Have I ever told you?
Disclaimer: Typical and standard. The Emergency! people own their characters and I own any that I may create over the course of this story. I am doing this for fun, no money is involved.
Author's Note: This is my first adventure into the writing world. Consider that your warning. I am sure that my creativity and originality are in the pits right now, but I hope to improve as I go along. The story will likely be short. Feel free to make any and all suggestions (good or bad). I am a big girl; I can take it (and probably need it). I think I know where I want to go with this story, but getting it started is the most difficult part for me.
I have never been to LA, or California for that matter. Oh who am I kidding? I have never been west of Kansas. Any street names and locations will be purely from my imagination (or a map of the internet), so accuracy in that regard will be out the window. I have no official medical training.
Also, I can't guarantee that this (if needed) or future stories will be updated with any regularity. I am in my final semester of graduate school. So, between final projects/presentations, meetings and internship hunting, I do not know when or how much time I will have to write.
Oh, and I apologize in advance for all mistakes (grammatical, medical, etc). No one is proofing this but me, so mistakes may be frequent. If they are too distracting, point them out and I will try to fix them.
What do you say we get on with it?
'Why do we always get called out in the middle of the night?' John Gage thought as he leaned his head against the squad door, wind blowing through his hair. He was hoping the swift moving air would help wake him as he and his partner Roy DeSoto sped to the address the dispatcher had given. The call came in as a child with trouble breathing. It had already been a long day. Now the day wasn't giving up easily and had begun invading their night.
"Man, I hate calls with kids." John said.
"Me too" Roy replied as they pulled into the appointed location. Both men began pulling the standard gear off the squad and entered the house.
Fifteen minutes later, Roy and John finished loading their patient into the waiting ambulance for the trip to Rampart. The call had turned out to be 4 year old girl experiencing an asthma attack. The paramedics had administered the medications prescribed by Dr. Brackett. John rode in the ambulance while Roy followed in the Squad.
Roy walked up to the base station to wait for John, hoping he wouldn't be long. Dixie McCall looked up from the chart she was reviewing.
"You again? I thought you just left."
Roy grinned slightly, replying, "That's what I thought too. We can't seem to catch a break today. We have been running nonstop. We barely got through lunch when we got called out for that brush fire up in the canyon. It was after 9pm before we got back to the station. By the time were got pizza delivered for dinner and we all got showered, it was nearly 11. And now, here we are again."
Dixie gave him a sympathetic look. "It's been like that here today too. I came in at 4 and this is first chance I have had to get caught up on all my charts."
It was then that John appeared. "You get our supplies," he asked. Roy nodded and said "Let's go Junior."
"Ok Pally," the junior medic said. "See you later Dix."
"I hope not," the nurse finished.
The tired team hopped in their squad and headed back to Station 51 and with any luck, their beds.
"Hey Roy?"
"Yeah Johnny, what is it?"
"Have I ever told you how much I hate getting calls in the middle of the night?"
With a slightly annoyed sigh, Roy responded, "A few times. But, you can save your rant. I feel the same way you do. And I am sure that almost anybody, even outside the fire service, would say the same thing."
"Yeah I guess you're right," John sighed in return. "I just hope that was our only call out tonight. I could really use some sleep. After that brush fire this afternoon, I feel like I could sleep for a week."
"So could I." Roy agreed as he backed the squad into the bay and shut off the engine.
The two weary paramedics climbed back into their beds around 2 am and promptly fell asleep. Much to the delight of the entire crew at Station 51, the tones remained blissfully silent the rest of the night.
After awakening to the morning tones, the fairly refreshed firemen got started on breakfast. It was Marco's turn and he was fixing one of infamous Mexican dishes. The men could be sure that if the coffee did not wake them, the food would. Mike and Captain Stanley were drinking their coffee at the table looking over bulletins from headquarters. The paper work coming from headquarters seemed to rival that constantly waiting on the Captain's desk.
Chet, meanwhile, was taking care of his favorite dog, Henry. After taking the dog out for his morning "business run", the man was serving the dog his breakfast and refilling the water bowl.
The two paramedics filled their cups with the freshly made coffee and headed out to the squad to make quick work of the morning calibration call with the hospital. Since they had been on the overnight run, the drug box and other supplies were at full capacity. This meant the inventory went quickly. After completing their work, they returned to the kitchen. Mike and Cap were so engrossed in their paperwork, they never noticed Roy and John sit down at the table across from them and begin sharing the daily newspaper.
