Jay was working overtime, patrol at night, which meant he wasn't home, and neither was Will. They had been careful not to leave her alone at night for a while after the incident with their Dad. But, now their schedules overlapped and this was something they couldn't avoid. It was a test, Hailey needed to be able to stay alone, but she was still experiencing symptoms of trauma, unresolved issues from the multiple altercations she had with her father before she moved out. It was the right thing to do, but it didn't make Jay feel any better.

When they responded to a call with a family dead, and a helpless little girl that had survived, it pulled on every heart string he had. He had to stay until the others arrived, until they figured out what to do and he knew he'd be working this case back at Intelligence in the morning. He headed home as soon as patrol was over to change before he had to be back. He hadn't heard from Will or Hailey all night and he wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.

"Did you sleep?" He asked Hailey when he walked through the apartment door and saw her standing in the kitchen by the coffee maker.

She shrugged as she poured the mug, but as she turned around and he saw the dark circles under her eyes, he knew she hadn't. "Not used to seeing you in uniform," she smirked, trying to deflect the conversation. "Are you going back to work?"

"Yeah, caught a case on patrol," he nodded as he glanced at her class schedule on the fridge. "Do you want a ride?"

"I, uh," she stumbled. "I'm not going to class today."

Jay frowned as he dropped his bag on the floor. "Why not?"

"I'm thinking of dropping out," she said as she sat at the kitchen table.

"Dropping out of the class, or of school?" He asked as he put his hands on his hips and raised his eyebrows at her. "It better be the former."

"Jay," she sighed and dropped her head into her hands, running them over her tired eyes. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he said as he sat beside her at the table and waited for a response. "Hails, I just worked all night and my last call was to a house with five murdered members of a family. Only one survived, a twelve year old girl who has no one left. You have me, and Will, let us help you."

Hailey looked up at him. "I can't be there," she said, struggling for the words as the tears pooled in her eyes. "There are too many people all the time, and he could be one of them."

"He's not going to come looking for you again," he said. "We'll take out a restraining order if we have to."

"It's just a piece of paper, Jay." She shrugged. "He knew you weren't here, and that Will wasn't here, and he came here."

"I know, but I'll talk to him and Will talked him into getting help."

"Yeah, from Dr. Charles," she nodded. "So, now he could be there too."

Jay reached for her hand. "We'll figure it out, but you can't just hide inside for the rest of your life."

Will walked into the apartment, dropping his keys and jacket on the counter and glancing at Jay and Hailey sitting at the table. It only took him a few seconds to realize this wasn't a friendly breakfast conversation. He looked from Hailey, who smiled weakly at him before avoiding eye contact, to Jay, who was clearly worried.

"Okay," he nodded as he sat down. "What's going on?"

Jay looked at Hailey. "Tell him."

Hailey shook her head and looked across the apartment, squinting at the light that was pouring in through the window. "I'm thinking of dropping out of college."

"Excuse me?" Will said. "No, absolutely not."

"It's not your choice, Will." She said. "You can't tell me what to do, it's my life."

"Tell him why, Hailey." Jay said firmly, not taking his eyes off of her. He could tell Will, but he wanted Hailey to say it because it was important that she was giving a voice to her fears.

"I can't be there, sitting in class or walking across campus like nothing happened, like Dad might not be there." She said. "He knew I was alone that night, so what else does he know?"

"He knows you live here, and if he wanted to come back, he probably would have." Will said. "Dropping out of school, running away because you're scared of him, that just lets him win. But there are no winners here, Dad has a serious problem and it's okay to be scared, but it's not okay to ruin your life for his mistakes."

Jay nodded. "He's right, Hails."

"So, what?" She asked. "I'm supposed to pretend he didn't break through that door?"

Will leaned forward to catch her eye contact. "You're supposed to live, and you're supposed to talk to us, and to Dr. Charles."

"I can't talk to him, Dad might be there." She snapped.

"No, he was referred to another doctor and he's actually in a treatment facility outside of the city." Will said. "I found out this morning."

Hailey looked from one brother to another. "So, he's not here."

"He's not," Will nodded.

"I want you to sleep," Jay said as he stood up. "Then, I want you to go and talk to Dr. Charles, and then I will talk to you tonight about school."

Will nodded. "I need sleep too. I will take you to Dr. Charles this afternoon."

"You're just going to decide my life for me?" Hailey asked.

"For today, yes." Jay said, kissing her head as he headed to the bathroom to shower quickly before heading back to work.

"You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?" Will asked as he studied her face. "We told you to call."

"Scott was here," she mumbled. "He left like twenty minutes before Jay came home."

"Ah, Scott," Will nodded. "What does he think about this plan of yours to drop out of school?"

"Pretty much what you said," she sighed. "He said I should get Jay to assign me a body guard."

"That's not a bad idea," Will said. "But Hails, if enough people tell you the same thing, don't you think they might be right?"

"I don't know, maybe." She said. "I still don't want to go to class today."

"Okay," he nodded. "But, we are going to see Dr. Charles later, so get some sleep."

"Will you watch a movie with me?" She asked.

He nodded. "I can do that."

By the time Jay came out of the shower, dressed and ready for work, he found Will and Hailey passed out on the couch. The TV was on, the sound was low and they were both covered in blankets. He knew she was exhausted, but she didn't feel safe enough to allow herself to sleep. It made him feel guilty, but he was also a little happy that Hailey had made enough progress to now consider being safe associated with being around him and Will.

