Disclaimer: All original Emergency characters belong to Universal and Mark VII. Original characters belong to the author.
The Search For Marco-1
"What? No way! He couldn't have done it!" Chet looked around at the other guys in the dayroom. It was nearly time for 'lights out' and the 'A' shift crew of station 51 began standing and stretching while replacing their chairs around the kitchen table. The movie they had just watched was a murder mystery but only Chet seemed surprised by the ultimate revelation of who had actually committed the crime.
"Chet, it was obvious from the start. Don't tell me you didn't have it figured out."
"Ah Gage, you didn't know either so wipe that smug grin off your face."
The casual banter between the two men was more normal than anyone outside of the station would have realized if they'd been listening. However, it was interrupted by the phone ringing.
"Uh-oh." Hank Stanley whispered more to himself than to anyone else. A phone ringing at this hour usually meant a problem at home for himself or one of his men.
"L.A. County Station 51. Captain Hank Stanley speaking." The other men looked on with a measure of concern in their eyes.
"Ye..yes ma'am. He's right here." Hank promptly handed the phone over to Marco while mouthing the words, 'your mother' to the younger man.
"Mama, something wrong?" Marco's dark eyes grew wide as he gave the rest of his crew a look that they all recognized.
"Mama, don't move her. We're on our way." Lopez slammed down the phone and looked at his captain.
"Cap, car wreck in front of my mom's house. There's a pregnant woman inside and Mama thinks she might be in labor."
"I'll call it in, let's get going guys." Hank notified dispatch and requested an ambulance and law enforcement. He opened the bay doors on his way to his seat on the engine and in a matter of seconds both emergency vehicles were exiting the station on their way to what would turn out to be a night none of them would ever forget.
E!
The Lopez residence was a 30 minute drive from the station under normal conditions. However, two emergency vehicles traveling with red lights and sirens would not be considered normal; they were able to pull up to the older two story home in less than twenty minutes.
Neither the ambulance nor law enforcement had arrived on scene. What the crew saw as they drove up was Ms. Lopez reaching into the window of an older model blue sedan speaking in a combination of Spanish and broken English to the young woman behind the wheel.
Marco was the first to reach his mother. He'd seen her in this condition before and knew that she sometimes mixed up her English and Spanish when she was upset. He reached into the car and gently took both of his mother's hands and led her over to the engine to sit down and catch her breath.
"Mama, let Roy and John help her. We're here now. It's ok, just have a seat right here and I'll stay with you." The older woman allowed herself to be led away from the vehicle in the supportive arms of her son while the paramedics retrieved their equipment from the squad.
"Chet, pull the battery cables will ya." Cap ordered and the young lineman made quick work of the task.
"Hi there, what's your name?" Roy used his softest voice as he reached in to make physical contact with the young woman. She was conscious but appeared to be in shock and made no attempt to respond to Roy's question. Instead, she stared through the windshield as if she were still driving; hands still in the ten and two o'clock position.
"Cap, gonna need a pry bar to get this door open."
"Roy, I'll take the other side." John was able to quickly open the passenger's side door. He was a bit surprised that the impact hadn't jammed both doors instead of just the driver's side. The young woman had lost control of her car and plowed into a large tree with the front driver's side of the car sustaining most of the visible damage.
Johnny slid across the bench seat to gain better access to his patient. The darkness of the hour made it more difficult to assess her condition but he did immediately notice that she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy.
"Ma'am, ma'am can you hear me?" John reached up and checked her pulse using her right wrist. He approximated it at 100 beats per minute and then pulled his pen light out of his shirt pocket to check her pupil response as Hank arrived with the pry bar.
Roy and Hank made short work of opening the driver's door but the loud sound of the protesting metal suddenly jarred the patient back into the present. She jumped and gave a half scream as she tried desperately to remove herself from the noise of the door and the light Johnny was shining into her eyes.
"Arrgh"
"Easy now, just take it easy. You're gonna be ok alright?" Johnny was using his most soothing voice to try to calm his victim while holding a steady hand on her right shoulder as a means of grounding her.
