#pd fic

[ughtoomanyfandoms]

Preacher's Daughter (The Last of Us - Joel Miller): Thoroughfare

PREACHER’S DAUGHTER Thoroughfare

series masterlist

Pairing: Joel Miller x OC

CONTENT WARNINGS: 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI

Series Warnings: unprotected sex, religious trauma, gore, violence, swearing, explicit content, sexual violence.

Word Count: 8.9k

Read on AO3 and Wattpad

Tommy was gone. Tess was gone. Bill and Frank were gone. Lianne was gone.

Lianne was gone.

Joel is alone. Alone with a fourteen year old girl, tasked with trekking her across the country for the “fucking Fireflies.”  The one thing he had hated about his brother. The one thing he prayed Lianne wouldn’t fall in with. And it had sucked him right into it. 

Joel and Ellie had spent the night nestled in the woods a few miles from Bill and Frank’s house. Joel sipped on the coffee that was promised by Lianne.

How long had it been since Lianne was at Bill and Frank’s before Joel found them? Did she know already? Had she stayed with them until the end? How close behind her were Joel and Ellie?

Ellie had stuck her nose into the percolator to take a strong whiff, turning pale in a recoil at the smell. She let out a wretched noise, contorting her face in disgust as she quickly closed the lid to the coffee percolator, pulling Joel’s attention back to her.

He twists to look over his shoulder, brows shooting up as he examines her scrunched face.

“You don’t like coffee?” Joel asks the young girl, voice gravely in a gentle surprise.

“Is this that shit they used to sell at Starbucks in the QZs?” She had asked him, face still scrunched in a pained grimace.

“It was a lot fresher than this, but yeah,” Joel had responded, voice barely above a gruff grunt.

“You ever go there?” Ellie continued quizzically. “Before?”

“Not really to Starbucks, but to smaller coffee shops,” Joel answered, voice becoming softer. “My wife liked the local-”

“Your wife?” Ellie perks up, face contorting into a whole new expression of surprise. “You? Married? Dude, why haven’t you said anything?”

Her words fall upon deaf ears, Joel turning from her with a grunt.

A memory of her floats across his vision. The golden rays of the morning sun seeped through the cafe window to cast a warm glow around her. Her cheeks were pulled into a smile, full and rosy, laughing at something Joel had said. His thumb had traced the swell of her soft cheeks, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her warm and forgetless eyes shined bright, crinkled in the corners.

The thought of her made his stomach turn.

“Forget it,” he chides in Ellie’s direction. He’d let it slip, the mention of Lianne. He had wanted to bring her up earlier, when he and Tess first met Ellie and she had asked if the two of them were together, or when they first reached Bill and Frank’s. He especially wanted to talk about her when he didn’t know what the fuck to do, and knew that she would have the answer. Wanted to bring her up just to keep the memory of her fresh in his mouth. But he had kept his tongue bit, wanting to keep her separate from this journey, as much as his body and soul ached in longing for her to be beside him. She would know what to do. She would know where to go. As much as she would keep him on his toes, she would be there to keep him grounded and his mind level.

—-

Weeks had turned into months of radio silence. The group that Lianne had left with all that time ago no longer existed; people giving up the fight and dying off. And still no sound of Joel. 

Lianne had made it to that safe house in Nebraska about a week ago. In the beginning, she cleared out the town of any infected, ensuring her safety and isolation. Evening passed and morning came - that was the first day. 

She spent what was left of the few remaining candles the first night. After a night of cold darkness with no electricity, Lianne had found some more candles in an old store down the road. The main floor of the house glowed warm, dozens of candles lighting the windowsills, climbing the way up the staircase, and above the fireplace mantle. 

“Let there be light,” she had whispered to herself, a bitter chuckle escaping in harsh breath. She watched the stars that night, just like she had all those years before. And like those years before, a single satellite traced its endless orbit across the sky. And again, it was a beacon of something that was never changing in an ever changing world. And she wished for Joel. 

 Evening passed and the morning came - that was the second day. 

The walls had begun cramping around her. The boarded up windows seemed to pound at her skull. So she’d found an old hammer and began ripping the boards from the window panes, letting the white sunshine flood the first floor. 

The breeze chilled her skin as the sun soaked her bones, and she let herself lay on the wooden floor to bask in the sun. She wanted to find window panes in the old store down the road to replace the no-longer-windows, but installing them wasn’t in her skill set.

That’s a job for Joel, she had thought to herself.

Joel. 

And it hit her like a freight car, a tsunami wave crashing over her and pulling her to the bottom. Grief and guilt and pain and sorrow and frustration and guilt and grief and guilt. It ate at her, gnawed at her soul, clean through to her marrow. And she let it eat her, at first. He never left her mind, not for a moment, not for a second. She bargained with herself, any attempt to convince herself that she made the right decision. Joel was still at the QZ, safe and alive and helping Tess. 

And then she began to pray. To pray for Joel to be there, to be anywhere. To be there in Nebraska with her, or at the QZ in Boston. Just to be alive, anywhere. She prayed for the will to go back to Boston and find Joel in their apartment, to beg him for forgiveness for letting herself leave without him. To beg him for forgiveness for leaving him. 

Evening passed and morning came - that was the third day.

Curtains made from mis-matched and discarded sheets waved in the windowsills, the breeze becoming colder as the winter truly set in. A fire burned constantly under the mantle, and Lianne kept bundled in wool sweaters and a blue suede jacket. She had built a home in the safehouse in Nebraska, a home she often thought that Joel would like to share with her, if they had ever gotten the chance. She sits on the porch, cheeks red from the cold air. Her stomach is full and she is safe.

When she slept at night, she thought of him so hard she swore she could feel his arms wrapped around her, reaching for her through the wall.

And she thought of Sarah. A cavern formed in her chest daring to rip itself in pieces with the emptiness. Longing for those moments in time where the only feared bite was that of a mosquito. 

Evening passed and morning came - that was a countless day.

It was the middle of the night when one of them broke in, snarling and rotten and climbing up her with rotten teeth. A hoard had followed, swiftly overtaking the house. The curtains were pulled from the windows with ragged fingernails.

She had tipped the bottles of kerosene over in the fight, drawing the hoard to the center of the house, before making a break to dash outside. She lit the end of a rag soaked in a liquor bottle and threw it to the house. The few that followed her outside were slain in a moment, but she knew more would come. She stood still for a moment, becoming a witness and watching the fire before her. Her feet pushed her tired body through the snow, sprinting westward through the night at an unstoppable pace, her lungs burning and threatening to burst.

Evening passed and morning came - that was the last day.  

— 

It was the smell he noticed first, nose crinkling at its harshness as he and Ellie walked through the woods. There’s this smell, like rainwater, burnt grass, burning plastic and, rotting wood, rotting… something. The smoke from a burning fire had been wafted through the air and into the woods where the two of them were.

“What’s that smell?” Ellie said, nose turned up in equal disruption. “Is something on fire?”

“Yeah,” Joel responds, a brief cloud of smoke catching his eye above the treeline. It doesn’t hit him at first, a sense of nervousness slowly washing its way over him. It breeches upon him like a warm wave, begging to drag him under. The forceful movement of his legs is the only thing keeping himself from sinking into the feeling.

They break from forest, the treeline receding from them in the background, as they further themselves into a clearing that has since been overgrown with brush. Joel comes to a halt, Ellie almost bumping into his backside with her lack of attention, before she stands right outside his peripheral.

A feeling Joel hasn’t felt in many years overwhelms him. It creeps through him at first, an icy cold freezing its way through the veins of his arms. Paralyzed and eyes wide, his heart thumps heavily in his chest. His eyes scan the doubly deserted town in front of him, the town in the middle-of-nowhere Nebraska that he, Tommy, and Lianne had built a safe house in. The safe house that lingered at the edge of the town, just far enough away and just close enough. The safe house that was now a smoldering ash, the roof of it collapsed in on itself, smoke from past flames lingered in a plume. 

Joel begins to break through the brushed clearing, Ellie instinctually following him as he pushes his thick legs through the tangled vegetation. She only fell still when Joel’s pacing became incessant, his face locked in a scowl as his brows folded over his eyes, but the whites of his eyes still showed in panic. She stood there watching, helpless, as Joel’s racing mind materialized into endless, pacing circles around the crumbling house.

Charred, black bodies littered the foundation of the exposed house. Joel’s gut began to churn at his inability to tell if they had been infected or not. Or if she could be one of them.

Ellie’s incessant badgering of unrelenting questions barely registered to Joel, her words brushing over him as his ears rang. 

“Was your wife supposed to be here?” Ellie called to Joel, and he finally stood still. 

His haunched hackles pulled back as he squared his chest, lifting his head taller, as her words finally hit him. His glowered lifelessly into the distance, vision focusing on nothing as the edges of it fuzzed black, before he turned around to march back to Ellie. His shoulder brushed hers, and at his closeness Ellie could finally see the blacks of his eyes. 

“We’re done here,” he growled as he pushed past her. And she’s right on his tail again, questions picking back up from where they left off, even though she knew she’d only be answered with silence. But still, she persists.

He continues to march them westward into the dipping sun, not stopping when Ellie begs for him to let them rest for the night. He’s silent, the crunch of dried leaves and feet on hard snow drowning out Ellie’s voice to his deaf ears. 

It elicits something in Ellie, the smallest prick of fear not about Joel, but for Joel. When they’d lost Tess, Joel had remained silent until Ellie confronted him, urging him to work out his shit. But now was different; the air around him was hostile, walls never seen before barricading him from her. There was no key to unlock Joel, no way to break down that wall he unknowingly forced back up. The strongest of flames couldn’t lick away at his walls. 

With Joel pushing them as far into the night as he can, Ellie fears he might not make it back from this one. It doesn’t get him until the next day, a fearsome grip clasping around his heart and squeezing with a vice so strong it has him gasping for breaths. He’s doubled over, hand resting on a tree as he grips at his jacket in an attempt to relieve his lungs. Ellie’s panicked words are drowned out by the sudden ringing of his ears.

I’m okay, he mumbles repeatedly, trying to convince himself as he levels his breathing.

“But are you okay?” Ellie asks, her voice finally breaking through to him. “Because just a reminder that if you’re dead, I’m fucked.”

Joel only grumbles a response, something that sounds like he’s okay, that it was just the cold air all of a sudden. Ellie watches him rise from the tree, her heart pounding just as quickly as Joel’s. It created a fear in her, one that sparked as a tiny flame in her chest, and she wouldn’t let it grow further than that, not wanting it to burn the whole forest down and take the two of them with it.

— 

Joel held his brother in his arms. When Tommy was born, Joel was one of the first to hold him. The immediate sense of protecting and belonging overtook him then, holding his tiny brother in his arms. The world gave Tommy to Joel to protect and to save, and Joel will kill to succeed.

He held his brother in his arms now, again, decades later in the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming. A hug like the first, of love and disbelief, and of never knowing of the chance to do it again. Joel had found his brother, after months of on-foot travel across the country, he found his brother, and the hope that came with it glistened brightly in his eyes.

And now, Tommy was taking care of Joel. Filling his stomach with warm food, welcoming the young girl Joel traveled with with generous hospitality, and letting him relax in the protection of Jackson.

“How ‘bout a tour?” Tommy asks, finally, the question gnawing at him since his brother arrived. Tommy’s wife, Maria, had sat rigid next to him, eyes staring Joel down. The tension rose in him gradually as he watched his brother and Ellie scoop copious amounts of food into their mouths. “Somethin’ I think you’re gonna wanna see.”

Tommy and Maria led the way down the main street of Jackson, Joel and Ellie lingering a few paces behind them as they followed. Dozens of people lined the street, shop owners leaning against the entrances to their stores as they lazily waited for customers. Shouts of children down the street were cheery and free. Joel’s senses were in overdrive, vision becoming tunnel-like as he tried to focus on what Maria was saying.

“So are you, like, in charge?” Ellie speaks up as they pass what Maria told them was a church of multifaith.

“No one person’s in charge,” Maria begins to explain. “I’m on the council. Democratically elected, serving 300 people, including children. Everyone pitches in. We rotate patrols, food prep, repairs, hunting, harvesting. Everything you see in our town… the greenhouses, livestock, is all shared. Collective ownership.”

“So, uh,” Joel chirps up. “Communism.”

“Nah,” Tommy lets out with a scoff. “Nah, it ain’t like that.”

“It is that,” Maria interjects matter-of-factly. “Literally. This is a commune. We’re communists.”

Tommy hesitantly looks back at Joel, casting a dejected gaze towards the ground. Joel’s eyes glint with amusement, casting a smirk towards his grimacing brother. 

“Tommy!” A voice calls from somewhere behind them. “Wait up a second!”

Joel swears he’s made it up, the voice calling for Tommy only in his head. It’s a voice Joel would know anywhere. Even in death he would have the melodic voice memorized, praying it would be the last sound he heard. It sounded foreign at first, like a long lost memory that lingered on the tip of his tongue leaving a heavenly aftertaste. Only, he heard this voice in his dreams, kept it with him daily in fear of ever forgetting. 

Tommy was the first to turn to face the calling of his name, and Joel the second, eyes scanning the town square to see where the possible voice came from. 

A woman stands on the other side of the square, hand raised in the air in a wave. Her cheeks are rosy and full, pulled up into a smile, and her eyes twinkle in the sunshine. When she knows Tommy sees her, she turns to quickly finish a conversation with a man next to her before making her way towards them.

When her gaze shifts from Tommy to his brother, she freezes in her tracks, the small smile fading quickly as her face goes pale.

Joel’s heart thuds loudly in his ear and his tunnel vision returns, locking on her. He blinks, convinced she’s a mirage, a hallucination, an angel appearing before him. But she stays planted, and Joel feels faint. A blush creeps along the tips of his cheek, turning him crimson and his neck begins to burn.

He remembers her, all those years ago, an unknowingly frightened thing in the road, eyes glistening as her hands shook with her emptied pistol. How she had been a complete shell of any part of her that used to be.

She stands there, now, put together, and from a distance is seemingly untouched. Her cream, knitted turtleneck stands out compared to the navy canvas jacket that blends in with the darkened buildings of Jackson. Her dark hair curls around her shoulders as if she’s taken the time to put a curling iron to it, scarce strands of silver wisp their way through it.

Her breath had hitched in her throat, before becoming almost ragged as she took small, stuttered gasps. 

Their hearts stutter in their chests like two doves in two cages, screaming to be let out. The rhythm pushes against their chests, pulling at their ribs to finally move their feet forward. Joel doesn’t move until she takes her first steps, and his knees buckle under him as he finally steps towards her. His feet land heavily on the ground below, but he feels as if he’s walking on air.

Two waves crash against each other, tectonic plates shifting in the core of the earth, as the two of them finally collide. Limbs wrapping around them, hands latching into place to hold each other close. 

“The house-” Joel starts, pulling back to let his eyes desperately search hers as he holds her face in his hands.

“I know,” Lianne gasps. “The radio- You stopped-” 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Joel whispers, only to her, hands desperately brushing the hair out of her face to make sure she’s still real. “I left a message…”

“It doesn’t matter,” she smiles the smallest, most gentle smile, and oh, how his world spins. A smile not seen in years, a smile that shines bright, a smile that pulls at her cheeks and pulls the corners of her eyes into crinkles. A smile that has Joel’s eyes shining with the beginning of unfalling tears. 

He knew he had no right to touch her, crave her like air, but he did both. And when he put his mouth on hers, he recognized the taste of her, like she’d been made just for him. And he kissed her. He kissed her with all the power he could muster, making up for the months, weeks, days, minutes, seconds their lips hadn’t been touching. And finally, finally, it felt like her world was no longer burning around her. The forest fire within her subdued in his arms.

“Why didn’t you tell me about her as soon as we got here?” Joel asks Tommy, brows furrowing in mock-frustration, but the curl at the corners of his lips says otherwise.

“Figured we should get some food in ya first,” Tommy says with a slight smile. “Didn’t want the old man collapsin’ on us.”

“We can give you two some time to catch up,” Maria says, her smile friendly but her gaze still hesitant towards Joel. “Make that man get a shower. I’ll take Ellie to our place where she can freshen up, get some warm clothes.”

Joel’s focus remains solely on Lianne, he doesn’t hear Ellie’s quiet and confused protest when she calls out his name.

“You’ll be fine,” he says softly, finally turning his gaze to the young girl. She still stands there, frozen, with Maria gesturing for her to follow. “Go on, you’ll be fine.”

“Wait,” Lianne murmurs, barely above a whisper as her eyes finally connect on Ellie’s hunched figure. Lianne’s eyes gleam in interest as they gauge from the young girl and then back to Joel. She nods to Ellie as she asks, “Who’s this?”

Joel turns, almost too quickly, to look at Ellie. Her face is pale with nervousness, cheeks rosy from the chilled air. She’s looking at Joel with pleading eyes, silently begging him for some kind of reprieve as her thumb picks at her ratted glove.

“Ellie,” Joel says softly, the whisper of a smile in his voice. “Lianne… This is Ellie. Ellie…” Joel’s voice falls short, head turning as he looks back to Lianne to make sure she’s still there. “This is Lianne… my wife.”

“Oh…” Ellie murmurs, brows raising in realization. “Well, shit. You didn’t say she was-”

“Ellie-” Joel grunts at her in disapproval, but the sweetening sound of the laugh from the woman next to him has his gaze pulling to her again. Lianne gently brushes past him, a faint but warm smile radiant on her lips, and gently sticks her hand out as she reaches the young girl.

“Hi, Ellie,” Lianne says gently. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Ellie’s voice is barely above a murmur as she greets Lianne in response, eyes casting down towards where their hands meet. 

“How’d you get on Joel’s good side?” Lianne asks the young girl, a teasing lilt to her voice.

Ellie only smiles awkwardly, eyes shifting past Lianne towards Joel.

“I’ll explain,” Joel says. “Later.”

Maria approaches Ellie again, continuing to lead her away from Joel and Lianne. Joel only gives Ellie a nod, reassuring her that she’s safe with Maria. Lianne quietly leads Joel back to her house, a house that she can’t help thinking of the possibility of becoming a home with Joel.

“So,” Lianne finally says, a gleam in her eyes as she turns in Joel’s direction. “Who’s Ellie?”

Joel rubs at his hands, thinking of a response to give her. So, he tells her that Ellie’s cargo, some Firefly big-wig’s daughter he’s taking out west. He lies to her, and she knows it. It will have to do, for now.

“Surprised Tess ain’t with y’all,” Lianne responds simply. She teases him by adding, “Before I left, told her to keep you in check while I was gone.”

Joel slows his steps before finally coming to a stop. Lianne continues a few paces before turning back to check on Joel. Her smile fades when she clocks his expression. His brows are furrowed again, eyes not willing to meet hers as he casts them away to his feet. When he finally meets her gaze, his dark eyes are soft and somber, pools of regret swimming through a current to beg for forgiveness. A grip takes its place around his throat, tightening until it choked him. 

When his eyes meet hers, she knows Tess is gone. And all she can do is nod.

“How?” She asks.

“Got bit,” Joel finally pulls the words from himself. “Saved me and the kid, though.”

“Good,” Lianne responds again with a nod. “That she saved you.”

Joel nods, too.

“Bill and Frank, too,” Joel says. “Got your message ‘bout you stayin’ there, thought I’d stop by too with the kid after… Tess. See if you’d maybe be there. Bill left a letter.”

Lianne stands quietly for a moment, grinding her teeth and chewing the inside of her lip. 

“I’m sorry,” Joel offers, quietly.

“Me too,” is all she says as she nods again, before turning to lead him further down the street to her house. “Frank was in pretty bad shape when I was there.”

It’s a two-story house, like the one in Austin. Unlike the house in Nebraska, the porch doesn’t wrap all the way around the four sides of the structure. Instead, the dark fencing of the wooden porch is shortened to cover half of the front of the house, stopping where it connects with gray paneling. Another porch matches this one on the back of the house, facing a well-sized backyard and renovated garage. A white picket fence outlines the perimeter of the property, and Lianne had chuckled when she first moved in at the idea of that cherry-pie kind of life.

Lianne leads Joel in through the front door and the smallest hint of clean laundry mixed with old coffee wafts through the air to soak into Joel. It could make him breathless, the trigger of a memory of their home in Austin flashing briefly before him, only to be replaced by the dim surroundings of this unfamiliar structure. 

“Do you, uh, wanna shower or anything?” Lianne finally speaks, scratching mindlessly at a spot on her cheek. “Not sayin’ you need one or anything.”

“‘S a good idea,” he replies quietly. “I’d appreciate that.”

Lianne only nods and leads him up the staircase to the second floor. She pushes a door open on the right, and a sunlit room with a simple spread is on the other side. A bed with linen sheets and a blue patterned quilt, a pile of worn clothes tossed over a chair in the corner.

Her bed is made, only one side sloped in and the edges ruffled, while the other side lay perfectly neat and barren. A side saved for him.

“I feel like all this ain’t really mine,” she says, almost as if she’s explaining her tidiness. “Gotta keep it lookin’ nice for Maria.”

Joel chuckles softly, a whisper of a laugh, watching her sweep a hand over the quilt to soothe out a wrinkle, before she’s back in front of him. 

“So,” she starts again. “Who really is Ellie?”

“She’s immune,” the words are out of his mouth before he can even think to hold them in. His eyes widen in panic, while Lianne’s stay calm and curious.

“To what?” She asks, just a breath away from a confused chuckle.

But Joel stays silent, and her brow furrows.

“She’s immune,” she repeats his words slowly back to him.

“It was Marlene,” Joel starts, mouth moving faster than his braind. “She hired us to smuggle her to some Fireflies. I’ve seen the bite on her arm. I’ve seen her get bitten. And that was months ago. She’s immune.” 

Lianne only stares at him, his words rolling through her head like a pearl. He can see the gears turning behind her eyes, the scale of judgment of belief or disbelief. His heart pounds in his chest, that fear coming over him again in an icy grip.

“Okay,” Lianne replies. Her voice is soft, eyes warm again as she looks up at Joel. “So what’s next?”

“I don’t know,” Joel breathes, the words falling from him on a gasp. 

“Okay,” she says again.

She reaches instinctively to help Joel from his canvas jacket, fingers gently pulling the fabric from him as if the slightest move would spook him like a wounded animal. His gaze follows her movements, soft eyes never blinking her away as he continues to track her. She finally slips the sleeves off his wrists, and the broad expanse of his shoulders takes her breath away. When she finally looks up to meet his eyes, they reflect that same longing and lonesome she’s found herself in since September. The softness of his dark eyes remind her of October, of a chill that can only be subdued by the warmth of him.

She puts her hands on either side of his face, and the room falls away. Joel had always gotten lost in the kisses shared between them, but never quite like this, like a fever taking its grip. And then, the space between them explodes. His heart keeps missing beats and his hands cannot bring her close enough to him. He tastes her and realizes he’s been starving and it burns him alive.

Maybe it lasts a minute, maybe it’s an hour. Joel only knows this kiss, how soft her skin is when it brushes against his, and that even if he did not know it until now, he had been and would continue waiting for her forever.

“I should shower first,” Joel whispers as he forces himself away from her lips. His forehead remains pressed heavily against hers, just as his fingers dig into her hips. 

“I don’t care,” she whispers back, latching herself onto him once more before he can pull further away. 

His hands are back on her, cupping her face to hold her closer, breathing her in, trying to clear away the fear that she’s not real. She maneuvers them closer to the bed, Joel shoving off her blue suede jacket as her hands push and pull and search across his flannel. Her hands only leave him to pull her turtleneck off and throw it to the floor, revealing a haphazardly buttoned white blouse.

Closer to the bed, she’s pushing him gently to sit, and he obliges. In quick timing, but not quick enough for Joel, she straddles him. His hands immediately land on her waist, strong and heavy, and he pulls her closer on his lap. His hands lose themselves in her hair, entwining themselves with it to pull her into his mouth. 

She kisses him ravenously, the want of each other in the way of flesh wanting to knit itself together over a wound. 

She wondered if he had hated her, when she first left Boston. If he hated her for leaving him there alone, no family but Tess, without the only thing to keep fighting for. If he hated her for her short and shitty messages she left him, or the shitty excuse she gave when she left. She wondered if he hated her, and prayed that she’d never know the answer. 

She pulls the white button-up tauntingly slowly from her shoulders, the warm sun illuminating her exposed chest as he watches her. A stab of hunger came over him, and he found nourishment in the very sight of her. The blouse drops to the floor behind her, and her chest expands with a pull of wanton air. 

His fingers reach up, ghosting along the skin of her chest to leave goosebumps in their wake. He has to drag his eyes to meet hers, and when she sees them they’re black and hungry. His hands wrap around her waist, eyes never leaving hers, as he grips her close to him and flips her over onto her back. She’s pinned between him and the mattress like a flower pressed in a book. 

His lips are on her chest, hungry, wet kisses covering the skin there. He loved her like a rotten dog, drooling and painting and messy. Loved her like his canines were falling out of his gums; like a monster, like a beast. 

