Andy was in her office doing paperwork, she knew Jack was sick. And she hated seeing him like that. She picked up her phone off her desk, navigated to his number in her phone, and pulled it up to her ear and it started to ring. But it went straight to his voicemail, which was odd to her as he always answered after a few rings. She thought he was sleeping, as he wouldn't answer. But she had an instinct that everything was not ok. She plopped her pen down on the desk, stood up, and walked out of her office and into the kitchen upstairs where everyone was. "Did you decide to join us, Herrera?" Ben asked her.
"Ben, Travis, can you guys go to my house and check on Jack for me?" she asked. "What for?" Travis wondered as he sat his plate from breakfast in the sink. "You all know this, Jack does get sick in the fall, every year. As he's sick today and why he's not here, I just tried to call him a few moments ago and I got no answer. I know he's probably sleeping, but there's this gut feeling I have that something else is wrong," she responds, making eye contact with Ben.
"We can do that, are you staying here?" Ben responded. "I think it'd be better if I stayed here, as I have a couple of stacks of paperwork to do," she breathed. "If you say so," Ben surrendered. He walked downstairs, followed by Travis; who elected driving the aid car. They didn't know what to expect when Travis pulled up. Ben pulled out the jump bag from the back, as Travis pulled the AED if they needed it. They snapped their gloves on and walked to the front door. Warren grabbed the spare key from under the rug and unlocked the front door. "Jack?" Travis called out. "Andy said he was upstairs in bed when she left, she mentioned that he never got out of bed this morning," Ben said, now walking upstairs; Montgomery following behind him.
Travis opened the door, and it revealed a messed-up bed and no sign of Jack in the bed. "Ok, he's not in bed. Where is he?" Ben sighed. Travis scanned the room until his eyes fell on a sliver of light coming from underneath the bathroom door. "Ben, the bathroom," he said. Ben grabbed the door handle and turned it, shocked that it was unlocked. And they couldn't believe what they saw. "Jack, you with us bud?" Ben said, rubbing his sternum. The only answer they got was a groan.
"Jack open those eyes for us so we know that you're with us," Travis said, as he was starting a line in Jack's right arm. All Jack kept doing was moving his head back and forth. "H-hurts," he whispered, finally saying something. "What hurts?" Ben responded as he was cutting his shirt open to get the leads attached to him. "H-hurts. B-breathing," he rasped. Once Montgomery heard this, he ran out of the room to the aid car to get the oxygen tank as they forgot to grab it. When he got back in the room, Ben was trying to keep Jack awake. But they wouldn't be successful.
"Jack, you gotta stay awake for me bud," Ben said. "C-an't, s-tired," he slurred. "I know you're stubborn, but you have to. For Andy," Travis said, slipping the mask over his face. "S-let me sleep," he mumbled, his eyes slowly closing. "Gibson, you with me?" Ben said. He didn't respond. He was connected to the monitor already. Everything looked normal to Ben, except that his heart rate was elevated a bit. But it looked like it would subside on its own, he hoped.
When they were ready to transport, they knew they had a problem as there were only two of them and they needed two more to bring the stretcher to them. "We need the others here and fast," Ben said. "Why?" Travis wondered. "His heart rate is climbing, he's tachycardic in the 110s, his pulse is rapid," Ben responded. "What can we give him?" Montgomery said. "We can give him a 150 mg bolus of amiodarone and see what that does," he reasoned.
He found the amiodarone and pulled out 150 mg of the small bottle they had. He pushed it into the IV to let it do its work. After 2 minutes, it worked. "There, heart rate is in the mid-80s," he breathed. "Now, what do we do?" Travis asked. "Well, we could call Andy and tell her that the others need to get here, or we call for them over the radio because Herrea did let dispatch know that we were doing a house call because I heard her over the radio as we were driving but I didn't bring it up," Ben breathed. "It'd get to the others faster over the radio than calling Andy," Montgomery reasoned, as he was looking at the now unconscious Jack.
"Aid car 19 to dispatch," Ben said into his radio. "Aid car 19 go ahead," dispatch responded. "We require assistance from Ladder 19 at 2625 Armour Street," he answered. "10-4 Aid car 19, ladder 19 in route," dispatch bellowed through the radio. Meanwhile back at the station, everyone was in the common area; except for Andy. She was keeping her mind occupied with paperwork or she'd be more worried about Jack and not do paperwork. Maya and Vic were talking about drama, and Miller was on the apparatus floor probably doing inventory on the trucks.
