Bobby Caffey could hear the screams from his seat as he and Kim pulled up in the bus. "Boy-55 to dispatch. We're on scene of the altercation at Arthur and West 5th street. Send another bus, and stand-by for further information," he said, jumping out of the bus and throwing the radio microphone onto the seat.
"God, this is not why I became a paramedic," Kim stated as she looked down at a small boy, bleeding from a bullet wound in his leg, crying hysterically.
"Mommy!!!!!" the boy screamed, holding his leg and looking around. "Where's my mommy?"
"Kim, we've got one D.O.A," Bobby stated, pulling his hand off an older gentleman's neck.
Kim shook her head and went back to treating the boy. She'd staunched some of the bleeding but the boy was thrashing around. "Sweetheart, what's your name?"
"Jeffy. I want my mommy," he cried, watching Kim hold some four by fours on his leg.
"Jeffy, we'll find your mommy. Was she here with you?" Kim asked, glancing around as the boy nodded his head yes. "Ok. We'll find her."
"Bosco!!!" cried Faith Yokas, holding a gun in her gloved hands. "Grab a evidence bag! I've got the weapon!"
"Damn!" exclaimed Maurice 'Bosco' Boscorelli, seeing the small child Kim was helping. "That kid can't be more than seven or eight years old."
"My son's his age," Faith said, dropping the gun in the evidence bag. They watched as another ambulance pulled up and Doc and Alex jumped out. Bobby was starting an IV on a young man with tattoos all over his arms. Alex glanced at Doc, you help Kim, I'll go see if Bobby needs help. Doc nodded and ran over to Kim as Alex turned and headed towards Bobby.
"Hold still, sir!" exclaimed Bobby, as the man's arm made a swing at Bosco as he approached.
"Screw you, spic!" he exclaimed.
"Hey, you piece of trash, you want to die?? I'm sure this nice paramedic here will be willing to leave your ugly ass right here so you can bleed to death," Bosco said, kicking him in the leg, laughing as the skinhead screamed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did that hurt? I'll make sure to do it again if you open your damned mouth!"
"Bosco…," Faith said, rolling her eyes.
"What?? I thought he was gonna try to harm the medic," he shrugged.
Alex knelt beside Bobby. "What do we got?" she asked.
"G.S.W to the left leg and arm. Seems Mr. Skinhead here tried to take out a family of a different ethnic background," Bobby growled, jabbing the skinhead with the needle, smirking as the guy howled. "Sorry."
"Nice start," Alex grinned, looking at the wounds. "Any other victims?"
"There's a little boy over there, says his mother was with them," Yokas replied.
"I'll go look," Alex said. "Police escort?" she headed towards the nearby building, Yokas in tow.
They made their way towards the side of the building. Rounding the corner, they spotted the mother, leaning against a payphone. Blood covered her chest and abdomen. Alex bent down and felt for a pulse, sighing as she felt none. She checked the pupils. "Nothing," she sighed.
"Damnit!" Yokas exclaimed.
"Bobby, we have a D.O.A," Alex spoke into her radio.
"10-4 Taylor," he replied.
"Great. Nice way to start the shift," Yokas grumbled, walking back towards her partner.
* * * Jimmy Doherty tossed his shirt into his closet from across the room. He couldn't believe they hadn't had any calls except for a few automatic alarms. He threw on a new t-shirt and wandered downstairs. "Doc and them not back yet?" he asked, plopping down on the couch.
"I think they just pulled up," answered Lombardo, flipping through the channels on the TV.
Jimmy watched out the window as the paramedics all climbed out of their buses. He shook his head as Alex walked into the building alone, as Bobby, Doc and Kim laughed and talked. He couldn't understand the girl, she was always so melancholy.
"Hey, Taylor. You working a medic shift tomorrow?" asked Lombardo, as she walked in.
"Nope, I'm supposed to have tomorrow off, but I have the feeling you're going to ask me to cover your shift," she rolled her eyes.
"Actually, I was just wondering if you knew your name was on the shift list for tomorrow."
"Oh great. Glad I didn't have any plans," she grumbled, walking towards the Captain's office to see what was up.
Jimmy shook his head and sprawled out on the couch. Snatching the remote from Lombardo, he flipped through the channels, looking for a football game. He growled as the alarm sounded, stating there was an alarm going off somewhere in their district. All the firefighters got up and went to the bay to grab their gear.
"Bye boys! Have fun!" Kim laughed as she walked in. She stole Lombardo's recliner and grabbed the remote.
"I'm glad we don't get automatic alarms. We'd be out all day," Bobby said, grabbing a soda from the fridge.
"No, we're just out all day with real calls. Most of them don't need to go to the hospital by ambulance," Alex quipped, coming back into the room.
