When Jay walked through the crowded airport his senses were in overdrive. As he pushed his way through the crowd the screams of laughter of a group of children made him jump, the loud bang of a suitcase falling off the trolley sent his heart raising. He knew that as soon as he stepped foot of that plan he was going to be triggered by the hectic flow of the airport and there was one person he knew was going to have his back. He looked beside him and wasn't surprised to see that he had been separated from his friend, frantically he searched the faces before he heard his voice.
"There you are Jay," Mouse crutched over to him with his bag thrown across his back.
"Hey, right here," Jay said sheepishly. He felt silly being so afraid of not having Mouse right by him, but this was the one person who had been through and that understood everything that he was gone through.
"Let's get out of here." Mouse suggested. Grateful, Jay followed Mouse out of the airport and into the Chicago heat. Being back was bittersweet, he was glad to be there but knowing that the rest of his team wouldn't be there with him hurt. He was haunted by the memories of what happened and every night in the hospital as him and Mouse recovered, he would have terrible night terrors. He couldn't begin to think of the last time he had actually had more than two hours of sleep in a night. "You coming," Mouse asked as he swung the cab door open.
"Yeah, let go." So much had changed since he left the city five years prior, sure his mother and brother would update him on change, but he hadn't seen it himself. His mother had called him when she could the first two years, he clung to her voice as he began to fight and see such awful things. Then when he became a ranger his contact was limited but she wrote and so had Will until he left for college. Jay had always been close to Will but over the years he heard less and less from his little brother and he knew it was because everything he saw in the media only made him worry more.
"You cannot be serious," Mouse pointed to an old rundown restaurant that somehow, despite its looks had an open sign in the window. "Jake's is still open?"
"You act like we have been gone for 18 years," Jay teased.
"When we left that place was gonna be torn down."
"Must have saved it, its like a landmark." Mouse was from Chicago too just not from one solitary spot. His parents had been a match made in hell and after the third time CPS was called for domestic violence and child neglect, four-year-old Greg was launched into the foster care system. All his life he was bounced from place to place eventually finding a loving home before tragedy struck after three years in the home and he was place back in until the age of 18 when he set out, joined the army and never looked back. Mouse had only confided in Jay during their time together, they met at training together, a bitter rivalry that soon blossomed into a friendship and after their team was killed in action and they were the only two survivors it became a brotherly relationship.
Greg was lucky to be alive, most of it due to Jay's quick thinking, pulling him from the Humvee along with four other members and single handedly keeping watch over them until help arrived. Greg didn't remember much but what he did remember was Jay begging for the other four to stay awake, stay with him. Waking up in the hospital ten days later he was informed about the loss and then he was told that Jay had gone into an almost catatonic state after losing the others. It took eight days before he could get up and see will after a traumatic brain injury left him trying to regain his old self but when Jay saw him tears were cried, and Greg made a promise to stick with him.
"I can't believe we never ran into each other when I was in canaryville."
"You were there for a week," Jay rolled his eyes.
"A long ass week, the Hendershots were the worst, but I think we could have been friends then."
"We hated each other when we met, it took us a month to even be civil towards each other."
"That was because we were competitive, in school neither one of us were straight A kids I think we would have been great friends."
"Yeah maybe, but you would have been that tech geek."
"Right, and you the jock, ehh I guess I could be wrong." Jay laughed, it had been a while since he had but Mouse was a good friend and definitely the class clown. It was always his demeanor to keep the spirits up of everyone else, but he could tell that behind it all he was in just as much pain emotionally and even more physically.
"Did you take the meds for your leg," Jay asked.
"No mother, they are in my bag, I can take them when we get to your house."
"Right, I will be sure to check then too." Mouse rolled his eyes and looked out to check out the place that Jay had described.
"Wow, my brother wasn't kidding, half these places are new."
"Someone is trying to turn Coal town into a juice bar."
"But not everyone is conforming," Jay pointed to a bar called "The Pit" that sat beside a closed down secondhand store and a smoothie place. "That was my father's favorite place." Jay had gotten updates from his mother about what was going on with Pat but never once had his father reached out to him.
"Great, so drinks on your dad's tab then." Jay let out a weak laugh as he watched each passing building, most of them held a memory good or bad. He was considerably nervous to see his parents and especially Will. He worried that everything was different now, that maybe because Will was this up and coming straight A medical student that he wouldn't have anything to talk about. They reached the run down house he called home and nothing had changed. The same chipped paint and a slightly skewed shutter from when Jay threw a football to Will and missed.
