"I need everyone to stay sharp." Voight began, raspy voice drawing all eyes to him, as they all prepped for the takedown that would be happening two days from now. They were standing in a broken down, concrete courtyard with weeds growing from the cracks of the chipped surface. The courtyard was surrounded by three dilapidated brick buildings, with the Southside open to an abandoned parking lot.

Intelligence and SWAT had spent the morning and part of the afternoon setting up cameras and clearing the buildings and surrounding areas. Now Intelligence was on their own again, Voight putting the SWAT team on standby and sending them back to the precinct. Six SWAT members would be staying and helping with the take down.

"We'll have a team of snipers on each building. Halstead and Jackson take the north building…" Both gave a nod, acknowledging their assignment, "…Olinsky and Graf, the east and Adam and Turner the west."

Jay cut in, elbowing Ruzek, "Moving up in the world."

"Shut up. I'm better than you now."

Jay smirked and Al gave the youngster a look.

Adam raised his hands in surrender, "Okay okay."

Al shook his head with a chuckle, "You're kidding yourself kid." The entire team, even the SWAT members knew there was not a better sniper in CPD than Jay or probably the country for that matter.

"What can I say, I like a good joke."

Everyone laughed and Jay flicked Ruzek's ear. Leave it to Ruzek to break the tension in the situation.

Voight interrupted the laughter, "The rest of us will be on the ground floors of each building for the take down and if the gang sends in their own crew to sweep the buildings. Okay, grab your stuff and head up. I want everyone on coms starting now."

Everyone put their coms in their ears, grabbed their vests, coolers and guns and headed off to their positions.

Jay didn't put in his coms yet or activate it. "Sarge…"

Voight stopped and walked back to Jay.

Jay motioned to Voight's coms. "It's not on. What's up kid?"

"Do you know all of these SWAT guys? Cuz I've never seen Jackson before and I was getting a bad vibe off him when we were clearing our floors."

Hank kept his eyes Halstead, not wanting to give away what they are talking about. "I know he's new on the SWAT team…" He gave Jay a searching look. He trusted him and if he's getting a bad vibe, then there's a reason. "Take your position, I'll have Platt and Mouse look into it."

Voight got on his cell phone and relayed the information to Platt. They were going to need that information ASAP.

Coms in, they both grabbed their gear when Jay saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"Everyone get down!" He yelled and pushed Voight as hard as he can, hopefully out of the blast radius.

HAILEY'S POV

Everyone had run for cover as soon as Jay yelled, all of us make it out of the blast range. Only Voight and Jay were affected by the concussion grenade. When the smoke cleared, Voight was on the ground a yard or so from Al, shaking his head to clear it, pushed there mostly by Jay and partly by the blast. Jay, was still in the middle of the courtyard, holding his head as he tried to roll over onto his belly. He had finally managed to get to his knees, when a single shot rang out and threw him backwards onto the pavement, his head hitting the hard surface and knocking him out.

"Jay!" I screamed along with other members of the team.

Fucking hell, six more bullets pinged the ground around Jay, who still hadn't moved. Adam made a move towards Jay but Voight grabbed him, yelling at everyone, "Fall back, fall back! I want everyone back."

"But Sarge, Jay…" Just then another bullet hit the ground between Jay and where they are standing.

Voight still hadn't let go of Adam, "Move! If they wanted him dead, he'd be dead already. He's breathing, I don't want anyone else getting shot, now get back!"

We all ran for the cover of the east building, knowing the shot had come from the southeast corner of the North building, per Al. He also said we were out of the line of sight and about as far from the shooter as we could be. Apparently there are also shooters on the roof of the building we're in, based on the angle of some of the shots. Al thought there were three or four shooters spread out over the roofs of the two buildings. So, basically with that much coverage, any move we make towards Jay, will just get him killed.

Antonio had called SWAT back to the location and 51 will be on standby. If we got Jay out alive, 51 needed to keep him alive. I'm not one to freak out under pressure, but right now I am pretty close to doing so. I had never felt so powerless.

There are only two 'doors' into the room we're in, which, by the looks of it, used to be a laundry room. The doors were on opposite sides of the building, both leading outside. Actually, a better description would probably be, two large holes the size and dimensions of a door. Voight had put two SWAT guys on each door; right side looks left, left side looks right, so between that and Adam's flex cameras we had a clear view of anyone trying to breach our position.

