A/N: Hello,
I'm back with a new elopement one shot! I was so extremely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support for the first story of this series. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read it, and especially to those that left a kind comment on here or on my Twitter ( mrsavalance). It really meant a lot to me. I hope this new story, will bring you just as much joy, if not more. I personally think it's a pretty fun one. And it has a lot more Upstead interactions.
This story is a bit of a 'crackfic' as you'd call it. It's probably the most out of character I've ever written Jay. But I hope that because of the circumstances of this story, you'll still feel like it works.
Again, a little reminder: this one shot is completely unrelated to the first chapter.
I'd like to thank my beta reader upjamisforever, for their incredibly work on this one shot.
Although I personally think this chapter is pretty light. I would like to point out some possible trigger warnings that appear in this chapter (so please if any of these trigger you, read with caution, or send me a message if you want more information about them before reading): parental death (mentioned only), drunk characters, vomiting (only mentioned, no graphic details) and pregnancy.
I hope that you guys enjoy this story. I had a lot of fun writing it. Hope to see you soon for the next one!
Chapter 2 Summary: Jay and Will find themselves pretty drunk at Molly's. When Jay wants to go home, he asks his brother to call his wife to pick him up. However, to Will's knowledge his younger brother never got married. Or did he?
family that I chose (now that I see your brother as my brother)
"I miss my wife."
"Listen, bro. We all know you can't wait to marry Hailey. And one day, you will. But you gotta get down on one knee and ask her first!"
"I did."
"Excuse me?!" Will blurts out, nearly choking on his beer. The Halstead brothers had switched from whiskey to their usual beer not too long ago.
"I did go down on one knee and ask her already." Jay explains plainly. "A few months ago."
"Jay, what are you talking about? You and Hailey aren't married." Then something dawns on the older Halstead brother, his voice faltering: "Wait, shit, did she say no?"
"Why would she say no?" Even in his drunken state, the detective sounds offended.
"Right, you're right. She'd never say no, not to you at least... I guess I am just having a hard time figuring out what you're trying to say here, man."
"Can you call my wife and ask her to come pick me up? Please? My phone died."
"Jay…"
"Will." Their infamous brotherly teasing now mixed in with the confusion.
"Are you trying to say what I think you're trying to say?"
"I don't know. You make my head spin!"
"Drowning your grief in whiskey and beer will do that to you." The doctor declares.
"Ugh, you suck!" Jay whines in response. "I wish my wife were here, she doesn't suck. She is the best. Why isn't Hailey here, Will?!" The younger Halstead dramatically drops his head on his arms resting atop the bar.
"Dr. Halstead," Herrmann interrupts. "I think you should listen to your brother and call his wife."
"My brother doesn't have a wife, Herrmann." The redhead reminds the bartender.
"You sure about that?" The firefighter challenges before walking away.
That grabs Will's attention: "Shit. Jay?"
"Hmm?" The detective mumbles, lifting his head from the bar.
Okay, maybe Jay had gotten more drunk than Will had realized. This was much more than he would typically drink on a Monday night. To be fair, the doctor had had a fair amount of drinks himself. It was the anniversary of their mom's death, and the Halstead brothers had gone out drinking together, of course with a bottle of expensive Irish whiskey in tow, to honor and recall fond memories of their late mother.
"Did you and Hailey get married?" Will inquires.
A huge grin appears on Jay's face at the mention of his wife's name.
"I'll take that as a yes…"
"Hailey's my wife." The newlywed nods, his smile somehow widening even more. "But shh, it's a secret. Don't tell anyone."
"Oh my God! I can't believe this! You guys eloped?!" The older Halstead proclaims in shock.
"Shh. It's a secret, Will." Jay says in a hushed tone, going as far as putting his index finger in front of his lips.
"Sorry." The doctor quickly apologizes, noticing a few eyes are on them now. Thankfully, besides Herrmann busy cleaning some glasses down the bar, no one who runs in their circle is around. "Well for what it's worth, little brother, I am really happy for you." Will pats his brother's shoulder.
"Me too. Marrying Hailey made me really happy. Like so very happy!" The detective seems to be daydreaming about his wife for a moment longer when the moon's reflection in the window catches his eye. "I can almost touch the moon, Will. Look!" Jay reaches for the sky thanks to the influence of alcohol.
"Yeah, your wife is gonna be pissed that I let you get this drunk." The doctor predicts.
"At least she'll be mad at you. She loves me." The now-married Halstead smirks, then falls silent momentarily before his face lights up to repeat those words he still cannot believe: "She loves me."
