Author's Note: I would like to thank every one who has reviewed or PM'd me about this story. Since it is my first multiple chapter story for Emergency, I am extremely happy that it has been enjoyed so much by so many. Sadly, this is the final chapter and I hope that you all enjoy it as much as you have the rest of the story. Once again, thank you all so much for the great feedback!

The Storm

7

"Almost there, Mike. You're going to be alright," Roy assured the exhausted engineer as they approached the squad and gently helped the injured man on the ground, leaning him against the base of the rescue vehicle. It wasn't a long trek to the entrance, but for Mike it seemed like he had walked on his wounded knee for miles and he was now more than ready to sit down.

Cap rushed over to them and knelt down, eying Mike closely. "How is he?" He asked, turning his attention to Roy.

"He's in a lot of pain, Cap," Roy replied. "His knee is twisted and he's got a head wound that started causing him to become dizzy and nauseous as we were heading back. What's the ETA on the ambulance?"

"It should be here within two or three minutes," the captain answered. "I also got on the radio and notified Rampart of our situation and that you were bringing Mike in. I gave them what Marco told us earlier about Mike's injuries." He looked at Mike and patted the younger man on the shoulder. "How you feeling, Pal?"

Mike gave a slight smile; one that Cap knew was forced. "I'm okay, Cap," he replied tiredly as he rested his head on the squad and closed his eyes.

"Mike," Johnny said calmly. "You need to stay awake," he ordered softly. "We don't want to take any chances with a head wound."

"I'm tired," Mike mumbled as he slowly shook his head, trying to keep his eyes open.

"I know you are, Mike," Roy chimed in. "But try to stay awake until we get you to the hospital. It won't be much longer - I promise."

EMERGENCY!

Cap and Chet entered the break room at Rampart General and saw Marco sitting down at the table in the center of the room drinking a cup of coffee.

"Marco," Cap greeted as he approached. "How's Mike?"

Marco rested the mug on the table and shook his head. "I don't know yet, Cap," he answered. "Roy and Johnny are with him in treatment room two with Doctor Brackett. Dixie McCall told me to wait in here."

Cap sat down across from Marco and nodded. "Yeah, that's what she told me and Chet when we got here."

Marco looked at both men and then back at Cap. "Who's been filling in for me and Mike?" He wondered.

"Jake Taper and Carlos Gribosky," Chet answered. "They decided to wait outside with the engine."

Marco nodded in understanding as he took another sip from his coffee. He put the mug down and took a deep sigh. "I thought for sure they would have let me know something by now," he confessed.

"How was Mike on the way here?" Cap asked.

Marco shook his head. "Not good," he answered somberly. "He really wanted to sleep and was in a lot of pain. To top it off he started coughing real bad - so much so that he started to have trouble breathing. Roy had to put an oxygen mask on him."

"He'd been out in that rain for at least an hour and in the mist of that smoke for almost just as long," Cap reasoned. "It's no surprise he'd be sick."

Marco nodded in agreement, but remained silent as he stared down at his hands. He looked back up at Cap and then shook his head. "It was my idea to make the trip longer," he informed his captain and crewmate. "None of this would have happened had we kept to our original plan on just a weekend hike."

"Marco, this wasn't your fault," Cap replied softly. "No one expected this to happen and the storm wasn't supposed to be as bad as it was." He thought for a moment before continuing. "And there was no way you could have stopped that fire. Whether or not you and Mike were there, the lightening from the storm still would have ignited that fire."

"He's right, Marco," Chet chimed in, walking a little closer to his friend. "There was nothing that you or Mike could have done to prevent any of this."

"What's important right now is that both you and Mike are safe," Cap concluded.

Thinking on what his two friends had said, Marco nodded, realizing that just like Roy was before when he gave him a similar speech, Cap and Chet were right now. Blaming himself wasn't going to redo what happened and it wasn't going to help Mike - he realized that now. "Thanks guys," he finally said.

Just then the door to the break room opened with Doctor Brackett, Roy and Johnny entering the room.

"How's Mike?" Marco asked before either of the men had a chance to say anything.

Brackett smiled and nodded. "He's going to be alright. As you already know, he has a severely twisted knee and a concussion to go along with it. He's sick from the rain and smoke, but it's nothing that a few days here in bed shouldn't fix."

Sighs of relief echoed the room at this announcement. Cap looked at Marco and smiled. "You see, I told you everything would be alright."

"Needless to say Mike's pretty lucky," Roy said as he leaned against the wall and looked at each of his crewmates. "He helped himself a lot by covering his nose and mouth with that bandana - his lungs could have been a lot worse if he hadn't."

Marco thought about the events that had occurred that day and realized that Roy was right about how lucky Mike was to still be alive. Mike had been a fire fighter for many years and during all those years, he had encountered many close calls, but none of which had come as close to the one he had that day and all because of a simple, but deadly storm.

THE END