This is based on the prompt from the lovely piamaria, who requested Can you write something where Lucy is a paramedic (maybe working on the same shift as last chapter) and they get a run and the patient is really confused (concussion, hehe) and maybe we see how she is through their eyes?

What a fantastic prompt, piamaria. I do hope you like how this turned out.

xxx

Until the end of their shift in the morning, the crew of Ambulance 84 responded to 9 more calls, with one of them getting cancelled and another being taken over by some of their colleagues who happened to be closer. Out of the 7 runs they actually did, 4 were related to alcohol. And after half of those, the three (two and a half, Johnny joked) paramedics had to radio Dispatch to declare themselves unavailable for a while because they had to clean their rig.

"Ambulance 84, status", one of the dispatchers inquired.

Lucy keyed her mobile radio and managed to talk through the jaw-cracking yawn that threatened to escape. "Ambulance 84 available at Lakeshore."

"Copy that, Ambulance 84, stand-by."

She confirmed with a simply "Copy that, Main", exchanging a glance with Johnny and swiping a pair of disposable gloves, stowing them in one of her pockets.

Sean looked between them and asked: "Why don't they call us only when they have a run for us?"

The two firefighter paramedics shrugged. "We might be needed as back-up at a scene", Johnny explained. "Or they don't have an address yet."

"Or they're getting an update on a situation right now", Lucy continued. "Or they have multiple calls coming in and they are giving us a heads-up while they sort through them to see if they are about different incidents or not."

Sean nodded understandingly, mien pensive.

While they waited for Dispatch to get back to them, they walked back out into the ambulance bay. Lucy and Johnny both waved at colleagues, exchanging short greetings but not engaging in any further conversation.

The dash-mounted radio in their rig crackled and the dispatcher's voice came through on the air. "Ambulance 84, MVC, 19 W 62nd Street, 1-9 W 62nd Street."

"Here we go again", Johnny said, starting the motor. "Buckle up, lady and gent, we're off to West Elsdon." After a beat, he added: "So much for getting off on time."

xxx

They reached the incident before any of the fire trucks that had been dispatched as well. Lucy hopped out from the passenger seat, slipping into her turnout jacket as she did so. Her trained gaze assessed the scene. A set of glaring skid marks slashed across the street, ending at smashed-up car that was lying on its roof, one side very close to the wall. A small group of helpers were crowding around the vehicle, trying to aid the occupants. Which wasn't an easy feat considering the ground was covered in shards and debris.

"Sean, grab the red bag and come with me", the PIC instructed. "Johnny, you got them?"

"Sure thing, Lucy", her partner responded, also shrugging on his turnout jacket while beginning crowd control, urging people to step back from the vehicle and to clear the way for the fire trucks.

Lucy knelt down, extremely grateful for the fact that she was now wearing her bunker pants, and peered inside the upside-down car. She had to push aside a now deflated airbag before she could see the interior properly. A pair of wide, panicked eyes stared back at her. "H-help me", the young man whimpered, fingers in a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. Thankfully, he was wearing his seatbelt, otherwise he would have fallen down when the car rolled onto its roof.

"It's okay, sir, I'm with the fire department", the blonde assured him. "We'll have you out in no time."

The blaring sirens of a fire truck reached her ears. She turned to look over her shoulder and told Sean: "I'm gonna go in, he's in pretty bad shape. I'll need you to hand me the equipment, are you up to that?"

He swallowed, understandably nervous as this was his first MVC, but nodded firmly. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."

Flashing him a praising smile, Lucy proceeded to flatten herself against the ground before shimmying through the car's smashed passenger window, careful not to jostle the vehicle and possibly do more damage. "Alright, sir", she spoke to the disoriented and frightened man, "can you tell me your name?"

"Rahim", he answered through strained breaths. Blood was trickling down his face and he gasped in pain when he shifted a little. "Rahim Zaghloul"

Lucy manoeuvred herself further inside until she was right beside him. "Nice to meet you, Rahim", she offered with a gentle smile, "I'm Lucy Cohen, I'm a paramedic. Can you tell me what happened?"

xxx

A handful of minutes later, reinforcements arrived in the form of a truck company. Tasks were handed out and soon enough, a pair of turnout boots came towards the wreck. "How is it looking, guys?", the voice of Lieutenant Paul Liang of Truck 22 asked.

Sean dutifully reported: "One male, early thirties. Awake and responsive on arrival, but lost consciousness about two minutes ago. His seatbelt is keeping him pinned, but he's not trapped." His voice lowered slightly as he continued: "He's shocky and it seems like he has lost feeling in his lower extremities."

Liang's mien twisted into a grimace, but he gave the trainee a nod.

"Sean, can you pass me the C-collar, please", Lucy requested from inside the vehicle. With a dexterity that bordered on contortionism, she twisted in order to look at Liang. "Hey", she greeted, taking the proffered neck brace and gently putting it on her now unconscious patient.

"Hey yourself", Liang replied, crouching down so she could see him more comfortably. "The guys are stabilising the wreck. I take it we're gonna have to cut him out?"

She confirmed, turning back to them. "'fraid so, yeah. Give me a sec and we'll be ready to go."

