December 31, 2005
The Squad sat around the kitchen table, waiting for a call. For a New Year's Eve, it was awfully quiet, which, to them, was a bad sign. Something huge always happened when it was a quiet shift. JD looked at the clock and yawned, out of boredom as he threw his hand down, folding. Stu folded after him and stood up, moving to the weight room. JD nodded and followed as Billy, DK, Jimmy, and Lombardo all sat, still in the game. After a few moments, DK reached forward, a big grin on his face, as he took the pile of cookies and wrapped candies from the middle of the table.
"All mine!" DK laughed maniacally as Alex walked up the stairs, Grace right behind her. Billy shook his head, shuffling the cards, looking over, seeing Alex shuffle by and move to the fridge, grabbing a water. He saw the exhausted look on her face and smiled to her reassuringly. Alex nodded and her radio went off again.
"ADAM 55-3 REPORT TO CONFIRMED SHOOTING AT CORNER OF LEXINGTON AND ARTHUR. PD ON SCENE."
Alex grumbled and Grace hissed and they both jogged down the stairs. Billy smirked and DK looked at him. They both started laughing and Jimmy and Lombardo soon joined in. Carlos came up and looked at them oddly as Levine came up behind him.
"What's so funny? I got something on my face, right? Not like you would tell me!" Carlos seemed on edge, which only made the Squad laugh harder. Carlos stood, waiting for the offending line that would send him on the defensive, but it never came. Levine shoved him and went to sit down when their radio went off.
"BOYD 55-3, REPORT TO BAR FIGHT AT 381 78TH STREET! PD ON SCENE"
Levine grabbed Carlos, who yelled an obscenity at the radio and they walked down the stairs. Billy shook his head again and started passing out the cards. The steady sound of weights being bench pressed was heard in the background.
"It's 8:30, when the hell are we gunna get a call?!" Jimmy cried out and DK looked over at him, laughing.
"What's the matter, testosterone level depleting?" DK cracked and Lombardo laughed, patting Jimmy's shoulder. Jimmy smirked and shook his head.
"Nope, Stu replaced me in the super-hero department. I just do my job and make sure I am careful." Jimmy nodded and Billy, who was sipping his soda, choked on it. He started coughing and Lombardo and DK started laughing hysterically. Billy looked up, in shock, at Jimmy.
"Yeah, that explains that suicide dive you call a rescue from a 3rd story window last week! You almost gave everyone in the area a heart attack!" Billy pointed out and Jimmy shrugged, shuffling the cards this time. DK stood up and stretched and moved his head slightly, looking at Billy. Billy looked at him and nodded, then got up, following DK. DK stepped outside to the roof and looked at him. Billy stood in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I need a favor." DK asked Billy, who nodded, squinting from the moonlight, shivering at the sub-zero temperatures.
"Sure, what's up?" Billy asked his best friend. DK looked down, sitting on the edge of the roof. He shivered himself and sighed, looking up at Billy. Billy waited as he saw the worried look on DK's face. He waited as DK looked like he was going to talk, then stopped.
"Well, I can't say yes or no, if I don't know what it is." Billy pointed out and DK nodded, coming out with it finally.
"I wanna ask Bridget to marry me, but I wanted your ok first." DK spit it out and Billy blinked, his lips pursing for a moment. He looked down at his shoes and leaned back, his arms still crossed over his chest. He looked a little upset as he rocked back and forth on his heels. He sniffled as his eyes watered and his nose started to run from the extreme cold. DK looked up at him, and saw his face.
"Sure. Why would I say No? You're my best friend." Billy smiled to him and DK smiled back, nodding and hugging him for a second. Billy hugged him back and slapped DK's shoulder.
"Thank you! I was gunna ask her tonight, at Haggerty's, if we don't get a call. Thank you!" DK said and after the initial excitement wore off, they both nodded to each other and went into the building to warm up.
Alex moved the stretcher into the ER and Morgan met with her as Alex read off the vitals and current status of the shooting victim. She yawned in the middle of it and Morgan smiled to her, nodding. Morgan took the stretcher and with help, moved the victim off of it. Alex took the stretcher back and leaned against the Nurse's Station, looking at Mary, who just shook her head.