Then the klaxons went off. "Ladder 19; assist Aid car 19 at 2625 Armour Street," Everyone perked up at the familiar address. Andy's heart sunk at her address being said over the alarm sounds as she heard the sirens from Ladder 19 taking off. She was almost finished with her paperwork, so she would meet the aid car at Grey-Sloan. When Vic brought the truck to a stop, Maya was the first to hop out. She didn't hesitate to run inside. "Warren?" she yelled. "Up here!" she heard his voice yell. She ran upstairs, into the bedroom, and walked into the bathroom.
"How is he?" was the first question she asked. "Well, he was semi-conscious when we got here. Started a line-wide open and he told us it was hard to breathe, so Travis grabbed the tank out of the aid car. We tried to have him stay awake and we lost the battle, his heart rate was in the 110s so I bolused 150 mg of amiodarone and he's been fine since," Warren responded. "What do you need from us?" she wondered. "I don't want to leave Jack if something happens so I need Vic and Miller to bring the stretcher up," Travis answered for Ben.
"Andy didn't come along?" Ben asked as he was looking down at Jack. "No, she hasn't come out of her office since she told you guys to come to check Jack," she said somberly. "She'll probably meet us at Grey-Sloan," Ben encouraged. She clicked a button on her radio and said, "Hughes, Miller. Bring the gurney up from the aid car," and within a minute the gurney was in the room. Hughes had come in the room with the gurney, while Miller stayed out in the hallway. But before they could do anything, the alarm on the monitor went off.
"Damn it, he's tachycardiac again. Give me another bolus of amiodarone," Ben said. It had only been 10 minutes after the first dose. "Wait, let's check his blood pressure again," Ben responded. Montgomery took Jack's blood pressure again. "It's 70/40 and dropping," he answered. "I knew it. He's in cardiogenic shock," Ben exclaimed. "But that doesn't explain his nausea and fever," Maya reasoned. "No, it all lines up," Ben snapped. "What are you meaning?" Vic wondered. "All of his symptoms line up, he's tachycardiac and hypotensive, he's sweating, pale in color, he's unconscious, short of breath, pulse is weak, and the symptoms of a heart attack are nausea and vomiting," Ben responded. "Exactly, I heard Andy mention that he woke up a few times last night to throw up," Travis exclaimed.
"So you're saying…" Maya said. "He's possibly having a heart attack," Ben finished her sentence. "But he's perfectly healthy!" Vic exclaimed. "It's rare for his age to have one, Jack doesn't even know his family's heart history and or if any of his family members had heart attacks," Ben reasoned. "Well let's go people we need to step on it to Grey-Sloan once we get in the aid car," Travis answered. They didn't waste any time. Jack was on the gurney in a matter of minutes. Ben and Maya strapped him down to the gurney, so he wouldn't go flying when they were going downstairs.
The monitor was beeping normally, as Ben administered the second bolus of amiodarone. They went slowly down the stairs. Maya was on the front with Montgomery and Ben and Hughes above Jack's head. Montgomery was lucky the door was still ajar. He lightly tapped the door open and started pushing the gurney out. Miller was standing by the aid car when they came out. "How-," he started. "He's possibly having a heart attack," Ben answered, knowing what Miller's question was going to be. Jack was loaded into the aid car in 30 seconds.
Ben hopped in back, Montgomery getting in the driver's seat. He blared the sirens and sped off. The others watched until Travis was out of sight in the aid car. Maya walked back into the house and saw that Andy hasn't had time to clean since Jack's been sick since Monday as it's now Thursday. So she knew that Andy was struggling. She knew the best thing to do, as she's her friend is to clean the whole house for her since she would be at Grey-Sloan with Jack.
She walked the whole house, even upstairs to see what needed to be done. Maya would get the others to cooperate whether they liked it or not. She knew they couldn't do anything with keeping vigil at the hospital waiting for an update on Jack. She walked back outside and saw Miller and Hughes were already in the truck and ready to go back to the station. Miller checked his phone, to see a broadcast message from Andy that says, "I'm shutting down 19 for the rest of the day, I need to be at the hospital with Jack. You all can go home," "Well, Andy's shut us down for the rest of the day so she can be at the hospital with Gibson," he told Maya when she was in the truck.
"Well, I was thinking. I walked through the house. And since Jack's been sick since Monday, it's taken a toll on Andy because I've seen her; she's not sleeping, probably not even eating because she's been worried about Jack. When Montgomery and Warren get back to the station, tell them to change into their normal clothes and meet us back here," Maya said, turning to Miller to make eye contact with him. "Why's that?" Hughes questioned. "We're going to clean Andy's house for her so she doesn't have to worry about it because if we don't clean it she'll be even more stressed out," Maya reasoned.
