A big Thanks to all that reviewed and bookmarked my story. I really appreciate it. As always a heartfelt thanks to Emom for being there while I get this done.
By the Light of the Moon
An Emergency! Fan Fiction
By: Redelflady
Chapter 2
Roy was walking rather quickly into Station 51, running behind again. He noticed the full moon still visible, even in the daylight, thinking how incredible it looked, as he ducked in the locker room to change.
He made it just in time to roll call, a fact that did not escape Captain Stanley's attention.
"Morning men."
"Morning Cap," The assembled men replied.
"We have a lot to do today. C-shift left us plenty of hose to hand, we have hydrants to check, and Roy, they said the Squad has a rattle. Chet and Marco you get the pleasure of hanging the hoses." Chet groaned.
"Mike cooks today". They all gave a little cheer since they knew at least a good meal would find them somewhere along the line day. Mike shot them a shy smile.
"Roy, dorms." Roy nodded.
"Johnny, latrine duty." Hank tried to not pause on that one, knowing what to expect from the young medic.
"Cap." Protested Johnny, rolling his eyes, and not disappointing the Captain in the least. "What did I do to deserve that?"
"Keep it up and you can have it for the month Gage!" God, he hated assigning that chore, it was never a pleasant thing, except for when Chet would unceremoniously earn it.
"Fine." Mumbled Johnny.
"All right let's get at it. Roy my office please." This last request was made without making eye contact to the senior medic.
"Ohhh," Teased Chet. "Roy's in trouble…."
The men laughed, and went to get started on their assignments. Roy, with hesitation, followed his Captain into the office.
"Shut the door Roy and have a seat." Hank pointed to the empty chair, as he took his own seat behind the small wooden desk.
Hank leaned back in his chair, eyeing the medic closely. "You're cutting it kinda close here lately Roy. That's not like you, and frankly I'm a little bit concerned."
Roy nodded "I know Cap. I'm sorry. Everyone keeps telling me that it should…well, that it should get easier." He paused for a moment. "But, it hasn't."
Hank saw the anguish in Roy's eyes. "Roy, there was nothing that anyone could have done. Everyone did their best to save Jo." His own voice softened, as he tried to understand what the man was going through, even after all this time.
"But, did I Hank? Why didn't I see it coming? I should have seen it." The distress in Roy's voice was heartbreaking.
Hank leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees. "Roy how many heart attacks do you and Johnny get called out on, in a year? You know that sometimes there are no warning signs."
Roy nodded, but his eyes reflected that his own heart didn't believe it.
"Pally, I don't think I've seen you smile in 3 years now. It's hard on you, hard on the kids…hard on everyone."
Roy looked down. He knew that he was still hurting, and yes, even the kids, but he was disheartened to hear it was still affecting those around him. That his grief was that palpable to those he tried to hide it from.
"You know Em and I are happy to help with the kids, we love them. I know Johnny moving in has been a great help to you." Hank ran his fingers through his hair.
Roy looked up again. "Cap if it weren't for Johnny… I wouldn't have made it. Putting that addition on the house has been a life saver to us. Him being there, he helped me stay sane."
"You couldn't have picked a better brother Roy." Hank said this with a genuine smile.
Roy nodded in earnest. There was no denying that Johnny was exactly that, a brother.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, you know if you ever need to talk here or outside of work, my door is always open."
"Thanks Hank, I really appreciate that."
"Your work is still excellent. You know exactly what you are doing. It's just that we just miss the old Roy, the one who smiled occasionally."
Roy managed to pull up a small smile, knowing how sincere his friend was being. "Ok".
"Now get out there and crank out another day." Hank patted him on the back as he walked out.
Roy went in to the locker room and splashed his face with water, letting the coldness shock his senses back to the here and now. Any walk down memory lane was simply exhausting to him, physically and emotionally. He knew that Hank only wanted to help him, the problem was, he didn't know what to do himself. Each day was another struggle to survive, to make it through without her.
When he looked up there was Johnny with a towel held out for him to take. Roy took it without comment and dried off his face.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah…. Yeah, I'm good." He said as he dried off his face.
They both looked up as the klaxons rang. "Station 51 multi vehicle car accident intersection of …"
Roy and Johnny jogged back out into the bay, jumping into the Squad, as Hank answered dispatch.
