Case by Case Love

Chapter 22: Nightmare

"Jay, wake up please," Erin practically begs as she squeezes his hand as tight as she could in hopes of watching those eyes flash open before her. 

She then watches as they suddenly open before her, and she could already see the trouble that lied ahead with the look she got in return. She watched as he frantically looked away from her, instead towards the doorway and around the bed, trying to sit up more in the bed. She could also hear the panic in his breathes despite the mask fixated to his face, knowing he was still believing a piece of his dream to be real.

He then reaches for the mask, taking it off a bit as he had so many questions. Where was Paul Downey? Why was Erin yelling at him to wake up? He was awake and trying to stop everything. She was sleeping. Why was she yelling at him now? How the heck did Will get there? Why wasn't he doing anything else right now other than standing at the bottom of the bed staring at him with concern?

"Where'd he go?" He questions, weakness laced in his voice as it was obvious the pain he was currently in and the panic from right now was having an affect on him. Besides, it had not even been 24 hours since he was in a building that got blown up. "What happened to Downey?" 

"Nobody has come in this room except myself and Erin," Will tries to assure him from his perspective. It was obvious what he was dreaming about now with the questions he was asking. At least Will believed that would be easier to deal with than some of the other nightmares Jay would get from his PTSD a few times a month. "It was all a dream, Jay...." He then slowly makes his way over, taking the mask despite the protest from the fingers which clang onto it and trying to a fix it back on his face.

"You were having a nightmare," Erin adds as he could see that Will was trying to get him calmed down. She couldn't take her eyes off of his in still seeing the pain and fear laced in them together. He never showed pain, even when he was shot previously. He never shied down from anything. It was everything to cause her to not break right there in front of at him at the sight.  

"Jay, I need you put this back on. Your breathing heavy due to panic from the nightmare, and you need the oxygen for your lungs..." Jay looks over at his brother, confusion now setting in a bit as he couldn't dare to look at Erin in this very moment. He had thought she was a goner. She wasn't waking up and he was right there. How was Jay supposed to protect them?

"So it was just a dream?" Jay questions, and Will nods his head yes as he finally wins through in getting the mask securely back on his brother's face. 

"Just take in the oxygen, and breathe easy....," Will instructions as he finally takes his eyes off of his brother to look up at the numbers on the screen. They were higher than normal, which correlated with Jay's reaction to the nightmare. He knew if they went any higher, they would have company in the form of the nurse's desk being notified and a visit from Connor. "Just relax...." 

"You are going to be okay," Erin comments as she keeps her hand grip on his, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb as she does so. "He is going to be okay, right Will? We don't need to call Connor, right?" 

"It's coming back under control....." Will finally takes his eyes off of the monitor to look at his brother, brushing a piece of hair out of his face. "It was just a dream, okay? No matter what was happening, it is not actually happening, and it is not going to happen. We are going to keep you safe. We have guards positioned in case something happens. We also know I can't fight like you, but I will do whatever it takes to ensure you're safe. You just need to focus on getting better..." 

"We need you to get better...." Erin feels a tear trickle down her cheeks, as she couldn't help but think back to what happened that morning. The fact she stood there frozen while everything transpired. Why hadn't she done something? She deserved the lecture that was to come from Hank for her behavior. "It's my fault that he's after you. I damn well am going to ensure he does not get a chance to get his hands on you." 

Jay wanted to say something, he wanted to offer the assurance that it was okay and such as he would normally. But he could not bring himself to do it. All he could do was clinch his eyes in feeling the pain in his chest. He never cried due to pain. He could always put on the perfect poker face. Why was the pain so bad? 

"Jay?" Erin questions in seeing the reaction on his face, before looking towards Will.

"Chest pain?" Will asks, earning a nod in response. He then takes his stethoscope, listening to his chest with a sigh of relief as he then takes a glance at the IV line. "I don't hear any fluid so you're not bleeding again. You aggravated it with getting so flustered from your nightmare. That's one of those great things that happens when you have a bruised lung and it's trying to heal. Any heightened breathes become that much more painful, and increase the risk of bleeding again. You need to take it easy, okay? Pain killers should be administering soon as it shows being close to the four hour window. You will get some relief..." 

"You're going to be okay...." Erin continues rubbing the hand as she looks back at him, hoping to see him begin to relax. She then reaches up with her other hand, rubbing his chest in hopes it would maybe somehow give him some relief. "We're going to get through this...."