A/N: Hi all! I know the last one ended on a cliffhanger, so here's your answer! I'm pretty proud of this one, so let me know what you think?

TW: descriptions of domestic assault


He didn't remember getting in his truck, but suddenly he was there.

Red and blue lights flashed around him like a tornado. For a brief moment, he thought he was being pulled over, and then he realized the lights were coming from his truck.

It kickstarted the badge deep within him and he scrambled for his phone.

"Kevin."

"Hey! Hey! Call Platt. Send someone to Hailey's. God dammit, move!"

He laid on his horn and swerved his truck around a mini-van.

"Jay-"

"Now!"

"You need to explain yourself!" Kevin snapped back, "What the hell is happening?"

Jay didn't know if he could properly answer the question because he truly didn't know. Was she severely hurt? Was it just an argument? Was this all a huge misunderstanding? Had it even been the TV?

He swallowed a lump in his throat and managed to say, "Tarik."

Kevin swore on the other side of the phone before yelling to no one in particular: "I knew he was-"

Jay cut him off pleading, "Just get there. Please."

If his voice cracked while saying it, Kevin didn't acknowledge it. Instead, he stated quickly like he was responding to any other call about a case, "Okay."

Hanging up the phone, Jay breathed heavily and set it in his cup holder. It didn't balance correctly, so he looked down to see Hailey's hair tie from earlier resting in the middle of it. He sucked in a breath before quickly slipping the light yellow band over his wrist.

"Come on," he whispered, "You're gonna be okay. I'm coming. I'm coming."

His phone rang again and he glanced over to see it was Trudy. Instead of a greeting, he practically yelled: "Are you sending someone to Hailey's?"

"The rest of the unit's on the way. I'll be there too-"

"Great, good, listen-"

"Jay-"

"Trudy, it's-"

"There was a call for a domestic about five minutes ago from her neighbor."

In another world - in another hour - that sentence meant a solid start to a case: there was a witness who would most likely be willing to talk and maybe he or she even saw the offender.

Now…now it meant someone heard Hailey screaming.

Tears pricked at Jay's eyes and he tried to talk but nothing came out. He just continued driving wildly through Chicago.

"Jay?"

He made a quiet noise of acknowledgement at his name as he silently ticked down the blocks to Hailey's condo.

"You take her straight to the hospital. We'll take care of the rest."

The phone call ended leaving no room for argument, but, honestly, Jay didn't have one.

He didn't know what he was going to find upon arriving at her house. He didn't even know what he wanted to find.

She had screamed. It was most certainly her. There was no way it could have been the TV. Part of him wanted to think it had been, but his gut told him it was a lie.

She had screamed.

His chest tightened and he suddenly gasped for breath.

No.

No, he couldn't cry for her right now.

He needed to be big and strong and brave just like his mom used to tell him.

The night before he'd been deployed, his mom had come in his bedroom and said those same words to him. She'd sat on his bed and told him she was proud of him for doing what he thought was right.

"Am I scared? Yes, but I trust that you know what is right for you. You know this is where you're supposed to be. Just promise me one thing?"

"Mom-"

"Jay."

"How-"

"You promise me you'll be big out there and strong and brave. You go be the man I know you are."

He'd went to bed that night feeling somewhat lighter than he had just half an hour before. He wasn't sure he could always keep that promise, but he was going to try.

She'd told him to be big, strong, and brave multiple times in his life: when he tried out for soccer, his first day of seventh grade, when he broke his arm, the day Will reluctantly brought him out with some friends. He was even sure he had a letter or two saved that she had sent him while overseas that had those same words written as a PS or as a greeting.

Her words usually helped give him that bit of courage he would need for whatever situation.

He wished he could hear them right now.

Running one last red light, Jay let one tear finally fall down his cheek. He didn't know if he'd be able to be big, strong, or brave when he showed up, but he knew he needed to be.

He didn't know what he'd find at Hailey's place, but she was going to need someone big, strong, and brave. He needed to be that person.

