Chapter 15-Lean on Your Team

Hank and his unit pulled up to the house. The truck barely stopped before Hank jumped out.

Jay rushed over, putting his hands on Hank to stop him. "No, Sarge. You're not going in. Not this one."

Hank got in his face, daring Jay to stop him. "Halstead. I'm going in there if I have to go through you."

"You're sitting this one out. We got this. Stand down."

"I am not standing down, not when my-"

"Your girl is in there. That's exactly why you're not going in. If you're thinking about her, you're not thinking clearly. Stand down and trust that we've got this."

"HALSTEAD."

"He's right Hank," Al said.

"I agree," Erin said. "I'm going to tell you what I know you'd tell any of us. Lean on your team. We'll get her, Hank. I promise you."

"The second this situation is dissolved, I'm coming in."

"Absolutely. We'll let you know as soon as the scene is clear."

Hank reluctantly stood back, watching his team rush in without him. He knew they were right, that his desperation to find Jenna would distract him from what could be behind those door. But standing down, knowing Jenna was in there was absolutely killing him. He closed his eyes, saying a silent prayer they would get the outcome they wanted, the outcome he desperately needed. He didn't know how he would survive the alternative.

[][][][][][][][][][]

The team rushed in, searching for Jenna and for Pulpo. They were met with shots immediately when they stepped into the house. They pushed back and when the bullets stopped, Pulpo lay among the dead.

Antonio stood over Pulpo for a moment, staring at him before checking his pulse. He looked up at the team and shook his head no, breathing a sigh of relief along with all of them. The monster that hurt this family so badly would never hurt another person again.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Erin rushed around trying to find Jenna while the team cleared the rest of the house. She finally found Jenna in the basement, curled up on the floor in the corner. Her heart broke when she saw the condition Jenna was in, her eyes trying to process what was in front of her. It was horrific.

Jenna's entire body was covered in more bruises than Erin could count, a gash covered the entire left side of her forehead, her left wrist was obviously broken, there were possible broken facial bones, her shoulder had what looked to be a stab wound, and Jenna was clutching her abdomen in pain, shaking and fighting to stay conscious. Erin knelt down next to her, and Jenna flinched at Erin's presence, whimpering in pain at the sudden movement. "Jenna, Jenna, it's Erin. You're safe. It's ok, it's Erin. I'm calling an ambulance and Hank. We're going to get you to the hospital."

"Erin," Jenna said softly.

Erin took Jenna's uninjured hand and felt Jenna squeeze it. She was thankful that at least Jenna recognized her and was still breathing. She closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to gather every bit of strength she had to keep from crumbling. Jenna had become like a mother to her, and seeing her so badly injured was ripping her heart out. She called for Ambulance 61 from Firehouse 51, knowing that Jenna would feel better with Dawson and Brett, and then radioed the team, letting them know the ambo was coming and that she found Jenna.

Hank rushed into the house, calling for Erin.

"Sarge! Basement!" she answered.

Hank pushed past the others, desperate to see Jenna. He froze when he saw her curled up on the floor. He couldn't tell if she was alive or not, but based on her condition, he didn't know how she could be. She was unrecognizable. "Erin," he finally choked out.

"She's alive. She's in horrible pain, but she's alive. Ambo is coming."

Hank walked over and knelt down beside her. Jenna pulled away when she sensed another person next to her, crying out again in pain from the movement.

"Jenna, it's just Hank. You're ok. It's Erin and Hank," Erin said softly.

"Hank," Jenna whispered.

Hank kissed the side of her head and gently put his hand on Jenna's arm, trying not to disturb her injuries, but desperately needing to touch her, to reassure himself that she was really there. "I'm here Jen. It's ok. We're going to get you to the hospital." He took off his jacket, carefully laying it across her. "It's going to be ok. I'm here, and I've got you, and everything is going to be fine. I love you, Jenna, so much."

Hank kissed her head over and over as he begged her to fight to stay alive. "Stay with me, Jenna, please. It's going to be ok, I promise. Just stay with me. I need you to stay with me."

