Chapter 27- The Chapter About If He Sprayed

Gosh, that title is terrible, but it's literally the only thing I could come up with. I really hope the story is much better then that. ANYWAY! We are finally here. That story that almost everyone has been asking for and waited a very long time for has arrived. Here we go. Infection, part 3. What. If. Jay. Sprayed. The. Virus. On. His. Arm! I hope it lives up to the hype. Let's not delay things a moment longer. We're diving right in!

"Do it!" Jay was really beginning to second guess this decision to play along with Seldon's delusion. When the idea first popped into his mind he did it to save everyone else in the room. If they didn't fund this guy's project, whatever. He was clearly not well and there was no way now he was going to get his way. But if these backers for medical advancements died, hundreds of thousands of people would feel the ripple effects of a single bullet, for generations to come. So for the sake of all, Jay took it upon himself to be the guinea pig. Plus, this was going to be a quick thing. He wouldn't actually have to cut his arm, right?! He wouldn't have to pick up the bottle of the bacteria and spray it on himself, right?! Because before they got to any of that some plan would be devised to get Jay, Seldon, and everyone in this room out of here without further damage. Yet, as Jay stood in the room with blood trickling down his arm and finger on the trigger for the spray bottle, he was doubting if help was ever coming. Beginning to believe more and more that they would intervene after he infected himself.

"SPRAY IT NOW!" Jay reacted to the intense shouting, nodding his head as he looked backed down to where he was aiming. He knew he couldn't do it, but something told he was going to have to. From here he contemplated how bad things could be. He'd seen the damage and pain this infection did to people, but surely there was a treatment by now and plus, they'd get him the best, fastest care out there. It couldn't be that bad, could it? The music was building in Jay's mind, the suspense and intensity at peak points now. Another blink, another breath, and he closed his eyes at the anticipation of what was coming next.

"Now," went over Jay's earpiece, shortly after that a warning shot at the ceiling hit and ricocheted off the tile surface. From there it was chaos, Voight and the team storming in to take out Seldon, striking him before he had time to react to people coming in. There was shouting, firing, so many people doing so many things. In the haste and surprise of things Jay dove for the floor, praying for things to be over so he could let his guard down. Moments later he looked up to see Seldon dead, the threat finally neutralized after a long day of terror. But that wasn't the story that was going to come out of this room. It finally registered with Jay that as the warning shot hit off the ceiling, his hand reacted by squeezing the trigger, infecting himself with the bacteria that literally ate you alive. He never felt so stupid and scared then right now. There were so many unknowns to this infection, Jay at the time not sure if anyone knew how to dictate it. The images of the day flashed across his mind, the sound of a ceased heart rate whining loudly in his ears.

"Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," he muttered to himself, lowering his head to rest it on his chest, infected arm resting on a knee. He was so stupid and reckless it might cost him his life. The others were too busy securing the scene and helping people out of the room, gingerly containing the bottles of the deadly bacteria. It was understandable that they took a moment to check in with him, but a terrible mistake on their part.

"I'm infected guys," Jay exhaled out of himself, the force a little above a whisper. Will entered the room as Jay announced that, seeing his lips move but no one turning to face him.

"Jay, you alright," Will asked, hand hovering over Jay's shoulder. Jay couldn't let him come any closer.

"No! Don't touch me. I'm infected. I sprayed it on my arm." Jay looked up to Will wide eyed and freaked out, Will stunned silent as the two of them locked eyes. Will was internally cursing his brother out for even thinking of doing that while Jay seemed to receive the message and agreed.

"Everyone out," Will screamed to the room. That time people did stop and look to whoever yelled that, now registering that something happened with Jay and Will was just beginning to take care of it.

"Everyone out now. And someone get the bag I brought up here now. Quick!"

"Jay," was all they could get out, the person in question nodding as they were shoved out of the room.

"Jay, just breathe," Will encouraged, kneeling next to Jay in an effort to keep level and communicating with his brother.

"What happened?"

"It was a reaction thing. He wanted me to do it. I didn't have a choice. Oh God.."

"Jay, keep breathing. You're going to be alright." But Jay shook his head, the makings of a panic attack rising to the surface.

"Voight!" Will glared at the door till the sergeant stuck his head into the room.

"I need the bottles of the bacteria rushed to Med for testing. We need to make sure the strands match and that Seldon didn't make another strain of this stuff."

"Don't say that," Jay complained, head stuck in his hands as he spoke.

"Also get the CDC's field team here with an ambo, we need to do a full decontamination before we get him to Med."

"Will I just want to go home."

"That's not happening, man." Vanessa entered the doorframe now, black zipper bag in hand and holding it up for Will to see.

"Hang on a second." Will sprung to his feet and pounded the few steps to the door, grabbing his requested item as he spoke.

"Make sure to tell Med were bringing another infection patient in, he's going to need an isolation room setup when we get there."

"Do we tell them who it is?"

"That's up to you. I don't care." Those who were given orders raced off to get them accomplished, but the rest stood at the doorway, watching Will return to his brother's side and start unzipping the bag.

"Lucky for you, we found an antibiotic that will work. I'm going to give you the first dose but after that you'll have to get IV treatment at Med." Jay nodded, in pure shock and guilt as he watched Will don gloves and load up the syringe.

