Life is Fluid Part II

Chapter 11: A Visitor

Erin remained standing in place, staring at the man before her in having just heard the terms of the agreement. Hank sat in his chair, watching to see the reaction he would get to the three terms he had offered. It was a simple interaction between the pair. 

They had thought they were alone, until they heard footsteps coming from the steps up into Intelligence behind them. It had caught them both off-guard in knowing how late it was, with curiosity. Erin knew if she turned around and saw Jay there, she may have a smack for him as he should be resting, taking care of himself. 

The pair look toward the step, a bit of confusion, angst and shock in seeing the red head standing there. The last time Hank had seen him when he had stopped by Chicago Med yesterday, pulled him away from his work and notified him that his brother had been kidnapped. They hadn't spoken or seen each other since, other than the small text message sent when Jay was rescued to let him know. Oh, and another one that followed that perhaps.

"Trudy buzzed me up," he states, noticing the immediate confusion written on their faces. He could understand that, as everybody assumed he would be at Chicago Med, attached at his brother's hip right now. Part of him wanted hat in wanting to be there with knowing the extensive injuries and pain he would be in. He wanted to take care of his brother, but he also knew that hovering was not good. They did not have the smoothest relationship, and he wasn't about to let those crinkles bother the recovery process. It was why he was fulfilling the list of errands he had promised Jay. "I stopped by to grab Jay's phone and wallet for him." 

"How is she?" Erin's voice comes out, barely above a whisper, crackling at the core. She had tried to read Will's face in getting an answer to the question before asking, but it did not offer anything in return. She had to assume if he was here away from the hospital, things were fine. Anyways, Jay had walked out of the house on his own and then talked to her at the scene before he left with Gabby. "Is he going to be okay, Will?" 

"It's Jay - he's always okay." It was the comment he always told himself through anything. It was because of the unbelievable strength he knew his brother held in being able to fight through anything. It was because of the crazy amount of pain he could endure. It was because of the stories he had heard of his fight while overseas. Maybe he also said it to give himself some comfort. "He's got extensive injuries including a concussion, the burns to his torso, slight liver damage and dehydration. We're monitoring him closely for the next 24 hours, and he is in a significant amount of pain, but he will be okay." 

"Can you let him know I care about him?" Will nods his head slowly, even though he admittedly had a lot of reservations about him and Erin being together. He had saw how much the past three days before he was kidnapped how affected him in watching her begin to spiral down the rabbit hole. He also knew her past was questionable at that. Was that the right fit for his brother? He felt someone more stable for his brother would be more beneficial in knowing what his brother had gone through.

"I can do that, for you." He then reaches in bag, placing a couple pill bottles on the table as his eyes focus on the man across the table who had been silent the entire time. He had gotten the text message from him just before leaving the hospital, agreeing to favor despite his reservations about Erin. He was doing what Jay would want and taking care of Erin. He was doing what he could not do for her right now. "The first 24 to 48 hours of a detox from any street drugs are the worst, as that's when the symptoms are more prevalent. Your body is going to crave the drugs more than anything, but you cannot give into those as you'll just repeat the cycle." 

"Thank you Will," Hank states in seeing the array of medicine that laid on the table to deal with the symptoms. He had been through detoxs before with people to know what was to come during them. He was there with Erin when he originally took her in and away from her mother Bunny, resulting in a very rough 30 hours. He knew there was a mild anxiety medicine there, as well as something to settle her stomach if necessary. "I really appreciate you doing this for myself and Erin. I hope you didn't get in trouble or caught grabbing these."

"I was very caref-" Will assures the boss, remembering the process he followed to the medicines from lock-up without being caught by anyone. He remembered the odd look from Maggie, as if she could see through what he was doing, but she was not about to say anything. She probably also knew why he was doing it.

"If you run into any problems, please let me know. Also, be sure to tell your brother that we are glad he is okay, and to take the proper time to heal. 1 week medicine leave mandatory, minimum. I know that will be a tall order as he will be demanding to leave the hospital already and return to work." Will laughs with a nod of the head, as they both seemed to know Jay and his antics very well. He was not one to take a break lightly as he wanted to stay focused on the task at hand in believing he could handle anything. 

Hank then gets up from the desk, going over to where the lockers were just before the interrogation rooms. He then punches in the master code to unlock them all, before opening Jay's. He grabs the phone, wallet, as well as his badge. He then hands it all over to Will with a smile. 

"Give him back his badge so he knows he has a place here when he's healed," Hank instructs as Will nods his head, accepting. He understood the psychology behind it immediately. "And tell him he can have his firearm on his day of return to the office."