Chapter 2: Stay with me

Fogginess hung over Jay like a thick, heavy cloud. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was met with an indescribable amount of pain. It started at the top of his head and surged through his veins down to the soles of his feet. He blinked rapidly as his mind began to trick him. Every time he closed and opened his eyes again, his view changed from lush green fields to pale yellow dust. As he pulled himself off the ground, his eyes met the vehicle he had just been thrown from. He pushed himself to his feet, and began to stumble towards it.

"Jay no!" He whirled around as quickly as his body would allow at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Logan!" He yelled, but as he blinked again, the shadowy figure disappeared. He turned back around, and looked in horror as a hand reached out of the open car door to him. He sprinted over, watching flames leap into the air from the front of the hood.

"Jack! Hold on! I'm gonna get you out!" Jay screamed over the crackling fire.

"J….Jay! It's Wi...Will!" Will said, his confusion leaving him as soon as he heard himself called by the wrong name. He saw the glossy look in his brothers eyes, and knew exactly what was happening. Jay was back in the Afghan desert. Will had done a quick self evaluation, and knew that he was likely bleeding internally. He also knew that if he didn't get out of this car soon, the rib that he could tell was pushing into his lung would soon rip it open. He had to get Jay back to present day.

"Don't worry Jack, the rest of the units coming! I've got you!" Jay said as he pulled Will out of the car with one fierce tug. Pain exploded in Will's chest and abdomen as Jay somehow managed to hoist him over his shoulders and carry him away from the mangled car. When they had gotten a few feet away, Jay carefully lowered him to the ground, then began to yell to people behind him that only Will knew weren't there. He knew if he didn't get Jay back, both of them would die. He reached up and grabbed the side of Jay's face, turning it to him.

"Jay! Look at me! Th….this is Will! Your in Chicago, no…..not Afghanistan! Hey! We were in an accident, and I need you to come back and stay with me ok?!" Will said calmly, never loosening the grip on Jay's head. He watched as Jay processed what he had said, and the faraway look slowly left his eyes. Jay looked down at the man in front of him, and watched and listened as the camo disappeared and the gunfire was replaced by the sound of birds in the nearby trees. He took a deep breath as everything began to make more sense. With the feeling of normalcy also came the severe pain that sat mostly in his head, shoulder, and legs.

"Wh...what happened?" he asked, looking around at all the blood, and trying to figure out which was his and which was coming from Will.

"The bang you heard wasn't an IED, it was the tire popping on all those screws. That construction truck lost all the stuff on its bed and we ran over it. They must not have heard the accident because they didn't come back." Will explained.

"Are...are you ok? What hurts?" Jay asked, finally focused enough to look him over.

"That's my line." He answered with a laugh, but quickly stopped when the pain intensified.

"It's my….chest. My guess, a few broken ribs, one of which is currently about to puncture my lung. Other than that, nothing major." Will replied.

"And who does that sound like?" Jay said.

"Wait, you didn't have your seatbelt on, did you. That means you….my god Jay, you went through the windshield! How'd you manage to get me out after something like that?! Tell me what hurts, and tell me everything!" Will demanded as he pieced everything together. His worry turned to fear as he watched Jay try to answer, then suddenly drop from where he had been in a sitting position, onto the ground.

"Dammit Jay! Stay with me!" Will yelled, ignoring his own pain and pushing himself off the ground to get closer to his brother. He opened his eyelids, praying they would react to the light. When they did, he tried to look closer, soon finding a gaping hole right on the hairline where the crash ripped open his brothers head. He looked closer, and cursed under his breath as he saw white, with a crack in that layer to. Jays head was split down to the bone, and the recent fall had cracked it open just a little wider to reveal a bit of pink. His brain was exposed, albeit ever so slightly. Will grunted in pain as he yanked off his jacket to press onto the wound. He then decided to carefully roll him onto his back. As he did, the movement put just enough pressure on his side to force the rib the rest of the way through the protective layer of his lung. His scream of pain echoed in the trees as he collapsed back to the hot grass beneath him.

