Chapter 16
Jay was up before Hailey the next morning, unsurprisingly. What did surprise him though was how good he actually felt post migraine.
Usually the day after was not a good time either but having a solid night's rest really paid off.
He snuck out from under Hailey's arm that she had flopped across his stomach and chest sometime during the night. She looked so cute sleeping there with her mouth hanging open, he gently kissed her forehead and got up to get dressed and ready for work. Hailey didn't have to be in the office until about an hour after he was expected at work, so he let her sleep a while longer.
Hailey's alarm went off about half an hour after Jay had snuck out of his room, although I guess she could call it their room now.
She quickly got up, grabbed a spare outfit she left hanging in Jay's closet and got ready for work. She came downstairs to find a pot of coffee brewed and a handwritten note from Jay.
Had to run early this morning, coffees fresh and there's yogurt and berries in the fridge. Let's get takeout tonight. Have a good day, I love you. – J
Hailey grinned to herself. She was a lucky girl.
Over the next two weeks, Hailey slowly moved her belongings into Jay's house. He was really good about moving his stuff around so that she could have closet space and storage, which she insisted he didn't need to fuss over, but he did because he really wanted her to feel at home.
As Hailey was busy putting away clothes, Jay was sorting through some of the kitchen stuff.
"Hey babe?" He shouted from down the stairs.
"Yeah?" Hailey answered.
"Do we really need two… of these…?" Jay held up an object looking at it foreignly.
Hailey poked her head out of their bedroom and smirked. Jay was holding up a spiralizer. A handheld one that was in his drawer and one that Hailey brought. Clearly, he had never used the one he owned.
"You know those zucchini noodles I make that you like?" Hailey replied, watching the lightbulb go off.
"Ahhh I see. It's like a pencil sharpener, but for vegetables", Jay responded. Hailey burst out laughing at the top of the stairs.
"Yes, exactly", Hailey replied still laughing. "But you're right, we don't really need two, I guess. Maybe see if Will wants it."
"Sounds good. I was going to ask him over for dinner this weekend. Thoughts?" Jay asked.
"That sounds like a good plan to me! Maybe we can barbeque, the weather is getting so nice", Hailey replied, after taking a quick glance outside of their bedroom window to see the late May sun shining.
"Deal", Jay smiled, returning to their unpacking.
Will was outside with Jay, manning the grill, when he heard his brothers phone ringing. Jay took it out of his pocket and immediately held it to his ear.
"I have to take this", he whispered, handing the BBQ tongs to Will, an unspoken this is your job now.
Will smirked and kept an eye on the steaks Jay had grilling. There was no chance he wanted to risk overcooking these.
About ten minutes later, Will turned the barbeque off, handing off the meat to Hailey.
"Where's Jay?" She asked confused, poking her head around the backyard.
"He stepped out front, phone rang, said he needed to take the call. Work maybe", Will shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
"Oh gotcha. Alright well everything is ready", Hailey motioned to the roasted potatoes and salad sitting on the kitchen table.
Hailey and Will made small talk for a while, before Hailey stepped out to see what was taking Jay. "I'm going to go see if everything's alright", she told Will who nodded at that.
Just as Hailey was about to step out the front door, Jay flung it open himself.
"Sorry", he said to Hailey and Will as he sat down at the kitchen table with them.
"All good. Keeping it warm", Will said.
"Everything okay?" Hailey asked, trying to gauge his face.
"When the Army calls, you answer", Jay replied casually.
"Huh?" Hailey looked at him to clarify, Jay suddenly realizing what he was implying by the confused and somewhat scared looks on Will and Hailey's faces.
"Oh, not like called…in that way. That was Mouse. It came up as a government number, a caller ID I recognized so figured it was important. Got a little nervous to be honest seeing it, it's not usually a good call…", Jay was rambling.
"Anyways everything is okay", he regrouped, reassuring them, watching his brother and Hailey exhale.
"What was Mouse saying?" Hailey asked gently. It was getting worse by the day over there. The sooner he got back stateside the better.
"He's flying home next week", Jays face lit up.
"That's great news", Will added.
"He'll have to quarantine for two weeks when he gets back, but then he's free", Jay looked the most relieved he had in weeks.
That was only for a little while though, when he went back to looking and feeling nervous. They had all inhaled their food, and were just enjoying their wine around the table, their Sunday dinners now becoming more of a revived ritual.
"What is it?" Hailey glanced at Will before looking at Jay. Will was eyeing his brother suspiciously as well.
