Chapter 28- Polar Plunge
Thank you so, so much for sending in all these prompt ideas! I love all of them and am so excited for these new ideas to jump into and see what works. So we're kicking off with one of those prompts right now!
Tilly: "How about everyone is mad at Jay, as they think he has done something he hasn't. Jay gets upset and storms off only to be hurt (such as in a car accident, heroically saving someone etc...). The rest of the team realize they were wrong only to wonder if they have left it too late to apologize, as Jay fights for his life."
So fun story, I've had part of this story floating around my head for awhile. I had one piece figured out but needed something to make it whole and good. Imagine my delight when I read this, that final piece was here! Now I must give a heads up, this will be tweaked a little bit, perhaps veering just a hair or so away from the prompt. You'll see what I mean. I'm stoked to get this one going so let's get at it!
It was a simple joke, a silly, running joke and gag. There was a backstory to it all, Jay at first going along with it. But this particular day seemed to be the end of his time with it all. Going into work that day he knew what was going to be said, pretty much dreaded seeing those people he worked so many long hours with. He knew what was coming and knew that whatever he said wouldn't change things. It was only a joke so long as the one being joked about laughed. He wanted to call it off, had tried in past times, but things rolled merrily along. Today was going to be a suckfest.
"Way to break the rules," greeted Jay the second he got out of the car. A few snickers from the others trailed the comment. Jay just rolled his eyes, shaking his head and exhaling as he marched towards the front door.
"Jay, next time find something else to watch," Trudy spoke directly at him, not batting a glaring eye as he shook his head and put his hand under the scanner. He didn't say anything back at her, just prayed for the door to open faster before taking the steps two at a time.
"How could you let the city down," Adam joked?
"Someone owes me, I told you he'd put the game on," Kevin remarked.
"Jay, take a jog around the city next time," Kim breezed by with. Jay was at his desk now, hands death gripping the edge as he hovered above the chair. He was seriously biting his tongue now, just barely holding back the verbal barrage that was on his lips. Voight walked out to the main officespace, head sticking out of the doorway to take in his lively and bantering crew before speaking.
"Got a request out in Canaryville. Partner up and head out. Oh and Jay, there wasn't a movie you could've watched instead?" And that was it.
"Okay, okay! I went along with this little joke of yours all last season. But guys, I'm done with it. This is no longer funny. It's a stupid baseball game! Please find some other punching bag to beat up on. And for all your stupid records, I didn't turn the game on. So leave me the fuck alone."
"Whoa, language," Adam joked, encouraging the rest to roll their eyes. Jay grabbed his jacket before storming off. He was done with it, with all of them, and wished he'd called in sick or dead today. He was beyond over it, ready to blow some steam off on the potentially long ride to the location.
…
The drive from the district to Canaryville is a lengthy, weaving, forty-five minute ride that takes you right through the city, a guarantee you'll have to cross the river right in the middle of hot tourist spots. While the area was stunning and housed many businesses, hotels, restaurants, and attractions, the downside was that there were a ton of people in that small space, creating traffic headaches and slowed intersections thanks in part to people. Between the district and just crossing into the Loop, Jay had the radio on near full blast. It was whatever loud music he could find, cranking it up and just drove, using a free hand to go back and forth from rubbing eyes to his temples. At first Hailey didn't mind, just sat in silence as he calmed down from whatever was bothering him. But at this point of the ride she felt it was time to intervene. The last thing she wanted people seeing was a freaking, music blasting, Chicago police detective flying through the streets in a rage.
"Hey," he called out as she turned things way down. She then turned in her seat to face him, eyebrow cocked up as she scanned him. The grip on the steering wheel, tense nature of his arms and jaw, even the way he brought the truck to a halt all told the tale. He was pissed off, and she totally got it.
"You do realize they're just having some fun."
"I don't need it from you too."
"Hey! Don't come at me like that. Is it really bothering you?" In a very sarcastic way, Jay nodded his head. Turning the blinker on for the left and waiting for the light to go green.
"Yeah, it is. At first I went along with it, but it's now been close to a year of this crap. I'm over it. Good Lord, you can't blame one, unrelated person for a stupid sports' team's crappy luck."
"I agree. Notice that's why I haven't said anything?" Looking back on the race through the morning gathering, he did recall Hailey sitting back in her chair in silence, simply watching with a blank expression.
"Yeah, maybe. Thanks."
"I'm on your side. We've all been the butt of jokes before and I totally get that it's very annoying…but can we not let it effect our work?"
"It's not."
"Yes it is. It's why we're taking the longest way to get there…and why you aren't turning when the light has been green this whole time."
"Oh shit," Jay embarrassingly replied, just about flooring it and driving straight for the Clark Street bridge. Hailey chuckled, collecting herself for fear of upsetting him.
"They'll get over it, Jay. Just get through today. Once we get into this case everything else will be forgotten."
"He's jumping!" What Jay saw and Hailey didn't was a young person sitting on the railing of the Clark Street bridge. Literally people were walking, driving by and failing to notice this person in this position with feet on that side of the bridge. When Jay first turned onto Clark Street, he saw this out of place figure, trying to decide if it was his mind playing tricks or if he really was seeing a person about to jump into the ice chunked Chicago River. So when the figure stood and moved a single foot out over the water, Jay got his confirmation. He slammed the truck to a halt, just about plastering Hailey's face into the dash if it weren't for her quick reflexes. Jay had the truck halfway between the right lane and sidewalk, out and jogging towards the bridge's railing before Hailey could register what he said. My how things shifted so quickly. They went from talking about stupid office jokes to now she was about to watch Jay dive off into a kamikaze mission.
