Turn the light off

"Hey, you're okay?" Antonio asked his younger colleague.

As soon as, he inserted the house running after Muñoz, he noticed he's best friend struggling to get up from the floor, blood all over his face and mouth. After confirming the escape of the offender, Antonio approached Jay who was leaning on the kitchen table of the house where the fight had previously taken place. His expression seemed painful and angry, for sure he was pissed that he could not win this.

"Come on, there's an ambulance waiting outside." He grabbed Jay's arm gently but the latter pulled it back.

"I'm fine Tony…" He insisted trying to walk passed the older man stumbling a little.

"Right I can see that."

"No really, It's just a little blood. I've been in worse conditions than this one." Jay walked a little further towards the door holding his abdomen and supporting himself to the chairs or the wall.

The other man sight as he followed him outside to the spot where the other members of intelligence were currently at.

"Halstead are you okay?" Voight asked as he noticed the young detectives condition.

His face was a little pale and he could see that Jay was shaking a little.

"Positive."

"There's an ambulance over there, maybe you should go."

Taking a peek at the vehicle, he saw Kim and Adam being treated by Dawson and Shay. They didn't look that bad in order to get hospitalized but what if he had too. He was too involved in this case that nothing would stop him from solving it.

"I said I'm fine!" he yelled marching a few steps further to his own car, getting in he finally saw his face on the mirror for the first time since the incident. Grabbing a tissue from the back he wiped the blood of it and removed the vest observing his ribs which hurt like hell at the moment. There was a huge bruise all over his chest.

"That looks nasty." A voice was heard out of the blue, scaring him a little. "Maybe you should see a doctor." The same voice suggested.

"For the last time I'm okay Al!"

"Okay, all right." Alvin raised his hand in surrender. "We have an address for the money."

Jay nodded getting out of the car following Olinsky back to Voight's sight.

"Can I have a word with you Halstead?"

This was not going to have a nice conclusion. Voight's conversations never ended as expected, however, he had no choice but to follow his sergeant to the backyard of the house.

"Go home and get some rest." Hank announced looking at him deep inside the eyes.

"Sergeant, there's no need alright. We are making a big deal over nothing.

"Antonio told me about your condition. Look, if you don't want medical attention that's fine by me but I don't want to get a call tonight that you ended up in a hospital room."

Jay rolled his eyes and walked away interrupting the discussion between them.

"As soon as Burgess and Ruzek are clear, we're leaving." He reminded.

After the finding of the money and a long visit to his ex-girlfriend's house, he drove back home. He parked the car on the parking lot right outside the complex and excited it leaning on the door for a few minutes trying to regain his balance.

"You okay detective?" Susanne a seventy-year-old woman who lived next to him inquired as she walked towards Jay. "What happened to your face?"

"Something at work, don't worry, I will be alright." He replied taking two steps slowly.

"Do you need help?"

"Nah, I can make it upstairs thanks." The painful look on his face, the speech greeted teeth, his movements didn't convince the woman much.

"Don't be a stubborn Jay, let me help you."

She crossed her right arm around his waist taking half of the weight on her shoulders. Literally. By the time they reached Jay's apartment, both were exhausted, the lady from carrying him and the latter from his injuries.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" She asked scanning him from the top to the bottom.

The truth is that leaving him alone didn't seem such a good idea at the moment however her two grandchildren had visited her from Atlanta and she had to take care of them. Jay nodded grinning as he reached for his keys inside his pocket.

Everything seemed blurry for a while, the walls started spinning around, LeBron James on TV was moving way too fast. As his vision was cleared a little the detective realized that his injury was more severe than he expected. An hour later his ribcage hurt more than before leaving him no option than to call his brother in New York. He sat on the couch slowly pulling his phone out of the pocket of his jeans scrolling through his contacts until he spotted the name Will Halstead.

"Hello." A male voice thinner than his own was echoed in the room.

"Hey man! It's me." Talking made his chest burn even more.

"Jay, how are you doing?"

"Good, I'm fine… I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure go ahead!" Will's tone changed from cheerful to worried.

"Let's say that someone is pretty badly hurt on his ribs and face. What advice would you have given?"

"I don't know go to a hospital maybe?"

"Except that."

"Are you injured man?"

"No, not me." He replied groaning as he made abrupt move on the couch.

"Yeah sure, just go to the hospital."

"No way, I'm probably take some painkillers."

"You stubborn… Are you bruised?"

"A little…"

"Sent me a picture."

"Really, It's not a big deal, just tell me what to do."

"Sent me a picture now!" The demanding cry scared him. In general, Will was a kind and supportive older brother but sometimes he could act like a strict father.

"Alright man." He mocked, turning on the camera taking a photo and sending it to Will.

"You should definitely pay a visit to the ER, you must have broken some ribs, it's dangerous. One of it could cause serious damage to your lung and you could die."

Jay rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I think you exaggerating, I'll get some sleep and I will be fine."

"Take care and go to the hospital. Don't make book the first flight of the day so I can drive you there by myself."

