The Older Ruzek

Chapter 7

Taytum's POV:

     It had been a couple days since I was discharged from the hospital. Adam insisted that I stayed with him while I recovered, but I refused. Jay spent the night the first night and has been checking up on me ever since. Of course I love spending time with Jay, but I don't need a babysitter. 

     "Guess who's the greatest best friend ever and brought you your favorite breakfast", Jay said as he walked into my apartment. He walked over to the couch where I was sitting and placed a kiss on my cheek before putting the food on the kitchen counter.

     "Did you actually get my order right though?", I said as I stood up. "Cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon and a large Iced Caramel Macchiato from Dunkin Donuts", we said it in unison making us both laugh.

     "I know you too well Taytum Ruzek", he laughed as he started putting my cinnamon rolls on a plate. I sat down at the kitchen island with a slight wince. "You okay?"

     "A little stiff but your brother said I would be until I get my stitches out. Besides if you know me so well, then you would know I hate when people ask me that", I replied as I started shoving breakfast into my mouth. "Don't you have to be at work soon?"

     "No, I took the morning off", he said as he sat next to me.

     "Jay, I'm fine. You should go in", I put my hand on his bicep to reassure him that I was okay.

     "That's not why I took the morning off. In an hour I have an appointment with a therapist for my PTSD", he didn't look at me while he said it and I knew why. Jay still blamed himself for what happened to me and was trying to make it up to me.

     "Jay...I appreciate you trying to make things right between us, but they already are. Don't do this because you feel guilty about what happened. I want you to do it for you."

      "I am doing it for me. It just took you yelling at me and you getting kidnapped for me to realize it. I can't keep this awful cycle going. At least I have to try to stop it",  I could see him fighting back tears. Being vulnerable was hard for the both of us.

     "Come here", I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. "I'm proud of, you know that?"

     "Yeah", he cleared his throat trying to pull himself together. "So when do you come back to work?"

     "Tomorrow I can come back to desk duty and once I get my stitches out in three days I can come back full duty", I said after a long swig of my coffee. 

      "That fast?", Jay flashed me a look of concern.

     "Yes that fast. The knife didn't hit anything so all they had to do was stitch me up, but you already know that. I think you're just not ready for me to annoy you at work again", I playfully nudged him with my elbow.

     We finished our breakfast and Jay had to leave for his therapy appointment. Even though it was early in the morning I felt my eyes closing on me. Since it was my last day off work, I decided to spend it doing things I wanted. Napping being the first.

Adam's POV:

     It's a slow day at work, and all we have is paperwork. Jay told me he was going to check up on Taytum this morning, but it was noon and he still hasn't showed up. I decided to text Taytum and see what was up.

     Adam: Hey did Jay leave your place yet? He hasn't come in yet

     *10 minutes pass-no response

     "Hey Serge, do you mind if I run an errand since all we have is paperwork?", I knocked on the doorframe to Voight's office, peaking my head inside.

     "Sure. Don't be too long", Voight never looked up from his file as he talked. 

     I hopped in my car and drove to Taytum's apartment. Once I got there I took the elevator to her floor and knocked on the door. A sleepy Taytum opened the door and exaggerated her annoyance by rolling her eyes and heading back to her spot on the couch.

      "Wow someone's not in a good mood", I said closing the door as I walked in.

     "I was napping and then my annoying younger brother interrupted me, so yeah I'm not in a good mood", it was good to see the kidnapping didn't effect her sassiness. "What's up?"

     "Jay hasn't come in to work yet and he mentioned he was coming over this morning. Any chance he's still here?"

     "Do you see him?", Taytum said as I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "Not that it's any of your business but he had some errands to run so he took the morning off. He mentioned you guys had a paperwork day so..."

     "Are these errands something you don't want to tell me? Is everything alright with Jay?", I raised my eyebrow receiving a laugh from Taytum.

     "Oh my gosh you're worried about Jay", Taytum continued to laugh while I gave her the death glare. "Jay's fine. If he wants to tell you where he is he will."

     "Yeah, yeah. I knew you wouldn't tell me anything even though I am your brother", I walked into her kitchen and started raiding her fridge. I pulled a beer out, but Taytum snatched it out of my hands.

     "You're on duty remember. Now get back to the District before you annoy me to death", we shared a laugh as I pulled her into a hug before I left.

Taytum's POV:

     After Adam left I broke down crying. Trying to hold up a conversation was exhausting. I can't sleep...not without seeing Reid's awful face. I know he's in custody, but that day still haunts me. Not just that day, but the first time Reid almost killed me. All those memories came flooding back and I wish I could close the flood gates.

     Honestly, I feel selfish. Tomorrow I'll be going back to work, and even though it's desk duty I'm still going to work when I'm not 100%. This is the same thing I yelled at Jay for. I remember begging for him to get help while tears streamed down my face. I never knew what he went through, and I still don't. At least now I have a slight taste of it...which wasn't a good thing. One thought popped into my head.

     Jay's finally getting help. If he finds out about this he'll be more worried about you than seeking help for himself.

    I pushed the thoughts aside readying myself for tomorrow's challenges.