Sucking in one last breath, he hastily parked his car in front of Hailey's condo, wiped his face, and jumped out leaving it running for easy access upon return.

The door was already cracked open when he approached, and something in him told him to stop running, so his feet slowed just as he bounded up the steps and shakily walked inside.

At first, all he could see was destruction. Two lamps were shattered on the floor with even smaller pieces of glass from the lightbulbs scattered about. The hall table was overturned and a few picture frames laid broken nearby. Past the living room was a smashed dining room chair amongst a mess of broken plates and glasses.

The scariest sight was the hole in the wall at the top of the stairs presumably from Hailey's gun now on the landing after being thrown - by who, he didn't want to imagine.

But the sight that made his heart shatter like those lamps was Hailey curled up on the floor down the hallway. He spotted her phone closer to the kitchen and assumed she was trying to crawl toward it giving some sort of explanation as to why the call had ended so suddenly.

In a second, he was kneeling next to her checking her pulse.

"Hailey, Hailey," he whispered desperately.

Her right wrist sat limp on the floor already a dark purple to match the bruising across her face. The hand held in his showed signs of fight with shards of glass in her palm. Her once clean blonde hair was now turning red with blood that was slowly dripping down her neck. She looked absolutely broken from the waist up and not at all like Hailey Upton.

Her pulse felt weak and her chest was rising and falling unevenly, but suddenly her hand twitched in his and she managed to look up.

Past the swollen face and purple nose, there was fear in her eyes that soon crumpled into the saddest look he'd ever seen cross anyone's face.

"No, no, I got you," Jay muttered and lifted her in his arms.

She quietly cried and tried talking through her bloody lip.

"Shh, shh," he whispered and carried her quickly from her house straight to his truck.

Half delirious, she continued mumbling and grabbing at his shirt.

"Calm down, calm down, you're safe now," he said as he placed her in his passenger seat.

"Jay," she gasped once he strapped her in and stepped back, "Jay."

"Hey, hey," he said while throwing open his back door to find his spare CPD jacket. He then returned to her side to tuck it around her before taking a deep breath and gently holding her face. "I need you…I need you…" he trailed off as tears started to fall down Hailey's bruised cheeks. Gathering himself quickly, he finally said, "I need you to be big and strong and brave for me, okay? I need you to hold on. I promise to get you help, I just need you to stay awake until I can get you there."

She sucked in a breath then winced and weakly nodded.

"That's my girl," he whispered as he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks before stepping back and running around to the driver's seat.

They were back on the road within seconds. Again, he had the lights spinning as he flew through the streets. If he would have been playing closer attention, he would have noticed Kevin and Voight's cars flying past him toward Hailey's house.

Hailey was whimpering in her seat, but didn't move at all. Jay took it as a good sign that she could even make noise at all: it told him she was alive.

He suspected she had to have a concussion based on all the bruising on her face. Her wrist was clearly broken.

It made him sick when he realized that broken wrist was the one that used to bear that damned bracelet. He didn't want to think it, but he felt as if it wasn't a coincidence.

It was when he rounded the last corner toward Med that her whimpering stopped and Jay's blood ran cold.

"Hailey," he snapped perhaps a little too harshly, "Hailey, talk to me."

She didn't answer him, so he reached over to press his fingers to her throat. He couldn't find her pulse causing an internal panic to wash over him.

"Come on," he groaned. His heart was beating so fast and so hard that it hurt. His whole being ached.

Continuously, he said her name for the last three minutes of the drive. By the time he was parking the truck and running out of it, his throat had grown thick with tears he avoided shedding just to stay big, brave, and strong for Hailey.

He tossed his jacket to the back seat and stuffed his phone in his pocket before gathering her limp body into his arms and noting how big he truly felt as he cradled her in his arms. She was so small on a normal day, now she seemed tiny.

