Hello :)

OH. MY. GOD. This story officially has 100 favourites! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (I should write thank you 97 more times for every single one of you, but, I feel like that might be slightly annoying. So let's just pretend I did.) 146 people have followed it and It also has 122,144 views! That's insane. That's half as many people as there live in the capital of my country. I am blown away.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much this means to me. Those of you, who have been here for a while know, that 2019 pretty much sucked for me. I know it's been a hard year for some of you too and countless people all over the world. I am also aware that many people have it way worse than me, but that doesn't mean that my problems don't hurt me.

I've probably said this before, but I'm a third year in college, which means I still have more than a half to go (college lasts 5 years where I live). I sort of liked freshman year, kinda tolerated second year, but third year… I just hate. Plain and simple. We have so many ridiculous things that we need to do, that I hardly have enough time to breathe. I mean, I can't remember the last time I've been able to enjoy a day without freaking out over college. Getting more than four hours of sleep a night is a victory in itself, let alone actually taking the time to cook myself a decent meal. College is literally breathing down my neck and almost suffocating me, but not quite killing me. I really don't understand why the system has to be like this. I used to love my future job with all my heart. And I mean that. I got actual butterflies whenever I thought about it. Now, I'm slowly starting to lose the passion, and it's sad. College itself wouldn't destroy me so much, if it weren't for all the other things that have been going on in my life. Family, friends, roommates… I won't even get into it, because I don't wanna burden all of you, but let's just say it sucks. I used to be a bubble of joy, who could make everybody smile, even on their worst days. Apparently, I am the one person I haven't been able to make smile recently. Panic attacks are close to becoming a regular on my daily agenda, which honestly scares me. And the people who are the closest to me, don't seem to notice, let alone ask about it or try to listen and understand. Or at least to pretend to. I've had such a humongous desire to write the past couple of months, and yet I couldn't afford to say goodbye to schoolwork for a couple of hours and do something to make my heart and soul happy.

Christmas is my favourite holiday. Always has been. Certain recent events have made this Christmas one of the worst days of this year. In a way, I'm afraid of what the future holds. I'm terrified of what this world is turning into. Of what people are turning it into. Instead of celebrating, the first thing I did after midnight yesterday, was cry. I'm begging for this year to be better than the last.

And this is where you come in. Even on the worst days, writing makes me happy. Not a day goes by, that I don't think about writing. Not a day goes by, that I don't think about all of you, who read my stories. I read your supportive reviews and dive into the amazing stories you write. Trust me, I know that favourites aren't everything. But I'd be lying if I said that that 100th heart wasn't one of the most amazing things to see. What are the odds that after months of having 99 favourites, after months of being unable to post, after months of struggling… the incredible 100 happened exactly on the first day of a new decade.

As cheesy as it sounds, this is a new beginning. A new day, a new year, a new decade. I may not be able to change the world, but there are things I can do. I can take it one day at a time and try to be the best person I could possibly be. And I can try to make those around me at least a little happier. So I'm here. Even though I have a thousand things I need to do and finals coming up in two weeks, I'm done putting school first at least for a day. If it makes at least one of you happy, I've done my job.

I'm sorry for the delay, but this chapter just wouldn't come together. I had an idea of where I wanted this story to go, but a few of you requested a little bit of a different continuation than I had planned, so obviously I listened and tried my best to grant your wishes. One eternty later, I finally managed to put together something that's somewhat decent. I hope it's going to work out quite well.

I know this introduction was horribly long, but I needed to say it…. Now for the personal responses (which have been waiting for me to post them for months).

floopdeedoopdee: Hahahah I just about died reading your review (no joke, I choked on cereal, because who wouldn't decide to read reviews while shoving spoonfuls of food in their mouth, am I right? Learn from my mistakes.) I currently don't have any plans on rewriting the phone book, but I'm open to the idea XD As for reading the stories that'll make you ugly cry at the most inconvenient times and in the most inappropriate places, I get what you mean. I have a really bad habit of reading in class and let me tell you it is not smart. I honestly don't know which is worse – crying in the middle of class or bursting out laughing hysterically, looking and sounding like a seal with asthma. Can't say I haven't done both. While I could probably make my teachers believe I was having such a hard time in their class that it made me cry, I could never fool them into thinking that my laughing attack had anything to do with what they were teaching. Same goes for reading when my roommate is already asleep. Not the smartest thing to do. As for this story, you want to see whumpy whump, that's what you shall get. *clears throat, cracks knuckles* Shall we begin?

