Chapter 2

Author's notes: Thank you all for your interest in this story. I'm fascinated to see readers from 17 different countries spread across five continents – very cool. Please take the time to post a review and let me know what you think. I'm going to focus on finishing up chapter 10 for My Enemy's Enemy next, but will probably be able to sneak in an update or two for this story, as well, especially since chapter 3 is almost complete already. Enjoy!

Street outside County General Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
14 January, 2014 - 23:32 CST

Don't you die on me, girl, he thought as he was racing towards the emergency room of the nearest hospital. Holding the steering wheel with his left hand, he reached over to Nadia's unconscious body buckled into the passenger seat. Relieved to detect a faint pulse, he pulled into the driveway of County General Hospital and came to a screeching stop right outside the entrance to the ER.

Jumping out of his car, he raced to open the passenger door and lifted her limp form from the car. "I NEED A DOCTOR," he yelled as he entered the emergency room. A nurse and a younger looking doctor came running towards him, pushing a stretcher. He gently put her down on it before taking a step back to give them room to work on her. "I'm Dr. Carter. What happened to her," the doctor asked as he started to check her vitals.

"She was attacked. Stab wounds to the neck. I think she lost a lot of blood and may also be suffering from hypothermia."

Dr. Carter nodded. "Thank you, we got it from here. Let's take her to number 3," he directed the team as Nadia was being moved away. "You'll have to stay to answer some questions. Please have a seat and one of the nurses will be right with you."

"Sure," he said and watched them leave before calmly turning around and slipping out of the ER unnoticed.

Inside Erin's car en route to her apartment, Chicago, Illinois
15 January, 2014 - 00:04 CST

They were driving in silence. Erin had her eyes closed, breathing slowly and hoping to make it to her apartment without getting sick.

"We're almost there," Jay told her as he carefully maneuvered Erin's car through the snowy streets of Chicago. He kept stealing glances at Erin, a constant look of worry on his face. He had never seen her like this, and it started to freak him out.

When they were only a couple of blocks from Erin's apartment, her cell phone started ringing. With a groan, Erin opened her eyes and unsteadily pulled the phone from her coat pocket. "County General," she said surprised when she read the caller ID. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the call. "This is Lindsay."

Her eyes grew wide as she listened to the voice on the phone. "When," she asked as she was sitting more upright in her seat. "Is she ok?" Erin's eyes were welling up as she tried to process the information. "I understand. Thank you, Nurse Lockhart. I'll be there as soon as possible." She dropped the phone into her lap and looked over to Jay, who had already turned the car around as he was speeding towards the hospital. She felt sick, and it wasn't just because of the alcohol. I failed her, she thought. I should have known better than to leave her alone. I was too trusting, too hopeful and too naive. And now someone hurt her. Badly.

"Who's in the hospital," Jay eventually asked when it became clear that Erin wasn't going to talk. He quickly looked over to her and saw her lips quivering as she was clearly trying to hold back tears. Focusing on the road again as he was driving as fast as the weather conditions allowed, he heard her draw in a sharp breath.

"Jay," she said quietly, "If I talk about it now, I'm gonna lose it. And that can't happen. I really need to keep it together." Seeing him nod, she continued, "I promise I will tell you later." But right now, I'm just praying that Nadia is still alive by the time we get there.

County General Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
15 January, 2014 - 00:22 CST

When they arrived at the hospital, Lindsay reached over and took Jay's hand before he had a chance to get out of the car. Surprised, he turned to face her. "Thanks for being there for me tonight, Jay. I needed that."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Anytime. You'd do the same for me."

She nodded, and kept holding his hand while she was steadying herself both physically and mentally. After a minute, she felt ready. "Okay, let's go."

They entered the ER and walked straight to the nurses' station. Erin flashed her badge. "Hi, I'm Detective Lindsay with the Chicago PD. This is Detective Halstead. I received a call from Nurse Lockhart about a young woman that was brought in about an hour ago."

The nurse nodded, turned around and called out, "Hey Abby! The police are here."

Another nurse walked over to them, smiling. "Hi, I'm Abby Lockhart. Detective Lindsay?"

Erin nodded. "And this is my partner, Detective Halstead." Jay gave the nurse a quick wave. "Is she ok," Erin asked concerned.

"She stabilized more than when she got here, but I would say she is still in critical condition. Dr. Carter is working on her, so she is in great hands. I'm sure he can give you an update regarding her condition."

"Could we see her?"

Nodding, Nurse Lockhart started leading them away. "I'm glad you could come this quickly. As I told you on the phone, the young woman had no ID of any kind on her. The only thing we could find on her was a partially torn up business card with your name and number. We'd like to see if you could identify her, if possible." They arrived outside of an examination room. Through the glass panels in the door, they could see a team of doctors and nurses in green scrubs working on someone on a stretcher. "Please wait a moment while I check with the doctor if it is ok for you to come in." With that, Nurse Lockhart left them outside while she went into the room.

When the doctor turned to speak to Nurse Lockhart, Erin and Jay could see Nadia's face from outside the room. Although she knew that it had to be her, the sight came as a shock to Erin. She gasped and took a step back, almost tripping over her feet in the process. Thankfully, Jay was there to catch her and keep her from falling. He recognized Nadia, too, from their case a few weeks ago. "You okay, Erin," he asked her in a low voice as he continued to steady her.

She looked up at him with a fierceness in her eyes that he knew all too well. "No. But I will be when we nail the fucking bastard that did this to her."

After Erin and Jay were brought into the room to identify Nadia, Dr. Carter led them back to the hallway outside. "She has two puncture wounds in her neck that penetrated the main artery, which likely led to a significant loss of blood. That, along with exposure to the elements, almost killed her. If she had gotten here any later than she did, I don't think she would still be alive."

Erin listened intently, her arms crossed in front of her and Jay right by her side. "Is she gonna make it?"

"She's still very weak, but her vital signs are improving, which is promising. If she makes it through the night, she should have excellent prospects to make a full recovery. There's something else, though," Dr. Carter said, before hesitating for a moment. "Toxicology reports aren't back yet, but we found signs of drug abuse on her body. She has injection marks on both of her arms."

With a sad look on her face, Erin nodded. "Yeah, she's an addict. Which is going to make recovery harder." She sighed. "I really don't like saying this, but if she needs to be restrained until she's stable enough to enter treatment, then please do so. I will come back in the morning to check on her. In the meantime, please call me if there is a significant change."

Dr. Carter nodded in agreement and turned to leave.

"One last question," Erin called out. "How was she brought in? Did someone find her and call an ambulance?"

Dr. Carter stopped and shook his head. "No, a civilian brought her into the ER. We told him to wait, but he left before we could get his information or determine how he found her."

Jay and Erin exchanged a knowing look. "Thanks, Dr. Carter," Jay said. "We need to speak to your security company about accessing your security camera data."

"It's all done remotely," Dr. Carter said. "Jerry at the desk can you give the contact information."