Disclaimer: I obviously don't own anything "Third Watch" but thanks to the guys who came up with the concept - You rock! Original characters (Seraphina, Rosa, Haylee etc)are my all own.
So It Begins...
The shop was full of people – teens jostling around a display of horror movies whilst a middle aged couple argued over a new release. Amidst the noise and mayhem, Sera heard her name called sharply. She turned to see her mother gesticulating wildly.
"Seraphina! Please save your cousin from the wretched woman."
Rosa turned to Camilla and groaned, "She's here every week, without fail! Whining and moaning 'Look at the price of this…you've got none of those.'" Camilla nodded. "It's always one thing or another. She needs another hair treatment or her rheumatism is acting up." Rosa shook her head sadly, wishing the older woman would make her purchase and leave.
Seraphina tutted at her mother "Mama don't be like that, she's just lonely." Camilla rolled her eyes and continued to stack shelves. "You go play nice with her then, keep her company." Rosa suggested sulkily. Seraphina shook her head "I'd love too I'm going to be late for work." Rosa looked at her pretty daughter disapprovingly "I thought you were giving your notice." Seraphina sighed, "They need me Mama, they are already short staffed. Look don't stay open too late, it's not safe." She warned her mother whilst shrugging into a light denim jacket.
"You know we do our best business after dark." Camilla scolded her. "Fine but you call Bruno and get him to come and help you later okay. Call me when you close, let me know you're home safe." Seraphina shook her head at the role reversal, here she was playing worried parent to her mothers rebelliousness. "Go you'll be late!" Rosa insisted shoving Seraphina outside. She wrapped her only daughter in a warm embrace and kissed her cheek, smoothing down her wavy hair. "You know I hate it when you work at that place. You be safe tonight." "I always am Mama; call me when you get home. Bye Aunt Milla!" She called as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and headed off in the crisp September air.
Autumn was her favorite time of year. Leaves turned burnt shades of red and gold and drifted to the ground in a mimic of what would follow in the coming months of winter. Seraphina wandered down the familiar streets of Manhattan, walking a path she knew as well as she knew her name. She used to walk this exact route with her mother when she was much younger, going to see her father Henry at work. She could remember being eight years old, her long hair braided down her back, swinging with her childish gait as she and her Mama passed the other people and businesses that made up 'Little Italy'. Some had closed down or moved on since then; several though had stayed in the hands of the original owners. Others still were passed along family lines, to children and grand children who had updated their parents businesses. The result was an eclectic mix of old traditional shops mixed with modern flashy stores. Seraphina loved this place; it was home.
She slowed to a stroll at the Gabrielli grocery knowing that the owner Valentino, would come rushing out to tell her about a son or nephew who would be her perfect match. Tobias, Valentino's oldest son, greeted her today. "Good afternoon Miss Jasper, I see you are running late again."
"Yes I am." Seraphina laughed, enjoying Tobias's light mood.
"And yet you will stop to talk with me." Tobias stated slowly, thinking for a moment. "Then Papa is right, it must be love!" He proclaimed joyfully, clutching Seraphina's hand to his warm chest. Seraphina laughed and rolled her eyes. "If I didn't stop the grapevine would send word to our mothers that I slighted you and your grandma would give me the 'Eye'. An earthquake isn't even an excuse for not stopping." Tobias chuckled and tossed a bright red apple to Seraphina, "We can't let you starve to death on your travels Miss Jasper." Seraphina was touched by the gesture, she placed a fleeting kiss upon Tobias's cheek, "I'm late Tobias, I really have to go." He nodded watching as she walked away. "You kissed me! You make my Papa's dreams come true!" Tobias called once she got to the corner. Seraphina shot him a withering glance.
As she walked into the hospital her mind switched from her outside life to the one she lived within these walls. She was busy stowing away her things when the first call came through "Trauma team to the E.R – Trauma team to the E.R." She ran down the hall to the nurse's station, "What have we got?" She asked the nurse working dispatch as she hurriedly covered her hair with a surgical cap. "MVA five victims so far. Two most critical en route now, others to follow." Sera looked around the crowded waiting room wondering where the rest of the team was. "ETA?" She asked. Haylee checked her notes "Should be…" The drone of sirens in the loading bay drowned out her reply.
