jay halstead hurt a-z

Infection

I is for infection
"

Cassie Skyped me yesterday. I, uh...I asked her to marry me." Logan said, looking at the picture of the blonde haired woman in his hand.
"Well look who finally grew a pair and did it!" Sam teased.
"Your one to talk Daniels! Not like it took you three and half years or anything!" Logan shot back with a smirk.
"Touché. What about you Halstead? You got anyone waiting for you at home?" Daniels asked, looking in the rear view mirror of their hummer. Their convoy of vehicles were creeping through the desert late at night, trying to get home from their occupation in a nearby city.
"Nah, nothing yet." Jay answered.
"I can set you up with my sisters friend. She's a real nice girl." Logan offered.
"I appreciate the offer, but..." Jay was interrupted by a ear piercing bang, and their vehicle was launched into the air. The hummer landed upright, but the explosions kept coming all around them.
"Jay! Wake up! Hey! Hey!" Jay shot up into a sitting position, and looked around, slowly realizing where he was. Erin had pulled the covers off of him, and was trying to hold his arms at his sides, to stop his flailing. She handed him a cloth off the bedside table.
"Just breath, Jay. Just breath. Your safe. It's ok." She said, rubbing his back. This wasn't the first time he had a nightmare. In fact, it was the second one this week.
"I...I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Jay asked, finally starting to calm down.
"No, I'm ok. I told you we should've gotten away for the weekend." Erin said, trying to comfort him.
"Yea, maybe. You know, the 4th of July used to be my favorite holiday. It always confirmed that serving my country was what I was meant to do. Now it just ruins everything." He said, visibly flinching as more fireworks erupted outside in the neighborhood down the street. He pulled the covers back, and looked at the clock on his bedside table with a sigh. 5:30am.
"How's the cut doing? Have you cleaned it recently?" Erin asked, looking at the bandage on Jay's right arm. That was the result of his first flashback earlier this week. He had been cutting a ham for dinner, and had started to zone out, when a commercial for the movie Hacksaw Ridge came on. The gunfire and explosions had spooked him, causing him to drop the meat cleaver and slice his arm open. Erin had the time of her life trying to wrangle her bloody, terrified boyfriend to the ground so he wouldn't hurt himself more. That time, it took him a good half hour to calm down. The trip to the hospital certainly didn't put him at ease.
"Uh...no. Maybe I sh...should have." Jay said. Erin jumped out of bed, and rushed over to where he was standing. She heard the hint of fear in his voice, and switched the lights on. He was standing, staring at the soiled bandage he had just pulled off. The cut on his arm was red and swollen, with puss oozing from the side where the stitches had been ripped out. Erin grabbed a towel, and pressed gently against it, then led him tot the bathroom.
"Dammit. It's infected. You must've ripped the stitches out just now. I thought it sounded like you hit your arm on the nightstand." Erin said as she started washing it out in the sink. Jay drew in a quick breath of pain as the warm water stung the cut. Erin quickly dried it off, and wrapped it tightly with gauze from the first aid kit on the top of the sink.
"Stay here. Drink this. I'm getting you a shirt, and then we're going to Med." Erin said, running out. She sprinted back into their bedroom, pulled on a pair of jeans and a jacket, grabbed her purse, and a loose shirt from Jay's drawer. She helped him pull it on, then rushed him to the car.
About 20 minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of Chicago med. Jeff and Will came running out to meet them. Erin had called Will, on their way out of the apartment, and had only needed to say that Jay had another nightmare before Will knew exactly what was happening. He himself had experienced a July with Jay before he and Erin were living together, and had actually sedated him one night, for fear he would hurt himself.
"When did it start bleeding?" Will asked, examine the arm before they even reached the doors of the ER.
"When I woke up... I hit it on the nightstand. I...I didn't realize it until I got up." Jay said.
"Dr. Halstead, room 4 is open and ready for you." Maggie said as the group walked Jay in.
"Thanks." Will said, leading Jay carefully, but quickly to the bed. When Jay sat down, Will unwrapped the bandages while Jeff grabbed IV bags, and hooked him up to fluids, and other medicine to stop the infection, all ordered by Will. Satisfied that Jay was in good hands, Erin slipped out to call Voight. She explained everything, saying that Jay wouldn't be coming into work today. She thanked him for his well wishes, and hung up. Will walked into the waiting room to where she was sitting.
"Hey. I know he probably fussed, but it's a good thing you brought him in. The cuts infected, and if he would've let it go, or tried to treat it himself, it likely would've spread to his bloodstream and turned into sepsis. We caught it in time, thankfully. We'll keep him here today and see how he is tonight to decided wether or not he can go home." Will explained.
"Thanks." Erin replied with a sigh, rubbing her forehead.
"You ok?" Will asked, noticing the look on her face.
"Uh..yea. Yea I'm fine. I just feel so awful. I can't imagine all the pain he went through over there. All the friends he lost. Sometimes I just don't know what to do for him." She said.
"Yea, I get that. I wasn't there for him when he first came back, when he needed family the most. Then when I finally was, I felt so helpless. Your good for him Erin. He needs someone to keep him grounded, and to hold him even when he thinks he doesn't need it. Thanks for being that person for him." Will said. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. She nodded. After he left, she went back into the room to talk to Jay before she left for work. As she walked out, he was drifting off to sleep, and she could only hope it would be a peaceful one.
Ethan was making his rounds at the hospital, checking on the patients in the different rooms, cleaning the floors, and making sure everyone was resting comfortably. The ER was relatively slow today, so he hadn't been downstairs in a while. He walked into the next room with his head in a clipboard. When he finally looked up, he was surprised to see Will's younger brother asleep on the bed. He didn't look very comfortable. Ethan could see Jay's eyes darting back and forth under the eyelids. His hands were shaking slightly, with one clenched tightly around the bed rail