Nodding his assent, Liang straightened and called his men to grab what they needed to extract the victim from the battered, scrunched-up car. Meanwhile, Lucy wriggled her way back out of the wreck, gladly accepting the hand Sean offered her to pull her to her feet.

Johnny came over to them, the crowd of bystanders having the good sense to keep their distance. "Did you guys see how weird these skid marks are?", he wondered, gesturing to the dark traces streaking the asphalt. "And how the car is all dented at the back, too?"

His colleagues nodded in unison, Sean slightly more hesitant.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks a lot like somebody rear-ended our guy here at full speed and then beat it."

Liang, who had overheard them, agreed and reached for his radio, saying: "Truck 22 to Main, dispatch police to my location, seems like we have a hit-and-run here."

The static rustled and a dispatcher confirmed the request."Copy that, 22."

xxx

Rahim started regaining consciousness just as he was carefully being positioned on a spine board. He groaned as his vision spun in and out of focus, making the world go topsy-turvy in a blur of colour and sound.

"Hi Rahim", a friendly voice spoke, somehow getting through the haze of dizziness, pain and confusion.

He tried to turn his head towards it, but found he could not.

"Don't try to move", the voice instructed gently, "just relax. We got you."

He blinked for what felt like the tenth time, willing the blurriness to go away. He was floating. There was a cloud straight above him that looked like a rabbit.

Another voice drifted over. "Where are you taking him, Lucy?"

Lucy? His name was not Lucy. Rahim's muddled thoughts tried to disentangle themselves.

"Med", the first voice replied.

Oh. Right. His brain supplied him with a memory. The blonde paramedic with the calm smile. She had introduced herself as Lucy. Lucy something.

xxx

Suddenly, the sky disappeared and was replaced with a ceiling. Rahim felt himself frown at the unexpected change of scenery.

Lucy was speaking again. It went too fast for his sluggish mind and he caught only a few words here and there. "Sean..." "...be nothing..." "...careful..." "...shift..."

Something niggled at the back of his mind. A thought, maybe? It felt important. But every time he tried to reach out and grasp it, it slipped away. A sigh escaped him. This was all so confusing.

"Rahim."

He opened his eyes, absently wondering when he had closed them. The world was clearer this time. He looked towards the source of the sound and saw Lucy smiling encouragingly at him.

"That's it", she beamed. "Almost thought you fell asleep on me."

He went to shake his head, but thought better of it. A noise filtered through all the cotton that had been stuffed into his skull. A wailing noise. A very loud, wailing noise.

Lucy chuckled softly, although her expression shifted into a sympathetic grimace. "That's our siren", she explained. "You're in an ambulance."

Was she a mind-reader, he wondered. Finally, the penny dropped and he felt his eyes widen, heat rising in his cheeks.

"It's alright", the blonde was quick to assure him, her features gentle and free of judgement or unease.

The niggling feeling was back and after a moment of wrestling with the elusive thought, Rahim remembered. And immediately, a tiny part of him wished he hadn't. A jolt went through him, followed by the unpleasant sensation of his stomach plummeting towards the floor.

Swallowing, he regained conscious control of his tongue. "I...I'm paralysed", he mumbled, staring up at the paramedic.

"We don't know that yet", she replied, her tone soothing, yet firm. "You can move your legs, which is a good sign. Your spine might just be bruised, or a nerve could be pinched." The melody of her voice spread a sense of calm, slowly quelling the tingling feeling of panic! that had settled in his chest. The smile returned, reassuring and honest. "We'll be at the hospital soon and the doctors are going to take care of you."

xxx

True to Lucy's words, they reached the hospital mere minutes later. Rahim had drifted off into a particularly odd state between sleep and wakefulness. His eyes were closed, simply because his lids weighed about a tonne each. And while he was aware of the things happening around him, he was somehow oddly detached from it all. It was almost as if his brain had decided that life was too confusing right now and instead had chosen to waltz off to a place of blissful peace and quiet.

He would later find out that it was simply a side effect of the concussion he'd sustained in the car crash. Along with the nausea that had introduced itself in the most spectacular fashion when the antiemetic Lucy had administered at some point wore off. And the nasty headache that had him actually asking the nurse to check if his head was split in two. She had kindly reassured him that it wasn't and had gone to fetch the doctor, who had thankfully given him something against the pain.

Lucy had wished him all the best and told him to not give up hope. "It might not be all that bad."

It turned out that she was right. Bruises on his spine were putting pressure on the nerves, resulting in the loss of feeling he was experiencing. Dr Choi told him that he would make a full recovery. "It's a waiting game until the bruises clear, but you'll be just fine", he said.

Rahim thanked him profusely and asked him to convey his gratitude to the blonde paramedic.

Choi's lips quirked into a knowing grin. "I'll let her know", he promised. "I'm sure she'll stop by, though, so you can tell her in person."

She did. And she was touched and blushed slightly when Rahim took her hand and told her: "May Allah bless you."

xxx

Well...this chapter really developed a mind of its own. I honestly didn't plan for this, it just kinda ran away with me.

I hope you like it anyways :) As always, if you have any prompts, comments or criticism, feel free to shoot me a review or PM