Rest Of Our Lives (And Whatever Is Beyond It) [Upstead]
yeah i couldn’t help myself after watching 9x09 i’m reeling i can’t breathe i love Upstead so much so here’s just a quick post-episode fic of Mr. and Mrs. Halstead waking up the morning after they got married!!!
Read on AO3!!!
She wonders if she’s dreaming. Maybe because she feels like she’s floating—high above the clouds where nothing and no one can touch her. Unless it’s him. She feels lighter than she has in so long, like every muscle in her body has loosened, every nerve relaxed, and it’s more than because she just had a close call with a terrible, horrible situation. Everything she’s feeling right now: this lightness, this bliss, this delight—it’s because of him.
Her husband. Her husband.
Hailey feels Jay behind her—really, she feels him all over, everywhere. His right arm is wounded under and around her and she uses it as her pillow, his bare chest is pressed to her bare back and she can feel the steady rhythm of his heart through his skin and into hers, and his freckled left arm is curled over her waist. And Hailey knows if she were to look down at his hand, she’d see the band on his ring finger that matches her own.
She looks down, and feels everything she expects to feel: dizzying happiness, blissful contentment, consuming love.
It’s real. This is real. She keeps having to tell herself that, because sometimes she’s still learning to trust this profound happiness she’s found for herself. Especially after this period of feeling like she was on the verge of losing it all. And instead of letting her do what she annoyingly sometimes does best, which is make herself worry about things that could go wrong, Hailey allows herself the grace of reveling in it.
Before Jay, Hailey never really gave marriage much thought. She’d been in relationships, she’d loved before, but none of them ever felt like they were it. None of them had felt like the peaceful, life-altering kind of love that she could settle down for. It didn’t help that her closest and most present example of marriage had been her parents, because she’d promised herself long ago that it wasn't something she ever wanted to be a part of. And the potential of bringing children into it? Hell no.
And then came Jay.
Stranger. Partner. Best friend. Lover. Husband. Everything she didn’t think she’d ever find, didn’t think she deserved. But she’d earned him. He wasn’t given to her, by any means. They earned what they have, fought tooth and nail for it, especially through recent events. Now they’re exactly where they want to be, and if this is a dream, it’s not one Hailey ever wants to wake up from.
The early morning sunlight filters through the blinds, and Jay’s internal clock is waking him up. She can sense it in the way his breathing lightens, his arm around her tightening, and the smile that grows on her lips is easy and automatic and an inherent response to Jay. His scruff tickles the skin of her neck, which he had spent the night kissing and biting and loving, just like the rest of her, as he places another kiss there.
And then he says the words that have Hailey’s heart melting by the sheer heat of love they’re spoken in.
“Good morning, Mrs. Halstead,” he rasps, quiet and reverent.
Mrs. Halstead. That’s who she is now. Hailey Anne Halstead. And she knows—and she knows Jay knows—that this new title isn’t a sign of her handing herself over to him. She’s not a man’s woman, hell no. Even Jay wouldn’t let her be that. No, this title is a sign of Hailey cementing the universal truth that is her heart—her Goddamn soul—belongs to Jay. Just like his belongs to her. They are not two halves of a person; they are whole, in their own right, and have laid themselves bare for the other—and they have been accepted. Wholly. Irrevocably.
For Hailey, her maiden name had been tied to a man who caused her so much pain, bruised, yet wearing it because it’s who she is, because she grew up and learned to carry the weight of it.
Her new name, though, is part of a man she loves most in this world, who helped shoulder her weight without being asked to, who sees all of her and loves her for it, not despite it.
And so her grin is wide, dimpled and bright, as she turns in his embrace while she greets back, “Good morning, husband,” just as her blue eyes connect with his green.
Those eyes. They look at her so intensely, nothing but a deep love bathed in purity. They’re so expressive, Jay’s eyes. They’re one of Hailey’s many favorite things about Jay—especially when he looks at her like that. He holds her close, their bare fronts pressed together under the warm blankets, their legs tangling together as he grins that sexy smirk. “That wasn’t too alpha-male for you?” Jay muses, his fingers running down her spine, and Hailey instantly thinks of the night before, her own nails digging into the skin of his back, lost in her consuming love and passion for him to the point where she drew blood. But Jay hadn’t minded. He’d enjoyed it.
Hailey laughs breathily at his question. “Nope,” she answers honestly. “It sounds right.”
Jay’s smile softens and she can feel his fingers play with her hair, brushing the locks off her shoulder. “I agree,” he murmurs before his gaze drops and he closes the distance between them, and Hailey is more than ready for the kiss he presses to her mouth.
