Chapter 8- The First 24

They quite literally had to peel Hailey away that first night. It wasn't that she was being defensive or anything bad was going on, but instead she'd fallen asleep. All the adrenaline of the day and happiness of Jay finally being over things created this combination of euphoria and extreme tiredness. Hailey sat on the edge of Jay's bed for the first hour or so, just watching and holding his hand. But not too long after that the yawns kicked in, her posture slumping slowly yet steadily, and before long Will guided her to the lone chair in the room as she nodded off to sleep. Will could only smirk, try his best to avoid looking at her because he too was feeling the very sleepy mood of everything. It didn't take long for the two of them to get used to the lights, sounds, just all the little things that were happening in the room. At first it all scared them, the alarms and blinking convincing them that something was wrong. But before long they got that a lot was going on with Jay and he'd been through something huge, so it was normal for things to need to be refilled or switched out and checked on and he still remained fine.

"See you in the morning," Will whispered as Hailey stretched her arms and got herself upright.

"What time is visitation," she whispered?

"8am to 8pm." Hailey's eyes went wide.

"Yikes, I only stayed four hours past that."

"I think they're okay with it," Will chuckled. Hailey leaned over, pulling her mask down and kissing Jay's forehead and cheek one last time before gently stroking his hair.

"See you in the morning, Jay," she whispered in his ear. Jay was very much out at this point, even the hearing had gone back into the dark world. She wanted an eyebrow twitch, some kind of reaction to come back her way, but that never came. A nurse was getting ready to enter the room, computer cart in hand as she got set up to give Jay more meds.

"Poor guy, he's on so much stuff," Hailey whispered as Will nodded.

"It's only temporary…well, most of it is." Hailey smirked, nodded, and turned for the door.

"Let me know if anything happens."

"Absolutely." She air kissed the room, waved one final debutant time, and Hailey slunk off into the night. Will meanwhile took the brief moment to gather his overnight bag and head for the bathroom. He hated the thought of keeping Jay alone so to have the nurse in there helped him finally remove himself and take care of things. He hadn't brushed his teeth in over twelve hours, he hadn't washed his face or even gone to the bathroom in quite sometime. Everything was put on hold for Jay and the surgery, so now in the aftermath he had to find those little moments where he could exercise some self care. Even if it was as simple as using the restroom, he had to have those little pauses.

"Can you stay with him till I get back?" The nurse nodded, saying something about Will taking his time as she readied a syringe to be put in one of Jay's dozen IV lines. It felt like betrayal, having to leave Jay in the middle of med changes and so forth, but he had to do it.

The ICU rooms didn't have their own bathroom because most of the patients here never needed them. Bathroom duties were drained out via catheters and they often times didn't need to brush their teeth or do any other kind of bathroom tasks since they were typically unconscious. Rooms with adjacent bathrooms would happen when they got to the transplant floor. But for tonight and the foreseeable future, Will would have to venture down the hall and to the other side of the ICU floor to perform his bathroom duties. The hallway was extra quiet this time of night. It always was in general, but tonight you could've heard a bug tiptoeing on the floor. Everyone was sound asleep, all the noise and movement of the floor was switched out for calm, serene, stillness and peace. Even at the nurse's station, everyone was calm, sitting in their chairs watching monitors and just keeping small talk to fill the long night hours ahead of them. When Will waved to them they were quick to wave back, excited to have someone else alive and able to speak with them on that floor. Will mouthed something about going to the bathroom and they waved him right through.

The bathroom looked like every other hospital bathroom: extra large to maneuver people, grey, super sterile and a cord to call for help. Will had developed an immense fear of accidentally pulling the thing. Because, when you aren't in trouble or too out of it to care, there was nothing more terrifying than sitting on the toilet and a whole herd of people coming in to rescue you. He could not think of a more humiliating thing to live through. So Will was quick on that side of the bathroom, doing his thing and sighing when he managed to keep the cord in tact and exactly the way he left it. But standing at the sink, looking at his reflection for the first time all day, started shifting things. He looked like crap, completely. The bags under his eyes, the paleness and just drained expression on his being told a very sad tale. This entire time he was under the impression it was Jay who looked awful and like he belonged in this place, but now staring back at himself Will was starting to question it all. He looked every bit like a worried sick family member. A family member who spent nights wide awake, praying, crying out for help and deliverance for their person. Certainly, he wasn't feeling that way anymore, but it appeared the internal feeling of rest, peace, victory hadn't reached his exterior yet. Will wasn't sure when that stuff would start to change, perhaps after a really good night's sleep, but looking at him made him suddenly want to cry. He wanted to tell himself that it was okay, that the worry and fear of the future no longer had to be. Jay was okay, he'd made it and was going to get better. But then images of Jay and all the last month flooded his mind. He could hear the bone chilling cough, the final words to look out for Hailey, the serious tone in all the doctors and nurses telling Will that things weren't well. Will could almost walk the walk up to the ICU floor after Jay got through Covid, the weight of the terrible thought that Jay would either live or die in that room. Then there was the waiting, the testing, the immense freak outs every night, and of course having to guide another person through all of this and keep himself as calm and levelheaded as he could. And then, in the timespan of ten plus hours, all that vanished and was no more. All the hard had finally paid off for the good, and that was when Will cried.

