Hey friends!

Thank you for being so patient, and for supporting me with this story. I have so been enjoying writing it.

This chapter will be a little more centered around Jalen and his niece, just to give Jalen a little more background. Of course we can't go a whole chapter without him mentioning Olivia though...of course not ;)

I hope you guys enjoy xo

Someone New - Nine

"Come on baldy, let's go get this visit over with."

Jalen laughed to himself as he helped Bailey load her overnight bag into the back of his truck. It was Saturday morning now; a bright and sunny, and kind of breezy, spring morning in New York, as beautiful rays of sun highlighted the Hudson University campus. It was a little past seven, and Jalen was already dressed comfortably in some jeans and a sweatshirt with his sneakers. He and his niece Bailey were headed down to their home state of Maryland today to celebrate the birthday of his stepmother (and Bailey's grandmother), Carolyn Shaw. Both had their reasons for staying out of Maryland; Jalen just hated the ignorance that spewed from the mouths of his father's side of the family - who still came around - and Bailey just tried to avoid her mother at all costs.

The family was complicated for several reasons, which was why both Jalen and Bailey didn't travel home as much.

Bailey jumped into the passenger seat of the truck, while Jalen slipped into the driver's seat. Before he pulled out of the lot, however, he whipped out his phone and dropped a quick text to the woman he couldn't get off of his mind even if he tried.

'7:24am - Good morning, beautiful. Hitting the road with Bailey bug. I will keep you updated as the day goes on.'

He put a heart emoji at the end of the message before sending it off, smiling a little to himself as he did so. He even went as far as to send her his location so she would know that he was safe as well. Bailey had noticed the little smile but didn't say anything; she simply shot him a discreet smirk before focusing her attention on her phone. Jalen clicked his seatbelt into place looking over at his niece.

"Ready to roll?"

"No."

Jalen raised an eyebrow as he looked at her; "You really don't have to go if you don't want to; you know that, right?"

Bailey nodded her head as she twirled her anxiety ring around on her finger. She wore a simple pair of jeans and a band t-shirt with her sneakers, and a knitted cardigan that she had knitted herself in a beautiful pattern of granny squares. She looked so innocent in this moment, and Jalen briefly wondered if it was a good idea for her to even go. He wanted her to go, but he figured that it was good for him to remind her that she had the option to not go. After all, he never wanted her to be in a place that made her feel uncomfortable or anxious.

"Bails-"

"I want to go, because it's Nana's birthday and I miss her so much, and I just really need a Nana hug." Bailey paused for a second, then she looked up at her uncle; "I just…I get anxious about how Mom will react to me. We've talked here and there over the last few months, but I…I really don't want to hear her shit."

Jalen nodded his head as he completely understood where Bailey was coming from. She had a very difficult relationship with her mother; a relationship that had been difficult since she came out as a lesbian a couple years prior. She and her mother had gone from being close to essentially being miles apart; they argued more, Bailey felt like she really couldn't talk to her anymore, and she didn't feel like she could go home. Jalen had tried time and time again to tell his sister that her treatment towards Bailey was unnecessary, very wrong, and very damaging. However, this had all been in vain really as she still treated Bailey like an outsider.

And now, Bailey just hated going home. In fact, Jalen knew that if he wasn't going home and if it wasn't for his mother's birthday, Bailey wouldn't be going at all.

"I'll be right there with you - you know that, right?" Jalen told her; "You say the word, and we can roll. I never want you to be somewhere where you don't feel safe."

Bailey nodded her head while giving her beloved uncle a smile. She was grateful for him and his unwavering support over the years. In fact, sometimes she felt like he was all she really had. She wasn't mad at it though; Uncle Jalen was her world, and that was truly all she needed to keep going.

Before long, the two of them had gotten coffee and were speeding down the interstate, headed towards Annapolis, Maryland. They were driving along in a comfortable silence; Jalen had his classic hip-hop playlist playing, while Bailey had her Airpods in and was listening to a new album that she was currently obsessed with. Jalen glanced at her every now and then, watching how she switched between reading her book on a Kindle or smiling at her phone. He wondered if the reason she was smiling at her phone had to do with the friend she had recently gone on a trip with, but he figured that he would let her come to him about that when she was ready. He knew he had to be calm about these things, but Bailey was like a daughter to him, and he felt incredibly protective over her.