"Wha….AARRGH!" The young woman's entire body tensed up as she wrapped both arms protectively around her abdomen and pain etched itself across her face. Her soft light brown hair fell into her face as she bent her head down and John immediately noticed tiny sweat beads begin to pop out on her forehead.
Roy instinctively looked at his watch to time the contraction and made a mental note.
"Breathe for me ma'am, just take a deep breath and blow it out. Don't fight the contractions ok?" Roy and John had delivered numerous babies before so this was not unfamiliar territory. Plus, Roy had been with Joanne for both deliveries of their own children and he knew how much easier labor could be if the mother-to-be had someone present to keep her as calm as possible. Roy had the right voice for the job and he knew how to employ it while his partner went about taking her vitals and preparing to extricate her from the crumpled vehicle.
Johnny waited for the contraction to subside before he took her blood pressure. Once he felt the tension in her body relax he helped her to lean back in the seat with her head against the headrest then quickly wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her upper arm. Roy heard the hissing of the air being let out of the cuff and looked at his partner. Johnny gave him a negative shake of his head to indicate the reading was not good. He wrote down the numbers and handed them over to Roy who was busily attaching the antenna to the biophone to contact Rampart.
"Rampart, this is Squad 51 how do you read?" In the background, Roy could hear his partner using his calm voice to illicit as much information from the young woman as he could. Roy heard her say that her name was Heather Dawson and she was twenty-one years old.
"Go ahead 51," came the voice of Dr. Joe Early.
Roy began reciting the information he had on the patient including her vitals as in the distance he heard the distinctive wail of sirens.
"Cap, I'll direct them in." Hank looked at his young linemen and gave him a quick affirmation. Chet, you just can't handle a pregnant woman in labor can you?
Hank looked around for his other two crewmen and found Ms. Lopez safe and sound tucked into the space between Marco and Mike on the tail board of the engine. Marco caught his gaze and gave him a thumb's up to indicate that all was well there.
"Heather, my name is John Gage and that's my partner over there Roy DeSoto. He's talking to a doctor on the phone over at Rampart Hospital. How far along are you?"
It took Heather a long moment to gather her wits about her and process the information. "Ah, 35 weeks but….AARRGH!" John watched again as another contraction gripped his patient and saw the agony displayed on her young frightened face. He timed it while coaxing her to breathe through it and not hold her breath while the pain overtook her. She let go of her tight abdomen with her right hand and reached out for something to hold onto. Johnny knew what she needed and instinctively held onto her hand offering his strength and assurance that the pain would subside. When the contraction relinquished its grip on Heather's body she in turn relinquished her grip on Johnny's hand while following his soft commands to breathe through it.
Roy looked on in wonder as he noted the size of the woman's swollen midsection. When she leaned her head back in the seat following the second contraction he heard her say what he was already thinking.
"Twi…twins." She panted.
Johnny finished his assessment as quickly as he could, working to ensure there were no obvious injuries. She'd been wearing her seatbelt and he assumed she'd lost control of her car during a contraction. He noted how swollen her lower legs and ankles were. Johnny pressed lightly against the tight skin on the top of her swollen feet and noted how the impression his fingers made stayed when he back his hand. "Pitting edema in lower extremities, Roy."
"Cap, gonna need a backboard and trauma box too." Roy spat out the words while holding the biophone receiver to his ear and taking down notes from Dr. Early.
Mike had heard him and was already retrieving the backboard by the time Hank opened the compartment holding the trauma box. They both knew that spinal precautions would be necessary and this extrication would be complicated by the victim's condition.
"Mama, I need to help them get her out. You stay right here, ok?" Marco stood while removing his mother's hand from the crook of his elbow and patting her lovingly on her shoulder. Both of her hands fell into her lap as she watched, with pride, as her son and his crewmates worked in unison to free the young woman.
Once the cervical collar was in place and the men of Station 51 were about ready to slip her onto the backboard, she was again overtaken by another contraction.