Magnetic doors whooshed open letting leaves and debris fly in followed closely by the first EMT unit. "What did you bring me?" "African American male, 25 years old involved in high speed MVA. Car was wrapped around a light post. BP is low, major concussion, severe scalp lacerations and abdominal tenderness upper right quadrant. Patient was conscious and responsive to pain on scene. He passed out just before we got here, pulse is weak and thready." "Okay I got this! What's his name?" She asked shouting over the siren. "Emilio!" The paramedic called back as Sera wheeled the victim into Trauma 1.
The room got crazy, fast. Several Doctors and other nurses joined the fight to save Emilio. "His BP is dropping!" Seraphina shouted as she hung another bag of blood to transfuse.
"I've got an Asystole rhythm!"
"He's crashing!"
"I need room here people!"
Seraphina took a step back to let Dr Baxter begin defibrillating.
"Sera we could use your magic here." A nurse from trauma two called. Sera looked at Baxter who nodded "Go."
Sera tore off her gloves and gown donning fresh ones as she entered trauma room two. "Oh my lord." She whispered unconsciously crossing herself as she took in the sight of the patient on the gurney. He was no older than fourteen, a metal pipe was lodged in his shoulder, blood gushing from a wound on his upper thigh and pooling on the floor. The top of his skull had a hole the size of a quarter in it - brain matter clearly exposed. The youth was fighting, kicking, lashing out his eyes filled with terror. He was disoriented, literally fighting for his life, not realizing that these people were trying to help him.
"Why isn't he restrained?" Sera called from the doorway. The boy turned to her screaming in pain, his eyes wild. Sera kept her eyes on his as she walked towards him, "Hey buddy my name is Sera. I need you to calm down okay. You're hurt and we need to help you before your injuries get any worse." The boy let out an inhuman wail and jerked his head towards Sera. His eyes were wild pain blurring his vision. Through the fog in his brain he could barely make out a halo of black above a yellow body – all he could hear through his pain was the voice of an angel. "It hurts I know. Just lie back and we'll make it all better okay, just lie back now."
The boy shook his head and Sera lunged forward grabbing his face in her hands. "You've got a real bad bump on your head we gotta fix. You thrashin' around like that is making it worse." Sera scolded him. He lay back on the bed but as one of the nurses reached for a soft restraint he lashed out striking her with a bloody foot. Sera seized her opportunity and grabbed his other arm holding it for another nurse who quickly administered a sedative. With in seconds the boy was lying limp on the gurney, medical staff were quick to act.
"Okay let's get him stable and straight to the O.R." Dr Murphy called to the trauma team.
As they were wheeling the boy out ten minutes later Dr Murphy stopped Seraphina, "Think you can handle one more? The third critical is heading your way in fifteen seconds." She nodded once again changing her gown and gloves, taking a deep breath before going in again. "Get this cleared out, there's another one on the way!"
"Sera! We've got a 13 month old, front seat unrestrained went through the windshield. Pulse and respiration irregular and sporadic, she's been like this eight minutes. Broken tib-fib, rib fractures, pupils non-reactive." "Okay Kim. I want a portable X-ray; get me a pediatric tube kit…no smaller Ross." She instructed her fellow nurses while they waited for a doctor to arrive. Seraphina worked quickly to intubate and X-ray the baby girl. "Hang in there honey." She whispered to the girl as another nurse began bagging air into her tiny lungs. Sera continued compressions calling out to Kim "What's her name?" "Angel…Angel May."
"She's crashing!"
"Come on Angel!"
"Sera she's crashing!"
"I heard you! Get me the infant defibrillator!"
"Where is it?"
"Next door! And page Dr Fields! Go now Haylee!" Sera bellowed still frantically trying to get baby Angel to breathe. Kim ran to the next E.R and returned with the defibrillator. "Need a hand?" Sera nodded, stepped back and got Kim to resume compressions. "Charging…clear!" Sera called.
"Asystole." Kim confirmed.
"Again…clear" still no response. "Come on baby you're too little. Come on Angel fight." Sera yelled charging the paddles again.
Dr Fields entered the room, "X-rays?" "On the way." Haylee stated. "Okay let's push 5mg Lignocaine, probably a myocardial infarct."