Will double over on that sink, sobbing and shaking and just feeling it all. He still could not believe they were here, could not believe this day was over and that Jay had made it through surgery. The always dark thoughts part of him said something terrible would happen that night, that Jay would have to go back into surgery and somehow he'd lose the lungs.

"You've got to stop," Will told himself, talking both to the thoughts and himself. He couldn't be crying when he got back to Jay, plus he had someone holding up their job so they could stay with his brother. Will chose to not look in the mirror the rest of the time, the idea of crying over one's reflection a new adventure of Will Halstead's life. He got out of there with a fresh mouth and fresh change of clothes, accepting the nurse's offer of food before heading back into the room. Jay was still very much out, still wearing the Baire Hugger and doing his best to get warm. Will glanced up at all the monitors, using his astute medical knowledge to diagnose that Jay was doing quite amazing only a couple hours out of surgery. His oxygen was the highest it had been since he came into Med and his heart and everything else was quite thankful for the oxygen. There was a twinge of sadness over the fact he was still on so much and that the lungs given to him by his mother were probably in the process of being documented before getting incinerated. But he knew if given the choice, their mother would have chosen for Jay to being alive at the hand of someone else's gift then for him to trudge on with her very damaged creation.

"It's all worth it and it's all temporary," Will quietly told himself.

"How is he looking," Will asked the nurse who so graciously waited for him.

"So far so good. Dr. Marsh wants check-ins every hour for lung function and sounds and the anti-rejection meds are doing their thing so far. We'll try and keep the visits quiet so you can sleep."

"Oh, do what you need to do. I'll probably be up regardless. What about pain?"

"He's on a good cocktail of stuff right now and it's all going into the epidural. He's not showing any signs of discomfort so we assume he's not in pain or too much that he's bad. But once he's more awake we'll have a much better picture."

"When do we think he could start to wake up?"

"Oh, that's totally up to him. He's been unconscious for a long time and was under general anesthesia for quite awhile so it will be a little bit. Most patients start coming around the middle of the night, maybe during morning rounds, but with him it might be a little longer then that."

"So tomorrow maybe." The nurse nodded.

"Okay, I'm sorry to keep you in here for so long."

"Not a problem," she said.

"We're here to help and I understand the desire to not keep him alone." The room went down to just the brothers, Will grabbing the blanket from off the floor and doing his best to get as comfortable as he could on the next to impossible to move chair. Will knew in the next room there was a couch that he could sleep on, but while in the ICU sleep was going to be a tough one to come by. Will figured out how to lay the back of the chair flat and raise the feet to create a horizontal space. It wasn't the most comfy of cushions, but it would do for tonight.

"Good night, Jay," Will yawned as he pulled the blanket up and rested it just under his chin. Will was out in no time at all, totally missing Jay's very first full hand movement in over a month. It was a quick fist and release, Jay completing the movement twice before the exhaustion, drugs, everything took him back under. He was so ready to break out of things, but time, things, life wasn't quite ready for him just yet. Soon, but not tonight.

…

That first night was relatively uneventful. Aside from the hourly check-ins and just all the medical things that were going off every now and then, there wasn't much happening that very first night. They found themselves in a bit of a holding period. The big thing they were waiting on had happened. They all knew where they were going to be at some point, but right now it was about settling, letting things chill and rest before they moved on. But, perhaps the biggest thing was waiting for Jay to wake up and get off the vent. Once those happened, everything would pick up the pace.