"Doubt she'll be happy you spilled your little secret tonight, Detective." Herrmann butts into their conversation again like a true bartender.
"Marrying Hailey is the best kind of secret. Like when we were late to Stella and Kelly's wedding because we had sex in the truck. That was also a good secret. Oh actually, Hailey and I have another secr—"
"Okay, yeah. You're officially cut off for the night, and I'm calling your wife now to come pick you up!" Will halts his little brother's rambling, not wanting to hear any more of his secrets, afraid they could scar him for life.
"How do you know I have a wife?! That's a secret! Who told you?!" Jay frantically scans Molly's as if he's ready to fight whoever may have spilled about their elopement.
"Dude, this is gonna be a long night!" Will expresses exasperatedly while searching for Hailey's name in his phone before dialing her number.
"Upton." The greeting comes across the phone line after only two rings.
"Should you still call yourself that?" The older Halstead snickers, unable to contain himself. Okay, so maybe he is more inebriated than he thought as well.
"Um, excuse you?!" His brother's wife contests in confusion.
"Your husband needs a ride home." Will reports. "And some cuddles maybe. Jay, get off me!" The doctor directs at his younger brother, who snuck his muscular arms around him tightly.
"Will, I miss Hailey! Are you talking to Hailey?!"
"Right…" Hailey trails off, putting the pieces together when she overhears her husband's slightly slurred speech. "I'll be there in 10. Is he okay?" Even through the phone, Will can tell she sounds concerned. It makes him so happy that someone cares as much about his little brother as he does. Perhaps even more than he does?
"Physically? Yeah. Mentally? You know how rough this day usually is for him. I think he will be fine as soon as you get here."
"I'm sorry I wasn't around earlier, Will. I just wasn't feeling too well today, and I wanted to give you two some space to remember and honor your mom in your own way."
"I appreciate that, Hailey. Truly." The redhead thanks her before his brain finally catches up with him. "Wait, hold up. You weren't feeling well? Need me to come check you out?" The doctor offers worryingly. Even while drunk, he cannot help but care for people, especially if they are sick.
"I'm fine, Will. It was probably just something I ate."
"You sure?"
"Positive. But I appreciate your concern." The blonde gratefully acknowledges.
"Of course. And I'd appreciate it even more if you could please come pick up your husband, so he stops putting wet fingers in my ear. Jay! Seriously, dude?!"
"I'm on my way." Hailey confirms, a chuckle erupting from her thanks to her husband's childish antics. "Oh, and Will?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For taking care of him, and for calling me."
"Of course. That's what in-laws are for."
"Right." The blonde concedes as she starts the car engine. With them eloping and not having told anyone that they are married yet, Hailey almost forgot that officially made Will Halstead her brother-in-law now.
"Don't think we're not talking about this, Mrs. Halstead! You two got some explaining to do once Jay sobers up." Will threatens.
"Oh, we'll definitely explain later. Just please make sure your brother won't spill any more of our secrets while I drive over there?"
"Why, you pregnant too?" The doctor jokes. But when the call stays uncomfortably silent for a moment too long, Will's eyes almost bulge out of his head and he immediately sobers him up: "Wait Hailey, are you really? Is that why you weren't feeling great? Morning sickness?"
She whispers barely loud enough for him to hear, even with the Molly's chatter quieter than usual: "Yeah."
"Oh my God, Hailey! I'm so sorry to drop that on you like that, I swear I had no idea. Congratulations! I can't believe I'm gonna be an uncle!" Will all but beams, then their reality hits and his tone shifts. "Wait, this is a good thing, right?"
"Really good, yeah." Hailey informs, the smile evident in her voice. "It's just a little too early to be telling people, yet. We only found out ourselves like six days ago."
"Gotcha. My lips are sealed."
"I appreciate that, and I'm sure Jay does too."
Will glances over to Jay, who seems engaged in a conversation about baseball with Herrmann. He can't believe his little brother is going to be a dad. And a damn good one that's for sure.
"I'm really so very happy for you two." He chimes into the phone a moment later. "You've made him very happy."
"Thank you, Will. He makes me very happy too." The blonde cheerfully responds. "I'll let you go. I'm almost there anyway. Two blocks out."
"Alright, bye Hailey. See you soon." Will says, ending the call.
The doctor notices Herrmann has made his way to the other side of the bar and is now serving drinks. He finds his brother lost in his own little world, playing with the label of his empty beer bottle.
"You two have so much explaining to do!" The redhead sighs.
Two minutes later, Hailey walks into the bar. It's not too crowded, seeing as it's just a Monday night, so she easily spots the Halstead brothers at the bar and heads toward them. "Hey, you two."
