The smell of sizzling burgers and freshly brewed coffee filled the air as Jay slid into the booth across from Will at the small, bustling diner between the district and Chicago Med. The place had the kind of charm that came from years of greasy fingerprints on laminated menus and the steady hum of quiet conversations layered over clinking dishes. It was familiar, predictable - things Jay desperately needed right now.
Jay's fingers tapped absently against the table, restless. His shoulders felt stiff, coiled with the kind of tension that didn't ease, no matter how many deep breaths he took.
Will barely had time to settle in his chair before Jay launched into it. He recounted every word, every moment of the past 24 hours: his conversation with Dr. Charles, Alex's panic at seeing his belt, her tipsy confession, then the unexpected thank you this morning. His mind played it back on a loop, unable to let it rest. However, he purposefully left out the conversation with the judge - he wasn't sure how Will was going to take it, and needed to wait for the right moment.
"Wow." Will ran a hand through his hair as he looked around the restaurant. "Is it too early to drink?"
Jay let out a dry chuckle, though there wasn't much humor behind it. "You're telling me. I had to get rid of all the alcohol at my place. Do you know how painful it is to pour whiskey down the drain?"
Will laughed before turning serious again. "We knew something had happened with Dad, but…man, it hurts to know that it happened for so long and we didn't do anything about it."
Jay's stomach twisted. He had replayed the same guilt over and over, and it never got easier to swallow. "She apparently tried to tell me. Twice," he confessed uneasily.
Will's gaze snapped to him, sharp with unspoken accusation. "And what happened?"
"I don't know. I swear I don't remember it - if she had even hinted to something like this, I would have immediately stepped in. You know that." His jaw tightened, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. "Was I distracted? Too caught up in work? I keep replaying every conversation I had with her, trying to figure out what the hell I missed."
Will's eyes softened as he held up his hands in surrender. "It's just…it's awful." He took a deep breath before grabbing another bite of his burger. "I'm just glad she's out of that hell hole."
"You and me both."
There was a comfortable beat of silence while the brothers ate their food in silence, each consumed with their own thoughts, before Jay spoke up. "It all happened so fast, you know? She came to live with me, then next thing I know she's in the E.D. with her drugged friend. I'm not even sure we had time to process all that," he lowered his voice slightly, "before I caught her making her…purchase…on a street corner." He ran a hand through his hair. "I haven't had a chance to truly talk to her about that before last night's confession."
Will nodded in support. "It's hard to keep up, man. I get it. I guess we just have to take it one thing at a time, you know?"
"Therapy," Jay blurted out as the idea slammed into his mind.
"What?" Will's brows furrowed at the random shift.
"Therapy," Jay stated with a bit more confidence this time.
Will blinked. "I'm sorry, did you just voluntarily say the word 'therapy'? Do I need to check if hell has frozen over?"
Jay shot him a look. "I'm serious, Will. What if she and I went to therapy together?"
The suggestion caught the doctor off guard. "Jay, you don't even like going to therapy on your own," he reminded his brother.
Jay waved his hand dismissively. "This would be different. We aren't talking about my war trauma. It'd give us a neutral third party to talk through all this stuff. Maybe we could make more progress without her running off to slam some doors." Jay reflected for a moment before continuing with honesty, "And yeah, I haven't always been consistent with following through on therapy for myself, but honestly, when I did do it, it helped."
Will stared at his younger brother for a moment, taking it all in. As a medical professional, Will was a huge supporter of therapy and knew its benefits. With a wildly sarcastic and unpredictable teenager and an overprotective and out-of-his-comfort-zone detective…therapy wouldn't be the craziest idea.
"I actually think that would be a great idea," Will replied with enthusiasm.
Jay's eyes came to life at the approval. "Really?"
"Yeah, I mean, it can't hurt. I'll get some neutral recommendations from Dr. Charles tomorrow, so it's someone completely new." Will was well aware that if Jay and Alex went to therapy with someone that their sister could trace back to either of them, he knew it would cause a storm.
"That'd be great. Thanks, Will." Jay felt a brief weight being lifted off his shoulders.
They shared an appreciative smile as both dug back into their burgers. "So therapy is a great start - assuming she agrees to go - but where do we go from there? She needs some stability in her life at the very least."