"I'm so sorry, Will. This was so stupid. How bad is this going to get?"

"Jay, breathe. Don't start thinking of that stuff…and you don't need to apologize." Will chose then to insert the antibiotic, Jay wincing at the needle poked his skin. The injection was quick and soon Will was tossing the toxic things on the floor, putting on two more layers of gloves and a holding a mask to his face before moving to the next steps.

"So, here's what's going to happen over the next few minutes. Once the CDC arrives they'll set up the decontamination tent and they'll escort you down to it. You're going to have to remove everything in here before then to keep all contaminated things in one place." Once Will was finished he secured the mask on his head, the of many shielded people Jay was about to come in contact with.

"Everything?"

"Yes."

"Thank God I didn't use my gun," Jay joked, pointing to the disassembled item over in the corner by the door.

"Well, they'll probably get rid of that too. We don't know how airborne things are. After the decontamination is done they'll put you in an ambulance and get you to Med where you'll spend the next twenty-four hours at least in isolation."

"Wait, what happened to having a treatment."

"We do, but this is all for precautions and keeping you contained. Right now you're a walking, breathing vial of the bacteria and we'd like to not have things get spread again."

"You're really not helping." Will smirked.

"I'll be there for as much as I can be, okay? It's scary but we'll get you through it."

"Yeah." Will rolled his eyes, noting the whitening skin and deep swallows. He'd never seen this side of his brother before: pure, unadulterated fear.

"This was probably the dumbest thing I've done. I'm so stupid," Jay remarked as he looked down at the floor.

"No, it's not. You did what you had to do. Let us do our job of doing what needs to be done to get you to the other side. Jay felt there was going to be so much more to the story, that after the hellish day they all had there was no way things were going to be peaceful. He kept going back to the people that were in the hospital missing limbs, in septic shock, skin severely damaged, or laying in the morgue. And now he was one of them. You try and breathe through that truth.

…

CDC arrived some twenty minutes later, taking another ten to set everything up before clearing a path for Jay. Point A to Point B was mapped out and sectioned off, people told to stand clear as they worked to rope things off. Once that was done the space suits were donned, Jay suddenly feeling like Elliott and E.T. when the government agency came in and took over the house. Even knowing what all this was for, he was properly freaked out. Jay now empathized with those that were sprung with this, no warning or explanation of what was going to happen, because it had to be a million times worse.

"Good afternoon guys," one of the masked doctors spoke as they took a thermometer out of their traveling bag. It was the first of many pokes and pods Jay was in store for.

"No fever," was announced after the device beeped.

"That's good," Will reassured, Jay looking to him as he smiled and nodded.

"Has he gotten the first dose of antibiotics?"

"Yeah, within fifteen minutes of exposure."

"Okay, good! We'll start the other rounds once he gets to Med."

"You still okay," Will asked? Jay looked up from the floor and nodded.

"So you did this to yourself?!"

"I know, it was stupid."

"Hey, you gotta do what you've gotta do. It's been a hellish day and all I want to do right now is park it at a bar and drink the night away."

"Copy that," Jay spoke.

"Too bad yours will have to wait," Will overruled.

"Okay, now comes the fun part. Take everything off one at a time and hand it to me." It was so odd to see Jay extremely nervous, he nodded as the doctor spoke, but you could see the fear and uneasiness in his person. From the shaking hands to deep breaths and stiff movements, he was not looking forward to any of this but knew he had to do it. He started with the vest, slowly undoing the velcro before handing it off.

"All that's in there has to go?"

"Unfortunately."

"The district will cover it," Will explained, which made Jay sigh.

"Bummer."

"It's all protocol." From there it was removing the thigh holster before the belt and shoes were removed. Then went the shirt and pants before Jay was down to the very basics.

"Socks need to go but the underwear can stay on till we hit the shower."

"What?! Please tell I'll be alone." Will reluctantly shook his head.

"Sorry, Jay. It'll be fine. They won't remember seeing anything."

"Hhhhmmmm, but I will."

"Oh, good grief." Jay let out a slight moan before bending down to remove the socks.

"And put these on," Jay was commanded as two hospital gowns were tossed his way.

"Well this will be fun," he joked as he donned them, Will joining him in the chuckling department. Humor to get through things, there was the Jay he knew. Once the bag of toxic materials was escorted to the waiting van, Jay was ready to be moved to the next destination.

"You two take the lead, Will and Jay you stay together, everyone move out."

"This was so stupid," Jay mumbled under his breath, Will giving him a look as they walked towards the door.

"Stop, Jay. It's fine. It happened. This is all to help." Jay didn't take a moment to look around and say farewell, just marched out to the hall that he once occupied not that long ago. The waiting party was at the end of the parade route, leaving most of it very vacant; which Jay appreciated. The walk to the decontamination tent felt very much like a prison march, people all around and things marked with no one able to touch the other. He felt like an alien on earth, this sickly, radioactive being that they were trying to contain and dared not touch. Boarding the elevator was the closest anyone came to brushing next to Jay, who at this point almost wanted that. He needed normalcy, yearned for a rewind button on life. But as the elevator chimed opened he knew that wasn't going to happen. As Will said, it was all done and now he had to just deal with it.

