Will let himself into Jays apartment. It felt like deja vu, making him think of the night he came to take a look at Jay before he was diagnosed. He found Jay lying in bed one armed wrapped tightly around his stomach and the other covering his eyes.

"Jay, hey, " he said softly while he was rubbing his arm.

"I'm awake."

"You look pretty rough. How'd you let it get so bad?"

"You're the third person that's asked me that. I was undercover okay, I knew it was building but I didn't realize how bad it was until it was over. No need to reprimand me, I'm the one that's feeling the consequences," Jay said bluntly.

"You're right, sorry. Let me get you some water so you can take your first dose of steroids." Will continued to talk to him as he walked into the kitchen. "How's the pain, you look like you're hurting."

"I've certainly felt better."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I know, grab me some Tylenol while you're at it please."

"You sure that's gonna be enough."

"No."

Will decided to drop it for now. "You need zofran?"

"I don't think so." Will brought him back the water and the meds, handing them to him silently. Jay took them with the smallest sip of water and resumed his earlier position. "Just rest, I'll be out in the living room."

"I don't need a babysitter Will."

"I'm aware," he responded.

Will relaxed on the couch for a few hours, zoning out to ESPN. After hearing the toilet flush for the third time, he went in to check on Jay. To his surprise the bathroom door was open and Jay was huddled over the toilet, now just dry heaving. "Where's your zofran.?"

"Bedside drawer," Jay muttered, "fuck this sucks." Will walked over to Jay and simply popped the tablet in Jays mouth. Jay leaned back against the tiled wall letting it dissolve while still gripping his stomach tightly.

"You sure you don't want something stronger for pain?"

"In a little bit. It'll just make the nausea worse right now."

"Okay," will said as he went to get him a fresh glass of water. Returning with the glass he asked, "do you want to go back to bed?"

"Not yet, I'm dizzy"

"Did you eat before I got here?" Jay just shook his head no. "Anything to drink?"

"Maybe a few sip."

"And you haven't had much since I got here. Im sure you're dehydrated. Any chance you'll let me give you some fluids.?" Jay looked up at him blankly.

"You know it will help."

"Fine," is all Jay could muster, he didn't have it in him to argue. "I brought some supplies just in case, let me run down to my car."

Jay snorted, "Of course you did." Will returned with said supplies. "Let's get you back in bed first." He helped Jay stand and they slowly made their way to Jay's side of the bed. '"Which arm?" Jay stuck out his left arm in response. Will got everything ready and got the infusion set up, using a nearby sconce as a makeshift IV pole.

"Relax it for me." Jay did as instructed. Will worked quickly. Inserting the IV without protest from Jay, attaching the IV tubing quickly. He adjusted the drip rate before quietly whispering, "all set, get some rest."

Half an hour later Will heard Jay calling for him. "Sorry I really need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, let me unhook you., holler when you're done."

Ten minutes later Jay finally called for him. He shuffled slowly back to bed and Will hooked him back up. "Maybe you should take some pain meds now? Will could see the lines of pain evident around his eyes.

Jay nodded yes in response without saying a word.

—-

Hailey returned just after five, surprised to find Will still there.

"What are you still doing here?"

"He's in rough shape. Been in the bathroom all day either vomiting or having diarrhea. He was dizzy so I gave him a bag of fluids, he really hasn't had much to eat or drink all day."

Hailey sighed. "Alright well thanks, I'll take over from here. Should I be worried Will? This flare seems so much worse than the last one."

Will shrugged, "Not yet, I just think it's gonna be a rough few days before the steroids start to kick in. He has a severe case, unfortunately this is just gonna happen sometimes."

Will was right, it was a rough weekend. Jay didn't even make it to the couch. He alternated between the bed and bathroom all weekend. If he wasn't having diarrhea, he was vomiting, keeping little down. The only thing he could manage was some ritz crackers and watered down Gatorade. Sunday morning Hailey even asked if he wanted to go the ER. He considered it for a minute, eventually responding, "let's just wait to see what Dr Morelock thinks tomorrow."

Monday morning He dragged himself into Dr. Morelock's office. They took his blood work and started the infusion. Half way through Dr Morelock came around. He took one look at Jay and his concerned heightened. Between his lab work and his appearance Dr. Morelock was worried. "Well don't you look like shit."

