This was not a good day. Not at all. It was cloudy and a little foggy and that terrible imperfect temperature that made it hot if he put on his jacket and cold if he tried to take it off and then there was Ryan who was talking about how wonderful the weather is and he really wanted to strangle him but refrained because that wouldn't look very professional. When they pulled up to the warehouse Ryan had to comment on how beautiful the old architecture was and how we needed to preserve it and all Esposito could think was how gross it looked and wondered how they had gotten the short straw and had to come down here for a potential suspect.
Oh yeah. Ryan had volunteered them.
Inside was worse than the outside and every step he took across the old and abandoned floor made him feel like he should be thankful he was still alive because why the hell wasn't this building condemned? A shout from his partner had him running after the suspect and both ran up old rickety stairs to an upstairs landing that contained more rust than any junkyard could dream of achieving.
"We just want to talk," Ryan said carefully to the man who was clearly strung out because he looked like he was trying to win a blinking competition with his bulging eyes and he really wished he would blink because this was just getting creepy.
And then it all went to shit.
He could only watch in horror as the man ran forward and straight into his partner before falling over the edge of the railing in the old factory. He hurriedly ran to the edge and could only watch as Ryan tried and failed to get the upper hand with the swinging and panicking man before they hit the floor. And fell right through it.
Javier released a shout when he heard his partner's strangled scream and taking the stairs three at a time rushed down. This was why he hated factories; they were too large and too old and apparently had terrible foundations because Ryan and the suspect ripped right through the old hardwood and into the basement. "Ryan!" he screamed again but he still wasn't getting a response. When he finally skidded to a halt at the edge of the floor that had given way he peered into the darkness but he couldn't see anything. He coughed a few times at the dust and tried again. "Kevin!"
He could barely hear him but his blood ran cold when he heard how weak his partner's voice was. "Javi. Hurts."
"I'm coming. Just- stay where you are." Well duh.
Pushing himself up he began to run around frantically searching for any way down to the basement because even though he wanted to jump down their like freaking Superman he refrained. It wasn't going to help anything if he got messed up too and why the hell had his mind just produced a horrible image of his partner laying bloody and broken? A staircase, a glories staircase finally caught his attention and he flew towards it. After stumbling down the metal steps he looked around but it was dark and he couldn't find a light switch. Of course. The hits just kept on coming and he wondered if he had offended someone that may have put a curse on him because this was just getting ridiculous.
He never carried a flashlight, it seemed unnecessary but now he was cursing himself up and down for being unprepared. Too much time was passing, he was wasting precious minutes. Plunging his hand into his jeans he came up with his cell phone and even though it was the crappiest light source on the planet it worked for the time being. Carefully he moved forward waving his phone back and forth calling out Ryan's name hoping for any sort of assistance and yes he looked pretty stupid but he really didn't care.
"Here," a quiet voice whispered and damn it he sounded worse than before. In his haste he tripped a few times, stubbed his toe bad enough that he might not be able to walk tomorrow but it didn't matter. The fake glow from his phone finally fell across Ryan's face and he quickly stepped forward to the edge of the rubble. He looked to be intact but the more he looked the more he noticed how pale he was. Well, more pale than he usually was. And he wasn't getting up or even opening his eyes.
Esposito lowered the light and saw he had landed on broken pieces of concrete where they must have been remodeling before they shut the place down. That probably wasn't helping his back very much. "Ryan come on. Let's get out of here. Where's the suspect?"
"South," he said quietly before his next words made Javier finally pause. "I can't move."
"What?" he snapped in fear as his jerked his phone up to his head and slid down his body only to see the reason Ryan wasn't moving and getting the hell out of this mold and rat infested basement. A piece of rebar was sticking out of his stomach. A piece of Goddamn rebar was sticking out of his Goddamn stomach. He just kept repeating that to himself because seriously, how they hell is he supposed to grasp that his partner was stuck to this terrible building? With unsteady steps he climbed over some chunks of concrete and dust and things he didn't want to think about over to Ryan who was just lying there with his eyes closed sucking in deep and steady breaths and how was he staying so calm?
"I-" he broke off and swung around as the thought of the suspect reentered his mind but he all too soon found out that he wasn't an issue anymore, neither was breathing for him. Broken neck it looked like and he quickly averted his light and focused back on the most important person. "I'm going to call for a Bus. I'll be right back."
Ryan only nodded as he continued sucking in steady breaths and seriously, how was he so calm? He turned his phone hoping for service but of course luck was not on his side today because he had zero bars. Scrambling over everything again he held up his phone like baby Simba and began wandering around, stubbing his toe again and when he got the first bar of service after an eternity he released a victorious shout and quickly dialed 911. His lips were moving but he wasn't even paying attention to his words because he could hear Ryan and he was starting to freak out and he really needed to get back to him. He ran back over, praying the operator had gotten his location through his nearly frantic ramblings, and got to his partner who had his hands wrapped around the bar that was slick with his own blood.
Huge blue eyes snapped to him, "Get it out! You have to get it out of me! Oh God Javi get it out!"
And now he was the calm one because his freak out was at least only in his head and not being shouted hysterically to everyone within a twenty-block radius. Forcing himself to remain calm which was proving difficult with Ryan screaming he evaluated the situation and came to the realization that Ryan hadn't lost that much blood which could only be due to the fact that the rusted metal was acting as a stopper of some sort. Which meant that as much as Ryan wanted it out it was staying in.
"Ryan. Kevin. Look at me." Terrified eyes met his and he quickly grabbed his hands away from the metal protruding from his torso and met his eyes. "Everything's fine, just stay still."
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because a second later he exploded. "It's not fine Javi! It's very far from fine right now! Don't tell me everything is freaking fine!"
Maybe a different approach would work better. Probably. Maybe. Not knowing if it was the right thing to do or not he placed his forehead on his partners and continued to stare into his eyes, they were so close their eyelashes kept touching and yeah it might seem a little gay but Ryan was finally starting to calm down and staring at him like he was the last person on the planet.
"You need to brush your teeth," his partner finally whispered and it was such a Ryan statement. It was said so bluntly but with a hint of insecurity that maybe the person would take offense and all he could do was grin because even though they were in the worst basement on the planet and this was a shit day and his partner was impaled like a marshmallow on a stick over a flame he was alive.
Sirens and footsteps and light, glorious light, soon filled the room and when they told him to move back he ignored them because the moment he broke eye contact Ryan was screaming again and it was a terrible noise that should never come out of anyone let alone his partner and best friend. Distraction. That's what he needed.
"Are your eyebrows waxed?" he asked curiously and of course Ryan instantly took offense as he colored from embarrassment and went on to explain how Jenny made him do it and that he shouldn't talk because he knows he waxes his chest because no one on earth just has skin that has no hair on it. And the discussion continued and eventually they were in the back of the ambulance with Ryan lying sedated on his side and Esposito still sitting next to him because he was his partner and he wasn't letting him out of his sight until he absolutely positively had to no matter what the EMT's said.
"Javi?" Ryan whispered tiredly.
"Yeah?"
"I hate old architecture."
He sighed heavily and squeezed the hand he had grabbed hold of and not let go of since they got him on the gurney. "Me too Ryan. Me too."