There was a collective gasp when they finally made it outside. It was hard to pick him out amongst all the covered CDC people, but they found their person. It was one thing to hear what happened to him, but to see him in person not looking like he did the last time and appearing totally petrified made them all instantly nervous. Hailey was the worst, jaw falling on the ground as her eyes practically bugged out. She was barely able to wave at him and received a best attempt at a confident head nod. He was there in front of them and then he wasn't, just like that. The wait for him to return resumed.

"Did they say anything about the vials," Jay nervously asked when they reached the tent he now feared?

"Not yet. It probably just got there, maybe we'll know something by the time we get to Med." Jay nodded, throwing his head back as he moaned. The next few moments were probably going to be the worst part of this whole thing. Correction, they were going to be.

"Go get in there and get it done and over with. It's not as bad as you think," Will encouraged. Without time to adjust Jay was shoved into the tent, given seconds to look around before the trauma ensued. Fortunately the whole thing had walls, so the only people seeing things were those in the tent. It was all guys, a plus. And they had the space gear looking things on, also good. Honestly Jay didn't want to stumble into these people at Starbucks, knowing full well they'd have seen everything. But anyway, the tent was sectioned off by the steps he would have to take: a disrobing area, the shower itself, a place to dry off and get dressed before arriving at the exit and being catapulted into the ambulance. Forget Fright Nights at Six Flags, this was all the horror house Jay needed.

"Gowns," Jay was told to remove, which he did so.

"And now the rest," which Jay held his breath for, opening to feeling rather…out there for everyone to see. If we're being honest, the only people who have seen him in this state were his parents and a handful of girlfriends, which even then was aways into a relationship. It's just a state he's never been totally comfortable with and that was fine. Anyway, after that Jay tried his best to block things, walking into the makeshift shower and letting these people do whatever they had to do. He didn't want to delay things make them repeat their job, so he stood there like a blank canvas and allowed them to do whatever they wanted. Once the shower was complete it was a very speedy change into hospital scrubs and hospital looking slides before being escorted to the waiting, warm ambulance.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Will encouraged once both were in the rig.

"I think I need to make them a mixtape," Jay said, to which Will genuinely and totally laughed.

"You're insane." The doors were just about closed when a hand slammed against them, being opened by Hailey who was a little out of breath.

"Hey."

"Hey, we've gotta go."

"Oh, um, we can see him at Med, right?"

"Yeah! Once he's settled they'll probably allow you guys to stop by."

"You can come see me in my cage," Jay joked.

"Okay…and Jay.."

"-Don't. It's fine. We're all good." Hailey nodded, closing the doors before slapping them as her cue to let them go.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing. Am I going to need stitches?"

"I can't see it since it's bandaged, which was good they did that."

"Will, I have a flesh eating bacteria running through my blood stream. I think there are bigger things to worry about then if a cut is covered up." Will sighed, resting his head on the back of the bench as they rolled along. It was going to be a fun ride to Med, which was totally strange consider he was riding in the back of an ambulance with his brother.

…

They arrived at the ED door, a very uneventful coast to a stop followed by a casual walk around the back and opening the doors. It was a welcomed oddity, considering the outcome that could've happened up in that meeting room. The CDC guys had swapped out the suits for gloves, masks, and gowns, a welcomed change from Jay. Jay was removed from the ambo first, Will jumping out right behind and just barely keeping up with things. An elevator had been cleared for Jay, followed by the entire isolation floor and waiting area. The quickened pace had Jay a little uneasy, but they arrived at his glass box of a room before long. At the entrance was Marcel and April, who were both matching the CDC guys. Before Jay entered the room his temperature was taken once more as a hospital band was adorned on his wrist. After that he was escorted through a tunnel that spayed chemical air on him before finally getting to the room. It was a sparse place, quiet literally a glass box with a bed, TV, place for all medical equipment and small rolling table to doctors and nurses.

"Get comfy," Marcel teased as he pointed to the bed. Jay nodded as he made his way to the flat, cushioned surface and plopped himself down. After a day like today, even a hospital bed was welcoming.

"So…what happened," Marcel asked.

"It was a reaction thing. They fire the shot, I pressed the trigger on the bottle, and next thing I knew it was on my arm."

"Let's take a look at that." April slowly unwrapped the dressing on the arm, all of them a little stunned at how red and inflamed the area was. For it only being a little over an hour since the cut was made, that result wasn't normal or expected.

"Is that from.."

"-Yup."

"It's going to be okay," Will cut in on the intercom, all of them looking over at him as he jokingly waved.

"Does he need stitches?"

"No, just a few areas with surgical glue and butterfly bandages. A lot of it is superficial, which also helps with the infection."

"So when we get started on the treatment for the infection will the redness go away?"

"Yes, so as bad as this looks right now it should die down after we get a few rounds of stuff in. Which speaking of.." April nodded, rounding the bed and laying Jay flat. Everyone knew by now his massive needle phobia, his need to lie down for IV insertions just part of the practice. As Marcel set things up to address the cut, April was on IV duty.

