A/N: This chapter is a little longer than previous chapters but it was important to introduce the family dynamic into the story and give a glimpse as to how it is going to affect Christine & Jay's relationship. Hope you enjoy it. Please don't forget to follow my story because as previously mentioned there are times that I have added new chapters in less than 24 hours. So if you're not following and receiving the alert you may not notice the new chapter!
"Detective Halstead, I don't know where you are but this is the fifth message I've left you in the past fifteen minutes. As I mentioned before it's urgent and an emergency. I'm just going to come out and say it. Christine Brennan is at Med. She asked Will to call you when she got here. She's being rushed into surgery now. Dr. Rhodes is operating. That's all I can say, so get your ass to Med as soon as possible, Jay." Maggie said as she hung up the phone. She looked up as Dawson and Brett rolled in a female on a stretcher announcing it was a gunshot wound to the upper right arm and the lower abdomen. "Is that one of the people after Christine? You're going to Treatment Three with this one Dr. Halstead." She said noticing there were two police officers on either side of the stretcher. The doors opened again and the next set of paramedics came through followed by two more police officers. "What do we have?" Maggie asked. "Male...gunshot victim...looks like the shoulder, the stomach and the leg." the paramedic answered. "Dr. Choi, you're going to Baghdad." Maggie instructed. She looked around the E.D. and noticed with the number of firefighters, paramedics and police officers currently standing guard there was no way this was going to be a quiet New Year's Day. "Maggie, have you been able to reach Jay Halstead?" Gabby asked as she and Sylvie walked over to where Maggie was standing. "Not yet. I've tried him five times." she responded. "I'm going to call the 21st and see if I can have Sargent Platt track him down." Gabby responded as she walked away. "What's going on? I thought Christine had that work event last night?" Maggie asked Sylvie. "She did but from the little I do know all hell broke loose and she was abducted. She and Jay having been hooking up lately and I know they really care for each other. Please try him again, Maggie." Sylvie said as she walked over to where Kelly and Cruz were standing with the rest of Squad Three. "You were really great with her Kelly. Why don't you guys head back to the house and I'll call you with an update. I've already reached out to the Chief and asked to have someone else cover the rest of my shift so I can stay here." Sylvie said. "I'm not going anywhere knowing those other two are in the same hospital. I checked in with Boden as well. If we get a call they'll reach out on the radio. Look, I'm not a fan of her and Halstead as a couple but has anyone reached him yet?" he finished looking at Sylvie who just said not yet.
"E.D., this is Maggie." she said answering the phone a few minutes later. "Detective Halstead! Finally. Let me get your brother for you. He might be able to give you more information than I can." she said handing the phone to Will. "Jay, Christine was brought in about 30 minutes ago. I didn't realize you had started seeing each other. Look, you're going to want to get here. She fought like hell to survive but she's in rough shape. She's up in surgery now. I'll try to get an update from Connor before you get here. How far away are you?" Will asked his brother, trying to not give away too much information just yet about my condition. "I'm ten maybe fifteen minutes out. Christine's Dad and Uncle are in the car behind me with Upton and Atwater. Where was she found?" Jay asked. "From what I understand she was down by the river when her abductors found her again. She shot them Jay. They're both here. Alive but she hit both of them multiple times. It's a mess down here. Squad Three is here along with Brett and Dawson. She wouldn't let Kelly let go with her or leave her side before she passed out. It's a mess down here." Will said, not sure what his brother's reaction was going to be. He knew that if Jay hooked up with someone involved in a case then I had to be pretty important to Jay because he would never risk his career for a random hook-up. "Will, get the update from Connor. I'll see you in ten." Jay said ending the call and looking over at Hank. "I don't know many details, but it doesn't sound good Sarge. I don't know how she got away but she shot Little Ricky and Brianna." he said the admiration apparent in his voice. "Kid, you know she's strong. She'll pull through. I just hope you're ready to put your own shit aside for the time being and help her through this. It's not going to be an easy road. Especially if she was..." Hank was cut off by Jay. "Don't say it. I'll kill him if he raped her." Jay said angrily and then told his Sargent to drive faster.