"Alright then, let's do it. 19's a family and family sticks together," Miller chanted. They all high-fived each other and Hughes started to drive off. She backed the truck into the station when they arrived. They all hopped out, took off their fire boots, and headed to the locker room to get changed, where Warren and Montgomery already were. "Are you guys heading to Grey-Sloan after?" Ben asked Maya. "No, meet us at Andy's and Jack's again," she answered, opening her locker.
"Why?" Travis mentioned. "Because, Andy's been stressed with Jack being sick and having 2 kids on top of it all, and so I decided. We're all going over there clean their house so Andy doesn't have to," Miller reasoned. "Let's go then!" Ben agreed. Everyone changed into their civilian clothes and hoisted their jump bags on their shoulders. They got in their separate vehicles, driving straight to Andy's and Jack's. Ben stopped on the way to order pizza and bring it so they could eat, along with cleaning supplies.
Maya was the first to arrive, followed by Miller, Hughes, Montgomery, and Warren. He walked in carrying the pizza and cleaning supplies all together. They got to work, it took them 4 hours to clean, do the laundry, and change the bedsheets on all 3 of the beds. They all gathered in the kitchen to take a break from it all. Their phones all went off at once, signaling that they got a message from Andy. "He had a heart attack. All the tests showed that he did, Pierce said he had a blocked artery and that it was sudden, she put a stent in. I think I heard her say it was metal so the artery could stay open. She ran all sorts of tests, an EKG, an echocardiogram, and an angiogram since the echocardiogram wouldn't show the arteries all the way, she put on a vent because she said he was in cardiogenic shock which lead to the heart attack. So now he's resting comfortably in the CCU," Warren read the whole message.
"I still can't believe he had one," Vic breathed. "As I said earlier, in his age; they're sudden and rare. And it's the first one I've seen since I never saw any when I used to work at Grey-Sloan," Ben reasoned. They talked for another hour, they all went their separate ways to their apartments/houses. Meanwhile, Andy was sitting in Jack's room, holding his hand. He wasn't that pale anymore, he had his color back. She was still in shock that he had one, but Pierce told her that his age; they were rare. She had to physically calm herself while waiting for an update on him. She had called Jess earlier to catch her up to speed on what was going on and she elected to keep the kids until Jack was at home, since Jess didn't have an actual job, well besides babysitting. Babysitting used to be her side job, and she worked part-time at a gas station.
About 6 months ago, she quit that job to start babysitting full-time; it's what she enjoyed more. Andy and Jack both adored Jess and thought of her as their child. Her actual name was Jessica, but they called her Jess. The days dragged on. Monday came fast, as Jack was 4 days post-op from his coronary angioplasty and stenting; or as Pierce put it for her, a percutaneous coronary intervention or in short term, PCI. Andy didn't understand what that meant, but Pierce explained it to her. She never went home to take a shower, all she did was sleep in the chair. Warren brought her changes of clothes, so she wouldn't have to go home to do so.
The 1-week mark approached faster than she thought it would, the days dragged slow. She tried to sleep when she could, but she was more focused on if Jack would wake up or not. She was sound asleep, didn't recognize what the hell was going on around her. Maggie decided to take Jack off the vent yesterday, so to replace it was a nasal cannula. Bailey and Hughes had snuck in, without waking Andy as she was in the corner of the room; asleep in the lounge chair. There were also 2 other chairs in the room, which occupied Bailey and Vic. Warren was with Tuck and Joey spending the day with each other, Maya was with Carina, Montgomery with Emmett, and Miller with Pru.
Vic hadn't got in another relationship with anyone ever since Ripley died. Miranda had no more surgeries for the rest of the day, she was hoping that was. But you never knew at Grey-Sloan. Miranda and Vic were talking when they heard grunting coming out of Jack. Miranda was on her feet immediately. "Gibson? You with us?" she asked. "Yeah, what happened?" he rasped. "You had a heart attack, which is rare for your age. Pierce went in and placed a stent which is metal so the artery can flow normally. Which it is," Miranda explained. "Andy's asleep, want me to wake her up?" Vic asked. "No, let her sleep. She's probably not slept since I've been in here," he whispered.
"She has, but it's been 30-45 minutes long," Miranda reasoned. "How long has she been asleep now?" he asked, voice still scratchy. "Maybe 45 minutes? I and Miranda walked in when she was sleeping," Vic said. He cleared his throat, "She needs the sleep, let her. She worries about me too much," he said. "Ok, I won't wake her," Vic surrendered. Miranda was paged to the pit about 30 minutes later. Vic was the only one left in the room with Jack, who hadn't fallen back asleep when he first woke up.
