An Unfortunate Mix-Up ✔️

Chapter 28: Hospital

Will stands at the back corner of the emergency department, taking a series of deep breathes hoping they'd calm him - but knowing that was nearly impossible. There was no way he would be okay until he knew his brother was okay. There was no way until he saw him, held his hand, hugged him, and made every bit of the pain he could hear through his words on the phone go away.

He watches as the doors swing open, watching as Gabby (Dawson) leads the group in with another paramedic alongside her, as well as a couple nurses. He watched as Connor (Rhodes) ran over right away, already having been put on standby notice by the paramedic pages to be ready for his arrival.

"29 year old male, critical condition, unconscious," he hears Gabby's voice begin the details, knowing immediately they were referencing Alex. It'd be easy to understand why he was the first to arrive in knowing he was taken out of the collapse first, and reasonably so based on what he had detailed with Jay on the phone. "Jay inserted a tube for a pneumothorax of the left lun-"

"He did a good job," Connor comments as he looks over the young man's chest before him, glancing at his vitals right afterwards. "...Trauma 1, keep talking...How long was he out?" Will closes his eyes, the entire phone call replaying in his mind, as he remembered telling Jay every single step, one after another, calmly, hoping his brother had the strength to complete everything. To hear a compliment from the best trauma surgent in the city had to mean something about the handiwork delivered. He couldn't help but smirk a little. 

"He was unconscious before we arrived, through the whole process of being removed from the scene and brought here. Pneumothorax is caused likely due to the wound to his left side, deep penetration as a result of one of the beams that collapsed. It is still embedded into his side, packed as tightly as possible to minimize blood loss. That said, there is a lot of blood loss, and dehydration is present. It's why we ran a central line immediately."

"Blood transfusion, continue the fluids, and immediate surgery is just the beginning of what we're going to follow here people..." 

Will watches as they go inside the room, watching the door close, followed by the curtain. He can only take a series of deep breathes, though had all the belief in the world that Connor had this under control and Alex was in good capable hands. It would certainly be a decent road of recovery, but he believed he would be walking out of here sooner than later.

His eyes fixated on the floor, the phone conversation ringing through his mind once again, his thoughts scrambled as he could only wonder what his brother was feeling, or had endured the past several days. They only left the floor when he watched the doors open once again as another stretcher was wheeled in, with the man flanked by Sylvie, as well as a couple nurses.

"37 year old male, critical condition, unconscious," he hears Sylvie's voice, catching his attention immediately. He knew his brother was that age. He knew Sylvie would probably be one of the responding paramedics in the area. "He was conscious through the most of the rescue, fading out as we made the trip over despite our best attempts to maintain contact."

"Trauma 2," Maggie instructs as she points to the room alongside Alex's. The words went over Will's head as he watched the stretcher be wheeled past him, his heart almost leaping into his throat as he felt sick to his stomach immediately. He didn't even know where to begin as he looked at the sight before him, from the marks on the body to the monitors in place.

"Will, I got this," Ethan's voice fills his ears as the doctor steps in, slipping on a pair of gloves to follow them into the instructed by Maggie's words. Will wanted to believe in Ethan. He knew of his capabilities. He knew he had taken care of several severe patients, saved lives that surprised others. However, this was his brother. His baby brother. How was he supposed to just watch him slip past without moving?

"Will..." He hears another voice as Natalie steps in front of him, clasping his hand in an effort to ensure he did not move in and try to do anything. "He's family. You know hospital policy, and I wouldn't want you to do something wrong out of panic and worry..." Will just nods his head slowly, but his feet carry him to the doorway as he keeps his eyes fixated on the man before him.

"Jay..." He lets out as he watches him be lifted onto the bed, followed by the blackboard being slipped out from underneath him. His eyes don't leave the scene before him as another hand finds its way to his shoulder, knowing it belonged to Kelly.

"Heartbeat has been flexuating at times, but remained strong," Sylvie continues, to which brings some relief for Will in knowing that was one of the key components. "Dehydration, lack of nutrition is obviously relevant, hence the central line. Based on the electrical burns to his back, several at that, over 10, I would say he was electrocuted numerous times. It's affecting bodily functions, as you can tell he's having muscle convulsi-"

"Let's order an immediate EKG, NCS, as well as CT scan.." The nurse nods her head as she makes the series of notes on the new file, as Will can just stand back and listen, his worry intensifying. "We may need to do a pacing wire." Will felt his heart slump that much more in hearing that, every bit of him being eaten alive in hearing the details.

"His leg appears to be broken as it was crushed in the fall, per Kelly Severide." Kelly could only nod his head, remembering all the details he relayed to Sylvie before they made their way over to Chicago Med. "Contusions and lacerations to his ankles and wrists, or possibly more at wrist level, thanks to the chains. There's also streaks of flesh wounds and bruises all the way down his legs, torso, his body thanks to the a belt, rope whip, and baseball bat used to torture him. Oh, and Kelly popped his shoulder back into place per his request on scene." 

"Change what I said. Let's do a full body work up, head to toe, looking into everything because we need to know exactly what we're dealing with. The EKG and NCS is the priority, though."  

Will takes a series of deep breathes, watching as the doctors and nurses surround his brother, doing everything necessary, even with Natalie joining Ethan to give him a hand. He could only look up at Kelly, the pair offering a nod, knowing no matter what, both Jay and Alex had to be okay.