It was not long before Marco had their hot (in more ways than one) breakfast served. As was typical, Roy and John did not get far into their meal before being called out. Their first call of the morning was for a woman in labor in a department store. The pair quickly abandoned their food and ran for the bay. The squad pulled out of the station with its lights flashing and sirens blasting less than a minute after the call came from dispatch.
As Roy and John arrived in front of the upscale store, they were met by a man who introduced himself as the manager. "The woman was in the middle of paying my cashier when she doubled over in great pain. She told my worker that the baby was coming fast. I was called in and we were able to get her into my office."
By this time, the paramedic pair was laden with their numerous boxes. Roy stepped up and asked, "Can you show us where that is?"
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry I am so scattered. This has never happened here before," the man replied as he headed inside and toward the back with Roy and John close behind.
Reaching their destination, the medical gear was set down. Roy began the initial assessment while John got in contact with Rampart.
Roy quickly determined that the baby was going to arrive before they could get the woman to the hospital. So, he quickly began to set up for the impending delivery.
After only a few strong pushes from the mother, the baby was easily delivered.
"It's a boy! He looks perfect. You did great, mama." Roy said as he wrapped the newborn in a sterile sheet. He then handed the child to the new mother after they had lifted her onto the waiting stretcher.
"Thank you so much. I can't imagine what would have happened if you had not gotten here when you did." The exhausted, but beaming woman replied.
"We were just doing our job" John stated as they loaded the stretcher in the ambulance. Roy stepped inside with the biophone and other gear and prepared for the trip to Rampart.
"See you at the hospital," Johnny spoke as he closed the doors and gave them the customary slap before he got in the squad and left as well.
After transferring their patients to the doctors, Roy and John again returned to their squad and began the journey back to the station.
"Roy?"
"Yeah Junior?"
"Have I ever told you how much I love my job?"
This time Roy decided to indulge his partner. "No, Johnny, not lately. I am sure you are going to remind me though." He took a deep breath and waited for the inevitable enlightenment.
"Roy, do realize that we just brought a new life into the world?"
"I am pretty sure that I do, since I delivered it."
"Yeah well, what other job can boast that," Johnny continues, undeterred.
"Doctors." Roy quickly responded.
"They don't count. You know what I am talking about Roy. We save lives every day. And like today, we start new ones."
Roy was saved from further "Johnny logic" as the dispatcher was sending them on their next run. This time the call was for a construction accident. It involved the whole station.
Navigating the lightly congested streets, John and Roy arrived just seconds after the engine. Getting out of their vehicles, all the men surveyed the scene.
Before them, a building stood about nine floors high. Evidently, the building was supposed to have a few additional floors, but they had collapsed onto the ninth floor. The entire structure was now an unstable mess.
About that time, the construction foreman approached the captain. "I don't what happened. One minute we were securing a beam and the next, everything was coming down on top of us. I still have two men trapped up there. We got everyone else down.
Captain Stanley turned to his paramedics, "Grab some ropes and the rest or your gear and head up there. There are still two men somewhere in the debris. And remember, be careful. I don't need two more victims." The captain then got on his radio and requested an additional squad to deal with the lightly injured already on the ground and additional engines for man power.
Having gotten their instructions, Roy and John began their climb to top. Arriving at top, the two winded medics began their search. Roy quickly spotted the first man near the edge. It was quickly evident that the man was beyond their help. Roy passed their findings on to the captain and continued their work. Nearly fifteen minutes, John called out that he had finally found the missing man. Moving over to where he heard John calling, Roy spotted two feet slipping into an impossibly small gap. He sighed knowing he would never be able to fit into the crack and aid his partner. So, he got as close as he could and called out, "Is he alive?"
After a second or two, John replied, "Yeah he's alive. I don't think he is hurt too bad. He took a knock to the head and is unconscious, but I can't seem to find anything else wrong with him. There is a slab of concrete across his legs, but I think we can lift it with a jack enough to drag him out."
"Ok, Johnny. Just stay there while I get that jack up here." Roy got on the radio and the requested equipment was quickly hoisted up along with a stokes.
It didn't take long to free the injured worker and load him in the stokes. He was lowered to the waiting firemen below. Roy followed next to begin treating their patient, while John remained up top to gather their gear.
