It was early when Gen stumbled from the bed, headed to the bathroom and dropped to her knees. For the next few minutes she sat in the dark and retched then battled dry heaves, until a fine sheen of sweat beaded on her skin.
At some point she vaguely realized Johnny had turned on the light
Johnny stood in the doorway, his face a mask of concern as he watched. "What can I do?"
She shook her head as she leaned back and rested against the vanity. "Nothing. Just give me a minute. It will pass."
He moved in and crouched next to her. "How do you know it will pass? Has this happened before?"
"No," she shot back, almost too quickly to be believable. "I mean it's just my nerves getting the better of me."
The frown he wore deepened. "What is there to be nervous about?"
For a moment she simply stared at him with what she hoped was her best look of disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious," he replied. "What has your nerves so twisted that it's making you sick?"
"Oh I don't know." She could feel her mood turning sour, but was helpless to stop it. "It wouldn't have anything to do with my entire life changing today."
Thankfully, he didn't roll his eyes, like Gen was sure he probably wanted to. "Aren't you being just a bit dramatic?"
"Dramatic? Really?" Now it was her turn to frown. "I don't see you walking into Cap's office and telling him that you're resigning your position because you've been lying to him about only being friends with one of your partners. That in fact, not only have you been sleeping with her, but you're going to marry her."
Johnny reached over and took her hand in his. "I still don't understand why you have to have to resign your position. If you really wanted to remain a paramedic you could switch to another shift or transfer to another station."
God she wanted to tell him. She needed to tell him, but the words simply refused to form. The last thing she wanted as for him to coddle her, or worse yet, cut short the last couple of shifts she might have with the guys while her transfer goes through.
"In my heart, I know it's the right decision. That doesn't mean it's an easy decision for me. After all, this job has been my life since I joined the academy five years ago. It's defined me."
He nodded. "I understand and I'll be right there beside you when you tell cap, okay?"
She smiled up at him as a little bit of relief settled over her. "Okay."
Later that morning she took her opportunity during some down time. "Um, Cap. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, Gen. Let's head into my office."
Hands shaking and so nervous she had to fight the need to vomit again Gen stood in his office. Why was this so hard for her to say?
"So, what do you need to talk about?" Cap asked.
Before she could open her mouth the klaxon sounded. She glanced at cap, then out to the apparatus room. "It can wait," she replied as she followed him back out of his office. They could talk when she got back.
Station 51, Truck 18, battalion 14, structure fire. Twelve twenty six McKinley street. That's One Two Two Six McKinely. Cross street Martin. Time out ten forty two.
Gen slid into the squad between Roy and Johnny. Within seconds the squad pulled out of the station with the engine not far behind. Recently, it seemed as if their fire calls were up in comparison to their rescues. From what they'd learned apparently a fire bug was on the loose in the district, targeting abandon and deteriorating homes.
Within minutes they rolled onto the scene and her stomach tightened at the sight before them. The run down two-story home was similar to the home from a few weeks before, which meant fighting the flames wouldn't be easy.
Roy brought the squad to a stop and Gen quickly slid from the seat, she stopped long enough to assess the situation, then turned and pulled her SCBA from the side compartment.
Captain Stanley hopped from the engine and began giving orders. "Chet and Marco pull two inch and a half's." Before he could give further orders a stranger ran toward him. "There may be people inside."
"Are you sure? The house looks abandoned."
"It is, but we've seen some squatters over the past few weeks. They've been living inside. They may be in there now."
"Gen, Johnny." Cap motioned to the house. "We may have two victims trapped inside. Rescue mode and make it quick. That house isn't going to last much longer."
Gen took off toward the structure and Johnny quickly fell into step beside her. "You take the main floor," he ordered. "I'll head upstairs."
She gave a nod then stepped inside the two-story oven. Heat blasted her, causing a quick wave of nausea to slide through her system. She squashed down the need to retreat and instead advanced into the room. Flames danced along the walls and slithered across the ceiling and the crackle of burning wood filled her ears.