She’s wrestled him out of his clothes, the tip of his throbbing cock nudging against the inside of her thigh. He had rocked himself into her hundreds of times, thousands even. Each time different from the last, and just as good as the first. It presses into her wetness, and he holds back from sinking his teeth into her. He could let go right now, just having her underneath him again. She keens for him, hips begging to be split.

Their bones whisper to each other: Where have you been?

I’ve been lost but I’m here now. You’re the only person who has ever been able to find me.

His body is on fire, a fever taking over him as he finds himself nestled within her. The tip of him kisses the deepest part of her, over and over, and she’s panting beneath him. Her hands latch themselves in his hair, grounding herself to him as he loses himself in her.

The air is hot and sticky, suffocating in the small space between them. The airway is narrow, any breath reaching their lungs a soothing relief. 

She says his name, over and over, like it’s the only word written on the pages. Three more heavy thrusts and she’s undone, unbinding herself as she comes around him. Her hand claws into his shoulder, pushing him away and holding him close. Sharp gasps are pushed from her chest, and he breathes them into himself as he rests his cheek against her own. Her back arches, breasts pushing further into his chest. Her pussy squeezes his cock, and the haze in her eyes has him coming inside her. 

He nestles his cheek against her chest, hips coming to a slow still as he stays inside her. A lazy hand runs through his hair, the sweat-damp strands cooling to her rough fingers. They let each other rest, soaking each other in, leaving mindless kisses on each other’s skin.

He finally pushes himself off of her, taking the weight off her chest. He rolls to his side away from her and runs a hand down his face. A soft chuckle comes from her behind him, and he looks over his shoulder to see her flushed state. A smirk grows across his face, and she runs her hand down the length of his back. When her hand leaves him, she pulls her arm back to herself, a solemn look overtaking her features. 

Joel’s smirk drops, a slight frown creasing his brows.

“What?” He calls to her softly.

“I just want to forget,” she says quietly, arms crossing over her stomach.

“What do you want to forget?” he asks, voice soft as he still looks at her over his shoulder, fingers reaching out to trace the edge of her face.

Everything. She wants to forget ever leaving Joel, every moment that had passed without him near her. She only wanted to know Joel, to breathe Joel, to feel Joel.

He watches her eyes, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her swollen lips, eyes never leaving her face.

“How can you even forgive me?” She whispers, and he pulls away from her only to look in her eyes, nose bumping gently against hers, and her chin tips up achingly for the return of his lips. He drags his lips to her forehead, planting a kiss on her damp skin. 

“Because I thought about you,” Joel responds. “Every day and every night. You know there’s nothing you could do that I wouldn’t forgive you for.”

His lips return to her skin, nipping gently at the skin of her jaw. She was his darling, never to be unloved by him, too well tangled with his soul. 

And they make love again - Lianne used to say as she would tease Joel in fake mockery at his use of the term - until the room became golden and the sun hung lower in the sky, hot tears slipping from the edges of her eyes down to her ears to make their home on the pillow. Until she was able to forget.

—

Tommy had been the one to interrupt their brief bubble of paradise, his fists knocking on the front door and luring the two of them down the staircase. That’s how Joel found himself sitting in a bar, the Tipsy Bison, running his hands over the wooden counter, his girl sat at his side while his brother poured him a drink, for the first time in since who knows when. 

“Been a long time,” Joel murmurs, mostly to himself, as he continues to admire the handiwork of the bar top.

“So, what’s up with the kid?” Tommy asks, unable to hold in his curiosity.

Joel takes a sip from the glass in front of him, the bite of it burning down his throat with a wince. 

“Tryna find her family somewhere out here,” another lie. “I was headin’ in this direction anyway, so…”

“Really?” Tommy asks, brows raising in surprise. “Goodness of your heart?”

Joel stares aimlessly into his glass, and Lianne shifts in her seat next to him before swallowing her drink.

“There’s a payment,” Joel says gruffly. “So, you know where they might be? These Fireflies?”

Tommy shakes his head slightly at his older brother, the smallest hint of disbelief laced across his face. 

“Well,” Tommy starts with a sigh. “Heard they got a base down at the University of Eastern Colorado. It’s a week’s ride south. But it is severely fucked up between here and there. Infected… Raiders… It’s not exactly an easy trip.”

“It’ll be easy for us,” Joel says immediately, looking between Lianne and his brother who remains behind the bar. “Seeing as how you can headshot infected from half a mile away. Which is a bunch of bullshit, by the way.”

Tommy finally takes a slow, long sip of his drink, gulping it down harshly with gritted teeth. He slowly shakes his head.

“Yeah, I can’t go,” he says slowly, eyes peering up through his lashes at his brother, afraid of his reaction. 

“Oh, come on,” Joel persists. “I made it across the country. The three of us can make it from here to Colorado.”

Tommy only sighs, looking briefly at Lianne with eyes pleading for help.

“Hey,” Joel says harshly, getting Tommy’s attention back on her. “What, cause your wife won’t let you?”

“Joel,” Lianne’s voice calls to him from his side, a warning in her voice to cool it down.

“She the one that kept you off the radio? Is that why you stopped messaging me back?” Joel presses.

“They’re good people,” Tommy finally interjects. “Didn’t have to take me in, but they did. All they ask is that we follow their rules. They’re very protective of this place, is all. And for good fuckin’ reason.”

“No, I heard,” Joel bites. “Wrong people might show up… Is that what I am? Am I the wrong people?”

“Joel,” Lianne warns again, this time with a sigh. 

“Those things I did,” Joel can’t help the river of relentless words that spill from him. “Tommy, those things that you judge me for, I did those things to keep us alive.”

“We did those things,” Tommy agrees. “But they weren’t ‘things.’ We murdered people. And I don’t judge you for it. We survived the only way we knew how, but there were other ways. We just weren’t any good at ‘em.”

Joel rubs a hand down his face, rubbing the gruff hair that lines his jaw. When he opens his mouth to respond, Tommy interjects.

“I’m gonna be a father,” Tommy says, letting it out as if he had been holding his breath. 

And Joel freezes. He lets his head drop, letting it shake back and forth as he lets out a scoff. Tommy’s face turns red, and his jaw clicks as he squints his eyes at Joel.

“You know what?” Tommy says harshly. “Just because life stopped for you… Doesn’t mean it has to stop for me.” 

Lianne snaps her attention towards Tommy, mirroring him in a squint of disbelief. Joel only remains silent. His eyes go cold as he swallows the rest of his drink, the glass landing heavily back onto the countertop as he pushes himself up from his stool.

“We’ll grab some supplies and be outta your hair in the mornin’,” he grunts before pushing his way to the door of the bar.

Lianne stays planted, gaze remaining piercing on Tommy. His head is hung lowly in instant regret, eyes peering up to meet Lianne’s gaze. Neither of them say anything, and Lianne has to steady herself from flaring smoke from her ears. She pushes herself from her spot at the bar, making her way to follow Joel.

“Lianne,” Tommy calls after her.

“Don’t,” she stops him, boots heavy on the wooden floorboards as she continues her way outside. 

Joel isn’t far from the entrance of the bar when she finds him. He’s bent over, hand gripping the wooden post of a street light right outside the bar. Lianne’s pace quickens as she approaches him, her heart dropping to her stomach when she sees the pale state of him. He’s breathing heavily, fast and gasping breaths fogging in the Jackson sunlight.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Lianne murmurs, immediately resting her hand on his back. “Joel, what’s going on?”

Joel’s hand that’s gripping his chest latches on to her, finding the nearest part of her to bring her closer and hold himself steady. His eyes were glazed, but the tears from the stinging cold kept them sparkling in the sun. He can’t hear her ask if he’s okay, the panic slicing through her voice, his ears ringing again as they did in the woods. Her hand replaces where his was pressed on his chest as she begins to rub soothing circles, trying to get him to stand upright to better get breath in his lungs. She watches his eyes, noticing their locked on something further away, so she follows his gaze. When his breathing finally steadies, Lianne catches a glimpse of a head of dark curly hair amongst a group of people further down the way, and her breath hitches for a moment. The woman in the town center bends down, handing something to a little girl with the same hair. Lianne’s heart breaks when she turns back to Joel.

“I thought the same thing when I first got here,” she says softly, watching Joel take full breaths. “But she really doesn’t look anything like her.”

“She could’ve, though,” Joel finally says, and it breaks Lianne further.

“I’m sorry, Joel,” she whispers.

“I’m okay,” he says, trying to reassure himself. “It’s okay.”

—

Later in the night, the two of them found themselves in a tiny storefront, renovated into a shoe repair shop that was almost always empty. Joel had wanted to fix his torn boots himself, the soul of them peeling from the bottom to reveal his toes. Lianne had insisted she could trade something for a better pair for him, but he refused and refused, insisting he could fix them himself. Joel hadn’t seen Ellie all day, accidentally allowing her to get scooped up by Maria and roped in to a community movie night at the town’s center.

A swift breeze of the cold night air swept through the store as the door opened, a bell jingling as Tommy appeared through the threshold. He smiled awkwardly as he approached the couple, his shoulders tense as he kept them close to his ears and his hands in his pockets. Lianne turned to return his smile before resuming her watchful position on Joel. 

“The guys said I might find you here,” Tommy says as he continues his way over to them, steps slow with caution as he approaches his brother. 

Joel looks up to look at his brother, but quickly resumes the work on his boots.

“I shouldn’t have said what I said,” Tommy continues with a sigh. “I don’t even believe it. It’s complicated for you… And I’m sorry.”

Joel stays silent, this time giving a look to Lianne who quirks an eyebrow at him in return. 

“So you gonna let me off the hook, or what?” Tommy presses.

“This ride to the university,” Joel speaks up suddenly. “Is it a suicide mission?”

Tommy doesn’t answer right away. He looks to Lianne, his composure slightly taken aback in the shift of conversational direction.

“No…” Tommy starts slowly. “It’s dangerous, but it’s nothin’ you can’t handle. Just prepare and do what you do.”

“You’ve had people go that way and come back?” Joel asks again.

Tommy nods. “All of ‘em,” he responds, crossing his hands over his chest. “What is this?”

And Joel tells him, from the beginning. That the leader of the Fireflies hired him and Tess to smuggle her out. After Tess, it was just the two of them. And in Kansas City, Ellie had to save Joel. His face fell suddenly, paling at the memory, eyes growing glassy with tears. He froze then, words coming to a halt, just as he did that afternoon. Just as he did in Kansas City.

“I was so afraid,” he mutters. “I’m not who I was. I’m weak.”

It takes everything in Lianne to not break at the sight, to hold his sweet face in her hands and kiss away the worries. Her heart thrums loudly in her chest, drowning out the sounds of Joel’s words as he continues.

“You want me to take her,” Tommy says, face soft in understanding. 

“I’m just gonna get her killed,” Joel says, voice breaking as he forces the words from his mouth. “I know it. I have to leave her.”

Tommy and Lianne share a knowing look, the conversation having gone in a direction they are too familiar with. 

“This is your chance to bring your kid into a better world,” Joel continues, eyes pleading and voice begging. “You’re younger than me, still strong. You said it yourself, you’ll come back. You have to take her.” 

Tommy sighs, looking around the room before his eyes fall to the floor.

“Tommy, you’re the only one I trust. It’s the last thing I’ll ever ask of you, I swear.”

Tommy looks back to his brother, then to his brother’s wife. She looks equally as broken as Joel, her gaze never leaving him, with her lips turned in a hard frown.

“I’ll take her out at dawn,” Tommy replies.

Back in the house, voices are raised behind the walls, anger laced and spitting with venom. And all Lianne can do is pace her bedroom. She chews on the nail of her thumb, heart pounding as she waits for Joel to return to the room. The voices grow louder, until they’re finally silent.

A door slams, and heavy footsteps grow louder as they step down the hallway.

The door to Lianne’s room swings open, Joel’s gaze falling on her as her pacing comes to a stop. He slowly closes the door, latching it softly behind him.  

He slowly brushes past her, squeezing her hand in passing, before planting himself on the edge of the bed. His head hangs, his hands rubbing circles into his eyes as he rests them on his knees.

“Joel,” she says quietly, kneeling in front of him. Her hands rest on his knees before coming up to rub along the length of his arms.

“I have you,” Joel says suddenly, his eyes pleading to her, his voice trying to convince himself. “That’s all I need.”

“I don’t think that’s as true anymore, Joel,” she says softly, a knowing gleam in her eyes, and his gaze falls to his lap. “You need that little girl, Joel. Just as much as she needs you. You gotta see this through with her.” 

“I just got you back,” Joel replies, voice cracking under the weight of his words. “I can’t leave you again. Ain’t lettin’ you outta my sight.”

Her crumpled face mirrors his own, eyes glossy and brows furrowed, as she takes his face in her hands. The rough pad of her thumb ghosts over the dry skin of his cheek, and he can’t help but close his eyes at the feeling.

“Then I’ll come with you,” Lianne says, her words definitive. “If you’re sure that’s what you’d need, I’ll go with you.” 

He takes her hands from his face, running over the lines of her palm that etch across her skin before softly planting his lips onto her calloused palms. 

Lianne laid on her stomach, head fuzzy with sleep. Joel’s hand was splayed on her back, resting lightly above her hip. But he was ridgid next to her. The quiet of Jackson made his head buzz, the ceiling above him swirled in his vision.

She rolled her head towards him, a soft hum radiating from her as she pulled herself closer to his warm body.

“Sleep,” she mumbled, pulling him into her. “It’s safe here.”

She knew what he was feeling, a bit all too well. Like the walls would fall away and they would be back in the middle of the woods, exposed to the elements and the Infected, one twig snap away from a nearing death. 

“You can sleep,” she says. “Sleep in my arms.” 

He felt warm and familiar. He felt solid and safe. But there was something different about him after all their time apart. A man changed, a man who now had less anger in his heart. An anger that had festered for so long, entwining itself with him, that had now been replaced by something all together different. She wanted to cling to his shirt, bury her face into the warm curve of his neck, and never let go. She kissed his neck and shoulders, feeling faint from loving him so much. 

Lianne woke up while it was still dark. Joel had only stirred briefly as she left the bed, quickly falling back asleep once he heard the running water of the shower, the smell of her lingering on her pillow lulling him to sleep. 

It was the toss of her towel on her empty spot in the bed that jerked him awake, eyes snapping wide as he remained frozen. His side of the bed dipped behind his back as her fingers ran softly down his arm. He turned with a groan, reaching out to land his hand on her waist.

“Get a groove on, Miller,” she said softly, hand now brushing the hair from his face.

“‘Time is it?” He groaned again. “‘S still dark.”

“Almost dawn,” Lianne replies in the quiet of the dark. “So get up, get dressed. We’re goin’ to the stables.” 

That was half an hour ago. The golden sunrise had begun to creep over the snow-capped mountains. Joel’s breath lingered in the morning air as he contemplated Lianne’s decision.

“I just ain’t sure about this,” he says, hands still adjusting the straps of the saddle. 

“At least give her the choice,” Lianne tries to persuade. 

Only another moment of silent shuffling passes before the crunches of footfall approach the stable. Tommy and Ellie round the corner, and the young girl stops in her tracks when she sees Joel, a look of disdain weaved over her. 

“You came here to say goodbye, or something?” Ellie tosses sharp words in Joel’s direction. 

“No,” Joel says as he grinds the toe of his boot into the dirt. “We came here to steal these horses and go.”

“I would’ve given you one,” Tommy chirps with a soft shrug.

“I know,” Joel says, still keeping his eyes to the ground. “Anyway, that was thirty minutes ago, and I guess…”

His voice trails off when he finally raises his eyes to Ellie. Her glare is sharp and her jaw is set.

“You deserve a choice,” he finally says. “I still think you’d be better off with Tommy-”

His words are cut off as Ellie shoves her sleeping bag into his arms.

“Let’s go,” she says bluntly.

Joel nods slowly, a soft and assured okay leaving his lips. He helps Ellie up onto his horse, letting her take the reins as he leads them out of the stable. Lianne follows behind on a horse of her own as they head to Jackson’s main gate. 

Tommy gives the three of them directions to the interstate, a small yet knowing smile on his face as he says goodbye to his brother. 

Lianne travels quietly alongside Joel and Ellie, taking in the rambling conversations of the young girl and Joel’s short but giving answers to her. Ellie’s convinced him to teach her how to shoot the rifle Tommy gave them, and to Lianne’s unsurprised surprise, Joel has given in to the young girl.

The three of them find themselves in a small, grassy opening off the side of the road. Joel’s set up a target a few dozen yards away with some old socks stuffed with grass, the word ASSHOLE written on it for encouragement. Ellie complains and complains, saying the target’s too small, or the rifle doesn’t aim right. Joel rolls his eyes, arching his brow in discontempt at Lianne who gives him an amused smile. Joel takes the rifle from Ellie, willing to prove it’s just a skill issue. He talks her through the process, words slow and heavy as he readies himself. 

“You gonna shoot this thing or get it pregnant?” Ellie asks with a smug smirk, and Lianne can’t help but chuckle quietly from the otherside of Joel. Again, Joel raises his glance to Lianne, a look of disappointment that can’t be wiped from him as Lianne nudges him knowingly with her elbow. 

Joel readies himself behind the rifle again, and not a second later has a hole blasted through ASSHOLE. Ellie drops the binoculars she was holding in disbelief, the smug smirk once on her face completely gone and transferred to Joel.

“You dick,” she hisses slowly. 

The three continue on horseback, the sun lowering in the sky. Ellie had braved enough to ask Lianne about herself, who she was before the outbreak, how she met Joel (which Joel changed topics immediately), which Ellie followed up with asking Lianne what her role was in the Boston QZ. 

Lianne found herself happy to answer Ellie’s questions, giving as much of herself to her as she could. The feeling of making up for lost time had taken hold of her thoughts, feeling she needed to be on the same level of Joel in connection to the young girl. 

A warm yellow silhouetted the three, riding over rolling hills and dipping into shallow valleys. Lianne rode ahead of them, stopping atop a high mound of land to take in the sunset. Joel stopped next to her, crinkled eyes softening as he watched her. She sat content on her horse, warm sun dripping off her like honey. She turned to him, cheeks pulling into an equally warm smile as her cheeks rosened. Joel couldn’t help but mirror her smile, and when Ellie peeked out to Lianne from behind Joel, the young girl joined them in a toothy smile. 

Ellie could be the hope for all humanity, hope for the future of the world. But the three of them right here, in this sunset, was all the hope Lianne found she needed.

[best-jrwi-fic-quotes]

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[topguncortez]

Set Up For Failure - J. Halstead

whumptober masterlist || previous day

prompt: "I Warned You"

synopsis: Life with Jay had never been easy, and you knew that being with a police officer wasn't going to be easy. But when a newly released criminal starts repeating the same patterns that got him put behind bars, Jay starts to worry about your safety.

warnings: cursing, robbery gone wrong, attempted murder, mentions of large amounts of blood, crime scenes, pregnancy, kidnapping, mentions of a non-consensual c-section.

word count: 2.9k

Being married to a cop wasn’t easy. Being married to a detective that belonged to Hank Voight’s Intelligence department wasn’t easy either. When you first met Jay, he did everything he possibly could to shield you from the life that he lived. In fact, you didn’t even know his name was Jay until about six months into your relationship. It was by accident that you had figured out his name, who he was and what he did for work. 

At first, you were pissed, you didn’t talk to him for about two months, completely cutting him off. How could you be with someone who had lied to you so easily? Who didn’t think you were worthy or trustful enough to tell you what he did every single day? Jay had groveled, showing up at your apartment every day with a bouquet of flowers, begging for you to talk to him. You had got so annoyed that you left a note on the door telling him to take the flowers and donate them to the nursing home. But after the third month of him waiting outside your door, you finally decided to hear him out. 

“I have an explanation,” He started. You crossed your arms over your chest, “Everyone who has been close to me ends up getting hurt or worse. I couldn’t let that happen. Not to you. I have been living in this darkness for so long, and you come and. . . you brought the light back,” Jay shook his head, “I was terrified of what would happen if the light went away.” 

“No more lying,” You said, pointing at him. 

“None, I swear,” Jay said, putting his hands, “Does this mean I am forgiven?” 

“This means you are on probation.” 

Four years later, you were now Mrs. Halstead, and in your final month of pregnancy. Life with Jay had been everything you dreamed of and more. He was attentive and caring, always calling you on his way home from the station, or texting you if it was going to be a late night. He did everything he possibly could to provide for you, buying a small fixer upper house near Hank’s place. Will had accepted you as his sister-in-law almost instantly, loving to have someone on his side during petty arguments with Jay. The whole squad had basically adopted you as one of their own, even though you didn’t have a single thing to do with the police force. You had been a teacher until you got pregnant, and decided to spend the first year of your baby’s life at home. 

"There's been a series of break-ins in the Sunset Hills neighborhood, which has residents on alert. Channel 10 news is-"

The TV had clicked off from behind you, causing you to gasp and look over your shoulder at your husband. You smiled sheepishly before turning back to the pile of baby clothes that you were folding. 

“You’re home early,” You said. 

“Mhm,” Jay answered, crossing his arms over his chest, “What are you doing?” 

“Oh, you know,” You lifted up a pile of folded onesies, “Kid has more clothes than me.” Jay’s eyebrow raised, “And I was just catching up on the local happenings. . . have I told you how much I love you?”

Jay huffed, shaking his head, “I told you to quit reading into that. There’s nothing to worry about.” 

You sighed looking down at the pile of clothes, you had been caught yet again. Ever since the first break-in in the neighborhood, you had been on high alert, even though both Jay and Hank assured you that it was nothing to worry about, but you still felt uneasy every time you were in the house alone, which happened to be a lot. Hank told you that the thieves weren’t hurting anyone or going to houses where they knew people were home. The only thing they were guilty of was breaking in and stealing thousands worth in property. 

“I have the right to know what’s going on,” You crossed your arms over your chest, “I need to know what is going on in case-“ 

“Nothing is going to happen,” Jay walked over towards where you sat on the couch and kneeled down in front of you, “Nothing is going to happen to you. We have the best security system money can buy. We are blocks away from the station, uniforms are doing patrols up and down this street, hell, Hank lives right next door,” You chuckled at that. Jay’s large warm hands landed on your belly, gently rubbing over the stretched skin, “You are safe, I promise. I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” He placed a kiss on your forehead, “To both of you.” He then placed a kiss on your belly, earning him a kick in response, “Chill out in there, rambo.” 

“She gets excited when you’re around,” You smiled, “She can hear you.” 

Watching Jay become a father has been your favorite thing in life. From the moment you stood in the door of your shared bedroom, tears running down your face as you told him, you knew he was going to be the best dad ever. The next day he went out and bought as many books as he could on parenting. You had to basically force him to keep his mouth shut from telling the squad, as he wanted to shout from the rooftops he was going to be a dad. Now it was count down mode until his little girl could be in his arms. 

— — — 

“It’s going to be a late night,” Jay huffed out from the other end. You could hear the faint sound of a radio, and knew he was probably sitting in his patrol truck, Hailey next to him, waiting for some movement or clue. 

“This past week have all been late nights,” You sighed, letting the warmth of your bath water seep into your bones. In the past week, it seemed as though your baby was getting ready to make their move to come into this world. Your last appointment your doctor pointed out that your belly had started to drop a bit, which sent Jay into a full on panic. Your back had been killing you, and the only place that seemed to help ease the pain, was the clawfoot bathtub you made Jay put in the bathroom. 

“I know, baby,” Jay sighed. He hated the late nights just as much as you did, especially being so close to your due date. He knew that Natalie and Will were right down the street, and would be over in a flash if you ever needed anything, but Jay hated the fact that he couldn’t be right there. His paternity leave wasn’t set to start until after the baby was born. 

“Just tell me, you’re going to catch whatever bad guy you are after,” Although you still disliked some aspects of Jay’s job, you loved that he was part of keeping the beautiful city safe. 

“Always, baby,” Jay smiled on the other side of the receiver, “I promise I’ll be home as soon as Hank cuts us loose. Tell Rambo she can’t make her appearance tonight.” 

You rolled your eyes, “Quit calling her Rambo.” 

Jay’s smooth laugh filled the air, and you couldn’t help but smile at the sound, “I love you, Y/N. I’ll be home soon.” 

You spent probably another half hour, until the bath water had run cold and the candles burnt out before you climbed out of the bath. You grabbed a pair of Jay’s boxers and one of his Chicago PD shirts, which seemed to be all that fit you at this point, and some of the only things that felt comfortable enough to wear. You propped the pillows up behind your back as you climbed into bed. Most nights you would fall asleep in the recliner, sitting up nearly straight felt better than laying in a bed. But for some reason, you felt safer lying in your shared bed than being out in the living room. 

Sleep didn’t come easy to you. Being almost 40 weeks pregnant, moving around trying to get comfortable wasn’t something new to you. But it wasn’t the feeling of your daughter kicking your ribs that kept you awake. You couldn’t turn your mind off, every slight howl of the wind or the creek of the old house had you jumping slightly, and looking around your dark bedroom. At some point you had drifted off to a light, fitful sleep, but were awoken by the sound of smashing glass. 