"What?! Jay!" Her face was smothered by a flying jacket, boots being unlaced and kicked off as she got out of the truck and watched in horror at what Jay was about to do.
"Stop! Jay, it's ten degrees out. Ten. That water is close to frozen. You'll both not make it."
"Hailey, call for two ambos…now. I will meet you over there on that drop off by the seats and restaurant." Jay pointed to a spot with a slightly shaking finger, no doubt from the freezing weather and the adrenaline over what was about to happen.
"Jay!" He turned around for a second, giving her the stubborn look he'd dished out since about the day she first met him. This was pure insanity.
"Hailey, bring my jacket, there might be a couple blankets in the back, and call for the ambos. I might have a minute before this guy passes out and then gets caught in the current and sent out to the lake."
"Jay, what about you?" He tossed the second boot towards her, now standing on the ledge of the bridge and looking down. Common sense flashed across now, making him close his eyes and stuttered and feel suffocation, albeit a brief moment.
"I…probably won't pass out till I get back to that ledge. I might have a minute or two before it gets bad."
"This is crazy."
"I'll be fine. I'll see you in a couple minutes. Go, now!" Hailey might have screamed in fear for losing her partner as he disappeared out and down from her view. She could not bring herself to look over the side. She felt the warm tears burn down her face as the splash hit her like a gut punch. After that, she totally blacked out, not recalling anything till it was all over.
…
"50-21 Henry, I need medical assistance at the Clark Street bridge ASAP. I have one person that has jumped in the river with my partner right behind him. Get two ambos out to my location, I'll be down at the steps next to the bridge. Hurry!" Hailey yelled that last word, gathering Jay's jacket and boots before throwing them in the passenger seat and rotating to the backseat. Sure enough, there were two blankets tucked under the bench seat, Hailey now wondering if Jay planned this insane day out. Was he anticipating having to jump in the frigid waters and rescue someone, was this is the grand plan all along? Get upset over something small at work in order to justify the purely stupid, dangerous act for the day? Hailey shook her head, sighing as half of her pretty much believed that. She didn't have time to ponder long. She still had lock up the truck and get the warming devices and herself down the stairs and at the steps before Jay reached shore or drowned. Part of Hailey wanted to slap him when he got back, but the rest of her knew she'd be relived just to see him on solid ground once again.
Hailey tore off to the steps, yelling at the few people in her way as she flew as fast she could to the meet up spot. She was spot on, the forecast for the day was cloudy, wind advisory, and arctic blasts coming in from their friends to the north. It was going to be so cold that it could not snow, just nothing but bone chilling weather the remainder of the day. The weatherman this morning warned of staying out for too long, informing his viewers that any skin exposure lasting more then a few minutes could very likely induce frostbite or mild hypothermia. Hailey wondered what he'd say about jumping into the river on a day like this. At the time she knew nothing about this jumper, didn't even know if it was a man or woman, having missed the person and their plunge. In time they'd get answers, but right now that person was almost in the back of her mind, Jay's livelihood consuming most of her mind and energy.
She reached her spot in just over a minute, the lungs burning and tingling sensation rippling all over her legs and core she she stood in place. Her nose was burning, starting to run against the breeze that caught her upper lip The puffs of her breaths wafted out towards the water, Hailey trying to not cry again for fear of tears freezing to her face. She was in multiple layers and snow boots with extra thick socks. She could not fathom how awful Jay felt right now. He was in a single layer of clothing and wet, swimming through ice and temperatures that could knock you out in no time. The tears were not for that, but the fact that his time had come and gone. He said two minutes, but looking down at her phone told her that it took her three minutes to get from the car to this point. He was well past his assured safe point now, zero hint of life anywhere near Hailey, the bridge, anywhere down the river. Hailey began praying, internally pleading, wanting to scream his name, stamping her feet and shuffling in her spot before praying all over again. He had to come up, he had to get back to the world, he promised her. She was on the verge of working up the courage to yell when water bubbled and mushroomed around two people emerging from the greenish liquid. Her breath was caught in her throat, dread and relief flooding all at once.
"Jay, Jay!" She figured he was close to passing out, probably near confusion and blacking out. Hailey knew she had to keep making noise, call just his name so he could move toward the noise. His body was at the most basic of functions now, too much info and talking was going to keep him in that water. Miraculously her trick worked, Jay swimming backwards on his back to her sound, the person responsible for this whole thing passed out and wrapped in Jay's arms.
"I got you, I got you," Hailey cooed as her hand brushed his shoulders, choosing to not dwell on the fact he was ice cold and convulsing, whole body wanting to jump out of his not well body.
"Help…him," Jay shook out as he laid to rest on one of the steps. He couldn't open his eyes, not even lift a hand to wipe water off of his face. He was really bad off, just shaking and trying his best to force warm air out.
"Jay."
"No..I'm…fine…really hot."
"Shut up."
"No…seriously." His lips were already blue, his whole body moving in a stutter step way. His insistence on being warm was the confirmation Hailey dreaded, he was at the confusion stage now, the hypothermia quickly dropping into those life threatening categories. She found herself at a point of desperately needing help, completely torn over what to do next: help Jay or the causation. She knew what Jay wanted, and what was expected of her as a cop, but he was really bad. She felt that whatever she chose was the wrong answer, but let her reach that point. Due to the fact Jay was still lying down on the concrete step, Hailey threw one of the two blankets on top of Jay.
