Thank you all very much for your kind reviews and feedback. Here is second chapter and I have to thank beta Kel for making it much better!
Chapter Two-Hospital
"Room one!" Bracket ordered as they wheeled Stanley in. "Get Mike into two. Joe, I am going to need your help. Morton, you take Stoker."
Brackett immediately started examining Stanley. He frowned as he listened to Stanley's lungs. "We need to intubate before he goes into respiratory arrest. He's already having trouble. We need to do it anyway for surgery. How long has he been out, Roy?"
DeSoto looked up. "Huh, Doc?"
Early looked up as he prepared to intubate. "How long has he been out?"
"About 5 minutes. He responds to pain but hasn't been conscious for 5 minutes."
Early quickly intubated. "We need to get him up, Kel. There's blood in here. He has to have some bleeding around the chest, even a punctured lung."
The exam room door opened and the portable x-ray tech walked in. Brackett waved him over. "Chest and abdominal. We are heading up to surgery so make sure it gets processed now and sent up right away." Early turned to DeSoto. "Come on, Roy."
The paramedic was staring at his captain. Early moved over toward him and put a hand on DeSoto's shoulder.
"Come on with me. The nurse is going to prep him for surgery. He's okay for now. His vitals are strong, and we are helping him with his breathing. He should be okay. We just need to stop the bleeding probably caused by a couple of broken ribs, but I really wouldn't worry. He's going to be out for a while but we caught it all in time." Early thought he might have been speaking too soon, but he felt confident. Stanley was strong and the injuries, although serious, would not be life threatening once they stopped the bleeding and maintained the airway.
"I really shouldn't leave him," DeSoto said hesitantly.
"He's stable and we need to prep him. Plus, we should tell the guys how he is doing, don't you think?" DeSoto nodded silently as Brackett led him to the sink to wash up while the nurses finished prepping Stanley. He went back over to Stanley and placed a hand on the Captain's arm. "Hey Cap. Doc says you're going to be fine. I'll tell the boys. We'll be here when you get back."
Stanley did not respond. They wheeled him out and DeSoto went to the waiting area. Gage was there telling them about Stoker. "So just a couple more days and he should be…." Gage stopped when he saw all eyes looking behind him. The Battalion Chief was there as well with a couple of other Captains and the paramedics from the other stations. They had brought a few more wounded in and decided to wait to hear more news. Gage turned around and looked expectantly at Roy, and he frowned slightly at the exhausted, sad-looking paramedic. "Roy?"
DeSoto looked up. "Oh hey, Johnny, guys, Chief."
"How's Hank, Roy?" the chief said quietly. He was not sure how to read DeSoto.
"Oh," DeSoto said aware that others were waiting for news from him as well. "Doc thinks he's going to be okay. They had to take him to surgery. Looks like he took a good hit and broke a rib or two and that caused a little bleeding. They are taking him to surgery to fix up that area, and the leg. Broken arm, dislocated shoulder. He had lost a lot of blood, particularly from the wound on the leg, but they started replacing that. So he's going to be uncomfortable a little while, but doc said not to worry."
There was an audible sigh from the large group. "That is great news," the Chief said putting an arm around DeSoto. "Men, we were lucky today. We almost lost two brave men and the teamwork to save them and bring them back from 51, 85, 8 and the rest of you was exemplary. I am very proud of each of you. Now I want all of you except 51 to return to duty, rest while you can and regroup. The citizens are counting on us." The men nodded in acknowledgment and patted the men of 51 and each other on the back.
It wasn't long before the Chief was alone with the rest of the 51 crew. "You all are on paid administrative leave for the rest of the week. I know it's not much, just three days. If you need to take more personal leave then feel free but we have your shifts covered for a few days. You need to take care of your men."
They all thanked the chief, but he knew that men needed time to recover, and by taking care of Stoker and Stanley they would take care of themselves in the process. Witnessing that accident, and leading the rescue of their own men in that fashion, had to have been taxing. They had come very close to losing them. Maybe closer than they realized. "Has anyone notified either of their families?"
"We notified Stoker's parents," Kelly said. "They're coming down from San Francisco closer to when they discharge them. We thought that would be better, so that he could take it easy or at least they would make sure he took it easy when he got out of here."
The chief laughed. "Well, sounds like you have that covered."
"We haven't been able to get hold of the Cap's wife," Lopez added. "He mentioned yesterday that they were going to take the Thanksgiving break with her family in Montana. Cap switched his vacation because the other Cap's wife is due any day and it's been a challenge, and Cap wanted to make sure that Captain Rogers would be available. We're looking for the contact number."
