This chapter is two parts and is in response to a request where Liam is sick or injured and Jay or Will had to take care of him. I'm not sure if this is what they had in mind, but it is what my brain spewed forth. Liam is nine.
Weight(s)of the World part I
Jay knew it wasn't good news when his phone rang before noon and it was Ellie, his babysitter. Liam had stayed home from school, still not feeling well after coming home early the day before. He blew a mouthful of air upwards and swiped his phone.
"How's he doing?" Jay asked.
"Not great. He has a fever and no appetite. He's watched some TV but keeps falling asleep. He just woke up and wants you." Ellie said as she looked over at Liam whose face was flushed as he sat on the couch, sipping some of the Ginger-Ale she had brought over.
"I'm not sure if I can get away," Jay said wincing. He felt horrible for saying it, as he looked at the stacks of files on his desk. Liam had suffered from several colds, a bout or two of strep throat and the stomach flu on occasion, but for the most part had been a healthy kid and Jay had been grateful for that as he didn't have much faith in his skills of fathering a sick kid.
"Oh," Ellie replied, her voice laced with mild discontent. "Okay, well if you can—" she hesitated. "Jay he's asking for you, asking for his daddy. If there is any way for you to get home please do," she said as she hung up.
Jay sighed and shook his head at his predicament. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Hailey come up behind him. "Everything okay?"
"Liam's sick, he's asking for me."
"Well then you need to go." She said, her voice sounding agitated that he wasn't already out the door.
"I guess he started running a fever."
"How long has he been sick?" She asked, trying to slow down and get the whole story.
"He didn't feel great Monday but went to school. He came home early yesterday and stayed home today."
"And he has a fever? Jay you better get him to the doctor," she advised.
Jay looked over at Voight's office. "Sarge won't have a problem with it—you know that. Go tell him and call Liam's doctor on the way home."
He nodded and followed the advice he had been given.
That night Jay was in the midst of a dream, he was chasing something distant and ethereal, never getting close enough to see what it was when he was suddenly pulled to the surface by a small voice.
"Daddy," Liam croaked out, "I woke up and I'm hot."
Jay had taken him to the doctor who told him to watch him, push fluids and if his fever got any higher to bring him back. "Come here," Jay said flipping the blankets off and sitting up. Liam stepped forward and Jay put his hand on the boys forehead. "Damn, you're burning up. Stay here," Jay said jumping up to get the thermometer.
When he got back Liam had laid down in his bed his eyes were closed. "Can you put this under your tongue?" He asked as he slipped into his son's mouth. Liam mildly protested but accepted the instrument. He waited until it beeped and pulled it out and nearly went into shock when it read 104.2. He put it down on the nightstand and felt Liam's forehead again as if it would have changed in the last few seconds. He went back into the kitchen and read the instructions from their earlier doctor's visit as well as the time he last gave Liam a fever reducer. He put the paper back down on the table and went back to his room where he threw some clothes on and rummaged through Liam's closet for some fresh clothes before returned to his bedroom.
"Sit up for me Bud," Jay instructed as he pulled Liam's drenched pajama top off and replaced it with a clean sweatshirt and did the same with his pants. The entire time the boy was lethargic, barely conscious.
"Where are we going?" He mumbled, his eyes still closed.
"To the hospital. The doctor said if fever went over 103.5 with medicine and if you still felt really tired we needed to go.
"Is Uncle Will going to be there?"
"Yes," Jay said as he picked up Liam grabbing the boys coat and a blanket on the way out the door.
After he got Liam settled in the back seat he dialed his brother who answered on the second ring like someone was used to being roused in the middle of the night. Jay explained what was going on and Will said he would meet them at Med.
With traffic being light, it didn't take long to get there and Will had just entered the ED when he turned around to see Jay carrying Liam inside. "I took him to the doctor," Jay said, emotion evident in his voice and on his face, "earlier today, I took him. He won't wake up Will."
"Give him to me," Will said holding out his arms for the transfer. His brain had been on overdrive since Jay had called. He had no idea what this was, but his greatest fear was meningitis. It wasn't necessarily fatal, but it could be. Liam stirred a little, giving the brother's a moment of relief. "Fill out the insurance forms and wait out here. I'll come get you as soon as I can."
"I'm not leaving him," Jay protested.
