Walk it off
A/N Thought I'd leave the original note on this that I wrote when I did this originally, this fic is about a year old now but I thought I'd post it anyway as I just came across it again. "So this is being written because I'm desperate to write some fics for Chicago Fire and maybe Med too but I needed to get going so this will be a bit random but I just wanted to get started in this fandom so bear with me. Oh, and I have little knowledge when it comes to techniques used by fire-fighters, so I will do my best and look up what I can but if anyone spots anything that doesn't sound right let me know and I will correct it. Please read and review, and I own nothing…"
The alarm went off and Jimmy jumped to his feet with the others, charging over to the truck pulling on his turn-out gear, he was still mad at the Chief for what had happened to his brother, but he forced his feelings aside for now. There were lives to save and he is a fire-fighter so he was going to do his duty despite what may be going on otherwise. As they pull up to the scene he listens to the orders being handed out and isn't particularly surprised when he is told to get the hose ready outside, after all candidates aren't usually given the big jobs anyway. He went over with Cruz and got the equipment set up, he was turning back to check the situation of the fire when an explosion ripped through the upper floors of the apartment building and he was forced to duck his head shielding himself with his arm feeling some debris hit his jacket, but the gear did its job and he was unscathed.
He stood back up and heard the chief shouting into the radio for those of the team inside, he sighed in relief when they all reported in as fine and on their way out with the remaining victims. He realises that he has been stood around for too long and Cruz is calling him, so he turns back and goes to take hold of the hose. Together they aim it at the building trying to keep control of the blaze, but the fire just seemed to be getting more and more out of control, he could hear the calls over the radio getting more urgent and he wanted to get in there and prove himself. His chance came when he heard Casey calling out that he needed help because he'd found another two victims and he couldn't get them out on his own, he radioed in saying he was coming and passed the hose off to a fire-fighter from another company and took off running into the building. He could hear the chief shouting at him to leave it to Hermann who was supposed to be the next one going in but he was certain that this was his chance to prove to them all he wasn't just the candidate. He made his way upstairs and found Casey struggling to carry the two unconscious victims, Jimmy took one of them from him and the two of them had the victims over their shoulders and were heading out again within seconds. Jimmy burst back out through the exit of the building and was smiling as he passed his patient over to the waiting paramedics, his smile was quickly wiped off though when he sees the chief storming over to him.
"Borelli what were you thinking? I gave you a direct order to wait and let Hermann go in, he is the more experienced firefighter, this wasn't a training exercise" Boden shouted at him.
"Well I'm not going to become an experienced firefighter unless I go into these sorts of situations, besides I got the victim out and everyone made it out" Borelli shouted back annoyed that the chief wasn't praising him like he expected.
"There is a protocol to be followed Borelli you can't just go in whenever you want, that's not what makes a fire-fighter you have to listen or people are going to get killed, meet me in my office when we get back I want to have a talk with you" Boden said storming off. Jimmy swore under his breath watching the man walk away, he didn't understand why they all seem to want to keep him from doing things. He knew that it had only been a month now since his brother had died but he was ready to move on, he needed to move on or he would be stuck forever grieving. He couldn't take the thought of another ride back to the firehouse with them all staring at him, so while no-one was looking in his direction he took of his turnout coat and pants, then leaves them on the rig. He's still got his quilted jacket and normal pants on, but it's February in Chicago and night-time as well so he feels the chill in the air and soon misses the warmth of the extra clothes. But he knows he can't walk around the city in them or he's bound to get in trouble or have members of the public approach him, better to just leave them and take the walk. He looks over at the others a last time before walking away from the scene, he decided to walk back to the firehouse, to give him some time to cool off, he hears Casey calling after him but he just keeps walking. Once he is a couple of blocks away he looks behind him and is satisfied that they aren't following him, he kicks out at a fence in his frustration. He understands that he isn't as experienced as the other guys but sometimes he feels like they are trying to keep him out of the fires, when that is what he wants to be doing.
He has been walking for about 10 minutes when it starts snowing, he had heard on the TV earlier that there was supposed to be a big blizzard coming in soon and he was seeing the beginning of it now. The snow settles instantly and at first, he thinks it's beautiful the way they slowly drift down from the sky and each flake settles lightly on the ground forming a thin layer within minutes. He starts to realise the problem quickly though because he is only in a relatively thin jacket and his hands and face are almost numb from the wind by now. His feet are protected because he's still got his boots on but the rest of him is left vulnerable to the onslaught of wind and snow, and he is starting to shiver violently.
