Chapter 1- Correlation Not Causation
Well, here we are. We found ourselves once again at the foothills of another great, challenging, emotional story mountain. Now, as this story's trail guide, I must give my trail cubs a little bit of information about what is to come. Some of you may read this story and say, 'haven't we already kind of, sort of, done a story like this?' And to that, I would answer yes, but not really. We have tackled a topic like this before, but we've never gone this route. To continue with the whole mountain climbing thing, we're venturing back into a mountain range that we've trekked before, but this mountain has never been scaled. So stick with it, enjoy it all as best as you can. Stop and smell the pretty flowers and admire the stunning trees, leaves, and do stay on the path. We don't want you going off track and into danger. We leave all the dangerous situations for our dearly beloved king. Alright trail cubs, time to lace up those boots, make sure you have enough carabiners and plenty of snacks and tissues. We're heading on up to the AA summit. Let's stick close together, this is going to be one of those stories. Let's go!
Headaches, we all get them. Along with heartbreak and acne, headaches are a single thing that every single human being on planet earth experiences at some point in their life. Some get them all the time, some people rarely experience the debilitating terror. Some people grow out of them during a young age and others live with them for the rest of time. Headaches come in all shapes and sizes, even affecting different regions of the body. With over 150 different kinds of headaches, it is impossible to pinpoint exactly what they are or where they even came from. Down to a location on the head, headaches are still near impossible to definitively conclude what spurred them out of a deep slumber. Everything from lack of water to hormones, food, stress, genetics, habits, lack of sleep, the weather, just about anything can be a causation for headaches. Furthermore, headaches can be a sign of something far more serious, some deep turmoil in the body that triggers a headache to sprout forth. While quite rare, and more often then not headaches can be treated with over the counter medication and you'll be on your way, headaches can be the start of something quite bad and rather scary. But due to it being so rare and usually laughed at when you get in contact with a doctor and worry over the worst case scenario, our minds will go there only to feel like a fool not too later down the road. More often then not the result of an ill advised Google search, headaches will be taken way out of proportion way more often then you think. That is why it wasn't taken seriously that mid September morning. When Jay woke up with nothing but a mild, yet present headache no one thought to race him to an ER, bring him to the top nero guy, or girl, and demand that they find the cause of what was ailing him. It was just never on their radar and wasn't something they even thought would slow him down. He was Jay Halstead after all. The guy showed up for work one time deep in the throws of a flu and somehow managed to get out onto the streets and chase and tackle some guy. The poor guy wound up getting more then a bruised back that day, but literally nothing could slow Jay down. So as Jay woke up with that very slight, tingling head feeling he didn't panic nor did he hurry and stir Hailey from her deep slumber. Instead he rolled towards the bedside table, opened the drawer, and reached for two Advil before the water bottle nestled between the light and charging station for all his devices.
"You feeling okay," Hailey quietly growled as she rolled towards the medicine bottle sound that was shaking the medication out into Jay's hand.
"Yeah, just a headache," he whispered back, tucking the bottle in the drawer and closing it shut. He swallowed the pills and water before collapsing back into bed, rolling towards her and planting a quick yet loving kiss on her forehead. Hailey smirked and moaned a little as an acknowledgement of his loving gesture.
"I didn't wake you did I?" Hailey shook her head.
"No, I was already kind of up. Why the headache?" Jay shrugged.
"I don't know. Probably from last night." Hailey smirked, playfully twitching her eyebrows while smiling in remembrance.
"Yeah, that was fun last night. Watching Adam flub his way through Someone Like You will go down in the history books as his defining moment." Jay laughed, lowering himself into the bed so the two of them were eye level once more, both neck deep in blankets and sheets while running fingers along each others outlines.
"Who picked that one again," Jay asked in a light hearted manner?
"Uuuuuuummmmmm, I think it was Kim? It definitely wasn't me…or you."
"Could've been Kevin. He was the sober one out of all of us."
"Well whoever it was, brilliant move." Hailey giggled as Jay's finger traced around one of her breasts.
"Jay! Good Lord are you still drunk?"
"Never mind I'll find, someone like you," he sang very out of tune and rather terribly. Hailey smacked his hand away before grabbing his nipple and yanking.
