Returning the Favor
Chapter 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco lay on the floor listening as ESU finished coming into the room. They secured the weapons that the man had, including the high-powered ESU weapon that had injured Bosco. He had fallen onto his side and was able to see the face of his shooter. He saw one of the officers reach down to the man and feel for a pulse. Apparently, he didn't find one, because Bosco heard him say, "Suspect is deceased. Have EMS respond to the third floor forthwith."
He couldn't understand why no one was coming over to him. "Maybe I'm dead," he thought to himself. He dismissed that notion, thinking that if he was dead, he wouldn't be able to feel the burning pain in his side where the bullet went in under his arm. Suddenly, he heard someone in his ear.
"We've got you Bos. Hold on. EMS is on the way. We've got you," came the voice of one of the officers. He couldn't quite place the voice, but he knew that he knew the man. Suddenly, there was another voice alongside him. This one he knew. It was his partner.
"Bosco! I'm right here. I'm right here, Bos," Faith said into his ear. He felt her hand on his shoulder. He had the sensation of someone moving his leg, but he couldn't feel it. As a matter of fact, he couldn't feel anything below where the bullet entered his side. "Oh, God," he thought to himself. "This is pretty bad." He tried to keep himself calm, knowing that if he let himself get too excited, his heart rate would increase, causing his blood to pump out faster. At least he heard that somewhere. He wasn't sure if it was true or not, but it sounded logical to him.
Again, he heard Faith's voice. "Bos. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you here. I should have stayed. I'm sorry," she said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.
"Faith, it's not your fault. It just happened. You had to get those medics and wounded civilians out of here. Are they out? Did everyone get out?" he asked suddenly.
"Yeah, Bos. Everyone's out. Now we're gonna get you out of here and over to Mercy. So, you just hang on. I'm with you the whole way, Bos," she answered him.
"Where the hell is EMS?" Faith said, loudly to the other officers.
"They're right here," one of them said as Bosco's vision dimmed and blurred. He felt himself losing consciousness.
"Stay with me, Bos. You have to fight to stay awake," Faith urged him. "You'll have plenty of time to rest later."
"It hurts Faith. It burns really bad," he said to her quietly. Suddenly he felt someone other than Faith by his side.
He felt a collar being applied to his neck - standard procedure for a gunshot victim due to the violent jarring experienced by the body when struck with a bullet. This was a precaution in the event that there was a spinal injury from the jarring, or from when he fell to the ground. He felt himself being turned and was now looking up at the ceiling. At least he thought he was. It was hard to tell, everything was coming in and out of focus. Suddenly, he heard Kim and Alex. They were talking to him. "What were they saying?" he asked to himself, trying to focus on their words. He saw Alex's blonde hair and then Kim's dark hair.
Then he blinked a few times when he thought he saw Doc. "Oh man, three medics. I must be in big trouble," he said.
"So, Doc. How bad is it? I can't feel my legs you know," he said to the third medic.
"I'm not a doctor yet. But thanks to you I might just get there," Littrell told him, starting an IV in one arm, while Kim started another in the other.
"That's not Doc's voice?" he said to himself. "He sounds different. Maybe it's just my imagination."
"Doc! I can't feel my legs," he said again, getting nervous now, thinking that he was talking and they weren't hearing him.
"I told you to take it easy Little Man," said Littrell. "We've got you and I did what you said. You called for a bus and I put you at the top of my list," he said to Bosco, seeing the recognition come across Bosco's face.
Bosco smiled. He squinted a little to help his eyes to focus. "That's the first rule. Always keep your promises," Bosco said to him. "So that's what you meant by 'I owe you' in that message you left."
"You know it. I always keep my promises. Now shut up so we can take care of you, Little Man," Littrell said.
"Don't call me that," Bosco said, as his vision blurred and everything grew dark.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
"How bad is it?" Faith asked as they were moving him to the ambulance. The ESU officers were moving everyone back so they had a clear run to the bus and they loaded him quickly and pulled away to head toward Mercy - Faith riding in the back and Alex driving.
"I don't know exactly what damage is on the inside. I know he said he couldn't move his legs and he wasn't responding to any stimulus below his chest. But, that could be just temporary. There was no exit wound from the chest wound, so it could be that the bullet is just pressing on the cord or shocked the cord," Kim explained to her. She noticed that Faith hadn't let go of Bosco's hand the entire time.
Littrell noticed the level of concern in all the officers and personnel at the scene. "These people are a unit," he said to himself, again hoping that he'd be able to fit in someday.
"His leg wound is through-and-through with minimal bleeding," Littrell advised Faith. "That shouldn't be the problem."
"We'll know more when they get him to x-ray," Kim said, trying to assure Faith.
Alex was driving the bus and was on the radio to Mercy. "Mercy, be advised, 55-Boy is coming in 'hot' with a police officer with gunshot wounds to the upper right chest and left thigh. What trauma room do you want us to bring him to?"
"55-Boy, we received your transmission. We're setting up for you in Trauma 1. Do you have any more information," came the response from Mercy.
"You'll have it in about 30 seconds. We're at your back door," Alex replied, pulling into the ER entrance and jumping out to open the back door to unload Bosco. They off-loaded him from the ambulance and Faith tried to keep up, holding onto his hand, as more and more emergency room personnel swarmed around him. She felt someone pulling her hand away and resisted.
Finally, she realized that it was Littrell pulling her hand. "It's okay, Faith. Let them work. We'll stand right here," he said calmly.
*^*^*^*^*^*^
Kim and Alex looked at one another as they moved their stretcher out of the trauma room to give them room to work.
"Well?" asked Alex, waiting for Kim to give her assessment of Littrell's skills.
