A/N: Big thanks Fridgey who helped answer the question, "How many feet is a four story building?" and to my mommy who helped me with the question, "What would happen if a guy fell out of a window and down about 48 feet?" And to both of them…yes, I am evil. :D Again, five reviews will get another chapter…but I want more than that, because I'm greedy. Help me heat my home! Reviews are fuel to the fire!
A wall of scorching heat slammed into Jimmy and he tightened his arms around Clara, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt himself being thrown forward and a scream rose but caught in his tightened throat. Clara stiffened against him, her own scream loud and piercing in his ear.
I'm going to die, he thought with horrifying conviction. This is finally it. I'm dead.
The calmness that came with this thought scared him more than the fact that in another few seconds he would be dead on the ground that was what, 48 feet down? Oh, sure, he had a slim chance of surviving. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd live. But even then it wouldn't be a pretty sight. Paralysis, brain damage, hell, there was a list a mile long of possibilities.
Kim, he thought. Joey. I might never get a chance--
And then he was flying through a thick pane of glass, the shards stabbing into his skin. He felt the flames lick his skin, smelled the acrid scent of burnt flesh and finally screamed in a mixture of pain and sheer terror.
In his last seconds of coherent thought he twisted his body and positioned Clara in hopes that when they hit bottom he would absorb most of the impact. There was still the chance that she might live and recover, and his training told him to do what he could to ensure that she had every chance.
And then he hit the pavement with such force that all he knew was a second's worth of blinding pain from beneath and above, and then only blissful darkness.
Standing on the street below, the onlookers heard a terrible rumble and flames shot higher into the air, exploding windows and sending a spray of glass onto the street.
Bosco and Faith, still doing their job, ushered people back, while Alex, Doc, and Carlos rushed to make sure no one had been injured. The firefighters stood in shock at the pulsating flames.
And Kim screamed in anguish as the body of her ex-husband, the father of her son, flew through the window with a horrifying scream, still holding fast to his victim, and crashed to a stop feet in front of her.
Screaming hysterically but still alive, Clara rolled limply off of Jimmy and managed to crawl a foot or so away before collapsing to the pavement on her stomach. Her screaming subsided into cries, then into whimpers as Alex and Carlos moved in to help her.
Doc was kneeling by Jimmy's side and Kim dropped to her knees beside him, crying herself as she assessed his injuries.
Jimmy's face was soot smeared and flecked with small cuts sporadically. He was bleeding heavily from a gash above his right eye, from his nose, and a small trickle of blood ran from one corner of his mouth. Already a dark bruise was forming, taking up most of the right side of his face.
Doc was busily, but gently unbuttoning Jimmy's jacket and cutting away at his shirt. His bare chest was one mass of purple, black, and blue contusions, against severely pale skin.
"Kim!" she heard Doc yelling, breaking her from her reverie. "Kim, I need you to take his vitals!"
She shook her head to clear it and moved in to take his pulse. "Pulse is weak, thready. Breathing shallow, labored. We need to get O2 and a collar now!"
Another paramedic, one Kim didn't bother to identify, appeared with the oxygen mask, C-collar and tank and an IV which Doc had ordered. She took the collar from him and carefully secures Jimmy's neck, then went for the oxygen mask, gently securing the strap and covering his mouth and nose. "Let's get a backboard over here!"
When the nameless medic again appeared with the equipment, they gently rolled him onto the board, lifted him onto the stretcher, and loaded him into the back of the bus, securing the wheeled stretcher into place.
"Kim, I need you to drive so I can work on him," Doc said.
Shaking her head, Kim climbed into the front of the bus, hesitant to take her eyes off them.
She drove as fast as she dared, sirens blaring to the waiting hospital.
Doctors met the ambulances at the doors to the ER, rushing the stretchers inside, hurrying away with her ex husband.
Shoulders shaking with sobs, Kim tried to follow, only to be held back by Alex's firm grip.
"Let them do their job," she said softly. "We'll only get in their way."
Kim nodded, wiping at her face. "Yeah."
