I'm SO GLAD (and relieved, ha!) that you all liked the cliffhanger. I'm always so worried I'm going to upset someone with every chapter I publish. Thanks so much to the anonymous and guest reviewers for sharing your love! Artandmusicdubs, your excitement motivated me to get this one published a little faster. :)

Chapter 41

Adam saw Sylvie fall backward as the shots rang out. He caught a flash of movement to his right and Jess was backing away from a teen who was collapsing to the ground, his gun clattering to the ground. Atwater had been through the door first and had a teen wrestled down to the ground.

Jess was still, the only one still standing in the room, three bodies on the floor, Sylvie leaning against the wall clutching her arm.

"You're ok?" Adam asked, crossing to Jess, holstering his gun. He gripped her upper arms and searched her. "You're ok?" he couldn't get any other words out, not until he knew she was alright.

She winced when his hand closed on her left arm and he jerked his hand away. "What?"

The pain seemed to mobilize her again. "Just a bruise," she said. She started moving, grabbing a jump bag that had most of its contents on the floor. She emptied out what was left in it and tossed two epi pens to Adam. "They each need a shot in their thigh." She moved to the other bag as Burgess and Olinsky came through the door.

"Kim," Jess called to Burgess, tossing her another pen. "In the thigh," she said, jerking her head toward the body closest to Kim. "They need to get to Med."

Adam didn't want to turn from Jess, not to save the creeps who had held her and Sylvie hostage.

"Adam," Jess said sharply. "I need to get to Sylvie. Give them the epinephrine."

Adam did as she instructed, but he kept watch over Jess. She was limping. She spoke quietly to Sylvie, but Sylvie looked like she was shaking off his fiancée's concern.

The kid start to stir and Adam grabbed his wrists to cuff him. He let Olinsky take him and stuck the epi pen into the last kid. He didn't wait for that kid to move, he turned him over to Voight who was taking command of the scene.

Jess was trying to help Sylvie toward the door. Adam didn't know which one to help. They were both pale, Jess was limping, but Sylvie's hand was red with blood where she was holding her other arm.

"Sylvie's been shot," Jess said. "She needs to get to the ambo."

They were on the front stoop and then Adam didn't need to try to help both the medics. Casey ran up the walk and got a firm hold on Sylvie, helping her to the sidewalk where two ambulances were pulling up to the curb.

As soon as Sylvie was passed on to the care of someone else, Jess looked up at Adam.

"Adam," she said, and then all the fight flooded out of her and she started to sink down.

"I got you, Darlin'," Adam murmured against her hair, wrapping his arms around her and getting her the rest of the way to a waiting ambulance.

Jay was sprinting toward them. Adam knew he and Erin had been farthest from this block during the search.

Adam tried to get Jess toward the medics who were jumping out of the ambulance, but Jess shook her head. "I just need to sit," she said. To the medics, she instructed, "There are three teens in there. Brett and I dosed them with a beta blocker, they all got it reversed with epi, but they need to get to Med."

Adam could hear Sylvie telling the same info the other paramedics as she insisted Casey just help her to sit on the curb.

"Kidd can stick a bandage on my arm," Sylvie was saying. "The bullet just grazed me."

Casey looked horrified. His jaw tightened and he looked up toward the house. Adam knew exactly what he was thinking. He wanted to do the same thing to the little punks.

Casey didn't look like he was going to agree, but Sylvie looked at him and he finally radioed over for Kidd to come over. He asked her something, reaching out and grazing her jaw tentatively with his fingers.

Adam crouched down in front of Jess. He took her hands. They were ice cold.

Jay finally reached them, his chest heaving, eyes panicked as he looked Jess over.

Even a month ago, Jay would have shoved Adam aside. Instead, he held back. Adam slid over so Jay could get down to Jess' level next to him.

"Are you ok?" He glanced at Adam without waiting for Jess to answer. "Is she ok?"

