Chapter 2- 3 Months Later

Winter came early. And not the winter wonderland of snow and icicles and manageable temperatures. Oh no, we're talking about temps that were so cold your freezer at home felt warmer. Things were shutting down extra early. Restaurants, stores, public transportation, all were shutting down at nightfall both to encourage people to get tucked in at home when the temperatures dipped well below zero, and to prevent their workforce from freezing to death at night. The lake was growing its' winter ice 'stache. Driving along Lake Shore Drive one could clearly see the sheet of ice grow almost by the hour, spreading deeper and closer to Michigan. The usual runners, dog walkers, casual strollers had taken things indoors. In actuality the only people still out on the streets and sidewalks were those public servants. The fire trucks were purring in the direction of the warmest thing in the city while the police cars raced all up and down the streets with their long trails of exhaust trying to keep up with them. The city was essentially shutting down. Like the body does when it gets to a certain temperature, only the most important parts of it were able to function and keep the lifeblood flowing through them. While they were honored to be able to still do what they do best, another part of them wished they could work from home like everyone else. There was nothing more unpleasant than sitting outside in -15 with a windchill that made it feel closer to -25. If everyone was stuck at home till the weather passed, why was crime still happening, Adam asked en route to their current destination.

"Crime doesn't stop for anything," Voight graveled over the radio in response.

"Yeah, but if it increases in the heat, shouldn't it fall or completely stop when we're at arctic temperatures?"

"He's got a point," Kim broke over on the radio, all nodding their heads in agreement.

"Just be grateful, Adam, that we're not out there right now having to fix a pipe or work on telephone poles," Jay added to the conversation.

"Brother if that were the case I'd have magically contracted a horrific stomach bug and it would be you and Kev getting frostbite on your ass." That one got laughter over the radios, all knowing how truthful that statement was. In all honesty they all would've come down with something in an effort to avoid standing outside for hours with no end. Sitting in the car with the heat all the way up was keeping things at a functional temperature. No one was sweaty and certainly no one was falling asleep to the warm, luxurious heat blasting through the vents. They were too worried about the potential exit in the event their guy decided to run off to even think about falling asleep. Plus, they were pros at long term stakeouts by now. It was going to take a lot for them to fall asleep on the job.

"Was that a yawn," Hailey asked as Jay turned his head in an effort to shield the full body yawn. So much for all of them being wide awake and at the ready to serve and protect.

"Nope," Jay spoke as the yawn died down. It was a little joke of theirs. If one dared to yawn they had to shield it form the other. Since yawns are a domino thing, where once one person starts the other is bound to follow suit, they had to try everything in their power to now let the other get captured by the bodily response. After all, they didn't need both of them feeling the tired just as a perp raced into focus and they somehow lost him because they were yawning. It was extremely unprofessional and they would never hear the end of it. 'Hey, remember the time you both yawned as you watched so-and-so run away?!' Literally, they'd go down in history as the detectives that yawned at the sight of a high value target slipping from their grasp. You lived and died by your reputation, not by your accomplishments. But anyway, enough about yawning.

"Which is why you sound like this," Hailey joked in her best yawning voice. Jay rolled his eyes, messaging his left temple as his arm rested against the window.

"You've been getting tired a lot lately," she spoke, watching with a little more attention as he kept glaring out the window, continuous massaging and daydreaming ensuing under her watchful gaze.

"I'm just tired. It's been a lot of late fucking nights," he finally spoke up. That was another new element to him: random cursing. Jay was a pretty stoic, under control guy. It's not to say he never cursed, but it was typically saved for high intensity things or an argument or other events where cursing was warranted, but over the last couple months it was becoming part of his everyday vocabulary. Hailey wasn't sure if others noticed it, since no one ever came up to her and said anything about it, but she was certainly noticing the change in his behavior. He sometimes said it in his sleep, blurted something out when they were out of cream for his coffee one time, and perhaps the oddest occurrence was at a checkout line at the grocery store. The cashier asked if he wanted a receipt and without hesitation Jay spilled out a, 'fuck yeah.' Hailey was mortified, Jay was extra quick to apologize, and the cashier was a silent, red faced girl as she handed the receipt off to him. But through it all, Jay insisted nothing was wrong. Everything stemmed from stress and the job and everything else going on in life at the moment. Hailey wanted to respect him and get where he was coming from. But it was becoming more and more difficult to ignore the gut feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was off.

"Jay," she quickly shot back, her way of reminding him that he cursed once more.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." She sighed as she watched him reach into the console, pulling out the well used Advil bottle, taking three pills out of the bottle and swallowing them with his tepid coffee.

"Well why did you say it then?" Jay shrugged as he put the coffee cup back in the cup holder.

"I don't know. Just fell out. I'm sorry."

"And another headache? Jay, I've lost count at how many we're at now. You've had at least nine sick days since September and had to work through more days with a headache then without. It's still just these cluster headaches?"

"You're keeping count now?"

"Yes, but not so I can hang it over your head. Jay, I'm starting to get concerned about this. You're tired a lot now. You get headaches at least three times a week, including the super bad ones where you have to take off work. Jay, I don't think this is normal anymore." Jay huffed, rolled his eyes before looking her way.

