Jay paced the hallway outside Dr. Charles office, "It's been half an hour, Hailey."

"I'm well aware," Hailey leaned her head back against the wall.

"Maybe we shouldn't have brought him here," Jay turned to face her, "Maybe this was a mistake."

"He needs help though," Hailey said softly, "We need help. Last night was not okay."

"We can afford new books," Jay started pacing again, "I'll buy him whatever books he wants. I'll even buy him magazines. Do you think he likes newspapers?"

"I think you're starting to spiral," Hailey sat up.

"I'm not spiraling. This isn't spiraling," Jay shook his head, "Spiraling would be imagining that he's going to be taken away from us because we're bringing him to therapy and not helping him ourselves. Oh my god, he's going to be taken from us because we can't handle him."

"Okay," Hailey breathed and stood. She grabbed Jay's hands, "Hey, look at me, we are not going to lose him."

"I already lost him once in a freaking grocery store," Jay snapped, "That was strike one, strike two was having to admit him to the hospital that same day, strike three is this. Wow, I single handedly got him taken away from us. You should divorce me."

Hailey shook her head and set her hand on Jay's cheek, "This is spiraling."

Jay's eyes darted across her face, "Hailey, I lost him."

She rubbed her thumb under his eye, "Deep breaths for me."

Jay stepped back, "No, I…I'm just going to knock and see what happens."

Hailey grabbed his hand quickly, "Let's take a walk. Dr. Charles said he anticipated closer to an hour anyways, we have time to kill." She held his hand tightly as she pulled him out of the hallway toward the elevator, "Will's working today, let's go visit him."

Jay turned back, "I need to check on Drew."

"You need to breathe," Hailey whispered and stopped to hold his face between her two hands, "Where are you right now? Where's your mind at? It's not with Drew, Jay. This…right here right now, Drew in that room talking through friends and scratching and yelling with Dr. Charles is what's best for him. I need you to believe that. I need you to be strong enough for him so that when he comes out of that room he has someone to turn to that's mildly stable and you are not stable right now."

Jay listened to her words and let them sink in before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "You're right."

Hailey nodded, "Good," she dropped his hands to her shoulders, "There you go. In and out."

Jay opened one eye, "I'm sorry."

"We don't apologize for getting upset, remember?" Hailey asked. She took his hand again and entered the elevator, "I've never judged you when your mind has played tricks on you before and I'm certainly not going to start now."

Jay blushed and leaned against the elevator wall as it brought them down to the Emergency Department. They walked out onto the floor together and through the glass doors. For being the middle of the day, there wasn't too much commotion, but the beeping and the soft crying still irked Jay.

Will was sitting at a desk looking at a computer screen and drinking coffee. He looked up and waved at Jay and Hailey, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah."

"Not really."

Hailey looked at Jay and raised her eyebrows, "I will bench you from parenting if your attitude doesn't change."

"Uh-oh," Will stood, "What's going on?" He led the way to a small room off to the side and leaned against the table.

"Drew had a rough evening," Hailey said softly, keeping her eyes on Jay.

Will followed her gaze, "Is he hurt?"

"He's talking to Dr. Charles," Jay breathed and looked at his watch, "Hailey, we need to go."

"We can wait," Hailey said and sat in a chair, "Come sit with me."

Will nodded and put his hand on Jay's shoulder, "Want water?"

Jay shrugged off Will's hand, "I want to know my son is okay."

"He is, Jay," Hailey said softly, "We knew when he entered our house that he was going to be different than what we had originally imagined when having a kid, but that's okay. Drew is perfect the way he is."

"It doesn't bother me that he yelled or ripped books, Hailey," Jay crossed his arms, "I'm bothered that he said he hates his life and that he doesn't do good."

"He said that?" Will asked.

Jay swallowed and nodded.

Hailey stood, "Which is exactly why he needs to talk to Dr. Charles," she helped Jay into a chair, "Talking helps. You know that. Gosh, you were great last night with him. He needs to see that side of you." She lightly sat on Jay's lap, "How many times have I told you that you're a hero? I know you're a hero to him just by being you."

"Thank you," Jay said quietly and brushed her hair out of her face, "I think I needed to hear that."

"If it helps, I don't think Drew's suicidal," Will added in.

"I hate that word," Jay whispered.

Hailey took in a shaky breath, "Me too."

Will sat next to them, "He's seven, right? He's confused trying to figure out his new life and these new expectations that you two have for him. He's never been told to make friends before, does he even know what friends are?"

"That's the thing," Hailey said, "How in the hell do you explain what friends are?"

"Did you try looking online?" Will asked.

