After several weeks of Chicago crime seeming to never stop, finally the long-awaited day of rest arrived for the Intelligence.

The team recently investigated numerous murders, thefts, robberies, drug dealing, without stopping for a moment, without having a breather.

Finally, however, the long-awaited pause arrived and, as there were no cases to investigate,Voight decided to give his boys two days off after they completed their pending reports.

Obviously everyone happily set to work to finish as soon as possible, but time, tyrant, never seemed to pass.

Even Jay, despite being exhausted, destroyed, as indeed all the others set to work to complete the various paperwork in order to be able to return home soon.

The detective hated that part of his job, but unfortunately it had to be done. He loved the action, the adrenaline, all those good strong feelings one felt after arresting a suspect or a criminal.

Most of his colleagues snorted as they filled out their reports. It was actually a boring thing to do, for some more for some less.

But Jay wasn't getting bored right now. He was focused on his work, he wanted to finish as soon as possible to be able to go to his apartment as soon as possible to sleep as much as possible, hoping not to be tormented by the usual nightmares.

It was 5:45 pm when Halstead finally finished and, taking his things, after saying goodbye to everyone, he left the district heading towards his car.

Only later did he remember that Hailey had come to pick him up that morning. He would have to wait for her to finish too to be able to give him a ride.

As it was a beautiful spring day, the detective decided not to wait for her. He decided to take a nice walk.

His house was not far away and walking would help him release some of the tension he had built up over the past few weeks.

So he texted Hailey to warn her and off he went.

It was so nice and enjoyable to be outdoors. The warmth of the sun warmed his skin, the not excessively hot air caressed his face.

Before long he came to a small park and sat down on a bench. He closes his eyes and began to breathe deeply. His breathing was so calm and slow, the song of the birds reached his ears and his face was warmed by the sun's rays.

It was so nice to be there.

Unfortunately, what Jay didn't know was that this wasn't going to be a smooth ride. He had no idea what was going to happen to him.

A burly man was hiding from his view sitting on one of the benches in the park. He had been following him for a while and was waiting for the right moment to attack him.

Taking advantage of the moment when the detective was distracted and above all in the piece of road he was traveling on without anyone else being there, the man sneaked up from behind and hit him with a branch of a tree that a gardener had cut down a few days earlier, leaving it with the others stacked there in a corner.

The blow was very strong, precise and decisive. Jay screamed in unexpected pain and fell unconscious.

In order not to take risks and avoid that the detective wake up, before reaching the place where he wanted to take him, the man covered his mouth with a handkerchief soaked in chloroform, making him breathe it.

That big man had a wonderful surprise for Jay, even though the detective most likely wouldn't have been of the same opinion.

It took about an hour and a half for the detective to start recovering. He felt strange, sore. His head hurt, as did the muscles in his arms and abdomen that he could feel pulling. His hands were tied tightly with something.

He absolutely had to figure out where he was and so he slowly forced himself to open his eyes. What he saw made him realize he had been kidnapped. It was hanging from what appeared to be a pipe. His hands were firmly tied to it with what looked like a thick, strong rope over his head.

His body was dangling and his feet could only touch the concrete below.

From the back of his neck he felt something warm, he imagined it was blood coming out of a wound. It was an all too familiar feeling. He had unfortunately found himself numerous times in similar situations.

His thoughts were interrupted by the thud of an iron door opening.

- Well well, I'm glad we finally woke up, my dear detective! - said a man with his face covered by a balaclava and his voice counterfeited by a voice transformer.

- Who are you cursed? What do you want from me? - asked the young man

- They are your worst nightmare - the man replied, laughing coarsely - and if you really care about your life you don't want to know. -

- What do you want from me? Why did you kidnap me? - asked the detective again.

- I just want to make you suffer like I am suffering. I cannot understand how you managed to overcome what you experienced in Afghanistan - said the kidnapper

- What do you know what I lived there? - asked the detective who had guessed that he was a former soldier.

- Dear Jay Halstead, I know a lot more than you think - said the man

- You do not know anything about me! I ... I live every day with the pain of what happened over there - the detective said sincerely looking into his eyes, the only visible part of his face not covered by the balaclava.

- Who do you think you're kidding? You built a life after that time, you have a job. You don't look like someone who suffers. Perhaps you have forgotten everything we have lived ...- said his captor starting up a computer and a projector.

It was therefore easy for Jay to understand that he was a colleague of his from when he was in the army.

From that moment the man started showing pictures of what had happened during the war in Afghanistan on the wall in front of the detective. Most had been recovered from Internet.

There were photos of soldiers, but mostly of children who had been killed or were about to be killed by gunshots or grenades.

The criminal knew that children were the detective's weak point.

Shortly after starting to look at Halstead's eyes, in fact, they filled with tears that the detective refused to bring down his face.. It was so hard to resist in front of those images so crude, in reliving that suffering and pain of those who have experienced them and who every day try to bury them in the deepest part of his mind, then wearing a mask so as not to show what he really feels

- Stop, please stop. I don't want to look anymore. I don't want ... I can't relive those days. - Jay shouted, keeping his eyes closed.

- You have to watch! - the man forced him starting to whip him with a whip on the belly and back, turning around him.

