Everything changes

Air lift

J=what does that mean?
Will=well it doesn't look like he is coming off the ventilator any time soon if at all
H=oh God
Will=however there is a much better hospital for newborns like this it is in Springfield
J=but how will we get him there if he can't come off the ventilator yet
Will=we can have a helicopter air lift him the ventilator will be in there with him
H=okay so that's great when can we get him there
Will=well we can get an air lift tonight but y'all will have to drive separately
H=is this the best option?
Will=you want me to be honest
H=yes I would
Will=it's out only option, that place has much more resources for newborns like him if he doesn't go there he probably will never come off the vent
They stood in silence
H=then what the hell are we waiting on get the air left
J=yeah
Will=okay we'll notify the hospital and helicopter
J=thanks will
Will walked back out the waiting room
J=I'm going to call Hank and let him know
H=okay
Jay went to call hank
J=all right he said he'll go by our house and get the kids clothes with the spare key he has
H=okay... I can't believe this
J=I know but he'll be okay
H=will you stop saying that for Gods sake
J=what the fuck do you want me to say? You want me to say he's going to die
H=I don't know what I want.... I just want my baby to not die
J=I don't want him to either but you sitting here acting like an ass isn't going to help
H=I know and I'm sorry I just I can't do this
She was crying
Jay hugged her
J=I think you need some alone time I'm going over to hanks to see the kids
H=okay
At hanks house
Jesse=daddy!
J=hey bud, you miss me
Jesse=yep a whole lot
J=I missed you too
Jesse=where's my baby brother at
J=he's at the hospital that's why I wanted to come see you. To tell you that he's not doing good
Jesse=he's going to be okay right?
J=we don't know so we're taking him to a hospital that's a few hours away from here to try to make him okay
Jesse=can I go
J=no you need to stay here
Jesse=okay
Sophia=dada
J=hey baby girl you miss daddy
Sophia laughed at him and started making babbling noises
J=I missed you so much
Sophia started playing with Jays nose
J=I got to get back to the hospital
Hank=go ahead we got this
J=thanks again Hank
Hank=it's no problem really
Jesse hugged Jay
Jesse=by daddy
J=by buddy I love you
Jesse=I love you too

Back at the hospital
They transferred the baby to the helicopter and he was on his way to Springfield
Jay and Hailey were getting the truck to drive there
J=all right you ready
H=yeah I guess I am
10 minutes on the road
H=(sighs)I'm sorry for not being there for you like I should have I made this all about me when I should've realized that this is your son too
J=you don't have to apologize we handle things differently and we always will this isn't about neither of us it's about our son and being there for him
H=yeah you're right
J=so from now on however long this takes we need to be there for each other
H=i just don't know why this is happening
J=i know it's hard but it'll be okay and if the worst thing happens and we lose him then we will figure all this out together
H=I just can't imagine burying my child
J=I get it but we'll learn to deal with it and it'll all be okay
H=I love you so much
J=I love you too
In Springfield at the hospital
They walked up to the front desk
Front desk lady=can I help you
J=yes our son was airlift here
Front desk lady=name?
J=his last name is Halstead he was just born yesterday
Front desk lady=ventilator bound airlift from Chicago?
J=yes
Front desk lady=okay he's in 405
J=thank you
They went into the room
Doctor=he's on the ventilator we have cameras in here so whenever you walk out the room you can watch him on your phone
Hailey had tears in her eyes looking at her newborn laying helpless in the bed with tubes tide to him
Doctor=there's also a room right next door that we have set up for you
J=thank you
H=actually umm is there anyway I could get a single bed or anything to put beside his bed
Doctor=ma'am I understand how you're feeling right now
H=do you have children?
Doctor=no I don't
H=then you couldn't possibly understand how I'm feeling right now
Doctor=I can get a fold out bed brought up here and put beside his hospital bed you can both sleep in it
H=that would be great
J=thanks again doc
Doctor=no problem
He walked out the room
They both walked on opposite sides of the baby's bed and each put a hand on him
A couple hours later
Neither of them had moved or said anything
Doctor walked back in
Doctor=hi so I'm glad y'all have got some time with him but it's time to run some test on him
H=so you need us to leave
Doctor=only for a little bit
J=yeah okay umm babe you ready
H=yeah sure
They walked out
They didn't go far though they just sat in the hallway beside the room
H=what do you think about the test
J=I don't know I'm just nervous
H=if he fails this then that means he's brain dead right?
J=yeah it does
H=so in a couple of hours we will know if we have to bury our child or not
J=it's just so crazy that this is happening
A little bit later
Doctor=okay so we got the results in
H=and?
Doctor=well there's good news and bad news
J=good news first
Doctor=well the good news is he did respond to feeling so he's not brain dead
H=that's great! Right?
Doctor=it is but the bad news is that he's still dependent on the ventilator
J=so what you're saying is that if you took him off the ventilator he would die
Doctor=thats what I'm saying
H=oh God this can't happen
Doctor=I'm very sorry, but he needs to be cleaned so we got you some rags to wipe him off. Our nurses can do it but I just figured y'all would want to do it
J=yes we would thank you
Doctor=ofc
They went in the room and undressed the baby and laid him in a small round tub looking thing and wiped him down
H=hey my baby
J=hey bud you haven't been feeling good have you
H=no he hasn't poor thing
J=he'll be okay I know he will
H=you don't know that
J=I have faith I wasn't sure before but looking at him like this I know he'll be okay
H=let's just hope so
A couple hours later
They had dressed the baby and sat in the room on the fold out bed
J=you ready to go to sleep
H=I kinda just want to lay here and watch him
J=it's best if you get some sleep
H=yeah I agree
The next day
Doctor="I have some news for the the both of you" he said in a sad voice
H=what's wrong
Doctor=he's not coming back
J=what do you mean
H=you said yesterday that he wasn't brain dead
Doctor=I know but he can't and he won't come he doesn't even know he's here right now
H=no he's coming back I know he is
Doctor=he's not he will be alive as long as we keep him on the ventilator but when we take him off he's going to die
J=so you're just giving up
Doctor=we have done everything we can there just is nothing that will bring him back he's got chance I'm very sorry
H=we're not giving up we can't
Doctor=he won't come back no matter how long he's stays on the vent
J=just give us some time to talk
Doctor=of course
The doctor walked away
H=there's nothing to talk about, we're not taking him off
J=babe I know how it is but let's give him a few more days and we'll see if he's progressing
H=what about after a few days we're just going to let him die
J=there's nothing we can do we've done everything we can this is in Gods hands now
H=well we are giving him at least a few days
J=okay
A couple hours later
J=babe umm I'm going down stairs to get some sheets for the bed
H=yeah go ahead
He walked downstairs
Hailey sat on the fold out bed and put her hand on her baby
She started to cry
H=please God don't take him please don't take him I can't do this I'm not strong enough for this...please not take my baby
A few days later
Doctor=I have to say this we have done everything every test he's not improving okay he's not coming back I know what y'all are gonna to say bud it's selfish to keep him here like this
J=you sure there's no chance at all
Doctor=I promise you he will never come back the second we take him off the ventilator he'll die he's in pain right now y'all need to let us take him off the ventilator and just let him go
They looked at each other and nodded
H=I don't want him in pain so if him leaving earth is what will relieve him of his pain..
J=take him off the ventilator