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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see part one
Author’s Note: Some more angst. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Jay but I can’t have him go back to his old happy self right now. No, not possible. He’ll have to suffer for some more time.
Sorry for the delay. RL is kicking my butt right now. Here’s the new chapter now though.
~~~~~
The Past Always Catches Up Part 13
After-effects
Jay sighed tiredly when the door closed. “I want to go home, Mom,” he whispered a tear escaping when he tightly screwed his eyes shut.
“I know you do, Jay,” she replied equally quiet and gently brushed the tear away with her thumb. “And we’ll leave here as soon as the doctor says you can.”
Jay nodded slowly and then winced at the pain that shot through his head.
“Are you in pain?” she asked, watching him.
“No,” Jay lied.
“Jay,” she warned gently. “Are you in pain?”
“My head hurts.”
“Then I’ll get Dr. Sanders back in here again,” she had already got up from the bed.
“No, please.”
Parker retook her seat and watched Jay closely. “Jay, he won’t harm you. Jarod and I wouldn’t let him. If you’re in pain, why won’t you let him help you?”
“I don’t want any medication.”
“But you don’t have to make yourself suffer,” she stated, looking directly at him.
“I don’t want any needles,” Jay mumbled, barely audible.
Parker gritted her teeth to keep from cursing. “Jay, there’re medications he can give you without an injection, you know that.”
Jay kept silent and Parker withdrew slightly. “How about I talk to him and ask him if he can do something about your head that doesn’t include needles?”
“Would you?”
“Of course I would,” her features softened further and she gently caressed his cheek.
Jay leaned into the touch. “Thank you, Mom.”
She shook her head and then got up. “I’ll be back in just a few seconds, ok?”
Jay nodded uncertainly and Parker left the room with several big strides.
She sighed gratefully when she saw Jarod and Dr. Sanders sitting on a bench just a few feet from the door. Both looked up at her when she came out of the room and Jarod instantly sprung to his feet, anxious that something had happened.
“Relax, Jarod, he’s ok,” she waved a dismissive hand at him and Jarod sighed, calming down.
“What is it then?”
“He’s in pain. He says that he’s got a headache.”
“Did it get any worse?” Dr. Sanders asked.
“He didn’t say, but I don’t think it did. He didn’t want to say anything at first, but he’d like to have some painkillers now,” she paused. “Something that doesn’t include needles,” she added pointedly, looking directly at the physician.
Dr. Sanders grimaced slightly and got up from his seat, walking past Parker into the room.
Jay’s eyes nervously darted over to the door. When he saw his mother coming into the room, he relaxed visibly.
“Hey, I said I’d be back in no time,” she gently reminded him, noting the signs of fear.
Jay nodded and let out a breath.
“Jay, your Mom here tells me that you’ve changed your mind about the painkillers,” the doctor said, making Jay nod uncertainly. “I understood that you don’t want an injection.”
“Yeah,” Jay conceded.
“Ok,” Brian said evenly. “Would it be ok if I injected something into the tube over there,” Sanders asked, nodding at IV and waiting for Jay’s permission. “Ok, then I’ll go get the medication. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” the doctor announced after Jay had agreed and then left the room.
A few minutes later Dr. Sanders came back in and nonchalantly walked over to the rack with the saline solution. He felt the Jay’s eyes following him and looked up while he fingered with the tube and imbedded the syringe into it. “Hey,” he smiled at Jay who smiled back shyly. Sanders stepped back from the rack and his smile brightened. “See, I’m done.” He held up his empty hands. The syringe had already vanished into one of his coat pockets.
Jay nodded slowly.
“Would you mind my prying your father away again for a while?” he asked, making Jay smile again and shake his head ‘no’. “And you get some rest, young man, ok?”
“Ok,” Jay replied earnestly. He was gradually relaxing in the presence of the physician.
Jarod and Dr. Sanders left the room again and Parker retook her place next to Jay. She gently touched his cheek and felt Jay relaxing further.
“I’m here, Jay. Just relax and go to sleep. We’ll watch over you,” she whispered and Jay slowly let his eyes drift shut. In a matter of minutes he was asleep. He didn’t hear Jarod come back into the room minutes later.
Parker looked up at Jarod.
“He says that the drugs seemed to have worn off. His pupils are still constricted, but not half as badly as when he arrived. The blood results just came back but they couldn’t identify the drug that had been given to him. His lungs are ok, just as they thought earlier. He’ll need antibiotics for a few days so none of the wounds get infected,” he told her.
