Eddie looked down at the man in his arms. The man he had gone through so many things with, the man that had helped him become who he was. That same man was bleeding to death in his arms and there was nothing he could do but to wait for the medics to get there. "Hang in there buddy," he repeated for the hundredth time. Ed Lane was usually not a very emotional man but this time, while his friend was in such a bad state, tears were coming out of his eyes and rolling down his cheeks. He wanted to look strong, remain composed for Greg but this day had been so filled with many emotions that he couldn't control himself anymore.
Sam had raced across the platform jumping down the steps a few at a time, his grip on the rail acting as leverage as he raced down the stairs yelling for the medics to hurry - even though he was a way up he could still be loud and be heard over the noisy stadium. On his earpiece he could hear Eddie talking but no Greg, he tried not to think the worst as the adrenaline kicked in. Greg had been a rock for each and every one of them and had stuck up for them through everything, not only that, he was their mentor friend and father figure. The mere thought that Greg could die sent a dagger through him but the Master Sergeant fought down the growing emotions within him as he continued to pound his way down the stairs, it was up to him to keep going, Greg wouldn't want him to just stand there.
Greg breathed shallowly fighting to stay conscious. As he felt Eddie's arms around him he tried to will himself to respond to Eddie's words, he wanted to comfort him and let him know it was okay but he couldn't. It was like he was losing his grip, everything was beginning to fade out around him and he was weakening more and more. He managed to mumble a few words but it came out in shallow rasps and he coughed as the blood began to fill his mouth again.
Spike hit the brake pedal hard and pulled to a screeching halt outside the stadium. Jumping out, he didn't bother to shut the door as he sprinted for the entrance not caring that people were trying to stop him and he wasted no time racing up the stairs. He saw Sam some levels up coming down towards him. His feet felt like they were made of lead and he felt like he was moving too slow, Greg meant more to him than anything and he couldn't bear the thought of him being hurt. Those precious moments each team member had when they were disarming each bomb felt unreal. Greg had managed to disarm the last one. He had been a hero already in Spike's eyes but right now he was even more a hero as the civilians on the ground had no idea just how close they came.
Well they were already victims coming in from other blasts - they probably knew how close they had come - but they had their lives in Greg's hand a minute earlier and half of them were completely oblivious of that fact. The Sergeant had gone above and beyond and Spike was so proud of him as well as of the rest of his team.
Upon hearing what happened on the other side of the earpiece, Jules went completely motionless, concentrating on the voices, trying to hear anything coming out of Greg's mouth simply to indicate he was alright. But the urge in Eddie's voice calling for medics told her he wasn't. When she managed to get her motion senses back, she quickly moved over to one of the ambulances right outside the stadium, glad to recognize Steve.
"Steve!" she called out as she limped her way towards him. He looked her up and down and it was as if he stared at her bandaged leg. She couldn't say it didn't hurt, especially whenever she was walking on it, but there were more important matters to settle for now.
"Steve, we have an officer down up there," she urged him as she reached his side and took balance on the ambulance, trying as much as possible to keep the weight off her bad leg. "It's Greg," she continued. The panic in her tone suggested there was no time to waste.
Steve didn't need to be told twice. He quickly went for the back of the ambulance, grabbing his partner's arm on the way and gathered a few things they would need.
Jules exchanged a look with Leah who gave her a nod, silently letting her know she had the ground under control and that she could go. When the two medics darted inside the stadium, Jules didn't hesitate to follow them. She could feel thumping in her leg but she let it go, instead concentrated on getting it moving faster so she could follow them up. "Boss you hang in there," she said for Greg's sake, hoping he could hear her. They quickly reached the stairs and she realized going up quickly was going to be harder than she had first thought with her leg wrapped up that way.
Ed could see Greg was still conscious but he also knew he wouldn't hold for long anymore, being a fighter or not, he'd lost a lot of blood. He wished he could have been there sooner to shoot the bastard before he got to Greg. He knew evacuating the building had been a priority, especially with a bomb threat but if only he'd been there to back up his Sergeant...