Jay cleared his throat. "Ahem. There's been something I've been meaning to ask you Hails…"
Will looked at the two of them, "I can step out if this is something private…"
"No, no that's okay", Jay waved his brother off. Hailey motioning him with her hand to stay put.
"Okay shoot", Hailey encouraged him to continue.
"Well… since Mouse is coming home. I thought it might be good…. might be good for him if he crashes here for a while. Until he's back on his feet. I just don't know what he's going to be like coming back this time, and you know from previous times…doesn't always take the best care of himself. And I just wanted to know how you felt about that, because this is your home now too, and you can say no…I know you've just moved in and that might be weird", Jay spat out nervously.
"Jay, slow down. It's okay", Hailey said softly, reaching her hand across the table to set it on top of his. She smiled at him, she could tell he was trying to put on a front, to prepare himself for any response she had to that suggestion.
"That is absolutely not weird at all. I think that's a great idea, I was going to suggest it myself. It will be nice to have him around, and that way we can also keep an eye on him, make sure he's doing okay after he gets back", she reassured him, instantly seeing his guard come down, and how happy and content that made him look.
"Okay good. Great. I think this will be a really good thing for him, for us. It's enough just to transition back to civilian life… Let alone do that and try to find a place of his own, and work. Come to think of it I don't really know what he's thinking about work…maybe if he's finally leaving the Army once and for all he can come back to Intelligence. I'm going to talk to Voight tomorrow…", Jay was outwardly sharing all of his inner thoughts at the table.
Will shared a look with Hailey, she was obviously understanding of the situation. He almost laughed, thinking that Jay had doubts that she would accept this idea.
"One thing at a time Jay", Will added to the conversation, interrupting his brothers verbal to-do list. "Mouse being back here and settling in for a few weeks before thinking about work might be a good idea too. He's been through a lot, as I know you know. We can all do some things to try and make it easier- take him to a Cubs game, have a night at Molly's, maybe even sneak up to the cabin." Will suggested, Hailey liking this plan.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I haven't even asked him yet. Or about any of the other stuff", Jay took a deep breath.
"Right, like Will said. One thing at a time. We'll figure it out. There's lots of room for him here. Plus, it will be just like old times", she said beaming. She was secretly thrilled Jay brought this up, it was something she thought about over the last few weeks anyways.
"Three musketeers back in action", Will said with a smirk. They didn't know how lucky they had it, at this age, being able to be all back in the same house together.
"Careful Jay, Will might want to move back in again too", Hailey joked, lightening the mood.
"I will admit, the idea is tempting. Just based off Hailey's cooking alone", Will laughed as Hailey gently pushed his shoulder.
Jay laughed; he was so relieved that Hailey was on board with this.
He was listening to Will and Hailey's banter, but the back of his mind was also spinning with all these ideas and things he wanted to get in order so that Mouse could have a smooth transition home. He didn't want to say it, but he was nervous. What if it was like last time?
"I hate the DMV", Hailey muttered under her breath, utterly despising the fact that they were spending a perfectly good Saturday morning here.
"Same", Jay sat staring at the same wall he's been staring at the entire time they'd been in here. Which…after briefly checking his watch…. was already a little over an hour. With no end in sight.
Hailey grinned, staring down at her license.
"What?" Jay grinned back, confused.
"You know, I never thought I'd list Emerald Ave as my address ever again", she said cheekily.
Jay raised his eyebrows with a smile. "Me neither. But I'm happy it is", he replied, sneaking in a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Me too", Hailey whispered, returning to her podcast as she listened for her number to be called.
The reunion with Mouse was quickly approaching. Well, the day was actually finally here. Jay had practically been counting the hours until they could go pick him up from his quarantine hotel.
"You're going to pace a hole through this floor Jay", Hailey said with her back turned to him. She was busy prepping food for dinner but could tell Jay was fidgeting.
"I know. I know. I'm just excited. And a little nervous", he admitted.
"Nervous?" Hailey turned around at him and raised her eyebrows in a laugh.
"Yeah…you know. Well you really do know…what we were both like coming back", Jay stuck his hands in his pockets awkwardly.
"Oh", Hailey replied. She set her knife down to move closer to Jay.
"It's going to be okay Jay. It's still just Mouse, same old Mouse we've always known and loved. Even if he has a hard time adjusting again, we're both going to be here for him. Will too. And I'm sure everyone you work with as well. He's going to have all the support he needs this time", she told him.
Jay took a deep breath in and out. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just being silly. He's going to be fine. Right?" He added the "right" in a bit of a quieter voice.