He is still about 30 minutes from the firehouse when he realises that this isn't going to end well, he pulls his phone out but his hands are so cold and he drops it before he can even turn it on, it lands in the inch or so of snow that has already settled on the ground. He reaches down picking it up and is even more concerned when the snow against his fingertips doesn't even seem to feel cold. He brushes the phone off and turns it on seeing missed calls from both Casey and Severide, they must be mad at him for running off like he did. He contemplates calling them but is certain now that they would just yell at him and tell him too walk for being so stupid. He doesn't want to waste his time doing that so instead he keeps on walking.
The wind is picking up again cutting straight through his clothes, it leaves him feeling even colder now, a quick check of his phone tells him it's only 25 degrees. He knows from his training as a paramedic that his body temperature will be dropping by now and he really needs to get inside but he is still at least 15 minutes from the firehouse and he's starting to stumble rather than walk, the snow is now just over an inch thick and with the freezing temperatures it's turning to ice slowing his progress even more. He finally turns onto the street that the firehouse is on and he can see the lights of it in the distance, a welcome sight to his freezing body and he stumbles on faster desperate to get inside and warm up again.
He's less than 20m from his destination when he slips on an exposed patch of ice on the sidewalk, and lands hard on the ground hitting his head against the edge of the curb because he didn't get his hands up quick enough to stop his fall. He groans staying down for a minute to allow himself to recover from the fall. As the blood rush through his head dies down, he hears voices coming from the direction of the firehouse, somebody must have come out to investigate and he definitely isn't going to be found face-down in the snow, that isn't the image he wants to give the lieutenants. He braces his hands in front of him in the snow not even feeling the cold against his already numb hands and he slowly pushes himself up to his hands and knees, then rocking back up onto his feet and managing to halt his stumbling backwards just in time to see Casey and Severide walking down the driveway towards him.
"Borelli, what were you thinking earlier, walking away from the scene, you're still on shift you can't just leave like that, what if we got another call out?" Casey said already angry at him. The two of them stopped in front of Jimmy taking in his swaying and snow all down his front as well as the bruise already forming on the front of his forehead.
"Have you been drinking Jimmy, you've been gone for over an hour, we figured you'd just have gone home, but no you went to a bar, didn't you?" Severide accused him.
"No, of course not" Jimmy mumbled trying to sound believable to them.
"We know you're having a tough time of it and we all want to support you but…" Severide continued his rant.
"I'm not drunk" Jimmy shouted but his words were lightly slurred which he knew wasn't going to help his case in the slightest, he can feel himself shaking and shivering and it's now completely out of his control, so he has to fight to stay still and he really wants to sit down now.
"Fine then Jimmy where have you been for the last hour?" Severide said and he could tell from both of their looks that they still thought he was drunk.
"I wanted to clear my head, so I walked back here, I'm not drunk I swear" Jimmy said his breath shaky in between words and he's not able to hide the shivering any more. He watches them look him over again and sees a change in their expressions, and he's glad they finally believe him, but now they look concerned and that's not what he wanted either.
He's too cold to keep this going much longer so he goes to walk around them but stumbles slightly falling into Casey, he feels the man wrap his arms around him putting him back on his feet, and the warmth coming off Casey felt heavenly but he pushes away again.
"Jimmy you're freezing you've been outside this whole time it's 25 out here, come on you need to come inside now, you're probably hypothermic" Casey said reaching out to take hold of Jimmy's arm again, but he shrugs the lieutenant off and walks by himself up the driveway managing to keep his stumbling under control. He made it up the drive, the two men following him closely the entire time, when he gets to the door Casey goes ahead of him to open it and stands aside allowing him to go in. The wave of warmth that hits him when he goes into the firehouse is bliss against his cold body, but as soon as he feels it his shivering becomes almost uncontrollable and he simply stumbles over to the squad table, glad that no-one is there currently because he knows he'd get in trouble for sitting there but he can't make it much longer.
Once he's sat down he pulls his feet up onto the chair wrapping his arms around them and trying to hold in as much heat as he can, but he's still shivering and he knows that he needs to move and warm up but he can't stop shaking and he just wants to go to sleep. He had stopped paying attention to the two men with him for a minute but his attention snaps back when he feels a hand against his forehead.
"Damn it he's freezing, he might need to go to the hospital" he hears Brett's voice and looks up not having realised anyone else was there, but suddenly realises that most of the firehouse are standing in a loose circle around him. He looks up at Brett who is now crouched in front of him.
"I'm fine, just cold that's all" he says shakily, and it doesn't seem to re-assure her much. She pulls out a thermometer from the kit she has next to her and puts it in his ear, pulling it out after the beep she looks grim.
"33.8, could be worse, but could be a lot better as well, I want to take you to the hospital" Brett said looking up at him.
"No, I'll be good, just need some blankets and to stay inside, it's only mild hypothermia, please Brett" Jimmy begged her still shivering violently.
