J is for Jumper.
Jay was on his way home Molly's. It was about 10:30 on a Friday night, and Erin had gone out on a girls date with Kim, leaving Jay to find himself dinner and entertainment until she got home. The night air was cool, but felt good against Jay's face. He hopped in his car, and decided to stop by his favorite restaurant and get dinner. He drove the scenic route, as Chicago looked gorgeous his time of the year. He drove across slowly through the towns, not having to worry about people in a hurry behind him. He reached the bridge, and was marveling at the sight of the moonlight gleaming off the water. He was just about to look back ahead of him when he caught sigh of a man standing on the outside of the rails of the bridge. Jay knew exactly what he was there to do. He turned around, and slowed to a stop. He got out of his car, and slowly walked over to where the man was standing. As he got closer, Jay could hear muffled sobbing. The man looked to be no older than 25.
"Beautiful night isn't it? I take it that's not what your here for though." Jay said gently, so as not to startle the man and make him lose his grip before he wanted to.
"St...stay b..back man!" The young man stuttered, whipping tears off his face.
"Hey, just take it easy. I just want to talk ok? Can we do that?" Jay said, slowly taking a step closer, under a lamp so that the man could see him. He looked Jay up and down, then nodded. Jay lowered his shoulders slightly in an effort to make himself look less intimidating.
"What's got you up here?" Jay asked, leaning against the railing.
"Y...you wouldn't understand!" The man said, inching away.
"Try me." Jay replied.
"Everything! My wife of 10 years left me after I lost my job. Th..then yesterday..." The man chocked on the next sentence.
"You know, before we continue, I don't think I caught your name." Jay said.
"Uh...M..Mark." Mark said, drawling in a deep breath.
"Good. My name is Jay. So what happened the other day?" Jay asked smoothly.
"My...my best friend. James...he...he was k...killed in Afghanistan. IED took out his convoy. Killed him instantly. His w...wife called me today. We were friends since 3rd grade..." Mark said, breaking down once again. Jay instinctively ran his fingers over the smooth piece of metal in his pocket at the mention of a fallen soldier.
"I'm really sorry for your loss. T.." Jay started, but was cut off.
"Sure you are. Everybody is. I knew you wouldn't understand! James...he saved my life. He was home on leave when my house went up in flames. It was two weeks after my wife left me, and I didn't want to live. I just stayed inside. My neighbor told me that James showed up, and went ballistic. The firefighters wouldn't let him go in, so he knocked one out to get past. He dragged me out. And...now he's g...gone." Mark said, looking at the picture in his hand.
"Actually Mark, I do get it. In fact, I stood on this very bridge about four years ago. What branch was James in?" Jay asked when Mark gave him a shocked look.
"A...Air Force. He was a fighter pilot. Did you have a friend in the service?" Mark asked.
"Quite a few. I'm an ex-Army Ranger myself." Jay said.
"Oh...thanks for your service. You..you said you were here before?" Mark questioned.
"Of course. And yea...I was. My situation was actually pretty similar to yours, more than you think. My friend Logan served alongside me for all my time with the Rangers. He was there for me through everything. Our captain said he was the first one in to rescue me when I was held hostage in an enemy compound. He was there for me when we got back, and my first bout with PTSD happened. Then one day he was in the city, and a little kid wandered into the road. A tractor trailer was coming down the road and didn't see the kid. Logan pushed the kid out of the way and took the hit himself. He was killed on impact. When I found out, I didn't want to live in a world without him. Two weeks after his funeral, I left a suicide note on my kitchen table, and drove myself out here to this very bridge. In fact, right over there." Jay recounted, pointing to a spot next to a post about three feet away.
"D..does it get easier?" Mark asked.
"It does. It still hurts, but it will get better. Look at me Mark. You have so much ahead of you. So many incredible things are in the future, and if you check out, you'll miss out. You don't want that, do you Mark?" Jay said, as he slowly got closer. He saw Marks lip quiver as he shook his head.
"Good. Grab my hand. I'll pull you over." Jay said, reaching out. With the other, he got a firm grip on the railing as and anchor. Mark nodded. Jay felt some tension ease as he held tightly to Marks wrist. Mark took a step to face Jay when he looked down, and finally realized how high he was. Jay saw him shiver, and the fear mixed with regret fill his face.
"Hey. Hey! Look in my eyes, don't look down. Your fine." Jay said. Mark took a deep breath, and moved closer to Jay when suddenly, his foot slipped off the edge.
All of Jay's muscles immediately tensed, and his grip tightened on the steel bar as he realized he was now the only thing keeping Mark from dropping. Mark screamed, and threw his body up in an attempt to grab the bridge with his other hand. As the body weight shifted, Jay felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. His yell of pain was involuntary, knowing exactly what happened. Despite the pain, Jay refused to let go, and sat back, using his legs to pull the man upwards.
"Hey! Don't worry! I got you! I got you!" Jay yelled, pulling harder. He started to feel the the weight lighten, and watched Marks face reappear. Jay let go of the bridge, wrapping his good arm around Mark's waist, and pulling him over. Once they were both back safely, the two men collapsed to the sidewalk, panting in exhaustion. Jay put a hand to his injured shoulder, feeling around. He looked over to where Mark sat, clutching his side.
"You alright?" Jay asked.
"I...hit my ribs on the side when I fell." Mark said.
"Let me see." Jay said, pushing himself to his knees. Mark pulled his shirt up, and Jay looked at the bruise that was already forming.
"You need a doctor. Luckily, I know a guy." Jay said with a smirk. He helped Mark up and over to his car. On the drive over, Mark caught a glimpse of the side of Jay's badge.
"So your a cop to?" Mark asked, slightly amazed.
"Detective actually, but yea." Jay answered. Mark rode the rest of the way in silence.
Jay led Mark through the doors of Chicago Med. Maggie greeted him with a puzzled look.
"Hey Maggie. Where Will?" Jay asked, walking up to the desk.
"Um...should be just coming out of that room. Everything ok?" She asked.
"Jay? Who's this? You ok?" Will asked, walking over to the pair with an equally confused look.
"I'll explain in a minute. Can we get him to a room? He needs x-rays. My guess he's got at least one broken rib, maybe two." Jay. Will have him a "what'd-you-manage-to-get-into-this-time" look, but Jay just moved him forward. Will led them into a room, and assigned Mark a nurse, the led Jay into another room. When Jay sat down, Will pulled up Jay's shirt sleeve to look at his shoulder.
"So how'd you manage this?" Will asked, looking at it.
"That guy I came in with? I pulled him back onto the right side of the bridge." Jay said nonchalantly.
"What do you mean?" Will asked as he continued to inspect how badly the dislocation was.
"I mean that he was about to commit suicide. Just a couple feet from where Nate found me." Jay said. He winced slightly as Will started moving the shoulder around.
"Well, it looks like it's not a bad dislocation, but I still want you to get an MRI. You did a good thing today, Jay." Will said, pausing between sentences. Jay nodded, and sat back onto the pillows. Will noticed a round, metal necklace Jay was fiddling with.
"Those Logan's?" Will asked.
"Yea. Cassie gave them to me at his funeral. I carry them with me everywhere. I like to think it's his way of watching over me." Jay said, looking down at the dog tags he was holding.
"Well if the amount of things you've survived is any indication, I'd say he's doing a pretty good job!" Will said with a laugh, and walked out to order the tests.