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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 9 days

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Fine is a Four-Letter Word (Chapter Two)

Summary: This is Part Twenty-Two of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams. It is very much an AU, just to underscore that. It doesn't follow the same timeline and characters will follow different paths.

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Christopher Herrmann & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Original Female Character, Will Halstead & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead, Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz/Original Female Character, Will Halstead/Connor Rhodes, Assorted OC Couples

Warnings: Injury Recovery, Trauma Recovery, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Protective Siblings, Family Feels, Team as Family, Road Trip, Kissing, Romance, Mild Sexual Content, Swearing, Eventual Happy Ending

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Kira

The morning sun was just starting to peek through the clouds when Kira flopped down on a chair, resting her elbows on the cafeteria table.

She’d basically been living in the hospital for two—no, three, it was Tuesday, three days now—and she was definitely over the food. Malia and Devon and Isaac had been in and out while she spelled off with Sam and they’d brought meals when they could, but sometimes she was on her own. Like now.

She stared down at the sad looking breakfast burrito.

Really on her own.

Back when she’d agreed to be one of Emery’s emergency contacts, she never thought something like this would happen. Or that Bex would be hurt at the same time. Kira thought that they’d be facing whatever happened together.

Not that she’d be talking with doctors alone, trying to understand what the hell they were saying and praying that the treatments she was agreeing to were actually the best way to go.

Thank god for Connor. Right now, he was spending most of his time with Will—understandably so—but he still made time to check in. To explain things properly. To keep an eye on Emery.

And she’d had a chance to visit with Bex yesterday which helped a bit.

Although Bex had looked like shit and was trying to pretend she didn’t feel even worse. Kira had wanted to tell her everything about how things had been going with Emery and get her thoughts and lean on each other like they were supposed to, but after one look at her, she just…couldn’t.

Bex needed to focus on her own healing right now.

And Kira…she only had to focus on not letting one of her best friends die.

No problem.

“Well, that’s not a ringing endorsement for today’s breakfast burritos.”

Kira’s head jerked up at the sound and she started at the sight of an older gentleman in a white lab coat standing beside her table. “Sorry? I—what?”

“You seem a little upset,” he said, offering her a napkin. He gestured at his own face after she took it, making a wiping motion when she just held the napkin in her hand and stared at it.

She reached up, surprised to find her cheek was wet with tears. “Oh. Um. Thank you.” She wiped at her face and tried to ignore the twinge of embarrassment in her gut at being caught crying over her breakfast in the hospital cafeteria.

“Mind if I sit?” The gentleman asked, barely waiting for her nod before pulling out the seat across from her. “I’m Daniel Charles,” he said. “I work here with Bex’s brother, Will…you’re one of her friends, right?

“Yeah, uh—” Kira gave her head a shake and offered her hand. “Kira Cole. Nice to meet you.”

Daniel shook her hand with a little smile before sitting back and taking a sip of his coffee. “Your other friend,” he began, gazing at her over the rim of his cup. “How’s she doing?”

The sigh slipped out before she could stop it. “Better? I think? They’re talking about bringing her out of the coma today,” Kira said, all of the facts and scenarios and possibilities Connor laid out for her still running through her brain. “They pull back on the medication and then we wait and see.” Kira scoffed. “I’m starting to hate that phrase now. It’s all people keep saying to me. Wait and see, we have to wait and see—like, that’s my only option, to stay here and watch and wait to see if one of my best friends—my family—to-to-to see if she’s going to die. ‘Cause…that’s a normal thing to do.”

She caught herself then, horrified at how she’d just word-vomited her stress all over a stranger.

“Right, uh, sorry about that,” Kira huffed out a laugh as she poked at the edges of her burrito. “Short answer is, hopefully better. Soon.”

“It’s not easy,” Daniel said. “Being the person who waits.”

Kira felt tears prick her eyes again and all she could do was shake her head.

“It might feel like an exercise in futility,” he continued. “But it’s the furthest thing from that. It’s about having hope, Kira, and that kind of hope—that kind of love? It needs a lot of fuel. Your friend…”

“Emery,” Kira whispered.

“Emery.” Daniel nodded. “When she wakes up later, I don’t want to have to explain to her why we let you eat that sad looking burrito. That’s no way to get through the day.” He side-eyed it, making her laugh again.

“Across the street though, there’s this bakery,” he said, getting a kid-sneaking-a-cookie little grin on his face. “Has cheese croissants that melt in your mouth and cinnamon buns as big as your face. Coffee’s nothing to sneeze at either.” Daniel stood up and jerked his head toward the exit. “What do you say? It’s on me…”

On any other day, she’d be way more stranger danger about this whole thing, but she’d heard Bex talk about Dr. Charles before and if she was being completely honest—she was too tired to be anything else—he had a real parental vibe that she was seriously in need of at the moment.

“Yeah, okay,” Kira said, standing up to join him. “I’m in.”

That earned her a mega-watt smile and he ushered her forward. “You’re in for a treat,” he said. “I’m serious. Big as your face!”

Kira laughed and for the first time since Friday, felt the tiniest bit lighter.

***

Otis

“Otis…” Joe stared down at the plate in front of him. “What is this?”

“Scrambled eggs,” Otis shot back as he glopped another pile onto a plate and handed it over to Brett. She took it without a word, eyes going wide as she held it at arm’s length all the way back to the table.

Severide peered into the pan. “Are we one hundred percent sure on that?”

Otis slammed the spatula on the counter, levelling a glare at him. “Nobody said you had to eat it, Severide,” he snapped. “Toaster’s over there.”

“Alright, relax, man.” Severide raised his hands in front of him, backing away. “Careful there, Casey. He’s cranky today.”

Casey ignored him and came around to stand beside Otis at the stove. “What’s going on?” he asked quietly. “This is going a bit beyond your usual ‘I hate doing the cooking’ routine.”

“I just—” Otis sighed. “I hate feeling so useless.”

“Useless?” Casey raised an eyebrow. “At your job as a fireman where we regularly go out and save people’s lives?”

“You know what I mean,” Otis moaned. “I genuinely don’t,” Casey said. “But I’m trying to. Talk to me, Otis.”

“It’s this whole thing with Bex and-and Emery and Will,” he said, trying to find the words to explain. The whole break room quieted down as everyone listened in. “I wish that there was something we could actually do to help them, you know? There’s nothing to fix. I need something we can fix. I just—” Otis cut himself off with another sigh. “It’s stupid. I’m sorry, Ignore me. I’ll, uh…I’ll make a new batch of eggs. Please don’t eat those.”

“Too late,” Capp announced cheerfully. “I kind of like them. I ate Tony’s too.”

Shay shoved her plate in his direction and then turned back to face the rest of them. “You know…there might actually be something we could fix. If they let us.”

“Yeah?” Casey leaned back against the counter with his arms crossed. “What are you thinking?”

“Emery’s place was—well, it was pretty much trashed after what happened,” Shay said and Brett nodded solemnly. “If we’re allowed, it could be nice if we went in and cleaned it up before she’s out of the hospital? Give her a proper place to come home to when she’s ready?”

“It would probably make Bex feel better too,” Joe said. “Knowing that Emery wouldn’t have to deal with any of it?”

Casey and Severide looked at each other for a moment before coming to some kind of silent agreement and nodding. “I’ll make some calls,” Casey said. “If I can get it cleared, we can head over after shift. Anyone who wants to help out is welcome.”

Otis flashed him a grateful smile and Casey clapped a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Don’t take it out on the poor eggs next time, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Otis rolled his eyes as he scraped out the pan. “Okay. Who’s ready for round two? No, not—Capp, you’ve had at least three breakfasts already, dude.”

“Bet you five bucks I can do six.”

***

Mouse

Mouse squinted at his phone, trying to make sense of the notification he just received.

CINDY added you to the chat ‘Secret Squirrel Chat’

That was…hm.

Questions.

He had a lot of questions.

MOUSE: Hi?

CINDY: Hi, Mouse! Welcome to our chat!

MOUSE: Our?

CONNOR: Hi

CINDY: It’s our secret in-laws chat

Mouse’s brain blue-screened for a moment.

CINDY: Relax. Breathe. I use the term loosely.

CINDY: It’s just a space for us to chat and plot as needed. I’ve been meaning to add you, but figured I should REALLY add you now considering everything that’s going on.

CINDY: So. How’s everyone doing today?

CONNOR: Will developed a fever and he started another bleed so he’s off getting some scans and bloodwork done. Waiting to find out if they need to go back in.

'Go back in' meaning another surgery, Mouse was guessing. He grimaced at the thought of telling Bex about that bit of news.

CONNOR: They’re going to try and bring Emery out of her coma this afternoon.

MOUSE: That's good, right?

He had his fingers crossed for something good to counteract the Will news.

CONNOR: Hopefully. There's a lot of variables at play. They might have to put her back under if it causes distress. It's kind of a wait and see situation.

CONNOR: If Will's okay to be left, I'll be headed up there so I'll try and keep you posted.

CINDY: And how are YOU, Connor?

Three little dots appeared and disappeared for a solid half a minute before Connor’s reply finally popped up.

CONNOR: Worried, but okay.

CINDY: I'll be by later to spell you off. No arguing.

CINDY: How’s it going over there, Mouse?

Oh. Okay. He thought for a moment before he started typing, not quite sure what to share.

MOUSE: Bit of a rough night.

Connor already knew that though.

Mouse thought back to Bex waking them up at 2 am with a piercing scream and then them trying to wake her up without aggravating her injuries. She’d been so out of it, even after she’d opened her eyes, grasping at them, asking if they were okay—

If this was real.

Jay called Connor so he could reassure her that he and Will and Emery were all still alive. It wasn’t until after that call that she finally seemed to be fully awake and refused when Jay offered to call Chris as well.

They’d ended up camping out her room; Jay setting up a little nest on the floor and Mouse dragging the arm chair she had in there over to beside the bed so he could stay close without jostling her. None of them slept much. Not with Bex still jolting awake every so often and Mouse and Jay’s eyes flying open every time she even twitched.

And now this morning…

MOUSE: Bex is still feeling sick. It’s hard to find stuff she can handle eating.

He was currently in the kitchen, making her some toast and cutting up an apple. Anything to make sure she could take her meds.

MOUSE: She’s still in a lot of pain, but Jay brought her his ribs pillow.

CINDY: His WHAT?

MOUSE: He’s got this pillow that he uses when he’s got hurt ribs. Hugging it makes them feel better so he’s loaned it to Bex. She says it’s helping.

CINDY: That’s great. I’m just stuck on the fact that he’s got a designated pillow for it. #HalsteadProblems

Mouse blinked at his phone. He definitely hadn’t had enough sleep to deal with this.

CONNOR: Glad to hear Bex is using a pillow. That’ll help. Now. How are YOU, Cindy?

CINDY: My parents have the kids today and Chris made me promise to rest, but I’m still worried about everyone so you have to keep me updated! Use the chat!!!

CONNOR: We will if you keep your promise to rest.

MOUSE: Go put your feet up.

CINDY: I’ve been horizontal this whole time.

CINDY: PS Chris is making the rounds this morning so…incoming. :D

Right on cue, there was a knock on the door of the apartment and the sound of Jay and Chris talking shortly after that.

MOUSE: He’s already here.

CONNOR: 😂

CONNOR: On that note…

CINDY: Updates! Don’t forget!

Mouse and Connor signed off the chat after reassuring Cindy once more that they’d keep on top of sending her updates. He pocketed his phone and sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. He didn’t want to add to the stress that Connor and Cindy were already carrying, but part of him wanted to dive back into the chat and ask for more.

For more advice about what to do next. For reassurance that he and Jay weren’t completely screwing up here. Were they being selfish? Thinking that they could help and not just…add more hurt.

No. Mouse picked up the tray of food.

They could do this.

It had been a rough night, but they’d made it through. He could hear Chuck’s voice in his brain telling him to take it all one step at a time. They could do that, right?

He stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment before blinking and shaking his head. “Why am I waiting for someone to answer me?”

He seriously needed a nap.

***

Bex

“I told you, I'm not hungry, Mouse,” Bex called out when a knock sounded at her bedroom door.

It cracked open anyway. “You still gotta eat,” Chris said, poking his head through the gap. “Don’t make me send Cindy over here.”

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Bex struggled to get herself a little more upright on her pillow pile, ignoring the shooting pains in her side. “Is everyone okay?”

“I said I was gonna check in,” he said, pulling the door close to him and not actually making his way into the room. “And I, uh, I may have brought you a visitor…”

A flash of irritation went through her. She’d told him she wasn’t ready to see the kids. No one was listening to her about anything. “Chris—” Bex’s sigh was cut off by a very familiar whine. “Kol?”

An excited bark followed by an ‘oof’ from Chris as he was pushed out of the way when Kol bounded into the room.

“Wait, Kol,” Chris called out and Kol froze just as he was about to leap onto the bed. “Remember what we talked about.”

Kol let out a plaintive little ‘aroooo’ as he looked back and forth between Chris at the door and Bex on the bed. Chris shook a firm finger at him. “You have to be gentle.”

Bex had to hold back a giggle as Kol snorted and huffed at Chris before hopping up onto the arm chair and then placing one very delicate paw onto her bed and then the other. He whined again as he got closer, tilting his head as he looked her over.

“Hey, boy.” Bex held out her good hand and he sniffed it all over before letting her pet his head. “I missed you,” she said. “Did you miss me?” He huffed again, licking her hand once and then tucking himself in beside her and snuggling in.

“He was going a little nuts at our place so I thought we could try out a visit since I was stopping by anyway,” Chris said, coming in and plopping down into the chair. He passed over a handful of papers. “Brought you presents from the kiddos. They made you some get well cards and pictures. Will and Emery too.”

“Aw, that’s—that’s really sweet.” Bex looked over the pages and pages of pictures and little notes from her nephews and niece.

“They were upset about not being able to see you yet—” He held up a hand, cutting off the argument that was ready to burst off of her tongue. “I’m not trying to pressure you. I get it, okay? I’m just explaining why you’re probably going to have enough artwork to repaper this room by the end of the week. Sending you stuff made them feel better.”

“Please tell them I said thank you,” Bex said, smiling a bit at the pages from Max. He was writing her some kind of get well story and had sent her the first chapter already. Then the next drawing caught her eye. “Uh…did you see this one?”

Chris leaned over to peer at it and groaned. “Yeah, Annabelle didn’t really get our explanation of what happened. Cindy’s on it.”

“Is this—is this me?” Bex tilted the drawing, marvelling at the amount of red. “And am I holding Ty’s head?”

“She’s very proud of you,” Chris said, a weary smile tugging at his lips as he shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s definitely going on the wall.” She passed them back to Chris and he set the pile on her side table.

He turned back, setting his feet up on the edge of the bed and levelling a look at her. “Heard you had a rough night,” he said.

“It wasn't that bad. I think it's just the medication messing with my dreams,” Bex said and he narrowed his gaze at her blatant lie. Whatever. She was exhausted and she didn’t feel like getting into it right now.

Chris opened his mouth, probably gearing up to push the issue, but there was another knock and then Mouse coming in with a tray full of toast and fruit while Jay lingered in the hall behind him. “Alright, kiddo.” Chris slapped his hands on his knees. “I gotta talk to the boys so you focus on eating that—and I mean all of that—and I’ll come say bye before I go.”

“What do you have to talk about?” Bex tried to crane around Mouse who was settling the tray in her lap and aim a proper glare at Chris. “If something’s going on—”

“We’re just talking about schedules and boring crap like that,” Chris said, eyes darting off to the side so she knew he was fibbing and something clearly was going on. Something they wanted to keep her out of.

Well, that was bullshit.

Bex stared at Chris as she picked up a piece of toast and bit into it with a smile. “Sounds good.”

She waited a solid ten seconds after they had left her room and poked at Kol. “Kol,” she whispered and his head popped up. “You want treats?” Bex fed him a small piece of toast, smiling as his tail went crazy. “Good boy. Okay, you’ll get more in a second, but first you have to help me out.”

“Awoof.”

“Quietly.”

Kol boofed at her softly and she patted his head. “Open the door for me, Kol,” she said, nudging him toward the edge of the bed. “Just a little bit. And remember—quiet.”

He shuffled off the bed onto the chair and then down to the floor, hardly making a sound.

“Good boy,” Bex whispered as she watched him carefully make his way across the floor. Once he reached the door, he got up on his hind legs and grabbed the door handle in his mouth, gently pulling it down.

The door popped open. Bex and Kol froze, listening. The conversation in the living room didn’t pause and Bex had to hold herself back from cheering. Success!

“Okay, come here,” she whispered to Kol. He snuck his way back to his spot beside her on the bed and snuggled in. Bex fed him the rest of the toast and her apple slices as she strained to listen in on what was happening down the hall.

Something about Will…he had a fever? And he'd started bleeding again? That was—that didn’t sound good at all. What were they doing about it? Would he need more surgery? She had so many questions. Shoving the tray aside, Bex leaned further toward the door, wincing at the pain in her side. Now they were talking about Emery.

They were going to try and bring her out of her coma today?

Bex bit back a gasp. Frustrated tears sprang into her eyes and she scrubbed them away. She should have been told about all of this—someone should have—she should be there.

Ugh, she hated this. Hated not having her phone to keep in touch with Connor and Kira and everyone. Hated being kept out of the loop. For what? Her own good? Because she couldn’t handle it?

Bex had been handling everything life could throw at her since she was six.

This, for the record once again, total bullshit would not stand.

The sounds of the living room conversation started to slow and Bex returned to her spot on her pillow pile as quickly and as quietly as she could. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.

Two could play at deceivery…no…deception-ness? De—ugh, her stupid, tired brain. Two could play at BEING A LIAR.

Her door creaked open and she heard a low huff from the doorway. “Bex?” Chris called out softly. She snuffled and turned into her pillow a little more.

“She’s asleep,” he whispered. “Looks like she ate everything though.”

“Oh, good,” Jay whispered back. “Finally.”

“Kol looks like he’s behaving so I’ll leave him here for now,” Chris said quietly. “I think he cheered her up a bit.”

“Keep us posted, okay?” Jay asked, his voice getting fainter as they walked back down the hall.

Bex waited, hearing the click of the front door closing, the murmur of Jay and Mouse talking to each other, and then the whoosh of water as the shower went on.

Okay, one of them was definitely occupied in the bathroom for the next few minutes so now was probably her best chance.

She braced herself, biting her lip against the pain as she got out of bed. Kol’s head popped up and she shushed him when he whined at her. “Stay here, okay?”

Shuffling as quietly as she could down the hall, Bex risked a peek into the living room.

Empty.

There was a clang from the kitchen and the sound of water sloshing as Mouse washed the dishes. Perfect. She sped up her shuffle walk as much as she could, snatching a hoodie off the back of the couch and grabbing her bag off the hook. Holding her breath, she opened the door—

Clink of dishes.

Shower still running.

No one noticing a thing.

Bex exhaled slowly as she slipped out into the hall, pulling the door shut behind her. Step one complete. Now she just had to figure out how to get to the hospital. Driving was out of the question, but once she was outside, she could try and hail a cab? Or call an Uber? Was her phone even in her bag?

She started up her shuffle again, making her way to the elevator. Screw it. She’d walk the whole way there if she had to.

A flurry of barks had her jolting, clutching at her side as it throbbed in pain at the movement. Kol. “I can’t believe he’s freaking tattling on me,” she grumbled to herself. Maybe she could at least get inside the elevator before—

The door of the apartment opened. “Bex?”

—before that happened.

“Bex!” Mouse called out, voice high and frantic. “Where are you going? What’s wrong?”

Jay came stumbling out after him, a pair of sweats clearly hastily yanked on and getting slowly soaked by the water dripping steadily down from his hair. “Kol, stay—stay! Mouse? Where’s—what the hell, Bex?”

She leaned against the wall, turning to glare at them as they rushed over. “No, you what the hell? Were you even going to tell me about Will and Emery?” She scoffed at the look they exchanged. “Unbelievable.”

“We were going to,” Mouse began.

“But you need to rest too,” Jay cut in. “We all knew—”

Mouse coughed.

Jay sighed. “Chris and I knew exactly what would happen if we told you everything right away, which was this by the way—you tearing off to go see them—and I'm sorry, Bex, but you’re not up to going back to the hospital right now.”

Bex straightened up carefully, willing back the pain so she could stare him down. “Fucking watch me.”

“You’re not even wearing shoes!” Jay exclaimed, flinging water everywhere as he gestured at her feet.

Bex looked down and blinked at her—hm.

Yup, those were her socks.

A bang had her head snapping back up—ow—and Jay and Mouse whipping around to look at the apartment door which was now very much closed.

Jay tried the handle, cursing when it wouldn’t budge.

Kol barked joyfully from the other side and Bex took back everything she said about him tattling. He really was the best boy. She settled against the wall again and watched as Mouse searched his pockets, shaking his head at Jay who hadn’t stopped cursing.

Bex cleared her throat, getting their attention. “I may have forgotten my shoes, but I’ll give you one guess as to what I didn’t forget,” she said, patting her bag and smiling as her keys jingled inside. “Let’s negotiate, shall we?”

Click here to read Chapter Three.

Click here to read Fine is a Four-Letter Word on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3

@foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @emme-looou, @thebejeweledwatercat

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 2 months

Text

That Herrmann/Halstead DNA (Chapter Seven)

Summary: This is Part Twenty-One of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams. It is very much an AU, just to underscore that. It doesn't follow the same timeline and characters will follow different paths.

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Assault, Stabbing, Gunshot Wounds, Blood and Injury, Whump, Trauma, Eventual Hopeful Ending

A/N: I received my degree from the medical school of Television Drama which means while things might not (*cough* will not *cough*) be accurate, they will be exciting. *jazz hands* SEE END FOR MORE NOTES

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Jay

Jay was about ready to crawl out of his skin.

He needed to do something—anything—but…Mouse was taking care of Bex, Connor was with Will, and Chris was on the phone updating Cindy.

Ms. Goodwin had come by and said she would take care of checking on Connor and Will. (And hopefully get an update about how the operation was going.)

Nobody needed snacks. (He’d asked.)

He couldn’t even work the friggin’ case. (Detective Medeiros said so.)

Waiting around, not knowing what shape Bex was in or if Will—

If Will was going to—

Jay scrubbed a hand down his face. He was two seconds away from losing his damn mind.

“Halstead!” Platt came charging down the hall with most of Bex’s school friends trailing behind her. “They put us on lockdown upstairs and just let us out now. Said there was a shooter. What the hell happened down here? Everyone okay?”

A debrief. He could do that.

Jay looked at the huddle of worried faces in front of him and gave a pared down version of what happened, trusting that Platt could read between the lines.

“But they’ve got him now?” Isaac asked, sending an anxious glance back at the elevators. “Ty? He’s in custody? Sam’s up with Emery by himself. Is that—”

“There’s absolutely no way he’s getting loose again,” Jay reassured him. Between Detective Medeiros and Voight, that was an iron-clad guarantee.

“Any word on how Will’s doing?” Devon asked quietly and Jay shook his head.

He was trying not to think about it too hard. Surgery like that always took awhile and they really hadn’t been gone that long. Will was strong. He was going to be okay. He had to be.

Jay wasn’t going to accept anything less.

“Yeah, no, we, uh, we haven’t heard anything yet,” Jay said, sighing. He jerked his chin in a little nod at Chris as he ambled toward their group, finishing up his call with Cindy.

“I love you too,” Chris said, stopping to stand beside Jay. “I will. Yes! I promise!” he said into his phone, raising his eyebrows. “He’s right here. It’ll be the first thing I do. Yup. Yup. Okay. Hug the kids. Love you. Bye.” Chris ended the call with a tired smile. He stuffed his phone into his back pocket and turned to Jay, immediately pulling him into a bear hug.

“Wha—”

“This is from Cindy,” Chris said, squeezing him tighter. “You gotta take it. No arguing.”

Jay hesitated a moment before letting himself melt into the hug. He had a feeling Cindy would somehow know if he didn’t accept it and would immediately call Chris back.

Besides, he was tired. So tired of this shitty, shitty day.

He needed the damn hugs.

Chris gave him a couple of pats before finally letting go. “Guess who we forgot about?”

“I can’t even think right now,” Jay said. “Just tell me and—oh, crap, it’s Kol, isn’t it?” Poor dog had been left alone for hours now. “We have to go get him. Where can we—”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Chris said, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. “Cindy realized as she was leaving and swung by Will and Bex’s place to pick him up. Thank god she’s in charge of the spare keys. The kids are thrilled to be looking after him for a few days and honestly?” He rubbed at his face and sighed. “It’s a good distraction for them right now.”

Yeah, Jay didn’t envy Chris and Cindy trying to navigate explaining everything that had gone down to the kids. Annabelle and Max would probably be satisfied with the bare bones now that they had Kol there, but Lee Henry and Luke were getting to the age where they caught on when their parents were trying to hide stuff from them. And were insisting more and more that they could handle it all.

Jay could barely handle it.

Ms. Goodwin returned just then and Jay felt Chris stiffen beside him, neither of them sure how to read the look on her face. Jay was almost afraid to ask, but he forced himself to try. “Were you able to—”

“Yes, I have an update from Dr. Allan,” Ms. Goodwin cut in immediately, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips. “Dr. Halstead lost a lot of blood and there was some damage to his spleen, but they’re making good progress with the repair. I think we can be cautiously optimistic.”

Okay. Jay let out a shuddery breath. That was—he would take that.

“How’s Connor doing?” Chris asked.

Her smile gave way to a sad frown. “I’m not sure he even knew I was there,” she said. “He’s very concerned about Dr. Halstead and I—I think the sooner we’re able to convince him to get some rest, the better.”

“We’ll work on him,” Chris promised. “Thank you, Ms. Goodwin, for checking on them.”

“They’re my people too.” She handed Chris a card. “This has my number on it,” she said. “Please keep me updated on—” she waved a hand through the air “—all of this, as you can. I’m going to see what I can do about covering the ED for the next few weeks.”

Chris pocketed the card with a grateful nod and she headed off. A clatter of wheels in the hall had Malia craning her neck to take a peek and she let out a soft gasp. “It’s Bex.” She and the others moved aside to let Chris and Jay through.

Sure enough, Dr. Fahir and a nurse Jay didn’t recognize were bringing a bed with Bex back to her room. Mouse was walking along beside, talking quietly to Bex as they went. More surprising was seeing Dr. Abrams consulting a tablet as he followed along behind them.

Was Bex’s concussion more serious that they’d thought?

Chris and Jay followed them into Bex’s room, hanging back while they got her set up again. Tried to hang back anyway. Bex spotted them right away and started to push herself up with a grimace which set off Dr. Fahir, Dr. Abrams, the nurse, and Mouse; all four of them quickly trying to get her to lie back down.

“Ms. Herrmann,” Dr. Abrams said firmly. “Remember what we talked about.”

“Rest,” Dr. Fahir added.

“But—”

“You gotta try and stay still,” Mouse urged as he leaned in, stroking her hair away from her face. “What do you need? I’ll get it for you.” He followed her finger, understanding dawning when he caught sight of Jay and Chris. “Oh! Yeah, one sec.”

Mouse waved them over, moving back so the two of them could stand closer to Bex.

“Wh-what’s happening with Will? Is he—is he okay?” Bex looked up at them with teary eyes as she took a shaky breath. Jay wished more than anything that he had good news for her.

“He’s still in surgery,” he said. “But it sounds like it’s going well—whoa!” Jay reached out, trying to steady Bex as she fought to sit up again. “No, hey, come on—what are you doing?”

“Need to go,” she muttered. “Gotta see him.”

“Bex, sweetie.” Chris moved in to gently stop her and made eye contact with her. “Will is in surgery. You can’t see him right now. We will tell you as soon as we hear anything else.”

“He—Will’s hurt, Chris.” Bex’s voice cracked as a tear slipped down her cheek. “I need—”

“I know, baby girl, I know.” Chris kept whispering to Bex as he coaxed back down and got her settled against the pillows. “I promise he’s being taken care of and I’ll take to you see him as soon as I can. But for now—can you close your eyes and rest for a minute while I talk to the docs. Can you do that for me?”

Bex grumbled something that Jay missed, but made Chris smile. Her eyes fluttered shut finally and Chris stepped over to pull a haggard-looking Mouse into a quick hug. Jay grabbed him for another one immediately after.

Fuck it. Tonight was hug night now.

“How’s she doing?” Chris asked quietly, looking between Mouse, Dr. Fahir, and Dr. Abrams. The nurse turned down the lights in the room and they all moved closer to the door to speak in low tones.

“The fractures in her arm and ribs have been aggravated further,” Dr. Fahir said. “One of her ribs has become subluxated.” She caught was Jay was sure was a completely confused look on his face and took pity on him. “That means it’s slipped out of place, but hasn’t been fully dislocated. It will heal on its own along with the fractures, but she’ll be in a lot of pain.”

“Did the contusion get worse?” Chris asked. “What about the internal bleeding?”

“The internal bleeding has slowed, but not as much as I’d hoped,” she said. “We’re still keeping an eye on that and the contusion along with her concussion symptoms.”

“How bad is the concussion?” Jay asked as he dug out his phone so he could start writing this stuff down.

“Mild, luckily,” Dr. Abrams said. “Aside from the pain, she’s also dealing with some confusion. There was…a bit of difficulty getting her to stay still for the scans.”

“She got upset while she was getting checked out because she forgot Will had been shot,” Mouse murmured to them. “Doc had to give her something to calm her down.”

“Her memories of the last few hours are foggy and that may or may not clear up,” Dr. Abrams said. “Someone should stay with her to make sure she doesn’t make it out of bed on her own.”

“Yeah, we can, uh, we can handle that,” Chris said, running a hand through his hair. “Gotta say, Dr. Abrams, I freaked out a little when I saw you here. Had me headed straight for the worst-case scenarios.”

“I was having dinner with Ms. Goodwin and Dr. Charles when she received the call about the shooting and we all returned to the hospital,” Dr. Abrams said in that very clipped and professional tone he had. “When I heard about Ms. Herrmann’s injuries, I offered to do a consult since I was here anyway.”

His voice was all business, but Jay caught the ever-so-slightly fond and faintly worried glance he gave Bex. She might be right about him being a secret softie.

