Once the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the paramedics took the stretcher out and rolled it down the Emergency Test Sector. Two nurses had to hold Jay back because he wasn't allowed down that part of the hospital.
Once the tests were over, Jay's older brother, Will was assigned to be her doctor during her stay. He walked into her room to see her laying still on the bed.
"Kiera? Can you hear me?" a male voice asked.
In that moment, Kiera decides to wake up. Her vision returned to normal and she realized that she was in the hospital. Then, she turns her attention to the man with red hair in burgundy scrubs by her bedside.
"Hi, Kiera. I'm Dr. Will Halstead and I'll be taking care of you." he said.
Will put on his stethoscope to check her heartbeat. Kiera took a deep breath in and out.
"Halstead? By any chance-" she started to question.
"I see you've connected the dots. Jay is my younger brother and he's told me all about you." Will said as he took the oxygen tube off from around her face.
Kiera thought to herself why Jay didn't tell her about him having a brother, but it's not important.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I'm okay, just a little-" Kiera started to say, but she winced in pain as she tried to adjust her position on the bed.
"Hey, take it easy. You're gonna be sore for a little while." Will said, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Right, sorry." Kiera apologized.
"Looks like you're in good shape for visitors. How about I get Jay for you?" Will offered.
"Thanks." Kiera says, then he walks out the door.
She sees that she's wearing a hospital gown, then she looks at her right arm to see an IV in her elbow ditch and a pulse monitor on her index finger. Kiera carefully turns over on her left side and faces the opposite direction. Some tears trickled down her face as she reflected on everything that's happened to her in the last several hours.
Will walks out to the waiting room. Jay was staring at Kiera's Priceless necklace when he looked up to see his brother coming his way. He stood up from his seat and the brothers shook hands.
"How is she?" Jay asked.
"She's awake." Will said.
Which made Jay exhale a huge sigh of relief.
"The sedative is now out of her system. The scans and tests showed that she has some minor injuries, but nothing life threatening. She's just gonna be in some discomfort for a little while." Will explained.
"Anything else I should know?" Jay asked, trying to give a hint.
"I knew that was coming. The rape kit showed no signs of sexual assault." Will answered.
Jay exhaled again in relief.
"Can I see her?" he asked.
"Of course." Will said, then guided his brother down a hallway.
When they got to Kiera's hospital room, Jay looked through the window to see her laying on the hospital bed but she was facing the opposite direction.
"She's a tough kid." Will said, then patted his brother on the back.
He left his brother alone, thinking that he would like to be with Kiera by himself. Jay slowly opened the door and walked into the room. He sat down on a chair next to the bed.
"Hey, champ." Jay said.
Kiera didn't answer for a few seconds, then she turned over and sat up in the bed. Jay gently pulled her into a hug because it was also traumatic for him as a police detective to see someone he loves caught in the middle of a crime. They hold each other for a good few minutes, then they pulled away to face each other. Jay puts a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I never thought I'd see you again." Kiera said.
"Me neither. You really had me worried back there." Jay said.
"Why do you think they did this to me?" Kiera asked.
"I guess it was retaliation from apprehending those two traffickers from the undercover job we did." Jay theorized.
He took his phone out and tapped on the voice recording app. He was going to ask her questions and secretly record the answers. He sat his phone face down on the bed.
"So, what happened?" Jay asked.
"I just got off the bus after babysitting Nathan when I was walking by a donut shop that's a block away from the apartment complex. I heard a whimper coming from the alley and I found a puppy. The next thing I know, I was grabbed from behind and put in a van. After driving for about fifteen minutes, they arrived at that farmhouse." Kiera explained.
"What did they do once they brought you there?" Jay asked.
"They filmed a video of them hitting me and saying derogatory things to me. After that, they made me change clothes and they placed me in a dog cage with three other girls. The next day, the guys pulled us out of the cage room one-by-one and they didn't come back until fifteen minutes later. I overheard one of them say: "gotta love brokenness hour." I knew that it was a matter of time before my innocence was taken away." Kiera said, then wiped away some tears.
