jay halstead hurt a-z

gunshot

G is for Gunshot

Jay walked calmly through the crowded lawn with the rest of the Intelligence team. This was a rare occasion, as they were all dressed in plain clothes, with their badges hidden. They had gotten a tip of an armed shooter in the park. The team was skeptical of the call because there had been no panic since they arrived, and even more so because they had recently been receiving fake calls over the radios. When they were told that the gang they had been watching for the last few months on a open case was organizing a hit at the local park, it just didn't seem plausible. A gang hit in broad daylight, in the middle of a crowded park? And the park that was only a few blocks from a police precinct? It just didn't seem plausible. Nevertheless, Voight and his team were there. He didn't want to take any chances of something actually happening and starting a gang war, the whole time knowing he could've stopped it before it started. The team had taken different paths to look inconspicuous, but had now converged in the middle of the park.
"Looks like it was another fake call. Probably some stupid teenager." Jay scoffed, looking around at the peaceful people enjoying the warm early spring weather.
"Well if it was a teen, they sure weren't stupid. They knew which gangs to threaten a war between to get us all out here." Al said, looking around. He had a gut feeling that there was more to this, but he couldn't quite place what it was. The team holstered their weapons and stood, racking their brains and surveying their surroundings, hoping to spot something suspicious. All of a sudden, a loud crack sounded through the air as a gun fired. Al should have trusted his gut, because he was correct.
Screams of fright sounded from the bystanders closest to the circle of detectives. Jay let out a grunt of pain, and looked down at his abdomen. The rest of the team had looked towards the source of the sound, until they heard Jay.
"Oh my god! He's hit!" Adam yelled when he noticed the red stain that was growing on the front of Jay's shirt. Jay pressed a shocked hand to the hole in his side, and drew in a sharp breath. The rest of the team looked over just in time to see his knees buckle and drop to the pavement. Erin was the closest to him, and first to his side.
"No! Come one Jay! Come on! Look at me! Keep your eyes open!" She begged him.
"This is Sergeant Hank Voight requesting immediate backup to my location! I have a 1013, roll a bus! And tell them to put a rush on it!" Voight said, picking up his phone. Kevin hastily pulled his jacket off and handed it to Erin to press on the wound.
"Hey! Your gonna be fine, just keep your eyes on me ok?" Adam said, squeezing his friends hand when the pressure gained a moan Jay.
"Al, with me! Kevin and Burgess go the opposite direction. I want this guy alive!" Voight said. His detectives took off, not even needing him to light a fire under them to get them moving.
"H...how...b...bad?" Jay managed to push out. Erin wanted so badly to lie, to tell him it was nothing, but she knew she couldn't. She also knew he wouldn't let her.
"Your loosing blood fast. Wait...he shot him from the back. This is the exit wound...that means he's..." Erin trailed off, looking at the large pulled of blood underneath her partner.
"Bleeding from the back to! Dammit!" Adam said, finishing her sentence.
"Jay, we have to get you onto your right side. You gotta stay awake for me, ok?" Erin said. She jumped over him, switching places with Ruzek, and handing him her sweatshirt to put on the other wound. They could hear sirens pulling up to the curb, and luckily, a concerned onlooker had seen what was happening, and directed the paramedics to Jay. Dawson and Brett pushed through the crowd with concerned looks on their face. Jay was promptly loaded onto the stretcher after his shirt was cut away and the wounds were packed correctly.
"Come on Jay! Don't you dare give up!" Will yelled at his brother, even through he knew he couldn't hear him. Jay had been unconscious since he had been rushed through the front doors of Chicago Med, barley hanging on. The room was full of doctors and nurses rushing around, trying desperately to save the man in front of them. A nurse pulled the gauze off and unpacked the wound. It seemed that that was the only thing holding the blood in his body, because as soon as she did, it rushed out and all over the floor. Terror filled Will as he watched his brother cough, sending blood out of the corner of his mouth. Jay's eyes rolled back up into his head, and the heart monitor began to beep angrily at him.
"Stats are dropping! I can't get a pulse!" The words nearly chocked Will on their way out. Erin collapsed into the waiting arms of Voight, who practically carried the sobbing figure to the waiting room.
"Clear!" Will yelled. Jays body convulsed from the shock, but didn't respond. Again, nothing.
