Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination.


"Language." Shawn chuckled only to receive a death stare from Adam.

"We gotta go, now." Shawn didn't argue with his dad at the sound of his tone. Whatever he had received by phone sounded bad.

"Right behind you." Shawn hastily locked the door and they were on their way. Shawn was out of the car before it was even put it park and Adam turned around and stepped on it, putting the blue lights and sirens on. He made it to the scene in a record time. Firehouse 51 was in the thick of it and there were back-up ambos on the scene

"What the hell happened?" He found Shay and Gabby first. "Where is she?" He pushed the panic down.

"Matt's over there and they're taking care of her."

"Thanks Les." He pushed through all the chaos and found Matt and Kelly working on her with the rest of Squad. "What the hell happened?" Adam and Matt locked eyes and he took a step back, letting them take care of her. She was crushed under a car, her eyes blinking rapidly as the boys worked on getting her out without making any more damage. "Hold on baby, they're almost done." He felt powerless to stop what was going on and could only hope that she would be ok. Once they managed to remove her, she was put on a backboard and placed on a stretcher.

"Are you her husband?"

"Yeah, detective Ruzek." He raised his shirt to show the badge on his belt. "She going to be ok?"

"We'll know more once we get her to Med. You coming with us sir?"

"I'll be your escort." He ran back to his car and made it to the ambo in time for them to be leaving. The blue lights were on and they moved through the streets of Chicago faster than it had only been the ambo sirens wailing. The drive was short and Adam put his CPD tag on his dash before he met up with the two paramedics, taking Haley's hand in his. "You're going to be ok baby." He only heard mumbling from under the oxygen mask and as soon as they were inside, they were met by Dr Halstead and Dr Rhodes.

"What happened?"

"Late thirties, got crushed under a car while doing a rescue on the highway." Both doctors knew her real age but didn't correct the paramedics, putting their efforts in saving Haley.

"Alright I want a chest X-ray and bloodwork. Any chance she could be pregnant?"

"Uh no."

"I'm just asking Adam." Rhodes lips formed into a smile, knowing both their kids were grown men. They didn't object to have Adam stay in the trauma room knowing he would actually let them work.

"Three broken ribs, it looks like it might have punctured a lung." Will looked at the images.

"We gotta prep her for the OR, Adam?" Connor looked at him for confirmation.

"Yeah, do what you have to do. I'll go make some phone calls." They rushed her upstairs as he ran his hand over his face. Seeing her being wheeled out of the room wasn't easier on him than the very first time it had happened but now he had the boys to think about and he knew he had to get them both here. He knew that Evan was on ride along today so he rang him first. "Hey, it's dad." Dad, what's wrong? "I need you to go pick up your brother at Coyne U, I'll get him to meet you up front." What's he doing there? "I'll explain later son, but you have to go pick him up and come to Med, your mom's in the OR." Dad, is mom ok? Adam could hear the quiver in his son's voice. "She'll be fine, just get here." Yeah, on my way.

Adam called Shawn and had to briefly talk him off the ledge before he heard him get a move on. Then he called Platt so she could tell the rest of the unit. Mrs. Goodwin found Adam and took him to the second floor to the OR waiting room.

"She's in the best hands possible Adam, she'll be ok." She patted his arm.

"Thanks Sharon." He put his hand over hers, taking a deep breath.

The boys were the first to arrive and Adam took the two of them in his arms. They had been fortunate over the last thirteen years that nothing too major had happened to the two of them on the job so this trip to the OR had both his sons on edge. "Don't worry, your mom is tough, she'll be fine." He patted their shoulders, the two of them sitting on a chair.

"Hey, any news?" Matt and Kelly finally made it.

"Three broken ribs and a punctured lung. Connor and Will are working on her to fix the bleed."

"I took the house out of rotation, if you need anything, just say it."

"Thanks Matt. I just wish I knew what to tell these two, this has never happened to them before."

"I'll get Gabby to ask Charlotte to swing by with some food, she's off today."

"Thanks." The rest of 51 came trickling in and took up the whole OR waiting room.

Kelly found Adam pacing in the corridor adjacent to the OR doors. He knew how hard this was for the man and no matter how often it happened, it was never easier.

"Hey, are you ok Adam?"

"Scared shitless. I can't help it, even after all these years."

"You wouldn't be normal if you weren't. We never know what can happen in there."

"What the hell happened out there? She promised no more recklessness last night."