"I'm fine, seriously. I haven't had these headaches in awhile, but when I did they lasted as long as these are now. It'll go away." Hailey so wanted to believe him, truly wanted to believe that this was just prolonged cluster headaches and that all would be well in due time. But almost three months felt a little out of the norm, and he never addressed the other parts that went along with the extended headaches. Perhaps it all was a result of the headaches, that because he was in pain he couldn't sleep which made his personality different and made him tired all the time. She wanted to be that naive, easy to please person who believed whatever was told to her. But the detective in her made that next to impossible, she was always striving for the meaning behind everything. When others accepted what was told to them at face value, she was the one that went home and investigated before concluding if what was said was true or a farce. Part of her wanted to start Googling Jay's symptoms, but that felt like betrayal and distrust; which was the very last thing she wanted to do to her partner and fiancé. So again, going against her better instincts, she nodded and went along with his assuredness of things.

"Okay, I'm sorry you're getting another headache. How bad is it?" Jay shook his head before speaking.

"Not too bad. I can manage till we get done with this."

"Did you take the meds?"

"I can't take narcotics on the job. It's kind of frowned upon," he joked. Hailey rolled her eyes in agreement, laughing before she responded.

"Well if it gets too bad I can always drive you home and come back out here."

"And mess everything up?! Nope, I'll be fine." He was such a terrible liar, but she allowed him to think otherwise.

"Now, can we talk about anything else besides my headaches? Like what do we get everyone for Christmas. The party is next week and we've done nothing."

"Well at this rate we should just get them all gift cards. There's nothing on the shelves." Jay snorted, nodding in agreement.

"Thank you supply shortages."

"And labor shortages," Hailey added in.

"Okay, who's up for breaking off and trying to find some place that's open and sells coffee…or some other highly caffeinated products. I'm dying here," Kevin broke over the radio. Jay and Hailey looked at each other and rolled their eyes, almost anticipating this by now. It was nearing 3am now and they were closer to Midway than the house. They were deep in Cicero, staking out a quiet and dark house just off of S 55th avenue, really close to Drexel Park and interstate 55. The whole neighborhood was dark, quiet, very dead feeling. Again, the city was shut down, hunkering down till freezing temperatures that were manageable returned. It was no surprise things were the way they were. The downside was that all had to be super quiet with lights off and motion close to complete stillness. But again, at least they weren't staking things out in the elements.

"There's a Marathon gas station close by," Hailey spoke over the radio as she scrolled along the map on her phone.

"Their coffee sucks," Adam chimed in.

"Guys, we're in desperate times here. You can't be picky."

"They probably have Coke or something else," Kim added.

"True," Kevin and Adam spoke at the same time.

"So who's going? I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100."

"We have movement in the backyard," Jay cut into the silly school yard game, returning everyone to the whole reason why they were out here in the first place. Everyone stopped what they were doing, eyes and bodies turning to find a good lookout spot of the backyard of the house they were sitting on. Jay's eyes never left the target in question. It looked to be a kid, couldn't be older then seventeen. It he was tall, tall enough to dwarf Jay and maybe even Kevin. His tall stance made the chain link fence he stood next to look more like fencing for a rabbit then something that kept large things away or trapped inside. All the guy had to do was lift one leg nonchalantly over the fence and he was outta there. The guy was currently resting a hand on said fence, the other hand pulling a lit cigarette to and from his face, that little orange glow the thing that Jay first picked up on and had his eyes fixated on. So despite the long term headaches, tiredness, and whatever else was ailing him, the eyesight was still perfection. He watched the guy puff two, three times, each pull away thinking that was the time to move in. Hand was on the door handle, ready to jump out and haul ass before the guy got completely out of reach. Hailey was the same way, they all were honestly. And then, just after the forth pull from the cigarette, the guy stopped in motion, seeming to be glaring right into the eyes of Jay Halstead

"Oh shit, get ready to run," he called over the radio. Jay didn't blink. The guy didn't appear to either, both were in a long distance blink contest.

"No, he wouldn't," Kevin spoke.

"Oh God, I hate this guy already if he does," Adam spoke next. And sure enough, almost like the guy knew exactly what was being thought and said, the cigarette was tossed to the ground as the hand clutching the fence now acted as a stabilizer for him to hop on over to the freedom side.

"Go, go go," Voight barked over the radio as his whole team flung their doors open and feet were touching the ground. Like the start gun at a foot race, they were gone, flying as fast as their legs and feet would allow.

"UUUUGGGGHHHHH, this sucks," Adam called as he and Kevin took off down the street, Jay right behind with Hailey and Kim in tow. The only reason Jay wasn't first was because he was parked behind the other two guys, but fear not. He'd catch up soon. Or so everyone would think. But instead, things decided to go another direction. As he took those first steps into the bitter cold, his body's first reaction was to be shocked by the sudden and sharp temperature change, which was a bout of shivering and short breaths as he powered out into the frozen city. But by about step three or four his mind chose that exact moment to spike the pain to a level he couldn't function with. By the time Jay reached the frozen, dead grass of the stakeout house's front yard things were notched to a new level. Because in the timespan of a full running step. Jay went from flying to a quiet and quick grunt before his whole body went limp. Like a light switch being turned off, Jay's world went form being 3am dark to completely swallowing him down a bottomless dark hole. He was totally out, gone from the world in an instant.

"JAY!" Hailey just about tripped over him as she tried to get to a stop and help him. Kim held herself up in an effort to try and help, but Hailey waved for her to keep up with the others. Just because Jay was down didn't mean everyone should stop. A serious criminal was on the loose. Jay would be mortified if he learned that the guy got away because everyone had to help him.

"50-21 Henry. Get me some help, now! I'm at S 55th avenue and 37th street. We have an officer down," she barked over the radio as she hovered a hand over Jay's limp body. She was about to place a hand on him when a few whimpers slipped out from his unconscious mouth.