Jay nodded in full agreement. "Exactly. And that's what I plan to give her. I was thinking you could come stay over sometimes if I'm working overnight or long shifts and you're off. At least for the time being to give her some sort of consistency that someone is around." His eyes fell to the table before adding, "When she's left to her own devices for a while, she doesn't make the best decisions."
"You mean like buying drugs," Will quipped.
Jay ran a hand down his face. "Don't remind me."
They sat in silence for a moment, each caught in their own thoughts.
"But yeah, no problem. I'll come over as often as I can. You don't need to take on all this alone."
Jay smiled warmly, appreciating the brotherly support. He cleared his throat. "Speaking of that, there's also something else I wanted to talk about." Jay took a breath, gripping his water glass as if it could steady him. "I, uh… I spoke with a judge yesterday."
Will frowned. "Okay… about what?"
Jay exhaled. "About getting full guardianship of Alex."
Will blinked, sitting back like he needed the extra space to process. "Wait. What?" It was one new piece of information after another, almost coming in rapid fire at him.
"I'm going to be her legal guardian." Jay's voice held no hesitation.
Will sat back, clearly processing. "Are you sure?"
Jay's answer was instant. "Positive."
Will took a moment to thoughtfully think it over, not having expected this. "Doesn't this involve her testifying to convince the judge she's better off somewhere else?" He didn't know the full legal process, but he'd learned bits and pieces through cases that came through the E.D. over the years.
Jay shook his head. "Voight called in a favor and the judge is going to bypass that step. I just have to submit a ton of paperwork, wait for it to be reviewed, and then we'll have a court date when I'll sign the guardianship papers and it'll be official."
"And Alex is okay with this?" he asked genuinely curious.
Jay's eyes darted his gaze down to his fries. "She doesn't know yet," he confessed.
"Jay…" Will gave space for his brother to talk, but when he didn't, he continued, "You can't hide something this big from her."
"I'm not hiding it from her," Jay defended himself. "I only met with the judge yesterday, and then after everything that happened last night, when the hell was I supposed to bring it up?"
"Okay, okay. Take it down a notch. I'm not attacking you." He pumped the brakes with his hands. "I'm proud of you - I'm grateful for you taking this on, Jay. She deserves to never have to see our damn father again. Ever. And this is one sure way to get it done."
"Exactly."
"Do you want me to be there when you tell her?" Will asked, wanting to be as supportive as possible.
Jay took a moment to think over the offer. On one hand, Jay would love the moral support there in case the conversation went south - it would be good to show they were in this together. On the other hand, he feared that Alex might take it as an ambush and feel smothered, thus causing her to be more of a ticking time bomb.
Feeling reassured by the progress they'd recently made, Jay took a deep breath and made a quick decision. "Yeah, that'd be great for you to be there. United front and all."
Will nodded in approval. "You got it." He dragged a french fry through ketchup. "When are you telling her?"
Jay sat back, giving it more thought. "I don't want to tell her until we have the court date to sign the papers."
Will sucked in air. "Why the wait?"
The detective rested his elbows on the table. "Then she can't sabotage it," he explained simply.
"You really think she would?"
Jay shrugged. "I think she's capable of anything when she's motivated."
However, the doctor wasn't convinced yet. "This is just…a really big decision. I don't think you should keep her in the dark, especially not for that long. The last thing we want is for there to be resistance."
Jay's fingers drummed against the table, his thoughts shifting uneasily. Was Will right? Would telling Alex now actually make things easier?
No. He couldn't risk it. If she felt backed into a corner, she'd fight him tooth and nail, and he wasn't about to let that happen. He needed the guardianship papers to be ready and waiting for his signature before he told her.
However, there was a moment where Jay's thoughts ran untamed and he internally questioned if he really thought she'd do something to sabotage this plan, or if it was really just him wanting to control the situation. As quickly as it came, he shoved the thoughts down, silencing them with a sip of water.
"How about I think on it, okay? I haven't even submitted the paperwork, so let's see how the next few days go and we can discuss it again."
Will nodded, pleased that his brother was going to at least consider his perspective on this. "I think that's a smart choice. It's been a hell of a week for you both, so a few more days won't hurt. Just know that I'll back you 110% no matter what you decide."
"Thank you," Jay replied.
At the end of the day, Jay just wanted to make sure Alex had a safe, legal place to call home. And if she hated him for it? Well…he'd live with that. As long as she was safe.
A/N: What do you think of Jay's decisions in this chapter? Is he on the right track with any of them?