"Breathe, Jay. Don't forget to breathe," Will coaxed from the glass as April located the vein for the IV needle and prepped the area. Jay nodded through closed eyes, loudly inhaling and exhaling as the thing was inserted, hissing just a bit when he felt the needle break the skin. The insertion was flawless and in no time April was taping the tons of strips of tape around the IV port.

"Wide open," she asked while hanging the bag of antibiotics.

"Yes. First two are going to be that way before we start regulating things. We need to blast the system at first."

"Yup. You got it."

"Can you feel me doing this," Marcel inquired while poking areas on Jay's arm with a gloved finger?"

"…No…is that bad?"

"Not really, probably just trauma from the knife."

"Okay."

"Jay, do you want anything to eat? On the antibiotics you're going to get nauseous if you don't eat."

"Not really, just a Coke and maybe something salty." They should've seen that as the first hint of things going wrong. Jay was always hungry, always. The guy could eat full meals all day long. But to those around him they chalked it up to shock and exhaustion, that he was so fried that he just didn't have it in him to consume food. So none of them blinked twice when Jay said that, Will jogging off to the cafeteria before it closed to grab a few things. The other thing they should've noticed was how quiet he'd become, his brain and being slowly shutting down. He didn't speak much as Marcel wrapped things up again, not much more then a head nod and yawn being expressed as Marcel promised to check on him in the next hour or so. Even Jay wasn't aware what was going on, deciding it was just his tired body coming to a level of rest after a harrowing day.

"Jay, you up for a few visitors," from Will was the only thing that could stir him from his flattened, exhausted position.

"Yeah," he replied, yawning once again as he sat up in bed, throwing legs over the side so everyone could see him.

"Hey guys," he greeted and waved as they came down the hallway and arrived at the intercom spot on the glass wall. If he were fully awake he'd be embarrassed at how exposed and on display he was for the world. But right now he could care less.

"So what happened?"

"It was a reaction. Seldon kept yelling for me to spray the bacteria and I kept waiting and waiting for things to get taken care of. If anything I should be asking you guys that," he teased.

"How's the arm?" Jay held it up for a moment for all to see, everyone oohing and aahhing at the forearm completely wrapped in white dressings.

"Is it painful?"

"No, just a little numb, but that's normal for things."

"What about the infection." Jay switched out arms, putting the cut one down and holding up the IV one.

"Just started the first dose of antibiotics."

"And how many of those do you need?" Will fielded this one.

"We're not sure yet. We literally just figured out this even works before you guys arrived to that meeting room. We're going to keep him on them for at least twenty-four hours and track his condition hourly."

"So he could get worse."

"It's a possibility but we're hopeful that won't be the case."

"Don't tell me that now," Jay said, which had everyone looking back at him with humored faces. This wasn't the way they saw this day ending, and Jay being the victim to the infection was the last scenario they saw. But here they were, as the sun set outside they were talking to their guy through a glass box's intercom. Talk about a whacked, insane day.

"Oh, here's the stuff you wanted," Will remembered, placing the Coke bottle and snacks in the cubbyhole for Jay to grab. Picking the IV bag off the stand, Jay got out of bed and grabbed the items, cracking the top of the Coke and gulping as he returned to the bed.

"Well, I know I'm beat so you guys have to be feeling the same way."

"Do you need anyone to stay with you tonight," Hailey offered?

"Uuummm.."

"-No one is allowed in that room except for him and doctors and nurses, and even that is a small list. I'm going to stay down the hall in the overnight room for doctors."

"What if something happens?" That had Jay just about spitting chips out of his mouth, eyes wide as his skin started going white.

"It won't, Jay. These are all hypothetical."

"Says the guy that doesn't have a deadly infection."

"Says the guy who gave it to himself."

"Good grief do you two ever not fight?"

"Not really," both replied in unison, which made Hailey roll her eyes.

"Okay, I am tired so I'm going to go home. But if you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

"Yeah, we will."

"Okay, I really hate leaving you guys."

"We'll both be fine. Go get some sleep."

"Breakfast tomorrow?"

"Sounds good." Hailey gave them a thumbs up, yawning as she turned to leave.

"Bye, Hailey" Jay called, who got a crazy two handed wave.

"I'm going to go pass out in the room down the hall," Will announced.

"Are you okay by yourself for awhile?"

"Will, I'm not allowed to leave the room till further notice. I'll be fine."

"Okay, Still feeling alright."

"Yeah, I guess. Better then before."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, no panic attacks. I promise!"

"Okay, fine. I'll come check on you later on tonight. Good night, Jay. Love you."

"I love you too. Now please, go get some sleep." Will didn't have to be told twice. He slowly shuffled his way down the hall, literally counting steps between his room and Jay's. It was thirty-seven, if anyone is wondering. Will opened the door, saw the bed, and immediately fell on it. Life was finally calm, the day finding its' closure. All was doing well and resting. Things were running so smoothly. And then the bomb went off.

…

"Will…Will…Will!" The final one was included with a slap to the shoulder, finally being what got him up and trying to figure out what was going on. His blurred vision showed a person at his side. While not able to fully see just yet, something told him this time was different. All the other times they'd come to wake him up, it was a simple rundown of how Jay was doing, which for the most part had been great. But it was the way in which the person was talking and the physical contact made that told him to brace.

"What happened."

"Jay crashed and is on his way to radiology."

