Yay! Howell and Katie get their turn in the spotlight! Never fear there will be plenty of Becker and Jess, with a smattering of Connor and Abby. This begins just after Jess and Becker's wedding, so no plots from the seasons at all. Enjoy!
P.S Please review, this is one of the stories where I'll really need input to keep me going, and I'm not afraid to admit it. It's much harder to write when it's just your own characters.
Sergeant James Howell felt the stairs warp beneath him seconds before the entire structure collapsed sending him plummeting towards the hard ground below. He heard someone scream his name, but couldn't tell who it was over the rumble of falling timber. Blinding pain shot through his gut as he hit the ground hard, and he groaned as the dust and debris settled around him.
"You alright Sergeant?" one of the soldiers asked, but Howell couldn't breathe well enough to answer. His head swam and his chest hurt, but other than that he felt surprisingly good. It took him a second to gather the strength to look at himself and access the damage. He figured he would be able to get up in a minute, until he felt a warm sensation slowly spreading in his belly. That can't be good, he thought. He glanced down at the spot the warmth was coming from and dropped his head back down as a wave of nausea nearly overtook him. Definitely not good, he confirmed to himself. His hand carefully gripped the long bloody piece of re-bar that had pierced his back and was now sticking out of his stomach like some kind of macabre flagpole.
"Howell? Can you hear me?" her voice was like a breath of fresh air. He let it flow over him until he heard it again.
"Howell? Are you okay?" Everything in him screamed for him to answer her, so forced his body to comply.
"No." The strain of saying that one word made his head spin and as darkness overtook him, he thought about the mad little pixie he'd fallen in love with.