Vic and Jack talked, Vic caught Jack up on everything that was going on. So, Jack didn't miss much. They talked for another hour when Warren came in. Andy was still asleep, as she had been asleep for an hour and 45 minutes already. Jack by now had been fully sitting up in bed and talking, surprising himself that he wasn't tired. The 2-hour mark with Andy sleeping came. It was noon when Vic and Miranda walked in, 12:15 when Jack woke up, Miranda walked out at 12:30, Warren walked in at 1:30.
So 2:30 was approaching. Jack kept glancing over at his sleeping wife when he could, as she looked so peaceful sleeping. Jack, Vic, and Warren all went around telling stories about everyone at 19, the majority of them being the funny ones. Warren and Vic missed hearing Jack laugh, they missed talking to a friend. But they were glad he was okay. Jack heard Andy stirring from the chair, which signaled that she was waking up. "What time is it?" she yawned. Jack looked over at Warren and smirked, who showed him the time on his phone. "Coming up on 2:30," Jack responded.
Andy thought she was hearing things. "Jack?" she questioned, now looking over at him when she was wide awake. "I'm here, and alive," he whispered as she came over to his bedside. Warren had moved the chair on the other side of the bed when he walked in, just in case if Andy woke up when he was there. "You could've woke me up," she whispered. "Miranda told me that you had been taking 30-45 minute naps, I told Vic not to wake you up when I woke up because you needed the sleep," he said, taking her hand.
Warren and Vic left an hour later, which left Jack and Andy in the room. They both still didn't know what the team did for them and they would figure it out once they got back home, if they did that is. It was depending on when Pierce was going to discharge him. Saturday came, and it was time for Jack to come home. Andy was going to go home to get him a change of clothes, but Montgomery already did that for her. Even if he didn't have to.
Andy was out of the room, getting Jack's discharge papers from the nurse. Along with instructions for Jack for a few weeks while he recovered at home before he could go back to the station and worked. Jack was already changed into comfier clothes and was bound determined to get home to his bed to rest more comfortably. Andy walked back into the room, discharge papers in her hand. A nurse had come earlier this morning to disconnect Jack from the monitor and take the IV out. And to replace where the IV was in his right arm, was a piece of gauze wrapped around his elbow.
She handed him the clipboard, so he could sign his name on papers since Pierce already signed her name. But they couldn't go quite yet, since it was hospital policy to have to ride in a wheelchair, which Jack didn't feel like doing. A nurse brought in a wheelchair, which Jack got in, with arguing to get in. The nurse even let Andy push him out, which never happened.
Andy thanked the nurse for everything and was on the way home, after sitting in a hospital chair for 9 days. She bent down and whispered in his ear, "Now let's get you home," he looked back up at her and smiled, kissing her. But little did they know, everyone from 19 was at their house waiting for them. Andy got him in the car and pushed the wheelchair to the entrance before she got in herself. "Now, let's go home," he breathed, grabbing her hand and kissing it softly.
She pulled onto their street 30 minutes later, noticing all the cars sitting beside her house. She heard Jack chuckle from beside her, who also didn't know what was going on. She pulled into the driveway, got out to help Jack with getting out. She opened the door for him and let him get out. He slowly walked to the entrance, as he wanted to take his time. Andy stayed behind him, making sure he wouldn't fall back. When Jack opened the front door, everyone from 19 was standing in the kitchen; clapping. He smiled and laughed at the same time.
Andy looked around to see her house all cleaned and organized. "You guys, did you do this?" she breathed. "We did, it was Maya's idea. When Jack got transported to Grey-Sloan, she pitched an idea of cleaning your house for her since you were stressed with Jack being sick. We all agreed and got Ben and Montgomery in on it too. It took us 4 hours altogether, but we got it done," Miller said. "I-, Thank you guys, I was starting to get worried about cleaning it once we got Jack here home safely," she said, grabbing ahold of his hand and looking him in the eyes.
"Well, I'm glad you say that because I am glad to be home," he said, kissing her. Everyone talked for a couple more hours before they decided it was time for Jack to get some rest. Jess brought the kids home that next day, and Greyson immediately ran to his daddy; who was upstairs in the bedroom where he was resting. Andy followed Greyson, who was faster than her; holding the 5-month old Rowan in her arms. A few weeks passed, Jack had gotten cleared by Maggie at his follow-up appointment to come back to work. And he was ready to.
Everything was normal, for now.
A/N: Merry Christmas Eve and Christmas my fellow Americans and UK friends! I hope you all enjoy your Christmases and stay safe! As I was going to publish this tomorrow, I was going to be busy; helping my grandma prepare for Christmas since everyone is coming to her house! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and your Christmas, and Happy New Year!
~ChicagoPD24
PS: There's one more chapter for another one of my stories coming out before the new year!