Chapter 9- First Day Of Freedom

December 18th. 2:38pm. Literally down to the minute, one week after surgery Jay was finally getting the all clear to go home. Now of course, he wasn't totally cleared to return to normal life. But he graduated to living on a couch or his brother's guest bed and living on many pills and hours of Netflix. It wasn't the next step Jay was most looking forward to, but to finally be off hospital time was something to get excited about. And boy did the excitement find it's way out of that still helping body. He was up well before the trained wake up time. Most of that had to do with a bad night of pain management, but also a good amount of it was the excited energy of finally getting out of Med. He begged and begged Will to tell him their discharge time, which every time Will answered with the same 'I don't know,' reply. He took the removal of the central line like a champ because he was going home. IVs being taken out one at a time were nothing because he was going home. The pacing wires were difficult but Jay did great because he was going home. Removal of the tons of monitoring circles and wires was tiresome and long but Jay didn't mind because he was going home. He had three of them still on, around the heart, that would stay on till after he signed the discharge papers. Dressing was still quite a task, a big checklist on the daily activities chart, but Jay worked with Will to get it done because he was going home. For awhile there Jay didn't think he'd ever get to this point, was confident he'd be talked into another month of staying here. But now, with legs and feet swinging over the edge of the bed, which were wearing the socks and slides he came in with, he was glued to the door internally shouting for Rhodes to enter.

"Ready?"

"Like you have to ask."

"How's the pain? If it's still bad you might be looking at another night."

"Don't say that." Will chuckled, rolling his eyes as he stood to pack the final few things.

"Just laying out the possibility. So how bad is it."

"Will, it's always going to same some amount of pain, we talked about this with Rhodes. But, it's better than last night. Still tight and just overall sore, but better."

"Good! That's a great sign. What do you want to do when we get out of here."

"Eat real food."

"Okay, what did you have in mind?"

"I don't know, there are too many choices."

"Well remember, you really can't move your arms so it needs to be something easy."

"Like Chinese take-out?"

"Um, yeah. That could work. If you use chopsticks that should be fine. Do you want the place close to here, your place, or mine."

"I really don't care. Just a place that serves food. If I don't see another Jello packet or soupy food in my life, I think I'll survive." Will laughed at that one, zipping up the last backpack and turning around to face his brother. Looking at him now, you'd never guess surgery was only a week ago. He'd changed so dramatically, all in a very good way. In a week's time he'd learned to breathe on his own again, able to withstand large amounts of pain. Could sit on his own after he got help getting up. And from that point could stand up and stay in place by himself for a minute. Walking was still his trouble area and pain seemed to only be managed in chunks of time, but overall he was doing incredible, per his usual self. He was looking tired and drained still and certainly in need of a vacation and shower, but overall Will was so proud and actually quite excited to see what the upcoming future at home had in store. The gauze pad sticking out from the zip-up hoodie was still something to adjust to, but his brother had done it, been performing so much better then their father, Will would love to squeeze his brother if he could.

"I hear you, I have to admit I'm looking forward to real food and uninterrupted sleep. That is of course if you need me during the night." Jay rolled his eyes, clinging to his heart pillow and twiddling the monitoring wires in his hand.

"Where is Rhodes."

"He said he had another patient. He'll be here don't worry. I'm going to go run and get the car and drive it up to the front. That way we're not being held up outside. It's -5 with the wind chill out there."

"Ah, yes. The weather. Had almost forgotten about it. Go, I'll be fine." Jay knew the second Will left was when Rhodes would come in, explaining everything in rambling fashion and he'd remember none of it. It's how things always go.