"Dad?!" Dean whimpered, tears streaming down his face as he stared at Winnie. Beside him his girlfriend squeezed his hand. The day had been chaotic, one minute he was out shopping with her and Clark and the next minute the whole city was plunged into terror. His father's voice echoed in his mind, the voice on every radio, television and speaker in the city asking for calm - that very voice was now in grave danger, his father whom he had only just reconnected with him was now silent.
Winnie's tears were flowing down her cheeks uncontrollably, having Dean next to her yelling for his dad didn't help making it better. She could understand why the young man was in such distress, she was feeling exactly the same. Being a dispatcher was not an easy task. You got to hear everything that was going on with a team out there risking their lives for others while being completely powerless. Dean have had a few tastes of it in the past few years but today was different. Today, the terror that rose through the entire city was making this job unbearable, especially after losing two of their own and nearly losing many others. And now, Team One could lose their Sergeant, too.
Dean reached over for Winnie's hand and tried not to cry any more than he already had. It was overwhelming him the emotions he was feeling and he suddenly realised just how much risk his dad took every day on the job - and it was horrifying. The realisation that he could experience the exact same thing if he became an SRU officer hit him like a ten ton truck.
Winnie felt something grab her hand and she looked up at Dean, squeezing it herself to show her support. She gave him a quick nod, Greg was a fighter, she hoped he would pull through this.
Dean looked to his girlfriend then back to Winnie. "Can a squad car come take me to hospital?" he asked. It was stupid question with the city in gridlock but he didn't know how else to get there and he was technically next of kin.
"Of course," Winnie managed to respond and she called in a squad car then looked up at him. "Go, they'll be waiting for you in the parking lot," she told him.
Dean nodded and ran out. His girlfriend hesitated, she didn't want to go with him, it wasn't her place and her parents would be worried sick. Until it was clear to leave she'd be better off staying. Dean didn't look back, his mind was focused on his father as he threw open the door of the squad car, slid in and slammed the door.
Sam saw Jules, Steve and the second medic racing in his direction and he let them pass before racing up behind them. Spike was already ahead of them having slammed past Sam and it took all his willpower to let the medics go first.
When Sam reached them, Jules stopped. Her leg was killing her and she knew there was nothing else she could do for Greg anyway. She held herself on the railings with one hand while the other went to her face, covering her mouth and nose, trying to stop the sobbing. Greg had been there through all of her years at the SRU. He was more than just a mentor to her, he was a father figure, the kind of father she wished she could have had growing up. Maybe then she wouldn't have been such a screw up teenager.
Moments later, Steve and his partner were kneeling by Greg's side. Ed moved back slowly to give them space to work and stood up whilst his friend was being looked at.
Sam glanced behind him and seeing his wife wasn't doing so good, he reluctantly tore his eyes away from Greg and headed over to Jules. Once he reached her, he pulled her to him.
Jules let herself be taken by Sam and together they climbed the last few steps that led them to Greg then stood there, Sam holding her and watching the medics work. Looking at the Sarge, seeing him like this unsure whether he would make it or not, Jules found herself leaning her head on Sam's chest and held him tight as she cried, powerless.
Sam couldn't bare to look away. His mind flashed back to Iraq and the sheer horror of it. He thought of his friend, the one he shot, and remembered the scene when medics descended to attend to him. It tore at him - the fear, the worry, the grief - he gritted his teeth.
The second medic quickly unfastened the Sergeant's kevlar vest to give him some breathing space - as the vest came away blood began to drip and pool around Greg's limp body from the blood soaked black shirt which he proceeded to cut through with his scissors. Then the medic brought two fingers on his neck to check his pulse. "Pulse is weak," he said, matter-of-factly.
In fact, too matter-of-factly for Ed's liking. He took a breath and observed as they worked, finding himself restless. It was as if they were not going fast enough or not putting their hearts into it. But then again, how many of these lives they've tried to save today? How many have perished? He took a deep breath, counted and cleared his mind as he kept on watching them work, he was there if they needed an extra pair of hands.
Steve applied some pressure on his wound as he attached the heart monitor pads to Greg's exposed chest. It seemed like a bullet had penetrated his side right above his vest. There was a chance he had a punctured lung, especially since he was coughing out blood. Meanwhile, his partner rummaged in his bag and located an occlusive dressage which he placed over the wound to keep it airtight. However, there wasn't much time to waste, the sooner they got him to the hospital, the better chances they had in saving him.
