Three Years and One Lifetime

11

"Is she okay?" Hailey asks as soon as Jay swings open the front door.

"Yeah" he says, and she practically wilts with relief.

When she reaches out her arms, he passes the crying child towards her mother and tries to not feel too disappointed when she practically launches herself into Hailey's arms. Jay guesses he should just be grateful she wanted to stay with him in the first place.

"Shhh shhh" comforts Hailey, stroking Jaiyana's back. The little girl has buried her face in her mother's neck, desperately seeking comfort in the familiar embrace. "Mommy's here, and daddy was with you the whole time. We would never let anything happen to you Ana."

He can tell she's trying to include him, and he appreciates the effort, but he's still struggling to keep the pained expression off his face. He must be failing miserably because she says "Hey, it was the first try. It'll only get better, okay?"

"Yeah I know, you're right" he acknowledges. "I just really hoped she'd do okay. I'm so sorry I had to drag you out of bed" he apologises, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck.

"No problem" she says. "It's part of the job" she shrugs, smiling.

Jaiyana's cries have begun to settle into pathetic, shuddering little sobs, and Jay lets out a sigh of relief. He's spent at least the past hour trying to settle her down. She'd done great as she and Brayden were getting ready for bed, but once Jay attempted to leave her in Brayden's room tucked in her sleeping bag, she began to fuss and demand more stories and drinks and extra hugs. Eventually, when he realised she was keeping Brayden and by extension Kim and Adam awake, he resigned and took her to the guest room where he was staying. By then, she had melted into full hysteria, and no amount of swaying or soothing words managed to calm her down. Jay finally had to admit defeat and call Hailey. 

"Come on Jay, bring her inside will you?" says Adam, walking towards them with his hand on the small of Kim's back, guiding her along with him.

They both realise they've been standing awkwardly in the front doorway the whole time. Jay steps aside to allow Hailey to come in. 

"I'm so sorry for all this" apologises Jay.

"No it's fine, really" replies Kim, full of understanding.

"Hey man, don't take it personally...Brayden still only wants Kim when he's upset. It's that mommy magic, we mere mortals can't compete with that" says Adam, half comfortingly and half jokingly. He rubs Kim's back and places a kiss to the top of her head, and Jay watches as her love-filled eyes look up at her husband. He feels a ping of jealousy in his chest. 

"Feel free to stay, Hailey" invites Kim. "There are spare sleeping bags in the guest room closet."

"Thanks" replies Hailey. 

"We're going to head back to bed, if you guys don't need anything else" says Adam.

"Sure, we're good. Thank you so much" apologises Hailey. 

"No problem" replies Kim. "See you in the morning" she says, before her and Adam return to their room. 

Jay leads Hailey and their sleeping daughter to the guest room. He picks up a pillow and steps back from the bed. 

"You guys should take the bed. I can sleep on the couch" he offers. 

She eyes the bed, debating her next words before going ahead. "I won't kick you out of the bed, Jay. That couch is nowhere near big enough for you" she says, gently setting down a now sleeping Jaiyana in the middle of the mattress. "It's a king, there's plenty of room."