Jay lifted his duffle bag over his shoulder and looked out of the window, watching the tiny cars battle through traffic. He wore jeans and a pull over t-shirt. He was finally getting discharged today and couldn't wait to get home.

" Hey, handsome." A warm female voice greeted him. Jay smiled, knowing exactly who it was.

He turned around and smiled at Hailey standing there with a bouquet of flowers in her hand.

"Hey"

Hailey walked towards him and held up the flowers.

"Some of the other officers in the district heard you were getting discharged. I have more flowers in the car. A bunch of officers got you flowers to make today more festive."

"These," she said handing him the flowers,"are from Platt."

" That's really… wow."

Hailey made the mistake of looking up just as he looked down and their eyes locked. Sho noticed his freckles coming out. Her heart fluttered as she noticed there were tiny freckles dancing across the edges of his lips. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips on her forehead.

"Thank you," he whispered, "for everything."

Hailey held back a shiver as Jay's scruff scratched her skin.

"I'm here for the good days and the bad." She replied.

He pulled away and smiled. A knock at the door grabbed Hailey and Jay's attention. Will stood at the door with a clipboard.

"Hey, I have a couple things you need to sign but then you're good to go." Jay signed the forms and Will gave him his meds.

"Hey, um Jay?" Will said in a tone that indicated that he wanted some privacy.

"I'll go pull the car around."

" Yeah what's up Will?" Will got up close and lowered his voice.

" Remember, the stitches on your side aren't gonna dissolve. You're gonna have to come back here in about three weeks for a post-op checkup to get them removed. The stitches down there will dissolve. They will fall out after a while."

Jay blew out a breath. He really didn't like talking to his brother about his privates. It wasn't like his brother hadn't seen them. It was just uncomfortable.

" You need to keep both areas clean. Change the bandages on your side about every six hours. If it is ever sore, just put some ice on it and you can take Advil. You need to call me if there's any puss, swelling, discoloration-"

"I get it Will"

Will took a deep breath.

"Alright, come here big guy."

Will and Jay hugged.

He said his farewells to some of the nurses as he walked out. When he stepped out of the E.D. doors he was shocked to see his truck pulled up with writing all over the windows. He laughed at all the little notes and phrases.

Go Jay!

Get well soon!-Narcotics unit

We're all rooting for you.

Congrats!

Hope you're feeling better in no time.-Robbery/Homicide unit

You rock, Halstead!

We love you, Jay! -G&G unit

Can't wait to see you back at the department!

Free meals on me anytime.- Marty

You'll be kicking ass and taking names in no time.

Still protecting the candy hidden in your desk drawer. -Adam

So many notes crowded into his windows. The only window that had no writing on it was his front windshield. He smiled at the support of the CPD.

Hailey put her hand on his back and walked next to him to the car. Jay got in the passenger side and looked back to see bouquets stacked across his back seat.

"Holy crap, what are we going to do with all these?""

"Ummmm, well hopefully Mouse is a florist."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, Mouse was gonna meet us at your apartment.

"And the team?"

"Just catching up on paperwork."

"Ah…umm, so, uh…" Hailey raised her eyebrows as she focused on the road ahead of her.

"You make a very convincing argument there, Mr. Halstead"

Jay smirked.

" Soooo… this changes nothing between us."

Hailey glanced at him.

"No, never…like I told you earlier…. I don't think any less of you because of what happened. It was out of your control, Jay."

"What if I had fought back harder?" Jay asked the question that had been swirling in his mind since that night.

"You can't think like that, Jay. We all know that you did your best to fight it. It's not your fault."

Jay nodded.

"I remember you rubbing my head whispering to me."

Hailey drew in a sharp breath. He remembered when they were taking him to the hospital. Jay had started to freak out so she had climbed into the back seat to try to calm him down. She had set his head on her lap and rubbed her fingers through his coarse hair and whispered to him. He was so drugged up at the time, she was surprised he remembered that.