"You did great. Stay with us," she said before returning to the stranger. For starters it was a he, and he looked to be in his early twenties, perhaps a college student. Hailey draped Jay's jacket on the kid's head, fingers floating down to his pockets in search of identification. Her search came up mixed, while there was no wallet or ID, what she did find was a wet, folded paper. They were loose leaf, looking to have been ripped out of a notebook. The writing was completely gone, but Hailey didn't need them to figure out what this was. Jay's teeth chattering had her back at his side in seconds, grabbing a hand and rubbing it between hers as he opened his eyes for the final time that day.
"Jay, you've gotta fight just a little longer. Help is coming," she spoke through tears. He could only smirk and twitch his eyebrows and jolt his hand before going completely limp. The sparkle and life that was once in his eyes was gone, Jay was no longer on this conscious earth.
"Somebody help me!" She didn't know what else to do, now feeling a cross country trek away from the truck. She couldn't drag him, couldn't even move him from this spot. But he needed help now, was more then likely frozen and dead. Furthermore she had the other person to address. She rose from her place next to Jay, making it to the middle point between the two people and unable to move anymore. She'd never been more helpless and stuck in her life.
But then the sound of sirens came into the background, Hailey's head reacting to the direction of them and flailing her arms. She didn't know what else to do, chalked this up to helping both of them at the same time. The paramedics called that they'd seen her, dragging gurneys and medical bags down to the site and asking her to step away. The opening news was grim. The kid Jay saved looked to be in a coma, GCS very low and not promising. He was the first to get whisked off to a warm ambo, in need to neurological help pronto.
Meanwhile Jay was getting his first and least invasive temperature check of the day, one medic shaking their head in frustration and fear while the other felt for a pulse. They held their finger on his carotid for close to a minute before nodding their head they got something. It was a single, faint thump of the heart, but it was the sign that Jay was indeed frozen but not dead…yet.
"How long was he in there," one of them called to Hailey who jumped upon realizing they were talking to her.
"Uh…um…three, four minutes."
"Geez, he's already dropped ten degrees."
"What does that mean?"
"It means he needs Med like now and he's looking at a long, bad day ahead of him." That one acted as the starting gun for the race to help. Hailey stepped aside as Jay was gingerly place on the waiting gurney and literally run up to the rig. Hailey said she'd be right behind them as she peeled off toward the truck. She was doing great till she got in and noticed the steam coming off their coffee cups in the cupholders. She felt like things had been going on for hours, but in real time that whole things took twenty minutes if that. She allowed herself to sob deep and hard until the ambulance got going. After that, she was a fit of rage and fear, blaming this whole thing not on the poor soul that felt jumping was the only solution but instead, those stupid coworkers of theirs who weren't even aware of what their acts had caused today.
…
They drove in tandem, Hailey occasionally pulling ahead of the ambo to clear an intersection before getting back behind the rig. It was a quick, fifteen minute drive between the bridge and Med, but to her to felt to have been hours. Along the way, other pieces to the day began falling in place. The rest of the team was at the scene by now and rather curious as to why both of them weren't there. After all, they were the first to leave the district and left in a rather hurried pace. Hailey really wasn't up for talking to them, still brooding over what they did to Jay that really inspired his next act. She was short and to the point, saying Jay went to rescue someone and now the both of them were on their way to Med, they could stop by after getting everything needed at the scene. She was hanging up with Platt when she pulled up to Med, saying she'd update once she had more info. The ambulance raced into the ED bay while Hailey went to find a parking spot. She figured there wasn't a need for her to park right there and plus, Lord only knew when she'd get back out of this place again.
"Good grief it's freezing. You're so stupid," Hailey told herself as she got out of the truck and reentered the frigid world again. Pulling her coat closer to herself she jogged towards the warm building with terrible stories for the day. Along the way she noticed the pile of wet, cut off clothing in the rig Jay once occupied, perplexed that he was in need of layers, not needing more removed. She only lingered on that for a moment, the calamity and shouting taking place just on the other side of the sliding doors beckoning for her to get inside.
"Oh thank God, someone who can answer. What on earth happened here, Hailey?" It was Will at the foot of Jay's gurney, wide eyed and obviously shocked while Ethan and a couple nurses began the initial observation of what was going on with Jay.
"What was his tempt at the scene?"
"88.1," one of the medics said.
"He's now at 84.0."
"What," Hailey stupidly asked?
"What. Happened," Will asked again.
"He saw someone jump off the Clark Street bridge and went in after to save them."
"He did what?" Hailey shook her head.
"Okay, we need to get him inside now and start the rewarming process." Ethan took off with Jay and everyone else to a trauma room. Hailey wanted to run behind but Will's glare kept her in place.
"Why did he do such a stupid thing?" Hailey shrugged.
"Is there ever a logical reason for some of the stuff Jay does?"
"But this is beyond anything else he's done. I know he knew what would happened if he did this."
"Will, I wish I had an answer…but I don't. Can we just go see what's going on?" Will finally relaxed a little, nodding as he turned towards the ED doors and the two of them walked into the department together. Maggie simply pointed to trauma three, saying something about Jay being in good hands before the two of them stepped over the threshold and stood stunned in the room. Jay's clothing had been swapped out for blankets that were wrapped around extremities and core. By the time they'd entered the room Jay had already been intubated and was on monitors, IVs for the warmed saline being inserted as Ethan was going over what all they would need.
"Warmed fluids, humidified air through the vent, we need the warming blankets on his head, we need foley, pleural, peritoneal catheters set up for irrigation and flushing and let's get the hemodialysis machine down here. We're not going to joke around, he's going to need all of it." To Hailey the things that were just rattled off were in a language she didn't even know where to start. She had zero idea what it was all for and sounded very unpleasant and uncomfortable, but if it was going to help Jay then it was fine. Meanwhile Will was aware of what was being spoken, already putting his two cents into the treatment plan.
