Last chapter, and it's longer this time! Enjoy.
Chapter Three
Will's POV
The TV had become nothing more than white noise after the clock went past 9 o'clock. It was now almost a quarter past 10. My eyes never left my phone which was still lying on the coffee table. I was seriously starting wonder if my eyes were going to start burning holes in it, when it finally lit up and started ringing. I picked it up, my fingers shaking so badly I almost dropped it.
"Hello?" I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Hey Will, it's Antonio. We got him. He's gonna be just fine." Antonio told me. For the first time since yesterday morning, I felt like I could breathe.
"He's okay?" I asked, my voice starting to shake, my vision blurring as tears started to well up in my eyes.
"He's a little banged up. We're taking him to Chicago Med if you want to meet him there." Antonio responded.
"I will, I'm leaving right now." Without waiting for a reply, I hung up and ran for the door, barely remembering to put shoes on.
I was pretty sure I broke at least 8 different traffic laws as I finally pulled into the hospital parking lot, but I didn't care as I saw an ambulance pulling up in the ambulance bay. I started heading over towards it, and sure enough, I saw the EMTs unloading a stretching which had my little brother laying on it.
I started running and didn't stop until I was right beside the stretcher and grabbed Jay's hand. I stayed beside him as the EMTs continued pushing the stretcher into the hospital.
"Will?" Something inside me tightened when I heard his voice, so weak and cracked. I looked down at my brother's face, blood coming out from cuts on the right side of his forehead and on his cheek. His left eye badly bruised, almost completely swollen and another bruise on the left side of his forehead. I saw before as I was coming up to the stretcher that there was blood on his shirt, and the buttons were undone, but I didn't dare look down. Seeing my baby brother's badly injured face was enough to make me want to throw up, I didn't need to see any more, I wasn't ready to see anymore.
"Will?" His voice reaching my ears again. This time though, I looked down just into his green eyes. While I was taking account of his injuries, I failed to notice he was actually wide awake.
"Hey little brother. I'm right here." I told him, giving his hand a slight squeeze.
"Dr. Halstead? I'll take it from here." I looked up at Ethan, who had apparently come over to my side when I wasn't looking.
"I'm alright, it's not like I need surgery or anything." Jay started protesting.
"Be that as it may, Detective Halstead, you still need to get checked out. And if what you're saying is true, then you won't be here very long." Ethan replied.
"I want to know all of his results, and any, and I mean any injuries he could have I want checked out." I told Ethan as sternly as I possibly could. Jay started to protest but i waved him off and looked back at Ethan.
"Don't worry Will, I'll keep you informed. Right now though, we're just going to take him for some tests. Why don't you get go to the cafeteria and get something to eat?" Ethan suggested. I nodded as I turned back to Jay.
"I'll see you soon."
"It'll be a lot sooner than you think, because I am fine." Jay replied as the nurses starting pushing the gurney away towards to the x-ray room.
"Just do what the doctors tell you, and I include myself in that." I responded. Jay didn't have time to answer as he was wheeled around the corner, leaving my line of sight. As soon as he was gone, I headed towards the desk and laid my head down. I now know why sometimes patients, or even their families need time to process when something good happens.
"You okay Dr. Halstead?" I looked up to see Sarah sitting behind the desk, a chart in her hand, looking at me concerned. I couldn't help but smile at her.
"Yeah, I'm good."
"Will." I turned around and there was Antonio, coming towards me from the other side. He must've driven here and come through the front doors.
"They took him for some tests but he keeps insisting he's fine." I didn't need the detective to ask, I knew that was what he wanted to know. Antonio nodded telling me he heard what I said.
"I'm heading down to the cafeteria. Want to join me?" I asked, finally feeling my appetite return. Antonio nodded and together we left the emergency.
Jay had been brought back up and placed in a room by the time Antonio and I finished eating. Apparently Voight had wanted someone from the unit to stay with Jay as the rest wrapped up the case and Antonio volunteered. He said that Erin would've come too, but since she was the detective who went in and saved my brother, she had to go give her statement and everything.
When we heard that Jay was back, we headed to his room. He was laying against the pillows; the bed was lifted upwards at 45 degrees. At first glance, I though he was sleeping, but he opened his eyes when he heard us come in.
"Hey, you been here long?" Antonio asked as we both came to opposite sides of the bed.
"Not very." Jay answered, giving each of us a smile.
"Would've been here sooner but somebody had to make sure your brother over there ate something." Antonio explained. Jay looked over at me concerned but I smiled and shook my head, silently telling him the older detective was kidding.
