Hailey had to take it easy for a few weeks after her concussion and it caused her to fall behind in her classes before her exams. Now, she was cramming, trying to get everything prepared and it was causing her a lot of stress. She was sitting on the couch in the living room with books, notes and paper spread all over the table. It was organized chaos; she started sorting by week and had piles of paper on the floor trying to sort everything out.
Will walked into the house after shift with Nina right behind him. They had moved in together not too long ago and it was going really well. It was a full house when everyone was home, but that didn't happen too often. They were smiling, and if Hailey wasn't so consumed she would have noticed how happy they looked, but the smile faded off his face when he took in the scene.
"Uh-uh," he said as he put his hands on his hips. "You're supposed to be taking it easy."
"It's been two weeks," she said. "I can't afford to take it easy anymore. I have exams."
"Hails," he shook his head as he took his jacket and shoes off and headed toward her. "How long have you been reading?"
"I don't know, what time did you leave this morning?" She looked up at him and was met with a frown. "I'm kidding, I'm fine. I watched the lectures I missed and now I'm going through my notes."
"Any headaches, nausea, dizziness?" He asked. "Blurred vision?"
"Will," she sighed.
"I'm being serious," he said.
"And, I'm seriously fine. They said not to watch anything too jumpy, it was videos of a professor standing in a room and talking. I think I can handle it," she nodded. "I'm just really stressed out."
"Can you take a break at least?" He asked. "Let me check you out."
"I don't have time for a break, you've been through this before, you know what it is like," she said. "Exams are hard, studying is important for doing well, you went to medical school, you should understand more than anyone."
"Exactly, and I know that you need to take breaks," she said. "Come on, eat dinner with us."
"I'm not hungry," she mumbled, looking back at her notes.
Will crossed his arms. "What have you eaten today?" She shrugged and he pulled the notes from her hands. "Hailey,"
"Will, I need to concentrate," she snapped as she wiped at her face and suddenly saw blood on her hand.
She bolted from the room for the bathroom by the stairs and Will followed her. Her nose was bleeding and it was likely that it was just due to the weather changing and it being dry out, maybe the stress, but it worried him after her concussion.
"Okay, okay," he said as he got to her. "Let me see."
She moved her hands as he placed his on the sides of her face and grabbed some Kleenex to assess. It wasn't that bad, and he got it under control pretty quickly, but the suddenness of it made her nervous and she was a little shaky. It bled a lot at first, but slowed down rather quickly, allowing Will to be at ease with the situation. Hailey was less at ease and more in panic as she put her hands on his forearms as he held her head.
"Will, I'm scared," she said.
"It's just a nose bleed, and it's not a bad one," he smiled. "You're okay, sweetheart."
"It's not the first one," she mumbled as she looked away.
He tilted her head back up, mostly to take a look, but also to make her look at him. "How many times?" He asked, trying to act more like a doctor than her brother in that moment.
"This is the fourth since the concussion," she said slowly. "I didn't think it was a big deal the first time, and the second time I had just been outside and then had a shower, so I thought it was just the air change."
"It probably was," he said. "And, what about the third time?"
She winced slightly, not because she was in pain, but because she was a little worried about telling him. "It happened this morning, but I was going to tell you."
"I hope so," he said as he finished. "It stopped."
"All of this stuff is just scaring me because of what happened to Mom," she said.
"I know, it crossed my mind too," he admitted. "I don't think the nose bleed and the concussion are related, but I want to check your blood pressure later."
She frowned. "You think that's what caused them?"
"You have been really stressed," he nodded. "It's likely, so you need to find a way to relax."
She nodded. "I'll take a break."
He kissed her head. "Good, let's go eat."
She hesitated in the bathroom and he turned around a few feet out the door when he realized she wasn't following him. He frowned slightly, studying her and he came back toward the door, leaning on the frame.
"Did they check?" She asked. "When I was in the hospital, did they look for it?"
Will nodded and crossed his arms. "Not intentionally, but they did a head C.T. and it was clear." He explained. "I looked at the scans myself to double check. You're fine."