Jay have a small smirk, thankful for the casual relationship they had developed over the last year. "Well I feel like it too."

Dr Morelock sat down on the stool next to Jay. "So here's the deal, your CRP is really high. Your electrolytes are okay for now, but your hemoglobin is a little low, so I bet you're passing some blood in your stool again. I'm concerned this is going to get out of hand quickly. Honestly, just looking at you I'm surprised you made it through the weekend without ending up in the ER. How many bowel movements are you having now?"

"Yesterday I had nine. Vomited twice. I didn't see any obvious blood in either. Managed to keep down some crackers and watered down Gatorade in the evening."

"How's the pain?"

"Constant. It was coming and going but not anymore. Taking the Norco probably every six hours I think."

"And fatigue?"

"It's not just the fatigue, my whole body just feels off, heavy almost."

"Alright, let me do a quick exam," Dr. Morelock said as he began to palpate and listen to Jay's abdomen. "No fevers right?"

Jay shook his head no.

"I want to give the steroids and the Entyvio a little time to work, but we need to be careful here. I want to reevaluate next Monday. Im gonna schedule you for a colonoscopy."

Jay groaned but, Dr Morelock continued. "I'm sorry, we gotta see what's going on Jay. I'll write for some more pain meds along with the prep. You can take two if you need to but try to stick to one. Is the zofran effective?"

"At times."

"Okay, so we can try some phenergan by mouth. You know the drill, eat what you can and take it easy at work. I'm on call this weekend, so don't hesitate to call if things aren't improving. If you start getting worse, I want you to go to the ER, seriously alright"

Jay struggled through work on Tuesday. Thankfully they didn't have an active case so they were in the precinct all day. He didn't eat much, but managed to not vomit at least. By the end of the day the pain was getting hard to push through. Relying on just Tylenol was difficult.

Hailey tried not to push him. She wanted him to go home, but was trying to trust that he would if he needed to. She did her best to comfort him without hovering.

That evening Jay didn't even attempt to eat dinner. Just laying on the couch, with the heating pad wrapped tightly around his middle. The TV was on but he was zoned out. "Maybe you should stay home tomorrow."

He replied without opening his eyes, "No I think I can manage. Just give it one more day, the meds will start working."

Hailey hesitated but continued, "you know he gave you more pain meds and phenergen for a reason."

"Hailey, I'm okay. I'm staying on top of it alright, please just leave it."

'Fine," she replied softly.

After another rough night Jay still insisted on going to work the next morning. Hailey knew the answer, but still asked that morning if Jay wanted to stay home. He insisted just one more day and he would start feeling better. It was obvious to everyone that he was struggling. All morning he had been back and forth to the bathroom. His posture was stiff, like he was protecting his abdomen and if you looked closely enough you could see the evidence of pain that he attempted to hide. Just after eleven he made yet another trip to the bathroom. He still hadn't returned ten minutes later so Hailey went to check on him, but she found the bathroom empty. As she was heading for the locker room, Kim was heading towards her.

"Hailey, Jay's lying down on one of the benches, he asked me to come get you. He looks pretty rough," Kim stated.

"Okay thanks," Hailey stated as she continued by her into the locker room. Kim was right, Jay did look pretty rough. Hailey found him in his usual position, lying on his back with one arm covering his eyes and the other gripped tightly around his abdomen. He was pale and looked as bad as she assumed he felt. "Babe," she said softly, gently rubbing his arm.

"Please take me home. I just took the phenergen, nausea was just too much. You were right, I can't do this right now."

"Okay, what do you want me to tell Voight."

"That I need the rest of the week off."

"I'll be right back Jay, sit tight." Hailey walked down the hall towards Voight's office, knocking on the door, as she slowly opened it.

"Hey, I'm gonna take Jay home. This flare is doing a number on him, he said he needs the week."

"He can take as long as he needs, same for you. If you need to take some time off you can," Voight responded without even looking at her. Hailey smiled, "appreciate it Sarge, but I'll drop him off and come back this afternoon." Hailey had a feeling she was going to need the time off later.

She went back to Jay. They went out the back through the garage, to avoid an audience. Little did he know that he wouldn't be back for quite some time. As the arrived at his truck, Jay opened the door. He paused, folding in on himself slightly, trying to breath through the pain. "Babe, what's going on?"

"Just give me a minute."

"Do you have your pain meds with you?"