"Hailey!" Jay's entire face lights up as he jumps off the barstool and into his wife's arms.
"Hey buddy! You okay?" The blonde chuckles when she feels her husband's arms embrace her.
"I missed you so much. Both of you." The last part he whispers into Hailey's ear, so no one else can hear.
"I missed you too, Jay." Hailey laughs. It had been only a few hours since they'd last seen each other, so they hadn't been separated that long. But Hailey still means every word of it. She had missed him at home too, but she knew how important it was for him to honor his mom with Will.
"Aww. Look at you two. So disgustingly cute!" Will comments gazing at the newlywed couple with the softest look in his eyes.
"Oh hush, you're just mad your wife is not picking you up!" Jay snuggles closer to Hailey.
"Jay, unlike you apparently, I do not have a wife." His older brother points out.
"You should totally get one!" Jay suggests as if it's as simple as buying milk at the supermarket. "I highly recommend it. These past 4 months have been the best months of my life."
"You guys have been married for 4 months?" The doctor's eyes widen once again.
Hailey expresses in amusement: "Yeah."
"Were you ever gonna tell anyone?"
"Maybe?" Hailey jokes, coming across more like a question than a statement.
"I can't believe you guys robbed me of the chance of being Jay's best man! I've had an embarrassing speech ready ever since you two started dancing around each other. Which was like what, two years before you actually started dating?"
"Sorry Will." His little brother actually sounds apologetic.
"Oh, now I must hear this speech!" Hailey gushes, wanting to hear all the juicy stuff about her husband.
"No, I'm mad at you!" Will all but pouts, the alcohol still very present in his system.
"Hey! You're not allowed to be mad at my wife!" Jay interrupts.
"Well, I'm mad at both of you!"
"Oh..." Jay says with a frown forming on his face too.
"Alright, you two." Hailey addresses the pouting drunk brothers. "Time to get you home. What do you think?"
"Please. My head is spinning." The younger Halstead utters again.
Hailey tightens her grip around her husband. "I got you, partner."
"You always do." Okay, so maybe drunk Jay doesn't have a filter and is a little cheesier than he normally would be in public.
"Seriously, right in front of my beer!" Will feigns offense, his beer bottle clearly empty in front of him. "Jay, as a doctor, I'm diagnosing you with a severe case of heart eyes."
Jay throws his brother a glare, the complete opposite of the heart eyes he was just giving Hailey mere seconds ago.
Hailey just laughs out loud: "Seriously, how much did you guys have to drink?"
"I stopped counting after the fourth... or fifth." The detective stumbles.
"Oh my God, Jay!" Hailey exclaims. She is not actually mad, but clearly her husband and his brother far surpassed their normal alcohol intake. "We have work tomorrow. You are so gonna regret this decision in the morning."
"Maybe..." Jay mumbles under his breath.
"Did you guys at least have a nice time remembering your mom?" She treads carefully, not wanting to upset the brothers.
"Yeah. We spent some time at the cemetery before we hit the bar and poured one in her honor." Will answers.
"Good." Hailey nods, keeping the comment about how it was much more than just one drink to herself. "Come on, let's get you guys home. Will, where's your jacket?" The detective notices how her husband is clearly wearing his, but the doctor's jacket is nowhere in sight.
"I don't know?" The older Halstead pronounces nonchalantly.
"Will Halstead, you better not tell me you came here without a jacket! It's 20 degrees out!" The blonde raises her voice and gives him a stern glare to let him know she means business.
Will looks like a deer caught in headlights, unsure how to resolve this problem. He's positive he was wearing a jacket earlier at the cemetery, but he has no idea where he placed it once they got to Molly's.
"Here ya go, Doc." Herrmann says, handing the doctor his winter coat from behind the bar.
The redhead lets out a relieved sigh.
"Thanks, Herrmann." Hailey acknowledges the barman.
"No worries, Detective. You take these two home safely."
"I will, don't worry."
A shiver runs down Hailey's spine when she feels her husband's warm breath ghost over her ear: "You're gonna be the best mom."
Hailey is grateful for the cover the bar offers with its late night chatter and dark atmosphere, confident that her cheeks are now rosy thanks to Jay's comment.
"I love you." The blonde whispers.
"I love you too. So much." Jay responds, placing a soft kiss on his wife's heated face.
In the meantime, Will has managed to put his coat on and is already making his way toward the door, where Adam and Kevin just entered.
"Adam, Kev, did you know Jay and Hailey have so many secrets? Like so many!" Will slurs out to the pair of officers, the volume of alcohol he and Jay consumed earlier clearly still affecting him.