It’s meant to be a good morning kiss, but they’re not off their high from last night. Hailey’s mouth opens under Jay’s, and he’s swift in sliding his tongue in, locked in a breathless dance with hers as her hand cups his cheek, the leg he’s got between hers tightening as he pulls her in. Hailey’s heart is thundering, like it does so every time she’s kissing Jay, electricity coming alive in her veins as she feels his left hand press to the small of her back, and the metal of his wedding band is cool against her skin in comparison to his warm touch, and it shoots a thrill down her spine at the acknowledgement of it.
His wedding band. They’re married.
And as intense, wonderful, dizzying it is to kiss Jay, those two words playing in her head make her grin against him, to the point where the kisses dissolve and Jay is chuckling as he pulls back slightly to look at her. “What?” he asks in amusement.
Her hand slides from his cheek to the back of his head, playing with the short strands of hair as she looks from his kiss-pinkened lips to his bright green eyes. “We’re married,” Hailey says—more like whispers, really, like it’s a secret just the two of them share—because, right now, it is. It’s theirs.
Jay’s smile is soft and his own adoring understanding flashes across his face. She knows that he’s feeling everything she’s feeling, too. Where it matters, they know each other like the back of their hands, and once again Hailey thanks whoever up there is listening to her for putting this man in her life. Just trying to think of what life would be like without him is nauseating—it’s unimaginable.
She and Jay—they were meant to find each other. Hailey truly does believe that.
Jay’s left hand comes to grasp hers, the gentle clinking of their rings together making her smile even more as his fingers intertwine with hers. “We are,” he murmurs in response, like it’s something he’s still trying to convince himself isn’t a dream, either.
A chuckle escapes her, and it’s kind of wet because she didn’t really have time to get emotional last night, so they’re kind of coming out now. “Can’t believe you love me enough to want the spend the rest of your life with me.”
Jay squeezes their fingers, his voice gentle. “I want more than that, Hails.”
Her gaze flickers up to meet his, the air catching in her throat at the intensity burning in his eyes. Her voice is unsurprisingly breathless as she asks, “So the whole death do us part thing—?”
“Traditional words,” Jay tells her, the corner of his lips curling into a ghost of a smile. “What I feel for you goes way past this life. It’s more than I can even begin to understand.” Hailey has to press her teeth together so her lower lip doesn’t tremble at Jay’s beautifully honest words. He presses his forehead to hers and it’s enough to let Hailey let out a shuddering breath. “But I’ll spend the rest of my life, and whatever is beyond it, showing it to you.”
His forehead is to hers, noses touching, breathing in each other’s air—being each other’s air. And as Jay’s words wrap around her heart and keep it warm and safe and protected, she gathers the words existing in her own heart to give to him. “And what I feel for you is something I didn’t think I was even capable of feeling, but I know I just had to wait to meet you to actually feel it. Now, to the rest of our lives, and whatever is beyond it—it’s what I know I can always count on.” She feels a tear escape, but doesn’t make a move to wipe away the small physical evidence of what she feels for him. “I love you, Jay.”
His lips brush against hers, and she’s sure she can feel him slightly trembling too in the safety of their bed as he whispers, “I love you. So much.”
Her exact own words, from what feels like a lifetime ago, when she first told him.
Jay kisses her again, soft and slow, a husband pouring more promises and love into his wife, and Hailey returns them wholeheartedly.
Traditional vows were what had been spoken during their intimate little ceremony at the courthouse—but their own vows, existing from the purest part of their souls that hummed with life for each other, were what were uttered verbally, and shown physically, on Hailey and Jay’s first morning as husband and wife. And for the rest of their lives—and whatever was beyond—those vows would be shown again, and again, and again, and again.
After the past two days, I decided to hit the beach for some much needed water therapy and to try and rest my head about Jesse leaving PD. And I just couldn’t stop thinking about it all. Like even my body was facing the city of Chicago. Granted I’m 6 hrs away and the sun had a lot to do with that, but still I couldn’t escape.
I’m sad, I’m angry, I’m disappointed, I’m frustrated, I’m hurt, I’m a whole mixed bag of emotions, and I’m really struggling with how my one main source of escapism has come crashing down in the blink of an eye.
It’s literally a death of a best friend to me. Or the death of a happily ever after. I think I’ve been so gutted by this is because I got to live vicariously through Jay and Hailey. Their stories are somewhat similar to mine in real life, since I work in law enforcement, and their coupling and relationship both professional and personal have me hope that one day I could have that. And to have that ripped away has been detrimental to my already shaky mental status.