Beside the two doors, there was a hole in the wall that had probably once housed a large window. It faced the courtyard. This was were we, for the most part, have placed ourselves as we watch Jay laying motionless in the courtyard.

ADAM'S POV

Another shot rang out and hit two feet from Jay's head, startling us all. Jay didn't move.

"He's still breathing."

"Can anyone see where he's hit?"

"I can't see shit."

"It's probably the other side of his body. I'm thinking shoulder or upper arm by the way he snapped back."

"I think there's blood coming from under his head but I'm not sure, it could be a shadow."

"Everyone CALM DOWN!" Voight put an end to our verbal angst. "Freaking out will not help Jay or our situation. Hailey, keep talking to him. When he comes to, we don't want him to move."

The 'when' was pretty optimistic on Voight's part, which I appreciate. Hailey had been talking quietly to Jay through the coms since just after we got to the room. At first trying to wake him but now just keeping a steady flow of chatter, letting him know we were there and more importantly to NOT MOVE. Voight said Jay had turned on his coms but we haven't heard anything from him yet. So, we watched.

Voight had yelled at the shooters a couple of times but hadn't gotten a response. We know they're still up there, we just don't know what he's waiting for.

Another shot rang out, the pavement at Jay's right hip kicks up…the shooter reminding them of his presence.

"Sarge, Sarge…" Hailey hissed trying to get his attention. She nodded her head towards the courtyard. We all look. Jay's hand was twitching. Hailey continues her stream of chatter at Jay.

"Jay, Jay, it's Hailey. I need you to keep still. Don't move Jay. No matter what you do don't move."

Jay's hand flopped at his side… "Jay!" Hailey was more forceful with her quiet plea, "Do Not move. They have a gun trained on you…Sarge!"

"Halstead…just breath. Don't move kid. We need you to keep still."

We could see Jay lick his lips and then hear a quiet 'okay' as he opened his eyes.

Atwater chimed in, "SWAT is 5 minutes out. They'll kill the sirens when they get to the parking lot."

Voight gave him a nod then focused on Jay again.

Antonio and Al were both looking out the same side of the window and Al chimed in on the conversation with Jay.

"Good kid, good, stay still. I need to ask you some questions. Just answer yes or no or one word only okay?"

Jay licked his lips again. "'kay."

Al continued, "I need to know where you're shot."

Jay took a deep breath and blew it out before he replied, "Shoulder." Then, "left."

"Can you tell if there's an exit wound?"

There was a long pause, "No," he whispered. "not sure."

"Ok, you're doing good Jay, you're doing good."

We hear a quiet 'okay' over the coms. We're all watching Jay. He remained still and blinked his eyes open wide, like he's trying to stay conscious.

"Hey kid, you hit your head pretty hard, can you…"

"Tired." His eyes stayed open for another second, then close.

"Shit, Jay…"

Another shot rang out, causing all of us to flinch and Jay's eyes spring open. His body tensed up as the bullet hits the pavement just to his left.

Voight yelled at the shooter again but still got no answer.

Another shot hit just beyond Jay's head and he closed his eyes and breathed out a slow steady breath. You could tell he was trying to stave off a panic attack.

I'm pacing around with my hands on my head, "Jesus Christ!"

Another shot hit to Jay's right. Jay opened his eyes and just stared at the sky. Breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. He looked so calm it was scary, like he had accepted that one of those bullets were eventually going to hit him - one of these bullets were going to kill him and there was nothing he could do. There was nothing we could do.

Al gave us all a worried look when Jay closed his eyes again…well, more worried.

"Listen kid, we're here. You're going to be okay. We aren't going anywhere. I know it's hard and I know you want to move but please, just stay still."

There was no answer and Jay didn't open his eyes.

"Jay, it's Hailey. I'm going to keep talking to you so I don't have to talk to Ruzek, okay." She gave me a sad shrug. What in the hell were you supposed to talk about with someone who had bullets bouncing inches from their body.

"We're going to get you out of there, Jay, I promise."

Nothing.

I had to hope he passed out. The last thing we need with SWAT arriving was for Jay to get all twitchy and get shot again. The shooters had to know we would call for backup, hence the sirens. Killing them at the parking lot was for Jay. We wanted the shooters to know they were close so it wouldn't be a surprise when they arrived but if Jay was moving on top of it, they might panic.

