Hi everyone, thanks so much for being patient with me with these updates I appreciate that this one wasn't as quickly published as the last one. I'm a perfectionist and always try to get them as good as possible so they are interesting to read and include content that the readers enjoy. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter :) -
"Ok, have you got everything?" Hailey asked as she helped Gracie pack all of her things away into her backpack.
"I think so." Gracie responded putting her last few clothing items into her bag that she had kept at the hospital over the last week. She picked up the jacket she had used as a pillow that night in the tunnel at the playground and looked at it for a few seconds.
"New start hey? It's ok to be a little nervous." Hailey said with a reassuring smile, giving her hand a squeeze. Gracie just nodded exchanging a smile with Hailey and put the jacket into her backpack.
Jay came with a smile on his face and put a Blackhawks cap on Gracie as he walked towards the gurney/bed they were packing on in her hospital room.
Gracie took it off of her head to look at it for a second. "Is this your Blackhawks cap?"
"No, it's your Blackhawks cap." Jay replied with the same Halstead grin that Hailey was familiar with.
"Thanks Jay!" Gracie said gratefully, putting the cap back on her head.
"No problem kid, look I thought you, Hailey and I could go and watch them play next week with Will and Nat? They got a sitter for Owen already." Jay said and a Gracie instantly wore a big smile on her face.
"Really? That would be so cool! I love the hockey. Can we Hailey?" Gracie said looking at her new foster Mom with a hopeful expression, waiting for her to respond.
"Of course! This one needs somebody to keep an eye on him!" Hailey joked lightly hitting Jay on the arm as Jay gave a fake 'offended' look.
"Anyway, you ready to go Gracie?" Jay asked and Gracie nodded.
"Yeah I think so. Have they discharged me?" She asked carefully putting on her jacket with the help of Hailey. Her ribs were still wrapped due to the extent of the bruising.
"Yep, as of last night when Hailey and I passed the training to be foster parents we were named your legal guardians so able to sign the papers for your discharge. Will approved it too so you're good to go." Jay said watching as Gracie got up off of the bed and stood up to make sure she didn't hurt herself. "Oh hold up a second." He said and went back out to just outside the door before returning with a wheelchair.
"Really?" Gracie said smirking a little.
"Sorry kid, hospital policy, just until we get to the car. I've already been told by Maggie once and I don't wanna argue with her." Jay said his hands rested on the handles of the chair.
"Alright I guess it could work." Gracie said as Hailey grabbed her backpack and Jay pushed her chair leaving the hospital room together. Soon they were going through the ER towards the exit.
"Hey sweetie, you leaving us?" April said gently putting an arm around Gracie's shoulders as they approached the nurses station to say goodbye to the people that had helped Gracie over the last week.
"Yeah, I got discharged an hour ago thanks April I really appreciate you and the other nurses and doctors helping me like you did. I couldn't have got better this quick without you guys." Gracie said, April patted her upper back lightly in response and smiled at how far Gracie had come health wise in the last few days. When she first came in they were so worried that the exposure or injuries would cause some form of permanent damage
"Bye honey." Maggie said walking past and lightly squeezing her shoulder as she went off to help another patient.
"Bye Maggie." Gracie responded with a friendly smile as she walked by.
"Later kid, I'll see you at the hockey game next week, call or come back in if you need anything alright?" Will said and held out his hand for a fist bump.
"Yeah thanks Will." Gracie said fist bumping her doctor and foster uncle.
"No problem, bye guys." He said as he walked past Jay and Hailey to go back and continue his shift. The pair both said "bye" in response, Jay patting his brother on the shoulder gratefully as he walked away.
"Alright speedy, to the car!" Jay said pushing her out of Med and into the parking lot.
It wasn't long before they were back at Hailey and Jay's apartment, they had take out and Gracie was pretty exhausted from everything going on so Jay and Hailey suggested she got an early night. Hailey had just moved in with Jay a couple of weeks back and they slept in the one room leaving another room spare in their two bedroom apartment. This had become Gracie's room during the prep they had done for the room inspection.
"Goodnight you guys. Thanks, for everything I mean. You've really helped me more than anybody ever has and I just want you both to know that I really appreciate it." Gracie said with a grateful smile as she stopped to talk to them.
