Title: When The Heat is On
Author: Angela Penfold
Email: AngelaPRPi@aol.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The Third Watch team aren't mine, even if I do want 'em to be.
Warnings: Some mentions of violence
When The Heat is On
Chapter 2
"Alex!" Kim's cry echoed down the hallway, followed by the soft footfalls
of her sneakered feet. Panic was evident in her features as she bustled
past a nurse and rushed towards her co-workers.
She'd left the house as soon as Bobby had put the phone down and they'd
sped the whole way. Any real intimacy between her and Jimmy had died a long
time ago but they were still close and no matter what happened he was
Joey's father.
Anxiety tightened her voice as she stopped in front of the ash-smeared fire
fighter. "What happened? How is he?"
Alex didn't answer for a moment, she just looked back and forth between
Bobby and Kim. It was obvious from her silence that this wasn't just a
sprained wrist. A wave of nausea shot through Kim when Alex finally spoke.
"We were called out to the leather factory. Cap sent a group of us inside
to control the hotspots. Jimmy and Sweet were heading up to the second
floor when the staircase collapsed. They fell twenty feet."
"Oh God," Kim murmured in a shuddery whisper. She'd never regretted the
medical knowledge she'd been given, except for in situations like this,
when there was someone she knew in pain. She couldn't just let the naivety
swamp her and imagine that Jimmy was fine after a fall like that. They all
knew that there was a risk of building collapse on any run they'd made but
it didn't make the accident any easier to accept, or any less severe. She
knew the damage a fall like that could cause, she knew that a lot of people
didn't survive that sort of accident.
"We got them out of there as soon as we could," Alex added softly.
"How bad?" Kim's eyes glimmered with unshed tears as she watched Alex's
face.
"Jimmy's in surgery now. He . uh . he's got a dislocated knee cap, second
degree burns to both legs, broken ribs, a punctured lung and they think he
lacerated his liver." Alex swallowed hard and pasted a half-hopeful smile
on her face. "They think he'll be fine after the surgery."
A breath shuddered out of Kim's chest as Alex's words sank in. The burns,
the dislocated patella, the broken ribs, even the punctured lung, were
easily treatable, not life threatening except in the most extreme
circumstances, the liver laceration was different though. People died
regularly from tears to the liver, if there'd been any delay in getting
Jimmy out of that building, in getting him medical help, he could've died.
Her son could've been left without a father. Things with Jimmy had never
been simple, or easy, but for the second time in a year he'd been a hair's
breadth away from dying. Tears that had been building since Bobby had given
her the bad news finally spilled over her lashes, meandering down her
cheeks. Her lip quivered and she suddenly felt herself fighting for breath.
Seeming to sense the need almost before it had rushed through Kim's body, Bobby turned and wrapped his arms around her, gathering her close. On the job he'd seen so many people go through the same rush of emotion, the realisation that they'd come so close to losing a loved one. It was different when it was one of your own, knocking your own pain aside you had to stay strong and provide support. Jimmy wasn't his best friend, they both had too much of a history with Kim for that. He was a part of the team though and he still meant a lot to Kim, he couldn't help but be effected by what had happened. Kim's hair slid like silk across his skin as he rested his cheek on top of her bowed head. Around them, the team from the station stood in quiet groups, their soot-smeared faces telling of the worry that churned inside them. He locked eyes with Alex, question after question coming to mind. "How about Sweet?" he asked softly, his breath stirring the strands of hair that had escaped Kim's ponytail. In the aftermath of the news on Jimmy, he'd almost forgotten the young rookie who'd fallen alongside the station's romeo. "He was lucky," Alex said softly, some of the anguish slipping from her face. "Jimmy had taken point, Sweet was further down the staircase when it collapsed. Morales has him in the trauma room now, they wouldn't let us stay. Looked like a broken wrist, ribs and a dislocated shoulder on the way in, had some burns too." His hands skimmed gently up and down Kim's quaking back. As long as they didn't find anything more serious when they opened Jimmy up, both he and Sweet would be fine but emotions were still running high. The tension wouldn't ease until Jimmy was out of surgery and awake, telling them himself that he'd be all right. A shudder ran through Kim's body as she forced herself to take in a deep breath. Realising that the moment of comforting was over, Bobby loosened his arms from around Kim and let her step back. Kim sniffled and swiped back an escaped lock of hair. "How long have they had him in surgery?" "Almost twenty minutes," Alex said with a slight shrug. "It took us ten minutes to get them out from under the collapse. They rushed him up almost as soon as we got here." "Got a couple of hours at least until we know anything," Bobby murmured. He needed to comfort Kim in some way but without her asking, without her making the first move towards him again he couldn't just hold her close. Settling his hand on the base of Kim's neck, he flashed her a compassionate smile. "We should see if they've got a waiting room we can all sit in." Alex shook her head, glancing around the group of amassed fire fighters. "We don't know when we're going to get called again, Cap's trying to bring in people from other shifts but till then we can be sent off to an incident at any time." "It's alright," Bobby murmured. Still unnerved, Kim shifted on her feet and interjected into the conversation. "Do they know what caused that fire yet? Do they have any idea why the stairs collapsed." The only response she got from Alex for a moment was a shake of her head. "There was no real flare ups in that section of the warehouse. We spotted a minor blaze under the stairs before they started up them but it the staircase shouldn't have fallen like that. No signs of charring anywhere along it, there shouldn't have been a collapse." Biting her lip in confusion and frustration, Alex shook her head again. "A fire investigator is down there now, checking it all out." "They've finished their preliminary inspection." Cap's strong voice broke through the quiet of the hallway. He strode through the group, the men parting in his wake. Pity filled his eyes as he spotted Kim. "The fire was definitely arson. The investigator found signs of trailing on all floors and the staircase had been tampered with." Kim's face blanched as an angry murmur of voices filled the air. Someone had deliberately torched a building, someone had hurt fire fighters on purpose. Two men had nearly been killed.