Another shot echoes in the courtyard…the concrete kicks up at Jay's feet. He didn't flinch.

If I thought the tension in the room was thick before, it just tripled. The situation was so messed up. No one knew what the hell was happening. Why the hell were they keeping Jay pinned down in the middle of that courtyard but not making any demands? The whole situation didn't make sense. Not 30 seconds later we heard SWAT kill their sirens and pull into the parking lot.

As soon as the two SWAT MCV's were parked and movement started on the far side of them, a shooter finally communicated. First with bullets as four shots in quick succession hit the pavement at various points around Jay's body. His ams and face were starting to get cut up by the flying concrete.

Now that they've shown SWAT who's in control, they talk.

"Voight! I want to talk to Hank Voight."

"I'm here. Let me get my detective from the courtyard and we'll talk."

"Naw, Voight. That's not gunna happen. Your boy is staying right where he is. You make a move for him or I see any helicopters the next bullet goes in his head."

Just to prove their point, another shot kicked up cement a foot to the right of Jay's head. Jay didn't move but blood now trickled from a deeper cut on the side of his face.

"Who am I talking to? What do you want?"

"Alright, Voight, ya…let's get down to business…" Another bullet to the pavement at Jay's feet.

"First, asshole, we want Maurice and Andre released and second we want the drugs, guns and money you pinched in that raid."

Voight hung his head. V-Nation. Shit. Could this day get any worse? This wasn't just any gang, trying to make a name for themselves, this was the gang. The takedown was supposed to be a faction of the Latin Kings but apparently they called in their own backup.

Voight grimaced. Anything he said could be Jay's death sentence. He took a breath and blew it out, "I can't do that. You know I can't. That inventory is out of my hands now. What happens with Maurice and Andre is out of my hands."

We all held our breath and watch Jay laying in the court yard. He was awake again and put his hand to his face, probably forgetting what was going on. Hailey was desperately asking him to hold still so he didn't get shot. This was so fucked up.

"Don't FUCK with me Voight. You're starting to piss me off. Those are the demands. We all know you're as crooked as they come, so get it done or your boy is going to die a slow and painful death."

It's barely a whisper, "Hailey…"

"Ya, Jay. I'm here."

There was a look of confusion on Jay's face, like he couldn't quite keep his thoughts straight. He's definitely got a concussion.

"Voight! You hear me? I'm not playing."

Just then there was a loud 'THWACK' and Jay screamed in agony.

"SHIT!"

"Oh God JAY! … Jay…"

"JAY!"

"Goddamit!"

"WHAT THE FUCK YOU ASSHOLES!"

There was a plethora of worried calls of comfort to Jay and to the universe at the unfairness of it all.

As soon as Jay was hit, he sat up grabbing the calf of his right leg where an aluminum arrow was pinning it to the ground, screaming through his clenched teeth. He flopped back down for a second before coming back up again, shaking hands grabbing his calf. Eventually he flopped back down for good and crossed his arms over his eyes, breathing heavily and trying to keep from passing out.

The whole time we were all yelling in the coms, which was probably not helping Jay at all, but we were all freaked out.

"Alright, ALRIGHT!" Voight yelled out the window. "Give me some time. I'll get you what you want."

Voight silenced all of us with a look. Al talked to Jay.

"Breathe Jay, breathe. I'm sorry kid. I know you're in pain but just try to stay still. We're going to get you out of this, it's gunna take a little time. Just stay with us." Al exchanged a look with Voight.

"Make it quick Voight. We got lotsa arrows and a whole lotta bullets."

"I need to get to the SWAT van so I can make this work."

"Go ahead Voight, we won't waste our bullets on you, not when we have your boy here to play with."

The crazy asshole and his cronies laughed. A lazy arrow arced through the air and landed in the courtyard, the metal shaft buried at least 4 inches into the pavement. It's not anywhere near Jay but an ominous warning just the same.

Voight talked to Jay, "You with us kid?"

Jay grimaced as his hand went to injured left shoulder, the pain flaring from his sudden movements. He was finally getting control of his breathing but his voice is dripping with pain.

"I'm…here…I'm here. Fuck…"

"We're going to get you out of this. Just hang in there."