"Does he really need all of that right now? We're in that teetering act with cardiac arrest."
"Will, yes he does. Look at him. He's not shivering anymore and he has no pulse and is technically brain silent." Will and Hailey appreciated the word 'silent' instead of 'dead,' the latter being too much for them to think about right this moment.
"Why isn't he shivering anymore," Hailey asked?
"Because his body is too cold and it's completely shut down. In less then an hour, Will, his body has lost 14 degrees and isn't slowing down. He's in a free fall and can no longer keep himself warm. The intervention is beyond necessary. Now I need to get all of this started before we get into the 70s." Will nodded, motioning for them to get things set up. Removing the blankets to connect things had both Will and Hailey instantly uneasy, borderline nauseous. His skin forewent the usual redness that came with cold exposure and instead was grey, bordering on blue. He really was a human popsicle with no signs of thawing. But perhaps the thing that would send them into actual nausea was the confirmation of the stopped heart. Ethan turned on the monitors' volume by mistake, the small space filling with the single, constant note of a heart that was no longer beeping.
"Sorry," he apologized, fiddling for the mute button.
"Warm and dead," Will quietly spoke mostly to himself.
"What," Hailey asked?
"He has to be warm with that pulse in order to be dead, but he needs to get out of that quickly."
"Ah, okay."
"Did you guys put the thermometer in yet?"
"Was just about to."
"Let me do it."
"Will?"
"Ethan, it's just this one thing and plus, it's bad enough he's going to wake up with all of this on him. I don't think he wants to know someone else put that thing in its' place."
"What place?"
"Turn around Hailey." She didn't need anymore explanation. She staved off the giggles as Will moved in to insert the thermometer, the foley catheter being handed to him and inserted on the other side.
"I'll do the line into the peritoneal, thanks," Ethan announced as Will nodded and stepped away.
"Well, looks like we were off with the normal thermometer. He's at 79.6."
"Good Lord," Will remarked.
"How can it be that far off?"
"Well, they usually don't register temperatures that low so…"
"So now what?"
"We have to get things going, fast. We're going to administer the warm solution every half hour and keep the humidified air running the entire time. If after a couple hours he's not moving in the right direction we'll do hemodialysis."
"What if that doesn't work."
"Then we have to put him on bypass."
"Why aren't we doing that now?"
"Because that requires moving him to the OR and cracking his chest in order to access the heart and lungs."
"Ah."
"As Will said, were playing chicken with cardiac arrest and too much at once or external rewarming or just moving him too much could put him there, which would be very bad right now."
"Dear Lord, why did you do this," Hailey groaned while rubbing her face. She was really in the mood to slap something right now.
"Half an hour at a time. It's going to be a long day but we'll get him there, or at least try our very best." Some part of Hailey didn't want to believe that, figured this whole day was just a prolonged way to torture Jay and the rest of them. But she saw hope and calm in Will right then, so she had to ride that train with him. Half an hour at a time, the rest of the day to witness Jay thaw. This was going to be a breeze, pun totally not intended.
…
First hour was a full blasting of everything minus the hemodialysis, they wanted to gingerly shock the system, overload it with heat so it ceased it's rapid temperature drop and remind it that can hold body heat and even increase. The result of that was a 0.6 drop in temperature, not great but a good sign of things. Prior to this point Jay was dropping multiple digits in minutes, this was less then one degree for half an hour, signs of things just beginning to work. The warmed fluids were switched out the second they got lukewarm, people running back and forth with bags and IV lines and ports to add to Jay's now peppered arms. Through all of this stood Will and Hailey in the corner, floating between hope and horror, fear and determination, they wanted to believe this all would be fine and Jay would be trying to get them to understand why he did what he did over dinner tonight. But Hailey had never seen a living human being with a temperature in the 70s, she'd never seen this experiment looking stuff coming in and out of a frozen person, it was very scary and very hard to look past. Aside from the blankets that were on top of him, there wasn't much left to the imagination, along with people pretty much touching any and everything. She knew Jay wouldn't like this, was somewhat okay with him being out right now. Hopefully as things improve they'd at least throw a gown on top of him, something to give him dignity. Meanwhile Will had seen this movie before and actually played a role in it, getting a bad outcome from that. So with that scarring experience he couldn't see anything else besides Jay literally freezing to death. He hated the wait, the hours and glacial pace of rewarming the human body. He hated that at this point they had to work from the inside out, not the typical outside in. This way was hard to judge, difficult to know when things were going wrong. So the two visitors stood in their corner, biting nails and watching for a miracle to take place. It was during this time that a hand gently tapped Will's shoulder, him spinning around a light speed to a surprised Maggie.
"Just wanted to let both of you know the team is here."
"Okay, thanks Maggie. I'll update in a minute." The next round of blasting with warmth was taking place, massive syringes were loaded up and screwed into catheters lines and counted down to squeezing.
"Don't update them. They did this to him."
"What?" That one pulled Will away from what was going on with Jay, looking down at Hailey who just nodded while fighting tears.
"It's their fault he's here. They made fun of him and it really bothered him to the point of jumping into a near frozen river to get them to talk about something else."
"He said all of that to you?"
"No, but it's obvious. Right before we got to the bridge we were talking about this stupid joke they've all had with him for awhile now. He said he really didn't like it but no one was listening to him. And then the rest is history."
