Jay woke up to Hailey screaming. She was having a nightmare. He had been home for a few weeks and he was supposed to go back to work tomorrow, so he knew this wasn't a coincidence. They had been having a rough few weeks. Jay was watching her constantly, driving her to and from classes, to and from any social event she wanted to go to, and he made sure he always knew where she was. He gave her no room to slip up like before, and as much as she resisted, it worked.

"Hailey, hey, Hails, wake up." Jay said as he came into the room. He leaned over her, putting his hands on her upper arms, shaking her slightly until she woke up. He sat down on the edge of her bed and ran his hand through her hair. "It's alright, Hails, it was just a nightmare."

"Jay?" She asked. "You… you were gone."

"I'm right here, baby," he soothed. "I'm okay."

She nodded, but he could see her frowning, the wheels turning in her head and the tears she was holding back. She sat up and hugged him, burying her head in his chest. "I don't want you to go back," she said. "I don't want you to get hurt again."

"I know, Hails," he said as he rubbed her back. He reached over and turned the lamp on the nightstand on before he pulled back to look at her. "I can't promise you that I won't get hurt again, but I can promise you that I will do everything I can to make sure I come home. It's a dangerous job, but I'm really good at it."

She was quiet for a few moments. "That's what you said before you were deployed." She said. "I had nightmares all the time when you were gone."

"You did?" He asked with a frown. "You never told me that."

"You never really came home, Jay." She said. "Just when Mom was dying, and by then, I was having nightmares about her."

His frown deepened. "Hails, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you during that, and after with Dad." He said. "I wasn't in the best place either, it was hard for me when I came home."

"I know," she nodded. "But I just got you back, and then almost lost you again, and I'm kind of a mess in case you haven't noticed."

"You're not a mess," he said. "You're a work in progress, but considering everything you've gone through, and being so young, I think you're doing really well. I don't tell you that enough, and I'm proud of you, Hails."

Hailey dropped her head into her hands, she could no longer hide her tears. She wasn't expecting him to say that and she felt like she didn't deserve it. "Don't be proud of me," she mumbled. "I'm a drug addict, Jay. That's what I am, a pathetic addict. You and Will saved my life, I'd probably be dead by now if you didn't try so hard, and I've made things so hard for you two."

"Hey, look at me," he said, waiting until she made eye contact. "You are not pathetic, you hear me? You admitted you had a problem and you asked for help, that takes guts. And, you didn't make things hard for me, you made things so much better. I am proud of you, for everything you have become and have overcome. So, don't say things like that, alright?"

Hailey just nodded and leaned back into his embrace. Jay kissed her head as he held her tightly, wanting to protect her as much as he could. He knew these next few days were going to be hard for her and he wanted her to know he wasn't going anywhere. He stayed with her and waited for her to drift back to sleep before he went back to his own room.

He didn't get much more sleep that night, between Hailey and his own worries about going back to work, his mind wouldn't settle down. He was up early, getting ready and making breakfast. He checked Hailey's schedule, he made her put one on the fridge. She had class in the morning and then an appointment with Dr. Charles in the afternoon.

"How were things?" Will asked when he walked through the door from his shift at the hospital. He had a feeling it wasn't a perfect night. With Jay being so involved, Will was able to step back with Hailey so she didn't feel too boxed in and it allowed their relationship to mend.

Jay shrugged. "She had a nightmare, not surprisingly." He said. "She told me she was a pathetic drug addict that would probably be dead without us, and that we shouldn't be proud of her."

Will smirked, not in amusement but in shock. "I'm not sure if that's a step forward or not." He said. "Dr. Charles wants us to talk to us sometime about her. I told him that she slipped up when you were in the hospital."

"I'll try and be there today," he said. "But, I need to get to work and she is still in the shower."

"I will make sure she gets to class." Will nodded as Jay hesitated. "Go, it's fine."

"Alright," he said as he knocked on the bathroom door. "Hails, I'm leaving for work."

"Wait," she yelled through the door. The water turned off and she emerged a few minutes later in a bathrobe and soaking wet hair. She hugged him tightly and he smiled as he returned the embrace. "Be careful, please."

"Always," he said as they separated and he kissed her head and squeezed Will's shoulder. "I'll see you guys tonight for dinner."

OOOOO

"So," Dr. Charles said when Hailey was sitting in front of him. "You slipped."

"I slipped," she nodded. "More than once, and badly."

"You didn't make excuses for it, that's a good sign," he said. "Why do you think you slipped?"