As if on cue, Liam whispered, "Daddy," before going silent again.
"Stay here, I'll be with him," Will instructed, nodding to the nurse who gently took Jay over to the desk. He watched his brother move quickly down the hall with his limp child and could no longer hold back the sob that had been perched in his throat.
"It's okay sweetie, Dr. Halstead will take great care of him." The nurse, whose name tag read Vonda assured him. "You fill these out and we'll call back and check on him."
Jay took the clipboard and went and sat down in a row of chairs near a woman who looked as if she had been run over by a truck. Her eyes puffy and red, her hair bedraggled and her clothes looked as if she had picked them up from the street and tossed them on in a hurry. "Sorry," she whispered. "It's hard when kids are sick."
"Yeah," Jay said as he pinched the bridge of his nose to try and hold his emotions at bay. To be polite he should have asked her why she was there, but he didn't have the energy so he just started marking the boxes and filling in the lines. Once he was finished he took the papers over to the front desk and handed them back to Vonda who flipped through them and sat down at the computer and began typing.
"Can you call back and check on him?" Jay asked, reminding her of her promise.
"Sure," she said smiling as she picked up the phone.
Jay heard some "okay's, yes's and I'll tell him," before she hung up. She turned to him and said," they're trying to get his fever down and running some tests. They don't know anything yet."
"Can you tell Dr. Halstead to come back out here?" Jay asked.
"You know, I'm not really sure why he is even here, he wasn't even on call tonight."
"Can you just call him," Jay said, his voice tight, "and have him come back out here."
"Let him do his job honey," Vonda said before looking back down at the paperwork.
Jay went to sit back down, but something about the fatigued look on the woman's face who had greeted him when he first sat down, made him turn around and head down the hallway where Will had taken Liam. He could hear someone yelling out "sir, sir, you need to come back," but he ignored the pleas and kept walking.
He had no idea where Liam was but he craned in his neck towards each door hoping to catch a glimpse of activity or hear his brother's voice. The voice behind him was getting closer when Will walked out of a room. "What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Looking for my son. Tell me what's going on," Jay demanded as he peeked through the door that had Will had opened. He could see several people hovering around Liam, one of them was drawing blood.
Will looked behind him just as the door closed. "We're taking good care of him. You need to wait in the waiting area and as soon as I know something I will come get you." He said as he waved off the security guard that had been following Jay.
"What are you doing to him?"
"His O2 stats are low. You said he had been coughing the last few days?"
"Yeah, here and there and especially when he would sit up after lying down."
"Did he say his lungs hurt?"
"No. Just that he was tired and not hungry. But today he had a hard time catching his breath when we walked into the doctors office. What is this?"
"We're going to find out. With kids it can just be a nasty virus."
"Or?" Jay asked.
"A myriad of things. We're giving him some oxygen and trying to cool him down. We've got this little brother."
Jay reluctantly went back to the waiting area and sat down. He then made the mistake of googling illnesses with a fever and by the time Will came and got him later was convinced that his son had meningitis, septicemia or something else just as serious, and he was terrified. When he saw his brother he jumped up, his coat falling to the floor. "Can I see him?"
"Listen to me first. We did a chest x-ray, it looks like he has a bacterial pneumonia."
"What? How?"
"Sometimes with kids it comes on really fast. The fever is the body's way of fighting it off. It's only in one lung, which is good, but because he is young and his lungs are small it's a harder fight."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"We have him on IV antibiotics. He's going to have to stay in the hospital for a few days where we can monitor him. But, it's a good thing."
"How is it a good thing?"
"I've seen viruses attack people with no mercy and there isn't much we can do for them. With a bacteria, we have a weapon."
"He was fine a few days ago and I took him to the doctor today and he didn't mention anything about the cough."
"He's going to sleep for a while. Why don't you go home and get some rest and come back first thing in the morning." Will said, trying to calm is brother.
"I'm not leaving him," Jay replied.
"I'll stay here with him." Will assured. "You can't stay back here anyway. Once we move him into a room, you can be with him. I'll call you as soon as he's settled, but visiting hours don't start until nine."
"What good does knowing you do for me if you can't break the rules?" Jay asked pacing in a tight circle.