“I know you all have your hands full at the moment,” Dr. Fahir said, drawing Jay’s attention back to their discussion. “But I cannot emphasize enough how important it will be for Bex to truly rest over the next few weeks. Overexerting herself will set any healing back exponentially.”

Jay bit back a groan as he met Chris and then Mouse’s eyes.

Make sure Bex stays still and rests.

While Will and Emery are in the hospital.

“I mean, we’ll do our best,” Chris said, shaking his head. “But it’s gonna be a battle.”

Jay and Mouse snorted, but Dr. Fahir’s next words had them sobering up.

“She’ll be in too much pain the first couple of weeks to get very far.” Dr. Fahir gave them all a stern look. “The medication can only do so much.” Jay remembered that from his own times at Med. Rib injuries especially were a beast.

“Rest. It’s the most important thing, gentlemen,” Dr. Fahir repeated. “I’m counting on all of you to help her navigate this.”

“None of us want to see her back in a hospital bed anytime soon,” Dr. Abrams added.

After promising to check back in tomorrow, the medical team swept out of the room, leaving Jay, Chris, and Mouse watching a restlessly snoozing Bex.

“Tying her to the bed is probably out,” Chris whispered. “But what are the odds on us getting her a prescription for that sedative to last the next few weeks?”

“I mean…I know a guy,” Mouse said, holding up a hand when Jay smacked him in the side. “Kidding. Jeez.”

There was a soft knock at the door before Platt stuck her head in. “Got a pile of firefighters out here hoping for an update.”

“You guys can go,” Mouse said, pulling a chair over to the side of the bed. “I’ll stay.”

“You sure?” Jay would rather stay too, but he didn’t blame 51 for wanting to know what was going on. Bex was as much their family as Chris was. And he really didn’t want to leave Chris to face what was guaranteed to be a flood of questions all on his own.

“I, uh, I don’t think I’m going to be able to leave this spot any time soon, man.” Mouse carefully took Bex’s hand in his own.

Jay felt that down to his bones. He was pretty sure Bex’s pullout couch was going to be his new home for the foreseeable future.

“We’ll be right outside,” Jay said, following Chris to the door. “Yell if you need anything.”

He and Chris didn’t make it very far. Platt hadn’t been lying about the pile of firefighters. It looked like all of 51 was crammed into the hallway. Boden, Severide, and Casey standing at the front with matching worried frowns etched into their faces.

“What the hell happened after we left?” Severide asked.

Jay sighed as he leaned against the wall and Chris huffed out short laugh. “The answer to that depends,” he said.

“On what?” Severide demanded.

“How long your break is?”

***

Connor

“—nor? Connor. Look at me, please.”

Maggie’s voice broke through the rushing pulse of blood pounding in Connor’s ears. He tore his gaze away from the flaking patches of blood—Will’s blood—on his hands and met her eyes.

“There you are,” she said softly. “The surgery is done—”

“Done?” Connor scrambled to his feet, gripping at the sink as he peered through the window. Which was empty save for a couple of orderlies doing clean up. “Wh-where is he? What happened? Is he okay? Maggie, I—”

“Need to breathe,” Maggie said, gripping his hands in hers. “He made it through surgery. Dr. Allan was able to repair all of the damage and Will is stable. She’s taking him to observation.”

“Oh,” Connor gasped out, trying to what she was telling him sink in. “Oh. That’s—that’s good, that’s, uh—jesus, that’s—” Maggie helped guide him back to the floor as his legs gave out and his words crumbled into sobs.

She rubbed at his back, holding onto him for who knew how long as everything Connor had been trying to keep a lid on for the last few hours bled out of him.

When his sobs petered out into sniffles, a paper towel appeared in front of his face. Connor looked up to see April crouched in front of them with a sympathetic smile on her face. Ethan stood behind her with a bundle of clothes in his arms.

“Dr. Allan said you can come with her to let everyone know the good news, but you’ve got to get cleaned up first,” April said.

“She said you’re going to terrify the patients if you want through the halls like that,” Ethan added.

If he looked half as bad as he felt, Connor figured she probably wasn’t far off.

“Okay.” Connor took a bracing breath before heaving himself to his feet and reaching down a hand to help Maggie up. “Gimme five minutes and I’ll be good to go.”

“Yeah, we’re not trusting you to do this without keeling over yourself,” April said. “Strip that top off, Rhodes. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before.”

Connor was too tired to argue. He let himself be manhandled until they deemed him fit for the public eye again. After he was dressed in fresh clothes, Ethan handed him one last item.

Taking it in his hands, Connor unfolded it, throat growing tight as he recognized it as one of Will’s hoodies.

“Grabbed it from his locker,” Ethan said, not quite meeting his eye. “He may or may not need a new lock.”

Stifling his laugh against the fabric, Connor took a moment to breathe in Will’s scent before putting it on. “I’ll replace it,” he said. Connor looked around at the three of them, ducking his head in a grateful nod. “Thank you. All of you.”

“You’d do it for us,” Maggie said as April and Ethan nodded. “You and Will—you’re our family too, you know?”

Maggie and April hugged him while Ethan clapped a hand on his shoulder and steered the group of them out the door.

“Let’s go,” April said, breaking away to lead them toward the stairs. “The sooner we let everyone know the good news, the sooner you can go and see Will.”

Connor sped up, beating her to the stairwell.

He didn’t want to wait another second.

***

Mouse

Bex stirred shortly after Jay and Chris left the room. She blinked blearily at him.

“Mouse?”

“Hey,” he said, leaning in. “I’m right here.”

“Will?”

He shook his head. “Nothing new yet.”

“Time izzit?”

“Uh, late?” Mouse laughed softly, letting go of her hand to pull out his phone. “Yeah, it’s after midnight.”

“You should go home,” she mumbled. “Get sleep.”

“I’m good right here,” he said before pausing as doubt crept in. “Unless, I mean…do you want me to go home?” He seriously didn’t want to do that, but if she didn’t want him here, he’d go and sit in the hall or something.

“No, wan’ you to stay.” Bex frowned, reaching for him and he took her hand again. “But…”

“But what?” he prompted when she trailed off.

“We were gonna have our big date,” she sniffled. “And now you’re stuck taking care of me.”

Mouse reached out with his free hand to gently wipe away the tears that were welling up in her eyes. “Bex, if it was me in this bed and you in this chair, would you consider yourself stuck taking care of me?”

“Can’t shake my head,” she grumbled. “Hurts. But you know.”

“Yeah, I do.” Knew without a doubt she’d be doing the exact same thing if their situation was reversed. Wouldn’t even question it. “Of course, I want to be here, Bex,” he said. “I lo—”

“No!” Bex’s eyes flew open and she winced back against the soft light. “No, don’t—”

“Don’t what?” Mouse hoped the problem wasn’t what he thought it was.

“Don’t say it,” she whispered and his heart sank. Did she not—not that she had to. They’d come so far already. It didn’t mean she had to be ready to say or even be ready to hear—

“Stop,” Bex said, squeezing his fingers. “Stop thinking bad stuff. It’s not—I just—I don’t want you to say that because of today. We can’t—it’s not fair.” She paused, closing her eyes and taking a breath before opening them again. The next sentence came out slowly. Deliberately. “I don’t want that memory to be tied with today. Does that—do you know what I mean?”

Once he’d parsed through her words and thought about it, he did. They both deserved better than a declaration that was partially a knee-jerk reaction to fear and trauma.

But this was—it wasn’t that. It was different and more than that in its own way and he couldn’t let it go, not completely. “I promise this is not me saying it or making a big declaration,” he said. “But I need to say this. Please.”

“Okay,” Bex whispered, giving his hand another gentle squeeze.

“I almost lost you today.” Mouse shook his head, trying to clear away the haunting images from the last few hours and focus on what he wanted to say. “I heard that shot and for a few horrible minutes, I had to live in a world where I didn’t know if you were still in it or not.” He scrubbed at his face with his free hand and Bex made a soft sound.

“Yeah, it was, uh, it was kind of terrifying,” Mouse said. “I kept thinking, I haven’t said enough. I haven’t—I haven’t shown her how much she means to me.”

“Mouse—”

“Hey, you promised.”

She pressed her lips together tight and watched him with shiny eyes.

Mouse took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. “You’re my family, Bex,” he said. “You and Jay. And you know—you’ve, uh, you’ve been that for a lot longer that you and I have been circling each other.” He tapped his fingers against his chest. “You’re here. You’re a part of my heart—like, a pretty large and permanent piece. That’s, uh, that’s what I needed you to know. I’m full of regular, lower-case love. For you.”

He didn’t even want to think about what it would have felt like if he’d lost her and never had a chance to tell her that.

“Nothing regular about it,” Bex whispered.

True.

But she was right before—now wasn’t the time for that. Mouse could wait until it was.

They both deserved that.

Bex tugged him closer and he hugged her as carefully as he could. She mumbled something against his chest.

“What was that?” Mouse pulled back, still hovering close though as he returned to his seat.

“I said I’m full of regular, lower-case love for you too,” she said, sighing into her pillow. “If you were wondering. And to be clear about what kind of moment we’re having.”

“Still a good moment.” Mouse raised her hand and pressed a kiss into her fingers. “You gonna let me take care of you now?”

“Yeah.” Bex sighed. “My feet are freezing.”

He grinned, remembering the bag from Lucy that Ed had given him. “I’m on it.”

***

Jay

“Hey,” Jay whispered as he and Chris came back into the room. The 51 crew had headed back out on shift and Chris had managed to convince Bex and Emery’s friends to go with Platt and rest in the ICU lounge. It had better couches and was closer to Emery. And the three of them had Bex covered for now. “How’s she doing?”

“Her medicine’s really kicking in and she was pretty out of it,” Mouse said. He looked down at Bex and the side of his mouth ticked up in a smile. “She was, uh, she was pretty cold and I got her some socks, but that wasn’t enough so she tried to talk me into getting in the bed with her. Said I was warmer and she wanted to sleep inside me like a tauntaun. I gave her my hoodie instead.”

Jay pressed a hand to his mouth, trying to smother his laugh as Chris looked between the two of them in confusion.

“Like a what now?”

“A tauntaun,” Mouse repeated. “It’s from Star Wars—when they’re on Hoth and Luke is about to freeze to death so Han cuts it open—”

“And stuffs him inside!” Chris finished for him, finally making the connection. “She said that? What the hell, Bex?”

Jay snorted at Chris’s flabbergasted look, but then they all froze when Bex stirred, holding their breath until she settled again under Mouse’s hoodie.

Chris shook his head as he stared at her. “She’s such a weirdo,” he whispered, half to himself. “I raised a friggin’ weirdo.”

That set off another round of laughter in Jay that he tried to keep quiet, but he lost it again when Mouse just shrugged and said, “I thought it was sweet.”

Jay dropped down into one of the chairs and buried his face in his hands, muffling the sound as his shoulders shook with giggles.

Chris sat down beside him and patted his back. “Okay there, Jay?”

He sat back up, wiping at his face, a little startled to realize there were tears running down his face. “Yeah,” he said, sniffling. “Shit.” Mouse handed him a tissue and Jay wiped at his nose. He sighed. “I just—I love you guys.”

“We love you too,” Chris said and Mouse murmured his agreement.

“I, uh, I wish Will had been here for that,” Jay said, turning to Chris. “Your face—”

“You can tell him all about it when we see him,” Chris said quietly before grinning. “In full detail so he can roast Bex too.”

“What are we roasting Bex for?” a tired voice asked for the doorway.

The three of them were on their feet as soon as they turned to see Connor standing there.

“How is he? How did it go? Is he okay? Is he—is he good?” Question after question spilled out of Jay as Connor stepped back to bring them out into the hallway. Maggie, April, and Ethan were standing there along with a doctor Jay had never met. Chris joined them in the hall and Mouse hung back in the doorway, keeping one eye on Bex.

“He’s okay,” Connor said, reaching out to squeeze Jay’s shoulder.

Jay slumped back against the wall in relief. “That’s—I mean, Ms. Goodwin said it was going well, but I’m really, really happy to hear that.”

“You and me both.” Connor gestured to the short woman standing beside him in wrinkled scrubs. “This is Dr. Allan,” he said. “She performed the surgery on Will and can give you all of the details.” He came over to rest on the wall beside Jay, leaning into his side a bit as they listened to Dr. Allan give the details on Will’s injuries and how he was doing.

Which was pretty good for someone who got a big hole blasted through their middle.

There was a long list of things they were keeping an eye on and things they’d have to watch for—most of which Jay was going to have to get Connor to translate for him later—but he made it. And he was going to be okay.

And Bex made it. And she was going to be okay.

And Emery made it. And if there was any justice in the world, she was going to be okay too.

Jay didn’t think he could ask for much more than that.

Dr. Allan left after giving her update and Maggie, April, and Ethan said their good-byes shortly after that. Maggie with strict instructions for Connor to get some sleep.

Good advice for all of them at this point.

“Well?” Chris shot a look at him and Connor and Mouse. “How do we wanna do this? Divide and conquer?”

“I’ll go with Connor and you stay here with Mouse?” Jay suggested.

“Keep our phones on and keep in touch,” Connor added.

“Works for me,” Mouse said, nodding at them, already turning back toward Bex’s bed.

“Go team,” Chris said with a little grin. “Say what you want, but we sure can handle a crisis.” He gave Jay and Connor a pair of back-slapping hugs before heading into the room.

Connor and Jay stood there in the hall for a moment while Connor checked his messages for Will’s new room number.

“Mind if we take the stairs?” Connor asked as they started walked and Jay shook his head. “Thanks,” he sighed. “Think I need a few days before I can step foot in the elevator again.”

Jay got it. Probably more than Connor realized. But he was also happy Will was only one floor up. He could’ve forced himself to do more if he had to, but the sooner he could find a chair to pass out in, the better.

“So,” Connor began while they both focused on putting one foot in front of the other up the stairs. “What are we roasting Bex for?”

The laugh Jay let out echoed around them in the stairwell. “Apparently she was cold and the socks Mouse had weren’t cutting it…”

***

Connor

The sun was peeking up over the horizon when Will finally woke up.

Connor had been watching him, cataloguing every breath and twitch he’d had since they’d moved him into this room, waiting for that first flutter of his eyelids.

Not wanting to miss it.

Not quite able to believe Will was going to be okay until Connor could look into his eyes.

“Will?” he whispered, gripping his hand as he leaned in. “Hey. There you are. Hi.”

“C’nr…” Will mumbled, groaning softly as he scrunched his eyes shut again for a moment.

“I’m here,” Connor said quietly. “You gonna wake up so I can see those pretty brown eyes?”

Will blinked a few times before managing to focus on him. “Hi.” A loud snore cut through the quiet and Will’s eyes widened. “Was that me?”

“No.” Connor shook his head with a little laugh. “That was Jay.” He shifted to the side so Will could see his brother sacked out in a chair on the other side of the room. “He’s been pretty worried about you guys.”

“Bex—”

“Is okay,” Connor cut in quickly, running a gentle hand through Will’s hair. “She’s got a mild concussion and a little bit more rib damage, but she’s been checked out and Chris and Mouse are with her now.”

“Good. Okay.” Will settled back into his pillows with a quiet hum, face tilting into Connor’s hand still stroking his hair. “Hey, Con?”

“Yeah, Will?”

A tired, but still fully shit-eating grin spread across Will’s face. “Saved your life.”

The surprised laugh that burst out of Connor quickly became mixed with sobs. “My hero,” he managed to get out.

“C’mere.” Will pulled him in for a hug, fumbling to pat at him with clumsy hands as Connor buried his face into his neck. They stayed like that for awhile until another snore from Jay had them giggling and pulling apart.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” Connor whispered as he tangled Will’s fingers in his. Every bit of fear and frustration and anger from the last few hours bubbled up in his throat, but Connor swallowed it back when he saw Will’s eyes already starting to fall shut.

“’m sorry,” Will mumbled. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” Connor leaned in, pressing a kiss onto his cheek. “So much.”

Another little smile flitted across Will’s face before it relaxed as he fell asleep again. Connor scooted his chair forward, keeping Will’s hand tight in his and rested his other arm on the bed. He watched his chest rise and fall, needing to reassure himself a little while longer before he could close his eyes.

That Will was still here. Still alive.

Still Connor’s.

***

Saturday morning

***

Bex

Bex was miserable.

Everything hurt.

Everything.

Chris and Mouse had told her that Will made it through surgery and was doing well and Dr. Latham was happy with how Emery’s stats were trending although they were keeping her sedated for a while longer.

But Bex wasn’t allowed to go and see either of them.

Wasn’t allowed to move.

Not that she could move much if she wanted to because again, everything hurt.

But still. She wanted—needed to see them both. For herself.

Apparently, that was out of the question.

She was trying not to be miserable—on the outside at least—because she could see how tired and stressed everyone was and she didn’t want to add to that, but if she wasn’t going to be allowed to see Will or Emery, the least people could do was leave her alone.

“So, this Detective Medeiros,” Mouse was saying, bouncing his leg as he sat beside her bed, like he always did when he was nervous or stressed. “She wants to ask you some questions about what happened and she was hoping to take some pictures of, uh, of your injuries.” His head whipped up and his eyes met hers as he frowned. “But you don’t have to, Bex,” he said. “We can do it tomorrow or never. It’s up to you.”

Never honestly sounded pretty good. But Bex knew that wasn’t really an option. “It would help the case though, wouldn’t it?”

Mouse nodded reluctantly and Bex sighed.

That was important. Probably more important than how she was feeling right now. She wanted to know she’d done everything she could to make sure Ty gets put away for hopefully forever this time. And she knew enough about how things worked to realize this—her statements, her injuries—were all important pieces to making that happen.

“I’ll do it,” she said.

“We can stay with you,” Chris said quietly from where he’d been standing at the end of her bed. “If you want.”

“No,” Bex said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly judging from the tiny flash of hurt crossing both of their faces. “It’s not that I don’t want you here…”

But she didn’t want them to see.

Not yet.

Not when the little glimpses she’d caught on her own today showed ugly purpling skin and angry red scrapes. Technicolour violence that hurt to look at. She knew it would hurt worse to see them looking at it. Whether that made sense to them or not, she just—she couldn’t have them here.

Not for this.

“Is Cindy here?” she asked and Chris’s face softened with understanding.

“She’s already on her way,” he said. “I’ll let Detective Medeiros know we’re waiting until she gets here.”

“Anyone else?” Mouse asked. “There’s time to get them and you should have as much support as you want for this, Bex.”

Bex thought it over. Dr. Fahir was going to be there to help document her injuries. Even though they’d only met yesterday and under some pretty crap circumstances, Bex liked her. She was straightforward and…kind, but not in a pitying kind of way. Bex had a feeling she’d help make the process as short and too the point as possible.

She honestly didn’t want many more people in there with her. It was going to be hard enough without feeling like she was on display.

“Just Cindy, please.”

Twenty minutes later, her room had been cleared of everyone except for Detective Medeiros, Dr. Fahir, and Cindy. The door was closed. The lights were still low. And Cindy had a gentle grip on her good arm.

“We’ll go as slow as you need to, Bex,” Detective Medeiros said. “Let’s start at the beginning…”

***

Chris

Chris paced the hall as he typed away in the 51 group chat. Everyone had been making plans to come by and see Bex, but he’d had to nip that in the bud. She hadn’t been in any shape for that this morning and she definitely wasn’t going to be after this interview.

They all understood, obviously, but had wrangled a promise from him to let them know as soon as they could come by. No one was going to be happy until they’d had a chance to see her for themselves. And he had a suspicion there was some kind of giant card in the works.

Maybe that would put a smile on her face.

Not that she wasn’t trying to put on a good front, but even her best front didn’t much of a chance against what she was dealing with. Poor kid had been through the wringer and she was in pain. So much pain. Chris hated seeing her like that.

He just wished there was something more he could do to help. To make it better.

Wished he could be in there with her right now.

At least she let Cindy in. Cindy could always see right through her and she’d put a pause on things if Bex needed it, even if Bex wouldn’t. Especially when.

Kid was too damn good at plowing her way through shit.

She’d fallen apart a bit yesterday, but Chris could see her already shoring things up. Putting her focus on Will and Emery. The case.

What she needed to focus on was herself. He hadn’t been joking yesterday when he said getting her to do that would be a battle.

He needed to make some kind of game plan with Jay and Mouse and Cindy and anyone else who was going to help take care of her. Make sure she didn’t try to plow her way through recovery.

Chris stopped his pacing when the door to Bex’s room finally opened. Cindy, Detective Medeiros, and Dr. Fahir came out and Mouse slipped back inside.

“Thank you for all of your help,” Detective Medeiros said to Cindy and Dr. Fahir. “I’ll be in touch.” She nodded at Chris before heading down the hall.

“I need to start my rounds,” Dr. Fahir said. “But I’ll be back to check on Bex soon.” She patted Cindy’s arm with a smile before leaving.

“Hey, hun, how did—” Chris didn’t even get the question out before Cindy was throwing herself into his arms and burying her face in her chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight when he felt how much she was shaking. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here. Talk to me, Cinds, please.”

“It’s not okay,” Cindy said, voice muffled by his shirt. She finally looked up at him with red eyes, sniffling as she shook her head. “It’s not—Christopher, she—what he did? God, he hurt her. He hurt her so much and I’m just—oh, I am so angry. I want him to pay and I want him gone and I want to never ever let Bex out of our sight.” She let out a hiccupping sob as he pulled her close again.

“I’ve already been working on my pitch to convince her to move into our house,” Chris said, running his hands up and down her back as he kissed the side of her head.

Cindy huffed out a laugh. “The kids would be over the moon.” Then she sighed. “How do we get her through this?”

“It’s just gonna take time,” he said. “And patience.”

“I wish there was something we could do right now,” she said. “Something that would help even a little bit.”

“Actually, I think I have an idea about that.”

***

Jay

Jay sat up as he read through the text from Chris. He’d been trying to distract himself while Will slept, knowing he couldn’t pop down and see Bex while she was being interviewed.

Detective Medeiros wanted to keep them separate since Jay was a witness.

He knew why—it was a process he’d been on the other side of any number of times—but knowing the why, knowing the process almost made it worse.

He knew exactly what Bex was going through right now. Reliving everything. Having to sit there and be catalogued.

At least Cindy was there with her.

And now Chris had a genius idea that would probably be helpful to not only Bex, but Will too.

The soft sounds of conversation had him standing and walking over to the bed. Connor and Will both looked up at him, pausing their quiet chat.

“Feel up for a chat with Bex?” Jay asked, waving his phone at Will.

“Yes!” Will’s eyes lit up. Jay laughed at the grabby hands he made, shooting off a confirmation to Chris.

“Okay, let’s get you set up.” Between him and Connor, they very carefully moved Will into a slightly more raised position. Jay grabbed the table tray and moved it into place before setting his phone on top. He started up a video chat with Chris who answered after a few seconds.

Sort of.

“Chris,” Jay called out as Will and Connor chuckled beside him. “Chris! You’ve gotta—you’ve got the camera turned around, man—”

“Aw, heck.” Chris’s muffled voice came through the speaker and then finally, instead of a view of a table and sheets, they saw Bex’s face.

All three of them tried to cover their shock, but Will couldn’t quite stop the wince at the sharp breath he took. She’d been in rough shape yesterday, but now that her bruises were starting to come up, it was—it was hard to see.

“Will?” Her voice shook a bit as she peered at the screen.

“Hey, Bex,” Will said, smiling softly at her.

“Hi.” She smiled back…and then her face crumpled and she burst into tears.

“Oh, shit.” Will tried to reach for the phone, but fell back with a grunt. Connor grabbed it and held it closer for him. “Bex, I’m here. I’m okay, see? Dr. Allan said I’m going to be fine.”

That didn’t help much. Bex just cried harder and Jay was at a loss for what to do. She might hurt herself at this rate.

Chris’s face came on the screen, looking tense. “Hey, guys,” he said. “We’re gonna hang up for now and maybe try this later, okay?”

“Chris?” Will called out faintly.

“Yeah, bud?”

“Just…give her a hug for me, okay?”

Chris nodded at the screen. “Always.” The call ended and the three of them slumped back.

“Well,” Jay said eventually. “That didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.”

“Help me up.” Will held out a hand to Connor, shaking it impatiently when he didn’t take it. “Come on, we can get me in a wheel chair and I can go down and see her.”

“Absolutely not,” Connor said, crossing his arms as he stared Will down.

“I’m in better shape than she is right now—”

“Bullshit!” Connor exclaimed.

“Dude, you were shot,” Jay chimed in. “You might have come through surgery okay, but now’s not the time to get cocky.”

Connor nodded, but Will ignored him to point a finger at Jay. “Yeah, I’m not taking advice from you on how to safely navigate recovery.”

Rude.

“Okay, okay, okay.” Connor sliced his arms through the air, cutting off the rest of their argument. “Listen, there’s a solution here that I think will make everyone happy. I can make it happen, but there’s one condition.”

“I’m listening,” Will said slowly.

***

Chris

Chris was on board as soon as he heard Connor’s plan. He didn’t care about what anyone else thought at this point. He couldn’t sit through Bex crying like that again. Not if he could help it.

Or Connor, rather.

Dr. Fahir took a bit of convincing, but she agreed to it once she realized they could get it all done while Bex was sleeping. Minimal disruption seemed to be her magic words.

It was actually kind of fun, whispering and sneaking a whole hospital bed through the halls while Bex slept. She was going to be so surprised when she woke up.

Oh, god. Chris hoped she didn’t cry again.

That would be counterproductive.

As the medical team worked on getting Bex set up in the new space, Chris went to stand beside Jay, whistling under his breath. “This is pretty sweet,” he said, looking around at the spacious private room. Will and Bex’s beds were side by side, but there was also not one, but two couches and a few plush arm chairs. Chris lowered his voice, tilting his head toward Jay. “How much do you think—”

“Ah.” Jay held up a finger. “That’s the one condition,” he said. “We’re not allowed to ask how much it costs. Something about not wanting to have to fight about it with Will later.”

“Fair enough.” Chris nodded. “But seriously, is he like loaded loaded because this is a crazy nice room.”

Jay shushed him, shaking his head as he laughed.

“Yeah, alright, no more questions.” Chris grinned at him. “Man, I kind of want to wake Bex up just to see her face. I’m joking!” He held his hands up when Dr. Fahir sent a glare his way.

Time to go sit on that fancy looking couch and stay out of the way. He plopped himself down and immediately waved Cindy and Jay over. “You gotta try this. It’s better than Jay’s!”

***

Bex

Bex blinked as she slowly began to surface, eyes still a bit sore from her, ugh, ridiculous cry session from earlier. She started to rub at them and someone gently pulled her hand away.

She blinked again, focusing. “Jay?”

“Hey, sleepy head.”

“Why aren’t you with Will?” He was supposed to be keeping an eye on him along with Connor. He shouldn’t—

“I am,” Jay said, grinning as he stepped back.

Bex squinted in the dim light, looking around the room. Mouse was on her other side. Chris and Cindy were…on a couch? Where did that come from?

Wait.

Was this a different room?

A quiet chuckle on her right had her turning to see Connor standing beside…another bed? And—

“Will?”

“Surprise!” He waved at her while Connor did jazz hands.

“How—”

“They decided to put all of their problem cases in one room,” Jay said, quirking an eyebrow at her. Chris snorted and Cindy shook her head, leaving the couch to go and stand beside Connor.

“Ignore them,” Cindy said, wrapping an arm around Connor’s waist. “It was his idea and he made it happen too.”

“Thank you,” Bex whispered to him and he came over to give her a smooch on her forehead.

“Now I can keep an eye on you both,” he said,

“Can we bring Emery in here too?” Bex asked hopefully, but Connor shook his head.

“Not yet,” he said. “She’s needs to stay in the ICU, but I promise you they’re keeping a close eye on her and she’s doing really well.”

“For now, you focus on resting,” Chris said, turning a stern eye on her and Will. “Both of you.”

Bex looked over at Will and he smiled at her again. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” she said, trying her best not to tear up again at the sight of him. Here. Alive.

“You know what I think would help us rest right now?”

“What?” Bex asked, voice going hoarse.

“French fries.”

They both laughed and then groaned, clutching at their sides.

“Okay, maybe this wasn’t the best idea,” Connor said, shaking his head at the two of them.

“No,” Bex said. “It’s perfect.”

***

Statesville Correctional Center

The guard—Peters—stood outside of the cell, shifting his weight on his feet nervously.

He was the perfect kind of lackey. Easily bought and yet ferociously loyal after the fact. And still wary enough of the stories he’d heard to have a healthy amount of fear during their dealings.

He’d certainly lasted longer than some of the others.

And he was proving himself to be quite diligent.

“That name you wanted me to keep an ear out for,” Peters said. “It came up. There was an attack.”

That deserved attention. “What happened?”

“Domestic of some kind, it sounds like? Trying to help her friend?” Peters shrugged. His attention to detail would need to be addressed. All in good time.

“And?”

“And what?” Peters squinted at him.

“How is she?”

“Oh! She’s alive, but it sounds like she’s pretty banged up,” Peters said. “They got her at Med.”

A hospital stay.

Hm.

Distressing.

He should send flowers.

“Thank you, Peters,” he said, dismissing the man. “Let me know if you hear anything else.”

Waiting until Peters was on the other side of the doors, he headed back to his bunk, digging out his phone. A few messages had his plan in motion.

But what to send?

He couldn’t include a card. Not yet. It was too risky.

But flowers had their own beautiful language. If he picked carefully, there would be no way his songbird wouldn’t know they were from him.

***

Sunday

***

Cindy

“More flowers!” Cindy exclaimed as Chris accepted another delivery.

Will and Bex’s room was almost overflowing with flowers and balloons and treats that neither of them were cleared to eat, but that Chris, Connor, Jay, and Mouse were steadily working their way through.

“Oh, those are beautiful.” Cindy took the bouquet of red asters and set them over by the window. She plucked out the card and, hunh, that was funny. “They say they’re for Bex, but there’s no message or name on it. Any idea who they could be from?”

Bex frowned as she stared at them. “No,” she said. “I feel like everyone I know has already sent something so I have no clue.” She frowned harder. “I want to be able to thank them though.”

“Why don’t we post a picture,” Cindy suggested, scooping up Bex’s phone. “We can put it on all of your accounts so you can say thank you and mention there was no name on the card. Maybe it was just a mistake and whoever they’re from will speak up.”