"Without those bogus calls we wouldn't be getting paid at all," Doc reminded her.
"Sick thought," Kim grumbled.
Alex watched everyone closely. Over the past week, she'd noticed subtle changes in each one of her co-workers. They'd still not fully accepted her, but they had begun to let her in a little more each day. The paramedics were the easiest to get along with. It was a co-ed club, but the firefighters were different. Although no one thought she couldn't do her job, she still felt as she had to prove herself. She had the sinking feeling, tomorrow would be one of those days.
* * * "Squad 5-5. Possible structure fire. 12th and Camelot. Smoke showing from 2nd floor," the speakers blared.
"Can I even walk in the door?" asked Alex, throwing her hat and jacket onto the couch as she ran towards the bays.
"C'mon Taylor!" laughed Jimmy, stepping into his bunker pants and pulling the straps over his shoulders.
"Yeah yeah," she grumbled, throwing her bunkers on and then her coat.
As they piled in, Alex yelped as Lombardo stepped on her foot. "Jeez, you overgrown oaf! These are steel toed boots and your blubbered butt still managed to crush my foot!" she joked.
"Sorry," he mumbled, wedging himself between Jimmy and the wall.
"Men!" she grinned, giving Lombardo's helmet a slap.
"So Taylor, ever been to a real fire?" D.K. asked, grinning.
"No, I just put the gear on for looks. It shows off my figure nicely," she retorted. The guys chuckled as D.K rolled his eyes.
The truck pulled up to an old three story house. Jimmy grinned as thick, rolling black smoke poured out of two windows on the second floor. He jumped out of the truck, Lombardo and Alex right behind him. "Can it get any better than this?" he asked, adjusting the strap on his helmet.
"Yeah, you actually getting in there," Captain replied. "Doherty, take Taylor and Lombardo and do a search. D.K. you and Smithe grab a line and follow them in."
Jimmy grinned at Alex. "Let's go, Taylor. Show us what you can do," he stated, heading for the door.
Crouching down, the three wandered into the building. They spread out on the first floor and looked around. Finding no one, they headed towards the stairs when Lombardo yelled, "Hey! I got someone!" Alex and Jimmy turned to watch Lombardo start towards the door. Alex ran over to help him out the door and heard a loud crash and the sound of air rushing past her helmet. When she turned around to look, Jimmy was gone and a pile of rubble was where he stood.
"We need a line in here NOW! Jimmy trapped!" she yelled. Grabbing D.K and Smithe. The two hit the pile of burning rubble with a deuce and a half as Alex stood by, waiting for them to finish. Flames shot around her as the rubble caught other parts of the downstairs on fire. When she felt it was safe to continue, she grabbed some of the boards and started pulling them off Jimmy. As Smithe turned to help, she yelled, "No! Put out the fire. I'll get him free. If I need help, I'll yell!!" Smithe nodded and returned to D.K and the hose line, trying desperately to put out the fire around them. Alex was throwing boards and other building materials off the pile. She began to think he wasn't there when she saw the top of his helmet peeking out of a small hole. "Jimmy!" she yelled, relieved to see he was still breathing and his S.C.B.A was still on his face. She pulled the remainder of the boards off him and rolled him on his back. "Jimmy? Can you hear me?" she yelled through her mask. With no answer, she grabbed him under his armpits and dragged him towards the door. Lombardo came back in, and seeing Alex, grabbed Jimmy's legs and helped her carry him the rest of the way out of the house.
"Need some help over here!" Lombardo yelled as they made their way to the front lawn. Carlos and Doc came running over.
"I think he was just knocked out. Part of the floor came down on him. He's breathing," explained Alex, dropping to her knees and pulling her helmet and mask off, feeling the rush of cool air engulf her lungs.
"Taylor! Go over to the other bus and get checked," yelled the Captain, patting her on the shoulder and muttering, "Good job, kid."
Taylor slowly made her way over to Bobby, who was standing by his ambulance. "Alex? What happened?" he asked, yelling to Kim to grab the stretcher. "Floor collapsed," she gasped, sitting on the stretcher as Kim pulled it along side her.
"Was anyone hurt?" Kim asked, looking over at the building.
"Jimmy. But I don't think he was hurt bad," she gasped.
"Alex, do you have asthma?" Bobby asked, looking at her. When she shook her head, he looked at her air bottle. Reading the meter he glanced at Kim. "She ran out of air. Grab the oxygen and we'll see if we can get her to catch her breath."
Alex watched silently over the oxygen mask Kim put over her face as Doc and Carlos wheeled a now conscious Jimmy over to their ambulance. She sighed a sigh of relief as he noticed Doc and Carlos laughing with him. She leaned back and realizing she still had her air pack on, grumbled as it dug into her back. Bobby laughed and helped her off with it. "Helps if you take it off before you lay down." She just nodded her head and finally leaned back, relaxing and realizing that she might have finally convinced her squad she was where she belonged.