"Well, it got me out of bed and here. It got you more updates than if I wasn't here. It got Liam a personal doctor and chaperone. He's going to be sleeping, he needs his rest, not your nervous energy vibrating a few feet away. If anything changes I will let you know. I promise."
Jay reluctantly left the hospital trudging back to the vehicle, slamming the driver's side door in anger before he broke down inside the truck. He looked at the empty backseat through his tears, and realized just how terrified he was when he turned back around and discovered his hands were shaking as he put them on the steering wheel. He knew Liam was in good hands, but every dream he had ever had about losing his son was haunting him. What if their efforts weren't good enough? What if Liam was too sick? What if was meningitis after all? What if he had failed his son?
Back in the apartment he was restless. He struggled getting his coat off and after eventually pulling his arms from the sleeves his frustration boiled over as he slung the coat as far as could. He went into the kitchen pounding on the light switch until it finally understood it was supposed to go up and flood the room with light. Jay stood at the sink, his hands on the edge of the counter as he felt so alone, so utterly alone. How could Will expect him to stay here, much less sleep, while Liam was struggling in a strange place without him?
He stormed into Liam's bedroom and immediately stepped on a toy, Jay didn't even bother to see what it was before he kicked it aside. He sniffed back the evidence of the tears that had been sitting and waiting to fall. He wiped his eyes in case they had managed to show themselves.
He quickly found Liam's backpack laying on the floor beside his desk and picked it up, unceremoniously dumping its contents onto the rumpled bed. He looked around and began to collect things to take back to the hospital with him. He grabbed Liam's favorite books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlotte's Web. He could read them to Liam, even if he was sleeping it would still be a good—for both of them. He thought how happy his mother would be that her grandson was a reader. They would have had the best time together perusing shelves, hitting the used book store circuit and reading together anywhere they could find a spot. Jay shook his head away from memories and wishful thinking as he looked around and grabbed his son's favorite Bears sweatshirt and shoved it into the bag, along with a dinosaur that transformed into a truck or was it a truck that changed into a dinosaur? Either way it didn't matter, he had noticed Liam had at the breakfast table Monday morning, so into the bag it went. He stepped back and felt something under his foot and found a police car and firetruck next to a Lego structure. Liam had always said that the two vehicles were best friends and went everywhere together. He picked them up and held them in hand for a moment before he slid them into the bag. He grabbed the ever-favorite GI Joe and with one last sweep of the room, thought the Cub's beanie baby needed to be included as well. Jay had given it to him two Christmas's ago, peeking out of the boys stocking.
With that done, he realized it was still hours before he could go back to the hospital. He could just sit in the waiting area, in case something changed, but didn't think he could handle the oppressive air that the place held. It was like it had collected all of the heartache and just held it in one place. So, he sat down on the couch, the backpack at his feet and just stared off into the nothingness that had settled into his soul.
A persistent noise pulled Jay from slumber, it took him a moment to realize it was his phone. He couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep, though it was probably a good thing that he did get some much needed rest. Expecting the caller to be Will, he was somewhat surprised to see Ellie's name on the screen, then he realized she had no idea what had gone on in the last several hours.
He explained to her Liam's whereabouts when she had asked if he needed her to stay with him today or if he was going to school. She gasped when she heard the boy was in the hospital and said that she would stop by the hospital later if it was okay and visit him. With the conversation over he texted Will and waited several minutes for a response. The clock read 7:15 so he made his way to the shower and some fresh clothes. He started his small coffee pot and checked his phone, afraid of what he might or might not find. Will had replied just a minute before, saying that they were getting Liam ready to move into his own room and that he would text the room number as soon as he was settled along with a reminder that visiting hours started at nine.
Jay texted back, asking how Liam was doing and nearly went out of his mind as it seemed both his brother's response and the coffee pot were taking far too long to deliver. Finally the answer came that he was stable, but still pretty tired. Jay knew he wouldn't get any details, but at least this was something—at least his son was still alive. He looked up at the clock that showed it was going on eight and decided he would leave now, he needed to at least be near his son. Before leaving, he called Voight and explained what was going on and that he wouldn't be in anytime soon. The Sargent gave his best wishes and said he'd fill everyone in and to keep them in the information loop as they would all be worried. Jay promised that he would as he searched for his coat, finding it bunched up against the wall, apparently where it had landed several hours ago.
