Chapter 3- 13 Hours Staring At The Light

I'm bbbbaaacccckkkkkk! Thank you all so, so much for your sweet responses and awesome prompts! I will try my best to get to each of them and I hope they deliver. Before we get to this chapter's prompt, I wanted to answer a question I received.

Guest asked: "…do you work in a medical profession? I have no idea about medicine but you convinced me." I do not, but I do have a very interesting google search history. :) I'm actually an accountant at a non-profit but would love to break into screen writing or at least writing for a certain television show. Don't know how to get into that realm, but would love the opportunity.

So this prompt was a somewhat popular one.

Anon: "Could you do a story where our beloved character is stabbed. Serious repercussions of course. Thanks!"

Anonymous: "I like Jay being stabbed."

This is going to be crazy. Let's get it started.

It was a normal day involving a normal case. The members of Intelligence arrived in their usual cars and sauntered and schlepped up the stairs at their normal rate. There were the typical jokes and snarky, humorous remarks and the settling down from the leader. The case was well within the district and involved familiar enemies of the city. Teams were broken down into the assumed groups and each went about doing their qualified, regular things. The drive to locations were the same and the demeanor was per usual. Some could say it was the simple, single diversion of protocol that sent things spiraling. Others might argue it was all part of life's plan. Regardless, one person's split second decision sent the seemingly normal day into a series of unfortunate, dire events. It was late afternoon, early dusk when it all began.

There was the sound of metal hitting concrete. The two of them were tip toeing around an abandoned building; the smell and aisles giving hint to a hardware store. They bookended each aisle, one looking left while the other went right. They were near the end when from the back, the sound echoed. Scuffling and hushed, slurred swearing confirmed a living, unknown person was in their midst. Jay told Hailey to radio it in as he picked up his speed, ignoring her warnings as he charged forward, hell bent on capturing whoever was ahead of him.

He made it through the door to the back of the store when a crack of light from the outdoors broke open. Jay was sprinting at this point, still ignoring Hailey's cry to slow down and wait. The light from the sunny afternoon made him squint, creating a moment to pause and adjust. Looking back, the attacker, evilly and smartly, utilized that moment to his advantage. Because Jay maybe inhaled once when the first thin, white hot radiation of pain broke the plane of Jay's skin. It took his breath away, but the mental toughness kept him in action. Stopping was going to be the end of everything. Keep moving, continue fighting, and he'd win this. Jay didn't look down, but rather, fixated his vision on the person on the other end of the knife. He was a scrawny, long haired, thin guy who was barely over twenty. To the unsuspecting eye, he looked liked a guy your grandmother could put away. But, when you add in adrenaline and a random concoction of drugs, the guy might as well have been Muhammed Ali. Jay grabbed the guy's arm and squeezed, hoping to find that pain spot in the wrist that immobilizes the hand. He squeezed, the guy used his free hand to punch Jay squarely in the jaw. His head twisted before the rest of him lunged on top of the attacker, still not letting go of the arm wielding the knife. It was a long, thick blade. Looking like a chef's knife or a well constructed shiv. More than qualified to do some serious damage.

It was a series of rolls, punches, and slamming on concrete, but Jay still found himself pinned to the ground. They made eye contact with each other, mentally telling the other to flinch first. That was when the brief smile broke out before driving the knife through a second time. The pain level spiked to a new level of misery. Jay actually grunted and fought back tears, still reminding himself that stopping wasn't an option. It was at this point Jay remembered he had legs, and successfully kneed the guy in that super sensitive spot. He stood up and backed away from Jay, cradling that spot as Jay pulled out a gun and aimed it point blank.

"I dare you," Jay half whispered, hoping the shake in his hand wouldn't botch the shot. Sure enough, in his manic, drug infused state, the guy lunged and Jay fired. The guy was dead before he fell at Jay's feet. It should be mentioned that the back of this warehouse had a ledge where trucks backed in to unload inventory. This is important because, in his shocked, physically declining state, Jay misjudge his two backward steps and in no time, was looking up at the ledge twenty feet above him. He did his best to cry for help, but it was a mere whisper as he slipped into a deep level of unconsciousness.

…

"Jay! Can you hear me? JAY!" Hailey's head snapped left and right, looking for a direction. She noticed the limp body starfished at the end of the ledge. She cautiously walked towards it, knowing it wasn't Jay, but wondering how this guy ended up this way and what that meant for her partner. It was an out-of-body moment finding Jay in that state. Her knees buckled and her arms became magnets to her face, the stomach was making its' ascent to her mouth.