larutanrepus89: I'm so sorry for your loss and I really really hope that you never have to go through that again. I appreciate you giving me your blessing to write about that topic. It means a lot. I've lost a grandpa and a close friend to it two months ago, my mom has had quite a few false alarms and I had my own scare with leukemia a few days after my 13th birthday. (Before someone comments on this, I know how lucky I am they were just scares. Believe me. That being said, I didn't know it was a false alarm back then. The moment you hear the C-word and watch doctors become panicked… it's just as real.) I go to college that specializes in working with children with special needs, which includes terminally ill children, so I get a fare share of experience with that too. Cancer isn't a rare thing and it never gets easier to watch it play out when there's almost nothing you can do about it. Anyway, I wish you and your family all the best and I hope you continue to enjoy my stories :)

schnorchzahn: Hahah I know what you mean. Some notifications make me squeal from pure joy. (Yes, I'm a five year-old at heart.) I've been traveling for 4 weeks (not complaining) and ran out of data on week two. Congratulations to me XD There was also no WiFi, so I was really deprived of stories. Luckily, I have about 400 of them downloaded, so I just re-read them for the tenth time. I'm honestly starting to think I couldn't live without FanFiction. I don't care about Instagram or Snapchat or anything like that. Just give me and endless amount of FanFiction and I'm good to go. That being said, thank you so much for the compliment. Reading reviews like yours always makes me so incredibly happy and thankful. Time to be excited again!

charmlily: Thank you so much! I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post. Better late than never, I suppose.

Danicat: First of all, I'm sorry my response to your previous review never came. Apparently reviews from 'guests' take a while to appear on the app, so it didn't show up until two chapters later. Anyway, thank you so so much. I'm honored. Obviously, we all have favorite writers, whether we admit it or not. I look up to mine as if they were saints/the-greatest-teachers-in-the-world/authors-of-bestsellers/award-winning-writers or whatever you might call it. Hearing that I happen to be one of your favorites is crazy and I couldn't be more thankful. I completely agree with you about the show not giving us enough of the relationship between the Halsteads. And I promise, you will be getting the reversed kind of story with an injured Will and a freaked out Jay.

Extraordinarygirl116: Thank you so much :) Your wish is my command, so this chapter is going to be exactly what you asked for (not to give away any spoilers). Well, kinda. My own version of it, with more angsty whump. I hope I do it justice :)

Sasa Camilla: I love you too :)

Malu2102: Thank you so much :) And thank you for your prompt, I'll try my best to write it.

: Welcome back, I've been wondering where you were, because I always await your kind reviews :) I'm glad to see you're back. I'm sorry you've been without the internet for so long, that must've sucked. Thank you for your good wishes about my grandma, she's currently doing better than she was and isn't in the ICU anymore, which is great. Thank you so much for you compliments on the chapters, I'm really happy you enjoyed reading them and appreciated the way I played things out. And I'm glad the last chapter wasn't as all over the place as I thought. Thank you for your input on the C-thing as well. I really do care about what each one of you thinks, especially about such a topic. I'll talk more about what I've decided to do right below this, but wherever I decide to post the story, it should obviously be your individual decision whether you want to read it or not.

aussiec: Welcome and thank you so so much. I really appreciate you saying that. It means a lot. I obviously share the passion for medical stories too, so I hope you continue to enjoy this story :)

Now let's talk about the cancer thing. I didn't answer each person individually, because I kinda wanted to sum everything up. I've been going through your reviews over and over again and I still can't decide what I wanna do about it. Understandably, you have different opinions about it. You're mostly open to the idea, but some of you would prefer me to post the story here, so that it can all be in one place, whereas some would prefer it to be posted separately since it's different from the stories I normally post. I agree with both, so I'm putting the 'c-word' story on hold for a while. I have ideas for the next few stories anyway, so I won't run out of things to write about.