Later…

Jay squeezed his eyes against the sun that was beating through them. He shielded himself, and turned onto his side despite the fierce protests from his head, and looked frantically for his brother. He saw him lying just a foot away on his back, motionless. Jay scrambled over, dragging his badly broken leg from what he could tell, behind him.

"Will! Come on man, wake up!" Jay begged, pressing his fingers to the side of his neck. A pulse beat beneath them, and his eyes flickered open.

"Your not breathing right! Dammit, your the doctor here! What do I do?!" Jay yelled after listening to the wheezing sounds coming from his brothers chest. Will became more aware of his surroundings once again, and realized what needed to happen, even though he really hated it.

"I n...need you to put a ch...chest t...tube in…." Will said. He could feel his breaths getting more and more shallow, and knew it was the only way.

"You want me to open up your chest?! Are you insane?!" Jay asked in shock.

"Look….without it…..I'm...g...gonna stop...breathing. I'll talk you...through it." Will said. Jay finally nodded, then forced himself to this feet, and back towards the car to gather supplies.

"Ok, I got everything, what do I do?" Jay asked. Will had been able to steady his breathing enough to get out a full sentence.

"Find my first….rib." He said.

"Uh..got it." Jay said.

"Ok, now count down to the fourth and fifth."

"Yea…"

"Make a two inch…..cut...right in between...the ribs." Will said, bracing himself for the pain that was about to follow. Jay flinched, forcing himself to keep a steady hand despite every fiber of his being telling him to stop when he heard Will's scream.

"Wha….what's next?" Jay asked, his entire body shaking.

"ahhhggg! O…...ok. Stick your fin...ger….in to make sure….nothing is blocking the way. Then p….put the...tube in. Do….don't stop no matter…... how much...I scream…..I'll probably…..pass out soon...but your.…. doing gr...great." Will forced the words out, slipping away more with each one. Jay did as he has instructed him, and pushed the tube in, trying desperately to block out the screams. Just as he said, Will soon passed out. Jay then pulled him further into the shelter he had built from blanket and clothes and stuff he had found in what was left of the car. He took a small drink, and tried to slow his breathing, before checking his phone once again. Still no signal. They were all alone out here.

Later…

Will woke up a few hours later to see the shelter Jay had made. Jay was off to the side rummaging through his bag, then pulling out a roll of bandage.

"Good, you're awake! I found that case of water I bought at our last stop. Turns out the fire hasn't gotten that far into the car yet. I got our bags out and the excessively large first aid kit you packed." Jay said, glancing over at him.

"Perks of being a doctor and also being paranoid I guess." Will said with a weak grin, not daring to laugh.

"What're you doing?" he asked curiously.

"Making myself a cast. My legs broken and I'd be shocked if my ankle isn't also. I think I hit it on that tree stump when I flew out of the window. How're you feeling?" he replied nonchalantly.

"I've been better, but I'm ok right now. I told you you should've had a seatbelt on." Will said, looking down at his brothers handiwork. He now knew just how badly a chest tube hurt, and was actually surprised he was awake.

"How did I know you were gonna say that." Jay rolled his eyes, and finished taping up his leg. He then pulled himself up, grabbing onto a nearby tree to balance himself as the world around him spun faster and faster. He put a hand on his forehead, feeling like that was the only thing keeping it from splitting in half. He tried to stifle it, but a groan of pain slipped out anyway.

"What's happening? Take a deep breath. You ok?" Will asked worriedly.

"I'msshm finnnne. Fine." Jay blinked, trying to control his words that slurred together.

"Jay, that head wound is pretty bad, and you definitely have a nasty concussion. After the two you've had before this, I don't know how much more your brain can handle. You need to lay down and rest!" Will said, everything in him telling him he should get up and go help Jay, but he knew he was in bad shape himself.

"I'll be ok. I...just need to put my shoulder back in and then ishlllresht…." Jay said, annoyance creeping in when the last words wouldn't come out right. Will watched helplessly as Jay backed up a few steps, and rammed the back of his shoulder into a tree as hard as he could.