OOOOO

Will was cleaning up later that afternoon while Hailey was in the shower. The apartment wasn't dirty, but the three of them had a tendency to leave their things all over the place. They all held the pattern of dropping their bag and jackets on the counter or table instead of putting them away.

While he was straightening up the kitchen, he grabbed his jacket off the counter and knocked Hailey's purse off in the process, its contents spilling over the floor. He knelt down to pick up the items, pausing when he noticed the bottle of pills. Will picked it up slowly, not wanting to know but not able to stop himself.

He was hoping it was a prescription from Dr. Charles, something she kept private, but he had a feeling that wasn't true. There was no label on the bottle, but he didn't have time to check what was inside because he heard the shower stop. Instead, he pocketed the bottle, finished cleaning up the mess and dropped her purse back on the counter before he slipped into his room to change.

"Hailey, we're leaving in fifteen minutes," he called out.

Hailey changed quickly, put on a bit of make-up and threw some moose in her naturally wavy hair. It didn't take her long to get ready if she was being casual, so she was ready in just about fifteen minutes. Will was ready and waiting for her by the door, trying to conceal his emotions until he confirmed what was in the bottle.

"I don't want to go," she said as she lingered by the door. It was a last ditch effort. "I'm tired, I just want to lounge around."

"You'll feel better if you leave this place for a little bit," he said. "Come on, you can't stay hold up in here forever."

"Will," she whined slightly and he knew an argument was on its way.

"Enough," he said sharply. "Hailey, this isn't a discussion anymore. Shoes and jacket on, now."

She sighed heavily. "Fine," she mumbled.

Will was tempted to bring up the pills so many times on the way to the hospital, but he knew if he accused her without really knowing, he ran the risk of pushing her away or having her shut him out. So, he bit his tongue and waited, got her in to see Dr. Charles before he went to identify the pills.

"It's birth control," April said, handing the bottle back to him.

"Birth control?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," she nodded. "Hailey's?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I knocked her bag off the counter and I saw them, and I just panicked. I didn't want her going backwards."

"I don't think that's possible," she said. "You and Jay are good for her, she's happier now."

"You think?" he asked. "She wants to drop out of college after what happened with our Dad."

"Did you ever wonder if maybe she just wants some extra attention from you guys?" she asked.

"She said it's because she's scared he'll show up," he shrugged. "She's never really been one for wanting to be the centre of attention."

"It might be a pushing the limits thing. She's been through a lot, and she could never rely on anyone but herself, right?" She shrugged. "Maybe now that she has you two, she wants to see how far your concern goes."

"Well, I'll push back," he said. "I just want what's best for her."

"I know you do," she smiled. "You're that kind of guy, and so is Jay. Hailey just needs to be sure of it, so just be there."

"Thanks April," he smiled and nodded as Jay suddenly approached him. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Bringing Erin some clothes," he said. "Hailey talking to Dr. Charles?"

"She is," he said. "Do you have to head straight back to work?"

"No, I have some time," he frowned as he studied his brother. "Why, what's up?"

"I found some pills in Hailey's purse," he said.

"What?" Jay raised his eyebrows. "Are you kidding me?"

"They turned out to be birth control, but I don't know, I think we need to keep an eye on her."

"We have been," he nodded. "But we can talk to her. Bring her by the district when she's done?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'll bring dinner."

The two brothers went their separate ways, both worried about their little sister.

OOOOO

Hailey followed Will into the police district to have dinner with Jay. They had brought food for everyone, but the three of them disappeared into the break room to eat alone. She knew something was up between them, but she wasn't sure what it was yet and it made her nervous.

They said at the table and divided up the food. After a few glances back and forth and some basic small talk, Hailey couldn't take the awkwardness anymore. "Okay, what's going on?" she asked. "Am I dying?"

Jay smirked. "No, but we wanted to talk to you, see how you're doing after talking to Dr. Charles."

"I'm fine," she sighed. "I'm tired of constantly being asked that."

Will glanced at Jay before he placed the bottle of pills on the table. "I found these in the kitchen this morning, while I was cleaning up," he said.

"You mean you found them in my bad while you were snooping," she scoffed. "They're birth control pills."

"We know," Will nodded. "I knocked your bag over by accident and they fell out. I didn't go looking for them."

"But," Jay interrupted before Hailey could start an argument. "The point is, we're worried you might back slide and start self-medicating again."

Hailey shook her head. "I really wish you'd give me just a little more credit," she got up to leave but Jay stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the door. "I need to be alone."

"Hailey, you're not alone anymore." Jay said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's not about giving you credit, it's about giving you a safe environment. Like I said this morning, we're both here, we're right here Hails, let us help you."

Hailey stepped into his embrace and he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm scared," she mumbled.

"I know, Hails." He tightened his hold on her for a moment before pulling her back and leaning down slightly. "We're here, always now."

"He's getting help," Will said as he reached for her hand and she turned to look at him. "You need to focus on you, keeping helping yourself. His mistakes are his, don't let them own you."

Erin knocked on the door, opening it slightly and sticking her head in. "Sorry guys," she said. "Jay, we've got a lead."

He nodded and turned back to Hailey, smiling as he kissed her head. "I'll be back." He said.

"I know," she smiled, watching him go before turning to Will. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you."