Hailey crossed her arms, "I do not approve of this."

"I don't care," Jay put a handful of ice into a water bottle.

"Jay, you cannot teach him how to fight," Hailey argued and stepped closer to him.

Jay shook his head, "He needs this," he grabbed a second water bottle and put ice in there as well.

"No kid needs to know how to fight," Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Hailey, you did not hear him last night," Jay turned and held her arms, "You didn't hear him say a man hit him so hard he had to go to a hospital."

Hailey set her hands on either side of Jay's face, "And that is terrible, I absolutely hate that it happened and I cannot stand even thinking about that, but you cannot teach him how to fight."

Jay shook his head and stepped back, "Hailey, he needs this. He needs to know how to defend himself."

"What's going to happen if he gets in a fight in school?" Hailey asked.

"That's not going to happen," Jay said.

Hailey gripped his hands, "Really? Can you promise that? Jay, he gets upset and angry easily, I don't like the idea of him knowing how to properly fight people. He's hit you before, he's scratched Will, he could do some real damage to someone and that's without knowing how to stand or hold his fist."

Jay sighed, "We will talk about that, I can promise that."

Hailey groaned loudly and ran her hands through her hair, "Jay!"

"If we had a daughter, would you want her to learn self-defense?" Jay asked.

Hailey looked at him, "What are you getting at?"

"Just that why would it be okay if our daughter learned self-defense and not our son?" Jay filled the bottles with water.

"I don't want any of our children knowing how to fight," Hailey shook her head, "But you know that girls should know how to fight people if something horrible were to happen."

"Exactly," Jay said.

Hailey sighed, "Whatever. Fine. I'll fold. Go. Teach him how to fight."

"Well, now you're mad at me," Jay mumbled.

"I am," Hailey turned on her heel and walked out of the living room.

"Hailey," Jay followed her, "Hailey."

Drew came down the stairs, "I'm ready."

Hailey just shook her head and walked up to the master bedroom.

Jay sighed and stood by the front door.

"Can you tie my shoes?" Drew asked and sat on the steps.

"Yeah," Jay said softly and bent down to help him.

Hailey walked down the stairs mumbling, "Coming, coming."

The doorbell didn't stop ringing until she opened the door to see Vanessa standing on the other side.

"Hey!" Vanessa smiled, "I brought a bottle of wine."

Hailey laughed softly and let her in, "What're you doing here?"

"Kim said you could use some company, so here I am," Vanessa explained while kicking off her shoes, "Want to watch a movie?"

Hailey shook her head, "No, but I could use the wine."

"We using glasses or just the bottle?" Vanessa sat on the couch.

Hailey finally cracked a smile and laughed, "Sorta in the mood for just the bottle," she walked into the kitchen to grab the corkscrew before going to sit next to Vanessa.

"Thanks," Vanessa took the corkscrew from her and quickly opened the bottle, "Want the first-"

Hailey grabbed the bottle and drank from it.

"Okay," Vanessa said softly, "You're clearly upset."

Hailey rolled her eyes and passed back the bottle, "Jay and the guys are teaching Drew how to fight."

"And that's not okay?" Vanessa asked and took a drink.

Hailey raised her eyebrows, "In what world is it okay for a seven-year-old to know how to fight?"

"The one where that kid's had a rough life and has felt helpless before," Vanessa said.

Hailey took a deep breath, "But his life isn't rough now."

"Hailey, that might be true for when he's in your house, but he's not always going to be here. He's going to a new school this year, that's a big step," Vanessa said and passed the wine back, "He also has autism."

"I don't want that limiting him or giving us an excuse to enable him," Hailey shook her head.

"I agree with you, but you should want to prepare him for the worst," Vanessa squeezed her knee.

Hailey took a quick drink, "I do-"

"No buts," Vanessa said, "This is not a guarantee that he will ever even use these self-defense skills. They're just a tool in his pocket he'll have access to."

Hailey bit her lip and looked down at the wine.

"You have to agree, at least, that if anyone's going to teach your kid how to kick some ass, that having Jay, Adam, and Kevin do it is a good start," Vanessa smiled slightly.

Hailey laughed quietly and shook her head, "I guess."

"I love watching Kevin with kids," Vanessa breathed and grabbed the wine for a drink.

Hailey laughed louder, "You are head over heels."

Vanessa smirked, "Maybe."

"Harder," Adam said.

Drew hesitantly punched Adam's hand again.

"Harder," Adam said louder.

Drew glanced at Jay.

He nodded, "Let's see it."

Drew stepped back and punched Adam's hand.

"Put everything into it," Kevin fixed Drew's feet, "You got this."

