A/N: Another installment of my headcanon vomit for your reading pleasure. As always, I am open to headcanon or drabble prompts so hit me up if you'd like. Blame all of this on Maxi.
visiting Rafferty's grandparents in NY… But I wanna know how they road trip it mostly…
I think Shay would probably drive most of the way but Rafferty would 100% be the one to drive in the city because it's fucking terrifying if you've never done it before. I think on the way there they would bicker over music somewhat though they probably have grown to appreciate each other's tastes. But there's always that one song the other loves that they hate and it always gets cranked so loud while whoever likes it sings along and it's almost always followed by an "I love you" "I hate you" situation. Then there are the songs that they sing together. Especially the ones from their childhoods and tween years. Like Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls. And when they get tired of music they just sit in comfortable silence, Leslie reaching across the center console to hold Allison's hand while she steers with the other. Sometimes Shay asks about Rafferty's grandparents so she can be a little more prepared but mostly they just share anecdotes about themselves, nothing super important just little stories about the time Shay skinned her knee playing baseball with the neighborhood boys or the time Allison accidentally stole a twinkie from the neighborhood convenience store. When they finally get into the city and Allison is driving, things get a little tense with Shay gasping or saying lookout every time Rafferty cuts into a different lane or forces them through traffic with a hand plastered to the horn. Rafferty has to tell her to shut up a few times but as soon as she's clear of whatever situation she's navigating she always apologizes and reaches over to give Shay's leg a comforting squeeze.
Hey guess what I have more to add to the road trip to meet the grandparents headcanon! Okay so, they get in super late and Rafferty told her grandparents to just go to sleep and they'd let themselves in and everything so that's what they do and Raff leads them quietly to the guest room without turning on any lights and they just kinda get settled and pass out because they're tired. Rafferty wakes up first in the morning and hears her grandparents so she gets up and says hi and grabs a cup of coffee before heading back to their room. She climbs back into bed but stays sitting up so she can drink her coffee and read a book and as soon as she's settled Shay kinda rolls over so her head is in raff's lap but she stays asleep for like another fifteen minutes or so. When she does finally wake up she's confused at first because she's nuzzling into Allison's hip instead of her shoulder but she looks up all sleepy eyed and cute and sees rafferty in her pjs and glasses drinking coffee and reading and it's the most sickeningly domestic situation ever and Shay just says morning and raff smiles down and says it back and then sets her book and coffee on the bedside table and wiggles back down into the bed and Shay just snuggles right into her arms and kisses her good morning and tells her she wishes they could do this every morning and Allison just smiles and kisses her again and Shay rolls on top of her and asks how thin the walls are and Rafferty sighs and says too thin so Shay asks if her grandparents are hard of hearing and Raff says not at all and then Shay pouts but she also just takes the time to look at Allison's face and she's just so beautiful that Leslie has to kiss her again and then she settles down onto her and they just lay like that for a few minutes until shay asks if she thinks they're going to like her and raff is just like they're gonna love you as much as I do and shay is like "okay" and raff asks if she's ready to meet them and Shay nods against her chest and so they get up but before Shay gets to the door Rafferty stops her and just kisses her again and tells her she loves her and shay says she loves her too and then they go out all adorable holding hands and it's all just perfect.
Rafferty's playing a soccer game with some friends because she's on a rec team, she twists her ankle.
Okay, so Rafferty spraining her ankle would be something to see because you know she's a stubborn shit that refuses to admit anything is wrong. So she like goes down and immediately hops back up but is hobbling like an idiot and her run is more of a waddle and her teammates are like dude take a sub and she just waves them off like "nah bro I'm fine I would know I'm a paramedic" and right about then Shay shows up and asks someone why she's limping and they tell her and Shay just goes full on soccer mom and like walks onto the field and puts her arms up like "what the hell" and Rafferty hobbles over and tells her to get off the field before she gets hurt and Shay's like "I'd say the same to you but apparently it's too late for that are you gonna let me look at it" and Rafferty concedes reluctantly and hobbles off with Shay and then gets benched the rest of the game and just sits on the bench pouting with Shay all wrapped around her yelling insults at the other team.
Shay's learning how ice skate, because she never learned and Rafferty is trying to teach her.
Ice skating wise it's actually really adorable. Rafferty just kinda leads Shay around the ice by the hands like you would a little kid. Raff skates backwards the entire time and Shay is so worried she's going to run over someone or fall that she forgets about her own nervousness and actually ends up skating on her own without realizing it after the first couple of laps. When Rafferty points it out to her Shay gets all excited and giggly and so Rafferty skates up to her and wraps her arms around her waist and tells her it's time to try something more complex and starts making Shay go backwards but that fails almost immediately and ends with Shay on her butt and Rafferty on top of her and Shay is just like "ow my ass" and Raff is just all trying to turn her on her side saying "well let me check" and Shay is slapping at her like "stop" and Raff gets up and pulls Shay up with her and immediately turns her so she can see her ass and is just all "looks great" and then leslie shoves her over.
