Robert was surprised, to say the least, when the object of his fantasies for the last month walked into his nightly watering hole hand in hand with an old guy. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Jay Halstead since he came into the pharmacy to pick up a prescription of antibiotics. He had looked like hell, being sick and all, but he was still absolutely beautiful.
When he got home that night from the bar, he kicked himself for leaving immediately after the confrontation with the scary old bastard instead of sticking around and trying to talk to Jay again.
He thought they would be perfect together. It didn't even dawned on him that he might not be gay. But there he was, Jay Halstead of 3123 Carter St. Apartment 307 walking into a gay bar. He took it as a sign they were meant to be together.
Then the geezer came back from the bathroom and ruined everything. He was sure if they'd been able to talk, Jay would have changed his mind, danced with him and dropped the old guy like a hot potato. He was pissed about the missed opportunity, but there would be more so he had let it go for the time being.
XXXXXXX
Will silently let himself in figuring Jay was probably sleeping. He'd been worried about him and even though Jay would probably be a bit cranky for being mother henned, he was going to mother hen full throttle. He really didn't know why the jackass didn't just give it up and let him take care of him, he was never gunna win this argument.
Jay was a strong, independent, badass cop ex-soldier, but to Will he was his little brother first, so Jay would just have to suck it up and deal with it.
Plus, it was the best way to yank Jay's chain.
X
He walked quietly into the living room incase Jay was sacked out on the couch and was startled by the scene, then terrified. The couch was out of place, the coffee table crushed, the side table tipped over and the lamp was broken with streaks of blood running from it…and there, under the skewed kitchen table next to Jay's wrist brace, was an empty syringe.
There was a voice coming from the bedroom and even though it was muffled he could tell it wasn't Jay talking.
Not having a thought about his own safety or realizing the person on the other side of the door might have a gun, Will grabbed the closest thing he could find to a weapon, a golf club.
He peaked around the bedroom door, knowing enough with a cop for a brother that he shouldn't just go barging in but find out what he was dealing with first.
The implications of what he was seeing were crystal clear and made him want to throw up; Jay was unconscious and beat to hell…again. His arms were tied to the corners of the bed and he was gagged. His dark green button down was ripped open, chest bared and his jeans, fly open, sat low on his hips…and there was a man, also bloody and bruised, sitting on his little brother's thighs.
Jay's head was turned to him and blood was dribbling from his reopened split lip and the cut under his eye. Red splotches on his face and torso were already starting to purple joining the still dark bruises from a week ago.
Even though he couldn't see a weapon, didn't mean there wasn't one, but that didn't matter right now. The asshole's hands were all over his brother and he needed to stop it. So he charged in yelling the first thing that came to his mind, "Stop police!" forgetting that a golf club wasn't a standard issued weapon,
Freezing mid-caress of his quarry's bruised skin, he whipped his head to the officer. When he saw it wasn't a cop but some freaked out ginger with a golf club, he snarled and slowly lifted himself off Jay's legs using his chest as leverage. He didn't know who this wimp was, but he was going to pay for interrupting his first date Jay.
The knife only became visible when the guy charged screaming like a banshee. Acting on instinct, Will swung the wooden driver hard, clipping the guy on the shoulder then head with the follow through. If he wouldn't have clipped the shoulder first, the guy would more than likely be dead, as it was he was down for the count.
Doing a bit of a klutzy looking hop at the end of the swing, he changed his trajectory from Jay to the dresser when his brain engaged and he realized he had to secure the guy.
He stepped over the unconscious man, opened the top drawer and found Jay's handcuffs sitting beside his gun case, badge and k-bar.
Jay was his priority so he didn't care that he cuffed the guy too tight. He just needed to get to Jay and be done with the asshole.
Half kneeling on the bed with one leg on the floor, Will leaned forward and spoke softly to his brother even though he was unconscious, "Hey bud. It's me…" he touched the cords tying Jay's wrists, "gunna untie these…"
It only took a second to realize the knots were too damn tight, so he left them for the moment and worked the gag loose. The action startled Jay to semiconsciousness and a soft 'no' slurred from his lips.
"Shh Jay. It's me."
He turned Jay's bloody face toward him and pulled off the gag, "You see me?"
Fingers flexing above his head, Jay's eyes blinked open just long enough to see it was his brother.
"Will…"
"Ya hold on. You're okay."