"Ow! Hey I didn't do that."
"But it made you stop singing." Jay rolled his eyes, settling the mild painful spat with another kiss, this time the two of them locking at the lips. Only when Jay's phone buzzed on the bedside table did they finally pull away. Hailey sat up and reached for the hair tie on her side of the bed, balling her hair into a mess of a bun as Jay grabbed the phone.
"We've gotta go. Voight wants us in the office by 9. We've got another one."
"Another OD?" Jay nodded.
"Says it's a kid this time. Fifteen." That one settled the lovey mood of the place. There was a slight wince to Jay as he returned the phone to the bedside table, Hailey noting it as she watched him sit up and get out of bed.
"Sure it's just a headache?" Jay nodded while throwing a t-shirt over his head.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a small hangover…and a lack of sleep from us not really doing that last night." Hailey smirked, remembering the very drunk yet fully fledged liberating and incredible night they shared once they got back through the front door. She watched him walk across the bedroom and head into the bathroom before she decided to slink out of the bed. As the shower started on the other side of the bathroom door, Hailey made their bed before heading to the kitchen and starting up the coffee maker and quick breakfast of peanut butter toast, the true breakfast of champions. By the time she got back Jay was done with the shower, Hailey hearing another medication bottle shake.
"That bad," she called into the door? Jay opened the door, towel wrapped around his waist as pills were tossed into his mouth. He nodded while accepting the coffee mug that was in her hands.
"Yeah. It's the tequila. That one always gets me the next day."
"So why did you order it," Hailey teased, handing him a slice of toast.
"Because I wanted it. I'm willing to suffer the consequences," he joked back. They traded places, Hailey now occupying the shower and bathroom as Jay got ready for the day in the closet. He pulled out the usual long sleeved tee and jeans and matched it to a light jacket and boots before putting it all on. The headache that was once a mild and annoying thing was really starting to come on now. As he messed his hair into it's perfect coifed position, he really noticed that looking in a mirror was hurting his eyes, that the lighting and act of thinking were really starting to bother him, albeit a little.
"I'll be ready in ten," Hailey yelled from the other side of the apartment.
"Okay," Jay shot back. It was just a stupid hangover, it was a combo of lack of sleep and way too much alcohol consumed. Jay chose to not think anymore of it, turning his attention to finishing up his food before going into the kitchen and filling up a large, reusable water bottle to bring along for the day. Apart from sleeping things off, which was never going to happen, water was his best ally for the bad hangover days. It flushed things out of his system, it kept him hydrated and brought the body back into normal balances of things.
"Well you look nice," Hailey congratulated as she met back up with Jay at the front door, admiring the quick outfit he'd put together.
"You too," he shot back, noting she was wearing her uniform of flannel, dark jeans, combat boots and a leather jacket. It was her fall staple, they both knew.
"You're a kind soul," she spoke while allowing Jay to open the door for her. The two of them chatted all the way to the truck, putting themselves back into work mode. The engagement was left at the front door, now they were nothing but partners and fellow detectives. It was all about the case and what Jay had heard from Voight, the team, whoever else. The headache was now more then double what is was when they woke up, but Jay continued to push it off as he pulled out into the street. He was fine. He was completely fine. It was just a headache.
…
When he started seeing white was when he pulled over. Luckily it happened at a light so there wasn't a risk of colliding into some terrible accident. Leading up to the moment he'd gotten really quiet, turning off the radio and lessening his responses to Hailey. She figured he was just zeroing in on what the day could bring to them. It wasn't uncommon for him to drive in utter silence, Hailey had a running joke with him that he was downloading the badass programming when he did this. At first it made no sense to him, but when she kept it up he eventually played along with it, laughed a couple times at how odd it all sounded. He felt like the same guy on the job and off, perhaps a little more attitude and seriousness when he was clocked into the job. So as she read the news on her phone she didn't see when he was squinting an awful lot, slowly shaking his head to try and wrestle things off. But it was when everything went white and he literally couldn't see in front of his face did he decide this wasn't some run of the mill headache, they were probably in migraine stage now. The last time he had one this bad was a long time ago, we're talking years here.