"Will, be prepared for the hemodialysis next hour, he's still dropping."
"Whatever we need to do." Ethan nodded, going back to watching and praying for Jay to start warming up.
"Okay, you stay here and I'll go out and update them. And Hailey, I know you're looking out for him and are trying to defend him, but let's not forget he chose to jump. They didn't push him in." She wanted to laugh at him, but instead just kept here eyes on Jay's lifeless face, mentally telling him to stop messing around. Will excused himself, looked to Maggie who pointed to the waiting room, and Will went in that direction.
They all were a worried mess, some pacing in the waiting room while others sat with eyes glazed over. With very little to go on, it was obvious they were at worse case scenarios. Trudy had joined them as well, rubbing Kim's back and doing her best to encourage. Will wished there was excellent news to deliver, that Jay was awake and talking and asking when he could go home. But none of that was happening, quite the opposite actually. So when they all rose at the site of him, Will almost wanted to say 'come back later' and hurry out the door. But that wasn't going to happen. They all were adults and could handle the news. He just hated that they looked hopeful and sorrowful all at once.
"Hey guys, so I'll get right to it. He's got severe hypothermia and is unconscious at the moment. He lost it back at the scene and has been steadily getting worse from there. Ethan is using everything he can to rewarm him, but I have to say it's going to be awhile before we know anything concrete and if there's any lingering damage."
"How's Hailey doing?"
"She's doing okay. Worried, like all of us, but doing alright."
"How long till we might know something?"
"Hours. Three, maybe four. It all depends on when his body decides to start cooperating and allowing the treatments to start working. Despite using everything he's still losing heat."
"Thanks for the update, go back and see him." Will turned around to a evil eyed Hailey, standing right in front of the doors, pointing mental lasers at all of them. He could see what was brewing in her head, not wanting that to happen in public.
"Hailey, don't" he asked when the doors opened, but she wasn't listening, didn't even look his way.
"Are you all happy with yourselves? Do you realize this one is on you!"
"Hailey, stop," Will stepped in, putting hands on her shoulders and trying to get her back into the ED.
"Maybe next time he asks you to stop joking around you'll actually listen." That was all Will could allow, he turned so that he was a barrier between her and them, really encouraging her to step back into the ED. She pulled her arms out of his grasp, throwing them up like she was good and stormed back into Jay's room. Will turned to apologize to the group but it appear that would be useless, they could see the shock, guilt, realization of where they might have made a mistake. Will said they were more then welcomed to wait things out, but one by one they got up and left. They didn't need to say anything, their silence speaking volumes into the space. They felt guilty and were now praying they weren't too late to make things right.
…
"I think I went too far," Hailey quietly said while looking at Jay's room. It had been two hours since he was admitted, still hovering in the high 70s for temperature. The good news was that he'd stopped losing heat, the bad news being they could only maintain, not improve. The threatening hemodialysis was utilized the last round of blasting, the body heat going up a tenth of a degree, if that. Ethan reassured them that it was too early to tell if the machine was working. The human body houses a ton of blood, making the rewarming process a time consumer. He said they needed a couple more hours before really knowing if they needed to start considering the bypass. So in the meantime they wanted the room quiet, limited to the absolute necessary people. Jay needed time, quiet, stored energy to allow things to work. There wasn't a medical journal or textbook that confirmed it, but doctors believe silence and calm vibes are what help patients turn a corner. It's why you don't have music in rooms or large gatherings in hallways. Just like in the theaters, silence was golden.
"It's fine, we're all having a bad day."
"Yeah, but I have to face them tonight hopefully, tomorrow and the next day at work. I can't just walk in and act like everything is fine, but at the same time I don't want to apologize. I stand by what I said, maybe not how I delivered it. But I know some part of it is right."
"Look, Hailey. I appreciate you wanting to stand up for him, but we both know he made the call to jump. No matter what else was going on in his day, in that moment of seeing someone in desperate need of saving he decided in a split second that had to be him. Do I want to smack him for doing this? Absolutely. But that's him, going head first and worrying about dangers later." Hailey nodded, pushing the chair she was in a little further back. Both were sitting at the nurses station desk, not letting Jay's room be out of sight. People and calamity was going on all around, but for them it was them and Jay, nothing else. It was a weird, unusual feeling but they accepted it. Things could've been a whole lot worse, which is when Hailey spoke up once again.
"What about the guy he saved?" Will was now the one reclining backwards, exhaling and rubbing his eyes as he spoke.
"He suffered massive blunt force trauma, a pretty serious brain bleed. It looks like, just knowing how cold everything is and the location of the trauma, the kid hit the water in a belly flop position. Add the height in which he fell from he might as well be landing on concrete."
"So…is he dead?"
"I don't know, last I heard he was in surgery but it wasn't looking good. Vegetative state is very likely as of right now."
"Damn, do we tell Jay?"
"Uuummm, I'm not sure. We'll just play it by ear. He's definitely going to ask but we'll see how he is when he does."
"You said kid."
"Yeah, undergrad student at Northwestern. Apparently he just had a really bad semester and his long time girlfriend broke up with him, so they were worried something like this would happen."
"How did you find all of this out?"
"School called. He missed class the last two days so when the roommates didn't know where he was and they figured out he checked out of campus, the next step was to call hospitals."
"Man, feel like Jay is the only person in the last few days that cared about him."
"Yeah, which he'll figure out at some point." Ethan stuck his head out from the sliding door, looking around till he found the both of them lounging in chairs. At first he looked at them funny, but then his eyebrows perked up.
