Folks – this is my second story ever and it is not BETA'd. My trying to find a BETA fell through and I finally decided just to post it and deal with things later.

Please enjoy!

Thanks!

See, Fire and Bullets Can Mix!

DISCLAIMER: Anything in this story that is even remotely familiar as having been mentioned in either Emergency! Or Adam-12 is not mine. It is the property of the fine folks in Hollywood, Universal Studios, and the wonderful writers and other creators of both shows. This is their playground that they have graciously allowed myself and others like me to play in.

1972

It was a sunny Wednesday in Los Angeles and rather warm for mid-April. Christy MacDonald was on her way to the headquarters of the Los Angeles County Fire Dept. to deliver some papers that she had been waiting for far too long for. See, she was a firefighter/paramedic for the county; one of only 3 female firefighters and the only female paramedic. Of course, that had to do with the fact that she was also a registered nurse to boot. After having been injured 6 weeks prior while assisting on a warehouse call, she had finally been given the clearance to come back to work. Not just to the hospital on light duty but full clearance for the department. She was in a very happy mood that day and had no problem with letting everyone around her know it.

Unfortunately that good mood would vanish when she rounded the curve and saw the broken guard rail and skid marks. Fortunately, she saw that she wasn't the only one to notice; a black and white patrol car belonging to the LAPD also appeared. Once both of them had pulled over, she introduced herself and presented her credentials.

"Gentlemen, I'm Christy MacDonald, LA County Fire Department, off duty at the moment. Looks like we had the same idea here. I've got some equipment in the trunk and if you can spot me I can go down to see what we have." Christy didn't want to waste any time as it was unknown what would be waiting down below. What happened next would surprise her.

Before the first two officers could say anything, another black and white unit pulls up. However, she recognized this one as belonging to her older brother, Sgt. William "Mac" MacDonald. One look on his face and she knew it was trouble.

"Christy, we're looking for a missing black and white. Anyone check to see what we have here?" This explained a whole lot to her.

"No, we rolled up at the same time. Let me take a look." She went to peer over the side and her heart went into her throat. "Bill, I can see the top of the vehicle, numbers '012' are visible. Is it one of yours?"

One look on his face confirmed her fears…it was. However, she also saw off in the distance what would be a welcome sight…a big red fire truck. So, naturally she flagged it down for help. Luckily it was engine 51 and in the front was her captain, Hank Stanley.

"Cap, we have a police unit over the side, at least one vic, maybe more. The ground surrounding the vehicle doesn't look too stable so it's gonna take someone lightweight to go down. And before you say anything, in the front seat of my car are my release papers from the doctor. I'm back for duty with the next shift."

However, before anything else can be said, she hears her brother yell "Christy, we're seeing smoke coming up. Not sure how long he can wait."

That was all it took for them to get moving. Squad 51 had been right behind the engine and had just arrived, so John Gage and Roy DeSoto made quick work of getting the equipment out and ready for use while Christy ran back to the trunk of her car to retrieve the backpack she kept stocked with emergency medical supplies for when she went camping with her friends. Everyone acknowledged that Christy would be best suited for this as she was the lightest among them. The only thing she had to worry about was if there was more than one person in the unit. However, she couldn't worry about that right then and there. Her main concern was getting down and checking on whoever was there. She knew it was one of her brother's men, just not sure who.

Once harnessed, she began her slow descent to the car. The sight that met her was one she never liked to see: broken glass, smoke, sparks and one man slumped to the side in his seat. She managed to reach in to check for a pulse and found a nice, strong one thumping under her fingers. She then went to check for further damage. His face looked like it had taken a hit with a lot of broken glass and with the eyes shut she didn't know how badly damaged they could be. As she was checking on him, he started to come around. A quick glance at his name tag and she was in business.

"Hold on there, Officer Malloy. You've been in a bad accident. I don't want you moving any more than I tell you to right now. Do you understand?" As she spoke to him, she was trying to assess any injuries he might have, apart from a near certain eye injury. His response was not unexpected.

"You're either an angel or a nurse that likes danger if you're down here with me. The only thing I know for certain right now is that it seems like everything hurts, but especially my eyes. It feels like there's sand in them. I'd like to try and clear them out if you don't mind." He was trying to shift around a bit to get his bearings straight, but she wasn't having any of it.

"Keep still and don't you dare open your eyes! With as much broken glass as there is here the chances of some being in your eyes are too high. Keep them closed. Let me grab a couple sterile gauze pads to put over your eyes. Now I am going to put this triangular bandage around your eyes just to keep the sterile gauze in place. I know someone that actually did lose their sight just because they didn't listen and keep their eyes closed." While doing this, she continued to speak. "As for what I am, believe it or not I am actually a firefighter/paramedic. Yeah, you heard right, a lady hose-jockey. But, this jockey knows a thing or two about accidents and fires and it looks like we are going to have to get going sooner than I thought." Just as she completed that statement, the engine sparked and caught fire. She knew they had run out of time for carefulness.

"Malloy, what's your first name?"

"Pete. Yours?"

"Christy MacDonald or CJ for short. OK, Pete. We need to move now. I know you hurt a lot, but we don't have a choice as it seems that the engine has decided to catch fire. Now, you don't know me, but I need you to trust me. I know you can't see at all, but I will guide you out of the car and up the hill as far as possible, then my partners will help get you up the rest of the way. Think you can do that for me?" She knew they needed to move, but she remembered her brother Bill telling her about Peter J. Malloy and she knew he had more trust issues than there were books in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Pete Malloy knew he had to trust her. He didn't like the fact he couldn't see, but for some reason, he trusted her. In a way she was sort of familiar, just not sure how. Decision made, he said "I don't know why, but I trust you to lead me to safety. Just, stay with me for the duration, OK?" It took a lot for him to say this and she could see that he was genuinely scared. Truthfully, so was she.

"Alright. Let me take the lead with this. But move as fast as you can when I tell you to. This thing can blow any time and I don't want to be a crispy critter, do you?" She was attempting to inject a bit of levity into the situation and found it was working as she managed to get not only a smile from Malloy, but something resembling a laugh as well.

"You've got yourself a deal. Let's get this show on the road."

With that, Christy double checked the makeshift blindfold to ensure it was secured enough, then pried open the door to help Malloy out. Surprisingly, the door came open with very little force. Once free, she took his hand and squeezed it tight. Then she said "Here we go."