"Let's go wait over here," Alex said pulling her into the waiting room and directing her to a set of hard plastic chairs.
Kim buried her head in her hands, propping her elbows on her knees, and cried.
A wall of scorching heat slammed into Jimmy and he tightened his arms around Clara, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt himself being thrown forward and a scream rose but caught in his tightened throat. Clara stiffened against him, her own scream loud and piercing in his ear.
I'm going to die, he thought with horrifying conviction. This is finally it. I'm dead.
The calmness that came with this thought scared him more than the fact that in another few seconds he would be dead on the ground that was what, 48 feet down? Oh, sure, he had a slim chance of surviving. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd live. But even then it wouldn't be a pretty sight. Paralysis, brain damage, hell, there was a list a mile long of possibilities.
Kim, he thought. Joey. I might never get a chance--
And then he was flying through a thick pane of glass, the shards stabbing into his skin. He felt the flames lick his skin, smelled the acrid scent of burnt flesh and finally screamed in a mixture of pain and sheer terror.
In his last seconds of coherent thought he twisted his body and positioned Clara in hopes that when they hit bottom he would absorb most of the impact. There was still the chance that she might live and recover, and his training told him to do what he could to ensure that she had every chance.
And then he hit the pavement with such force that all he knew was a second's worth of blinding pain from beneath and above, and then only blissful darkness.
Standing on the street below, the onlookers heard a terrible rumble and flames shot higher into the air, exploding windows and sending a spray of glass onto the street.
Bosco and Faith, still doing their job, ushered people back, while Alex, Doc, and Carlos rushed to make sure no one had been injured. The firefighters stood in shock at the pulsating flames.
And Kim screamed in anguish as the body of her ex-husband, the father of her son, flew through the window with a horrifying scream, still holding fast to his victim, and crashed to a stop feet in front of her.
Screaming hysterically but still alive, Clara rolled limply off of Jimmy and managed to crawl a foot or so away before collapsing to the pavement on her stomach. Her screaming subsided into cries, then into whimpers as Alex and Carlos moved in to help her.
Doc was kneeling by Jimmy's side and Kim dropped to her knees beside him, crying herself as she assessed his injuries.
Jimmy's face was soot smeared and flecked with small cuts sporadically. He was bleeding heavily from a gash above his right eye, from his nose, and a small trickle of blood ran from one corner of his mouth. Already a dark bruise was forming, taking up most of the right side of his face.
Doc was busily, but gently unbuttoning Jimmy's jacket and cutting away at his shirt. His bare chest was one mass of purple, black, and blue contusions, against severely pale skin.
"Kim!" she heard Doc yelling, breaking her from her reverie. "Kim, I need you to take his vitals!"
She shook her head to clear it and moved in to take his pulse. "Pulse is weak, thready. Breathing shallow, labored. We need to get O2 and a collar now!"
Another paramedic, one Kim didn't bother to identify, appeared with the oxygen mask, C-collar and tank and an IV which Doc had ordered. She took the collar from him and carefully secures Jimmy's neck, then went for the oxygen mask, gently securing the strap and covering his mouth and nose. "Let's get a backboard over here!"
When the nameless medic again appeared with the equipment, they gently rolled him onto the board, lifted him onto the stretcher, and loaded him into the back of the bus, securing the wheeled stretcher into place.
"Kim, I need you to drive so I can work on him," Doc said.
Shaking her head, Kim climbed into the front of the bus, hesitant to take her eyes off them.
She drove as fast as she dared, sirens blaring to the waiting hospital.
Doctors met the ambulances at the doors to the ER, rushing the stretchers inside, hurrying away with her ex husband.
Shoulders shaking with sobs, Kim tried to follow, only to be held back by Alex's firm grip.
"Let them do their job," she said softly. "We'll only get in their way."
Kim nodded, wiping at her face. "Yeah."
"Let's go wait over here," Alex said pulling her into the waiting room and directing her to a set of hard plastic chairs.
Kim buried her head in her hands, propping her elbows on her knees, and cried.