"Jay," she shivered, waiting for him to blink himself awake all to resume normal function. But instead his body thought otherwise, that this quiet and desolate spot so far away from help was the perfect place to stir a dangerous thing up. Hailey felt the hot tears sting her face as she watched Jay's eyes roll backwards just as his whole body started to violently shake and convulse uncontrollably. Now she was officially convinced. This wasn't just a headache.

"How far out is that ambo," Hailey yelled over the radio when Jay had been under the throws of his seizure for over a minute now. It was quite apparent that the guy everyone was still chasing after was the only occupant of the house. Two police detectives were laying in the middle of this front yard, one of them being rather loud, and not even a curtain fluttered in recognition of them being there. The tears that were once streaming down Hailey's face seemed to cease almost as quickly as they came on. Between holding her hands above Jay and not knowing what to do, she'd use her gloved hand to wipe things out and off of her face. She had to be the strong one. Jay usually played that role, but given the fact he was checked out for sometime she had to take that role over. At some point, down the line from all of this, she would find that time and space to fully process what was happening in front of her. Jay, who was just up and alert and having a full conversation with her was essentially unconscious, his brain shaking and freaking out to the point that his whole body was feeling the effects of it, going haywire because it had no clue what to do. Hailey had only seen these things in the movies or on the TV shows, but never in real life. The ultimately terrible kicker was that it wasn't some stranger she was trying to help, but the person she rode in a car with for close to five years now, the person she was supposed to marry at some point. So that added an extra layer of fear and deep concern for what this all meant. Whenever this episode stopped, she had to convince him to get help. Jay had no history of seizures, never even come close to having one. The fact this happened so suddenly and was still going on for close to two minutes now, something was going terribly wrong with him.

"50-21 Henry. Ambo is seven minutes out." Hailey cursed under her breath, hating that things were that far out. Jay needed medical attention two minutes ago. He needed a hospital and people that knew how to handle this thing with the proper medication right this very moment. But instead, here they were on some dark and foreign front yard with absolutely nothing but emotions and a million questions.

"Copy," her shaking, shivering voice responded.

"Relay to the medics that we have an ongoing seizure."

"Copy 50-21 Henry. Roll the officer on their side and hold them their till help arrives." Hailey internally smacked her forehead, feeling stupid for not even knowing that. If nothing else, she was going to get a crash course on basic, yet proper medical care when all of this was done. She threw the radio on the ground, putting both hands under Jay's back and doing her best to roll him. It was hard, given that he was moving and was no better than dead weight, but after a few grunts and sheer determination Jay was resting on his right side.

"Hang in there, Jay. Please let this seizure end soon," she panted under her breath. As the seconds ticked off, their undercover became more and more undone. Lights on houses up and down the street slowly clicked on. Almost bouncing off the street and going left to right in a diagonal pattern. Heavily wrapped bodies and their very slow, scared movements stepped out onto their front porches to survey what was happening in one of their neighbor's front yards. Later on she'd come to learn it was the chase happening behind the houses that stirred everyone, but in the moment Hailey felt terrible for waking the street with her loud antics and extra loud radio calls.

"Go inside! For your safety go inside," Hailey would shout when she saw a figure, glaring at them till they obeyed her command. She felt so helpless, so exposed, realizing it was just her and Jay in this part of the street. Everyone else was on the chase for the giant guy, giving her no backup and no one to area to consider safe. At this time of night at their current location, everyone was a high stakes situation. She wasn't about to leave Jay and secure the perimeter, but boy she really wanted someone on her six in case things got even worse. The radio, when it wasn't counting down till the ambulance's arrival, was dropping breadcrumbs of where the rest of the team was. It sounded like they were running along or under interstate 55 now, with no sounds of having caught the guy. Knowing nothing else, this guy was a super quick, marathon runner. Hailey wished she and Jay were out there trying to get the guy.

Jay's seizure finally subsided when the ambulance sirens cracked into the silent sound waves of S 55th avenue. Now the crowds really started trickling out of the houses. There was no point in telling them to get back inside. They were far outnumbering Hailey and there wasn't a single vibe of evil or ill intent. A few people even barked in her direction if things were alright and if she needed assistance. Offering stranger's unbridled help, that was the heart of Chicago. Even in the middle of these crime filled, drug war zoned streets, it was comforting to see that good people still existed. Hailey was touched by their willingness and genuine desire. As the ambo pulled to the curb she waved everyone off, yelling that things were under control.

"How long was the seizure," one of the medics called as they jogged to the scene with their bag of goods in hand.

"At least five minutes. It started right before I called it in and stopped when you were a few blocks out." The medic nodded, getting assistance from their partner and the two of them rolled Jay back onto his back before doing a quick rundown of things.

"Does he have a history of seizures?" Hailey shook her head, now feeling the frozen temperature of the world. Call it adrenaline, but she completely forgot how cold it was outside till just now. Now on top of being worried about the seizure, she hoped the exposure to the dangerously low temperature didn't cause Jay to develop hypothermia.

"No, no history of them. He complained of a headache like half an hour ago but it wasn't that bad. He made it from the truck to here before it all happened." Hailey pointed to where the truck was parked, both medics nodded their understanding of things before turning back to Jay. They started by checking the vitals, noting that Jay was breathing and had a strong pulse. It was in the penlight waving that Jay attempted to open his eyes, lids fluttering as one of the medics waved the light.

