Jay and Hailey were sitting in Starbucks enjoying a few moments of peace and coffee before starting their shifts. The past few weeks have been extra busy in Intelligence. Both are just enjoying this little bit of early morning down time that is so rare these days, and it doesn't hurt that they're spending it together.

Jay takes a sip of his coffee and looks Hailey over as she's staring out the window.

"Heard you bought Severide and Kidd's drinks the other night." He says.

She smiles at him, clearly amused. "Man, word travels fast!"

"Well, when you're talking free drinks, it always does." He smirks back at her.

"You a little jealous there, Jay?" she raises her brow at him.

"Maybe, just a little…" he grins and she gives him her wide-eyed questioning look.

"Not for the drinks, just that you didn't call me after that case. Sounded brutal from what I heard. Two malnourished kids basically trapped in a cage…"

"Yea, the ones with kids are always the hardest… but they adored Stella, she really made them feel safe. If it wasn't for her, who knows how long that bastard would have continued on. It was nice to see Severide back her, they seem like they're always there for each other, despite everything."

It doesn't go unnoticed by Jay or Hailey the double-meaning behind her last sentence, and they both nod at each other in understanding.

"That's great! I'm glad it all worked out. Even if you left your partner off the free drink list!" he jokes with her, but a part of him did really miss not having that night with her.

She rolls her eyes at him to deflect. "Don't worry Jay, I'll buy you a beer tonight!"

"Y'know I'm gonna hold you to that!"

She hears him say as she starts thinking. Even though they're only joking with each other, if she's being really honest with herself it did feel weird being out without him the other night. Sure, she only went to Molly's to pass on her thanks to the firefighters, and then hung out with some old coworkers she saw; but it was a little disappointing not having Jay there with her. She had almost called him, but she felt like the two of them had been spending an abundance of time together since her breakup with Adam. And the fact that Jay was the whole reason behind the breakup, despite not announcing it out loud, made her brain feel like she should take some space. It had been a fun night, but sadly for her heart's sake it still wasn't near as good of a time as she has when she's with him. She hears him break through her thoughts again.

"C'mon, we should probably go before we're late. Don't want to piss off Voight this early in the day."

"Yea, you're right, or else I'll have to pay for more than one beer for you tonight, and I'm not made of money."

"And here I thought your Lake Forest upbringing would always shine… I'm gonna have to get myself a different suga-partner!" he winks at her as they start walking out.

She lightly hits his arm laughing. "Keep it moving, Halstead, before you start to piss me off!"

They chuckle as they make their way to his truck and head over to the station. Once they arrive, they barrel up the steps together to start the day. Adam and Antonio are already at their desks, and Adam locks eyes with Hailey as she passes, giving her a knowing look. She shakes her head slightly at him, figuring what he's thinking and hopes no one else notices, especially Jay. It takes her back to months before when she was sleeping with Adam and refused to show up to work with him, in fear of people suspecting. She knows it means something that she doesn't feel this same way with Jay… part of her tells herself it's because they're not sleeping together, so it wouldn't matter what people thought… but the other half of her knows it's because she wouldn't care if people thought she was with Jay. Which is a troubling notion because isn't that one of the main reasons she doesn't want to admit her feelings? Because they're partners, and there's a line, and it's complicated? If she doesn't care what the others think about her and Jay, that certainly takes away one of her excuses to keep running from it…

"Hey, everything okay? You suddenly seem off…" Jay says to her across their desks, obviously noticing the pensive look she must have on her face.

How do they do this, read the other so well? She knows it goes deeper than just being perceptive detectives. It's unnerving how well they know each other.

"Yea, everything's fine. I just remembered I still have to write up all the paperwork with the Stella case. So much for an easy start to the morning." She responds, hoping to sell the partial lie.

"Well, since I'm such a gentleman, I'll buy you a beer tonight too… or maybe a slice of pizza, whichever's cheaper. Some of us grew up in the poorer side of Chicago y'know."

She throws her pen at him. "You're really in a teasing mood today, looking for a kick in the ass I see."

"Y'know Hailey, plenty of women would find me charmingly amusing."

"Yea? Maybe you should go find one of them to annoy. They've really been lining up!" she teases back.

"Nah, I'd much rather get my free beer from you. Plus, I doubt I can find someone else to give me as sarcastic of a smirk. It's what my dreams are made of!"

Even though they both know he's kidding, there's something slightly serious in the inflection of his voice as he says it, and they know they have to stop the flirting right then. They're at work, and things are confusing and complicated enough. Still, Hailey can't stop the small smile from forming thinking about him actually dreaming about her. Yeah, she's definitely running out of excuses…

[A/N: Sorry for a shorty chapter, but wanted to jam an update in since the show returned. No real Upstead moments in this episode, and only 5 more to go this season, with probably not much Jay/Hailey in next episode either... so hopefully they make up for it in the final 4! Anyway, thanks so much for reading! Also, if you have any questions or requests, there's now a link in my profile to submit them, all anonymous! Let's discuss!]