"Are you sure?" She shook her head. "Come on, Will, I didn't hit my head that hard that night. The headaches, the nose bleeds, it's all a little too familiar. I remember, you know, I was home and I watched her die."
"I know you did," he frowned heavily as closed the gap between them and put his hands on her shoulders. "I made sure to double check the scans. I didn't see anything, Hails."
"What if they missed something?" She asked. "What if it's not in the brain yet, like it started somewhere else? I looked it up and -"
"Hailey, if you google anything, it will pretty much tell you that you have cancer," he said. "Listen, we can get you checked out again, but I looked at the scans myself and the results of the blood work, and it's not that, I promise."
She nodded, blinking back the tears. "I'm just scared, you know?"
"Yeah, I know, sweetheart," he said as he pulled her into his embrace. "I was scared too, but I'm here and I'm looking out for you, and Jay is too."
OOOOO
Hailey was pacing around the intelligence unit waiting for Jay and the team to get back. She heard the news, everyone had, someone was going after cops and this was the second one shot. She knew it wasn't him, but a part of her needed to see him to erase every ounce of doubt from her mind. Right now she was in a nervous panic, and she wasn't the only one nervous at the district. Everyone seemed to be on edge and worried, and it didn't make her feel any better.
She had taken the job Voight offered her in the unit. It wasn't the most exciting, she wasn't really involved in anything other than taking and giving messages, but it was decent pay and it made her feel like she was helping. She was grateful, and she liked being around Jay and everyone, but she knew she could never do this job.
When Jay and the team walked back in she wanted to jump into his arms, but she stopped pacing and sat at her desk, trying to hold it together. It was her job, he was doing his job, she couldn't make it about her right now because there was much bigger things going on. She could see they were all on edge too, as she expected, but she didn't expect Jay to be so angry.
She smiled slightly when she saw him and he put his hand on her shoulder, dropping a kiss to her head quickly. "I'm fine," he whispered. As bad as things were, seeing her made him feel a little better in that moment.
He continued walking toward the middle of the room with the rest of the team to converse about what just happened. Hailey tried not to listen in, one of the perks of the job was that they allowed her to do her homework as long as she answered the phone. She tried to tune them out as they discussed the details, but her attention was pulled away when Voight came in and Jay started yelling.
"He was military," Jay yelled. 'The truck was a lure, it was bait. We never should have been in the alley."
Hailey went back to tuning out the conversation, she had to, or she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about how easily it could have been Jay that got shot. She only tuned back in when she noticed people started moving and leaving the room. She wanted to stop him, she knew she couldn't, but she had to try.
As Jay headed toward the stairs she stood and walked in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "Please don't go," she begged.
"Hails," he started.
"They're killing cops, Jay." She said firmly.
He frowned, trying to control his own emotions when he saw the tears she was fighting back. "It's my job, Hailey." He said.
"And, you've already been hurt once," she said. "It was too close that time, and it's too close now. I don't want to lose you, not again, not for good, please don't leave me."
"I'm not leaving you," he said as he put his hands on her upper arms. "Listen to me, this is my job, there is a difference between doing my job and being reckless. I need to be out there, ending whatever this is, so it doesn't keep happening."
"What if it's you next time?" She asked.
"Then it's me," he shook his head. "It's what I do, Hails, I put my life on the line to protect this city, like I did for our country."
"You almost died over there, too." She reminded. "You came back a mess."
"I really have to go." He said. "I'll be careful, I promise, and then we'll talk when I get back."
She wiped away a few fallen tears and stepped aside. He felt horrible, but he had to go, even if it broke his heart to walk away from her in that moment, and it did. She only waited about twenty minutes after he left to leave too. She couldn't just sit there and wait for him, even if she knew he wanted her to stay there for safety.
Hailey headed down the stairs and through the doors of the district, almost walking right into Will. He raised his eyebrows when he saw her, an amused smirk on his face. "Still a flight risk, I see," he said. "Jay called me, told me what was going on, and I had a feeling you wouldn't stay."