"It's fine. Any results in yet?" Jay asked. From the sound of his voice alone, I could tell how exhausted he was. And given that I myself felt like I was going to crash now that the fear and panic that I'd been feeling was gone, I could only imagine how tired he must be.
"I know this is hard to believe little brother, but there are more people in this hospital than you who also need their results and want to leave." I told him, sarcasm dripping into my voice.
"Just go to sleep Halstead. We'll wake if we need you, or if we have any info for you." Antonio told him. Jay nodded and let his eyes close. It didn't even take five minutes before Jay's breathing evened, and he was fast asleep.
"You know, you should take a page out of your brother's book and get some sleep to, older Halstead." Antonio said after a few moments of silence.
"I will. Later." I replied, sitting down on the chair by Jay's bedside. Antonio nodded, then left the room, saying he was just going to call Voight to give him an update. I barely heard him, my entire focus on the young man asleep on the hospital bed.
It took almost a half an hour for Ethan to come back with the test results. I should've known something was wrong when he didn't read them out loud to me, but instead just handed me the file and said, 'He'll be okay, we'll release him in the morning.'
As I opened my brother's file and started reading, I really wished I had a punching bag. While there was luckily no serious injury, his ribs were bruised due to constant pressure, most likely that of a fist, many burns consistent of that caused be a taser. There were ligature marks around his wrists and slight dehydration and malnourishment as he hadn't received any food or water in over 24 hours.
It took all of my will power to not shake my brother awake and demand to know exactly what happened and who was it I needed to find and kill. There were only three problems with doing that. One, Jay would never tell me or probably anyone what happened. Two, Jay really needed sleep and I wasn't going to deny him that. Three, if I did go after whoever kidnapped my brother and beat him, I would probably end up in jail, or dead. And while Jay could probably get Voight to help get me out of jail, they weren't able to bring back the dead.
At around 5 o'clock, Voight showed up. I guess Antonio, who left had noon, didn't reassure him enough.
"How is he doing?" Voight asked quietly, seeing that Jay was still asleep.
"He's going to be okay. Dr. Choi said that he wants him to take at least a week off, then he could go back to work, but only one desk duty." I said, looking back at my brother.
"Oh he'll be on desk duty for a while, I promise you that." I grinned at Voight's statement. Jay is so going to hate that. It was then that I realized what I had asked him earlier this morning.
"Did you make him, whatever his name was, pay?" My voice dropping low and becoming emotionless.
"Erin did that. She killed one of Keyes henchmen with a knife, and killed Keyes with at least three bullets to the chest." Voight answered. It made me feel slightly better that they had both paid for what they did, but only slightly. Voight left soon after that, saying that somebody from the unit will be back in the morning to check on him. It was a few minutes after he left, that Jay's eyes opened again.
"Hey." I whispered, a smile coming to my face again.
"Hey. You been here all this time?" Jay asked, his voice still affected by he's exhaustion. I nodded.
"What can I say, I feel better when I can keep an eye on you."
"You know, what happened, an op doesn't always go that sideways. It barely happens." Jay tried to assure me.
"Well it did happen. And I won't forget that, even if I could, I wouldn't." I told him, my smile turning into a frown.
"Hey, I'm going to be okay. I'll be out tomorrow and you can check me over yourself if it makes you feel better."
"That's cute, you think you have a choice in the matter." Jay and I both started to laugh, though his was smaller and shorter than mine.
"You should go home an get some sleep and some food, you like crap." Jay told me after the chuckling stopped. I nodded, I was starting to think the same thing, though I didn't want to leave him.
"Just," I paused and looked down at the side of the bed where my folded hands laid, my voice cracking as tears again started to well up in my eyes. I took a deep breath before looking back at Jay who was in turn, staring at me, "just promise you won't ever scare me like that again."
"I promise I will try my hardest not to scare you like that again." I winced when I heard the change he made in that sentence. Of course he couldn't promise what I wanted him to, but at least he'd try. I nodded and stood up off the chair.
"I'll be back in the morning okay? Just push the call button and have the nurse call me if you need anything."
"I will, now get out of here or they might make you stay overnight too." Jay responded. Surprising him, and me a little, I bent down over him and hugged him. I was just about to pull away when Jay wrapped his arms around me, returning it. Soon, I pulled away, said goodnight, and left the room and the hospital. I went home, showered, changed, ate, and decided to head to Molly's, knowing that my brother was okay and that he'd be home soon. As I was leaving the apartment, I gave my boss a quick call, letting him know I'll need a week off. I had a little brother to take care of.
Author's note – And that ends this story. Thank you all for the amazing reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this story. Until next time.