“That’s a good idea.” She sighed. “Would you mind doing it? I’m not supposed to look at screens still.”

“I’m on it,” Cindy said, setting up the shot. “Hashtag, beautiful flowers. Hashtag, mystery gift!”

Bex giggled a bit which was exactly what Cindy had been hoping for. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Ten bucks says Capp will try to pretend it was him,” Chris said.

“Hand it over then because he sent those daisies,” Bex said, pointing at the shelf behind him.

The rest of the guys laughed as Chris squawked and stalked over to read the card. “Hunh. He didn’t even try to piggy back on Tony’s gift. That’s a first.”

Bex wasn’t wrong about pretty much everyone they knew sending something. They’d had to be pretty firm about spacing out the visits and keeping them to one or two people at a time so Bex and Will didn’t get overwhelmed. As it was, Cindy could already see them fading.

And no wonder. Her eyebrows flew up as she caught sight of the time. “It’s lunchtime! I bet you’re all starving.” She set Bex’s phone down and started hustling Christopher toward the door. “We’ll go grab something and bring it back up here. Any requests?”

“I will eat literally anything you put in front of me,” Will said.

“Not you, mister.” Cindy waggled a finger at him. “I’ll be following your restrictions until Dr. Allen tells me otherwise.”

“Cindy, anything you can grab will be wonderful,” Connor said, reaching for his wallet. “Let me—”

“Nope.” Mouse beat him to it, handing a card over to Cindy. “This one’s on me.”

“Ooh, get extra cookies,” Jay called out from where he was lounging beside Bex’s bed.

“Thank you, Mouse,” Cindy said, ignoring the general shenanigans of the room and utterly charmed by how he blushed when she smiled at him. “Behave yourselves,” she told the rest of them. “We’ll be back soon.”

Soon turned out to be a generous estimate.

Christopher, sick of hospital food, insisted on going to a sub shop “nearby” that was apparently delicious, but still took almost ten minutes to get to. It was a hole in the wall kind of place with a perfectly worn feel that made her think his claims of deliciousness probably weren’t too far off. That and it was incredibly busy—even for a lunch time rush.

Forty minutes later, they made it back to the room with their miniature feast only to find the whole gang passed out cold.

Will and Bex were asleep in their beds. Connor was curled up in an arm chair beside Will’s bed and Jay was sacked out on one of the couches. Mouse was tucked in on the edge of Bex’s bed, one hand gently keeping hold of her un-splinted arm.

“Guess this’ll have to keep,” Chris whispered to her, smiling as he shook his head at their family. They put everything that needed to be kept cold in the fridge and left the rest on the table. Chris tugged on her hand, leading her over to the other couch and pulling her down into his lap.

Cindy relaxed back into him with a sigh.

It was the first truly peaceful feeling moment they’d had since Friday. Cindy could hardly believe everything that had happened since then. It was too overwhelming.

Took her right back to—to when Chris was here and they all rallied together, scared and unsure of what was going to happen, but helping each other through it as best they could.

It made her want to weep sometimes, how much violence and heartache her family had been through. How many scars they now bore.

“You look like you’re thinking heavy thoughts,” Christopher murmured, nuzzling his nose into her hair. “Wanna talk about it?”

“I just—” Cindy brought her hands up to press over her stomach. “What kind of world are we bringing this little bean into?”

Chris was quiet for a moment before he placed a hand over hers. “One where they’ll be surrounded by family,” he said slowly. “A family that will support them and help them learn how to be strong and smart and kind and brave and silly. It’ll be a world where they will always, always know that they are loved.” He held her close. “Always.”

She tilted her head back to look at him. “How did you get so wonderful and wise?”

“You.” Chris smiled, leaning in to give her a kiss. He gave her a little squeeze before settling the both of them into the back of the couch. “Now, come on and get comfy,” he said. “We need to get back into practice.”

“What on earth are you talking about, Christopher?”

He gestured at their sleeping family. “Gotta sleep when the babies sleep, right?” Cindy stifled a giggle and he shushed her. “I’m serious!” he whispered, fighting his own giggles. “Nap time!”

Their giggles settled down as he snuggled into her side and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep and Cindy followed him soon after.

***

Bex

Bex cracked her eyes open, smiling to herself as she watched Cindy and Chris sleep tangled up in each other on the couch.

Mouse stirred beside her. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

She thought about it for a moment before answering. “Yeah.” Definitely not all the way, not yet and maybe not for awhile, but—

“I will be,” Bex said.

Because she had her family. One that was strong and smart and kind and brave and silly and that she knew always, always loved her.

Click here to read on ao3:

A/N #2: If you haven't read the rest of the series, that Statesville scene is a call back to one that happened in a 'Honesty. Horrible, Horrible Honesty.' Consider this to be the start of a slow burn villain arc.

A/N #3: I'll do another 'coming up next' post for those of you who enjoy spoilers so keep an eye out for that.

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat, @emme-looou, @trulylavandedarling

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 20 days

Text

Fine is a Four-Letter Word (Chapter One)

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

Chapter One

Monday, August 31st, 2015

Sam

Dr. Fredericks sat in the cushy armchair across from him; the picture of calm compared to Sam’s jiggling knee and hands that didn’t seem to know what to do with themselves.

“Why don’t you tell me why you’re here, Officer Kent,” she began. That was probably supposed to be some kind of a soft lob of an opener, but god, what a loaded question.

“Well, uh—” Sam took a shaky breath. “Sergeant Platt said that, uh, the department had someone for people to talk to after—after tough calls and that I might want to consider it. And that…”

Dr. Fredericks nodded gently. “And?”

“She said that walking in on a scene like that—you saw the file, right?” Sam slumped back in relief at her nod. He knew they’d be going over it all eventually, but knowing that she’d read it made starting this conversation that much easier. “She said walking into a scene like that is hard enough, but it’s that much worse when—when your loved ones are involved. Your family.”

He swallowed hard against the painfully fresh memories of that day.

“She said it wasn’t required or anything and maybe I was fine, but, uh—” Sam gripped at the armrests of his chair, hoping that would make his hands stop shaking. “But in her experience, it could be helpful and I talked to my partners about it and we all thought it would be a good idea for me to try because—because I’m not.”

“You’re not what, Sam?” The question was asked so softly, he could almost forgive it for how thoroughly it was cracking him open.

“I’m not fine,” he choked out. “None of us are and it feels like—like we never will be again.”

“What constitutes as fine is always a bit of a moving target after a trauma like you and your family have been through,” she said.

Images of Emery in her hospital bed flashed through his brain.

Still going through, really.

“Being willing to talk about it is a good first step,” Dr. Fredericks continued. “And not an easy one, either. You might not be okay right now, Sam, but be proud of yourself for that.”

He jerked his chin in a nod, not trusting himself to speak as he let that sink in.

A first step.

One of many, probably.

Shit.

Okay.

“So, how, uh—how do we do this?”

***

Will

It was early, seven am or so, but time never really meant much in a hospital anyway. The sounds of people bustling around in the hallway was muffled slightly by the door.

And by the snores coming from Jay on the couch.

Connor had left a few minutes ago to check in on Emery. Bex was asleep in the bed beside him—a bit restless, but that was better than what he’d seen of her every time he’d woken up throughout the night. The stomach issue side effects of a concussion were hitting her hard.

Chris and Mouse were sitting in chairs beside her, talking quietly. Probably trying to make plans since she was scheduled to be discharged today.

Will was not.

And look—he was a doctor! He understood all of the hows and whys of this, but holy hell was he already tired of staying in bed and resting.

He was tired.

He was in pain which was also pissing him off.

…and he was really thirsty.

Will snuck another glance at Mouse and Chris, but they both looked exhausted and very wrapped up in their intense little conversation.

Jay was still completely sacked out.

His cup was right there on the bedside table. He knew there was water in it. Connor had poured some for him before he left.

It wasn’t that far. Will could reach it…if he stretched…carefully…just a little bit more and maybe if he twisted—

There was a little pop as a ripple of pain went through Will’s abdomen. He looked down to see a small patch of red bloom through his hospital gown.

Well, shit.

***

Jay

No one was allowed to say anything about Jay being a bad patient ever again.

Ever.

“Stay in bed means stay in bed, Dr. Halstead,” Jenna, their nurse for the day chastised Will as she finished administering his medication. “You know that better than most patients.”

“I was just trying to get my cup,” Will began, cut off by Jay’s snort.

“There’s three people in here who could’ve grabbed it for you, man,” Jay said. “You didn’t have to pop a stitch—”

“Two stitches,” Connor piped up from where he was sprawled in the arm chair, eyes half closed as his head lolled against the arm rest.

Jenna flashed two fingers at Will with a pointed look.

“Right,” Jay said. “Two stitches. They’re gonna take your doctor cred if you keep this up.”

“It’s actually pretty on brand for doctors,” Jenna muttered.

“I know! Okay? I’m sorry.” Will slumped back against his pillows with a wince. “I’ll be more careful.” He gave Jenna a contrite little grin that actually seemed to work on her. “I promise.”

“We’ll be holding you to that,” she said, smiling back at him. “Now rest.”

Will raised his arm to give her a salute, only to lower it quickly, curling his hand into a fist as he hissed. “Ow.”

Idiot. Jay barely managed to hold back an affectionate snort. He and Jenna had to maintain a united front.

Jenna shook her head, shooting a glance at Jay as she headed out the door. “Keep an eye on him, will you?”

Jay managed to knock off an actual salute, ignoring the sneaky middle finger Will was giving him. “You’re getting me in trouble with the nurses,” he whispered at Will. “Aren’t we supposed to be trying to stay on their good side?”

“Yes,” Will and Connor replied in unison.

“So, no more messing around, okay?” He pointed a stern finger at Will who nodded sheepishly.

Seriously. He was so much worse than Jay had ever been. At least Bex was behaving herself.

Although that might be the concussion.

Jay frowned to himself, peeking at the other side of the room where Chris was talking with Bex while Mouse hovered close by. His radar started pinging at how serious they both looked.

“Psst.” Will motioned for him to come closer and Jay made his way around to the left side of the bed. Will ‘pssst’d at him again so he leaned in a bit.

“Jay.” Will looked up at him with wide, definitely drugged up eyes.

“Yes, Will.”

“Pass me my cup?”

Jay shook his head at the sound of smothered laughter coming from Connor’s chair. “Yes, I’ll pass you your friggin’ cup,” he said. “I’ll even put more water in it for you.”

“Thank you, Jay.”

He watched to make sure Will didn’t spill all over the place before taking the cup back and returning it to the bedside table.

“Chris, you’re not listening to me!” Bex’s raised voice caught both of their attention.

“I am, but you’re not thinking straight—”

A groan from Bex cut him off as she closed her eyes, rubbing at her forehead. “Just stop.”

“Hey.” Jay made his way over to their side of the room. “What’s going on?”

“Bex’s being stubborn,” Chris sighed and Mouse exchanged an uneasy look with Jay behind his back.

“I’m not—” Bex took a shuddery breath and started again. “I just want to go home, Chris.”

“You can’t,” he said, gearing himself up. “Not alone. You’re in no shape to take care of yourself. We can move the kids around temporarily and get you set up—”

“No!”

Chris jerked back at Bex’s tone and Jay stepped closer to the bed, making room for Connor to come and join their little huddle.

Bex looked up at the four of them, tears forming in her eyes as she let out a frustrated huff. “I just—I can’t—”

Jay crouched down beside her, reaching out to take her hand in his. “Whatever you need, we’ll make it work.”

“…I don’t want the kids to see me like this,” she whispered. Chris deflated, as gut-punched by her words as the rest of them. Jay understood. She—she looked rough still. Almost worse now that all of her bruises were blooming across her skin. “And I love you guys, Chris, but I need to be in my own space. My own bed. I’ll be okay. I can—”

Jay made eye contact with Mouse and knew without a word they were on the same page. “Mouse and I will stay with her,” he said. “We can talk to Voight and do whatever we need to make our schedules work so that one of us is always there.”

“Don’t you need to be here with Will?” Chris asked, shaking his head, already dismissing the idea. “Connor’ll need help—”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I can handle him on my own.” Connor jerked a thumb over at Will who was completely passed out and drooling on his pillow. He grinned when that got a little giggle out of Bex. “We’ve got people here who can help out,” Connor said. “Jenna’s probably going to tie him down at some point so that’ll make things easy.”

“I know you’re joking,” Jay said. “But I think she actually might.”

“Oh, I’m only like, fifty percent joking about that,” Connor laughed. “But I’m serious about it being fine. We’ll be okay.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” Chris said, raising his hands in surrender. “If you can make sure someone’s always there, I’ll trust you and leave you to it. But—” He pointed a stern finger at Jay, Mouse, and then Bex. “Cindy and I’ll be stopping by regularly. No arguments about that.”

“No arguments,” Bex agreed.

“Alright.” Chris slapped at his knees as he stood. “Let’s break you out of this joint.”

***

Chris

Chris left the room under the excuse of tracking down Bex’s discharge paperwork, but ducked down the first quiet hallway he found. He tried to take a slow and steady breath as he leaned against the wall, but it came out in one harsh exhale.

Christ.

He pressed his palms against his eyes and cursed at himself. Get it together, Herrmann.

Bex was the one who went through a trauma. He had to respect her needs—respect her choices—even if the thought of not being able to keep an eye on her 24/7 until every one of those horrific bruises faded away made him feel like his heart was being ripped out of his chest.

He rubbed at his face, swiping away any evidence of tears. He could be okay with this because this was Jay and Mouse they were talking about. They were probably going to be even bigger…what was it Bex and Jay always say?

Mama chickens.

Chris chuckled to himself as he straightened up, shaking his head.

Right. Jay and Mouse were going to be huge mama chickens about this and he and Cindy could check in as often as they needed.

Which he would be doing with that key that Bex gave him when she first moved it.

So there.

His brain settled as numerous plans for check-ins and meal drop-offs began to form. Maybe he could talk Cindy into making a spreadsheet or something. Chris nodded. Yeah, they could make this work.

But first, the promised discharge papers.

He set off with renewed purpose, ready to get the ball rolling on his promise to spring Bex.

***

Bex

Jay left shortly after Chris, saying something about packing up enough stuff to stay at Bex’s for awhile and promising to stop by Mouse’s place to grab some things for him as well.

She waved him off and settled back against her pillows, trying not to wince as she was well aware of the two sets of eyes still on her.

“Hey.” Mouse pulled up a chair and sat beside her. “Are you okay with this plan?” he asked quietly. “We kind of steamrollered you there.”

“No, it’s good,” she said. “I just—I can’t be at Chris and Cindy’s, but Chris is right. I probably shouldn’t be alone. If you and Jay don’t mind—”

“Not even a little bit.” Mouse jumped right in with that. He reached out to squeeze the fingers the were poking out of her cast. “I’m glad, uh, you—thank you for letting us. For letting us help.”

“Will, no—” Connor’s voice cut through their moment. “Let me get your cup. You are ridiculous. Don’t make those eyes.”

Bex met Mouse’s eyes and they both barely managed to push back their giggles.

“Hey,” Mouse whispered, leaning in. “Can I sign your cast?” He pulled a black Sharpie out of his pocket and waggled it at her.

“Where'd you get that?”

He grinned. “I have my ways.”

“Okay, keep your secrets.” Bex stretched her arm out along the bed. “Have at it.”

She closed her eyes, listening to him hum softly as the marker scratched over her hard cast. They’d finally put it on last night after another round of being poked and prodded and scanned. They weren’t worried about her internal bleeding anymore—yay—but her concussion symptoms were rearing their ugly head.

Chris and Cindy had picked up a pile of delicious food and she hadn’t been able to eat any of it. Her stomach was off. Everything tasted weird and gross. Jay even went and grabbed her more French fries, but she couldn’t even make it through one bite.

It was like, everything from Friday to Sunday felt so unreal and now reality was creeping back in, sharpening everything up, and Bex was completely weighed down.

By pain and exhaustion and all of the medication and now freaking nausea. She couldn’t wait to go home to her own bed and, well, probably continue to have crap sleeps, but at least it would be quieter and comfier there.

“There.” She opened her eyes to see Mouse capping the marker and gesturing at her cast with a proud flourish. On the inside of her wrist was a doodle of a tiny mouse.

“I love it,” Bex said and he quirked his little grin at her.

“Okay, campers,” Chris said, charging back into the room. “It’s go time.”

“Finally,” Will sighed and both Chris and Connor were on him in a flash.

“Not you,” Chris said, shaking his head.

“If you move from that bed,” Connor began. “I swear—”

“Jeez, can’t a guy make a joke?” Will help up his hands.

“Probably would have landed better two stitches ago,” Mouse said.

“Now that,” Chris grinned, pointing at Mouse. “That’s a joke.”

“You guys are jerks,” Will grumbled. “Bex, remember me when you’re on the outside.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute when you pout,” Connor said. He leaned in to kiss Will’s forehead, giving him another on the lips when he tilted his face up for more. “Now cut it out.”

Will didn’t stop pouting, but at least he stayed in bed while Mouse and Chris helped Bex out of hers. Cindy had already helped her get cleaned up and dressed earlier that morning. She was definitely going to have to figure out some kind of system for that once she got home.

Moving slowly, because wow walking didn’t feel that great, she made her way over to Will and gave him a careful hug goodbye.

“I’ll see you soon,” she promised. If he could manage to keep himself out of trouble, he should be out in a few more days. Then they could all be at home together.

She was in the middle of hugging Connor when Jenna showed up at the door with a wheelchair. “Hospital policy,” Jenna said cheerfully. “We take you right to the door.”

Mouse and Chris hovered as she carefully got into the chair, giving her a flash of what the next week or two was going to be like. She might as well put the hovering to good use.

“Chris.” Bex reached out to touch his arm before he could move around and start pushing the wheelchair. “I want to make to see her before we go. Please.”

Every single person around her got a pinched look on their face at that request and she knew, okay? She knew that Emery was in bad shape and seeing her was going to be hard, but there was no way she was leaving her before doing that.

She needed Emery to hear her voice. To know they were both still here.

And that she had to keep it that way.

“Okay,” Chris sighed. “Hold on tight. Herrmann Express is leaving the station.”

He looked down at her expectantly.

“Yeah, I’m not—”

“Choo choo,” Mouse offered helpfully.

“Good enough for me,” Chris said as he wheeled them out of the room.

***

Mouse

Watching Bex sit beside Emery’s bedside, holding her friend’s limp hand as she talked to her—it was…rough. Mouse couldn’t stop thinking about how that could have been Bex too.

Or worse, that Bex might not have even made it to the hospital.

But she did make it, he reminded himself. And she was hurt, but she was going to be better and he and Jay would be there every step of the way.

“Her stats are better,” a voice popped up beside him. He looked over to see Kira, Bex and Emery’s friend standing between him and Chris. She’d given up her seat when they’d arrived so Bex could have a visit, claiming it was a good time for a coffee run.

“Emery’s stats,” she clarified, sipping at her to go cup. “They’re not great, but they’re better so…that’s something.”

“Have they said anything about when they’ll start bringing her off the sedation?” Chris asked.

“Maybe in the next day or two,” Kira said. “I’ll keep you guys posted.”

“Appreciated.” Chris wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. They kept watch for a while longer, clocking when Bex started to flag and starting the slow process of actually getting her to leave.

Eventually, they managed to get her out of the hospital and into Mouse’s car. There was no way they would have been able to get her into Jay’s truck which was he drew the ‘go pack up their shit’ short straw.

After Chris had triple-checked that Bex was safely buckled in, he finally stepped back and shut the car door. He gave Mouse a measured look. “Take care of her,” he said.

“Every minute,” Mouse promised.

“I’ll be stopping by too so no funny business or walking around in your underoos or anything like that,” Chris said, jumping when Bex banged on the car window, scowling up at him. “Ooh, I did not think she could hear me. Okay, okay, I’m going.” He blew a quick kiss at Bex before quickly jogging off to the van. “Be seeing you!”

Mouse waved him off and got into the driver’s seat, ignoring the grumbling coming from the passenger side. “Let’s get you home.”

Bex let out a quiet sigh at that. “Please.”

The drive was surprisingly quiet. They were in that after-commute window and it seemed like a light day for construction. Mouse kept the radio off, mindful of Bex’s headaches, and focused on getting them there. Bex didn’t make a peep for the longest time. When he glanced over at the next red light, she was slumped against the back of the seat, totally passed out.

He was tempted to just keep driving and let her sleep for as long as she could, but she had to have some kind of internal radar because as soon as they got close to her street, she started to stir.

“We almost there?”

“Almost,” Mouse said, turning down her road and pulling into the parking lot. “Hang on, I’ll help you out.” He got out and dashed around to her side of the car. Working too quickly for her to argue about it, Mouse opened the door and undid her seatbelt. He carefully helped her out of the car, cataloguing every wince she tried to hide. Getting her upstairs was going to be a battle.

“Bex,” Mouse said, trying to figure out how to broach the subject as best he could. “I think, uh, don’t get mad, okay?”

“What?” She frowned faintly at him, swaying a bit before leaning against the car.

Crap. He did some quick math in his head. She was definitely due for another round of pain pills too. He really needed to get her upstairs. “Will you let me carry you in?” he asked, biting the bullet and putting it out there. “It’s far and I know—”

“You want to what?” “Uh, carry? You?”

Bex squinted at him and then groaned. “You know what? Go for it.” She raised her good arm and Mouse didn’t wait for her to second guess it before scooping her up gently into his arms.

“This okay?” She’d winced again when he’d picked her up, but she settled, wrapped her good arm around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah,” she said. “Hurts, but not as bad as walking did.”

Jay chose that moment to pull into the lot, doing a double take as he drove past them. He parked quickly and jogged over to meet them at the front door. “Everything okay?”

“Just getting Bex upstairs,” Mouse said. “Figured we could come down for everything else later.”

Understanding crossed Jay’s face as he checked his own watch, realizing where they were in the schedule. “Good idea.” He went ahead, getting the doors and managing the elevator, then opening the apartment door.

The place was a little musty after not having anyone around for the last couple of days, but Jay turned the air on and it started to clear up quickly.

Mouse set Bex down and she already seemed more relaxed by being in her own space.

“You hungry?” he asked and she made a face. “Bex, you need to eat.”

“I know, but everything tastes awful and I feel so pukey—” She stopped when she looked up and met his eyes, sighing at whatever she’d seen in them. “I’m sorry, I know I need to eat.”

He didn’t want to guilt trip her, but she really did need to eat, especially with the kind of meds she was one. “Maybe a bit of toast now? And we could try soup later?”

Between the two of them, they managed to gently bully her through a piece of toast, taking her medicine, and into trying for a nap. After getting her tucked into bed, Mouse closed the door to her room, leaning against it with a sigh. Jay was waiting for him in the hall.

“She asleep?”

“Not yet,” Mouse said. “But close.”

They stood there in silence for a moment.

“Think we can do this without fucking up?” Jay asked.

“Gonna try.” Mouse pushed away from the door and headed toward the kitchen because that was it. He was gonna try. No matter what. “You have any idea how to make real soup?” he asked Jay over his shoulder.

“No, but that’s what Google’s for, yeah?”

Mouse laughed, smiling as Jay hip-checked past him into the kitchen and started rooting around the cupboards.

Okay. Plan of attack.

Figure out how to make soup. Bring their stuff up. Make soup. Feed the soup to Bex.

It was a start, at least.

“Hey, do you think this carrot is salvageable?”

Right, soup.

***

Bex

A quiet knock on her door was the only warning she got before Jay poked his head in. “Hey,” he whispered. “Ready to get up?”

“Not really,” she grumbled, keeping her eyes closed.

“So, does that mean you don’t want to go see Emery and Will?”

He laughed when she shot up out of bed. “I’m up, I’m up,” she said. “Give me two minutes to change.” He left her to it and she changed into fresh clothes in record time. She grabbed the door handle, pulling it open and stepped out—

Into the hallway of the hospital. The ICU floor. “Jay?” she called out, but there was no answer. The only sound was a flat whine coming from one of the rooms.

A sound she was way too familiar with.

One that made her stomach fill with dread and panic and—

She found herself moving toward the noise, pulled toward a doorway, into a room.

“No,” Bex whispered.

Will and Emery, lying side by side in twin hospital beds, motionless as the monitor screamed out the flatline behind them.

“NO!”

“You did this.” Connor stepped toward her from the side of the room. “You were too slow. Too weak. You didn’t save them.”

“I tried—”

“You let them die,” Connor snapped out at her. He looked down at his own chest where growing patches of red were forming, blood starting to run down it in little rivers. “This is your fault.”

“Connor!” She screamed as he fell to his knees, eyes staring out at nothing. “No. No, no, no! Help!” Bex turned back out to the hall, searching for someone, anyone. She spotted someone lying on the floor a few feet away.

It looked like—

No.

Bex ran, falling to her knees beside him and carefully turning him over. Chris flopped back, dried blood crinkling the side of his shirt. His lips were blue. Eyes as empty as Connor’s.

And Will’s.

And Emery’s.

“I need HELP!” Bex yelled into the empty hallway. “Please. Someone, please help!”

“It’s too late, Bex.”

She whirled around to see Mouse falling to his knees as blood poured out of his mouth.

“There’s no one left to help,” he gasped before collapsing to the floor. Behind him, the hallway was filled with bodies.

Jay. Cindy. Uncle Bo. Uncle Mouch. Trudy. Matt. Gabby. Shay. Kelly. Kevin. Adam. Kim. Sylvie. Otis. Joe. Kira. Malia. Sam. Everyone.

All of them.

Every single person she loved.

Dead.

“This is your fault,” Ty said, slamming a knife into her chest and pinning her to the wall.

Bex woke up with a gasp, doubling over as pain throbbed through her at the sudden movement. She couldn’t—where was—they were all—

No.

She took a shaky breath.

Then another.

Slow.

Waiting out the panic.

It was a dream. It wasn’t real. They were all alive.

It wasn’t real.

Bex carefully let herself lie back against her pillows and ran her good hand over her cheeks, wiping away the tears. “It wasn’t real,” she reminded herself.

A knock on her door had her jolting again. Heart pounding.

“Bex?” Jay called before he cracked the door open. “You awake?”

“Um, yeah,” she croaked out. “Just now.”

He poked his head inside, peering at her. “You okay?”

She took in the sight of him, alive and okay, but with massive bags under his eyes and concerned lines etching across his face. Stress and exhaustion seeping out of his bones.

This is your fault.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m fine.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Sure about that?”

“Yes,” Bex said firmly, willing away her headache and sore ribs for long enough to flash him a convincing smile. “I’m okay…and I believe I was promised soup?”

He grinned back and started in on what had apparently been an epic soup-making adventure with Mouse. Bex let his words wash over her, pushing away the remnants of her nightmare.

See?

Fine.

Click here to read Chapter Two. Click here to read Chapter Three.

Click here to read Fine is a Four-Letter Word on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @iunnowatuwant, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat, @emme-looou,

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 4 months

Text

That Herrmann/Halstead DNA (Chapter Five)

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

A/N: I received my degree from the medical school of Television Drama which means while things might not (*cough* will not *cough*) be accurate, they will be exciting. *jazz hands*

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Two hours later

***

After leaving Lexi with the gang upstairs, Al made his way down to Bex’s room. He rapped softly on the door and entered when he heard the quiet call to come in.

Seeing Bex in that bed was like a punch in the gut. She’d been in rough shape on the scene, but now that she was cleaned up, the marks on her were that much starker. It was only years of being on the job that allowed him to school his face into a semblance of a smile.

“Hey, champ,” he said, stepping over to her. “How you doing?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Bex said, her voice muffled by the oxygen mask as she blinked at him slowly.

Ah. Drugged up to high heaven then. Probably for the best.

“Me and the crew finished up our shifts and brought a bunch of food,” Al said. “Figured everyone would be starving by now.”

Right on cue, Jay’s stomach growled.

“You’re not wrong,” Chris chuckled. He and Cindy were on a little couch off to the side, her feet up on his lap while he massaged them. Jay and Will were sprawled out in two chairs on one side of the bed while Mouse was tucked in close on the other side of it. He was leaning half off his chair, head propped up on one elbow on the bed, his free hand wrapped around Bex’s arm. All of them looked exhausted despite the good front they were putting up.

“Well, we got burgers and sandwiches and fries and other good stuff,” Al said. “I can bring some down to you or if you want to go up—”

“You should go up,” Bex said. “Check on everyone for me. Please?”

“I can stay,” Mouse offered. “You guys go ahead and I’ll grab a bite later.”

“Maybe see if there’s any updates while we’re up there?” Chris said quietly and Will nodded.

Al knew they were still waiting to hear about Emery, but considering how badly injured she’d been, he figured no news was good news. No news meant they were still working on her and he could keep hoping.

She was a good kid. He was putting a lot of power into those hopes.

“Jay, Jay,” Bex mumbled at him as he stood and he moved closer, leaning in to hear what she had to say.

“Yeah, Bex?”

“Bring me fries.”

Jay barked out a laugh. “You want fries?”

“Yes.” Bex pulled down her mask to nod solemnly at him. “Fries will cure me.”

Al had to smother his own laughter as Jay immediately agreed and Will dragged a hand down his face.

“Seriously, guys?” Will groaned.

“No, Will, trust me,” Bex said to him, eyes wide. “It’s medicine.”

“It’s medicine, Will,” Jay repeated, biting his lip trying to maintain a serious face.

“You can have some fries if you keep your mask on until they arrive,” Will said, pointing a stern finger at Bex who immediately started putting it back in place. Mouse reached up to help her get it set, shaking his head as he smiled at her.

“Thank you,” she said, eyes fluttering as sleep started pulling her back under again.

“Alright, come on.” Chris stood up and reached out to help Cindy to her feet. “Let’s get some medicine and regroup.”

“We’re not calling it—okay, fine, yeah, let’s go,” Will said, rolling his eyes with a little chuckle. He held the door as they all filed out into the hallway.

Al waited until they were closer to the elevator to share the rest of his news. “Voight’s on his way back too. He’s got the detective in charge of the case with him and she’s gonna want to interview everyone.”

“Bex isn’t up for it,” Will said immediately. “Not tonight.”

