Warnings: Guns, shootings, blood/injuries, hospitals and lots of angst.
Summary: When going to visit your older brothers, things suddenly take a turn for the worst.
Submitted by @lokiswife18
A/N: I'm so sorry, this was sent in ages ago but with some free time now, I can finally get all of these done. There's multiple medical inaccuracies so I apologise in advance. I somehow ended up writing over 2k words, so this is a long one. Hope you enjoy this, it feels like i haven't written angst in a hot minute so this was super fun to do. Enjoy!!
Today's dinner had been planned for months now and every single time, something came up and it had to be postponed.
First, Jay was unexpectedly gone undercover, and you and Will didn't want him to 'miss out'. The second time, you were pulled in last minute to supervise the annual school camping trip. The third time Will had been unavailable to what you guys later found out was a massive pile up at the hospital that he didn't reply till two days later. And the other four times after that were all results of mainly your brothers work lives getting in the way.
Today had been the day where nothing would go wrong. You'd all messaged earlier on and nothing had come up to change your plans. There was going to be nothing in the way to stop this dinner from taking place tonight.
The high school you worked at was having their parent teacher meetings today, your last one being half an hour before the reservation Jay booked.
Your work best friend who you always drove with had a later meeting and so you were taking the train, your make up in your bag. Your clothes were good enough for restaurant you three frequented growing up.
Waving the other teachers goodnight, wishing them luck with the remainder of their parents, you made your way to the train station, phone in hand as you updated your brothers that you had left work.
It was dark out, the sun had almost fully set, and it was at that time during the autumn when the sun started setting earlier. But the station was close enough and having a detective as a brother meant that he taught you things that would be useful just in case.
Rummaging through your bag looking for your card, you cursed yourself for how messy your things were and with the addition of your makeup, searching for your card that wasn't in its purse was very difficult.
Stopping in your tracks, you huffed in frustration at not being able to find your card. Taking your bag off your shoulder, you used your dominant hand to dig deep. You definitely put it in this morning, you never left the house without it.
Finally finding the card, you resumed your walking, rounding the corner from the train station when you heard very familiar popping sounds went off.
Ducking around the corner, you stood still as you waited for the shooting to pass. Your hands trembled slightly as you dialled 911.
But before you could press the call button, a wave of immense pain washed over you.
Time seemed to move in slow motion. Your surroundings all started to blur; the shootings no longer audible to as a ringing sound drowned your ears.
Following such intense pain was numbness. Your phone and card fell from hand, pins and needles enveloping your fingers as you lost all feeling in your entire body but your chest.
In the far back of your mind, you could hear Will's words from a night he taught you and Jay first aid. At the distant thought, you tried moving your hands to put pressure on your chest, but nothing moved.
Your breathing was now shallow, gasping out of rhythm the more you struggled. Everything was becoming so blurred to the point the flowers on your dress were no longer visible.
Coughing increased your pain tenfold; blood was now trickling out your mouth. With whatever consciousness remained, your panic sank in even further.
What had been a good day at work and a supposed even better evening spent with your brothers had taken a sudden turn for the worst when you'd been caught in the crossfire.
Here you were, bleeding out in the dark in the middle of the street with no one nearby.
Forming any sort of thoughts became even more difficult the more time passed. While thinking about what was going to happen next, your inevitable thought were your brothers who were completely oblivious.
And they were the last thing on your mind when you were no longer able to fight against your heavy eyelids.
*****
Jay arrived first. Everyone was still at the precinct but after asking very politely, Voight let him off early. Jay was sat at the reserved table for twenty minutes before Will showed up, apologising for his tardiness as surgery ran over a little longer than expected.
They had put off ordering till you arrived, only asking for drinks as they waited for you.
The first ten minutes they simply thought you got caught up with more parents but then ten turned into twenty and they were concerned.
You were usually very punctual so being this late was out of the ordinary but to also not tell them in advance that you were going to be late. Something was clearly wrong.
Confused, they both took turns messaging and calling you, both of which you didn’t reply or answer.
Now they were concerned.
Luckily, all three of you were sharing your locations with each other after leaning from many past experiences. Quickly checking your whereabouts, they found you not too far away from your school near the train station but looking at your movements for five minutes, you remained put.
Without any words, both brothers were out their chairs and apologising to their waiter who had been so patient with them. Getting into Jay’s truck – Will being dropped of by Natalie – they drove towards your location, their concern transitioning into anxiety at the unknown.
It didn’t take too long to get there. Jay parking his truck on the side and Will getting out without waiting for the car to stop.
Walking around the corner, they weren’t too sure what to expect but it definitely wasn’t this.
There you were, unconscious, leaning against the side of a building, legs sprawled out forward and your head tilted to the side, blood trickling out your mouth. Your hands were limp around your abdomen where your floral dress was clearly ruined, drowning in blood.
Instantly, Will sprung forward, kneeling besides you as he called your name several time. You never responded nor did you even move an inch.
“Y/N? You with me?” As Will switched into ‘doctor mode’, Jay wasted no time in calling it in, relaying his badge number and stressing the importance of this emergency to dispatch before calling Voight, knowing the man and a few of his colleagues were still working.
Placing his fingers on the side of your neck, Will tensed up as he felt your weak and irregular pulse. Swallowing harshly, Will took inventory of every injury, not matter how big or small.
He addressed the obvious first, your chest that was still bleeding profusely. Taking off his jumper, he ripped it in half, wrapping one around your chest as tight as possible to try stop the bleeding. You had lost so much already and even with the clothing around your chest, his jumper was already soaking in so much blood.
“I’m so sorry Y/N.” Will apologised before tightening a knot, wincing when you finally whimpered. Your whimper was ever so soft that if he wasn’t so focused on you, he wouldn’t have heard it.
“Hey- Y/N, open your eyes for me please.” Will’s resolve was struggling at the sight of his little sister bleeding out and there only being so much he could do to help. But Jay, he felt even more helpless, standing back only being able to watch as his brother did his best to help with so little resources.
Surveying the area, Jay tried looking for anything out of the ordinary, but it was fully dark now, no people out as they all got ready for bed.
Turning on his phone flashlight, Jay easily caught sight of several stray bullets littering the road and pavement. With this new lighting, you looked even worse for wear, your bloody chest even more alarming now that they could actually get a good look at you.
“Shit. Will what- “
“I’ve got her Jay.” Will said firmly, looking him in the eye but his own were watery. That didn’t assure Jay as much as he wanted it to.
All of a sudden, before Jay could say anything, Will’s head snapped back towards you, his fingers going back to your pulse before moving even more forward, ducking his ear near your nose.
Will’s fast movements could only mean one thing. Before Will could even do anything, Jay already knew what was happening.
You weren’t breathing anymore.
Laying you flat on the pavement, Will winced as he placed his hands on your chest, apologising before he started chest compressions.
Each compression produced more blood, Will’s hands absolutely coated and dropping in your blood. It made him feel sick.
“Jay, I need you to take over.” Will said after some time had passed, his arms slowly starting to aching, knowing he had to take a minute before he could continue.
Kneeling on the opposite side of Will on the other side of your body, Will counting him in before he took over.
As soon as Will’s hands were off your chest, they were immediately replaced with Jay’s, almost as if it wasn’t two different people.
Will’s fingers were sticky, your blood dripping down his fingers, glued under his nails and coating his sleeves. It felt so surreal.
“Alright Jay, swap back with me on three.” Will told his brother after two minutes, not wanting him to get too tired either.
Jay’s hands were in the same state when he stopped.
“Will, its so much blood.” His voice was shaky, reality setting in as Will continued chest compressions when nothing changed.
Will only looked up at Jay with a certain glint in his eyes that he hadn’t seen since their dad died-
“Will she’s-“
The blaring sirens cut him off, blue and red lights blinding them as the appeared around the corner.
Jay got up, walking towards the newcomers when he recognised the cars in front.
“Jay, what happened?” Hank asked, approaching his detective first. His eyes clocking Jay’s bloody hands before asking “Who-“
“It’s Y/N.” Jay said, leading Intelligence and the paramedics towards the scene. “She’s been shot. I think she got caught in a shooting- she’s lost so much blood and she’s not breathing anymore but there’s no culprits anywhere and-“
“Jay, it’s okay, we’ve got this.” Hank physically had to stop the younger man, looking him straight in the eye. “We’re gonna get them, I promise.”
Hank never made promises, it was sworn off by every first responder but everyone knew that Voight never broke his promises.
“Alright Desmond, on my count I need you to take over for me.” Will said, taking charge as soon as the familiar paramedics joined him.
Instantly complying, the paramedic took over the compressions, letting Will sit back on his toes. “We need to shock her, she’s gone without a pulse for nearly thirteen minutes.”
Both paramedics looked up at him knowingly, their sombre faces ones which Will purposefully ignored even with the bitterness heavy on his tongue.
“Will I’m sorry but…”
*****
You were now connected to the portable monitor in the ambulance and to hear the repeating beeps, signalling there was no heartbeat only made things more real. But Will hadn’t given up, even with the sympathetic looks he received from the two paramedics.
Jay had joined them in the back of the ambulance, leaving the crime scene in the capable hands of Intelligence and with the promise that he’d be kept in the loop.
In what felt like recording breaking speed, they arrived at Med. Wasting no time, the stretcher was pulled out the ambulance, Desmond swapping places with Will on top of the stretcher over your body, who now took over the chest compressions.
“Maggie, is Baghdad open?” Will asked, raising his voice as they rolled into the ED, his back to all his colleagues.
