Wow, it's been over a month since I updated. Please accept my apologies Hearties.
How is everyone enjoying the new season? I've definitely been more inspired to write since season three started, so hopefully there won't be such a long wait to the next chapter. However this chapter has a definite Jesse Spencer vibe to it, sorry about that :)
Elizabeth had sunk down into herself, curling up into a ball as she heard the commotion around herself. Along with the regular bustle of a big city like Hamilton, she could hear firefighters shouting out orders and fire equipment hitting the pavement.
"Lieutenant" Arthur called out, gaining the partial attention of the fire personnel who seemed to be in charge.
"Constable?" came the reply, his attention never fully leaving the scene in front of him.
In front of him the building still had smoke billowing from the windows that had been blown out from the explosion. Whilst previously Elizabeth was sure that the smoke had been black, what she saw now was the more traditional grey colour. She knew that black smoke couldn't be a good thing. Fire flames were licking the window frame.
"Lieutenant!" Arthur insisted.
The officer was still locked at the fire in front of him. "The roof needs to be vented!"
"LIEUTENANT!" Arthur tried again, this time much more forcefully.
"What?" the lieutenant's eyes finally leaving the burning building.
"One of our Mounties went in after a child. He hasn't come out yet."
The firefighters' eyes grew wide at this new bit of information. Turning back towards the building, his eyes began scanning the scene around him watching his men working the scene. He heard more glass breaking and wood shattering, obviously the roof being vented. His other men were preparing to start putting the fire out.
Turning the other way, he found himself watching the Mounties ushering people away from the scene. On the side of the road near to the cafe, he could see a crowd gathering to watch the slightly out of control fire.
"How long ago?" He questioned.
Arthur paused slightly.
"How long ago?" he asked again. Arthur stumbled for a moment, not to sure what to answer to the question.
"A few moments before the explosion," came Elizabeth's weak reply.
"Men... STOP! Do not hit it with water!" the lieutenant called out to his men.
His second in command held a fist in the air, effectively stopping all of the work around him. "Lieutenant?" he questioned as he walked towards his commander. "Sir, you don't want us to put the fire out?"
The lieutenant pulled his second in command aside. "There's a Mountie inside..."
"Mounties," the firefighter scoffed. "Don't they know to leave these things to the professionals? What was he thinking?"
"Shh," the lieutenant hissed. "I am most definitely sure that over there is his wife over there," he gestured with his head towards Elizabeth, who was now sat upright a nearby bench with Arthur by her side.
"That's Elizabeth Thatcher," the firefighter replied.
"Who?"
"Elizabeth Thatcher, daughter of the shipping magnate William Thatcher of Thatcher shipping?" came the incredulously reply.
"Well, her husband is in there... He went in after a child."
"Police Officers," the firefighter scoffed again. "Didn't think to wait for the cavalry to arrive?"
"Smith... There was a child in a burning building. All frontline officers would go in after a child. So we need to get them out safely before we put the fire out."
"But Lieutenant, the black smoke..." Smith urged.
"I know. You and I both know that black smoke means that there has probably been a fast moving fire and that smoke has been pushed though the house, meaning that its following the fire. Yes, Smith I went to the same academy as you did."
"And if the smoke was lighter and moving slower, then I would be ok with sending the men into that building, but Lieutenant..."
"I know..." the Lieutenant laboured the point.
Smith sighed. "I understand Lieutenant..." He commented before turning towards the other firefighters. "MEN! Let's move; there is still people inside!"
The surrounding firefighters buttoned up their turnout coats, making sure they all had their helmets on. The fire Lieutenant stood rooted to his spot, unable to look away, but at the same time not comfortable about sending his men towards a burning building.
Arthur locked eyes with the lieutenant and shook his head slightly. Arthur paused, looking towards the burning building, willing his friend to stay safe and out of the building. He was just praying for Jack to be okay.
Only a few moments later, Arthur nudged Elizabeth slightly. "Elizabeth, hey Elizabeth look at me."
Elizabeth refused to look up, her silent tears hitting the pavement. It wasn't meant to be like this. Their lives should never have been in this position; they should have never been in this position. Without her parents meddling, she and Jack would be back in Hope Valley, enjoying her summer holidays.
"Elizabeth!" Arthur tried again.
Elizabeth shook her head, refusing to look up. She had resigned herself to thinking that she had lost her husband forever. She whimpered slightly at the thought. "Jack..." she sobbed. "I just want to go home..."
"No, Elizabeth...Look," Arthur urged.
Reluctantly Elizabeth lifted her head and looked towards the house, watching as the firefighters raced towards the house. She watched the scene unfold before her eyes, hardly daring to believe what was in front of herself. She watched as the front door to the house slowly opened further than Arthur had first noticed. Elizabeth held her breath as she saw grey smoke billowing out as it escaped its previous confinements and a shadowy figure emerged. The figure with more of a black soot covered jacket, rather than the usual bright, clean and smart red serge, he would normally pride himself in wearing.