Hailey got up off of the couch and walked towards Gracie."You're gonna be ok here." Hailey said with certainty smiling back at Gracie reassuringly who, seconds later threw her arms around her new parental figure. Jay and Hailey looked at each other smiles on their faces.
"Goodnight Grace." Jay said with a smile as their foster daughter made her way towards her room.
"Night Jay." She said and walked into her room closing the door. She took a minute as their was a comfortable quiet around her the only noise she could here was almost a mumbling of Hailey and Jay's voices from the living room.
She went to bed and felt more comfortable than usual, expecting to get a good nights sleep for once, but she just couldn't and whenever she finally did for a few minutes she woke up again shaking and sweating from the nightmares barely able to catch a breath.
Giving up she quietly walked back into the living room and looked out of the apartment window. She suddenly heard the sound of the toilet flush and the faucet turn on from the sink in the bathroom, she moved slowly still because of her recovering from her injuries so couldn't manage to make it back into her room before Jay emerged from the bathroom.
"Hey kid. Can't sleep?" Jay said confused as he came out the bathroom in the middle of the night to see the teen awake and halfway across the living room.
"Sorry Jay." Gracie said tearfully and ashamed, she felt like she was acting like a little kid with bad dreams. She hung her head trying to hide her tears from her embarrassment and exhaustion.
Jay walked up to her putting a hand on the back of her head/neck comfortingly "You don't have to apologise Gracie come on over here let's sit down for a second." Jay suggested moving his hand to her upper back and guiding her to the couch where they sat down to talk.
"It's ok...really I'm fine." She said trying to wipe away the tears from her face as quickly as she could.
"Gracie, it's ok if you're finding all of this tough you know? It's alright. You're not a burden on anyone and if you're finding stuff hard then you talk to us honey because we're behind you 100% you understand that?" Jay explained and the young girl nodded in response with a sniffle running a hand over her face to try and compose herself.
"It's just...it's...ah." Gracie started sighing in frustration when she tried to explain what was going on.
"It's alright take it slow, deep breaths." Jay reminded gently, noticing she was still a little panicked and upset. He rubbed a couple of soothing circles on her back in an effort to try and calm her down.
"I can still see his face..." Gracie started looking down at her still slightly shaky hands, pausing to take another breath.
"Your Dad?" Jay asked in a soft, reassuring tone.
"Yeah...when I close my eyes. For a few seconds after...after he finished beating me up, he just stood over me and stared at me on the floor lying there I couldn't move, I could barely breathe and every time I try and go to sleep it's not long till I wake up and I feel like I can't move or breathe just like I couldn't then." Gracie said Jay turned slightly so he could see her more as he spoke to her.
"Grace, look at me." Jay said to the traumatised teen who looked up at him with glassy eyes.
"Do you wanna know something?" Jay said and she nodded. "I used to have a lot of nightmares too."
"Really?" Gracie said in disbelief looking up at her new father figure.
"Yeah, I was a soldier we see a lot of things and that can make sleeping real hard. You were a soldier too Gracie, your war was just a different type of war than the one I was fighting..." Jay began to explain "and it's ok if you find it hard too. It will get better I promise you that. You're not alone anymore." He hugged her, holding her in a strong, comforting embrace.
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"Hey is everything ok?" Hailey said walking in a couple of hours later after noticing Jay wasn't beside her in bed.
"Yeah, I went to the bathroom about an hour or so ago and on my way back to our room. I saw this one in the living room. She couldn't sleep kept on having nightmares." Jay explained in a whisper as Gracie had fallen asleep leaning against him on the couch.
"Seems like she's doing a little better." Hailey said with a smile seeing the teen barely stirring from her sleep on the couch, leant against Jay. She was glad he had been there to comfort her when she needed it.
"Yeah, I just hope she can get some rest now at least for a while. You want in on the group hug?" Jay said with his Halstead grin added on at the end.
Hailey walked up the the other side of Jay where the spare seat on the couch was beside him and sat down. He wrapped his free arm around her as she lay her head on his shoulder.
They all fell asleep to the sound of the movie Jay had put on for Gracie earlier quietly in the background. Gracie finally got the sleep she really needed that night and Jay and Hailey could relax knowing that she was calm and able to get some rest for a while. They knew the next few weeks weren't going to be easy but there was peace in that for that moment none of that mattered.
Thanks again for reading I appreciate all the support and will update again as soon as possible :) EQ x