"You need to drive the rest of the way," he calmly yet sternly called as he found enough visual to find a curb. Hailey's head shot up from her phone, looking right at Jay like it all was a joke.
"What?!" Hailey might've snorted a laugh out as he pulled the seatbelt off and started to open the driver's door.
"You need to drive. I can't see anything."
"Jay!" He was out of the car and slowly rounding to her side, using his hand as a guide to quickly walk in the direction he wanted.
"Jay," she called again when he opened the door. He just stared at her, allowing her to see the hurt and bleariness for the first time.
"Do we need to go to a doctor?"
"No! I'll be fine. I just can't drive right now."
"How many fingers am I holding up," she asked while making a sign language 'I love you' gesture with her hand.
"Three. And I love you too." He still looked off, certainly was not as healthy and fine as when he woke up. But the fact was was that his vision had returned. It wasn't a lucky guess or something they did often. That was the first time she showed him that, proving that the eyesight had come back.
"So why am I driving."
"Because everything went white as we sat at the light and I don't need that happening again while we're actually in motion. Now come on, we're going to be late if we don't get going like right now." She wanted to keep prying, insisting that he go somewhere and get checked out. If nothing else, she wanted to clear her sudden bad, dark thoughts. She wanted to get laughed at for being overly freaked out and reassured that nothing was wrong. But when Jay asked again and stepped aside for her to get out, she knew that this wasn't the time or place to start prying once more. So against her better judgement and gut feelings, she completed the switch with Jay, the two of them buckling at the same time before the truck rolled back into the street and in the direction of the district.
"You're going to be okay to work today?"
"Hailey, I'm going to be fine. I've had one of these before. It's been awhile, but it'll go away eventually." She slowly shook her head, not looking away from the road as she responded.
"If this gets worse, promise we'll go to a doctor. At least do a telehealth thing or at the very least call Will." Jay rolled his eyes, groaning as his head dug into the headrest a little.
"Fine, whatever. But it'll go away in a couple hours. I just need more Advil…and water," he reassured as he reached for the bottle and drank. Hailey wanted to possess the level of confidence he had nestled deep in his being. The rest of the ride into work was a quiet one, allowing Jay's head to happily and rudely pound along.
…
"Well look what the cat dragged in," Trudy chuckled as Hailey hopped up the final steps into the main area.
"Rough night," Trudy barked extra loud, purely for dramatic effect and loving yet harm to those feeling things. Hailey laughed, slowly turned around with an annoyed and weirded face when there was a lack of Jay on her six.
"Jay, you need to go home," she remarked as he slowly climbed the final steps, still donning the Ray Bans that he put on shortly after switching over to the passenger seat.
"Heard you kids had a fun time at the karaoke bar," Trudy spoke as Hailey signed in at the desk, Jay looking anywhere but in the direction of Hailey and Trudy, honestly finding the floor rather fascinating.
"We did! Thanks for the suggestion Sarge."
"What's up with you, rockstar," Trudy spoke in the direction of Jay. At last he held his head up, snorting while shaking his head as he headed for the gate and palm scanner.
"He's got a bad headache. Swears it's just from drinking but…I don't know. He's never been this bad."
"Well, if there's one thing I know, it's that Lanny at that bar is really heavy on the drink ratios. Ask for a Long Island and you'd be out for the entire journey between here and Long Island. So give him a couple Aspirin and a hot cup of coffee and he'll be right as rain before long." Hailey nodded, turning away from the large pine desk and catching up with Jay who was holding the door open for her.
"I'm not going back home," Jay spoke under his breath as the two of them trudged upward.
"Jay, you can't walk around work today with sunglasses on. Take a sick day, no one will think less of you."
"OH HEY," Adam yelled as loud as a work environment would allow. It was so loud that it made Hailey practically jump out of her skin, Jay to freeze in place as his ears started the jack hammering at the sound of his extra loud voice.
"So what, you're too cool for us now? Can't look at us without shades?!"