"I've got you, I've got you," he repeated under his breath while speed walking into the hospital as to not run and jostle her too much. He held her head to his shoulder hoping he wasn't hurting her in any way; she'd been through enough that night, he'd hate himself for causing any unnecessary pain.

He didn't know really what happened next, but suddenly Will was attempting to peel Hailey from his arms in a triage room off to the side. Natalie was there as well already preparing an IV while rattling off information to a nurse.

"You have to let go," Will whispered with his own hands supporting Hailey's back and legs as well.

Jay let his eyes meet Will's and his mom's voice washed over him.

"Jay, if I didn't trust him, do you really think I'd let you get in that car? No. Now go; I really need that milk."

Driving with Will to the grocery store the day after he got his driver's license really didn't compare to giving Hailey to him so he could help her, but his mom's sentiment had been the same: if he didn't trust Will to care for her, would he have really brought her to Med? He was the one who told her weeks before that if she ever got hurt, he'd take her here for help. Now he needed to fulfill that statement and let her get help.

Reluctantly because he couldn't bear losing contact with her cool skin, Jay laid Hailey down on the bed as gently as possible. He stepped to the side as Will began looking in her eyes and Natalie walked another doctor through what she knew based presumably on a phone call from Trudy.

Hailey laid unresponsive to all the poking and prodding on the bed, but the monitors that were now connected to her did quietly beep with signs of life giving Jay some relief.

He couldn't look away as her clothes were cut away and replaced with a hospital gown. Never in the past year as his feelings for Hailey had grown had he imagined that the first time he'd see her naked body would it be covered in bruises, and yet here he was.

Watching her be cared for in horror, he became a part of the wall.

How a man could do this to a woman escaped him. No matter his anger or disappointment he'd felt toward any of his ex-girlfriends, he never in a million years could have imagined hitting them let alone beating them to a pulp.

Just as her fingernails were being swabbed for DNA, Hailey's eyes fluttered partly open. She let out a quiet groan at Will's face still close to hers as he worked to clean the cut on the side of her head.

"Hailey, it's Will," he explained calmly leaving Jay impressed at his steady words, "You're in the hospital. I'm checking out this cut you got here. Natalie's here too-"

"You're doing so well," Natalie cut in as she slipped a blood pressure cuff around Hailey's arm.

"Mhmm," Will nodded, "We're going-"

"Jay."

There was a raspiness of pain in Hailey's voice as she spoke, but the word was clear through the tense air.

Jay rushed forward into her view and tried to smile despite how scared he felt. "Hey," he said softly, "Will's got you, okay? But I'm not going anywhere. I pro-"

"Jay," Natalie interrupted and shook her head before lowering her voice, "I want to run a rape kit."

While the intent to keep a calm atmosphere was clear, Hailey still heard and started pushing everyone away with as much strength as she could muster. "No," she snapped, but it began trailing off in gasps with each word, "No, he didn't…I know…I know he didn't…he wouldn't…would he?" All three of them watched as horror crossed her face when she mumbled, "I don't remember."

If Jay had wanted to hurt Tarik before, he wanted to kill him now. He felt like he couldn't even see straight. Hailey was in the midst of a near panic attack, but he couldn't even focus on her. Everything was just red.

The blood in her hair. Harsh bruises along her arms. Pricks of glass in her palms. Even his own white t-shirt had drops of red staining it from when he'd picked her up.

Natalie quickly had an IV in Hailey's hand not crumpled on the bed and was gently holding an oxygen mask to her face. "Will, take him out."

Jay didn't know what she meant or why until he looked down and noticed he'd begun pulling at the sheet on the bed through his anger. Before Will could even put a hand on his arm to lead him out, he pushed himself closer to the top of the bed and searched for words as he looked in her eyes that were now also swollen and red with tears.

"I'm not leaving this building," he whispered, "I trust them, okay? Relax now. You're safe."

She tried talking through the mask only for nothing but tears to come out.

Jay cleared his throat and allowed himself to attempt a smile at her before reaching out to lightly brush a piece of hair from her face.

