Fan fiction: April Showers by Lee Graff
Jimmy: April showers bring with them May flowers. But they can also bring with them Tragedies. None of us knew that on a rainy April night, we would be witness to A horrific accident that left a teenager dead, and her best friend fighting for her Life.
It was 7:30. A light rainfall was becoming increasingly heavier. The wind was blowing the rain around, making it hard to see. Sully and Davis are patrolling down 95th. They were coming up on the intersection to Amsterdam. Suddenly they witness a horrific crash.
"55 Charlie to Central. We have an MVA 95th and Amsterdam. Notify fire and EMS immediately." Davis says into his radio.
Sully and Davis pull onto the scene and flip on the lights so that they can be seen. Davis rushes to the small Mercury Tracer that is mangled. Sully rushes to the Ford Expedition that was also involved. There is front-end damage.
"Sir, Sir. Are you okay?" Sully asks.
"I think so." Responds the driver.
"Just sit still, an ambulance is on the way." Sully returns.
"Davis! Cut that engine!" Sully yells over the sound of the car horn. "My God! How fast were they going?" Sully thinks to himself.
Davis attempts to open the driver's door to the car. The metal is so twisted. He fears that the car will explode. He thinks quickly and pulls out his flashlight. He busts the front windshield out and reaches through to turn off the car. He struggles to find the key but finally turns the car off. The fire truck finally arrives. Boyd 55-3 follows.
"Sully, what do ya have?" Jimmy questions.
"The car ran a red. The truck hit it!" Sully responds.
Davis yells, "I can't get the doors open on this one!"
55 David pulls onto the scene to assist. Faith and Bosco get out of the car to push a gathering crowd back. Faith gives a mournful look to the twisted metal pile that used to be a car.
"Okay people get back! Nothing to see here. Let everyone do their jobs!" Bosco yells as he is pushing people back.
Bobby breaks the glass on the driver's door to check on the driver. He reaches for a pulse but finds none.
"There's no pulse!" Bobby yells to Kim.
Kim looks up at Jimmy, "How long's it going to take to get them out of there?"
"As twisted as that is, it could take a couple hours."
"Dammit Jimmy! They don't have a couple hours!" Kim responds as she heads toward the driver of the truck.
" My chest. It feels like it is going to explode." The driver tells her.
"Hang on sir." Kim responds.
Bobby rushes to the passenger's side of the car. That window was busted out on impact. Bobby reaches through to check for a pulse.
"This one's got a pulse! She's in pretty bad shape though." Bobby yells.
"Bobby! I need you over here now!" Kim yells.
Bobby looks at Jimmy, "Just sit with her. Stay with her. Talk to her, whatever."
"Bobby, now!"
Bobby gets to Kim.
"What do you have?" Bobby questions
"He's having a heart attack. Nitro isn't giving much relief."
"Please, my chest, it's gonna explode." The driver says.
Kim and Bobby are hooking him up to the monitors. Kim calls for another bus. The driver of the truck looses consciousness.
"Sir, Sir. Stay with us." Kim says shaking him.
"Vfib!" Bobby announces.
"Charging the paddles to 200. Clear!" Kim shocks him
"Nothing."
"250. Clear!" She shocks him again.
"We've got a rhythm. Resuming compressions." Bobby says has he continues chest compressions.
Jimmy is sitting beside the car. Walsh and Taylor are working to cut the trapped girls out. Jimmy checks for a pulse, then he watches the girl's breathing. She begins to wake up.
"Don't move. Just stay still." Jimmy tells her.
"What? What happened?"
"You were in an accident. We are working to get you out of the car." Jimmy responds.
The girl is extremely scared. Jimmy takes her small cold hand into his. He gives her a slight smile.
"My name's Jimmy. I'm a firefighter. Want to tell me your name?"
"Kim, I'm Kim."
"Well Kim. You just keep talking to me. We're going to get you out of there, but it takes time. How old are you?"
"23." Jimmy looks up. Faith and Bosco are standing nearby with sullen looks on their faces. Taylor looks down at Jimmy. She and Walsh work a little harder to get the trapped girl out.
"How does stuff like this happen?" Faith directs the question towards Davis, Sully, and Bosco.
"Kids are getting over confident, cars are getting bigger." Sully responds.
"Well. I'm not letting Emily get her license until she's 18."
"She's still going to go out with her friends and get exposed to this. You can't protect her all of her life." Bosco tells Faith.
Davis adds, "He's right. This stuff can happen to anyone of us."
Doc and Carlos arrive on the scene. They run over to Kim and Bobby.
"We've got this one. Continue with the car!"
They load the driver into the back of their bus and head off towards Mercy. Kim and Bobby return to the girl trapped in the car. Jimmy steps aside so that Bobby can access the girl's vitals.
"What do you have Jimmy?" Kim asks?
"She's been awake and talking for a few minutes."
"Did you get a name?' Bobby asks.
Kim is rounding the car to check the driver.
"Yeah. It's Kim. Her name is Kim!"
Kim checks in on the driver. She looks across to Jimmy and shakes her head. She backs away from the car, takes a few steps. She turns her back on the car with tears in her eyes. She leans over and throws up. Bobby runs over to her.
"There's nothing you could have done. She was gone before we got here. We need to concentrate on that other girl." Bobby tells Kim trying to comfort her.
Faith turns her back on the scene. Her eyes are filling with tears. Bosco walks over to her.
"That girl didn't look like she was old enough to graduate high school." Faith cries.
Bosco responds, "I know, I know. We can't stop this stuff from happening. We could have never stopped this. We have to face the fact that in our line of work, people die. Kids die. It's unfortunate. It happens. We can't stop that."
The rain begins to fall harder. There are flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. The crew watches and waits.
"Kim, Kim. You gotta keep talking to me. Stay awake." Jimmy tells the trapped girl.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it. I'm really tired and scared."
"I know, I know. Just stay with me." Jimmy adds.
"Jimmy, check her pulse." Bobby instructs "You count, I'll time."
"Okay, I'm ready."
"Okay, start counting now."
It seems like it is the world's longest 30 seconds. Everyone watches and waits. Walsh and Alex halt their extrication efforts to give Jimmy quiet to count.
"Time!" Shouts Bobby.
"27" Jimmy announces.
"That's only 54. She's fading! Get a move on getting her out of there!" Kim yells.
Jimmy looks up
"Walsh, hurry!" Jimmy puts his hand in front of her face to feel for her breathing. He also watches her chest. "She's not moving a lot of air."
Bobby grabs the oxygen tank and takes it to Jimmy. Jimmy moves out of the way.
"Kim, my name's Bobby. I need to put this mask on you to help you breath better okay? We're going to get you out of there as soon as we can. Stay with us okay?"
She nods her head. Bobby places the mask over her face. She searches for Jimmy. She tries to speak. She starts to panic. Jimmy takes her hand again.
"Calm down. Calm down. I'm still here. You're going to be all right. I promise." Jimmy says to reassure her.
Walsh and Alex finally get the frame of the car cut enough to get her out.
"Okay. We're through!" Alex shouts
Kim and bobby rush in with the backboard.
"Jimmy, watch her head!" Bobby shouts.