There's a call to a car accident, a bicyclist was hit but so was a dog and no one seems to be too concerned about the dog… Except Rafferty.
I can't really figure out how the dog/cyclist thing would work because if the dog was okay it probably would've run off and if it was bad then someone would be all over that shit. And it's Raff's job to treat the human first, like she has to make sure he's good and get him the best care and then to the hospital so I just don't see her being able to step away and check on an injured dog unless the cyclist is coherent and concerned enough to be like "is the dog okay?" and then she says she'll check and takes it from there.
Shafferty are trying to put together an entertainment center, but they're totally girls about it and Rafferty teases Shay because Shay isn't a stereotypical lesbian in that department.
Shay is good with her hands but sucks with tools. Like, really sucks. It's probably partly because she's bad at following directions. So when they decide to forego the $50 assembly fee on their entertainment center it's really not a good decision. Rafferty just assumes Shay will be good at this shit because, lesbians are good at it, or are supposed to be or something. And Shay assumes Rafferty is good at putting things together because she's the one who suggested they do it themselves. So they get everything out and laid out across the floor and then they both look at each other and are waiting for the other to make a move and so Shay's like "so how does this work" and Raff is like "you're supposed to be the one that's good at this" and Shay just laughs and laughs and laughs and texts Dawson and tells her to come over and bring casey.
Shafferty are at a bar, not Molly's, it's more of a club and they get slightly harassed by dudes cat calling them.
So Shafferty is at a nightclub because Shay wants to dance but she also doesn't feel like running into everyone and their mother so she decides to forgo their usual spot and go to a different club instead. It's fine at first and the drinks are cheaper so they get themselves a couple of drinks and then Shay drags Raff to the dance floor and they just dance next to each other at first but in less than a minute they are all up on each other dancing and grinding and being all handsy and some dude is totally leering at them from the bar and when they break to get more drinks after another song or two he totally just sidles up to them all expectantly and offers to buy their drinks and Shay is just like "I don't accept drinks from strangers" and when he looks at Raff she's like "same, sorry". But he doesn't get it and is just like "why not" and Shay is just like "just walk away it's not gonna happen" and he's all "is this a you have to buy me dinner first thing or a lesbian thing" and Rafferty nearly chokes on her drink and Shay just slips her arm around her and says "the second one" and they go find a corner and canoodle
Rafferty's sister gets into a car accident, Shay tries to calm her down to take her to the hospital…
Okay so, Rafferty would totally get the news while on shift. They'd be on their way back from a call and Raff's phone would go off and since shay's driving she'd answer and Shay would just see her blanche and without a word she'd be on the radio telling dispatch to send a backup ambo to 51 and to take them off the active roster for at least an hour because for Rafferty to look the way she does it has to be something bad. When Allison hangs up she doesn't look ahead, just keeps her eyes straight forward and tells Shay which hospital to go to so she flips on the sirens and gets them there as fast as she can. It's not until they get there that Rafferty tells Shay what's going on and even then it's broken and vague because all she says through teary eyes is "my sister" and it takes 5 minutes of Rafferty crying in her arms for Shay to hear the part about a driver running a red and t-boning her sister's car. They make it inside and little Rafferty is still in surgery but her whole family is there and while Shay is terrified for her surrogate little sister she also feels kind of like she's intruding, at least until Allison's brother comes over and wraps her up in a crushing hug. They all wait together for another hour until they get the news from the surgeon that they were able to repair the damage and that while she had a long recovery ahead of her she was gonna be a-ok. And then while their parents go back to sit with her Allison just molds herself to Shay and breathes out all of her tension and worry and Shay just holds her and rubs her back and thanks god Allison didn't just lose someone else.
Shafferty is training for a half marathon. Who's the athlete and who's the whiner?
Shay is most definitely the whiner. Not because she's out of shape or incapable of running a half marathon she just doesn't see the point. She'll go to a gym and put in a workout because "every one benefits from [her] having a toned ass" but the whole long distance for fun thing is not what she's about. Rafferty pushes though. She pushes hard. And she gets her way. Withholding sex is an excellent incentive.
They're at a bar and a woman asks for a cigarette. Shafferty doesn't smoke so of course they say they don't have any. Bar bitch gets irrationally pissed and gets physical with them.