"Easy now, that's it…..just breathe through it and ride it out." Roy held Heather's left hand now as Johnny had moved to the backseat to attach the cervical collar. After a few tense moments, Heather again relaxed and Roy thoughtfully used a couple of 4 X 4's to wipe the increased perspiration from her face. The tiny rivulets were beginning to slide down her forehead toward her eyes until he halted their progress with the squares of cotton. Her hair was beginning to fall into her face again and he carefully readjusted her headband to keep her straight locks away from her eyes. He couldn't help but see Joanne sitting in this seat while laboring with Chris. She too had been wearing a headband that day. He remembered how frightened she was as each contraction brought them closer and closer to meeting their firstborn. He remembered how many times she'd told him since that day that she didn't think she could have done it without him by her side. And now, he couldn't help but notice that this young lady was just as frightened and in just as much pain as Joanne had been…..but she was alone.
"Ma'am, is there someone we can call for you?" Roy couldn't imagine why Heather had struck out for the hospital driving herself while in labor. Why hadn't her husband or some other family member assisted her?
"No" she whispered while hiding behind closed eyes; unable to move her head now that Johnny had completed his task. John shot Roy a look as he tightened his lips into a thin line and crawled out of the backseat. Well, she had someone to call on about eight months ago damn it! Where the hell is he now?
By the time the two paramedics with assistance from Mike and Marco had gotten Heather secured to the backboard and were removing her from her mangled car, Chet had returned followed by the ambulance and law enforcement officer. As the four firefighters eased the backboard to the ground she again felt her entire body stiffen as the next contraction started. She could no longer hold back the tears now and cried out.
"Oh, God.. aarRRGH!" She cried being unable to curl up around her tightening belly.
"Oh, God! Uughh!" Echoed Chet as he dropped to his knees trying desperately to hold onto his dinner and not to look in the direction of the laboring woman.
"Easy now, Heather. It's ok. We've got you. Here, here's my hand. Just squeeze it, alright?" This time it was Hank who offered his strength and encouragement to the young woman. He too had taken care of his wife while she labored with their children and just like Roy, he knew how important it was for both the mother and child for her to remain as calm as possible.
An oxygen mask was placed on her face as an IV was established and additional perspiration was again wiped from her brow. Her labor was progressing much too rapidly for Roy and Johnny's liking. As if he were reading their minds, Hank called out for Marco.
"Hey Marco, pal. You take the squad to Rampart. Looks like they'll both need to ride in on this one," Hank tossed the words over his shoulder while watching both his paramedics busily working with their patient.
"Thanks, Cap." Roy looked up grateful for a superior who understood, at least somewhat, the precarious situation this particular rescue was turning into. "Looks like we just might be trying to deliver two before we get there."
"Yea…." Hank propped his hands on his hips, raised his eye brows and blew out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding before he repeated himself again. "Yea."
Hank watched as his two medics boarded the ambulance along with their patient. With equipment stowed including the biophone for constant contact with Rampart, he gave the customary two slaps to the back of the ambulance and watched it drive away. He turned his attention then to the law enforcement officer who was just finishing up his written report having already directed the wrecker into position to remove the mangled mess. With no additional information needed, Hank called his crew together to head back to the station.
"Chet, you ok pal?"
"Yea, yea I guess, Cap. I nearly tossed my cookies on that last contraction."
Mike couldn't help but give his crewmate a little bit of grief. "Oh yea, didn't know you were pregnant, Chet?"
"Oh ha ha, Mike. Not MY contraction…HERS!" He said as he pointed in the direction of the departing ambulance.
"Chet, good thing you're not a paramedic." Marco grinned as he noted the slightly greenish tint to his friend's pallor.
"Hey Cap, I'm gonna go check on Mama; get her settled and then I'll head on over to Rampart. I think they'll be awhile." He waited for Hank's wave of approval before he turned and headed into the house. He knew how excitable his mother could be at times and wanted to make sure she was settled before he left her alone.
"See you at the station in a little while guys." He called after them. He then sided up to Chet to give him one more quick stab. "Chet, you better make sure you always use condoms, buddy."
Chet rolled his eyes at his friend; then turned to walk toward the engine. As he stepped up onto the running board he called out.
"Hey Marco." When Marco turned around, Chet flipped him off then hopped into his jump seat for the return trip to the station.