For the first three check-ins, Will would wake up at the sound of the of the door sliding. He wanted to be there for every check-in, every blood draw, never wanted Jay to be alone; which was going to be a very tall task to stick with. But Will did his best, rubbing his eyes and groaning out of his sleep spot as the nurse came into the room, computer cart in hand, and began her checkup. She always started with just listening, observing everything before recording her findings. Then came the listening of the lungs. Now a normal listening would include sitting the person up and listening on the back. But since Jay was very much out and moving him was going to be quite difficult, the best anyone could do was just listen for a long time on the front. It was during these times that Will got to see the very large incision for the first time. The stethoscope had to make contact with skin. Therefore, the blankets and gown had to be pulled down to Jay's waist before the nurse could do anything. Seeing the scar for the very first time was definitely upsetting. Will knew what it looked like and had seen it get drawn on his brother some twelve hours ago, but to see the actual thing immediately after surgery would've made anyone uneasy. They used surgical glue to seal in both the top layer and then to just keep everything in place. Oh, the many layers under the skin were tightly sealed up with sutures and whatnot, but using the glue made it so dressing changes never had to occur. Everything was secured and the glue wouldn't fall off till things were healed: typically in a couple weeks. Will swallowed the fear and nerves as his eyes tranced the line from left to right. It wasn't a straight line, but instead, it dipped and curved a little; almost like it was a feint W. The betadine that was lathered thick all over Jay's upper torso was still on the skin, making him appear orange and sticky. Then there was all the other Sharpie marks that outlined major marking points that guided the surgeons to exactly where they needed to be or avoid. The drains, one on each side, were sticking out Jay's sides, snaking down to a large, clear, canister under the bed. Will had become quite fascinated with those ever since he first came in the room. Watching those solidified just how bloody, messy, just everything that goes on during a double lung transplant. The dripping never stopped, the canister already having to be drained and cleaned out and Jay was just a couple hours after surgery. A lot of it was just fluids that were there during surgery, but some of it was also blood. It was dark, thick, just a shocking thing to see drip out of your family member's body. Even after the weeks of ECMO, Will could not sit comfortably while watching blood drain out of Jay's body. He knew the draining would stop before long. But still, on this very first night, that one kept Will awake.

"Lungs sound amazing," the nurse whispered as she pulled her stethoscope away. Will shook his head in an effort to tear himself away from the dripping blood. It was almost 4am now, Will having slept around two hours, calculating the times he got up for check-ins and then going through them before falling asleep. He was beyond tired, to the point of mild delirium.

"So he could come off the vent?"

"Well, maybe in a few hours. His blood oxygen is just about where Dr. Marsh would like to pull things, but he's not on call right now. But perhaps later in the morning." Will nodded, locked in on his brother's chest. It was amazing to see his chest go right back to moving the way it was intended. Gone was the caving in and hesitation in breaths, instead everything was back in it's perfect up and down motion. If nothing else, this whole experience was a giant lesson in oxygen and how desperately our bodies crave it. Slowly take it away and we all will suffer a horrible, eventual death. Return the air to our lungs and life and our bodies will be quick to respond and be super grateful. That was the peaceful, sleep antidote that Will needed just then. Jay was breathing normally. Yes, he was still under mechanical breaths. But he was breathing just like anyone else was in the world. That was a huge thing to celebrate.

"Can I take a listen," Will asked? The nurse obliged, handing off her stethoscope before checking all of Jay's meds once more before turning to change out the catheter bag. Will rubbed the bottom of the stethoscope before landing it on Jay's chest, making sure to go over the four quadrants. Each section was a long pause, Will closing his eyes and just absorbing all that his tired ears could pick up. The breaths were deep, long, uniform and clear. Even with all the junk from surgery and things just beginning to heal, you could clearly make out the health and strength of these new lungs. Compared to what Jay had, these lungs were close to perfection. There was no gargling or struggle, things were just normal; that was the best and only word Will could muster. Normal, a word that people often don't like associated with themselves. We want to be extraordinary, brilliant, above average. But for Jay, normal was a victory, a signal that life could go back, in some ways, to life before all of this. Will smiled with every pass to the next quadrant. He was beyond proud, excited, relieved that these sounds were coming out of Jay's body once more.

"Thanks," Will spoke as he handed things back to the nurse.

"Of course." Jay's gown was pulled back up and tucked behind his shoulders before the blankets were returned to resting just under his chin. He was getting warmer, but he still had a little bit to go.

"See you in an hour," she left Will with, who could only nod as he figured out another new way to get comfortable on the chair. Instead of talking, Will just stared at his brother before he fell asleep. He looked ever so peaceful, just drifting between realms as his body tried it's best to recover and heal. There was just so much on him, you couldn't say that enough times for it all to be normal. No human should be able to sleep with the amount of medical apparatus that Jay had on him. But it all was necessary and worth it. As long as Jay was here and sleeping and alive, then everything was second to those truths. A couple times Will swore he saw movement under the eyelids, but he figured it was just his lack of sleep playing tricks on him. Jay was under way too many drugs to be able to wake up, let alone dream or move in his sleep. Unconscious didn't mean movement but you're sound asleep. Unconscious meant the body was shut down, everything on life support essentially. The body could perform the basic tasks like the heart beating, the brain working enough to not be dead, and sometimes still breathe. So against his curiosity to get up and see if what he was seeing was real, Will began to close his eyes, drift ever so slowly to sleep. He was just in those initial stages of sleep when this loud, unexpected, gushing liquid sound echoed out into the room.