"I was scared that I was going to lose Jay, again," she said. "It was hard, my brain wouldn't turn off all the worst case scenarios and I just needed a break."

"Good," he nodded. "You recognize why you did it and for what purpose, now let's try to give you some other options than drugs to deal with those thoughts and worries."

Hailey left Dr. Charles office after her appointment feeling a bit better about everything. He really was good at his job and seemed to always be able to help her. She headed into the doctor's lounge to work on some of her assignments for her classes. They let her do that while Will was working, knowing that Will being able to keep an eye on her was the best thing.

She noticed Will at the nurses' station and she watched him, waiting for him to come into the room but he didn't. Instead, he disappeared down the hall toward Dr. Charles office. Hailey frowned and followed him, thinking he thought she was still in there, but she stopped when she saw him walk through the door and close it behind him.

"Did she see you come in here?" Jay asked as Will closed the door behind him. "I came the other way, she didn't see me."

"I think she saw me, I'll talk to her about it later." He said as he sat down. "So, how is she doing?"

"She's actually doing well, considering everything." He said. "She likes your involvement in her life, and even though she is resisting you sometimes, it is done as a means of pushing back to see if you're going to stay throughout everything."

Will nodded. "Because we weren't there for her with our Dad."

"Right, you have to remember, as much as you might not want to think about it, that Hailey was abused, physically, verbally, emotionally," he explained. "That, together with losing her Mother, and essentially you and Jay, put her into a dark place."

"And, she turned to drugs." Jay said.

"She used drugs as a way to make herself feel better." He said. "She was depressed and lonely and the drugs took that pain away and they let her sleep at night. Not only does she have to break the habits she has formed, she has to figure how to deal with those underlying feelings that led her there in the first place."

"She went back to drugs when she thought she was going to lose Jay." Will said as he glanced at his brother. "I didn't see it like that. I didn't help her, and I should have. I messed up, Jay."

"No, you didn't, Dad messed up," Jay said. "You were only trying to help her, we both were."

"And, you are helping her." Dr. Charles said. "You're there, and the best thing for her is to reassure her that you are both there for her."

Jay and Will nodded, thanked Dr. Charles and left the office. They understood, but they wished there was an easy fix to help Hailey. She deserved to be a normal teenager, but after everything she had been through that probably wasn't going to happen. They went their separate ways, Jay back to work and Will back to the Emergency Department.

Hailey was waiting for him, distracted from her studies as she looked up when every time someone walked by. Will frowned slightly as he watched her, sighing as he lingered by the nurse's station for a moment. He picked up some charts, checking on his patients as he continued to watch her.

"How's she doing?" Maggie asked.

Will shrugged. "She's good, considering everything." He said. "She has her moments."

"Yeah, about that," she said. "She had one of those moments while you were gone."

Will frowned immediately. "What happened?"

"Reese, in her current psych studies, tried to analyze her and April actually," she shook her head. "It didn't go well, but then some of the med students talked and I think she heard them."

"What did they say?" He asked.

"You'll have to ask her that," she said. "She didn't seem happy, and I don't blame her."

Will nodded and headed to check on a patient quickly, but as he was coming back to check on Hailey, he could hear her before he saw her. She was upset, she wasn't yelling, but she was speaking loudly and firmly. Something wasn't right and he was worried.

"I asked for Will," Hailey said. "I want Will, no one else."

"I'm here, I'm here," Will said as he reached out for her. "What's wrong?" He frowned as he looked her over. Reese was in the room and Hailey was awfully defensive, so he assessed the situation rather quickly.

"I don't feel well," she said. "I want to go home."

Will nodded. "I have to finish my rounds, and then we will go." He said as he looked to Reese. "Dr. Reese, do you have a moment?"

She followed him out into the hallway, out of ear shot of Hailey. "I overstepped," she admitted. "I apologize, I thought I could help."

"I appreciate it," Will said. "But, Hailey is my sister and she is a patient of Dr. Charles, so if you don't mind, please stay out of it."

Will finished checking on his patients before heading back to the lounge to change and gather his things. Hailey was quiet as she packed her bag and put on her jacket. She was still quiet as she followed him out of the hospital and to the car. Once they started driving, he couldn't take her silence anymore, but he wanted her to get there on her own, so he waited. She continued the quietness as they headed into the Intelligence Unit to meet Jay for dinner.

Hailey sat disconnected from her brothers at the table in the break room as Jay handed Will some plates. He watched her and shared a few glances with Will as he grabbed the pizza box from the counter and some bottles of water from the fridge.