"Of course he did," she sighed. "I'm not just going to wait here."
"I know," he nodded. "It's why I'm here, let's go home."
She followed him to the car and the drive back to the house was silent. They were alone, Erin was also working with Jay and Nina was still at the hospital until later that night. They barely made it in the front door before Hailey broke and started talking, something Will was waiting for. He had taken his jacket off and was headed toward the kitchen when she stopped him.
"Will," she called and he turned around to see her frown. "I can't do this. I'm worried all the time about him. Every time he leaves I wonder if he's coming back, or if we're going to get another call, or if the call he goes on is going to change him like when he came back from overseas. I can't do this."
"Okay, okay," he said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm worried about him too, and I'm worried about you, and he's worried about you. It's normal when you care about someone. We're family, it's okay to feel like this but you need to manage it because this is his job."
"Yeah, but he doesn't care enough to walk away for us, so how much does he really care?" She asked.
"Hails," he shook his head as he leaned down. "He cares, you know he does, but you're scared and fear can cause doubt."
"What if he survives a war, only to die here, at home?" She asked.
"You can't think like that," he said. "You could have died many times with the drugs, or in the train accident, or walking across the road. If it's your time, it's just your time, and there isn't anyone that can change that."
"The drugs could have changed it for me," she said. "I made that choice, and he's making the choice too, and it's not different. They were both dangerous risks, the only difference is if he dies out there, he's a hero, and I would have just been another junkie." She shrugged and smiled weakly.
"You also made the choice to quit," he said. "But, he can't quit his job. I know you understand that."
Hailey nodded. "Okay," she said. "But, aren't you scared for him? You worked on both of those officers."
"I did," he said slowly, like he was recalling the memories. "And, yeah, I am a little scared, but Jay is damn good at his job and I trust him to stay safe and come home."
Jay took that moment to walk through the door, almost as if it were scripted. He was fine, maybe a little annoyed at the situation of what was going on, but he wasn't injured and he was there. Will turned back to Hailey and they shared an amusing grin as Jay came to join then on the couch.
"Hails, are you ever going to listen to me when I tell you to stay put?" He asked.
"Not if I don't want to," she smiled. "It's a free country, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah," he grinned and pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her head as he squeezed Will's shoulder. "I love you, guys."
"You did have a bad day," Will smirked. "You know I love you, bro, and you too, Hails."
"Yes, feeling the mutual love," she said. "But, there is one thing we have to decide on. Nina isn't here, so what food are we ordering for dinner?"
Jay laughed and ran a hand over his face. "Pizza?" He suggested as they nodded in agreement.
The rest of the night went pretty normal. They had a family dinner of pizza and watched a movie, trying to reconnect after everything that had gone on lately. It worked, they all felt better, but later that night Hailey was having trouble falling asleep.
"Will," she called out when she saw him walk past her room. "Can you sing to me?"
"What?" He asked as he leaned on the door frame.
"Please? You used to sing and play guitar when I was little, I used to fall asleep listening to you in the next room," she said. "I can't sleep, Will. I'm tired, and I can't watch TV which is how I usually fall asleep."
"Really?" he frowned. "I didn't know that."
"Yeah, I have too much anxiety if I don't have background noise," she shrugged. "Unless someone is sleeping next to me, I need some kind of noise."
Will nodded. "That explains why Scott is here so much."
"What's going on?" Jay asked when he saw Will in the doorway and Hailey sitting up in her bed.
"I can't sleep," she said. "I want him to sing."
Jay smirked at his brother. "Well," he said. "You heard her, go grab your guitar."
Will sighed, but they didn't miss his smile as he disappeared into his room to get the guitar. Jay climbed into the bed beside Hailey, resting on top of the covers and leaning against the headboard before putting his arm around her. He wanted her to feel protected, and she did as she leaned into him.
"This is a one-time thing," Will said as he grabbed her desk chair and sat down beside the bed and began to play and sing.