"I don't think I'll be getting out of here at all." Mary said and saw Carlos come in with the bar fight victim. She rolled her eyes and moved away from Alex, who leaned back, closing her eyes for a moment. She heard her radio go off and Grace looked at her as if she were crazy to answer it.
"SQUAD 55, ADAM 55-3, BOYD 55-3, REPORT TO MULTI STORY APARTMENT FIRE. CONCORD AND LEXINGTON. PD ON SCENE."
Alex growled and radioed they were on their way. She yawned and walked out to the bus, getting in, letting Grace drive this time. They arrived at the scene as PD let them in. They parked near the Squad as two ladders and three engine's pulled up. Alex got out, watching the Squad move into the building. Billy stood outside, being the person in charge until a Captain or Chief arrived.
"Engine 86, do a primary search of the top 4 floors in the rear! Squad 55, do a primary search of the top 4 floors in the front! We have 15 confirmed missing. Do it quick, do it clean! Ladder 100, do a primary search of the bottom 4 floors, rear! Ladder 115, primary search of the bottom 4 front! In and out no more than 15 minutes! Hose lines are on their way 2 minutes!" He looked up, seeing fire spew out of the windows and shook his head. It was a decent sized fire, hopefully something that would be an easy knock down. It was now 9 PM and their shift was done at 11 PM. They all had plans and they would be there if possible.
"55 we have 3 and we are on our way out!" Jimmy radioed out, Billy responded, and a couple sets of medics moved forward, ready to transport. Billy pointed to Alex, knowing she knew what to do. Alex nodded to him and she grabbed Carlos and Levine, who had just arrived, and Grace, ready to triage and send the victims with other ambulances. Jimmy came out with a teenager, and Joe held a baby and a small child.
"Victim one is not breathing, Carlos start CPR. Victim 2 is coughing, Fowler, get an O2 mask! Victim 3 is dead." Alex tagged each victim and shook her head, grabbing a white sheet, moving the small child to the ground, covering her. She black tagged her, yellow tagged victim 2 and red tagged victim 1. She pointed to take 1 and 2 out before more came. Grace looked at Alex and she shook her head.
Time went on and soon victims were being brought out one after the other. Chief Reilly had arrived and Billy had gone with DK, switching off JD to hook up a line with one of the 86. Billy went in with DK, radioing he was performing a final search ,for anymore possible victims. Reilly radioed back that four more teams were to go in and do the final check. Alex had finished triaging and was waiting for any possible smoke inhalations or firefighters with injuries. She sat with Grace, watching.
"You miss it, don't you?" Grace asked, looking at Alex. Alex stared at the burning building as water was sprayed from a hose on a ladder as well as from the outside ground and inside on two floors. Alex moved her head as if she were listening and nodded, watching the fire fight the water, trying to keep it's oxygen supply and eat away the wood.
"I do. I was meant to be a firefighter, but it's impossible to do it with Billy on the same shift, and I would never ask him to stop for me. We have a family, and I could never have the possibility of both of us dying at the same time." She said and looked at Grace. Suddenly the 5th floor exploded and the ground shook. The sound of a floor falling apart was heard and Billy's voice came over the radio.
"Firefighter down! We need help on the 6th floor! Floor collapse! Firefighter missing!" Billy called out and the Chief pointed to the door. JD and Stu ran for it, but were stopped as the doorway shot out fire. The fire had found a new source of energy, and was using it against them. JD and Stu ran for the back door, but there was none. They went for windows, but each time they tried to get in, windows blew out as the rooms they led to were completely engulfed. They eventually found a smoky window and crawled in. The sound of floors collapsing was heard again and another explosion of flames was seen from the 3rd floor. Alex watched in shock as debris flew out of the windows. Something caught her eye and she saw the firefighter's helmet fly out a window and slam into the ground.
"55, answer! What is your location!" The Chief yelled into his radio as Jimmy picked up the helmet and his eyes went wide. Alex ran over, needing to see if it was Billy's or not. She took it from Jimmy's hand as Jimmy stared in shock at the name. She looked in seeing KITSON in large letters. The Chief called for everyone to get out of the building and Jimmy grabbed Lombardo, but the Chief stepped in front of him. Stu and JD stumbled out of the front door, coughing and smoking from the heat of the fire. They moved to the bus and Alex looked at them, putting a mask on JD's face. Stu coughed and Grace helped him out. Stu shook his head as Jimmy and Lombardo moved to them.