"An arrow? They shot me with a fucking arrow." He managed some sarcasm but his voice was weak, barely a whisper.

How do you answer that? I exchange a look with Hailey and then Antonio, cutting my coms so Jay couldn't hear me.

"What the fuck? What the fuck are we going to do? Did you see when he sat up? The whole back of his head is covered in blood and the bullet is still in his shoulder, there's no exit wound."

Hailey cut her coms and so did the rest of the team, "That might be for the best. The bullet's probably keeping the bleeding to a minimum."

Eyes haven't left Jay as he took his shaking, bloody hand from his left shoulder and crossed it back over his other arm.

Antonio spoke up interrupting the hushed conversation between Al and Voight.

"What's the game plan here, Voight?"

Voight didn't answer that question but hands Al his ear piece and quietly says 'channel six.'

"Burgess you're with me."

He yelled up to the gang members that he and Burgess were heading to the vans and the two of them left the room, making it to the vans without incident. Al tried to keep Jay calm and assess how he is really doing.

"Jay, we're here. We're working on getting you out of there. Voight and Burgess are with SWAT right now and we have Platt and Mouse working on it back at the District. So just hang in there. How's your shoulder?"

Another shot rung out, kicking up more pavement - Jay's body goes stiff as a board.

Antonio gave it a try, "Jay? Come on man talk to us."

Nothing.

We all watched him. Waiting for him to respond. He's holding his shoulder again, that arm still laying across his eyes. His right leg has bled a lot but at least it looked to have stopped for now. He was sweating but the sun was already starting to go down. The temperature will drop significantly when in does.

Hailey tried, "Jay, we need to know you're still with us."

He didn't say anything but then we heard a quiet groan and a pain laced 'shit' that he was trying to suppress through his tightly clenched teeth.

"Jay, we need you to put your left arm down, slowly and just keep it by your side. We don't want the bullet to shift."

He didn't acknowledge us but eventually there's a deep inhale and he put both arms down. His right hand still shaking as he took hold of his left wrist, holding his injured arm bent against his chest, eyes staring up at the darkening sky.

XXXXXXX

LATER

The sun had dipped below the horizon and we were all feeling the chill so I couldn't imagine what it was like for Jay laying on the cold concrete. His eyes had closed again, passed out or sleeping, his body trembling from the cold or shock or maybe from the bullets that flew his way every couple of minutes.

On hold, waiting for Voight to give us an update, we took turns quietly talking to Jay. He had stopped responding to us a while ago but we still didn't want him to feel alone out there if he was listening.

Al got our attention and signaled for us to go to six, leaving the SWAT members, who weren't privy to what's going on and Hailey on the open channel. Hailey continued her one sided conversation with Jay.

When we were all on six, Al gave a quiet 'go' to Voight. We listened silently, most of us never took our eyes off Jay. When Voight finished his monologue we all switch back to the open channel and Voight spoke to all of us.

"We're working something out, we're almost there. So you guys hold tight. I'm trying to see if they'll let me come back in with a couple of guys from 51 and Will. Jay's going to need medical attention ASAP. Hopefully I'll see you soon with good news." Then he addressed Jay, "Hang in there kid. It's almost over. Will's here. We'll get him to you as soon as we can."

AN HOUR LATER

Voight just got back, followed by Casey and Severide. Sylvie, Gaby and Will brought up the rear. They had all joined us at the window, watching Jay and trying to come up with a game plan for when this was all over. Voight and Al had moved away from the group and were talking to someone on channel six and Voight sounded pretty pissed. We all switched back to six to listen in.

"…well then who had eyes on the place since we set up the meet?"

Mouse was the other side of the conversation, "Jackson and Burgos."

"Goddammit!"

The room went quiet as all eyes turned to the east door where the two SWAT members had been stationed. Jackson was gone. Voight gave Burgos a death stare.

"What?"

"Let's have a little chat."

Antonio slammed Burgos against the wall and then sat him down onto an overturned washer. All of Intelligence was looming over him. Even Hailey's small stature loomed with the rest of us. Will had taken up coms and continued the one sided conversation with his brother. The other four SWAT members were smart enough to watch from the background and see how this played out. Burgos knew Voight's reputation and decided to be smart and give up the info on the gang.

"Please Voight, I…"

"Save it! What's the plan?"