“That’s what we figured, but maybe you? And Hailey?” They’d had a front row seat to things, so to speak, and getting that info while it was fresh in their minds would be important.

“Yeah,” Jay stepped onto the elevator and jabbed a finger at the button. “Might as well get it over with.”

“It’ll help Bex,” Al said quietly as he came to stand beside him. To them it was a clear-cut case of self defense, but put it in the hands of a scum bag lawyer and anything could happen. The more evidence they had on their side, the better.

“I know.” Jay sighed, rubbing at his eyes. “Whatever’s needed, count me in.”

Al clapped him on the shoulder in thanks. In solidarity. Whatever was needed went both ways.

The elevator dinged and they all shuffled off as the doors opened. The lounge where their crew was set up was only a little ways down the hall.

He gave Lexi a smooch on the head, checking in with her as he went by, but she seemed okay enough with Bex’s friends. She gave him a tiny head shake to let him know they hadn’t heard anything yet.

Still hope, he reminded himself.

Al let the others get Jay and his family settled with food. Platt was sitting off in a corner by herself looking like the last thing she wanted was company.

He made his way over.

“You get something to eat?” he asked as he settled into the chair beside her.

“Not hungry,” she said, shaking her head.

“You know the only way to get through a crisis is with a full stomach. I can grab you a sandwich or a muffin—”

“I said I’m not hungry, Al,” she snapped.

He held up his hands, eyebrows raised. “Alright. Let me know if you change your mind.” Al kept his mouth shut, waiting her out, until—

“I just—I keep going over it,” she said, staring hard at the carpet, tearing at the rim of the empty coffee cup in her hands. “Something should have come through, right? It should have hit my desk or been a phone call—something. So, what did I miss? When did I miss it? If we’d known Ty was out even an hour earlier—”

“Hey, hang on.” Al turned in his seat to face her. “This is not on you.”

“But if I missed—”

“You didn’t miss anything,” Al said. He’d put money on it. “This is—you know what it’s like. Agencies like Victim Services, they got no budget and hardly any staff all trying to cover a mountain of cases. Stuff falls through the cracks. We put the blame where it belongs.”

“I’d like to clock that prick myself,” she muttered.

“Get in line,” Al said. That got the tiniest grin out of her. He’d take it. He leaned back in his seat and stretched out his legs. “Still no word, eh?”

Trudy shook her head, sighing.

“Emery, she’s a good kid,” Al said. “She’s been helping Lexi.”

“Oh, yeah?”

He nodded. “Pretty sure Lexi’s boyfriend is on his way to being the same flavour of shitburger as Ty, but Emery kind of took her under her wing and helped her navigate some stuff.” Helped their whole family navigate some stuff. “Lex went with her mom today and grabbed her stuff from that loft place they were staying at. She’s moving back home.”

For the first time in months, Al felt like he could finally breath again.

Thanks to Emery.

“Yeah, she’s a good kid.”

***

Jay

Jay was digging into a burger, filling Sam in on Al’s news, when Julie showed up.

“Oh, food,” she said, collapsing into the chair on Sam’s other side and swiping a few of his fries. “Thank god.”

“You just got off shift?” Sam asked, handing over half of his sandwich to her.

Julie nodded, humming around her mouthful. “They finally sent someone to take over watch duty,” she said, grimacing. “Really glad to not be around that asshole anymore.”

“Hey!”

They all looked up to see Shay and Brett hurrying into the lounge. Shay bent down to give Julie a kiss while Brett detoured over to see Kev. “Any news?” Shay asked them.

“Nothing yet,” Jay said.

She sighed, pulling out her phone to check the time. “We dropped someone off downstairs and the Chief gave us permission to swing by and see how things were going, but we can’t stay long. We’ve got like, five minutes so talk fast. How’s Bex?”

“In and out.” Jay poked at his fries, making a mental note to swing by the caf for some fresh ones before he went back to her room. “They’ve got her on a lot of pain meds. Tomorrow’ll be worse.” He’d been in Bex’s place before and she did not have a fun road ahead.

“We’ll say hi before we go,” Shay said, munching on a fry she’d stolen from Sam. Jay shot him a commiserating look and shook some of his own onto the poor guy’s plate.

Shay stood up abruptly and Jay noticed everyone else starting to do the same, all of them going quiet. He looked around only to scramble out of his own chair to join Will.

Connor and Dr. Latham were walking down the hall, headed their way.

They both looked exhausted as hell, but beyond that, Jay couldn’t get a sense of whether or not they were coming to give them good news or bad.

Jay took a shaky breath and braced himself for the worst.

***

Will

Will searched Connor’s face as he approached, looking for some kind of clue for how things went, but Connor wouldn’t even meet his eyes.

Maybe that was enough of a clue right there.

Will’s stomach sank.

Fuck.

This—this wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. How was he supposed to go down and tell Bex that…that her friend was dead.

Will honestly didn’t know if he could.

He looked back at Connor wishing he could wrap him up in the hug they both desperately needed when he realized—Connor wasn’t avoiding his eyes. He was searching the crowd.

Looking for Bex.

Will caught the flicker of alarm the passed over his face when he realized she wasn’t there. Then he sought out Will, brows pulled together in a frown.

‘Long story’, Will mouthed at him. ‘Later.’

Connor frowned even further, but nodded…and gave Will the tiniest of grins.

Oh.

His brain had barely wrapped around the emotional one-eighty it was going through when Dr. Latham cleared his throat.

“Family of Emery Hughes?”

“Here,” Kira said, voice thick with anxiety as she pushed to the front of the group. “It’s, uh, all of us. We’re her family. Is she—is Emery okay?”

“Ms. Hughes successfully made it through surgery,” Dr. Latham said, pausing while the wave of excitement and relief passed through their little group. “Her injuries and the amount of blood lost were quite severe though and she coded a number of times during her procedure. The next forty-eight hours will be crucial. We’ll be keeping a close eye on her.”

“Are we allowed to see her?” Malia asked.

“Not yet,” Dr. Latham said. “She has some post-op procedures to go through and then she’ll be moved to the ICU. Visitors will be allowed there on a limited basis. Dr. Rhodes can answer any further questions. Thank you.” He nodded at them all before walking away.

There was a moment of calm while everyone took that in and then they all converged on Connor, asking question after question which he answered as best he could. The problem was, in a situation like this, most of the answers were ‘we don’t know’ and ‘we’ll have to wait and see.’

After getting what details they could, it devolved into variations on the same questions which was helping no one.

“Okay, back up, back up,” Will said, wading in to give Connor some space. “We know all we can so far. Sit tight, make sure you get something to eat, and someone will be by to let us know when Emery can have visitors. I’ve got to fill Connor in on…everything else so just…give us a moment. Please.”

Kira and Malia darted in to give Connor hugs and whispered thanks, but then joined the rest of them in taking a seat. Chris and Cindy gave him hugs next. “Make sure you get something to eat too,” Cindy said to him before following Chris back to their spot by Trudy and Al.

He looked over at Will, more than a bit bewildered. “Fill me in on what? Where’s Bex? What happened?”

“Come over here.” Will grabbed his hand and took him over to a quieter corner of the lounge. Jay followed. Between the two of them, they managed to relay the full story of what had gone down leaving Connor even paler than before.

“So, uh, she’s been admitted?” Connor asked, closing his eyes briefly as he rubbed at his forehead. “But she’s okay?”

“She will be.” Will scooched closer to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

“You want to go down and see for yourself?” Jay asked as he stood up.

“Yes,” Connor said, voice cracking. He pressed his face into his hands. “Oh, my god, this day.”

“We’ll go in a bit,” Will whispered to Jay who nodded and backed away. “Hey.” Will leaned in to rest his head against Connor’s. “Let’s go somewhere private?”

Connor nodded and together they ducked down the hall into the thankfully empty nurses’ lounge.

As soon as the door was shut behind him, Connor was pacing the room. “We almost lost her so many times,” he said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “At one point, I thought—I thought we wouldn’t get her back. Latham tried to kick me out and I fought him every time. Hard. Pretty sure I’m getting written up for that, but I couldn’t leave her—I couldn’t—” He stopped suddenly and turned to Will, tears filling his eyes. “I told him she wasn’t family, Will, I said—”

“It was the only way he would’ve let you in there,” Will said, fully understanding Connor’s angst over that. They might not be related by blood, but over the past few months, he and Connor and Bex and Emery had become their own weird little family unit. “You did what you had to, Con. You saved her.”

The tears finally fell then as Connor face-planted into Will’s neck, wrapping his arms around him and Will hugged him back tight.

They stood there like that for a long while as Will let himself have a good cry of his own.

They weren’t okay. Not yet.

But they would be.

***

Connor

Connor pulled away eventually, wiping at his cheeks as he sniffled. “I can’t believe I missed everything with Bex too,” he said. “You said she’s got a pulmonary contusion? How often are they checking her stats? Is the bleed—”

“Babe.” Will took his hands and gave them a squeeze. “We’ve been on top of it, don’t worry. She’s been checked multiple times and Dr. Fahir is keeping a close eye on her.”

Right. They would’ve had to hand her off from the ED staff. Part of Connor hated that they couldn’t be the ones looking after her, but he’d crossed paths with Dr. Fahir a few times and she was excellent. At least Bex was in good hands.

And they could still check in on her.

“Let’s go see her,” he said, swooping in for one more hug from Will. “We can let her know about Emery.”

“It’ll be a big weight off of her mind.” Will held him close, giving him a quick kiss before releasing him. “She asks if there’s any news every time she wakes up.”

They headed back out to the lounge to let everyone know where they were going and Jay hopped up to come with them.

“I want to make sure Mouse goes and gets something to eat,” he said on the way to the elevator. “You guys should too after you’ve seen Bex.”

“What is it you and Bex say?” Will said, waving a hand as he searched for the words. “Okay, Mama Chicken.” He laughed while Jay rolled his eyes.

“Bex is too drugged up to boss anyone around so someone has to do it,” Jay said.

“Too drugged up to boss anyone around?” Will smirked at him. “I seem to recall a demand for fries earlier…”

“Ah, crap.” Jay reached over and hit the button for the caf floor. “Forgot about that.”

“It’s Bex’s medicine,” Will told Connor, managing to hold a serious face for about two seconds before his lips started to twitch.

Connor laughed, leaning into his side. Oh, she was definitely drugged up. An under-the-influence Bex was a snacky Bex.

They got off on Bex’s floor, leaving Jay to his fry mission, and headed for her room. Will knocked quietly before letting them in.

Bex was sleeping and Connor—he was grateful for that. He needed a minute to get himself together. Will and Jay had both been clear about her injuries and he’d seen Emery for himself, but the double whammy of seeing Bex right after all of that…it was a bit overwhelming.

He grabbed Will’s hand, squeezing it as they came over to the bed.

“The doc came by while you guys were away,” Mouse said quietly. “She said Bex’s stats looked pretty good and said she could ditch the mask for this tube-y thing.” He gestured at the nasal cannula.

“That’s good,” Will said. He shot Connor a little smile. “She kept taking it off to talk anyway.”

“Any, uh, any news about Emery?” Mouse asked. “Bex was asking again.”

“Yeah, actually.” Connor grinned at him, happy to be able to share some good news after what they’d all been through. “She’s in recovery right now. Still going to be touch and go for awhile, but I’m hopeful.”

“Wha’s going on?” Bex blinked at them groggily. Her eyes landed on Connor and they widened as she focused on him. “Connor! What’s happening? How’s—ah!” She clutched her side, groaning from the pain of trying to sit up. Mouse beat him and Will to it as he helped ease her back onto her pillow.

Will made space for Connor to move up on the other side of the bed and get closer to her.

“Emery made it through surgery,” Connor told her, getting right to the point so she’d hopefully relax a little bit.

“She did?” Bex asked, voice shaky. She reached out with a bandaged hand to clutch at his. “She’s okay?”

“We need to keep an eye on her,” Connor said. He didn’t want to lie in case things took a turn. He was hoping for the best, but he was also well aware of the risks. “She lost a fair amount of blood, Bex, and the knife hit her lungs and intestine and almost hit her heart. We had to do a lot of repairs. We’ll be watching for infection, further bleeding—the next couple of days will be critical and we’ll be keeping her sedated so she can heal.”

“Oh, god.” Bex’s head fell back against the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “So, she’s—she’s not okay—”

“She’s alive,” Connor said firmly. “We’re doing everything we can to keep her that way and I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but we’re pretty determined around here.”

That got a weak laugh out of her.

Connor gently squeezed her hand. “I’ll be with her as much as I can,” he said. “You focus on resting and getting yourself healed up.”

“Okay.” Bex sniffed. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to heal without fries though.”

“Jay is literally getting them as we speak,” Will exclaimed. “Despite my better judgement, I might add.”

Bex beamed at him before turning back to Connor. “Thank you,” she said, smile still a bit wet. “For saving her. I don’t know what I’d do—I just—” She sighed as she held out her arms. “I just really need a hug now please.”

“Good because I do too.” Connor leaned in for the most careful hug he could possibly give her. “Love you, Bex,” he whispered in her ear.

“Love you too,” she whispered back.

“Knock, knock,” Jay called out as he popped his head through the door.

“Fries!” Bex cheered.

Connor released Bex and cleared out of the way for the treasured snack. “She’s in better spirits than I thought she’d be,” he murmured to Will who raised an eyebrow at him.

“Pretty sure the pain meds and the shock are holding back the worst of it,” Will said quietly. “I think it’s going to hit her hard sooner rather than later.”

“We’ll help her through it,” Connor said. “In the meantime…”

“We have fries,” Will finished for him with a little grin.

***

Bex

Bex didn’t care what Will said. These fries were making her feel at least thirty percent better.

Jay had managed to convince him and Connor to go and take a break and grab a bite to eat. Now he was working on Mouse.

“I’ll stay right here,” Jay said. “It’s been hours since lunch, man. You need to get something.”

“I recommend the fries,” Bex told him.

“Yes,” Mouse said, lips twitching. “A few times now.” His phone beeped and he pulled it out to check the text, frowning down at the screen.

“Everything okay?” Bex asked, mentally crossing her fingers that it was because they really didn’t need anymore disasters today.

“Yeah, uh, Ed’s here,” Mouse said, sounding more than a little surprised by that. “I texted him to let him know what was going on and I guess he wanted to check on us in person?”

“Aw, that’s nice,” Bex said. She liked Ed. “He’s nice. You should go say thank you.”

“You heard the lady,” Jay said, nodding at the door. “Take a little break, Mouse. We’ll be here when you get back.”

Mouse looked torn, glancing between her and Jay and his phone. “I can just text him,” he began and Bex reached out to pat at his arm.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Jay’s here. You should have snacks. Snacks are good.”

“You make a pretty good case for them.” Mouse smiled down at her, brushing her hair back from her forehead before leaning in to give her a kiss. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Take a proper break,” Bex said, trying to make sure he was listening because this was important.

“I’m listening,” Mouse whispered back. He chuckled a bit and oh, jeez—was she talking her thoughts again? “Yeah,” he said. “It’s okay. I like it.” He gave her one more kiss before straightening up and giving Jay one of those back-slappy bro hugs they did. “I’ll be back soon,” he promised.

Jay plopped down into the empty seat on her right once Mouse left, leaning back with one foot up on the edge of the bed. “How are those fries?” he asked, grinning at her.

“Best fries of my life,” she said, nudging the container along the little table in his direction. “Want some?”

“Nah, I grabbed some food upstairs. Thanks though for offering to share the precious.” His laugh turned into a giant yawn. “Oh, man. ‘scuse me.”

Bex tilted her head and took a good look at him. He was putting on a good show with the jokes and the smiles, but his eyes were red, his shoulders were tight, and he looked about two seconds away from passing out in his chair. “You can take a nap on the couch if you want.”

“Hm?” Jay straightened up, shooting her a look. “A nap? No, no, I’m good. Happy to hang out right here.” His eyes passed over here, pausing on all the marks she was sporting. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said softly.

“You know I’m not going anywhere either,” she blurted out, her filter apparently completely off.

Jay stilled. “I know—”

“I mean, I’m okay—or I’m going to be and you don’t have to worry—”

“Bex.” Jay lowered his foot and sat forward in his chair, catching her gaze in his. “I’m always gonna worry. That’s just how it is.”

A wave of guilt rose up in Bex for what she’d put him through today. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. He opened his mouth and she shook her head before he could argue. “No, just listen,” Bex said. She held out her bandaged hand and he took it carefully, gently squeezing her fingertips. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you today and that you had to hear…everything. I can’t—I’m not sorry for going in because I had to, Jay. I couldn’t leave her alone. I couldn’t—”

“I know,” Jay said quickly. “I get it. I do.”

“I just—I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she said. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“You’re sorry—” Jay’s voice caught and he shook his head. “Bex, you did nothing wrong, okay? You were—oh, my god, you were so brave. You saved Emery’s life. I’m sorry. I tried to get there as fast I could, but I’m sorry you were alone with him for so long—”

“No,” Bex cut him off as forcefully as she could. “You were the reason I could fight back. It was your training—you and Hailey—and knowing that you were coming? That—the whole time, that helped keep me going. So, thank you.”

Jay let out a shaky breath and swiped at the tears streaming down his face. “Scared the shit out of me, you know that?”

Bex nodded, tugging on his hand. “C’mere. Hug time.”

He moved in for one, mindful of her injuries, and gave her a little squeeze.

“You know I love you, right?” she whispered.

“Always,” he said. “I love you, too.”

“Don’t tell Will,” Bex said as he pulled away. “But I think the hugs might be working better than the fries.”

“How about both,” Jay laughed as he fell back into his seat. “Both sounds good to me.”

“Jay Halstead.” Bex fished out a fry and saluted him with it. “Certified genius.”

He snatched one up for himself and popped it in his mouth. “Hey.” His eyebrows flew up. “Those are good.” He reached for another one and Bex tried to bat his hand away.

“Noooo, not my medicine.”

***

Jay

“Who in their right mind left the two of you alone in here?” Chris called out over their laughter as he and Cindy came into the room.

“Ooooh,” Bex clutched at her side, heaving a breath. “People need to stop making me laugh.”

Crap. Jay instantly sobered, checking the numbers on her monitor like he knew what the hell he was even looking for. “Are you okay? Should I call someone?”

“I’m fine.” Bex waved him back into his seat. “I’m just sore. And I’d also probably be better if someone stopped stealing my fries.”

“Doctor’s orders were to rest, missy,” Cindy said sternly as she came over to press a kiss onto Bex’s forehead. “I’m heading home to tuck in the kids and grab some sleep, but I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

“Okay,” Bex said. “Thank you for being here.”

“Oh, sweetheart, of course.” Cindy shot a look at Jay and Chris. “Take good care of her while I’m gone.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jay nodded.

Chris and Cindy gave them both hugs; Chris promising to be back after he walked Cindy out to the van. Jay was barely settled back in his chair when Will entered.

“That was a fast meal,” Jay said.

Will shrugged. “Connor wanted to get back up to check on Emery and make sure her post-op is going well. And I wanted to get back to Bex.”

“Awwwwww,” Bex said around a mouthful of fry.

“No idea why,” Will rolled his eyes with a laugh.

Jay’s phone pinged and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Well, you have good timing,” he said as he scanned the message. “Voight’s here with the detective working the case. She wants to talk to us.”

“Me?” Bex asked quietly.

“No, not yet,” Jay said, quick to reassure her. “Your interview can wait a day or two and you’ll have someone with you for it, don’t worry.”

“Go on and see what she has to say,” Will said to him. “I’m good to hang out here.”

Jay couldn’t lie; he wanted to hear what this detective had planned. “If you’re okay with it—”

“Go.” Bex shooed at him. “We’re fine.”

“Okay, okay.” He gave them both hugs and headed for the door, calling over his shoulder. “Let Mouse know when he gets back!”

Voight had taken over a conference room the next floor up so Jay took the stairs, not having the patience to wait for the elevator. Everyone was already gathered there along with a few people he didn’t recognize.

“Jay, c’mere a sec,” Voight waved him over. “This is Detective Medeiros. She’s handling the case.” A dark-haired woman with kind eyes standing beside him offered a hand to Jay.

“Nice to meet you,” Jay said as he shook it.

“Likewise.” She took a step back to look around the room. “Now that we’re all here, let’s get started.” Detective Medeiros made her way to the front of the group. “First of all, I want to thank the Intelligence Unit for your fast response and for securing the scene. Excellent work all around.”

There were a few solemn nods, but Jay knew they were all dealing with the same lingering feelings he was. Fast, but not fast enough.

“My team and I will be meeting with everyone for interviews,” she continued. “The name of the game here is thoroughness so be prepared for that.” A gritty smile spread across her face. “We’re going to nail this bastard to the wall.”

Jay straightened up from where he’d been leaning against the wall, a matching smile forming on his own face.

Welcome to the team, Detective Medeiros.

***

Sam

The nurse led them over to the ICU and showed them Emery’s room. Kira and Sam had been elected first visitors by their group and Sam was both grateful and terrified.

He wanted to see her. Wanted to be able to reassure himself that she was still here, but—

The way she’d looked the last time he’d seen her.

Feeling her ribs crack under his hands as he tried to force life back into her.

He wasn’t sure if he could if he could see her right know, knowing he’d been a part of the damage she faced.

Kira grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze and giving him no choice as she pulled him forward.

“Come on,” she whispered. “We need to let her know we’re here. Tell her she’s not alone.”

Sam nodded, managing to force his feet to follow Kira into the room because no matter what he was feeling, the last thing he wanted Emery to feel ever again was alone.

***

Will

Will settled into the chair beside Bex, chuckling at the dopey smile she gave him. “What?”

“You’re a good brother,” she said.

Maybe now.

Not always.

“Stop that,” she said. “Stop with the face. And the thinking.” She frowned at him. “You’re awesome. And you help me. And I love you.”

“You’re awesome too,” Will said, reaching out to give her arm a little squeeze. “And you help me.” His throat started to get tight. “And I love you, too.”

He still couldn’t believe they’d almost lost her today.

He didn’t even want to imagine what that would have been like—couldn’t begin to wrap his brain around it.

“Well, that’s good then,” Bex said. “I like that.”

“Me too, Bex.”

They sat quietly like that for a few minutes, Will holding on to her arm, letting himself be sure of the fact that she was there when Bex piped up again.

“Will?”

His lips twitched. He knew that tone. “Yeah, Bex?”

“Will you get me some water? My medicine made me thirsty.”

“Oh, really?” Will laughed. “Your ‘medicine’ made you thirsty. What a shock.”

“Willllllllll.”

“I’m going!” He stood up and grabbed the pitcher from beside her bed. “I’ll even get you some ice from the nurses’ lounge since you like it cold.”

“Yes,” Bex cheered. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Will was pretty sure he was going to be doing anything to put a smile on her face for the foreseeable future.

He was just grateful she was still here to smile at him.

***

Voight

Detective Medeiros had stepped away to take a call, but her raised voice caught his attention.

“Why the hell am I only being told about this now?” she snarled into her phone. “I want additional units sent here—no, you have no way of knowing that. He could already be here. Additional units. Now. We need to cover the entrances and do a sweep. Tell them to report to me as soon as they arrive.”

Voight stepped over to her as she ended the call with a frustrated huff. “Something I should know about?”

Her head snapped up and her lips pressed into a hard line. “Yes, actually,” she said. “You and your people.”

“Twenty-one,” Voight called out, waving them over. “With me.”

Once everyone was gathered, Detective Medeiros took a deep breath before addressing them. “That was the team at Lakeshore,” she said. “Ty Anderson escaped police custody.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Halstead exclaimed. “How—”

“Let her explain and then we’ll figure out a plan,” Voight said, holding up a hand.

“The officer guarding Anderson uncuffed him when he took him to the adjoining washroom,” Detective Medeiros said, ignoring their muttered curses at that bit of news. “Anderson got the jump on him and knocked him out. He stole his uniform, gagged him, and left him cuffed to a support railing. They estimate he’s been in the wind for at least thirty minutes.”

“Fuck,” Halstead muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. “Fuck.”

“Wait,” Burgess said. “Stole his uniform—does that mean—”

“He also has the officer’s gun, yes,” Medeiros confirmed.

What a friggin’ shitshow.

“You got extra units coming?” Voight asked her and Medeiros made a face.

“I’m working on it,” she said. “The Lakeshore team is pressing for units to go to cover the bus and train stations, but I don’t think he’s running away.”

“He wouldn’t,” Upton spoke up. “He’ll be coming here. For Emery.”

“We can’t afford to wait for the extra units,” Medeiros began.

Voight nodded. “Anything you need,” he said. “My team and I are here to help.”

“Let’s start a co-ordinated sweep and I’ll loop in hospital security,” she said.

His team instantly leapt into action, picking up on the plan and piecing out the floors for the sweep. Voight watched them dive in with grim satisfaction.

That asshole Ty wasn’t going to cause anymore damage.

Not if they had any say in it.

***

Mouse

Mouse sat at a table in the cafeteria with Ed, working his way through a BLT and what was probably his eighth cup of coffee of the day. He’d just finished filling Ed in on the details of everything that’d happened and Ed clearly needed a minute to let it all sink in so Mouse was taking the opportunity to eat.

Turned out he was actually pretty starving.

“Christ, Mouse,” Ed finally spoke. He blinked, shaking his head. “That is—wow, man. I’m glad Bex is going to be okay and I—I really hope her friend makes it. That’s some heavy shit.” Ed put his elbows on the table and leaned in. “How are you?”

That was a loaded question. Mouse slowly chewed his last bite as he thought it over.

“Still freaking out a bit,” he said, trying to be honest. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared. And I—”

“You what,” Ed prompted him.

“I feel stupid,” Mouse confessed.

Ed frowned at him. “Why?”

“I know you guys said all of that stuff about how anything could happen to anyone, but I—I really never thought we’d be here…like this,” he said. “I always thought if anyone would be hurt, it was going to be me somehow. Me putting Bex through that. And now—not that I think Bex is putting me through this, you know—none of this is her fault—I just, I never really thought through being on this side of things and I-I don’t want to screw it up. I want to be there for her and help her and help her through this, but what if I make it worse or—”

“Mouse,” Ed interrupted him. “You’re not going to screw it up, bud. You’re already doing the most important thing. You’re here. That’s what matters most, okay?”

“I hate seeing her hurt,” Mouse said. “Not just in pain, but scared and upset, you know? I wish I could fix it. I know, I know—” He waved off whatever Ed was going to say next. “I know I can’t fix it and I know being here is helping her.” He sighed. “I just—I never want her to hurt.”

“One of the hardest parts of loving someone,” Ed said quietly. “You really are helping her just by being here though. I promise.” He eyed Mouse across the table. “It’s a stressful thing. How are you handling that side of it?”

Meaning, how was his sobriety handling it…

“It’s weird,” Mouse said and Ed gestured for him to go on. “Part of me was also sure something like this would send me spinning back off into, uh, bad habits, you know? But I don’t—the only urge I’m feeling is to be with Bex. Make sure she’s okay.”

“I get that.” Ed nodded. “And I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but make sure you get your breaks in. Eat. Sleep. Don’t burn yourself out. If you guys need anything, we’re all happy to help out too. No question.”

“Bex was declaring what a nice guy you were before I came down here,” Mouse told him with a grin.

“Ah. Finally,” Ed said. “A sign of good taste from her.”

“Ha-ha.” Mouse tossed his napkin at him with a half-hearted throw. They didn’t chat for much longer—Mouse was itching to get back to Bex—and as they were leaving the caf, Ed handed over the tote bag he’d been carrying.

“From Lucy,” he explained as Mouse peeked inside. It looked like a bunch of…toiletries? “She thought you and Bex could use some supplies. We weren’t sure how long Bex would be here and you know how grungy you start to feel even after a day. There’s a whole bunch of stuff in there to freshen up or whatever. Socks too because Lucy said it’s always freezing in this place.”

Mouse couldn’t speak for a moment. It was times like this when it hit him how unbelievably lucky he’d been to find these people. “Thank you,” he managed to get out. “I—thank you, Ed. To you and Lucy. All of you.”

“We’re here for you, kid.” Ed patted his back with a gruff nod. “You and Bex.”

They walked out into the hallway and nearly ran into Kim. “Oh, Mouse,” she said, eyes going wide. “I didn’t realize you were down here and not with Bex—”

“What’s going on?” Alarm bells were going off in Mouse’s head. “What’s wrong?”

Kim got halfway through a story about Ty escaping custody and possibly heading their way before Mouse was running for the stairwell, Ed hot on his heels.

A floor away and out of the loop.

Again.

Mouse picked up the pace.

He wasn’t going to let anything stop him from getting to her this time.

***

Bex

The door to her room creaked open and Bex looked up. “Fastest water retrieval ever…” The words died on her lips when it wasn’t Will who came in.

It was Ty.

“What? How—”

“Nice to see you too, Bex,” he said, limping closer to the bed. He grinned ruefully at her. “Maybe not so nice since the last time we saw each other, you gave me this.” He reached up to poke at the bandage on the side of his head and Bex froze.

He had a gun in his hand.

She blinked at him, trying not to move. Now that she looked closer, he was wearing a patrol uniform that clearly didn’t fit him very well. What the hell was going on? How did he get away?

Oh, god, Will was coming back soon. He couldn’t hurt Will.

She had to get rid of him.

“What do you want, Ty?” Bex asked, her voice coming out a thousand times steadier than she felt.

“Emery,” he said, looming over her. “Where is she?”

No, no, no, Bex couldn’t let him anywhere near Emery.

“I—I don’t know—”

“Don’t lie to me, Bex.” Ty reached out, placing a hand where he’d kicked her and slowly pressed down. Hard.

She cried out, but Ty instantly placed his other hand over her mouth. The one holding the gun. Bex flinched back against the cold bite of metal against her lips as Ty shushed her.

“You need to be quiet, sweetheart,” he said, his thumb running through the tears running down her cheek. “We don’t want anyone coming in here and getting in the way.” He pushed at her side again and Bex stifled a scream as she felt something shift. “One more time. Where’s Emery?”

The sharpness of the pain cut through her foggy brain and Bex gathered herself. He was going to have to try and get through her and she’d already shown him she wouldn’t make it easy.

“She’s in the basement,” Bex snapped out. “Go down there and ask for the morgue.”

Ty stared at her before stepping back with a scoff. “Very funny. Try again.”