“It’s all yours. Connor, Ethan!” The two men were already moving before Maggie had even called out their names.
“She’s been shot in the chest, the bullets still inside. Pulse was weak before it was lost, been doing CPR ever since and was shocked twice in between.”
“How long Will?” Connor asked, looking at the redhead worriedly, eyeing the bloody states of all three Halstead siblings. “Will, how long has she been unconscious?”
But Will never replied. “Ethan, come here and take over.”
The Korean shared a knowingly glance with the trauma surgeon but obliged anyways.
Stepping back, Will stood besides Maggie who was hooking you up to all the monitors necessary.
“The bleeding finally stopped en route.”
“When was she shot?” Connor asked, surveying the rest of your body for any other bullet wounds.
“We, we don’t know.” Will’s voiced cracked from the emotion and uncertainty. “Gosh, it’s been over fourteen minutes since.”
Will physically couldn’t find it in himself to finish the sentence.
“Okay, paddles Maggie.”
*****
Both brothers were forced out the treatment room and Will could not convince Maggie to change her mind one bit.
“She’s in good hands. Ethan and Connor will be in surgery for hours so I need you two to rest.”
Will and Jay were way too tense, their faces grim at the unknown future of their younger sister.
“Let’s wash your hands first and get into a change of clothes.” Maggie was as gentle as she would be with kids, smiling softly as she helped the brothers somewhat get their shit together.
The blood wouldn’t wash away. It remained stuck under their nails, speckles stubborn like glitter. Knowing your blood was on their hands, it was gut wrenching.
Will always kept a change of clothes in his locker. He and Jay rid of their stained shirts with whatever was left in the locker but even in a new change of clothes and washed up, they still felt disgusting.
“Will…” Jay softly called his name, clearing his throat when his voice cracked. “What did they mean about not breathing for more than fourteen minutes?”
The doctor screwed his eyes shut at his younger brothers question. His tone insinuating that he knew but was in denial and wanted confirmation that his suspicions were wrong.
“There’s-“ Will struggled to face reality, ripping off the bandage for his brother. “There’s a very low chance she makes it. And, and if she does there will be consequences- like, really bad side effects.”
Jay clenched his jaw, turning his head away to look out the doctors lounge window into the surprisingly mellow emergency department.
“We broke our promise.”
“I know.”
“What are we meant to do?”
Several beats passed before Jay received a reply, one in which caused silent tears to finally start falling.
Glasses (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister Imagine)
A/N: Thank you so much for reading and for sticking around with my sporadic posting! Please don't forget to vote and comment!
I start my second year of my doctoral program next week and have been working 60 hrs/wk these past few weeks to save up for when I have less time during the school year. I don't know when I will post next, but I have an idea that I want to write and I've also been trying to write 300 words/day, which is very helpful in getting writing done.
Anyway, sorry for the long author's note! Enjoy!
"You gonna go see my teacher now?" you asked after you and Jay walked into your elementary school one spring evening.
"Yup," Jay answered while he led you over to the small table set up right outside the room. It was stocked with coloring pages, markers, crayons, and a couple of books. "And you're going to sit right here while I talk to her, okay? I'll be right inside."
"And then we get ice cream after?"
"What was our deal?"
You sighed. "If I get a good re- re--" you scrunched up your eyebrows as you tried to remember the grown-up word that Jay had used earlier. "What's that word?"
"Report."
"Oh, yeah! If I get a good report, then I get ice cream."
"That's right."
"Mr. Halstead?" your teacher said as she stepped out of your classroom.
"Hi, Miss H!" You waved. "Please tell Jay I was good because I get ice cream then!"
Jay chuckled. "You'll just have to wait and see, kiddo. Now, be good while I talk to Miss H, okay?"
"Okay!" Then, you started flipping through the coloring pages to try and find one that you wanted to color.
***
"So, tell me the truth, is she a troublemaker?" Jay asked as he sat down across from your teacher. "I know for a fact me and my brother were, so it wouldn't surprise me."
You teacher smiled. "Y/N is anything but that. She does her work as assigned, gets her planner signed at night, and stays on task very well. She struggles with math, but that's understandable. Some take longer to learn math than others. But, she excels at reading. She said that you read with her and do flashcards with her every night."
Jay nodded. "We're working through The Chronicles of Narnia right now. Me, my wife, Hailey, or my brother, Will, will read that to her before she goes to bed, depending on who's with her due to our schedules. Then, the next night, we'll have her try and read to us. She's working on Junie B. Jones."
"Well, it's working. And, she's making more progress in her mad minutes for math than she was a month ago. Do you work on flashcards every day?"
"We try to," Jay answered. "Those we try to do right after school and give her a snack with it. Some would call it bribery, but it works."
"Keep doing what you're doing. It's been working really well." She paused. "There is one thing that has been concerning me about, Y/N." Jay furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to listen. "When we move seats for groups during partner reading and other times during the day, I noticed that she struggles to read what's on the board. Sometimes she'll squint really hard and sometimes she'll walk up to the board to write in her planner at the end of the day. I've moved her to the front row for class, but when we move for groups and she's further away from the board, it seems that it's hard for her to see. Do you have the time and money to get her eyes checked? If not, we have vision testing coming to school in a month, which is free and required for all students," your teacher finished.
"My brother's a doctor, and we'll make sure to see her pediatrician about this. It's getting close to her yearly physical anyway. Thank you for telling me. Is there any other times that you notice this?"
"During library days, she always makes sure to sit in the front so she can she the pictures better. I'm sorry. I wish I had more information to give you."
"No, thank you for telling me this. I know you have a lot of other kids to look out for. Is there anything else I should know? Behavior wise, she's good, right?"
"Very well behaved. The only thing I was concerned about is her vision."
"Great. Thank you again for telling me."
"You're welcome. Is there anything else you needed to discuss regarding Y/N?"
"No," Jay answered. "I'll get out of your hair now then. You've probably got more parents to see."
"I do. Have a good night."
"You, too," Jay replied and then made his way to the door and out into the hallway.
Your head shot up the second you heard the door open. "I was good, right?" you asked.
"You weren't good-"
You dropped your head. No ice cream. "But-"
"You were great, kiddo!" Jay exclaimed.
"Ice cream!" you cheered.
Jay squatted down to your height and looked at the picture you were coloring. "That's really pretty and you're almost done. So, how about instead of going out for ice cream, I call Will and have him pick up ice cream sundae stuff and we can make them at home. That way, you can finish your picture at home."
"Can we watch a movie, too?"
Jay looked at his watch. 5:33. You'd have time to watch a Disney movie before bedtime. "If you start it right when we get home, then yes, you can watch a movie."
"Yay!"
"Now, stay here for a couple more minutes while I go call Will, okay? And, what's my rule?"
"If I have to go somewhere and can't tell you, tell a good adult." Jay had taught it to you as trusted adult, but you couldn't remember that word, so you always said good adult.
"That's right. I'll be right back."
Then, he made his way all the way down the hallway and turned the corner and continued walking until he was sure that you weren't within earshot to call Will.
He picked up on the first ring.
"If you need help disciplining her based on a bad report, that's all you, Jay. You're the disciplinarian and I'm the fun brother."
Jay rolled his eyes. "It's not that. She did great, but her teacher said that she might need glasses. She said she struggles to see the board. Think you could check her out tonight?"
"Jay, she needs to go to an optometrist for that."
"I know, but can't you just do some preliminary stuff? Also, she wants you to come over for ice cream sundaes and a movie, so you'd be there anyway."
"Who says I don't have plans?"
"C'mon, man. I know you."
"Fine, I'll be there in 30 minutes. You need me to pick anything up? Maybe a pizza? Can't just give the kid ice cream for dinner, but you know that."
"If you bring pizza, at least bring a salad with it," Jay bargained.
"Deal. See you in 30. And, I'll put in a call to her pediatrician on the way to your place."
"Perfect. Thanks, man. See you later."
Then, Jay hung up the phone and walked back over to you. "Ready to go?"
"Yes! Ice cream!"
"Ice cream is right. Let's go, kiddo."
Then, you two made your way to his truck and went to the store to buy everything you, Jay, Will, and Hailey would need for ice cream sundaes. And, Jay kept an eye on you to see if you were squinting. But, it was a bit difficult because he was making a mental checklist and checking everything off while you two were in the store. He figured he'd investigate more when you got home.
***
When you got back, you quickly put on your Tangled pajamas and told Jay that was the movie you wanted to watch.
Then, you grabbed your stool from under the sink while Jay was in the living room getting the movie pulled up. Your hand was on the handle to the freezer and you were just about to open it when Jay walked back in.
"And what do you think you're doing, missy?" You turned around to face him and it was like you were a deer in the headlights. "Were you trying to get ice cream before dinner?"
"Maybe..." you answered slowly.
"That's what I thought. Now, how about you get down and start your movie so that you can finish it before bedtime? Will will be here soon and then I'll bring your food to you."
"I get to eat in the living room?" Jay almost never let you eat in the living room! You always had to eat at the table!
"If you eat over your plate, you can eat in the living room. But, if you start being messy, it's right back to the table."
"Okay!" You jumped down from your stool, put it away, and then made your way to the couch in the living room. You grabbed your favorite fuzzy blanket from the back of the couch and then hit play on the remote.
Jay chuckled and reached into the cabinet where he hid the stickers for your sticker chart. Then, he placed one on the line next to the chore that said Clean up when asked - No arguing.
