Happy Veteran's Day! This is my birthday gift to you guys! Funny I should be getting the gifts today anyways here yall go and sorry about the wait.
I do not own glee or the songs mentioned, but I do have a foreign money collection.
Gone, But Not Forgotten: Remembering 13 Years Ago
Part II
"So..." Brittany says.
Brittany pauses for a second. "Well...honestly the hospital was in utter chaos to put it bluntly. I wasn't at the hospital when we heard the crash. I was out on the flight line finishing up offloading the patients that had come in from Ramstein. Thankfully most of the patients were ambulatory and we only had one CCAT patient, but they were headed to Bethesda. Unfortunately, for them they had to come back with us to the ASF because the base had gone into FPCON DELTA. You guys got lucky that you slipped into the hospital before the posts at the entryways had gotten there. Anyways, you guys had beaten me back to the hospital and were waiting in the break room as soon as I ran in there. Remember though that Don't Ask Don't Tell was still completely in effect back then, but people at work knew what the deal was without asking and just accepted it. I mean your mami and I were extremely lucky that we had leadership that just turned a blind eye. They kinda didn't care actually, as long as we kept our noses clean and they didn't have to make a trip up to the 5th floor in our Blues. After our brief reunion in the break room came one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my entire life" Brittany tells Sugar.
Flashback
11 September 2001, 0948
"Oh my Sugar" Brittany says as she grabs Sugar from Santana's arms and hugs her tightly before kissing her head. Brittany sees PJ sitting down quietly, which is truly unusual for the little Puckerman boy. Brittany squats down and opens up her one arm. "Come here PJ" Brittany says and that's all it takes for the little boy to hop out of the chair launching himself full speed at her.
With the children in her arms, Brittany looks up at Santana. "You were supposed to be there. When I found out where it was..." Brittany trails off with tears in her eyes.
"I know. The CDC called me while I was on my way there. Sugar caught whatever PJ must have had" Santana says with her eyes just as watery as Brittany, who stands up with the kids still in her arms.
"I...I...I thought we had lost" Brittany chokes out as the tears fell from her eyes.
Santana moves to Brittany and hugs her with the kids between them. "Shhhh...it's alright. I'm right here Britt" Santana says still hugging all of them.
***PA System***
Attention Malcolm Grow Medical Center. This is the MCC. All military personnel report to your team leader. All civilian personnel and patients stay in place. The hospital is at FPCON DELTA.
Santana and Brittany parted from their group hug, but the kids remained in Brittany's arms. Before either could say anything, they were interrupted. "SSgt Pierce...sorry to interrupt" SrA McGee says.
"Go ahead Toy" Brittany replies.
"Britt. Crain needs you. I overheard her talking to LtCol. Hill before she sent me to get you, that we are headed to the Pentagon to assist with the casualties" Toya said shifting from foot to foot.
Brittany nods her head in acknowledge. "Give me a minute and do us a favor a man the door for a second please" Brittany tells Toya.
"I got you covered" Toya says turning to leave.
"Thanks Toy" Brittany says.
"Anytime Britt" Toya says as she exits the door.
Brittany looks at Santana with the kids still in her arms. Santana has tears free flowing from her eyes. "Britt..." Santana whispers.
"Tana. We signed up for this. We trained for this. I know we didn't have time to prepare for this mentally like we would for a deployment, but these A-holes brought this to our back door. I don't want to do this, but I need to go help. I don't want to leave you and the kids this soon, but I promise I'll be as careful as I can while I'm down there. I love you and Sugar so much and I will come back to you both" Brittany tells Santana. Brittany squats back down and stands the kids back on their feet and hold them out so she can look at them. " PJ, I need you to be a big boy and take care of Sugar for me. Can you do that for me please?" Brittany says to the little boy in her arm.
"I can Aunt B" PJ tells her while standing up straighter and furiously wiping at the tears in his eyes.
"That's my boy. I love you so much PJ" Brittany tells him before giving him a big hug and planting kisses all over his little face.
"Love you too Aunt B" PJ says tightening the hug as much as his little arms could before giving her an extra wet sloppy kiss to her cheek.
PJ releases Brittany and runs over to Santana hugging her leg tightly. Brittany takes a deep breathe to try to get her emotions under control. This was going to be excruciatingly hard for her. Brittany holds Sugar within both her arms and looks at her little face. "Sugar Plum. I love you so so much. Momma has to go help people now and you are going to stay with PJ. Okay?" Brittany says to her feverish baby girl.
"No. I wan stay wit you momma" Sugar whines while rubbing her eyes.