The detective, now in the grip of physical and emotional pain, shouted, among the copious tears that fell on his face, he continued to glimpse glimpses of that military life he had tried with all his might to forget.

After about a quarter of an hour of pure agony, a time that seemed to be endless for Jay, the video ended and the projection panel that was previously in front of Jay was picked up allowing a glimpse of the glass of a obscured rectangular window to make sure that no light enters to show the screen clearly.

Observing the room better, without the cloth that was positioned more or less in the center

Observing the room better, without the cloth that was positioned more or less in the center, this seemed similar to that of the districts where detectives conducted interrogations.

Jay, after that torture, heaved a little sigh of relief . Despite the physical pain he was happy that at least the psychological one was trenibaro8ml gr

Or at least that was what he believed and what he didn't know was that that, for him, was just the beginning of a nightmare. Purtroppo non era come lui pensava..

Once the panel was rewound, the room in front was lit up and in it the detective could see, through a glass, the presence of four people. A man and three children who had entered one after the other.

The first was from behind and was closest to the glass. He had a rifle on his shoulder, like those used in war, and he kept it in the rest position.The other three were leaning against the wall, facing the window. They were three children of different nationalities. There was a Chinese, a black child and one who appeared to be European. They were no more than 4 or 5 years old.

All four wore military uniforms and the man had a hat in addition.

What was happening? What were they doing in there?

Jay couldn't understand what was going to happen, but what he did know was that whatever it was was going to be no good.

The answers to his questions were not long in coming. A few moments later the man loaded the rifle and aimed it at the children. Jay prayed, hoping that what it really seemed was not happening. He seemed to be witnessing a full-blown execution.

The soldier began to shoot taking aim and one after the other those little children fell to the ground making a thud. Three precise shots to the head, a few seconds apart from each other, with great precision. All died instantly.

They were just children, three innocent souls without guilt and they had a life ahead of them. Jay started screaming like crazy:

- Damn bastard, you're a fool, how could you? They were just children!

- You suffer detective you suffer ... - Said the man laughing heartily continuing to hit him with the whip just for pure enjoyment.

What Jay was facing was a former military man, just like the detective. The difference between the two was that Jay, thanks to the support of his friends and his fortitude, had managed to recover after the horrors experienced in the war. He still had aftermath of his PTSD, but he was able to manage them and recreate a life for himself. The other, on the other hand, had not succeeded and was trying in every way to destroy those who had made it. And he did this not only by acting on the physical of these people, but above all from a psychological point of view.

That criminal, in fact, had tortured Halstead by hitting him hard with the whip, but he had created much more serious wounds than those on a psychological level showing him scenes of war, but above all making him witness the execution of those three innocent children firsthand.

Jay had been in a lot of pain at that time. Fortunately, however, after a while, everything finally seemed to end. The detective, after having shed many tears and after receiving numerous blows that resulted in various injuries, was captured from the darkness and passed out. Then when he found everything seemed different..

A few hours earlier, around 10pm, the intelligence guys were texting each other.

"Guys I know a great place to take a trip, and maybe a nice picnic. If you like ... " Vanessa suggested in a message to her colleagues.

Gradually everyone accepted, arguing that it was a good idea to spend a day together without having to work.

So everyone agreed, the only one who still hadn't expressed his opinion was Jay. He hadn't actually replied to any of the messages sent to him by the team, and he didn't seem to have even read them.

"Okay, everyone agrees, only Jay is missing," Adam wrote.

"You'll see he'll agree too," Kevin replied.

Seeing that his partner did not respond by joining the conversation, Hailey decided to call him. Jay's phone, however, rang forever and nobody answered.

It was all so weird, it was absurd that he hadn't even heard his phone ring between texts and calls. True, the detective wasn't the type to use his phone too much, but he always carried it with him and answered at any time.

After several phone calls and leaving numerous messages on the machine, Hailey decided to call Will.

- Will Halstead - answered immediately after the first ring

- Hi Will, it's Hailey. - she said

- Hi Hailey, did something happen to Jay? - he asked worriedly. He didn't get calls from the young detective very often, and when that happened there were problems with his brother.

- Well, I don't know, we can't figure out where it went. He does not answer messages or even calls .- she explained.

- If he doesn't answer you it will be because he is sure to be sleeping. In fact I'm sure of it. We spoke in the afternoon and he said he was going to take a shower and go to sleep. I heard from his voice that he was really exhausted - said the doctor

- Ok, okay. It will certainly be so. He will answer in the morning as soon as he wakes up. - concluded Hailey.

And so they ended the call. Detective Upton was hesitant, but she decided to chase away those strange omens that gripped her and to think it was as Will had told her. After notifying the others, he then texted with them for a while longer, worked out some details for their outing and then fell asleep.

The doctor, on the other hand, who was already lying on the bed, collapsed immediately after closing the call. He was exhausted, after a grueling shift, and fell asleep as he thought about going to his brother's house to check if everything was ok or not.

It wasn't nice every time to see someone crash into your house so out of the blue.

He had calmed Hailey, but a flea had crept into his ear.