You gasped, looking around the room, your hand on your pounding heart. You sat still in your bed, straining your ears to hear if maybe it was Jay. But the sound of a groan, had you climbing out of bed, going straight to the safe in the closet. You punched in the code quickly, grabbing the gun and the magazine that Jay kept in there. You had only ever loaded a gun a handful of times, and prayed that you had done it right, as you grabbed your phone, and locked the bedroom door. You dialed 9-1-1 with shaky hands as you heard footsteps and a male grumbling. 

“I’m armed and calling 9-1-1!” You yelled out, hoping to scare off whoever was in your house. The trill of the line seemed to go on forever, until you were met with the sound of a dispatcher. 

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” 

“I think someone broke into my house,” You said, trying your best to keep your voice steady, “I-I’m Detective Halstead’s wife.” 

“Alright Mrs. Halstead,” The operator said, “Can you tell me where you are at?” 

“I’m in my bedroom. I locked the door and hid in the closet.” 

“Are you armed?” 

You looked down at the black gun on the bedroom floor, tears filling your eyes, “Y-Yes. But please hurry, I think-” 

The sound of the bedroom door banging opened caused you to gasp. You clamped a hand over your mouth as the footsteps grew closer to you, and prayed to anyone listening that you were going to make it through this. 

— — — 

Jay felt like he was about ready to fall asleep. The unit had been tasked with trying to find out who was behind a series of break-ins. It wasn’t their normal gig, break-ins were unfortunately common in their district, but the last two break-ins resulted in two homicides. Hank was going to right off the two homicides, saying that they still didn’t catch the eye of the intelligence unit, but the last two crime scenes had similar patterns to a case that Jay had worked several years ago. 

“Have you guys settled on a name?” Hailey asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. 

Jay shook his head with a smile, “She’s still set on Ophelia. But I think Sammy is better.” 

“Sammy?” Hailey asked, already guessing what Jay’s answer was going to be. 

“For Sammy Sosa!” 

Hailey shook her head, “Yeah, I agree with Y/N on this one.” Jay scoffed, and the silence stretched back across the cab of the truck, “Why do you think this is a revenge thing?” 

“I don’t know if it is a revenge thing, but I have a feeling it is,” Jay sighed, “The pattern just fits. 13 plain home invasions, then two homicides. The writings in blood on the walls of the crime scene? That wasn’t public knowledge.” 

“But why would Roger Sterling wait this long? What has it been, six years?” 

Jay nodded his head. It was one of his first cases in the intelligence units, and Hank was right when he said the first one sticks with you. Jay thought he had the facts right out in front of him. Roger Sterling checked all of the boxes for the home invader turned murderer, except one. The night of the third homicide, Roger had a solid alibi that was backed by his wife. But not having an alibi for two out of three murders was good enough for the jury to convict, and sent Roger to prison for two years. That was, until the conviction was overturned on the grounds of ‘not enough solid evidence’. Roger was let go, but he held a vengeance for Jay. 

“I don’t know,” Jay ran a hand down his face, “I’m guessing he was probably stewing in his anger. He was proven innocent of all the crimes, but that still doesn’t give him a clean bill. He’s probably been angry for years and is now acting out.” 

“It just doesn’t make-” 

“All Units, All Units, we have an active call for a home invasion and the sound of gun fire.” 

Jay cursed, grabbing his radio, “This is 5021 George, what’s the address we’re in route.” 

“Address is three-twelve south Cleveland street.” 

Jay felt like his heart had stopped in his chest, as his radio fell from his hand. The only sound in his ears was the sound of his blood, roaring in his body. Everything had frozen, his hands began to shake and his vision went black. He couldn’t even hear or feel Hailey shaking him out of his trance, trying to get his attention. It was like Jay’s body moved on autopilot, as he pulled the truck out of park and sped towards his house. 

His house. 

The house his wife and child were home alone in. 

The house where there were gunshots fired. 

Jay barely put the truck in park as he arrived on scene, and didn’t even bother to shut the door as he jumped out and ran up the yellow police tape. The bright lights and sounds of sirens were making his head pound as he tried to push his way through to his house. He was brought out of his trance when he felt a hand on his chest, stopping him from approaching. Jay looked down, anger coursing through his bones. 

“Let me fucking go,” He sneered at Hank. 

“I can’t let you do that,” Hank’s gravelly voice sounded out. 

“That’s my wife!” 

“And this is a crime scene,” Hank barked back, “My crime scene.” Jay felt like he was going to throw up, as his knees gave out. Hank quickly wrapped an arm around him, helping him down to the curb. 

“Is she-” 

“She’s alive,” Hank responded, “But barely. They took her straight to Med, I called ahead and told Will to meet her there.” 

Jay felt like he could breathe a little bit better, knowing that his baby brother was going to be in charge of his wife’s care. It was as if Jay’s mind went blank, a factory reset as he looked at the members of his unit jump right into working the scene. 

“I need to see it,” Jay said, his voice lacking any emotion. Hailey, who stood behind him, gave Hank a look, but the older man knew Jay well enough. 

“C’mon,” Hank turned and walked towards the house, Jay hot on his heels. The two of them pushed through the yellow police tape, and Jay felt his heart tick again. 

The perfect house that Y/N had spent so much time on, was destroyed. Pieces of glass from the windows littered the floor, pictures on the wall had been skewed, bloody footprints left on the hardwood floors that took Jay way too long to fix up. 

Jay clenched his jaw, “Where was she?” 

“Perp came in through the back,” Adam explained, pointing to the open back door, “Looted around down here for a little bit, from what we can tell, nothing was taken.” Jay couldn’t even focus on seeing if anything was missing, he was more concerned on how Y/N ended up the victim. “Then he went upstairs,” Adam nodded his head towards the bloody footprints. 

Hank then led him up the stairs, where more uniforms stood around taking pictures, and putting numbered yellow place cards on the blood splatters. Normally, the coppery scent of blood didn’t bother Jay, but this had him feeling sick as he approached his bedroom. 

“The 9-1-1 call was dialed from in here,” Hank said, “Her phone was found in the closet along with a nine mil.” Jay felt some sense of pride that Y/N knew to get the gun from the safe. He could remember the day he had first brought it home and how much she had protested having a weapon in the house. But Jay promised it would be the only weapon they had and it was going to be under lock and key at all times. 

“Did she fire it?” Jay asked, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Hank nodded, “Bullet embedded in the wall.” 

“She missed,” Jay shook his head, his blue eyes looking down at the huge blood spot on the bedroom floor. “Is th-that her. . .” Hank nodded his head again. Jay let out a shuddering breath as he sat on the edge of the bed. It was as if time had finally stopped, and Jay came to a sickening realization about the blood on the floor, “The baby. . .” His eyes widened as he looked at Hank, who had a grime expression on his face, “Where is my baby?” 

Hank looked at Adam, who stood in the doorway, “We have an amber alert-” 

Jay stood up from the bed immediately, but Hank put a hand on his chest, “Get your fucking hand off of me.” 

“We found this next to her,” Hank handed Jay a note. 

Jay took the yellow piece of notebook paper, which was folded in half and a polaroid picture was in the middle. The picture was of Y/N, and it looked to be taken not that long ago, her round pregnant belly protruding out as she stood in front of the large bay window of the living room. Written in what Jay prayed was red ink were the words: 

“I warned you.”

[halsteadlover]

𝐀𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐎𝐧𝐞

*Pics not mine credits to the owner*

• Pairing: Jay Halstead x Fem!Reader.

• Requested by @hart-kinsella: Basically, the fan fic could be set at one of Jay's Intelligence colleagues' wedding and mc is one of the bride's closest friends; the bride wants to set her up with one hot cop (could also be one who works on patrol). It could either be that the 'chosen' guy is not Jay, but then mc and Jay naturally connect at the reception (maybe through her wanting to avoid the guy she's set up with) or Jay being the 'set up' guy from minute 1 and them just meeting there (with the usual embaressement that comes from friends insisting you should get together) and hitting it off immediately.

• Warnings: curse words/strong language, mention of alcohol consumption, lots of tension and physical contact, heavy making out, suggestive at the end.

• Word count: 8.8k

• A/N: PLEASE READ ONLY IF YOU’RE 18+ DUE TO SUGGESTIVE THEMES. The way I was so excited about this fic but I reread it and now I hate it why am I like this 😭 Let me know in the comments what do you think about this one, I love you all ❤️

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” you said to Kim as you watched her sip the champagne from her glass, her huge ring shining against the lights of the room.

She was radiant, a smile plastered on her lips as wide as you had ever seen her in all the time you were friends. She was happy and your heart exploded with joy seeing her finally have her happy ending with Adam, especially after everything they’ve been through.

She looked beautiful in her white wedding dress and you couldn’t hide the tears of happiness you shed when you saw her walk down the aisle, a radiant smile on her lips. Adam looked at her with eyes so bright and full of love it made you wonder if there’d ever be someone who’d look at you like that, as if you were the only person who mattered, as if without you he couldn’t even breathe.

“Of course it’s a good idea! There’s nothing better than a blind date with a hot cop,” she finished sipping her champagne and set it down on the tray as a waiter walked by, thanking him immediately after. “You don’t trust me? Have I ever let you down on the men front?”

You didn’t respond, just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Okay there might’ve been some unfortunate meetings but this won’t be the case. Please, please, please. I swear he’s a really cute and good guy!” She begged, putting on her cute puppy face that not even the devil could resist.

Little bitch.

You sighed and rolled your eyes and that was enough to make her clap her hands with joy. “Only because it’s your day.”

“You won’t regret it, I promise.”

The fact was you were already regretting it.

You had never been very good at blind dates, you hated not knowing who you were going to talk to and spend the evening with, you wanted to be able to decide first if you liked that person. What if you didn’t like him, or if he didn’t like you? It would’ve been very awkward.

Actually, it was. It was definitely awkward.

Kim had pointed out from afar a man who was talking to Adam—ignoring how the latter was watching Kim without ever taking his eyes off her even while talking to other people—and you took your time to observe him.

He was a tall man, from behind you noticed his ash blonde hair and a statuesque body that was embraced by a tuxedo. Without even saying anything, Kim grabbed your hand and dragged you towards them, ignoring your signs of protest.

You were so nervous and you hated it.

And it certainly didn’t help that Kim had made it her mission to pair you up with someone, since you were the only single girl in your group of friends.

But you were happy, you weren’t lonely, you were fine being alone and that was important, you didn’t need a man by your side to determine your happiness. You defined your own happiness.

“Hi babe,” Kim greeted her husband, who smiled before sliding his arm around her hips and kissing her. The two of them were so in love it was almost disgusting. “Sorry I was rude. Caleb, I wanted you to meet my friend.”

Your cheeks flushed red as you felt the man’s gaze on you. “Oh so you’re the famous Y/n right? I’ve heard so much about you.”

God please have mercy.

“I hope only good things,” you replied with a smile and offered him your hand, which he immediately shook. The way his eyes moved up and down your body made your skin crawl, and the smirk he had plastered across his lips as he looked at you didn’t suggest anything good.

You pulled your hand away, forcing a smile as he started to speak, and cursed both Kim and Adam when you saw them sneak away, both giggling as they left you alone with that guy.

As they say, a woman’s sixth sense is like a gift, it never fails.

And it didn’t even take half an hour of talking to Caleb to realize he was self-centered and you’d never see him again. He talked your ear off as if you’d known each other your whole life, focusing mostly on him, his work, the gym, his exploits. You nodded every now and then, just to give him the impression you were listening when in reality your mind had dissociated after the first ten minutes of conversation.

And by conversation you obviously meant monologue.

He didn’t ask you anything, and by nothing you really meant nothing, not how old you were, your job, your hobbies, in short the simple questions one asks when one is getting to know another.

You looked around bored, cursing Kim and yourself with every fiber of your being for letting yourself being dragged—for the million time— in a situation you didn’t want to be in.

You decided you’d never take a single piece of her advice about men ever again.

“Once, when I was still on patrol, there was a robbery a few blocks away. I was alone and when I got there the thief was already running. I’ll make this short but even the commander congratulated me…”

You were trying really hard to listen to him but every time you tried to pay attention, he was still talking about himself. It was hard to follow his conversation/monologue without being fascinated by some random spot in the room like the chandelier.

Caleb was a beautiful man, that was objective. He was tall, broad-shouldered, he had a sculpted physique, defined jaw, eyes as blue as the sky. But beauty wasn’t everything, not when his character was similar to a mollusk.

“Hey baby, here you are, I’ve been looking for you for a while,” a male voice reached your ears from behind and you almost had a heart attack when you felt an arm wrap around your shoulders. You snapped your head towards the man, finding yourself in front of one of the most beautiful man you’d ever see.

Forget Caleb, who the hell was this man?

You froze, having no idea what to say or do. Who the hell was he? What did he want?

“Sorry it took so long but the line for the bathroom was endless,” the stranger continued and you tried with every fiber of your being to remain impassive. Your body was tense as a violin string as you tried to subtly move away from his grasp.

Breathtaking or not, you didn’t know him.

“Baby? You have a boyfriend? Kim told me you were single,” Caleb exclaimed almost indignantly, alternating his gaze between you and the stranger. You thanked God he was a second-rate cop and had the detective skills of a hamster or he would’ve seen from a mile away this was the first time you’d seen that man around you.

“Oh, well this is pretty new not many people know about us, but we’ve been seeing each other for a while. Thanks for keeping my girlfriend company—”

“Caleb.”

“Carl. Thanks,” the stranger held out a hand and Caleb looked at it before looking back at you and walking away without a word, a furious expression on his face.

You didn’t even bother following him because damn, you were so relieved you got him out of the way.

The stranger’s gaze was on you even though he had removed his arm from around you.

“Well, I guess you need to work on your acting skills but it went well right?”

You widened your eyes, still confused about what the hell was going on. “Who are you?”

“Oh you’re welcome, I didn’t just save you from the most boring date of your life,” he smirked.

You continued to look at him, confused, embarrassed and unable to form a coherent sentence. Who the hell was this man? And why was he so breathtakingly handsome? And why did he just pretend to be your boyfriend?

He held out a hand towards you, a smirk plastered across his lips, acting like he hadn’t just pretended to be in a relationship with a stranger. “I’m Jay Halstead. You must be Y/n right? It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Jay? Why does this sound familiar?

You widened your eyes, not even trying to hide your expression of fear and shock. “How do you know my name?” You asked, taking a step back, ready to run away.

His gaze softened, understanding he must’ve really looked like a stalker. “Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you, I work with Kim in Intelligence. She mentioned you a couple of times and I assumed it was you since you’re the only one of her friends I’ve never met.”

Then you realized why his name was familiar to you. Kim—when talking about her job—had sometimes mentioned a ‘Jay’ and it was nice to finally be able to associate the face with that name, especially if the face was that one.

God he’s so hot.

“Listen,” he continued, raising his hands in surrender, a drink in the left one, “I’m not a stalker I swear—I came off in the wrong way. I just saw you from afar while you were talking to Carl, and you seemed to be in trouble so I thought I’d help. Let’s start over, shall we?”

You tried not to chuckle at the way he got Caleb’s name wrong and stared at him for a moment. He maintained eye contact, his irises locked on yours with no sign of changing direction. You had only just noticed how green his eyes were and you didn’t know why, but something inside you made you no longer want to run away.

You nodded and he smiled triumphantly and, God, he had one of the most beautiful smiles you had ever seen. He held out a hand to you again. “I’m Jay, nice to meet you.”

You tried to suppress a smile of your own and you clasped his hand. “It’s Y/n, the pleasure is mine.”

That handshake sent a spark up your entire arm, not in the cliché kind of way, but in the way that made you feel your body suddenly enveloped in a wave of heat.

He didn’t let go of your hand right away, but you didn’t care. You liked it, you liked the way his grip was strong, firm, confident, but his touch soft at the same time. You liked how his palm felt rough against yours but his skin was warm, a stark contrast to yours.

His thumb skimmed against the back of your hand before he pulled it away, bringing the glass to his lips with his other hand and taking a sip of his drink. All without him ever breaking eye contact with you.

This single innocent gesture left you breathless.

Did I mention he’s so damn hot and sexy?

He looked at you with curiosity, as if he had already decided that from now on his attention would be solely on you.

“This is the part where I have to thank you for saving me from an embarrassing date, isn’t it?”

His eyes flickered for a second on your lips as you spoke and he subtly took a deep breath, taking another sip of his drink. You pretended it didn’t affect you in the slightest even though your stomach had just flipped.

“You not filing a complaint against me is a great thank you,” Jay replied making you laugh, “and besides, I should be the one thanking Kim.”

You tilted your head slightly to the side, looking at him with a questioning expression. “Kim? Why?”

“For setting you up with the wrong guy, might’ve missed my shot otherwise.”

You burst out laughing again and rolled your eyes. “C’mon Jay, is that the best you can do?”

“Ouch,” he put his hand to his chest as if he was in pain. “That really hurt, I may be rusty but I’m not that bad c’mon.”

You smirked. “You’ll survive officer.”

“Nuh, uh. It’s detective, please.”

“My bad, I apologize Detective,” it was your turn to raise your hands in surrender. “But seriously, thank you for saving me from whatever that was.”

He smiled softly at you. “It was a pleasure. You were a couple seconds away from pulling the fire alarm to escape, I couldn’t just stay there and do nothing.”

“Oh, so you make a habit of being a knight and saving damsels in distress?”

“Nah, only the ones that are worth saving,” he replied, and you laughed, feeling that anxious and nervous feeling fade away as you continued to converse—for real this time—with Jay.

“I could’ve gotten away with it, you know,” you crossed your arms and Jay’s eyes flickered, for a millisecond, to your chest, specifically the neckline of your dress.

“Please,” he raised an eyebrow, “if he had kept talking any longer you would’ve ripped your hair out.”

“Stop you’re so dramatic, that’s not true at all,” you rolled your eyes—even though it was the truest thing you had ever heard—making him chuckle. “What’s your poison?” You nodded to his drink as he brought it to his lips and took a sip.

A teasing smile caressed his lips and then it was your turn flicking your gaze to his mouth. You had tried to resist but damn it was so hard. “Bourbon, neat. Effective right?”

You raised an eyebrow, mirroring his playful energy. “Is efficient a new fancy way of saying banal and predictable?”

He let out a soft laugh, the sound so low and warm it made your insides squirm. “Probably,” he countered, “but it’s still a classic.” He slightly tilted his head to the side as his green eyes roamed along your body, lingering for a moment on your dress before meeting your gaze again. You felt every inch of your skin catch fire under his eyes and you couldn’t help but compare Jay’s gaze to Caleb’s, which only made your skin crawl instead. “But it’s not for you. I think you’re more of a champagne kind of woman.”

At that same moment, by pure coincidence, a waiter carrying a tray of champagne glasses passed not far from you. Jay stopped him and took it, before offering it to you. You blushed, before taking it, your fingers brushing against him. “Thank you.”

You lifted your glass towards him, a quiet smile playing on your lips. “To Kim and Adam,” you said.

“To Kim and Adam,” he repeated voice low and smooth. He raised his glass to meet you, the soft clink echoing between you. For a moment, neither of you spoke—his eyes holding yours with an intensity that made your breath catch. It was just a toast, simple and harmless, but the way he was looking at you? Nothing about it felt simple.

“So, you’re a champagne type of woman,” he smirked.

“Guilty,” you shrugged your shoulders. “But what can I say? I like little sparkle in my life.”

You took another sip of champagne and that time it was your gaze that roamed along his body, perfectly wrapped in the tux he was wearing—over the broad lines of his shoulders, the way his dress shirt stretched just right across his chest.

Man, he looked so good it had to be illegal.

When your eyes returned to his you noticed the way he clenched his jaw and the slightest twitch of his lips as he looked at you, as if he knew exactly what you were doing but didn’t mind a bit.

His fingers flexed around his glass and a sexy smirk appeared on his lips, his eyes shining like the moon in the night. He slightly tilted his head to the side, his index finger brushing along the rim of his glass in a slow, absent-minded motion—like he was thinking about something he probably shouldn’t say out loud. “A little spark huh? And here I thought I was bringing the spark.”

You giggled. Yep, actually giggled. “Oh yeah? So that’s what you’re doing?”

“If you’re asking me then I’m not doing a good job,” he retorted, with a fake sad expression acting like he just wiped a tear, “you’re hurting me so much tonight.”

“Oh, you poor thing, I’d hate to bruise that big ego of yours.” You placed a hand on his bicep and caressed it in mock comfort and, fuck, you had to use every fiber of your body to not squeeze and feel up his muscles.

He tensed under your touch, his breath hitching in his throat feeling of your hand on him.

His lips curved into a slow, lazy smile—the kind that sent a shiver down your spine. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he drew, his voice dropping just a notch lower. “I can take a hit. Besides…” His gaze swept over you again, slower this time—unapologetic. “Something tells me it’s worth it.”

You bit the inside of your cheek to stop the smile threatening to break free, but to no avail. He was too good at this—too smooth, too charming, but damn if it wasn’t working.

“Careful Detective Halstead someone might think you’re flirting with me,” you smirked, taking another sip of your champagne.

He shortened the distance between you, subtly and not too noticeably, but you felt his presence, his scent enveloping you fully, more than it had done so far. “Luckily I don’t care about anyone but the person I’m talking to right now,” he replied, “and they’d be right because that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

The air between you grew heavier—not uncomfortable but charged with something unspoken. For a moment, neither of you spoke, the noise of the wedding reception fading into a distant hum. You should’ve looked away, said something to break the tension, but you didn’t want to.

You’ve never felt anything like this, being so damn attracted to a man you were dying to kiss him, to touch him.

“So confident,” you murmured. You tried to keep your eyes on his, but you couldn’t, not when his mouth was not too far from yours. “And here I thought you were just being nice.”

He chuckled, his voice low and deep. “Trust me sweetheart, there’s nothing nice about what I’m thinking right now.”

You took another sip, hoping to steady the warmth curling low in your stomach. Why were your legs suddenly turning to jelly?

“So…” you started, arching a brow in an attempt to shift the focus back on him, “do you flirt like this with every girl you save, or am I just special?”

Jay’s smile widened and he took a slow sip of his bourbon before answering. “You tell me,” he said, his voice smooth as silk. “Do you feel special?”

Damn him.

You laughed softly, shaking your head and taking a deep breath at the same time. “You’re trouble, Halstead.”

He didn’t deny it. “And yet, you’re still talking to me,” he pointed out, eyes gleaming with mischief. “What does that say about you?”

“That I make questionable decisions?”

Jay let out another quiet laugh, but this one felt different—lower, warmer. “Or maybe,” he murmured, leaning in a bit towards you, “you’re exactly where you want to be.”

And the truth? You weren’t sure you could argue with that because he was right, you were where you wanted to be.

You finished the rest of your glass in a single sip because there were two possibilities, this or jump on him and you couldn’t already do that considering you had just met him.

He was throwing you off so much it left you speechless and it wasn’t like you. You didn’t know if you loved it or hated it.

He chuckled as he continued to look at you, as if he had just read your mind.

Your guardian angel, Kim—who you’d thank for the rest of your life from that moment on—appeared at that exact moment, interrupting the game of glances between you and Jay that was becoming too intense for your own good.

“Jay! Y/n? Where’s Caleb?” She asked, visibly excited and smiling.

“I have no idea, courtesy of my fake boyfriend here,” you nodded at Jay who chuckled sexily.

How could laughter be so sexy?

“We need to talk about your questionable taste in men Kim, what kind of rat did you want her to be paired with?” He joked one hand shoved into his pants pocket while the other held his almost empty glass.

“Hey, don’t talk to my wife like that, I’d say she made a good choice in men,” Adam suddenly intervened, wrapping his arm around Kim’s hips and pressing a kiss to her temple. The sight warmed your heart, making you smile like an idiot.

“So, you��ve already introduced yourselves,” Kim continued, alternating her gaze between you and Jay but with a sinister smirk on her lips.

You and Jay exchanged a quick knowing look. “Yeah, he saved me from the mess that was Caleb. And by the way, I’m never listening to you ever again Kim, don’t do that to me again.”

“You two look so good together,” Kim blurted out and giggled, visibly tipsy. “Don’t you think they look hot together honey?”

“Okay that’s enough, let’s get back to dancing,” Adam chimed in again, struggling to contain his laughter, before dragging his wife away.

Before she left though Kim came back to you and whispered, “I was watching you two from afar there’s so much sexual tension between you two that even I got turned on.”

Your cheeks turned on fire but before you could respond Adam finally dragged her away, leaving you alone with Jay again.

He let out a light laugh, and you turned your head towards him. “Do I want to ask you what she said?”

You shook your head, taking another sip of champagne as you still heard her words echoing in your head. “Nope.”

He looked at you for a moment, his eyebrow raised. “Kim really does have questionable matching skills, I take it this isn’t the first time with Carl,” he said, changing the subject.

“You have no idea,” you rolled your eyes, “my brain can’t comprehend how she managed to match me with these men and not one of them was normal.”

“Well, have you thought that maybe they weren’t the problem?”

You gasped in fake shock and elbowed him in the side, and he pretended to be in excruciating pain, making you laugh at the show he was putting on. “I could arrest you for assault on a police officer you know that right? You’d look really pretty in a prison uniform.”