Within ten minutes four of the unmarked cars driven by the Intelligence Unit, with lights flashing and sirens blaring sped into the parking lot of Chicago Med. Jay, momentarily forgetting my Dad was in the car behind him, hopped out of Hank's car before it had come into a complete stop and ran into the E.D., where Will was waiting for him. "How is she? Where is she? Can I see her?" Jay asked, a look of fear written across his beautiful face. "Will say something...is she still alive?" Jay begged. "I'm sorry Jay. I'm not permitted to give you any information on Christine. Ms. Goodwin came down to the E.D. a few minutes ago informing me she had received a call from Christine's Dad, on his way here, and since he has Power of Attorney over her Medical Care, he asked that none of the hospital staff discuss his daughter's case with anyone on than him and his brother-in-law. He will allow only Voight and Olinsky to question her when she is out of recovery. No one else from Intelligence is to be given access to her or they will sue the hospital and the Chicago PD. Jay, they're blaming you for this. Just remember, from what I hear, Christine does not share their sentiments. Nat told me that you guys have moved from a professional relationship to a personal one. Jay, just stay level headed and this will work out." Will replied. "What the fuck?" Jay said, turning and looking at my Dad as he walked through the doors to the E.D. with my Uncle Paddy next to him. "Mr. Brennan, please. I need to know she is okay. That she is going to be okay. Please let me see her." Jay said, trying to plead with my Dad. "I think you've done enough Detective Halstead. Dr. Halstead, if you would lead my brother-in-law and I to where my niece is, we would appreciate it. I know her Father, just as I am, is very anxious to see Christine and talk to Dr. Rhodes." my Uncle Paddy said in a tone no one ever dared to argue with.
I woke up a few hours later and found my Dad sitting on one side of my bed and my Uncle Paddy sitting on the other side of the bed in my hospital room in the ICU. "I'm dying, aren't I? That's the only way I could ever get the two of you in a room together. I knew I was in bad shape but I didn't think it was that bad." I said, my throat dry and sore. "Can I have some water please?" I asked. As my Dad got me a glass of water, Uncle Paddy went out to find a nurse to let them know I was awake. "Talk about déjà vu! Weren't we just here?" I said to my Dad. "This isn't anything to joke about Christine. I'll let Connor and Dr. Halstead explain everything to you when they come in the room." he said sternly. I knew I had scared him. "Dad, you called Uncle Paddy? Why would you do that? Do you know what this is going to do to my life, to my career, to my reputation? I love him dearly but there's a reason no one in Chicago knew about him." I said. "He called me because he knew the cops wouldn't be able to find you. Who else has the connections needed? You should be thankful he reached out to me." Paddy said coming over and kissing me on the forehead. "I'm glad you're going to be okay little one. You've had us worried." Before another word could be said, Connor and Will walked into my room. "Connor! You're okay. I was so worried about you. I'm so sorry for what happened to you." I said as tears started to roll down my cheeks. Connor smiled and said "I told you, next time you ripped those stitches you would have to come back to Med and deal with Maggie. You had everyone really worried. But, I assured them they had the best surgeon at Med operating on you. I stitched you back up, repaired a tear to the artery in your leg and that was the only surgery you needed. I will tell you this, Christine. No pressure on the left leg for four weeks. It won't be good if that wound opens up again. I'll let Dr. Halstead explain the rest." I looked at Will and said, "Plese Will. Don't tell me I'm dying. I swore the only way I would be able to get my Uncle and Dad in the same room together was if I'm dying." "You're not dying. You're actually very lucky. It could have been a lot worse than what it was. The swelling to your head and face will heal on its own. You do have a slight concussion from where you were hit on the side of your head. You also have two broken ribs and a severely bruised and sprained left wrist." Will replied. "I didn't break the wrist? Jesus! When I dropped to the ground I was pretty sure I had broken it. Christine, Dr. Rhodes and I discussed care for you and we don't want you to leave the hospital until the concussion has cleared up and your wrist has healed enough for you to use crutches to stay off the leg. So you should plan on being a Chicago Med resident for the next two weeks and then we will be able to send you home. We will most likely be able to move you out of ICU tomorrow and get you settled in a regular room. If you're feeling up to it, Sargent Voight and Detective Olinsky would like to take your statement." Will said. "What's with the formality, Will? That's not like you. And where's Jay? Didn't you call him? He must know I'm here if Hank and Al are waiting to talk to me. Is he okay? Why isn't he here?" I asked. "We'll give you a few minutes with your family and then send Voight in to take your statement." Will said, ignoring my questions.
