Hello to you all! I hope you all enjoy this story. It came to me one evening, and I had to write it. Please read and review!
I own nothing, although Mike and Johnny are on my wish list.
"You guys are going to have a treat for lunch today!" Karen Summers said as she entered the day room, carrying a small market bag. She walked over to the counter, pulling something out of the bag and placed it on the counter before putting the rest of the items into the fridge.
Chet Kelly looked over the section of the paper he held, curious as to what the young paramedic had. "What is that?" he asked.
Karen poured herself a cup of coffee then sat down at the table. "I've been trying my hand at making bread the past few weeks on my days off. I found a recipe and decided to try it. I found the grain at the health food store on Artesia Boulevard. I brought in some rye I made yesterday so I could make Reuben's for lunch." She began scratching a spot vigorously on her right arm.
Captain Hank Stanley walked in to hear what was for lunch. "Hey, that sounds good to me! I'm glad I assigned you to cooking today," Cap said, smiling as he grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with his crew. He had a small stack of paperwork that he began to work on. The others went back to reading their sections of the newspaper.
Karen began to scratch both of her arms as Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto entered the day room. "I'm glad we got the dorms done in peace before getting toned out. Karen, are you okay?" Roy asked, noticing the youngest crew member was digging at both of her arms. The two men grabbed some coffee before joining everyone else at the table.
"Yeah why?" she asked, looking up at her partners. She noticed that the rest of the guys were staring at her. "What? Why are you staring at me?"
"Well, for one thing, you are scratching your arms raw, chica," Marco Lopez said from next to Chet. She looked down to see her arms red and splotchy from the scratching. She began to scratch again.
"Yeah, you know, I can't figure it. It just started about an hour ago. I've never had an itch that is so intense," she said, wincing slightly.
"I didn't think you had any allergies," Johnny said as he grabbed her right arm. Roy grabbed her left.
"Not that I know of. I wish I knew what was going on." She watched as her partners looked her arms over. The itch was so intense that they began to twitch slightly from not being scratched.
"Maybe something you ate?" Roy asked.
"I don't think so. I didn't eat anything different yesterday, although I did feel really horrible. I thought for sure I had the stomach flu., so I didn't eat too much. I feel better today though."
The others looked at each other before turning back to Karen. "Are you sure your feeling better? You have been squinting, like you have a headache." Mike Stoker said quietly. Roy and Johnny let go of her arms and began to check her vitals.
"Yeah, it feels like I have a migraine. I've had a headache since yesterday, but it just got worse a few minutes ago. It really hurts," she said. She felt drained, like she had been on shift for 12 hours with no rest. The others could see the drastic change that had occurred within the span of a few minutes.
Cap glanced over at the young paramedic. "Karen, I think you need to get checked out."
"Aw Cap, I'll be okay. I'll just take a Benadryl."
"No Karen. You are going to get checked out. John, Roy, could you run her to Rampart?" Cap asked, standing. He knew he needed to call in the squad's trip to the hospital.
"Sure Cap, we'll take her," Johnny said as he and Roy stood up.
Karen pushed her chair back and slowly stood up. She hadn't gone more than a few steps before she stopped near the door. Almost immediately, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she blacked out and collapsed to the floor. Before anyone could reach her, she began to convulse violently.
"Cap! We need our gear!" Roy yelled, as he and Johnny kneeled next to the convulsing paramedic. Chet and Marco ran out and came back a moment later with the paramedics gear as Cap went to call in a silent alarm. Johnny opened the biophone as Roy held Karen's head so it didn't strike the floor.
"Rampart, this is Squad 51, how do you copy?"
"This is Rampart, go ahead 51," Dr. Joe Early's soft voice came over the radio.
"Rampart, we have a silent alarm here at the station. Its Karen. She collapsed a moment ago and is in the middle of a grand mal seizure."
"51, administer 5mg diazepam IM."
"10-4 Rampart," Johnny said, pulling the drug out of the box. Johnny glanced up at Cap who had come back. "Cap, could you help me hold her arm down?"
Without a word, Cap kneeled down to hold Karen's arm as Johnny administered the diazepam. Slowly, the effects of the seizure began to subside. As soon as she stopped convulsing, Johnny got back on the biophone.
"Rampart, she's stopped convulsing. She said yesterday she felt like she had the stomach flu and today she was scratching vigorously on her arms. She also complained about a headache that felt like a migraine before she passed out." He took the paper Roy handed him. "BP 106/62, pulse 110, respirations 26."
"51, was the onset of symptoms yesterday?"
"Apparently it was Rampart. The symptoms today gained intensity within 10 minutes. She does have a rash similar to hives."
"10-4, 51. Start and IV D5W TKO, administer 5 liters O2 and transport immediately."
"10-4 Rampart," Johnny replied, putting the receiver down. He looked over at Chet. "Hey Chet, could you get us our oxygen please?"
"Sure John," Chet replied, running for the bay. He came back a moment later carrying the green box as sirens were heard in front. Johnny put the oxygen mask on Karen's face as Roy started her IV as the ambulance attendants wheeled the gurney into the fire station. As soon as the IV was in place, the two paramedics and ambulance attendants lifted Karen from the floor to the gurney.
"I hope she's going to be okay," Marco said quietly as Johnny and Roy followed the gurney outside.
"Me too, Marco. Me too," Cap replied. He was really unnerved after watching on of his crew writhing on the floor. They watched as the squad followed the ambulance to the hospital.