What was the real reason Papa Halstead didn't want Jay to be in the military?
"He didn't want me to enlist, didn't even show up the day I graduated from the academy."
Hailey could see the rage boiling underneath her partner's skin, she could feel his temper rising. Something was off... she didn't know what it was but something was definitely off.
It had been a couple hours and the shock of the recent events was over. Jay was still benched, it was weird not having him mocking people in the bullpen or laughing up a storm when Ruzek did something stupid. But the team knew that he just needed some time to process everything that had happened. Will tried his best to be there for him but he also needed to process everything.
"Will you need to know that Jay's coming in..."
"What? What happened?" He questioned making a dead bolt for the double doors stationed beside the ambulance bay. He didn't hear whatever Maggie was about to say next. As the ambo pulled in he blocked everything out, he couldn't hear the dry voices of his friend behind him. All he could focus on was his brother.
"It's okay Will I'm fine!" Jay complained, pushing Brett off him, gently but effectively.
"Yeah you look fine." Will piped in, helping to unload the stretcher his brother was laying on. He wheeled and exasperated Jay into a room and threw some gloves onto his hands. "So what happened?" Will asked, a softer look on his face as he examined his baby brother.
"I got him... the guy who set the fire... I got him." Jay explained, sucking in a breathe when Will got to close to the open wound that stretched across his lower belly. "Ow!" Jay yelled, feeling Will's strong hands pressing closer and closer to the hole that was torn into his flesh.
"I know... I know... I'm sorry." Will apologized, removing his hands from his brother's body and tearing off the gloves. He turned away from Jay, sucking in a breath as he did. "Listen... the law says I'm not allowed to treat you so I'll call Nat, she'll be quick about getting this stitched. In the meantime I'll get you some ice for your chest cause that's going to hurt like hell in the morning."
"The morning? It hurts like hell now!" Jay sighed, clutching his side as he tried to shift on the bed.
"I'll get you some meds then." Will said, looking down at his phone, searching for Natalie's name.
"I'm good thanks."
"Don't play it tough, I'm not your boss or a pretty girl, you don't need to impress me with your machoness, you're taking those drugs." Will demanded, reaching towards the drawer and pulling out a needle and syringe.
"I said I don't want it Will!" Jay retorted, putting his hand up in protest.
"I wasn't asking!" Will spit. "You don't have to be in pain! Let me help you." Will stated, his voice breaking, tears threatening to fall. Will stepped forward, the drug still in his hand, ready to poke his brother's arm.
"No!" Jay yelled pushing him back so hard that Will stumbled backwards and landed on his back.
"Stop fighting me!" Will yelled as he stumbled to his feet. "I'm the big brother! You are supposed to listen to me!"
"You know what Will... I'm so god damn tired of people telling me what to do! I don't need to listen to you." Jay retorted, hearing the curtain swing open but not looking to see who was on the other side.
"You might not need to listen to him but you sure as hell are listening to me!" Natalie said from her position in the doorway. Jay huffed in annoyance, looking away as painkillers were pushed into his arm. He held his breath until the needle exited his built arm. "There that wasn't so hard was it?" Nat asked standing aside to grab a suture kit from the other side of the room. In the mean time other members of intelligence had gathered near Jay's room.
"You're an ass." Jay mumbled under his breath, looking directly towards his brother.
"Do you have any idea how I feel right now?!" Will asked. "Do you know what it's like to hear that your fucking brother was shot! To hear that you have to treat him! That you could be watching him die?" Will's voice raised itself drawing everyone's attention. "Don't you get it?" There were now tears streaming down each of their faces. Natalie stopped what she was doing and watched carefully as Will yelled at the broken man in front of her. "I can't do this again! I can't lose another brother! I can't."
Jay's face dropped, his salty tears now falling onto his lap. The whole hospital went quiet. The team stared at the two men, as did every member of the hospital staff that was around.
"I can't be here." Will sighed, shrugging his way through the crowd of people and towards the break room.
"Come back..." Jay whispered, his breath hitching in his throat. "Come back..." he said a little louder, hearing the break room door slam shut behind his brother as Will disappeared from everyone's sight. "Please..." another whisper, this time between a gasp for air. He started to shake, his limbs moving uncontrollably as he began to sob.
Hailey burst into the room and enveloped Jay in a hug. Her arms wrapped around his bare back, his tears stained her clothes, still streaming down his face.
"Alright... easy Jay... deal breaths." She instructed, rubbing gentle, comforting circles into his back.
"Jay you gotta calm down alright, your lungs can't handle this right now. " Natalie told him, also placing a comforting hand on his back and copying Haileys original pattern. Nothing seemed to be working. "Jay... slow down your breathing!" Natalie demanded, hoping her change in tone would force him to calm down.