Drew bit his lip and punched Adam's hand the hardest yet.

"Yes!" Adam smiled, "Again."

Drew huffed and started quickly hitting Adam's hand until Jay set a hand on his shoulder, "Nice job."

Drew smiled a little, "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah," Adam said and stood up, "Nice job," he ruffled Drew's hair.

Drew quickly pulled back and stood behind Jay.

"Don't do that," Jay said softly and reached around to rub Drew's arm.

"I'm sorry," Adam squatted back down.

Drew nodded and grabbed Jay's shirt.

"You've got some strength, little buddy," Kevin smiled.

"Thanks," Drew said and stepped out slightly.

"Do you like pizza?" Kevin asked.

Drew smiled and nodded.

"If your dad lets me teach you how to flip someone, we could get pizza," Kevin looked up at Jay.

Jay sighed and rubbed his face, "I don't know about that."

"But then if someone touches his hair or something, he could grab their wrist and bam!" Kevin smiled.

"I like that idea," Drew said.

"Well, hey," Adam clapped his hands together, "I'll demonstrate on you, Kev."

"Guys, no," Jay shook his head, "That'd really pi-" he glanced at Drew, "Make Hailey mad."

"I want to learn that," Drew pulled at his shirt.

Jay groaned, "Fine."

"It's a good skill," Kevin looked at Adam, "Grab my wrist."

Drew smiled and sat on the couch.

"Not too hard," Adam said quietly as he reached his hand out.

Jay held back a laugh and looked at Drew as his eyes grew wide at Kevin flipping Adam. He wanted to learn, so who was he to deny that?

Hailey laughed and leaned back against the couch cushions, "No he did not."

"He did!" Vanessa yelled with her own laugh.

The front door opened and Jay stepped in with Drew, "Hey, Rojas."

"Hey," Vanessa calmed down and shakily stood, "Hi Drew."

"Hi," Drew said quietly and sat on the floor to untie his shoes.

"I should get going," Vanessa said to Hailey.

"Can you drive?" Hailey whispered.

Vanessa nodded, "I'll be fine," she quickly hugged Hailey, "See you tomorrow."

Hailey smiled and watched Vanessa hurry out the door.

Jay eyed the empty wine bottle on the coffee table and smirked, "Have fun?"

Hailey blushed and nodded.

Drew carefully sat his shoes in the closet, "I learned a lot tonight."

"Good," Hailey smiled and walked into the kitchen with the empty bottle.

Drew followed her, "And we talked a lot about the rules."

"Oh," Hailey turned around, "Like what?"

"Like I'm not allowed to hit girls in school, that's number one," Drew sat at the kitchen table.

Hailey smiled and nodded, "Good."

"Number two is that I should only hit boys if they hit me first," Drew continued.

Jay slowly walked in and leaned against the counter.

"Number three is that violence is not the answer to my problems, but is something I should use if I'm being threatened," Drew said.

Hailey made eye contact with Jay. She took a deep breath, "Okay, I agree with all of that."

"I feel protected now," Drew added, "I'm not scared of bullies anymore because now I can keep myself safe."

Hailey moved to kneel in front of him, "I'm glad," she lightly set her hand on Drew's knee, "I always want you to feel safe."

"Dad and Mr. Kevin and Mr. Adam made me feel safe," Drew smiled, "Mr. Kevin said he'll hurt anyone who hurts me."

Hailey shot Jay a look and he weakly smiled.

"No one's going to hurt you," Hailey said.

"But you can't promise that and that's okay," Drew shrugged, "I know some people don't like me."

Hailey winced, "Drew…"

"I don't mind, Mom, really," Drew said.

Jay walked over and sat in one of the kitchen chairs, "What's not to like about you?"

"I'm different," Drew shrugged, "And I don't like everyone, so why should everyone like me?"

Jay sighed, "But, can you at least try to get along with people at school? You've been doing so good at swim class."

Hailey nodded quickly, "You and Matt – that's his name, right? – you two really seem to get along."

"Well, yeah," Drew looked around and upon finding nothing to grab, scratched his arm.

"Maybe he'll be in your class at school," Hailey took his hand in hers.

"That'd be fun," Jay nodded.

"When do I find out?" Drew asked.

Hailey stood and looked through the pile of mail from that day, "Um, tomorrow. We're invited to an open house and we'll get to meet your teacher and see your classroom."

Drew groaned, "That doesn't sound fun."

"Maybe we'll get to learn the rules, you love rules," Jay said.

Drew sighed, "Yeah, I do."