"Stop it, Ruz. He's got a bad headache." Jay just marched straight in the direction of the kitchen, ignoring all the snickering and mild jokes that were being thrown his way. Part of him wanted to take Hailey up on the idea of going home, a bed and darkness sounding amazing right now. But his other half, the one that always won out, told him he'd made it this far and he could go the rest of the way. It took an extra long time to pour himself a large cup of nasty office coffee, Jay a silent and still being as he waited. The light was just about blinding him, the sound of the office seeming to be at a ten right now. His head felt to be expanding, growing in size and heaviness and pain as it blew up like a balloon. The laughter in the background and banter back and forth about the previous night were becoming the worst white noise in the world. If Jay could, he pound his head against the fridge, the counter, something to make it all stop. Forget bad hangover headache, we are at full blown siege of a migraine now. As he sipped the hot yet disgusting coffee his body immediately wanted to reject it, any kind of liquid was going to come right back up. And forget eating, just the thought alone made his stomach churn. But he figured it would all go away in time, he just had to forge ahead and make himself get through the day. He was alpha male, a tough guy. A silly little migraine wasn't going to stop him. He downed three full gulps of coffee before returning to his desk, slowly settling into the chair and turning in the direction of the noise. Nothing was better then the first time he walked through there, but at least he had coffee to aid him this time.
"Jay come on, how bad can it be? Just take the shades off," Kim kindly asked. Jay just slowly shook his head.
"It's too bright," he spoke between sips.
"That bad, huh?! You didn't even drink as much as the rest of us."
"Oh I know, just the downside of getting old."
"Dude, you're 37. You're not old," Kevin chimed in.
"Tell that to the terrible headache after one round of tequila and a beer," Jay spoke into his cup.
"Also, who was the genius that picked Adele for our dear pop queen over here?" That one got Jay a couple chuckles, maybe a snort from the person who raised their hand high.
"Kim," they all shouted simultaneously. She nodded in full guilt and pride.
"Oh yeah. After My Heart Will Go On, it was payback time."
"Please tell me someone has a recording of it?"
"Oh good because if you do then I will break into your house tonight and delete it before having to kill you," Adam teased, which earned him another round of laughter and fun jabs. It was only when Voight slammed the gate down the stairs and hurried—as best his old and sore body would allow—up the steps with a determination to get things underway did the sneering and laughs die down. Bonding time was over, it was time to get down to business.
"Where are we at with things? And what's with the shades, Jay?!"
"He has a bad headache," they all answered for Jay.
"Not so loud," Jay spoke as he emptied the coffee mug. They all sympathized with him, tones lowering just a bit as things got underway. To this very day Jay has absolutely no memory of what the case was and who was talking and what all were the foundational pieces to the case. Looking back, it was just another layer of the real issue of it all. But in the moment he assumed it was the headache and rising nausea that was making everything else cut out from his little world. As people dove into the details and discussed springboard places, Jay was too consumed with not puking all over his desk and the office space to even care what was being said. He could no longer see people, couldn't pick up words, the only thing that registered was that he was in dire pain in his head and he had to get to a bathroom right that moment.
"Alright, let's take this out to the scene. Hailey, you and…" Voight trailed off as Jay found a sudden burst of strength and speed, tossing the sunglasses hard against his desk as he walked as calmly and quickly as he could to the bathroom down the hall. He barely made it to a stall before his stomach could not hold anything any longer. It went on and on, everything coming back up: the coffee, and more coffee and all of his breakfast before it was just stomach lining and random contents. Every time he thought he was over more would come up. When the dry heaves finally settled down he managed to flush the toilet before resting against the stall door. It was official, he was sick and had no other choice but to call it a day.
"Jay," called Hailey's voice from the other side of the stall door? She was sounding rather concerned now, Jay noting her feet right up against the door. There was another set of feet further behind, standing right in the bathroom doorway: Voight's from the looks of scuffed boots.
"Jay," Hailey called once more, Jay trying to find the words that would make this all go away, but instead just breathed out loud. On the plus side, the headache was temporarily gone.
"Yeah," he eventually gasped out, still catching his breath as he unlatched the bathroom door and allowed Hailey to come in. The smell of lingering vomit made Hailey want to puke herself, but it was his eyes that kept her away from that. They were hurting so bad, beyond bleary and crying for sleep, darkness, just help. The rest of him didn't look a whole lot better. He was a miserable, sad, sick sight and Hailey wanted nothing more then to scoop him up and take him home.
