"Jay! Jay, can you hear me?"; Halstead heard a familiar voice,but who was shouting? Slowly he opened his eyes, then stared directly into the familiar face of his brother. What the hell happened? Next to him, no one less than Hailey came to light. Apparently she was sitting at his bedside holding his hand. By his bed? It took Jay a moment to realize what it was all about, then he looked around in bewilderment and wanted to stand up, but the pain in his shoulder made him moan.
"Slowly,"; Will told him, who looked no less worried.
"You've been shot. Dr. Marcell removed the bullet. Is the pain very intense?";, Hailey said, when he started to worry.
"Where's Ben?"; Jay breathed on his girlfriend, who pointed outside.
"Adam is sitting with him in the waiting area. Don't worry about it,"; Will promised.
"You have to get back on your own feet first."
Dazed, Jay looked over. The injury on the shoulder hurt terribly.
"When can I get out of here?"; was the first thing he asked, but Hailey and Will shook their heads at the same time.
" You're staying here for the next few days."
Jay moaned while Hailey kept stroking the back of his hand.
"Do you know any more details about the offender?"
"Shhh. . . cowboy. Don't talk so much,"; Hailey whispered as Will injected one of the drugs into the access.
"I hate needles,"; Halstead whined as he watched his eyelids grow heavier.
"Ben, you have to take care of him,"; whispered Jay in a weak voice.
"Don't worry. Adam and Kim are just there for him,"; was the last thing Jay understood before sleep overcame him. . .
CPDCPDCPDCPD
"Daddy, are you gonna die?"; frightened, Ben sat one day later at the edge of his father's bed. Jay was still at Chicago med. In contrast to the previous day, however, he was on the road to recovery.
"Hey, big guy.. I'll be back to my old self soon,"; Halstead winked at the younger one before he glanced at Hailey, who Ben had driven to the hospital.
"Thanks for taking him in. " Hailey sighed, raised and lowered his shoulders.
"Well, listen. Now that you're lying here and you're so damaged, I have no choice but to take care of you. " Jay smiled mischievously. In that respect, a shoulder shot like that had something good to it.
"Fun on the side. Don't worry about it. You've done a good job,"; she pointed to Ben, who looked at his father innocently.
"You have a great son,"; she whispered softly and then looked at Ben amused, before she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a rolled up picture, which she gave to the little one.
"Look, I drew this for you,"; Ben passed the drawing to his father, who smiled gratefully at him and looked at the picture showing three people in front of a house and a car.
"Is that us?"; The little one nodded assiduously.
"That's you, that's Hailey and that's me,"; he tapped on the figures before he lay tiredly with his head on the blanket, because he was obviously looking for his father's closeness. Sighing, Jay put the child's drawing aside, then lovingly drove through his little one's hair. He was aware that he had not chosen the best timing for his injury. Right now Ben would need him more than ever. Especially since the incident increasingly increased fears about his father.
"Can I stay with you today? Please!"; Ben begged quietly, which Jay repulsed with a demonstrative shake of his head.
"No, big guy. That won't work. Uncle Will won't go for it. " Halstead looked at his son in whose eyes tears had gathered.
"Hey, your daddy's getting discharged soon and coming home,"; Hailey tried to reassure him, which only made the situation slightly better.
"In the meantime, we'll build a little more of your knight's castle. I need this to be ready by the time Jay gets out. " But Ben just shook his head defensively, buried his face on his father's chest. The adults looked at each other vividly.
"Big boy, I promise you, when I get out of here, we'll do something really great together.
Frightened, Ben looked up at his father. Since Jay's stay in hospital the clinging behaviour had increased even more. Within the last week the little boy had experienced almost all existential things a child feared. The situation was interrupted by Will, who stepped into the room and looked at his nephew and the two policemen in amazement.
"Well, young man, what's the matter with you?"; the doctor wanted to know, but initially received no answer.
"I want to stay with Daddy, but I can't,"; it came crying. Even Will, who was normally hard on the stomach, was not able to stand the sight of it.
"But with Hailey, you liked it, didn't you?"; Ben shrugged his shoulders.
"But I'm afraid Daddy's gonna die. "
"How's your arm?"; Will wanted to know about Ben and looked at Jay for a long time. The little one wiped the tears from his face, shrugged his shoulders.
"Let me see. "
Suspiciously Ben turned to his uncle, then raised his hand up so he could see the place. Will looked at Jay again and Hailey then nodded theatrically.
"We should monitor this here again. I'll tell April to bring an extra bed in here. " Ben smiled at his uncle despite his tears.
"Does this mean I can sleep in Daddys room tonight?";
"One night. But not an hour more. " The adults grinned at Will. "I'll be back for Ben in the morning,"; Hailey winked at her boyfriend before she looked amused at Will. . .
CPDCPDCPDCPD
"Jay, you're behaving like a baby,"; Hailey teased her boyfriend, which Ben, who was playing in the hallway and looking towards the bedroom, acknowledged with a loud laugh.
In the meantime, Halstead had been released. Upton had moved in with them and took care of them as best he could. She did the shopping, took over the household and helped Jay to get dressed, because he was still slightly restricted with his arm sling. And so was this evening.
"Damn it, I hate this thing. It'll take me 10 minutes to get on and off. "
"Yes, because you always make a fuss instead of getting help,"; Hailey tried to get him to put on the T-shirt, which only worked to a limited extent because Jay was fidgeting all over his body. Eventually they both ended up on the bed. Ben, who had meanwhile entered the room, giggled amusedly. "
You guys are funny. " Nothing more happened, because the situation was interrupted by a loud bang. Frightened, Ben started shaking, staring as if frozen in the direction of the window, before movement entered his body. When Jay and Hailey looked spellbound at the window, he had already run out of the bedroom.
"Damn it, who's doing fireworks at this hour,"; Halstead hissed, while Hailey had already grasped the gravity of the situation and followed the boy into the next room. Alarmed by his reaction she had followed him to check on him.
"Jay? Jay!";, Hailey suddenly screamed, causing Halstead, who was still topless, to dash into the hall. His girlfriend seemed visibly excited and knelt beside the dresser. He sensed immediately that something was wrong...