Hailey smiled slightly, "So, what do you say? Let's make the most of school starting soon and have fun tomorrow. I'll only be working half a day, so the three of us can go together, okay?"

"Okay," Drew scratched his arm again.

Jay shook his head, "No, bud."

Drew clenched his fists and bit his lip.

"Watch it," Jay said softly.

Drew squeezed his eyes shut.

"Hey, hey, breathe," Hailey whispered, "You're okay."

"I need something," Drew kicked his feet.

Jay looked around, "We really need to get more of that fidget stuff Dr. Charles talked about."

Hailey nodded and ran her hand through her hair, "Let's go to your room, is that okay?"

Drew shrugged and dug his nails into his arms.

"Okay," Jay quickly picked him up.

"No, no," Drew shook his head, "You're in my personal space."

"I'm sorry," Jay said while walking upstairs.

"You're okay," Hailey repeated as she followed.

Drew whined, "I'm going to explode."

"I've got you," Jay whispered. He walked in Drew's room and set him on his bed before passing him his stress ball, "There you go."

Drew squeezed it tightly and scooted back on the bed away from Jay and Hailey.

"Good job," Hailey said softly and knelt next to the bed, "We're so proud of you."

Drew sniffled, "What if it happens at school?"

"We'll get you more balls and some other stuff to keep in your desk there," Jay was about to set his hand on Drew's knee when he decided to put it on the bed instead.

Drew nodded slightly and put his head in his knees.

Hailey breathed out slowly and looked at Jay. He tried smiling, but it faded quickly on his face. Hailey nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand.

Drew whispered, "Thank you for keeping me."

"We're never going to give up on you," Hailey replied and lightly touched Drew's foot.

He pulled it back quickly, but still looked up at her, "Do you still love me?"

"More than anything," Hailey smiled softly.

Jay nodded, "I second that."

Drew finally smiled and nodded, "I love you too."

Hailey parked her car in the school parking lot and jumped out, "I'm so sorry." She ran over to Jay and Drew waiting by the front doors.

"It's okay," Jay said and accepted her quick hug.

"You look nice," Hailey breathed and looked over his dark jeans and ironed button down.

"Do I?" Drew asked.

Hailey smiled at his outfit – it was the same he'd worn when he'd first met them at the beginning of the summer sans the hat, "Definitely."

"Good," Drew straightened his shirt, "I guess we need to go in now."

"And it's going to be okay," Jay said, making sure to look Drew in the eyes as he said it.

Drew swallowed and nodded.

Jay led the way inside to the front office, "Hi, I'm Jay Halstead and this is my wife, Hailey. We're here with our son, Drew, to see his classroom."

The secretary smiled, "It's nice to meet you," she looked through her computer, "Are you sure you're at the right school? I don't have a Drew Halstead in my system."

"Oh no," Drew groaned and pressed his face into Jay's side.

"It's not Halstead," Hailey said softly and leaned over the counter, "It's Satterfield. Drew Satterfield. He's our foster son and he's new here this year."

"Oh," the secretary nodded, "Here he is. Drew, you're going to be in Ms. Sampson's class."

Hailey looked at Jay and smirked. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Is she nice?" Drew asked quietly.

"The nicest," the secretary smiled, "Here's a map of the school," she passed Drew a piece of paper, "Your room is 203 and if you leave this room and take a left at the library, it's the second door on the right."

"Got it," Drew looked at the map.

"And for you two," the secretary passed Hailey a folder, "Just a few forms to fill out with his emergency information, birthday, medical history, all that fun stuff."

"Oh," Hailey opened the folder, "Um, okay."

Jay looked over her shoulder, "That's kind of a lot."

The secretary raised her eyebrows, "Is this your first?"

Hailey glanced at her, "Yeah."

The secretary nodded, "Well, it's all standard, nothing crazy in there. I need it back by Friday."

"We can do that," Jay set a hand on Hailey's shoulder, "Want to go check out Drew's classroom?"

"Yeah," Hailey sighed and closed the folder. She looked behind him, "Where's Drew?"

Jay spun around, "Dammit."

Hailey shook her head and hurried out of the office.

Jay followed her, "Would he go to his classroom?"

"Maybe?" Hailey walked down the hallway.

Jay glanced in the library and chuckled, "Found him."

"Hmm," Hailey doubled back and looked through the doors, "Oh thank god."

Jay pushed the doors open, "Drew, how many times have we told you not to run off?"

Drew looked up from a book, "Seven?"

Hailey couldn't help but laugh, "Come on, let's go."

"Maybe I can stay here," Drew said.

Jay smirked and shook his head, "No, come on," he put his hand out, "Time to face the music."