Once he was immersed in rush hour traffic he realized that he had forgotten his coffee. He sighed deeply as he pulled off into an alley slapped his police parking hanger on his rearview mirror and ran into the nearby coffee shop. As Jay stood in line he could only think of Liam and if this was somehow his fault that his son was sick. He knew of karma, and had some belief in how it worked and wondered if every misstep he had made, if every life he had taken had somehow taken root in his child's illness.
He thought back to his buddy Max Egan from their time in Afghanistan and thought of his death, leaving a son without a father and Jay wondered if he was the one that was supposed to die that day and because he didn't, he was going to be a father without a son. It was only the calls of the barista that shook him from the depths of his thoughts. He gave his order and then quickly added a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and went and stood off to the side to wait after he paid.
After paying for his order he took the tray with the two beverages back to the truck and climbed in. He carefully backed out into the congested street after waiting for pedestrians to skitter across the opening of the alley, their heads down, against the cold or focused on their phones as they made their way to whatever their destination might be.
He reached over and put both cups into the holders, not paying attention to which one was which and was somehow relieved when he sipped the chocolaty liquid, the sweetness compounded by the extra sugary sensation of the marshmallows. Liam loved hot chocolate and it was a constant during the winter when they came home from an outdoor adventure. For a brief moment as he sipped, he could feel his son in the truck with him.
By the time he parked and texted Will he was there, it was a few minutes before nine. Will came down into the ED and found him. Jay thrust the cup of coffee into his brothers hand as if it were some kind of offering—an apology, a thank you—he had no idea, or maybe it was a just a warm drink on a cold morning.
"Like I said, he's stable." Will said nodding a thank you as he took the coffee.
"No better?" Jay asked as the got on the elevator.
"You have to give the antibiotics time to work."
"But they will work?"
"They should. And intravenously is the best and quickest way to get them into him."
"What do you mean should work?" Jay asked, desperation in his voice.
"Everyone and every illness is different. This drug has been proven successful against bacterial pneumonia, so we expect it to work, but like I said, just like with police-work, promises are hard to make because it is often beyond us to fulfill them."
Jay stopped and leaned against the wall of the elevator. "Is he any better?"
"He's no worse. We wouldn't expect much improvement yet anyway. He needs rest and fluids as well. Jay, he's an otherwise healthy and strong kid with a good immune system. He's active, eats well, there is no reason for him not to make a full recovery."
"But? I sense a but here," Jay said as Will stopped near a door. Jay looked through the window to see two women by Liam's bed. "Who's in there with him?"
"That's the but," Will said.
"What?"
Will looked extremely uncomfortable, like a child caught doing something wrong and being asked to explain himself. Jay made a move to enter the room, but Will held him back. "Dude, I want to see my son."
"You can't. Not yet."
"Why the hell not!?"
"Those women have to talk to Liam alone for a few minutes."
"Who are they?"
"DCFS, Department of Children and Family Services."
"I know who DCFS is, why are they speaking with my child?"
"Jay, we found bruises on Liam. Several of them on his back. They were large circles, with a hole in the middle, like big donuts."
"What? Did he fall, did they happen here?"
"They are too old to have happened here, he came in with them. And they could have been from a fall, but he could have been slammed into something."
"What?"
"He has finger print bruising on his upper arms, like someone grabbed him—hard, that couldn't be an accident. Did you maybe grab him recently for some reason?"
"No!"
"You're sure?"
"Yes I'm sure. I never grab him hard enough to leave bruises. Ever!" Jay finished as Will looked at him. Also, Jay thought privately, he hadn't seen much of Liam all week. Two hours Monday night, he was in bed Tuesday when he got home and then yesterday, when he slept nearly the entire time they were together except for the trip to the doctor's office where Jay had ended up carrying him the last block because Liam was winded shortly after they left the truck.
"Would the pneumonia make him more susceptible to bruising?"
"No it wouldn't. Who was he around all week besides you? Ellie?"
"She would never do this—she loves Liam."
"Did he mention anyone new to you? A new teacher? Friend?"
"No," Jay replied as the world seemed to spin a little too fast for him.
"You okay?" Will asked as he saw one of the women heading towards the door.
"No I'm not okay. First my son is seriously ill and now you're telling me that someone has hurt him."