Jimmy braces her head as Kim and Bobby carefully slide her out of the car and onto the backboard. They stabilize her head. Bosco, Davis, Walsh, Jimmy, Bobby, and Kim all load her into the bus.
"Jimmy we're gonna need you to drive!" Kim shouts
"No, she's comfortable with him. Taylor! Drive!" Bobby yells.
Taylor jumps into the front of the bus. Jimmy takes a seat in the back off to the side. He is still holding Kim's hand. Bobby and Kim feverishly work to keep her stable.
"Line's in" Kim announces.
'I'm gonna have to intubate." Bobby pulls out the scope. " I see the chords. I'm in!" he pulls the tube out and continues to work.
Kim is on the phone with telemetry.
"How we doing back there?" Taylor asks
"How far out are we?" Kim questions
"5 minutes."
"Step on it!" Kim responds to Taylor. Then into the phone she starts rattling off vitals and stats. "10 liters are in. Breathing is labored. We intubated on the bus." She pauses and looks to Jimmy, "How old?"
"23. She's 23."
"She's 23 years old. We're a minute out. Be standing by." She hangs up the phone.
Taylor pulls the bus into the ambulance bay. Proctor opens the door to the ambulance. Jimmy helps to offload her. He holds her hand as they are wheeling her into the trauma room. Kim is still rattling off the stats and vitals. Proctor pushes the crew out of the trauma room.
"I'll be back. You're in good hands, don't worry." Jimmy tells Kim to address the fear in her eyes.
The crew stands by the window of the trauma room. They watch as the doctors work on her.
Kim looks at Jimmy, "We've done all we can for her, it's in God's hands now."
Jimmy nods and returns his gaze to Kim, the girl he stayed with for two hours in the pouring rain. He couldn't help but be concerned.
"Jimmy, you want any coffee?" Bobby asks.
"No, no. I'm fine."
The cops are all sitting in a diner getting some coffee. They are trying to both warm up and dry off. Faith is being extremely quiet.
"Penny for your thoughts?' Bosco asks.
"You wouldn't even want to know what I'm thinking." Faith responds "I bet that it has something to do with that accident." Bosco returns.
"Yeah, it does."
"I told you before. Bad stuff happens. People get hurt. If you take every single call to heart, you're not going to last. It will eat you up. It will tear at your insides. You'll feel like the world is closing in on you. I've been there Faith. You have to let it go."
"I can't let it go. That could have been one of my children. I can't let that go!"
Jimmy watches as the doctors and nurses wheel Kim out of the trauma room towards the elevator.
"Is she going to be alright?" Jimmy asks a nurse
"I don't know. She's got internal bleeding and a few broken bones. We should know more in a couple hours." The nurse responds.
The door to the elevator closes.
"I'll be waiting."
Jimmy walks out to the ambulance bay and sits down by the side of the building. He watches as it rains.
Taylor walks outside.
"Hey. You can't help what happened out there today. You weren't there. The only thing that we can do is pray that she is okay." Taylor tells Jimmy.
"I know. I know."
"Anyway. Lieu called us. We gotta get back to the house."
"Okay. I'm ready whenever."
"Let's go then."
Kim and Bobby take Taylor and Jimmy back to the house in the bus. It's a quiet ride. The rain is still falling. It's closing in on 10:30.
"We're almost done for the night." Bobby says to break the silence.
"Yeah. Yeah, we are." Taylor adds.
"Wanna go get a beer after work to ease our minds?" Bobby asks "No, I want to go home and be with Joey." Kim starts, " Today just made me realize that I've got to cherish every minute with him."
"I'll go" Taylor responds.
"Okay. Jimmy?" Bobby asks.
"No. I'm going to have to pass on that one."
"Alright." Bobby adds.
Faith and Bosco are driving around still. They are heading back to the house.
"I'm sorry." Bosco says to break the ice cold silence of the car.
"I know."
"I'm not a father. I don't really understand these things, you know?"
"When you have children of your own someday, you will."
"I hope that I have children of my own. I just don't want to screw them up like my dad screwed me and my brother up."
"You won't Boz. You'll make a great father."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah."
"Hey. Pull over a second."
"Okay."
Faith pulls the car over on the side of the street. Bosco is staring at something quite intently.
"Son of a!" Bosco yells.
"What?"
"You didn't see that?"
"No, what?"
"That guy just stabbed the other guy. I'm going after him!" Bosco jumps out of the car.
"Bosco, be careful!" Faith yells. She grabs her radio "55 David to Central we are in pursuit of a white male witnessed stabbing another male. We need a bus at this location, 1118 109th."
She flips on the lights and tears off after Bosco and the suspect. Bosco chases him into an alley. Faith corners hard to follow. The whole time she is announcing into the radio change of streets, locations, and status. They cross over King. Other units have joined in the pursuit. They corner the suspect. He attempts to knife Bosco, but Bosco tackles him to the ground.
"That was extremely dumb. You realize that you wouldn't have gotten too far, I have friends. You don't!" Bosco tells the suspect as he is pulling him off of the ground to head back to the RMP.
Jimmy grabs his stuff and heads to his car.
"Hey." Kim yells
"Hey. I was just."
"I know. You're leaving to go to the hospital."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that you did a great job out there today."
"Thanks."
Jimmy gets into his car and pulls off. Kim is left standing there alone. She watches and thinks about the time that she and Jimmy spent together. Bobby walks out.
"You're never going to stop loving him are you?"
"I'm not in love with him!"
"Come on Kim. You expect me to believe that? I'm your partner. I can see right through the harsh lines."
"I'm not in love with him. Anyway, I have to go home."
"Let me give you a ride."
"No, I'll walk." Kim walks away.
"Kim! Don't do this to yourself. Kim!" Bobby yells after her.
She continues walking without even stopping.
Jimmy stops at the desk at the hospital.
"May I help you?" the nurse asks.
"The medics brought a young girl in earlier, Kim, she was in an accident. They took her to surgery."
"Yeah. She's in recovery now."
"Can I see her?"
"Yeah. Room 236."
"Thanks."
Jimmy heads to the elevator. The doors open and he enters. He presses the button for the second floor. He waits as the elevator rises. The doors open and he steps off. There is a huge aquarium filled with tropical fish greeting him. He looks up at the sign to see which direction room 236 is. The sign points to the right. He heads off down the hall.
He pauses as he reaches the door. He wasn't sure what to expect. A nurse walks over to him.
"May I help you sir?"
"Um. I'm firefighter Jimmy Doherty. I was at the scene of the accident that this girl was involved in. I wanted to check on her."
"Well, she's still sleeping. You can go in and see her for a little while if you like."
Jimmy nods. He walks into the room. He sits in the chair beside the bed. Kim is still sleeping. He takes her hand in his. He sits in silence.
Kim enters her apartment. Joey is asleep in his room. Catherine greets Kim.
"Hey honey. How was your day?" Catherine asks
"I don't want to talk about it."
"That bad huh?"
"Yeah. It was awful."
"Well, tomorrow is another day."
"I know."
"Well, I better head home."
"Thanks mom. I'll see you tomorrow."
Kim hugs her mother and then closes the door as she leaves. Kim sits down on the couch and cries. Joey walks out.
