Hellooo everyone :)

Sooo, as you've probably noticed I've been gone for months. Which is sad, but hey, I'm here now right? Better late than never I guess.

Anyway, after an emotional roller-coaster called the first year of college, I have successfully finished all of my exams and classes, therefore it should be time for summer vacation, but in reality it's not. I am volunteering at three different summer camps for children with serious health conditions, therefore I am never actually home, but I guess it's a small price to pay for doing something honorable.

My point is that I have about one day of spare time and have decided to quickly write something for my soul and hopefully yours too. Thank you so so so much for all the prompts and kind reviews you leave me. They always make me smile.

I did not plan where I'm going with this story whatsoever, so I have no clue what it's gonna turn into. As always this introduction turned out really long, so don't feel bad for skipping it.

I hope you enjoy :) Have a great summer/winter, depending on where you're from.

P.S. I am well aware of the fact that Al is presumably dead, however I refuse to accept that piece of information hence the reason he's a part of this story.

PART 1

Will's P.O.V.

»Wi- ill?« a shaky whisper is heard over the phone.

»Jay? What's up?« I ask confused, since I have no clue why he's calling me.

»Wi- i- ll« he replies even more quietly than before.

»Yeah, Jay, it's me. What's up?« I ask once again. Maybe he didn't hear my question the first time.

After what feels like an eternity later one simple yet dreadful word is heard. »Help.«

My heart immediately drops and I start panicking. »What's wrong? Where are you?!«

»Fell.«

»You fell?« I ask, wishing I could read his mind and help him. »Are you hurt?«

»Cold.«

Oh man, he has to be in bad shape if he's only talking in one-word sentences. I need to find out where he is as soon as possible.

»Okay, buddy. Do you know where you are?«

»Nnn« he moans, making me worry even more.

»Alright, it's okay, buddy. Tell me what you see.«

There is a pause, before he speaks up again. »Trees. Wa- ter. Snow.« Okay, so he's somewhere outside, which is not good. You see, Chicago winters can get extremely cold. The temperatures can drop as low as -11, which can't mean anything good for Jay. He's always cold, let alone when it's literally freezing outside. I glance at my watch, noticing it's four in the morning. I am currently on my night shift, which is why I have sort of lost track of time. What on Earth is Jay doing outside in the middle of the night? Alright in order to find out what's happening, I need to keep him talking.

»Can you tell me where you're hurt?« I ask as softly as I possibly can, not wanting to freak him out.

»I-.« Pause. »I don- t- kn- ow.« His voice is so shaky, I can barely understand what he's saying. He must be shivering, which means he's been outside in the cold for quite a while.

»Alright. It's okay, buddy. Are there any people close or houses?« Please let there be someone who can help him until I can figure out where he is.

»Nn- no.« Damn it. Okay. I need help. I run towards the front desk and slam my hands against the counter, accidentally scaring Maggie. I put my hand over the speaker and whisper »Call Voight.« She looks at me in confusion so I add »Jay's in trouble.«

»Wil- l« Jay sobs. He sounds terrified. I immediately return my attention to my brother and trust Maggie to take care of the rest.

»Listen to me Jay, we're gonna find you, okay? I promise.«

»O- o- kay.«

»Good. Now I need you to stay calm and see if you can find shelter. Can you do that for me?«

»Cn't- wa- lk.«

Oh my god. This can only mean one of two things. He's either injured badly or he's almost frozen. Or both. Either way, they're both horrible options, so I'm starting to worry.

»Okay, buddy. Hang in there. We'll figure this out« I try my best to soothe both him and myself. Maggie motions for me to come closer.

»I have Voight on the phone. What do you need?« she asks, shooting me a concerned look.

»Have him ping Jay's phone. He doesn't know where he is.«

»Is he hurt?« Maggie asks, fear more than obvious in her eyes.

»I don't know.« I decide to leave it at that and let her use her own imagination to figure out the rest. Between the extreme cold and any possible injuries… the odds aren't exactly in Jay's favor.

»How are you doing, buddy?« I ask, fearing the answer I might get.

»Co- ld« he whispers.

»I know, buddy, I know. We'll get you warmed up in no time« I lie, knowing it's going to take a while to find him. »Do you remember how you got there?« Please say yes, so we can find you.

»Home. Woke u- up he- ere.«

Maggie walks up to me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. »Go meet up with Voight, I'll get someone to cover your shift.«

I nod gratefully and run out of the ER, eager to get to my brother. Ten minutes later I'm at the precinct with the whole team. Dawson is currently on the phone with Jay, keeping him awake and talking, while I explain everything Jay's been able to tell me.

»He says he's outside, somewhere with trees and water. He doesn't know whether he's hurt or not, but he's shivering, which means he's probably starting to get hypothermia.«

»Okay, do we know how he ended up out there in the middle of the night?« Al asks, visibly paler than he was five minutes ago.

»He says he was at home and then woke up wherever he is. My best guess is that he was sleepwalking« I mumble, feeling guilty for not being at home when he needed me. I can only imagine him screaming in terror, while he was caught up in one of his horrible nightmares that he can't come out of.

