Mouse Returns

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Severide wasted no time in getting the teams going for the search. They spread out five feet apart and entered the forest for a sweep.

"Keep your eyes open for anything out of place, traps, wires." Severide called out to the team. They walked deeper into the woods when Severide saw something under a bush. He pulled out a shovel with fresh dirt on it. He quickly relayed over the radio. "Watch for fresh dirt that's been turned over!!"

"Lieutenant, over here!" Cruz called out several minutes later. Severide walked quickly in the direction of Cruz's shout. There was a slight clearing with a spot that clearly had recently been dug up. A large branch had been dragged over the freshly turned earth. A large wooden box was at the edge of the clearing, empty.

"Capp, get me shovels and my drill. Casey, keep searching the woods in case this is a red herring. Bring the medics with a backboard." Severide went over the radio while Cruz pulled the branch off before starting to dig up the fresh dirt pile. He had left Capp at the rig in case he needed any tools to speed up the process.

Tony set off his PAS alarm so Capp could find them quickly. Upton, Ruzek and Atwater followed Capp into the clearing with several shovels and the drill. Capp and Cruz got to work with Severide digging up the earth. After a few minutes Severide heard a thump as his shovel hit wood.

"I got something. Give me my drill." Severide cleared a spot and drilled a few holes in the box. "If he's in there and alive this will allow some air in until we can clear the rest of the box off and get him out."

The three kept digging and clearing the box until they had cleared all the edges. Capp and Cruz jumped out while Severide stood on one side of the hole to pull the lid off and passed it up to Capp. Jay lay unmoving in his full military dress uniform in the box. His eyes were black, his lip split but the blood had been wiped from his face. Upton gripped her shirt and Ruzek put his arm around her and pulled her close.

"We've got him." Cruz called over the radio as a federal agent snapped a couple pictures as Severide reached in to feel for a pulse.

"HE'S ALIVE!" Severide shouted with surprise. Silvie hurried in with the backboard. She passed him a C collar which he quickly put on.

"Capp, Cruz, go on either side of the backboard. I'm going to lift his shoulders up and we'll slide the backboard under and pull him up. Got it?" Severide ordered quickly, his pulse had been very weak and his breathing barely perceptible. Severide stood on the edges of the box and leaned in to grab Jay's shoulders and lifted him enough for Capp and Cruz to grab the uniform. Tony and Atwater lay down at the edge of the hole to help position the board. Then he helped Silvie guide the board behind him as they slid him up the board. They all worked together to lift, steady and slide him up the board before lifting Jay out of the hole. They quickly moved Jay into the clearing and set him down for Silvie to assess. Severide took his knife and cut the ropes tying Jay's hands together. His wrists were raw and bleeding, his hands were cold.

"He's barely breathing and his pulse is weak. I need to get this uniform off him." Severide undid the buttons on the jacket as Violet undid his tie. "We'll have to slide the jacket off, it's too thick to cut."

They cut through his shirt before sliding the shirt and jacket off his shoulders and arms. His torso was covered in angry bruises and one of his broken ribs had broken through the skin. As they pulled his jacket off Jay woke up with a start. He swung a punch at Severide and tried to dig his heel in to roll away. He let out an anguished cry of pain but still tried to fight. Severide dodged the swing and caught Jay's wrist.

"Jay it's over. It's Severide, you're going to be alright man." Kelly held onto Jay's arm and grabbed his shoulder with the other hand leaning in so Jay could see his face through his swollen eyes.

"Kelly? Thank God." Jay gasped and winced as he tried to take a deep breath. "Mouse!"

Jay tried to sit up again but Kelly pushed him back down gently. "He's alright too, he's halfway to Med already. Just relax, we're going to take care of you."

"Take this thing off, I can't breathe with it on." Jay grasped at the C collar as he struggled to get enough air. Severide looked to Silvie who nodded, she did a quick neck assessment when it was off. A ring of deep purple bruises surrounded his neck.

"We're going to get you to the ambulance and get you some pain meds Jay. Before we do that, what can you tell is broken?"

"Ribs, left arm, knee." Jay winced as they started strapping him to the board, getting ready to move him. He was gasping, trying to get air into his lungs but it hurt every time his ribs expanded. Violet put the oxygen mask on his face before the firefighters lifted the board to carry him back out through the woods. Voight and Erin met them at the edge of the clearing as Jay was fighting to stay conscious. Voight put a hand on Jay's face after they put the backboard on the stretcher.

"Next time you are going to offer yourself up as bait, it's a hard no, Jay." Voight took in the obvious injuries. "If you want time off, just ask for it."

"I'll be back next week, don't worry." Jay pulled the mask off his face. As much as he was struggling to breathe, he hated the feel of the mask on his face. Every breath was agony in his chest. "Sarg, there's a bomb in the basement. He was going to set it off if anyone found us."

"We know, Mouse told us. Don't worry about any of that. You take care of yourself right now. Upton, you go with them. Ruzek, Atwater, take the patrol cars and escort this ambulance to Med. I've got to stay here for a bit with the Feds." Voight barked out orders. Silvie quickly put an IV in Jay's arm as they spoke to get him ready to transport.

"Chief, I'm going to go in the ambulance. If he goes unconscious again and wakes up swinging I want to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone or himself more." Severide drew back to talk to Boden. The Chief didn't hesitate.

"Go, keep us in the loop." He gripped Severide's shoulder for a moment before Severide helped the paramedics load Jay into the back of the ambulance. Upton squeezed herself in by Jay's head.

"You have got to stop doing this Jay. We need you. I need you." Hailey whispered to him and kissed the side of his face. He reached up and took her hand.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't leave him to die." Jay whispered through the mask as his eyes fluttered shut.

"Stay awake, Jay. I'm not losing you now!" Hailey let his hand fall back to the gurney and gently shook his bruised shoulder. It was no use, Jay slipped back into unconsciousness. Violet jumped behind the wheel and started the slow drive back out of the bumpy driveway.

"His heart rate is still slow but steady. Oxygen levels are stable. Kelly, can you help me splint his arm? We've still got a long way to go to Med and this is ugly." Silvie pulled out the splint and passed it to Severide. Jay's arm was clearly broken halfway between his wrist and elbow. They pulled out a second splint for his leg to stabilize his knee.

"Should we cut his pants so they can look at his knee when he gets there?" Kelly suggested to Silvie.

"I can do that," Hailey left her place at his head and squeezed past Kelly and Silvie to start taking Jay's shoes off. "It may be easier to slip them off with this material."

Kelly and Hailey carefully slid Jay's pants off being very cautious of his knee. Silvie draped a sheet over his lower torso. His knee was swollen with horrible black and red colours, Hailey swore when she saw it. They splinted the knee then covered him with the sheet. She resumed her place at his head as they sped off to Med sirens blaring and police escort.