"Mr. Halstead? I'm Gina Fulton, can we talk somewhere? I need to ask you some questions."
It was then that Jay realized that they already thought they knew who was hurting Liam and it wasn't a new teacher or friend—it was him.
Will pointed the case worker and his brother towards a private office where they could talk. It was used for consultations between family members and the medical staff. There was a table a couch and two chairs. But Jay chose to stand.
"Can you please sit down Mr. Halstead?" Mrs. Fulton asked.
"Detective, it's Detective Halstead," Jay corrected.
"That's right, your son said you were with the police."
"Can you at least tell me how he is doing? I haven't seen him since I brought him in last night. I wanted to stay with him, but wasn't allowed to."
"He's tired. Beyond that I can't really say. Let's get this over with and then we can see about you checking in on your son."
"We can see? Oh, I'll be visiting with him," Jay promised.
"Please sit," she advised again holding her arm out in an effort to guide him.
Jay sat, but he wasn't happy about it.
"What's in the bag?" She asked, noticing the backpack slung over his arm.
"It's for Liam, some of his favorite things."
"Can I see?" She asked.
Jay knew he could say no, but in his eyes it made him look like the caring parent that he was, so he dropped the baseball themed backpack onto the table. Gina unzipped it took out each item and gently set it on the table. When she finished she looked over at Jay and smiled. "His favorite things?"
"Some of them. Look, can we get started, like you wanted so that I can see my son?"
"Do I understand correctly that Dr. Halstead is your brother and Liam's uncle?"
"Yes, he is."
"And what did he tell you?"
"He said Liam had bruises on his back and biceps, and like you, I want to find out where they came from," Jay stated.
"I'm sure with you being a police detective that you work long hours?" She asked looking over at Jay who nodded. "And you are a single father?" Again Jay nodded. "Is Liam's mother involved in his life at all?"
"Not for years."
"Okay, so he stays with a lot of sitters then?"
Jay explained the childcare situation and gave her Ellie's information along with the assurance that he didn't believe for one second that she would have ever harmed the boy.
"She's watched him for how long?"
"Since he was five and half. No instances of anything being amiss. I'm a cop and I would have noticed if he were acting oddly."
"I'm sure you may notice more than the average parent, but then again maybe not. Sometimes we can see in strangers things we can't recognize in those closest to us. You must work long hours? Come home tired? And I can't imagine the stress level you deal with. All that and you deal with an active nine year old boy. That's a lot to ask of one person.
"I bet you come home and just want to collapse on the couch, but Liam is happy to see you and wants to play. It must be hard to find the energy for him all the time. He's hungry, he wants to tell you all about his day, he wants to play—well, whatever nine year old boys like to play. It must take a toll on you."
"Look, I'm not going to lie, it's exhausting, the job and my son. But after a long day, dealing with things you cannot imagine, he is the one thing that can put a smile on my face—remind me that life is worth living."
"Do you ever lose your temper?"
Jay knew she was fishing for some kind of admission and he wondered what Liam had told her. He had never harmed Liam, sure he had spanked him a few times, but literally three times in his nine years and really only one was more than a couple of swats. He never had done anything beyond that. He raised his voice, sent the kid to his room and revoked privileges, that was the status quo in their house. But who knows what Liam might have told his captive audience. He didn't feel well, might feel abandoned and was probably a little pissed off he had hardly seen Jay all week. After all he was just a kid, a kid who might think lying about how he got hurt, might give him some power at his disposal but not understanding the consequences that would come with that lie.
"You were in the army is that correct?" Gina asked, moving along when Jay hadn't answered her first question. "Any problems with PTSD?"
"To answer your first question, yes I lose my temper. I have yelled at Liam, sent him to his room, taken his electronics away, ruined his weekend by grounding him, but I have never hit him. Yes, I have bouts of PTSD and nightmares, but I have sought counseling and have been given effective exercises in dealing with those episodes. And none of the times that I have struggled, have I ever taken it out on my son." Jay figured they must have interviewed Will already and gotten information from him. He didn't blame his brother, this was all stuff they would find out anyway, they might as well know up front so this could be put behind them more quickly.
"Does Liam spend much time with your brother?"
"Some, but as you can guess, Will works a lot too. But we come by every few weeks to have dinner with him and once a month Will takes Liam somewhere special."