He kept one hand on Jay's shoulder visually assessing him for injuries while putting his phone on speaker and calling 911.
"911 what's your emergency?"
He knew what to say, but it all came out in a jumbled mess as he tried function with the adrenaline still rushing though his body.
"Uh…Officer down. I need police and an ambulance…Detective Jay Halstead…"
Bad timing had Jay realizing his arms were tied above his head and he jerked in a panic.
"No!"
"Dammit…Shh. Shh…It's me…" he put his hand on Jay's cheek causing him to flinch away then lean back into his palm.
"Hold on we'll get you loose. Hold on 'kay?"
A tremble rolled through Jay's body and he licked his lips, "Will…"
"I know…just a second, hold on for me, okay, hold on…" he yelled at the operator to to do the same as he jumped off the bed and retrieved Jay's K-bar.
"I'm back Jay, lie still…" he stroked Jay's hair, then spoke to the operator again, "…I'm back hold…on," he choked on the words then continued in an anxious mumble, "…everyone just…just hold on please"
His hands were shaking so badly he had to cut the bindings a few inches away from Jay's wrists so he wouldn't cut his arms in the process of freeing him. Once his little brother was untethered, he slowly brought his arms to his sides, being extra gentle with his injured left arm.
Running his hand through Jay's hair again, he apologized for the pain he had just caused him, "Sorry bud. Sorry…" then focused on the operator again.
"…I'm here! I'm here! This is Dr. Will Halstead. My brother, Detective Jay Halstead badge number 56…no…511…51163 51163, was beaten, injected with an unknown substance in his home. Send police and an ambulance to 3123 Carter St. Apartment 307."
Then as a very important afterthought, he added, "…and notify Hank Voight, Intelligence Unit, 21st district immediately!"
Will's voice got stronger and less hesitant as the call progressed. Once he relayed pertinent information, he left the line open and saw to Jay.
Moving a few inches closer, he laid hand on Jay's cheek, "Come on bro, open your eyes for me…"
He blinked his eyes open at his brother's request and with a groan, scrunched them closed again at the bright light filtering in from the other room.
"Okay…sorry…it's okay leave them closed. You with me?"
"Ya." It was nothing more than a whisper.
He tried to lift his head to see his body, but it was too heavy and plopped back onto the bed. His face twisted and his body trembled again but this time didn't stop, causing his voice to shake and crack.
"Will…"
Putting his hands on both sides of Jay's face, he tried to wipe away the abject fear he saw there, "You're okay. He didn't do anything Jay, he didn't do anything."
He pulled in a stuttering breath, released it in a heavy sigh and pulled the edges of his shirt together with his shaking right hand. He tried to get a hold of the edges with the left, but hampered by his broken wrist, lost the grip and it fell open again.
Seeing a tear leak from the corner of Jay's eye when he lost the grip on his shirt, his anger spiked at what had been done to his little brother.
"I got it."
He grabbed the edges of the shirt and gently poked them into the fingers of Jay's left hand so he could hold them together without moving his wrist.
X
Already on their way to pick up Jay for a night at Molly's, Adam and Kevin arrived ahead of the ambulance and uni's.
They entered the apartment with guns drawn, took in the mess and moved silently to the bedroom when they heard talking. Before they were even at the door they could hear it was Will.
Stopping at the door when Will raised his hand for them to hold, they nodded and said nothing but still had to enter to get the perp out of the room for the brother's safety.
They quickly carried the guy to the living room and dropped the him none to gently. Granted they were practically dragging him so they wouldn't have done more damage anyway, even though they wanted to.
Straightening up, they took synchronized deep breaths. Anger and worry radiated on both their faces and admiration and disbelief swirled in their minds. Jay was already injured, down a wing and he still gave the asshole as good as he got.
Adam was just this side of speechless, but was still able to sum up the shit that happened to Jay and the strength of the man as only he could, "Jesus Christ, Jay man…"
X
Shirt held together and covering him, Jay clumsily ran his right hand down his torso to his jeans. His hand trembled when he found them sitting lower on his hips with the belt buckle undone and the buttons to his fly opened.
Will's eyebrows crinkled as he watched Jay's fingers trip over his belt buckle and then, with barely a hold on them, give a weak tug to his jeans.
Leaning into his brother's line of sight again, he offered to help, "Can I?"