Hailey blushed and shook her head, "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Jay turned her chin to face him.

"I've looked up coping skills and autism, but I never bothered to look up how to explain friendship," Hailey said quietly.

"So we figure it out now," Will shrugged, "You two were kinda thrown into this whole parenting thing. You didn't plan it and you certainly didn't get nine months to prepare. You had a month, right? You two are going to make mistakes, but this that's happening right now and what happened last night was not a mistake on anyone's part, understood?"

Jay and Hailey looked at each other, a small smile on Jay's face.

"What?" Will raised his eyebrows, "I thought that was a damn good speech."

Jay chuckled and nodded, "It was. Thank you."

Hailey nodded as well and stood to hug Will quickly, "Thank you for being here."

"Contractually obligated for the next six hours," Will winked at Jay over Hailey's head.

Jay smirked and set a hand on Hailey's back as she pulled away, "Should we head up to get him?"

"Oh my goodness," she breathed and laughed, "Yes, sure, we can go back up."

"Great," Jay turned quickly and hurried out of the room.

"I guess that's goodbye," Hailey laughed and waved to Will, "See you later? Maybe dinner at some point this week?"

"Yeah," Will smiled, "I actually have a day off coming up, I wouldn't mind babysitting."

"If you say so," Hailey replied and started walking backwards, "Thanks again."

"Not a problem," Will smiled.

"Hailey! Elevator!"

Hailey laughed and shook her head, "He's so impatient," she turned and walked over to Jay, "Don't yell in a hospital."

"Yelling in hospitals is necessary in certain situations," Jay stepped in the elevator, "For example, if someone dies."

Hailey stared at him, "I cannot believe you," a smile formed on her lips.

Jay quickly pressed the button multiple times, "Damn elevator," he breathed.

"Relax," Hailey laughed softly and rubbed his back, "He's okay."

"You being calm is starting to push my buttons," Jay mumbled.

"I know," Hailey smirked, "But one of has to do it."

The doors opened and Jay darted forward down the hall.

Hailey sighed and looked at a nearby nurse, "Excuse my husband…the detective." She followed Jay to Dr. Charles's office and sat in the chair she'd abandoned before, "Was it necessary to run?"

Jay shot her a look and resumed his pacing.

The door opened and Drew looked out, "You're finally here! Dr. Charles said you can come in."

Jay huffed, "Hear that? 'You're finally here,'" he hissed while walking in the office.

"Oh my god," Hailey rolled her eyes and stepped in behind Jay.

"I drew pictures and we made a puzzle," Drew pointed everything out, "Dr. Charles is almost as good as Doctor Will with puzzles."

Jay smiled and sat next to him, "Very cool."

Hailey sat on his other side and set a hand on his back, "So you had fun?"

"Sometimes I was sad," Drew shrugged.

Jay's head snapped to Dr. Charles, "What-"

"Jay," Hailey breathed and reached over to squeeze his arm.

Dr. Charles just nodded along with Drew, "Want to tell them some of what we talked about?"

Drew bit his lip, "Um, well, Dr. Charles explained what friends are to me and why I need to have them," his hand grazed over his arm.

Dr. Charles simply rolled a stress ball to him.

Drew smiled slightly and picked up the ball, squeezing it tightly, "Friends can teach me about different parts of life and different experiences."

Hailey nodded and looked at Dr. Charles, 'Thank you,' she mouthed.

He smiled and nodded in reply.

"He also told me some things to do instead of ripping books," Drew blushed bright and chewed his lip, shifting around in his seat, "I-I'm sorry I did that. It wasn't a good choice. It's not your fault that I didn't understand," he blinked his eyes quickly and wiped his nose.

"Like we told you last night," Jay said softly and bent down to make eye contact with Drew, "We are not mad at you."

"I was not acceptable," Drew looked at Dr. Charles.

Dr. Charles nodded, "You're doing a good job."

Drew smiled slightly, "Um, it's okay if you punish-" Dr. Charles shook his head and Drew took a deep breath, "Discipline me."

Hailey looked between the two of them, "Over last night?"

Drew squeezed the ball in his hand when Dr. Charles nodded, "We talked about how you two could discipline him and how that's different from what he knows as punishment."

Drew looked up at Jay, "Punishment was when I got hit."

"And we are not going to do that to you," Jay stated, "Ever."

"I…I trust you," Drew said quietly.

"So what would good discipline be?" Hailey asked Dr. Charles.

"It's really up to you, I'm not Drew's parent," Dr. Charles answered, "But Drew and I talked about time-outs and not being able to do things like bird watching or watching TV."