The chief smiled. Of course Stanley had done that. "Well, good thing he did. I got a call from Captain Rogers first thing this morning. They delivered the baby. Mom and baby are healthy but it was rough, so Rogers is going to need some time off."
"With Captain Stanley out will Captain Rogers have to come back in?"
"No no. We'll bring in a reserve if we need to. Now I'm going to talk with the doc. I want you all to rest and take it easy. DeSoto, y
ou let me know as soon as you hear anything."
"I will, chief."
They watched him leave then all sat down. "Is he really okay, Roy?" Lopez asked.
"Yeah, yeah guys. I mean, I will feel better once he's out of surgery, but the doc said we got here in time."
"I wonder how he got that hole in his leg. It wasn't a cut or gash," Lopez said again.
DeSoto said nothing, but he had an idea how it might have happened.
"Johnny, when can we see Mike?" Kelly asked.
"Probably within an hour. They're gonna to move him up to a regular room soon." Gage was quiet for a while.
"What's wrong?" Kelly finally asked.
"What? Oh, nothing."
"Spill it Gage," the persistent Kelly said.
"Oh, it's just…" Gage said looking at DeSoto, "It's just that you should have seen the bruise on Stoker's arm."
"Well it was broken wasn't it," Lopez said.
"No the other one, around his wrist."
DeSoto met Gage's eyes and understood. "It's where the Cap was holding on to him," DeSoto said quietly.
Gage nodded then looked down. He didn't know why it bothered him, but it did.
He heard a slight whistle from Lopez. "The Cap wasn't going to let go, was he?"
Kelly shook his head. "No. He wasn't. Roy, you said his shoulder was dislocated?"
"The Cap's? Yeah. He must have dislocated it when he grabbed that bar. It could just be jammed pretty bad.
"But how could he hang on like that, Roy? I mean isn't that impossible? I dislocated my shoulder once and it was useless. I couldn't lift anything," Marco added.
"You can't anyway Marco," Kelly said with a roll of his eyes. Lopez let it pass. He knew Kelly was fulfilling his duty of lightening the mood.
"I am not sure how he did it," DeSoto said quietly.
"I'm not sure I could have done it," Kelly said. They all got silent. So there it was. Would they have been able to do the same? They all had the heart, no one wondered that. And, it wasn't just about almost losing their men, but their Captain had done something that you couldn't train or practice for.
"It was close that was for sure, and I hope I could have done the same," Lopez finally said. "You know, Cap sometimes throws me for a loop. Fighting fires he's like this 6'3" giant who knows his stuff, and back at the station, he's well, sometimes he's kind of … I don't know goofy."
Kelly laughed. "Not to mention a nervous wreck during inspection or when chief comes around."
DeSoto laughed as well. "Yeah, but he does know how to fight fires, and take care of business. Stoker, well, I guess he just keeps on with the strong silent type. I wouldn't have been surprised to see him hanging on holding on to the Cap or anyone of us."
Gage looked at DeSoto. "I know what you mean about Stoker, but honestly I don't think it surprised me to see the Cap doing that even if he does get a little neurotic around the station. I wouldn't surprise me to see any of us do that."
They were quiet again for a while lost in their own thoughts. Finally it was Lopez again. "Yeah, John, you're right. What gets me is, well, what he said in the helicopter when he thought he had lost Mike….I mean, I never thought he thought about it like that, worried about us like that."
"I guess none of us did, or do," DeSoto said quietly. They waited mostly silence after that for the next hour. Gage had gone for coffee and returned, and DeSoto put in calls to try to get hold of Stanley's wife to no avail. Finally Brackett arrived. It had to be a good sign if he was smiling.
"Hey guys. He's okay," Brackett said right away. He watched them relax and smile.
"Thanks Doc. When can we see him?" Kelly asked.
"Well, we need to get him settled in ICU. He'll be there for 24 hours just as a precaution. He really had lost a lot of blood from that leg wound and within his chest. The broken rib had done a number. It looks like it had been under a lot of pressure after breaking and there was shifting so it nicked a lung. It was small and a slow bleed, but over time, well you guys know. But he's fine now. We do have him on a respirator just for a little while longer so don't be surprised. It just makes it a little easier. We'll keep him in a drug- induced coma so that he can rest." They were listening intently, but he had not answered their question. "Sorry. Why don't you all go see Stoker first and tell him the news and then Dix will go down and get you so that you all can see him one at a time for just a minute."
"Thanks Doc," Marco said and echoed by each of the men as they passed him to get to the elevator.