"Where is somewhere special?"
"A museum, the Art Institute, a play. They both look forward to it. If you're asking me if Will hurt my son, the answer would be no, he would never harm him. Besides, Will hasn't even seen Liam since a week ago Saturday when they went to the Planetarium."
"So you feel Liam is safe with your main sitter Ellie Sampson, and your brother. Let's go over Liam's week and see what we can figure out. He was with you all weekend?"
"Yes. I try to make sure I don't work on weekends and I was home all weekend."
"Did you two do anything special?"
"We cleaned the apartment, walked down to his favorite Chinese restaurant and took a ride on the L to the Loop and back. He likes to see the downtown buildings at night. He says since you can't see the stars in the sky from the city that they are in the windows of the buildings instead. We watched one of the Batman movies and some cartoon I don't remember the name of. We took turns reading the Wizard of Oz before bedtime and he finished his homework."
"Monday, did Ellie pick him up from school or did you?"
"She did," Jay said. "Wait, no, she called me and said she had something come up and wouldn't be able to sit for him."
"So what did you do?"
"I called my back-up sitters."
"Were you successful?"
"Eventually. Yes."
"And what if you hadn't been?"
"I would have picked him up and taken him back to work. My boss understands that sometimes things come up and most of the people at the district know him. Sargent Platt watches out for him if my unit has to go out."
"What if you can't take him back to work with you?"
"He can come here, be with Will—hang out in the ED doctor's lounge."
"Does that happen often?"
"No. I don't like to put Will in that position."
"Okay, but on Monday you didn't have to take him back to work or need Will, because you found someone?"
"Yes. Jeff Collins." Jay said remembering.
"Tell me about Jeff."
"He's a junior at DePaul."
"Has he watched Liam before?"
"A few times, five maybe. I generally don't get that far down on my list before I find someone."
"Does Liam like him?"
"Liam loves him. He's an athlete, soccer. Liam plays baseball, but went to soccer camp the last few summers and has played intramural soccer at school."
"So maybe Jeff could help him with soccer then?"
"Yeah, he and Liam wrestle and have a great time," Jay said, his words dropping suddenly at the possible implication.
"He watched Liam on Monday night and they might get physical together? How did you get Jeff's name to babysit?"
"The college has a program the students can sign up for. Tutoring, babysitting kids in the area. The school does a check on them, I'm not sure how deep it goes, but if there's ever an issue they are pulled from the program."
"And their quasi background check passed him as being okay?"
"I did my own. I always do my own. He passed."
"Has Liam ever acted differently after being with Jeff?"
"No. Like I said he loves Jeff. When he finds out that's who's watching him he gets excited. We even went to a couple of Jeff's soccer games last fall."
"Does the name Bauer mean anything to you?"
"Not at all. Is that who Liam said hurt him?"
"Is there a Bauer Hall or activity center or area where Jeff might have taken Liam?"
"Not that I know of."
"How long did Jeff have Liam on Monday?"
"He picked him up from the afterschool program at six and I picked Liam up at 7:30."
"And Liam seemed okay then?"
"Did he say someone named Bauer hurt him?"
"Can you answer my questions please Detective?"
"He was tired. It was the first night he didn't feel well. I took him home and he laid down on the couch and watched TV. He didn't want to eat, but I made him have some soup. Then he took a bath and went to bed. Tuesday he came home early from school, Ellie picked him up and I had to work until after nine and didn't see him. He was sleeping when I got home and checked on him. Wednesday, I left work early took him to the doctor and he slept off and on the rest of the day and then last night, we came here. That's the week so far. Tell me who Bauer is."
"I was hoping you could."
"Wait," Jay said, recognition flickering across his face. "Jeff wears a lot of Eddie Bauer clothing. You know the brand. He has one shirt that says the name in big letter across a mountain. Liam loved that shirt and Jeff ended up buying one for him."
"Do you think perhaps Liam could be telling us Bauer and Jeff are one in the same?" She asked.
"Maybe, I don't know. But Jeff and I are going to have a talk."
The caseworker ignored Jay's threat. "Does Jeff live in a dorm room?"
"No. The students aren't allowed to bring back non-family members under the age of eighteen back to their rooms. Jeff and two other students have an apartment about a mile from mine." Jay pulled up the address on his phone and shared it with Mrs. Fulton.
