The Truth Can Sting

Part 13

Lily woke up in the morning but it wasn't how she planned on waking up, she woke up feeling like her world was ending. She couldn't feel anything other than her sheer panic taking over her eyesight, "hey shhh I got you" jay said realising she was going through her ptsd, he gently cradled her by his side and let her come around back into reality. She was breathing heavily as jay held her and rubbed her arm until she felt safe, "you're okay I got you" he reassured her again.

Once she had calmed down she talked it out, "I see him every time I close my eyes..." she admitted. Dr Charles had told her it was always better to talk to someone she trusted rather than bottle it up and wait for it to explode. Jay held her tightly, "I know you do, he's never gonna hurt you again. Ever..." he said securely. Lily nodded with her head against her brothers chest and sighed, "does it ever get better?" She asked him. She felt a connection to jay since he also had ptsd from war but he had learned to deal with it, lily was only just coming to terms with it all.

Jay smiled weakly even though she wasn't looking at him, "yeah it does, maybe not overnight but it does. I promise" he told her the truth. The three siblings had decided it was better for lily to stay at jays since he could offer the most protection, he also knew how to deal with her nightmares more than Will meaning she would recover faster at jays place. "Hey, how you feeling?" dr Charles said as he entered the room with Will. Jay got off the bed and let her go so she could talk to dr Charles herself, "not as good this morning" she truthfully confessed.

Will frowned but dr Charles looked at jay who nodded at him confirming it was a ptsd episode. She looked down feeling hopeless, "nothing comes easy lily, you're gonna be on a long road of recovery and it's gonna have some dips and hard times but you'll get through it" he told her as she began to believe him. "Yeah, thanks" she accepted his advice. "You're lucky to have these two by your side" he said while smiling at the two boys. Lily laughed, "I know, I'm more thankful for them than they'll ever know" she said fully knowing they could hear her. Jay smiled at Will realising they were doing their jobs right, "that's great, well by the looks of it you're free to go later today. I'll come back to see you before you go but other than that, rest up" he said before smiling and leaving.

Will hooked the last saline solution bag up to her IV drip, she was feeling better but she was still pretty weak and tired so hopefully by tomorrow she would have most of her strength back. "I gotta go but I'll have finished shift by the time you get discharged" Will said before leaving the room. Lily nodded and smiled, "you need anything?" Jay said while clearly being bored. Lily laughed, "no I'm good, you don't have to stay with me you know" she said while picking up on his short attention span. Jay shot his head towards her and turned serious, "I'm not leaving you" he said while thinking about all the previous times he left her and things gone wrong. Lily grabbed his hand, she didn't say anything but she smiled weakly at him knowing that he blamed himself for what happened.

The pair played card games to pass the time, obviously jay lost and he was a sore loser, "you're just jealous" she tormented him. They were interrupted by Will who walked into her room in his normal clothes and discharge papers, dr Charles following behind. "You're now a free lady...kind of" he thought about what he was rambling on about, Will was never an English kid in school. Dr Charles looked at him and shook his head, "whatever that means...just so you know lily my office is always open, all day, everyday. I'll be available for any sessions you want to have, even if we just talk about the weather. Anything helps, big or small" he said making himself clear. Lily smiled and nodded, "I'll be in touch" she said while attempting to put on her jacket, jay noticed her struggles and helped her put it on. "Yeah she will be" jay confirmed what she said.

Dr Charles left with a smile and the three siblings made their way to jays car, Will had been riding in nats car but she was still working so he had to ride with jay. "Pizza?" Jay proposed and he drove past a series of deep dish houses. Lily and Will agreed without hesitation and they bought some food to take out.

When they made it back to jays apartment lily got a shower and then changed into her PJ's. she still had her bruises from LA but Will and jay ignored them since that was what they needed to do in order for her to recover. "Water for you" Will said while taking the unopened beer from her hands. "Ughhhhhh! Fine" she sighed in defeat knowing he was right. Jay laughed at his brother and sister bickering about drinks. They settled down and watched a film before Will had to get home, "take it easy lil, I mean it" Will said seriously before grabbing his coat. "Yeah yeah, I will" she murmured. Will smiled and rolled his eyes before leaving. "What about you? Haven't you got to go back to work or something?" She said to jay while taking another slice of pizza from the box.

Jay laughed, "I'm off until you're better, or as good as you're gonna be" he said with a smile. Lily nodded her head, "coolio" she joked as she went to get up. Jay put his arm in front of her to stop her from standing up, "what did Will just say about taking it easy..." jay asked rhetorically. Lily looked at him in confusion, "you're still injured lil, you gotta take it easy. If I have to tie you down then I will" jay said while taking the rubbish to the bin. Lily groaned, she was such an active person it would kill her to sit still for more than half an hour at a time. "It's late, come on let's get you to bed" jay ended the debate.

Lily nodded and stood up but winced in pain, jay held her arm and helped her gain her balance, "you just proved my point" jay said smuggly. Lily smirked knowing he was right, "shut up" she joked and the pair walked off to get her to sleep.