"Jay," Bree rolled her eyes as she looked at her husband who was pretending to lose the pillow war he was having with their daughter Catie, "it is past eight thirty, can you please quit fooling around and put her to bed?" She sighed, while she loved watching Jay get out of his grumpiness and play around childishly with their daughter, she didn't want to deal with a grouchy seven-year-old while Jay was gone at work tomorrow.
Jay gave a grunt of annoyance, "ugh, fine." He mumbled and scooped up Catie before he gave Bree a kiss on the cheek and started trudging back to Catie's room. "Bedtime Butterfly," he told the young child as he placed her down on her bed, "If you don't then the tickle monster will come!" He grouched with a slight playful tone in his voice as he wiggled his fingers.
Catie giggled, "No! I'm not tired!"
Jay cracked a smile and started tickling her, "then the tickle monster is going to tickle you!"
Catie burst out laughing and rolled away from her father's hold before gripping one of his wrists. Her laughter faded as Jay stopped tickling her and as she looked at the old, battered and beat up, HoloWatch. "Daddy?" She asked as Jay tucked her into her fluffy blankets, "Tell me a story, please?"
Jay mock groaned and plopped down on the floor next to the bed, leaning back against the wall behind him. "What story Catie?"
"Tell me the story of that!" Catie smiled and pointed at his old HoloWatch.
Jay looked at the watch and his eyes softened, "alright, but you better go to sleep right after or your mother will kill us both."
Catie giggled and nodded vigorously.
Jay unbuckled the holowatch from around his wrist and handed it to his daughter. "Alright, the first thing you need to know is that Mom and I weren't together yet, and I was engaged with a completely different girl."
Catie gasped and her icy blue eyes widened to dinner plates, "you were getting married to someone who's not mama?"
Jay nodded with a faint smile at his daughter's wide eyes and stunned expression, "yes, I was engaged to a lovely girl named Hadara, but of course, your mother was my best friend at the time and still is. At the time I thought that Hadara was perfect for me, quiet, gentle tempered, and logical-"
"What about mama?"
"Your mother was my best friend, she was and still is very beautiful, funny, excitable -which she rubbed on on you with-" Jay bopped his daughter on the nose and continued, "darn near perfect, and a brilliant inventor. If only I hadn't been blind for so many years."
"But you're not blind now!" Catie smiled at her father, "and you married mama and had me and Cody!"
Jay cracked another smile, "yes, I did marry your mother and we now have you two bundles or craziness. But that's not what this story is about, this story is about the holowatch and how I got it." He settled into a more comfortable position. "It all started with the rush to plan everything for the wedding which was a mere month and a half away. I thought it was going to be a very casual and normal every day wedding, but little did I know that Hadara's ex. Fiancé would show up and highjack the entire thing-"
"Wait," Catie cut her father off, "who's the ex. Fiancé?" She stumbled over the last word.
Jay sighed, sightly annoyed at the interruption of his storytelling. "Jackson, his name was Jackson, and I still don't particularly like him. Anyway, everything started going downhill when I met Jackson..."
Jay narrowed his baby blue eyes, "I'm Jay, Hadara's fiance." He introduced himself to the other man his age who looked remarkably like him.
"I'm Jackson," the man shook Jay's hand a little firmly. "I used to be engaged to Hadara."
Jay tensed slightly, What? He saw Hadara's blue eyes widen slightly out of the corner of his eye and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "It's a pleasure." He grunted out loud, doubt and confusion burrowing its way into his heart. I need help.
"Hmm... Hey Lion?" Bree called to her AI, "what do you think is the probability of this thing working?" She was currently working on a holographic watch, an invention she hoped would let her retire without having to keep working for the rest of her life.
"Mama's in the story?!" Catie gasped in surprise, her blue eyes lighting up at the mentioning of role model of a mother.
Jay sighed, feeling a little irritated by the constant interruptions, "Yes Catie, your mother's in the story. After all," he smiled slightly, "she gave me the holowatch." With his daughter throughly stunned, he continued with the story.
"I'm not sure," L.I.O.N's slightly southern accented voice replied smoothly, "maybe a ninety percent chance?"
"Huh, that's rather high-!"
The t.v hooked up to her phone flickered to life, revealing Jay. "Bree, I need your help."
"AH!" Bree yelped and scrambled backward before tripping and landing flat on her back out of Jay's line of sight. "That's going to leave a mark!" She groaned and used the table to push herself back to her feet. Her head popped out above the table and she looked up at Jay, ignoring the painful feeling of her chest getting squeezed and her heart clenching at the sight of the man who despite his engagement to another, she still loved after nearly fourteen years.
"Are you okay Bree?" L.I.O.N asked concernedly as his blue scanner started oscillating from side to side.
"I'm okay Lion! What do you need my help with Jay?" Bree asked as she moved to sit down in her swivel chair.
"Hadara has an ex. Fiance."
Bree slipped from her chair and crashed to the ground again. "Son of a turtle!" the inventor swore as she got back up, her tailbone stinging rather painfully. "Can't you give me a warning next time? Actually, don't answer that!" She carefully sat back down in her chair and looked back up at Jay, "so Hadara was previously engaged?"
"Yeah," Jay replied, studying his friend who had hadn't seen much of for nearly two years.
"Well that's an issue!" Bree admitted and carefully pressed the power button her holographic watch. "What am I supposed to do? I live in england remember?" She then pouted as the device sparked and promptly fell apart in her hands. "Lion!" She complained to the AI super car parked at the back of the room, "you said it had a ninety percent chance of working!"
"Well I didn't account for your two falls," L.I.O.N said apologetically, "sorry."
Bree just groaned and swept all of the pieces into a container before putting the lid on it and labeling it holowatch.
"I don't know," Jay admitted, "but I really need your help."
"How do you know I won't sabotage it?" Bree asked dryly as she stood up and jogged over to one of the white shelving units that covered the white walls.
"Because you're my best friend?" Jay suggested.
Bree sighed and leaned up on her toes before pushing the holowatch container into an empty slot. "I guess... when do you need me there? I'm taking Lion."
"As soon as possible." Jay said, his blue eyes slightly scared. "I don't know what to do."
Bree's amber eyes softened, "I'll be there as soon as possible."
Jay's phone buzzed and it jerked him awake with a start. Jay grumbled under his breath and scooped up his phone, "hello?" He grunted grumpily and groggily.
"Hey," Bree's voice filtered through the phone, she sounded almost dead, her voice was so tired that Jay was startled to find that there was no traces of excitement in her voice at all. "I'm finally here in the city."
Jay glanced over at his alarm clock and squinted slightly, despite his vision being fixed, his vision wasn't perfect and he was slightly near sighted. His eyebrows rose in surprise, it was two in the morning here in california. "How long have you been driving?" Jay asked in surprise, his voice groggy and surprised.
"Four days and and three hours ish?..." Bree yawned, he could hear the wide yawn that displayed how tired she was.
"Wow... Mama really loved you!" Catie breathed, her eyes wide with surprise and appreciation for her mother."
