Every Last Breath || Jay Halstead

FOUR

"April." The nurse looked up from the computer. "Let's get a CBC, CMP, and chest X-Ray for the gentleman in three, and get someone to take over - I'm leaving soon."

"You got it." She went over to Natalie to relay the information while Willa made her way to the doctor's lounge to call a cab to take her to the airport for the flight Connor had managed to secure her. Jay walked in as she was finishing up the call. She held up a finger to indicate that she'd seen him and would only be a moment.

"Half hour? That's perfect. I'll see you then. Bye." She placed the phone back in her locker and closed it before turning her attention to Jay.

"Detective."

"Doctor," he greeted. "You got time to take these out?" He gestured to his hairline, where the stitches were still intact.

"Sure," she said and led him back out to the ED. She had him sit down on the bed in one of the treatment rooms while she looked for a pair of scissors and antiseptic in the cart.

She met his eyes after wiping the area as best she could with the antiseptic. "Ready?"

"Go ahead." She snipped the thread, then gently pulled at it with tweezers, watching as it slipped out of his skin. She could feel his eyes concentrated on her, and for a moment, it felt like she couldn't breathe properly. In reality, she knew she was just nervous being around Jay, but at the very least, she had something to do with her hands.

"About the other day," she began, her voice shaky. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

To Willa's surprise, he smiled. "It's okay."

"It's not," she countered. "I got bad news and took my frustration out on you, so again, I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Bad news makes people act out; I get it." She put the tweezers down and looked at the healing cut.

"Looks like you're only going to have a small scar, barely noticeable."

He nodded. "Where are you going?" Willa frowned. "I overheard the last part of your conversation."

She took off her gloves. "New York," she relented. "I'm going to see my Dad."

Jay stood and put his coat back on. "Is he okay?" She tossed the gloves away and grabbed the tablet from the bed where she'd placed it earlier on.

She hesitated. "He's fine, but the administrator at his care facility called to say there'd been an incident, so I decided to go see him." Jay didn't say anything, but she could almost see the wheels turning inside his head, trying to understand what she was saying.

They left the treatment room together and happened to bump into Will at the nurse's station. He studied his brother's hairline.

"Looks good," he complimented. "Well done, Dr. Atticus."

"Thank you, Dr. Halstead. Excuse me." She walked over to one of the computers to update Jay's file but remained acutely aware that he kept looking in her direction despite chatting to his brother.

April came over. "Why does Jay Halstead keep looking over here?"

Willa pulled a grimace. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"I think he likes you," she teased.

"And I think you're crazy."

She put her hands up as a sign of surrender. "Okay, but I still think he likes you."

She chuckled as April wandered off to help Dr. Choi with a patient. She looked at her watch and nearly had a heart attack when she saw the time. Willa sped off to the doctor's lounge to grab her things but didn't have time to change out of her scrubs, so she'd have to do that at the airport. She raced back into the ED, shouting her goodbyes to everyone before she ran to the parking lot to catch her cab.