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Imogen Halstead (age 8)
Word count: 866
Tw: blood, injury.
Jays POV
It's Chicago's hottest day. The sun is beaming down without remorse. The breeze is cool. It's the perfect day for a BBQ. But what's a BBQ without friends and family?
Me and Will own a beautiful four bedroom house, one we raise our sister in. And don't get me wrong... other people have beautiful homes too, but our garden is huge. We have a section of grass that's at least a quarter of a football pitch, and a small area in the corner for wildlife... or as Imogen calls it, the hedgehog hotel. We also have a small pool in the middle, although it's not very deep for us adults, it's better for the kids though. We also have the patio section which is decorated by beautiful beige slates, and of course we have a small table area where we cook food and drink beer.
Since both me and Will are off work today, and it's a weekend, we decided to invite our friends over for a lovely day at home. The intelligence unit are here, minus Voight of course since he never turns up to these things. Will also invited the ED staff. Of course I couldn't have a BBQ without Severide and Stella, it just wouldn't be complete. So... the gardens pretty full right now.
Atwater brought Vanessa since she's now the same age as Imogen, and Nat brought Owen too. Kim also brought Makayla so right now the kids are having a great time.
"Archers going mad about this OR 2.0..." I hear will talking to Crockett and Maggie. Severide looks at me and sighs, "I was thinking of taking the motors out for a ride later if you're down" he nods. I flip the burgers over, "sure" I nod, handing him and Stella his food. As the line grows longer behind them, I notice the kids playing on the patio, "kids don't play on the concrete someone's gonna' fall and hurt themselves" I yell. Imogen turns to look at me and I can tell that she's going to ignore every word I just said. Will raises his eyebrows and walk over to them all to tell them off.
"She never listens" I sigh as Adam walks over to grab a burger. He snorts a laugh, "Maks the same" he smiles weakly. After we all grab a bite to eat we go back to drinking beer and chatting about work.
~
"All I'm saying is that you were the uglier child" Will raises his hands in defence as he stares at me. Hailey snorts a laugh and I nudge her arm in embarrassment. As we continue our conversation, the sun begins to set, painting a pretty picture in the sky.
"I'm over here! I can catch it!" I hear Imogen yell, but I don't think too much of it since I know the kids re playing with a soccer ball. All of a sudden we hear the screeching of a chair and a loud thud on the ground. We all look over our shoulders to see Makayla, Owen and Vanessa stood around something on the floor. I stand up, having felt a sinking feeling in my stomach, and walk over to the scene. Pushing my way through the kids I see Imogen on the floor, unconscious.
"Will! She's bleeding!" I yell. Everyone rushes over as Kevin and nat pull the kids away. Crockett and my brother push their way through and kneel down to see the blood spreading across the floor underneath Imogen's head and her unconscious state. Crockett gently lifts her head up and applies pressure to the gash, "we should get her to med, now" Will nods. As I stand up I throw my house keys to severide, "stay here for now, I'll give you a call when we know what's going on" I nod. It doesn't take us long to get into my truck, with Will and Crockett in the back, as we speed off to med, I flick my lights on to get us there faster...
~
"I told her not to play on the patio" I look at Will. He sighs, "kids are kids for a reason jay, accidents happen" he shrugs. We're both sat in the waiting room with Crockett as dr archer comes outside to find us. He stands in front of us, "she's okay, it was just a bump. She's awake and lucid, although she does have a very mild concussion. I would suggest avoiding bright lights and loud noises for 48 hours just to be safe. You can go see her now" he nods. I sigh heavily and look at Will, "thank you" I look at dr archer and Crockett.
"It hurts" Imogen pouts as we walk into her room, the nurse leaving us to be alone. I nod, "it's okay..." I sit next to her. She sighs, "and this is why we don't play on concrete" Will folds his arms. She huffs, "I know" she looks up at me, feeling very sorry for herself. I smiled weakly and thank whoever's out there that she's okay... but at least she'll never do it again!
