A/N: Again, picking up right where the last one left off :)

Drew curled up on the bed and put the weighted blanket over his head. He cried quietly and lightly kicked his feet against Jay's side.

Hailey bit her lip, "Take all the time you need."

"I hate my life," Drew whined, "I hate this. Make it stop."

Alarm bells went off in Jay's head and he pulled at the blanket, "Drew."

"No, no," Hailey said softly and tried fighting Jay's hands, "Leave him be."

"He said he hates his life, Hails," Jay whispered.

Drew cried harder and tugged at the blanket to keep it over himself.

"He's trying to process what's happening," Hailey set a hand on Jay's leg, "Let him."

"I don't like this," Jay shook his head.

"I know, but as long as he's here in front of us, he's safe," Hailey said.

Jay sighed and tilted his head back, "Fine."

Hailey nodded and rubbed Drew's back over the blanket, "You're doing so good, Drew. You can do this. Breathe slow."

Jay glanced at her and held back a smile. He'd heard those words multiple times before whether it was in the middle of the night, in a hospital room, or in the break room at work.

"What?" Hailey asked softly.

Jay shook his head, "Nothing, you've just always been a good mom."

Hailey smiled slightly and continued rubbing Drew's back, "Can you hear me, Drew?"

"Yeah," he cried quietly.

"Good," Hailey said and moved to sit on the bed near his head.

Jay leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, listening to Hailey hum softly.

"Can you hear me? Jay, are you with me? I'm here. I'm here and I'm not leaving. I'll wait for you. Breathe through it and I'll be here when you're ready. I'm not going anywhere."

Jay opened his eyes and saw Hailey bent over Drew whispering, "Deep breaths. Dad and I are still here. We're not going anywhere."

"I'm not mad at you at all! There is nothing about you that scares me. I want to spend my life with you! I'm not going anywhere, Jay."

He put his hand out and squeezed Hailey's arm, "Can I try?"

"Yeah," Hailey breathed and sat up.

Jay cleared his throat, "Drew? We're not mad at you. I understand why you ripped the books and why you're hiding. It is very scary."

Drew sniffled under the blanket and reached his hand out to grab Hailey's leg.

Jay smiled, "There you go. See? We're here."

Hailey squeezed his hand.

"I'm still scared," Drew said quietly.

"Does your head still hurt?" Hailey asked.

The blanket moved a little and Jay chuckled, "Bud, we can't see you. Can you talk?"

"It hurts," Drew whispered.

"I'm going to get chocolate," Hailey said and stood.

Jay smiled and nodded, "Sounds good. You like chocolate, Drew, right?"

"Yeah," Drew said.

Hailey laughed softly and walked out.

"I brought a bag of M&Ms. I thought maybe we could make cookies and just hang out." "I think I want to be alone tonight." "Don't. If you're embarrassed…I don't care. I want to be around you. You've stuck by my side through all my crap, I'm going to stick by you through yours."

Jay set his hand where he thought Drew's head was and lightly stroked his thumb over the blanket.

Drew stretched out and grumbled quietly.

"Hmm?" Jay asked.

"I can't move," Drew whispered.

"Can I help you?" Jay sat up.

"Please," Drew breathed.

Jay smiled slightly and pulled the blanket off him, "Hi."

"It's worth a try, Jay. Let's just sit and put it on you and see what happens. If you still think it's stupid, we'll throw it out."

"Hi," Drew rubbed his eyes.

"Should I take it completely off?" Jay asked.

Drew shook his head, "I like it."

"Me too," Jay smiled.

"It smells like you," Drew said softly.

Jay laughed, "I hope it's a good smell."

Drew smiled and nodded.

She smelt like vanilla. Erin always kind of smelt like flowers and laundry, but Hailey smelt like home.

Hailey walked in with a Hershey's bar, "There you are!" She returned to sit on his bed and broke off a piece of the chocolate, "Want some?"

"Yes, please," Drew whispered.

Hailey passed him a piece then held some out for Jay.

"Thanks," Jay smiled and ate it.

Drew slowly ate and rubbed his eyes.

Hailey winced at the scratches on his arms and nodded toward Jay.

Jay looked down at them and bit his lip.

Drew struggled to sit up under the blanket, so Jay reached over and tugged him up.

Drew pulled away and stared at the ground.

Jay held back a sigh and put his hands in his lap.

"Your hands are softer than I imagined they'd be." "You've imagined my hands?" "I just mean that you work outside a lot, I thought they'd be…rough…like with calluses." "I've heard of lotion."