"What?! Crashed?!" His vision finally became clear, looking at a visibly worried April. They all knew what this infection could do. Now adding Jay into the mix of reality was troublesome and terrifying for all.

"Yeah, he woke up screaming in pain right before having a seizure. Once that was resolved Marcel ran him to radiology for scans."

"Don't tell me.." Will trailed off, not ready for any of this.

"Yeah, that's what we're hoping to avoid."

"Dammit." April nodded, looking down at the floor for a moment as she spoke.

"Let's go, grab shoes. It's pretty likely this will be the last chance to see him before he goes back." Will didn't hesitate, foregoing putting on shoes and deciding to run the hallways and floors of the hospital in socks. It was so crazy and unbelievable how quickly things shifted. Not even two hours ago Will woke Jay up to see how he was, getting a snarky comment about being fine before Will checked in. He was conscious, jovial, tired but normal for the most part. He wanted to believe there was a mix up, that this Jay that was being brought to radiology was another Jay that looked exactly like his brother. But as they jogged past Jay's room to see it empty, Will could only face the brunt of this infection head on, and pray it didn't turn out like it did so many times he'd seen today.

By the time they arrived to the MRI screening room Jay was already in the machine and Marcel starting the process. Only making out his feet, Will sighed a small amount of relief that he was still here and stable enough to be in the room on his own.

"What the hell happened?"

"Good morning to you too, Will."

"Let's bypass the niceties. What happened? He was fine when I last checked him."

"Same when I last did. But something told me this bacteria was different from the others, that some molecular element had been messed with. No one has come in totally fine after being infected, which is when I started to figure there was some delayed feature to this strain Jay has. That it went dormant for awhile before exploding internally."

"But that makes no sense, the guy wanted an immediate effect in that meeting."

"Well whether it was an accident or intended, that is what happened. The lab finally got back to me and sure enough the strains are different. Very small in differences, but different nonetheless."

"Shoot."

"So what I'm now trying to see is if while he was feeling fine, was this thing doing damage and we're only just now seeing things, or if this is an initial onset of the infection."

"Marcel, if it is bad.."

"I know, I'd like to avoid that too. I can't have another one like that today. And…here we go." Cue the dramatic, scary, high pitched music that entails fear and chaos shortly after, because what came through the screen had eyes widened in unison and mouths gaping open.

"Oh Lord, it was the first option."

"Dammit," Will breathed under his breath. In reflex he looked on to the radiology room, now completely terrified for what Jay was about to fight for.

"He needs to get in there, like now. April.."

"On it," she called, storming out of the room and full on running to the hospital phone. What was revealed on the scan was a massive blood clot, just a hair north of where Jay cut himself. Given the size it appeared to have been building for quite some time, but also in a very rapid rate. Clots like this typically take time, months and years before becoming obvious on scans, but for Jay it was a handful of hours. Furthermore, the size of it was blocking off blood flow almost completely, creating a scenario for more damage and death further up the arm. What a fun situation to wake up to.

"No wonder he was yelling in pain."

"Yeah, I'm sure this is not feeling good. Also coupled with the very likely tissue damage and…yeah."

"No, you cannot do that."

"Will, I'm going to try everything I can to not let things get to that, but you have to know it's a possibility."

"I don't even want to think about that right now."

"Well, get ready."

"Is he conscious?"

"Yeah, he came around after the seizure was taken care of. He's on a mild sedative for the scan but he should be waking up in a few minutes."

"OR four is ready," April just about yelled through the doorway.

"Alright, let's get moving." It was an all out sprint to the finish line upstairs. Will assisted in getting Jay out of the MRI scanner and onto a gurney, looking down in silent horror at Jay's arm. The once normal looking limb was now flaming red and swollen from the damage happening inside. His nails were already starting to turn blue, evidence of the massive clot further up the arm. As they moved Jay he made a sound of dislike, but not quite awake just yet. Marcel didn't wait around for Will to say goodbye or even consider getting Jay to pre-op. It was going to be MRI to OR journey in one constant swoop. Will just kept up with the team till they physically stopped him, not saying a word as he boarded the elevator with them and watched all tap their toes in nerves and haste.

Somewhere between floors three and four Jay decided to roll his eyes underneath lids before waking up. He was evidently confused, looking up and around, trying to connect what had happen over the last hour or so. He recalled sleeping and waking up in the worst pain of his life, now finding himself in a very confined space with a mask over his face and the pain still throbbing in his arm. The last part he so desperately wanted to tell someone about, this was a level even he couldn't silently handle. There were so many people around him that he felt suffocated. He had to know what was going on.

"It hurts," he spoke into the oxygen mask, which given the flowing air made that hardly heard. Grunting in frustration he attempted to move the thing that was hurting him, quietly cursing and twitching it again. That was the ticket in getting people to pay attention.

"Jay," Will nervously exclaimed, taking his own hand and cementing Jay's to the bed.

"You need to be awake for this."

"What's going on." The elevator chimed, allowing the party to race along to its' final destination. Will was about to answer his brother when they were suddenly on the move, Will swiveling his head between where he was running and Jay who was very confused and scared. They were right back at finding him in the meeting room: the tight chest and freaked out words and worst case scenarios floating over his head.