The next morning both Upton and Dr. Halstead wake up early and find themselves in front of the detective's house ready to enter. It was about seven o'clock, and the two had independently decided to go and check that the young detective was okay.

When they got to Jay's door, the two started knocking several times without receiving an answer. Eventually these, more and more worried about the young man who might have felt bad or worse be hurt, they opened with the spare key they knew was under the doormat peeking inside the apartment..

The house was still mostly dark. Only a few shy rays of sunlight entered through the holes in the windows.

The two realized that something strange was happening, but decided to think positively.

Maybe Jay was still asleep and they had come to his house to disturb him.

It seemed so absurd to think of such a thing. Usually the detective woke up early and went for a run and in addition he must have already been awake if, as had been assumed the night before, he had gone to sleep very early.

The two split up and began checking out the apartment.

- Jay, where the hell are you now? - they thought.

Hailey looked into the kitchen and living room, Will into the guest room and bathroom, but found no one.

Eventually they both found themselves in front of Jay's bedroom, but the young detective wasn't even there.

The whole house was in order, even the bed, it seemed not to have been touched, but one detail caught the doctor's attention: the blanket was slightly pulled from the side opposite to that of the door, pointing out the sheets underneath on that side.

Jay, having had a military education, was very meticulous and made sure that everything was in perfect order before leaving the house, so it was not possible that he had left the bed that way.

It was a small detail, perhaps insignificant, it could happen that something was not precise and perfect as someone wishes.

Will reflecting on this little detail walked into the room followed by Hailey to check it out further.

Jay was really there. The first thing the two saw was his foot, then proceeding forward they found his entire body. He was lying on the floor beside the bed, the one less visible from side of the door.

He was still wearing the shirt he had worn the day before at work, but this time it was covered in cuts and blood.

Will soon leaned over him calling and was relieved when he realized that his brother had just passed out.

This must have happened probably because of somebody's pain.

He immediately started visiting him. His heartbeat was strong and his breathing was regular. There were just countless open, bleeding wounds on Jay's back and then his abdomen and sternum as well.. Will noticed after turning it over.

The brother kept calling him, shaking him slightly.

It took a while for him to open his eyes and having done so the detective looked first at Will and then at Hailey.

His expression was blank, he looked bewildered and you could see pure terror in his eyes.

- Jay talk to me, how do you feel? - Will kept calling him and asking him, but he didn't answer.

The detective closed his eyes again and stood motionless for a moment without reacting

The two who found him had their hearts in their throats beating very quickly. They were afraid for their brother / colleague.

Shortly thereafter, just a couple of seconds later, Jay groaned and immediately opened his eyes.

- Hey little brother - said the doctor

- Will - replied the detective weakly and then looking around him also called his colleague by name. - what ... -

- How do you feel? - asked the doctor.

- Good - the detective replied as usual

- Jay seriously, don't mess around. How do you feel? - Will repeated

- Tired, dizzy, in pain. - he replied stammering and sighing at the end telling the truth.

- Can you sit up? - the doctor asked him

- I think so - he answered

And so the two of them helped him change his position.

Unfortunately that movement, however, caused him dizziness and also a strong nausea that led him to have retching and vomiting on himself and on the ground what he had in his stomach.

- Sorry - he said when he finished feeling a great shame.

- Don't worry, I'll take care of it later - Will replied, reassuring him

- Don't worry, I'll clean up. - the detective then said helping his brother to undress Jay by taking off his clothes by cutting off the now unusable shirt.

What the two then saw shocked them, Jay's body was covered in bloody gashes.

- Jay who did it to reduce you like this? - asked Will

- What happened to you? - Hailey went on investigating.

- I don't ... I don't know ... I ... I don't remember anything ... I'm sorry. - he replied

Shortly after they finished changing it, the two helped Jay sit up on the bed and then leisurely to lie down on his side, avoiding the wounds on his torso and back to ensure that he does not cause further pain to the detective.

Will walked away for a moment to get the first aid kit. A very strong anger filled his heart and he was happy to be alone and on the sidelines at that moment. He couldn't and didn't want to be seen like that by his brother.

He headed to the bathroom and stared in the mirror for a couple of seconds.. His shaking hands gripped the edge of the sink and his knuckles were turning white now. He tried to breathe deeply to be able to calm down at least a little.

A thousand doubts and questions filled his mind. For example, he wondered: who could have reduced his brother like that.

Looking at himself one last time in the mirror, then before leaving, he blinked back the tears who bully threatened to get out of his eyes and once he felt ready, when he finally regained control of himself, having calmed down a little, having put aside his anger not being useful at that moment, he returned to the room and turned all his attention to his brother.

- Jay, I'll take you to the Med. I need to have you checked - the doctor finally said after having cleaned and medicated the various wounds on the detective's body, covering the deeper ones with gauze.

- I'm fine, it's not necessary - replied the other panting a little for the pain felt. He would do anything to avoid the hospital.

- Jay you are not well - he said calmly. - your body is full of wounds that could become infected and you could also have some internal damage. You don't remember what happened to you so they need to visit you. You may have a head injury and this could lead to amnesia. -

The detective knew that his brother was right, he had complete faith in him, but hating hospitals he found himself, with what little strength he had to oppose.