"Detective? Can you open your eyes for us?" The second medic was on the radio, calling in the update on Jay when Jay managed to pull his eyelids open barely enough to show eye color. Hailey swallowed the emotions, smiled as bravely as she could while waving a little at Jay to get his attention. But alas, he didn't even get a blink in before his head jolted to the right, body going another round with a new seizure.

"He's having another one! Help me roll him and get me the midazolam." Hailey didn't hesitate to step in, praying under her breath as Jay was back on his right side, the requested medication pulled out from a bag and handed off to the lead medic.

"Please stop, please let this stop," Hailey whispered as she watched the medication get loaded into a syringe before being plunged into his arm. Somehow the needle cleared his jacket and shirt without snapping. The empty syringe was tossed back to the bag before all waited and hesitated and hoped things kicked in. Mercifully they did after another minute of seizure activity. More vitals were taken, Jay still strong yet unconscious. It was time to move out.

"Where are we going," they asked Hailey as Jay was hoisted onto the gurney and raced to the warm and waiting ambulance?

"Chicago Med. I'll lead the way," Hailey yelled as she found speed in her stiff and sore legs. She was the lead guy now, the front line to getting Jay safely to Med. The medics nodded their understanding of what was happening next, Hailey throwing the driver's door of the truck open and practically leaping into the front seat.

"50-21 Henry. Initiate an officer down protocol. We are en route to Chicago Med with an officer with multiple seizure episodes. Clear all streets and intersections between here and Med." Hailey fired up the truck, foregoing the courtesy of allowing things to warm up and get ready for takeoff. The truck was a heavy, durable piece of machinery, it could take one time of being cold but mobile. Command copied Hailey's instruction as she put things into drive, lights and sirens fully on as she took the lead. She only hoped the ambulance could keep up with her. She was flying.

"Hang in there, Jay. Please don't have another seizure," she spoke to absolutely no one. The only good part of this whole nightmare was that it was super late out, so traffic was virtually nonexistent. The very few who were out were kind enough to pull over well before Hailey descended upon them, staring in annoyance and suspicion as the truck and the trailing ambulance raced behind them. Even the lights seemed to be working in their favor. So far only a couple were red and slowed things down for a moment or two. It was when they were about five blocks away that Hailey realized Will was completely clueless on what was going on. She had not a clue if he was on call tonight or passed out in his bed, but regardless she had to try everything to alert him before rolling into the ED. It was never her intention to ambush him, so between lane changes she fumbled for her phone and barked at Siri to call Will Halstead.

"Of all the times!" Will didn't pick up at the first round, Hailey loudly groaning and messing for the red button as Will's cheery voicemail echoed it's usual tune. She tried again and again and only when they were pulling into Med's emergency entrance did a very groggy, half awake 'hello,' end the internal round of ringing.

"Will! Dear Lord do you ever keep your phone on you?"

"What?! I was sound asleep and my phone was charging," he responded while working through a yawn. Hailey came to a screeching halt in the ED bay, immediately putting the truck in park and getting herself back out into the world. She managed to get out of the truck before the medics and doctors at Med opened the back door. She was that quick.

"Will, Jay's getting rolled into the ED right this second. He had two seizures tonight."

"WHAT!" Now Will was awake. As Hailey pulled the phone away in an effort to not be permanently deafened, she gave the medic that was in the back with Jay a look, asking what happened while they were separated.

"He had another on the way," they called to her, Hailey stopping in her tracks to close her eyes and freak out inside.

"HAILEY! Talk to me! What happened." She was frozen in place, mouth open as she watched Jay get pulled from the ambulance, his lifeless body jostling at the return to ground and the beginnings of being rolled into the ED. For starters his jacket had been cut off, a bit of a letdown since it was a nice jacket and one that he'd just purchased for the winter season. His boots were tossed on the ambulance floor, Hailey making a note of grabbing those before they were discarded to wherever patient clothing went. In the quick snippet of time that she saw him, an oxygen mask was over his face, the cords coming from sensors that were connected to his body under his clothes coming out in a bunch near his right collarbone. People were yelling, rambling stats and information off that Hailey was very unfamiliar with. To her it all sounded bad, their pace and lack of calm telling her things were not well. She felt like this was a good moment to let things out, but another bark of her name on the phone brought everything back.

"HAILEY! I'm getting ready right now and I'll be there in twenty minutes. What. Happened!"

"We were on a stakeout tonight. He complained of another headache but swore it wasn't that bad. But just as we were getting out of the car to chase this guy…he collapsed. He was fine and then he wasn't. Will, I don't think it's just headaches anymore. It…it was…Will, it has to be something else." She sniffed away the oncoming tears, told herself to move inside but just couldn't do it. She was petrified for what could actually be happening. Her mind was only going to the worst possible scenario right now. Jay was dying, or never going to wake up again. She didn't know which one was worse right now.

"Hailey, they'll figure it out. I'm walking out the door right now. I'll meet you in the waiting room. And Hailey?"

"Yeah," she choked as the tears started trickling down her face again.

"I need you to breathe. You got him there in time. It's going to be okay."

"You don't know that, Will."

"Hailey, you've gotta believe it. See you in a couple minutes." She hung up the phone, the limp hand falling to her side, the phone bouncing off her leg as she longed to get warm inside; but dread of the truth keeping her in place. Jay was long gone by now, probably in a room being treated at this point. Hailey closed her eyes, counted to five as she willed herself to move indoors.

"1…2…3…4…5. Move you idiot," she instructed before her left foot lifted and moved a few inches towards the door. Then her right foot followed behind, and then the left did it again. She was mobile, albeit slowly and very scared, but soon the doors slid open and she felt the blast of warm waiting room air hit her cold face. Feeling the stark temperature change revealed just how cold she actually was. It felt like a thousand needles hitting her face at once, almost encouraging her to stop moving. But it was the image of Maggie in the ED with an iPad in hand that had her picking up speed.