"No, just the tylenol, which isn't doing shit," Jay muttered softly. After a minute or so Jay climbed into the vehicle and collapsed into the seat that Hailey had reclined for him. He slowly buckled himself in and continued to hold his stomach tightly.

"Is Will off today?" Jay shook his head "yes."

"Do you want me to call him. I should go back to work, maybe he can come keep an eye on you."

"No, I'll be okay. Once I take the pain meds, I'll just sleep it off." Hailey looked back at him, but didn't respond.

They made it to the apartment. She got him settled in bed, made sure all of his meds, a glass of water and phone were on his bedside table. He graciously took a pain pill and tried to find comfortable position. Kissing him on the forehead. "I'm gonna go back. Meds and phone are all here, call me if you need anything, okay." He knew Hailey was worried, not that he would admit it, but he was starting to worry too.

Hailey came home early around three thirty. She found him exactly where she left him. His clothes were strewn all over the floor, he had changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, but thats all he could manage. "Jay," she said quietly not sure if he was awake.

"Yeah, I'm awake." He continued to lay there unmoving. "Do you need anything, you feeling any better?"

"No i'm fine," She snorted, "well not fine, but you know what I mean."

She settled in next to him and turned on the TV. She kept the volume low and brushed her fingers through his hair continuously. She could see him visibly relaxing as she did.

Suddenly he sat straight up and bolted to the bathroom. She didn't bother to ask, she knew what was happening. He walked out slowly after several minutes, somehow looking paler than before. He made it halfway back to the bed before turning back around and running for the toilet. She could hear him retching this time. Walking into the bathroom she rubbed his back and he continued vomiting, eventually just drying heaving. He collapsed back against the wall.

"What have you taken Jay?"

"I took the zofran just before you got here, I don't think I can have the phenergen for another few hours. I took the norco when I got hime so I can take those again soon."

"How bad is the pain?"

"Bad," he simply said. "Jay, I feel like you're just getting worse at this point, not better, maybe you should call Dr. Morelock's office before they close." Jay didn't reply. "Jay," she said as she shaked his arm.

Jay was zoned out. "Yeah, I'm here, maybe tomorrow." She handed him some mouthwash to rinse with and place a cold wash cloth on the back of his neck, sitting with him until he was ready to go back to bed.

He slowly started getting up, holding onto the sink. Making his way to the bed, he collapsed into its comfort. Laying down he continued to hold his belly tightly. The pain was overwhelming, he didn't want to move unless necessary. All he could do was lay there and breathe through it until it was time for pain meds. He had forgotten how bad it could get.

Hailey laid down next to him, counting down the minutes and half watching tv. "Jay, it's four now, can you take some more pain meds?"

He raised his head off the bead, exhausted from the lack of sleep. "Yeah can you give me two," he asked not wanting to move enough to reach his bedside table.

"Two?"

"Dr Morelock said I could take two if necessary, feels pretty damn necessary," Jay responded more sharply than he intended. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, the pain is just wearing on me and I'm so tired."

"I know, it's alright," she handed him two and he graciously took them. Dry swallowing them before lying flat again. He moved restlessly in the bed trying to get comfortable, but eventually gave up, just willing the meds to kick in. A few weeks ago he would have scoffed at needing prescription meds again, but now he felt like they weren't enough.

Half an hour passed, he suddenly felt extremely nauseous, barely sitting up before vomiting over the side of the bed. Hailey was out in the living area tidying things up when she heard him retching. She was surprised to find the bathroom empty. She looked over to the bed, Jay was half sitting up, wiping his mouth. "Fuck. Sorry, it just hit me all the sudden."

"It's okay, I'll get it cleaned up." She returned moments later with a cold rag and a cup to rinse and spit. "Here, Jay." He graciously took the cup rinsing his mouth out before lying back down. She laid the cold cloth on his forehead before getting things cleaned up.

"Can you take anything yet?"

"No I don't think so," he responded.

The rest of the night was much of the same. He was up and down to the bathroom all night. Taking meds when he could. The pain meds were barely taking the edge off his abdominal pain, he was waiting for the relief, but it never came.

The next morning he convinced Hailey to go to work, reassuring her that there wasn't much she could do anyways. He fell into a restless sleep for a few hours in the morning, grateful for the uninterrupted sleep.