"You're safe," he repeated before letting Will lead him from the room. He expected to be brought into the waiting room, but was instead being pushed onto the couch in the staff lounge. Once there, Will had pulled a chair over to sit in front of him and just watch him for a moment.

"Take a second," he said quietly.

Jay didn't know what he meant and just slowly shook his head.

Will watched him as the events of the last hour sank in. He went from simply breathing hard to struggling to breathe at all.

"He beat her," he whispered, "T-Tarik beat her."

"Jay," Will quickly grabbed a water bottle then sat next to him, "Here."

"How am I supposed to drink anything when-when Hailey…Hailey…"

His chest tightened again, but this time he let those hot tears from earlier boil over. He bent over and pressed his palms into his eyes.

"What the hell happened?" he mumbled, "How did this happen?"

"It's not on you," Will whispered and reached over to place a hand on his back, "He's just an asshole that took advantage of-"

"No, no," Jay sat up, "He didn't take advantage of her. He-He was insecure and a dick and-and she was going to break-up with him because he was controlling. What I don't understand is how this happened. We were drinking whiskey together like two hours ago. Was it even that long?" His voice cracked and he didn't even care. He just could not wrap his head around the fact that Hailey truly was broken in a bed down the hall.

Will held out the water until Jay grabbed it and drank practically the whole thing in one gulp. "You want a new shirt? Your pants look fine," Will said quietly.

Jay glanced down at his stained t-shirt and nodded. "I don't want her to see it."

"I think that's a good idea." Will clapped him on the back then walked over to find a shirt in his locker. "Green okay?"

"Yeah, I don't care."

Without giving any attention to Will, Jay wiped his nose with the back of his hand only for more tears to fall.

It just didn't make any sense.

She'd been happy with him. They had laughed and she'd comforted him. Hell, it seemed like twenty-four hours ago she had been painting a picture for him as a piece of that comfort.

It wasn't fair.

He numbly pulled on the shirt Will offered him then pulled his phone out.

"Do they know?" Will asked while walking around to sit and lean against the table with his arms crossed.

Jay sniffled and nodded as he pressed Kevin's name again on his screen.

"Jay, don't work right now," Will sighed.

"I need to do something," Jay said and frowned while listening to Kevin's phone ring, "I need to help her."

"Hey, man," Kevin answered a second later, "How's it going?"

"I…she's with Natalie." Jay took a deep breath then rubbed his face as he asked, "Did you find him?"

"Kim and I are out right now. Platt's looking too. Voight and Adam are at her house looking things over. How is-"

"Okay, check his house, that bar he works at, I know he has brothers-"

"Yeah, we've got that. How's Ha-"

"Call me the second-"

"Jay!"

For the first time, Jay stopped talking. He breathed in shakily and avoided Will's gaze as he whispered, "Yeah?"

"How is Hailey?" Kevin asked slowly.

"Um," Jay mumbled and ran a hand over his hair then gave in and sank back into the couch, "She's pretty beat up."

Will nodded at him in encouragement then put his hands on the table behind him.

Kevin seemed to sense through the phone that this wasn't a conversation Jay necessarily wanted to have because he stated clearly, "She's going to be okay, and we're going to fix this."

Jay closed his eyes and nodded. "I hope so."

"All right, I just pulled up behind Kim, I'll call you if I hear anything else."

The call ended, and Jay dropped the phone to the cushions so it bounced onto the ground. He returned his head to his hands as he attempted to slow his racing thoughts.

In no world did he truly believe Hailey was going to be okay. He certainly didn't think they could fix this. The only possible fix to this disaster was a time machine and Jay setting Hailey up with anyone else in that bar.

He remembered Hailey had told him they deserved someone. They deserved to be happy and loved and enjoy nights out.

She didn't deserve to be beaten and left to suffer in the middle of her hallway like she was nothing.

