Im missing Mouse so much right now. That's why I decided to continue with this story.

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6 months later he became a permanent part of the team.

As Voight was increasingly calling on his services, he and Platt had decided to give Mouse a chance for a new job. Even though both Trudy and Hank suspected that Greg's crimes in the file were a result of the time overseas, they wanted to give him a second chance. There was only one hurdle left and that proved to be the obligatory interview.

Mouse was ordered to talk to Platt, who already waited for him.

She studied his file in surprise. Meanwhile he nervously looked at her.

"So you were a Ranger?"

"Yes, Sergeant, I did two tours in Afghanistan."

"Why did you leave your unit?"; Mouse wasn't looking at her.

"The Army has given me the confidence to realize my dreams. That's why I'm here. " Platt continued to study his papers, then became suspicious.

"What about this medical discharge?"; Greg was pushing around.

"Yes, ma'am, well. . . "

Since Platt didn't get an answer, she looked at Greg defiantly, took off her glasses and asked again.

"Why the medical discharge, Mouse?"; Greg was stammering around.

"We were in a convoy and I was in the lead humvee. Jay and I and "; he came to a halt. He didnt look at her, struggled for a short moment with the images that were happening in front of his inner eye. Platt looked at him in astonishment.

"Hey,"; she said sensitively.

"We are good. We're already finished. " She handed the leaves to him, well aware of what it was all about.

"Just fill out these forms. "

"Thanks, M'am "; Mouse whispered decently before she left the room. Trudy Platt was not and never will be the type of person who likes to make others suffer. . .

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"How did you get Platt to stop asking about your medical discharge?"

The same evening Mouse and Jay sat together for a beer after work.

"I don't know,"; mumbled Greg.

"I think she realized I can't talk about it. " He nervously scratched his chin.

"Anyway, I really appreciate what you're doing for me, you know?"; Jay looked at him in surprise, shook his head.

"You were there for me before, right?"

"Yes. "

"Don't fuck this up. You're not going to get a chance like this job again,"; Halstead growled before taking another sip from his beer.

"You know what the crazy thing is? We had exactly the same experience that day, and I've been going crazy ever since, but you got the world by the tale."

Jay smiled ironically.

"Don't be so sure. " For a moment there was an oppressive silence.

"We don't have to talk about it."

"But you're the only one who saw the same things going on. " Mouse looked intently at his friend, sloshing the brew in his bottle before taking another sip.

"I can no longer sleep at night again. At 3 o'clock I wake up with all the pictures in my head"; Greg confessed, which Jay commented with a bewildered look.

"I don't want to start that shit with the pills again, so I stay awake most of the time. " Dissatisfied, he propped his head up with his hand. Jay looked at him for a long time, drew a rather worried face. He was in the same place where Mouse was, even if he didn't know it.

"Next time, you call me, okay?" Mouse looked at him in surprise. To Jay's reassurance, he finally decided to nod. . .

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The next time wasn't long in coming. Two nights later, just around 3:30 a.m in the morning, Mouse was bathed in sweat, when he sat up in bed screaming and crying. His t-shirt was soaking wet and after the initial heat, a cold shiver crept over his body.

Quietly sobbing, he sat up, leaned his back against the wall and breathed deeply in and out. He forced himself to stay calm, but it didn't work. His panic attack mixed up with the flashbacks. For a long moment he still had the smell of burnt human flesh in his nose.

The screams of the children, the flesh ripping. For a short time everything was spinning. Apparently, he sat up too fast. Trembling and blind with tears, Greg reached for his nightstand where he grabbed his phone. He tried to calm down, to give it another chance, but instead he became more and more nervous. In the end, he didn't know what to do and dialed Jay's number.

He buzzed it five times. When he didnt expect him to receive the call, a tired voice was heard.

"Greg? What's wrong?"; Jay yawned before his friend tremblingly brought up the issue.

"You said I could call any time. I can't take it no more"; Mouse confessed in a shaky voice as his other hand cramped in the blanket.

"It doesn't stop. It's still as if we are at the front,"; he stammered incoherently. A fact that made Jay realize how serious it was.

"Hang on. I'll be there in 10 minutes"; Jay warned before hanging up. As always, Halstead kept his promises. After a short time there was a knock at the door. Mouse, who was pretty out of line, opened the door and looked at his friend and colleague apologetically.

"Sorry, I don't know. I..."

Jay sighed, before he pulled Mouse in a hug.

After a few minutes, he gently he closed the door behind him and got down on the couch. Mouse, who didn't really get along with himself, followed him like a faithful dog before he sat down too, a helpless look on his face

"It all came back. I'm not talking about the IED, I'm talking about the thing in this village. " Jay wouldn't look at his best friend. The words alone triggered something in him that did not feel good.

"I still see this child in front of me. That little girl. The way she looks at me and then stares at her dead sister. She looked like she was asleep. But she was already cold. Same as this boy. " Jay just sat there, said nothing. Inside, the war raged.

"Jimmy ran to him because he stood in the middle of the road. We thought he was an assassin, but he didn't move. Jimmy wanted to carry him across the street and the moment he touched him, he was dead because. He starved."

"Greg, don't take this the wrong way, but you should tell someone who wasn't there. Someone more professional than me. "

"But only you can relate. " Jay nodded.

"Yes, I know. But I'm in this to deep."

"You deal with it away much better than I do"; Mouse tried to counter what Jay assessed with sceptical looks.

"It may look that way to you because we had no contact with each other for a long time, when I joined the academy" Mouse looked at his friend in surprise.

"Then how did you get rid of it?"

"Who says I am? Just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean I don't have nightmares. " Guiltily, Mouse watched his friend.

"Greg, I know you're feeling like crap and I'd like to help you, but I have no idea how. I can listen to you, but I don't have a universal solution. My job keeps me alive. Joining the academy was my way out of all this shit with the alcohol and the pills. And I don't know if doctors are the right address for this. If it had gone the other way, I'd be taking 10 tranquilizers a day."

Greg was swallowing hard. Harsh words, but he understood what Jay was telling him.

"Therapists are paid friends. You must want this new life. They can just give you the tools to do it. You have to decide for yourself. You're the only one who can affect your life." Mouse looked at his friend with emotion, then nodded.

"Thanks for being here. I just feel so damn alone sometimes. " He cried silently. Jay sighed, he reached out his hand and put it over Mouse's fingers.

"Hey, we can do this. We've fought other battles before. Together"

Mouse had to smile despite his tears. . .