X
The medics rushed into the apartment, followed by three uni's. Kevin stopped everyone and quietly doled out his orders. "Just hold a second."
He held the medics in the living room, sent the arriving uni's to the hall and when Voight charged in, Kevin grabbed his arm to stop him from reaching the bedroom.
"Whoa boss…"
Voight glanced at the hand on his arm, then looked at his subordinate with a 'get your fucking hand off of me!' death glare.
Speaking quietly, Kevin filled him in on the situation, "Will's in there. Give them a little…think Jay needs a second."
Adam tipped his head to the unconscious man the medics are working on, "It's the guy from the bar, boss…the guy who hit on Jay."
His anger at Kevin for stopping him from going to Jay, morphed into rage at the unconscious man on the floor but he would set that aside for now. Only Jay mattered.
"He hurt?"
By the tone of their sergeant's voice and the look on his face, they knew the information he was really looking for.
"Doesn't look like it boss…not in that way. He's still got his clothes on, but he's beat to hell so we're probably looking at another concussion and maybe more damage to his ribs."
All the while Kevin was talking, Voight's eyes flicked around the room taking in the damage he missed when he charged in.
Kevin gestured to the broken lamp and streaks of blood, "He's cut up, his back maybe…not sure though. Think the asshole must have dragged him through the glass."
With the reminder of who the asshole was, Adam was awash with guilt for making fun of Jay when the guy hit on him and tried to 'woo him away' from Voight. Shaking off the feeling for the time being, Adam added, "We were only in there for a minute to grab the asshole but I think Jay's wrist is fucked up again, more fucked up…"
Voight nodded at his officers and with a calmer and more rational approach, patted Kevin's arm and went to the door to check on the brothers but didn't enter. What he saw broke his heart and the cracks of it filled with rage.
X
A shiver ran through Jay and his right hand joined the broken one holding his shirt closed and nodded to his brother.
"Here we go…"
More tears leaked from his little brother's eyes and ran into his hair as he gave a gentle tug to his jeans, pulling them to where they would normally sit on his hips.
His chest tightened at Jay's tears but it was the wet 'thanks' that was almost his undoing. Voice cracking, his own tears fell as he ran his hand through Jay's hair, "I got ya bud…I got ya."
XXXXXXX
Kim and Hailey arrived just in time to see Adam helping the medics roll a shirtless Jay to his side, exposing his bloody back. Will was crouched in front of his brother, hand on shoulder, quietly comforting as he groaned through the pain.
The medic squirted saline over his back revealing six deep cuts but no imbedded glass.
After applying a pressure bandage to the area, they rolled Jay onto the backboard and the two medics, along with Will and Kevin, loaded it onto the stretcher and strapped him in.
Jay flinched at the action, but settled when Will brushed fingers though his hair then left his hand on top of his head and whispered, "Right here bud…"
Will walked beside the gurney, hand never leaving Jay's head and occasionally brushed his thumb back and forth across his forehead. And even though his little brother was covered with a light blanket, he could see Jay still had his shirt in a death grip.
Voight's eyes locked with Will's for a moment when they exited the bedroom, then stared after the group until they were out of sight. He worked his jaw wanting to punch something and momentarily hoped the asshole who hurt Jay died, but then took back the thought knowing that even though he clubbed the guy to save his brother, the elder Halstead would have a hard time reconciling he killed someone in the process, no matter how much they deserved to be dispatched to hell.
Addressing his unit, Voight growled out his orders, pissed the asshole slipped through cracks he didn't, but maybe should have, known existed. They were so focused on the bust, he didn't think to consider the guy who hit on Halstead in the bar might be more than a guy looking to dance.
"Hailey, you've got the scene with Kim. Lock it down then turn it over to Trudy. She's on her way. Kevin, ride with the asshole. Make sure they take him to University. The motherfucker isn't getting anywhere near Jay."
Clenching his jaw, he growled out his last order, "Adam, go back to the office and find out who this asshole is."
"Copy Sarge." rang out from the unit. As much as they wanted to go to Med with Jay, the scene…Jay's apartment, and the asshole needed to be secured. But more than that, they needed to know who this guy was and how he found out where Jay lived.
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Hope that made up for the comedic fluff of the last cliffy. The last chapter will be out sometime this weekend. I am working a lot so I won't have much time to proof read.
Stay safe peeps!