Mother's Day.
A sweet Upstead married one-shot, set after 9x09. I thought I'd share this, as we all need some Upstead fluff at the moment. I might write a second part, but I'll see how you like it first :).
I do not own Chicago PD or any of the characters.
Neither Jay nor Hailey liked Mother's Day, for very different reasons. As a child, Jay had loved it and he and Will had used it as an excuse to spoil their mum, but, ever since she had died, he didn't like this day. Even though it had been many years since she had died, it was still painful. Her death was also tied into memories of his discharge from the Army and all of the pain and trauma that was still associated with that. Hailey found the day hard because of relationship with her mum; they weren't close, mostly because her mum was still with Hailey's father and Hailey didn't want anything to do with her father. Since Hailey and Jay had married, Hailey found herself thinking about the two of them having children, but they needed the time to be right. She and Jay hadn't talked about having children, but Hailey knew that Jay wanted children; she had always seen how he was good with children and, even more so since they had been together.
Jay was woken by the sound of Hailey's phone vibrating; his wife was a deeper sleeper than he was, so he glanced at it to check that it wasn't Voight. It wasn't. It was her mum. Jay pressed his lips together and sighed, before he looked down at Hailey who was peacefully asleep in his arms. Hailey Halstead. His wife. He would be on her side, no matter what.
Quietly as to now disturb Hailey, Jay had a shower and made his way to the District, leaving a note to tell Hailey where he was. He knew that he should go to his mum's grave, to see her, because it was Mother's Day, but he didn't have the energy for that, yet and he wanted to avoid seeing Will there. He always wanted to avoid his brother on this day. He knew that, if he saw his brother on that day, it would take him back to that place of anger and he didn't want that for either of them and he knew that his mum wouldn't want that for her two sons.
It was no surprise that there was no one else in the bullpen, so Jay made himself a coffee and settled down to do some paperwork. Gradually, the other members of Intelligence started to arrive. Kim and Adam, even though Jay wasn't sure if they were together or not, then Kevin, then, finally, Hailey. Jay smiled to himself as he saw Hailey's black wedding ring on her finger, the one which was identical to the one on his own finger.
Their shift was a busy one, but when Jay and Hailey were doing surveillance in the van, Jay finally asked, gently, "You ok, Hailes? You've very quiet."
Hailey sighed and shook her head as she replied, "My mum texted me, she wants us to meet up for dinner tonight, with my brothers and their families, for Mother's Day."
Tilting his head, Jay asked, "And, what are you thinking?"
"I'm not going to go, it's that simple." Hailey replied quickly, before she chewed her lip as she added, "I hate this day, Jay, I always have."
Jay looked away from Hailey for a second and murmured, "Yeah, me, too." He was thinking about his mum, how it had been so many years since she had died, yet there wasn't a day when he didn't miss her. With a smile and without really thinking Jay looked back at his wife and told her, "It'll be different when we have our own kids. We'll make the day great, for them and for you."
Hailey's bright, blue eyes shined as a playful, but loving smile crossed her face and she asked, "Is that so, Jay Halstead?"
"Yeah, it is, Hailey Halstead."
When their shift was over, Hailey found Jay in the locker room. He was standing totally still and she knew that he was thinking about his mum. She knew that this day was hard for him, harder than it was for her. Knowing it was not a good idea to spook the ex-Ranger, Hailey sat on the bench and waited for Jay to be aware that she was there, before she asked, "Jay, you good?"
Slowly Jay turned around to face her and Hailey could see the tears shining in his green eyes, so she stood up and wrapped her arms around him. As she did so, Jay's whole body relaxed and he wrapped his arms around her, resting his head against hers. Neither of them were sure how long they stood there, holding each other, but, eventually, Jay planted a soft kiss on Hailey's head as he said, in a crocked voice, "I'd like you to meet her."
With a soft smile, Hailey replied, "I'd love that." Green eyes met blue and Hailey gave Jay a gentle kiss before she ran her fingers against his wedding ring. No words were needed, but her presence was enough.
Jay had never taken Hailey to his mum's grave before, but, now, it felt right. Hailey was his wife. Jay sat in front of the grave first and Hailey stood back, with one of her hands on Jay's shoulder, providing her silent support.
As soon as they returned home, they made their way to their bed and Jay wrapped his arms around Hailey, holding her as close as he could. Hailey looked up at the ceiling, before she asked softly, "Jay, do you really see kids in our future?"
Nodding, Jay mumbled, "I do, Hailes. Do you?"
"I've never thought about having kids, until you and I got together and, I'll admit, since we got married, I've been thinking about kids more and more." Hailey pressed her lips together and added, "We just need to get the timing right."
As if he could read her mind, Jay sat up slightly and looked down at Hailey, with his arms still wrapped around her, "You'd be a great mum, Hailey. I just know it." He paused, then added, "If we have kids, we'll make this day special."
With a smirk, Hailey sat up and asked, "Is that a promise?" Jay's smirk matched hers before she asked, tilting her head, "How about we practice right now?"
Their lips found each other's as they embraced in a passionate kiss. In between kisses Jay whispered, "You and me. Always, Hailey Halstead. You and me."