"God, this is not why I became a paramedic," Kim stated as she looked down at a small boy, bleeding from a bullet wound in his leg, crying hysterically.
"Mommy!!!!!" the boy screamed, holding his leg and looking around. "Where's my mommy?"
"Kim, we've got one D.O.A," Bobby stated, pulling his hand off an older gentleman's neck.
Kim shook her head and went back to treating the boy. She'd staunched some of the bleeding but the boy was thrashing around. "Sweetheart, what's your name?"
"Jeffy. I want my mommy," he cried, watching Kim hold some four by fours on his leg.
"Jeffy, we'll find your mommy. Was she here with you?" Kim asked, glancing around as the boy nodded his head yes. "Ok. We'll find her."
"Bosco!!!" cried Faith Yokas, holding a gun in her gloved hands. "Grab a evidence bag! I've got the weapon!"
"Damn!" exclaimed Maurice 'Bosco' Boscorelli, seeing the small child Kim was helping. "That kid can't be more than seven or eight years old."
"My son's his age," Faith said, dropping the gun in the evidence bag. They watched as another ambulance pulled up and Doc and Alex jumped out. Bobby was starting an IV on a young man with tattoos all over his arms. Alex glanced at Doc, you help Kim, I'll go see if Bobby needs help. Doc nodded and ran over to Kim as Alex turned and headed towards Bobby.
"Hold still, sir!" exclaimed Bobby, as the man's arm made a swing at Bosco as he approached.
"Screw you, spic!" he exclaimed.
"Hey, you piece of trash, you want to die?? I'm sure this nice paramedic here will be willing to leave your ugly ass right here so you can bleed to death," Bosco said, kicking him in the leg, laughing as the skinhead screamed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did that hurt? I'll make sure to do it again if you open your damned mouth!"
"Bosco…," Faith said, rolling her eyes.
"What?? I thought he was gonna try to harm the medic," he shrugged.
Alex knelt beside Bobby. "What do we got?" she asked.
"G.S.W to the left leg and arm. Seems Mr. Skinhead here tried to take out a family of a different ethnic background," Bobby growled, jabbing the skinhead with the needle, smirking as the guy howled. "Sorry."
"Nice start," Alex grinned, looking at the wounds. "Any other victims?"
"There's a little boy over there, says his mother was with them," Yokas replied.
"I'll go look," Alex said. "Police escort?" she headed towards the nearby building, Yokas in tow.
They made their way towards the side of the building. Rounding the corner, they spotted the mother, leaning against a payphone. Blood covered her chest and abdomen. Alex bent down and felt for a pulse, sighing as she felt none. She checked the pupils. "Nothing," she sighed.
"Damnit!" Yokas exclaimed.
"Bobby, we have a D.O.A," Alex spoke into her radio.
"10-4 Taylor," he replied.
"Great. Nice way to start the shift," Yokas grumbled, walking back towards her partner.
* * * Jimmy Doherty tossed his shirt into his closet from across the room. He couldn't believe they hadn't had any calls except for a few automatic alarms. He threw on a new t-shirt and wandered downstairs. "Doc and them not back yet?" he asked, plopping down on the couch.
"I think they just pulled up," answered Lombardo, flipping through the channels on the TV.
Jimmy watched out the window as the paramedics all climbed out of their buses. He shook his head as Alex walked into the building alone, as Bobby, Doc and Kim laughed and talked. He couldn't understand the girl, she was always so melancholy.
"Hey, Taylor. You working a medic shift tomorrow?" asked Lombardo, as she walked in.
"Nope, I'm supposed to have tomorrow off, but I have the feeling you're going to ask me to cover your shift," she rolled her eyes.
"Actually, I was just wondering if you knew your name was on the shift list for tomorrow."
"Oh great. Glad I didn't have any plans," she grumbled, walking towards the Captain's office to see what was up.
Jimmy shook his head and sprawled out on the couch. Snatching the remote from Lombardo, he flipped through the channels, looking for a football game. He growled as the alarm sounded, stating there was an alarm going off somewhere in their district. All the firefighters got up and went to the bay to grab their gear.
"Bye boys! Have fun!" Kim laughed as she walked in. She stole Lombardo's recliner and grabbed the remote.
"I'm glad we don't get automatic alarms. We'd be out all day," Bobby said, grabbing a soda from the fridge.
"No, we're just out all day with real calls. Most of them don't need to go to the hospital by ambulance," Alex quipped, coming back into the room.
"Without those bogus calls we wouldn't be getting paid at all," Doc reminded her.
"Sick thought," Kim grumbled.