Ultimately he paid for it. The pain woke him up, he was almost paralyzed by it. Not wanting to move even slightly but desperately needing relief. He gripped the sheets tightly trying to breathe through it. Eventually giving up, he reached over groaning with the slight movement. He clumsily found the Norco bottle and took another two with a small sip of water.

Unfortunately he couldn't stay still for long, having the sudden urge to use the bathroom. Back and forth he went several times during the next hour. If he wasn't in the bathroom he was on the couch, deciding it was easier to get up from in his current condition. He laid there clutching his abdomen, finally giving up around noon and calling Hailey.

She answered the phone quickly, startled by seeing his name on her caller. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Can you come home please," he said almost inaudibly.

"Yeah," she hesitated, "How bad is it?"

"I just can't do this alone, I'm so uncomfortable and so tired."

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll be there as soon as I can, love you."

She heard a very quiet, "love you too," before hanging up the phone. She gathered her things before walking into Hank's office. She locked quickly before peaking in.

"I gotta go, Jay ASKED me to come home," she emphasized. That caught Voight's attention. "Go, it's fine, we got it covered, keep me updated," he said shooing her out the door.

Her hurried demeanor had caught the teams attention. They all looked up at her when she came out of Voight's office. "He's getting worse, so I'm gonna head home. I'll keep you updated." She left without waiting for a response.

—-

Opening the door to their apartment she found a miserable Jay lying on the couch. It had only been bad for a week but she could already see the evidence of weightloss and sickly looking bags forming under his eyes. He quietly said, "hi," without opening his eyes, letting her know that he was indeed awake.

"What can I do?"

"I don't even know," he responded flatly. "Just sit with me."

Scooting his feet out of the way, she sat down at the other end of the couch. She put his feet on her lap and turned on ESPN, knowing he wasn't really sleeping but could use something to watch without having to pay attention.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there in silence for. Occasionally she would look over at Jay, he lied there unmoving, with the heating pad on his stomach.

After a while he got up to make yet another trip to the bathroom. Walking back he looked miserable, slightly hunched over guarding his stomach, barely shuffling his feet.

"When was the last time you took stuff?"

"I took pain meds at eleven."

"What about the nausea meds?"

"I took zofran at eight, right after you left. I haven't really been that nauseous today. I took the phenergen sometime last night, I can't remember exactly."

"How about eating?"

"I had a few crackers before you got here. I'm trying Hailey but food makes the pain worse. I've managed small sips of water here and there."

"I get it, let's at least keep trying to sip on some water." She refilled his water bottle and inched the coffee table closer so it wouldn't be as far as a reach.

Jay felt like at this point he was just waiting for his pain meds every four hours, stuck in a cycle of getting some mild relief for two hours but unable to last the full four. Hailey was trying to trust him, but her gut was telling her he wasn't going to make it through the weekend without ending up in the hospital. She figured why delay the inevitable and get him some desperately needed relief now.

In the evening the nausea came back in full force. They tried the zofran and quickly moved on to the phenergen after he vomited several times. She got him settled before asking again. "Jay, I know we had this discussion yesterday, but it's time. You need to call Dr. Morelock. He said if you get worse before Monday call him and this is worse. We can't do this all weekend and you'll never be able to tolerate the prep."

"He wanted to watch and wait, the steroids and Entyvio might start working, we don't know."

"They've always at least started to work after a few days, you're just getting worse. You promised you'd be proactive with your symptoms and you have been. I don't understand why you're not this time."

"I don't think there's much he can do right now. I'm not trying to avoid the hospital, we just have to wait the full week to see if it will work."

"He could give you stronger pain and nausea meds, IV steroids, keep you hydrated at least in the hospital. You're so uncomfortable Jay, more uncomfortable than when you were diagnosed. I don't think you can or should have to manage until Monday."

"If it gets bad enough I'll go, okay," he responded firmly but without his usual volume.

"This is bad enough Jay."

"Give me a break Hailey, please," he said almost desperately.

"Fine," she agreed, but was not convinced. She finally saw what was holding him back, he was scared. He too knew it was getting really bad, but he also knew that they only had so many options. They had tried so many medications, IV and by mouth, to keep the condition under control, but had never been able to truly do so. Only just able to get control of his symptoms. He knew he had severe colitis and that if they didn't get this flare under control surgery would be his only option. Not just any surgery, life altering major surgery.