"You're sure? Do you want me to help you sit against the pillows before I go?" Jay thought about it, going back and forth on if he could maintain this posture and keep the sharp pains at bay for a bit. But it was in the next inhale, where the slow, quiet, stabbing pain rolled in that Jay nodded his head, beginning to lift his legs so Will could swing him back in line with the bed to lay him against the pillows. They'd done it so many times in the last few days that they had it down to a science. In no time at all Jay was relaxing against the soft support of every pillow on the cardiac floor, Will asking one final time if he should stay with but Jay insisted he get going. There was a small wave and promise to return soon before Jay verbally shooed him out of the room. Jay laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes, reaching a hand up to his surgical scar's center and feeling his heart beat against the hand. Every since he woke up from surgery he'd been dying to do this, feel the effects of his hard work to live and tough decision he made. Each time someone told him to do it later, that he couldn't do that right then and later on they would try it. So now that he was alone for the first time in a week, he wanted to use it to his advantage. He wasn't a cardiac surgeon, so he didn't know what the old heartbeat sounded like. But feeling it now he swore it was stronger, harder then before. The thumping was in perfect succession of each other, like a true and steady beat going on and on. It also felt to want to smack the walls of his breastbone. No wonder he was in constant pain, his heart was trying it's best to thump it's way out of there. Jay is totally aware that is impossible. This is just pure analogy. He couldn't help but smirk through his closed eyes, now quite happy with his decision and happy to have gotten it done. That strong pulse under his hand was worth it. But the biggest truth was that he had a super strong and able heart now, take that Papa Halstead.

"Feel good," Rhodes asked in the doorway. Jay peeked an eye open to find the surgeon before opening all the way. Sure enough, just as he predicted, Rhodes was here without Will to translate things.

"Where's Will?"

"He went to get the car."

"Ah, yes. It's too cold to be waiting around. Alright, first things first let's take a listen." Connor helped Jay sit up to a place where he could listen, doing things through closed eyes to truly hear the results of his handiwork He found the place of the aorta and listened in the timespan of four thumps before smirking with great pride.

"Yeah, that sounds really good. The new valve is doing great!"

"Awesome." Connor returned Jay to his resting spot before moving along.

"So, here we go. When you get home that does not mean you are clear to act like everything is normal. Things are still in the early parts of healing. Yes, you are well enough to go home but you aren't to the point of returning to normal ways of doing things. Thus the reason Will is staying with you for awhile at his place. No lifting of anything till the breastbone heals. Do not reach behind you or above your shoulders. Doing this runs the risk of both damaging the suturing and misaligning the breastbone. Trust me you do not want to do that"

"Okay, Will said something about another surgery."

"If you did that, absolutely. And it's a painful one. Speaking of pain, I have called in all the pain meds you'll need. Take them every four hours or when things spike. Also try the heating pad and ice on the breastbone area. The sides are hard to treat so you just have to get through that and let them heal. They look better but are still pretty gnarly. Again, a lot of rest. A lot of being careful. We do want you up and walking around every now and then. Just listen to your body though and don't push it."

"Okay." Jay was waiting for those five words, the words he'd waited to hear since he woke up last week.

"Other then that, you are good to go." And there they were. Rhodes put the pen in Jay's hand to sign off on things, explaining everything and handing off the discharge instructions before heading out.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I need to see you in a week but since that's Christmas let's try for the week after."

"Sounds good."

"Perfect, have a good Christmas."

"You too, thanks Connor for all of this."

"My pleasure. Rest, and rest some more." And just like that, he was gone. He would become the mysterious figure in this story, the man that did the deed but wouldn't be seen for a bit. Will came in not two minutes after Rhodes left, panting as if he'd run the entire way.

"Did he already come by?"

"Yeah, we're cleared to leave."

"Darn, I wanted to thank him. I can text later."

"Oh, I already did."

"Yeah exactly. You did, I didn't." Will jokingly told Jay to stay where he was, coming back with a wheelchair and nurse in tow. The two of them got Jay back up and on his feet in no time, the tricky part going to be walking the entire length of the room. Yes, he'd been up and walking around each day since he came to the cardiac ward, but it felt like things never got to a point where Jay was comfortable to able to do things. He always needed help and would complain about things the entire time.

"Doing great, almost there," Will spoke as they were three steps away, Jay could only nod while biting his tongue. Everything about him was in pain right now, the tightness extra bad this time. When he was told to turn around Jay wished he'd been able to do it faster. But before long he was in the seat and his feet were being placed in their risen places. The final three monitoring circles were removed from his chest, marking this the first time he was officially free of medical equipment. Backing out of the room and leaving the ward behind was a huge send off, everyone waving and smiling and wishing him luck at home. The elevator doors flew open and Jay was turned around so he could do his best impression of waving as the doors closed him in.

"Oh my gosh the world still does exist," Jay joked when the doors opened to a winter white, bitter cold world just at the other end of the main entrance. The blast of cold air took his lungs and body by surprise the first couple of seconds, but Jay didn't care in the least. Fresh air, it was only a week since he last breathed it, smelled it.