Alex watched everyone closely. Over the past week, she'd noticed subtle changes in each one of her co-workers. They'd still not fully accepted her, but they had begun to let her in a little more each day. The paramedics were the easiest to get along with. It was a co-ed club, but the firefighters were different. Although no one thought she couldn't do her job, she still felt as she had to prove herself. She had the sinking feeling, tomorrow would be one of those days.
* * * "Squad 5-5. Possible structure fire. 12th and Camelot. Smoke showing from 2nd floor," the speakers blared.
"Can I even walk in the door?" asked Alex, throwing her hat and jacket onto the couch as she ran towards the bays.
"C'mon Taylor!" laughed Jimmy, stepping into his bunker pants and pulling the straps over his shoulders.
"Yeah yeah," she grumbled, throwing her bunkers on and then her coat.
As they piled in, Alex yelped as Lombardo stepped on her foot. "Jeez, you overgrown oaf! These are steel toed boots and your blubbered butt still managed to crush my foot!" she joked.
"Sorry," he mumbled, wedging himself between Jimmy and the wall.
"Men!" she grinned, giving Lombardo's helmet a slap.
"So Taylor, ever been to a real fire?" D.K. asked, grinning.
"No, I just put the gear on for looks. It shows off my figure nicely," she retorted. The guys chuckled as D.K rolled his eyes.
The truck pulled up to an old three story house. Jimmy grinned as thick, rolling black smoke poured out of two windows on the second floor. He jumped out of the truck, Lombardo and Alex right behind him. "Can it get any better than this?" he asked, adjusting the strap on his helmet.
"Yeah, you actually getting in there," Captain replied. "Doherty, take Taylor and Lombardo and do a search. D.K. you and Smithe grab a line and follow them in."
Jimmy grinned at Alex. "Let's go, Taylor. Show us what you can do," he stated, heading for the door.
Crouching down, the three wandered into the building. They spread out on the first floor and looked around. Finding no one, they headed towards the stairs when Lombardo yelled, "Hey! I got someone!" Alex and Jimmy turned to watch Lombardo start towards the door. Alex ran over to help him out the door and heard a loud crash and the sound of air rushing past her helmet. When she turned around to look, Jimmy was gone and a pile of rubble was where he stood.
"We need a line in here NOW! Jimmy trapped!" she yelled. Grabbing D.K and Smithe. The two hit the pile of burning rubble with a deuce and a half as Alex stood by, waiting for them to finish. Flames shot around her as the rubble caught other parts of the downstairs on fire. When she felt it was safe to continue, she grabbed some of the boards and started pulling them off Jimmy. As Smithe turned to help, she yelled, "No! Put out the fire. I'll get him free. If I need help, I'll yell!!" Smithe nodded and returned to D.K and the hose line, trying desperately to put out the fire around them. Alex was throwing boards and other building materials off the pile. She began to think he wasn't there when she saw the top of his helmet peeking out of a small hole. "Jimmy!" she yelled, relieved to see he was still breathing and his S.C.B.A was still on his face. She pulled the remainder of the boards off him and rolled him on his back. "Jimmy? Can you hear me?" she yelled through her mask. With no answer, she grabbed him under his armpits and dragged him towards the door. Lombardo came back in, and seeing Alex, grabbed Jimmy's legs and helped her carry him the rest of the way out of the house.
"Need some help over here!" Lombardo yelled as they made their way to the front lawn. Carlos and Doc came running over.
"I think he was just knocked out. Part of the floor came down on him. He's breathing," explained Alex, dropping to her knees and pulling her helmet and mask off, feeling the rush of cool air engulf her lungs.
"Taylor! Go over to the other bus and get checked," yelled the Captain, patting her on the shoulder and muttering, "Good job, kid."
Taylor slowly made her way over to Bobby, who was standing by his ambulance. "Alex? What happened?" he asked, yelling to Kim to grab the stretcher. "Floor collapsed," she gasped, sitting on the stretcher as Kim pulled it along side her.
"Was anyone hurt?" Kim asked, looking over at the building.
"Jimmy. But I don't think he was hurt bad," she gasped.
"Alex, do you have asthma?" Bobby asked, looking at her. When she shook her head, he looked at her air bottle. Reading the meter he glanced at Kim. "She ran out of air. Grab the oxygen and we'll see if we can get her to catch her breath."
Alex watched silently over the oxygen mask Kim put over her face as Doc and Carlos wheeled a now conscious Jimmy over to their ambulance. She sighed a sigh of relief as he noticed Doc and Carlos laughing with him. She leaned back and realizing she still had her air pack on, grumbled as it dug into her back. Bobby laughed and helped her off with it. "Helps if you take it off before you lay down." She just nodded her head and finally leaned back, relaxing and realizing that she might have finally convinced her squad she was where she belonged.