Chapter 2

Title: The Act of Heroism

Chapter title: White Walls

Summary: Jamie didn't have time to think, he just reacted. "Reagan!" Renzulli's voice was the last thing that echoed in the street before the car impacted and the sound of metal crushing metal was the only thing heard.

Author's Note: Let me start this off by saying: WOAW! All those reviews and followers and everything …

I would like to thank those that reviewed: Iris, Haley94, ddubgirl, RDJfan15, Caragh, Jennmc15, Silvermoongirl10, CAT127, CBloom2, BLBLF, geraldine123 and stilljustme.

Also thanks to those following: CAT127, CBloom2, CM-x-SN-x-HP-roxmysox, Caragh, Leaf2010, MerlinFan-xD, OceansMist, TyraBB, WofOZ, ashleynicole822, blueoctober, brittany1989, ddubgirl, geraldine123, imablur, onlynicole94, quack-quack21, sessysbaby666, silvermoongirl10, and whumpqueen

Lastly, also thanks to those that added to their favorite list: CAT127, CM-x-SN-x-HP-roxmysox, MerlinFan-xD, RDJFan15, SundayStars, TyraBB, geraldine123, imablur and sessysbaby666

You guys rock! I love you!

Okay then … Have anyone seen the new season?! Yay! Finally. It's been a long wait. Good episode, though I was a little disappointed that there was no mention of Vinny at all. But, oh well.

What did you guys think of it? Let me know ;P

Anyways … I should probably shut up now. Enjoy chapter two! :D

Disclaimer: Again, none of the things you might recognize, persons or otherwise, I own … unfortunately.

"Heroism is the endurance for one moment more." - George F. Kennan

For the second time that night silence echoed in the street. Every onlooker, citizen and cop stood still, silent, as what they had just witnessed hit them. The car that had moved towards the wreckage had now come to a stop after it had crashed into the other cars. The hood had been forced opened slightly and become bent as the front had taken the force from the impact. A silhouette could vaguely be seen behind the wheel, leaned over and unmoving.

Renzulli was the first one to jump into action. "Reagan!" he yelled as he sat the little boy he had been carrying down by his mother and raced towards the newly enlarged crash site.

While he called in the radio for assistance with a 10-13, his head was spinning like mad. He wondered what he would find when he reached the other side of the vehicle and fear started to grab him. He feared that he would find his young officer sprawled out on the ground, unconscious or worse. He feared the rage he would be facing from the Reagans when they found out their youngest was dead. Most of all, he feared that the guilt that was already starting to eat at him was going to tear him apart. The young Reagan was after all his responsibility. And he was his friend. So his heart was thumbing wildly in his chest when he turned the car's corner.

But what he found wasn't what he expected.

Jamie was up and around, like nothing had happened, and was crouched down in front of the floor of the Sedan. He was still pulling at the piece of plastic that was trapping the man's feet. When Jamie felt the new presence he quickly glanced at his training officer. "Sarge, I think I almost got it," he said, referring to the plastic piece. His voice was raspier and more out of breath than before. It sounded strained.

"Are you alright, Reagan?" Renzulli asked cautiously. He noticed how sluggish Jamie's movements were, how he blinked repeatedly and how his chest was moving up and down rapidly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jamie shrugged quickly. "But I could use some help with this though."

The older officer moved closer and only then did he notice the windscreen in the car. It was completely shattered and the small pieces of glass littered the interior of the car along with the ground beneath. Renzulli would have sworn it was only cracked before the second crash. When he looked at Jamie he saw that blood had run down from a large and deep cut on his forehead just below his hairline and was covering half of his face. Renzulli quickly connected the dots. The young officer must have been thrown into the windscreen when the car impacted, causing it to shatter.

The amount of force that came from the second crash must have been huge. And if that was the case then Jamie would have other injuries that the older officer couldn't spot immediately. The small relief that followed when Renzulli saw Jamie still trying to break the trapped man's feet free was quickly wiped away from his mind. Worry filled its spot instead.

Nearby sirens tore through the night air and pulled Renzulli from his thoughts. Assistance was about to arrive soon he knew, but he also knew that they needed more than what he had called for.

Jamie grunted with the effort it took to pull Tommy's feet free and he only needed one more inch. But the piece was resilient and refused to budge no matter what. Not even a car crash could get it loose.

"Hey kid, how about you relax for a second, huh?" Renzulli tried. "The EMTs are going to be here in any minute alright?"