"Don't take my arm," he mumbled at some point. Will able to hear it and was amazed, his semi-there, pained brother speaking the very thing that all had been saying but not. Will then realized Jay was also aware what the day had done to so many people, how this infection radically changed lives forever.

"They're trying not to," Will spoke. He so wanted to squeeze Jay's hand, hug him and tell him everything was going to be fine. But due to what was slowing killing his insides, he couldn't even comfort his brother when he so totally needed it.

"Don't take my arm," Jay said again, this time emotion crackling into his voice.

"Jay, they're going to do everything they can to not let that happen."

"Will, don't let them." Will knew what he had to say next. Time was of the essence and their split was going to happen soon. So whether it was true or not, Jay needed to go into surgery with some kind of hope.

"I won't. I promise." They had arrived at the OR doors, Marcel holding them up but a moment for Will to say goodbye.

"Jay, you gotta stay strong. You gotta make it back out here alive, alright?" Jay was really going in and out, the pain building so fast at once his pain threshold was about to break. If he wasn't put under soon he was going to be under another seizure.

"We gotta go. It's going to be a couple hours. I'll have April keep you updated." Will stepped away, watching his brother disappear down the hallway. He was fearful at that point, fully convinced his brother was going to be wheeled out of that OR down an arm. It was all he'd seen that day, the only good outcome of this virus. Jay, to Will, had one of two options: death or amputation. Deciding which was worse for Jay was a toss up at this point.

Meanwhile Jay was wide awake and being transferred from gurney to OR table. The lights were so bright, the people running all over to get him ready to be knocked out. He felt so exposed, so terrified, so guilty. It kept running through his head over and over again that he did this to himself. That in the moment he should've chosen self preservation over others, that if he had done so he wouldn't be here right now about to undergo surgery for an infection that was killing him.

Someone had said something about moving right before they touched the infected arm, Jay fully freaking out as it was extended straight out and about ninety degrees away from his body. He kept repeating 'no' over and over again, the sound of pain coming out with it. He was so groggy, so tired and in pain, but his fear was breaking through, its' power on him so strong that he didn't even feel another IV getting put in his arm.

"Don't do it. Don't take it," Jay lazily spoke now, the sedative going in before the big stuff.

"Hang in there, Jay. Keep fighting," was the final thing Jay heard for quite sometime. He was out in under four seconds, his voice and being going silent. Let the race to save him begin.

…

Will remained glued in his point where he left Jay for quiet come time. He figured since it was nearing 4am no one was on this floor and no one would care. He just sent his brother off to a scary surgery after all, looks were the final thing on his mind. After a good half hour of standing in place doing nothing, Will decided the next step was to call everyone. They did ask to be updated and he had kind of forgotten to do it all night. Way to go, Will. What a fun set of phone calls this would be, which turned much worse then he imagined. Hailey first cried then sounded like she fell out of bed and said something about being there in a minute. Hank so much as grunted before insisting that he call everyone else so Will wouldn't have to say things over and over again. Trudy was the last one he called, hers being a tearful beginning followed by a motherly finale. She said if Jay needed anything, food and babysitter included, that she was the person to call. It was here that the cemented feet found energy, a desire to move somewhere else. He was just inches away from a clearing of the floor when the swinging, grey OR doors banged open and a hurrying April came through.

"Oh…Will, have you been standing there the whole time?"

"Uuuummm, let's say no."

"Okay?! Marcel wanted to let you know Jay has a lot of tissues damage but he's finally found a point where things stopped, now trying to clean out all the bad, dead tissue before tackling the clots."

"Clots?"

"Yeah, he may have another one."

"Oh great."

"Hey, Jay is doing great, not giving any trouble so far."

"Well, that's promising I guess."

"I gotta head back but I'll keep you updated."

"Yeah, go. Thanks, April." She so much as smiled and nodded before jogging back towards the room, making Will sigh. It wasn't the best of news, but he took it at its' worth. If Jay was doing okay, then everything else was fine. Will slowly returned to the elevator, boarding the car and choosing the isolation floor. At the very least he would be close to a bed, but more importantly realized Jay would very likely be returned to his glass box after surgery. Technically he still had the virus in him so as long as that was true he would have to be isolated from the rest of the hospital.

While in the elevator Will's mind kept playing this fanciful conversation between Marcel and other doctors and nurses running the surgery. That despite their best efforts Jay would lose his arm, say that they couldn't save it or didn't have the time or desire to work however long it took. From there it moved to assuming Will would eventually understand and that Jay, over time, would adapt to his new way of life and find a way to enjoy it. Over and over again the conversation played out as the saw and hammer clanged and chiseled at muscle and bones, each rotation making Will believe it more. His mind was a terrible place right now and boy did he want to escape. So to his pleasant surprise, Hailey was already in the waiting room when he opened the door, jumping out of her seat and onto his stunned self.

"What happened?"

"A lot."

"Start at the beginning." Will did, leaving nothing out. From the visit at 1am to the abrupt wake up at 3am followed by the scan and Jay waking up and his final comments.

"So he wanted a delayed reaction," Hailey commented once Will was complete? He shrugged his shoulders before sitting back in a chair.

"It's hard to know for sure at this point. The lab will tell us more as they continue to test things, but right now it looks that way."

