Upstead comfort fics

Insomnia

(I got a few requests for Hailey's insomnia kicking in and it starts to mess with her mental health. I'm going to set this one in season 5 after the whole thing with Booth and it's one of the first time Jay sees his partner really struggling mentally)
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Hailey had tried to insist that she was fine while sitting on the couch with Jay after the whole ordeal with Booth. But she wasn't, she'd hardly slept during the case, her mind plagued with flashbacks of what Booth had done to her (and tried to do to her) years before. Jay knew she wasn't okay, and he carefully reached for her hand and squeezed to let her know he was there.

Hailey couldn't fight her tears anymore and pulled her knees to her chest as she began to cry for everything that had happened that day and a few years before. She cried for her lost partner and love, for her exhaustion, for the pain she'd felt then and was feeling now, and she cried for the relief she felt that Booth was back in jail. Jay simply held her hand and let her cry it out for a few minutes. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb and told her he was there and it was okay to cry.

He sat closer to her and she put her head on his shoulder, so Jay let go of her hand, quickly grabbing it with his left hand, and put his right arm around her. She let her body tilt closer to him and rested against him until she finally calmed down. Jay didn't tell her to stop or anything the whole time, he just held her and kept repeating that she was safe and it was over.

When she was done crying, she sat up and wiped her cheeks. "Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed.

"Nope, no apologies, Hailey. You needed that, and I am here for it. It's what partners do," Jay said seriously.

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully and grabbed her drink, finishing it in one go.

"How about we watch something before you go to bed?" Jay suggested.

Hailey nodded. Jay had no idea she probably wouldn't sleep that night, or for a few nights, but she wasn't about to admit that. They watched some random game Hailey wasn't paying any attention to, she was zoned out.

Jay was worried about his partner, he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was far from okay. He almost didn't want to leave her for the night, but he knew Hailey wouldn't go for him staying.

"Hails, I'm going to head out, is that okay?" He asked. She nodded. "I want you to call me if you need ANYTHING, even if it's the middle of the night. I'll pick you up for work in the morning," she nodded again and gave him a small smile.

"Thanks, Jay," she said as she walked him to the door.

"Anytime, Hailey," Jay smiled at her before leaving.

Hailey locked up and turned off the lights downstairs before she went up to her room. She showered and crawled into bed with a book. She didn't want to sleep.
——
6:30 AM rolled around and she'd finished her book and tried sleeping but kept having horrible flashbacks. She got ready for work and made coffee then waited for Jay downstairs, hoping she wouldn't fall asleep at work. She hadn't slept in 3 days.

Jay knew she hadn't slept when he saw Hailey, but he knew better than to point it out. It would only upset her, and he didn't want to do that to her first thing in the morning. He simply handed her a muffin and smiled as she got in the truck.

"Thanks," she said, taking a bite out of it as he drove towards the district.

"Of course. Ready for all the paperwork?" He asked.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

Jay left her be the rest of the drive and they walked upstairs to the bullpen together; Hailey had been told not to drive much for a few days because of her head.  She sat down and started filling in the report on the case, but got frustrated as everything flashed through her mind.