TW for mentions of torture kidnapping, sexual assault, and violence
This is based on 9x03 in this they are already married
Hailey had noticed Jay had been acting weird since she called him Ricky.
"Hey, are you ok?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah fine" Jay replied.
"You've been acting weird since the whole Ricky thing you can tell me if your not ok I'm here for it all," Hailey told him.
"Thank you but I'm okay just tired and I have a headache," Jay replied.
"Ok take some Advil," Hailey told him.
Hailey handed him some Advil and they went back to their paperwork. Kevin accidentally dropped something and it made a loud sound which caused Jay to jump. Everyone noticed he was on edge the rest of the day. Jay was in the bathroom when Voight sent everyone home.
"Good work everyone I'll see you on Monday. Hailey come here real quick" Voight said.
Everyone stood up and left and Hailey went up to Voight.
"Keep an eye on Jay tonight we can all tell he is not okay. Call me if you need anything" Voight told her.
"Will do" Hailey responded.
Hailey grabbed their things and met Jay in the locker room.
"Common let's go home and relax I can tell you're not ok," Hailey said.
"Hailey I'm fine really" Jay replied.
"No you're not it's okay not to be ok," Hailey told him as she pulled him into a hug.
They went home and immediately got into comfy clothes.
"Go lay down I'll be in in a minute I'm gonna throw a frozen pizza in the oven," Hailey told him.
Hailey put the pizza in the oven and they watched TV until it was ready. Jay only ate half of a slice and was shaky.
"Jay you can talk to me. I can tell somethings bothering you. I want to help you carry whatever it is, you are not alone" Hailey told him.
"I've never told anyone this not even Will and I dont think you will look at me the same after I tell you this," Jay told her.
"Jay that will never happen. I love you so much you are such a good person Nothing you tell me will change how I feel about you" Hailey replied.
"Ok, but you can't tell anyone you're the only person I've told," Jay said nervously.
"I promise I won't tell anyone. Let's go in our room so we'll be more comfortable and then we can talk. I promise you whatever it is we are going to be ok. Everything is going to be ok." Hailey told him.
They went into their room and sat on the bed. Hailey grabbed Jay's hand and Jay rested his head on her shoulder. She wrapped his arm around him so she could hold him.
"Start whenever your ready babe," Hailey told him.
"Ok umm, I met Knox on my last tour. As soon as we met we clicked and became best friends. What I didn't know was he was a mole working for the other side and I was their main target. We shared a bunk together. One night when I was sleeping, Knox and his guys drugged me and took me. They took me back to their base and tortured me. I was a prisoner of war. It took 3 months to find me. In those 3 months, I was tortured nonstop. I was beaten up water boarded sexually assaulted burned starved, forced to eat things like dirt and plants, and they stuck hot needles all over my body. I was clinging to life when my team found me. I was septic and they didn't think I was going to make it. I had multiple broken bones, cuts, and puncture wounds most of which were infected since they put dirt and other debris in them, a severe concussion, and bruises all over my body. I had to get over 200 stitches and had multiple surgeries. It was excruciating. I spent 8 weeks at the hospital before I was medically discharged and sent home. After 8 more months of healing, I had to do almost a year of physical therapy. Knox got dishonorably discharged but other than that just got a slap on the wrist Meanwhile I was in excruciating pain for the better part of two years, developed PTSD and have lifelong trauma. When he came in today it felt like I was back on that base where I was tortured." Jay told Hailey while squeezing her hand and trying not to cry.
"Oh my god Jay im so sorry. You deserved none of that cmere' Hailey replied as she pulled him into a hug.
As soon as she did that he started sobbing and shaking.
"Ssh ssh your ok your safe your in Chicago with me. No one is going to hurt you" Hailey repeatedly soothed until he calmed down and pulled away.
"Why didn't you tell me, baby?" Hailey asked.
" I was scared that you were going to look at me differently and run. Your are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I can't lose you." Jay told her.