Jay noticed and handed her a tissue. She accepted it and wiped her face.
"Umm, were you able to get a look at any of the guys' faces?" Jay asked.
"No. They wore masks and they never took them off. But, that one guy had his mask off when he was upstairs with me." Kiera explained.
"Can you recall what happened right before we got to the farmhouse?" Jay asked.
"That guy you shot? He wore a tag with the letter "W" on it. He came into the cage room and pulled me out, then he covered my face with a rag to make me pass out. I heard him say: "saved the best for last." I woke up to find myself restrained to the bed in that room on the third floor. W jabbed a needle into my leg, then sat next to me with the knife to my neck. That's when you came in, just in time." Kiera explained.
"Kiera, I hate to ask this. Did any of those guys assault you?" Jay asked.
"They tried a few times, but I fought them off. There was no way in hell I was going down without a fight." Kiera said.
"Looks like I taught you well." he said with a smirk.
Jay pulls out her Priceless necklace from his pocket and placed it around Kiera's neck. She stared down at the two charms and smiled. That symbol was what got her through the ordeal.
"Please promise me that you won't let this define you." Jay said to her as he took her hands into his.
"Of course not." Kiera said.
Then, she felt her stomach growl and Jay stopped the voice recording.
"How about I go get us something to eat?" he offered.
"Please." Kiera said.
With that, Jay left the room and went down to the hospital cafeteria to get some food. Kiera noticed a bag by the chair and she carefully reached for it. She grabbed ahold of it and placed it beside her. She found her phone and earbuds inside, so she plugged them in and played a random song. After about five minutes, the door opens and Hank walks into her room.
"Hey, Kiera. How you doing?" he asked in his usual raspy voice.
"I'm okay." she answered as she took her earbuds out.
"Listen, at some point, you're gonna have to come-" Hank started to say.
Then, Jay walks in with a tray of food.
"Sarge? What are you doing here?" he asked, then placed the tray on his chair.
"Just checking in." Hank answered.
"Why don't we take this outside?" Jay suggested.
"Excuse us." Hank said to Kiera, then the two of them walked out to the hallway.
"All right. What's your game?" Jay asked him.
"Excuse me?" Hank questioned.
"She's been through hell, and you think that this is a good time to ambush her with questions?" Jay questioned.
"All I was going to tell her was that she'll have come down to the District for questioning once she's discharged." Hank explained.
"No need, I already got it." Jay said, holding up his phone.
"What do you mean?" Hank asked.
"I took a voice recording of me asking her some questions about what happened. So, there you go." Jay said, then texted the voice recording to Hank's phone.
"All right. Good work, Jay." Hank said when he heard his phone ding to notify that he received the recording.
He was starting to walk away, but Jay got his attention again.
"Hey, Sarge?" Jay said.
"Yes?" Hank said as he turned around.
"If you have any more questions for my daughter, you can go through me." Jay said in a stern tone of voice.
"Understood. My apologies." Hank said, then walks away.
Jay rolled his eyes in frustration, then went back into Kiera's hospital room. He picks up the tray to sit down in his chair again, then sets the tray on his lap and opened up the food boxes.
"What was that about?" Kiera asked as she grabbed a food box.
"Nothing I can't handle." Jay simply said.
Kiera devoured her food because of how hungry she was.
"Whoa, slow down. No one's gonna take it away from you." Jay said.
"Sorry, it just that they didn't feed us in the farmhouse." Kiera explained.
"I've been thinking. Would you want me to reach out to your mom to see if she wants to come and visit?" Jay asked.
"No!" Kiera exclaimed.
Jay was shocked to hear Kiera respond like that and she quickly corrected herself.
"Sorry, no. I don't want her to see me like this and I don't want you to lose her trust because she'll start asking questions." Kiera explained.