Unfortunately for him, but also fortunately, he didn't win and So soon Will was trying to take off the rest of the clothes he was wearing and then put him in a comfortable and clean overalls.

The doctor took a loose sweater from the closet that would not cause him problems adhering to the wounds and after having made him wear it he also put a sweatshirt to give him some warmth. Finally, seeing Jay's trembling, Will also put a heavy blanket over his shoulders because it was cold outside as it was winter despite being broad daylight.

The detective was shaking maybe from this or maybe from shock.

Once he was ready, Will loaded almost all of his brother's weight on him with some help from Hailey too. Jay looked very weak and every movement, even the smallest one, caused him pain. The doctor tried to support him without touching his wounds to avoid hurting him and he did the same to get him into the car by gently placing him on the passenger seat, arranging him so that it was comfortable, even if it wasn't easy.

After fixing up his brother Will he left for the Med and as soon as he got there he parked near the entrance, leaving the car in the middle of his feet, arousing the indignation of those who were observing the scene.

- But look at this yourself. Who do you think you are to be able to park there? - someone asked

- You see, just because he's a doctor in this hospital he believes he has the right to do whatever he wants. - said another

These were just some of the comments made by those present.

Will felt a strong rage build up within him as he listened to them, the very one he had been able to control with difficulty earlier when he found his brother in those conditions.

At that moment, however, he couldn't indulge them and he couldn't waste time talking to those he considered imbeciles because they talked without knowing.

The doctor had to think about his brother and there was no time to waste, so he went into the ER and turned to Meggie out of breath:

- I need a stretcher, Meggie soon! -

- What's going on? - She replied as she got everything ready.

So he began to quickly explain the situation to him and when he reached the car, the detective was always very delicately placed on the stretcher and carried inside.

He was given to Dr. Choi as Will could not cure him as he was a family member and so Ethan started asking for more information to get a more complete picture of the situation.

- What happened to him? - he asked

- We don't know, we found it like this. - Will said starting to undress him gently. - he was on the ground near the bed. He threw up several times and looks really confused.

And so she started helping Jay undress to put on the hospital gown. Compared to when they were at home, the young man was quite confused and very sleepy, in fact during the trip he had dozed off several times and was woken up by Will and Hailey.

Once he was ready, Jay was laid back on the bed and a grimace of pain appeared on his face that increased every time he tried to move even if by a few millimeters in search of a more comfortable position.

- Jay, do you know where you are? - Dr. Choi asked

- In the hospital. - answered

- Do you know who I am? - He asked again

- Doctor Choi - Jay said confidently

He answered correctly to these and other questions even if gradually mumbling more and more. It was increasingly difficult to decipher and understand what he was saying while sleep demanded it.

Excluding excessive sleepiness, Jay seemed to be well oriented in both space and time. He also answered correctly when the doctor asked him for the complete date with day, month and year.

Choi then began to have him undergo tests, such as x-rays to check the state of the ribs, an ultrasound to exclude any bleeding. and a CT scan of the skull to check for the possible presence of a head injury given the wound on the nape of the neck

The nurses immediately started preparing Jay for the various checkups and Ethan in the meantime dismissed Will and Hailey telling them to go to the waiting room adding that he would let them know as soon as he heard.

As they left they could hear Jay fidgeting and moaning from the sharp pain of moving his body.

- Will! Will! Don't go! Will where are you? Don't leave me alone! - Jay cried in terror when his brother was out of sight.

The monitors to which the young man was connected began to ring wildly. So Dr. Halstead went back and placed himself next to his brother again.

- Jay I'm here. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. But now calm down a little - Dr. Halstead told him looking into Choi's eyes who gave him his permission to stay.

Once Jay realized his brother wasn't going to move from his side, he finally began to relax.

Will was mostly on the sidelines, the patient was his brother and there was nothing he could do. Eventually, however, he was asked to help disinfect and bandage the numerous wounds on Jay's body and he accepted and went to work.

It didn't need to be stitched, but they did need painkillers because the detective's whole body was a pile of pain.

Days passed, about four, and the detective began to recover, especially from a physical point of view. On the psychological side, things were a bit more complicated.

He was back at work with Will and Chioi's approval. Unable to stay home doing nothing, Jay agreed to do office work to do something.

In front of his colleagues, the young detective acted as if nothing had happened, he tried to be seen smiling and happy, as if everything was ok.

On the other hand, when he was alone, he would let himself go and torture himself because he couldn't remember what had happened to him that night and that was absurd for him.

Jay was trying to retrace his thoughts from the time he left the district to when Will woke him up and found himself on the floor next to his bed..

Unfortunately, however, all his efforts turned out to be in vain. The memories of him were interrupted almost immediately, until he was taking a walk, then total darkness and this made him nervous you feel really bad.

Even with Hailey and Will he pretended to be fine and every time they asked him how he was he would reply: "I'm fine".

But that wasn't true and his colleague and brother were aware of it. They knew when he wore a mask, they knew him all too well and could read those little signs that were beyond his control..

But the more time passed, the harder it became for Jay to hide what he felt inside. The facade he had built was crumbling.

