Chapter Sixty-three
"Neal can't speak? That I have to see."
"Yes you do." Elizabeth chuckled.
Peter smiled at Elizabeth's ability to joke with him despite the situation. He had always known she was strong but it still lifted his heart to witness it. Hearing her voice had completely distracted him from his surroundings as well as melted away the pain and stress of the past two months. Soothed by being back in contact with her Peter was yanked violently back into reality by the echoing sound of distant gun fire. Startled Peter automatically jerked more upright as he twisted to look over his shoulder towards the source of the noise. Peter's eyes widened in shock as the motion brought with it an ominous multipoint cracking accompanied by an explosion of lancing pain through his side into his chest.
Realizing instantly what he had just done Peter had a blind moment of panic before he turned back to the radio that the SWAT leader was still helping him hold. Liam hadn't been disturbed by the gunfire, he trusted his team to handle whatever resistance they had come across in the Labyrinth. Swallowing the blood that had jumped to the back of his throat Peter took as deep a breath as he could manage before pressing the contact on the radio again.
"…I have to go." Peter said trying to sound calm. "I love you."
"I love you too." Elizabeth replied tearfully.
Still trying to process what was happening and frightening ramifications Peter released the radio. Liam pulled his arm back through the gap and put the radio in his pocket. Peering through the space Liam smiled at Peter with his eyes bright with barely contained tears that suddenly dripped down his cheeks.
"It was a privilege to be able to share that moment with you, Agent Burke." Liam said seriously before flashing Peter a mock chagrined expression. "Please don't tell the guys I cried, I'll never hear the end of it."
In the background Peter could hear his two partners teasing him with obvious emotion in their own voices. Still sitting back on his heels Peter found himself paralyzed as a terrifying heat spread across his chest from the injury site as the ribs he had just shifted filled his already congested lung with blood. Fearful that he had just made a fatal mistake all he could think about was the fact that he was about to break his promise to Elizabeth. Suddenly wishing he hadn't been so cruel as to give her hope of his return by speaking to her Peter stared at Liam pleadingly. Liam instantly lost his light hearted smile and switched back into his no nonsense persona.
"Agent?" Liam asked concerned. "Are you okay? Peter, talk to me."
Trying to tell Liam what was wrong Peter parted his lips causing blood to spill down his chin. Liam's eyes widened at the sight and he lurched forward to try to get to his patient but was stopped by the stone.
"Jake!" Liam barked. "Don't let him fall!"
Peter had completely forgotten about Jake in the wake of talking to Elizabeth and realizing that he may not live long enough to see her. Starting to settle into shock Peter hadn't even noticed that he was starting to fall back. Jake acted quickly and knelt behind Peter to catch him. Laying back against Jake's chest Peter took a few shallow gulping breaths each one of which set off a flare of agony every time he tried to draw in breath. He could feel a section of his ribs fall when he breathed in and rise when he breathed out, the exact opposite of what it should be doing. The paradoxical motion caused a disturbing appearance of something pulsing under his skin trying to burst out.
"Wha…what's happening?" Jake asked shaken. "Why is his chest doing that?"
"I've got a flail chest." Liam informed his partners in a calm monotone. "Go get the jack."
"Copy." The other agents chimed.
"Is he going to be okay?" Jake fretted. "I…I can't go back if he die…"
"He's going to be fine," Liam interrupted "what he needs from you is to keep calm. Can you do that?"
Peter winced as Jake nodding jostled him slightly. Peter wanted to believe Liam, but his trained ear picked up on the flat monotone in his voice that indicated a 'professional lie'. Liam was telling them both what they needed to hear, the only problem was Peter was too used to using that particular voice himself. Peter didn't know the term 'flail chest', but he guessed it meant that part of his rib cage had broken off and now the razor sharp broken bone was acting like a knife with each breath. Drooling more blood Peter coughed sending him into an agonizing spasm. With shock becoming a real danger Peter fought to stay calm.
Knowing time was running out Liam tore off his flak jacket and his utility belt in hopes of cutting down his size enough to get through the opening. In an act of desperation Liam wedged himself in between the stone. For all of his efforts the laws of physics still had to be obeyed and he was unable to get through. Getting on his radio he asked for a situation report from the other team to get an idea of when they would be there to help. The team that had located the elevator but their path through the Labyrinth was being significantly slowed by the chaos of the men who were in the tunnels without brands. The collection of violent criminals and those in debt to York were not looking to be rescued and subduing them was going to take time as some scattered like rats and others fought like cornered dogs.
With his breathing becoming increasingly rapid and shallow Peter stared up a the stone ceiling as the edges of his vision started to go red. The two men from Liam's team that had raced back down the tunnel returned with a heavy manual jack. They had used to help get through the second mound of rocks that had gotten in Neal's way. They had left the large awkward device behind because originally they had been ordered not to try and move the stone in the collapsed stairwell. Their mission had been to locate Peter, and give the team on the surface a GPS starting point to use Neal's map of the Labyrinth itself to help locate the elevator.