"Okay, point taken." Jay said.
They ate their food and Jay stayed at the hospital overnight. Will assured him that Kiera was in good hands, but he didn't want to leave her side. Kiera couldn't stop thinking about how she overheard Jay calling her "his daughter" and it felt good to know that he feels that way about her.
~~~~~~~~~~
After three days, Will discharged Kiera from the hospital. He unhooked her from all the monitors, as well as prescribed two medications to help with any muscle pain and anxiety symptoms. Will helps her out of the bed and walks her to the bathroom so that she can change clothes. Kiera quickly took off the hospital gown, then put on a dressy lavender shirt, a pair of jeans, and white Converse sneakers.
'It feels good to be back in my own clothes.' she thought.
Kiera moves on to braid her hair into two braids, then walks out of the bathroom.
"Now that looks like the Kiera my brother has told me all about." Will says.
She smiled, then embraced him in a hug and Will hugs her back. They pull away after a few seconds.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"For everything you've done for me while I was in the hospital." Kiera answered.
"Don't sweat it, kiddo. It's my job." Will said.
"Where's Jay?" Kiera asked when she noticed that he wasn't in the room.
"He went to pull his truck closer to the entrance. Come with me, I want to show you something." Will said, then guides her out of her room.
He wants Kiera to meet another one of his patients before she leaves. His name is Landon and he's the same age as her. He was admitted to the hospital after injuring his right leg while on a hunting trip.
Will shows Kiera to the courtyard garden where Landon likes to sit and play his guitar. They approach him as he concentrated on strumming the guitar strings. Kiera immediately noticed a bright red cast on his calf and a set of crutches leaning against the side of the bench.
"What's up, Landon." Will says to get his attention.
"Hi, Dr. Halstead." Landon said.
"This is Kiera, she's another patient of mine. I just figured you two should meet." Will said, then walked away from the courtyard.
The two of them could see where he was going with this and went along with it.
"That sounded nice." Kiera said as she sat down on the bench.
"Thanks. It's for my latest song. I have the chords right, but I've only written up the chorus. I just don't know how I want it to sound." Landon explained.
"I sing a little bit. Mind if I take a shot at it?" Kiera asked.
"Sure, why not?" Landon said with a smile.
He pulled out his phone to take a voice recording of how the song will sound to keep for reference.
Kiera looked at the lyric sheet and thought of how she would like the song to sound. Then, she heard the soft sound of Landon strumming the guitar strings and she began to sing.
K: Long before we tried to get tangled up and tied
We took so much for granted with nothing to hide
I'll be missing you
Oh I'll be missing you
The color of the leaves remind me of your smile
We go out walking mile after mile
I'll be missing you
Oh I'll be missing you
Jay walked up to Will in the courtyard.
"Hey, man." he said to get his brother's attention.
"Hey." Will said without making eye contact.
Jay looked over to see what his brother was looking at. He saw Kiera sitting on a bench next to a boy who's playing the guitar.
"Is Kiera singing?" Jay asked.
"Yeah. They're really hitting it off." Will said, finally facing his brother.
"My brother, doctor and matchmaker." Jay said jokingly.
Then, he took out his phone and started taking a video of Kiera and the boy singing their song.
K: Love will always be the key
Look into my heart and see
Come on now
Then, she motioned with her hand for Landon to join in with her on the chorus.
K&L: I'll be there, in moments of sorrow
I'll be there, just tell it to your heart
My love's everlasting
I'll be there, there's no more denying
I'll be there and never far apart
Just listen to my heart
Jay and Will walked over to them, while clapping their hands. Kiera blushed a little in embarrassment.
"You two could write an album together." Will complimented.
"Thanks, Dr. Halstead." Landon said.
"Kiera, you didn't tell me you could sing." Jay said.
"One of my hidden talents." she said.
