Halstead Imagines

Stars on your Sleeve (Ranger! Jay)

Not a Halstead sister fic, just Jay and the reader as a child. (Sort of daddy! Jay)

The rain drummed down on Jay's tan helmet, the sound soothing him as he focused his eyes across the dark of the Tabernas Desert. Despite it being cold and wet, his focus was razor-sharp. He looked through the scope of his sniper at the sparsely vegetated, and sandy yet rocky terrain. He kept his eyes peeled for anything or anyone out of the ordinary, most notably Los Rebeldes.

Los Rebeldes (The Rebels) had thrown over the Spanish government and turned it into a warzone. Anyone who went against them was instantly killed. Anyone who refused to serve in their army had their families taken away. Jay didn't care much about the politics of the matter. All he cared about was making sure that no more innocents were harmed because of some fringe group getting their way and wanting to keep it that way. It wasn't Afghanistan, but it was the same goal.

When the war broke out, he knew he had to come back, to fight and protect. So, when Mouse had mentioned that was going to reenlist, Jay had been right behind him, despite Hailey arguing with him. They had been married for a year at the time and she didn't want to lose her husband to the gruesomeness that was battle. But, he told her he'd be safe. He told her that he had Mouse and all the other platoon members that would keep him safe, just as he would do the same for them. And now here he was, three weeks left of his deployment, still safe, and as ready as ever to get back to his wife.

As he looked into the scope, something being swept across the land caught his eye. And then, the wind died down, stopping it. He moved his sniper to be directly looking at it close up. Wet and matted, covered in dirt, but no doubt had it been loved by a child for many years. Then, he saw something out of the corner of his eye and moved around once more.

The feet were small, wet from the rain. He couldn't see much else because the rest of the body was hidden behind a bush. If he could get closer, he'd be able to see that the toes were starting to turn blue. It hadn't dipped below freezing, but the rain made it feel like it had.

"Mouse, I see something on my nine. Does that look like a kid to you?" Jay radioed.

Mouse turned his gun from where he was fifty feet away from Jay and zoomed his scope in as close as he could. "Oh my God."

That was all the confirmation Jay needed. "Mouse, I need you and Logans to cover me. I'm going to get them."

"Halstead, you can't--"

"Logans, I can and I will. It's a child, they're defenseless and last I checked we're here to protect them, so cover me."

He spotted the teddy bear still laying on the ground about one hundred feet away from who they presumed to be the child.

Jay held his gun in front of him, using the light from his sniper to guide him toward the child. Mouse was right behind him and Logans was a few yards behind them, walking backward to watch their six.

Jay stopped. "What are you doing?" Mouse asked as Jay reached down.

"I think this belongs to them." With his gun still trained in front of him, he grasped the sopping wet teddy bear. He noticed it was missing an eye. And then, he continued walking, boots heavy against the ground.

Jay continuously checked his three and nine as they got closer and closer to the child. For all they knew, this could be a ploy to take the three of them prisoner. But, there was no one.

"I'll run ahead, go check to make sure there's no one there," Logans volunteered.

"Copy," Jay answered, a few feet away from the child. Logans ran up ahead without even glancing down at the child, his main mission to make sure his fellow brothers in arms were safe.