“When will we be able to get him home?”
Jarod huffed. “He’s didn’t want to be too specific about that. He says that it’ll probably take a few days. He wants to wait until he’s certain the drugs are out of Jay’s system and he’s off most of the meds.”
Parker nodded.
Jarod sat down next to her. Silently he took her hand and dropped a kiss on it, and then gave her a sad smile.
~~~~~~~~
Jay was asleep for most of the rest of the day, but every time he woke up his eyes searched the room until he found his parents. Only then would he relax.
Parker had managed to convince Jarod to find a hotel room and then stay there for some sleep while she stayed in the hospital. Even though Jarod had argued, he had eventually relented and admitted being tired.
Parker had promised she would stay with Jay until he was back.
Jay seemed to sleep soundly for now, but eventually the memories of what he had endured would surface and torture him - and Jarod would be the only one who would be able to really calm him down.
It had always been that way since they had started their life as a small family.
Jay had always had nightmares just as Jarod had them.
She managed to calm him down and to chase away the lighter ones, but once Jay was deeply immersed in a nightmare, he wouldn’t calm down until Jarod was near.
The relationship had always been special between Jarod and Jay. At first she hadn’t been sure if it was because of their shared blood, but later she decided otherwise. At first she had been envious of the relationship the two men shared, only later had she started to understand the connection those two shared.
Jarod had told her about the state Jay had been in when he had come to where Jay had lived with the Major’s friends, and how Jarod had managed to break through the self-destructive fog Jay had retreated into at the time. From then on she had understood the relationship between the two of them better.
Jay was dependant on Jarod when it came to the more horrific nightmares. Maybe it was because they both had endured similar things. So though she might be able to help, she wouldn’t be able to help him in the darkest hours - not as Jarod could.
She knew Jay would need Jarod around once the memories of those cruel hours he had spent in the Centre started to surface. And once they did, Jarod probably wouldn’t get much sleep. That was why she had sent him away to get some rest now.
Gently she traced the features of Jay’s face, making him stir slightly.
She was glad they had got him out of the Centre before they had been able to break him. She knew without a doubt that they would have succeeded this time; a thought that made her shudder.
The door behind her opened and Dr. Sanders entered quietly.
“How is he?” he asked gently.
“He’s asleep most of the time.”
“That’s good,” he said, jotting something down in Jay’s chart.
Parker pursed her lips. “Only as long as there are no nightmares.”
“Did he have any?”
“Not yet, but they’ll come. After what he’s been through I’m astonished they haven’t surfaced yet.” She gritted her teeth.
The physician nodded his head sadly.
“Don’t you ever call it a day?” Parker asked suddenly, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yes, I do. In an hour and a half to be exact,” he said with a small grin.
Parker nodded thoughtfully.
“Don’t worry, I’ll brief Conny very thoroughly,” he interpreted her thoughts correctly.
“Conny?”
“Yes, Dr. Cornelia Thompson. She’s very good and I don’t think she’ll get into trouble with Jay,” Dr. Sanders explained and smiled at her reassuringly.
“That’s good,” Parker replied and relaxed slightly.
Shortly afterwards Dr. Sanders left her alone with Jay again and the evening wore on without any difficulties.
Jarod came back sometime late in the evening and found Parker sleeping with her head resting on Jay’s bed, both of them asleep.
He smiled and then hesitantly woke Parker up. “Hey,” he nudged her shoulder.
Parker’s head shot up at once.
“It’s ok. It’s only me,” Jarod soothed her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She rubbed a hand over her eyes. “No, it’s ok.”
“We should swap,” he said and gave her the room key.
Parker nodded tiredly. “There’s a new physician. Dr. Sanders shift is over,” she informed Jarod, making him grimace slightly.
“Did Jay already see him?”
“Her,” Parker corrected. “Dr. Cornelia Thompson. But no, Jay was barely awake. I don’t think he really realized anything,” she smiled, shooting the sleeping boy another glance.
“Ok,” Jarod nodded. “Call a cab and get some sleep,” he ordered gently, making Parker nod. She got up from her seat, letting Jarod sit down.
“I hope that the night won’t get too hard,” she whispered and bent down to drop a kiss on Jay’s forehead.
“Yeah, I hope so as well,” Jarod replied softly, telling her that he knew why she had sent him to get some sleep earlier. “Thank you, Parker,” he captured her hand.