Adam kept hold of Jess' clammy hands in his and raised his eyebrows in question.

"I'm ok," she answered.

Jay looked to Adam again for confirmation.

"She's ok," he repeated for Jay, gently rubbing Jess' hands between his. "You want to go home?" he asked.

"I—my shift—I should—"

Jay cut her off with a sharp shake of his head. "No way are you or Brett back on shift. There's no way Boden's letting either of you back today. You need to go to Med and get checked out." Jess didn't argue and that was more concerning than anything else, but Adam worked at a neutral expression. He wouldn't let Jess see how terrified he had been. How worried he still was. She had been there for him and no way was he letting her down now.

#

Jess didn't have any fight left in her to argue. She knew Adam was right anyway. Boden would make sure she and Sylvie got medical attention, whether they wanted it or not.

Behind her she could hear the wheels of the stretcher clatter down the sidewalk. She wanted to close her eyes. Instead she forced herself to watch as the paramedics loaded the stretcher into the back of their ambulance. Before the driver went around front, he gave Jess a slight nod and she felt the last of her breath rush out of her. The kids were going to be ok. She and Sylvie had managed not to kill them. They had got the epi in time.

Adam's strong arm was reassuring as he wrapped it around her before she could slump over. She really had no fight left at all.

"Sure you don't want Kidd to get the gurney?" Adam asked.

Jess shook her head. Adam didn't argue, but he also didn't really let her stand on her own. He was supporting her more than she was doing anything on her own as they slowly made their way over to Jess and Sylvie's rig that Kidd had driven over.

Sylvie was standing, Casey supporting her, and Jess noticed Sylvie looked comfortable resting against him.

"Boden said we have to go to Med and get cleared before we can come back for our next shift," Sylvie said. "Want to share a ride?" she tried for a wan smile.

Jess managed a nod.

Kidd opened the back doors of the rig, her dark eyes assessing both of them as Adam and Casey helped them in. She made sure they were settled and hopped back out to close the doors. Before she shut them, she looked from Jess to Sylvie.

"You two…" She stopped and cleared her throat. "You two owe me for the five years you scared off my life." Then she slammed the doors shut and jogged around to the driver's seat.

Jess leaned heavily against Adam, beyond any show of strength left for her pride's sake.

"Sylvie," she said, as the ambulance started moving.

Sylvie looked at her.

"Most bridesmaids host a bachelorette party for the bride before the wedding." Jess felt one side of her mouth lift in a weak smile. "I rather would have had a bachelorette party."

Sylvie's tired smile reflected hers. "Hey, I told you I'd make sure you saw Adam today," she countered.

"You're the worst maid of honor ever," Jess said. She reached out a hand and Sylvie gripped it in a tight squeeze.

"Add an extra ugly bow to my bridesmaid dress and we'll call it even."

Even as their words remained light, tears were welling in Sylvie's eyes. Jess figured they went perfectly with the painful lump in her own throat.

Adam tightened his arm around Jess and pressed a kiss against her hair. Jess finally let herself close her eyes and let down her guard, her best friend sitting across from her, and the man who loved her in spite of everything they had been through holding her close.

#

"Incoming," Will could hear Maggie call in the hallway. He tied off the last suture and smiled at the kid sitting on the gurney.

"So no more karate moves near windows, right?" he asked with a smile.

The kid gave him a gap-toothed smile and nodded.

"Thank you," the kid's mother said, ruffling her son's hair.

Will nodded, glancing toward the gurney being rolled through the emergency room, a police officer jogging along with the paramedics. It was the second one in under a minute. "Monique will be in with your discharge papers," he said.

One last high five with the kid and he stepped out into the controlled chaos Maggie was directing.

"What do we have?" Will asked.

Maggie glanced his way. "Three overdoses with beta blockers. They got epi in the field, heart rhythms are normal sinus for two of them, the third one is still bradying down."

Will started following one of the stretchers. "Which one do you want me to take?"