Drew spotted the ripped pages on the ground and the books next to the wall. His eyes watered, "I was bad."

"Not your best day," Jay said softly, "But it happens."

Hailey nodded, "I'm sorry for what I had said."

Drew's face scrunched up and his hands gripped the blanket.

"Hey, hey," Jay whispered and set a hand on his back. He made eye contact with Hailey and slowly said, "Let's wait until tomorrow to talk about it again. Right now, let's focus on feeling better."

"I think that's a good idea," Hailey sighed.

"Want me to clean that up?" Jay asked Drew.

He shook his head, "It was my mess. I need to be punished."

"I don't think that's the right answer right now," Hailey said.

Drew whined.

"No, don't do that," Jay rubbed his hand up and down Drew's back, "We're making positive choices right now."

Drew held up his arms, "This wasn't positive."

"No, but it happened and now we have to figure out how to move on," Hailey squeezed his hand.

"Last night happened. It happened, Jay, and I don't think any less of you right now than I did twenty-four hours ago, so let's move on."

"Should we wrap them up?" Jay asked, "What do you think of that?"

"I don't like that," Drew mumbled.

"Why?" Hailey rubbed her hand over Drew's back.

"I need to remember I'm a terrible person," Drew said.

"Whoa, whoa," Jay slipped off the bed and knelt in front of Drew, "You are not a terrible person."

"Look what I did!" Drew yelled and pointed at the books on the ground.

"Hey," Jay set his hands on Drew's knees, "I know you did that. We can all agree that was not a smart move, but it does not mean you are a terrible person."

Hailey nodded, "I don't like that you're talking like this."

Drew groaned loudly and put his head in his hands, "I can't do anything right!"

"You have done plenty of things right," Jay said, "Look at me. Look here."

Drew sighed and spread his fingers to look at him.

"You made Mom that card the other day to tell her you love her," Jay started.

Hailey smiled softly, "I loved that. It was definitely the right thing to do."

"And remember when I was upset the other morning on the couch? You held my hand to make me feel better," Jay lightly poked his stomach, "It was super thoughtful of you."

"I liked how you didn't leave my side when I got hurt in the kitchen, you did a really good job at making me feel safe," Hailey added.

"You could play with my hair forever and I'd be content with that." "Yeah? You like when guys play with your hair?" "I like when you play with my hair."

Drew blushed bright and gently swung his legs, "I love you."

"And we love you," Jay said.

"How do you feel?" Hailey asked softly.

Drew shrugged and looked at his shaking hands.

Jay took them in his own and smiled, "I've got you. We're a team."

Drew smiled, "That was a rule we made."

Hailey laughed softly and nodded, "I think you're right."

Drew tried standing, but fell against Jay and blushed even brighter. His lip wavered and he blinked back tears.

Jay held him tightly, "You're okay," he whispered, "Sometimes this happens when things get rough. It kinda knocks the wind out of you," he rubbed circles on Drew's back, "It always feels weird to go back to normal, but take your time. Deep breaths and finding something to ground you both help."

"Listen to me breathe. Feel my heartbeat. I'm here. I'm real. I'm not going anywhere."

"What does ground mean?" Drew asked quietly.

"It means something to hold on to to remind you that you're in the real world," Jay explained. He gently placed Drew's hand over his heart, "Mom does this with me; it always helps to feel her heartbeat."

Hailey hid her smile with her hand. Jay caught her eye and winked.

Drew smiled at his hand and rubbed his thumb over Jay's shirt, "I feel it. It's kind of weird."

Jay chuckled, "It is weird. You can feel my insides."

"You're taking it to a gross level," Hailey laughed softly.

"Ms. Wood told me once that when babies are inside pregnant ladies, that you can feel them kick from the outside," Drew said, "That is just strange."

"How do you think it feels for the pregnant lady?" Hailey asked with a smile.

Drew shook his head, "I don't know, maybe scary?"

Jay nodded, "Being pregnant does seem scary."

Drew sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his free hand.

"You're doing so good," Jay whispered, "I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you," Drew smiled and blushed again.

Hailey set a hand on his back and rubbed gently, "Does your head still hurt?"

"Not as bad," Drew turned to look at her.

Hailey nodded, "If it doesn't go away by bed time, we'll give you some medicine."

Jay wrapped his arms around Drew and carefully lifted him and shifted back to sit him on his lap. He held his back to his chest and rested his head on Drew's. "Let's just sit here for a bit," he said softly.

"Jay, just relax. I don't know what you just experienced in your head, but it was enough to cause a panic attack. Lay here with me please."

Drew nodded and took a deep breath.