She smiled and then bent down to steal a kiss from him, which he eagerly gave her.
“Go on and get some sleep now,” he whispered against her lips.
~~~~~~~
Everything was silent for the next hour or so but then Jay started to get agitated.
At first he was merely stirring slightly, but soon he was trying to shield off his demons and protect his head.
“Jay, it’s ok. It’s only a nightmare. You’re safe,” he mumbled, catching one of Jay’s hands in his.
A nurse chose that time to come into the room. She saw the boy thrashing around and quickly came closer. She was about to grab him to hold him still, when Jarod turned towards her. “No, leave him. You won’t help him by holding him down,” he shook his head.
She hesitated.
“Believe me. It’s not the first nightmare he’s encountering over the years,” Jarod stated.
The nurse nodded and then let her hands sink. “Shall I get the sedatives?” she asked.
“No, it’s ok. He’ll calm down,” Jarod shook his head.
“Ok,” she finally relented and left the room.
Jarod turned back to Jay who was still fighting the demons in his sleep. “It’s ok. Jay, come on, wake up. It’s a nightmare.”
When he finally managed to rouse him after a while, Jay lay in the bed, panting. His eyes were darting back and forth, the unfamiliar room only adding to his discomfort.
“Hush, it’s ok,” Jarod reassured him again and again.
Over the course of the night those episodes came more and more frequently, leaving both Jay and Jarod exhausted.
Jarod got the impression that once Jay closed his eyes, the nightmares resurfaced, leaving Jay covered in sweat once he woke up again.
After yet another nightmare, Jay just didn’t seem to relax.
“Jay, look at me,” Jarod ordered gently, waiting for Jay to comply. “You’re ok. You’re safe. I’m here and I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he reassured his son once more. He was certain that Jay consciously knew he was safe but that fact just didn’t seem to be getting through to him.
Jay struggled to sit up, his eyes filling with tears.
“Shhh, it’s ok,” Jarod soothed and gently wiped a stray tear away. “It’s ok. I’m right here,” Jarod mumbled and sat down on the bed next to Jay, hugging him.
It took a long time until Jay finally calmed down, and even longer until fell into an exhausted sleep. Jarod carefully moved on the bed, trying not to jostle Jay too much as he lay down besides his son.
To be continued…
Author’s Note: Some more angst. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Jay but I can’t have him go back to his old happy self right now. No, not possible. He’ll have to suffer for some more time.
Sorry for the delay. RL is kicking my butt right now. Here’s the new chapter now though.
~~~~~
After-effects
Jay sighed tiredly when the door closed. “I want to go home, Mom,” he whispered a tear escaping when he tightly screwed his eyes shut.
“I know you do, Jay,” she replied equally quiet and gently brushed the tear away with her thumb. “And we’ll leave here as soon as the doctor says you can.”
Jay nodded slowly and then winced at the pain that shot through his head.
“Are you in pain?” she asked, watching him.
“No,” Jay lied.
“Jay,” she warned gently. “Are you in pain?”
“My head hurts.”
“Then I’ll get Dr. Sanders back in here again,” she had already got up from the bed.
“No, please.”
Parker retook her seat and watched Jay closely. “Jay, he won’t harm you. Jarod and I wouldn’t let him. If you’re in pain, why won’t you let him help you?”
“I don’t want any medication.”
“But you don’t have to make yourself suffer,” she stated, looking directly at him.
“I don’t want any needles,” Jay mumbled, barely audible.
Parker gritted her teeth to keep from cursing. “Jay, there’re medications he can give you without an injection, you know that.”
Jay kept silent and Parker withdrew slightly. “How about I talk to him and ask him if he can do something about your head that doesn’t include needles?”
“Would you?”
“Of course I would,” her features softened further and she gently caressed his cheek.
Jay leaned into the touch. “Thank you, Mom.”
She shook her head and then got up. “I’ll be back in just a few seconds, ok?”
Jay nodded uncertainly and Parker left the room with several big strides.
She sighed gratefully when she saw Jarod and Dr. Sanders sitting on a bench just a few feet from the door. Both looked up at her when she came out of the room and Jarod instantly sprung to his feet, anxious that something had happened.
“Relax, Jarod, he’s ok,” she waved a dismissive hand at him and Jarod sighed, calming down.
“What is it then?”
“He’s in pain. He says that he’s got a headache.”
“Did it get any worse?” Dr. Sanders asked.