"Landon, this is my brother, Jay. Jay, this is Landon, he's one of my patients." Will said, giving an introduction.
With that, Jay held out his right hand and Landon shook it.
"It's nice to meet you, sir." Landon said.
"Likewise. You two sounded great." Jay complimented.
"Thanks." Landon responded.
"Landon, your next checkup is in ten minutes. So, it's best to head on over." Will said to him.
"Yeah. Kiera, we better get going too." Jay said, while looking at his wristwatch.
Will helped Landon stand up and get on his crutches, while Kiera helped pack up his music and guitar. The next thing they know, they make eye contact and it was like a spark went off between them.
"I hope your recovery goes well." Kiera said.
"Thanks, same to you. We'll have to catch up again sometime and maybe finish writing this song." Landon said.
"Sounds good." Kiera said.
Then, Landon pulls out a permanent marker and offers it to Kiera.
"You wanna sign my cast?" he asked.
Kiera smiled as she accepted the marker. She took the cap off and wrote her name in cursive, along with drawing a smiley face.
They also exchanged contact information and social media profiles before going their separate ways. They hoped to meet again one day.
~~~~~~~~~~
It's now the morning of the court hearings for the abuse case and the kidnapping case.
Kiera woke up early to finish writing her statements, then started getting ready. She got dressed in a long sleeve, navy blue wool dress, black leggings, brown boots, and a pearl necklace. Kiera also curled her hair and pulled some strands back with a clip.
She walked out to the kitchen to see Jay eating breakfast at the island. He was just going to throw on a suit, so he took the time to eat a good breakfast. Jay had to go to the hearings too because he was a responding officer for both cases.
"Well, don't you look ready to take on the day." Jay complimented.
"Thanks. But, you sure don't." Kiera said jokingly.
"Very funny. It's just been a while since I actually sat down for a decent meal, let alone breakfast. There's some pancakes over there for you." Jay explained.
"Oh, my favorite." Kiera said as she puts two pancakes on a plate.
"No need to rush because we got plenty of time. I'm gonna go get ready, then we'll head out." Jay said, then heads to his bedroom.
Kiera finishes her breakfast, then puts the dishes in the sink. Perfect timing because Jay walks out wearing a suit. It was definitely different from what she's used to seeing him wear on a daily basis.
"Wow, you sure do clean up good." Kiera complimented.
"Thanks. You ready to go?" Jay asked.
"Yes." Kiera answered.
They walk out to the parking garage to get in Jay's truck. He drove to the 21st District because Jay had to do some work before heading over to the courthouse. Kiera just sat on a stool by his desk and read over her statements to keep herself occupied. About ten minutes later, Kim walked up to the Unit.
"Jay, they're here." she said to get his attention.
"Perfect! I'll be right back, champ." Jay said to Kiera before he left the room.
"Okay." Kiera said.
Jay and Kim walked down to the lobby to see a woman with a white, fluffy dog on a leash. He was wearing a harness that said "Therapy Dog" on it. Kim couldn't resist the dog's cuteness so she went down to pet his fur.
"Hi. I'm with the Therapy Center from the local animal shelter. This is Gizmo." the woman said.
"Thank you so much." Jay said, taking the dog's leash from the woman.
"You be a good boy." the woman said to Gizmo, then left.
Jay and Kim go back upstairs to the Intelligence Unit room to surprise Kiera.
"Kiera, we've got a friend we'd like to to meet." Kim said to get her attention.
With that, Kiera set her papers down on the desk and got up from her stool. She walked around the desk to see the a white, fluffy dog. Her face lit up with joy as she went down to the floor to pet him.
"Awe, he's so cute. Oh my gosh, you're so soft." Kiera said in a puppy voice as she pet his fluffy fur.
"His name is Gizmo and he's a certified therapy dog. I set him up to go into court with us to calm your nerves." Jay explained.
"Awe, thanks." Kiera said.
"You guys better get going." Adam said.