"Hey," she quietly called to the nurse, not losing sight of her. When Maggie didn't hear her the first time Hailey chose to just start looking into rooms, it appeared no one was going to stop her and she wasn't going to give up. It was the ball of clothing on the floor of trauma room 5 that Hailey gasped and stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't see him, couldn't make out a voice or clear path of what was going on. But based on the quick scan of things behind the closed curtain, nothing good was going on.

"Let's go back to the waiting room, sweetie," Maggie spoke into her ear, placing hands on Hailey's shoulders and guiding her back to where she came from before putting her safely in a chair. Hailey came to when her bottom touched the cushion surface. She looked out at the crowd looking back at her. There were little kids looking feverish and miserable, clutching their mother who pulled them in closer for comfort. There was the drunk in a corner mumbling something out loud between burps and falling back onto a chair. There were the sound asleep people, the coughing fits, the sneezes and questions for how much longer the wait was going to be. It all fit so perfectly, yet was too much for Hailey to handle.

"I think I'm gunna cry now," she announced before landing on Maggie's shoulder and letting it all out.

"Oh honey, you cry it all out. He's in good hands. Hopefully we'll get some good news soon." The two of them sat their till Hailey cried and felt all that she needed to feel.

One Hour Later

Dr. Marcel was rubbing his eyes, yawning a little as he waved his hands on the door sensor for it to open. What greeted him on the other side was a jam packed waiting room full of every member of Intelligence, Trudy Platt, a couple other cops, and Will resting right up against the wall closest to the door. He took but a step into the room when all rose from their seats, taking those couple steps closer to the bearer of Jay's truth. He wasn't sure if they knew he'd taken on Jay's case, mildly chuckling to himself if they all thought it was him and he called another name. But it was after 4am now and all looked to be both nervous and exhausted. So it was best to just get down to things.

"He's unconscious but stable. He suffered what is called cluster seizures. It's when someone has multiple short term seizures right after each other for a period of time. He had two more seizures after he was brought in but is now responding well to the anti-seizure medication regime we put him on. He's not had one in the last half hour, a good sign that things are over. We're going to keep him for twenty-four, just for observation. But it doesn't look like he suffered any long term damage. Vitals are strong and his first EEG is looking promising."

"So what caused it," Hailey asked amongst the pack of people.

"We're still working on that," Marcel said. In reality he had a general idea of things, but wasn't about to blurt that out when nothing had been definitively proven at this point.

"When can we see him?"

"Tomorrow morning during visitation hours. We're working on getting him a room right now but Will and Hailey are more than welcome to come sit with him till he's moved." Marcel motioned for the two of them to follow him, opening the waiting room door and stood there till the two of them got up, said their farewells, and headed in his direction.

"Keep us updated," Trudy called out as the doors started to slide shut. Hailey gave them a nod while Will did a quick thumbs up. Marcel yawned again as he slowly guided them to Jay. Things were definitely more subdued this time through. There was no panic to the place, everyone was chilling by the nurse's station or behind closed doors talking to patients and their families.

"So he's asleep or unconscious," Will asked as the door was opened for all.

"Unconscious. He's on ativan and diazepam and a couple other things right now. So when he does wake up he's going to be pretty loopy and quiet. But he's doing really well, apart from the seizure episode." Marcel pulled the curtain back to reveal the person of the evening. Indeed he was very much out. The oxygen mask had been swapped out for a cannula, so his face was far more visible and it made him look a little less dire. A hospital gown was thrown over him, the same monitoring cords were coming out the same side that Hailey saw them before, but more of them were in place now. But the thing that really took things a moment to process were the electrodes lining his hairline. There were four of them, all black and circular and going ear to ear. When Marcel spoke of an EEG, Hailey didn't know what that was and had no clue that the instrument was still attached to Jay. But seeing it now, this was almost the moment where things were only just beginning to be understood. Something else was going on, some internal thing that was now effecting the body externally and fully. Hailey stopped at the end of the bed, sighing at how out of it all Jay was and how much of a hospital patient he'd become. Literally a couple hours ago he was perfectly fine, awake, talking to her about Christmas gifts. Now, he couldn't open his eyes or function without strong medications to keep him steady.

"I wanted to ask you guys something but I figured you didn't want the others to hear. I saw in his chart he's been having headaches for a few months now and they look to be pretty serious. Is there anything else going on?" Will shrugged, looking back to Hailey for an answer to this.

"You've been around him more than I. Thanksgiving he spent most of the day in bed with a bad migraine. But other then that we've both just been so busy that I haven't thought to check in. I'm sorry, but it just happens."

"It's not your fault," Marcel reassured.

"We've all been there. And nine times out of ten it's just headaches." They both now turned to look at Hailey, who was smooshing her lower lip into a corner of her mouth with her fingers. She was nervous, she almost felt like she was tattling on Jay. He should be awake for all of this. He should be the one telling about his life, not her. But he was gone and people were looking for answers right this second. There wasn't another option for either of them.

"He's…this is going to sound stupid. But he's been cursing a lot more?! Like randomly. He's been a lot more tired. We used to go out a few times a week after work, but now he can barely make it through an episode of Schitt's Creek before falling asleep on the couch. The headaches have been pretty steady. Yeah, it's been a couple things." Marcel nodded, going back to Jay's chart on the iPad as Will seemed to be glaring at Hailey. Not right at her in anger, but almost like he was deep in thought. Those medical knowledge wheels were turning in that dark and stormy mind of his.