“You think I’ll look cute in handcuffs too?”

What the fuck?! Where the hell did that come from?

Jay, who was taking his last sip of bourbon, chocked on it and started coughing after the liquor went down the wrong way and, although you were embarrassed by the stupidity of that statement, the scene was pretty hilarious.

“You good? Should I call a doctor? What happened?” You teased him, trying to hold back your laughter but failing miserably.

“You know damn well what happened,” he retorted with mock annoyance even as the smile on his lips belatedly came. “And pretty wouldn’t even come close to how good you’d look in handcuffs if you really wanted an answer, but that’s something we’ll talk about later.”

You blushed, once again, from head to toe and hated yourself for this reaction and how easily he could see it. “Later? Who says there’s gonna be a ‘later’?”

He smirked down at you, and it was so sexy it made your head spin. “Trust me there will be.”

“You’re so cocky detective.”

Jay leaned in just a fraction, enough that the faint scent of his cologne wrapped around you—something warm and woodsy, with a hint of spice. “Only when I’m sure about something,” he said, his voice softer now, but no less intense.

His words hung in the air, thick and heavy, and you felt heat creep up the back of your neck. You could've played it cool, thrown back a quip, but the way he was looking at you made your pulse skip in a way that was impossible to ignore.

His gaze dropped to your lips again—just for a second—but it was enough to send a fresh wave of heat curling through your body.

“C’mon,” he said suddenly, holding out a hand towards you. “You owe me a dance.”

You lifted a brow. “Do I?”

Jay shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Well, I did save you from Carl. Seems only fair.”

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t fight the smile that broke free as you slipped your hand into his. “Alright, Detective,” you quipped, “but only because you asked so nicely.”

His fingers curled around yours—firm, warm, just the right amount of possessive. And as he led you toward the dance floor, you realized something else: you didn’t want to let go.

The music shifted as you reached the edge of the dance floor—something slower, smoother, the kind of song that practically begged for two people to be just a little too close.

Exactly what you wanted.

Jay didn’t hesitate. His hand slid easily to your waist, fingers splayed warm and wide on the small of your back as he pulled you against him, close enough to send all your senses into a tizzy.

It had been hard until now, but this? Being so close to him that you could even count his eyelashes? It was devastating.

You couldn’t even recognize yourself, you’d never found yourself craving a man’s touch so badly, like you needed it to breathe, and in that moment you realized you’d only met the wrong people because, fuck, you were missing out.

“You good with this?” he murmured in your ear, his voice just for you. Low. Intimate. And there was something in the way he asked—like he cared, but also like he already knew your answer.

You nodded, hoping he didn’t feel the way your heart was beating against his chest. Your bodies began to sway in time to the slow music, like you’d done it a million times, like he wasn’t a stranger to you and you a stranger to him.

You didn’t know anything about the man, and he didn’t know anything about you, but you were so drawn to each other it almost drove you crazy.

As you engaged in small talk, you tried not to focus on how close he was—on how his thumb brushed against your back every time he shifted—but it was impossible. Especially when every slight movement seemed to make the space between you shrink.

He asked about you, what do you do for a job or in your free time, how old were you, how long have you known Kim, you asked about him and his life, and it was crazy how, even though you had known each other for literally a short time, you both felt comfortable talking to each other, joking and laughing when you both made terrible jokes.

“You’re really giving me a hard time,” he said, his fingers flexing on your hip.

You turned your head to meet his gaze, realizing how he was already looking at you. There wasn’t any trace of humor left, his eyes were staring at you, but they weren’t focused on yours exactly, they traveled along your face as if he was analyzing you, memorizing every feature and detail.

“Why?” You asked and his eyes flickered on your lips. He continued to caress your hip unconsciously, your bodies pressed against each other and with every slight movement you could feel the heat between you intensifying.

“Because I’m trying so hard to behave and be a gentleman but it’s getting really hard,” he answered softly, his voice raspy, his breath an inch from your lips. “And I hate not being in control.”

You stopped breathing for a second and a shiver ran down your spine. It would’ve been so easy to break that distance, it would’ve only taken a couple of inches and his mouth would’ve been on yours to finally satisfy that visceral attraction that was pulling you towards each other.

And you most likely would’ve let him do it if it hadn’t been for Kim who, with her usual perfect timing, had grabbed your arm, totally drunk and with a beaming smile.

“C’mon Y/n, we have to dance together!” she exclaimed loudly, jumping up and down with an enthusiasm you had never seen in her as she continued to pull on your arm without even leaving you room to protest.

Jay’s arm was still around your hip, though his grip wasn’t as firm as it had been before, and you hated to admit it, but you already missed that touch.

It seemed mutual because you felt him tense for a moment, his fingers reluctant to release their grip on you, as if he also hated the idea of letting you go. But eventually he did, slowly, the heat of his hand still burning through your dress and against your skin even after you’d pulled away.

“Don’t go too far,” he whispered in your ear, quiet enough to make it seem like a secret between the two of you.

And as Kim dragged you through the crowd to the beat of a more upbeat song, you turned to him and gave him one last look. Jay was still there, standing at the edge of the dance floor, his hands stuffed in his pockets, that intense gaze still fixed on you. He winked at you before you disappeared into the crowd and you almost tripped on your own feet.

Oh my fucking god.

Jay leaned against a wall, his hands still in his pockets, one foot placed in front of the other. In other moments he wouldn’t have waited to take another drink, but that night he wanted to be as sober as possible.

His gaze was fixed on the crowd of people dancing on the dance floor, but not on everyone, his eyes scanned the people only for one person in particular. He cursed those disco strobe lights because, in those dim lights, it was not easy to find you.

But when he finally did, his attention was focused only and solely on you, not on the music, not on the world around him.

You were laughing now, spinning with Kim on the dance floor, some strands of your hair coming out of your hairstyle as you moved to the music. He should’ve backed away. Hell, he’d spent years perfecting that skill, knowing when to pull back, where to avoid getting too close, perceive when there was danger. But with you? It wasn’t that easy.

It hadn’t been from the second he laid eyes on you, when he saw you enter the wedding venue with some of your friends.

He didn’t know what kind of witchcraft you had performed on him but he seemed to not be able to stop looking at you. His gaze tracked the curve of your smile and the movement of your lips as you sang along the song, the flush on your skin from the warmth of the room, and the way your dress hugged your figure just enough to make his thoughts stray somewhere they shouldn’t.

He told himself to get it together—to stop looking at you like a creepy stalker—but it was a losing battle, he seemed hypnotized.

And when you tipped your head back, laughing at something Kim said, Jay swore under his breath.

He was in trouble.

Because the truth was, it wasn’t just the way you looked—although you were one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen—it was the way you felt. Warm and soft against him when you danced, your hand fitting so easily in his. The way you leaned into his touch, like part of you wanted him closer, even when you were pretending otherwise.

It almost scared him how he found himself talking, laughing and joking so easily with a stranger he had just met.

But he wanted more of that. More of you.

And that realization hit him harder than it should’ve.

Jay exhaled slowly, willing the tension in his chest to ease. It didn’t work. Not when you turned your head as you kept dancing, scanning the room as if you were searching for something, or someone.

And when your eyes locked, his heart gave a sharp kick, one he didn’t truly expect. And the way you held his gaze? It did something to him.

Your lips curled into the faintest smile—small, almost shy—and damn if it didn’t make something twist low in his stomach. He should’ve been the one in control here, but with just one look, you had him pinned. And the worst part was that he didn’t mind.

Not even a little.

Your attention was caught again by one of your friends who pulled you towards her as you belted out the song in the background, breaking eye contact.

He tried to look away from you sometimes, focusing his attention on something else but it was as if his eyes were attracted to a magnet, you.

And maybe that was the problem.

He wasn’t supposed to feel this, wasn’t supposed to want someone he’d just met with this kind of heat and desire curling through his veins. But here he was, eyes on you, mind already running a dangerous path of wondering how you’d taste if he let himself get too close.

He was about to move—to do something, anything—but then Kim grabbed your hand again, spinning you around in a dizzy circle. Your laughter rang out, bright and carefree, while Jay just stood there against that wall.

He didn’t belong in this moment. Not really. A guy like him—weighted down by too much baggage, too many mistakes, a very dangerous job—had no business wanting you like this.

But God help him, he did.

When the song shifted to something louder and faster, you finally pulled back from Kim, breathless and glowing in a way that had no right to make his pulse pick up. Kim was already dragging Adam away, leaving you alone again, and for half a second, Jay thought this was his shot.

But then, just as quickly, you disappeared into the crowd.

And that shouldn’t have bothered him, but it did. More than it had any right to.

Jay exhaled, dragging a hand through his face. He told himself to play it cool, to just let it go, but the thing was, he didn’t want to let it go. Let you go.

And if he had anything to say about it, this night wasn’t ending until he found you again.

Jay pushed himself off the wall, his pulse thudding a little harder than he wanted to admit.

He wasn’t the type to chase after someone, not like this. But that night, he couldn’t seem to help himself. His eyes scanned the room, but the crowd was thicker now, people swaying to the music, bodies pressed too close.

You weren’t on the dance floor anymore. He knew that much. And the longer it took to find you, the harder it became to shake the restless feeling gnawing at the edges of his control.

Get a grip, Halstead.

He could’ve leave you alone. Should’ve, probably. But as he moved through the party he knew nothing would sit right until he saw you again.

And then, just when he started to think he’d lost you for good, he caught a sight of you through the open door leading to the balcony.

Jay hesitated, his hand curling into a fist at his side. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing, all he knew was that the moment he saw you again, his mind quieted. And maybe that was reason enough.

Without giving himself time to second-guess, he stepped outside.

You were leaning against the railing, your back to him, the cool night air brushing against your bare shoulders. He let himself take in the sight of you for just a second longer—how the city lights reflected off your skin, how you tilted your head back like you were finally catching your breath.

You were breathtaking. So fucking beautiful it hurt.

“Wasn’t sure if I’d get another chance to steal you away.”

You turned your head at the sound of his voice, and there it was again, that little smile. “Something tells me you love a good challenge Detective.”

He huffed a quiet laugh, nodding. “I feel like the reward will be worthy.”

He moved closer to you as he took off his jacket and placed it on your shoulders, leaving his hands there for a while as he let your scent engulf him. You then turned fully to face him and Jay didn’t miss the way your eyes roamed along his body, focusing for a moment on his chest, his arms, before looking back into his eyes.

“Oh so you really like me,” you joked, eyes still on him, slightly tilting your head but he couldn’t ignore the blush on your cheeks.

“Thought I made that pretty clear by now.”

And just like that, the tension stretched tight again, thicker this time but with the difference that nothing and no one would interrupt this time.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. The distant thump of music spilled through the open door, but out here? It felt like the rest of the world had faded away.

He closed the distance between you, never taking his eyes off yours. He tried to pull away, but it was as if he physically couldn’t, as if he needed it.

“And here I thought you’d even left the party.”

“You’re hurting me so much tonight, I’m not that bad at hitting on you c’mon.”

You giggled and bit your bottom lip. He found himself suppressing a groan because, damn, he had never wanted anything so badly as he wanted to bite your lip.

“Well,” you batted your lashes, “you’re definitely making it hard for me to leave now,” your eyes flicked to his lips before returning to his and he told himself to calm down but, God help him, if you did that again he’d lose every ounce of control he had left.

“I guess you found a good reason to stay then,” his tongue flicked across his bottom lip and he couldn’t miss the way your gaze landed on his lips, again. The light was dim, not very bright, but he could see so clearly how dilated your pupils were and it drove him crazy, knowing you felt the same.

“Is that so?” You murmured. He leaned closer to you and placed his hands on the railing at either side of you, trapping you in his arms but not touching you. Your breathing quickened at the closeness, your lips parted slightly as if you needed air, and that was enough to make his pulse quicken and the heat in his blood spike.

“You’re here, aren’t you?” he taunted

You let out a quiet laugh, warm and soft, and something about the sound made his fingers itch to touch you again, so much so that he tightened his fingers around the cold metal of the railing.

You took his tie—which had been dangling between you—into your hands, and Jay seriously thought he was going to collapse at your feet at any moment. You hadn’t done anything too dramatic, but he felt like he was going to have an aneurysm. Just seeing your fingers caress the fabric of your tie, how you played with it while you continued to look at him, drove him crazy.

“I’m exactly where I want to be,” you repeated under your breath the words he had said a few hours earlier. His hands were gripping the railing so tightly his knuckles were completely white from trying to vent the frustration he felt.

His fingers inched closer and closer to you, until the sides of his thumbs were brushing against your dress. God, how much he wanted to grab you, hold you and touch you, every inch of your body until the ground disappeared beneath you.

You didn’t pull away, if anything, you shifted closer, your warmth seeping into his skin.

“What are you thinking about?” You asked when he remained silent, staring at you while you continued to play with his tie.

“I think,” he murmured, his thumb sweeping slow circles against your pelvis’ side, “you’re gonna be a problem for me.”

The tension cracked, sharp and electric, and neither of you moved, like you were both waiting to see who’d break first.

“Maybe I want to be,” you admitted quietly.

That was all he needed.

Jay didn’t overthink it, he just moved, closing the last bit of space between you. His hand slid to your waist and made you stand upright, as he tilted his head down, giving you plenty of time to pull back.

But you didn’t.

You stayed right there, your breath warm against his skin as your fingers curled into the front of his shirt.

“You’re making this impossible,” he said, his voice rougher now, low enough that only you could hear. His fingers flexed against your waist, dragging you closer without meaning to. Or maybe he did. He wasn’t sure anymore. “I’m trying so hard to be good, but—fuck.”

“But what?” you interrupted, your tone softer, breathier than before. His eyes snapped to yours, and the challenge in your gaze nearly broke him. “What happens if you stop trying?”

His breath hitched. Jesus Christ.

Jay let out a low, bitter laugh, because you weren’t making this any easier. And the worst part? You knew it. You knew exactly what you were doing to him.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” he asked, as his fingers trailed up, just slightly, brushing the curve of your ribs. It wasn’t a question. Not really.

Your lips parted, and for a second—just a second—he thought maybe you’d call his bluff. But instead, you tilted your head, eyes fixed on his mouth like you were imagining the same damn thing he was.

“I really, really do,” you murmured. And that was it. That was the crack in the dam.

His other hand came up before he could stop himself, fingers grazing along your jaw, tilting your face toward his as his nose brushed against yours. “You have no idea how much I want you right now,” he admitted, no more games, no more teasing. Just raw, unfiltered truth. His fingers brushed a strand of hair from your face, tucking it behind your ear. “I don’t even know you but you’re driving me crazy. You have to stop me.”

You didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. Instead, your lips curled into the faintest smile, bold, knowing, and it only fueled the fire already burning through his veins.

“The thing is, I don’t want you to stop,” you whispered, leaning in just enough for your breath to brush against his lips, “I don’t want you to be good or patient.”

The words punched through his last shred of restraint like they were designed to. And for a beat, all he could do was look at you—at the flush on your skin, the way your chest rose and fell a little too fast.

“Don’t say that unless you mean it,” he warned, though it came out rougher than he intended, his thumb brushing the edge of your jaw, slower than necessary.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” you shot back, quiet but sure—so sure—and, fuck, he was done for.

He wanted to win that little silent race, to see you snap but the truth was that he had lost from the start, he had no chance of winning.

So, when he finally kissed you, it wasn’t an attempt.

It was slow, deliberate, like he wanted to memorize the way you tasted, in case it was the last time. The faintest hint of champagne lingered on your lips, but beneath it was something that made his heart slam harder against his ribs.

You kissed him back like you wanted this just as much as he did, your hands sliding up to the back of his neck, pulling him closer, deeper, making his jacket fall on the floor.

And Jay? He let himself fall into it. Into you.

Jay’s lips moved against yours, slow and thorough, but nothing about the way he touched you felt careful. His hands slid along your waist, fingers pressing into the curve of your hip, squeezing you like he was memorizing the shape of you. Every brush of his skin against yours sent sparks racing through your body, and the heat pooling low in your stomach only grew stronger with each passing second.

His palms flattened against your lower back, pulling you closer until there wasn’t a single inch of space left between your bodies, until you could feel how much he really wanted you. He was warm, solid—everywhere—and the way he held you made your breath hitch.

You tugged lightly on the back of his neck. The muscles beneath your fingers were tense, and a shudder ran through him as your nails scraped gently against his skin. His breath hitched in response, and something about knowing you could unravel him like this made the heat in your blood burn hotter.

“You’re killing me,” he muttered against your mouth, his voice rough and frayed at the edges. His lips brushed over yours again, lingering like he was savoring the taste of you. But his hands, God, his hands, were anything but patient.

His fingers traced a slow, deliberate path up your spine, skimming beneath the hem of your dress as he went. The warmth of his touch against your bare skin felt a sharp, delicious shiver curling through you, and when his hand settled at the small of your back again, his grip tightened, so possessive like he wanted to keep you exactly where you were.

And you wanted to stay there.

You wanted more.

Your body arched instinctively into his, and Jay swore softly under his breath, his hold on you turning rougher, like he was losing the battle to keep himself in check. His fingers flexed at your hip, sliding lower, almost touching your ass before skimming back up, as if he couldn’t decide where he wanted to touch you most.

And when your hand drifted from his neck to the front of his shirt, fingers curling into the soft fabric, you felt the sharp rise and fall of his chest beneath your palm. His heart was racing and the realization felt another jolt of heat spiraling through you.

“Jay,” you breathed against his mouth, in such an intense and desperate tone, as if you needed him and his distance hurt you, and his response was immediate. His lips crashed back onto yours with a hunger that stole your breath, and the slow, careful rhythm shattered beneath the weight of all that tension.

He kissed you harder now, deeper. His tongue swept along your lower lip, and when you opened up for him, he groaned softly, a low, desperate sound that made your knees go weak.

His hand slid higher, dragging up your side, fingers brushing the sensitive skin beneath your ribs. He didn’t stop there. He traced the outline of your body desperately, knuckles grazing the side of your breast before his palm flattened against your ribcage, holding you firmly against him.

“Is this okay?” He whispered against your lips.

“Yes, god, yes please Jay,” you whispered back and damn, if your breathy voice hadn’t completely destroyed him. He loved seeing you as desperate for him as he was for you.

He kissed you again. “You’re driving me insane,” he murmured against your lips, and there was no teasing left in his voice. Just raw need. “I can’t—If you want me to stop say it because I fucking can’t.”

The response to those words of his was the way you grabbed his face and crashed your lips onto his again. “I don't want you to stop.”

Whatever fragile restraint he’d been clinging to snapped completely.

Jay’s hands tightened on your waist as he backed you against the wall, pressing you there like he needed to feel every inch of you against him.

His lips left yours just long enough to trail down your jaw, his breath warm as it ghosted over your skin. He didn’t stop when he reached your neck. Instead, he tilted your head gently to the side, giving himself more access as he pressed open-mouthed kisses along the curve of your throat and making you sigh in pleasure.

And when his teeth graced that sensitive spot just below your ear, you couldn’t hold back the soft sound that escaped your lips.

Jay froze at the sound—just for a second to control himself before he’d come in his pants. He groaned low in his throat, his mouth returning to yours in a kiss that was rougher now, messier, hungrier. Like hearing you fall apart pushed him over the edge.

One arm was around your waist as he held you so tightly it was almost impossible to move, while the other hand slid down, fingers spreading wide across your thigh. His thumb brushed slow circles against the sensitive skin there, inching higher with every pass. “Tell me to stop, and I will, okay?” he repeated.

But the way he touched you, the way his mouth lingered on yours, made it painfully clear he didn’t want to stop.

And neither did you.

“If you stop now, I might actually lose my mind.”

He chuckled before kissing you again as you pulled him closer, tilting your head to deepen the kiss even further. Your hands cupped his face, his beard tickling your palms as he took your breath away completely.

He slid his hand up your thigh again, taking advantage of the slit of your dress to touch your skin, to squeeze it, to feel it, to press his fingers so deeply into it until they left their mark. He grabbed your leg and wrapped it around his waist, making his pelvis grind with yours and making you both moan into the kiss.

His lips trailed back down to your neck, licking and sucking every inch of skin he had access to. “I want you so fucking bad.” His breath was hot against your skin, and when he spoke again, his voice was nothing but a rough, desperate whisper.

“Oh my fucking god Jay,” you gasped, trying to keep your voice low as his hand slid on your ass, squeezing it until you almost moaned again. “I want you so much too… Please…”

His lips found yours again, a desperate, greedy kiss that only deepened the ache between you two. There was no hesitation, no slowing down. Every touch, every movement, felt like a need that couldn’t be contained. You could feel the heat rising between you, consuming both of you in a way that made everything else fade.

His hard dick pressed into you, and the pressure made your breath hitch, another moan escaping as you started to grind into him again. His mouth left yours only long enough to whisper your name, low, rough, like a command.

“God, I need to feel you,” he muttered against your skin, like he was about to break. His teeth grazed your ear before his lips closed around the sensitive spot just below it, and you couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped again. It only turned him on even more, his hands moving and exploring every inch of you, as though he couldn’t get enough.

Your fingers dug into his shoulders, his back, his chest, pulling him even closer, matching the urgency of his movements. You wanted to rip that shirt off of him, you wanted to feel his skin under your fingers, touch him everywhere.

His lips trailed down to the curve of your shoulder, sucking gently as the strap of your dress slid down. The sensation made you pulse race beyond imagination, and you found yourself tugging at his shirt, eager to feel more of him.

“Jay, fuck,” you breathed again, voice trembling, and you pulled his face back to yours, crashing your lips together with the kind of hunger that mirrored his own. The kiss was messy, full of heat and need, and you lost yourself in it. You bit his lower lip, sucking it and making him groan. And, fucking hell, the sound was so sexy you felt it directly in your lower regions.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck Y/n,” he muttered desperately. His fingers brushing over the lace of your underwear before slipping inside, feeling how wet you were. The contact was electric, and the sharp moan you let out almost made him come in his pants. “Is this okay?” he murmured against your lips.

“Yes, shit… Oh… Oh god Jay you feel so good please don’t stop,” you moaned, your body moving on instinct, a desperate need for more, and the words only seemed to unravel him further.

There was no turning back now, and for once in your life, it felt like you were exactly where you were supposed to be.

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[poppadom0912]

Unexpected

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy and childbirth

Summary: For nine months, you'd prepared and expected a baby but something unexpected happens.

A/N: Hello! I was back at school this week and have been so drained from the work load so I'm here relaxing and writing away. I only know surface level stuff so I'm sorry for any medical inaccuracies. Exams are next week so I won't be writing anything then. This is unedited and I apologise but please do enjoy!!!!

Four years into your marriage with Kelly, two years with infertility issues, you had come to the point of acceptance and making the possible choice of fostering or adoption.

But then one day you got shot at work and when treating you, the doctor gave you the unexpected news.

You couldn't believe it. You were finally pregnant. After so much struggle, IVF and the unsuccessful tests, you were finally pregnant. You could finally have the family you dreamed of having as a little girl.

You weren't allowed back onto the field. Hank benching you to desk work till your baby welcomed itself. A choice that made you very angsty to get up and be on the move.

You didn't feel like much of a detective being sat at a desk all day while the rest of Intelligence went running around ragged looking and catching bad guys.

So during the moments of peace, you found yourself driving to the firehouse to bother your husband and the people he considered family.

The men and women of 51 loved you as much as they did Kelly, you were one of their own and you were doing the impossible by growing and delivering a mini Kelly Severide into the world.

Kelly rolled his eyes every time you brought up the gender. Call it mothers intuition but you had a gut feeling that you were having a boy, a concept which Kelly didn't mind but thought otherwise.

Refusing to find out the gender, you preferred to watch everyone wait impatiently, their bets pilling up as they put money on your baby's gender.

You scoffed seeing Kim and Hailey 'sneakily' pass money over to Cruz one night at Molly's.

The pregnancy flew by. Small milestones of your belly popping, the first kicks, the weird cravings and watching the growing blob develop on an ultrasound was so surreal but before anyone knew it, you were already hitting the nine month mark.

You left early. Today's case was running late and another murder got called it close to midnight, you were no longer needed and your husband sat at home. The thought of foot massage was ever so enticing.

Said man welcomed you home with the tea that soothed your nausea, your nightly snack at the go and he looked just delicious sitting in his pyjamas.

Pregnancy hormones man. Who would've thought.

And just like every night, the day ended with both of you in bed, his hands gently caressing your ballooning stomach, talking and debriefing with your unborn baby, smiling when a particular comment elicited a kick, showing the imprint on a foot against your skin.

Falling asleep wasn't easy though, especially with the new addition of Braxton hicks. You always found yourself tossing and turning, pushing Kelly to the other side of the bed so you could be left alone with the other love of your life: your pregnancy pillow. The triangular pillow a dream come true.

Eventually, you got up to refill your bottle and water, taking a quick pee because the pressure on your bladder was stupid.

Taking out some ice cubes from the ice tray, you slowly plonked them into your bottle, your eyes heavy with the sleep that refused to come from such a long day at work.

"Baby? Why are you awake?" Kelly's voice was hoarse as he appeared in the kitchen, his hair a mess as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes.