"That's my boy," Jay whispered and lightly squeezed Drew.

"I'm going to clean up the room," Hailey said softly as she stood.

Drew's eyes widened and he fought against Jay's arms.

"No, no," Jay whispered, "You're okay. Let her clean. We're not mad at you."

Hailey nodded, "I think it'll help you if you don't see it all," she walked behind them and quickly gathered the books and ripped paper.

Drew pushed Jay's arms, "I can do it. I can do it."

"Drew," Jay said under his breath, "Count with me."

"Have you ever tried to count?"

"No," Drew whined and tried to turn to watch Hailey.

"One," Jay breathed, "Two."

"One…two…three…there you go."

Drew gave up fighting Jay's arms and slumped down in Jay's lap.

Jay gave him another small squeeze, "Three. Four. Count with me."

"Four…five…is this helping?" "I don't know, but I like listening to your voice."

Drew shook his head fast.

"You can do it," Jay said softly, "Five. Six. Seven."

"Eight," Drew mumbled, "Nine."

Jay smiled and kissed the back of his head, "Good. Ten."

"Eleven," Drew squirmed a little and tried one last time to look at Hailey.

Jay tightened his hold on him, "Twelve. Thirteen."

Drew sighed loudly, "Fourteen. Fifteen." He rested his head back on Jay's shoulder, "Sixteen. Seventeen." He yawned and closed his eyes.

Hailey looked over and smiled. She walked back and sat behind Jay to gently rub her thumb over Drew's cheek.

"Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty," Jay finished with a whisper; he loosened his arms around Drew.

Drew turned in Jay's lap to look at Hailey. He smiled a little and put his head on Jay's shoulder, "I feel better."

"Good," Hailey smiled back.

"Should we eat?" Jay asked softly.

Drew nodded, "I'm hungry."

Jay chuckled and helped him stand, "Then we definitely need to eat dinner."

Hailey stood as well and put her hand out, "Walk with me?"

Drew took her hand, "Sure."

"Perfect," Hailey smiled and led him out.

Jay sighed and rubbed his face.

"I'm starving." "What do you usually eat for breakfast after a rough night?" "Uh, toast?" "That's just sad. I was thinking pancakes at the very least. We need comfort food."

He chuckled softly as he stood, silently thanking Hailey for teaching him that it was possible to be sober and deal with his PTSD.

Jay ran his fingers through Hailey's hair, "I love you."

Hailey tilted her head up and kissed his chin, "I love you too."

"I don't think I could have gotten through tonight without you," Jay said softly.

"I noticed you tried a handful of different things I had found on Google," Hailey laughed quietly.

Jay chuckled and kissed the top of her head, "You Googled my panic attacks?"

"You were my best friend and I wanted to help," Hailey smiled.

"You looked all that up before we were even dating?" Jay asked.

Hailey nodded, "Well, most of it. I did another research session when we started dating, but that was mostly to read the articles about helping a spouse that I'd ben too afraid to look at when we were friends because I didn't want to acknowledge my feelings for you."

Jay chuckled and shook his head. He stroked his hand down her back, "You helped me more than I could ever put into words."

Hailey looked up at him, "Really?"

"Really," Jay smiled slightly, "You helped me make those positive decisions I talked to Drew about the other day."

"You taught me so much too," Hailey rested her head back on his chest.

Jay snorted, "By freaking out at two in the morning?"

"No," Hailey laughed softly, "Just the way you let me in. I know it wasn't easy for you, but just the fact that you did it…it was like well if he can let me in, I can be vulnerable too."

"It didn't happen overnight," Jay said quietly.

Hailey shook her head, "But you tried and you worked on yourself."

"You threatened to leave me if I didn't go to therapy," Jay pointed out.

Hailey smirked, "Did I really?"

Jay laughed, "Yes!"

"But it worked," Hailey sang softly.

"Yeah, it did," Jay smiled and kissed her head again.

"You're my hero," Hailey breathed.

Jay swallowed and tangled his fingers in her hair.

"What you're doing, Jay, moving forward despite all of this…living your life and being successful…it's admirable. There are so many women and even men who can't say the same thing about their spouse – or friend, like us – because those people lose themselves and let the past take over. You didn't do that. You're actively working against those horrible memories. You're a true hero."

A/N: I really like how this chapter turned out, so even though it's a little shorter than others, I wanted to leave it as is because I like it so much. I hope you agree! And as always, thank you for all your kind words. So many of you said you liked last chapter and how it was written and it really made me smile, so thank you so much! I'm glad I can bring some of you happiness in this hard time. :)