"We couldn't get to them! We tried, we saw them, but the 3rd floor stairs collapsed. They are on the fourth floor, near the front, but we couldn't reach them. DK is hurt, bad, Billy seemed alright, but there was a lot of smoke." JD reported and everyone that was near them looked up at the fourth floor. They saw some movement as smoke billowed out the window. The Chief got a radio call that Billy was trying to get DK to a window, but his pack was running low on air and DK's was empty.
"We have 3 minutes of air, no more. Trying to get to a window, be on the look out! Buddy breathing, but it's getting harder to move him." Billy's radio crackled out and the Chief tried to get him back, but nothing was heard but static. Alex thanked god for a moment, then her eyes started to water up. Grace hugged her and Jimmy put his sooty hand on her shoulder.
"They'll get out, they always have." Jimmy said and Lombardo nodded. Alex hugged DK's helmet, and she got the same flashback of 9/11 she got when she was in the bay with Rose. She jumped a she heard a commotion and saw Billy shattering the only still in tact window. She saw his head pop out and saw him motion for a ladder. Ladder 100 moved the ladder towards the window as a backdraft was heard after a second. Billy disappeared from the window as flames shot out of the window he was just in.
Alex didn't realize it, but she was screaming in horror. Jimmy grabbed her and hugged her tightly as her screams were muffled by his gear. Her trembling body was against his as Lombardo yelled and the crew from Ladder 100 was pulling DK's body out. No one could tell if he was alive or dead, they just rushed his body down the ladder. Jimmy grabbed Alex's face and looked at her, forcing her to look into his eyes.
"Listen to me. You are one of the two busses left. You need to snap out of it and help DK, alright? Calm down, pull yourself together, and help DK when he gets here." Jimmy said to her and Alex nodded. She looked over to the ladder, trying to go from scared wife mode to fearless medic mode. She saw Billy climbing down the ladder, with help. DK's body was rushed to her and she saw him and her eyes went wide.
"Oh god!" Alex instantly snapped into medic mode and pulled his gear off, throwing it at Jimmy. Billy stumbled towards the bus, as Alex helped DK, using Lombardo as a cane. JD and Stu stood, masks on their own faces, watching as Alex gently tore the unburned parts of DK's shirt off of him. Grace poured cold saline on gauze pads, and put them over the burns on his chest and shoulder. Alex looked at Billy for a second as Carlos came over and pulled Billy away from the bus.
"Jimmy, I'm gunna need a driver!" Alex yelled and Jimmy nodded, running to the driver's door and got behind the wheel. Alex hooked DK up to a monitor and Grace pushed the stretcher into the bus. JD got in and Stu went with Billy, who was placed on the other available stretcher. Billy looked defeated and upset as he was pushed into the bus by Carlos. Billy looked at Stu, who looked worried. Billy shook his head, and his chin quivered slightly. A few tears streaked down his soot covered face. And Stu nodded, as if understanding what he meant without even saying anything.
In the other bus, Alex was trying to keep DK's burns cool, while Grace monitored him. Alex checked the status of the burns on his chest and shoulders, sighing at the damage. She shook her head as if not believing this was happening. She called into Mercy, telling Mary his vitals and status, and gave the number to call his parents and Bridget. Mary said she would let Ana know, who was on the 5th floor. Alex looked over as an alarm on the monitor went off.
"Jimmy, step on it! He's not breathing!" Alex moved by Grace and kneeled by DK's head, pulling his head back and grabbing the tube from Grace. She tried to slide it down his throat, but his throat was swollen. Grace tried to help, but nothing was working. Alex called into Mercy, to get the OK to cut into his throat and put the tube through his neck. The Doctor said no and to bag him until they arrived at Mercy. Alex looked at the radio for a moment as DK's heart rate went erratic. She radioed she didn't hear his request and shut the radio off. Grace looked at her and smiled, nodding.