Tears streamed down Elizabeth's face as Jack stumbled towards the firefighters, young child in his arms. Elizabeth stood, not bothering to wipe away the tears, and started towards Jack. Not bothering to worry about how inappropriate this may look in public and that a lady should hold herself in a certain regard, Elizabeth broke into a run and flung herself into Jack's arms just as he had passed the young child to a nearby officer.
"Hey, hey..." Jack soothed in between coughs.
"Jack," Elizabeth breathed, looking up at him, her hands running over his face looking for any physical signs of damage. She continued to run her hands over his face, neck and began to tangle them into his hair in an attempt to convince herself that Jack was still alive and standing in front of her.
Arthur made his way to towards the couple. After giving them a few moments, he noticed that Jack was struggling to catch his breathe between all of the coughing, likely due to the smoke inhalation. However, it didn't look like he was going to let his wife go anytime soon. Elizabeth started to buckle at the knees, her emotions clearly overwhelming her and Jack was using all of his remaining strength to keep her upright. Arthur wasn't sure how much longer Jack would be able to hold on as he saw his grip on Elizabeth start to loosen.
Slowly Arthur eased Elizabeth off Jack, allowing him room to breath. Once Jack could see that Elizabeth was safe with his friend, he allowed himself to collapse a bit. His hands rested on his knees as he bent over trying to catch his breath in-between all of the coughing he was experiencing. This wasn't an experience that he ever wanted to repeat, he thought to himself. Jack found himself reflecting on the situation and it gave him a whole new respect for the firefighters who ran into burning building to save people. Looking up from his position, he could see Arthur leading Elizabeth back towards the café.
He looked up as he felt a hand clap down on his shoulder. Looking down with concern etched all over his face was the lieutenant who was in command at the scene.
Jack straightened back up to look the man in the eye. "Constable Jack Thornton," he introduced himself, holding his hand straight out.
"Lieutenant John Francis," the firefighter replied as he grabbed Jack's outstretched hand. "How are you feeling, Constable?"
Jack simply nodded his head, unable to speak, for when he opened his mouth to speak he dissolved into a coughing fit.
"Ok, let's get you to the infirmary and get you checked over. Make sure that all that smoke hasn't caused you too much damage," John firmly told him.
"What about... that...little girl?" Jack asked in between coughs.
"She's fine, with her mother. They too will be off to the infirmary to be checked out by the doctor. Now come along..."
"Elizabeth?" Jack inquired as he looked around for his wife.
Arthur, who had overhead the conversation interjected. "It's ok, Jack. You go on ahead with the firefighters and I'll bring her along, right behind you."
"No... I want her to come along with me. She's not leaving my sight," insisted Jack.
Arthur looked ready to argue with him, both Mounties had similar determined looks on their faces. John took in the scene before him and decided to intervene before an argument started.
"Okay, okay..." John stopped them. Motioning to come over to one of his firefighters, he continued, "I'll get Smith here to take you both to the infirmary, how does that sounds?"
Jack started to protest again.
"Jack," warned Elizabeth as she walked towards the group. "Here..." she said as she handed him a glass of water.
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"The owner of the café gave it to me," confessed Elizabeth.
Jack leaned over to hold her hand as he started to drink.
"Not to break up some lovely reunion here Constable, but you really do need to get yourself checked out and my men need to put this fire out."
"Come on Jack," urged Arthur. "I'll let the superintendent know what is happening here and then I'll come over and see you. I'll even take your command today."
"Yeah... Out of the chair for two seconds, and you're already taking my position," teased Jack.
"Away with you Thornton," Arthur told him with a slight shove.
John smiled slightly and turned back to his men. "Men! Pull back...Okay, let's go defensive. Hit that house." the lieutenant ordered.
A short while later Jack found himself waiting in a small room with Elizabeth by his side. Jack looked around the room at the plain white walls, feeling some tension in the room. Since they sat down Elizabeth hadn't said very much and Jack knew that they would have to have a serious conversation soon. Fiddling with his jacket buttons he fished out his wedding ring from his breast pocket and slipped in back on its rightful place. Elizabeth noticed, but didn't draw attention to it; she simply took his hands into her own and began to play with it.
"How much longer do I need to wait here?" Jack huffed.
"You'll stay as long as the doctor tells you Jack Thornton," Elizabeth told him.
"Elizabeth," started Jack. "About the ring..."
"Shush..." Elizabeth placed a finger over his lips. "Not yet Jack," she told him as she shook her head.
"And the secret that I kept..."
"Jack," Elizabeth pleaded. "We can talk about this later. Right now I just need to know that you're going to be okay," tears starting to well in her eyes.
"Elizabeth," Jack said as he brushed a kiss on the back of her hand. "I'm right here Elizabeth. I'm not going anywhere, I'm okay."