As Roy began his initial patient assessment, Roy heart dropped as he heard a noise that no fireman wants to hear. When he turned back to the building, he saw it begin to collapse with his partner still somewhere on the top.
"JOHNNY!!!" He yelled. There was nothing he could do, but watch and wait for the debris to settle. Roy's training kicked in and he remembered the patient at his feet. He reluctantly continued his treatment and prepared the man for the trip to the hospital.
As soon as debris stopped falling, the remaining members of Station 51 as well as the firemen brought in for man power assistance descended on the remains of the building to search for their missing brother.
Before Roy could load his patient in the ambulance, the paramedics from the other squad came over and asked to take over the patient's care. Normally this would go against protocol, but this was not a normal circumstance. Roy quickly agreed. As the ambulance left with his now ex-patient, Roy approached what was left of the building. He hoped that he would soon have his next patient to treat. No patient meant that Johnny had not survived.
Progress was frustratingly slow. The debris pile was very unstable. Each area being searched needed to be secured firmly. As the hours wore on, hope of finding John alive was fading. But no matter what, the firemen would continue searching until they found their missing man, because, no matter what, they never left a brother behind.
Eight excruciating hours later, the call everyone had been waiting for went out. Chet, on the far side of what was left of the building shouted, "I think I can see John's boot." Quickly, all of 51's men descended on the location. Chet was pointing to a small gap in between two beams. Getting as close as possible to the hole, Roy shined a flashlight into the area.
"It's definitely his boot. But, he's not moving it. I can't see anything else because there is appears to be a piece of concrete across his legs."Roy advised his shift mates. They began digging as quickly as they could without causing a new collapse. Slowly, as more and more debris could be moved, the hole got larger. Finally, Roy was able to climb down to where the boot stuck out of the debris. Carefully, he pulled the boot off John's still unmoving foot. He quickly felt for a pulse near his ankle. Exhaling loudly, he looked up with a small relieved smile and said, "He's alive. His pulse is weak, but it's there."
The news that their man was alive gave the exhausted firemen their second wind. Faster than ever, they began moving the debris. As fast the men were digging, it still took nearly an hour to reach Johnny's head. He was unconscious from an obvious know to the head. It was unclear if he had been conscious during the extended entrapment. As Roy neared Johnny's still form, he could see a hint of blue near his mouth. 'He either isn't breathing or can't breathe well enough' Roy mentally noted. Once next John, he first reached to feel for a carotid pulse on his partner. Again, it was weak, but still there. Exhaling, he continued to survey John's potential injuries. This didn't take long since a steel beam sat squarely across his chest, blocking the rest of his body from view. Roy could at least see the slight movement of his friend's chest as he struggled to breath. While not ideal, Roy was relieved that Johnny was at least trying to breathe on his own. Quickly an oxygen tank was lowered down and Roy quickly placed the mask over his friends face. "Keep fighting for me Junior and we will have you out of there in just a minute." Roy silently prayed that John would continue to breathe on his own. With the weight of the beam on him chest, even assisted ventilations would not be much more effective than what he was already doing for himself. Roy also knew that it would still be a while before they could free him. All Roy could do now was contact the hospital and keep moving debris.
After what felt like an eternity to Roy, the signal was given to lift the beam. So far, John had remained unconscious but stable. Now was the moment of truth. What would they find once the beam was moved? Was it is acting as a tourniquet for a hidden internal injury? None really mattered since the beam had to be moved to free John.
As the beam was lifted, John groaned suddenly and stopped breathing. "Don't do this to me Junior," Roy pleaded. As soon as John was pulled free, Roy started ventilating his partner, while the captain gave Rampart an update on the patient's condition. After and airway was placed, John was loaded in the stokes and prepared for the move out of what was left of the building.
Reaching the waiting ambulance, Johnny was quickly loaded. Roy jumped in and the ambulance pulled away. The firemen that remained at the disaster site sent up quick prayers and then returned to the task at hand: cleaning up. Station 51's men knew that as soon as they were finished, they would be headed to Rampart as well.
Inside the ambulance, Roy continued to assess John's injuries and administer the medications requested by the doctors at Rampart. As they neared the hospital, John made his first attempts to again breathe on his own. Although the efforts were extremely weak, Roy knew that there was at least some hope that his partner could survive.