"We're in the 80s again." That set them off on a jog to the room. They reentered and were hit in the face with everything, the lines, catheters, machines, everything on and in him. It was just as scary as the first time, not inspiring hope in the least. But in the right corner of the room was the body temperature monitor that proudly and boldly read 80.3. It wasn't some grand clearing of danger, but Jay was finally getting better and warmer.
"Good job, Jay," Will spoke while gently placing a hand on a circulation booted foot. Hailey forewent that and made it straight to the head. She was wanting to put a hand on the top of his head, but the warming towels protecting the brain were preventing her from doing that. Perhaps a kiss from one true love would do things, but his lips were being covered by tape and a breathing tube and another line from the humidifier. So with very little space to work with, Hailey pecked his forehead with her lips before brushing a finger on his right cheek, slowly going up and down.
"Keep going Jay. We're not going anywhere so you're not allowed to either."
"How much longer," Will asked?
"Probably a couple more hours. We've finally got a pace for increase and we can't move to much faster then that."
"We do we try restarting the heart?"
"We're going to start trying around 87 and then work up from there, but we probably won't see action till somewhere in the 90s."
"I don't get it. He was in the 80s at the bridge but was awake and had a pulse."
"Yes, that was coming down from a normal temp, this is coming up from freezing. It's different and takes a lot to get going again. But again, we'll be starting when we hit that threshold."
"What about deficits? When could we start seeing those issues?"
"Right away. He hasn't lost oxygen but he's been unconscious with a stopped heart for awhile. We won't know anything about brain damage or heart issues till he wakes up, if he does."
"Don't say that."
"Will, you have to be aware of it. It's a possibility. But once that happens we'll know fairly quickly what were looking at."
"And then how long does he stay here?"
"We'll move him up to the ICU tonight, just closely watch him because he did get so low. Then sometime tomorrow we'll move him to a normal room and he'll stay there for a few days. We need to make sure his body can regulate it's heat again before sending him outside. It'll take some time but hopefully not too long." Will sighed and nodded before looking to Hailey who had the biggest puppy dog eyes in the world. She didn't want to leave him again but realized they were about to be kicked out.
"We'll go back to the chairs, let us know when you're ready to get him back from the dead." Ethan chuckled, working his way to a machine that was blinking for assistance.
"You got it. Hopefully it won't be too long from now."
…
It was heading into the evening hours when they all reunited once again. Throughout the afternoon Jay would hover at one temperature before budging a little more. It was almost like he was testing them, to see how nervous he could make them before giving in to their pleas. The supposed couple hours turned into more like three, four before Ethan revealed himself once again, letting them know it was time to attempt bringing Jay back to life. During that time Hailey and Will didn't move from their place, honestly not knowing where else they could've gone. This was their only intention for the day now, and the next few days thereafter. Their wait included small talk, keeping people updated, and just staring into nothing. There was never a hint of wanting to get up, but at times they were a little bored, daresay. So to see Ethan's head was the jolt of adrenaline they all needed. The wait was over, it was time to get things moving to another room in this hospital.
"So we've tried since he hit 86 and nothing has worked."
"What's he at now?"
"90.2."
"So just barely in the moderate range." Ethan nodded. Will and Hailey took to standing at the foot of the gurney, silent and uneasy at what was coming next. It was one thing to talk about resuscitating someone, but another thing to actually watch it. It was not pleasant, a little chaotic and violent coupled with the fact it was a loved one enduring it all. Looking at Jay now, you could see he'd improved. His skin was now a very pale white as opposed to grayish blue, and he was beginning to look more asleep then unconscious. Granted nothing had been removed from him, but it was just a vibe, a look about him. Suddenly the fear was being swapped out for hope, now they just needed confirmation.
"Charging," Ethan calmly spoke out, all of them listening to the whine of the defibrillator with great hesitation. When it was at peak shrill Ethan held the paddles over Jay's chest and made the announcement.
"Clear." The violent jolting that came as a result of the electrical shocks made Will and Hailey jump at the same time. Jay's lifeless body could only react, jostle about before going silent. Instinctively, Ethan placed fingers on the carotid, sighing when nothing came through.
"A round of epi," was injected into one of the IVs, all waiting the few seconds before the charging session started again.
"Clear." The jostling and jumping happened again, but what came after made Hailey slip out a squeak.
"V-fib." There was nothing, then a single heartbeat that quickly went into a rapid, racing tune.
"C'mon Jay," Will called out, not realizing he was thinking aloud.
"Another epi and open the fluids wide open." Ethan massaged the side of Jay's neck as things were administered and tweaked, the scene in this room on the verge of getting out of hand.
"Charging again…and clear." Same reaction, same result. Jay's heart was really fluctuating between rhythm and beats, like it had no clue what to do.
"Get the external pacer," Ethan decided, the device and all its' components being just about tossed at him. Warming blankets were pulled down to the waist, revealing all the wiring, catheters and tubing that were marking up his torso while trying to save him. It was not pretty, rather scary to say the least, but Ethen didn't blink or apologize for the stark revelation. Pacing wires were attached on the chest before Jay was briefly rolled to secure the ones on the back.
"Start pacing at 60."
"Come on Jay, stop messing around," Will prayed aloud. Hailey wanted to cry, or pound his chest to get it to work, but the two of them stood there dumbfounded and helpless, now not sure why they were allowed in here for this. The racing, fluttering heart rate didn't budge at first, but when things were moved down to 55 was when the cooperation finally happened.
"And..we're..back."
"Yay," Hailey clapped as the monitors calmed their pace a little, proudly and consistently singing the tune of sinus rhythm. Ethan sighed a massive sigh of relief, smiling as he handed off the paddles and pacing controller to a nurse.
