Chapter 3

The sound of Hailey's voice soothed him, and he could feel his heart rate slowly returning to normal. He couldn't believe the fact that he not only had a nightmare in front of her but that he didn't scare her off and make her run in the other direction. Living with PTSD was not without its struggles, including straining relationships with people he cared most about. Maybe that's why it was different with Hailey. She recognized when he was struggling and encouraged him to seek help, hell he even pointed a gun at her once during an episode and she barely flinched. That's what he loved about her, her fearlessness. He was resistant to going to therapy at first, but found it really helped him express the emotions he had kept bottled inside for so many years. Learning to control his triggers was still an uphill battle, but it was something he was working on.

"Whenever I feel hot, it reminds me of how it felt in the desert, and all of the ugly things that went along with that" he confessed willingly, trying to offer up an explanation as to what she just witnessed.

She shot a sympathetic look his way, trying to get a read on what his eyes were really showing her. Pain, she thought. "You don't have to explain Jay, I get it."

He quickly blinked and forced a smile, "I'm okay now. Thank you for this", he motioned down and gave her hand a squeeze, the one that was still intertwined with his.

Hailey knew that Jay was telling her the truth, but she couldn't shake the fact that he has to deal with all of this, mostly alone. It became alarmingly apparent to her just now that other than Will, Jay didn't really have many people he was close with, or that he opens up to so willingly. She was glad that he was beginning to share little pieces of his life with her. It made their friendship that much stronger.

She went over to his dresser and pulled out a fresh t-shirt. "Here" she tossed it on his bed, seeing the goose bumps on his arms, his shirt was soaked. She gave him a minute to change and came back with a glass of water.

"Drink this, Will said you should have lots of fluids."

"You called Will? I'm not dying Hailey." He looked at her with a smile and an eyebrow raised.

She smirked and rolled her eyes, "More like he called your phone a few times, I just gave him the short version of our afternoon. He was calling to tell you he has to stay at the hospital tonight, busy with the storm."

Jay looked out his bedroom window for the first time and was surprised by what he saw.

"Whoa, didn't know this was supposed to happen tonight."

"Me neither. Looks like you're stuck with me for the night. Hope that's okay with you. Will said I could stay in his room."

He looked at her and smiled, "I've had worse nights I guess."

She gave him a playful push on the shoulder.

It was her turn to make a confession. "Like I said Jay, part of our thing. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now."

He thought he saw a slight hint of embarrassment as her cheeks turned a shade of red.

"I appreciate you being here, taking care of me. Not my finest hours." He tried to quickly avert her glance and change the subject.

She followed his lead. "Soup should be ready now. Up for a bite?"

"Soup sounds good Hails, thanks."

They went out to the kitchen and Jay plopped himself on the couch, his head was still killing him and he was starting to feel worse than he felt this afternoon. He was trying to act like he was on the mend in front of Hailey, but really he knew he was in for a rough night. She brought over two bowls of soup and set them down on the coffee table in front of Jay.

"Do you want me to feed you too?" She joked.

He shook his head and smiled. "I think I can take it from here."

Hailey turned on an episode of Friends, "Never gets old" she thought. She knew Jay liked the show too. He once helped her move a table into her apartment and practically killed himself laughing yelling "PIVOT" around every corner.

She noticed he went a little quiet. "Is the soup okay?"

He snapped his head towards her, like he had zoned out. "Ya the soups great Hailey. A cook too….you know, the more I get to know you, the more I realize I know nothing about you" he smiled coyly.

"You know nothing Jay Halstead" mimicking a Game of Thrones line as he laughed. In many ways Hailey was just as guarded about her personal life as Jay was.

They watched the rest of the episode and finished off their dinner.

"Are you feeling any better?" She asked.

"A little", even though the look on his face said otherwise.

"Jay you do know that I'm a detective right. Your lying face needs some work."

"Alright, alright. I feel like crap. My head is about to explode. I keep going from hot to cold, and these chills won't let up. Are you happy now?"

She smirked at the outburst, knowing he was usually a pain in the ass when he wasn't feeling well. It was only a matter of time.