"Good luck, guys." Kevin said.
With that, Jay and Kiera started to make their way out to the parking lot to get in Jay's truck. Gizmo was walking by Kiera as she held onto his leash. She opened the backdoor to let him in the backseat.
"Good boy." Kiera said as he laid down on the seat.
She reached her arm to the back to pet his fluffy fur. Gizmo had a smile on his face as she pet him.
"He really likes you." Jay said, while smiling.
"I can't help it, I'm a dog lover." Kiera said.
Jay went in reverse to pull out of the parking space. Kiera turned up the volume on the radio. She recognized the song, it was 'Warrior' by Hannah Kerr. It really suited what they going to do today.
"How do you feel about seeing your mom again?" Jay asked to break the silence between them.
"Honestly, I don't know." Kiera answered.
"What do you mean?" Jay questioned.
"I've been trying to reach out to her ever since I moved in with you, but she hasn't responded. It's like she ghosted me." Kiera explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jay asked.
"I just didn't think anything of it because I figured she needed space with everything going on." Kiera explained.
"Okay. If something doesn't change, then we'll need to look into it." Jay promised.
"Thanks. Can we please not bring it up today because of the hearings?" Kiera asked.
"Of course." Jay said.
He pulled into the courthouse parking lot. The song ended when he parked the truck.
"You ready?" Jay asked.
"As I'll ever be." Kiera exhaled.
They got out of the truck. Kiera opened the backdoor to let Gizmo out and she grabbed ahold of his leash. The three of them walked up to the courthouse. They stood on the steps, looking up at the courthouse building. Kiera took a deep breath and let it out.
"This ends today." she said in a serious tone of voice.
"Damn right it does." Jay softly said to himself.
With that, they walk into the courthouse. They walked down the hall and an officer guided them into courtroom. The hearing for the kidnappers/traffickers was first, then there would be a thirty-minute break, then the hearing for Shane would be after that.
There were several times during the first hearing that Jay felt his blood boil because of certain things that were said in court, but he managed to keep his composure. The judge said "all rise" and everyone in the room stood up. The anticipation was killing the girls as they waited to hear the fate of their kidnappers/traffickers.
The jury found them guilty on all charges and they were all sentenced to life in prison. The judge hit his gavel and their fates were sealed.
Jay and Kiera walked out of the courtroom and they sat down on a bench in the hallway. Kiera stayed with Gizmo, while Jay went to find a vending machine. There was fifteen minutes left in the break when Michelle and her attorney walked up to them. It was the first time in over a month that Kiera has seen her mother, so they shared a hug. When Jay came back, Michelle shook his hand to show her gratitude for looking after her daughter.
They went into the courtroom and Shane's hearing began. After listening to Michelle and Kiera's testimonies, it didn't take long to convince the jury what hell Shane put them through. He was sentenced to five years in jail, along with completing counseling sessions. The judge hit his gavel and Shane's fate was sealed, then he was escorted out by courtroom officers.
After being at the courthouse for over three hours, Kiera was starting to get hungry. She looked up at her mother. Michelle looked at her, then she glanced over at Jay.
"Go with Jay. I'll be out in a few minutes." Michelle said to her.
Kiera nodded her head and moved away from the table. Jay stayed close to her side and Gizmo walked beside her. They walked out of the courthouse and stood on the sidewalk as they were waited on Michelle.
"You did good, champ." Jay said.
"Thanks. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders." Kiera said.
Gizmo barked to get her attention, then Kiera kneels down to his level to pet him.
"You were a big help today. You are such a good boy." she says, while cupping his adorable face.
Jay takes a picture of Kiera with Gizmo while they waited outside. Then, Michelle walks out without acknowledging them as she makes her way towards her car.
"Mom, can I go home with you?" Kiera asked.
"Not now. I still got some things to work out." Michelle said, then gets in the driver's seat.
She starts her car, then pulls out of the parking space.
