What puts you on that ledge

"Why the medical discharge, Mouse?" Platt's words brought him back there, in that horrible place that almost cost his and Jay's life. Suddenly, he wasn't at the district anymore, the walls had been transformed into the semi destroyed roads of Kandahar. The Humvee Jay and Mouse were in, was moving steadily to its destination with the two soldiers joking with their army buddies. It was late afternoon and the Rangers returned back to the base after a long day full of firefights.

"So she comes and spills all the water on my face."

The laughing of the five people could be heard to the truck behind them.

"Guys, guys, quiet, we're almost back."

"Oh come on Josh, join the conversation, man."

"Nah, I am good." He replied and locked his eyes on the road being careful not to drive them into an ambush.

"So Jay, you're cleaning the dorms tonight." Mouse said looking at his best friend who sat exactly to the opposite of him.

"Not cleaning after your mess." His disgusted face mode made them giggle once again.

Just as Mouse was about to hit his best friend gently in the shoulder, a loud band was heard next to them. He felt the vehicle shaking and then nothing. In a matter of seconds, their Humvee crashed with all six people inside it.

"Mouse?" His name was being called constantly, however he wasn't able to open his eyes. "Mouse."

"Jay?" His friend's forehead was full of blood but he was conscious. "Jay?"

"Come on buddy, open your eyes."

Smoke. Dead bodies, some of them his buddies, fire. That's what he was met with when he adjusted to his surroundings. Jay was next to him on the ground holding his side.

"Jay?" He called receiving a groan in response. He immediately ran to him, kneeling down. "Hey man, are you okay?"

"I am don't worry about me." Blood. Not that one on his face, a new source of blood.

He pressed his hands against the wound carefully so he wouldn't hurt him when he noticed that Jay's eyes started closing. "No no no stay with me, don't go to sleep man… Help is coming, stay with me…"

He did not remember much of that moment, just him begging Halstead to stay alive. His vision was too blurry to distinguish his location so he yelled. But he didn't. His voice was too weak to be heard. He was laying on something soft, not as comfortable as his bed but relaxing enough. Everything was calm except the constant beeping echoing in his ears and some faded voices around. However, his body felt so sore and he was in pain. Attempting to open his eyes, Mouse failed at first, but then a female voice brought him back to reality.

"Doc, he's waking up."

The figure of a dark haired man around 40s was appeared in his view in an instant. "Greg, can you hear me?"

He nodded unable to speak, something was placed on his face, annoying him.

"No, no you have to keep this on, it provides you oxygen, it is essential for your breathing."

Something cold touched his skin, making him flinch.

"It's alright Greg, I am just checking your lungs and heartbeat."

"Jay." He whispered. "Jay." He turned his head scanning the area, looking for his buddy but he couldn't find him anywhere.

"Any news on Halstead?" The doctor asked again.

"The same, still critical."

"Jay." Mouse spoke one more time.

"Your friend is alive, you're gonna see him soon." A woman appeared suddenly next to him, using reassuring words.

Deep down inside him, he was relieved that Jay was still alive even though he wasn't able to express his feelings yet. Being exhausted, he decided to close his eyes and sink into deep sleep.

The moment he woke up again, everything was quieter than before. The voice had died down; the constant footsteps of the medical team had stopped. Only the beeping noise was still heard in the room. This time the oxygen mask had been removed from his face, creating a feeling of comfort to his body. Mouse stared at the tent ceiling and to his surroundings trying to figure out where he was. He knew he was in the field hospital although that didn't seem like a hospital at all. No walls, no solid doors, just medical equipment, beds and doctors walking around.

"Glad to see you fully awake, Greg." His doctor was by his side in an instant.

"Where is Jay?"

The man lowered his face avoiding eye contact. For two minutes, he didn't say a word, just observed his patient as he turned his head to see the injured soldier gasping at the sight of his best friend in the cot being surrounded by machines and struggling to survive. Mouse realized that the continuing sound was coming from Jay's monitor. A tear streamed down the soldier's face as he looked back at the man above him.

"When they brought you in, all soldiers of your Humvee were at a terrible state. Only you and Halstead managed to pull through this far."

Another shocking announcement. Mouse could not believe that all his friends were gone.