"Yes, she sure did, and still does," Jay cracked a smile before continuing, "The shocking thing was it had only been four days and seven hours since I have talked to her..."
"But It's only been four days and some hours since I talked to you." Jay responded as he sat up and pushed the blankets off of his body before swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.
"I left right after we talked," Bree said, her voice even more tired and now held a hint of drowsiness. "Lion, find a place to park and darken the window tint." She added with another yawn.
"Of course," L.I.O.N spoke with a little worry in his voice, "but are you sure you don't to stay in a hotel or something? You haven't had much sleep since we left the house days ago."
"I'll be fine," Bree sleepily reassured the AI and Jay heard the sound of cloth shifting against leather, "I can handle a few more hours in here Lion."
"I'm still not sure if it's a good idea Bree," L.I.O.N gently urged his creator, "you're running on three hours of sleep in four days."
"I'd rather not have to pay for a place to stay," Bree pointed out to her AI, "plus I'm trying to get enough money to finish your auto control system remember?"
Jay felt a little guilty and spoke, "Bree, you can come stay with me for the night," he said, his voice slightly nervous, "there's space."
"Nah, I'd rather not impose," Bree responded in a drowsy voice, "I'm okay with staying with Lion."
"I insist." Jay insisted stubbornly, she had gotten here as fast as she could to help him, he could let her stay with him while she was busy helping him.
"I agree with Jay," L.I.O.N spoke, his voice slightly apprehensive, "I don't normally, but I agree with him this time, it'll be better if you sleep stretched out than cramped in here."
"Fine," Bree gave in, too tired to deal with them.
Jay jogged down the steps from his apartment dressed in sweatpants, a light blue t-shirt, and white socks with his blue rimmed glasses on.
L.I.O.N pulled into the parking lot, Jay could see Bree sitting at the driver's seat, her clothing was ruffled, hair was a little messy, and her amber eyes were closed, evidently now asleep. "Be careful with my creator Jay," L.I.O.N warned the man, his blue scanner oscillating from side to side. "You've hurt her enough."
Jay's blue eyes flashed with a little guilt as he picked up the sleeping woman his age, "I know," he said in a guilty mumble.
"Please don't break her again," the AI pleaded. "I don't want her more hurt."
Jay woke up to his phone buzzing and grunted before he slapped the device, "hello?" He greeted with a grunt of a complaint.
"Hey Jay," Hadara cheerfully greeted him, effectively ruining his mood with the reminder of the stuff he had going on. "You ready for the planning this afternoon?"
"Yeah," Jay lied through his teeth as he sat up, shoved on his glasses, and started down the hallway of his flat. The planning meetings were incredibly boring and he still wasn't sure about what had happened and was happening with her and Jackson, not to mention the whole thing was basically Hadara's and not his.
"You don't sound very excited."
"Sorry Hadara," Jay apologized as he entered the living room and dining room of his flat, intention of finding something to eat before he had to deal with the rest of the world. "I'm just tired."
"That's okay," Hadara's voice was warm, "you're never been a morning person."
Most of the time anyway. Jay said inwardly to himself as he brushed a few things off of his table.
"Well I better let you go do your morning ritual, do you want me to come pick you up for the planning meeting at noon? Leon and Cynthia are providing lunch."
Jay stifled a yawn and looked over at the clock above his stove which read eight thirty. Holy StarClan, who wakes up at eight thirty on a Saturday?! "No, I have a ride."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'll be there."
"Bye Jay, have a good morning and I'll see you at the meeting right?"
"Yes Hadara, I'll be at the meeting." Jay rolled his eyes.
"Kay, bye!"
"Bye." Jay then hung up and tucked his phone into his shorts pocket and glanced over at where Bree was asleep on the tan colored microfiber couch out in the living room before he continued into the kitchen. I'll wake her up later. He decided before rummaging through his cupboards for something to eat.
After twenty encruating minutes, Jay eventually decided on a cereal, feeling too lazy to do anything else that early in the morning. He settled down at the dining room table with the cereal and a good book, which he propped up against the table centerpiece, something Holly refused to let him get rid of. After about ten minutes of reading his book and slowly munching on his cereal, his attention strayed to where Bree was sprawled haphhazardly on the couch.
Bree was lying on her stomach with her legs bent at the knee and flopped over on the lower part of the couch; the creamy colored blanket was tangled around the sleeping inventor's body. One arm was hanging off of the couch, the other was curled around the pillow above her head, and her head was mostly hiding between two throw pillows so only her dark brown hair was visible along with one of her cheeks.
Jay had settled down at the table with a second bowl of cereal when Bree woke up, the usually hyper woman grouchy at it being morning.
In a fashion that was familiar to both of them, Bree found a spoon, swiped Jay's bowl, and plopped down at the table across from him, her amber eyes drowsy and about a quarter of the way shut. This was something the two friends had done since they started high school, and the tradition carried on past their years of schooling it seemed.
"Morning Mama!" Catie giggled, "Mama's always grumpy in the morning!"
Jay chuckled alongside his daughter, feeling rather imersed in the story itself, "Bree can be pretty grumpy in the mornings, which is displayed perfectly in the next part of the story..."
Jay rolled his eyes and put his spoonful in his mouth while continuing to read his book. Once he swallowed and started tapping the spoon on the table he spoke a greeting to the grouchy and drowsy woman that was his best friend. "Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine." He grunted with amusement in his voice.
"Shut up," Bree mumbled around her spoonful of Jay's cereal that she had taken from him, "I'm tired."
"I can tell." Jay rolled his eyes again and stole a spoonful of cereal from his stolen bowl. "That cereal is mine." He grumbled a few moments later while casually reading his book.
"Not anymore." Bree mumbled around her spoonful of the cereal, her amber eyes twinkling with slight mischief beneath the grogginess. "It's mine now."
Jay sighed and just got himself another bowl, a small grumpy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he did so and watching Bree out of the corner of his eye.
Bree noticed him looking at her and raised her eyebrows, amber eyes twinkling cheerfully, her spoon in her mouth upside down.
Jay couldn't help the tiny smile that emerged and he rolled his eyes at his friend as he went back to the table with his new bowl of cereal. It was nice having Bree around again, he mused as he grumpily poked Bree in the nose with his spoon as a warning to stay away from his cereal -which she promptly tried to bite- his best friend was back and strangely he couldn't be happier.
"Oh my StarClan Jay!" Bree exclaimed as she waited for him to finally be ready to go to the meeting, "you're slower than a snail!" She giggled as she watched him glare at her while trying to button up the buttons on the dark blue polo-shirt he was wearing.
Jay just grunted and continued struggling with the buttons.
Bree rolled her eyes affectionately before she strode over and pushed a black belt into his hands, "put that on."
"I don't know if you noticed Bree, but I'm trying to button up my shirt!" Jay shot back with a small glare.
"I'm well aware of that!" Bree rolled her eyes again as she swatted his hands away from the buttons and did them herself, helping the scatter brained man that was her best friend. "Just put on the belt will you?" She sighed exasperation.