"And momma wants to stay with you too, but I need to help the hurt people baby girl" Brittany tells Sugar just before Sugar flings herself at Brittany nearly knocking her back onto her butt.
"NO! NO! MOMMA! DON'T GO!" Sugar wails out in between her tears. It takes everything in Brittany not to crumble. Tears are starting to fall quickly from Brittany's eyes as Sugar keeps repeating her cries.
"Shhhh...It's okay my little Sugar Plum. Momma will be back. I promise you" Brittany tells her while rocking Sugar in her arms. "I love you my beautiful beautiful girl. Keep close to PJ" Brittany tells her hugging her tightly and kissing her head.
Brittany plants a kiss to Sugar's forehead and lets Sugar kiss her cheek before handing her over to Santana. "Is Mrs. Small here today? I know you're on Triage and won't be able to keep the kids with you" Brittany asks.
"I'm sure she is. I have to go up there to meet up with Major Millner because I doubt we will be setting up triage down here" Santana replies.
"Okay. I need to go. Be safe. I love you" Brittany says before pulling Santana into a kiss.
After a few seconds they pull apart, but rest their foreheads together. "I love you too Britt. So so much. Please be very careful. You know we can't make promises with what we have signed up to do, but you made two today and I need you to keep them" Santana pleads to Brittany.
"I will. I'll make sure to try to contact you when the cell towers start working again. Please don't worry too much about me" Brittany says as the door opens back up.
The girls move back some as Toya pops her head in real quick. "Britt. We've gotta get going and there's a call for you at the front desk.
"Got it. On my way now" Brittany tells Toya. Brittany gives one last look at Santana, her daughter, and her nephew before leaving the break room quickly. Brittany reaches the front desk and takes the call. "SSgt Pierce speaking" Brittany says.
"Britt! The fucking cell phones are down. Quinn called me and said Tana wasn't there at the Pentagon and got the kids since Sug is sick. Did you see them?" SSgt Puckerman says quickly.
"Breathe Noah. They are here. Santana is heading up to the clinic so Mrs. Small can watch the kids. What is the status in your section?" Brittany asks.
"We are heading down there to the Pentagon and I'm assuming you guys are coming with right?" Puckerman says.
"Yeah. My section is. Santana is on Triage so who knows where they will set up at because I doubt the ASF can hold however many casualties there will be. Bring your A-game Puck and keep a walkie on you. I need to find Crain now" Brittany says.
"Ok Britt. See you soon" Puck replies.
"See you soon" Brittany says before hanging up and finding Crain.
15 minutes later
"McGee, Saunders, Jones, Chang, Smythe, Goodwin, and Anderson. You guys are on my bus. Chang, you're driving. Everyone else double check all the equipment and jump bags. Make sure we have plenty of litters and straps. Anderson, make sure there are enough blankets and if you have to double time it to Internal Med and get some from them. Saunders, make sure we have enough IV bags and starter kits. Smythe, I need you to make sure none of the others take Ruiz. I want her on our AMBUS. We are stretched thin on RNs down here and bless her heart for volunteering to go out there with us even though she's retired now. There are a couple of other civilian RNs coming down from the clinics and I want them all on our bus. I trust our team to make sure the civilians stay level headed and I need Ruiz to give them a rundown on Combat medicine since she was a nurse in the Army and did a few tours. Now go" Brittany states and they all disperse quickly to do their tasks.
"Pierce. Phone call in your office" Richardson shouts out.
I run to my office and pick up the phone. "Pierce speaking" Brittany says.
"Britt. The kids are with Mrs. Small now. They had a meltdown as I was leaving, but she told me she'll be okay to handle them. Dr. Millner said we are setting up at the gym because from her understanding there are a lot of people. Ruiz, Leadbetter, and Duwyer are heading your way. We gave them BDU bottoms and our spare boots that some of us had here at the clinic" Santana says.
"Okay. I'm having them come on our bus along with any other civilian RNs. It'll be good to have Ruiz and Leadbetter to help out with the RNs who haven't had to deal with a Mass Cal before. I'll watch out for them Tana" Brittany replies.
"I need you to watch out for yourself first Britt. I can't...I just can't" Santana says before Brittany interrupts.
"You won't have too. Don't think that way. I know it won't help. You just don't know all the thoughts that went through my head when I heard it was the Pentagon and thinking you was there for training" Brittany replies.
"I just can't help it. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not here" Santana says as Brittany hears her sniffle through the phone.
"I know Sweetie, but it has and now we just have to deal with it. I have to go make sure everything is squared away. You need to go too. I know Dr. Millner is probably looking for you. She'll be relying on you for support more than everyone else. We'll have the 30 mile range walkies. Stick with your doc so you can hear in on what is happening down there. I love you" Brittany states.