"Station 51 10-4 KMG 365." He handed Roy the address, hit the bay door buttons, and headed for the Engine.
The accident was evident from quite a distance, bits and pieces of car leading up to where the three vehicles came to rest, a crowd already gathering.
"Chet, Marco, pull an inch and a half. Get those battery cables unplugged and that gas washed down." Hank called out.
"Cap we need ambulances." Roy called, as he and Johnny rapidly triaged the injured, assessing who needed care the fastest. He quickly determined that there was a Sheriff's Deputy with serious injuries, two DOA teenagers, a third teen also with serious injuries, and a last victim with only minor injuries.
Hank called in the needed assistance. "LA, Engine 51, we need 2 ambulances and police backup at our location."
"10-4, 51"
Johnny worked at bandaging the lesser injured teenagers who was distraught over the death of his two friends. The other one had a fractured arm and leg, along with some possibly cracked ribs.
Knowing that the death of his friend Drew was still in Johnny's mind, Roy went to work on the Deputy. His injuries were significant and his immediate concern was the man's difficulty in breathing.
"Rampart, this is squad 51. Do you read?"
An unfamiliar female voice answered him. "Rampart, we read you 51, go ahead."
"Rampart, we have a male approximately 30 years old, victim of a traffic accident. BP 90/60, respiration 13, pulse 120. There is visible blood from the ears and nose. Also, there is abdominal distension and tenderness, with suspected left sided rib fractures. He has a large laceration, with obvious contusion on the left side of his head.
"10-4, 51. Start an IV D5LR and send an EKG strip. Is there an ambulance on scene yet?"
"Negative on that ambulance Rampart. IV D5LR, EKG. Transmitting on lead two." Roy hooked up the monitor to the biophone and began transmitting the signal. "Rampart the patient is in respiratory distress, despite attempting to assist with ventilations."
"51, place an esophageal airway, and continue to assist with ventilations."
"10-4, esophageal airway. Rampart the ambulance has just arrived. There is another ambulance that will follow with victims from this same scene."
"10-4 51."
At Rampart base station, Dr. Sarah Blaylock looked over to Dixie.
"Dixie, sounds like we have multiple traumas' coming in. Can you page Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early?"
Dixie nodded. "Sure thing Dr. Blaylock. We'll be ready for them."
Within moments, the elevator doors opened up with Dr. Brackett approaching the nurse's station.
"What do you have Sarah?" He asked as he picked up the notes from the call, along with scanning over the EKG strip.
"Three coming in Kel, 1 critical, 1 serious, the other 2 minor. Take a look at the EKG on our critical patient."
Kel shook his head. "I don't like the look of this. Have you called in Joe?"
"Dixie paged him. I can take the critical, if you can take the others until Joe gets here."
He smiled at her, knowing her skills were more than capable of handling the worst of the worst that would come through the doors. "Deal."
"Ok. Dix is getting us set up. They should be here in about 13 minutes." She pushed a lone red curl out of her face, her green eyes sparkling under the florescent lights. "I'll keep monitoring the base unit till they get here, Kel."
"Alright, holler if you need help."
Roy managed to keep the Deputy going until they pulled into the parking lot of Rampart, where he flat lined on the cardiac monitor. Roy started the chest compressions immediately, as he watched them back up to the ER bay doors. The vehicle doors flew open, with the attendants pulling on the stretcher to quickly get it out of the ambulance.
As soon as the stretcher was back on solid ground, Roy stood on the bottom railing, and resumed the CPR, never missing a beat.
Dr. Blaylock rounded the corner, directed them into the trauma room, and began issuing orders. Nurse Carol was waiting, ready to assist with whatever was called for.
"Carol, get some vitals please." Sarah directed, while she focused on examining his pupils, then doing a rapid head to toe assessment on the man.
"Hold CPR please." She put a hand on Roy's shoulder. They both stared at the monitor.
"We got nothing." Roy reported quickly, and resumed the compressions. The respiratory therapist provided the ventilations, synchronizing with Roy's pushes on the man's chest.
"Charge up the defibrillator to 400 watts." She grabbed the paddles, as Carole put the gel on them. "Clear!" She called out loudly, forcing everyone to back away from the treatment table for the duration of putting the paddles on the Deputy's chest. His body arched to the flow of electricity that coursed through it.
Once again, they both stared at the monitor, as if willing something to appear on it.