With Peter's condition deteriorating quickly Liam was changing the plan. The jack wasn't designed to handle the kind of weight that they were trying to move and disturbing the collapsed stairwell could have deadly consequences for them all, but the other two SWAT members didn't even bring up the danger as they wedged the jack in place. It took all three men to force the stone open just an extra two inches which caused a fine dust to rain down on them.
"You're going to kill us all." Jake warned.
"Enough," Liam told the others "I think I've got it."
Cramming himself back into the space below the jack Liam kicked and struggled to get himself through. The other two team members did their best to help but being larger than Liam they would not be able to follow him. Managing to get halfway through Liam was able to push against the stone and after a bit of effort he tumbled through. Turning back around Liam grabbed his disassembled medical kit that the others passed though. Kneeling in front of Peter and Jake Liam reached out with a practiced hand and very gently inspected the injury.
"No stove-in, two possibly three rib involvement." Liam announced more to himself than anyone else. "That's very good."
Once again Peter didn't know what medical term 'stove in' meant but he could see the relief on Liam's face so he assumed that whatever it was it was probably a fatal complication. Liam rummaged through his disorganized supplies until he came across another needle pen that his sank into Peter's thigh. Peter expected another jolt from the drug, but instead it stole a small measure of his pain. With more blood rising into his mouth Peter did his best to spit it out.
"He's not going to make it." Jake whispered anxiously.
"Jake, please, be quiet." Liam said firmly. "Carefully lay him down and back away."
Despite the small dose of morphine Peter couldn't help the sharp cry of pain that escaped his bloodied lips as Jake moved him. Once he was down Liam acted quickly and straddled Peter without actually putting any weight on him. Resting his palm against Peter's ribs to prevent them from expanding out too far Liam carded his free hand into Peter's sweat drenched hair and leaned over slightly to make direct eye contact with him. Peter looked up at Liam trying but ultimately failing to keep the fear out of his dark eyes.
"Peter, we are going to get through this by working together." Liam assured softly. "What I need from you is absolute trust."
Peter responded by relaxing the panicked look in his eyes to match the confidence in Liam's expression.
"Thank you." Liam nodded. "When I press on your ribs I need you to relax completely, I'm going to breathe for you with a vent bag. It's going to be painful and claustrophobic but it's going to get you home to your wife. Understood?"
Peter nodded slightly. Liam picked up the device he had warned Peter about which had a small mask that fit over the nose and mouth attached to a large pliable blue plastic bulb. Even just having Liam secure the mask over his face caused Peter's already laboring heart to pound harder.
"Here we go."
Liam pressed against Peter's ribs to both hold them in place and to cue him to relax. Holding the mask firmly against Peter's face Liam crushed the blue bulb to force air into Peter's lungs. Taking a breath meant pulling down on the diaphragm and creating negative pressure in the lungs that with a flail chest could quickly lead to life threatening lacerations to the lung. By forcing air down rather than having Peter draw it himself in it kept the pressure positive and prevented his lungs from pulling on his broken ribs. However allowing someone to breathe for you was far more difficult than Peter expected. The forced ventilation went against all his instincts and he couldn't help but thrashed to prevent it.
"No, don't fight. Please don't fight. Try again."
Liam pressed against Peter's ribs again and repeated the oddly smothering ventilation. Just like before Peter failed to surrender control and automatically fought back. Frustrated with himself Peter ground his teeth together which only added to his tension. Backed into the corner Jake was staring at the blood spattered mask with an anxious expression knowing that without Peter he wasn't likely to been shown any leniency when his own role in the Agent's death was revealed.
"Peter focus. Think about Elizabeth, you promised her you were coming home and that isn't going to happen if you don't do this." Liam said honestly. "I know you can do this, I know you're not going to break that promise."
Pausing briefly Liam gave Peter a moment to collect himself. Echoing Elizabeth's last words to him in his mind Peter use the emotion it gave him to relax. Liam could feel Peter surrendering under him and pressed his palm into Peter's ribs. Closing his eyes Peter successfully allowed Liam to manually fill his congested lungs. Liam gave him a word of encouragement before instructing him to just naturally allow the air to escape before starting the next cycle. Even though he was getting plenty of air the slow pace and unnatural feel of each breath felt like he was suffocating. Every time his instincts would try to notch up his panic Peter turned back to the memory of Elizabeth telling him she loved him. If he wanted to see her again he had to passively endure the torturous medical treatment until help arrived.