"Jay, you really need to go home." Against his much better judgement, Jay shook his head, soon regretting that because it kickstarted the headache all over again.
"I'll be fine. I'll just lay down somewhere for a little bit. You guys go to the scene. I'll feel a lot better when you come back."
"Jay," she started but Jay put a hand on her to make her stop.
"I'll be fine. I promise."
"Jay, you also made another promise earlier, remember? I think this classifies as getting worse." Voight remained in the doorway, telling everyone else to go on before he turned his attention back to Jay and Hailey.
"Jay, go lay down on the couch in my office for a few hours. I'll go ahead and shut the blinds and grab a pillow. Stay there till we get back. If it's any worse then right now you have to go get checked out. That's an order." Normally Jay would protest, shoot this crazy notion down and swear that he could get through it all. But the jack hammering was resuming and he was starting to see the white light once again. On top of all this, he was growing more and more tired by the breath. Call it a bad hangover, call it a lack of sleep or stress or whatever else, but this headache was going to go down in the history books as the worst. Voight was the first to vacate the bathroom, running off to do what he suggest as Hailey helped Jay get back on his feet.
"Well, you don't have a fever. Any other symptoms? You might be coming down with something. We are just starting flu season and you haven't exactly had your shot yet."
"No, it's just the headache," he quietly spoke, choosing to ignore the subtle jab at his needle phobia. Jay was up and at the bathroom door by the time Voight returned, saying everyone had already left and the hallway was clear and quiet. Jay lead the way, Hailey right behind him with a hand on his back just in case something terrible happened. They made it to Voight's office, got Jay to lie down as best and comfortably as he could not long after. Sleep was so welcoming, Jay already dozing as the blanket was thrown on top of him.
"When was the last time you had Advil or Tylenol," Hailey whispered? Jay looked off at something behind her, squinting and grunting under his breath before responding.
"I don't know, a couple hours ago maybe."
"Okay, let's do some more Advil. Tylenol has to be every four hours or else you'll cause damage to something." Hailey hurried to the break room in search of Advil and water, returning to Jay in record time. He sipped the water, cleared the pills, and mumbled a thanks before quietly falling asleep.
"I also had Trudy redirect all calls to her so there won't be any phone calls while you're up here." Jay nodded, turning towards the back of the couch and really starting to enter those initial sleep stages.
"Hope you feel better. See you later," Hailey whispered before patting his back and closing the door behind her. She and Voight paired up for this leg of the investigation, leaving Jay to try and sleep against another bout of nausea and head splitting pain. Safe to say, sleep was a very in and out thing.
…
"Oh my God. Jay…" is what greeted his very tired self. It felt like he slept for five minutes if that. Between the turning and staring at the ceiling for a long time before realizing it, sleep did not come easily nor did it stay. He was currently in one of those zoned out states, not hearing everyone come back and not recognizing Hailey had entered the room, sat down next to him, and placed a hand on his chest. He was that out of it, the pain never wavering or even thinking about leaving him.
"Jay, we're going to Med. Now," Hailey announced, rising from her spot on the couch and heading to the door to tell Voight they were going to be out for awhile.
"I'm…fine," he eventually and extra quietly spoke in her direction.
"Jay, I've respected your decision all day and I get that you hate hospitals, but you need medical attention. Your eyes are bloodshot and you look terrible." Jay groaned, sitting himself up before rubbing his eyes, noting the burn behind doing that, before looking out at the office he slept in. He had no clue how long he was out, whether it was sleeping or in a trance, but it felt like a great deal of time had passed.
"What time is it," he asked, looking around for his phone for the answer.
"It's a little after 2," Hailey spoke as she flagged Voight down. 2pm, he somehow allowed four hours to slip through his hands, his life, his time clock. Jay's eyes bugged out at the announcement of the time, finally retrieving his phone and confirming what Hailey said. While he was there he also pulled up his camera, turning to reveal that Hailey was two for two. His eyes were absolutely bloodshot, like someone injected red dye into them. And indeed he did look sick, he felt sick, he wanted to lay back down and just sleep it all off. He was miserable, plain and simple.