"Your son is playing football in here. He's already obsessed." You whispered back, letting him recollect himself as he made his way towards you, watching through bleary eyes as you closed the freezer door.

"My son huh? Well I think our daughter is just really excited to meet her very impatient parents." Kelly smirked, his arms circling around your waist before he crouched down to be face level with your protruding stomach.

"Hey baby girl." He whispered, his eyes focused on your stomach and nowhere else. "Your mummy is very tired after working all day. She needs all the sleep before you come home. Do you think you could do me a favour?"

You smiled softly at the sight. Your husband was already smitten and the baby wasn't even here yet.

A few seconds passed and all of a sudden, the little football match came to an end.

You scoffed, looking down at your husband incredulously. "Wow."

Standing back up, Kelly now smiled down at you. "Obviously, I'm the favourite parent."

"Watch it lieutenant." You pouted, poking his chest. "I've got some detectives in my back pocket."

Smiling at each other, basking in the silence and warm lighting, you almost forgot about your sleep deprivation.

Breaking you out of your thoughts was the sound of water dripping, Kelly's face mirroring your thoughts.

"Did you leave the tap on?"

You frowned, you were sure you-

Your mind went blank the millisecond you registered your wet trousers.

Looking down at where your feet would've been had it not been for your stomach being in the way, you swore lightly under your breath.

"I think he interpreted your words differently." You said, looking back up at Kelly who stood astonished.

"Baby's coming today."

*****

You didn't go to the hospital straight away.

Instead, you wiped yourself down and changed clothes while Kelly cleaned up and brought out your already packed hospital bag all while timing the length and time between your contractions.

The sun was rising when you made your way to the hospital, your midwife already in the loop the moment your water broke.

Settling into your room, dressed in your gown, you sighed.

You were bored. What were you supposed to do while you waited for the birth to get into motion.

Your epidural had been confirmed and scheduled for later on when your contractions progressed further. The nurse had just come to measure you before leaving.

You sent a quick text to Hank, apologising for such short notice, saying your maternity leave would start earlier than planned. Kelly had just called Boden, his shift starting not too long ago.

"Boden's got Cruz covering for me." Kelly said, putting his phone in his pocket as he stood by your bedside.

"I'm all yours for the next few weeks."

"I would love you so much if you could just-" You sharply inhaled at the painful contraction, doing the breathing exercises you practised with your midwife. "Just get this baby out."

"How about we go on a walk? Might help speed things up."

All Kelly was met with were your grabby hands.

*****

Several hours later and you were in active labour.

You were surrounded by nurses and the doctor, Kelly glued to your side but at some point when you were pushing, he was ushered away by a nurse who you briefly heard mention the words 'umbilical cord'.

"It's a girl!"

You choked back a sob, your eyes watery as they placed your daughter on your chest for skin-to-skin. Your hands immediately flew to hold her. Your emotions so haywire that you couldn't care less about the cleanliness of her little body.

Inhaling shakily, you looked up through tears at Kelly who was back at your side. He kissed your forehead multiple times, his hand on top of yours so you could both hold your baby.

After a few minutes, she was carefully taken away to be weighed and clean, leaving you and Kelly to revel alone. Reality came crashing down: you had a daughter, your had a-

"Mrs Severide, what's wrong?"

Hearing the doctors question, Kelly looked away from your daughter and back down at you in alarm, his eyes wide in confusion at your own confused face.

"I- I feel..."

You weren't able to finish as you were overcome with the sudden need to push.

It seemed that even without you voicing your thoughts, they knew exactly what was happening.

"Okay Y/N, we go again." The OB said as you squeezed the blood out of Kelly's hand. "Push just like you did."

The next few moments felt like a blur. You weren't too sure what was reality and what was an illusion - everything was happening too fast for you to comprehend what was actually happening.

All of a sudden, a second cry broke out, as loud and high-pitched as the first.

"It's a girl!"

You blinked, your head clearing up.

"Congratulations! Two beautiful girls!"

Then the apparent second baby was placed on your chest, a routine that was just performed not even ten minutes ago.

The tears were flowing now with nothing to stop them. Your shaky hands went to hold her small body as the clouds dissipated and the sky finally cleared.

*****

The two baby beds were rolled towards your bed, Kelly standing up when the nurses entered the recovery room.

"Congratulations mum and dad!" One of the nurses started.

"You have two healthy identical twin girls."

You couldn't believe it, no one could.

There was never a point during the nine months of pregnancy that would even suggest you having twins and now all of a sudden, your leaving the hospital with two twin girls.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't hear Kelly's conversation with the nurses.

"Kelly..." You looked at your husband who was just as shocked as you. "Kelly we have two babies."

"We have twin girls babe." Kelly emphasised, his stupid smile covering his entire face.

"We're not even prepared for one let alone two." You said, sitting up to pick one of them up. "Baby- oh my gosh, we have twins."

Before Kelly could reply, the room door opened and Matt poked his head in. "Knock Knock, can we-"

Matt stopped himself as he laid eyes on the baby on your chest and then the baby that was being picked up by Kelly.

"Matt, move out the way, let me see-" Sylvie barely stopped herself from squealing as she saw the two babies.

"Holy shit, twins?!" Matt half frowned, following Sylvie to your side. "When did this even happen?"

"Literally an hour ago man." Kelly said in greeting to his best friend. "No one had any idea."

"AH- two girls! Congratulations, oh my gosh I'm so happy for you guys." Sylvie gushed, cooing at the little bundles in your arms.

"Oh yeah, Jay and Hailey were somewhere behind us."

Another knock sounded just as the words came from Matt, the door creaking open for the blonde detective to make herself known.

"Y/N, hey-" Hailey gasped so loudly that Jay's swearing could be heard from inside the room.

"Woah." Jay's lack of words proved his surprise.

You and Kelly laughed.

"Well Kelly was right, they're girls."

Jay and Sylvie high-fived, their smirks making it evident they were on the winning side of the bet.

"This is definitely unexpected. I have no idea how we're going to manage." You said, handing one baby off to Hailey while Kelly lay the other into Matt's outstretched arms.

"That's what we're here for, along with the rest of 51 and Intelligence." Sylvie said, looking fondly at the baby in Matt's arms as she held your hand in both of hers comfortingly.

"You've got a very big family ready to help. We're first responders, it's our job."

You hugged the blonde, overcome with sudden emotion.

"Besides," Jay spoke up, gently taking the baby from Hailey's arms into his. "What godparents would we be?"

The room dissolved into laughter.

You had two adorable girls and an entire village at your beck and call. While unexpected, they were more than welcome with open arms and open hearts.

[allywritesmanythings]

Jay Halstead Master List

All fun and Games 18+

Banished

Careful

Carmen Ann

Clothes

Comfort

Compliment

Connections

Cold

Cover

Didn't Let Him Down

Effect

End P1

Every Way Possible

Father Figure P1

Father Figure P2

Father Figure P3

Father Figure P4

Finally

First Kiss

Gone

He's Mine

Hit

How I Feel

I Don't Date Cops P1

I Don't Date Cops P2

Let's go home

Lifetime

Lilian Rose P1

Lilian Rose P2

Lilian Rose P3

Marry Me

Not Yours

Never Letting You Go

New Unit P1

New Unit P2

New Unit P3

Only One

Over-Protective

Rebound 18+

Safe

Secret Voight P1

Secret Voight P2

Secret Voight P3

Secret Voight P4

Secret Voight P5

Secret Voight P6

Secret Voight S2 P1

Secret Voight S2 P2

Secret Voight S2 P3

Secret Voight S2 P4

Secret Voight S2 P5

Secret Voight S2 P6

Secret Voight S2 P7

Secret Voight S2 P8

Secret Voight S2 P9

Secret Voight S3 P1

Secret Voight S3 P2

Secret Voight S3 P3

Start Over

Testify

Tip

That Damn Lip

That Truck

Trust

Ups and Downs

You Know

Will's going to kill me

Worship

You're Safe

[deanstead]

Marry That Girl

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Requested: no

Word Count: 600+

Tags/Warnings: none

A/N: Short one because I haven't released something for Jay in way too long! This has been sitting in my WIP drafts for the longest time so I finally got it written! An anon requested something similar for Will but since I had a half-written fic, I finished this and posting this instead! As always thanks to bestie @seatsbythepit for being my beta queen~!

JAY HALSTEAD MASTERLIST

You hadn’t thought this through.

It sounded like an innocent enough date when Jay had asked if you wanted to go watch the game. You hadn't been dating for long, and every day felt a little unreal in a ‘I can’t believe Jay Halstead wants to go out with me’ kind of way, and you appreciated every opportunity you got to spend with Jay especially since you never knew if he would have to go undercover or spend nights at the district trying to clear a case.

But now that the game was approaching, you were in a bit of a panic.

You enjoyed watching a game, but you didn’t always know what you were watching or doing, and you weren’t sure you were ready to let Jay see that side of you.

“Y/N, everything okay?” Kelly’s voice interrupted your internalized panic and you glanced up.

“Ah, I should have thought of you!” You proclaimed, earning yourself an eyebrow raise from the squad lieutenant. “I need your help.”

Kelly raised an eyebrow but chuckled before nodding toward his office.

You thanked all the stars that it was a quieter shift. After all, an entirely quiet shift didn’t exist at Firehouse 51. But at least that’s the way you liked it.

Kelly gave you a crash course, but not without reminding you that you owed him one. You spent the rest of the downtime studying it so that at least you’d have something smart to say, even though there were a few times you wondered what the hell you were doing.

Hard work indeed paid off.

You walked out of the game, feeling a little embarrassed as Jay’s friends gushed over you.

“Jay, you got a good one. My girlfriend doesn’t even want to come to games with me.” One of his buddies quipped.

Jay laughed, putting an arm around you and grinning. “Hey, should I be worried? What if you guys just call her for the games instead?”

The laughter rumbled through the group as they all nodded, teasing Jay that they’d rather call you instead of him in the future.

You really did owe Kelly one.

As his friends dispersed, calling that Jay had better bring you out for the next game, Jay’s phone rang.

You nodded at him, telling him he’d better take it, assuring him that you and Will wouldn’t leave him behind.

Jay took the call from Voight, glancing toward where you and Will were talking as he nodded. “Yeah, I got it. I’ll be right in.”

Jay could feel the dread in his gut, that felt just a little too much like guilt that he had to blow off again tonight even though he’d promised a nice after-game dinner and maybe some drinks and cuddling.

“This is why you don’t promise anything, Jay.” He mumbled to himself, before he walked back toward the both of you.

“Hey, Y/N, I…”

You glanced at the look on Jay’s face and just smiled. “Gotcha.”

“Sorry.” Jay couldn’t even say anything more because everything else in his head sounded like an excuse.

“I’m not saying I’m not disappointed, because I kinda am. But I get it. And if these were bells going off for the ambulance, I’d do the same thing you’re doing now. So, go.” You paused. “But you owe me a mind-blowing date.”

Jay laughed and nodded. “That, I definitely do.”

You shot him a huge smile and headed off toward Jay’s truck to wait because you knew he’d at least take you home before heading back down to wherever he was supposed to go.

Will watched the exchange with a mix of amusement and awe before he glanced at his younger brother.

“Jay?” Will called, before Jay and him headed off in different directions.

Jay glanced up at Will and Will smiled. “You better marry that girl.”

THANK YOU FOR READING!! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS!!

If you want to support me, buy me a coffee!

[perilusjax]

Prompt Title: Scary accidental Harem

Ghost Prince Danny

Danny was adopted by Pariah Dark after some... convincing (Clockwork, blackmailed his former lover >:3) Unfortunately, for Danny, the ghost becomes eligible for summoning.

At first, it was just some random shenanigans, like drunk teens, sleepover rituals, the usual. Until Fenton luck strikes, and he accepts his first sacrificial summoning.

Now Danny has a harem of both scary and hot men and women. Who can now visit his personal haunt/home anytime.

Also, Danny is like over a hundred years old now.

[witchygagirlwrites]

Jay Halstead x Reader

He keeps crawling into your bed and taking a piece of your heart every time.

Smut with a little plot??

You followed Kevin through rollup and could feel Jay’s eyes on you as if they left a physical trail behind. He was pissed, you knew he was. Every time you pulled a stunt like you just did it pissed him off. Even when Voight let it go because you got it done, you got the case closed and no one was killed he wouldn’t let it go.

You had a gun pointed to your head “Stand back bitch” you grinned “That’s detective bitch and let the kid go then maybe I’ll step back” you were antagonizing the guy at this point but you needed his eyes on you along with that gun being pointed at you instead of the fifteen year old he’d grabbed. He tossed the kid to the side and raised the gun higher “I’m going to prison anyways, might as well kill a lady cop” you flinched when a shot was fired but blood splattered across the ground in front of you.

“You’re welcome” Jay’s voice came across the com. He’d taken the shot in the half a second before the guy managed to pull the trigger, just like you knew he’d be able to. You weren’t the only member of the unit to have ever placed your life in Jay’s hands when it came to his sniper capabilities. Hell Voight himself had done it.

You made it up to the bullpen, unbuttoning the collar of your gear as you walked and felt Jay’s hand barely brush against yours as he walked past you,a little too close. “I’ll see you later” it was all but a whisper but he knew you heard him. The promise in his words made you bite down on the inside of your cheek.

This thing had started a while back between the two of you, you were friends and worked in the same unit so you understood the high stress of each other’s jobs and why neither of you had the energy to pursue dating. The solution was to use each other as a means to blow off steam when needed. How did it even start? Hell at this point you couldn’t quite remember. The rules were simple, no overlap into your job and no catching feelings.

Easier said than done when you had Jay Halstead’s hands and mouth all over you multiple times a week most of the time. You’d never meant for it to happen but every single time he came crawling into your bed you fell a little more. Everyone was finishing up their reports to head home. You cut your eyes at Jay about the time he glanced up at you and winked before turning back to his paperwork. Yeah, you were fucked.

You had your hand on your truck door when you felt that familiar arm slip around your waist followed by Jay’s warm breath hitting your neck “If we weren’t in public right now I’d have my head buried between your legs. Do you have any idea how bad you pissed me off?” you glanced over your shoulder at him, letting a smirk slip onto your face “I got the kid, you had my back. No big deal”

You saw a flash of anger in those sea blue  eyes, “No big deal? I’ll follow you to your place. I may just cuff your ass to the bed so you can’t push my head away after I make you cum” you rolled your bottom lip between your teeth at his words and felt your panties soak when you saw the way his eyes tracked the movement “Yeah, I bet you’d love that” you shook your head “See you at my place” then shrugged his hand off and opened your truck door. He took a step back, that damn smirk of his in place.

____________________

You parked and the moment your truck was off and you were out of it you spotted Jay’s truck pulling up behind yours. You didn’t bother a look back and just walked up to your steps. You barely got the door open before he was slipping his arms around your waist and pulling you back against his chest. You smiled despite yourself when you felt his teeth teasing at the sensitive flesh of your neck “Can we make it inside Halstead?” you asked and he barely made a sound in response, guiding you over the threshold. You could feel him kissing and sucking the skin at the bend of your neck but he’d never left a mark before so that wasn’t a worry. A light moan escaped you when he caught a sensitive spot and you felt a shiver run down your spine.

You reached out to lock the door but his hand came out to cover yours. He broke away from your skin and spun you around to face him, you tried and failed to not smile at him “You’re kinda hot when you’re mad” he shook his head. “Come here” he leaned down just far enough to get his hands under your thighs. You gasped lightly when he scooped you up into his arms, leaving you no choice but to wrap your legs around his waist. “Jay?” he grinned “Since I’m kinda hot, I’m taking you to bed. Now” you shrugged “I’m not complaining”

He knew the way through your apartment by now just as well as he knew his own. He kicked open your bedroom door and had you on the bed, stripping both of you free of clothes within minutes. 

Once you were down to your panties Jay leaned back and let his eyes roam across you “What?” you asked and he shook his head with a grin “You’re so beautiful all spread out like this for me” you felt your face warm “Christ Jay.Not so tough now, huh? What happened to being pissed?” He raised an eyebrow “Oh  I’m still pissed” and caught your lips in a rough kiss as his hands slipped under your panties, tugging them off your legs.

You felt one of his thick fingers slip through your folds before plunging into you.When you moaned into his mouth he grinned and added a second digit, curling them up until he hit that spot inside of you that made your back arch off the bed. He broke free from your lips and watched your face “Come on baby, let me see you fall apart. Be a good girl and spread your legs just a little further”

Your legs fell apart and he lowered his lips to your breasts “You feel so good, squeezing my fingers like that..you wanna cum?” you nodded, practically panting from how close you were to an orgasm. He grinned “Admit what you did was fucking stupid” you shook your head, stubborness winning out over just how bad you wanted him to pleasure you. You hadn’t been in the wrong, dammit.

He pulled his fingers out of you with a shrug “Ok then” you whined, fully whined at the loss of contact “You fucking asshole! I was right there!” he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips “Admit I’m right” you glared at him “I guess I’ll just get off all by myself” and slid a hand down towards your pussy but before you could touch it he was grabbing both of your wrists in one of his, pinning them over your head “No ma’am”

You glared up at him from your position under him. You could feel just how hard he was through his boxers and that mixed with the denied orgasm had you pissed “Jay, I swear on everything just please fuck me already!” He smiled “Don’t worry i’ll take of you” he leaned down to press a kiss to your lips and released your hands, pressing them into the mattress with his own as he laced your fingers together, his tongue slipping into your mouth as he rutted his hips down against yours.

You whimpered in his mouth, the contact not what you needed but better than nothing. He bit your bottom lip gently then pulled back from the kiss to reach down and slip his boxers off “Grab a condom” 

You turned enough to slip a hand in your nightstand and felt him curl his palm against your ass as you did so. You pushed back into his touch and he chuckled lightly. 

____________________

Once he had the condom on he caught your chin to press another kiss to your lips “Turn over baby” he helped you move over onto your stomach and slipped a pillow under you before pressing a kiss to your bare shoulder. You felt the head of his cock teasing at your opening before he pushed into you, bottoming out with one hard thrust. A loud moan of his name escaped you as your head fell to the bed. 

“You good?” he asked and you nodded “So damn good” he laughed “Good” you felt one of his hands on your hips, gripping tightly as the other pushed your shoulders down further into the mattress. 

Your hands balled into the comforter, every snap of his hip pulling screams of his name from you. It felt so damn good but  was borderline too much, “Can’t you handle it, baby?” he asked through gritted teeth.  “I can-fuck, I can handle it” you moaned. You were so damn close. He folded his body over yours, one hand supporting his weight on the mattress while the other slipped under you to find your clit, rubbing tight circles. You felt your orgasm slam into you as you clenched down on him, your entire body shaking slightly. He buried himself into you with a final thrust and came with a low moan of your name.

He stayed like that for a little while, hands rubbing across your body and lips following them. Working to soothe the muscles. “You ok?” he asked and you nodded “I’m good” he kissed your shoulder then gently pulled out, apologizing when you hissed between your teeth from the action. He helped you turn on your side then kissed you “I’m gonna toss the condom and get cleaned up. You need a water?” you nodded and he smiled “I’ll be right back”

________________

Once Jay came back you took the offered water and thanked him with a smile. He offered you his shirt from the floor after he slipped his boxers on and you slipped it over your head in favor of not being completely bare. He sat down on the bed next to you, fingers trailing over your thigh “You seriously pissed me off. What if he moved just a little faster? What if I missed?” you cut your eyes at him and shrugged “He didn’t and you didn’t. I trust you Jay, hell the entire unit trusts you. We could have swat on scene and Voight will look at the man in charge, literally roll his eyes then say get Halstead on the roof. I knew I was safe with you”

He shook his head “I told you over the com to back off” you grinned “I don’t like being told what to do unless I’m naked” he glared at you “I’m well aware of that sweetheart”  you laughed “I can lie and say it won’t happen again but it will. You’ve known me for how long?” he laughed “As long as I’m there I’ll do my best to get you home” and leaned forward to press a kiss to your lips. 

You looked down at the shirt you were wearing “You need this” he nodded “Unless I can stay here tonight?” you raised an eyebrow “Jay you don’t do overnights” he shrugged “It’s not the same thing with you” “What about work? They’ll notice you wearing the same shirt two days in a row” he shrugged “I’ll leave early enough to swing by my place, c’mon. It’s late and I’m tired” you shook your head “Fine”

He grinned and slipped under the sheet next to you. He turned to face you “Are you coming out on the water with everyone this weekend?” you nodded “Yeah, Kim and Hailey already asked me to go shopping with them for new swimsuits” he raised an eyebrow “Do I get some photos from the shopping trip?” you shook your head “That’s not very friend material there Jay” and turned with your back to him.

He slipped an arm around your waist and pulled you back against his chest before saying “If a friend can’t tell you what bathing suit makes them hard, what good is that friend?” you shook your head, trying to ignore how fast your heart was beating “Go to sleep Jay” he pressed a kiss to your neck “Goodnight” “Night Jay”

You hated the fact that you were falling for Jay. Why did you think you could ever manage to have sex with him on a regular basis, have his hands and lips all over you, hear him call you baby and sweetheart and not fall? 

You’d had casual sex before,a random hookup here or there. Maybe that’s why you thought you could sleep with one of your closest friends and not fall for him? Not catch yourself looking towards him in the field, not catch yourself smiling slightly when he had your back despite arguing with you over it. You knew it didn’t mean to him what it meant to you. Jay was such a good man but to him? It was just blowing off steam with a friend. 

When the weekend rolled around you found yourself almost backing out, almost. Kim and Hailey would kill you if you didn’t show up.

__________________

You stepped out your truck at the docks and heard a loud whistle but knew it was Kim from the tone. You turned and saw her standing next to her car with a grin “Looking good!” you did a little spin, despite the fact that you were just wearing sandals and cut off shorts over your swimsuit. She nodded towards the water “Let’s get a move on, the guys are already on the boat”

You grabbed her arm and the two of you headed that way. You locked eyes with Jay as you made it to the boat and his eyes trailed down your body before he rolled his bottom lip between his teeth and looked away. Adam moved to help Kim onto the boat and you started to take Kevin’s hand but to your surprise a different hand was offered to you. You smiled when you locked eyes with Connor, your only ex you were still friends with “Will didn’t say he was bringing the riffraff with him”

He grinned “Well yeah, he wanted to make sure you actually came” you laughed and stepped over onto the boat, pulling him into a hug. “Good to see you Con” he nodded as he pulled back, his hand on your side “Especially since it doesn’t involve you being in med”

You cut your eyes up and saw Jay staring at you. What was going on with him? He slipped his shirt off and tossed it into the growing pile the men had started before grabbing a beer from Adam and going to the other side of the boat. All of you were leaving the dock.

___________________

You laughed at something Adam said as Kevin and Antonio dove off into the water. This was actually the most fun you’d had in a while. “Not swimming?” Connor asked, stepping up next to you and you shook your head “Naw, I’m not feeling up to that” he laughed “Still not too big a fan of open water swimming unless it's a necessity?” you nodded “Yup”

He laughed and shook his head “Can’t blame ya” Kevin had climbed back up on the lower level of the boat and whistled up to you “Yo partner! Grab me a beer!” “Two please!” Antonio hollered and you nodded “I got ya” and patted Connor “I gotta get my fellas some drinks” he nodded.

You headed for the cooler at the far end of the boat and felt someone behind you when you leaned over into it even before you heard Jay’s voice “You and Connor sure have been talking a lot” 

You grabbed the two beers and straightened up before facing him, the sun was beating down on him and he was covered in a fine sheet of sweat which made it a little hard to be mad at him when he looked so damn delicious. “He’s my friend Jay, same as you” he raised an eyebrow “Oh he’s nothing like me”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you asked and he smirked before stepping closer “He never fucked you like I do” you rolled your eyes and bit back the response you wanted to give which was “Maybe but he actually deemed me worthy of dating” and instead you “How do you know how he fucked me?” and turned and walked away when his eyebrows were still scrunched together like they got when he was good and pissed off, trying and failing to keep the proud smirk off your face.

_______________________

You were sitting on a lounge chair with Kim when you spotted Jay talking to a nurse from med, no he was flirting. Right in view of you. Fucking asshole. Kim called your name and you blinked then looked at her “Yeah?” she laughed “I was asking have you thought about that task force position? They’re really hungry after you”

You shrugged “I don’t know, I would be gone for a month and half. I wouldn’t know my team plus the feds?” Antonio shrugged “It’s only six weeks. Plus you could wrack up some favors for us in that time” you shook your head “Thanks Dawson, spin it to me that I need to do it to help everyone” and that caused Kim, Adam and Kevin to laugh. You started in major crimes before intelligence and now had a task force wanting you on it. They’d approached Voight about loaning you out but he’d told them “I don’t loan my people without them being ok with it” so now it was up to you.

