Author's Note: I know it's been so long...the truth is I fell out of love with Chicago Med long ago. The last episode I watched was Will reuniting with Natalie and Owen. It's been two years, but I still wrote for awhile. I have this chapter and another done. To be honest, this was supposed to be a trilogy picking up near the "end" of Natalie's pregnancy and what that brings. I don't know if I will start that or not. Partially due to the potential loss of audience since it's been so long. That and it's hard to write for a show that did so many characters dirty. We shall see. Sp here it is. The second to last chapter of this story. I hope you'll read it and enjoy before pressing that awesome review button!
Looks like the tables have turned
Like there's a change in the weather
Feels like my time is returning
Like I'm about to get out of this cage
If you could see me now
I'd probably let you down
But that's enough for me
You got me begging, baby
Looks like I'm on my knees again
Feels like the walls are closing in, in
Looks like I'm on my knees again-in-in….
~On My Knees~ Rufus Du Sol~
Connor was silent as Will followed him into the OR locker room.
" You okay?" asked Will, pulling a spare pair of scrubs from a shelf.
" Honestly I'm trying to control my anger right now. How the hell did Marcel miss this?" he spat bitterly, stuffing his clothes into a random locker.
" I wish I knew. I'm just glad you were here."
" So am I. And to think I just stopped by to snag a staple remover."
" Why here though? Why not snag one from wherever you're working?"
" I guess it was divine intervention," Connor responded as they stepped into the scrub room.
" You didn't answer my question," stated Will as he grabbed a scrub brush and tossed it to Conner before grabbing one for himself and opening it. For the next few minutes the room was silent, the only noises coming from the brushes as the pair lathered up their hands and arms with soap, scrubbing vigorously.
" We'll talk about that later," he replied, chucking his scrub brush into a nearby trash can before carefully running his hands and arms underneath the water, rinsing off the soap.
" Wait. Did you get fired?" questioned a curious Will.
" Right now my main focus is on saving Jay's life."
" What about kicking Marcel's ass?"
" I never said that wasn't going to happen," quipped Connor before tossing Will a dry towel.
" I'll hold his arms," Will volunteered.
" Sounds like a plan," Connor stated as they entered the Cath Lab. Will immediately headed for Jay who was laying atop the procedure table perfectly still.
" How are you doing?" he asked his older brother as he took a seat beside him.
" High as a fucking kite," replied Jay stoically.
" They've got you on the good stuff man," joked Will. An awkward silence fell over the cold, sterile room. Will looked up at Jay just in time to see a lone tear fall from his eye.
" I'm scared," he proclaimed out of nowhere.
" You've got nothing to worry about. I'll be right here by your side the whole time observing. Plus you lucked into Rhodes being here. You're in amazing hands," Will said reassuringly.
" I'm just ready for this to all be over," Jay lamented.
" You and me both," confessed his younger brother as a gowned Connor made his way over.
" Let's get this started. Are you ready?" he asked as a nurse helped him into a pair of gloves.
" Would you believe me if I said yes?"
" Not in the slightest. Corinne, can you get our patient another dose of Versed?" ordered Connor.
" What's that?"
" Let's put it this way. You'll be so relaxed you'll forget I'm going to be threading a catheter through a small incision in your groin," explained Connor with a smirk as he adjusted the control panel for the fluoroscopy machine.
" If your hand slips…" threatened Jay.
" No worries. I could do this procedure blindfolded I've performed it so many times. Think I've only slipped once or twice."
" Tell me he's joking," asked a panicked Jay as he felt his body relax.
" I know you're surrounded by medical professionals who have witnessed this procedure performed more times than they can count. I take my job just as seriously as you do yours. I'm going to do my best to explain everything as it happens. No surprises. I think we've all had enough of those today."
" You can say that again," the brothers replied in sync.
" The machine sounds a lot worse than it really is. It's a maneuverable x-ray system that is going to give me a clear view of your arteries so I can guide the instruments properly."
" He'd make a good sniper," Jay commented out of nowhere.
" Don't give him any ideas or inflate his already gigantic ego," replied Will. After a few more moments of adjusting the machines, the loud whirring stopped.
" I'm going to go ahead and inject the area with lidocaine to numb it. It's going to sting a little," he warned.
" I just got shot. I think I can handle it." Connor injected the medication before handing the syringe back to a nurse.
Are you ready?" Jay nodded his head.
" Once I start I'm going to need you to remain as perfectly still as possible. Okay?" Another nod.
Corrine. Scalpel." Will felt at ease as he watched Conner's steady hand make the incision before reaching for the sterile catheter.
" Here we go." Connor watched the screen as he carefully began easing the catheter into Jay's body.
Though he had seen the procedure done before, Will couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to the glowing screen. Minutes ticked by as Connor advanced the catheter further into Jay's artery. Nearly thirty minutes later, Connor's steady hands paused.
" Damn. That's a big clot," blurted out Will.
" We're lucky we caught it in time. Another 24 hours and you'd likely be dead," Connor stated.
" Are you finished yet?" questioned Jay.
" Unfortunately not. I'm just getting started. Now I have to try and capture the clot without it breaking off and potentially traveling to your brain."
" Sounds like a piece of cake," muttered the eldest Halstead brother.
" Has anyone made contact with Dr. Marcel?" Connor asked, reaching for the stent retriever.
" Ms. Goodwin mentioned something about a cabin in the woods," answered a scrub nurse.
" I'd like to bury his ass in the woods right about now," retorted the surgeon.
" Imma ignore…that,"
" Good. Because I'd help him dig the hole," added Will.
