Chapter 2- Answers For The Questions
You guys rock. Thank you so, so much for the incredible feedback. I would like to clarify that the inspiration for this story is the episode from season 2 but the dialog at the very beginning of chapter 1 is from the current season episode 12. I hope this clears up any confusion this might have caused (thank you Lima for pointing that out!). Let's start answering some critical questions.
Will eventually made his way up to the waiting room just off the OR doors only to be greeted by a crowded room stuffed with all of Intelligence, Trudy Platt, and various police officers from the district. Will felt the urge to cry over the beauty, kindness, and support of the scene. He hated that these situations were becoming more common, but was always touched by the outpouring of presence and thoughtfulness of the brotherhood of police officers. If nothing else, this moment showed Will how not alone or forgotten Jay was in this dark, uncertain moment. Will nodded his head as he scanned the crowd, silently thanking them for showing up. Trudy was the first to break the stare off and extend open arms, Will willingly took them. For the next several minutes, everyone filed through, offering words of encouragement and readiness to help while giving warming hugs. Once the crowd dwindled down to Intelligence and Platt, Will found a chair closest to the door and sat, everyone else following suit.
"Thanks guys for coming. I'm sure Jay will be happy to know you guys were here." He received collective nods.
"How did he look?"
"Um, ok considering. He did regain consciousness for a bit in the ED before they brought him up, which is miraculous. The bullet is still lodged in one of his facial bones so hopefully the damage isn't too severe. He definitely has a broken cheekbone and possible broken eye socket and internal bleeding around the impact so…we'll see how it all goes. What do you guys know so far? Who's running the investigation?"
"Forensics is at the scene now and everything is locked down. We're running point on it and heading over there shortly." Will nodded. He knew there wasn't any chance Intelligence wouldn't take the case.
"Have they found anything?"
"Still waiting for an update."
"You guys should go. It's going to be several hours before he gets out and I'm sure Jay will want some answers when he wakes up." Will knew he was communicating things that weren't definite, but he didn't care. He couldn't reside in the 'maybe' or 'hopefully' mentality right now. Something needed to be believed. He kept repeating to himself that Jay would be fine, even if he totally didn't feel the conviction.
"Are you sure? We're ready for whatever."
"Yeah, I'll update you guys as soon as I get anything." He got sad and uncertain facial expressions, but they eventually rose and headed for the door, Hailey the last to get up. She was fighting ever fiber of her being telling her to stay. But common sense reminded her that the best way to help Jay was to figure out and capture whoever did this to him. Wallowing in her fear and anxiety wasn't going to help anyone. She and Will made eye contact for a brief moment again, Will confidently nodding that things were fine. She quickly and briefly waved, leaving Will and Trudy alone to entertain the pit of misery in the room. Without delay or emotion, Trudy reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of magazines.
"Your brother can't say I didn't sacrifice for him," she announced as she tapped the celebrity gossip magazines before thumbing the pages.
"I don't picture you as the Hollywood following type."
"Oh, I'm not. It was this or brochures for retirement homes and I'd like to not be reminded of the future." Will smirked before adjusting in his chair, closing his eyes while rubbing his temples. With Jay in qualified hands, the time was ripe for some shut eye. Lord only knows when he'd be able to perform that task again.
…
Hailey stood at the entrance of the bar's parking lot, staring into nothing. The absolute last place she wanted to be was here, at the scene of her worst nightmare to date. She watched as the remaining members of Intelligence strutted under the yellow tape, heading to the epicenter of the night's activities. The cold she felt earlier was nonexistent. She didn't even notice the wind whipping her hair about. All she experienced was this thick, nauseating sickness in her gut. Her feet seemed to forget how to move and she didn't mind that dilemma. There was this imaginary line in front of her and she had no intention of crossing over. Tears slowly dripped down her cheeks and she didn't have the strength or desire to wipe them. It was the sight of his jacket on the ground, covered in blood that made her double over with grief. Her legs and arms were uncontrollably shaking now and wasn't sure if it would ever stop. She dry heaved a couple of times before gathering herself, feeling a gentle hand on her back, causing her to tilt her head upwards.
"Hey, you don't have to go over there if it's too much. No one will hold it against you." Kim helped Hailey back into an upright stance before hugging her, letting Hailey have a moment of silence. She felt a head nod on her shoulder before stepping back.