"It makes no sense though, I mean…I can see the point in unintentionally infecting people only to have them get a reaction well after he escaped. But you saw the guy in the chair, he was there for a grand spectacle."

"Yeah, I know. It's odd. Maybe there was an issues with the specific bottle that he gave Jay, it's to hard to tell. But you're right, he wasn't the type of guy to have things take long to get going." Hailey nodded, yawning while stretching her arms. It didn't look like she'd slept at all, showing just how much of them the previous day took. She must've had four, five hours of sleep on her, yet she still looked as drained the last time he saw her.

"Did you tell everyone else?"

"Yeah, Voight said he'd keep the message moving along."

"And are they coming?"

"No, I told them it was going to be awhile and they probably won't even let us see him afterwards. Told him I'd keep him updated."

"Wait, really?! They won't let us see him?"

"No way, he's still infected. The antibiotics have to work for awhile before ridding him of things."

"Man, I can't imagine waking up from surgery and having no one there."

"Hey, we will be there, just not in the room."

"Nope, it's not the same. It's a bad feeling waking up alone." The waiting room door opened wide now, April returning with the second round of updates, her face looking just as worried and flush as it did the first time.

"Hey Hailey! Will, they got all the damaged tissue out and are working on the clot. They're also having to do a thoracotomy."

"That's where the second clot is?" April nodded.

"His stats dropped just as Marcel got started on the one in his arm so they are addressing the lung one first before the arm."

"Okay, man he's going to be in pain." Again, April nodded while inhaling.

"Why?"

"They make the incision from the middle of the chest to around the back before using a rib spreader to access things. It's a lot to cut and move in a sensitive area."

"Poor Jay."

"How much longer does he think it'll be."

"Not sure, probably another hour and a half at least. I think the next visit will be with him when he's done."

"Okay, thanks April." That was her cue to dart back to the OR, leaving Will and Hailey to chew on the latest round of news.

"Well, that wasn't fun."

"Ugh, tell me about it."

"At least they're still working on him."

"Yeah, that's very true. But boy does waiting suck." And so they waited and waited and were quiet while they waited. The waiting game was never easy, but at least they had each other to wait it out with.

…

It was nearing morning rounds by the time the door opened again. Everyone knowing it was almost morning rounds because Marcel mentioned it in his opening statement, saying he had to make things fast in order to make it to rounds and back before Jay's first post-op visit.

"So, what's the verdict," Will began with, all of them knowing the rest of this rundown stemmed from the big part of this.

"He does have two arms still, it was tough for awhile but he made it out with two arms and a lung that is clot free."

"How bad was the tissue damage?"

"Not as bad as I have seen with this, which is quite amazing really. He'll need some plastic surgery if he wants to make things look smooth or toned I guess, but in terms of functioning everything looks good."

"Is he still intubated?"

"Nope, he's on a cannula just because the numbers are a little lower then I like, but he's breathing on his own and not sedated or anything. Now not everything was great. This infection has quickly morphed into sepsis, thus the seizures and rapid decline and fever, which he still has despite being under general anesthesia. Because of that he has a PIC line and will have it for a few weeks to administer a series of antibiotics. With this unfamiliar strain of the bacteria we had to up how much he was getting and couple it other antibiotics. We're going to do a lot of blood work over the next few days see if any of it is working, but so far post surgery he hasn't had any seizures or pain as far as we can tell. So that's an improvement."

"How long does the PIC line have to stay in?"

"We'll know more when we start getting blood work back but just knowing the typical time frame of sepsis…at least a month. He'll go home with the line in and then you can keep giving him the dosages."

"Wait, he gets to go home?"

"Definitely! We'll keep him here till we know the antibiotics are attacking the bacteria and then from there it's just a lot of rest and recovery. He had a scary morning and will be closely monitored for the next few days. But I'd say in a week or so he'll be strong enough to go home to a couch or bed, preferably."

"And then good luck keeping him there."

"Exactly." Marcel's phone went off, alerting him that other people needed his guidance this morning.

"I'm so sorry, I have to go. Normally I'd take you to him but.."

"-Don't worry about it. Back in his room, right?"

"Yeah, so luckily you guys don't have that far to go." They all went their ways, Marcel darting to the right in the direction of the elevator while Will and Hailey chose the short route to the left. They had successfully rounded the corner when a gurney with a very passed out patient on it came into view. Their once slow walk became a speedy shuffle, by the time they got there Jay was through the doorway and being transferred back into bed. He resembled a rag doll, jostling as he was lifted and then placed on his bed once again. They saw the casted wrist and forearm and were forever grateful to be seeing it. Once the cast came off they'd all get to see the gnarly things the bacteria did to it, but none of it mattered because his arm decided to stick around for awhile longer. Will was the first to point out the chest tube drain snaking out from under sheets and into a measuring container on the floor, Hailey uneasy about the amount of blood and yellow substance coming out, but Will reassured all was normal and fine…great actually. Jay appeared so different then before. What was once just plain tired and nervous was swapped for completely done and passed out for quite sometime. To the uneducated eye he looked like he just endured the biggest surgery of his life, which is exactly true yet none were complaining. He was whole, on the other side, getting better for the first time. Prior to all this it was wait and see, hoping and praying things wouldn't get bad and that he'd skate by. But bad things did happen and yet he made it, now all that was left to do was recover.