One day, in fact, the detective was alone in the room and lying on the bed was trying to remember once again what had happened that day. The nervousness inside him, the annoyance of not remembering were so great that they made him burst into tears..

And so he was sitting on the bed with his hands over his face crying with big sobs.

That's when Will arrived. He had just returned from a grueling shift at work and he immediately went to his brother to ask him if he wanted some company since he was both free. Will was doing everything to make Jay feel better psychologically too, so he wanted to spend time with him even though he was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep.

Before entering the room, Will decided to gently knock on the door. He didn't want to scare his brother.

As soon as the latter realized he was coming and that he would soon be entering, he turned away from the door making sure that his brother could not see him in those conditions.

The detective did not like those who let themselves go showing their emotions, he hated crying and at the same time he hated being seen doing it even by his own blood.

It wasn't his way. He showed he was fine even when he was broken.

What he wasn't aware of though was that Will had already seen everything through the door and had also heard him sobbing as it was slightly open..

- Hello little brother - he said entering as if nothing had happened.

Jay didn't answer, didn't trust his voice.

- Come on Jay, it's me Will - said the doctor.

At that precise moment the detective turned to his brother and looked him in the face for a moment. His eyes were red and swollen.

"Who knows how long he's been crying." thought the doctor with a heart full of sadness.

What the latter didn't expect, however, was that Jay would turn around and hug him. Hiding his head under Will's right shoulder, the young man continued to cry and sobbed for several minutes before finally calming down.

- Jay come on, talk to me what's going on? - asks the doctor

- Will I don't ... I don't remember anything that happened the other day and this fact is driving me crazy ... - answered the desperate young detective.

- Quiet little brother, we'll find a solution. But now he tries to calm down and try to get some sleep. - said the larger of the two.

And so, after helping his brother get under the covers, he turned to leave the room, sighing sadly. He wanted to go talk to Dr. Charles to ask for help.

- Will! - Jay called him who then asked him with lost puppy eyes that he did not want to be alone: - Are you staying with me? -

- Yes, of course. I will not move from here. I'll be here when you wake up. -Will said, settling next to his brother in his bed, stroking him gently..

And so slowly Jay relaxed, letting himself go into the doctor's arms, falling asleep exhausted almost immediately./p

Will, on the other hand, stayed as he said by his side and continued to hold him close all night. Obviously he could not sleep, as well as due to the uncomfortable position from which he had not moved so as not to wake Jay., also because he continued to rack his brains to try to understand what could be done to make his brother feel better.

In the end, however, without finding a solution, he too let himself be overcome by fatigue and fell asleep by his side despite the fact that the position was not ideal..

After about two hours, Dr. Choi came into the room to do some checks, as he had done in those days since Jay came home.. He went there from time to time to check it out as Will had asked.

As soon as he arrived he had started fixing some things he might need and taking the detective's pulse gently so as not to wake him he noticed that he had an irregular heartbeat rhythm. The young man's sleep was agitated, often studded with nightmares.

The noise from the instruments and medicines the doctor took made Will wake up with a start with his heart beating wildly in his chest.

The young doctor believed it could be a criminal who had snuck into Jay's house to attempt his life or to complete what he hadn't previously done. Immediately Ethan, noticing that he had scared his colleague, immediately reassured him by saying:

- Shhh.. quiet, it's just me. I took some parameters from your brother and I have better adjusted the dosage of the drugs he is taking. -

Doctor Halstead, realizing that this was not a threat, but only his friend and colleague, tried to compose himself by taking deep breaths to calm down, then rubbing his neck a little bit painful due to the position in which he had slept and getting out of bed to stretch his legs a little as well as the rest of his body.

- Sorry I didn't realize I fell asleep.- Dr. Halstead apologizes

- Don't worry, you must be exhausted. Sorry me, I didn't mean to scare you. - Ethan answered

- Don't worry, I'm fine, - Will said

- Why don't you go over there to rest? - asked the colleague, you could see in his face that he needed it.

In fact, Will after a grueling shift had been forced to do other overtime hours and then as soon as he got home he went directly to his brother. He was still dressed like when he left the hospital, he hadn't even changed.

- I can't rest, Jay needs me - Halstead replied, turning to look at his brother lying on the bed still fast asleep.

- Yes, you are absolutely right, he needs you, but you serve him in full shape, he does not need a half-service brother. - explained Choi

- I promised him that I would not move from here and that he would see me as soon as he woke up. -Will said with the real reason why he stayed there.

He actually would have done it even if Jay hadn't asked him.

- Yes, but that's how you destroy yourself.- the doctor was trying to make Dr. Halstead reason

- Ethan, Jay's not okay ...- Will pointed out

- It seems to me that he is recovering well instead - Choi stated what he saw from the physical point of view - he is back to his everyday life. Today is my last check-up, the wounds are looking, he can stop these drugs, he will just have to continue with the antibiotic for another two days. -

- Yes, but there is something wrong yet ... - Dr. Halstead added, sighing sadly

- Why are you saying that? Ethan asked

- Well first of all Jay hates not only hospitals, but also being visited and monitored all the time. He's been in the facility for several days though and you've been coming here for a while and he still hasn't complained like he usually does.. Also when I got here he was crying profusely because not being able to remember what happened to him is driving him crazy. Obviously asking him continuously what happened that night does not help him. I also understand, however, that Voight needs to know in order to be able to arrest the damned who hurt him.- concluded Will

- I understand ... Look, maybe I have a possible solution. Have you thought about hypnosis? - Ethan suggested

Will looked at his colleague doubtfully, he had never considered this methodology, also because he never happened to need to use it.

