Tolerance Book I (Chicago PD/Med FF) by Frances51163

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Accepting What Comes

Will had waited impatiently for his brother to enter the large living room but as soon as the younger man walked in his frustration disappeared.  Since this whole thing with his father had begun Will was seeing a previously hidden side to his brother in adulthood. Not that his sibling was revealing anything consciously.  It was abundantly clear however that being ill had compounded Jays' stress and as a result he was at times showing less confidence.  The Detective was always so assured in his actions and dealings before this but now his defences seemed to have been stripped away making him seem vulnerable in a way he had not seen since they were kids.  Hell even then his younger sibling had put up a front to hide his hurts.  Becoming an adult he had refined his childhood abilities to show a tough exterior to the world.  Sighing the redhead watched Jay sit down opposite him and began to deal cards, knowing better than to ask what he spoke to the Surgeon about.

"Figure if we bet in jellybeans you can't bankrupt me," the Doctor chided as he nodded to the small pile of confectionery he had divided on the table for each of them.
"How come you got most of the orange ones?" Jay demanded with a raised brow as he picked up his five cards.
"Just the way they fell out."
"Yeah right," Jay voiced his disbelief reaching over to snatch a few of his favourite treats from the other side of the table, which he quickly tossed in his mouth before they could be retrieved.
"They all taste the same," Will pointed out with a shake of his head.
"Nope they don't. I'll take two and raise you five," as he spoke the pale man pushed five sweets, none orange, into the middle of the table.
"I'm taking three and I'll raise you ten," Will carefully retrieved ten jellybeans but none were orange.
"Hell man that's just mean."
"If you say so," the Doctor grinned, "show me what you got."
"Hell I'm fried," Jay threw down his useless hand in disgust.
"Three of a kind," Will put down his hand and retrieved his winnings.

"Need to say some things to you," Jay lost any sense of mirth as he leaned back in his seat.
"Fire away," Will stopped shuffling the cards and placed them on the table giving his sibling his full attention as he rested his elbows on his knees.
"I mightn't get a chance to talk to you later when the others get back.  I just want you to know that whatever happens tomorrow it's going to be okay."
"What do you mean?"
"Look Will this had been coming ever since the old man attacked me at Med.  Hell even before that.  I've always known it would come down to this."
"What are you saying?" Will frowned anxiously.
"Just that I won't have any regrets after tomorrow.  Long as I can save the Porters anyway."
"And yourself," the redhead nodded in agreement.
"So we're good?"
"Yeah.  And Jay I'll understand no matter what you have to do to the old man.  You're worth a hundred of him any day of the week."
"We really got to think of something else to call him besides 'the old man'," Jay suggested changing the topic as he chewed another sweet from his brothers' pile.
"None of the names I call him would be polite!"
"So how about a nickname?"
"You got something in mind?"
"Was hoping you could think of something."
"We'll think of something.  Now help me tidy up before you eat all the chips."
"Ha ha," the younger man took another couple of his favourites with a wink as his brother gathered up the remainder of the sweets to put back into their container.

---------------------------------

Down at the precinct the men weren't making any progress.  Al had returned without any new leads.  Voight had stated he would get the case of the missing brothers transferred to them since theirs was an ongoing investigation.  The Care Home had not given up any useful information.  None of the workers or patients had recognised Halstead Senior. Antonio looked around at the others after hanging up the phone on another dead end.

"We really going to let Jay go to the meet by himself?"
"Yes," Adam replied immediately, "look guys I'm just as worried about him as ye are but Jay is the one with personal experience of the perp so we have to trust his judgment. Aside from anything else if we go against his wishes and the Porters get killed we'll lose him for good.  He'd never forgive us."
"None of us disagree with you," Al pointed out, "but the brothers could still end up dead."
"Which is more likely than not considering what happened to the Samsons," Kevin put in.
"We have to let him take the lead," Hank joined in, "he does know the perp the best.  And apart from anything else he needs to deal with his father once and for all."
"But ......," Antonio began only to be cut off.
"He takes the lead.  We keep our promise," the Sergeant reiterated, "but we have the rest of the day and night to convince him to let us be more involved.  He doesn't agree we accept that."
"Hell he should be taking it easy not walking into danger," Mouse grumbled angrily.
"No arguments with that but it's Jays' call," Voight spoke as he walked into his office and shut the door.
"Anyone have any ideas?" Adam checked hopefully.
"Maybe we could hypnotise him," Antonio offered drily.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Conor had returned from his short trip and found the time to give the injection when Will was outside with the ex-Rangers.

"So I'll check you out later," Conor observed as he put away the empty syringe.
"Not much point Doc," Jay pointed out as he rubbed his stinging arm before pulling down his sleeve as he kept an eye through the kitchen window on his sibling and friends at the end of the garden.
"We made a deal."
"Okay, okay.  You always this stubborn?"
"Thought we had established it's the Halsteads who are stubborn."
"Really funny," Jay looked at the dark haired man growing serious before his eyes returned to the window, "need to ask you something.  And I know I've asked you ........,"
"Just ask," Conor encouraged without hesitation.
"I don't know ......... how things are going to go down ........ tomorrow.  If ...... anything happens to me will you look after Will?"
"Of course.  You have my word."
"Thanks.  That means a lot."
"No need to thank me.  He's my friend and so are you," Conor explained as he began unpacking groceries, "you looking for a job?"
"Think I'll leave you to it if you don't mind.  Might lie down for a while."
"Good idea.  Keep your Doctor happy."

Before leaving the Surgeon Jay filled a glass of milk then went upstairs and drank it down before swallowing a couple of painkillers.  He then took out a chocolate bar from his bedside locker.  His friends never came back from shopping without some treat for him. Somehow they had gotten the impression he had a sweet tooth.  He didn't have the heart to tell them otherwise.  Apart from orange jellybeans the only time he actually ate confectionery was when he needed to take meds and had no time or energy to make a proper meal.  He wanted his headache to abate before he spoke to the others.  He needed to be sure they adhered to his wishes.  Will didn't know it, and Jay couldn't tell him, but if he could get the Porters free he was going to try to arrest his father but there was no way he was willing to really hurt him.  Even though from what Will had told him in the dining room earlier it was clear he expected him to hurt the old man, even kill him. 
He couldn't do either under any circumstances as he didn't want to disappoint his mother.

He'd die first.

tbc