"I have to do this. I was the only witness to it all." Kim gave her a reassuring smile before walking beside Hailey to the group of detectives and officers at the end of Jay's truck. They all stood in silence for a moment, just taking everything in before diving into the routine.
"I saw the flash from the gun but never saw the shooter. Whoever it was quick and accurate. It was a single round and I was here in seconds. They must've escaped over the fence. The highway isn't too far from here." The lab tech pointed towards the car door, drawing the attention of the others.
"Well, this disproves that theory," he commented as he slowly swung the door open, revealing a brass chamber positioned upward, perfectly aligned with hitting the driver head on. Eyes grew wide as the truth began unravelling in their minds. This wasn't a freak accident nor was it a mugging gone wrong. Things just grew to a whole new level of scary.
"The device has a motion sensor. The lock button on the exterior of the door was likely the trigger that turned the thing on, needing the force of the door opening to set it off. This took practice and skill to master the angle at which to release the round."
"Whoever it is had every intention of injuring Jay, taking him out. Now the question is if this was an attack specific to Jay or a warning to the whole unit."
"Well, whoever it is knew this to be Jay's vehicle and tracked him here, quickly setting everything up. How long were you guys here," Atwater asked?
"Fifteen, twenty minutes. Plenty of time for the psycho to get past the locks and put things into place." Enemies and threats come with the job, they knew that when signing up. But, no one anticipates threatening words to be put into action. It's a worry in the back of one's mind, but never something you never bring to the forefront of one's every movement. Hailey shook her head, still not believing the night they all were living through.
"Any prints or fibers?" The tech shook his head.
"Nothing. This was professionally executed with great planning and perfect precision. Other than the cartridge, we've got nothing." Voight turned around and stormed off, the rest following his trail moments later. Hailey sped walked off the property, making a mental note to never step foot on this piece of the world ever again. The drive from the scene to the precinct was silent and tense. No one wanted to verbalize what they all knew: nothing about this case wasn't going to be personal. No one was going home tonight or ever in the foreseeable future.
…
They entered the precinct in a large, silent mass. Officers and the desk sergeant gave them all the 'well?!' expression and they could only shake their heads. It wasn't till they all grabbed a crappy cup of coffee that Voight spoke to the somber group, specifically Hailey.
"Hailey, my office," he half ordered as he strolled in and relaxed in his chair. She hesitated for a moment, looking around the room for guidance. Adam jerked his head towards the office door and nodded. With a begrudgingly demeanor, she rose from behind her desk and stood in Voight's doorway.
"Close the door and have a seat." She obeyed the commands and stared at him, a puzzled look on her face.
"How are you doing," he asked? Her body relaxed a little.
"I'll be fine when we catch the bastard." Voight leaned his chair back and smirked a little.
"Look, I get where your head is right now. Sadly, this isn't my first rodeo in these highly emotional situations. But I need to know you can work the case without compromising it. In order to get justice for Jay, we need to make sure everything is solid. Can you do that?" She didn't wait to respond.
"My head is on straight, sergeant. This was an attack on my partner and I have every intention of seeing this to the end." The two of them locked into a stare down for a moment, his eyes scanning for a weak spot. She didn't budge.
"Ok." Antonio rapped his knuckles on the glass part of the door before turning the knob.
"We got something." Voight nodded to Hailey and the two rose from their seats, time to put words into action.
They all convened behind Adam's desk, staring at a paused, blurry video.
"The bar just sent all their footage and fortunately, it has a full view of the parking lot. Unfortunately, the quality isn't that great so facial rec won't be happening." He hesitated his finger over the spacebar before pressing it down, allowing the final minutes of normalcy to play out. The time code showed Jay pulling into the spot and six thirty-seven and sitting there till Hailey pulled in five minutes later. They saw Jay get out of the car and meet Hailey at the midpoint between their spots before turning around and guided her to the bar's entrance. Hailey slowly exhaled through her mouth. It was weird watching oneself on camera, especially from mere hours ago. They had no idea of the coming of events. Had one told them what all was going to transpire and they probably would've laughed. Their safety level was comfortable right then, not knowing how fast things would drastically shift. Hailey felt eyes staring at her, looking for a crack but she didn't give it to them. Adam sped the tape up till after the two of them walked into the bar, pausing before the next scene.
