A Blessing in Disguise 5 | COMPLETED

Molly's

"So you love me more than them?" Jay teased his girlfriend, while pointing at himself and the spot where Vanessa used to stand. "You too? Seriously?" There was an annoyed look on Hailey's face, but traces of playfulness sparkled in her eyes. "Yeah, you do," Jay had a happy smile on his face. "Right now, I don't think I do anymore," Hailey fired back. "Ouch, that hurts. Well, at least the 'anymore' in your sentence says that you did," Jay pointed out. "Oh? So, you're an English major now?" Hailey asked with both her eyebrows raised at Jay. "If that's what it takes to get back up to the top of your list then, yeah, I am whoever you want me to be." Jay replied. "I want you to be you, I'd always be with you through the good and bad times, because you'll always—" Their conversation silenced as they heard the sound of footsteps approaching them. Jay cursed the footsteps under his breath, he already had a feeling of what Hailey would say next, but he really wanted to hear her say it. Both their heads turned towards the people coming into the bullpen. It was Maggie and OA with their things. "Hey, everyone's heading to Molly's after to blow off some steam, wanna grab some beer before you guys go back?" Hailey asked the two FBI agents. "Yeah, sure." Maggie sighed with relief as she didn't have to spend her last night in Chicago in her hotel room. By her side, she could immediately see OA about to protest about the plan. "Nope! You're not gonna do that," she watched OA look at her with his head tilted to the side. "You were gonna say we gotta get up early tomorrow to not miss our flight, but nope. I wanna find out what Hailey has to say about being partnered up with you cause you don't talk about that much." She looked at Hailey and saw the light shake of her shoulders , "Let's go before this tall guy starts saying 'no'." A chuckle escaped Hailey as she gathered her things, "Sounds good to me."

Molly's had a gloomy atmosphere tonight. The string lights on the ceiling illuminated the empty chairs around the pub. It might've been because there were not many people or the news that a bomber was on the loose. Nevertheless, a couple members of the intelligence unit were huddled in a group at the corner of the room. They were the only big crowd in the room as Stella Kidd served drinks to the few people that filled the seats at the bar. Christopher Hermann approached the group of people with beers ready to be served. "Hey you guys," he set the bottles onto the table and looked around at them, "Are there any latest news?" Everyone at the table looked at each other, not knowing how to answer his question. "We're trying our best, Hermann. We'll find him soon," Kim assured the old man. "Thanks, you guys." Although he didn't get the answer he wished they had, he was still grateful for their hard work. As he walked back behind the bar, the main door swung open and stayed like that as someone held the door open. Maggie and OA were the first two people to walk in, then Hailey and Jay followed. Hailey and Jay greeted the familiar faces as they made their way across the room, while also introducing their new friends to them. "Hey," Kim greeted the incoming group while handing them each a bottle of beer. "So, is this what it's usually like here?" OA asked. "Not really, but as you know there's someone trying to blow up the city of Chicago as someone wasn't able to get to them first," Hailey emphasized "someone" while eyeing OA. Everyone around them were holding their laughter in as they watched the two go at each other. "Ok, that's not my fault, Chicago." OA defended. "Sure, keep telling yourself that," Maggie butted in.

OA immediately placed his right hand on his chest to signify his hurt feelings. "Seriously, two against one is not fair." He looked around the group of people for any help, but everyone shook their heads in refusal to go against the two women.  "Really? You're all considered elite, you know?" "We know, but it's more fun to just sit back and watch our girl destroy you," Vanessa replied with a hint of laughter in the end. "Alright, alright. We're gonna leave poor OA alone... for now," Maggie eyed his partner like she had a mischievous plan up her sleeve. "So Upton, what was my partner like?" She asked the said woman. OA lets out a sigh, "Here we go." He braced himself as Hailey started telling stories of her experience with OA and the FBI in New York. That whole night lifted so much stress off the group that by the end of it, they all had a relieved smile on their faces and a fresh headspace on how they would deal with their suspect the next day. It was later in the night, everyone stood from their seats as they decided to head home for the night. They bid their farewell to the people behind the bar and made their way out. As they exited, Vanessa nudged at Hailey, "Hey, I'm going to Kev's tonight." She didn't give the blonde any time to tease her about it as she sprinted towards Kevin who was waiting by his car. Watching her friend go, Hailey felt happy for her. She turned back to find Jay helping their FBI friends into his car. He shut the door and his head snapped towards the direction he last saw her. The concern in his eyes faded as they met hers in the dimly lit sidewalk. She approached the truck as he opened the door for her to get in. He drove the agents back to the hotel they were staying at, then he and Hailey went home.