"Ready," Will asked they were close to the car. Jay nodded, putting his feet back on level ground and allowing Will to push him upward.

"Step, step, yup step and turnaround. I'll get you seated," Will guided Jay with, victoriously buckling the seatbelt over him and tucking the heart pillow between Jay's chest and the belt. Will returned the wheelchair to the main entrance before darting out into the frozen world and beelining it for the driver's side of the car.

"Holy cow is it cold out there."

"Yeah," Jay could only reply, inhaling every inch of free world in front of his window.

"Do you need the heater to be turned up any? And has the seat warmer kicked in?"

"Yeah, I'm fine right now."

"You did it! I'm so proud of you."

"We did it."

"Okay, we did it. I know mom is so happy right now. She's probably smacking dad's arm and going on and on about how you had the courage to do what he didn't."

"I hope that's what's going on. And thanks."

"Dude, that's seriously one of the craziest, bravest things I think you've ever done."

"Okay, let's not go that far. It was surgery."

"Yeah, a big surgery that you knew was going to change things and limit you for awhile. That takes some serious courage to head straight into that." Will had a point, Jay had to admit.

"Food, please. I'm starving and would love to eat before the Benadryl kicks in. It was so Jay, never accepting just how badass he was. But now wasn't the time to force that out of him. The starving, healing hero needed food and Will had to stop by the pharmacy first. So without further ado, Will put the car in drive and they were off.

…

"What do you want me to do first? Get everything and then the two of us can go home or I drop you off an then go out?"

"Why wouldn't you just go and leave me in the car and then we both go home."

"Because you probably just feel like going home."

"I do, but I don't want you making two trips."

"Okay, fine." Will turned the radio up after that, allowing the sounds of life reports fill the airspace in the car. As Jay looked out and observed the world, the news reports were both similar and different from the last time he was in this place. There were the same crime reports, but different victims and locations. The concluding political story of the day involved the same clown, but was a different headline. The humorous part was that all of this now mattered today. The last time he couldn't have cared less, today it was the topic of conversation in the car. Part of it had to do with the fact it was the first thing not related to him in over a week, but also because it was just something to talk about. After a week in the same rooms, people tend to run out of things to discuss. Sprinkled in between the talks were Will's inquiries into tiredness and pain, but for the most part they talked about life and happenings going on outside of the car. Will came to a stop at the CVS closest to his place, right in between food and apartment but not so close that he could walk. With parking so sparse at this area of the city, if anywhere was big enough to house a car, people tended to take it. Will's choice in parking space became a quick topic of debate in the car.

"Will, this is a fire lane. You can't park here."

"Yeah, I know. But I'll be in and out."

"Will, it's illegal. I'd not like to have my drive home include you getting a massive ticket."

"Jay, it'll be fine. I'll be in and out in three minutes. Time me." And before Jay could protest once more Will was gone, jogging into the store with a bit of a happy step to himself. Jay did not time his brother but instead went back to feeling his pulse. It was a strange new habit of his, but one he was totally aware of and totally didn't care about in the least. He was practically killed for five hours to get to this point, at the very least he should be allowed to feel things. Thump, thump, thump, thump; over and over again it was so consistent and smooth and perfect, not feeling at all like it was recovering from major surgery. How odd is that that the rest of the body was still feeling the effects while the main character of the whole thing was sounding perfectly fine. But if the conversation/pace racing time with Hailey was any indicator, his newfound perfect heart rate was a bit deceiving. Jay was still laying a hand on his chest and closing his eyes when Will returned, a proud smile that soon turned to concern when he saw Jay.

"Hey, we talked about this. No putting pressure on the breastbone." He removed Jay's hand without asking, that being the thing that forced Jay to open his eyes again.

"Will, it's not that heavy and I want to feel it."

"I get it, but not right now. I don't want to risk harming anything. In couple weeks, Jay. Then I don't care how many times you do it."

"Fine," Jay spoke through a yawn, really feeling the Benadryl start to kick in. Will pulled out of his very illegal parking space without a hitch, veering back into traffic and making the few left and right turns to their next destination. By the time Will arrived Jay was really fighting the urge to sleep, praying and pushing himself to just make it to the couch. After that he could sleep all afternoon.

