DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANY CHARACTERS, MUSIC, SONG LYRICS, or MUSICAL ARTISTS used in any of my writing. All rights belong to NBC, Dick Wolf Media, and any musical artist I might reference.

Author's note: My laptop has finally been fixed. Unfortunately, nothing saved to the cloud, including the first page or so I had written for the chapter. I was incredibly discouraged because I KNEW it was an amazing start. Eventually I was able to start writing and voila! Here it is! I appreciate your understanding and I hope you enjoy! Leave me some love and click that review button. As always, follow me TheCateDouglas1

Got the devil on my throat
Got blood on my hands
The ones that I love are in danger
I'm a fallen man...
~NEEDTOBREATHE~ Survival

" Jay's been shot." The words reverberated in Will's head, his brain trying to make sense of the information. Shot. Jay. Jay had been shot. His brother. Shot. All around him it seemed as if the world had come to a grinding halt. Will found himself feeling paralyzed, unsure of how to proceed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Crockett run for the ambulance bay, a barrage of sirens growing closer. He pushed through both Goodwin and Charles, quickly catching up to Marcel. A line of police cruisers passed through before the ambulance stopped. Before Will could process what was happening, Jay had been unloaded and whisked away inside. He started to follow, but stopped inside the waiting room, watching as a blood stained Hailey entered.

" What the hell happened?" shouted Will, closing in on her.

" We stopped to get gas."

" Then why was Jay inside?" he challenged.

" I asked him to get me a cup of coffee," Hailey said quietly.

" So my brother got shot over a cup of coffee?"

" It didn't matter. The kid inside had a gun."

" It didn't matter? It didn't matter?" Will screamed, his face turning red with anger.

It sure does matter. Jay got shot getting your damned cup of coffee."

" I'm sorry…" she mumbled.

" Sorry doesn't cut it. Why the fuck wasn't he wearing his vest? You know...the bullet proof vest that would have lessened the impact from the two gunshot wounds he sustained? WHY. THE. HELL. WASN'T. HE. WEARING. HIS. VEST?" Will could feel the blood boiling in his veins, not feeling the least bit sorry as he watched Hailey break down in tears.

" We were on the way back to the station. I didn't have mine on either. They were in the backseat."

" If my brother dies, it's on you!" Will spat angrily. He could feel the eyes of those gathered in the waiting area and the dozens of officers gathering beaming down upon him, taken aback at his outburst.

" Leave her be Doc." Hank Voight's gruff voice appeared out of nowhere.

" She's supposed to have his back. You were supposed to have his back Hailey!" he yelled as he was reluctantly forced out of the waiting room by Hank's strong grip directing him.

Will broke free from the sergeant and headed straight for Baghdad, the whispers of his colleagues following him. He could hear a frenzied blend of Marcel, Lanik, and Choi's voices as well as the beeping monitors. He knew those various beeps all too well. Hearing them meant Jay's condition was dire. Before Will could attempt to enter the trauma room, a random medical student stood, blocking the doorway.

" Get the fuck out of my way," Will growled.

" Dr. Marcel said you aren't allowed in."

" Bullshit. I'm an attending. I can end your career before it even begins," threatened Will.

" But Dr. Marcel said…" started the med student. Out of the corner of his eye Will spied the familiar face of a tech from the blood bank.

" Mike. Is that for the patient in Trauma 4?"

" Dr Marcel requested two pints of type specific ASAP. The rest of it is going to the hybrid OR."

" Why don't you take the rest to the OR? I've got these," declared Will, reaching for the blood. Without a second thought, he pushed the medical student aside and entered the room.

" I've got the blood!" Will announced, trying to get a good look at Jay, His heart dropped at the sight of his brother being intubated, a nurse manually breathing for him. And the blood. So much blood. Will had just attempted to glance at the beeping machines displaying Jay's vitals when Crockett angrily grabbed for the blood Will was holding.

" What are you doing in here? Get out. Now!" he shouted.

" Make me," challenged Will, standing firmly in place,

" I'm trying to save your brother's life. I can't have you in here distracting me." Will stood still.

" SECURITY!" Crockett's voice echoed furiously through the seemingly quiet ED. Before Will could comprehend what was going on, he felt Voight's less than gentle grip on his scrubs, pulling him backward, the doors to the trauma room closing again. Once more, Will turned towards Voight who was standing beside him.

" What the hell are you doing? Let me go!" Will shouted, struggling with all his might against Voight's vice grip.

" You're just as headstrong as your brother is," argued the police officer.

Will. I want to go in there just as much as you do. That's one of my men in there. Jay. Jay is...there is a waiting room full of his fellow officers, all waiting for news. We both know Jay needs the doctors' undivided attention." Will reluctantly relaxed, allowing for Voight to release his grip. He stood on shaky knees, ready to collapse. How was this happening?

" Will!" Natalie's voice came out of nowhere, accompanied by the sound of her running feet. He instantly fell into her arms, hugging her with every ounce of energy he could muster.

"I just heard. How is he?"

" I don't...I don't know," Will managed to choke out, tears brimming in his eyes, threatening to spill over. The second Natalie enveloped him into a loving, tight embrace his tears that he had been holding in began to flow.

" What happened?" she asked Voight.

" They're still investigating, but preliminary evidence suggests Jay walked into a robbery in progress. The kid shot Jay just as he was drawing his weapon. This gave the store owner just enough time to pull out his own pistol to shoot the kid with. He was dead before he hit the ground," explained Voight. The three turned around as the doors to the trauma room were pushed open abruptly, Ethan, April, and Lanik quickly whisking Jay's gurney to the hybrid OR. Will quickly dried his tears, watching as Crockett stepped out last, motioning for them to follow him. As he walked aside his co-worker and friend, Will couldn't help but to notice that Marcel's black scrubs were saturated in blood. Jay's blood.

" How is he?" he asked as they stopped outside of the ED lounge.

" Honestly? Not good. Jay took two shots to the chest. Unfortunately both bullets are still lodged inside. Thankfully we managed to get him stabilized long enough to move him to the OR, but it was a close call." Crockett paused before looking Will in the eye.

Will. I need to know. Does Jay have a DNR?" Will couldn't believe what he was hearing.

" No. Do everything in your power to save my brother damn it!"

" What about a medical proxy?"

" It's just me. I mean we," he replied, looking to Natalie. Crockett sighed.

" I need to go change and scrub. I wish there were time for you to see him, but…"

" I understand. Marcel. Please. Please don't let him die," pleaded an emotional Will.

" I don't plan on it," the surgeon declared before heading for the locker room. Voight cleared his throat.

" I'm going to go update everyone. Let me know if you need anything. Anything at all. We've got your back," declared Voight.

" Thanks," mumbled a numb Will before Voight turned and went back to the crowded waiting room. Will let out a shaky sigh, laying his head on Natalie's shoulder. Her hand found his as they shifted closer together in the adjoining chairs, knowing they would be there for awhile.