While driving along, he also found himself thinking about Olivia. They had spent a good amount of time on the phone last night, just talking about everything - even after they had spent the evening hanging out along with Noah. They had also done a good amount of flirting during their phone conversation too, and now Jalen was thinking about working up some nerve to ask Olivia out on a proper date. He had been thinking a lot about that lately, about possibly taking her to dinner or maybe to the theater as he knew she liked things like that. He had been thinking about exactly how to ask her out, or what her reaction could possibly be. While they were flirting and acknowledged that there was a connection between the two of them, he still had this fear that he could possibly screw things up with her or be rejected. He hoped that things would continue to go as smoothly as possible between them, but there was still that small fear in the back of his mind that something could go wrong.

He hadn't even realized that Bailey was watching him until she nudged him, capturing his attention. He glanced at her then looked back at the road; "You okay?"

"Yeah, but you're in thought," Bailey smirked as he looked at her; "Who is she?"

Jalen raised an eyebrow; "What?"

Bailey raised an eyebrow, the smirk still on her lips; "Who is she?"

Jalen just let out a little laugh but didn't respond, to which Bailey continued, "And don't try to lie to me; I'm the niece of a detective."

Jalen burst out laughing as he continued driving. He should have known that he wouldn't be able to hide anything from Bailey. Besides, he needed to talk to someone else about Olivia so he figured Bailey was the best bet.

"Okay, so…she works for the NYPD as well, not for the same unit but she's a cop too; she's a Captain."

Bailey tilted her head; "Okay, tell me more."

"Her name is Olivia, she's a Captain for the Special Victims Unit, she has a kid, and we're friends."

"And you like her!"

"Bailey-"

"You like her, else you wouldn't be smiling like that," Bailey smirked as she took in the smile on her uncle's face; "How old is she?"

Jalen chuckled as he glanced between her and the road; "She's a little older than me."

"Is she hot?"

"Bailey!"

"It was a serious question," Bailey shrugged as she turned in her seat to face him properly; "Middle aged women are hot, so I just know she is."

"You are something else." Jalen was still laughing as he expertly navigated the road, keeping up with the flow of traffic. He glanced over at Bailey, who was still watching him while batting her eyelashes, seemingly waiting for an answer. He found himself shaking his head as he humorously replied; "Okay, I'll admit she's hot."

"I knew it!" Bailey giggled away as she playfully punched his arm. She then leaned back in her seat, glancing between the road and her uncle as she continued; "I'm happy for you though seriously, you deserve someone great. You give so much to so many people, so it's about time some happiness came back around to you.

"Thanks for saying that Bails; I like to think I do deserve some happiness after life's bullshit," Jalen remarked with a shrug of the shoulders. "Anyway enough about me, tell me about this friend of yours."

Now it was Bailey's turn to grin cheekily as she shrugged her shoulders while fiddling with the sleeves of her sweater. She then playfully squealed before launching into an explanation about her friend, whom Jalen learned was a girl named Sarah who was from Montana but had moved to New York for school, and was studying Biomedical Engineering. Bailey had met her while attending an on campus PRIDE event a whole ago, thus leading to a beautiful friendship and more recently, the development of feelings that left the two girls teetering on the edge of being more than friends. Sarah was the friend she had recently gone on a trip with, and Bailey shared how they admitted that they liked each other and wanted to see where things would go.

"So I guess we're just dating right now, seeing whether it could be more, like actual commitment," Bailey continued, a happy smile on her face which warmed Jalen's heart; "So yeah, that's the story; first girlfriend I've had since high school but also first girlfriend I've had since I came out to literally everyone, so that's a lot."

"Well you know what kid, I think this is great and no matter what anyone says, don't let them make you feel weird or wrong for simply being in love," he told her, an air of protection and happiness being in his voice all at once; "I'm happy for you Bails. I hope to meet her one day."

