The knocking at the door wouldn't stop, and whoever it was really wanted the Halsteads' attention since they started then ringing the doorbell.

"Hailey," Jay groaned and rubbed his face, "Please."

"Now is not a good time for visitors," Hailey hissed.

Drew was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor with a blanket over his head crying and screaming that he didn't want to go to school tomorrow. He'd seemed off the whole day, but it wasn't until Jay told him to get in the shower at 7:30pm so he could be clean for the first day of school that Drew decided he'd had it.

The doorbell rang quickly again and Hailey breathed, "Oh my god."

"Just go, I got this," Jay said and tried rubbing Drew's back again only for Drew to blindly wave his hand around in an attempt to push Jay away.

"You can't force me out! You can't do this to me," Drew yelled under the blanket.

There was a loud knock at the door and Hailey sighed, "For god's sake," she stood and hurried to the door. She whipped the door open and said, "What?"

Hailey's mom stood on the other side of the door, "Hi, dear."

Hailey blinked, "M-Mom?"

Christine weakly smiled, "Is now a bad time?"

Drew let out a particularly loud scream in the kitchen and Hailey winced, "Yeah, it's not great."

"Hailey!" Jay yelled out, "Who is it?"

"Would a first day of school gift help?" Christine held out two gift bags.

"Um," Hailey glanced behind her, "I don't know. Mom, he's-"

"Hailey, it's fine," Christine stepped in the house and slipped her sweater off, "I've dealt with screaming kids before."

"This is different though," Hailey said softly, "He's really stuck in his head right now. He's having a hard time processing."

Christine nodded and squeezed Hailey's hand, "I had my teaching certificate, remember? I taught preschool for a little bit before your dad and I got married."

Hailey sighed, "It's not the same, Mom."

"Why do you hate me?" Drew sobbed.

"I do not hate you," Jay said.

Hailey walked past her mom and into the kitchen, "Drew," she knelt next to him on the floor, "Honey, breathe for us, let's try that again."

"No, no," Drew cried, "I don't want to. I don't want to."

"No, let's do that," Jay shook his head, "I'm going to pick you up."

"Don't touch me, don't!" Drew tried crawling away, but Jay grabbed him before he could hit his head on the cabinets.

"It's Dad, I have you," Jay said loudly over Drew's crying, "I have you."

"It's okay, you're okay," Hailey gently pulled the blanket off of Drew. She held his feet still, "Listen to Dad. Breathe with Dad."

"Try a glass of water."

Jay and Hailey turned to see Christine standing at the edge of the kitchen.

Christine watched them remain still and shook her head. She walked over and looked through the cabinets until she found a glass. She then filled it with water at the sink and slowly sat on Jay's other side, "Here."

Jay glanced at Hailey, but still took the glass, "Drew? Drew, can you drink this for me?"

Drew looked up from Jay's chest, "Is it poison?"

"No," Hailey said and lightly touched squeezed his feet, "It's just water."

Drew sobbed, but still put his hands out.

"I'll help," Jay whispered and kept his hands on the glass as Drew shakily held it and brought it to his mouth. He sloppily drank the water, crying into the glass as he did so.

"Good job," Christine said softly and tried making eye contact with him, "You're being a good boy."

Hailey let out a deep breath and moved on her knees next to Jay, "We're proud of you, sweetheart."

Drew cried softly and set the glass on the ground with Jay's help, "I'm so scared."

"I know," Hailey nodded, "I'm so sorry."

Jay kissed the side of Drew's head, "We love you so much."

Drew pressed his hands into his face, "I was bad. I'm a bad person."

Hailey heard her mom gasp softly at the bright scratches on Drew's arms, but ignored her and set her hand on Drew's shoulder, "You are not a bad person. You just had a bad outburst. It happens and Dad and I don't think you're bad or hate you because of it."

Jay nodded, "You're nervous, bud, and that's okay."

"Everyone gets nervous before the first day of school," Hailey added, "That's normal."

"I-I'm not normal though," Drew cried, "I'm too different for school."

"No," Jay gently rocked him, "There's no such thing as being too different."

"No one's going to like me," Drew hiccupped.

"They will," Hailey softly rubbed her thumb over his cheek to wipe the tears away, "Matt's going to be in your class, remember? You already have a friend in there."

Drew squeezed his eyes shut and curled up further against Jay.

Jay purposefully took big, deep breaths, and Hailey smiled at him. He smiled back and softly hugged Drew to his chest.

Christine whispered, "Wow."

Hailey raised her eyebrows, "Excuse me?"

Christine shook her head quickly, "No, it's not a bad 'wow,' it's a…my daughter and her husband are better parents than I ever was," she wiped her eyes and carefully stood.

"Mom," Hailey stood, "You-"

"Oh, don't lie," Christine weakly laughed.

