AN: So I did a thing. I started a new story. Don't worry I promise to finish the other one. This is just a break from that one. Also the idea popped into my head while listening to music. I blame everything on the muse fairies.
This is going to be set sometime in season 6. However, 1) there is no Marlo baby story-line 2) the truck was never stolen and 3) these two idiots are still married. Well I think that is it for now. Oh I don't own them and this isn't beta'd making all the mistakes mine.
There was this overpowering smell of smoke; an unbearable heat licking at his legs. He could hear sirens screaming in the distance, pulling closer to them. He tried opening his eyes but was met with what felt like an unmovable weight on them. Blindly, he reached out hoping to connect with some part of her. Tiny pin pricks sliced open his skin as his hand met the glass that was coating the inside of the truck. He tried again having some success at opening his eyes, the sight that greeted him made his blood run cold.
"An…" Sam started but a cough ripped through his throat cutting him off. "Andy"
She didn't move one muscle to the sound of her name being called. He felt for the buckle to release the seat, attempting to move towards her. He hit the roof of the truck with a resounding thud making the ringing in his ears even worse. He scouted closer to her in the small space.
"Andy, come on" Sam whispered out reaching for the pulse point on her neck.
Before Sam could get his fingers on the inside of her neck, the door was being opened and he felt his body being pulled from the wreckage. The sound that came from him didn't sound human as he tried to break free to crawl back to her.
"Sam! The truck is on fire" The person dragging him screamed pulling him further away "She's next"
Sam felt the paramedic's hands placing a neck brace on him turning his head from the mangled remains of the truck. They rolled him onto a back board just before lifting him onto a gurney cutting off his line of sight. He continued to struggle to get back to her but was quickly strapped down to the bed as he was rolled to a waiting ambulance.
Sam felt the weight returning to his eyelids as the bright lights of the rig glared down at him. He listened as the paramedic rattled off his vitals trying to listen to the radio. It was silent, not even a cackle of static could be heard, making his gut tighten into a knot of apprehension.
Dov couldn't believe his eyes when he pulled up to the scene. It was completely unimaginable as they surveyed the carnage. He quickly noticed that the engine had caught fire leaving them only minutes to get them out before it went up in flames. He heard Sam call for Andy shortly before a loud thud resonated inside the truck. He motioned for Chris to go to the driver's side to attempting to get Sam out first as the fire was closer to him.
Dov watched as Sam tried reaching for her only to be pulled away at the last second. Sam didn't seem to notice that he was even there. His entire focus was on her. Dov couldn't even begin to describe the sound that came from him; it wasn't something he had ever heard before. Dov scrambled into the passenger side of the truck. He quickly released the belt latch cradling what he could of her torso so she didn't hit what was left of the roof.
Dov watched as the paramedics raced over to his friend. He slowly backed away from her to allow them room to work. He began to look around to see what exactly had happened to his friends. There was another truck on its side angled away from the silver one. It was bigger and had more weight behind it than the one it hit. Someone must have run a red light or sped up to beat one. They would know more once the techs completed their layout.
"How is she?" Chris asked coming up to Dov. "Sam was still fighting as the put him in the rig"
"I don't know. All I could do was get her out before the paramedics took over" Dov told him turning to walk back to the cruiser. "Let's head over to Victoria Mercy"
They both walked over to the car letting the newly cut rookies take the witness statements. Neither of them spoke on the way to the hospital. There really wasn't anything for them to say. Both silently sent up prayers that both Sam and Andy would make it through this unscathed.
Sam was in and out of consciousness the entire ride to the hospital. Every time he became aware he listened for the radio. He wasn't sure if it had made a sound while he was out but it never did when he was awake. He had tried talking to the person to the left of him but his mouth never opened to let the words out. Sam felt himself slipping back under as the rig came to a stop as the doors at the back were opened.
The quick flashes of light whizzing overhead brought him back to the surface. He still didn't want to open his eyes for fear of the blinding light. Sam heard muffled sounds of what he thought might be voices floating above him. He felt his body being moved off one gurney and onto another one. Sam knew it was only a matter of time before the poking and prodding started. He tried to steel himself for what was to come.
As he tried to listen to what was going on around him, he felt a darkness start at his feet creeping towards him. Sam couldn't describe the feeling that was beginning to wash over him. The darkness consumed more of his body leaving him feeling calm and agitated. He was being pulled under again by the darkness but he wasn't sure that he was going to wake up from it this time. His last thought before the darkness took him over completely was of her.
Dov and Chris finally arrived at the hospital running into the emergency room looking for anyone they knew. Dov spotted Oliver pacing the front line of the waiting room chairs. They walked up to him hoping that he would have news about their friends.
"Do we know anything?" Dov asked as soon as they were within earshot.
"Sam has been taken to surgery. Something about needing to check for internal bleeding" Oliver stated not even looking up from the hole he was wearing into the floor. "Nothing said about Andy. I haven't heard anything about Andy"
Dov looked quickly at Chris, alarmed by the news that their Staff was relaying to them. While they wouldn't be given any information at least Oliver would be able to get something, but that was the thing there was nothing for Andy. Dov now understood why he was walking back and forth like a caged animal.
"Are you sure that they know that you're here for them both?" Dov asked hoping that there was a simple explanation for the lack of information. "Maybe they think that someone else is coming for Andy?"
Oliver stopped abruptly in the middle of a turn.