"Did you see anyone else, a roommate perhaps, when you picked Liam up?" She asked after she jotted it down in a small notebook.
"There was a guy there, college age, I didn't get a great look at him. I don't know if he was a roommate or not. Jeff has always brought Liam home and stayed with him at our place. But he said Liam hadn't been feeling well and he had to go to his place to get his work so they just stayed there. Jeff doesn't have a car, so he didn't want to make Liam walk, so it was just easier for me to pick him up.
"Can I please see my son now?"
"Of course. My co-worker is still with him."
"So I can't be alone with my own son?"
She didn't answer, merely smiled in Jay's general direction. He sighed and grabbed the backpack wondering how the next several minutes were going to go. They walked back down the hall and to Liam's room, where Will was fiddling with some of the equipment next to Liam's bed and Gina's partner was gazing down at her phone.
"He's sleeping," she said as if they were unable to see the obvious.
Jay looked at the IV tubing snaking down and into Liam's arm, there were two bags hanging up, slowly dripping into his son's veins. There was an oximeter on Liam's finger, telling the nearby monitor everything it needed to know in order to share it with the room, along with the two pronged nasal thing, he thought Will said was a nasal cannula. He looked over at his brother who seemed satisfied with whatever adjustments he had just made and then sat down in the chair next to the bed. Jay then rummaged in the backpack and then slid his hand through the guardrail on the bed and closed it around Liam's.
Liam opened his eyes and saw the two women still standing over him and Jay saw the slightest twist of his head as if he as trying to shake his head no. But then his son saw him and his eyes lit up as much as they were able. "Dad," he said, his voice quiet, but held a tinge of excitement. "You're here."
"You bet I am buddy," Jay said hoping the caseworkers noticed how his son had perked up with his presence. "I thought you might want this guy," he said holding up the Cub's beanie baby and handing it over to Liam's free hand.
"Cubbie!" Liam gasped before coughing.
"Shhh, don't talk too much," Jay said.
Liam nodded, but started talking again. "I missed you."
"I missed you too. But I'm here now and I'm going to stay with you."
"All day and night?" Liam gasped.
"Yes," Jay replied looking at Will, daring him to oppose. "I just have to let Sarge know how your doing every so often."
"Okay."
Jay saw the two women standing there, as if they were uncertain what to do. So Jay cleared his throat and began to talk before Liam drifted off again. "Can you tell me who hurt you?" Liam licked his lips but didn't say anything. So Jay tried a different approach. "Was Bauer there when you got hurt?"
Liam didn't seem to acknowledge his father's question. He looked over at the two women and then glanced at his uncle before finally nodding that Bauer, whoever that might be, was there. "I'm tired Daddy," Liam said and closed his eyes.
Jay motioned for the two women to follow him into the hallway. "Go talk to Jeff. Liam might not want to rat his friend out, but feels the pressure to talk so he is giving a pseudonym—kind of meeting in the middle of pleasing us, but by not saying Jeff's name somehow relieves him of the guilt of telling. He's saying Bauer because it is a connection to Jeff."
"We're heading there now. We'll be in touch. And Detective, please don't try and contact him. We need to ask him questions in person so we can gauge his response. If you make contact first, that will take our advantage away." Gina Fulton said as she and her coworker left, taking one last glance back at the complete Halstead family.
"What the hell?" Jay asked once they were gone.
"We noticed the bruises last night when we undressed him. They could have been chalked up to a fall, rough play, but there were several of them and the shapes were distinctive. And the fingerprint bruising on his arms can only be one thing. The hospital has no choice but start an investigation. To be honest I couldn't believe they showed up so quickly. The caseload is always ridiculous and this wouldn't be high priority with the minimal injuries and lack of a history."
"I changed his shirt last night because he had soaked through it—but I didn't have much light in the room and never even noticed."
"Even if you had, what could you have done differently? You believe this Jeff kid is innocent?"
"I thought so. I like to think I can read people well, but maybe not as well as I thought. Besides, if he did this, then I suck. I placed my son with someone who hurt him. I failed to protect him."
"Jay, you can't know everything. Besides we don't know what happened. Liam only said he fell, but when they asked about his arms he wouldn't answer the question. One of them asked who was watching him he said Jeff and his eyes seemed—I don't know—happy. When he was asked if anyone else was there he clammed up. They asked if Jeff had any friends and he said Bauer. I don't what you can do with those pieces of this weird puzzle.