"If I'm leaving this room, I'd rather go to my classroom, not music class," Drew sighed and took his hand.

Hailey laughed, "It's a saying," she led the way to the classroom.

A young woman was standing outside the classroom and smiled, "Hi! Are you in my room?"

Drew looked at the wall and nodded, "Are you 203?"

"That's me," the woman smiled, "I'm Ms. Sampson, who are you?"

"Drew," he squeezed Jay's hand and looked up, "A-And this is my mom and dad."

Hailey smiled down at him and winked. She looked to his teacher, "It's very nice to meet you."

"You too," Ms. Sampson said, "Want to come in and look around?"

"Thank you," Jay walked in with Drew.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Hailey asked Ms. Sampson quietly.

She nodded, "Of course."

"Let's see if we can find your desk," Jay said softly and pulled Drew away.

Drew looked around the room, "I like all the planets on the walls."

"Yeah, it's super cool," Jay smiled.

"Do you think she likes dinosaurs?" Drew asked.

Jay chuckled, "Who doesn't?"

"Weirdos," Drew nodded.

Jay laughed harder and stopped next to a cluster of desks, "Hey, there it is."

"Oh, this isn't okay," Drew touched the desk, "I'm going to have to turn my head to look at the front of the room."

"That's okay," Jay shrugged and opened the desk, "Look, you can-"

"It's not," Drew said, "It's not okay."

Jay raised his eyebrows, "Deep breath, buddy."

Drew shook his head quickly, "I want a new seat."

"What's going on?" Hailey walked over with the teacher.

Drew shakily pointed to the desk, "I-I…my desk…"

Ms. Sampson nodded, "Take your time."

Drew played with his fingers, "M-My desk," he groaned and clenched his fists, "It's facing the wrong way," he looked at Jay, "Dad said it's okay, b-but my neck's going to hurt."

"Well," Ms. Sampson walked around and tugged at Drew's desk, "Lucky for us, these desks aren't glued down and we can move them super easily."

Drew chewed his lip, "You can do that?"

"Oh yeah," Ms. Sampson smiled, "Can you help me, Mr. Halstead?"

Drew's eyes widened and he looked at Jay, "She knows your name."

Jay chuckled, "She does," he smiled at Hailey and helped move the desks around.

"There," Ms. Sampson said, "Does that work?"

Drew nodded.

"What do you say?" Hailey asked softly.

"Oh, thank you," Drew smiled and stepped closer to Hailey.

"You're welcome," Ms. Sampson knelt in front of him, "I want you to remember, though, that just because we could fix this problem that doesn't mean we can fix every problem, okay? But we're always going to try to find some sort of solution."

Drew nodded, "Okay."

A girl walked in the room with her own parents and Ms. Sampson stood, "Feel free to look around, I'm going to go say hi to her."

"That's okay," Drew looked over at the girl.

"Thank you so much," Jay said as Ms. Sampson walked away.

"That was very nice of her," Hailey smiled and looked at Drew's desk.

"Definitely," Jay nodded, "This is a cool classroom, bud."

"I like it," Drew said with a smile, "I think I'll be okay here."

"I know you will," Hailey gently hugged him.

"Not yet," Drew said quietly and stepped back.

"Okay," Hailey nodded and clasped her hands in front of her. Jay reached over and squeezed her arm. Hailey smiled sadly and whispered, "I know."

"I think now's a good time to go," Drew looked between them.

"Sure," Jay nodded, "We can do that."

Drew walked toward the door, "Bye."

Ms. Sampson looked at him, "See you soon."

Drew smiled and waved, "And thank you for saying my dad's name right."

"You're welcome," Ms. Sampson laughed softly.

"So are you going to tell me what you told his teacher earlier?" Jay asked and leaned against the kitchen counter.

Hailey looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Just a little about him and us," she turned back to the stove.

Jay laughed, "Oh come on, tell me what exactly."

Hailey stirred the fried rice, "I told her that he has autism and that we're his foster parents."

"Well the heads up clearly meant a lot to him," Jay said.

Hailey smiled, "It did. She handled him insanely well and it made him really happy."

"You're a good mom, Hails," Jay stepped around the counter and wrapped his arms around Hailey's waist.

She leaned back against him, "Thank you."

Jay kissed the top of her head, "I wouldn't be able to do this without you."

Hailey closed her eyes and squeezed his arms, "We need each other."

A/N: I hope you liked this one! I can't believe next chapter is number 40 and I'll let you know I think it'll be a good one with everything wrapped into one :) (definitely not the last chapter though!) Thank you to everyone who's stuck around with me!