Chapter 5- How bad?

Natalie yawned and stretched, slowly opening her eyes and looking around the room. She was confused for a second, until the whirlwind of events of the last day came back. She sighed, looking at the lifeless figure in the bed beside her. His skin was starting to get someone color back, courtesy of the ventilator he was hooked to, and would be for the next few days at least. She turned when she heard the doors open. "Maggie? What're you doing up here?" She asked curiously.

"My shift doesn't start for a few minutes, so I came to check on him. Mostly you though. How're you holding up?" She asked, putting a hand on Natalie's arm.

"I'm….scared. I've already lost one guy, I can't…" she trailed off, staring at him. Maggie pulled her into a hug when she saw a tear roll down her cheek.

"He's gonna get through this. They both will. What did Connor say?" She asked when Natalie pulled away after a minute or so.

"The major thing was the punctured lung. He had an infection in his blood, and he had a seizure when he first came in. Someone has to keep an eye on him because he had a transfusion, but there's still a chance that the infection could come back and turn into sepsis. We're trying some antibiotics to see which it'll respond best to. There's also a fracture in the c6 vertebrae, and five broken ribs." Natalie explained, looking at all the monitors surrounding Will.

"Wow. I gotta clock in, but if anything changes, let me know." Maggie replied. Natalie nodded, then stood with her her a minute longer, when Dr. Bekker came.

"Dr. Rhodes and Sharon thought it would be better if the brothers were in a room together. That way when they wake up, they can see that the other is ok. Jay will be moved in any minute." She said.

"Good idea. Thanks." Natalie said. She said goodbye to Maggie, and watched as Connor and Dr. Abrams pushed Jay in minutes later. Natalie helped them get everything setup, then the three doctors stood in silence for a moment, taking everything in.

"How's he doing?" Connor asked, looking over at Will.

"The same. What's the story with Jay?" Natalie answered with a sigh.

"I took a piece of his skull off to relieve some swelling in his brain. We're gonna keep him in an induced coma until the swelling goes down. Most of his injuries were consistent with a massive trauma. He was likely thrown through the windshield. Other than the swelling, he came in with major hyperthermia, so he'll be on a saline drip for a while. He also had some intestine damage, and an open fracture to his tibia." Dr. Abrams explained.

"Wow. Must've been a crazy crash." Connor said with disbelief.

"You should've seen the car. It was basically shredded." Natalie answered. After making sure that the brothers were situated, they again left Natalie alone in the room.

Later…

Natalie walked into the room once again, this time dressed in her scrubs. She had just gotten back from finishing her shift, then a quick visit home. She walked over, and placed the the stethoscope on his chest, trying to hear how the lung was healing. She soon called a nurse and ran more tests before walking to the machine to lower the level of it just as Connor walked in.

"I guess that's a good sign?" he asked, watching her fiddle with the machine.

"Yea. The lung is healing nicely, and he isn't as dependent on the machine anymore. You did a good job." Natalie said.

"I hope so. He fought me like crazy." He said, shaking his head.

"Will being difficult? What?!" She answered sarcastically. Connor laughed, then started to examine Will himself.

"He's improving faster than I thought he would. If he keeps progressing like this, he can probably come off soon." Connor said, hope filling both of them. Both doctors soon turned their attention to the other patient in the room when a machine started to go off. They walked over and started checking his stats.

"His heart rate is to high. He's got a clot somewhere." Connor said, looking around for signs. Natalie put her stethoscope to his chest, a worried look crossed her face.

"He's having trouble breathing. It's a pulmonary embolism. We need to find that clot. I need a nurse in here!" She yelled. Connor quickly pulled the blankets back, searching his lower extremities. After another scan, he found what he was looking for.

"It's in his leg, just above the fracture. Get It's a catheter." Connor said, looking at the dark purple color of the veins and the blue color surrounding them. After putting it in, he watched the monitors start to level off.

"He's breathing better, but I want to put him on oxygen. Hopefully the catheter will resolve it and we won't have to intubate him, get me a nasal cannula. I'll keep an eye on him." Natalie said, pulling the scope away.

"Good. Call me anything changes." Connor said. Natalie nodded, and he returned to his rounds. She soon walked back over to Will's bedside. After checking and double checking all his vitals she brushed the hair out of his eye. She studied the stitches that had closed a gash on his chin, and one a feet few away on his jawline. She wished more than anything that was the worst of his injuries, but she knew he had a long recovery time ahead of him. They both did.

"The ED feels weird without you. Everyone misses you. Even Doris. That takes skill, because she doesn't really miss anyone." Natalie said, thinking of how lonely she had felt, no matter how many people were around her.

"It's ok though. You heard Connor, your improving. Soon you don't have to use this tube, and then you can go ahead and wake up. How does that sound?" she continued, keeping herself busy. She sat down next to him, and held his hand, willing him to squeeze hers. Move a finger, and eyelid, anything. Something to let her know the man she fell in love with was still in there.

I know your still in there, but it'd be great if you'd give me a sign.

A week later…

Natalie looked up from the book she was reading towards the door. She smiled as Hailey walked in. She didn't know much about her other than she had been partnered with Jay after Erin left.

"Hey." She greeted her.

"Hi. Thanks for keeping an eye on them." Hailey said, a shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Natalie could tell she was uncomfortable, so she decided to give her some time alone.