"Hey, I'm bringing him to Med and then home afterward. He's gotten worse." Voight stuck his head into his office, scanning Jay over extra quick and confirming what Hailey spoke. Jay was definitely different, it was in his whole person. Everything was slow, zoned out, looking more like a guy coming off a serious drug high then experiencing a terrible headache. He couldn't look straight, his eyes darting all over before Jay would shut them against whatever was ailing him inside. He was death warmed over essentially.
"How are you feeling, Jay," he quietly yet gruffly asked?
"I've been better," he spoke as best he could. It was a little above a whisper and full of soft tones.
"Take whatever you need to take and sleep till this thing blows over. Don't worry about us, we've got it here." Jay nodded, standing up too soon for his body's liking. He was upright and then leaning to the left, Hailey jumping in to stop him from falling but he swore all was well.
"Sure you don't need me to help you to the car?"
"No, I'm good. Did you call Will yet?" Hailey reached for her phone while she spoke.
"I can right now." As she dialed Voight shut the door, Jay slowly falling back into a sitting position on the couch. He heard the phone ring three times before that old familiar voice spoke on the other end.
"Hey! What's up?"
"Hey, so I have a medical question for you." Jay could hear the mild groan on the other end, the small chuckle before he spoke.
"Let me guess, he wants out of the flu shot."
"Well…he does….but that's not what this is about." The laughter stopped, Will growing quiet as Hailey went on.
"He woke up this morning with a headache and it's gotten a lot worse to the point it's a very bad migraine. He couldn't drive into work, he threw up a few hours ago, and he has a good amount of light and sound sensitivity. I'm just wondering if I need to take him to urgent care or you guys or send him home to sleep it off."
"Just bring him here. It does sound like a pretty serious headache, but he's gotten ones this bad before. Like especially right after getting back home and then for a few years between Rangers and working for CPD. He spent many days in bed in pain from headaches."
"He's right," Jay cut into things, nodding as Hailey looked back at him.
"So I can run through his chart real quick and see if we have records that far back and then get someone to sign off on whatever meds worked. It's slammed here right now so I don't want him sitting here for hours having to live through it."
"This feels wrong and way too privileged to have curbside medication scripts." Will chuckled as Jay shook his head.
"Hey, it's what happens when you have an over caring older brother who happens to be a doctor as well. When are you guys leaving?" Hailey looked to Jay who resumed standing, a lot more upright and straight then the last time. In typical Jay fashion, he found another level, another gear in him. The stubbornness was going to be the thing that pushed him to be the longest living human, Hailey was convinced.
"I'm getting him now and we'll be on our way in a couple minutes."
"Sounds good! It won't take any time at all so just text when you get into the parking lot and I'll tell you where to go. If I'm busy I'll have Maggie run them out."
"Awesome. Thanks, Will."
"No problem. I'll hopefully see you guys soon." Hailey bid farewell before turning to Jay, watching him daydream in his place. If she could hug all the pain away she could.
"You got these when you got back from the Rangers?" This was definitely not the time or place for this, but Jay kind of figured this would come up.
"Yeah, it was terrible cluster headaches. It was all about adjusting or something. Honestly I can't remember anymore. But eventually they went away." Hailey scooped her arm around his, linking at the elbow before they walked out into the office area. Everyone waved farewell to Jay, sending wishes of him feeling well soon. He could only smirk and wave back at their sweet gesture, he was so out of it and over it. They made it through the back hallway and down the stairs to the back of the building a little slower then usual. The truck was parked close to the exit, Jay sighing in relief that that space was open. He got himself into the passenger seat, laid the seat back a little as Hailey climbed into the driver's seat and got things going. For the second time that day, it was a very quiet, thought filled car ride to their destination.
…
"And here…we…are," Hailey quietly spoke up while pulling into a slot in the ED bay. Jay picked his head up from the semi-sleeping position he was in. It was next to impossible to sleep in the truck, any car really, so sleeping was a bit of a stretch. At the most he was dozing, ears fully alert and aware of what was going on. The road noise became too much for him at certain points, but overall the ride to Med was the calmest and most controlled feeling he'd experienced the entire day, oddly enough. Perhaps it was the knowledge that he was headed to a hospital that made his migraine filled mind settle down for a moment.