- Sometimes, when we suffer a trauma, our mind allows us to forget, to put aside memories that could be traumatic for us. It is a more defense mechanism quite powerful. With hypnosis you could make Jay relive the event and get some more information. - explained Choi

- You could try ... - Will hypothesized that wanting to help his brother tried not to exclude any possibility and being a bit perplexed he added: - But won't it be dangerous? I don't know how he would react after ...-

-Will take it easy. The procedures are not risky, as long as they are done by competent people, and luckily I know one. What happens next will be addressed slowly. From what you told me I understood that not remembering is driving him crazy anyway so why not try? - the colleague tried to convince him

- Yes, it's true. One could try. I'll tell him as soon as he wakes up. - the older Halstead replied knowing that he had to speak to Jay first to see if he agreed to make this attempt to undergo hypnosis.

After chatting with Will, Dr. Choi left, but not before leaving him the number to contact his colleague who practices hypnosis. However, he stopped in an adjacent room to talk on the phone before leaving the house.

Will went back to his brother shortly after, as they had drifted off while they were chatting so as not to wake Jay.

He then lay down beside his brother again and soon fell asleep again.

About half an hour later, maybe even less, Jay woke up and started looking around calling for his brother

- Will, Will where are you? -

His eyes rolled from right to left looking for him, but he couldn't see him.

Ethan, who had taken his things to leave, heard some noises and went back to check what was happening in the room where the two brothers were. As he passed the door he noticed that the detective had woken up and was agitated, he seemed unable to find his brother and was therefore terrified.

Will, on the other hand, was curled up in the corner of the bed under the covers and was sleeping soundly, he was so broken he couldn't hear his brother calling him.

His colleague needed some rest, so he decided to go back into the room to reassure young Halstead.

- Hey Jay, it's me Ethan, don't worry, it's okay. - he tried to calm him

- Where is my brother? - Jay asked almost with tears in his eyes

The doctor without saying anything pointed to the silhouette of his sleeping brother and so he calmed down by relaxing almost immediately.

Shortly thereafter Will woke up, so Ethan took the opportunity to recommend hypnosis to Jay, if he wanted to try.

Jay was initially very hesitant, but not putting up with the fact that he couldn't remember he eventually chose to give it a try.

- Are you sure you want to do this? - the red-haired doctor asked worriedly.

- Yes, it is always better than how I would be doing nothing. - replied the detective.

Jay was scared. Hypnosis meant losing control over things which he always tended to have, but he would have gone mad not to remember.

The next day, the young man went to the hospital. He had called Ethan to tell him that he had made an appointment with Dr. Brown for the following day.

Needless to say, the detective spent the night sleepless, on the one hand out of concern of not knowing what might happen tomorrow, on the other hand, because he was beginning to realize that if he didn't remember maybe there was a reason, because maybe he had experienced something terrible.

Will stayed with him that night too. He didn't feel like leaving him alone. He settled on the sofa because the living room was closer to Jay's bedroom than the spare room.

He made that choice because it made it easier for him to hear if his brother needed something.

Even Will couldn't sleep that night and would often try to hear the noises coming from Jay's room. He could hear him moving constantly, tossing and turning in bed without falling asleep.

Several times than tried to go to him, but he avoided entry. If he needed him he would have called him, but he also knew that his brother needed his space.

What Jay was going through tomorrow wasn't going to be easy at all.

After a long night, therefore, the two brothers, more tired than when they had gone to sleep, prepared for the appointment with Dr. Brown. They were supposed to be in his studio at 10:30.

Jay was a lot quieter than usual that morning. The tension in that house could be cut with a knife.

Jay had a stuffy stomach and felt upset, nauseated, so he didn't want to have breakfast. Obviously Will understood the situation and avoided begging him.

Arrived at the specialist, after a very silent journey, the two brothers sat down and shortly after came to make you sit.

When Dr. Brown's secretary told them they could go in to Doctor Will he hesitated, sat for a moment as Jay walked to the room pointed out by the woman. The older Halstead wanted to give his brother some privacy by thinking he wanted to go in alone. He was convinced that the latter did not want to share that personal event with him.

Will eventually had to change his mind and in fact was amazed when the detective stopped at the door of the doctor's office and turned around saying:

- Will you please come too? -

Immediately the red-haired doctor got up and joined him and they both entered the large study.

Jay was on edge, he was afraid of losing control as mentioned above and he was terrified of hypnosis itself even though he had read something about it on the internet during the night. He feared his brother's possible reaction when it was revealed what had happened that night.

Will, for his part, wanted to understand what had been done to his brother. He hoped this method would work. If not, Jay would have continued to suffer from what he did not remember. He was also worried about what they would have to face next.

But they were there now and they had to try.