Hailey glanced down at Jay before asking, "Why are you even here?"

Christine nodded to the living room and walked over there.

"Go, we're okay," Jay breathed.

Hailey reached down to squeeze his shoulder before following her mom.

Christine sat on the couch and pulled over the two bags she had brought, "I couldn't stop thinking about how we left things with your father."

Hailey shook her head and looked to the side out of the window.

"What you said…it needed to be addressed," Christine said softly.

Hailey turned back to her, "You really think that?"

Christine nodded, "I'm no idiot. I know what your father put us all through. You were right by saying that Jay's a better man than he is or was. I saw that tonight."

"So did you leave him?" Hailey whispered.

"You know I can't," Christine breathed, "I can't, Hailey. He's my husband."

Hailey scoffed and shook her head.

"I love him and he loves me," Christine said.

"Okay," Hailey rolled her eyes.

Christine sighed and pursed her lips. She passed Hailey one of the bags, "This is for you."

Hailey looked to her before opening the bag. She couldn't help but smile at the first day of school sign, "This is so cute."

"I thought you could use one," Christine smiled.

Hailey nodded, "Thank you."

"There's something else too," Christine looked in her purse and pulled out a picture.

Hailey took it and laughed, "Oh my gosh."

It was a picture of her standing in front of a tree holding a piece of paper that had 'Hailey – 2nd Grade' written on it.

"My hair," Hailey shook her head at the frizzy blonde waves sticking out in all direction from her head.

"I'm quite fond of the mismatching socks," Christine laughed.

Hailey laughed as well, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought it was cute," Christine smiled.

"That's one word," Hailey smiled back.

Christine hugged her lightly and kissed her forehead, "I mean it. You are a wonderful woman and an incredible mom. Drew is so lucky to have you in his life."

"Thank you," Hailey whispered.

Jay walked in holding Drew's hand, "Hi Christine."

Christine pulled away from Hailey and turned to wave, "Hello."

"Hi," Drew stepped behind Jay and hid his face in Jay's shirt.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Christine said softly, "I got you something, though."

Hailey dramatically gasped, "Is it a gift?"

Christine smiled at her, "Yeah, you could say that."

"No way," Jay rubbed Drew's side, "What do you think about that?"

Drew peeked his eye out, "You really got me a gift?"

Christine nodded and held up the blue bag, "For the first day of school. I always gave Hailey a gift before school started, so I thought you'd like something too."

Drew wiped his eyes and hesitantly walked to her, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Christine smiled and passed him the bag.

Drew sniffled and pulled out the paper. His eyes widened and he looked up at Jay.

"What is it?" Jay asked, sitting on the edge of the coffee table.

Drew dropped the bag and held up a dinosaur set of Legos.

"No way," Jay said, "That's so cool."

"I've never had one of these," Drew said and looked at the box.

"Do you like it?" Christine asked.

Drew nodded quickly, "Can I make it now?"

Hailey bit her lip and made eye contact with Jay before saying softly, "You can make it tomorrow. You still need to take a shower and we'll read a book before going to bed."

Drew's jaw set and he groaned softly.

"Hey," Jay breathed and set a hand on his back, "Look here. Focus on me."

Drew swallowed and turned to face him.

"You can do this," Jay said, "We believe in you."

Drew stiffly nodded and set the Legos down next to Jay. He rubbed his arms and took a deep breath.

"Good job, sweetheart," Hailey whispered and rubbed his back, "We're proud of you."

"Let's go get you in the shower and pick out your clothes for tomorrow," Jay said softly and stood, "Sound good?"

Drew glanced at the Legos and nodded.

"Say 'goodnight' to Mrs. Upton," Jay squeezed Drew's hand.

"Goodnight," Drew whispered, "And thank you."

Christine smiled, "You are very welcome."

"I'll be up there soon," Hailey said.

Jay nodded and walked with Drew upstairs.

"He's very sweet," Christine smiled at Hailey.

Hailey laughed softly and nodded, "It's nice that you're saying that after what you saw."

"He's a kid, Hailey," Christine shook her head. She held Hailey's hands, "You are a wonderful mom."

"Thank you," Hailey smiled slightly.

Christine hugged her, "I'm proud of you."

Hailey closed her eyes and nodded, "Thanks, Mom."

"I'll get out of your hair," Christine pulled back and set her hand on the side of Hailey's head, "Good luck tomorrow. Be strong for him."

Hailey smiled and nodded, "I'll try."

Christine kissed Hailey's forehead, "Talk soon?"

Hailey nodded, "Definitely."

Christine left the house and Hailey walked up the stairs to see Jay sitting in the hallway outside the bathroom door.

"Hey," Jay breathed.

Hailey smiled and sat next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, "Long night."

"I think it'll just get longer," Jay sighed.

Hailey nodded and wrapped her arms around Jay's bicep.

