In Common

When they are gone, Jackson checks on his wounds and finds blood. He seals him up again.

Matthew wakes up just as he is sealing him and holding his arm back, he says, "thank you, but could you please stop working and talk to me for a while. That will make me feel be better."

He hesitates at first, but after seeing his pleading face, he sits down.

"No offense, but I'm sure you have done this too many times. Sit by someone's hospital bed, I mean..."

"Yes, I have actually, and like you said too many times and even with people I was close to... Mark Sloan, my mentor and father figure I ever had, who died..."

Jackson realizes his mistake and decides to talk about a more pleasant ending.

"Then Tatiana, who didn't die and fell in love and is now happily married, we worked together for years, so there's that."

Matthew chuckles. "So, there are some good stories in your job. I was starting to worry about your mental health with all the loss..."

"I have an outlet for mine. Being a first responder, I had to. I'm not so sure you do though... Remember when you saved that young girl's life, the one who was caught, under the burning bus?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about her, and I didn't learn anything because I decided to go and save a colleague from a burning building. April freaked out on me, yet again."

"Yes, well. I should have learned my lesson when I got my behind burned saving kids, yet again," They laugh together.

"Did April yell at you?"

"Yes, she was saying something along the lines of: 'Don't you dare die on us Matthew if you do I will drag you, from heaven myself, do you hear me, what am I supposed to tell the kids! You fight for them, do you hear me!' Hers was the last voice I heard before I went under, and I'm sure she fell short of beating me for going into the building in the first place, April..."

Jackson laughs, remembering how she had hit him when he saved Stephanie and when he had saved the little girl's life. "Yeah, that sounds like her."

Thinking about what Jackson said about a mentor brings back some memories for Matthew, and these memories prompt him to speak. "I also had a mentor that died, while I was in training, we were riding together and... he died in my arms." Jackson listens, surprised.

"I promised him I would take everything he taught me and honor him and Who he stood for with it."

"He wasn't my first father figure, my dad died in a car accident years ago, and me and my stepdad were never close, not like my mentor, who is the reason why I gave my life to Jesus and decided to be a paramedic."

"I met him the night my dad died. He saved my life, led my dad to Christ just before he passed on..."

"With my line of work, I understand that mine may be the last face the victim ever sees, and I must be at peace when they do. It's why I pray all the time when I am at work."

"I wasn't going to go into that building, but I knew that if I didn't go in, those kids would die, and I was right. The paramedics arrived just as I managed to save the last kid, the building collapsed on me, and April was there to snatch the child and run with him thinking I was right behind her. That's why she is really mad. She thought I was right behind her."

"Does she blame herself?" Jackson asks.

" I don't know. She is avoiding the subject. Takes care of us instead of talking about it."

"The child we saved turned out to be a missing kid of a rich man, he came into our shelter just a couple of days before the fire, and we were helping him find his parents.

"They were going to pay for my bills, but you took care of everything, and they did pay for a new building that's even better than the one we had. They are turning it into more than a shelter. We were already drowning in debt in that place, so they came in time."

"Why didn't you come to me for help?" Jackson asks.

"Because you have been running away from us, from her for the past, I don't know how long. I thought we were getting somewhere when you talked after you found God. But when you came back to Seattle, you started shutting her out. If you can't talk to April, then at least talk to me."

"I know why you can't talk to her alone, but this self-isolation is killing you, Jackson, trust me I know."

Jackson tries to interrupt, wanting to steer the conversation away from himself. But Matthew intercepts him.

"And you just spent the first few weeks drawing me out of my depression for our family. So, I am doing the same, and you are going to sit there and let me... Unless you are a hypocrite."

This shuts Jackson up, and he lets him speak.

"You have been in a hole for far longer than I have, and you need to get out of it before it's too late. The family also needs you. I had a hard time admitting this to myself because of our past..."

"I accept it now. I have always seen it and did little about it, but I will now. They all need you, you have your role to play, and you need to play it with clear vision."

"Running away is not helping. There are things that I know we need to get through, and I guess together. It could become inappropriate with your history to work it out with April, but not with me. I'm here stuck with you, anyway so..."

Matthew looks at Jackson, realizing something. "It seems we have a whole lot more in common than I ever thought we did. I also tried shutting the world out a couple of times, after you know... but my wife pulled me out. After she died, April pulled me out. Then you pulled me out. And now I think it's my turn to pull someone else out. I was forced into isolation, but it made me see things differently..."

"Anyway, we like saving people from burning buildings too, have loss and life to show from our first marriages, etc. Do I need to be in this awkward position and say more?"

"No, no need to, and yes, it seems we do have a lot in common."

Jackson agrees with him, not able to help the smile that creeps onto his face at this.