Jay huffed indignantly but held his tongue and put the belt through the belt loops of his gray colored jeans, trying to ignore how close Bree was to him and how the inventor smelt like crushed pine needles and faintly of ozone. Which was weird, since she worked with metal and electricity on a daily basis. Well, the ozone made sense, the pine didn't, at all. The hairs on his neck prickled as she adjusted his collar and her fingers brushed against his neck. What's going on?
Bree on the other hand seemed completely unfazed by their close proximity and instead seemed quite calm and energetic. She was just really good at hiding her emotions these days, and while she felt like she could both hardly breathe and think straight, she showed none of it. Even though she wanted to close her eyes and just stay there for a while, simply breathing his icy and earthy scent. "Do you need a tie?" She asked casually as she took a few steps back and studied him under a scrutinizing gaze, her hands on her hips as she did so.
"No." Jay grunted grumpily, "I don't need a tie."
"Alrighty then!" Bree smiled and clapped once, "let's get going then!"
Bree smiled widely at everyone as she and Jay stepped out of L.I.O.N who was currently in his usual silver sports car form. "Hi!" She smiled and rushed over to Hadara before she gave the bride a giant hug, "how's it going?" She asked in a bubbly tone, her amber eyes bright and lively.
Hadara looked surprised to see Bree, and even more surprised to see the expensive looking sports car that she had with her. "Perfect," she smiled, her blue eyes a little stressed and worried, which Bree picked up on right away. "Everything's going perfectly."
Bree released her and smiled, "awesome!" She chirped excitably as she discreetly observed Hadara's body languge. Tense, worried, confused, conflicted, and stressed. Something's definitely going on here, and I plan on figuring out what.
Hadara smiled weakly, "how come you're here? I thought you were in england?"
Bree smiled and "branished" her invite, "well, for one thing, I'm invited, and number two, I can't miss my best friend's wedding!"
Hadara's shoulders relaxed in relief, clearly she thought that Bree was here to mess everything up.
Bree shut her eyes and leaned back against the wall, the pain in her amber eyes hidden from everyone by both her position and where she was in the house. The planning meeting had been torture for the amber eyed woman, and she swore that she wouldn't do this if she ever got married, it caused too much stress and was irritating! Bree's heart gave another stab of pain like someone was stabbing her with a knife. It was even worse with Bree's feelings for Jay, while she insistantly pushed them away and succeeded in keeping her opinions all non biased, it still hurt every time she saw Hadara's engagement ring. I wish I could just forget about my feelings, it would be so much easier for both me and Jay. She took a few deep breaths, I'm here to help Jay plan his wedding and fix his relationship with Hadara, nothing more. She stiffened as it finally hit her, oh my StarClan, I'm helping plan Jay's wedding! Bree slid to be sitting down on the floor with her knees to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut while covering her face in her hands, if felt like her lungs were compressing themselves, she couldn't breathe.
After everything she had done, fixing his vision, defending him from everyone's gossip and bullying through their childhood and teenage years, boosting his confidence through the years when it was low, dedicating part of her life to fixing his vision to make him happy, and giving him everything she could, it didn't do anything to push him to see what she felt nor act on it. Now, she was helping him plan his wedding with a woman who had never seen Jay as his own person not at all related to Jackson, and she was sealing away her feelings forever despite how much it would always hurt. Why did I do this to myself? She wondered as she still couldn't breathe with the weight of what she was doing finally hit her, I got involved with something I never wanted to be involved in when I'm not the girl, why did I do this to myself?! For a few moments she struggled before suddenly she released the breath she was holding and could finally breathe again, because I want him to be happy. She thought slightly sadly, I want him to be as happy as possible, and even though it's not me he's marrying, he's happy with Hadara... or at least I hope he is. Bree lifted her face from her hands and leaned her head back against the wall with her eyes closed, there's so much drama going on right now that I really do wish I was back home in England inventing things, it would be so much easier.
"Bree, I detect fluxations in your pulse and breathing, is everything alright?" L.I.O.N asked softly through her digital watch, his slightly southern accented voice was full of concern, "we can always return home if this is affecting your health."
"I'm fine Lion," Bree sighed softly, "it just barely hit me what I'm doing, that's all."
"Alright, but be careful, I don't want you hurt," L.I.O.N spoke slightly timidly.
"I will be," Bree reassured him, "I'm just... getting used to seeing him again."
"I won't let him hurt you again."
"Thanks, Lion," Bree smiled slightly, "I appreciate it."
"Your welcome Bree."
Bree rubbed her forehead, Ugh, if I ever get married I am never going through all of this planning and crap, it's exhausting! After a week of planning meetings, Bree was tempted to throw in the towel and leave Jay to figure out the wedding while she turned tail and just about ran back to her home in England. Of course sleeping on the couch in Jay's apartment doesn't help. She sighed, after two years of falling asleep in her comfortable AI L.I.O.N or sleeping in her bedroom at her house -which was a water bed simply because Bree's mother had bugged her till she bought it- which made sleeping on Jay's couch more uncomfortable than she would ever admit to her friend. So she didn't really get any restful sleep, a lot of her sleeping was twisting and turning to relieve the pressure on her lower back which constantly ached even after the surgery to fix her spine. "Lion, remind me to never get married," she groaned as she let her arms drop for a few moments before she attempted to stretch her back, "and sleep on the couch again."
"Of course Bree, I'll do that." L.I.O.N responded before mischief leaked into the AI's tone, "but are you sure you'll never get married?"
"Ugh, if it requires all of this rushing around, then yes, I'm sure!"
"Alright, I will make sure to remind you. The whole couch thing, however, I can't help with."
Bree groaned, "I'd rather sleep inside your cabin, it is soo much more comfortable than Jay's couch."
"Hm... maybe you could sleep next to him instead?"
Bree's face heated up rather quickly and she walked a little faster, "no way, he's engaged Lion! Are you insane?!"
"I may be, do you want to check? But I don't see why it's a bad idea, I mean, you're best friend's right?"
"Yes Lion, we're very close best friends, but he is engaged to another girl and I really don't want to have any issues with Hadara." Bree deadpanned, "an angry bride is not something I need to deal with right now."
"Just talk to them, I'm sure they'd understand, after all, technically you can say it's because of your injury right?"
Bree groaned, "I'm fine Lion, I can deal with the couch for a few more weeks." Although the red in her cheeks drained at the thought.
"Okay, only if you say so."
"Thank you."
"You're stiff." Jay commented later that evening as he noticed how Bree was sitting with a near perfect posture and wasn't sitting in her usual half slouched position, a habit she had developed from being in a wheelchair for so long and having a broken spine.
"Hmm?" Bree said and didn't look up from the book she was reading while they both ate dinner, her book in one hand, her fork in the other.
"Your back is hurting," Jay elaborated and reached over before he pushed her book closed, "right?"
Bree sighed and put both the book and her fork down, "alright, you caught me, my back's been bothering me. Your couch is like sleeping on top of rocks!"