"You look as tired as your son, rest your eyes. I'll bring up something to eat later. I have to get to work, I'm already a few hours late."
"Hey, Will," Jay began. "I'm sorry about what I said last night, about you not helping. Thanks for everything. Just knowing that you were with him, gave me a lot of peace."
"No problem little brother." Will said before he turned and left.
The rest of the afternoon Jay spent napping and watching his son sleep and reading Charlotte's Web out loud, hoping that it was a comfort even if Liam was sleeping. Will stopped by with some food and they ate together at Liam's bedside.
"Have you heard anything from the caseworkers?"
"Not yet. I've been going over it in my mind and just can't figure it out. I can't remember if I saw his back over the weekend at all."
"The bruises were most likely from Monday, newer but not brand new, but not yellowing yet. Possible from the weekend, but if he spent it with you, then we can rule it out. It's possible he could have hurt his back and not told you, but the bruises on his arms can't be accounted for."
"At least you believe me."
"Of course I do. And I think the caseworkers did too. They just have to be thorough. You know how that is."
"Yeah, I do. I can't fault them for wanting to protect my son. But it's scary. I mean what if Liam lied."
"Why would he do that?"
"He gets mad at me when I have to work a lot. In a nine year old brain, it could make sense to him to get back at me by saying I hurt him, not understanding the ramifications. Kids lie all the time. They lie to protect the wrong people. They lie to hurt those they love. Adults do as well."
"True. But I don't think Liam would lie in that magnitude to get back at you. He's a smart kid, he can see the big picture."
"What are in his IV bags?" Jay asked looking up at them changing the subject.
"The bigger one is saline and some nutrition, to keep him nourished and hydrated. The smaller one is in antibiotic."
"When will he start to feel better?"
"His body is fighting hard. The antibiotics are helping in the fight, but they work with the immune system. His immune system is working hard, his body is in a weakened state and it's wearing him out. He's doing what he needs to do and that is sleep."
"He'll be okay right?"
"He'll be fine." Will assured.
"When will he start to feel better?"
"Hopefully the next day or two. It's hard to say."
"How long will he have to stay here?"
"It depends how quickly he improves. But once he goes home, he's going to have to be watched carefully. If he backslides he may have to be hospitalized again."
"I'll stay home with him," Jay said.
"I can too. I have some time off coming up. Between the two of us, he'll get sick of seeing us," Will said smiling.
"It's not that I don't believe you, but I just wish, he start to improve sooner than later."
"I know. Me too."
"Do kids die from this?"
Will put his finger to his lips saying shhhh. He then whispered, "very young children, older adults and people with compromised immune systems are the ones at most at risk. Healthy kids like Liam usually fight this off with treatment."
"Usually?"
"Jay, there are no promises in this life, you know that. But I see no reason for him not to get through this and completely recover."
"How did he get this?"
"Someone coughed on him. Sneezed on him. Who knows. You said he had been fighting a cold last week, his immune system was busy fighting that and then this slammed into him. Wrong place, wrong time."
Jay's phone rang and he didn't recognize the number. He answered and went out into the hallway with Will staying next to Liam, opening up Charlotte's Web and seeing all of Bridget's doodles. Will inhaled as he realized he had never met her—the love of his brother's life, whether Jay realized it or not, his nephew's mother was nothing but a mystery to him.
"That was Gina Fulton." Jay said as he came back into the room. "She went to see Jeff, found him at his apartment. She said there was a weight set and several weights on the floor in living room. They were the same shapes as the bruises on Liam's back. When she asked him about Liam he seemed genuinely shocked and then angry when he was told of the bruising on the arms. He told her Liam hadn't want to play and had been watching TV on the couch the whole time, but he had to leave for a few minutes to pick up a book from a classmate.
"He left Liam alone?"
"No, he said his buddy was there and he left Liam in his care. He said he was only gone for fifteen minutes. He did mention that Liam looked a little teary when he got back but when he asked him about it he just said he didn't feel well. Then I picked him up just a few minutes after that."
"So who is this friend?"
Jay looked up at his brother with a serious face. "Bauer Metcalf."
To be continued...