"It was nice of your mom to come over," Jay said softly, "Were you expecting that?"

Hailey shook her head, "Not at all."

Jay kissed the top of her hair, "I'm glad you still have her. I know it's messy-"

"But I need her," Hailey finished with a sigh, "She said she agreed with what I said at dinner before and that I was right, but that she still loves my dad."

Jay tilted his head back against the wall.

"Yeah," Hailey whispered.

They sat in silence listening to the shower run. Jay's thumb rubbed circles on Hailey's knee and she had her lips pressed to his shoulder.

The water was still running when the door opened slightly and Drew poked his head out. His eyes were red with tears as he whimpered, "The soap hurts my scratches."

Jay and Hailey untangled themselves from each other and stood.

"Let's see what we can do," Jay said.

Hailey nodded, "It's not a problem, we'll figure it out."

They walked in the bathroom, shut the door behind them, and quickly helped patch up Drew's arms.

"Smile, bud!" Hailey laughed.

Drew sighed and smiled slightly, "Good?"

"Yes," Jay chuckled and took another picture of Drew.

Drew shifted on the front porch and lowered the first day of school sign, "My arms are tired."

Hailey shook her head, "You're just being silly."

Drew cracked a smile and laughed, "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Jay smirked and walked to the porch, "Maybe?"

Drew laughed harder, "Yeah."

Jay chuckled and hugged him tightly, "Oh, shh."

Hailey held back a laugh and quickly took pictures of the two of them, "Are we ready to go?"

Drew nodded and picked up his backpack, "I'm ready."

"Good," Jay patted his shoulder.

Kim walked up the stairs to the bullpen wiping her eyes.

Jay looked away from the whiteboard in front of him, "You good?"

"I miss her," Kim said softly and sat on the edge of her desk.

Adam nodded and slipped his jacket off, "She was very nervous. I felt like a bad dad leaving her in that room. I saw a boy picking his nose, that's not safe."

Hailey smiled and sat next to Kim, "Drew was nervous too, but I was surprised there weren't any tears this morning. A lot last night though."

Jay sighed, "Oh yeah."

Hank walked out of his office, "Good, we're all here. Rojas, take it away."

Hours later at lunchtime, Drew was in the elementary school nervously avoiding going to the lunchroom. He held back near his cubby and watched his classmates line up at the door.

"You ready?" Ms. Sampson asked him.

Drew shrugged and looked at the floor. He swung his lunchbox along his side.

"Let's see what you've got," Ms. Sampson smiled and gently took his lunchbox. She walked with him to her desk and unzipped the lunchbox, "Oh, a peanut butter sandwich, that looks delicious. A red apple? My favorite!"

Drew laughed, "Really?"

"Definitely," Ms. Sampson nodded, "Oreos! You're lucky."

"Wait," Drew reached his hand out and grabbed a pink sticky note stuck to the bottom of his lunchbox.

~We love you! Have a GREAT day at school! Love, Mom and Dad~

Drew's smile grew wide and he hugged it to his chest, "I love my mom and dad."

Ms. Sampson smiled, "I'm very happy to hear that."

"They are the best people in the world," Drew said.

Ms. Sampson zipped his lunchbox back up, "So what do you think? Should we head to lunch?"

"It's what they'd want," Drew nodded and grabbed his lunchbox.

Ms. Sampson laughed softly, "Then let's go."

Hailey shut her eyes for a second before jumping back out from behind the couch and firing her gun.

"Down!" Jay yelled at her and jumped up to shoot his own gun.

Hailey held back a scream as a bullet shattered the lamp to her right.

Jay swore under his breath and dove on top of her, knocking her into the wall.

"Mine!" Kim screamed as she and Kevin ran into the room both shooting at the offender.

"Are you okay?" Jay breathed to Hailey.

She swallowed and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, go."

Jay ran after Kim and Kevin, leaving Hailey to search the room for the bag of drugs they'd came for in the first place.

Vanessa joined her and started overturning everything, continuously looking up and keeping an eye out.

Adam came in the room gasping for breath, "They got him."

"You're bleeding," Hailey ran over to him and set a hand on his arm.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Adam said as he sat on the couch.

"Found it!" Vanessa yelled while kicking at a spot in the wall.

"Kim!" Hailey called toward the back of the house, "Kim!"

Kim ran into the room, "He'll be fine, Hails, it's just – Adam!"

"What?" Hailey breathed and stood, "What are you talking about?"

"Jay," Kim said while sitting next to Adam, "Where was it? Look at me, look at me!"

Hailey ran through the backdoor and skidded to a stop in front of Jay and Kevin.

"I'm fine," Jay coughed and held his stomach.

"I don't think you should be talking," Kevin said and helped Jay stand.

"What happened?" Hailey breathed and gently set her hand next to his.