Whenever I do figure out what I wanna do about it, you'll be the first to know. If I decide to include it in this story, there will be a note at the beginning of every chapter, so that you can skip it, if you don't want to read it. If I decide to post it separately, I'll tell you and leave either the title or the link to it in this story as well, so that you can easily find it in case you want to. Thank you again for all your input on this. It's greatly appreciated.

Now, (if you let me borrow your expressions) shall we continue with the whumpy/angsty whump?

Almost Like A Walk On The Beach

Part 4

Will's P.O.V.

"So, it's really over?" my brother asks with a shaky voice, still trying to come to terms with everything that's happened, while fidgeting with his blanket. I open my mouth, ready to answer the same exact question for the hundredth time, but a rough voice beats me to it.

"Yeah, kid. It's over."

Voight's response seems to release all the tension in my brother's body, as he exhales and slumps down against his pillows.

Don't be fooled, the seemingly calm state won't last very long. Trust me.

The same exact thing has happened three times already. And that's just since I've started keeping score after having noticed the pattern in the first place. Same question, same answer, followed by the same reaction, which lasts less and less each time. The first time around, it lasted almost the entire visit from Voight. The second time was about ten minutes. At this rate, the calmness this time around should last about... a second, give or take.

Brilliant.

The first 48 hours of this particular 72-hour hospital stay are up and let me tell you I'm so over it. And it's not just the uncomfortable plastic chair that insists on giving me a hernia. It's also on behalf of my adorable little brother, who keeps bugging me as if he could live off of it instead of oxygen.

I've tried bribing him with actual food from any restaurant he wants. I've tried silently watching a baseball game with him. I've tried fluffing his pillows. I've tried talking to him and I've even tried leaving him alone. (Yes, I actually know how to do that. I just don't want to.)

Nothing seems to work.

He's in this annoying little bubble of his, where all the insecurities and unpleasant feelings are trapped, getting bigger and bigger by the minute, threatening to eventually get too big for the bubble, burst it and explode all over the place, taking Jay down with them.

I refuse to let that happen. I just don't know if I have the power to stop it.

Every now and then, he snaps at me for no particular reason and I get a glimpse into what the inside of this bubble looks like.

Angry, touchy, annoyed, exhausted, constantly on high alert.

All of those would work.

Terrified would work too.

If I even try to leave, he starts whining, making me sit back down and hold his hand. That leaves me to take bathroom breaks whenever he looks asleep. (Yeah, I meant to say looks, because he hasn't actually been sleeping. Not really, anyway. He keeps dozing off from time to time, but never actually lets himself fall into deep sleep. That is until he passes out from pure exhaustion.) In my already rushed state, with a bladder that's about to burst any second (silently cursing every single cup of coffee I've consumed), I have to carefully peel his fingers away from mine, before trying to evaporate so that I don't have to make any noise. Once that doesn't work, I tiptoe out the door, hoping Jay's actually asleep for real this time. It usually lasts about ten seconds before his eyes snap open and then it takes him another two minutes to completely freak himself out, before he finally gives in and presses the emergency button, which always has nurses running to his room.

And then I get to listen to them complain about how all he needed was me.

Whenever someone else is around, he somehow manages to keep his guards up, put on a brave face and pretend like nothing's wrong. But I see it. I see it all the time. I see the fidgeting and the jumpiness. I see the constant fear in his eyes. I see the casual trembling of his lip and the way he randomly turns on his right side, so that I can't see the tears sliding down his cheeks and eventually drowning in his pillow. The quiet sniffs are always a dead giveaway.

They say that the guy responsible for all of this is behind bars and not going anywhere in the near future, but no matter how many times we've said this to Jay, he still doesn't seem to believe it.

As if he knows something bad's about to happen.

Something none of us can foresee.

"Jay" Voight says gently, awakening me from my deep thoughts and making Jay jump slightly at the sound of his own name. That's another habit he's gained over the span of two days. And I don't like it. "I know I've already asked you this, but is there anything you remember? Anything at all?"

The same question has been on the plate ever since Jay woke up for the second time and was a bit less out of it.

That's also when the constant fidgeting started, alerting me of the fact that something's very wrong. And I have a hunch it's not something doctors can fix.

He keeps insisting that he's fine and that he doesn't remember anything form the past few days. The last thing he does remember is going to work the morning before he got kidnapped. Everything after that is a blank. Or so he says.