"You could've just told me," Jay said curtly with an affectionate roll of his eyes, "I would've done something about it."
"And that is?"
"That lumpy couch has a pullout."
"And you didn't tell me why?" Bree grumbled, a little miffed.
"Because it doesn't fit out in the living room." Jay explained patiently, "but if we move it into my office, which you have already taken over as a tinker room, you can use the pullout and have a 'room'." He made air quotes around the last word.
"You make a good deal," Bree smiled, "That would be preferable!"
"Good." Jay grunted and picked up his fork with the intention to continue eating his pasta. (Yeah I really like pasta XD)
"We're talking to Hadara and Jackson tomorrow," Bree said casually as she opened up her book and started reading again, "I already arranged it because I know you wouldn't be able to."
Jay felt doubt flutter in his stomach from the idea of the whole conversation, but he ignored it and thanked his friend. "Thanks, Bree."
"You're welcome."
Bree couldn't help but feel a little aprehensive as she and Jay stepped out of L.I.O.N in front of a small house that was Hadara's, this was going to be a conversation that she wasn't going to like. She felt a little jealousy as Jay knocked on the door before he inserted a key and unlocked the front door. He's got a key, of course he's got a key. My house is bigger. She mentally added, feeling a little childish for the breif second before she buried her jealousy and focused on helping Jay.
"Hadara? Jackson? You guys here?" Jay called gruffly, his voice rather curt and Bree could detect a hint of insecurity in his voice.
Bree touched the small of his back as a way of alerting him to let her take over and as a way of reminding him that he wasn't alone. "Hey Hadara! Where are you?"
"We're in the kitchen!" Hadara called back and emerged from around a corner, wiping her hands on a small towel, "Jackson's in the living room, ready to talk?" She asked rather nervously.
Bree smiled reassuringly at the blonde, "yep! We're ready to talk!"
Hadara smiled weakly at them both before she led them to her living room.
After the three of them had settled into the couch cushions Hadara took a deep breath and spoke. "Six years ago after Bree left to her engineering college and made Jay mopey, I moved back to Germany and back to my home country. There I met Jackson again for the first time since I rejected his proposal when I was nineteen." she took a shuddery breath, "I've known Jackson since I was three years old, he was my best friend for many years till I had to move here when I was sixteen where I met Jay. Jay reminded me of him, he had the same eye color, personality, and even the stray gray hairs in her black hair. Jackson was more arrogant and talkative, but Jay was softer, and I liked it." Hadara said quietly, "I fell in love with Jay because at first he reminded me so much of the best friend I had lost-"
"So you don't love me for who I am?" Jay asked, his voice a little harsh.
Bree quickly nudged him slightly, "she's not finished Jay," she murmured, "let her finish."
Jay grunted in disagreement but fell silent to allow Hadara to finish speaking.
As Hadara delved into the full details of the story, Jay grew more and more withdrawn till the point that his eyes furrowed into a heavy confused and hurt scowl.
Silence reigned once Hadar finished her tail, everyone waiting anxiously for Jay to respond in some shape or form.
"I... I need time to think," Jay mumbled as he shot to his feet and stuffed his feet into his tennis shoes, vaguely listening to Hadara as he did so.
"Jay, please understand!"
"Give him time Hadara," Bree's voice was rather cool and calm as she spoke in serious tone, "you gave him a lot to think about, give him at least the rest of the day to figure everything out."
Jay felt a flash of gratitude for his best friend as he left the house and started toward the docks for no apparent reason besides that he was confused and over all hurt.
Jay heard familiar footsteps on the wooden docks about half an hour later and he didn't have to look to see who it was, the soft and slightly uneven footsteps gave it away, along with the white and blue tennis shoes that adorned the person's feet and the light colored capris.
"Why do I always find you thinking in the weirdest places?" The person joked, her voice was as light hearted and as cheerful as ever despite what was going on and despite her hyper and excited front, Jay knew that the wedding was tearing her apart in the inside.
"Because being normal is boring Bree," Jay grunted as a reply and watched his companion unlace her tennis shoes and pull them and her socks off out of the corner of his vision.
"That's true!" Bree laughed and scooted forward toward the edge of the docks before putting her feet and ankles in the water before swinging her legs slightly, a habit that Jay hadn't seen since her accident back when they had been thirteen which felt like a really long time ago. "Being normal can be really boring!" She looked over at him and spoke again, her voice rather calm and intelligent rather than hyper and cheerful. "What's bothering you this time Jay-Jay?"
Jay gave an inaudible snort at the nickname before he thought of a reply for a few moments, he wasn't sure if he still wanted to go through with the wedding, he looked so much like Jackson that it was scary, and now that he had found out that he reminded Hadara of him that that's why she had first approached him and developed feelings for him, he wasn't sure if Hadara really loved him for who he was and not for the similarities between him and Jackson. But if he didn't, he would be disappointing hundreds of people and smashing his own heart in the process. Not that his heart wasn't cracked already, it had hurt hearing Hadara compare him to Jackson and how she avoided the other questions. Sometimes he wished people were more like the woman sitting next to him, not focused on themselves, eager to help everyone, be a good listener, and be patient. "Hadara and Jackson." He eventually said, looking over the lake with the confusion and hurt gleaming in his eyes visible.
"Ah," Bree gave a sound of understanding before she actually spoke, "do you want to talk about it?"
Jay almost said no but he changed his mind when he remembered that this was Bree, she wouldn't judge him for anything that he was feeling, if anything she would try to help him. "Okay." he sighed slightly reluctantly.
After Jay's splurge of information and Bree's gentle attempts of comforting him, it was quiet between the two of them, both mulling over what they had learned from each other and wondering what they were going to do with this situation.
Jay looked over at Bree and studied her for a few moments before he asked her a question on impulse, feeling like he was virtually unlovable with the whole Hadara and Jackson thing. "Do you still love me?" He asked her quietly, any traces of curtness lacking from his tone.
Bree looked startled at his question but she didn't hesitate in her answer, having probably sensed that he needed the answer as something or other. "Of course I do," she responded, her voice sincere. "I'm always going to love you Jay, one way or another," she smiled, amber eyes softening at the vulnerable gleam of his blue eyes, "no matter what happens or what you do Jay," she leaned slightly closer, her tone as sincere as her eyes and her body language, "I will always love you for who you are."
Jay nodded slightly and looked back out at the lake, feeling a little reassured that someone else he held dearly didn't mistake him for someone else.
"Bree?" Jay asked as he sat up completely and looked at the inventor who was curled up with a book on the other side of the couch. "Do you ever wish that I never met Hadara?"
Bree hesitated, mulling over the question for a few moments before she spoke. "No, wishing that you never met Hadara would be like never building Lion."
Jay looked at her with slight surprise, "so you've never wished that I never met her?"
Bree turned the page of her book, "once, or twice, but never in a full coherent thought or wish."
"Why?" Jay asked in confusion, she was in love with him right? Then why didn't she wish that he had never met Hadara?