"What the hell," Will freaked out with. Will flew out of his bed, probably becoming airborne at some point as he raced to turn the lights on in the room. Once the bright, yellowish white hue filled the space, Will looked for the source of the frightening sound, finding it under the bed.

"Dammit. No, no no. Jay!" Will hit the call button on the bed just before diving under the bed. The drain canister that was once less then half full was overflowing with dark blood, bodily fluids, and still coming out. Something terrible was happening inside Jay's body that at the time convinced Will he'd have to be raced back into surgery.

"Stop! Make it stop," Will frantically spoke out to no one, deciding if he should dive into things and try to hold all that was pouring out or just wait for help to arrive. He didn't have to make a choice, two nurses were in the room before Will could figure out how to get up and do something.

"What's going on?"

"I…I don't know. Everything was fine and then there was this huge rush of stuff."

"Okay, let's take a look." Will was ever so kindly pushed out of the way, both the nurses looking at the amount that had come out, what it was exactly, and how much before returning to the person that caused it all.

"Okay, everything still looks fine. Actually, his blood oxygen just went up a little."

"So, so do you think it's internal bleeding? Some artery that broke or suture that failed?" One of the nurses remained at the bedside while the other started cleaning up the mess. She read off how much she was removing from the canister before emptying it into a hazard material container and bringing it to wherever it belonged. After that she worked on cleaning up everything that was all over the floor, the whole thing taking a few minutes. Meanwhile Will and the other nurse were wondering what to do next. Correction, the nurse was doing her best to reassure Will that it was probably just a pocket or plug that was knocked loose because of the drains, and that as scary as it was to hear and see it was actually a very good sign. But Will and his ever worried self, and great fear that things were too good to be true, insisted that it had to be something else.

"Can't we do an ultrasound? I just don't want him bleeding out as we all fall asleep."

"Will, I don't see where that is necessary. His heart rate is still totally normal. He's not showing any signs of distress and his breathing is still normal."

"I would just feel better if we got a look. I'm sorry, I hate to be that person. But that wasn't normal." The nurse sighed, looking to the other nurse who just shrugged as she gathered up all the cleaning products and hazard materials.

"It wouldn't hurt anything," the other nurse said.

"Then let's do it." Will took a seat on the edge of the bed as things were put in place for the ultrasound. He reached under the covers and found Jay's hand, clinging to it as he tried his best to not cry or completely lose himself. All he saw was a confirmation that something terrible was going on and Jay was in trouble.

"Please cooperate….please cooperate….please cooperate Jay," Will whispered over and over again. Some ten minutes after the incident a doctor who Will had never met entered the room with Jay's main nurse and a portable ultrasound.

"Good morning," the doctor greeted. Will nodded, standing as the nurse slowly moved the blankets back down to Jay's waist, the gown right after that.

"Sorry to be that family member, but after everything he's been through.."

"Not a problem," the doctor replied. The cold, messy ultrasound gel was applied both to Jay's skin and the tip of the ultrasound wand. Will couldn't peel himself away from Jay during this time, one because he felt bad for what he was making people do and two, he couldn't look at the incision so soon again. But, it's a good thing he kept his focus on Jay instead of the doctor, nurse, anything else because just as the ultrasound was applied to Jay's skin, the eyelids finally, at last, released their grip over Jay's stunning blue/green eyes.

"Jay?!" Will almost threw up in his mouth, now realizing the thing his mind saw not too long ago was actually correct. Indeed, Jay's eyes opened and he was looking at his world once again. Now it was only half open and in the timespan of a blink, but it was a step, a massive one at that. As the doctor swirled things around and kept saying that things were looking fine, Will was way too fascinated with what was going on with Jay to even hear the guy talk. Will was completely turned to face Jay's head now, death gripping his hand as he just stared and waited. When the quick blink happened a second time Will couldn't help but allow the tears to fall.

"Jay? I'm right here, man. Can you hear me?" It was almost like Jay was banging against that wall once more, breaking through in very small parts at a time. His full force efforts to return were rewarded with these quick snapshots of life back on earth. The first time he didn't look at anything, the second time was straight up, and this current time was in the direction of sound: Will.

