Under Different Circumstances

Chapter 6

While saying the last part, I smiled to myself. Kim noticed when she looked up.

"You two really hit it off," she said more as a statement than a question.

I finished drying off my feet with some paper towels and sat down on the bench across from her. "Yeah, I guess you could say that," I tried playing it cool, but the foolish grin that I couldn't keep from spreading across my face betrayed me.

"He probably wouldn't like me saying this, but Jay hasn't had the best luck with women these past few years. He tried to help them out and put himself and his happiness on the back burner. Jay deserves to finally have someone by his side who watches out for his needs too and makes him happy," Kim said quietly.

I was saddened to hear that Jay's desire to help people had also hurt him in his romantic life. "I'll certainly try," I told Kim, hoping that she heard the sincerity in my tone.

She didn't say anything further, just smiled and held out her hand, asking me to show her my feet. She dabbed some antibacterial ointment on the little cuts on my soles, then reached over into her locker and fished out a pair of socks.

"I promise they're clean," she joked as she handed them to me and grabbed a pair of sneakers out of her bag. "I think we have the same size."

Kim packed up the first aid kit as I pulled on the socks and shoes. I followed her out of the locker room and back into the bullpen. My feet enjoyed the soft, cushiony footbed of the sneakers.

By now, Vanessa and Adam had arrived too and were sitting at their desks. Kevin was writing on a whiteboard and the sergeant had retreated into his office. Jay was hunched over his computer at the far end of the room, intently typing away at his report.

Greeting Vanessa and Adam with smiles and waves, I made my way through the room over to Jay. I rubbed my hand across his back as I walked past behind him, making my presence known. He quickly looked up smiling and motioned for me to sit down in the chair next to his.

"I'm almost done, one sec," he said, shortly resting his hand on my knee before returning it to the keyboard.

I didn't mind waiting and curiously watched the rest of the unit scroll on their computers, make phone calls, and add notes to the whiteboard when they discovered something new.

About five minutes later, Jay printed out his finished report and headed into Voight's office to hand it to his sergeant. He returned shortly after and told me to recapitulate my version of what had happened.

"... and after we saw that the car had driven away, we stayed hidden until patrol and Sergeant Voight arrived," I concluded my story, and Jay swiftly finished typing what I had said. He glanced up at me, biting his bottom lip, and we shared a secret look, both remembering what had actually happened just before backup had arrived.

"Woah!" Adam's voice snapped us out of our collective daydream, "that could have turned bad so quickly! Just imagine if Jay hadn't been able to keep the door handle up. You would have been trapped in that hallway." Adam leaned back in his office chair, bouncing against the backrest a few times.

"I would not like to imagine that, thank you!" Jay joked, but his expression quickly turned serious again because he knew that Adam was right.

Jay printed out the second report and went to give it to Voight. Adam's eyes scanned my face, and I tried to decipher his expression, wondering what he was thinking. I thought I saw curiosity and a hint of approval on his features. Instead of asking, I simply smiled at him briefly.

"Hailey," I heard a deep voice call out from the office, "could you come in here too, please?"

I got up and walked into the office, coming to a stop next to Jay. Voight leaned back in his chair and motioned for us to sit in the chairs in front of his desk.