"10-1, officer down. Ping my location and set up a level one protocol. I needed an ambo here yesterday." Crackling confirmations replied as she worked her way down to Jay, feeling the sting of the jump against her feet, only dreading how bad off Jay was after a fall that great.

"Hey, just breathe. Hang in there." She didn't know where to start. There was red, everywhere and it was steadily leaking out from under Jay. It was a creepy contrast to the white ground beneath him. Like a horror movie almost, there was just red and white and black and fear all over. Hailey didn't know if she should move him or press or just sit back and sob. She opted to lean closer, thinking that would give her the path to choose. Jay's eyes were closed, but he'd let out grunts or whines every minute or so. Like he was dreaming or something, she figured it was all he could give her, letting her know he was alive. His breathing was rather labored, making it appear every ounce of existence was channeled into every breath. Hailey noticed the shake in the exhales, the blood loss making him colder with each heart pump. The gurgle in his inhale made her skin crawl.

"It's ok. Just keep breathing. Help is coming," she kept repeating. She could have sworn a smirk briefly shone on his mouth, making the dam of tears burst open. Hailey held his hand and repeated encouraging words. It was a random jumbling, but she hoped the noise would keep him with her. The ambulance arrived and Hailey didn't break her spot next to Jay. The paramedics literally had to pry her hand away so they could work in the rig. Shell shock kept her from remembering the turns and lane changes. What seemed like five hundred million years later, the group rolled to a halt in an ER ambulance bay. Hailey curled into a ball as the swarm of people whisked Jay out of Hailey's viewpoint. Her sobs intermingled with prayers, asking that that wasn't the final moment she'd see her partner breathing on earth.

…

A wailing police siren creeped into her auditory field, but it was nothing more than background noise. The scared, somewhat loud voice is what brought her to back to reality, unfortunately.

"Hailey," Will nervously asked? It dawned on her that she ordered a level one protocol, the series of steps that no one ever wants put into motion. A police officer from the 21st was given orders to snatch Jay's emergency contact—Will—from wherever he was and race him to Jay's current location. Hailey did a once over before realizing they weren't at Med. The coloring of the outside walls were different and the people sitting around were unrecognizable. It was entirely dark out now. Words were not coming up so she sat there, on the seat in the ambulance, dumfounded.

"Hailey," Will spoke again, his voice more serious this time.

"He…grunted…red…" Will stepped into the rig and sat next to her, grabbing a shoulder and waiting for her to look over at him. He saw the tears and realized it was bad. He'd seen her on and off the job, elated and concerned, but never catatonic. She was physically here, but mentally wherever Jay currently was. Immediately, his mind went to the worst case scenario, Jay was dying.

"I'm sorry," she whispered through the new set of tears. Will leaned in to hug her, still wanting to learn what all happened. She mumbled apologizes and Will reassured her things would be ok, basically telling himself the same thing. They were like this for minutes before the paramedics returned to their vehicle, surprised to find people still occupying it.

"Hey, sorry, but we've.."

"-It's fine," Will interrupted.

"We're leaving." The medics connected the dots as Will helped Hailey out.

"You're the emergency contact?"

"Yes, his brother. What happened?" They gave him the highlights. Multiple stab wounds, back injury, blood loss, in and out of consciousness. Very unlike Will, he left Hailey behind, no longer caring about anything else. His brother was dying and he needed to know. Gosh, he hated his curiosity and control. He could never leave things in the hands of others. He needed to know what happened and how he could fix it. He's not one to sit back and just see what happens. Furthermore, he was not about to let his brother go without a fight.

"Sir, you can't," a nurse yelled, Will not caring in the least.

"You're going to have to drag me out," a spoke as the ER doors slid open, granting him full access to the small, quiet department. It was so odd going from a jam packed ED to a quiet, almost boring environment. Sure, they were in a quieter part of town on a slow night, but there was something eerie about this place. There was a reason people drove past this place to another hospital, but Will couldn't figure out why. It was a university run hospital and appeared to be up to date. Whatever the reason, Will was grateful for it; less traffic meant more resources at Jay's disposal. The room was set up vastly different from Med. Rooms were squared into corners along the perimeter of the room with the nurses station down a hall. Room were divided by curtains and lacking in numbers. It appeared people just grabbed whatever was free. On this night, there were only two curtain drawn in the department. One had two sets of feet while the other had four, five, maybe six sets; alerting Will that Jay was in the crowded curtained room. Perhaps he shouted Jay's name, or that pesky nurse caught up to Will, but he had his hand on the curtain door when someone yelled at him.

"Sir! You can't go in there."

"I'm his brother and a doctor. I have to see him."

"No, not in that state. Let them work. They're doing all they can."

"What?! What state?"