Suddenly the alarm on the monitor Steve had set up began to blare loudly and he checked his pulse again. "He's crashing, we need to intubate!" Steve moved around to Greg's head grabbing a bag as he moved. He crouched down at Greg's head and pushed his hand under his neck to tip his head up, opening up the airways. His partner ripped open the bag to reveal an intubation kit.
Eddie took a deep breath under Steve's sudden distress. He brought his hand to his mouth and rubbed up and down a few times before moving it up to his forehead, a sob escaping his lips.
"Gimme a tube," he ordered quickly as he grabbed the laryngoscope in one hand, placed it into Greg's mouth and carefully worked to find the cricoid cartilage. He then grabbed the tube from his partner and quickly slid it in, putting a little air in the balloon at the end of the tube to secure it and pulled out the guide wire. Tossing down the laryngoscope he placed the mouthpiece over the tube, then grabbed the pump and connected it to the mouthpiece.
"We have to move!" It took only a second before they had the stretcher up in the air, Steve in the lead and his partner in the back - his partner was holding the handle of the stretcher with one hand whilst pumping the pump with the other.
It was then that Steve realised just how complicated this would be, normally they would have had one or two other medics with them as per protocol but with the city plunged into crisis, the entire emergency service was stretched thin with every medical crew forced to go alone or two by two in vehicles or on foot and do what they could.
In this instant, Steve saw an opportunity to use the two officers before them - he glanced at them both.
Spike was rooted, so many thoughts and feelings reeling through him he had no idea what to think or feel. He was terrified. This man was like a father to him, he felt exactly like he did when his own father died but his relationship with Greg was different, he couldn't explain it. He wanted to go to Eddie and stand with him. He tore his eyes from Greg as the medics lifted the stretcher and caught the look Steve gave him. Spike nodded as he stepped up alongside and took one side of the stretcher looking to Eddie for help.
Quickly, Ed took the side Spike wasn't covering and helped the two medics getting down the insane amount of stairs that led back to the street in front of the stadium. The staircases were tight, especially at the very top and they needed to hurry.
Jules' hand squeezed Sam's arm tightly, unable to speak. As the medics took Greg out, she exchanged a look with Steve but the expression on his face didn't help her feel any better. She knew that look, it didn't agur anything positive.
Sam watched silently until the stretcher was too far below for them to see, then carefully he half-held half-lifted Jules, allowing her to lean on her good leg but providing all the support she would need. She brought her arm over Sam's shoulder and let him help her down. The stairs and platforms were long winded and difficult but they needed to get to solid ground.
Below them, the stadium was in chaos as marshalls directed people back inside and others organised medical personnel and officers around. The tents for the decontamination process were still in full flow as there were still people needing to be cleared.
The team couldn't help but glance at the scene before them as they passed by. Nearby, an officer who had spoken with Greg moments before he had gone up to disarm the bomb watched in silence, seemingly sending a silent message of support.
As they finally all reached the ambulance, the two medics transferred the SRU officer onto a rolling gurney.
Leah's attention was drawn from her current task and over to members of her team coming out of the stadium. She stretched her neck slightly, trying to see from afar how the Sergeant was holding up.
Spike stepped aside and as Greg continued forward, Spike touched the man's hand. "Hang in there boss," he said in Italian. He was somehow holding it together and he had to, Greg's earlier words to him whirled around his mind and he willed himself to stay strong and keep going.
"Alright we need to go!" Steve hurried once they had put the gurney in the vehicle. He moved over to the back of the ambulance while the other went for the wheel. His eyes moved on Eddie who was standing there looking at Greg, again his hand brushing his nose and mouth as he tried to compose himself. "Come on in," Steve told him. Eddie exchanged a look with Spike.
Spike saw the look Eddie gave him and nodded. "I'll take care of Jules." They would be heading there anyway, they needed to get checked out, especially Sam and Jules.
Eddie nodded in turn and then jumped in the back of the ambulance to ride along.
Sam and Jules were only reaching the street when the ambulance doors closed on Greg. They helplessly watched the vehicle leave and Jules took a shaking breath, knowing his life was now in their capable hands.