Disclaimer: Not mine, except for Jamie's family, all Disney's. :) This story was inspired when I was writing "Crazy For This Girl", which is where the title comes from...hehehehe! Anyway, many many many many MANY thanks to Arcadia for reading this story when I got stuck and suggesting ideas on how to finish it--she gave me so many good ideas, I'm going to have to write a sequel to this one! Hehehe....Anyway, without further ado...
The Night the Sky Fell Down
"I hate working on Friday nights." Jamie Waite declared, slumping down on the couch in the common room, and rubbing at his face with his hands. "Everybody and their brother has to get hurt, sick, or lost on Fridays nights. Why is that?"
"Because they know it annoys you?" Hank Beechum suggested from his seat in one of the arms chairs, an open book on his lap.
"It's just because so many people are out, you know--on dates, at football games, hanging out with friends..." Val Linear laughed, her blue eyes darting to Tyler Connell almost unconsciously when she said the word date. Tyler was standing at the counter in the small kitchenette, opening a bottle of water.
Jamie and Hank both noticed, and smirked at each other, shaking their heads. Those two were never going to get it together.
"Val's right." Tyler agreed, turning with his water to flash a smile at the pretty blonde, who smiled back shyly. Jamie fought the urge to throw something at them, forcing himself to stand up and go to his locker and get his History book. Studying, he had discovered, was actually easier if he did it as he went along. Of course, that didn't mean that he WANTED to do it--normally, he had to force himself to--but still, he did it.
Reaching his locker, he spun the combination, and opened the silver door. Jamie was met by his youngest sister's bright smile as soon as he opened the door, and he chuckled. Sami had informed him, quite primly he might add, that he had BETTER take that picture of her and put it in his locker, or he might forget what she looked like.
The smile fell off of his face as he reached for his History book automatically, his mind a million miles away. Sami really hadn't been kidding when she had told him to put her picture in his locker--he rarely saw her anymore. Since she was so little, she was always in the bed before he got home from work, and here lately, he had been working more then ever before.
Closing his locker, Jamie turned back to the couch, his mind jumping from his little sister to the War of 1812 in a heartbeat. He was half way back to his seat when the alarm suddenly began blaring out a warning.
Throwing the book to the table, Jamie raced to the ambulance along with the rest of the squad, the four piling into the red and white emergency vehicle with long practiced ease. Starting the engine, Hank, who was driving, peeled out of the garage, the lights flashing, and the sirens blaring.
"What do we know?" Jamie asked, pulling on a pair of plastic gloves, before throwing another set to Tyler, who in the back with him.
"A sixty five year old woman having a heart attack. The call was made by her thirteen year old granddaughter." Val called back, a slight tremor in her voice.
"Are you sure your going to be okay Val?" Tyler was the first one to ask, and Jamie tried to muffle a snort. It really was a serious question, what with Val's dad having a heart attack, but still...
"I'll be fine." Val assured him, as the ambulance pulled to a stop in front of a small white house. The squad got out of the ambulance, grabbing the gear they needed, and headed for the front door. Before they got there, however, the dark blue door was thrown open and a petite brunette stood in the doorway, her wide blue eyes filled with tears.
"Hurry...my grandmother's not breathing!" She screamed, turning back into the house, her shoulder length hair twirling out behind her. "She's this way!"
Hank was the first one in the house, followed by Val and Tyler, all three right behind the little girl. Jamie was the last one in, as he maneuvered the stretcher up the steps.
A small noise caught his attention, and the young man looked to the left, expecting a dog or a cat or some other type of animal. However, his gaze was meet by a pair of large blue-green eyes, fringed with long dark lashes. Jamie swallowed hard, and stopped in the middle of the hallway, letting go of the stretcher. Tentatively, he took a step forward, reaching out a hand to the little girl child.
"Are you okay?" He asked her softly, kneeling to her level. Something was familiar about the wide eyed little girl, and his mind clicked through all the faces he knew, until he could place her. The baby reached up with one of her small hands and pushed a lock of hair curly brown hair out of her face, her bottom lip trembling.
"Grandma?" She whispered, taking a small step toward him. "Is you gonna help my grandma?"
"Yeah." Jamie told her softly, trying to make his voice as reassuring as possible. "Me and my friends are gonna take care of your grandma."
"JAMIE! What are you doing!?" Hank yelled from the other room, and Jamie rose to his feet, shooting a helpless look at the little girl. She couldn't be any older then Sami, the young man thought, and he flashed her a gentle smile then wheeled the stretcher into the living room, where the poor old woman was laying.