Even though he didn't ask you to put your step stool away, you still did it. And, maybe he was giving you this because he felt guilty about not noticing that you were struggling to see. Either way, you were one step closer to getting a prize.
Five minutes later, Will walked in with the pizza.
"Will!" you exclaimed and jumped up off the couch and ran up to him. "My teacher said I was really good!"
"I heard that! Now let me put this down and then I can give you a big hug. And I even got you your own pizza!"
"You did?"
"Yes, I did, silly!"
"Jay, did you hear that? Will got me my own pizza! That way I don't have to pick the gross onions and black olives off yours."
"I did! Now, let's let Will put down the pizza, hmm?" Jay said and grabbed your hand to gently pull you out of the way.
You moved out of the way, allowing Will to set the pizza boxes on the table. Then, he crouched down and gave you a bone-crushing hug.
"Stop! Too tight!" you laughed, making Will just squeeze you harder while Jay tried his best to contain his laughter at the two of you.
"Alright, you two, Let's eat before the pizza gets cold. Y/N, go wash your--"
Jay was cut off by the door opening and you squealing.
"Hailey!"
You wriggled out of Will's hold and ran up to her. "Guess what?! Guess what?! Guess what?!"
"Guess we know who her favorite is," Will muttered.
"What?" Hailey asked with a giant smile on her face. She was also holding a pink box that you noticed sort of smelled like cookies.
"I did really good at school so I get pizza and ice cream sundaes!"
"I know! Jay told me! So, I thought we could have brownie sundaes!"
She moved toward the table and set down the pink box. Then, she opened the box, revealing fresh, warm brownies from the bakery a block from the district.
You reached for one, but Jay quickly swatted your hand away. "Nuh-uh. Dinner first, missy."
Jay then put your personal pizza on a plate along with a breadstick, baby carrots, and some ranch for you to dip the carrots in. He handed you the plate along with some napkins.
"Go ahead and watch Tangled while you eat, okay? We'll be in there soon."
"Okay!"
The minute Jay heard the movie playing again, he was all business. "So, how are we doing this, Will?"
Jay didn't need to explain to Hailey what he was referring to here because he texted her that you had gotten a good report, but that your teacher also said that you needed glasses after he called Will when you were at school.
"I called her pediatrician and she can see her on Friday. She said that if she does need glasses, the optometrist should be able to get her on Monday."
"Perfect, great. Me and Hailey both work Monday, so you can take her, right?"
"I can take her," Will confirmed.
"Okay, good."
"So, in the meantime, what do we do?" Hailey asked.
"I'm just gonna watch to see if she squints at all during the movie. Maybe if you guys take her to the park tomorrow ask her to see things that are far away, like, Hey! Look at that cool bird! or something and see if she squints or not. Can't really do much until she goes to the optometrist," Will answered.
"You guys are missing Flynn get hit with a frying pan!" you yelled.
"I blame you for her love of violence, Jay," Will joked.
"Coming!" Jay yelled. "Just a sec, kiddo!"
Then, the adults filled their plates and made their way to the living room.
***
Monday afternoon
Will was going to kill his brother. When you got in the car, he asked if you were ready to go. To where, you had no idea. So, you had asked if you were going home.
"No, to the doctor, silly. To get your eyes looked at," Will answered.
"But I already did that! No more, please! Wanna go home!"
Will sighed but continued driving. "Why don't you want to go to the doctor, kiddo?"
"Because I don't want shots! I didn't get shots last time, so I gotta get shots now! Don't want 'em!" you cried.
"Oh, no, no, no," Will quickly soothed. "No shots. They're just going to look at your eyes. Then, you have to tell them which picture is easier to see and what letter you're looking at."
"Really? No shots?"
"No shots," Will confirmed.
"And I get French fries after?"
Will took a deep breath. Did he want to have an argument with you while driving and then end up either in an accident or late to your appointment because he had to pull over? No. Neither of those sounded particularly appealing. So, he went with the safest option.
"Yes, we can get French fries after."
***
"Y/N Halstead," the optometrist called after you had been sitting at the office for ten minutes.
You stood up and so did Will and you quickly grabbed his hand, letting him know that he would be coming into that room with you no matter what.
"I'm not going anywhere, kiddo."
"I just making sure," you told him, causing him to chuckle lightly.
You walked into an office with a weird thing hanging from the ceiling. There were lots of different circles and it was really big. There was a chair in front of it, too.
While the doctor started talking to you, he lowered the chair. "So, Y/N, I hear you're having a little trouble seeing the board at school, hmm?"
You shrugged. "A little. But only when I'm far away."
"And that's okay. What I'm going to do is help you see better. I'm going to lower down this machine--I know it looks big, but it's not scary, I promise--. Then, I'm going to have you read some letters to me."
"Like I did the other day at the doctor's?" you asked as you looked up at Will.
"Exactly like you did the other day," he confirmed. "Now you just look into special stuff so we know exactly what glasses you need." Then, he quickly turned to the optometrist. "Sorry. I'm Dr. Will Halstead, an ED doc at Chicago Med. Also her older brother."
"He said I gotta go to someone else for my eyes, but he's a doctor," you said to the optometrist.
The optometrist laughed and then shook your brother's hand. "Well, he's right." Then, he got down to your level and said in a stage whisper, "and between you and me, I probably know more about eyes than him."
"Really? I didn't think anyone was smarter than Will!"
"Really. Now let's take a look at those eyes." He moved over to his chair and then had you look into the glass circles. "Now, read me the smallest letter you can see."
***
"How'd it go?" Jay asked when you and Will walked into his apartment. Then, he spotted the McDonald's bag. "Seriously?"
"Only way she was gonna go. You sure she doesn't listen to your interrogations at the district? She had to have learned blackmail from somewhere."
"Haha, very funny. Did it go well, kiddo?"
"Yeah, I had to look at these pictures and tell the not Will doctor what one looked better," you answered.
Jay held back a laugh at your description of the doctor. "Did you pick out any glasses?"
"Yeah, I got purple. Can I eat my food now?"
"Go wash your hands and then you can."
You ran off to go wash your hands so that you could eat your chicken nuggets and fries and then Jay turned to Will.
"She been like this all day?" Jay asked.
"Doesn't help when she has no idea what's going and I have to tell her thirty minutes before the appointment, Jay," Will quipped.
"Fries and nuggies!" you yelled as you ran out of the bathroom after washing your hands, which effectively cut your brothers' conversation about your lack of excitement to see clearly short.
***
3 days later, Thursday.
"You ready to pick up your glasses, kiddo?" Jay asked as you got in his truck in the pickup line at school.
You simply shrugged. "Yeah," was all you answered.
Today at school, during soccer at recess, a boy's glasses fell off and then someone accidentally stepped on them and broke them when you were playing! What if that happened with your glasses? What if you couldn't play soccer anymore because you wore glasses?
You loved soccer ever since you had started playing it last year. And, you and Jay always practiced on Sunday mornings at the park. And, when it was nice out, you two would always have a picnic. It was always a Jay and Y/N date (sometimes Hailey would come along, but only if you agreed to it). That time was sacred for you and Jay because of his demanding job, but what if you didn't get to do that anymore all because you needed stupid glasses to see the stupid board at stupid school?
"How was school?" Jay asked. He knew by your demeanor that your mood was more sour than it had been this morning, and he'd prefer to discuss it now than have you blow up at home. One would be shocked at how much anger you could hole up and spew out from your little body.
"It was good. Same old, same old."
Jay rolled his eyes. You had definitely picked up that saying from Will. "Do anything fun?" he probed. "Was recess good?"
"I played soccer during first and second recess, but I didn't score at all. Stupid boys. They're always faster than me."
If you hadn't added the last part, then Jay would probably have told you that boys have cooties anyway and to stay away from them until you're thirty. But, you did say that last part, so he knew he had to be comforting.
"Well, you gotta remember, you like playing defense, so what do I always tell you?"
"I gotta outsmart 'em...and slide tackle."
Last Jay checked that was illegal in kids' soccer. "I don't think me or Will ever taught you about slide tackling. Where'd you learn about that, kiddo?"
"Adam taught me when he took me to the park when you had to talk to some bad guys yesterday."
"Of course he did," Jay muttered. "Just remember, you can only do that to me, Will, or Adam. Don't try and do that to other people, okay?"
He knew that he should probably tell you to never do that, but eh, he figured he'd let you have a little fun. And, it wasn't like he never got kicked out of games for doing a slide tackle...okay, maybe multiple slide tackles in a game with one leading to the other team's captain getting a concussion.
"Okay," you answered. "I'm not good at 'em anyway."
Jay chuckled. "And let's keep it that way."
***
Jay was both happy and frustrated when he watched you put on your glasses and see the world clearly for the first time in who knows how long. He was frustrated because how could he have not noticed this? Hell, how could Will not have noticed this? And, he was happy as he watched your mouth fall slightly agape and mutter whoa to yourself.
After you made sure that your glasses fit and the optometrist did all the necessary checks, you made your way back to Jay's truck.
"I gotta stop at the district to pick up some paperwork," Jay said as he began driving. "You ready to show off your glasses to everyone?"
"Yes!" you exclaimed. You loved the color of your glasses and everything was so pretty! Nothing was blurry anymore!
When you walked into the district, you were first met with Trudy, who didn't see you at first.
"Looking for this, Chuckles? You left it here earlier and you and me both know that Voight will have your—" And then she noticed you and quickly shut her mouth before she swore in front of you.