Hailey was more than nothing. She was this beautiful light in his life that he never wanted to let go out. Her smile instantly made his day and now he could barely remember what it looked like. All he could picture in his mind was blood and bruises and defeat.

He was defeated.

Will lowered himself onto the couch next to him and said quietly, "Physically, I didn't notice anything incredibly wrong with her."

Jay grunted in response because he knew that was a lie.

"I'm serious," Will countered, "Maybe a concussion and her wrist was broken, but other than that, I really do think she'll make a full recovery."

Jay grunted again and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Mentally? Emotionally? That's the harder part," Will added under his breath.

Jay winced and gripped his hair. He knew this was the part where he would come into play. Will can give Hailey stitches and Natalie can set her wrist in a cast, but Jay needed to be the one who listened.

He was used to listening. He thought he was good at it. But the thing he hated about listening was that it didn't always require action.

Jay liked action. He liked listening to a victim or even a suspect and then going out to do something whether that be arrest someone else or look at pod footage or even write a note on the whiteboard.

With Hailey, he suspected that she wouldn't want him to go out and do something. She might not want him out there hurting Tarik with every fiber of his being like he wanted to, and, honestly, he didn't know if that's really what he'd want to do either. If it weren't for Natalie, he knew that he would be at Hailey's side right this second holding her hand and telling her everything was going to be okay no matter what he thought. He didn't want her out of his sight. Yes, he trusted that she was safe here at Med, but he still wanted to see her with his own two eyes.

"She's not alone," Will breathed, "I'll make sure to rope Dr. Charles in and I'll keep an eye on her while I'm here, but…she's going to need a friend."

"Yeah," Jay mumbled and sat up while wiping his hands over his face, "Yup."

Will frowned slightly then put a hand on his knee before bending down and grabbing the fallen phone.

Jay nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat as he accepted his phone.

"Here for you too," Will said quietly.

"Thanks," Jay whispered.

Will took a deep breath before standing up and saying, "Stay here as long as you need. I'll go check on her. Do you need anything?" Jay simply looked up at him and pursed his lips causing Will to nod and walk away.

He needed Hailey to be back at her house. He needed Hailey to be safe. He needed Hailey to know he loved her.

He loved her.

His heart ached just thinking of it. He'd suspected for a while that's what this pain was whenever she'd talk about Tarik or he'd see a bruise on her, he just never wanted to admit it. It felt too messy to truly deal with.

Even now, it felt too messy to deal with.

Hailey was just beaten and attacked within her own home by a man she had previously trusted. She didn't need her current work partner and friend to tell her that he loves her. All she needed to focus on was getting better and recovering in all senses of the word.

Jay's skin felt hot and his eyes were once again burning with tears he refused to shed as he thought of her and how he felt. It felt like some cruel joke that the thing that made him realize he loved Hailey was in hand something that almost killed her.

No.

He refused to believe she could have died.

He got there in time. Everything was fine. It was taken care of. Hailey was safe. He'd taken her here before any damage could set in. She might have passed out in his car, but it was in his car. They were at Med within five minutes and Will and Natalie had quickly taken care of her. She hadn't lost oxygen or anything like that.

He was still attempting to reassure himself when Will returned to the lounge. He heard some mumbled words that Hailey was medicated and sleeping while tests were being done to see what they were dealing with. The second he heard sleeping, he tuned out. There was nothing he could do right now; he couldn't even sit with her – he'd been through enough MRIs and x-rays to know that much.

He accepted another water from Will, but didn't bother even opening it. He felt more than a little lost at the moment. There was nothing he could do.

Half an hour passed, Will had once again left the room to check on Hailey, no one had texted or called him with any updates, and Jay was starting to feel more than just sadness. Now he was becoming antsy. He might not be able to do anything about the situation, but he could do something still.

So he found himself wandering the hospital. He had been through the halls countless times before, but always with a purpose. Right now, his only purpose was to distract his mind from Hailey. At the moment, he wasn't quite sure where she was, but he hoped she was okay and knew that he cared about her. Maybe he even hoped that she knew he loved her. If he couldn't tell her that truth, he hoped that he could show her.