"Mommy? Why are you crying?"
Kim looks up and wipes the tear from her eye.
"I had a bad day at work sweetie."
"Oh. Can I make it better?"
"You already have."
She takes him into her lap and they sit there. He falls asleep in her arms. She carries him back to bed.
Faith walks into her apartment. She puts her stuff down on the table and walks back to her children's room. She stands in the shadows of the doorway. The only light is the nightlight in the hallway. She watches the kids sleep for a few minutes. She walks in and kisses each on their forehead and then goes into her bedroom. She changes and crawls into bed. Fred rolls over.
"Rough day?"
"Yeah."
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Okay."
Jimmy is sitting in the dim lights of the hospital room. He is watching as Kim sleeps. He looks down for a moment at his watch. He hears a raspy voice. "You're back."
He looks up.
"I told you that I would come back."
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
"If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here right now."
"I didn't do anything."
"Your smile, those dimples. They kept me awake. Not many guys would have sat there with me all of that time."
Jimmy blushes.
"It's my job, everyday I save people's lives. People like you."
"I know. But still. I owe you."
"The only thing you owe me is to get better."
"Okay."
Jimmy and Kim continue the conversation. Jimmy still holds her hand in his. He is smiling, she is too. She fades back off into sleep. He sits there and watches. He gets up.
"I'll see you again. I promise."
He walks to the door and looks back. He watches for another moment. Then he turns down the hallway and walks away.
Jimmy wakes up on his couch. He is still wearing the clothes from the night before. His hair is flat on one side from leaning on the couch arm. His head kind of hurt.
"Ah. I must have been really tired." He flips on the news before he heads back to the bathroom to take a shower. He stops when he hears the anchor mention the accident from the night before.
"The driver's name has not been released pending notification of the family. The passenger Kim Miller is listed in good condition at Angel of Mercy Hospital according to the police."
"So that's her last name." Jimmy says as he turns on the shower.
He lets the shower warm up as he undresses and climbs in. The warm water felt really good on his body. He turns off the shower and grabs a towel. He wraps it around his waist as he gets out of the shower. He walks over to the sink and cobs his hair. He then brushes his teeth. Finally, he lathers the shaving cream on his face. The phone rings. "Hello? Oh hi mom. Yeah, I know your anniversary is Friday. Sure I can join you. All right, 6 on Friday. Love you too!" He hangs up the phone and finishes shaving. He walks out to the kitchen and starts some coffee and toast. Then he walks into his bedroom and changes.
Faith is packing the children's lunches. They are eating cereal at the table. Faith finishes packing the lunches and sits at the table with her coffee. Fred comes out the hall and pours a cup of coffee joining his family at the table.
Emily looks at Charlie, "We're gonna be late." Faith hops up and grabs their lunches, gives each a kiss on the forehead and sends them off. Fred looks up from his coffee.
"You okay?" Fred asks.
Faith snaps out of her fixed gaze on the door. "Yeah. I'm fine. I need to clean this place up." Faith says as she begins picking up the kid's cereal bowls.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Fred tells Faith.
"I just want it to look nice in here."
"It does. Trust me."
"Sorry."
"Last night is really bothering you isn't it?"
Faith continues to straighten up the apartment totally ignoring Fred's last question.
Jimmy walks into the hospital and stops at the gift shop. He buys some flowers and heads off to the elevator. He reaches the fourth floor and is greeted by the fish tank again when the doors open. He turns and heads up the hallway to Kim's room. He knocks on the door lightly. "Hello."
Kim looks up. "Hey, come on in."
Jimmy walks in. "I brought you some flowers," he says as he sets them on the stand beside her bed.
"Thank you. That is the nicest thing anyone has done for me lately."
"I just figured you could use a little cheering up." Jimmy says as he smiles.
"I love them!"
Jimmy was happy but he didn't know what to say. "I'm not real good at this."
"At what?" Kim questions.
"I've never felt myself falling for someone that I've saved before."
"There's a first time for everything." Kim says smiling.
"I just don't know if this is right. I want to." Jimmy says as he leans closer to her.
Kim leans close to him and they kiss. Jimmy jerks back.
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I've wanted to do that since I met you."
Jimmy is unsure of what to say next. He looks down at his watch. "I'm sorry. I have to leave for work, I'll come see you later." He gets up and attempts to leave.
"Jimmy! Wait!"
Jimmy stops and turns around.
Kim tells him, "It's okay. You don't have to feel bad about that."
He responds, "I don't."
He walks out the door and a few steps down the hall. He stops a few rooms up to think about what had just happened. Then he walks back to the elevator and heads off to work.
Kim and Bobby are already out on a run. They transport the patient to Mercy, nothing serious. Proctor looks up at Kim. "Jimmy was here earlier to visit that girl from last night's accident." Kim is shocked, she looks at Bobby. He looks back at her. They take the stretcher back out to the bus.
"Kim, don't go jumping to conclusions." Bobby says.
"I'm not. I'm sure that he was just visiting her." She returns.
Before Bobby can respond a call comes across the radio. "Boyd 55-3, 10-13 Washington Square Park." Bobby responds "Washington Square Park 10-4."
"Officer down?" Kim questions.
"Let's go!" Bobby yells.
They both jump into the bus and take off.
They pull onto the scene to find Bosco and Faith. Faith is holding a shirt on a stab wound to another officer's abdomen.
"What happened Bosco?" Kim questions running with the bags.
"We got called to respond as back up. A dealer stabbed him for breaking up a deal."
Bobby takes over for Faith. He removes the towel to look at the wound. "We're gonna have to scoop and run. Faith, I need you to drive!"
Faith nods and hops in the front of the bus. Bosco closes the doors on the bus and hops into the RMP. He leads the bus to Mercy.
Bobby and Kim work in the back to stabilize the officer. Faith looks back occasionally. Bosco leads them into the ambulance bay of Mercy. The doctors and nurses open the back doors. Kim rattles off the stats as Faith and Bosco rush in behind them. They go to the desk to fill out paperwork.
Bobby walks over. "He's lucky you guys got to him. He could have bled out. You did well."
"Thanks." Faith responds.
She walks into the lounge to wash the blood off of her hands.
Bosco walks up behind her, "You did great out there." He hands her a towel.
"Thanks."
Jimmy and DK are shooting hoops.
"You're a little chipper today." DK says
"Why do you say that?" Jimmy asks as he passes the ball to DK.
"You're smiling a lot. And whistling." DK laughs. "Whose the lucky girl?"
"There is no girl."
"Aw come on Jimmy! There is always a girl when you are this happy." DK pauses "Wait a minute. It's that girl from the accident isn't it? That's where you went last night, and you went there before work today too, didn't you?"
Before Jimmy can answer Kim walks up. "Jimmy, can I speak to you alone?"
DK takes the ball and heads into the house to get a drink.
"Well sure." Jimmy says.
"You went to see the girl from the accident?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"You're not falling for her are you?" Kim questions.
Jimmy is silent. Kim laughs.
"You are in love with her! I can't believe it!" She exclaims.
Before Jimmy has a chance to defend himself the alarm goes off.
"Squad 55, Ladder 100, Adam 55-3, Boyd 55-3, residential fire 478 Riverside."