"Don't you think that I told them EXACTLY who I was here for!" Oliver snapped coming around fully to stare at Dov.
The wild look on his face was something that he had only ever seen in his eyes once. When Izzy thought, it would be funny to rebel as a teenager. Apprehension pooled in his gut as the realization was beginning to dawn on him.
"Now you get it" Oliver snidely remarked resuming his pacing.
"You don't think that she didn't…do you?" Dov asked hoping that he was wrong.
"I don't know what to think anymore. There should have been something on her at this point. Surgery, coma, or something" Oliver whispered to himself.
No one wanted to say the alternative out loud; saying it out loud made it real. They couldn't allow that to even become a possibility. So, they all remained silent. Oliver continued to pace, ignoring the world around him. Dov and Chris took a seat deciding to wait out the answer.
"McNally?" Called someone on the other side of the waiting room.
Oliver whipped his head in the direction of the voice had come from. He quickly strode up to the person in the green scrubs trying to discern the look on his face. He came up with nothing. He couldn't tell which way this was going to go and it killed him. With one last silent prayer, he stepped before the man to find out the fate of his friend.
Heavy, everything was heavy again, an unbearable weight was all he could feel pressing down on his body. He tried moving his limbs but nothing would cooperate. He could feel his eyes moving but the lids wouldn't budge. He could hear the machines as the beeped and ticked working effortlessly next to his bed. There was another presence in the room that he could feel. It made his hair stand on end as he made out the quiet sounds of someone crying.
Sam renewed his efforts to open his eyes to see who was with him in the room. He saw quick flashes of dim, blurry light as his eyes attempted to open. With every flash came this overwhelming sense to puke but the feeling of a tube down his throat prevented that from happening. Finally, he could open his eyes, focusing on the pale tile of the ceiling. Everything was still fuzzy around the edges but his eyes were open.
Sam looked over to one side of the room finding nothing and moving his head slowly back to the opposite side. He couldn't believe the sight that greeted him. The dread that he had felt in the ambulance earlier was wrapping its cold tentacle around his insides. He couldn't speak or make a sound as he laid there staring at the person occupying his room. One of the machines next to him started to beep rapidly, alerting the person with him that something was wrong. It caused that person to look up towards his open eyes as the heart monitor continued to spike.
"Sam" Oliver said looking him directly in the eyes "I'll go get the doctor for you"
Sam followed his friend as he walked out the door. His heart rate was only increasing with every passing second. His mind was racing trying to put together the events that he was missing, unsure of what exactly had landed him in the hospital.
Oliver returned a few minutes later with a doctor and nurse following closely behind him. Sam took note of his pale complexion with red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks.
"Mr. Swarek, I'm Dr. Grant. Now that you're awake, I can remove that tube for you" The doctor said coming closer to his bed. "On the count of three we will extubate you. One. Two. Three"
Sam immediately felt himself choking and coughing at the same time. The burning sensation he experienced ripped from the base of his neck all the way to the back of his throat. The nurse quickly appeared by him with a white plastic cup. Sam took a small sip from the straw slightly cooling his throat.
"Andy…" Sam whispered out in between coughs.
"Mr. Swarek do you know what happened?" Dr. Grant asked him not meeting his eyes.
"I don't…I…need…" Sam attempted to ask for the information he needed to know "Andy?"
"I need you to focus, Mr. Swarek" Dr. Grant told him. "Do you know what happened?"
"Truck…accident" Sam responded as he attempted to get up "Andy?"
"Mr. Swarek you need to stay put and listen to what I'm about to tell you" Dr. Grant said gently pushing him back to the bed. "Another attempt to get up or agitation will result in being sedated"
Sam didn't respond the fight leaving him immediately as dread replaced the fire. He listened quietly as the doctor relayed all the injuries he had acquired in the accident. Nothing hurt more than the void he felt filling his chest. He slowly closed his eyes, hoping to drown out the world until they left him alone.
"Mr. Swarek I want you to get some sleep and then we can talk more about what happened" Dr. Grant said noting thing in his chart before walking out the door. "Get some rest, please"
Sam let out the breath that he had been holding waiting for the doctor and nurse to leave. Slowly his gazed landed on his friend that was seated in the corner of the room avoiding his eyes. The void inside him grew larger as the truth lingered in the air. It was only a matter of time before the truth shattered it all.
"Oliver…tell me" Sam whispered out unable to say anything more.
"Sammy…I don't—" Oliver started before the yell cut him off.
"JUST SAY IT!" Sam shouted as the heart monitor spiked again sounding an alarm.
Oliver took a deep breath trying to compose himself. He knew that this moment was going to come, that the longer it was avoided, the more damage it would cause. He scrubbed his hands over his face trying to rub the salty tears away. He raised his eyes to look at Sam to confirm the answer that he already knew.
"Sam…she…uhh…she didn't make it" Oliver choked out as a fresh wave of tears began to flow down his cheeks. "I'm so, so sorry"
Sam could have sworn that his heart stopped in that moment if it hadn't been for the pesky machine's alarm going off. His heart hadn't stopped just shattered into a million tiny shards lost in the abyss if the void taking over. The nurse from before came rushing into the room, pushing something into his IV. Must be the sedative that the doctor had talked about because the darkness he remembered returned to swallow him into the blackness. His last thought was that at least here pain didn't exist and reality couldn't torture him anymore.
Don't hate me