The dark haired teenaged girl who had let them in was standing pressed up against the wall, her eyes terrified. Jamie's eyes moved from her to the woman on the floor, and the teenagers that surrounded her, working to save her life as best they could.
"BPM is decreasing...I think we're..." Tyler didn't even get a chance to finish his statement, because the woman's body suddenly stiffened and then went limp. The heart monitored she was hooked up to went flat line, and Jamie swore under his breath, taking a step toward her to see what he could do to help.
"Get the paddles." Hank ordered in a firm voice, and Val snapped to it, handing him the iron shaped devices. "Clear."
The young man pressed the paddles against the woman's chest, making her body jump and quiver. The older granddaughter squealed, and Jamie looked up in time to see her covering her eyes.
The squeak of rusty hinges caught his attention, and Jamie looked over his shoulder, into a pair of watering blue-green eyes. The little girl from before stood in the doorway, her lips trembling, and her wide eyes not understanding. The poor child didn't know what was going on--she didn't know what was wrong with her beloved grandmother.
"Grandma...?" She whispered, so quietly that no one heard her, or even noticed her presence--except for Jamie.
His heart twisted in his chest as he stared at that child, so young and innocent, and being forced to watch her grandmother die. He couldn't take his eyes of her, as she stood stock still, her long brown hair nearly covering her face.
God, that child could have been Sami.
Jamie swallowed hard, and tried to pry his eyes away, tried to do his job, but some invisible force wouldn't let him.
It could have been Sami.
It could have been his beloved little sister standing there, watching her grandmother die, without anyone to even notice.
"We're losing her!" Val's voice sounded very far away, and the words barely registered in his mind. All he could see was those sad blue eyes, and a pair of deep brown ones superimposed over them.
"Sami..." Jamie breathed, and the child blinked, tears rolling down her cheeks.
The beep of the heart monitor, heralding the end of the little girl's beloved grandmother filled the suddenly still room.
*****
The moon was full in the sky, blue light filtering down from above and the stars shining in the heavens. A cool breeze blew, but the air was still warm, and the scent of flowers seemed to be all around.
Jamie Waite was blind to it all. He walked dully toward his house, listening to the thump of his combat boots against the cement of his driveway filling his ears. The keys to his bike jingled in his pocket with each step he took.
The woman had died. That poor little girl's grandmother was gone...they hadn't been enough...they hadn't gotten there soon enough...they hadn't done enough. They should have saved her.
A maelstrom of pain swirled in side of him, and Jamie had to fight to keep in control of his emotions. He was afraid that if he didn't, he'd wake up the entire house, and he didn't really feel like explaining to them what had happened.
Slowly, Jamie made his way into the house and up the stairs, his heart heavy in his chest. He ran his fingers through his hair, keeping his eyes downcast, watching his feet ascend the steps slowly.
He jumped over the last step, careful to avoid stepping on the broken board that always squeaked really loudly when stepped on. Jamie continued toward his room, his eyes still scanning the well worn rug. A slant of silvery blue moonlight danced across the dark blue rug at an angle, and Jamie lifted his eyes to see the youngest two girl's bedroom open.
There were four bedrooms in his house--one for their mother, and when he had been alive, their father, one for Jamie since he was the only boy, and the four girls had to share the remaining two rooms. Jazz and Crimson shared the one next to their mothers, and across the hallway from his, while the little girls, Molly and Sami, shared the one adjacent to his and across from their mother's.
The little girls liked to sleep with their door open, a habit that Jamie was attempting to break them of. Sami was one of the lightest sleepers he had ever seen, and her bed was closest to the door, so whenever he came in late at night after working his shift, he quite frequently woke her up--something that was NOT the best thing to do, because the child refused to sleep in her own bed after he woke her up.
Jamie let a small smile touch his face as he remembered his mother's laughter upon coming into his bedroom one morning and the sight that greeted her. Jamie habitually slept on his side with his face toward the door, with his knees drawn up slightly. Sami had discovered that the space between his legs and his body was the perfect place for her to curl up, because she slept in a tight ball with her arms wrapped around Ro-rom, her teddy bear. Sometime during the night on that particular morning, Jamie had draped his arm across the little girl, and Sami's head had gotten tucked up under his chin somehow. Jamie smile grew as he thought about the photo his mother had taken, and then put in a frame and given to Sami after that.