The detective hung up without answering and threw the phone on the table in front of him. He touched the bruises flinching a little. The whole situation with Muñoz made him feel irritated, he couldn't believe he wasn't able to stop him especially after defeated some enemies in Afghanistan in hand to hand combats. Jay grabbed the TV remote and turned on the device to the news channel. A report about Muñoz. "Shit." He cursed sitting up violently, the pain causing him to fall backwards. "Will is probably right." He mumbled to himself debating if he should pay a visit to ER or not. "Nah, I'm good." Standing up from the furniture he approached the fridge and grabbed a beer, feeling nauseous now. He's pounding head wouldn't allow him to focus his vision in one spot instead the earth seemed to be moving underneath his feet.

"Galileo was right the earth is spinning." Supporting himself to the wall for a while and taking deep breaths he made an attempt to move further however his knees buckled and he fell on the floor shaking, the bottle breaking scratching his right arm.

"You're over reacting Dawson." Al insisted as he walked towards the elevator being followed by Hank and Antonio. The latter suggested that they should check up on their team member before call it off for the night, just in case.

"Halstead, took an awful beating back at scene. What if it was more serious than we originally thought?"

"I don't think so; he would have called us."

The three men arrived outside Jay's apartment and knocked the door receiving no answer.

"Maybe he isn't inside."

"His car is on the parking lot." Antonio announced banging the door once again. "Halstead open up, It's us."

"He's probably sleeping." Voight tried to sound reasonable despite the fact that he was getting more and more anxious.

"This wasn't like Jay at all."

"That's it I'm breaking the door."

A loud sound was heard in the complex disturbing some of the neighbors who immediately backed down as Voight showed them his badge. The three detectives gasped at the sight of their friend on the floor. His eyes were closed. The younger of them kneeled down by Jay's side placing two fingers on his neck checking for a pulse.

"I detect a rapid pulse and shallow breaths."

"The ambo is on its way." Voight exclaimed worry written all over his face.

It felt like hours before Gabriella and Lesley burst into the room, holding a board and a medical bag. "What happened?" Dawson asked as she pulled her stethoscope out of the bag and placed it carefully on Jay's chest. "Respiratory distress. A couple We need to move him quickly." She announced inserting an oropharyngeal airway in order to help him breathe properly. «Come on let's go, let's go."

The waiting room of Chicago Med was empty at this hour. Most people had gone home after spending a long day in there. Only six people were currently present. The three detectives and three women who seemed anxious too.

"I swear I am going to kill him when he wakes up." Antonio mumbled pacing back and forth with his hand on his head.

The sight of his friend being intubated scared him to death, he'd never seen Halstead so vulnerable even when he was shot, right before he earned his spot in Intelligence.

"Just keep calm, alright?" Olinsky tried to sound comforting, however he failed cause Antonio gave a small punch on the wall before sitting down on a chair next to his boss.

But Hank didn't look good either. Despite all the doubts he had for the kid, deep inside, he cared. The older man took two sips of his coffee and left the carton cup on the small table next to him, eyeing Al. "I should have taken him to the hospital myself when he refused to get medical attention."

"The kid would let you do that."

"He has potential to be a great cop, he can't just leave like this."

"He won't die, don't worry."

Before Voight had the chance to reply a familiar face dressed in blue scrubs was appeared in their view.

"Alec, is he okay?"

The man nodded. "Despite suffering pneumothorax due to some broken ribs, every other injury on his body is superficial. We operated him and inserted a chest tube. He is currently in the ICU for close monitoring but he should be alright in a couple of days."

A sigh of relief escaped from Antonio's mouth as he walked towards them. "Can we see him?"

"Of course. Room 375. Just don't stress him out okay? He needs peace and quiet."

Antonio hated hospitals. Especially when someone of his family was in one. That's how he felt Jay, as a family member, therefore he was pissed with the young detective's attitude when he inserted it into the room. It was anything but peaceful. Jay was talking to the phone with someone, yelling, having pulled off the oxygen mask that was supposed to provide him the oxygen he needed.

"I told you it was nothing. Seriously, I am perfectly fine, I don't even know why they're still keeping me here."

"Are you done?" Antonio asked irritated.

He nodded placing the phone on the night table next to him, lowering his head as he faced the three men standing in front of him.

"You should have your mask on," Al suggested walking towards him.

"I don't need it."

"Of course you need it, idiot. Do you see this tube coming out of your chest? It's cause you almost died, motherf… So, stop being an a*s and put your mask on." Antonio screamed at the top of his lungs kicking the chair next to the bed.

Jay flinched, coughing a little. "Sorry." Whispering, he grabbed the mask and crossed it over his face, breathing heavily in it.

"Can you leave us alone?"

"Okay, but take it easy, remember what Alec told us." Voight warned him before marching out.

He avoided looking at the man leaning to the recliner. Deep inside, he knew it was his fault that he ended up at Chicago Med and was yelled by both his brother and best friend.

"I just didn't think it was that important to get medical attention. I've been through worse stuff back in Afghanistan." His voice came out hoarse from inside the mask.

"Look, man, I brought you into the Unit to see you rise as a cop, not attend your funeral because of your stupidity."

He apologized one more time, his expression resembling to one of those young kids who get detention by their parents.

"You remind me of Diego now…"

Both of them laughed.

"Next time don't get into trouble. I already have to kids to care of, I don't need another one."

"I am old enough to take care of myself."

"Sure… Go to sleep, Halstead, I will be here all night."

"But.."

"You're my buddy okay? Now shut up and relax."

"Fine…Dad…" He laughed.

Hello guys. Here is another one shot, I hope you like it. Stay safe!

~The Fourth Bionic~