"Ok, but you do whatever we say and you aren't going anywhere till your temp has been normal for at least an hour. Guys can we move him through to the break room, it's warmer in there" Brett says looking around at the guys surrounding her. Jimmy had intended to walk there himself but apparently that's not happening and suddenly Jimmy feels his feet being pulled down and someone takes hold of his right arm pulling him up onto their shoulder, glancing up he sees it's Casey again. He stumbles a lot on the short walk relying on Casey to hold him up more than he wants too, and he can hear the others all following him through spreading out to settle themselves back at the table and around the room, probably knowing he doesn't want to be watched now.
Casey deposits him on the couch in the middle of the room and suddenly Brett is in front of him again, this time joined by Dawson and Severide who both have blankets in their hands off the beds in the back.
"We need to get you jacket off Jimmy it's soaked and you're just getting colder with it on" Brett says, and he starts to fumble for the zipper, but she pushes his hands aside doing it for him and she pushes it off his shoulders stripping him off it faster than his cold brain can comprehend. He's glad that the jacket seems to be all they want to take off for now, but next thing he knows Dawson has taken Brett's place and he soon finds himself wrapped in at least 3 blankets around his shoulders and the top half, they take off his boots and wrap his legs in blankets as well. He must look like a burrito.
"Yeah, you kind of do I guess" Dawson said with a laugh.
"Did I say that out loud?" Jimmy says, pretty sure that he hadn't but he must have done since she's replying to it. Casey re-appears and holds out a cup to him, he manages to break a hand free of the blanket prison and tries to take the cup, but it feels burning hot and his hands are shaking so much that Casey has to support the cup until he's got both hands wrapped around it. Smelling the sweet steam that is rising off the cup he realises that it's hot chocolate and takes a tentative sip, the warm liquid flows down his throat and he can feel it going all the way down inside him settling in his stomach warming him from the inside out. He continues sipping on it and stays wrapped in the blankets to comfortable to move and realises that everyone but Casey, Severide and Dawson have now moved away from him leaving him in peace.
"Thanks guys, I know it was stupid to walk back I forgot that it was supposed to start snowing so I figured I would be alright, and I'm sorry I lost my temper on the scene" Jimmy started to ramble knowing that he was going to be in trouble over this.
"Yeah, well there'll be a conversation about that later, but you focus on warming up for now, what happened to your head?" Severide asks reaching out to touch his forehead lightly where a bruise must be forming. Jimmy didn't even feel any pain from it when he initially fell but now he can feel a headache building.
"Oh yeah, I slipped on some ice at the bottom of the drive just before you two came out, and I didn't get my hands up in time, so I hit it on the curb" Jimmy said retreating as far into the blankets as he can start to feel some warmth collecting in the layers of blankets.
"You're not having any concussion symptoms are you; headaches, dizziness, nausea?" Dawson said from her current position sat next to him on the couch.
"No, it's not that bad, just a bit sore" Jimmy mumbled enjoying the warmth and starting to feel as though a nap would be good right about now. His head rolls sideways onto his blanket covered shoulder and he lets his eyes fall shut, almost asleep when the others notice.
"Hey, Jimmy come on you can't sleep yet, if you go to sleep you're gonna wake up in a hospital bed" he hears Brett threaten and someone is tapping his face, the fingers sneakily finding their way down to his neck checking his pulse. He opens his eyes and sees that Brett is now very close to him, crouched right next to his legs and leaning in to feel his pulse. "Pulse is strong and regular, it's not the hypothermia" Brett mumbles to herself before pulling out a pen-light which she flashes into his eyes in turn "Pupils equal and reactive, so head injury ok, right well Jimmy you've avoided anything serious so stay there and once your temp is ok you can go again" Brett says getting up and sitting down at the table leaving him on the couch next to Dawson.
He stays that way for about an hour with Dawson on one side and Casey on the other of him and he can feel the warmth from them seeping into him and his shivering and shaky breaths soon even out until he slowly slips off to sleep. He had been drifting happily in the haze of warmth and comfort when he is disturbed again, he must have been asleep for a while because his eyes feel crusted at the edges and his vision is blurred for a while until he manages to focus on what's in front of him. He comes face to face with multiple phones being held up taking pictures of him sleeping, he thinks that this is odd because they have all seen him sleeping before and he's never woken up to cameras before. He's leaning against something nice and warm and his sleep muzzled brain ends up having his body snuggle deeper into the comfort next to him enjoying the warmth but what is it that he's leaning on.
He suddenly jolts upright when he feels stubble against his forehead and a deep voice from next to him.
"Good morning Candidate, nice nap?" Casey asks him and he suddenly realises that he has not only been sleeping on Lieutenant Casey, he was even snuggling up closer to the other man with his head into his neck. He feels a blush creeping up over his face and he pulls the blankets that are still around him up to cover his head dying inside as he hears the booming laughs of the other fire-fighters still in the room.