“He didn’t say, but I don’t think it did. He didn’t want to say anything at first, but he’d like to have some painkillers now,” she paused. “Something that doesn’t include needles,” she added pointedly, looking directly at the physician.
Dr. Sanders grimaced slightly and got up from his seat, walking past Parker into the room.
Jay’s eyes nervously darted over to the door. When he saw his mother coming into the room, he relaxed visibly.
“Hey, I said I’d be back in no time,” she gently reminded him, noting the signs of fear.
Jay nodded and let out a breath.
“Jay, your Mom here tells me that you’ve changed your mind about the painkillers,” the doctor said, making Jay nod uncertainly. “I understood that you don’t want an injection.”
“Yeah,” Jay conceded.
“Ok,” Brian said evenly. “Would it be ok if I injected something into the tube over there,” Sanders asked, nodding at IV and waiting for Jay’s permission. “Ok, then I’ll go get the medication. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” the doctor announced after Jay had agreed and then left the room.
A few minutes later Dr. Sanders came back in and nonchalantly walked over to the rack with the saline solution. He felt the Jay’s eyes following him and looked up while he fingered with the tube and imbedded the syringe into it. “Hey,” he smiled at Jay who smiled back shyly. Sanders stepped back from the rack and his smile brightened. “See, I’m done.” He held up his empty hands. The syringe had already vanished into one of his coat pockets.
Jay nodded slowly.
“Would you mind my prying your father away again for a while?” he asked, making Jay smile again and shake his head ‘no’. “And you get some rest, young man, ok?”
“Ok,” Jay replied earnestly. He was gradually relaxing in the presence of the physician.
Jarod and Dr. Sanders left the room again and Parker retook her place next to Jay. She gently touched his cheek and felt Jay relaxing further.
“I’m here, Jay. Just relax and go to sleep. We’ll watch over you,” she whispered and Jay slowly let his eyes drift shut. In a matter of minutes he was asleep. He didn’t hear Jarod come back into the room minutes later.
Parker looked up at Jarod.
“He says that the drugs seemed to have worn off. His pupils are still constricted, but not half as badly as when he arrived. The blood results just came back but they couldn’t identify the drug that had been given to him. His lungs are ok, just as they thought earlier. He’ll need antibiotics for a few days so none of the wounds get infected,” he told her.
“When will we be able to get him home?”
Jarod huffed. “He’s didn’t want to be too specific about that. He says that it’ll probably take a few days. He wants to wait until he’s certain the drugs are out of Jay’s system and he’s off most of the meds.”
Parker nodded.
Jarod sat down next to her. Silently he took her hand and dropped a kiss on it, and then gave her a sad smile.
~~~~~~~~
Jay was asleep for most of the rest of the day, but every time he woke up his eyes searched the room until he found his parents. Only then would he relax.
Parker had managed to convince Jarod to find a hotel room and then stay there for some sleep while she stayed in the hospital. Even though Jarod had argued, he had eventually relented and admitted being tired.
Parker had promised she would stay with Jay until he was back.
Jay seemed to sleep soundly for now, but eventually the memories of what he had endured would surface and torture him - and Jarod would be the only one who would be able to really calm him down.
It had always been that way since they had started their life as a small family.
Jay had always had nightmares just as Jarod had them.
She managed to calm him down and to chase away the lighter ones, but once Jay was deeply immersed in a nightmare, he wouldn’t calm down until Jarod was near.
The relationship had always been special between Jarod and Jay. At first she hadn’t been sure if it was because of their shared blood, but later she decided otherwise. At first she had been envious of the relationship the two men shared, only later had she started to understand the connection those two shared.
Jarod had told her about the state Jay had been in when he had come to where Jay had lived with the Major’s friends, and how Jarod had managed to break through the self-destructive fog Jay had retreated into at the time. From then on she had understood the relationship between the two of them better.
Jay was dependant on Jarod when it came to the more horrific nightmares. Maybe it was because they both had endured similar things. So though she might be able to help, she wouldn’t be able to help him in the darkest hours - not as Jarod could.
She knew Jay would need Jarod around once the memories of those cruel hours he had spent in the Centre started to surface. And once they did, Jarod probably wouldn’t get much sleep. That was why she had sent him away to get some rest now.
Gently she traced the features of Jay’s face, making him stir slightly.
She was glad they had got him out of the Centre before they had been able to break him. She knew without a doubt that they would have succeeded this time; a thought that made her shudder.
The door behind her opened and Dr. Sanders entered quietly.
