AN: originally posted on tumblr in two parts, combining it onto one part here. Inspired by the beautiful Kip Moore song of the same title. I wrote this about ten months ago, and its a personal favorite of mine. Enjoy. Feedback appreciated please. :)
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Let's Build Some Dreams (1)
She leaned back into him a little harder and squeezed the hands that held hers a little harder and smiled at what the low accented voice told her in the December night. She was blushing a little, but knew he wouldn’t be able to tell, not that he could see her face but that the only light in the room was from several dozen candles of varying sizes. “Where do you see us in a year?” She asked quietly, turning her head to crane and kiss his neck.
"Right here, well, on a couch like this, maybe not here." He laughed softly, the chances of them being in this hotel room, in this city were slim a year from now. He moved his foot against her ankle, and kissed curly blonde hair. "I suppose that sometime soon, I’ll ask your father for permission."
She resisted the urge to sit up but was beaming in the low light. She knew he already had her fathers permission - her father loved Ed like his own son. “Really?”
"I’ve been in love with you for so long now, Taylor, not that there’s a time frame for this type of thing, but yes, like we’ve been talking since the summer, someday I’ll be your husband." He squeezed her hands, "Where do you see us in two years?"
She was liking this game that she didn’t mean to start with that first question. “Hmm, well, knowing what you just told me, I’d like a ring on my finger, and maybe one on yours. I don’t know where time will take those things, but I’d picture us buying some land, or a home to have a family in, and making it our own.”
"I can’t wait to see where in the world we end up, home is wherever you are, love. I feel at home now with you in a room that we have until tomorrow but home for our family will be a house, and a community, and friends, roots to place and make their own like we did when we were young that shaped us to become who we are today."
"I picture somewhere with a large yard, so they can run around and be outside, and appreciate sunsets and spring days and the smell of cut grass and leaves changing in the fall." She felt him nod against her and kiss her hair again. "What about three years?"
"I hope, that three years from now, we’ll be joined by a baby."
"I’ll be 28. I think that would be fantastic, Ed. And maybe after that another one?" She smiled again, well, all Taylor ever really did was smile with him but now she twisted from where she was sitting between his legs, cuddled against him to face him, he scooted so she could lay down on him and place her chin on his chest looking up at him with dancing eyes and a smile that to him, held the world.
"I think that yes, we would probably have more than one child." He smiled widely, his eyes dancing now too.
"We could have lots of babies." She said, softly, testing him.
"Yeah, I suppose we could." His eyes looked distant, he was day dreaming. "How many are you thinking, love?"
"Uhm, well, if we can handle two, why not have three? And if we can handle three, why not four? Or five?" She laughed a bit and kissed the hand that he was tracing against her face.
"You think so, Tay?"
"Well, I mean, we gotta see what God gives us, he may only give us one."
"Very true, we’ll just see where life brings us cuz it brought us here to each other." He grabbed her chin and gently tilted her face up, so she leaned up and kissed him on the lips.
"Where do you see us in ten years?" Taylor said, returning to cuddle into his chest.
"We’ll have to be spending this time together, on our anniversary, away from the football team of kids, so a hotel room again, definitely. But we wouldn’t go to a city that we’d want to do stuff in, we’d fly to the most boring city and just get a room in an airport hotel and never leave the bed." She laughed at him before sitting up and kneeling between his legs and looking down at him. They were here in Paris, the city of lights, for their one year anniversary of admitting their feelings to each other that they were actually in love. Her album came out a month and a half ago, and she did everything she could to have two days here alone, with Ed, fit into her promo stuff for the album. He did everything he could to have his Paris show fit into the same time frame on his European tour of his new album. The last few months of their lives have been exhausting so they really need a couple days of a hotel room facing the Eiffel tower, cuddling, wine, and a lot of sex.
"You really think we’ll need to spend a weekend in some random city doing nothing but sex because we won’t be having any at home?" She frowned at him. "Because I like sex, Ed. In fact, I love it, so no, that will not be happening."
"The weekend of nonstop sex or the no sex once we have kids?" He was playing with the hem of her skirt now. He was distracted by the fact that he wanted to take it off, and what was underneath it off, but also torn with the dinner reservations he was reminded of with a hungry stomach.
"Oh, the nonstop sex weekend can definitely happen. But even if I have to schedule the time in myself, I will be having sex with you as much as we possibly can. We can’t let the exhaustion of raising kids stop that for us."
"I love that you’re so determined." He pulled her back down to him. "We have dinner reservations soon, love."