You cut your eyes back up and saw the nurse with Jay’s phone, typing in it. She was adding her number. You were falling for him and he was getting someone else’s number in front of you. “Maybe I’ll do it. I’ll schedule a meeting with them and Voight monday” you said and Antonio patted your leg “Attagirl! You can handle it” Kim grinned “I’ll take care of your place while you’re gone”

_____________________

When you got back to the dock Antonio helped you off the boat and you practically ran to your truck. You didn’t want the risk of seeing Jay or the damn nurse. The moment you were in your truck and pulling out you spotted Jay and his eyes followed you. You tried not to let your heart hurt, you’d known what it was when you two started but did he have to get her number in front of you?

____________________ 

You were showered and in just a big tshirt and panties when you heard a knock at your door. You didn’t have to look to know who it was. You snatched open the door to find Jay standing on your doorstep. His eyes widened “Sweetheart, it’s still early enough people can see you” you shrugged “Oh well. Where’s your nurse?”

He chuckled lightly, “What’s wrong?” you shook your head “Nothing” he grinned “Can I come in?” you stepped back and waved a hand “By all means Halstead” he walked in and closed the door behind himself “Why did you run off?” you shrugged, crossing your arms “You looked busy”

He shrugged “Figured you may be leaving with Rhodes” “Fuck you Halstead” a smirk slipped onto his face “Is that what’s wrong? You need a fuck?” you rolled your eyes “Why? The nurse wouldn’t give it up so you went to the easy option?” He took a step towards you and you cursed when your back hit the door. He placed a hand on either side of your head “Don’t talk about yourself like that”

“Fucking bite me” you growled and he grinned “If you want” before you knew what was happening the fucker had one hand around your throat, loosely but firm enough to hold you in place and was leaning down to sink his teeth into the soft skin of your neck. You moaned low and your hand went to his wrist, nails digging in but not trying to move it. He pulled back from your neck and smiled “Look how pretty you are with my hand wrapped around your neck” he squeezed gently and you felt your eyes roll back in your head.

He leaned down to press a kiss to your lips before whispering in your ear “How about I fuck you hard enough you forget how Connor ever fucked you?” you cut your eyes up at him “What about your nurse?” he grinned “She can wait” you shook your head “Fuck it” and pulled him into a kiss.

You were half asleep with Jay’s arms wrapped tightly around you. He was fast asleep behind you with his face buried in the bend of your neck, you were startled by his phone chiming. You reached for it with intentions to wake him up and hand it to him before you saw the name Erika as an incoming text and read that it say Call me Jay. Would love to get together again soon

Again? AGAIN? Had he left her and come fucked you? You felt your stomach roll and it took everything in you to not wake him up and kick him out then and there. You felt nauseous. You grabbed your phone and checked the time to see it was still early enough to send Voight a text I’m taking the task force position for 6 weeks you laid your phone down and then scooted your way out of Jay’s arms. Once you were sure he wouldn’t wake up you grabbed your shirt off the floor and slipped it on. You needed a hot shower and then you’d sleep on the couch and possibly burn the sheets you’d just fucked him on come tommorow.

 Monday morning, the lead agent on the task force was in Voight’s office when you got into work. You cut your eyes at Kevin who gave you a nod. You walked into Voight’s office as she stood up and offered her hand “Detective. I was happy to get your sergeant’s call” you smiled “I’m agreeing to the six week but then I’m coming home to my unit, understand” she nodded “Of course”

You sat down across from Voight and he nodded “Don’t worry sweetheart intelligence is your home. It’ll be waiting” so you started talking to Agent Miller about what the task force would entail, your living and travel expenses.

“So you need me to leave tomorrow? That’s short notice?” you asked and Voight shrugged “We kind of waited until last minute to get back to them” you glanced out at the bullpen where everyone kept looking at the office door. “Ok, I’ll have to make some arrangements today but I can swing it” 

Agent Miller looked at Voight “She seems like she’s going to be as good as you say” he shook his head “She’s better”

You were walking out of your place with your duffle bag when you heard a truck door slam and looked up to see Jay storming up the sidewalk “You’re fucking leaving?” “It’s six weeks” you replied and he scoffed “In D.C! You don’t know those assholes! How do you know they’ll have your back! What if something happens?” 

You shrugged “Then I guess Voight is gonna have a slot to fill” his face fell at your words “And what about me?”  “I’m just your friend Jay, you’ve got plenty of those” you told him, sighing in relief when the taxi pulled up. He followed you down the steps “We’re not just friends you know that” 

You tossed your bag in the trunk of the taxi then turned to look at him “Yeah? Tell Erika that. I’ll see ya in six weeks. Then I’ll have an option to come home to intelligence or join the international team” you pushed past him and climbed in the taxi, telling the driver you needed the airport.

______________________

“Tell Erika that?” Jay repeated your words. What the hell did you mean by that? He hadn’t seen her since the day on the water. Hell he’d only gotten her number because he was being a jealous asshole when he saw you with Connor most of the day. He remembered when you were with Connor, everyone thought that was it, that you were gonna marry him. 

When he saw you in that damn swimsuit, the way it hugged your curves…then to see Connor touching you to help you on the boat and you hugging him? He’d wanted to knock him off the damn boat. That was why he’d come to your place that day, to see if Connor was there. What he would’ve done, well he didn’t want to think about because taking you out of the equation he liked Connor.

He pulled his phone out and clicked through his texts and saw an unopened one from Erika that read  Call me Jay. Would love to get together again soon Again? He hadn’t gotten together with her past being on the water. He checked the time and cursed under his breath. That was after he fell asleep, meaning you were probably either awake or woke up by the text. If you saw the word again after specifically asking about her….FUCK

He clicked your name and texted you Sweetheart I saw the text from her, It is NOT what you think it is. Please call me when you land

What was he supposed to do if you didn’t believe him or if something happened to you or hell if you chose the international team? He never should’ve let this go this far. The moment he started feeling something for you he should’ve manned up but he hadn’t wanted to lose you. Joke was on him, he lost you anyways.

You checked your phone to see what Jay had texted today Can you just let me know you’re ok? He knew you were ok. You talked to Hailey or Kim every day. He was just trying to get you to talk to him. “Boyfriend?” Charity asked with a raised eyebrow from where she was breaking down her long gun across from you. You shook your head “Friend from back in Chicago” 

She nodded “They the one that’s been blowing you up?” you nodded “Pissed me off pretty good before I left, trying to make sure I come back and not just to pack my shit up” she laughed loudly, her bright green eyes sparkling “Have you made a decision yet?” you nodded “I have really enjoyed working with the task force and anytime I’m needed in a temp position I’d hop back in but Chicago is home”

She grinned “I get it. You miss your unit” you nodded “That too” she cut her eyes at your phone “What ya gonna do about the friend?” you rolled your eyes “I have no clue” and she laughed “You poor thing”

“Coming home tomorrow” “Is she staying?” “I don’t know yet” that was the conversation Jay picked up between Antonio and Hailey but it was enough to figure out you were finally coming home. He’d talked to Erika, gotten slapped for using her as a jealousy plot and then got forgiven when he explained that he truly had feelings for you. 

Hopefully you’d forgive him with just a slap. Hell he’d let you get by with a lot more than a slap if it meant you forgiving him. 

He was quiet, trying to hear anything more. When he didn’t he figured he’d just go to your place after work. If you were there he’d try to talk to you and if not, he’d wait.

When the taxi pulled up in front of your place you cursed under your breath when you saw Jay was sitting on your steps. The driver looked at him then back at you “Everything ok? Should I call the cops?”

You laughed lightly “We both are the cops sir, it’s fine. He’s a friend” you paired the fare and grabbed your bag then climbed out. Jay stayed leaning against the rail but his eyes tracked your every movement “Hey” he greeted and you nodded “Hey” you walked past him, shifting your bag to your left hand to offer him your right. He gripped it with his larger hand and pulled himself to his feet. He looked down at you for a moment before you turned to unlock the door. 

__________________________

You walked in and cut your eyes back at him before heading to the laundry room to drop your duffle to the floor. You walked back into the living room to find Jay standing next to the couch. “Gonna sit or stand there?” you asked, sitting down on the couch. 

He sat down next to you, watching as you took your boots off and tossed your jacket too. Once you were comfortable he said “I missed you” you laughed lightly “Erika not good company? Or you already got a new one?” he sighed “I wasn’t with her before I came here that night. I know your line of thinking”

You cut your eyes up at him “Then why did she text that?” he shrugged “She said she hadn’t thought to text before then” you nodded “So you talked to her” “To explain that I never should’ve asked for her number and apologize for doing it” “Why?” you asked and he shrugged “Why what?” “Why shouldn’t you have gotten her number?” you asked and he turned his head to be fully facing you “I came here that night to see if Connor was with you”

“Why?” you asked and he smiled “Because I would’ve probably taught him not to touch things that aren’t his” you laughed “Oh so I’m just your friend but you can claim me?” his head fell back on the couch “Dear lord woman, I am trying here! Go ask Erika if you don’t believe me. I told her I was being a jealous asshole because you were talking to Connor and I just wanted you to want me like you once wanted him!”

“What?” you asked,honestly in shock and he nodded “I want you, fully” you swallowed hard “Really?” and he nodded “More than anything” you rolled your bottom lip then turned to slip your leg over his waist, effectively straddling his lap. He grinned once you were settled and put his hands on your hips. “Jay?” you called his name quietly and he nodded “Yeah?” “How long were you sitting there?” he flinched “A few hours”

“Guess you should get something in return then huh?” you asked before pulling him towards you, catching his lips in a kiss that started gentle but when you rolled your hips down against his he nipped at your bottom lip causing you to gasp lightly and he slipped his tongue into your mouth, rolling it against yours. 

Your hands went to his shoulders, gripping tightly as he deepened the kiss then broke from your lips to kiss across your jaw then down to your neck “Jay?” you called his name and he cut his eyes up at you “Yeah baby?” you smiled “I’m yours?” he nodded “And I’m yours baby” you looked over your shoulder towards your bedroom before asking “Stay with me tonight?” a broad grin split his face “That’s the first time you’ve asked me to stay” you pulled him into a kiss before saying “First time you’re my boyfriend instead of friend. Now take me to bed Halstead” 

He grinned against your lips and stood, causing you to have to wrap your legs around his waist “Anything you want baby”

[justfluffwithit]

INTRODUCING:

More information: Feel free to do this with ANY campaign, this is not exactly campaign exclusive, just do whatever you want! Please feel free to tag us in any art you make relating to the event! Along with that, the main tag should be "#just fluff week with it" Feel free to hit up our ask box with any questions, and have fun!!!

[Image 1 ID: A purple background with an opaque Just Roll With It logo. There is also a smaller and more solid Just Roll With It logo as well as a tilted white text strip: "FLUFF WEEK". Right below it is white text that says "MARCH 9TH THROUGU 15TH!!" There is a light yellow sparkle and two yellow text boxes as well. The top one reads: "One whole week of silly and fluffy JRWI-related art/writing prompts!!!! Do one or try them all!!" The bottom one reads: "These can be for platonic, romantic, or any other types of character interactions you'd like to portray! Everything is open ended and up to interpretation!" End ID.]

[Image 2 ID: The same background as before. There is 4 strips which go purple, yellow, purple, yellow. They have a diamond each which go yellow, purple, yellow, purple. The side they are on also alternates from left, right, left, right. There are numbers inside of the diamnds which follow the same color pattern as the stripes, reading "1", "2", "3", "4". The text in each row reads "March 9th - Hugging", "March 10th - Nail Painting/Friendship Bracelets", "March 11th - Slumber Party", "March 12th - Dancing". End ID.]

[Image 3 ID: An image with the same format as the last one, just with 3 stripes and diamonds. The numbers in the diamonds go "5", "6", "7". The text in the stripes reads "March 13th - Affection", "March 14th - Gift Giving", "March 15th - Game Night". At the bottom is white bold text that reads "HAVE FUN!!!". End ID.]

[emotionaloof]

william you cannot quote cascada around your elf crush best friend and expect him to understand

more tumblr pd au: part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5

[ughtoomanyfandoms]

Preacher's Daughter - The Last of Us (Joel Miller): Ptolemaea

PREACHER’S DAUGHTER Ptolemaea

series masterlist

Pairing: Joel Miller x OC

CONTENT WARNINGS: 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI, DEAD PIGEON unprotected sex, religious trauma, gore, violence, swearing, explicit content, sexual violence.

Word Count: 5.1k

Read on AO3 and Wattpad

CHAPTER WARNINGS: READ WITH CAUTION, SUBTLE TORTURE, MURDER, GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, NON-CONSENSUAL

It wasn’t the smell that had her heavy lids peeling open. The smell of iron, of rust, of death.

It wasn’t the rolling of her stomach, churning with emptiness and threatening to purge itself of nothing.

It was the buzzing. A buzzing that followed death, that hovered itself around a stench of rot and something foul. It was muffled at first, a consistent hum, before seeping in to tickle her eardrums. 

A breeze from a cracked window blows against her bare skin. Eyelids heavy, vision blurry, she felt like she was spinning around the room. Her arms hung numb above her, chained and hooked over something to keep her upright. Her toes barely touched the floor. 

The warmth of a body approached her peripheral, the movement of the body blurred in motion. A face appeared in her vision, still too blurry to distinguish their features. The only distinguishable trait was the foul breath that ghosted over her cheeks.

“I followed you,” the voice started, echoing through the air and swirling towards Lianne. A hiss of a snake, a timbre of nothing manly. “I was with you, there. I invited you in, twice.”

Her stomach churns again, goosebumps raising up the skin of her spine, and her nose crinkles as she tries to pull away. 

“I thought I was the only one left… But now you’re here.”

Her head spun, the rotten stench swirling through the air, before darkness consumed her again.

—-

It happened in the university, much faster than any of the three of them expected. A group of raiders, what they thought was less than a dozen, turned out to be more. Lianne thought she’d gotten the last of them, until she heard Ellie screaming for her from down the way. 

It was a scream that vibrated through her skull, her heart dropping to her stomach and a cold sweat creeping down her spine. When she rounded the corner to find Ellie, the young girl was half way down a pile of rubble that led its way to the floor below them. 

“What?” Lianne called to her, feet pushing her forwards to catch up with the young girl.

“It’s Joel,” Ellie called back, voice holding back another scream. 

Her surroundings became a blur as her feet willed her body to the edge of the balcony. Joel lay on the ground below, head rolling in pain, a pool of crimson growing by the second. Before she could even blink she was at Joel’s side, belt sliding off her hips and around his torso. His hand flew to her, his fist gripping onto the sleeve of her jacket as she tightened the belt around him. 

“Hi,” she said calmly to him, forcing her eyes to meet his. Her stomach twisted as she finally met his eyes, the brown glazed over as he gritted his teeth. 

“Go,” Joel grumbled to her. 

Fuck you, is what she wanted to say, spit it in his face and force him to his feet.

“Guys?” Ellie called. “There’s more.”

The voices of the rest of the raiders grew nearer, and Lianne’s attention whipped fiercely to Joel.

“What do you want to do?” She asked flatly. “We can fight ‘em off here, or get you up and outta here.”

The voices drew nearer with each passing second, the steady heartbeat in Lianne’s chest giving her the amount of time before they were screwed.

“Joel!” She snaps, shaking off his fists. “Stay, or up?”

Joel glared at her, eyes fierce through their gaze. 

“Up,” he grunted, reaching for her again. 

“Good,” she sighed, turning this time to Ellie. “Can you cover us?”

“What?” Ellie stammed, eyes glued to Joel bleeding out on the white tile.

“I need you to cover us,” Lianne calls sharply, all patience in her tone gone. “Can you do that?”

Ellie remains frozen in her spot, mouth opening as if to say something. Nothing comes out.

“Ellie!” Lianne snaps, forcing Ellie’s attention on her. Ellie finally gives her a small nod, readying the gun in her hand.

“Fuck,” Ellie mumbles, turning to watch as the men come nearer. 

“Come on, old man,” Lianne grunts as she raises Joel’s arm up and around her, readying herself to pull him from his place. “Gotta get you outta here.”

—-

A force had shifted in her mother. A dark shadow cast over her eyes, her teeth bared almost beastly as she stared at Isaiah.

The sun had begun to set when Isaiah took Ethel from the house. Lianne stayed huddled in her bed, knees tucked up to her chest, scraped shins and cold toes peeking out from her nightgown. She could hear her father, from somewhere out in the woods that bordered the property, sounds of his preaching echoing against the trees. 

It was dark when her parents returned, the reflection of the full moon trapped  in her mothers rattled gaze. She returned damp and pale, teeth clicking together as her jaw trembled, strands of hair stuck to her slick forehead. Eyes sunk and sullen, a darkness surrounding them.

“Your mother isn’t feeling much better, I’m afraid,” Isaiah begins as he steadies Ethel. “She needs some rest.”

The cough started the next day, the fever following soon after. Isaiah had confined Ethel to her bed, his words of explanation that this was God’s way of healing whatever sickness her mother had had from the day before. 

But they needed to pray, and they needed to pray hard.

It was Lianne’s turn that next night to pray with her father. He had led her towards the woods, a wooden altar near the treeline. He knelt with her, praying for forgiveness and for God to heal his wife. Begging Lianne to repent of her sins. 

When they returned to the house, the door to her mother’s room had been left unlatched. Slowly, Lianne pressed an unsteady hand to the door. It had groaned lowly on its hinges, unlike earlier in the day. The rattled breaths of her mother echoed in the dry room, moonlight reflecting on her mother’s pale skin, slick with fever. 

—-

“We need real food,” Lianne says quietly to no one in particular, her gaze never leaving Joel’s pale face. Her knees groan as she pushes herself to her feet, running her palms over the thighs of her jeans. “I’ll head out, see what’s out there.”

“I’ll come with you,” Ellie pipes from her position near Joel. She shared a quarter of a granola bar with Lianne earlier, her stomach turning in on itself in hunger.

“Can’t leave Joel here alone,” Lianne says as she shakes her head. 

“Then let me go,” Ellie bargains. “You stay here with Joel. I can go out.”

“Ellie-”

“I can do it,” Ellie says sharply, following quietly with, “I’m tough.” 

Lianne sighs heavily, her eyes softening.

“I know you are,” Lianne replies.

“I can take care of myself,” Ellie continues.

“You have,” Lianne agrees. “You still do. You always will. I’ve just joined in, too. Now we take care of each other.” 

Ellie’s silent at that, too hungry to put up much of an argument. Ellie settles herself along Joel’s side, tucking in the corners of his blanket around him, and Lianne leaves them. 

The wind had picked up a bit, a slight whistle to it as it blew through the subdivision. 

Sure, she could track her prey. The footsteps were easy enough to find in the snow, staying downwind and keeping a good distance between herself and the animal. But Joel was the professional, his stealth to an entirely new degree. He would’ve given her shit about losing the rabbit she had been after, and said some kind of witty remark about being a city girl. And he would’ve been proud that she tracked down a buck, readied her bow, and released.

The arrow hits its target, and the deer sprints out of sight as it wails. 

She hisses a curse, pushing herself through the snow to track the trail of the blood the deer leaves. Her steps are quiet and calculated, avoiding the crunch of the snowfall. The trickle of blood is bright on the white snow, the hoof prints frantic as they scatter the forest floor. 

The deer huffed to a slump, a long and last groan wheezing its way out from its chest before it stilled on the floor of an opening. Lianne kept herself hidden behind a tree, about to step foot after the deer, before the sound of voices had her pressing herself further into the tree. 

“I don’t see anybody,” one of the voices, a deep and brassy voice, hushes. “Think we can just take it?” 

“Yeah, quickly,” another voice, with even more brass, responds. “Whoever shot it’s probably nearby. 

The two walk around the deer, examining and sizing it up. Lianne is feather-light across the snow, bow raised as she approaches the two men.

“Don’t,” she calls out, voice strong and steady, echoing in the clearing. “Drop your rifles. Turn and face me, slowly.”

The first man that had spoken obeyed immediately, slow movements as he began to drop his rifle before the hand of the man next to him reached out to stop him. 

“You’re quite the hunter,” the second man said, his ginger hair fiery in the morning sun. “We didn’t even hear you coming.”

“Turn around,” Lianne says again, firmly. “And walk away.”

“Okay,” he says nonchalantly, raising his hands upwards. “But all I ask is ten seconds of your time. I just wanna talk.”

“I won’t say it again,” Lianne says flatly, the twang in her voice she tried to suppress seeping it’s way through her tongue. 

“Please, just ten seconds,” he asks again, teeth showing in a small smile. “My name is David. This is my friend, James. We’re from a larger group and we're all very, very hungry.”

“I got people too,” Lianne says cooly. “Also hungry.”

“Well, even so…” David continues. “You look mighty strong, but you can’t drag this back on your own. We’re not asking for charity, we can trade you for some of the deer. What do you need? We have everything. Boots, medicine-”

Lianne’s ears perk at that, a glimpse of a reminder of Joel laying sweaty and cold on that basement floor. And her stomach grumbles, hackles raised in desperation at just wanting to take the deer back to Joel and Ellie. He had screamed when Lianne sunk the needle into his skin, passing out briefly from the pain as she attempted to sew him up. His fists had locked around her wrists, praying for her to get away. He wouldn’t survive if he didn’t get help, get medicine for the infection that grew around his aching wound. She knew that, but she didn’t want to show her cards.

But fuck it. 

“What kind of medicine?” She calls to the men, arrow remaining notched, string remaining taught, and bow remaining ready.

“Got a bunch of antibiotics and stuff, back in our village,” he responds.

Bingo.

“You’re welcome to follow us.”

Lianne slackens the bow, quilling the arrow and slinging the bow across her shoulder. Only to replace it with the rifle she had slung across her pack, pulling it up to her shoulder to aim back at David.

“I’m not following you anywhere,” Lianne says dryly. “Your buddy can go get it. He comes back, you get half the deer. Anyone else shows up, I put one right between your eyes.”

David turns to James, instructing him quietly but still just loud enough for Lianne to hear. Hesitantly, James looks back to Lianne, squinting in her direction before slowly backing from David. Once he’s far enough away, he turns to make his way back to the village. 

Now that it’s just her and David, she relieves herself from her post near the tree, rifle remaining locked on him. And she slowly approaches.

His hands are still held in the air, watching her as she nears.

“It’s gonna be a while… before James gets back,” he says. “I have some oil and matches in my pack. We could take shelter, start a fire.”

Lianne only nods towards the deer, nudging the gun in that direction.

“Bring him with us,” she instructs.

—-

She snaked her way back through the woods, panic beating loud through her veins. She followed the path she had come from, careful to land each footstep in the ones formed earlier. She knew she’d be easy to track, that the hunters were just giving her a head start. But she needed to save Joel. She needed to save Joel.

Fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfuck.

She bursts through the door of the garage, nearly knocking it off its hinges. The horse lets out a startled snort as Lianne hurries past it. Her footsteps are heavy on the kitchen floor, letting Ellie know she’s back. When she reaches the door to the basement, her hand shakes as it reaches for the knob. She forces herself to take a breath, relax her hunched shoulders, brushes the hair out of her face and tucks it behind her ears, and pulls the door open with a steady hand.

Joel’s paler, skin a green-gray, and each breath is pulled in a painful shiver. His eyes are red, hands gripped in a white-knuckled fist under his sleeping bag. Lianne freezes when she sees him, hand flexing at her side.

“How is he?” she asks quietly. 

“He’s still breathing,” Ellie responds in a sigh, chin tucked over her knee as she sits next to Joel.

“Good,” Lianne answers with a nod, finally approaching the two of them. “I got medicine. Should help.”

Ellie whips her head around to look at Lianne, mouth gawking in shock. 

“Long story,” Lianne says flatly. “Couldn’t get us any food.”

“That’s okay,” Ellie says quietly, eyes still timidly peering at Lianne. 

Lianne slowly begins to unzip the side of Joel’s sleeping bag, heart clenching at the shiver that continues to rake through his body. With gentle fingers, she begins undoing the button of his jeans.

“Help me roll him over,” she whispers to Ellie. Her stomach drops at the borderline scream Joel lets out as the two of them roll him to his side. She quickly brushes his gray curls with a cold hand, her face falling flat as Ellie’s pulls into a grimace.

“Why are we-” Ellie begins, but Lianne quickly cuts her off.

“I gotta put…” she begins before her voice falls short. She pulls the vile from her inside pocket, trying to keep her hands from trembling as she readies the needle. “I gotta put it in his ass.”

A soft, oh, falls from Ellie’s lips, her face paling at the sight of Joel’s pained face. 

“Just keep him steady for me, okay?” Lianne instructs, and Ellie gives a stiff nod. Joel manages to grip Ellie’s hands in one of his own, eyes squeezed shut as Lianne pushes the needle into his skin and pumps him with penicillin. Once the needle is empty, she slowly rolls him back down onto his back, wary of the stitches that cover each side of him. She tucks his sleeping bag around him again, holding her breath as she watches his face relax as he becomes unconscious again. 

Ellie lets out a sigh, gaze hesitant on Lianne. Lianne releases a breath, falling back to sit on her heels as she closes her eyes. She urges Ellie to get some rest, saying she’ll stay up for watch. She tries to keep her breaths steady as her heartbeat thrums loud in her ears, trying to keep aware of any creaking footsteps in the snow.

The footsteps came in the morning, birds cawing in the trees nearest the house. The voices of men had Lianne up on her feet, adrenaline causing a black out as her focus zeroed out. 