But I know my brother. I think there's more to the story, he just doesn't wanna tell us, because he's afraid we'll look at him differently. Think less of him. Know he's not invincible.

"Sorry, Sarge" Jay rasps out, voice still hoarse from the Chloroform and dehydration.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it, kid" Voight responds, patting his shoulder, while I eye him carefully, searching for any sort of giveaway that he knows something. "If you remember anything, tell Will to give me a call, okay?"

Jay nods, keeping his eyes glued to the sheet covering his lower half.

We all know he's lying.

And if you're wondering what the reason behind him having to tell me to call Voight is, I've confiscated his phone. For the rest of eternity. After the team retreated it from wherever Garcia had tossed it and gave it back to Jay, he wouldn't stop messing with it, which mind you is not advised in his current medical condition. So, I snatched it out of his hands and shoved it so deep inside my pocket that it will never see the light of day again. Metaphorically speaking.

"Alright, I'm going back to the precinct to do some paperwork, but I'll be back this afternoon, okay?" Voight says, giving me a pat on the shoulder.

"Obviously" Jay huffs in response. "All the bad in this world can't stop just because me and my eternal greatness are stuck in here."

Well, that was an odd comment. Even for Jay.

Voight doesn't seem to mind it though and actually grins back at him, while simultaneously rolling his eyes. He waves the comment away, telling Jay to get some rest and strolls out the door.

And then it's just me and the bubble again.

We sit in silence for at least fifteen minutes, him pretending he's sleeping and me, staring at him indiscreetly.

"Jay?" I say eventually, getting a hum in response. "Why'd you apologize to me back in the desert?" I know how risky this particular question is, so I try to be as careful as I can. But who am I kidding, I'm still a Halstead, therefore I'm reckless, impulsive, sassy and sometimes stupid. Deal with it.

"Don't know what you're talking about, Will. I told you I don't remember."

His eyes are still closed, hiding the unspoken truth from me.

"I know you're lying, Jay. You might not remember everything, but you do remember some things." He peels his eyes open and looks straight at me, looking both innocent and furious at the same time. Oh, the glorious Halstead gene. I'm telling you, it's a curse. Let's see which side wins - the angel or the devil. "I know you haven't been sleeping and I know you're scared to be alone. You refuse to let me leave your side and you don't even mind me holding your hand. You can keep lying to your team if you want, but I see right through you, Jay. And I wanna help." I swallow the lump that's formed in my throat. He's either gonna cave or I'm gonna be decapitated in the span of two seconds. I really hope I get to eat something other than Jay's leftover jello for my last supper. "Talk to me."

Something in his eyes changes as soon as the words leave my mouth. Everything's out on the plate. All of the emotions, the pain, the obvious exhaustion he can no longer hide.

"I-" he starts, the trembling in his voice making him stop. He sighs in frustration, probably angry at himself for not even being able to get a single sentence out.

"It's okay, take your time" I whisper, leaning forward and rubbing circles on the back of his hand as a form of soothing.

"I- don't-" he tries again, but fails, only adding to his frustration. The words that follow are slow and irregularly spaced out, with pauses that are too long for a casual conversation, but appropriate for this one. "I don't know exactly what I said to you. But I- I remember..."

I give him a while to regain himself, before gently nudging him to continue, afraid he'll shut me out again.

"I remember giving up."

The words are spoken so quietly I almost miss them.

I stare at him, without blinking, refusing to swallow the lump in my throat, because I know he'll notice my shock if I do. After a few seconds, his eyes glance sideways towards me, his head not lifting in the slightest.

It almost seems like he's checking if I'm still there. Still listening. Still offering him support.

"Jay-"

"I failed you" he cuts me off, stopping my words dead in their tracks. "I couldn't hold on. It was too much. I-" the first tear hits the sheet right next to his hand, which is somewhere in the process of ripping a hole in the fabric with its nails. "I said goodbye."

That one stings more than anything ever could.

I've found myself watching my brother hanging by a thread numerous times, and just the thought of having to say goodbye to him sickens me.

The decision is made in an instant.