"Alright, what's with the silent treatment, Hails?" Jay said as he sat down.

"Reese tried to shrink her," Will said. "And some medical students were talking about her."

"What did they say?" Jay frowned as he looked at her. "Hails, just talk to us, baby."

"They said, 'that's Dr. Halstead's sister, he's a doctor, their brother is a detective and I heard she's a drug addict, she must have been the dud of the family,'" Hailey smirked as she shook her head and turned to Will. "They think you keep a close eye on me because I'm weak."

"Well, what do you think?" He asked.

"I think, I'm tired of people trying to shrink me," she said. "I think, I'm tired of being judged and labelled, and I think they're wrong."

"There you go," he nodded. "They are wrong, by the way."

She shrugged. "About the weak thing, yeah."

"About all of it," Jay said as he parked the car and turned toward her. "You're not an addict, you stopped taking the pills, and you're definitely not a dud."

"There's no duds in this family, we're all pretty awesome." Will said. "You more than either of us goons, right Jay?"

"That's the most truthful thing I've heard all day," Jay nodded as he pushed the pizza toward her. "Next time tell them to shut up, eat some pizza."

Hailey smirked as she grabbed a slice. "I just might."

OOOOO

Hailey woke up the next morning not feeling the best. She was glad to have slept through the night, but she usually did when Will and Jay were both home. She could hear the shower running and as she slipped out of bed, she could hear Jay and Erin talking in the kitchen and held off from opening the door.

"So, I asked you a week ago and you said you'd think about moving in," Jay said. "There's room here, or my loan went through, we could get a new place, so what's the deal?"

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she said.

"Just come check out this place I found, it's really cool," he said. "It has a washer and dryer, underground parking, a gym."

"It's not that," she said. "I want you to move in with me, at my place. I already have a mortgage and we could pay it off in five years."

"Your place only has one bedroom," he said slowly. "Erin, I can't. Will is struggling financially with his student loans and the insurance after the lawsuit, and Hailey, I need her with me."

"I know, and that's why you need to talk to them about moving," she said. "Jay, I'm completely in love with you, but you have two other people in your life to think about."

Hailey frowned as she listened to the conversation, unsure what to think, but when she heard Erin leave she slowly emerged from her room. Jay glanced at her and then raised his eyebrows before nodding.

"How much did you hear?" He asked.

"Enough," she shrugged. "I don't want to be the reason you don't get to live with her."

"You're not," he said. "You were always included, I just wanted Erin to live with us too."

"I know, but she wants you to live at her place and there's no room for me there and I don't want you to feel like you have to say no because you're burdened with me." She said. "I can find a place, I can stay with Scott, or other friends, or Will and I can figure it out."

"Hails," He said as he closed the distance between them and put his hands on her shoulder. "You're a part of my life now and I meant it when I said I was going to take care of your now. My decisions affect you and I should have told you I was looking at places, but you were always included in the plan."

"What plan?" Will asked as he emerged from the bathroom in his scrubs.

"I asked Erin to move in and I got a loan for a new place," Jay explained. "What do you think about moving?"

"As long as we're together," Will shrugged. "I'm happy for you, Jay, she's a good one."

"That she is, and she's waiting downstairs for me," Jay nodded as he grabbed his jacket and bag. "I'll see you tonight for dinner."

"Will?" Hailey said once Jay had left the apartment.

"Yeah," he looked at her and frowned as she rubbed her throat. "What's wrong?"

"I don't feel well," she said as she shook her head. "I don't know, but my throat hurts and my face hurts and my head hurts."

"Alright, come here," he said as he grabbed his bag and had her sit down on the bar stool.

He felt her neck and throat, checking her lymph nodes and applying slight pressure to her cheeks with his thumbs. He pulled out his flash light and looked at her throat before finally checking her temperature.

"Am I dying?" She asked after he pulled the thermometer from her ear, trying to lighten the mood.

"Probably not," he grinned as he began to repack his bag. "But, I want to do a throat culture, so you're coming to work with me."

"I have class, and I really don't want to go back there." She mumbled.

"I don't think you should be in class," he said. "How long have you not felt well?"

She shrugged. "A few days, but it's way worse today, why?"

"I need you to tell me stuff like this right away," he said as he grabbed his jacket and handed hers to her. "It's likely you have strep throat, but now I'm worried you also have a sinus pressure, which is why you have that pressure feeling in your face and head."

"Great, just what I needed." She said as she put on her jacket and followed him out of the apartment.