Chapter Text
The apartment building was quiet when they got back. It was pretty late, so all of the neighbors were probably asleep. The keys jangled in the elder Halstead's hands, and that sound was the only one to fill the hallway beside a few shared words between him and Dr. Manning. The two entered the apartment, Will holding the door for Natalie as she led the way. As he closed the door behind him, he glanced at the dark-haired woman with a smile and was greeted with the same sweet look in return. Their date had been perfect: dinner at Maestro's, an upscale restaurant that served obscure delicacies and the fanciest wines.
Now, they retired back to Will's apartment to wind down for a bit before returning to their hectic workplace the next day.
"I'm gonna go get more comfortable," Natalie said to her lover, placing her hand purse gently on the table beside the couch.
"All right, I'll get us some wine," he responded as he took off his jacket. She smiled at him and gave him a quick smooch before the two went to complete their tasks.
Natalie changed into a more appropriate lounging outfit: one of Will's old t-shirts paired with soft fleece pants she'd found in his bottom drawer. Natalie and Will couldn't wait to spend the night relaxing together. Working at Med was an incredibly stressful and tiresome experience, but neither of them would ever devalue their occupations. What they did was important and rewarding, no matter how exhausted it made them.
Will retrieved two glasses from the cupboard and poured the dark red wine. It was nice that they had the apartment to themselves. By this point, Jay had moved out of Will's and back into his own apartment. After his breakup with Erin, Jay stayed at the apartment for a bit, but now he was back to living on his own again.
Natalie finished up in the bedroom and went to meet Will in the kitchen. On her way, she noticed that the light was on in the bathroom. She figured that Will must've forgotten to shut it off when he left earlier. Nat went to go flick the light off, and as she peeked into the bathroom to find the switch, her heart sunk deep into her stomach.
The mirror above the sink was shattered. Cracks streaked out all across it, and rings of broken glass spawned around the point of the damage, where it looked like something had hit the mirror repeatedly. The Blood drops decorated the white countertop, some spilling into the sink and down the drain. Red was smeared on the front of the cabinets and on the tile floor.
Her eyes followed the trail of scarlet and stopped at its source. There, a familiar man laid in the corner where the bathtub met the wall, on the floor in front of the toilet. His head and shoulders leaned against the side of the tub with legs stretched out in front of him. In his left hand, a glass bottle with a black and white label held a small amount golden brown liquid. His other hand, doused in crimson, laid on the floor to the right of him, surrounded by a streaky red mess on the white tile.
"Will! Get in here," the doctor yelled as she got down on the floor near the unconscious man. Will, who was just leaving the kitchen, placed the filled glasses on the coffee table and quickly went to find out what was wrong.
"What's the matter-," he began before the scene came fully into his view. He was in disbelief at what he saw; his stomach became a pit of anxiety and concern that sprung him into action. His face transformed from a curious one to an expression of urgency as the details of the situation became clear.
Jay, in a drunken stupor, had pulverized the mirror with his fists. Its glass was strewn among the countertop and lodged in the mans knuckles, which were torn and bloody from the contact. He was on the floor, hand and arm covered in blood and unconscious. Will was overcome with worry as he went to Jay's aid.
"Jesus, Jay." The elder man crouched near his brother, switching spots with Natalie.
"Where's your kit, Will?" Nat asked as she left the bathroom in a hurry. She was referring to the doctor's bag of medical supplies, which was a to-go bag, of sorts.
"Bedroom, on the floor next to the dresser," he yelled to the other room. Will's face was stern; his brow was furrowed and his lips taut, as he began helping his drunken brother. He acted calm, but inside his heart was beating fast and his stomach turned. He grabbed his brothers arm, lifting it and removing the nearly empty bottle of Jack Daniels from his grasp and putting it off to the side. Next, he placed his fingers in the angle of Jay's neck, near his throat, in an attempt to check his pulse. He knew his brother was in a drunken slumber but figured it couldn't hurt to check his vitals anyway.
"Jay. Hey, you awake, man? You hear me?"
Unintelligible mumbles escaped Jay's lips in response as he turned his head to the side, resting it on the wall. Grabbing the man's injured hand, Will began to assess the damage. Shards of reflective material danced among the wreckage that was Jay's knuckles. Blood, both dry and fresh, covered the tattered and split skin.
"Jay... What did you do to yourself, man?" Will trailed off. Nat stood in the doorway, med kit in hand, and felt utterly terrible for Will. She handed the bag off to him and stood to watch as he worked. She felt so sorry for him, and for Jay, having never seen the ex-ranger this vulnerable and unhinged before.