"Hey keep the change," He heard Mouse call to the driver as he pulled the bags from the trunk. "So this is the famous Halstead household, not what I imagined."
"Is that a good or bad thing," Jay grunted as he threw both bags over his shoulders.
"Nah, it's nice I like it." They walked up the concrete sidewalk and Jay froze; the front door was open, airing out the over heated house that baked in the Chicago heat; this told him that his mother was home. He had told her little to no details of his return, not even the exact return date so as he walked up and she had spotted him through the kitchen window she was in shock. Before they could even reach for the screen door she come bolting out, throwing her arms around him.
"My Baby is home," She cried as she held him tight. He didn't even flinch from the pain of his injury he was just grateful that he could have this moment. She sobbed into his shoulder clinging on with no intention of letting go.
"I'm home Mom." He felt tears well up in his eyes, hell he could even see Mouse get a little emotional at the reunion. It was something that Jay had wanted for a long time but the sweet moment was ruined when his father came out. He was clearly unimpressed by the return of his eldest son, he wore the same look of disappointment that Jay had seen his whole life. He released his mother and stepped back staring down the man who had aged significantly since the last time he had seen him.
"Pat; Jay is home," She spoke trying to transfer her enthusiasm to him.
"I have eyes, I can see he's home Jenny," Pat grumbled. Jay felt his mother interlock her fingers with his and wrap her other arm around his.
"Good to see you too," Jay said sarcastically.
"They kick you and your misfit friend out or something?" Jay's eyes narrowed into a glare as he stared his father down.
"Pat," Jenny hissed, "You are being rude!" She walked over to Mouse who stood awkwardly a few feet away. "Hello, I'm Jenny Halstead, Jay told us all about you in his letters." Mouse extended his hand out to give a welcome handshake but she instead wrapped him in a tight hug, "Thank you for bringing him home."
"It was the other way around," Mouse assured her.
"You two must be exhausted and starving, come inside so I can whip something up for you." Jenny pulled Jay up the stairs and angrily pushed passed her husband who was still in a staring match with his son. It was broken once they walked into the house that had changed only slightly by the new pictures of Will away at college. Jenny sat them at the kitchen table and began rummaging through the fridge.
"Ma, where is Will?"
"What do you mean," She asked as she threw a few things on the counter.
"I mean wasn't he coming home this summer?"
"No, he decided to stay and take a couple of summer courses." Jay was a little disappointed that he missed out on that reunion. "You could always video chat him, he showed me how to do it before he left." She pointed to the computer which was new to him, lucky for him he had Mouse who was tech savvy. "Go lunch is going to be a little bit." Jay and Mouse walked over to the living room where the giant monitor was set and quickly and easily Mouse was able to dial the number.
"I'm gonna go catch up with your mom, see all the bad things you told her about me and make them right."
"Thanks," Jay smiled. He pressed clicked the mouse and waited as it "rang".
"Hey mom, can I call you back," His voice showed up before the video connected. It must have taken his side a minute too because his face dropped when he saw his brother sitting in front of him.
"Jay!"
"Hey Bud, how are you?"
"I'm fine, I didn't know you were home!"
"I told mom I was coming back; I just didn't say when."
"I wish I was there," Will held the disappointment in his voice, "How long are you home for?" Jay was silent for a moment; he hadn't told his brother that he had been injured and he made his mother promise not to tell either.
"indefinitely, I uh… I got discharged so I'm back in Chicago."
"Are you alright?"
"Better now, I will be just gotta get everything together now."
"Jay…"
"I'm okay Will, I promise." His promise wasn't one true, internally he was fighting a battle, but he never showed his weaknesses to Will or his mother. "Hey, maybe I can drive up soon, visit you while you are at college and get to see NYC for the first time."
"Yeah man, I would love that," Will grinned. In the background Jay could hear a knock at Will's door and another student call for him. "Listen man, I got class, but we will talk soon."
"Alright, I miss you and ill talk to you soon."
"I miss you too Jay." The screen went dark and Jay stared at it for a moment. Finally, home and he was still almost 800 miles away from his brother. His mother called him from the kitchen, lunch was ready.