"I love you too and please please be safe" Santana replies.
"I will. See you later" Brittany tells her. After Santana replies back Brittany hangs up the phone.
Brittany leaves her office and runs to the back bay. She sees everyone is present including the RNs from the clinic. Brittany takes a deep breath before speaking "I want to thank all of you for this. Especially you civilians. We signed up for this, but you didn't and I can't say how much we appreciate the help. Ruiz. Leadbetter. Thank you both. You guys have already put in your time and you both didn't think twice about jumping back into all of this. Your knowledge and assistance will help tenfold out there. I'll need you two to brief the others on the bus" Brittany says to them before looking at McGee. "Are we all set on the bus?" Brittany asks her.
"We're good to go and the new flight surgeon Major Holliday is riding with us...she's on the bus already. LtCol. Sylvester is riding in the other bus" McGee states.
"Alright let's get on. Chang, get behind the wheel. Saunders, remove the hose and then guide Chang out of the bay. Everyone else find a spot on the floor" Brittany says as she heads onto the AMBUS.
Brittany sees Major Holliday at the front of the bus sitting down and she looks like she's praying. Brittany walks towards her and she looks up. "Good to see you Pierce. I made sure I was on your bus" Major Holliday says with a smile and wink.
Brittany smiles at her and sits down across from her. "Good to see you as well Doc. Were you just praying?" Brittany asks as everyone is settling in.
Major Holliday nods her head. "Yes. I'm not the most religious person honestly, but I think this is one of those times where we all should probably pray. We have no idea what is happening down there and if it is still a danger zone. We need some higher being on our side as we try to help and save as many as we can and also so that we may stay safe ourselves" Major Holliday says earnestly. Brittany has known this doc for years and she has never seen her speak this way...not even when they were in the sandbox. They were deployed together a couple of years ago and had worked so fluidly together. Brittany was ecstatic when she saw Major Holliday had PCS'd to Andrews and was assigned to her duty section.
"I couldn't agree more with you" Brittany replies.
40 minutes later
"We won't be moving any time soon SSgt Pierce" SSgt Chang states.
Brittany locks eyes with Major Holliday who nods at her. Brittany looks around at everyone before speaking "We are going to have to walk from here. Saunders. Take over behind the wheel for SSgt Chang. Jones, you'll be staying with Saunders. Airmen gather everything you can possibly carry." Brittany then looks at the civilian RNs quickly. "You can stay with the bus if you guys want. It's easily another 6 miles from the Pentagon from this location and I can't ask you guys to make that trek with us" Brittany tells them.
Ruiz looks at the other RNs and Leadbetter nods her head. "I didn't step up just to get left on the bus. I'm going with you and so is Michele. We can carry some equipment too. Don't try to count us out because we're older than you. I'm only 11 years your senior" Ruiz states.
"And do not even think about saying something about my age either" Leadbetter states firmly.
"We're all in too" Duwyer says.
Brittany looks around at all of them and smiles. "I appreciate it. I do ask though that one of you stay behind with my two airmen as a precaution please" Brittany states looking at Mrs. Leadbetter.
"Okay. Pierce. I'll stay with the babies. We will try to make are way down there as quickly as we can" Leadbetter states.
"Thank you Ma'am" Brittany tells her before going over to Major Holliday. "I think we can save time by cutting across certain portions of the highway and what not" Brittany tells her.
"Okay good. Let Fire know what we plan on doing. They will likely be on the move with us" Major Holliday says before going to grab supplies too.
Brittany grabs the walkie from her side pocket. "Puckerman. We are about to hike it. Over" Brittany says into the walkie.
"We're right there with you Pierce. Over" Noah replies.
Brittany slips the walkie back into her pocket and goes to sling a jump bag around herself and grab a suction. The guys are carrying jump bags and the defibrillators. The RNs have the extra supplies like the IV bags and blankets. Once Brittany sees they have most of the stuff they file out of the bus. Everyone congregates in front of the bus and behind the fire truck. Brittany locks eyes with Noah and nod at each other. "Okay everyone let's move" Puckerman shouts out and everyone starts hiking towards the Pentagon.
End of Flashback
"Wait. That can't be all" Sugar states.
"Sweetheart. I'm not going to go into detail about all the blood and disarray that we trekked into" Brittany states.
"Why not? I watch Grey's Anatomy all the time" Sugar states with a pout.