"She's seizing!" Kim cried. The ECG went haywire before heading back to Asystole. Sera charged the paddles again.
"How long has she been down?" Dr Field asked studying the X-rays.
"8 minutes on scene." Kim called.
"3 minutes here." Haylee informed her.
"We can still get her back." Sera grunted, "Clear!"
Angel's body jumped with the shock but no difference was recorded on the ECG machine.
"Sera stop." Dr Field instructed quietly.
"Give her a chance! Come on Angel."
"Stop now Sera!" Dr Field shouted thrusting the X-ray in Sera's direction. Sera faltered when she looked at it. In the X-ray, the spot where Angel's heart should have been was a large opaque shadow. Her tiny heart had literally been pulverized; it was beyond repair. "Sera let her go, I'm calling it." Dr Field told her gently. Sera fought for a moment longer, still performing compressions on Angel's tiny baby chest. "Come on." She whispered, "Angel, hang on." "Sera!" Dr Fields barked her name pulling her away from the dead infant. Sera threw the paddles aside in disgust, storming from the room tearing off yet another set of scrub gowns and gloves. "Time of death 17:39…"
Kim trailed behind her to the waiting room where several members of the NYPD and FDNY were waiting for news. Davis saw Kim coming and raised his eyebrow. Kim shook her head sadly. "The baby girl?" Faith asked. Kim nodded, "She was too far gone. We lost her." Everyone stood silently trying to digest the information. Call outs involving kids in MVA's were always bad but tonight, to see this tiny child thrown through the wind screen and not being able to do anything about it was devastating. It would be a long time before the image of this night faded and became just one more memory of a tragic callout. "What about the driver?" Kim asked.
"The bastard's gonna make it." Bosco spat angrily. Five minutes with that guy, that's all I want, just five lousy minutes. I'd show him he picked the wrong precinct to fuck around in. Bosco thought to himself angrily – he was burning up on the inside, barely keeping a lid on the rage that had been steadily building from the moment he arrived on scene with Yokas.
"Black eyes, busted ribs and a moderate concussion. He's going to be fit to stand trial." Carlos elaborated.
"I don't get how somebody could do that. You want to take your own life, fine do it so you're the only victim." Faith shook her head in disbelief.
Carlos stilled in revulsion "This was a suicide attempt? Man that's sick."
"You wanna know the irony. Now, when he gets to the pokey they'll have him on suicide watch. He's gonna have to work damn hard to top himself now." Sully pointed out.
Everyone turned as the unmistakable sounds of an argument erupted from the hall; Dr Fields and Seraphina were having a 'heated discussion' around the corner. "What's up with them?" Bosco asked jerking his thumb in their direction. "They were both working on Angel, the baby girl. Seraphina didn't want to let her go." Kim told them sadly. They all watched Sera gesturing wildly, pointing an accusing finger at Dr Fields' chest. The doctor was having none of it, she pushed Sera's hand aside and snapped something inaudible, Sera was stunned mute as Dr Field stalked. Seraphina growled a profanity, slamming her hand against the wall before barging into the staff lounge.
"Yo Sully, we should get out of here, get these reports done up." Davis prompted. Sully shook his head, "Give me a sec would ya." Sully ambled his way over to the staff lounge and leant against the doorframe. "Hey Pumpkin, you alright?" He asked quietly watching Sera drag a brush through her thick hair, pulling it roughly into a ponytail. "Seriously we've talked about the 'Pumpkin' thing." Sully frowned, gruffly calling her name. "Serahpina." "I'm fine Uncle Sully." Sera said not turning around. "You sure?" He asked sternly. Seraphina threw her brush in the locker, closing it with unnecessary force. "I'm fine Sully, I promise." She turned to him and gave him a halfhearted smile. "You know where to find me." He told her nodding, hiking up his gun belt and leaving the room.
Sera watched Sully leaving, watched him walk back out through the still crowed ER. She could see by the way he walked, a little heavier than usual, more effort required to take that next step, that tonight's events were weighing heavily on his mind – on his soul. Sera lift her hand in a half hearted wave as Sully looked back before exiting the building. He was doing just as her father Henry had asked, he was looking out for her.