"Jay you are never going to lose me. I love you so much that is never going to change. Nothing that you can tell me is going to make me look at you differently. You're so important to me. This doesn't change how I think about you. It just shows how strong you are." Hailey told him.
"Thank you I love you too" Jay replied.
They kissed and sat in silence holding each other for a few minutes. Hailey was the first to speak.
"Can I ask you something?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah of course anything" Jay replied.
"Is this why your needle phobia is so bad?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah whenever I have to do anything that involves a needle it brings me back to those 3 months" Jay replied.
"I'm so sorry Jay" Hailey said.
"I need something to take my mind off everything. I can't stop thinking of it." Jay told him.
"Let's go watch a movie" Hailey suggested.
They turned on the TV in their room and Hailey held Jay close to her the entire time. They watched comedy movies until midnight.
"Let's try and get some sleep babe," Hailey said as she switched the TV to a meditation music station and turned down the volume.
"I dont think I'll be able to sleep tonight" Jay replied.
"That's ok I at least want you to try. I'm here you're not alone" Hailey told him.
Hailey decided to put some white noise on top of the meditation music since she knew silence was a trigger for his PTSD. She also got up and grabbed the weighted blanket they used when either of them was struggling. They both laid down and Hailey pulled Jay to her. She put his head on her chest so he could hear her heartbeat and she wrapped her arm around him and rubbed his back. Put the weighted blanket over them and then turned off the lights and grabbed Jay's hand with her free one.
"Try and get some sleep babe I'm here I've got you" Hailey reassured him.
Jay stared at the ceiling for a few hours before falling asleep shortly after falling asleep, he had a nightmare, hailey felt his head slide off her chest and heard him start whimpering. She woke up and turned on a dim light and Jay was thrashing around on the bed saying "stop" in his sleep. Hailey put a hand on his shoulder and ran her hand through his hair trying to wake him up.
"Your okay Jay uts okay your okay your safe your not there anymore your in Chucago" Hailey soothed.
Jay shot himself towards Hailey and woke up when he landed on top of her and hit his head on their headboard.
"Did I hurt you i-" Jay began to hyperventilate.
"No Jay you didn't hurt me I'm fine. I'm worried you hurt yourself You hit your head hard." Hailey told him.
"Dont wake me up next time. I can't hurt you" Jay replied
"No Jay ssh you won't hurt me I trust you. I dont want you to suffer through them alone. I'm more worried about you hurting yourself. You just slammed your head into the wall." Hailey told him.
"But I landed on top of you I could've hurt you" Jay responded.
"I'd much rather you land on top of me rather than on the floor. I'm going to go get stuff for your head, ill be right back" Hailey told him.
She ran to the kitchen and got an ice pack, water, and Advil. Once she had all of the items she ran back to their room.
"Sit up for me so I can take a look at your head," Hailey instructed.
Jay sat up and Hailey tried on the lamp next to him so she could see. He had a small goose egg forming on his head. He winced when she touched it.
"I know I'm sorry. I'm going to put some ice on it and I want you to take the Advil and drink all of the water" Hailey told him.
She placed the ice and Jay took the Advil and drank all of the water.
"Try and go back to sleep babe I'm here I've got you" Hailey reassured him.
20 minutes later Hailey took the ice off and fell asleep still holding him. A few hours later he had a second nightmare. Hailey woke up to him thrashing around and whimpering. She began to rub his back and he shot up hyperventilating. He began to have a full-blown panic attack. Hailey attempted to pull him onto her lap but he pulled away and tried to get out of bed but he couldn't in time. He had such a bad panic attack that it caused him to throw up on himself and the bed.
"You're ok it's okay your safe just breathe Hailey soothed as she rubbed his back and grabbed his hand.
Jay calmed down a few minutes later and groaned.
"C'mon let's get you cleaned up" Hailey instructed. She helped him out of bed and to the bathroom. Once they were in the bathroom she helped him get undressed and wrapped him in a towel and had him sit on the toilet. She put the trash can by his feet.