"You're not being silly Jay. It's okay to worry. And yeah, he is going to be fine. We'll make sure of it", she said as she rested her hand on his back.
"I'm really excited to see him", Jay admitted out loud.
"Me too", Hailey grinned. "It's been too long since we've been together."
Hailey was getting a little antsy herself, now that Jay had really left to go pick Mouse up. He asked her to come with him, but she wanted to give them their own moment first. They would have lots of time to catch up. It was something Jay needed; she could tell.
She was just pouring herself a glass of wine when she saw the headlights of Jay's truck pull into the laneway. She was bursting with excitement now. The truck was barely in park before she was running out the front door to greet her old friend.
Mouse greeted her with the same cheeky smile he always had as a kid.
"Hi Hails", he said as he walked towards her.
"Hi Mouse", she barely got out, before jumping into his arms.
They stayed like that for a minute, really milking the hug for everything it was worth.
"How long has it been Hailey? 4? 5 years?" Mouse asked in disbelief.
"Something like that. Wow", she said with a little tear in her eye.
"I am so happy to be back. You have no idea", he replied. "And thank you guys for letting me crash here, I promise I won't overstay my welcome…", Mouse started.
"Enough of that. You can stay here as long as you want", Hailey put her hand up at that.
"Thanks", he grinned. Jay grabbing his bags from his truck bed.
"You hungry?" Hailey asked him slyly.
"I have been thinking about this meal for weeks", Mouse answered.
"Good, come on let's get inside. We have a lot of catching up to do", Hailey said.
Mouse eyed her, then looked at Jay, who had a similar cheeky grin on his face. "Yes, yes we do."
Jay couldn't remember the last time he laughed this hard. His cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
They had enjoyed a Greek feast, Hailey pulled out all the stops for Mouse. They thought they might burst they were so full. Their wine night had also escalated to a whisky night. Dangerous mixing territory, but hey if they were hungover tomorrow so be it. It would be worth every second for this.
It was as if no time had passed between the three of them. They spent the night reliving childhood memories, silly things they had done as teenagers, and talking about all the fun things they were going to do now that Mouse was home. A 4th of July cabin weekend was already in the works. Mouse couldn't remember the last time he had felt this normal, this hopeful, this willing and ableness to let loose with his best friends. It was refreshing.
It was close to 3 in the morning before the first round of yawns started to happen.
"Alright. Hate to say it, but I'm about ready to call it a night", Hailey suggested.
"Mouse you're probably still a little time confused?" Jay asked, to which Mouse nodded, stifling another yawn.
"I am wiped. Tonight, was the best. I can't believe we're roommates now", Jay laughed.
"Lots more of these nights to come, we have to pace ourselves", Hailey laughed as she got up to bring their glasses into the kitchen.
"I got it Hailey", Mouse abruptly stood up to help her.
"No, it's okay, you guys go get ready for bed", she reasoned, Jay was quick to stand to help too.
"We can clean in the morning, just bringing our glasses in", Hailey replied.
Hailey joined them upstairs not long after. Jay already lying in bed waiting for her. She quickly brushed her teeth and face and put on some pyjamas. She could hear Mouse's voice outside of the bathroom door, she opened it to find him lingering in their doorway.
She quickly looked at Jay, who seemed suddenly nervous staring at Mouse in the doorway. Hailey had an idea.
She crawled in next to Jay, intentionally leaving a big chunk of space on her side of their king sized bed.
"You joining us or what?" She boldly directed at Mouse.
He looked caught off guard for a second, but he sheepishly smiled after, looking at Jay.
Whatever Mouse's hesitations were about their sleepover quickly vanished as soon as Jay waved him in.
"It's been a long time since we've all seen each other, but even longer that we've done this", Hailey giggled as Mouse made himself comfortable under the blankets next to her.
"I think the last time was when I was sick at the cabin", Mouse replied through a yawn.
"I think so too", Hailey agreed. "Who says you can't have a sleepover in your thirties", she laughed.
"Exactly", Jay replied as he snuggled a little closer to her. His eyes were closed, but his lips were curled up in a smile. He was worried about Mouse sleeping tonight, but all of that instantly went away knowing that he would be in here with them.
"What are friends for", Hailey said, starting to doze off. One hand on Jay's hand, her other touching Mouse's shoulder.
"You guys are so much more to me than that, you're my family", Mouse mumbled, as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Just some domestic Upstead, and the return of Mouse! Excited to write new chapters with him back in Chicago. Enjoy this update, thank you for the support on this story. Can't wait for Wednesdays new episode, I think it's going to be a good one! - K