"But it could have been so much worse."
"But it wasn't."
"What if..."
"Elizabeth, don't do this to yourself. Don't play the 'what if' game, it won't end well. Focus on what's right here, right here in front of you," he told her as he ran his fingers through her hair.
Elizabeth gave him a small smile. A moment or two passed before they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
The doctor entered and strode over towards the bed where Jack sat.
"Constable Thornton? I'm Doctor Blake, how are you feeling now? I hear you went into a burning building," the doctor introduced himself.
"I'm feeling much better. How is the young girl and her mother?" Jack inquired.
"They are both well, thanks to you. We're just keeping an eye on them, but I see no complications with the young girl. How is your breathing now?"
"All back to normal," smiled Jack. "So when can I go home from here, Doctor?" he continued as he began to swing his legs off the bed.
Elizabeth placed a hand on his shoulder, applying slight pressure to it in an attempt to ease him back to bed. "Jack, you need to stay in bed. The doctor hasn't said you could go yet," she chided gently.
The doctor gave a slight smile at the couple.
"Constable Thornton, I'm afraid we are going to have to keep you overnight…just for observation."
"But I feel fine now! I would like to get home to my own bed and sleep. I'll be right as rain after a good night's sleep," protested Jack.
"We would really prefer that you stayed here Constable."
"And I would prefer that I went home, instead of taking up a bed," argued back Jack.
"Jack Thornton..." Elizabeth warned, her voice sounding dangerously similar to her stern teacher's voice.
Jack's head snapped up and found that she was also wearing her stern teacher face, the scary Miss Thatcher one.
Jack grumbled as he settled himself back on the bed. Elizabeth satisfied that Jack wasn't going anyway took a seat next to the bed.
"I understand your frustration Mr Thornton..."
"Constable!" enforced Jack.
"Jack," hissed Elizabeth. "Behave!" she muttered under her breath.
"That's okay Mrs Thornton. Constable Thornton, I want you to understand that smoke inhalation has been found to be the number one cause of death relating to fire. Has anyone explained what smoke inhalation actually is?"
Jack shook his head.
"Smoke inhalation occurs when a person breaths in the products of combustion during a fire. Combustion results from the rapid breakdown of a substance by heat, what you and I would call burning. Smoke inhalation usually damages the body by simple asphyxiation; a lack of oxygen."
"Asphyxiation?" questioned Elizabeth.
"Yes, Mrs Thornton. Combustion can simply use up the oxygen near the fire and lead to death when there is no oxygen for a person to breathe. Whilst this hasn't completely happened to your husband, there would have been a lack of oxygen in the house for him to breathe. My concern Constable Thornton is the report from the scene and nurse about your shortness of breath when you first arrived here. Along with your prolonged coughing spells, I am concerned."
"What could happen, doctor?" Elizabeth asked as she gripped a little tighter onto Jack's hand.
"Worst case scenario, due to the low levels of oxygen, the potential complications following smoke inhalation can lead to changes in mental status such as confusion, fainting, seizures or even a coma."
The blood drained away from Elizabeth's face as her other hand groped around the bed for something to grasp onto. Jack noticed and put his hand on her cheek gently forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"Elizabeth," he started softly. "I'm going to be okay... Isn't that right doctor?" He asked looking past her towards the doctor.
"I can never guarantee anything 100% Mrs Thornton, but we are planning to keep a close eye on your husband," replied the doctor.
"See," Jack told Elizabeth as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Jack," Elizabeth chastised as the blush filled her face.
"Its fine, Mrs. Thornton."
"So how long will I have to stay here for?"
"At least overnight," confirmed the doctor. "Oxygen is the mainstay of treatment. So I would like you to wear an oxygen mask, just to help with your breathing. Hopefully you will only have to wear it overnight. We'll re-assess you in the morning."
"And after that?" Elizabeth inquired.
"Depending on how you are breathing in the morning Constable, we are likely to discharge you. However, I do want to caution you that you may likely experience shortness of breath even with minimal exertion. It may take time for your lungs to fully heal. Taking all of this into consideration, I would recommend at least a week off of work. Nevertheless, I will re-assess this again in the morning."
Jack sighed slightly, "I understand."
"If there are no other questions, I'll send in the nurse to set up the oxygen," the doctor told them.
Jack looked over at Elizabeth who shook her head.
"No, I think we both understand everything," Jack told the doctor.
"Ok then, I'll see you in the morning then. Constable, Mrs Thornton," Doctor Blake nodded before he exited the room.
Elizabeth's head dropped slightly as she heard the door close.
"Elizabeth... It's going to be okay..."
"If only that were true Jack," she replied.
Hope you enjoyed Hearties. As always thanks to LisaNY to editing and bouncing ideas.
Fingers crossed that Jack and Elizabeth finally have a conversation about their secrets next chapter