"I have a feeling that you will." Bailey grinned as she looked out the window. She then looked back at her uncle, a cheeky grin on her face; "I hope to meet Olivia."

Jalen chuckled away; "You know what Bails, I have a feeling that you'll meet her one day too."

Another three hours and one pit stop for drinks later, and Jalen was finally pulling his truck into the perfectly paved driveway of his stepmother, retired Navy engineer Carolyn Shaw.

He put the truck in park, then looked over at Bailey, who had a nervous look on her face as she peered at the sprawling, brick ranch home through the windshield. Perhaps what really heightened her nerves was seeing that they were parked directly behind her mother's gleaming red Nissan sedan, complete with personalized plate and all. Jalen was getting the sense that she wasn't quite ready to face her mother after all, and now he almost wished he had insisted she stayed home.

"Hey, you wanna drive around for a minute before we go in?" he quietly asked. Bailey shook her head, briefly glancing down at her fingers before looking up at him as she continued to fiddle with the anxiety ring on her pointer finger.

"No, but can we sit here for a second," she then forced a smile as she tried to joke; "Sit here for a second so you can text Olivia and tell her you're safe."

Jalen let out a little laugh though he knew Bailey was trying to deflect from how she was feeling. Still, he retrieved his phone from the dashboard mount, and he immediately pulled up the message thread between him and Olivia. He had to smile right away when he saw that she had hearted his location and then replied to his message earlier with a simple; 'Good morning handsome, wishing you and Bailey safe travels! Talk to you later.' He also noticed that she had recently followed up an hour ago with a selfie of her and Noah; they were somewhere with ice cream, and she had attached a message with; 'Enjoying the weather with some ice cream. You jealous?'

He didn't realize Bailey was peering over at the messages until she burst out with; "Is that her? She is so pretty!"

Jalen looked over at her with a smirk; "Nosey!"

"I can't help it, it's the detective in me," she teased before looking on again; "She really is so pretty though, Uncle Jae. Is that her kid?"

"Yeah that's him; his name is Noah and he's my video game buddy." he smiled to himself, lightly rubbing his thumb over Olivia's face on the picture, before he then responded to her text;

'11:49am - Hey you! Me and Bailey bug just made it to Mama's house. I'm definitely jealous, I would much rather be getting ice cream with my two favorite people ;) Check in with you later, for sure! And tell my buddy I said hey.'

"How cute." Bailey teased, only to giggle when Jalen playfully flicked her on the nose. The pair of them then glanced at the front door of the home again, then Jalen turned to Bailey;

"You ready?"

Bailey swallowed nervously, nodding her head; "Ready."

With that, the two of them jumped out of the truck and grabbed their bags, before then making their way up to the front door. Jalen told Bailey to stand to the side for a second as she was part of his mother's surprise, leading the young girl to quickly step to the side so that she would be out of the initial line of sight of her beloved grandmother. Jalen then rang the doorbell and waited patiently, and within a few moments, the locks clicked and the large oak front door swung open.

The shorter, petite, caramel skinned lady with curly brown hair tied back into a ponytail, donned in jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers, and bright brown eyes shining in the spring sunshine greeted him with the biggest, brightest, warmest smile; "Jalen, my baby!"

"Hey Mama!" Jalen grinned happily. He stepped closer and wrapped his strong arms around her, squeezing her as tight as possible and kissing her temple. Despite the fact that he didn't come home much, he still always missed his stepmother and was currently grateful to be getting a much needed hug from her.

"Oh it's so good to see you, honey," Carolyn pulled back while placing her hands on her beloved stepson's cheeks; "Oh and you look good and healthy; good to know that New York is taking good care of my boy."

"Always, Mama; always…" he then grinned happily as he continued; "Mama before we go in, I have a surprise for you."

"Oh no baby, you didn't have to get me anything."

"Oh but I think you'll like this surprise." Jalen quickly readjusted his bag on his shoulder, then reached out for Bailey, who was still hidden to the side and out of his mother's view. He lightly held her wrist and tugged her in front of him while speaking; "Surprise, I had to bring you a Bailey bug."

