Will sighed as he approached the nurse's station in the emergency room for the next chart. It had been a long night in the emergency room and his shift was almost over. "Who's next?"
"Drunk college girl," April said.
"Drugs?" He asked.
"Maybe, she's unconscious and the boyfriend isn't saying much, but maybe you can try and get something out of him." She said as she handed him the chart.
He frowned as he looked down at the name. "Jane Doe?"
"He wouldn't give her real name," She said.
"So, drugs are probably involved." He nodded. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."
He headed into the room and glanced down at the unconscious patient in the bed. She had an IV hooked into her too thin arm and she was wearing a little black dress. Her hair was a mess and her makeup was smudged and he figured drugs were involved because she looked like she had been clubbing. As he looked at her face, his first reaction was that she looked too young to be in a club, but then he looked a little closer and he was sure he knew her.
"If you're not going to tell us what she took you can at least tell us her real name so we can contact her family." Will said to the boy sitting in the chair.
"She, uh," he cleared his throat. "She doesn't have any family."
"Are you sure?"
"Her Mom died a few years ago and her Dad drinks too much to notice she left six months ago." He said.
"What about siblings?"
"Uhm, I think she has a brother, or brothers maybe," He frowned. "But she doesn't talk to them, so I don't think calling them would matter."
"You never know, they might want to know." Will shrugged. "If it were my sister, I'd want to know."
"She said they never reach out, so she stopped trying over a year ago." He said. "Listen, her name is Hailey, we were at a party and she drank a lot, she always drinks a lot but something was different this time."
"And she didn't take any drugs?"
"Not that I saw, but I don't know." He said. "She's tortured, man. I mean she's my girl, but she's got some serious demons."
"Don't we all," he mumbled. "Anything else you can tell me?"
"Like what?" He asked.
"Anything," Will shrugged. "Is she stressed from college, or overworked at work, or does she take any sleeping pills?"
"No, but she takes anxiety medication." He said. "I don't know the name of it."
"That's okay, we can figure it out." He said. "Do you want to give me her ID now?"
The guy sighed as he pulled her license from his wallet. "Here."
Will took the license with a nod and left the room. He pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed Jay. "Hey, you busy?"
"Considering it's six in the morning, no, not really." He said.
"Right, when was the last time you talked to Hailey?"
"I don't know, man." He said. "It's been a while, why?"
"She's here, in the hospital." He said.
"Is she okay?"
"She drank a lot and took some pills and passed out, but yeah, I think she'll be okay."
"Are you sure it's her?"
"Holding her licence." He said. "Listen, there's some guy here with her, said she told him she doesn't talk to anyone from her family and that she left home six months ago."
"Yeah, I'm on my way."
Will hung up as April approached him. "Get her real name?"
"I did," he sighed.
"Labs are back," she said. "Alcohol and prescription medication, she's fine, just needs to sleep it off and hydrate. Want me to notify the family?"
"No need, " he said. "She's my sister."
"Really?" She asked. "I didn't know you had a sister."
"She's a lot younger than Jay and me," he shrugged. "I suppose that's just an excuse, though. Send Jay in when he gets here?"
"Of course," she said. "And hey, no relationship is easy, especially with family."
Will headed back into the hospital room. "She'll be fine, but she needs to stay here for a while."
"Can I stay?" He asked.
"Sure," Will nodded. "What's your name?"
"Scott," he said.
"I'm Dr. Halstead," he said and watched his eyes widen slightly before he frowned, as he was putting it all together. "I'm Hailey's brother."
"Oh, I guess you do care."
Will smirked as he looked down at his sister. "More than you know."
"Hey," Jay said, coming into the room. He frowned heavily as he looked down at her. He kneeled in front of the bed and put a hand on her forehead for a moment. "How is she?"
"Stable," he said. "She'll be okay, Jay."
"You're the other brother, then?" Scott asked nervously.
"Detective Halstead," he said as he stood up.
"Scott," he swallowed noticeably.
"How old are you, Scott?" Jay asked.
"Twenty-one," he said.
"Did you know she wasn't twenty-one when you gave her alcohol?" Will was always amazed at the things Jay noticed and could get people to admit.
"Not at first," he said. "But I never really gave it to her, it's just always around, you know how college parties are."
"What college?" Will asked.
"Northwestern," Scott looked between the brothers. "So, she wasn't exaggerating, you really haven't talked to her in over a year."
"It's family business," Jay said as he turned to leave. "Call me when she's awake."
"She's kind of brilliant you know," Scott called after him. "She has a full scholarship, and she's kind, and generous, and she's funny, but she's humble, even though she's so beautiful. In short, she's amazing."
"What's your point?" Jay asked.
"I don't have a point," he shrugged. "I just wanted you to know what you're missing."
"Trust me kid, you don't know the whole story." Jay left the room and Will went after him.
"What are you doing?" He asked. "Aren't you going to stay?"
"I can't," he said through gritted teeth.
"Why not?" Will grabbed him, stopping him from leaving. "What is it?"
Jay stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm the oldest, I'm supposed to protect you two, and now she's lying in a hospital bed."
"You didn't do this."
"Didn't I?" He said. "When Mom was dying, you were off partying and I promised her I'd look out for you two, especially Hailey. She's nineteen, Will. Last time I saw her was two years ago when I was last home. She used to text me every now and then, but I was always so busy with work."
"So was I," he said. "We dropped the ball, but it doesn't mean we can't fix things now, especially now."
"Like I said, call me when she's awake." He said. "I'll figure it out."
OOOOO
Hailey woke up a few hours later. Her head was pounding, the lights were too bright and her mouth was dry. She frowned and grabbed her head as she struggled to sit up. She realized she was in the hospital and tried to remember what happened, but she couldn't remember anything.
"Hey," Scott whispered.
"Hey," she turned. "What happened?"
"You drank, a lot, and then you passed out and I couldn't wake you up." He said. "They said you took too many anxiety pills, but you'll be fine."
"Oh," she said slowly. "Is there water?"
"Yeah," He handed her the cup with a straw. "So, your brothers were here."
"What?" She said. "When?"
"Earlier, one was your doctor and the other is a cop?" He said. "You never told me that."
"Yeah, well, there's not much to tell." She mumbled.
"They're coming back later."
"Then we need to get out of here before they do." She said as she glanced around the room quickly before trying to get out of the bed.
"Woah, hang on," he said. "They seemed like alright guys."
"You wouldn't understand." She said. "Are you going to help me or not?"
"No, come on, Hailey," he sighed. "I'll call for help if you don't stop."
She rolled her eyes. "No you won't," she said as she pulled the IV from her arm and slipped on her shoes. She was really glad she wore flats last night because she was not steady enough for heels now. She slipped into the bathroom to fix her make-up and throw her hair up into a ponytail before heading for the door.
Scott sighed, but gave her his sweater and helped her leave the room. He figured if he didn't help she'd only end up hurting herself more. As they waited for the elevator he was praying someone would try and stop them, a wish he was granted when the doors opened to Jay and Will.
They all just stared at each other for a moment. It was awkward for everyone, but Will looked displeased and Jay looked almost amused. "Well," Jay said. "You always were a flight risk."