“How is he?” he asked gently.
“He’s asleep most of the time.”
“That’s good,” he said, jotting something down in Jay’s chart.
Parker pursed her lips. “Only as long as there are no nightmares.”
“Did he have any?”
“Not yet, but they’ll come. After what he’s been through I’m astonished they haven’t surfaced yet.” She gritted her teeth.
The physician nodded his head sadly.
“Don’t you ever call it a day?” Parker asked suddenly, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yes, I do. In an hour and a half to be exact,” he said with a small grin.
Parker nodded thoughtfully.
“Don’t worry, I’ll brief Conny very thoroughly,” he interpreted her thoughts correctly.
“Conny?”
“Yes, Dr. Cornelia Thompson. She’s very good and I don’t think she’ll get into trouble with Jay,” Dr. Sanders explained and smiled at her reassuringly.
“That’s good,” Parker replied and relaxed slightly.
Shortly afterwards Dr. Sanders left her alone with Jay again and the evening wore on without any difficulties.
Jarod came back sometime late in the evening and found Parker sleeping with her head resting on Jay’s bed, both of them asleep.
He smiled and then hesitantly woke Parker up. “Hey,” he nudged her shoulder.
Parker’s head shot up at once.
“It’s ok. It’s only me,” Jarod soothed her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She rubbed a hand over her eyes. “No, it’s ok.”
“We should swap,” he said and gave her the room key.
Parker nodded tiredly. “There’s a new physician. Dr. Sanders shift is over,” she informed Jarod, making him grimace slightly.
“Did Jay already see him?”
“Her,” Parker corrected. “Dr. Cornelia Thompson. But no, Jay was barely awake. I don’t think he really realized anything,” she smiled, shooting the sleeping boy another glance.
“Ok,” Jarod nodded. “Call a cab and get some sleep,” he ordered gently, making Parker nod. She got up from her seat, letting Jarod sit down.
“I hope that the night won’t get too hard,” she whispered and bent down to drop a kiss on Jay’s forehead.
“Yeah, I hope so as well,” Jarod replied softly, telling her that he knew why she had sent him to get some sleep earlier. “Thank you, Parker,” he captured her hand.
She smiled and then bent down to steal a kiss from him, which he eagerly gave her.
“Go on and get some sleep now,” he whispered against her lips.
~~~~~~~
Everything was silent for the next hour or so but then Jay started to get agitated.
At first he was merely stirring slightly, but soon he was trying to shield off his demons and protect his head.
“Jay, it’s ok. It’s only a nightmare. You’re safe,” he mumbled, catching one of Jay’s hands in his.
A nurse chose that time to come into the room. She saw the boy thrashing around and quickly came closer. She was about to grab him to hold him still, when Jarod turned towards her. “No, leave him. You won’t help him by holding him down,” he shook his head.
She hesitated.
“Believe me. It’s not the first nightmare he’s encountering over the years,” Jarod stated.
The nurse nodded and then let her hands sink. “Shall I get the sedatives?” she asked.
“No, it’s ok. He’ll calm down,” Jarod shook his head.
“Ok,” she finally relented and left the room.
Jarod turned back to Jay who was still fighting the demons in his sleep. “It’s ok. Jay, come on, wake up. It’s a nightmare.”
When he finally managed to rouse him after a while, Jay lay in the bed, panting. His eyes were darting back and forth, the unfamiliar room only adding to his discomfort.
“Hush, it’s ok,” Jarod reassured him again and again.
Over the course of the night those episodes came more and more frequently, leaving both Jay and Jarod exhausted.
Jarod got the impression that once Jay closed his eyes, the nightmares resurfaced, leaving Jay covered in sweat once he woke up again.
After yet another nightmare, Jay just didn’t seem to relax.
“Jay, look at me,” Jarod ordered gently, waiting for Jay to comply. “You’re ok. You’re safe. I’m here and I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he reassured his son once more. He was certain that Jay consciously knew he was safe but that fact just didn’t seem to be getting through to him.
Jay struggled to sit up, his eyes filling with tears.
“Shhh, it’s ok,” Jarod soothed and gently wiped a stray tear away. “It’s ok. I’m right here,” Jarod mumbled and sat down on the bed next to Jay, hugging him.
It took a long time until Jay finally calmed down, and even longer until fell into an exhausted sleep. Jarod carefully moved on the bed, trying not to jostle Jay too much as he lay down besides his son.
To be continued…