"What do you want from here?" Jay looked away from his staring at a dog and owner walking down the street to do his best to look at Will, which was a hard task given the angling and his limited movements and the fact focusing was so bad from the tiredness.

"Um, a 5, 8, 10, 17, maybe 22 for later." Will's eyes went wide as he put the car in park.

"Jay, we're trying to avoid cardiac arrest right now."

"Oh stop. I'll be fine. By the way you're in another fire lane."

"Again, I'll be fast."

"Will," was all Jay could get out before he was by himself again. He just glared at Will as he walked into the restaurant, laser beams in his back before he disappeared behind the cluttered door. Jay took the next couple moments to observe himself, focusing mainly on the arms and their many bruises and bandaids from IV ports. There was no denying he was a mess, a frail, tired, anemic mess at this point. He really did need some RNR and TLC all rolled into one PTO moment. But in a way, that was exactly what he was getting with his time with Will. It wasn't a beach and he wasn't going to be lounging by a pool, but it was a place that didn't have nurses and their poking, painful tests and demands to rise. Furthermore he had Will to tend to his every need with speed and accuracy. Finally, perhaps most importantly, a bed; a real live springy bed. That alone was going to to wonders. Speaking of, Jay was so, so tired now. Foregoing the push to stay awake till the couch and now hoping he'd make it awake to Will's place. Joking to himself that Will would have to carry him, Jay allowed himself to close his eyes. Not falling asleep, but closing his eyes. He was beginning to count to ten, that would be when he forced himself awake. 1, 2, 3, 4.

"Excuse me," rapped on the window, Jay's window to be exact. It startled him so much that the first reaction was to jump, which was a bad idea given his frail state.

"Shit," he reacted as he clutched his chest, praying that that wasn't the thing that sent him back to a hospital because of a heart attack. The knocking on the window happened again, Jay still feeling the effects of the last sound. He could only roll the window down as he deeply breathed himself back to a normal, calmer heart rate.

"Yes."

"You are aware you're parked in a fire lane." It was a cop, a very young cop. Jay looked in the rearview mirror at the flashing blue lights and growing crowd craning necks into the car.

"Yes, sorry. My brother pulled in here and I told him not to. He'll be out in a second."

"Well he is aware this is illegal to park here."

"I certainly hope so."

"And where are you two coming from."

"The hospital. I just got out after a week's stay. I'm Detective Jay Halstead from the 21st. Badge number 51163."

"Whoa, you're Halstead?"

"Detective, but yes."

"I'm so sorry to bother you. Trudy Platt seemed to tell everyone that came into the 21st about you. Had to pick up a guy over there a couple days ago and she was going on about your surgery and how you were doing."

"Yup, that's me."

"Well, how are you feeling?"

"Um, tired, still pretty sore, but better then before."

"Oh man, I'm so sorry to bother you like this. Do you need an escort or anything back home?"

"No, we'll be fine. I'll really remind my brother to find a legitimate parking spot next time."

"Yeah, sure thing. I'll let other guys in the area know to leave you guys alone tonight. You know, so this doesn't happen again."

"I appreciate that, thanks." The young officer apologized once again before backing away and driving off. Jay wasn't sure if he should feel embarrassed, loved, taking advantage of others, or just exhausted from the whole ordeal, so he chose all of the above. His next move was to return to his trick of counting to ten and waking up. Because yes, despite going through that whole thing he was still super tired. Benadryl is really that strong. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..

"-Hey I'm back!" At least he made it to five this time.

"Dear God," Jay began with.

"Can we try to not make this a full on effort to send me back there?" Will furrowed his brow, gently placing the food on the floor mat between Jay and the door.

"What are you talking about?"

"How could you not notice the flashing lights and horde of people standing around the car. I got you out of a massive ticket, by the way. You're welcome." Will's mouth was now totally open, eyes big as he tried to piece together what happened without the whole story.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you later. Just get us home before I fall asleep in this seat."

"Hey, I offered to bring you home."

"I know I know, just let's get home." Will put his blinker on, pulled out, and was beginning the turn for home.