"Are you going to be ok in here for a minute?" Hailey asked, Jay nodded. "Ok I'll be right back she said. She quickly stripped their bed sprayed the matress with Lysol and put everything in the wash. She went back in the bathroom and he was still in the same position he was in when she left him.
"Let's get you cleaned up baby," Hailey said as she helped him to stand and to the shower. He was sweaty and had pule on his lower half. They got in the shower and Hailey made the shower nice and warm. Jay had yet to say anything he was staring off into space and not speaking.
"Jay babe are you ok?" Hailey asked.
"No" Jay replied quietly.
"I'm so sorry Jay" Hailey responded.
She quickly washed off his body and led him out of the shower, wrapped him in a towel, and kissed his head.
Hailey went and got a fresh set of pajamas for him and they both changed. Hailey led him into their room and over to a chair.
"I'm going to get fresh sheets on the bed real quick," Hailey told him.
"I can do it I'm the one who made the mess," Jay said.
"No Jay it's okay let me I dont mind. I want you to sit and relax you just had a pretty bad panic attack." Hailey told him.
She went to the linen closet and got the spare sheets and comforter. She quickly got it all on the bed and then got Jay. They got in bed and she held him the exact same way she had been.
"I dont want to sleep right now," Jay said.
"Ok, that's ok" Hailey replied while reaching for the remote. She scrolled through the channels before she found Spongebob and turned it on. She knew it was Jay's favorite childhood show.
He watched a few episodes before falling back asleep. He had a few more nightmares that night but Hailey helped him through them all. When he woke up the next morning he knew something was wrong. His neck was killing him. Hailey was already awake when Jay woke up. He tried to sit up and groaned in pain.
"You ok babe?" Hailey asked.
"No, my neck is killing me. I'm pretty sure it's from the nightmares. It's a long-lasting effect from everything that happened whenever I get stressed my neck gets extremely stiff" Jay replied.
"I'm sorry babe. Is there anything that helps?" Hailey asked.
"I dont know I've never told anyone your the first person iv told I'd usually just pretend I slept wrong and ride it out," Jay told her.
"That's not going to happen anymore I am going to help you from here on out," Hailey told him.
She got up and went and got an ice pack from the fridge. She went back to their room and slid the ice under his neck.
"I want you to ice for 20 minutes then we are going to switch to heat," Hailey told him, Jay nodded. Jay grabbed his phone and played games on his phone for 20 minutes. 20 minutes later, Hailey put away the ice and heated a heat wrap. She brought it to Jay and he sighed in relief when she placed it on his neck.
"Is that helping?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah the heat feels amazing" Jay replied.
"Good I'm glad" Hailey responded.
They sat there for 45 minutes with the heat and then got breakfast. After breakfast, Jay's neck started to hurt again. Hailey could tell Jay was in pain.
"How's your neck feeling babe?" Hailey asked.
"It's killing me" Jay admitted.
"I'm so sorry babe I'll be right back," Hailey said.
She quickly got icy hot and went back to their room.
"Can you roll onto your stomach?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah," Jay replied.
He slowly rolled onto his stomach and Hailey began to rub the icy hit into the back of his neck. She massaged the cream into all of the knots and spots of tension. She worked her way down to the base of his neck and felt a huge knot.
"Oh, Jay you have a huge knot here. Does it hurt?" Hailey asked.
"Uggh yeah" Jay groaned.
"Ok, I'm going to get you taken care of," Hailey told him.
Hailey pushed into the base of his neck and he flinched.
"I know ssh" Hailey soothed,
Jay groaned in pain as she pushed harder into the knot.
"I know I'm sorry I need to get this knot out or it is going to get worse just hang in there your doing so good" Hailey soothed.
Jay groaned in pain multiple times as she worked to get the knot out.
"I'm all done baby you did so good"
"Thanks" Jay replied.
"Of course, you dont have to thank me I will always take care of you," Hailey told him. "Are you feeling better?" she asked.
"Yeah," Jay replied.
