Case by Case Love

Chapter 53: The Next Morning

"We should let him sleep," Erin comments as she stands leaning back against the kitchen counter. She hadn't wanted to leave the bedsroom in not wanting to leave his side, however it was a known fact neither Halstead brother was a good cook. So it was why she made her way out to make breakfast in knowing Jay deserved something good for what he had endured that night, and Will deserved something for having been the great brother in staying over to help take care of him. "We both know he didn't get a lot of sleep. We both know last night was a really rough night." 

They expected it to be rough based on the early signs Jay was showing from the drugs. The hallucination at 2am was just the start of it. There was two more to follow over the next couple hours, with a nightmare thrown in-between and another after that. Each half hour that passed, he was awake battling some demon laced with it along with more dry-heaving episodes. 

"I'm awake," a voice comes from the bedsroom as Erin and Will look at each other with surprise. They then darted down the hallway as quickly as they could, both popping their heads into the room at the same time. The sight before them brought a combination of shock and relief as he sat there with his watch in his hands. He was going to be okay. Last night was going to be a memory to tuck away and try to forget happened. "I've been awake for a bit now, for the record. The alarm on my watch for work woke me up." 

"I should've shut it off so you could sleep in," Erin comments with a sigh, as that was not something she had even thought about in the midst of everything else going on. Could you blame her? "How are you feeling?" 

"Tired, thirsty, hungry, still a little dizzy and nauseous - it feels like the day after you've had the flu." He then takes a deep breath, thinking about the past 12 hours, from the drug bust to beginning to feel tired at the office. From there on, it seemed like a blur as he barely remembered the trip back to the condo or Will showing up. "How bad was I last night? Did it get as bad as you thought it would?" 

"Hallucinations, nightmares that involved screaming and tears, and a lot of dry-heaving," Will reveals as he makes his way into the room. He then looks over Jay, taking in his skin color being a lot better than it was in the middle of the night. He also liked the fact that his pupils were focused directly on him rather than darting all over the place. "Make sure you get some fluids into you, and then slowly work into having some food. Anything that was left in your stomach came up last night, to the point you were dry-heaving..." 

"I can tell - my throat is so dry..." Jay reaches for the bottle of water on the nightstand, popping the cap off as he begins to down the liquid that was inside. "I haven't had one of those nights that I could not remember at all in a long time. When I say a long time, I mean like five years ago now. I can't believe they used to be a regular thing. How could I have been doing this to myself all the time?" 

"There was a lot going on back then...." Will's eyes dart to the ground as soon as the words slip from his mouth. He knew Jay went through a lot more than he deserved, from both his first and second tour overseas, to life at home. How was it fair for Jay to return from war the first time and have to take care of their dying mother by himself? How was it fair for Jay to have to deal with his injuries of being blown up in an accident and the PTSD of it all after the second tour without someone there? Will hated the way he was before, and how he put himself first. He should have been there for his brother... 

"I know. I am glad that Mouse was there and helped me see that what I was doing was wrong. I am glad that I was able to make my way through it." He then takes a deep breath, thinking through some of the stories he had heard about those who served with him. "Not everybody was as lucky as I was, man. Not everybody got through it. How is that fair after they risked everything to serve their country?" 

"I'm sorry....." Jay takes another deep breath as he finally allows his eyes to rest on his brother. He knew why the words were uttered. It was the same words Will had said repeatedly since they had been reunited together when the regret of everything hit him. It was one of those things that Will always thought Jay would hold over him for the rest of their lives.

"You don't need to apologize. I am not mad at you anymore for what happened back then. I've moved on from that..." Will nods his head, knowing Jay had told him that plenty of times. Despite that, one of their first arguments when Will came back to Chicago kept replaying in his mind. 

"It still doesn't change the fact that I was a crappy brother to you in making you go through that alone." Erin looks between the pair before making her way into the bedsroom and back alongside Jay in the bed, as she wraps an arm around his shoulders. Call it automatic intuition to comfort him as soon as she saw any sign of pain.

"But you were here for both of us now when we needed you," Erin starts as she looks back towards the doorway where Will stood. "You were there when Jay needed you after he was kidnapped, tortured, and shot - both times might I add. You've done everything that you needed to do to be there now, even when I wasn't here for him. He had you to help him pick up those pieces. Neither of us are mad at you, Will. It's time to move on...."