"Jimmy, keep the bus steady, please!" Alex cried out as Jimmy took a left, causing Alex to slam her head into the edge of the stock shelves. She growled and rubbed her head, shaking it off. She felt blood trailing down her cheek and got out a scalpel, as Grace cleaned off DK's throat. Alex moved his head and cut into his throat as blood splurted out and dripped to the floor. Alex opened the hole and put the tube into his windpipe, attached the bag and squeezed it. Grace nodded that it was in correctly and Alex sighed. DK's heart rate returned to normal and Alex turned the radio back on.
In the other bus Carlos was listening to what Alex had asked for and looked at Billy. He heard Alex say that she couldn't hear the doctor and heard her radio go off. Carlos looked at Billy and after a moment, Billy looked at him.
"What happened?" Billy asked, coughing. Carlos looked at him and sighed a moment.
"Basically, Alex asked permission to cut a hole in DK's windpipe to get him air. Alex was denied, and if I know her and Grace, she will do it anyway." The bus stopped and Carlos got out, letting Stu out, then pulling Billy out. He pushed Billy in and paused for a second, seeing Alex had already arrived and was getting the shit chewed out of her. The doctor could be heard feet away as Alex stormed out of the Break Room, yelling back.
"He would have died! He is my best friend and I don't care if you threaten to take my badge! I did what I thought was right and I saved his life!" She screamed across the ER and everyone froze. The Doctor looked at her and asked for her Supervisor. Alex laughed in his face.
"I am the supervisor! Kiss my ass!" She stormed away and Billy blinked, then saw DK being worked on. He got off the stretcher and Alex saw him, running to him. He smiled and kissed her deeply, as she hugged him. After the moment of embrace, Alex moved him to an Exam room with Stu and JD. Morgan was with Stu and JD, then started to help Billy, who looked at Alex.
"Why did you do it? You could lose your job for what you did. What the hell happened to your head?!" He asked her and she shrugged, helping him take his gear off. He touched her chin and made her look into his eyes. Her crystalline eyes met his deep brown and she sighed.
"Jimmy took a hard turn and I wasn't steady. He is our best friend. I wasn't gunna sit there and watch him die because he couldn't breathe. I would do it for a stranger, and I would defiantly do it for a friend." She said and Billy nodded, hugging her. They both hugged again and Alex looked to the door.
"I'm gunna go check on DK and see how he's doing." She moved to the door and walked out, seeing everyone rushing to the Trauma room DK was in. She watched them as a burn team came in and covered his burns. She heard a voice and saw Bridget behind her, watching the doctors and nurses work on DK. Her eyes teared up and she looked around the ER.
"Where is Bill? Why isn't he here?" Bridget asked and Alex sighed, bringing her to the Exam room. Bridget walked in and saw the three firefighters sitting and laying on stretchers, all getting oxygen from masks. She moved to Billy and looked at him.
"What happened?" She stared him dead in the eye and the brother/sister bond was obvious. Billy pulled her to sit next to him and she did, listening as he explained everything that happened, from the time they went in, to the time he dragged DK's body to the window. Bridget nodded and after a moment of accepting what was going on, she started to cry. She leaned forward, crying against Billy's dirty light blue shirt. Billy held her and hugged her, petting her long sandy colored hair with his sooty hands. Morgan looked at them and sighed, holding JD's hand. Alex saw DK's doctor come in and look at them.
"He's awake. Do you know when his parents will arrive? He is asking for a priest." The doctor said and everyone stared in horror. No one asked for a priest unless they knew they were going to die, or family asked for one, because they planned on letting a family member go. Billy looked at Bridget, who shook her head, her eyes tearing up once again. Alex looked down and Morgan spoke up.
"They are on their way from Long Island. Should be here in a half hour or so." Morgan looked at the doctor, who nodded and looked at Bridget.
"He is asking for you and Billy, and Alex." He motioned them to come out and with help, Billy stumbled out of the exam room, to DK's room. He was moved from Trauma to a private room and Alex walked in behind Bridget. DK's neck, shoulders, and chest were wrapped in gauze and the tube was still in his throat. He looked at them and motioned them over with a gauze wrapped hand. Bridget moved to him and Billy moved behind her as DK moved his mouth, but nothing came out. He used the paper and pen and wrote a message about asking for a priest. Bridget nodded and told him that he wasn't going to die. DK shook his head and looked at Billy. Billy looked at him and looked at Bridget.
