Chapter 2- And Then What

I'm beyond thankful for you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the sweet and amazing feedback! The prompts you sent in already have the wheels turning so get ready. I cannot wait for the adventures and Upstead moments that are ahead of us. Let's introduce the second prompt of the trip.

Guest: "Upstead is dating or engaged and spends a night together discussing dream weddings and kids."

This is such a cute and smile inducing prompt and I ever so love it. I don't want to talk anymore, let's just get into it!

Sure she was awake and coherent but ask her about the drive from the district to her place and she'd not be able to answer a single question. A couple of lights might have been close to red and a few car honks might've sounded out when she took a second too long to move, but she didn't care. They'd just wrapped up a child involved case, which was always the hardest to tackle. But this one took things to a whole other level. I won't give out all the details but it did involved adults sending children all over the city to dangerous holes with sketchy characters. It made her sick to her stomach, that all of this was going on for years right under her nose. While she was out grabbing coffee and wondering what TV show she should watch tonight, young innocent lives were changing forever. Cases like this always drove the evilness of the world home, but this one took it a little farther. The glinting reminder on her left hand screamed that soon her dynamics would change. She wouldn't be an army of one, but a single unit of two. She said yes because she loved him and never wanted to be without him, but now the other shoe was dropping. She shuttered to think if what happened today ever happened to them, their future child or children. Or worse, if Jay wasn't there to intervene and save the day. In all honesty, she wasn't even sure if he wanted kids. It wasn't exactly on her radar till a couple of weeks ago and she never thought to ask.

She nonchalantly parked her car in a spot near her building before releasing herself to the cold blast before finding comfort in her warm apartment. After most days like today she put on the warmest clothing, wrapped herself in a blanket, and watch TV till she fell asleep. But tonight was different: Jay was coming over so the two of them could begin working on the next step, the absolute last thing she wanted to do tonight. It all felt so wrong right now. She stood in her closet for minutes daydreaming in her nightmare, refusing and unable to shake those terrible images and thoughts out of her head.

"What would you do," Hailey thought out loud, slowly shaking her head before doing her thing. She scrolled through the channels and she was clearly out of it, her eventual selection evidence of that: the Home Shopping Network. They were selling cutlery and leftover containers, but Hailey wasn't paying attention, now transitioning from daydreaming to crying. She finally found solace in her grumbling stomach, relieved something else could take her mind off of things. Her head was deep in the shelves when the chime of her opening front door sounded. He was there, her highlight of the day.

"Hailey," he surprised and somewhat nervously inquired? She wasn't in the living room but her keys were in the bowl. She was here but not really.

"Kitchen," she yelled, his footsteps inching closer to her location. Upon reaching the doorway to the kitchen Jay let out a small laugh. Hailey was buried deep in the fridge, the plethora of containers, smelly take out, and vegetables strewn all over the place evidence of that. It was what she did when stress came calling: she cleaned. She did it at his place far too many times, and she'd tackled her bedroom, bathroom, living room and now kitchen all while the two of them had been together. Jay had this running joke that she was the opposite of the 'Before She Cheats' woman. Instead of walking out to a vehicle with keyed sides, her name carved in the seats, and Louisville sluggard headlights, the guy came home to a clean and organized place and knew he'd done something wrong. Both a hilarious and chilling image and Jay always poked fun at her with it. So before the two of them spent the night scarping food out of the corners of her freezer, Jay got down on the floor with her, reaching in and grabbing her hands before making her connect to his gaze.

"Hey," he spoke with a smiley voice, making her want to smack him. She didn't get how he could be so happy after today. She broke the gaze quicker than he wanted, driving home that she was in that mood.

"I just need to finish this," was all he got back. Her hands slipped out of his before scrambling back to whatever she was doing. Jay rose to his feet and grabbed for the bag of food he'd purchased. He intentionally plopped it loud against the door ledge of the fridge. He bent over to rest his chin on top of his closed fist and waited for her to notice. It took her about a minute to pick up on the adorable sight just to her left. When she did a glimpse of human returned to her.

"Is that Antique Taco?"

"Yes," he replied through a clenched jaw, smirking and cocking his head towards the bag before standing back up. He always knew what she needed even when she wasn't totally aware of it. The crap was thrown back in the fridge before leaping at and embracing him. She loved him, plain and simple. He was that light beam that shines through the cracks of clouds on a super dreary day. Whatever dread was coursing through her veins vanished when he walked through the door. They were opposites that somehow found a way to attract each other. And as she transitioned from a hug to longingly and deeply kissing him, she concluded this is why she said yes; they were what the other wasn't and they truly completed each other. And yes, Hailey totally knew how cheesy that was.

"You ok," Jay asked while catching his breath, Hailey nodded before venturing down the side of his face to his neck. Jay seemed to get the cue. They began standing in the middle of the room before the dance shifted to a counter, her on it while Jay rested against it. From there it was him holding her before the two of them ended on the floor. I think the previous generation called this afternoon delight. The growl of Hailey' stomach brought the dance to a halt, Jay laughing as Hailey clutched her stomach and giggled. They both laid there for a couple of minutes, catching their breaths while communicating via eyesight. Everything was right in her world again.

