OK. I had to get in on this Alphabet thing. I've been working so hard finishing Aftermath and hit a stumbling block then RL hit. I took a nasty fall at work and ended up in Rehab for 6wks then had to have emergency minor surgery. I'm healed now mostly and back to work. But the boys were insisting I write this NOW. I thought maybe if I did, they'd let me finish the other.

Enjoy!

Safe.

Secure.

The paramedic found himself smiling over the thought of those words. He sighed and turned his flashlight on once again. His current circumstances hadn't changed any; left wall-wood—check, right wall- dirt—check, floor compacted dirt—check, ceiling? He shone the light upward and watched as small particles of dirt and dust swirled in the air. Yep, still waaaaay up there. He could even see the hole he'd fallen through. He shifted painfully, trying to find a more comfortable seat on the hard surface. His leg screamed pain at him in protest for the movement and he tensed as the spasm flashed through him.

Spasm.

Stuck.

Sealed in.

No. That didn't count. It was two words. And besides, they broke the rule of only thinking of encouraging words. He sighed heavily. He couldn't believe he'd been down here long enough to even make it into the "S's". He leaned carefully back against the wood wall and shut the flashlight off.

Silence.

Solitary.

Singular.

A disgusted sound rumbled in his throat even as unwanted tears stung his eyes. Now stop that! He chastised himself. Someone was bound to find him sooner or later. He sighed again. Boy, he sure hoped it was sooner rather than later. He bent his right knee until his thigh was closer to his body then rested his crossed arms on it. Pain flaring red hot on both arms made him hiss and pull back. He felt carefully along first one forearm then the other. As far as he could tell, the bleeding had all but stopped. He knew the deep abrasions gotten from when he'd tried to stop his earlier descent would need a good cleaning and possible debrising. He shuddered, not looking forward to that future action. A little more carefully this time, he rested his crossed arms on his knee and let his head sink down onto them even as he stared off blankly into the darkness. As it had each time he became still, worry over his partner filled his mind and made a chill run down his back.

His partner and he had been called out right as Marco had announced lunch was ready. He remembered they both grabbed bananas and gulping them down in route. The call had been an 'unknown rescue of child' but a gruff grumpy older man had met the squad and complained about kids playing in the abandoned property next to him. "They cut through my flower beds to get there and throw their trash from their parties into my yard." He grumbled as he took them over to point out several dilapidated buildings. "I've called the cops before on them when they've thrown rocks at me from the upstairs. The cops only run them off for a little while. They just come back again."

Roy listened patiently all the while his eyes scanned the buildings for any sign of activity. "So Mister?"

"Mister Kelmer, Ralph Kelmer." The man quickly supplied. Roy nodded, "Mister Kelmer, why did you call us? I mean instead of the police, why did you call us this time?"

Mr. Kelmer sighed, "I was on my way back in to do just that, they were laughing and calling out nasty things to me and suddenly there was this loud noise, like something really big fell and I heard a girl screaming so…." He shrugged.

Johnny sighed and pulled out the drug and trauma boxes while Roy grabbed the biophone and the O2. "Think we should call the guys for backup." Johnny stated and when Roy nodded he grabbed the mic and did just that. He came out of the cab with a frown. "Ok. They're on their way but I just remembered they were checking hydrants over off that new addition near Pine Square Mall."

Now Roy frowned, "That puts them a good 20 minutes away."

Johnny nodded and the two medics loaded up with the equipment. Mr. Kelmer watched them go then shaking his head turned back toward his house. He patted the shiny red truck now parked in his driveway as he passed it. "Hope those two young fellers don't find nothin' Don't like those kids playin' there but don't want no one hurt neither." He glanced at his watch and smiled, "Ooo, time for my checkers game with Max." He quickly re-entered his house, grabbed his hat and locked the door. "S' nice day, I'll just walk. Can't get the car out with their truck in the drive anyway." And he headed off down the street.