"I'm going to get my stuff. Antonio said he was coming by soon so I could go home for a while……… I hate leaving him…" Natalie paused, then sighed as she stood up.

"He's gonna come out of this just fine. They both will." Hailey said, trying her best to reassure her. Natalie nodded, and left.

"Hey partner. Sounds like you're pretty messed up. You know, when I said I was gonna have to start looking for a new partner, I didn't mean for you to take it seriously." Hailey said. She shook her head, looking at all the machines attached to him. Then there was the thick white bandage that was wrapped around his head, covering his forehead and left temple. He looked like crap. Yet somehow, when she looked at his face, he looked peaceful.

"You need to hurry up and get better. The office isn't the same without you. Everyone's worried about you. I know you've been through alot lately, but you gotta hold on just a little longer. Who am I kidding, you probably can't even hear me." Upton said with a sigh.

"Actually, I think he can. Last time this happened, I sat and talked to him for a few hours. I thought the same thing, and then a while later, he thanked me for what I said." Hailey turned at the sound of Antonio walking in and closing the door behind him.

"Really? He told me before that he's had a few brushes with death. Do you know how many?" Upton asked curiously.

"To many to count by now. Not all of them were here though. I've been told he had a few close calls during his tours. And somehow, he's come back from every single one. That's why I don't doubt he'll come back from this." Antonio said, sitting in the chair next to him.

"Sounds like his stubbornness is in every aspect of his life." She said with a small smile.

"Yea pretty much. Although in this case we better hope so. With all that's happened… it's up to him now." Antonio said with a laugh, then quickly turned somber again.

"Yea. I'm….I gotta go. I just...I really hate hospitals. And I have some uh...some paper…."

"Hey. Go. It's fine. I understand." Antonio said with a nod. He hated them just as much as she did. He understood how awkward this must be for her, seeing as she hasn't been with the unit for very long. It also had to be hard on her. It was on everyone.

After Hailey left, Antonio glanced over at Will, making sure he was ok before scooting his chair closer to Jay.

"Hey kid. It's been a week, you gotta wake up. People are getting worried. Your off the drugs, you should be coming around by now. We're all waiting for you." Antonio said.

He studied the younger agents face, and watched as his expression somehow changed from calm, to surprise.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Antonio asked, watching curiously.

Jay opened his eyes and looked around, confused. He was surrounded by white, but it was a weird kind. It wasn't like a room, but it seemed to go on forever. 'Is this heaven? Did I die?' he wondered."No, not quite. Your close to it though." Jay turned around towards the familiar voice."Jack? How are you here? Your...your…" Jay sputtered."Dead? Yea, I know. How many years has it been now?" He asked nonchalantly, while Jay stared in disbelief."Uh….seven years and three days." Jay managed to get out."Sounds about right. Look, I'm here to talk to you about something that's been on your mind lately. Everything that happened that day was supposed to happen." Jack said, coming closer."What do you mean?" Jay asked."I mean that my death wasn't your fault. My legs were trapped, and there was a hole in my femoral artery. I was gonna die whether or not you pulled me out." He answered."I….I could've gotten you out first!" Jay said."Your not listening. I was already dying. And besides, you get me out and leave Jesse or Logan in there? No way. Logan had a baby on the way, and Jesse was about to get married." Jake said, trying to reason with him."But…" Jay stuttered."Look, I've made peace with what happened. It's time you did to." Jack said."You always were very logical. That is, when you weren't being a loose cannon." Jay replied after a few moments."Yea I was kind of a mess, wasn't I?" Jack said with a laugh."Yea, and i've got the scar to prove it! So, is this heaven? Do you…. Do you see anyone else?" Jay asked."There's the Halstead I remember. Always asking to many questions. It's time for me to go. I was told to tell you that if you don't wake up soon, your mom is going to be really upset with you. Your brother needs you." Jack said, seemingly fading away."My Mom? Wait, Wills still alive? I thought… Come back!" Jay said, trying not to sound too desperate, but he wanted answers."Relax. How bout you wake up and find out?" Jack said, as he faded completely. Jay watched as the white around him started to dissipate.

Jay groaned as he moved his head, and a new light took the place of the white that had surrounded him. Antonio moved closer, seeing Jay squint, then start to reach for his forehead. Jay felt the bandage, and immediately started to pull at it, the grogginess overriding his common sense.

"Hey, don't do that. Take it easy." Antonio said, gently pulling his hand away. Jays eyes squinted again, then slowly opened. He blinked, waiting for the blurriness to subside. As it did, Antonio's face came into view.

"Finally decided to join me huh? I was getting tired of talking to a lump." Antonio said with a smirk. Jay smiled, laughing slightly until the movement jostled everything, and pain returned.

"Careful. They took you off the heavy stuff so you'd wake up. You've still got some though." Antonio said when he saw him wince.

"W…….Will?" Jay asked, his voice deep and quiet from a dry, scratchy throat.

"Right next to you. We're still waiting on him, but he's getting better every day." He answered. After he helped Jay drink, he set the cup back down, and watched him slip back out, knowing it was coming since he watched him wake up. While he wished he would've stayed conscious for a while longer, this was the most promising sign they'd gotten in days. He sat back with a content sigh.