Since I refuse to let go of his hand, I do some impossible, dramatic, awkward-looking manoeuvre to reach the top of Jay's bed with my opposite hand. His eyes glance sideways again as he chuckles at me through his now stuffy nose, more tears slipping down his cheeks.

"What are you-"

"Got it!" I announce victoriously, while lowering the bed railing and climbing onto the bed next to him without letting go of his hand.

You may clap now.

"Scoot over" I say, noticing there's clearly not enough space for me, unless I wanna continue my awkwardness-streak and fall off the bed, splitting my head open on the tile floor.

As soon as I'm situated in the safe range of the mattress, he snuggles against me, his head resting on my chest, probably listening to the unsteady beat of my heart.

"You didn't fail me, Jay. You've been through some terrible things in your life and this one's no different. Your mind must've been going crazy. Well- crazier than normal" I add, trying to lighten the mood. "You hung in there, Jay. You made it out alive."

"But I almost didn't" he whispers.

"You see, I don't think that a-word matters right now. You made it. If you want me to say it, I will." I pause, silently hoping he'll stop me. He doesn't. "Even if you hadn't made it, I wouldn't blame you, Jay. I'd probably blame Garcia... but I would never blame you. I know you'd fight till the end. You continue to prove that to me every day."

He stays silent, but at some point, the tears stop forming and soaking my shirt.

I'd never say this out loud but really do love moments like this. Don't get me wrong, I hate seeing my brother get hurt with a passion, but these are the moments where I get to be an older brother again.

There was a time, when I wasn't around. A time when mom was sick, and Jay was the only one there. He had to grow up overnight because of me. The boy I used to know, became a man. And then he joined the rangers, where the man turned into a hero.

And I wasn't even there to see it.

Just like I didn't get that phone call saying he was injured. I didn't get to be the one trying desperately to find a lastminute flight to Germany, without even knowing if I was only going there to identify his body or gather his belongings. Didn't get to be the one to panic the whole flight there over not knowing anything and the fact that he came so close to being blown to pieces. Didn't get to be there when he finally woke up. Didn't get to help with his recovery.

I wasn't there to see him have a panic attack for the first time. Wasn't there to help when life seemed impossible to him. Just like I wasn't there when he wanted to pull the trigger and end it.

Wasn't there when he signed into the police academy. Wasn't there to see him graduate. Wasn't there to see him go from patrolling to getting shot and actually being super excited about it, because not only was he adding a really cool scar to his collection, but he was also getting his ultimate dream as a reward – intelligence.

I wasn't there to see him turn his life back around.

I missed so much.

When we were little, he used to look up to me. He'd always wanna hang out with me, no matter what I was doing. He'd even sit silently, watching me do my homework. Entertaining, right? And, he's Jay. The same Jay, who couldn't stay still for more than five seconds to save his life.

I used to be his hero.

Until then.

Then, I became just another person, who left.

"Thanks, Will" Jay whispers, pressing his face against me and successfully startling me from my internal self-destruction. (That talent also comes with the Halstead gene in case you were wondering.) "I'm glad you're here."

I know he's forgiven me about not being there. I just don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself. I don't deserve it.

It's moments like this, that give me hope though. It's moments like this, when Jay's guards are down and he lets me in again, just like the old times. Lets me be his brother, even though he's become a bigger man than I could ever be years ago.

And I couldn't be more thankful.

There's another blank space that needs to be filled, though. I've asked Jay's team what the motive behind this whole kidnapping thing was, but all I managed to get out of anyone was revenge. No explanation what for or more importantly against who.

"Jay?" I ask carefully, hoping the subject isn't too touchy. "Why you?"

Jay stays quiet for such a long time that I start to think the answer's never coming. But then, he takes a deep breath and whispers out the truth.

"Hit Voight where it hurts the most. His family."

He leaves it at that, but to be honest, no further explanation's needed anyway. I know what he's implying.

The team's like a second family to Jay. In every meaning of the word. Antonio, Adam, Kevin and Jay... they fight exactly like siblings. One second they're the best team out there, and the next they're full-on wrestling over the last cup of coffee. Then there's the girls, who are more or less treated as the bad-ass princesses. As for Voight and Al, they're the father figures. Sure, Al has his own family, but Voight... Voight lost his family. First his wife, then his son... then Erin. The team's the closest thing to a family he has. And my brother's the closest thing to a son. Ever since Jay first got into intelligence, him and Voight shared a special bond. To be honest, Voight probably had a soft spot for Jay since before he was even on the team. He loves him, whether he likes to admit it or not.