"Charging! Clear! Come on Jay! Come on!" Will yelled, pressing the paddles to his brothers lifeless form. He picked them up and waited one...two...thr...
"He's got a sinus rhythm!" April said, letting out a sigh that the entire room was holding. Dr. Rhodes took over, and soon Jay was wheeled out of the room and up to surgery. Will closed his eyes, trying to get his head to stop spinning. April pulled her gloves off, and joined him in the hallway.
"He's gonna make it Will. He a fighter." April said, trying to comfort him. She turned to face him when she didn't get a response, noticing he hadn't moved since he walked out. He was staring at the blood covering his gloves and the front of his shirt and white jacket.
"Hey. Will? Hey. Woah woah!" She said in surprise as she watched him drop to the floor. Natalie and Jeff rushed over to their coworker.
"Get me a gurney! Let's get him into a bed." Natalie said.
Will woke a few minutes later in a private room. He took a deep breath, and Dr. Charles looked up from where he had been staring into space, waiting for the attending to wake up.
"Wh..why am I in here? What happened?" He asked, pushing himself up in the bed.
"Welcome back. You were out for about 4 minutes." Dr. Charles said.
"I passed out?" Will asked curiously. Then the events of the last 30 minutes all came back to him, and his face dropped once again.
"You did. You were in shock. It's understandable after having to resuscitate your brother." He said.
"Jay...uh...how is he? I..I can't remember anything that happened after I shocked him the third time." Will asked, even though he knew he was probably in surgery. It seemed to Will that he would feel a little better if he heard confirmation for someone else that Jay was alive.
"That's completely normal. He's with Dr. Rhodes. He's the best surgeon we have. I think I'll let you rest. Just take it easy, and take as long as you need." Dr. Charles said, leaving him. Will let out a deep sigh, and laid his head back on the pillow. As much as the fighter in him was telling him to get up and get back to work, his heart was still pounding, and he hadn't slept in days. He was out cold in minutes.
Connor pulled his scrubs off, and walked out of the operating room. He whipped the perspiration off of his forehead. This had not been the first time he had had to operate on his coworker and friends brother, but it certainly was the most difficult to date.
"Hey." Connor said, as he walked into the waiting room and approached the Intelligence team in its entirety. It was about 5:30 in the evening, and yet they were all still there.
"How is he?" Erin asked anxiously.
"He just got out of surgery. The bullet ruptured his appendix and took off a piece of his spleen. We repaired both, but it took longer to drain the toxins that his apendix released. There is a small chance that we didn't get all of it out, so I want to keep him here for at least a week to monitor him. Other than that, I expect him to make a full recovery. It will be slow going, but he'll be back to himself in about three weeks." Connor explained.
"Well knowing Jay, he'll be back to normal before that. Then it'll just take his body a little longer to catch up." Adam said.
"Can we see him?" Erin asked eargerly. The happiness that had filled her when she heard Jay was ok was now replaced by an overwhelming need to hold his hand, to talk to him. To see that he truly was going to be ok, and replace the image of him laying in a pool of his own blood.
"Not immediately. He'll be in the ICU for at least an hour. Go home, get some rest. Or if not, I'll have someone come get you when he's awake." Connor said. Voight nodded, and after much coaxing, he led her towards the cafeteria to get some food in her. Then it was back to doing the thing she hated the most. Waiting.
Jay let out a hiss of pain as Erin pulled the bandage off his skin. She looked down at the angry red scar running across his bottom two ribs. He had the equivalent on his back, but that one was still in the shape of a bullet. It was about two weeks after his dance with death, and he was still resting at home.
"Did we get a case today?" Jay asked.
"Yea, I did. You are still on bedrest." Erin said.
"Ugh! Come on! I'm so bored!" Jay complained, causing a annoyed laugh from Erin.
"Jay. We've been through this before. Your not going back until your cleared! No ifs ands or buts!" Erin said.
"Fine. Then just know I'm going to be the biggest pain in your ass every minute your home." Jay said with a smirk.
"Wait, you mean you aren't already?" Erin asked sarcastically, earning her a light shove. She replaced the bandages, then helped him pull a shirt on. He wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders, and snuggled her closer into his good side. She rested her head on his shoulder, and the spent the rest of the night that way.