"Are you still hurting?" Hailey asked.
"A little" Jay replied.
"Ok let's lay here for a few minutes and see if it gets better," Hailey told him.
Hailey carefully pulled her to him and they watched some TV. 30 minutes later Jay's neck was still bothering him and Hailey could tell.
"Is your neck still bothering you?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah," Jay replied.
"Ok l'll be right back," Hailey said.
Hailey went and got the ice roller out of the freezer. She went back and rolled it on Jay's neck for a bit. Jay fell asleep in the process because he was extremely tired. When Hailey was done she laid down and pulled him into her chest. They slept for a few hours before waking up. Jay sat up and groaned in pain.
"Is your neck hurting again?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah," Jay replied.
"Ok I'll be right back," Hailey said.
She went and ran a warm bath and they both got in. She massaged his neck and let the warm water do its job. He felt a lot better after and they ate and watched movies for the rest of the day. Jay had another night of nightmares but Hailey was there for everyone. That morning his neck was a lot worse. He couldn't even sit up because of how bad the pain was. Hailey grew concerned and asked him if he was okay.
"Jay, are you ok?" Hailey asked.
"No" Jay replied.
"Is it your neck? Is it worse than yesterday?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah" Jay replied
"Ok, can you sit up?" Hailey asked.
Jay tried but only sat up an inch before falling back onto the bed. "No, he replied, groaning in pain.
"Ok, I'm going to call Will" Hailey told him.
"No I'm fine" Jay replied.
"Sit up then," Hailey said.
"Fien" Jay replied.
Hailey grabbed her phone and called Will.
H Hey can you come over?
W Yeah is everything OK?
H No Jay tweaked his neck in his sleep. It started yesterday but he felt better by the time he went to bed. Today the pain is so bad he can't even sit up.
W Ok I'm gonna stop by med and grab a few supplies.
H ok.
Will got there 20 minutes later.
"Hey Jay how's the pain?" Will asked.
"Awful" Jay replied.
"Ok I know you won't want to but I want to give you a cortisone shot and a nerve block," Will told him.
"No no needles" Jay replied grabbing Hailey's hand.
"I can't force you to do it but I think it really help. Your in a lot of pain" Will told him.
"Ok fine" Jay replied nervously.
"OK, I'm going to make this as comfortable as possible for you. I'm going to use a method that has worked for patients with needle phobias before." Will told him.
Will went into another room and prepared the cortisone shot and nerve block. Once the supplies were ready he went back into their room. ]
"Ok, Jay I am going to help you sit up. Let me do the work" Will instructed.
Will helped him sit up and he cried out in pain.
"Ssh" Hailey soothed.
"I know I'm sorry," Will said.
"Ok Hailey I want you to sit on your knees on the bed facing Jay" WIll instructed. Hailey did as she was told. "Ok, Jay I want you to scoot forward towards Hailey. Scoot till you at her legs" Will instructed Jay. Jay did as he was told. "OK now I want you guys to hug each other but Hailey I need you to wrap your arms around the middle of his back," Will instructed. They wrapped their arms around each other and Hailey grabbed Jay's hand.
"OK, I'm going to get started now. First I'll do the cortisone shot and massage the medicine in Then I'll do a nerve block which is basically lidocane to help numb some of the pain. Unfortunately, both medications will sting" Will told him.
"Uggh" Jay groaned.
"I'm just going to clean your neck," Will told him.
"Ok here we go 1,2,3," Will said.
Jay winced and squeezed Hailey's hand.
"Ssh your doing so good just keep squeezing my hand" Hailey soothed.
"Ok, I'm done good job. I'm going to massage the medicine in and then do the nerve block" Will told him.
Jay groaned in pain when Will began to massage the medicine in.
"Ssh your ok its ok just squeeze my hand" Hailey soothed.
"I know I'm sorry I just have to do the nerve block now and you'll be all set," Will told him.
"OK, I'm going to do the nerve block now. Here we go 1,2,3" Will said.