"It was a tricky rescue. The car was turned on its side and the driver was pinned. We were working on stabilizing it when it started wobbling back. Truck's candidate was in there with Cruz and I guess Haley saw something and she pushed him out of the way just in time before the car came back down. She saved his life."

"Yeah but at what cost?" He rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose just before he heard the OR doors open. "So, what's the news?" The two boys were now at his side.

"She did great in there. It was a simple fix and there shouldn't be any lasting damage."

"When can we see her?" Evan was the first to ask, Shawn rooted in his spot.

"They are going to get her settled and you'll be good to go see her."

"How long will she stay sedated?" Shawn finally dared to ask, his heart beating a mile a minute.

"It could be a couple hours tops, try not to worry." Will clapped his shoulder "We'll come check on her later tonight so we can talk about recovery time."

"That should be a fun conversation." Adam laughed at Matt's comment as he stood right behind them.

"Tell me about it."

"Make them page me if you need anything." Connor took the extended hand Adam offered and shook it.

"Thanks for everything."

"We're all family here." The doctors left them and Matt addressed the house.

"Come on 51, back to the house. We can come by at the end of shift. Otis, you're taking the reins until Haley is back on her feet."

"Sure thing Chief." Otis had made lieutenant a few years back but was in no hurry to leave 51 so he took the spot when it was required of him.

"Call us if you need anything." Severide told Adam.

"Thanks for being here everyone, I know Haley will appreciate it." Everyone filed out and a nurse came out to tell them what room Haley had been settled in. The followed her and found Haley still sedated, an IV bag hanging next to her bed.

"Does that feeling ever go away dad?" Evan removed his bullet proof vest and placed it on the floor next to the door.

"The feeling to have been stabbed through the heart? No, it doesn't." The boys pulled a chair next to her bed and Adam sat on it, taking her hand in his.

"What happened?" Shawn asked, looking his dad in the eyes.

"She was pinned under a car after she pushed their candidate out of the way. It's just bad timing."

"Was she always reckless like that dad?" The boys had heard of some stories over the years of saves that had gone sideways.

"This isn't being reckless! This is being the leader that she is, putting her crew ahead of herself. She'll bounce back trust me." Adam chuckled.

"Not funny dad." Evan's patience was thin right now. "I'm going to head back to the district and change out before I come back. Want me to grab something for mom at home?"

"I'll get aunt Gabby to stop by, don't sweat it. Go before Platt throws you through the grinder." Platt hadn't changed one bit over the years and the Ruzek name wasn't going to be of any help to him.

"Call me if she wakes up."

"Count on It and be careful." Adam said, Evan patting Shawn's shoulder on the way out and grabbed a ride back to the district with Matt who was still there.

"Can I ask you something uncle Matt?" Evan was still looking out the window.

"Sure kid, what's up?"

"Why does mom always do this? Put herself on the line like that?"

"It's who she's always been. Always having something to prove and always having everyone's back. You're just like her you know."

"So everyone keeps telling me." He grumbled.

"When you were little and your mom had Shawn, you were always going out of your way to protect him, keep him from the bumps and bruises. And if I recall correctly, you have the scars to prove it." Matt could see the anguish rolling off him. "You shouldn't worry so much, your mom is tough. She's beat pretty much everything that's been thrown her way, she's got this."

The rest of the ride was quiet and Evan thanked Matt before he bounced back into the district.

"Sorry about this Sarge." He couldn't really read Platt's mood at the moment.

"How's your mom doing?" She leaned over the desk to look at him. The woman refused to retire but when in need, she had everyone's back.

"Surgery went well but she's still sedated. Three broken ribs and a punctured lung."

"Go change and get out of here, we'll reschedule that ride-along. Tell your old man to hang in there, that woman isn't going anywhere."

"Thanks Sarge." He returned his radio and jogged towards the locker room, changing in a flash and running back out to his car. When he returned, he had a reason to smile, Haley having regained consciousness. "Hey ma, glad you're awake." He was trying not to squeeze her, his heart finally settling down now that she was awake.

"Sorry I scared you." She kissed his cheek and released him.

"I hate it when you're hurt." He mumbled.

"Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily?" She croaked followed by a coughing fit. Adam gave her the glass of water and she took small sips. "What's the recovery time?" She asked just in time for Dr Rhodes to enter the room with her chart.

"Glad to see you vertical Hales." They smiled at each other. "And to answer your question, it's longer than what you want to hear." He knew very well what kind of patient she was.

"How long?"

"Six to eight weeks."