Finally, they heard the ambulance sirens. "I'll get them," Hailey said, rushing back upstairs.

"Ok honey. The ambulance is here. We're going to get you taken care of," Hank said, relieved that help was finally there. He knew Jenna's injuries were bad, and he worried they were running out of time.

"Hurts," she said, her voice shaking.

Hank leaned over and gently kissed the side of her head again, trying to offer her a little bit of comfort. "I know Jenna. I'm so sorry, honey. But it's going to be ok. You just have to stay with us."

Hailey met Gabby and Sylvie at the door. "I just want to give you a heads up. The victim is Sergeant Voight's girlfriend Jenna. She's in really bad shape. She's curled up on the floor in horrible pain. Every time she moves, even just the slightest movement, she cries out in pain."

"Thanks for the warning. We'll take care of her," Gabby said. They followed Hailey down to the basement.

Erin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the paramedics. "Ok Jenna. The paramedics are here. They are the same people who took care of you after the robbery, and they are going to take great care of you right now." She stood up to give them room to work and motioned for Hank to come with her.

"No," he said.

"We need to give them space to help her. Come on." He reluctantly let go of Jenna, kissing the side of her head softly again before following Erin off to the side. As the paramedics checked her and ran their tests, she continued to cry out in pain. Hank was not one to show a lot of emotion, but it was taking everything in him not to fall to the ground in sobs. As they started to move her onto a stretcher, she cried out harder, clutching her abdomen even tighter.

"No. Please," she begged through her tears.

Hank couldn't hold himself together anymore. "Do something! Make her pain stop!" he yelled.

"They're doing everything they can," Erin said, stepping between him and the paramedics.

"I'm afraid she has serious internal injuries," Gabby said. "We need to move her, but it's going to be really painful. Atwater and Halstead, we need your help. Everyone else, go upstairs."

"I'm not leaving her," Hank said.

"Sergeant, this will be easier if you aren't in the room. Please, wait outside."

Reluctantly, Hank let Erin pull him upstairs.

Erin finally let her tears fall when she heard Jenna's cries of pain. She walked off to the side, not wanting Hank to see her. He was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, trying not to fall apart himself. Jenna's cries were ripping his heart out, and he hated himself for not being able to fix her pain. Al and Antonio each put a hand on his shoulder.

A few minutes later, Jenna was carried up the stairs on the stretcher. Hank followed them out to the ambulance, climbing in to ride with her. He slipped her hand into his, hoping she could feel him next to her. He called Sharon Collins, who promised to have Dr. Manning and Dr. Halstead meet them at the ER. He held Jenna's hand all the way to the hospital, whispering his love to her and begging her not to leave him.

[][][][][][][][][][]

When they arrived at the hospital, Natalie met them at the ambulance doors. "Jenna, it's Dr. Manning. I'm here, and I'm going to get you all taken care of."

"Thank you for being here Doctor," Hank said.

When they got inside, Hank tried to follow them into the emergency room. Natalie held her hands up. "You have to go."

"Dr. Manning, I'm not leaving her."

"You can't be in here. Go to the waiting room. I promise I'll come out and give you an update as soon as I know something. I've got her, Sergeant. You've got to give me space to help her."

Hank sighed before reluctantly walking to the ER waiting room. It was killing him not being with Jenna, but he knew he needed to give the doctors room to work. He found a chair, texted Jenna's kids, and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes, trying desperately to hold himself together. Jenna's son was out of the country on business, so he would have to face this alone. One by one, his team members joined him.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Finally, Natalie and Will came out into the waiting room to give the update. Hank stood in front of them, wanting to ask how Jenna was, but afraid of the answer.

Natalie began giving her information. "Jenna has a lot of injuries, so bear with me, ok?" Hank nodded. Natalie took a deep breath and started the list of injuries. "She has a broken left wrist and five broken ribs. She needs stitches for the stab wound to the left shoulder and the large wound on the left side of her forehead. We suspect a concussion. She has extensive bruising, and we believe there is internal bleeding. We are giving her blood, and she's being prepped for surgery. While she's out, we'll do all of her stitches. She needs surgery on her wrist, but we don't know if she's strong enough to do that on top of whatever is going on in her abdomen. We'll play it by ear and do what we can while we're in there."

