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

Chapter Seventy-Four: Hospital Stay

It was ten after midnight when Adam let himself into the bedroom quietly, surprised to find a lamp on and his friends' bed empty. Frowning as he heard the shower running he walked over to the bathroom door and knocked but there was no response. Testing the handle he was relieved to find it give way but then cursed at the sight which greeted him. The younger man was unconscious in the shower stall. Cursing he ran out to the hallway and shouted for help then raced back in without waiting for a response. It took Antonio and himself to get the insensate man out to lay him down on the towels Ethan had hastily gathered. As Conor examined Jay Adam and Will quickly but thoroughly dried him and then put on a pair of briefs before carefully moving him to his bed and covered him with extra blankets as the Surgeon relayed his findings.

"Ambulance is on its' way," Kevin came back in interrupting the rundown.
"Like I was saying," Conor nodded to Atwater, "until he wakes up we won't know if he has a concussion from this. The wound on his forehead will require stitches but as we all know head wounds bleed a lot so the amount of blood loss should not be major."
"The main worry though is the cold," Will added for the non medical professionals in the room, "he's freezing and we don't know how long he was under the water since it ran cold."
"Damn," Adam looked over at his friend buried under the warm covers, "this is the last thing he needed."
"He'll be alright," Conor reassured, "we just have to wait for him to come around."
"I'm going with him Sarge," Adam stated as they heard sirens approaching.
"You, Antonio and myself are going," Hank nodded then looked at Al and Kevin, "ye might clean up the mess in the bathroom. Looks like a damn crime scene."
"Will do," Al agreed as he headed downstairs with Kevin to get cleaning supplies.
"What about me Sarge," Mouse frowned.
"I want you to keep working on those names I gave you," Hank reminded cryptically, "I need everything you can get ready for 9 a.m. And Mouse no restrictions. You do whatever you have to."
"Yes Sir," Mouse headed out of the room as Ethan ushered two Paramedics in.
"I'm going too," Will added.
"And me," Conor put in after explaining the situation to the Paramedics.

At Chicago Med Jay remained unconscious as he was examined and then sent for an MRI Scan. It was only when he was back in the private room assigned to him that he began showing the first signs of awareness. His groans telling of his discomfort as he forced his eyes open then slammed them shut in agony.

"Damn!"
"Hey Jay it's okay," Adam sat on the side of the bed after quickly lowering the safety rail, "we've turned off the main light okay so you can open your eyes now."
"What happened?" Jay squinted as he looked at his surroundings.
"Adam found you in the shower," Conor approached the other side of the bed with Will at his side, "do you remember what happened?"
"I ...... ," Jay put a hand up to his throbbing forehead and found a dressing which released his memory of what had happened but instinctively he tried to hide it, "tell me."
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Conor sidestepped the question with one of his own as he held up two fingers.
"Four?"
"Who's the President?" Conor didn't say anything about the wrong number.
"Obama was the last one," Jay sighed heavily, "my name is Jay and I'm in Chicago Med."
"Well by those answers you know you have another concussion but it's a Grade 1 this time. Guys could we have some time with Jay? " Conor looked at Adam, Antonio and Hank, the latter pair had remained standing by the door not wanting to crowd the injured man.
"Sure," Hank nodded before looking at his pale Detective, "we'll be just outside Kid."
"See you later Jay," Antonio saluted as he followed the Sergeant out into the corridor.
"Adam?" Conor looked across at the Detective who had not moved.
"I'm staying Doc."
"It's up to you Jay," Conor informed the prone man who was squinting even in the dim light.
"What?"
"Are you okay with Adam staying?" the black haired man asked compassionately in a patient voice knowing the concussed man was in a lot of pain and concentration would be difficult.
"Yeah,"Jay said quietly before looking in his brothers' direction, "you don't have to stay Will."
"I know but I'd like to."
"Damn."
"Is that a yes?" Conor checked.
"Guess so," Jay slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position with Adams' help.
"So you want to tell us what happened?" Conor suggested as he took out a penlight and checked the Detectives' pupils trying to ignore the pain he caused.
"I think .........," Jay looked at his hands rather than at the Surgeon, "I hit my head."
"We know that much," Will rolled his eyes.
"How did you hit it?" Conor asked gently after sending a glare to the redhead who had the grace to look away knowing he shouldn't have expressed his exasperation.
"I was just .......,"
"I'm guessing you started thinking about some things which upset you," Adam joined in quietly when his friend stalled, he was no fool and knew the injury was self inflicted, "and you just got frustrated."
"That's understandable," Conor concurred sending a look of gratitude to the perceptive Detective, "you've had a lot to deal with."
"Hey I didn't mean it!" Jay went to sit up fully but instead clutched his head at the agony which engulfed him.
"Whoa Jay it's okay," Adam instructed as he eased his friend back against the raised pillows, "we know you didn't."
"I just ........ I wanted them to stop. I didn't realise ..... what I was doing. Not really."
"You had to watch that tape today," Will motioned for the Surgeon to swap places with him and he lowered the bedside rail, "we all know it was hard for you and we don't blame you for wanting to stop thinking about those things Jay. It's okay. It really is."
"Sorry," Jay finally looked up at the other men resting his gaze on his older brother, "I really didn't mean it."
"I know Kiddo," Will agreed and carefully pulled the injured man into his chest in an effort to provide some comfort for the real wounds they all knew were invisible.
"We'll be outside," Conor motioned for Adam to follow him.
"Yeah," Adam rose and went to pull the safety rail back into place.
"Please ....... leave it down," Jay instructed as he pulled out of the embrace and leant back wearily.
"Sure," Adam acquiesced and headed out.

Out in the corridor Conor quickly explained the up to date diagnosis.

"So how long does he have to stay in?" Hank asked.
"Until the morning. But he needs to take it easy. As ye know he wasn't recovered from the first concussion so another one on top is not good. We all need to keep an eye on him because knowing Jay he'll try to hide any dizzy spells. Luckily we can tell when he has a bad headache but we need to be extra careful in monitoring him now. Not that he'll appreciate it."
"We'll keep an eye on him," Hank assured, "do you know anyone in Memorial?"
"A few people," Conor frowned at the change in topic, "why?"
"We've been trying to come up with the reason the old man came after Jay now."
"And is willing to kill him," Adam added for the rest of the team had been made aware of Als' suspicion, "we're wondering if he has a terminal illness."
"That would explain things," Conor agreed thoughtfully, "but Memorial won't be obliged to release his Medical Records apart from the treatment given in respect of the bullet wound."
"We know," Hank said gravely.
"Does Jay know about this possibility? Or Will?
"No. We don't want to mention it until we know if our suspicion is right. As much as it might help to know for sure what made Halstead Senior act now it will cause hurt if he is dying. "
"What a mess," Antonio muttered in disgust.
"I can't get you access to the Records," Conor got back to the question the Sergeant hadn't actually voiced, "just not possible."
"I hear you Doc. Right now we just have to hope we catch a break soon. Whoever is out there might have access to assault rifles so the sooner we get Jay back to the house better."
"That's the only reason I'm going to discharge him in the morning," Conor admitted ruefully, "I'm going to have a word with Will and Ethan. We'll make sure one of us is with him all the time."
"Just don't tell the Kid Doc," Hank warned wrily, illiciting a chuckle from the others.

tbc