Jimmy runs into the firehouse to get his turnouts. He hops into the squad truck beside DK and Taylor. Walsh is driving, and Lieutenant Johnson is in the front with him. They pull out of the station and head off up the street. The buses head off following the fire trucks. They arrive on the scene. A young woman is trapped inside. She is screaming for help. Jimmy jumps from the truck and rushes inside to save her, totally ignoring the screams of his fellow firefighters.
Jimmy reaches the second story when all at once the whole room bursts into flames. He fights his way to the room where the young woman was trapped. He blinks as he gets to her. She is already gone. In another blink of an eye, the unthinkable happens. A back draft. He is thrown from his position. His helmet flies through the open window. The other fire fighters watch in horror as it hits the street below. The cops have arrived on the scene as well. They turn away as flames shoot from the windows.
"JIMMMMYYYYYYY!!!!" Kim screams. Bobby wraps her up in his arms.
"He'll be alright. It's Jimmy. He gets out of these situations. He'll be alright!"
DK and Taylor rush up the ladder with the line. They are going to get Jimmy out alive.
He is leaning against a wall. All that is running through his mind is the previous day's accident. He can't move, he knows that. Smoke and flames fill the room around him. For the first time in his life he truly fears that he is going to die. The thought doesn't come easy to him. He pictures the accident scene all over again. The twisted car.
Flashbacks enter his mind.
Jimmy is sitting beside the car. Walsh and Taylor are working to cut the trapped girls out. Jimmy checks for a pulse, then he watches the girl's breathing. She begins to wake up.
"Don't move. Just stay still." Jimmy tells her.
"What? What happened?"
"You were in an accident. We are working to get you out of the car." Jimmy responds.
The girl is extremely scared. Jimmy takes her small cold hand into his. He gives her a slight smile.
"My name's Jimmy. I'm a firefighter. Want to tell me your name?"
"Kim, I'm Kim."
"Well Kim. You just keep talking to me. We're going to get you out of there, but it takes time. How old are you?"
"23." Jimmy looks up.
DK and Taylor finally get into the room.
Taylor yells, "Jimmy? Jimmy where are you?"
"Talk to us Jimmy! Jimmy?" DK calls.
Jimmy snaps out of his flashbacks. He is too weak to respond. Taylor fights the flames back to the doorway. She drops the line.
"Jimmy! DK, we need a backboard!"
She rushes to Jimmy. DK runs to the window.
"Get a backboard up here now!" He yells. "Jimmy, Jimmy, talk to me. You have to talk to me." Taylor coaxes. She doesn't get much of a response.
Walsh rushes up the ladder with the backboard. He hands it to DK and enters the room. They enter the room. Taylor is still trying to get him to talk. They strap him onto the backboard. Taylor leads them back out of the building. They carefully carry him down to the back of the truck where other firefighters take over. Doc and Carlos rush a gurney over to them.
"Kim, don't go over there!" Bobby yells, but it is too late she is already heading in the direction.
Bosco picks up Jimmy's helmet. He looks at it and carries it over to Bobby.
"Here." Bosco says handing it to Bobby. "I'm sure he'll need it again."
Bobby looks down at it, "Thanks Bosco." He walks over to the bus and puts the helmet on the seat. He looks over. Doc and Carlos are loading Jimmy into the back of the bus. Taylor heads into the drivers seat. Kim jumps in the back. DK closes the doors and the bus squeals off with sirens going full blast.
Bobby and everyone just stand there in silence as they watch the bus head off towards Mercy. It starts to rain again.
The doctors and nurses rush out to the back of the bus. They offload Jimmy and rush him into the ER. Kim stands helplessly as she watches them work on Jimmy. They cart him off to surgery. Kim asks Proctor where the other Kim's room is. She takes the elevator. The doors open and the same fish tank greets her. She looks at the sign to find the direction of the room. She heads down the hallway and to the room. She knocks on the door.
"Hello, Kim?" She asks
"Yeah, that would be me."
"I'm Kim Zambrano. I was one of the paramedics that worked on you last night."
"I know."
"I have some news, that you may not like." Kim says to brace the other Kim for the worst.
"Jimmy, Jimmy was in an accident himself today. He's in surgery. I just wanted you to know." Kim got ready to walk out.
"Wait! Thank you for telling me. Please keep me informed." "I will. I promise." Kim walked out and headed for the surgical waiting room.
She gets there to be greeted by the 55 squad. Taylor looks up as Kim walks in. DK stands up so that Kim can have a seat.
"Any news?" She asks.
"Not yet. Soon." Taylor assures her.
Bobby walks in with Joey and Catherine.
"I thought that they should be here." He tells Kim.
"Thank you Bobby." She responds as she holds Joey tight.
Her mom sits beside her. Bobby stands watching. The doctor walks out. "Ms. Zambrano, he's asking for you."
Kim gives Joey to her mother and follows the doctor back the hall to Jimmy's room. He has monitors hooked up to him. He has scrapes and bruises.
"I'm sorry Kim." Jimmy says.
"Don't be. You're here now." She responds.
"I know." He returns.
"I went and saw the girl from the accident. I told her about the accident."
"Why?"
"It's obvious that you have fallen for her."
"Why would you think that?"
"I saw the flowers. It's obvious that she's fallen for you. The true American hero!"
"Kim!"
"I can't take it anymore Jimmy. I can't wait on you to decide who you love or don't love. It's not fair to Joey. I can't wait any longer."
Kim walks out of the room. Jimmy tries to stop her. She storms past everyone in the waiting room. She gets on the elevator and returns to Kim's room.
"He's yours. Take him, I don't want him anymore!"
Before the other Kim can respond, she leaves that room too. She heads down the elevator and out of the hospital. She walks across the street and sits in the grass. She folds her knees to her chest and sits there crying. Bobby enters the ambulance bay looking for her. He walks out into the parking area. He looks across the street and finds her. It is now well past midnight. He walks over to her.
"Kim." He says softly.
"What?" She snaps bitterly.
"I'm sorry that it turned out this way."
"I should have known."
"You couldn't have known. Nothing could have prepared you for this."
The squad slowly exits the hospital to return to the house. Kim and Bobby return to the house. Catherine and Joey are waiting for them.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Catherine asks
"I really don't want to talk about it." Kim responds.
"Get your things and I will take you all home." Bobby says.
He drops Catherine off at her home. Then he takes Kim and Joey back to Kim's apartment.
"If you need to, you can call me." Bobby tells Kim.
"I know. Thank you." Kim says as she shuts the door.
Bobby watches as Kim enters her building. He sits there and thinks for a moment and then heads home.
Kim talks the nurse into taking her to see Jimmy. She walks under her own power to his room.
"Hey. You weren't supposed to end up here too!" Kim says jokingly.
He tries not to laugh. "I tried not to, it just happened."
She sits on the bed next to him. "So what is up with you and that paramedic?"
"She had my son, we were married once. I'm totally over her." Jimmy explains.
"I don't care. These feelings between us, are they real?"
"I know that mine are. What about yours?" Jimmy questions back.
"Let me show you."
They kiss again. They sit side by side on the bed, he falls asleep again. She continues to sit and watch. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
The room grows dark..