"Hey, Jay. I'm right here." Will smiled through the tears, still not believing he was making eye contact with his brother. After everything, there he was. It was quite obvious that Jay wasn't fully awake, that this was the very early stages of consciousness. There was no life behind the eyes, nothing that told Will that Jay could hear what was going on or even understand everything. This was a total bodily function that was just trying to come back. Will dared to not blink, just standing in awe as Jay looked in his direction two more times before falling back into the darkness another time. In that split second, Will took great peace in everything. The right decisions were made. Jay was almost back home.

"I don't see any internal bleeding. Belly is clear and chest all looks normal. We'll keep an eye on him just in case it happens again. But I agree with them, it was probably just a pocket or plug that came loose. It happens after major surgery." Will nodded.

"Okay, thanks for doing that. I'm sorry I had you guys waste your time on all of this." The medical staff was quick to try and comfort Will, saying he was just looking out for Jay. But it didn't help things, Will feeling like a total idiot. Now he figured it was Jay just kicking things around, trying to break through to the outside world and messing something up in the process. Soon the room was returned to how it was, everyone returned to their places with their medical equipment in tow. Will was back on his most uncomfortable bed soon as well, pulling the blankets up and hoping he didn't have to throw them off so quickly next time.

"See ya, Jay. Rest," Will yawned just before he fell asleep. It appeared all energy was used up for the eye blinks. Jay was motionless for the rest of the night.

…

"Will, Wwwwiiilllllllll. Hey. Will." Hailey kept nudging Will's shoulder, doing her best to balance a coffee holder, bag of food in one hand and nudge his shoulder with the other. She was in the room, bright eyed and excited at quarter after eight. She was not aware of how often Will had been up nor did she know about the mildly exciting night Jay had. So when she entered the room and found it full of sleep she took that as a good sign. The nurses waved to her, whispered their morning greetings as she beamed back at them on her way into the room. This was a new side to things, relief and rest. She still could not believe she was both allowed in this hospital and able to stay for however long she wanted to. Visitation was a thing everyone took for granted, something she realized she truly missed when it was yanked away from her. These coming hours, moments, and days in the hospital with Jay were going to be so cherished; Hailey never taking hospital visits for granted again.

"Will," Hailey called out now, not at a full yell but certainly loud for this floor. Right after she called his name, Hailey looked over at Jay, thinking he'd wake up from her loud noise. But much to her dismay Jay didn't budge. He was just as passed out and intubated and recovering as he was the last time she saw him. But soon, she had to remind herself, everything would change and he'd fully come back to her.

"Hey Hailey," Will croaked at her. Hailey turned herself away from Jay and looked at Will who was moving at the speed of the oldest man in the world. His arms took a good year to come out from under his body, stretching so slowly that the hairs on them could be seen growing. Hailey put the drink carrier on the table in the corner of the room as Will slowly rose to a sitting position.

"Long night," Hailey whispered as Will fiddled with the back of the chair to make it resemble a normal chair again.

"Yeah," Will sighed. Hailey offered him a venti cup of Starbucks coffee and he didn't think twice about accepting. He sipped once, twice, four times before pulling the cup away. The warmth was waking him up, the caffeine making his vision less blurry by the moment. The once bleary room was clearing things. It was a new day, nothing had changed in the room. But it was a new day full of promise. Jay was still there and he had to wake up soon. Will was confident in that.

"Long night as in bad?" Will shook his head.

"No, not at all. He did great. Just a lot of check-ins. There was a minor scare really early this morning but it was all on me."

"Oh?!" Hailey handed off a hot and toasted bagel, smeared deep with cream cheese and exactly what Will needed. He took bites between speaking.

"Oh no, nothing bad at all. The draining of everything hit a pocket, as their calling it, and a lot of stuff came out. I thought it was something bad but they said it's all totally normal."

"Oh, well…that's kind of gross."

"It is," Will spoke with his mouth full.

"But it looks like things are slowing down," he pointed out while pointing at the canister under the bed. Sure enough, things really had slowed down. Since the big gush of things Jay had managed to fill the tank halfway. It still wasn't pretty to look at, but seeing it slow down was a big encouragement.

"Oh…also, he kind of woke up last night." Hailey, who had taken a seat on the floor next to Jay's chair, reached over and fully smacked his leg. Will joked at how bad that hurt while she stared at him with shocked eyes.

"Why didn't you lead with that! And you didn't call me?!"

"Sorry! I totally forgot. He only opened his eyes a little bit and it wasn't very long. It was just the early stages of trying to wake up."