"But, why?" Kiera softly asks herself as she watches her own mother drive off.
Jay comes up beside her and places his left hand on her right shoulder.
"Let her go. She's doing it for your own good." he said.
Gizmo paws at Kiera's leg to get her attention, which makes her pet his soft fur.
They got in Jay's truck and they drove back to the animal shelter to drop Gizmo off. Kiera said her goodbyes, while Jay had to sign a check-in form. They got back in the truck and realized it was almost 1:00pm.
"How about we grab lunch, then go for a dive?" Jay suggested.
"That sounds nice." Kiera said.
They drove to Panera Bread for lunch and ate inside. Then, they went back to the apartment to change into bathing suits and to grab Kiera's scuba equipment. They headed to Newport Athletics Club, which was where her open water scuba class took place. They rented the equipment and went into the pool. They went to the locker rooms to put on their wetsuits. When they were done, Kiera showed Jay how to assemble the scuba unit, as well as giving him a refresher on some of the skills and hand signals.
They got in the pool and put on the scuba units. They put on their masks, then put the regulators in their mouths. Kiera give the hand signal for "descend," then they deflated their BCDs to go underwater. It felt weird, but Jay took some deep breaths as he focused his attention on Kiera. She gave him the hand signal for "okay" and he gave it right back to her. Kiera held out her hand and Jay grabbed it, then they starting swimming around the pool.
Their dive lasted for twenty minutes, then Jay gave the hand signal for "ascend." The two of them swam back to the shallow end of the pool and slowly ascended to the surface. They took the regulators out and took off their masks.
"What do you think?" Kiera asked.
"Much better than rescue diving." Jay said.
They took off their scuba units and got out of the pool. They took off their wetsuits and dried off. After disassembling and returning the scuba equipment, Jay and Kiera realized that they were the only ones there. They looked over to the diving boards and had the same idea. They walked over to that side of the pool and Kiera climbed up on the low diving board. She held onto the side bars and pointed her right foot.
"You can do it, champ." Jay said as he sat on the edge of the pool with his legs in the water.
Kiera ran to pick up speed on the board, then did a front flip off the diving board before plunging into the water.
"Show-off." Jay said to himself.
Kiera stayed underwater for a few seconds before swimming to the surface. Jay was clapping his hands.
"Nice. 10 out of 10." he said.
"Bet you can't beat that." Kiera said as she swam over to the ladder.
"Are you challenging me?" Jay questioned.
"Maybe." Kiera said.
Jay smirked, then went over to the diving boards. He ran and did a cannonball. The splash was so big that it got Kiera. After the dive trick competition, Kiera threw her old dive toys into the pool and they swam down to the bottom to retrieve them. They broke to the surface and saw that Jay picked up five and Kiera picked up five, which meant it was a tie.
A lifeguard was walking over to the diving well. Jay and Kiera noticed, so they paid attention to her.
"We're gonna be closing in about twenty minutes." she said.
"All right, not a problem." Jay said.
With that, the two of them got out of the water and a cold sensation hit them. They held their arms together as they shivered. Kiera spotted some hot tubs over in the corner and Jay followed her. They immediately got warm once they got in the warm, bubbly water.
"That was so much fun." Kiera said.
"Well, I figured you needed something to do to get your mind off everything." Jay said.
"By the way, you dove really well. I can see you being a scuba diver." Kiera said.
"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit because I had an amazing dive partner." Jay said, which made Kiera smile.
"You know, I still can't believe that you're a scuba diver. No offense, but it's not like you take a risk." Jay pointed out.
"A ship is safest in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for." Kiera quoted, then got out of the hot tub.
Jay pondered what she meant before he got out of the hot tub. They dried off, packed up their stuff, and left the Athletic Club.
They drove back to the apartment and they relaxed for rest of the day. Jay couldn't remember the last time he had seen Kiera this happy, but it was nice to see that her old self was returning.