For some reason, Jamie's footsteps halted at the little girls' door, and he couldn't resist peeking in, just to make sure they were both alright. Molly was sound asleep and snoring like a buzz saw, sprawled across her bed on her stomach. Sami was curled into her little ball, her long, fire engine red hair falling across her face. She made small little cooing noises as she slept, her lips pulled into a soft half smile.
Jamie stared at the girls for a long second, an image of the young child who had just lost her grandmother superimposing itself over the picture of his sleeping sisters. His heart tore in his chest, and he swallowed hard, stepping fully into the room and pacing to Sami's bedside. He dropped to his knees beside her, and carefully reached out to stroke a strand of her bright red hair out of her face, taking care not to wake her up as he did so.
The young man blinked hard for a second, before leaning forward to press a tender butterfly light kiss to the little girl's temple. Sami stirred for a moment, before settling back down into her sound slumber.
Her brother, unable to remain where he was, leapt quietly to his feet, and nearly ran out of the little girls' room, and back down the steps.
He had to get out. He couldn't stay there anymore, he had to get out.
Jamie's flew down the steps, and slipped through the front door, closing it quietly behind him. He by passed his bike, choosing instead to walk. His combat boots slapped against the concrete as he walked down the street, shoving his hands in his pockets, and letting his feet take him wherever they would.
He didn't know how long he walked, he didn't even care. The memory of the little girls sad blue eyes haunted him with each step he took, and he continued to walk, trying to out run his memory.
Jamie's feet finally stopped, and confused, the young man looked up from the ground and looked around, trying figure out where he was. He blinked, and then blinked again, wondering why on Earth he was HERE of all places.
He ran his fingers through his hair for a moment, studying Caitie Roth's house with interest. It was two stories, and white, with a cream colored door and trim, and the garage door was a white-gray color. The yard was neat and clean and perfectly cut.
It didn't really look like the kind of place he had thought about her living. It just looked too...ordinary. Shaking his head, Jamie's eyes darted to her window, wondering if she was fast asleep, and if she was, what she was dreaming about.
Suddenly, to his intense surprise, the light in her window switched on, and he could see her silhouette through the pains of glass and curtains. The lacey gray curtains were then drawn back, and he could see her clearly. The yellow light of her lamp spilled down around him, as he looked up at her in shock.
Caitie slid her window open then, and poked her head out, the wind catching her longish black hair and dancing it around her face. Her hands were braced against the window sill, and he could see the smile that played on her lips.
"Jamie? What are you doing down there?" Caitie called to him quietly, keeping her voice pitched low so she wouldn't wake up any of her family.
"What are you doing up?" Jamie called back in the same hushed tone.
"I asked you first." Caitie challenged, and Jamie chuckled low in his throat, before his mind presented him with the image of the little girl's eyes again. His laughter died in his throat as he shook his head, looking back down at the ground. "Jamie?"
"Bad call." Was his choked reply, as he studied his feet. Caitie noticed, and swallowed hard, before calling down to him.
"Wait there. I'll be down in a minute." Her head disappeared from her window, and the light in her room went out.
True to her word, Caitie walked through her front door, shutting it quietly behind her, fifty six seconds later. Her bare feet were silent on the dew stained grass as she padded across it, crossing her arms against the chill of the wind. When she reached Jamie, she was shivering uncontrollably, but she forced a half-smile to her face.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Caitie demanded, her teeth chattering. Jamie noticed, and tugged his leather jacket off, wrapping it around her shoulders. "Thanks." She whispered, pushing her arms through his jackets, and giving him another pointed look. "So...?"
Jamie sighed, and ran his fingers through his black hair, looking up at the glowing moon. For a long moment, they stood like that, Jamie staring out into the stars, and Caitie looking at him.
Finally, he lifted his eyes to her face, the mahogany depths darkened with misery and glimmering with unshed tears. Caitie stepped forward, and lifted her hand to his face, her fingers gently caressing the rough stubble her digits found their.
Jamie caught her hand in his, and pressed it against his face harder, his fingers rubbing slow circles on her knuckles. Caitie didn't say anything, though her dark hazel eyes betrayed her worry for one of her best friends.
She took another baby step forward, her lips pulling into a frown. She opened her mouth to whisper his name, her eyes still wide and worried. However, before she could force the sound out of her throat, Jamie took a step forward, and buried his face in her shoulder, his entire frame shaking slightly.
Caitie wrapped her arms around him, trying to give him whatever comfort she could. No words were needed at that moment, as Jamie let himself weep for the little girl, for his sister, and for himself.