One Chicago: Health First Part 4

Chapter 1271

2 Hours Later at Will & Natalie's Place
Jay's POV:
After getting groceries and letting Erin take a quick nap, I smiled when we finally got to my brother's place for lunch. I just hoped that he wasn't mad that we were an hour later than we originally told him. Walking up with Erin, I smiled as I held Lucky's leach when Will came to the door. "Hey, we got worried you weren't coming." I then smiled. "Someone wanted to take a quick nap at home that ended up being an hour." Will then agreed and smiled as he let us in. "Natalie, Owen, Jay and Erin are here!"

Natalie then smiled as she came out of the kitchen. "Wow, you certainly have sprouted since we last saw each other." I smiled as I went to take off my jacket before looking at Erin. "Here babe, let me have your jacket." Erin then nodded and went to give it to me when I hung them up. I then saw Owen come out. "Who's that?" I then smiled as I looked at him. "Owen, this is my service dog. Her name is Lucky and since you are family, you can pet her if you want."

Owen then nodded and I could tell her was nervous. I then looked at Erin. "Erin, how about you go sit in the living room with Nat? I will get Owen here acquainted with Lucky and then we can go play fetch in your backyard if it's big enough." Will then looked at me and nodded. "It's plenty big enough for you guys to play fetch carefully." I smiled and then looked at Owen who was now putting his hand out and petting Lucky. Lucky when tried to jump and scared him.

I then looked at her. "Hey, bad girl. We don't jump on anybody other than me!" I then got up and went to stand in front of her. I then started the process to show her it was wrong. Bending down, I grabbed her head and shook mine. "No jumping on anybody but me. Got it." Lucky then nodded and started to kiss my face. "Okay, not the lips please. Then Erin can't kiss me." I then looked at Lucky and she stopped. "You still want to play with her in the backyard?"

He then nodded and smiled as I went to grab some balls from my coat pocket as well as a poop bag. "Will, how about you deal with supper? I will take care of Owen for a bit and let him play with Lucky." Will then agreed and smiled as I walked away to play with my nephew in the backyard. But first, on my way there...I saw Erin sitting on the couch with Natalie. "Hey, I am going to play in the yard with Owen and Lucky okay?" Erin the nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

I then nodded and smiled, going to grab her hand before walking away to go join Owen and Lucky outside since they were both already waiting to me outside.

Will's POV:
As I watched my brother walk away with Owen and Lucky, I smiled as I went to join Erin and Natalie in the living room. "Seems like you might have competition for Jay's affection." Erin laughed when I said that and nodded. "She's great with him. Honestly, I have seen such a difference since we got her. Before, he was always so stressed and I was worried about him. The nightmares and flashbacks at night were horrible." I then looked at her. "The what?"

Erin seemed confused when I said that. "His PTSD nightmares he has at night? Did he not ever talk to you about them?" I then shook my head and sighed, feeling bad. "God, I am such an idiot. I am a doctor. How did I not think about him possibly having PTSD when he got back from war. It's a known fact that veterans have PTSD. Yet, I failed him by not letting him come to me." Natalie then rubbed my back and sighed. "Will, relax and look at me."

I then turned to look at Natalie and just listened to her. "When Jeff came back from war the first time, I never noticed it until he had a really bad nightmare one night. However, he never got a service dog. Is it really that bad Erin?" Erin nodded and sighed. "It was okay until the January 6th attack on the capitol. Then it happened a lot more and I felt him get out of bed many times each night. It wasn't sustainable for how stressful and hard our job was."

I nodded and agreed with her. He did have a hard job. "How is he now that he has her?" Erin smiled when I asked. "He is actually lot better. She wakes him up in the middle of the night when she thinks he's going to have a PTSD episode and I would say 90% she's right. Other times, it's just late and we are still awake and talking in bed." I agreed and smiled when she said that. "Well, I am glad that she is helping him. I've always been skeptical about them. It's weird."

Erin nodded. "Honestly, when it came time to choose whether I would be okay with it...I didn't even think about the role she would play in our lives or the fact that it would mean that we would now have a dog in the house. That didn't even matter to me." Natalie seemed to be shocked by that. "Really, it didn't play any role in your decision?" Erin shook her head. "No. The only thing that really mattered was Jay. I said yes because I knew it would help him. It was a no brainer. You do whatever you can to help the people you love."

I smiled when she said that. "Erin, I need to apologize about something just to let you know. I am sorry it's taken so long for me to say this." Erin then looked at me confused. "What do you have to apologize for Will?" I then sighed and looked at her. "I am sorry about how cold I was when your first got back. I will be completely honest. I was skeptical about everything. Whether you would really stay around with him, whether you would break his heart again...I am so sorry if you ever felt like our relationship was tense." Erin sighed when I said that.

"Honestly Will, I was a bit disappointed that you didn't trust that I wasn't here for the right intentions. But, I would've done the same thing if it happened to my brother. So, I get it. However, just remember that it wasn't entirely my choice to leave. I am just glad that since I've came back...I've been so welcomed and felt so loved here by everybody in my life. Now listen, I would rather not talk about it since we are past it. How about we get some snacks out?"

Natalie nodded and smiled. "Sure, want some chips or anything?" Erin nodded and smiled. "Do you have sour cream and onion or barbecue?" Natalie nodded and smiled as she got up to get some meanwhile, Erin turned to look at me. "Listen Will, I think you should tell Jay about what you just told me." I then sighed and agreed. "What if he gets mad?" Erin looked at me and sighed. "Will, last time you kept secrets from the people you loved...you lost them for what you thought was for good. Remember, honesty is the best policy." I then nodded and agreed.

Getting up, I looked at Natalie. "Nat, I am going to talk to Jay okay?" Natalie the nodded while looking at me. Meanwhile, I went to walk out to the back porch to talk to Jay about what I just told Erin.