“Take this,” she’d said sternly, shoving her shotgun into Ellie’s hands, but not letting go until she added, “Anybody comes through that door, you shoot.”

“What if it’s you?” Ellie asks, eyes still wide with panic as she tracks Lianne towards the basement steps.

“That’s up to you,” Lianne responds before turning around.  “You stay here, and stay alive. Keep him alive.” 

—-

They said it was consumption that had taken her. The fever was too much for her frail body, a strange and rapid decline that had her breathless in a matter of days. 

She had wanted to be by her mother’s side, wiping away the sweat with a damp cloth. Whenever she would peer between the crack of her mother’s door, her father’s footsteps would creak along the floorboard and she would hide herself in her room.

She prayed the rosary, pleaded for forgiveness, repented for her sins. Tried to believe she was praying hard enough for God to save her mother.

She knelt outside the door of her mother’s room, whispered prayers hushed into clasped fists. 

“There’s nothing you can do…” Her father says from behind her, a pale hand reaching out for her.

“Dad?” A mumbled whisper falls from her lips, head hung between her shoulders as her eyelids struggle to open.

A soft laugh echoes around her, the closeness of the warm breath causing her to pull her chin into herself.

“You can call me that,” David says suggestively. “Daddy… Father.”

A snarl gets lost in her throat as a cold finger reaches out to push the hair from her face, and she tries to pull her head back before the cold fingers latch around her jaw.

“Why you got me all hung up?” She asks through his grip.

“You’re a dangerous person. You’ve certainly proven that. You love blood too much,” he whispers, leaning in close to breathe her in. “But not like I do.”

Her arms were growing numb above her, strung up like skinned cattle as she swayed in his grasp. His eyes were like glass, threatening to cut straight into her skin. 

“I saw you,” he hushes. “Felt you, gave you. You have a violent heart. And I should know, I’ve always had a violent heart. I’ve struggled with it for a long time…”

She finally lifts her gaze to meet him, locking her fierce glare on him. Her nostrils flared, her lips pulled up at their edges. His eyes were on fire, the knowledge of the undesirable burning bright within them. 

She wants to hiss at him, spit in his face. Don’t fucking look at me.

“You don’t have to say yes to me,” he hisses right back at her. James appears behind him, a blurry shadow in the entry of the room. David orders him to take Lianne down, and the pain that sears through her shoulders rushes with the warmth of blood to her arms. 

She slumps to the cold cement, James barely attempting to hold her upright. She faces the cell next to her former, her eyes casting their gaze to an object in the middle of it. A pair of pink underwear lies bloody on the floor, and her blood runs hot. She turns to lock her eyes with David’s, and she can see it in his eyes.

“What have you done?” She snarls through clenched teeth.

David bends slowly to reach her gaze, hands resting casually on his knees as his lips twitch. He pulls himself closer to her, whispering slowly in her ear. “There’s nothing you can do,” his lips brush against her ear. “That’s already been done.” 

He pushes himself up straight, pulling in a deep breath before nodding towards James.

“Hit her again,” David says from behind her, and a crack against the back of her skull has her unconscious. All she can think about is Ellie.

—-

Joel’s bloodied fist became beaten as he landed blow after blow to the face of the man in front of him. His other fist gripped the man’s shirt, pulling him up from his position in the red chair to better pummel the man’s face. 

Ellie stands century in the corner away from the action, rifle ready in her fidgety hands, eyes trained on Joel.

“Stop…” the man pleads, eyes watery as blood spills from his nose. “Stop, please.”

An agonizing groan fell from split lips, a sickening thud of Joel’s fist cracking against his jaw. 

“Leave him alone,” another man pleads from his propped up position at the wall, voice straining as he begs. He’s sat with his hands tied, the sounds of the beating rounding his peripheral. 

“You’re next,” Joel all but growls, words spitting through gritted teeth.

“Please…” the man whispers again. Blood spits from his lips, his sweaty brow and swelling eye clouding the image of Joel in front of him. A beast from the woods, the hunter becoming the hunted. Joel’s eyes are empty, locked on the man in front of him. 

He wipes his cracked knuckles on the side of his pants, pulling his switchblade from his back pocket in swift movements. The blade shines in the light of the afternoon sun as it swings open, the reflection of the blade glinting in the wide eyes of the man Joel faces. A small smirk crosses Joel’s lips, teeth shining in a sneer, as his knife finds home in the thigh of the man. 

The man on the floor calls weakly to his partner, making Joel plunge the blade in further.

“No, no, no,” Joel says quickly, tapping the butt of the knife. “He can’t help you. You focus right here, or I’ll pop your fuckin’ kneecap off.”

“She’s alive,” the man in front of him responds quickly, voice breaking between syllables. 

“Where?” Joel growls, 

The man lets out a string of loud curses, before the words tumble from his lips: The town.

“What town?” Joel roars, face inches from the man in front of him. His blood begins coursing through him, the pain in his side subsiding as adrenaline takes over. He’s on autopilot, barely hearing the man say the words Silver Lake. 

“A resort?” Joel huffs, breath fanning over the broken man. The man stays silent, biting his lip to hold in his words. Joel wraps his fist around the knife, a yell echoing through the room as he pulls it from the flesh.

Joel places the handle of the bloodied knife into the man’s mouth, ruffling open a map that he splays flat so the man can see.

“You’re gonna point to where we are… And where your resort is,” Joel begins to instruct, his voice hushed. Venom drips from his teeth,  “And it better be the exact same spot your buddy points to.”

—

Her vision is just as fuzzy when she begins to regain consciousness. And she feels like she’s on fire, being split open from the inside out. The room moves around her, jostled rhythmically as wood scrapes along her back.

The ringing in her ears blocks out all noise around her, the buzzing of the flies still the only distinguishable noise she can pinpoint. Finally, breaking her focus, is the soft grunts of someone above her. Her eyes roll to the back of her head briefly, willing herself to stay conscious.

Stop.

Her limbs are numb, her head can barely roll around to take in her surroundings. His fingernails dig into the flesh of her hips, pulling himself further into her.

Stop.

Her head lulls to the side, that pink pair of underwear catching her gaze. 

Stop.

Her fingers twitch, brushing along the handle of something that lays next to her. David sits in the corner, watching with his hands in his pants. 

Stop.

It begins in her chest, somewhere deep in the bottom of her ribcage. It builds slowly, a wave rolling over into mountains. She takes in a short breath, fingers wrapping around the handle of the thing next to her. It rattles up through her chest, churning behind grit teeth. 

It escapes, a scream ripping from her throat, bubbled up from the depths of her chest. A soul piercing scream, world ending and none forgiving.

She swings her arm through the air, the glint of a machete blade catches her eye before it lands in the neck of that man above her. She uses the leverage to roll herself off the butcher table and onto the cement floor, scrambling to her feet to propel herself towards the door. David shouts behind her, words drowned out by the echoing of her own scream. A glimpse of a pile of her clothes catches her eye at the front of the room, and she scoops up what she can before rushing out the door.

Her feet hit the cold tile, the smell of burnt meat wafting over her. Her pulse throbs violently through her skull, the rhythmic beating threatening her vision. Her gasping breaths become steady as she straightens, willing herself to stay focused. A spark of an ember catches her eye, forcing her towards a small fire under a hanging pot. First instinct, she takes a smoldering stick from the pile, the embers still smoking violently as she continues through the kitchen. 

He calls for her tauntingly, tells her there’s no way out. 

You don’t know how good I am! He calls out. You don’t know what I could’ve given you, if you had just let me! You can’t hide from me forever.

When he enters her field of vision, she throws before she can think, the fiery plank of wood narrowly missing his head and landing in the burgundy curtains behind him. 

“Neither one of us is dying today,” he sneers. “I’ve changed my mind. I’ve decided you do need a father. So I’m gonna keep you… And I’m gonna teach you.”

The yell that escapes her forces her body to move, lunging towards him mindlessly. He blocks her first blow, hand readying itself with a blade that remains firm in his grasp. Quickly, Lianne twists his wrist at the same time he thrusts it forward. She uses the weight of herself to push at his arm, his own blade piercing him in the gut. He swings a powerful blow, knocking her away from him and she stumbles to the floor. 

Her eyes flutter and the room spins, breaths become gasps as the room fills with flames. A foot connects with her side, all air knocked from her as she falls to the side. The corners of her vision blacken, speckles of nothing crossing her mind. 

She’s rolled to her back, and she’s thankful for a moment at the quick breath she’s able to retrieve. David hovers over her, and she fumbles to push herself away from him. He crawls himself on top of her, a wolf coming to take the suffering. His hands latching against her wrists to hold them in place above her head as she spits at him, willing the venom of her tongue to seer its way into his flesh.

But he only chuckles, fangs shining in the light of the flames.

“I thought you already knew,” he taunts again. “The fight is the part I like the most.” 

She lets out a frustrated scream, face crumpled in exhaustion as her body betrays her. She wills herself to move, to break free of his grasp, but she only becomes more dizzy.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispers above her. “There’s no fear in love.”

The positions of the two are switched in an instant, the sudden fear in David’s eyes fueling the fire that burns through her veins. She had reached the machete that had dropped earlier, slashing it aimlessly towards David to get him off of her. He had stumbled back with a groan, holding a hand to his chest.

She is not merciful, and she is not kind, and she was not afraid to make him wish that she was.

He pleads with her, only for a second, before that same machete swings over her frame and into his flesh. 

The crackle of the wooden frames around her bleed their way into something else, the rattle of her mother’s lungs surrounding her. Angry, wrathful, bellowing screams shake from her body, her rampage continuing as she strikes the machete again and again.

She hovers above his disfigured form, a flash of a man lying lifeless on reddened snow from years before makes her shake her head in disbelief. Her panting breaths pull in smoke, lungs burnt as flames continue to lick around the room, threatening to pull closer to her skin. 

She is nothing but a dark silhouette amongst the flames, heaving and threatening over David’s lifeless body as her fist grips around the handle of the machete. She looks to her bloodied hand, heart threatening to beat its way out of her chest as her fist shakes. 

When she forces herself out of the burning lodge, the winter air is a respite to her burning form. Her eyes still held the light of the flames, fierce against the white snow. Her lungs burn with the crisp air, the fog of her breath a reminder of being alive. 

A firm grip latches itself around her arms, and all she can do is scream and thrash. The will to fight is fading, and tears threaten to spill from her eyes. Her voice is pleading, and it breaks as she begs to be let go. A voice responds repeatedly, but the pathetic tone of her own voice is all she can hear. 

She’s spun around quickly, met with the dark canvas jacket and green, bloodied flannel. Her voice trails off, eyes lifting upwards to see the face that blocks the sun. 

“It’s me,” she finally hears. Her eyes search his, deep brown crinkled in a deep frown. She’s breathing again, a panicked rhythm to the harsh breaths she pulls in. “Hey… Look. It’s me, it’s okay.”

Her fists latch on to his coat, a tearless sob breaking from her chest as her knuckles freeze in the cold. 

“Joel-” her voice breaks. “He tried- I couldn’t-” 

Her eyes are wide with fear, a sight that sent a chill through his spine, like that poor thing in the road he’d found all those years ago. 

Ellie’s name falls from her lips in the form of an apology, and Joel’s eyes search her face in forgiveness.

A figure steps into view from around Joel, Lianne’s wild eyes locking on them. The young girl is pale in shock, her knuckles red from the cold as they kept themselves latched onto Lianne’s pack. Lianne’s heart races in realization, her eyes casting back to meet Joel’s.

“It’s okay,” he whispers again, and she closes her eyes at the sound of his voice. She falls into him, a broken sob falling from her as he wraps her in his arms. “It’s okay, angel. I got you.” 

His jacket is pulled from his shoulders and wrapped around Lianne’s hunched form. Ellie had fallen into step at Joel’s side, his arm over her shoulder as she aided his pained walking. But his pain was numbed by the weight of Lianne’s body pressed into his, each of them taking the weight of the other as they walked towards the river.

[best-jrwi-fic-quotes]

This is my fic (Hiding in Your Shadow) by me (Snall) on Archive of Our Own (ao3)

I can't think of what else to write which, as a writer, should be worrying.

-

[thestarrynightslover]

Maybe We Could Do It Again

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Word count: 4,632

Warnings: bickering and fluff.

Summary: Jay meets the Reader as they’re both babysitting Makayla for Adam and Kim and they end up tangled up on the ground and kissing.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the One Chicago shows, or its characters, also not associated with it in any way, or know anyone involved with it.

A/N: Okay, so this is one of the longest fics I’ve written, which might be a little too long but I hope you guys like it and feel free to send feedback! By the way, this is the first time I insert Burzek in one of my fics but I think I got their energy right ;)

(y/n) = (your name) (y/l/n) = (your last name) (y/n/n) = (your nickname)

| masterlist |

“Oh my God, Adam! I can’t believe that even when you’re not supposed to do something you get it wrong!” Kim yelled at her boyfriend.

“What the hell-” He even tried to respond but got immediately interrupted for his bad language.

“Adam!” She hissed again, not believing how he could still curse so much now that the two of them had a child in the house.

“Sorry, sorry!” He said, nervously raising his hands, as Kim already peeked through the kitchen doors to see Jay and Makayla pretend like they hadn’t been listening to every word of their conversation in the living room. “It’s just… I remember you specifically telling me to find someone to babysit the kid, so I did it! How is it possible that I’m the one who-”

“Yes! I did ask you two to do that! On Monday! And do you remember what you told me?” He didn’t dare to say anything. “Oh, no? Because I do! I remember you saying, and I quote:” she said, even making finger quotes to emphasize the whole thing, “‘Where the hell am I supposed to find a babysitter for Makayla? None of my friends have any experience with kids!’” Kim shoved it in his face, making a very good point for herself. But, as usual, Adam decided to go against any sign of good judgment and continue to defend himself. He knew he could never let Kim in on it, but Jay himself was one of those who had already heard the officer saying how much he loved bickering with his girlfriend and getting her all fired up against him.

“No, uh! That won’t cut it! You told me, and I quote: ‘Then hire someone! I don’t know! But you’re the one who came up with the date night idea, so don’t come and throw something that should be your responsibility on my shoulders!’, so I knew that I needed to find someone! Kev and Vanessa are visiting his siblings this weekend, so I thought: why not Jay? He’s good with kids, and he offered to help us with Makayla!” Adam concluded, absolutely proud of himself while Kim just rolled her eyes.

“Oh. My. God!!! You do know he didn’t mean that literally, don’t you?” She was already fuming by that point.

“Err-” He had to admit that he’d never stopped to think about that possibility…

“No one means that literally!!” She shouted, this time, making even the neighbors hear their arguing. “No one means that literally, and, now, you’re just making us both look like the cops who can’t take care of their own kid in front of the entire unit.” She stated, in a lower, tone while pinching the bridge of her nose.

“But this is not the entire unit! This is Jay! Our friend Jay, who had offered!” Adam stood by that argument and Kim had already opened her mouth to shoot a remark back when Jay came into the kitchen.

“Makayla’s distracted with the tv.” He started with that so that they wouldn’t be worried. “Uh... Guys, Kim, you don’t have to worry about me telling anyone about this, okay? I won’t. Besides, I did mean what I said before. I’m here to help. Whatever you guys need. Plus, for someone who had plans of watching a game rerun alone at home on a Friday night, babysitting that cute little girl is almost like hitting a jackpot!” Jay assured, giving them a small smile and shiny eyes headed towards Makayla’s direction. Babysitting a kid, when he was probably never gonna have one of his own, was one of the things that he, personally, missed the most about when Will and Natalie were together. Back when Lindsay lived in Chicago, he used to be sure that, someday, he was gonna find someone. Settle down. Build a family. But, now… After everything that had happened, he couldn’t help but feel like his time to do all that had run out. So, instead of mooning over it, he could gladly babysit Makayla.

“Well, um, thank you, Jay,” Kim started, nervously tucking a string of hair behind her ear, “that’s really nice to hear. And we very much appreciate it. But-” She didn’t get a chance to finish as the doorbell rang and Adam rushed towards the apartment’s entrance to prevent his very excited little girl from opening the door by herself. When he got there, followed by the other two adults, Makayla was already standing on her tiptoes, hand-in-handle.

“Hey! Watcha doing, you little adventurous?!” Adam asked while picking her up from the floor and tickling her sides, which made her become a giggling mess. “You can’t just open the door like that, darlin’! You gotta check on the peephole first,” he said, as he lifted her up enough so that she could look through the hole, “like this. See someone?”

“Yes! It’s (y/n/n)!” She squealed out. “Can we open the door now? Please, Adam?” Makayla asked, shooting him pleading eyes, while her body buzzed with happiness.

“Ah, (y/n/n), right,” Adam said simply, opening the door and fearing that Kim would want to restart the whole discussion with him.

“Hey, princess!” And that simple greeting was all it took for Makayla to throw herself from Adam’s arms straight to yours. “Wow,” you laughed at her sudden movement, which had caused you to lose your balance a little, “you excited to see me?”

“Yes!! Did you bring the bakings???” She asked you eagerly, bakings being what she called your cooking utensils.

“No, not today!” Your answer made her face, almost immediately, turn into a sad frown. “But I brought this!” You told her while lifting up a box that read ‘karaoke set’, above a few drawings of a microphone and musical notes. Seeing that, Makayla’s saddened expression shifted in two seconds, eyes lighting up.

“Look, Kim!” The little girl shrieked, more than ready to have what she already knew was about to be the time of her life.

“Yeah, I see that! Seems like you girls are gonna have a blast…” Your friend weirdly trailed off, as her mind tried to find a quick solution to the mess her boyfriend had made.

“Uh…” Was all that a very handsome man you hadn’t met yet managed to let out.

“Jay, um, this is my best friend (y/n). (y/n/n), this is our friend from work Jay. I’m sorry about the mess, guys, it’s Adam’s fault.” Kim spoke again, bluntly accusing her boyfriend.

“My fault??? Are you kidding??? You told me to find someone to watch Makayla 'cause you didn’t want us to keep bothering (y/n)!”

“Guys! It’s no bother at all, really. Hanging out with this little princess is in my best interest, believe me!” You said, quickly defending your case.

“Well, thanks for saying that, (y/n/n). What happened here is that Adam told me he wouldn’t be able to get anyone,” Kim started while shooting daggers into her boyfriend with her bare eyes. “So, since I wasn’t about to just wait for a miracle, I called and asked you to do it. But someone didn’t think about telling me that he had already gotten Jay to come. And now you’re both here, ugh!” She finished, rather dramatically, while pointing a finger at Adam.

That was, seriously, the best couple you knew when it came to bickering.

“Okay, so, um, it’s not gonna be any trouble. I can leave since your colleague got here first and you don’t need to be stressed on your date night, friend.” You tried to bring things to a peaceful ending before Kim turned it into a murder scene.

“Oh, I do need to be stressed! I need to-” She started to debate but got cut off by Makayla’s cute pleading voice:

“But you can’t leave, (y/n/n)! We’re gonna play karaoke!” The little girl clearly had already gotten worked up by your idea for the night.

“Makayla, baby, please don’t be difficult. You hang out with (y/n/n) all the time, and uncle Jay is already here…” You watched as Adam tried to reason with his daughter while she held you really tight.

“No, uh…” Their friend started to say. Was it too weird for you to be thinking about how incredibly cute he looked when scratching the back of his neck like that? “Relax, man, I can go. I bet that you’re gonna have a lot more fun with her than with me, anyways, Mak.” He completed, talking to your little friend with a sweet smile, to which she reacted with a confused frown.

“But- but why does Jay have to leave? Can’t he play karaoke with us, (y/n/n)?” Makayla asked you poutingly.

“Now that’s something I’d like to see!” Adam started to mock but stopped when Kim punched him in the arm. “Ouch! That hurt, you know?”

“I know! That was exactly the result I was hoping for!” She squealed out sarcastically, “Makayla, honey, you can’t just ask both (y/n/n) and Jay to play karaoke, of all things, with you.” It was lovely to watch Kim interacting so patiently with her kid but the young girl still didn’t seem to understand.

“But why???”

“Well, they don’t know each other, Makayla.” Kim tried again but Mak still wasn’t ready to give it up.

“But they know me!” 

“Good luck explaining now, ma.” As soon as the words came out of his mouth, all of you 𑁋 Adam himself included 𑁋 knew what was coming, fortunately, Kim just punched him in the arm again.

“You know, guys, you don’t need to fight over something like this, okay? Uh… Since he’s your coworker, I’m gonna assume that he’s one of the good guys, therefore I wouldn’t really have a problem with hanging out with him…” You said because you were never one to say no to little kids. “I mean if that’s okay with you, too, officer…”

“It’s detective, actually. But you can call me Jay, uh, (y/n), right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Well, I don’t have any problems with hanging out with you either,” Jay said and, Jesus, was that really his smile? “I mean, Mak should get all the babysitters she wants!” He told her with a wink. It was official. You were so done for the night.

“Ha!” Kim nervously let out a laugh, “let’s go easy there, cowboy! You can’t just come into my house offering the kid everything she wants.”

“Okay, okay,” the detective started to say with a gesture of surrender while the couple started to get out of the house to give you the space to properly go in. “Sorry ‘bout that, ma!” You could have sworn that you saw him tremble 𑁋 just a little 𑁋 under the deadly gaze your friend sent his way. Adam, who seemed to be off the hook for the first time that night, took the moment to laugh and hope that his girl would forget she had been so mad at him.

“C’mon, darling. Let’s get going before we decide it isn’t very safe to leave Mak with those two.”

"Yeah… I'm already deciding that but maybe they'll prove us wrong." Kim said, voice absolutely faithless. "You behave, Makayla!"

"It's more than obvious that she's going to be the best tonight. Get outta here already!" You heard Jay yelling a little in response to her, as you and Makayla started to get the karaoke set up.

But you, being the lucky person you were, obviously couldn't find your way around your friend's old stuff.

"Uh, you need any help there?"

“No! No, not all! Um, I got this!” You quickly responded because you could be pretty skeptical when it came to admitting your weaknesses and, from your point of view, not getting a simple karaoke set to work was a huge one.

“Alright, then…”

“Are you sure you don’t want Jay to help, (y/n/n)?” Mak asked, sounding way more reasonable than you, the actual adult there.

“Um, err, I guess maybe I could use some help… It’s just that this TV setup is quite different from mine…” You said, still unwilling to let how confused you were really show.

“Yeah, I can help!” you heard Jay as he left his spot in the corner of the room. “I was just ordering us pizza but I can totally help out 'cause Adam and I actually shopped for these TVs together, so I have the same one!” He said, this time, already gently getting the device from your hands before you could even react, which was probably him sensing that you wouldn’t give it up so easily, like he could see right through you.

“Okay, well, since you already ordered the pizza, I’ll go make us some juice.” As you said that you got both of your companions making weird faces at you, so you amended: “Or not, because you already ordered soda too… Just keep in mind that if Kim gets mad because of all the junk food that kid is eating, I’m telling on you, detective!” You said, making a point to stare right into his eyes 𑁋 God, they were so beautiful, was there nothing but beauty in this man’s body?

“Okay, so I think we’re all good here with the karaoke! Who wants to go first?” Hearing that you came of your very dangerous thoughts and Makayla jumped up and down, screaming:

“Me! Me! Me!”

“Alright, little lady, then come pick a song!” Jay told her and stood by to help her with her choice.

About three hours later all three of you had already sung your hearts out 𑁋 Jay having had gone for ABBA, which surprised you and Mak, to say the least 𑁋 eaten lots of pizza, drunk lots of soda and had begun watching a movie, cause you told Jay that that always did the trick when it came to Mak falling asleep. But, God, it was hard to pay attention to the movie you were supposed to be watching when sitting next to a guy like that. And he wasn’t just really handsome. He was sweet and kind and funny. Also, he was so good with Makayla. It was like everything you’d always imagined the perfect man being like was right there, reunited in the detective’s goof self. But you couldn't be thinking those thoughts about him. Not when he was so close. And definitely not when your best friend's daughter was lying on both of your laps.

So, in order to calm your thoughts for a minute, you gently put Makayla’s head on a cushion as you got up 𑁋 because she was already asleep 𑁋, and said I’m gonna get started on cleaning over there.” It was indeed necessary since Mak had dropped all of the content of a big ice cream container near the dining table, the ice cream being very sticky and sort of liquid 𑁋 which was obviously beyond your understanding but who were you to judge Kim and her preferences? 

"Oh God, lemme help you!" You heard Jay saying, as he quickly made his way from the corridor over to where you were cleaning the floor, by the dining table.

"Ah, there's no need for it. I'm used to spending time with Mak, and, then, cleaning up before Kim sees it." You told him with a sly smile.

"Ha! Well, I don't doubt it! You're really good with her."

"And she's really good at making giant messes."

"Right." He said, chuckling lightly. "But, this time, I bet you felt like there were two kids, huh?"

"Your words, not mine, detective."

"Anyways, I'll help. Don't tell Kim and Adam, cause they might spread it across the district, but I'm actually pretty good at cleaning. Especially, when compared to someone who's doing such a lousy job." At that, you instantly snapped your head in his direction.