Jamie stopped his fruitless efforts and looked up at his training officer for a moment. Then he swallowed a single time before nodding his head weakly. He began to rise to his feet but started swaying dangerously on the way up. Renzulli immediately stepped in and supported Jamie's elbows and kept the younger man steady.

"I'm alright," Jamie assured, though he visibly paled.

"Yeah, and I'm the queen of England," Renzulli shot back and didn't loosen his grip on the officer.

At the sound of shrieking tires Renzulli snapped his head up. An almost invisible sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw the police cars, several ambulances and a car belonging to the fire department come to a halt ten feet away. The paramedics ran out of the back doors of the ambulances and started rushing towards them, each with a bag full of medical supplies in their hands.

Renzulli steadied Jamie as he led him away from the wreckage so they wouldn't be in the way of the fire department and the EMTs.

"There are at least two people still trapped in their cars, maybe more. We didn't get all of them out before the second car hit," Renzulli quickly explained to the passing rescuers, who acknowledged him before running towards the still smoking vehicles.

Then he turned his attention to Jamie again. His eyes were sluggish and his breathing was labored. It didn't look like he was completely aware of what was going on around him anymore. Concerned, Renzulli gently shook him.

"You still with me, kid?"

Jamie snapped his eyes at him like he was surprised to see his training officer at his side, much less supporting him. He shook his head as if he was trying to clear away the fog from his mind. "Yeah. I'm fine," his raspy voice answered. "You should go and help out."

"Nice try, kid. I'm not leaving you here," the older officer replied and began to move his disoriented trainee towards the ambulances.

But he didn't even get two feet before Jamie's low voice stopped him. "Sarge, I'm … I'm not feeling very good," Jamie said while he squinted with his eyes. The flashing lights from the ambulances and the dark of the night melted together into one big blur. Everything started spinning wildly out of control and suddenly the world tipped.

His knees buckled so quickly that Renzulli barely had time to catch Jamie as his body went limp. "I need some help over here!" Renzulli yelled for anyone who would listen while he gently laid Jamie on the concrete and used his police jacket to pillow his head.

"Hey. Hey, kid, can you hear me? Open your eyes for me, will ya? Reagan. Jamie!" Renzulli called out while he tapped the young Reagan's cheek to get a response. He shook him, yelled, hit his face with a outstretched hand, but nothing helped. Jamie's eyes remained closed and unresponsive.

Come on, kid. Don't die on me.

Jamie had vaguely come to as they reached the hospital. He was being rolled out of the ambulance and through the entrance's double doors when he had forced his eyes open. But keeping them open had proved a bigger challenge than he first expected. Every time he opened them, they seemed to close all by themselves.

He had only caught glimpses of his surroundings and blurred outlines of the people around him. What he could make out was the white ceiling and the blinding fluorescence lights that flew by as he passed under them. He was aware of the oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth, the feeling of a needle inserted in his arm and the hard mattress of the gurney he was lying on. But most of all he was aware of the way his body hurt and ached every time he took a breath.

He heard shouting voices, all of them different from each other and all of them indicating varied concern. Whether it was for him or another patient he did not know. His mind was so muddled he couldn't determine what was being said around him and no matter how hard he strained his ears he could not make out any words. Only sounds.

Beside him Renzulli was trying to make any of the doctors surrounding Jamie's gurney to talk to him but they seemed oblivious to his presence and nagging. The young Reagan looked just as oblivious to what was going on around him. His eyes were sluggishly looking around at anything and nothing. They flickered slowly in his head, too tired to focus on the busy environment he was in. His face had lost all color during the ambulance ride and now his skin blended in with the sheet underneath him. The whiteness of his skin made the blood on his face much more conspicuous. The oxygen mask filled the lower part of his face. It alternately fogged up in intervals of two seconds as Jamie took in a breath and blew it out.

A nurse put a hand on Renzulli's chest when they reached a set of doors where the windows were labeled with the words Authorized Personnel Only. She softly told him that he could follow no further and that he was going to have to wait in the waiting room where a doctor would join him when they had an update.

As he saw them whisk Jamie away Renzulli moved towards the waiting area. There he quickly grew restless and an unsettling thought occurred to him. He would have to face the Police Commissioner about his son as well as the rest of the Reagans.

It was not something he was looking forward to.

But there was nothing he could other than to wait and see what would come first; the inevitable meeting he was going to have with the surprisingly scary family or an update on Jamie's condition.

Either way it was out if his hands and so the sergeant sat down on the uncomfortable chair and waited.

TBC