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"So he's okay?" Stoker asked.
"Yeah, Mike. Doc said he's fine. Surgery went well," DeSoto answered.
Stoker was quiet. That was nothing new, but he seemed more into his own thoughts right now. He listened as Lopez and Kelly relayed hearing the crash and described events as they saw it through their own eyes as they saw it. As a group they always did this…talked about the rescues, the fires, the close calls, but it was hard. Stanley had often started these conversations in a nonchalant way. But this time, Stanley wasn't there and Stoker kept seeing Stanley's bleeding, determined face looking down at him. He also remembered the other more disturbing images. He wasn't sure that he should share these. Maybe they didn't want to know. But he remembered more vividly now what had happened.
"Mike, you okay?" Gage asked. "You feel okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, John. Thanks."
They continued to share the events of the day, with Kelly occasionally trying to lighten the mood with gentle jabs at Lopez and Gage. However, DeSoto noted that Stoker only seemed to be half listening and was still lost in his thoughts. The engineer looked up and inadvertently met DeSoto's eyes. It was then that Kelly—it was always Kelly-asked the question that others may have wondered but no one dared to ask.
"What do you remember Mike. I mean I know you bumped your head but do you remember what happened?"
Stoker shifted uncomfortably then met DeSoto's eyes again. The paramedic always had a calming effect. "You don't have to tell us," DeSoto said quietly. "I mean it's okay if you don't remember or don't want to tell us."
Stoker looked down at his feet then back up at them. They should know what Stanley did for him because Stanley would have done it for all of them. "I was about to get out of Big Red when Cap shouted a warning, but he barely got it out when that truck barreled into us. It must have hit where Chet sits because the Cap did not come straight at me, as if he had been hit directly on his side. Then Red turned on her side and started to slide across the pavement." Stoker closed his eyes. He could hear Stanley's and his own grunts and cries as the sound of metal crushed and scraped and battered them. He didn't know how or why but he remembered seeing a piece of metal tear through Stanley's leg. Thank God it had been thin and it had been his leg but he wasn't even sure where it had come from. But that and somehow his turnout getting caught up in the wreckage had prevented Stanley from just falling on Stoker.
"Mike?" He heard Lopez's voice.
"Huh. Oh yeah we slid across the pavement. I know it happened fast but it seemed like everything was going in slow motion. Then I could feel us going over the edge. I thought for sure we were going to keep sliding. We stopped, but my door, when we slid over, my door opened and I was losing my grip on the steering wheel. Cap looked over at me and told me to hold on but I couldn't. Man I was trying, but I just didn't have a good grip." He grimaced slightly at the memory. He could still hear Stanley's voice.
"Dammit Mike, hang on! Just hang on."
"I can't Cap. I don't have a good grip!"
"Yes you can," Stanley told him looking at him intensely. The Captain was holding his right arm and Stoker had figured it was broken. "Michael, you hang on. I'll be there in a second." He wasn't that far from Stoker, just a few inches, but the engineer was hanging out of the door and those inches were like miles. Mike remembered feeling dizzy and sick to his stomach, and hard as he tried his grip was slipping. He watched as Stanley pulled himself out of his turnout. Only the leg kept him from reaching Stoker. Stoker remembered Stanley looking at him, half of his face bloodied from a gash. His hazel eyes were focused like lasers on Stoker's hands. "I'll be right there," Stanley said with an eerie calm. As he lost his grip, Stoker watched as the Captain swiftly pulled his leg off of the metal bar with a suppressed moan and lunge for Stoker's hands. He felt Stanley grip his wrist, but they kept sliding out the door. Just as he succumbed to unconsciousness, he saw Stanley catch the bar along the window mirror.
"Then I woke up and we were hanging there." Stoker finished quietly. He said nothing for a moment as he kept his eyes on his hands. He had been caught up in the memory and was not sure how much he had actually told them. Then he looked up and saw the look in each of their eyes. He was not sure what it was other than shock, but he felt himself breathing fast and feeling sick to his stomach. By the looks in their eyes he must have told them a lot.
Gage finally spoke up. "My God, Mike. We knew it was close but…we are just so lucky that both of you made it out okay. Man, you got my heart racing."
"Yeah," Kelly said thoughtfully. "Yeah, that is a pretty hairy story, Mike."
Stoker nodded. He felt better telling it. The image of the Captain pulling his leg off of that metal railing, pipe or wreckage was disturbing, but he was glad to remember it, because it was part of the story. "Luck was part of it, but the Cap, he just responded like he knew exactly what he had to do. You sure he is okay?"