Drew nodded, "That's fair. It was not fair to be hit."

"I'm so glad you understand that," Jay lightly squeezed Drew's free hand.

Hailey looked to Jay, "Did you talk about anything else?"

Drew chewed his lip and shrugged, "I don't think so."

"Nothing?" Jay pushed.

"Hmm, well we talked about what autism is and what it's doing to me," Drew shrugged again.

"Nothing else about last night?" Jay repeated.

Drew thought and played with the ball, "I had a dream that we went to Disney and I met Mickey Mouse."

Hailey laughed weakly, "That's fun."

"Nothing at all?" Jay's voice turned hard.

"Is there something specific you'd like to talk about, Jay?" Dr. Charles asked.

Jay sighed and looked at Drew, "I love you, remember?"

Drew nodded, "I know," he smiled.

Jay breathed shakily, "Yesterday, you said you hated your life. That worries me."

Hailey reached over to softly rub his arm, "I feel the same way."

"I don't hate either of you," Drew said quietly.

"Why would you say you hated your life?" Dr. Charles looked toward Drew.

Drew bit his lip and gripped the stress ball, "I don't like being scared like that. I hate that my brain hurts me and explodes. It makes me angry."

Dr. Charles nodded, "But you are not a bad person."

"Are you mad I said it?" Drew asked quietly.

"No, no," Jay said softly and shook his head, "I'm not mad at all, but I wanted to see if there was any way Mom and I could help you out so you don't hate your life."

Drew smiled a little and looked between the two of them, "You helped when you told me the good things I did."

Hailey smiled in relief, "I'm glad that helped. It was all true."

Jay chuckled softly, "Did you tell Dr. Charles any of those things?"

Drew blushed and shook his head.

Jay turned to Dr. Charles, "Drew is very good at taking care of us if we're ever hurt or upset. He makes cards, he holds our hands."

"He gives the best hugs," Hailey smiled at Drew and rubbed his back.

"He's very kind," Dr. Charles smiled as well, "I like talking to him and spending time with him, even if he says Dr. Halstead is better at puzzles than me."

"It's true though," Drew leaned into Hailey.

She laughed and shook her head, "You do tend to tell the truth."

"Drew, do you think you could wait in the hallway while I talk to your parents before you all go?" Dr. Charles said.

Drew nodded and stood, holding out his hand, "Goodbye."

Dr. Charles smiled and shook his hand, "I'll see you later."

"Stay close," Jay said as Drew walked out.

Dr. Charles walked to open the curtains of his office. Drew smiled and waved at them through the window.

Hailey laughed softly and waved back, "He seems happier."

"He was very confused when he came in here," Dr. Charles said once he sat back down, "But I'd like to keep talking to him."

Jay nodded quickly, "Whatever you think is right."

Hailey scoffed and looked at him amused.

"What?" Jay whispered.

"You were terrified of him coming," Hailey said with a short laugh, "You thought he was going to be taken from us for stepping in this building."

"I would completely disagree with anyone who wants to take him out of your care," Dr. Charles butted in.

Jay looked over, "Really?"

"Really," Dr. Charles nodded, "You two are doing your best and your best is astounding. He told me that you talked about PTSD and he said how you counted with him and gave him a heavy blanket last night."

Jay smiled, "All Hailey's ideas."

Hailey blushed, "Just stuff I've learned through the years."

Jay chuckled and squeezed her hand, "Don't discredit yourself, you're awesome."

"Shh," Hailey blushed brighter.

Dr. Charles smiled, "You two are good parents. Do you have any questions for me?"

Hailey rubbed her face, "Um, well," she looked at Jay, "I guess…do you have any tips for us?"

Jay nodded, "Things we could do to help him in the future or even right now?"

"There are a couple movies you could watch with him to help you talk about that anger and frustration he has," Dr. Charles said and pulled a piece of paper across the desk. He wrote a few down on it and passed it to Hailey, "Just some Disney and Pixar ones that talk about friendship and emotions."

Hailey looked at it and nodded, "We can definitely do that."

"Remember, he had a confusing life before he met you two and now he's finally comfortable. That comfort is okay, but you want to help him grow by pushing him out of his box," Dr. Charles looked between the two of them, "I'd recommend signing him up for some sort of activity where he meets kids his age so can start recognizing friends."

"But what if the kids think he's weird?" Jay asked worriedly.

Dr. Charles chuckled, "He'll get past that. Everyone's run into some challenges when trying to make friends, why should you prevent Drew from experiencing that?"

Hailey nodded, "That makes sense."