Again, there was nothing but a flatline.
"Charge again." Sarah asked, as Roy continued the manual labor of compressing the man's chest, in an effort to force the heart to work again.
"Clear!" She called out again, as the second course of voltage rocked his body.
"Damn it." She cursed under her breath, seeing that it had no effect. The man was still essentially dead. "Carol, get me an amp of bicarb, and let's give him a Lidocaine bolus, then get a drip started."
Roy continued the compressions, feeling the unnatural give of the broken ribs, and more than likely crushed sternum.
Carol pushed the two medications into his IV as ordered, then reached into the cabinet to grab another bag of fluids to hang up.
"Ok" She touched Roy's arm and he stopped while she injected the bicarb. The room was unusually quiet with the silent prayers being thrown at the monitor.
Nothing.
Roy then paused for Sarah to push the Epinephrine directly into his heart. Even Roy was ready to cuss at the empty screen at this point.
They pressed on, fighting for this man's life. More cardiac shocks, followed by multiple rounds of medications, CRP until Roy thought his arms were going numb.
"Carol how long have we been working on him?" Sarah asked in a professional manner.
"Fifty five minutes, Dr. Blaylock."
Sarah shook her head, knowing that it was time. "Stop CPR."
Roy stepped down and backed away from the bed, and looked at the physician that had worked so hard to save this man. She was chewing on her bottom lip, her brow furrowed, and eyes narrowed. It was obvious this was tearing her up inside.
She took a deep breath. "Time of death 9:15."
There was a collective sigh of resignation in the room.
Roy sadly nodded, knowing they had done everything possible, fighting every step of the way to save this stranger. Staring at the Deputy he looked up when she gently touched Roy's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered to this man that she didn't even know, but something made her want to reach out to him.
This time Roy really took her in, all five foot ten, curly red hair pulled back into a messy bun, the bright green eyes of her. Eyes that were now about to brim over with tears.
"Doc, you did all that you could." He was a little taken aback, unused to feeling the need to comfort a doctor. But, seeing those tears, hearing the compassion in her voice, he suddenly felt the need to make sure that she was alright.
She looked up into those deep blue eyes of his. "But, it wasn't enough was it?" Turning from him, she pulled the sheet up over the deceased man, and then asked Carol to prepare him for the family. She knew they would be arriving soon, if not already there, and they would want to see him.
As she started to the door, Roy held it open for her. "Thanks." She said in a whisper, sliding past him, and into the busy hallway.
She walked over to the desk. Dixie looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Sarah just frowned and shook her head. Dixie understood and quietly returned with a nod. Some things just didn't have to be spoken out loud.
"Is the family here Dixie?"
"His wife is in the waiting room, Maggie Carson." Dixie updated her.
Sarah nodded again. This was the worst part of the job. "I'll tell her."
Roy followed her, although he wasn't sure why, just some need to be there for her, knowing how hard this would be. He had also been with the Deputy since the accident.
"Mrs. Carson?" Sarah called into the waiting room.
A pretty young woman, in her early twenties, slowly came over to them. Tears streaked down her face, her eyes red from the long wait.
"I…I'm Mrs. Carson. How is Steve? Can I see him now?"
"Ma'am, I'm Dr. Blaylock." She put her arm around the young ladies shoulders, and guided her down the hall, to a quieter spot. "You're husband was in a car accident earlier, and his injuries were very severe. We… we did all that we could."
Roy could see Sarah's own shoulders beginning to shake, as she struggled to suppress her own tears.
"We weren't able to save him. I'm so very sorry."
The young woman started to sob, falling into Sarah's chest, her tears staining the scrub top. "But I just talked to him a few hours ago. He.. he was fine. How…how could this happen? Why?" She straightened back up. "I need to see him, please!!!"
Sarah glanced down the hall to see Dixie. The nurses' nod indicated that they were ready for the wife to come into the room. "Come with me." She again took her by the shoulders, and gently led her into the treatment room. Roy opened the door for them and watched as Sarah put her down into a chair, beside the table. "Again, I'm very sorry for your loss."
Seeing that the wife was in good hands with Carole and Dixie, she turned and walked straight to the empty lounge, unaware that Roy had followed her. Moving to the couch, she sat back heavily and collapsed her head in her hands.
Roy sat down next to her, he couldn't explain it, but her sadness was painful for him, making him want to stay close to her. He felt a need to protect her.