"Yeah, Doc said he was going to be fine," DeSoto reassured.
"That's why his leg bled so much," Lopez added thoughtfully, "Madre de Dios."
"No kidding," Gage added.
"You know though, there really isn't that much room in the cab. Weird how his turnout got caught," Lopez said again
"It was probably the only thing that save them from going crashing through that door," Kelly added.
Stoker nodded. "I'm glad I told you. I just never saw that kind of look from the Captain before. You know, he always worries, but it was just strange…he was so determined it was almost scary."
"Or maybe you were just scared you were going to fall out," Kelly chimed. They laughed and the mood changed, but Stoker had left them with some vivid images to consider.
There was a knock at the door. Brackett had heard the story but did not want to interrupt. He felt embarrassed that he had eavesdropped but it was an amazing story. "Sorry to bother you guys. You can pop in to see him real quick if you like. Mike, we'll take you by later. I need you to rest now and let that head heal up."
Stoker frowned but said nothing . "Mike, we'll check back with you," DeSoto said patting him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, don't get up and try to break out of here or anything," Kelly added with a grin.
"See you tomorrow, Mike," Lopez said.
Gage laughed when he saw the nurse bringing in some food. "I'll bring you something to eat tomorrow."
"Thanks, Johnny. Hey, say hi to the Cap for me." DeSoto nodded in acknowledgment.
"And tell him thanks," he whispered to no one.
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Hank's men became more somber when they saw their Captain in ICU. The bandages hid the gash on his head, but there was bruising on the right side of his face. He was still on a ventilator and his right leg was heavily bandaged around the thigh and slightly elevated. Otherwise, he looked like he was asleep. They gathered outside his room after they had seen him. "One of us should stay. We could take shifts at least until we can get hold of his wife."
"Yeah, that sounds good, Roy," Gage said. "What do you think, Doc?"
"That's fine," Brackett said, "I think it will help him some. It could be very disorienting once he wakes up. Try to keep it quiet though. I will let the nurses know it is okay and that we are going to make an exception."
"I'll take first shift," DeSoto said. No one argued, and they sorted out who would stay with Stanley when. DeSoto called his wife to let her know, grabbed something to eat then settled down in a chair. They were more comfortable than the usual hospital rooms, and he reclined back and found himself thinking about what Stoker had said. The room was quiet except for the monitors and ventilator. In some ways, Stanley looked smaller lying there, but DeSoto had to admit he also looked bigger in some sense. They never doubted the Captain's bravery; they all had been tested in one sense or another and helped each other and strangers out of jams. It was more that Roy felt he had learned something new about the Captain, but he wasn't sure what. He dozed off to the sound of the machines in the room.
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Stoker woke with a start. He had expected this. Sometimes after tough rescues or fires he would dream about them. They all did, but they rarely spoke about it. A few months ago, Stoker and Stanley had spoken about an accident rescue that had been particularly gruesome and had haunted their dreams for a couple of nights. It was funny how the men paired up. DeSoto and Gage, Lopez and Kelly, and usually he and Stanley as it came to confiding in each other. The Captain did not confide as much with Stoker as say Gage did with DeSoto, but it was usually the engineer he spoke the most with in regards to issues like this. The Captain actually did a good job of bringing the men together after difficult rescues or fires, making them eat, then talk, then rest. It was subtle, but Stoker realized now what Stanley had been doing all along…making sure they vented and supported each other without going overboard. Now he was alone, and although glad to have spoken with the guys, Stanley wasn't there to make in his genial sauntering way to check on them.
He closed his eyes again. They would come and check on him soon anyway and wake him up in 30 minutes. The story would play out more times in his head, but hopefully it would resolve as it usually did. It had been way too close.
They came in shifts over the next 24 hours, first stopping to see Stoker, bringing him food and magazines, then sitting vigil at Stanley's beside. They had exhausted every option to try to get hold of his wife. They had found the number to Stanley's brother in law where the family had gone to stay but there had been no answer. The Chief told them he would keep trying and he would try to contact local law enforcement. When Roy returned Gage was asleep in the same recliner as Roy had been last night. Stanley was still sound asleep, but no longer had the respirator. He gently prodded the sleeping paramedic.
"Hey, Johnny," he said quietly. Gage shifted in his chair and slowly opened his eyes. The younger paramedic jumped up with a start, and looked at DeSoto, then Stanley, then back again to his partner. "Oh, hi Roy," he said sheepishly.
"Hey, how is he doing?"
"Quiet night. They took him off the ventilator, and he is breathing on his own but hasn't woken up."