"Will, that's amazing!" Will nodded, taking another bite. The two of them used the remainder of their time to watch Jay, Hailey willing him to wake up right then while Will just stared at everything over the bed. It was true, Jay was doing quite amazing. Everything was on the turn for the better. He was at 94% blood oxygen, his blood pressure was completely back in the normal range and all other signs pointed to him coming out of things. They were so close to getting that breathing tube removed, Will certain that was going to be the thing that really got things going. Once that thing was out of the way, Jay and everything else would feel much better. Plus, Will expected when that thing was removed Jay would be more awake. It was like Jay knew the thing down his throat was most uncomfortable and that sleeping through it would make things go quickly. Morning rounds hadn't happened just yet, but Will assumed that after those were complete they'd have a much better idea of when the tube would come out.

"Have you cried at all yet," Hailey asked? Will hard blinked, tearing himself away from Jay and looking at Hailey. She shrugged as she balled her garbage up, rising to toss things in the bag.

"I cried the entire way home last night. I still can't believe he made it and is doing so well. The whole way home I was waiting for you to call and tell me something bad had happened."

"Yeah, I did too. In the bathroom, for all the same reasons." Hailey squeezed herself onto the chair with Will, hugging him as the two of them watched Jay. The whine and gasp of the ventilator was so normal to them now that both would admit they'd almost forgotten what Jay sounded like sound asleep. But they knew that was going to change, both eternally grateful he was still with them.

"He made it. We have to keep telling ourselves that," Hailey encouraged.

"I don't know how we got so lucky when so many others didn't." Hailey could only nod, totally agreeing with Will. She wished everyone could pull through this terrible virus, that everyone who was as bad as Jay was were able to survive and get better. She wasn't sure why or how Jay was spared a terrible fate, but she was forever grateful to be here on this morning in this moment.

"Knock, knock," Dr. Marsh greeted at the door, grabbing Will and Hailey out of their little mind spirals.

"Good morning," Will greeted as Hailey took her arm off of Will but remained in the seat.

"How's he looking," she asked? It appeared the medical history that was Jay drew quite a crowd. Behind Dr. Marsh was a whole slew of other people: the entire transplant surgical team, Jay's nurse, the ICU doctor on call that day, and a couple other breathing specialists. In no time the room went from crammed to being at the absolute max capacity. If Jay were to wake up right now he'd for sure be thrown into a panic attack. Too many eyes were looking at him and way too many hands that could touch sensitive things. Will mentally warned Jay to stay asleep.

"Well," Dr. Marsh began as he looked over things.

"He's improving beautifully. I know there was a slight moment last night with the drains, but that is totally normal and actually something I like to see. The sooner that all comes out, the sooner we can get the drains removed and he can be that much more comfortable."

"When can we start talking about taking the tube out?" Dr. Marsh pulled his stethoscope off from around his neck, fitting things to Jay's chest and listened for a few minutes. Once he finished he spoke a few things to one of the nurses who nodded and entered things into Jay's chart.

"Let's keep him on it this morning, but I'd say we're pulling it out later today."

"Really," Will and Hailey spoke at the same time?

"Really, he's doing quite well and those lungs are ready to go alone. I also heard he opened his eyes a little overnight?" Will nodded.

"For a minute or so, yeah."

"That's great. We'll keep seeing that as the day goes on. There wasn't any neurological issue prior to surgery, just the lack of oxygen and him just trying to get over Covid. But now that we've fixed the oxygen issue and he's getting further away from Covid, he's going to keep coming around."

"But is he aware of things going on?"

"Probably not. He's not going to remember any of this part. I'd say in a couple days he'll be a lot more coherent." A couple of days, it seemed so far away. Jay was so close, yet still just out of reach.

"Okay." Pretty soon the room filed out, Dr. Marsh promising to be back after lunch for final listens before they made the call on the vent. Will used this moment to go run to the bathroom and ready himself for the day ahead, leaving Hailey to sit on the edge of Jay's bed, hold his hand, and just stare at the miracle in front of her.

"Good morning Jay. I love you. I miss you but I also need to you rest this morning. That tube is coming out later, which I know you'll really like. And maybe you could wake up then?!" Hailey reached over and kissed his cheek before kissing his ear and forehead. She wanted to see his eyes so bad. And she would, soon.

…

At 3:12pm, less than twenty-four hours after the completion of surgery, Jay was ready to be ventilator free. It was a cause for celebration. As promised, Dr. Marsh arrived after lunch and took it upon himself to be the one that did the hourly lung check-ins, each time saying they were close, closer, and then finally he deemed Jay ready for independent breathing. Ironically, Will and Hailey held their breath every time the surgeon went in to check in things, the two of them simultaneously willing Jay to just cooperate, to do his very best because what was coming next was something he really wanted. For sure, they hugged it out and maybe cried in the moments between Dr. Marsh declaring things were good to go and then everything actually getting set up.