As the doors to ambulance opened, Roy saw Dixie, Dr. Brackett, as well as Dr. Early waiting to take over John's care. As the stretcher carrying his best friend was wheeled into the treatment room, Dixie redirected Roy to the doctor's lounge, assuring him that she would come find him as soon as they knew anything certain.
Back in the treatment room, Drs. Brackett and Early went to work assessing their patient. X-rays were ordered and blood was collected for testing. Now, they could only wait and speculate on the results. When the test results came back, at least a small collective sigh of relief was released by the doctors. It appeared that John had numerous broken ribs, broken left tibia, and a severe concussion. The tibia fracture was simple and clean and would heal relatively easily. The rib fractures would explain his trouble breathing, and the concussion explained why he was unconscious. What worried the doctors was that he was still unconscious coupled with Roy's earlier report of cyanosis while John was still trapped under the beam. Not only could brain swelling from the concussion be causing John to remain unconscious, the lack of oxygen could have caused brain damage. All they could do now was just watch, wait, and hope for John to wake up.
By the time the doctors arrived to update Roy, the rest of Station 51 had arrived and taken up residence alongside Roy in the lounge. Roy was the first to speak. "How is he?"
Dr. Early took the lead. "Well, he is stable for now. He has a severe concussion, several fractures ribs, and his left leg is broken. What worries us the most is that he is still unconscious and not breathing effectively on his own."
Mike, still processing the information, asked, "Why do think he is still out of it?"
This time, Dr. Brackett took over. "It could be from brain swelling from the concussion or a lack of oxygen caused brain damage."
Captain Stanley stood, "When will we know which?"
"If and when he wakes up," Dr. Early answered.
Marco asked, "When can we see him?"
"We are moving him up to the ICU as we speak. He should be settled in about 20 minutes. You can see him then."
"Thanks docs," Roy sighed as he once again sank to the couch to wait. 'You better hang in there Junior. You can't leave me like this,' he thought.
As promised, twenty minutes later, the men were able to see their friend and brother. He was on a ventilator and bruises on his face and neck were visible. It was hard for the men to see Johnny so still and quite. He was normally a contradiction to still and quite, always moving and talking (well, usually ranting).
Having been officially off shift for several hours, most of Station 51's men went home after spending some time with their injured friend. Roy however remained at Johnny's side. Throughout the night and over the next three days, there was no change in John's condition. Roy had gone back to work with a temporary partner, but would take a moment to visit his best friend in between runs to the hospital.
Getting off shift, Roy again made his way to the hospital to sit with Johnny. Walking into the ICU room, he was greeted by an unusually quietness. Initially worry turned to relief when he realized that the ventilator was gone. Johnny was finally breathing on his own. It was a long awaited step in the right direction. After staying for a few hours, Roy went home to spend time with his wife and children. He again visited John the next morning, returning home in the afternoon to take care of some chores his wife had weeks ago asked him to do during his days off. That evening, Roy returned to the all too familiar room spend one last leisurely visit with his friend.
After carrying on a one-sided conversation with Johnny, Roy decided to quietly read the magazine he had brought. In the middle of his third article, Roy thought he heard Johnny mumble. Standing and moving over to the bed, Roy leaned in close to Johnny and said, "Johnny, can you hear me? Open your eyes. I want to know your still in there." Roy was rewarded with a small, weak groan. His pressed the nurse's call button. When the nurse arrived, he asked he to page Dr. Brackett. As he waited for the doctor, Roy was pleasantly surprised to hears his friends voice, no matter how weak and scratchy.
"Rrroooyy…"
"I'm here Junior."
"Roy?"
"What is it Johnny?"
"Have I ever told you how much I hate tight spaces?"
Smiling his biggest smile in nearly a week, Roy answered, "No Johnny, I don't think you have. Why don't you tell me?"
Johnny cracked his eyes slightly, "Maybe tomorrow. I am too tired right now." He closed his eyes drifted to sleep.
After Dr. Brackett checked Johnny over, he was able to give Roy the news he had been waiting for. "Roy, he is going to be just fine. There is no sign of brain damage. I think he was just trying to make things interesting for us. You know he always has to keep us on our toes."
Still smiling Roy replied, "Yeah I do know."
As Dr. Brackett moved to take his leave, he turned back when he heard Roy call his name.
"Hey Dr. Brackett?"
"Yes Roy?"
"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate everything you have done for Johnny?"
"Yeah Roy, you have. More than once."
"Well, let me tell you again…….."
THE END