Jimmy: April showers bring with them May flowers. But they can also bring with them Tragedies. None of us knew that on a rainy April night, we would be witness to A horrific accident that left a teenager dead, and her best friend fighting for her Life.
It was 7:30. A light rainfall was becoming increasingly heavier. The wind was blowing the rain around, making it hard to see. Sully and Davis are patrolling down 95th. They were coming up on the intersection to Amsterdam. Suddenly they witness a horrific crash.
"55 Charlie to Central. We have an MVA 95th and Amsterdam. Notify fire and EMS immediately." Davis says into his radio.
Sully and Davis pull onto the scene and flip on the lights so that they can be seen. Davis rushes to the small Mercury Tracer that is mangled. Sully rushes to the Ford Expedition that was also involved. There is front-end damage.
"Sir, Sir. Are you okay?" Sully asks.
"I think so." Responds the driver.
"Just sit still, an ambulance is on the way." Sully returns.
"Davis! Cut that engine!" Sully yells over the sound of the car horn. "My God! How fast were they going?" Sully thinks to himself.
Davis attempts to open the driver's door to the car. The metal is so twisted. He fears that the car will explode. He thinks quickly and pulls out his flashlight. He busts the front windshield out and reaches through to turn off the car. He struggles to find the key but finally turns the car off. The fire truck finally arrives. Boyd 55-3 follows.
"Sully, what do ya have?" Jimmy questions.
"The car ran a red. The truck hit it!" Sully responds.
Davis yells, "I can't get the doors open on this one!"
55 David pulls onto the scene to assist. Faith and Bosco get out of the car to push a gathering crowd back. Faith gives a mournful look to the twisted metal pile that used to be a car.
"Okay people get back! Nothing to see here. Let everyone do their jobs!" Bosco yells as he is pushing people back.
Bobby breaks the glass on the driver's door to check on the driver. He reaches for a pulse but finds none.
"There's no pulse!" Bobby yells to Kim.
Kim looks up at Jimmy, "How long's it going to take to get them out of there?"
"As twisted as that is, it could take a couple hours."
"Dammit Jimmy! They don't have a couple hours!" Kim responds as she heads toward the driver of the truck.
" My chest. It feels like it is going to explode." The driver tells her.
"Hang on sir." Kim responds.
Bobby rushes to the passenger's side of the car. That window was busted out on impact. Bobby reaches through to check for a pulse.
"This one's got a pulse! She's in pretty bad shape though." Bobby yells.
"Bobby! I need you over here now!" Kim yells.
Bobby looks at Jimmy, "Just sit with her. Stay with her. Talk to her, whatever."
"Bobby, now!"
Bobby gets to Kim.
"What do you have?" Bobby questions
"He's having a heart attack. Nitro isn't giving much relief."
"Please, my chest, it's gonna explode." The driver says.
Kim and Bobby are hooking him up to the monitors. Kim calls for another bus. The driver of the truck looses consciousness.
"Sir, Sir. Stay with us." Kim says shaking him.
"Vfib!" Bobby announces.
"Charging the paddles to 200. Clear!" Kim shocks him
"Nothing."
"250. Clear!" She shocks him again.
"We've got a rhythm. Resuming compressions." Bobby says has he continues chest compressions.
Jimmy is sitting beside the car. Walsh and Taylor are working to cut the trapped girls out. Jimmy checks for a pulse, then he watches the girl's breathing. She begins to wake up.
"Don't move. Just stay still." Jimmy tells her.
"What? What happened?"
"You were in an accident. We are working to get you out of the car." Jimmy responds.
The girl is extremely scared. Jimmy takes her small cold hand into his. He gives her a slight smile.
"My name's Jimmy. I'm a firefighter. Want to tell me your name?"
"Kim, I'm Kim."
"Well Kim. You just keep talking to me. We're going to get you out of there, but it takes time. How old are you?"
"23." Jimmy looks up. Faith and Bosco are standing nearby with sullen looks on their faces. Taylor looks down at Jimmy. She and Walsh work a little harder to get the trapped girl out.
"How does stuff like this happen?" Faith directs the question towards Davis, Sully, and Bosco.
"Kids are getting over confident, cars are getting bigger." Sully responds.
"Well. I'm not letting Emily get her license until she's 18."
"She's still going to go out with her friends and get exposed to this. You can't protect her all of her life." Bosco tells Faith.
Davis adds, "He's right. This stuff can happen to anyone of us."
Doc and Carlos arrive on the scene. They run over to Kim and Bobby.
"We've got this one. Continue with the car!"
They load the driver into the back of their bus and head off towards Mercy. Kim and Bobby return to the girl trapped in the car. Jimmy steps aside so that Bobby can access the girl's vitals.
"What do you have Jimmy?" Kim asks?
"She's been awake and talking for a few minutes."
"Did you get a name?' Bobby asks.
Kim is rounding the car to check the driver.
"Yeah. It's Kim. Her name is Kim!"
Kim checks in on the driver. She looks across to Jimmy and shakes her head. She backs away from the car, takes a few steps. She turns her back on the car with tears in her eyes. She leans over and throws up. Bobby runs over to her.
"There's nothing you could have done. She was gone before we got here. We need to concentrate on that other girl." Bobby tells Kim trying to comfort her.
Faith turns her back on the scene. Her eyes are filling with tears. Bosco walks over to her.
"That girl didn't look like she was old enough to graduate high school." Faith cries.
Bosco responds, "I know, I know. We can't stop this stuff from happening. We could have never stopped this. We have to face the fact that in our line of work, people die. Kids die. It's unfortunate. It happens. We can't stop that."
The rain begins to fall harder. There are flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. The crew watches and waits.
"Kim, Kim. You gotta keep talking to me. Stay awake." Jimmy tells the trapped girl.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it. I'm really tired and scared."
"I know, I know. Just stay with me." Jimmy adds.
"Jimmy, check her pulse." Bobby instructs "You count, I'll time."
"Okay, I'm ready."
"Okay, start counting now."
It seems like it is the world's longest 30 seconds. Everyone watches and waits. Walsh and Alex halt their extrication efforts to give Jimmy quiet to count.
"Time!" Shouts Bobby.
"27" Jimmy announces.
"That's only 54. She's fading! Get a move on getting her out of there!" Kim yells.
Jimmy looks up
"Walsh, hurry!" Jimmy puts his hand in front of her face to feel for her breathing. He also watches her chest. "She's not moving a lot of air."
Bobby grabs the oxygen tank and takes it to Jimmy. Jimmy moves out of the way.
"Kim, my name's Bobby. I need to put this mask on you to help you breath better okay? We're going to get you out of there as soon as we can. Stay with us okay?"
She nods her head. Bobby places the mask over her face. She searches for Jimmy. She tries to speak. She starts to panic. Jimmy takes her hand again.
"Calm down. Calm down. I'm still here. You're going to be all right. I promise." Jimmy says to reassure her.
Walsh and Alex finally get the frame of the car cut enough to get her out.
"Okay. We're through!" Alex shouts
Kim and bobby rush in with the backboard.
"Jimmy, watch her head!" Bobby shouts.