"Son... you gotta relax." Jay's eyes lifted from his chest and focused on the brown eyes staring back at him. "Just slow it down." Voight said again, taking Hailey's place and standing in front of Jay, who still was breathing to fast. "Can't you give him something?" Hank asked, his eyes pleading with the doctor to help his detective, his friend, a person he thought of as a son.
"Jay if you don't calm down I'm going to have to sedate you." Natalie explained, looking back towards the break room to see if she could spot Will. She couldn't.
"Nat his stats are dropping!" Maggie told her, drawing a sedative into a syringe then handing it to Natalie.
"Alright, this is going to burn..." Natalie told him as she slid the needle into her future brother in law's arm. Jay's head turned to the sight of the needle, eyeing it carefully until he decided that he should take a nap. "That's it Jay go to sleep." She soothed. "Dr Choi can finish the sutures. I need to go check on Will." Natalie stated and then nodded at the surrounding men before making a beeline for the break room.
Will's head was rocking back and forth in between his knees as he too tried to slow down his breaths.
"Babe?" Natalie asked, cautiously tiptoeing into the dimly lit room. She sat down beside him, the couch creaking as more of her weight pressed into it. Her small hand found its way to his back. Nat rubbed gentle circles into the small of his back, her other hand resting on his knee. "Will... come on... just take some nice deep breaths." She soothed, her voice quiet and low.
"I messed up..." he gasped. It was then that she noticed the stream of tears that fell from his chocolate eyes, the uncontrollable shake in his hands and the pain that was etched into his voice.
"Okay... we can deal with that later... but right now you need to breathe and calm down." Will looked up to face Nat, she gave him a reassuring smile and then they faced each other. Will's head fell to her lap, her hands found their way to his red hair and played with the untamed curls, helping his breathing slow, now to a normal rate. "Tell me what happened." She said softly.
"It was right after our mom died... I was in pre-med, Jay was in his senior year..." Will paused for a second, holding back more sobs, he breathed through them. "He... um... he was in the marines... it was an ambush... he never stood a chance" Will once again sniffled, his eyes still beet red from crying.
"Who... who never had a chance?" She asked, slicking his hair back and out of his face.
"My older brother..."
"What? I thought you were the oldest?" She piped in softly, still holding his head in her lap, still comforting him, still holding him.
"No... technically I'm the middle child..."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"When he died... Jay and I we weren't in the best place... so we don't talk about it." Will said, finally able to control his raged breathing. "He's all I've got left... I can't do it again... I wouldn't... be able to." He gasped again.
"Hey... hey... look at me! I'm right here okay. I'm fine... Jay's fine. You aren't losing either of us anytime soon. So right now you need to just breathe." She soothed once again. This time all her soothing wasn't working. "MAGGIE." She yelled from behind the glass door. She heard the door open and didn't brother to look who opened it. "I need a sedative for him, nothing heavy but I need something!"
"I'll be right back." Maggie said, latching the door behind her and then opening it again moments later, an antiseptic wipe and syringe in hand. "Stay still." Maggie instructed as Will's eyes lifted from their fixed position on the floor.
"No... I don't want it.." he gasped, squirming against Natalie's tight hold.
"You need to... Will it's only going to help." Maggie piped in, lifting his sleeve and opening the antiseptic package. Natalie pushed his head back down to rest in her lap and Maggie pinched his muscular arm between her thumb and her middle finger. She proceeded to slide the needle into Will's arm, eliciting a squeak. "That's it, I'm all done." Maggie told him. She helped Natalie to lay him down on his back before covering him with a light blanket and turning the light off completely, letting him sleep it off.
"How bout a drink?" Natalie asked looking at Maggie. Hailey, who was the only one still around looked up from her position beside Jay. "Come on you're coming too.
"There was another brother." Natalie states from her position between Maggie and Hailey. "That why Will freaked out... and then subsequently, Jay, when Will mentioned him."
"What happened?" Maggie asked, hiding slightly behind her drink as she took another sip.
"He died overseas... ambush... Will said he never stood a chance."
"That's why..." Hailey mumbled, also from behind her drink.
"That's why what?" Natalie asked.
"When I was talking with Jay earlier he mentioned that his dad didn't want him to enlist... I thought it was because he just wanted him to do construction or something but now I know why... he lost a son over there... he didn't want to lose Jay."
"Poor guys..." Maggie said.
"Hey at least their all together... you know up there." Natalie said looking up towards the ceiling, a lighthearted smile on her face.
"To Halstead!" Maggie hollered.
'To Halstead' the rest of the bar replied, holding up their drinks, sending love to their friends.
Their family...
So I don't know if this is a one shot or if y'all are interested in a second chapter but let me know what you think and if you want a second chapter??? If so what should the chapter be about? Anywho that's all for today! Hope you liked it!
~Natalie