"So, this guy's holding a grudge against Voight?" I ask, pulling the blanket further up as soon as I feel Jay shiver.

"Something like that. My CI raided him out. We went to bust him when things got a bit hairy." He pauses, taking a couple of deep breaths, either from being so tired or to calm himself down. "Voight strangled his sidekick and threw him in the river."

Oh. Wow. Awesome. Not sure I needed to know that.

Suddenly, I feel the need to wrap my hands tightly around Jay's shoulders and hopefully never have to let him go again.

"I take it Garcia wasn't too happy about that" I whisper, silently reminding myself that Voight is a perfectly normal human being, who just happens to find innovative ways of solving his problems. Like I said, perfectly normal.

"Yeah, you could say that."

I close my eyes in order to hopefully ground myself and figure out what to do with the new information. Freak out? Go on a hunt and try to strangle this Garcia person myself? Let Voight do it?

After I have myself under control again, I notice Jay's still fiddling with one of the creases in the bed sheet as if it were the most interesting thing ever. I put my hand over his, stilling the movement.

"Jay? How are you really?"

I've asked him this at least a dozen times and gotten the same exact response each time. Can you guess what it was? Come on, take a wild guess.

Fine.

The beloved word that I often wish was banned from the dictionary, because it tells you absolutely nothing useful. More often than not, the person is anything but fine, but since they refuse to tell you that, your hands are tied.

Voight tried asking him too, as did Rhodes, Choi and pretty much everyone else who's stepped foot in this room.

"It doesn't hurt anymore" Jay responds, shocking me. Am I dreaming or did he actually tell me something I can use against him this time? I am very close to asking him who he is and what he's done with my brother, but I manage to bite my tongue. "The headache's gone. I know what's real and what isn't, so that's good. I'm still a little sore, but that's about it."

"That's really good, Jay. Thank you for telling me that" I whisper, resisting the urge to tighten my hug even more. "I might actually be able to sleep tonight" I joke.

He doesn't laugh though.

"No, you won't. Just like I won't."

He's probably right.

"You know we could give you something for that, right?" I offer, knowing fully well that he won't accept the sedatives.

"I don't want it" he declines. "Makes me woozy."

Aaand we're back at square one.

"Might help if you stay here though" he adds quietly.

"What do you mean? I've been here every night-"

"I mean here here" he says, pointing his finger downward. I translate the gesture to right next to me on the hospital bed, which is against hospital policy, but I don't care.

And I don't care either.

"We could try that" I agree, leaning my head forward, so that my chin's resting on top of his head.

I almost fall asleep from pure relief, before he speaks up again.

"Will?"

"Hmm?"

"There's a metallic taste in my mouth."

I pause for a second, needing a moment to compose myself after the harsh reality check that everything's not fixed just yet. "That's from Chloroform. It'll go away in a couple of days, but I can get you a popsicle to suck on if you'd like" I offer, looking downward in order to see his face.

At the sound of a popsicle, his eyes light up like those of a five-year-old who just got a piece of candy after scraping his knee.

"I'll take that as a yes" I chuckle, ruffling his hair. "I'll be right back."

I gently slide from under him and reposition him, so that he's comfortable in the soft embrace of his pillows and blankets.

Once I reach the glass sliding door, I turn around with a grin. "Do not press the emergency button. Otherwise I'll eat the popsicle by myself and make you watch it."

"You wouldn't" he says, with the most horrified expression I've ever seen, making me raise one of my eyebrows.

"Watch me."

"Yes, mom" Jay says, rolling his eyes. I know it's meant to be funny, but the word mom stabs me right in the heart. Ever since I've heard him desperately calling for her...

There's no time for that. The popsicle and the five-year-old inside of Jay await.

Voight's P.O.V.

"Jesus" I curse the second my own ringtone scares the crap out of me.

I got so caught up in thinking about Halstead I completely lost track of pretty much everything else. I could literally be half way to Mexico right now and wouldn't even know it. Judging by the familiar intersection it must've only been a couple of minutes though.