I waited until Connor and Will left my room and looked at the two men who have loved me more than anyone else in the world, and asked "What the hell did the two of you do?" "I encouraged your Dad, as your next of kin, to exercise his Power of Attorney over your Medical Care and keep Detective Halstead and the rest of Chicago PD other than Voight and Olinsky away from you." my Uncle replied. "Are you crazy? I love you Uncle Paddy but you had no right telling him to do that." I said glaring at my Uncle before turning to my Dad and saying "What the hell were you thinking? You know how I feel about Jay. Why would you ban him from my room? You're lucky I don't ban the two of you from my room. I love you Daddy. You know that. I love you more than anyone else in the world but you're not keeping me from Jay. Of course, now knowing about my nefarious ties, he may not want to see me anymore. I seriously can't believe the two of you." I said as I buzzed the nurses station. The ICU nurse came in and I said "I don't know what paperwork I have to sign but I'm revoking any rights my Father currently has as Power of Attorney over my Medical Care. Have someone draw up paperwork and get it to me now. Also, find me Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Halstead immediately and get them into my room." I was done with this bullshit, I thought to myself. "I love you both immensely and am so thankful you're here, but you crossed a line. I'm thirty years old, you don't get to decide who I can date and who comes in and out of my life. Why do you think I've been living in Chicago for the past three years? I could have been GM of the Beacon Hotel back in Boston, but I turned it down, wanting to get out of Boston. Wanting a little space and wanting to experience life. I'd like it if you would give me a little time to myself. I don't want you here when I talk to Hank and Al. And I definitely don't want you here when Jay comes to see me. Uncle Paddy, I know you only want what's best for you and I love you for that and I know because of your business how you feel about cops, but you need to back off when it comes to Jay. Dad, I can't believe you let Uncle Paddy talk you into this. I get the fact that you were worried but that's not like you. We can talk about it later in private but for now I want some space. Why don't you plan on coming to my apartment, separately this afternoon to see me and we can go from there?" I said. They got up to leave, both looking a little sheepish, and after the apologies and kisses I was finally alone. Well as alone as I could be with two uniforms guarding my hospital door.
Connor and Will walked back into the room twenty minutes later and introduced me to Sharon Goodwin, the Chief of Services at Med. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Brennan. I wish it was under better circumstances though. I must say, I attended last night's Gala at the Beacon with the hospital's Board of Director's and it was wonderful. You and your team did an amazing job. Not only that, but your personal donation got me thinking about things to come in the future and how the Beacon and Chicago Med can partner together on events. Once you're back on your feet I'd like the opportunity to talk to you." she said. "Thank you. I'm sorry we didn't have the chance to meet last night. I'm glad you enjoyed the Gala, give me a week or two and we will set up a time for you to come to the hotel for lunch and we can talk about whatever ideas you may have." I replied. "I understand that you want to take control of your Medical Care and your Father is going to sign away his Power of Attorney. I have the paperwork right here. I passed your Dad on the way to see you and he already signed the document. I just need you to sign here and then we are all set." I signed and then assuring me she would see me soon, she left me alone with Connor and Will. I looked at the two of them and in a no-nonsense tone said "Draw up the paperwork to get me out of here. I don't care if it's against Doctor's wishes. I'll sign whatever I need. Just do it because I'm going home tonight. Don't look at me like that Connor. I know what you're thinking and I'm not really concerned because you live two floors up from me and I know you will check in on me. Plus, I'm sure I'll end up with a babysitter or two and my Uncle Paddy is bound to assign someone to watch my every move when he heads back to Boston. I'm sending him and my Dad back to Boston tomorrow. Now that everything's settled and Connor is getting the paperwork for the three of us to sign, Will can you please now tell me if Jay is here in the hospital somewhere?" Before Will could answer, a voice from my doorway said "I'm right here. Your Dad sent me up on his way out. You seem to be okay, based on the lecture and orders you just dished out to Connor and my brother." he said. "We'll give you a few minutes and then come back with the papers." Will replied.