"Oh, he's definitely a keeper," Kim replied. "Definitely."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco lay on the floor listening as ESU finished coming into the room. They secured the weapons that the man had, including the high-powered ESU weapon that had injured Bosco. He had fallen onto his side and was able to see the face of his shooter. He saw one of the officers reach down to the man and feel for a pulse. Apparently, he didn't find one, because Bosco heard him say, "Suspect is deceased. Have EMS respond to the third floor forthwith."
He couldn't understand why no one was coming over to him. "Maybe I'm dead," he thought to himself. He dismissed that notion, thinking that if he was dead, he wouldn't be able to feel the burning pain in his side where the bullet went in under his arm. Suddenly, he heard someone in his ear.
"We've got you Bos. Hold on. EMS is on the way. We've got you," came the voice of one of the officers. He couldn't quite place the voice, but he knew that he knew the man. Suddenly, there was another voice alongside him. This one he knew. It was his partner.
"Bosco! I'm right here. I'm right here, Bos," Faith said into his ear. He felt her hand on his shoulder. He had the sensation of someone moving his leg, but he couldn't feel it. As a matter of fact, he couldn't feel anything below where the bullet entered his side. "Oh, God," he thought to himself. "This is pretty bad." He tried to keep himself calm, knowing that if he let himself get too excited, his heart rate would increase, causing his blood to pump out faster. At least he heard that somewhere. He wasn't sure if it was true or not, but it sounded logical to him.
Again, he heard Faith's voice. "Bos. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you here. I should have stayed. I'm sorry," she said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.
"Faith, it's not your fault. It just happened. You had to get those medics and wounded civilians out of here. Are they out? Did everyone get out?" he asked suddenly.
"Yeah, Bos. Everyone's out. Now we're gonna get you out of here and over to Mercy. So, you just hang on. I'm with you the whole way, Bos," she answered him.
"Where the hell is EMS?" Faith said, loudly to the other officers.
"They're right here," one of them said as Bosco's vision dimmed and blurred. He felt himself losing consciousness.
"Stay with me, Bos. You have to fight to stay awake," Faith urged him. "You'll have plenty of time to rest later."
"It hurts Faith. It burns really bad," he said to her quietly. Suddenly he felt someone other than Faith by his side.
He felt a collar being applied to his neck - standard procedure for a gunshot victim due to the violent jarring experienced by the body when struck with a bullet. This was a precaution in the event that there was a spinal injury from the jarring, or from when he fell to the ground. He felt himself being turned and was now looking up at the ceiling. At least he thought he was. It was hard to tell, everything was coming in and out of focus. Suddenly, he heard Kim and Alex. They were talking to him. "What were they saying?" he asked to himself, trying to focus on their words. He saw Alex's blonde hair and then Kim's dark hair.
Then he blinked a few times when he thought he saw Doc. "Oh man, three medics. I must be in big trouble," he said.
"So, Doc. How bad is it? I can't feel my legs you know," he said to the third medic.
"I'm not a doctor yet. But thanks to you I might just get there," Littrell told him, starting an IV in one arm, while Kim started another in the other.
"That's not Doc's voice?" he said to himself. "He sounds different. Maybe it's just my imagination."
"Doc! I can't feel my legs," he said again, getting nervous now, thinking that he was talking and they weren't hearing him.
"I told you to take it easy Little Man," said Littrell. "We've got you and I did what you said. You called for a bus and I put you at the top of my list," he said to Bosco, seeing the recognition come across Bosco's face.
Bosco smiled. He squinted a little to help his eyes to focus. "That's the first rule. Always keep your promises," Bosco said to him. "So that's what you meant by 'I owe you' in that message you left."
"You know it. I always keep my promises. Now shut up so we can take care of you, Little Man," Littrell said.
"Don't call me that," Bosco said, as his vision blurred and everything grew dark.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
"How bad is it?" Faith asked as they were moving him to the ambulance. The ESU officers were moving everyone back so they had a clear run to the bus and they loaded him quickly and pulled away to head toward Mercy - Faith riding in the back and Alex driving.
"I don't know exactly what damage is on the inside. I know he said he couldn't move his legs and he wasn't responding to any stimulus below his chest. But, that could be just temporary. There was no exit wound from the chest wound, so it could be that the bullet is just pressing on the cord or shocked the cord," Kim explained to her. She noticed that Faith hadn't let go of Bosco's hand the entire time.
Littrell noticed the level of concern in all the officers and personnel at the scene. "These people are a unit," he said to himself, again hoping that he'd be able to fit in someday.
"His leg wound is through-and-through with minimal bleeding," Littrell advised Faith. "That shouldn't be the problem."
"We'll know more when they get him to x-ray," Kim said, trying to assure Faith.
Alex was driving the bus and was on the radio to Mercy. "Mercy, be advised, 55-Boy is coming in 'hot' with a police officer with gunshot wounds to the upper right chest and left thigh. What trauma room do you want us to bring him to?"
"55-Boy, we received your transmission. We're setting up for you in Trauma 1. Do you have any more information," came the response from Mercy.
"You'll have it in about 30 seconds. We're at your back door," Alex replied, pulling into the ER entrance and jumping out to open the back door to unload Bosco. They off-loaded him from the ambulance and Faith tried to keep up, holding onto his hand, as more and more emergency room personnel swarmed around him. She felt someone pulling her hand away and resisted.
Finally, she realized that it was Littrell pulling her hand. "It's okay, Faith. Let them work. We'll stand right here," he said calmly.
*^*^*^*^*^*^
Kim and Alex looked at one another as they moved their stretcher out of the trauma room to give them room to work.
"Well?" asked Alex, waiting for Kim to give her assessment of Littrell's skills.
"Oh, he's definitely a keeper," Kim replied. "Definitely."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...