"Just let them do their work." In a caring way, she pushed Will onto a bed across the way from Jay and let him watch. Down a sense, Will kept a laser beam of focus on the green curtain across the way to figure out what was going down. The moving sets of feet told him the situation was bad. Wheels were moving closer to what Will assumed was a bed. People were shouting to stand back and a clicking sound came seconds later. An x-ray, Will detected, inspecting the back injury. Will noticed a black pile in the right side corner of the room. The Velcro badge told Will it was the failed vest, the perimeter of blood making Will's head droop in depression. If his clothing was that blood soaked, Will shuttered at how much might've been left in Jay's body.

"Get a thoracotomy kit," echoed throughout the department. Will got a small glimpse of feet on a bed as the curtain opened and shut. They were poking out from under a hospital gown thrown at the end of Jay's body. They were grayish, which was odd, and his toes were pointed out; evidence of testing for sensation and reflexes. The fact they were pointed out was a good sign; a glimmer of hope in the midst of a crisis.

Will was transmitting mental messages to Jay when the curtains opened wide twenty-five minutes later. Will let out a small gasp before his legs took over. He didn't tell himself to move, but soon he was walking a foot behind Jay and the horde of medical personnel. They were moving at a quick pace, each focusing on the person lifeless in the bed before noticing the addition.

"Hi," one of the nurses rudely questioned?!

"I'm…I'm, dammit. He can't be alone." Whatever word he muttered worked because they allowed Will to ride on the elevator to the surgical floor. Will didn't say anything, just stared at Jay in a trance. He was pale, like a week old corpse in a morgue. He was connected to so many things, and breathing via a machine, he looked so thin and helpless and tiny. There were two large, bloody gauze pads on Jay's sides. One appeared to cause the need for the thoracotomy tray's chest tube, the other in a sensitive, vital spot. More than anything, Will wanted to reach down and hug him, breathe life back into the broken body. Instead, he opted to grabbing a cluttered hand and squeezing till he was told to let go. He watched them all disappear behind the beige doors before collapsing in a chair. He hated that he wanted to know everything because in this moment, it was hard to find a silver lining.

…

It felt to be well into the early hours of the morning. Will lost track of how long it'd been since he saw Jay venture down that hall, but it felt to be half a day at least. People came and left. Apologies were given and moments of comfort were dealt. Hailey sat outside the OR doors for about an hour before passing out in a chair, Adam and Atwater offering her a ride home. Voight hung back with Antonio, much to Will's dislike. Not that he didn't want them there, he hated to keep them away from what they were good at: finding answers to the necessary questions. Their response was that Will was priority number one, everything else could wait. So the three took shifts staying awake. Will crashed first followed by Voight and Antonio. Their awakenings always started the same: "any word." Solemn head shakes were the only response. Will had fallen asleep for the second time when the door creaked open, causing the room to heighten its' anticipation and dread.

The news was a quick delivery. Fractured vertebra in his lower back, swelling and excessive bruising around the area. The fractured portion was refused and reconstructed with things Will didn't want to hear about. Then came the stabbed areas. His right kidney was functioning around forty-five percent and likely to not last much longer. High doses of miracle drugs were being administered, but the end of that organ loomed large. The stabbing on the left side punctured his lung, but the chest tube, ventilation, and time would heal the damage. Overall, he wasn't out of the woods and currently in a lot of pain. Jay was sedated for the night with reevaluation the following afternoon. From there, things became a jumbling of words. Will hung his head low and repeatedly shook his head in disbelief. Any one of those could drastically altar, or worse, end Jay's life. The trio was waiting for a miraculous intervention. Voight and Antonio practically held Will's hands on the ride up. Everything was numb and senseless. Will wasn't sure how a totally normal day went so tragically wrong. He didn't notice the floor Jay was on nor did he remember the maze of turns and hallways to Jay's room. The three stood outside the door staring at the struggle soul in the bed. Antonio opened the door for Will and told him to hang in there. The two of them stood outside the door watching Will pull up a chair next to Jay and seriously sob into the sheets draping over the edge of the bed. Dawn was creeping into the gut wrenching scene's backdrop.