»Wouldn't he have woken up?« Ruzek questions.

»Not necessarily. If the dream was PTSD related…« I let the rest of my thought hand in the air, knowing they all understand where I'm going with it.

»Okay, well at least we know he can't have gone that far out of town« Voight says.

»I got him!« Ruzek leaps out of his chair and we all stare at his computer screen.

»Damn it, kid« Voight voices everyone's thoughts. Jay appears to be in the middle of nowhere. Literally. He's in the middle of a forest, right next to a lake, and by the looks of it he must be at least a forty minute drive out of town. Plus walking, since there are no roads close to him. That means it must've taken Jay at least two hours to walk all the way over there on foot, which means he's been in the cold for a very long time.

"Alright, put on some warm clothes and grab anything that might come in handy" Al orders. "Will, go back to Med and get everything ready for us."

"What?" I ask taken aback. "No way in hell, I'm coming with you."

"Will-" Voight starts, but I cut him off.

"Shut up, Voight. This is my brother we're talking about. He needs a doctor. Plus he called me, not you, so I'm coming whether you like it or not." And with that, the conversation is over. "Let's bring some warm tea with a lot of honey for Jay to drink and gram any blankets and heat packs if you have them. We need to warm him up as quick as possible."

Dawson walks up to me, concern visibly showing all over his face and even in his posture. I feel a knot form inside my stomach.

"He's still conscious" he quickly explains "but I don't think he's shivering anymore. And he's getting tired."

"Shit." This means his temperature has dropped below 89. We need to find him as soon as possible. I pull my phone out of Antonio's hand, wanting to talk to my brother to keep myself sane. "Hey, buddy. You with me?"

"Mmmm" he moans. He's not exactly coherent, but I'll take that over him being unconscious any day.

"That's great. Just hang in there, okay? We're coming. Stay on the phone with me."

"Not goin- any- whe- re." Yeah. I know that. Let's just hope we reach him fast enough.

Voight's P.O.V.

This kid's gonna drive me nuts. How is it possible that one single person always ends up in some sort of trouble? Seriously. It's the middle of the night and he was sound asleep in his own bed. What could possibly go wrong, am I right?

We've been driving for almost half an hour. It's -8 degrees, which is freezing cold, and to think that Jay's been out there for at least two hours… Let's just say I have a very good reason to be worried. Will's sitting in the passenger's seat, shaking, though I'm not entirely sure if it's because he's cold or because he's terrified. He's still on the phone with Jay, trying to keep him entertained and more importantly conscious.

"How's he doing?" I whisper, desperately needing an update on my detective. Will just gives me a sad look, which speaks a thousand words.

"Remember how we used to go to the pool when we were little?" Will's been making small-talk for a while now and Jay has barely said a word. He's on speaker, so I can hear every wheezing breath he takes and anxiously wait for the next one, which can't come soon enough. As long as he keeps breathing, we'll be okay. I can tell that he's fading though, and it's scaring me.

"… and then we ended up getting in so much trouble. Do you remember that?" Will finishes up with yet another childhood memory, which would've been hilarious if we weren't on a desperate hunt for one of our own.

There's no response.

"Jay? Do you remember how angry mum and dad were?"

Still nothing.

"Kiddo, you with us?" I try my luck, sadly not succeeding either. Will's eyes are locked on the phone as if that could make Jay speak up and tell us he's okay.

"Talk to us, Halstead" I try once again, achieving absolutely nothing except making Will panic.

"Jay? Jay, wake up!" Nothing. "JAY!"

I step on it and drive way to fast, praying we don't end up driving off the road, while Will continues to scream his brother's name, hoping to get a response. It doesn't happen though.

"You can't do this to me, Jay. You need to stay awake. We're almost there" Will keeps bubbling to himself. Or maybe Jay can still hear him and he's just too weak to respond. Either way, soothing words can't hurt anyone.

Seven minutes later, we reach the end of the road, which means we have to walk from here on. Will immediately darts out of the car and heads towards the bushes, while I grab all of his equipment from the trunk. The rest of the team is on our tail, so we decide to split up and go in different directions to cover as much space in the smallest amount of time possible.

After another fifteen minutes, Will and I still haven't found him. There's snow everywhere and I'm already starting to shiver. If the kid's still alive by the time we find him, it'll be a miracle. We keep walking into the unknown. I can hear everyone calling Jay's name in vain. The snow's already up to our knees, which makes it very difficult to walk in. It's also pretty windy, which makes you feel like you're seconds away from turning into an ice cube.

"I found him!" Dawson yells.

Those are the word's I'll never forget. I'll also never forget the look of pure happiness and hope on Will's face. Let's just hope it doesn't turn into devestation.

To be continued...

I know, I know, cliffhanger. I'm sorry, please don't hate me, but I really have to go.

Thank you to everyone for reading. I've noticed some of you are new readers, so welcome to the "fam". As always, I will greedily accept every single one of your reviews, therefore feel free to leave one and feed my soul. Till next time (whenever that will be). I promise I will continue writing as soon as I have the time.

Love, N