Jimmy braces her head as Kim and Bobby carefully slide her out of the car and onto the backboard. They stabilize her head. Bosco, Davis, Walsh, Jimmy, Bobby, and Kim all load her into the bus.
"Jimmy we're gonna need you to drive!" Kim shouts
"No, she's comfortable with him. Taylor! Drive!" Bobby yells.
Taylor jumps into the front of the bus. Jimmy takes a seat in the back off to the side. He is still holding Kim's hand. Bobby and Kim feverishly work to keep her stable.
"Line's in" Kim announces.
'I'm gonna have to intubate." Bobby pulls out the scope. " I see the chords. I'm in!" he pulls the tube out and continues to work.
Kim is on the phone with telemetry.
"How we doing back there?" Taylor asks
"How far out are we?" Kim questions
"5 minutes."
"Step on it!" Kim responds to Taylor. Then into the phone she starts rattling off vitals and stats. "10 liters are in. Breathing is labored. We intubated on the bus." She pauses and looks to Jimmy, "How old?"
"23. She's 23."
"She's 23 years old. We're a minute out. Be standing by." She hangs up the phone.
Taylor pulls the bus into the ambulance bay. Proctor opens the door to the ambulance. Jimmy helps to offload her. He holds her hand as they are wheeling her into the trauma room. Kim is still rattling off the stats and vitals. Proctor pushes the crew out of the trauma room.
"I'll be back. You're in good hands, don't worry." Jimmy tells Kim to address the fear in her eyes.
The crew stands by the window of the trauma room. They watch as the doctors work on her.
Kim looks at Jimmy, "We've done all we can for her, it's in God's hands now."
Jimmy nods and returns his gaze to Kim, the girl he stayed with for two hours in the pouring rain. He couldn't help but be concerned.
"Jimmy, you want any coffee?" Bobby asks.
"No, no. I'm fine."
The cops are all sitting in a diner getting some coffee. They are trying to both warm up and dry off. Faith is being extremely quiet.
"Penny for your thoughts?' Bosco asks.
"You wouldn't even want to know what I'm thinking." Faith responds "I bet that it has something to do with that accident." Bosco returns.
"Yeah, it does."
"I told you before. Bad stuff happens. People get hurt. If you take every single call to heart, you're not going to last. It will eat you up. It will tear at your insides. You'll feel like the world is closing in on you. I've been there Faith. You have to let it go."
"I can't let it go. That could have been one of my children. I can't let that go!"
Jimmy watches as the doctors and nurses wheel Kim out of the trauma room towards the elevator.
"Is she going to be alright?" Jimmy asks a nurse
"I don't know. She's got internal bleeding and a few broken bones. We should know more in a couple hours." The nurse responds.
The door to the elevator closes.
"I'll be waiting."
Jimmy walks out to the ambulance bay and sits down by the side of the building. He watches as it rains.
Taylor walks outside.
"Hey. You can't help what happened out there today. You weren't there. The only thing that we can do is pray that she is okay." Taylor tells Jimmy.
"I know. I know."
"Anyway. Lieu called us. We gotta get back to the house."
"Okay. I'm ready whenever."
"Let's go then."
Kim and Bobby take Taylor and Jimmy back to the house in the bus. It's a quiet ride. The rain is still falling. It's closing in on 10:30.
"We're almost done for the night." Bobby says to break the silence.
"Yeah. Yeah, we are." Taylor adds.
"Wanna go get a beer after work to ease our minds?" Bobby asks "No, I want to go home and be with Joey." Kim starts, " Today just made me realize that I've got to cherish every minute with him."
"I'll go" Taylor responds.
"Okay. Jimmy?" Bobby asks.
"No. I'm going to have to pass on that one."
"Alright." Bobby adds.
Faith and Bosco are driving around still. They are heading back to the house.
"I'm sorry." Bosco says to break the ice cold silence of the car.
"I know."
"I'm not a father. I don't really understand these things, you know?"
"When you have children of your own someday, you will."
"I hope that I have children of my own. I just don't want to screw them up like my dad screwed me and my brother up."
"You won't Boz. You'll make a great father."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah."
"Hey. Pull over a second."
"Okay."
Faith pulls the car over on the side of the street. Bosco is staring at something quite intently.
"Son of a!" Bosco yells.
"What?"
"You didn't see that?"
"No, what?"
"That guy just stabbed the other guy. I'm going after him!" Bosco jumps out of the car.
"Bosco, be careful!" Faith yells. She grabs her radio "55 David to Central we are in pursuit of a white male witnessed stabbing another male. We need a bus at this location, 1118 109th."
She flips on the lights and tears off after Bosco and the suspect. Bosco chases him into an alley. Faith corners hard to follow. The whole time she is announcing into the radio change of streets, locations, and status. They cross over King. Other units have joined in the pursuit. They corner the suspect. He attempts to knife Bosco, but Bosco tackles him to the ground.
"That was extremely dumb. You realize that you wouldn't have gotten too far, I have friends. You don't!" Bosco tells the suspect as he is pulling him off of the ground to head back to the RMP.
Jimmy grabs his stuff and heads to his car.
"Hey." Kim yells
"Hey. I was just."
"I know. You're leaving to go to the hospital."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that you did a great job out there today."
"Thanks."
Jimmy gets into his car and pulls off. Kim is left standing there alone. She watches and thinks about the time that she and Jimmy spent together. Bobby walks out.
"You're never going to stop loving him are you?"
"I'm not in love with him!"
"Come on Kim. You expect me to believe that? I'm your partner. I can see right through the harsh lines."
"I'm not in love with him. Anyway, I have to go home."
"Let me give you a ride."
"No, I'll walk." Kim walks away.
"Kim! Don't do this to yourself. Kim!" Bobby yells after her.
She continues walking without even stopping.
Jimmy stops at the desk at the hospital.
"May I help you?" the nurse asks.
"The medics brought a young girl in earlier, Kim, she was in an accident. They took her to surgery."
"Yeah. She's in recovery now."
"Can I see her?"
"Yeah. Room 236."
"Thanks."
Jimmy heads to the elevator. The doors open and he enters. He presses the button for the second floor. He waits as the elevator rises. The doors open and he steps off. There is a huge aquarium filled with tropical fish greeting him. He looks up at the sign to see which direction room 236 is. The sign points to the right. He heads off down the hall.
He pauses as he reaches the door. He wasn't sure what to expect. A nurse walks over to him.
"May I help you sir?"
"Um. I'm firefighter Jimmy Doherty. I was at the scene of the accident that this girl was involved in. I wanted to check on her."
"Well, she's still sleeping. You can go in and see her for a little while if you like."
Jimmy nods. He walks into the room. He sits in the chair beside the bed. Kim is still sleeping. He takes her hand in his. He sits in silence.
Kim enters her apartment. Joey is asleep in his room. Catherine greets Kim.
"Hey honey. How was your day?" Catherine asks
"I don't want to talk about it."
"That bad huh?"
"Yeah. It was awful."
"Well, tomorrow is another day."
"I know."
"Well, I better head home."
"Thanks mom. I'll see you tomorrow."
Kim hugs her mother and then closes the door as she leaves. Kim sits down on the couch and cries. Joey walks out.