"Watch the parking spot two places to the left of the truck," Adam quietly commented. A blacked out SUV pulled in moments later, a normal looking person emerging from the driver's side. They figure was in dark clothing and appeared to be wearing a mask and hat, shielding himself from being recognized. They walked to the end of their vehicle and checked the area for clearance. Satisfied, they cooly ventured to the truck and easily unlocked the truck's doors. It took him two, three minutes to set up the firing device before quickly returning to his vehicle. And then everything was still, raising Hailey's uneasiness.
"Why did you pause it?!"
"I didn't." Hailey rubbed her forehead before taking a couple of steps back. She never felt more stupid and narrow minded in her life. Why didn't she really scan the lot, noticing the suspicious car and the person residing in it. He sat there the whole time watching his evil plan play out, probably smiling as Jay lay there bleeding out. If she could, she'd punch herself in the face. It was when the video showed the two of them returning to their vehicles that Hailey grew fascinated with the floor under her. She saw it all live and had no intention of ever repeating that scene again. The small gasps from the group told her they reached the moment of the shot. It was Kim who finally got them to end the video.
"Turn it off, we don't see this. We all know what happened."
"Wait," Adam replied. He wound the clip several minutes ahead, bypassing the arrival and departure of the ambulance and before the crime lab pulled up. The perp slowly opened a car door and walked off, leaping over the fence surrounding the perimeter before going out of the camera's view.
"Start getting pod footage from intersections and business around the area. This guy slipped up somewhere and we're going to find it," Voight commanded. They all were motionless before nodding, soon busying themselves at their desks.
…
Somehow, Will awoke feeling more tired than when he fell asleep. His neck had reached a new level of stiff and he slowly massaged it, hoping to coax it into turning for him. He sat up at about sloth speed, moaning as he did so. From the amount of magazines scattered at the feet of Platt, he figured he must've been out a couple of hours. He yawned a few of times before noticing her smirking at him.
"Thank the Lord that's over. Has anyone mentioned to you that you have an odd snore?" His face went red as he smiled, appreciative of her attempt to humor him.
"What's the latest in Hollywood?" Trudy rolled her eyes.
"The dating shuffle game is going full speed ahead. People are having babies, affairs, and getting divorced. The usual. I can't believe people actually live for this stuff." She returned the magazines to her bag and sat up a little, still looking as awake and alert as she was when she first got to the hospital.
"How are you not tired," Will inquired?
"Have you ever been on an all night stakeout? We're nowhere near my limit." It was at this point that the waiting room door opened, revealing a drained looking surgeon. It was only Will and Trudy in the waiting room so they quickly stood up, readying themselves for whatever.
"It was tough for a bit, but he pulled through." Trudy sighed before smiling while Will just proceeded to fall back into his chair. The surgeon took a seat between the two of them before proceeding.
"The bullet did come into contact with his facial artery but luckily, it became a plug almost. Had it not rested where it did, he'd have bled out in minutes. Once we dislodged it, he did lose a good amount of blood but we repaired the damage and he'll be ok. We did have to break his jaw in two places in order to reach the bullet so his jaw is currently wired shut and will be that way for six weeks." Will looked over at Platt who's happy countenance turned neutral. Will looked back at the doctor.
"What about the cheekbone and eye socket?" The surgeon shifted in their seat before speaking.
"The bullet entered through his cheekbone and broke two teeth before hitting off the left eye socket before resting in his lower jaw. As a result, the cheekbone was shattered beyond repair. We inserted a plate and screws and those are permanent. The floor of the eye socket was no longer able to support the eye so we put in a plastic graft. That is also permanent. One of the damage teeth was completely removed from its' root and the other was half removed. We cleaned the area and put in two veneers. Over time, they'll feel totally normal to him." The surgeon pulled out a series of x-rays and held them up for the group to see, revealing the extensive facial reconstruction Jay just endured. Trudy just stared at them perplexed.
"I don't have a medical degree so can someone walk me through this?" Will and the surgeon tag teamed the task.
"As you can see, the right side of his face is completely unharmed. It's amazing considering the damage on the left side, not even his nose is broken. But then we move over to the left side, that's when things get interesting." Will pointed to the bright rectangular shaped section on the left side of the x-ray.