"Good catch, sarge," Jay said and took the manilla folder from her.
"Y/N, I didn't know you had glasses! They look so pretty! So much better than my old lady ones," Trudy complimented.
Then, you heard someone coming down the stairs.
"So if I call you old—"
"Shut it, Ruzek," she snapped as Adam strode over to you.
"And, she's back. Thanks, man," Jay complained.
"I was just telling Y/N here how pretty her glasses were before you ever so impolitely interrupted," Trudy said to Adam.
Then, Adam crouched down to your height. "My, my. They sure are pretty." Then, he held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Adam!" you laughed. "That's not how they work."
"But I thought that's how glasses worked. How about you tell me how they do work?"
"I just can't see far away. You gotta back up and do that."
He did so and then reached into his pocket.
"So, can you read this?"
"Oreos! I can read the words now!"
That stopped Jay in his tracks. "What do you mean by that, kiddo?"
"I can read the words from far away now and not just close by me. It's because I have my glasses now, duh."
Adam almost burst out laughing at your sass, but held back his laughter when he saw Jay's death stare directed right at him.
"Right, of course, silly me," Jay answered quickly. "Go get your Oreos from Adam and then we can go upstairs and show everyone else your glasses, how's that sound?"
"Okay!" you excitedly ran up to Adam and he handed you the Oreos. "Thank you!"
"You're very welcome!"
You started towards the stairs and Jay quickly whispered to Adam, "Boards flipped?"
"Did it before I walked down here since I heard her voice."
"Great, thanks."
"Jay! You gotta put your hand here to open it because I'm not special enough to put my hand here!" you exclaimed.
"Okay, okay, hold on a sec," he said and then gently pushed you to the side to put his hand on the palm scanner. The door beeped and then he pulled the door open. "Ladies first."
You walked in and immediately everyone's heads turned towards you.
"Y/N!" Hailey exclaimed "You got your glasses!"
"Yeah! Everything looks so much better and so pretty!" You took a moment to look around the bullpen. Despite being in this room with Jay and Hailey for two years now off and on since your dad died, you could finally see it clearly. You thought everything was always a little blurry around the edges.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Voight asked from the back of the bullpen near his office.
"Three!" you yelled confidently.
"That's right! Wow, she counts faster than you, Ruzek."
Jay held back a laugh while Adam exclaimed, "Why you gotta be like that, Boss?"
"Because it's true. You got the paperwork, Halstead?"
"Right here. I'll get out of your hair now because it's my RDO and I do not want to be here on my day off. C'mon, Y/N, let's go home."
"But I didn't see Kevin or Kim yet!" you whined.
"They're out doing police work, kiddo. You can see them later, okay?"
"But I want to show them my glasses!"
Hailey quickly saw the temper tantrum that was about to erupt and stood up. "How about I take a picture of you with your glasses and send it to them? Then you can see what they say when I get home tonight. How does that sound, Y/N?"
You nodded and walked closer to her. "Yes!"
While Hailey was taking your picture, Jay mouthed thank you to his wife for avoiding a meltdown in the bullpen.
***
3 days later, Sunday
You did not sleep good at all. You tossed and turned all night thinking about your Jay and Y/N date in the morning. You loved them and you loved soccer! But you couldn't go now because what if your glasses fell off when you and Jay were passing the ball and practicing? And, if you took off your glasses before playing, what if he got mad at you? Jay and Will had told you that you had to wear them all the time! And you didn't want Jay Jay to be mad at you!
So, when you went into the kitchen in the morning (wearing your glasses of course) and saw Jay and Hailey sipping their cups of coffee, one could only imagine your relief when you looked out the window and saw the sky was covered with dark gray clouds.
"Morning, kiddo," Jay greeted. "Doesn't look like we can play soccer today." Then, Jay furrowed his eyebrows as he got a better look at you. You had dark circles under your eyes that looked like they should be for a college student cramming for finals instead of a first-grader on a Sunday morning. "You feeling okay?" Then, he walked up to you and placed the back of his hand on your forehead. "Hmm, you don't feel warm."
"Didn't sleep good," you mumbled.
"I didn't sleep good either," Hailey sympathized. "Must be the weather." She knew it was her insomnia acting up, but you had no idea what that was--and she hoped you never would have to know what that was like--, but she didn't feel like explaining it to a first grader this early in the morning while she was running on fumes herself.
"How about we have a lazy day," Jay suggested. "Movies and coloring sound good, Y/N?"
"Yeah. Can Will come, too? He always does the best coloring."
It was true. Because of how steady Will's hands were due to being a surgeon, he could color in all the small areas in the pictures, even in adult coloring books that Hailey had, that you, Jay, and Hailey would typically make a mess out of and at least color outside the lines a bit.
"I'll give him a call. I don't see why he wouldn't want a lazy day," Jay said.
"And, I think we have some chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer to bake cookies," Hailey suggested.
Jay glared at his wife and then rolled his eyes. You've already gotten spoiled with treats and takeout more than enough this past week and a half. But, he knew as well Hailey knew herself that she had a sweet tooth and it only got worse when her insomnia was acting up.
"Before we do all that," Jay began, "let's get you some breakfast first. What sounds good, kiddo?"
"Can I have an omelet? With lots of cheese please?"
You were recently introduced to these a few months ago when you and Hailey were enjoying chocolate chip waffles at a diner and Jay had an omelet. You wanted some of his hash browns, but he said you had to try a bit of his omelet. You didn't really want to try this, but your want hash browns overpowered this. And, lo and behold, you liked it! So, now on Sundays when Jay wasn't working, you'd ask for an omelette. It has to be Jay who made them though because he made the best ones between him, Will, and Hailey.
"Omelet it is," Jay replied and then picked up a spatula. "How about you go get dressed while I make this, okay?"
"Okay!"
Then, you ran off to your room to put on some comfy clothes to spend the day in.
***
"Where's Y/N?" Will joked when he walked inside around 10:30 that morning.
"I'm right here!" you yelled while you sat at the table coloring. You had no idea how he couldn't see you when you were right there!
"Oh, I didn't recognize you with such pretty glasses."
You dropped your head. "You- You don't?"
Luckily Jay was behind you so that you didn't see him wipe his hand down his face.
His brother, Jay thought. Thank god he didn't go into pediatrics.
"I was only kidding, silly! Of course, I recognize you! The only thing different about you is that you have glasses now. But, do you recognize me?"
"Yes! But your hair's really messy! Do you want to use my brush?"
Jay choked on his second cup of coffee at your comment and Hailey quickly hit him on the back.
He cleared his throat. "Sorry, went down the wrong pipe," he said and then coughed a couple more times.
Will smoothed down his hair. "Wind's pretty strong out there. Guess it messed it up a bit." Then, he walked over to the table and set a tray of drinks down. "Coffee for all three of us and hot chocolate for you." He handed you your drink. "Careful though. It might still be super hot. Now, what are we coloring?"
***
"She is totally out," Jay commented later that afternoon.
The four of you had started watching a movie and you had curled up next to Hailey under your favorite fuzzy blanket. Needless to say, after you struggled to sleep this past night, within thirty minutes of the movie, you were totally out with your head leaning against Hailey's chest.
Hailey smiled down at you. "She's so cute when she's sleeping."
"When she's awake she's a menace now apparently," Will joked.
"Just because she made one comment about your precious hair," Jay muttered. "Let the hair comment go, man. Let it go."
Will rolled his eyes. "So, how's she doing? She mention any headaches at all with her glasses?"
"Hasn't said anything to me," Jay answered. "She say anything to you, Hails?"
"Nothing," Hailey replied. "She also didn't say that kids were mean to her, so that's good, too."
"Yeah, I remember when Jay got his glasses. All the kids teased him about it," Will said.
"It wasn't all the kids. It was you! Just you! And, now they have more education for bullying and stuff, so maybe kids are nicer than when we were kids." Then, Jay changed the subject. "I'm just shocked she didn't throw a fit when I said we couldn't play soccer today because it was storming."
"But, she said she didn't sleep good last night," Hailey reminded him.
"Yeah, I know. But still, she loves Sundays. And, at the beginning of winter a few months ago, she threw a fit the first time there was too much snow on the ground to go."
"I would say consider it a good thing that she didn't fight with you this morning," Will began, "but you said she didn't sleep good. She say anything else to you? Her tummy or head hurt? I didn't notice anything off when I was here, but maybe she said something earlier."
Jay shook his head. "She seemed fine, other than her being tired."
"Okay, good. If she tells you anything else--especially if she's having headaches--let me know."
***
3 days later, Tuesday
You were usually so excited for Tuesday nights and soccer practice, but now, you were nervous. What if your glasses fell off and somebody broke them? You didn't want Jay or Will or Hailey to be mad at you!
So, when you were running at practice, you went exceptionally slow, which made Jay wonder if you were hurt. He watched you shake your head at your coach, so he must've asked you the same thing.
When you got in the car after practice, needless to say, Jay was slightly worried.
"You okay, kiddo? You didn't look like you were having fun out there."
"I was having fun," you answered, but that was only a half-truth. You only had fun when you were defending and didn't have to worry about running as much, and thus, your glasses falling off.
"Okay. You just didn't feel like it today then?" You shrugged. "That's okay. Everyone has days like that."
What he wasn't going to do was be like your dad and make it seem like you needed to be at 100% every single day. As long as you tried your best with what you had left in the tank, that was all that mattered.
You nodded and just looked out the window while Jay kept driving.