The nerve block hurt worse than the cortisone and Jay cried out into Hailey's shirt.
"Oww" Jay cried out.
"Ssh you're doing so good it's almost over squeeze my hand as hard as you need to" Hailey soothed.
Will finished a couple of seconds later.
"Ok, I'm done you did good. You should start to feel relief in a couple of minutes.
Will cleaned up and left and Jay and Hailey watched some TV. The medicine helped and Jay was able to move around comfortably.
"I'm gonna call us both out of work tomorrow. You need rest and I dont want you to be alone" Hailey told him.
"No I'm fine I'll be fine in the morning" Jay replied.
"Jay you've barely slept and when you woke up this morning you couldn't move because of how bad your neck hurt. I dont want you to hut yourself" Hailey told him.
"I can't let this get in the way of my job," Jay said.
"Voight won't care. He'll understand. He'd much rather you take a day rather than coming in and getting hurt" Hailey told him.
She sent a quick text to Voight.
H Hey I just wanted to let you know that Jay and I won't be in tomorrow. He hurt his neck in his sleep on Saturday. This morning the pain was so bad he couldn't move and will had to come over and give him medicine. I dont want him to be alone.
V ok tell Jay I hope he feels better. Call if you need anything.
H ok thank you. Will do.
They spent the rest of the day playing card games and watching TV.
Jay was nervous to go to bed last night he didn't want to deal with the nightmares. Hailey got ready for bed and Jay just stayed on the couch reading.
"Are you gonna come to bed?" Hailey asked.
"I dont want to have the nightmares" Jay replied.
"I know but you need to sleep I dont want you getting sick or sleep-deprived," Hailey told him.
"I know Jay replied.
"Let's get in bed," Hailey said as she helped him up from the couch.
Jay stood up and walked into their room and climbed into bed.
"I know you dont want the nightmares but I'm here your not alone try and get some sleep," Hailey told him.
Jay barely slept that night he spent most of the night tossing and turning and was up for the day at 6 a.m. His neck was a little sore but much better than it had been. Hailey woke up an hour later and they had breakfast. They spent the day watching movies. Jay had a few nightmares that night but Hailey helped him with everyone. They woke up the next morning for work and Jay was a little tired but wanted to go back to work.
"Do you want to take the day or go in?" Hailey asked.
"Go in I need a distraction" Jay replied.
They both got ready for work and went in.
When they got up to the bullpen Voight pulled Jay into his office.
"You ok? How's your neck?" Voight asked.
"Yeah I'm ok and it's better" Jay
"Is this case going to be too much for you?" Voight asked
"No I'll be good" Jay replied.
"Ok let me know if that changes," Voight told him.
"Will do thank you" Jay replied.
The team continued to work on the case the rest of the day. By the end of the day, Jay was exhausted. He was starting to shut down and his anxiety was through the roof. Voight sent everyone home around dinner. When they got home they ordered pizza for dinner and watched TV until bed. Jay had more nightmares that night but still wanted to go in the next morning. They caught a lead on the case and went to get the suspects when they knocked on the doot they were together and ran opposite ways. Half of the team went after one guy and half went after the other.. Jay tackled him but when he got him down the guy started to fight him. Jay was able to get him into handcuffs and got him to the car. They got them into the interrogation rooms and tried to get them to confess to the robberies and say why they did it. It took a couple of hours but they finally got that information. It was late so Voight sent them home. Jay went home feeling a lot better knowing all that was left to do was all of the paperwork tomorrow then they could close the case and be done with it. Jay was able to sleep a lot better that night. They went in the next day and finished the paperwork. They didn't have another case so Voight sent them home when they were done. Jay didn't usually nap but was exhausted so he fell asleep as soon as they got home. Hailey decided to clean up the house while he slept. After she was done cleaning she got started on dinner. As Hailey was chopping up the vegetables the phone rang.
V Hey I need you and Jay to come in. The case just got reopened. The two robbers somehow got out on bond and one is dead and one is seriously injured,
H ok we are on our way we'll be there shortly.