"Because I know, well knew," Bree corrected herself before she casually looked up at him, her amber eyes gentle and as cheerful as ever, "she made you happy, and that's what mattered to me." She then looked back down at her book and continued reading as if saying that came up in a normal everyday conversation.
Jay settled back against the cushions, thinking about Bree's answer. For a little while, it was quiet besides the sounds of pages turning, the duo's soft breathing, and the quiet sounds of the t.v. Jay was the one who broke the silence. "You make me happy too," he said a bit gruffly, in his usual way of hiding his awkwardness.
"Thanks, Jay," Bree smiled at him and the two of them fell silent once more, but the silence was comfortable rather than awkward.
"So..." Jay said as he looked at Bree from across the dining table as they were eating lunch, "what should I do about the wedding?"
"What do you mean?" Bree asked in return as she looked up from her current book.
"Well, what am I supposed to do?
Bree looked startled before she responded thoughtfully, "I don't know Jay, it's really up to you. After all," she shrugged, "it's also your wedding."
"How does that help me may I ask?" Jay huffed irritably.
"It doesn't," Bree shrugged, her amber eyes focused on his blue ones, "but this is a decision I can't make for you. If you want to marry Hadara than marry her, if not, well, you decide." She smiled at him, "you'll make the right decision, you always do."
"Bree," L.I.O.N's voice startled the silently tinkering inventor, "I'm picking up on something strange near the rehearsal."
"What do you mean?" Bree asked distractedly from where she was sprawled in the front seat of his cabin with a small partially taken apart device in her lap and hands. It was helping distract her till the rehearsal was finished and she could bring Jay back to his apartment.
"I'm picking up the chemical signature of some kind of explosive along with consistent electrical pulses usually found in digital timers."
Bree sat up abruptly, "do a sonar sweep of the yard, search for the location of the electrical pulses!" she exclaimed while she clambered over into the passenger's seat and yanked the glove box open to reveal a bunch of miscellaneous tools.
"It's located under Jay's table," L.I.O.N responded a few moments later and Bree's heart almost stopped.
Jay!
Jay's mind was wandering throughout the rehearsal, this was incredibly boring, he decided, feeling super bored. The entire time he was practically being led along throughout the entire thing like an oblivious puppy. He adjusted the position of his glasses on his nose, trying to briefly reign in his attention. However, his glasses nearly fell off when he jolted due to the backyard door being flung open.
"Move!" Bree exclaimed as she ran toward the table, panic in her amber eyes, "Jay don't move! Everyone else get away from the table!"
Jay froze, whenever there was panic in Bree's eyes and she was almost yelling, there was always something wrong. "You heard her! Move!" he quickly urged, "move it!"
Hadara and the other six at the table scrambled away from the table as Bree ran toward them.
"Bree, five seconds!" L.I.O.N's voice was projected from her watch and his position near the fence.
Bree threw herself into a slide, sliding harshly across the wet grass that extended the distance she went. "Come on, come on!" she hissed as she disconnected it from the table and wrapped the bomb in a ball like thing.
For Hadara it was in slow motion, as Bree scrambled out from under the table and to her feet, and barely a few moments later the bomb detonated. Bree was knocked off her feet and into another table with a loud smash!
Bree was now lying on her back on the ground looking quite stunned with the bomb encased clear ball full of smoke so dark it looked black. "Ow..." She moaned in pain from her position sprawled on the broken table she had landed on.
"I'm probably going to leave before that ceremony because I have a few deadlines to catch," Bree told Hadara and Jay as she reemerged from 'her room' the next evening with two identical boxes in her hands, one was baby blue and the other was a soft green. "So I thought I'd give these to you now instead." She offered the blue one to Jay and the green one to Hadara, "it's a wedding present."
Jay gave her a sharp look.
"And I don't want them back, so no matter what happens don't give them back to me alright?" Bree finished, working harder to keep up her calm facade. When Hadara and Jay hesitated she smiled wider and urged them on, "go on, open them."
Jay did as Bree asked, carefully pulling the bow ribbon undone before he pulled the top off of the box and promptly froze. Nestled in the light blue velvet was a HoloWatch, something Jay had only seen once, in fact, this one was the one he saw fall apart after he had surprised her a few times during that video call where he asked for her help.
"What's this?" Hadara asked softly, picking up the silver faced, white edged HoloWatch that had a jade green woven wrist band out of her box.
"You didn't have to..." Jay said quietly as he picked up his silver faced, dark gray edged HoloWatch that had a navy blue leather wristband out of his box.
Bree swallowed the growing lump in her throat, this was hard, giving up her prized invention to the couple that she planned on never seeing again face to face if the wedding went through. "These are HoloWatches, these two watches are the first devices that have holographic technology, even I don't have one yet." Bree took another deep breath, "the watches you two are holding are ten years of blueprints and designs, five years of prototypes, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, all put into the finished products you are holding right now."
Hadara looked stunned, "you didn't have to do this Bree, you shouldn't have to give these to us."
Bree stopped Jay from agreeing with Hadara as he opened his mouth, "I wanted to," she said firmly, "you two deserve these, and you can't give them back to me, they're programmed for each of you."
"Why are you giving these to us Bree?" Jay asked softly, his blue eyes confused.
Bree's calm facade cracked and tears mistied her amber eyes as she spoke in a thick voice. "Because while you aren't marrying me Jay, you and Hadara deserve the best, and this is as much as I can give you two." She cleared her throat but the mistiness of her eyes didn't change, "The holowatches have all of the pictures I have taken of you two over the years you guys have been together. They also have every ounce of data you phones, computers, and tablets have already downloaded, anything you do will sync to the device that also has that specific thing you are modifying or doing. I hope you two find them useful."
"Thank you." Jay said after a few minutes of silence, "I'm sure they'll be useful."
Hadara gazed at Bree for a few moments before she asked a question in a small voice, "does the wedding hurt you, Bree?"
Bree smiled weakly and shook her head softly, lying through her teeth, "no, it doesn't hurt me Hadara." But it really did, ever since she had heard about the engagement through after her surgery nearly three years ago, it had been tearing her heart to tiny shreds, but she was good at hiding all of her negative emotions and nobody had ever seen the full extent of how badly the wedding was tearing her apart on the inside.
Hadara studied her for a brief moment, "truthfully?"
Bree sighed feeling extremely tired, "truthfully it hurts like I'm being stabbed repeatedly, truthfully I've been hurting since I found out that Jay was going to propose to you, truthfully my heart is breaking, truthfully I'm disappointed that I never had a chance, truthfully I'm happy for you two, and truthfully I'm glad you two are happy."
"Thank you for telling us how you really feel Bree," Hadara smiled overly brightly, obviously trying to hide what she was feeling at the current moment.
Bree nodded numbly, "your welcome Hadara. Now I may miss the ceremony, but I hope both of you know that despite what happens, you will always have my support."
"Thank you Bree," Jay murmured, looking down at his holowatch, feeling rather guilty for marrying Hadara while Bree was drowning in her hurt and heart break.