"Or we could skip them and stay and just get room service again?" She looked up at him, with eyes asking to stay.
"We did that last night and this morning already. We need to leave this room eventually, Miss Swift."
"We were too preoccupied to leave this room last night, Ed." She laughed into his chest. "Of course we didn’t go anywhere. We should’ve known."
"Yes, but I’m starving, and this place we’re going came with amazing recommendations, so we need to go." He kissed, not meaning to actually kiss her lips, but her cheek. She sneakily kissed him back, and he deepened the kiss with hesitation. He could feel her smiling against his lips, thinking she had victory. He pulled away and her lips went to his neck and her hand began to wander. "Taylor, stop, we have all night. Dinner, please."
"Shh, Ed, we can be quick." Her hands slipped into his boxers and she tried to bring her lips back to his.
"But you look so beautiful, you don’t want to ruin your - shit, Taylor - outfit." Her hands wrapped around him and she moved to bring her lips down. He met her eyes and gave in.
"Who said anything about my outfit?" She kissed the tip then looked up at him and smirked. And before taking him in her mouth, "This can be about just you, ya know."
He blushed but let her continue knowing that this will be quick and they’ll still make dinner, knowing that when they returned or even depending on the privacy of the car and of the dining table in the restaurant, he could make it all about her for a very long, teasingly good time.
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When I See The Light (2)
He opened his eyes to a room of bright light. It didn’t seem familiar to him, the room he had woken up in for the last fifty-nine years had looked entirely different. That room was filled with color, with memories - this room was dull.
"You’re awake, oh daddy, good morning." He during his head to see where the voice came from, he smiled softy at his daughter, Caroline, who was sitting at his side holding his hand.
"What happened, sweetheart?" He said softly, coughing, she wiped his mouth with something.
"Can I go get the nurse first, daddy? And have someone get mum?" He nodded and his daughter dropped her hand from his and ran out of the room. The nurse came in and took his vitals, and sat him up. He looked down at himself. He tattoos had turned into wrinkles. A tube was in his arm, and a tube was also stuck by his nose with oxygen he supposed. At 84, Ed wasn’t the youngest guy around, but he also wasn’t the most sickly. He had barely had any health concerns in his entire life, so being in the hospital now came as a surprise. He could figure out how he got here, and that scared him. He looked down once more, monitors were stuck to his chest and there was a great deal of pain coming from his chest. He couldn’t see to figure out what was causing it and started to feel tired, he leaned back down into the pillows.
Moments later, Caroline came back into the room, escorting her mother. She helped Taylor, now 86, into a chair to sit down by his side. She scooted it closer and when close enough, Taylor took his hand into both of hers and squeezed it. “I thought I lost you, Ed.”
"I wouldn’t do that to you, love, not without saying goodbye." He reached his other hand over and wiped a tear from her eye. Even at this age, he still thought her the most beautiful person in the world, after their daughter. "What happened?"
Caroline spoke up, “You fell down, mum called me from the ambulance and I came on the first flight. You had a heart attack, daddy. The doctor will come by later but they want to do a surgery tomorrow.”
He looked directly at his wife of fifty-eight years. He could sense the fear in her eyes, knowing what exactly she was thinking and what she was about to say. He beat her to it. “I’ll be just alright, love. Don’t worry, please.”
Caroline kissed her mother’s head and then her father’s, “I’m gonna go and give y’all some privacy, okay? Call and check on the kids.”
"Tell them I sent my love." Taylor said smiling as Caroline existed the room. "I’m scared, Ed. I don’t want to lose you. Not yet."
"Come here," he said, attempting to move in the bed, he didn’t know if it was allowed, but he helped his elderly wife into the bed with him. She sat down and then leaned backwards, their heads on the pillow facing each other. The bed was much to small, but would they get the chance to be together like this again? He kissed her forehead and then her lips, both gently, knowing her tears were on the way. "Taylor, love, we’ve talked about this for a long time, we can just hope the doctors do their very best job. I’d like to think that I’ve had a pretty great life. We made all of our dreams come true. We raised a beautiful little girl into an amazing mother. We have grandkids. We had great careers, and we wrote some pretty damn good music together. I thank God everyday for you, and that we had this life together, especially for our daughter and our grandkids. Whether we part ways tomorrow or five years from now, if you go first or me, it won’t be for long. We’ll be together soon enough, and then that’s really forever."
She was crying, and he noticed that he was too. “I don’t want to live a day without you, Ed. I don’t remember any of the days of my life before you came into it. It was dark before there was you. You can’t die on me tomorrow, Ed.”