And once you got home, since you put your cleats away nicely without being asked, Jay added a sticker to your sticker chart. But, his detective senses were tingling.
Something was definitely off with you.
***
One week later
It had been a long week for both Hailey and Jay. They'd had their hands full at work trying to catch a serial rapist who ended up killing his last three victims.
During this time, you had spent most of your time with Will, except on Jay's RDO, and then Hailey's RDO when they each spent time with you instead. Even though each of them knew that the team would be a man down on each of their RDOs, they knew it would be difficult for Will to be the sole caretaker of you with his demanding job as well. So, even though they probably should've worked during their RDOs this week, they didn't.
But, they had been so mentally drained on their days off that neither of them remembered to check your backpack for important paperwork. And, both Jay and Hailey knew that Will always conveniently "forgot" to check this. (But, it was probably because he didn't feel like disciplining you if you got a bad report.)
Now, it was 8pm on Tuesday night, they had caught the guy, and both Jay and Hailey had quickly finished their paperwork so that they were home in time for bedtime.
Once Jay and Hailey had finished reading you a chapter of The Chronicles of Narnia, Jay did what he always did when he hadn't been able to see you on a couple of school days straight: he went through your backpack to see if he missed anything such as permission slips, notes from your teacher, and to ensure that Will had been making you do your homework.
When he went through your math folder, stuck between last week's homework assignments and this week's was a note written in cursive. Because it was written that way, he could only assume it was addressed to him or another adult.
Mr. Halstead,
I'm writing you this to make sure that Y/N hasn't lost her glasses. I haven't seen her wearing them the past couple of days and wanted to make sure accommodations didn't need to be made. If she has lost them, please let me know and I will be sure to move her desk up to the front to help her see the board for the time being. If you have any questions, please call me at my office number or email me. I previously left a voicemail for you and emailed you, but I don't know if they went through.
-Stephanie Harding.
Jay sighed, pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, and began scrolling through his phone. There, from Friday afternoon, was an email from your teacher as well as a phone call from yesterday morning. How could he have missed these?
"You okay?" Hailey asked as she walked into the kitchen, freshly showered. She grabbed two beers from the fridge, popped the cap off both, made her way to the table, and handed one to Jay. "We should be celebrating, not sulking."
"I know, and I'm glad that case is over and the guy's in prison because, you know, he's a monster, but look what I found in Y/N's backpack."
He slid her the note and she began reading.
When she finished, she looked up. "Don't talk to her tonight, Jay. You might dysregulate her so bad that she might go back to sleep because her routine got thrown off."
"I know, but when am I supposed to talk to her? I don't want her throwing a fit in the morning before school, and who knows what's going to come across our desks in terms of cases tomorrow."
Hailey grabbed one of Jay's hands. "Jay, we'll figure it out. And, if we need to wait for your RDO or the weekend when we both hopefully have off, then we'll do that, okay?"
"Okay." He gave his wife's hand a squeeze and then took a sip of his beer.
Thank god for Hailey Upton, he thought.
***
The next day, Wednesday
Once you and Jay got home after he picked you up from school, he made you a snack and you pulled out a chapter book to read to him to practice your reading skills like it was just any other day. He set the addition and subtraction flashcards next to him. You'd do those after you read to him.
But, when you took your first bite of your ants on a log (celery with peanut butter, topped with a few chocolate chips), he reached over and slid the book over to himself. Then, he set it down on the chair next to him so as not to distract you from the upcoming conversation.
"We're not reading?" you asked, furrowing your eyebrows at him.
"Listen, kiddo, we need to talk about why you are not wearing your glasses at school."
"I am!" you protested.
But, Jay saw how your eyes widened slightly when he first said it. He knew you were lying; now he just needed you to admit to it.
"Y/N, your teacher called me and told me that you aren't wearing them. You're not in trouble--"
"No!" you shouted and jumped off your chair. Then, you ran to your room and slammed your door.
Tears pricked your eyes as you threw yourself on your bed.
You couldn't play soccer when you were in high school if you had glasses! At all the games you went to, none of them had glasses! You couldn't give up soccer just to wear these stupid glasses! What did your brothers and your teacher know, anyway? None of them even wore glasses!
You were waiting for Jay to come yell at you for slamming your door, but he never came. And you were so tired from school and from the short conversation that you had with Jay, that you eventually just cried yourself to sleep.
As for Jay, the second he heard your door slam, he sighed and laid his head on the table. What the hell was he supposed to do?
***
You woke up to someone gently shaking your shoulder.
"Y/N, c'mon it's time for dinner, honey."
Hailey.
"No," you mumbled.
You didn't want to face Jay after everything!
"You need to eat, Y/N. You didn't even finish your snack earlier. Just c'mon out and eat dinner with me and Jay."
"Jay gonna be mad at me," you said quietly and rolled over so that you were facing the wall.
"He won't be mad; we just want you to eat something. He made your favorite, fettuccine alfredo, remember?"
That's right! You got to pick dinner once a week and told Jay last week that you wanted fettuccine! And today was Wednesday! It was your dinner day!
"Oh yeah! I forgetted!"
Then, you jumped out of bed and ran downstairs.
Hailey shook her head as she walked behind you. Kids and their moods.
When you got to the kitchen, your plate was set right where it usually was with fettuccine, broccoli, and garlic bread.
You eyed Jay suspiciously when you sat down.
Then, Jay noticed you weren't wearing your glasses. Hailey noticed the very slight tilt of his head, so she quickly jumped in.
"They're on her bedside table," she said. "She was sound asleep when I went up there."
"Mhm," you agreed and then took a bite of your pasta.
Jay figured it was better to let you eat almost all of your food before he started in on the glasses conversation again. He needed you to eat something because, at this point, you hadn't eaten anything except your one ant on a log since 11am at school, which was seven hours ago. He didn't know how you hadn't woken up and been hungry but hey, he knew as well as you did that tantrums made you utterly exhausted.
Once you only had half of your garlic bread left, Jay decided it was time to have another go at this.
"Y/N, me and Hailey were talking, and we thought that if you came home from school wearing glasses, you can get an extra sticker on your chore chart," Jay said. "How's that sound?"
You shrugged. "Okay." You had already been doing that. You'd put them on right when you got in the car. You didn't need them for up close stuff like talking with your friends anyway and you could see Jay, Hailey, and Will just fine without your glasses; they were just a little blurry around the edges.
"That means we need to see you wearing them when we pick you up," Jay continued. "You can't just put them on when you get inside the car." Your brother was nothing if not perceptive.
You could do that. You'd just put them on when you walked out of school for pickup. You couldn't wear them all the time because then what if someone said something about you not wearing them while playing soccer at recess? Then you'd have to wear them at recess and you couldn't play soccer with them on!
"Okay," you said.
"Okay, good," Jay replied.
But, he shot a glance at Hailey. That was way too quick for you to agree to this without a fight even with the added incentive of getting a sticker on your sticker chart.
Something was off and both he and Hailey knew it.
***
Two days later, Friday
Jay walked out of an interrogation, relayed the info to his team, and then sat down at his desk to do some digging into this guy's financials. But, his phone lit up, notifying him that he had a voicemail.
He saw it was from your teacher and his brow furrowed.
"Hi, Mr. Halstead. This is Stephanie Harding calling. I received your email a couple of days ago explaining how you talked with Y/N about wearing her glasses and she said that she'd wear them and that they are not lost. I just wanted to inform you that she hasn't worn her glasses at all throughout the school day, but will put them on for pickup.
I just wanted to inform you of this and please let me know if there's anything that I can do to help."
Jay clenched his jaw and sighed frustratedly after he finished listening. He thought he'd be dealing with this level of sneakiness when you were a teenager, not now!
"Nothing in the financials?" Hailey asked from across from him.
"Still working on that," Jay answered. "Y/N's teacher called. Said she still hasn't been wearing her glasses."
"What? She was wearing them yesterday when I picked her up."
"Her teacher said that she'll put them on at pickup but won't wear them at all during the rest of the day."
Hailey shook her head and rolled her eyes. "We are getting played by a first-grader, Halstead."
"Don't I know it. I'm gonna give Will a call and see if she wore her glasses at pickup. Maybe he can get to the bottom of it while she's at his house tonight."
***
"Alright, kiddo. Game plan today is homework, snack, and reading. Then we'll grab a quick dinner somewhere and go to the girls' soccer game. Sound good?" Will asked when you got inside and set your backpack down.
"Don't wanna do my math homework," you complained. "It's stupid."
"What are you working on?" Will probed. "Maybe I can help you."
"Subtraction. My friends say it's like adding, but the opposite, but it's not!"
"Okay, okay, calm down. I'll make you a snack and then we'll work through it together. How's an apple with peanut butter sound?"
"Do you still have the green apples?"
"I do. Green apple with peanut butter coming right up."
***
Will wasn't stupid. He knew why Jay probably couldn't get the answer from you about not wearing your glasses. And that was because he was asking at the wrong time and because he was the one who disciplined you. Will never had to do that except for taking away ice cream as a bedtime snack a couple of times when you mouthed off to him. You didn't have to worry about having to go to bed early or not being able to watch more tv because you had gotten in trouble with Will. And, you and Jay were very much alike; both of you bottled up your emotions and were stubborn to no end...which is probably why you argued more with Jay than you did Will and Hailey and why Jay couldn't get you to talk about your glasses.
So, Will didn't bring up the glasses at dinner. He didn't even bring them up when you were at the soccer game.
But now was the time for him to bring this up.