"This is the metal plate and screws now consisting of his cheekbone. The little white strip around the eye socket is the plastic graft. And then the stuff that looks like braces on the teeth is the jaw wiring." Trudy just nodded, a look of sickness growing on her face. There wasn't much on Jay's left side that wasn't artificial.
"What does this all mean?!"
"He's going to be really sore and swollen for a few weeks. He also really can't talk with the wiring in place. And eating is going to be non-existent. He's limited to a liquid diet for six weeks and he'll definitely lose a lot of weight. He's currently on a feeding tube in his stomach to help bulk up the caloric intake while he's here, but he'll likely lose twenty to thirty pounds in six weeks."
"What are his odds," Will asked?
"He got really lucky. Any other angle or delay in treatment and we're looking at brain or spinal damage. He's been through a traumatic event, but his outlook is optimistic. It's going to take some adjusting and assistance for a bit, but I'm confident he'll make a full recovery. He's coming off the anesthesia now and he should wake up in a couple of hours. Just a heads up, he's going to be nauseous and probably throw up a couple of times. He swallowed a lot of blood and the teeth. They've gotta come up at some point so he's going to need help. Without being able to open is mouth, he's gotta be told to just lean over and let it come out." Will nodded as he shifted in his chair, feeling the upset stomach feeling in his own gut. While being elated that Jay would pull through, he wasn't sure if he was ready to see the horror of the evening. The amount of work done indicated that his brother was going to look and be different for a bit. But as the surgeon told them, he made it through. Recovering isn't always easy but at least he gets the opportunity to do so. Will reminded himself that his was the worst part of everything. Things were only going to get better from here.
"When can we see him?"
"He should be leaving recovery in a moment so I can bring you up to the ICU now." The group of three stood simultaneously and headed for the door. Trudy paused at the elevators as Will and the surgeon loaded on.
"He's in the ICU, right?" They both nodded.
"I'm going to update everyone and I'll be up in a moment." Will was appreciative of her willingness to take on the communicator role. He didn't have the energy tonight and was grateful for the allowance to solely focus on Jay. Will yawned a couple of times on the elevator ride, getting a smirk from the surgeon. Will wasn't sure what the time of day was but assumed it was in the wee hours of the morning. The soft ding of the elevator's arrival at the ICU floor sounded and the surgeon ushered Will out first. He guided Will to a room at the far left end of the hall and stopped before sliding the glass door open.
"Ready?" Will simply nodded, preparing himself for the view on the other side. The first thing that came into Will's mind was that Jay looked like Harvey Dent after the explosion in The Dark Knight. One side of Jay's face was completely normal while the other side told a very different tale. His brother was almost sitting up in bed and his face was titled towards the right. Will knew it was to help with the growing swelling and soreness of the injuries, but there was something different. Maybe it was the numerous steri-strips on that side of his face or the large bruises or nasal breathing tube still in place, but Jay looked off, gone almost. The person in front of him wasn't the same person who was brought into the ED fighting. Will figured it was the knowledge of knowing everything that was playing with his mind. Obviously, things would return to normal in time. He scooted the reclining chair close to Jay's right side and sat, holding a hand as he took everything in. Will breathed out loud a few times before feeling the tears stream down. The reality of the last few hours finally hit him. People don't survive things like this nor do they come away relatively unscathed. He let himself wallow in sorrow for a moment longer before collecting himself. Jay was going to be out of it all for some time and it was up to him to keep things tracking upward. Will took everything done to his brother's face and the things keeping him alive at the moment. It was unsettling, but they all played a role in Jay's latest story. He lightened his train of thought by reminding himself of how fun it was going to be to communicate with a mute Jay for six weeks. Then Will looked up at the clock and read four twenty-six in the morning, realizing that Jay was under the knife for over seven hours.
"Good job, Jay. I'm here when you're ready. Just rest." Will slumped into a semi-comfortable position on the chair and was quickly sound asleep. Trudy Platt stood in the doorway at this point and took the scene in. She thoroughly observed her injured detective before looking over to a passed out Will, quietly laughing at it all. It was the picture of brotherly love and she couldn't help but take and photo and share it with the world. In that moment, any fear or anxiety dissipated. Things weren't good now, but they'd get there at some point.