"When did we become such emotional old bags," Will remarked as he laughed to ward the tears away. Hailey let out one of her signature laughs, one that was extra loud and bright with her smile that could light up the whole world.

"I don't know," she laughed through breaths, also wiping under her eyes as they both turned to look at Jay. It was best to get a final snapshot of what he looked like, because it was all about to change. Nothing about him had moved or even attempted to twitch the entire day thus far. It appeared that all of his efforts were spent on the quick blinks towards Will earlier in the morning. Hailey was trying her best to not be mad at Will for that one.

"We can blame him for putting us through all of this. Prior to this whole hellish month, I can't even recall the last time I cried."

"Ditto," Will spoke as he cleared his throat.

"Let's make a pack to not cry anymore. From here on out, complete stoic. We're just totally even keel, calm and cool people here to help Jay out." Will snorted, rolling his eyes before speaking.

"Okay, you know the second he wakes up that is totally not going to be the case. We'll both probably scare him with the amount of crying and bawling and freaking out that will take place."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Hailey jokingly mumbled under her breath. Will started laughing again, which only made for a very odd scene as the surgical team entered the room with all their stuff for the tube extraction. There was a very passed out patient lying motionless in a bed with, like, everything the hospital could spare on him, and then two people dying laughing and possibly crying on each side of the bed.

"Oh, we're so sorry," Will spoke for the two of them, getting the unspoken shove for them to get out of the way. Seriously you'd have thought Jay was an alien based on the number of people filing into the room. On top of the surgeon and his little posse was a nurse with a camera and with her two more nurses that had nothing to do with the procedure, just simply wanted to watch.

"What's with the camera," Will finally asked when he and Hailey practically clung to each other for real estate at the end of Jay's bed. People were jamming closer and closer around the head of the bed, giving the person who'd be performing the task very little space to move. Will almost yelled for everyone to get out, but instead felt the camera question was a more pressing matter.

"It's just for our records. With this being a historic operation we want to document everything." Will nodded as he sighed, now bobbing his head around bodies and a camera to get his shot of Jay becoming tube free. Dammit, he'd been on this journey for so long and for almost everything, he was not about to miss this big moment.

"Now you will see some blood around the breathing tube. That's totally normal and does not mean something is wrong," the doctor called out to his adoring and very attentive crowd as the pillow that was once under Jay's head was yanked away. Will cringed as he watched his brother's head lazily bob and bounce against the bed's surface, really on the verge of reminding people to watch the head. Good grief, he sounded like one of those annoying family members with newborn babies. Of course people are going to watch for the very rolly, lazy body part. They aren't stupid. Gosh, Will needed some sleep. Will finally got his shot of things, standing on the tips of his toes, as the tape was slowly removed from around Jay's mouth. Next, the ventilator hose was unplugged from the breathing tube. Will couldn't help but smile as he heard the very satisfying whoosh as the mechanical air finally left his brother's lungs. So long to that fear inducing machine, Jay was ready for his maiden voyage with the new lungs.

"Deflating the balloon," the surgeon announced as the syringe was quickly hooked onto the line circling Jay's breathing tube, the air being pulled out before things were detached again.

"I can't see," Hailey whispered as she jumped a little in the air. Curses for being short, she told herself.

"They're getting ready to pull it," Will spoke with locked eyes. No way was he looking away now. The camera started snapping pics, the surgeon's hand grabbing the tube and slowly, centimeters at a time, unlogged the tube from it's home and pulled it towards the end of the bed.

"It's coming…it's coming…it's out," Will announced as he watched the very blood stained tube plunk onto the procedure pad tucked under Jay's chin. At last, the bastard of a tube was behind them.

"Yay," Will and Hailey quietly clapped with tiny fingers as the suction was jammed into Jay's mouth, sucking spit and blood and whatever else came up with things. It took a minute, tops, and then the cannula was handed off to the surgeon who tucked one side around each ear and then adjusted the tubes to fit comfortably and perfectly on Jay's face. Then came the biggest moment of all: the voluntary breaths. It felt like a whole year, but in reality it was ten seconds. Everyone stopped what they were doing, held their breath while they encouraged Jay to breathe deep, and then collectively exhaled as Jay's chest inhaled and exhaled rather perfectly.

"Don't cry…don't cry," Will told Hailey as she reached up to shake his shoulders. It was the most beautiful sound. Jay breathed in and out, crystal clear and so strong, it was sweet, sweet music to their very sad ears. It was amazing how quick they were able to recognize his sleep sounds again, the little puffs from the exhale as his lips parted but a little, followed by the semi- shaky, but healthy inhale. It was Jay. He might've had new lungs, but it all was still him. They couldn't have been more excited over anything.