Seeming to sense the need almost before it had rushed through Kim's body, Bobby turned and wrapped his arms around her, gathering her close. On the job he'd seen so many people go through the same rush of emotion, the realisation that they'd come so close to losing a loved one. It was different when it was one of your own, knocking your own pain aside you had to stay strong and provide support. Jimmy wasn't his best friend, they both had too much of a history with Kim for that. He was a part of the team though and he still meant a lot to Kim, he couldn't help but be effected by what had happened. Kim's hair slid like silk across his skin as he rested his cheek on top of her bowed head. Around them, the team from the station stood in quiet groups, their soot-smeared faces telling of the worry that churned inside them. He locked eyes with Alex, question after question coming to mind. "How about Sweet?" he asked softly, his breath stirring the strands of hair that had escaped Kim's ponytail. In the aftermath of the news on Jimmy, he'd almost forgotten the young rookie who'd fallen alongside the station's romeo. "He was lucky," Alex said softly, some of the anguish slipping from her face. "Jimmy had taken point, Sweet was further down the staircase when it collapsed. Morales has him in the trauma room now, they wouldn't let us stay. Looked like a broken wrist, ribs and a dislocated shoulder on the way in, had some burns too." His hands skimmed gently up and down Kim's quaking back. As long as they didn't find anything more serious when they opened Jimmy up, both he and Sweet would be fine but emotions were still running high. The tension wouldn't ease until Jimmy was out of surgery and awake, telling them himself that he'd be all right. A shudder ran through Kim's body as she forced herself to take in a deep breath. Realising that the moment of comforting was over, Bobby loosened his arms from around Kim and let her step back. Kim sniffled and swiped back an escaped lock of hair. "How long have they had him in surgery?" "Almost twenty minutes," Alex said with a slight shrug. "It took us ten minutes to get them out from under the collapse. They rushed him up almost as soon as we got here." "Got a couple of hours at least until we know anything," Bobby murmured. He needed to comfort Kim in some way but without her asking, without her making the first move towards him again he couldn't just hold her close. Settling his hand on the base of Kim's neck, he flashed her a compassionate smile. "We should see if they've got a waiting room we can all sit in." Alex shook her head, glancing around the group of amassed fire fighters. "We don't know when we're going to get called again, Cap's trying to bring in people from other shifts but till then we can be sent off to an incident at any time." "It's alright," Bobby murmured. Still unnerved, Kim shifted on her feet and interjected into the conversation. "Do they know what caused that fire yet? Do they have any idea why the stairs collapsed." The only response she got from Alex for a moment was a shake of her head. "There was no real flare ups in that section of the warehouse. We spotted a minor blaze under the stairs before they started up them but it the staircase shouldn't have fallen like that. No signs of charring anywhere along it, there shouldn't have been a collapse." Biting her lip in confusion and frustration, Alex shook her head again. "A fire investigator is down there now, checking it all out." "They've finished their preliminary inspection." Cap's strong voice broke through the quiet of the hallway. He strode through the group, the men parting in his wake. Pity filled his eyes as he spotted Kim. "The fire was definitely arson. The investigator found signs of trailing on all floors and the staircase had been tampered with." Kim's face blanched as an angry murmur of voices filled the air. Someone had deliberately torched a building, someone had hurt fire fighters on purpose. Two men had nearly been killed.