" Can I push him in?" Connor and Will laughed at Jay's request.
" Just as soon as I'm finished with this and you're out of the ICU."
" I'm in."
" Talk about something else that isn't going to fill me with rage," Connor requested.
" Ask Will about how he and Natalie got pregnant."
" Let's not."
" Halstead. You're turning beet red. Do tell," instructed Connor.
" We're um…Natalie is about 11 weeks along," Will stammered.
" 11 weeks. Minus…wait. Maggie got married two months ago."
" Nine weeks ago to be more precise."
" You two hooked up at Maggie's wedding?" The procedure room was silent. Will could feel his cheeks flushing even more than they were before.
" Wow. You two were right. I do miss all the good stuff."
" There's more," insinuated Jay.
" I think Connor has heard enough already," Will responded in an irritated tone.
" Oh no. Connor has not heard enough. Do tell."
" He proposed to Natalie at the wedding."
" Nothing like rushing right into things Will…"
" They also got married the same week they found out about the baby," Jay replied with a smirk.
" I'm going to kill you."
" Please don't. You'll ruin my beautiful work," stated Connor.
" You know I could tell quite a few embarrassing stories about you," Will offered.
" Hold that thought." Connor said suddenly.
Will come look at this." Will rose from his chair, his heart pounding rapidly as he approached the other side of the procedure table where Connor was standing, his hand perfectly still. When he looked up at the monitor, he immediately spotted the reason for the panic in the surgeon's voice.
" What are you going to do? That clot is bigger than what showed on the CT scan."
" Proceed with extreme caution."
" Are you sure it's safe? What if part of the clot breaks off and travels to his brain?" asked Will in a hushed tone.
" I think I can get it."
" You think? That's reassuring."
" I can get it. I've dealt with far larger clots before. It just requires extreme precision and attention to detail. Two very important traits I just so happen to possess."
" How sure are you?"
" Stop second guessing me and go back to Jay," Connor ordered quietly. Will reluctantly did as he was told, circling back around the table to where his stool sat empty.
" Is everything okay?" Jay questioned, his voice full of worry.
" It's fine. Just a change in plans."
" You're a terrible liar. Rhodes, he's lying…isn't he?"
" Everything is going to be fine," said Connor flatly.
Will anxiously watched the nearby clock as each minute ticked by in silence. Jay was half way conscious, staring at the ceiling. Nearly forty five minutes before he heard Connor breathe a sigh of relief.
" I've got it." Will jumped up, anxious to view the monitor.
" You okay?" he asked, looking at a clearly rattled Connor.
" I am now." Will watched as the surgeon meticulously guided the stent retriever backwards, the clot fully contained inside of it. He let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Despite the hardest part being over, Will knew that the situation was still critical until Connor had fully extracted the clot from Jay's body.
" How's he doing?" Maggie's voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Will looked up to find the nurse standing in the doorway.
" We're almost finished thankfully."
" Where's Natalie?"
" She reluctantly went back down to the ED to work after I stayed with her for the rest of her appointment."
" Thank you Maggie."
" It's the least I could do for my future godchild," she remarked.
" Godchild?" asked a clueless Will.
" I think I get first dibs considering the baby was conceived at my wedding."
" She has a good point," said Jay out of nowhere.
" Any further word on Marcel?" Connor asked.
" Is she going to help us hide the body?"
" Count me in. Last I heard from Ms. Goodwin is that he was heading back this way."
" Good. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I show him this damn clot. Somebody get me a specimen cup," Connor demanded as he pulled out the stent retriever. He turned to his right where Maggie stood, holding the requested cup.
" Son of a bitch!" she blurted out before tightening the lid.
" Let me see it," asked Will as he stood once again and walked over to where Maggie and Connor were standing.
Christ," he muttered under his breath. Meanwhile Connor still had his eyes glued to the screen as he carefully extracted the catheter.
" Corrine, can I get a collagen closure prepped?"
" It's ready and waiting," spoke the nurse. Connor smiled underneath his mask.
" I've missed this."
" We've missed you too, Dr. Rhodes."
" Maggie, do you mind making sure Jay makes it to the ICU? I need to speak with Ms. Goodwin."
" Absolutely," replied the nurse as Connor removed his gloves, mask, and gown.
" Halstead. No more funny business. I'm sending you to the ICU for overnight monitoring. I want you flat on your back for the next few hours. Any sort of immediate exertion and you risk bleeding out. I've already saved your life once today. I'd like to keep it that way."
" Duly noted."
" I'll meet back up with you soon, okay? I kind of left Natalie with no explanation. I'm sure she's worried."
" Next time I almost die I'll try to be less dramatic," offered Jay.
" There isn't going to be another time like this, you hear me?" Will stated. He watched Jay give a quick nod before he followed Connor into the scrub room.
" I haven't pulled a clot that size in quite some time," admitted Connor.
" You sure didn't let it show. Forgot how calm, cool, and collected you can be."
" I thought you were trying to prevent my ego from getting any bigger," Connor joked as they exited in the hallway outside the procedure room.
" Touche," retorted Will as he reached out to press the elevator button. The pair entered the elevator, Will pocketing the specimen cup as the doors closed. Beside him, Connor let out a sigh.
" I thought I'd never be able to step foot in this place ever again after Ava, but..."
" Come back. Seriously."
" About that.." Connor stated as the door opened onto the first floor. Will stepped off the elevator, followed by Connor, both making a sharp left turn towards Sharon's office. It wasn't long before they found themselves frozen in their tracks. A loud voice bellowed behind them, causing the hair on their necks to rise.