“Do you see me laughing?” Bex let her eyes fill with more tears which wasn’t hard considering the stabbing pain coming from her side. “You got exactly what you wanted. You killed her.”

Her heart pounded in her chest as Ty stared at her with narrowed eyes. “Interesting,” he said, tilting his head. “I can’t quite tell if this is the truth or if you’re sending me on a wild goose chase. Trying to buy yourself some time so your cop brother can swoop in and save the day again?”

“I’m not lying,” Bex whispered. She kept his stare, letting every ounce of hatred she felt for him show through. “You killed her, you fucking asshole.”

His eyes darkened and he grabbed her un-splinted arm, jerking her upright. “Shut up,” Ty growled when she yelped at the sudden movement. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll go on your little field trip, but you’re coming with me. Insurance for when the cops show up.” He dragged her forward and Bex couldn’t stop the cry that slipped out. “Come on. Get the fuck up.”

“What the hell are you doing?” a second voice rang through the room.

Will.

***

Will

Will’s heart pounded as he took in the scene he’d walked in on. Ty, trying to drag Bex out of her bed, with a gun in his hand.

A gun that was now pointed in Will’s direction.

“Walk away, man,” Ty said.

“Just go, Will,” Bex whispered. “Please, please, go.”

“Sorry,” Will said, carefully setting the water jug down on the nearest chair and then raising his hands in the air. “But I don’t think I can do that.”

“Then you’re going to stay right there while Bex and I walk out that door,” Ty snapped out. He had an iron grip on Bex’s arm and kept jerking her forward, trying to get her on her feet. The leads connected to the monitor were getting pulled and her heart rate was going up. Alarms were going to go off any second sending an unsuspecting nurse their way.

“Where exactly are you two headed?” he asked, trying to wrack his brain for the safest way of getting out of this mess.

He wasn’t coming up with many options.

“Bex is going to show me the morgue,” Ty said. “She says that’s where Emery is. That true, Doc?”

Oh, smart, amazing Bex, thinking on her feet. “Yeah, it’s true,” Will said, frowning at Ty. “She didn’t make it through surgery. But…listen…”

Bex wasn’t the only one who could think on her feet.

“Taking Bex with you,” Will said. “That’s not going to get you to the morgue.” He shook his head, pointing at Bex. “You try dragging a patient down the hall like that, you’re going to get stopped before you get to the elevator.”

“So?” Ty gripped Bex closer. “Only need her for a shield anyway.”

“How about a shield and a cover story?” Will gestured to himself. “No one’s going to ask questions about an officer walking down the hall with a doctor. I can get you there.”

He’d figure out the rest on the way.

“Will,” Bex gasped out. “No.”

“You’ll get me down there,” Ty repeated. Slowly. Maybe his head injury was catching up with him. Will could try and use that in his favour.

“I can,” Will agreed. “On one condition; you don’t hurt Bex.”

Ty thought it over for a few seconds before he released Bex’s arm and shoved her back on the bed. “Deal,” he said. Will didn’t even get to breathe a sigh of relief before Ty was swinging his arm out and bringing the butt of the gun down over Bex’s head.

She slumped against the pillow, unconscious as a trickle of blood flowed down onto the fabric.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt her,” Will lurched forward.

He was stopped in his tracks by Ty leveling the gun at him and clicking off the safety. “Be happy I didn’t kill her,” he said. “Now move.”

Ty stepped towards him, shoving the gun into Will’s side and propelling him toward the door. Will opened it and they moved out into the hallway.

As he’d predicted, no one gave them a second look.

This time of night, there weren’t too many people around anyway, thank goodness. There was the faint sound of voices coming down the hall and Will picked up the pace. He didn’t want anyone else caught up in whatever was about to happen.

The two of them walked quickly down the hall toward the elevators. It was dinging before Will had a chance to touch the call button and the doors opened up—

To reveal Connor inside.

No, no, no.

He smiled when he saw Will; his greeting falling away as he spotted Ty next. Confusion quickly gave way to anger as Connor recognized him. “You—”

No.

“Enough of this shit,” Ty said, pointing the gun at Connor’s head.

Time slowed down for Will.

No. not him. no. no. no—

His body was moving before his mind could catch up with it and he grabbed Ty’s arm, shoving it down as he threw himself between Connor and the gun.

Hoping, praying he was fast enough.

***

The crack of a gunshot echoed down the hallway.

Click here to read Chapter Six. Click here to read Chapter Seven.

Click here to read That Herrmann/Halstead DNA on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

#a herrmann/halstead production #one chicago #chicago fire #chicago pd #chicago med #rebecca 'bex' herrmann #jay halstead #oc character #will halstead #christopher herrmann #greg “mouse” gerwitz x original female character #greg “mouse” gerwitz #greg gerwitz #whump #hurt/comfort #trauma #whump fic #angst

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 5 months

Text

That Herrmann/Halstead DNA (Chapter Three)

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

A/N: I received my degree from the medical school of Television Drama which means while things might not (*cough* will not *cough*) be accurate, they will be exciting. *jazz hands*

Chapter One Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Jay

“I can’t—” Bex mumbled as her eyes rolled back. Her legs went out from under her and Jay caught her before she hit the ground, gently gathering her into his arms.

He didn’t want to hurt her anymore by moving her, but they needed to check her out and see how bad the damage was. Her skin was so pale she looked—

No. Jay shook his head. He couldn’t let himself even think that word.

Hailey kept close while he carried Bex over to the couch. “Where’s that second ambulance?” she yelled over her shoulder.

Jay carefully set Bex down. “Bex?” He tapped her cheek lightly and her head lolled to the side. “Hey, come on. Come on, sweetie, open your eyes.”

“Ambo’s a minute out,” Voight said, coming up to stand behind them. “How’s she doing?”

“Not responding, but still breathing,” Jay said. He didn’t like the sound of those breaths though.

“Jay, her side’s bleeding.” Hailey pointed at the slice over Bex’s hip that was leaking blood sluggishly onto the couch.

Shit. He tugged up Bex’s tank top a few inches to get a better look at it, but it didn’t seem too deep. If the damn ambulance would finally get here, they could—

Wait.

The edge of a red mark caught his eye. It was peaking out from under Bex’s shirt and he moved the fabric up further to try and figure out exactly what he was seeing.

He couldn’t wrap his brain around it.

Didn’t want to, really, because it—it looked like—

“Jay, what are you…” Hailey’s voice died off as she got a good look at the red mark along Bex’s ribs. One that was going to be a hellish bruise when in finally came up.

One shaped like a shoe print.

He barely heard Voight’s muttered “sonuvabitch” over the rush of blood in his ears.

That bastard.

That fucking bastard.

A groan came from behind the couch as Ty stirred. “What the hell?” he moaned. “Fucking cu—”

“You’re gonna want to shut your mouth right now if you know what’s good for you,” Ruzek snapped out and there was a thump as something knocked Ty back down to the ground.

It wasn’t enough. Jay needed him to hurt. To look in his eyes and be the one to put pain there.

He lightly pulled Bex’s shirt back down, mindful of her wounds, and stroked a thumb over her hand. Taking a breath, Jay went to stand—

Only to be pulled by down by a firm hand at his elbow.

“That’s not what she needs right now,” Hailey said, holding tight when he tried to shake her off. “She needs you here.”

A hot fury was steadily choking its way up his throat and all he could get out was a strangled, “Hailey.”

“No.” She yanked him back down to his knees and he landed with a thud. “Bex is going to wake up any second and need to see your face, Jay,” she said. “I’m not about to tell her you’re locked up in the back of a squad car. Don’t make me do that.”

Jay warred with himself over it. He could pull out of her grasp. Easily. No one else in this room would stop him from dealing with Ty. There’d be consequences—or more likely some kind of price, knowing Voight, but he’d gladly pay it a hundred times over.

Then Bex made a pained noise.

Tiny and soft, but it was enough to cut through the screaming racket in his brain. What the hell was he doing? Closing his eyes briefly, Jay sighed and then looked over at Hailey. She searched his eyes for a moment before nodding as she let go of his arm, apparently satisfied by what she saw.

He’d just leaned over Bex, ready to try and wake her again when the piercing wail of an ambulance filled the doorway. Finally. Jay moved back and gave the paramedics room to work as they clattered into the room.

Something eased inside of Jay when they attached the monitor to Bex and it beeped strong and loud with her steady heartbeat.

Everything was a whirlwind after that. They had Bex up on the gurney and were whisking her off toward the ambulance as the next team was coming in to load up Ty.

Voight shouted instructions for them to take him to Lakeshore instead of Med; sending Tay and another patrol officer along with him. Good. He shouldn’t be anywhere near Bex and Emery.

“Someone call Chris,” Jay shouted over his shoulder as he followed Bex’s gurney out of the house. He kept a hand on her leg and hopped up into the ambo to sit beside her.

She started blinking her eyes as they took off. “Wha—”

“Hey,” Jay said, instantly sliding up the bench seat so she could see him. “It’s okay. I’m here, Bex. It’s Jay. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

***

Kim

On her third call to Herrmann, it was still going straight to voicemail. Part of Kim was relieved. She really didn’t want to be the one to break this news to him.

“I think his phone is off,” she told Voight. “Maybe they’re on a call?”

A muscle in his jaw ticked as he looked over the scene, weighing their next steps most likely.

“Call the station,” he said. “At least find out where he is and we’ll go there if we have to.”

***

Will

“Hey, you.”

Will looked up from his charts and grinned over at Connor. “Hey, yourself.”

Connor stood beside him, leaning up against the nurses’ station. “So, I was thinking about tonight—”

“Right, I meant to ask you,” Will said, chewing on his lip at he tapped away on his tablet. “Are you sure it’s okay for Kol to come? He gets barky sometimes and I don’t want you getting in trouble with your neighbours.” He peeked over at Connor. “We can leave him at my place. Bex’ll be there after her date.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Connor said quickly.

Too quickly. Will side-eyed him.

“It’ll be fun!” Connor smiled brightly and the pieces started to slowly fall into place.

“Hang on,” Will turned, squinting at his overly-innocent looking boyfriend. “Did Bex put you up to this?”

Connor had a pretty good poker face, but Will also knew his face. Knew every little quirk and tic and that tiny twitch of his right eye had Will gasping.

“She did!” Another, brand new and horrible thought occurred to him. “Am I being sexiled?”

“N-no.”

Will gave Connor and his eye twitch a flat look.

“Okay, she did ask me about clearing out,” Connor confessed. “But that was after I’d already made the plan with you. I just thought it would be nice to give them some space, you know?”

Will looked into those beautiful blue eyes and marvelled at how they weren’t shit brown for how full of it Connor was. “Wow,” he said. “I can’t believe this.” Will shook his head. “I know what this is really about, you know.”

Connor tilted his head curiously at him and Will held up a finger to ward off his sexy adorableness. He had a point to make and he would not be swayed.

“You want to be number one,” Will said, feeling more than a little triumphant at having sussed Connor out. “You facilitated a sexilation to make yourself the favourite. Shameless. That’s your name. Dr. Shameless McUnderpants.

Despite the blush colouring his cheeks, Connor held his head up high. “Shameless is my middle name, thank you very much,” he sniffed.

“I’m gonna order you new scrubs.” Will scrawled out the words in the air. “Dr. Handsome Shameless McBeardface hyphen McUnderpants.”

“Make sure you pick a nice, bold font,” Connor said, leaning in with a grin.

Oh, that friggin’ smile.

Will was definitely pulling him into a supply closet later.

A crunching noise broke them out of the little staring contest the two of them had going on and they turned to see Maggie and Doris watching them from the other side of the desk while they shared a snack pack of sandwich cookies.

“Please,” Maggie said, raising her eyebrows at them. “Don’t mind us.”

“No, keep going.” Doris shook her head as she spoke around a mouthful of cookie. “This is fascinating.”

Right.

They were at work.

He shared a look with Connor who had a sheepish smile on his face as he shrugged back.

“What did I miss?” April asked as she joined their group, eyeing the four of them. “Oh, are they doing that thing again? No gratuitous flirting in the workplace, boys.”

“Okay, but wait until you hear Connor’s new nickna—” Maggie groaned when the phone when off and she picked it up. A moment later she was spurring into action, calling out to get Baghdad ready for an incoming with multiple stab wounds.

The doors opened; Shay and Brett flying in with a gurney rolling between them. Will couldn’t make much out beyond the fact that it looked like their patient was a woman.

Shay rattled off the stats to Connor as they wheeled into the treatment room—multiple stab wounds, suspected collapsed lung and internal bleeding, coded en route, but they got her back—and Will noticed the police officer hovering behind them, blood covering his hands.

It was Sam.

Was this his partner—no, wait, she wasn’t wearing a uniform. And she was blonde. Julie was a brunette.

But Shay and Brett still seemed rattled.

Will stepped up to the gurney, leaning in from the other side at the same time as Connor and carefully brushed some of the hair away from her face.

His fingers froze.

“Con—” Will’s voice faltered. His heart did a nauseating turn in his chest when Connor’s gaze whipped up at him and then over to their patient, freezing like Will had.

He met Will’s stare again and Will knew they were seeing the exact same thing swirling in each other’s eyes. Gut-wrenching fear, panic, anger, grief because this was bad, it was so bad, they knew just by looking and—

And then they shut it down.

They closed it off because Emery needed them. Needed them to keep her alive.

They shut it down and got ready to fight like hell.

Three stab wounds; one in her right lung which was now collapsed, one that had nicked her large intestine and one near her heart. Will could tell Connor was especially concerned about that one, but the damage wouldn’t be clear until he had a chance to get in there.

They worked together lightning quick and did their best to stabilize her. She was skirting dangerously close to hypovolemic shock and they needed to get her up to surgery before she crashed again.

“Okay, let’s move,” Connor snapped out. Their team quickly got everything set and began wheeling Emery toward the elevators. Will sent out a little prayer for her to hold on.

Connor met Will’s eyes as he passed him and there was a promise there. One that Will actually had more faith in that any kind of nebulous deity so maybe between Connor and the powers-that-be, Emery could have more than a fighting chance.

Will didn’t want to have to tell Bex today that her friend has passed away.

Bex. No matter what, this was going to break her heart.

He let out a shaky breath. Will had to get in touch with her—and Jay for that matter. He had so many questions. He turned, not entirely surprised to see Shay, Brett, and Sam still standing there and the biggest question that had been on the tip of his tongue let loose. “What the hell happened?”

“Ty,” Sam spit out, clenching his fists as his eyes went dark. “He must’ve been released—”

“Why didn’t anyone tell us?” Will exclaimed. He thought there were things in place. Protections.

“I don’t know, I don’t—” Sam shook his head. “It had to have happened fast because we should have—if we’d known—he tracked her down at her place and he just—” Sam cut himself off, blinking back tears as Shay hugged his arm, stroking a hand down his back.

He had to have been first on scene. Will couldn’t even imagine what that had been like.

“Listen, why don’t you go get cleaned up,” he said gently, pointing out the washrooms. “We can get you set up in a waiting room if you’re able to stick around and—”

“Will,” Shay interrupted him with a shaky voice. “There’s more.” She swallowed hard, clearing her throat. More than seeing the girl who had become like a sister to him come through here barely clinging to life? More than trying to hold her together with his own hands?

“What?” he asked, getting more anxious when Sam and Sylvie couldn’t meet his eyes. “Just tell me.”

His world began to fold in on itself with her next words.

“Bex was there too.”

***

Mouse

For the first time in his life, Mouse wished he was a fucking cop.

He should have been up here—should have heard what was happening and been able to go with them to help Bex. To help her—

His breath caught as panic flooded his veins. Had they got there in time? How badly was she hurt? She must be so scared and he was just standing here—

Useless. Completely useless. He should be there, protecting her.

So fucking useless.

“Mouse.” Platt stood in front of him, saying his name like she’d been saying it for awhile now. “I’ve got a squad waiting,” she said. “I can take you there right now.”

“…to Emery’s?”

Platt nodded. “They only left a few minutes ago. We can catch up.”

He lurched forward and Platt set a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Whoa, just—Bex needs you there in one piece though, okay?”

Right. Mouse shook his head, straightening up. He wanted to help her.

To be what she needed.

Bex’s voice echoed in his brain. ‘I have plenty of protectors, Mouse, and as much as I can appreciate it to a point…I don’t need another one. What I want is a partner.’

A partner.

That’s what she needed him to be.

Mouse waved off Platt’s concern as he took a moment to breathe—to think. What did Bex need right now? Jay and the team were already with her. What else would help?

It hit him with a bolt of sudden clarity.

“Chris,” Mouse blurted out as he turned to Platt. “His-his-his phone! It’s not working. No one will be able to call him, to tell him, so we, uh, we need to go get him. That’s where we should go. Even if—if she’s okay—” please, please let her be okay “—uh, Emery—Emery’s not, right? So, Bex, she’ll need Chris and we should go get him.”

“Yeah, that’s—that’s a good plan,” Trudy nodded, stepping back to put someone else in charge of the desk. She jangled a set of keys at him. “Come on, we’ll get him and meet them at Med.”

Mouse followed her, steeling himself for what they were going to find once they passed through those doors. Whatever had happened, whatever the situation was, he vowed to himself once more—he’d be what she needed.

No matter what.

***

Kelly

Kelly shoved the last of Bex’s donuts in his mouth, giving Casey a jelly-filled grin when gave him a look for it.

“I’m literally about to serve dinner,” Casey sighed, shaking his head.

“I’m starving,” Kelly said after he’d swallowed. “Trust me, I’ve got enough room for both.

It’d been a day of back-to-back calls and Boden had decided to take them offline for a bit so they could grab an early dinner. Sucked to be Shay and Brett though. They’d caught a call right as Boden was making his.

“Hey, make sure you—”

“—put some aside for Shay and Brett,” Casey finished for him, rolling his eyes. “What am I? New?”

“Nah, just old and forgetful,” Kelly said with a laugh as he gathered up the empty donut boxes from the table and got rid of them. And neatly dodged the chunk of carrot Casey tossed at him when he passed by. Hah.

“Nice of Bex to bring by treats like that,” Casey said, raising his eyebrows when Mouch snorted from his spot on the couch.

“You mean the blatant bribe to try and stop anyone from asking about her date?” Mouch leaned back to cast a skeptical look their way. “She shoulda brought pie.”

“Like anything would have been a good enough bribe to stop us from asking about it,” Dawson said, idly flipping through a magazine at the table. “It’s a big deal. We need an on-going scoop.”

“Still bummed we never got to give Mouse the shovel talk,” Kelly said as he plopped down into the seat beside her. Hm. He looked at his watch. Time was running out, but they could make it work. “Hey, Casey, what do you think about taking the rigs over to 21 to get one in before Mouse leaves for the day?”

Casey’s eyes lit up…for about two seconds before Dawson shut her magazine with a snap. “Do you want to die?” she asked. “Because Bex will kill you.”

“Fair,” Casey said with a sigh. “It is a big deal and they’ve been waiting a long time for this. I don’t want to do anything that’ll ruin it.” He cut a look over at Kelly. “Even if it’s be hilarious.”

“Ugh, it would,” Kelly groaned. “What happened to big brother privileges? There are standards to be maintained here.”

Herrmann, Otis, Cruz, Capp, and Tony shuffled into the room at that moment and there was a flurry of activity as everyone got the food dished out.

A few bites in, Kelly caught on to the conversation happening at the other end of the table.

“Man, this is going to bug me for the rest of the shift,” Herrmann grumbled. “Why do I know that address? It’s right there on the edge of my brain?” He tapped the side of his head.

“Why don’t you look it up?” Otis suggested. “Google street view.”

“My phone’s dead, remember?” He jerked his chin at Otis. “You look it up.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Kelly asked. “The call Shay and Brett went on,” Otis said. “Herrmann thinks he knows it, but can’t remember why because he’s an old man.”

“Hah,” Kelly barked out. “You and Casey. Old man club.”

“Shut it,” Herrmann said, scowling at him. “Not too old to kick your butts.”

That set off a round of insults flying back and forth, not settling down until Boden stepped into the room. “Herrmann.”

“Eh, I was just joking, Chief!” Herrmann laughed, holding up his hands. “I was provoked, I swear!”

“I need to speak with you in private,” Boden said. Everyone went silent when they got a good look at his face. It was grave and serious.

Not a good talk, then.

“Yeah, uh, okay,” Chris said, more subdued than he was a few seconds ago. He pushed away from the table and followed Boden out into the hall.

None of them touched their food as they watched the quiet conversation unfold through the windows of the break room. Boden had a hand on Herrmann’s shoulder as he spoke quietly. Urgently. Herrmann’s face went white and he took a step back, shaking his head.

“Oh, god, do you think something happened with Cindy and the baby?” Dawson whispered.

They all jumped when loud footsteps thundered down the hall and suddenly, Mouse and Platt appeared.

“What the hell?” Otis whispered.

After a quick back and forth, Mouse and Platt were ushering Herrmann away, leaving Boden standing in the hall. He dragged a hand down his face, standing there with his head bowed.

Kelly was trying not to freak out, but the pile of awful possibilities flying around his brain weren’t helping with that. There was no way Boden walked back in here with good news. The threat of looming disaster left a lump in the back of his throat and he exchanged a look with Casey who was clearly doing the same math.

Boden stepped back into the room and they all straightened in their seats. He cleared his throat. “51, listen up,” he said. “Herrmann’s off for the rest of the shift. Casey, you’re in charge of Engine and Truck.”

Dawson was the first to speak. “Is—is everything okay?”

“No.” Boden stared down at the ground before meeting their eyes again with a grim gaze. “There’s been an incident…”

***

Chris

Chris gripped at the door of the car and willed it to go faster.

***

Bex

Bex turned her head, trying to get away from the lights and the noise and the people poking at her. Jay. Where was Jay? He said he’d be—

“Hey, I’m right here.” Jay’s face swam into view. “We’re heading into Med and we’re gonna get you checked out.”

Med? Bex’s brain felt like it was processing everything a beat behind. Med. That was where they took Emery. Bex tried to push herself up and hands, too many hands pressed her back.

“No,” Bex gasped out, clenching her hands into fists as pain and the sound of Jay yelling at someone to ‘back off’ washed over her. “Emery.” Grunting with the effort, Bex tried to sit up again. “Where is she?”

Is she okay? Is she not okay? What was happening?

Bex couldn’t spare the energy to voice all of her fears. What she needed to do was get off of this damn gurney and find her friend. She yanked her hand out of the strong grip someone had it in and started to heave herself up—

A lightning bolt of pain through her side had her falling back down.

***

Connor

Connor focused on scrubbing in, trying to appear composed and professional when Dr. Latham came in to do the same.

“I’m told you know this girl,” Dr. Latham began. “Hospital policy is very clear on this, Dr. Rhodes—”

“I’m not related to her,” Connor said evenly, ignoring the way his heart was pounding in his chest. “Hospital policy doesn’t apply.”

“But you’re close to her,” Dr. Latham pressed.

“I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do my job.” The seconds were ticking by, pressing down on his window of opportunity to convince Latham to let him assist. “Her injuries are extensive,” he said. “She needs both of us if she’s going to have a chance.”

Dr. Latham remained quiet as he finished scrubbing his own hands. Finally, he shot a look over at Connor as he rinsed off. “Very well.”

Connor nodded gratefully and the two of them entered the operating room, ready to get to work.

***

Will

Will had tried to be prepared—to brace himself for Bex’s arrival, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of her being wheeled in; bloodied, battered, and in pain.

To see Jay rushing along beside her, holding her hand and trying to be calm, but Will can tell that he’s scared. So scared.

With good reason.

If Bex was in the same shape as Emery…

Will shook his head, trying to clear it. Spiralling wouldn’t help anyone right now. He had to focus and help where he could and right now that meant—jesus—stopping Bex from trying to haul herself off of the gurney and hurting herself even further.

“Back off,” Jay yelled at one of the poor paramedics as they tried to keep Bex in place.

“Where is she?” Bex asked as she struggled in their grip, blearily looking around the ED. She managed to sit up before crying out sharply and falling back.

“Bex.” Will squeezed Jay’s shoulder, giving him a nod as he came to stand beside him. Natalie moved in on the other side as the paramedics stepped away and began checking Bex over. “Bex, it’s me, it’s Will,” he said, leaning over to catch her eye. “Listen, Emery’s still alive—”

He squeezed Jay’s shoulder one more time when he heard a ragged exhale from him at that news.

“Connor’s got her,” Will continued. “He and Dr. Latham are working on her right now. She had some injuries that required surgery.”

“Will?” Bex blinked up at him, focusing on his face. “She’s okay? She’ll be okay?”

“She’s in the best hands possible,” Will said, not wanting to lie. Not to Bex. He did his own quick scan of her and wasn’t happy with what he saw. Multiple lacerations and contusions. Early signs of cyanosis. The stark markings around her torso had him worried about internal bleeding and damage to her organs. “Listen.” He bent down close and gently stroked a hand over her forehead. “I promise we’re looking after Emery,” he said. “What I need you to do is stay still and let us get you checked out, okay? Will you do that for me?”

“I’m fine,” Bex said, shaking her head. “I just—I can’t stop shaking.” She lifted the hand that wasn’t holding Jay’s to demonstrate. “That’s weird, right?”

“That’s the adrenaline,” he explained. “That’ll last for awhile longer.”

“Oh…that makes sense.” Bex looked away, half talking to herself before looking back up at him with wide eyes. “I think I killed Ty.”

What ?

Will whipped around to Jay who was already shaking his head, looking as alarmed as Will felt.

“No! No, Bex,” Jay said quickly. “You didn’t. I promise. He’s fine. You just gave him a good knock on the head.”

“I stabbed him in the leg too,” she said faintly.

“Wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it,” Jay muttered.

“If Jay says he was fine, then he must be okay,” Will said over him, shooting him a look before turning back to Bex. “You did what you had to do, Bex. Now will you please let us take care of you?”

“Okay,” she whispered.

Natalie and April moved in to start their assessment and Will and Jay held their spots; Will by her head, explaining things to her so she’d know what was happening and Jay a silent presence beside him, never letting go of her hand.

***

Mouse

They’d grabbed Chris and he’d used Mouse’s phone to call Cindy. After a hurried explanation and a promise from Cindy that she’d be on her way as soon as she got someone to watch the kids, he’d hung up and Platt had flipped on the sirens.

They’d made it to Med in less than half the time it should have taken.

Platt screeched to a stop at the ED doors and let them out. She went to park while they went inside to see if there was any news.

Yes, Bex was there. No, she couldn’t tell them anything about Emery if they weren’t family or her emergency contacts. Yes, Chris—and only Chris—could go back and see Bex. The doctor would fill him in on her current condition. No, the nurse couldn’t tell them what that condition was.

With a murmured apology and a promise to come back with news as soon as he could, Chris went through the sliding door into the ED—

Leaving Mouse in the waiting room.

At a loss of what to do now that he’d accomplished the only helpful thing he could think of, Mouse stood there, staring at the doors. Come back with good news, please, he mentally begged Chris…the universe…anyone who might be listening.

She has to be okay.

The idea that he could lose Bex—now, before they’d even had a chance to get started—how could he—no, he couldn’t accept that.

He knew the world was cruel, but that would just be…

Unimaginable.

“Find anything out yet?” Platt popped up beside him, handing over a coffee that she’d magically conjured up somehow. Mouse accepted it, shaking his head. She hummed and sipped at her own drink. “Let’s settle in then,” she said, steering him toward a set of chairs close to the door. “Might be a long wait and I want to get a good seat before all of 51 tries to cram in here.”

Mouse let himself be hustled into place, leaning forward to keep an eye on the doors. How long would it take? If it was good news, would Chris be out sooner? Or maybe he’d take longer because Bex was okay and he was talking to her. That would be good.

He kept his vigil, slowly turning the cup in his hands as he waited.

And waited.

***

Chris

Chris was shown into treatment room three and stopped short at the sight that met him there. Jay and Will were wearing matching haggard looks and Bex—

Oh, god, Bex.

His little girl.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said quietly, willing his voice not to break as he stepped into the room.

“Chris?” She struggled up, fighting against wires and wincing in pain.

“Hey, hey, hey.” He rushed forward; Jay and Will stepping back to give him space. “Don’t try to move, I’m right here.”

“I’m okay,” Bex said, grabbing at him with a bandaged hand. “Don’t worry. I’m okay.”

"I know, sweetie," he said and she burst into tears. Chris held her as close as he safely could, murmuring soft reassurances to her and pressing kisses into the top of her head.

“Oh, no,” Bex suddenly gasped, putting them all on alert. “Mouse, oh, my god, Mouse—someone needs to call him and—”

“How do you think I got here so fast?” Chris smiled at her. “Your guy came to pick me up. In a patrol car. With Trudy.” He’d been hoping for a laugh.

Not for her to burst into tears again.

“We’re supposed to have our date,” she sobbed, clutching at her side before crying even harder. “I’m a horrible person.”

Chris cut a quick look over at Jay and Will, but they looked just as lost as he was. “You’re not a horrible person, Bex—”

“Yes, I am,” she said. “I’m crying over a date wh-when Emery is—when she might be—”

“Okay, okay,” Chris said, shushing her, worried about how short her breaths were coming. He crouched down to put his face level with her. “Knowing Emery, she’s even more pissed that your date got ruined than you are.” The look she gave him said that wasn’t helping. “Mouse understands. I promise. He just wants to know you’re okay so let’s make sure you are. And Emery—” Chris risked a glance up at Will whose face told him nothing good. “Emery’s going to get through this and the two of you will have a blast planning Big Date 2.0.”

“You don’t know that,” Bex whispered.

“Yeah, I do,” he whispered back. “It’s my own Very Specific Superpower so don’t question it.”

There was the smile he’d been hoping for. Tiny, but he’d take it.

“Bex needs to go for some scans,” Will said and Chris gave Bex another smooch before straightening up. “We need to see if her arm is broken and check for any other internal injuries.”

Christ. That didn’t sound good. Chris was going to need the full story soon of just what the hell had gone down. “Thanks for going with her,” he said to Will. “You won’t get in trouble for that?”

Will shrugged with a little grin. “Goodwin hasn’t had a chance to yell at me for anything lately,” he said. “Gotta meet that weekly quota, right?”

Chris patted his back as he went by with Bex in tow, whispering his thanks.