She asks Rafferty first and She says no. She does it politely, an "I'm sorry but I don't smoke" but the lady is clearly already in a bad mood and she just kind of huffs as she looks past raff to shay. She says "what bout you? You look like you suck down a few cigs a day" and Shay's eyes go wide and she says "excuse me" and the lady asks if she can bum a cigarette and Shay says she doesn't smoke and that's when shit hits the fan. The cigarette lady just starts ranting about how no one will give her a damn cigarette and how skinny bitch over there is lying because she's just selfish and she makes a dig at Shay's hair calling her a bottled blonde (which she is and it doesn't actually bother her) with two brain cells saying she's probably too dumb to smoke without help anyway and probably has to have her boyfriend carry her smokes for her and Rafferty just fucking loses it. She gets right up in the lady's face and tells her to back the fuck off before she makes her and the lady just laughs and tells her to "go ahead and try sweetcheeks I could snap you like a twig" and Rafferty just goads her on like "Oh yeah well you're welcome to try. go ahead. take a swing. I'm sure all the firefighters and cops I save every day would love to hear all about how you kicked my ass" And then the lady is like "bringing the cops into this, you can't finish it yourself?" and Raff just goes "I don't have to finish it, I keep you shouting for another minute and you'll be so out of breath from your precious little smoking habit it'll finish itself" and the lady starts to reply but starts hacking instead and Rafferty just stands there all smug as the lady says fuck you and leaves.
I wanna see an actual, physical altercation! I can't think of a situation tho. Between Shay and Raff, who's the one more likely to throw a punch? Who HAS thrown a real punch?
And as far as an actual physical altercation, they've both decked people before. Guaranteed. Shay punches Severide all the time just cuz he's an idiot but she's also decked her share of other people too. Territorial dudes, territorial chicks, she's had to defend herself and others before and she'd do it again in a heartbeat.
And Rafferty's confidence has to come from somewhere. No one is born with swagger like that, she fucking earned the right to walk like a fucking Bamf. Maybe it was during a sporting event or maybe some dickhead was picking on one of her siblings but she's drawn blood before without a doubt.
If it were to happen now it would totally be to save shay's and possibly her own ass. Like the time Dawson kicked that dude off the back of the ambo, Rafferty would absolutely get physical to protect them. But I can also see her becoming a defensive/confrontational drunk, so maybe one night someone is having a house party and she's drinking and she has a little too much and someone starts giving her (or shay or the pair of them) shit and they play it off like a joke but she is just not having it because she fucking knows they're being serious and one of the guys who has also had too much to drink tells Shay to call off her bitch and Shay's face is like oh shit you done fucked up because she can't even get out a warning before Rafferty lays his ass out.
One of Rafferty's brothers is a total homophobe and basically tells her never to call him again… How does she react and how does Shay support?
Okay, let's see. He doesn't know she's seeing anyone and he runs into her at a bar one night and Shay is with her. He actually sees Shay first, because she's at the bar getting drinks while Allison sits at a table top so they don't lose it and he hits on her hard. Shay, because she has no idea who he is and just thinks he's a creep, tells him she's not interested and she's here with her girlfriend. She gets her drinks and heads back to their table and he watches her. That's when he sees his sister. He grabs a beer and then crashes their table. Raff sees him first and she jumps up to give him a hug and Shay is super confused and hates the look he's giving her over Allison's shoulder. But Shay plays nice at first, saying hi when Raff introduces them, but then he says something that throws them both. He says, "If I'd known you meant friend who was a chick I wouldn't have given up so easily when you blew me off at the bar, I thought you were a fucking dyke for a second there." He laughs it off but Shay is pissed and Rafferty looks like she's about to be sick. Shay speaks up first and says she wasn't joking and he laughs again saying that his sister isn't a fucking lesbian and Shay's eyes go straight to Allison's and she looks terrified and Shay's ready to take it all back and say they're just friends to get them out of this situation but he starts in before she has a chance. Apparently he picked up on his sister's stunned silence because he's staring at her and asking her if she's serious and telling her she can't be serious and that she's fucking disgusting and no sister of his would ever be gay and Shay has had enough and shoves him out of the way and kind of scoops her out of her chair and shuffles her out of the bar while he hurls slurs at them as they leave. Rafferty pukes in the street while Shay holds her hair and tells her she's sorry and she didn't know and she'll do whatever Allison needs and she just wants to go home and go to bed and forget this ever happened but her phone goes off and it's a text from her brother saying to delete his number because she's dead to him and she's in tears now and Shay wants to go back in and kill him with her bare hands but Allison is clinging to her like the entire world will disappear if she lets go so Shay just points them towards her apartment and they start the long walk home.
Oh… This one is vague… It's laundry day and… one of them hates it.