"Well that was interesting. He'll be on the pacing for another day before we take him off, hopefully it'll be uneventful. Let's keep up with the humidified air and warmed fluids but I think he's good to get off hemodialysis and catheters. We're going to do one more dose of those just to boost him a little more and then will switch to external and the stuff I mentioned."
"When does he go upstairs?"
"After the last round of things. We'll get him stitched up and changed and then get him up there." The next half hour went by in an instant. Hailey spent her time at Jay's head, repeating encouraging phrases to him while carefully running a hand through his wet hair, which she was shocked was still wet after all this time. His head and face was still cold, but much better then before, the knowledge of him being alive again helping them tremendously. Will meanwhile busied himself with helping get Jay prepped, switching out foley bags and dressing a very passed out Jay in a hospital gown all while trying to outrace the shivering. That was a scary but welcomed thing. It would happen whenever they'd remove a blanket or adjust him, but the fact he was even doing that was incredible. It meant his body was able to do so, recognize when it was cold and needed to react. No way was he doing that even few minutes ago. The final round of the internal rewarming kicked Jay's body temp to a solid 92.0, the highest Jay had been in a very long time. It certainly wasn't good, for most people being the reason they're admitted to a hospital. But for Jay it was a milestone, a thing to be proud of.
"You're doing such a great job," Hailey encouraged when the last of the catheters entry points were stitched closed and sealed for protection. From there it was switching Jay from the humidified vent to a bag for the journey and someone to push all the IV stands; which Will gladly did.
"Very careful," Ethan reminded as they arrived at the elevator doors, the threat of sending Jay into a bad cardiac episode still very real. It was a swinging movement almost, but they all made it on and sighed victoriously as the doors closed and they rose. Somewhere between floors Jay twitched a foot and no one noticed, not even Will or Hailey. His eyes rolled under their lids and it got a double take, but nothing more. But when they were in the hallway en-route to the room was when Hailey held everyone up, Jay finally getting that attention.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa guys. Stop moving he's up." Jay looked her way first, a small groan coming out of him as she fiddled for a hand and grabbed it.
"Hey, hey Jay it's me. Can you hear me?" Another groan and closed eyes responded.
"Hey, you're okay Jay. You can't talk right now but you're fine. Just moving to a room." His eyes open with the floodgates, his eyes dripping tears as he tried to blink them away.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Everything is okay." Hailey pulled her sleeve up over her hand, using the makeshift wipe to brush tears away.
"Are you in pain?" Jay grunted before doing his best to nod.
"We'll get you something," Will butted in, Jay looking in the direction of his voice and nodding again. His body decided all this movement and communication was enough for right now, causing a whole body shiver before the eyes lids back to sleep. That was the heightened blip that got them straight into the room and reconnecting him to warmth. Literally that was done before they even moved him, all freaked out at the thought of shifting him that much. But Jay made it through, resting peacefully as all medical things were reconnected and the warming vent reunited with his stiff, cold lungs. The result of their little trip and hold up was dropping a whole two degrees, driving home just how into the woods Jay was. He may have found the way out, but he still had to make it to the woods' edge. But neither Will nor Hailey were complaining, because they were in a hospital room with a living, breathing Jay. After the degree of danger he was at when he entered and how peril his dive into the river was, this was a victory; a massive and splendid one at that. He didn't arise the rest of the day and slept pretty perfectly through the night, allowing Will and Hailey their rest as well. The room may have been at sauna levels and both visitors might have slept in close to underwear, but none of them were complaining. Anything for the world's hottest human icicle.
…
Three Days Later
"I'm hot," Jay announced as he did his best of kick blankets off of him.
"Um dude you're hovering at 96, there's no way you're hot." The last three days had been trying and hectic and good all at once. Jay slept through the first night in the ICU, waking up the next morning fighting the vent and in dire pain. The breathing was an easy thing to address, simply swapping out the vent for a hi-flow machine, which both options Jay hated but didn't really have a choice about. Since his lungs were shocked with below freezing temps for a prolonged period of time, they were rather stiff and sore, able to allow breathing but needed that help expanding and contracting. The pain Jay woke up in was not just from the sore lungs, but his entire body suffering from mild atrophy. Think of when you're running or walking in the cold without gloves on, how your fingers become stiff and hard to bend while you wrap them around a phone or camera; that same feeling was all of Jay. His muscles may not have been frozen anymore, but essentially they were toughened to the point of almost breaking. When he first woke up it was so tight he could barely move his hands and arms, those shaking as he tried to rub his eyes over how much pain he was in. Over time as he used them and regained strength and mobility, the situation would improve and he'd be fine. But in these very early hours he kept describing it like someone had screwed things way too tight, that any sudden movement would snap an ACL or calf or hammy.
The first day he was given muscle relaxers and pain meds along with warming blankets and leg wraps to help with circulation. The next day he began sitting up and walking around, trying to fight for things to not get worse. Even today on this third day, he teared up while walking from one end of the room to the other, finally breaking down that he regretted jumping in that water. Had he'd know he'd be this bad off when he woke up, perhaps he really would've thought things through. But who was he kidding, they all knew Jay would've jumped anyway even if he knew the aftermath. It's who he was and he was never going to change. So we find him back in bed, waking up after a big nap that followed a full three laps around the room. Will was stirring him because the team was at last having their reunion with him, Hailey meeting them at the elevator and guiding them back to the room.