…

"Almost there, let me get the door." Will was wearing two backpacks, one on his back and the other over his front, while using his right arm to guide Jay from the car to the front door. It was an adventure getting Jay to lean forward, put a foot out, and pull himself into a standing position, but somehow the minor miracle happened. They both knew the abdominal muscles are used for pretty much everything, but never had it been so obvious then in that moment. Jay was brushing stray tears away as Will closed the car door, mumbling to himself that was one of the worst moments in this entire recovery. From that point Jay became dizzy, bracing Will's shoulder with both hands as he both steadied and felt his way through the spell. Oh yes, it was frigid and getting darker and darker by the moment, but neither of them seemed to really notice or care. Everything was about getting Jay well enough to walk through the front door. It was only when Jay reassured Will that he was good to go did they move things forward.

Walking these days was a lot more like shuffling, Jay's tendency to lean forward to see himself walking causing more harm then good. Leaning forward meant utilizing the abs, which always meant stopping at some point to let the muscle spasms come to an end. Will wished he could grab the back of Jay's hoodie and guide him to stay upright, but alas that would harm the breastbone because of the tightening. See his dilemma yet? The ordeal of getting Jay through the front door was a very slow and steady and up and down trip, but now as they stood outside his front door, Will couldn't help but beam with pride.

"Okay, you go first. Just rest against the wall till I get in." Through rolled eyes Jay did as was told, masking a smirk and laugh as he watched Will get wedged and squeeze through his own front door. From there it was a dramatic releasing of the bags before taking both hands and guiding Jay to the already prepared couch, See, Will was that far ahead in his preparation.

"Couple more steps, you're doing great."

"Will, you don't have to say that every time."

"Oh stop, it's true every time! You are doing great and you need the encouragement." Jay would never admit this, but boy was Will spot on. He felt like a ninety year old trapped in a younger person's body. He was a mass of aches and pains and a complete inability to walk around. Will swore that would all change very soon, but at this very moment in time Jay had a very hard time believing it. When he was just above the couch cushions Will held him up to adjust things before helping him fall/land on the couch.

"I'll get the shoes," Will spoke as he took them off and flung one at a time, unfolding two blankets and laying them on top of each other before putting them over Jay.

"What's the pain at?"

"A solid seven."

"Yikes, dude we have to get this under control."

"I know, just get the pills." Will was in the kitchen, rummaging through the freezer before he bound up extra excited.

"I snagged a few ice blankets from work so here, just lay them on top. I've also got the heating pads but think we should try this first. Hold that and I'll go run and get the rest of the stuff." Jay was feeling it to really hear Will, just nodding as he did what was told with the ice blanket. There was nothing about it that was pleasant or helping right then, but at this point he was so desperate for relief he just kept telling himself it was working, that the thing was a miracle worker. Will returned a little too late for Jay's liking, but at some point he threw pills in Jay's hand and a water bottle in the other and told him to swallow. Will could've been giving him a tranquilizer for all Jay knew. He didn't know what he was taking and why, but figured it would help soon.

"Well, how's the ice helping?"

"It's not," Jay spoke after he swallowed things, tossing the bottle between his legs before putting arms at his sides. He hadn't felt this terrible since waking up from surgery. Between the chill of the blanket to the tightness and sore from the change in position and support under him, not to mention the shooting pain from his entire upper torso, there was very little that felt ready to be on it's own. If this was how things were going to be, maybe Will could've talked him into another night or two at Med.

"I'm sorry. Give the meds some time, they'll kick in. We're also starting the oral blood thinner and other stuff so that might make you more tired then you were."

"Awesome."

"What do you feel like doing first, eating or resting?"

"Sleep. Definitely sleeping."

"Okay, I'll just put the stuff in the fridge. It usually tastes better after you let it marinade for awhile. Do you need anything else?" Jay shook his head, trying his best to scoot down on the couch so he could comfortably rest his head on a pillow.

"Oh, one last thing. Try a sound machine. It'll help put you to sleep and keep you asleep." Before Jay could resist Will whipped out his phone, selected the playlist from Apple Music, and the crackling, static, yet calming sounds of white noise filled the space.

"Sleep as long as you need. I'm going to take a shower and then lay down in my bed."

"Jealous," Jay yawned. Will smirked while shrugging his shoulders.

"Get some sleep. Glad you're home."

"Thanks, me too," Jay spoke through heavy eyes, the last part really drifting. He was out before Will could close his bedroom door.