You were currently sitting down next to him on the pull-out couch with your teddy bear and your favorite blanket, all ready for a chapter of Narnia and then for bed. You were comfortable and there was nothing to overstimulate you. You had food in your system and the excitement from the day was over.
You were calm.
"Before we start reading, kiddo, I need to ask you a question," Will started.
"Okay, what is it? Is it about what happened in Narnia when me Jay and Hailey readed it last week? Because I can tell you so you're not con...con—" You scrunched up your eyebrows as you tried to remember the word. "So that you know what's happenin'," you said instead.
"It's not about Narnia, but you can tell me before we start reading if you want. But first, I want to know why you aren't wearing your glasses. Do they make your head hurt? Did someone laugh at you?" You shook your head. "Okay, then what is? What's going on, Y/N?"
"Soccer," you mumbled, but it was so quiet that Will couldn't even hear you.
"What was that?" Will asked softly. "It's okay. You can tell me. I won't be mad at you."
You looked up at Will's face. He didn't look mad. Maybe you could tell him. Maybe he wouldn't tell Jay either and then everything would be fine.
"I can't play soccer no more be-because I have glasses!"
At this, you started to cry. All of the nerves you had felt about lying to your brothers and Hailey and the sadness about not being able to play soccer anymore all came tumbling out of you. And, it didn't help that no one on the high school girls' soccer team that you just went and watched earlier wore glasses. That just proved your point!
Will sighed and held back a laugh. Leave it to a little kid to catastrophize from A to Z.
"Who told you that?" Will asked, now realizing that he needed to get to the root of the problem.
"No one did! But none of the big girls wear glasses when they play soccer! And one boy's fell off at school and they got smashed and I'm the only one on my team that has glasses and---"
"Hey, hey, slow down. Take a deep breath, okay?" He allowed you to take a few breaths before he placed a hand on your shoulder. "You can still play soccer."
You looked up at him and your eyebrows furrowed before your mouth fell slightly agape. "I can?
"Yes, silly! We just need to get a strap for the back of your glasses because then they'll stay on when you're running."
"And I can play soccer with Jay Jay on Sunday?!"
"And you can play soccer with Jay on Sunday, yes," Will confirmed.
"Yay!"
"Now what do you say you fill me in on Narnia before I start reading to you, hmm?"
***
"Tell me you got something out of her," was the first thing that Jay said when he answered Will's call later that night.
"Jay, this is our sister we're talking about, not a criminal investigation."
"I know that, smartass. Still...anything?"
"She thought she couldn't play soccer with her glasses."
"What? Where'd she get that idea?"
"Well, kids are very observant, Jay. Maybe more observant than you seeing as you didn't even catch this--"
"Neither did you!"
"Last I checked, my job doesn't involve me doing a stakeout or working undercover."
And then Will launched into a recap of the conversation he had with you.
"Come to think of it," Will began when he was done and had answered all of Jay's questions, "I'm shocked you didn't think to get one for her right away because you didn't get contacts until high school and wore your glasses with a strap when you played soccer all the way from elementary school to middle school. You know what? I think I still have some pictures of that from the family photo album I took from Dad's--"
"Don't you dare!" Jay threatened.
"Who's gonna stop me?"
"Name your price...within reason."
"Breakfast tomorrow, 9am before me and Y/N go pick out her glasses strap. And you're paying."
"Deal!"
And years later, once you got to high school, you never did get contacts because one, you thought you looked better with glasses than without, and two, you wanted all of the little kids that came and watched your games to know that they could play whatever sport they wanted regardless of whether or not they wore glasses.
A/N: Thank you for reading and don't forget to vote and comment! Also, fun fact, I didn't get my glasses until I was 21. I went to renew my driver's license and barely passed the eye exam, so now I wear glasses.
He knew neither of his parents were gonna show up, and Will was in New York, so maybe Jay didn't even tell him about it. He didn't wanna distract from med school. But one of Jay's friends (probably Mouse, but idk if they went through basic training together or just deployment, but it also sounds like a pretty Mouse thing to do) calls Will in advance.
Jay thinks he'll just have to stand there at attention and listen as most of his fellow soldiers reunite with family until a kind person taps him out with a look of sympathy or, worse, pity. He's not looking forward to it. At all. Sure, it means he completed basic training, but it's not much more.
Will's there. He was grinding even harder at school the past week or two so he'd have less to worry about while he missed. He has enough unused absences to miss a few days. (Ngl I'm applying community college knowledge to ivy league medical school so I don't actually know the ins and out of missing a few days of classes.) But he's not gonna miss this.
He's not shocked when he's waiting there as family members of everyone else arrive, and his parents are nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t been sure if he was going to try staying with them, but he's sure it's not a good idea now. He would not keep quiet about them missing this. Hell, he'd love to go tell dad off about it anyway. But that's not what he'd want to come home from, so he's not gonna stress Jay out. See, he can, in fact, take the high road.
So once the family side of the field (or room?) is free to go tap out their loved one, Will silently makes his way over to stand in front of Jay, whose face impressively shows no indication of whether or not he can feel someone standing there, and knocks on his chest lightly. Jay's arms relax as he opens his eyes, and the default appreciative half smile he was gonna give a stranger only appears as a flicker before excited shock takes over.
Will grins and pulls him into a tight hug. He's not actually thrilled about his little brother wanting to ship out and risk his life, but that'll never stop him from being anything but proud of him.
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6 months later
Tying away on my keyboard in front of me I heard my cell phone vibrating on my desk. Picking it up I swiped my finger across seeing Will’s name come up on the screen. “Hey Dr. Halstead. How’s your work day today?”
“It’s been pretty slow surprisingly. So I thought I’d check in on my number one patient.”
I lightly chuckled at him. “I’m your number one patient hmm. I’m not sure I should be honored or scared about that statement.”
“You’re my fiancé and my best friend. Do you need any more explanation as to why you’re my number one patient.” Will chuckled on his side of the phone call.
“Seems pretty clear to me.” I gasped feeling some pain in my lower back. Moving one of my hands to my back I knew it was the baby.
“Mallory, you okay?”
I knew he was already running through all the doctor ceremonies in his mind about why the baby was causing me some discomfort. “Calm down, Dr Redhead. I have an appointment with my OBGWN tomorrow morning.”
“At 10:00am. I took off work for it the second you told me about it a few weeks ago.” He responded proudly and it made my heart skip a beat at how much he had been involved during the pregnancy.
He had brought all the baby books and hadn’t stopped reading each one until he completely finished them. Every morning when I woke up with morning sickness he would be by my side, holding my hair back. And the night I had officially met his brother Jay who tried to give me a shot Will had to tell him that we were going to be parents. Overall Will just kept showing me how sure I was that we were always supposed to be together and have a family.
A text message came over my phone so I put the call on speaker so I could read the message. “You really are a great husband, Will. Hey, do you have any idea why your brother is telling me to tell you to answer his calls?”
“Oh he texted me a couple of times but I’ve been busy and haven’t had time to call him. It’s nothing to worry about though.” Will told me before I saw something pop into my inbox. Another Arson case needed to be looked at and this had become my desk job for Firehouse 81 until I was cleared for active duty once the baby is born in a couple of months.
“Hey Will I have to go. Another case came in but I’ll see you later.”
He ended the call knowing he needed to get back to work too. “Okay, Mal. I love you and I’ll pick you up after my shift tonight.”
“I love you too.” Hitting the red end call button I focused my attention back on my work. Dropping my freehand down to my slightly larger stomach I smiled knowing we needed to start thinking of baby names sooner rather than later.
Will held open the door to Mollys letting me go in first where I looked around for his brother but realized I didn’t actually know what he looked like. Will noticed pointing out someone sitting at one of the high top tables that we walked into over to. “So you're the famous Mallory that my brother hasn’t stopped talking about since the night you two met.” The guy had short brown hair and deep green eyes, so definitely not Will’s twin.
“Yeah, that’s me. I’m Mallory, it’s nice to meet you.” Extending my hand he grasped mine on his own. “So what do you do for a living?”
“I used to be in the Army as a 3rd Battalion Ranger Regiment. But nowadays I work as a Detective for the Chicago Police Department in their Intelligence Section.” Jay grabbed the three shots off a tray that Gabby had brought over to our table from behind the bar top. “I thought we could toast tonight to us finally meeting each other.”
I picked up the shot that Jay had slid in my direction, eyeing it with a half smile. “I wish I could but something has come up where a lot of things will have to change for the next few months. Here you can have two drinks tonight.” Sliding the shot glass over to my fiancé I shift my gaze over to his brother.
“Man that didn’t take long for me to become an Uncle.” Jay smirked in his brother's direction.
“Don’t make jokes about me in bed, Jason.”
Will points his index finger at his brother. “Try and stop me, William.”
Jay glared at him, putting his focus back on me, taking his shot and sitting the glass back down on the table. “So before my brother got you pregnant what did you do or do you do for a living?”
“I served like you did in the Army. But I was a K-9 handler that was responsible for finding explosives and other things in Afghanistan.” Shrugging my shoulders I chuckled, picturing Maxon but dogs weren’t allowed inside the bar. “When I moved back here I actually sort of saved my friend when her building got fire. After that incident I went through the process and now I am officially a Firefighter with CFD.”
The man who would eventually become my brother in law busted out in a fit of laughter taking a long drink from his beer bottle. “Guess I don’t get to be the only badass in the family anymore, little brother. You two are going to be interesting parents but I got my money on your kid is going to be in the Army like their mom and Uncle Jay.”