Hailey quickly cleaned up the vegetables and then woke Jay up. His neck was hurting a lot but he acted like nothing was wrong. They quickly got ready and headed out. They hit a drive-thru on the way and ate in the car on the way to the district. Once they got there and started an investigation. They eventually figured out Knox was behind all of this so they went and arrested him thankfully it was peaceful. When they got back Jay was the one to interrogate him after he was done he went into the breakroom and had a full-blown panic attack. Hailey went in to help calm him down.
"I ca-cant b-bre-breathe the I c-cant get th-the m-memories out of my h-head I-i" Jay traile off trying to catch his breath.
"Ssh just breathe Your ok your safe Breathe in 1,2,3,4 out 1,2,3,4 your safe It's over no one is going to hurt you your okay" Hailey soothed until he calmed down.
Hailey got him a water bottle and he slowly drank it. A minute later voight knocked on the door and came in.
"You ok kid?" Voight asked
"Fine" Jay replied.
Voight looked at Hailey and she shook her head,
"I can tell your not okay. you guys go home and get some rest. Take the day tomorrow. Call me if you need anything.
"Thanks" they both replied.
The adrenaline wore off when they got in the car and Jay's neck began to hurt a lot. Jay tried to stretch and groaned in pain.
"Jay, what's wrong is it your neck again?" Hailey asked.
"Yeah," Jay replied.
"Ok let's go home," Hailey said.
Hailey drove home and led Jay inside.
"Go lay down I'll be right there," Hailey told him.
She quickly grabbed water ice Advil and icy hot. She went into their room and Jay was sitting on the bed.
"Here take this and lay on your stomach," Hailey told him.
Jay took the Advil and laid down on his stomach. Hailey kissed his head before getting to work. She began to rub the icy hot into his neck and he groaned in pain multiple times.
"Ssh I know I'm sorry" Hailey soothed.
When Hailey pushed into the base of his neck where it had been causing him the most pain he yelped and jumped away. The pain was so bad he was hyperventilating. Hailey immediately asked if he was okay.
"Oh my god Jay I'm so sorry are you ok?" Hailey asked.
He couldn't answer because of the pain and she began to panic she felt his pulse and it was racing. She immediately grabbed her phone and then called 911. The ambulance got there 5 minutes later. It was Sylvie and Violet.
"What happened," Sylvie asked.
"He hurt his neck a few days ago. Will came over and treated him. Today it started to hurt again. I was putting icy hot on him and when I pushed into the base of his neck he yelped in pain and started to hyperventilate. He couldn't respond to me." Hailey replied, panicked.
"Ok, he's going to be ok. He's strong he'll pull through." Sylvie reassured her.
"Jay, can you hear me?" Sylvie asked.
"Yeah," Jay weakly replied.
"Ok, we're going to get you to med you're going to be ok," Sylvie told him.
They put a C collar on him and started an IV and got him on morphine.
"Ok, this might hurt I need to get you on the back board then onto the gurney.
Jay screamed during both transfers.
"Ssh ssh your ok it's ok ssh" Hailey soothed.
They got into the ambo and Hailey grabbed Jay's hand.
"Squeeze my hand as hard as you need to I'm so sorry," Hailey told him.
Hailey quickly called Will and explained the situation. When they got there Will and Connor were waiting outside.
"Jay Halstead 33-year-old male gcs 12 neck injury," Sylvie told Connor and Will.
Connor took his vitals and then got him up for some scans.
"Did I do this? I was rubbing icy hot into his neck when this happened" Hailey asked panicked
"No Hailey this is not your fault you didn't do this. It's likely either a fracture or a pinched nerve none of which you could've caused. This stuff just happens sometimes, especially after an injury you did nothing wrong." Will reassured her
Jay got some X-rays done and it was determined that he had a pinched nerve. Connort wheeled him back into the room and explained what happened.
"OK Jay so you have a pinched nerve unfourtantley it is severe enough that is going to require surgery.