"What's he talking about?" Ruzek is so confused, per usual.
"Don't mind him! He's had too much to drink. They both did." Hailey clarifies.
"Rough night for the Halstead brothers?" Atwater asks, slightly concerned.
"Something like that..." She mumbles.
"You need any help getting them home?" Kevin offers, always the gentleman.
"No, it's okay. You guys just got here."
"You sure? It's no trouble at all." He tries again. Atwater knows Hailey can handle them herself, but she seemingly has her hands full with Jay fully leaning on her petite body.
"Maybe help me get them to the truck?" Hailey eventually gives in.
"You got it, girl!" Kevin declares. "You help Jay, I'll get Will."
"Thanks, Kev." The blonde says with a grateful smile, holding onto her husband who has once again snuggled into her side.
"Aw, look at you two!" Ruzek expresses toward the couple.
"Okay Doc, you ready to go home?" Kevin inquires, sneaking his arm around the doctor's side to support his weight as they near the exit.
"No, but if I don't, my brother's wife is gonna give me the scary eyes again!" Hailey leers at the redhead over her shoulder. "See! There they are again!"
"Excuse me, did you just say your brother's wife?! As in Hailey?" Adam cannot believe what he just heard.
"You know any other pretty and scary blondes my brother would marry?!" Will snaps back.
Her sober coworkers stare at Hailey, who is trying with all her might to cool the panic on her face.
"Don't listen to him, he doesn't know what he's saying!" Hailey attempts to quash the building situation. She doesn't want to have this conversation right now, especially with Jay basically half asleep on her shoulder and Will clearly much more intoxicated than she originally thought.
"So you and Jay are not married then?" Ruzek needs clarification.
Not wanting to abjectly lie to her friends, she just chooses to stay silent.
"Hailey?" Atwater presses for confirmation.
"Can we do this another day?" The blonde asks as they reach the truck. "Please?!"
Her plea must sound even more desperate than she intended because the younger officers suddenly seem okay with dropping the topic for now.
"Of course. Sorry, we didn't mean to pry." Adam apologizes.
"It's- Listen, I promise I'll tell you everything. Just please, not tonight. Not when they're like this." Hailey gestures towards the two drunk men.
"We get it." Kevin nods. "You gonna be okay on your own, getting these two home?"
She sees the brothers have made themselves comfortable in the truck. "Yeah, we'll be alright. Not my first time taking care of them by myself."
"Text us when you've made it home, okay?" Adam requests.
"Aw, look at you Ruzek, you actually care!" Hailey teases.
"Of course we care, Hailey!" Adam genuinely replies.
"I know, you guys are the best!" The blonde reiterates as she lifts herself into the driver's seat. "Thanks for your help. Enjoy the rest of your night. And maybe stay away from the whiskey?" She advises.
"Copy that." Adam chuckles, eyeing Jay in the passenger seat. "Take care, bud."
"See you tomorrow." Kevin bids farewell before the inseparable buddies head back to the bar.
Hailey turns to address her husband next to her and her brother-in-law sitting in the backseat. "Please try not to puke in the truck on the way home."
But that half-joking comment sobers Jay up instantly.
"Hails, are you still feeling..." The younger Halstead glances at his brother then carefully continues his sentence, "sick?" Referring to the fact that Hailey was the one actually vomiting her guts out in their bathroom earlier that morning. Jay knew it got better as the day went on—he would not have gone out drinking with Will otherwise—but now that she brought it up, he can't help but worry about her and their baby.
"I'm fine, Jay." His wife reassures him, giving his hand a soft squeeze. "We both are."
That seems to calm the father-to-be as he lets himself ease back into the passenger's seat. "Good."
Hailey peeks at the rearview mirror, where she can see Will sporting a massive grin, clearly having witnessed the interaction between the married couple. But true to his word, Will's lips are sealed and he actually keeps their secret until the expecting parents are ready to tell the rest of the world that a little Halstead will be joining their family soon.
A/N: Chapter title is from peace by Taylor Swift.
I'd like to put in a little disclaimer and say that I've never really written 'drunk' characters before, so if I did a poor job I'm very sorry. I'd also like to take this moment to remind you all to please drink responsibly, and if you'll ever find yourself in a situation where you've drank too much, I hope you've some support system like Jay and Will, and someone will pick you up and take care of you. Stay safe out there.
As always, kudos and comments are very much appreciated, so are tweets (you can find me on Twitter under the name mrsavalance.
I hope to be back with the next elopement story soon! Until then.