Johnny headed toward the largest building and Roy followed. Close now, they could better see the run down condition of what looked to have been quite an elegant house once. The porch creaked and dipped when Johnny stepped onto it and he froze before continuing, "Careful there." He warned his partner and Roy nodded. Johnny pushed the gaping door open and called out loudly, "Hello! Fire Department. Anybody here?" Silence. So, the two men pushed forward into a large entry way. Johnny emptied his hands and Roy did likewise. Johnny turned on the large flashlight he'd brought and shone it around. Roy grabbed the other flashlight and did the same. All the glows showed were beaten up and broken pieces of furniture, lots of cobwebs and dust.

Roy called out this time as Johnny moved watchfully toward the hallway they could now see. "Fire Department! Is anybody hurt?" he paused then added, "We're only here to help. Is there anybody here?"

"Roy." At Johnny's voice Roy immediately turned his attention toward his partner. Johnny nodded toward what his flashlight had revealed. "Dust has been disturbed here recently." He showed an area on the floor nearly free of the dust thick everywhere else.

Roy couldn't help but grin at his friend and teased, "So how good are you at tracking?" He actually knew his partner was good at that, since it had been a part of his upbringing. Johnny threw a scowl at him and said, "I think it was three maybe four of them, they've been here within the last hour or so and one's a girl."

Roy's blue eyes widened as his mouth dropped open. "How . .. how . . ." he stuttered to his smirking partner. Johnny shook his head as he made tsking sounds. "Stop speaking Hollywood Indian Roy." he teased back.

Now Roy scowled, "That's not what I meant and you know it." Johnny giggled at his friend's expression. "OK smarty, share."

Johnny shrugged and swung his flashlight over the staircase. "See? There are two soda cans and two fastfood drinks. I can still see the condensation on the cups." Roy nodded as he could see it now as well. "Ok. How did you know one was a girl?"

Johnny grinned. "I don't any boy who would wear that." He let his light eliminate a bright red hair ribbon. Roy nodded in agreement. "OK Sherlock, any idea where they are now?"

Johnny giggled again, "Sherlock. I like that. I guess that makes you Watson huh?" Then he sighed, "No. Your guess is as good as mine."

Roy moved past him to shine his light further down the hallway. "You wanna start up there and I'll continue off this way?" He pointed into what looked like a archway into a large room. "If we don't find anything, we'll meet back here. Maybe the guys will be here by then and we 'll have more hands to search."

Johnny nodded. "By then the guys should be here." He clasped his friend on the shoulder as he passed him and made his way cautiously up the stairs. Roy watched him for a few moments then headed toward the arch.

At the top of the stairs, Johnny found another hallway. That opened up into a nice sitting area with opposite walls lined with shelves. Some books still sat in the shelves but most were empty. Beyond that was another hallway on one side and a door on the other. He mentally flipped a coin and headed to the door. He opened it and stepped into a large empty room. The flashlight revealed four more doors and shrugging he chose the one directly opposite him. This room had obviously once been a bedroom. The frame of a large bed dominated it. Two more doors and another archway appeared in his light's glow.

This time he opted for the archway and found himself in another parlor. Chairs with rotting upholstery lined the walls. He stepped into the room and saw a large piece of furniture lying on the floor. He hurried over to it. Most of the dust had been knocked off and he could see the dust on the floor was stirred up. The wrapper of a candy bar lay next to it. Johnny picked it up and ran a finger over the chocolate still on it. "Fresh." He muttered. He looked at the cabinet. "Bet that falling was what Mr. Kelmer heard.

Suddenly another loud crash shook the house. Johnny jumped in reaction and nearly dropped his flashlight. He distinctly heard his partner voice an expletive and his blood turned cold in his veins. "Roy!" he called. "Roy? You ok?"

He thought he heard a faint, "Johnny!" answer back. He spun on his heal and made his way quickly back out of that room. Worry for his partner, the confusing passages and doors and the swirling dust from his previous passing all combined to confound him. And the firefighter who rarely lost his way in any building burst back into the large bedroom and stopped cold, unsure of which of the passageways before him was the one he'd used coming in. He took a deep breath and yanked open one door only to find a large bathroom. He opened the next and thought he recognized the hallway which would lead back to the first room. "Roy!" He called out. "Hang on, Roy, I'm coming!" He stepped into the room.