Then he was left in an empty room with Jay who was staring blankly out in the direction Will and Bex had gone, absently rubbing at his wrist—

Which was smeared with blood.

Chris hunted around until he found the wipes, handing one over to Jay. “Here,” he said, waving it toward Jay’s wrist when he didn’t move to take it. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Jay startled, coming back to himself. He glared at the wipe before grabbing it and wiping at his wrist. Moving it around to get at the blood at his hands, he began to scrub and Chris started to get worried about him taking off a layer of skin.

“There’s a bathroom down the hall,” he said. “Soap and water’ll be easier…and gentler probably. Then maybe you can fill me in on what happened—”

“Ty is what happened,” Jay growled out. He threw the wipe in the trash and ran still somewhat bloodied hand through his hair. “They let that bastard out of jail and he—”

Jay took a shuddery breath and he shook his head, closing his eyes.

One of the most unbearable things in this world was for Chris to see one of his kids hurting.

The hurt was running rampant across the board tonight.

He stepped over to Jay and tried to pull him into a hug. Jay kept shaking his head, resisting until Chris snapped out, “Gimme a goddamn hug, Jay. We both need it.”

Jay curled toward him then and Chris patted his back, trying to soothe away his trembling. Two second later, Jay was already straightening up, swiping a hand under his nose as he sniffed.

“You said Mouse is here?” He cleared his throat and jerked a nod the waiting room. “We should, uh, we should go and give him an update. He’s probably losing his mind out there.” He strode out the door before Chris could say a word otherwise.

Chris sighed before following. He really hoped Cindy could get here sooner rather than later.

They were going to have their work cut out for them tonight.

Click here to read Chapter Four. Click here to read Chapter Five. Click here to read Chapter Six. Click here to read Chapter Seven.

Click here to read That Herrmann/Halstead DNA on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat, @emme-looou,

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 4 months

Text

That Herrmann/Halstead DNA (Chapter Four)

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

A/N: I received my degree from the medical school of Television Drama which means while things might not (*cough* will not *cough*) be accurate, they will be exciting. *jazz hands*

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chris

Knowing his family, Chris wasn’t surprised to see all of 51 was crammed into the waiting room when he walked back in.

Not surprised, no, but still touched. The tight band that had been squeezing his heart ever since Boden took him aside to break the news about Bex eased the slightest bit.

His family was good people.

“Hey, guys,” he said. Every head had turned his way when he appeared, faces filled with worry. Jay gave him a little nod before heading straight over to Mouse which was fair enough. Chris would take filling in the 51 crew over the conversation the two of them were about to have.

“How is she?” Dawson asked as she hopped out of her seat to give him a hug.

“She’s, uh—she’s pretty banged up,” he said, directing his words at the whole group. “Not sure of the extent of things yet, but Will’s taken her for some scans so we should know more soon.”

“And Emery?” Shay asked quietly. She was seated between Severide and Bex’s friend, Sam, who looked about as rough as Jay did.

“Haven’t heard anything yet,” Chris said, wishing like hell he had some kind of good news to share.

“Kira and Malia are on their way,” Sam piped up, voice rough. “Kira—she’s one of Emery’s emergency contacts so she’ll probably be able to get more information.”

Okay. One good bit of news.

“Does Emery have any family we can call?” Otis asked him and Sam shook his head with a frown.

“She’s just got us,” he said, staring down at his hands with red eyes. Shay reached over to rub his back and he leaned into her touch with a small sigh. “Bex is listed as her other emergency contact…”

And she wasn’t in any shape to help.

There wasn’t much else to say beyond that. All they could do was wait.

Dawson gave Chris another quick squeeze before returning to her spot. He felt too revved up to sit so he made his way over to the quiet corner of the room where Boden had stationed himself.

“Thanks for being here, Chief,” Chris said, leaning against the wall beside him. “Sure you’re okay to be offline?”

“I’m keeping an ear out.” Boden motioned to his radio. “But we all wanted—we needed to be here.” He eyed Chris for a moment. “How’s she really doing?”

Chris shook his head, not able to find his words right away. “Not good,” he managed to get out. “She was having trouble breathing and Will looked pretty worried.”

Boden took that in, a deep line forming between his brows. “And how are you?”

“Not good,” Chris said, huffing out a flat laugh. “Worried.” He shot Boden a small smile. “Grateful for the support.”

“We’ll stay as long as we can.” Boden clapped a hand on Chris’s shoulder before pulling him into a hug. “At least until Cindy gets here.”

“Hah.” Chris sniffed as he stepped back, doing a quick swipe of his eyes. “She’ll be happy to know it takes a full firehouse to fill in for her.”

“And we’re still a poor substitute,” Boden grinned back him.

Chris nodded, trying to keep the lightness going, but was unable to keep the tears back this time. “Shit,” he muttered, facing the wall to scrub at his face.

Boden stood silently beside him, blocking him from view.

A tissue appeared from the other side and Chris glanced over to see Trudy holding a whole dang box. “I swiped them from the desk,” she said. “Go nuts.”

“Ah, thanks, Truds,” Chis said, sniffling as he grabbed a few more. “Sorry, I’m just—seeing her like that—I need to get it together so I can be there for her—”

“It’s okay to need a moment, Chris,” Trudy said. She took a few tissues and stuffed them into her pocket. “I expect we’re all going to at some point so no judgement here.”

“None of you are alone in this.” Boden reached around him to grab tissues for his own pocket. “Remember that.”

Taking a deep breath, Chris nodded, letting their words sink into him. They’d get through this like they got through everything; all of them together.

And then, as if on cue, four familiar faces came rushing in from outside.

***

Sam

Sam leapt to his feet as Devon, Isaac, Malia, and Kira ran through the front doors. Kira spotted him first and rushed over.

“Sam!” What’s going on? What happened?” The rest of them came up behind her, all staring at him with anxious faces.

He stared back at them—mouth opening and closing as he tried to give them some kind of answer, but all he could do was shake his head. Shay came to his rescue.

“Ty attacked Emery,” she said quietly as she joined their little circle. “He stabbed her, and Bex, uh—I think she walked in on the attack and she fought him off. She’s getting checked out now.”

“Stabbed—” Malia pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. Devon wrapped an arm around her and Kira pressed in on her other side. Isaac’s face crumpled as he stepped over to Sam and hugged him around the middle. Sam closed his eyes, letting himself lean into his strong arms.

“Have you heard anything?” Devon asked Shay. “About Em?”

“No, they would’ve been waiting for me, right?” Kira said before Shay could answer. Sam opened his eyes to see Shay nodding and Kira disentangling herself from Malia. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

He watched as she straightened her shoulders and marched off toward the desk, determined despite the tiny tremble of her chin.

Today had been…awful and Sam didn’t see it getting any better, but at least they were all here now. Whatever happened next, they would face it together.

***

Shay

“I hate this,” Shay muttered as she took her seat again. Kelly made a questioning noise beside her, but she couldn’t look away from the little group of Bex’s friends huddled together on the other side of the room.

Looking so incredibly young and so incredibly scared.

She wished Julie were here.

Sam had said something about her staying on the scene and then going to Lakeshore with Ty which—thank goodness he hadn’t been brought to Med, but Shay still wished Julie was there with them. She’d have better words for Sam. For his friends.

Sam and Julie had hit it off as not only partners, but as friends which meant that once Shay started dating Julie, she was quickly brought into their orbit. She’d spent plenty of time with Sam and his boyfriends and Malia and Kira as well. Shay probably knew them almost as well as Bex did at this point.

And Emery—even when she’d been away from the group, they talked about her. They still loved her so much and when she made her way back to them, Shay kept getting all of the updates.

All of them were so proud of how far Emery had come.

And now this.

“It’s not fair,” Shay said, shaking her head. She rubbed at her eyes and then took the tissue Kelly offered her.

“Hey,” he said softly, ducking his head down to catch her gaze. “Talk to me.”

“I just—” She waved the tissue at the group before crumpling it in her hands. “I hate this. It’s not right. Emery, she’s come so far, you know? And this? This is what happens? It’s bullshit, Kelly.”

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed, sinking back in his chair with a deep sigh. “It really is.”

“It can’t end like this for her,” Shay whispered. “It’s not fair.”

“You can’t think like that,” Kelly said, grabbing her arm and giving it a little squeeze. “No, listen—” He cut her off before she could get going again. “I get what you’re saying and you’re right. It’s bullshit. But…why are we here?” He stared at her, giving her a little nod, waiting for her to answer.

“To be here,” she said. “To support Herrmann and Bex and Emery and all of them.”

“Right,” Kelly said as he sat up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “And what would Bex say if she was here? ‘Don’t put out bad energy’ or something like that, right? You know how she talks.” He smiled down at her, looking entirely too pleased with himself when Shay managed a small smile back. “Emery and Bex are fighting their way through so we need to sit here and believe that they can do it. They’re gonna be okay, Shay.”

She really hoped he was right. Shay took a shaky breath and settled into Kelly’s side, ready to start putting all of the good energy out there.

***

Connor

“We have a pulse,” one of the nurses announced.

Connor nearly sagged against the operating table in relief. It was the second time Emery had coded since they started and the way things were going, he knew with a sickening certainty that it wouldn’t be the last.

Come on, Em, he willed her to hear him. I’m not going to stop fighting so you’re not allowed to stop either. Work with me here. Bex’ll never forgive either of us if you die so cut it out.

Dr. Latham called for another unit of blood and Connor cut a quick look over at Emery’s stats, frowning at what he saw.

“Come on, Em,” he whispered.

“Dr. Rhodes, perhaps we should reconsider your presence—”

“Respectfully, Dr. Latham,” Connor said firmly. “We should not.”

He wasn’t leaving her.

Not when there was still a chance.

***

Mouse

Platt vacated the seat beside him, nodding at Jay as they passed each other and heading over to see Chris. Jay plopped down in the empty spot.

He groaned, resting his elbows on his knees and scrubbing his hands over his face. Mouse waited, playing with the empty coffee cup in his hands until Jay finally looked over at him.

“Thank you,” he said. “For getting Chris. That was—that was the right move.”

“Just wanted to do what I could to help,” Mouse said. “Seemed like the best plan.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Jay said and Mouse stilled, not quite sure where this was coming from.

“For what—”

“I just left.” Jay sat back, managing to look miserable, exhausted, stressed, angry, and apologetic all in one go. It was almost impressive. “I ran out of there and didn’t let you know what was happening,” Jay said. He rubbed at his forehead with a sigh. “Didn’t think to even ask anyone to let you know or—”

“Jay.” Mouse had to stop him right there because he couldn’t listen to anymore of this. “Don’t even—just—are you seriously apologizing for not stopping to let me know you were leaving? When Bex was in danger? I don’t—you had to get to her. That was what mattered.”

“Didn’t get there fast enough,” Jay muttered.

“She needed you and you got there as soon as you could,” Mouse said. “I’m glad you didn’t waste any time doing it. Okay?” He stared at Jay until he nodded and then Mouse sat back as well. He had a thousand questions he wanted to throw at him, but Jay didn’t look up to talking. Mouse didn’t want him pressing for more details to be the thing that had Jay falling apart when the guy was clearly using everything he had to keep it together.

Mouse knew the feeling.

He kept his thousand questions to himself and worked on bracing himself for their inevitable answers.

***

Jay

Jay closed his eyes as he settled into his seat beside Mouse, more grateful than ever for his friend’s ability to read him and know when he needed to leave Jay be.

Talking was not something Jay could do right now. Not without screaming.

He bounced his knee, trying to block out the sounds of the waiting room and centre himself like his therapist was always going on about. Quiet his mind.

But the quiet—it just made room for Bex’s voice to come back in.

Over and over, sounding so scared as it came through the phone.

Please. Put the knife down.

And her scream.

Jay was never going to forget it as long as he lived.

He hadn’t been fast enough.

Not fast enough at all.

***

Will

Will closed the door to Bex’s room with a quiet click. Resting his forehead against the wood, he took a moment in the quiet hallway to just breathe.

Bex had gone through all of the scans and tests like a champ, but was struggling by the end of it so they’d given her another round of pain meds and she’d conked right out.

Well, not right out. She’d managed to garble a few instructions at him first and tell him that she loved him. So much. Will smiled to himself. The ‘so much’ had been repeated quite a few times. Bex on pain medication was going to be an interesting experience.

Since they needed to keep her at least overnight for observation, he’d gone ahead and settled her into a room instead of taking her back to the ED or another holding place. He’d add fast tracking the process to the list of things Goodwin could yell at him for later.

And now he had to go and update their family. He sighed. It’d been hard enough for Will to hear the laundry list of Bex’s injuries, but to have to tell the others and see their faces…he needed to be a bit steadier to handle that.

It was going to suck, but he wasn’t about to pass the task on to anyone else. Not after what happened with Chris when he got hurt and god, was that really only a few months ago?

How were they right back here again?

“Dr. Halstead!”

Will straightened up, looking around to see Sharon Goodwin coming down the hall towards him trailed by two unexpected faces.

“Ms. Goodwin,” Will said, nodding at her and the two men behind her. “Dr. Charles...Dr. Abrams? I thought you’d all gone home for the day. Is everything okay?”

“Is everything—Will, we heard what happened,” Sharon said, reaching out to give his arm a squeeze. “We wanted to check on you.”

Oh. That was…hunh. “I’m—” Will dragged a hand through his hair and a slightly hysterical little laugh slipped out. “It’s, uh, it’s been a day.”

“I’ll bet.” Dr. Charles peered around him to peek through the window in the door into Bex’s room. “How’s she doing?”

“She’s in rough shape, but she’ll be okay,” Will said. “Eventually. She’ll be better when we know how Emery is.”

“Don’t worry about finishing your shift,” Sharon said. “Dr. Armstrong is coming in early and the ED can manage without you until then.”

Right. He’d absolutely abandoned his job as soon as Bex came in. Crap. Sharon shook her head at him as soon as he opened his mouth.

“Don’t worry,” she repeated. “You’re having a family emergency. We all understand.”

“Been there a time or two ourselves,” Dr. Charles said with a kind smile. He reached out to pat Will’s shoulder. “Anything you need, be sure to let us know.”

“Remember to take all the time you need,” Sharon added and then the two of them headed off down the hall. Dr. Abrams remained, staring at the door to Bex’s room.

“Dr. Abrams?” The man didn’t respond so Will tried again. “Sam?”

“Yes.” Dr. Abrams cleared his throat and glanced over at Will, a flicker concern disrupting his usual impassiveness. “What Dr. Charles said. If anything is needed, for either of you…”

“I’ll let you know,” Will agreed. “That’s—thank you. It’s appreciated.”

With a short nod, Dr. Abrams turned and walked away.

“Bex, you make the weirdest friends,” Will whispered. He chuckled to himself and took a last look to make sure she was still sleeping before heading out to the waiting room.

He still had one job to do.

***

Chris

“Christopher!”

Chris whipped around at the sound of Cindy’s voice and rushed over to meet her in the middle of the waiting room.

“I got here as fast as I could, I’m sorry, It took me way too long to get out of the house —my parents, and then the kids—” she said, tripping over her words as she grabbed onto his hands. “Have you heard anything yet? What’s going on? How’s Bex? How’s Emery?”

“Hey, hey. Breathe, Cinds, it’s okay,” Chris said. “Bex is getting checked out and we—we haven’t heard anything about Emery yet.” He moved to wrap his arms her and held her tight. “God, I’m so glad you’re here.”

She squeezed him back, tucking her head into his shoulder. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“It’s not good,” he murmured.

They stood there for a moment, taking what they needed before breaking apart. Cindy met his eyes. “Whatever it is,” she said. “We’ll handle it.”

Now that she was here, he actually felt like that was true. Chris leaned in to press a kiss against her forehead. “I love you,” he whispered into her skin.

An “I love you, too,” was whispered back, just for him to hear.

After one more tight hug, Cindy took a deep breath, centering herself. “Okay,” she said. “Where are the boys?”

“Jay and Mouse are over there,” Chris said, jerking a nod in their direction. “Will’s with Bex while she’s getting checked out and Connor—he’s working on Emery.”

“I’m going to sit with them for a bit,” Cindy said, but before she could head in Jay and Mouse’s direction, Will came in and everyone’s attention instantly turned his way.

Jay and Mouse jumped out of their chairs and came to stand by Chris and Cindy. The rest of their gang crowded in behind. Chris reached for Cindy’s hand only to find her already reaching for his and they clung to each other; ready for Will’s update.

“Cindy, hey, you’re here. That’s great,” Will said, giving her a soft smile before taking in the whole group before him. “And all of 51 is here. Nice, now I owe Bex five bucks. Thanks, guys.”

Chris smiled at the quiet wave of laughter that welled up behind him. Bex got him on a dummy bet, for sure. Knowing Will, he probably went along with it just to make her smile.

“Okay, well, she’s given me permission to share with everyone because, and I quote, ‘they’re all nosy enough to get it out of Chris anyway,’” Will’s lips twisted in a wry little grin at the reaction that got. His face fell back into serious lines though once everyone settled. “This is going to be a lot to take in so I want to start by saying Bex is going to be okay. We’re keeping her overnight for observation, but barring any complications—”

Complications? The word sent a jolt through Chris.

He and complications were not friends.

“—she should be cleared to go home tomorrow,” Will finished.

“Is anyone with her right now?” Cindy asked. “Has she been admitted or is she still in the ED?”

“We’ve got her in a room,” Will said. “She’s sleeping right now; she’s on some pretty heavy pain medication, but the nurses are keeping an eye on her and I can take you back to see her yourself when we’re done.”

Heavy pain medication. The pressure was back in Chris’s chest and he gripped Cindy’s hand tighter. “Okay, so…tell us how she is, Will,” Chris said. “All of it.”

“She has two lacerations that required some stitches,” Will began. “One over her shoulder which was fairly shallow.” Chris had seen that one. It might have been shallow, but it was still disturbingly close to hitting an artery. They’d been lucky. “The one on her side was deeper,” Will continued. “But not enough to damage anything serious.”

“Ty went after her with the knife he used on Emery,” Jay piped up suddenly. He had his arms crossed and was staring a hole into the floor. “Bex disarmed him.”

Christ. Chris was more grateful than ever for the lessons Jay and Hailey and their crew had been giving Bex. Probably saved her life.

“She also had a deep laceration on her right hand—”

“—stabbed Ty with broken glass,” Jay muttered.

“—but, uh, she didn’t damage any ligaments so that’s good,” Will said. He shot a concerned glance at Jay who still wasn’t looking up from the floor. Cindy shuffled them over a bit so she could reach out to wrap her free arm around Jay’s waist. He stiffened; then relaxed minutely.

Cindy nodded at Will to keep going. He cleared his throat. “She has a hairline fracture in her right arm,” he said, pausing and right on cue—

“Ty threw her into a bookshelf,” Jay said quietly.

Chris rubbed at his forehead and swallowed hard against the growing nausea building in his gut. The tension in the room was growing, but no one walked away. Listening to this—the clinical rundown from Will and the admittedly horrible context from Jay—it was brutal, but they needed to hear it. To know what had happened and to prepare themselves for how they were going to get everyone through the aftermath.

“Her arm is splinted right now,” Will said. “It looks like the injury was aggravated and it’s too swollen to cast at the moment so we’ll have to take care of that after it goes down.”

“She was trying to do compressions on Emery when I arrived,” Sam’s voice came from the back of the group, shaky, but clear.

“Oh, that’s—” Will’s breath caught and he blinked before schooling his face back into something more professional. “That’s good to know,” he said, making a note on her chart. He looked back up at their group, pressing on. “She also has a few cracked ribs and one broken one,” he said. “Which leads me to her most serious injury and the one we want to monitor. Bex has what’s called a pulmonary contusion which is basically a bruised lung.”

“Jesus,” Gabi exclaimed as she came up on Chris’s left. “A pulmonary contusion? That’s—that’s a blunt force trauma injury. How—”

“Ty fucking stomped on her,” Jay bit out. “That’s how.”

“What the hell—are you serious?” Kelly asked, voice raising. “Where is that asshole? He—”

“He is being dealt with by the CPD,” Boden said, moving to stand by Will and casting a grave look over their group. There were a few more grumbles, but the Chief’s stare silenced them.

Chris leaned into Cindy, grateful to Boden for stepping in because he didn’t have it in him right now. He was angry too—of course he was. He wanted to track down Ty and give a taste of his own medicine, but what good would that do? It wouldn’t help Bex or Emery.

They were all needed here. With the two of them. That was who they had to focus on. Screw Ty.

All Chris cared about was his family.

“What do you need to watch out for with this contusion thing?” he asked Will.

“Her breathing, for one,” Will said. “We’ve got her on oxygen to help ease things along and we’re checking her levels regularly. There’s also a small amount of internal bleeding that we’re watching, but it should resolve itself.”

Jay’s head whipped up at that. “You’re not doing anything about it?”

“We had multiple doctors look at the scans and everyone agrees,” Will said. “It would be too invasive to try and repair it when more often than not, it does heal on its own.”

“Do you not remember what happened with Chris?” Jay exclaimed. “You guys said it would be fine and he almost died.”

“Jay, trust me, please.” Will rubbed at his eyes with a sigh before facing them again. “I know it’s scary and it sounds awful, but this really is the best course of action to take. Bex will be monitored constantly. She’ll probably get pissed off about it, but she’s also going to be okay and that’s what matters.”

Jay opened his mouth, ready to argue some more, but Boden’s radio squawked right then and everyone knew what that meant. Duty called.

“Folks, I’m sorry, but we have to head out,” Boden announced to the group. “51, with me. Herrmann, we’ll be back when we can. Give our girl a hug for us.”

“Will do, Chief,” Chris said. “And thank you.”

With a nod and some quick hugs, Boden and the rest of the team filed out, leaving the rest of them to figure out their next steps.

“Um, they said there’s a room up on the surgical floor where we can wait?” Kira said, coming over to stand at the front of their remaining cluster. “They’ll let us know how things are going with Emery as soon as they can.”

“I’ll go on up with you kids,” Trudy said and all of Bex’s friends looked relieved by that—an expression Chris wasn’t used to seeing directed her way. Hunh. When had Platt managed to adopt her own gaggle of twenty-somethings?

That…was a puzzle to be solved another day. Right now, Chris was glad she was going with them because he and Cindy needed to check in on Bex first.

“Let us know when you hear something,” he called after them and Trudy gave him a nod, waving her phone as they headed through the doors. Chris turned to Cindy with a sigh, tugging on her hand. “Let’s go see Bex.”

“In a minute,” she said quietly. He followed her gaze to where Jay and Will stood, faces tense while Mouse hovered anxiously beside them. Will was talking to Jay, quietly but intensely, and Jay was shaking his head. “Come on.” Cindy steered them over to see what was what.

“You have to trust me on this, Jay,” Will was saying. “I know you’re scared—”

“Don’t friggin’ patronize me,” Jay snapped, scowling at Will. “Of course, I’m scared. It’s Bex. How can you ask me to trust you—to trust any of you after what happened last time. You wanna risk her life—”

“Both of you take a breath,” Cindy asked, stepping in between them.

“I don’t need—” Jay withered under the look Cindy pinned him with, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he clamped it shut.

The kid needed a lot of things actually and top of that list was someplace quieter to talk. “Hey, Will,” Chris said. “Is there somewhere private we could all go?” The meltdown Jay was teetering closer and closer to would be better off happening away from prying eyes.

“Oh, uh…” Will blinked. “Yeah, there’s a family room I can take you to—”

“We don’t need that.” Jay’s back immediately went up again. “Why—”

“Maybe you don’t,” Chris said. “But I’m an old man who’d rather be in a comfier chair than on my feet for the rest of this chat.” He made eye contact with Cindy, a silent conversation whipping back and forth between them until they landed on the same page a few seconds later.

At which point she winked at him.

…he really loved her a stupid amount.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Cindy announced. “Mouse, you go on ahead with Will to see Bex.”

Mouse’s eyes went wide. “Me? Don’t you want to, uh, I-I can wait—”

“No, no, you go,” Chris said. “She was asking about you earlier and I know she’ll want to see you. Please.”

“Jay…” Mouse looked hopelessly lost as he turned to Jay who jerked his chin in the barest agreement. “Okay,” he said softly. “I can do that.

“Everyone follow me then, I guess,” Will said carefully. He led them back in through the ED and down a few other hallways before stopping at a door and peeking inside. “You guys can use this one,” he said, stepping away and leaving the door open. “Mouse, if you—”

“You’re coming back, right?” Jay demanded. “We’re not done talking about this and—”

“Yes, Jay,” Will sighed. “I’ll be right back.” He strode off down the hall with Mouse in tow.

Chris used Jay’s momentary distraction of glaring after them to herd him into the room and Cindy closed the door after them. She came to tuck herself into his side once again as Jay began to pace in front of them.

Kid was wound so tight he was about to break himself in two.

***

Jay

“Jay,” Chris began and Jay sliced a hand through the air at him.

“Don’t,” Jay said. “Don’t tell me to calm down. Don’t tell me I’m being unreasonable. Not when we all know that I’m right.” He stopped in his tracks and took a step toward Chris and Cindy. “It’s Bex.” Jay’s voice broke over her name.

He shook his head, trying to get it together. He had to be calm. He had to be strong about this and reasonable so they would listen to him.

“They need to check again,” he said. “And-and-and do something! They can’t just let her bleed. We can’t stand here and do nothing while she’s hurt. She’s in pain. I can’t watch that, not again, not after—not after hearing her and—I can’t—not again—I can’t—”

Chris lying unresponsive in his hospital room.

Bex’s scream echoing out of his phone.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Axel facedown in the dirt with blood pooling out from under his uniform.

Blow after blow from Ty thudding through the speaker.

“I tried—I tried to get to her—I wasn’t fast enough—”

“…Jay…breathe…panic attack…” Cindy’s voice couldn’t break through the noise in his brain. One after another after another.

Bex calling out for him.

An explosion.

His world turning sideways.

Mouse staring at him with deadened eyes.

Bex.

Screaming.

And Jay…doing nothing.

“I’m sorry. I—”

***

Mouse

Will stopped in front of the door to Bex’s room and turned to face Mouse. He pressed his lips together as he dragged a hand through his hair. “I feel like I should give you a head’s up before we go in there,” he said quietly. “You just—you need to brace yourself, okay? It’s rough to see her like this, but I meant it when I said she’s going to make a full recovery.”

Mouse nodded, swallowing hard as he tried to do what Will said and brace himself before following him into the room.

…but Will’s warning hadn’t been enough.

He must’ve made some kind of noise because Will’s head whipped back as he looked at Mouse in concern. “You good?”

“No,” Mouse whispered. “But I’m not going anywhere either.” He stepped around Will and got closer to the bed.

Bex was still asleep, snuffling a bit under the oxygen mask. She was bruised and battered all over—Mouse had a hard time spotting a part of her skin that was unmarked and what he could find was deathly pale. Lying there, unmoving, she looked so fragile.

Mouse sat down in the chair, stopping himself when he reached out to touch her. Her splinted arm was on the other side, but the hand closest to him was bandaged as well. “I don’t—I don’t want to hurt her,” he said to Will. “How should I—”

“Gently,” Will said, giving him an encouraging smile. “You can hold her fingers on that hand, just don’t squeeze, or hold on to her wrist there. And talk to her if you want. She’ll probably wake up soon.”

“Okay, yeah, I, uh, I can do that.” Mouse placed a tentative hand on her wrist, stroking at the soft skin there. Will clapped a hand on his shoulder and Mouse looked up at him. “Thanks. For letting me stay here with her.”

“Thanks for being her for her,” Will said. He patted Mouse on the back before quietly leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Mouse turned back to Bex. Talk to her, Will had said.

It took him awhile to figure out what to say, but eventually he just decided to go for it and started talking.

“Hey, Bex. It’s me, Mouse. Uh, Mouse Gerwitz.” He palmed his face, chuckling quietly. “Mouse Gerwitz. She knows that, you idiot.” He looked back at Bex, startling forward when her eyes started to blink open. “Hey,” he said quietly. “Hey, Bex. That’s it. Open your eyes, baby. I’m right here.”

She frowned a bit, gaze hazy as she tried to focus on him, and she pulled her bandaged hand free to try and tug at the oxygen mask.

“Oh, no, hang on,” Mouse said. “That’s supposed to stay there.”

Bex grumbled something unintelligible at him. She batted his hand away and pulled down the mask anyway. Her head rolled on the pillow, tilting to look his way as a dopey smile spread across her face. “You’re here,” she said, voice all raspy.

Mouse scooched his chair in closer, leaning in as he stroked her forehead. “I’m here.”

“I like it when you’re here,” Bex whispered. “You should always be here.”

“That’s the plan,” Mouse said.

For as long as she’d have him.

***

Cindy

Between her and Chris, they’d managed to get Jay seated in one of the arm chairs. He had one of his hands tightly gripped around Chris’s while the other was white-knuckled over the faded upholstery. Cindy crouched in front of him, hands braced on his knees as she tried to make her voice heard through the storm currently raging in his head.

“Jay? Jay.” Cindy squeezed his knees until he met her eyes. “Listen to me, listen to my voice,” she said. “Focus on it.”

He was still taking air in through choppy breaths, but he looked more there than he had a moment before and he blinked at her. Slowly. Deliberately.

“Good, that’s good, sweetie,” she said. “Do you think you can take a slower breath for me?”

He shook his head, eyes sliding away from her. Cindy grabbed his chin gently with one hand and brought him back to face her. “That’s okay,” she said quickly. “Don’t worry about that yet then. Why don’t we try this—can you tell me five things you can see?”

Jay rolled his eyes at her over his next ragged inhale and she took that as a good sign.

“Come on,” Cindy cajoled him. “You can do it. Tell me the five ugliest things you can see in this truly sad family room.”

“Uh, chair,” Jay huffed out, casting his eyes around. “Car-carpet.” Another breath. “Paint. Lights.”

“Great, that’s four things,” Cindy said. “One more.”

“C-Chris.”

“Hey, now,” Chris laughed. “I feel like I should have ranked higher than the carpet.”

Cindy grinned at Jay. “That was perfect, hun,” she said. “How about four things you can touch.”

“Chair,” Jay sighed, his next breath coming ever so slightly slower. “Chris. You. Carpet.” He tapped his foot and Cindy nodded.

