Got your back

Chapter 4

It had been a couple of months since Caden joined the unit, and while he still wasn't a great fit, the team was doing their best to make it work. It was late April, but Chicago had just finished having one of those weird cold snaps where winter wanted to have the last laugh after letting you think it was finally spring. But now the weather was finally warmer, and it looked like it would stay that way for a while. This meant that the team could finally store away their beanies and parkas until next fall. Instead, the members of Intelligence all showed up to work donning their warm weather attire, namely T-shirts and jeans. There wasn't even a flannel in sight, meaning that either they all seriously trusted the Channel 5 meteorologists or they were just fully embracing the idea of warm weather.

As usual, the rise in temperatures meant an uptick in cases, and for Intelligence that trend was no different. They had a stack of cases mile-high by mid morning, and there was hardly any conversation as they tried to sort through the files.

Hailey walked over to hand Caden a couple case files that belonged in his stack. As she handed them off, he commented, "Nice shirt."

Hailey looked down at the old blue V-neck she was wearing. "Uh, thanks?"

"Looks good on you," Caden added with a smile as he turned back to his desk.

"Um, okay," Hailey replied, confused by whatever it was that had just happened. As she walked back to her desk, she shook her head, trying to forget the weird exchange and focus back in on her work.

———

A few hours later, Hailey and Jay were riding back from a crime scene. They decided to stop at a diner they both liked for a late lunch, keeping their radios on. Apparently whoever controlled the A/C in the restaurant was equally optimistic as Intelligence about the warm weather, perhaps even more so because it was absolutely freezing inside. After watching Hailey start shivering within minutes of their arrival, Jay laughed and went to grab her a hoodie from his truck.

While he was gone, Hailey was left to replay the events of the day in her head. Absentmindedly, she messed with the straw in her glass while thinking about the weird conversation from earlier. She still wasn't sure what to make of it. Nobody else had noticed the odd exchange and she had been beginning to think that she was overthinking the whole thing. But then when they were at the crime scene interviewing witnesses, she couldn't help but feel Caden's eyes on her. She told herself that it was nothing, that he was just watching her because she was talking and it was the polite thing to do. But it still wasn't sitting right with her.

She heard the bell on the door jingle and looked up to see Jay walking towards their table. He had put on a jacket of his own and tossed her her maroon sweatshirt. She quickly pulled it over her head, pushing away the thoughts about earlier. Instead, she let herself get wrapped up in the comfort of the familiar fleece and her partner's warm smile.

———

Hailey followed Jay up the stairs to Intelligence, a couple steps behind him. He looked over his shoulder, just now noticing that she was still wearing her hoodie. He had taken his own jacket off as soon as they had left the diner, tossing it in the backseat of the truck. "How are you not hot?" he asked, pausing on the steps.

Hailey fake pouted. "I thought you thought I was hot," she teased, knowing full well that's not what he meant.

Jay laughed and shook his head in amusement. "Extremely," he replied playfully. "But seriously you're going to overheat."

"I'm fine, Jay. It's freezing in here," she said as she passed her partner on the stairs, the slight pink flush of her cheeks disagreeing with her words. "C'mon," she said, heading over to their desks.

As she sat at her desk, she pulled the long sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands. She glanced over at Jay as he made his way to his own desk, her eyes accidentally landing on Caden's empty workstation.

The shiver that ran through her body had nothing to do with the cold.