Jay tried to free his wrists from the tight leather straps that were wrapped around them, but it was no use. One of the men grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him backwards onto the chair. He felt cold against the back of his neck. "Let's try this again. Tell us where your base is." One voice said. Jay couldn't see who his captors were, because they had tied a black bed sheet over his face. He shook his head furiously, and then the voice yelled something in the native language that Jay couldn't understand. Suddenly, Jay felt a rush of cold water being poured on his face. He tried to hold his breath, but had to open his mouth when his lungs screamed for air, resulting in a mouth full of water. Just as he was about to slip out, a pair of strong arms yanked him back up, and pulled the mask off. He sucked in the air, trying to expel as much water from his lungs as he could at the same time. "So your a tough guy, eh? Usually they crack after the 3rd round. I have to give you props, you mad el it through 6. Well I guess we'll have to try something else. One minute of this stuff in your blood stream, and you'll be begging for the water instead." The dark figure said. Jay struggled against the needle that was being shoved into his arm...
"Jay! Stop!" Will rushed in when he heard the yells of Dr. Choi coming from Jay's room. Will was just making his way up to check on his brother when he ran in and found Dr. Choi struggling to keep the manic thrashing of Jay's limbs contained. Will knew exactly what was going on, and rushed in to help. He had just reached his brothers side when Jay reached up, and yanked the IV as hard as he could. Blood started rushing from the needle mark as the tube flew out of his arm. Will grabbed a cloth and pressed it against the wound.
"I got him! Get a needle and sedate him right now!" Will yelled, trying to grab Jay's other arm. Just as he reached for it, Jay swung, and his fist connected solidly with the bridge of his nose. Will stumbled backwards from the blow, pain storming in between his eyes. He grabbed the wall to keep himself from falling as Connor and Jeff sprinted into the room. They were finally able to hold Jay down long enough for Ethan to stick him with the needle, and push the sedative into his vein. Jay was out once again, and Connor came over to check on Will. Jeff was called down to the ER, and reluctantly left the room.
"Let me fix that." Connor said, looking at the bridge of Will's nose where the skin has split open. Will had grabbed a towel to stifle the blood flow. Will started to resist, but stopped when Connor gave him a look.
"Well, luckily it's not to deep, and the bone doesn't feel like it's broken." Connor said, whipping the blood away. The bleeding stopped fairly quickly, and Connor placed a butterfly bandage over it, and handed him an ice pack.
"How much damage did he do to himself?" Will asked, looking to where Ethan was cleaning and bandaging Jay's arm.
"Nothing to serious. He ripped some skin off, but the vein looks to be in tact. Lucky for us, he got one just as good in his other arm." Ethan said. Then he grabbed a clean needle and IV tube, and put it carefully in Jay's arm. Will stood up, and walked over to this side of his brothers bed. He grabbed a cloth, and wiped the sweat off his forehead and neck. Connor had gotten a page, and had to run out. That left him and Ethan.
"I should've been there." Will asked with a sigh.
"Where?" Ethan asked.
"With him. When he first came home. Maybe I could've helped him." Will said.
"PTSD is a cruel disease. A person can be totally fine for years until the tiniest thing happens, and then boom. There's nothing you could've done to prevent it. Will, look at me, and believe me when I say this. This is not your fault. You can't get back the moments you weren't there, but you can make sure he never has to go through anything alone again." Ethan said, holding his friend by the shoulders. He knew exactly how hard this was, as he had seen his fair share of ex-soldiers just like Jay. In fact, he was in Jay's spot now and then. He patted Will on the back, then left the brothers alone.
Hours later, Jay turned his head over, and opened his eyes. He looked around the room at the chairs that were currently occupied by Will, who was staring off into space. Jay looked down at the bandage around his arm where the IV had been when he fell asleep, then looked over at the bandage on Will's nose. Guilt swept over him as he put it together.
"Will...did I? I...I'm sorry." Jay tried to find the right words to say, but couldn't.
"I'll have to ask Antonio what he taught you. You sure have a mean right hook!" Will said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. He scooted closer when he saw the look on Jay's face.
"Jay it's ok. I'm fine. Just a scratch." Will said, then continued to study his brother. Jay knew that look.
"August 8th. Somewhere in the dessert." Jay said.
"What?" Will asks.
"That's where I was. I forgot all about that day until just now." Jay said.
"What happened?" Will asked.
"My team...we were raiding an enemy compound. We had a civilian doctor inside. They sent us in to get her out, but they made us. Killed the doctor, took me hostage. They waterboarded me for 10 hours trying to get me to give them the location of our base. When I wouldn't, they stuck me with an IV of some sort of chemical. It was supposed to hurt so bad that I'd give up the information, but I passed out first. When I woke up, I was on the back of a med truck on my way to the hospital on our base." Jay said. Will listened, sorrow filling him. No wonder Jay hardly slept.
"Jay...I'm sorry..." Will sputtered.
"What're you sorry for? You didn't do it to me." Jay said.
"I know. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you got home...I was an awful brother when you needed me the most. I'm sorry." Will said, staring at the floor.
"Will, it's not your fault. We both had a lot of our own issues to deal with back then. Hey. Thank you. For everything. You've saved my life enough times since I've been back to make up for the time you missed. I'm lucky to have you." Jay said, waiting until Will finally made eye contact with him.
"I love you bro." Will said, putting a hand on Jay's shoulder.
"I love you to." Jay said, returning the gesture.