"He was going to ask you to marry him tonight. I think he is saying he wants the priest, in case you say yes. I think he wants to marry you now." Billy said, looking from his sister to DK, who nodded ever so slightly. Bridget looked at him and then her brother, and shook her head, in disbelief. DK took it that she was saying no and looked down.
"I will marry you, but we need a certificate." Bridget took his unwrapped hand and DK looked at her and his eyes lit up. The hissing of the machine was unheard as everyone cried out in happiness. Bridget smiled and kissed his cheek, wiping a little bit of soot away. DK wrote that he loved her and she smiled, nodding.
"I love you too. I'll never leave you." She said softly and DK nodded. Bridget turned to her brother, who smiled to her. Bridget smiled to her brother and DK gasped for a moment. Mary looked at them and asked them to leave until he was in his own room in the burn unit. Bridget left with Billy and then looked at Alex, who was still fuming from the fight with the Resident.
"God I wanna do something bad to him, anything, just.." She paced in anger as the squad watched her. Bridget looked at them and sighed. Billy saw the look on her face and knew the look was work related, not DK related. He looked at her, she looked at him, and Alex paced. Morgan walked out with JD and Stu as Bridget started to talk.
"Now is probably not a good time, but.." She breathed in deeply and looked at the group of firefighters.
"Just say it, Bridge, huh?" Billy said and Bridget swallowed hard, opening her briefcase, pulling out a file. Billy took it from her and looked at her, blinked. Billy went from completely shocked to horrified.
"Out on a technicality, again?! How did he get out!?" Billy said and everyone gathered, seeing what was going on. Bridget sighed, taking the file.
"He has a good lawyer, and Miller admitted to planting evidence, making the case useless. He's out and he's free, again." Bridget said and looked at Morgan, who looked confused. JD looked from Bridget to Morgan.
"He threatened you." Bridget said and Morgan's eyes went wide.
"What the hell is going on here?" JD said, looking at them. Bridget explained that the guy who killed Kate got off, due to evidence tampering and JD's eyes went wide.
"Why can't they use the untampered evidence?" Alex asked, as Bosco arrived with Monroe. Bosco was looking for Morgan as JD spoke.
"Because they don't know what was and wasn't messed with. Are you going to tell them the really bad part?" JD asked Bridget who nodded and looked at Billy, who stared in shock.
"It gets worse?" Billy asked and Bridget's chin started to quiver, nodding.
"This is the second time they would have tried him. Double Jeopardy doesn't come into play, but the DA's office is gunna have a hard time trying to convict him again. Two times and he has beaten them to the punch, before a Grand Jury could indict. He's good, and having family in the city council, that makes it harder." Bridget said and Billy leaned against the counter. He took a deep breath in and looked at the group of firefighters as Bosco came over.
"Morgan. Trapper's out, we need you on 24/7 monitoring since he threatened to get back at the people who tried to get him locked up." Bosco said, looking at her and she nodded, pointing at Bridget.
"I already told her Bosco. She knows all about it." Bridget said, looking at him. Bosco rolled his eyes.
"Always stealing my thunder. Defense Attorney's.." He said and Morgan shook her head.
"No way in hell am I having a cop chase me around all day." Morgan said and looked at JD. JD wrapped his arm tighter around her and the group looked at each other in disbelief. Bridget rested on her brother as he held her, not believing how shitty the night had turned out. The Nurse's station phone rang and Mary looked at Morgan.
"For you, sounds like Dr. Racier." Mary said and Morgan went behind the desk and spoke. Her eyes got wide and she got pale. Bosco looked at her, his brows furrowed as if asking who it was. Morgan heard the breathing and a low voice.
"I got Kate good, but nearly as good as what I have planned for you. I had a few months in jail to think of a way to get revenge, and I will. The cop who busted me's baby sister. Can't get any sweeter than that." The phone hung up and Morgan hung up.
"It was him.." She shivered and JD looked at her as she moved to him.
"What did he say?" JD asked her and she looked from him to Bosco, then the group.
"He said that what he did to Kate was nothing compared to what he would do to me." Morgan said and everyone stared at her.
TBC…