…

It was around the twenty-four hour mark that Will made the call. The day was a blur of sleepless pain. Will calculated he might've gotten two, three hours of sleep that day. He'd doze off and a nurse or doctor would slide into the room, waking him from his mild slumber. There was only one check-in he missed and figured pure exhaustion was the reason. But even in his record level of sleep deprivation, he considered his day great compared to the person in bed. The thing that shocked Will the most was how much pain Jay was experiencing while under the sedation. Obviously, he couldn't talk or move, but he'd groan, like a person having a terrible nightmare. At first, Will meant that to mean Jay was trying to wake up. But as the incidents happened every four hours or so, it became apparent it was the pain meds wearing off. From there, doses were upped and new, more powerful medications were administered, but nothing seemed to keep Jay out of that four hour cycle. There was a particular moment around 1pm where Jay's eyes snapped wide open and he gagged on the vent tube exactly once. Will had never sprung that fast, instantaneously sitting at the edge of Jay's bed, hovering over him and telling him things were fine. Jay responded with sped up breath and tears. That sent monitors off and nurses rushing in to inject the sleep inducing, mild pain relieving drugs. Will talked to Jay till things resumed their normal levels. It was a first, seeing a medically induced, comatose person just return to the world. From there, he'd sit by Jay's side when the groaning pain would kick in. If Jay was conscious in those brief, terrible moments, the last thing he wanted was for Jay to feel alone.

It was getting dark out the window now, letting the occupants of the room know another day was over, a big hurdle was leapt over. Jay had reached the twenty-hour mark since this whole escapade started. The trauma surgeon who worked on Jay, and a nephrologist were conducting the promised check-in, discussing the next step no one wanted to take.

"He seems to be holding," Will hopefully interjected into their concerned observations.

"And the pain levels should start declining tomorrow." They both nodded before going back to reading the monitors over Jay's head and the tablets cradled in their hands.

"We need to discuss the removal of the kidney. The dialysis isn't working. He's had several rounds of it and the function is still going down. At this point, it's putting strain on the good kidney and soon will start effecting other organs. It's time."

"Yeah, I know," Will replied, still not believing they were at this point. No one ever envisions being at this place: cutting out a vital part of a family member's body like it's a game of Operation. Will hated that Jay was going come out of this physically changed, but that's the situation in front of him: the kidney or Jay, keep one and kill the other. The answer was undeniable simple.

"Take it out." Things began moving around and outside the room. Pre-op nurses came in with paperwork needing signatures and wristbands for a free spot on Jay's right arm. Sedation was lifted and areas were prepped. Will looked away as they applied the brown, sterile liquid near the first surgery's entry point. The worst part was the removal of the pain medication. Mixing those with the anesthesia was a risk, so they opted to put Jay under in his room. There was this small overlap of things exiting his system and the anesthesia being injected. Of course, Jay used that time to wake up and squirm from the pain and discomfort. While it was awesome to see Jay use his legs, the act of moving only spiked everything. His eyes ached with pain, each blink harder than the last. Will rested a hand on Jay's arm, hoping to divert his attention.

"Hey, you've gotta stop moving. It'll help," Will spoke, fully aware tears were dripping down his cheeks.

"Jay, just hold still. They're coming with something to help." It was the first time the Halsteads made eye contact with each other, one trying while other really not understanding. The anesthesiologist emerged minutes later and was soon counting Jay down to sleepy time. It was odd to watch. Jay went from moving and moaning to complete unconsciousness in a matter of milliseconds. Will stepped away to let the surgical team take over. He followed them down the hall, onto the elevator, and swing through those same beige doors from yesterday. Will was thankful Jay probably wouldn't remember this part of the recovery. It was absolute hell and Will concluded it would change the essence of Jay Halstead everyone knew and loved.

…

The hospital had this large, glass encased pedestrian bridge overlooking a busy road, with the city's expansive nature in the foreground. The bridge was the connection between the surgical suites, ICU floors, and emergency departments and the offices and outpatient sections of the hospital. Will stood outside the beige doors for a few minutes before his mind told him to get away for a bit. The waiting room felt like a death trap, so he walked past it and just shuffled on. The cafeteria was a quick visit, allowing to Will eat food for the first time in twenty-four hours. He got a couple of bites of sandwich in before the anxiety brought digestion to a halt. Very zombie like, he tossed the food before riding the elevator, destination unknown. He was convinced people were chatting about him, wondering what happened to put him in this state. But he honestly didn't care. His brother was losing a piece of him, truly, nothing else mattered. He was reaching this moment of epiphany when the elevator chimed and the doors quietly opened, revealing the shining light of the outdoors reflecting on the window covered bridge. Angels were singing in his head as he walked toward the literal light.

It was stunning, seeing the world in this way. At this height, life was put into perspective. There wasn't any noise and there was no chaos. All that was left was the beauty of the world. The sun was setting, cascading the sky's varying pinks, reds, and oranges against the dark grey buildings. Trees were rustling against the ever present puffs of wind. The grass was green, the water was blue, everything looked like a perfectly detailed painting. Will rested his chin on the railing and just stared. He people watched, day dreamed, did everything he could to divert his attention away from a room in this hospital. His phone buzzed in his pocket, taking him out of his euphoric state and back to the life he was residing in.

