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December 25th.
Hailey woke up, finding the right side of her bed empty. She was alone. She’d woken up like this for the past 2 months, but somehow she never really got used to it. She thought every night, maybe it was some sick dream, and she’d wake up in Jay’s arms.
But that was never the case. Every morning since October, Hailey woke up in bed alone, the only reminder that Jay was there with her was the black, rubber wedding band on her left ring finger.
The only difference about waking up alone on this day, is the fact it was Christmas.
And yes, Jay and her had only spent 1 Christmas together as a couple, but he’d still been in her life for several years before that, and made sure she never felt alone on Christmas, whether it was platonic, or subtly romantic.
He’d tried his hardest to do it this year, but phone calls and messages can only do so much when you’re in a completely different country.
Hailey grabbed her phone off of her nightstand, and swung her legs out of bed, making her way to their kitchen.
She hadn’t even tried to decorate much for Christmas this year, all she had were 2 mini fake Christmas trees mounted on her counter, and a couple of festive drawings, provided by Makayla. Decorating, and shopping for trees was all Jay’s thing. She couldn’t do it without him.
She tapped on her phone as she walked near her coffee pot, waiting to see if she had a message from anyone. There was a casual ‘Merry Christmas’ from a few of her fellow intelligence members, but she didn’t have the motivation to respond to any of them at the moment.
She began to brew herself a cup of coffee, as she looked around her apartment, reminiscing on all the moments Jay had, and all the ones they’d looked forward to.
The stairs, where he finally told her about what happened overseas. The doorframe where he stood when he found out about Roy, as she laid in bed. The shower they hid in when they found out she was being trapped.
And then she looked in the corner of the room. Where their Christmas tree would have stood, along with the few gifts they would have gotten each other.
On the wall, stood pictures of the couple. There was one they took after he proposed (after she proposed as well), one where they sat on the couch next to each other on vacation, and a couple the unit had taken where the couple just hadn’t been paying attention.
Hailey didn’t know why it hurt so much today. Why it was hitting ten times harder, that she hadn’t seen Jay in two months, and it wouldn’t be for another 6, at least.
It felt like she was reliving the beginning of October all over again, where Jay simply wasn’t there, and she woke up every morning, thinking he’d be by her side, having the realization again, and again.
Her coffee pot finished brewing, the smell filling the air.
She checked her phone again, hoping maybe she’d have a message from him. She realized it was already 12 pm there, and 10 am where she was, assuming Jay had already gotten to work.
Regardless, she sent him a message.
Hi. It sucks we can’t be together today, but Merry Christmas Jay. I miss you a lot today. 6 more months to go. Stay safe for me, I love you so much.
Hailey sent the message, placing her phone down on the counter, beginning to sip on her coffee, when she heard a knock on her door.
She raised her brow, slowly placing her mug down on the counter. “Who is it?” She yelled across the apartment, staying in place.
An unfamiliar voice echoed through the door, “Is this Hailey Halstead?”
Her heart dropped, had she been holding her coffee pot, it would have shattered onto the ground. She raced towards the door, unlocking and opening it immediately.
And there he stood.
Jay. His beard grown out, and his hands filled with the same duffel bag he packed the afternoon he left her. He had a small grin on his face, as he watched Hailey’s emotions immediately change.
“Jay.” She whispered.
He watched her realize what was happening, and couldn’t help but laugh at the tears brimming in her eyes, “Hi.” He replied simply.
“Oh my god.” She realized, “That was you..your voice…”
He laughed a little, noticing how she was still standing so far from him as she took this all in.
“Oh, that is so not funny.” She whispered, finally running up to him.
As she came towards him, he dropped his bags on the ground, to catch her when she jumped on top of him.
He held his arms out as she hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck, as he fixed his around her waist. She wrapped her legs around him tightly as she teared up into his shoulder.
He laughed as he carried her inside, her grip on him not growing any looser. He kicked his bag inside as well, shutting the door behind the two.
He set her down on the floor, her quickly pulling him in for a kiss by his cheeks.
As she pulled back, she smiled brightly, wiping the tears from her eyes,“What are you doing here?”
He kept his arms steady around her waist as he answered, “I requested time off a while ago, I wanted to surprise you.”
She laughed sadly, “It worked.” She admitted, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Jay pulled her into his side, and kissed the top of her head as he looked around the apartment.
“Not very festive around here, eh?” He teased, as they admired the plain apartment.
She punched his shoulder lightly, shaking her head. “Shut up.”
“I couldn’t do it,” She admitted quietly, “Not without you. It didn’t feel the same.”
He could hear her sniffling, so he turned her by her shoulders to look at him, “Then we’ll do it together, alright?”
She chuckled tearfully, “It’s Christmas, Jay.”
“So?” He asked, “We have all the time in the world, Hails.”
She laughed at the nickname she hadn't been called in months.
But something came to mind, “When do you leave, Jay?”
He shook his head, rubbing the sides of her shoulders affectionately, “Don’t worry about it.” He emphasized.
“Jay.” She tried again, giving him a look.
He sighed before replying, “3 weeks from now.”
Hailey didn’t react much to the information. It seemed like so long, yet so close to now. But, Jay must’ve noticed, because he cut in before she could think any further.
“But that doesn’t matter.” He answered, “I’m here with you, right now, and that’s all I need.”
She smiled at the words that she’d missed hearing. “I love you.” She muttered quickly.
“I love you too.” He said, pulling her in closer to him, and giving her one last kiss.
No, it wasn’t what she’d envisioned, or what was ideal, but this is all Hailey needed this Christmas.