explosion (jay halstead / one chicago)

chapter 1

jay's pov

It had been a long day at work. I always loved being part of the intelligence unit, but nevertheless the job could be intense at times. Ever so often lately I found myself reminded of my time in Afghanistan.

I knew that it wasn't a good sign, that the flashbacks and nightmares occurring more frequently meant that I was doing worse. Afterall, I hadn't succeeded in dealing with the mental consequences of military service on my own.

That however was something I never liked to admit to myself, let alone anyone else. I was good at pretending everything was good throughout the day and staying away from home, from being alone with my thoughts, as long as possible. Deep down I knew that doing this wasn't a solution, I was just avoiding the problem and suffering by myself whenever I couldn't. But for the moment, I was just fine with that.

Hanging out at Molly's with some of my colleagues after solving a pretty hard case, I was thankful for the distraction this evening offered me.

"Here you go" Kevin laughed while placing another round of shots on the table in front of us. Him, Adam, Erin, Kim and I all drank at the same time.

"Honestly? I need more alcohol tonight" Erin sighed. I gave her a sympathetic look. The case we had just solved had been hard for her since a girl involved reminded her of her own past. Although Erin and I had ended our relationship on good terms over a year ago, we were still close as partners and friends, and of course I noticed when something was off with her. I was just glad we had found the murderer.

"Listen up everyone" Herrmann shouted all of a sudden, causing us all to turn and focus our attention on him. The murmur at Molly's died down and everyone looked at the barkeeper expectantly.

"It has been one month today since Liz joined us at firehouse 51" he announced, motioning to the dark-haired girl that was sitting at the bar with her friend. "That's something we have to celebrate."

"And for you" he continued, pointing at Liz, "all drinks are half the price today. Except the expensive ones of course."

Everyone laughed.

"Thank you, Herrmann" the girl said and we all raised our glasses, applauding before going back to our private conversations.

"Do you think she's single?" Adam asked.

I turned to him, just to find him eying me curiously.

"Why are you asking me?" I shot back. "Go find out for yourself."

Adam chuckled: "I'm asking you because you were checking her out, Halstead. Common, she's hot."

I shook my head and took a sip from the beer Erin had just gotten us.

"I definitely wasn't checking her out" I argued. "Plus, she's Kelly Severide's sister."

"Jay Halstead" Kim gave me a stern look. "Are you saying you dated Erin, who is kind of like Hank Voight's daughter, but you're afraid of Kelly Severide?"

"Why do you all gossip so much?" I sighed.

Luckily, my friends changed the subject. With no intention, my eyes drifted to the girl at the bar. She was with Sylvie Brett. I knew the blond paramedic from seeing her around but also because she was Antonio's ex-girlfriend. We had talked sometimes, and she was a sweet girl. Apparently, Kelly Severide's sister was her partner on ambo 61 for a month now.

Ruzek was right, Liz was hot. She had her shoulder length dark brown hair pinned to the side with a clip so it wouldn't fall in her face, emphasizing her smokey eyes and voluminous eyelashes. She was wearing black shorts with net tights underneath, a light crop top and a black leather jacket. Yeah, she was indeed hot.

When Liz got up and made her way towards the bathroom a second later, I focused my attention back on what my friends were talking about. I wasn't thinking straight, maybe I should stop drinking. But I knew exactly that wasn't going to happen. At least not for as long as alcohol could numb the pain.

"Next round is on me" Erin said and walked over to the bar. She didn't get far, as suddenly there was a loud bang.

Explosion. All alarms went off in my head.

I intuitively ducked under the table and covered my face with my hands, as the wave of heat and shatters that I knew just too well followed in a split second. Smoke filled my lungs and something hit my chest, causing a sharp pain to spread through my body. Then, all I saw was black.

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hey there again and thanks for reading xD let me know what you think so far and leave a vote if you like ❤️

quick note in case you were wondering: i'm aware i'm not really following the original storyline by leaving erin in the story and making her and jay just friends, but i don't want to touch upstead in any way and i like lindsay as this friend kind of character in my story ;D