"Mommy? Why are you crying?"
Kim looks up and wipes the tear from her eye.
"I had a bad day at work sweetie."
"Oh. Can I make it better?"
"You already have."
She takes him into her lap and they sit there. He falls asleep in her arms. She carries him back to bed.
Faith walks into her apartment. She puts her stuff down on the table and walks back to her children's room. She stands in the shadows of the doorway. The only light is the nightlight in the hallway. She watches the kids sleep for a few minutes. She walks in and kisses each on their forehead and then goes into her bedroom. She changes and crawls into bed. Fred rolls over.
"Rough day?"
"Yeah."
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Okay."
Jimmy is sitting in the dim lights of the hospital room. He is watching as Kim sleeps. He looks down for a moment at his watch. He hears a raspy voice. "You're back."
He looks up.
"I told you that I would come back."
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
"If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here right now."
"I didn't do anything."
"Your smile, those dimples. They kept me awake. Not many guys would have sat there with me all of that time."
Jimmy blushes.
"It's my job, everyday I save people's lives. People like you."
"I know. But still. I owe you."
"The only thing you owe me is to get better."
"Okay."
Jimmy and Kim continue the conversation. Jimmy still holds her hand in his. He is smiling, she is too. She fades back off into sleep. He sits there and watches. He gets up.
"I'll see you again. I promise."
He walks to the door and looks back. He watches for another moment. Then he turns down the hallway and walks away.
Jimmy wakes up on his couch. He is still wearing the clothes from the night before. His hair is flat on one side from leaning on the couch arm. His head kind of hurt.
"Ah. I must have been really tired." He flips on the news before he heads back to the bathroom to take a shower. He stops when he hears the anchor mention the accident from the night before.
"The driver's name has not been released pending notification of the family. The passenger Kim Miller is listed in good condition at Angel of Mercy Hospital according to the police."
"So that's her last name." Jimmy says as he turns on the shower.
He lets the shower warm up as he undresses and climbs in. The warm water felt really good on his body. He turns off the shower and grabs a towel. He wraps it around his waist as he gets out of the shower. He walks over to the sink and cobs his hair. He then brushes his teeth. Finally, he lathers the shaving cream on his face. The phone rings. "Hello? Oh hi mom. Yeah, I know your anniversary is Friday. Sure I can join you. All right, 6 on Friday. Love you too!" He hangs up the phone and finishes shaving. He walks out to the kitchen and starts some coffee and toast. Then he walks into his bedroom and changes.
Faith is packing the children's lunches. They are eating cereal at the table. Faith finishes packing the lunches and sits at the table with her coffee. Fred comes out the hall and pours a cup of coffee joining his family at the table.
Emily looks at Charlie, "We're gonna be late." Faith hops up and grabs their lunches, gives each a kiss on the forehead and sends them off. Fred looks up from his coffee.
"You okay?" Fred asks.
Faith snaps out of her fixed gaze on the door. "Yeah. I'm fine. I need to clean this place up." Faith says as she begins picking up the kid's cereal bowls.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Fred tells Faith.
"I just want it to look nice in here."
"It does. Trust me."
"Sorry."
"Last night is really bothering you isn't it?"
Faith continues to straighten up the apartment totally ignoring Fred's last question.
Jimmy walks into the hospital and stops at the gift shop. He buys some flowers and heads off to the elevator. He reaches the fourth floor and is greeted by the fish tank again when the doors open. He turns and heads up the hallway to Kim's room. He knocks on the door lightly. "Hello."
Kim looks up. "Hey, come on in."
Jimmy walks in. "I brought you some flowers," he says as he sets them on the stand beside her bed.
"Thank you. That is the nicest thing anyone has done for me lately."
"I just figured you could use a little cheering up." Jimmy says as he smiles.
"I love them!"
Jimmy was happy but he didn't know what to say. "I'm not real good at this."
"At what?" Kim questions.
"I've never felt myself falling for someone that I've saved before."
"There's a first time for everything." Kim says smiling.
"I just don't know if this is right. I want to." Jimmy says as he leans closer to her.
Kim leans close to him and they kiss. Jimmy jerks back.
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I've wanted to do that since I met you."
Jimmy is unsure of what to say next. He looks down at his watch. "I'm sorry. I have to leave for work, I'll come see you later." He gets up and attempts to leave.
"Jimmy! Wait!"
Jimmy stops and turns around.
Kim tells him, "It's okay. You don't have to feel bad about that."
He responds, "I don't."
He walks out the door and a few steps down the hall. He stops a few rooms up to think about what had just happened. Then he walks back to the elevator and heads off to work.
Kim and Bobby are already out on a run. They transport the patient to Mercy, nothing serious. Proctor looks up at Kim. "Jimmy was here earlier to visit that girl from last night's accident." Kim is shocked, she looks at Bobby. He looks back at her. They take the stretcher back out to the bus.
"Kim, don't go jumping to conclusions." Bobby says.
"I'm not. I'm sure that he was just visiting her." She returns.
Before Bobby can respond a call comes across the radio. "Boyd 55-3, 10-13 Washington Square Park." Bobby responds "Washington Square Park 10-4."
"Officer down?" Kim questions.
"Let's go!" Bobby yells.
They both jump into the bus and take off.
They pull onto the scene to find Bosco and Faith. Faith is holding a shirt on a stab wound to another officer's abdomen.
"What happened Bosco?" Kim questions running with the bags.
"We got called to respond as back up. A dealer stabbed him for breaking up a deal."
Bobby takes over for Faith. He removes the towel to look at the wound. "We're gonna have to scoop and run. Faith, I need you to drive!"
Faith nods and hops in the front of the bus. Bosco closes the doors on the bus and hops into the RMP. He leads the bus to Mercy.
Bobby and Kim work in the back to stabilize the officer. Faith looks back occasionally. Bosco leads them into the ambulance bay of Mercy. The doctors and nurses open the back doors. Kim rattles off the stats as Faith and Bosco rush in behind them. They go to the desk to fill out paperwork.
Bobby walks over. "He's lucky you guys got to him. He could have bled out. You did well."
"Thanks." Faith responds.
She walks into the lounge to wash the blood off of her hands.
Bosco walks up behind her, "You did great out there." He hands her a towel.
"Thanks."
Jimmy and DK are shooting hoops.
"You're a little chipper today." DK says
"Why do you say that?" Jimmy asks as he passes the ball to DK.
"You're smiling a lot. And whistling." DK laughs. "Whose the lucky girl?"
"There is no girl."
"Aw come on Jimmy! There is always a girl when you are this happy." DK pauses "Wait a minute. It's that girl from the accident isn't it? That's where you went last night, and you went there before work today too, didn't you?"
Before Jimmy can answer Kim walks up. "Jimmy, can I speak to you alone?"
DK takes the ball and heads into the house to get a drink.
"Well sure." Jimmy says.
"You went to see the girl from the accident?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"You're not falling for her are you?" Kim questions.
Jimmy is silent. Kim laughs.
"You are in love with her! I can't believe it!" She exclaims.
Before Jimmy has a chance to defend himself the alarm goes off.
"Squad 55, Ladder 100, Adam 55-3, Boyd 55-3, residential fire 478 Riverside."