"Do you have a thermometer somewhere? I should probably keep an eye on your fever."

"Will might have one stashed somewhere, that's more his department."

Hailey went into the bathroom and after a few minutes found a thermometer in a basket under the sink. She came back out to the living room to find Jay curled up in a ball lying horizontally now on the couch. She stuck the thermometer in his ear and told him to hold still.

Her eyes widened when she saw the reading, "101.5, guess you aren't faking it after all" she said half joking half worried. That wasn't life threatening but she made a mental note to check it again in an hour or so.

He tried to sit up but his body had other plans. His head felt so heavy, he couldn't even lift it off the couch pillow.

"Just close your eyes Jay, hopefully you can sleep this off" as she covered him up with a blanket. She sat down next to him on the couch, his head and pillow nearly in her lap, as she draped her arm over his back to stop him from shaking.

A few episodes of Friends later, she decided she should check his temperature again. "103…crap", he was getting worse. Quick Hailey put your medical hat on.

She quietly slid out from under the pillow Jay was resting his head on and went into the bathroom to look for a washcloth. She ran it under cool water, folded it, and brought it out to put on his forehead, hoping it would bring his fever down.

His eyes opened as she put the washcloth against his skin, letting out a small whimper. "Hailey please no, I'm so cold."

"Jay your fever is pretty high I'm sorry, this is going to be uncomfortable but I have to cool you down" she said as she kept dabbing the cloth along his forehead.

He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes and randomly said, "You're pretty you know that", before he could stop himself.

"And you are delirious right now." Hailey laughed, but deep down a small part of her hoped it wasn't just the fever talking, her heart was pounding in her chest.

Jay smiled and shut his eyes again.

A few more hours passed by. Every once in a while Hailey got up to dampen the washcloth and rest it on his forehead, it seemed to be working and Jay was sleeping soundly. She lifted the pillow up slowly so she could slide back underneath him as he laid on his back, his body heat keeping her warm. She couldn't help but notice the way his hair curled against his face. Stop it Hailey. Her phone started vibrating and saw Adam was texting her again.

"Hey you never called, you guys alright?"

In the midst of playing nurse, Hailey forgot she was supposed to call Adam tonight. It was almost midnight now and Jay had finally fallen asleep, she didn't want to disturb him.

"Sorry I never called, Jay's in bad shape. He's asleep now, don't want to wake him."

"I have to admit, I'm a little jealous you're snowed in with him and not me."

Hailey shook her head, "It's not like we're building forts and eating ice cream lol."

She wasn't sure why she added the 'lol' in there, maybe to make it sound less serious than it was. In reality, Jay had given her a bit of a scare tonight, not knowing what would happen if he took another turn for the worse, the weather was too bad to leave.

"Ya I guess so. Anyways I'll let you go, you sound busy. Let me know if you guys need anything."

Even though Hailey wasn't all in with Adam, she did feel a bit guilty for today. He never once questioned why she was here or why she was so concerned about Jay, even asking how he was. He was a good guy, and she was afraid where this was going to lead.

She set her phone down and took the washcloth off Jay's forehead. He felt a little cooler, but still not out of the woods. She hesitated for a second before gently running her fingers through his hair. She kept running her hand slowly over his head and through his hair for what seemed like an hour as he slept, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath.

After a while she suspected he was awake, she could tell by the way his breathing changed. She decided to keep doing what she was doing, and he didn't let on that he wasn't asleep. A few minutes went by and he said, with his eyes still shut, ever so quietly, almost in a whisper, "My mom used to do this for me when I was sick". Hailey was taken aback by the weight of that comment, weirdly touched, that she didn't know what to say. She wished so badly she could take away his pain, her heart ached for him. Feeling a bit helpless and not knowing what else to do to comfort him, she placed her hand down on his chest, over his heart, letting him know she was there. The silence between them spoke louder than words. He set his hand on top of hers, and kept it there until he fell back asleep while she continued to rub the top of his head. She thought she saw a small tear escape from the corner of his eye. Right then and there, she knew she was in trouble. Jay Halstead what am I going to do with you?