" Yeah?"

"I have no idea what you said but it felt nice."

" Your hair felt nice." The words spilled out of Hailey's mouth before she could stop them. She flushed pink and Jay laughed.

"Well, in that case… maybe later tonight you could…"

"Yeah, ok we'll see. Your hair better be clean…"

"You weren't concerned about that when-"

"You were dying!" Hailey commented.

"Touché."

Hailey liked that Jay still joked around. She was grateful that he could laugh despite the unseeable scars he had.

Hailey pulled in front of Jay's condo complex. Jay lived in a condo on the second level. Jay grabbed his bag and a couple of bouquets and Hailey grabbed the rest. As Jay approached his door he saw balloons taped to his door frame and a "Welcome Home!" sign on his door. Jay smiled. He slid the key into the lock and pushed the door open. He flicked the light on and dropped his keys on the entryway table, as Hailey closed the door behind him. He set the bouquets on the kitchen counter. He set his duffel bag on the table. He grabbed an icepack and sat down on the couch.

Hailey sat on the other end, trying to give Jay enough room to spread out comfortably.

" if you lay down… I'll rub your head."

"Thank you," he said, laying his head on her leg.

As she rubbed his head Jay got really quiet. His eyes closed and his breathing evened out. After a while Jay was asleep, which surprised Hailey since he was literally holding ice against his body. She took a second to smile at how disheveled she had made his hair. She gently maneuvered his arm away from his body and removed the ice pack from his hand.

She grabbed the blanket off the couch and attempted to cover him with it. She pulled out her phone and texted Mouse.

Where are you?

Just pulled up. Got stuck in traffic.

Come in quietly. Use the key. Jay's asleep.

K, is he okay?

Yeah, he's just tuckered out.

Ok

Almost 30 seconds later, Hailey heard the door creak open. Mouse slipped into the living room without a sound. They exchanged smiles as Mouse looked at Jay.

Mouse sat down and pulled out his phone.

We're gonna have to be really quiet because he's sleeping. He texted.

Can we whisper?

We could but his PTSD makes him hyper-aware when he's asleep.

What's that mean?

Even though he's sleeping, his brain is still processing sounds so that if a sound comes too close or seems threatening, he'll wake up. Used to be real bad when we got home from war.

Oh…

Hailey looked down at the sleeping man. Jay stirred and groaned.

"Hurts…" he whispered.

"I know… I know it hurts." Hailey said.

"Maddison,its okay." Jay was sleep-talking.

"Musaeada...shakhs ma yusaeid."

Mouse looked down and shook his head.

"Whats he saying?" She whispered

"He- he's calling for help."

Jay moaned and blinked his eyes open. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, letting the blanket fall off him.

"Hey you okay?"

Jay was quiet for a second before saying "I'm fine."

He stood up and grabbed the icepack off the coffee table.

"Hey Mouse" he said walking into the kitchen.

"Hey Jay"

Hailey sent him a confused look and Mouse just shook his head.

They heard the freezer open and shut. There was an awkward silence blanketing the room.

They didn't hear any movement in the kitchen, so Hailey stood up and walked into the kitchen. Mouse decided to follow.

Jay was leaning over the sink.

"Hey,what's up?" She said touching his arm.

"Nothing, just catching my breath. Bad dream. That's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah… you guys want to help try and organize these flowers?"

He handed scissors to them and they started trimming the stems and putting the flowers in vases.

But Hailey knew that it was more than just a bad dream. This wasn't going to get better soon. Jay might be able to manage his PTSD but he would never be cured of it. She couldn't push him into therapy. She couldn't force him to talk about every nightmare he had. All she could try to do is be there for him.
—-

please review ;)

i might need some inspo for the next chapter

ALSO last chapter I called Jay "Jared" because in all my stories I have given him the name of "Jared Alexander Halstead". Sorry if that was confusing.