Jimmy runs into the firehouse to get his turnouts. He hops into the squad truck beside DK and Taylor. Walsh is driving, and Lieutenant Johnson is in the front with him. They pull out of the station and head off up the street. The buses head off following the fire trucks. They arrive on the scene. A young woman is trapped inside. She is screaming for help. Jimmy jumps from the truck and rushes inside to save her, totally ignoring the screams of his fellow firefighters.
Jimmy reaches the second story when all at once the whole room bursts into flames. He fights his way to the room where the young woman was trapped. He blinks as he gets to her. She is already gone. In another blink of an eye, the unthinkable happens. A back draft. He is thrown from his position. His helmet flies through the open window. The other fire fighters watch in horror as it hits the street below. The cops have arrived on the scene as well. They turn away as flames shoot from the windows.
"JIMMMMYYYYYYY!!!!" Kim screams. Bobby wraps her up in his arms.
"He'll be alright. It's Jimmy. He gets out of these situations. He'll be alright!"
DK and Taylor rush up the ladder with the line. They are going to get Jimmy out alive.
He is leaning against a wall. All that is running through his mind is the previous day's accident. He can't move, he knows that. Smoke and flames fill the room around him. For the first time in his life he truly fears that he is going to die. The thought doesn't come easy to him. He pictures the accident scene all over again. The twisted car.
Flashbacks enter his mind.
Jimmy is sitting beside the car. Walsh and Taylor are working to cut the trapped girls out. Jimmy checks for a pulse, then he watches the girl's breathing. She begins to wake up.
"Don't move. Just stay still." Jimmy tells her.
"What? What happened?"
"You were in an accident. We are working to get you out of the car." Jimmy responds.
The girl is extremely scared. Jimmy takes her small cold hand into his. He gives her a slight smile.
"My name's Jimmy. I'm a firefighter. Want to tell me your name?"
"Kim, I'm Kim."
"Well Kim. You just keep talking to me. We're going to get you out of there, but it takes time. How old are you?"
"23." Jimmy looks up.
DK and Taylor finally get into the room.
Taylor yells, "Jimmy? Jimmy where are you?"
"Talk to us Jimmy! Jimmy?" DK calls.
Jimmy snaps out of his flashbacks. He is too weak to respond. Taylor fights the flames back to the doorway. She drops the line.
"Jimmy! DK, we need a backboard!"
She rushes to Jimmy. DK runs to the window.
"Get a backboard up here now!" He yells. "Jimmy, Jimmy, talk to me. You have to talk to me." Taylor coaxes. She doesn't get much of a response.
Walsh rushes up the ladder with the backboard. He hands it to DK and enters the room. They enter the room. Taylor is still trying to get him to talk. They strap him onto the backboard. Taylor leads them back out of the building. They carefully carry him down to the back of the truck where other firefighters take over. Doc and Carlos rush a gurney over to them.
"Kim, don't go over there!" Bobby yells, but it is too late she is already heading in the direction.
Bosco picks up Jimmy's helmet. He looks at it and carries it over to Bobby.
"Here." Bosco says handing it to Bobby. "I'm sure he'll need it again."
Bobby looks down at it, "Thanks Bosco." He walks over to the bus and puts the helmet on the seat. He looks over. Doc and Carlos are loading Jimmy into the back of the bus. Taylor heads into the drivers seat. Kim jumps in the back. DK closes the doors and the bus squeals off with sirens going full blast.
Bobby and everyone just stand there in silence as they watch the bus head off towards Mercy. It starts to rain again.
The doctors and nurses rush out to the back of the bus. They offload Jimmy and rush him into the ER. Kim stands helplessly as she watches them work on Jimmy. They cart him off to surgery. Kim asks Proctor where the other Kim's room is. She takes the elevator. The doors open and the same fish tank greets her. She looks at the sign to find the direction of the room. She heads down the hallway and to the room. She knocks on the door.
"Hello, Kim?" She asks
"Yeah, that would be me."
"I'm Kim Zambrano. I was one of the paramedics that worked on you last night."
"I know."
"I have some news, that you may not like." Kim says to brace the other Kim for the worst.
"Jimmy, Jimmy was in an accident himself today. He's in surgery. I just wanted you to know." Kim got ready to walk out.
"Wait! Thank you for telling me. Please keep me informed." "I will. I promise." Kim walked out and headed for the surgical waiting room.
She gets there to be greeted by the 55 squad. Taylor looks up as Kim walks in. DK stands up so that Kim can have a seat.
"Any news?" She asks.
"Not yet. Soon." Taylor assures her.
Bobby walks in with Joey and Catherine.
"I thought that they should be here." He tells Kim.
"Thank you Bobby." She responds as she holds Joey tight.
Her mom sits beside her. Bobby stands watching. The doctor walks out. "Ms. Zambrano, he's asking for you."
Kim gives Joey to her mother and follows the doctor back the hall to Jimmy's room. He has monitors hooked up to him. He has scrapes and bruises.
"I'm sorry Kim." Jimmy says.
"Don't be. You're here now." She responds.
"I know." He returns.
"I went and saw the girl from the accident. I told her about the accident."
"Why?"
"It's obvious that you have fallen for her."
"Why would you think that?"
"I saw the flowers. It's obvious that she's fallen for you. The true American hero!"
"Kim!"
"I can't take it anymore Jimmy. I can't wait on you to decide who you love or don't love. It's not fair to Joey. I can't wait any longer."
Kim walks out of the room. Jimmy tries to stop her. She storms past everyone in the waiting room. She gets on the elevator and returns to Kim's room.
"He's yours. Take him, I don't want him anymore!"
Before the other Kim can respond, she leaves that room too. She heads down the elevator and out of the hospital. She walks across the street and sits in the grass. She folds her knees to her chest and sits there crying. Bobby enters the ambulance bay looking for her. He walks out into the parking area. He looks across the street and finds her. It is now well past midnight. He walks over to her.
"Kim." He says softly.
"What?" She snaps bitterly.
"I'm sorry that it turned out this way."
"I should have known."
"You couldn't have known. Nothing could have prepared you for this."
The squad slowly exits the hospital to return to the house. Kim and Bobby return to the house. Catherine and Joey are waiting for them.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Catherine asks
"I really don't want to talk about it." Kim responds.
"Get your things and I will take you all home." Bobby says.
He drops Catherine off at her home. Then he takes Kim and Joey back to Kim's apartment.
"If you need to, you can call me." Bobby tells Kim.
"I know. Thank you." Kim says as she shuts the door.
Bobby watches as Kim enters her building. He sits there and thinks for a moment and then heads home.
Kim talks the nurse into taking her to see Jimmy. She walks under her own power to his room.
"Hey. You weren't supposed to end up here too!" Kim says jokingly.
He tries not to laugh. "I tried not to, it just happened."
She sits on the bed next to him. "So what is up with you and that paramedic?"
"She had my son, we were married once. I'm totally over her." Jimmy explains.
"I don't care. These feelings between us, are they real?"
"I know that mine are. What about yours?" Jimmy questions back.
"Let me show you."
They kiss again. They sit side by side on the bed, he falls asleep again. She continues to sit and watch. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
The room grows dark..