Burgos closed his eyes and caved. "They've been here since last night. We let them slip in. The plan was for Jackson to report that his floor in the North building was clear even though it wasn't. I was supposed to do the same with this one. After they we were done clearing the building the guys were going to move into their positions."

Voight waited for the rest. If looks could kill, Burgos' head would have imploded.

"Four guys on each roof - A spotter, lookout and two rifles on each building and Andre's deranged little brother also has the crossbow on the north building."

"And…"

"There are four more guys sitting over on 17th St. waiting to do the pick-up of the goods."

Hard looks from the whole of the unit had him blurting out the rest.

"They also have explosives and a couple more of the flashbangs. Jackson has been slowly stealing the stuff from SWAT inventory, he's in charge of it. I swear I don't know the rest of the plan. My job was just to pretend that my floor was clear and to let Jackson slip out without saying anything."

Al chimed in, "Why are you doing this? You're a decorated cop. 10 years on the force."

"I had no choice. They have my wife and daughter." He looked at us, begging us to understand. "Jackson and I were childhood friends. I thought he had got out of the gang. He said he wanted to be a cop to help other people that were stuck with no options just like him. I was proud of him, vouched for him and supported him when he got the promotion to SWAT. Now it turns out it was all bullshit. They had a plan all along to have an active gang member in the CPD."

Everyone was silent. That's when Burgos broke down.

"Please Voight. I had no choice, they're my whole world…my wife…my daughter is six, man. I don't care what you do to me. I deserve what ever I get but you have to get them back."

Voight glared and turned away, "Goddammit!"

Al just hung his head, "Well this throws a wrench in the works."

Voight got back on the coms and delayed the plan. "Mouse, find out where the hell they're holding Burgos' wife and kid. I'm not sure how much longer Jay can last."

LATER

Leaning against the wall, I'm looking out the window at Jay. We all were. He still hadn't responded to Will and the trembling in his body, either from pain or cold, had increased. The plan was on hold until Burgos' family was secure. Emotionally I flipped back and forth between rage and fear. I hoped we could get to Jay in time.

It was dark now but the assholes had the courtyard lit up like it was noon. The good news was we could still see Jay. The bad news was, so can they. My chin was resting on my hand as I leaned against the window when I, along with everyone else jerked to attention. Jay was moving. His head was tossing back and forth, a pained expression on his face. Will's monologue became more stressed.

"Jay, I'm here. Come on brother, I'm begging you, please don't move." He looked at us, desperation in his eyes, pleading for us to do something to save his little brother. He turned back to Jay just in time to see him jerk awake and sit up, clutching for his injured calf in pain and confusion. When he started to crumble, passing back out from the pain, a shot pierced the air and Jay's head snapped back and slamming him back down to the pavement. Whoops and laughter mocked them from the rooftops as blood ran freely down the side of Jay's face from the graze at his temple.

I couldn't handle it anymore and scream out the window.

"What the fuck, you assholes! He's no good to you if he's dead."

"Don't worry bitch. He ain't dead. See, he opened his eyes. Bruno just grazed him. He could give your snipes a run for their money, huh? Maybe Bruno should join SWAT."

More laughter, then beer bottles crashed around Jay, cutting up his bare arms and littering his chest with broken glass.

Jay continued to just stare into space as Will desperately tried to get Jay to talk to him.

Voight was quietly screaming in the coms for a status on the take down.

Suddenly a burst of 8-10 shots rent the air one after another and the pavement around Jay lit up in mini explosions as the bullets hit. Jay's body jerked and he let out a yelp, a red stain growing on the right side of his abdomen. When the bullets finally stop it was ungodly quiet.

A loud cackle erupted then a sarcastic, "Oops…"

A single shot rang out and hit inches from Jay's right side.

"…that's what I meant to do."

Laughter echoed through the courtyard and more bullets struck the ground around Jay's body, then abruptly stopped. In the quiet we could hear the ping, ping, ping of the gang members being picked off by the SWAT snipers. The assholes dropped like flies from the rooftops. Finally we got the 'all clear' in our coms and rush out to Jay.

Jay was in a full blown panic attack, trying to get air and failing. Will was at his side trying to get him to match his breaths but Jay flinched away from him, as well as Gaby and Casey, who were trying to stop the bleeding at his shoulder and abdomen.