She excused herself to the kitchen to retrieve a rag and a glass of water. As she stood in front of the fridge watching the glass fill with fluid, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. When she returned, Will had already gotten to work patching up Jay's hand. Carefully with tweezers he gently removed each piece of glass from his brothers hand and placed it in a dish that was previously on the countertop.
The mirror was broken from several areas, indicating that Jay had made contact with it more than once. It was evident in the destruction of his skin that he'd pummeled the glass in a complete intoxicated rage. Will was infected by the thoughts of his brother angrily beating his reflection. He wasn't sure what it meant, but what he did know was that his brother was struggling.
"I got a rag and some water," Nat said gently, breaking Will from the painful thoughts.
"Thank you," he said back, facing her with a fabricated smile and taking the water. After all the remnants of the glass seemed to be completely removed from the wounds, Will grabbed the rag and doused it in rubbing alcohol, pressing it firmly against his brothers bloodied hand. Ordinarily, the pain of putting alcohol on lacerations like these would be enough to spark at least a wince from anyone. Since Jay was already so numbed from the whiskey, though, his only reaction was a quiet moan.
Will's heart ached as his eyes took the full image of his brother in. He blinked away the tears that began to sting his eyes. Nat placed a hand on his shoulder, showing him that she was there. She sat down on the toilet next to him and began rubbing his shoulder in an attempt to console him. Will grunted, clearing his throat to rid it of the immense lump that rose in it.
The rag was tinged various reds and oranges when it was removed from the bloody cuts. Will then fished around in his bag for some bandages and Steri-Strips to help hold the cuts closed. The skin was too thin and most of the cuts were too superficial to require stitches. After closing the wounds with the strips, he wrapped gauze and bandages around his brother's hand, making it thickest where the most damage was. When finished, Will attempted to rouse his brother from his doze again.
"Jay, man, wake up. Drink some water, buddy, come on." With this, Jay moaned and opened his eyes slightly for a brief moment, head still lulled against the tub. Nat handed the glass of water off to him, which he took in his uninjured hand. With the help of his brother, Jay took the glass to his mouth and began to sip. With eyes still closed, he slowly consumed the water, Adam's apple bobbing up and down with every swallow. After about half of the water was gone, Jay gave up and slipped back into his slumber, letting the hand that once gripped the glass fall to his lap. Will handed the half-empty glass back to Dr. Manning and stood up.
Without a word, Will leaned over and attempted to get the sleeping man up off the ground. Grabbing his brother's left arm and laying it around his neck and on his shoulders, Will stood Jay up, with an arm wrapped around his torso for more support. Though Jay's eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep, he stumbled along with Will to the living room. When they reached the couch, Will carefully plopped him down onto it and helped him lay down. Upon hitting the cushions, the man's body went limp again and he dozed off into a deep sleep, with the uninjured hand hanging out onto the floor.
Covering him with a blanket, Will glanced down at his sibling and was overcome with sadness once again. It wasn't often that Will saw his brother as vulnerable as he was now. Jay was highly skilled in hiding his pain from everybody. And, having not been around for his brother when he returned from Afghanistan, Will wasn't used to seeing Jay this broken. As good as his mask was, Will knew that his brother was a mess. Slowly but surely, he was falling apart. Will should've known from the hospital after the girl died that the detective was completely devastated, and he should've checked in on him more after everything, and he should've-
Nat wrapped an arm around Will and placed a hand on his cheek, pulling him back to reality. She directed his eyes away from Jay and toward her face.
"He's gonna be okay, Will."
"No, I know, He must've used his spare key to come back here, he was probably looking for me. I wasn't there before and I just-," he paused, taking a sharp breath. He could feel himself starting to fall apart as he was overwhelmed with emotion. "I should've been here. I just- I should've helped him." Will's expression contorted with the emotion that filled him, his brows cinched together and his eyes filled with sorrow.
"Shhh, stop. It's okay, Will. It's not your fault." She grabbed his face with two hands and forced him to look into her eyes. He paused from his rambling and embraced her.
"How about we clean up the bathroom and go to sleep, okay?" she suggested to him. He nodded, and pulled away from her, and the two went off to clean up the mess that still consumed the bathroom.
After about a half hour of wiping up blood and picking up shards of glass, the two retired to Will's bed. There, they laid with each other, wanting nothing else other than to just be in each other's presence. Nothing felt more intimate than just being around one another. Still, thoughts plagued Will's mind of his brothers well-being. He couldn't help but wonder how many times Jay had come home piss drunk and passed out on the floor after his return from war and many times Jay could've used someone by his side. How many times had he taken his frustration out physically? What other ways did Jay self medicate? Was this his PTSD resurfacing? Will was pained at the idea. There was nothing he could do at this moment, though. For now, all he could do was relish in the fact that he was next to the woman he loved, and look to tomorrow.