"Not the same thing Sugar Plum. It's not something that needs to be retold. Just know that Your Uncle Puck and I along with our teams made that trek and helped a lot of people there. That coin in your pocket was specially made for all of us who helped that day. You have your Mami's in your room and mine in your pocket. PJ carries Noah's with him as well" Brittany tells Sugar. Sugar pulls the coin out of her pocket and rotates it in her hand. Brittany watches her daughter play with her coin in her hand. "You know sweetie. You were very brave that day too and PJ" Brittany says.
"How?" Sugar asks. "Both your Mami and I had to leave you and PJ with Grandma Sheila. It was such a scary mess and you stayed with her without much of fuss even though you were sick. Grandma Sheila told us that PJ held you and sung to you while rocking you on the gurney in the Immunizations room. He just kept singing to you until you fell asleep and even then continued to rock you & sing for another hour before falling asleep himself. That was very brave of you both if I say so myself" Brittany tells her with a smile.
"Doesn't sound that brave..."Sugar trails off, but then gets that look that she always get when realization and curiosity hits her. "Did PJ really sing to me?" Sugar asks.
"Oh yes sweetie. Grandma Sheila told us he sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star first, then Under the Sea, and finally the one that worked for you was Kiss the Girl. I have no clue how he knew all the words to the Little Mermaid songs, but Grandma said he did" Santana tells her with a chuckle.
Sugar starts laughing. "That's hard to believe that loser sung those to me" Sugar says in between laughing.
"Oh he did. I wish we had proof because I doubt he remembers it and if he does...he won't own up to it now" Brittany tells her with a little chuckle.
"Oh here they come now" Santana states as Sugar gets up and runs to PJ.
Sugar jumps into his arms and gives him a kiss on the cheek before whispering into his ear. He then starts to blush before Sugar gives him another kiss on his cheek.
"Oh yeah. He definitely remembers" Brittany whispers to Santana as they walk over to Noah and Quinn before laying down flowers on all the fallen troops graves.
A/N: That's the end. Apologies it took so long, but as time went on I figured I might as well wait until today to post this. I didn't want to go into all the patients, blood, and disarray on that day so I figured that Brittany left it where she wouldn't scar Sugar for life.
Parts of this story are true. I've heard stories from old supervisors and friends about that day. One supervisor told me a lot of them actually did get off the bus and walk to the Pentagon carrying their gear. Another told me they did have to set up Triage in the gym on Andrews because the ASF didn't have enough beds for the amount of casualty that day.
I do truly hope you enjoyed the end to this two-shot.
Here's the civilian break down for abbreviations and terms I used in this part:
FPCON DELTA- simply put it is the highest level of Force Protection Condition by the Department of Defense in regards to a terrorist attack. Delta means an attack is currently happening or has just happened in the immediate area.
MCC- means Mobile Command Center. Simply put they are the central person all the teams contact and then the person reports to Fire who runs the entire situation.
SSgt- is a Staff Sergeant (rank). In the Air Force they are an E-5. (E stands for Enlisted)
Major- is an O-4. (O stands for Officer)
LtCol.- is a Lieutenant Colonel. They are an O-5.
AMBUS- is a medical ambulance bus.
Internal Med- stands for Internal Medicine. It is a clinic in hospitals. Only used it because it was the closest clinic to the ASF at Malcolm Grow besides Dermatology.
PCS- stands for Permanent Change of Station which simply means when a person moves to another base for however many years they will stay there before moving again.
RN- registered nurse.
Jump bags- carry all medical supplies like gauze, IV (Intravenous) starter kits, splits, band aids, alcohol wipes, gloves, etc.
Suction- is a machine used to suction fluids from the mouth.
Defibrillator- a machine used to shock, etc. a patient. Also known as an AED.
And further explanation of ASF. ASF is a section of some military bases that treat and provide care for troops who were deployed and either injured or had mental conditions and they had to leave their deployment early. Andrews is the first stop on US soil from Ramstein which is a base in Germany. The patients vary in care from gunshot wounds to burns to even suicidal patients. I worked there for a few months when I was a fairly newbie Airmen and it was an experience I will never forget. The medics who work in that section learn to drive the AMBUS. They have to onload and offload the patients from the military aircrafts on litters (which is like a gurney with no wheels and hand held).
If you want a bit more information about any of these terms or I forgot one just let me know.
Thank you again for reading this. Let me know what you guys think good or bad.
Any questions, comments, or concerns you can reach me on here, Twitter, or Tumblr.
I also have other stories that you guys can check out. Urban Legend (my Halloween Brittana fic) and of course Oh Sugar Honey Ice Tea (This Is A Joke, Right?)
All spelling mistakes and grammar are mine.
Deuces...for now.
