UPSTEAD ONE SHOT(S)

lucky

Snuggled snugly in each other's arms, Hailey and Jay were awoken by the sound of an exited, yet tired, voice shouting "Mommy, Daddy" on repeat. They were over joyed to hear their little girls voice, but they wished it wasn't at six am that they heard it. "Morning, Tia" Hailey mumbled, rolling over off Jay's chest. "Morning, Mommy" Tia replied chirpy as ever. "This is too early, Tia" Jay groaned, shifting over to make room between him and Hailey for their daughter; not a chance was she going back to her own bed. "You're such a grumpy guts in the morning, Daddy" Tia shook her head, wriggling under the duvet cover. "Unless you want your dad to be grumpy all day, I'd stop calling him grumpy" Hailey chuckled, smirking cheekily over to her husband. "You're lucky I love you" Jay shot back, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "You two are gross" Tia whined, earning a little laughter from her parents. She was only nine, but had the whit of a twelve year old. "You'll understand one day" Jay said, his insides twisting at the thought of his little Angel growing up one day. "No I won't, I ain't ever being that soppy" Tia argued, showing the sassy side of herself that she picked up off Hailey. "Didn't we all say that at her age" Hailey stated, remembering herself at Tia's age saying the same thing. "Yep" Jay agreed.

After cuddling together under the warm duvet for a few minutes, enjoying being wrapped up in a family sandwich, Tia perked up and asked a rather random question: "Who said I love you first?". Jay and Hailey both looked at each other, Hailey going bright red with embarssment of the moment. "Dad did" Hailey answered. "How?" Tia pushed further.

The sun rays stroked Hailey's bedroom, shining beautifully over the fairly-new couple; Hailey was wrapped tightly in Jay's arm's, him snuggled into her back as close as he could get. Feeling the hot rays on his bare back, Jay stured awake- smiling to himself when he saw the blond still sleeping peacefully in his arm's. As much as he wanted to watch her sleep so calmly, it was their day off and he wanted to make the most of it.

Jay gently peppered kisses down Hailey's jaw line, stiring her awake slowly at the sensation; a giddy grin across her sleepy face. "Morning" He whispered. "Mooorning" Hailey sang, rolling over to face Jay. "You know what today is?" Jay asked, after they shared a quick morning kiss. "What?" Hailey asked. "Our D.O" Jay smirked, kissing Hailey once again. "Ooohhh, so this is what a day off feels like?" Hailey chuckled. "Mmhmm. You want some coffee?" Jay asked, taking in all of Hailey's features as they glowed under the sun. "I want you, theeeen I want coffee, then I want waffles, theeen I wanna go to the range and test out the new 40 mags" Hailey listed, tapping Jay's shoulder every time she added something new to the list.  Jay smiled, completely head over heels for the woman before him: her smile, her goofyness, her perfect imperfections. Everything. "I love all that"

"I love you" Jay confidently out loud for the first time ever.
Hailey froze, her mind going into panic mode and images of her childhood flooded her mind. She tried to play cool, but it was too overwhelming. "Ughhh, just one second. I'll be right back" And with that, Hailey left Jay in the bed and ran off to the bathroom.

"Whoa, you ran out on Daddy? That's harsh" Tia ghapsed, receiving an amused eye roll off Hailey. Tia wasn't wrong, it was harsh. "I know, I was a meany pants" Hailey played along, subtly nodding to Jay that she was alright. "What did you think when she ran off, Daddy?" Tia asked, flipping herself onto her knees so she could see both parents at the same time. "I wondered what I done wrong. I thought I'd never see your mum again. The way she ran off, I thought she'd run to Auz" Jay joked, Tia didn't really need to know the real thoughts. Not at her age anyway. "Did he do something wrong?" Tia questioned, turning back to Hailey. "No. Not at all, Sweetie" Hailey clarified.

"You did say it back though, right?"

"Yeh, I said it back" Hailey nodded.

"Did Daddy run off?"

The couple choaked back a laugh, the age of their adorable daughter really showing through. "No. I was much nicer, I gave her a hug" Jay smugly said. "You're lucky Daddy stayed and didn't run off" Tia said, completely unaware off how powerful her words were in her parent's relationship. "You got no idea how lucky" Hailey locked eyes with Jay, them both sharing one of their silent conversations again. "We're both pretty lucky" Jay winked, clutching Hailey's hand just a little tighter for emphasis.