Johnny moved ahead of her and headed up the steps. Wasting no time, she quickly but methodically advanced through the house, checking under furniture, inside closets and in nooks and crannies. Evidence of squatters was everywhere, but she found no one. After a few minutes, she turned and headed up the stairs to join Johnny.
He met her at the top of the steps. "Two more rooms and I'm clear up here."
"First floor is clear. What room?" Gen asked.
He motioned to the last room in the back corner of the house. Take that bedroom and I got the bathroom."
Smoke billowed up from every opening making it more and more difficult to see. She shoved open the door, realized it was void of furniture or life and immediately closed it against the fire raging inside. She turned back to see Johnny waiting for her. "The room is fully engulfed. No way anyone would still be alive in there."
"Bathroom's clear too. Let's go." They barely made it to the steps when a sudden sick realization sank in. The flames fully engulfed the staircase, blocking their escape. She glanced around hoping for an alternate way out. "Front bedroom," Johnny yelled through his mask. "We can climb out onto the porch roof through the front window."
She raced into the room and watched as Johnny closed the door behind them. The first window she checked revealed a straight drop down the side of the house. She moved to the second window and looked out to find a slightly pitched roof jutting out from underneath. It only took a second for her to find the hinge and unlock the window, but when she pushed it wouldn't raise. She tried again to no avail. "No good. It's painted shut."
Johnny headed toward her but before he'd taken more than a few steps an explosion blew open the door and sent them both flying backward. Gen hit the wall with a thud and pain blossomed in her shoulder. She cried out then sank to the floor in a bid to escape the excessive heat.
If they didn't get out right now they were going to die. Ignoring the pain, she rolled onto her knees and using her good hand she crawled to the window. She slid her helmet off and again using her good hand, she smashed through the glass. Then struggled to make quick work of the shards, clearing an opening wide enough for them to escape. She glanced back. "Johnny? You okay?"
For a moment he didn't move and her heart sank as her stomach knotted. Then, slowly, Johnny rolled over and got to his hands and knees.
Oh thank God!
"Let's get out of here." She reached out and grabbed him by his turn out. "Now! We have to go now."
"Go. I'm right behind you." Johnny waved her off.
She climbed out the window and breathed a sigh of relief at the cooler air. Then she reached back through the window and grabbed Johnny by the arm. Struggling to keep her balance on the pitched roof she helped pull him through to safety.
"Gen. Over here." Marco called from where he stood on a ladder. Ignoring her shoulder, she slid beneath one of Johnny's arms an*d guided him toward the ladder.
"I can make it," he argued as Marco reached for him. Marco backed down giving them space. Carefully, John set one foot, then the other onto the ladder, he looked back at Gen, his eyes slightly dazed and glassy. "You okay?" he asked.
Gen nodded. "I'm fine. Go." Actually, she was far from fine, but the last thing she wanted in that moment was Johnny's focus on her instead of getting to safety. He nodded, then started down the ladder. Once he reached the ground, Gen did her best to ease herself on to the ladder and climb down while not using her arm.
Roy was the first to reach her as her feet touched the ground. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Fine. Check on Johnny."
She followed the men over to the ambulance and sat down on the bumper as Roy began checking Johnny over. "I'm fine." Johnny protested.
"You slammed that wall pretty hard," Gen corrected.
"So did you," Johnny shot back.
"Then you can both go to the hospital and get checked out," Cap ordered.
With a sigh, Gen began stripping off her gear and froze as pain ricochet down her arm.
"I thought you said you were fine?" Roy asked.
"I thought I was," Gen replied, then hisses through her teeth as he eased her gear slowly off.
"What's wrong with Gen?" Johnny asked from where he sat on the ground looking more than a little dazed.
"It looks like she may have re-injured her shoulder," Roy said and Gen felt the tears well. There was no hiding her shoulder issues now.