“Good, really good.” Cindy squeezed his hand. “Three things you can hear?”

“You,” Jay whispered. “Um, the, uh, the fluorescent lights making that, uh, hum sound, and—and people talking in the hallway.” He took a deep breath, sagging back in the chair a bit. “Please don’t make me do the smell thing because I think Chris’s deodorant has given up the fight.”

“Oh, ha-ha,” Chris said, smiling as he patted Jay’s back. “Glad you’re back to making jokes, bud. Even if they’re cheap.”

Jay laughed weakly, leaning into Cindy’s hand when she ran it through his hair.

A light knock sounded at the door before it opened and Will poked his head in. “Hey, I got Mouse settled with Bex. She’s still out…” He frowned when he got a good look at them, shutting the door behind him. “Everything okay in here?”

“Just taking our moment,” Cindy said. She stood up, wincing at the crack in her knees and shooting a look at Christopher before he could crack a joke of his own. She settled down on the arm of Jay’s chair and rubbed a hand on his back. “Better?”

He nodded. “Yeah, thank you. Uh, Will, man, I’m sorry about earlier—”

Will waved him off as he pulled up his own chair. “I get it,” he said. “I meant it though, Jay. Bex is going to be okay. I would never lie to you about that.”

“I know,” Jay whispered. “I just—I hate that she’s hurting now.”

They all did. If Cindy could take this on for her, she would. In a heartbeat.

“Jay.” Chris dragged another chair over and sat next to him. “I know you didn’t want to talk about it earlier, but I think we have to, bud.”

That flipped a switch in Jay and he instantly tensed up again. “No—”

“Sweetheart,” Cindy said, pulling him into her side. She didn’t want to push him, but this wasn’t something they could let fester either. “Before—you kept apologizing. You know that none of this is your fault, right?”

Jay scoffed. “I should have left as soon as she called,” he said. “I would have been there faster and I—I should have told her to come to the station! We could have gone together or-or-or I should have convinced her to stay in the car and wait—”

“Hang on,” Chris held up a hand and exchanged a frown with Cindy over Jay’s head. “You were on the phone with her when she got to Emery’s? That’s how everyone knew so quickly what was going on?”

“She’d called to ask if Ty was still in jail because Emery thought she’d seen him,” Jay said. “By the time I called her back, she was there and she told me the door was open and I told her to stay in the car, I swear.” Jay lurched back upright, looking between the three of them with wide eyes. “I called for back up and I left and I told her, I said stay in the car until I get there, but she wanted to check on Emery—”

“Hey,” Chris said, reaching out to settle a hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Listen, she’s half Herrmann, half Halstead, and her friend was in danger. There was a zero percent chance she was going to listen to you. It’s not your fault, Jay. Put the blame on Ty where it belongs.”

Everything Jay had said here and back in the waiting room suddenly fell into place for Cindy. She knew how it all went down with horrific clarity. “You stayed on the phone with her,” she whispered. He’d heard everything. “Oh, Jay.”

Jay’s eyes filled with tears as he shook his head. “I couldn’t help her,” he said. His voice cracked and a shaky sob slipped out. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, no.” Cindy nudged him over and squished in beside him, grateful this sad little room at least had spacious arm chairs. “Look at me.” She cupped his cheeks and turned his head, barely making him out through her own tears. “Thank you,” she said, willing him to hear her. “Thank you for being there with her through all of that. She needed you and you stayed. You stayed, Jay, until you could get to her. Thank you.”

His face crumpled and Cindy pulled him into a hug, pressing him close as he sobbed into her shoulder. Oh, her poor boy.

Christopher and Will weren’t faring much better on the tears front. They were all hurting today.

She gave them a tiny nod and they both moved in to join the hug.

They could stay here for each other. As long as they needed.

***

Bex

Mouse said he would stay.

That was nice.

She always wanted to be around him and not just because he was really, super handsome.

The handsomest.

…don’t tell Connor.

Mouse choked on a laugh and Bex frowned. Her brain felt all goopy so she wasn’t sure, but did she say that out loud?

“Um, yes, you definitely did,” Mouse said, smiling down at her. “But don’t worry, I won’t tell Connor.”

“He’d be sad,” Bex said. “He likes being the handsomest.” She squinted at him. “But your face is so good.”

“Thank you?” Mouse bit at his lip.

“I don’t just like your face though,” Bex tried to add quickly. Her words were so slow though. Each one felt two steps behind. “I like all of your parts,” she explained. “Inside and out.”

“That’s good to know,” Mouse said. “I like all of your parts too. Inside and out.”

“Yeah?” That was nice. Mouse was nice. She was so happy they were finally going on their da—

…wait.

Bex closed her eyes against the onslaught of memories that suddenly flashed through her brain.

Ty. A knife.

Emery.

***

Mouse

Bex let out a small, pained noise that instantly had Mouse on alert. “Are you okay?” Stupid question. “What hurts? Should I call a nurse?” He shouldn’t have let her keep the oxygen mask off. What if that had made things worse? So stupid—

“Emery,” she whispered, opening her eyes to look at him again. “Is she okay?”

“She’s still in surgery,” Mouse said, hating that he couldn’t tell her better news. “We haven’t heard anything yet.”

“It’s taking so long,” Bex said. Her fingers plucked at the sheet as she took a shaky breath. “Is that a good sign or a bad one?”

“If she’s still in there, that means she’s still alive,” Mouse said. “She’s still fighting.”

Bex nodded, pressing her lips together. “I thought—I thought she was dead when I found her,” she said, a tear running down her cheek. “Ty—he tried to kill her. How could he do that?”

“I don’t know, Bex.” Mouse stroked a hand over her uninjured wrist. “People like Ty…they’ve got something broken inside of them.”

“I should have told her to go to the police station when she called me,” Bex whispered. “If she hadn’t gone home—”

“Hey, no,” Mouse said. “This is all on Ty. All of it.”

She looked like she was about to argue further when there was a knock on the door and Will came in, followed by Chris, Cindy, and Jay. They were all sporting red-rimmed eyes and watery smiles. Cindy made a beeline for Bex who let out a sob at the sight of her.

Mouse stepped back to give them a moment, making his way over to Jay who looked like he was about to fall on his face. He bumped shoulders with him, getting a small smile in return.

“How’s she doing?” Jay whispered as he watched Cindy fussing over Bex, straightening her pillow and getting her oxygen mask back in place.

“Blaming herself,” Mouse said.

“Fuck.” Jay closed his eyes briefly, his shoulders sagging.

It was a horrible instinct, but one that so many of them had. Something like this happened and you couldn’t help playing it over and over in your mind. Wondering what you could have done differently. ‘Nothing’ was a nearly impossible answer to accept.

Knowing if Emery was going to survive might make it easier though.

“Any news?” Mouse asked Will, keeping his voice low. Will shook his head grimly.

He wasn’t a praying man, but Mouse sent out a call to whoever might be listening to give them whatever help they could. Emery had to make it.

She had to.

It would break Bex if she didn’t.

***

Connor

“God dammit, Emery,” Connor gritted out as he focused on compressions.

“Dr. Rhodes,” Dr. Latham said solemnly.

The sharp whine of the monitor filled the room. It set Connor’s teeth on edge despite his best attempts to block it out. He didn’t need a screaming reminder that he was failing.

“Dr. Rhodes,” Dr. Latham tried again. “We should call it.”

“What?” Connor shook his head, panting with the effort of trying to restart Emery’s heart, sure that he’d heard the man incorrectly.

“The patient is too far gone—”

“No,” Connor snarled. “No, she’s not. And don’t—don’t start talking about me leaving. I’m not doing that and I’m not giving up. Not on her.” He glanced up at Dr. Latham and saw the hesitation—the pity in his eyes. Connor’s breath caught. He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t give up.

But he couldn’t do this on his own either.

“Dr. Latham, please,” Connor begged. “You were right. I probably shouldn’t have been in here, but I had to be. This girl. She—she’s part of my family and I couldn’t let her go through this alone. She needs me. She needs us. Help me fight for her now. Please. Help. Me.”

Connor stared at him, not breaking the rhythm of his compressions despite the merciless drone of the flatline weighing him down.

There could be no giving up.

“Please.”

Click here to read Chapter Five. Click here to read Chapter Six. Click here to read Chapter Seven.

Click here to read That Herrmann/Halstead DNA on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat, @emme-looou

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 5 months

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Thinking about that joke when Person A is like, "That's my ex-boyfriend." and Person B is all *big sigh, muttering about how they need to stop saying that* "Hi. I'm their husband." (Obv, tweak to whichever gender best applies.)

Just for fun: Who would do that in your favourite ships? Who's Person A and who's Person B? Reblog and put it in the tags!

#a herrmann/halstead production #For this series universe:#Christopher Herrmann x Cindy Herrmann #Cindy would totally be Person A and Chris would be Person B #Will Halstead x Connor Rhodes #rhodestead #I think Will would be Person A and Connor would be Person B #Rebecca 'Bex' Herrmann x Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz #I think they would both be Person A for the jokes and Jay is in the background yelling about how they're freaking married #Jay Halstead x Hailey Upton #upstead #Hailey would so be Person A in this fic 🤣#Leslie Shay x Julie Tay #Leslie is Person A for sure and Julie is just over here like 🤦‍♀️#I'll stop there 🤣#now do yours!#fanfic game #ship game

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 3 months

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That Herrmann/Halstead DNA (Chapter Six)

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

A/N: I received my degree from the medical school of Television Drama which means while things might not (*cough* will not *cough*) be accurate, they will be exciting. *jazz hands*

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Two minutes earlier

***

Maggie

“It’s just down this way,” Maggie said as she led Ethan, April, and Nat to Bex’s room. They’d all finished their shifts around the same time and none of them felt right about leaving until they’d had a chance to check in on her.

And on Will and Connor and Herrmann and the whole gang really.

She shook her head. Her heart ached for them.

At least they knew Bex was going to be okay and they’d heard that her friend made it through surgery. Now they could all focus on healing.

Maggie went to knock on Bex’s door when they reached it, frowning when she saw it was open a crack. She still tapped on it quietly before pushing it open—

“Oh, my god!” Maggie gasped at the sight in front of her and rushed forward with the others on her heels.

Bex was sprawled back unconscious against her pillows as a thin stream of blood trickled down the side of her face. Ethan and Nat pushed ahead of Maggie and instantly began a careful examination.

“Head lac’s not too bad,” Ethan said, gently shifting Bex’s hair. “Gonna need a couple of stitches though.”

“Pupils are equal and reactive.” Nat leaned in close and patted Bex’s cheek. “Bex? Come on, Bex, wake up.”

There was a soft groan followed by Bex’s eyelids fluttering, struggling to open.

“What the hell happened?” April whispered to Maggie. “Where is everyone? Why is she all alone?”

All questions she’d love the answers to herself. “I don’t know, but we—”

“Will,” Bex moaned, struggling to sit up.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Ethan shushed her as he tried to keep her still. “You need to stay put.”

“No, no, you don’t—” Bex pushed his hands away. “Ty. He has a gun. He took Will—”

The bang of a gunshot stole all of the air out of the room.

***

Jay

Jay hurried down the stairs with Hailey close behind him. The entire unit had split up to sweep the building alongside security, but no one had spotted Ty yet.

Part of him wanted to believe that was a good thing. That maybe Ty wasn’t headed their way.

But Jay knew better.

Hailey was right. Ty wasn’t going to let Emery go and the clock was ticking on them finding him before he got to her.

Bex’s floor was their next stop. Jay pushed open the door and stepped into the hallway. “I’m going to check in on Bex and let Will know what’s going on,” he said to Hailey.

“I’ll come with,” she said. “I’d like to—”

They both froze as a sound both familiar and yet horribly out of place tore down the hall.

Between one heartbeat and the next, they were both off and running in the direction of the shot.

***

Mouse

Mouse was halfway up the stairwell when he heard it.

His body reacted before his brain did. The shot rang out and he was already running, desperately trying to get to Bex as his mind managed to cobble together one thought.

Don’t let it be her.

***

Connor

The gun went off, deafening inside of the elevator, and Connor braced himself for the pain.

Pain that never came.

He opened his eyes on a shaky breath. Blinking through the spray of blood that had somehow made its way onto his face.

Ty stared back at him with wild eyes, arm still stretched out with the gun in his hand. He jolted when the elevator doors started to close and Connor flinched at the movement.

“Fuck this,” Ty muttered, before stepping back and running off down the hall.

Connor stood there, stunned, until a ragged gasp came from the ground and he looked down to see Will, lying there, and...

Oh.

There was the pain.

“Will!” Connor dropped to his knees beside him, pressing his hands into the rapidly spreading stain on his scrubs, trying to stem the bleeding. Will groaned at the touch, shaking his head.

“No—”

“I’m sorry,” Connor said. “You know I have to—”

“No, not me—” Will gritted his teeth. He reached up to grab at Connor’s wrist. “Bex. He hit her. She—”

“I’ll make sure she’s okay, but right now, stopping you from bleeding out is the priority.” Connor bit off a curse as the elevator doors tried to close on them again. “I’m sorry, this is gonna hurt.”

He got his arms under Will and pulled him out into the hallway. Will’s cry of pain rang in his ears as Connor whispered apologies, trying to move him as efficiently as possible.

“Help!” Connor called out as he got Will repositioned. “I need help over here! Now!” ***

Bex

“Will!” Bex screamed, lurching forward at the sound of the shot. Steady hands pushed her back. “We have to go! We have to help him!”

“We don’t know what’s happening,” Ethan said. “We can’t charge out into an active shooter situation. And you are not leaving that bed.” He shot a look at Natalie who kept her spot beside Bex with a firm nod. “Everyone stay back. I’m going to lock the door.”

“No,” Bex cried, sagging into Nat’s hold. “Ty took him. He—Will went so he wouldn’t take me—and now he—he needs help—” She sobbed, trying to get the right words out so they’d understand and stop wasting time and go and help him.

“Help!” Connor’s voice came through the doorway, faint, but clear. “I need help over here! Now!”

Ethan wrenched the door open and ran out.

“I’ll go,” April called out over her shoulder as she followed. “You two stay with Bex.”

“No,” Bex looked up at Nat and Maggie. “I’m okay. Please, go help them.”

The two of them had a silent conversation over her head. “We’re not leaving you,” Maggie said. “But I’ll take a look and see if I can tell what’s happening.”

Bex swallowed a groan as pain shot through her head as soon as she nodded her agreement. She did her best not to let it show. She had to know if Will—if he was okay.

Maggie stepped over to the doorway and poked her head out into the hall. Whatever she saw had her inhaling sharply. Natalie walked over briskly to join her.

Bex’s head was swimming. He had to be okay.

He had to be.

Ty couldn’t take him too.

Not Will.

She needed to see for herself. Bex forced her body to sit up and got her legs over the side of the bed. The whimper she couldn’t quite smother got Maggie and Natalie’s attention, but by then Bex had already managed to get to her feet.

“No, Bex! What are you doing?”

She tried to tell them that she needed to check on Will. Tried to wave them off as they rushed toward her, but then her legs were buckling and she felt herself going sideways, losing consciousness before she hit the floor.

***

Mouse

Mouse burst out through the stairwell door into the hallway and came face to face with a sweaty, shaking asshole.

This is the one, Mouse’s brain screamed. He hurt Bex.

Ty reared back at the sight of him, thrown for a moment before his face hardened and he lifted his arm.

One with a fucking gun in his hand.

Mouse didn’t give him a chance to point it at him. He stepped into his space, disarming Ty swiftly and passing the gun back to Ed who had come up behind them.

Ty yelled in frustration, struggling in Mouse’s grip and a dark part of Mouse, the one who wanted this man’s blood, loosened his hold.

Come on. He watched as Ty straightened up. Saw him weighing his options.

Go for it, you piece of shit.

Mouse saw the moment Ty decided to strike, blocking the hit easily and lashing out with one of his own. Ty doubled over, clutching at his stomach. Mouse followed it up with a solid punch across his jaw.

“That was for Emery,” he said as Ty staggered back. Another blow had Ty’s eyes rolling back as he fell to the ground. “And that was for Bex.” Mouse turned back to Ed. “You good here?”

“Yup,” Ed said, leaning against the wall as he unloaded the gun. “I’ve got this. You go—”

“Help! I need help over here! Now!”

Mouse was already running down the hall. He slowed down as he neared the elevator, seeing Connor kneeling down beside Will and blood—so much blood.

Ethan and April came running from Bex’s room and immediately dove in to help Connor.

Will had been shot.

But he’d—he’d been with Bex. So was she—

Mouse’s breath came quicker as he stopped himself from finishing that thought.

“Mouse,” Will whispered and Connor’s head whipped up to look at him.

“Good, you’re here,” he said, all tense business as he focused on Will’s injuries. “Go check on Bex, please. Will needs to know someone’s with her.”

“I’ll take care of her,” Mouse said, meeting Will’s eyes. “I’ve got her.”

Will nodded weakly before passing out cold.

“And I’ve got him,” Connor said, barely sparing Mouse half a glance. “Go.”

Trusting Connor to be as true to his word as Mouse was to his, he took off again.

Straight to Bex.

***

Jay

The hall seemed to stretch on forever as Jay ran as fast as he could, heart in his throat as he braced himself for whatever he was going to walk in on this time.

Images of Bex battered and bruised were still so fresh in his mind.

He didn’t know what he’d do if—

If he could handle—

No.

Jay skidded to a stop as he reached the elevator, pushing his way through a huddle of doctors and nurses—stepping around a puddle of blood—

Again.

“Will,” he managed to croak out as he tripped forward, watching his brother get loaded onto a gurney. His face so incredibly pale.

“We have to get him up to surgery, Jay,” Connor said, already moving toward the open elevator. He didn’t even look up, not able to take his eyes or his hands off of Will. A spray of blood covered his face and chest. He looked…

Determined.

Jay could work with determined.

He stepped back, giving them the space to load Will up. Connor spared him a single glance and Jay nodded at him.

I’m trusting you with him.

Connor nodded back, immediately returning his focus to Will as the doors closed.

Jay looked around, eyes landing on April in the middle of the still unfolding chaos and made his way over to her. Hailey followed, a solid presence at his side.

“April.” Her eyes snapped up at him as he approached and Jay caught the slight tremor of her hands. “What happened?” he asked, softening his voice.

“That guy, um, Ty,” she stammered out. “He found Bex’s room—”

“What—”

Hailey stopped him from running off. “We need to know everything,” she murmured and she was right. He fucking hated it, but she was right.

“Um, he, uh, he knocked her out, but Nat and Maggie are with her right now and I think she’s okay,” April continued. “She said something about him taking Will. I don’t know exactly what happened, but we heard the shot and then Connor was calling for help. I think—I think Mouse knocked that Ty guy out down the hall.” She jerked a nod over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, that’s—that’s all I know.”

“No, that’s—thank you.” Jay gave her shoulder a grateful squeeze and then hurried down the hall to where April said Ty was.

And where he was actually spread out on the floor, semi-conscious with a nice-sized welt already forming on his face. Mouse’s friend stood over him, pieces of a disassembled gun in his hands.

“You’re gonna want these,” he said, handing it all over to Hailey.

The stairwell door behind them burst open and the rest of his team came spilling out into the hall. Voight’s sharp eyes took in the scene in front of him and down the hall. “Halstead,” he said. “Upton.”

The what the hell? was left unspoken.

But Jay—he honestly didn’t have any answers for him.

He was done.

He just needed to be with his family.

“Sir—”

“We’ve got this, Jay,” Voight cut him off. “Go be with Bex. Upton can fill me in and I’ll check on you later.”

Jay could only nod.

He left them there and walked off toward Bex’s room. No running. He needed minute. To get himself together and figure out how he was going to face Bex and tell her…

Tell her what?

That Will was hurt? Dying?

That he’d been too late to help his siblings again?

Jay dragged a hand down his face, scrubbing the tears out of his eyes.

Footsteps came running down the hallway, slowing as they pulled up beside him and he looked over to see Hailey walking along beside him. She didn’t look at him; just kept her gaze forward as she walked in step.

Jay sniffed and let out a shaky breath.

They headed for Bex’s room.

Together.

***

Bex

“Bex. Bex!” Someone was patting at her face and Bex tried to brush them off, but she couldn’t move. Everything felt heavy. It was—something was wrong. What was—

“Will,” she gasped, forcing her eyes open and then flinching back at the harsh lights.

“He’s in good hands,” Maggie said. “You just need to stay put, okay?”

Bex didn’t think she could move even if she wanted to, but then her stomach heaved. “Gon’ be sick,” she managed to mumble before turning to the side. Natalie had the little garbage can under her lightning quick and managed to catch it all.

Pain lanced through Bex’s head as she fell back into Maggie’s arms.

“Just rest for a minute, sweetie,” Maggie said quietly, holding a hand over Bex’s eyes to help shield her from the bright overheads.

“Will,” Bex whispered. “What’s—”

“Bex!” Mouse’s voice rang out in the room and both Nat and Maggie shushed him. Bex felt him get close to her and she nudged Maggie’s hand out of the way so she could squint at him. He was knelt beside her, face stricken as he reached out before pulling his hands back. “Are you—uh, what, uh, what can I—”

“We’re sitting here for a moment,” Maggie said. “And then you’re going to help me get Bex back into bed. She’s got a bad knock on the head. Mild concussion, from the looks of it.”

“It was Ty,” Bex gritted out, grasping for Mouse’s hand. He held onto hers gently and shuffled closer. “Will went out with him and we heard a shot.” Bex was—she was so scared to even ask, but she had to know. “Was it—was it Will? Is he hurt?”

Mouse stared down at their hands for a moment before finally meeting her eyes. “He’s alive,” Mouse said softly and Bex sobbed again at that because alive…alive didn’t mean not hurt.

“Ty shot him,” Mouse continued, knowing she needed to hear it all. “But Connor was there—and he’s okay! He’s not hurt, but he was right there and he’s helping Will. Ethan and April were there too. Connor’s got him.”

Connor.

Bex couldn’t quite get her tears under control yet, but she could breathe a little easier at that. Connor had Will. No one would fight harder for him than Connor.

“We got Ty,” Mouse continued. “Ed’s watching him and I expect the team is there now so don’t worry about that.”

“…Ed?” She must have a concussion because that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll tell you the whole story later,” Mouse said. “The important thing is that Ty’s not going to be hurting anyone else.”

Bex hated that part of her couldn’t believe that.

She took a shaky breath and flinched as a stab of pain went through her side.

“Can we—is it okay to move her now?” Mouse asked Maggie. “This can’t be comfortable.”

“I fixed the bed,” Nat’s voice came from somewhere on the left. “We can bring her up.”

The three of them moved her as carefully as they could, but it was still an excruciating ordeal. Bex tried to muffle her cries, holding her breath despite Maggie’s repeated instructions not to.

Mouse looked as wrecked as she felt by the time they got her in place. “Where’s the doctor?” he demanded. “She needs stitches right and more scans and stuff, right? What Ty did more damage? What if—”

“We paged Dr. Fahir,” Natalie said. “She’s on her way and Bex will be looked after.” She squeezed Mouse’s arm as he dragged a hand through his hair. “You’ve got to remember to breathe too, Mouse.”

He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like not possible. Bex held out her un-splinted arm and he carefully took her hand. She pulled him closer.

“Bex—” His hoarse whisper was cut off by two more people bursting into the room.

Jay and Hailey.

“Jay,” Bex croaked out and he was instantly by her side. “Jay, he—Will—”

“I know, I know,” Jay shushed her as he leaned in and gently pressed his forehead to hers. “I just saw and he’s still alive, Bex, okay? He’s fighting. And Connor’s with him. He’s going to be okay. I know he is.”

“You don’t—”

“I do,” Jay said firmly. “Because he knows he’s not allowed to die on us or I’ll bring him back and we’ll kick his ass, right?”

“You can do that?” Bex laughed through her next sob.

“I would figure it out,” Jay vowed and Bex—she believed him.

“He’s going to be okay,” she repeated.

Jay nodded. “Or else.”

***

Chris

Chris and Cindy had taken their time saying good-bye, taking advantage of the relative privacy of the parking garage to sink into each other’s arms for a moment and cry for a bit.

Then all too soon they’d pulled apart because she had to get back to their kids at home and he had to get back to their kids upstairs.

Falling apart completely had to wait. Right now, they had to be the parents.

He’d taken the stairs up to Bex’s floor since the elevator was taking forever and honestly?

He could use the walk.

Every inch of his body was filled with a crackling energy that Chris had nowhere to put. He wanted to hit something. Preferably Ty’s face. He wanted to scream and yell and rage until he had nothing left.

But he couldn’t do that.

He had to be the strong one right now. The solid one. He couldn’t let himself be emptied out when the rest of them needed so much from him.

So, Chris walked up the stairs and used the time to settle himself as best he could. Almost too quickly, he reached Bex’s floor. Reaching out, he opened the door—

And walked into a scene of absolute chaos.

Doctors, nurses, security guards, and cops were all over the place. He grabbed the arm of one familiar face as they dashed by. “Ruzek, what the hell is going on?”

“Oh, shit, Herrmann.” Ruzek’s face went white and that—that was not helping Chris’s stress levels. “Uh, Ty Anderson escaped custody and came to Med,” Ruzek said, scrubbing a hand down his face.

“He what?” Chris’s stomach dropped as he tightened his grip on Ruzek’s arm.

“He overtook his guard, stole their uniform and their gun and made his way over to Med,” Ruzek spit out the facts as quick as he could which Chris would almost appreciate if each one wasn’t more horrible than the last. “We were doing a sweep, but he made it to Bex’s room—”

Chris couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t—

“Is—is Bex—”

“He knocked her out, but I think she’s okay,” Ruzek said. He bit his lip, looking back at the crowd before facing Chris again. “Ty was looking for Emery and Will distracted him somehow. Got him out of Bex’s room, but he—Ty shot Will. I don’t know how bad it is, but Connor was right there so he got help immediately. They’re taking him up to surgery now. Ty’s in custody again and they’re taking him to the station.”

“That’s—jesus, okay, thanks, Ruz.” Chris released his arm and patted his shoulder before stumbling off to Bex’s room. He needed to see her for himself. Make sure she was okay.

And then check on Will—god, Will.

And find Jay. He must be losing his mind.

Okay.

Chris took a deep breath as he neared Bex’s room.

One thing at a time.

Check on Bex.

He entered her room and found another crowd of people there. Dr. Fahir was examining Bex’s side—Chris didn’t miss pained look Bex was trying to hide or the dried blood on the side of her head either.

Mouse stood on the other side of the bed with Jay and Hailey. Nat and Maggie and another nurse were huddled close by behind Dr. Fahir.

Bex spotted him first.

“Chris!”

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m here,” he said, moving forward quickly when it looked like she was going to try and freaking get out of the bed to get to him. “I heard some of what happened and I’m sure there’s more to fill me in on, but first let’s get you taken care of, okay, kid?”

“I’d like to take Bex for some more scans,” Dr. Fahir said, cutting off whatever protest Bex was about to make. “We need to make sure there’s nothing more serious behind the head injury and I’m worried there may have been further injury done to her ribs.”

The other nurse started unhooking things, getting the bed ready to move, and Bex looked between him, Jay, and Mouse, the fear in her eyes speaking volumes.

“I’m going with her,” Mouse said immediately, stepping closer to the bed and taking Bex’s hands.

“That’s not—” Dr. Fahir began, shaking her head, but Jay crossed his arms and leveled a look at her.

“My sister was just attacked in your hospital,” he said. “We’re going to do whatever she needs to make sure she feels safe. I don’t really give a shit about hospital protocol right now.”

Chris rubbed at his forehead before wading in to the fray. He got Jay’s frustration—he felt that same anger down to his bones.

But going on the attack when Bex needed them wasn’t going to get them anywhere.

“Please, Dr. Fahir,” Chris said. “You gotta admit these are extraordinary circumstances right now. And your scans will go better if Bex is calm, right? We’re not asking to all tromp in there with her, even though, believe me, we’d like to. But one person? To help her feel safe?”

Dr. Fahir looked at the wall of them standing there—at Bex’s hand clutching Mouse’s—and sighed. “One person,” she said. “And you can’t stay in the room for all of them, but there’s a microphone and you can keep talking to her.”

“Thank you,” Mouse said quickly, jumping on the offer. “That’s—thank you.”

It took another few minutes for them to get organized, but soon they were wheeling her away with Mouse right by her side.

Chris looked over at Jay who was staring at a patch of blood on the floor. Without a word, Chris walked over and pulled him into a hug.

This time, Jay held him back just as tight.

***

Connor

He couldn’t work on Will.

Connor knew that.

Even if they weren’t—even if Will wasn’t his…wasn’t his—Connor had just finished a grueling surgery of his own and had no business jumping in on another one.

But he couldn’t let Will go through this alone.

Dr. Allan stopped short when she saw him in the scrub room, following his gaze through the window where he watched the nurses getting Will prepped. She kept silent while she scrubbed in. And then sighed.

“You stay in here,” she said quietly. “And you stay quiet.”

Connor nodded tightly. Not trusting himself to say anything and grateful beyond what any words could possibly convey anyway.

He watched them work.

Flipped on the speaker so he could hear.

It was a through and through. That was good. No fragments to deal with.

Will had lost a lot of blood though. So much blood. It was sticky on Connor’s skin.

The proximity of the shot had made for a messy exit wound.

There was damage to his spleen.

Dr. Allan was still checking for more damage when Connor caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the glass. His face and chest covered in streaks of blood. Will’s blood.

Connor’s legs started to shake and he carefully lowered himself to the ground, leaning against the shelves as he sat on the floor. He closed his eyes. Listened to Dr. Allan’s calm voice as she narrated every step of the operation.

That was unusual...and completely for his benefit.

Connor didn’t know how he was going to repay such a kindness.

The door to the scrub room opened and quiet steps made their way towards him. Someone sat down on the floor next to him, taking their hand in his. Connor took a quick glimpse.

Maggie.

She stayed there with him, sitting in silence as they listened to the operation.

After a while, a long while, she finally spoke. “Connor, we should—” she began and he shook his head.

“I can’t—” Connor swallowed hard, starting again. “This is all I can do right now, Maggie. Just let me do this, please.”

He felt her staring at him for a moment before she squeezed his hand and settled back into his side. Another kindness.