"And that's how I got the holowatch." Jay finished with a faint smirk on his face, he knew there was no way that his daughter was going to let him end it abuprtly like that.
Sure enough, Catie spluttered indignantly, "what?! Keep going! What happened? Why was a bomb there? Daddy keep going!" She pleaded, sitting up and clinging to her father's right arm, "I wanna hear the rest! Please, Daddy!"
Jay chuckled, "alright, alright, we'll keep going. Where was I..."
"Mama gave you and the weird person, the watches!"
"Right, so that night I asked Bree about her feelings and what exactly she felt..."
Ever since Bree had given him and Hadara the HoloWatch, Jay had been thinking about what Bree had said, and after mulling it over for a few hours, he decided to talk to her.
"Bree?" Jay asked as he walked over to where the inventor was in his office and was startled to see that she was putting away all of her inventing tools and had put the pull out away and neatly stacked the blankets and sheets on the couch. "Where're you going?"
"Home," Bree responded simply and turned to face him, "I'm going home to England Jay."
"Why?" Jay asked with slight confusion, why wasn't she staying for the wedding?
"Because I've been wanting to leave since the first planning meeting I attended," Bree responded quietly.
"Why did you help me if you've wanted to leave the entire time?" Jay asked, feeling a flash of hurt.
"Because I love you," Bree replied simply, the three words making Jay feel conflicted and guilty. "That's why I helped you, I'll always love you and you're one of my top priorities, even if we never get together."
"How strong are you feelings?" Jay asked softly, looking at his best friend who tensed up and hid all of the emotions she didn't want him to see, and he saw it right away. "Bree, don't hide your emotions like that."
Bree looked at him for a moment before she heaved a resigned sigh and slouched, "you don't want me to hide my emotions? Fine." Fighting the urge to keep an iron grip on her negative emotions, Bree let her grip slack and allowed the hurt, disappointment, bitterness, and vulnerability to show on her face and in her eyes. She then looked up at him, "there, happy now?"
Jay drew in a sharp breath at the vulnerability and other emotions in her amber eyes, before he repeated his earlier question. "How strong are your feelings Bree?"
"Fourteen years thriving and going strong," Bree joked before she answered the question, "Enough that if the wedding goes through I will never allow myself to see you in person ever again."
"Why?"
"Because I love you a heck of a lot more than I should." Bree responded softly, "and it would tear me apart all over again."
Jay studied Bree's eyes, "I'm sorry this is tearing you apart."
"Eh, I'll be okay," Bree smiled weakly as she put away the last tool and closed the lid to the tool box. "I'm no stranger to heart break." She sighed and flipped the lock of her toolbox. " While I may be going back to England, no matter what happens, I will always be your friend, your best friend." She said quietly and pressed a short platonic kiss to his forehead.
Jay closed his eyes at the contact, his heart felt heavy with guilt and confusion, but not at Bree, rather he was confused about what he was feeling.
Jay's blue eyes opened resignedly and he shoved the blankets off before he pushed himself to his feet and he trudged toward his office that Bree had taken over. What he saw was that it was back to the way it had been before Bree had arrived besides the small notebook lying on the desk with a smiley face on the cover. He took a seat in his desk chair and opened the notebook, which held a decent sized note in Bree's usual half bubble letter writing with her her name scrawled out in a loopy and blocky full signature at the bottom.
Hey Jay, so I know you're probably thinking 'how could you leave me again?' Well as I said last night, I won't be able to handle the ceremony because I know there's a possibility of Hadara saying 'I do' even if you think there isn't. And I can't go through that much all at once. I promised Lion I wouldn't let you hurt me anymore and I couldn't bear to make him disappointed because he couldn't protect me any more than he already has; besides, I don't think I would be able to be at the wedding for longer than five minutes before I finally colapse or break down. But enough of that boring, dreary stuff, I just wanted to let you know that we're still best friends, I'm always available if you need me, and whenever you need advice I'm open to trying my best to help, even if you need help with Hadara. I hope you don't feel guilty for dragging me into this or about your feelings for me. Go live your life with Hadara or whoever and I'll always be happy if you're happy, even if I'm never the lucky girl. By the way, I'm always open for a call, no matter what the subject is.
I will love you forever,
Breanna Blisse Grayas
Jay leaned back in his chair and ran one hand through his grey speckled black hair, So she left. Like she said she was going to. He sighed and got to his feet, I sometimes wonder what would've happened if I had fallen for Bree before Hadara, how different would it be? Would Bree have gone back to England forever? How happy would we be? What were the arguments we would get into? Would I have moved to england? And maybe even helped her build Lion? He sighed again as he pulled his suit from his closet, I don't know, but I do know one thing, Hadara doesn't love me and I like Bree more than I should.
Bree tightened her grip on her steering wheel, she was driving this time, and had been for an hour now. She had made sure that Jay had made it to the wedding before she had finally left the city, although she was going a little slow, something was bothering her. "Lion, do you have a weird feeling like something's wrong?"
"Yes, I am still trying to discover the symbol on the bomb from the rehearsal dinner, but so far nothing's working."
Bree looked surprised and loosened her grip to a more comfortable one, "really? You haven't found one within those two days?
"Yeah, it's a really rare looking symbol... wait, I found a match! The bomb's symbol matches the symbol of the Shadow's Hire Gang!"
"Where do they reside?"
"In Sacramento California..." L.I.O.N trailed off.
"...Where Jay lives!" Bree blanched as she slammed on the brakes, causing L.I.O.N to go come to a screeching halt.
"Uh oh..." L.I.O.N whispered, his voice scared.
"We're heading back there! Scan for anywhere where a gang could reside that has the needed resources for making bombs!" Bree instructed as she spun the steering wheel, making L.I.O.N do a sharp 'U' turn before pressing on the gas and starting to shoot back down the highway.
Jay straightened his tie as he waited for the music to start, he could only hope that Hadara wouldn't make him say no, it would look really bad if he said no, since he was the one to ask her to marry him in the first place.
Bree clicked on her pen light and it's bright beam down the dark alley, "your sure this is the place Lion...?" She cut herself off with a gag as she caught the smell of blood, "nevermind, we're in the right place." She then retched a few times.
"Are you alright Bree? I detect a high level of copper in the air, can you breathe okay?"
Bree retched once more before she covered her nose with her hood and spoke, her voice muffled, "I'm okay, there's an overwhelming stench of blood though, which was I nearly upchucked." (puked)
L.I.O.N chuckled a little.
"What's so funny?" Bree asked as she moved deeper into the alley, looking for any clues or what the gang was up to.
"I haven't heard you use British words since we arrived here in America," L.I.O.N responded as he chuckled a little more.
"Yeah, well I'm also a born American... BLOODY HELL!" She shrieked, scrambled backward and tripped, landing back on her butt.
"Bree?" L.I.O.N's voice was concerned and serious, "are you okay?"