But.. but.. they both love laundry day. Laundry day was the day Rafferty realized Leslie really did care and that she had someone she could count on. Laundry day is the day she always jokes was the first time Shay told her she loved her, because no she didn't say it, but she did say I'm here and that meant just as much. Plus it's the anniversary of the first time they hugged and Shay will never let Rafferty live down the fact that she initiated it. The self professed "homophobe" hugged her first. And Rafferty always gives Shay shit about her flannels even though she really doesn't have that many. But they really do love laundry day. They both put on their comfiest clothes and just stay at home all lazy and comfy and warm and find ways to pass the time while their clothes get clean which is funny because they're usually getting dirty, and Laundry day is always a great day. Especially when the dryer buzzes and Shay yells "Hot Pants" and runs over and slips on a warm pair of sweats while Allison watches amused from the couch.
Rafferty reads a lot of medical journals/books and has hardly ever read fiction. Shay convinces her to read something…
For as cocky and cool as Rafferty appears she is actually the biggest nerd in the universe. She reads research journals for fun. Like, screw cosmo she's got a subscription to scientific american, and her dvr is full of "Cosmos" episodes and "National Geographic" specials and all that shit. It's actually bordering on ridiculous but she's so damn smart because of it and her mind turns Shay on just as much as her body and considering how amazing her body is that is definitely saying something. But Shay kind of can't take it when Rafferty misses another pop culture reference at Trivia night so she sits her down one day and hands her a present that just so happens to be the complete Harry Potter collection because she knows for a fact Allison has never read them. Rafferty thinks it's sweet but she protests saying she really doesn't have time to read seven books so Shay tells her to just try the first one so she agrees and that night Rafferty settles down with sorcerer's stone and she's still reading when Shay falls asleep. And when Shay wakes up Rafferty is still sitting next to her a full three chapters into chamber of secrets and Shay just kisses her on the cheek and sighs because she's pretty sure she's not gonna get laid again until Rafferty has finished the entire series.
One of them is a big wimp when it comes to scary movies, whereas the other loves them. One night, a marathon of… Friday the 13th, lets say, comes on and there is no way *so-and-so* is missing it, even if the other is screaming and clutching an arm the entire time.
Oh god, it's Rafferty. It is so Rafferty. She loves this shit, lives for this shit. Halloween is her favorite time of year because all the scary movie marathons come on and she spends all of her free time eating candy and watching people get murdered and she's just so giddy about it. But it makes Shay cringe. She can't stand it. All the blood and gore and jump scares that give her nightmares. But she wants to spend time with Allison and unfortunately that means spending time with her taste in movies so she just sits there all tense and her arm is gripping Raff's so tight there are probably gonna be finger shaped bruises there in the morning but Allison looks so happy and every now and then she leans over and gives Shay a thank you kiss and at one point even goes so far as to tell her that she never has to worry about something like this happening to them because Rafferty has seen all the tricks in the book and is completely prepared to vanquish any monsters or murderers or whatever evil doers might come to cause them harm. Ironically Shay finds that far from comforting and insists they watch at least an hour of the Puppy Bowl that takes up permanent residence on their dvr every night before bed.
What happened after Shay raffled off those hockey tickets?
The only reason Rafferty even showed up for the raffle was because Shay asked her to. But then she has to sit there all night with the guys while Shay works and it's not that she dislikes them she just would rather be shooting the breeze with her former partner. As soon as the Raffle is over though Shay clocks out and starts making the rounds with her friends, going table to table saying hey and all that. And Rafferty is kinda pissed that Shay hasn't been by yet until she realizes that Shay is saving her table for last so she can actually stay for a bit. When she finally gets there she just leans her head on Allison's shoulder and complains about how tired she is so Raff just rubs Shay's back a little and tells her to suck it up and that earns her a good hard shove and an irresistible pout. So irresistible apparently that when Shay says she wants to walk home Rafferty volunteers to walk with her if she can get a cab from Shay's place. So they end up walking to Shay's in the freezing cold talking about Rafferty's plans for what she's gonna do while on suspension and at some point, because it's so damn cold, they end up huddled close, arms linked, and when they finally get to the apartment Shay insists Rafferty come inside and warm up until her cab gets there but they end up pouring vodka in their cocoa and Allison forgets to call a cab so Shay tells her just to stay. She offers to make up the couch but warns that Otis and Severide are loud and obnoxious and Rafferty starts to think maybe she should call a cab after all but Shay makes a joke about how if Allison weren't afraid of cooties she could just crash with her and Raff just turns and walks straight into Shay's room and climbs into her bed leaving Shay standing in the living room confused. Rafferty yells at her to get her butt in there so Shay follows her lead and climbs into bed next to her after closing the door and hitting the light. Shay lies stiff as a board afraid to move but Allison puts her at ease when she tells her "goodnight" and "thank you" and "if I wake up to you spooning me in the morning you're buying me breakfast and paying for my cab home after" and Shay can't help but laugh because spooning and breakfast sound absolutely wonderful to her.