People keep leaving in my real life; I didn’t peg it to happen in my “fantasy life” too. Needless to say, the beach was beautiful, but it was anything but peaceful for me…
This prompt was sent in by an Anon ages ago and I wrote it up and then I completely forgot I had it saved on my phone. 🤦🏻♀️ Not my finest moment. So I'm really sorry but I suppose better late than never!
The idea for the prompt was Upstead and the morning after they got married.
Thank you to all those who have been reading this little prompts and very big thank you to @girlinlotsoffandoms for all the support!
Oh ... and this one is a little spicy so proceed with a little caution 😉
Fandom: One Chicago
Pairing: Upstead
Words: 830
Jay buried his face into the pillow, smothering his wide grin as he felt her lips track a path along his spine.
His wife.
That thought did little to dim his smile, or quieten his soaring heart.
“Did I not tire you out well enough last night, Mrs Halstead?” He asked cheekily.
Jay moaned when he felt Hailey’s response against his skin. A deeper graze of her teeth. It seemed she liked the sound of that nearly as much as he did.
“Didn’t you mark me up enough?”
She laughed, a sound he felt rumble against him. It echoed wonderfully in the quiet harmony of their bedroom. He buried another moan into the pillow as Hailey teased him so sweetly.
Jay was well aware of the marks she had left on him. The delightful sting of her nails scoring up his back as they had come together for the first time as husband and wife.
“Shall I kiss it better?” She teased.
Jay groaned when he felt her lips pressed to the marks she had made with more force this time.
A second later he felt her hand slide along his arm before her fingers intertwined with his. Their black rings sitting side by side. He grasped her hand tightly in his as he brought them to his lips. When he heard her sigh of contentment, Jay shifted and Hailey allowed just enough space between them for him to roll over so he was finally looking up at her.
“Morning,” he said with a lazy grin.
Her response was a kiss to his lips and while he was sure she intended for it to be short and sweet, Jay had other ideas. His fingers buried deep into her messy hair and tugged her closer, till she was essentially sprawled over him. Hailey hummed in delight against his lips as his other hand cupped her cheek, anchoring her to him.
There was a new spark in her eye when they finally came up for air. A lightness that had been missing for so long.
“Hi,” she whispered.
Jay smiled. “Hi.” He watched the way she bit her lip and his thumb came up to sooth the action. “Any regrets?”
She grinned almost immediately. “Absolutely not.”
He rolled them over again, hovering over her. He looked at her so intensely, it took her breath away. Her hands crawled a slow and easy path up his toned back. He could see her cheeks bloom in a tender blush as her fingers danced over the marks she had etched on him, when he had held her in complete ecstasy.
“I ... I didn’t realize ...” she murmured, almost shyly.
He pressed a kiss to her lips and then another beneath her ear. “I don’t mind,” he whispered huskily into her ear.
Hailey drew in a heavy breath, “Is that so?”
“Mark me up all you want. I’m all yours,” he told her earnestly.
Her hands settled on his hip, pulling his closer. There was no separation of clothes, it was just them.
“And I’m yours.”
“Yes you are,” he whispered leaning in, his lips barely a hairs breath away as he added , “wife.”
“Say it again,” she demanded.
“Wife.”
Her answering grin was more than enough. “I do like the sound of that.” She hitched her leg up, high on his waist and he hissed at the contact, the heat and friction already brimming between them. “Husband,” she added her lips ghosting over his ear.
He growled, low and deep, his fingers tightening on her waist. Jay kissed a familiar path along her neck and Hailey hummed in delight. In all the time they had been together, he had learnt all the little things that would make his wife come part at his touch. The thought that they would have a lifetime of that still seemed a little like a dream to him.
“Maybe this time, you should mark me up,” Hailey murmured. “And then maybe … I’ll let you kiss it all better.”
“Oh yeah?” He smirked, leaning in and kissing her, until she was breathless. “Where did you have in mind?”
“Surprise me.”
Hailey laughed, a quiet breathy sound before Jay was pressing her into the mattress. He held her close and kissed her with more passion than she had ever known.
“Hhm,” he said kissing his way down her body, “where shall I start?”
“I don’t care. We’ve got plenty of time,” Hailey replied.
Jay grinned. “Yeah we do.” He rose up so he was looking into her magnificent blue eyes once more, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Hailey wrapped an arm around his neck as she threw a leg over his waist, anchoring him to her. She took her time, kissing her husband, slowly stealing every breath from him.
They would have a lifetime more of moments like these, quiet, tender, sensual moment shared as husband and wife and Hailey couldn’t think of anything she wanted more.