"I'm alright," Bree reassured her AI as she kicked off the human skeleton off of her left shoe and away from her, "and excuse me for my language," she apologized sheepishly before going serious, "I just had a skeleton keel over at my feet, kinda gave me a scare."
"Kinda?" L.I.O.N snorted.
"Shut up Lion, yes it scared me alright?"
Jay watched Hadara approach where he was standing, his blue eyes were as grumpy as usual. I hope she says no.
Bree moved deeper into the alley and shivered, "ugh, I forgot this group is all canaballs, which is a very disgusting and disturbing thought."
"Don't worry, I'm scanning for movement around the alley, we'll know if any of them are approaching."
"Thanks Lion, that's very reassuring," Bree thanked her AI as she shone her pen light around and passed a plan marked blackboard with pictures, descriptions, and other things before she swung back to it. "Oh my StarClan..." She breathed as she stared at the clearly marked plan for a few moments before she shot off back to L.I.O.N and practically dove into the driver's seat. She then fumbled with the buckle as she spoke at a rapid pace, "Lion, we need to hurry, if Hadara or Jay say no Hadara's going to be shot, so go full speed! I don't care if the police chase us there, we have to get there before or right after either of them say no!"
Jay fixed his blue gaze on Hadara, curious about what she was going to say, and hoping that she was going to say no and not make him reject her for loving someone else.
"No," Hadara said, her voice shaking as she did so, "no, I will not marry Jay Jackson Bramble."
Everyone gasped in shock.
Bree slipped into the backyard, her amber eyes alert as she scanned the scene to make sure both Jay and Hadara were uninjured. Once she did so she breathed a small sigh of relief and L.I.O.N contacted her over her digital watch.
"Are we too late?"
"No," Bree spoke in a hushed voice as she watched Jackson stand up, "we got here in time, Jackson's just about to act like the bait right now."
"Excuse me," Jackson spoke up as he stood up, "can I say something?
Jay sighed at Jackson's interference, "go ahead Jackson," he gestured for the man to continue, it wasn't like he could ruin the ceremony that much more anyway.
"Jay doesn't love Hadara," Jackson retorted from his position standing in the crowd.
"Then who do I love oh smart one?" Jay drawled with a roll of his blue eyes, at this point he felt relieved, Hadara had said no, which meant that he was free. Althought Jackson's pain in the butt attitude was getting on his nerves.
Jackson opened his mouth to continue, but someone cut him off.
"Jackson," Jay and everyone else was startled by Bree's voice, including the hard edge in it, "don't you dare drag me into your mess." Everyone turned to look at the brunette who was leaning against the fence near the back of the house, and Jay found something strange, she was there but she wasn't at all dressed up, she was still in her earlier outfit of a hoodie, t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes all of which was streaked with what looked like motor oil. But she was there, and that was what mattered to Jay. "Jay has no feelings for me at all and Hadara is the one who said no, not the other way around." Bree continued coolly and didn't move from her spot leaning against the fence.
Jackson narrowed his eyes, "then he was lying."
"Why would Jay lie?" Bree pointed out, "you don't marry someone because you don't like them Jackson." Jay's lips twitched into a small grin, this was a side of Bree he hadn't seen before, where she fought with the intellect she was gifted with, most of the time she was pretty laid back and ignored arguments, but this one seemed important. "Nor do you plant a digital bomb beneath a table and expect it to not go off."
Jackson's eyes widened with surprise, how did she know about the bomb? Ignoring her comment about the bomb he argued with her, "He was going to say no anyway!"
"That's right, he probably was," Bree agreed as she straightened up and strode over to everyone else, "because Hadara's not in love with him, she's in love with you."
Jackson frowned and glanced at a man in a suit at the corner of the crowd before he shot back a reply at Bree. "what do you mean?"
"Jay reminds her of you a lot, it's simple really." Bree shrugged.
"Why're you here, you're not dressed up or anything!" Jackson shot back and glanced nervously at the man again.
"Because I'm not here to participate in the wedding," Bree replied coolly, her amber eyes flickering over to the man that Jackson had been glancing at.
Jay looked confused as well, what is she doing?
"I'm here to stop my best friend's girl from being shot." As Bree spoke, the man that Jackson had been looking at raised a pistol and Bree reacted as well as she tackled the man backward out of the seat
The gun went off, but it missed due to Jay pulling Hadara down and Bree's lunge, and people scattered as Bree fought the black clothed man for the lethal weapon.
Jay meanwhile, quickly pulled Hadara into the crowd, blending in while his heart pounded in his chest, this wasn't supposed to happen, the wedding was supposed to end peacefully, not with Hadara nearly shot and Bree saving their lives. "Follow everyone else!" He said to Hadara and ran back to where Bree was before nearly freezing in fear at the sound of another gun shot.
"Ow! Really? My cheek? You could've grazed any other part of my body but you just had to hit my face!" Bree complained angrily as she pulled the gun from the man, "just take a nap already will you?!" She then head butted him and the guy finally went limp as the hit knocked him unconscious. "Crackers and fudge!" Bree exclaimed as she got to her feet and rubbed her forehead, her nose wrinkled in pain, "that hurt!"
"Are you alright?" Jay asked her worriedly, his eyebrows furrowing slightly in worry as he noticed the blood staining her lower lip and the groove in her cheek from the bullet grazing her cheek.
"Yeah," Bree responded and wiped the blood from her face before she discarded the gun with a scowl, "I'm okay."
"What were you thinking?!" Jay exclaimed and impulsively shook her by the shoulders, "what if he had shot you?!"
Bree looked at him blankly, the adreniline was draining from her body and exhaustion was setting in. "You were in danger, I saved you, simple." She replied tiredly, "can you just be grateful and not berate me?" She said, her voice tired, "I just saved your life Jay, doesn't that count for anything?"
Jay seemed to think about it for a moment before he hugged her tightly, "you scared the life out of me."
"Welcome to the club," Bree replied and kept her arms at her sides, not wanting to get involved with anything.
Jay drew back, "I thought you said you were going back to england once the ceremony started.."
"Yeah, well L.I.O.N found the insignia of the maker of the bomb that Jackson had planted, I found the alley the gang that the maker was involved in, and found out that they were trying to kill you and Hadara, so I didn't go." Bree shrugged casually, "however, I fully intend to leave in a few hours." She then ducked out of his grip and started walking out of the yard.
"Just don't do that again alright?" Jay spoke, his voice wavering with slight nervousness, "I'd rather not lose someone I love more than a friend." The attempted shooting had finally driven the point through to Jay, yes, he loved Bree, for how long he had, he didn't know. But he did know that he loved her, even more than he had 'loved' Hadara for those first two years.
Bree looked back at him with a smile and her amber eyes gleamed happily. "I don't plan on it any time soon," she then vanished outside of the yard.
Jay took a deep breath before he went into the house that everyone was in with annoyed dread. "Settle down!" He shouted over the loud chatter, "the guy's out cold alright? Nobody is in danger, you're all welcome to go home now." He watched everyone disperse besides Hadara and Jackson with his hands casually tucked into his pockets.