Soon enough, he was walking into the hospital chapel. He looked around at the dark and quiet room then slid into one of the back pews.

"Hey, Mom," he whispered, "Sorry I'm in sweats in church. At least they're clean, right?" He tried to laugh, but it came out sort of bitter as he sank down.

"God," he breathed and tilted his head back with his eyes closed only for them to shoot open a minute later as he said, "Not…not you, God, just…sorry…I…" He shook his head and sucked in a breath before sitting up to say, "I don't know why I'm here or even how I got here. For as many times as I've been admitted, I never actually visited this place. It's kind of nice."

He glanced over his shoulder at a table filled with candles near the door then sighed and stood. Making his way over to them, he felt his heart sinking. He had a love/hate relationship with lighting candles in churches: he loved the act of lighting the candle and what it represented, but a part of him always hated when it would go out.

He hesitated then picked up one of the sticks to light it then transfer the flame to a cool candle in the back. It quickly brightened and flickered for just a moment before burning steadily.

He stepped back to lean against the back of a pew and sighed while watching it. "I have to pray, right, Mom?" he murmured.

"Uh, well, I think I'll just talk to you," he continued and took a deep breath, "So…Hailey…she needs help. She needs a lot of help. Will can fix her, but…is she really going to be okay? She was beaten, what the hell am I supposed to do? Sorry, I know, no swearing."

He stared at the candle burning thinking of all he times he'd sat through church between his parents just so he wouldn't be next to Will and mess around for the hour and fifteen minutes that he dreaded every Sunday no matter the breakfast they got after.

Smiling slightly, he looked down at his feet and murmured, "I really hope this is going to work even if I didn't memorize that one prayer." He looked around the chapel then added, "And I'm sorry I don't even remember its name – it was that really long one that just wouldn't stick in my head."

He sighed then stared back at the candle. "I just want her safe. Please, Mom, please help us out."

Nothing happened. He didn't necessarily expect anything to happen, but part of him hoped he'd get some signal that his mom heard him.

He watched the candle for a few more minutes before wiping the unshed tears from his eyes and walking out of the chapel.

By the time he was entering the waiting room, Adam was sitting in a chair off to the side tapping his foot

"Hey," he said quietly and sat next to him.

Adam glanced up and his eyes widened as he said, "Hey! Hey, Will didn't know where you were."

"Was just walking around," Jay replied.

Adam nodded then rubbed his face before saying, "Uh, Voight sent me here. Kev and Kim are still with Platt looking for…him. I guess they got a good lead and are expecting to bring him in soon."

Jay glanced up and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to ask, "And you're here to babysit me?"

Adam snorted, "I think you're babysitting me. I may have had some choice words when we walked into her place."

Jay smiled just slightly because he really wasn't surprised. In all seriousness, he knew he would react the same way. Had he for some reason not been so worried about Hailey at the time, he most likely would have gone on some sort of rampage. That fire was still deep within him, it just hadn't quite ignited yet. He made no promises for the minute after he knew she was going to be okay.

"She doesn't love me like she loves you."

The words broke through Jay and his head shot up to meet Adam's gaze.

"What we had…it was just sex really," Adam continued with a shrug, "Well, I cared for her and she cared about me, but it wasn't love. We had some good talks, but it's nothing like what I know you two have. You two just get each other. I love her like I love Kevin - I'd say my sister, but after the sex comment, figured that would sound weird."

Jay weakly laughed and nodded. "I get what you mean," he said quietly.

"She means a lot to me, but we're not meant forever, and that's okay," Adam said and took a deep breath. "But when I see her - or hear about her - in pain…it hurts like a bitch, you know? We're all friends - I know you'd be worried about Kim too if things were reversed and we were all a mess when Kevin was missing, hell, we were all a mess when you were missing - but some of us are closer than others. You and Hailey have something I didn't have with her; just like how you'll never have what Kim and I do."