“You are unbelievable.” Will shook his head while I laid my head against his shoulder, knowing I was going getting ready to marry into a good family.
Walking out the front door of the work building I saw Will leaning up against the passenger door of his car waiting for me. Running as beast as I could with my belly bouncing around I flung my arms around his neck. Burying my nose into the fabric of his shirt I didn’t mind if he smelled like the hospital. “I missed you, today.”
“I can see that. I missed you today too, Mal.” Will chuckled down at me, caging me in his comforting arms.
Nuzzling my nose against his chest I simply enjoyed the moment between us until I realized that he wasn’t supposed to be done with work this early. “Will, not that I don’t love you being here. I still have to ask, aren't you still supposed to be finishing your night shift at Med?” Drawing my head away I focused my gaze onto his with knitted brows.
“It was surprisingly a slow night. I asked someone to cover my shift and if I’m being completely honest I couldn’t be away from you for another whole weekend.” He blushed, staring at his shoes out of embarrassment. For the last two weeks he had been pulling 24 hour shifts at the hospital so he could take time off when I was on maternity leave.
Staring at him for a moment I clicked my tongue , reaching to grab my bag from the ground but he was faster than me. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you have fallen head over heels for me - ah William!”
“You’re six months pregnant, Mallory. You’re carrying a life inside of you. For now I will be your redhead pack mule for the next few months.” He snatched up the bag, slinging it over his shoulder and intertwining my hand with his. “And plus it only took me six years to get a ring on your finger.”
Sending him a wink I nudged him with my elbow. “I wasn’t aware that I left you pinning over me for that long, Halstead.”
“Don’t apologize for not knowing how I felt back then, Ms. Easton. Hey, on my way over here I saw a Taco truck nearby. We could see if they have those Chorizo tacos you’ve been craving like the ones Connor bought you when you visited the hospital for your first OBGYN appointment.” He suggested opening the passenger door for me and put my work bag in the backseat of his vehicle.
Squeezing my hand in his once we were sitting inside his car I smirked in his direction, putting my other hand on my stomach. “Smart and handsome. You’re gonna make one hell of a husband and father.”
You were on the ice with your brothers Will and Jay, even though you weren’t allowed to, you guys still went regardless.
It was 10pm, no one would be out here to get in your way or yell at you to get off the ice.
“Cmon Y/n/n, it's better out here” Jay said while attempting to slide farther out to the lake.
“I don’t know Jay, I kinda wanna stay over here. That way I get off easier than struggling to get off if I'm way over there.” you shrugged.
“Alright then, me and will be over there if you need us' ' He pointed towards the middle of the lake.
“Alright, I’m just gonna slide around.” You shivered. Maybe I should work more layers. You thought to yourself.
After a while you got bored and decided to go over to Will and Jay who were “fighting” over who got the better hockey stick.
Will pulled out his phone and checked the time. “Guys it’s 11 o'clock, she should head home now, if we all get a cold moms gonna know that we went outside without asking her, especially if Y/n gets sick”
“But I'm getting good at hockey,” you whined.
Will and Jay just have you that look. “Alright alright let’s go” You caved.
Because your brothers were better on ice than you were, they went up ahead of you.
“GUYS! I'M NOT AS FAST AS YOU SLOW DO-“ Before you could finish your sentence a loud Crack interrupted you.
That made the two Halstead brothers come to a halt and turn around to you. “No,” Jay whispered. “Y/n don’t move, just stay still we’ll come to you”
Before you could say anything the Ice broke.
Jays pov:
“Y/N, SHIT NO” I screamed, my little sister just fell through the ice.
Me and Will immediately slide over to where she fell in and I immediately throw my whole arm in the freezing water to see if I can feel Y/n
“Give me your other arm so I can pull you once you get her!” Will shouts.
“Once I touch something that feels semi to a human arm I pull. I can tell it’s Y/n because once I pull I feel a bit of weight.
“PULL WILL, PULL”
Once we were towards the edge of the Lake I pick y/n up bridal style and rushed over to land.
“Put her down here.” Will says.
“What the hell do we do?” I cry
“She’s not breathing, Jay, you need to run back to the house and call someone” Wills is studying medicine so he knows a couple of things about what to do in a life or death situation.
“WHO DO I CALL?” I shout
“I DO GIVE A FUCK, CALL 9-1-1 AND HURRY”
My body moves into autopilot as I’m running through the forest making sure I don’t trip on any rocks or roots.
My legs are burning and I can’t breathe but I can’t stop, if I stop Y/ns gonna die and it’ll be all my fault.
As I reach the house I punch in the code to the door and run upstairs to my bedroom.
I basically almost threw my phone into the air while trying to pick it up.
“9-1-1 what’s your emergency?”
“It’s -it’s my sister, she fell into the lake and I don’t know if she’s breathing”
“Check if she has a pulse”
“My older brother is with her at the lake, he-he's studying medicine so he knows what he’s doing”
“What’s your name sweetheart?”
“Uhh jay, my names Jay”
“Alright Jay, How old is your sister and how long was she under water for?”
“I don’t- 5 minutes maybe, and her name is Y/n, but we all call her Y/n/n. I don't know what I’m gonna tell my mom, that my littler sister died because we didn’t listen to her?” I’m panicking.
“Jay, I’m gonna need you to take a deep breath, I have help coming on the way right now”
How did she get my location? I didn’t even tell her.
***
The paramedics arrived and Jay led them to the lake where Will was with you.
Will did successfully get you back but you were still unconscious.
Why didn’t we just listen?
***
“15 Year old Female Y/n Halstead, Hypothermia after falling through ice, Was unconscious on site and Has a history of Heart issues.” The paramedic listed off all the things
(Ik that Grey's anatomy is in Seattle but because the show is so old let’s just pretend that this happened with them, it’s been awhile since I’ve watched it so if I make mistakes Woops)
“Alright,on my count if we move her. 1…2…3”Alex said.
Alex looked you over and started telling Jo things to do. “I want a head Ct, Keep me updated on her temperature and get me Derek for a consult.” Jo nodded.
Jay and Will followed Dr. Karev outside. “Is she gonna be ok?” Jay asked.
“She’s not out of the woods yet, but we won’t know more until she wakes up which will be a couple of hours”
***
“Jay Halstead and Will Halstead” A stern voice called to them that made them Gulp.
“What in the world happened, and why did the Atwater’s call me and say that something happened on the lake and I needed to come home?” Your Mom stoked with her hands on her hips.
Jay and Will glanced at each other and knew they had no way out of this so they just decided to tell the truth and get it over with.
“I have told you guys time and time again not to play on that lake during the winter,
If you want to go ice skating go to the bigger one. Y/n has been punished enough, and as for you too, just until we get home, me and your father Will real with you. Do you understand?”
“Yes mom,” The boys said together.
“Alright, either the Atwater’s or the Uptons are going to pick you guys up and take you home. I will stay here with your sister, your father should be at home by now”
“But mom-“ Jay said. “No buts, wait here”
***
It had been a couple of weeks since the incident and A lot had happened.
You were on the News, people came to your school and spoke about Ice safety. Jay and Will were indeed grounded but only for two weeks. The lake was now closed off while they were still doing an investigation. Which you didn’t understand why because it’s not like anything else happened but it was whatever.
“Y/n hurry up you’re going to miss the bus!” Jay shouted from downstairs.
“HOLD ON IM COMING” You grabbed your backpack and ran down the stairs.
After getting all your stuff in your backpack you got all your stuff ready to walk to the bus stop.
“Alright, what’s the rules?” Will questioned you.
“No wandering off to the other lake, don’t take off my jackets unless I really need to and don’t get anything that will drop my body temperature”
“Good.”
“Do you still have to put my hat and Jacket on for me? I’m 15 years old.”
“Because of recent events and mom being gone and I’m going to leave soon I need to make sure you're ok, plus your body temperature is still not to its normal temp yet so layers it is.” You rolled your eyes at what would be said.
“I will pick you up for your doctor's appointment maybe 30 minutes before school ends, and Jay will drop your lunch off at the front office” Will said as he started walking at the door.
“Bye will see you later”
Once Will was gone, you ate the last of your waffles and grabbed your hot chocolate or what Jays calls “Jay's famous Hot chocolate” but it tasted like any other drink.
***
“I miss having you out on the lake by the middle school” Your friend Ellie said.
“Me too, but ever since my mom died Will and Jay have been strict on what I can do since my dad won’t really do much and they're trying to get me to learn stuff before Will leaves for New York and Jay leaves to serve” You shrugged.
“But I did convince Jay to get you some fries and nuggets” You laughed
“You are literally the best, I really didn’t feel like spending all my money in my account today” Yeah the school food was expensive but it’s because you guys had fast food restaurants in your cafeteria so I guess it made sense.
***
“Hey Nugget” Will greeted you as you got into the car.
“Hi Will, can we please get McDonald’s after my appointment?”
“Sure, where’s Jay? I told him he could get out of school early since he has a free period this week.”
“He said he wanted to stay at school, so he’s probably just walking around the hallways or doing whatever Jay does” You shrugged.
You thought about it for a while, your life was somewhat falling apart. Will was leaving for New York. Jay was getting deployed so you weren’t gonna see him. And your mom was gone so all you had left was your Dad, and your dad wasn’t the best person now since your dad died.
“Hey Will?”You broke the silence
“Yeah Nugget?”
“I’m- I’m gonna miss you when you leave” Here comes the water works.
