In My Head (Agent Severide Book 2)

Chapter 7

O'Hare International Airport

"Yea just a bit sore, I got hit by the impact a bit; but I'm alright," she told him as he sent her a concerned look. "Did you get checked out after?" he asked her causing the blonde to roll her eyes. "Jay I'm fine, I just wanna head to Molly's and get a drink with you and see my brother, It's been a long couple of days," Zoey replied as she climbed into the passenger seat of the truck and Jay climbed in starting the vehicle and driving off. 

The drive was quiet other than the sound of the radio playing which was causing Zoey's head to start pounding to the point her vision would blur. The blonde rested her head back as he rubbed the temples of her forehead hoping the pain would just go away. After a few minutes, the pain started to go away and her vision started slowly coming back again. 

Zoey looked around as Jay's truck came to a park outside of Med, causing the blonde to send him a glare. "Just go get checked because I'm pretty sure you didn't after the explosion." the dark-haired brunette says. "Jay I'm fi-Zoey, please," he asked just looking at her from his seat. "Fine, If it makes you happy," she said in defeat as the detective sent her a smile as they both climbed out of the truck. 

Chicago MED 

The two walked into the ED as the sound of a wailing ambulance came in causing the most high-pitched ringing in her ears. Zoey closed her eyes pausing from the searing pain in her head as her vision started to blur around her. Zoey started swaying a little as Jay took one of her hands in his placing the other hand on her lower back as he lead her into the hospital. After a moment the pain started to disappear leaving her with a wicked headache but her vision started coming back enough to notice Dr. Halstead walking over to them. 

"Jay, what's going on? You okay?" the ginger-haired doctor asked Jay but paused when he noticed how pale Zoey was. "Yea, just have a wicked headache," she groaned, "why don't we take you into a trauma room and I'll take a look?" Will offered. "Sure, you're brother's not gonna let me go until I do," Zoey said rolling her eyes in his direction. "Hey it can't hurt, plus it's covered under your insurance." the ginger replied as he lead her into a trauma room followed by Jay. 

"So any injuries, head bumps anything like that lately at work or home?" Dr. Halstead asked as Zoey sat down on the bed in the trauma room. "Not really," she replies earning the same look from both the doctors. "My team and I were looking into the gas station massacres and explosions across Montana and I managed to get out of the building right as it blew up, I'm not really sure how far I flew but I woke up shortly after that," Zoey said. "Any dizziness, high-pitched ringing  noises or nausea?" The ginger asked as she slowly nodded her head. Dr. Halstead send Jay a look, "I'm gonna order you a head scan, and a CT scan, do you feel any pain or discomfort anywhere else after the fall?" the ginger-haired doctor asked. Zoey shook her head no, "No," she told him. "Alright, so from what you've told me it sounds like you got a concussion either from the impact of the explosion or maybe you hit your head. I just wanna run some tests and draw some blood. If that's okay?" the doctor asked as Zoey nods as the ginger-haired doctor walked out of the room leaving her and Jay. 

The dark-haired detective sighed taking a seat on the edge of Zoey's bed, "Why didn't you get checked out in Montana?" Jay asked looking at her blue eyes. "Because I thought I was fine. I feel fine." She replied, "C'mon Zoey your brother's a firefighter, You had to know you should have got looked at. Why wait?" Jay asked confused. "Because I needed to see you, okay? This case was brutal, I almost got shot and became a toasted marshmallow, I saw all the victims these unsubs left behind and the state they were in. You make me feel sane and safe after everything I see and go through at work. Because I love you Jay" Zoey finally said the words causing him to pause looking at her for a second. 

Without a word, the detective walked over pressing his lips to hers. Their lips moved in sync for a moment as Jay broke the hiss resting his forehead on hers while gazing into each other's eyes. "I love you too," he said softly causing a huge smile to flash across her face as Dr. Halstead walked back in with a smirk looking at his brother. "So are you ready for those scans?" he asked as Zoey nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be" she replied as she stood up taking a seat in the wheelchair the ginger brought in. "I'll have her back soon," he said to Jay as the doctor wheeled her out of the room towards the elevators. 

The scans didn't take long to run and just as Dr. Halstead suspected Zoey had suffered a mild concussion from the explosion. It didn't take long for the doctor to give her the same concussion speech she'd heard many times over the years before he prescribed her some pain medication and discharge her. 

Zoey & Kelly's Apartment

Jay drove Zoey back to her apartment which didn't take long, "Wanna come in?" she asked looking at Jay who nodded as they both climbed out of the truck and entered the apartment building heading straight to her apartment. 

Zoey opened the front door after unlocking it to find Kelly and Matt drinking a couple of beers on the couch while watching the game. "Zo, Your home!" Kelly said standing up when heard the door open. "Yea, I'm probably gonna be home for a while," she told him as he pulled him into a hug. "Why's that?" her brother asked. "Well turns out I got a concussion from the gas station explosion. Speaking of which I should probably go call Hotch and let him know," Zoey said as she carried her duffle bag towards her room. The blonde pulled out her phone dialling Hotch's number. The line rang a few times before it was answered, "Severide, is everything alright?" Hotch asked when he answered the line. Zoey sat there and explained everything Dr. Halstead told her when she went to MED. 

"Well, I'm gonna be placing you on mandatory leave for the next 3 weeks or until your cleared again to fly back." Hotch finally said. "Oh and Severide?" Hotched asked through the line, "Yea Hotch?" the blonde asked. "Don't ever cover another injury like that again, It's my job to keep this team safe. Including you, we'll talk about this more when you return. For now, get some rest, and we'll talk later." Hotch said before the line disconnected.