A Love Like Ours

12. Pumpkin Patch

On the Friday before Halloween, Jay told the unit not to bother coming back in over the weekend and to take the next two days off to rest after they wrapped up their latest case that had taken up the last few days. The following morning, Hailey and Jay got as much of a sleep-in as they could with two young kids in the house - 6:17 was when Alfie poked his head through the door, creeping inside and rather than arguing with him, Hailey just picked him up on to the bed, pulling him under the sheet and she somehow managed to coax the toddler to fall asleep a little longer, but they were all woken up again at 6:52 when Macie pushed open the door.

She wasn't as willing to go back to sleep as her brother was but did allow her parents to stay in bed for a while longer once they put 'Toy Story' on and she stayed quiet throughout the film, allowing Jay and Hailey to drift off again. They were woken up for the last time when the movie finished and Macie shook her mother's shoulders, whispering that she was hungry. The mere mention of food was enough to get Alfie to pipe up, asking for his breakfast, so with another glance at her phone, 8:11, Hailey begrudgingly pulled out from under the sheet and got out of bed.

Jay groaned and rolled his head over the pillow, turning over to his other side so he was facing away from her. He ignored her both times she called his name so Hailey just rolled her eyes, deciding to leave him because he'd only stay in bed another five minutes before padding down into the kitchen complaining the bed got cold and making his coffee.

Hailey directs the kids toward the door and the two start running toward the stairs, taking the steps easy as per their mother's request. They did the same when they reach the second flight of stairs before running into the kitchen and Hailey can hear the scrape of the chair against the floor in the kitchen by the time she reaches the top of the second flight of stairs.

Once she got into the kitchen she made her way around the island. She turned around and asked what the kids wanted for their breakfast, not that she really needed to anyway, and Alfie is the one to respond, a huge grin growing on his face.

"Pamcakes!" He shouts and it earns a nod of agreement from his older sister.

So Hailey spun on her heels and searched the cabinets for the ingredients she needed. Just as she was collecting the milk from the fridge, that's when Jay appears in the doorway to the room, a sleepy smile on his face.

"The bed got cold." He mumbles, making his way over to her, slightly dragging his feet across the floor. It pulls a smirk up on Hailey's lips at having gotten it right. He comes to a stop behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his chest. He pressed a kiss to the edge of her jaw and she tilted her head to one side, humming softly.

He pulls away, resting his chin on her shoulder, tightening his arms around her. "Pancakes again?" He questions.

She bobs her head up and down. "Yep, the same as every Saturday." She replies.

"I'll give 'em the praise for having a routine," he says with a smirk before tilting his head at an angle so he can look up at Hailey the best he could from where his head was sat. "What time do you want to leave today?"

Her response is immediate. "I told everyone we'd be there at twelve, so just after eleven, gives us time in case there's traffic." She says, earning a nod from her husband in return before he kisses her jaw again and steps away, making his way around the island.

He stops at the table, bending over the chair and putting a kiss on top of both of the kids heads. Macie spins her head up, a quirk in her eyebrow. "Is this the place with the carousel?" She asks.

Jay nods. "Always that one," he says, running his hand through his daughter's hair before forcing out a groan. "You're not gonna try and get me on it are you?" He wonders.