"I’ll do my very best love, I wouldn’t say no to more time with you." He kissed her and they stayed in the odd embrace in the hospital bed until Caroline came back. She took her iPad out of her bag and brought it over to him.
"The kids want to say hi to Nanna and Papa. They can’t come because of school, I hate to pull them out but they have big tests soon. Finals, you know." She turned on FaceTime and handed it to her mother who cradled it between them. Four concerned faces looked back at them through the screen. Brad, Andrew, Amelia, and Catherine - the oldest a junior in college and the youngest a freshman in high school - caught them up on school and soccer games, and what was going on in their lives. The chatted with their grandkids for a very long time.
Caroline insisted that her mother leave for the night and that she’d stay. Taylor returned early the following morning, talking about how the Rhode Island house was getting ready for their stay in a month’s time - as soon as he was healed enough to travel. The grandkids were coming, and bringing friends. Taylor was very excited to spend time with all of the kids and to learn about their lives a little more. Their daughter’s family lived in California, and while Taylor and Ed visited frequently, the spent most of their time in the large ranch in the rolling hills of Tennessee - as that was their home. After kisses goodbye, and “I love you’s” and “I’ll see you soon’s” Ed was wheeled away for his surgery. Taylor and Caroline sat in the waiting room, occasionally anxiously pacing. Until finally, many hours later the doctor returned.
"Mrs. Sheeran, Mrs. Wilson, may you follow me, please." Taylor and Caroline stood up and followed him into a room beyond the double doors. They sat down and waited for news. "I am so sorry to inform that Mr. Sheeran’s heart did not restart when we took him off of bypass. We did everything that we possible could, but he did not survive. I am so sorry."
Taylor didn’t hear any of the words after “sorry,” she did not want to hear any words. She looked down at her hands folded in her lap and watched a tear fall down on to him. “He’s gone?”
The doctor nodded. “I am so sorry, Mrs. Sheeran.”
"He promised me he wouldn’t go today. He promised me he’d stay for as long as he could. He wasn’t supposed to die today." She was talking in a very shaky voice. Caroline wrapped her arms around her mother and pulled her into an embrace. They cried together until they were told what to do next. They drove home in silence. Caroline called her husband and got everyone on a flight, and then she called and issued a statement to the press. And then she waited for what to do next. When her husband arrive, they read the will. Her kids never left their grandmother’s side. Her youngest even slept with her, to try and help her in anyway they could.
Four days later, before they allowed people into the church for the funeral service, Taylor kissed her husbands forehead and said goodbye for the last time to his body. She knew he wasn’t really there anymore, but it comforted her in some way. She whispered I love you into his ear and stood up, nodding for them to close the casket. She sat down in the front row and waited as people she would remember she knew if she wanted to, but not today. Finally, it started, and in an hour or so it was over. Then they were lowering him into the ground. Then there was an Irish wake. Of course he wanted an Irish wake, she thought, cursing him silently in her head as she sat in a chair and watched people get drunk to his memory and his spirit.
That night, as she lay in bed, she thought about her life, and how much she loved Ed, and how much she loved him for so many little reasons. Then she thought about her daughter, and her four grandchildren. She thought about how much joy those people brought her. None of the good things in her life would have been able to happen without him. She let tears flow from her eyes, sleeping alone for the first time in this bed for all the wrong reasons. Her family would leave tomorrow, and she would be alone. And that terrified her. She cried herself to sleep for the first time in about seventy years, missing her husband more than she ever thought she could miss anyone.
In the morning, Caroline knocked on the door to Taylor’s bedroom. It was after 9, and her mother was usually up at about 6:30 with a pot of coffee brewed sitting outside waiting for Ed, or for her or her kids to get the day moving. No response came with the knock. So she knocked again. And again. Finally, she opened the door and sat her coffee cup down on the dresser and went to the bed where Taylor was still sleeping.
"Mom, Catherine made you breakfast, stuffed french toast, come on mom, get up." She sat down on the bed. And looked at her mother, curled up on her side, her hand on Ed’s pillow, she looked so peaceful. "Mom?" She brushed the hair back from her face, her eyes were closed and her mouth open. She stood up and went over to her, looking. She wasn’t breathing. Caroline called for help and her husband came, she wouldn’t let her kids in the room, she didn’t want them to see this. He called for an ambulance and started CPR - not knowing that it wasn’t any good. A few days later, when the report for the autopsy came back inconclusive she just looked up and laughed at her parents. Maybe her mother died out of love, or a broken heart, or just because she wanted to see her father that much sooner. They’d never know.