The happiest scream erupted from Carolyn Shaw, who immediately threw her arms around her beloved granddaughter while nearly crying as she spoke; "My Bailey bug, oh my God!"

Bailey grinned happily as she squeezed her grandmother as tight as possible. Her voice was soft as she spoke to the older woman; "Surprise, Nana; happy birthday."

"Oh my baby, this is the best birthday present." Carolyn squeezed her tighter and kissed her cheek, then pulled back some. "Come on in you two!" She kept her arm linked with Bailey's and pulled her inside, and Jalen stepped inside behind them and closed the door. He left both his and Bailey's bags by the door, then the three of them headed into the kitchen where there was a spread of various foods for the little party littered across the granite island counter. Standing over by the counter, having just put some fruit salad into the refrigerator, was a dark skinned woman with dark brown braids in a ponytail, wearing a knee length, short sleeved deep blue dress.

This was Theresa Shaw-Bradley; Jalen's stepsister, and Bailey's mother.

She looked up and immediately smiled, though Jalen could tell that the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. She wiped her hands on a tea towel before making her way over, her arms outstretched for her brother; "Jae, hey!"

"Hey T." Jalen greeted as he gave her a quick one arm hug. Theresa squeezed him before pulling away, her eyes now roaming over her daughter as she hesitantly took a step towards her. Bailey was fiddling with her anxiety ring again, but gave her a timid smile as she politely, and very quietly greeted;

"Hi Mom."

"Bailey, lovely to see you, sweetie." Theresa greeted. She leaned in for a light hug and peck on the cheek, before turning her attention to the food on the counter. Jalen immediately looked over at Bailey, who's eyes briefly took on a solemn appearance as she looked at the ground while still fiddling with her anxiety ring. Jalen then looked at his stepmother, who discreetly rolled her eyes before speaking;

"Well, everyone will be here in about an hour so you two have some time to get settled in and all that," She then turned to Bailey, wrapping an arm around her shoulders; "Bails, Uncle Theo finished renovating the basement and I've been decorating, so I need to show you."

Bailey's mood immediately picked up as she leaned into her grandmother's side while allowing her to lead her out of the room. Jalen watched her go before turning to his sister, who was pretending to piddle around the kitchen even though there wasn't much else to be done.

"Really? You give your kid a hug like she's a stranger at church?"

"Jalen, don't start with me," Theresa hissed, looking up at her brother with a raised eyebrow; "Look, Bailey and I just have opposing views on things, so it just is a little hard to communicate with her."

Jalen didn't want to get into this with her, but he was already annoyed and was just feeling protective over Bailey anyway, "There's just some things you can't agree to disagree on, Theresa; Bailey's right to exist freely is one of those things."

Theresa looked up at her brother, simply studying him for a second. She then sighed as she continued; "This is just my opinion, and you won't make me change it."

"She's your child-"

"Jalen, please!"

Jalen stared at his sister for a minute, before shaking his head as he turned and made his way out of the room. As he rounded the corner to the guest rooms, he passed the open door to the basement where he could hear his stepmother and Bailey laughing about God knows what. He smiled softly to himself; at least Bailey was getting some much needed love from her grandmother.

Within the next couple hours, Jalen and Bailey had settled into the guest rooms and had helped set up some tables and things outside in the vast, fenced backyard. The weather was perfect for the party that they were throwing for Carolyn Shaw's 73rd birthday today; the clear blue skies and bright blue sunshine, the perfect breeze. The tables were lined with food to be served, a cooler full of drinks, classic 60s and 70s Funk and Soul music was playing.

And family, a lot of family had arrived from both Carolyn's side of the family, and the side of her late husband and the beloved father Jalen, the late great George Anthony Shaw. A lot of aunts and uncles and cousins; a lot of people.

A lot of reminders as to why Jalen didn't really come home.

He just wanted to be back in New York with his two favorite people in the world.

Another chapter completed. Next chapter will be kind of centered around Jalen again, but with a sprinkle of him flirting with Olivia...as per usual ;) we're getting closer and closer to them finally crossing a line, and I'm so excited.

Thank you guys for your constant support. xo