Maggie shook her head quickly. "We have two CFD paramedics inbound with injuries. You and Dr. Choi are taking them."

It couldn't be Jess. There had to be dozens of medics on duty for the CFD. No way it was Jess. But he had to ask. "Is it—?"

Maggie cut him off, looking at him directly for the first time. "I don't know. CFD just said two of their medics have injuries after those kids took them hostage."

"What injuries?" he asked sharply.

Maggie finally gave him her full attention. "Will, I don't have any other doctors available for this. And I'm not going to make you treat one of the kids that did this to whoever these medics are." Her brown eyes were warm with compassion, but there was a command there, too.

Will nodded. "Yeah, I've got this."

Maggie touched his arm lightly before looking toward the door. "Here we go. Dr. Choi, you're going to Treatment room 3, Dr. Halstead, room 4."

The doors slid open, letting in a rush of the cold air from outside. Will saw Adam before he saw who he was holding up. But that told him enough.

"April," he yelled over his shoulder. "Get a wheelchair over here!"

Jess was too pale. She was walking, but favoring her left leg. He glanced at Sylvie. She was walking fine, but Casey was keeping a protective arm around her. Will saw the blood covering the sleeve of her jacket, her white EMS patch dark maroon. Choi was already grabbing a wheelchair from the nearest nurse and Casey was lowering Sylvie into it.

"I don't need a wheelchair," Jess said, her voice breathy.

Of course his sister didn't. She was the one with the injured leg and of course she was the one who was going to refuse help.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Adam was already talking to her. "Darlin', I know you could probably run three laps around this hospital right now if you put your mind to it, but I don't think I can make it through another five minutes of worry right now. Could you just get in the chair and let your brother do whatever he needs to do to put all our minds at ease?"

Jess nodded and sank down into the seat. Will didn't miss the way the tight lines on her face eased as soon as she was off the injured leg.

"What happened?" he asked Adam. April was moving quickly down the hallway to Treatment room 4 and he and Adam kept pace.

Adam's jaw tightened. He lifted a shaking hand to run through his hair. Will realized Adam was probably about three breaths from losing his tight grip of control.

April helped Jess slide onto the gurney in the room. She looked meaningfully at Will and Adam. "I'll help her get changed into a gown."

Will clapped a hand on Adam's shoulder and guided him from the room. He could feel Adam's tension radiating under his hand.

"Some punk kids…idiots, sons of bitches…" he clarified, venom propelling the words.

"It's ok," Will said, even though he knew it wasn't. Not with Jess sitting in his Emergency Department.

Adam took a breath. "They wanted fentanyl, morphine, whatever Jess and Sylvie had with them. And then they didn't let them go."

Pieces started falling into place. "And the beta blockers?"

Adam gave him a grim smile, but there was pride in his eyes. "Jess' idea. Dropped them flat and gave us a chance to get to her and Sylvie."

"And Jess' injuries?" He couldn't imagine what it had cost Jess to decide to harm someone for her freedom. Looking at Adam's face, he knew his soon to be brother-in-law knew it, too.

"They grabbed her arm. She says it hurts. And a steel toe boot to her leg."

Will nodded, trying not to let his relief show. It could have been worse. So much worse.

He tapped lightly on the glass door before sliding it open. Behind him an angry shout carried across the ED.

"My sister is back there and I'm not waiting out here!"

Will looked at Adam.

Adam gave a short nod. "I'll go take care of Jay."

It may have been Jay fighting to see Jess, making demands out of concern. It may have always been him who fought tooth and nail to do what he was sure was right for Jess while Will looked composed and sure of a good outcome. But it took everything in him to not start yelling along with Jay. To not go over to the rooms where the kids who took Jess hostage were being treated and snap them in two. To not rush into Jess' room and grab her to make sure she really was ok. To not break down.

Will took a steadying breath, schooling his face to hide his concern, and stepped into Jess' room.

"Sounds like an exciting afternoon," he said lightly.

#