"Okay, I want to run some tests tomorrow. Maybe do another EEG tonight while he's sleeping. Now knowing all of that, it's pretty much confirmed that the headaches aren't a final conclusion, but a symptom that something else is going on. There are too many possibilities to say what exactly. But I want to rule out the bad stuff before we get a little more practical."

"What kind of tests," Will quietly asked, Hailey resumed to her her nervous, mouth twitching thing while looking on.

"A head CT, MRI, and the full EEG for a few hours. He's going to be here all day so why not get a head start on what any specialist would want." Will eventually nodded, looking back at Jay as Hailey piped up.

"Can we wait till he's awake to see if that's what he wants to do?" Marcel nodded, looking down at his phone.

"Room should be ready in an hour or so. Sorry, it's busy up there right now. Looks like you'll be camped out here till then. But yes, we can wait and see what he says. It's not life or death so we have time." Will nodded, Hailey did as well as Marcel backed out of the room.

"Thanks man, for all of this. I appreciate you taking care of him." Marcel nodded, quietly shutting the door behind him. Only when they were sure it was just the two of them did they get comfortable. Will offered Hailey a stool and she gladly took it, she was completely exhausted. Will rested one butt cheek on the edge of the gurney, the two of them losing time in the listening and examining of Jay's breathing and peaceful resting.

"So what does Marcel think it is," Hailey quietly and eventually asked.

"I don't know." She peeled herself away from Jay and to Will, noting the mild freaked out look in his eyes, the growing stiffness in his person. He wasn't telling the full truth.

"Well, what do you think it is." Will smirked, kept his eyes glued to Jay and pondered his answer before opening his mouth and hanging there for a second.

"Hailey, we don't need two people freaking over possibilities." She rolled her eyes, leaning into the bed and search of a hand to grab.

"Will, I'm a big girl. I can handle it." Will could only shake his head.

"Trust me. He doesn't need two of us overly worried and freaked out. Just enjoy not knowing every single medical diagnosis." It wasn't the answer she was hoping for, but his carefully plotted answer was enough to tell her to back off. She took hold of his instruction and chose to live in a world of unknown, squeezing Jay's IV donning hand and mentally willing him to wake up.

"Whenever you're ready, Jay. We're here," she quietly told him. It was a very restful hour in that room. Which knowing what comes in the not so distant future, they really should've soaked everything up for what it was worth.

Something terrible happened. Something from a very long time ago went tragically wrong. It took him about a millisecond to figure that out. His brain, his whole person felt like mush. He couldn't not form a proper thought, everything was extremely sore, exhausted, slow. This lack of any thought or quick movement or really anything scared him. Last thing he could clearly remember was talking about how cold it was outside and then starting to chase someone. At this very moment he could not remember where that location was, who they were chasing, and certainly didn't recall falling or anything that would make sense for why he was feeling what he was currently feeling. And that really scared him. The very first full thought that came to mind was that he was kidnapped, his capture drugged him with something and this was him waking up to something awful. There was a light somewhere not too far above his glued shut eyelids, there was a whooshing sound coming very close to his ears and in the very far distance there was whispering, mumbling at best. There was no other option, he was taken and about to be tortured for something he probably couldn't provide. Now he was officially panicking.

"Jay," a voice quietly called from somewhere far away. It was soft, it knew his name, but it didn't quell any fears in him. His breathing picked up, his chest tight and whole body starting to shake from the nerves bubbling up inside. Something reached over and touched his arm, that being enough for him to just about slap them away. No one was going to touch him. He couldn't see his attacker, he was not about to allow them the victory of killing him early.

"Jay," a new voice called now, letting Jay know at least two people were going to be taking him down over the coming hours. But the breathing, the freaking out was not letting up. In fact it was getting so much worse.

"What do we do," Hailey asked Will as they watched Jay writhe in bed, head tossing from side to side as he tried to fight them off while being partially awake or asleep, they weren't really sure right now.

"Is it another seizure?" Will shook his head.

"No, he's just freaking out because he doesn't know where he is." Will proceeded to land a palm right in the middle of Jay's chest, ignoring the full slaps from Jay and his serious attempts to attack him in his sleep.

"Jay, it's me. You're safe. Can you open your eyes for me?" Jay kept jostling under the blankets, trying to fight Will off as his heart rate and breathing kept tightening and rising. Will said his speech a second time before Jay finally calmed down. Perhaps it was the meds or that he was exhausted or that he just didn't have it in him anymore, but after another minute or so he gave up, relaxing against the pillows and blankets.

"Jay, can you wake up? It's okay. It's just Hailey and I," Will calmly spoke once more, hand not leaving Jay's chest till his brother did as was instructed. The eyelids fluttered a couple times before they finally released the green/blue orbs to the world. They were extremely tired and exhausted and medicated, but it was Jay nonetheless.

"Hey there," Will happily yet quietly spoke to him, waving with the free hand as Jay found his face and voice. His eyes rolled around the room, trying to grasp where he was and what exactly happened, but it didn't offer him any clues.

"Hey Jay," Hailey spoke, capturing his attention by grabbing his hand. His eyes found her, looking extra sad and lost before going back to Will.

"Where….are we," Jay quietly gasped?