"Halstead suffered multiple injuries. Five broken ribs, one of them caused pneumothorax, thus we had to insert a chest tube, a broken damaged ankle, unfortunately we don't have the right tools to fix it in the base. There is something else…" Taking a deep breath, the man continued. "A piece of the Humvee was lodged in his spleen so we had to remove it. He has a long road ahead when he wakes up… If he wakes up."

By the time the small monologue ended, Mouse's eyes were already bright red from crying. "How long are we here?" He asked.

"Five days. You will be transferred to a European hospital tomorrow."

"What about me?" The soldier was too preoccupied to check on his best friend that he realized he had no clue of his own condition. His body still felt sore and his left arm heavy. He also suffered a pounding headache and pain down his toes.

"Concussion grade 2, fractures in three out of your five toes, your elbow is broken and three cracked ribs. You were lucky enough."

He didn't react to that. Instead his eyes locked at Jay again. The tube in his throat, the wires all over his chest and arms, was just too much for him.

"Medically speaking, it's touch and go, but I believe he is going to survive, Greg. He is a strong soldier." The doctor assured him.

Mouse sighed and closed his eyes reopening them again. "Save him doc, please. Please."

The two of them had met during the flight to Afghanistan, sitting next to each other, starting a conversation about Chicago and girls realizing they had much more in common than they first believed.

The next morning the duo departed being escorted by two doctors. With Jay crashing every now and then, Mouse was desperate for this transfer so the people in the hospital could save his friend. One hour after he woke up, he was placed on a stretcher with the help of three men and was carried away. Jay was still connected to the vent and he was unconscious, therefore he didn't have a clue of what'd been going on the whole time.

"BP's still low, 90/50 mmHg and his pulse is 120. Tachycardia. Call them and tell them to prepare the OR." Two medics were above him, never leaving his side during the trip.

All Mouse wanted was to comfort his buddy, to hug him.

"Sir, you should get some sleep." One of the nurses who was responsible for checking his vitals, advised him.

"I'm good." He protested looking at Jay.

"He is not waking up soon, the sedatives have completely knocked him out."

The man took a deep breath, feeling the cannula under his nose. "Stay strong man, you will be okay."

Their flight was smooth. Fortunately, there weren't any air gaps which meant no malfunctions. As soon as they landed, both of them were loaded inside two ambulances and got carried away. Mouse had lost truck of time since they put him in surgery in order to fix toes as his whole world was enveloped into darkness from the anesthesia.

"Mr. Gerwitz, are you with me?" A female voice called his name moving a flashlight in front of him eyes.

His eyelids felt heavy, however he couldn't keep them closed as the memories of the previous days immediately came to his mind.

"There you are."

A woman around 30s was now standing to his bedside, holding some papers in her right hand, wearing a white nursing suit. Mouse smiled at her and sat up a little observing his surroundings. He was in a room now, much different than the hospital back in the base. This one contained white walls and two windows at the right side of the bed.

"Where am I?" He inquired taking a look at the view out of the window.

"France."

That explained the woman's funny weird accent.

"Jay… Where's is Jay?"

"Your friend is currently in the ICU."

"He is gonna make it, right?"

There wasn't any answer to this question as none of the medical stuff was not sure if the young Halstead would survive.

"Can I see him, please?" He made a puppy face trying to convince her.

"I suggest that you rest for now. Both of you have a long road ahead." She exited the room smiling sympathetically.

Being incapable of walking, Greg stayed bedridden for more than three weeks. Weeks that passed so slowly, weeks with ups and downs in Jay's condition.

"Are you ready Mr. Gerwitz?" Sonia, Mouse's nurse asked.

"More than ever, I missed my buddy."

By the time they exited the room, his hands were shaking and his head was spinning due to the stress. The road to the ICU seemed so long to the wounded soldier. He kept counting the seconds until they reached the door that separated the two friends.

"Ready?" She whispered to his ear as she leaned to his side.

He nodded.

Much to his surprise, Jay was lying awake, not talking of course due to the vent still connected to him but his eyes were opened wandering around the room. Mouse got up from his wheelchair and marched very slowly with the help of Sonia, towards a chair by Jay's side. "Hey man." He made an attempt to rub his hand, however Jay pulled it away and brought it closer to himself. "It's me, Mouse."