"Are you going to come over here and give me a kiss or am I that repulsive looking right now?" I asked him, knowing full well my face must be an ugly array of purple and blue bruises. "I'm sorry." Jay said to me. "Jay, don't. Please, come here and sit down. I may be going home today but Connor hasn't given me new crutches yet so I can't get out of bed and chase you." I said trying to lighten the mood. Not moving from his spot in the doorway, Jay said "We have quite a bit to talk about. Apparently, you left a few things out about your family over the past week. You should have told me, Christine. On top of being a victim in one of our cases your Uncle is one of the biggest crime bosses on the East Coast. And he's walking around Chicago. I could get fired for this. Thankfully, Voight believes in keeping a lot of shit in house. I don't know if I can do this. Don't get me wrong you have somehow made me fall in love with you in a short time, but I don't know if it can go any further. I need to ask...is your car or your apartment paid for by Paddy McGuire?" "Are you serious? No, I work hard and make damn good money. Plus, my Dad has been very generous in my upbringing and has always given me generous gifts from the hardworking, honest money he earned. And I would think Detective Halstead you meant to say that my Uncle is ALLEGEDLY one of the biggest crime bosses on the East Coast. That has never been proven and he has never been arrested. And as far as your feelings for me I think you should know they are returned in full. I fell in love with you Jay Halstead from the moment you had the nerve to yell at me in my hospital room. Talk about repetition. Here we are nine days later and you're doing the same thing. Tho, this time I'm alert enough to yell back. You know what Jay, maybe you're right. Maybe we don't belong together. After all I don't want to be an inconvenience as you work your way up through the Chicago Police Department. You should go. Please send your brother and Connor back in. I can see them standing at the Nurse's station waiting for us to be done yelling at each other. Oh, and if Kelly Severide is in the hospital somewhere please tell him to come see me. I need to thank you for what he did earlier." I said, dismissing him.
Jay, not saying another word, turned around and walked out of my room and never saw the tears silently stream down my face. Will walked in a few minutes later and said "Christine I have something I need to ask you before we release you. It's a delicate situation so if you think you're going to be uncomfortable then I can have Nat or one of the nurses come in and talk to you." I looked at him and said "Honestly Will, the answer is going to be the same no matter who asks me. I don't know if I was raped. Little Ricky was about to and I fought him off. He beat me unconscious and I have no idea what happened after that. I'm sure you have to know this as well but the last time I had sex, that I know of, was with your brother on December 30th. If an exam needs to be done I would like to have Nat do it now so I can go home. And Will, I don't want Jay to know about this. Even if he and I are truly done, I don't want him thinking this is his fault. He's already having enough trouble dealing with everything." Will turned to go get Nat and we were both stunned to see Jay, once again, standing silently in the doorway. "Will, give us a minute. I need another word with Christine." Jay told his brother. "I'll go find Nat and we'll be back in twenty minutes." Will said closing the door behind him. "I came back to say I am an idiot. I got in the elevator and before I made it back downstairs I knew I couldn't push you away. Now I'm thinking pushing you away is the safest option for you. It might be the only way to keep you safe. I don't know what to do. This is my fault and I don't know how to fix it. Jesus, you're back in ICU because I didn't walk away from you." Jay said. "Jay, come here." I said softly. He walked over and sat on the edge of my bed. I took his hand and said "Remember that night at my apartment? The night we agreed to take our time in getting to know each other? I'm still that girl and you're still that guy. None of this is your fault. Do you really think that if you hadn't come back up here I would have just left you alone? You're crazy if you think that. Jay, I'm in love with you. If you want to keep me safe, then until this Cartel thing is done with, you can spend each night in my bed. But, Jay, if that's too much for you to handle I completely understand. Just don't blame yourself." Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door. Natalie was there to perform the exam. "I'll wait outside with Will." Jay said.