Jay sniffled then joked quietly, "Difference being you slept with them both. I have kept those doors shut."

Adam chuckled, "Yeah, that might be." He trailed off then asked, "Did I make sense though?"

Jay thought it over then nodded. "Yeah, you made sense. Hailey…" He breathed in shakily then pinched the bridge of his nose against more tears falling and tipped his head back.

"We've got you," Adam said quietly then reached over to squeeze Jay's knee, "We're gonna figure this all out and solve it for her and you."

Jay nodded and quickly blinked past the tears in his eyes. "Thank you," he mumbled.

Together, they fell into a silence waiting for anything to happen – Adam's phone to ring or Will to enter the room. Minutes that felt like hours ticked by until finally Adam jerked in his seat and grabbed his phone.

"Hello?" he said.

Jay glanced at him and sat up slightly.

"Okay, I…" Adam met Jay's eyes then seemed to change his mind: "I'm gonna stay here with Jay. I'll head in once we know more about her."

Jay chewed the inside of his lip and gripped his sweaty hands together.

"Thanks." Adam hung up the phone and sighed, "Got him."

"Good," Jay said through clenched teeth. He tried to slow his breathing because, suddenly, that anger he'd briefly thought of before was starting to burn more. Now he knew where Tarik was. Now he could have a hand in deciding what exactly should happen to him. Now he could do something about the position Hailey was in.

His mind wandered thinking of all the ways he could avenge the pain Hailey was currently in. The anger tightened in his jaw and his back ached from his muscles clenching as he imagined hitting Tarik over and over and over again. He'd never been a fan of that damn cage in the garage, but maybe…maybe it was worth a shot.

"At first I was kinda pissed because he's really not my type either, but as we talked, I realized he was nice and he's funny. He was telling me about his brothers and…I don't know, he's worth a shot."

Hailey's words, like his anger, felt burned in his memory from that very first night. He hadn't wanted to agree with her then, but now he agreed that Tarik was worth a shot.

He didn't have much time to consider the weight of the phrase when he spotted Will walking toward him.

Adam noticed him as well and stood at the same time.

"She's stable," Will said quietly, "She's still asleep, but we ran a few tests and she should be okay once she recovers."

"From what?" Jay asked.

"Concussion, broken wrist, three staples in her head, bruised ribs…what you'd expect," Will answered and took a deep breath, "Evelyn's finishing up with her, but you can come back and sit with her if you want."

Jay blinked then repeated, "Evelyn?"

"New nurse," Will nodded, "Just started yesterday, but she's really nice and a bit older – well, she's mid-forties I think – she just moved here from Wisconsin like a month ago and was a nurse there too."

"Evelyn?" Jay said again, "From Wisconsin?"

"Hey, you okay?" Adam asked quietly, "You want to sit?"

Jay waved him off and continued looking at Will until his brother seemed to get what he was saying.

"Oh," he chuckled, "I guess I never made that connection."

Jay's lips parted slightly and he turned away to run his hands over his head.

Adam looked between them then slowly asked, "What's going on?"

"Our mom's name was Evelyn," Will explained, "She was actually from Wisconsin too. Weird coincidence."

"Wow, yeah," Adam nodded. He clapped Jay lightly on the back and said, "You okay if I head into the district? I feel like I could do more there at least for a couple hours."

Jay breathed in then looked at him and nodded as well, "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Uh, when you come back, mind bringing me my gym bag so I can change out of my pajamas?"

Adam finally smiled as he replied, "Yeah, I can do that. I'll see you. Give her a big hug from us." He squeezed Jay's shoulder before shaking Will's hand and walking out of the waiting room.

"Give me a minute to double-check that she's ready, but you should be good to go," Will said and walked away.

Jay nodded to himself, but couldn't find it within him to return to his seat. Instead, he walked over to the window to the outside where he could just see the moon poking out from behind a cloud.

"Thanks, Mom," he whispered.