Hearing the nickname, the nurse giggled a little as she exited the room, waiting outside, keeping an eye on the two injured men.

Jay's eyes locked in Greg's.

"You know who I am right? Mouse, your best friend."

Slowly approaching his hand, he squeezed Greg's two times.

"There you are." Mouse smiled as he noticed a tear running down his friend's eyes. "Don't you cry; I am still here. We are both here, alive. Injured but alive. Guess what… We are going home to Chicago, how do you like that?"

Jay didn't react to the news, creating a weird feeling in his friend's stomach. Chicago was their home, the paradise in their hell. Mouse was absolutely sure that the man wanted to speak, to say something, to agree or to protest.

"We'll be staying at my house for a while, until you find a new place. Your brother, Will, might be there too."

In the hearing of his brother's name, the injured boy's eyes widened and he flinched a little, taking his hand away again.

"Just relax alright? We have plenty of time till we return, you have to recover first."

Jay's heart rate increased a little, the change immediately appearing on the monitor. Greg had no idea what had happened between the two brothers but he figured it was bad. The other man stared at his friend scanning him from the head to the toes. There were still some scratches on his face and arms and a huge bandage was visible through the gown. "I have broken toes too." He joked.

For some minutes, silence filled the room.

"Gentlemen." A voice was suddenly heard in their ears as a doctor appeared in their view, holding a couple of papers in his arms. "Excuse-moi monsieur Gerwitz, you have to return to your room, monsieur Halstead needs rest."

Jay shook his head trying to move his body a little in order to protest.

"Mr, your body needs relaxing. You must sleep. One of our nurses will insert a sedative in your IV."

"It's alright, Jay, they won't hurt you."

Mouse assured him by placing a hand on his shoulder. With that he was disappeared of the ICU department.

France seemed so nice on the outside. That's what Greg thought as he walked through the streets of Paris, doing some shopping for him and his best friend. Having been discharged a few days before after making a full recovery, he decided to spend some time on his own, marching across the city, tasting food in fancy restaurants, meeting people, however, at the end of his adventures, he always went back to Jay who still had a long road ahead.

"Oh man, French girls are so hot." He exclaimed as he inserted the room.

"I haven't seen them."

"Oh you will, don't worry."

"Yeah… Every girl in Paris is dying to date a man who can't even walk by himself."

"Oh man, the doctor said that's temporary. You will, eventually."

Jay sighed. He sat up a little, ready to reply when the screen of his phone flashed revealing a familiar name which made him upset.

"Who is it?"

He didn't answer, just picked it up.

"What do you want Will?"

"Hello to you too brother."

"Hi. What do you want?"

"They informed me that they are transferring you to Chicago in two weeks. Mom and dad will be there for you."

"Last time I checked mom was dying, Will. Also I don't need dad."

"Look man, I contact your doctor every day and I know exactly your condition. You definitely need help."

"Mouse is here."

"Constant assistance."

"Why don't you come down in here? Maybe you're too busy to go out and have fun with girls."

"You know I am in college and I cannot leave due to my hospital practice."

"Right, right… You know that mom is dying alone…"

"You left first."

"I won't discuss that with you." He screamed at the top of his lungs and hung up the phone, throwing it on the night table next to him." Shaking his head, he laid back down, covering his face. "Will doesn't care about me, Mouse." He exclaimed with a broken voice.

"He's just out of mind."

"It's not that." He took a deep breath. "Will was always like this. The older son, the good son, the one who preferred to go to college and become a doctor, not the rebel who enlisted."

"Right, the rebel who sacrificed his life for his country, the one that saved countless lives mine included."

Jay smiled. "You know I was thinking… I want to join the police academy when we return."

"You love to put yourself at risk." The younger man laughed when suddenly his name was being constantly called snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, it's okay." He heard Platt saying while looking at him intensively. Smiling sympathetically, she handed him the papers in order to get a signature from him. This was the beginning of a new life for the former soldier.

Another chapter, another scene I would love to see. We never saw the background of Jay and Mouse in the army and that's really sad. Anyway, I hope you like it. Thank you for all the follows, likes and reviews. I am going to be back as soon as my injury allows me to write. Love ya

~The Fourth Bionic~