AN: We're going back in time for this!
Will was feeling frantic. Maggie standing beside him holding on to his arm, stopping him from entering the room where Ethan Choi was currently treating his brother.
"Nope, Will, you're staying here with me, let Choi do his thing, then you can see Jay." Maggie stepped in front of Will in order to stop him, as he was about to break back into the room.
Will had seen Jay at first when he'd been brought in, looking like he'd been beaten into a pulp. Jay had been missing for 24 hours, Will hadn't slept, pretty sure he had lost his brother. Seeing him alive he'd felt relief but seeing his bloody and beaten form, that hadn't lasted long.
Maggie had pushed him out of the room as Jay was beings assessed and treated. He had a right to some privacy and Will was there as a brother, not a part of the staff. Will had gotten a glimpse of his brother's injuries as they'd cut his clothes off and put him in a gown.
"Choi will come and talk to you when he's ready, let's get you someplace to sit Will." Maggie dragged him across the corridor towards the doctor's lounge. Pushing him through the door.
"Now, sit! Someone will come get you when you can see Jay."
It felt like a lifetime, but Choi finally showed up in the doctor lounge. Looking at Will with a grim expression on his face, he updated Will on what injuries Jay had sustained and his treatment and plan for observation.
Jay had been put through torture, electrical burns on his chest and abdominal wall, deep bruising, contusions to his head, back and abdomen. He was stable, no signs of circulatory shock or respiratory distress but he was going for a CT to rule out any internal bleeding.
"So, can I finally go see my brother now?" Will asked, as Choi paused in his explanation.
"Yes, I'll come with you…but Will, he was tortured, just…. you know…remember that," the statement made Will stop in his tracks, turn and look back at Choi.
"I've given him some morphine for pain, and he's on IV fluids and antibiotics, just, remember he's a bit, you know…out of it, might be a bit confused." Choi looked down at the floor as if he was betraying Jay's trust by saying what he did.
"What do you mean Ethan?" Will was confused, what was he trying to tell him.
"Will, your brother's been through hell, he's also a former soldier, Ranger no less… he might have a reaction, you know, triggers…"
Will was surprised, he knew Jay had struggled when he came home from Afghanistan, but to the point where he was suffering from post-traumatic stress? Really?
"Uh...yeah…yes, of course," Will nodded, feeling like a jerk, he hadn't really thought about it for a long time. Jay was usually so closed off he had a hard time talking to him about the past, their mother dying, their father, Jay's service in the military.
Choi followed Will to where Jay was now lying in a hospital bed sleeping. He looked exhausted, his pale complexion making him look sick. Nasal cannula administering oxygen snaking behind his ears, the leads monitoring his heart and breathing peeking up from under his gown. Two large bore IV's were piercing the skin in the crook of each elbow, one connected to a bag of clear fluids hanging from the pole by the bed. Bag with urine, tinged pink with blood hung under the side of the bed, kidney contusions, Will deduced.
Will had to stop and just look at him, the mess that was his brother lying there, at least he was alive. He pulled one of the rolling chairs along and sat down beside Jay, keeping silent so he wouldn't wake him up. Not touching him so he wouldn't startle him.
"He's going to be okay you know," Ethan said, patting Will's shoulder, as he left the brother's alone.
Will watched his brother sleep, shifting between studying the monitors and Jay's sleeping form under the blankets. Jay was reclined on his back, but not flat, head turned to the side, facing Will. Right arm crossed his abdomen, like he was protecting himself. He stirred, but he didn't wake up.
Will could hear voices outside the glass door of his brother's room, thinking it was time for the CT scan and for his brother to be admitted to the ICU.
There was a knock and then Voight was waving his hand at Will to come over and open. That Jay's boss didn't just let himself inside was interesting to Will as he knew Voight usually did whatever he wanted.
"Hey, how's he doing?" Voight asked when Will opened to doors.
"Sleeping, exhausted. Choi dosed him with some morphine." Will shrugged his shoulders not sure how much to divulge.
"Yeah? So, no lasting injuries then?" Voight looked past Will at Jay, trying to see for himself.
"He's going for a CT scan to make sure, but he's stable…. What happened?" Will felt a wave of anger surge. How had his brother ended up here?
"He was undercover Will, we lost him, I'm really sorry," Voight seemed sincere.
Will exhaled, his anger wasn't good for anything right now, it would feel good to blame someone, it was something he could do, as he couldn't do much for Jay right now.
"Yeah, well he's going to need some time off," Will started to close the door, wanting Voight gone.
"Of course, he'll be on medical leave for a while. Tell him I stopped by, and that Erin's staying with me for a while."
Will nodded, he knew Erin and Jay had broken up, that she'd gone off the rails, his brother had been worried sick about her.
"Okay, I'll let him know, but Voight… he's off limits for a while." Will knew Jay would protest if he'd heard him, but Will didn't want anyone near his brother right now.
"Alright Will," Voight looked at Will with what could pass for sympathy.
Sitting back down beside Jay's bed his brother started to stir, a groan escaping as his head turned, hands moving up to his ribs.
"Jay? Easy, you awake?" Will really needed to talk to him, so he was hoping he was waking up.
Standing up so that he could see his brother better, he leaned closer, hoping to see Jay open his eyes.
"Hey, Jay, you're okay," Will could see Jay trying to keep his eyes open, but he couldn't keep his lids from closing for more than a few seconds at a time.
"You're at Chicago Med…you with me Jay?"
"Yea…" Jay mumbled, tired eyes finally open, searching the room, before finally finding Will.
Will smiled at Jay's drugged state, he seemed so out of it. "Ethan gave you some pain meds, that's why you feel so groggy."
"Oh… Okay, jus…so tired…" Jay was struggling to stay awake.
"That's alright, you can sleep Jay, just wanted to say hi." Will knew it was selfish to not let Jay rest.
"Hi," Jay said with a crooked smile on his face, calming Will down a bit.
Will patted Jay on the head, smiling back at him.
"Hey there…good to see you, how'd you feel?"
Jay seemed to take stock of his body, looking down at himself, moving his legs under the blankets. "Sore," he concluded.
"Well, you're pretty banged up, Choi ordered a CT scan, they're taking you up there soon, then you'll be admitted for observation." Will relayed Ethan's plan for Jay.
"Oh…but I'm okay…" Jay said, a frown on his face.
"Just making sure Jay, alright, get some rest, I'll stay until they get you to your room upstairs." Will sat down, his hand resting on Jay's arm, keeping a connection.
Jay lost his battle with the drugs, dragging him under, smoothing everything out, before he had a chance to ask about Erin.
Will stayed, following Jay when he went up to Radiology, then to the ICU where they made sure he got another dose of pain medication almost before he could wake up again.
When Choi found Will there at midnight Will was ordered to go home and get some sleep as well. The scans were fine, no internal bleeding, just bruising, no kidney lacerations. If Jay would stay the night for observation, barring any complications he'd be discharged the next evening.
"Come back tomorrow, he's in good hands, I've put in as needed orders for more morphine and some a short acting benzo, he'll be resting tonight Will."
Will nodded, he was exhausted too, hadn't gotten any sleep last night, his body was screaming for some downtime in a bed.
Leaving was hard but he finally managed to get going at 1 a.m. having spoken to the nurse taking care of Jay, telling her to call him if anything happened.
Hopefully I didn't confuse anyone with my jump back in time. There's more written of this if there's interest in more. Tbc?