"You're in the hospital, man. You've had quite the night." Jay licked his lips, eyes going all over the room once again. Now with the knowledge of what Will told him, it was all starting to make sense. The light above him was the standard, florescent hospital lighting. The whooshing sound by his ear was oxygen going into his system, Jay messing with the cannula under his nose with his upper lip. The whispering was because he was asleep. Now it all made perfect sense. He was safe and things were well, or so he naively thought. The whole issue of being super drugged and sluggish still bothered him, but now knowing where he was he figured that had something to do with it.

"I feel…super…groggy," he spoke then, earning him some smirks before each of his visitors took a seat on the side of his bed. That was never a good sign. Jay's attempt to sit himself up was met with instructions to not do that. As he kept trying to he noted how weak he was, that lifting his head and arms was almost something he needed to talk himself into. Add that to the lengthy list of all that was going on. But, on the plus side, the headache that was there a long time ago had gone away. So there was a win.

"Yeah, you're on a lot of stuff right now. It's going to make you feel really tired and drained, but it's helping you." Jay nodded, closing his eyes for a long blink before continuing.

"What happened?" Will took ownership of that, Hailey gathering Jay's hand more so in hers as he began.

"You had a seizure while you were out on the job. You had five actually."

"What," Jay cut in?! Will nodded. Jay looked to Hailey who was close to ghostly white, slowly nodding her head as she looked over at Will.

"Yeah man. You had two in a suspect's front yard, one in the ambulance, and then two more in the ED. You're on a good amount of anti-seizure meds right now but it's helping calm your brain so this doesn't happen again. You could be looking at taking those kind of meds for awhile, but it won't be as draining as what you're on now."

"You really scared us there for awhile, Jay," Hailey finally spoke up. Jay looked back at her, slowly nodding as he gripped her hand back.

"I'm sorry," he eventually slipped out, his two people swearing it all was fine. He didn't buy it, because why else did they feel the need to tell him that, but again he was so exhausted he just didn't have it in him to fight. So instead he chose to figure out the long term, the root cause of all this.

"So what's wrong with me." Once again, Hailey looked to Will for guidance. She had no clue how to start and even if she did, she feared he'd see this as an attack on him. After all, they pretty much tried this earlier in the evening and he didn't take it very well. So perhaps if it came from the medically informed brother he'd finally take it seriously.

"Well, we actually don't know." Jay chuckled, closing his eyes as he adjusted on the pillow.

"Of course not. Because things aren't that simple."

"You're absolutely right, Jay. But with the seizure episode and the headaches and…everything else that's going on, they're starting to think there's something else going on."

"Like what?"

"Far too many things at this point. So they want to run some tests to narrow things down and eliminate bad things."

"Bad things?"

"Brain abnormalities, cancer, cysts, tumors, an epileptic disorder, all the really bad things. After that we'll kind of go from there." Jay nodded, looking around the room once more before starting to shut down. His eyes were drooping, things were really going in and out. Gosh these drugs really sucked. He hated being limited like this.

"What…what tests do they want to run," Jay asked as he trailed off in a yawn.

"CT scan. MRI. And they want to do an EEG, which is just a scan of your brain activity while you sleep. They actually kind of want to do that now while you're still tired." Jay nodded, head nodding like he was about to sleep the rest of the night away. His head movements stopped at Hailey, trying his very best to look right at her as he spoke.

"Do you think this is all necessary?" Reluctantly, she nodded.

"I do. Remember when we talked about getting checked out? The timeline moved up, but I think this is something you really need to do." Jay pondered her words for a moment, nodding his head a couple minutes afterward.

"Yeah, I agree. Let's just see what's going on. I'm sure it'll be nothing, but to put everyone at ease, let's do this. Let me guess, I'm stuck in this place for awhile anyway?!"

"24 hours," they both spoke at the same time. Jay chuckled as best his drugged and drained body would allow.

"I figured. Fine! Let them do their sleep study thing and the scans. I just want to sleep." Will nodded, rising from the bed to head out into the hall and alert everyone that Jay gave the green light.

"I love you," Hailey spoke during this time, the two of them just holding hands and doing their little mental talk thing. He genuinely felt bad for putting her through the emotional wringer this evening, and even worse that he kept putting things off and swearing all was well. But none of that mattered to her. As long as he was safe and finally getting what he needed, then all was well. Half an hour later he was sound asleep, so asleep that he didn't feel the EEG get set up and things put into action. He didn't feel or hear Hailey bid farewell for the night, saying she'd be back whenever visitation was open. Will spent the rest of the night with Jay, the two of them peacefully sleeping the night away as the machine and sensors tracked all of Jay's brain movements and oddities. The monster was coming, it was right there on the readout of the EEG machine. But sleep, peace was winning out, which seemed rather cruel and awful right about now. Something terrible was happening in that room, the red sirens and wails for help were right there, but no one could hear them. No one noticed or paid attention or understood the gravity and severity of what was being picked up right then. Because sleep was winning out, it always did. But oh how they should've been wide awake and alert for this moment. The once silent monster was only just beginning to make his presence known.

"Ready to head on up to radiology," Will asked? Jay sighed, perhaps let out a mild groan, before nodding and trying to pull the blankets off of him.

"How long will all of this take," he asked as the radiology nurse and her trusty wheelchair made their way into the room.

"A couple hours. But it'll go by quick." Jay rolled his eyes, attempting to stand on his own but was soon met with the inability to stand up straight. The second his feet touched down on the ground everything went weak and to the left. Will had to leap over and grab him before his head hit the railing on the bed, which would've been super fun and earned Jay a solid egg on the side of his head. That both took Jay by surprise and worried him to no end. He felt fine for the past hour that he'd been awake; was not dizzy or feeling like everything would collapse the second he stood. To say he was dumbfounded and taken by surprise was an understatement. This was new territory even for him.