"You guys, wait, get back…give me a sec." Everyone stepped back, giving Will room to work.

"Jay, I'm here. I need you to breathe." Will put a hand on each side of Jay's bloody face and turned it to him. "Look at me, brother." Will breathes deep rhythmic breaths, trying to get Jay to match him. "Breathe with me Jay, I need you to breathe with me." Jay still didn't respond, just looked at his brother with panicked eyes, Will not even sure if Jay was really seeing him.

"Aw shit…"

Jay passed out and Gaby moved in, getting an oxygen mask in place as Will ordered a sedative to keep him under. Will's hands were clasped on top of his head as he sat back on his heels, then rested a hand on his little brother's head as Sylvie and Gaby pack his wounds while Casey and Severide worked out the best way to deal with the arrow that is pinning Jay's leg to the pavement.

TWO DAYS LATER

We were all crowded into Jay's room. He woke up a couple of hours ago and they said he was going to be okay. His face, arms and what we could see of his torso was littered with cuts from the flying concrete and broken glass. Sterie strips were on the more minor cuts and bandages covered the ones that required stitches.

There were bigger bandages on his shoulder and abdomen covering the bullet wounds and keeping the drains in place from the seven hour nerve-racking surgery he went through. He had a significant concussion from when his head hit the ground and in the next couple of days he'll have one more surgery on his leg.

He was still pretty out of it and occasionally smiled at something that was said but mainly he just laid there drifting in and out. When he started to grimace from the pain, one of us helped him push the button that released another dose of morphine into his arm.

To be honest, I think we were all acting like idiots, like kids waiting for the clown to show up at the birthday party. But it couldn't be helped. We were all so relieved that he was going to be okay and it's brought out the stupids in all of us.

XXXXXXX

The next day we were on our way down to Jay's room after finally being kicked out the night before. I have to admit, we were being way too loud for a hospital, no matter how much Voight tried to shush us. I chuckled to myself for having the thought of Voight "shushing." A better phrase would have been, Voight was trying to shut us the hell up. We were at Jay's room but stopped by Dr. Charles from entering it as he exits.

The doctor was talking to us but my attention was drawn to what was going on inside the room. Jay was laying on his bed staring at the ceiling and looking somewhat annoyed as Will quietly talked to him. Occasionally he rolled his eyes at whatever Will was saying. Jay ignored whatever question Will just asked, instead he lifted a shaking hand to pick at one of the bandages on his face before Will gently grabbed it and brought it back down to the bed. My eyes shifted back to Dr. Charles when I hear 'PTSD.'

"Like I said, I'm not so concerned about his physical injuries, it the psychological injuries that concern me."

"But he was fine when we were here yesterday," I whined at him. God, I sounded like a five year old.

"Yesterday he probably was fine. Today he isn't. That's the nature of PTSD."

That shut me up. I looked into his room again. Will had one hand on Jay's arm, as the other brushed through Jay's hair. He was still ignoring Will, eyes closed, taking deep measured breaths, hands still trembling even though they are clasped so tightly into fists, his knuckles are white. Fuck. My heart clenched. You think he's okay because he was going to survive his gun shot wounds and you find out there is a whole set of other wounds that aren't visible and harder to recover from.

Dr. Charles was still talking, "He has a grade three concussion. That alone will be negatively affecting him for the next week to ten days, if not longer. I would suggest one of you at a time visit with him and just look for the cues that will tell you what he might need; quiet, a light conversation, watching a baseball game, etc. He might just want someone to sit with him so he's not alone but he's probably not going to tell you any of that, so you're going to have to be patient and try to figure it out."

He looked into the room, "Right now, Will is driving him nuts but every time he's tried to leave, Jay has called him back, indirectly or directly, and then lets Will continue to drive him nuts."

Dr. Charles continued, looking at me, "Maybe you could relieve Will so he can get something to eat…" He gave me a wink, "I believe you are an expert when it comes to annoying people."

Everyone laughed at the truth of that statement. I shrug and head into the room but turn back to the group, "Use what talents ya got, that's what my Pop's always says."

Joking aside, as soon as I stepped into the room I got a closer look at the pain and panic in Jay's eyes and hoped to God I could annoy the hell out of my friend and help him get through this.

XXXXXXX