“Me too Y/n me too”
Life from now on was going to be way different for you , and everyone around you knew that. You were going to get through it and it was going to be Ok. Right?
Can you do a story of the Halstead siblings with their younger sister (14 or 15). They all have a family dinner (Will, Jay, and Y/n) together and movie night and Y/n starts choking and Will has to save her but they comfort her and they get all scared and protective and have to take her into the hospital to get checked
Deja Vu
Warnings: Hospital stay, mention of seizures and vague insinuations of epilepsy, terrible writing, not proofread and general bad understanding of medical conditions and procedures lol
read part II here.
Sunday night dinners were Halstead tradition and you liked to think there was nothing that would stop it. That was until one of your brothers had a work emergency and was called in. For the last two weeks, one of your brothers couldn't make it, so as a way of making up for it, they both made sure to be there this Sunday.
As a way of making up got it, Will promised to make mac and cheese and garlic bread. You grinned and claimed it was the best winter comfort food. Jay rolled his eyes, for reasons beyond you he wasn't the biggest fan of Mac and Cheese. He claimed it was because it was all you ate when you were younger and he got sick of only eating it for days on end.
You rolled your eyes, "You can't be related to me."
You were sandwiched between both of your brothers on the couch, watching the game with dinner on your lap. You were tucked under a blanket with fluffy socks and comfy PJ pants on. Jay and Will were focused entirely on the hockey game on the TV. You were chewing on a piece of garlic bread when Jay and Will started cheering at the screen.
You felt like your soul left your body from the fright. You should have been expecting them to start cheering, but you were too engrossed in your garlic bread to realize. You started to chuckle, trying to clear your throat of the garlic bread that had lodged there when you had gasped from the shock.
Will and Jay didn't seem to notice, you were always kind of jumpy. Especially when they started cheering loudly for their team. You coughed a few more times, only succeeding in getting the bread stuck in your throat more. You started to panic, now the bread was choking you fully, blocking the air you kept gasping for.
You coughed a few more times, grabbing Wills forearm and clenching tightly.
"You okay?" Will asked, giving you a few hard pats on the back.
You shook your head, grabbing your chest as your throat started to burn.
"Y/N?" Jay asked, turning his full attention to you and trying to sooth you with a hand on your back.
You were sure the world was moving slowly, the last few seconds were dragging so excruciating slow. Will started to get more worried when you stopped coughing, not gasping at all. He quickly got to his feet, pulling you up off the couch and trying to dislodge the bread with the heimlich. In the process you were sure he moved all of your organs but it was a fleeting thought that flashed through your oxygen deprived mind.
"Will, it's not working," Jay said, standing in front of you with a terrified look.
"I know, Jay," Will said back, just as panicked, "I know."
By now, you were sure thing were slowing down. In the corner of your eyes you could see the hockey game continuing, but it was like the the player were moving at half the speed they normally did. The sounds of the room started the echo and distort, your brain fighting your lungs for oxygen and not able to win.
Eventually, Wil gave up on the heimlich. Feeling you grow more and more limp in his arms. His brain was clouded with his own panic, he had to fight himself to help you and not freeze in terror. He lay you down on the ground, watching your face that was filled with panic.
He pressed two fingers to your neck, feeling your racing pulse beneath his fingertips.
"Jay," Will called, "I need you to get me a knife and a pen."
Jay hesitated, "A pen-?"
"Yes!" Will shouted back, "Just do it!"
Jay rushed out of the room. WIll could hear him frantically opening drawers and rummaging through them. Moments later he came back with the knife and pen, shoving the knife towards Will and waiting for his further instructions.
Jay had seen enough things on the job to know what was coming next. He watched you pass out, completely limp on the floor at his knees. Will ordered him to unscrew the pen, then get on the phone with 911 and get an ambulance there straight away.
Jay did what he was told, watching as Will cranked his little sister with the little supplies he had on hand. When Will had finished his makeshift crank, he breathed a few breathes into the pen to try prompt your body to breathe for itself.
What felt like an entirenity later there was a loud knock on the door. Jay raced to the door to let the two paramedics in.
"Dr Halstead?" Brett asked, shocked to see him hovering over his little sisters limp body.
Will started to rattle off what had happened, but he stumbled over his words unable to fully explain. He worked in a high pressure environment every day but now he was struggling to get the words out to help his own sister. Brett and Violet weren't at all fazed, just immediately started working. Jay and Will helped them transfer you to the stretcher then the ambulance.
Will climbed into the back, vaguely registering Jay say he would follow in his truck. Will's mind was racing, he wasn't sure exactly how long it took before he could get you oxygen again. It felt like forever, but it couldn't have been more than 4 minutes. What if it was 5? Will knew the likelihood of a hypoxic brain injury increased significantly after 3 minutes, he had no idea how this would turn out.
The drive to Med felt even slower, Will fumbled with his phone to call ahead to Maggie, knowing she would have things prepared.
"Hey Will," Maggie answered, the sounds of the ED almost overpowering her voice.
"Maggie," Will's voice broke, "i- uh"
Will had to pause, compose himself.
"I'm on the way with Y/n, she- uh, she choked. I need abrams," Will stuttered.
Maggie was silent on the other end for a few seconds, "How far out are you?"
Will relayed the question to Brett in the front, who called back, "4 minutes!"
"We'll be ready, Will," Maggie said.
Jay hadn't left your bedside the whole night. After getting you to med, Dr Abrams had completed a neurological exam that had given Jay a sickening sense of Deja Vu. It felt so much like what they had gone through with your dad. You had only been 6 when he had died, you knew nothing about what was happening. Jay and Will had to try and shelter you from it all. But now Jay had the same sinking feeling.
The only thing that was keeping him sane was the way Dr Abrams had said your results were promising.
Will came and stayed for a few hours, before an emergency had Ms Goodwin asking for his help in the ED. It didn't bother Jay, he knew Will was just outside the doors should he need him.
It was almost 3 in the morning when the monitors started beeping in a strange symphony. Jay looked over at the array of screens, but he knew nothing about what was going on. He got up quickly, pulling open the door and calling for Maggie.
Maggie took one look and sent over Dr Archer, ordering himaroudn while she paged Abrams.
Dr Archer took one look at the screens and declared, "She's overbreathing the vent."
He headed to the screen nearby, punching in some numbers or whatever he needed to do. Jay was more focused on you and how you were. He only looked up when Will came bounding into the room followed by Dr Abrams.
They conversed and decided on trialing taking you off the ventilator, knowing there would be a risk but ultimately it was worth it. Extubation went well, Dr Archer sutured the hastily cut crank and promised to check in later. Abrams had hovered as well, he mentioned something about a test but that he would have to transfer you to the neuro floor to run it.
Jay nodded along but understood little of what was being said. Will handled the doctor talk, just gently guiding Jay about what was happening once everyone had left the room.
Will stood at the end of the bed, "Doesn't this give you Deja Vu?"
Jay looked from your peaceful face and then to Will, "I can't do this again, Will. I can't."
Will nodded, he walked around the bed and pressed a hand to your forehead, smoothing back your hair from your face, "I won't let it."
When you finally came round your brothers had to use every ounce self control not to pull you into the tightest hug.
You smiled and gave a little finger wave, but were too exhausted to do much else. Jay pressed a kiss to your forehead, muttering about being relieved that you were okay. You let out a quiet reply but couldn't muster much of an answer.
Will did pull you into a gentle hug, holding you close but being careful not to squash you. He pulled away with a big grin, you could see the relief in his eyes.
Will relayed information to you about how Dr Abrams wanted to observe you overnight on the Neuro floor but that hopefully you would be able to. gohome soon after. You were much too exhausted to complain or argue, just nodding along and letting them transfer you upstairs.
Jay refused to leave your side, he stayed right beside you for as long as he could. You had gone back to sleep after being transferred and Jay hovered the whole time holding your hand or stroking your hair off your face.
Will came in at 5 am with coffees, dressed for his upcoming shift.
"How is she?" He asked, handing his brother the coffee.
Jay sighed, "Tired but okay I think."
Will nodded, taking a seat opposite Jay and looking over you, "She'll be okay."
Jay could only nod.
Your brothers watched you sleep for a few more moments before Dr Abrams came in and interrupted the peace.
"Dr Halstead," Dr Abrams started. It woke you up with a fright, the sudden noise clearing the drowsiness from your brain.
"Hey, hey," Will grabbed your hand and cradled your cheek with his other hand, "It's okay. Take it easy."
Will smiled as you relaxed again, sucking in a deep breath.
You let out a small yawn, "Sorry, i just... got..."
Will frowned as you paused in the middle of your sentence, staring off into space instead of looking at him like you were before.
"Y/N?" he said, trying to draw your attention back to him.
After a few seconds you blinked a few times, looking back at your brother and frowning, "What?"
Will looked startled, he looked from you to Dr Abrams, who looked just as surprised as Will.
Abrams came around the bed and stood at your side, "Y/N, can you tell me what just happened?"
You just looked at him with a frown.
Abrams gestured for Will to follow him out of the room, "I think what we just witnessed was an absence seizure."
Will scrubbed a hand down his face, "So what do we do?"
"We do an EEG, hope that it's a temporary symptom of the Anoxic Injury."
"But you don't think it's temporary do you," Will pressed. He worked with Abrams enough to know his bad news face.
"I don't," Abrams confirmed, "I've had patients who have TBI's have epileptic seizures."
Will couldn't form words, unable to even respond to Dr Abrams.
"Will," Jay stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him and crossing his arms sternly. "What's going on?"