Connor held himself even tighter—he couldn’t afford to let himself be undone by these bits of grace—not when Will needed him.

He didn’t know how to explain, didn’t have the words to tell Maggie that this was the only way he had to fight for Will right now.

Will—he had Connor’s heart.

And Connor had his.

So, if he could stay here and breathe and let his heart keep beating…

Will’s would keep beating too.

However long it took, Connor was going to stay here.

Keeping their hearts beating.

Click here to read Chapter Seven.

A/N #2:

First of all, sorry for such a long wait between chapters. There was the holidays and then I had an unexpected deadline come up for the beginning of January, and then I had freaking Covid. So, however bummed you've been, trust me - I was bummier. *sad trombone*

But I'm back now! With a very sad beans chapter, lol! YOU'RE WELCOME!!!

Don't worry - we're moving into the comfort portion of the hurt/comfort in the next chapter.

Thanks for your patience and for sticking around and reading this story. Please feel free to say hi and share your reactions to this chapter! :D

Click here to read That Herrmann/Halstead DNA on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 3 months

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Just an update to say I know it's been another long wait for the next chapter of That Herrmann/Halstead DNA (sorry!), but I got swamped with work stuff and haven't had a chance to write much of it. Plus, I've been having a big debate with myself about how to end it which is also jamming up the works.

All this to say, fingers crossed for having it done sometime in the next week. Thanks for being patient, friends!

#a herrmann/halstead production #fic update

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 2 days

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Fine is a Four-Letter Word (Chapter Three)

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

Chapter One Chapter Two

Chapter Three

You have ONE new message.

“Hey, man, it’s Ed. Sorry for the early call, just wanted to check in. I know you had your hands full getting Bex settled back in at home last night and you couldn’t make it out to the meeting, but we haven’t had a chance to talk really since everything, well…since everything. I know it’s been rough and you’re focused on Bex—and rightfully so, I get it. I just—listen, don’t forget yourself in all of this. It’s a lot to be dealing with and me and Chuck and everybody, we’re here for you, okay, Mouse? If you need to talk or have a break or whatever…we’re here…Okay. That’s all I got. Talk to you soon, bud. Count on it.”

To delete this message, press SEVEN. To save it, press NINE.

Are you still there?

To delete this message, press SEVEN. To save it, press—

Message saved.

***

Mouse

“Let’s negotiate, shall we?”

Mouse could’ve almost bought Bex’s cocky offer if she wasn’t currently relying on the wall to keep herself upright. And the fact that she was turning an alarming shade of gray just from trying to walk to the elevator.

This was not going to end well.

Jay, like he’d heard Mouse’s thought and accepted it as a personal challenge, went on the offense as he shouldered past to get to Bex. “Negotiate? No, uh-uh,” he said, thrusting a hand out towards her. “Gimme your keys and we’re getting you back inside to rest.”

“Jay—”

“Quit arguing. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“Will you please just listen to me for one second,” Bex yelled, pressing a hand to her forehead as she closed her eyes. She took a shaky breath before opening them again. “I can’t stay here knowing that Will’s having a hard time and that Emery is—that they’re waking her up soon.”

Jay sighed. “You going there won’t help—”

“Stop! I know! Okay? I know I can’t actually do anything for Will and that Connor has him covered, but Emery—” Bex’s eyes filled with tears and Mouse found himself moving before he had a chance to second guess himself.

He ducked around Jay and stepped into Bex’s space, slowly, giving her a chance to wave him off. Instead, she let out a soft noise and swayed toward him, dropping her forehead to his chest.

Mouse carefully brought his arms up around her and she mumbled something. “Say that again?” he asked quietly.

“I need to be there.” Bex turned her head so they could hear her and whatever her face was doing had Jay’s falling. “What if it was one of you? Wouldn’t you want to be there? So that when they woke up, they’d know that they’re safe?”

Jay met his eyes over Bex’s head and Mouse knew they were both thinking of the same moment.

Of Jay on a cot in a tent in the middle of nowhere and Mouse pushing through medics so he could be by his side. He would have fought through anyone to be there.

Knew in his bones Jay would have done the same.

Jay cursed softly under his breath, shoulders dropping as he dragged a hand over his face. They waited as he fought whatever internal battle he had to get through before he shook his head and shrugged. “None of us can go anywhere without shoes and actual clothes.” He made a ‘gimme’ gesture at Bex’s bag. “Keys.”

She handed it over wordlessly and he dug through until he found them, moving to open the front door. “We’re gonna get in so much shit for this,” he grumbled. “No, Kol, back up. You’re in trouble too, mister. Chris is gonna ground every single friggin’ one of us.”

Mouse and Bex followed him into the apartment as he kept muttering to himself, heading back toward the bathroom. “No one’s allowed to try and escape again while I’m in here,” he called out before closing the door.

“Bossy,” Mouse mouthed at Bex, hoping it would make her smile. She granted him a small one before it faded away into a frown.

“I’m being stupid, aren’t I?” Bex looked up at him with wide, wet eyes. “I’m sor—”

“Hey, no, don’t do that,” Mouse said as he pulled her into another gentle hug. “You’re not being stupid—you were right. I’d be doing the exact same thing if I was in your shoes. Or socks I should say.” She shook with a muffled laugh and he counted that as a win. “Yeah, maybe trying to sneak out was not one of your better plans, but I get it, Bex. I do.”

He let her go and tugged on one of the strings of his hoodie hanging over her shoulders. “This your special escapee outfit?”

“It’s cozy,” she sniffed at him, mouth twitching up at the corners. “And it matches my socks.”

“In that case, you should probably keep it.”

That got him a real, true Bex smile. “I don’t remember offering to give it back.”

“What is this?” Jay came hustling out of the bathroom, fully dressed finally. “Still no shoes? You just standing out here making heart eyes at each other?” He huffed as he hopped around pulling on his own shoes. “Kol, I thought you were supposed to be in charge?”

Kol popped up from where he’d been lounging on the couch and let out a little howl. Jay held up his hands in apology. “You’re right, I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s more than a one-dog job.”

“You’re so ridiculous,” Bex said, laughing a bit as she stepped away from Mouse. “I’m getting them—oh—” Her eyelids fluttered as she tilted dangerously to the side.

“Whoa!” Jay leapt into action beside him. They both steadied her from either side and carefully maneuvered her over to sit on the couch, Kol whining as he wiggled back to make room. “I was just joking,” Jay said softly as he crouched down in front of her. “There’s no rush. We’ve got plenty of time.”

“No, I’m good, I’m fine.” Bex listed again as she tried to get up. “We can go right now.”

“Let’s take a minute anyway,” Mouse said. At this rate, they’d be taking her to the hospital to be readmitted. “I think maybe we need to get some more food and fluids into you?”

Bex grimaced, sinking back into the couch. “I would really like to not yak today.”

Mouse sent Jay a look that he hoped said ‘I’m here to help and be supportive and do what I can, but also, I’m the boyfriend and I refuse to be bad cop so that’s all you, dude.’

And then Jay sent him a look that clearly said ‘Fuck you, dude, but fine, whatever.’

Excellent communication. Go team.

Jay got to his feet with a groan, crossing his arms as he stared Bex down. “You’re going to have something else to eat, then another rest, and then we’ll go.” He held up a finger before she could open her mouth. “I already checked in with Connor and Kira while I was getting dressed. Will’s getting patched up again, but he’s going to be absolutely fine. They said this kind of thing happens and they caught it early so no one is worried. And Kira said the doctors don’t expect Emery to start waking up properly for at least another few hours. At least.”

He lowered his hand, the stern lines in his face softening. “I’m saying we’ve got time for you to take care of yourself, Bex,” he said. “Take a few hours so you can handle a proper visit, okay?”

“…fine,” Bex sighed.

“Awesome, I’ll get some of that soup reheated,” Jay said before turning to Kol. “Keep her on the couch, bud.”

Kol barked once before snuggling into Bex’s side.

“Ha ha, you’re all hilarious.” Bex immediately started giving Kol pets, even as she rolled her eyes.

“Okay, Jay’s got soup,” Mouse said, pressing a kiss to Bex’s head before straightening up. “I’ll get drinks and maybe some more toast.” He was good at toast.

Jay punched his arm on the way to the kitchen.

“Ah, hey, what was that for?”

“You know exactly what that was for.”

Fair.

***

Bex

Bex had almost forgotten how much of a Mama Chicken Jay could be. Like, rivaling Chris levels. Once she got over being annoyed, she’d probably be impressed.

After the food and fluids and the intense efforts at not puking and then the pretending to be resting, it was late afternoon by the time they finally made it to Med. According to Connor, Will was still sleeping so they went to Emery’s floor first.

Kira came out as soon as she saw them in the hall, a wide smile on her face. “Bex,” she whispered as she wrapped her up in a hug. “You’re here!” The smile dropped as she pulled away, looking between her and Mouse and Jay. “Why are you here? You’re supposed to be resting. And healing. And not rambling around the hospital.”

She shot a pointed look at Mouse and Jay who both held their hands up.

“Listen,” Jay began and Bex stepped in.

“I made them bring me,” she said, reaching out to grab Kira’s hand. “I had to—I needed to be here.” Bex took a deep breath. “How’s she doing?”

“Really well,” Kira said, squeezing her hand back. “Her stats keep improving and she’s already opened her eyes a couple of times. Had a bit of water. She falls back asleep like, immediately, so you haven’t missed much, but…it’s good, Bex. She’s good.”

And oh—that—

That had Bex choking back a sob as she peered over Kira’s shoulder into the room. “That’s really—”

“Good?” Kira offered with an equally watery grin.

“Yeah,” Bex nodded. “Can I—is it okay if I sit with her?”

“Why are you even asking? Come on.” Kira ushered her inside and got her set up in the chair beside Emery’s bed before leaving the room. She moved to sit in the lounge with Mouse and Jay—close enough to be there if they were needed, but still giving her some privacy.

Bex shuffled forward a bit in her chair and reached out to take Emery’s hand. “Hey,” she whispered. “It’s me again. I know—I can’t get enough of this place, right?”

The monitors beeped quietly around them. Bex focused on the rise and fall of Emery’s chest and the soft hiss of air as she breathed under the mask.

There was a hint of colour coming back into her cheeks.

That was good.

All of this is good, Bex reminded herself. It means she’s still alive. She’s healing.

“I’ve been back at the apartment,” she said, watching Emery’s face for any kind of movement. “Chris wanted me to go home to their place, but, uh—I’m—I’m at our place and Jay and Mouse are staying with me. They made this really…sort of unidentifiable, but also kind of delicious soup.” Bex laughed quietly. “I should freeze some so you can try it.”

Emery’s fingers twitched in hers.

“Em?” Bex’s breath caught in her throat. “Hey, I’m here. It’s Bex. I’m right here. Open your eyes, Emery. It’s okay.”

A soft groan made its way through the mask as Emery slowly blinked her eyes to halfway open. “Be—”

“Yes, hi, it’s me. It’s Bex.” She struggled her way out of the chair, ignoring the ripples of pain in her side so she could lean over Emery and be in her line of sight. “I’m right here, Emery.”

Emery reached up, patting at Bex’s cast. “You’re…hurt,” she whispered.

“Only a little,” Bex said. The tears filling her eyes started to spill over as pure relief flowed through her. Emery was awake. She was talking. She was here.

“Bex.” Emery gripped her hand, cheeks wet with her own tears. “Bex. Sorr—”

“Don’t you dare,” Bex said fiercely, leaning in close. “Don’t you dare apologize to me, Emery Hughes or I will—I don’t know, but it’ll be drastic. This is not your fault. It’s his and we’re not giving him any space in here right now, okay? Because we are here. We made it. We’re alive and we’re going to be okay. That’s what matters. Do you hear me?”

Emery stared up at her, a whole battle clearly raging in her own head, but it wasn’t time for that. Not yet.

“We’re here,” Bex repeated, willing the words into Emery’s heart. “We’re alive. And we’re gonna be okay.”

“Okay,” Emery finally whispered.

“Exactly.” Bex smiled, moving back carefully to sit down again, but still close.

“Wait.” Emery frowned and Bex froze.

“What’s wrong? Should I get a nurse?”

“Mouse,” Emery said, somehow managing to raise an eyebrow through her still mostly out of it state. “…moved in?”

“That’s the part you heard?” Bex groaned out a laugh.

“Details.” Emery whispered.

“Yeah, yeah,” Bex said, squeezing Emery’s hand gently. “I’ll tell you the whole not-actually exciting story when you wake up.”

Because Bex would still be there.

She didn’t think she could leave until it really sunk in.

Emery was here. She was alive.

And she was going to be okay.

“Promise?” Emery mumbled, already mostly back asleep.

“Yeah, Em,” Bex said. “I promise.”

***

Jay

Jay sat beside Mouse in the lounge, keeping a clear view of Bex sitting with Emery in the ICU. He still wasn’t sure if bringing her here was the best idea. Bex looked like a light breeze could knock her over and Emery probably wasn’t even going to remember this visit.

But Bex would.

And if it helped her settle and let her focus more on her own recovery, then wasn’t that a good thing?

That was the argument he was going to offer Chris anyway when he inevitably found out about this and tore a strip off of him. In the very kind and yet gut-wrenching way that only Chris seemed to manage.

Mouse elbowed him suddenly and Jay looked up to see Dr. Abrams striding toward them.

Oh.

Crap.

“Gentlemen,” Dr. Abrams said, arms folded as he stared down at them in a way that almost had Jay shrinking back into his seat. “I’m only going to ask this question once. Why do I see Ms. Herrmann sitting in the ICU when she is supposed to be at home? Resting. Which was doctor’s orders, I believe.”

Jay shot a look at Mouse who was giving him that same ‘not it’ look from the living room which was even less helpful now than it was then.

“Okay, um,” Jay began. “I can explain…”

“Oh, good,” Chris said, popping up out of freaking nowhere with that very distinct look on his face that Jay had been picturing since Bex tried to make a break for it and it was exactly as awful as he thought it would be. “Because, I gotta say, Jay, I would also love to hear how this happened.”

“First of all,” Jay said, stalling, trying to figure out where to start, maybe panicking a little bit. “It’s also Mouse’s fault.”

“Dude.”

Click here to read Fine is a Four-Letter Word on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3

@foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @emme-looou, @thebejeweledwatercat, @lookingfortherainbow85

18 notes · View notes

herrmannhalsteadproduction · 25 days

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Fighting the urge to post a new chapter since I know I won't be able to keep a regular posting schedule AT ALL right now so I should wait until I have time to write more but also kind of want to just be my usual chaos gremlin self and post as I go, wobbly timeline and all...

#chews on keyboard #a herrmann/halstead production

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 11 days

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🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🎁

Oh, this is PERFECT for I am Looking Disrespectfully, Sir! Love, love, love the added detail of having Will be in the lab coat! 🤣❤️

You keep nailing every single one of these! It's incredible. Thank you, @sowrongitslottie!

#a herrmann/halstead production #I am Looking Disrespectfully Sir #fic art #art by sowrongitslottie #sowrongitslottie #@sowrongitslottie #one chicago #one chicago fan fiction

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 5 months

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That Herrmann/Halstead DNA (Chapter Two)

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

A/N: I received my degree from the medical school of Television Drama which means while things might not (*cough* will not *cough*) be accurate, they will be exciting. *jazz hands*

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Sam

Sam jogged out of the coffee shop and passed one of the iced coffees over to Tay who was leaning up against the side of their patrol car.

“Extra shot of caramel, as requested,” he said around a slurp from his own straw.

They were having a painfully slow shift, but both of them knew better than to comment on it. That was basically asking for chaos to rain down. So, here they were, pointedly ignoring the quiet while they circled their beat and kept cool and caffeinated.

Their radios crackled to life and Tay slumped against the door, “Oh, thank god.”

Finally, some action. Hopefully, anyway.

The two of them listened carefully as dispatch reeled off the codes—an armed assault in progress, suspect still on the scene.

Sam’s heart stopped when they listed the address. “That—that’s Emery’s place,” he said and Tay’s eyes went wide. They both chucked their drinks in a nearby trash can and scrambled into the patrol car. Sam started it up, peeling away from the curb while Tay called in with them as responding.

Dispatch had backup coming, but they’d be first on scene since they were the closest unit.

Sam stepped on the gas.

Not close enough.

***

Jay

As soon as Bex screamed, Jay was out the door. Already kicking himself for stopping in the first place. Every second he wasn’t moving was another second of Bex trapped.

On her own against Ty.

He’d seen Platt picking up the phone out of the corner of his eye so he knew she’d be on top of making sure the ambulance and the patrol car Hailey had called for were en route.

Jay focused on weaving through the parking lot as he ran for his truck. Hailey fell into step beside him and he could hear the rest of the team heading for their own vehicles. He came up to the driver’s side door, keys in one hand and his phone in the other and—

He couldn’t—

He had to get in there and drive and get to Bex but he couldn’t let go of his phone. His only connection to Bex. He could hear the faint sounds of her struggling to fight coming through the speaker and he couldn’t—he had to hold on to it. She needed him on the line.

He couldn’t shake the feeling in his gut that if he let go, he’d lose her.

Hailey sliced through his crisis as she reached out and plucked the keys out of his hands. “I’m driving,” she said, pushing him toward the passenger side. “Go.”

They scrambled into the car and Hailey peeled out of the parking lot; engines roaring as everyone else followed close behind.

“I’ll get us there,” Hailey vowed.

Jay nodded, not able to speak, but he held onto her promise as he gripped his phone and hoped Bex could feel it too.

Hold on. We’re coming. Just hold on.

***

Bex

Bex danced back as Ty lunged at her once again. A streak of fire went through her side, matching the burning ache in the slice across her shoulder. She hissed and Ty laughed. Hopefully it was a shallow cut like the first one, but she couldn’t risk looking away to check it.

Bex tried to ignore the slick feeling of blood dripping down her skin.

She had to get rid of that knife.

Waiting for Ty to make his next move, she pivoted as he swung out and managed to smack his wrist. His hand was bloody enough that the knife flew out of it, clattering across the floor.

Ty growled and Bex’s head snapped back as he swiftly landed a hit. Spots blurred her vision followed by shocking bolt of pain.

No.

She shook her head, willing herself to keep it together. To focus.

Her eyes cleared in time to duck Ty’s next blow. Bex used his momentum to move in and hit him in the balls, shoving him away when he doubled over. Ty crashed into the armchair with a groan and hit the floor. The chair wobbled before falling down on top of him.

Strike and run, Hailey’s voice popped up in her brain. Go.

Right. Strike and run. Get away while you can.

Bex whirled around and took one step before pulling up short.

Emery. “Shit.”

***

Jay

Over the sound of the truck speeding down the road, they could still hear the noise of the fight unfolding. Jay’s heart thudded when Ty’s groan was followed by a large crash.

Had she managed to take him down?

He tried calling out to her. “Bex?”

There were footsteps. Then a half-sobbed curse.

“Bex!”

Hailey shot a piercing look at his phone and then bleak understanding filled her eyes. “She can’t leave Emery.”

Right on cue, a dragging noise filled the cab of the truck, followed by grunting from Bex.

“Come on,” she cried. “Come on. We can do this.”

A cough and a groan from Ty.

“No,” Bex whispering as the dragging picked up. “No, no, no.”

A screech of furniture across the floor. Heavy footsteps.

“She knows how to fight,” Hailey said quietly, fixing her eyes on the road as she picked up their speed. “She held her own against all of us.”

The fact that none of them had been actually trying to kill her hung as a heavy unsaid truth between them.

***

Bex

“You fucking bitch,” Ty’s voice rang out from the living room.

Bex looked frantically around the hallway for a place to hide or at least someplace to stash Emery, but everything was too far away.

Ty appeared in the doorway, face thunderous.

She gently lowered Emery to the floor and stepped in front of her. All that mattered now was keeping him away from her. Any way she could.

Bex’s heart pounded against her chest as she took a deep breath.

You have the element of surprise in your favour, the Hailey voice in her brain popped up again. But you can only use it once so make it count.

Bex let out a scream, as loud as she could, and charged at Ty. His eyes went wide as she knocked him back into the living room. She got a solid punch in before he rallied and hit her back.

She staggered to the side, trying to keep her feet. Before she could get her bearings, Ty was on her, gripping her tight, lifting her—

And throwing her into the bookshelf.

***

Hailey

They listened as Bex yelped and then a huge crash sounded.

Jay closed his eyes, pressing his phone against his forehead.

Hailey went right through the next red light.

***

Bex

Bex lay on the ground, surrounded by books and broken glass. Her ears were ringing and everything fucking hurt. The floor underneath her vibrated as Ty thudded closer. She opened her eyes to see him looming over her.

He smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth.

***

Jay

Jay flinched at the dull sound of every blow Ty landed. His scream for Bex to ‘stay down’ crackled through the speaker.

Jay was going to kill him.

After they got Bex out of there, Jay was going to fucking kill him.

He held onto his phone, squeezing it so tight he half expected it to crack, and startled when he heard someone talking. He tilted the speaker closer, listening.

But it wasn’t Bex.

Jay glanced over at his partner. Hailey was gripping the wheel so hard her knuckles were white, staring down the road as she whispered, “Get up, get up, get up, get up…”

***

Bex

Bex couldn’t breathe.

She was half-curled up, trying to ward off Ty’s blows, but he was relentless.

Get up, Hailey whispered at her.

I can’t, Bex shrank into herself. I can’t.

The Hailey in her brain wasn’t having any of that. You get up or you die, Bex, so get the fuck up.

Bex cried out. Everything hurt. She felt torn up and broken inside.

She couldn’t—

Oh, god, but she couldn’t die like this either.

She had to get up. She had to get.

The fuck.

Up.

Bex cracked open her eyes and caught a flash of something by her head. A large chunk of glass from one of the broken picture frames. Yes. She reached out, curling a hand around it.

Ty took the opportunity to kick out at her unguarded stomach and she slashed down, stabbing the glass into his calf.

He howled.

Fucking music to her ears.

Gathering all of her energy, Bex scrambled to her feet while Ty was crouched over, grasping at his leg. She cast around, looking for something, anything—there. Bex grabbed the lamp from the side table and smashed it over Ty’s back. He went to his knees with a grunt and Bex stomped on his injured leg.

He cried out, falling to the floor. Bex was already in motion, grabbing the second lamp and bringing it down on his head.

Ty stopped moving.

Completely.

She didn’t stop, couldn’t stop to think about what that might mean. Taking the cord from one of the lamps, Bex ignored her own aching body and pulled his arms behind his back to tie his wrists together. At least she’d hear him if he woke up and tried to get out of it.

Bex tried to stand, falling down again before forcing herself to her feet. She gripped the couch and then the wall as she made her way out to the hall.

To Emery.

“Emery.” Bex fell to her knees beside her, shaking her gently. “Emery!”

There was no response and she was—oh, no, no, no—so still. Bex reached out with shaking fingers to check her pulse.

“No,” Bex cried. “No, come on, Em. Don’t do this.” She started compressions. Her wrist, her shoulder, every part of her was screaming in agony, but she didn’t stop.

She couldn’t stop.

***

Sam

The brakes of their patrol car screamed as Sam slammed to a stop in front of Emery’s house. He wrenched open the door, slamming it behind him before running towards the front door. Sam took out his gun, glancing back at Tay who nodded at him, and they eased their way inside.

He fought to keep it together at what they found.

Emery lay unmoving on the floor of the hallway while Bex kneeled over her, sobbing her way through compressions. He took a step toward them and Tay grabbed his elbow.

“We need to secure the scene,” she murmured and Sam tightened his grip on his gun.

He knew that. He fucking knew that, but he—

He locked down his churning emotions and nodded at her. They stepped forward together, moving around the smears of blood on the floor. Bex hadn’t said a word to them yet. Sam wasn’t even sure she’d realized they were there.

Her quiet pleas followed them into the living room.

“There,” Tay jerked a nod and Sam followed her gaze to the top of a head on the floor, poking out from behind the couch. They rounded it to find Ty unconscious on the floor with his hands tied behind his back.

“Jesus,” Tay breathed out. She looked up at Sam. “I’ve got this,” she said. “Back up’s almost here. Go. Go help Bex.” He caught the faint sound of sirens drifting in through the front door and nodded, squeezing her arm in thanks.

He bounded back into the hallway, being careful to preserve the scene as much as possible and fell to his knees beside Bex.

“Bex—”

She screamed, her hand flying up and he caught it before she connected with his face.

“Bex, it’s me,” he said gently. “It’s Sam.”

She blinked and her hand flexed in his grip. “Sam?” Her eyes went wide and she shuffled back, gesturing to Emery on the ground. “Help. Help, please. You have to—I can’t—it’s not working—”

“It’s okay,” he said, moving in to take her place and start the compressions again. “I’m here. It’s gonna be okay.”

He pressed the words into Emery and prayed that they were true.

***

Jay

Jay had his door open and was leaping out onto the sidewalk before Hailey had a chance to come to a stop.

“Jay!” she yelled. A faint ‘jesus christ’ following behind it, but he was already at the porch and heading inside. The ambulance had pulled up at the same time and he left the door wide open for them to come through.

He saw the blood trail first, stomach lurching as he followed it to where Sam and Bex were kneeling beside a prone Emery.

“Bex!” Jay darted around Sam and crouched down next to his sister who was—god, a fucking mess. He fought the urge to scoop her up in his arms, not wanting to hurt her any further. “I’m here,” he said, trying to catalogue her injuries through a careful once over. “It’s okay, Bex. We’re all here.”

“Emery,” she gasped, turning back toward her with shaking hands. Jay followed, finally getting a good look at her as well and he swallowed a curse. Sam was still doing compressions and by Jay’s count, had been for a few minutes now.

Shay and Brett came clattering in with a gurney, quickly taking over. They hooked Emery up to a monitor and got Sam to halt compressions. Everyone held their breath for a moment before the machine finally beeped.

“Got a pulse,” Shay declared, giving Sam a nod.

He let out a shaky sigh, standing to move out of the way as Shay and Brett began dealing with Emery’s wounds, preparing to transfer her onto the gurney. Hailey came up beside them as the rest of their team filed in along with another set of patrol officers.

“I’ve called for another ambulance,” Hailey said and Sam shot her a look.

“Better make it two,” he said, jerking his head toward the living room to where Ty must be and one of the patrol officers immediately got on their radio to put in the request.

Jay helped Bex get to her feet as Shay and Brett loaded up Emery. “I should—I should go with her,” Bex stammered out as she jerked forward, reaching toward the gurney. “She shouldn’t be alone. She needs someone with her.”

Bex was so focused on Emery, she missed the grim little headshake Shay gave Jay.

fuck.

He stepped in front of Bex, blocking her path. “You gotta stay here,” he said gently. “The other ambo’s coming and they need to check you out.”

“No, Jay—” She kept looking between him and Emery. “No, I’m fine—”

“No, Bex." Jay tried to keep his voice even, but it broke over his next words. “You’re not.”

“Someone has to be with her,” Bex said, her voice rising as her breath started to come faster. She gripped Jay’s arm, leaving a bloody smear on his wrist. “We can’t leave her alone—”

“I could—I could go,” Sam broke in. He looked at Jay with raised eyebrows, asking silent permission. He shouldn’t leave his partner, but there were enough people on the scene—

“He can go,” Voight’s gravelly voice came from behind them. He stepped up to their group and nodded at Sam. “Stay with her and keep us posted.”

“Yes, sir.” Sam ducked his head gratefully before turning back to Bex. “I’ll be with her, Bex,” he promised. “For as long as they’ll let me.”

***

Bex

Bex watched Emery get wheeled out, Sam following close behind.

They got her pulse back. Shay and Sylvie are the best. They’ll make sure she gets to the hospital.

They would.

They had to.

Jay put a hand on her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts when a fresh burst of pain hit at his action. She gasped and he instantly let go.

“I’m sorry.” He held his hands up, stricken. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Bex said, trying to breathe and even herself out. “I’m okay.”

“We need to get you sitting down.” Jay moved to guide her down the hall and she let him steer her until the reached the living room. She halted in her tracks.

“Ty—”

“Isn’t going anywhere,” Jay assured her. “He’s still down and he’s cuffed now. Tay and Ruzek are on him so don’t worry.”

Bex risked at glance over at that side of the room and caught Adam’s eye. He gave her a solemn nod. Okay. That was—that was good. She was vaguely aware of Kim and Voight and the rest of the team scattered throughout the room.

“Come on,” Hailey said, coming up on her other side. “Come sit.”

Hailey.

Bex had to tell her—she had to let her know. “Hailey,” Bex reached for her, tangling their hands. “Hailey, I didn’t stay down.”

“I know,” Hailey whispered back, her eyes shiny. “You got up. You did so good, Bex.”

“I got up,” Bex repeated, turning toward the couch. She stumbled forward. Her legs felt like jelly all of a sudden and she couldn’t—she couldn’t stop shaking. She tried to take a breath, but it hitched, not going deep enough.

Her head swam and she looked around for Jay. “Jay—”

He stepped in front of her with a frown, trying to get her to look at him, but she—

“Bex?” He sounded so far away.

“I can't—” was all she managed to get out before everything went dark.

***

Mouse

Mouse jogged up the stairs, whistling to himself. He hadn’t finished all the files, but he knew it was just busywork Voight had stuck him with to get him out of everyone’s hair. Whatever was left could wait because he had plans.

Plans with his favourite girl.

He came around the corner and plopped the files down on Sergeant Platt’s desk. “I’ll do the rest of these tomorrow,” he said, grinning down at them. “And don’t even bother asking me to stay late because I’ve got a date.” Hey, that rhymed. He chuckled to himself and waited for the inevitable roasting from Platt, but was met with silence.

He turned to her, his next joke dying on his lips at the look she was giving him.

Her face was grey; the lines on it impossibly deeper than they’d been when he’d seen her only thirty minutes ago. “Mouse,” she began, his name a broken and choked off whisper.

“Sarge, what—” Mouse forced the question out even though he knew with every inch of his being that he didn’t want to hear the answer. “What happened?”

Click here to read Chapter Three. Click here to read Chapter Four. Click here to read Chapter Five. Click here to read Chapter Six. Click here to read Chapter Seven.

Click here to read That Herrmann/Halstead DNA on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat, @emme-looou,

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