After the various pleasantries and the usual questions about Jay's general health, the latter was made to sit on the bed and there he was explained what would happen and was also reassured.

And when Jay was calm enough, the procedure began.

- So Jay now you will have to follow my movements carefully. Gradually you will feel more and more relaxed and calm. Nobody will hurt you ... As soon as you are ready we begin. - said Dr. Brown

- We can start, I'm ready.- replied the detective not before turning to Will to get even more reassurance on his part and a nod of understanding.. He was much calmer now after being informed of what was going to happen, but he was still a little nervous about what he could remember.

Meanwhile Will was ready to write down whatever came out of the session and might be needed to arrest the culprit who had hurt his brother. He would pass the information to Voight so that he and his team could arrest him.

The sergeant had asked Hailey to convince Jay to have at least her and if possible some other members of the team attend the session in such a way as to listen to what was said and obtain the information necessary to arrest the criminal, but the detective had been adamant, no one but Will could be present. So in the end Hank had opted to ask Will to collect the information mainly to create an identikit of the man or the name if the young man recognized him and could remember him.

Shortly after starting the procedure, Jay stretched out comfortably on a table and watched the doctor's movements, and slowly what he had said earlier happened.

The young man relaxed so much that he seemed almost asleep with his eyes that after a few minutes seemed to have closed themselves.

Meanwhile Will was observing everything from a distance, he was positioned in a corner of the room and observed everything that was happening with a small notebook on his legs.

- Jay listen to my voice - Brown continued - in this moment you are relaxed and calm, nobody is better than you. Slowly you will find yourself on a train, you are sitting by the window. And you stand there, and you are looking out of it. Many events, situations from your past life follow one another and you simply observe them letting them pass.

- Yes, I saw my mom with Will when we were little. -Jay started describing what he saw

- Well now, if you like, you can stop the train and get off, you could say hello to your mother and your brother. - said the doctor

Jay agreed to do it and so under hypnosis he stopped to talk to his mother hugging her, happy to have met her again.

Will, meanwhile, listened while remaining isolated in a corner of the room. He didn't want to interfere with the procedure. His heart tightened and he was moved to hear Jay tell about the meeting and talk to their mom.

The young detective looked so good there, he would stay there forever. He had everything he needed: his mother, his unconditional affection and his brother he was very attached to.

Unfortunately, however, it was time to leave, and so Dr. Brown said:

- Well Jay, I think it's time to get back on the train. I know you don't feel like it, but I'd like you to say hello to your mother.

Ok, now the train is moving on and you keep looking out the window once again. The various events follow one another, the good ones and the bad ones, up to today. What do you see for example right now? -

- I see my first day in Intelligence, my colleague Antonio, my best friend, talking about me in Voight ...- told the detective.

- Wow the start of something new. Unfortunately, not all the events you see are positive ...-

- Yes, I saw ... when I was at war ... In Afghanistan .. - Jay then said

The young man remained vague about those events and Dr. Brown asked no questions. That wasn't what interested him at the moment. The request was made about a specific episode and the doctor was coming to it slowly. So finally came the important moment. The detective was working quietly, finishing his working day and then leaving. It was there that the train stopped, and the doors swung open again so you got off.

- Can you tell me what you see? - Brown asked cautiously at that point because he did not know how the young man would react reliving those moments.

- I'm in the district, just finished work and can't wait to get home. I feel tired.- Jay began to relive - I want to get home as soon as possible to go to bed.

At that point he added that he had gone, being on foot, in the park under the house and having decided to take a little walk to release the tension. Everything he said described a wonderful relaxing afternoon. But at one point he froze and screamed.

- What's up Jay? asked the doctor.

- Someone hit me ... everything went black. I must have passed out .- answered the boy.

-- Ok, now you're waking up ... where are you? Can you tell me? - Brown said

- No, I don't know where I am ... it's all dark here ... my head hurts, my muscles also, they pull me. My hands are tied to something, above my head ... - explained the detective.

- Linked to what? - the doctor said that he was trying to find out as much detail as possible that could be useful for the Intelligence and in the meantime Will wrote everything.

- It looks like a water pipe ... I can't tell precisely because I can't see it, but it looks just like that ... one of those used once, big and thick ... I have a tight chain around my wrists. Wait a minute ... someone comes ... - the detective said, stiffening

- Who? Who is Jay coming? - Brown asked knowing that this information would be useful, if not essential for intelligence.

- A man, I don't know who he is. He wears a balaclava and then ... he's dark in here! There is a light on, but it is far away ...- explained the young man who suddenly shouted: - Help ... Enough please. That's enough! -

- What's going on Jay? - asked the doctor - remember that what you are experiencing is just a memory. He can't hurt you.

- He's hurting me ... it hurts ... he's hitting me with a whip ... - the detective kept telling what he was reliving, and as he did so the tears fell from his eyes. The pain he felt was quite real.

Even Will without realizing it, as he transcribed the interaction between the doctor and his brother, began to cry. He could not accept that someone had brought so much suffering to his brother.

After several interminable minutes the whiplashing ended and the detective was now curled up in himself trying to manage the pain.