"What in gods name! Jay! What the heck are you doing!" Will yelled over Jays yelp of pain.

"Putting my shoulder back in." Jay said between breaths.

"I can assure you that's not how you do it! Are you trying to make it worse or something?!" he asked, still shocked.

"It worked, ok. Calm down!" Jay said, then slumped down next to his brother. He handed him a water bottle, and propped his head up on a pile of clothes.

After hours of them both drifting in and out of consciousness, Jay woke up to realize that the sun was going down. He reached into his bag and fumbled around until his hand ran over what he was looking for. He pulled his handgun out, suddenly feeling safer with it in his hands. Will stirred again, looking over at him.

"You brought your gun?" Will asked with surprise.

"I never leave home without it. Besides, its about to be pitch dark out here, and were in the woods. Neither of us is in any shape to defend ourselves, so we'll have to rely on metal and gunpowder." Jay answered, huffing in annoyance when the bullet slipped out of his shaking hand. A pounding returned to his head when he tried to focus to closely on something as small as a chamber. He shut his eyes and took a breath, having deja vu remembering his time in the rehab room after his occipital fracture.

"You ok?" Will asked, seeing everything.

"Yea, my eyes are just focusing slower that usual. It happens occasionally since the explosion." He answered, brushing it off. He looked back over, and Will was out again. He knew that was normal with his injuries, but he still couldn't help but worry. He sighed, stopping soon after when the deep breath brought back the pain in his stomach. He ignored it, and finally slid the bullet into his gun, then another. He set it in his lap, and laid his head back against one of the trees that was holding their shelter.

Later…

Jay felt the sun beating down on him once again. Wait, isn't it nighttime? Jay thought, confused. That was only compounded when he opened his eyes, and found was laying in the bed at Erin's old apartment. His old apartment. He pulled himself into a sitting position as someone walked around the corner and into the bedroom, climbing onto the bed next to him. The haze around the face cleared, and a warm smile came across his face.

"Hey." Jay said.

"All this time, and all I get is a "hey"? wow." Erin said with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, well you left me. I'm glad your back though." Jay said, reaching to hold her hand. A hint of surprise creeped in when his hand seemed to go right through hers. She ignored it and kept talking.

"I didn't have a choice. Seems like you need me though." She said. Jay followed her gaze to his abdomen, which was littered with cuts and blood. He flinched when he touched one of the cuts, then looked back to her when the pain seeped in. "I wish I could help you, but you need to wake up now. Will needs you. Wake up….wake up….Jay…..jay…."

"Jay! Wake up! Did you hear that?!" Will asked. Jay opened his eyes and looked around him, sadly realizing everything he had just seen was all a dream. He looked in the direction Erin had vanished into, praying with everything in him that it was real. Instead, it was more woods. He finally looked back to Will, who knew he finally had gotten his brothers attention.

"There's something…..coming towards us." Will said. Jay listened to the snapping of twigs as it got closer and closer. He thought it could be human until he saw the fluorescent yellow eyes staring back at him that could only belong to one animal. A mountain lion.

Jay picked his gun up, shushing Will as the animal crept closer, likely drawn by the fire that had now diminished, mixed with the smell of a wounded animal, which happened to be the two of them. Jay raised his weapon, thinking that the cat would make his way past them if they didn't make a noise. Then, for some reason, the animal decided it wanted a piece of them Jay watched it jump towards them, and pulled the trigger.

The ear-piercing bang that filled the quiet night air left a ringing in Jays ears and a pounding in his head. He wasn't sure if he had hit his target until he heard it drop and roll into the bottom of the ditch below them.

"You glad I brought it with now?" Jay asked.

"If there wasn't a hole in my side, I'd hug you right now!" Will answered.

"I guess we'll just have to postpone it for a little while then, huh?" Jay said. Will huffed his answer, and the brothers were soon back to sleep.

/

Disclaimer: I don't know much of anything about actual surgery or putting in chest tubes. This is based somet off how I've seen other tv shows do it. So basically, don't quote me on any of the medical procedures described in this chapter! Thanks for reading, leave a review with what you thought!