N is for Nasal

Jay shook his head at his younger brothers choice of entertainment during the car ride. He was three chapters into a book by some famous doctor. To Jay, It looked like a way to fall asleep. He wasn't sure how it hadn't had that effect on Will yet, but it soon might. Just like old times. Will was always the one to have his head buried in some weird book. Jay never understood the fascination. Unless of course it was a history book on Americas battles.

"So even when your not at work, your still working, huh?" Jay asked Will, glancing at him rom the drivers seat of Jay's pickup. The Halstead brothers had snuck away and spent the last weekend at the families old cabin in the woods of upstate Chicago. It had been incredibly relaxing, and the brothers had spent most of the time exploring their old forts and reminiscing on all the memories made at the swimming hole just behind the log cabin.

"Oh don't act so innocent! I've seen you watching those crime documentaries!" Will snapped back with mock offense.

"Alright you got me there." Jay said with a laugh. He rolled the window down the rest of the way, letting the warm summer air blow against his face. He waited, counting down in his head until Will would say the same thing he does every time they rode together.

"Does the window really have to be open? It makes everything more difficult!" There it was.

"But it feels good! Maybe you'd think the same if you'd get your head outta that book!" Jay said.

"How much farther do we have?" Will asked, finally closing the book and setting it on the dashboard. He looked out the window at the luscious green woods surrounding them.

"Will I swear to god if your gonna start with this I will make you walk." Jay said, shooting him a look. He did this every time they went anywhere, and had since they were little.

"Just curious!" Will said, putting a hand up defensively. Jay shook his head with a laugh, and reached to turn the radio up. The pair road along quietly for a while longer. The night air felt good, and Jay switched into cruise control. The road was empty as usual, as not many people lived around here. Sure, there was the occasional long cabin or house here and there, and a grocery store every few towns, but other than that, nothing. But the two brothers didn't mind it. It was a nice peaceful break from the madness of the city. They were slowly making their way down the dirt road, when a bright flash of lights came through the back window and the rear view mirrors. Jay squinted, trying not to look at it.

"What the...? Where'd this guy come from?" Will sat up, trying to make out the kind of car.

"Turned on behind us about a minute ago! He's going way to fast!" Jay said, checking the speed limit.

"Yea well you can arrest him later! Get out of his way!" Will said, but it was to late. The car flew up behind them. The driver must've finally saw them, because the screeching of brakes sounded as the other driver locked them up. But it was no use, and the two cars collided. The force of the other vehicle propelled Jay and Will forward. Jay slammed on his brakes also, trying to keep control of the car, but ran directly into the ditch. They were stopped only by a large tree. Jay felt his head snap forward, cushioned only slightly by the airbag.

"W...Will! Hey! You alright?" Jay asked as he opened his eyes, and look across the cab, searching his brother for injuries, even though he knew he wouldn't be any good if he had any. After all, he wasn't the doctor in the family. He wiped a stream of blood off his face that was running towards his eye, hoping that he would soon be able to see better.

"Y..yea I think so. My collarbone is broken, but other than that.." Will said, assessing the damage to him and his brother. He carefully felt around his shoulder, and groaned in pain as he felt the divot, a sure sign of a broken bone. All the concern for himself quickly left him when he heard a groan from Jay, and looked up to see him slump back against the seat.

"Jay! Hey! Tell me what hurts!" Will said, ripping his seatbelt off, and moving across the cab to his brother, ignoring the protests his own body made. He instinctively began checking his vitals. He found a strong pulse, and his breathing was normal, so Will calmed slightly. Jay opened his eyes just as Will began looking at the deep gash on the bridge of Jay's nose. As he looked closer, he saw a piece of white sticking out.

"Stay still. You've got a bad Nasal fracture. Does anything else hurt?" Will asked, looking over the rest of his body for any signs of other injuries.

"Yea, my head! I thought the airbags were supposed to cushion your face, not break it." Jay said, squeezing his eyes against the pounding in his head.

"Yea, well maybe you should get a new truck. Let's get out of here." Will said, unbuckling him. Luckily for them, the side of the truck wasn't damaged, so they got out fairly easily. Except for the part where Jay almost passed out again from trying to move to fast. Will went to check on the other driver, but realized he had sped off right after the crash when he saw the tire marks. He walked back to where he had left Jay sitting against the side of the truck with an old shirt pressed against his nose. Will dug through the glove compartments and tool box for a first aid kit. Surprisingly, he found one.

"So you actually decided to take my advice for once huh?" Will said, opening up the kit.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jay shot him a questioning look.

"You kept that first aid kit I gave you. I knew it'd come in handy someday." Will said, holding it up. He kneeled down next to his brother, putting a hand over the bruise from the seatbelt.

"I need to set your nose. I would wait to do it at a hospital, but uh...that may not be for a while considering our current situation. That also means I can't numb it, but if we wait, the bone could do more damage to the nerves. If that happens, you could have complications like..."

"OK! Alright! Just do it! I'll be fine!" Jay interrupted before his brother could launch into a bunch of medical jargon on he could understand, and began preparing himself.

"Are you sure?" Will asked, getting the supplies ready.

"Well it doesn't seem like you've given me much of an option. Let's just get this over with." Jay said. Will nodded, the positioned himself above Jay's face. Jay squeezed the side of Jay's leg as the pain intensified. He waited for it to get better, but it didn't.

"Almost done. One more push on this side and then I'll bandage you up." Will said when Jay let out a grimace from the pain. Jay nodded, and about a minute later, Will taped a gauze bandage over the cut. Then he sat down, and pulled out his phone.

"Thank God! I have a signal! Grab one of my sweatshirts, and make me a sling. I'll call for help." Will instructed. Jay pushed himself slowly to his feet, and grabbed a shirt. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard Natalie's voice on the other end. Even with Will's assurance that they were fine, she insisted that Chicago Med was sending their finest, and would be there in no time.

Later

"Wow...how does the other guy look?" Dr. Choi asked with a small smirk at the sight of the brothers walking into the hospital.

"I don't know, we never got to find out." Jay answered.

"What do you mean? He hit you and just took off?!" Erin, who had suddenly appeared out of one of the rooms asked.

"Yea. Well, as far as we know anyway. I was out for a little while after it happened." Jay said, then explained the incident. Will thanked the paramedics who had found them, and steered the group into an empty treatment room. He started to work on Jay without even realizing what he was doing, and seemingly forgetting about his own injury. Chicago Med had a way of switching him into doctor mode every time he walked through the doors.

"And what do you think your doing?" Will looked behind him towards the familiar voice of Natalie, who was now standing in the doorway. She had run over as soon as she heard the two had arrived.

"Stitching up my patient. Then I'm sending him for a head CT and x-ray. I think he has a concussion, and maybe a few broken ribs, bruised at the least." Will said, confused by her question.

"Your not doing anything. Ethan will stitch him, and order the scans while I take a look at that shoulder." Natalie ordered, with a hand on her hip. One stern look from her, and Will complied.

"How do we Halsteads always seem to attract the bossy ones?" Jay asked with a laugh, earning him a light slap from Erin, even though she couldn't help but smile. Natalie blushed slightly, and quickly started her work. Will gave Jay a "thanks a lot!" Look, to which Jay rolled his eyes. He wished his brother would finally stop trying to hide it, and just ask Natalie on a date already. It was clear the two were perfect for each other. And he knew full well that hiding it doesn't work. Jay knew that Ethan felt the same way from the look on his face. As Jay lay there next to his brother, he began to think up a plan of how he would get the two together.