Taking a deep breath then the young man resumed describing what he was reliving and did not remember, relaxing slightly.

- He asked me how I got my life back after the army, he couldn't. - said the detective.

Hearing this Will lifted his head from his notebook and stared into space.

Again Jay was dealing with his past and his only fault was that he managed to emerge from the abyss he had ended up in after returning home.

- There's a projector here - Jay went on impressed by what he was noticing. The room he was in was so dark it didn't allow him to see much, but I was the man who showed him what was needed.

- È attaccato sul tetto, - proseguì il detective - E quell'uomo lo sta accendendo... -

Pochi istanti dopo poi Jay riprese a tremare, i suoi occhi si riempirono di lacrime che cominciarono a scendere copiose sul suo viso e urlando disse:

- No! Ti prego! Non voglio vedere... per favore...-

- Cosa sta succedendo Jay? - chiese il dottor Brown

The detective opened the eyes he had closed holding them tightly, unable to cover them with his hands and with a terrified look lost in the void he continued to describe what he was seeing.

- He is projecting images, they are all children ... It's like in Afghanistan, please stop him ... They are all wounded, dead. I don't want to see please ... Ahhh ... Don't whip me .. don't force me please ... - now the detective was crying, sobbing and screaming in pain.

Even Will by now, had slumped against the wall near where he was sitting and slid against it.

He crying stting on the ground with his knees bent and his hands on his face. Big tears were running down his face.

- Why? Why did they do this to you, Jay? - lthe doctor wondered in his mind.

- Don't hate me because I made up for it once after Afghanistan. - shouted the detective in the meantime.

So that was the problem. The real reason why the criminal had done all this finally came to light.

What Dr. Halstead sadly didn't know was that it wasn't over. He believed that everything he had found out Jay experienced was already too much, but he didn't know it was even worse.

Eventually the detective sighed and recovered slightly. It was finally over, the projector had been picked up. Breathing deeply wiping away the last tears then he began to relax slightly.

Observing his behavior, Will speculated that this was the moment when his brother fled or when he was let go. But what he didn't know was that this was just the beginning for him.

Jay then went on to tell what was happening:

- There's a window here, it was behind the projector screen and it's covered with a heavy curtain. It has now been opened from the outside. I can see a pateo and another man, another soldier has positioned himself in my view in front of me, but on the opposite side from where the window is. He is in uniform, has the rifle on his shoulder. I can't recognize him, he wears a hat and a mask on his face. Only his eyes are not covered, but it is dark and the light that the two street lamps present at the corners of the perimeter make is not enough to allow me to see them.

Other people are entering ... they are children, three to be exact. They positioned themselves in front of me near the window, their backs to the soldier. They are of different nationality and they are really small. Now they have turned their backs on me. Oh my God, no! No, please no ...-

- What's going on? - Asked the doctor, noting that the young man had stopped and his eyes were filled with tears again. His heart was pounding and he was panting.

Will, as a good doctor as he was, immediately realized that something was wrong and suddenly got up and ran towards his brother. When he was almost beside him, however, he was blocked by the doctor who with a determined look, but sure of what he was doing made him desist from going further and touching him.

- Jay what's going on? - Dr. Brown repeated not having received an answer the first time - Breathe, no one can harm you, you're on the train of memories ..-

It took a while for the detective to calm down a bit, but eventually he did. With a trembling voice full of terror and horror then the latter continued to tell the killing of those three little ones.

Will knew how difficult it was for Jay to live with it. Whoever had attacked him knew him well as he had attacked him in his weak points.

Eventually the detective said the windows had been closed again and that the man who was with him did nothing but laugh rudely at his suffering. He approached him with one hand and touched his face.

Young Halstead tried to retreat from the touch, but was unable to as he was tied up and stuck with the wall behind him.

Making that gesture, however, allowed Jay to notice the small tattoo on the back of his hand that involved the lower part of the thumb, just above the wrist.

He looked like it was a little girl's face and Jay was sure it was, even though he had only glimpsed it.

Obviously the young man had seen him before and remembered that this had happened when he was in Afghanistan years ago.

One of the army rangers when he was in Afghanistan for his second tour had a very similar one: ranger Macwir was called.

Eventually everything before Jay's eyes had gone dark. He must have passed out either from the pain and suffering he was feeling or because he had been hit by something.

After that, the doctor started gently waking Jay up. They had finally gotten what they needed. They had a name and there was no need to go any further.

When the detective opened his eyes, fortunately, he didn't seem to remember anything of what he had relived.

he He seemed fine, a little sad and tired maybe, but nothing special.

Jay was amazed to see his brother with the puffy, red eyes typical of someone who'd been crying for a long time.

He was unaware of what had happened in the room while he was under hypnosis.

Will communicated everything that had emerged from the session to Sergeant Voight and through that information, Intelligence was able to arrest the culprit.

In the end it was just another, yet another bad adventure for Jay Halstead, even though he still didn't remember anything at the time.

- Will you tell me what you got? - the detective asked his brother when they left the doctor.

- Nothing, don't worry. Do you feel like driving? asked the doctor, remaining vague.

Jay soon got into the car and started the engine, Will sat on the passenger side with a heart full of sadness.