"What did you just say?" You asked, pretending to be mad while standing up and raising your sponge, as if it was a weapon you were threatening him with.

"Uh… Uh, d- did you know that pulling a weapon on a cop is a crime?" He asked, trying to play along, but stuttering a little.

"And what are you gonna do?" Now that Makayla was asleep… "Huh? Arrest me?" Jesus Christ, you definitely weren't thinking straight, you thought as you watched Jay drop his mop, also spilling all the soapy water on the floor. He even motioned to take care of it but stopped when he realized that you were, now, standing closer. Closer than it was safe for him to be near a woman like you. So he decided to take a step backward, not remembering the floor situation and slipping. As a reflex, you grabbed his shirt when you were obviously not gonna be able to prevent him from falling.

So, you ended up falling with him. On top of him. Oh God, was that living room always so hot? Your thoughts were cut off by Jay's laugh, it was an open-mouthed laugh, just like when you two were interacting with Makayla. He didn't seem to be the kind of guy who got to laugh too much, especially given his job. But it definitely suited his features. His smile, that bright, was so beautiful.

"So you're seriously not even gonna try and get up? Just gonna stay there staring?" Hearing that, you blushed instantly, because you hadn't even realized you were staring.

"Ah, uh… Right." Now, that was your turn to stutter, and Jay was loving every second of it. He thought you looked absolutely adorable like that. Even more so than you had looked all night.

But you weren't feeling adorable at all. You were embarrassed. By the situation at hand, sure, but, also, by your entire behavior that had, pretty much, gotten the two of you in that position. What was going through your head? The answer was simple: nothing. Or, better yet, Jay's gorgeous face, body, and behavior. Just, Jay being gorgeous all night. Now, what really made you wanna dig a hole and jump right into it was when you tried to get up but the floor was so slippery that you just fell back on him.

Needless to say, he was having a playfield. Laughing like there was no tomorrow. In fact, he had relaxed completely under you, laying his head on the soaked floor.

"You know what? This is pretty comfortable. I think I'll stay right here." It was official: you had no self-shame.

"Are you serious?" He asked, trying hard to hold back from laughing.

"Look, I don't know what else to do, okay? And my brain is clearly affected by your little charm, because I just keep mortifying myself over and over-"

"So you think I'm charming, huh?" Damn it. A thousand times damn it.

"Uh… That's not exactly what I-" You couldn't finish your sentence, as Jay started pulling you even closer to him. Kissing you. Oh boy, how he kissed you…

"Oh. My. God." Both you and Jay jumped away from each other, as much as you could, the second you heard Kim say that, her being followed suit by Adam:

"What the hell is that?!?" He half-asked, half-barked at the both of you, trying hard to not burst into laughter.

"Uh, it's, um, it's not what you're thinking, guys-"

"It's not what I'm thinking?!?" Yeah… It was safe to say that Kim was pissed. "Are you sure it isn't? Because the image actually seemed pretty self-explanatory to me!" As the both of you just kept working out a way to get up from the floor, she continued: "I come back home thinking that everything was gonna be perfect because my daughter had two adults babysitting her! People that I thought were quite responsible but, then, I come home to find those very adults making out on the floor in my living room! My very dirty living room! And, by the way, where the hell is Makayla?"

"She, um, she's in her bedroom. Asleep." Jay finally spoke. "And, about the mess… We were just, uh…"

"Yeah, man, we saw what you were just doing," Adam said, looking like he was having the time of his life.

"No! That's not what he was gonna say-"

"Ah, so the two of you got along so well that now you even know what he was going to say, (y/n)?" Kim said, while glaring at you.

"All I meant was that, well, the place got a little dirty…" Jay started to explain but not fast enough.

"A little???" Kim was really, really mad, you realized.

"But dinner was great!" At that, both you and Kim just stared at him incredulously while Adam started laughing on his way to the kitchen.

"That's what you were going to say???" You ask him, not believing you'd just tried to defend him for some joke. "Kim, I'm sorry things ended up this unfruitful…" You began to tell your best friend, to try and patch things up, when Adam chipped in from the other room.

"You know, darling, Jay wasn't wrong! This pizza is great!" He barked, mouth full. And that's what got Kim to go over the edge.

"Don't you realize what just happened here, Adam??? And, you two! I still haven't heard an explanation on what the hell I just saw!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry! We were cleaning up and then it just-"

"It just what, (y/n)??? It just happened? That what you were gonna say?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, it is! It just happened because you and your boyfriend made me babysit with this ridiculously hot guy and I'm human! Now, before you have another crisis, Makayla didn't see anything and I'm leaving because I just humiliated myself more than enough for a lifetime!" With that said, and your flight or flee instinct activated — cause you were never much of a fighter —, you did the smartest thing possible and stormed out of there, hoping to be able to get into some sort of protection program for embarrassment victims.

Meanwhile, Adam and Kim simply had to laugh, even more so when they noticed Jay's shocked twinkling expression.

"Jay! What is wrong with you?" Kim asked, taking him out of his daze.

"What?"

"Go after her! If I hadn't been so upset about the circumstances, I would've been the first one to say that what happened over there?" She asked, pointing to the floor. "What happened there was hot." The officer finished her trail of thought bluntly, as if it was the most obvious thing.

"But… What about your living room?" Jay asked, still unsure of what to do.

"Are you kidding me? Look, Halstead, if you promise not to break her heart… I won't hold it against you." Kim stated, making her stance on the whole matter very clear. She thought it was a good way to start apologizing to you after freaking out like that.

"Uh, uh, alright!" The detective rambled, looking like he had no idea of what to do next.

“Go!” With that last push, he left his friends’ house to go try and get the girl.

“You know, this is quite a mess but they do have the potential to be a great couple!” Adam happily pointed out, as he kept eating all he could find.

“Ha! If she’s as lucky as I am…” Kim ironically muttered, as she watched her boyfriend impolitely shoving food in his mouth.

“Then she’s a very lucky lady!” He confidently stated with a grin while all Kim could do was laugh at his messy childish ways.

Outside burzek's apartment — burzek being the ship name you used to tease Kim and Adam with —, you had been slowly walking towards the subway. You wanted to move faster but your mind was too full at the moment. And, sometimes, when you needed to get your head back on straight, you couldn't really do anything else, having a hard time concentrating on your flow of thoughts.

It was right when you were beginning to think you had stopped the spirals in your mind that you heard him: "(y/n)!" You recognized the detective's voice on the spot. How could you not, after how he had managed to disrupt your thoughts and actions all evening? But you weren't about to turn back around and have your very own movie ending with him. You just knew it wasn't gonna play out like that and decided to keep walking in order to preserve the little dignity you still had. "Oh, c'mon! Just give me a minute! Please!" That pleading made you turn around, to let him down more politely, which ended up with the two of you almost hitting each other. Once again, that same night, he was too close to you. The proximity with his body sending all sorts of heatwaves through yours. He seemed to be feeling it too, given the way he started to look at you, the damn smirk back on his lips.

"Nu-uh. You don't get to look at me like that. Not after what it did to me the first time."

"Huh. Care to elaborate on that? How exactly am I looking at you?" He asked, moving even closer to you altogether. "And, more importantly, what exactly did it do to you?"

"You don't need me to answer any of that." You pointed out, crossing your arms over your chest — clearly going into defensive mode.

"Maybe not," he started, tilting his head slightly — the damn smirks never leaving his face. "But. I'd like to hear it nevertheless."

"Well, you're not going to."

"Ah, okay." Wait, was he really giving up that easily? "Then maybe I can just try and see what it does to you one more time? For the sake of curiosity." All you could think to say was an enthusiastic 'Yes, please!' but, when he started leaning in to kiss you, you seemed to come back to your senses, pushing him away and taking some steps back of your own.

"Oh my God! Don't you get it? We can't be doing this right now. Not after the way I left things with Kim because of our previous, um, actions!" At that, Jay just gave you a confused look. "I stormed out of there but just because I was feeling too ashamed about it all and I honestly don’t think that I want any more embarrassment for a lifetime.

“Okay, okay. I get that but maybe it would feel less embarrassing for you if you knew that I was feeling all of that too: all of that buzzing energy and the goddamn butterflies and everything. You were doing exactly the same I did to you to me. And, as embarrassing as it was to be caught like that by Adam and Kim, I still can’t say I regret any of it. In fact, I was thinking that maybe we could do it again? You know, minus all the mess and the kid 𑁋 I mean, I adore Mak but that would be-” 

You didn’t care to listen to the rest of all he had to say. Instead, you threw yourself into his arms, even making him lose his balance for a second, and started kissing him, except that this time it was a slow, hot, and thought-through kiss. And the second you did kiss him, you heard clapping and whistling from afar, as you turned to find Kim and Adam there, once again witnessing you and Jay kiss. And that had Jay whispering to you:

“Let’s get out of here?” To which you responded simply with a:

“Yes, please!”

[halsteadlover]

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮

• Pairing: Jay Halstead x Fem!Reader.

• Requested by @hart-kinsella: Maybe him and mc are working undercover (but they're married in real life) and a guy tries too hard with her (takes her by the arm and invades her personal space as well as trying to flirt with her with words) and then Jay tells him that and punches him. They could be at a club like that one episode when he and Hailey (and Kevin, maybe? I don't remember exactly) were undercover - unfortunately I don't recall which season it was.

• Warnings: mention of drugs, violence.

• Word count: 1543.

• A/N: I know this is not my best work and I apologize 😭 but I managed to quickly write it so I can post something ❤️ and tell me why I stayed for half an hour staring at the wall to think about a title and I ended up with this one 😭 btw love you all and thank you always for your support

It was no secret Jay sometimes hated undercover missions. Especially if you were involved.

He couldn’t help it. He knew you were an amazing cop, one of the best he ever worked with, capable of defending yourself in any circumstances but since you were also his wife, he couldn’t help but worry about you.

And this case was no different.

You and Jay were undercover due to a drug trafficking case, him as a potential buyer interested in purchasing the drugs, you as his work partner who had set up the connection with Joshua Ryder, the criminal suspected of being the gang’s leader.

Jay was on the verge of losing his mind, not being able to stay still and acting like nothing was happening.

You were both in a club, sitting in a VIP room while you talked with Ryder and convince him to make a deal with you. The rest of the team were instead in some fake company’s vans listening to your conversations in real time.

However, things started to go wrong when Jay noticed one of the traffickers approaching you in a way he didn’t like at all.

“Are you here to do business or watch her like a hawk?” the gang leader had insisted for the umpteenth time while for the umpteenth time Jay directed his gaze towards you who continued to giggle with fake enthusiasm with one of Ryder’s henchmen.

You were uncomfortable, as with any mission that involved getting close to another man other than your husband. You knew it was your job, that you had a duty to fulfill and your private life had to stay out of it but sometimes it wasn’t that easy.

“You sure you don’t want anything to drink, sugar?” Asked the man who insistently continued to hit on you. You didn’t even know his name – or care to know – but you smiled anyway with fake naivety, slightly shaking your head.

You quickly glanced at Jay who was sitting in front of you, noticing he was busy talking to Ryder, but his gaze met yours for a moment. It was brief but in that simple look you understood he too had noticed that guy’s insistence. Jay had his arms crossed over his chest, breathing heavy, his jaw clenched as he saw how this man insisted on getting closer to you.

He was disgusting, he smelled of alcohol from miles away, and you had to repress the urge to vomit and the instinct to punch his ugly face.

The man approached further, sliding on the sofa towards you and you moved back, trying to create further distance but without making it obvious and making him suspicious.

“You know, my boss is quite jealous of his employees, you shouldn’t be so close to me,” you falsely giggled but he didn’t seem to get the hint, in fact, it seemed to amuse him even more.

“We’re all one big family here darling, what’s mine is someone else’s and what’s someone else’s is mine…” He rested an arm on the back of the sofa behind your shoulders and although he hadn’t even touched you, you felt your skin crawl and the urgent need to throw yourself into an acid bath. “If you want to do business with us your boss will have to learn how to share… Especially with such a beautiful and gracious girl like you.”

The desire to kick him in the balls was intense and you wondered what kind of woman would really fall for these words.

Jay was on the verge of losing his mind.

He was trying.

He was really trying but it was so fucking hard to stay still and not react when that son of a bitch was being a creep with his wife. Ryder was talking to him about something he didn’t even care about, but he couldn’t pay attention and process a single word, too focused on you.

He couldn’t help but glance at you every now and then, running a hand on his jaw in frustration and starting to fidget on the spot as he saw the man getting closer and closer to you and invading your personal space, like touching your hair or caress your shoulder.

It wasn’t jealousy, he could never be jealous of a filthy man like him but he deeply hated not being able to do anything to keep you safe without ruining the whole mission. He hated seeing you so tense and uncomfortable although from the way your hands were balled into fists in your lap, he knew you too were itching to punch him.

He hated having to pretend you were simply his work partner and not his wife.

But he swore he saw red when that man’s clammy hand rested on your face and your eyes widened at the contact as your entire body froze in place.

Fuck the mission and these motherfuckers too.

Jay lost control.

That slimy hand on you had driven him crazy and before he knew it, he had stood up and grabbed the man’s hand with his, punching him in the face with all the strength in his body. He didn’t catch the gasp that escaped you and he didn’t even care he had just ruined any chance of doing ‘business’ with Ryder along with the possibility of framing him. While his fist hit that bastard again and again, all he could do was think of those hands on you.

“That’s my fucking wife you motherfucker!” Jay screamed in his face, holding him by the collar of his shirt as the man spat out blood, struggling to keep up with the fury of the undercover detective. “Let me catch you again putting a hand on her or even just looking her way, I’ll enjoy breaking your fingers one by one before throwing you in jail.”

Everything was now chaos.

The team, who in the meantime had witnessed everything through your hidden cameras, burst in when they realized the situation had now worsened to the point of no return. You tried to pull Jay away from the man, but it was totally useless, not when he was so furious that your strength was no match for his.

Ryder was fuming when he realized you were cops and you had tried to frame him, swearing he’d make you pay dearly while Kevin handcuffed him along with the rest of his goons.

“Baby,” you called back but Jay didn’t look at you right away. You stood outside the club under Voight’s orders, a hand on his bicep and caressing him as you tried to get his attention. You were alone in a little corner, waiting for your boss for his inevitable fury.

“You okay?” He asked, his voice low but finally focusing his gaze on you.

You let out a laugh trying to diffuse the tension, you hated seeing him so furious. “You are ask me if I’m okay? I’m not the one who just punched a guy.”

He sighed, tearing his eyes away from you as he ran his hands over his face with frustration. Your heart clenched at the sight of his red and bruised knuckles. “I wish I had killed him to be honest.”

“Jay I don’t want you to get hurt because of me,” you replied, taking his hands in yours and leaving a kiss on the back of them, smiling when you saw his hard features start to soften at the gesture. “I could’ve handled him, I wouldn’t have let him go any further.”

“I know you could baby, you’re amazing,” he softy spoke, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. He took a step towards you, closing the distance enough you had to slightly lift your head up to look into his eyes. “But there’s no way on earth that I would have sat there and watched while that son of a bitch put his hands on you.”

He cupped your face with his hands, his thumbs caressing your heated cheeks. “No one gets to put a hand on you, much less against your will. You’re my wife, I’m the only bastard who can touch you and I will gladly kill anyone who dares to do it instead of me, am I clear?”

You let out a breath, almost on the verge of passing out right there and now in his arms. “God baby I want to suck your dick so bad right now. I love when you get so protective of me, it’s so hot.”

Jay burst out laughing, his stomach clenching in anticipation knowing you would stand by your words. He pulled you into a hug and you rested your head on his chest as you wrapped your arms around him. “I’ll always keep you safe, I won’t let anyone touch a single hair of your head, I hope you know it. God knows I would set the city on fire to protect you.”

“I know baby, I love you so damn much it’s insane,” you deeply inhaled the smell of his cologne, leaving a kiss on his shirt coated chest. “But I hope it’s worth it because Voight is coming and I think he’s ready to take us both out,” you continued when you broke away from the hug and saw your boss coming up behind Jay, a furious look on his face.

“Oh yeah, it’ll always be worth it, especially for the amazing blowjob you’ll give me later.”

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[poppadom0912]

Hi, Would you make a Halstead!sister where she is a teen and have her very first boyfriend and when she decides to break up with him he hits her. She wants to hide it from her brothers but they found out anyway

Warnings: Abuse and violence, swearing, canon-typical injuries.

A/N: Okay, this fic will be the last one for a while and I mean it this time. Writing this was so random but I got sudden inspo when I found this half written soooo please do enjoy!!

You swear that this wasn't supposed to get as bad as it did.

You were still in high school and it might've been your first boyfriend and it definitely took too many tries to convince your brothers to give you permission to date but somehow, you got it in the end.

Several times, both Jay and Will but mainly Jay, warned you of abusive, manipulative and toxic partners which you knew existed but never thought you would date someone as such.

Joey was nice at first. After inviting him over for dinner a few times, your brothers began to be more lenient towards him though they would never admit it aloud.

Yes, they were still quite wary considering you were both still young and in school but over the course of a few months, you were finally allowed to go on a date alone without them acting as chaperones.

Then, it came to your break up.

During school, you and your best friend found Joey and another girl in your year locking lips against her locker without any shame at all. It was there and then you decided that evening you were going to break it off with him.

The two of you met up in the school car park where he would usually drive you home but unbeknownst to him, you had different plans for that today.

You hated how he was acting so nonchalant, the biggest smile on his face when he noticed you walking up to his car. You felt sick, desperately wanting to smack that smirk off his face.

"Y/N! Baby, I missed you at lunch. Where-" Joey started, opening his arms to embrace you but was cut off.

"Don't call me baby." You said sharply, your tone showing you were being completely serious. "We're done Joey."

Joey blinked, tilting his head to the side in confusion before laughing. "Oh Y/N, you're hilarious! Come on, we're going to my house-"

Once again, you cut him off, harshly shoving his hand off your elbow. "No, I'm being serious Joey. We're breaking up."

His face immediately fell at your words. All of a sudden, with the flip of a switch, he changed completely. It was so fast that it started scaring you.

Before allowing him to get a word in, you turned around so you could walk away and go home on your own but you were held back. A hand was suddenly tightly gripping your wrist, pulling you back towards Joey.

"What the hell!?" You exclaimed, trying to rip your hand out of his but he wouldn't budge.

"Joey, you're hurting me. Let go." You said, trying to reason with him but nothing was working.

You tried to calm him down, Jay's voice in the back of your mind explaining step by step what to do in cases like this but you found yourself frozen, unable to defend yourself alike to how you were taught.

It was all so sudden. One moment you were angrily staring up at Joey and the next you were looking to your left, your right cheek burning as it tingled with numbness.

Both of you were shocked at his actions. Using his shock to your advantage, you pulled your wrist out of his hand, ignoring the burning sensation you felt and ran.

*****

Unfortunately for you, it was a friday night and that meant both your older brothers were at home. Typically, on the weekends, you swapped and went to Will's before going back to Jay's for the weekdays. So that meant Will was at Jay's apartment to pick you up.

You were still breathing heavily as you entered the house, unintentionally slamming the front door shut as you came to your senses.

You were home. You were safe.

"Y/N, are you okay?" Jay shouted from the living room. He heard the door slam and was confused since he knew he specifically told you to never slam doors.

"Uh- yeah." You hesitated, licking your lips as you answered. "I'm, I'm good."

"You're red and sweaty- did you run all the way here?" Jay asked after a moment of studying you, taking note of your red cheeks and sweat collecting forehead.

"Yeah I did, I'm bursting for the toilet." You quickly thought of an excuse, lying about why you ran home.

Before he could reply, you dashed past him towards the bathroom to keep up with said lie.

"Hey Y/N-Oh..." Will words were lost as he watched you disappear as quick as he saw you.

"What's up with her?" Will asked, looking confusingly at Jay and down the hall where you disappeared.

"I'm not sure."

****

Joey went back to disturbing you as soon as monday came. The weekend seemingly getting on his nerves because he was buzzing monday morning to the point that you turned back around whenever you saw him.

But you could only run so far from him because at the end of the day as you waited for your best friend, he was grabbing you way too hard.

This process only repeated itself for the next two weeks, becoming almost routine where you only missed him for two days overall.

Three weeks since he first laid hands on you, you were now covered in an amalgamation of redness, bruises and finger-shaped marks.

Today though, today something changed.

It was friday, nearly a month since you broke up with Joey and you were walking to Med. Will was supposed to pick you up but his latest patient was causing problems and asked for you to walk to the hospital only ten minutes away.

So you and one of your friends who lived near that area walked together, departing as you reached the ED doors and she walked home.

As you waved her off, your smile bright and hurting still from how much both of you were laughing, you weren't paying too much attention to your surroundings. You didn't think there would be much danger outside a guarded ED but alas.

One second your waving your friend off and the next, your on your hands and knees on the floor. It happened so fast you couldn't comprehend what even occurred.

"What the-"

Someone harshly pulling you up stopped your trail of thought, their grip so tight that you couldn't focus on the burning in your palms and knees.

"Joey! Let me go you dickhead!" You shouted at the boy as soon as you looked up at the perpetrator.

Pulling your wrists from grasp, you grunted when his grip didn't let up, instead it did the opposite and tightened to the point that your hand was starting to go pale.

"Please Joey- Please just let me go and we can talk this out, I promise." You pleaded with him, eyes going glassy when he started pulling you away from the hospital entrance, panic finally setting in.

You tried pulling yourself away, heels digging into the ground to stop him but he was too strong, his height and build giving him an advantage along with being on the football team while you barely even participated in gym.

"Joey your hurting me-" You were cut off when he shoved you up against the wall head first and then repeatedly shoved your head back when you kept talking.

"Shut up bitch!" He almost screeched, hand on your forehead to prevent your head from moving, ensuring your eyes remained on him.

Your vision blurred, head banging with what felt like the worst headache in the universe. Your reply was simply a whine, no words possible due to the pain he inflicted.

His elbow was digging into your torso, your lungs and ribs restricted from any movement because of the pressure.

"J-Jo..." Everything of his increased, his grip, his shouts, the pain he caused.

Your breathing was taken away from you when he suddenly brought his fist to your torso repeatedly.

All of a sudden, he disappeared and you were falling, your legs unable to support you.

Before you could meet the ground, you were caught and being hauled into an embrace you hadn't felt in a decade. The familiar cologne one you bought with your own pocket money and a voice you'd known since birth.

"I've got you Y/N." Will whispered to you, cradling you gently in his arms.

"Ethan, you got him?" Will called out to his colleague but you were so out of it you couldn't see the other doctor.

"I'll handle him, get her inside." Ethan replied as he restrained Joey, his past military training helping him plenty.

The last thing you remembered was Will's reassuring words before everything went black.

*****

"We have to wait for her to wake up to determine how bad the concussion is but besides that, she's okay." Will finished explaining to Jay the prognosis who arrived five minutes ago.

"She's also got old bruises." Jay finally looked up from your face to Will's, anguish clear on the latter's face. "This has been going on for a while now."

Jay was speechless.

He was at a crime scene when Will called him, something neither brother did when they knew the other was at work and despite trying to anticipate what was going to happen, he could never guess it would be this.

Will explained that he and Ethan were taking a quick breather outside together after the death of their last patient when they heard a man shouting and though they couldn't see you, Will easily recognised Joey.

While Ethan subdued Joey, Will wasted no time in getting you to safety and inside the ED where Connor treated you.

There would be no long lasting effects from any of the injuries but they were bound to stick around for a while and they would definitely hurt.

Will couldn't get it out of his memory - seeing your ex boyfriend continuously punching you with no remorse and almost strangling you with the death grip he had. Will saw it every time he blinked and felt like puking.

Jay had walked passed Joey when he entered the ED and to say he felt like throttling the boy was putting it very, very lightly.

But Jay had plans for little Joey, he was more than confident that Voight would let him have a few words with him later. Especially if it involved you - his boss seemed to have a weak spot whenever you were involved, everyone did.

"I need to find Goodwin and get off shift early, I'll be back." Will said. Maggie could only do so much for so long.

Jay hummed. "I've got her, she's not going anywhere don't worry."

Will hadn't been gone for long when you started coming back to. Jay was messaging Hailey, asking for updates on what they were doing with Joey when he felt your fingers twitch in his other available hand.

Jay waited patiently, forcing himself to let you take your time and not rush you just in case. Will mentioned a concussion that they weren't too sure on the extent on its damage.

Your whimpers had his heart in your control, a lump in his throat at you clearly in pain and his inability to cure and rid of all your ills.

Seeing your eyes, the colour so bright under the hospital lights and because of the fear you felt so vividly, Jay found himself unable to breath for a moment.

"Is he gone?" You whispered, voice hoarse as you squinted up at your older brother.

"Yes he is." Jay nodded, ignoring the burning that randomly enveloped his eyes and brushed your hair back with such a feather light touch that you didn't register the gesture. "He's never going to touch or bother you ever again, I promise."

The only response you could formulate was tears, the waterworks instant as soon as the words came out of Jay's mouth.

"Will and I will make sure nothing happens ever again, we promise."