Life is Fluid Part II

Chapter 8: Brotherly Reunion

Will watched as the pair of Internal Affairs Department Officers walked out of the room, slipping the door shut as they did so. He watched their faces in trying to read the emotions they had based on what they had probably just been told by his brother. 

Will took a deep breath, biting his lip as he resisted bursting out with his own opinion on the situation. Why were they bothering to look into this? It was the bureau's fault for not properly taking care of Keyes before that he continued to reign his terror, forcing Intelligence and Chicago into this situation. This was finally a case of Erin and Jay doing what they needed to do survive. Weren't the lives of a pair of the city's officers put above the criminals they went against? 

Instead his eyes focused on the glass door before him, slipping it open as he made his way inside the room. His eyes then rested on his brother, immediately focusing on the bump that made up the right side of his face. He trusted Ethan's judgement as a doctor. He knew he had probably ran a CT scan to ensure there was no internal bleeding, or potential of a fractured skull. He did not need to hear whether there was a concussion or not, assuming it probably was severe. 

He could not see the rest of his brother's body, thanks to the blanket he was covered in. But his eyes could not help but rest on the monitor alongside the bed, as the doctor in him began immediately taking in every single number that was there. 

Jay did not suffer from health issues and low blood pressure did not run in the family. Why was that still at the level, when he had heard from Maggie of the rescue having happened hours ago? Dehydration. Kidney Damage. Blood Loss from trauma. Emotional stress from the trauma. All of those were easily possible given what Jay had gone through over the past 24 hours. 

He had tried to remain calm and not panic about anything, but finally catching the eyes of his brother, every fear he had felt since receiving the phone call from Hank yesterday came back in that very moment. It was the same fear that saw him barely able to complete his rounds. It was the same fear that saw him unable to sleep last night in wondering what was going on, and where.

"Thank God you're okay," he finally lets out, making his way over to the bed and instantly wrapping his arms around his brother. "Thank God they found you. Thank God you are alive." 

"I am okay, Will," Jay says to him quietly, trying to hide the pain that was certainly starting to surface through. 

It had been minimal before, probably due to adrenaline and his training techniques kicking to the curb. However, with each passing hour he laid there, it seemed another part of his body wanted to hurt more than the other. His head hurt as he felt dizzy with a big headache. It felt like something was piercing through his side on both sides for that matter. His shoulders ached. His legs arched. His ankles ached. His wrists ached. He could feel sleep coming probably sooner than later, and all he wanted was his own bed to get comfortable in. 

"Low blood pressure..." Will comments as he looks over at Ethan, who was still standing in the room with having been there through the whole session with the officers. 

"Combination of dehydration and left kidney," Ethan replied in knowing it would be fine with Jay for everything to be shared with Will. He had already gotten clearance for that in the past in knowing how close the brothers were. He also knew once Jay was released to go home, it would be Will taking care of him. "We've been giving him fluids since he was admitted, but the fact he tucked himself more under that blanket means he's still feeling cold, and suffering affects. you can only imagine what 24 hours without any water will do to your organs. That is affecting his kidney, as well as the repeated abuse it took during the torture. I haven't seen any improvement, but minimal blood in the little urine we've seen, scans remaining the same, and bruising not spreading has left us to just monitor it for now." 

"We can deal with all that - as long as he's okay..." Will takes a couple calming deep breathes as he allows his eyes to focus back on his brother. "I don't care what he did to you. All that matters is that you will be okay." 

"I will be fin-" Jay goes to repeat just like before, biting his lip in-between each word.

"Pain. You're in pain right now..." Ethan's eyes focus on his patient, not surprised by the revelation. He was a soldier himself. He always knew that the signs of pain came out more and more over the 12 hours that followed the events. 

"We've been trying to avoid opioids per the note on his file. We've been administrating a regular flow of ibuprofen and acetaminophen in hopes that would kill the edge." Will nods his head, knowing why the notice was on Jay's file. Opioids brought forth nightmares. Opioids brought forth hallucinations. It was not a pleasant experience the last time he was on them, turning it worse than the pain he was experiencing. "Jay, you need to let your body rest and sleep now so you can re-charge and fight through everything. You are safe here with us. Close your eyes. Get some rest, please. If you are finding that hard, let me know and I can give you a low dosage of Daridorexant to help you." 

"Dehydration can also cause sleepless, so it may be a good idea. Please co-operate with us, Jay. Please take care of yourself for once." Jay knew they were right as a yawn escaped. Sleep would also be much better than hearing this conversation. He did not want to hear more details of his diagnosis. He did not want to thank about more drugs being put in his system. Comfort was all he craved. Maybe sleep would give him that reprieve for once.

"As long as you do me one favor - can you get me a change of clothes, please?" Jay requests, as he looks down at the gown that adorned his body. He also had one more request, and it was something he had wanted since he and Erin had been separated. He needed to know how she was doing, and there was only one way if he could not see her right now. "I hate this gown. I want something more comfortable, please. Oh, and my phone. It's locked in my locker at the PCPD."