"Has he stirred at all?"
"Yeah, a little. He's mumbled a little but they have him pretty drugged up. Doc told me that the leg wound was fortunately really clean. Kind of a miracle it missed a bone and an artery but it was a hole and they fixed it up. He's gonna have to be off of it for a while."
"That's going to be hard for him."
"Yeah, and us if Captain Hook is his replacement."
"Do you think?" Roy asked worriedly.
"I don't…"
"Think you have to worry about that," a strong voice said from the door. The turned and faced Chief McConnike looking at them with knowing grin, a grin Stanley often talked about.
"Uh sorry…Chief…" DeSoto started but the chief raised his hand.
"It's okay Roy. I know the reputation of Captain Hook. He's a good captain, but difficult to work for," the Chief said as he patted DeSoto on the back with one hand. He was carrying a turnout in another. "I also know the reputation of your Captain over there, and, well I am sure it will continue to grow, particularly after this incident."
"What do you mean Chief?"
McConnike held up the turnout. There was a hole the size of a golf ball that went all the way through the turnout around the midsection but closer to under the arm.
"What is that Chief?"
"This is Hank's turnout. I just spoke to Stoker. He told me the whole story again as he remembers it. He is looking good by the way and the doc should be bringing him over shortly to see Hank."
Gage stared at the turnout. It clearly had a hole that went from the back to the front. He noticed bloodstains on the collar and shoulder. "That's were the Cap was hung up inside the cab," he said in realization
The chief nodded. "The truck was carrying piping materials and rebar.'
DeSoto whistled. "Wow. Man that is amazing. That could have…"
He didn't finish but McConnike knew what he meant. "Yeah it could have, almost did. Good thing one this size didn't go in his leg. Doc Brackett said the injury was the size of about a nickel but still amazing he managed to undo the coat and get out of it somehow to get to Stoker. This particular bar had gone through the back of the cab."
"No kidding."
"But it doesn't surprise me. I mean I guess if it was going to be anybody, it would have been Hank."
Gage looked at DeSoto quizzically. "What do you mean Chief?"
McConnike turned from Stanley then to DeSoto and Gage. He suddenly seemed self-conscious as if he said something he shouldn't. "Oh well, I know you boys are brave, hell, you wouldn't be doing the job if you weren't."
"But the Cap, you said …" Gage began.
McConnike looked away from Gage and smiled. "Hey there, Mike. Glad they let you out for a while."
"Thanks Chief," Stoker said smiling. "Hey Roy, Johnny. How is the Cap doing? Gage took over from the nurse that had wheeled him in and pushed Stoker over toward the Captain.
"Well men, I'll catch up with you later," McConnike said handing DeSoto the turnout. "Hang on to that for him will ya? I've already placed an order for a new one."
"Sure Chief," DeSoto said with a look toward Gage, knowing that the Chief was making a quick exit to avoid answering their question.
"I'm wondering what he meant by that?" DeSoto told Gage.
"By what?" Stoker asked.
"Aw, nothing. It just seems that the chief knows something about the Cap. A side of him, or something that happened."
Stoker shrugged in his usual way. He figured if he was meant to know he would. He sighed as he looked at the Captain, but said nothing.
DeSoto nudged Gage who nodded. "Hey Mike, you mind if we go grab a quick bite to eat?"
Mike turned around. "Naw, go ahead. I'm fine. I'll watch over him."
DeSoto set the turnout down on the chair and left with Gage.
Stoker wheeled himself closer to Stanley. The Captain looked fine considering what had happened. "Glad your okay there, Cap," Stoker said as he straightened Stanley's blanket. It hadn't been that long ago when the Cap had been hurt from the loose wire. Luckily it had not been serious, but it had shook them up a bit because it was so unexpected then. "Guess we never expect anything like that huh?"
Stoker listened to the steady beat of the monitor. "You should wake up Cap. Would make me and the boys feel a lot better. They've been here watching over you." He was silent for a while then turned around to see if anyone was behind him. "I can't believe what you did Cap. I though that was it, I was going to die, then thought both of us were going to die. Your turnout, your leg. I don't know how you pulled it off, but Cap, I am so sorry I didn't see or hear that truck. I should have been more careful. Now even Big Red is a casualty. Don't know if we can fix her."
Stoker sighed and closed his eyes as he rubbed his bruised wrist. The images flooded in but he was prepared for them. It was the sounds that got him. His own cries, those of Stanley. He opened his eyes when he heard the heart monitor increase. Stanley was moaning. "Cap it's okay. Wake up."