Chapter Text
Jay stopped in his track as he caught sight of the two other men. He had been about to join his brother to discuss their father’s… situation - he refused to accept Pat was dead - when he had noticed Rhodes standing with Will in the otherwise empty hallway. He took a step back, not feeling the slightest bit guilty for eavesdropping on their conversation, considering his brother’s attitude in their father’s room earlier.
“(…) it took me too long,” Will was saying. He was looking out the window, his back turned on his colleague. “I should have -”
“Eh, don’t,” Rhodes interrupted him. He crossed the distance between them to lay a hand on one of Will’s shoulders. “You know better. Will? You know better.”
“Doesn’t make me feel any better,” Will admitted.
And that was new information to Jay. Will had been so… composed as this other doctor had declared their father gone. Almost emotionless. Or at the very least, not as heartbroken as Jay had felt. He had kept this same neutral expression when Jay had caught sight of him and Natalie. And yet, now, he could definitely hear his brother’s voice trembling. Hell, his entire body seemed to be vibrating, even from afar.
“I know,” Rhodes said. “And you don’t have to.”
Will snorted and held his head higher in an attempt not to let any tear fall from his eyes, Jay guessed. However, Rhodes didn’t let him:
“Hey, don’t,” he said. “It’s fine, Will. It’s just me.”
And Jay couldn’t say he saw what happened next coming. He could barely remember the last time he had seen his brother cry and certainly not the last time he had seen him break down the way he did a moment later. A sob escaped Will and he suddenly turned around. But Rhodes was there. He opened his arms and closed them around Will’s body, hugging tightly, as Jay’s brother cried against his neck.
They stood there for what felt like a small eternity without Rhodes showing any sign of impatience or awkwardness. At some point, he had even started treading fingers through Will’s hair, keeping his other arm secure around Will’s middle section. Jay had no idea they were this close. He didn’t understand why Will wasn’t like this with him - he was the one most likely to understand after all - or even, Natalie. What was it about Rhodes? How did he know how to handle Will’s grief when Jay couldn’t? How did he know what to say to get through to Will when, apparently, even his girlfriend couldn’t?
Jay couldn’t help but experience jealousy as he stood in hiding, another tear traveling on his already wet cheek. And yet, when Rhodes was paged a moment later and Will and he looked at each other before the surgeon left, he realized he shouldn’t be the one being worried about Rhodes.