"Even if you just start with a class," Dr. Charles continued, "He told me that you two tried teaching him how to swim. Why not enroll him in swim lessons?"

"I don't think I could handle that," Jay said under his breath, "I just about had a heart attack last time."

Dr. Charles smiled, "Pushing yourself out of your own comfort zone wouldn't be the worst thing either."

"We can try," Hailey looked at Jay.

"Yeah," he breathed and smiled a little.

"You seem even more protective than last time we talked," Dr. Charles pointed out.

Jay blushed, "I saw a lot of myself in him last night. It didn't feel great. I know how scary it can be and I hate that he's experiencing that. He's seven."

Hailey smiled sadly, "This is why you're a good dad, Jay. You know what he's going through."

Dr. Charles nodded, "I couldn't agree more."

"Thanks," Jay said quietly.

Hailey turned and looked at Drew playing with the stress ball, "Do you want him to give that back?"

Dr. Charles looked up and shook his head, "No, he can have that; I have a ton."

"Thank you," Hailey said softly and stood, putting her hand out.

"You're welcome," Dr. Charles shook her hand and stood, "I mean it when I saw that I enjoy talking to him. He's very interesting."

Jay laughed and stood as well, "He is, but he's…amazing," he shook Dr. Charles's hand.

Hailey smiled at him, "We're sort of obsessed."

Dr. Charles laughed, "Nothing wrong with being obsessed with your kid."

Jay smiled, "We'll see you later."

Dr. Charles nodded and waved as they left.

"Ready?" Hailey asked Drew.

"Can we go say hi to Doctor Will first?" Drew looked between them with a big smile.

"I don't see why not," Jay wrapped and arm around Drew's shoulders, leading them all back down to the Emergency Department.

As they walked off the elevator, Will was walking past them looking at a chart.

"Hi!" Drew said loudly.

Will jumped and laughed, "Gosh, just like Jay. So loud."

"Not cool," Jay chuckled.

"I just wanted to say hi," Drew shrugged.

"Sweet," Will smiled, "Hey, I told Hailey I'm free one day this week. Want to hang out with me instead of going to your old house?"

Drew's eyes widened, "Yes!" he turned to Hailey and Jay, "Please, pretty please."

Jay laughed, "How could I say no to that?"

Hailey smiled and nodded, "Of course. I'll call him later and we'll figure out what time I can drop you off at his place."

"This is so exciting," Drew said and squeezed his ball.

"Dr. Charles give you that?" Will asked.

Drew nodded and showed him, "I picked this red one."

Will bent down and whispered, "I have some too."

Drew smiled a little, "For when you want to scratch?"

Will shook his head, "I'm more of someone who pulls their hair and wants to break things."

Drew blushed, "I broke books yesterday."

Will shrugged, "It happens. As long as you learned from it."

"I did, I promise," Drew nodded.

"Awesome," Will smiled and softly nudged Drew's chin, "I have to go back to work, but I'll see you soon," he straightened and looked at Hailey and Jay, "Talk to you later?"

"Of course," Jay said and hugged him quickly, "Thank you," he whispered.

Will nodded and patted his back. He walked back to work, leaving Drew with Hailey and Jay.

As they walked out to their car, Drew said, "This place isn't scary when you're hurt."

"I'm glad you think that," Jay said, "It still kind of scares me."

"Why?" Drew asked.

Jay shrugged, "I've been in hospitals before and they've made me really sad."

"Want my ball?" Drew held it up.

Jay chuckled and shook his head, "I'm okay."

Hailey smiled at Drew, "Another reason why you're very kind."

"What's that?" Drew asked.

"You always want to help people if they're upset," Hailey said, "That's super nice."

Drew smiled back, "I want my family happy."

"You deserve to be happy too," Jay unlocked his truck and opened the back door to lift Drew in.

"Just because I'm different, that doesn't mean I'm a bad person," Drew nodded and buckled himself in.

"I like when you say that," Hailey said while climbing into the passenger seat, "I want you to always remember that."

"I couldn't agree more," Jay said and started the car.

"Can we have ice cream?" Drew asked.

"Hmm, Dad?" Hailey smiled, "You're the driver."

Jay chuckled, "Then it looks like we need ice cream."

"Yes," Drew whispered and looked out the window.

Hailey held Jay's hand and rubbed her thumb in small circles.

Jay smiled at her and lightly squeezed back before driving out of the parking lot to the nearest restaurant to grant Drew's wish.

A/N: As always, thank you so so much for your kind words last chapter! I'm so glad that so many of you liked the Hailey flashbacks, maybe I'll do a future chapter in a similar style :) I hope you all had/ will have/ are having a great day!