"How's James doing?" James is the person he saved, more pieces to the puzzle coming to light as the hours ticked off. The creepy ex-girlfriend tried to come visit but the parents refused, partly blaming her for why he was in the ICU in the first place. Oh yeah, he did have brain surgery and survived the operation but was on life support; the odds of him coming off of it slim to none. The parents visited Jay last night, all of them crying over what happened. They were eternally grateful to Jay for giving them this time to say farewell, Jay visually upset he didn't get things done quick enough. Even after being told the impact is very likely what put him in his current state, Jay kept saying he should've been quicker. How very Jay Halstead of him.
"He's still on the machines. I think the doctors are starting to talk the parents into letting him peacefully go, but it's a process."
"I can't imagine having to go through that again."
"Yeah," Will trailed off, the memories of dad punching him right in the face. But that thought was fleeting, the sound of hissing and cursing and quick breaths dragging him back to Jay who was under another muscle spasm.
"Remember, squeeze my hand. Is it the legs again?" Jay just nodded, eyes glued shut as he breathed through the episode, saying something about this one being the worst.
"Just hang in there, it'll pass."
"Will…this is…really bad." Will looked at the tears slowly dripping out of the corners of his eyes. This emotional side of Jay was so unfamiliar, borderline awkward in a way. Never in the history of Jay had he ever been this emotional. Perhaps being on the brink of death is what finally got it out of him. Will offered to punch where it hurt—seriously it works—but Jay threatened death if Will moved from his place. So they sat and prayed and begged for the pain to subside, the wrath finally giving up after about five minutes of torture. Jay opened his eyes to a waving, adoring crowd looking in from the door, now rather embarrassed at his appearance and mood.
"We really have to do this right now?"
"Jay, they're literally right there."
"Yeah…but…"
"Oh good grief, Hailey was right. You are mad about the whole joke thing."
"What?! No, it's just…I mean…"
"Yeah, nice try. You can't get out of this one."
"I mean, they kind of did play a role." Will sighed, carefully sitting on the bed so as to not jostle Jay. He looked directly at his brother and shrugged his shoulders before beginning.
"I'm pretty sure they're here to apologize. Hailey really guilt tripped them that day and they haven't been back here till just now. Let's say she helped them see the light."
"Fabulous."
"Hey, she was just standing up for you."
"She didn't have to."
"But she did. Come on, Jay. Just give them their chance to make things right. It's your work family. You're going to have times of fighting and hostility, but in the end it all gets right again. Okay? I'll stay in here for a few minutes if that'll help." Jay nodded, now looking past Will and at the door, giving Hailey the look that she, and the rest of them, could enter. Will stood, waving at all of them as they filed in. Let the most awkward post-event moment commence.
"Hey guys," Jay calmly greeted as they filed in one by one. They looked like dogs with tails between their legs, all wanting to see him and catch up, but that little run-in with Hailey that day seeming to be lingering. They did their best to smile and do their best to greet and compliment, but it was obvious something else was on their mind. Like Jay had a hair standing straight up in the middle of his head, it was like something was there that they were, for the moment, choosing to not talk about.
"How are you feeling," they all asked in their own way?
"Oh gosh, just the worst pain of my life."
"Why?"
"Just a lot of muscle spasms and tightness."
"Oh, like when you go running in the cold."
"Yes! Exactly like that."
"I will be the first to admit, maybe next time I'll really think before jumping head first into a massive ice bucket challenge." That one earned Jay a chuckle.
"Wow, so you are capable of feeling and recognizing pain."
"I know, it's crazy to think. But it is totally true." Hailey took to glaring at Will, who at first didn't get it, but her not so smooth hint had him figuring it out.
"Will, don't you have that thing you need to take care of?"
"Wow, next time why don't you just come out with it."
"Will.."
"Okay! Okay, I'm leaving." Will promised to be back in a few minutes, pestering Jay if he needed anything before making him swear to speak up when another spasm or spike occurred. Through rolling eyes Jay agreed to do so, wanting to kick his brother's butt out of the room. Once Will was clear of the room they all fell terribly silent, one looking to the other as they worked down the line of people. It was Trudy who spoke up, mostly because she was the very last person in line.
"So, it has come to our attention that we owe you an…apology."
"Oh, you don't have to," Jay spoke with a little too much conviction and false kindness, trialing off as he waited for Trudy to continue.
"Oh, that was my apology." Jay just laughed, they all always fell for that one.
"But seriously Jay, we do," Kim spoke up for the rest of the group.
"Guys, it's fine. I was just being too sensitive."
"No, Jay. You did try to tell us that it was offending you and we were so into the stupid joke that we didn't see that, so we're sorry." Heads nodded as they stared into nothing. If Jay or Hailey were expecting tears and feet kissing, they were surely let down. How they all were behaving fell right in line with who they are, they were never going to fake things.
"Well, I appreciate the apology guys, truly, but that's not why I did what I did. No matter what was or is going on in life, I see someone doing something like that and I'm going to go after and try to save them. Maybe next time I'll call for support or something, but that didn't dictate what I did."
"Yeah, okay," some of them sneered, Hailey glaring for them to straighten up.
"And maybe I did turn on the game for a few minutes," Jay spoke just barely loud enough for them to hear.
"What did you say? You did turn it on?"
"I don't know, did I?"
"Come on, we know that's what you said and now we know why things turned out the way they did."
"But am I just pulling your leg or being serious…"
"Oh come on Jay." And at last, he finally had the upper hand.
Behold, another one done! This one was a fun one. Can't wait to dive back into those request, and maybe a few new ones (?!) to get started on the next one. Thanks so much for reading!