"Are you ok?" He asked in a quiet tone, not wanting to startle her.
She shook her head. "Just give me a minute."
"Okay." He didn't move a muscle.
She tried to fight off the tears, but couldn't stop the tide that wanted to swallow her whole. She began to sob. Roy instinctively put his arm around her shoulder, and felt her lean into him. After a few minutes, she looked up at him, and saw there were also tears in his eyes. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other, as if they were trying to see into each other's mind.
"Who did you lose?" She whispered.
"How…how did you know?' Roy asked.
She looked down, as she sat back up beside him. "My husband died two and a half years ago." She wiped the tears from her face.
Roy sighed "My wife died over 3 years ago. How could you tell?' He asked again amazed at her insight into him.
She looked at him. "You have the same look of sadness." Roy nodded, understanding what she meant.
"Does it get easier?" She asked.
"No." He instantly realized it came out harsher than he meant it to. Guilt sank in, at saying anything that would cause her more pain.
"At least you're honest." She said with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.
They sat quietly, lost in their thoughts.
Roy cleared his throat. "I don't think we have actually met. I'm Paramedic Roy DeSoto, from Station 51." He took his arm from around her shoulders and moved to shake her hand. The smile that she gave him felt like the sun had broken through the clouds.
"I'm Dr. Sarah Blaylock." She replied, shaking his hand.
"You…..you want some coffee?" He offered, unsure as to how to proceed, after such an emotional moment.
"Yeah. Thanks that would be great." Relief flooded through her also.
They both got up and headed for the coffee when Dr. Brackett came in. "Sarah, sorry to hear about your patient."
"Yeah, it was hard. Harder than I expected, Kel."
"You ok?" His eyes reflecting his concern for a coworker, and friend.
"I'm alright. Just chatting with Roy."
"Well good." He knew better though, having been there that morning when her husband had died in the same room.
"How is everyone else Kel?"
As he updated them, her eyes kept drifting to Roy, although she didn't know why.
After Kel was finished, he let to check on the other patients, as they sat down with their coffee. Within a few minutes, Johnny and Dixie joined them.
After introductions Roy could see that the younger paramedic was already eyeing her, sizing her up.
"So Doc." Johnny drawled. "How come I've never seen you before?" He shot her his best Johnny Gage smile.
"Because I wasn't here." she smiled back at him.
Johnny looked momentarily confused and they all chuckled. "Johnny.' explained Dix. "Sarah was here before the Paramedic program, then she left and now…she's back!"
Sarah smiled at Dix, a smile that captivated Roy. He found himself staring at her.
Dixie excused herself to see if Kel needed anything, and Roy suggested that Johnny get the needed supplies for the unit. Johnny frowned a little, but left the lounge with a, "Nice to meet you Doc."
Sarah got up, rinsed out her cup at the sink, and reached up to place it back in the cabinet. Roy couldn't help but admire the lovely toned legs that stuck out under her skirt as he followed her to the sink. He didn't realized how close he was to her until she turned around, and they found themselves face to face.
They both took a step back. " I really gotta….go." Roy pointed to the door, not wanting her to feel like he was running out on her.
"Oh me too!"
However, they stood there starting at each other for another moment before she finally headed towards the door. He quickly caught up to her and held it open.
The ever consummate gentleman.
Roy headed to the base unit, where Dixie and Johnny were, and she headed for the elevators. As
she turned around in the elevator, she caught Roy staring at her. A smile crossed her face, along with a blush of her cheeks, as she quickly looked down.
Roy watched the elevator doors, a quick chuckle escaping, as he turned back to the desk. His smile was more subtle watching Johnny signing for the supplies. "Ready partner?"
Johnny looked up to him, and not having seen a smile like that on his friends face in a long time, he found himself smiling back. He knew then that he had missed something important.
"You ok?" He said with his own crooked smile erupting on his face.
"Yeah, I'm good." Roy's smile got bigger again as he turned down the hall, heading back to the squad.
Johnny had to quickly gather up the supplies in his arms, and jog down the hall to catch up with this mystery person that had suddenly replaced his somber partner. As they climbed into the squad Johnny had to ask.
"Just exactly what happened back there? What did I miss?"
"Call us in available Junior." Roy said with a lingering smile and a new found sparkle to his baby blue eyes.