"How long will she be in surgery?" Erin asked.

"A few hours I would anticipate," Natalie said.

"Is she awake right now?" Hailey asked. "Does she know what's going on?"

"She knows she's at the hospital, and she's answered some of our questions, but she's barely responsive because of the overwhelming pain. We've been trying to take the edge off because she won't let us near her abdomen because of the pain. We don't think we can wait any longer because we're afraid she's going to bleed out. We need to get back in there. We'll send updates from the OR."

"Can I speak to you both for a moment? Privately?" Hank asked.

"Sure," Will said, leading them into the hall away from the others.

"When we found Jenna, she…her shirt and jeans were off. Was she…did he…" Hank sighed, unable to say the words out loud. "I can't say it."

"We don't believe there was any kind of sexual assault. We asked her, and she said no. She was in and out of consciousness, but we think she understood," Natalie said.

"Ok. Thank you," Hank said softly.

He walked back into the waiting room with the others, sitting back down and putting his head in his hands.

Erin knelt down in front of him. "She's going to be ok."

He shook his head. "How, Erin? You saw her. How is she ok after going through that?"

"She's strong Hank. She's strong, and she's a fighter. You know what she's been through in her life before this. All of that and she's still the sweetest, happiest, most optimistic person I know. She can survive this." Erin put her hand on Hank's arm. "Plus, she's got you. You are going to be by her side through all of this. You will help her through it, ok?"

Hank looked up at her, slowly nodding. She pulled him into a hug. "It's gonna be ok," she whispered.

"She's hurt so bad. She's in so much pain, and I can't fix it," he whispered, desperately trying not to sob.

"She doesn't need you to fix it," Erin said. "The doctors here are going to fix it. Your job is to be by her side when surgery is over, to hold her when she cries, to be strong for her when she feels like she can't be, to reassure her that she's going to get through this when she feels like she won't. That's your job, Hank. It's not to fix her pain."

"Ok," he whispered.

[][][][][][][][][][]

A few hours later, Natalie and Will walked back into the waiting room. Everyone stood, anxious to hear about Jenna's condition.

Natalie took a deep breath and began their update.

"Jenna made it through the surgery, but she had some serious internal injuries. We removed her spleen and a portion of her liver. There was...a lot of blood. If we'd waited even five more minutes, there might have been a different outcome."

Hank closed his eyes for a moment, processing how close he came to losing Jenna. Erin could see Hank struggling with the doctor's words, so she put her hand on his shoulder, wiping at her tears.

"We're going to give her blood transfusions over the next couple of days. We stitched up her forehead and shoulder wounds, and we also repaired the breaks in her wrist. We did a head CT, and she has a concussion but no brain bleeds. We wrapped her ribs, but she needs to be careful so we don't end up with a punctured lung. We're going to keep her on oxygen for a couple of days, just to help keep her comfortable. She's in ICU now, and we hope she will be waking up within the next hour or so. The hard part now will be getting her pain under control."

"Can I be with her? Please?" Hank asked softly, fighting back tears.

"If you'll come with me, I'll take you to her room."

Erin gave Hank a quick hug. "Tell her we're here and we love her." He nodded.

Hank followed Natalie into Jenna's room. Even though he had seen her before, her injuries still overwhelmed him, nearly taking his breath away. "Wow," Hank said under his breath.

"I know. It's a lot."

"I thought she was gone when I saw her the first time. I didn't know how anyone could survive those injuries."

"She's tough. Tougher than I would be," Natalie said, putting her hand on Hank's shoulder.

Hank slowly walked to Jenna's bedside. He sat down in a chair next to her, gently picking up her good hand and cradling it between his. "Jenna. Honey, it's me. It's Hank. You're going to be ok."

He sat in silence for awhile, the steady beat of the heart monitor echoing through the room, reminding him that even though she was unconscious, she was still with him.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Author's Note: Reminder, I'm not a doctor, and I don't watch Med regularly, so please forgive any mistakes on the medical side :)