A/N: As promised, not keeping you waiting forever for the end. Major thanks to all of you who stuck by me to the end. I truly appreciate it. Please see the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you all enjoy this last chapter, and please review!

Twenty-Eight

The sight before him was downright haunting.

Hollow eyes staring back at him, the life completely drawn out of them. He shook internally, trying to keep it together as he stared at the body in front of him, pale except for the blood stains on the clothes and on the ground. A hand reached out and touched his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly.

"You okay?" Erin said softly as she squeezed his shoulder.

Jay shook his head, not trusting his voice to say anything.

"I spoke to his parents. They had just gotten home when they found him."

"We believe that?" Jay asked, finally breaking his stare from the dead teenager before him to look at Erin.

"They have surveillance cameras in the front. Video confirms they pulled up just before the 911 call."

Jay nodded, but didn't say anything further.

"Jay?" Will said, walking into his brother's apartment.

Jay didn't answer, sitting on the couch while nursing a beer. The TV droned on in the background, reviewing the sports highlights from the day.

Something safe, Will thought to himself. He had heard from Erin that Jay was having a bad day, and that she was stuck at work and couldn't be there. Will, on the other hand, could actually get away from work.

Jay didn't move, barely blinked, as he stared blankly at the TV.

Will made his way in between Jay and the TV, causing Jay to finally register that someone else was there. Will didn't say anything, choosing to remain crouched in front of his older brother, waiting for him to say something.

Jay looked away from his brother.

Will didn't move, either.

"Erin call you?" Jay finally said after what had been almost an hour.

"Yeah," Will replied.

Jay took a drink from his beer.

"She didn't go into detail."

Jay nodded, closing his eyes. "We pulled a case… a bad one," he said.

Will said nothing, opting to untangle from the crouch he had been in to sit on the floor.

"Kids being molested and raped by their swim coach," Jay continued. "Teenagers. And this… guy… they were supposed to trust him…"

Will nodded to himself.

"I, uh, I ended up taking one of the kids' statements. Matt. Good kid who just…"

"Yeah," Will breathed.

Jay sniffed. "Then, we get a call to Matt's house. He… he was dead."

Will nodded again, understanding Jay's pain.

"He killed himself. Kid was so scared of his parents finding out what happened to him, that… that he just… ended it. And, I get it. I get that pain, that feeling of just… just wanting to end it all. It's all I think about. Why am I here? Why don't I just end it?"

Will bit his lip as he swallowed, attempting to drop the lump in his throat.

Jay shook his head, finally turning to meet his brother's gaze. "I don't know why, but… I just… I can't."

"I, uh, I know I don't understand what you're going through, and that I probably never will," Will said. "But… I'm kinda glad you can't."

"I'm… I'm glad you don't understand," Jay told him. "I just…" He sighed heavily. "I just wish that this could just, all be over. I just want to feel okay again, you know?"

"Yeah."

"But… then I have a couple good days, and… I know that I'm getting there. That I'm getting better, that… that one day, I'll get past this. I know that… that I'll never be okay again. Hell, I haven't been for a long time. But… but I know that there's going to be a point when I'm having more good days than bad."

"Jay, your good days are already outnumbering the bad," Will pointed out.

"Yeah, but when I have a bad day… it's like everything's new and fresh," Jay said. "And, I'm just… just working toward a day when… when the bad days aren't as bad. And the good days are actually good."

"You're getting there."

"Yeah, slowly."

"It takes time."

"I know."

Jay held Erin close to him, feeling her warmth against him. It was one of the best feelings in the world. And as she slept, he realized that the day would come where he would be able to close his eyes without nightmares again. Where he would feel okay again.

Every day was a new day. And he knew he would be there to see it.

As much as it hurt to keep going on, Jay knew will had been right. He was getting there. He had made it this far, and he could make it through. He didn't need to die to be okay. He was going to be okay on his own.

Well, with some help.

She muttered something in her sleep, and he kissed her gently on the top of the head. He pulled herself closer to him, closing his eyes.

And for the first time, in a long time, he actually slept.

The End