Jay winced and opened his mouth to talk when Kevin nodded toward the dead man on the patio, "He shot him."

Hailey's eyes widened and she started tearing at Jay's bulletproof vest.

"The vest caught it," Jay coughed again, "I'm fine."

Kevin helped Hailey pull the vest off of Jay. Hailey lifted his under shirt and whispered, "Jay," at the already growing purple bruise on Jay's stomach.

Kevin glanced down and winced, "Oh, man."

Jay groaned, "Did you find it, though?"

Hailey nodded, "Vanessa found a bag."

Hank walked in the backyard, "It wasn't the right one."

"What?" Hailey looked at him.

"Only some money in it," Hank explained, "The real bag was never here to start."

"Then who has it?" Kevin asked.

Hank opened his phone and held it out, "The girlfriend."

Jay waited outside the school for Drew. Hailey was still at the district working the case. They had wanted to both pick up Drew from the school, but that just wasn't possible given their current circumstances.

Drew finally walked outside and Jay waved his arm in the air.

Drew smiled and ran across the courtyard to jump into Jay's arms.

Jay grunted and held back a groan as Drew's knee connected with the bruise on his stomach, "Hey, bud."

"Hi," Drew slid down to stand next to Jay, "Where's Mom?"

"At work," Jay smiled sadly, "She really wishes she could be here."

"Oh," Drew nodded and shrugged slightly, "That's understandable."

Jay squeezed Drew's shoulder, "How was it though?"

"Good," Drew smiled, "I actually liked it."

"That's great!" Jay hugged Drew to his side, "Awesome."

They started walking to the kindergarten playground where Kim was sitting with Cara on a bench. Kim was talking softly to Cara and running her fingers through her hair.

Jay shook his head and wrapped an arm around his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Drew asked.

"I got hurt today," Jay explained, "And so did Adam."

"Oh," Drew's eyes widened and he looked at Kim and Cara, "Is that why Ms. Kim looks sad?"

Jay nodded, "Yeah, he's going to be okay though."

"Will you be okay?" Drew held Jay's hand.

Jay nodded, "Definitely."

Cara looked up at them and waved slightly, "Hi."

"How was school?" Jay asked and gingerly sat next to Kim on the bench.

"Not bad," Cara sighed, "But Adam's not okay."

"We're going to go visit him," Kim said softly.

Jay nodded, "That's a good idea."

"I hope he feels better soon," Drew said, "I'll make him a card."

Kim smiled, "He'll like that, thank you."

"You're welcome," Drew looked at Jay, "Could we go home? I'm starving."

Jay chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, we can go have a snack."

"See you tomorrow," Kim said quietly.

Jay squeezed her shoulder and walked to the car with Drew.

Jay left Drew with Will at their house so he could go back to work for a few hours with Hailey. He felt horrible doing it, but he knew if didn't go back, he'd be distracted from Drew by worrying about Hailey in such a dark case. Drew refused to talk much about school anyways, he said he wanted to tell Jay and Hailey at the same time, so that eased Jay's thoughts as he drove to the address Hank had texted him.

Jay pulled up to the house and felt his heart stop at the amount of police cars surrounding it. He stepped out and walked over to Kevin, "What's going on?"

Kevin bit his lip and looked away from the house, "You might want to sit down."

"What are you talking about?" Jay breathed.

Kevin glanced back to the house, "Hailey's in there."

"Then why in the hell are we out here?" Jay yelled.

Hank quickly walked over and grabbed the back of Jay's vest to drag him away, "Shut it."

"What's going on?" Jay asked loudly.

"She volunteered," Hank hissed, "Now listen to me. Be calm."

"How am I supposed to be calm?" Jay snapped.

Hank grabbed the front of Jay's vest, "Focus. Look at me."

Jay closed his eyes, flashing back to the night before when he'd said those same words to Drew.

"There hasn't been movement in half an hour," Hank quietly explained, "Hailey's in there with the girlfriend and the teenage daughter. The girlfriend's threatening to kill her daughter."

Jay's eyes snapped open, "But she's pregnant."

Hank nodded, "That's what Hailey's been saying. She can talk her down, but I want you available now to take a shot if you need to."

Jay glanced behind him at the abandoned house where he could see other officers had set up a base. He quickly eyed the top window that was already open. It had a perfect view shot into the house.

He swallowed, "I want to talk to her first."

Hank shook his head, "We don't-"

"I want to talk to her," Jay repeated, "I need to know she's okay. Maybe we can convince the girlfriend together to give up the girl."

Hank took a second before saying, "Fine. You have five minutes."

A/N: Let me know what you think! I've had a version of this final scene in my head for a while now and it's setting up the back half (third?) of this story, so let me know if you have any guesses as to what might happen and what your opinions are. Thank you, as always!, for reading!