Nat looked at me and asked how I was doing. "Honestly Nat, I'm barely holding it together but I need to get this shit with my Dad and Uncle fixed and get them back to Boston. Then I need to figure out how to convince Jay none of this is his fault. Plus, I've started to remember how freaked out I was when Kelly brought me into the hospital. And I have to deal with the fact that I shot two people and I'm starting to wonder if the Cartel is going to come after me again because of that. If this exam shows tearing that is consistent with a rape, I may lose my shit. I won't be able to handle that and I can tell you Nat I know Jay won't be able to handle it either. Let's just get it over with." I said. A few minutes later the exam was finished and Nat had good news. "It doesn't appear there is any tearing. I'm making a note in your chart that you were not sexually assaulted." she said with a smile on her face. "Christine, the Halstead men are stubborn and sometimes pigheaded, but I know Jay is in love with you and I saw how scared he was when he got to the E.D. earlier. Give him a little time but he will come around. There's no way he will be able to walk away from you. You're be good for him and the two of you will be good for each other. My advice, once you heal, is to get away for a couple of days. Just the two of you. Go somewhere to relax. It will do you both a lot of good. Now let's get you dressed and get you out of here." After helping me put on a pair of hospital scrubs and finding me a pair of slippers, Nat helped me into a wheelchair because I couldn't yet use crutches because of my wrist. Connor got called back into surgery so he had already signed my release form. Will signed the form and then I did as well. Jay put my items in a plastic hospital bag and we headed downstairs so I could go home. "You know I now can start a collection of hospital scrubs and bags from the past week and a half. I would prefer to not have to add to the collection anymore tho." I said as we stood in the elevator with Will and Nat. "Jesus, you are something else." Will said. "Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment." I replied smiling at him. It wasn't the best smile since most of my face was swollen but I did see his eyes widen ever so slightly and I knew I still had it. "Use that on the other Halstead brother, if you don't mind." Nat said teasing me. As the elevator doors opened, Will told me Connor would check on me tonight when he got home from the hospital and then he, Will, would be by the next morning to check on me. For the next couple of weeks he and Connor will take turns checking on me to make sure there are no setbacks.
When Jay wheeled me out of the elevator I was surprised to see how many people I knew were still down in the waiting room. "Jay, I don't want to see them. I'm not ready yet. I just want to go home. Is there another way out of here?" I asked. "Jay, why don't you go get my car and then drive around the other side of the hospital. I'll take Christine and we will meet you there. Once you're gone I'll let everyone know you left." Will suggested. "Yeah, just let me check in with Voight first. He's going to want the Unit with us." Jay replied. "I'll see you in a few minutes." he said placing a light kiss on my lips. As Will, Nat and I stood outside the main entrance to the hospital waiting for Jay a black SUV with dark tinted windows stopped in front of us. The front passenger window rolled down and Uncle Paddy said "Need a ride?" "Thanks Uncle Paddy but we're waiting for Jay. He went to get Will's car and he is going to take me home and stay with me." I said, annoyance evident in my tone and hopefully visible on my face through the bruises and swelling. "No need, little one, Detective Halstead is right here." he said rolling down the window so I could see an unhappy looking Jay sitting in the seat behind him. Fuck, I thought to myself. This isn't going to be good...