"Let's keep the ventilator in here, just in case we need it over the next couple of days. But so far he's looking great," Dr. Marsh spoke.

"Thank you, so so much. Seriously, thank you all," Will replied. It was the only thing he could come up with and the only thing that seemed appropriate. Dr. Marsh promised to be back in an hour to check on things before he ushered with big arms for everyone to clear out. Will and Hailey just stood at the end of the bed as things went down to the usual three again. Jay finally had a face, like a mouth, lips, everything was back. Now granted he still had the NG tube and the cannula, but at last, he looked far more human and normal then he had in a month. He was still very sick and weak, but at least he looked a lot more human. And that was more than enough for this day.

"Good job, Jay," Hailey excitedly whispered as she moved away from Will and to Jay's right. Jay was still three layers deep in blankets but the Baire Hugger had done his job. His hand was so warm, so full and normal feeling once more. Hailey clung to it, caressing it with a finger before she leaned down to kiss the back of his hand. She didn't care if her lips met IV ports, she just needed to feel his hand on her face.

"Just keep breathing and resting," Will quietly spoke as he just watched the monitors above. It was a bit like watching a tennis match, darting back and forth from Jay to the monitors. Things were still and quiet for the next few minutes, the two of them just absorbing and appreciating where they were and how far they'd come. One massive hurdle was behind them, perhaps one of the biggest Jay had to overcome. From here things had to get easier, surely.

"Hey there," the nurse knocked on the door, ending the little moment between the three of them.

"Hey," Hailey waved her in with, Will nodding before resuming his little watching game.

"Dr. Marsh said we could change him out of the Baire Hugger and put him in a normal gown."

"Oh yay," Hailey got excited with. Will could only nod. Now he was thinking of all that had to be pulled off just so they could change Jay. All the IVs had to be undone, the drain tubes had to be very carefully worked around and the catheter didn't need to be pulled. Oh, and the epidural in his back made it a little difficult to move him since they didn't want to mess with the spine. And, let's not forget that Hailey was about to see the scars from surgery for the first time. As excited as he was to help transition Jay, this was about to be a bit of an emotional, taxing, thing.

"How can we help," Will offered as the nurse took the left side of the bed.

"Just pull the blankets all the way down. Hailey, you can stay right where you are." Will volunteered himself to remove all the IVs on the right side before working on the sensors stuck on his chest. Hailey did the blanket job, pulling everything down to Jay's feet and studying everything that was happening below the waist for the first time. Never did she envision getting to watch Jay's urine snake out from his person and drop down into a bag on the side of a bed, but here she was and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. So instead she chose to focus on the wraps around his calves and feet, wondering how Jay was able to remain passed out with these weird contraptions death squeezing his legs every couple seconds or so. She watched with strange humor as the devices tightened and then released, her very sleep deprived self trying to not laugh out loud at it all. Again, something she never envisioned seeing on him the day they met in the back of a van. Oh the paths life will take you on sometimes.

"And here we go," the nurse announced as the purple, paper-like material was pulled out from behind his shoulders and slowly, almost ceremoniously, pulled off of him. Now, there is no getting around this, we must address the fact that there was a brief, but actual moment where Jay was completely naked. Looking back on the moment, they would've done things a little different. Perhaps laid the new gown over the old and then slowly yanked things off in a way that didn't leave Jay completely exposed to everyone in the room and whoever else walked by. But, hindsight is twenty-twenty, for some reason no one thought about it; they just chose to do things slowly and one step at a time. Now, we're aware this paints a very odd, unusual, strange picture. This very naked, frail, thin and scarred body is not something you want to see or read about in a story, but it is so important that you grasp the oddness because it sets up what comes next.

"Oh God," Hailey slowly spoke as she saw the surgical scar, the drain tubes, everything for the first time. She couldn't help herself, the tears already welling up as Will dropped his duties and went to hug her.

"Will, it's so much. It's so big," she spoke while blinking back the tears. She couldn't look anymore, she had to close her eyes. Another day, another time, this was just too soon to embrace the wear and tear that life had put Jay through the last month. Will also looked away, hugging her as the nurse unbuttoned the buttons on the gown and got it ready to toss on top of Jay. And then…

"Okayyy," a very, very groggy, scratchy, surprised, and foreign voice that they hadn't heard in the last month graveled at all of them. Hailey gasped, Will in lighting speed flung a blanket back on Jay's body with bulging, massive, embarrassed-for-his-brother eyes, meanwhile the nurse started laughing as they all realized what was going on. Jay. Will. Hailey. All were looking at each other. This was not the poetic, cinematic Jay reentry they'd expected.