"This feels weird to be watching him," Hailey pointed out at some point, the both of them realizing in unison that this felt very much like the aquarium or zoo.

"We could pull up some chairs with coffee and breakfast and watch which speaking of…" A smirk crept across Will's face, that being Hailey's signal that she had a promise to keep.

"Starbucks? Something from across the street?"

"Go nuts," Will joked back, laughing as Hailey ran down the hall giggling and coming up with something mischievous.

"Good job, Jay. Let things keep working," Will spoke to the glass wall, some part of him thinking his brother heard him. It wasn't the picture book ending they all wanted today, but praise the Lord they were still looking at him breathing on his own. Now that was a perfect way to end a story.

…

So Jay decided to hang around the rest of the day, and the following day after that. Marcel was spot on in saying Jay would undergo a lot of blood work because it was literally every other hour, a small amount of blood was leaving him. The fever was intense and seeming to never release its' firm hold on Jay. But a breakthrough happened at the end of day two, Marcel happily announcing that the bacteria was no longer running savage in his system, lifting the 'no touch' veil on Jay. Jay was removed from the isolation floor and placed in a normal step down room. That trip was a fun one, Will and Hailey never leaving Jay's side while joking over all the traveling Jay had down while passed out. At first they were worried about him not waking up, but eventually accepted that was just fine. Infections are a funny thing, these invisible creatures that can really hurt someone yet to the outside world seem to be simple myths. They had to keep remembering that while his body fought off the initial war from the bacteria, its' lingering side effects were something he still had to overcome. So patiently they waited, allowing Jay his rest and silence.

When they were finally allowed to touch Jay, they both admitted to being hesitant. It was like being the first to go over a repaired bridge. Everyone said it was safe to cross, but who wants to be the first to take that step of faith? Not many. So in the beginning of their adventure it was quick brushes on the skin, but within a couple hours Hailey was running fingers through Jay's hair while Will would grab the non-damaged hand whenever Jay twitched in his sleep. Where we find them now is in their respective places next to Jay, Will on the right reading something online while Hailey sat on the left side of the bed mentally screaming to Jay to arise from unconsciousness. Her patience was just about out.

"Will," squeaked out of her as she witnessed a prayer be answered. The eyes rolled around a bit before eyelids slowly blinked open, revealing blurry, teary eyes looking straight up at the ceiling in confused silence.

"Jay?" The eyes moved to find where the noise was coming from, relaxing as he saw Will and Hailey right in front of him. My how things had changed since he was last awake.

"Don't get too close," he whispered in a groggy manner, moving his right hand up to rub his eyes.

"It's okay! You're finally not actively infected so it's safe."

"What?" Oh the pain spike that was coming across, in an area he was sure wasn't infected when he was last awake.

"The drugs are working," Hailey called while Will figured out what was going wrong with Jay.

"I'll go get the meds," he announced en route to the door, Hailey turning to figure out what he was talking about. But the sharp inhales and nose sniffing helped her out, turning to see Jay tearing up over the massive pain spike coming all over.

"Hey now, you're okay. Just breathe, Jay. SSssssshhhhhh, ssssssshhhhh," she encouraged while stroking his hair again, Jay seeming to not mind at all. He was trying to not breathe while realizing he really had to, his results being quick, small movements with his chest. Will was back with help in under a minute, a nurse greeting Jay as she opened the pump for the meds and got them administered.

"It'll kick in a few minutes," Will encouraged while grabbing a hand, Jay flinching at first before death gripping it. The three remained the same for a little bit of time, two trying to help while the third wanted to pass out again. But then the switch went off, Jay relaxing as the narcotics came over him and all was okay…for the most part.

"How's the head," Jay asked, a little more there this time. Will chuckled, smiling back at his brother who was being very sincere.

"You just woke up from being passed out for two days and the first question you have is about my head?" Jay nodded, feeling the exhaustion and pain in his long blinks.

"It's fine. Everything is fine…also with you."

"Hey, next time, try to avoid spraying a deadly virus on yourself because I think we've seen that's a very bad idea."

"Can we…not do the lecture thing…right now," Jay forced out, earning him a humored audience.

"Well good news! You have two arms! Also good news, you get to go home next week!"

"That sounds bad." Both of them wanted to smack him across the head.

"Well here's some bad news, you have to have a PIC line in for a month plus so that means going home with an IV in your arm."

"Again…can we keep this to a minimum." Will rolled his eyes before looking to Hailey who was beaming.

"Thanks for sticking around. Glad I don't have to do the tiring task of finding another partner."

"Yeah…okay." Jay was really pushing things now, drifting in and out and not able to open his eyes.

"Love you, Jay. Get some sleep." Jay weakly nodded as he drifted back to sleep, taking great comfort in the up close, touching human interaction he was currently experiencing. It was the storybook ending they all were looking for.

Behold! It is done. I hope that is what you guys were looking for for an alternate ending to the crossover. That crossover was the best ever and I can only hope this held a candle to it. Okay guys, I could REALLY use some good prompts. Send them in because I need to be challenged again. Thanks so much for reading!