"It's from last night. You'll find the strength again in a couple days," Will coaxed, holding onto Jay as he caught his breath.

"You're sure?!"

"Jay, your brain shook five different times last night. You're not even twelve hours after it all happened. Give yourself some time. This is why you're on a week long medical leave." Rolling his eyes, Jay attempted to stand on his own once more, inching right to the edge of the bed before Will offered assistance.

"I don't need a whole week," Jay spoke as Will guided him to the wheelchair, helping him spin around and take a seat. Jay propped his feet on the footrests before the wheelchair was unlocked and things moved onward.

"How long is this going to take?!" Oh silly Will. Why didn't you see it right then.

"A couple hours. Man, those drugs really are strong." Jay smirked as they made it out into the hallway.

"So how long till we get results? And we're sure I get to leave later today?" Will nodded.

"Yup, by dinnertime tonight you'll be in your own bed eating food before falling asleep. Which you need to keep doing till you're allowed back to work."

"I want to take a shower," Jay spoke under his breath, Will chuckling as he pressed the elevator button for all of them.

"Just hang on. You'll get your shower soon." Just then the elevator doors opened, the three waiting people were just about to hop on when an overly bubbly Hailey, with three coffee cups in a drink holder in hand, greeted them with her smiling face.

"Good morning you two," she practically squealed as she switched places with them.

"More like good afternoon," Will joked.

"Ugh, whatever. My internal clock is so off today. What time is it?"

"Almost 1pm and he's gotta be up there and on a CT table by then."

"Oh, so I guess no coffee?" Will shook his head as he reached for his own order.

"Sorry, he can't eat or drink till after everything is done." Jay shrugged, Hailey gave him a pouty lip.

"Can I wait in the room till you guys get back?"

"Yeah, sure! It'll be awhile but we'll be back in there." The radiology floor was selected, the doors beginning to close as Hailey waved farewell to them. She took great peace and joy in knowing Jay was finally, and hopefully going to get some answers. The big mystery would be over soon and she could take him home and force him to rest and get back to better health.

Meanwhile the ride to radiology was a quiet one, no talking from any of them. Jay was lost in his desire to bathe, Will was growing quietly anxious, and the nurse was just wanting her shift to be over. As the doors chimed and the quiet toned elevator lady announced that they'd reached radiology floor all of them got off and headed to the big, scary, loud machines. Will went with Jay all the way to the scanner, helping him get from wheelchair to the table and helping get the contrast for the IV all set up.

"Can't I have just a sip," Jay jokingly asked as the line for the contrast was connected to his IV port?

"Nope. Not even a sip. Just think of it as something to look forward to when you're all done," Will teased.

"Are you allergic to contrast," the CT tech asked? Jay shrugged.

"I have not a clue."

"Okay, well we have the reversal in there just in case. If you have any itching, tightness of chest, difficulty breathing let us know immediately. That means you're going into anaphylactic shock and we have to stop everything."

"Oh fun," Jay joked. Will rolled his eyes once more.

"Alright man, see you in a little bit. Stay perfectly still." Jay nodded as the table was slowly pushed into the machine, everyone having to run for cover before they were zapped by the powerful rays. That not helping ease Jay's worry in the least. Will decided to sneak into the CT computer room, hoping to catch a couple sneak peeks at what the scans revealed. It's not like anyone told him he couldn't go in there and plus, he was a doctor at this hospital. That comes with certain privileges, even if it's family members, Will told himself. By the time he got into the room the place was fairly filled. The images on the screen were still black, waiting to download the first slides, but people were already leaning in close to things. There was the radiologist and the nurse that helped bring Jay in, Dr. Marcel and another person that was shadowing him all were right up on the screens housing the truths of Jay's head. Isn't that a rather deep and heavy burden to bear. Will wasn't to a point of needing to see so he took a bit of a back seat, eyes wandered away from the screen and to the room itself. Jay was completely covered, only the tips of his toes were visible to everyone. Will smirked at that, noting how his little brother wasn't all that little anymore. Will got lost in the trance of the clicking sound of the CT scanner, sipping his coffee away in deep thought. It was so deep that at first he didn't hear the collective gasps of those in the room, nor did he hear the numerous, 'oh my Gods,' as images keep coming and continued to get worse.

"See if Heart is available," was what finally brought Will back to things. His head just about snapping off its' cord at the mention of that person. He knew they didn't work here, but the name was synonymous with miracle cases.

"What not Abrams," Will nervously spoke. Not looking away from the screen, Marcel responded.

"Because Abrams can't handle this. He's gunna need Heart." Well now Will was extra curious, suddenly needing to see what the fuss was all about. He started by bobbing his head around the other heads in front of him, picking quick shots of partial scans, which really ticked him off. Next came putting an arm on someone and carefully, yet sternly pushing his way to get a good look at the screen. Cue the deepest, darkest, terror filled music your mind can come up with. In his entire medical career, Will had never seen anything like this. This was the stuff of folklore, something that you told other people to make them feel better. Your situation may be bad, but it's not as bad as this. All hope, calm, control, and grip on his coffee cup ceased as his now watering eyes were superglued to the images downloading onto the screen. Quite literally the coffee careened to the ground and went everywhere and no one noticed or cared that searing hot coffee was all over the place.

"Holy…shit," Will spoke aloud, everyone seeming to not care about his cursing since they were in total agreement. There was the monster, seeming to be waving the middle finger at both Jay and whoever decided to look it's way.