minutes of entering, they smelt gas. Jay with his quick army thinking told Hailey to run, and they both jumped out of the house just in time for it to explode around them. They landed on the pavement a couple yards away, with Jay on top of Hailey protecting her.

Luckily, physically they were both fine with the exception of a few cuts and bruises; emotionally, it was a different story. With Jay still on top of Hailey, they fell into the pattern they always do of conveying with their eyes all the emotions they were too scared to voice. Only this time, given the positioning of their predicament, it looked and felt even more intense than usual. There was even an instant there were Hailey thought Jay was going to kiss her… whether it was because he's been feeling what she has, or it was just the reactions of the moment, she didn't know… either way, it never happened, because soon enough Adam was staring over them. Adam, the guy she was supposed to be dating. He played it off well, just coughing to interrupt them, then quickly making sure they were ok, but she knew he was pissed. She's not entirely sure she blames him… after all, her heart was spoken for before they even hooked up, even if she didn't want to admit it.

She knows tonight will mark the beginning of the end… or maybe it's the end of the end… considering they weren't ever supposed to be serious to begin with. She wants to feel more upset about it, feeling like she owes Adam that much, but she's always known this was inevitable. She just hopes it's an adult discussion without much arguing. She can't handle much more today. Finally she hears the doorbell ring pulling her out of her thoughts and she runs to open it.

"Hey" she says simply as she steps aside to let him in.

Adam just nods at her as he walks in, not even giving her his usual hug or kiss on the cheek. Oh boy… she was definitely right about where this conversation is going.

"You want a beer or anything?" she offers.

"Nah, I don't think I'll be staying too long."

"Ok… well, you mind if I have one? Kinda feel like I may need it, y'know."

"Of course, it's your house."

"Adam…"

"Please Hailey, let me speak for once. You owe me that much!"

"Fair enough…"

"So I think it's time we talk about the elephant in the room. I thought I could ignore it because we were having fun, but I can't. In case you haven't noticed, I'm an all or nothing kind of guy… and I think it's time we end this before one of us gets hurt, most likely me."

"Adam, I'm not trying to hurt you."

"I know you're not Hailey, of course you're not… but you are… Can you honestly tell me with a clear conscious that you don't have feelings for Jay?"

"Adam…"

"No, seriously Hailey. It's ok, I get it. I mean, I kind of knew it before we hooked up anyway. But I'd appreciate if you admit it."

"What I do or don't feel for Jay doesn't matter. We're partners. We're great partners. And we're good friends. And both of us have been down that road before and swore never to again."

"You can run from your feelings all you want, but I can't do this anymore. I can't be the consolation prize. It's not fair to either of us… it's not fair to all three of us."

Hailey tears up a bit because she knows he's right and she wishes she never let things get this far. If only Jay never got shot, she would have been able to compartmentalize her feelings still. She would have never gotten with Adam to help with the blocking. The world works in mysterious ways though.

"I'm sorry, Adam, truly!"

"There's nothing to apologize for. I've been there." He shrugs. "Maybe I'm still there… we can all probably benefit from being more honest with our true feelings."

"Yea…"

"Well, as fun as this conversation has been, I think I'm gonna go…"

She smiles as he tries to lighten the mood and walks back with him to the front door. As he opens it she says,

"I really did enjoy these past few months with you, y'know! Despite our occasional differences."

"Me too, Hailey. And for the record… it's pretty obvious that Jay has feelings for you too. I may not be the best advice giver when it comes to love, or my business anymore… but one of you should wake up soon!"

"Yea? Well, if we're giving advice… you should talk to Kim…"

"That's a chapter for a different time…" he smiles, and with that he walks away.

Hailey smirks and closes the door behind him. She feels a humongous weight lifted off of her shoulders, even if she's still not ready to deal with everything Adam said. She contemplates everything that transpired today for a few more minutes. Finally she decides she needs to get out of her place. She knows where she's going to end up, but doesn't want to think about the why of that just yet. Maybe one day. She grabs her favorite bottle of bourbon and heads out the door.

Jay is sitting on his couch pounding down his third beer. He can't stop himself from wishing it was with Hailey, especially after the hell of a day they had. He knows it's foolish though because she's supposed to see Adam tonight. He can't stop the wave of jealousy that washes over him and he swallows another big sip. In a way he's kind of grateful for Adam today… if it hadn't been for him coming over to them after the explosion, he's sure he would have kissed Hailey. What a mistake that would have been. He probably would have gotten punched by the both of them. He chuckles as he thinks that. Still, it would have been worth it to get to kiss her just once.

He can't believe how much harder it's been for him recently to keep his feelings for her under wraps. He knows that's what's best for everyone, but still, it hurts. Maybe he's just better off alone anyway. There's really only one person who understands and gets his issues, and the fact that she's his partner, & now taken, should be enough to deter him from love for a lifetime. He hears a knock at his door and wonders who it could be at this time of night, but equally grateful for the interruption. When he pulls back the door he's surprised to see who's behind it.

"Hailey, what are you doing here so late? Everything okay?"

She holds up her favorite bottle of bourbon and smirks at him as she walks in.

"Figured we could use some after the day we had…"

"Yea, but I thought…"

"Adam broke up with me, so, no." she quickly cuts him off.

Jay looks at her shocked, but secretly elated.

"What? Hailey, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. C'mon, it was bound to happen anyway."

"What? I thought you guys were doing good?"

"Jay, you wanna talk? Or you wanna crack this bottle? Because I'd much rather the alcohol right now." She says and she starts making her way to his couch. He grabs two glasses and is about to follow when he hears her again.

"Oh, I see you already got a head start!" she laughs looking at the near empty 6-pack on his coffee table.

They chuckle at each other as he makes his way over.

"Sorry, if I knew you were coming I would have saved you some."

"I mean, it's not every day one almost gets blown up. Sorry I didn't get the head start with you."

"So, you and Adam… should I even bother asking?"

"No…" they chuckle at each other and their predictability.

"Fair enough. Well, cheers to being alive… and single!" Jay says and they nod in agreement and clink their glasses.

"Yes, and our thing…" she says.

"At least I won't have to share my drinking buddy anymore!"

"C'mon Jay, y'know no matter what we'll always have this."

"There's probably not enough bourbon or tequila in the world."

"Yea, but then we can switch to rum or vodka…" she responds to him with her eyes twinkling. And they both realize that's enough, for now…

She yanks the remote from his hand as he rolls his eyes at her, and the two of them sit quietly into the night, keeping their feelings at bay… but both secretly enjoying each time one of their thighs brush up against the other.

[A/N: Alright, I caved, it's just been too long without the show being on, so had to write some more. And I appreciate y'all baiting me to. Plus, I had some incredibly rare free time at work, so here we are. Well, now that Adam is out of the equation, that should pave the way for Hailey & Jay to get together, right?! You'd think... Don't worry, I have my final idea of where I'm going with this, but we'll see where the show takes us as well. Thanks so much again for reading, & for all the kind reviews! You guys are the best!]