"Uggh ok" Jay replied.
Hailey, Jay, and Will talked until he got wheeled up to surgery an hour later. As soon as he got wheeled in Hailey went outside and called Voight to explain the situation.
H Hey im currently at med with Jay. He has a pinched nerve and is in surgery for it.
V Oh my god I'm on my way
Voight got there 10 minutes later. He met Hailey and Will in the waiting room. An hour later Connor walked out.
"Jay did great he's in recovery now I'll take you guys to him," Connor told them.
They went to Jay's room and got there just as he was waking up.
"Hey babe how are you feeling?" Hailey asked.
"Sore" Jay replied.
"I'm going to give you something for that. You did great in surgery. I'm going to keep you until tomorrow night for observation." Connor said while injecting morphine into his IV.
Jay fell asleep soon after and Voight left. Hailey grabbed Jay's hand and fell asleep in the recliner next to him. He had a nightmare an hour later and Hailey comforted him.
"Ssh it's ok your okay your safe You're at med no one is going to hurt you" Hailey soothed.
Maggie came running in a few seconds later because of Jay's monitor.
"What happened?" she asked.
"He had a nightmare" Hailey replied.
Maggie waited for his heart rate to go back to normal then went back to the nurses station. A couple of hours later Connor was working on charts at the desk when Jay had another nightmare and his monitor went off. Connor ran into the room and saw Hailey trying to calm him down. She was able to calm him down a few minutes later and he fell back asleep,
"What happened?" Connor asked.
"Nightmare" Hailey replied.
"How many times has this happened?" Connor asked.
"Multiple times starting last week," Hailey told him.
"Ok, I'll have Dr.Charles swing by in the morning and talk to Jay" Connor told her.
"Ok thanks" Hailey replied.
Connor left and Hailey fell back asleep until they got woken up for morning rounds. Shortly after that, Dr.Charles came in.
"Hey Jay I've heard you've been struggling with nightmares recently," Dr.Charles said.
"Yeah a case triggered my PTSD" Jay replied.
"I'm sorry to hear that. There are medications we can put you on to help with PTSD and nightmares I can prescribe some to you for you to try" Dr.Charles told him.
"I want this to stop but at the same time I dont want to be dependent on meds" Jay replied.
"That is very understandable a lot of my patients feel that way. The good news is this doesn't have to be permanent you can stop them or lower the dose whenever you feel necessary I would also like you to do some sessions with me. You can do as little or as many as you want" Dr.Charles.
"There's nothing wrong with needing extra help no one is going to judge you for that" Hailey added.
"That is very true," Dr.Charles said
Jay reluctantly agreed to the meds and sessions they spent the rest of the day watching movies. That night Jay was discharged
"OK, Jay so you're going to need to take it easy for the next 2 weeks. You can go back to work on desk duty in 2 weeks then back in the field 4 to 8 weeks after that depending on how your healing. You will need to do pt so I will get that set up for you. You need to be very careful and listen to your body dont overdo it. I'm prescribing you some pain meds but you shouldn't need those for too long. The pain should be better within 2 weeks" Connor told him
They got home and got in bed. They turned on the TV. Hailey lay next to Jay and scratched his back. They spent the whole day resting They ate dinner and then watched TV for a bit before deciding to call it an early night. Jay took his meds and only had one minor nightmare. The first week Jay was stuck at home Hailey was home with him. They spent that week resting and hanging out with each other. The second week Hailey had to go back to work. During that week, Jay started sessions with Dr.Charles. When it was finally time to go back to work he was excited even though he was on desk duty. He started physical therapy a few days later. 8 weeks after his surgery he was cleared to go back in the field. 7 months after this whole thing he got discharged from Dr. Charles's care and was able to stop both of his medications. He was doing better than ever and it was all because of his support system.
A/N Sorry this took so long. My mental health got really bad again and I almost ended up in the hospital multiple times because of it. I am now out of the situation that caused all of that and am doing a lot better. I plan to start updating on a regular basis again.