Within a few minutes almost everyone left and Jay adressed Hadara, "no hard feelings?" He asked curtly with sincerity in his voice, after the scare Bree gave him, that was enough to finally make up his mind, Hadara loved Jackson not him, and he was okay with that as long as he had Bree.
Hadara smiled, her green eyes wer gentle and kind, "no hard feelings," she confirmed, "thank you Jay."
"No problem." He grunted, "now I'm going home." He turned on his heel and started walking away.
"Tell Bree she's a lucky girl," Hadara called to him, a smile on her face, "and that I'm sorry for getting in the way."
Jay nodded slightly to show he heard before he exited the building. Nearly right away, someone moved from their position leaning against the wall and walked alongside him, her voice bubbly and rather cheerful, "So, wanna ride?" Bree asked him casually as L.I.O.N pulled out of the parking lot and followed them, his blue scanner oscillating from side to side as he did so.
Jay cracked a smile, "sure," he said with amusement in his voice, "but not to my apartment, how about England instead?"
Bree flashed a bright grin, her amber eyes twinkling happily as she spoke, "I don't know, what do you think Lion?" She asked her AI with a small pat of his roof.
"I think it's a great idea," L.I.O.N said, amusement in his slightly southern voice, "Bree's house has been too quiet for far too long."
Bree blushed and smacked the car indignantly, "hey! It's not that bad!"
"I never said it was bad," L.I.O.N pointed out, "I only said that I think it's a great idea."
Bree huffed, "you said and I quote, 'Bree's house had been too quiet for far too long!'"
"What are you talking about?" L.I.O.N said innocently as he stopped so Jay and Bree could get in.
"Lion! Cut it out!" Bree exclaimed as she and Jay climbed into the sports car and buckled in.
"What? I'm not doing anything." L.I.O.N replied smoothly as he started toward Jay's apartment to fetch some of his stuff.
Jay laughed when Bree puffed out her cheeks and didn't bother arguing with the AI, clearly he was amused by the banter, this was what he appreciated, Bree's enthusiasm and hilarious technology that confused her to no end.
"That Caylee," Jay told his daughter as the seven-year-old looked at the original holo-watch in awe, "is the full story of how your mother gave me this thing." He said and gestured to the worn out device, his blue eyes softened slightly at the holowatch, it was a reminder of the whole thing, but most of all, it was a reminder that Bree had loved him for long time, and she still did.
"You were supposed to put her to bed Jay!" Bree sighed with exasperation as she walked into the room, amber eyes highly amused, "she has school tomorrow remember?"
"I'm aware," Jay rolled his eyes and watched her sit down on the small bed next to their daughter, "she asked for the story, not me."
"Hey Mom," Caylee looked up at her mother with the old watch in her lap, "did that really happen?"
Bree smiled and ruffled her daughter's hair, "of course it did! If it didn't, what would this scar be from?" She said and pointed at the thin scar that marred her cheek.
Caylee's eyes widened, "that's where you got shot!"
Bree nodded with a smile, "that's right, but you really need to get to sleep Pumpkin."
"Fine," Caylee sighed and handed her father the watch before she reluctantly got under her blankets and snuggled into them, her icy blue eyes drooping closed as she did so. A few moments later she was asleep.
Jay looked at Bree, his blue eyes oddly warm and kind, "you're her hero, you know that?"
Bree smiled at the sleeping form of her only daughter, "you put me in too much of a perfect light," she mused slightly, her voice mostly calm. "But yes, I know that I'm her hero."
Jay stood up and offered a hand to her, "one day I'll give her the watch," he said as he pulled her to her feet and let her go first as they left the room and closed the door.
"Cody is awake," L.I.O.N alerted them through their holo-watches just as their one-year-old son started crying.
"It's yours to do what you want with it!" Bree shrugged to Jay with a smile as she veered down a hallway toward Cody's room, "thanks Lion, I'm on my way over there right now!"
"Jay," Blisse's cheerful voice came over the watch, "that was a wonderful story, was is all true?" the curious female AI asked curiously.
"All of it is, just ask Lion," Jay said as he entered his bedroom and rubbed his eyes.
"Is it Lion?"
"All of it's true, even the bullet grazing Bree's cheek." L.I.O.N confirmed as Jay flopped onto his bed and picked up a book while waiting for Bree.
"That's so cool!"
"Alright you two, talk in the workshop, not across our watches!" Bree's bubbly voice interrupted the AI's conversations, "I don't know about Jay, but I would like to sleep tonight!"
"I want to sleep too," Jay confirmed and the two AIs turned off the communication.
Bree came back into the bedroom a little while later and promptly threw herself down onto the bed while purposely knocking his book from his hands. "Blegh," she said with a cheeky grin, "that book's boring!"
Jay rolled his eyes and picked the book back up. "No it's not, it's very interesting, thank you very much," he replied smoothly and playfully threw the covers up and over Bree. His expression remained as grumpy as it always was, but affection lit his features, softening the grumpy look he had going.
Bree gave a noise of complaint before she decided to make the best of it and snuggled into the blankets with the intent of going to sleep. "The ending's horrific," she warned in a drowsy voice, "lots of dying characters!"
Jay looked over at what he could see of her -which was some of her dark brown hair- with confusion in his blue eyes, "why would a book have that kind of ending?" He didn't get a response and he sighed before opening the book, why would a book end with all of the characters dying?
"What kind of an ending was that?!" Jay complained half an hour later as he dropped the book down onto the floor and pushed it beneath the bed, silently fuming at the book's ending, not a single character survived, just like Bree had said.
"I told you," Bree mumbled from her position lying on her side with her back to him with Jay's pillow held over her face to block out the light from the lamp, her brown hair was fanned out on her pillow, and the blankets were tangled around her thin body. "That author hates good endings."
Jay pinched the bridge of his nose before he sighed, turned off the light, and moved to lay down on his back beneath the blankets, "really? I totally can't tell." He drawled sarcastically and pulled his pillow from Bree's gasp -to which she complained- before he stuffed it beneath his head and got comfortable.
"Quit squirming." Bree muttered a moment later and smacked him lightly, his movements disturbing her sleep, "it's annoying..."
Jay rolled his eyes and obediently went still while closing his eyes, his mind still active. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if he had married Hadara, one thing was for sure, he never would've seen Bree again face to face. It would've hurt her too much to see him face to face when she loved him enough that she gave him everything and complained about how unfair it was only once. Not only would he have never seen Bree again, he never would've had kids with her and Caylee and Cody never would've existed, which was a thought that sent shivers down Jay's spine. Opening his eyes, Jay rolled onto his side, facing Bree and disturbing her sleep in the process.
"What's wrong?" Bree asked groggily, moving to get up and figure out what was wrong.
"Nothing," Jay responded as he looped one arm around Bree's waist and moved a little closer so he could entwine their ankles, "I'm just thinking."
"Well think quieter," Bree mumbled as she started to drift off, "I'm sleeping..."
Jay did as she asked, he closed his eyes and remained mostly still.