"How's he doing?" The ruff voice gave away that it was Voight. The weird thing was the slight concern in the question.

"In surgery," was all that came out.

"Bad?"

"Yeah, they couldn't save the kidney." There was a pause for a moment.

"I'm on the bridge," Will mumbled under his breath, his eyes not breaking the stare of the city.

"We'll be there." And then the phone clicked. Will had never been more thankful for people in his life. Regardless of the important things they were doing, it was all dropped for the sake of Jay's, and Will's, wellbeing. He didn't know what they did to deserve such people, but was overwhelmed with thankfulness and gratitude for the opportunity to have them.

They came in a single group. They waved and nodded their heads, getting that Will wasn't in a talking mood. They let Will lead the waiting game. When he was silent, they were silent. When he talked, they talked. It wasn't about making Will feel better or distracting him from wherever Jay was. It was just about being there, letting Will get a visual reminder that he wasn't alone in all this. And that's how they were for the remainder of the surgery, only stirring when someone on the overhead speaker called out Jay's patient ID. It was done. Now came the second act.

Three Days Later

"Good job, Jay," Will praised as the nurses took away the ventilator and breathing tube. The atmosphere shifted so quickly from a few days ago. The day after the surgery, Jay woke up, like alert and conscious levels. The drugs were still doing a number on him, but he responded to questions with blinks and was somewhat coordinated. He was able to feel all the way down to his toes and twitch them when asked. Over time, as the swelling and bruising would subside, his mobility would return, the doctors confident he'd be walking and running before too long. At the time, he was still dependent on the vent, so they gave him a paralytic in his neck to help with the gagging. The side effect was constant drooling, but it was better than watching him lie on the bed unconscious.

The next forty-eight hours saw steady improvement. The drainage tube from the now kidney-less side of him was removed yesterday, which was an ordeal all in itself. Jay still wasn't totally aware of what all went down earlier in the week, but he got that it was dire for a bit. Then came the dawning of day three post-op, the day where he decided breathing on his own was cool. He'd take a breath as deep as he could, and gag on the exhale. That was all that was needed to ditch the tube. And now, as the high-flow oxygen system was strapped around his nose, it was incredible to witness. This still broken body had a determined and willing soul desperately trying to break out. Jay would roll his eyes in tiredness or resentment for the new contraption, but he was doing a vital thing on his own. He was sound asleep as the crowd left the room, leaving the two Halsteads alone again. Will loved the silence. Things felt more normal, despite them still being on the ICU floor days after two massive, life changing operations. Jay slept for the rest of the day, not even stirring when blood draws and needle pokes were administered. The staff chuckled at his level of deep sleep, Will couldn't have been more proud. Then came midnight.

"Feel…swollen," Jay slurred, the constant blasting of the high-flow oxygen sounding through his voice. Will sat up from the chair, his hair a royal mess.

"Did you say something?"

"Swollen." The tone was veering on the annoyed side.

"Sorry, but it's normal. It'll go away when the tube comes off." Jay got a half nod in, satisfied with the explanation. It was silent for awhile before sleepy one spoke again.

"Back hurts." Will got up and did the normal routine; squeezing toes and poking up the legs before gently feeling around the incision on his back. Everything appeared normal at this point of the recovery.

"Things seem fine. Your back was fused and reconstructed with disks and screw, it's going to hurt. There's a button over there that'll give you more drugs, but you might need an epidural if it gets worse." Jay nodded again, saving his energy for necessary communication.

"What about everything else?" Jay opened his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, becoming more coherent as he stared out.

"Where's everybody?" Will leaned forward in the chair a bit.

"It's after midnight so they're home. But they were here earlier." Another nod as he touched the tube under his nose.

"When does this come off," pointing to the chest tube in his side.

"Probably before you get discharged, which'll be in about a week if things go well." Jay resumed day dreaming, feeling the full effect of the drug haze. Will just kinda stared at him, smirking as Jay failed to detect his glare.

"There was a light," Jay whispered.

"What?" Will was convinced Jay was out of it.

"A light. It was really bright and it kept saying things. Time or something, I don't know. But it told me to wake up and…" He looked over at Will, who wasn't sure where to go from there. He eventually choose the option of sarcasm.

"You smell really bad. Like you haven't showered in five or six days." That got an epic Halstead eye roll.

"Tomorrow," he replied as he fell back onto the pillows and snoozed.

I warned it was crazy intense, right? You know the rest of the story. Jay gets discharged, recovers, and goes back to work all while annoying and scaring Will and the rest of Intelligence. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Can't wait to see what comes next.