hello here's ch10, let me know what you think in the reviews. i hope you enjoy xx - belle

I'm not much of a religious person but I find myself praying to whatever god is up there that Jay wakes up soon. Hours have passed since I've come and he's still unconscious.

I haven't released my grip on his hand. Doing nothing is driving me crazy and yet, I can't find it in me to leave Jay's side. I want to be here when he wakes up – to be the first face he sees and the first eyes he looks into.

As I sit there, just waiting, and silently praying, I'm wracking my brain simultaneously as to where the hell Will has been taken to and why. According to the rest of the unit, they only know what the CCTV footage showed them.

I grab my mobile and quickly dial the number.

Adam picks up. "Hailey, how's Jay?"

"Unconscious," I reply hurriedly. "Listen Adam, I need you to send me the CCTV footage. Maybe I can identify who attacked Jay and kidnapped Will. Or maybe I'll see something you guys missed."

"It's brutal. I'm not sure you should watch it," Adam protests.

"Adam, I can handle it. Just send it," I demand before hanging up.

A few minutes later my phone buzzes with a message. I open the video, steeling myself for what I'm about to see.

Will opens his apartment door, Jay following right behind him. They step into the apartment and are suddenly jumped. Will's knocked out with one blow to the head. Jay's still on his feet, having possible sensed an attack, and he's fighting but he's now facing off against three brawny men. The odds are not in his favor as he's repeatedly punched and kicked, until one of the men – who bears a snake tattoo on his hand – stabs Jay in the stomach.

Jay drops to one knee, one hand to his wound to staunch the bleeding, as he's punched again. All the punching and kicking explains the bruising on his ribs, back and stomach, I observe even as my stomach churns at the knowledge. The same tattooed man who stabbed Jay, now rams the hilt of the knife against the side of Jay's head.

Jay drops unconscious. The men kick him for a last time, very roughly.

Tears appear in my eyes but I will myself to keep them at bay as I watch the men callously drag Will's unconscious and limp body off.

Even though I feel sick, I force myself to watch it again and again before I message Adam.

Did you check the tattoo on the hand of the man who stabbed Jay?

Adam's reply comes a moment later. We're trying to narrow down the options now. Too many people have that tattoo.

Check out Marco D'Amelio, I type back.

It's a match.

I close my eyes as my worst fears come to life. This is NOT good.

It's definitely Booth behind this, I think angrily. And I'm going to make him pay for hurting Jay and kidnapping Will.

But even now, I can't understand what kidnapping Will accomplishes for Booth. How can he possibly think its okay to kidnap a cop's brother and viciously attack a cop?

I rest my forehead against my hand that's holding Jay's. I try taking deep breaths, just to keep the memories from bombarding my brain. But they come anyhow. And I'm powerless to suppress them.

There's a knock – or rather rapping – at my door. I glance at the clock. Why the hell would someone be knocking at my door at 11pm?

Placing my bottle of beer on the coffee table, I get up to answer the door. This cheap UC apartment, unfortunately, has no peep hole in the door so that I can take a glance as to who's outside.

I open the door and am taken aback. "Marco?"

"Boss sent me," Marco replies and I frown, suspicious.

"He would've texted me if -."

I'm cut off by Marco's tattooed hand punching my face. I go down, bleeding from a split lip. Disoriented and slightly in pain, I don't react fast enough when his hand clamps down on my throat, cutting off my air supply.

I try to grasp his wrist, but he just grips my throat harder. I'm struggling for air, my vision going blurry. Despite that, I'm well aware of the carnal gaze in his eyes. I know what he wants.

It's a weak attempt but I kick out at him, and by a stroke of luck, catch him right where it hurts the most. He grunts in pain, releasing his choke hold on me. I gasp for air, scrambling to my hands and knees.

His hand curls around my ankle, dragging me back. He presses a knee into my back, gripping my hair roughly. He yanks my head back up, causing me to cry out in pain before he slams my face back into the floor. Blood gushes from my nose now.

"Get off me, son of a bitch!" I grind out through clenched teeth. I strike him with my elbow, catching him in the jaw. It's a hard blow, because he ends up tumbling off me and cradling his jaw.

"YOU!" He lunges at me again, this time punching me in the stomach numerous times and causing me to double over in pain.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" he yells. Then he brings his mouth close to my ear. "But now before I get what I want."

I bolt upright, suddenly aware that I had fallen asleep on mine and Jay's intertwined hands. I raise my free hand to my face and realise it's damp from tears. I swallow back any more tears that threaten to spill and force myself to look at Jay. My eyes automatically land on the bruising across his ribs and chest. They look painful and really bad.

My blood immediately starts to boil when I think about Marco stabbing Jay. True, he didn't stab him enough to kill him, but it was enough to badly wound him. I silently promise to get Marco for this.

"You know, you look absolutely adorable when you're frowning like that."

My eyes snap to Jay and he's got that teasing smirk on his face.

"Jay," I breathe, tightening my grip on his hand as tears well up in my eyes.

That's all it takes for him to gently pull me to him, and despite the fact that I know he's injured, I can't find it in me to resist when he wraps his arms around me and holds me.

"I'm okay, Hailey," he whispers gently. "I'm right here."

And I allow myself to break down. Because, if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that, although my tears may continue to fall, my strength will continue to rise.