I allow myself a glance to the right only to see Alvin's name flashing on my screen. Great. Couldn't wait five more minutes till I got to the precinct. Guess not. I really hope the Earth is on fire.

I look back at the road, blindly patting down the whole seat, before finally finding landing on my phone.

"I'm on my wa-"

"Voight" Al says with a tone I could only identify as alarmed. "Tell me you're still at the hospital."

"No, I just left" I blurt out, still not getting the memo that something is terribly wrong.

"Garcia's been released."

Oh no. This can't be good.

"What?! What do you mean released?"

"I don't have the details, Voight. You need to get back to Jay."

I immediately slam my brakes and make a U-turn, successfully avoiding every other car and only making about a handful of drivers angry. Not too bad.

"How long?" I ask, calculating how much time it would take someone to get from the holding cell to Med.

"An hour" Al says defeated. Damn it, that's definitely enough time. Even long enough to stop and get coffee on the way. "We'll meet you there" Al says, as I speed back towards the hospital.

"I'll call Will."

I've never been more thankful to have Will set as one of my speed dials. With Jay being a trouble magnet, you can never be too safe.

I'm starting to lose my patience after the second ring goes without an answer, before an overly happy Halstead finally picks up.

"Hey, Voight, hang on a sec" he says, before all I can hear is extremely loud crunching of some sort, followed by a loud thud and a curse. I roll my eyes in frustration, resisting the urge to yell at him. "Sorry, dropped my phone. Great news" he all but screams in excitement, making me very thankful that Jay doesn't share this naïve bubbly personality with his brother.

"Where's Jay?" I cut him off, probably offending him in the process.

"Um… his room. Why? It's really not a good time if you wanted to talk to him." He keeps talking, making me more and more annoyed by the second. Or maybe I'm just worried.

"You with him?"

"No. I'm getting him a popsicle. It was the funniest thing-"

"Will!" I yell, the realization of something being wrong finally getting through to him.

"What's wrong?" he asks carefully.

"Garcia's been released." I give him a tenth of a second for the information to sink in. "I have a feeling he might try to finish what he started-"

It's my turn to get cut off now. "You mean he's here?!"

Wow, his voice gets high when he's scared.

I realize I don't actually have the answer to that question. But I have a hunch that's exactly where he is. Or will be anytime now.

"He could be…" I trail off, realising the stupid mistake I've just made. Both Will and Jay are extremely protective of each other. Recklessness and impulsiveness are also another thing they have in common. "Listen to me, Will. Do not go in there alone, you hear me? Call security. I'm on my way. I'm three minutes out. Just wait for me."

Who am I kidding? Nothing could keep Will away from his brother at this point.

I can hear rhythmical pounding, which can only mean he's running. I slam my foot on the pedal a little harder just as the line goes dead.

Please, don't get caught in the crossfire.

To be continued...

So... I guess this story is nowhere near being over yet. This was a bit more of a transition chapter, the next chapter's going to be a lot though. Thank you for reading and thank you so much for everything you've done for me. Really.

I'll try my best to post the next chapter as soon as I possibly can, but I can't make any promises. I'm sorry. (I am happy to say though that the long awaited story about Will getting hurt for a change is already almost finished and patiently waiting for this story to end. Hopefully, you'll get to see it soon.)

Happy New Year to every single one of you. I hope it treats you well If any of you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here :)

Love, N

PS: Can we take a second to appreciate the fall finale? I mean... have the writers been reading Halstead FanFiction or what? I reeeeally hope that they let us have some intense brotherly moments between Jay and Will this time. The promo was quite promising, I'm not gonna lie, so I'm guessing Santa actually does exist. It took seven seasons, but I'm finally getting my wish. I can't wait to see what happens. (We've come this far, we can survive another week.) I gotta say though, I have a really bad feeling about Jesse Lee Soffer doing so many interviews about the fall finale… Makes me wonder if the writers would actually dare to kill him or somehow write him off the show due to something ridiculous. I swear, I'm gonna lose it if they do. Might even stop wthcing the show all together, start living for FanFiction and pretend that episode 7x10 never happened. Anyway, good job and a thousand thank you's to whoever wrote this. Okay, I'm done rambling.