Peter wasn't sure how long they spent on the floor breathing together, it felt like hours but realistically it had probably only been ten minutes. As he got used to the manual ventilation Peter could feel that Liam was breathing in time with him to help keep the rhythm steady. Breathing in unison the rest of the world fell away as both men focused solely on the next breath. The longer Liam helped keep Peter's ribs stable the more the pain slipped away. Peter didn't fully understand the mechanism behind pain but a great deal of it was based on how safe the victim felt. Having placed his life fully in Liam's hands Peter believed he was going to get him through and it pulled him back from the edge of shock that he had been teetering on.
"Peter?" Liam said gently.
Opening his eyes Peter looked up at Liam.
"The other team is here, but I'm not going anywhere." Liam informed Peter. "They are going to get you on a board and I'm going to come along for the ride and keep you breathing. Until we get to the hospital you and I are partners."
Peter smiled under the mask and nodded slightly. Growling in renewed pain as they got him onto the stretcher it took him and Liam a moment to get back in sync. Liam paused the ventilation when they got to the corpses that guarded the door but Peter still choked on the awful scent of death and further spattered the inside of the mask with blood. By the time they got to the elevator Peter was exhausted despite being carried there. He knew that if it wasn't for the atropine still stimulating his system he would have passed out long ago, but the drug wasn't allowing him to rest. Even though it was taking him to freedom the ride up turned Peter's stomach due to the fact that he had associated it with being taken to fight for so long. Even in the mists of being rescued it was hard to truly believe he wasn't going back to the ring.
The ride up didn't take as long as he had thought it should and once they brought him off he couldn't help but try to look around a little. The elevator had lead them up into another abandoned subway line not directly to the surface. Peter's attention was jolted back to his condition when Liam suddenly mixed up the careful timing that they had been sustaining. Becoming momentarily over ventilated Peter arched back and fought to pull away from the mask again. He could hear shouting which added to his disorientation. In the general confusion that followed Peter could hear someone shouting Jake's name in alarm. Trying to figure what was happening Peter tried to sit up only to be pinned back down by Liam.
"I'm sorry, Peter." Liam apologized. "Eyes on me. Focus."
"…Jake?" Peter asked muffled by the mask.
"Don't worry about Jake right now." Liam said evasively. "Your only job is getting out of here alive."
Peter couldn't help but worry about Jake but he was losing the energy to fight. Following Liam's lead Peter concentrated on himself. He had been doing well with allowing things to take their time up until now, but now all he wanted was for this nightmare to be over. With a growing sense of dread that he wasn't going to make the last few feet of the marathon tears slipped from the corners of his eyes as he stared up a the grimy subway ceiling. Keeping perfect rhythm with the vent bag but releasing his hold on Peter's ribs Liam reached up and carded his hand into Peter's hair.
"It's almost over, just stay strong a little longer." Liam said gently. "Elizabeth is still waiting for you to keep your promise."
Peter appreciated Liam's sentiment and he nodded slightly to show he wasn't giving up just yet. Starting to lapse in and out of consciousness it became harder to figure out what was going on around him. He could hear Liam telling him something but he wasn't sure what it was. Suddenly opening or closing his eyes didn't change his view as his vision was completely dark either way. He didn't understand at first until he felt the heat of the sun striking his face and the cool breeze against his skin. Although blindfolded to keep the daylight from hurting his eyes Peter still enjoyed the sensation of being out from underground. The scent of the rain from earlier filled his senses as Liam pushed the outside air over his face. Relief washed over Peter as the sound of the city echoed around him, he hadn't even realized how quiet things had been in the Labyrinth until he could hear the sounds of life again.
"Look at that smile." Liam chuckled. "Feels good to be out, eh?"
Peter reached up and squeezed Liam's arm to assure him that he had never felt better. Quickly loaded into an ambulance Liam kept his word by staying on vent duty despite the fatigue that had to be setting in. On route to the hospital the EMTs were able to add high oxygen to the bottom of the vent bag flooding Peter's system and battling his hypoxia. Fluids and better pain medication helped to further stabilize him en route. Liam's quick work had prevented Peter's broken ribs from shredding lungs. He would need surgery to stabilize the broken bones but they had avoided any catastrophic damage. At least that's what Liam was telling him along the way.
"Peter!"
Having briefly passed out Peter was pulled back into the waking world by Elizabeth's call. The sharp antiseptic scent to the air that filled his lungs told him he had made it to the hospital. Up on the gurney straddling him Liam kept Peter breathing. Still blind Peter reached out in the direction he'd heard his wife's voice come from. When he felt Elizabeth's delicate hand in his own he carefully wrapped his fingers around her's. Peter smiled warmly as Elizabeth brought his hand up and pressed it to her tear stained cheek. Finally reunited Peter felt like he had the strength to just sit up and embrace her, but he knew that was the endorphins talking. Elizabeth kissed the back of Peter's hand and told him she loved him before relinquishing it so they could take Peter back into surgery. Before they could transfer him onto the operating table Peter reached up and put his palm against Liam's heart.
"The honor was all mine, Agent Burke. Welcome home."