"Is Will outside?"
"Yup, but he said he has to be quick," Hailey spoke while waving to Will. By the time Jay sat up in the seat he took note of Will jogging to meet up with them, a little out of breath as he reached the passenger side window.
"Yeah you do look ill," he greeted Jay with.
"Nice to see you too, Will." Will took out a penlight, apologized before he waved the thing in Jay's face, asking him to follow the light. It nearly killed him to stare at the super bright bulb, but the neurological test came back normal.
"Head side to side, try and get a full rotation of the neck." Jay did as was told, zero limitations in doing that, just more head pain as he finished up.
"Quick temp," he spoke while waving the thermometer over his forehead, that too coming back normal.
"What are you checking for?"
"Meningitis. It's my biggest concern with a sudden onset of a bad migraine. But everything checks out, looks like it's just a bad headache. When was the last time you had one of these?" Jay shrugged.
"It's been a long time." Will nodded as he reached in his pocket for the paper scripts.
"These are narcotics so you have to go into the pharmacy and get them filled. With narcotics they need paper and signature before handing out meds that strong. I also called in the sleep aid you used during that time. Just go home and sleep. You might have a headache in the morning but it should get better with those." Jay nodded, taking the scripts from Will before placing them in the console between he and Hailey.
"So what caused this," Hailey asked?
"Oh man, it could be many things. I know you guys are stressed at work lately, you're going through a lot of big life changes. The weather is all over the place right now and it could be his cluster headaches. But he'll get better with the meds."
"Even though he's this bad off? He'll be fine tomorrow?"
"Should be. But if that isn't the case just call me and we can always have him come in for a workup. But he'll be fine." Hailey nodded as Jay rested his head back on the headrest while Will reached down for his phone.
"I've gotta run. You'd think there was some mass tragedy. We're totally swamped."
"Go do your thing," Jay spoke through closed eyes, Will reaching over and patting his brother on the shoulder.
"Sleep and water and take those pills. Sorry you're feeling bad, Jay."
"It's fine," Jay nodded. A final farewell to Will, the window rolled up, and soon they were on their way home, via a CVS to get everything filled.
Have you ever heard of the book The Monster at the End of This Book? It was a childhood favorite of mine. The main character is the lovable, furry Grover from Sesame Street and he is rather concerned about readers reaching the end of the book because residing on the last page is a monster! With every page he becomes more and more concerned with the reader's proximity to the monster, going to great lengths to help you avoid reaching this terrible spoken of monster. He begs, pleads, even constructs walls and obstacles all in an effort to save the reader from their impending doom, all the while the readers aimlessly plows on, like nothing is wrong and Grover is just a crazy old goof. Well, that little delight of a childhood book is a perfect illustration for this chapter of Jay's life. See, looking back after it was all over, it's so clear now to see where the danger started back then; the exact date where the first step on the untraveled trail to doom and peril occurred. In this instance, we—and Jay's mind—are all Grover and the characters in this story are the readers laughing along at the book. The stop at CVS to fill the prescriptions, we all are trying to warn them that something else could be coming, that this may not be the whole story of things. By the time Jay and Hailey get home and Jay falls onto a bed do we all start to raise the red flag of danger, that they need to change their ways, do something else to avoid what's coming. The pleads begin as the medication is dished out and Jay swallows the pills, rolling over and pulling the blankets up as Hailey bids farewell for the rest of the day. Plans of creating secondary paths, obstacles, anything to stop the uncontrollable train heading down the track are schemed as the lights are shut off and the door closed. Before all is said and done, we're all practically on our knees, begging and praying for them to run back now, run for help and guidance before it's too late and too daunting and difficult for Jay.
"See you later, Jay. Get some sleep. Call me if you need anything."
"Uh huh. Love you."
"Love you too." NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!
But alas, just like those silly readers of that ultimately silly book, they plow aimlessly and naively along without a care or thought about what's coming down the line. But unlike the fictional story, there absolutely is a monster at the end of this book. But no one thought of it, no one even had it on their radar and certainly the guard was way down. Because, after all, it's just a headache.