…

He awoke to a miracle. For the first time ever he woke up to zero pain. It was so weird, so not familiar Jay was sure it was a dream. Unfortunately, as he became more awake the more the pain re-registered with his brain. Alas, it was a good run. His sides and now back were sore, add to it the usual suspects being the torso, breastbone, and his neck and arms from the removal of IV ports. He was still quite a mess, but a well rested mess this time. Looking around he could tell it was dark, that the sun had set awhile ago and that nightlife was alive and well. For this officially being the week before Christmas, people could be heard scurrying outside the door. Some were yelling 'CHELSEA HOLD THE DOOR I'M COMING,' your average sounding party goer yelled and cheered when her door finally closed. Then there was the exhausted mother yelling for her kids to help her carry things to the apartment. One cannot forget the barking dog next door and the neighbor that yelled for it to be quiet and it never did. All these were sounds he hadn't heard in awhile, but ones that were welcome. Anything was better then the tunes of a hospital. But now, it was time for Jay to add his voice into the mix. His growling stomach told him so and his sore body wanted to scream out loud for help.

"Will, Will, Will I'm up," was all Jay could muster, the noise barely above a normal speaking voice. Honestly it was the best he could do, anymore and he'd be breaking into the great expansion of his chest and ribs. He called for Will a second time, nervously and annoyingly exhaling that his sound asleep brother would never come. But just as he was about to roll off the couch and crawl, Will's bed headed self appeared.

"I thought I heard you, how was the sleep?"

"Good, fine. I think I need more pain meds and now food."

"Okay, good! I'm glad the sound machine worked." Will's first move was to turn the noise off, the sounds apparently blending so well that Jay didn't notice till Will pointed it out. The next move was to hand off the water bottle and two more pains meds, waiting till Jay was done before heading into the kitchen.

"Don't nuke them into oblivion." He could hear Will scoff and the takeout boxes plopped onto the counter.

"Jay, I've warmed up a box or two of Chinese take out." From there the beeps and roar of the microwave came in, Jay counting up the total cook time between buttons being pushed the chime of things being complete going off. Will was going with the speed cooking, automatic timer of thirty seconds.

"You're sure you want all of this right now?"

"Yes, I'm so starving. Haven't had anything today and it's whatever time."

"Hey, for the record, I did offer you food at the hospital and you didn't take it."

"The record has recorded your statement."

"Excellent good to know," Will joked back. A few more rounds of microwaving went on before Will came in with a tray of all their food, carefully putting them on the coffee table before getting things set up for Jay.

"Do you want to attempt the chopsticks? I can get a fork."

"No, let's try this first." Jay opened his had out for Will to land the box in, Jay very slowly wrapping fingers around the box for security. Will then put chopsticks in his other hand and watched and waited for Jay to try. The struggle was quite real, so real in fact that he was only able to get one bite in before asking for the fork. It felt like defeat, a giant let down. But that soon went away when at last, for the first time in a very long time, the two of them were eating real food.

"Holy cow this is so good," Jay spoke between bites.

"We must be really, really hungry because as that place is okay, but never this good to elicit this kind of response." Jay laughed in agreement.

"Next box," he spoke up while scraping the bottom of the one in his hand.

"Already? You must be starved."

"I kept saying that." Will removed the first one from his hand and set up the next, making sure Jay had to before letting go. It was kind of comical to watch. With him not able to move his arms a lot, neck, head, holding the fork at a weird position were his only ways obtaining food. Will moved the conversation along in order to not laugh at his brother.

"So, Christmas. What do you want to do that day?"

"I think the better question is can I do that day."

"Well, it's a week away so it's hard to know for sure. But we could go for a little walk? Maybe sit around and have a movie marathon? What do you feel like doing."

"Honestly I haven't even thought about it. Been a little preoccupied."

"Oh really? Never would've guessed that."

"So I'd have to think about it. But the movie marathon sounds good. Maybe we could add a small walk somewhere in there. No wait, I should say we'll have to add in a small walk."

"Wow, who are you. Pre-surgery Jay would've never said something like that."

"Well, when you're sawed in half and killed for a little while, you can't help but change."

"Here here."

"Next box."

"Jay seriously you're going to make yourself sick if you keep eating this fast." But the growling stomach told him otherwise: eat as fast and as much as you can.

He's home! Hooray! Next chapter we'll be seeing Hailey help out a little, so that will be fun. Merry Christmas by the way! I hope your day was fun, safe, relaxing, just wonderful. Thanks for reading!