"Let's eat," Jay announced after a couple of minutes. With his assistance, Hailey was on her feet and darting for the bag. She grabbed her loot and ran for the couch, not waiting for Jay to join her. Fish and sweet and spicy chicken tacos from Antique Taco are a Godsend and cannot be delayed. Jay rolled his eyes and smirked watching her devour the stuff. She was a messy eater when it came to tacos, but he loved her nonetheless. He took a seat at one corner of the couch while Hailey was on the other, providing both of them enough space to dine. The TV was still playing the Home Shopping Network, the broadcast having now moved to cardigans and older lady shoes.

"Interested," Jay jokingly asked?

"What…oh, it was on when I turned the TV on. Were you watching it last night?" Jay rolled his eyes before reaching for the remote, the screen switching over to blackness momentarily. That awkward silence filled the apartment in an instant. Hailey's somber mood was obviously all around the place. Despite her best efforts and their session in the kitchen, something was off and everything was pointing to her. Jay picked up on it the moment he opened the front door and was waiting to ask her about it. Soon the days of keeping things inward wouldn't work. They both had to improve on their speaking and confession skills. He waited till she had finished eating before poking and prodding.

"So what's up?" Hailey chugged a sip of beer as her eyes went wide.

"What? Nothing. Why do you ask."

"Because the kitchen cleaning and the TV and you're not looking at me says something is wrong." Hailey adjusted further into the couch, rubbing her eyes before coming to a point on her nose before speaking. There was no getting things past him.

"Today was hard." Jay placed his bottle on the coffee table before completely relaxing, placing a hand under his head and titling it as she spoke.

"I mean, any case involving kids is hard. But today was on a whole other level. This.." She held her left hand up, allowing Jay to gaze at his big, shiny purchase.

"Has me thinking down the road. What if that was our child in all of that. What would we do? I don't even think I'd be able to make it through something like that. I don't know. We just have never even talked about that." The whole time she spoke Jay never lost his focus on her. He didn't react in a positive or negative way nor did he get defensive. The floor was hers and he wanted her to get everything out. There were tears in her eyes now, just beginning to trickle down her face. She was silent for a moment, allowing Jay to state his side of things.

"I'm sorry you had a bad day." She nodded, accepting his extended hand.

"And yeah, today was tough and that's because we both sympathize with people, sometimes too much. It's natural to have doubts, to wonder if put in the same situation how we would react. We're all human. But I don't think we're put in events or spots that we cannot handle. So it would be hard, incredibly hard, but we'd get through it and come out the other side stronger, just like those kids we met today. Let's not forget we saved thirty kids. Thirty lives get to live free and however they want." The two of them sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the peace and freedom of their time. Talking was always tough, but that weightless feeling afterwards was worth it.

"Why can't you stay every night," Hailey asked through wiping her eyes.

"Because we both can't get out of our leases." Hailey chuckled while nodding, not forgetting that annoying little fact.

"So, do you want kids?"

"Yeah," Jay replied, not totally convincing Hailey.

"I mean, not tomorrow but sometime down the road." Jay trailed off, shaking his head after a moment.

"Hey, you won't be like him."

"I hope not. How many do you want to have?"

"Two, a boy and a girl."

"In which order."

"Girl first then the boy. He's gotta be humbled by having an older sister." Jay laughed as he nodded.

"As long as our kids don't end up like Will I'll be thrilled. Kid has been nervous and on edge since he was a toddler." Hailey threw her head back in laughter, the two of them humored over the realness of that truth. This was fun, getting to dream. In their line of work dreams are few and far between. They were there when things went wrong, when hopes and aspirations died or were forever impacted. It wasn't the life for everyone, but one they took on wholeheartedly.

"Who would be the one to stay home when we have kids? Let's face it, we both can't work in Intelligence when that happens."

"I think we're going a little too far down the trail now. We'll deal with that question when we come to it," Jay replied. Hailey inched closer to Jay who pulled her into a hug. She was laying on top him, her head resting on his chest. Jay kissed the top of her head twice before hugging her a little tighter. The deep, agape love was mutual. There wasn't a scenario where they weren't doing this for the rest of time.

"In other news, what are we doing about our wedding?" Hailey moaned, not ready for the mayhem of wedding planning. It was the true test of a couple, deciding invitation fonts and what silverware explained their love for each other. When truly getting to the heart of things, she dreaded what was about to happen.

"Can't we just ran away to Vegas and get hitched?" Jay giggled.

"No. We're not rebellious teenagers." Hailey lightly and lovingly smacked his stomach before speaking.

"Who says we aren't?" Jay shrugged.

"I just hate weddings," Hailey blurted out, immediately looking up to Jay, waiting for him to say otherwise. Instead he sat up further, encouraging Hailey to do the same.

"Ditto." She responded with a kiss, a long and affectionate one.

"I love you."

"Love you too. What's up with you," he laughed.

"I was dreading wedding plans." Jay stood and gathered their trash and empty bottles, thinking as he headed towards the kitchen.

"What about getting married at the courthouse and then having a dinner with everyone? We may not like the idea of a wedding but a lot of people are going to want to celebrate with us." Hailey thought about it for a minute, liking his idea more and more.

"What if we just get married and then spring a dinner date on people and then announce we're already married?" Jay stuck his head through the doorway, giving her that smile she ever so loved.

"I don't think I could hold that in for that long."

"Well, we have time to figure it out." Jay nodded before returning to the couch.

"Wanna get to bed?" She thought he'd never ask. Hailey stood before the two of them resumed kissing and connecting with each other. Jay picked her up and walked, the two of them not bothering to close the door or care what the neighbors heard.

This one was short but so much fun to write and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Can't wait to see where we're going next. Thank you for reading!